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Arabeyes: World Refugee Day – Focus on Iraq  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

As the world marks the World Refugee Day today, the Middle East finds itself again at the centre of a mounting humanitarian tragedy.
A UN report blames the war in Iraq for boosting the number of refugees to 14 million  worldwide. This figure includes 4.3m Palestinians (and their offspring) who were displaced by the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
“The number of refugees worldwide has risen for the first time in five years, largely because of violence in Iraq, according to a United Nations report.
The total number of refugees rose by more than 14% last year to nearly 10 million, the UN refugee agency says.
The number of internally displaced people also reached a record high of almost 13 million, the report says.
(Besides Iraq, conflicts in Lebanon, East Timor, Sudan and Sri Lanka were blamed for the rise in refugee numbers.
The figures released by the UN do not include some 4.3m Palestinians (including those born in exile) displaced since 1948 as a result of the conflict with Israel,” reports the BBC.
The war on Iraq alone has resulted in 4.4m refugees and Internally Displaced People.
‘”The situation in Iraq continues to worsen, with more than 2 million Iraqis now believed to be displaced inside Iraq and another 2.2 million sheltering in neighbouring states,” the UNHCR statement said.
According to government figures, some 1.4 million Iraqis are now in Syria, up to 750,000 in Jordan, 80,000 in Egypt and some 200,000 in the Gulf region. Syria alone receives a minimum of 30,000 Iraqis a month.
“The number of Iraqis fleeing to neighbouring countries remains high,” the UN agency said,’ says Reuters.
What is the blogosphere's take on this tragedy?
State of Despair:
Zeyad from Healing Iraq posts three videos filmed for Dateline (09/05/07) by Australian SBS  highlighting the plight of three Iraqi families who fled the carnage to nearby Jordan.
“You won't see this on American TV. It's heartbreaking, but these are just the stories of three families, out of millions,” he notes.
Warning: Some of the images may be disturbing.
Iraqi Refugees in Syria:
Alive in Baghdad posts this video, explaining why Iraqis are fleeing to Syria.
The international press is again highlighting the growing Iraqi refugee crisis. There are at least 4.2 million Iraqis displaced from their homes, with 2.2 million now believe to be outside Iraq. The UN has now warned the number should be expected to rise to 5 million displaced Iraqis in the near future.
Ian Mather writes in the Scotsman that this exodus now exceeds the displacement of Palestinians in 1948, and is the greatest exodus in the history of the region:
The flow of Iraqis fleeing sectarian violence in their homeland has risen to more than four million – the largest refugee crisis in the Middle East since the creation of Israel in 1948.
Syria, with porous borders and greater openness to Iraqis than its other Arab neighbors such as Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, is believed to have the largest number. According to Paul Cochrane of the Independent:
A major and growing refugee crisis is developing in Syria. More than 1.4 million Iraqis have fled there since the 2003 invasion, with about 30,000 more arriving every month.
Although the primary reasons for Iraqis fleeing their country are violence and insecurity, many are also looking for better health care and the chance for their children to have an education without the daily risks of traveling between home and school in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq.
Fleeing to Jordan:
Konfused Iraqi Kid  writes that there are at least 750,000 Iraqi refugees in Jordan.
“the Jordanian government signed an argeement with a Norwegian NGO, FAFO,to conduct a survey to estimate the actual number of Iraqi refugees in Jordan, the results are expected to be published next month, after fieldwork has been finished in April and May, according to the website of the NGO.
Usually, any story involving Iraqi refugees you read will tell you that there are about 750,000 Iraqis in Jordan and 1.5 million in Syria.
However, a source from the Norwegian NGO just told me that the initial results seem to indicate that the total number is much lower, almost half of that estimate in here (Jordan). With the strict rules applied by the government on Iraqis entering Jordan, as well as the high cost of living and inability to find work or residency, I don't find it surprising that the estimate is lower, but it's such a huge difference that I am still willing to wait for the official results,” he explains.
Fleeing to Kurdistan:
Alive in Baghdad updates us on the status of Iraqis fleeing to the Kurdish regions in this post, which features a video.
Arab Iraqis fleeing to Kurdistan have become an increasingly strong indication of the deteriorating situation in Baghdad. More than 30,000 Iraqis are believed to have fled their homes to Arbil in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region.
This week Isam Rasheed takes us to Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish region and one of many cities in Kurdistan now brimming with refugees fleeing violence in the south.
The hardships expressed by two families in this episode are just a small indication of the difficulties Iraqis are finding in their new home. According to Ron Redmond, a spokesman for UNHCR, “Those who have fled are becoming increasingly desperate as they and their host communities run out of resources.”
Forget Baghdad:
Nadia N, an Iraqi living in Toronto, Canada, has dedicated a separate blog to document developments in the Iraqi refugee crisis. Aptly named Forget Baghdad, the blog has sadly not been updated for a while.
“this blog was created to highlight the challenges for iraqis seeking asylum outside of iraq as well as its internally displaced people and current diaspora. it was started out of concern for what i feel is a very underdiscussed issue, one whose urgency is growing exponentially as the war goes on. as iraq has become one of the most dangerous countries to live in in the world iraqis hoping to leave face exceptional challenges, not only due to a trend of european countries in recent years to tighten their immigration policies but also because of a refusal of many countries to acknowledge that iraq is a country at war, which complicates the status of those that are seeking refuge,” explains Nadia.
Help Iraqi Refugees:
From Egypt, Issandr El Amrani urges readers to pressure the US government to do more for Iraqi refugees.
“Refugees International is asking people to call the White House to ask them to increase the aid to Iraqi refugees to $290 million. Remember that, as we noted recently in a post on a recent Brooking report on Iraq’s refugee crisis, the US has given refugee status to only about 800 Iraqis since 2003, although new legislation will increase that to a still measly 7,000,” he explains.
Blame the US:
According to Shamhita, the US-led wars in the region continue to the mounting tragedy.
One of the less talked about side effects of the unjust and continued US led military campaign in Iraq is the subsequent displacement of people, mostly women and children, that are forced to flee from persecution and become refugees in neighboring countries. According to a study produced by the United Nations, the current number of refugees world-wide has risen for the first time in 5 years.
The total number of refugees rose by more than 14% last year to nearly 10 million, the UN refugee agency says. The number of internally displaced people also reached a record high of almost 13 million, the report says. Besides Iraq, conflicts in Lebanon, East Timor, Sudan and Sri Lanka were blamed for the rise in refugee numbers.
Furthermore, this doesn't include the 4.3million Palestinians currently displaced as well.
The report said the conflict in Iraq was largely responsible for the rise. Some 1.5m Iraqis are now estimated to be living as refugees in other countries, mostly neighbouring Syria and Jordan.
Considering that the next largest group of refugees are from Afghanistan, I think it is pretty safe to say that US military campaigns, not only kill people, but also displace them. But the bigger question for me is, what are the consequences of this displacement? What happens to people when they are forced to leave the place they know as home, go homeless, run in fear and look for protection from neighboring states, where the economy can rarely sustain them?
While our “leaders” sit pretty with greedy fists full of food.


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Bahamas: Election Over; Back to Work  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“This country is facing some huge home-grown problems, together with a multitude of challenges presented by a rapidly-changing world.”  Sir Arthur Foulkes, guest authoring at Bahama Pundit, thinks that it is time for the PLP to “get over their frustration and settle down to the job the people elected them to do — participate constructively in the national debate.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bahrain: Mahmood’s Den Gets a Face Lift · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif gives his popular blog a face lift.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Barbados: Drilling for Oil · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Twenty-five companies are in a bid to drill for oil off the coast of Barbados.  Barbados Free Press puts forward its opinion about which firms should be disqualified based on their environmental records.


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Bermuda: BHC Scandal Hits International Financial Press · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Politics.bm is concerned that the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal has caught the attention of the international financial press, while IMHO.bm asks, “Who needs The Young and the Restless when you have this mess to follow?!?”


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Caucasus: Not a Region · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Artur says that the South Caucasus is an artificial and unnecessary construct — that the three countries within in have little in common.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Central Asia: Failing States · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Non Pon looks at how Central Asian states fared in the recently released Failed State Index.


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China: Charity Campaign · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Zhaomu blogs about a recent charity campaign in Wei-hai in Shandong province. Within 10 days, the city government managed to get RMB20 millions , and companies and corporates have agreed to donate 1 billion. The campaign is a most effective one. However, there are reports disclosing that ordinary workers are forced by danwei (work unit) to donate up to one third of their salary because of the campaign! (zh)The blogger invite discussion on this Chinese style charity campaign.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: Pixelazo Festival in Medellín · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Medallo Bloguero [ES] provides the run down on the free Pixelazo Festival: New Media and Creative Networks that will take place in the city of Medellín.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Croatia: “Feral Tribune” Shuts Down · Global Voices
Sinisa Boljanovic

Last week, Croatian finance ministry froze bank accounts of the region's legendary political weekly, Feral Tribune, due to 68,000 Euros of tax debt, forcing the publication to close.
Founded in 1984, the Croatian-language magazine was not in the spotlight until Yugoslavia's collapse in the early 1990s. For the past 14 years, however, Feral Tribune has been reporting on the subjects that most other media did not dare approach – and has survived quite a number of lawsuits.
Here's how Ex-YU Press, a self-described “‘insider’ source about the events in the former Yugoslavia,” characterized Feral Tribune:
[…] The magazine, to our knowledge, has no counterpart in the West. Its satire is too daring for mainstream advertisers, its reporting too uncompromising for mainstream politicians. Feral Tribune‘s mission is not merely to report news and entertain, but also to help turn its readers into better human beings!
[…]
In 2004 Feral Tribune sells about 30,000 copies per issue and boasts with almost fanatical readership in Croatia, abroad and all parts of the former Yugoslavia, readership that was prepared to pay court imposed fines and thereby save its magazine. Its editorial policy remains unpalatable for mainstream advertisers, which resulted in the demise of an attempt to publish a luxury color edition of the magazine. […]
As one commenter explained at Bosnia Vault, the magazine's current problems have to do with Croatia's taxation system – namely, the comparatively huge value-added tax (VAT) levied on newspapers:
It seems that Feral Tribune has a massive outstanding VAT bill. I find it difficult to credit that Croatia imposes 22% VAT on newspapers. In the UK books and newspapers are zero-rated for VAT. During the first half of the 19th century Britain had a newspaper tax which was considered a “tax on knowledge”. It would be very difficult for any politician to try and bring in that sort of levy again. It obviously promotes domination of the media by commercially successful publications that are less likely to challenge the rich and powerful.
Bosnia Vault had mentioned Feral Tribune in one of its past entries, too:
Combining satirical and analytical journalism, the basic message it proclaimed was that not all Croats were the same, set out to kill Muslims and Serbs. And not all Serbs were the same, set out to kill Croats.
Written at times in a deeply ironic prose, Feral Tribune utilize wit and common sense to talk about the war in a way that very few papers were capable of doing.
And here's an exchange between two Serbian bloggers that took place on B92 Blog (SRP) on June 15, 2007:
Jelica Greganovic:
Return Feral to us! Return Roby K. to me!
No Feral! No Roby K.! It is not published, and it is unknown whether it will be again. What  will I read now? The only independent journal on the Balkans has now been silenced.
The Croatian ministry of finance waited for Roby K. around the corner and fleeced him. But, since Roby’s pockets were empty, […] the ministry blocked his bank account.
[…]
RETURN Feral TO ME!
Return my Croatian (and wider than that) journal, the journal of Croatian anarchists, protesters and heretics who are dear to God, but aren't hateful to the Devil, either.
P. S. The editor-in-chief of Feral Tribune – Roby K. ([Viktor Ivancic]) – received a Golden Pigeon Peace Prize (Colombe d'Oro per la Pace) in Rome last Wednesday. He said then: “… we who thought differently – there are no circumstances that can justify war crimes – were considered the nation's traitors. Here's how they treated us: police mistreatment, court persecutions, death threats, burnings of our newspaper. […] I want to say there are circumstances when national treason is not bad. Blind patriotism is never a good basis for making moralistic principles in a society. Just as the truth has no nationality, I think that honorable journalism has no nationality, either. […]”
Sentinel:
“Feral Tribune did not die the death of fascism, but was killed by free market.” (Danko Plevnik, “Slobodna Dalmacija,” 15.06.2007.)
Jelica Greganovic:
If the market is free, why then did the state forgive a tax debt to the witty [“Slobodna Dalmacija”] and other government newspapers, such as [“Vjesnik”], “The Croatian Voice” and the HRT [state TV channel]? Or is there a criterium, according to which only the government newspapers don't have to pay taxes – because they publish what the government likes?
Sentinel:
I really don’t know enough about the situation with their press. But I've read Danko’s column, and I'm shocked. Where is their solidarity? […]
Jelica Greganovic:
Feral is not a favorite of the state. For example, Croatian government wrote off a tax debt to “Slobodna Dalmacija” – 2,800,000 Euros. But it didn’t write off the 70,000 Euros that Feral owed and blocked its bank account and forcibly took the money from the sales of the magazine. Journalists have not been paid in two months. Writing off tax debts is only for the news outlets that are utterly in government property, as the HRT and “Vjesnik” are.

author: Sinisa Boljanovic


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Cuba: Espin’s Death  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Child of the Revolution shares his thoughts on the death of Vilma Espin, Raul Castro's wife.


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Egypt: Fond Memories  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani, who lives in Egypt, shares with us her feelings on her husband's death anniversary. “June 10 is the anniversary of my husband's death, an occasion that changed my life and my children's lives irrevocably and with the impact of having a building fall on us,” she notes.


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El Salvador: Protests Against Health Care Privatization · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Tim's El Salvador Blog writes about the recent protests against health care privatization. The march was sponsored by the opposition party, FMLN and other NGOs.


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Europe: Roma Art at Venice Biennale · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Romantic writes about the Roma Pavilion at the Venice Biennale: Paradise Lost, an exhibition that presents 16 contemporary Roma artists.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Guatemala: Working for Google · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Desde Guate [ES] discovers a job opening for a temporary job working for Google in Guatemala.


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Guyana: Sex on Demand?   · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Guyana Groove raises the question of “whether a woman should feel obligated to provide sex for her husband at anytime he requests it.”


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Haiti: Sights  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Livesay Haiti Weblog posts some photos of everyday sights in Haiti.


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Hong Kong: Light Pollution · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chu zai from inmediahk.net criticized the light show in the Victoria Harbour for creating light pollution as the excessive lighting would create more carbon dioxide (zh).


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Indonesia: Visiting Borobudur · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Blogger Ivan Henares from the Philippines is visiting Indonesia. Ivan writes about the largest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere, the Buddhist temple of Borobudur in Central Java.

author: Preetam Rai


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Iraq: Blame Iran for Everything  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“I think that when the president of the united states counted Iran among the members of the axis of evil the description was not unjustifiably incriminating, it just came before the evidence that support this claim became available,” writes Mohammed in Iraq the Model, who blames all the crisis in the Middle East on Iran.


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Iraq: Reactions to Priest’s Murder  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi blogger Imad Khadduri updates  us on the murder of Catholic priest Father Ragheed Ganni and the reactions it generated.


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Iraqi Blogger Arrives in Canada  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi blogger Alaa has immigrated to Canada. “It is true that I have sadness in my heart for our poor old Iraq, but deep down I am convinced that we shall win in the end… And I don't like to hear anything against President Bush, either, because I still hold him in the highest esteem and affection,” he notes.


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Israel: Carter Rooting for Hamas · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Jimmy Carter is actually rooting for Hamas so that the destruction of Israel by Hamas can progress with more speed,” writes Israeli blogger Smooth Stone.


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Israel: Golan Heights Wine Industry · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli blogger Amechad wonders what will happen to the wine industry when Israel returns the Golan Heights to Syria.


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Jamaica: Trusting Walcott  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“A battle over individuality, morality, divinity, and spelling was being fought on a Caribbean beach. I loved it.”  A passage from Omeros inspires Jamaican Geoffrey Philp to write about why he trusts poet Derek Walcott more than his pastor.


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Japan: War Responsibility Project · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Tessa Morris-Suzuki wrote in Ohmynews the background of Yomiuri's project in publishing a book on war responsibility: it is a re-examination of the problem of war responsibility initiated by a newspaper generally considered to be “right-of-centre”, and therefore expected to support a more nationalistic approach to the past. The project can indeed be seen as one symptom of an interesting re-alignment in Japanese political and intellectual life, in which some aspects of the traditional distinction between “right” and “left” are being destabilized.


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Jordan: Sicko Review  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian Naseem Al Tarawnah reviews Michael Moore‘s Sicko here.


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Korea: “No Bare Feet in Slippers. No Sportswear or Shorts” · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

A Korean university put this warning on a business school building. Students have reacted sharply. They say it is excessive control by the school. A school representative clarified that the intention of the warning was to teach the next generation’s business leaders about etiquette.
Some bloggers criticize students’ criticisms of the school.
이번 사건에도 역시 뉴스 헤드라인만 보고 달려드는 불나방 같은 사람들이 많은 것 같다..
“대학의 자율”이라는 일차적인 명제에만 관심을 기울인다..
“대학은 배우는 곳이고, 대학생도 학생이다.” 이 명제에 대해서는 별로 생각해 보는 경우가 없어 보인다..
저 발표를 비판하기 전, 과연 “경영대”와 “경영대가 무엇을 배우는 곳인가” 를 생각해 보는 것이 선행되어야 할 것이다..
그 비판의 근거를 “대학”에서만 생각해 보지 말고, “경영대”라는 범주로 구체화하여 객관적으로 평가해 보면 생각이 달라질 수도 있다..
내가 저 제제를 찬성하는 이유는 대학의 자율과 학생의 자율 이전에 배움의 자세가 우선되어야 한다고 생각하기 때문이다.. 또한 그 학과에 맞는 아이덴터티 역시 간과해서는 안 된다고 여기고 있기 때문이기도 하다..
연극영화과나 디자인 학부의 학생들을 보면 심하다 싶을 정도로 피어싱, 악세사리, 노출을 하는 경우가 많다..
하지만 우리는 이것을 나무라지 않는다..
그가 예술을 전공하는 학생이고, 자신의 신체를 꾸미는 것 역시 예술에 있어 절대적으로 중요한 창의성 발현이기 때문이다..
그들의 화려한 외모가 “연극영화과 이니까.” 라고만 생각했다면 “대학의 본질은 자유뿐이다.” 라는 주장 만큼 단순한 것 아닌가?
손태원 경영대학장이 밝힌 제제 사유는 다음과 같다..
미래의 경영자가 될 경영학도들에게 공공장소에 알맞은 에티켓을 상기시키고 이를 지키도록 하자는 취지에서 안내문을 붙인 것이다.
이게 싸구려 옹고집이나 학자로서의 보수적 마인드라고 폄하할 수 있을까?
경영대가 무엇을 배우는 곳인가?
당신은 당신 스스로가 경영대 나와서 그와 상관없는 분야에서 일하거나, 심지어 노가다나 뛰는 밑바닥 인생일 수도 있다고 여길 지 모르지만,
교수님들 생각은 다르다..
제자들 하나 하나가 모두 이 나라 기업들의 경영자가 될 것이란 가정으로 지식을 전수하시는 것이며, 가르치는 입장에서 저런 의식은 매우 중요하다..
그런 대단하고 소중한 제자들에게 좀 더 일찍 경영자로서의 마인드를 심어주겠다는데, 이게 무작정 욕만 할 꺼리인가?
저 제제가 공대나 예술대에서 언급되었다면 반대했을 것이다..
하지만, 경영대라는 학문적 고유성을 감안하면 충분히 납득할 수 있는 조치이다..
더불어, 슬리퍼에 반바지 끌고 다니는 자유를 주장하는 경영대 학생회의 철부지들에게 묻고 싶다..
슬리퍼에 반바지를 신는 자유도 자유냐?
The reason why I approve of this regulation is that there should be the attitude of learning prior to college freedom and freedom of students. In addition, we should not disregard identity corresponding to school departments.
If you see students at drama and movie schools or design schools, it’s easy to run into students who look very distinctive, through accessories and piercing. But we don’t blame them. Because they study art, decorating themselves is important artistically and it is the manifestation of creativity. If we regard their appearance as students from drama and movie schools, it would be as simple as we think “the nature of college is freedom.’
The reason why the head of the business school made the decision on the regulation is explain below.
He wanted to let students at the business school know they should recognize appropriate etiquette, as people who will be future business managers. Can we belittle for cheap bigotry or having a conservative mind as a scholar? What do students at business school learn? They learn human relations…
You students can work in a place which is not related to your major. But professors’ ideas are is different. As the people who convey knowledge, each student is important. How can we blame those who would like to instill a business mindset in precious students?
If the regulation was on students at engineering or art schools, I would be against it. But it is understandable why the school made it for the business school. I would like to ask the business school students who insist on the freedom of shuffling around in slippers and shorts. Is that real freedom?
Another blogger commented,
물론 더우니까 그럴수 있겟죠 그런데 학교측에서 얘기하는건 아마 강의 들으러갈때겠죠?
대학이란게 자유의 상징 아닐까요? 라고 말하는 사람들이 많더군요
지킬게 많아지는게 당연한거 아닐까요
강의시간에 맨발 슬리퍼는 좀 아니죠
A blogger, Photohistory, joked that the school ought to be run explicitly as a traditional school.
참 어이가 없다. 지금 고등학생들 두발 규제한다는 사고방식조차도 맘에 안드는데 다큰 성인인 대학생들 복장규제까지 하려는 모습 이건 아니라고 생각이든다
왜 고등학생들에게 두발 규제를 하는가? 머리 빡빡 깎아 놓으면 탈선 하기 힘들거라서 그런다구? 그래도 할놈은 가발써가면서 한다. 그게 단지 머리 때문에 못한다는 생각은 단체포적 생각 아닌가 그리고 대학생들 복장규제는 뭔가.  자율의 대명사의 대학이란 곳을  이렇게 고등학교식 가르침으로 할려는것인가?
반바지 입고 슬리퍼 끌고 오는건 그 사람 인격이다.  그 복장이 남을 불쾌하게 하거나 불편함을 준다는것은 너무 자의적인 해석이다.  반바지와 양말없는 샌들같은거 신고 다닌다고 누군가는 불편하고 불쾌하겠지만 누군가에겐 시원하게 보인다고 칭찬받을수 있는 일이다. 그걸 교직원 눈으로 규제한다는 발상 자체가 문제다.
물론 너무 노출이 심한 의상은 피해야할것이다. 공부하러 도서실에 온건지 자기 몸매 자랑할려고 온건지 구분 못하는 학생들도 있기는 하다.  하지만 누구 한명 다가가서 생판 모르는 사람이  너 옷 꼬라지가 이게 뭐냐. 니가 술집 여자냐? 라고 말할수 있는가? 사람들은 말은 안하고 그 차림새로 사람을 판단할 뿐이고 그것도 각자 몫일것이다
노출이 심한걸 금지라는 단어보단  자제해 달라는 캠페인으로 해야 옳았을것이다. 강제적으로 출입금지란 푯말을 쓸것은 아니라고 본다.
차라리  한양대생들에게 교복을 입고 다니라고 해라.  고등학교처럼 말이다.
대학생에게 자율과 창의력을 길려줘야할 대학에서  사회에 잘 길들여지고 복종하는 인간형을 대량복제하는 시스템은 이런 학교 교직원과 교수들이 만들어 내고 있다고 본다.
그리고 요즘 대학생들  노출이 심하긴 심하다.  뭐라고 크게 할수는 없을것이다. 지들 입고 싶은대로 입는데 뭐라고 할건 아니지만   나는 학생이라는 개념은 가방안에 챙기고 다니길 바란다.
It depends on people whether they wear shorts and slippers. The outfit might make some people not comfortable and unpleasant. Others can think that it looks cool and they might compliment them. The problem is that the school interprets it as teaching staff’s minds. Of course, excessive exposure should be avoided. For some students it is hard to understand what their real purposes are at the library, whether they would like to study or to show off their body figure. But can people come close to the student whom they don’t know and say ‘what’s wrong with your clothes? Are you working at a bar?” People don’t say anything. We just judge them. That also depends on individuals.
The school should have made a campaign that appeals the students not to have excessive exposure. It should not have made the warning sign to control it. Then the school should have had school uniforms. Like high school.
Colleges should raise freedom and creativity among students. But school staff and professors try to make youngsters who can be obedient to society. I know college students now are rather excessive in their dressing. But what can we do? We can’t scold them, but I hope that they sometimes think about their status as students.
그래, 슬리퍼는 소리 딱딱 나고 질질 끌리는 소리때문에 그렇다고 치자. 반바지에 운동화가 왜 단정하지 않는건데? 무조건 긴바지에 운동화를 신어야 당연한건가?…무슨 고등학교도 아니고… 슬리퍼는 그렇다고 쳐도 반바지 건은 아니야. 마음대로 옷입을 수있는 권리를 해치다니, 기본권 침해야!

author: Hyejin Kim


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Malaysia: Rising Crime and Tourist Safety · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at 4896 bog does not know if he should laugh or cry at Malaysia Tourism director general's comments that Malaysia is safe for tourists.


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Malaysia: Trying the Fruit · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

“I picked up a piece and put it to my mouth, mildy surprised that the smell didn't put me off in the least. It was buttery, like the ripest, oiliest avocado mashed to the smoothest paste. I tasted a hint of butterscotch, a smidge of avocado, lots of sweetness, and something stronger, unidentifiable but not unpleasant.” Want to guess what South East Asian fruit the blogger is talking about.


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Myanmar: Birthday Wishes for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi · Global Voices
May Hnin Phyu

This week, many Myanmar Bloggers are celebrating and sending their wishes for Burmese Opposition Leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's 62nd Birthday on the 19th June 2007.
For years, the country's famous pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has to celebrate her birthday under house arrest; every year people wishes for her release but till now all the wishes are in vain. It is agonizing to see years after years of her resistant and suffering for the faith of the country. Her persistent is deeply admired and the respect for her grows in the hearts of many Myanmar youth.
Aung San Suu Kyi (image byStephen Brookes)
Many of the bloggers have written the poems, essays, good will wishes and show her their earnest support.
Here are some of the posts of notice.
Poems:
Wishes:
Essays:
It is interesting to see how people address her over the years. She was known as the Daughter of the Union of Myanmar, The Voice of Hope, The Lady and many other praises. For this 62nd Birthday, many bloggers addressed her as the Mother of the country.
Aung San Suu Kyi's Home at No 54 University Avenue in Yangoon. (image byStephen Brookes)
Meanwhile, Burmanet reported that the special reinforced securities have been applied near her house to control her birthday celebration.
Three NLD’s members who attended the celebration were arrested by authorities, he added.
Sources in Rangoon said that authorities began reinforcing security near Suu Kyi’s Inya lakeside residence and extended barbed wire
barricades on her street since Monday night.
Other NLD members in Shwebo in Mandalay Division also were threatened by a military-backed mob that threw stones at the Mandalay
NLD office and placed sharp rivets that can puncture a motorbike’s tire on a road near the building, according to Tint Tint, an NLD
member.
For “The Lady” with prayers and wishes, hope you have a peaceful birthday.

author: May Hnin Phyu


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Nicaragua: Why Do So Few Blog? · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Nicaragua Y Su Blog [ES] wonders why so few people blog in Nicaragua?  Responses came from the Nicaraguan Facebook group where some of the existing bloggers gave their thoughts on the matter.


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Nigeria: discussing Nigeria-Italy sex trafficking · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Nigerian blogger, Leslie Ibeanusi, writes about Nigeria-Italy sex trafficking: “I continued. “Are we going to target traffickers who are luring these girls here?” The room really went quiet this time.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Pakistan: Meeting women · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Islamabad has an interesting primer for men looking to meet women in the city – venues range from coffee shops in book stores, gyms etc., with a note that the women you meet at parties may not be the ones you can “take home to mom”.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Pakistan: No Sir for Salman · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Pakistani Spectator on why the knighthood conferred upon Salman Rushdie is not acceptable.


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Palestine: 7.5m Palestinian Refugees  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian blogger Umm Khalil, who lives in the US, marks World Refugee Day with a post  which says there are 7.5 million Palestinian refugees and internationally displaced persons.


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Palestine: Baghdad Orphanage Horror · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian Pundit Tony draws our attention to a Baghdad orphanage horror here.
“24 boys were found naked and lying on concrete floors, covered in their own excrement, flies and sores. Some were near death..” reads the report, which has heart breaking pictures of the orphans.


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Palestine: Heroic Battle Tale · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Journalist and blogger Charles Levinson , who  is based Jerusalem, narrates the story of a Fateh security guard who was shot by Hamas militants and rescued by a man in a donkey cart. Eight out of the guard's 12 companions were killed.


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Palestine: What’s Left of the Palestinian Dream?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian Haitham Sabbah links to an Al Jazeera programme on Palestine and asks: What's Left of the Palestinian Dream?


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Paraguay: Scarce Internet Use · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Elyacare [ES] links to a recent report about internet use in Paraguay, which found that only 3 in 100 Paraguayans utilize the net and that the country found itself at the bottom in information technology in the region.


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Russia: Detective Novel Review · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Edward Lucas posts a review of Martin Cruz Smith's detective novel set in Russia.


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Russia, EU: Visa Regime · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

As the EU eases its visa regime with Russia, TOL's Steady State writes about those who don't seem to appreciate this initiative.


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Russia: Grigori Yavlinsky · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

No single candidate for Russia's “liberal opposition” – Mark MacKinnon reports on Grigori Yavlinsky's decision to run for president in 2008: “Can he really be this vain and out of touch with reality? […] A decent man, who might have been Russian president if the Russian people admired him even half as much as the Western media did in the 1990s.”


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Sri Lanka: On Education · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Unfettered Dreams on the state of education in Sri Lanka, and the need for graduates who can perform.


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Sri Lanka: Tamilnet Blocked · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

ICT for Peacebuilding on the ban on Tamilnet in Sri Lanka. Lanka Libertarian on bypassing the ban.


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Sudan: what drives Khartoum? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Alex de Waal discusses the question, “What drives Khartoum?”


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Tajikistan: Who’s the Target? · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Vadim asks who exactly was targeted in recent bombings in Tajikistan.


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Turkey is Typing…Sex Matters · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

The equality of the sexes has been a topic on the fingertips of Turkish bloggers as of late.  Even with reforms to the penal code about a woman's right to veil (or not to), a woman's freedom of body, and stricter repercussions for rape, the equality between man and woman in Turkey is still contested.  The legacy of Ataturk‘s secular reforms when the Republic of Turkey was founded has given the country the veneer of female equality…but with probing questions does the polish wear away?
Mustafa Akyol from The White Path has a wonderful set of articles on the post-patriarchal society of Turkey, where he discusses the history of Turkish feminism and why it has been stunted by the very reforms that were meant to foster it.
When I told her that I was reading a report which shows that Turkey is making great progress in women's rights and the AKP government is helping that, she was first surprised, then defiant, and finally counter-attacking. “Who is financing that report,” she asked, “it must be the EU who spreads these lies.”
By saying so, she was just confirming to me a crucial point made in the ESI report – that, “Kemalist women… are the out of touch with the reality of contemporary Turkey.”
To understand why, one needs to look at a bit of history. A standard story in Turkey is that our women were in total darkness before Atatürk, and his reforms gave them all that they needed. But that is a half-truth. Atatürk of course made many important reforms, but there are other facts which one needs to realize in order to get the sex matters right.
One of those facts is the feminist movement in the pre-Atatürk, i.e., Ottoman, era. As the ESI report also notes, Ottoman feminists – such as Ms. Fatma Nesibe, who used to quote from John Stuart Mill and argue for a “feminine revolution” – addressed the gender gap much before the Turkish Republic. In the last decade of the Ottoman Empire, societies emerged with names like Taal-i Nisvan or Müdafaa-i Hukuk-u Nisvan, or “The Advancement of Women” and “The Defense of the Rights of Women.”
When Atatürk came to power, he gave many important rights to women, but he did something that would be very harmful in the long term: He closed down these feminist clubs. Why? Well, it was due to the widespread belief at the time that the state should be the master of society and orchestrate it authoritatively. (For the same reason, Mustafa Kemal also banned Sufi orders and freemason lodges; civil society was considered dangerous or, at best, useless.)
Turkish Diary adds her voice in response to a recent article about women's rights in Turkey and how the debate between Secularism and Islamism figures into the situation:
What strikes me in the second chapter is the last part: one of the two periods in the whole history of the Turkish Republic when women saw major improvements starts in 2001. Which, as you know, is the period when the Akp, the “Islamist” party, went to power.
Please don't get me wrong. I know I may look like a fan of Akp. I'm not. I mean, I'm fully aware of their many faults – not only in the last weeks – and I know they are far from being the solution to Turkey's problems. But I must recognise Turkey has made lots of improvements under their rule.
Now that I have made this point clear, let me go back to the subject of this post. A couple of years ago, in Istanbul, I met the leader of a feminist organization. One of the things she said that stroke me most was: “There are two kinds of discriminated women in Turkey: those who don't want to wear the headscarf, and are forced to; and those who want to wear the headscarf, and are forced not to”.
Of course, one could think that a headscarf is just a piece of tissue and that women have far worse problems to think of. But don't forget that Atatürk, just to abolish the fez, didn't hesitate to kill the men who wore it. For women who wear the headscarf, this may mean not having access to university. Or renouncing a political career. Is this fair?
Now, I have heard many arguments against the Islamic headscarf in public places. None of them ever convinced me, in Turkey or in France. While I heard women who are against the scarf but, in spite of that, think that the France law against it is one of the most stupid things the French government could have done. One of them is Nobel Prize (winner) Shirin Ebadi. I agree one hundred per cent with them.
I won't go into details on this specific issue, I only want to point out that the “Islamist” party many are so afraid of is the one that, according to a European think-tank, has made the biggest improvements in the condition of women ever.
Spooky Sense by Garfucius doesn't hold back his opinions on what it means when a woman voluntarily wears the veil or turban:
covering up makes woman socially recognizable namely by the sexual favors her gender implies. conversely, covering up is the only way she can avoid being just that. a woman covers up because she believes she then stops being a sexual entity, except for the husband/male who practically owns her. concealment denies any “illicit” man, driven only by sex in the hermeneutics of his life, a chance to conceive of her as an instrument to be enjoyed. a türban signifies that a woman willingly submits to an oppressive dress code because she agrees to the hermeneutics that she is by nature and god's will, afflicted with the curse of representing a sexual being, or a being only definable by her sexuality!
in iran or saudia, such acquiescence may be coerced out of women. in turkey, in a much worse manner, it is quite often voluntary. “türban politics”, especially by men but by women, too, is an admission that the particular individual concerned with open vistas of the feminine is guided more by what lies between the legs than what lies between the ears. therefore, (s)he is dangerous for the mental health of the public in general.
i feel closer to the school of opinion that claims the türban and similar religious dress codes (***) will gradually fade away if not fade out, as modernization progresses. therefore, i believe gül's statement that “türban can be made more modern” does in fact, reveal a new concern among the religious “circles” that “modernity is necessary”.
In a slightly different twist, Me and Others writes about a disturbing conversation that he had with a male friend about his female boss:
today i was involved in a very interesting chat about a woman working in a client company of ours. the woman demands too much of a job in a needlesy short time which causes problems here. people sometimes work extra hours just to fulfill her (her company's actually) demands and it turns out that they need the end-product the next week.
so it was a complaining department that took place, and i think it is quite normal to criticize this situation. but all of a sudden the subject of the chat became the big round beautiful ass of the woman. well, to some extent i think it is perfectly ok for men to talk about the beautiful asses of women. after all, we cant deny, we men are animals.
but even though it was half joking, the conversation became ugly. one of the guys started to speak out what he would like to the with the woman. he said that the woman even hit on him once. i tried to remind him that she is married, and he replied “so what, i am married too.” and kept on talking about his fantasies about her.
Of course, this discussion of equality isn't on the forefront of all Turkish bloggers, let alone the female ones: Turkey and My Foreign Perspectives contends that there is equality and defends the rights and roles on the Turkish family, and our girls on the town Idil from Ignore Me If You Can and The Chronicles of a Turkish Girl talk about their active dating lives.  So this leaves the question, is this an important debate or not?  You tell me.
Top Links of the Week:
1. Ignore Me If You Can writes of a recent blogger meeting with Erkan's Field Diary and others.
2. Mavi Boncuk gives a review for a new book about Turkish society: The Person You Have Called Cannot Be Reached At The Moment.
3. Carpetblogger tackles the ceremonies for male circumcision in Turkey.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Ukraine: Kurkov’s Novel · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Music and Life – Everywhere! writes about “The President's Last Love” by Andrey Kurkov: “unfortunately, of course, surreal in Ukraine is probably real.”


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Venezuela: “Bolivarian” Computers For the Region · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Venezuela Analysis takes a closer look at the Bolivarian Computers, which will be produced by the Venezuelan government for use in the country and sale across the region.


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Afghanistan: Kuchi-Hazara Dustup · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Ronin reports that the recent clash between Hazaras and Kuchis in Afghanistan has been resolved with the Kuchis withdrawing to Pashtun land.


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Arabeyes: Arabs Should Talk to Each Other Rather than the West  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Arabs should open up avenues of dialogue amongst themselves before starting conversations with Europeans and the West, writes Batir Wardam from Jordan.
Why? He explains his stance in the following post, where he sheds light on why Arabs cannot communicate with each other, let alone with those of different opinions in their own countries.


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Armenia: Colorful Cranes · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Artur speculates that the reason more and more tourists are coming to Yerevan is to see all the colorful cranes.


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Bahamas: The Importance of Preservation  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It's hard to explain why we in the Bahamas are so indifferent to our own fascinating heritage,” writes Bahama Pundit‘s Larry Smith, as he makes a case for the preservation of historical buildings in Nassau.


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Bahamas: Understanding Race  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Nicolette Bethel maintains that productive discussion about race cannot happen “without understanding, and making peace with our past”.  And Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com joins the debate.


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Bahrain: Thoughts on the One Per Cent  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger emoodz gives us his two cents on a new scheme to introduce the dole in Bahrain.


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Barbados: CARICOM Meets With Bush  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

CARICOM leaders are meeting with US President George Bush as part of the Conference on the Caribbean – Barbados Free Press wants to know why their island's print and broadcast news media failed to report on “a major statement on CARICOM press freedoms by OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza”.


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Bulgaria, Libya: Tripoli Six Update · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Declan Butler posts an update on the Tripoli Six case: “This morning, Libya’s Supreme Court heard the appeal of the six. There will be no further hearings, and it will rule on 11 July.”


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Central Asia: Peak Oil · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Bonnie Boyd explains what peak oil has to do with Central Asian states and warns that they must use petrodollars to build a foundation for the future.


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China: Beijing Billboard  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Imagethief notices that Beijing city always managed to paint the city billboards for major city event, such as Sino-africa summit. Recently the city government put down many billboards due to “poor construction”: The conspiracy minded among us (Mrs. Imagethief) believe that entire scheme is a ruse to claim Beijing's most valuable billboard space for Olympic advertising or Olympic-related propaganda.


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China: Online discussion on slave labour · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Bingfeng observes some interesting features in the online discussion of slave labour despite the government censorship instruction.


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Colombia:  Pixelazo New Media Urban Lab and Medellín Blogger Meetup · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Colombia has been enjoying a flurry of new media-related activities. Last week was the MedalloBloguero (the city of Medellin´s blog community) beers and blogs, where Colombian bloggers in the city got to meet each other, talk, and share drinks. A guest visitor from Bogota, Victor Solano took pictures and posted a slideshow of the event.
Another new project is the new Colombia Podcast website created by Juan Ospina, which not only has an amazing list of Colombian  podcasts, but also has interviews with the creators of some of the most popular Colombian podcasts, and includes guides to using, making and uploading your own online products.
June also brought the 2nd edition of Pixelazo, continuing the process  begun last February.  This time. the workshops are taking place in the Comuna 2, Barrio Santa Cruz la Rosa.  Juhuu from Pixelache, who's visiting Medellín from Finland wrote:
The first Pixelazo workshop (VJ workshop by Visual Systeemi) started today in Barrio Santa Cruz la Rosa in Medellin, Colombia. Rest of the program this week features a workshop on blogging by Alejandro Tamayo & Régine Debatty, music workshop by Bicho Vargas (Bogota), streaming workshop by Antena Mutante (Bogota), three conferences with presentations by Medellín Wireless, recycling project eRECICLAJE, radio and other media projects of indigenous tribe Nasa and many others… The week finishes with two fiestas featuring local acts like Systema Solar  and demonstrations of the music and VJ workshops results.
The streaming workshop has a blog where there will be a live transmission during the event on Saturday June 23rd [ES]:
Taller teórico-practico, que pretende dar las herramientas básicas de streaming durante la preparación de una transmisión. Para esto se proponen cuatro jornadas de trabajo que incluirán la preparación de material de audio y video, conceptos teóricos de flujo de información y de las redes, además de la capacitación técnica necesaria para llevar acabo un stream. El taller culminará con una transmisión desde el Parque de las Luces durante el evento El Pixelazo Bailable a realizarse sábado 23 de junio.
The theoretic-practical workshop aspires to provide the basic tools for streaming while preparing for transmission. For this, there will be four days of work which will include the preparation of audio and video material, theory on information flow, networks and the technical know-how necessary to stream. The workshop will end with a live transmission from the “Park of Lights” during the Pixelazo Dance to take place on Saturday June 23rd.
Following is a short video interview  with Pixelazo organizer Vanessa Gocksch from Intermundos [ES],  edited by Jorge from  Fábrica de Cosas [ES]:
The Pixelazo Blog Workshop blog is up and running.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Cuba: Pirates of the Caribbean?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Child of the Revolution blogs about author Tariq Ali's promotional tour of Australia.


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Damaged Arab Music · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Nothing has damaged music and arts in the Arab world more than Prince Walid Bin Talal,”  writes Dr Asad Abu Khalil or the Angry Arab.


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Eastern & Central Europe: U.S. States’ GDPs · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

U.S. states have been renamed for countries with similar GDPs and the new map has been posted at Strange Maps: Russia is New Jersey, Ukraine is Idaho, Belarus is Alaska, Poland is Missouri, Czech Republic is Nebraska, Hungary is New Mexico, Romania is Delaware, Croatia is South Dakota.


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Egypt: Blair Special Envoy? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Egypt, Issandr El Amrani announces that outgoing UK Prime Minister Tony Blair may become a special Middle East envoy.


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Egypt: Blogger is Released, Court Case to Block 50 Blogs, Press Attacked By Bloggers and More · Global Voices
Freedom For Egyptians

In this week’s round-up from Egypt, Big Pharaoh is back, bloggers are unhappy with the Press, a blogger who was arrested last week is now free, public opinion is not taken on top movies, and finally a court case in motion to block and shut down 50 blogs and websites.
Big Pharaoh is Back: Egyptian blogger Big Pharaoh who has been away for sometime for work-related reasons is back to the blogoshphere. He is one of the most popular Egyptian bloggers who writes in English. Big pharaoh in this blog post is publishing a video that reveals aggression against citizens in police stations. Bloggers in Egypt are contributing to a campaign against violence by publishing videos shot in police stations. One of those videos led to the trial of one of the police officers who is now awaiting a final sentence in July. Welcome back Big Pharaoh, do not stop blogging!
Bloggers are Unhappy with the Press: Arabawy and Wael Abbass are expressing their unhappiness with one of the Egyptian independent daily newspapers. Al-Masry Al-Youm is one of Egypt's papers that has won quite good amount of credibility, however Arabawy and Abbass believe that its performance has hit very low rates.  Arabawy says:
“What was once my favorite independent daily, Al-Masry Al-Youm has become a nightmare to read, with an increasing tendency towards fabrications and sensationalism…”
Abbass believes that the editorial policy of Al-Masry Al-Youm became controversial and that bloggers’ news is fabricated which was not the case before. He wrote that some articles published recently were belittling the bloggers’ efforts.
Arrested Blogger is Released: Manfe blog reported that Omar El-Sharkway, who was arrested last week, is now free.  Manfe wrote a thank you message on behalf of El-Sharkawy to thank everyone who showed him support.
And in interview with Omar on Manfe blog, he says that on the day of the Shura Council elections he finished his work and out of curiosity he went to his polling station with his camera. His intention was to photograph any breaching committed by the security. He took pictures for the employees filling in the voting cards on behalf of the voters. He also took pictures for the security officers hindering citizens from entering the polling station to cast their ballot.  On his way out, he said in the interview that he was stopped by a police officer because one of the employees told the officer he was taking pictures for them. And at this point he says “I was kidnapped by the Egyptian police.”
The good news is that Omar El-Sharkawy now is free. I would like to congratulate him on his courage. At the very end of the interview when asked if he will continue to blog and investigate, he answered that he will continue to blog and he wishes that his blog becomes a heard voice to disclose anything that can hurt Egypt.
No Public Opinion on Movies: Zeinobia is commenting on the Egyptian daily newspaper Al-Ahram's review that picked the top old 15 movies of the Egyptian movie industry based on some critics’ choices. Zeinobia is wondering why comedies are denied. The movie industry has great comedies, according to the blog post. Most of the picked movies are too serious and dramatic. Zeinobia is also very surprised that critics who picked those movies did not consider the public opinion or take the readers’ opinions as the case with most world papers and magazines.
Court case to Block 50 blogs and Websites might be Rejected: And I am ending my weekly round-up on a positive note from Egypt Watchman's blog. Few months ago, a judge filed a court case to block and shut down 50 blogs and websites because he thinks they threaten Egypt’s interests and bring its reputation down. The court asked for a report to investigate the request and those sites. Egypt Watchman says that the report mentioned that the judge is not entitled to file such a case in court in the first place.  He adds that this case is one of the manifestations of the war in Egypt on the freedom of expression on the internet that has started with sentencing Karim Amer to four years in prison and with the recent random detentions of bloggers in Egypt.
I will leave here with this semi-good news and see you all next week!

author: Freedom For Egyptians


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Egypt: Different Muslim Brotherhoods · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

How many baskets should you put the Muslim Brotherhood into? Issandr El Amrani from The Arabist answers that question here.


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First Night Against Françafrique · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Vous reprendrez bien un peu d'humanisme? announces “‘First Night Against Françafrique” (Fr) on Zalea TV.

author: Jennifer Brea


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Honduras: An Eye for an Eye · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Aaron Ortiz of Pensieve writes about the fate of convicted murders in an Honduran prison, who fell victim to the prison codes.


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India: No Touching · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A school in India bans touching, kissing or holding hands on campus. 2x3x7 on the restriction, and how it provides a great opportunity to “seamlessly blend the two great themes of adolescence – rebellion and sex”.


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India: Stereotypes and Veils · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Indian Muslim Blog on the controversy surrounding a Presidential candidate's comments on the veils and the Mughals.


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India: The veil and the Mughals · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

varnam on the controversy surrounding a Presidential candidate who stated that the veil was introduced to India by the Mughals.


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Iran:”Go kill yourself” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Arosak Kooki writes [Fa]that a worker in Rasht committed suicide.He did not get paid for several months and he could not survive anymore.When he asked his boss for his money,the factory owner told him “go kill yourself”, I have no money!The blogger says that in Islamic Republic in the name of privatization,factories have been sold to government-appointed managers.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:How susceptible are bloggers in the Diaspora to arrest? · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian Truth writes given the recent arrests of four Iranian-Americans due to their statements and activities in the US, I think it is relevant to ask how susceptible bloggers in the Diaspora are to arrest if they visit or return to Iran.


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Iran:Juvenile Executions,a Record · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian Woman says according to HRW,Iran holds the deplorable distinction of leading the world in juvenile executions, and the authorities should end this practice at once.


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Iran:Khatami says he did not shake hands,really? · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mohammad Khatami, former president, denies that he shaked hands with several Italian women.He also added the video film showing him shaking hands with Italian women is fake.This video film was visited by 61000 people on You Tube.The Italian man who has made this film,says the film is real and explains his point of view in Sounds Iranian.


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Iraq: The Missing Link · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Is there a link between Al Qaeda and Iran? Iraqi blogger Mohammed attempts to establish a link here.


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Japan: Pearl Harbor Never Happened · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Soon after the denial of the existence of forced prostitution (comfort woman), 100 lawmakers in Japan denied the history of a surprise attack by Japanese soliders on the U.S. Pacific Fleet in 1941 and demanded that photographs portraying the Japanese military in a negative light be removed from U.S. war memorials -more from neomarxisme's satirical report.


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Korea: Rubber Shoes Redesigned · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Verena from Pingmag showed a number of design works from the Korean rubber shoes redesign project commissioned by last year’s Seoul Design Festival.


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Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome · Global Voices
Salam Adil

Photo of Moon and Planet over Baghdad by Marshmallow26
“To light a candle is much better than cursing the darkness.”
So signed off Ausama on his last video for Hometown Baghdad.
Today I will concentrate my post on reactions to the second bombing of the shrine in Samarra. An event that has provoked much speculation among Iraqi bloggers. The first bombing proved to be a juncture in the ongoing war in Iraq and the second may prove just as critical, so it important to record responses here. That is not all, there is also Iraqi food and if you read to the end, which is the most sectarian blog ever? But first..
My heartfelt condolences goes goes to Ausama for the loss of his uncle. Killed by American soldiers while returning home from the market. We hear of so many accidental killings by American soldiers of Iraqis but no news report ever lets you feel the devastation and anger at such a needless loss. Which is why video blogs like Hometown Baghdad are so critical to understanding the true meaning and pointlessness of the American military presence in Iraq. Ausama's mother says:
We used to like the American people we used to believe they are good people but by force, by military action, not the best will come.
The last time the the Askariya Shrine was attacked it heralded a wave of reprisals across the country along with a wave of comment from Iraqi blogs. This time around the blogs are still buzzing.
New blogger Mohammed of Last-of-Iraqis reports the ensuing violence giving details that you simply do not hear in the  media:
I was in the dental office when I heard about this from my senior, he said that I should go home now because the streets are so troubled, so I decided to go home, when I was in the street I realized that the streets are really troubled and scary, I took a cab and went straight home and as I reached, the sounds of explosions didn't stop, I think they were mortars falling everywhere mixed with the sounds of ambulances and police patrols, it's really scary in Baghdad now. I wish it will settle down soon with the minimum casualties.
He provides updated reports and the whole post and its following post on the reprisal attacks against Shia and Sunni Mosques make essential reading.
Eye Raki is almost losing hope with the Americans and the Iraqi Government:
I have always said that removing Saddam Hussein was the best option for Iraq… It's just the manner of both the US and Iraqi government that worries me… they are making mistakes and they should learn from them. When one of the holiest shrines in Iraq gets blown to bits, if you can't re-build it … the very least you can do is make sure things like that don't happen again. The terrorists simply came back over a year later and finished the job.
Shaqawa echoes the same sentiment. He quotes Ayatollah Sistani, “If the government cannot protect the shrine then someone else should.” He also explains his view on the mentality of the bombers:
the terrorists want to tell the Shi’a “We hate you, we hate your religion and your imams.” They want to kill all Shi’a. They want to tell us that nothing good will ever happen for the Shi’a.
And Hammorabi goes two steps further. While blaming the bombing on the failure of the occupation forces, he suggests that they should leave and a military government should replace the current democracy:
Democracy like the one in Iraq is more dangerous than military roles for the country. Iraq may need a strong leader to withhold it rather than weak chaotic politicians.
Several bloggers vent their anger at those behind the bombing of the Shrine. Iraq Mojo cannot believe those people call themselves Muslims. April Girl asks angry questions:
There are 6,601,676,326 ways to God. (Right now.) That many ways to worship, to think, to talk, to act, to take in this world. Has that not been realized? …
What is going on? Do you not believe you are walking on the One True Path? Is that not enough? Does your path force you to hurt, rape, murder and destroy this planet?
What is going on? Isn't your faith beautiful? Isn't that enough? Why bother other people who don't believe in the things you do? What is your problem? What do you want from them?
What is going on? Are you not right?! Aren't you satisfied with that? Let people be! As long as we don't harm each other then why don't people just let people be?!?!
Why do you bomb a Holy site that has been there since the 10th century? Do you think we care about bricks and mortar and gold? Do you think it is the physical building that is the cause of people's faith? Destroy that and you've crumbled the Shias of Mohammad? The Shias of God? Is your gray matter that atrophied?? In what state of Soul are you??? Sorry, do you even have one is the question. Nasty human beings.
And, Neurotic Wife saves her loathing for all the parties that “have ruined this once historic and divine place” and blames the neighbouring countries:
This war is about Iraqis themselves. This war is about destroying Iraq and everything it represents. The so called friendly neighbours, who keep promising to help out are themselves the criminals. They are supplying the militias and the gangs with deadly weapons. Not one of them wants Iraq to be stable, not one of them wants Iraq to prosper. This war is no longer about the occupation. This war is a deadly war, A Deadly War of the Devils….
But I will not end on a sour note. After emerging from the inevitable curfew following the bombing, Chikitita was surprised by what she saw:
On the trip back home, we dropped by the drugstore and kind of liked what we saw. Baghdadis strangely wore smiles on their faces, I thought I’d never see those again. Shops were bustling. People are reverting to their Iraqi manners, mum noted, referring to a policeman who helped a woman get into a minibus. This too was non-existent few weeks ago.
Mum’s words reminded me of what she once told me, you’ll never know which people are good and which ones are bad until you’re struck by a crippling crisis.
Ah, a couple of posts on my (and probably every Iraqi's) favourite subject. I have spent many dinner parties discussing the intricacies of Iraqi dates or the Noomi Heloo (an Iraqi citrus fruit) or finding the English name for Iraqi foods (anyone know the nearest thing to ‘botnich'?). Fatima is in America and tries hard to make the food she likes but:
after trying to make that perfect cup of tea after cup of tea, and after a few attempts at making a yummy dish of eggs, I have finally come to the conclusion that it just tastes better over there!
Hala_S talks about Iraqi food starting with the Pomegranate:
For me the sight of pomegranates takes me years and years back to my childhood when these fruits would stay in the basket untouched till my dear mother wash them, take the seeds out and put them in a large bowl in the fridge. …
Poor Brits, they think they are eating pomegranates, while in fact they are eating something that looks like them, but far from the real taste, I wish they can try the ones grown in Baqouba or Karbala, they will know then that they’ve been cheated out of their money and taste!
This goes for nearly every other fruit or vegetable. Tomatoes are the best example, you find cherry tomatoes, beef tomatoes, plum tomatoes and tomatoes on vine leaves, and really they should be called cherry plastics or plum plastics. Where are they from our shapeless, disfigured, dented and full of spots ones? Our ugly tomatoes full of juice and flavour will put all others in shame!
I once paid a fortune in an Italian restaurant to eat samples of few truffles brought all the way from Tuscany in Italy, and were served to me in such a fuss as if I was about to eat pieces of gold!
Oh my dear Iraq, if only they’ve tasted your muddy truffles that we used to buy in big sacs and spent ages to clean.
We the people of Iraq are exactly like our crops! Rough, tough, harsh and scarred, but once you open them up, you see the real flavour of kindness, generosity and genuineness.
After Konfused Kid labelled The Shaqawa as the ‘Most Sectarian Blog Ever’, Shaqawa has been wearing it as a badge of pride. He even made his own logo (pictured left).
Salam Adil (that's me) reviewed another contender. On his qualification points of reverence for the sect's leaders and pathological hatred of the opposition, Salam passes the award to Layla Anwar. He writes:
After Layla's fawning letter to Saddam and labelling of Basra as an Iranian enclave; I am sorry Shaqawa you are going to have to hand over your award!
But Shaqawa is having none of it. He writes:
I will have to say that I will never give my award to this Layla. Of course you know that the Saddam lovers and Ba’thists stole everything in Iraq and made Iraq into a big prison. They took everything and still were cheered by so many people and even today many Arabs and Sunnis will praise Saddam. Well after stealing so much now their hero Saddam is dead and buried in his dirty village. And the stealing days of the Ba’thists are almost done. Ba’thists in Iraq are almost done. May all of them see Saddam’s end as a warning. Iraq is for Iraqis, not Ba’thists. Even an online award, I will not give it to a dirty Ba’thist and lover of Saddam.
So, no contest then. But I do not see why we should stop at Iraq. What other blogs would qualify for this award?

author: Salam Adil


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Mongolia: Firefighter Tragedy · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Tom Terry writes that while many in the United States are grieving the deaths of 9 firefighters in South Carolina, many in Mongolia are mourning the deaths of 14 firefighters who perished when their helicopter crashed while taking them to fight a blaze in a rural area.


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Myanmar: Leadership Skill Training Workshop · Global Voices
May Hnin Phyu

Non-profit organization, The Searchers, has successfully attained the certificates for the first ever Basic Leadership Skill Training program given to them. Melody Maung posted some of the photos of the event.


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Nepal: Maoists and the Press · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

United We Blog! on the attempts of Maoists forces in Nepal to intimidate the press.


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Pakistan: On encroachments · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Islamabad takes a rather harsh view on urban encroachments.


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Peru: Blogger Reaction to Cameron Diaz Visit · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Juan Arellano of Globalizado [ES]collects blogger reaction to actress Cameron Diaz’ visit to Cuzco, which caused quite a media frenzy.


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Poland: Email Joke · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

An email joke on “the only way any sort of controversial programming can make it on TV” in Poland – at Eternal Remont.


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Proud Myanmarese without Electricity? · Global Voices
May Hnin Phyu

\Steve Evergreen wonders why most part of Burma doesn't get a regular supply of electricity while billions of dollars are made from gas sales. “Forget about small towns in Burma. Even in large cities like Yangon and Mandalay, electricity supply is very irregular.”


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Russia: Aleksandr Baurov · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Romantic reports on another prominent Russian Gypsy: Aleksandr Baurov.


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Russia: June 22, 1941 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“Statistics show that the memory of June 22, 1941 is being forgotten by Russia’s younger generation,” writes Sean's Russia Blog about the day on which Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union began.


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Russia: Kadyrov on Putin · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog highlights Ramzan Kadyrov's views on Putin and democracy: “Why can Kazakhstan have a president-for-life? Or Turkmenistan? Why can't Russia have one too?”


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South Korea: the Mismatch between an Imagined North Korea and the Real Role of the USFK · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

An article posted at SavePTfarmer on the imagined North Korea threat for creating a state-of-the-art “strategic hub” south of Seoul in accordance with the United States’ plan for the realignment and strategic flexibility of the USFK.


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Sri Lanka: A Ministry for every one · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Indi.ca has a rather angry post, directed at the growing number of ministries to keep members of the Parliament loyal to the President, in a country torn by conflict.


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Sri Lanka: Being young through War and Peace · Global Voices
Mathy Kandasamy

Sayanthan, a talented Sri Lankan Tamil blogger based in Switzerland is famous for his entertaining podcasts. His blog is usually full of enthralling anecdotes. Today, he posted a thought provoking post on young people and their way of dealing with the conflict in Sri Lanka.
A translation of Sayanthan‘s post is particularly poignant as we think of the the experiences of refugees, and those torn by war and conflict in various parts of the world. Sayanthan in this post explains why it appears as though the younger generation concentrates mainly on “fun”, and how the conflict has stolen some very precious aspects of being young. He laments a similar fate for the next generation. He focuses on an experience that lasted for a brief period, when the possibility of peace gave him and his friends a chance to enjoy themselves despite the conflict.
வலைப் பதிவுகளில் நானும் சோமியும் அவ்வப் போது ஐந்து சதத்திற்கும் பெறுமதியில்லாத ஏதாவது ஒன்றைப் பற்றி, நகைச்சுவையை மட்டும் மையப்படுத்தி அளவளாவுவோம். என்னை ஒரு மொக்கைப் பதிவு மன்னன் ஆகப் பிரகடனப்படுத்தும் அளவிற்கு அவை இருந்து வந்துள்ளன….
But, have any of you thought why we engage in such ‘fun-stuff'? Have you ever wondered why the younger generation who had been thrown to the four-corners concentrate mainly on the ‘fun-stuff’ when they get together, be it on the Net or in person?
Lets look at how life was 40-50 years ago. Even though things were hot in the political arena, day-to-day life was quite peaceful then. Today's elders, then one-time youth would have done everything appropriate for their age. They would have had a bunch of school friends who would have grown together. They would have visited parks, beaches and theaters together. Would have had point-less conversations with friends. Most importantly, they would have roamed about without any fear.
Did we get those opportunities?
The land was already burning when we were born. We had to check for curfew timings on our way to kinder-garden school. Every year, we had to re-locate and there-by lose friends. 10 years without electricity, bombed out cinema-theaters, towns going to sleep by 8 p.m., lives without any guarantees. These are, but a few things we endured in our lives.
But, I did not lament about any of these things before. Not until a few years ago, when we enjoyed a glimmer of peace.
It was mid-2004.
My friends and I were in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. That was a Jaffna I'd never before seen in my life. It was not enduring peace, but just a hope of peace. But even that was enough to make us happy.
We ate bread-and-meat_curry in the beach. We crossed army camps without any fears of being caught. Saw opposing sides laughing together. Looked upon the military personnel, who did not demand any identity cards, with affection. We drank toddy in the middle of the night. Sang at the top of the voice, in the middle of the road at midnight without any fear. Similarly in Colombo, we enjoyed travelling without any check-posts. Weaved tales in the Galle-face beach hours past midnight. And threw away those dreaded police resident-records.
I experienced joy filled war-less peaceful life in those few days. I then, lamented the lost years. And envied the youth of yesteryears.
War and ethnic strife has plucked away those care-free times from us. We lost all our enjoyable experiences to war.
Here I am, years past the years that could be spent on adolescent fun-filled activities. But whenever I see my scattered friends in one place, all of us fill ourselves with teasing talks, chats and pointless arguments. This happens wherever and whenever friends get together. It's unavoidable.
Peace has hidden its face once more. It's back to war, death, kidnappings, identity cards, bombings, shell attacks.
Over in Sri Lanka, the next generation is doomed to experience what we did. They will lose friends, conversations, beaches, parks..
War-less life. How beautiful it is!

author: Mathy Kandasamy


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Taiwan: 《Voyage 15840》– the photo book powered by migrant worker · Global Voices
Pipper Lee

Voyage, means a period of trip to anywhere. 15840, it is the minimum wage for workers in Taiwan. However, for migrant workers in Taiwan, it means the “maximum”. By naming Voyage 15840, TIWA (Taiwan International Workers’ Association) gathered all the photo works from 19 migrant workers in Taiwan. They published the photo book to voice out what migrant worker saw while working in Taiwan, the humanity, and the society.
On June 3, all migrant workers gathered to celebrate. By announcing the first photo book published, there were also some dances and other activities volunteered from other groups. In addition, all the 19 photographers staged on to give a short talk for their excitement and deep gratitude. Grace, who previously had basic trainings in art in her home town the Philippines, indicated that she is very happy to express her true feelings to others via those photo works. Another photographer, Gonzalez was first amazed at himself as the only male who had attended and said, “Photography is great! I want to show my works to all my family and friends when I am back to my home town!”
影像出處：台灣國際勞工協會
In Taiwan, we always have the stereo type on migrant workers of being black, dirty, noisy and in crowds because of the gap/barriers of languages and cultures. We resent them as we believe they are robbing our work opportunities. Also, in the press, they are shown as very poor and pitiful or hateful. The chief business assistant and director of photo workshop, Wu Jing-Ru, criticized, “In the past few months, we heard of Thai workers from High Speed Railway fighting against violence and Vietnamese household workers killed her employer. In these incidences, no one has asked them of what they were thinking at the moment they did the behaviour. So why did it happen anyway?”
Jing-Ru also expressed, ‘Voyage 15840′ is to let migrant workers interpret, face up to and express what they feel and how they think by photographing. These migrant contributors always take efforts for Taiwan massive construction, but ignored from the public and the media. By this opportunity, migrant workers and Taiwan citizens can real ‘see each other’. During the interview of one radio program, Watch Media, the host Benla mentioned, “I do not know what these workers were thinking when being pictured, but perhaps by the picturing themselves, they are trying to tell us something…”
One staff for the photo workshop, Chiang Ching-Fang, expressed that members from the course were quick learners. They can master the ability in photographing and drawing in a short time. However, in two workshops of each lasting for 6 months, it is not only teaching the photo skills but discussing on all the art works with each that matters. When migrate to Taiwan, under the severe circumstances, all the migrant workers were “trained not to talk on everything”. And this is the most challenging.
Again and again we asked the students: “What do you want to say?” and “how do you wish to go about saying it? …” Gradually I realized, it was not easy to say “I” (i.e. “I see, I feel, I think, or I want…”) given that the principle of their job is mainly to cater to other people's every need.
Though it is not easy to show the courage to open themselves to others under the sun, gradually, they finally crossed the line. Jing-Ru recalled, “Facing our emotions needs courage and the more when facing other general people. They are potentially the actors in the pictures. At first, these migrant workers could merely stand in a far way to take shots. After several months testing and trying, they could go to the pictured for a short talk. Like Vangie, she had her photos on the old man who sells ice cream. Ellen had hers on the police and their cars.
Still stressed by Jing-Ru, every migrant worker has her/his own story and identity. They are not just workers, but daughters, mothers or wives at the same as well. They are indeed the heroines to keep up the economy for their home town. By working abroad, their souls are eroded with the deplorable living and work conditions. By discussing and being listened, they start to piece up again…
Few getting touch with the migrant worker issues, Akiyama was attracted by the poster of “Voyage 15840”. She shared the strike and the reflection in her mind after visiting the exhibition:
When sitting with a migrant worker from the Philippines, Thailand, or other places of South-East Asia, we always are alert to or start to feel uncomfortable. However, s/he is from Japan, America or the Europe, we may not have such feeling toward them even they are actually bastard of nature! Is not it unfair? Is not it?!
Cultural critic, Kuo Li-hshi, indicated in the introduction of the photo book, naming “They Must Represent Themselves!”, that as we know many migrant workers live and work with the deplorable conditions in Taiwan, still, we can not see their complaints in the art works. They made themselves calm and bravely face. He said, “As a reader, we should be sorry and ashamed.” Li-Shi Kuo was astonished at social observations from those migrant workers. In the mean time, they also see the toils of the local workers, such as the betel nut salesgirls , or the plumer who works on Sunday. In “The Sunday Broom” and “NT100 and Filipino Flag”, they used a sign metaphor and sarcasm to project. Kuo sighed, “They made us embarrassed as intellectuals.”
Ma. Belen Batabat also has a series of images about Taiwanese society: the red-shirt troops, the political graffiti by BBrother, the chemotherapy room for cancer patients, and the shoelace-selling old man who dresses in a suit an works with dignity. With her keen observations of thesociety, and sensitivity to people, her works are so admirable that they put to shame many college photography students who have poor real life experiences and are ‘lacking subjects to photograph’.
Bad Mouth has a ‘sister’ from Indonesia at home, thus she is much compassionate toward these people. As a reporter, every time interviewing migrant workers, she feels with them at ease. She sobbed out, “As long as I think of their encounter, I can not help but start to cry…” Bad Mouth saw the differences from ordinary life. She has her inner change since then…
Another lady who accepted my interview, Ellen, told me that because of picturing, she started to feel in a different way for the foreign land. The most important of all, the feeling in picturing, she feels freedom within her. “I have the freedom to express my feelings. I have the freedom to fight for my rights…” From their photos, we saw what they saw and viewed in their eyes.
This article is contributed by foolfitz and Ivy Shiue, both are members of GVLingua (Chinese).

author: Pipper Lee


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Trinidad & Tobago: WICB Administrative Bungle · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

West Indies Cricket Blog links to cricket commentator Tony Cozier's report on “yet another appalling lack of administrative planning” by the West Indies Cricket Board.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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UAE: To Hoot or not to Hoot? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Will there be a Hooters in Dubai? UAE blogger Seabee revisits the subject here.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Albania: “More Elections” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“In the soap opera of Albanian politics today's episode should be about the election of a new President,” begins Our Man in Tirana.


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Armenia: Future in a Flat World · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nazarian writes about Armenia's place in a globalizing economy.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Bahamas: Dialogue on Race · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It’s damn easy to assume stuff about the world, history, other people. What is hard to do — and to accept — is listen to other people’s realities.”  Nicolette Bethel encourages dialogue on the topic of race in the Bahamas.


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Bahrain: Are Taxes Un-Islamic? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Money is on a number of bloggers’ minds this week. Ammar is concerned about unmanaged growth in the Gulf economies:
… When I see the current levels of growth in the Gulf region right now, it starts to get a little bit scary. … I’ve seen companies reach growth levels of over 800% per cent, and these aren’t small companies that only need small amounts of capital to grow. No. These are companies that originally started off with a few million dollars worth of capital in the first place.
[…]
So this must be a good thing right? Well, sure, if you’re on the receiving end of it. But expand your stream of thinking and let’s look at this on a larger scale. Sure, the people involved in the investments, real estate, and any of the other fields that seem to be generating unbelievable cash flows are better off. …These people are only a small percentage of the population of this region. …While some people are getting richer, a lot of people are actually getting poorer, and the gap is widening.
[…]
But that’s not the only problem.
I sit and ask, how long can this almost dreamlike growth be sustained? Another two years? Five? Maybe 10? There will be a point when certain factors start to crumble, and it's not that I don’t have faith in the current economy, it's just that the normal rules of economics and history tell you that something will happen, and it just might come all crashing down. And who will be the victim here?
Some people are clearly doing very well for themselves, otherwise why would Gulf Air place a classified ad in the local newspaper offering a Boeing 767 for sale? Silver thinks it is ridiculous:
To make matters worst it was posted next to used cars!!
We turn from the rich to those at the other end of the scale; a number of bloggers have posted about the unemployment benefits soon to be introduced in Bahrain, funded by a one per cent deduction from everyone's salaries. Mahmood reports that a number of religious scholars are apparently against the idea:
According to Fadhlalah, Isa Qassim and a bevy of other religious scholars taxes are haram (forbidden by Islamic law). … What is the objection, I hear you ask? Simply that in Islam you cannot force people to give up their hard earned money, so if that money is collected from an unwilling participant who should give it up freely, then the receiver would have received “tainted” money, hence haram, should he or she accept it.
So what is a modern country to do, in light of these conflicting fatwas and interpretations thereof?  … What we need are drastic measures and this is the perfect opportunity to grasp the moment and enact them.
What we need now is an unambiguous declaration to remove Islam from the basis of our constitution and rule the country with modern ways and thinking rather than stay for ever beholden to a bunch of folk’s disparate and desperate interpretation of ancient texts.
On the same issue, Mohammad Al-Ubaydli makes reference to an ancient champion of liberty (or maybe to his modern-day namesake):
Cato would be proud – Islam is used to back libertarian principles.
Rayyash has some questions:
Mohammed AlMaskati approaches the issue from another angle:
According to today’s AlAyam the Unemployment Fund is expected to collect a total of 36 Million Dinars in one year, and would reconsider the tax law after 5 years. On the other hand, as reported in today’s AlWasat the government of Bahrain has bought 9 UH-60M Black Hawk Assault Helicopters with a total cost of US $204 Million (that’s BHD 76.9) roughly 2 year’s worth of workers taxes.
*sigh*
Still on money matters, Mohammed AlMaskati also has something to say about scholarships being given to university students, details of which were recently published in the press:
…Scholarships are supposed to be given out to students in uncommon and needed majors that aren’t offered by the local universities but are required within the local job market. This is apparently not the case here in Bahrain. …90% of the scholarships are for the most common majors within the University of Bahrain, which is not only already supported by the government but has recently lowered its fees to be within the reach of the majority of the people of Bahrain (and with all fairness, it is). … A quick glance on the scholarships is enough to give you butterflies in your stomach. 15 Scholarships in Islamic Sharia, one in Art and Porcelain, others are degrees in Office Management, and the list goes on to include Domestic Studies and Sociology.
Is this how we reward the outstanding students! By offering them scholarships in local universities or send them all the way to the other side of the world to study Office Management and come back to work as a secretary.
Hasan Hujairi wants to know how promising artists are supported in Bahrain:
I’ve been asking some of my friends – who are in their mid-twenties (just like me) – about what they think of the environment in Bahrain in terms of it encouraging local artists – regardless of their medium of expression. I had a few mixed answers. One group said that Bahrain is very stifling to art just because there are too many social restrictions and obligations. The second said that it is very difficult to find places in which art may displayed/shared with others. Another group said that the reason there aren’t much activity by artists is because people are lazy.
[…]
Here in Japan I get many requests to play the Oud for different audiences and in different events to share Middle Eastern heritage with the people here, even though I’m just an amateur. This makes me sad knowing that in Bahrain, I would probably not find invitations as easily unless I was “exceptionally” good. It’s all just a catch-22; how can you expect musicians and artists to be “good” if there is no encouragement to develop their skills and build on their experiences?
Ali Abdulemam begins a series about different aspects of Bahraini society, and this week he looks about the ‘sheikh culture’ in Bahrain, referring to the ruling family:
عندما تذهب إلى المجالس التي يديرها أفراد العائلة الحاكمة ترى ، أن التقاليد البدوية مسيطرة ضمن نفس النسق او السياق ولكن بصور أخرى، فلازال صباب القهوة أسود، تذكيرا لما كانوا يمتلكونه من عبيد
[…]
سلطة الشيخ لا تتوقف عند المجتمع العام العادي، بل حتى الشركات لو أرادت أن تيسر كثير من معاملاتها خصوصا الكبيرة فيجب أن يكون عضو او رئيس مجلس الإدارة أمام إسمه “الشيخ”وهذا موجود في معظم الشركات الكبيرة
When you go to a gathering organized by a member of the ruling family, you see the Bedouin traditions dominating the arrangement or environment but in a different way; the coffee pourer is still black, a reminder of when they owned slaves.
[…]
The power of a sheikh doesn't end amongst ordinary society, for even if companies want to facilitate their activities, especially the large ones, a member of the board of management, or the chair, must have ‘Sheikh’ before his name, and this is the case with most large companies.
Khalid, at The Drivel of 2 Bahrainis, has the environment on his mind, and is pleasantly surprised by a new public garden that has just opened:
As many of you know, Bahrain was once known as the “island of a million palm trees”. Unfortunately, that’s history now and what we have today is a concrete jungle instead. If you look at an aerial picture of Bahrain, you easily notice how yellow the place is as opposed to say Abu Dhabi, which you wouldn’t even think is a desert.
For a while, at least for the government, a garden meant having a few swings, maybe a basketball court, a café, few trees and plants here and there and loads of brick. Even the walkways weren’t green enough. The word green must have not been in their dictionary. I think the general complaint was that it’s too expensive to maintain those gardens, yet, you look at other cities and notice that they use sewage water instead and thrive in keeping their cities green.
I remember last summer, there were some serious talks about making the country a greener place, etc. and that this initiative would start with planting more trees here and there and with the revival of Al Andalus garden. … To be honest, I didn’t expect much given the current standard of gardens or mini parks that we have, but this one actually turned out to be much better than I expected. Actually, it’s nice and I wouldn’t mind spending some time in it when am back.
We end with Bahraini Rants, who is feeling the heat:
Know when you pull out a nice cold can of soda / pop / cola from the fridge and there’s this cool layer of condensation forming on the can? Now imagine the condensation, covering the entire can, getting pretty wet, cool to the touch, and slippery, so slippery.. This is what summertime is like in the Middle East, except it’s so hot that there’s no coolness to the condensation forming on your skin. Instead, it’s hot humid sweat that forces your clothes to stick to your body, that makes you want to peel your skin off and release the steam that’s making your blood bubble and boil. It’s this unbearable heat that you don’t just think about cooking an egg on the road, no you think about making an omelet, frying up some bacon, and even some toast.. Nothing is as futile as wiping the sweat off your brow in our climate this time of year, because just as soon as you wipe, there’s more sweat dripping down. You’ll start to discover new things about your body, like, “wow! I didn’t know I could sweat from my ear lobes, wow, summertime really teaches you new things about your body…”
More from our hot and sweaty Bahraini bloggers in a week…

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bahrain: Weekly Podcast · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger emoodz posts his weekly podcast – in Arabic and English here. Enjoy the rant!


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Barbados: Philanthropist Moves On  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A philanthropist who poured millions into the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary is pulling out of Barbados because of the government's failure to formalize its support for environmental preservation initiatives.  Barbados Free Press‘ response?  “THAT, my friends, is a NEWS STORY.”


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Belarus: Blogosphere Digests and Translations · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Regular translations and roundups of the Belarusian blogosphere – at TOL's Belarus.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Bermuda: Lessons from Conference of the Caribbean · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In the context of the Bermuda Housing Corporation corruption scandal, Politics.bm says, “Perhaps our Government should have attended the Conference on the Caribbean where some enlightened positions on the Freedom of the Press and scrutiny of public officials are being discussed.”


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: War Memories · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Part 2 of “How My Wars Began” – at TOL's Balkanizer.


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: Banja Luka; Sarajevo’s Hecco Hotel · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Wu Wei writes about a trip to Banja Luka and about Hotel Hecco in Sarajevo.