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Africa: castrating Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sotho writes a short, but thought provoking piece titled, Castrating Africa: Pascal Sevran is a French TV host. In his latest book, “Le Privilège des Jonquilles,” he says, “The black man’s dick is responsible for hunger in Africa.”


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Africa: honoring the African grandmother · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mental Acrobatics honors the African grandmother, “The group of people that symbolise above any other group, this unselfishness, this sacrifice for community, the group that is the rock of African societies up and down the continent, that provides a family home, a sympathetic ear, a lesson in discipline”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Antigua & Barbuda: Will the CSME benefit us? · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

A post by Courtney Henry on the Talk Antigua blog expressing serious doubts about the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) and its usefulness to Antigua sparks off a lively comment thread.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Argentina, Panama: Pastry Pictures · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Panamanian chef Melissa de León makes mouths water with a “a pictorial tour of some glorious sweetness from Buenos Aires, Argentina.”

author: David Sasaki


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Armenia: Expatriates · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Armenian LJ user bekaisa writes about the segregated world that expatriates live in, inspiring some interesting comments. Onnik Krikorian responds, adding that Armenia's expatriate community is different from neighboring ones in that it includes Diasporan Armenians who have moved to Armenia whom, Onnik notes, many native Armenians do not see as any different from other foreigners.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Armenia: Listening to Country Music in Armenia · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nazarian writes about hearing country music while listening to Voice of America as a child in Armenia and not understanding what it was or who listened to it until living in the United States two decades later.


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Armenia: Parliamentary Election Monitor · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian publishes the latest edition of his parliamentary election monitor, rounding up the latest in news on Armenia's coming parliamentary vote.


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Bangladesh: Uncertainty and Politics · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The 3rd World View on uncertainty in Bangladeshi politics. “And why should people trust their faith in the electoral process even overseen by a caretaker government when you can rent a rally and good candidates do not get the chance to run for the election.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Bolivia: “Observations to Inconsistencies” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Miguel Buitrago takes a look at six recent developments in Bolivia's government that he calls inconsistent.


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Brazil: Women at the 8th International Free Software Forum · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Liz Henry writes that G2G, a women-only group, will be going en masse to the 8th International Free Software Forum, April 12-14, in Porto Alegre, Brazil.


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China: curse of golden flower · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Peijin Chen from Shanghaiist has written a review on the recent movie: curse of the golden flower.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: execution of murderer · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kanchai comments on the quick execution of a criminal Qiu Xing Hua who had found guilty of murdering 11 people. The blogger is convinced that Qiu is guilty, however, the fact that the court had refused a mental evaluation reflected the lack of confidence for the judiciary system (zh).


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China: Guangzhou’s wealth · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Guangzhou city mayor recently claimed that, according to local household registration data, the GDP per capita will be over US$10,000 this year. William long notices that such claim is a kind of “impractical boasting” (zh).


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China: Yao Ming and beef · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Frank Yu from One Billion users comments on the recent McDonald's poster featuring Yao Ming with horns with a subtitle: “beef makes you strong”, but the whole image conveys a totally different message to foreigners:


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Croatia: Luxury Watches · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Neretva River writes about those really expensive watches that Croatian politicians choose to wear.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Czech Rebublic: Skiing Season · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

My Czech Republic Blog reports on the very belated beginning of the skiing season.


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Hungary: “Payback Time” Approaching · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungary is a country to be watched this year, and here's why, according to Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar: “Yes, [BBC's John] Simpson is right to put Hungary on his watchlist for this year,alongside the usual suspects of Iraq, Iran, Israel etc. But the reason is quite straightforward and logical and not at all strange, at least for those who live here. The previous last three governments have spent money which wasn't there. It's now finally payback time.”


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India: A city safe for women · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Mumbai reflects on an incident where a girl was assaulted by a mob of 50 men during New Year celebrations in the city. “There is always an age-old argument between my out-of-town friends, namely Delhi that Mumbai is a much better city to live in than any other in the country.”


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Indonesia: Adam Air Crash  · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Unspun complains about the lack of crisis management training in Indonesia after observing the way the authorities handled the crash of an private airline plane. Relatives were given conflicting messages on the status of the plane by different parties. “The first rule of anyone handling a crisis-like situation is to establish the facts. You establish the facts by verifying reports from several sources before going public with it. This is what the Transport Minister Hatta Rajasa failed to do when he blindly announced that the wreckage of KI 574 had been found and that there were 12 survivors.”

author: Preetam Rai


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Iran:A collective filtering for 597 blogs · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to Webna,a blog service provider,Mihan, announced the authorities asked them to filter about 597 blogs at the same time [Fa].

author: Fred Petrossian


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Kazakhstan: Public Figures on 2006 · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Leila surveys the opinions of public figures regarding 2006 in Kazakhstan at neweurasia.


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Kenya: dis-arming vigilantes · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Head Heeb on police and vigilantes in Kenya, “The police in much of Africa have a bad reputation. In many countries, police forces are still living down the image they acquired as enforcers for repressive governments, and even in democracies, they are commonly perceived as compromised by corruption.”


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Lithuania: Vilnius Taxis · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Music and Life – Everywhere! writes about unreliability of the Vilnius taxis.


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Mali: clean energy · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The African Uptimist writes about universal access to clean energy in Mali.


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Myanmar: Independence Day Questions · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Mayvelous has some questions on Myanmar's independence day. “Are we celebrating?, Are we happy?, Are we independent?”


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Myanmar: Prisoners Freed  · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The swanker comments on the news that Myanmar government released over 3000 prisoners (but not Aung San Suu Kyi) to mark the country's 59 independance day. “Why are a bunch of tough military men, with an army behind them, scared of a frail, little old lady?”


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Nepal: Video footage of Nepalgunj Pahadi Attack · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Democracy for Nepal has footage of violence and conflict. “The video shows the Pahadis went on a rampage in Nepalgunj. They attacked many Madhesi business establishments at the heart of that town.”


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Not So Fast! – Bolivia to Require Visas from U.S. Citizens · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Este artículo también está disponible en español en el sitio Blogs de Bolivia
In a surprise move, the Bolivian government announced that it will no longer allow U.S. citizens to freely enter the country without a visa obtained at a consulate.  Citing reciprocity and security concerns, any U.S. citizens including Bolivian-Americans that do not have double nationality or those Bolivians naturalized in another country must obtain a visa prior to entering.  Bolivian citizens are required to apply for and are frequently denied visas to enter the United States and a bombing at a La Paz hotel was perpetrated by a U.S. citizen, although it appears to be an isolated incident by a mentally ill man.  This was enough for Evo Morales’ government to announce the new requirements that may take effect by the end of the month.
Many bloggers disagree with this decision.  Some cite that tourism will be adversely affected, as U.S. tourists do spend money in Bolivia.  Hugo Miranda aka Angel Caido [ES] doesn’t think that Bolivia is an attractive enough destination for tourists to bother with the extra paperwork.  He believes that neighboring Chile and Peru must be jumping at the chance to attract new tourists with their own version of Carnaval.  El Alto blogger Mario Duran of Palabras Libres [ES] wonders, “When will we learn in Bolivia that tourism can provide more revenue than natural gas?”
Few have expressed concern about the plight of American citizens that hold special bonds with Bolivia, such as Bolivian-Americans. Miguel Buitrago of MABB, was born in Bolivia, but is now a U.S. citizen.  Currently living in Germany, he would have to apply to receive a visa in order to visit his birthplace.
Also, it will not only be burdensome for US tourists, it will also affect Bolivian-Americans. A person like me will have to get a visa to enter his or her own country. I can think of many of my friends who, ironically, will be able to contribute to Bolivia's economic growth by sending remittances, but will have to apply to visit Bolivia, and perhaps only get a permission to stay three months. I know people who go to stay for longer than three months.
Josh Renaud, a US citizen married to a Bolivian, travels back and forth to Bolivia and cites four reasons why this is a bad decision, including hypocrisy.  He notes that there are other countries such as Canada, Australia, Mexico, Honduras and Venezuela that require Bolivian citizens to obtain visa, “Why didn’t Evo (the Bolivian President) also demand reciprocity from these (especially Venezuela)?  Because he doesn’t really care about reciprocity.  It’s clear “reciprocity” is just a pretext to have a policy that antagonizes the U.S.”
However, others believe it is Bolivia’s right to implement the reciprocity guidelines.  Sergio Asturizaga, who blogs at Así como me ves me tienes [ES] thinks that those tourists that really do want to travel to Bolivia will find a way in spite of the minor inconvenience.
Almada de Noche’s [ES] Gustavo Siles is another that applauds the decision.  For one, he hopes that it may make the work of the Bolivian consulates much more efficient. His experiences with the consulate in Madrid has been very unfavorable.
This time last year:
In a new feature to the weekly blog summary, we’ll take a look back at what the Bolivian blogosphere was talking about this time last year.
Post-election buzz dominated the conversations, as a couple of Bolivian bloggers were guests on Radio Open Source’s show about the Latin American’s New Socialism.  Others were talking about the then new President-elect’s worldwide tour and plans for unique inauguration.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Peru: YachayBlogs · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Juan Arellano announces that the Peruvian Scientific Network [ES] is now offering its own WordPress-based free blogging platform called YachayBlogs [ES].


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Poland: A Real-Life Classic Remake · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Traveling Life writes about an appointment that resembles “another remake of a Polish classic.”


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Russia, Serbia: Kosovo and Other Issues · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Neretva River writes about Russia and the issue of Kosovo's independence.


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Russia: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Accidents · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Wu Wei reads the Crimes/Accidents section of the Sakhalin Times: “All the usual stuff: bribery, corruption, prostitution, drugs, alcoholism, bombs on planes plus a few local issues: ‘Heavy Winds blow buses off highway’ […], ‘4-year-old falls into manhole, escapes unharmed’ […], ‘Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk resident found guilty of selling worm-infested candy.’ Et cetera.


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South Korea: business and politics · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A blog post from Asiapages about the relation between business and politics: How much do politcal country relationships matter?


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South Korea: father of modern architecture · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole introduces Kim Swoo-geun (1931-86), one of the fathers of Korean modern architecture, to the readers.


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South Korea: revisionism · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Owen from Korean history group blog introduces the debate on revisionism concerning the president Roh's comment on Korea War as civil war.


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Sri Lanka: LTTE Tactics · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Lankawatch on LTTE tactics given the heavy defeats in hands of the Sri Lankan military. “In a sickening revelation witnesses have said that the LTTE repeatedly filled up buildings used as training camps with school children ahead of an imminent air attack.”


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Toward a Francophone Global Voices · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Tunisian blogger Sami Ben Gharbia on the Global Voices summit recently held in Delhi, India (Fr): “A will to build a francophone version of Global Voices and to spread  the Global Voices China experiment was expressed. The first objective consists in translating in French what is written in English on GV … That initiative, approved by the two co-founders of GV, Ethan Zuckerman and Rebecca McKinnon was proposed by Alice Backer, Jennifer Brea and myself. We hope to have an independent space soon, something along the lines of francophonie.globalvoices.org …”

author: Alice Backer


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Trinidad & Tobago: Return of the Silver Fox · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Basdeo Panday has assumed leadership of the UNC, the country's main opposition party, once more. Keith Francis has this to say: “And so, according to the UNC's National Executive, there is absolutely no-one else to lead the UNC but a lawyer who seems to have spent more time as a defendant in the Court than as a practising attorney, and one who has not only been convicted of a charge but has even more charges pending.”


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Turkmenistan: “Sacred Traditions” Kept and Broken · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net discusses “sacred Turkmen traditions” (which are, in actuality, policy stances but called such in homage to the former president's constant citing of tradition in lawmaking) that the interim president is pledging to keep and, in welcome news, break.


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Uganda: Ugandan Blogger Happy Hour · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

In An African Minute announces the 1st Ugandan Blogger Happy Hour, “The development of blogging communities has a tradition in East Africa, with the Kenyan Blog Webring and the Tanzanian Blogger's Virtual Conference. I think the Ugandan blogosphere has huge potential for 2007, so this informal gathering is the start of a conversation about where we are headed as a community.”


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Ukraine: Pagan Tradition · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukraine List writes about Ukraine’s pagan tradition.


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Ukraine: Thoughts on Staying and Leaving · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LJ user chio – of Simferopol, Crimea – writes (RUS):
On life
A friend came for a visit recently – he had emigrated to New Zealand some five years ago as an already established businessman. He was shocked by what he saw around him. He was genuinely surprised by the rudeness of restaurant waiters. He couldn't believe it that when you just order a coffee, they don't notice you, but when you are acting extravagant, they get obsequious, fawning. He noted that Ukraine has completely lost its attractiveness because life and real estate are expensive there – even in New Zealand life is cheaper, what can you say when in the fall, apples here cost 6-7 hryvnias [slightly over a dollar per kilo], etc… He made fun of the abundance of expensive foreign-made cars, and other […] attributes of success, and declared that in New Zealand, if people want to stand out, they try to distinguish themselves differently… And he left determined to sell what remains of his real estate here and never to come back…
Below are some responses:
9000: In New Zealand, what is it that he does?
chio: He has his own business, took him a lot to open it – worked hard, succeeded, at last. Bought several cars, delivers food from suppliers to supermarkets and large stores. The business has only recently became profitable. He works almost non-stop, without rest. There, it takes more than it does here to achieve something.
It used to be his childhood dream – to move to New Zealand. And he has managed to.
9000: Ok, I see. My friends left for Ecuador. Work online :) Polygraphic design and other internet services. A computer doesn't care where to stand. But I wouldn't want to go there to work as a programmer. In North America, it's easier. (And I'm prepared to do food deliveries only if there are no other options.)
chio: He was doing more or less the same here, too – distribution, only with more success. He, of course, doesn't drive his trucks himself – he provides jobs to New Zealanders… […]
[…]
big_bang: I've noticed that people who travel a lot, gradually learn to take every country the way it is. Complaints about the rudeness of the French or the tardiness of Italians are most often heard from people who don't visit these countries frequently. If you constantly compare a country with your home and get upset about its drawbacks, you won't enjoy your travel at all. You can't change the whole world. The trick is to minimize the drawbacks and discover positive aspects. I mean, if you ignore the rudeness of the waiters in Ukraine and act a bit wasteful, it'll be a lot more fun.
bujik: This is what the secret of your tolerance is. I kept wondering – how come you never spit non-stop during your visits to Ukraine.
[…]
vbez: I work for Americans in Ukraine. A large company. Have worked for over five years already. In this time, a lot of people have left to the headquarters in the States. And even though they aren't paid a lot there and the work is boring, NO ONE has come back to Ukraine.
mxn: And you believed it. It's nothing but an excuse for his emigration! I, for example, don't remember being ignored when I'm drinking coffee in Simferopol. And excuse me, but there are practically no expensive foreign-made cars in Simferopol. I've seen a Ferrari once – at the airport's parking lot, but it had a Moscow license plate. […]
[…]
mxn: I'm not arguing that it's way worse in Ukraine. I just felt that the arguments put forward by the comrade from New Zealand were artificial and rather emotional, and didn't reflect the reality. I actually think that all those who have left, made the right decision – because in the new country they found more opportunity for growth. […]
chio: Of course, his arguments are emotional – he was sharing his fresh impressions, but I can't agree that they do not reflect the reality. They do reflect it. I didn't write about everthing that he paid attention to. And he doesn't really need to look for an excuse for his departure – he dreamed of moving to New Zealand since he was a kid, and his children and his family are feeling well there. […]
[…]
mxn: As you know, I'm spending most of my time not in Crimea, either. […] But i'm grateful to all the countries that life has put me in: to Ukraine for allowing me not to fear for my children's lives and health (in Moscow, I would have feared), and to Russia for allowing me to avoid poverty and become a co-owner of a good business, and to Kazakhstan for allowing this business to develop […].
chio: There's a potential counterargument here… Gratitude is a good thing, but don't forget that to avoid poverty, you have to give up science and start doing things that are alien and not something you're used to, I think. Under different circumstances and in another country, you'd have probably been a professor and a laureate of something by now, you would have been traveling around the world and wouldn't have been scared for the lives and health of you loved ones just as well. But I don't feel like using this counterargument – I myself feel something similar… […]
[…]
arcivi: I am grateful to the States because I can take a shower every day… ;) And I do not understand at all why I became not needed in my own country… […]
[…]


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Venezuela: Los Roques en el New York Times · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Sebastian Delmont, a Venezuelan living in New York, was pleasantly surprised by a New York Times article [ES] about the archipelago of Los Roques, which he describes as “one of the most beautiful places in Venezuela.”


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Puerto Rico: Wikipedia and fair use · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Tinta Digital (ES) uploads the logo of a Puerto Rican political party to Wikipedia, and gets caught up in a debate about fair use.


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Africa: Once Glorious Postal Services · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Africa 2.0  reflects on the future of African postal services (Fr): “Under other skies, postal companies occupy a choice spot in the rise of electronic commerce … In Africa, most postal services are sluggishly lagging behind. They've been destabilized by new technologies, the loss of monopoly… competition from … DHL, Chronopost … and Western Union for money transfers. We need to react and competently so, to reconquer a glorious past.”


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Africa: this is Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Joshua Wanyama, who blogs for African Path, writes about Africa in a post titled, Ten “This is Africa” Thoughts: “With the New Year beginning, different trends are being set in Africa either affected by globalization, growth of democracy or the breakdown of society. I have compiled my list of thoughts regarding Africa.”


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African Stock Exchanges · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Africa 2.0 posts (Fr) a list of African stock exchanges with links.


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Argentina: Gancia Ads · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Robert Wright takes a look at some of the clever ad campaigns of Gancia, “a local brand of vermouth that gets mixed with everything fruity.”


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Armenia: “Because” · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Armenian Poetry Project posts “Because” by Mariné Petrossian (HY) with an audio clip of the author reading the poem.


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Armenia: Bloggers’ New Year’s  · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian looks at how Armenian bloggers spent their time during the holiday season.


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Armenia: Dreadful Winter · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian writes that this will be his last winter in Armenia in a letter from Armenia that describes the cold, the difficulties of safely heating one's home, and other reasons to be less than enthusiastic this winter.


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Bangladesh: Elegy for Dhaka · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

imperfect world 2007 has a translated elegy for Dhaka. “Described unsentimentally, sceptically, passionately and dispassionately and even prophetically. Sharper than a photograph, and only faintly but excusably narcissisticDescribed unsentimentally, sceptically, passionately and dispassionately and even prophetically. Sharper than a photograph, and only faintly but excusably narcissistic”


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Bangladesh: Embracing Diversity · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Sadiq M Alam on  Keith Ellison, Thomas Jefferson's Quran and America's embrace of diversity. “The news has significant on a number of grounds when it comes to embracing diversity, and also the controversies point to the fact of mental block in the so called ‘conservative camp’.”


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Brazil: Portuguese Slave Trade · Global Voices
David Sasaki

With the bold assertion that “the history of Brazil is the history of the persistence of slavery,” The Wolf Report dishes out some statistics about the Portuguese slave trade.


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Caucasus: European, Asian, or What? · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

A Fistful of Euros wonders whether readers consider Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan to be European or not. Only Georgia and Azerbaijan are partially within Europe geographically, but the latter is usually considered Asia and Armenia considered European for cultural reasons. Registan.net says the geographic distinction between Europe and Asia is meaningless and wonders where aspiring European countries like Kazakhstan, which is partially within geographic Europe, should fit.


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Ecuador: Switching Languages · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ecuadorean blogger Milton Ramirez says he is switching from Spanish to English as a 2007 blog resolution.


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El Salvador: Poll reflects Salvadorans views of democracy · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Tim Muth takes a look at some of the results from the recent annual Latinobarometro poll and concludes that “the significant lack of satisfaction with government in El Salvador makes the ARENA government susceptible to defeat at the polls in 2009. Yet there is no evidence at all that a significant portion of Salvadorans see the FMLN as offering an alternative that they want to follow, beyond the hard core 30% support which the FMLN has in virtually every poll.”


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Estonia, Russia: Shostakovich’s Legacy · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Step At A Time writes about efforts being made in Estonia's capital to find a permanent home for the Dmitry Shostakovich's legacy.


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Fiji: Coup Leader becomes the Prime Minister · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

May Hnin Phyu in Fiji comments that it will not be so easy to address the new leader of Fiji. “I’m wondering how are they going to address him – “The Honorable Commondore Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, Sir”. Whoa, what a long title. I need some water.” Frank Bainimarama recently took over the power in a bloodless coup in Fiji.


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Guyana: Eid-Ul-Adha specialities · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Chenette posts several well-captioned photos on Flickr of foods traditionally associated in Guyana with the Eid-Ul-Adha observances, including Guyanese vermicelli and Maleeda.


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India: Media and Dalits · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Kafila on the politics of oppression and media representation. “The dearth of Dalit journalists in the Indian media is worrying, particularly in the context of increasingly activist role adopted by the media. “


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India: Media and Nithari · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The horrifying case of the murder of children in a place called Nithari has the media bursting with stories. Don't Trust the Indian Media! says “But honestly, the media and political circus around Nithari is becoming a bit sickening. Mikes, cameras and dictaphones being shoved into peoples faces. And as usual, one important point is being missed. I learnt this the difficult way in Gurgaon and in Mumbai.”


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Iran:Iranian women play rugby football · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

irfuny blog has published several photos of Iranian women playing rugby football in Iran.


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Iran:No credit card, no purchase on internet · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mr.Behi writes about digital and internet development in Tehran. He says city is full of adds for ADSLs and electronic payment is becoming a regular thing. The only thing that gives a big crash to all of that is the fact that international banks do not operate here. That means by living in Iran, you are excluded from the convenience of having a simple international credit card! He says purchasing on internet has become impossible.


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Jamaica: Farewell, Charles Hyatt · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Leon pays tribute to the Jamaican actor and comedian Charles Hyatt, who died on January 1. Hyatt appeared in several films, including Cool Runnings, The Mighty Quinn and Club Paradise.


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Jamaica: Two landfills · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Ria Bacon reports that two landfills in Jamaica have been making the news lately, one for having been the dumping site for the bodies of a pair of murder victims, the other for enveloping parts of Kingston in a miasma of débris-scented smoke.


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Lusosphere Debate Over Saddam’s Last Scene · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

Despite the dreadful subject, Saddam's execution has become the very symbol of an year that has definitely changed the media as we knew it. The empowered delivery of citizen content through web 2.0 services and news sites is providing a totally new environment for news distribution, and the effects of such global revolution over specific issues is now fueling some interesting threads in the Lusosphere. The debate this time deals with death penalty, and it is ironic that it has taken the sentencing of an overthrown tyrant to raise the howls of complaint over capital punishment. It is indeed amazing to observe the power of transparency over public opinion, and how the current media environment is capable of renewing old debates.
O vídeo ainda vai dar muito o que falar, porque a partir dele se pode levantar alguns questionamentos, tais como as conseqüências do uso massificado da tecnologia, a espetacularização da guerra civil no Iraque e a ocupação do país pelos Estados Unidos e a exposição do ódio religioso e da vingança. É possível que essa discussão (e eu espero que ela efetivamente ocorra) tragam de volta a civilização para os valores do século 21.
Video traz para o presente o seculo 18 – Paulopes Weblog
O que nos difere das sociedades primitivas que sacrificavam vidas em troca de proteção divina? Qual nossa efetiva contribuição para transformar a sociedade? Com que olhar nos enxerga ou enxergará a história? Saddam Hussein foi assassinado. A que propósito serve sua execução? Curdos e Xiitas festejam! George Bush saboreia sua Petro-vitória. Enquanto isso, o número de soldados Yankes mortos no Iraque ultrapassa o de vítimas do WTC. Enquanto isso, o Iraque e o Oriente Médio continuam em chamas. Enquanto isso um novo mártir se insere na cartilha da guerra! Saddam deveria ser armazenado, ter seus crimes apurados sob as lentes atentas das TVs do mundo todo, deveria cumprir sua pena perpétua sob os holofotes e sob as imagens constantes da destruição por ele causada. Pois enquanto estivesse vivo, serviria de modelo ao que deve ser combatido.
A Morte de Saddam – Arrasta a Rede
Podem enumerar-me todas as torturas e brutalidades que ficaram asfixiadas conjuntamente com as glândulas e cartilagens do antigo ditador de Bagdade. Não importa. A incrível violência do enforcamento daquele homem, num ambiente de semi-clandestinidade e vergonhas dispersas, tem necessariamente de chocar com a linha de civilização que acreditamos jamais ser possível cruzar. Um acto bárbaro é um acto bárbaro, sem mais.
Saddam Hussein – Kontratempos
“O enforcamento de Saddam Hussein, nas imagens não-editadas, tem a aparência de um linchamento. Para quem possa achar que um linchamento se explique, ou até se justifique, por emoções violentas, o de Saddam parece ter sido praticado a frio por um bando de criminosos sabendo que têm de agir com pressa. Os executores xingam o condenado, fazem provocações políticas e o mandam para o inferno enquanto ele faz a última prece. Ele -o ditador sanguinário- é quem surge digno e altivo”.
Vingança – URLs Sinistras
‘Não há testemunho mais eloquente contra a pena de morte do que as imagens de uma execução, seja qual for o seu género. Mas o enforcamento de Saddam teve requintes de sordidez que deveriam fazer pensar não apenas aqueles que insistem em defender a lei de talião como um instrumento legítimo do Estado de direito, mas sobretudo os que ainda pretendem que o déspota de Bagdad foi julgado e executado segundo as regras da legalidade democrática trazida para o Iraque pelas tropas invasoras. Que distingue, no fundo, os invisíveis assassínios políticos no tempo de Saddam destas imagens de visão precária num ambiente lúgubre, captadas à socapa em estilo de reportagem “clandestina”? Que diferencia, afinal, a face da barbárie destas máscaras da civilização e da democracia?’, por Vicente Jorge Silva.
O fantasma de Saddam – Macroscopio
The current debate on the blogosphere was triggered by the apearence of the non-official video of the execution — which can now be called the most viewed video clip in history — and it is valid to affirm that it would not happen in case the piece was not released. As a result, many bloggers focus on the possibilities of web 2.0 media and its effects over social narratives as the key shift to be interpreted.
Assim  como as imagens de vigilância em Caché parecem  ter sido concebidas espontaneamente, sem que houvesse de fato alguém a registrá-las  e enviá-las ao personagem de Daniel Auteuil, também estas imagens da execução  de Saddam possuem esse caráter etéreo, como se a tecnologia em si (uma imagem  registrada pelo celular, distribuída e visualizada por milhões através da Internet  e, posteriormente, reproduzidas por TVs de todo o mundo) fosse capaz de criar  e difundir essas imagens. Não mais um Big Brother, um grande olho que a tudo vê,  mas uma espécie de consciência coletiva, onde instantaneamente todos têm acesso  a qualquer coisa que esteja ocorrendo a qualquer instante, em qualquer lugar. Encerrando  este que foi considerado o ano do fenômeno You Tube (a ponto da revista Time eleger  como personalidade do ano eu, você e todos nós que produzimos e consumimos nossos  próprios conteúdos através da web), o último grande evento audiovisual  de 2006 corroborou o surgimento de um quinto poder – descentralizado, capilar,  anárquico – capaz de uma virtual onipresença e de uma velocidade de distribuição  que revoluciona não apenas a imprensa e os meios de comunicação e entretenimento,  mas, principalmente, nossa própria percepção da realidade.
Execuçao privada, exposiçao publica – Enquadramento
Hoje fui acordado não pela luz do sol a driblar a cortina da minha janela, e sim por um telefonema de um amigo. “Bicho, visse o vídeio?” Falava a voz embargada do outro lado da linha. … “Que vídeo porra?” Demonstrando todo meu amor pelo meu amigo, bem como toda delicadeza que me é peculiar. “Saddam morrendo, tá no youtube, baixa pra tu animal! Dá pra ver o pescoço quebrando e a cabeça dele envergando pra cima assim ó…” A princípio acho que ele pensava que de alguma maneira através do telefone pudesse ver os movimentos, muito provavelmente pouco estéticos, de sua cabeça a simular a do amigo Saddam na forca. “Desliga o pc e vai ler um livro”. Ou melhor, “desliga o pc e vai ler um livro, porra!” Sim, foi isso que falei. … O fascínio pela violência é entristecedor, mas está mais próximo do que podemos imaginar. Não falo em viver alienado sem saber do que cerca a morte do agora amigo Saddam, mas até mesmo a curiosidade de assistir uma execução já é por si só algo entristecedor… se ao menos uma única pessoa desistir de baixar a porcaria desse vídeo, já terá valido a pena. Boa semana a todos.
Campanha: “Nao baixe o video e va ler um livro” – Luiz's Site
Será que ninguém aprendeu ainda que a privacidade acabou? E não é um Big Brother espreitando por aí, é algo muito, muito pior: é o olhar do povo! Aquele mesmo que, segundo a canção, “… fala… fala mesmo!”. A tecnologia nos deu a capacidade de exibir o que há de melhor e de pior em nós. Comunidades no Orkut espalham o racismo e a intolerância, acobertadas por pseudônimos e cadastros falsos. Por outro lado, lá também é possível achar amigos de infância e desconhecidos dispostos a ajudar num problema de computação… Eu sempre ouvi dizer que não é o mundo que está piorando, mas a cobertura da imprensa que melhora. Adaptando a idéia, acho que não é a humanidade que está piorando, mas a tecnologia que amplifica constantemente suas múltiplas facetas.
Preso suposto autor do vídeo do enforcamento de Saddam – MeioBit
Portuguese bloggers are dealing with the issue influenced by another current event, as an abortion referendum is scheduled to be voted next month in the country.  The main argument made in the media is that every other European country allows abortion, so Portugal must fall in line with the rest of Europe. But it seems that the new perspectives on the death penalty debate brought by Saddam's execution are somehow empowering pro-life reasoning.
Ouvi agora nas notícias, uma declaração do Ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros e Ministro de Estado, Luís Amado. Dizia o sr. Ministro a propósito da condenação de Saddam Hussein que “Portugal é contra a pena de Morte”…. Muito bem Sr. Ministro! Os meus Parabéns! Mas, muito me surpreende Sr. Ministro….. E o aborto é o Quê???? Não é condenar uma vida à morte prematuramente????
Pena de Morte – Alentejo pelo Nao
2 mortes!!! Se Saddam Hussein era assassíno por ter morto tanta gente, então quem o matou, também não é assassino? Algo que toda a gente devia pensar antes de festejar a morte do antigo ditador. Que ele fez muito mal, isso fez, mas a morte nunca é solução, aliás, penso que o terror só agora vai começar. Sou contra a pena capital, aliás sou contra qualquer tipo de morte, inclusive de pessoas que ainda não nasceram para se poder defender. Estou a falar claro, do aborto. Por vezes, penso que quem quer abortar (assassinos, porque matam alguém) é que nunca devia ter nascido.
Tenham vergonha e digam não ao aborto. Não á Morte!!
Aborto e Sadam Hussein – blacknaja
At least three children, in the US, Pakistan and India, are now dead after watching Saddam's execution video. While two cases appears to be accidents involving kids trying to mimic what they saw on TV, at least one was a purposeful suicide. Meanwhile, the former dictator has already been turned into an action figure available for kids, complete with a hangman's noose tight around his neck. Bloggers keep trying to understand what's going on.
O capitalismo americano não perde nenhuma oportunidade de negócio, nem a mais macabra. A Herobuilders colocou à venda um boneco do Saddam “Pendurado em uma Corda” (foto), conforme se lê em inglês da camiseta do boneco. A empresa é fabricante de figuras de plástico de personagens populares. Horas antes de o ex-ditador do Iraque ser enforcado, na madrugada de sábado (horário de Brasília), o boneco de 30 centímetros já estava anunciado no site da empresa, segundo a agência EFE. A Herobuilders tem outras versões de Saddam. Na sua coleção, há também personagens como o presidente venezuelano Hugo Chávez e Osama bin Laden. A EFE não informa que tipo de gente compra esses bonecos.
Empresa vende boneco de Saddam na corda – Paulopes Weblog
Doidera. No Freedom 4um, via Keld Bach:
Enforcamento de Saddam leva a onda de suicídios de crianças imitadoras – Animot

author: Jose Murilo


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Mongolia: Witnessing Abuse · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Alexa of A Year in Mongolia writes about witnessing domestic abuse in her apartment building, and says that because physical abuse of women is so common in Mongolia, centers are popping up to offer women a place to stay away from their abusers.


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Myanmar: Destruction of Colonial Buildings · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Aung Htin Kyaw has an interesting post that traces his family's history in Myanmar. The blogger laments the loss of old architechture as the country starts to modernize by rebuilding over old colonial buildings.


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Nepal: Online, Offiline and Politics · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Democracy For Nepal on the potential role of the organisation that is built online in politics. “Hamro Nepal thinks of the internet as its nerve system, true. But it does not bar its members from doing any of the offline stuff. “


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Peru: Amazonian Fruit Drinks · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Alejandro is a California-based Peruvian  who describes his various blogs as “a bridge between California, Peru, the world, myself, they are my prism.” He recently returned to Peru, where he was able to visit the northeastern Amazon region for the first time and captures some pictures of local street food for his mouth-watering Peru Food weblog.
This guy is selling icy cold tropical fruit drinks, perfect for the hot and humid Amazonian climate. The pink drink is made from a local fruit, camu camu, (Myrciaria dubia) and is delicious and refreshing. The yellow drink is made from the fruit of the aguaje palm, known in English as the Moriche palm (Mauritia flexuosa). I loved the tangy flavor of camu camu and had it in different ways: as a cold drink, as an ice cream, and as a sorbet.
Make sure not to miss the photos and descriptions of juanes, yucca chips, and aguajes.


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Peru: Chiclaya Chorus Album · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Creative Commons Peru announced to readers that the [ES] polyphonic chorus of La Inmaculada college in Chiclayo, Perú has released its album with an attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives Creative Commons license.


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Peru: Food Books · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Alejandro's recent visit to Lima coincided with the annual Ricardo Palma Book Fair. He ended up buying over 30 books, some of which he reviews here.


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Philippines: Filipino Takeover of the Blogosphere · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Mike Abundo writes about Filipino bloggers taking over some of the visible international blogs. “Filipinos are the best English communicators in Southeast Asia, heartily embracing social media and flat-world economics. Expect more of our best minds to follow these local pioneers to the world stage.”


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Poland: “Africans+AIDS+Poland=racism” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes about hysteria in the Polish tabloids: “Simon is pleading not guilty, of course. It's like one of those off-the-peg stories Polish tabloid journos dream of: ‘Black African artistic seducer infects innocent Polish girls with HIV!!! Knowledge about HIV – and Africans, for that matter – is very limited here. Just ripe for a scare story.”


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Puerto Rico: Artists who revolutionised my thinking · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Háblame de música (ES) posts a list of “artists who revolutionised my thinking in 2006″.


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Russia: George Michael’s Equipment Catches Fire · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

George Michael received $3 million from Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin for a New Year's Eve concert – but then lost much of his costly equipment in a fire allegedly caused “by a crewmember playing with leftover pyrotechnics” – reports La Russophobe.


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Singapore: Warranty Card and Ethnicity · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Mr. Wang in Singapore has to fill in his ethnicity before submitting the warranty card for a electric fan. The blogger asks “After all these years, why do we still not realise that for most things in life (including the administration of home-appliance warranty certificates), the person's race is simply irrelevant.”


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Tahiti: Turncoat Politicians · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Reacting to the election of a new president Gaston Tong Sang, Tahitian blogger SamsonPointCom surveys the political landscape (Fr): “Turncoat politics are a national sport, even more so than rowing. There are basically two opposing equally-sized blocs in the Assembly: the independentist “Blues” (socialist affiliated but who have National Front politics) and the autonomist “oranges” (affiliated to the UMP) and in the center, the … non-affiliated who have formed a new party and who flip flop from one camp to the other.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Camera phones and bad taste · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Adele weighs in on the Saddam Hussein execution video: “The camera phone shall continue to have a great deal to tell us about ourselves, our news and our reality. The very serious issue here is whether we can turn back the hands of bad taste now that nothing is sacred.“


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Ukraine: Babushka Sigh, Devushka Stare & Dnipro Denial · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Carpetblogger offers some tips to help foreigners blend in while in Kyiv: Babushka Sigh, Devushka Stare and Dnipro Denial.


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Ukraine: Walking Hand in Hand · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes writes about two former adversaries – Victor Yushchenko and Victor Yanukovych – about to “walk hand in hand.”


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Uruguay: La Rambla · Global Voices
David Sasaki

From Uruguay with photos of Montevideo's famous La Rambla: “It's the favorite place for montevideans to chill out, have a beer, or mate with bizcochos along with friends, or family, specially in spring and summer time. It's also a great place for doing some sports, like: jogging, biking, fishing, beach volley, beach football, or just walk.”


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Venezuela: Busca en Polis · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Iria Puyosa presents [ES] Polis Venezuela [ES], a customized Google Co-Op search engine which searches through 25 Venezuelan weblogs that discuss politics.


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Venezuela: Cabinet Shake-up · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Hugo Chavez announced that Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel will be replaced by former President of the Electoral Board, Jorge Rodriguez. Miguel Octavio says the decision is “another sign that the revolution is about to deepen and will be more radical.” Alex Beech is astonished by the appointment, adding that “Minister of Interior and (Justice?) Minister Jesse Chacon will be replaced by one of the most colorful characters in Venezuela: Pedro Carreno. (As some of you know, I like to remind Venezuelans that Carreno once warned “el colectivo” that Direct TV was spying on us through those little boxes it places on our TV sets.” For those who would like to see the video of Rodriguez's appointment for themselves, El Espacio de Lubrio has it [ES]. Finally, Oil Wars pauses to give brief approval of the change.


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Barbados, Jamaica: Two ways of reporting · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press compares newspaper reports from a Jamaican and Barbadian newspaper of an incident in which a young Barbadian man allegedly stabbed a young Jamaican man to death during an argument in Jamaica. The two young men are both sons of prominent Caribbean citizens.


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Fiji: Stopping Coups · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

David Farar has an idea to stop the reoccurrence of  coups in Fiji. “Maybe when Fiji finally gets a legal Government again, they could give Bainimarama the Saddam treatment – that might put an end to this cycle of coups. Okay no death penalty I agree, but's let's settle for life imprisonment for treason.” Bainimarama is the military ruler who usurped power in Fiji and despite denying his interest in running the country, took on the job of prime minister yesterday.


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Guyana: Illegal World Cup mug · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Ryan at the West Indies Cricket blog finds a photo on Flickr of a piece of illegal Cricket World Cup merchandise, a mug allegedly purchased in a craft store in Georgetown, Guyana: ‘This is going to be a big problem for the World Cup authorities as the tournament gets near,” writes Ryan. “It’s almost impossible to police this stuff in the Caribbean.” The 2007 Cricket World Cup starts on March 11, with matches taking place in nine different Caribbean territories.


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Iran:Dr.Hesam Firouzi,a human right activist got jailed · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Student committee of human rights reporters blog reports Dr.Hesam Firouzi, human rights activist is jailed.He, as a doctor used to take care of several political prisoners such as Ahmad Batebi, jailed student activist.He was accused of acting against national security [Fa].


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Iran:Gas shortage in Iran · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to Dorane Emrouz, 11 provinces in Iran are facing gas shortage. The blogger says the Iranian government has no program and no plan to slove this problem.The blogger says we will have a very cold winter [Fa].


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Myanmar: Monarchy and the New Capital City · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

In a single post, Burmese blogger Aung Kyaw looks at the idea of re-introducing monarchy in Myanamar, the meaning of the name of the new capital city Naypyidaw (the military government moved the capital city from Rangoon to this city in a sudden and unexpected move last year) and uses Google Earth to spot the home of the military ruler of Myanmar.


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Saddam execution video re-ignites death penalty debates worldwide · Global Voices
Sameer Padania

Over the past four months, we've tried to feature and contextualise videos we felt should be seen and debated by a wider audience.  Today's featured human rights video is something completely new.
You may be one of the millions who have sought it out online – or you may have decided to avoid it.  Someone – a friend, a colleague, a relative – may have emailed it to you, or called you up to tell you about it.  You may have seen a clip of it on the TV news.  One way or the other, you're likely to have an opinion on it, because it's made for a memorable start to 2007, as political cartoonist blackandblack's cartoon illustrates:
Click here to launch blackandblack's blog in a new window.
If anyone was still in any doubt that sousveillance was one of the ideas of the year, then the Saddam video should put that beyond doubt.  What's different about the cellphone footage of the execution of Saddam Hussein, former dictator of Iraq, is that, aside from being probably the most watched web video in history, it has re-ignited a global debate on a perennial human rights issue: capital punishment.
Iraqi blogger Raed Jarrar links to both the official and unofficial videos  here – on a personal note, I found it one of the most disturbing videos I have yet had to watch, so viewer beware…
Judging by the Iraqi government's indignation at the unofficial footage, and the ambivalent reaction of many major media outlets (as detailed by Armenia-based Onnik Krikorian here), they were the only ones genuinely surprised that a cameraphone was smuggled past the security checks into the death chamber.  If whoever filmed it had surrendered his cellphone before the hanging, the world may never have seen beyond the mute, carefully-edited, tastefully-faded-out official video of the proceedings.
The real story emerging from the Saddam video is that, in laying bare the huge gap between the managed official account of his execution and the far messier reality, it has provoked people – and many bloggers – to reflect less on whether Saddam merited his fate, and more on the nature and appropriateness of that fate for the age we live in.
The UN and NGOs criticise Saddam execution…
It's important to remember that the International Community remains opposed to the death penalty, and that the right to life is enshrined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights  – although new UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon needed reminding of this on his first day at work.  Indeed the UN's Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, has called directly on the Iraqi government to delay the executions of Saddam's co-defendants, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, his half brother, and head of the Intelligence Service, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former Chief Judge of the Revolutionary Court, citing questions over the fairness of their trial.
UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston, says that Saddam's execution represents a clear violation of human rights law for three reasons: the lack of a fair trial, the Iraqi government's refusal to countenance an appeal, and the humiliating manner in which the execution was carried out.  In other words, in addition to the UN and human rights law opposition to the death penalty on the basis of right to life, the manner of this execution and the lead-up was a violation of human rights law in and of itself.  And now Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy, is pressing the UN to go further by ratifying a Universal Moratorium on the death penalty.
International human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, which campaigns against the death penalty, have strongly criticised both the trial and the execution of Saddam Hussein, with Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme, saying:
His trial should have been a major contribution towards establishing justice and ensuring truth and accountability for the massive human rights violations perpetrated when he was in power, but his trial was a deeply flawed affair. It will be seen by many as nothing more than ‘victor's justice’ and, sadly, will do nothing to stem the unrelenting tide of political killings.
… so Iraq's government pins the blame
Facing a firestorm of international condemnation over Saddam's trial and for the manner of his execution, the Iraqi government has conducted an investigation into the unauthorised video.  In an echo of the fallout of Abu Ghraib, the investigation has identified the source of the unofficial videos as two Justice Ministry guards, despite claims from Munkith al-Faroun, prosecutor at Saddam's trial, himself among the 14 witnesses of the execution, that two senior officials were openly filming events in the death chamber on their cellphones.  At one point the New York Times even reported that one of the two officials was Iraq's National Security Advisor, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, but later corrected this, saying that it had  erroneously quoted Mr Faroun.
Whoever filmed the cellphone footage, what it reveals has had an enormous impact.  There has been plenty of discussion of the geopolitics surrounding the execution of Saddam – take a look at the Iraqi Blogodrome, Lebanon, Iran, North Africa, and elsewhere.  The anger about the decision to execute Saddam on the morning of Eid al-Adha is well-documented too – Raed Jarrar is stunned, Abu Aardvark speculates on motivations behind the timing, and Leilouta simply describes a childhood memory of the sacrifice of a lamb.  But the cellphone footage has brought a different edge to the discussion – and the irony that debate over capital punishment has been reignited by the execution of a man on trial for genocide is not lost on anyone.
GV's inimitable Salam Adil hits the nail on the head with The Ghost of Saddam Hussein:
Everyone .. and .. their .. auntie seems to have produced their own Iraqi blogger reviews rounding up reactions to the execution of Saddam Hussein.
However, what is needed now is some analysis. So here is my humble attempt to make some sense from the stream of opinions flowing out of the Iraqi blogodrome.
Nearby on GV, Jose Murilo Junior (or perhaps his auntie) provides a fascinating run-through of Portuguese-language bloggers’ reactions – ranging from condemnation of the execution to a fearful evocation of “the emergence of a fifth power — decentralized, far-reaching, anarchical” (that's us and our cameraphones, in case you hadn't realised).
Kazakh blogger Adam Kesher invites his readers to vote for or against capital punishment in Kazakhstan, where the government of President Nazarbayev passed a moratorium on the death penalty three years ago.  Does he deserve his punishment, or is it a “barbaric sacrifice to political gods?”  Of the 27 votes received, 18 are against the death penalty.
From another country with a moratorium, Sean's Russia Blog rounds up Russian media coverage and opinion of the execution, including the news that far-right leader
Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s LDRP staged a minor protest in front of the Iraqi embassy in Moscow to oppose the execution. Forty four people attended to the demonstration, which wasn’t sanctioned by the police and no one was arrested.
At Two Weeks Notice, Greg Weeks shows how hard other governments are finding it to square the circle.  He thinks the Cuban government, which retains the death penalty, might be displaying double standards in denouncing the execution.
Raed Jarrar's description of the execution sums up why the video has stirred up such conflicting emotions:
The execution scene did not at all resemble a State execution; rather, it looked like a chaotic sectarian act of revenge interrupted by shrieking militiamen who received him from the U.S. forces less than 30 minutes before killing him.
Raed, who says he is against the death penalty, makes a stinging attack on the Iraqi government's reaction to the leaked execution video, calling the incident “Execution-Gate”:
As if the problem is about who filmed the shameful scene, not about who designed it and participated in it.
In Malaysia, Ktemoc thinks that the guard held for filming the execution is a “low-level scapegoat”, and sees echoes in the execution fiasco of his country's Squatgate scandal, which I wrote about in September.
In Egypt, Sandmonkey says the video turned his stomach.  Adele of Trinidad's The Bookmann goes further:
The use of a phone camera to bring the world more private imagery from the scene also lent an air of the perverse on top of the existing perversity.
Astrubal, a Tunisian in exile, writes more directly:
Le monde entier va être témoin -à vomir- de cet acte barbare, exécuté non point par un psychopathe sanguinaire et sadique, mais par un Etat sous couvert d’une pseudo justice.
and goes on to lament the absence of Arab protests against the continued use of capital punishment:
J’avais espéré que l’exécution abjecte de Saddam, par sa médiatisation, puisse servir à quelque chose. Quelle soit à l’origine d’un mouvement vers un moyen radical pour empêcher désormais nos tyrans (mais aussi les américains) d’exécuter nos concitoyens –chez nous- en toute impunité.
J’avais espéré observer des manifestations pour clamer “A bas la peine de mort !“, “A bas la sentence destinée à exécuter sous couvert de la loi les adversaires politiques“, “Finissons-en avec ce permis de tuer dont personne ne peut garantir l’impartialité !“, “Abrogeons cette offense à la dignité humaine qu’est la peine de mort !”.
Hélas, au lieu de cela nous assistons aux cris de : “A bas l’Amérique et gloire à Saddam le martyr“.
I had hoped to see demonstrations proclaiming “Down with the death penalty!” “Down with the sentence used to execute political opponents under the guise of the law”, “Let us end this license to kill, the impartiality of which no one can guarantee!” “Ban the death penalty, which is offensive to human dignity!”
Alas, instead of this, we hear cries of “Down with America, and glory to Saddam the martyr.”
And on Friday, after prayers, several towns in Jammu and Kashmir witnessed violent protests against the execution, as local Muslim protesters burned effigies of George W Bush and American flags.  Also on Friday, three thousand protesters marched in the Jordanian capital Amman against American and Iranian influence in the Middle East.  And the NYT reports from Beirut that the cry of “Saddam the martyr” is spreading across the region.
AL Tarrar at Baghdad Connect turns to philosophical anthropologist Rene Girard to make sense of this, arguing that Saddam effectively committed ritual suicide:
The hanging of the Saddam on the first ritual day of religious festivities – when myths, fears, etc are at highest echelon, will produce a ritual ‘sacrificial’ victim for those who deem Saddam is turned into a martyr, and ritual ‘sacrificeacble’ victim for those who deem Saddam is a punishable murderer.  […]  Becoming more like gods, he refused to acknowledge the new social order and became nihilistic, and as with the ‘Heaven’s Gate’ members he had eventually committed suicide while he was reciting ritual verses during the act.
African bloggers rage against Saddam apologists
In the African blogosphere, Sudanese Thinker, suffering conflicting emotions on seeing the execution video, excoriates Saddam apologist bloggers.  Next door, in Kenya, M of Thinker's Room sparks off a debate about capital punishment among his international readership in a post entitled “They Shouldn't Have Hanged Saddam”.  UK-based Olawunmi takes a starkly different view, sending Nigeria's leaders a memento mori, that what happened to Saddam can easily happen to other wayward leaders.  Another trenchant Nigerian blogger, Akin, advocates turning Saddam's posthumous trial for genocide into a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  But the most downbeat confession comes from Nkem Ifejika, also based in the UK:
On the night he was executed, a group of us had a debate about capital punishment. I am against it. Not because I believe the worst of humankind should be spared the indignity of state execution, but for our own dignity. We, the judge, jury, and excutioner. We are the ones who need to preserve our own nobility by not killing people. What has killing Saddam gained the world? One less mouth to feed maybe, but other than that – nothing. Is it ever possible for capital punishment to be seen as anything loftier than state sanctioned revenge? I think not. When we were growing up, most of our parents told us not to hit back. Turn the other cheek. Revenge is for the Lord. But even one of the mot theocratic governments in the world, the US government, is in favour of the death penalty.
It's 2007, but it might as well be Middle Ages. Firing Squad, Hanging, Lethal Injection, Electric Chair, Guillotine. What's the difference?
Finally, to the USA, where 60 executions took place during 2005, and 53 in 2006.  But the debate made be shifting: in December, the US President's brother, Jeb Bush, suspended executions in Florida, where he is Governor, after an execution by lethal injection was “botched” – now 10 states have taken similar measures.  And on January 2nd, the New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission issued its report [PDF] recommending to the Governor of that state that the death penalty be abolished.  Organisations such as the Death Penalty Information Center and the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty are consistently trying to raise informed debate on the issue – and new grassroots discussion fora exist to house these debates.  But since Saddam's execution, it seems everyone is talking about it – and it's the cellphone video that sparked it all.
A blog on Catholic legal theory, the Mirror of Justice, questions whether the Iraqi government qualifies as a functioning state, and therefore whether the execution was morally justified.  One media columnist warns readers that they shouldn't gloat over Saddam's death, as he was, while he was carrying out the crimes for which he was executed, supported by the USA.  Not everyone wants a debate, however, as this strident defence of Saddam's execution testifies at Reject The UN.
As always, feel free to comment, or to add links to coverage from where you are, via the box below.
Resources and further reading
Amnesty International has recently updated its Facts and Figures section on the death penalty.  While 128 countries can be considered to have abolished the death penalty wholly, partly or in practice, 69 retain the death penalty, although not all of these will use it in any given year.  At least 2,148 people were executed worldwide in 2005 in 22 countries – one country, China, carried out 1,770 of these executions.  Six methods of execution have prevailed since the year 2000:
- Beheading (in Saudi Arabia, Iraq)
– Electrocution (in USA)
– Hanging (in Egypt, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Pakistan, Singapore and other countries)
– Lethal injection (in China, Guatemala, Philippines, Thailand, USA)
– Shooting (in Belarus, China, Somalia, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam and other countries)
– Stoning (in Afghanistan, Iran)
Amnesty USA provides a list of relevant international legislation showing the progress towards abolition of the death penalty.
The Project on Extrajudicial Executions, based at New York University School of Law, was established by Philip Alston, the UN's Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and publishes extracts of his correspondence with governments around the world, and working papers on the right to life.
As for blogs, Abolish The Death Penalty is predominantly US-focused, and has recently been running a series of interviews with the families of executed prisoners.  The site has a useful blogroll, with links to many US-based and international blogs on the death penalty, including the excellent Asia Death Penalty.
Beyond the USA, Think Centre is a Singaporean NGO lobbying for an end to the death penalty in Singapore, and Hands Off Cain is an Italian-led campaign for an immediate UN moratorium on the death penalty.  Please do add further resources through the comments box below.
[This post benefited from the input of several GV colleagues – Salam Adil, Sami Ben Gharbia, Leila Tanayeva, Ndesanjo Macha, Veronica Khokhlova, Preetam Rai, David Sasaki, Natham Hamm – and Sam Gregory and Hakima Abbas at WITNESS.  Thanks to all. Any mistakes are mine alone, likewise any infelicities of translation.]

author: Sameer Padania


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The Ghost of Saddam Hussain · Global Voices
Salam Adil

Brazillian cartoonist Latuff's take on the repercussions of the execution.
Everyone .. and .. their .. auntie seems to have produced their own Iraqi blogger reviews rounding up reactions to the execution of Saddam Hussein.
However, what is needed now is some analysis. So here is my humble attempt to make some sense from the stream of opinions flowing out of the Iraqi blogodrome. To be completely out of character this is going to be opinionated and I encourage the readers contribute their thoughts in the comments section below. But first…
If you read no other posts read these
Baghdad Connect makes an excellent analysis of the execution and the death penalty.
If you want to understand what was said in that video of the hanging of Saddam don't go to CNN go to Riverbend who puts the record straight. She gives her own translation of the insults that were traded between Saddam and the witnesses, and her own opinion:
One of the most advanced countries in the world did not help to reconstruct Iraq, they didn't even help produce a decent constitution. They did, however, contribute nicely to a kangaroo court and a lynching. A lynching shall go down in history as America's biggest accomplishment in Iraq. So who's next? Who hangs for the hundreds of thousands who've died as a direct result of this war and occupation?
And Konfused Kid describes like no other the mechanics of civil war in Iraq. He recounts the story of a friend who was swept up into the world of the Sectarian killers but survived to tell the tale. Essential  reading.
On with the Show
If one looks back at how bloggers reported Zarqawi's killing with the execution of Saddam; the contrast is striking. Then there was almost a united joy at the event. This time there is a distinctive split, with only political bloggers on one side and everyone else on the other. Contrast hardened political blogger Mohammed of Iraq the Model and British-based Eye-Raki with non-political teenager HNK:
Mohammed:
Outside Iraq people will divide over his hanging, just like they divided over his life and rule but here in Iraq most of us feel that today justice has been served. Those who mourn him are a few and are still living in the past that has no future in Iraq.
and Eye Raki:
People's reaction to this execution is, i think, a true measure of what they are made of. The ones that are outraged at his death, are the probably the ones who support terrorism, fund terrorism or are terrorists themselves. The fools that are saying this was an unlawful execution and that Saddam was a legitimate ruler seem to have a very short memory
versus HNK:
I think I was wrong.. … My opinions changed from the first year I wrote in this blog. I thought in that time that everything is going to be good and acceptable for all of us but I was wrong my friend, I was so wrong. I was wrong when I said that Saddam don't mean to me anything. I was wrong when I said that I think he is a bad guy … from now, I won't say anything bad about Saddam because I don't know whether he was right or wrong . But I know that the people who came after Saddam is Evil and worse than devil and Saddam was better than them……
Well, HNK is not from outside Iraq, but Eye Raki is. She cannot be accused of living in the past or having a short memory. She is a teenager who grew up in Saddam's Iraq and has her whole life ahead of her. Any quick scan of her blog shows no support for terrorists who blow up cars and lob mortars near her relatives homes or threaten her teachers. And she certainly is not on her own. The same thoughts were repeated again and again.
Neurotic Wife quoting a Shia work colleague:
You know, I think I will be the first person to cheer Saddam's comeback… nothing compares to our fear now. NOTHING. Saddam is the only person who can get rid of those rogues. He is the only one who knows how to deal with them.
Nabil:
to say the truth I'm Sad, because I think that Iraq will never ever have a president that knows how to deal with the bad groups of the iraqi people like Saddam.
Aunt Najma:
Saddam's death won't lead to anything good, as did his arrest, and trial.. As I've said before, he was a dectator, but now, to me, he was not but a leader who made things work!
It is not that Saddam was popular, he was hated by every section of Iraqi society, but as Raed wrote it takes some extreme stupidity to turn to turn Saddam from a hated dictator to a symbol of resistance and pride. Maybe extreme stupidity is what has defined this whole war from the start. Konfused Kid does, I think the best job of reconciling the mixed emotions.
My opinion is that there is a split between die-hard political commentators and ordinary Iraqis. Perhaps also politicians have become so cut off from the Iraqi street that they may as well be on another planet.
I remember a cousin telling me if Saddam ever stood against the current government in an election he would win 99% of the vote. This opinion is repeated again and again in blogs that I read and from people that I speak to. It is far from typical but it is there.
It is not the entrenching of opposition from the Sunni population that should concern the Iraq Govt and America. But, as I can conclude from my readings of the blogodrome, they have now gained the widespread hatred of the Iraqi middle classes and more importantly the youth.
Perhaps Saddam's execution has had some positive effect. The timing and its haste has brought people together in unity against the status quo. What do you think?

author: Salam Adil


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Africa: African Path · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

White African is excited about the launching of African Path, a website that aggregates news and analysis on Africa, “The interesting thing about African Path is that he has also set up a blogger’s section. So far, 7 bloggers have committed to writing for African Path with another 7 possible.”


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Africa: viability of mobile internet connection · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Writing at Mobile Africa, Oluniyi Ajao asks, “Are Mobile Data Technologies viable as mainstream channel of Internet connection?”


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Cambodia: Predictions for 2007 · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Vireak comes up with some amusing and not so amusing predictions for 2007. One of them deals with the blogging scene in Cambodia. “The Khmer blogging bubble to burst. So the khmer blogosphere has been growing alot in 2006. But in 2007, it may be another story. Lack of ideas and creativities of what to write will force many oh-so bloggers to abandon their blogs. Vireak.net is no exception. I hope this prediction turn out to be wrong though.”


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East Timor: Movie Reflections · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Tumbleweed in Timor Lorosae reflects on the diamond industry after watching the latest hollywood movie that talks about conflict diamonds. The violence scenes in the movie also reminds her of the real-life violence that took place in East Timor last year.


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Iran:Ali Farahbakhsh,a journalist in jail for 40 days  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to Samimanetar,Ali Farahbakhsh, an economist journalist, has been in jail for 40 days.The blogger says Ali was very quite person with great interest in academic works. The blogger says government instead of asking specialists like Ali for help, it send them to jail [Fa].


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Iran:Ice Pack a new popular product · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Rozmaregi says there is a growing number of shops in Tehran which sells only one product,an ice cream called Ice Pack[Fa]. You can see a photo of Ice Pack in this blog.


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Iran:Leader’s Plan to Show Up In Qom? · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kamangir tells us for which reasons,Khamenei's,the Leader,speech is important tommorow.He says,”if that happens, it would be an important event, because of choosing the Iranian Vatican over the capital city.”


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Singapore: Strange Green Lights in the Sky · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

squareCircleZ and several other Singaporeans spot strange green lights over Singapore. squareCirclez writes “The light it was giving off was a neon-like light green, and the strangest thing was that no noise accompanied it.”


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South Africa: South Africa dot bomb · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

In a post titled, South Africa Dot Bomb, Johan Bosini notes, “South Africa's penetration of 7.4% is even below Reunion (25.3%), Mauritius (14.1%), Morocco (11.6%), Sao Tome & Principe – ever even heard of them? (11.7%), Seychelles (23.8%), St. Helena (10.2%) and Tunisia (8.2%). If we go beyond Africa then it gets even more concerning.”


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Tanzania: Tanzanian becomes new UN deputy · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

My Africa Today writes about the appointment of Tanzania's Foreign Minister, Asha-Rose Migiro, as the new UN deputy secretary-general.


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Afghanistan: Kabul Express · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Afghan Lord posts a clip from Kabul Express, a Bollywood film that has been banned in Afghanistan for insulting the Hazara ethnic group.


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Anguilla: What’s wrong with the public service · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Corruption-free Anguilla blog is devoting a series of posts — one, two, three, four — to a detailed analysis of the country's public service and its discontents.


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Armenia: Naval Disasters & Elephant Romance · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian writes about an Armenian blog he's newly discovered called Armenia Blog. Content on the blog covers all variety of topics germane to Armenia, and Onnik draws attention to a post on the Soviet Union's biggest naval disaster and the search for a mate for the elephant at the Yerevan Zoo.


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Armenia: Potatoes for Votes · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The latest Armenian Parliamentary Election Monitory at Oneworld Multimedia rounds up the latest election news with a large section devoted to Gagik Tsarukian, who is now making headlines not for losing tons of money or gunfights involving his hired muscle, but for giving out potatoes to buy votes.


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Bangladesh: Going back to get married · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Mezba on why men of the expat and diaspora community go back to Bangladesh and why he may not do the same. “Even though girls from back home are maybe more Bollywoodishly beautiful, charming, will make tea for me (my only demand), and so on, my reasons for marrying a Canadian Bengali woman would be as follows”


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Barbados: Caribbean Direct Recruitment Scheme · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Titilayo supplements what she knew previously about the Caribbean Direct Recruitment scheme, through which London Transport recruited Caribbean migrants to the UK, with information from an exhibition currently on at the London Transport Museum.


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Barbados, Indonesia: Two views on drug smuggling · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press compares the attitude of the Indonesian authorities to drug smuggling with that of the authorities in Barbados, and concludes that the latter are sending mixed messages of major proportions.


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Brunei: Press Freedom in Brunei · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Old Man's Blog comments on Reporters Without Borders ranking Brunei at 111 in its Press Freedom Index. The blogger talks about the places where Brunei is areas in which Brunei is better than its neighbours with respect to press freedoms and also discusses the weaknesses of Brunei press.


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China: And we don’t stop · Global Voices
John Kennedy

First blind reproductive rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng was charged in August last year for destruction of property and instigating a riot and sentenced to four years in prison, and land rights lawyer Guo Feixiong was arrested in September charged with running an illegal printing press out of his home, terms of sentence yet to be made public.
Then on January first, the day new rules granting foreign journalists increased freedom to interview Chinese citizens came into effect, all-round human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, his wife, his fourteen year-old daughter and three year-old son were forcibly removed from their home and rushed out of Beijing by an entourage of around twenty state security agents, according to posts on Gao's blog, now being updated by AIDS activist friend Hu Jia, himself having been under house arrest for the past six months.
From a post dated January 2, 2007:
中国大陆刚刚过去的2007年元旦是个特殊的日子，这一天《北京奥运会及其筹备期外国记者在华采访规定》开始正式生效。其中第六条”外国记者在华采访，只需征得被采访单位和个人的同意。”这意味着中国政府至少名义上不再给外国记者的采访设置大量无理的限制，这是和国际接轨的必要步骤。早在此规定颁布的 2006年12月1日，就有外国驻华媒体的记者们开始摩拳擦掌，准备好好用实践检验一下这个条款。究竟它是骗人的摆设，虚假的”牌坊”，还是真正能兑现的奥林匹克承诺。检验的绝好方法就是去采访被非法拘禁或者监控的异议人士。那么，采访被北京市公安局国保总队的”盖世太保”们严密拘禁的高智晟律师或是他的家人，成为海外驻华媒体的重要选题。
然而，海外记者能想到的，北京市公安局国保总队也基本能想到，公安部国内安全保卫局和中共中央政法委拥有丰富”斗争经验”的”盖世太保”头目们更能想到。针对全世界广泛关注高智晟律师的奥运人权大案，北京市公安局国保总队为了铲除后患，阻止任何外国记者对高智晟或其妻子儿女的采访，遂将其全家趁夜幕押解出京。
A post the next day says Gao and his family's whereabouts remained unknown, followed by a January 6 post which reports that Gao is currently back in his hometown in northwestern Shaanxi province.
There are still 584 days left until the opening of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, Hu writes at the end of his January 2nd post.

author: John Kennedy


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China: Etiquette and Modernity  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Granite Studio looks into the modern history of 19 century intellectual self-criticism on backward manner in China. The blogger thinks that the recent Beijing government's campaign to ensure that Chinese tourists’ behaviour “compatible with the nation's economic strength and its growing international status” is another reflection of contemporary Chinese modernity.


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China: red bomb · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

One man band width forsees the attack of the red bombs in the coming year of Pig.


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China: reporter ethics · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates a story about a media ethics debate in which a reporter had informed the police of a fugitive who had contacted the reporter about to turning himself in.


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Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina: Xenophobia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Neretva River writes about xenophobic attacks against immigrant communities in Croatia and the growing intolerance toward non-Bosniaks in Sarajevo.


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Cuba: Cindy Sheehan visits · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Babalu Blog reports, briefly but with typical rancor (echoed by many in the comments thread), that US anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan “and her Code Pinko cohorts” are visiting Cuba.


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Cuba, Spain: Hotel apartheid · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Noticiero Cuba reports (ES) that Fito Cabrales, a rocker from Bilbao, Spain, has publicly criticised the system of “apartheid” which bars Cuban nationals from entering hotels on the island. The post notes that “the majority” of these hotels are run by Spanish hotel operators.


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East Timor: Egg Shortage · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Dili-Gence talks about the shortage of eggs in East Timor. “I asked two locals and both said that there had been a huge buy-up for Christmas feasting.  One (with a wicked smile on her face) blamed the Portuguese for baking too many cakes.”


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Europe: East vs West · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa poses these questions: “Why don't conferences about the need for reformist European governments include discussions on older members that could also benefit from reform? Why do people focus on the region “from the Baltics to the Balkans” when the European Union as a whole presents a far more inclusive category for lumping various countries together and discussing their shortcomings. Why do some people insist on carving Europe into East and West when it's clear that Europe as a whole suffers from similar problems that transcend Cold War geography?”


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Europe: EU Enlarement; “Stars and Soggy Bottoms” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Economist‘s Edward Lucas on the EU's newest members – and on Central and East European “stars and soggy bottoms.”


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Europe: Migration · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar posts some “more migrating piffle.”


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Ghana: fashion for food · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bella Naija posts beautiful photos from The CatWalk the World – Fashion For Food, which took place in Accra, Ghana.


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India: Mazgaon in Mumbai · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Fresh fish, docks and Mumbai captured in photographs at Trivial Matters. “Ferry Warf, Mazgaon, is a daring mix of the bright colours of the machiwalli’s saris, dried salted fish, and the flowing melt of sea-scented blocks of ice. It smells of diesel exhaust and fish guts.


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Iran: An ex political prisoner is painting about her suffering · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Soudabeh Ardavan has spent 7 years in prison in 80's because she was a member of a leftwing group.Soudabeh is a painter and she is painting about her suffering and dreams.


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Jamaica: “Dem too tief” · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Francis Wade looks for the rationale behind what he perceives to be a tendency among Caribbean consumers to “when confronted with what seems to be an unreasonable price, . . . .claim that the person selling it is a thief.”


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Jamaica: New year crime spree · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Jamaica experiences a spate of murders just as the new year begins, six of the victims police officers. Leon is outraged that the government seems more concerned about solving the crime problem for the sake of protecting the country's tourist industry than for the well-being of its citizens, and expresses support for capital punishment.


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Japan: bullying · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Adamu from Mutantfrog discusses about the school bullying issue in Japan and explains how the education minister has missed the point in addressing the issue.


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Japan: environmental Furoshiki · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Paul Nicholls in Japundit blogs about Furoshiki, a traditional wrapping cloth, which has easily been adapted in modern Japanese society. The ministry of environment recently promoted Furoshiki as an ancient wisdom of environmentalism.


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Japan: festival · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ampontan introduces various traditional festivals (or matsuri) in Japan.


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Kazakhstan: Hare Krishnas · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

KZBlog reports an update to the fate of Kazakhstan's beleaguered Hare Krishna community.


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Kazakhstan: Youth and Laws · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Leila posts a translation of a post calling for laws on youth that work.


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Kenya: is Nairobi ready for the World Social Forum? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Julia Opoti blogging on African Path asks whether Nairobi is ready for the World Social Forum 2007, “According to Brian Adero, a reporter with the East African Standard, the Kenyan hotel industry is worried about handling the large influx of delegates in Nairobi. In addition to the need for accomodation is the logistical and security burden on the city. In this same article, Adero speaks to a hotel manager who tells him Nairobi hotels could barely host the 5,000 delegates during the Climate Change.”


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Kenya: mobile phone revolution · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenyan Pundit writes about BBC's webcast on the mobile phone revolution in Kenya and the Acumen Fund Fellowships


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Latvia: Soviet Prison Tours · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

All About Latvia reports on a new tourist attraction: “For 5 lats, you can experience a Soviet prison first hand.”


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Libya blogs : First week of 2007 · Global Voices
Fozia Mohamed

While the blogosphere is still in grips over the execution of Saddam Hussein and whether the death penalty is OK, the Libyan bloggers have moved on to different subjects.
Khadijateri in facts writes about the new year resolutions .”If I was going to make any resolutions it would have to be a list – one is certainly never enough. “
AngloLibyan is also still in New Year/Eid mood , buying meat and talking about the London fireworks.
Lebeeya talks about the joys of baby sitting and her new foun role.”Mohra is a VERY bright, intelligent child. She asks the weirdest questions lol she is so cute and innocent. It was actaully more fun than I thought it was going to be. 2 days pasted by very quickly. I miss her already”.
Piccolina is advocation the benifits of being oneself  “if u can't be your self and you'll live faking a personality then just KNOCK IT OFF and STAY AWAY FROM ME”.
And Besheshentra  from Benghazi of Tears in Heaven is nicely surprised at  her trip to Tripoli.
So you can see the conversation taking place between the Libyans was very different from anticipated, also hope you enjoy this different crop of bloggers.

author: Fozia Mohamed


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Malaysia: Visit Malaysia Year · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Lucia Lai hopes for the success of Visit Malaysia Year program that was announced recently to attract more tourists. The blogger also comments on  the installation of a ferris wheel in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. “i will still talk negatively on the eye of malaysia as i feel it was a waste of money to spend on a (copied) giant ferris wheel just for some breath-taking views of the city. you know the ride last only 12 mins and it cost RM15 – isn’t that too expensive?”


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Nepal: Watching a Nepali movie · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Wagle Street Journal on watching Nepali movies. “Produced with comparatively low budget, Nepali films are poor in quality and other benchmarks. An average Nepali film’s standard budget is around Rs. 4.5 million (slightly more than US $ 55 thousands).”


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Nigeria: Nollywood and Hollywood collaboration · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Timbuktu Chronicles writes about the Nigerian film director, Lancelot Imasuen, and the possible collaboration between Nollywood and Hollywood, “With a $200, 000 non-union budget film titled, Friendly Enemy Imasuen has also succeeded in entering a major deal with three Hollywood companies that might see coming into fruition the much-expected Nollywood/Hollywood collaboration.”


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Pakistan: Folktales, culture and Sohni Mahiwal · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

All Things Pakistan on folklore and the story of Sohni-Mahiwal. “Folklore is a mixture of beliefs, facts and fiction. Over time, the different elements get so interwoven with each other that often it becomes difficult to separate one from the other.”


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Personal and political: The anti-Castro blogosphere reacts to Cindy Sheehan’s Cuba visit · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Hell hath no fury like an anti-Castro blogger confronted with the idea of a US anti-war activist's visit to Cuba. Or so the reactions to Cindy Sheehan‘s visit to the island would suggest. Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in 2004 while serving in Iraq, came to the world's attention in August 2005 for her extended vigil at a peace camp outside George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. No stranger to controversy nor to personal attacks, Sheehan travelled to Cuba on January 6, 2007, along with 11 other human rights activists, to participate in the January 11 demonstrations demanding the closure of the military prison at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in eastern Cuba. Nearly 400 prisoners are being held at Guantanamo on suspicion of links to al-Qaida and the Taliban.
The tone of the much of the commentary on Sheehan's visit from anti-Castro bloggers has been predictably strident. The influential Babalú Blog led the charge on January 4 with the following:
Cindy Sheehan, Medea Benjamin, Code  Pink and other prominent Useless Tools will be traveling to Cuba next week to protest Gitmo, hold press conferences in Havana and quite possibly enjoy a Jinete or three. . . .
Of course, this group of f***tards will not be visiting the Kilo Ocho prison or any of the other Cuban prisons shown in this pamphlet. They wont be visiting Oscar Elias Biscet or any of the other prisoners of conscience held in castro's gulags.
Nope. They'll be visiting Gitmo, where the detainees live better than the average Cuban citizen.
With a tip of the hat to Babalú‘s post, Ziva weighed in by focusing on the feminist anti-war group Code Pink, one of the organisers of the visit:
Head Pinko Cindy Sheehan and her commie friends are at it again. Code Pink is using the internet to solicit funds for illegal travel to Cuba. Their goal? To shut down Guantanamo. They say it's to end the inhumane treatment of prisoners, but that's a lie. They've never said one word about the inhumane treatment Cubans endure in castro´s gulag. Code Pink's sponsorship of trips to  Cuba, Venezuela, and Iraq, are not to achieve world peace, but to obstuct the U.S. government´s defense against terroism because these anti-American traitors actively aide and support our enemies. Code Pink leaders Medea Benjamin, Cindy Sheehan, and Jody Evans are not pacifists, they're “revolutionaries” who wish to impose a totalitarian government modeled after fidel castro's Cuba on the United States.
Citing an appeal for funds from Code Pink's web site, Ziva said that “this is a violation of U.S. law. Notice when you click to donate you're directed to a form with different wording. This is a ruse to cover their backs in case the Feds take notice. They've previously been caught altering the webpage when things got too hot.”
Texas-based Marc Masferrer, one of the less strident — and more thorough — among the anti-Castro bloggers, offered a slightly more tempered version of Babalú's post:
Just another venue for the “peace mom” to spread her hate for America. . . .
There have been abuses at Gitmo. But they are no match for the horrors found on the other side of the fenceline, on the rest of the island.
But, of course, there will be no such marches to any of the dozens of prisons in the Cuban gulag, where brave men like Juan Herrera, Normando Hernandez and Oscar Biscet languish for exercising the same rights Sheehan has used to become such an embarassment.
Later on January 4 Masferrer republished an article about the 950 km walking pilgrimage being undertaken by Cuban Ramón Velázquez Torranso, an independent journalist from the Libertad Press Agency, to protest the Cuban regime's human rights violations, adding: “Here's a wild guess: Cindy Sheehan's visit next week to Cuba will get more coverage by the MSM than Ramón Velázquez Torranso's protest.” Then on January 5 Masferrer constrasted Sheehan and her cohorts with Cuba's “Damas de Blanco” (Ladies in White), a group comprising the wives, sisters and mothers of Cuban political prisoners. “Their methods,” Masferrer wrote, “unlike Sheehan's, are courageous and dignified, which under a tyranny like Cuba's can come with grave consequences.”
A January 6 entry from !Ya No Mas! entitled “Cindy Shame-ham, Peace Defenders, to Cuba” comprised a photo of Sheehan captioned “Cara de Culo Sheehan” (Ass-face Sheehan) and a Prensa Latina reprint. Also appearing on the same day was a post from Masferrer reporting that Ramón Velázquez Torranso and his family were arrested Camagüey. “No word yet on whether veteran marcher and “defender of peace” Cindy Sheehan has taken notice,” Masferrer wrote. Later that day !Ya No Mas! — rather curiously — ran two photos and a reprint of a Reuters report on the activists’ visit without comment, but also published Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin's e-mail address.
Masferrer posted twice about the Sheehan visit on January 7. His first entry reported Sheehan's arrival in Havana, and riffed off her widely quoted comment, “anyone who knows me, knows that I am not afraid of anything,” which was uttered in response to questions about whether she had concerns about being punished for violating the ban on travel to Cuba by US citizens:
If she has no fear, maybe then she will take time to speak up for the hundreds of political prisoners languishing in her hosts’ gulag. After all, their bravery easily surpasses any courage Sheehan has ever demonstrated.
Until Sheehan surprises us like that, she is nothing more, as Charlie Bravo at KillCastro wrote, an “accomplice of the suffering of the Cuban people.”
Masferrer's second entry was an update on the plights of several Cuban political prisoners, with the astute comment: “Still no word on whether Cindy Sheehan will speak up for these and other Cuban political prisoners.”
Also on January 7, US blogger Don Rogers tried to make a connection between Sheehan's visit to Cuba and Fidel Castro's much-speculated-upon illness:
Could it be a coincidence that radical nut-case Cindy Sheehan, in violation of U.S. law has begun a grand tour of the communist country.
I don’t think so, who else would make a good replacement for the loudmouth, American hating Fidel!!! I just hope when she gets to Guantanamo and onto U.S. soil, they toss her ass in with the rest of the terrorist. See how much she loves these killers then.
Rogers’ compatriot The Skipper also advocated imprisonment for “media whore” Sheehan, as did Texas Freds, who called Sheehan an “ugly bitch”. Accusations of unattractiveness — and lesbianism — were also rampant on the comments thread for Babalú Blog‘s January 7 entry, in which Val Prieto posted an image of Sheehan and two fellow activists, along with acomplaint that a Google News search for “Cindy Sheehan” Cuba yielded only articles that made no mention of political prisoners in Cuba:
“the people in that pic, they used to be dudes right?”
“Actually, they remind me of the three (women?) Borat interviewed in his movie. . . “
“Is there a mandatory ugliness quota for moonbat peace protesters. For once could one of them no look like someone who slept in their clothes, or couldn't they get their hair done, or maybe just shave their hairlips for the Lord's sake.”
“…Are they lesbians?… She looks like a guy I used to know….”
January 7 found Marc Masferrer continuing his campaign to gain attention for Cuba's political prisoners:
I'd rather ignore Cindy Sheehan, but her current visit to Cuba to trash America is an outrage that no responsible person can allow to go unchallenged, since too many of my colleagues in the MSM have already decided to do just that. Yes, the Associated Press and other wire services did report that Sheehan arrived in Havana on Saturday, but in none of the stories has their been even a cursory mention of the fact that her Cuban hosts run one of the worst gulags in the world.
And there has been no indication that any reporter has asked Sheehan, long ago annointed as some sort of saint for her “bravery,” whether she would challenge the regime for how it treats its prisoners.
Also writing on January 7, Ziva accused Sheehan and “her group, Code Pink” of donating money to “the enemy responsible for her son's death”. The link included in the article leads to an article in FrontPage magazine stating that Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin was among a group of leftist activists who donated US$600,000 in cash and supplies to house refugees in Fallujah, Iraq. (The article makes no mention of Sheehan).
This morning Marc Masferrer resorted to posting a mug shot of Sheehan from the McLennan County (Texas) Sheriff's office, with the caption: “For various crimes of ignorance, stupidity, vapidness and general moonbattery.” The Western Hemisphere Policy Watch blog, criticising the “gratuitous snipe” made by Sheehan about ending the US embargo against Cuba, exhorted Sheehan to “keep talking”:
Anyhow, with these silly comments about U.S. policy on Cuba, ease the embargo, Sheehan and her fellow lefty cohorts may have done all of us hardliners a favor. Please keep talking and show the world, and our policymakers, the lunacy of your ways. When the Cuban Communist Party (CCP) newspaper praises everything you say and do, please, keep talking Cindy Sheehan, keep talking.
Today's post from !Ya No Mas! also had a whiff of desperation about it. It comprised an AP article (ES) reporting that Sheehan and Medea Benjamin had given a speech in Havana encouraging Latino youth not to be hoodwinked by the US military into going to Iraq, along with a photo of cleverly animated photograph showing Sheehan picking her nose and holding a bottle of purple KoolAid.
Another post from !Ya No Mas! landed in my aggregator just as I was about to post this article, however, reprinting an article (ES) reporting that the Damas de Blanco have written to Sheehan requesting a meeting and explaining the plight of Cuba's prisoners of conscience. “At the same time that you and your honourable followers are devoting your efforts towards the closure of the US prison at Guantánamo Naval Base. . . ,” the letter is quoted as saying, “only a few miles away, in the prison of the province of Guántanamo, on Cuban soil, peace-loving and defenseless prisoners of conscience and political prisoners are forced to tolerate inhuman conditions. . . . “
In anticipation of a question likely to be raised by readers — and rightly so — I should say that pro-Castro (whatever that phrase may mean) bloggers are largely silent on the matter of Sheehan's Cuba sojourn. Anti-Castro bloggers are likely to respond by saying that this is because their work is already being done by the mainstream media. And so far, only one blogger from inside Cuba — Zenia — has mentioned the Sheehan visit, in the form of a brief statement of the basic facts.