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The Global Twittersphere Discusses Gaza · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Twitter is the new blogging, or so the story goes.  Never has that been more apparent than in times of crisis: During the Mumbai attacks, Twitter users provided up-to-the-minute coverage, and today, as Israeli airstrikes continue to hit Gaza, the Twittersphere is deep in discussion.
Twitter users utilize hashtags to aggregate their content; users can then go to Twitter Search and look for content on a particular subject.  In this case, the most utilized hashtag is #gaza, while #gazawarofwords is tracking media bias.  A search for other hashtags being used to discuss Gaza brings up #israel, #syria, #baghdad, #2states, and #rafah, among others.  Users also “re-tweet” information from other users in an effort to disseminate it quickly; an example:
The real-time shelisrael, a Twitter user in California, noted early on yesterday that Twitter is one of the first platforms to enable such open discussion:
Since that point, the world has been engaged in sometimes healthy debate, other times expressing rage, and most importantly, reporting news; the following example includes participants from Palestine, Mauritania, and San Francisco (US):
The nature of the discussion provokes heated questions and arguments.  skinner, from Oxford, UK via Amman, Jordan, asks:
YaelBeeri, an Israeli Twitter user, points out the diversity of opinion in the Twittersphere:
Another fascinating feature of the Twitter discussion is the analysis of media coverage.  #gazawarofwords, a hashtag started by Twitter user weddady, provides a central point of aggregation for such reporting:
The best way to follow Twitter updates is by looking to the source; Twitter Search RSS feeds for any hashtag or search term (e.g. #gaza) and participating is easy.


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Turkey: Anti-Israel Protests · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Erkan's Field Diary posts photos of the anti-Israel protest in Istanbul's Taksim Square in response to recent attacks on Palestinians.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Turkey: Apology Shakes Apologia over Armenian Genocide · Global Voices
Simon Maghakyan

Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
Challenging 90 years of institutionalized denial of the massacre and deportation of the Ottoman Empire's indigenous Armenian community during WWI, tens of thousands of Turkish intellectuals, academics, writers, journalists and dissidents have apologized online for the “Great Catastrophe.”
One of two examples of man's inhumanity to man that prompted Raphael Lemkin to coin the term “Genocide” in 1943, Nova Scotia Scott sets the scene for an unprecedented initiative that has sparked a lively discussion across the globe which ranges from applause to outrage.
Three Turkish academics and one writer have violated Turkey’s biggest taboo by issuing a public apology for the mass killings suffered by Armenians beginning in 1915. In the recent past, Turkey has prosecuted public figures who dare even to admit that the genocide happened […] Predictably, ultra-nationalists have denounced the apology, calling it a “betrayal” and “an insult to the Turkish nation”.
After the initiative was approved by 200 Turkish intellectuals, the apology was launched at http://www.ozurdiliyoruz.com for others to sign. One of the signatories, Ziya Meral, explains on Denizens’ Corner why he signed.
[A]s a Turk, who was born in 70’ies, I am in no way legally or criminally responsible for acts committed by distant actors…. Sure, I did not exist when Armenians were marched to their deaths, but I am still a member of the community in which such events took place, thus still have a moral responsibility to act, no matter how limited my acts can be.
I remember crying for hours in [Armenia’s capital] Yerevan, with no theoretical basis to help me to process the trauma of being confronted with skeletons of a past of which I had no clue. That night I stood in front of a group of Armenians, asking them to forgive me, not for the acts as such, but for my personal failure of not knowing, not caring, and not hearing their cries. That is my personal moral failure, and for that I am sorry. That sorrow led me to do a Masters degree dealing with reconciliation and memory issues, and now a PhD on the subject.
Another Turkish blogger, Ayse Erin, explains why she put her name to the apology.
I can only applaud such an initiative but do acknowledge that the way to reach real understanding and reconciliation between the two nations has been extremely slow and full of denials during the last 90 years. There is still a lot to do, and if signing the online petition can help taking a step forward, I have no other choice than taking action and start with an apology.
Blogging at the Istanbulian, Turkish journalist Emre Kizilkaya doesn’t endorse the move.
Even if all Turks, without any exception, of the early 20th century had killed all the Armenians of the time, why should the grandchildren of the killers make an apology to the grandchildren of the victims?
…the apology campaign has turned out to be a joke at some point, considering the people who has [sic] signed the letter.
Doesn't the signature of Peter Gabriel, the Genesis singer, got a sublime symbolic quality? An Englishman apologizes to the Armenians for a Turkish crime?
Favoring the establishment of a joint Armenian-Turkish historical commission instead, Talk Turkey is also unimpressed by the petition and especially the counter response to the initiative.
To apologize or not to apologize… or to be apologized to…
[…]
But to counter the recent popularity of the signature campaign, with ‘we're not apologizing,’ or yet another one insisting it's the Armenians who should be apologizing, may not have been the smartest thing to do. It only works to de-unify the Turks and the Turkish people.
Do we really think the world is going to determine our worthiness by comparing the two signature campaigns, and public opinion will be swayed by whichever side gets the most signatures?
The Nevin Politology is angry with the apology and instead recalls the assassinations of Turkish diplomats by Armenian militants in the 1970s and 80s.
[…]
My father was a UN diplomat and we lived in fear while living abroad for so many years. Armenian terrorists killed over 200 innocent diplomats, and their wives, children, and friends. While living in Canada, I had to go to school under police protection. We had police waiting in front of our home 24/7. My family received threatening phone calls, threatening letters, insults, hate, hate, and lots of lots of hate. Who will take back those year?
[…]
The Armenian reaction is mixed too. Calling the apology a “good first step, but not good enough,” Armenian-American columnist Harut Sassounian summarizes the U.S.-Armenian Diaspora's response to the initiative on the Huffington Post.
Some welcomed the apology as a good first step, while others expressed concern that Turks would try to cover up their responsibility for the Genocide by issuing a simple apology. Armenian critics pointed out several shortcomings in the Turkish statement: First, the apology avoided the term Armenian Genocide by referring to it as the “Great Catastrophe.” Second, it alluded to the year 1915 only, rather than 1915-1923. Third, the apology was issued by individual Turks rather than the Turkish state…
Nonetheless, he sees some good in the apology.
[It] serves the useful purpose of educating the Turkish public that has been kept in the dark so long about the Armenian Genocide. Rather than an Armenian-Turkish historical commission [suggested by Turkey’s government], what is needed is a purely Turkish commission that would provide a forum for Turks to discuss and discover the mass crimes of their forefathers.
Unzipped agrees.
Even though they did not mention the G-word, this is a remarkable step forward by a group of Turkish thinkers in a country where Armenian Genocide still remains a taboo, albeit a broken one, and where by mere mentioning of the Genocide one could get persecuted or killed.
Another Armenian blogger, Kornelij [RU], is impressed with Turkey's intelligentsia.
В Турции есть прослойка настоящих интеллектуалов, которые идут супротив власть предержащих, сидят в тюрьмах за свои убеждения, пишут книги, печатаются в … О чем Армении в данный момент приходится мечтать только.
[…]
Думаю, этими людьми (большинством из них по крайней мере) движет реальное чувство. Не стоит за всем турецким искать лицемерие или ложь,.. И то, что они не использовали слова Геноцид еще никак не умаляет этого шага, с учетом того, что им просто могут проломить голову уже за это.
[…]
I think, these people (the majority of them at least) are moved by real feeling. We shouldn’t look for hypocrisy and lies in all Turks… And that they did not use the word “genocide” still in no way belittles this step, especially taking into account that [signing the apology] can simply result in having one’s head broken.
While Armenia: Higher Education & Science calls the Turkish apology “a courageous act,” not everyone in Armenia feels the same way. Noni-no [AM], for instance, says she will only accept regret with land reparations. Commenting on Noni-no's post, Satenik [AM] agrees:
Դե թուրքը լայնածավալ գործողություններով է կատարել հանցագործությունը, որի համար այսօր փորձում է իբր ներողություն ձևակերպել: ՈՒրեմն ներողությունն էլ պետք է լինի գործի տեսքով, ոչ թե խոսքի: ՈՒշունց չի տվել, որ հիմա էլ ասի ներողություն ու պրծնի: Արած գործողությունների դիմաց՝ գործով ապացուցող ներողություն:
Enotitan Revolution remembers others who suffered in the Ottoman Empire and is excited by the news.
This is a great sign of the coming International recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocides. The Truth can not be denied for much longer!
Meanwhile, the initiative has caused some outrage in political circles in Turkey itself with the Turkish president now facing questions about his origin. Istanbul Calling explains.
The Armenian issue also seems to have a way of exposing an intolerant streak in Turkish society. […] Canan Aritman, a member of parliament with the secularist Republican People's Party (CHP), has upped the ante: after Turkish president Abdullah Gul refused to criticize the online apology, saying the signers had a right to post it, Aritman accused the president of being — heaven forbid — an “Armenian.” “Investigate the ethnic origin of the president's mother and you will see,” she said.
Gul quickly responded, saying all Turkish citizens are equal, no matter what their background. Just to be safe, though, he also added that both his mother and father come from families that have been Muslim and Turkish for “centuries.” Good to know. (UPDATE — Gul is now suing Aritman, for the symbolic sum of 1 lira, claiming a “heavy assault” on his “personal and family values, honor and reputation.”)
The Impudent Observer also comments on the accusations against Gul.
The easiest way to attract attention in Turkey to oneself is to become furious when anyone dares suggest that Armenians were murdered in a genocidal attack by the Ottoman empire. […] Naturally, an apology to Armenians is viewed by many as tantamount to expressing treason against the Turkish state. President Abdullah Gul has urged calm in discussion of the issue, but even hi[s] mild statement led to charges he is really a secret Armenian.
Whatever the reaction in Turkey, however, the move has had a positive effect on many Armenians, as detailed on my Blogian.
When I gave my father a print-out of the apology in western Armenian, his initial reaction was: “They took all of our land and memory and all they give us is an apology by a group of small people who don’t even use the word genocide?” To my surprise, he then added, “I accept their apology.”
And earlier this April, when a group of Turkish lobbyists and community organizers denied the Armenian genocide during a commemorative lecture at University of Denver, an Armenian friend of mine (who openly calls himself a nationalist), said to the audience that if a Turk told him “sorry” for the Genocide he would give that Turk a “big, Armenian hug.”
My friend owes 20,000 Turks big, Armenian hugs. Let’s hope the number grows so big that he will never be able to give so many hugs in 90 years.
Genocide Survivor, Arax, Armavir Region, Republic of Armenia
All photographs © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2005-8

author: Simon Maghakyan


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Ukraine: Top ten bribes 2008 · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Wu Wei draws attention to a Kyiv Post story on the top ten bribe cases uncovered by Ukrainian authorities in 2008.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Azerbaijan: Pilaf · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Sheki, Azerbaijan sends its readers seasons greetings and takes a look at plov (pilaf) and the various ways in which it is cooked throughout the regions of the South Caucasus country. The dish, with rice or cracked wheat as its base, is also served in honor of respected guests and the blog points its readers towards Farida's Azerbaijani Cookbook for one specific recipe.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bahamas: Students & Drugs  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“In the Bahamas, the average age for male and female students who peddle and smoke weed/drugs is age 13 and 14, respectively”: Adrian Gibson at Weblog Bahamas says that “the illicit drug plague has ripped our social fabric and will unremittingly haunt the history of our island chain for many years to come.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bangladesh: A campaign of words · Global Voices
Rezwan

Internationally acclaimed photo journalist Shahidul Alam takes a look at the last minute election campaigns in Bangladesh and comments on the election promises: “The saying in Bangla ‘kothar upor tax nai’ ‘there is no tax on words’ could not have been more apt.” Check the post for photographs and videos of the campaigns.

author: Rezwan


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Bangladesh: Landslide Victory For Awami League Led Grand Alliance · Global Voices
Rezwan

E-Bangladesh reports that its a landslide victory for the Awami League-led-Grand Alliance in today's national election.


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Bangladesh: Liveblogging the Election · Global Voices
Rezwan

Unheard Voice blog is live blogging the results of the Bangladesh national election held today. Farhan at Unheard Voice  is sending live dispatches from Sylhet.


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Bangladesh: Microblogging an election · Global Voices
Rezwan

In a few hours time 81 million Bangladeshi voters (51% women) will go to vote for the ninth parliamentary election. The election is crucial for the nation as it will bring the country back into the track of democracy after two years of emergency rule of an interim government backed by armed forces.
We have discussed earlier about the use of internet in the campaign and activism for an informed vote. Now we have got another interesting development.
Somewhere in, a software company and the pioneer of the first bangla blog community in the world has introduced a twitter like web based micro blogging community where message can be sent via web and mobile phones (sms) for dissemination of news of the election by the netizens. The messages can also be sent directly to an interactive map where location based information can be found.
Arild Klokkerhaug, the Head of Opportunities of Somewherein has this to say to the candidates of the election:
dear candidates for the 2008 bangladesh parliamentary election:
in case you are not aware, here is a small note to tell you that an election and holding power through a seat in the parliament, is no longer business as usual. tomorrow, any update from any blogger has the potential to reach the whole world.
this time, for the first time in your political history, bloggers are watching you. not only a few techie intellectuals. we are at least 30 000 bangla bloggers watching you. we blog through multiple blog communities and our writings are being read in nearly every country of the world.
we will support your efforts to build a strong and proud nation and share the good news with the world. however, we will also hold you accountable and report any misstep. blogs will never forget, bloggers will never be silenced, internet knows no borders. therefore, lets get it right this time, dear candidates. lets get it right.
The tools bloggers will be using:
bloggers share quick news to the election microblog
– just login and type from web or sms to 5455: ! your message
bloggers can sms directly to an interactive map
– send sms to 5455: ! your message @location regarding their district
bloggers can analyse and share political stories on the election blog
bloggers can share the latest microblogs through nearly any blog
Live coverages, streaming videos and webcasts of the election results can be found in these sites:
Another Bangla Blogging platform sachalayatan is providing a widget which will be updating the latest information on the election (in Bangla) and which can be placed in the side bar of any blog.


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China: Guarantee happiness · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated a local report on the government manipulation of a happiness survey in a local town so as to achieve the state targets for improving the people's well-being.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Young activist against eating cats · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fauna from ChinaSMACK picks up the story about a girl leading a campaign against eating cats in Guangdong. The blogger also translates comments from local forum.


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Cuba, U.S.A.: Lifting Limits?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Uncommon Sense links to an article which suggests that US President-Elect Barack Obama seems prepared to lift limits “on how often Cuban Americans can visit family members on the island and on how much money they can send them”, a move which the blogger says would end “one of the more ignoble and inhumane aspects of American policy towards Cuba.”


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Cuba: Waiting for Cable  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The submarine cable linking Cuba and Venezuela has “a vague completion date” of 2011, but Generation Y is clear about “what this projected umbilical cord should bring us.”


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Guatemala: Violence Continues 12 Years After Peace Accords · Global Voices
Renata Avila

After many years of negotiation, the Peace Accords in Guatemala were finally signed on December 29, 1996, putting an end to 36 years of low-intensity armed conflict between the Guatemalan Army and various guerrilla groups.  This year marks the 12th anniversary of the event and the situation remains anything but peaceful, as violence continues to play a large role in the society.
The blog from the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)writes::
Guatemalan civil society, from human rights workers to journalists, bishops to private sector investors, union leaders to prosecutors, does not have it easy. The country sees increasing rates of crime and violence, and powerful forces operate what many call the “parallel state,” using their influence to shield their activities and ensure outcomes throughout the government that fill their pockets and guarantee their impunity, at the expense of the rest of Guatemalans.
Heidi describes her views on the reasons for the violence in a country at peace at her blog Advocacy Project Blog:
Heightened levels of violence, both in Rabinal and throughout the country, certainly stem from a multitude of sources, only a few of which include staggering unemployment and poverty, or lack of adequate healthcare and education. These societal realities notwithstanding, the internal conflict has left behind a legacy of institutionalized fear and normalized violence that cannot be dismissed.
When the Peace Accords were signed,  a special commission was created by the United Nations to oversee the implementation of the accords.  The commission called  United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) remained in the country for ten years, but its success is still far from certain. The blogger Buscando a Syd [es] remembers the “MINUGUA” blues:
La democracia, o libertad colectiva, más que una conquista de la razón, es un estado de gracia de la historia. No es producto del esfuerzo, no es producto del capital, no es producto del discurso, no es producto de la lucha, no es producto de la tecnología, y no es vigilable. De esa cuenta, organizaciones como MINUGUA no pasan de ser meros decorados de la civilización reciente, que es nada sin esos decorados. Se nos educa para pensar que detrás de tales fachadas, esas capas o cáscaras, existe una democracia mesiánica, incluso esencial, transhistórica. Grandísima superstición.
Democracy or civil liberties, more than a conquest of reason, is just a graceful state of history. It is not a product of the effort, it is not a result of capital, it is not a product of rhetoric, it is not the result of the struggle, or technology and you can not “watch” it. That is why organizations like MINUGUA are less than merely decorative objects of modern civilization, that is nothing without such decoration. We are taught to think that behind such facades, envelopes or skins there is the messianic democracy, fundamental, and transhistorical. Big superstition.
In order to deal with the increasing levels of violence, which is leading to some, who are calling Guatemala a failed state, another commission was created to deal with this challenge as described by the blog from the Guatemala Solidarity Network,GSN Blog [es]:
The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, better known by its Spanish initials CICIG, has now been operating for a year. It was created following an agreement between the United Nations and the Guatemalan government, charged with investigating clandestine organisations and collaborating with the state in prosecuting their members, suggesting ways in which Guatemalan law might be improved to help the fight against them and generally contributing to strengthening the rule of law.
Combatting the violence, especially those acts against women, is not an easy task.  Statistics place the number of violent crimes against women as one unsolved murder every 16 hours [es].  The government has proposed to increase the number of military soldiers to help fight this crime, even though the Guatemalan Army was blamed for much of the violence that led to the Peace Accords, which also stipulates that the Army should be reduced.  However, Guatemalans are pushing for more results, rather than more signed documents and more international commissions.

author: Renata Avila


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Palestine: French Blogger Weighs In On Gaza · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

French blogger Jeremie Berrebi, writing from Israel, posted yesterday a long blog post “Gaza/Israel : Why it is starting again” on the Gaza attacks seen from Israel and his analysis of the reasons behind the Israeli air strikes:
Depuis [la rupture de la trêve], ce sont plusieurs centaines de missiles qui sont tombés sur des villes israéliennes (on parle ici de cibles civiles) au cours des derniers jours. Des missiles plus sophistiqués qu'il y a 6 mois ont même été lancées sur des villes qu'ils n'avaient pas la possibilité de toucher avant. Oui, vous avez bien lu….des centaines de roquettes Qassam ont été tirées sur de VRAIES VILLES qui ne font même pas partie des territoires soi disant “disputés” par les Palestiniens modérés.


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Ghana: Waiting for a President · Global Voices
Ethan Zuckerman

The last two years have been tough ones for elections in sub-Saharan Africa. Presidential and parliamentary elections in Kenya late last year were badly flawed, and led to political violence which claimed up to a thousand lives. Elections in Zimbabwe in March 2008 indicated a possible transfer of power from Robert Mugabe to Morgan Tsvangarai, but a violent crackdown on his party caused Tsvangarai to pull out of the second round of polling. While Nigeria's election in April 2007 was generally peaceful, it was widely viewed as flawed by international monitors.
With this as a backdrop, the Presidential election in Ghana is seen by some as a test for democracy on the continent. Military coup leader Jerry Rawlings was democratically elected twice, and surprised critics by stepping down – as he was constitutionally mandated to – in 2000. John Kufuor of the opposition NPP was elected, and served two terms. The first round of Presidential elections took place on December 7 2008, and ended with NPP candidate Nana Akufo-Addo leading NDC's John Atta-Mills by a small margin.
The runoff election took place yesterday, December 28, and early results suggest that NDC is likely to return to power after an eight year absence. The vote has been extremely close, though some reports suggest that turnout was not as strong as in the first round of voting.
As Elia Varela Serra reported earlier this month, Twitter has become the tool of choice for breaking news around the election. Ghanaelections, a Twitter feed maintained by the African Elections Project, has been streaming news and provisional results throughout. A recent Twitter update noted:
EC to declare results of the Presidential Run-off on on Tuesday December 30 at 12:00 GMT
And a few hours ago:
Provisional Results from 226 out of 230 constituencies: NPP-4,365,158 (49.48%) NDC-4,456,538 (50.52%)
Other Ghanaians are also using Twitter to report on the mechanics of voting and on the reactions of partisans to the results.
Edlynne, visiting Ghana from Toronto, reported on December 26:
Saw police intervene in rally of opposing party supporters in Dwtn Accra 2day. Riot shields & guns. Hope election will be peaceful in Ghana
AfricaTalks is monitoring the media coverage, noting that local radio and television is dominated by analysis of the events. He reports:
big celebration around the NDC head office off Ring Road central in Accra. For an old clip see http://tinyurl.com/a46yrg
It's clear that the runoff election has not proceeded as smoothly as the parliamentary election. CODEO, the non-partisan Coalition of Domestic Election Observers, reports 34 cases of missing election materials and 24 cases of disorder, intimidation or violence at poling places. Despite these troubling reports, an official statement from CODEO confirms the validity of the electoral process:
As with the presidential and general elections of December 7, CODEO observers reported many lapses in the voting process in the presidential runoff election of December 28,  including setting up and opening of polling stations, voting and vote counting.  However, the problems reported by CODEO observers do not fundamentally undermine the integrity of the overall process.
CODEO is asking the Electoral Commission of Ghana to allow voting to continue in the Tain district of the Brong-Ahafo region. Voting did not take place at some polling stations, and the political situation in the region has been very tense, with the local Electoral Commission office set on fire a few weeks ago. Given the close results, votes from this district could determine the outcome of the election. Kwabena Akuamoah-Boateng wryly notes on Twitter:
has the brong-ahafo retained the title ‘chameleon of ghana politics'?
With the election still undecided, and current victory margins within a percentage point, the situation between political party representatives at the Electoral Commission is understandably tense. But very few Ghanaians are panicking on Twitter feeds or the message boards on sites like GhanaWeb. Quite the contrary, as expressed by Kwabena's enthusiastic update as the counting was underway in several polling stations:
went around some polling stations in sunyani. we're on course. Ghana has already won!
KwameOh, watching from London, is an exception with his sceptical update about the first results:
something smells at EC, figures from god knows where arriving at EC, do not let your mandate be stolen…We call on the International community, to help us at this time, if not there will be bloodshed in Accra tonight we beg
Most observers are far less worried and more philosophical. Ghanaian blogger Nubian Cheetah, in Accra for the holidays, writes:
The populas have spoken in Ghana. They want change!
mawulitse agrees:
change is good, and change will come to Ghana
also noting:
Accra is calm but anxious
AndKofucious simply can't wait for the final results tomorrow:
The 30th??!! come on this is not good! I am not pro-NDC but if they are leading as of now, let them win so they can setup their cabinet
As the results are announced and the implications of the election become more clear, it's likely that we'll see detailed analysis in Ghanaian blogs. Writing before the runoff, Mighty African offered a provocative set of ten questions for Ghanaian voters to consider, the first one of which was:
Don’t you think we need to change ourselves for us to move forward or change, etc?
He also offered ten questions each for the NPP and the NDC.
Omanba, writing on the GhanaThink message boards, offers a breakdown of Ghanaian voters, including categories of supporters like “the swaying swaggermaniacs” and “the deaf, blind and dumb votes”. One can only hope for such colorful analysis of the cabinet picks of an incoming administration.
Any analysis of the 2008 Ghanaian elections will need to look closely at the role of technology in both campaigning and monitoring the vote. Katrin Verclas, twittering at mobileactive, reminds us that the election monitors have been using a sophisticated SMS-based system:
Codeo Ghana also conducted a parallel vote tabulation using SMS for data delivery to ensure that results compiled by the EC are reliable.
Using a rigorous statistical sampling method, the observers have confirmed the closeness of the run-off election and are helping assure domestic and international audiences that the second round has been a valid vote.
Oluniyi David Ajao, a Nigerian blogger living and working in Ghana, reported another novel use of mobile phones in the election:
When I saw a call on my cellular phone from a number +233 10 0000, my heart missed a bit. And why not? This was a very strange phone number that I know does not exist but I still answered the phone, albeit cautiously. Lo and behold, it was the voice of the ruling NPP's Presidential candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, speaking in Twi and essentially asking me to vote for him. The message lasted exactly 45 seconds.
I could tell that it was a recorded message. This must be one of the last minute campaign strategies by the New Patriotic Party, to sway the floating voters. I can see that we are indeed moving forward with technology in Ghana.
Akufo-Addo wasted his call, as David reminds us, since as a Nigerian, he can't vote.

author: Ethan Zuckerman


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Guyana: Best Books  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Litblogger Signifyin’ Guyana lists her picks for best Caribbean books of 2008.


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Haiti: Restavek  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“In the truest definition of the word it means ‘one who stays with'”: Tara at The Livesay Haiti Weblog says that the Restavek system “might be one of the most frustrating ones of all for me to accept. The fact that children are used for labor and for the benefit of adults is beyond incomprehensible.”


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Israel: Israeli Bloggers React to Gaza · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

“Last night as I watched the various international news outlets, I was dismayed to see them relating to the rising death toll in Gaza as if Israel had indiscriminately mowed down a huge swath of unsuspecting innocents,” writes Treppenwitz in reaction to the Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.  His reaction is a common one among Israeli bloggers, one where these actions are a justified reaction to a situation that has been unbearable for too  long.
Jewlicious elaborates on this idea:
Aron Heller of Associated Press for Yahoo News (Dec. 25) writes this past week that the massive barrage of Palestinian rockets slamming into Israel during Hanukkah, “caused no injuries but generated widespread panic.” The headline for his article–”Israel warns Hamas will pay heavy price,” simply implies that Israel plans to act because of widespread panic.
Heller makes no mention of the Israeli homes destroyed by the Palestinian rockets, the 60 plus Israelis who were hospitalized for shock and trauma, including 12 Ashkelon children, or the thousands of dollars in damages that the Palestinian rockets caused to Israeli properties and businesses.
The international media ignores far too often another critical player in the Arab-Israeli conflict and its role in continuing the conflict. Hamas, the ruling party who took over Gaza in 2006, is a terrorist organization that was established in 1987, an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
Hamas has led a brilliant public relations campaign that has consistently de-legitimized the actions of Israel, as we find in the media coverage of the conflict, while simultaneously legitimizing its own regime in Gaza.
What the international media and world community often fail to see is that Hamas has its own interests in mind – whether it be the starvation of its people or the launching of rockets at Israeli civilians. In other words, the critical role that the ruling regime of Gaza, known as Hamas, has played in contributing to the continuation of the conflict, has been too often overlooked.
Chayyei Sarah has a similar opinion as most Israeli bloggers:
My feelings about what happened in Gaza yesterday: I feel very sad that it had to be that way. But it had to be that way. We can't let rockets rain down on our citizens and do nothing. I look forward to the day — may I live to see it — when the Palestinian leadership figures out what “compromise” and “good leadership” and “promises” and “tolerance” actually mean. I'd really like for our army to have nothing to do. That would be fantastic.
Here is another impression from blogger Tzipiyah:
Over the weekend, Israel has started an operation in the Gaza strip. However, even after those years of attacks which make this response more than justified, there is a sense of shock at the numbers coming out of Gaza. Over 280 dead. Wow! 280 human beings were killed. For people who hate death, this is, honestly, a horrible tragedy. So, how are we to react to that?
In today’s world, there is an underlying pressure for Jews, and Zionists, to put their heads down in shame after seeing these numbers. Yes, even the strong Zionists are afraid to switch their facebook status in support of the Gaza operation. Yes, even the strong Zionists are afraid to scream their support for the State of Israel in such a time of bloodshed and conflict.
The Torah does tell us that we cannot, we are forbidden, to rejoice in our enemies’ suffering. So, we should not rejoice in their death. However, let’s make no mistake: I am not, in the slightest way, ashamed of the State of Israel. I am proud of the State of Israel for finally standing up and defending it’s citizens.
Not all bloggers whole-heartedly support these actions, some have reservations, such as Yoni the Blogger:
I am against the up coming ground action in Gaza.
I am against this action for several reasons, first as late as the end of last week, Israel was feeding the terrorist of Gaza. Second the politicians have not stated what the goal of the operation is, so how will Israel know if the operation is a success or failure.
I would support a ground action in Gaza under the following conditions, first cut Gaza off 100% from the outside world for up to two months. This means no food, water, industrial supplies or even medicine into Gaza.
J Street condemned the actions, but was criticized by Meryl Yourish for closing their comments saying:
What are they afraid of?
Will they discover that the pro-Israel bloggers outnumber the anti-Israel bloggers, and that J Street speaks not for the “silent majority,” but for a tiny minority of Jews?
Probably.
More reactions from the Israeli blogosphere are still coming in as the conflict continues. Israellycool is liveblogging events as they happen, and of course check Global Voices’ own special coverage page for updates.


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Israel: Preparing for War · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

On December 27, after tensions increased after the ending of a six-month cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, Israeli defense forces began airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. Reactions from the Israeli blogosphere have been supportive of the current military action and preliminary blog posts show that Israelis are gearing up for a long and difficult conflict ahead.
Israelity comments on the timing and the build up to the conflict:
Most folks, in the week between Christmas and New Years, chill out in Puerto Rico, visit family on the coast, or go skiing in Aspen. We Israelis go to war.
Operation Cast Lead (reminder to the IDF Spokesman: work on those titles) is no laughing matter. Borne out of no alternative to constant rocket attacks on its southern communities, the military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries – and so far, more rockets landing in Ashkelon, Sderot, Netivot and even Ashdod, some 25 miles away from Gaza.
I got an inkling that the operation was impending when my daughter came home from her police shift on Thursday and said she had been briefed about mobilizing in the South when the army attack began in order to keep calm in the communities where retaliation from Hamas was likely.
On Saturday night, however, she was still patrolling her usual areas around Jerusalem. Evidently, the response to Operation Cast Lead among the Palestinian population in the West Bank and around east Jerusalem was serious enough to keep police troops very busy.
“There’s all kinds of riots going on here,” she said on the phone around midnight, “so they can’t send us to the South.”
West Bank Mama notes the call up of Israeli soldiers:
IDF radio has announced that reserve soldiers are being called up now, what is known in Israel as Tzav Shmoneh. Already the yishuv email is starting with requests for those traveling to various places to bring “care packages” to soldiers. Not only do we have yishuv members being called up, but many have sons in the “regular” army.
The mothering instinct is kicking in everywhere.
I have just heard on the radio that families in the north, who unfortunately had to be evacuated from their homes during the second Lebanon war, are now giving out invitations to those in the south to come up to them to get away from the rockets.
And Aliyah! talks about the build up to the conflict:
So far, it has been handled just right. They waited and let those rockets fall while not doing a thing in retaliation. We sat by as more than 300 rockets and mortars landed among civilians in just 3 days, adding to those that fell in the days before and the more than 3,000 that had been launched at those civilian communities this year alone. The rockets fell on us as we treated in our hospitals Palestinians who were hit by Hamas rockets that mis-fired and fell among their own people. The rockets fell on us as convoys of aid, fuel, medical supplies and food made their way across our border and into Gaza.
Because we waited, two important things were won. First, justification for a much larger blow against the terrorists than simply going after a rocket-launcher here and one there. The latter strategy is not only ineffective but gives the international community a chance to spin the situation as a tit for tat equal responsibility for the situation. Clearly, when the attacks are coming consistently only from one direction, it cannot be spun as tit for tat. Even Abbas has said that Hamas is responsible and brought this on themselves. The second thing we won was the element of surprise.
More reactions from the Israeli blogosphere will be forthcoming, including further coverage from the various points-of-view involved in the current conflict. Keep checking the Global Voices special coverage page for more updates.


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Jamaica: Blogging in Times of War  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Israeli strikes on Gaza cause Jamaican Annie Paul to remember Nobel Prize-winning German author Günter Grass’ “heartfelt rumination on war and the role of writers in times of war”, saying: “While Grass did not explicitly mention bloggers (perhaps in 2006 they were not as omnipresent as they are today) everything he had to say about the responsibility of writers can and should be applied to us.”


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Kenya: Banks should embrace money transfer service M-pesa · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Bankelele explains why he thinks Kenyan banks should embrace M-Pesa, the popular money transfer service offered by the mobile phone provider Safaricom: “Banks need to change and embrace M-Pesa as it is able to do some things they can't or won't do”.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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Nicaragua: Voice of a Sandinista Video Blog · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Carlos Corea launches a video blog called La Voz de un Sandinista (The Voice of a Sandinista) [es], which can be found on YouTube.  He films the series from his home in France.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Nigeria: Victoriana in African costumes · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Saharan Vibe features the works of British-Nigerian textile artist Yinka Sonibare who had garnered international recognition with his Victorian historical figures dressed in Dutch wax African print costumes. The post includes numerous photos of his works.


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Palestine: Bloggers in Gaza describe the fear · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Against all odds, there are still blog posts coming out of Gaza, and bloggers are vividly describing  the fear they are filled with in the face of ongoing Israeli attacks.
Exiled says he is no hero:
تركت شقتي وذهبت انا وزوجتي الى بيت العائلة،ليس بحثا عن مكانا آمناً من القصف
احب ان اكون بجانب امي في هذه الاحوال
لست بطلا،كابن اخي الصغير ارتعش من الصوت المعدني المتفجر في الهواء القريب
ولكني اكبت رعشتي خجلا،فلست بطلا
Laila El-Haddad, who blogs at Raising Yousuf and Noor, is in touch with her parents in Gaza:
My father just called to inform me he was ok – after warplanes bombed the Islamic University there, considered to be the Strip's premiere academic institution.
A little later I called my mother, only to hear her crying on the phone. “The planes are overhead” she cried “the planes are overhead”. I tried to calm her down – planes overhead mean the “target” is further away. But in such moments of intense fear, there is no room for rationality and logic.
Another Gazan blogger, Dr. Mona El-Farra is currently in the UK, and is watching what is happening in despair:
With an aching heart I continue to watch Gaza from a distance. I cannot turn the TV off, cannot detach myself from what is going on there. Not while my medical colleagues work hard under such extraordinarily circumstances. Not while my friends, my family, and the whole population of Gaza face such horrible atrocities and constant fear. The nightmare isn’t over.
Canadian human rights activist Eva Bartlett, who blogs at In Gaza, describes how she is trying to cope:
How to explain this feeling? I am physically numb to the explosions, not that I am in any way brave, but just physically unaffected. This is useful, it allows me to continue to write, to photograph, to speak. But it is my rational side which is continuing these things. Alberto, a Spanish journalist sitting next to me, helps me to recall that last night I told him: “I’m so focused on conveying the eyewitness account that I’m not thinking about danger.”
[…]
It’s nearly impossible to finish this entry…still more explosions are erupting every few minutes: a car in Al Bureijj camp, central Gaza, another hit in the Zaytoun residential area of Gaza City, another in the north… This time, it is not the electricity that prevents me from writing, nor certainly not want of words or information. It is that the appalling bombing at close range that Israel is unleashing on us here in Gaza, since just after 11 am on December 27th continues at full speed, full strength, despite over 300 dead and over 800 injured, by conservative estimates (1000 by other estimates), not including the victims and casualties from the latest and ongoing attacks. The outside world rightfully wants to know what is going on in Gaza, and I too want to know, even though I am here. Gaza has become isolated areas, where people are trapped in their homes for fear of being out on the streets. And, as it turns out, even homes are not safe. There is no where safe in Gaza. Any place can be a target. Any target can be justified as being a planned target or being closed to a planned target.
In a later post, she simply says:
For now…i prepare for no electricity, no internet, and the worst
i’m praying that you will do your part outside Gaza to end this horror
7 more killed, 10s wounded in latest attack in north of gaza

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Paraguay: Literacy Programs To Arrive · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

After Paraguay president Fernando Lugo attended a celebration in Bolivia, in which it was declared that the country was free of illiteracy, he stated that the Venezuelan and Cuban teachers would soon arrive in Paraguay to do the same.  Edgar Ruiz Diaz of Las Preguntas de Venerando [es] believes that Paraguayan teachers will resist the presence of foreigners, who will do their jobs.


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Paraguay: The President’s Name and Nepotism · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Carlos Rodríguez of Rescatar [es] wonders which is Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo's true viewpoint regarding nepotism and relatives receiving help to find employment.


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Senegal: Domestic workers’ exploitation   · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Faty Dieng at Dakar Bondy Blog [Fr] denounces about the working conditions of domestic workers in Senegal, some of them as young as 16, which she describes “a form of slavery and exploitation in disguise”.


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Syria: Bloggers Infuriated by Israeli Massacre in Palestine · Global Voices
Razan Ghazzawi

Let’s be crystal clear. Israel’s massive attacks on Gaza today have one overarching goal: conflict management. How to end rocket attacks on Israel from a besieged and starving Gaza without ending the impetus for those attacks, 41 years of increasingly oppressive Israeli Occupation without a hint that a sovereign and viable Palestinian state will ever emerge.
Indeed, the Occupation, in which Israel controls Gaza under a violent siege which violates fundamental human rights and international law, is not even mentioned in Israel’s PR campaign. Speaking to the international community, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni insists that no country would tolerate its citizens being attacked, a seemingly reasonable statement were it not for Israeli sanctions on Gaza supported by the US and Europe – sanctions that preceded the rocket fire on Israel – or the fact of Israeli Occupation in general…
The responsibility for the suffering both in Israel and Gaza rests squarely with successive Israeli governments, Labor, Likud and Kadima alike. Had there been a genuine political process (remember, the closure of Gaza began in 1989), Israelis and Palestinians could have been living together in peace and prosperity already for 20 years. After all, already in 1988 the PLO accepted the two-state solution in which a Palestinian state would arise on only 22% of historic Palestine, alongside the state of Israel on the other 78%. A truly generous offer.
-From ICAHD
Following Yazan‘s coverage of the Syrian blogosphere in English, I will be covering those in Arabic.
Yaman, blogging from the US, sums up the Arab feelings towards the ongoing massacre in Gaza:
دور النظام الصهيوني في حصار غزة ومجزرة شعبها لا يلفت النظر مثل الدور العربي.
Free Man, a blogger who rarely blogs has posted three posts so far. He shares with us his thoughts on the Gaza massacre:
أقل ما يقال عنها أنها مجزرة بشعة. أكثر من 155 شهيداً و200 جريح في غزة التي مازالت تطعن فوق جراحها ولما تخر صريعة بعد!القوادين أمثال نمر حماد، الذي حمل حماس مسؤولة الهجوم البربري الإسرائيلي
على غزة. لا مجال للفكر هنا ولامجال لأي توازن واتزان أمام هذه المشاهد الدامية. هل كانت إسرائيل بحاجة لذرائع عندما احتلت فلسطين وقتلت وهجرت أهلها وارتكتبت المجازر بحق سكانها الآمنين في بيوتهم وأرضهم؟ هل كانت احتلت إسرائيل شبراً واحداً من الأرض لولا أمثاله وأمثال حسني مبارك وأزلامه الذي شارك في قتل وتجويع وحصار الغزيين.
Mr. Blond from Syria comments on the mechanism of the western mainstream media:
لو أن صهيونياً جرح بشظايا صاروخ انطلق من قطاع غزة .. لقامت الدنيا وما قعدت، ولحشدت اسرائيل كل قواهالو أن صهيوني العسكرية وجميع أجهزتها الإعلامية، ولطالبت العالم كله أن يقف معها في مواجهة هذا الإرهاب الفلسطيني .. ولكن أن تقتل هي العشرات والمئات من سكان هذا القطاع المحاصر المحروم من الإنسانية خلال يوم واحد .. فهذا لن يواجه إلا بالصمت والتخاذل والحقد وفي أحسن الأحوال التعاطف الساذج !!!
Yaser Orwani, also blogging from Syria, informs us with a campaign launched for Gaza:
تحت عنوان ” كلنا غزة ” تطلق مجموعة من المبرمجين والمصممين والصحفيين والمراسلين موقعا الكترونيا عاجلاً تضامنا مع الاهل الصامد في قطاع غزه في ظل المجازر الصهيونيه الكبيره التي ترتكب وما زالت مستمره حتى اللحظه
لزيارة الموقع : http://www.nowgaza.com
Yaser also have compiled a video which he dedicated to those who were killed by Israel in Gaza:
Many Syrian bloggers feel depressed and paralyzed over what's happening in Gaza now. Most of the Syrian blog-posts reflect this feeling. Some of the bloggers narrate how they feel, some of them blogged their silence as we will see later on in this coverage.
Syriangavroche in Spain shares with us an incident he had with his Gazan friend whose friend in Gaza had just lost his two brothers in the recent Israeli war on Gaza. He also shares with us his feeling of helplessness towards what can be done to help the innocent people in Gaza from being killed:
تلقّيت في ساعات المساء الأولى اتصالاً من صديق غزّاوي يخبرني فيه باستشهاد شقيقَي صديق غزّاوي آخر كانا يعملان في شرطة غزّة, و أن الجميع سيذهب لتقديم واجب العزاء و دعمه بما نستطيع, فواعدته فوراً و توجّهنا إلى منزل هذا الصديق. عندما وصلنا وجدت بعض الزملاء الذين كانوا قد سبقونا, و لم أجد صديقنا فقد كان قد دخل الحمّام ليغسل وجهه, و عندما خرج رآنا فقدم نحونا و كنت أول من تلقاه بالأحضان…عانقني بشدة و انفجر باكياً مرة أخرى بشكل جمّد كل قدراتي على النطق, و لم أعد أدري ماذا أقول, فلزمت الصمت ثوانِ طويلة قاربت الدقيقة حتى وصول نقطة شعرت فيها أن عليّ أن أقول شيئاً.. لكنني لم أجد ما أقول إلا كلمة “lo siento” بالاسبانية, التي تقال في المآتم و تعني حرفياً بأنني أشعر بما تشعر به و لكنها تعني أيضاً “آسف“.لا أعلم إن كنت أريد بهذه الكلمة المعنى الأول أم الثاني, أم كلاهما..لا أدري إن كان سبب اعتذاري هو عجزي عن تقديم شيء ما عدا الكلام.. لا أدري إن كان شعوري بالذنب عائد إلى أنني جبان يخاف أزيز الذبابة بينما يتحمّل أطفال فلسطين هدير كسر جدار الصوت..نعم.. أشعر بالذنب, و نعم.. غالباً أنا مذنب..
Ayman Haykal, blogging from the US, decided that nothing can be said on the blow of horrific bloody images we see in Gaza now, he decided to be silent:
…أمام رهبة الموت وبشاعة الظلم ووحشية العدو وتواطؤ الأخ والشعور الجارف باليأس …لا أملك إلا أن أصمت.
Some bloggers blogged ways with which they think they can help the Gazas, Ola from Syria has more:
حملة تبرعات في الجامعات أو المدارس أو العمل أو أي مكان لأنه أهلنا في غزة يحاتجون إلى الدواء والغذاء خصوصاً أنهم تحت وطأة الحصار
اذا كنت تجيد الانجليزية انشر ايميلات لغير العرب لتعريفهم بالأحداث الحقيقة لأن إعلامهم لاينقل لهم الحقيقة
استمر على المقاطعة ولاتقل أنها لاتؤثر وتذكر الأزمة المالية وكيف ستؤثر المقاطعة
الدعاء ثم الدعاء
انشر في المنتديات المشترك بها في موقعك أو مدونتك
ممكن تنشر صور المجازر بالانجليزي وتعملها فيديو وتنزلها على اليوتيوب
Finally, there were strong resentment in the Syrian blogsphere towards the Arab regimes, and towards the Egyptian regime in particular.

author: Razan Ghazzawi


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The Current State of the India-Iran Pipeline · Global Voices
Rezwan

The New Horizon writes on the recent state of the ‘India-Iran Pipeline through Pakistan’ on the wake of the Mumbai attacks. The Acorn thinks: “It’s a bad idea to interlock India’s energy supplies with Pakistan”.


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Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba: City of Contradictions  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidadian blogger Tattoo spends Christmas in Havana and comes away with the impression that “the revolution has not achieved a new equilibrium. Instead, it has re-appropriated the inequalities inherent in any capitalist society and ensured that those in power are the haves as opposed to the have nots.  And this is the real fracture of Cuba: its romantic socialist ideals versus its harsh, unromantic realities.”


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Bangladesh: A Landslide Victory Is Not A Mandate For One Party Anarchy · Global Voices
Rezwan

Shada Kalo reminds the Awami League led Grand Alliance after their win in Bangladesh elections held yesterday: “A landslide victory does not mean a license to mess with the constitution or the civil rights of people.”


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Barbados: Football Match Mayhem  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As four people are shot at a football match, Barbados Free Press says that this is “what happens when you combine no rule of law with no effective police force and a top-down culture of corruption in government…”


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Burning the Year Away: New Year Traditions · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

In many South American countries, it has become a tradition to burn human shaped representations of the previous year, as a way to get rid of everything bad that the year brought, and leave way for the new. The following videos show some of these traditions and some of the controversy soome of them have sparked. The image above is from cirofono and represents Venezuela's President, Hugo Chávez. The image is used according to Creative Commons Attribution License.
In Guatemala, the burning takes place in December, on the 7th, the day when they state that the virgin defeated the devil. What they do is burn everything old, broken and useless in their houses, since they believe that the devil hides in those objects throughout the year, and on that day, when he is the weakest, they can cast him out of the houses. Many others, however, purchase piñatas or effigies of the devil to burn, to keep the tradition. The following video shows one of the bonfires with a devil figure placed on top:
The following video is in English where the story behind the burning of the devil is told, and a new perspective on the burning is brought up: there is concern that the ritual is harmful to the environment because people burn much of the waste in their homes, regardless of the material, and another controversy is brought up: in spite that Guatemala is mainly Catholic, Evangelical Christians believe that the burning is in fact adoration of effigies”, and believe it is a pagan ritual that shouldn't take place.
In Ecuador the figures are burnt on New Year's Eve, and are not limited to being shaped like a devil, but can take many different appearances. Some are made out of old clothes stuffed with wood chips, newspaper and other flammable material, others are made out of papier mache and cardboard. Most are inspired by television or movie characters as you can see on this video where lizgaba takes to the streets to record the different “año viejo” dolls available for purchase:
In Ecuador, not only is the figure representing the old year burnt, but young men take to the streets dressed as widows crying over the dead year and some even asking for money. In the next video by MegaSans, a tour of the city of Quito, Ecuador shows the different dolls as well as the widows:
In Colombia, in the city of Mocoa in Putumayo, there is a parade where the alegorical Old Year dummies are formed into tableaus, or are made to represent what happened in the previous year. After the parade, humorous last wills and testaments from the dying year are read and at midnight, people burn their old year dummies, as you will see in the following video:
How is the year sent off where you are from?

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Cuba: Letter to Castro · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense links to an open letter [ES] to Fidel Castro, written by a political prisoner.


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Cuba: Subsidies  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As “Raúl Castro reaffirmed the idea of ending subsidies”, Generation Y observes: “Between the symbolic price of a pound of rationed rice, and the enormous ‘slice’ of our salaries taken by those who govern us, we are more the givers than the receivers of subsidies.”


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Cuba: Wishing for Freedom  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuban blogger Retazos [ES] shares some of her wishes for 2009.


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Egypt: Down sizing Car factory · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

In the middle of everybody's talk about Gaza's siege and Israeli brutal attack on Palestinians, Egyptian blogger Zeinobia is asking people not to forget Egyptian internal affairs. In her new post, “Don't forget the inner line” , she highlights the Government's new decision to downsize the Nasr Car Factory as well as Mahala factory, by early pension for 2000 workers, in order to privatize them.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Egypt: Solidarity with Palestine · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Since they’ve heard, Egyptian Bloggers expressed their immediate solidarity with their Palestine brothers against the brutal attack. Everybody condemned the Siege, as well as the blind Israeli bombings that does not differentiate between killing militants or civilians, women, children and men.
Mostafa launched a Jaiku channel to pass news about and from Gaza, that can be followed also on Mostafa’s Twitter.
Fadfada wrote a post entitled “Gaza we are sorry”, where she said:
Mohamed Gaber mentioned another initiative on Deviant art for people to use “For Gaza” logo as their Avatar,
MORE THAN 500+ GRAPHIC DESIGNER AROUND THE ARAB WORLD UPLOADED THIS DESIGN IN ONE TIME
YOU CAN WATCH IT LIVE HERE & HERE & HERE
Under the title “Hate”, The caller shared her thoughts on the attack saying
I am experiencing hate.
I hate facts for being so disgusting, I hate people for being so lame, I hate myself because i am as lame, I hate the government for being a bunch of sissies, I hate that old fart coward man who hides his shameful soul behind high walls.
Like every massacre and injustice in history…people get killed…people protest…people plan for some attack…people rebel…but also, every massacre in history had resistance and came time to conquer.
She further continues
In Gaza case…
They are splitting internally…they are incompetent…they have no half ass jets, bombs and missiles to fight back….no resources…no help from neighbors as they are busy.
you see, neighbor countries are in their holes scared to do anything but take pictures for the press to prove mere existence…rich and powerful within those countries are busy getting richer, getting fucked, plotting against each other or against hot chicks…they won't pay attention to a small country trapped under the Israeli fire.
A country that is surrounded from all sides by Arab countries that share the language, religions and identity ( as if…)…such neighbors could erase the cruel existence of Israel in a day if…IF…they wanted to.
OK, I have thought about the children of Israel…the people who don't support the politics and the killing…but, please, why the hell are they doing there living in Israel if they hate the invasion/ injustice and tyranny their government is practicing.
She also discussed the general Egyptian feelings fearing the current situation
Protests in Egypt have reached the presidency palace…something that hadn't happened since King Farouk…People are angry…but who is that angry:
Mostly, university students…because they haven't yet been crushed in the cruel mill of the country with responsibilities and tough money earning…they still don't have to drag their sorry asses to work or else no food will be put on their kids’ table.
They are still free willed…they are still brave at heart…the hearts that are still filled with hope and strength and wishes…while actually, If this government stayed the same…they will not have much hope any more
On another positive tone, Bella published the addresses and contacts for people to donate to Gaza
البنك الوطني المصري
حساب رقم 500555
للإتصال: نقابة الأطباء المصرية
هاتف: 7940738 – 7943812 – 7943166 – 3652006 – 3636366
العنوان: 27 شارع القصر العينى امام معهد السكر
بريد إليكتروني: ems_cai@ems.org.eg
لجنة الإغاثة الطبية التابعة لاتحاد نقابات الأطباء العرب
بنك قناة السويس فرع الدقى
حساب رقم (21090/1)
للإتصال: الدكتور جمال عبد السلام، مدير لجنة الإغاثة باتحاد الأطباء العرب
دار الحكمة 42 شارع القصر العينى
تليفون: 7940738-7943166
فاكس: 7940518
مؤسسة لجنة الإغاثة الإنسانية للعون
الناصرة – الصفافرة ,حي بلال ص.ب 20059
تلفون : 046082095
فاكس : 046082097
بريد ألكتروني : info@egatha.com
Zeinobia also hinted at Egyptian information and Media Minster, Anas El Faky, who decided  cancel New Year’s celebrations
it is worth to mention that the Kharafi group has canceled its New Year’s eve celebration in Porto Galab at Marsa Alam in Egypt , I hope that others would follow the Kharafi group. “Check their ad in the first page of Al Ahram today”
The information minister Anas El-Faky decided to cancel the New Year's Eve special in the Egyptian National TV Channels, I hope that the private channels follow him just like Al Hayat and Dream TV1
Hossam El Hamalawy, published videos for Egyptian demonstrations for the past days in solidarity with Gaza in Cairo.
As well, Zeinobia published the rest of Hossam's videos for the huge demonstration in front of the press syndicate down town. The protesters all over Egypt were estimated to be more than 50,000.


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Ghana: Tired of dirty politics · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Omanba of Ghanaconscious criticizes politics in Ghana as pressuring people with “with negativity and scandalous innuendos”. For him the recent presidential elections have brought “the worst of humankind in Ghana”.


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India: A Guide To The Biggest Moments in Indian blogging History · Global Voices
Rezwan

Pramit Singh at MediaVidea provides a guide to the biggest moments in Indian blogging history.


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India, Bangladesh: Explaining South Asian Politics · Global Voices
Rezwan

Santosh at Über Desi explains the results of the Bangladesh parliamentary election: “Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party won because it was time for a change. The last elected government was formed by Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Yes, politics in South Asia can be explained in such simplistic terms.“


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India: The Top Five Newsworthy Events in the Indian Blogosphere in 2008 · Global Voices
Rezwan

Gaurav Mishra at Gauravonomics digs into the Indian Blogosphere to find the top five events in 2008, in which the Indian blogosphere itself became newsworthy.


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Israel: Consulate Holds Twitter “Press Conference” · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Just last week, HubSpot, a Boston-based Internet marketing firm, released a report which stated that micro-blogging platform Twitter gains 5,000 to 10,000 new users every day.  Given the recent use of Twitter in discussing major events such as the recent attacks in Mumbai and Gaza, it is unsurprising to see such growth.
Governments have also been using Twitter for quite some time.  The U.S. government operates a number of Twitter accounts (including @USAGov, @TheWhiteHouse, and @NASA), with other countries’ governments sure to follow.  This afternoon, in the midst of the Israel-Gaza conflict, the Israeli Consulate of New York set up a Twitter account.  Its first tweet read:
Shortly afterward, the consulate announced its intent to hold a citizens “press” conference on Tuesday, December 30, from 1-3 pm EST:
The conference presents a unique, never-before-seen opportunity for a government to create an open platform for global discussion during a time of crisis.  Twitter users are able to send questions during the conference, and follow the discussion by using the #AskIsrael hashtag.  The face behind the consulate's Twitter account is David Saranga, Consul for Media and Public Affairs for Israel in the United States.
Twitter users have already begun to ask questions.  gyokusai, based in Germany, asks:
travmavg queries:
Details about the press conference can be found on the consulate's blog.

author: Jillian C. York


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Israel: Debunking Israeli arguments about Gaza · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Mo-ha-med, who is based in Israel, outlines why he believes all the “pre-packaged pseudo-arguments” for attacking Gaza won't stand up.


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Israel: Perspectives on Gaza Operation Cast Lead · Global Voices
Gilad Lotan

The Israeli blogosphere has been massively reacting to the attacks in Gaza and the growing number of Israeli cities under rocket fire attack. Many supporting, many against and many claim that Israel ¨has no choice¨. Below are a number of different perspectives written by Israelis in the past two days.
Yuval Dror describes his mixed feelings towards the operation:
No, after this operation no peace will arrive. No, the operation will not stop the missiles from falling in Israel. No, there are no fair proportions here – not in the number of dead, and not in the breadth of the destruction. We are much stronger. I have no doubt that if ground forces will enter Gaza we will all receive a horrible replay from the second Lebanon war. Actually, the replay has already begun: surprise attack, incredible success, here we won, but actually – no. I am far from celebrating. When hundreds of people are killed, some, I am sure, innocent civilians who want to live their lives just like me and you, there is nothing to celebrate.
On the other hand, I have no sympathy towards those who rally against the operation in Tel-Aviv. Not because I think this operation will solve all the problems, not because I think it is the best solution, not because I trust our leaders (I do not), but because those who sit in Tel-Aviv for eight years while Sderot receives daily rocket fire, and finds the time and energy to rally while Gaza gets attacked is in my eyes a hypocrite.
I was supportive of Israel´s disengagement from Gaza, because in my opinion, Jewish settlements there were not ethical. From the moment we got out of there, I have much less patience towards the missiles fired from there. I support a dialogue, negotiation, land in exchange for peace – but I will not be persuaded to think that a child´s life in Netivot is worth less than that of a child in Gaza. I will not be persuaded that we should sit and do nothing while missiles land within Israeli territory.
Blogger civax who has been actively commenting on GVO explains:
Hamas did won the elections in Gaza (mainly as protest vote against corrupt Fatah) and refused to denounce violence, recognize previous agreements and recognize Israel (conditions set by international community for recognizing its government). This cause the siege to begin by Israel, US and the EU, which refused to transfer aid and money to a well known terror organization.
Shortly afterward a civil war began in Gaza where Hamas slaughtered anyone related to Fatah, which only made most of the world realize how brutal and terroristic the new regime is.
The last 6 months ‘truce’ had ended last week. During the truce still thousands of rockets were fired, bringing the total number of rockets in the past year to over 3000! Since I’m from Ashkelon I’ve experienced this myself.
The ‘truce’ ended Wedensday and we had 80+ rockets per day!! – I remind you, this is before the operation. in a few days we had over 300 rockets falling on us and Israel did NOTHING but to warn Hamas. (and suffered a lot of criticism from us, israeli citizens, which felt we were abandoned unprotected by our own government)
The JCPA posted a comprehensive article highlighting the notion that Israel keeps being charged for its use of ¨disproportionate force¨ whenever it has to defend its citizens from non'state terrorist organizations and the rocket attacks they perpertrate;
From a purely legal perspective, Israel's current military actions in Gaza are on solid ground. According to international law, Israel is not required to calibrate its use of force precisely according to the size and range of the weaponry used against it (Israel is not expected to make Kassam rockets and lob them back into Gaza).
When international legal experts use the term “disproportionate use of force,” they have a very precise meaning in mind. As the President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Rosalyn Higgins, has noted, proportionality “cannot be in relation to any specific prior injury – it has to be in relation to the overall legitimate objective of ending the aggression.”8 In other words, if a state, like Israel, is facing aggression, then proportionality addresses whether force was specifically used by Israel to bring an end to the armed attack against it. By implication, force becomes excessive if it is employed for another purpose, like causing unnecessary harm to civilians. The pivotal factor determining whether force is excessive is the intent of the military commander. In particular, one has to assess what was the commander's intent regarding collateral civilian damage.
What about reports concerning civilian casualties? Some international news agencies have stressed that the vast majority of those killed in the first phase of the current Gaza operation were Hamas operatives. Ibrahim Barzak and Amy Teibel wrote for the Associated Press on December 28 that most of the 230 Palestinians who were reportedly killed were “security forces,” and Palestinian officials said “at least 15 civilians were among the dead.”10 It is far too early to definitely assess Palestinian casualties, but even if they increase, the numbers reported indicate that there was no clear intent to inflict disproportionate collateral civilian casualties.
For lack of time, I have translated only part of Jonathan Klinger´s insightful post expaining why he opposes the Israeli attack. Hoping to be able to translate it fully in the near future:
Like I said yesterday, Israel should have declared war. Such a declaration would have placed Israel in a clearer state, allowing the country to act quickly for the benefit of the southern cities. Because Israel did not declare war, the Knesset cannot stop this war even though there is a majority against it. This dictator-style military action without any legal agreement will cost Ehud Barack and Ehud Olmert dearly.
…
This war will not prevent qassam rockets from falling, but in the best case scenario will be a showcase of Hamas artillery capabilities. Hamas can currently hit Ashdod with missiles, and we will probably find several more surprises… Every time this happens, the IDF attacks lead to a deterioration of the situation and never to an improvement.
…
Israel targeting of Hamas´ Television broadcaster yesterday is a direct attack of freedom of speech and on the Gaza strip´s ability to report the damage there. When Israel doesn´t allow foreign journalists into Gaza, it is a grave attack on Hamas´ sovereignty over Gaza. Now the civilians in Gaza cannot receive reports covering the situation in their land.
…
There is no good war, I have no better way to say this and I think I gave many explanations.
I do not think we need to sit and do nothing, but I think that the best way to deal with the qassam rockets is a combination of a specific land-operation along with diplomatic negotiations.
In his recent post, 23 year old Shai explains why he changed his point of view from initially against the attack to supporting it:
I wish there was a way we can bomb terrorist targets without hurting civilians, but there isn’t. If we sent troops there, we’d be responsible for their death, and we shouldn’t be. Hamas won’t talk, and if it won’t talk, sending troops to “arrest the ringleaders” is merely throwing young soldiers’ lives away in the guise of being more civilized. But this isn’t about being civilized, this is about dealing with the irreconcilable violence of monstrous armed thugs, and they are the ones who force us into making ourselves monsters. That is their greatest achievement. We are turned into murderers, and we can’t help it.
The Hamas forces us to murder. They are murdering scum, but by caring nothing for their civilian population, they turn us into murderers too.
The surest way of not having collateral damage is not attacking at all, and I would like to emphasize very well that I do not consider myself merciful to members of a terrorist organization who refuses to negotiate and chooses violence instead. Arresting them is the right thing to do, but it is, I realize, impossible. It’s impossible to be nice to these people, it’s impossible to negotiate with them. Fatah has been somewhat amenable to diplomacy, but Hamas isn’t. Hamas wants us all dead. Period. They won’t stop until every Jewish Israeli is dead, and they don’t mind killing their own kind for this purpose. They aim to liberate Palestine from Jews.
…
I support our troops, I support this war when it’s against the criminal organization that is Hamas. I am against this war only because people who are utterly innocent die because of it, but Hamas leaves us no choice. I am against this war, but I am for it. I am for it because if we weren’t for it, we would be butchered, as well.
If only the people of Gaza realized how damaging their so-called representatives are.
What can you do?
Xeni Jardin of boingboing links to a post highlighting the Israeli consulate´s upcoming Twitter press conference on Gaza on December 30th, from 1-3PM EST. You can submit questions by directing them to the consulate´s Twitter account : http://twitter.com/IsraelConsulate

author: Gilad Lotan


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Korea: Raising New Candles against ‘7 Evil Laws.’   · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

While welcoming 2009, Korea has another series of candlelight vigils against the government. The major political party, the Grand National Party, and the government presented new and revised bills. Among citizens, it is called the ‘7 Evil Laws [KR].‘ They are about national security laws, communications track regulations (to make it possible to track down internet users and to check phone conversations), regulations about assembly and demonstrations, cyber insulting laws, broadcasting laws, and so on. Other political parties have strikes against these new policies at the National Assembly. Many citizens are concerned that democracy in Korea goes back to the past. I introduce netizens’ reactions especially about broadcasting laws—the new policy suggests that conglomerates and newspaper companies can take control of broadcasting.
Netizens are busy sharing what the new broadcasting law is about.
방송사 1대주주 지분을 30%에서 49%로 늘리면서, 20% 지분 내에선 어느 대기업이나 신문기업도 방송사를 소유할 수 있게 한 방송법 개정안도 반드시 저지해야 할 악법으로 분류했다
Another post:
개정안:  신문법 개정을 통해 신문·방송 겸영 금지조항을 삭제[…]
How the new broadcasting act will influence Korean society is the main issue.
조중동이 mbc를 가져가 정부의 나팔수가 된다면 이 나라는 어떻게 될가 대기업이 방송에 진출한다. 웃기지 마라.. 울 나라 대기업은 지금 병원,물류,전자,통신, 자동차,선박,화학, 섬유,유통,전기 안하는 것이 없다..그 대기업에 방송마저 장악당하면 우린 대기업의 노예로 살아야 한다.. 대기업은 많은 정경 유착을 하는데 지들이 방송국을 가지면 제대로 자신의 치부를 보도할가. 방송은 진실을 보도하며 국민을 계몽하야 함에도 저 집단들은 자신의 입맛에 맞게, 정부의 하수인으로 방송을 만들것이다. 자신들에게 동조하지 않는 기업에는 광고를 주지 않아 그 기업을 망하게 할 수 도 있다..[…]
Can broadcasting be neutral with this new regulation?
[…]방송의 사업적 목표뿐만이 아니라 언론의 여론조작을 통한 정치적 영향력을 행사하고 싶은 이유에서이다. 이미 기업이 소유한 구조의 언론사들의 행태는 우리 국민들이 누구나 다 잘안다. 자사의 사주가 검찰에 출두해 조사받자 기자들이 사주의 보디가느로 나서는 한심한 언론이 우리 신문이다. 이러한 비민주적이고 논리성이 없는 언론은 국민의 이름으로 통제되어야 한다
Candlelight vigils started against the new laws and supporting strikes of current broadcasting labor unions.
☆촛불집회때는.. 감히 한나라당,이명박이 대운하,언론장악,경제망치기,FTA추진등..
국민들이 무서워서 절대 못했습니다..정말 촛불을 들어서든 해서 우리 국민의 힘을보여줘야합니다!!☆ 한나라당이 이번 29일 안에 조중동,재벌등의 방송 진출을 허용하는 법안을 추진한다고합니다.. 이건 매우 큰일입니다..
Netizens again encourage candlelight vigils in order to express their opinions.
얼마만에 촛불을 다시 드는지 모르겠습니다. 물론 달라질 것은 없다고 생각합니다. 촛불만으로 모든 일이 되돌려진다면 매일이라도 촛불을 들고 살겠습니다만 지금은 이 땅에 사는 한 사람으로서 ‘스스로 생각하는 정의'라고 여기기에 언론노조 총 파업을 지지하고 그 뜻을 함께 합니다. […]
However, many are concerned about any activity after the aftermath of the candlelight vigils last time.
[…] 다른 말도안되는 법안도 많지만, 지상파 방송을 재벌과 거대신문에 내주는 법안이 통과라도 된다면 모두 일어서야 하지 않을까요? 사실 겁이납니다. 지난 촛불집회때 자진해서 앞장섰던 분들이 잠잠해지고 나서 검찰, 경찰에 불려다니고 구속당하고.. 하는 꼴을 보니… 누가 무서워서 집회에 나올까 싶은겁니다.. 더군다나 이렇게 경제가 어려운 시기에,자기 몸 사리기도 바쁠텐데, 과연 촛불을 들까??? 정말 이명박이라는 사람이 무섭네요.. 한나라당도 무섭고..
A post by a participant of a new candlelight vigil:
2008년의 마지막 일요일, 추운날씨에도 시민들은 여의도 국회앞에 모였다.[…] 행사에서는  노래공연, 율동과 춤 등이 함께 하여 참가자들의 기운을 복돋웠다. 경찰들은 행사 내내 불법집회라고 하며 해산을 종용했다. 하지만 참가자들은 48시간 국민행동과 촛불문화제를 마친 후 해산하고 법안상정이 될 경우를 대비하여 비상대기를 하기로 하였다.
무엇이 이들을 추운 날씨에 여의도로 모이게 하였는가?[…]

author: Hyejin Kim


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Lebanon: Solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“In Gaza There is a Boy Standing and Waiting to go to Sleep” these are the words that Mazen Kerbaj chose to summarize the situation in Gaza in one of his cartoons. Taking a second look, the cartoon seems to say: “In Gaza There is a Boy Standing and Waiting to die”.
This can also be considered as the view of most Lebanese bloggers who posted about the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza.
Most Lebanese are relating to what is going on in Gaza because of the fresh memories of the July 2006 Israeli war against Lebanon, nevertheless many have expressed that the already bad conditions of Gaza is making their predicament far worse than those of the Lebanese in 2006. Green Resistance expresses this feeling in one of many posts about Gaza by saying:
The onslaught against Gaza seems worse than the onslaught against Lebanon in July 2006.
At least, there was a narrow corridor for escape for the southerners in Lebanon in July 2006.  Although many were killed en route, many were killed on the highways as they were going north; still, many were able to leave the bombardment. The people of Gaza have nowhere to go.  The prison on the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza keeps getting smaller.
Tarek at Beirut NTSC writes about his friend and her family of three children, the youngest of whom is a 15 months old girl. They are in Gaza as the shelling continues. To him, the tragedy of Gaza today has a human face:
I write this blog entry because only this morning I was explaining to a German friend in Beirut that during the war there was always a haven of safety in the middle of all the madness and for some reason I added “I know someone in Gazza right now, I hope she and her family are safe, but I also know that there must be a haven there too….” I am by no means diminishing the intensity or magnitude of what is going on in Gaza, but I have to admit that whereas previously I was sympathetic with the people in Gazza “theoretically” and just out of sheer human altruism, today, tragedy has a human face for me – Ola, her husband and her three children. I particularly think of Rasha, her
15 months-old daughter, who is either blissfully unaware of what is going on, or – on the contrary – has her mind registering the sights and sounds in front of her. Because I am a child of war myself, I think of Malek too – Ola's second child but first son (Hence her nickname “Oum Malek”) and I think of myself at the age of 10 in an war-torn Beirut and wonder if Malek will grow up to have the same war reflexes as me and my generation had.
[…]
But, the realist in me cannot but be an optimist – maybe that's how my people and myself survived the war – and now I think of Ola and her smiling face with her luggage waiting to cross to Egypt and join us in the course – I know that, even in the deepest shelter in Gazza, this smile still resonates (Probably soothing Rasha into a tight sleep) and is the best weapon against any aggression, a proof of will to live, to defy, to beat oblivion and death.
Jamal wrote that the actions against Gaza will bring Israel nothing but more and more hatred, something which, in his opinion, Israel can not tolerate. He goes on to state that Israel’s actions are signaling its end:
Today Israel's heavily armed gang did what it does best…Killing for the sake of killing… Although Israel has since its conception been morally bankrupt today's massacre proves more and more that they are military bankrupt too. The 2006 defeat on the edges of Maroun El Ras and Bint Jbeil was the beginning of the end.
Israel can pump all the American tax money available into that war machine, but when it starts a campaign by wiping out sitting targets like the police stations they targeted today just for the sake of killing as many bearded men as possible; that is a sign of bankruptcy. Militarily it gained nothing, strategically it lost the war. If all a 60 year extensive military program is capable of are sophomoric war crimes, then it is not facing an “existential threat”…it just does not deserve to exist.
Jamal also points out that the actions of the Israeli military will create problems for the Arab leaders, especially ones that have peace agreements with Israel, to push for what is termed as “normalization” of relationships with Israel:
There is no question Israel under the wise leadership of Olmert, Livni and Barak will come out of this round having lost on many fronts. Militarily it can only kill indiscriminately its insatiable blood thirst is being beamed live into homes around the globe further exposing its barbaric nature. Meanwhile politically, they risk losing historic gains they've made with their Arab allies. No doubt Israel's cooperation with the two Abdallahs, Hashem and Saud, will continue in a not so covert manner. However, the longer these massacres continue the more trouble the Arab dictators will have in openly push naturalization efforts. In 2006, we saw how Mubarak, the Sauds, and the Hashems panicked after Israel failed to finish off Hezbollah. They scurried with their damage control efforts by trying to outbid others in the process of erasing the traces of the crime they took part in.  No doubt they will do the same in Gaza.
Rami Zurayk wrote about the general mood of the Lebanese he is meeting, especially in the South of Lebanon. He noted that they have shifted into “war mode”. He also mentioned the demonstrations and vigils taking place:
I was on my way to South Lebanon yesterday when I heard the news of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza. I stopped to get some food on my way, and there was already 100 dead. The response of the people of South Lebanon is overwhelmingly supportive of the plight of the Gazans: the memories of 2006 are still too fresh and what is going on in Gaza looks like a deja vu of July 2006.
This morning we heard Israeli fighter planes in the south. The radio and tv news confirmed this. The people started to get worried. In the village bakery people were discussing the situation in Gaza. I could feel the mood had shifted and people had entered “war mode”.
In Beirut, young men and women held a demonstration in front of the Egyptian embassy. They were protesting Egypt's continuous closure of the Rafah border. They started throwing stones and shoes at the embassy, the army intervened with shields and batons and water jets and tear gas. The demonstrators retreated to stadium nearby and closed the road with burning tires. I saw them on my way back form the South.
Lea criticizes [Ar] those who condemn Israel’s response as “disproportionate” and questions whether what is going on would become more acceptable if the military response and killings were “moderate”.
New Phoenicia criticizes what he describes as the “moral West” and the “Arab brethren” for abandoning Gazans during the years of the siege and then blaming them for what is happening to them today because of their attempt to fight back and free themselves of their misery:
There are no words.
The world looked on as Israel cut off food, medicine, fuel and all essential supplies from the Gazans and then blamed the Gazans for their suffering.
When the Gazans see that the world will do nothing to alleviate their plight they try to fight back, with pathetic little rockets and the world looks on and blame the Gazans for the bombings that are killing indiscriminately.
The world has told the Gazans that they mean nothing; Are worth nothing.
They have been abandoned by the “moral” West. They have been abandoned and betrayed by the leaders of their Arab “brethren”.
And then the world will wonder what it is exactly that makes these young Muslim men so angry.
Cold Desert uses the definition of “terrorist” and the news of what is happening to pinpoint the source of “terrorism”. He also criticizes what he describes as ineffective actions such as protests and what he calls “digital resistance”:
First, let's just summarize what happened,
The [Israeli] air strikes that began Saturday, in which Palestinians claim at least 280 people have been killed…
Now a quick visit to Oxford dictionary, we read,
terrorist
noun a person who uses violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.
DERIVATIVES terrorism noun
What does this make of Israeli government and army and all their supporters? Yep, you got it right.
Well, it seems they also find pleasure being terrorists.
Now, what are the Arab countries doing?
As for the Arab Kings and Princes and Whores (isn't that the English for عاهل?) they are also seeking more pleasure in serving their masters.
On the other hand, what are the Arab crowds doing?
The usual inefficient methods, protests and similar ineffective techniques that proved to be of no use. As for the Arab youth who can use the Internet, they can protest in more modern ways as well such as joining facebook groups with names like “Free Gaza”, “Peace of Gaza”, stuff of that sort… This is the birth of digital resistance my friends, if we get 1000 user to join “Free Gaza” facebook group, Israel will succumb.
Adonis49, in his bi-weekly report on Lebanon blasts Israel for what he describes as “mass murder” and accuses it of working to bring about insecurity and chaos. He also accuses the President of Egypt of giving Israel the green light to carry on its attacks:
The news are showing in direct the latest mass murder of the Zionist State; Israel bombed Gaza with 60 jet fighter planes and killed so far within 3 minutes 200 Palestinians and seriously injured 350; the news media showed in direct the body of forty Palestinian police officers who died in their headquarter while attending a graduation ceremony; one injured survivor was proclaiming “La illah ella lah” (God is one).  Israel intends to eliminate all police forces in Gaza hoping for total insecurity and chaos to set in.  The Zionist Foreign Affair Livny met yesterday with Moubarak, the President traitor of Egypt, and got the green light to behead the Hamas leaders; it seems the beheading of the police and the civilians too.
In a lengthy historical analysis, citing what Israel did in Lebanon and in the region during the past decades and how its actions has only resulted in an increase of violence and resistance instead of eliminating them, Lebanese Chess reaches a conclusion that the same will happen this time and that Hamas will emerge stronger than before:
Israel is continuing that very policy today. It believes that by striking at civilians in Hamas territory, the Palestinians will return to Abbas and finalize an agreement on Israeli terms. What they will get is another Hamas, a greater Hamas, and more Palestinians determined to fight. It has made recruiting for Hamas all the more easier, which will now compete with Al-Qaida for fresh young talent.
Suicide bombings will return to Israeli cities after several years of relative calm. Israel will bring the war to its streets, but that isn't all. Hamas will not simply return to a rogue, extremist group that commits random suicide bombings and launches a few home-made rockets. Hamas, with its new-found popularity, will move further into the arms of Tehran and seek further sophistication and training.
After describing the sad situation that had already existed in Gaza before the Israeli attacks, Tarek at Letting Loose blasts Israel for a level of barbarism that will do nothing but spread hatred:
What kind of retarded logic to the Israelis have? What exactly do they think they are achieving my launching these attacks on Gaza? Spreading more hate among both the Israelis and the Arabs? Will Israel win the hearts of 300 million Arabs, and one billion Muslims by showing them the level of barbarianism they have demonstrated over the past three days? Is this how Israel seeks security of its land and people? […]
Israel is a terrorist state whose sole reason for existence is war and Arab and Muslim blood.
Jnoubieh posted news report about the demonstration held by Hezbollah in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. The post also has the speech that Nasrallah give at the demonstration:
Tens of thousands of Lebanese, Palestinians and Arabs responded Monday to Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and gathered in Beirut’s southern suburb in solidarity with Gaza and to pay tribute to the 318 martyrs who fell so far in the Israeli barbaric attack on the Strip. One protester said that Arab leaders must unite and revolt against Israeli tyrants. “Arab leaders are invited to immediately break off ties with Israel and pressure Egypt to open the Rafah crossing,”
The waved Palestinian, Lebanese and Hezbollah flags and shouted anti US and Israeli slogans and calls for Egypt to take a historic stance in support of Gaza amid a suspicious official Arab silence. “Some Arab regimes have no dignity,” one of the protesters said, calling on Egypt to open the crossings for food, medication and also weapons.
Last but not least, Tajaddod Youth [Ar] posted a declaration of solidarity by the youth of March 14 [pro-government political alliance] with the people of Gaza and included, in the declaration, some bank account numbers for anyone who would like to donate money to support the Palestinians in Gaza.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Mexico: Campaign to Canonize Carlos Abascal · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Mexablog [es] thought that the news about the campaign to canonize Carlos Abascal, who passed away earlier this month, was part of the Innocent's Day festivities, which is famous for trying to fool people in believing false news.  However, he was shocked to find out that the effort to make Abascal, former Interior Minister and fierce supporter of the Catholic Church is indeed true.


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Mexico: Campaign to Curb Drunk Driving · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The latest campaign to curb driving while intoxicated in Mexico has already jailed 456 drivers writes Jessica Uribe of Vivir México [es].


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Nepal Facing Energy Crisis · Global Voices
Bhumika Ghimire

Saving energy, finding environmentally friendly source of energy is being actively discussed around the world. For developed nations and their developing counterparts, energy is quickly turning out to be one of “the” issues. Fear of energy starved future is now being seriously discussed-from Washington to Riyadh.
Nepal, one of the poorest nations in the world which is facing acute energy crisis, the dreaded future has arrived. Government has declared a “national power crisis” and the country could face blackouts for 16 hours per day.
Minister for Water Resources commented on the situation to AFP:
“We had no other alternatives than to declare national power crisis because there is a severe shortage of electricity”.
Although the scale of recent power cuts is very high, Nepal has been facing shortage for couple of years now. I remember as a student in Kathmandu in late 1990s working on home assignments under candlelight. During the dry winter, blackouts were fairly common.
Residents of capital Kathmandu, where Nepal’s service industry is centered are expressing frustration over the power cuts and its effect on the already suffering economy.
Comment by a reader-Ujwal-at NowPublic voices a regular citizen’s concerns about the power crises.
“It has been almost impossible to operate any service industry based on electricity in Kathmandu now. I see a big upheaval in the coming days. I suspect the economy of the country might collapse if this is coupled with the collapse of remittance based economy which is dependent on the Middle Eastern economies…”
Maoist lead Nepalese government is trying to come up ideas to face this situation, but some of its decisions seem too little too late. For example: banning electricity on hoarding boards.
Chandan Sapkota lists other measures announced by the government:
“The government has encouraged use of compact fluorescent lamp (CFL). It has also given subsidies on import of such lamps, initiated generation of 200 MW electricity from thermal plants, and is trying to import electricity from India…… why so late? Why did not the leaders heed to this impending crisis earlier? Corruption? Lack of visionary leaders?”
Thermal plants as an alternative power source is generating lot of interest in Nepal where hydro electricity is the “traditional” source.
Blogger Utsav Maden comments on the government’s plan, expressing skepticism.
“Investments of a reported Rs 9.6 billion and more, into a technology which has received condemnation because of its connections with climate change and others, by a government strapped for funds, does seem rather unusual. Green signaling the plan against advice from energy experts and the operating institution (Nepal Electricity Authority) themselves does question the motive.”
Amidst the debate over alternative way to generate power and why the country is facing the crises, concern over the effect power cuts is having on the most vulnerable is being highlighted at My Republica.
Sangeeta Rijal says that energy shortage is affecting critical hospital services:
“Capital Hospital in Putalisadak (Kathmandu) is also facing serious problems. Prakash Adhikari, general manager of the hospital, said it has been using an inverter, but that the inverter cannot produce enough power to run much of its equipment, such as the X-ray machine. X-ray machines require around 250 kilo volts (KV) of current. The inverter used by the hospital cannot support this load.”

author: Bhumika Ghimire