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Paraguay: Spreading the Guaraní Language Through Blogging · Global Voices
Belen Bogado

In Paraguay, where only 3% of the population has access to internet [es] and where the indigenous language of Guaraní is spoken by 88% of the population and also an official state language, Mirta Martínez saw an opportunity where nobody else did.  A journalist and a Guaraní teacher, she became the first and only blogger writing in Guaraní in the world, captivating readers not only in Paraguay but also around the globe.
Guaraní is a language originally spoken by the Guaraní people, a local indigenous community that inhabits Paraguay, and parts of Argentina, Brasil and Bolivia.  Although Guaraní spread all the way through these countries, today it is most widely spoken in Paraguay, together with Spanish (brought by the Spaniards when they invaded South America). The remaining Guaraní indigenous population in Paraguay is now very small, but most Paraguayan citizens inherited their language. Up until a few years ago, Guaraní was considered a language spoken only by “lower class citizens,” and people from the country side. It was only in 1992 that an educational reform made it mandatory that classes should be taught both in Guaraní and Spanish.
Mirta Martínez
Photo courtesy of Mirta Martínez
Martinez figured out that internet could be a great way to spread the Guaraní language, so she presented a project to her bosses at ABC Color, the largest nationally distributed newspaper, to make a Guaraní version of the online version of the newspaper and to write a blog in the Guaraní language, and it was approved. Today, people from all over the world who are fascinated by this beautiful language get in direct contact with Martinez through her blog ABC Rogue.
The following is an interview with this visionary journalist:
Global Voices: You are the first person blogging in Guaraní…
Mirta Martínez: Yes, this year it’s going to be 10 years that I've been writing news for the Guaraní  online version of the paper called Marandu (news) and since October 2008 we have the first and only blog in Guaraní. Many topics get covered in the blog, you will find posts on (US President Barack) Obama and (Paraguayan President Fernando) Lugo, they both surprised everybody when they got elected… we also talk about health issues such as the H1N1 virus. Any topic that impacts me and that I believe can be of general interest.
I can tell you that the readers of this blog made it their own.
As an anecdote, last year a French-Paraguayan reader visited Paraguay, he is one of the assiduous readers of my blog ABC Rogue, Oscar Uberti. He’s a retired engineer and he’s very interested in the Guaraní language, so he started writing a Guaraní dictionary based on the technical vocabulary engineers use. So he uses the blog to learn and speak with other Guaraní speakers while in France.
GV: Being the majority of the population Guaraní speakers, why do you think there is only one blog in Guaraní?
MM: First of all one has to be in constant training and moreover keeping up with the new technology tools that develop new spaces for the spread of language. Also, to be able to write in a newspaper one has to have journalistic skills and education, and you must love it.  Working in a newspaper requires a lot of sacrifice, because it absorbs plenty of time and your family must collaborate by providing trust and balance. I’m now finishing my Masters degree in Guaraní, I would be part of the first graduating class, and there are 30 of us classmates, among them poets, journalists and professors.
GV: Who reads your blog more, Paraguayans or foreigners?
MM: The ones who read my blog are mainly from foreign countries, students at universities from Japan, United States, Kiel y Mainz, (Germany) students in Canada. Also Paraguayans who live in Spain, Brazil, and in Paraguay, people who admire the language and Guaraní students. Also people who are surprised to find the blog, it’s a novelty. Nobody ever imagined that this could be done.
GV: Do you think the amount of blogs in Guaraní will increase?
MM: I believe they will increase, there are a lot of people who write well and there are very good journalists who had studied Guaraní to be able to write blogs, but until now they hold back from doing it, it seems like I’m the only one who isn’t afraid of making mistakes.
It’s just a matter of taking the courage to do it. It will make me very happy because it is a space given to a language that still many feel ashamed of having or speaking. And they haven’t realized the value of expression that emerges from the same words that describe the teko (essence) of the human being.

author: Belen Bogado


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Russia: Authorities Inspect Major Social Network · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Russia authorities started inspection of the country's major social network Vkontakte.ru, rbcdaily.ru reported. The authorities claim the social network became popular with neo-Nazi, xenophobic and extremist groups. But the inspection can also be an attempt to extract users’ private data.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: Internet Development in Regions · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Yandex.ru published report [RUS, .pdf] on Internet development in Russian regions. Report concludes that the drastic increase in Internet penetration during 2009 was in Russian regions. The average speed of the Internet there is 1,100 kbs. The most active bloggers are in the Far East.


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Russia, US: Artyom Savelyev’s Case · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Natalia Antonova writes about the case of a 7-year-old adopted Russian boy, who was sent back from the United States alone on a plane to Russia by his adoptive mother: “Hansen acted out her supposed desperation in a dehumanizing and humiliating fashion. This adopted child had hurt her, and so she hurt him back. Officials in Russia allegedly tricked her, and she decided to play her own joke on them. These are not the actions of a heartbroken parent.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Sri Lanka: Social Etiquette In Colombo · Global Voices
Rezwan

A Boy From Colombo introduces some formalities and etiquette to be followed during a social visit in the Sri Lankan capital.

author: Rezwan


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Sri Lanka: The Idea Of Citizenship · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sanjana Hattotuwa comments on the idea of citizenship in Sri Lankan context: “Citizenship is (thus) anchored not to a secular, liberal ideal larger than the sum of its constituent peoples and communities, but to reductionist fault-lines and groupings, based on and fuelled by communal hagiography and the chauvinism of majoritarian politics.”


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Taiwan: Smart phone supplier’s exploitative practice · Global Voices
Vergil Yeh

Young Fast Optoelectronics (YFO), one of the biggest manufacturers of smart phone touch panel in the world, was recently accused by its trade union (YFOTU) of its exploitative working conditions and violation of labour law. According to the trade union blog, being a major supplier of the world's famous cell phone brands, such as HTC, Samsung and LG, YFO hires child labour and steals workers’ wage:
YFO calculate the overtime illegally and pay less overtime for several thousands NT dollars per month for every worker, so the workers in YFO work overtime for more than 100 hours and earn only roughly NT30,000 ($941) per month. YSO is also suspected to lower the amount of labor and health insurance and hire a large number of migrant workers and young workers under 16 in the name of “interns”.
Illegal Crack down of the trade union
On December 2009, workers in YFO decided to establish a trade union to protect their basic labour rights. However YFO sabotaged the union by dismissing 5 union cadres and 10 members:
YFO sabotaged the union by transferring a production line to China and dismissed 5 union cadres (2 executive board members, 2 board members, and 1 auditor) and more than 10 members altogether. It is a severe anti-worker, anti-union unfair labor practice…
The Union approached the Taiwan Labour Council regarding the brutal crackdown of the union in March, but YFO openly demanded the government to set back away from the case. Peopo, a citizen journalism website reported on March 17th:
2010年3月17日洋華光電工會遭解雇員工到勞委會陳情，勞委會主管機關隨即與資方做溝通，資方坦言「不能對工會太仁慈，若台灣政府管太多，就去海外與 大陸投資」。
Calling for corporate social responsibility
The union has no other choice but to give pressure to HTC, YFO's major client and Google's partner in the manufacturing of google phone, by protesting at HTC's launching party of its smart phone in early April. An open letter has been issued to HTC calling for the implementation of corporate social responsibility:
We went to the ground breaking ceremony of HTC’s new headquarters just because we can not talk to you in person and take our rights back. We urge you to follow the good examples set by some international brand names who respect their corporate responsibility by monitoring their suppliers…
As we have learned, HTC has just partnered with Google for new lines of mobile phones, and is facing the strong challenges from brands such as Apple, who had been trapped into serious controversies from their sweatshop suppliers but had learned a lesson later by setting up code of conduct for its suppliers and fulfilling its Corporate Social Responsibility by monitoring its suppliers and correct them when industrial disputes happened. We believe that if HTC and Google take YFO’s case as a lesson and set up due processes to cope up with the international standards regarding the protection of labor rights, consumers’ rights and the environment, it would be a great help for the social image of the corporations.
The trade union also launched an online sticker campaign to pressure HTC for a positive response – Say no to sweatshop technology, stop buying HTC:
Story from an union member
How does the sweatshop look like? A 53-year-old single family father and a union organizer tells his story:
我是○○○，洋華光電產業工會的一份子。在去年的這個時候，我還只是一個普通的作業員，幾個月前我們成立了工會，這件事突然讓我明白，原來我一直想要的， 並不是什麼遙不可及的，也不是什麼偉大的理想。
我已經53歲了，在來到洋華之前，我換過幾個工作，最後來到洋華應徵的時候，公司告訴我：「我們這裡要配合廠商（如宏達電）的訂單季節，經常要加班趕單 喔！你可以配合嗎？」我二話不說馬上就答應了。為甚麼我願意配合加班？因為我是一個單親爸爸，那時候我的女兒才剛上高中，兩個兒子還在念國小，一個快五十 歲的失業中年人，能奢望什麼更好的條件？我是真的需要這份薪水。
…洋華的正常工時號稱是週一到週五，但大家都知道，一年裡面有12個月，我們週六日都要加班，訂單量大的時候，每個人平均一個月只休息3天，這些都是事實。
…如果可以，我永遠都不會想去跟公司對立。我真的希望能在洋華好好做下去。每天我都戰戰兢兢，在工作上我不會犯一點錯誤，就是因為我是真心希 望能和公司一起打拼，把我的兒女好好養大。我要的並不多，我配合了公司要求的一切，我只希望公司能把該給的，最基本的、符合法律要求的報酬給我。然而，我 沒想到這麼單純的願望，竟然這麼曲折困難，….
因為訂單量爆增，洋華在短時間內擴張得太快，中間的管理階層卻還是停留在傳統的軍事化管理，當我們的主管接到上面通知：「這個月內產量要趕出來！」他們為 了衝高產量就會逼我們每天延長下班時間，又把週末、國定假日的休假都取消，叫我們來工廠趕工。
…以前只要週六日加班，每天薪水就能多加五百元。一個月拼一點不要休息，就能多三、四千元，算一算一個月就有三萬四、五了。…後來，公司竟然改成，週末兩天都要加班才能加五百！再後來五百元完全取消了，如果不去加班還會威脅我們要倒扣！結果現在每個月做到要死要活，每天都12個 小時，星期六星期日還要來，整個月下來只能領到三萬一、三萬二….
我們公司的員工餐廳，每到假日，就有很多幼童在那裡看電視，難道是因為公司的電視比較好看嗎？就是因為公司強迫加班，我們的員工裡面有很多單親媽媽、或者 沒辦法請人顧小孩的弱勢家庭，所以他們只好把小孩帶來員工餐廳，把小孩丟在那裡看電視，下班再接他們回家….
我很希望公司的高層主管，你們能聽見我們的心聲，當你們迎接國際大廠的訂單笑呵呵的時候，你們的員工卻已經快走光了，就是因為你們的主管長期使用高壓的管 理方法。不但強迫我們加班、假日工作，犯一點小錯就會被辱罵、約談，動不動就扣錢，管理的制度和薪資明細都很不透明，讓很多同事都心生不滿。…
我不是刁民，我只是有太多的疑惑，我想問問還在廠內的同仁，難道你們沒有跟我一樣的疑惑：為甚麼不能用更人性化的方式管理？為甚麼加班費不 按照合法的計算方式給我們？為甚麼國定假日和颱風假，都不讓我們放假？為甚麼我們只是向上面反應說要求法律明 定的權益，就要被約談，接下來反應的人就會被調到清潔大隊、如果繼續反應，還會被資遣？
為甚麼公司的人資、管理人員，好像從來沒受過什麼「人力資源管理」的專業訓練，也沒聽過《勞基法》是什麼？當他們要叫我們工作的時 候，不擇手段的逼迫恐嚇，但當我們拿著白紙黑字的法律去問他們：為甚麼扣我這些錢，這是違法的，請把我的錢還我。他們卻能輕鬆愉快的說：一切合法！
所以，我們工會剛成立時，根本沒有什麼激烈的動作還是抗議，一開始，我們只是溫和的向公司提出一些訴求，拜託公司能安排一些時間跟我們談 談，讓工會代表（幹部）能請公假，去服務其他辛苦工作的同仁，拿回一些他們被積欠的薪水和福利，我後來去翻書，才知道這都是工會法明文保障我們的權利，公 司如果不准假都是違法的。
…當主管知道我們成立工會的時候，氣得把那些帶頭的幹部約談，破口大罵我們這些技術員：「沒有資格組工會」，在他眼中，根本不覺得我們這些沒 學歷又沒地位的低層員工，有資格組織起來要求這些東西，更沒有資格擔任工會幹部。我很想問問大家，為什麼洋華的主管要那麼瞧不起我們現場技術員的人格和能 力？…
我以前以為，那些會出來上街頭、爭權益的人，要得都太多了。直到今天，我才知道，原來我只是想被當作「人」看而已。
…我不想對抗公司，也不想傷害任何人，說我們想把公司搞垮、害大家沒工作， 那是不可能的。…，我對這份工作只有最卑微的請求：請公司把我們當成「人」看。遵守法律最低的規定，讓我們休息，付我們足夠的薪水可以養 家，就只是這樣，就只是這樣，我要的就只是這樣。
HTC's role
Blogger 蟲鳴, who works for another union, points out that the workers have no bargaining power and hence HTC's attitude is determinative:
主要是，洋華的面版的主要客戶是 HTC，HTC對洋華的態度，可以決定洋華如何對待員工。然後今天洋華基本上就是吃定工會，兩次的勞資調解，洋華甚至於說出，不能對工會客氣這種話。基本 上，從內部進行，洋華工會對洋華基本上是沒有可以談的空間了，洋華現在對工會就是，誰當工會幹部，就把誰資遣。
洋華工會基本上不是像一些傳統工會，是因為工作條件優渥而產生的，而是因為工作條件太惡劣，為了爭取工人權益而產生的。因此洋華工會的工會幹部都是基層的 藍領工作者，面對資遣，他們並沒有太多的籌碼。而洋華公司透過壓榨工人的勞動條件，得到了較低的成本跟商業競爭優勢，並成為重要的面版供應廠。
在產業鍊上，洋華能夠供應HTC價格滿意的商品，同時也意味著，HTC採購 的面版，基本上是血汗工廠所生產的血汗面版。因此，我們可以完全的說HTC在要求下游供應商應該合法合理的對待勞工完全沒有責任嗎？
HTC 對洋華不進行要求跟約束，無疑的就是做出一種可怕的宣示，那就是HTC不在乎採購的產品是否道德，是否來自血汗工廠，只要價格低廉跟好用就好。
Hsieh Chuang-chih (謝創智), the Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions secretary-general in an interview with Liberal Times pointed out that the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreements (ECFA) signed between Taiwan and China government has encouraged more companies to invest in China and expand. On the other hand, more and more Taiwanese workers are either dismissed or suffered from wage deduction even though the companies are making huge profit. The YFO is among on of such cases.

author: Vergil Yeh


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Bangladesh: Confronting Energy Famine · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kh. A. Saleque at E-Bangladesh  decribes the reason for the recent energy crisis in Bangladesh: “not only foreign investors but also the local investors are seemingly disinclined to invest at any segment of energy value chain.”


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Barbados: Child Dies in Shooting  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Keltruth Corp. reports on a shooting in Barbados which left an eleven-year-old dead, prompting Allegiance to wonder if Barbadians are being treated equally under the law.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Brazil: The Fragility of the Electronic Voting System · Global Voices
Diego Casaes

Maria Frô republishes [pt] news about a University of Brasília's report uncovering flaws in the electronic voting system: “Let's be aware of this election as they promise unpleasant surprises considering the suspicion of different electoral research institutes.”

author: Diego Casaes


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China: Tribute to the leader of 50 cent party · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

This afternoon (April 22) Wu Hao (伍皓), the deputy director of the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of Yunnan Province had a talk in People's University. Before Wu started his talk, a 25-year-old netizen approached him and greeted him with a pile of 50-cent notes.
According to online news website cdqss, the university graduate exchange 30 yuan notes into 50-cent notes in the bank in early morning and attended Wu's talk. He said that the notes are “tribute” to Wu Hao.
Mozhixu posted the photos on twitter:
So Who is Wu Hao? And why so many Chinese netizens are finger pointing at him?
Wu won his reputation in the Internet last year in the Eluding the Cat or “hide-and-seek” incident. In an interview with Southern Metropolis Daily, he explained his strategy in intervening the online public opinion.
In Eluding the Cat incident, Wu invited netizens to help investigating the detainee's death. However, netizens soon found out that the two chosen investigators were actually member of “50 cent party” (government hired web commentators). (via China digital times) David Bandurski from the China Media Project termed such kind of manipulation Control 2.0. And Wu Hao has established his position as a leader of 50 cents.
Chinese twitterers use #wuhaowumao to discuss the incident. Some are in celebratory mood, some express reservation. Below is a selection of the comments:
wkworz 我觉得扔五毛钱纸币给伍皓，没有大把大把的扔五毛钱硬币来的解气 #wuhaowumao
earthengine基本上，我是反对把伍皓当五毛看的。原因很简单，任何国家甚至企业都会有政府发言人，他们的网上言论只要公开表明代表谁谁谁，都属于言论自由。可恶的只是那些冒充普通网友而暗地里收钱发言的五毛 #wuhaowumao
elaoda 伍皓是五毛的领导，不是五毛。
pku_yule 1、不扔五毛，支持你的人仍然会支持你。扔了五毛，不支持你的人只会更不支持你。2、言论表达要有边界，不能演变成对他人的攻击和侮辱。3、尊重人权是不分对象的，和这个人的善恶无关。4、重申一下，反对一切扔鞋、扔五毛行为，不论扔的是谁。
muzik 真理部妄图用五毛埋葬真理，今天，第一次有人用五毛埋葬真理部。 #wuhaowumao
Finikz 我认为五毛事件是抗议性的行为艺术，并非针对其个人；正如向布什扔鞋扔鸡蛋一样，扔的不是布什。 #wuhaowumao
johumou 用调皮形容今天的活动，再恰当不过了. #wuhaowumao
keazhu 天朝决定从明天开始禁止五毛纸币流通。 #wuhaowumao
anti_censorship 刚看到这推，心理一阵解气。但忽然又纠结起来，如果大家认可这种行为，如果下次艾未未演讲，有爱国青年跑过来，抛出一堆美分呢？ #wuhaowumao
dowlare @wangzhongxia 有人说仍5毛这种行为不应该，我倒是觉得作为有血性的人，不可能只有理智的行动。5毛仍了，推友们看到了，感受到了，这就是有意义的影响。理智的太多，热血到敢于行动的却太少。 #wuhaowumao
freeandwind #wuhaowumao 伍皓这个人，是我挺敬重的一位官员。共产党的政府里出这么一个异类不容易，更何况是宣传口的干部。扔他就代表自己是正确的，就说明自己是民主人士，是代表公平和正义的一方？

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cuba: Reporting via Twitter  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It is true that we broadcast blindly and that we cannot read our readers’ replies or references, but at least we are reporting on the Island in 140 character fragments”: Generation Y says that the Cuban authorities “haven’t noticed that the technologies have turned every citizen into his or her own mass media.”


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Egypt: Economic Vegetarians · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

Red meat prices have risen dramatically  in Egypt in recent weeks. Whether or not it's related to the current state of the global economy, it clear that many Egyptians are being pushed towards vegetarianism due to the high prices. Lately, there have even been calls by citizens to boycott meat in hopes that such activity may help lower prices.
Meat market near Ataba, Egypt – by Furibond on Flickr
Masr Al Youm reported the news in his blog  [Ar] on April 15.
Weekite then wrote [Ar] about how red meat prices have fluctuated during the past few years.
Until it reached 30 EGP per kilogram, then 40 and 50 EGP. Then we started to question if it wads going to get any higher then that, and it continued to increase until it reached 60 then 70 EGP. A kilo for 70 EGP! Why the heck is that!?
He then stated that he is going to boycott meat until the prices go back to normal.
If you have children, who need to have proteins in their daily intake, then you can consider chicken as an alternative. And if the chicken prices rise, fish is still there. And if fish prices go higher too, then imported Brazilian meat – at 20 EGP per kilogram – is just fine.
Egypt Today also wrote about the history of meat boycotting campaigns in Egypt [Ar].
This boycotting campaign is considered the most effective one since the late eighties when some high-class ladies in El Maadi district – in southern Cairo – called for boycotting meat when prices rose to 10 EGP per kilogram.
In the earlier campaigns only citizens were involved, but this time everyone including the government agreed on participating in the campaign until the end of April. However, butchers associations proposed people should reduce their intake instead of totally boycotting it.
Even the minister of agriculture – Amin Abaza – asked the Egyptian people to stop purchasing meat and to start using other alternatives as a way of fighting the greed of merchants and farm owners.
It seems that the news of the meat boycotting campaign has reached our neighbours in Israel, and the Egyptian blogger Cairo Life Reviews wrote about the Israeli offer to help us solve this issue.
As I was googling the meat boycott in Egypt today, an obscure Jewish blogger brought to my attention an article posted in Palestine Today.
According to Palestine Today and Almasryoon newspaper, Israel has kindly offered to help out with our meat woos by offering to secure a meat export agreement of 150 tons. The Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture has graciously refused! THANK GOD! They also asserted that there is no meat shortage, and they urge consumers to boycott meat to stabilize prices.
She then continued speculating about the Israelis hidden agenda behind such offer.
In the news headline, the Palestinian newspaper wrote that Israeli government is “offering meat to Egyptians free of charge.” Well, free of charge is not the same thing as export. My guess is that Israel would have tried to make a gazillion dollars out of this deal!!! And if the Israeli authorities are so considerate and ready to donate meat, why don't they give it to the starving people in Gaza.
In fact, no one seems to agree for sure what the reason behind the high meat prices are. Some people are blaming the government, while the government is blaming the butchers and merchants, and the butchers and merchants are blaming the economy and the high price of fodder for the whole crisis.

author: Tarek Amr


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Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago: Happy Earth Day  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In honour of Earth Day, Guyana-Gyal wishes everyone “plastic-free…poo-free seas flinging up liquid diamonds”, while Survivein’ Trinidad adds: “A little will certainly go a long way if we all make a conscious effort to take better care of the environment.”


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Haiti: Food Aid  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A mainstream media news story which highlights “the problems posed by continued food aid to Haiti”, grabs the attention of Ellen in Haiti, who says: “The problem with the article is that it just talks about food aid….in Port au Prince.  There is so much else in Haiti that needs to be done with the relief money, things that will have long-term benefits.”


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Haiti: Part of History  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Haitian Blogger republishes an article by Melanie Newton which suggests that what happens in Haiti post-earthquake “is a question of world historical significance.”


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Haiti: Threat of Rain  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Concern Blogs reports that “the United Nations has determined that 9,000 of [Haiti's] Bourdon Valley’s residents are at immediate risk of losing their lives in this area due to dangers posed by the rains.”


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India: Lack Of Election Debates · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sandeep Bansal at Desicritics questions a missing democratic practice: “When will election debates matter in India?”


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Jamaica: 10 Years of Calabash  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Litblogger Geoffrey Philp blogs about the 10th annual Calabash International Literary Festival in Jamaica, saying: “This year’s event will bring together an extraordinary mix of new and established writers from around the world for the most anticipated annual literary event in the Caribbean region.”


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More Maldivians to Mount Everest  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Al's journey informs that nine more Maldivians have started their journey to reach the peak of the mount Everest.


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Morocco: First Gay Online Magazine Launched · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

The blog The View From Fez reports on the launch of the first Moroccan Gay online magazine, Mithly. “It's a brave move. Next month's issue will broach another taboo subject – that of the high level of suicides amongst Moroccan gays,” the blogger notes.

author: Hisham Almiraat


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Russia: Medvedev Twitter Accounts · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Profy writes about the soon-to-be-launched official Twitter account of the Russian president – and the recently suspended fake one: “The thing is that this Twitter account misbehaved on the day of last week’s terrorist bombings in Moscow: a comment was published that looked very much like the first official comment on the event from the president and quickly got quoted by news agencies and various publications – with the problem being that the president had nothing to do with the words.”


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Russia: RT and Public Diplomacy · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lena Osipova of Global Chaos argues that RT, Russia's first all-digital English-language TV network, “not only does not promote Russia's credibility, but undercuts it further.”


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Sri Lanka: Police Brutality · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chitrangi’s Weblog shares a story of police brutality on a 32 years old worker of the Sri Lanka Transport Board in Panadura.


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Sudan: Election fraud caught on video? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A video showing election fraud in Sudan is being circulated online. Sudan's National Elections Commission has dismissed it as fake. The video shows election officials stuffing ballot boxes. Opposition groups claim that the video proves their claims of election rigging by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).
Save Darfur blog reports:
Both the BBC and the Washington Post (via Reuters) have reported on a video – now posted to the internet – that was sent to us from activists in Sudan. The footage appears to show individuals dressed as election officials stuffing ballot boxes, reportedly in Sudan’s Red Sea State. While the content cannot be verified, and there are other, well documented cases of electoral irregularities, this may be the first video evidence of the rigging.
It is important to note that the National Elections Commission (NEC) has dismissed this video as fake, and has decided not investigate the incident.
A discussion is going on at Ethiopia Current Affairs Discussion Forum (ECADAF) about the video:
How did the election commission declare the video fake before investigating?:
How the NEC declared such a footage fake before even investigating it? Why have they blocked YouTube in Sudan if it is fake? This calls for more questions…
Tate says the video the guide to how to rig an election:
The ediots Guide to how to rig an election! Sudanese style. These guys must have taken few tips from EPRDF cadres.
Aklilu is not suprised because election rigging is common in Africa:
It is common happend in Africa! Not 2 b suprise the May election in Ethiopia will b exactly what happend in this video ,so not 2 b suprise ! It is not new things happening in Africa .Weyane harnet allready set up how to ambush the ellection.
It is time to review electoral systems in the world, argues Alaqib:
Is it time to review the whole system of ELECTIONS and Democracy in the world?, see wherever there are elections there can be talk of rigging: Iran,Iraq, even USA…etc
The copy of the video posted here has also generated a debate in the comment section.
NitroEthiopian asks, “What do you expect? That is Africa”:
looool what do you expect? That is Africa! The sad thing is Al bashir is going to claim victory. He will then kill people protesting and then label them as rebels. And then the U.N will reprimand Al Bashir. The U.S, like wise, will denounce Al Bashir, and then after a month or so, it will be forgotten. And the rest of the world will move on.
Unless dictators are confronted daily they will keep killing
According to MrPortsudan the video shows how desperate opposition politicians are:
ok Mr watch the other clip where the camera man directing those individual, will you comment on that, secondly ppl in those area have no regard to the rule of law, and i bet every one here if you ask those ppl about it they will admit and tell you what are you going to do about it.and last thing how can you gather evidence and be part of the crime?? it show how desperate the opposition,i bet this clip in remote eastern sudan will circulate around the internet,now opp can party lol
Tabiatomdurman believes the video to be authentic:
This absolutely true video. It was taken by cell phone. There is no other explanation. BBC, Washington Post and CNN know what they are doing. You have to have 10 people to make a video like this with no mistakes or looking at the camera. BASHIR IS DONE. This is a huge scandle 1 day ago
mohdd2 questions its authenticity. He poses this question, “how can they not notice somebody filming them head-on in daylight.”:
how can they not notice somebody filming them head-on in daylight. Only an idiot like the BBC chaps will believe this or are they hopeful that they will just give it credibility despite them knowing better.
MrNobody808 answers:
It is easy to do with a mobile phone. Even easier with a hidden camera. :)
MrNobody808 again:
Or it was an opposition supporter filming the crime. Or it was someone who was so disgusted by the fraud, that he decided to gather evidence. There are many reasons. Do not be so quick to dismiss this as a set up.
mohdd2 with a light touch:
These members of our party are idiots> Itold them to rig the vote but forgot to warn them not to film it for youtube!
what a stupid scam and fucking BBC believed it and put it as news in their front page
Sudan Elections 2010 is the country’s first multi-party election since 1986.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Trinidad & Tobago: More UDeCOTT Lessons · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“No time for distractions, in this election season”: Afra Raymond continues his quest to learn the lessons of Trinidad and Tobago's UDeCOTT fiasco.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Not Making the Sale  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

This Beach Called Life‘s inability to find a replacement pair of shoelaces in Trinidad causes him to blog about “the level of contempt the selling class have for the buying class.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Parties Unite  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago News Blog continues to report on the lead-up to the country's general elections on May 24, saying: “History was created at Charlie King Junction in Fyzabad when before a mammoth cheering crowd, the nation’s Opposition parties signed a historic ‘Declaration of Political Unity’, last night.”


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Uruguay: International Court Rules in Paper Mill Conflict with Argentina · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

On April 20, 2010, the International Court of Justice at The Hague pronounced its ruling in the case against Uruguay for its violation of the treaty it holds with Argentina regarding the shared river, Rio Uruguay. The Hague ruled that Uruguay violated the treaty by not consulting with Argentina before allowing the construction of a pulp mill, but the court did not consider it necessary for the mill to be dismantled and relocated, because Argentina did not present substantial evidence indicating the mill is contaminating the shared river.
The International Court of Justice at The Hague. Photo uploaded by Flickr user Alkan Chaglar and used under a Creative Commons license.
Uruguayans and Argentineans watched the ruling with attentiveness, waiting to hear and read about the result of a conflict that has soured Uruguay-Argentina relations for years.
Uruguayan bloggers commented on the ruling, and analyzed it from their particular perspective. The Uruguayan blog Las Cosas de Nestor [es] goes through The Hague’s pronouncement, putting it into more accessible terms. Pía López [es] commented on this post saying:
Lo que hay que rescatar de este asunto es que NO se puede continuar con esta falta de colaboración (mutua), y que como uruguaya me sentiría más que orgullosa si Argentina acepta mejorar las medidas de control y monitoreo pero CONJUNTAMENTE con Uruguay.
The day after The Hague’s ruling, the same blog posted another article, called “The Day After” [es] where the different reactions to the ruling are noted, including their own opinion:
Y nosotros, los comentaristas del blog, quedamos en algún caso con huevo en la cara (yo, por haber predicho que Uruguay no violó el Estatuto), otros indignados, otros resignados, pero espero que todos convencidos de que es una nueva ocasión de empezar a acercar a nuestros dos países.
Some Uruguayans see the ruling as a victory. The blog Noticias Para Uruguayos Por El Mundo [es] (News for Uruguayans Around the World) titled their news-style post, “We Won at The Hague”
Uruguayan journalist and blogger Antonio Alvarez [es] wrote an article on his blog where he reports on the reaction to the case brought to The Hague, and in general about the conflict at large. The article is titled “Fray Bentos no cree en lágrimas” (Fray Bentos doesn't believe in tears). He reports from Fray Bentos, the Uruguayan city where the pulp mill is located.
Alvarez says that in three years more than 40 new businesses have been created thanks to the mill; he also states that as a consequence of the mill, Fray Bentos now has more restaurants, banks, better schools (some bilingual), and supermarkets.
Le pregunto a Leticia, una joven madre que está con su hijo en el acto si no es significativo este aire solemne a 24 horas del fallo.
“Aquí nadie da bolilla a lo que pase en La Haya. ¿Qué nos pueden decir a nosotros unos señores que usan peluquines y están a 20.000 kilómetros de acá? La verdad, nada”.
En Fray Bentos, Botnia quiere decir solución, una salida económica, algo en lo que ya ni se piensa porque está incorporado al paisaje y a la vida.
I ask Leticia, a young mother with her son during the event (on April 19, celebrating an important Uruguayan holiday) if it wasn’t significant that there was this solemn atmosphere 24 hours before the ruling
“Here no one cares what happens at The Hague. What can men with wigs that live 20,000 kilometers from here tell us? Nothing, actually”
In Fray Bentos, (the paper mill) Botnia means solution, an economic escape, something people don’t even think about anymore because it is incorporated into the landscape and their lives.
He goes on to report on the relationship between Fray Bentos and the neighboring Argentinean city, Gualeguaychú:
Botnia dio mucho al producto bruto pero también desató fuertes costuras entre una y otra orilla.
Fray Bentos y Gualeguaychú son una misma etnia, una misma geografía,  un paseo corto inevitable para los fines de semana.
Para Fray bentos, Gualeguaychú suponía los mismos bailes, una televisión compartida, una misma forma de hablar, de entender la vida al costado del río.
Sin embargo, esos árboles genealógicos fueron convertidos en celulosa, y sólidas amistades sólidas terminaron descompuestas por las supuestas amenazas del ácido sulfhídrico.
Botnia yielded a lot of gross product, but it also untied strong bonds between one shore and the other.
Fray Bentos and Gualeguaychú are one same ethnicity, one same geography, one inevitable short weekend trip.
For Fray Bentos,  Gualeguaychú meant the same dances, the same television, the same way of speech and of understanding life next to the river.
However, those genealogical trees were converted into cellulose, and solid friendships ended up rotten because of supposed threats of sulfuric acid.
A sticker placed on a thermos (next to the traditional drink Mate) reads, "Group of Uruguayans residing in Gualeguaychu say: Yes to the union of brotherly people." Photo uploaded by Flickr user sebaperez and used under a Creative Commons license
After this ruling, Uruguay and Argentina are now the sole stewards over what happens with the conflict. In an open letter to the press –which everyone is invited to sign—in the blog Vamos a Andar [es], Allejandro Villaverde asks for the recovery of rationality, respect and neighborliness between the two countries:
Se ha cerrado una etapa. El Tribunal ha marcado una guía a seguir, la de la racionalidad, la de la cooperación, la de la no agresión, la de la buena fe. Ha defendido el derecho de los países a aprovechar sus recursos naturales para desarrollarse, en la forma que entiendan conveniente, siempre que respeten los derechos de sus vecinos.
Uruguayan president José Mujica and Argentinean president Cristina Kirchner have agreed to meet to discuss the ruling and the steps to follow.

author: Silvia Viñas


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US, Russia: A Pro-Russian Lobby · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Eugene Ivanov of The Ivanov Report believes that the US-Russian “‘reset’ needs a charger, and the pro-Russian lobby should play the role of this charger.”


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Barbados: Cyberbullying · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados’ Keltruth Corp. is “deeply saddened by the personal attacks made on Johan Bjerkhamn after the most tragic death of his son” and advocates for a cessation of the cyberbullying.


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China: 10 ways to become famous on discussion forums · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated a forum post from MOP teaching Internet users how to become famous on Chinese discussion forum.


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China: Attack by angry youth · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Hush blogs about the online culture of Chinese angry youth (fenqing) by referring to the most recent attack of Michael Wong (a Malaysian Chinese singer and composer)  in Renren net.


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Cuba: Journalist Reportedly Detained  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Human Rights Cuba says that “Dania Virgen García, independent journalist and member of the group who march in support of the Ladies in White, was detained and taken to the Police Station in Guanabacoa, accused of an arbitrary offense without probable cause.”


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Guyana: Calling for a Vote · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana's Imran Khan suggests that there “be a vote in the community” when it comes to the amplification of the Muslim call to prayer: “I am convinced that there will be a landslide victory to cease the amplified adhan…[and] have it continue by a natural human voice only.”


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Guyana: Jagdeo Wins Environmental Award  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands notes that Guyana's President “was one of the six recipients of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEDP) 2010 Champions of the Earth award—the UN’s highest awards for environmental leadership.”


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India: A Minority In The World Of Believers · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Beliefs are what divide people. Doubt unites them. I doubt the dogmas that's why today, I am too minority in the world of believers,” comments Indian blogger Himanshu Rai at Sparsh.


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India: The Rickshaw Challenge Race · Global Voices
Rezwan

Rohit Bhargava at Influential Marketing Blog writes about The Rickshaw Challenge, which is “a series of road races where participants can choose their own rickshaws and race across parts of India”. You can read live updates from the teams on the race blog.


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India: Twittering Minister Forced To Resign · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dr. Shashi Tharoor is a prolific author, columnist, journalist, human rights advocate and has worked in the United Nations as an Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information. In last year's parliamentary election in India, he was elected as a member of the Parliament from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala and was later selected as the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs. During his tenure as a Minister he gained popularity and at the same time was often subject to controversy because of his open views on state affairs in his Twitter account (which is being followed by over 738000 people). His openness irked the traditional politicians and he was warned by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader M Venkaiah Naidu with these words: “What is this twitting? Too much twitting will lead to quitting.”
Shashi Tharoor. Image By Wikimedia Commons & MEDEF
Ironically, his own Twitter message was not behind the undoing of Shashi Tharoor, but the accusations sparked by a series of Twitter messages of the IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. On April 18, 2010 Tharoor was forced to resign from his post over allegations of corruption and misuse of office to get share in Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisee of Kochi.
The scandal was termed IPL's Twittergate  by Linus Fernandes. Tharoor was a ‘mentor’ in the small town Kochi’s bid to win one of two IPL franchises being created for next year’s tournament, which was staged by a consortium called Rendezvous. Against expectations, the consortium won the auction with the highest bid ($333 million) and soon it was disclosed that Mr Tharoor’s girlfriend, Sunanda Pushkar, was a member of the consortium and she got a huge sweat equity deal from the consortium.  He was accused of failing to declare an interest in the process and benefiting personally.
Offstumped – Center Right Indian Politics informs:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has recommended to the President that she accept Shashi Tharoor’s resignation from the Union Cabinet. This is the first major scandal to hit the Manmohan Singh Sonia Gandhi lead UPA Government. [..]
It was clear for months now that there was deep discontent over Tharoor within the Party with a motivated campaign to get his job.
Prem Panicker comments:
The party dumped the minister, and made a virtue out of internal necessity by making a play for the high moral ground.
Jaya Jha at Miles To Go blog asks “what exactly has Tharoor done to be forced to resign?“:
Now for God’s sake – can somebody tell me what exactly has Tharoor done wrong? Supposedly taken money from Rendezvous Sports making Sunanda Pushkar his front, but did what in return? What did he influence? What could he influence? The logic seems to be absent from the entire discourse!
Purba at Desicritics writes:
The situation is uncannily similar to an archaic classroom where the rigid school teacher punishes the student for daring to defy the system and raising uncomfortable questions. Political parties in the world’s largest democracy, unfortunately, are run like autocracies.
On the other hand, Retributions Blog thinks that despite the case against Shashi Tharoor is legally weak, he has to go because of moral grounds:
Legally speaking, the case against Shashi Tharoor is rather weak. While it may be argued that his associate Sunanda Pushkar has got a rather sweet deal in the Kochi consortium, sweat equity deals are not illegal per se. The involvement of Mr. Tharoor remains indirect at best—after all, for a politician still finding his feet in the rough and tumble of Indian politics, a IPL team for his state is no small coup. And if a certain associate of his benefited from the deal—well, it is one those cases sitting on the hazy boundary dividing ethics and law. [..]
The representatives of new India cannot behave like the politicians of yore. And if they do, they must be dumped.
After Shashi Tharoor's resignation an online campaign had been started by his close family and friends under the banner SupportTharoor.org and it gained popularity amongst netizens recoding approximately 19000 pledges till writing of this report.
Shashi Tharoor thanked his supporters with this Tweet:
Here is a video uploaded to YouTube by pramodlife showing Tharoor's statement in Parliament negating the accusations: “My conscience is clear, I have done nothing wrong”:
Offstumped explains why supporttharoor.org does matter:
As Shashi Tharoor attempts to make a case in his defense to Parliament for the second time, it will be interesting to see how the digital activism on supporttharoor.org evolves.
Shiv Singh at Going Social Now debates what the resignation of Tharoor means for the politician twitterati around the world:
Here was an Indian politician that was using new media to reach people everywhere and was having great success at doing so. This seemed the future of democracy. But it was all to come to an end rather suddenly. [..]
So what does this all mean? Politicians around the world have realized that Twitter can be an extremely powerful communication tool for them. They're also discovering that speaking on the record and off the record have different meanings now. Many are also discovering that when you're part of a government, you walk a fine line between telling people what you really think (which Twitter lends itself well to doing) or limiting yourself to what you're supposed to say. Politicians are realizing that their constituents love reading their tweets and getting their on the spot opinions. It makes politics and policy making more personal, real and engaging (maybe it'll increase civic engagement). But through the Shashi Tharoor example, the same politicians are also going to learn that social media platforms like Twitter can be extremely dangerous for them when it is used as a way to expose scandals or poke holes in their promises.


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Pakistan: First E-Village Starts Operation · Global Voices
Rezwan

Babar Bhatti informs that the first “E-Village” has been launched in Pakistan: “the village of Mira Bagwal has been wired with 2 MB Broad Band internet connection and provided access to medical professionals.”


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Russia, Poland: The Truth About Katyn · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop writes about Andrzej Wajda’s 2007 film Katyń, which has been shown twice in Russia in the past few weeks (reactions from the Russian blogosphere are here) – and comments that the truth about the massacre is “only coming out now in the former Soviet Union and it’s like pulling teeth. It takes crashing planes and dying presidents. But it’s going to take a lot more than showing a movie on Russian State TV.”


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Russia: “The Sirens of Russia” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Good Treaty posts a YouTube video of a Moscow driver's encounter with a high-ranking official's BMW and explains why “the special road status of the elite is a sore point with the Russian public.” (A few more related links in Russian are here.)


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Russia, Ukraine: Gas/Black Sea Fleet Deal · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Leopolis comments – here and here – on the gas/Black Sea Fleet lease extension deal signed by the Russian and Ukrainian presidents on April 21.


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Sudan: What do we make out of Sudan’s elections? · Global Voices
Mahid (Sudanese Guardian)

The Sudanese voting period ended on April 15, but while the actual voting process has come to an end, a debate about election transparency and credibility has started. The debate involves political parties, international observers and citizens in and outside Sudan.
Let’s start by looking at the opinion of the international community on the election and its credibility. In an article written in Afriquejet titled African Union, IGAD praise Sudan security for peaceful polls :
Considering its recent political history, the numerous challenges relating to the size of the country, the security situation and the political tensions prevailing ahead of the elections the election was a monumental milestone in the history of Sudan.
In the article, AU observer Kunle Adeyemi dismisses protesters who argue that the process was not free and fair:
We agree that the elections were not perfect. However, you do not expect somebody who did not take part to say anything positive. The election was a building block for future elections.
Regionally, in an article written in the Sudan Tribune titled African and Arabs organisations praise the conduct of Sudanese elections.
The statement by the Arab League says:
We cannot say that the Sudanese elections have met international standards, but that does not reduce what has happened, which is an important transition,” said Salah Halima the head of AL mission in Khartoum today
On the other side the AU statement notes that the elections were a great achievement for the Sudanese people”
What happened in Sudan was a historical event and a great achievement for Sudanese people,” said Kunle Adeyemi, who is spokesperson of the AU observer mission in Sudan chaired by John Kufuor the former President of Ghana. “Looking into the fact this is a country that had not had a multi-party election for almost a generation… to say they are free and fair, to the best of our knowledge we have no reason to think the contrary,” he added.
“We have not found evidence of fraud… we saw a vote that was very transparent,” Adeyemi affirmed.
In the blogosphere there are a variety of opinions and perspectives about the credibility and the meaning of this historical event.
A post titled Ruth Messinger: Failed Elections in Sudan: Now What?  at Blog All Over the World argues that Obama's carrot and stick policy towards Sudan needs some sticks:
The Obama administration has expressed disappointment in the way these elections were conducted. But press releases are not enough. President Obama's “carrots and sticks” policy of rewarding the Sudanese government for progress towards peace and holding it accountable for undermining peace now requires some sticks. And we are eager to see, in light of Sudan's recent elections, how the White House intends to implement its own stated policy.
At Making Sense of Sudan, Abd al-Wahab Abdalla concludes that the election was ugly. He explains:
Rigging, fraud and corruption, there were. Voters excluded from the poll, last-minute registration and a roundup of voters with hastily-issued residence certificates which may or may not have matched the names on the voters’ roll, all will surely be documented by the observers. These had no material consequence for the outcome of last week’s election in Sudan.
The ugly result of the election was determined long ago by the material forces that have driven Sudanese political life for the best part of forty years. Political organization founded in the means of production was decisively crushed by the May Revolution and instead Sudanese have witnessed the coalescence of political activities around nothing more than proximity to the state and its instruments of power and rent. The only revolutionary alternatives, from the left in the form of the banners of the “New Sudan” raised by the SPLM, and from the right with the Islamists’ slogans of self-reliance, adopted from necessity rather than conviction, have long since succumbed to the lure of the politics of the bazaar.
He continues with his analysis:
Our voters fall into two main categories. Category A is those who have, of necessity or opportunism, joined the loyalty parade. This includes almost all rural voters whose services and livelihoods require government beneficence. It includes anyone who may need a licence to trade. These voters will vote NCP, and the uglier the candidate, the more likely they will vote him in, because the ugliest representative is likely to be the one seated closest to the president and his minions.
Category B is those who have neither material interest nor personal proclivity for this kind of politics. Most of them did not register and most of those who registered did not vote. Observing the trickle of voters at the polling stations last week I would guess that the male population under the age of thirty belongs in its near entirety to category B.
Kayode Oladele of Sahara Reporters reflects on the elections and identifies some values in the Sudanese electoral system that other countries can emulate:
There is one innovative and good side to the Sudan elections which other countries can emulate. They had a combination of the First Past The Post (FPTP) system and a Proportional Representation (PR) system. Under the PR system they had the Women List and the Party List. This encouraged a lot of women to turn out during polling.
Finally, Maggie discusses the delay in announcing official election results:
To many in the South, the NEC’s announcement today came as no surprise, given the significant difficulties in collecting ballot papers and results from local polling stations—some of which are not accessible by road. (In these locations, the United Nations is helping collect elections materials by helicopter). The tabulation of results is complicated for some of the same reasons that the polling process was complex; the number of ballots and the lack of resources at the local level.
Today, an official at the South Sudan Elections High Committee told Enough that the NEC should have listened to the state-level elections committee in the South, who have a better understanding of the logistical constraints and technical challenges that have affected the electoral process in the South than the national body in Khartoum
.

author: Mahid (Sudanese Guardian)


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Trinidad & Tobago: Magistrates called to Measure   · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jumbie's Watch is “aghast at the audacity of the judiciary in Trinidad and Tobago.”


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US, Russia: Views on START · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Good Treaty reviews shortcomings and advantages of the newly-signed US-Russia Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), as perceived by various political groups in the United States and Russia.


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Video: Discovering the Origins of a World Cup Song  · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

You've probably heard the song, and Chief Boima of WFMU's Beware of the Blog in New Jersey decided to track down the origins of the “Waka Waka” song,  which is the 2010  FIFA World Cup Anthem to be sung by Shakira in South Africa.  Check out his post to see the many different versions that have made this Cameroonian song universal.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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“Boobquake” to challenge claims of Iranian cleric · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Jennifer McCreight, a Purdue University student in the United States is asking women around the world to show a little cleavage or a little leg on Monday as a humorous test to disprove an Iranian cleric’s theory that immodest dress has the power to make the earth shake.
The story began when Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi, Tehran's acting Friday prayer leader, said: “Many women who do not dress modestly… lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes.”
Jen McCreight who describes herself as a liberal, geeky, nerdy, scientific, perverted atheist feminist trapped in Indiana, wrote in her blog:
I have a modest proposal. Sedighi claims that not dressing modestly causes earthquakes. If so, we should be able to test this claim scientifically. You all remember the homeopathy overdose? Time for a Boobquake. On Monday, April 26th, I will wear the most cleavage-showing shirt I own. Yes, the one usually reserved for a night on the town. I encourage other female skeptics to join me and embrace the supposed supernatural power of their breasts. Or short shorts, if that's your preferred form of immodesty. With the power of our scandalous bodies combined, we should surely produce an earthquake. If not, I'm sure Sedighi can come up with a rational explanation for why the ground didn't rumble. And if we really get through to him, maybe it'll be one involving plate tectonics.
The Boobquake event on Facebook already has 123,680 confirmed supporters, including many men. The photo above is from the Facebook page.
And here is a video message on Boobquake:
Iranians themselves have also launched creative campaigns against censorship and repression in the past. One of the most recent was the Men in hijab campaign to support Majid Tavakoli, a jailed leading student activist. It seems the Iranian story has become world wide sensation this time.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Bulgaria: Appeals for Help in Arevik Shmavonyan’s Deportation Case · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Svetla Encheva (BUL), Maya Markova of Maya's Corner and Legal Clinic for Refugees and Immigrants, a Bulgarian NGO, appeal for help in the case of Arevik Shmavonyan, a pregnant Armenian citizen who is awaiting deportation from Bulgaria at the Special Centre for Temporary Accommodation of Foreigners in Busmantsi (described by some as “the Bulgarian Guantanamo“).


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Philippines: Internet cafe hard disks registration · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

The Philippine Optical Media Board (OMB) recently proposed to require internet cafe operators to register the hard disks in their computers. According to the OMB, the presence of magnetic components in hard disks makes them fall under the control of the OMB based on the Optical Media Act of 2003.
An association of Filipino internet cafe owners have raised their opposition to the hard disk registration proposal saying that this “will bring the ICT industry as a whole back to the Ice Age.”
JC John Sese Cuneta, commenting on Azrael's Maryland's blog opinion that the proposal is stupid, raised the need for technology-literate politicians in the national elections:
[This s]hows us the need to know who of the candidates are tech and net-aware, so we can vote for them. It's a chain reaction, if we vote for non-tech and non-net-aware candidates, the positions that are appointed will more likely have non-tech and non-net-aware individuals.
In the same thread, Ka_fredo criticized the proposal as another money-making scheme by the government:
Another halfbaked policy from our esteemed non techie presidential appointees. Its another way for them to milk the small cafe owners. Instead of finding out ways to clamp down on violators, they create potential graft ridden income sources.
Philippine parliamentarian and GVO editor Mong Palatino also warned that the proposal “may be used to violate the people’s right to privacy and right against illegal searches and seizures.”
“The very idea that the OMB will have an access to privately owned hard drives is clearly a constitutional violation. It is like subjecting your closet to government scrutiny,” said Palatino.
The possibility that the OMB may check the entire storage device, according to Palatino, will expose all other personal files of the owner.
Meanwhile the proposal only raises more questions for Owning a Cafe:
For those using CD and DVD writers in their i-cafe businesses, the registration of the devices with OMB is already a big hassle because it has to be done only at their current office in Quezon City, Metro Manila. I wonder how the registration of the hard disk would be done? My other question is will the executive order require only the i-cafes to register their hard disks? How about the other businesses and offices that also use computers with hard disks in them?

author: Karlo Mongaya


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South Africa: The World Cup is here · Global Voices
Richard Wanjohi

The countdown is still on with the days drawing so close for Africa’s time on the sporting world scene. The interest all over world is growing.
The 2010WorldCupFifa Blog captures Danny Jordaan’s words moments before launching into the 50-day festivities:
In just 50 days time we begin what I believe will be one of our most important defining moments, the 2010 World Cup. This defining moment will last a full month, a moment where the attention of the world will be nowhere but right here in South Africa…”The same South Africa the world once called a miracle nation when in 1994 we made a peaceful transition to democracy, defying all the sceptics. The world has heard many more stories about us since then, sometimes more negative than positive, but this World Cup gives all South Africans the opportunity to show the world who we really are sixteen years into our democracy.
Donnette E Davis has some interesting observations about the low number of foreign fans attendint the event:
With 50 days to go before kick-off, football fever is growing in South Africa but the global economic crisis, the tournament’s high cost as a long haul destination and fears of violent crime have reduced the numbers of foreign fans
The DispatchOnlineBlogs,reports how Buffalo City’s East Londoners were led by their Executive Mayor Zukisa Faku in celebrating 50 days to the event even though they are not hosting any teams:
..Zukisa Faku was in attendance wearing her Bafana Bafana football shirt. Faku was in high spirits and encouraged citizens to get behind football in the city, while also making a valiant attempt at learning the 2010 “Diski Dance”…“Join us along with the chorus of soccer directors in the country in celebrating 50 days to the start of the 2010 World Cup,” Faku said.
She goes on to say:
The spirits of our people are not dampened by the challenges we have encountered. We need to stand tall and show the football bosses that we could live up to their expectations if they should have a change of heart and consider us for a role in the upcoming soccer extravaganza.
Dissol at MyDigitalLife.co.za says that the world has been experiencing a period of bad luck leading up to the event:
We have had all sorts of really bad luck leading up to the event – the global credit crunch, the shooting at the Confed Cup, political intrigue, bad press, and even a volcano exploding in Iceland causing the European airspace to be closed down (something that neither Bin Laden or Hitler could pull off!!)
Dissol reminds us at the time when most people thought that South Africa was trying to do the impossible:
Remember just 4 years ago when so many people here, and overseas were telling us that what South Africa was trying to do was impossible?  Remember the scare stories about the event being moved to Australia, or elsewhere, because we would never finish?  We have pulled off the most amazing build projects, and that has been recognised all around the world.  Already we have impressed other professionals around the world with the way that the impossible has been pulled off…. In 50 days the event starts…a few short weeks after that, the teams will leave…and FIFA will move on, quite a bit richer…  But we will be left with the legacy.  We will remember the event.  Elsewhere in the world people still talk about “being there” or “part of” different events such as World Cups, and Olympic games.  We will have that…and it is doubtful we would ever get the FIFA games back here in any of our lifetimes…  People born next year can never say they were here for the World Cup.
Sinlung says has 50 reasons to look forward to the event:
Reason #8: Timing of the matches. No need to put the alarm clock on for early morning kick offs, with games starting at 12.30pm, 3pm and 7.30pm. Should England make the final four, all but two of their games will be held at weekends, maximising marketing opportunities and audience figures.
Or reason no.26;
…Real fans have the chance to see the play. Fifa's unprecedented decision to allow surplus tickets to be sold in shops and supermarkets will be beneficial to the atmosphere at even the smallest insignificant group games. Tournament rules stipulating tickets could only be sold in ballots were lifted following poor sales and anything that limits corporate sales and lets real fans attend games is a good thing for the tournament.

author: Richard Wanjohi


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The Balkans: Thoughts on Slavenka Drakulić’s 1993 Book · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Filip Stojanovski shares his thoughts on Slavenka Drakulić's 1993 book, How We Survived Communism & Even Laughed.


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Afghanistan: Kabul’s Restaurant Raids · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Kabul expat writes that last week four of most popular alcohol-serving restaurants in the capital of Afghanistan were raided in quick succession, sending chills through the expat community.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Afghanistan: Taliban reintegration plans · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Nick Fielding reflects on the plans to reintegrate Taliban fighters back into society of Aghanistan, reviewing a new report by the Afghan Analysts Network.


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ICT for Development in Francophone Africa    · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Although there is undoubtedly a strong push to grow information and communication technology (ICT) initiatives for development in francophone Africa, the region is still somewhat lagging behind their English-speaking neighbors. The recognition of this lag is discussed by many Francophone bloggers and aggregated at the Franco Techno Gap blog.
The cause of the lag is unclear  but a few reasons are often proposed: 1) broadband internet was made available by governments of English speaking nations such as (South Africa, Mauritius, Egypt) first (fr). Consequently, cost of internet access  is on average higher as further explained on  l'atelier des medias (RFI) (fr).    2) Related to the previous reason: “English speaking countries seem to be doing better than the French speaking countries” as Miquel points out 3) The English language is still the default language globally when one discusses ICT.
In this post, current grass roots development projects in francophone Africa with an important ICT component will be discussed in further details:
Agriculture
The community blog of the Union des Femmes Rurales Ouest Africaines et du Tchad (UFROAT) ( Union of Rural Women in West Africa and Chad) describes the objectives of the association as follows (fr):
-Promouvoir les échanges entre femmes rurales au niveau national et sous régional,
-Promouvoir la participation et la représentation des femmes rurales dans les instances de décision,
– Promouvoir la commercialisation des produits des femmes rurales
In the following video, Agnegue Enyo from Togo explains that thanks to a recent workshop on ICT, she learned how to create, format and submit activity reports about her project. She says she used to have to pay someone to scan all the paperwork, archive and send reports for her. Not anymore.
A similar project in Madagascar, Bekoto Paysans,  aims to protect the rights of Malagasy farmers, highlights their daily activities and challenges (fr).  It is spear headed by renown Malagasy singer Bekoto, a member of the folk group Mahaleo. Bekoto describes why Malagasy bees and the honey they produce have unique properties and in danger of becoming extinct (fr):
L'abeille Malgache possède sa propre spécificité . C'est une espèce endémique considérée comme ” laborieuse et pacifique “. Il fut une époque où Madagascar exportait son miel en Europe et des “tonnes avaient été envoyés à l'extérieur de 1920 à 1940 [..] Depuis les symptômes du Varroa qui frappèrent l'apiculture dans la région d'Analamanga en 2007 , les mêmes signes de maladie avaient été aussi signalés sur la côte Est : ‘ Les essaims s'effondrèrent …les abeilles ne volaient plus et les ruches se vidaient mais des abeilles sauvages résistent
Education
Djénéba Traoré develops the challenges of integrating ICT with education in sub Saharan Africa in five countries (Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali and Senegal). He argues the following (fr):
il ne s'agit plus aujourd'hui de prouver que l'intégration des` TIC peut contribuer à l'amélioration de la qualité de l'éducation en Afrique mais de déterminer les voies et moyens pouvant pérenniser l'utilisation pédagogique des TIC à l'école, à toutes les écoles. Elle (l'etude) a aussi confirmé que la formation des enseignants aux nouvelles technologies n’est une priorité ni de l’école ni du gouvernement
et que l’utilisation pédagogique des TIC tant par les enseignants que par les élèves reste
faible en Afrique de l'Ouest et du Centre.
Camedevelop further details Traoré’ s assessment in the case of Cameroon. He points to the fact that l'école Normale supérieure de Yaoundé  has stil not completed the training of experts in this field resulting in lack of teachers, lack of electricity in rural areas and the cumbersome process to get computers into schools as the main causes for the delay in adopting ICT at school (fr).
Boukary Konaté offers more optimistic news on ICT and education in Mali.  Konaté attended a workshop on ICT in Bamako (Mali) dedicated to school teachers . The following video shows the substantial interest shown for mastering information technology (fr):
Konaté also describes how young college graduates learned more about magnetic dipoles using a simple Google search (fr). The students also mentioned an additional advantage of adopting ICT tools was the ability to share information with all classmates at once and organizing group meetings easily, thus reducing the costs of calling each other.
The effort by French speaking countries to integrate ICT into development projects  is undeniable and not limited to the themes discussed above. However, ICT development faces the same issue as  other development themes when it comes to scaling up the promising first steps. Sustainability and homogeneous development are hard to achieve when infrastructure are still so unequally distributed, especially between urban and rural areas.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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India: Media Favors The Rich And The Famous · Global Voices
Rezwan

“If you follow our media you will definitely notice how Indian media constantly focus on who makes how much money,” comments Indian Pundit.


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Japan: The art of making Sake · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

A few pictures by Buddhika illustrate the art of making sake, the alcholic beverage made from rice. The photographer portrays some workers at a sake  distillery in Fukui Prefecture.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Kyrgyzstan: Ousted president denies resignation · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Akmal writes that Kyrgyzstan’s former president, who left the country and found haven in Belarus, now declares that he does not recognize his resignation.


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Turkmenistan: Same neighborhood, worlds apart · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Although they are neighbors, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are worlds apart economically and politically. Annasoltan examines some of the big differences with some potentially controversial arguments.


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Bangladesh: A Lucky Escape From Death · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sajib tells a breathtaking story with pictures, how he and his family miraculously survived when the rooftop of their house fell down.

author: Rezwan


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Bhutan: Education Defined · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bhutanese blogger Dorji Wangchuk defines education: “When you have forgotten what you have learnt in school and still be successful in life, you were well educated.”


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Brunei Foodies Go Pink 2010 · Global Voices
Senor Pablo

Brunei bloggers have initiated a new charity project for 2010.  Last year local bloggers and foodies got together to support and promote a charity recipe book which resulted in B$10,000 funds raised for the participation of Brunei Special Athletes for the Special Olympics Games in Greece in 2011.  This year, bloggers and foodies have agreed to support another local cause to raise funds and create awareness about breast cancer.   The project this year is better organised and coordinated hand in hand with the Brunei Breast Cancer Support Group ( BBCSG). The theme  chosen was aptly named as Brunei Foodies Go Pink in support of the Pink Pride Breast Cancer Awareness.  For this year's recipe book project, desserts were selected as the main food offering.
Food tasting commenced
Pink Merchandise were sold to raise funds for the Support Group
A Pink Sunday Foodie event was recently organised to kick off the project. Recipe contributors and foodies were invited to bring their contributions to Casa Esperanza for food testing. A voting was conducted to select the most popular recipes.  Some 53 dishes were shared and as a result, 51 recipes were collected which will be published and sold to the public. All proceeds will go to the Brunei Breast Cancer Support Group, in helping them raise awareness about a disease that affects many in the country, to buy prosthesis and support for cancer patients.
The project has raised the standards of blogging in the country as blogs provide an avenue for bloggers to get together to support local causes that affect the community.  It was also a success as the respective talents of the bloggers complement one another ranging from those who blog on IT, photographs, ideas and public outreach. These talents were all utilised in ensuring that the project would ran smoothly.  The other success of the project was having the event in an informal and social setting which provided a free flow of exchanges on an issue that many still see as a taboo.
Mr. Thanis Lim, the winner in the event with his Chocolate Lava Cake
The Brunei Times reported:
“BRUNEIANS should take the initiative to offer their voluntary support in promoting local non-profit organisations’ (NGOs) good causes, rather than wait for the NGOs to hold fundraising activities.”
“We hope to see more of this, not only bloggers but also whoever wants to come up to us and collaborate in activities and raise more funds,” said Masjuwita Hj Abd Hamid, president of the breast cancer support group.She said that the support group will use the proceeds from the fundraiser to promote more awareness activities and provide breast cancer patients the necessities which some could not afford.”
Ciliqueen shared her experience after attending and supporting the cause through her blog:
“It is really rewarding for me when I can see people giving up a little bit of their time to attend the Go Pink! event. You will feel a real sense of pride for helping to improve the lives of people affected by cancer. I met new people and of course plenty of mouthful opportunities to have some fun tasting with those sinful and delicious desserts!”
Speak off the Cuff shared her adventure at the Pink Foodie Event
“Can't wait for the book to come out tho’. Hopefully, each entry/recipe comes with the contact details of the baker/creator, as I am keen to order some of these goodies..nom..nom..nom..nom”
Two local bloggers Chef Nash and Turquoise and Roses also wrote about the event.
“For those who do not know, Pick-Me-Up is the English word for Tiramisu. I chose this dessert because I think it’s appropriate owing to my recent obsession with coffee. That and I found these awesome big giant sweet strawberries in Hua Ho.  Happy!”, said Turquoise and Roses.
Another blogger and baker, Sas Monroe attended the event:
“I just came back from the Go Pink Foodie Event for Breast Cancer. Not knowing what recipe to contribute at first, i settled for my simple Banana Cake recipe. One of my many favourite things in this whole wide world.I was first introduced to the cake when i was studying in Melbourne… Will be selling the banana cake on The Cakery soon..and will be donating $2 for every banana cake sold to the Breast Cancer Support Group  Recipe should also be available in the Pink Foodie Recipe Book which will be out pretty soon. cant wait. i have to thank Pablo for pushing me to contribute a recipe. lol. “
Pasir Puteh, a photoblogger, shares his wonderful shots of the desserts in his post.  His photographs will be used to illustrate the wonderful recipes for the book. He also observed that there were more participants this year compared to the previous blogfest activity.
“Was at Casa Esperanza on Sunday to give a wee bit of support to the Pink Foodies crew. I think the turn out was something like 3 times as many as the previous one in December . If it gets any bigger (which it definitely would), we may need a villa/the ballroom @ the Empire ;P. “
Foodies Contributors . Photo by Chee.
Thank you to a local bank who has kindly sponsored the cost of printing the book and many from the local community who came forward to donate cash and prizes for the Pink Foodie Event. This  shows how bloggers can unite in their aspiration to contribute towards a meaningful cause in the community. The book is currently in the final editing stages before being sent to the printer for publishing.

author: Senor Pablo


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China: How Sister Feng became famous · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Hush looks into Sister Feng's case and see how an ordinary person becomes famous through the Internet.


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China: New real estate policy hits market · Global Voices
Don Weinland

New housing policy issued by the State Council April 17 has received an unprecedented reaction from the public, Southern Weekend reports.  Analysts and economists have called the policy “the strictest in history.”
Construction in Guangzhou, Guangdong (photo/ Don Weinland)
The State Council has requested an increase in down payments on loans for second homes.  Buyers looking to purchase a second home less than 90 square meters must make no less than a 50 percent down payment.  The ratio for properties over 90 square meters is set at no less than 30 percent.
Loans for the purchase of third homes have been temporarily stopped, as have loans to buyers from outside regions who cannot prove a year of local tax or social insurance payment.  This is the first policy to regulate the purchasing of third homes, Southern Weekend reports.
The measures come as an attempt to regulate and suppress the real estate speculation that many believe has distorted healthy market signals and driven prices sky-high.
Since 2003 a wide range of policies have accompanied, guided, and misguided the great fluctuation of the of the Chinese real estate market.  Blogger Zhu Daming writes that flaws in this April’s policy change should be evident from past policy blunders.  He suggests regulation of loans for second homes will ultimately lead to the continued inflation of the market.
从历史上看，二套房贷政策虽然能够在短时间内扼住市场的脖子，但后来的反弹是更猛烈，二套房贷政策是一项被实践证明是错误的政策。2007年收紧二套房政策，是导致2008年成交量暴跌的最主要工具，但是，暂时的打压并没有真正解决房地产的问题，反而导致2009年房地产市场的暴涨。
Coming from a historical perspective, policy concerning loans for second homes can grab the market by the neck in a short period of time, but the following rebound will be fiercer.  [This] policy has been proven in practice to be flawed.  Policy that tightened on the purchase of second homes in 2007 was the main instrument that caused the swift drop in transactions in 2008.  But temporary suppression can by no means solve the real estate market’s problems.  On the contrary it caused the explosive rise in prices in 2009.
Blogger Shuoyan Wuji sees the new policy as having an effect on the speculative activities of the middle class.  He says that contrary to popular belief, middle-income populations do take part in speculation.  The new policy should take them out of the picture, he writes.
首先是首付的提高本身会对投资和投机性购房形成一定的压制。当前参与投资和投机性购房的不仅仅是高收入人群，只要有能力支付首付的一般收入家庭也踊跃的参与其中。面对首付提高，相当于提高了炒房的准入门槛，势必将绝大部分一般收入人群排挤出炒客行列，由此而一定程度的降低市场冲动。
First, the hiking of down payments itself will create a fixed amount of suppression on investment and speculative housing purchases.  At present those participating in investment and speculative buying aren’t only high-income populations.  Middle-income households with enough resources to make a down payment enthusiastically took part in such activities.  Facing a rise in down payments is relative to a rise in the threshold for speculative buying and is bound to push the vast majority of middle-income populations from the ranks of the speculators—causing, to a certain degree, an impulsive decrease in the market.
Blogger Zhu Daming disagrees.  He writes that speculators invite the fluctuation that the policy will inevitably create.
为什么炒房客不惧信贷收紧呢？最主要的因素是，他们对于政策制造波段很有心得，而且，他们的资金通常是很大，贷款不贷款都无所谓。
Why don’t speculators fear the tightening of housing loans?  The main factors are that they have an understanding of the wave that will be created by this policy and their financial resources are usually quite large.  [They are] indifferent to the availability of loans.
Blogger Yu Fenghui writes that the new policy will indeed threaten groups with vested interests in the market.  But he finds these groups poised to counteract the measures that intend to dissolve their profit.
…必须清醒认识到，楼市新政绝不会一帆风顺，巨大阻力将会逐步出现。这么大的调控力度，这么重的拳，将会伤及从房地产中获得多少年巨大利益、已经结成同盟的特殊利益集团。这些特殊利益集团绝不会甘心，绝不会坐以待毙，绝不会眼睁睁看着自己的既得利益被夺去。一定会绞尽脑汁、使出浑身解数抵制、反对甚至反扑楼市新政，竭力合谋维护特殊利益集团的利益。笔者预计在楼市新政进入实施阶段，取得初步效果时，这些特殊利益集团就会出招。
What must be clearly recognized is that real estate market policy won’t be all smooth sailing.  Great resistance will progressively materialize.  Such a heavy blow from this powerful regulation will injure special interest groups that have already formed alliances and have reaped great benefit from the market.  These special interest groups will not be the least satisfied.  They will certainly not take this sitting down, watching wide-eyed as their vested interests are swallowed up.  They will certainly rack their brains and do all in their power to resist, oppose, and even counterattack the market policy in a concerted effort to preserve their interests.  The author predicts that when the policy is carried out and taking its initial effect, that’s when these special interest groups will make their move.
Special interest groups aside, the report from Southern Weekend states that effects on smalltime investors have been instantaneous.  According to the report, between April 15 – 18 one Beijing real estate company saw a 40 percent increase in inventory, yet an 80 percent decrease in buyers.

author: Don Weinland


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Costa Rica: User Recovers Mobile Phone Thanks to GPS · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Mauricio Valerio posted on his blog El Alumbrado Público [es] about his adventures recovering a mobile phone he left in a taxi in Costa Rica, which was recovered thanks to a GPS application.


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Ecuador: Don Bosco in Manta · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The relic of the Roman Catholic Saint “Don” Bosco has been making its way around Latin American, and Joselias Sánchez Ramos writes about the stop of the “guest of honor” in Manta, Ecuador [es], which attracted large crowd of the faithful.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Ecuador: The Price of Milk · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Even though government subsidies to Ecuadorian milk producers have increased, the savings are not passed along to consumers, where the price has gone up, notes the blog La Voz de Guamote [es].


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Global Voices Author Demographics 2010 · Global Voices
Lokman Tsui

Who are Global Voices Authors, what is their background, and what do they think about the future of Global Voices, journalism and citizen media? In a series of posts, we are sharing results from the Global Voices Author Survey in 2010. 116 Authors answered the anonymous survey in April. 87% of the respondents identified themselves as active Authors (at least one post in the last three months) the other 13% indicated they were currently inactive.
This post gives an insight into the basic demographics of Global Voices. It shouldn't come as a surprise that we are a very diverse and global group of people. Exactly how diverse? Read on.
Age
The majority of the Global Voices community is between 25-44 years old (75%). More than 50% is between 25-34 years old, over 25% is between 34-55. Younger people between 19-24 make up almost 15%, whereas almost 10% is 45 years or older.
Gender
Global Voices is very equal when it comes to the gender breakdown, which was pretty much 50/50.
Occupation
Authors volunteer valuable time to write for Global Voices. Many write for Global Voices alongside full-time jobs (40%). About 30% are freelance or self-employed, and another 15% identified themselves as students. A smaller group is part-time employed (10%) or unemployed/retired (5%).
Marital Status
Just over half of Global Voices authors are single (more than 50%). Nearly half (45%) are married or have partners. And a minority (5%) are divorced.
Education
The Global Voices community is highly educated. Over 85% of respondents indicated they have completed a university degree, and more than 40% have a post-graduate or doctoral degree. Some report their highest level of education as a few years at a university or college (15%).
Origin
The survey respondents were born in 65 different countries, and spread out over various regions.
The Global Voices community are diverse and cosmopolitan. Almost 20% have at least one parent born in a different country than they were born in, and 13% said they hold citizenship to more than one country. Almost 30% of respondents, are currently living in a country different than the one where s/he was born.
Location
The Authors surveyed are currently based in 58 different countries, spread out over various continents.
About half of respondents indicated they have only lived in one country, with the other half having lived in multiple countries. On average, respondents have lived in at least two countries, with some who have lived in as much as six, seven or even eight different countries.
Language
Authors in the Global Voices community speak on average three languages. Most people (70%) were not raised in English. Most people speak a different language than English often or very often (83%), some speak another language sometimes (7%), and others rarely or never (10%).
Computer
And finally, what every true geek wants to know: Global Voices Authors prefer PCs (41%) slightly over Macs (35%), with some opting for Linux/Unix (10%) or another operating system (3%).
A few have no particular preference (11%).

author: Lokman Tsui


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India, Bangladesh: The Distinctiveness Between Two Bengals  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Before 1956, Bengali cinema meant cinemas from West Bengal (India) but the trend become distinctive afterwards in both the Bengals. Fahmidul Haq at Communication and Culture of Bangladesh comments that “the distinctiveness between two Bengals is getting clearer as time passes.”


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Kyrgyzstan: Keeping the Calm · Global Voices
Chris Rickleton

Ethno-nationalism. It starts with arguments about language and ends with conflicts over land. Usually, the period in between is peppered with lies. For this very reason, the role in Kyrgyzstan played by independent media organizations such as kloop.kg in separating fact from disinformation is a crucial one.
Their first hand coverage [ru] of the rallies that took place in the village of Mayevka was balanced and responsible, in sharp contrast to a glut of reports that had surfaced in Internet forums and foreign news agencies the same day, claiming that the rallies were a premeditated attack on the village's ethnic Russian minority.
Rumours that a school in the northern town of Kant had been burned down and that ethnic clashes had taken place in Bishkek were likewise proved to be false.
Nevertheless, five people of different ethnic backgrounds lost their lives in the Mayevka rallies, providing evidence – if any was needed – that the post-revolutionary condition of this Central Asian nation is still far from stable.
And while sensationalism and hysteria distort the overall picture to the point of extremes, examples of nationalist, discriminatory sentiment can be found in other parts of the country. Sergey Vysotsky [ru], a journalist based in the lakeside town of Karakol, Issyk-Kul region, reports on an exercise in the deliberate exclusion of non-Kyrgyz speaking Russian journalists at a press conference with the new local government. In a piece titled “The new outlook of the new government” Vysotsky writes [ru]:
The Press Conference held for Karakol journalists with the governor of Issyk-Kul region, Mirbek Asanakunov… turned into a noisy debate, and almost grew into a scandal.
Participating Russian-speaking journalists asked to meet in an accessible language throughout, but faced a lack of understanding of their views on the part of the new leadership of the Kyrgyz language journalists and newspapers.
“Any person living in Kyrgyzstan is obliged to know the Kyrgyz language,” said the regional correspondent of the newspaper Kyrgyz Tuusu, Jeenbaev Turk. “It is time to hold all meetings only in the national language. “
Vysotsky adds that the press conference continued without the use of an interpreter for the non-Kyrgyz speaking journalists.
Russian remains as the ‘official’ language of Kyrgyzstan while Kyrgyz is the ‘state’ language.  Only 68.9% of the population are ethnic Kyrgyz, comparitively few compared to other, more homogenous Central Asian nations and much of the capital Bishkek's population considers Russian as its first language. Additionaly, due to its predominance during the Soviet period, many ethnic minorities have been brought up to know Russian, not Kyrgyz.
For those interested in the situation regarding land ownership in the country, a well informed piece written by blogger Akyikat [ru] titled ‘Stop Squatting!’ provides an interesting insight into some of the various interests involved in land seizure and occupation, a theme which is coming to the forefront of political life in Kyrgyzstan at the moment. In conclusion the author makes a plea to the provisional government to move quickly on the issue :
“Please initiate a moratorium on the granting of land plots for individual housing construction and start a mortgage program for the erection of a multi-storey public housing! We want to live in a beautiful city and not be afraid to visit all its parts,” the user posts in reference to the recent instability in some of the capital Bishkek's surrounding villages.”
Yet other users are shunning such weighty questions entirely, instead choosing to celebrate the arrival of Spring in this spectacularly beautiful, mountainous country.

author: Chris Rickleton


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PR career in China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Imagethief has written some advices for young foreigners who want to build a PR career in China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Singapore: Retraction of invitation to hearing-impaired educator · Global Voices
Shawn Lim

author: Shawn Lim


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Sudan Vote Monitor website was blocked for six days · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Election monitoring site, Sudan Vote Monitor, was blocked for six days last week. Reporters Without Border reported about the site being blocked and called for total unblocking.
Sudan Vote Monitor is a platform set up by Sudanese civil society using open source software, Ushahidi, to monitor elections in the country. The site enables citizens to report election irregularities.
You can learn more about the site from Rebekah's interview with Fareed Zein who heads Sudan Vote Monitor Project.
Civil society leaders in Sudan have accused the government of blocking access to the site:
This past week, Sudanese civil society leaders accused the Sudanese government of blocking the independent monitoring site, Sudan Vote Monitor.
Save Darfur reports that You Tube was also blocked in Sudan following the release of a video showing election rigging:
Likewise, it was reported that YouTube was being blocked in Sudan after the posting of a video that allegedly showed vote rigging in Red Sea State.
In August 2009, our author Sudanese Drima reported about the blocking of Youtube in Sudan.
According to The Initiative For an Open Arab Internet, The National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) in Sudan has a special unit to filter information accessed by internet users in Sudan. Blocking of sites in the country started in 2003.
In 2007, 41 websites were blacklisted by the ZANU-PF government in Zimbabwe, which included Global Voices Online. In 2008, Mohammed Keita reported that the website of the Committee to Protect Journalists was blocked in Ethiopia.
OpenNet Initiative reported in September 2009 that Ethiopia implements a filtering regime that blocks access to popular blogs and the Web sites of many news organizations.
For an overview of online censorship efforts related to the social web and major web 2.0 websites, visit Global Voices Advocacy Access Denied Map. Global Voices Advocacy is a project of Global Voices Online, which seeks to build a global anti-censorship network of bloggers and online activists dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and free access to information online.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Algeria: Mauritania’s Language Struggle  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“A short post on the struggle among Mauritanian students over Arabic and French language will appear here sometime next week. Mauritanians on the front lines are encouraged to send the blogger their thoughts and accounts either in the comments field here or by email,” writes Algerian blogger The Moor Next Door.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Algeria: Since 1989 · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“James D. Le Sueur’s Algeria since 1989: Between Terror and Democracy (Zed: 2010) provides for the most up-to-date reading on the Algerian Civil War since Algeria: Anger of the Dispossessed by John Philips and Martin  Evans,” writes Algerian blogger The Moor Next Door, who reviews the book.


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Bahamas: Public Education  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Weblog Bahamas‘ Rick Lowe wonders if there's hope for the country's public education system.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bahrain: Car Parks and Corpse Washers  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bint Battuta in Bahrain narrates one of her adventures in this post on car parks and corpse washers.


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Bahrain: Going Commando  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif jots down his experiences – which include going commando – in the first few hours of the morning in this post.


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Bahrain: Mideast Youth Gallery Launched · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Mideast Youth has launched a gallery which explores “images of the Middle East..from around the web.” Click here for a preview.


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Barbados: Parliament Action  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Underground reports on the goings-on in the country's Parliament, saying: “The display of disorder…this morning would have saddened all who witnessed or heard it.”


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Bhutan: Preparing For The SAARC Summit · Global Voices
Rezwan

Penstar informs that Bhutan is all set to host the 16th SAARC Summit and everybody is talking about it.


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Cuba: On Elections  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands focuses on the Cuban elections here and here, while Generation Y explains why she has adopted “abstention as a form of protest.”


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Ecuador: Latest Unemployment Figures · Global Voices
Milton Ramirez

The National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC in Spanish) released its quarterly report about unemployment in Ecuador. According to the figures, there were 418,706 unemployed Ecuadorians, which equals 9.1% of the 4.6 million Economically Active Population (EAP) in a country with a total population of 14 million. According to the report, unemployment in Ecuador went from 5.9% in 2008 to 6.5% in 2009 and 9.1% in the first trimester of the 2010. However, some economists and even casual observers believe that the number must be higher, in addition, to adding the number of Ecuadorians underemployed. Regardless of the exact number of Ecuadorians out of work, it is a serious problem that is of concern to the administration of President Rafael Correa.
Photo by amverdulla and used undera  Creative Commons license.
In light of the analysis made by Carlos Felipe Jaramillo [es], the World Bank Director for the Andean region, who said that this country has had a notable grow in the last three years because in 2007 its growth was around 2%, while in 2008 it rose significantly to 6.5%, but in 2009, due to the global crisis, the growth slowed. It was expected that the Ecuadorian economy was going to collapse, but that did not happen. However, INEC figures indicate that the impact of the economic downturn has had its share of negative effects.
Some are blaming the drought in some parts of the country for contributing to this unemployment, but others point to the heavy rains in other regions and the overproduction of grains like rice that may have a particular effect on the rise of unemployment. The data taken by the INEC belongs to the provinces of Guayaquil, Quito, Cuenca, Machala y Ambato.
INEC's report shows that women are unemployed at a rate of 11.6% rate while men reported 7.2%.  What they do understand is they're paying more money for each case of milk, storage silos  of rice are collapsing and sugar leakage across borders means that local consumers do not get it at any price.
There are some explanations for employment problem in Ecuador.  Byron Villacis, the INEC's director, is cited by Ecuador Imediato [es]. He explains that unemployment is traditionally higher during the first quarter of each year due to the end of the school year in the Coastal region and is the result of strong winter Ecuador have endured, especially in towns of the Ecuadorian coast. The survey was taken in 127 urban Ecuadorian centers in the five provinces. It showed that:
El desempleo se redujo sustancialmente en ciudades como Machala donde bajó; del 10,9% registrado entre enero y marzo de 2009, a 8% en los mismos meses de 2010. Así mismo, en Guayaquil la cifra bajó; de 14% a 12,3%; en Cuenca, de 4,9% a 3,7%; y en Ambato, de 4,1% a 3,1%. Solo en Quito se muestra un leve incremento de 7% a 7,1%
Johan Sebastian [es] from Guayaquil left a comment on a article of HOY newspaper, and blames Correa's government for the absence of any policies to reduce poverty. He writes, “They are busy on other issues that they neglect to establish effective incentives for businesses and promote exportation.”
The problem of unemployment is something that has been on the minds of Ecuadorians for quite some time. Looking back at a blog post from the city of Cuenca, Eugenio Stanculescu Moreno wrote in Democracia Verdadera [es] in 2008 about his hopes that the government will take clear measures to fight unemployment:
Es bastante grave el ver que no se toman medidas claras para estos problemas que afectan a la población, estamos ya con una tasa de desempleo que ha presentado un margen de subida, esto es alarmante de escuchar, para un Ecuador al que se le prometió un cambio, para un país al que se le prometió una estabilidad y un nivel seguro de tasas de empleos, me pregunto entonces, ¿donde queda el cambio que todos queremos?, el Ecuador necesita un cambio, uno para mejor, no para peor, no necesitamos mas desempleo, no necesitamos mas pobreza, queremos gente educada, que pueda estudiar, gente que pueda trabajar y que pueda tener una vida tranquila y digna, no queremos regresar a lo mismo en que siempre las cosas quedan en la nada, y se vuelve a decepcionar al pueblo, que brindo con cariño la confianza, confianza que les brindo el poder a los gobernantes, con la cual decepcionan ahora nuevamente al país.

author: Milton Ramirez


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Ecuador: New Technology Blog Editor Milton Ramírez · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

GeeksRoom [es], a technology blog in Spanish, welcomes Ecuadorian blogger and Global Voices author, Milton Ramírez as one of its newest editors.


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First Pakistani Anti-Virus Software · Global Voices
Rezwan

Spring of Autumn informs that the first ever Pakistani Anti-Virus Software has been launched.


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French West Indies, Haiti: Immigration then & now · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Indiscrétions tells the story  [Fr] of a Haitian girl deported from Guadeloupe by the French customs authority, for allegedly presenting fake identity documents at the airport, while Gwakafwika announces  [Fr Cr] a conference about Guadeloupean immigration in Haiti from the 1800s to the 1900s.

author: Fabienne Flessel


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Guyana: More than bravado · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Signifyin’ Guyana thinks the actions of the country's President have something endearing about them, adding: “I hope it turns out to be a lasting positive part of his legacy…”


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Haiti: Visiting the Capital  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Adventures in Life visits downtown Port-au-Prince, while Chronicles of an Unplanned Return blogs about Haiti's school system.


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India: A Zillion Reasons To Escape · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Why 1 million Indians Escape from India every year?” – this blog answers the question.


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India: Drinking Water Problem In Uttar Pradesh · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ram Banshal at India In Peril gives a real life example showing that the priority of the government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh “is not to tackle problems of the poor in a sympathetic way but to make huge expenditures on the display of alliance with the poor.”


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Malaysia: Hulu Selangor by-election · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

anilnetto shares his views about the recently concluded by-election in Hulu Selangor, Malaysia

author: Mong Palatino


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Martinique, Guadeloupe: Celebrating two great women · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Imaniyé pays homage  [Fr] to Martinican-born actress, Jenny Alpha, who, at nearly 100 years of age, is the oldest French artist alive, while CaribCreoleNews announces [Fr] two events in memory of Guadeloupe's first female lawyer, communist and feminist activist, Gerty Archimede, who would have turned 101 this year.


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Martinique: Hi-tech, High cost · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Martinican Bondamanjak is stunned at the price of Apple's iPad on the island. Comments to the post tackle the link between insularity, high prices and limited choice of products, consumer credits and the relevance of such devices considering the digital divide.


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Myanmar: Mystery disease outbreak · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A mystery disease has broken out in Myanmar. Symptoms include a high fever, bruising and swollen face and legs.


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Philippines: 2010 iBlog Summit · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The 6th Philippine Blogging Summit, or iBlog was successfully held at the University of the Philippines.