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South Korea: Putin’s Son-in-law Fiasco Caused By Media Frenzy · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Overnight, Mr. Yoon has became famous in South Korea because of media coverage introducing him as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's future son-in-law. The South Korean online sphere was inundated by hundreds of updates on Yoon's impending marriage, explaining who are the couple is, what they look like, how they met and fell in love with each other, etc. Lots of jokes and envious comments on the risks and perks of becoming a son-in-law of one of the world's most powerful figures have madly circulated online. Several days later, Yoon resigned from his job and said he is no longer able to talk to Katya Putin, Putin's youngest daughter. Yoon lost both his love and his job within less than a week. Yoon is said to have been dating Katya Putin for about 10 years.
Joongang Ilb0, South Korea's mainstream newspaper made the first report on Katya Putin’s impending marriage to a Korean man identified only by his surname Yoon. Joongang, quoting an anonymous source opened the news article with “Vladimir Putin’s youngest daughter will marry a Korean man” as if reporting fact, irregardless of an apparent media embargo issued by Yoon's family, as shown from a later paragraph in the very same article: “Yoon, 64, said in a phone interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, ‘The couple will make an official announcement about their marriage. Please do not report their marriage now.'” Many things happened within less than a week. Putin's press relations denied the marriage, and Chosun reported, quoting Samsung spokesman that Yoon resigned his position in Moscow office of Samsung Electronics as concerns were raised about possible attacks from terrorist groups. Yoon said in other media outlets that he is very disappointed with Korean media's unwarranted coverage of his private life and his family said that even after they had corrected some facts, the media published their own versions of the news reports.
Image of Vladimir Putin from www.kremlin.ru. Wikipedia. Creative Commons 3.0
Below a local news article on Yoon's apparent break-up, hundreds of comments were added, most of them lashing out at the Korean journalist who had hurriedly churned out a story with no respect to the family's media embargo or proper confirmation of the veracity of the report. Some made remarks were made in a serious tone while others were written in jest:
전상민: 기자.. 몸조심해라..푸틴이 이미 KGB 출동시켰을수도 있다.
김진아: 내가 여자입장이었어도, 배신감 느껴서 연락끊고 다시는 보고싶어 하지 않았을 것 같다.
이보배: 푸틴, 중앙일보 고소해버려. 진짜 기자들 보도 자제해달라고 말하면 “보도를 자제해달라”고 했다 뭐 이딴 인용이나 해대고 할 말이 없다.
박정훈: 기사를 쓸때는 인간적으로 책임감은 좀 가지고 써라. 허위사실이나 추측성의 기사가 당사자에게 얼마나 치명적이고 삶 자체를 바꿔놓을수도 있다는 생각을 하란말이다.뭔가 특종을 내기위해 한방 해내기 위해 다른사람의 인생을 기자 니들의 기사에 도박하듯 배팅하는건 너무나 못 된 짓이다.
One had even come up with a far-fetched conspiracy theory:
이석태: 이미 몇 년전에도 사귄다는 이야기 나왔고, 그때도 개인간의 사적인 만남이며, 나중에 어찌될 지 모르니 언론에서 설레발칠 거 없다는 식으로 결론나고 더 이상 이야기가 없었다… 그런데 굳이 중앙일보가 삼성에 윤씨가 입사한 걸 기화로, 윤씨를 이용해서 삼성의 러시아에서의 입지를 띄울려고 쓸데없는 언론플레이해서, 남의 개인적 연애를 파국으로 이끌었다. 러시아에서 절대권력자인 동시에 보이지 않는 적들로 둘러싼 푸틴에게 이런 언론보도는 심각한 위협이 될 수 있다. 더구나 한국기업이나 언론이 자기 딸을 이용해서 이익을 보려는 수작질을 하는 걸 보면, 푸틴 개인의 기분도 않 좋고 러시아인들도 순수한 만남으로 보지 않게 된다. 더 이상 순수한 연애가 아닌 게 되어버렸고, 계산적인 정략적 만남이라면 푸틴딸이 윤씨를 만날 이유가 뭐냐? 정치적으로 더 강력하고 도움이 될 집안이 많은데 말이다.
Russia hardly comes up in most ordinary Koreans’ conversations and it is no wonder that a Korean man's marriage with top political families in Russia had drawn people's enormous curiosity, admiration and a bit of fear. In a blog that coalesced people comments from various sites, most of the comments written are silly jokes which unwittingly reflected Koreans’ sense of insecurity caused by inter-Korean tension. One suggested Putin's daughter to bring missiles and Naro spacecrafts along with her as marriage gifts and some called her as a natural ‘nuclear umbrella’. Many male responses were focused on disastrous consequences a cheating on Putin's daughter would bring.
The moment a news report on Yoon's apparent break-up was published, Korean Twitterers fervently tweeted the news. When retweeting the news, many have added a personal comment on their strong mistrust to Korean journalism. This mistake, or intended fiasco was not the first mishap Korean media have made for the sake of exclusive coverage.
megatang30 (@megatang30)언론의 입방정이 한 젊은이 망가트리는건가요. 직장 관두고 인연끊어지고… 어릴적 기자라는 직업을 동경하기도 했었는데, 요즘은 영~~
Piazzola1 (@Piazzola1): 이럴줄알았다..옐로우 페이퍼. RT @mape112: RT @Hongstyle: 중앙일보 한 건 하셨네요
Korean netizens are notorious for their harsh rumors and malicious comments on almost everything. Once a news article on someone or some issue is published, thousands of Korean net users rush to the concerned sites. They oftentimes shut them down with heavy traffic to post slanderous messages and ad hominem attacks, thereby arousing serious social debates and igniting controversy. Blogger Hwking wrote that it is actually the journalist who created this cycle of controversy.
현재 많은 사람들은 논란의 대부분이 인터넷 커뮤니티 사이트를 중심으로 일어나는 줄 안다. 한 개인이 올린 주관적인 글이 퍼져 나가는 형식으로 대부분의 논란이 진행 되고 있기 때문이다. 하지만 조금만 시선을 바꿔 돌아보면, 논란의 중심에는 네티즌들이 아닌 기자들이 있다는 것을 쉽게 알 수 있을 것이다. 분명 소재는 네티즌이 제공한 것은 맞다. 하지만 이러한 내용을 과장 시키고, 왜곡시켜 보급하는 곳은 기자들이 있는 언론들이다…지금 언론들에게 가장 중요한 것은 ‘누가 더 빠르게 논란을 확산 시키냐'는 것이다. 객관성, 공정성이라는 단어는 그 어디에서도 찾아 볼 수 없다.
No one knows how Yoon's case will work out in the end. One clear fact is that everyone was involved in harming his life, whether intended or not, and there is no one to take responsibility for this mess.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Sri Lanka: Exclusive Parks For Young Lovers · Global Voices
Rezwan

Himal Kotelawala reacts on the news that exclusive parks will be made in Sri Lanka for young lovers.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Rezwan


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St. Lucia: After Tomas  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Sun, Rain, Or… has finally located her family after Hurricane Tomas and has a new update on everything from fund raising to travel.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: Being Gay  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Seldo.com writes a moving letter to gay teens in Trinidad and Tobago with the message that “it gets better”.


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Trinidad & Tobago: New Literary Festival & Award  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Regional litbloggers are thrilled to learn about a new literary festival – and prize for Caribbean literature – “organised and judged by Caribbean people, of genuinely international scope.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: PM’s Statement Causes Backlash  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister has come under fire for her statements about hurricane relief to some of the CARICOM nations that were severely damaged by Hurricane Tomas.  Bloggers throughout the Caribbean archipelago were offended by the sentiment that any release of the twin island republic's aid dollars hinged on reciprocal economic benefits.  The PM's position has left a bitter taste in the mouths of those affected by the storm and prompted an online boycott of Trinidad and Tobago products in a region already not particularly enamoured of the country's approach to doing business.
Discuss SVG, whose island took quite a beating from the storm, was “saddened” by the Prime Minister's statements, but conceded:
The reality is any diplomatic offering, whether it be humanitarian aid, regional investment or otherwise always comes with strings attached, whether it comes from a developed country or developing nation. Maybe Kamla has simply not realised that such declarations are better not made in the public forum, limited only to confidential discourse among regional peers.
Politics aside, what upset her was “the callousness of the statement”:
How dare she rank the desire to ensure the benefit of her nationals in the same category of the families, villages and communities that have been ravaged by Tomas? Has she seen or was she even cognizant of the dire needs not trivial wants of St. Lucia, Barbados and our very own Hairouna?  I am tempted to blog on the possible effects of this Hurricane on the political landscape but I shall refrain while I pray and do my best to bring our nation back on its feet.
In contrast, Barbadian bloggers Barbados Free Press and Barbados Underground saw the statement for what it was, and thought that all the fallout was unnecessary.  BFP even admitted that:
The BFP crew joined the outrage against Persad-Bissessar’s statements made earlier this week – until Marcus walked into the room and gave us his outstanding impression of Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II…
‘We’re both part of the same hypocrisy…
…but Kamla’s decided she’d rather tell the truth.’
The post continued:
Proponents of CARICOM love to talk about how wonderful and strong the Caribbean Community could be if we would only unite and put aside our selfishness. If the stronger and wealthier countries would help our neighbours to the best of our ability, the entire family would progress.
Fine words. Fine thoughts.
The Caricom party line heard for decades ad infinitum, ad nauseam.
So when Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar said that Trinidad and Tobago taxpayers are getting tired of being thought of as the CARICOM family piggy bank, that she has to consult with the citizens before her government can make promises AND that if houses are to be built as a gift from T&T, it will be T&T companies that build them with T&T materials… WELL… that put the mongoose in the chicken pen!
The blog couldn't help but note similarities to Haiti in the wake of the January 12 earthquake: not in terms of the scale of the disaster, but in Caribbean's people's response to the victims:
It didn’t take long to cut through the Bajan veneer of sincerity about Haiti, did it?
Barbados did not take in a single injured patient from Haiti. Not twenty. Not ten. Not five. Not two. Not even one.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Tomas, the small island nations of St. Vincent, Barbados and St. Lucia are looking for help from Trinidad & Tobago.
Ask yourself these questions… Did we really do as much as we could for Haiti for the last nine months? Why should we expect anything different from our neighbour, Trinidad and Tobago?
You know the answer, because ‘We’re both part of the same hypocrisy’
BU thought the whole affair was nothing but “a storm in a teacup”:
It is understandable for people to become emotional at this time when St. Lucians and Vincentians are in obvious distress. It may come as a surprise that BU see nothing wrong with the meaning behind Kamla’s position. Perhaps her message was twisted by a media which is always on the hunt to sensationalize news of late.
If the aid had come form China, USA, Britain and a host of other countries the issue of reciprocal arrangements would be a moot point. It is generally known – taken for granted some might suggest – that many of the so called developed countries attached conditionalities to how aid is deployed. Why should T&T dump aid in St, Lucia for example and the government there feel under no obligation to purchase raw materials from T&T?
KnowTnT.com expressed similar feelings and was in support of his Prime Minister's position:
When the Prime Minister announced to CARICOM earlier this year that the Trinidad and Tobago ATM is now closed, many probably thought it was political rhetoric. Now that she is exercising the Republic’s prerogative by expecting some measure of reciprocity by our CARICOM brothers and sisters in their time of need she is being vilified.
For years Trinidad and Tobago has been seen as the financial big brother to the rest of CARICOM and the countless millions that we have pumped into that black hole has returned very little to the Republic except maybe some good will.  Clearly, and a few years too late this position must change and if we are to continue to benefit from CARICOM membership we must exist as an equal partner or leave.
The blogger also addressed the online call for a T&T boycott…
There have been reports that on Facebook and other social media many CARICOM nationals are calling for a boycott of Trinidad and Tobago products and services.  Retaliatory marketing can only foster estrangement and if regional governments support this then they confirm the status quo as being fair-weather friends and aren’t we better off without this kind of arrangement?
…and examined the statement in the context of the country's current economic reality:
During the election campaign there were calls for better governance, economic progress and a generally better standard of living for all the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. Now that we have the leadership we wanted how could we expect it to be business as usual? The actual and opportunity costs of any expenditure must be put in its proper perspective so that we don’t embark on imprudent fiscal activity that could prove deleterious to our already precarious economy.
Whereas the PM's statement is acerbic in nature the reality is that we will not sign a blank cheque to aid anyone and this must be seen as the responsible thing.
Objectively, we are already in deficit financing from the latest budget. Any expenditure we undertake outside this deficit carries us deeper into the red. How are we to pay for this ‘aid'?
While the blogger admitted that “from a diplomatic perspective it [the statement] is a disaster and we can expect the consequences to be far ranging and protracted”, he also drew attention to the recent fallout “when most of CARICOM signed onto Chavez's Petrocaribe deal”:
They essentially told Trinidad and Tobago to go to hell with your oil and gas we'll support Chavez. The consequence being that Trinidad and Tobago had to expand its extra regional and international marketing to compensate for the losses incurred. We weren't brothers and sisters then. All concerned made decisions relevant to their economics and even though they've bounded their economies to Chavez for years to come they made choices that benefited them and had the potential of crippling our own economy.  Regardless of the situation, sovereign responsibility is the first priority: anything beyond that is a betrayal of the mandate voted for by the people.
Of course, in true Caribbean fashion, humour has been one way that bloggers are tackling the issue.  No sooner had the Prime Minister's statements conjured up regional ire than @Fake Kamla made her debut on Twitter; her political foe and the country's former fake Prime Minister, @patrickmanning, was the first to comment:
So Kamla and I not so different after all. Only thing is she talking country, whereas I used to talk Patos’ pocket.
Fake Patrick Manning even wrote a blog post about it, publishing comical letters he purportedly received from a range of characters who are unhappy about the current Prime Minister's resolve.
Back on Twitter, Fake Kamla decided to crowdsource her apology to CARICOM; suggestions ranged from blaming alcohol and PMS to channeling Margaret Thatcher.
Using an interesting bit of logic, the fake Prime Minister defended her position by saying:
CARICOM, giving you aid $ to spend on goods made in other countries = buying clothes for your husband to wear to go out and horn you.
She addressed the issue of the boycott, noting that the campaign seemed to be offline and asking:
Looking for a CARICOM person who's actually boycotting T&T goods. What T&T product DIDN'T you buy today?
Referring to her trip to St. Lucia today, the fake PM tweeted:
Packing for St. Lucia trip. Anyone know what fabric resists banana stains the best?
Finally, in response to a netizen's link to a mainstream media story suggesting that her statement's were misunderstood, she enthusiastically agreed:
Damn right I was! RT @jovanreid: T&T PM says she was misunderstood http://bit.ly/a2OKON


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Vietnam: Bún mắm nêm  · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Lan in Hue, Vietnam blogs about Bún mắm nêm (rice vermicelli with smelly fish sauce). She says it is the smelliest among the many Vietnamese fish sauces.

author: Mong Palatino


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Africa: Africa needs to change voting system · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Africa needs to embrace new technologies to run elections: “Furthermore, Africans have recently wondered why their countries don’t adopt the voting system such as those in the West where results are often announced within 48 hours. We have greatly embraced technologies such as the mobile phones, money transfer, etc…why not for voting system?”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Costa Rica: Border Conflict with Nicaragua  · Global Voices
Roy Rojas

What  began as a simple cleaning or dredging of the San Juan River, the natural border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, has resulted in a  diplomatic and military conflict.
San Juan River. Image by Flickr user Guillermo A. Durán, used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license
The government of Nicaragua decided to start dredging the San Juan river in order to ease the navigation of larger boats. This was not a problem, because the river belongs to them. But days after starting the work on the river, the government of Costa Rica realized that the materials extracted from the river were being deposited in Costa Rican territory. After Costa Rica complained about the issue, Nicaragua said that everything had been a mistake and that it would not happen again, but that was just the beginning of the problem.
On November 1st, Costa Rican newspaper La Nación [es] reported: “Government confirms incursion of Nicaraguan Army into national territory,”
El Gobierno confirmó esta tarde la incursión de tropas del Ejército de  Nicaragua en territorio costarricense, específicamente en la Isla  Calero, ubicada en la zona fronteriza, en la desembocadura de los ríos  San Juan y Colorado.
“Esto es una lesión a la soberanía nacional, no se puede interpretar de otra manera,” [Ministro de Seguridad José María Tijerino.]
The Government confirmed this afternoon the incursion of Nicaraguan Army troops into Costa Rican territory, specifically in Calero Island, located in the border area at the mouth of the San Juan and Colorado rivers.
“This is an infringement of national sovereignty, it can not be interpreted otherwise,” [Minister of Security José María Tijerino.]
As a result, Costa Rica has called on the permanent council of the Organization of American States (OAS), where it will present evidence with photographs, videos and testimony of the neighbors in the area. Minister Tijerino said [es] that,
This problem goes beyond the border conflict, because it could trigger an increase in the problems immigrants face. In  Costa Rica there are nearly 600,000 Nicaraguans, mostly undocumented,  and it's no secret that xenophobia is an issue, something  the border conflict could worsen.
According  to comments made on various blogs, Costa Ricans have come to see these  problems as a totally normal situation, where it is said that whenever  Nicaragua is on election season it seeks to divert attention to other things so that their internal problems don't stand out and the incumbent government doesn't lose votes. El infierno en Costa Rica [es] writes about this,
Una de las tradiciones más arraigadas en la cultura política  nicaragüense en las últimas décadas, es que cuando se acercan las  elecciones, se debe provocar un diferendo con Costa Rica,  preferiblemente por el Río San Juan; lo anterior con la finalidad de  limpiar la imagen del gobernante de turno, llena de corrupción,  incapacidad para solucionar los problemas, entre otros [..]
The  opinion of many bloggers is that this is a time to think clearly and  make good decisions, so that neither of the two countries are affected,  because as neighbors, mutual cooperation is very important. Costa  Rica and Nicaragua are trading partners and these problems affect  exports from both sides; many sources of jobs could be affected.
Julio Córdoba from Ciencia Ficción con Julio Córdoba [es] thinks that,
The  general feeling in Costa Rica, the only country without an army on the  continent since 1948, is clear: The option of an armed conflict with Nicaragua is  not a topic for discussion, since Costa Rica does not have the means to confront them. H3dicho [es] says:
Los gobernantes Nicas son los más trogloditas de la región, y con tal de desviar la atención de sus problemas internos, no les importa poner en riesgo vidas de costarricenses y nicaragüenses. […]
Dichosamente nunca es tarde, y ante una nueva incursión del ejercito nicaragüense a nuestra frontera, nuestro gobierno solicita la intervención de la OEA, como país de paz que somos. […]
A las autoridades nicas las debemos enfrentar con firmeza real, sin dar un paso atrás, pero con diplomacia, nunca con las armas contra un país hermano.
The Nicaraguan authorities are the troglodytes of the region, and in order to divert attention from their internal problems, they don't care about risking the lives of Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans. […]
Fortunately, it is never too late, and in front of a new Nicaraguan army raid on our border, our government sought the intervention of the OAS, as the peaceful country that we are. […]
We have to face the Nicaraguan authorities with real strength, without taking a step back, but with diplomacy, never with weapons against a brother country.
To keep this situation from affecting trade relations in both directions,  and at the same time to avoid affecting Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica, the  authorities have turned to international bodies to resolve this conflict  in the best possible way. Dean Córnito in La Suiza Centroamericana [es] points out:
Con todo y todo, es mejor tolerar una violación de nuestra soberanía por algunas semanas hasta que el sistema interamericano de defensa mutua se mueva a favor de Costa Rica, que lanzarnos a una guerra sinsentido e innecesaria para nosotros. Nuestras autoridades tienen mucha razón al proceder con cautela.
Update 11/6:  After this post was written in Spanish, the AFP and other sources reported that a Nicaraguan official “cited Google's version of the border map in  an interview with Costa Rican newspaper La Nacion to justify a raid on a  disputed border area.” Global Voices published this short update post on the subject.

author: Roy Rojas


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Japan: Leaked video of collision with Chinese boat  · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

What is believed to be the authentic footage of the collision between the Japanese patrol ship and a Chinese fishing boat has been leaked and uploaded onto Youtube [video, ja]. Several videos taken by the Japanese Coast Guard off the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands were made public showing what happened at sea on September 7 [en].

author: Scilla Alecci


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Japan: Superficial media and misinformation · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

An anonymous blogger at NewzJapan.com harshly criticizes CNN's coverage of Japan. In the post titled Halloween in Japan and CNN’s Lack of Research  [en] the blogger says to “be surprised and appalled” by the superficiality with which some of their articles treat the Japanese culture and customs.


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Madagascar: President linked to illegal logging  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Wild Madagascar posts a video released by  the Environmental Investigation Agency showing Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina involvement in illegal logging.


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Malawi: Introduction to Malawian Urban Music · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

An introduction to Malawian urban music: “In Malawi, urban music is said to have started when a group called Real Elements consisting of Louis ‘Marvel’ Chikuni, Kimba ‘Plan B’ Anderson-Mutaba, Jerome ‘Stix’ Kalinani, and Quabaniso ‘Q’ Malewezi hit the industry with their brand of music.”


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Mayotte: Have You Ever Been to Mayotte? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Lauren blogs about a sea trip to Mayotte: “The French presence is very strong here, with French gendarmes (police), French Foreign Legion, and expats visible everywhere we’ve been, but the Mayotte people are still very much African. They are well dressed in colorful sarongs (women) and headwear (men and women) and seem to carry themselves with pride. “


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Peru: Campaign to Prevent Closing of Amazon Library · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Juan Arellano from Globalizado [es] reports on a campaign to prevent the closing of a library in Iquitos, Peru that focuses on materials about the Amazon. This library is the second most important on the subject in Latin America.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Russia: Bloggers Discuss Attack on Journalist Oleg Kashin · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

The brutal attack on Oleg Kashin, a prominent Russian blogger and journalist, became topic #1 on RuNet several hours after it had occurred. Almost every more or less famous blogger wrote something about the case [RUS]. Kashin is still in a medically induced coma; his legs, jaws and fingers are broken, a part of one of the fingers on his hand has been amputated.
Earlier today, bloggers gathered for a peaceful demonstration in front of 38 Petrovka Street, the place of the Moscow police headquarters, demanding a thorough investigation of the attack.
The main questions that the bloggers are asking now are: “Who did this?” and “Will the attackers and their patrons be punished?” While there are at least three possible answers to the first question, there's no answer for the second one, as there have been so many unsolved crimes against journalists that no one in the blogosphere believes the attack on Kashin will ever be solved.
As Kashin's story is unfolding, the bloggers are trying to create pressure and publicity while suggesting their own versions. Because of his journalistic work, Kashin had many enemies and was receiving threats on a regular basis. A few weeks ago, he mentioned in a text that he tried not to disclose his home address.
Below is the analysis of the main versions of the crime:
Personal conflict with Governor Turchak
In August 2010, Oleg Kashin clashed with Pskov governor Andrei Turchak in an online debate, calling him “crappy Turchak” (later it became a short-term political meme), after which Turchak demanded [RUS] an apology within 24 hours (full story here [RUS]).
Sergey Smirnov commented:
Олег мне НЕОДНОКРАТНО говорил, что уже после поста ему звонили и угрожали от “сраного”. Говорили, мол, сейчас уляжется, мы тебя достанем. Подчеркиваю, НЕОДНОКРАТНО.
Conflict with Molodaya Gvardia
Molodaya Gvardia, the Russian pro-Kremlin youth movement, included Kashin in the black list of “journalists-traitors” (after yesterday's assault, the initial document was altered and the anti-Kashin text was deleted; however, a screenshot can be found here, and a printed version is here). The article had a photoshopped picture of Kashin with these words stamped over it in blue: “Will be punished.” Molodaya Gvardia accused Kashin of aiding extremists and called him a “fascist journalist.”
Famous Russian journalist Pavel Sheremet supported this version:
Так убивают молодые садисты. Они уже вошли в раж, они натоптались на портретах своих противников, их больное воображение рисует картинки российского Тяньаньмыня. У них чешутся руки. Война Кашина с губернатором Псковской области Турчаком, бывшим руководителем радикальной молодежной организации – серьезный повод кому-то предъявить обвинение. Кашину угрожали, он в ответ огрызался, ему решили показать, кто тут хозяин жизни. Могли нанять бандитов – в стране хватает криминальных кадров. Но скорее всего отработали какие-то активисты. Слишком старательно, слишком тщательно мучили человека.И не ждут бандиты в букетом цветов у входа во двор, обычно сидят в машине напротив, курят, из-за угла посматривают. Не их почерк.
The Khimki Forest controversy
It appears, however, that the most probable is the Khimki Forest version. Recently, Oleg Kashin published an interview [RUS] with one of the defenders of the Khimki Forest, who participated in the assault on the Khimki city administration. After the interview was published, the police approached Kashin, demanding that he disclose the e-mail of the anonymous interviewee. Kashin declined.
The reason many bloggers connect the attack on Kashin to the Khimki Forest case is the cruel style of the earlier assaults against some of the activists. The Khimki Forest case has a long blood trail, including murders of journalists and lawyers.
Nearly two years ago, in September 2008, Mikhail Beketov, the editor of Khimkinskaya Pravda newspaper, was attacked under similar circumstances (attackers waited for him near his house). The injuries resulted in losing one leg and mobility. Brain injuries made Beketov disabled. Moreover, the Khimki city administration accused speechless and legless Beketov of libel against Khimki mayor Vladimir Strelchenko (see photos of the court hearing here). Beketov's lawyer, Stanislav Markelov, was killed on January 19, 2010 (although the main version was that he was killed by the neo-Nazis).
The assault on Kashin happened right after a similar attack on Konstantin Fetisov, another defender of the Khimki Forest. He was severely beaten on Nov. 4, and, as Oleg Kashin, is in medically induced coma now.
Blogger no-nine noted that the assault on Beketov also included broken legs, jaws and fingers. As other bloggers noted, these were symbolic violence messages: “Don't walk, don't talk, don't write.”
Maxim Kononenko, previously a pro-Kremlin blogger, also supports the Khimki Forest version. He wrote that he felt there was an unstoppable power that was killing or crippling more and more journalists in Russia:
Мы имеем дело с какой-то совершенно потусторонней, инфернальной силой. И что самое смешное – эта сила сама проводит проверки себя, себя расследует и сама берет себя под контроль. То есть, она там бурлит, извивается и идет пузырями, а мы стоим и смотрим, пока из нее не вылезет щупальце и не утащит одного из нас туда, к себе, вовнутрь. Как в повести Стивена Кинга «Тума».
Щупальца всё ближе, а мы по-прежнему стоим, загипнотизированные, и смотрим. С обреченным таким интересом смотрим – кто ИЗ НАС будет следующим?
The tentacles are closer and closer, and we're still standing, hypnotized, and watching. Watching with this desperate interest – which ONE OF US will be the next?

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: Demanding Adequate Investigation of Attack on Kashin · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A dozen people or so have gathered in front of the Moscow Criminal Police building (Petrovka, 38), demanding an adequate investigation of last night's attack on journalist Oleg Kashin, who is now in a medically induced coma. Some photos and Twitter reports (RUS; hashtag #KSHN) – by @plushev, @berillii, @adagamov, @kichanova, @toniasamsonova. President Dmitry Medvedev (@KremlinRussia) tweets (RUS) about Kashin's case, too: “[…] The criminals must be found and punished.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Journalist Oleg Kashin Severely Beaten in Moscow · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Journalist Oleg Kashin (LJ user kashin/@KSHN) was severely beaten in Moscow Friday night and is now in intensive care. LJ users p0grebizhskaya and navalny host some of the initial Russophone discussions on the attack; Twitter reactions (RUS) are here. One of Kashin's recent texts for the Russian daily Kommersant dealt with the Khimki Forest situation (RUS, here and here); coincidentally, one of the Khimki Forest activists, Konstantin Fetisov, was severely beaten (RUS) just a few days earlier (ENG).


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Tanzania: First Albino in Parliament · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Tanzanians elect first Albino Member of Parliament: “The elected Member of Parliament is Mr. Salum Khalfani Bar’wani from the opposition Cuf party. Mr Bar’wani said he was thankful to the voters in Lindi Urban, in the remote south-east of the country, for choosing him and that it shows Albino are capable people.”


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Armenia: Digital Democracy · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Writing on Ararat, Global Voices author Simon Maghakyan, sponsor of a recent online petition demanding the passage of legislation against domestic violence in his native Armenia, comments on the increasing use of new and social media by activists in the former Soviet republic.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Electoral fraud reported during Parliamentary elections · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines comments on today's parliamentary election in Azerbaijan. Despite media reports highlighting widespread voter apathy, the general mistrust in the election process is backed up by the blog referring to multiple examples of electoral fraud and violations.


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Bangladesh: Same Wine In A New Bottle  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ekram Kabir criticizes a new English daily, recently introduced in Bangladesh, for not thinking out of the box.


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China: Ai Weiwei under house arrest · Global Voices
Marta Cooper

Controversial and outspoken Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was on Friday placed under house arrest for, it seems, planning to host a dinner for 1,000 people to commemorate the demolition of his Shanghai studio. Meanwhile, updates and images [zh] coming in from Twitter show that many have continued to gather outside Ai's studio today for the banquet.

author: Marta Cooper


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Costa Rica: Rescue Efforts Continue in Rain Ravaged Areas · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Many areas are still isolated due to the heavy rains and flooding in Costa Rica and the Costa Rican Red Cross is working hard to rescue and aid as many people as possible. This video shows a rescue worker crossing a makeshift bridge over a roaring river with a baby in arms.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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East Timor: Ramelau Cultural Festival · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Ramelau Cultural Festival, the first cultural festival in East Timor, was organized to celebrate Timorese culture and unity.


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East Timor’s first serious investor · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Despite the pledge of various individuals and companies to invest in East Timor, nothing much has happened. Here comes Jape Kong Su, a Chinese Timorese, who has  raised funds to build Timor Plaza. He is hailed as the country's ‘first serious investor.’


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France, USA: A Tribute to Toni Morrison in Paris  · Global Voices
Anna Gueye

On his blog 7ici que ça se passe,  blogger Ménilmuche reports that Paris  is paying tribute [fr] to 1993 Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison since November 4th in the the city hall of the 20th district. On 5 November, a bench was placed in her honor on Louis-Delgrès street.

author: Anna Gueye


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Georgia: Highly Enriched Uranium smugglers on trial · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Gawker comments on news that two Armenians were arrested in Georgia earlier this year for smuggling highly enriched uranium into the country and attempting to sell it to undercover police posing as middlemen for Islamic terrorists.


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India: Influence Of The Social Web · Global Voices
Rezwan

Gaurav Mishra explains how the social web is changing the marketing communications ecosystem.


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India: Obama Mania · Global Voices
Rezwan

The US President Barack Obama is in India now as part of his ten day Asia tour and he has generated a lot of interest in this country of 1.2 billion people. The Indian media got hyped up covering every bit of Obama's action in India and the netizens are also vocal about it. Hanna Ingber Win, a Global Post correspondent from Mumbai, captures the enthusiasm of the Indians:
Welcome posters at American Center New Delhi. Image by US Embassy New Delhi. CC BY-ND
“Ala, ala, ala,” (He’s coming, he’s coming, he’s coming) a little boy shouts in Marathi, the local language spoken in Mumbai.
At another barricade, hundreds push and shove and jump up and down, trying to catch a glimpse of the president as he leaves Mani Bhavan, the museum where Mahatma Gandhi stayed when he visited Mumbai during India’s independence movement. Old men lean over their balcony railing; boys climb into trees; girls sit on top of shoulders — all holding their mobile phones out, ready to snap a photograph of Obama. When the president steps outside, the crowd goes wild, chanting, cheering and hooting away.
Greatbong at Random Thoughts Of A Demented Mind describes how the Obamas are being treated in India:
The moment we have an American President coming to visit us, the Pavlovian instincts take over and we are back into our rolling-on-the-ground mode. Coconuts are taken down so that one does not fall on the anointed one’s head. Special Indian massages are arranged for him and his wife. Platters are named in his honor. The high and mighty prostrate themselves in his path. Public money is spent like water and ordinary citizens  inconvenienced for HIS convenience.
From New Delhi research analyst and blogger Varun Dixit questions “why is Barack Obama in India” and comments:
Obama is trying to bring back jobs in US, which he couldn't succeed so far and I am sure will not be able to succeed in future also. Wall Street knows setting their operations in India will help them in long term whereas Obama is just playing politics by promising to US people what he cannot do.
Indians were also very much interested to know Mr. Obama's stance on Pakistan and he somewhat startled many by his speech as Ghulam Muhammed from Mumbai explains:
He (Obama) said, it is in India’s best interest that its neighbor Pakistan should become a peaceful and stable country, so that India’s own progress towards a future of economic growth and prosperity can be assured of a steady and peaceful progression. Commentators on all English Channels exploded with open hostility while the speech was still on. Hawks like Times of India’s Washington correspondent termed it as giving in to Pakistan blackmail.
Khamba's hilarious take titled “Things Obama will never say in India ” came somewhat true with that speech.
A hoarding parodies Obama's Visit. Image via Twitpic user rushikeshgk
Here are some reactions from the Indian Twitter users:
aasthabiyani16: @ArjunKP Word! Sick of Obama Obama and more Obama, hey Raama come n save me from this drama, err that rhymes :p
hopfans: Phew!! Hoping Barack Obama's gone to sleep. The US President sure has taken India by storm… http://goo.gl/fb/hmKIO
jhunjhunwala: Why is the Indian Media having a collective orgasm over Obama? Kuch bolo bhai (please say something).
Greatbong criticizes the Obama mania and suggests:
We should treat Obama’s visit as just another visit by a head of state and not take it as a certificate of how much the US respects India. Because it does not. Definitely not under Obama.


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Indonesia: Cyber attacks against groups which exposed torture video · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The websites of groups which exposed the torture video in West Papua involving Indonesian soldiers have been targets of cyber attacks last week.


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Malaysia: Flood Hits Northern States · Global Voices
Jerrenn Lam

Malaysia’s northern states of Kedah, Perlis and Kelantan have been recently hit by floods, causing approximately 40,000 people to evacuate their homes.
The state of Kedah has been the worst hit, and blogger Noor Azlina Abdul Samad K, herself an evacuee, wrote:
We had to make the decision to leave our house at night last Wednesday because the flood water was just a few feet away from entering our house. They had cut the water supply to the whole neighbourhood that day and was about to cut the electric supply too that night. So we knew we had to get out as fast as possible. Me, my Mom and my Aunt quickly packed our bags and did what we can to save our belongings and place them at a higher place in the house. I couldn't save everything. I just did what I could and leave the rest to God. So much to do, so little time as the flood water came in so fast. A lot of people didn't expect it to be as bad as it was.
All I hope now is that I will have the energy when the time comes to clean up the house that will be full of dirt and mud from the flood. I don't know how my Mom and I am going to do it this time……but we will do it the best we can. Slowly but surely……it will all be ok.
I won't be able to work as well…..perhaps for a month or two till everything is settled. I don't know……it's uncertain. I just leave it to God right now. Pray for my health ya!!
The Ti-Ratana Penchala Community Centre, wrote in their blog their mission to help the flood victims:
We at Ti-Ratana Penchala Community would like to assist MCRS (Malaysia  Red Cross Society) who is looking for help in kind for flood victims in  Kedah such as blankets,sarongs, mineral water,panadol,sanitary  pads,soap,rice, bee hoon, can sardine, baked beans,condense milk,tooth  paste, milo, coffee etc….
Let's put our hands together to help the flood victim. You are most  welcome to contribute in any kind and forward these item to Ti-Ratana  Penchala Community Centre (21, Jalan Penchala, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia) by 11 Nov 2010 before 5pm. MCRS will be in our  centre to pick them up on 12 Nov 2010 morning.
Blogger Shanmugam Lakshmanan managed to inject some humour into the situation:
You need to get to higher ground. From Deep Impact, we can see that you're supposed to leave your house and head for the mountains, but since everybody else is going to do the same thing and clog up the roads, you'd better get a bike, like Elijah Wood did. And in 2012, the gigantic ships were all built and launched in the Himalayas because that was the last place the flood waters would reach.
There have also been calls for the government to postpone the Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM) examinations, which is a national examination taken by all secondary school students and is equal to the O-Level; which the government has refused.

author: Jerrenn Lam


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Maldives: Housing Crisis? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Although Male, the capital of Maldives, has been described as a city burdened with a housing crisis, /dev/null argues that the problem is a manifestation of a crisis in services to outer islands.


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Mauritius: Explore the Mauritian blogosphere · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Explore the Mauritian blogs, videos, photos and social media with Mauritius Blog Tracker.


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Mayotte: Marine Mammals of Mayotte · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jana blogs about marine mammals of Mayotte: “Mayotte is famous for being dolphins as well as humpback whales paradise(to be seen from August till October every year). While enjoying a day out in the ocean (one day for fishing, one day just for real sea sightseeing) we were lucky to encounter different dolphin species. Once you are in the water (and your ears too), the amazing dolphin language sounds like a melody in an unknown language!”


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Myanmar: Cyclone Giri relief network · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A group of volunteers has formed a network to provide relief assistance and raise funds for the victims of Cyclone Giri which hit Myanmar a few weeks ago. The group is also complaining of lack of international media coverage on the issue.


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Nigeria: Hausa Movies and Music Online · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Watching Hausa movies and listening to Hausa music is a good way to learn the Hausa language and also get insights into the Hausa culture. You can find Hausa movies and music at Maikoli International, an online shop based in Raymore, Missouri.


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Nigeria: Hausa Proverbs in Blogosphere · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Karin Magana is a blog dedicated to Hausa proverbs: “A while ago, I published a blogpost on Karin Magana, a blog dedicated to Hausa proverbs. Since then, I have published about 600 proverbs on that blog. I keep adding more proverbs every day.”


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Zambia: A Culture Denied · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

What is wrong with Zambian culture?: “It used to be that Zambians prided themselves on their very identity. Those things that made us uniquely a part of the Southern hemisphere of Africa. We tied ourselves into the historical travels of the Bantu and the Mfecane migration of those bolting from Shaka's terrorism.”


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Azerbaijan: Friends · Global Voices
Aygun Janmammadova

Social Science in the Caucasus comments on its own data examining relationships in Azerbaijan. In particular, it examines results which show that 27 percent of female respondents say they have no close friends as opposed to 17 percent of men.

author: Aygun Janmammadova


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Azerbaijan: YAPistan · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Jafarova's blog [AZ] comments on the results of yesterday's parliamentary elections held in Azerbaijan which saw the ruling YAP party consolidate its grip on power in the oil-rich former Soviet republic. Considering the parliament as simply a body to rubber stamp decisions from the President's Office, the blog says that while it expected fraudulent practices to define this election as much as previous ones, it was surprised to witness the government resorting to less than sophisticated measures to do so, terming the country YAPistan.


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Bangladesh: Where Is My Library? · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Where did all those libraries go, that our fathers used to go to?” questions Nayeem Hossain while discussing about the disappearing libraries in Bangladesh.


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Brazil: Female Bloggers React to the Country’s First Female President: Yes, She Can!  · Global Voices
Paula Góes

The missing image: Dilma, the warrior, with the presidential sash. From the Abundacanalha blog.
When she takes Brazil's presidential oath of office, Dilma Rousseff will usher in a new era in the country's political history: she will be the first woman in a group consisting thus far of 35 male presidents. Dilma will also be the first Brazilian woman, and the 18th woman ever, to join the elite club of female leaders currently in power as presidents or prime ministers throughout the world.
For Adriana Tanese Nogueira [pt], this historic moment is certainly a sign of changing times and of yet immeasurable magnitude. According to Tanese, only time will gauge the significance of Brazil's election of its first-ever female president:
It is important to stress the deep symbolism of this election: a woman holds the country's highest office and, [not just any woman, but] a woman who joined the armed resistance against the military dictatorship. This is huge.
Conscientious women throughout the country are watching Dilma, hoping that she brings justice to the condition of women in Brazil and that she presents herself as an icon of female strength, valiance and intelligence.
The political left and all those against the dictatorship, all those who value democracy and are not content simply with conventional roles and money in their pockets are viewing this election with pride.
Cynthia Semirames [pt] has taken the opportunity to depict Brazil's political history from a feminist standpoint, reminding readers that, in the '20s, when her grandmother was born, women were not allowed to vote, that only in 1932 did they gain the right to help decide how the country would be run. For Cynthia, Dilma's election musters a wave of hope for so many Brazilian women:
It is interesting to see that the first woman to reach the presidency of Brazil does not hail from a political background (one of the most macho public arenas): she stood out and was chosen as a candidate on account of her professional skills. She is a symbol of hope for so many women who are excellent professionals but who face a glass ceiling, women whose work goes unrecognized and who are prevented from breaking into the upper echelons of the workforce.
It is great to know that we have broken the glass ceiling and have elected Dilma Rousseff: an extremely competent professional who will be a leftist president.
The times are changing, and new questions arise, such as: should Dilma be called presidente [traditional Portuguese term for president, masculine gender] or presidenta [somewhat more recently coined term for president, female gender]? Dad Squarisi [pt] explains that Portuguese-language dictionaries include both entries and that what is ultimately at stake is the question of feminist power in political discourse. She notes that, until recently, there was no reason to be concerned with terminology:
The question is new. A few years ago, nobody ever thought about the concrete possibility of a woman truly donning the green-yellow presidential sash. The topic was raised as a Utopian hypothesis, a kind of like-that-day-will-ever-happen attitude…. and then bam! It happened! The number of female voters outstripped the number of male voters, and candidates began courting women's votes in earnest.
Looking back in history, we actually see that Brazil had female leaders on three occasions before the republic was proclaimed: the Queen of Portugal D. Maria I governed the country remotely beginning in 1777; Maria Leopoldina, wife of D. Pedro I, became the first empress of Brazil in 1822; and Princess Isabel served as the country's regent in her father's absence. For Maíra Kubík Mano [pt], the fact that all of these women hailed from the Portuguese Royal Family reinforces the importance of Dilma as the first woman elected by the Brazilian populace, especially when considering the leadership of country with very little female representation in elected posts and with a long way still to go in terms of policy in favor of women:
Symbolically, this is incredible, regardless of your ideological bent, especially considering how women are remarkably underrepresented in national politics: in the last legislature, we women accounted for only 8.97% of the House of Representatives and 12.34% of the Senate, and these figures decreased in 2010. In fact, if this were our basis for calculating female representation, I would venture to say that it would take us another 100 years to see what took place today….
Dilma will become the third female president in South America, and it would be good if, on certain issues, she followed the examples set by her fellow commanders-in-chief. Michelle Bachelet, the former Chilean president and current executive director of UN Women, appointed women to 50% of her cabinet when she took office, a measure that was also pursued by Bolivia's Evo Morales. In Argentina, Cristina Kirchner not only approved gay marriage, but also pushed the country just shy of decriminalizing abortion.
Despite all the election hype surrounding Brazil's first female president, Edi Machado [pt] thinks that there was not exactly a change in the population's mindset and she holds to the belief that Lula was the real candidate; Dilma was just a nominal candidate in this election:
Fault Dilma? No, not at all; I just think that the real winner was Lula. I think that there is no way to deny this, that within the confines of what was “legally permissible,” he did what he had proposed in his numerous candidacies until being elected in 2002 and reelected in 2006; and I would say that he was elected once again in 2010. It's true — [Dilma] only won because [Lula] threw all his support behind her…. We can now only hope that God is with our country's first “presidenta” in all the decisions she makes and, if its not asking too much, that He help her be a good president for the good of a the entire, immense nation of Brazil.
Commemoration on the streets of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. Photo by  Isaac Ribeiro under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license.
On the other hand, while Alane Virgínia [pt] does agree that voting-booth approval for the candidate who was supported by the current president certainly means that the population approved of Lula's government, she rejects the claim that the people voted for Dilma merely because she was Lula's protégé. Alane believes that results actually show a national desire to keep the left in power:
As I understand it, voting for Dilma has to do with the national desire for the country's leadership to continue along the lines established by Lula. Our choice involved a risk; we voted in the hopes that Dilma will essentially continue to pursue  Lula's model of government.
No, I do not think the people voted for an unknown. I think the people voted for an ideology, fragile as it might be. It was a vote of trust.
Despite various positive and enthusiastic responses to Dilma's election, Brazil was beset with a wave of xenophobic comments [pt] that ran rampant on the internet even while votes were still being counted. Many unsatisfied voters “blamed” the poor, natives of the Northeast and those with little formal education for the election's “unfavorable” outcome. Lola Aronovich [pt] claims that the root of this reaction was the opposition candidate's lack of love for his country in his electoral campaign:
A blog ascribed to the extreme right explains Serra's defeat through unbelievably racist discourse: evolution divided the world into civilized peoples (white Europeans and Americans) and savages (Africans, the indigenous and their descendants, which he calls botocudos [derogatory term for indigenous peoples]).We Brazilians fall under the backwards side of the divide, with literally smaller brains, according to fascism. And we should copy the American electoral system because this business of letting the majority elect the president is only cool when we win. Another blog argued for zero tolerance for the new government and called for the blue wave (what blue wave, we might ask) to attack with the force of a devastating tsunami. And they are already shouting out their call to arms, even before the president takes office:  “Get out Dilma!”
Dealing with the distrust and prejudice of a segment of the population, and with the media's visibly fierce opposition [pt] will be one of the challenges that Dilma's government will face. Could it be that she will be able to use her female sensitivities to overcome this? An opposition voter, Conceição Duarte [pt], asks that the president not be distracted by this fact and that she not forget that Brazil “is big, beautiful and lavish,” that all its inhabitants are full of dreams as well:
We, the Brazilian people, we want health, peace, safety, housing, employment. And incidentally better public transport. Water and sewage, lower taxes, opportunities for all, equality for women who work beside men yet earn less. School, good education and so much more for our everyday lives…. As a woman — a mother, a grandmother — I hope she respects the millions of votes she received. I wish her luck, health, and that she not forget us!
A week after elections, Brazilian women bloggers continue to shout out in chorus: yes, she can.

author: Paula Góes


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Brazil-Russia: more than just good luck · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Robert Amsterdam discusses the similarities between Russia and Brazil while analyzing the electoral victory of Dilma Rousseff and the challenges for her new government.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Caribbean: Supporting the CRB · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Regional litbloggers are encouraging one another to support The Caribbean Review of Books’ year-end donation drive.


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China: Red Guards Apologize Forty-four Years Later · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates a public apology from former Red Guard students to their teachers. Although the Chinese government has admitted that the Cultural Revolution being a disaster, public apology is still rare.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Costa Rica: Mudslides and Climate Change · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

In Central American Politics, Mike writes, “While most of the region's attention is on the river dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, Costa Rica is also suffering through the worst natural disasters in recent memory. […] According to the Climate Change Vulnerability Index, most of Central America is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.”


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Cuba: Telecommunications, Internet Access, and US-Cuba Policy · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

Cuban bloggers have done well to document the political, economic, and technological obstacles that prevent most Cubans from using the Internet. But few have written about the political gridlock that has contributed to the island’s poor telecommunications infrastructure.
US-based and US-affiliated telecom companies, which is to say, nearly all telecoms that offer service in the Caribbean, face severe restrictions in the US- Cuba embargo legislation, and this has put Cuba in a fundamental disadvantage for decades when it comes to telecommunications.
Scaffolding on a building in Havana. Photo by Sergio Falleti.
President Obama pledged to eliminate these restrictions in 2009, but has made little progress on his promise. In a July/August 2010 editorial in Foreign Policy, Christopher Sabatini summarized the current legislation, which remains too restrictive to allow US-affiliated telecommunications companies to conduct any business on the island, whether it be selling hardware or software, or building new infrastructure. He remarked that with the current policy:
…there's little room for any real U.S. business activity that could link the island to the Internet and provide citizens with the tools of communication. Instead, the provisions only allow for the donation of these items, rendering a critical foreign-policy objective to philanthropy.
The only reforms that have actually been made allow for individuals living outside of Cuba to pay for cell phone handsets and roaming service for Cuban family members and friends on the island. While this has made a difference for thousands of Cubans, the island could gain greater opportunities to access digital communications technologies if President Obama were to further liberalize or eliminate restrictions on telecom companies. He could do this by executive order.
There is no guarantee that the Cuban government would allow US-based or US-affiliated telecoms to conduct business on the island, even if they were free to do so. But by lifting these restrictions, the Obama administration could cease to stand in the way of increasing digital and telecommunications access for Cubans, and put the political ball in Cuba’s court.
Mural in Havana. Photo by Sergio Falleti.
While the US continues to postpone reforms, Telecomunicaciones Gran Caribe of Venezuela has proceeded with plans to build a submarine fiber optic cable linking Venezuela’s Caribbean coast, Cuba, and Jamaica. How this will change Internet use in Cuba remains unclear, but it is certain that it will help to further strengthen the diplomatic and political bond between Cuba and Venezuela, an already very sharp thorn in the side of the US government. This could incentivize the Obama administration to pursue further liberalizations, but it hasn’t yet.
Many in the US-Cuba policy community believe that President Obama is running out of the time and political capital necessary to make reforms to the embargo. After Tuesday’s midterm elections in the US, the blogosphere was alive with commentary on the election of soon-to-be Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a GOP and Tea Party magnate and the son of pro-embargo Cuban émigrés. Rubio is adamant about “holding the line” against Cuba.
Anya Landau-French, at The Havana Note, writes that with Rubio in office:
The level of pro-embargo, anti-engagement speechifying, floor-side colleague arm-twisting and bipartisan sign-on letter-writing and hand-wringing will certainly amp up.
Given the changing tide of Cuban-American opinion on US-Cuba relations, will this make a difference? El Yuma predicts that Rubio’s influence on US-Cuba policy (and US politics on the whole) will be formidable, telling readers:
Do not underestimate him or the potential of his wide appeal to American voters outside of the Cuban-American community and outside of the state of Florida…
Whether or not Rubio’s victory will impact President Obama’s decisions regarding executive order-tied reforms, the political climate for change towards Cuba may be growing cold. Phil Peters, of The Cuban Triangle, remarked on the narrowing opportunities for Obama to create meaningful reforms to the embargo. Referring to the recent market-oriented economic reforms in Cuba, Peters wrote:
If President Obama doesn’t respond to incremental changes in Cuba with incremental changes of his own, his offer will at some point become a dead letter, and idea of constructive influence in Cuba….will be empty.

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


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Cuba: The Remaining 13  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“No individual Cuban not named Orlando Zapata Tamayo is more responsible for the release this year of 39 Cuban prisoners of conscience than Guillermo Farinas”: Uncommon Sense reports that the hunger striker will re-start his protest if Cuba does not release all the political prisoners as promised.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Ecuador: Wikitravel Page for Loja · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Voces Lojanas [es] writes about the creation of a Wikitravel page [es] for the southern city of Loja, quoting its creator, Carlos Correa [es] saying that there was a need for a site that could be updated constantly and where “no one imposes their points of view or give special weight to a specific interest.”


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Egypt: Blogger Kareem Amer Still in Jail  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“After 1460 days in prison, Kareem officially completes his prison sentence. Tomorrow will mark exactly 4 years since his imprisonment on November 6, 2006. Unfortunately, Kareem has yet to be freed,” reports Free Kareem, on the fate of the Egyptian blogger Kareem Amer.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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El Salvador: Anti-Mining Activists Kidnapped · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Tim from Tim's El Salvador Blog reports: “Members of a Salvadoran environmental organization travelling to meet with the Guatemalan government to protest a gold mine were kidnapped and robbed by men wearing Guatemalan police uniforms. “


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Haiti: A life-saving video  · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

San Francisco-based physician and blogger Dr. Jan Gurley has visited Haiti twice since the January 12 earthquake to volunteer her services. Her second visit coincided with the cholera outbreak that has claimed hundreds of lives and caused thousands more to be hospitalised since the first case appeared on October 19, 2010. “Cholera is a lethal infection of hurricane proportions,” writes Doc Gurley (as she's known in the blogosphere):
You can die in as little as 3 hours, with your entire body’s amount of fluid coming out as stool. Socially, in Haiti, I found in February that there was already tremendous stigma attached to diarrhea. Not that surprising, really, if you think about the realities of living in a parking lot without a toilet while surrounded by hundreds of other people. And now there are concerns that cholera may have been brought to Haiti by the very international workers who came to help. Besides the devastating toll on lives (with reports ranging from 200 to Russian reports of 500 dead from cholera), how much current, and potential, good-will could such an event destroy?
Doc Gurley looked around online for an instructional video on oral rehydration therapy (ORT) that she could leave with her Haitian colleagues and patients. A knowledge of ORT basics could save lives, as most deaths from cholera are in fact caused by dehydration. Doc Gurley reminds her readers that even in Haiti, video can be an effective tool for spreading information: “People there have cell phones and texts, and everyone has an email address. Aid workers have smart phones that can show videos, and people there, just like here, love to gather ’round and watch the tiny screen.”
When her online searches yielded nothing but a single Hausa-language video and a handful of others covertly advertising Gatorade-style electrolyte drinks, Doc Gurley got a few friends together and made the video below. It's mostly wordless, making it suitable for use in any country, and depicts how to make oral rehydration salts “using only things that a person living in a sheet city would have”, including PET water bottles and bottle caps:
4 caps sugar, 1 cap salt, 500ml clean water = life

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Haiti: Renown Orchestra Tabou Combo on Tour  · Global Voices
Anna Gueye

Blogger Ménilmuche  [fr] reports on his blog 7ici que ça se passe that renown Haitian band Tabou Combo [fr] has begun their new tour on Saturday, Nov. 6.  Their new album (in five different languages) will also debut at the end of the month. The band is also looking for a new  singer as seen  on their MySpace page.


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Honduras: Indigenous Heroes · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Nacer en Honduras [es] lists 6 indigenous heroes from Honduras, giving a brief biography of each one.


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Hong Kong: Community Care or Collusion? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Webb comments on the Hong Kong government's proposal in setting up a community care fund. So far, the community receives it negatively as its objective is unclear. Webb believes that it is designed for community collusion rather than care.


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India: Tigers In Danger In Madhya Pradesh · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bagchiblog informs that India's Madhya Pradesh government has taken several steps that threaten the existence of tigers in the state’s forests.

author: Rezwan


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Jamaica: Chevannes Passes Away  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican bloggers pay tribute to the late Professor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies, Barry Chevannes.


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Japan: Snow crab season · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Buddhika Weerasinghe published photos of the Snow Crab – or Echizen crab – season that just kicked off in Fukui Prefecture (about 300 km north of Tokyo).

author: Scilla Alecci


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Jordan: To Vote, Or Not To Vote? · Global Voices
Betsy Fisher

The Jordanian Twitter community debated the merits of voting or abstaining in the parliamentary elections to be held November 9, 2010.
The government-run campaign, Sm3naSotak (Let Us Hear Your Voice) is running a series of tweets, such as this one:
Why Vote? To break the stereotype! “Young people are lazy, they don't care, they won't vote.” Let's prove them wrong! #JO #JoElections
This campaign, though, has created considerable backlash from Twitter users such as Tarawneh and Hamzeh, who wrote respectively:
@sm3nasotak telling us 2 vote 2 avoid being labelled with generalizations isn't a great strategy. dont mock our inteligence plz #JoElections
@sm3nasotak Voting in #JoElections is an endorsement of a system that doesn't give people equal representation. Why should I endorse it? #JO
Hamzeh then issued a series of tweets illustrating the disproportionate voter representation:
An MP from Amman represents on avg 93k ppl while an MP from Karak represents on avg only 27k! & they dare ask why I won't vote? #JOElections
Mohammed Yousef writes:
I won't cheat myself, I won't cheat Jordan: I'm boycotting #JoElections
MJalaljel tweeted:
Most of the smart/educated/thoughtful ppI I know (including me) r not voting…
But later he linked to a site giving biographical information on each parliamentary candidate:
#jo But for those who're voting in the next #JoElections, you HAVE TO check this before making your decision:http://www.ftf-jordan.org
A few Twitter users, in contrast, have been active in supporting the election and urging others to vote.  Yasser Burgan tweeted:
Will be flying to #Jordan tomorrow to go exercise my constitutional right & duty: to #Vote in the #JoElections
Several also retweeted the result of a local survey, conducted by Jordanian tweeter and blogger Aymen al-Saket.  The survey was circulated amongst tweeters active under the #jo hashtag.  Al-Saket did not describe how many responses he received, but logged at least 35 responses, which he cites as 40% of active #jo tweeters.  Amongst the results are that 19.8% of respondents say they will not vote, as compared to 80.2% who say they will.
Al-Saket himself says he will vote because,
1. It is a Constitutional Right.
2. There is a need to initiate the change, to start it, not make it.
3. If I don't vote, Parliament Members will be chosen on my behalf.

author: Betsy Fisher


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Morocco: 80-year-old Synagogues · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jewish Morocco introduces us to 80-year-old synagogues in Er Rachidia and Oujda.


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Morocco: A Phone Call Away · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The View from Fez recounts Morocco's telecom developments.


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Morocco: Excellent Mathematicians  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Moroccans excel in mathematics, writes sumaya, at Reading Morocco.


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Morocco: Nobel Laureates Meeting Spot · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A meeting of Nobel Laureates will take place in Morocco in early May 2011, reports The View from Fez.


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Nepal: Analysis Of Blocked Sites · Global Voices
Rezwan

XNepali Blog posts a two part analysis on the blocked sites in Nepal and finds that some sites were included in the ban list wrongly.


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Puerto Rico: New EP from Superaquello · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Puerto Rico Indie [es] reviews the latest EP from Superaquello, an alternative rock band from Puerto Rico.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Russia: More Assaults on Journalists · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Igor Podgorny reports on the attack on Sergey Mikhailov, Saratov journalist, that took place on November 5th, 2010. Kommersant writes about another attack on Anatoliy Adamchuk, journalist from Zhukovskiy city (Moscow region). Adamchuk was assaulted on November 7th, 2010.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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South Korea:Airport-Level Security At G20 Summit Venue · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

With the G20 Seoul Summit (Nov. 11 and 12) drawing near, the administration has toughen security at the Summit's official venue, the Coex Convention and Exhibition Center. Several thousands of people commuting to Coex everyday, however, are slightly annoyed by tight security and tweeted frequent pat-downs and screenings.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Sri Lanka: Dehiwala Puppet Museum · Global Voices
Rezwan

Indi.ca writes about the puppetry museum in Dehiwela, a newly created city immediately south of Colombo.


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St. Lucia: Today’s Tomas Update  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

From the water situation to a list of urgently needed items, Sun, Rain, Or… posts a hurricane update from St. Lucia.


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Sudan: Will Africa give birth to a new nation in 2011?  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

This post is part of our special coverage South Sudan Referendum 2011.
Will Africa give birth to a new nation in 2011? Southern Sudan will hold a referendum on whether or not it should remain as a part of Sudan on 9 January 2011 as part of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Khartoum central government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. A simultaneous referendum will be held in Abyei on whether to become part of Southern Sudan. This is a roundup of posts discussing Sudan at a historical crossroad.
Wolfram Lacher, a researcher on Sudan and the Horn of Africa, discusses contentious issues related to the referendum and possible solutions:
The negotiations are structured into four areas, each of which is covered by a working group comprising representatives of both parties: Citizenship; Security; Economic, Financial and Natural Resources; as well as International Treaties and Legal Issues. Key negotiating points include an arrangement to divide up oil export revenues; the rights and duties of citizens across the common border (including rights of residence, work, trade and land use); the currency and national debt; water; and security arrangements. In addition, two issues that are not part of the negotiations in this context are nevertheless of major importance for future north-south relations: the delineation of the common border, and the status of Abyei.
He argues that the Abyei referendum might lead to violence. Abyei is an area in Sudan with “special administrative status,”
The preparations for the Abyei referendum have experienced even more delays than the independence referendum, and the criteria for voter eligibility are fiercely contested. As a result, doubts are growing whether the vote will be held on time, and the Abyei dispute is increasingly becoming a negotiating point. In September, the NCP suggested that the Abyei referendum should be cancelled and the area should be turned into a demilitarised zone whose residents would have dual nationality. The SPLM has rejected the proposal, not least because it would represent a departure from one of the key components of the CPA, and therefore could ultimately raise questions about the independence referendum itself. Nevertheless, a negotiated solution would offer an opportunity to defuse the Abyei dispute. The Abyei referendum would be very likely to lead to violence in the region. The conflict not only has a national dimension (related to the oilfields located in Abyei) but is particularly explosive at the local level, where the rights to residency and land use of two groups are at stake – the Ngok Dinka (a key constituency for the SPLM) and the Misseriya (a Baggara tribe).
Luke A. Patey, a Project Researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, writes about oil and the referendum:
Three months and one week remain until the people of Southern Sudan have the opportunity to vote for independence. Apprehension is growing that an oil war is in the making. But such fears should be tempered. War between northern and southern armies over the country’s oil-rich border region is unlikely. Instead, a messy mix of intraparty struggles in the South and local armed resistance in oil-bearing regions pose serious threats.
Oil had previously fuelled an over two-decade civil war between the North and South, leaving two million dead until the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in 2005. Since peace was established, the North’s ruling National Congress Party and its southern counterpart, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement have no interest in disrupting their yearly windfalls of oil revenue by returning to war. Even with southern separation almost assured, when it comes to oil, the North and South will be attached to one another for years to come.
He notes that oil might be a divisive factor in an independent Southern Sudan:
Oil may prove to be a highly divisive factor in power struggles in an independent Southern Sudan. The forces of high-ranking SPLM members, Unity State Governor Taban Deng and General Paulino Matip, clashed last October in Bentiu. Matip has close ties with a US oil outfit, Jarch Capital, which according to its Chairman Phil Heilberg is hoping to capitalize on ‘sovereignty changes’ in Sudan. Jarch’s claim to oil concessions stand in opposition to those of other companies signed up with the southern government. The former rebels may face their own rebellion soon enough in an independent Southern Sudan.
A Niger Delta scenario of entrenched conflict between local armed groups and government security forces is brewing in Sudan’s oil regions. Four Chinese oil workers were killed in 2008 during a botched rescue attempt by Sudanese authorities after the workers were kidnapped near the oil town of Heglig. Local populations have seen little benefit come out of oil.
“There is no question that the results of the referendum will be disputed,” says Reverend Sam Kobia:
There is no question that the results of the referendum will be disputed. The North will not accept the South as separate, the South will not accept any result that does not give them separation, and therefore there will be dispute. Currently, there are no clear mechanisms on how to resolve that dispute. This is one message we are putting to the Troika, who are the guarantors of the CPA; we are putting it to all other international actors.
The other area is security. Without security, people will find it very difficult to participate meaningfully in the referendum. At the moment, the troops of the North and the troops of the South are only 5 kilometers [3 miles] apart. That border needs to be secured; there needs to be a buffer zone so that we don’t have these soldiers facing each other. The information we are getting from the ground is that there is a mobilization of the troops — the people themselves are telling us that, as churches.
He describes hot spot areas in Southern Sudan:
Finally, we are seeing hot spots, where violence could flare up after, or even as we move to, the referendum. In the transitional areas, Abyei [is] supposed to have a referendum, but no referendum commission has been formed. With less than 100 days left, it’s going to be very difficult for that to happen. Secondly, the Southern Kordofan, the Nuba Mountains, and Blue Nile — these states are going to have popular consultations, which are supposed to be done by the elected members of the legislative assembly. But in Blue Nile, a majority of those elected belong to the government of Al-Bashir NCP [the ruling party in Khartoum]; they cannot represent the aspirations of the people.
Ola Diab observes that the referendum will shake the Afro-Arab's stability:
This referendum is shaking the Afro-Arab’s stability. If the south decides to secede then both regions will reach economic stagnation. Much of Sudan’s six billion oil barrels lie in the south but the distribution network is in the north, which makes the two parts of the country economically interdependent. The referendum is highly emotional for both northerners and southerners that could drag them into war again because of the lack of clarity on the status of citizenship, wealth sharing, borders and the oil areas. The severance of the south from the rest of Sudan could be the grounds for other regions in Sudan to ask for separation too. Regions like the Upper Nile, Abeyi, Southern Kordofan, and Darfur and the rest of the western region, like the South, have been criticizing the Sudanese government for decades for being negligent of them and discriminatory.
Ensent wonders whether Ethiopians are ready to accept a new neighbour:
The referendum that is to take place early next year in Southern Sudan is sure to give birth to Africa's newest nation, though there are still plenty of obstacles to overcome before this becomes a reality. But are Ethiopians ready to welcome a new nation-state to their west and all that it entails, both good and bad?
Finally, Andrew Heavens discusses the search for a new name in a post titled “Juwama vs. the Nile Republic – South Sudan searches for a new name”:
What’s in a name? An entire cultural and national identity if you are from Sudan’s oil-producing south.
The region of southern Sudan is now less than seven months away from a referendum on whether it should split away to form Africa’s newest country.
One of the biggest unanswered questions hanging over the vote is what the new nation should call itself if, as widely expected, embittered southerners choose to secede.
The easiest option would be to stick to what people call it now — South Sudan or Southern Sudan.
But there are some serious branding issues. Say “Sudan” to most outsiders and they will immediately think of a list of nasties — Darfur, the never-ending north-south civil war, military coups, militancy and crippling debt.
A new nation might be grateful for a new name with a clean slate.
This post is part of our special coverage South Sudan Referendum 2011.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Trinidad & Tobago: The Kamla Debacle  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Outlish asks of the hoopla surrounding the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister's recent statements: “What's the real issue? Compassion or Caribbean rivalry?”


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Bermuda: Sexual Discrimination · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

bermudashorts says that when it comes the issue of sexual orientation and equal rights, “there is no such thing as compromise…passing this legislation has nothing to do with offending conservative or religious Bermudians, it is about discrimination, protecting human rights, one of a government’s main responsibilities.”


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Chile: Students Walk More Than a Thousand Kilometers for Public Education · Global Voices
Paulina Aguilera Muñoz

Patricio Contreras, Fabián Muñoz, and José Luis Mansilla, three students from the University of Los Lagos in Chile [es],  studying Political Science and Administration, are traveling 1016 km on foot as a form of protest over the rising cost and lowering quality of Chilean Education [es]. The walk for public education began in Puerto Mont, Thursday September 30th. The goal is to arrive in Santiago, the capitol of Chile. Their march is accompanied by excitement and supportive statements throughout the blogosphere and social networks.  News of this march is almost nonexistent in Chilean media.
Image from students, used with their permission
Caminata Santiago, or Destination Santiago in English, (@destinosantiago) is the name of their Twitter account and it has more than 400 people following it. Their slogan is “ante la educación de mercado estudiante  organizado” (Students Organized Against Market-Based Education). With their Facebook page and other social networks they are organizing and spreading news of their activities as they pass through different areas of Chile:
Tres estudiantes de la Universidad de Los Lagos, dan inicio a esta   caminata por la Educación Chilena  el día  Jueves 30 de septiembre a las  14:00 horas. Sabemos que esto nos compete a todos, esperamos  que para ti sea significativa esta consigna, durante el camino que se  desarrolla a Santiago se espera que más estudiantes se acoplen a esta  gran causa.
The idea grew from one of the meetings of the Chilean Student Confederation (CONFECH [es]), where together with students from other universities they agreed to this protest tactic in response to the privatization policies of Sebastián Piñera'a government [es].  These policies have expanded in the last two governments of the political party Concertación, according to reporting in the protest walk logs [es].
They were, at first, only three students that proposed walking all the way to Santiago, as a way to call attention to the state of public education and the need to save it [es]. They have continued walking and added other marchers to their cause. From their Twitter account, the group says [es]:
NO SOLO LOS MINEROS NOS DIERON UNA LECCION @destinosantiago LO HACEN POR TU EDUCACION…por TUS HIJOS, POR TI RT
Ale Botinelli (@alebottinelli) gives his support through this tweet:
400 kms de Convicciones!! Estudiantes marchan a Santiago por Educación digna y de calidad! @destinosantiago RT
As they pass different cities in southern Chile, the students are met with cheers. The three university students [es] that left Puerto Montt this past September 30th, added three more students in Osorno (approx. 110 kilometers), and they arrived 12 days later in Temuco (approx. 220 km from Osorno), the capitol of the Araucanía region. There they were received by their fellow students from the University of Frontera (UFRO) and grew their  number of walkers.
The blog Trinchera de la Imagen [es] says the walk seeks to raise awareness of what is happening at this moment in education as the 2011 National Budget discusses education. State contributions to teaching the public are being scrutinized.
The demands look to achieve a greater budget for education and reform several laws, according to the blog  G80 [es].
En el Sistema Educacional chileno, priman los principios del  Mercado, antes que un Estado responsable de entregar una Educación de  Calidad para todos. Lo anterior conlleva a que en Chile exista una  Educación para ricos y otra para pobres, donde los que pueden pagar el  lucro de la educación privada o particular subvencionada pueden optar a  una Educación de Calidad. Ante esto, decimos FIN AL LUCRO, CALIDAD PARA  TODOS.
For their part, the Chilean Student Confederation (CONFECH) have declared on their in their blog [es]:
por   acuerdo unánime respalda y se adhiere a la manifestación iniciada por   los Estudiantes de la Federación de la Universidad de los Lagos (Campus   Puerto Montt), quienes emprendieron una caminata desde la ciudad   señalada rumbo a la capital del País, convocando además a estudiantes   que en el trayecto se plegarán a dicha manifestación, en repudio a la   agenda privatizadora del Gobierno, en defensa y desarrollo de la   educación pública
Comunicaciones FECH  reports the walk as a peaceful protest that is trying to bring attention to the failure of the Chilean education system, where the cost and sharp tuition increases have affected the budgets of families and students. The personal cost of attending university has reached the point that Chile ranks as the sixth most expensive country in the world to attend college. The report says the state has clearly abandoned public education:
Según expresó Cesar Mallipán, en un diario local: “a medida que   vamos avanzando, pretendemos seguir socializando nuestras demandas sobre   la urgente necesidad de un mayor financiamiento de las universidades   estatales, y la democratización de esta.”
Pulso: Porque Chile Late [es] and Redmedios [es] report on the walk and call on others to join:
“Estudiantes de todo Chile de las Universidades se suman en el camino”
Image from Facebook;
Meanwhile on Twitter, messages and campaigns of support and solidarity have appeared.  One example is Veronica Ramirez's message  (@noalachibueno):
Me gustaria que se unieran cada dia mas estudiantes a la caminata por la educacion publica de calidad.
Rene Aucapan (@ReneAucapan) and other Twitter users have started calling for further support through social networks:
Yo tambien Apoyo la Caminata de Estudiantes Por la Educacion Publica #YoApoyoCaminataEstudiantesUniversitarios
Caminata Santiago (@destinosantiago) publishes daily updates on the cities that they are passing and about the activities promoted by the university students. The message is  loud and clear:
Y donde están los  que decían que los caminantes se iban a volver a mitad de camino? Por la  Educación Pública de Calidad,Fuerza Compas!! RT!!

author: Paulina Aguilera Muñoz


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China: Comments on Ai Weiwei’s River Crab Banquet · Global Voices
Andy Yee

Over the weekend, prominent Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei was under house arrest, a move believed to be coming from powerful political figures in Shanghai. Ai had planned to fly to Shanghai to host a goodbye party at his condemned studio on Sunday. Although the authorities say the studio was built illegally, Ai said that the decision to pull it down was political. His campaigns on sensitive human rights issues in China have often angered officials.
While Ai remained confined in Beijing, his planned banquet to serve the river crabs – a satirical reference to official censorship – was nevertheless attended by hundreds of supporters.
Ai Weiwei's Shanghai studio
Online, there was also a storm surrounding Ai Weiwei. It started from the blog Shanghai Monthly, which contains an article asserting that supporters of Ai Weiwei were being manipulated in this show directed by Ai himself. The article, titled AWW, You Are Not Helping, claims that Ai Weiwei would not be surprised by the fact that he was being detained and not be able to attend the party:
我们对此结果毫不吃惊，相信艾未未先生同样不觉意外，因为稍有基本判断力的人都明白，这事先张扬的河蟹盛宴不可能成功。与其说警方的介入是此事件戏剧性的转折点，不如说这是艾未未河蟹剧本的一部分。这是一场行为艺术表演，艾未未早就预估到了事件的发展轨迹，警员的出现甚至所谓的软禁，都不会出乎他的意料；甚至不如说，这就是他想要的。当英国《卫报》或《纽约时报》迅即刊出艾未未被软禁的新闻时，他一定在草场地的寓所内满足了吧。
We are not surprised by the outcome, neither is Ai Weiwei. Any person with common sense should understand that this River Crab Banquet would not be successful. Rather than viewing police interference as the turning point of the event, we should say it is part of Ai Weiwei’s script. This is a piece of action art. Ai Weiwei has predicted the outcome early on. For Ai, the presence of the police and the house arrest are not entirely unpredictable, perhaps these are what he wants. When the Guardian and The New York Times reported news of his house arrest, Ai must be quietly satisfied.
如果艾未未先生真的想请大家吃一万只河蟹，“庆祝”他的马陆工作室拆迁的话——我们甚至承认，这是一种平和的、富有幽默感的对抗——那么他就不该如此高调地将盛宴消息提前多日公诸于众，让那些“国际媒体”抱着看好戏的心态等待新闻。他本该利用艺术家的想像力，想出一个更有创造性的方法（或随便什么方法）使这场盛宴成为可能。我们无意质疑艾未未先生的初衷，我们同样不否认“螳臂当车”或者“堂吉诃德斗风车”的勇气；但是要知道，本事件中牵扯到的绝不仅仅是一只手臂或一个人，在这个基于个人选择的事件里还牵扯到千百位民众。——这恰恰是我们不喜欢艾未未的最重要的理由：在我们看来，艾未未先生导演整个河蟹事件的手法，与导演一场团体操无异。每个报名参加河蟹盛宴的人，都是一枚棋子、或一颗瓜子。他们成为了物，成为了团体操的千百分之一。
If Ai Weiwei really wants to serve ten thousand river crabs to supporters, to ‘celebrate’ the demolition of his arts studio – we even admit that this is a peaceful and harmonious protest – then he should not announce this banquet in such a high profile to the public so early on, and let the ‘international media’ to wait for it to happen. He should have used his artistic imagination and think of a way so that the banquet is possible. We have no intention to question Ai’s motivations, we are also not denying his Don Quixote spirit. However, we need to realize that this incident is not involving only one person, but hundreds of people – this is exactly the reason we don’t like Ai Weiwei: Mr. Ai is directing the whole River Crab incident, which is no different from a mass gymnastics. Everyone who decides to attend the banquet has become a chess [of Mr. Ai], a ‘thing’, or a mere part of the mass gymnastics.
On Bullogger, where the article is re-posted, commentator 今天天气哈哈哈 thinks that Ai Weiwei is just a man who thinks too highly of himself:
今天天气哈哈哈 [222.152.31.*] @ 2010-11-8 16:29:14:
艾未未，也是一很自以为是的人，这种人很难顾及其他人的感受
自我优越感很强
但我还是要说，他怎么样是他的自由
你们别陪他发神经就完了
何必呢？中国的事，是艾未未们改变不了的
Ai Weiwei is a man who thinks too much of himself. This kind of man will not think about others’ feelings.
He thinks of himself highly.
But I have to add, this is his freedom.
Just don’t be crazy with him.
For Ai Weiwei cannot change China.
However, commentator idealle thinks that the River Crab Banquet is a superb piece of action arts:
idealle[74.82.178.*] @ 2010-11-8 19:55:25:
这是艾未未迄今最好的作品，虽然他其它的作品都免不了让我觉得有矫情的成份，但是这个作品打动了我，让我觉得恰到好处，非常艺术，直击灵魂的黑色幽默。
一个行为艺术作品，当然需要有设计，当然需要有预见性，当然需要引发不可预测的结果。甚至包括上面这篇文章，也是这个行为艺术作品的一部分。
一颗石子，丢入一潭死水，欣赏它激起的涟漪，揣测水潭的深度，和浑浊度，艾未未成功地扮演了一颗石子的角色。
This is Ai’s best piece of art so far. Although I feel that his other pieces are hypocritical, this one has moved me. I think that it is a sort of black humor, very artistic and spot on.
As a piece of action art, it, of course, needs to be planned. It also needs to have unpredictable consequences. In fact, the article above also plays a part in this piece of art.
Ai Weiwei is like a piece of stone, thrown into the dead water, testing its depth and turbidity, and arousing ripples throughout.
Commentator 麦克 to the original post ponders about the wider significance of Ai’s action art:
艾未未从未否认过这也是一种艺术抗争的一种方式，同样参加的人也知道及认可这样一种方式，人们的参与是发自自愿并清楚知道可能的后果。中国人需要发出自己的声音。他不是幕后策划，这是幕前策划，这不是阴谋，这是堂堂正正的阳谋！
我尊重你不喜欢艾未未，我个人也未必喜欢他做的每一件事，可是我喜欢他在为我们每一个人呐喊的行为！无论你是否体制内外的五毛，他的行为也在也在为你呐喊。
Ai Weiwei has never denied that this is a kind of opposition through artistic expressions. Similarly, people who participated in it approved of this method of expression. Their participation was entirely voluntary, and they knew about the consequences. Chinese people need to make their voices heard. Ai Weiwei is planning forefront, not behind the scene; this is an open conspiracy, not a plot!
I respect your right of disliking Ai Weiwei. Also, I do not like everything Ai Weiwei did. But I like him for shouting out on behalf of every one of us! Whether you are in or out of the establishment, he is voicing out for all of us.
Rebuking the points made in AWW, You Are Not Helping, blogger Liu Hanyu explained why he likes Ai Weiwei:
最直接的理由是，我认为艾未未一直在尽力做的事情莫过于帮助越来越多的人摆脱恐惧。
在许多描述文革历史的作品以及名著《1984》中，我们总可以感觉到一种迫入心扉的恐惧。这些恐惧来自于自儿时起的奴化教育，来自于白色的政治气息，来自于无处不在的监视设备与打小报告者，来自于各种匪夷所思的罪名。
The most direct reason is this: I think Ai Weiwei is always trying his best to help more and more people to escape from fear. In many books about the Cultural Revolution and classics such as 1984, we can always feel the fear forcing into our hearts. This fear comes from enslaving education, from an atmosphere of white terror, from the Big Brother and censors all over the place, and from bizarre criminal charges which could be forced onto us.
“上海一月”的作者认为，艾未未是在鼓动这些民众来提高自己的知名度，“每个报名参加河蟹盛宴的人，都是一枚棋子、或一颗瓜子。他们成为了物，成为了团体操的千百分之一。” 这种论调与前一段官媒评判世界各国对和平奖的立场的言论十分地相似，阴谋论患者总是会把自己的阴暗内心投射到别人身上，艾未未也许算不得君子，但是像该作者这样能总是以这样龌龊的想法去揣度别人的人，绝不辜负“小人”的称谓。而艾未未，敢于在严打“非法集会”的今天，如此大张旗鼓地举行反河蟹的宴会，值得每一匹草泥马尊敬。
The authors of ‘Shanghai Monthly’ think that Ai is manipulating his supporters to sustain his popularity. ‘Everyone who decides to attend the banquet has become a chess [of Mr. Ai], a ‘thing’, or a mere part of the mass gymnastics.’ This tone is very similar to official criticisms on the stance of foreign countries on the Nobel Peace Prize. Conspiracy theorists always project their own dark shadows on other people. Ai Weiwei may not be a gentleman, but the authors, by assuming that other people think like themselves, qualifies as ‘villains’. As for Ai, just by the fact that he dares to organize this ‘illegal’ River Crab Banquet, he deserves the respect of every Grass-Mud Horse.

author: Andy Yee


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Guatemala: Internet Accessibility and Mobile Phones · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Antigua Daily Photo shares a graph that shows the exponential growth of mobile phones in Guatemala: “Soon you will see a similar pattern with Internet access as a result of free Internet 3G modems; although I suspect the numbers will not be as high unless smart phones become the new basic phone; who knows.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Not to Blame for Boycott · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“We don’t care what Trade Minister Stephen Cadiz wants to say. There is no other way to look at the statement of their PM than plain out of order and highhanded”: Yardflex.com does not accept the inference that Jamaicans are to blame for instigating the boycott of T&T products.


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Japan: Tezuka fire safety posters · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Pinktentacle presents a series of fire safety posters featuring famous manga artist Ozamu Tezuka‘s characters. The series dates back to 1979.


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Mexico, USA: Border Women Begin Hunger Strike in Front of White House · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The Latin Americanists reports that, “Thirteen women gathered in front of the White House on Monday and commenced a hunger strike. They requested that the U.S. government pay more attention to social problems along the border region.”


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Myanmar Election: Junta-backed party wins, violence erupts · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

After twenty years, elections were held in Myanmar and as expected the junta-backed party won with the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) getting more than 80 percent of the seats in parliament. But the opposition is claiming that the poll results were rigged.
The Irrawaddy's Kyaw Zwa Moe gives a summary of what transpired during election day
All incumbent 27 ministers and deputy ministers of the military government reportedly won in the Sunday elections
Of course, Prime Minister Thein Sein is among them and Foreign Minister Nyan Win won his constituency without a contest because he was unopposed, as were 52 candidates of the junta's party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). You'll see a new government composed of many of these incumbent ministers in the coming months.
‘Joker Votes” were used to manipulate election results
The USDP has reportedly won 82 percent of the seats in parliament. No surprise there. We've said repeatedly that Than Shwe and his team would rig votes. Most pro-democracy and ethnic parties that contested in the election knew the USDP would rig votes, but it was even worse than they expected.
The USDP made a mockery of the advanced vote process. Witnesses and party leaders said advanced votes would come in whenever a USDP candidate seemed in danger of losing. In Rangoon, they called the advanced votes “joker votes.”
Believing that the election is a sham and that the junta will dictate the results of the voting, the pro-democracy movement led by opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi has decided to boycott the elections.
The Democratic Voice of Burma has set-up an election map to monitor cases of fraud, violence and election protests.
Hseng Khio Fah, writing for the Shan Herald, narrates how an administration candidate behaved during the voting in Shan State
“Kyaw Myint (candidate) gave money to voters in his constituency Kyat 10,000 (US $10) each in polling station. People who got the money, came out from the booths with a big smile and showed us money and told they won lottery at the polling station.
“Kyaw Myint was said to have brought over 500 ballot papers from another area and put into the ballot boxes to get counted.
“During the election time, he also brought 80 armed militiamen to guard the polling booths.”
These testimonies and observations contradict the official statement of the government which are published on The New Light of Myanmar. The government is claiming that the 2010 Multiparty Democracy General Elections were held peacefully and that visiting diplomats and journalists “viewed free and happy voting of people and counting of ballots at the stations.” It added:
“They viewed free and happy casting vote of local people, systematic counting of ballots and putting on records with the use of designated forms at the polling stations.”
Violence also erupted on electiond day when government soldiers clashed with the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army. The fighting forced the evacuation of more than 17,000 people who sought refuge near the Thailand border.

author: Mong Palatino


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Philippines: Students oppose education budget cuts · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Student activists in the Philippines are protesting the decision of the government to slash the funding of state universities.


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South Africa: Cape Town has largest Twitter usage  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Cape Town has the largest Twitter usage in South Africa: “A report released earlier this year by Fuseware, a social media research company shows that Cape Town has the largest number of Twitter users in SA. The report also highlights that most of SA tweets on Tuesdays and the least popular day to tweet is Sunday.”


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St. Lucia: Hurricane Relief Efforts  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“There are people who are very much still marooned by the metres of mud that descended from the mountains, swept away and buried their homes, vehicles, farms and kitchen gardens”: Sun, Rain, Or… does not want complacency to set in when it comes to hurricane relief for St. Lucia.


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Taiwan: Open data, open failure · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

Zonble demonstrates many failed examples of how Taiwanese government spend money on creating useless, difficult and empty “open data” websites of crime information[zht]. As an iPhone app developer, he also criticizes the government for over-emphasizing on soft and promotional apps like “flora expo guide”, but not apps for crime information lookup.

author: Portnoy Zheng


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Taiwan: Two election rallies in Taipei · Global Voices
David Reid

Taiwanese will vote in elections in five major cities on 27 November. Frozen Garlic observes two campaign rallies. The first for Eric Chu (朱立倫), the KMT candidate for Mayor of Xinbei City. The second for Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), a DPP candidate for Taipei City Council.

author: David Reid