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The talk in the Caribbean blogosphere · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

I'm writing this post on December 1st, which is also World AIDS Day. There were 24,000 AIDS-related deaths in the Caribbean this year, and as Abeni of St. Vincent & the Grenadines pointed out, “in the Caribbean the infection rates are second only to Sub Saharan Africa.” Here are a few other World AIDS Day acknowledgments from the Caribbean blogosphere:
- Bob Green in Anguilla posted a reminder of the island's 3rd annual Race Against AIDS on November 27.
– Guyana-Gyal devoted one of her dialect vignettes to the media response in Guyana.
– Caribbean Free Radio ran a World AIDS Day badge and cited statements issued by the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre.
– Over at Flickr, Kendrick Brinson posted a powerful image of a Belizean AIDS patient, noting that “Belize has the highest incidence per capita of HIV in Central America”.
And in other Caribbean blogosphere news. . .
Bahamas
– At the group blog Bahama Pundit, which reproduces articles by “top Bahamian newspaper columnists”, Sir Arthur Foulkes is concerned about the incursion of religion into local politics, while Larry Smith considers the impact of tourism development on the environment and challenges readers to point out genuine differences between the country's political parties.
Barbados
– Neil Benn and Jdid note that Barbados celebrated the 39th anniversary of its independence from Great Britain on November 30.
Belize
– Nyashazasha attempts to define the meaning of the word “creol” in the Belizean context.
– Escribbler submits another update on the Jungle Dome Web project and showcases some of the graphics from the web site.
– Simone Elgeln posts Part 3 of her “Moving to Belize Guide”.
Bermuda
– The Limey finds a new building to be constructed in Hamilton“ugly and unnecessary”.
– Valentine Michael Smith publishes a satirical chart of bestselling books and top DVD rentals. One selection: “Bermudians are from Mars, Ex-pats are from Venus”.
– Christian awards the Minister of Education a lump of coal in his Christmas stocking for preventing one school from caroling outside of its district.
Cayman Islands
– The Cayman Jazz Festival starts on December 1st and ticket sales look good, says Odd Blog, but why is Spongebob Squarepants’ image cropping up everywhere?
Guyana
– Guyana-Gyal temporarily abandons her slice-of-life vignettes in favour of a rant about the government response to the removal of sugar tariffs by the EU: “And I wonder when we people here, who in charge, gon understand this too. . . That we got to get up and DO, instead o’ thinking Somebody Else gon take we problems into consideration.”
– VSO worker Michiyo announces she is learning Spanish, observing that “Although Guyana is English speaking country, I am still in the Latin America.” (Though “South America” would be more accurate, wouldn't it).
– The CAC Review lays out the reasoning behind the Guyana government's curious decision not to define Amerindians as “indigenous” — and the response by the Amerindian Peoples’ Association of Guyana.
– Several updates this week at M'lilwana Osanku's unusual genealogy blog, Descendants of Bentick, John, and Tuckness Sancho (d.1872), including bios of a community leader and a teacher and a book review.
Haiti
- Guadeloupean rap star Admiral T's visit to Jamaica offers Alice Backer the chance to riff on the complexities of the relationship between Haiti and the French Antilles, the embracing of “American-style muliticulturalism” young French Caribbeans and other “post-colonial repercussions”.
Jamaica
– Back on the Rock recounts a disturbing encounter with a young homeless woman.
– Yamfoot has collected a series of recent interviews with Jamaican millionaire Butch Stewart (head of the Sandals hotel chain) and is offering them as a downloadable Word file.
– Who is the Hottest Reggae Artist? Take part in this poll offered by Missie at Jamaica Culture & People.
– Dr. D posts a meditation on the joys of country life.
– Owen analyzes the reception of blogs in Jamaica and outlines his own strategies for keeping an audience.
– Stunner reports on the visa restrictions imposed by Cayman on Jamaica and Jamaica's tit-for-tat response.
– Dancehall Blog reports that dancehall artist Supercat was beaten by police outside a betting shop in Long Island, New York and that Sean Paul is giving back to the community.
Trinidad & Tobago
- Taran Rampersad and Richard Jobity contemplate the possibility of a “Trinicon Valley”. And Richard awaits the arrival of competition in the telecoms sector.
- GeneralGo at de cooler : soca news takes note of a continuing trend in Trinidadian soca: remakes of soca classics by newer artists with the original artist making a cameo.
– Tyndale's Tracts takes on homosexuality in the Catholic Church, making the daring statement: “Even here, in little Trinidad and Tobago, if the RC and Anglican churches flushed out all the gays and gay sympathisers from their ranks, the result would be a spectacular clerical exit.”
– Hassan Voyeau posts about the increase in the $TT=$US exchange rate.
– Tina is seeking contributors for the Trinidad Diaries blog.
– The Caribbean Beat Blog pays tribute to veteran steel pan arranger Clive Bradley, who passed away last week.
Podcasts
- Caribbean World Radio released Part 1 of its series “Bob Marley: Soul Rebel”.
West Indies Cricket
– West Indies batsman Brian Lara added another record to his long list last week, but the West Indies still end their tour of Australia in a shambles. Ryan Naraine publishes a poll asking whether Shivnarine Chanderpaul should be sacked, encouraging participants to “vote early and often”.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Turkmenistan: Relations With China · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Peter of neweurasia reports on relations between China and Turkmenistan.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nathan Hamm


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World AIDS Day: Conference in Africa · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

CyBlug reports on the forthcoming 14th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa which is being held in Abuja, Nigeria.

author: Sokari Ekine


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World AIDS Day: Zambia, Southern Africa · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Jewels in the Jungle writing on World AIDS Day focuses on Zambia and Southern Africa in particular the documentary film by Sierra Leone filmmaker Sorious Samura.  The film  “Living with AIDS is the third in a special series preceded by Living with Hunger and Living with Refugees. The video was shot in Zambia and in his characteristic style Sorious Samura immerses himself and the audience into the story as he works as an orderly in a rural Zambian hospital treating gravely ill AIDS and tuberculosis patients.”


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Writings from the Kenyan Blogosphere  · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

Bankelele writes about  the  sort-of-return of  East African Classic safari rally, which is no longer part of the international WRC rally, but offers ‘a nostalgic and and unique tourist attraction’.
Bullets and Honey writes of the ‘courtiers who use isms like machetes’. In the piece, he explores the nature of the powerful and what drives them." Power over the mass of people is pretended to exist at all times over all when the house on the hill an scarcely keep up with the goings on in the bush and bed of the peasants’ life.  In responding to comments, he explains that he's "… probably just feeling skeptical in the classic sense of it as a stressing of knowledge's uncertainty as a guard against dogmatism, especially the dogmatism of the ‘powerful'".
Gukira has a  banana metaphor contest ,  referring to the symbol used by the proponents of the constitutional referendum voted on in Kenya, and asks his readers to be creative with it.
Memoire  reminisces at how being a ‘grown up’ in Kenya has changed. From the dressing styles in the 80's with scarves and skirts for women, proper suits for men, manners in how to address ‘grown-ups’ and how now,  " you cant really distinguish an 18 year old from a 25 year old…", amongst other observations of how things have changed with time in Nairobi.
Speaking of growing up, M muses on his birthday observing that Old is gold.
Pandemonium Today's posts on how Art allows for the kind of education that formal (classical?) schooling lacks. , She observes that "The arts require innovation, perhaps more than any other field. Or perhaps it is that the arts allow for great measures of unbridled creative thinking."
This and That shares his thoughts about the movie The Constant Gardener. Of the corruption portrayed
in the movie, he notes that
What makes it worse, is that the corrupt Kenyans don’t realise that they are being instrumentalised by the West against their own people
Cock and bull writes an interesting story about Kaigutha, a quiet, yet popular purveyor of brew.

author: Juliana Rotich


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Bolivia: Election Everywhere · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Eduardo Ávila jots down his first impressions during his first days in Cochabamba with a quick stop-over in Santa Cruz.

author: David Sasaki


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From the Jordanian Blogosphere · Global Voices
Roba Al Assi

“Jordan Planet's first North American Meet-up” by Jameed
“November Jordanian Blogger Meet-up” by Roba Al-Assi
As an interesting forty percent of Jordanian bloggers don't reside in Jordan, meet-ups are occurring often all around the world. Jameed reports from the first North American Jordan Planet Conference, “held in Las Vegas, Nevada from November 25th to the 26th.”
Jordanian bloggers in Jordan also held their monthly meet-up for November this week, and  issues that were spread on the table included anonymity, “What's in a Name?” asks Lina Ejeilat; selectivity; and Jordan Planet.
Also, Isam Bayazidi writes, “as Jordan will be hosting the second edition of the World Culture Forum next week, the World Culture Forum Blog was created, with the blessing and support of the MECCAD, and with the sponsorship, maintenance, and support of Jordan Planet.”  Shaden, meanwhile, attended the Online Journalism in the Arab World conference conducted at University of Sharjah, and has a very comprehensive review of the event and it’s outcome.
In regards to home news, Naseem Tarawneh says, “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: this is how I feel about Jordan sometimes when I read the news.” Natasha Tynes reports about an “atrocity” where a man that murdered his sister left prison a free man after only 15 months. Meanwhile, life in post-bombing Amman is formulating- Sabbah reports, “Jordan’s King Abdullah II has urged the Jordanian parliament to quickly approve new anti-terrorism legislation,” and Tololy expresses her frustration at the clumsiness of the much increased security, although she says, “I realize the importance of security and I am for the freshest safety-related measures in Amman.”
Rami Abdel-Rahman has a very interesting and amusing article on feminism in a country like Jordan, “Women activism is very minimal in such a male-oriented society. Feminists are very few and lack financial and media power and more importantly any grass root support, the way I see it.”
With this week's uncharacteristically gorgeous weather for this time of the year, the bloggers have also been taking many walks around the beloved capital, so take a stroll in downtown Amman with Ahmad Humeid, walk around the old alleys of Jabal Amman with Lina Ejeilat, or enjoy Amman's fall with Roba Al-Assi.

author: Roba Al Assi


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Guatemala: “The gluttony and greed of Glamis Gold” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Rob Mercatante lends a critical eye to a recent press release by mining company, Glamis Gold.


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Images from Venezuela: “The Voice of the Experience” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

As Venezuela heads to the polls tomorrow in conflict and electoral crisis, at least a few citizens of Caracas were able to able to take some time yesterday for amiable conversation.


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Israel: the political drama continues · Global Voices
Lisa N. Goldman

For the third week in a row, domestic politics is the biggest story in Israel. The political landscape continues to change rapidly, with each day bringing a new and surprising development. However they feel about the politicians, the consensus seems to be that one thing is certain: these are interesting times.
This week one of the country's most prominent journalists, Shelly Yachimovich, quit her profession to enter politics when she joined the Labour Party. Shimon Peres, who has been a Labour member of the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, since 1959, left his party and joined Ariel Sharon’s new Kadima party. Avi Shaked, a multi-millionaire businessman, has declared that he is really a socialist – albeit a millionaire socialist –  and joined the Labour party. But that's not all…
As in previous weeks, the roundup of blog entries on political developments will be followed by links to a summary of noteworthy posts on a variety of subjects.
The “big bang” in domestic politics
Shai of Shaister begins his summary of who joined, who quit and who defected with this observation: “Whatever else you may say about this political “big bang” we’ve witnessed over the last two weeks, it has added a lot of interest into what had become an incredibly boring political system.” He goes on to describe the journalist Shelly Yachimovich as “a sour, hatchet-faced activist-journalist with distinct pinko leanings.” (tell us what you really think, Shai!)
Allison of An Unsealed Room writes about the comments Gigi Peres, Shimon Peres’s brother, made about the new Labour leader Amir Peretz’s Moroccan background. “…[Gigi] has sealed the deal and made Shimon an utter political untouchable by adding a little racism to the mix”.
Allison writes that she’s not alone in thinking that “it’s time for Peres to leave politics.”
Bert of Dutchblog Israel asks, “Could it be that I have underestimated Amir Peretz?… His election to the Labor party leadership has directly or indirectly brought about what appear to be very meaningful (and positive) changes in Israel's political landscape.”
Bert also provides some interesting commentary on the political slogans and platforms of several politicians – such as Shaul Mofaz and Silvan Shalom.
Imshin asks why Yachimovich was not criticized for being a “journalist with an agenda” when she decided to enter the political arena.
One Jerusalem posts a photo he took of Avi Shaked’s campaign billboard with the slogan: “Socialist, Millionaire (and not ashamed of it).” The blogger wonders which part Shaked is unashamed of – being a millionaire or being a socialist? One Jerusalem provides more information on how Shaked made his money in this post.
Playing soccer for peace
Anglosaxy and Dave of Israellycool are both interested in a soccer match that was played this week between a Palestinian-Israeli team and the Barcelona team. The game was sponsored by the Peres Center for Peace.
Dave posts and links to an article from the Palestinian press that quotes Palestinian officials who opposed the match because it gives “a false impression that things are alright between Palestinians and Israelis.”
Anglosaxy, who is a huge sports fan, thinks that the idea of a soccer game for peace is “fecking magnificent.” He is particularly chuffed that Ronaldinho is one of the players, and posts a video link to one of the star athlete’s famous “crossbar clips.”
An exchange of views on a controversial political issue
An interesting exchange of differing political views took place between two Orthodox Israeli bloggers. Chayyeisarah takes issue with the right-wing argument against withdrawing from occupied teritory, and Jeffrey R. Woolf of My Obiter Dicta explains why he disagrees with her.
Miscellaneous – political (voices from the Right)
Ze’ev of Israel Perspectives explains why some people might call him an extremist.
“Jameel” of The Muqata criticizes Haaretz newspaper for slanted or selective coverage of incidents involving Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Yaakov Kirshon, the Dry Bones political cartoonist, wonders why an Indian security fence built on the border with Bangladesh has not attracted the same attention as Israel’s separation barrier.
Miscellaneous – non political
Brian Blum writes about attending a modern dance performance in Jerusalem. To his surprise and initial discomfort, the dancers performed in the nude. But Brian enjoys the performance, and sees it as evidence that , despite its growing Orthodox population, Jerusalem is still a culturally open city.
Savtadotty posts photos and a description of some fantastic urban installation art. (the photos are on her Flickr account ). To mark 70 years since its founding, the Tel Aviv stock exchange commissioned dozens of fiberglass bulls, each decorated by a different artist to express various themes. The bulls have been placed up and down Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard, and are attracting viewers from all over Israel.
One Jerusalem has some lovely photos and a description of Pqiin, a village in the Galilee where Druze, Muslims and Jews live together in harmony.
And Yael  of Olehgirl has an amusing post about Israeli taxi drivers. She has discovered that they tend to get a little too personal with their female passengers.

author: Lisa N. Goldman


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Peru: Annual Conference of Executives · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Juan Arellano describes the upcoming 43rd annual Conference of Executives (ES) currently underway in Lima where hopeful politicians shmooze with the business class. Comments are critical.


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Turkey is Typing…. · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Welcome back to the Turkish Blogosphere! (or a small section of it anyway…)
Phanja from The Need to Know posts this week about the radical shift of party viewpoints on the Turkish nationality issue.  Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently announced that “We are all citizens of the republic of Turkey under that upper identity… However all Turks have “sub-identities”.  This is a major shift in stances as according to traditional political views Turkish identity is the only identity within the Republic of Turkey, and ultranationalists are heavily critizing the current government for this particular statement.  This issue was raised also in last week's addition of “Turkey is Typing” on Global Voices and I am sure that this will not be that last heard about it.
Talking Turkey this week posts about the Akimbo system which is an on-demand service offering Turkish programing in the North American continent and also a post of thanks to Global Voices for covering his site.  You're welcome Metin!
Mustafa Akyol from The White Path posts a link to his article “Under God or Darwin” which was originally published on the National Review Online.
Amerikan Turk posts about the proposed Dubai Towers in Istanbul and a link to a Kanun that he has on sale made by his father.  If you do not know what a Kanun is, please check his post as you can see video of one being played (it's neat!).
Erkan from Erkan's Field Diary was busy this week as he was in Washington DC for a conference, his presentation was loosely titled “How EU process changes performative and contractual nature of Turkish nation state”, while his blog gives us some insight as to the nature of the research he has been working on, with luck he might post part of his presentation for the benefit of his weekly reader.  Even with his busy schedule he was able to post information and links about a terror summit held in Ankara, and give us some pictures and commentary on the recent soccer match between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray game (Fenerbahce won by the way).
Turkish Torque covers the gambit again this week, here are some highlights: Months of the Year in Gagavuz Dialect, Gagavuz are the Orthodox Christian Turks dispersed inbetween Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Turkey; translated into English poems by Necati Cumali; and a link to a Princeton University policy brief “From Desert Storm to Metal Storm: How the Iraq Spoiled Turkish-US Relations”.  There is also an interesting 3 part post about a picture printed in the Hurriyet newspaper which showed AKP Minister of Transportation Binali Yildirim's wife Semiha Hanim (who wears hijab) sitting by herself apart from a table of men in which her husband sat eating.  This has creacted quite the stir as is apparently shows little attempt at modernization.  Semiha Yildirim has issued a statement saying that the seating arrangement was her choice and that she was invited to sit at the table. Torque asks the question how exactly can religiously observant women in Turkey become educated and become prominent members of government if they are not allowed into University because they wear the veil?
Metroblogging: Istanbul posts about a new tourist cableway for the Eyup Sultan district, the mystic center of the Istanbul.
And finally for today, here are some gems from Mavi Boncuk: historic pictures of Turkmen women,  a link to a new sub-blog focusing on food Tastes of Mavi Boncuk, a book review of “A King's Confectioner in the Orient” by Friedrich Unger, Court Confectioner to King Otto I of Greece, and a description of  Baba Himmet, a Turkish shadow play Karagoz character.
Interesting finds of the week in my searches through the ever expanding Turkish blogosphere:
1. Turcopundit, which posts links to all news/posts/etc that concern Turkey on a given day, as you can imagine this takes a lot of work and it is evident from visiting this great site.
2. Similar in function to the site listed above is Turkish Digest.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Venezuela: Public Housing and Electoral Crisis · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Oil Wars offers an interesting glimpse into new Venezuela public housing. Meanwhile, the electoral crisis continues heading into Sunday's election. Tomas Sancio and The Devil's Excrement argue that opposition voters were not given confidence that their votes would be counted. Pedro Camargo says it is up to the Organization of American States to ensure fair elections.


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High Abstention and Information Black-out in Venezuela Elections · Global Voices
Iria Puyosa

Venezuelan bloggers report empty voting sites in today's elections for National Assembly Deputies.
After touring Caracas, The Devil’s Excrement estimates that abstention rates would be higher in this election than it was for the City Council elections last August in which abstention rates reached 68%, a very high percentage compared to Venezuela’s historical voting participation rate. Devil’s indicates that even in traditional chavista zones, such as Catia, turnout appears to be meager. There are no lines in voting centers in poor and working class neighborhoods, such as Petare and Caricuao; while downtown Caracas looked abandoned. (pictures in the weblog)
A pro-Chávez blogger reports moderate to low participation in poor and working class neighborhoods, and almost no voters in upper middle class neighborhoods. Luigino Bracci Roa estimates that abstention would be around 50%.
Another opposition blogger who went to vote – despite massive withdrawal of major opposition parties – says that machines were working properly in his voting center, so it takes a while for him, even though there were no many voters in line. Rodolfo also commented that churches were full, although he does not know whether people were just attending regular religious services or responding to Sumate's call for demonstrating against elections.
Very few bloggers are reporting what is happening outside Caracas. Daniel Duquenal reports a low turnout in San Felipe, where Chávez won the referendum by a small margin last year.  A blogger from Barquisimeto reports that he was offered the equivalent to US $160 to vote for Chávez-aligned candidates. According to his story, he refused, but one of his friends did take the money and went to vote.
Several bloggers comment on the information black out surrounding today’s elections. Private TV channels overlook election news items, and, surprisingly, there is little coverage in the government-run TV channel.

author: Iria Puyosa


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The Lebanese Bloggers on Husam and Hezbollah + Miscellaneous · Global Voices
Mustapha

Last week started with a press conference by a Syrian witness who withdrew his testimony from the Mehlis investigation. The witness, Husam Husam, announced that he was forced, coaxed and cajoled by Mehlis, The Hariri Family and others into saying what he had said, but he changed his mind because he “loves his country”.
Needless to say, the Lebanese Bloggers cried foul. Hani from The Lebanese Bloggers called it a “feeble attempts at dividing the Lebanese people whilst they (the Syrians) crumble”. Kais from Beirut To The Beltway called it a “stunt” and said it was a part of a “smear campaign”:
In another effort to discredit the investigation, the Syrian regime, still stuck at Mehlis’ interim report, has been waging a crusade to undermine the witnesses mentioned in the report. Unfortunately for the regime, the investigation has moved beyond the interim report and this latest stunt will not derail it. The suspects are on the way to Vienna and we still have a long way to go.
Kais didn’t let go of the issue. He wrote several posts throughout the week on the matter, but at the end, he concluded with obvious relief: “the investigation was not hurt.”
Many theories about the Husam saga have been tossed around. What they all have in common is their deep skepticism of his motivations. This was Raja’s (from The Lebanese Bloggers) hypothesis:
It is clear, that in return for giving up Syrian officers for questioning, the Syrian regime is trying to bolster its position in its public's eyes…or else, such yielding of power and “sovereignty” would lead to disastrous outcomes on the Syrian streets.
Mustapha from The Beirut Spring however sees the Husam saga as an aberration. In fact, he argued, things are going for the better:
Forget that clown Hossam for a moment; if you look at the Lebanese scene in the last few days, you can’t avoid the feeling that things are not looking as hopeless as they used to.
Pessimism/Hezbollah:
Mustapha’s optimism didn’t convince too much people; many were disheartened by what they saw as targeting the Mehlis investigation. A sense of despair poked its head on the Blogosphere with headlines like: A Pessimistic Take and The Lost Moral Compass. What added more to that despair was Hezbollah’s intransigence on the international tribunal; the Party of God seems bent on sabotaging plans for such a tribunal, prompting yet another angry round of posts on Hezbollah. Kais went to the extent of comparing them to the Iranian Basij:
In the 1990s we were asked to view them [Hezbollah] solely through the resistance prism. Nobody paid attention to what Hizbullah was creating in the towns it controlled: a mini-Islamic order. This isn't freedom of religion, this is oppression of an extremely moldable community with a history of persecution and neglect by the government and its self-appointed leaders. Hizbullah found it easy to fill the vacuum in those areas and lure some of the disenchanted youth into its ranks (I should add Hizbullah was very “generous”, thanks to Iranian funding).
Lazarus in Letters Apart, wrote extensively about the Shebaa Farms, which is one of the reasons why Hezbollah says it needs to keep its arms.
Miscellaneous
Some other Lebanese bloggers think (rightly) that other issues are worth pointing out as well. On World AIDS Day, Moussa from Ur-Shalim raises the issue of HIV awareness in Lebanon and says that more should be done about it because “HIV patients are discriminated against at work at in the society, so some simply do not seek help, preventing them from having access to health care”
In the same spirit, La La from La La Land asks her readers to Help educate children with brain injuries.
Lebanon.Profile from Lebanese Political Journal also rest politics aside to write about the “positive news:” The brisk pace of re-construction in Lebanon.

author: Mustapha


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Venezuela: A Sick System · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Venezuelans are currently at the polls. Venepoetics has translated a Friday editorial by Oswaldo Barreto of TalCual, which tries to take a more all-encompassing view of the country's current political woes.


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

CyBlug has a story on Big Brother coming to Nigeria…”Pan-African pay-TV operator M-Net has announced its plan to screen a new version of the hit reality show Big Brother, this time filmed on location in Nigeria with a Nigerian cast and crew.”


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Afghanistan Blogs: Journals, Zaher Shah & Taliban · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Garderah (Link in Persian), an Afghan blogger who recently visited Afghanistan, writes that many Afghans are surprised at the high number of private journals, radio stations, and television channels that operate alongside government ones. Garderah says he is disappointed to see that govermental journals talk more about Zaher Shah, former king, than about the Afghan President or government Ministers. He adds that he doesn't understand the reason(s) why these journals call Zaher Shah the father of the nation.
Afghan Warrior (Link in English) writes about the burning of dead Taliban bodies.
“Most Afghan people don't really care about the burning of the dead Taliban bodies because they don't have a good memory of the Taliban. During their government life was very hard and they were teasing people for no reason. In my opinion the last decision of the US military that some local Afghan National Army and national police will be consulted in the cleanup operations would be very useful…”
Afghan Lord (Link in English) talks about his visit in Tehran. He says it is a nice city but the situation is very tough for youth. Regarding internet filtering, he says,
“I couldn’t believe that Filtering in Iran is very hot when I was in Kabul. But now when I am going to read news about military or checking my Flickr photos I can't go inside. Suddenly a message appears: “This is restricted due to Un-Islamic issues in it!!!!!”

author: Fred Petrossian


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Argentina: International Fair of Tourism · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Jorge Gobbi describes what he refers to as “touristic essentialism” at this past weekend's International Fair of Tourism held in Buenos Aires.


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Bangladesh: Against Terrorism · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Adda follows up on a previous post on incentives for fighting terrorism by commenting on the need to combat terrorism.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Chile: Mister Blogger 2005 · Global Voices
David Sasaki

El Club de Lulu ♡ announces (ES) that “Mister Blogger 2005″ is none other than Sergio Alvarado (ES).


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Chilean Elections: Bloggers’ View  · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

Less than one week from the presidential election which will take place on December 11, some political blogs have been posting on the candidates’ possibilities at present. “Elections 2005”, a blog which covers the press, analyzes the latest polls which give Michelle Bachelet,  the only woman candidate (the favourite) a lesser percentage than previous polls, as none of the candidates, as the present surveys show, would obtain more than 50% plus one of the total  voting.  If Bachelet keeps falling down, the present scenario, could drastically change, with a greater possibility for any of the two candidates from Alianza for Chile, which have been running separately against each other and against Bachelet, to be elected in a second, run-off election in January 15, 2006. If this would happen, the right wing will have the chance to win the election, and put an end to sixteen years of governance by the coalition of the center and left parties named La Concertación (since the Military government which ended  in the early 1990).
The political science professor Patricio Navia, posts his analysis of the last CEP, (Centre for Public Studies) survey, where he explains the loss of Bachelet s popularity from 63,9 %  in june, to 53, 9% October as the result of the questioning, by the leaders of her political campaign, of the economic model followed by the current socialist president, Ricardo Lagos which is highly accepted. Navia, thinks, that a segment from La Concertación, which currently approves the growing economy, is more comfortable with the proposals of one of the candidates, from La Alianza (The Alliance); the entrepreneur Sebastián Piñera, than with the possible changes in economic policies that could take place under Bachelet s government.  Sebastián Piñera has been growing steadily in the polls from a 18,1% in june  to a 24,4% in October.
The last CEP Survey, of Novemeber, shows Michelle Bachelet at 39%, Sebastián Piñera at 22%, Joaquín Lavín with 21% and finally, Tomás Hirch with 3%.

author: Rosario Lizana


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China: Bureaucracy Guide · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

After China's environmental protection czar resigns after the Harbin chemical spill, some still wonder: did the buck really stop with him? Sun Bin guides readers through the Chinese bureaucracy.

author: Jose Manuel Tesoro


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China: Interview with Lu Banglie · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

EastSouthWestNorth translates a Chinese reporter's interview with Lu Banglie, the peasant representative who brought an inexperienced British reporter to a village and suffered a savage beating for it.


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China: Stadium Peek? · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

“A mysterious photo is spreading in Internet now. The people who post this photo said that it will be what Beijing 2008 Olympic Stadium looks like in 2008.” At China Top Blog.


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DRC: failed asylum seekers · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Congo Watch has some questions for European governments on asylum seekers who are sent back to the DRC. ……….”Although Africa's bloodiest conflict has cost an estimated four million lives since 1998, many EU countries judge it safe to send failed asylum seekers back. They say that there is a transitional government which plans elections next year“.


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Ecuador: RSS Everywhere · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Commenting on the pervasiveness of feed syndication, Christian Espinosa note (ES) that even Fútbol Ecuador (ES) now offers an RSS feed.


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Egypt: Noise Pollution · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

You know, somehow we have that in our heritage, we are noisy when we are happy and noisy when we are sad, historically, in a marriage they used drums and in funerals they used special purpose women used to weep on the dead with high voices, Maged Shafie said describing noise pollution in Cairo, Egypt.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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India: Mother Tongue · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Among the less obvious problems, the issue of raising a child to understand her own culture and language is tough in the diaspora. Intentblog on how difficult it is to find suitable literature to introduce a child to her native language.


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Indonesia: New Provinces · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

In the restless Indonesian province of Aceh, apparently two new provinces have been declared — and not by the government. See Indonesia Today by Yosef Ardi for details.


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Iran: Sanctioning of Iran by Iranians · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Golbarg Bashi say, if we do not support and nourish our fellow secular and religious women inside Iran, there won't be anyone left who will care and fight for the rights of the most dispossessed in Iran.


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Iraq: Saddam Trial · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

On the 3rd session of ‘trial of our time‘, Mohammed say, “today the trial witnessed many changes for the Iraqi viewer. There has been a lot of action that wiped off the memories of previous sessions that were pretty much boring; today we have seen the trial get into the real work discussing facts, evidence and witnesses and this of course pinned the viewers in front of the TV.” Salam pax say, “it is really painful to watch the proceedings of Saddam's trial… As the broadcast was cut we could hear Barzan's voice shouting “why don't you just sentence us to death and get it over with” implying the judge’s unwillingness to hear what hey have to say.”


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Iraq:  Who wants the truth? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Emigre questioning the truth of the “Truth About Iraqis” blog. He say, “the truth, for the few who are true, is that Iraq is in more then a spot of bother and has little to no internet access, except for military use. Yep, those mil guys have money for technology pouring out their ears. The truth, is that there are bugger all civilians in Iraq online and only a few of them blog.“


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Jordan: Iraq in Jordan! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Wael Attili and Sabbah don't like what they are seeing at Amman streets. That is the electoral posters of candidates referring to the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections in Iraq, hanging in Amman, Jordan.


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Kenya: President Kibaki · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan blog 4Sheeay has some comments to make about Presodent  Kibaki’s proposed kitchen cabinet and suggests he has a number of choices.……..”He could choose those that seem to agree with him and be sure that the squabbling will end. He could also bring in the Orange Democratic Movement – ODM and seek to work with them. Either way he will experience a catch 22″.


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Kenya: Why I love Africa · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan Pundit posts on the BBC's “Why I love Africa” series...One of my favorite’s: I love Africa.I do not find it necessary to say more than this. The statement is surely very clear. Sadly, the ‘I love Africa’ competition has not increased my love but rather filled me with dismay and exasperation, as if it is being used as a defensive shield: “I love Africa and I dare you to say a single thing against it, you Traitor!” It is because I love Africa in a deep and manifold sense that I feel I can also criticise the continent when it is necessary (as it often is) to do so.


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Microfinance: Bill Gates foundation · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Timbuktu Chronicles writes that “Opportunity International, one of the world's largest microfinance organizations, today announced that it received a $2.2 million grant over three years from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that will go toward a project to develop a trans-African network of new commercial banks for the poor”


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Nepal: Nepali Congress · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A show of power and numbers at the rally of Nepali Congress says United We Blog!


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Nepal: Releasing Student Leader · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Legal News From Nepal reports on the Supreme Court directing the government to release Maoist student wing leader Bina Magar, as she was detained illegally.


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Nigeria: Biafra · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Nigerian Times posts that the “The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra(MASSOB)has ordered all traders and workers in South Eastern Nigeria to close their shops and offices today. The MASSOB has declared today “NO WORK DAY IN BIAFRA“.


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Nigeria: Books · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Molara Wood calls on Nigerians readers to submit their “best book of the year”….So please let us have your choice of ONE outstanding book you read in 2005 and tell us in no more than 100 words – why the book appealed to”


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Philippines, Thailand: Sporting Chances · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Manuel L. Quezon III digests the brewing controversy over the Thai Prime Minister's seemingly unsportsmanlike comments regarding the Philippines accumulation of gold medals at the ongoing Southeast Asian Games in Manila.


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Somaliland: political squabbles · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Inside Somaliland reports controversy in Somaliland Parliament as political squabbles reached a peak…..”The political scene had been tense weeks prior to the first session over the controversial issue of who should become the Speaker of the Parliament. There were rumors about the government party UDUB lobbying opposition representatives to switch parties in the hope that its 33 elected MPs would increase and hence grab the majority from KULMIYE and UCID parties. KULMIYE and UCID decided to merge after the elections and hence formed the majority in Somaliland Parliament.”


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South AFrica: made in China · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

South African blog, The Fish Bowl writes on a “storm of protest  at this weekend's Cosatu rally when it was discovered that the official Cosatu T-shirts were made in China“.


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South Africa: rape of children · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Mzansi Afrika has a horrific report on rapes of young children in South Africa connected to beliefs that sex with a virgin can cure AIDS……..One study commissioned by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Recociliation provides a partial explanation of why so many girls are being raped. Obviously there are other reasons, and it is a complex situation.


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South Asia: Representing minorities · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Pickled Politics asks if Asian MPs have toed lines that do not best represent the interest of their communities on the issue of the Terror Bill.


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Tanzania: press freedom · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Yebo Gogo reports that press freedom is under attack in Tanzania where the government has suspended two newspapers….”Daima, the newspaper owned by Freeman Mbowe, the presidential candidate of the opposition Party for Democracy and Progress, is being accused of suggesting President Benjamin Mpaka should be hanged for failing to repay loans. The paper has been ordered to stop printing and distributing for three days”.


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This Week in Palestinian Blogs: Freedom Made In West Bank and Gaza · Global Voices
Shaden Abdulrahman

The 29th of November was the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. A candle vigil was held in East Jerusalem. Wish that by next year occupation will be history, that we celebrate the 29th as the day that brought us all together to protest the partition of the Palestinian land into two separate states in 1947 and affirm our rights of the land.
News of the Blogsphere:
Following up the Palestinian parliamentary elections, Barghouti wins internal Fatah elections, Barghuti is seen as a successor to president Abbas. It is worthy of mention, that Fatah elections did not go smoothly, at all. Hamas's list of candidates is ready, and Ariel Sharon threatens to arrest Hamas candidates immediately if they go through Israeli military roadblocks.
Four activists from CPT were kidnapped in Iraq. A CPT's press release says the four men were on their way to meet with members of the Islamic Scholars Association. Palestinian political parties condemned the crime and demanded the release of the four CPT while Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza demonstrated and called for their immediate release, describing them as friends and appealing to the Iraqi people through signs in Arabic and English. Please sign the petition. One of the four activists is Tom Fox, a fellow blogger who is waiting in the light.
Photo credit: International Solidarity Movement
Sabbah reports that a reporter from Al Jazeera was arrested in the West Bank by the Israeli occupational forces. Awad Rajoub, Palestinian reporter was arrested at his home in Al-Khalil (Hebron). Rajoub reports for Al-Jazeera Arabic Website. He also writes for Islam Online and Al Sharq Qatari newspaper.
Rafah Pundits writes about the shortcomings of Rafah Crossing, the crossing is opened only four hours everyday while thousands line up waiting for their turn. More importantly, Palestinian analyst says the situation is not much different, Israeli occupational forces still decide on who is permitted to enter and who is not remotely with the aid of their surveillance cameras. Other problems addressed are the restrictions on the Egyptian side, problems leaving Gaza Strip and more. Rafah Pundits reported earlier that Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli Defence Minister, threteaned to shut down Rafah Crossing.
umkahlil confesses: I'm in love!
What we talk about:
If you are not with us then you are against us! seems like Haitham Sabbah was inspired by Bush, or wait, I think that Bush was inspired by zionists and Haitham was only venting out his frustration. Thankfully, some still believe in that “Religion belongs to God, but the homeland belongs to all”, and be it a Muslim, Christian or Jewish (randomly ordered), those who inhibited the land of Palestine centuries ago before they were kicked, twice in 1948 and 1967, have the right to return.
peacepalestine posted a very interesting interview with Mahmoud Musa, the academic director of the Canadian Center for Comparative Cultural research and president of the Association for One Democratic State in Palestine/Israel. Mahmoud Musa believes that the Palestinian Authority should dissolve itself and form a human rights party that will struggle for political and social democracy for the people of Palestine.
Violations of human rights were (and being) committed by Israeli occupational forces, some of them were recognized and reported and many were not :
they have shelled a house, setting it on fire while its residents still inside, they are carrying out an ethnic cleansing policy in order to save some space for new settlements, fired rubber-coated bullets, sprayed tear-gas as they broke into an Israeli detention facility of Palestinian prisoners leaving behind more than 20 detainees injured, and implementing a new policy of torture and impisonment of children.
The little things that matter…
Gilad Atzmon, dedicated a ballad to the people murdered by the Israeli occupational forces in Palestine. Now what was more delightful to hear, Gilad's delightful music or him calling Bush, Blair and Sharon“the three biggest killers of mankind”?
Freedom Clothing Project now offers you the first “Made in the West Bank and Gaza” clothing label in the UK. Dress for a better world!
nasrawi made a trip to Jerusalem, he says the annexation reflected on the residents, tension is in the air . He also took some lovely pictures of the old city.
The sounds of Palestinians waiting, with the patience of cactus, on checkpoints is recorded as unforgettable tunes and acoustics by several artists from around the globe. Checkpoint 303 is the electronic expirement of recording the daily nightmare of Palestinians living under occupation.
Dude, Are you a zinoist? (yes or no). The questionnaire was made by two of peacepalestine‘s commenters.

author: Shaden Abdulrahman


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This week in the Ethiopian Blogosphere · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

The Ethiopian blogosphere continues to hit  hard at the repressive dictatorial government  of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.    Meskel Square and Nazret.com both point to a Channel 4 special report entitled “Ethiopia's Agony” which can now be viewed online.
Meskel Square writes
EPRDF supporters will not like its angle, summed up by a report by the same reporter Inigo Gilmore in The Observer – “Democratic dawn fades in Ethiopia” as abuses come to light.
Nazret highlight the  key points of the Channel 4 programme:
“43,000 Ethiopians in Dedesa Concentration camp, over 30 died; Mass Burial and attrocities perpetrated on citizens;  free press and text messages banned; International Community Patience running out”
Redeem Ethiopia, critically examines an article from the November 10th edition of The Economist, entitled “Ethiopia, a darling of the West turns nasty.”
In its conclusion the article shocks Ethiopians and anyone who follows events in Ethiopia. It states:
“Many, perhaps most, Ethiopians and many foreign observers argue that, despite the government's recent bloody brutality, Mr. Zenawi is still the best man to keep Ethiopia on a path to development.”
Using this simple sentence in its conclusion the Economist tries to absolve Meles by telling the reader that despite all the brutality, most Ethiopians still hold him in high regard. This statement can only leave the unsuspecting reader wondering what miracles this man must have performed to have such grand sins absolved by the very people he is brutalizing. It convinces the reader that he too must accept (at least not oppose) Meles Zenawi in the interest of the greater good that Ethiopians and others expect from him. The reader is asked to hop on to the bandwagon of support; albeit one that only exists in the writer’s mind.
ET Blog Diaries calls on the international community to pay attention before it is too late to the “Atrocities in Concentration Camps in Dedessa” committed by Meles’ government.
Finally the EU representative in EThiopia admits that “We have not witnessed anything like this in Ethiopia before” refering to the Dedesa concentration camp where the Fascist Meles regime is holding thousands of Ethiopian youth. The crimes of Bosnia and Rwanda are being repeated in Ethiopia. We cry out to the world to be truthful and condemn this man and withold the money.
Ethiopian Politics points to an article in the New York Times by Meron Agonafer, which asks “What the U.S. can do to restore a genuine government in Ethiopia?” Meron Agonafer calls for British Prime Minister, Tony Blair to evict Meles from the Commission for Africa.
“ndeed, it is an open secret that Tony Blair has been promoting Meles Zenawi, the notorious autocrat, as the “new leader” of Africa. Of course, if the word “new” is meant to indicate an introduction of ethnic division, abject poverty, intense repression, mass killing, yes, Tony Blair is right on the mark. His poster boy has a master plan to keep Ethiopia in perpetual conflict and misery which will eventually destabilize the Horn of Africa. And the last thing the world needs is lawlessness in that region.
Ethiopundit examines the ruling party of Ethiopia which he describes as “familiar massive and ruthless corporate / totalitarian empire“.
From owning every square centimenter of land in a nation of 70 million onto control of billions in aid annually and total dominance of the commanding heights of a whole national economy, the Politburo's holdings represent the greatest concentration of wealth under unitary control from Cairo to the Cape.
Weichegud!ET Politics – brilliant as usual this time takes a look at the possible contents  of Prime Minister Meles’ “Diary”  written in “solitary confinement solitary confinement in four-by-four meter cells make for some good reading once Prime Minister Meles settles in in the mansion next to Mengistu in the sprawling suburbs of Zimbabwe?”(where he lives as an “official guest of President Robert Mugabe)
Dear Diary,
As I have been telling you for the past three weeks, like all great leaders I am misunderstood and unappreciated during my time. In 20 years, when I head the World Bank’s “Office of What do we do with former despots”, people will finally realize the wisdom with which I led Ethiopia………………..By the way, it is vexing that other African countries are mimicking my tactics without giving me proper credit. Thieves, all of them. Museveni finally came to his senses and arrested that anti-peace opposition traitor Kizza Besigye and charged him with treason and terrorism.


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Zimbabwe: AIDS · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

This is Zimbabwe asks us to visit the Thembinkosi Foundation blog to read 4 accounts “describing an outsiders experience of death from AIDs in Zimbabwe”


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Zimbabwe · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Zimbabwean Pundit comments on a policy by Zimbabwean news website, ZimDaily to “out children of Mugabe's cronies who are living profilgate lifestyles abroad at the behest of the parent's fame and fortune which has (for the most part) been looted from Zimbabwe's tax paying citizens.” Pundit wonders if it is right to pursue the children for wrongs their parents are doing.


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Americas: 2005 Weblog Awards · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Kevin Aylward of the 2005 Weblog Awards has announced the nominees for “best Latino, Caribbean, or South American blog.” He explains that the finalists were selected after a call for nominations in November.


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Argentina: More Condom Pictures · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Robert Wright, playing on the word “forro,” which can mean either “condom” or “idiot” in Argentine slang, has more photos of the famous obelisco in Buenos Aires covered by a pink condom.


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Australia, Philippines, Singapore: Execution Lessons · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Chemical Generation Singapore extracts some lessons for foreign governments like Australia, whose Nguyen Tuong Van went to the gallows last week, and the Philippines, whose Flor Contemplacion was executed in 1995, in dealing with trying to save a citizen from Singapore's death penalty: “There are surely ways where a criminal will get his or her just punishment without affecting bilateral ties. It is just that governments, activists, the media and politicians all don't get it.”


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Bangladesh: King Bill arrives · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Rezwan on the royal treatment Bill Gates is getting on his visit to Bangladesh.


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Bloggers Joined the Big March in Hong Kong  · Global Voices
Charles Feng

A total of over 200,000 people supposedly joined the Dec. 4, 2005 march in Hong Kong urging the government to create a clearer roadmap for granting universal suffrage to Hong Kong citizens to elect the special administrative region's Chief Executive and legislators. The march started in the Victoria Park , and ended at the Government Offices two-hours away. The once second highest ranking official in Hong Kong, former Chief Secretary Anson Chan attended the march, and drew a tremendous attention from around the world. Mrs. Chan has been called the Conscience of Hong Kong because she insisted on the interests of Hong Kong. She was forced to resign in 2001 by Beijing government.
The bloggers in Hong Kong responded to the march very actively in versatile ways in the one day since. A very famous Chinese blog website named Independent Media which is run by some cultural critics in Hong Kong talked a lot about the march on Dec. 4. Some bloggers there and a blogger here (elder people, bigger march) said that they were moved by many elder people who made it in the two-hour-long march, and wondered why didn't the youth in HK join the march (in ZH, another similar blog). Some Independent Media bloggers also were strongly angry at a former Beijing official and professor in China who said that truth didn't depend on how many people spoke, and it wouldn't be the truth even if there were hundreds of thousands people who went to street to demonstrate  (in ZH).
A blogger called Tricky guy's park  was impressed by the rational and orderly behavior during the march. Police department said the total number of protesters was 63,000, but the organizer of the march said it would be 250,000.  Many bloggers disagreed with the figure which was reported by government.  Another famous blogger, Glutter  implied that the government just want to mislead media. Glutter said that she was struck by the number of children there in a quick report about the march. Glutter put a lot of pictures in flickr related to the march. One active China blogger, t-salon, didn't talk about the march probably because of some technical problems with his blog; he gave some flickr pics instead.
The well know blogger, EastSouthWestNorth aggregated more than twenty sources reporting on the total number of protesters in a more academic style to indefatigably expound how many people were on earth then. A blogger named Letters from China reported the different discussions about the march by some blogs. The post looks a little bit like a news article.
Interestingly, all these bloggers aforementioned were joining the march for the different reasons. Some of them were supporting the democratic appeals, and some of them were just for objective observation. It seems that the bloggers do represent the democratic power of grass root.

author: Charles Feng


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Bolivia: Election Reflection · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Miguel Centallas has a new graphic of the latest pre-electoral poll while Eduardo Ávila, after taking a walk around Cochabamba, reflects on just who this election should be for.


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Brazil: Race and Class · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Sangroncito tackles race and class in Brazil, noting that most Brazilians avoid discussing race by bringing up class instead.


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Central Asia: Union · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nurzhan writes on economic union in Central Asia at neweurasia.


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China: Prime  Minister Blogging? · Global Voices
Frank Dai

Chinese Preimier WenJiabao is Blogging? Someone found that a blog named “Daily Briefing of Wenjiabao's work” on Bokee.com, the leading Blog Hosting Service in China. Shangjin, a technology reporter, has some screenshots on his blog(in ZH). He also asked Fangxindong, CEO and founder of Bokee about  whether this blog is written by the PM himself. Fang answered that it was a fake and told him that it has been “handled”. Now the blog is forbidden to access without authorizing.

author: Frank Dai


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Colombia: “A good congressman, forced to quit” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Adam Isacson laments the forced withdrawal of Colombian congressman (and blogger), Pedro Arenas in the upcoming elections because of security concerns.


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Darfur: Helping out · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Sleepless in Sudan offers some suggestions for those wondering what they can do “to help the people in Darfur“……Find out more; Give money; Nag the politicians and newspapers; Join an activist group; Be creative


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Ethiopia: Travels in the West · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Ethiopian blogger, Aqumada writes on his recent experience of travelling in the West as a Black man with a US passport!


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Hungary: Sorry State of Football · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Further Ramblings of a Northern Irish Magyar reports on the sad state of Hungarian football.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Iran: A research Project · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

A Canadian graduate student is conducting a research project about Iranian weblogging. He is interested in the issues of blog-audience and censorship. Survey is in English & Perisan.


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Iran:Many Killed in Plane Crash! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Webgardian wrties according to BBC  and  Fars news ( Link in Persian), An Iranian military plane with 94 people on board has crashed into a building in a heavily built-up suburb of the capital Tehran. Many of passengers were journalists and reporters.


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Japan, Thailand: Sushi Stall · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

The sight of a nighttime sushi stall in Thailand recalls Preetam Rai to old-time Edo, which had similar stands until the stalls went extinct after World War II.


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Kazakhstan: 120% · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev was was elected to a third seven year term yesterday with a whopping 91% of the vote. Democracy Rising reports pithy commentary from the opposition.


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Kazakhstan: Election Roundup · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

KZblog and Registan.net round up news from Kazakhstan's presidential election over the weekend.


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Kazakhstan: Problems of Education · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Baktygul of neweurasia writes on education, and looking east or west in Kazakhstan.


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Kenya: earthquake · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Bankelele reports on yesterday's mini earthquake that hit East Africa.…”A mini quake shook downtown Nairobi this afternoon. Buildings swayege gently side to side for about fifteen seconds,with calendars flwying off the wall. No damage really, just to people's psyches.”

author: Sokari Ekine


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Kenya: English as a language · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

What an African Woman Thinks asks “Is English really as global a language as it is made out to be? What she means is that even though English is spoken around the world, the language is culturally English as in white Anglo Saxon I believe.


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Malaysia: Humanize the News · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Malaysia's Mack Zulkifli suggests that the print media make more of an effort to present the human impact of the stories they cover. “That could be a way to rejuvenate the slump that our printed news is facing. And make no mistake, the slump is getting worse.”


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Nepal: For the disabled · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Legal News from Nepal reports “The Supreme Court (SC) today issued show cause notices to the government, vice-chairmen of the Council of Ministers and some ministers seeking their explanations on why the government had not implemented its (SC’s) order to make necessary arrangements for the promotion of the disabled.”


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Nigeria: Disabled childen · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kid's Doc in Jos writes about his talk to local parents around children's disability and possible cures…….”I started with an overview of how the nervous system works, how the brain can be damaged, and what results from the damage. The emphasis was on the complexity of the brain and how “simple” skills like feeding oneself are actually very complicated and can be disrupted by neurologic problems at many levels.”


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Nigerians: Act or shut up! · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Grandiose Parlour writes that Nigerians need to “act or shut up”………Nigerians need to step up to the plate in unison and discard the cloak of apathy that we have worn for so long. We need to engage and challenge the party candidates at every opportunity. We need to not only ensure that our siblings, neighbors, and associates register and vote on the election day, we must also mount vigil at the ballot centers to ensure that no fishy dealings occur afterwards.


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Pakistan: Bats and balls · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The cricket scene captured at Metroblogging Lahore. Cricket IS a religion on the sub-continent!


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Panama: Mother’s Day · Global Voices
David Sasaki

If you happen to have a mother in Panama, be forewarned: Thursday is Mother's Day.


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Philippines: Migration Podcast · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Sheila Coronel at the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism podcasts her thoughts on the eight million Filipinos working overseas and the toll that takes on the country.


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Russia: Moscow Municipals · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Sean Guillory reports on the Moscow municipal elections, which many view as a preview of the 2007 parliamentary and 2008 presidential elections.


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Russia: New Immigration Forms · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Cyber-Generation reports on new Russian immigration forms.


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SA: Apartheid · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Mzansi Afrika wonders how apartheid South Africa “dealt” with Black foreigners…..? “Did a black African from Swaziland, Lesotho, Senegal or Mali have to carry a pass? I suppose not, but one never knows. Were these foreigners treated in the same way as black South Africans were? If so, how about African Americans — how were they treated? And if not, where was the line and on what basis was it drawn? Passport? Language? Something else”?


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Slovenia: Phony Ratings · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Glory of Carniola discusses Reporters Without Borders’ curiously high ranking of press freedom in Slovenia and determines that where countries end up  on the rankings is a function of selective attention..


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South Africa: Blogs · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

White African goes ahead and highlights some of his friends blogs….”Good writers all of them, and well worth a read” .


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South Asia: Symbols in the red · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Beyond the Red Crescent and the Red Cross – Looking for new symbols can be a tedious task. But the future of this new symbol could be interesting in multi-cultural communities. More at Pickled Politics.


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South Korea: Farmer’s Death · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Two Koreas discusses the death of farmer Chun Yong-chul while protesting South Korea's liberalization of its rice market.


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Sri Lanka: At Tunis · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

LIRNEasia has links and stories on their experience at WSIS, Tunis.


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Tajikistan: Mixed Messages · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

James of neweurasia reports on mixed messages on the US in Tajikistan.


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Trinidad and Tobago: Concepts of Race · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Karen Walrond posts the email of a reader who attacks her multi-ethnic identity. The post inspires a small mountain of comments offering their support and analysis of race perceptions in Trinidad and Tobago compared to the United States.


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Turkmenistan: Great Neutrality · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Peter reports on the emphasis placed on neutrality in Turkmenistan at neweurasia.


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Turkmenistan: Trump vs. Turkmenbashi · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Carpetblogger does a head-to-head comparison of Donald Trump and Turkmenistan's eccentric ruler who goes by the name of Turkmenbashi (Father of the Turkmen), and finds Trump lacking.


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Zimbabwe: Death of Democracy · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Eddi Cross guests on Zimbabwean Pundit and writes on the “death of democracy” in Zimbabwe following the recent Senate elections – low turn out and predicatable outcome.


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AFrica news on Yahoo · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

New Age Hippie writes a letter to Yahoo complaining about their lack of coverage of African news or rather the bunching together of everything negative under “Africa”…Of the 31 headlines on Yahoo Africa news today, only 12 of these have anything to do with Africa. This means that OVER 50% OF YOUR NEWS ON AFRICA COULD TECHNICALLY BE CATEGORIZED AS LIES AND DECEIT which only goes on to propagate Africa’s negative image. I mean, surely what does US’s war on Iraq have to do with Africa? Why not post it up on the “American News” section?


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Armenia & Azerbaijan: Kazakhstani Mediation · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Blogrel reports that Kazakhstan has expressed interest in mediating between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.


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Bangladesh: Remember Babri Masjid · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The fall of the Babri Masjib can still be heard across the sub-continent. On the anniversary of the shameful event, DeshCalling links to an article on the “Babri Masjib and Muslim India“.


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China: Avian Flu Informer · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

EastSouthWestNorth muses on frustratingly incomplete information about the arrest of a bird flu informer in China.


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China: Mascot Conspiracy · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Less than a month after China unveiled the “Five Friendlies” as the official 2008 Beijing Olympics mascots,  Angry Chinese Blogger unveils the great mascot conspiracy!


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Cuba: Code Pink’s Visit · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Steven Mansour and Val Prieto each note that Code Pink will be visiting Cuba for New Year's.


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Egypt: Journalist Detained · Global Voices
Mostafa Hussein

Alaa reports that armed state security forces detained the Egyptian journalist Ahmad Abdollah “Abo Islam”. They broke in to his house on Monday. Five bloggers visited him and knew from his son that state security forces threatened his family at gun point and confiscated computer hard drives, CDs and books. He was a member of the Labour “El A'aml” party, former editor in ASha'ab newspaper and published two other newspapers. Currently he writes on a website called Balady Net. Abo Islam runs the Center for Islamic Enlightenment, which aims at bringing different religions closer together.

author: Mostafa Hussein


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El Salvador: The new center-left coalition in Salvadoran politics · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Tim highlights the new center-left coalition in Salvadoran politics, which emerged after two FMLN deputies helped push through last year's controversial budget.

author: David Sasaki


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FOSS for women in Africa · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Linux Chix Africa reports on the FOSS training presently taking place for African women – participants are from Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, Cameroon, Zambia, Sudan, Cameroon, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Senegal


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Guinea: military build up · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Black Star Journal reports on an alleged military build up in southern Guinea


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India: Airports in India · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

On a short trip to India, Kamla on the state of Indian airports and the winds of change that seem to have touched a few of them.


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Iran: More risk in air · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to Baztab (an Iran based popular news site), many experienced managers and specialists in air industry were recently replaced by new faces without any experience. Baztab continues that this changing in industry can create more insecurity and risk for airplanes. (Persian)


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Japan: Drag Racing · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

MasaManiA has pictures of street car racing on a Saturday night in Tokyo.


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Kazakhstan: Election Roundup · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

James of neweurasia rounds up the latest on Kazakhstan's weekend election.


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Kenya: Civic education · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Gukira suggests a year long  campaign whereby the people can grade their leaders by answering the following three questions:     * What did your MP promise during election campaigns?    * Has your MP delivered?     * Assign your MP a grade from 1-10. 10 means MP has done an excellent job. 1 means MP has done a terrible job.


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Kenya: development alternatives · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan Pundit reports on an interview in German news magazine, Der Spiegel with Kenyan economist James Shikwati on “Alternatives to the current development model”.


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Kyrgyzstan: Rights & Economy · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Golden Road to Samarqand reports on attitudes on human rights and the economy held by law students in Bishkek.


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Mexico: Venezuela Fulfilling Mexico’s Revolution? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Erich Adolfo Moncada Cota, from Hermosillo, Mexico, argues that it is his own country who is responsible for the clash between Chavismo and Mexico.


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Mongolia: Wildlife in Danger · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

New Mongols discusses hunting and decreasing wildlife populations in Mongolia.


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Nepal: BBC is back · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

United We Blog! on a small victory for media in Nepal – “SC justices Khilaraj Regmi and Damodar Prasad Sharma today issued an interim order saying that Radio Sagarmatha was free to relay the BBC Nepali Service broadcast in Kathmandu.”


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Nepal: Tourists and the government · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Blogdai on an issue that could be controversial - some western female tourists go missing, and the bloody evidence suggets definite foulplay.


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Nicaragua: The Price of Gasoline · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Compared to Nicaraguans, US citizens have little to complain about when it comes to the price of gasoline, says Picasso Dreams.


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Nigeria Blogosphere this week · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Jeremy of Naijablog has two posts on Gay and Lesbians in Nigeria, a subject guaranteed to send huge numbers of people into a rage with bible quotes being hurled left right and center….In “More on Gay Life in Nigeria” he writes
The Victorian hypocrisy of attitudes towards homosexuality in Nigeria is epic in its tragicomic proportions. From what I have seen and heard, the categories of straight/bi/gay just dont fit the fluidities of Nigerian sexual experience – just as they dont fit many other cultures and times in history (such as pre-Victorian England). Of course, evangelical christianity and stern interpretations of Islam clamp down on this experience being verbalised or part of everyday discourse. It's good with events such as the link below, the lid is being lifted on superabundant reality, and the yawning Nigerian reality-illusion gap is one inch nearer towards being closed.
Aderemi's Notebook breaks his plans to tour the world in exchange for a visit to the homeland.  He has even been practising his “pidgin” and reading local tabloids!
7years and finally returning to see what has changed in my beautiful country. I am very excited but a little nervous. Started practising my “broken english (pidgin)” again after years of misplaced Queen’s English speaking. As friends will testify, “This guy too dey blow fone”. I have been reading Lagos Live religiously.
Ante Thoughts, who is presently in Nigeria doing her Youth Service, has decided to give up on the bloggie – at least for the moment.
FOR quite sometime now I’ve been seriously thinking about severing the lifeline from this humble blog of mine. It has served me well through the years when I was desperately cathartic and helped me meet so many wonderful people from all around the world whom I would otherwise have never met (or perhaps not. God knows best!) It has, more importantly, helped me express my creativity. Should my writing career ever take off someday, I’ll certainly look back and be thankful for maintaining a blog.
Jangbalajugbu Homeland Stories writes on some of the new challenges now being faced by Nigerian banks as they move into a new recapitalisation process.
Just last year, 2004, the capital base of banks was raised to a whooping 25 billion Naira and the banks were given till december 2005 to meet up with this new capital base. Prior to this increment, only a few banks had capital bases up to N3 billion naira.
All of this is leading to the creation of some Mega Banks which has led to staff redundancies mainly amongst young university graduates.
However, in a bid to get the best workforce to work in the emerging Mega system, some banks have gone all out to do away with hands, whose services, they feel are “not needed anymore”. Those affected by this move are the young people who are carrying certificates of Nigeria’s polytechnics and state owned universities.
Timbukutu Chronicles (who is up for Best Mid East/African blog) writes about the Palm Wine industry.
Previously suppressed as an industry contemporary Palm Wine production is one of promise, “…Palm ‘wine’ is an important alcoholic beverage in West Africa where it is consumed by more than 10 million people.
Chippla of Chippla's Weblog comments on a piece published in the Christian Science Monitor titled “A visit to Nigeria teaches a lesson in abundance.”  The article is written by May Akabogu-Collins who is a Nigerian/American  living in the US.  The article is taken from her experience of returning to Nigeria with her two children on their first visit to the homeland.
Probably from watching too much American TV, her kids expected to see a land of starving children, one which was AIDS-ridden and full of despondency. However, their preliminary view of Nigeria was anything but that. Flying into Abuja they saw flashy cars on the street and were received by her immediate family who happened to live in luxury and wealth. Mrs. Akabogu-Collins was forced to make one true conclusion:
“There are two breeds in Nigeria: the few have-a-lots and the many have-nots.”
Nigerian Times reports on the new revived “Biafran war”..”Three Dead as Nigeria battles Biafra across the Niger” and calls on the UN to intervene before it is too late.
The political situation in the South East of Nigeria needs to be addressed by the United Nations and the G-8, because the on-going separatist protests by the members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra(MASSOB), demanding for the release their leader Chief Ralph Uwazuruike have distrupted business activities as markets, shops, offices and banks have been shut since yesterday. And three protesters have been killed and several others have been wounded in the violent disturbances in Aba and Onitsha just across the Niger Bridge.


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Pakistan: Why can’t ours be like theirs? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The down-to-earthness of the Norwegian Prime Minister, as he interacts with survivors of the earthquake impresses Metroblogging Lahore.


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Pan Africanism · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

SEMett, Senegalise blog, has some critical things to say about Africa and Africans today…. …….What are AFricans waiting for to recognise their own mistakes  and their contribution to the exploitation and massacre of their own brothers”..sisters?


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Russia: Framing Debate · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

David McDuff writes about how the Russian government manipulates language to frame public debate.


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Singapore, Australia: Another Take on Nguyen Van’s Execution · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Imagethief in Beijing has another take on Nguyen Van Tuong's execution in Singapore and why his fellow Australians could not stop it. “They thought of it as retribution, or punishment. This is wrong. Drug-offense executions in Singapore are, first and foremost, public communication.”


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Singapore: Bloggers Beware · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

James Gomez warns: “Expect Singapore bloggers to be the target of new legislation or rules that will govern electronic communication during the next general election.”


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Sri Lanka: Bloody Sunday · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Minor Matters from Sri Lanka reports “…bloody Sunday for soldiers serving in Jaffna as nine of their comrades-at-arms were killed in three separate incidents in the northern peninsula.”


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The Week That Was – Bolivian Blogs · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Does the term “retroactive blogging” actually exist?  Upon closer inspection and a little help from Google, the concept of retroactive blogging has been around awhile.  One of the more interesting blogs about Bolivia retells events that took place then years ago.  Mary’s Bolivia takes place in the heart of the Tropics of Cochabamba, during a time when her partner, Robert, worked for a UN development project.  With dogs in tow, they spent time between Cochabamba and the Chapare region, which is an area of focus of coca eradication.
Stories from that time could have taken place yesterday, as little has changed during the ten years that have passed.  Among the interesting anecdotes is running across wild animals for sale.
Here everyone comes bringing wild animals to see if we will buy them – monkeys, tortoises, the other day they even wanted to sell us a baby deer for US$50 …..  Apparently the Swedish missionaries who ran the dairy before used to buy animals and they sent them to Sweden or something, I don´t know.  Some missionaries!  Anyway, we have made a point of refusing to buy any animals pointing out to the people that the animals should be left where they were and that they are not a piece of merchandise. One of our first experiences was on a Saturday morning when a man arrived on a bicycle with a bag tied to the crossbar.  We were going out for a walk with the dogs at the time and he stopped us saying that he had something that might interest us.  That was when we found out about the trading activities of the Swedes.  When he opened up the bag, out came a a baby ant-eater.  Beautiful.  Brown with a long pointed snout and paws with long curved nails.  It was sleepy and just lay curled up in your arms sleeping away.
Mary also witnessed firsthand some of the run-ins with the security forces in the area.
For the past few weeks there have been more incidents at the security blocks on the road and more military movements everywhere.  Last week the UMOPAR started doing checks on the road to see who didn't have their ID card on them.  Anyone who didn't was detained immediately, and if they happened to be peasant leaders they were badly mistreated. Several people had their faces smashed in when they were beaten with rifle butts.  They also broke into people's homes at night forcing the whole family to leave – men, women and children.  One pregnant women was knocked over on her stomach and miscarried afterwards.  Edgar tried to be of help while maintaining a low profile, by distributing medicine from our First Aid kit and giving people some money so they could see a doctor.
These are only two of the stories that continue to appear on her blog.  Even though the events were hidden in her journal for over a decade, they make for fascinating reading.  One wonders what other stories and experiences are trapped in a long lost diary waiting to be released.
On a current note, congratulations are in order for longtime blogger Miguel Buitrago of MABB, who was recently named as a finalist of the 2005 Weblog Awards.  He was nominated in the category of Best Latino, Caribbean or South American blog.  Finally, the ever-creative team of M.A.R. (Mundo Al Revés) recently launched a Bolivian Presidential Elections blog/website which in addition to being beautifully designed, will continue to add content over the final 11 days until election day on December 18.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Travels in the Kurdish Blogosphere · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Roj Bash! As finals are fast approaching, today's post is going to be a little shorter than normal, here's the weekly run-down:
Kurdo from Kurdo's World addresses the credibility of some Kurdish news websites.
Kardox reports that former Israeli special forces are training Kurds in Iraq.
Reports about unrest in Duhok, Southern Kurdistan/Northern Iraq are discussed on the Kurdistan Bloggers Union.
Bleak Blogorrhea has an interesting post about a public art project called the Children Cheering Carpet, which has a Kurdish conponent to it called the Virtual Kurdish Garden. Sometimes things are better explained with pictures so I highly recommend that you check the link out.
Roj Bash has an interesting insight on some of the new postage stamps coming out of Iraqi Kurdistan, including specific information on the types of dress on the stamps and how you can tell what region they come from. There is also a post on a recent conference about the Kurdish Question in Syria, a seldom touched upon topic in reference to the Kurds. And the group celebrates the one year anniversary of their google bomb.
Save Roj TV, a fairly new blog has a petition that you can sign in support of the Denmark-based Kurdish television station. It is currently being threatened with closure for its Kurdish content.
A gem out of many illuminating postings from Vladimir at From Holland to Kurdistan is this about Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code which the Republic of Turkey regularly uses to restrict the freedom of speech within its borders.
Last (but never least) is Hiwa from Hiwa Hopes who has been posting a plethora of infomation about the upcoming December 15th elections in Iraq. As the election is next week, I plan on giving you, our dear readers, a more indepth view of the upcoming elections from the Kurdish persceptive. Till then, I remain humbly yours.


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Uganda: first ladies in politics · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

East African Peripetatic writes on the two Ugandan first ladies who have decided to become involved in politics….”Janet (for MP) and Miria (for President)  These two women in Uganda have decided to get into active politics. One might wonder why I just bring this as if it is an issue. However, these are women of high status in Uganda. The first one, is the current Uganda first Lady while another one is the former wife of the first president of this country, Uganda, Dr. Milton Obote. She is Miria Obote, the first lady number one for Uganda who has been living in exile for the past 23 years.


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Venezuela: Election Responses · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Punditry everywhere following Sunday's parliamentary elections in Venezuela. A.M. Mora y Leon offers some brief excerpts of conversations had around the streets of upper-middle class Caracas. Boz looks at the U.S. reaction. Leftside is skeptical of the opposition parties’ spin on voter abstention. Miguel of The Devil's Excrement says that not even Chavistas see Sunday's election as a real victory. Oil Wars makes the argument that the Venezuelan parliamentary elections were actually more legitimate than typical congressional elections in the U.S.
Daniel says the Organization of American States “trashed the Venezuelan elections,” while Oil Wars argues that, while several criticisms were made, “that the actual carrying out of the vote was very good, met the highest international standards and the final results accurately reflected the vote.”
Alex Beech is critical of Colombia-based New York Times reporter, Juan Forero's coverage of the election. Tomas Sancio, also critical of the New York Times’ coverage of Venezuela, says that Chavez has lost his link to the people.
Louise Auerhahn says that, though the opposition has reason to distrust Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE), there were enough international observers to have guaranteed a fair election.
A new weblog, Caracas Connect is compiling commentary pieces on the election results from pundits around the world. The blog's mission statement describes itself as a “blog devoted to dialogue about Venezuela and U.S. foreign policy toward the southern hemisphere as a whole.”
Gustavo Coronel takes a critical look at Nicaraguan Chavez supporter, Roberto Rivas. Bicycle Mark explains his admiration for Chavez.
Finally, Open Source Radio is seeking input for tomorrow's show on The Politics of Venezuela.


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Bangladesh: More terrorism · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Rezwan reports another case of terrorism - “At least four people have been killed and approx. 50 injured in another wave of suicide bombing in Netrokona (northern Bangladesh”


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China, Japan: Zhang Ziyi is a Race Traitor? · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

the leaky pen discusses the outrage on Chinese blogs over local actress Zhang Ziyi's role as a Japanese courtesan in a new Hollywood movie. He fumes: “A problem almost as big as the 400 lb. gorilla of Chinese racism is the self-inflicted stupidity of their anti-Japanese hatred.”


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Darfur · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Darfur blog, The Passion of the Present annouces today as “Die-In-for-Darfur, Turn the heat on Rice”.. …join Africa Action and friends as we rally at the State Department to challenge Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice to take immediate action to stop genocide in Darfur, Sudan. To represent the 400,000 people who have died in Darfur since the genocide began, activists will risk arrest by staging a “die-in” at the entrance of the State Department, surrounded by drawings made by children survivors in Darfur. Participants that do NOT want to risk arrest will have a safe area and can still participate in the rally”.


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Egypt: Arabian horses · Global Voices
Mostafa Hussein

Maryanne blogs about a horse show she attended few weeks ago. With pictures of beautiful mares and fillies. She also summarizes the history of the Arabian horse in Egypt and the business of breeding.


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Egyptian Soldier Blogging · Global Voices
Mostafa Hussein

Abdelrahman was drafted in October. He will be spending one year in the military. He is  the first Egyptian soldier with a blog. He is writing about his life in the boot camp.


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Ethiopia: King Tut · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Friends of Ethiopia asks if King Tut is African or European and goes on to explain some of the issues around the debate.


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India: Bombay Blogging · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A brilliant photo-post capturing the vibrancy of a part of Bombay on City of Dreams.


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India: Voluntary Work · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A Bangalore based Collaborative Blog, Everyman's City coordinates voluntary work for some its members at Akshara (an NGO).


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Iran: Airplane crash & Negligence · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mr.Behi, an Iran based blogger, writes about air plane crash in Tehran: He says the level of negligence of Iranian authority is so ridiculous that only Iranian would believe it.


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Japan: Correcting “Lost in Translation” · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

David Weber at Japundit watched a Tokyo showing of the movie “Lost in Translation” and has some suggestions on how it could be more representative of Japan's overwhelming capital.


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Kazakhstan: CS-Source Victory · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

narcogen reports that a team from Kazakhstan has taken second place in an international competition, but perhaps not the kind of competition one might think.


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Kazakhstan: Election Aftermath · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

KZ Blog rounds up reports and opinion on Kazakhstan's recent presidential election.


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Kyrgyzstan: Forced Marriage · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Golden Road to Samarqand talks bride kidnapping with Kyrgyz law students.


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Malaysia: Racial Profiling · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Farish Noor, a guestblogger at Brand New Malaysian, shares his thoughts about racial profiling, connecting his experience abroad as a Muslim traveler and his country's discrimination against Chinese.


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Pakistan: Pakistan Post · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Islamabad has visuals of a stamp issued by  Pakistan Post to mark the World Team squash championship


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Poland: Top 20 · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

PolBlog reports that Poland is in the top 20 countries when it comes to number of internet users.


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Singapore: Condolences · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Mr. Brown shares his own condolences and links to posts eulogizing fellow Singapore blogger Sondra of Idle Days, who recently passed away from a rare blood disorder.


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Slovenia: A Cosmin Conspiracy · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Glory of Carniola reports that cosmic forces seem to be conspiring to keep the Slovenia-Slovakia confusion alive.


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South Asia: Women and Islam · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Questions for women in Islam - and for Islam about women – at Pickled Politics.


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Southeast Asian Games! · Global Voices
Tu Van Cong

The 23rd South East Asian Games, which recently concluded in Manila this week, were known as the South East Asian Peninsular Games until 1975 when the SEAP Games Federation accepted Indonesia and the Philippines as members. The name was then changed to South East Asian Games.  Beside the normal sports, there are some unusual games such as Arnis from the Philippines, Pencak Silat from Indonesia, Wushu from China, Muay Thai (Thai boxing) from Thailand, Sepak Takraw from Malaysia, dance sport and an underwater swimming where the swimmers wear a huge flipper on their feet.
Vietnamese have little interest in the Olympic Games because they don't have much chance of winning a gold medal but we followed the recent SEA Games in the Philippines every day. To Vietnamese athletes, these games are our Olympics and they train specifically for them.
In the Philippines, as the hosts’ gold medal count rose, there was controversy when the Thai prime minister supposedly accused the hosts of cheating and poor sportsmanship. The two countries are also sport rivals, particularly in the sport of boxing. The accusations led to much commentary in Filipino blogs. Torn and Frayed in Manila felt that the Thais were just being sore losers: “‘Pikon’ is a useful Tagalog word meaning something like ‘bad loser.’ There is no direct equivalent in English and I wonder whether there is one in Thai.” Jove Francisco, meanwhile, suggested that the Thai PM was trying to divert attention from his collapsing domestic popularity.
Two years ago, Viet Nam was the host of the 22nd SEA Games and we finished on top of  medal ladder. It was one of the most significant events in Vietnamese history, both culturally and in terms of our sporting history. Even though we win lots of medals in a range of sports, football is the king of sports in Viet Nam and the medal we want the most.
While the media flooded our papers and TV channels with football mania, lots of ex-pat bloggers had something to say, too.  No Star Where, an American in Saigon, blogs about the street fever and the sad outcome for Vietnam. Our Man in Hanoi‘s loyalties are divided between England and Vietnam, Newcastle and Hanoi.
On my blog, Vietgod, I write about
Vietnamese fans ride around shouting “Viet Nam Viet Nam”- “Vietnam Vô Đich”(Vietnam are champions!) or shouting the goalscorers’ names till 1 or 2 am non-stop and it is a great advertising opportunity for businesses, with many companies paying heaps of money to make ads on TV and in magazines to publicise their businesses. Some others conduct quizzes in the newspapers and on mobile phones. Everybody tries to make some profit from the interest in the games, by standing along main roads selling flags, hats, head bands or make up for fans.
So, it's over, and again Vietnam lost to Thailand in the football final but we ended up third on the medal table. On to Thailand in 2007!

author: Tu Van Cong


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Turkmenistan: Discrimination · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia reports on ethnic and religious discrimination in Turkmenistan.


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Vietnam: Motorcycle Perils · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Thinking of tooling around on a motorcycle while in Vietnam? Virtual Doug warns: “Việt Nam has the second highest traffic fatality rate in the world.”


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Zimbabwe:  Blog awards · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

This is Zimbabwe is on the short list for best Mid Eastern/African blog – so check their blog and go and give them a vote.  Why are the Middle East and Africa lumped together in one category? Surely there are enough awards to allow each region its own award?


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China: Blog Awards · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Danwei hands out his “Model Worker Awards” — his picks for the best English-language blogs in China in 2005.  It's an impressive list.


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China: Changes in Kashgar · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Musing Under the Tenement Palm visits Kashgar on the far western edge of China and is astounded by the visible changes there since 2003.


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China, Taiwan: Democracy v. Autocracy · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

On Simon World, a soon-to-pass law in Taiwan that would limit interest rates for credit cards sparked an argument which led to a post that generated much discussion among its readers about the relative merits of democracy and autocracy for China.


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Global Voices Summit: Join us Saturday online! · Global Voices
Rebecca MacKinnon

(Cartoon by Hugh Mcleod)
In just a few hours, bloggers from the Global Voices community plus a number of groupies, fans, and supporters will be gathering for the Global Voices London Summit
This site has gone a long way since a smaller group of us got together a year ago… and then began to ramp up with our first global blog roundups in late April of this year.
Saturday's meeting will be a chance to take stock, examine our strengths and weaknesses, discuss what works and what doesn't, and try to figure out where we go from here.  Last year a number of bloggers from around the world – many of whom will be in the room on Saturday – jointly authored a powerful mission statement:
We believe in free speech: in protecting the right to speak — and the right to listen. We believe in universal access to the tools of speech.
To that end, we seek to enable everyone who wants to speak to have the means to speak — and everyone who wants to hear that speech, the means to listen to it.
Thanks to new tools, speech need no longer be controlled by those who own the means of publishing and distribution, or by governments that would restrict thought and communication. Now, anyone can wield the power of the press. Everyone can tell their stories to the world.
We seek to build bridges across the gulfs that divide people, so as to understand each other more fully. We seek to work together more effectively, and act more powerfully.
We believe in the power of direct connection. The bond between individuals from different worlds is personal, political and powerful. We believe conversation across boundaries is essential to a future that is free, fair, prosperous and sustainable – for all citizens of this planet.
While we continue to work and speak as individuals, we also seek to identify and promote our shared interests and goals. We pledge to respect, assist, teach, learn from, and listen to one other.
We are Global Voices.
To further that mission, here are some of the questions we'll be asking:
- What more should we to amplify the online voices of people around the world who want and need to be heard?
- How do we create a better global conversation?
- How do we foster an international citizens’ dialogue online that transcends the agendas of national governments and medias?
- How do we ensure that blogging expands beyond a conversation amongst the world's techno-elites?
- How do we help people who currently do not have access to the technologies of citizens media to gain better access?
- How will Global Voices sustain a reputation of credibility, integrity, and fairness over the long run?
- What responsibilities do our editors, volunteer authors, other contributors have responsibilities when it comes to upholding Global Voices’ integrity?
- How do we interact with the mainstream media and what is our relationship with professional news media?
- What tools should we be using that we're not?
- How do we expand into other languages while remaining a lightweight, distributed, and largely volunteer-driven organization?
(If you have any views about any of these things in advance of the meeting, please feel free to hit the comments section below and share your thoughts.)
If you're not here in London we very much hope you'll join us online, starting at 10am London time (GMT) and ending at 6pm.  (Click here for the full schedule.) You can listen to what everybody says via audio webcast, and join in the conversation through live IRC chat.   There will also be a live blog.
Please click here for all the links and instructions for how to join us.
We will have a designated IRC Advocate who will make sure questions and views from the online chat room get brought into the conversation.
Hope to see you there!!

author: Rebecca MacKinnon


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Hong Kong: Possible Dream · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Glutter reacts strongly against an online op-ed that claims democracy for Hong Kong is an “impossible dream.”


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Kazakhstan: Heritage Panel · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia reports on a Heritage Foundation Panel on Kazakhstan's recent election that gives a superb snapshot of expert opinion regarding the country and its relations with the US.


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Mongolia: Perils of E-Government · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

…yuu bna? reports that Mongolia's government is having a few problems with its online presence