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Caucasus: Online tools in Peace Building · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Writing on his Peace and Collaborative Development Network Blog, Global Voices’ Caucasus Editor recounts his experience of using online social networks in cross-border communication and peace building initiatives between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Locked into a still unresolved conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, another post, however, looks at some concerns raised by fellow GV-ers Ethan Zuckerman and Jillian C.York while assessing whether new open source decentralized social networks such as Diaspora offer a solution. The latest post also examines the use of simple, free tools such as Skype in bringing the two sides together.


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4 ways you can support Global Voices (and a Happy New Year!) · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

If you’re reading this, you’re more than likely already a friend of Global Voices who believes in our mission of amplifying voices not normally heard in the mainstream media, of making it possible for global citizens to use online tools to participate fully in the lives of their communities, and of protecting freedom of expression and free access to information online. If that's indeed the case, we’d like to take some time out on this last day of 2010 to thank you for your support, and, if we may, suggest other ways you can help us do the work we do:
Make a donation: At Global Voices we’re fortunate to have the support of some really great institutional donors who believe strongly in what we do. Like all nonprofits, however, we’re always seeking ways to ensure we keep going and growing and to support innovation and independent projects that foundation funding might not cover. Our year-end fundraising campaign is a major part of that effort, so financial donations from our friends and readers are extremely important to us, not to mention very much appreciated! Donations are tax-deductible for US taxpayers, and if you make yours today (December 31), you’ll be bringing us even closer to our target for this year.
Share our content: This one is somewhat obvious—our goal of amplifying the voices coming out of global citizen media can only be fulfilled if they’re heard by as many people as possible, and we count on our friends and readers to share our content far and wide. “Share” links below each post allow you to e-mail or send links to our stories to Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites with the push of a button, and we’re in the process of repositioning these for even easier access. We're even more thrilled if, after reading our articles, you let us know what you think by leaving a comment here on the site, on our Facebook page, or on Twitter (we're @globalvoices – our other sections and most of our language sites have Twitter accounts as well).
Partner with us: Media outlets, did you know that our content can be republished on your Web site/newspaper/video channel free of charge? All we ask is that you credit us in accordance with our attribution policy. We’re also interested in other kinds of collaborations, such as the one we launched this year with The Economist, or the one our Italian translation team has forged with the Italian daily La Stampa. If you're interested in working with us, please send an e-mail to our Managing Editor, Solana Larsen.
Join us: Are you a blogger or translator who’d like to help us improve the coverage of your region or language? If so, welcome to Global Voices! Please contact the appropriate editor using our contact page, and she'll send you details on contributing articles summarizing the activity from your country's blogosphere or translating content into your language.
Your support has helped make 2010, our sixth year in existence, yet another great one for Global Voices, and we're very grateful for that. Here's wishing you all a peaceful, joyful, globally connected 2011!

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Ghana: Takoradi, More Than a Tale of Two Cities · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

There are two incontrovertible truths about Takoradi city in Ghana: “it made news in the oil world on 15 December, 2010 when Ghana officially became an oil-exporting country; secondly, the capital of the verdant and lush Western region is a twin city alongside Sekondi…”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Glimpses of Citizen Media from Portuguese language countries in 2010 · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Throughout 2010 the lusophone blogsphere has given new perspectives on important issues that  mainstream media tends to ignore. Global Voices amplified citizens’ reflections from four continents, on a vast linguistic region spreading from East Timor in Southeast Asia, to Portugal in Europe, Portuguese language countries in Sub-Saharan Africa – Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome & Principe and Cape Verde – and Brazil in South America. In this post we share a selection of the stories the Portuguese language countries team covered this year.
Citizen Media Phenomena
Brazilian citizen media triggered some interesting social movements and phenomena in 2010.
The year began with a demonstration of affection, as Raphael Tsavkko reported on a post about the preparation for an evening of mass kissing in Sao Paulo. The public event, organized by twitter users who use cyberactivism as a tool for social change, would become a protest in defence of same sex civil union, the criminalization of homophobia, the legalization of abortion and homo-parenting adoption
The idea is to show, joyfully, that people are different from each other, they are born, live, kiss, love, have relationships with whomever they please, regardless of some group or another turning up their nose at them, their lives go on in the privacy of their own homes.
In June, Debora Baldelli explained how an authentic pop star reached fame by taking advantage of the web. Debora told us the story of Brazilian singer Stefhany from a very poor region of Brazil, and quoted a blogger who said:
Stefhany’s new success shouldn’t be mocked the way it’s happening at youtube comments only with the intention to show yourself away from the popular sphere, but it should be seen as a bright example of the use of the internet by people from all social classes.
The most widespread image of the CALA BOCA GALVAO joke. Unknown author.
Perhaps the most curious citizen media phenomenon was demistified by Raphael Tsavkko
CALA BOCA GALVAO stands for “Shut up Galvao”.
A famous Brazilian narrator and broadcaster, Galvão Bueno, was made victim of a huge twitter phenomenon when millions of twitter users told him to shut up during the 2010 World Cup opening show, in June. CALA BOCA GALVAO ended up as a worldwide joke as non Portuguese speaking netcitizens couldn't understand the meaning of the lasting trending topic and were led to believe it concerned anything except of course telling someone to be quiet.
Brazilian presidential elections
2010 was a voting year for more than 135 million Brazilian citizens.
Back in April, Paula Góes wrote a post explaining how a bill that seeks to prevent politicians who have committed serious crimes from running in elections was becoming viral in the country.
A few days before the first round of the elections for the next President, Governors, Deputies and Senators on October 3, Global Voices highlighted electoral crimes, which were denounced by Brazilian citizens using the internet to push for clean elections.
The doors have opened for what could be a new paradigm of participatory citizenship, where citizens make their voices heard concerning the way politics happen in Brazil.
As Dilma Roussef became the first female president of Brazil on the second round of the elections, Paula Goes reported on women bloggers’ reactions to this historic moment which  some believed to be “a sign of changing times and of yet immeasurable magnitude”.
Development, Governance and Politics
The blogspheres from Mozambique and Angola had a word to say about development, governance and politics throughtout the year.
In Mozambique, donor countries briefly suspended budget support to the government over corruption concerns, sparking analysis and debate about aid, corruption and governance, as Janet Gunter reported in May.
In September 1-2, Maputo woke up to violent riots following government's decision to increase the prices of food, water and electricity. Janet wrote about the bloggers reflections on the unrest and  the government's response, addressing the economic, political and social  aspects of events. Critiques of “civil society”, globalization and  Mozambique's economic model were numerous.
In June, Clara Onofre wrote about the Angolan government's decision to close the “doors” of the Roque Santeiro Market and to reopen in a more dignified and modern area called Panguila.
The development experienced by Luanda holds one of the most frequented commercial spaces in the city, that generates thousands of dollars a day. Roque Santeiro Market by Menina de Angola
Energy
Energy production and exploration as well as its future social and environmental impacts have also been under discussion by lusophone netcitizens.
In January, Janet Gunter reported on the announcement made by the Council of Ministers of Mozambique  revoking  a massive land concession for the biofuels firm Procana. At stake  was the management of nationalized lands on an area bordering on the  cross-border Limpopo National Park where 38,000 people live. Following NGOs denouncements a few months later in July Janet gathered blogsphere reactions to a trilateral agreement between Brazil, Mozambique and the European Union promoting ethanol production in Mozambique for the European market.
On the other side of the Indian Ocean, East Timor's natural resource wealth was also in the spotlight.  Janet wrote about the use of the Petroleum Fund from Timor's oil fields  – the country's greatest source of revenue – and gave us an overview on  the potential creation of a National Oil Company.
A different article reveals serious tensions between Timorese leaders, Australia, and Woodside, the multinational company hoping to profit from new petroleum resources in Timorese territory. Flickr User United Nations Photo, CC
Rising blogspheres
Sao Tome & Principe's blogsphere is still scarce. However, from the beginning of 2010, bloggers got together to denounce a water diversion from the country's main hospital and to pressure the government for action.
Guinea-Bissau's blogosphere was much animated throughout the year by António Aly Silva from the blog Ditadura do Consenso [Dictatorship of Consensus, pt]. In an interview for Global Voices,  Aly – considered by many the most visible and active face of the  country's online arena – gave us a glimpse of how is it to be a  subversive blogger in Guinea Bissau.
Indigenous People
Brazilian indigenous people were also featured on Global Voices in 2010.
In November, Raphael Tsavkko and Sara Moreira wrote about the constant attacks and the alarming rash of suicides that the Guarani Kaiowa have been suffering. They are one of three groups descended from the original Guarani, who still represent one of the most numerous indigenous people in Brazil, though they are profoundly affected by the loss of almost all their land in the last century.
Photo by simpindigena, used with permission.
Technology has been gaining ground as an efficient means to ensure the indigenous lifestyle and culture. In August, Elisa Thiago told us how tools like Google Earth and GPS aid in reforestation efforts and help to combat deforestation.
Chicoepab Surui, from the Paiter Surui people of the Amazon, covered the first gathering ever of delegates of 16 indigenous communities from all over Brazil to discuss the Internet, and how to use it in favor of indigenous people
Today we, indigenous people, use this technology that is alien to our culture as a tool to seek improvements for our communities and to fight for our rights.
Aiming to promote a new perspective on Brazil shown by their indigenous peoples to an international audience, Chicoepab's debut in Global Voices marks the kick off of a pilot project with a community from Rondônia. In 2011, Repórter Surui will cover issues of indigenous interest and general news for Global Voices Portuguese, from the perspective of indigenous peoples.
Come back in 2011 to listen to more stories by citizen reporters from the Portuguese language countries. If you  would like to join our multicultural team at the lusophone Global Voices and help us break the language barrier that separates blogospheres, peoples and countries, please contact us.

author: Sara Moreira


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Guatemala: Harsh Winter Affecting Farmers · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Locavore del Mundo writes about how this year's particularly cold winter has affected farmers in Guatemala: “Farmers have lost almost all of their crops due to this frost. The lost harvest includes cabbage, cauliflower, chinese peas, carrots, lettuce, radishes, among other vegetables.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Hungary: Relations With China · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian Spectrum writes about Hungary's economic and financial relations with China.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Hungary: “Viktor #Censorbán” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Kosmopolito writes about Hungary's new media law and suggests ways to draw attention to the situation; “transforming” PM Viktor Orbán into Viktor #Censorbán is just one of the strategies – and there's already a Censorban account on Twitter, as well as a hashtag. More relevant info and reactions – at Hungarian Spectrum (here, here, here, here, and here).


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Japan: Top popular Japanese phrases of 2010 · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Pinktentacle reported and translated into English the “Top 60 popular Japanese words/phrases of 2010″, published on the website of Jiyu Kokuminsha.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Kenya: 10 Best Kenyan Sites in 2010 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Interesting Kenyan sites in 2010: “A while back, we started a small experiment where we’d write about cool Kenyan sites that we had come across. Here are the 10 best sites that we covered in the year that was 2010″


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Maldives: Protesting The Increase Of Privileges Of MPs · Global Voices
Rezwan

The blog of 919, a nonviolent and peaceful democracy movement in the Maldives, calls to join the protests against the bill passed recently by the Maldives parliament to increase the benefits and allowances of the members of parliament.

author: Rezwan


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Mexican Film in 2010: The Good, The Bad, and The Realistic · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Perla Cristal Gómez from Vivir México critiques [es] Mexican films released in 2010, picking one that was good (“Hidalgo“), one that was bad (“2033“) and one that was realistic (“El Infierno“).


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Mexico: 60 Students Died in Ciudad Juárez in 2010 · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Patrick Corcoran reports: “Authorities say that some 60 students died in 2010 in Ciudad Juárez as a result of gang violence, most famously in the massacres in January and October.” He says he expected the number to be higher, considering there were more than 3,100 murders in Ciudad Juárez this year.


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New Year’s Resolution: Learn About Latin American Culture · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Colombian/Argentinean Travelojos contributor Jennifer Lubrani writes about her New Year's resolution: “I’ve made it a goal to try to learn as much as I can about all of the other Latin American cultures.” She suggests five ways to “get cultured” on Latin America.


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North Korea’s State-run TV Broadcasted its First Western-made Film  · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

North Korea's state-run television broadcasted its first Western-made film, a heavily edited “Bend It Like Beckham”. The British soccer film contains North Korea's taboo topics, like interracial relationships, homosexuality and religion. British Embassy in Seoul tweeted it is ‘the first western live-action film ever aired in North Korea, arranged by UK Embassy in Pyongyang.’
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author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Our Most Read Posts in 2010 · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

HAPPY NEW YEAR! by 1suisse on Flickr (Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic)
On Global Voices we work with a large volunteer community to publish stories about what is happening in blogs and citizen media around the world. Below, are some of the stories that have attracted the most attention in 2010 from our readers in English (our Lingua websites in different languages may have other results).
Often the stories that are most popular are the ones that relate to a story that is making major headlines around the world, like the earthquake in Haiti, or the World Cup in South Africa. Other times, it's something the media isn't talking much about.
For regional retrospectives of 2010 by our editors, check our special coverage page: Best of 2010.
Most read in 2010
Our most read post in 2010 was Brazil: The Cala Boca Galvao Phenomenon partly thanks to the fact that our co-founder Ethan Zuckerman mentioned the story prominently in his TED presentation.
Most read special coverage
Conflict
MENA: Rage after Israel Attacks Gaza-bound Flotilla
North Korea: Beauty Plays In the Psychological Warfare
Costa Rica: Border Conflict with Nicaragua
Russia: Initial Coverage of the Moscow Subway Bombings
Philippines: Hostage drama ends in violence
Egypt: Khaled Said – An Emergency Murder by An Emergency Law
Politics
South Africa: Julius Malema and the future of freedom of speech
Facebook is blocked in Pakistan as it Indulges in a Controversial Campaign
Macedonia: Online Rebellion Against “Skopje 2014″ Plan
Myanmar's new flag and new name
Sports
South Africa:2010 FIFA World Cup theme song raises interesting views
Mali: World Cup Fans React to Referee's Controversial Call
Georgia: Tragedy strikes as Winter Olympic Games open
Internet memes
Philippines: The jejemon craze
The Virtual Choir: Technology, Collaboration and Music
Russia: Online Cartoon Character – Mr. Freeman – Deconstructs Reality, Mocks Netizens
Humorous Web Reactions to Thursday's Facebook Outage
“Boobquake” to challenge claims of Iranian cleric
China
China: Sex workers demand legalization, organizer detained
China: Zhouqu landslide, a man made disaster
China: ‘My father is Li Gang’
Chinese blogger reviews of Avatar
China: Confessions of a naked Internet runner
Noam Chomsky in China
China: Nobel Peace Prize Winner – Liu Xiaobo
Planes
Poland: President Kaczyński is Killed in Plane Crash in Russia – Initial Reactions
India: Outrage At Mangalore Plane Crash
Volcanoes
Guatemala: Pacaya Volcano Causes State of National Calamity
Ecuador: Tungurahua Eruption Hits More Ecuadorian Provinces
Indonesia: Earthquake, Tsunami, and Volcanic Eruption in 48-Hours.
Rain
Peru: Heavy Rains and Mudslides in Cusco
Saudi Arabia: When it Rains it Pours in Riyadh
Economy
Greece, Germany and the middle finger of Venus de Milo
Japan: Where taking a vacation is a no-no
India: The Battle Of Rin vs. Tide

author: Solana Larsen


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Puerto Rico: Dialogue with Students on Strike · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Student activist Arturo Ríos Escribano used social media networks to inform the public about the dialogue [es] between student leaders of the University of Puerto Rico, governor Luis Fortuño and the state secretary Kenneth McClintock. As a result of the meeting, the Governor decided to remove a special unit of the Police from the campuses.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Puerto Rico: Videos for a Cause · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The digital magazine 80 Grados [es] posted another video of their series “UPR, a common cause” [es] which aims to present different voices of the University of Puerto Rico.


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Russia: Internet 2010 Overview · Global Voices
Vadim Isakov

Photo by storozhenko/Flickr
2010 highlighted several important trends of Russian Internet. Online audience grows very fast with people getting more news online and actively using social networks. In a lot of ways, 2010 brought a recognition of the power of the Internet into Russian society.
According to RuMetrica [RUS], RuNet daily audience was 38 million in November 2010. It is a 40 percent increase from only a year ago. A round table “RuNet 2010″ held in Duma (Russian parliament) in December this year also highlighted the fact that there are 46.5 million online users in the country. It is the highest number of Internet users in Europe. However, Russia still lags behind in terms of Internet penetration.
Russians are actively consuming online news and slowly shunning traditional media. Online news sector currently has 19.6 percent of RuNet audience. Other popular fields on the Internet are business, computers and movies with 15.9, 12 and 9.8 percent of online audience respectively.
It also seems that Russians became more interested in virtual tours of national museums and art galleries while reducing their appetite for online music. RuMetrica explains this by overwhelming availability of music on social networks (the most popular of them, Vkontakte.ru, is notorious for hosting an enormous amount of copyrighted content easily available to any of its users). At the same time, RuMetrica says, virtual tours of national museums became available only recently and many people from far regions of the country received an opportunity to visit top art galleries online.
Russian blogosphere rapidly grew in size – there are 30 million blogs – and popularity in 2010. According to media monitoring service Public.ru [RUS], traditional media cited information from the blogosphere 6,000 times in 2010. It is 30 times more than five years ago.
Public.ru also noted that independent bloggers actively participated in forming public opinion in 2010. “Politicians, government officials, society and traditional media started noticing the information on Livejournal.com [the most popular blogging platform in the country – GV],” Public.ru writes. “It created a new information vertical: society-bloggers-media-authorities.”
The top five topics on Russian blogosphere in 2010 that were widely covered by mainstream media are:
Among the top Russian bloggers are navalny (see a GVO interview with him here), tema (designer who likes to swear A LOT), drugoi (Russian photographer), top-lap (his blog is suspended, GVO reported on this earlier) and doktor-Liza (background info is here).
It is safe to assume that the online trends highlighted in 2010 will continue to develop in years to come. The Russian blogosphere will continue to grow replacing traditional media in the amount of users and influence. As more and more Russians go online, various social platforms will link and unite more people. This will lead to even faster spread of information. Russian presidential election 2012 will certainly heat different political aspects of RuNet. Regarded by most Russians as untrustworthy and corrupt, traditional forms of media will be a drastic contrast to online world with blossoming political debates.
We will also see many success stories of citizen reporting and online activism in  2011. Several of those stories (and bloggers) will be nothing more than just pawns in clever political battles among different groups in power. Yes, Russian authorities will make several attempts to control the information online. Those attempts, for the most part, will be subtle and not very effective.
All in all, 2011 will be very dynamic year for RuNet. It will also be an amazing year for us, people working at RuNet Echo. People who are fascinated and captivated by everything that is happening in Russian online world. We are proudly looking forward to sharing the stories with global communities and bringing RuNet closer to the rest of the world.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

author: Vadim Isakov


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Russia: Media Coverage of Khodorkovsky Verdict · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Overview of media reactions to the verdict and sentence in the case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev – by Robert Amsterdam, Global Chaos, and Sublime Oblivion.


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Russia: Politics and Justice · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

At OpenDemocracy.net, Dmitry Travin writes about politics and justice in Russia.


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Sri Lanka: National Anthem In Tamil To Be Scrapped · Global Voices
Rezwan

D.B.S. Jeyaraj informs that “a campaign is being conducted by majoritarian hawks to do away with the practice of singing the (Sri Lankan) national anthem in Tamil”.


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Sudan: High technology is no substitute for ordinary people · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

This post is part of our special coverage South Sudan Referendum 2011.
George Clooney has initiated a project, Satellite Sentinel, which uses satellite imagery analysis and Google's Map Marker technology to prevent the resumption of war between North and South Sudan. The project will provide an early warning system to deter mass atrocities:
We were late to Rwanda. We were late to the Congo. We were late to Darfur. There is no time to wait in Sudan. Our mapping system will combine satellite imagery analysis and field reports with Google's Map Maker technology to deter the resumption of war between North and South Sudan.
Southern Sudan will hold a referendum on whether or not it should remain as a part of Sudan on 9 January 2011.
Carne Cross, a former British diplomat, has written a critique of the project on his blog arguing that  high tech is no substitute for ordinary people.
He says, ” In principle, this is a good idea and the intent is certainly unimpeachable. But two questions occur to me.”:
The first is that most experts believe that any conflict between North and South is unlikely to consist of the mass movement of troops or tank formations over the border for instance, or an invasion by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of the oil fields in the border areas – military activities that can of course easily be identified by satellite.  Conflict in Sudan is instead much more likely to take the form of sporadic highly-localised violence perhaps involving militias working as proxies for the Khartoum government (such as the Janjaweed in Darfur).  Another possibility is of local inter-tribal conflict incited by government provocation and fuelled by supplies of arms, including heavy weapons.
His second concern is that the project relies heavily on expensive technology and ignores ordinary people on the ground:
My second concern is that this initiative, like so many others in these technology-obsessed days, promotes a “tech-heavy”, expensive and – needless to say – fashionable solution above existing mechanisms that exploit that rather under-utilised, unfashionable and ignored resource, local people.
He argues that the referendum date approaches, the most useful technology may end being Sudan Vote Monitor, which uses Ushahidi platform:
As South Sudan approaches the 9 January referendum on its self-determination, a more useful technology platform in the coming weeks may end up being this one. The idea behind Sudan Vote Monitor is that people send text messages to a central number with reports of violence, problems at polling stations, etc.
Sudan VoteMonitor is a pilot project led by the Sudan Institute for Research and Policy (SIRP)  and Asmaa Society for Development , in collaboration with other Sudanese civil society organizations, and supported by eMoksha.org and Ushahidi.com (technical partners). The purpose of the initiative is to utilize information and communication technology (ICT) to support the independent monitoring and reporting of the election process and results.
Ushahidi (Swahili for “testimony” or “witness”) was created in the aftermath of Kenya's disputed 2007 presidential election to collect eyewitness reports of violence sent in by email and text-message and placed them on a Google map.
Sudan Vote Monitor will start posting real-time reports from Civil Society Organizations, the media and from individuals about the referendum in Sudan on 3 January 2011.
Although Sudan Vote Monitor uses a “tech” solution,
it relies upon the widespread and rather more basic technology of mobile telephones.  Above all, it relies upon the wisdom and observations of local people, surely the best judges of whether conflict is indeed occurring or imminent.it relies upon the wisdom and observations of local people, surely the best judges of whether conflict is indeed occurring or imminent.
He points out that it is high time that we involved people who are most affected and are also most informed:
As I have argued before, it remains a travesty that in UN discussions, for instance at the Security Council, is is all too often the case that local people are absent, uninvited.  These are the people most affected by the decisions made in these elevated bodies; they are also the most informed.  When the UN Security Council considers Darfur, there are no Darfuri representatives at the table.  This is sadly the norm in almost all such discussions, for the UN as a body of governments will not tolerate “non-state actors”, even if they are the legitimate representatives of oppressed people, like ordinary Sudanese.
He concludes by saying that all we need to do is to listen to local voices:
Local people are invariably the wisest and the best and most promptly informed of conflict and other threats to their security.  All we need do is listen to them.
This post is part of our special coverage South Sudan Referendum 2011.


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Tunisia: Journalist Nebrass Hedhili Attacked during Uprising · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Nawaat  writes that journalist Nebrass Hedhili was physically abused by policemen not in uniform in the La Chebba center (fr).  Nawaat also regularly updates a press review of the ongoing Sidi Bouzid uprising(fr).

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Tunisia : “We Are Not Afraid Anymore!”  · Global Voices
Claire Ulrich

This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.
Sidi Bouzid banner illustration from the website Nawaat.org
The protests that followed the suicide attempt of an unemployed youngster in Sidi Bouzid two weeks ago followed by the suicide of Houssine Ben Faleh Falhi, 25 and Lofti Guadri, 34, are now reaching the Tunisian big cities and the capital city, Tunis. The social movement is no longer only asking for work opportunities and prospects for their future but for a complete reform of the “Ben Ali system”, a president who's been in power for 23 years.
The videos of the first protests, organized by lawyers, journalists and Tunisian unions early last week, may have appeared modest to the outside world but those are already exceptional events in the Tunisian context.
Tunisian blogger Anis who posted a review of the youth implication in politics entitled ” I am 31 and I never voted” (fr) wrote on December 30th: “Mr president, we are not afraid anymore“, wrote:
Cette phrase, aperçue sur une pancarte lors d’une manifestation des avocats Tunisiens devant la Cour de Justice de Tunis, résume parfaitement le sentiment de beaucoup de Tunisiens aujourd’hui. Nous vivons une période historique pour les Tunisiens, qui habitués au silence, à la peur et au conformisme depuis des décennies prennent enfin leur destin en main.[…]La dernière fois que le peuple s’est soulevé massivement et spontanément sans être motivé par des raisons religieuses ou pour soutenir les Palestiniens ou les Irakiens… c’était sous Bourguiba, les bien fameuses révoltes du pain.
On December 30th, the death of Chawki Belhoussine El Hadri, 44, caused by wounds from shots fired by the police on December 24 as  explained in a press release by the FIDH (fr), marked the radicalization of the confrontation, also illustrated by the violence against the lawyers and narrated on the blog of a Tunisian Girl :
A Tunis,par exemple,  des agents de police en civil et les agents de la  force  de sécurité  ont assiégé de la zone du palais de justice. Ils ont empêché certains avocats d'entrer dans la zone et laisser d'autres y accéder. Lorsque les  avocats tenté de quitter la Maison du Barreau, où ils se réunissaient, les forces de sécurité sont intervenues et ont utilisé la violence.
The Ben Ali surprise television speech on Tuesday [video] and the governmental change did not lead to the expected outcome. In one of the most read and shared post on Twitter and Facebook, a young Tunisian entrepreneur wrote in an open letter (fr):
Vos  jeunes se sont soulevés et il sera difficile de les faire taire : Ils  s’immolent, s’électrocutent, et je ne pense sérieusement pas que des  coups de matraques ou des longues nuits dans les commissariats vont leur  faire peur.
A game of cat and mouse and an actual “cyberwar” has been continuing for the previous two weeks between Tunisian netizens and “Ammar”, the nickname of the very elaborated censorship system devised by the Tunisian Minister of interior. Blogger Astrubal explains its secret techniques.
Tunisian bloggers have long been using circumventing softwares, getting news on Facebook and share censored posts, videos, photos or news updates ( like the beating of a journalist) on the main Tunisian blogging platforms and information gateways hosted overseas or via twitter and key words like #sidibouzid.
Still, “Ammar” also seems to want to be rid of social media networks:
bharmoez Facebook est complètement coupé à  Redaïef !!!! on est coupééééé ! twitter pas encore. j'ai l'impression  que ca ne va pas tarder..#sidibouzid
Tunisie numérique confirms that Facebook appears to have been targeted by “Ammar” in Tunisia:
les internautes tunisiens-la communauté la plus connectée au Facebook  dans l’Afrique du Nord- se trouvait depuis l'après midi du 30 décembre  2010.face à une erreur technique lors de l’upload de n’importe quelle  photo ou vidéo.
Félicie notes an (fr) internet blackout in Tunis on December 31st:
coupure de l'internet sur Tunis, les médias disent que la situation est stable mais les manif continue  dans toutes les régions #sidibouzid
Reporter Sans Frontières published a press release denouncing   a publié un communiqué dénonçant  the organized blackout of information (fr )  regarding all the troubles, in a country that has been on its annual list of enemies of the internet for a long while.
Demonstrations of support to the #sidibouzid movement took place in Paris,  Munich, and Beirut.
The “media blackout” by the main international media outlets and western diplomacy, in addition to the domestic censorship, was a frequent subject of bitterness amongst many Tunisian activists.
iFikra To the hypocritical west that had Iran protests top news for weeks, #Tunisia has been fighting for its freedom for 2 weeks now #sidibouzid
Nawaat salutes (fr) the English-speaking press:
La presse anglo-saxonne – contrairement à la presse française – a été  particulièrement intéressée par les émeutes sociales en Tunisie. Le  modèle économique et politique tunisien est décortiqué avec vigueur.
Al Bab is cautious though:   about the importance of the international media  during the current events :
To what extent, though, does international media coverage – or the lack  of it – matter? Obviously it's good if people around the world know what  is happening but           how does it benefit the struggle going on inisde the country?  The           object of that struggle is not to get pictures in the New York  Times;           it's to get rid of Ben Ali.
Regarding the cautious coverage of the crisis by traditional French media and the silence of its government,  André reminds us in the comment section of  Le Monde, that  Tunisia is a country where (fr) :
…où de nombreuses entreprises françaises ont délocalisé leur production. Si au plan économique on trouve pire , au plan du respect des droits de l'homme, on ne peut pas en dire autant.A l'inverse de la Côte d'Ivoire, on entend beaucoup moins les défenseurs de la démocratie quand il s'agit de la Tunisie. Sous prétexte de barrer la route aux islamistes intégristes, on ferme les yeux sur toutes les mesures dignes plus d'une dictature que d'une démocratie.Politique du deux poids deux mesures.
Bloggers from Morocco, Algeria and Egypt are closely following the events in Tunisia:
Boubled Chez nous #SidiBouzid c'est chaque jour et partout ,dans chaque recoin d'Algérie .
Here in Algeria, it's #sidibouzid everyday in every corner of Algeria.
Blogger Ismail, who lives in France, predict the following (fr) :
Sidi Bouzid est le tragique témoignage, encore une fois, d’un ras-le-bol généralisé de la jeunesse des pays en voie de développement, plus particulièrement de la zone Nord-Afrique Moyen-Orient, le même désespoir, la même rage et les mêmes réponses répressives de la part des Gouvernements, ça c’est déjà passé en Iran, aujourd’hui c’est en Tunisie demain ça sera l’Algérie ou le Maroc.
He also adds that his article is currently blocked in Tunisia and invites people to share it.
More reactions from bloggers worldwide about the Tunisian crisis can be found here.
This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Claire Ulrich


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Ukraine: Former Interior Minister’s Case · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes and Ukrainiana write about the case against the former Interior Minister of Ukraine Yuri Lutsenko.


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Uruguay: Discovering Uruguay Through Writer Yaravi Roig · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Florence Faure writes: “Reading fiction can be an interesting way to get introduced to or know better a country. Yaravi Roig is an Uruguayan writer who lives in Piriapolis. In her books, she gives to the reader the opportunity to discover Uruguayan culture, more specifically Piriapolis and the people who made it.”


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Bermuda: new year wish list · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

BeachLime Bermuda shares a 2011 “wish list” for Bermudan politicians, citizens, and bloggers.

author: Nicholas Laughlin


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China: Latest Story Behind the Li Gang Case · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

C Custer from China Geek has been following up “My Father is Li Gang” incident by translating local reporter Wang Keqin's investigation. Part I: Chen Family Forced to Drop Suit, Part II: Family Goes Silent, Legal Rumblings and Part III: “A Sleepless Night in Xiaofeng’s Home”.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Gabon-France: Wikileaks reveals The Financing of French Political Parties by Omar Bongo · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

On December 30, 2010 Antoine Ganne writes in an  article   on  afrik.com citing Wikileaks : ” nearly 30 millions euros were diverted from the Bank of the Central African States (BEAC) by former Gabonese president Omar Bongo,  some of which were sent to French political parties, specifically Jacques Chirac's but Nicolas Sarkozy's as well.”

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Jamaica, Bahamas: three poets · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Charmaine Valere shares her thoughts on “three Caribbean men of verse”–Jamaican poets Geoffrey Philp and Kei Miller and Bahamian Christian Campbell–whose poems she enjoyed in 2010.


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Jamaica: in the moment · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

“Tired of hearing of all the disasters, mistakes, deliberate wrongdoing and accumulated grief that made up 2010, in Jamaica,” Petchary suggests instead that readers welcome the new year by enjoying the present moment: “a green and gold morning with sunlight seeping through the trees.”


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Jordan: Clashes Follow University Elections  · Global Voices
Betsy Fisher

The University of Jordan held university elections for its student government on Dec 21, 2010.  Following reports of violence and election irregularities, the University promptly issued statements denying the clashes.  Less than two weeks later, further clashes broke out.  Hamzeh Lattouf tweeted:
الحرس الجامعي حاول وقف المشاجرة في الجامعة الاردنية باستخدام خراطيم المياه
Lattouf then launched a series of tweets asking Walid Maani, the Minister of Higher Education, to launch reforms to curb violence:
YE @WalidMaani make a study. what type of people r making such troubles, those with less luck or whatever,start accepting them in diff Univ
Lattouf then tweeted  videos featuring students pelting rocks at each other, and of a person being removed on a stretcher:
طوشة السلطية والحمايدة في الجامعة الاردنية | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WUdbdazS2E #Amman #JO
Screenshot from YouTube video posted by Farislord
2 طوشة السلطية والحمايدة في الجامعة الاردنية http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdynl17eviQ #Amman #JO
As the videos were retweeted, Jordanians such as Nada Abandah added their dismay:
University students or some sort of a gang #Jo http://ow.ly/3wCf2
Mohammed Yousef added his condemnation, also tagging Maani:
this is what #Jordan universities stepped down to http://youtu.be/4WUdbdazS2E cc: @WalidMaani #Jo
Ali Al-Hasani tweeted:
Can i just say one thing before we enter 2011? THANK GOD I DIDN'T STUDY IN ANY JORDAN UNIVERSITY! http://youtu.be/4WUdbdazS2E #Amman #Jo
In a country proud of its educational achievements, a governmental response to prevent further clashes seems likely.

author: Betsy Fisher


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Jordan: Free Taher Nassar! · Global Voices
Betsy Fisher

Human Rights Watch reported earlier in December 2010 that Tahir Nassar, a lawyer and former parliamentary candidate, was arrested and detained in a Jordanian prison on charges of “stirring up sectarian strife.”  Nassar's offense was his election manifesto that highlighted discrimination against Jordanians of Palestinian origin.  Nassar, from Rusaifa, lost in the November 9th election in the Zarqa electoral district.  According to Human Rights Watch, he was detained on November 27th, after international election monitors had left Jordan.
Naseem Tarawnah responded:
So here’s the question that begs itself in light of recent events: if someone calls for an end to discrimination between citizens and claims that all citizens should be equal, a claim that is guaranteed by the country’s own constitution, why is this person being tried for inciting sectarian strife? Is to simply speak about discrimination and the identity issue an attempt to stir sectarian strife? Does merely discussing this qualify as a crime?
Why are any attempts to grapple with this issue deemed to be incendiary by the state? Why, even in an election where a candidate’s materials is supposed to be subject to public discourse, are we stifling any opinion that claims we have a problem with the identity issue? In doing so, does the state not automatically demonstrate that we quite clearly do indeed have a problem with this issue?
Nadim commented in response to Naseem's article:
post this in arabic and you will find yourself sleeping in the same cell
On Twitter, relatively few Jordanians responded to the HRW post and tweet.  One who did, Yanal, subsequently tweeted:
There are rarely any RTs of @hrw topics abt #JO by Jordanians! None! Someone who called for equality was imprisoned, could happen to many!
A Facebook group has been founded in support of Tahir Nassar, claiming
49 members as of December 20th.  The group's information page says:
هذه الصفحة مخصصة للمطالبة بالافراج عن
المرشح السابق لعضوية مجلس النواب السادس عشر
. :: المحامي طاهر نصار :: .


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Jordan: Twitter Reactions to Nine Per Cent Fuel Hike  · Global Voices
Betsy Fisher

Jordan's government announced year-end fuel price hikes. The cost of gas, referred to as benzine, was raised 9 per cent, while the price of diesel and kerosene was raised by 6pc.  Many Jordanians expressed their ire through sarcasm and humor.
Muneer Saifi referenced the end-of-year timing:
Happy new year with 9% raise in feul prices, enjoy 2011 #JO
Zalmasri tweeted:
End of year present from the government. More than 9% increase on fuel prices. Happy new year #jo
To which Basem Aggad responded:
A well deserved 1, we earned no better! #JO RT @zalmasri End of year present from the government. More than 9% increase on fuel prices..
Loia Taha discussed possible, humorous alternatives to fuel:
9% fuel prices raise!! I bet we'll see lots of horses and donkeys down the streets.. much cheaper, I may get one myself very soon #jo
Janabi suggested another option:
Bye Bye Octane 95, hello Octane 90 :( #JO
To which Loai Taha responded:
Bye Bye Benzine… hello water: RT @janabi: Bye Bye Octane 95, hello Octane 90 :( #JO
Ali Dahmash, though, launched serious criticism of the government's decision:
@YasserBurgan @primeministry the calculation of the Oil prices in Jordan seems anonymous and unreal, it's not justified
Yasser Burgan responded:
@AliDahmash We are energy importing country. This is only a reflection of the international oil prices. @PrimeMinistry #Jo
And continued:
@AliDahmash Nevertheless, prices at the pump in #Jo is less than 50% of prices in #Greece. @primeministry


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Mali : New Year’s Eve Celebrations in Bamako · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

Boukary Konate from Mali writes on his  blog Fasokan about the preparations and  the atmosphere on new year's eve  in Bamako (fr)

author: Suzanne Lehn


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Tunisia: Lawyers Assaulted for their Sidi Bouzid Stand · Global Voices
Lina Ben Mhenni

This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.
Tunisian lawyers have been making a stand throughout  Sidi Bouzid’s events – and paying the price for it.
They have been protesting regularly to denounce what happened in Sidi Bouzid and the social situation in Tunisia. This is why the government has decided to ‘punish’ them. Every day, news of the kidnapping, arrest, or assault of lawyers is surfacing on social networking sites.
In her post, Lawyers’Demonstration Tuesday 28th, 2010,  Tunisian Girl wrote:
After that, the lawyers went into the first instance court and shouted the slogans again. They addressed some of them to the judges asking them to be independent.
Later in the afternoon, two lawyers who took part in the demonstration were arrested they are: Chokri Belaid and Abderrahmen Ayadi.
Nevertheless, December 31, 2010, presented the most horrible day for lawyers. Indeed, police officers did not hesitate to violently beat them when they were gathering in the Bar House located in front of the Courthouse of Tunis. Security forces used their truncheons causing many injuries for the lawyers.
On Twitter, netizens showed their support and spread the word about the assaults targeting lawyers:
Moalla tweeted:
Le 31 décembre 2010 restera à jamais comme le “vendredi de la matraque” pour les avocats tunisiens. Honte à la dictature! #SidiBouzid
Also on Twitter, Osama F Moushraf wrote :
تعرّض عشرات المحامين في تونس إلى اعتداءات عنيفة من قبل الشرطة http://bit.ly/hLq6Ty #sidibouzid RT
Netizens denounced what happened:
Assad Tounsi tweeted:
فضيحة فضيحة فضيحة فضيحة فضيحة فضيحة تونس .. المحامون يضربون ويعتقلون والشعب يتفرج
This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Lina Ben Mhenni


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Bhutan: Tobacco Ban And A New Years Wish · Global Voices
Rezwan

Tshering Tobgay, the leader of the Opposition Party in the National Assembly of Bhutan, has a new year's wish: “that the first person to be caught and jailed under the Tobacco Control Act is a member of parliament.”


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Bolivia: Government Revokes Decree Ending Fuel Subsidies · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Greg Weeks updates his readers on the “Gasolinazo“: “Evo Morales revoked the decree removing subsidies (and thereby drastically raising prices on fuel) after facing large scale protests. The essential problem therefore remains–the government has popular subsidies that unfortunately also encourage smuggling and bleed money, both of which he mentioned in his remarks.”


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Hungary: Ice-T and the New Hungarian Media Law · Global Voices
Marietta Le

In a very sensitive environment because of the new Hungarian media law, which came into force on January 1, 2011, the Hungarian National Media and Infocommunications Authority started investigating Tilos (HUN), a non-profit radio station.
Since the Authority “places a strong emphasis on the protection of the interests of customers and users,” it also takes care of the young listeners, which was the case when they informed (HUN) Tilos Rádió that an investigation would be launched after monitoring the station's broadcasts. The monitoring found that the radio station played rapper Ice-T‘s songs titled Warning (intro) and It's On at 17:53 on Sept. 2, 2010.
The Authority objected to the fact that Tilos Rádió did not use any kind of age limit warning before playing the song. The letter mentions that the radio station had already been fined in 2003 and 2005 for broadcasting music with explicit lyrics. They attached a chart with the number of language certificates obtained between 2000 and 2009 suggesting that there might have been youth who understood the lyrics and because of their age might have been influenced by the content.
[…] In the tracks the events were portrayed by using the slang of a subculture which even if it wasn't totally understandable for the protected age-group, its harsh intonation prompting violence could generate a harmful effect on listeners who are under 16 years of age. Those with a better knowledge of the [English] language could have understood that the negative situation of African Americans, the use of the services of prostitutes, trade and use of drugs, and physical violence were portrayed by the artist as an everyday activity and a value. It's On evoked the ‘ghetto subculture’ by implying harmful behavioral patterns and worldview. […]
Ice-T, who tweets under the username @FINALLEVEL, learned through a tweeted Tumblr post that his music was “banned” in Hungary. His reaction was:
RT @rog_r: @FINALLEVEL Sorry, but you are officially banned http://j.mp/f73DhF > I love it! The world still fears me. hahaha !
Although the result of the monitoring is not without precedent, the National Media and Infocommunications Authority has to deal with a very high volume of attention because of the new media law, which has even received international criticism.
Tilos Rádió named the case “Ice-T gate” and collected the reactions to the news of the investigation. A number of blog posts pointed out that the lyrics which were attached in English and with the Hungarian translation to the letter from the Authority contained some mistranslations. A Hungarian blogger who posts translations of rap songs stated (HUN) that the Authority used a transcript of the lyrics that already contained some mistakes.
Despite the polemic that began at the end of 2010, Tilos Rádió has already received an answer to their official statement (HUN) against the investigation. The new letter of the Authority was also published (HUN) on a blog, Comment:com, dealing with media content. In their letter, the Authority emphasized that “maybe the brave but frequently anonymous freedom fighters of the internet can see reason that Ice-T is far away from Lajos Kossuth, the real [Hungarian] fighter of press freedom.”
Sixx of Comment:com highlighted a paragraph from the letter in which the Authority stated: according to the so-called Pacifica Foundation, Ice-T's song could be aired only after 10 PM. “If they don't do so, the American media authority – the Federal Communications Commission – would punish them with a fine which is certainly higher than the yearly budget of Tilos Rádió.”
The blogger of Comment:com pointed out that the U.S. decision mentioned by the Authority was no longer valid in the United States.

author: Marietta Le


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India: Class Divide In Rail Transport · Global Voices
Rezwan

Metros for rich and trains for poor? Shidhu Saaheb informs that there already appears to be a distinct class divide between those who travel on the Metro and those who travel on the other EMUs in Delhi, India.


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Lebanon: Banning land sale between religions · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“This law is an insult to each and every one of us. It lays bare the state of bankruptcy that our sectarian democracy has reached,” states Mustapha in describing the draft law, authored by the Lebanese labor minister, that would prevent Christians and Muslims from selling property to each other for a period of 15 years.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Lebanon: Iraqi refugees and Lebanese sectarianism · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“If I do not wear my cross, and I speak in the Iraqi dialect, automatically people think I am Shiite, and I get the very lousy treatment…”, said Joseph, an Iraqi refugee living in Lebanon, in an interview with Seif. The contact and interview for this post took place through Facebook.


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Lebanon: Missing the Rain · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Nadine Feghaly posts her latest beautiful, simple and expressive painting titled “I miss the rain”.


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Maldives: Wither Happiness? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Haumaldives explains how the Gross national Happiness of Maldivians remained stagnant for the past two years since Maldives under went the transition to democracy.


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Nepal: Fighting The Power Shortages · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dr. Hari Bansha Dulal suggests how to tackle the power shortages in Nepal and decrease the frequent power outages.


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Pakistan:  Solidarity Day Rally for Peace · Global Voices
Rezwan

Teeth Maestro posts pictures of the Solidarity Day Rally for Peace. The rally was held on 1st January 2011 as an expression of solidarity with those suffering violence in any form, including suicide attacks, bomb blasts, target killings, kidnappings, disappearances, and torture killings in Pakistan.


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Puerto Rico: In 102 words · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Students of the University of Puerto Rico have launched the blog 102 Palabras [es] (102 Words) where they narrate the everyday difficulties they will confront to be able to afford the $800 fee imposed by the administration.


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Puerto Rico: Poetry is Busy · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Poet and blogger Yarisa Colón comments on the event “Poetry is Busy” [es] at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Juan: “It was a wonderful night. I read in front of people (40+) as if I was reading to my sister in the room, comfortably. I read with happiness. Connected with my internal game.”


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Sri Lanka: Lack Of Morality In Abundance · Global Voices
Rezwan

Leela Isaac at GroundViews opines that the LTTE terrorism may be no more but other forms of terrorism seem to have erupted in Sri Lanka because the “moral universe is shrinking”.


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USA: Son of Couple Executed in 1953 Defends Wikileaks’ Assange · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

“We must fight to protect Assange,” writes Robert Meeropol, the son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, executed in 1953 for “Conspiracy to Commit Espionage” in the United States (via Democracy Now).


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China: Microblogs and Smoldering Change  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Xu Jun's comic shows the power of microblog in China vividly. (via China Media Project)


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China: Nationwide truth crisis as Qian Yunhui’s death ruled an accident · Global Voices
John Kennedy

First there was a microblog account [zh], opened by Yueqing police on December 27 to publish information related to the ongoing investigation into Qian Yunhui's death on Christmas Day. Then, with public belief that this was a case of murder growing, lawyers, scholars, editors, reporters and other microblog celebrities from across the country converged on Zhaiqiao village over the weekend, seeking to get to the truth of the matter
Proclaiming themselves independent citizen investigation teams, they traveled to Yueqing following two press conferences held by local authorities, who ruled out the possibility of murder and declared Qian's death the result of a traffic accident, and following widespread public dissatisfaction with the official verdict. The (two?) three independent investigations then more or less all came to the same conclusion as police, an inconvenient truth that there exists no evidence that Qian's death was not the result of a traffic accident.
‘What is the truth?,’ retorts Yu Jianrong, director of the Rural Development Institute’s Social Issues Research Center at the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences in Beijing and one of the lead civilian investigators having traveled to Yueqing: ‘If the land expropriation cases are not pursued and dealt with, there is no truth that will be able to convince these villagers.’
At EastSouthWestNorth, Roland Soong has covered most aspects of developments so far:
01/02, The Exploited Traffic Tragedy — An Analysis of the Case of Qian Yunhui
01/01, A Netizen's Analysis Of The Evidence In The Qian Yunhui Case
12/31, A Civilian Investigation Team In Yueqing
…and much more, at The “Accidental” Death Of A Village Mayor
The credibility and reputations of those who led the Yueqing investigations took hits online with the conclusion that Qian was not murdered, and an anonymous accusation materialized at one point saying that millions of RMB were handed out to purchase a favorable outcome. Speaking to/for the grass mud horses was ‘Butcher’, well-known for his early interview with Deng Yujiao and later work covering the Fujian Three trials. He emphasized that his goal in Yueqing was not to deliver a final word on the matter, but to expose any and as much wrongdoing which may or may not have taken place, and in refusing to let Yueqing officials (and the civilian investigators, most of whom have already returned home) off the hook so easily, seemed to reflect public mood well. On December 31, he wrote:
真相是靠质疑出来的，也不是靠扯淡理论玩文字。
Han Han jumped into it this morning with his first post of 2011, ‘Do we need truth, or truth that suits our needs?’, which in part reads:
钱村长惨死已经超过一周，昨天是头七，一直沸沸扬扬，我也在第一时间看到了这个消息，也为乐清警方的“死者为什么死状奇特，这并无逻辑可言”而悲愤，但我迟迟不能下笔，因为我不确定真相。一周前我和几个朋友在上网，朋友说，真惨，温州那里有一个人被四个保安摁在地上，然后一个工程车就开上去把人碾死了。朋友的陈述用的是确认事实的语气，我当时并不知道此事来龙去脉，心不在焉接话道，干嘛还要雇四个保安把人摁在地上，参与的人太多了，太容易走漏风声了。直到回去以后才知道了事情的大概，所以虽然心存疑虑，但是我也偏向钱村长是被谋杀，或者其中必有妖孽，不过我依然无法下笔，因为我知道，这只是我需要的真相而已，这很可能并不是真相。我的老家在上海农村，也是常被大规模低价征地，一平方米的房屋才赔偿几百元，农民的土地被强行低价征用，然后被所谓规划成了包括化工区的各种用途，高价卖出，接着污染严重，河水的颜色都是不重样的，我爷爷看河就知道是礼拜几[…]
因为对政府卖地的痛恨，我对钱村长心存敬佩。故事就应该是这样：一位正直的为民请愿而多次进监狱的老村长，长期与当地的恶势力做斗争，最终被政府或者官商谋杀，并伪造成了交通肇事，村民得知情况后义愤填膺要讨个公道，但是被早已在现场安排好的特警无情镇压，警方抓走了很多正义之士和钱村长的家人，夺走尸体，威逼利诱知情者封口，封锁媒体，成为千古奇冤。
但问题是，这是真相么。我知道，这是你我乐于接受的，希望得到的，符合我们内心对这片土地上时常出现的不公正的悲愤的真相，但这不是真相，真相是什么，我不知道，因为我知道政府时常说谎，而且无论事情是真的假的，它总是习惯以一副做贼心虚的态势来处理问题，所以，我不能完全相信官方说辞。但我也不相信很多网友的推测，因为我不相信看图能断案，也不相信看两集LIE TO ME就能判断别人有没有撒谎，至于后来的很多所谓的疑点也越来越牵强，包括有人提出工程车不可能在24分钟内经过很多路口开9公里路，这是属于被情绪冲昏了头脑。
再后来，有几个由律师组成的公民调查团前往乐清调查，大家自然期望他们不光推翻警方的说法，找出谋杀的证据，并且揭露更猛的黑幕，不料他们的调查结果和警方基本一致，如果这是真相，那这不是很多人需要的真相，所以公民调查团也自然受到质疑，变成了被政府收买或者是政府派出来安抚网民情绪的观光团。虽然调查过程有些仓促，查阅的证据并不完整，但我个人相信律师和媒体人的人品，我不觉得官方会收买或者培养这些平日里就不太好搞的人，假装自己给自己派出一个公民调查团来欺瞒大众，因为官方不具备这个智商和心思，如果政府骗人能这么用心，那么很多突发事件就不会被处理成那样了，为官和为民就不会那么对立。政府应该趁着天真的老百姓暂时还相信进京告御状管用的时候好好想想，为什么你们说的话那么多人不相信，为什么人们觉得谋杀掉一个老是上访的人是你们能干出来的事情，为什么那些再有公信力的人和你们调查结果一致就瞬间变成了恶人，为什么你们的处理方式显得那么欲盖弥彰。但无论是谋杀害是事故，钱村长都可安心上路，因为这次事件让大家都知道了村民所受到的不公，知道了你的冤家的公信力是那么的脆弱。
有时候，真相并不符合人们的需要，但真相大于感情，感情大于立场。我觉得，不能假定一个事实再去批评对方，毕竟，那是他们的套路。
A ceremony mourning Qian's death was held on January 1, a week after the accident. Most outside observers had left by then, but several video clips taken at the ceremony and of the police response shortly thereafter were posted online. Clips uploaded to Chinese video-sharing websites have been deleted, but several have been preserved on YouTube. Also see several photos below.

author: John Kennedy


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China: Rejected disabled passenger demanded compensation · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Annie Lee from China Hush translates a news story from CN Reviews on a dispute between a disabled passenger, Zheng Wei Ning, who is member of Shenzhen CPPCC Standing Committee and the Shenzhen Airline. Zheng declared to have hired attorney team to file public interest litigation against Shenzhen Airline and claim for over 10 million yuan compensation.


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Colombia: Videobloggers Recorded 1 Video Per Day in 2010  · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

As previously reported on Global Voices, several Colombian videobloggers decided to make one video per day during 2010. While not all finished, it is important to recognize the effort made by those who joined this global idea proposed by Juan Falla (@juanfallaesp) (as explained in a previous post on Global Voices).
Julián Mauricio (@Profetaloco), one of the videobloggers that took on the challenge and completed it, posted the result of the initiative on Twitter [es]:
3 colombianos  decidieron terminar el reto #vlog365 ellos son @luisasantiaga @alejandroangel @profetaloco 1 video diario  durante el 2011
He also shared his satisfaction for participating in the process [es]:
CUMPLI EL RETO #VLOG365 con muchas ganas de  seguir haciendo videos hay @profetaloco pa rato ¡¡¡ 2010 año  del videoblog en españoL ¡¡¡
This is his video from December 18, 2010 [es] with a panoramic view of Cali, Colombia:
Luisa Santiaga (@Luisasantiaga), who recorded her daily video from Cartagena, explains the challenge in her last video of the year [es].
Though her website, Cartagena 365, Luisa thanks those who followed her work [es] and writes about her intention to continue making videos:
Gracias por  acompañarme y darme todo su apoyo durante todo este 2010.¡Espero su  compañia  durante el 2011, por que Cartagena365 no se termina! Así que  tendrán más de Luisa Santiaga por mucho tiempo jeje.
Alejandro Angel (@AlejandroAngel) remembered his first video of the year 2010:
Año nuevo vida nueva… hace 365 días… http://365.alejandroangel.es/dia-1-ano-nuevo-vida-nueva/ #video
Like Luisa Santiaga (@LuisaSantiaga), he chose one of his videos to talk about the videoblogging initiative Project 365 [es], which he joined through the site Alejandro Angel – Proyecto 365 [es].
Undoubtedly, variety prevailed in the work of these videobloggers: drumbs from the Colombian Caribbean [es] and floods caused by strong rains [es] (Luisasantiaga), the preview to a concert [es] and the words of a recent high school graduate [es] (Profetaloco), together with rain in the city of Barranquilla [es] and the musical notes of an accordion [es] or of singers in Isla de Taganga [es] (AlejandroAngel) are some of the videos these bloggers shared throughout the year.

author: Cati Restrepo


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Cuba: Las Charangas de Bejucal · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Repeating Islands links to an article on Las Charangas de Bejucal, a traditional new year's festival in a town not far from Havana, featuring illuminated floats, music, and dancing.


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Football revival in Indonesia · Global Voices
Juke Carolina

The Indonesian National Team was defeated in the second game of the championship match against Malaysia's football team, the Tiger of Malaya. Despite the 2-1 result in favor of Indonesia, the Malaysian team won through accumulated goals.
The ASEAN Football Federation Cup final between Indonesia and Malaysia has been the year end's most anticipated event.
Previously on Boxing Day, at the Bukit Jalil Stadium, Malaysia won the first leg match 3-0 against Indonesia.
Since the start of the AFF Cup, the Indonesian team has managed to pull together nationalism, media attention, and controversies.
The match at GBK Stadium Jakarta. Photo by Plixi user Citra.
Indonesian supporters. Photo by Plixi user Hasanuddin Ali.
Live viewing at one of Jakarta's shopping malls. Photo by Ranie Primza.
Most offices and public gatherings, such as reunions and gallery openings also held live viewing of the game. Photo by Prast Lampard.
For the first time in the Indonesian football history, and thanks to the social media such as Twitter, the football fans can freely cheer for the National team, speak out their minds about the future of Indonesian football, and even connect with some of the athletes.
@bepe20 : Ternyata 6 kemenangan dan hanya sekali kalah, belum mampu membawa pulang trophy itu saudara-saudara.. Tetap Semangat…!!!
However, the AFF Cup 2010 was also marred with controversies. Starting from the laser pointers used to distract the goal keeper during a couple of matches, ticket distribution chaos, and the public demand for the controversial PSSI (Indonesian Football Association)'s president Nurdin Halid to resign.
Indonesian football fans blamed Halid [id] for the rampant corruption in the PSSI body which caused, among others, lack of improvement of football facilities in the country, fans’ injuries during football matches due to weak security, and rigged matches caused by corrupt referees.
During the Indonesia vs. Malaysia final match, die hard supporters  flew a banner saying “Nurdin Turun” (means step down Nurdin!).
Supporters’ banner and yell demanding Halid to step down. Video via eihcrats.
The movement demanding the replacement of Halid resonates on Twitter and Facebook.

author: Juke Carolina


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Ghana: Ghana 2010 – My Top 10 Memories · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Tagoe shares memories of 2010 with his readers: “5. South Africa shames critics, Asamoah Gyan disappoints Africa: In June-July South Africa, proved its critics wrong by staging a very colorful and memorable World Cup. This was the very first time an African nation had organised a world cup event…”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Hong Kong: Chinese patriot Szeto Wah passes away · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Zhongnanhai reviews the biography of Szeto Wah, a Chinese patriot who had passed away yesterday in Hong Kong. The 79-year-old Mr. Szeto was the founder of several significant social and political organizations in Hong Kong and had devoted his life for the vindication of June 4th Incident and the democratic movement in China.


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India: Differences Between An Indian MBA And A Foreign MBA Education · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ashwin looks at the main differences between an Indian MBA and a Foreign MBA education.

author: Rezwan


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Jamaica: broken dreams · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

At the start of the new year, Jamaican blogger Ruthibelle contemplates “a people who must live not as they want, but as they are compelled to by ‘circumstances beyond their control'”.


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Kenya: Farewell Kenya’s “Wikileaks”  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Farewell Mars Group Kenya, the Kenyan equivalent of Wikileaks: “While the world awaits the release of more cable from Wikileaks, some unfortunate news comes from Kenya where the equivalent of Wikileaks – the anti-corruption watchdog Mars Group Kenya – inexplicably took down their website in mid December.”


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Latin America: Homicide Rates Show Several Countries “More Dangerous than Mexico” · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Bloggings by Boz argues that “the intense US and global media focus on Mexico's violence risks missing the ‘more dangerous than Mexico’ countries.” He shares statistics that show that Honduras, Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia and Jamaica have higher homicide rates than Mexico.

author: Silvia Viñas


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North Korea: Kim Jong-il Hid Underground During S.Korea-US Military Drills · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

South Korea's Joongang Sunday revealed that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il hid himself in an underground bunker for nine days during the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1 last year, quoting a defense ministry official. Korea Times posted a translation of the article.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Paraguay: The Start of The Bicentennial Celebration · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Andrés Colmán Gutiérrez in Ñangapiry News writes [es] about the show on January 1st that began this year's bicentennial celebration in Paraguay.


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Puerto Rico: Stolen Art  · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

In Trance Líquido [es], Lilliam Nieves analyzes the recent theft of three masterpieces of the Puerto Rican paintor José Campeche from the National Gallery.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Puerto Rico: Students Use Social Media · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The Committee of Student Representatives (CRE in Spanish) used social media networks to transmit their message in favor of having a dialogue to end the student strike at the University of Puerto Rico.


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Russia: Ushahidi Project Adresses Problems of Russian Winter · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

“Help Map for Russian Winter” (Holoda.info), a new crowdsourcing project, was launched in Russia to address the problems of people who are affected by cold weather. RIA Novosti news agency reports [RUS] that the website's goal is to raise awareness  about people suffering from the lack of heating and other support systems in Russia, and facilitate mutual aid among people. The project was launched by a volunteer group that previously initiated “Help Map” Ushahidi platform [ENG] for Russian wildfires (Russian-fires.ru).

author: Gregory Asmolov


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South Africa: Starting 2011 without illegal Africans · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Starting the year without illegal Africans in South Africa: “…this is how South Africa, it's government and people have decided to start the year: All Zimbabweans residing in SA ”illegally” should apply for residence or will be repatriated to Zimbabwe!”


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South Korea: Pleas Against Cattle Killing in Foot-and-Mouth Outbreak · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

A farm boy's online posting about how he and his family watched all their cattle being slaughtered, has inspired even more public outrage against a decision by the South Korean government to cull pigs and cows at risk of contracting foot-and-mouth disease as a preventive measure. Since April 2010, South Korea has experienced its worst outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, a highly contagious and sometimes fatal viral disease in animals.
Humans are only rarely affected, but the virus has spread at an alarming rate in cattle in every region of South Korea as the weather has turned colder (the virus loses strength in warmer weather). To slow down the outbreak, the South Korean government decided to cull not only the affected cattle but also healthy cattle within the danger zones. More than 470 thousand livestock have been culled so far. It is a catastrophe for the farm industry, and at least one devastated farmer is believed to have committed suicide after his cattle were put down.
Pig culling, photo by Kyungin Ilbo on CARE website. Used with permission
The public has criticized the government for failing to provide enough foot-and-mouth vaccines in time to prevent this partly man-made disaster.
Yoo Dong-il, whose father owns a cow farm, wrote a detailed journal-style posting [ko] on Daum’s Agora, one of the most-visited public discussion forums. The Yoo family owned 121 livestock, all healthy. They were culled with the family watching, bringing a 13-year old family business to near-collapse. According to Yoo, the compensation offered by the government for their loss is nowhere near sufficient – neither financially nor emotionally. The day of culling is an excruciatingly painful memory to this youngster. Near a thousand comments were added to Yoo's post and several local media reported on the boy's case.
12월19일 밤 11시: 파주시 축산계장이 전화로 예방차원 살처분 대상이라고 함.
12월20일 오후: 살처분을 위해 저의 집 농장 한 가운데 파서 매립하겠다고 함. 지하수 오염과 121마리를 매장한 곳에서 편히 살 수 없다는 저의 어머니 눈물에 매립지 확보를 위해 하루 연기.
오후 3시: 살처분을 위해 방역담당 여자 한 분과 남자 한 분 농장 도착. 저와 제 동생 그리고 부모님의 항의, 눈물, 사정,,,으로 억울함을 표현
오후 5시: 파주시 관계자 방문. 저의 부모님에게 무릎을 꿇고 예방 살처분에 협조 부탁합니다 (죄송하다고,,, 무릎꿇고 사정,, 저의 어머니와 같이 울어주셔서 감사합니다)
오후6시: 저랑 아버지, 동생이 마지막 가는 소들을 위해 고급사료를 주었습니다 방역담당자,,, 안락사를 위해 주사기에 독약 주입 여자 방역담당자는 삼십 대 주부,,, 살처분 때문에 3일째 밤샘. 주사기 개수 확인할 때 저 앞에서 구토를 합니다…. 1주일째 소화가 안된다면서,,
오후7시: 121마리를 거세 수소부터 차례로 안락사 시킵니다. 큰 놈은 2분 만에…암소는 1분…송아지는, 3일전에 갓난 송아지가 4마리가 있었습니다. 여자 방역담당자 갓난 송아지들의 독약 주사기 들고는,,, ‘제가 직업을 잘못 선택한 것 같네요’ 울면서 찔렀습니다. 그리고 다시 한번 구토를 합니다.
밤 12시: 마지막 송아지가 죽는걸 확인하였습니다.
5:00 PM:A Paju city official visited us. In front of my parents, he fell on his knees and requested for them to cooperative with [the city's decision on] preventive culling (He said sorry and begged them (still) on his knees. Thanks for crying with my mother, dear official).
6:00 PM: My dad, my younger siblings and I fed our cattle who we will be seeing for the very last time with high quality animal feed. The female quarantine official took needles and injected poison into them. She was a married woman in her thirties. She stayed up three nights straight for this culling work. She threw up in front of me while counting the needles, saying that she has not been able to digest for a week.
7:00 PM: They euthanized 121 cattle one by one, starting with an ox. It took two minutes to kill a big one, and one minute for a cow. There were four calves who had been born three days earlier. She held a needle close to the newborn calves and said ‘I have chosen the wrong job,’ and while sobbing, she injected it. And then again, she puked.
12:00 AM: I watched our last calf dying.
According to CARE(Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth), a South Korean animal rights group, the practice of burying animals alive, which is considered one of the most inhumane ways to cull animals, is being performed in many places, even though it is not recommended by the government. CARE filed an online petition [ko] and held a demonstration on December 28 to protest against the inhumane culling method, urging the government to provide more vaccines for pigs. Currently, only a limited number of cows are vaccinated.
Blogger Siemphre revealed the futility of preventive culling, claiming that during the previous 2000-2002 foot-and-mouth outbreak, among the 210,000 livestock culled, only 64 cattle were discovered to have been affected. The blogger added that disease control is all about politics.
우리나라에서는 구제역 양성 판정을 받은 지역 가축뿐 아니라, 그 지역 반경 5 km 내의 가축들도 처분하고 있습니다. 구제역 확진 판정을 받은 농장의 가축만을 살처분하는 일본, 살처분 정책과 구제역 백신 접종을 겸하는 유럽에 비할 때 과격한 조치라고 볼 수 있는데요[…] 치료제는 없다는 구제역, 예방 백신은 있으나 그나마도 우리나라에서는 사용하지 못하는 현실이라고 합니다. 구제역 백신을 접종하게 되면 청정국 지위를 얻는데 6개월 이상 시간이 더 결려 육류 수출에 차질이 생기고, 백신 접종 개체들을 사후 관리하는 시간과 비용의 문제 때문입니다. […]예방 백신 접종이 힘든 농림부의 곤란한 상황은 알겠지만 대량 살처분이 어쩔 수 없는 상황이라면 그래도 비인간적인 ‘생매장’만큼은 지양해서 다시 이슈화되지 않았으면 하는 바램이네요.
Pig culling, photo by Kyungin Ilbo on CARE. Used with permission
Net user ID:그래도 (‘But’ in Korean) reflected a majority of public opinion in a comment on the aforementioned article by Siemphre, by saying that although it is painful to watch animals be killed, we are all selfish human beings who are capable of taking harsh measures for our own benefit:
우리나라 구제역 대응은 세계적인 수준임은 인정해야죠. 옆 나라 일본만 봐도 살처분도 잘 안 할 뿐더러 구제역 발생시 피해가 어머어마 하죠.[…]물론 돼지도 하나의 생명임을 생각하면 가슴 아픈 일이지만, 이 때문에 우리 가정의 식탁엔 바른 먹거리가 올라오게 된다는 것도 무시할 수 없는 현실이죠….뭐 저런 행동들이 비판받을 행동은 아니라고 봅니다.
Cold weather is expected to continue throughout the next week, chilling hearts of South Korean farmers.


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South Korea:Politicians’ Social Network Accounts Tweeting Around · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

As more and more South Korean politicians opened their Twitter and Facebook accounts, Son Ji-hoon (@mazefind) tweeted a google excel sheet[ko] where almost every politician's social networks accounts are listed.


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South Korea’s Haemaji(Sunrise Greeting) in 2011 · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

South Korea's Wikitree posted photos of  the very first sunrise of the year across the country. Annually, thousands of Koreans travel for hours to the far eastern or southern side of the country or climb nearest mountains for Haemaji(Sunrise Greeting), their centruries-old tradition.


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Southeast Asia: Review of 2010 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The release from detention of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi and the Red Shirt protests in Thailand were probably the top political stories of 2010 as far as Southeast Asia is concerned. But there are other notable issues in the region which were featured by Global Voices. Here is our year-end report:
Social media
2010 was an election year in the Philippines and Myanmar and social media was effectively used to monitor the election results in the Philippines, and to popularize the ‘boycott elections’ campaign in Myanmar.
Through twitter, Filipinos sent ‘Merry Christmas’ greetings in September. A suicide atempt in Brunei was documented in the twitterspehere. #slashing and #369 hashtags refer to the series of slashing attacks in Singapore.
Blogs were used to promote national unity in Malaysia. Borneo Colours aggregates blogs in Borneo, the third largest island in the world. BruneiTweet is the ‘national twitter account’ of Brunei. Launched in Singapore and now operating in Indonesia, Philippines and India, sexxie.tv is an interactive sex education website. GV author Keta Haluha features some prominent Timorese on Facebook.
A video showing police brutality in East Timor was uploaded in the internet. A domestic helper from the Philippines was able to record how a Filipino labor attaché in Hong Kong treats distressed workers. A blogger named Sony from Indonesia was sued by Sony Corporation for domain name infringement. Facebookers from Thailand created a page criticizing the country’s Ministry of Culture. A father from Vietnam asked netizens to help his missing daughter.
Global Voices reported these citizen media events: Singapore Twestival, Barcamp Phnom Penh, Myanmar’s first Barcamp in Yangon, Barcamp and Educamp Saigon.
Screenshot of Global Voices website being banned in Myanmar
Censorship
Web and media censorship have intensified in the region. Press freedom and freedom of expression were topics which were actively written by blogger advocates in Malaysia, Singapore, and Cambodia.
Internet freedom is restricted by using various legal measures like Cambodia’s internet firewall and Thailand’s cyber scout program. Netizens are complaining that a higher number of websites and blogs, including Global Voices, continue to be inaccessible in Myanmar. Governments across the region are using the excuse of protecting the morals of the young to block the web’s ‘harmful’ content.
To improve media freedom, civil society groups pushed for the immediate passage of the Freedom of Information bill in the Philippines. Meanwhile, netizens in Indonesia rejected the “repressive” internet regulations drafted by the government.
Photo of eruption impact in Indonesia from the FB page of Jogjaku
Disaster
2010 was also a year of disasters. The most deadly was the stampede tragedy during the Water Festival in Cambodia.
Indonesia was hit by an earthquake, tsunami, and volcanic eruption in less than 48 hours. Flooding disasters struck West Papua in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the northern states of Malaysia. Imagine the shopping district of Singapore under floodwaters. Bangkok was also flooded for many weeks. A water shortage crisis was felt by Filipinos last July.
Singaporeans suffered the most when haze enveloped the skies of Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. An oil spill also destroyed a coastal area in Singapore.
Netizens reported the impact of the earthquake last April in Sumatra, Indonesia. Citizen journalists also documented the conditions of refugees in Albay, Philippines after a volcanic eruption forced the residents to leave their homes.
Bangkok burning. Photo by BKKApologist
Politics
As mentioned earlier, the Red Shirt protests in Thailand, which crippled the country’s capital for two months, could be the top political event in the region in 2010.
Thousands of anti-government protesters stormed the capital and formed a blockade in government buildings to demand the resignation of the Prime Minister. It was a ‘bloody’ protest as protesters splattered blood in buildings and houses of government officials. The Bangkok clashes between protesters and government troops were documented by bloggers, despite the censorship imposed by authorities.
The other politically significant event in Southeast Asia was the release from detention of Suu Kyi. This proved to be successful, at least for now, in distracting the attention of the world that it is still the junta-backed party which dominated the polls in Myanmar. By the way, Myanmar has a new flag and new name.
More than 30 years after the fall of the Khmer Rouge Regime in Cambodia, the first guilty verdict was handed out by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal The conviction of Kaing Guek Eav aka Duch for committing crimes against humanity was a globally significant news event.
Meanwhile, in Laos, the Convention on Cluster Munitions was held which highlighted the fact that Laos is the most bombed country in the world.
Obama’s homecoming speech in Indonesia inspired many Indonesians. Another speech which was vigorously discussed by netizens was the Independence Day speech of the Indonesian president.
The Malaysia-Indonesia maritime border row was one of the numerous border disputes in the region. The Philippines apologized to Hong Kong after nine HK tourists were killed in a bus hostage drama.
Wikileaks
Wikileaks provided some interesting gossips about the politics in the region. Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew described North Koreans as ‘psychopathic types’ ruled by a ‘flabby old chap.’ Singapore’s other senior diplomats also had some unflattering words to say about the leaders of their neighbours. As expected, Singapore dismissed the Wikileaks revelations as mere ‘cocktail talk’.
Malaysia was forced to deny that it was involved in the procurement of a missile technology from China which was intended for Iran. Leaked cables from Thailand revealed the international pressure on the Viktor Bout case. Bout is accused of being the world’s leading arms smuggler.
Wikileaks clones which sprouted in the region: Thaileaks, Indoleaks, and Pinoyleaks.
Economy
Malaysia launched its ‘new economic model’ in 2010. Bloggers reacted strongly when the Prime Minister announced the country’s 2011 budget, especially the plan to build a new mega tower.
There is a raging debate in Singapore on whether to impose a minimum wage legislation. A bank bailout in Indonesia became politically controversial. New banknotes are now in use in Laos and the Philippines, but some critics are not happy.
Sports
Football blogs in the region were featured on Global Voices. The ASEAN Football Federation Cup generated an online buzz especially during the championship game between Malaysia and Indonesia. Cambodian and Myanmar bloggers had some interesting comments about the World Cup.
Religion
Christian churches were attacked in Malaysia and Indonesia. Church leaders were also harassed. Monk morality was questioned in Cambodia. A pastor in Singapore ridiculed the teachings of Taoism and Buddhism. Bloggers reported how Muslims celebrate Ramadhan in Brunei. Thai citizens were shocked to discover more than two thousand dead fetuses in a Buddhist temple in Bangkok.
Education
Education budget cuts prompted Filipino students to stage a strike in public universities. The proposal to include sex education in the school curriculum also became a hot topic in the internet.
Malaysia implemented some education reforms like the scrapping of two examinations at the primary level; and it recently imposed a moratorim on medical schools to address the oversupply of doctors and housemen.
Photo from Pink Dot Blog
Gender
A political group in the Philippines proposed the legislation of a Renewable Marriage law. Child brides were reported in Malaysia.
Cambodia’s first women web portal was enthusiastically welcomed by the online community. Female entrepreneurship in Indonesia is gaining more support. Brunei bloggers raised awareness on breast cancer.
Singapore’s Pink Dot event in solidarity with the LGBT community was successfully held. Cambodian bloggers also openly discussed LGBT issues.
Three women in Malaysia were caned for having illicit sex. Some groups described the ‘dancing flight attendants’ in the Philippines as a sexist stunt.
Other GV stories
Dancing prisoners in 2007 were replaced by the Dancing Tax Collectors in 2010 in the Philippines. Durian, popular in Southeast Asia, is the King of the Fruits. Should Singapore food bloggers get free meals?
This ‘I am sorry’ video from Brunei was viewed by many people. Water buffaloes were banned in Indonesia rallies. Convicted of vandalism, a Swiss national was caned in Singapore.
Palm oil production in Malaysia is more than just an energy issue. A historic jail was demolished in Malaysia. Protests are allowed in Cambodia if they are conducted in freedom parks. Hanoi celebrated its 1,000th founding year.
In behalf of the Southeast Asia team of Global Voices, we thank all our readers for supporting us in 2010. We pledge to continue reporting the relevant and outstanding citizen media stories in the region. Happy New Year to all!

author: Mong Palatino


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Sri Lanka: Homegrown Reconciliation Process · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kanishka Ratnapriya at Groundviews wonders whether Sri Lankans can create more opportunities for themselves “to establish a sustainable peace with the end of war in Sri Lanka by creating a culture of inclusiveness, equality and respect for all communities.”


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Sudan: Countdown to Southern Sudan Referendum · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

This post is part of our special coverage South Sudan Referendum 2011.
Southern Sudan will hold a referendum on whether or not it should remain as a part of Sudan on 9 January 2011. It is most likely that Africa's largest country will split into two. Here's our latest roundup of blog posts about the referendum.
116,000 Southern Sudanese have left Northern Sudan since last October, Maggie Fick reports:
116,000 (and counting*) Southern Sudanese people have left northern Sudan since late October. With only one week left before polling for the southern referendum starts, people are arriving en masse in southern state capitals at a pace that is quite clearly quickening.
Women and children gather water at a transit camp for newly arrived returnees in Aweil. Photo courtesy of Maggie Fick
Why are Southern Sudanese moving south in large numbers?:
So why are southerners continuing to move south in large numbers despite the uncertainty about the future back home holds for them? Because they have reason to fear if their rights will be respected in northern Sudan following the referendum.
Magdi El Gizouli analyses President Omar Bashir's address to the nation during the 55th independence anniversary. He says, “Allowing the South to choose its own destiny in Bashir’s formulation constitutes “the last line in the nation’s book of healing”:
From this platform Bashir addressed the three issues of the day, the impending partition of the South, the conflict in Darfur, and the opposition’s demand for a political re-configuration in Khartoum on secession of the South. Regarding the South Bashir presented the choice between peaceful secession and war-ridden unity as the brave and democratic remedy to the chronic fissure in the organic whole. Allowing the South to choose its own destiny in Bashir’s formulation constitutes “the last line in the nation’s book of healing”, since peace, the ultimate target of his rule, is surely the truest embodiment of the country’s independence.
According to Yobu Annet, the disputed Abyei region may face serious commodity shortages if the South secedes because most of the goods come from the North:
The business community in Abyei is very concerned – many think that secession may bring a economic downturn in the area. “If Abyei is annexed to the South then border trade may be affected”, said Chol Mayen, a businessman. “If it happens that the border is completely closed, we can still go to East Africa for goods.”
The referendum is a cause for anxiety for foreign traders in Juba:
For Birungi Mary, a Ugandan trader who deals with vegetables in a Juba market, the referendum is cause for anxiety. “We are preparing to leave, and then come back after the referendum if there is no violence.”
Mary is one of thousands of traders in Juba, many of them from neighbouring countries, who are apprehensive about what the referendum will bring. Already suffering from rising prices on imported goods, many fear that referendum-related violence could disrupt business, and valuable goods could be destroyed.
In Konyokonyo and Jebel Markets in Juba, many foreign traders said they are going home for Christmas, and then wait till the referendum exercise is completed before returning.
South Sudan Info has created a timeline of Sudan headlines in 2010:
In 9 days, southern Sudanese are heading to the polls in a self-determination referendem to decide whether or not to establish Africa’s newest independent country. Last year was a landmark year, the last in the CPA’s six-year interim period which leads to the January 9, 2011 referendum.
Blue bands are cropping up all over Juba. Photo courtesy of Mishaps and Mayhaps
Mishaps and Mayhaps observes that a vote for anything but separation is not something many voters in Southern Sudan will tolerate:
one of many ominous signs cropping up in South Sudan as we approach the referendum, it is becoming increasingly clear that a vote for anything but separation is not something that many South Sudanese will tolerate. Granted, there have been 4 decades of war, resulting in millions of deaths, but this process is viewed by many within Southern Sudan simply as the final step in the road to secession, rather than an opportunity for true self-determination.
Take a look at Maggie Fick's visual representations of “The Final Countdown” to Southern Sudan’s referendum:
The sheer amount of referendum-related signage in the southern capital is increasingly noteworthy. The latest posters from the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission urge registered voters to turn out on January 9. The vast majority of the posters and billboards, however, carry one clear message: separation is coming. These signs, courtesy of an assortment of civil society groups, feature the Southern Sudanese flag and a single raised palm, which is the symbol that appears on the referendum ballot.
For those who believe in prayers, join Scott and Meg Rambo:
Would you join us in praying:
* for peace between North and South, but also between the various tribal groups.
* for peaceful resolution of the disputed areas; their borders and residents
* for a smooth, fair, peaceful referendum process.
* that the church in Sudan would continue to be a witness and a minister of reconciliation
* for reconciliation; between North and South, between government and rebels, between tribes, and most importantly between Sudanese people and God.
This post is part of our special coverage South Sudan Referendum 2011.


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Tunisia: Anonymous vs Ammar – Who Wins the Battle of Censorship? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.
Anonymous' poster calling activists to join the attack on Tunisian government sites
The Tunisian censor, commonly known as Ammar, continues to wreak havoc on activists’ accounts, in a country that has been witnessing a wave of protests since the middle of December. Just today, activists claimed that the government has hacked into their email accounts, accessing their blogs and social networking sites, and disabling them. The move seems to have come in retaliation to an attack by Anonymous, which has targeted vital Tunisian government sites and gateways.
The attack on activists’ accounts is not something new to Tunisia and its cyber activists. The country is described as both a police state and an Enemy of the Internet and an oppressor of mainstream media as the World Press Freedom Index gave it a score of -10 in 2010, where it fell from 154th place to 164th worldwide.
“The country is continuing to drop into the Index's lower rankings  because of its policy of systematic repression enforced by government  leaders in Tunis against any person who expresses an idea contrary to  that of the regime,” states the report.
According to Gawker, Anonymous, the loosely-organised band of hacker activists and vigilantes, attacked the government sites, including that of the president, prime minister, the stock exchange and several ministries, in protest against Tunisia's censorship of access to whistle-blower site Wikileaks, following the Cablegate affair, and for the country's repressive censorship.
On AnonNews.org, an online forum for the ‘hacktivists,’ the following announcement in what is now know as Operation: Tunisia, was made:
A list of the attacked government sites can be found here.
And according to activists on the ground, the government retaliated by ‘hijacking’ the email accounts of activists, including lawyers and journalists, and accessing their blogs and social networking sites, such as on Facebook, and deactivating them.
Tunisian blogger Astrubal, co-editor of Nawaat.org, says many indications point at a coordinated attack launched by the Tunisian government in an attempt to break into activists’ private accounts. He writes [Fr] :
Il s’agit vraisemblablement d’une campagne destinée surtout à subtiliser les log et mot de passe des utilisateurs afin de fouiner dans leurs messages privés. Par ce moyen, la police, en quête de renseignements, chercherait à s’infiltrer dans les comptes des utilisateurs pour savoir qui communique avec qui et sur quel sujet. Il s’agirait en somme de chercher à démanteler ces réseaux de journalisme citoyen qui se sont constitués spontanément suite aux mouvements de contestation de Sidi-Bouzid.
Depuis les événements de Sidi-Bouzid qui ont montré, en effet, l’importance des réseaux sociaux quant à la circulation de l’information, des perturbations récurrentes du réseau ont été constatées. Pour le cas de Facebook, les connexions en HTTPS notamment pour se logger sont souvent impossibles à établir. Le pouvoir tunisien n’a pas osé, comme il l’a fait par le passé, bloquer les services du réseau social le plus utilisé par les Tunisiens. Cette fois-ci, il semble qu’il chercherait plutôt à atteindre directement ceux qui l’utilisent pour faire circuler l’information, plutôt que de s’attirer les foudres de tous les utilisateurs par un blocage total de Facebook.
En tout état de cause, nous rappelons à tous les utilisateurs de Facebook et, a fortiori, s’ils se connectent à partir de la Tunisie : NE VOUS CONNECTEZ JAMAIS à partir d’une page non sécurisée. Même si vous n’avez rien à cacher, n’oubliez jamais que vous êtes également dépositaire de la confiance des personnes qui vous envoient des messages privés. Même si, vous, ça vous est égal que l’on puisse fouiner dans vos messages privés, on se doit, tout un chacun, d’honorer la confidentialité des messages privés que nous recevons.
This campaign is likely aimed at stealing passwords and logins of users to browse through their private messages. The police is seeking to break into the accounts of users to know who communicates with whom and on what subject. With the end objective of dismantling these networks of citizen journalism that formed spontaneously following the protests in Sidi Bouzid.
The events of Sidi Bouzid, have confirmed the importance of social networks in allowing a continuous flow of information. But ever since the events started, recurrent disruptions of the network were noticed. In the case of Facebook, connections, including the use of HTTPS (secured connection) to log in, were often impossible to establish. The Tunisian regime has not dared, this time around, to block the whole Facebook service, the most popular social network in Tunisia. This time, the government seems to target more specifically those who use it to circulate information.
In any case, we remind all users of Facebook, especially if they are connecting from Tunisia: DO NOT CONNECT from an unsecure page. Even if you have nothing to hide, never forget that you were entrusted by the people who send you private messages. Even if the idea that someone can break into your private email account doesn't bother you, you must respect the confidentiality of the private messages you receive.
News of the attack on the activists’ accounts soon found its way to social media.
@SBZ_news reports:
Bloggers are under fire of the Tunisian cyber police, they are trying to hack every one who supported  #sidibouzid or  #OperationTunisia
Mauritanian activist Naser Weddady tweets:
Based on feedback from ppl in #Tunisia a pattern emerges: hacked Facebook Accts were connected to Yahoo mail accounts #sidibouzid #Ammar404
And adds:
While @spiralis1337 warns:
Tunisian police hacking Facebook accounts to gather intel http://goo.gl/QYiEu Keep yourself safe #Anonymous #OpTunisia #SidiBouzid
And Seifeddine Ferjani adds:
#sidibouzid the hacking of emails and Facebook accounts, has confirmed the the Benali government is a criminal enterprise
And if this is not enough, in a further development, @nayzek tweets:
RT @nayzek haha Now officials (?) seem to be calling ppl individually to ask them stop sharing #sidibouzid videos on FB :) #opTunisia…
For tweets on Operation: Tunisia, check the hashtag #optunisia
And for more tweets on Sidi Bouzid and Tunisia, check the hashtags #SidiBouzid and #Tunisia, which are being updated frequently with the latest developments on the ground.
This post is part of our special coverage of Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Africa: eLearning Africa Launches Scholarship Trust · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

eLearning Africa has launched the Scholarship Trust EAST, a not for profit organisation designed to enhance knowledge sharing and to promote awareness of the benefits of technology-assisted learning and training across Africa.


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Africa: History of the continent for download · Global Voices
João Miguel Lima

The multimedia collective tás a ver? recommends [pt] the General History of Africa Collection for those eager to “understand the true history of the African continent“. The 8 volumes were recently published in Portuguese, and UNESCO has made this version available [pt] free for download.

author: João Miguel Lima


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Africa: Young Women Lead Africa’s Tech Scene · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Young women across the continent lead Africa's tech scene: “Africa is a rich mixture of countries and ethnicities and its women are equally diverse in their leadership. I found it interesting to take a look at some of the women who were noted in 2010 in tech and media.”


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Bhutan: Dream of An Iconic Lungtenzampa Bridge · Global Voices
Rezwan

Passu dreams of an iconic bridge in place of the existing Lungtenzampa bridge at the heart of Bhutan's capital Thimphu, which is considered an engineering blunder.


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China: Application to join the CCP · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu translates the lyrics of a music video on application to join the Chinese Communist Party as well as some netizens comment on the video.

author: Oiwan Lam