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Africa: digital citizen indaba controversy · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

It is most likely that the organizers of the Digital Citizen Indaba on Blogging in South Africa did not anticipate the controversy that has dominated the African blogosphere for about two weeks now. The controversy, for the most part, has centred around the words, African and indaba. Indaba is a Zulu word, which means a council where indigenous people of Southern Africa meet to discuss important matters.
So, a week before the indaba, a Kenyan blogger, AB&H, in a post entitled, (White) African Blogger Conference in a Week, writes:
From the list of speakers, listed below, it appears to my untrained and possibly quite mistaken eye that their last names are not very black African; at least they wouldn’t be in East Africa. (Whisper: Will it be a roomful of white folks working for the betterment of the African? Please, I beg you, do not tell massa that I asked cause I know how much he is trying to help me speak and develop into a full, happy human being.)
Apart from the racial composition and national origin of the conference speakers, AB&H was also concerned about the idea of Africa Citizens Code of Conduct:
It appears from the program that the attendees will be treated to dispositions from lawyers versed in internet issues – whatever those are – and that there is even a session to establish ‘an African Citizens Code of Conduct.’ Now that last one I find weird. The power of the internet and blogging is precisely that it is not being planned or coordinated centrally or even subject to a particular point of view. In any case are Africans so misbehaved or even depraved that they are always being subject to codes of behavior? Is the governance agenda and its associated funding buzzwords now to seek us out even in the digital world?
The post caused quite a stir in the African blogosphere.
According to White African, this controversy was inevitable. It was brewing long before AB&H wrote the first post that set the stage for the debate. White African writes:
It started off with the MMK declaring the Digital Indaba on Blogging taking place in South Africa as a potential play by whites trying to take hold of the upper ground in African blogosphere. The week prior, Chippla had posted thoughts on whether White Africans are actually Africans. On top of all that, the African Womens Blog had some interesting articles on racism, a particularly good one was the one talking about how as whites we don’t even realize we are privelaged. So, this whole debate was brewing and coming to a head.
more
Vincent Maher, the head of the New Media Lab and one of the conference organizers, entered the debate referring to AB&H post as a racist and sour response to the digital indaba. Responding to AB&H concern about the code of conduct, Vincent (whom MMK calls Vincent “Madiba” Maher. Madiba is an affectionate nickname for the former South African President, Nelson Mandela) writes:
As the person who put this idea forward in the first place, I am going to defend it simply by pointing out that the idea behind the code of conduct is to create a framework of credibility that will enable citizen journalists using blogs to be taken more seriously by the media when they report on blogged news. It’s a completely opt-in system designed to avoid exactly the kind of loss of credibility this person has just achieved for his/her own blog.
Cool Breeze disagrees with Vincent’s contention that AB&H post was racist, “I am not attacking the work you're doing… Vincent baby… love your efforts, think they're important for the continent 'cause… we wouldn't be having this discussion if you hadn't organized the conference now, would we? So you get an A+ (with stars and glitter) on that front. I just take exception to your use of the word “racist” in this context.”
AB&H wrote a follow-up to his first post, using the Berlin Conference of 1884-85 as a metaphor for understanding what was taking place at the digital indaba. In a post entitled, “Is the Digital Indaba the Internet Berlin Conference of 2006?, AB&H asks:
Does the African blog-space – if there is such a thing – need codification, a coming together, a corralling under the auspices of a code of conduct or a common front? I do not think so and yet I have noticed a recent trend toward this end of trying to create a ‘mainstream’ African blog-space that confers ‘legitimacy’ on its members. Implying, if only gently, that those outside its auspices are illegitimate at worst or at best might be irrelevant to goals as varied as civil society ‘empowerment’, the creation of alternate media, etc.
AB&H argues that that the Indaba was an attempt to extend the 1885 Scramble for Africa to the digital space and ultimately colonize Africa’s blog universe:
Blogging on this continent does not need midwives. Especially not ones who want to demonstrate ‘to the rest of the world that Africa is more than a passive observer in the global village.’ It is this kind of defeatism and obsession with the opinions of others that puts paid to the creation of independent paths of our own. That we should now blog to show the world (read the West and White folks) that we are somehow worthy of their respectful consideration. What nonsense. Perhaps the way to ’show the world’ is to have a conference of black people in the audience listening to panels basically made up of white people. You know? To hope that the authority of whiteness rubs off on the poor little African blogosphere. I wish I will be proven wrong about such panels but the defensiveness of the white Mandelas tells the tale. Ultimately though, whoever the panelists are, and despite the ‘rush for white,’ the logic of this benignly conducted colonisation of Africa’s blog universe will have plenty of rainbow colored African volunteers.
Calling the conference organizers, “African Internet Bismarcks and Leopolds,” AB&H promises to continue railing, “My railing against this process will not stop it I know, but I think it is important to be aware that what the Indaba and like conferences represent is a grab for territory. And when the African internet Bismarcks and Leopolds can call me racist for asking a question, then you better be aware that the gloves are going to be off during this scramble.”
Kenyan Pundit writes from Grahamstown, “So, I have just landed in Grahamstown for Highway Africa for the early part of the week and later in the week the “great-white-folk-do-gooder-conspiracy -to-do-God-knows-what-to-ultimately-throttle-the-African-blogosphere-or-something-like-that” (tongue firmly in cheek, and wake me up as soon as “true” Africans plan, fund, and organize, the “true” African blogging indab…um..meet-up).”
Ethan Zuckerman, who was one of the speakers, writes, “A number of African bloggers have pointed out that many of the speakers at the Digital Citizen Indaba in Grahamstown later this week aren’t bloggers, and that many aren’t black. Some critics offered these observations pretty forcefully.”
Ethan clarifies the nature of the conference, “It’s worth pointing out that the Indaba isn’t a standalone event – it’s being run at the end of the Highway Africa conference, a long-standing conference that brings together journalists, geeks and folks from the NGO sector in Grahamstown – I suspect that the speaker list includes several folks who are already in town for that conference, as well as an emphasis on speakers from South Africa, who are less expensive to bring to the event.”
He suggests:
It’s high time for there to be a continent-wide blogger conference or unconference. But it’s likely going to require funding for many folks to attend it, no matter whether it’s held in Nairobi, Jo’burg or Lagos, it’s not in everyone’s backyard. And raising that money may mean convincing the NGO types that there’s something exciting going on with blogging in Africa – to bring Global Voices bloggers to our annual meeting costs tens of thousands of dollars, which we couldn’t do without support from Reuters and from foundations.
Mental Acrobatics, another Kenyan blogger at the conference, entered the debate with a light touch. He writes, “We demanded to know, and to know immediately on behalf of the people of Africa, we wanted an end to all this conspiracy to all this controversy. So we asked,nay, we demanded to be told. Was it really true that The Princess of Africa also know as Yvonne Chaka Chaka was going to perform live in front of us? And if she was, would she perform her famous hit single “Umqombothi” which for years I thought was “eh mandanzi”?!” (Mandazi is a Swahili word for doughnut-like type of sweet bread. Umqombothi is a traditiona South African beer).
Responding to the claim that most participants were white, Mental Acrobatics observes:
Next the whole, “there are no natives” (whatever a native is) argument lacks so much logic someone is surely looking for a slapping from a certain Mr Spock. I am sitting in a hall full of 500+ journalists from 40+ African countries, no natives? I have previously blogged about the logical fallacy of an ad hominem argument. Those who have lost the argument tend to attack the man. “Yeah, well Hitler was a vegetarian that means all vegetarians are evil.” The so called handing of our souls to the devil in a code of conduct for bloggers. I mean for crying out loud have you looked at the programme? The “code of conduct” seminar is one of three simultaneous seminars being held on Friday afternoon, hardly the setting for the evil take over of the world is it?”
In White Blogging Africa, Black Looks notes, “Digital Citizen Indaba on Blogging conference INDABA? more like the gathering of the Big White Chiefs oOOPS but wait I forget “we are all africans now. Maybe there will be a hall full of eager black faces looking intently at the white chiefs for guidance and hope for the future of this great land. How will we ever manage on our own?” Black Looks later removes image from her post, “This image has been removed due to complaints that it is offensive.”
Meskel Square, whose photograph was posted by a visitor in AB&H blog as evidence of his whiteness  dismisses the controversy as “tiresome”:
This is all part of an incredibly tiresome “controversy” about the skin colours and ethnic backgrounds of people speaking at a blogging conference in Grahamstown, South Africa today and tomorrow. (Rush over at 3.30pm on Friday to hear me tell all about photo-blogging.)  considered the controversy tiresome.
On Being Tiresome is Black Looks’ response to “Mr. Incredibly Tiresome”:
Mr English journalist blogger is tired of the CONTROVERSY around skin colour and ethnic background at a conference on blogging in Africa? Who are you to stand there and tell me I am TIRESOME AND TO QUESTION YOUR PRESENCE IS CONTROVERSIAL? What are you doing there instead of an Ethiopian blogger, a Ghanaian blogger, a Democratic Republic of Congo blogger, a White African blogger? What is it you have to say in your imaginary colour blind world?
Jaysennett joins “the tiresome controversy”  debate with a funny cartoon.
After defining “Indaba” as:
in‧da‧ba [in-dah-bah] (n-däb)- noun- a conference or consultation between or with native peoples of South Africa. A council or meeting of indigenous peoples of southern Africa to discuss an important matter. [i see that indaba is a south african thing, i guess that is why i had never heard of the word]
Alexcia concludes, “I must say that I am with AB&H on this. I repeat a version a comment i posted at the bottom of the heap in that debate. Surely, however romantic this digital goings on is SA is, no matter how you cut it, it is NOT an indaba. Why? no natives.” Alexcia does not have problems with inviting “citizens of planet earth to this thing”: I say, invite all citizens of planet earth to this thing. Offer sponsorship to everyone. But don't call it Indaba or African.
Mwenye Nchi has the same line argument regarding the name of the conference:
If a group of keen bloggers want to meet up and share experiences in the hope of bettering what they do, fine. It's a free country. But to start labelling it African this or that. That's just plain opportunist. Reminds me of all these white Europeans ‘discovering’ waterfalls and snow capped mountains in our own homeland, as many of us were taught in the good old 8-4-4 textbooks.  So whatever you do down in Grahamstown, don't call it African anything!”
In A Footnote to Indaba, Alexcia writes, “I tried, incoherently and unsuccessfuly to bring attention to the class (only upper classes bother with computers) and cultural implications of this conference purporting to be “african” and an “indaba” but failed because there we few Africans to be found. The non-african participants of the conference proved to be very annoying and I shall not waste my time with them.”
Marazzmatazz, whose writing style involves occasional use of Swahili words between sentences, was one of the participants to the conference:
The whistles, shouts and clamour instantly remind me of why am here – or more, of why some people have issues with me being here. You see, the way i view it is pretty simplistic. I applied for the DCI like everyone else, got the scholarship and am here to learn. Moreover, am pressed to think that someone already concluded that we are not representative enuff. Concluded about my intentions or lack thereof to sambaza the knowledge i've acquired from here to benefit others besides myself. But nooooo, that doesn't seem to be a good enuff script for the self-acclaimed Real African Blogger.
Pause.
Ponder for a minute.
Laugh.
On the question of who is an African, he asks, “Doesn't a white person born in Africa qualify to be African? Egyptians are super-light in hue, are they Africans? Do you have to be a coal-coloured miro to own that term?”
My Part of the World calls the controversy, “Vita kati ya Wazee” (Swahili for “War between elders”), which he decides to watch from the sideline:
But since that is water under the bridge I am not going to say anymore, what I am going to ask is this simple question. After the uber bloggers finished their sessions, meetings, networking and presentations; what lessons were learnt for run of the mill bloggers such as myself? Because most of the people at that conference did not represent the everday African blogger but were there on their behalf.”
He adds:
ps:This is not meant to be a racist remark but when I went through the flickr album of the conference all the white faces had the names but most of the black faces had DCI delegate and no names attached.
Was the Digital Citizen Indaba on Blogging a success? Mike Stopforth thinks so. Were there any lessons learnt? Marazzmatazz answers this question in Lessons Learnt – 1 and Lessons Learnt – 2.
Kenyan Pundit writes her (final?) thoughts, looking at what was or was not accomplished:
Apart from a few smart-ass remarks on my blog, I have largely avoided any commentary on the controversy (and rather stimulating debate) surrounding Blogging Indaba.
Why is this? Because like I said before, I have little time for polemics (let alone time to regularly blog anymore) and I’d rather focus my energy on changing situations that I am irked about (to the extent that I can) rather than ranting on the internet.
That being said, the debate was welcome and while I think that some of the commentary was way overboard in terms of paranoia over an African blogosphere take-over-by-whitey, I will never question the right to question…hell, Mzalendo was born out of the very idea that individuals should question their government. Furthermore, isn’t that what blogging is all about…at it’s very core…individual expression….whether you are writing about your socks, hard fucks (KM where are you?) or the implications of the Kengen IPO.
In his closing thoughts, Ethan writes, “Getting to spend time with old friends like Ory, Alaa, Emeka and Andrew, meeting bloggers I’ve long admired like Bankelele and Daudi made me realize how much I want someone – perhaps the DCI folks, but maybe Global Voices, maybe the Kenyan bloggers, maybe the World Social Forum in Nairobi – to organize a real continent-wide blogger gathering, focused on ways the different blogospheres can learn from one another.”
According to Ethan, critics who feared that there would be more white than black speakers at the conference were right:
Critics who worried that the Digital Citizen Indaba would be South Africa-centric, light on blogger speakers and have more white than black speakers were correct on all three counts. Organizers acknowledged all these shortcomings at one point or another during the event, and I suspect the next iteration of the conference – whether in Grahamstown or somewhere else on the continent – will be a hell of a lot more representative.
He writes, “the Indaba was very white, very ZA-centric, excluded a lot of great bloggers and was probably held in the wrong location.” He adds, “And yet, it was a really enjoyable and useful conference.”
As a result of this heated debate about the indaba, Mental Acrobatics comes up with a practical suggestion:
So this is what i suggest. Clearly we have many African bloggers who have an opinion on what an African blogging conference should or should not have, should or should not do. We have many African bloggers who have an opinion on how an African blogging conference should be run. Well then, let us hear it.
I have set up a google email discussion group called “African Bloggers”. This email group has a simple task but it is a massive one. This group is created with the intention of working towards organizing a conference for African bloggers in 2007. Our discussions within this group will centre around (but may not limited to) sponsorship, dates, venues, facilities, speakers, agenda. This group is open to ANYONE who has a blog.
Generally speaking, this debate has shown, in terms of opions and thinking, how complex and diverse the African blogosphere is. And, well, now there are efforts to organize a real African bloggers conference in 2007.
The Digital Citizen Indaba on Blogging was part of the annual Highway Africa Conference hosted by Rhodes University in South Africa. For further information, you can read the conference blog or wiki.


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Africa: kings of Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kings of Africa is an online photography exhibition, via A Pattern Tub.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Africa: recycling war · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Black Looks writes about recycling war in Africa, “The reality is war is big business and Africa is a prime market – sell the weapons, destroy and then rebuild, then sell some more and so on – recycling war.”


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Blog Roundup: MIB Forum · Global Voices
Maurina H

The Forum was held in Chancellor's Hall, University Brunei Darussalam only a few nights ago, Wednesday night, to be exact. Now, it is already Sunday, yet the noise it made still reverberates all throughout the usually very quiet nation and the even more quiet blogging scene.
The Forum was a star studded event, attended by a number of major figures, ministers, deputy ministers,  and most notably His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei, and his brother, His Majesty Prince Sufri Bolkiah, His Majesty Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and a special guest of the Sultan, Raja Nazrin, the Crown Prince of Perak, who was there to act as the keynote speaker.
For those new to the concept of MIB, it stands for the three fundamental elements in Bruneian governance and way of life. M: Melayu, which stands for the majority of the Bruneian population, the Bruneian Malay, and all cultural connotations that comes with the word, I: Islam, which stands for the official religion of Brunei, a religion that affects every single working of the Bruneian governance in all kinds of ways, and B:Beraja, which stands for the power of the Sultan. Together Melayu Islam Beraja, brings the loose translation of “Malay Islamic Monarchy”.
Thus the event was a normal forum, which outlined and rexamined the well known philosophy of Melayu Islam Beraja that Brunei employs in the daily running of the country, and how it can be taken further to advance Bruneian governance. I wrote on my blog, Turquoise and Roses, as a person watching the live feed on the national television station, RTB, thought it should be called the MIB Talk,. rather than a forum due to its one-way exchange.
However, of course my own trivial comments are nought compared to the reaction Raja Nazrin's keynote speech (available here – in Malay) received from the Bruneian public. Obviously he had struck a chord with most Bruneians, for example Brunei Resources, who actually used the word “fantastic”, and that it “outclassed” all the other speakers,
The other papers admittedly were run of the mill and very straight to the point as they have been said in the past. They were actually interesting but after more than an hour of listening to the fantastic keynote address by Raja Nazrin, they were really outclassed.
Another speaker who had done exceedingly well is, someone most Bruneian women hold in high regard, Brunei's very own first woman judge, Judge Norhayati, a wonderful modern feminist by right. She, in an MIB Forum, full of sexist and most probably unimpressed males, created an uproar among the ladies present when in an emotional call, clearly stated that it is high time to include women in the presently only male dominated Legislative Council.
Brunei Resources recalled the event clearly,
Judge Hayati gave the normal run of the Constitution and how the royalty was part of that Constitution. However, she was able to attract everyone's attention when she talked, or rather she called out (loudly and clearly), that the time is right for women to be included in the Legislative Council and not just the present 29 all-men LegCo. All the ladies present and men too clapped very loudly.
Emma Good Egg added in her own blog,
I think to not have a woman on the Legislative Council is tantamount to disregarding the views of close to half the population of Brunei Darussalam.
That is obviously a good point as currently, the population of Brunei is, as Emma Good Egg has also mentioned as the following,
…women represent 46.6% of the work force and hold important positions in both government and private sectors. You see more women involved in NGOs and entering the business arena. We have HRH Princess Masna, who is Ambassador-at-Large for the country. Plus, the life expectancy of women is 77.59 years, outliving men (at 72.57 years) by about 5 years.
However, only a few days after her speech, negative backlash has been detected. An annonymous comment on Brunei Resources's blog has said the following:
Its always been a struggle for women to be included in the Boys Only Club. I dont know why. Why do they want to join the Boys Only Club? Men dont want to join Women Only Club as far as I know. Whats her intention?
I remember last time our Mufti said something about women in the judging business should adhere to Islamic Values including to wear a hijab. Anyone remember about that? I wish she turn a corner and wear a hijab all the time and not only during official function.
Naturally, anti-feminist sentiments, however personal, will always be present in times like these, as shown above. The donning of a hijab, (or not donning of the hijab, in this case) is seen as an indicator of an ulterior motive.
Other negative feedbacks from the public appear also in comment form rather than blog form, such as the following, made by Phantom on my blog, Turquoise and Roses. He/she claimed the MIB Forum is a “propaganda session” and implied that it is a waste of time as there are “hundred better channels to watch”.
Personally, I am amazed by the commotion brought about by the MIB Forum. However, very important issues were brought forward especially by Judge Norhayati and I applaud her for taking the bold stand and speaking up when no one else would.

author: Maurina H


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Kenya: what Kenyans are saying about Odinga · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kumekucha Kisumu writes about Raila Odinga, the leading opposition politician in Kenya,
“In Luo Nyanza Raila has cultivated a cult of personality that is the envy of many a politician. This cult has spawned myths that elevates Raila almost to the level of luo legends like Gor Mahia and Lwanda Magere.”


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Kyrgyz Revolution Photos · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

By posting photos of last year's Kyrgyz Revolution, Edil Baisalov looks at the people that were behind the ousting of former President Akayev (RUS).

author: Ben Paarmann


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Lesotho: the state of politics · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sotho on the state of politics in Lesotho, “Has the government of Lesotho taken a leave of absence? Are our leaders out of their minds? Instead of acquiring a Toyota Camry, how about doing something for joblessness, for AIDS patients?”


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Malawi: ICT in Northern region · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mangaliso's World on the state of ICT in Malawi's Northern region.


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Nigeria: remembering Mrs Ekpo · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Black Looks remembers Mrs Margaret Ekpo, “Mrs Ekpo, along with the late Fumilayo Ransome Kuti, was one of Nigeria’s most ardent political activists and campaigners for women’s rights.”


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Russian Diaspora · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Sean's Russia Blog looks at the large and widely-scattered Russian diaspora in the CIS (e.g. 4 million in Kazakhstan) and in Israel.


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South Africa: afro-fusion group nominated for MTV award · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Freshlyground, a South African afro-fusion group, deserves the MTV Europe nomination in the Best African Act category, writes Coda.


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Sudan: Africa’s rap star · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Escaping Sudan is Ben Loxo's post about Emmanuel Jal, “Emmanuel Jal has risen from obscurity to become one of Africa’s most well-known rappers.”


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Tashkent’s Supermarkets Closed? · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

The Tashkent-based All-Knowing-Blog reports of many supermarkets remaining closed during the past couple of days (RUS).


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Turkey is Typing… · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Ramadan begins this weekend, or Ramazan, if you are Turkish, and I thought that it would be nice to open up this week's article with a link from Binnur's Turkish Cookbook for Ramazan Pide.  Let the celebrations begin!
The pope's comments have been a hot topic of dicussion in the Turkish blogs this week.  The pope is scheduled to visit Turkey soon and any sort of comments made by him as anti-muslim have been taken very seriously as Aydin.net explains:
The Pope has already been criticised in Turkey for his opposition to it joining the European Union, and his advocacy for a Christian element in the EU constitution. Salih Kapusuz, the deputy leader of the ruling party, which has its roots in Islam, said Benedict's remarks were either the result of “pitiful ignorance” about Islam and its Prophet or a deliberate distortion of the truth. The PM of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was asked if the flap would affect the planned trip to Istanbul, where the pope hopes to meet with Orthodox leaders who are headquartered there, and he left open the possibility of cancellation saying “I wouldn't know’ and mentioned that Benedict was speaking “not like a man of religion but like a usual politician.”
Icarus Redeemed discusses the papal controversy as more of a problem with Islam itself:
The movie put out by Mel Gibson two and a half year ago stimulated a lot of interfaith heat. And now, we have another interfaith controversy with the Pope himself at it's epicentre.
When it comes to Jesus and/or Christianity we seem to be going from one fitful controversy to another – a bit like the proverbial birth pangs.
The earlier cartoon controversy and now this present one suggests to me that the person of Muhammad and what Muslims have made of him might be the greatest barrier to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let me explain why.
Talk Turkey addresses the issue of the Christian Europe and the Muslim Turkey and how that effects Turkey's bid for the European Union:
Fast forward to today. The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy- O'Connor, spiritual leader of the four million Catholics in England and Wales, argues that Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, is not culturally part of Europe. Contrary to Tony Blair's wishes. But the Cardinal may have a point here if you believe ‘cultural’ allegiances are influenced by ‘religion,’ or vice versa as I believe, and ‘religious leaders’ are spokes-models for the ‘new world order’ as opposed to ‘elected’ not ‘selected’ leaders. You may be prompted to ask what is this world coming to?
But the good ole Cardinal asks “I think the question is for Europe. Will the admission of Turkey to the European Union be something that benefits a proper dialogue or integration of a very large, predominantly Islamic, country in a continent that, fundamentally, is Christian?”
I guess he believes it will be the latter, and he wishes the ‘political’ leaders took heed.
However, if you really want the full persceptive about Turkey joining the EU, have Erkan's Field Diary on your daily read list. His latest post illustrates an attempt at EU officials to use Turkish anger about the Pope's comments against their bid:
Angry Muslim reaction to the Pope's recent remarks on Islam has seen some centre-right MEPs make a last-minute attempt to insert a paragraph condemning the Muslim outcry into a major report on Turkey's EU accession progress while Kretschmer declares that (Turkish) Military does not respect legal order. Mehmet Ali Birand says Justice Minister Cicek might be right in his insistence that “we be patient, arguing, “The judiciary will fine-tune itself.” Afterwards, Elif Åžafak was found not guilty. Now the Supreme Court of Appeals will have its say. If it goes along with the decision, we will have passed a critical threshold. Ã‡iÃ§ek will have been proven as right. The only thing I'm worried about is the trials of the not-so-famous people. “
Links to visit this week…
1. Excellent food blog, in Turkish, called Mutfaktakiler, loosely translated as “Those that are in the kitchen”.
2. The Infidel talks about his experiences in moving to New York.
3. Amerikan Turk has a touching story of the death of his local barber.
4. Turkish Torque has an excellent translation of an article about the “Turkish Left”.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Turkmen Cotton-Picking Season · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Peter of neweurasia reports of the social and political disarray that every cotton-harvesting season in Turkmenistan appears to create.


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Yezidis in Georgia · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Onnik Krikorian has an extensive post on the Yezidi minority in Georgia, which he recently visited together with an ethno-musicologist. Onnik provides exclusive photography, interviews, and compares the minority's situation in Georgia with that in Armenia.


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Cambodia: Expanding Blogosphere · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogosphere in Cambodia is growing rapidly and it includes both the locals and expats. Details are Sketchy introduces some new blogs from Cambodia.

author: Preetam Rai


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Global Food Blog Report #33 · Global Voices
Melissa De León

#1: From Sri Lanka, Janin's between Colombo and Wherever cooks up an interesting dish: Lazy rice!
Lazy Rice is the euphemism used for Sri lankan fried rice often made
using the leftovers of the previous night including leftover rice. Much alike our blogosphere pundits who ruminate over the leftover arguments of other bloggers comments and posts…Get cooking now!
#2: From Mexico, The Road to Merida reveals all the details of their daily life while staying in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. On Tortilla Making and Jamaica…
Back to Chef’s house and on to tortilla making. We all got a chance to make a tortilla the traditional handmade way sitting on a stool across from a Mayan woman. She was so kind and patient with us.
We had a lot of fun with it. We got to eat our tortillas cooked on the hot comal, or at least I think that’s what it was. We were able to compare them to the ones we bought made on the machine at  the mercado. What a difference. We enjoyed our tortillas with a fresh glass of jamaica with lime. It is made similar to ice tea with dried hibiscus leaves. Read further…
#3: From What We're Eating: A Deep South Sushi Fusion!
Tonight we’re eating sushi with a southern flare. Our sushi was make with blanched collard greens (instead of seaweed paper), sushi rice, slowly-smothered chicken thighs, and oven-roasted okra. The sushi was served on a bed of spicy onion gravy. Get the recipe…
#4: From Singapore, Greedy Goose presents The Most Versatile Cake of All!
The famed '21’ Club's Lobster Cake recipe is so versatile I've made them with all manner of shellfish. Delightfully piquant and spicy, they are extremely easy to make, even for a dinner party of more than 4 (have you tried picking crabs for 6?). I sometimes omit or use alternative ingredients since things like jalapeno peppers and flat leaf parsley aren't readily available at the average suburban supermarket here (I replace the jalepeno peppers with green chillis and sometimes do without the flat leaf parsley). I've used crabmeat, crayfish and prawns and in every variation, they've been wonderfully delicious. Continue reading…
#5: From Spain, Dos Hermanos tours the country's culinary spots: Madrid, Toledo, Avila-Salamanca, Avila, Trujillo, Placencia and Guijuelo, Caceres, Merida.
That is what spending time in Spain does to you. It gets to your very spirit. The exuberance, the sheer enthusiasm for life that runs through the country embedded in the culture, like the rings of a tree, by age after age. It manifests itself in a generosity of spirit that no other country on earth can come close to matching and one that is not hampered by faux cheeriness but is real and often overwhelming.
#6: From Japan, Brownie Points on Tales of Japan: Kit Kats!
The Adzuki Bean and Fruit Parfait came in traditional Kit Kat size, vs the Green Tea with Adzuki Bean ones that were a smaller size and came in a bag. The imagery on their bag is of green tea shaved ice topped with adzuki beans and condensed milk- a common treat that we spotted being served at several of the temples we visited. The Green Tea ones were by far my favorite… not too sweet, smooth, with a hint of smokey tea flavor. This combination of flavors won a place in my heart when I first sampled them ala Haagen Daz.
Read the complete report…
#7: From Hungary, Habeas Brulee cooks up an amazing  looking Cabbage Strudel and Paprika Ice Cream. Yum!
They can be a pair, but don’t have to be. Cabbage strudel is actually a totally traditional dessert, and it really, really works. No one ever expects it to be as amazingly good as it is. I highly recommend making it.
Paprika ice cream is not at all traditional, and was very interesting. I think I liked it, in the ‘I want a spoonful once in a while but probably not a whole bowlful’ sort of way. It was an experiment, really. For paprika sweets, I more strongly recommend making my paprika sticky rolls. Get the recipes now…

author: Melissa De León


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Hungary: Budapest’s “Watergate” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

As the first week of the Budapest protests ends and what seems to be “the Watergate case of Hungary” hasn't been resolved, Henrik of Hungarian Accent writes about “the violence, the lies, the media and the path ahead.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Iran:Washington Post  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Washington Post invites Iranian bloggers to share their opinions about what is going on between US and Iran.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Kenya: voters guide · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A blogger's voters guide to Kenya's next general election.


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Nigeria: former military dictator to run for presidency? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A cancer to return to the heart of Nigeria?, asks Black Star Journal:
“I guess this begs the question: is the development of democracy in Nigeria so stunted that in a country of 130 million inhabitants, the only people qualified to seek the federal republic's highest office are ex-military dictators who raped and plundered the country?”


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Syrian Blogsphere in a Week · Global Voices
Yazan Badran

To kick off this week, Ghalia welcomes the holy month of Ramadan in her special way, with another beautiful shot of her camera…
“Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur-an, as a guide to mankind, also Clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and wrong)…” The Quran [2 : 185]
It's Ramadan, but it seems that no blogger has lost the appetite for politics, a very touching post from Fares with very rare pictures of Kamal Labwani behind bars, Kamal Labwani is one of the many political prisoners still held in Syrian jails…
I received these very touching photos featuring Kamal Labwani, 2 of them are of him in Jail behind bars and illustrate Humiliation and being stripped of Human Dignity being a political prisoner for an oppressive Syrian regime.
Ammar Abdulhamid is angry about the aggressive messages, and war cries coming out of the Hezbolla-Syria-Iran camp…
Cool heads do not seem destined to prevail in the region these days. They are too few to begin with. In fact, I can only count one: Fouad Seniora. The hot heads, on the other hands, are too numerous to list in toto, but they surely include: Mahmoud Amhadinejad, Hassan Nasrallah and Bashar al-Assad. The first has just wasted his fifteen minutes in the UN by failing to offer anything of substance to advance his country’s cause. Grandstanding may get you a few laughs, but not understanding or support.
Rime Allaf, has an intersting critical post about Oriana Fallaci, and about the new storm around the Pope's speech, the Pope being fallaci's “Favorite Pope”…
I’ve been reading a variety of tributes and general articles on the subject of Oriana Fallaci’s death and I can’t help but feel some regret, despite the rabid racism she seemed to develop at a rather late age, a racism mostly limited to Islamophobia and Arabophobia – something which did wonders for the sale of her books after September 11. I had admired Fallaci since I was a teenager, as she seemed to embody all the fantastic traits of the journalist and writer I wanted to become, living a life of danger and adventure, meeting the main characters in world politics and daring to debate them, rather than simply interviewing them.
Sara, again, reiterate her message, that Islam does not justify Violence, as a response to the Pope's latest controversy…
Terrorism has no religion. I just saw that statement on an Islamic TV channel as I type this post. Unfortunately the west don't see this… I believe there should be amazing Islamic channels in English showing the true faith of Islam just like any other cable TV channel… Maybe people in the west get to see it without too much work to search for it.
George Ajjan, takes us a bit far off, to Dakkar, Senegal. To tell some stories about how sengalese see “toubab” and “nar”…
Most of these Arabs came to Senegal beginning in the 1930s, between the 2 World Wars when Greater Syria, as well as West Africa, were under French control. But even today, they are seen differently in the eyes of indigenous Africans, and not considered toubab (roughly translated: whitey).
And like always, Abu Fares with another journey of his, this time to “Paradise, As Far As The Eye can See”…
I kid you not. The title above is the name of a restaurant, 35 km northeast of Tartous. If you think that the owner is out of his mind, think twice. First, you’d better take a look at the imbedded video. I think you will agree that the name is very appropriate.

author: Yazan Badran


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Zimbabwe: blood and tears · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

No wonder Izzy called his blog, “Cry Beloved Zimbabwe.”


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Africa: dumping site for toxic waste · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Grandiose Parlor asks whether Africa is a dumping site for global toxic waste: “The use of Africa as a dumping site for hazardous waste from industrialized nations is old news. The issue resurfaced again some weeks ago in Ivory Coast.”


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Africa: Moving on from the digital indaba · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Meskel Square on “Moving on from the Digital Indaba“:
“Overall it was a huge success. One way of judging that is to look at all the discussions that are still carrying on in posts and comments and Technorati links. The discussions started with the race debate which I now wish I hadn't joined (there was just something about that pig/hairless-bulldog). But it has now moved on to thinking about what should come next.”


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Argentina: Buenos Aires 3D for Google Earth · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ezequiel Galotti is building Buenos Aires … so to speak. Block by block, building by building, he is constructing the capital in 3D to be viewed with Google Earth. The results are really amazing. You can also view an interview with Galotti from CNN.

author: David Sasaki


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Armenia: Notes from the Blogosphere · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian has a roundup of the Armenian blogosphere.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Bahamas: Doing what you love · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“. . . the humanity of the Bahamian citizen has been compromised. We allow ourselves and our reality to be defined by other people, because we have made it difficult, if not impossible, for our creative artists to make a living doing what they love,” writes Nicolette Bethel.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Baltics: Pan-Baltic History · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa muses on the so-called “common pan-Baltic history.”


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Bangladesh blog buzz · Global Voices
Rezwan

The latest happenings in Bangladeshi blogs around the world:
* Education: Tanvir of Journal of a Disturbed Mind blog criticizes the new grading system of school final examination -S.S.C. (Grade 10) in Bangladesh.  Students in some regions are getting the top GPA 5 grade in greater numbers; however they are not represented in the top universities as they cannot do well in the competitive examinations.
* Politics: Journalist Tasneem Khalil depicts that police brutality on opposition activists can sometimes be an obscene affair.
Some more pictures of the police in action from Suchinta blog.
Share the magic criticizes the acquittal of Ex-dictator Hossain Muhammad Ershad from a graft suit in a political move of the current government as charges against him were dropped by the government lawyers.
* Sexual rights: Tasneem Khalil reports that a British colonial law (Section 377 of penal code) dating 19th century is still being used in the countries of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh) to repress homosexuality.
* Disaster: Dristipat criticizes the rescue efforts of the missing Bangladeshis in the coastal region and high casualties after the September 19, 2006 storm.
* Religion: Shafiur of imperfect|world|2006 reports that the late Theotonius Amal Ganguly, a Bangladeshi Archbishop is set to be first saint of Bangladesh.
* Culture: ‘Shab-e-Barat’ (The night of good luck) is celebrated among Muslims on the 15th day of Shaban (the eighth month of the Islamic lunar calendar) only in the countries of Indian sub-continent (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan) with religious fervor.
Shaon asks whether there is a religious base of celebrating this night, or whether it is a pure cultural tradition.
* Living of the poor: Except from the celebrity people have little idea about how is it to live in Bangladesh. Razib Ahmed of the South Asia Biz portrays Bangladeshi working class people – three rickshawpullars and a banana seller.
* Corruption: Suchinta Blog shares more information about the ongoing corruption in Bangladesh.
* Celebrity: Shafia of People Tree shares her experience of a day with the Buddhist leader Dalai Lama.
* Diaspora: Imtiaz criticizes some Non-resident Bangladeshis, who have no plan to come back home but always are vocal about the country's welfares.

author: Rezwan


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Barbados: Karl Brodhagen · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Linda Thompkins highlights the career of Guyana-born Barbados artist Karl Brodhagen, sculptor of one of Barbados's most famous public artworks.


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Barbados: Lessons from Cayman · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press sees lessons for Barbados in the Cayman Islands’ current debate over immigration rules regarding ex-patriates.


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Barbados: Piggies At The Trough Awards · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press announces that nominations are open for the 1st annual Barbados Piggies At The Trough Awards: “the winner will be the Barbados politician or civil servant who, in the opinion of the judges, best misuses position, political contacts or internal knowledge to benefit self, family or friends.” The nominator of the winning entry will receive US$1,000. Seriously.


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Belize: Independence Day photos · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Lee Vanderwalker posts photos of the colourful Independence Day celebrations in Belize.


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Botswana: removal of the Basarwa from ancestral land · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sotho opposes the removal of the Basarwa from their ancestral land in Botswana:
“The Basarwa (Baroa in Sesotho) deserve to live on their land, as did the native American, in the same way they have been living on it since the dawn of man.”


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Brazil: Reactions to iSummit 2006 · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Better late than never, Colin Brayton has put together and translated some reactions to Creative Commons iSummit 2006 on his latest New Market Machines Radio podcast.


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China: strike hard campaign · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Monwong at interlocals.net has translated a blog post by Zan Ai Zong concerning the “strike-hard” campaign in China, the article explains how such campaign would easily lead to violation of human rights.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: Migration Project: María Gómez · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Liz Henry introduces María Gómez's new, bilingual Have Money Will Vlog site as part of the Colombia Migration Project.


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Cuba: Dengue fever · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

By making the eradication of the Aedes aegypti mosquito a government priority, Raúl Castro has more or less admitted that Cuba has a dengue fever problem, says Luis M. Garcia, “and yet, the secrecy-obsessed Communist regime refuses to reveal the extent of the epidemic.”


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Estonia: “Election Eve Post” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa posts an “election eve” entry, in which he tries “to sum up a lot of big thoughts in a few modest paragraphs. Such is the Estonian way.”


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Estonia: Generalizing About Latvia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa generalizes about Latvia: “Plus, if things have been hard for Estonia, Latvia's always gotten it just a little bit shittier.”


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Gambia 101 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Gambia 101, via African Shirts:
“After the 1981 coup attempt, the confederation of Senegambia was established with Senegal. The union didn't last too long, but made a lot of sense. Gambia is the smallest country in Africa, a tiny strip of land around the River Gambia less than 50km wide. It is surrounded on all sides by Senegal, except in the west, where the River Gambia opens out into the Atlantic. Basically, they Gambia is almost like an autonomous part of the Senegal which speaks English.”


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Gambia: Jammeh wins presidential election · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

And the winner of 2006 Presidential election in Gambia is…


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Guyane: Lunar Eclipse · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Cafe Creole  posts (Fr) pictures of Friday's lunar eclipse as seen from French Guiana as well as shots of the eclipse watchers who flooded the beaches.

author: Alice Backer


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Hong Kong: GWF investigation · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Internet Society Hong Kong has carried out an investigation on the suspected blocking of ntscmp.com website by Nevigator and HGC; Charles Mok blogs the findings: we cannot find any evidence of a block imposed by the accused ISPs on the website in question. Connections from these ISPs to the website are flagged and closed gracefully and this can be caused by any third party who gained sufficient privilege or the endpoint website. But it is also virtually impossible for us to be able to investigate as a third party without such privilege to sniff into all the segments on the network.


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Hungary: More Boring Than Canada · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Pestiside.hu observes that Hungary is more boring than Canada.


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Hungary: Violence Subsides · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Paul of Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar writes that “from Wednesday onwards, the amount of violence has drastically decreased. […] Now, of course, that could be simply because of the fact that most of the original ringleaders are now in custody….or because the outbreaks are now considered embarrassing and counterproductive for not only the radical right ‘politicians’, but also those who would be described as being a part of ‘the democratic mainsteam’.”


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India: Away from home · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Being away from home during festivals can be particularly hard. The Great Bong on being away from Calcutta during the wonderful Durga Puja.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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India: On Tipu Sultan · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The revision of History as it's taught in schools can have both an academic and political agenda. Indian Muslims on the character of Tipu Sultan and the revision of how he is perceived.


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India: Pictures from Kargil · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Sajith has wonderful photographs from Kargil. “While being driven down to the town, our driver had also pointed us towards the barren Tiger Hills, where the big artillery battle of 1999 had happened. All of a sudden the nothingness starts to remind of body bags being sent home and teary widows and mothers, of two nations destined to be at each others’ neck ever since their very inception.


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Iran: American short stories in Persian · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Ketablog says a collection of nine short stories from contemporary American writers has been published in Persian in Iran [Fa]. The collection's name is Goodness of God and we can find stories from Gib Hansen or Sherman Alexie.


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Iran:A tortured political leader · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Roozmaregiha writes that Ali Akbar Mousavi Khoini, jailed political prisoner and former deputy in Iranian parliament, seized opportunity at his father's funeral where he had found a few minutes of freedom to say he has been under torture in prison.The blogger adds Mousavi is not an ordinary prisoner; he is the leader of a legal political party ( Tahkim Vahdat) and a former deputy in parliament [Fa].


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Israel: No wonder they hate us · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The zionist Left in Israel talks alot…they were never known for their actual actions. Shulamit Aloni was for years a member of the Israeli Knesset. Her voice was loud and clear when pointing out the injustices being done to the Palestinian people, but there was never any real actions to put those words into motion.
She is now calling for Peace talks… great! We need that. But before that can happen we need a situation leading to recognition. Israel does not recognise Hamas as the elected government of Palestine. How can there be talks without the participation of Hamas? DesertPeace said.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Jamaica: Dub poet · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Geoffrey Philp posts the latest in his series of “Five Questions” interviews with Caribbean authors. This week his interviewee is Jamaican dub poet Malachi.


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Japan: foreign workers · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In order to cope with the shrinking labor force, the Japan Ministry of Justice stressed the need of  long-term policies for accepting overseas workers. debito points out that a significant change is that the government has dropped the “3%” upper limit concerning the ratio of foreigners to local population.


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Jordan: Poverty in Jordan · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Wael Attili has a sample story of poverty in Jordan. Imagine living on a monthly income that is less than US$ 110 [ar]. Wondering how these people are living between us, unnoticed!


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Kazakhstan: Helping Orphans · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

KZblog writes about ways to help Kazakhstani orphans.


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Kazakhstan: Week in Review · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Adam Kesher rounds up an eventful week in Kazakhstan's politics.


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Kyrgyzstan: Tekebaev Roundup · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Yulia of neweurasia rounds up the Kyrgyz blogosphere's discussion of the political scandal involving opposition politician Omurbek Tekebaev.


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Lebanon: Is Nasrallah the new face of moderation in Lebanon and the M.E.? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

You kill a terrorist and you have another terrorist. This does not apply to moderates. Every time you kill a moderate you don't have another moderate but you rather contribute to the birth of a radical and a terrorist. Hassan Nasrallah is an exception to this rule. He is becoming a real moderate, Sophia believes so and I will tell you why.


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Libya: Debate Continues On Qadhafi’s Libya · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Libya has changed undoubtedly. But that change is purely opportunistic and economic. The country is still under dictatorship and the fact that the US government and media suffer from some form of amnesia/madness does not take away from this fact, smokey spice said.


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Macau: The 1st Lusofonia Games will be held between 7-15 October 2006 in Macau · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

Timor Online writes about the 1st Lusofonia Games to be held between 7-15 October 2006 in Macau. Portuguese speaking countries and regions will compete for glories in the sports of football, futsal, beach volleyball, volleyball, basketball, taekwondo, table tennis and athletics. Apart from exciting competitions, impressive cultural performances will compose part of the games. The event will be promoted by the recently created ‘Association of the Portuguese-Speaking Olympic Committees’ (ACOLOP).

author: Jose Murilo


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Morocco: 5000 micro companies · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Samir says that the Moroccan Minister of the Social Development, Family and Solidarity, has come up with an innovative plan that addresses both needs of unemployed and handicapped people who need work and communication technology. One of the projects is to create 5,000 small companies providing moving “publiphones” on behalf of people living in precarious situations.


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Nepal: Status of 174 disclosed · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

What of the people who died or went missing during the insurgency in Nepal. Bahas on the current issue of the status of 174 people disclosed. “The Home Ministry Friday made public the status of 174 people among 776 allegedly disappeared by the state during ten years of insurgency.”


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New Caledonia: Miss Caledonia Dethroned for Nude Photos · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Sebastien from 5 Minutes en Nouvelle Caledonie deplores (Fr) that Miss Caledonia was recently stripped of her crown and prevented from participating in the Miss France contest because of artistic nude pictures.


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New Caledonia: Surfer Video · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Sebastien from 5 Minutes en Nouvelle Caledonie  posts (Fr) a video of surfers on the beaches of Meridien and Anse-Vata.


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Nigeria: Nollywood Movie Premiere · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Hollywood. Bollywood. What about Nollywood?

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Pakistan: On Ramadan · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Shirazi on observing the month of Ramadan. “What is particularly troubling is that often the very people who demand tolerance for themselves end up ridiculing and denouncing those who choose to determine the beginning of the month through some other means.”


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Palestine: Listen, just keep me safe… · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Our safety in the United States and elsewhere will never be guaranteed by force and violence, and certainly not when that violence creates legions of new enemies who have just been given a real reason to realize their new hatred of America when their countries are bombed and occupied and their fellow citizens murdered. Perhaps during earlier times, their “hatred of America” was vocalized over heated discussions in the tea houses, nonetheless an idle and passing utterance and not a call to arms, yet now true personal losses create warriors who are willing to fight to the death to avenge personal or national injustices, the  American-Palestinian Salah Al-Dien said.


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Philippines: Blogger Conference · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

J Angelo Racoma blogs the Philippine BlogCon 2006. The blog conference was held in Manila on Monday 25, September.


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Poland: Early Election in November? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes that Poland may be “on the verge on an early election. Again.” Even though things may still change, “it’s a brave person to bet on anything in the weird and whacky world of Polish politics.”


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Senegal: Immigration Agreement with France · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Semett writes (Fr): “Dakar signed the despicable “agreement” whose main point is the (inhumane) expulsion of Senegalese (and probably other Africans) from France to Senegal. In the court if History, we are witnesses to those House Negroes (i.e. African leaders) who, faced with the problems of the continent's youth, have opted to abandon their historic responsibilities.”


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Singapore: Neighbourly Tiff · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Blowin’ in the Wind writes about the latest tiff between former Malaysian prime minister Mahatir and former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.


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Slovenia: 4th National Blogmeet · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Glory of Carniola announces the 4th National Slovenian Blogmeet to be held on October 14 in Ljubljana.


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South Korea: U.S. Korean War vets to join anti-U.S base protest · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ohmynews Korean version had interview with two U.S Korean War vets who planned to join the anti-U.S military base construction rally on Sunday. Robert Koehler summaries their opinions in Marmot's Hole.


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Syria: Syria takes over the Arab World · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Today the airwaves are filled with the Syrian dialect. Syria is once again producing most of the Arab World's Ramadan television. A quick flick through the channels shows Syrian series on almost every channel. From the classical Arabic history dramas on Moroccan TV, to the comedies on Tunisian TV and the challenging socio-political dramas on TV stations in the Gulf, sasa said.


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Thailand: Putting up with the coup · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Fringer.org tries to answer just why many Thais while resenting the limits on their freedom of speech are still willing to put up with the coup.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Blogging the Arts · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

AS THE Anglophone Caribbean blogosphere grows, so does the number of specialist blogs devoted to specific subjects. For two decades now, Trinidad has been a major site for contemporary art in the Caribbean, rivalling the better known art centres of Cuba and Jamaica, though not enjoying the same amount of international attention. But a recent proliferation of Trinidadian art blogs is beginning to create a significant presence for the island's artists and art institutions on the world wide web.
A handful of Trinidadian artists — such as Edward Bowen — and commercial galleries — such as 101 Art Gallery — set up websites relatively early on, but the first artist bloggers have appeared only within the last two years or so. Christopher Cozier, one of the Caribbean's leading contemporary artists, is also a member of the Small Axe collective, and curates the journal's SXspace, a site for discussing the work of Caribbean artists. He also began a blog, Visual Matters, in April 2006. His posts, thus far sparse, include a conceptual sketch for an artwork subsequently made for a show in Canada, and an essay on the Trinidadian thinker Lloyd Best.
Irish-born artist Mary Adam, who has lived in Trinidad for over thirty years, has used her website to house an online gallery of her work, and recently started a separate blog with “drawings and other images, mine and other people's, old and new, good and bad, with and without text, as a starting point for something else, which might or might not ever happen”. One recent post started a debate over the question of “the artist's intention” and its role in interpreting an artwork.
Richard Bolai and Adele Todd of The Bookmann use their blog to explore what they call the “Trinidad Aesthetic © 1997″ via brief essays on “art, wall paintings, architecture, posters, typography, design, street graffiti, television, film and other kitsch based works in the environment” which are often bitingly critical of the work of other artists. And multimedia artist Elspeth Duncan uses her blog Now Is Wow as an online journal–or, as she puts it, a “daily evolving creative portal”.
One of the major players on Trinidad's art scene is Caribbean Contemporary Arts, a non-profit organisation that “works with contemporary visual artists, curators, writers, historians and art educators from the Caribbean and the Caribbean Diaspora to exhibit, publish and document our region's art practice, influences and ideas”. CCA publishes its monthly newsletter, Art Papers, in blog format, announcing news about upcoming shows and artists’ residencies. And CCA has lent its institutional support to a groundbreaking new contemporary arts programme, Galvanize, which was launched in September 2006 and decided to establish its online presence in blog format. The Galvanize blog includes profiles of participating artists, musicians, and writers alongside information on the schedule of events, and the Galvanize online gallery is hosted at Flickr, with most of the images under Creative Commons licenses. At least one of the Galvanize artists, Jaime Lee Loy, has set up her own blog with information and images from her project Unease: An 8-Step Programme.


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United Arab Emirates: Etisalat obstructing business · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Going back to the early seventies, companies left Beirut because of the civil war and re-located largely to Cyprus, Athens, Dubai, Bahrain. Many of those which had gone to Cyprus & Athens re-re-located because telecommunications were so bad. Many came on to Dubai because telecommunications were so good. A lesson Etisalat and those who control it need to remember, before it's too late.
It's not the prices, outrageous as they are. It's not the infantile blocking of perfectly valid websites. It's the lack of speed they give us for work on the internet, Seabee said.


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Africa: African fashion · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bella Naija finds clothes by South African designers, which are practical and fashionable.


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Africa: Africans ahead of rest of the world · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ethan offers four areas where Africa is leading the rest of the world.


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Argentina, Brazil: Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Altered Argentina travels to Brazil and realizes that “a lot more joins Rio and Buenos Aires than what sets them apart.”


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Armenia & Georgia: Yezidis and Kurdish Identity · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian continues his periodic reporting on Yezidis in Armenia and neighboring countries, touching on issues of how Yezidis fit into the Kurdish community.


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Armenia: Suffering for Russia · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At Blogrel, “Observer” argues that Armenia will suffer because of anti-Russian moods on the international scene.


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Bahrain: Elections! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

It's been 63 days since the parliament was dissolved and no one knows when the next elections are going to be… “or should we take it as the “experiment” has failed and we're going to try version 2.0 of The Bahraini Democratic Experiment and that is: get rid of this democracy schlamocracy and be done with it“, Mahmood said.


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Bahrain: Political laughter · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

If you are interested in humor columnists or satirists, Esra'a is looking for a help out in a website that's primarily dedicated to political satire about African and Middle Eastern leaders mostly.


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Bolivia: Recommended Reading · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Recommended reading/listening from the two Miguels. Miguel Centallas links to analysis of the Evo-Alvaro split while Miguel Buitrago says of a Democracy Now interview with Morales: “Personally, I think in the interview there is a lot of what we already know. However, as it happens often in interviews, Morales reveals some interesting facts, such as the disagreements with Lula. All in all, I think it was a good interview.”


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Bulgaria: Cyrillic and the EU · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Edward Lucas, the Central and East European correspondent of The Economist, writes about Bulgaria, the Cyrillic alphabet and the EU.


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Bulgaria: More on “Tripoli Six” Blog Campaign · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Declan Butler, a senior reporter at Nature, reports that the blog campaign to help free the “Tripoli Six” seems to be gaining momentum. Also, he writes that “Mickey Grant, a filmmaker from Dallas, Texas, has, in response to the blog campaign, today made his full, 1h 22 min, 2003 documentary on the Libya HIV case, Infection, available free, on Google Video […].”


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Central Asia: HIV Conference · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia reports on an HIV/AIDS conference in Bishkek that brought together officials from governments in Central Asia and other former Soviet States.


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Chile, Colombia, Peru, Brazil: Craig Barrett in Latin America · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Leo Prieto publishes the tellingly titled post, “Craig Barrett came to Chile with WiMax and 1,000 computers under his arm.” [ES] Ricardo Carreón has a much more personal description of Barrett's visit to Chile and his trip throughout Latin America.


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China: a teacher put to jail  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The story came from a reporter BBS and re-posted in zhao mu's blog. A teacher Qin Zhong-fei sent out a mobile message, a lyrics that criticized the corruption and land dispute in Peng Shui in Sichuan province. On 31 of August, he was caught by local police and put on jail the next day. It is unclear whether or not the case would be brought to the court yet. (zh)


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China: Shanghai corruption scandal · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The corruption scandal and removal of Shanghai's top leader, Chen Liangyu, have recieved much echoes from local web users and blogsphere.
The China media project has translated some reactions from sina.com.
Ai Wei Wei was glad that finally the central government took action against the corruption in Shanghai.
Positive solution feels depressed about the resulted propaganda.  Fons Tuinstra was surprised by the timing and the way Chen was disposed off.


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China: The Unpublished FoxConn Story · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates a blog post by Southern Weekend reporter Fu Jianfeng about the FoxConn and the First Financial Daily's dispute. The story was banned in the newspapers and found its way in the internet.


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Estonia: Reaction to a Headline in the Economist · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Edward Lucas, the Central and East European correspondent of The Economist, writes about Estonia and other “small” countries: “Small countries are often more interesting than big ones, and size may be one reason that the Baltic states and Slovenia have done rather well in the past 16 years. Politics works faster in small countries: you can draft a policy today, agree it tomorrow and expect everyone to know about it by the end of the week. Information moves more smoothly. Feedback loops are tighter: if something works, you see it quickly and can copy it. If it goes wrong, you can change course.”


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Hong Kong: blog as education tool  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A survey found 73% high school students are bloggers but some secondary schools prohibit students from blogging. Local blogger, He Gu was interviewed by local newspapers concerning blogger culture: Knowing that some secondary schools have prohibited students to write blog, we can see another example that the development of technology has challenged our moral standard…However, we should face the new era with ease. Instead of prohibition, why not take it as a “general education” topic? (zh)


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Hungary: Candidate Withdraws From Local Election · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Pestiside.hu writes about the upcoming local election and one of the candidates who decided not to run: a “Roma eccentric […] whose key election promise was to build a condom factory.”


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Hungary: Economic Problems · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Edward of A Fistful of Euros writes that the Hungarian prime minister “is now in a double bind”: “If he goes through with a hard set of reforms the Hungarian economy will shrink […] and his government will tremble, while if he doesn’t reform as stated […] then the economy will crash anyway, since there will be capital flight.”


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Hungary: Traffic Jam Protest · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Paul of Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar warns of possible traffic jams – albeit “peaceful and civilized” – in Budapest.


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India: Agriculture and the Government · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Recursive Hypocrisy on what really ails Agriculture in India. “To start with, there simply isn't any real investment in technology or innovation in this area. Farm credits, crop insurance and support prices are only measures to help those in misery. What about solutions that result in yields which would make agriculture a viable profession?”


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India: Flashing on a flight · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Sakshi appears to have had a horrible journey out from Heathrow. Looks like even our flights are not too safe for women.


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India: Politics of Chikungunya · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Nandhu Sundaram on the disease that appears to have taken over quite a few cities in India thanks to mosquitoes. Chikungunya. “Are private and government hospitals recording the names and addresses of people who are coming down with the disease? If not, then why not? Isn't this data important? Those questions, I suspect, won't and should not die. “


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Israel: Shimon Peres is an obstacle to peace! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

DesertPeace believes that Shimon Peres is an obstacle to peace, even though he is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which means that he should work effortlessly to establish peace. “Not so in the case of Shimon Peres, who seems to be on a whirlwind tour to guarantee that this never happens.“


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Japan: blood type talk · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Peter Payne in Japundit tries to explain why Japanese are so fascinated about blood type in relation to personality.


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Japan: digital arts · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

An interview with Kenji Harigai, an art director and graphic designer of ADAPTER, in pingmag about new design concept: The digital has already become the true format for expression anyway, that is like some common sense among Japanese young creators. Whether or not you then combine that with analog doesn’t really matter.


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Japan: light in the toilet bowl · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

JP in Japundit introduces a new feature for a perfect toilet: one small light for man, one giant leap for womankind.


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Jordan: The Darkest September · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Hareega has posted a little [ar] series on his blog about Black September, a very dark moment in Jordan’s history. It is the most mysterious, ambiguous, misunderstood and taboo part of Jordanian history that everyone avoids talking about, Nas said.


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Kazakhstan: Mining Accident Fallout · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Ben Paarmann reports on the fallout coming in the wake of a mining accident in Kazakhstan at a Mittal Steel mine near Temirtau.


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Kenya: land grabbers become millionaires · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Report: Land grabbers become millionaires in Kenya, via Kenyan Pundit.


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Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome · Global Voices
Salam Adil

Todays post is full of revelations. Find out what is really behind all the violence in Iraq … where the Iraqi government is these days … original reactions to the Pope's comments on Islam … a recipe for a failed state … if Jews and Muslims really do get along … why one blogger is angry at American soldiers and, if you read to the end, some serious mudslinging.
First I must wish a warm welcome to new Iraqi blogger Marshmallow26; her blog Iraqi Roses is every bit as sweet as her handle implies. Why Iraqi Roses I hear you ask? Marshmallow explains:
I am from Iraq and inspite of the war, and the sadness that Iraqis are going through; there are roses are flourishing in the middile of the warzone, and these roses are the Iraqi: hope, peace, kindness, heros, and love. Long live Iraq.
If you read no other blog post this week read this:
The Konfused Kid writes of his own personal tragedy. A day which he calls simply 6/11. On June 11th the Kid lost four close friends to the violence in Iraq. He writes:
Four of my friends were killed by a huge double roadside bomb that exploded in Karada on Sunday June 11. That’s right, four, count them … that is, if you can identify their bodies. Forever gone — can you imagine that? Since you are all comfy in your air-conditioned rooms sitting on armchairs, sipping Pepsi or Kool-Aid or whatever it is that you care to sip while your sons and daughters go safely to colleges and your spouses sleep in bedrooms million miles away from here, I’d like to take the opportunity to offer what it feels like to be insane amidst the apocryphal hell of Iraq, both weather-wise and people-wise.
I wish I could fill the rest of my article with expletives…
They were the best of people. Two of them, my best friends, were Shiites; another was Sunni and the other was Christian — an example of unity that can never be portrayed in a million years by the hypocritical fake advertisements they numb us with on TV.
And he recounts the harrowing story of how three of them died where they stood and how the fourth, who had clung to life for five more days, described the scene of the explosion. The Kid concludes:
I am sorry, but nobody of sane mind can live here … We Iraqis have been so used to being kicked and dragged through the mud that we did not recognize the abyss in which we found ourselves. But there comes a time when you look around see your world for what it is and cannot take any more of it. […] Iraqis today are strange, sorry creatures — confused, constantly paranoid, and filled with distrust and hatred.
The Week in Politics
Just occasionally you stumble across a sentence that brings some clarity among all the madness in the world. It was in reply to a comment on his blog that the Konfused Kid succinctly sums up the whole violent situation in Iraq:
it is clear that you have only superficial ideas about the power struggle in Iraq, it is ultra more complicated than you might think. You're right, it's mostly made by greedy Iraqis, but these Iraqis act as fronts for Iran, U.S.A. or al-Qaeda.
Iraq is the battleground for the world's war.
In most other cities, police protection of schools brings some relief to parents. But not in Baghdad. Zappy explains:
[the Iraqi Education Minister] did announce that the Motto this year for the Ministry of Education would be “School Children Against Terror” he is Planning Guarding the schools by Iraqi National Guard and Police, making them really good targets… I wonder where his children go to school? Surely not in Iraq.
Stupid statements cause attention, please leave our children out of this.
And this post brought forth similar bitterness against the Iraqi police from other Iraqi bloggers. MIraj wrote: “Mansour and Yermouk areas where just fine before getting the ING's [National Guards] and police cars and putting them all over the place and there you go! The whole area is ruined now and like 99% of the shops were either threatened to close their shops or they chose to do it by their own free will so they wouldn't lose their lives” and MarshMallow26 added: “Our street waited for 4 years to get paved and finally last month all the [rubble was] taken away and the both sides got paved BUT since the policemen heard about it, they occupied one of the empty buildings nearby and stationed there and CUT the road”.
Erm where exactly is the government? Baghdad Connect reports on one of their recent meetings:
When the Cabinet met this week the Secretariat of the Board found out that the Prime Minister was in Iran, the two numbers of VP of the PM – the Kurdish and Arab, were traveling overseas, and the two numbers Vice President of the Republic were voyaging too in foreign lands. Finally, the Secretariat of the Board realized that ‘to his surprise’ 22 of the total 31 ministers (men and women) were also scattered outside our country and consequently the meeting was postponed!!
Ishtar gives a long list of the security failures of the Iraqi government and writes “any government in the world with such killing rate like every day in Iraq, would declare its resignation immediately as an admission of its failure in providing its people with the basic requirement any people need to live like human beings. … still all its members, from the president till the MPS whom quarrelling all the time, all of them are clinging to their chairs to the last breath.”
And the government is not getting any respite from Iraq the Model either. After news that a church was bombed in Baghdad following the Pope's comments on Islam, Omar writes: “Regardless of the motives of the attack, the government and its security apparatus are to blame for not providing sufficient protection for Christian worship places after the terrorists declared their intentions to launch a wave of attacks against these sites. Ironically, instead, the interior ministry announces a plan to provide more protection for mosques and Husseiniyat.”
Speaking of the Papal controversy. The recent comments by the Pope on Islam and the reaction raised more than a few heckles from the Iraqi bloggers. Iraqi Pundit is outraged at Muslims who protested against the Pope's comments yet do not take such offense against crimes in Iraq:
How about taking to the street over the murderers who have been disgracing our religion by shedding oceans of innocent blood in its name? On Thursday, a car bomb blew up outside a Baghdad orphanage. In all the wide sweep of the Muslim Street, is there no one sufficiently disgusted to raise his voice over such a thing?
While Mohammed at Iraq the Model digs up some skeletons from Islamic history and comments: “Regardless of what the pope said, the Arab and Muslim world, through the tense and offensive reactions, showed once again how incapable its leaders are to respond to criticism in a civilized way.”
Hala_s is developing an allergy to all those that wear a religious headress. Be it women with headscarves (“back home we used to joke about head-scarves by calling them intelligence-blockers”) or the Pope with his Episcopal Mitre. Hala argues that we should be looking to bridge divides and accept others by admitting our own mistakes:
The pope would have made more sense if he had spoken about Christianity’s own history of violence; the Crusades, the inquisition and Europe’s religious wars along with his statement about Islam. We are all after a meeting point not further clashes.
But how could he? He is constantly wearing something over his head doesn’t he?
The last word goes to AL Tarrar who simply curses the Pope and the Takfiris for proving they are examples of the Dark Ages.
Finally Miraj gives us the recipe served to the Iraqi people for the past 30 years:
Put the nation and apply Saddam and add splashes of ego, encouragement, lies, dash of provoking and weapons so the nation will be a little bit cracked up while saddam gets a big bigger. Put it in the oven for 8 years with Iran. Take it out you’ll see saddam is pumped up more and the two nations are cracked up little bit more.
Chill for two years and bring the third nation and use it to crush the first mixture with the help of some of the media and ¼ the amount of the weapons and dash of stupidity.
Use your full physical strength to squash the mixture.
Add the sanctions and keep away for 15 years until the mixture is totally crushed up.
Apply another run of war on the crushed mixture by adding the chemical weapons and the rest of the weapons on it until the paste becomes so crushed and mild which indicates it is ready for any form we want to create out of it now . Look for saddam , stick your hand and just take it out and throw it in the garbage for it is not necessary anymore and it was useful getting the paste ready at the first stages. Keep pinching the paste you have and keep adding the rest of the ingredients gradually for no less than 4 years (Extendable)
All we have now is this easy controlled mixture of the “NewIraq” and we can just add to it anything now and form it into anything.
The final touch is to splash the cold blood all over the mix and viola.
Sim u Za8naboot. [nearest translation – “poison and poison”]
P.S: Please await the next dishes , Iran & Syria
Word from the street: from New York to Baghdad
24 Steps to Liberty is in New York and was invited by a friend to a Jewish Friday night dinner. Being an Iraqi and a Muslim, 24 Steps was nervous about giving away his identity. This did not stop his friend telling everybody in the room. But the reaction surprised him:
“Al Salamu Alaikum” said the manager of the Jewish center, where the dinner was, Peace be on you. “You are welcome,” he continued with a really big smile. I just felt he meant what he said. …
I ate their food. I drank their water and juice. I didn’t feel they even cared that I was there. They just acted normal. … I wish Ehud Olmert, Hassan Nasrallah, Ismael Haniyeh, Jihasists, and many others … were watching us last night. They should have. They would know that peace in the Middle East is not being achieved because of them, not us!
Ibn_Alrafidain keeps his record of 20 years of Iraqi wars as a collection of all the shrapnel that has landed on his house. Recently he weighed it and found it was half a kilogram. He tells the stories of each piece in that box.
Sunshine gives a snap shot of her daily life in Iraq. From the happiness of seeing her grandparents to the horror of having a major gun battle raging right outside her house. But she is also angry. Why? An American soldier told her grandfather to ‘Shut Up’ in answer to a simple question. Sunshine writes:
I was so angry , that soldier’s attitude ,affected my respect to the military so badly, because the soldiers should represent their country’s ethics and leave a good impression , this bad soldier was so impolite and rude , I told my grandma ( relax grandma , the soldier’s parents didn’t behave him well , that’s in case he has parents , I am sure that he lives in a box under the bridge ,and he is blessed to sleep in a tank ! ) and I still mean what I said , my grandpa is very educated wise respectful man , and he is loved by everyone, , my grandpa is a civil engineer , studied in USA , he traveled round the world because he worked for the “Arab organization for the industrial development” , that soldier SHOULDN’T talk to grandpa like that.
And finally:
I could see this one coming, El Delilah has created a fuss by diss'ing one of the highest profile Iraqi bloggers, Zeyad:
I read through his blog, and I get the image of a young man whose life-time dream is to live in the Big Apple, to fit in there and to be accepted and successful in that society. But amidst all of that, he's dumped his identity, and with honesty I say I behold nothing but despise towards that kind of people. Lighten up on the shoe-shining process Zeyad, and please…there are too many egos that expand and expand and get stuck somewhere down our throats. Brilliant blogger? Perhaps. Just stop crowning yourself, that’s what everybody else does. Oh, and another thing…America's about the blend of culture, try maintaining yours.
Ouch! Fortunately Zeyad has kept himself aloof from such mudslinging.

author: Salam Adil


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Martinique: Looking Out for the Tomboy · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Le Blog de [Moi] (Fr) tells of eyeing a teenage schoolgirl dressed like a tomboy at the same spot every morning on her way to work and seeing her young self in this lesbian to be.  A conversation ensues with a young commentator about the ways in which lesbians meet and recognize each other (or not) in the French Antilles.


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More banned journals and Khatami in the USA · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists, the Iranian media is under an increasing amount of governmental pressure. More newspapers and magazines such as daily Shargh and the monthlies Nameh and Hafez have been shut down by the Commission for Authorizing and Monitoring the Press, an offshoot of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Let’s see what some Iranian bloggers have to say about this issue:
All this for a donkey?
Kamangir says the Shargh newspaper was one of the last places where the current generation of reformist journalists had the opportunity to communicate their views to the nation. Kamangir reports that the paper was banned partly because of having published a cartoon which reportedly shows “a donkey with a halo around it”. An RSF report said that as the donkey was outlined in white, it was seen as an allusion to a comment by President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in which he said he had felt himself surrounded by light when he addressed the UN General Assembly last year.
Mr. Behi says that, like many other publications that have been shut down, Shargh may remain closed for years before the matter comes to trial. He adds:
It seems that this was the reason! and the president is offended because he claimed a light was around his body when he talked in the UN general assembly and the donkey in the cartoon has one and donkey in Iran is the legend for stupidity! How mean! and they closed a paper for that?!
More Issues beyond the cartoon
Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a vice president to former president Mohammad Khatami and also a blogger, says “a short piece of news; Shargh was closed down. Reasons, as usual; 70 complaints by formal and non-formal officials that come during the decision making days of the juridical affairs and turn into the operational support.” He adds: “We hope that Shargh starts work again but if not they have already done a great job by making their voice audible in the hard days that many voices were not to be heard at all. The Iranian nation and the history will always appreciate the guys in Shargh. What a pity, it was a real newspaper.“
Iran Paparazi says that Shargh could cover a large spectrum of different political trends from left to right, from conservative to radical, and so on. Iran Paparazi believes Shargh was banned in order not to reflect the ideas of progressive reformists in the forthcoming elections (of the Assembly of Experts and Councils of Cities)[Fa].
Jobless and voiceless
Arousak Kooki says there are many other people, such as workers, who are in a worse situation than journalists, but nobody talks about them [Fa]. The blogger adds:
I don’t know why when they (authorities) made workers jobless (50 by 50, 100 by 100, 500 by 500), nobody says anything…. There are more than a few workers who cannot earn their bread due to the wrongdoings of Iranian nuclear policy.
According to Kourosh Ziabari, “Now about a group including 300 employers of this magazine are workless! I don’t know exactly what to say… Shargh was belonging to the bright-minded and intellectual layer of society… I am sorry! That’s the last statement that remains to express.”
Khatami and a controversial trip
Another topic in Iranian blogs has been former president Mohammad Khatami‘s visit to the USA. It is interesting to see the extent to which bloggers have been divided on the issue of this unofficial visit.
Jomhour considers Khatami's visit and speeches a positive thing, and notes that his approach towards issues such as Iraq or Palestine is different from the current government's. Jomhour also notes Khatami's assertion that the Holocaust is a reality and we should learn lessons from that [Fa]. The blogger adds:
بنظر می رسد همچنان بخشی از نیروهای اپوزیسیون خارجی و بنیادگرایان داخلی خاتمی و اندیشه اصلاحی او را بزرگترین دشمن خود قلمداد می کنند  و از هر فرصتی برای حمله به ایشان استفاده می کنند
It seems that the opposition in exile and fundamentalists inside the country consider Khatami and his ideas their worst enemy and do not lose any opportunity to attack him.
Hoder says Khatami's visit revealed groups with neo-conservative ties. He adds that the interesting observation here is the way these groups, once aligned with and supported by the State Department, have now started to publicly dismiss the decision by the same State Department to grant a visa to Khatami. Azarmehr, who considers Khatami's visit wrong, says: “Let Khatami face his victims of eight years of presidency, lets see how he holds a dialogue with them.”
Nasim Dasht and his friends met Khatami after this trip and reports that the former president considered his trip the most successful one ever. The blogger criticized Iranian TV for not broadcasting the speeches Khatami's delivered at American Universities and elsewhere during his US visit [Fa].


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Morocco: What is it with belly dancing? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Samir will help you find out why belly dancing and Morocco have become so linked in people's minds.


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Nepal: The relevance of Democracy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Maila Baje reacts to survey findings on perceptions of democracy in Nepal. “:On the other hand, were the survey participants skewed – deliberately or otherwise – heavily in favor of the palace on account of class, ethnicity or outlook?”


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Nigeria: documentary on former Nigerian military ruler · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Naija Blog posts a link to IBB, a documentary about the former Nigerian military ruler, General Ibrahim Babandiga (IBB).


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Pakistan: Khyber Pass Railway · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Khyber Pass is the stuff of colonial stories and legend. Light Within on the Khyber Pass Railway. “Construction restarts in 1920 and the section from Jamrud to Landi Kotal, opens on November 3, 1925. Next day on November 4, Mrs. Victor Bailey, wife of the British engineer entrusted with the construction of Khyber Railway drives the first train through Khyber Pass.”


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Palestine: Talking instead of Bombing · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Salah Al-Dien describe the report which states that majority of Israelis would support holding negotiations with a Palestinian unity government that includes the Islamic Hamas movement; as the best news piece he have seen all month because it once again shows that the people are way ahead of the leaders when it comes to thinking peace instead of war.


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Peru: Food: Anthony Bourdain, Vegan Cuisine, and Latin-Fusion · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Peruvian cuisine continues its international surge. Peru Food serves up a video of renowned culinary explorer Anthony Bourdain visiting Peru and a recommendation for those interested in vegan Peruvian dishes. And, writing from Monterrey, Mexico, Ocho Cuartos recommends [ES] a new Peruvian-Oriental latin fusion restaurant.


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Philippines: First Online Press Conference · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

An online press conference, a first in Philippine internet history, was held last September 21 when the 34th anniversary of Martial Law was commemorated by Filipinos.
The online press forum was conducted by partylist representative Satur Ocampo, a former journalist and political detainee. The event, which was facilitated by Yehey!, a Philippine-based internet portal, was covered by journalists from the Philippines, Hong Kong, Australia and the United States.
Babelmachine, one of the bloggers who covered the online forum, ponders on the uniqueness of this activity:
“What makes this online press conference particularly significant is that it's another example of how technology can be used to encourage political discourse and safeguard freedom of expression. It's particularly apt considering that Martial Law sought to curtail these freedoms.”
Then he related how technology has been tapped in modern Philippine politics:
“After all, the Philippines has seen many instances when technology was used as a tool to empower the public, such as the online demonstrations against the corrupt administration of former President Joseph Estrada, and the text brigade that rallied Filipinos to the second Edsa People Power revolution in 2001.”
Bryanton Post, another journalist who reported the activity, summarizes the issues tackled during the media chat with Congressman Ocampo. The coup in Thailand was discussed especially its impact on the Philippines:
“According to Ka (Comrade) Satur, the Philippines has a different political dynamics and historical experience from Thailand. “But what must be noted that the problems that plagued Thaksin were the same as those that beleaguered (President) Gloria M. Arroyo – issue of legitimacy, corruption, political repression.” He added however that a military resolution of these issues is not the way, adding that the military played a big role in Arroyo’s sins against the people.”
Tonyo, a staffer in the Philippine Parliament, narrates the initial glitches in the press conference, as well as the excitement felt by everyone who participated in the historic activity.
Other bloggers who wrote about the online press forum: Challenge and Movements described it as the “revolutionization of press conferences,” Cyberbaguioboy and Manuel L. Quezon III who commented that it was an “interesting experiment.”
Mr. Ocampo became a blogger this year when he was forced to seek protection inside the Parliament building since police threatened to arrest him together with five other progressive Solons for “plotting to overthrow the government.” Read his blogger profile.

author: Mong Palatino


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Reunion: Tsunami Predictions · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Dijoux.Re writes (Fr): “Scientific experts gathered on our island for a seminar on natural disasters. According to them, Reunion is not immune to the possibility of a devastating tsunami with gigantic 100 meter waves. After chikungunya, let's hope that this theory will not scare even more tourists away.”


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Sri Lanka: LTTE and Funds in the UK · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Lankawatch reports on fund drives in the UK by LTTE. “Intimidation and threats are being made to ensure the Tamil community to donate funds for the final war plus the entertainment of their leaders and their families”


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Sudan: divestment campaign · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

AfricaBeat on a divestment campaign in Sudan: I love how the entire Bush administration is mobilizing to “Save Darfur” even as it has worked to bury proposed legislation that is the centerpiece of a divestment campaign to force American investors pull money out of any company doing business in Sudan.


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Taiwan: web2.0 conference · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chiao is having a live blogging about the web 2.0 conference in Taipei.


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Tajikistan: Golden Mouths · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At neweurasia Vadim reports that Tajikistan is the latest Central Asian state in which the president is campaigning against gold caps on teeth.


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Tanzania: bongo beat · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Steve Ntwiga's musical link takes us to Tanzania's “Doctor” Remmy Ongala.


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Thailand: Countercoup? · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Flickr user Bill Paterson post a picture taken from a Thai newspaper. Is this the countercoup?

author: Preetam Rai


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Thailand: Coup Council Website · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Enda Nasution has a post introducing the website created by the Council for Democratic Reform Under the Constitutional Monarchy. This council is currently running the country after they took over the power in a coup last week.


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Uruguay: Happy Birthday · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Celebrating his first blog birthday, Gabo explains why he started writing and reflects on where the journey has taken him: “I had recently arrived after months of living abroad and travelling in ‘first world’ countries, and I had the strange feeling that for the first time I was watching my country with the eyes of a tourist. Everything long known seemed new. Characters, customs, and things that for me were global I realized that they are not, and viceversa aspects I had thought to be typical are global in nature. I guess the idea, was to share this re discovering of my own country.”


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West Africa: this year’s rain has killed thousands · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Black Looks reports that flash floods have left thousands of people homeless in West Africa.


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Africa: Mozambique to assemble Chinese computers? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mozambique to assemble Chinese computers?, wonders Soyapi Mumba.


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Africa: new economic frontier for China and India · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Africa is India's and China's new economic frontier, writes AfricaBeat: “In short, Africa could be for India and China what China and India have been the U.S. and Western Europe (and vice versa).  South-South trade might one day be the engine that drives African development in the same way that Chinese manufacturing exports and Indian service exports are driving economic booms in those two countries.”


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Bahamas: State television · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Larry Smith questions whether the Bahamian state television channel is still relevant or required.


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Bangladesh: Islam and the Media · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Who represents Islam? Is the Media focusing on the few within the religion who protest as opposed to those who may have different opinions? Rezwan on the reporting of radical elements in Islam. “It is probably his right to speak as Pope had the right to speak his mind (whether or not he was right that is another issue). And the world is gauging a religion with the yardstick of few political parasites and Lunatics.”


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Brazil: Rio Mayor Pulls Blog · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Colin Brayton translates a humorous post from Cocadaboa on “the ten main reasons why Rio de Janeiro mayor Cesar Maia (PFL) stopped writing his blog on Blogspot.com.”


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China: civilised traveller · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

One man bandwidth blogs about the  “civilised Chinese travellers” campaign initiated by Beijing authority.