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Malawi: new treatment protocol to prevent mother-child HIV transmission · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Le Pangolin writes about a new HIV treatment being tested in Malawi [Fr] that might be even more effective than the current standard at preventing mother-child transmission.


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Malaysia: Opposition leader arrested again · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was arrested again by the police. Just My Thots issues an appeal to Mr. Ibrahim: “Drop your political agenda and start a new life as an ordinary Malaysian.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Morocco: A different perspective on Samir Kuntar · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Peaceful Vanguard has a different perspective on the return of Lebanese prisoner Samir Kuntar.

author: Jillian C. York


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Morocco: The Reality of Prostitution · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Morocco has the reputation of having a significant rate of prostitution.  While it may not be as high as perceived by many in the Gulf countries, Morocco – with the dual distinction of being impoverished and highly touristic – is home to many young women seeking a “way out.”  While some go abroad to study or work, others turn to prostitution.  Many work in smaller towns in Morocco and are patronized mostly by fellow Moroccans; others become part of Morocco's large and unfortunate sex tourism industry, from which a number of cases are prosecuted each year.  Still others turn to the wealthy Gulf countries for work; some make it as hairdressers or entertainers, but others end up – willingly or otherwise – as prostitutes.
One phenomenon in Morocco is that of the student-as-prostitute.  Blogger Words For Change has written an excellent piece on the young rural women of Morocco who, finding themselves in the big city for university, end up involved in prostitution.  An excerpt:
In the girls’ dorms, Aïcha learned how to dress, to put on make-up, and to talk like a woman. It is also in the university dorms that she was tempted to make some pocket money to pay for the pretty clothes which can make her look like city girls. The first step to the abyss was going out incognito with older men who invited her to good restaurants, and make her discover her charms and feminity. The deadly stab was when she discovered that she had to pay with her body for the few bills to realize her late adolescence fantasies.
Once Aïcha graduated, it was difficult to leave her well-paid night life for miserable desk work or to abandon the lights of the big city for a small house in Lhajeb. She told me with a bitter voice “When I was studying it was just to make pocket money. I didn’t realize that I am a prostitute until it became my full-time job after graduating”. Aïcha is still now living in the city and working as a prostitute to send money to her family and pay for her charges. Her education and beauty make very rich and well-known men from over the world pay for her services.
Another recent post, by Thejoker, touches on what a prostitute in Morocco looks like – anyone else:
There are in fact prostitutes, a simple word from you will turn them on and they will engage automatically a conversation.  What is to deplorate is that many of these girls do study, have a poor family and do the job because of a great lack of money.  I have seen once a girl, very young, who appeared to me to be virgin, she was scared someone approches her and at the end someone did speak to her, she continued to be fully contracted.  It is a real pity what we see in the streets of Casablanca.  Some moroccan people say that if a girl doesn't wear the tchadour [veil] then you can be sure that she is a prostitute.  It is not like in Europe where the prostitute are recognised by the law.  In Morocco it is a real melting pot we cannot know which girl is a prostitute and which girl is not.  I suppose that there are some girls wearing jeans and western clothes and who are not prostitutes but every one has to search before finding real love.


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Morocco to send imams to Europe · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Daily Maghreb reports that Morocco will send 176 preachers to Europe to “answer the religious needs of the Moroccan community abroad, to protect them from any speeches of an extremist or irregular nature and shelter them from fanaticism and extremism.”


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Palestine: Land of the Cursed  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“[B]ecause Israel continues to control the Palestinian population registry (yes, even after Disengagement), it controls Palestinian movement; Palestinian life; and it tears that movement and life and the families that would want to enjoy them apart,” writes Palestinian Laila El Haddad in this post entitled “Land of the Cursed.”

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Peru: Killing of an Otorongo Due to Negligence? · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Ramiro Celis of Iquitos News [es] reports about the killing of an Otorongo (Jaguar) that was held at the Quistococha Park Zoo in the city of Iquitos, Perú. Although the administration of the park said the animal had to be killed because it showed aggresion while being moved from one cage to another, it is not clear if the proper security measures were taken.

author: Juan Arellano


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Philippines: Punishment for owners of sex videos · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A Filipino lawmaker proposes to penalize people who “knowingly possess” video recordings of “private acts, including, but not limited to, sexual acts.” Blogger Cha Monforte supports the bill.


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Soviet History: Cars · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Edward Lucas reviews a book about Soviet cars.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Taiwan: Blog and Ads · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

PipperL sums up the recent discussion among bloggers on the issue of Blog Ads, such as, whether blogger should explicitly tell the readers that the post is an ads.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Trinidad & Tobago: Now Hair This!  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I’m a twenty-something overachieving chick with dreadlocks and a predilection for wearing Converse to work”: Trinidadian blogger The Liming House says her hair “is about defying stereotypes.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Uganda: Interview with singer Omega Bugemba Okello · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Pamela Stitch has an interview with Ugandan singer Omega Bugemba Okello at the African Loft, which includes one of her music videos. She talks about why she sings in Luganda and her difficulties in a male dominated industry, among other things.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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Uruguay: Poor Experience with DHL · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Sole of ¡Montevideo me mata! [es] angrily writes about her experience with the delivery service DHL and says that it needs more “competition in Uruguay.”

author: Eduardo Avila


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Zambia: On the President’s health · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

The blog Zambian Economist comments on the lack of information surrounding President Levy Mwanawasa's health. He says: “At the very time when the nation demanded honesty and transparency, they hid the truth, and put their personal agendas ahead of protecting the integrity of the sitting President and the rule of law, in the process losing their long grip on power.”


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Zimbabwe: Mugabe cartoons · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Thinker's Room posted a few satyrical cartoons on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe.


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Angry Arab: Israel Humiliated in Lebanon · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Israel has been humiliated in Lebanon in the last 2 decades, and its ability to inflict pain on Lebanon and the Lebanese without restraint or punishment (as it has done in 1950s, 1960s, 1970s) has been deterred,” writes The Angry Arab, as he watches news of the return of the Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli prisons to their homes.
Dr As'ad Abu Khalil's reaction is like that of many Arab bloggers and commentators, who view the release of the prisoners in exchange for two captured Israeli army reservists, as a victory for Lebanon.
He further adds:
What Israel has said (racistly) about all Arabs (that the only language they understand is the language of force) paradoxically applies to Israel itself. It also brings to mind–to my mind at least–that Yaser `Arafat was one of the worst people to preside over a revolution–any revolution. He so miserably mismanaged the confrontation with Israel, and did not treat Palestinian prisoners in Israel with the respect that they deserve. Muhammad Dahlan is the legitimate “child” of Arafat. And none of the Western coverage is pointing out the cruel and inhumane role of Ehud Barak in 1978: the man who shot Dalal Mughrabi while she was dead. He pulled her by the hair (only after she died as he would not dare do that to an alive Dalal) and mutilated her body before tearing her shirt off. Such are the sexual perversions of the former prime minister of Israel. And as for the details of the deeds of Dalal and her comrades, don't ever believe Israeli accounts of “enemy” operations. The state consistently lies and consistently fabricates. And that saying from the Babylonian Talmud applies to Israel: the punishment of the liar is that he is not believed even when he tells the truth. Just go back to my posts during the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006: I tried to catalogue the lies and fabrications of Israel during the war. Don't you remember the account of the three dead Iranian soldiers that Israel “found” in South Lebanon? Don't you remember that Israel claimed to be holding “hundreds” of bodies of Hizbullah fighters? (The number now it admits is five). I don't know what happened in 1979, but the family of Samir Quntar also denies the typically fabricated account that is put out by Israeli propaganda (repeated verbatim typically in the U.S. press). Quntar was 16 at the time and his brother Bassam has something to say about his brother in Al-Akhbar today. Israel lied about Munich and about every other confrontation with its Arab enemies, just as Arab governments lie. It is not easy for a state (Israel) that was founded on a racist ideology to accept that Arabs are like other people: that they cherish their dead and their living just like other…people
In another post, The Angry Arab asks:
Of course, the New York Times is busy producing propaganda and lies on behalf of the Israeli government. I was reading their accounts of the prisoner exchange and remembering the words of the late George Carlin: why are Israeli terrorists called commandos, and why are Palestinian commandos called terrorists. And there are always stories about the “victims” of Palestinian operations on Palestinian lands but never stories about the victims of Israeli crimes. Not one story about those Israeli “prisoners”: What were those Israeli occupation killers doing in Lebanon in the first place? And I hate how Israeli (and American and Saudi) propaganda keep referring to Israeli prisoners by their names, to humanize them. You will never see refer to them by their names here because I refuse to succumb to the media standards that distinguish between expensive human being, and the cheaper human beings. You want me to feel sorry for an Israeli pilot who was downed while dropping cluster bombs on villages and towns in South Lebanon? Are you kidding me?
Dr Abu Khalil continues to take offence to the news coverage or lack of in the US and says:
These are 197 dead bodies delivered by Israel to Lebanon in the prisoner exchange. The two dead Israeli soldiers have received more coverage those those 197 dead Arab bodies. Hell, dead Israeli soldiers receive more coverage than all the Arab living. Such are the racist standards of the White Man. This explains why MEMRI sent out a bulletin today protesting that Fath's PLC members (from Fath movement, for potato's sake) honored Dalal Al-Mughrabi (the “professional” propaganda outfit, MEMRI, labeled dead Dalal as a “terrorist”). According to Zionism, even dead Arabs (women, children and the rest) are terrorists. If Dalal was a terrorist, does not that make Ehud Barak a Super-terrorist? Those dead Arab bodies are not all Hizbullah: only 9 belong to Hizbullah fighters. 17 belong to the Lebanese Communist Party, 22 to SSNP, and 30 to the Amal Movement. The rest belong to various Arab countries: they died fighting in Lebanon for Lebanon and for Palestine. They all (148 of them) belonged to various Palestinian organizations. Some were from Tunisia. But make no mistake about it: the supply of Arabs willing to fight Israeli occupation will never deplete. Never.
PS I posted this before I read the New York Times. Sure enough, there was not a single picture of a funeral for the dead Arab bodies. Instead, the New York Times have been publishing pictures of Israeli tears for THREE DAYS IN A ROW, including today when the news is the arrival of the 197 bodies.


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Argentina: Senate Rejects Tax Hike on Agricultural Exports · Global Voices
Jorge Gobbi

The Argentinean Senate recently rejected the proposal to increase taxes on agricultural exports. The poll ended with a tie of 36 votes, and the President of the Chamber, Julio Cobos, who is also the country's Vicepresident and part of Christina Fernandez de Kirchner's team, broke the tie with his vote against the retentions. Such decision is a victory for the sectors linked to the so-called “countryside”, one that includes big land owners, small farmers, and private companies that rent land to harvest soy, a product that nowadays has a high value in the international market. But it also started an internal political crisis of unpredictable consequences for the Argentinean Government, which still has three more years to govern.
At Viva el Campo [es], they celebrated the decision with cheers: “Viva la Patria!” (Long Live the Motherland!), and they summarized the Senate's session where the law project of mobile retentions was rejected. At Paro Agropecuario [es] they make a call to build a better country, and they also hope the President continues her duties, for which she was elected -a response to “coup d'etat” accusations that sectors close to the Government attributed to those who carried out the protest. At Ciudadanos Participando [es]  they say “Kirchner's has her Waterloo”.
Mendieta el Renegau [es] asks to understand Julio Cobos’ position and discusses it without kicking him out of the Government. At Homo Economicus [es]  they wonder about the consequences of the Government's defeat. And at El Blog del Ingeniero [es]  they assure that, in fact, in this long four months conflict, nobody has won and it's more likely we all lost. Meanwhile, at Arte Política [es] , an user of the community started a post to allow users to insult “Cleto”, Julio Cobos’ middle name, who untied the poll against the Government he's part of. Despite the title, you can find a debate about Cobos’ role in the rejection of the law project.
By the way, La Nacion newspaper has a section called “Soy Corresponsal“, where readers can publish texts and pictures, and it had the Senate's voting as the main topic. For those who are looking for posts in English, there isn't much, but you can check out Understanding Argentina; By The Fault and Open Democracy.

author: Jorge Gobbi


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Armenia: Cigarettes & National Identity · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Stuff Armos Like, a new irreverent look at what makes Armenians tick, says that unlike many parts of the world where the anti-smoking lobby has made significant progress, cigarettes are a defining part of the Armenian reality. The blog jokingly says that even if smoking was banned in every other country, cigarette manufacturers would still have a market in Armenia.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Armenia: Gay Rights · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on letters published in the Boston-based The Armenian Weekly discussing gay rights and same-sex marriage. The blog says the letters set an important precedent for fighting for gay and human rights issues and hopes that the same will occur in Armenia proper.


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Azerbaijan: Homophobia, Politics & Corruption · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped: Gay Armenia continues to detail the ongoing saga of Agil Khalil, an opposition reporter in Azerbaijan, who was recently stabbed. Although the authorities in Baku continue to maintain that the perpetrator of the attack was a jilted former-lover, the blog notes that international organizations have determined the following trial as “fake.” The blog says that  the prevalent homophobia in Azerbaijani society was instead used to protect his real attackers and the reason for the stabbing — Khalil's investigation into corrupt land deals in the capital, Baku.


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Brazil: Urgency requested for Cyber-Crime Bill · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Sérgio Amadeu [pt] raises an alert related to the 13 new cyber-crimes bill: it has been requested that the bill was treated as urgent. “Approving this request means that the project will be voted by the House of Representatives soon”, while bloggers call for a debate. More info in Portuguese here.

author: Paula Góes


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China: Government Response to Weng’an Incident · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Thalia Kwok from Shanghaiist blogs about the change of strategy in Chinese government's response to Weng'an incident.


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China: Mass Incident in Huizhou · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Buxi blogs some images about the most recent mass incident in Huizhou.


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China: Naked Government Official · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Li Yin-he re-posted an article about “naked government officials” which refers to (quite often corrupted) officials whose family members have migrated overseas. According to the article, there are 1,080,000 overseas Chinese who are relatives of these “naked officials”.


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China: Olympic Intellectual Property Right · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Two cold gets the information that in order to protect intellectual property right, bloggers can't do live video cast nor post Olympic photos on their blogs. Moreover, there are other measure to protect Olympic sponsors, some ads with Olympic sport players as spoke person would be blocked during Olympics.


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China: Tiananmen Security Check · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Huang An-nian has a strong feeling that the security in Tiananmen has become stricter before Beijing Olympics.


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China: Yang Jia Harmonized · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Lui Xiaoyuan got the message from Sohu blog editor that articles about cop killer Yang Jia have become sensitive and some of those have to be blocked.


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Colombia: 60th Anniversary of Professional Football · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Rafa XII of equinoXio provides some historical details regarding the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Colombian Professional Football league.


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Cote d’Ivoire: On corruption · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Théophile Kouamouo comments [Fr] on President Laurent Gbagbo's recent anti-corruption operation in Cote d'Ivoire. He says: “The coffee-cocoa industry barons will be judged. But we don't talk much about the credibility of those that will judge them. Now, Ivorian justice is as ill as the political class[…] We need a true moral revolution, a subversion of our fake values”.


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Dominica: Tattoo You? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“An adult’s desire for body art should be respected. However a misinformed obsession for tattoos, especially among Dominican and other Caribbean teenage girls…should be a cause for deep concern”: Dominica Weekly guest blogger guest Danielle Edwards thinks that West Indian women are being judged by their tattoos.


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Dubai: Seventeen Deported for Homosexuality  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Police in the Gulf tourist hub of Dubai say they've detained 17 foreigners for allegedly displaying homosexual behavior in malls and other public places,” reports The Angry Arab News Service.


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Egypt: 160,000 Blogs and Counting  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“According to the egyptian government, Egypt now has more than 160,000 blogs,” reports Sandmonkey from Egypt.


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Egypt: Is Kuntar Worth it?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Too many people  are jovial about the return of Samir Al Kuntar, with even Nasrallah informing him that the 2006 war was for him. The question I would like to pose here, regardless of whether or not Kuntar is a child killer , is it worth it?” writes Sandmonkey, from Egypt.


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Environment: Updates from African Bloggers · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

In this edition of Global Voices environment we check in with the African environment bloggers, who have fascinating pictures to share, discussions on solar technology, concerns about forest re-allocation and updates on past stories.
Urbansprout discusses news from solar researchers who announced new technology involving glass sheets coated with light absorbing organic dyes. Urbansprout asks:
Can a piece of glass with a layer of paint on top of it absorb enough sunlight to generate an alternative to the rather expensive solar energy we have at the moment?
In a previous post, Urbansprout heralded the creation of the first ‘One Planet eco-village in the African continent. He notes the 10 guiding principles behind the design of the eco-villages, and expounds on what this eco-village would mean:
This is not your common garden variety ‘eco village'! Their next proposed village is Sibaya, just outside Durban – the first One Planet eco-village on the African continent.
Sibaya will be a community of indigenous gardens, a place where neighbours share cars, where cycling lanes take you to nearby restaurants and shops, where all waste is recycled and where fresh fruit and vegetables are dropped off on your doorstep…
Moses Sserwanga writes that the Ugandan government is still trying to give away 7,100 hectares of the Mabira tropical rainforest. The prospect of turning Mabira forest into sugarcane plantations ignited protests last year, with SMS being used to mobilize Ugandans to protest the plans for a plantation by the Mehta Group. He says:
Govt is back at its cat and rat game
Without shame, and respect to public opinion, government is back to its old schemes to give away about 7,100 hectares of a national treasure- Mabira tropical rainforest- to Mehta Group for sugarcane growing.
But the most bizarre aspect of this latest government plot is the uncoordinated and contradictory actions of the technocrats who serve in the Ministry of Water and Environment.It’s hardly two years when the same technocrats who are now plotting to zone the 29,964 hectares of Mabira and effectively pave the way for its destruction- warned of the severe consequences of such actions.
He discusses the issue in light of the climatic changes set to occur in Africa, adding…
On the thorny issue of Mabira where the public has demonstrated unprecedented solidarity in the resolve to protect this national resource, government should take precaution when making decisions that will hurt national interest. The concept of sustainable development comes in hand here. Any development especially President Museveni’s much touted industrial development should be ecologically viable.
Situations where such development can cause irreversible harm to the environment should be avoided. The destruction of our forest cover spells trouble for the country’s reservoir of biodiversity. The public should remain firm in the struggle to save Mabira forest.
Phil of Kenya Environment News writes of a nuclear waste plant in Kenya, saying:
Kenya is a few days away from hosting the first ever dreaded and less understood radioactive waste processing facility at Oloolua, located at the institute of primate research in Kajiado district. If the facility is allowed to proceed, Kenyans will without doubt pay dearly, in the same way history is certain to harshly judge the current generation.
Phil also posts about an initiative that provides power for rural communities in Kenya:
The first power-generating centre using environmentally friendly hydro and solar power has been inaugurated in a Kenyan village 150 kilometres north east of Nairobi by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
Apart from generating electricity, the new centre, in Kibai village in Kenya’s Kerugoya division, promotes the use of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps to replace kerosene lamps that contribute to respiratory illnesses in children and women who use them on a daily basis.
More information is available on the Lighting up Kenya blog.
Dr. Leakey answers some questions from the blogger Dipesh Pabari about climate change in East Africa.
We end with some pictures of the Cobhouse that was mentioned on Global voices in March of this year. The cobhouse is an eco-friendly building that is built using clay, straw and wood.

author: Juliana Rotich


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Ghana: On the medal controversy · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Ghana Unite for Development comments on the recent gold medal controversy in GhanaCan we really continue producing gold here in Ghana: “I was really surprised when I read that the award medals were purchased for the total price of £740,000 from a jeweler in UK […] Can we really continue producing gold here in Ghana, selling the raw gold and then after that buy back our own gold for outrageous prices from those same people who bought it from us”.


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India: Married in the Gulf · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Achelois writes a poignant post on young South Asian women who marry men in the Gulf and end up losing their identity.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Iran: Bloggers campaign to save wetlands · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iran has great and diverse wetland ecosystem but unfortunately some of them are in very critical condition. Several green bloggers and journalists believe that the Iranian government has been careless about these wetlands. Their decision to construct roads and build dams have damaged them severely.
Green bloggers decided to launch a campaign, which runs July 5-10, to inform people and other bloggers about the beautiful wetland nature and their endangered status. They have also published several photos to show the beauty of the Anzali wetlands in contrast to its destruction.
Beauty and Peace
Anzali, in the north of Iran, is one of the most important wetlands and has attracted several bloggers’ attention. We can discover its peaceful nature thanks to Kossof, a leading photo blogger.
He also shows its beauty:
Mohsen Tizhoosh, a green blogger and activist, says [Fa] that we should launch a green campaign on the Internet in each season and promote environmental issues among bloggers. He also published another photo to remind us about the wild life in this area:
Destruction
Jamshidi, a blogger and journalist, says it seems that the Japanese care more about the Iranian wetlands than the Iranian government. She writes [Fa] that:
5 years ago, Japanese researchers and specialists studied the Anzali wetland and warned about the consequences of constructing a road… The government wants to construct an alternative road about 500 meters longer than this one, which will damage severely the Anzali wetland.
She adds “Japan paid the costs of the Anzali wetland studies. But now some people do not want to follow the environmental organization's advice because it costs too much.”
She has published several photos showing the destruction and the presence of security forces making way for the road construction:

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Several Iranian Churches on UNESCO’s list · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kourosh Ziabari writes that several Armenian churches in Iran have been registered on UNSCO's World Heritage list.


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Iran:”Alone in Paradise” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kosoof, an Iranian leading photo blogger, has published a fascinating photo from “Shoormast lake” in the north of Iran. He calls the photo “alone in paradise”.


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Israel: Law to Prohibit Exchanges  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“We need to pass a law prohibiting the exchange of murderers or anyone convicted of a violent crime for kidnapped Israelis, soldier or civilian, alive or dead. Gilad Shalit needs to be the last such exchange that is made,” writes Israeli blogger Yael.


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Israel: The Ugly Face of Lebanon  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Yesterday the world was treated to an image of Lebanon that was ugly as can be. […] The Lebanon we saw yesterday simply did not correspond to the kindhearted, friendly Lebanese we have always known,” writes Jewlicious, in response to the festivities which greeted the return of the Lebanese prisoners from Israeli prisons.


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Jamaica, Guyana: “Small Boys”  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp features a poem by Guyanese writer Marc Matthews.


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Jamaica: Patois Parlance  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Transition Sunshine says that “all Jamaicans are multilingual, and while some may not speak patois, they all understand it”. Posted with video to prove her point.


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Jamaica: Stolen Beach  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Apparently, some ‘enterprising’ Jamaicans have figured out a solution to the growing problem of private ownership of our beachfront lands”: Long Bench reports on the stealing of a beach, adding: “If this kind of theft weren’t a sign of how actively we are digging a serious hole for ourselves in this country…I would salute the truckers as heroes in this ultimate sabotage.”


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Japan: Chinese Novelist wins Akutagawa Award · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

On Tuesday, the Akutagawa Award for Fiction, generally considered the most prestigious literary prize in Japan, was awarded to Chinese novelist Yang Yi (楊逸, Liu Qiao in Chinese) for her work, “Tokiga nijimu asa” [ja] [時が滲む朝, or “A Morning When Time Blurs”]. Yang, who was born in Harbin and whose native language is Chinese, came to Japan in 1987 and, after learning Japanese at a language school, studied Geography at Ochanomizu University [ja] in Tokyo. She was earlier nominated for (but did not win) the Akutagawa award in November for her first novel, “Wang-chan” [ja].
Below are some thoughts from blogs, forums and media in both Japanese and Chinese (Chinese links and translations thanks to Meng Zhang, Oiwan Lam and Pipper Lee).
There was a wide range of views on the award in Japan, with forums offering the most critical responses. In a thread at 2channel, one commenter refers to Zainichi Korean Miri Yu who won the Akutagawa Award in 1996:
44 ：名無しさん＠九周年：2008/07/16(水) 08:43:45 ID:kz9a78nd0
ここ最近の芥川賞受賞作品＆作家って、なんか話題性だけのおかしな選考多くね？
あの柳 美里でさえ受賞してるんだぜ？
Another commenter wrote:
57 ：名無しさん＠九周年：2008/07/16(水) 08:47:55 ID:w3Rkufdc0
出来レースなのかもしれんが、日本人作家が受賞できなかったのは事実だ
次はどんな手を使ってもいいから受賞しろよ
純粋な作品の質でも負けてるかもしれんぞ
Tiananmen came up a lot in comments. One commenter wrote:
68 ：名無しさん＠九周年：2008/07/16(水) 08:51:23 ID:7VuLmnlS0
反体制の人だろうな、どう考えても
天安門事件を扱って小説書いて中国に帰ろうものなら
即逮捕だろもう二度とでてはこれない
Bloggers offered generally more encouraging views. Japanese blogger pote741 described how impressed they were at Yang winning the prize:
私はまだ読んでいないので何とも言えないのだが…
この楊さん。凄いな〜〜〜〜。
日本語を第一言語として普段使っている我々ですら
「日本語って難しいな〜〜」っと思っているのに
よくぞ外国人が日本語で小説を書き、しかも「芥川賞」を受賞したもんだ
最近、日本の文学界では
「携帯小説」などのように
読み易く、文節の短い「詩」的な文章が流行っている
コレは字マスに規定があり、横表示の携帯ならではの文節なのだが
これによってクドクドと文字を並べる文章から
端的で人の心を打つ文体が出来上がったと思う
[…]
これらを考えてみても「楊さん」凄いぞ〜っと思うのだが…
その一方で何だか寂しい気もする
日本人の書いた小説よりも、外国人の書いた小説の方が優れていたのか〜〜
っという「ガッカリ感」がある
Blogger physicomath was also impressed:
日本人でも多和田葉子さんだかがドイツ語で小説を書いてドイツ語圏で評価されて何かの賞をとったというので評判になったが、それでも母語でない言葉で書いて文学賞をとるというのはすばらしい。
A visiting student in China studying Chinese language, blogger johny_gee searched through Chinese language media coverage of the prize and found some interesting results:
さて、受賞作品『時が滲む朝』は内容が内容だけに中国ではどういう扱いになるのかなぁと思っていましたが、日本でも既に報道されているように一部メディアは芥川賞受賞は伝えるものの、その内容、特に89年の件に関しては全く触れておりません。でもこういった報道もありますし、ココ のように｢安｣の字を伏せて報道しているところや、三文字をそのまま出しているココ のようなところもあります。それぞれのサイトがどういった性質のサイトだかは知りませんが、いずれにしても中国で普通に開けるサイトです。へ～、書いちゃうところもあるんだなぁって感じですね。
中国語版も出版されて中国でもベストセラーに!!!!…………なんてことはありえないんでしょうけど。
Now turning to the Chinese-language Internet, johny_gee's observation about media avoiding mention of Tiananmen seems to be the state of affairs, as demonstrated by this description of the book (translation by Meng Zhang):
杨逸此次获奖作品描写了农村出生的一名中国男子东渡日本，他和其他中国人在此后十几年的生活中所体验的理想与现实的落差。
One blogger writes (following translations by Oiwan Lam):
日本人为何将１３９届芥川文学奖为什么给一个不太著名的中国人?
来一个鼓掌就掌声雷鸣,来一个鼓励就桂冠加顶。
这就是日本人惯用的”捧杀”手段。日语里有”Homegoroshi”
的说法,如果用中文来诠释的话有”给你赞誉,让你混头,终为我用”的意思。
Why should Japanese give the Akutagawa Prize to a Chinese person who is not so well known?
Clap one hand and millions follow, give some encouragement and one feels like they have received a crown.
Japanese are used to these ways, in Japanese it is called “homegoroshi” (褒め殺し), which means “give you some praise, make you dizzy and become useful to me”.
Blogger warphotographer meanwhile notices that the novel is about the Tiananmen incident [zh] and wonders why foreign countries always focus on the painful experiences of Chinese people. At dongyangjing.com, “Tokyo doctor” (东京博士) wonders if it is necessary for yang to use Tiananmen as background:
说到底大背景是不是真的有必要采用天安门事件我也心存疑问，作者的初衷也许不一定是我们的小人之心，但客观上难以回避有点在海外哗众取宠追风的嫌疑
Ning chun long, on the other hand, welcomes the news, reminding readers:
1、清记住这张脸，这是一个中国人，一个拥有中国国籍的中国人。
2、请记住她获得的是日本最权威文学大奖，日本人也同样值得尊重。
Commenter shy snow at this blog post (which quotes the media report) explains why they are concerned about reactions to the work:
我很怕有一些愤青在网上骂她啊，因为”大学生が1989年の天安門事件で挫折……”
其他的我不能评价什么，因为不了解这个作家，也不了解作品。
就是担心国人的仇日情绪乱发泄
As a final note, although mention of Tiananmen was avoided or even blocked out in the Chinese media, the topic was picked up in Taiwanese media that covered the story (see this article at TTV [zh] and this one at Liberty Times [zh]).
Chinese links and translations thanks to Meng Zhang, Oiwan Lam and Pipper Lee

author: Chris Salzberg


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Korea: Chopsticks… Rather Complicated… · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

When I went out with East Asian editors one night at the Global Voices Summit 2008, we were so into talking about the differences between chopsticks. Why does Korea use iron for chopsticks while other chopsticks countries use wooden materials? Since returning home, I searched for whether some bloggers post about chopsticks. I am introducing some of the interesting posts here.
젓가락의 유래
젓가락을 처음 쓴 나라는 중국이라는 데는 이견이 없습니다. 어 떤 중국학자들은 젓가락이 처음 사용된 것은 음식을 먹기 위한 것이 아니라 요리를 하기 위한 목적이었을 것이라고 생각합니다. 초기의 젓가락은 썩기 쉬운 나무나 대나무로 만들었던 것 같습니다. 바로 그것이 젓가락이 처음 사용된 때가 언제인지를 정확하게 말하는 것이 거의 불가능한 한 가지 이유입니다.[…] 이렇게 젓가락의 유래는 대나무로부터 시작되었으며 젓가락은 세계에서 15억명 이상이 쓰지만 한, 중, 일 세 나라가 젓가락인구의 80%이상을 차지한다 합니다. 같은 젓가락 문화권이라도 상대적으로 덜 미끄러운 나무젓가락을 쓰는 중국과 일본과는 달리 한국은 쇠젓가락을 써 왔습니다.
The use of chopsticks is like a childhood rite of passage in Korea. A netizen shares his experience on the meaning of chopsticks in Korean society.
대학교때 여자후배 둘에게 밥을 사주고 있었습니다. 선배에게 빌붙기하는 여자후배의 귀여움에 넘어간것이죠.  그떄 유부국수인가를 먹는데  두  여자후배 모두 젓가락질을 못하더군요. 그 크로스로 하는 젓가락질 아무도 가르쳐주지  않으면 크로스로 하게 되는데 두 후배모두  젓가락질을 제대로 안배웠거나 배우다가 포기했구나 하는 생각이  들더군요. 그러면서 제 어렸을떄 풍경이 떠 오르구요.   한 7실인가 8살로 기억되는데  외가댁에 갔다가 엄청 혼났습니다. 다 큰녀석이 젓가락질 못한다구요. 삼촌3명에게 둘러 쌓여서 개인레슨까지 받았습니다. 그러나 그렇게 쉽게 젓가락질을 배웠다면  누구나 다했겠지요. 포크질이나 숟가락질을 누가 가르쳐주지 않아도 한번보고 따라할수 있지만 젓가락은 그런 수준의 스킬을 요구하는게 아닙니다.
그렇게 1주일동안 혹독하게 젓가락질 수업을 받았습니다. 나중에 스트레스로 밥도 먹기 싫더군요. 제가 손이 남들보다 좀 작아서 악력이 상당이 약합니다.  뭐 손으로 하는것은 무조건 남들보다 못합니다. 그래서 그런지 정말 잘 배워지지가 않더군요.  하다하다 삼촌들이 포기했습니다. 그리고 집에 와서 혼자 해봤지만 잘 안되더군요. 그래도 계속 노력을 했습니다. 노력을 하면 되긴 되는데  제대로 삼지법으로 되는건 아니고 비슷하게 되더군요. 언뜻 보면 제대로 하는 것이지만  자세히 보면 약간 다릅니다. 그 모습을 다시 외가댁에 가서 보여줬더니  그냥 통과 시키더군요.
그 이후로 계속 그렇게 살고 있습니다. 위의 사진처럼 삼지법도 이제 할수 있습니다. 어렵지 않더군요. 하지만 습관이란것이 무서워서 그냥 약간틀린 모습으로 살고 있습니다. 플래쉬백되었던 기억을 다시 주머니에 넣고 앞에 있는 여자후배들의 크로스 젓가락질을 보면서 이 후배들은 어려서 부모님들이 회초리들고 안가르쳤겠구나 하는 생각이 들더군요.  어느정도 방임을 하거나 자유로운 집안분위기에서 살았겠구나 하는 생각이 들구요. 뭐 별것도 아닌것 가지고  생각의 가지를 펼친것은 있습니다. 회사생활할때도 젓가락질 못하는 신입여자직원을 봤을때도  물끄러미 쳐다본적이 있습니다. 어느누구하나 젓가락질을 가지고 뭐라고 하지는 않습니다.  하지만  나이들어서 젓가락질 못하다니 하는 시선은 있는듯 합니다.   그런것을 가지고 말하기는 그렇고  그냥 속으로만 판단하는 단계이죠.[…]
혹시 주변에서 젓가락질 못하는 분들을 보면 어떤 생각이 드나요? 나이들어서 젓가락질도 못하나~~ 하는 생각을 하시나요.  아니면  뭐 어때 자기가 편한대로 먹음되지라고 생각이 드나요.
젓가락질 참 오묘한 스킬입니다.
I had tough lessons on how to use chopsticks appropriately for a week. I even didn’t want to eat meals because of the stress. My hands are smaller than others and I don’t have enough power in my fingers. So I am not good at doing something with my hands. In the end, my uncles gave up. After getting back home, I practiced by myself on and on. It didn’t look great, but it was almost close. If you glimpse at it, it looks fine. But if you look into it, I still have some problems. Anyway, when I showed how to use them when I visited my grandparents’ house again, I passed.
Since that time, I have lived like that. I can do it as in the photo. It’s not difficult. But the habit is scary. I still keep a slightly wrong habit. It seems that these two friends were not taught by strict parents when they were kids. Their parents must have been permissive and let their kids alone. I might think way too much. When I am at my working place, sometimes I look at female co-workers who don’t use chopsticks well. Nobody comments to them about that. But of course, there are such looks at adults who can’t use chopsticks in an appropriate way. It is the time we think inside, not speaking loudly.[…]
What do you think when you see people who don’t use chopsticks well around you? Do you think how they can’t use them in adulthood? Or, you just think whatever is convenient they do?
How to use chopsticks… it’s a delicate skill.
What is the difference of chopsticks of Korea, China, and Japan? And what is the best way to learn the skill?
[…]사실 아시아의 15억 인구가 바로 이 젓가락을 사용하지만 각각의 사용처와 기교는 서로 다르다. 젓가락의 종주국을 대표하는 한국, 중국, 일본의 젓가락질을 간단히 비교해 보면 다음과 같다.
중국	한국	일본
길이	대	중	소
재질	나무	쇠	나무
중국의 젓가락이 가장 긴 이유는 중국의 음식 문화에 있다. 중국의 음식 문화는 기름에 튀긴 것이 많은데 일단 음식을 기름에 튀기고 튀긴 음식을 먹기에는 짧은 젓가락 보다는 긴 젓가락이 유리하기 때문이다. 또 젓가락의 재질은 튀김에 사용하다 보니 나무 재질이 많다. 참고로 우리나라에서도 튀김용 젓가락은 나무 재질의 긴 젓가락을 주로 사용한다. 일본은 우리와 비슷한 밥상 문화가 발달한 국가이지만 해양 국가로 생선류를 자주 먹으며, 밥을 들고 먹는 특성때문에 젓가락의 길이는 우리보다 짧다. 또 밥을 들고 떠먹는 습성때문에 우리와는 달리 숟가락을 사용하지 않고 젓가락만 사용하는 문화로 정착되었다. […]우리의 젓가락은 대부분 쇠로 만든다. 나무 젓가락의 명칭이 와리바시라는 일본 말로 불린 것을 보면 우리문화에는 아예 나무 젓가락이 없는 듯하다. 쇠로 만든 젓가락과 나무 젓가락의 가장 큰 차이는 쇠로 만든 젓가락이 나무 젓가락에 비해 사용하기 더 어렵다는 점이다. 쇠로 만든 젓가락은 표면이 매끄럽기 때문에 젓가락으로 다른 것을 집으려고 하면 잘 집어지지 않는다. 상당수는 금방 미끄러진다.
따라서 한국의 젓가락이 사용하기 가장 힘들다. 사실 젓가락으로 콩 하나 하나를 집어서 먹는 묘기는 다른 어떤 나라 사람들도 할 수 없다. 따라서 우리나라에서는 젓가락질을 하는 방법이 따로 있고 아이들에게 밥상 머리에서 가르치는 것이 젓가락질이다. 우리나라 사람들이 젓가락질을 잘하는 이유는 간단하다. 그 역시 음식 문화에 있다. […]
우리나라는 반찬을 거의 대부분 젓가락으로 먹는다. 매끈 매끈한 콩 자반도 젓가락으로 먹고, 무르디 무른 묵도 젓가락으로 먹는다. 어른들은 싫어하지만 밥도 젓가락으로 먹을 수 있으며 물에 말은 밥도 젓가락으로 먹을 수 있다. 공중에 떠있는 콩 자반을 젓가락으로 매가 참새를 후려치듯 후려쳐서 뺏았가는 것도 가능하다. 이처럼 우리는 젓가락을 이용해서 다른 사람과 오늘도 경쟁하며 음식을 먹는다.
남은 이야기 필자는 젓가락질을 아주 못했다. 사실 젓가락질은 쉬운 작업이 아니다. 젓가락질은 엄지, 검지, 중지의 절묘한 상호작용이 있어야 가능한데 이런 절묘함은 쉽게 익힐 수 있는 것이 아니기 때문이다. 젓가락질이 좋아진 것은 중학교 3학년 때이다. 당시 필자의 제안으로 7명이 시작한 도시락 까먹기가 그 시발이었다. 보통 도시락은 점심시간에 먹는다. 그런데 한참때라 점심 시간까지 기다리지 못하고 중간에 까먹는 때도 많았는데 이렇게 먹으면 학교를 파하기 전에 배가 고프다는 점이 문제였다. 그래서 도시락 까먹기 계를 조직했다. 총 7명이 참여한다. 아침에 오면 누구의 도시락을 먼저 까먹을지를 가위, 바위, 보로 정한다. 그리고 수업을 시작히기 전에 꼴지의 도시락을 7명이 동시에 까먹는다. 2교시에는 또 다른 녀석의 도시락을 까먹는다. 이런 방법으로 7교시까지 도시락을 까먹는 방법이었다. 당연한 얘기지만 도시락 하나를 7명이 까먹기 때문에 경쟁이 아주 치열했다. 젓가락질을 두번 하기도 힘들며, 채가는 것도 가능하고 흘린 것을 주워먹는 것도 가능하기 때문에 젓가락질을 잘하느냐 못하느냐는 생사와 직결된 문제였다. 직접 제안을 했지만 젓가락질을 잘 하지 못하다 보니 아주 불리했다. 며칠은 쫄쫄 굶고 손으로 떠 먹었다. 그러나 손으로 떠 먹는 것을 금지하는 법안이 상정된 뒤 손으로 떠 먹는 것도 힘들어 졌다. 결국 다른 녀석에게 젓가락질 하는 방법을 배웠다. 그리고 중학교 3학년이라는 어린 나이에 밥의 전쟁에 뛰어 들었다. 이때 이후 젓가락질 솜씨는 아주 늘었다.
China: The length of them is long and material is wood.
Korea: The length of them is medium and material is iron.
Japan: The length of them is short and material is wood.
The reason why Chinese chopsticks are the longest is due to the food. Chinese food is usually fried. In order to cook and eat them, long chopsticks are better than short ones and wooden materials are better as well. For reference, chopsticks for fried foods in Korea are also made of wood. Japan has the similar food with Korea, but they are surrounded by ocean and therefore they eat fish. They also raise bowls close to their faces when they eat food and therefore the length of their chopsticks is short. In addition, rather than using spoons, they mostly use chopsticks.[…] Korean chopsticks are made of iron. The reason why wooden chopsticks are called waribashi (Japanese term) in Korea is because we don’t use wooden chopsticks. The difference between iron and wooden chopsticks is that iron chopsticks are more difficult to use than wooden ones. The surface is slippery and therefore when you try to pick something up it is hard to grab. Most things slip away.
Using Korean chopsticks is not easy. The skill to pick a bean up with the iron chopsticks is not what others can do. Therefore, what we learn at mealtime is how to use chopsticks. The reason why we’re good at it is simple. It is from Korean food. […] When we eat small dishes, we usually use chopsticks. Shiny bean food and soft tofu… we all eat with chopsticks. Even though adults don’t recommend it, we eat rice that was soaked with water, using chopsticks too. We snatch a bean in other person’s chopsticks with chopsticks. Using chopsticks, we eat meals competitively with others.
I was really bad at using chopsticks. As a matter of fact, using chopsticks appropriately is not easy. Cooperative work with a thumb, index finger, and middle finger is necessary. The time when I was comfortable with using chopsticks was in my secondary third year. It was from cracking lunch boxes with 7 friends. Of course, lunch boxes are for lunch time. But we couldn’t wait and usually ate them before the lunch time. But the problem is if we eat early, we get hungry easily before the classes are over. So we have a club to crack a lunch box and seven people participated. Every morning, we had the game of paper, stone, and scissors and a loser’s lunch box would be taken for the seven people before the first class started. The next loser’s lunch box would be taken for us in the second class. In this way, to the seventh class, we finish all lunch boxes. Of course, having a lunch box with seven people was really competitive. Using chopsticks two times is hard. Snatching others was possible too. Therefore, using chopsticks well or not was connected to filling your stomach. Even if I was the one who suggested this game, I was at a disadvantage due to my short skill. For several days, my stomach was empty and sometimes I used my hands. But after we made the rule not to use hands, even using hands was difficult. Finally, I had to learn how to use chopsticks well. I jumped in a battle of meals at such a young age in the secondary third year. Since that time, my skill with chopsticks increased fast.
At home, there are usually kid chopsticks, father chopsticks, and mother chopsticks. A blogger brags how his grandchild can use chopsticks, called ‘Edison Chopsticks’ that were created for children by a Korean inventor.
어느덧 미국에 간지 6개월..작년 10월달(둥이 36개월)부터 조금씩 연습을 시켰는데, 처음에는 쉽지 않아 잘 사용하지 않았단다. 그런데 몇달이 지나 요즘들어 그냥 쥐어줘 봤더니 아니~ 자연스럽게 면을 먹더라나!!
A photo from a blogger, introducing how we can use chopsticks for making hairpins.

author: Hyejin Kim


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Lebanon: Arabs and the News  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“New York Times and other U.S. newspapers casually publish articles by Israelis and Zionists calling for the bombing of this Arab or that Muslim country. Would the New York Times publish articles by Arabs who call for bombing of Israel?” asks The Angry Arab News Service.


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Lebanon: Return of Prisoners – Part 2 · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Here’s the follow–up to my previous post on the return of prisoners. Although there are some bloggers who criticized the release of Samir Kuntar (like those linked to in the previous post), many others reflected the jubilant atmosphere in Lebanon as a result of the return of the five live Prisoners of War as well as the sense of victory felt because Israel finally handed over the bodies of 197 militants, most of which have been kept since the 1970s.
Following are some more blog links and quotes:
Kadmous posted a drawing in which the father tells the son as they move towards a map of Lebanon with a cross and a crescent depicting the unity of various religious groups in the country: “Come, my son, let's walk, we have ahead of us a victorious Arab country.” His own caption says:
“Words sometimes fail to tell the thoughts, and tears of joy are faster in the expression, after all we have seen.”
Lebanese Tag posted photos and updates of the release of the Lebanese prisoners as it went on.
The Tajaddod Youth blog posted in Arabic the declaration of the secretary general of the Democratic Renewal Movement (Tajaddod Movement) Antoine Hadad, in which he considered that the return of the prisoners as a proud moment for Lebanon and a bright spot in the lives of the Lebanese.
Meanwhile, For a Better Lebanon expressed anger and disappointment at the president, the ministers and the political leaders because they welcomed Samir Kuntar.
Tears for Lebanon also considered that Hezbollah emerged as the main beneficiary from the swap of prisoners between Hezbollah and Israel.
The Lebanese Inner Circle, who considered the swap as a great leap for Lebanon, reminded us of the Lebanese detained in Syrian prisons:
This is an immense leap for Lebanon, as Lebanese from all sects and political camps lauded Hezbollah’s achievement in the swap deal, making Lebanon the only country to regain all its detainees from Israel. This blog should note, there still remain Lebanese detained in the most harsh Syrian jails.
Green Resistance spoke of her feelings while taking part in the welcoming of the returning PoWs:
we awaited this day – and many of us did not believe it would ever come to fruition. even until this morning, when the Israelis wanted to conduct additional DNA testing of the two bodies they had received, some of us thought that the Israelis would then backtrack and not release Samir Kuntar. for hours, we awaited their arrival at Naqoura. The moment they were released and liberated on Lebanese soil, a few friends and I jumped in our car and drove (a bit lost) to el Dahyieh to celebrate.
Bob spoke of his feelings when he saw the political leaders line up to welcome Samir Kuntar:
As most of the Lebanese politicians lined up to salute the returned prisoners, my humanity cringed… like it did when innocent children were killed in Qana, the South and even in Israel.
Angry Arab criticized the western media for giving more coverage to the 2 dead Israeli soldiers and forgetting the 197 dead Lebanese and Arabs who were returned to Lebanon:
The two dead Israeli soldiers have received more coverage than those 197 dead Arab bodies. Hell, dead Israeli soldiers receive more coverage than all the Arab living. Such are the racist standards of the White Man.
Independence 05 does not consider Samir Kuntar a hero but writes that what happened was a point gained  by Hezbollah:
I have to say that I do not regard Samir Kuntar as a hero. I know saying something like this is regarded by certain Lebanese people as unpatriotic or un-Lebanese, but may I remind you that we are still in a democratic country here,… whether I agree with what they did or not is not the point here, but we have to admit, as a war action, that was a point going to Hezbollah. Hezbollah 1- 0 Israel.
Jnoubieh describes the atmosphere of jubilation and celebration that accompanied the freed prisoners and the personal presence of Nasrallah in the welcoming ceremony:
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah refused but take part in person with hundreds of thousands of people who gathered at the Raya playground in Beirut’s southern suburb to mark the release of Samir Kintar, Maher Kourani, Khodor Zaidan, Mohammed Srour and Hussein Suleiman, who were released Wednesday in the framework of Operation Al-Redwan. […] Political, diplomatic and religious figures attended the ceremony as Lebanese and Hezbollah flags were flying sending cool breezes amidst a very hot weather. Fireworks lighted the sky of Beirut’s southern suburb; the region that was devastated during the 2006 Israeli aggression against Lebanon.
More reflections and opinions, from more Lebanese blogs, about the swap and about Samir Kuntar in the next post, so check back.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Libya: Summer Fruit · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“I think fruit is the ONLY reason I tolerate summer at all here,” writes Khadija Teri, from Libya.


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Macedonia: American Girls Gone Global · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

The American authors of the travel blog Girls Gone Global received much attention from Macedonian readers (including those who use the link sharing service Kajmak.ot), who praised their insightful observations of the Macedonian Fun Quotient and everyday impressions.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Macedonia: Traditional Media Demonize Gamers · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Two influential Macedonian media outlets, Dnevnik daily and A1 TV, have recently published technophobic articles portraying the gamers as menace to society, using language bordering on hate speech.
This is not the first outbreak of technophobia in Macedonia (MKD). Traditional media have been portraying computer geeks as a threat in the past on many occasions. A case in point was the 2002 affair when many citizens complained about inflated phone bills, and titles such as “Citizens ripped off by computer geeks’ hot line talks” (MKD) blamed some generalized hackers, “burying” the possibility for mishap by the Telecom deep in the bowels of the text.
The latest technophobic trend includes articles with almost identical structure. They first advocate the thesis that gaming is a waste of youth's time, making them antisocial and aggressive, supported by anonymous statements by gamers or internet café owners, as well as psychologists or sociologists who confirm the thesis, even though they haven't actually made any empirical research about the issue. Use of stigmatizing terminology “suitable” for the demonized, marginalized groups in such articles is particularly worrisome.
For instance, the article “They leave their girlfriends and jobs to play” (MKD) equates gaming with “addiction” leading to “abandoned workplaces; stalled or ruined studies, and broken loves.” The most alarming thesis is that “violent games cause aggression,” for it portrays gamers as potential murderers who could snap at any time.
A similar story titled “Internet cafes are full of gamers” (MKD) incited numerous reactions on the Macedonian web, especially on the link sharing service Kajmak.ot (MKD). The article quotes a sociologist who seems to forget that children used to play “shoot them up” games such as “cowboys and Indians” or World War II-inspired “partisans and Germans” way before computer games were invented:
Experts warn that such games are dangerous. The aggression in front of the computer continues in the games outside the internet cafes, because when they exit into the real world, they are incapable of communicating in any other way.
“I had an opportunity to observe several internet cafes and a group of children who spent a lot of time there. They constantly played war games. They got so carried away, they even screamed, they were so immersed,” stated university professor Ilija Acevski.
“At that time I asked myself what the connection with reality was, when they faced real life after that. Will there be negative consequences? Of course!” said Acevski.
Placing a comment after the article on the A1 website, Darko Buldioski, one of the authors of the Komunikacii blog, wrote (MKD):
I still don't understand how the same old stories get repeated without any effort to dig a little deeper.
Such observations by this expert do not make him an expert. He should make his views public after conducting a scientific research on the subject, not an estimate at a glance.
In stories of this type, journalists continuously claim that “scientific research done worldwide justifies the fact that this way of communication represents addiction, an addiction which is the same as all types of vices.” Where are these scientific researches, why don't you show them to us…
Damjan Arsovski, the editor of the portal IT.com.mk, also reacted by vivisecting the news with responses paragraph-by-paragraph in his article “Macedonian media are full of stupidities” (MKD):
“To spend 5, 6 or more hours per day on the computer playing games or surfing the net, to live in cyberspace in a spaceless time.” (sic)
– I spend 5-6 hours per day on the internet every day, and in this “unreal” world I communicate with my peers, with businesspeople, receive information from all over the world, work on my education…
But even he could not muster a comment to the qualification from the conclusion of the article:
Gamers are regular people. They are children, fathers, husbands, brothers, but behind the computer screens they have another face–to use geek speak–they most often become cyber beasts.
FOSS advocate Arangel Angov posted a link to a scan of similarly absurd article from an old American tabloid as his reaction.
Treating this subject in such a way can be correlated with the lack of will to explore the underlying reasons for the increasing number of crimes, which is one of the dominant topics in the Macedonian media. Experts do not even attempt to explain the psychological or sociological motives affecting the perpetrators of the violent incidents during the parliamentary elections in June. It seems it is far easier to attack the gamers, even though so far no gamer has been pointed out as perpetrator of an incident involving violence.
However, it must be noted that some positive portraits of gamers have appeared in the same media outlets in the past, but only in the context of participation of teams from Macedonia in world cybersports championships (MKD).


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Madagascar: Family planning, baby-weighing and gospel choir. · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Jayne Taylor Gaubatz, a Peace Corps volunteer blogger  in  the southern city of Fianaratsoa, describes the impact of a well-done family planning poster, the importance of baby weighing in tandem and attending a Malagasy gospel choir [en].

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Madagascar:Fistula and Early Marriages.    · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Mialy, a blogger in Antananarivo, describes the plight of young married girls in rural areas who are subject to health  and  social concerns stemming from early pregnancy (fr). She explains that fistula, a consequence of giving birth at an early age, results in incontinences and therefore health complications compounded with social rejections. Malagasy laws allowed girls to be married as early as 14 years-old until 2007.  Health care costs and lack of education are the two other main aggravating factors.


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Malaysia: Blogger charged for criminal defamation · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Prominent Malaysian blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin has been charged for criminal defamation. Benstakes informs us that this is in relation to the blogger's accusation about the alleged involvement of the wife of the deputy Prime Minister in the murder of a Mongolian model.

author: Mong Palatino


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Mexico: Apology for Tragedy at Disco · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The Mayor of Mexico City Marcelo Ebrard publicly apologized for the tragedy in a local disco that left 12 people dead.  Daniel Hernandez of Intersections provides some more background information regarding the incident.


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Nelson Mandela, 90 years · Global Voices
Paula Góes

We, the people of South Africa, feel fulfilled that humanity has taken us back into its bosom, that we, who were outlaws not so long ago, have today been given the rare privilege to be host to the nations of the world on our own soil.
– from Nelson Mandela's Inauguration as President of South Africa, Pretoria, 10 May 1994.
Nelson Mandela, photo from the ANC archives, where you can also find some selected speeches, statements and writings, such as the speech on release from prison.
Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid activist and the first South African president to be elected in fully representative democratic elections, celebrates his 90th birthday today and the tributes have crossed the borders of his home, Qunu, a small rural village in Eastern Cape, South Africa. The world is singing happy birthday in one voice and sending him a card. We concentrated on the happy returns posts from African based bloggers, who reflect here on the changes Madiba brought to their lives and countries, and dream about the future.
Rethabile Masilo, a blogger originally from Lesotho, remembers the moment when she realised the importance of Mandela's fight. Her account of a great family experience reaching South Africa as a refugee is worth a visit at the Black Looks blog:
I had a light bulb above my head, just like in cartoons, and the hair on my arms stood on end. The name Nelson Mandela dropped of it’s own accord into my head, and I truly, really understood why he had sacrificed his life against this… thing. For that particular zombie instant, hair on end, a stupid smile on my face, I knew why. I want to wish him a happy birthday today, and tell him that we know.
From South Africa, Sandi Schultz from My Whorl remembers clearly a day in early February 1990 when she heard Mandela, her ultimate hero, was freed, after 27 years in prison for fighting for a democratic and free society:
10 february 1990 – we’re in the airport lounge in brussels. i see someone i know and she shouts out, “mandela’s free tomorrow!” wow, we are floored by the news! at long last – and we’re going to be home when it happens.
we land sometime in the early hours and head straight for soweto to watch madiba’s release on tv with friends of john’s. it is momentous! the man walks out, taller, more charismatic than anyone could have imagined. larger than life. a survivor of the seemingly impossible.
Louder than Swahili, a blog by a Danish expatriate in Tanzania, says that there is a lot to learn from Mandela, specially when it comes to our ability to forgive. She believes he is not just a normal president:
Mandela has gotten a position very few politicians could ever hope for. It is very much due to Mandela that the country has been able to change and create a positive image of what now is labelled the rainbow nation. But keeping this brand alive is also very much dependent on how his predecessors manage to continue running the country.
Photo from the ANC archives, a portrait from 1994 election poster. Read here his speech announcing the victory.
On a post called ‘Bring Back Nelson Mandela’, Africa is a Country makes some interesting observations about South Africa in 2008:
It’s of course a very interesting time to celebrate Mandela’s 90th birthday. It’s been 18 years since has released from prison and 14 years since he was first elected as President. And yes, in some ways South Africa today is unrecognizable from the country Mandela encountered in 1990. But some of the old inequalities persist. South Africa — a country that revels in its “special” status — is also becoming an ordinary country.
Memoires of Africa also reflects on Mandela's country difficult situation nowadays, and hopes that the hero's legacy will not be forgotten:
It’s a day for many to reflect on his legacy. At a time when South Africa is going through political upheavals many pray for his wisdom to be transferred to the current and potential future leadership of the country. Will his legacy be carried out to ensure that the stability and the future of this country reflect what he fought for? But let’s not get into politics for today… Ube neminye iminyaka Tata…
From Mozambique, Seguindo os Sonhos [Following Dreams, pt], a musical group of four talented children, pays a special homage to Mandela with a song recorded specially for his 90th Birthday. They will sing it at his birthday party in Maputo, on August 10th. You can read the lyrics here. Today's post is a happy birthday one:
Nelson Mandela, nosso ídolo ! Hoje a tarde vai receber em África do Sul um pequeno presente nosso: um DVD com a nossa música e o nosso video para seu nonagésimo aniversário. Você é um homem de um coração tão humanístico como há muito poucos neste mundo de hoje, cheio de egoístas e de líderes políticos cuja maioria persegue agendas individuais e não de índole nacional que possam beneficiar os seus compatriotas de que se proclamam seus representantes e defensores.
Nelson Mandela, our idol! This afternoon you will receive in South Africa a small gift from us: a DVD with our music and our video for your ninetieth birthday. You are a man of a humanist heart as there are very few in today's world, full of selfish people and political leaders who in the majority pursue individual agendas rather than domestic ones that could benefit their compatriots, and they proclaim themselves people's representatives and defenders.
Jennifer Reynard tried not to cry at her desk  (and she failed) as she went through her first memories of Nelson Mandela leaving jail, then the election day, watching the inauguration on TV and his 90th birthday:
Natasha, Tanja and I are at Natasha’s aunt and uncle’s house. “Did you send an sms for Mandela’s birthday?” Tush asks me. “Yes- but I kept it very simple. Just ‘Happy Birthday Madiba. God bless and have many more. Love Jenny”.
” Not me,” Natasha says “I got quite emotional, saying ‘Thank you for sending our country on its way to democracy…”
Today- grey skies. I slept past my alarm clock. I got to work late. My eyes are teary. I wish I had baked a cake. I wish I could share with someone how much today means. I listen to Asimbonanga, Impi, Scatterlings of Africa and others on Youtube. I watch the video of Madiba on stage in Frankfurt. I want to cry for our country, and our people, for being so far away but for always having Africa in my heart.
Mandela is an icon, but the key thing about him is it feels like each one of us carries a piece of him- a quote, a special memory, the image ofMadiba shirts hanging in OR Thambo – in our hearts. Not only does he remind the world that we count, that we mean something, but in some small way, his birthday has the power to bring me home.
Happy birthday Madiba. God bless you.
Written with the collaboration of Rebecca Wanjiku
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Africa: New baobab fruit trade with Europe · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Chido Makunike, who blogs about African agriculture and food security at African Agriculture, writes at The Cheetah Index about the EU's approval of baobab extract as an ingredient in various food products.


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Nicaragua: Open Source Software in Public Institutions · Global Voices
GV Contributor

“Territorio Liberado”, or Freed Land is an expression born in the 1970s to mark the end of the dictatorship or government of Anatasio Somoza in a particular city or region. These days, local Linux and Open Source groups are talking now about a new kind of freedom: the freedom to create and develop their own software and technologies, without restrictive licences or inhibitive costs.
The blogger LEOGG has been working with public institutions to take full advantage of these technologies in order to make them more efficient. In his post “Nicaragua Libre” (Free Nicaragua), LEOGG  explains how they helped Jalapa, a rural town near the border of Honduras in the north of the country how to develop and use Linux-based software.
There are two interesting projects that involves Ubuntu there. The first one being the digitalization of thousands of public records using Ubuntu Hardy and XSane. There are 15 computers devoted exclusively to this task.
The other project involves 12 cashier booths with Ubuntu and a custom-made software for receiving and making payments.
In addition, as a first phase of the Migration Project, about 50 desktop computers are being migrated to Ubuntu right now in different departments.
The coolest thing about all this, is that the government office asked us for help, and as a consequence, three of our team members are now full-time employees, giving Ubuntu support to their users.
Photos by LEOGG and used under a Creative Commons license. For more pictures please visit his blog.
The “comuNIdad” (that's how they call themselves) does not focus on rural or government groups only. LEOGG explains in the next post that they are “going mainstream“
Canal 2, Nicaragua’s biggest television network, is going to broadcast a weekly technology show every Tuesday, starting July 15.
The producers of this new show are… yes, you guessed it! …our local LUG (Linux User Group)
The LUG for Nicaragua coordinates linux users from many distributions and disciplines, including developers for Ubuntu, SUSE, Mandriva, and other flavors. Their common website is Linux.org.ni.
You can find more news and insights into the work of this groups in their Press Archive.

author: GV Contributor


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Pakistan: Violence against Women · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Pakistani Spectator on the increasing levels of violence against women in the country.


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Palestine: Arabyblogs Launched  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Rebellious Arab Girl has finally launched her Arabic Social Networking site here.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Palestine: Happy Birthday Mandela · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

KABOBfest mark Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday with this photo post.


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Philippines: Moro rebellion to end soon? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Philippine government and Moro rebels announced a breakthrough in the peace negotiations. An agreement will be announced soon. Bong Montesa speculates about the content of the agreement.


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Russia: LJ Basic Accounts Back? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Svetlana Gladkova of Profy.com reports that LiveJournal may, after all, bring Basic Accounts back.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Saudi Arabia: Legal Question  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“I was disappointed to read that a committee from MOJ [Ministry of Justice] is working on the US$ 1.86 plan the King ordered to overhaul the judicial system in the country. How can the very same people who created, or inherited, the current system, and didn’t see anything wrong with it until the King spoke, be responsible to implement the kind of radical changes proposed in the plan when they seemed for a very long time rather comfortable with the status quo?” writes Saudi Jeans, from Saudi Arabia.


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Saudi Arabia: The Black Garbage Bag  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

American Sabra is in Saudi Arabia … and has to do what the Saudi women do when it comes to covering up from head to toe when outside her house.
On the Abaya, or cloak worn by women in Saudi, Sabra writes:
I wear my abeya when I leave our compound to do occasional grocery shopping – which is about the ONLY shopping I do here [I had to wear it a week or two ago when I went downtown to try to get paint samples]. I don't consider it a “prison,” but I certainly do not have a high regard for it, either, and refer to it as “the black garbage bag.” It is a ridiculous article of clothing which women here are forced to wear due to constraints imposed upon them by a society of control seeking men whose lustful ogling demonstrably attests to their complete and utter lack of any self-restraint whatsoever.
And speaking of lustful men, Sabra relates this hilarious incident to her readers:
Yesterday afternoon DH's friend Lee came over. He, along with three other buddies, had been to the “family” pool on our compound [we have a men only pool, a women only pool and a family pool where both men and women can go]. Lee said that there was a young Western girl there, sunbathing in her little Billabong bikini – which, by the way, is supposedly NOT allowed at the family pool – only at the women's pool, when a “local” middle-aged man came out of the men's changing room and couldn't keep his “lustful ogling” eyes to himself as he was walking and he wound up heels over head when his shins collided with a stationary bench. Lee said it was all he and his companions could do to keep from laughing hysterically at the spectacle the man created for himself – and the guy wasn't injured – just some minor scrapes from his bodily contact with the cement. Bet his pride was lowered a notch or two, and if it wasn't, it should have been. The moral, of course, is that he should have been keeping his eyes to himself and didn't; the sight of a young girl NOT draped in a hideous black garbage bag was just too much for him…


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Serbia: Bob Marley Monument; Serbian Reggae · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgrade 2.0 writes about a monument to Bob Marley that's about to open in northeastern Serbia and posts YouTube video samples of Serbian reggae.


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Serbia: Cult of Milosevic · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sarah Franco of Cafe Turco and Jelena Markovic of Invisible Sights co-author a satirical text on “the cult” of Slobodan Milosevic.


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Serbia: EXIT Festival · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Bosnia Vault writes about “the famed EXIT festival in Novi Sad” – and the politics that surrounds it.


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Serbia, U.S.: Peter Egner · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

East Ethnia writes about the arrest of a man thought to be Peter Egner, 86, “a member of the Nazi security police in Belgrade between 1941 and 1943 where he acted as an interpreter during interrogations of prisoners and guarded transports of prisoners (at least) between two prison camps in the city. During the first nine months of the occupation, it is charged, he was a member of a unit that killed thousands of civilians, mostly by asphyxiation.”


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Sri Lanka: The SAARC summit · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

groundviews has a strong take on the Sri Lankan government's decision to host the SAARC summit, highlighting that SAARC hardly benefits the country and the money is better used elsewhere.


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Sri Lanka: Violence and the Media · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Free Media Sri Lanka urges the government to live up to its recent commitment to investigate acts of violence directed toward members of Sri Lanka’s media community.


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Syria: Embassy to open in Beirut  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Syria and Lebanon are to open embassies in each other's capitals for the first time ever,” reports Sasa from Syria.


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Tanzania: A lecture in East-African history · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Louder than Swahili offers an in-depth description of the town of Bagamoyo, which is one of the oldest towns in Tanzania on the coast at the Indian Ocean. She starts by saying: “Bagamoyo is not just a town of different cultures. It is a microcosm of East African history: Arabs and Indians established the trade; The African population were either shipped off as slaves or they worked at the plantations, in the salt mines or as fishermen; The European explorers went through on their way to and from the African continent: Later came the missionaries, the German colonizers, and today the tourists”.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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Tanzania: On language and unity · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Kenyan blogger Jerry Okungo, writing at Siasa Duni, comments on “the realisation that Tanzanians may not be as good masters of Kiswahili as the rest of East Africa may think” and on last week's decision by the Tanzanian Parliament “that the country had abandoned Ujamaism—the country’s version of socialism”. And he wonders: “Will the end of Ujamaism usher in unbridled greed and high level corruption that has permeated the Kenyan society?”


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The Balkans: Srebrenica · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sarah Franco of Cafe Turco writes about her visit to Srebrenica this year and muses on “moral monsters, bystanders and civic minded people.”


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Turkey:Ants and Earthquakes? · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Metroblogging Istanbul reports on a Turkish researcher who believes that by observing ant behavior that earthquakes can be predicted up to 24-hours in advance.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Armenia/Turkey: Reconciliation? · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped says that while the first 100 days of the new Armenian president, Serge Sargsyan, were a missed opportunity to implement major changes in the country, they were notable for what appears to be an unprecedented opportunity for reconciliation with Turkey. Commenting on news reports, the blog says that there is now a shift with regards to policy towards Armenia's western neighbor.


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Bahrain: Arrogant French Embassy  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif complains about the ‘arrogance’ of the French Embassy in Bahrain in this post – where he claims he wasn't treated well when he went to apply for a Schengen Visa.


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Bahrain: Obsessed with a Turkish soap opera · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

A Turkish soap opera, Noor, has become a hit in the Arab world, with reports of fights and even divorces occurring because of the obsession of many women with the handsome male star, Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ, who plays Muhannad. Some Bahraini bloggers have been examining the popularity of the drama series amongst Arabs.
Malath sets the scene:
“إحنا لازم نرجع البيت أحين لا تفوتنا الحلقة” … يالله اشخطي السيارة …اشخطي..!
عبارة أسمعها كل ليلة تقريبا  من أختي التي تستعجلني في الرجوع للمنزل قبيل العاشرة مساء لأجل أن  تشهد كل حلقة من مسلسل نور. لدرجة أنني تخيلت نفسي محلقة بطائرة (هوليكبتر) و كأنما أأخذ بها جولة على البيوت البحرينية المقتلعة الأسقف كما بدت في حلم اليقظة ، لأجل أن أرصد كم المشاهدة البحرينية  لمسلسل نور. مؤكد أن الجميع يحتشد أمام شاشات التلفزة مشاهدا نور بهوس و متابعا كل تفاصيلها إن كان الأب نفسه ، الأم و الأبناء و حتى الجدات يا جماعة” والله حتى الجدات!” متابعين بشغف مهند الذي يدللها بفيض من الرومانسية الشحيحة بعالمنا العربي.
These are the phrases I hear almost every night from my sister, who asks me to come back home before 10pm so that we can watch Noor. It has got to the point that I have imagined myself taking a helicopter ride and zooming into Bahraini homes, which I can see in my daydream without roofs, in order to monitor how many people watch it. I must stress that everyone is huddled around their television sets, watching Noor obsessively, watching every detail – from the father, to the mother and children, and even the grandmother. Can you believe it? Even grandmothers! They watch how Muhannad spoils her [Noor] with romance, which is missing from our Arab world.
Ali Al Mulla too is astonished at the popularity of Noor:
فهنيئا لها ..
Then Malath looks at the reasons for the drama's appeal:
But her own interest in it is waning:
At the end of her post Malath asks:

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bolivia: Blogging from El Alto · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Mario Durán of Palabras Libres [es], who has been blogging for the past three years from El Alto, Bolivia, writes about how he started his personal blog and other projects.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Brazil: Blogging Against Web-Censorship · Global Voices
Daniel Duende

Censura Não! (No Censorship!, PT) issued on last July 5th a call for a collective blogging on July 19th (today) against web-censorship and the Azeredo Bill . Many Brazilian blogs, like Luz de Luma  [Pt] and Ladybug [Pt] answered to the call.

author: Daniel Duende


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Brazil: Comedian Dercy Gonçalves dies at the age 101 · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Brazilian comedian and actress Dercy Gonçalves, famous for irreverent interviews and notorious bad language, died today at the age of 101 years  [June 23 1907 – July 19 2008). 365 Dias [365 Days, pt] uploads a collection of films to remember her career.

author: Paula Góes


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Brazil: Cybercrime bill is now translated · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Nardol translated the new Brazilian Cyber Crime Bill: “So the World can be made aware of what’s going on in Brazil. I also just sent an email with it to EFF, asking for their help. Not that I think they can do much, but they surely will know one or two strings to pull in order to put more pressure on the Brazilian government.” Read the bill text in English.


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Brazil: Tears and Cheers for Middle East Prisoner Swap  · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Brazilian of Arab descent or bloggers interested in all things Middle Eastern talk about the Israel-Lebanon Prisoner Exchange. Considering that Brazil is the country that arguably holds the largest Arab population outside the Middle East, there are very passionate points of views both for and against the deal, and as much tears as cheers:
Groove is in the Rahal [pt], in a post called “I feel so sorry”, felt the need to express his feelings towards the Arab people:
Difícil falar sobre os conflitos no Oriente Médio. Por mais que eu estude, nunca é suficiente. Mas sei o necessário para dizer que sinto muito pelo sofrimento do povo palestino, libanês, árabes em geral.
Para quem me conhece e sabe da minha descendência e forte ligação com a história das arábias, pode achar tendenciosa a minha posição. Não culpo o povo israelense, que também sofre com conflitos sequenciais, mas a tendência aqui parte de um princípio básico: a corda sempre arrebenta do lado mais fraco. Sim, árabes são poderosos, mas nesse caso estão em desvantagem.
Infelizmente o extremismo, o radicalismo xiita cai bem em um contexto assim…
It is hard to talk about the conflicts in the Middle East. Regardless how much I study, it is never enough. But I know what it is necessary to say that I feel very sorry for the suffering of the Palestinian, Lebanese, and Arab people in general.
For those who know me and know of my descent and strong links with the history of the Arabic world, you may think my position is biased. I do not blame the Israeli people, who also suffer from sequential conflicts, but the trend here derives from a basic principle: the chain is no stronger than its weakest link. Yes, Arabs are powerful, but in this case they are at a disadvantage.
Unfortunately, extremism, shi'ite radicalism serves well in such a context…
Brazilian living in Germany, Felix Dhimmi [pt] had hopes that at least one of the prisoners would be handed back alive and he was very disappointed to learn that only coffins arrived:
Honrar compromissos com inimigos sem honra é atitude válida quando ela conduz à paz, e a atitude do Hezbullah mostra uma intenção oposta à esta, a intenção é a de humilhar, pisar e alimentar o ego dos árabes tribalistas, insuflá-los com orgulho sem sentido, orgulho baseado em nenhuma realização senão a morte de inocentes, como os pequenos mortos pela ação da besta Kuntar e de seus cúmplices, um ato que deságua no objetivo final deste grupo que é a eliminação de Israel e seu povo, com criminosos assim as regras civilizadas não contam.
Honoring commitments to not honorable enemies is a valid attitude when it leads to peace, and the Hezbullah's attitude shows an intention opposed to this, its intention is to humiliate, despise and massage Arab tribes egos, inflate them with senseless pride, a pride based not achievements but on the death of innocents, such as the little ones dead by the action of Kuntar the beast and his accomplices, an act that leads to this this group's ultimate goal, which is the elimination of Israel and its people, with criminals like these the civilized rules are nothing.
Anwar Assi [pt] believes the release could not have happened on more symbolic date, exactly when the Lebanese people celebrate the second anniversary of victory over Israel in the 2006 war.
A libertação dos combatentes libaneses é sem dúvida nenhuma uma grande vitória da Resistência Islâmica, comandada pelo Hezbollah, que não poupou esforços para colocar fim a um dos piores dramas causados pela ocupação isralense do território libanês: a questão dos prisioneiros em cárceres judaicos. […] O Hezbollah já prometeu que não vai poupar esforços para colocar um fim a estas agressões. Quando o Hezbollah promete, cumpre. No caso dos prisioneiros, a promessa sincera de libertá-los foi cumprida.
The release of Lebanese fighters is without doubt a great victory of the Islamic Resistance, led by Hezbollah, which spared no effort to put an end to the worst tragedies caused by Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory: the issue of Jewish prisoners in jails. […] The Hezbollah has promised spared no efforts to put an end to these attacks. When Hezbollah makes a promise, it keeps it. In the case of the prisoners, the sincere promise to release them was met.
Pedro Dória [pt], who has been a national reference for his coverage of Middle East [pt] for a long time, questions the deal's goals, considering that “these kidnappings were the excuse for the war which put an end to the Lebanese government's morale”:
Perguntar não custa: de que adiantou botar o Líbano abaixo se, no fim, o governo de Israel terminaria por capitular perante o Hizbolá? […] Era melhor ter feito a negociação pela troca antes, quando soldados e vítimas libanesas da guerra estavam vivos e o governo libanês ainda tinha alguma força perante o Hizbolá. Guerra estúpida – coberta por este Weblog – para resultados piores ainda.
It doesn't hurt to ask: What was bringing Lebanon down worth in the end, if the government of Israel was to capitulate to Hezbollah? […] It was better to have negotiated the exchange before, when soldiers and Lebanese victims of war were alive and the Lebanese government still had some strength before the Hezbullah. A stupid war – covered by this Weblog – with even worse results.
To finish off, one of the many political cartoons by Brazilian artist Carlos Latuff, a supporter of Palestine and Lebanon against Israel.
The Arabic people have deep roots in the Brazilian cultural melting pot. It is estimated that 70,000 Arabic immigrants (notably Lebanese and Syrian but also from Jordan, Palestine, and Iraq) landed in Brazil in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, forming today's population of full or partial Arabic descent of about 10 million people. Arab Brazilians are considered the largest Arab population outside the Middle East, according to the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.


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CAR: On the power emergency & Dzanga-Sangha natural reserve · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Brock Boddie at HPDT CAR, a blog by the humanitarian and development organizations in the Central African Republic, writes about Prime Minister Faustin Touadera's emergency appeal for international support after a failure of the country’s power system, as “without electricity, cleaning water, providing minimal health care and maintaining security would all become virtually impossible”. On a different post he speaks about the Dzanga-Sangha nature reserve (including some photos), which “offers some of the most beautiful and pristine wildlife that can be found in Africa and, indeed, the world”.


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China: Looking back at a campus shooting · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Desktop pirates might have noticed that last year's movie Dark Matter was chosen by eMule as one of the P2P network's movies of the month [zh] was been getting heavy rotation on Saturday. So that's why you're reading about it now; while the metaphor of dark matter as cultural insensitivity doesn't exactly fit, the connection is probably worth making given all the discussion following the revenge-stabbing of several police officers in Shanghai earlier this month.
First, a 2007 post from film critic Raymond Zhou (周黎明):
本以为这样的独立影片会勇敢地探讨人性的黑暗面、以及文化冲突、水土不服等问题。但真的有点失望，影片把中国留学生刚到美国时的种种不适应，做了最肤浅、最夸张的描写，里面当然有真实的细节，但总体上人物根本不可信。从主题上讲，影片的投机取巧使之失去了原来事件的冲击力。
一个很外向、很容易跟人相处的人，是不会一举枪杀好几个人的。
最奇怪的是，华裔导演陈士争没有给斯特里普发挥演技的广阔空间。众所周知，斯特里普是不需要导演便可以给予极具厚度的角色塑造。影片中一场较感人的戏，是刘烨扮演的刘星来到斯特里普家送礼物，欲说还休，他离开后，镜头只给斯特里普一个侧面。我想，换了别的导演，此处可以出现一个叫绝的镜头，因为那时斯特里普的角色内心非常复杂，而那样的镜头是可以把整个表演提升到奥斯卡水准的。
刘烨的表现还不错，有点像留学生中的乖乖仔。只是很难想象他最终会变成卢刚式的人物。当然那是编导的责任。…
An outgoing, amicable person just doesn't turn around and shoot several people.
The strangest part is, the ethnic Chinese director Chen Shizheng (陈士争) did not give actress Meryl Streep ample space to display her acting skill. As everyone knows, Streep doesn't need a director to be able to fully develop her characters. One particularly touching scene in the film is when Liu Xing (刘星, played by Liu Ye 刘烨) goes to Streep's home and she feigns interest in the skincare products he takes to selling to make ends meet after his study plans are botched; he forgets a sample, and as he leaves, the shot only shows Streep from the side. I think with a different director, this scene would have wowed the audience, because Streep's character's emotions at that point were extremely complicated. Of course, that is the director's responsibility…
In April last year, Sina blogger and media worker Wang Xudong (王旭东) attended a screening of the film followed by discussions with Liu Ye, and at the time had this to write:
讨论的话题围绕，电影文本的并不太多，更多焦点是放在：几年前中国留美研究生枪击美国博导和同门师弟这个新闻事件，能否在国内上画？在美上画的考虑等社会话题展开。
影片，整体的感觉就是稚嫩，尤其表现在导演手法和叙事上。故事是以一个真实的新闻事件改编，在我看来，“卢刚校园枪击案”的事件，很震撼，至少结果很震撼，由于当年咱国媒体只是淡化处理了，我们只知道的是个结果，其中的过程并不了解。本期待着通过影片获得些真实的信息，可影片应该没能完成这个任务。
Intrigue is part of working life for many people in China, but then isn't it for everyone, everywhere? An anonymous writer on this Baidu thread thinks so, although looking primarily at the academic world:
中国知识份子到外闯的确困难重重: 想要出头果真需要天时、地利、人和. 刘星不过是想改善家人生活和追求知识顶峰罢, 谁料到这种不回头的固执会毁灭自己! 主角不幸遇上一个不容其他人挑战自己、好保著自己学术地位的「名师」(Aidan Quinn) . 教授年青时推翻了老师的理论, 成名多年后是个死守学说、靠留学生替自己研究学术, 但内里极度轻蔑门生的学棍. 并非所有人都同意教授, 只是身在学府, 最重视的是自己饭碗, 靠人脉关系「埋堆」才可以生存. 刘星一心只想研究学术, 不会阅读人性险恶, 他甚至估计不到教授反对通过他的论文, 并不是因为使用何种运算方法, 而是因为锋芒过露, 足以动摇教授的地位. 刘星向教授赞扬美国的老师比中国的更能接挑战, 其实东西方都一样, 都不喜欢学生胜过自己.
And finally, some cherrypickings from the comments thread from Dark Matter‘s download page on VeryCD:
Ryancou:
其实看到真实事件和拍摄花絮，心理很难受的，中国大学生到美国大学就读，由于人际关系的纠纷，酿成惨剧。
还有，“初进剧组的那几天，气氛非常诡异，他们私下里都在议论我是不是从中国来的功夫巨星”
为什么中国人和美国人在一起总是那么尴尬呢？
为什么我们中国人和美国人永远不能成为彼此之间互相了解的好朋友呢？
demonzion
真人真事，当时很轰动，报纸上说是结业时导师没有给他第一的评价而是给了另一个中国留学生，这位应试教育出身的“才子”就把美国天体物理学的半壁江山毁了。美国老师死就死在不懂中国学生从小就是：考考考，老师的法宝；分分分，学生的命根儿。
wangu571
没有看此片给人第一印象，我心底总感到有辱华的感觉呢，虽然刘烨说没有。
NicholasGunn
Meryl Streep?! 这也成？！ 必须下了。
kreax:
中国人在美国做出这件事，这部电影对我们国人来说也是一个审视自己的机会和角度……
moolemon:
非常好的电影,发片时期很巧和,和virginia tech的枪击残案.华人导演华人主角,我们应该支持.非常沉重的话题.
suprakit:
看完了，说两句。大家不要把电影看作当年事件的再现，影片中讨论的是文化冲突，而且强调主人公受到教授的不公正对待，均与事情的本来面目有一定出入。
当时卢刚枪击的受害者中，就有斯特里普扮演人物的原型。受害人单林华，也没听说有片中描述的刻意讨好美国人的行为。
就表现卢刚事件而言，不存在什么辱华的问题，反而对卢刚付出更多的同情。
事件中，卢刚也是受害者，但是我以为不存在太多文化冲突的因素，更多的是他个人性格缺陷的结果。

author: John Kennedy


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China: Olympics side-effect on industry · Global Voices
Bob Chen

What will be the cost of presenting an unprecedented Olympics?
Blogger Dailu, an author listed in Bulloger.cn, recorded one of his dialogues with a few workers in a chemical factory, which suffered from an unexpected side-effect of the Olympics.
中午吃饭，有搞化工的人，听到他们谈论，奥运期间，北方很多化工、医药工厂都要停产。
我说：“那是好消息呀，你们南方不受影响，赶紧加大生产，抢占市场。”
人家说：“好个屁呀，我们原料是山东的，没有原料，生个屁产！”
Having lunch today, I heard several workers talking that, during the Olympics, a great many chemical and pharmacy works in the north were shut down.
“What a great piece of news,” I said, “it’s the right time for you works in the south being unaffected to promote production to take over the market!”
“What a hell good news is it?” answered them, “we all have our raw materials from Shandong, and what a shit could we make without them!”
The blogger plotted again, “Then just stock up the material! It’s right the time since it has still one months left before the Games!”
“那赶紧囤积原料啊，还有一个月，备战备荒还来得及。”
“咳，就你聪明？政府已经规定，7月1日到10月18日，全国范围内危险品都不准运输，高速也不能上，长江也不能进，我们原料是剧毒物品，已经运不出来了，你就等着停产吧。”
“You are not the only guy wise! The government has regulated that from 7.1 to 10.18, no cargo of dangerous goods should be shipped or get on to the highway, or even go along the Yangtze River. What we need are all poisonous materials, already forbidden. Just wait for the black-out!”
After checking online, the blogger found:
笑完了，回去上网一查，果然查出禁令无数，大禁如梳，中禁如箆，小禁如剃，凡是不朝气不蓬勃不和谐不向上的行业，几乎全都着了道
The prohibitions during Olympics, countless in number, were really like combing and raking over across the entire industry, all those not positive, and not “harmonious” enough on the hit list.
He further commented:
记得当初申奥时，专家们出来算经济账，纷纷都是一个“赚”字。如今各项预算大大超支，于是经济账就再也没人提了，换季流行的是政治帐。一方面对外高喊：奥运不能政治化，一方面又对内宣传：我们只算政治帐！奥运是一只爱国奶牛，吃进去的是钱，挤出来的是大国形象。
I was reminded that “bonanza” was what the experts yelled out when just starting to compete for the Olympic hosting. However, the calculation of economy has already been replaced today by that of politics, because of the overspending on budget. No one mention how much we can earn now (but only what a great name we can get — translator). We proclaimed to the world of no getting the Game politicized, while in the other hand we are speaking to ourselves that we only consider the political impact!
The Olympics is like a patriotic cow, with money flowed in, the profile of a great nation squeezed out.
其 实，以我之见，算算政治帐也无可厚非，心理满足本来就是人的最高需求嘛。问题主要是，现在似乎是完全靠政治开路。要知道经济成本不会凭空消失，在政治帐的 口号下，必然会以政治压力的方式呈现出来，中国人经济上失去的越多，政治上期望就越高.
In fact, I don’t think there’s much worng with political consideration; isn’t the psychological satisfaction the highest pursuit of human? But the problem now is that, politics seemed to be used to solve every problem, while we know that the economic cost won’t just die out. Pressured under political slogans, it will finally burst out in the form of political pressure. The more we Chinese lost economically, the more we anticipate on politics.
His conclusion has a grey color:
8月之后，要么是高高摔下，要么是高高高潮。
After August, we'll either fall badly from the high, or reach the real climax!

author: Bob Chen


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Czech Republic, Slovakia: Czechoslovakia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia lists “a few basic facts” about the region that used to be known as Czechoslovakia.


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Egypt: Early Morning Earthquake  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian Chronicles reports that an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale has hit Egypt. No damages were reported.


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Egypt: Stop Writing Arabic in Latin  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A new Facebook group urging Arabs to stop writing in Latin letters has been launched. The group has so far attracted around 2,500 people from across the Arab world.


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Egypt: Warming up to Iran  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Egypt, Bakri Hasan [Ar] says an improvement in Egyptian/Iranian relations could reap rewards for Egypt.


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Equatorial Guinea: On Simon Mann’s sentencing · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Kate Cronin-Furman of the blog Wronging Rights, comments on Equatorial Guinea's last week sentencing to 34 years in jail of Simon Mann for his role “in the World's Most Ill-Conceived Coup Attempt on Record. He, along with roughly 70 other foreign nationals, had been arrested in the Harare (Zimbabwe) airport on March 7, 2004 and accused of being mercenaries on their way to E.G. to overthrow Obiang's government”.


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Global Voices’ New Public Health Editor, Juhie Bhatia · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Last month, we announced six new Rising Voices citizen media projects in partnership with the Open Society Institute’s Health Media Initiative. This month, we're pleased to introduce our new Public Health Editor, Juhie Bhatia. Her job will be to report on the progress of our newest micro-grantees in Romania, South Africa, The D.R. of Congo, Ukraine, and Russia, and to keep abreast of worldwide citizen media related to public health.
Juhie is a South Asian-Canadian journalist, who is passionate about global health issues. She has worked as a health reporter and editor for almost ten years. She has reported for Reuters Health from India and Thailand, but also a string of other media, including MSNBC.com, Bulletin for the World Health Organization, Women's eNews, and the website EverydayHealth.com, which she helped create (and still works for as an editor). She is currently based in Paris, France.
Juhie has also volunteered for several social justice and health organizations over the years, including women's resource centers, a sexual health NGO in South India, and the Alliance for South Asian AIDS prevention where she led workshops on HIV/AIDS.
We're really pleased to welcome Juhie to Global Voices, and work together with her to expand our coverage of citizen media concerning public health. In her first post on Global Voices today, she looks at Indian bloggers’ reactions to proposed legislation in the state of Maharashtra that would make HIV/Aids testing mandatory before marriage. Welcome Juhie!

author: Solana Larsen


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Guinea Bissau: How many tonnes of cocaine did get in? · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Commenting on a piece of news about the arrest of a three Venezuelans suspected of being smuggling cocaine into West Africa, Jorge Rosmaninho [pt] asks: “if three were caught, how many of them have passed through unscathed?”


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India: Should Pre-Marital HIV Testing Be Mandatory? · Global Voices
Juhie Bhatia

In an attempt to lower HIV rates, the Indian state of Maharashtra introduced a controversial proposal earlier this year, which would make it compulsory for couples to undergo an HIV test before getting married. Similar bills have been proposed in other Indian states, such as Karnataka, Goa, and Andhra Pradesh.
The proposed bill adds fuel to an ongoing debate in India about whether mandatory pre-marital HIV testing is an effective prevention strategy. HIV rates in India skyrocketed in the 1990’s and today it's estimated that around 2.5 million Indians are living with HIV. Despite these numbers, the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) encourages voluntary HIV testing, rather than compulsory testing.
blog.bioethics.net points out that such a policy will create a number of new issues for India to address.
“Will the mandatory testing policy create a new stigmatized underclass? How would the policy protect women in India, when many of them end up being infected after marriage by unfaithful spouses? Will HIV positive persons start gravitating towards other HIV positive persons as their only likely marriage partners (a form of what is known as ‘serosorting’)?”
Bobby Ramakant of Citizen News Service argues that this kind of policy infringes on a person's right to privacy and doesn't address the stigma and discrimination that follow an HIV diagnosis. The policy may also be counter-productive, since an HIV test alone won't necessarily lead to the behavioral changes needed to lower HIV transmission rates.
“The paramount progress we have made in terms of NOT thinking about prevention and treatment in isolation is at risk to be lost with Indian states promoting HIV prevention strategies completely ignoring the treatment, care and support provisions for people living with HIV.”
Queer India goes a step further, calling the idea absurd.
“A crazy idea doesn’t take time to take root in a climate of fear and ignorance, a climate where even talking about safer sex is shameful.”
Reason for Liberty  also opposes mandatory testing, but says that voluntary testing can be beneficial, especially since HIV has now made its way into India's middle class. Voluntary pre-martial HIV testing may be one of the solutions, along with legalizing prostitution and talking more openly about sex, to help lower HIV rates in India.
“Despite all shaggy faiths and belief system, it is highly improbable to shut eyes and accept that Indian middle class is safe. In reality I feel that the middle class is more vulnerable to HIV then others. When middle class people can stress on horoscope matching [for a marriage match], why cannot they accept pre-marital HIV testing?”
Mahima, however, supports compulsory testing and says that the real question is what is the implication of such a test?
“The authority that has these results in its hand, in this case the state government, can one trust it enough to be sure this won’t be the beginning of a HIV-cleansing (if you will). But if we are being hypothetical, then why not consider that the mere existence of this test might encourage younger people- even married couples – (if its made compulsory every couple of years) to behave responsibly. Because ultimately, for the most part this is a behavioral disease and with adequate precaution, can be totally avoided.”
Sakshi summarizes both sides of the debate. Though her initial response to the question of mandatory HIV testing was yes, she now sits on the fence.
“What it all boils down to is – premarital HIV test allows for a RIGHT to a safe happy life that a couple can choose to take. However, our own pre-conceived notions about the disease, our family’s discomfort and our society’s mental block may stop many of us from taking up this right. But at times, something as insignificant as our pre-conceived notions can end up being a matter of life and death.
And therefore I believe it’s simply question of one’s right. What about you?”
Photo of Maharashtra Painting of Bride by yashrg on Flickr.

author: Juhie Bhatia


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Is the U.S. militarizing aid to Africa? · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Regrets only: An Africa Journal comments on the recent report by Refugees International about “the increased militarization of U.S. foreign aid” and how it “is complicating the achievement of American foreign policy goals in Africa”. He also posts a response from AFRICOM to the report.


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Israel: Change the Government  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“(W)e must change our government now – and change the way we deal with the issue of our kidnapped soldiers and the terrorists we have in our prisons,” writes Chik-Chat from Jerusalem, in response to the prisoner swap conducted between Israel and Lebanon.


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Israel: ‘Kuntar Not a Victim’ · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli Carl in Jerusalem criticizes the coverage of the New York Times of Lebanese Samir Kuntar's release.  “Wednesday's New York Times included an appalling, sickening article in which the ‘gray lady’ attempted to turn Lebanese mass murderer Samir al-Kuntar – who bashed in the head of 4-year old Einat Haran HY”D with a rifle butt – into a victim of a ‘difficult childhood’,” he writes.


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Israel: The Israeli failure and the Lebanese Radicalization · Global Voices
Gilad Lotan

“The prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hezbollah is a forlorn expression of the failed second Lebanon war and the lack of firm policy in the Israeli government. We follow all the norms of international law while the other side educates to kill,” writes Zvi Mazel [he].

author: Gilad Lotan