text:
Brazil: Obama present in Rio Carnival · Global Voices
Paula Góes

“Drunken, sweaty Obamas will be running wild all over the city come February. Though I think this particular mask is kind of creepy, it's a Carnival tradition to wear masks of famous people and to dress up in costumes, just like Americans do on Halloween”, Rachel reports from Rio de Janeiro on the best selling mask for this year's Carnival.

author: Paula Góes


text:
China: Plateau in Peril  · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

A newly launched interactive site ‘China Green’ focuses on China's environmental and climate issues. The first project is about Tibetan Plateau, shows how the effects of global warming on the plateau is posing a grave threat to a third of humanity. This is because most of Asia's might river systems find their headwaters from the plateau.
Below is a trailer of the project, click to watch.
The site includes many more videos, interviews and interactive slideshows that depict changes in the glaciers of Mt. Everest.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Juliana Rotich


text:
Colombia: Ex-Mayor Sentenced for Ordering the Murder of Journalist · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Victor Solano of ¿Comunicación? [es] writes that the former mayor of the Colombian town of Barrancabermeja was sentenced to 28 years in prison for ordering the murder of journalist Emeterio Rivas.

author: Eduardo Avila


text:
Colombia: President Uribe’s Prospects for Re-Election · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Marsares of equinoXio takes a look at some of the prospects for a re-election of Colombian president Álvaro Uribe.


text:
Cuba: Human Rights & Political Prisoners  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As The Cuban Triangle reports that Cuba is about to face a human rights review, Uncommon Sense says that women are also among the political prisoners on the island.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Cuba: Raul in Russia  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Child of the Revolution, Una Familia en Cuba [Sp] and Havana Times all blog about Cuban President Raul Castro's official visit to Russia.


text:
Czech Republic: European Artists Strike Back (at Entropa) · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

CzechFolks.com writes about a few European artists who have reacted to Entropa by creating “caricatures of the Czech Republic through their eyes.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Egypt: What Next After Guantanamo Bay?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Honestly, what do you put on your resume after spending a couple of years working as a Guantanamo Bay interrogator? And where do you apply for work?” asks Egyptian Sandmonkey, now that US President Barack Obama has ordered the closure of Guantanamo Bay in a year.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Ethiopia: The Boy Without Arms · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Are you ready to help Aschelew, “the boy without arms“?: Several years ago Aschelew was depressed over his parents’ AIDS, and his family chained him up to keep him from killing himself. The chains cut off the blood to his arms and he ended up losing both of them. Now his parents have died and Aschelew and his brother are alone.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
EU: Investing in Ukraine’s Gas Pipeline? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Wu Wei quotes a Kyiv Post editorial, which urges the EU to consider investing in Ukraine's gas pipeline system, and posts this comment: “But on what terms will this be offered? Will the EU (or the corporation it says it will set up for pipelines) enter into  a bidding war with Gazprom for use (and modernisation) of the Ukrainian network, or will it be outright privatisation? If so, given the current legislation in Ukraine preventing the gas transmission system's  privatisation or use through concessions (or other ways) we can predict some tough battles ahead, on the usual lines in the government.”


text:
Greece: Economy and Protests · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

BBC's Mark Mardell writes about the state of the Greek economy and the farmers’ protests.


text:
Guadeloupe: A new social movement  · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Thirty-two, thirty-four, thirty-six and now fifty-two – these are the historically growing numbers of trade unions, cultural and political associations which have formed in the last month or so, all united around a motto: Lyannaj kont pwofitasyon, Creole for “Let's gather up to fight against all sorts of abuses”.
Guadeloupe has been in a state of social unrest for about a week now after a call for action was launched by l’UGTG [Fr], a local trade union which defends the interests of Guadeloupean workers. The move aimed to express the dissatisfaction and frustration of Guadeloupean people after years of shady price fixing and skyrocketing prices for household products.  Dah in UGTG blog  writes specifically to young people in Guadeloupe, asking them to open their eyes [Creole]:
LE 16 DÉSANM FO NOU SANBLÉ ÉPI LÉ PLI GRAN KINI LABITID LITÉ POU PEN A YO, PEN AN NOU : AN NOU KRÉVÉ BOBO LA POU 2009 GWADA PLI NÈF.
LE 16 FO TOUT JÉNES LA EN LARILA ÉPI LÉ SENDIKA ÈVÈ LÉ ASOSIASYON KILTRIREL ANSANM ANSANM POU DÈMEN PLI BEL KI JODI.
On the 16th, all young Guadeloupeans should be down in the streets, demonstrating with the unions and the cultural associations hand in hand, so that tomorrow is better than today.
After a huge demonstration, which shed a brand new light on the country's state of mind, the collective displayed their structured platform of claims, organized around 10 major concerns [in French and Creole]:
1- NIVEAU ET CONDITIONS DE VIE
2 – EDUCATION
3 – FORMATION PROFESSIONNELLE
4 – EMPLOI
5 – DROITS SYNDICAUX ET LIBERTES SYNDICALES
6 – SERVICES PUBLICS
7 – PRODUCTION
8 – AMÉNAGEMENT DU TERRITOIRE ET INFRASTRUCTURES
9 – KILTI
10 – ARÉTÉ PWOFITASYON
This platform was addressed to the “Préfet”, the “députés“, the members of the Chamber of Commerce, farmers and everyone part of the civilian society. It aimed at informing people and eventually launching an unlimited all-out strike, starting on January 20th.
For a while, many Guadeloupeans thought that 130 claims organized around 10 major points were too numerous and therefore not credible. Comments on a post by Herve on the blog Fwiyapin [French & Creole] highlight the concerns:
[…]cette fois-ci toute cette mobilisation semble assez “fouillis”, on ne sait pas à qui les revendications sont adressées…pourquoi ne pas remonter carrément aux banques américaines ou aux compagnies pétrolières?
The other issue has been the relevance of such a massive movement at a time of global crisis, as expressed in another comment on the same post:
Tu crois vraiment qu’il obtiendrons toutes leurs revendications j’en doute fort vu que le contexte internationale… Je trouve que ces dangereux et irresponsables de faire miroiter au gens 200€ d’augmentations sur les bas salaires alors que la crise mondiale ne le permet pas.
Even with these doubts, the mobilization has proved to be massive and popular.  Schools, gas stations and most companies have been closed for about a week now, with very serious consequences on the island's economy – but many Guadeloupeans have given the green light to Lyannaj’ kont pwofitasyon in order to have an outlet to express their worries not only for the present, but above all for the future.
We can read a few unofficial figures from Shakazulu on Gwakafwika [Creole], who talks about the first demonstration on January 20th (as well as those on January 23rd and 24th) and from Zandwonis in Carib Creole One [Fr]:
Manifèstasyon Lapwent chayé omwen 10 000 moun! I pli masif ki dènyé fwa-la. Ève on gwan manman mobilizasyon kon sa, nou ka atann pou nou vwè.
Sanmdi Lapwent plis ki 25 000 moun adan gwan manman manifèstasyon-la. Dimanch toujou Lapwent plis ki 40 000 moun adan gwan déboulé a “mas a konsyans”.
On Saturday,there were more than 25 000 people massively demonstrating in Pointe-à-Pitre and on Sunday, still in Pointe-à-Pitre, there were more than 40 000 people in the huge carnival and cultural parade called “mas a konsyans” (parade to awake consciences).
[Samedi 24 janvier 2009] Au moins 20 000 personnes ont défilé dans les rues de Pointe à Pite à l’appel du “Collectif Lyannaj Kont Pwofitasyon” (CLKP). Les médias officiels ont annoncé plus de 8 000 manifestants. Dans l’histoire de mouvements ouvriers guadeloupéens, c’est bien la première fois qu’un mouvement social suscite une adhésion aussi massive.

author: Fabienne Flessel


text:
Hong Kong: From Censorship Debate to Critique of Christian Right · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The debate over censorship of indecency in Hong Kong sparkled by the consultation on the Control of Obscene and Indecent Article Ordinance (COIAO) has developed into a critique of religious /Christian Right politics as the conservative Christians openly demand the extension of COIAO for censoring “speech” or “article” that “instigates and advocates” abortion, prostitution, criminal act and terrorism, etc.
A pamphlet circulated among conservative Christian groups in Hong Kong askes all Christians to support a stricter definition of “offensive” and “obscene” articles by signing up for an one person one letter petition:
• 含有兒童或年青人部份或全裸的影像
• 以性為目的，提倡或支持
• 剝削兒童或年青人；
• 使用暴力或強迫他人參加或忍受性行為、罔顧他人生命；
• 與死人發生性行為；
• 用尿液或排泄物貶低及侮辱人，又或讓人聯想到性行為；
• 人獸交；
• 教唆他人墮胎或小產。
• 提倡或鼓勵犯罪行為或恐怖主義；
• 一些貶低自然或違反人性地對待身體的行為。
• 本人認為嫖妓指南、色情場所、光碟及網頁介紹的資訊及廣告，應列為第二類不雅。
The pamphlet can be downloaded from holynet in pdf (zh).
It is not about Child Protection
Martinoei points out the mis-information spread by the Christian right and their extreme position that threatens human rights and free speech in Hong Kong. First of all, he points out that with regard to Child pornography, there is another set of ordinance, Prevention of Child Pornography Ordinance. (Cap. 579), that gives full protection to youth and children in Hong Kong. The groups misinform their believers with the pamphlet as if such ordinance does not exist in order to mobilize them to support other agenda, including anti-abortion, anti-homosexuality and legislation for sedition law:
如果教唆他人墮胎或小產，等於淫褻物品，亦等於香港就墮胎問題進行進一步立法，禁止就墮胎合法化進行討論，小弟反對墮胎，但不代表支持禁絕有關討論。香港社會，並未就這個問題作出仔細討論，請這眾原教旨主義分子，不要玩騎劫，這是黐線，這亦證明這幫人支持政府，根本是立心不良，存心要打擊某些議題的討論。
小弟想問何謂「一些貶低自然或違反人性地對待身體的行為」？以小弟所知，馬來西亞政府老屈安華雞姦，那條罪名正是不自然性行為罪（馬來西亞刑事法典377B條），我想問，明光社中人是否打算重新提出同性戀刑事化法案？
「提倡或鼓勵犯罪行為或恐怖主義」這項建議，根本已經觸及《基本法》23條範疇，何謂「犯罪行為」，在《基本法》23條提述罪行中，包括煽動叛亂，是不是有人打算借《淫褻及不雅物品管制條例》，真的要把煽動叛亂罪進行成文立法
Instigation of fear among paranoid parent
Apart from the pamphlet and one person one letter petition, the conservatives also uses manga to spread their idea by depicting a world without COIAO.
Charles Mok criticizes the highly misleading the simplified tactics of the conservatives, especially in generating anxiety and fear for the paranoid parent. The blogger also quotes Obama's speech in the Youth Ball to criticize the conservatives’ imagination of our future generation:
奧巴馬就職夜，在為年輕人而設的青年舞會 (Youth Ball) 中說：「新的一代激勵之前的一代，美國改變就是這樣出現的。」
不過，在香港，《淫褻及不雅物品管制條例》的檢討諮詢，保護「心智未成熟的青少年」卻成了焦點，意見愈趨激化，失去了理性討論空間。保守宗教組織群起要求加強管制，卻被指是少數組織化身多個團體以壟斷辯論空間，目的再非檢討條例是否能用作反映社會價值觀，而是變為爭取自己價值觀被官方當為社會整體價值的運動。
Bedtime bible stories against Christian right
The irrational discussion has invited some spoofing acts, one of those is the “bedtime bible story series” produced by truthbible.net (the network had launched a complain bible action back in 2007). The first video is story about the incest relation between Lot and his two daughters in Genesis 19, 30-38: the destruction of Sodom city. The video had been removed by youtube many times because of complaints and now rated as adult video (without adult content but some Christians may feel offensive):
The group then produced another “bedtime bible story” criticizing some conservative Christians’ violence to stop oppositional voices from speaking out:
History of Christian Right in Hong Kong
Apart from the COIAO consultation, the recent discussion over the amendment of domestic violence ordinance for inclusion of homosexual couple is also charged with the Christian right wing politics. The war between Christian rights and liberal in Hong Kong is very much related with the politics in the U.S. Anto from inmediahk.net traces the cultural war back to the political background of reunification of Hong Kong to China in 1997:
香港這幾年來急劇冒升的「宗教右派」現象，也是一種有意識、有計劃地展現為一種對性和性問題不成比例的干預和政治化的結果。保守主義者和親建制力量，試圖借取美國「宗教右派」的經驗，重新鞏固香港回歸後一度鬆散的政治和文化秩序。所以，一系列性問題突然在2003七一大遊行之後相繼爆發，實在並非偶然現象。但由於這種「宗教右派」政治的外借和異邦(alien)性質，港版「宗教右派」對有關問題的炒作和介入，每每給社會一個無事生非的印象。
香港宗教右派今次如此得意忘形地，開展他們自視為捍衛家庭制度的「聖戰」，並非香港真的出現了來勢洶洶的「同性婚姻」立法。相反地，爭端的起因更多地，是與過去數年他們刻意培育的數隻棋子，羽翼漸豐，在新一屆立法會要爭取出頭立功有關。
而為了這些頭頂信仰使命光環的新型政治人物進入權力建制，基督教教會圈子，在過去數年做了大量工夫，重新詮釋教義和社會實踐傳統：從過去對政治冷淡，轉為對政治、權力，及進入建制更為熱衷和積極；又把長期以來基督教主張宗教遠離政治，或以宗教批判政治的原則，扭轉為宗教要依靠政治，宗教理想透過政治實現的新取向。而在政治價值的選擇上，基督教的主流教會，也從過去事事以人權原則為先，靠近民主和直選訴求，轉為以性問題的政治化為骨幹，日漸淘空對人權原則的守持，什至論說宗教信條要凌駕人權之上。
In order to prepare for the new type of politicians to enter the political establishment, the Christian circle has done a huge amount of work to re-inteprete the Christian teaching and social practice tradition: from apolitical to be actively engagement with power and politics; from the detachment with politics or critical principle to depending on politics as a mean for their religious goal. In the choice of political value, mainstream church has shifted from human rights and democracy principle to politicization of sex related issue. Recently they have placed religious principle on top of human rights principle.
I have also written an article at inmediahk.net tracing the development of Christian right movement in Hong Kong back to the shifting of colonial British church tradition to U.S right wing politics. Even though Hong Kong is not a Christian society, our education and social service sectors are controlled by Christian related groups because of our colonial history. Hoidick supplemented my points by providing a simple statistic on the religion background of school in a district in Taipo in the comment section. He finds out that among the 23 secondary schools in Taipo, 11 of them are Christian schools.
At the same time, there is a school letter circulating on the internet showing that some Christian schools have demanded their students to ask their parents to sign up for supporting the conservative definition of indecent and obscene article in the COIAO. Lee Yuiwah criticizes the schools for giving pressure to the students and parents on the consultation.
Online anti-censorship campaigns
On the liberal front, an advocacy group for gay and lesbian community, Lestudy, has set up a website for launching a letter petition, with a list of options, on the COIAO consultation. While in the facebook, several groups have been set up to campaign against the further extension of the COIAO and against the conservative Christian's mobilization,  including Campaign against conservative Christian hegemony; Campaign against Carmel Holy Word Secondary School's letter to the parent; Self-defence group against internet article 23; Save the Internet, Fighting for Internet Freedom!

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
India: Questioning The Satyam Probe · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ashish at Desicritics wonders whether the investigation of the Indian IT giant Satyam's major accounting fraud will be fair.

author: Rezwan


text:
India: Tamil Wikipedia Academy · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kiruba Shankar writes about the Tamil Wikipedia Academy and comments that initiatives like this “will encourage more regional language contribution from people within India.”


text:
Jamaica: Local Obama? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Jamaicans should ask for nothing but the best from those who would aspire to lead”: Abeng News Magazine‘s Trevor Dawes thinks it might be time for a Jamaican Obama.


text:
Jamaica, Zimbabwe: Hunger Strike  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Do people in Jamaica and the Caribbean care enough about events in Zimbabwe to lend their help to this call for moral action?”: Annie Paul has a friend who is on a hunger strike to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe and tells us how we can help.


text:
Japan: Illustrator Junko Kawashima’s blog · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Check out the manga blog [ja] of the artist Junko Kawashima.

author: Scilla Alecci


text:
Japan: Obama vs. Aso · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Like every other country in the world, Japan, one of the strongest of America's allies in Asia, followed closely the election of President Obama. His speech (which, collected with other election speeches, is so popular that  it has become a bestseller and is used as an English-language textbook) has been broadcast, translated [ja] and commented on [ja] in all kinds of ways by the Japanese media and local TV shows. So it was natural that many bloggers drew comparisons between the American President and the Japanese Prime Minister, Tarō Asō  (麻生太郎).
Not that the Japanese PM's unpopularity surprises anyone anymore, given that polls have for months made this obvious. But it is in these last few days, after millions of people crowded squares, bars and livingrooms to listen to the newly-elected President's words, that once again Asō's lack of charisma (and, generally-speaking, the lack of charisma of other Japanese politicians as well) have become glaringly obvious.
Examining expressions used in their speeches, blogger Masablog pointed out how remarkable the differences are between these two politicians:
大統領が変わるというのはアメリカ人にとって全てが変わる（かもしれない）特別なイベントなんだろう。
一方、日本。麻生首相のインパクトもすっかり薄れてしまった。
オ バマと麻生の一番の違いは「We」と「I」だろう。オバマの演説は、Weで始まる。我々はこうしなければならない、できる、のような感じ。一方の麻生首相 は「私は」で始まる。首相になったときの演説も「わたくし麻生太郎は・・・・わたしは・・・」「解散権はわたしにあります・・・」のような感じ。この時点 でもう視点が違うのが明らかになってしまっている。
id: kiku18-rak considers the two political figures from many points of view. Asō's political and human sides turn out to be rather shallow.
あくまで、新聞テレビの報道に基づく個人的意見であるがオバマ氏と麻生総理の違いを感じるままに書き綴ってみたい。
１　国民の人気者（オバマ）と、国民の敵（麻生）
２　国民のための政治家と、一部の権力者のための政治家
３　世界的にも評価が高いのと、世界的の前に国内で評価されない者
４　庶民の感覚を持った者と、庶民を愚弄する者
５　自らの考えをしっかり伝える者と、何を考えているのか意味不明の者
６　人格者と、そうでない者
1  The popular one among the people (Obama) and the enemy of the people (Asō)
2  A politician [who works] for the people and a politician [who works] for one group of influential people
3  One who is respected everywhere in the world and one who is not even respected in his own country
4  A person who is capable of being sympathetic with the people and a person who mocks the people
5  A person who can communicate what he thinks and a person whose thoughts are a mystery to many
6  A person of character and a person whose character is not well definable
こうやって書いてみると、自分まで日本人として情けなくなってしまう。
片方がライオンだとすると、片方はハエみたいなもんだ。
いずれにせよ、オバマ新大統領の下でアメリカが一つにまとまり、良い方向に向かって歩き出せば、全世界にとって良いことだろう。
日本もトップを早く変えたほうが良いのだが、駄々っ子が椅子にしがみついて離そうとしない。
As often happens, comparisons also stimulate those who are being compared to reflect upon their own troubles and on ways of tackling them. In this case, in fact, by comparing Japan to U.S., some bloggers realized that, for Japan as well, the time to change has come, and that the next general elections may be a possible starting point.
Hidenori Kusakari (草刈 秀紀), for example, wrote:
オバマは、国民の声を大統領執務室に持って行くと名言した。一方、国民の声など無視して、強引に事を進める麻生。
正反対の動きは、日本とアメリカの将来を占っている。
多様な人種が暮らすアメリカと単一民族の日本。
自民党政治が終焉を迎え、日本は、どちらに向かうのか？
オバマの影響をこれから、どの程度受けるのか？
今年の衆議院選挙で日本の将来が決まると言って過言ではない。
Similarly, ki2naru, expressed their belief of a necessary radical change for the country's sake.
日本でも福田さんから麻生さんへ総理大臣が変わったとき、麻生さんの秋葉系とかちょっと違う感じがすると思って皆も期待していたのだろうが、フタを開けてみるとさらに自民党は混迷し、政治、経済対策も空白状態。
政治家も官僚も財界トップも自分の身を傷つけないようなことばかりやっている。
本当にこの国を良いほうに持っていくには大胆な構造改革が必要だと思う。
内科的処置ではなく外科手術が必要ではないのかと？


text:
Jordan: 7iber wins award  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Last night was a milestone for 7iber as it received an honorary award at the third annual, 2008 Jordan Web Awards in Amman,” announces Jordanian site 7iber.


text:
Jordan: The BBC and Gaza  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“The BBC says the risk of compromising confidence in its fairness, coupled with ‘question marks’ about aid getting through, had led to its decision not to broadcast the Gaza appeal. Because of this decision Sky and ITV are not allowed to make the appeal either,” reports Ali Dahmash, from Jordan.


text:
Kazakhstan: Journalist Arrested for Alleged State Secret Disclosure · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Ramazan Yessergepov, chief editor of the “Alma-Ata Info” newspaper, was arrested early January this year by the National Security Committee officers from the provincial branch office of the country's main special service. They had come all the way down from Taraz (southern town in Kazakhstan) to his apartment in Almaty and escorted him to their home town. The same day, Yessergepov went on a hunger strike.
Officially, he is accused of disclosure of a state secret. The story goes as follows: last fall, the journalist received a leak of the NSC internal correspondence, according to which it could be assumed that the special service officers in Taraz were involved in raiding of the local business. Yessergepov's newspaper – which is quite a low-profile one and humble in circulation – published a leak under the title “Who runs the country – President Nazarbayev or NSC?”
Shortly after that, he started receiving threats, which even forced him to apply for political asylum in the United States embassy in early December 2008. Obviously, the embassy didn't treat the application seriously, but asked the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan to ensure safety of Yessergepov and his family. Nevertheless, on January 6, he was detained and later arrested. The charges – “abuse of office” and “illegal colection and disclosure of state secrets” presume up to 8 years of imprisonment.
Among the recent developments – OSCE Special Representative for Media Freedom Miklos Haraszti has urged the Kazakh authorities to release Yessergepov, adding that this arrest and threat of jail run contrary to the country's OSCE commitments to create safe environment for the journalists, who deal with acute social and political problems. The OSCE official has also called on the government to revise the state secrets and journalistic sources legislation.
Many local NGOs and media rights watchdogs have come out denouncing the actions of the authorities, saying that it was the journalist's professional duty to publish the information about illegal actions of the force structures. Yesterday, the main opposition party “Azat” has also stated that “shutdown of the “Alma-Ata Info” newspaper and subsequent detention and arrest of Ramazan Yessergepov prove that … the regime is fighting not against corruption, but against those who publicly cover the existing problems and maintain their stand”.

author: Adil Nurmakov


text:
Kenya: Can You Help? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenya Community Initiative Support is looking for your help to improve the lives of children at Twiga. They need, among other things, gardening tools, spades, forks, hoes, rakes.


text:
Kenya: Free Gay Classifieds in Mainstream Media? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenyan Gay Man is suprised to see free gay classfieds published in the Kenyan mainstream media.


text:
Kenya: Writing Queer Kenya · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Writing Queer Kenya is accepting submissions from Kenyan queers, “We lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex individuals, in a word, queers, have had the distinct un-pleasure of being told we don’t exist—in official government statements, historical documents, and contemporary statements. Well, we do. We want Kenyan stories by Kenya-based and Kenya-born queers. About everything.


text:
Korea: Death of 5 Evictees in the middle of Seoul  · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

On the 20th of January, residents who were told to be evicted to make way for a new development by February in Yongsan, which is the middle of Seoul, opposed the decision and five people were burnt to death as a result of police action. One policeman died at that moment. The police explained that they did not have any other choice but to respondbecause those demonstrators were holding gasoline bombs (a small bottle, usually soju or beer bottles are used, filled with gasoline) and thereby putting many in danger.
How the police responded, how the media cover the story, and how the government reacts to the result are criticized.
Photo of the night of the 20th of January.
Why did this happen in the middle of Seoul?
철거민 5명과 경찰 1명이 사망에 이른 사태의 출발지점에는 용산구 서부이촌동 일대에 들어서는 ‘국제업무지구’ 개발이 있다. 그 지구를 중심으로 주변지역은 상업, 주거, 공원 등 배후단지로 개발된다. 이번 참사가 일어난 용산4구역은 바로 그 배후단지 중 하나로 40층 높이의 주상복합 초고층 빌딩들이 들어서기로 되어 있다.[…]통째로 갈아엎고 새로 도시를 만드는 그 엄청난 일을, 아무도 살지 않는 사막에 도시를 짓는 것처럼 막무가내로 진행하고 있다. […] 용산미군기지 이전계획이 발표되면서 용산은 서울 도심의 최대개발지역으로 떠올랐다. 용산의 서쪽을 관통하는 한강로 일대는 부동산중계업소가 한 집 건너 하나 꼴로 있을 만큼 부동산경기가 가열되었다.[…]
People were able to see what happened that night through the internet, not by the media. This has led to a big argument and distrust of the media.
[…]국민들은 인터넷을 통해 생지옥을 목격했다!
그런데 지금 우리는 두 눈으로 똑똑히, 군사독재정권보다 악랄하고 야만적인 현 정권이 어떻게 국민들을 죽였는지 지켜보았다. 불법시위에다 화염병을 들었다는 이유로 시민편의를 위해서라는 말도 안되는 변명들로, 철거민 6명이 인화성물질이 가득한 옥상 건물에서 불타 숨지게 한 살육의 현장을 말이다.
바로 주류 쓰레기 언론(방송.신문)이 주목하거나 담아내지 못하는 것을, 인터넷과 블로그를 통해서 그것도 실시간으로 말이다.
With our eyes, we witnessed how the current government killed people in a worse and more cruel way than in the period of the military dictatorship government. The government excused that those people have illegal demonstrations and hold gasoline bombs, and therefore for other people’s sake, they let those 6 evictees die to be burned on the top of the building.
What main trash media (broadcast and newspapers) didn’t show, we were able to see through the Internet and blogs.
Others raise questions of how long the Internet and netizens will be safe from the current government.
대한민국 네티즌은 예약된 범죄자
용산 참사 일어나고 딱 하루 동안만 정부와 여당이 들썩들썩하면서 경찰의 강경진압에 대해 잠시 심사숙고 하는 것 같더니.. 이것저것 재고 따져보고 하더니 철거민 쪽으로 모든 책임을 돌려가고 있는 듯 하다. 거기에다 국민의 관심이 명절로 바뀌니 정부 입장에서는 얼씨구나 할 일이다.
미네르바도 그렇고, 촛불시위 참가자도 그렇고, 용산 철거민도 그렇고..정부의 입장에서 조금만 벗어나는 행동을 하는 국민들은 모두 범죄자 취급을 받아가는 것 같다. 앞으로 줄줄이 통과를 시키려고 벼르고 있는 집시법이며 사이버 모욕죄 등등이 적용되면 정말 조금이라도 비판의 글을 쓰는 네티즌들은 벌금형에, 구속에.. 다 범죄자가 될지도 모르겠다.[…]
After tragic death at Yongsan, it was the only one day that the government and ruling party were upset about strong suppression by the police and consider it serious… Measuring several ways, it seems that they turn all responsibilities to evictees. In addition, due to New Year it is easy to distract people’s interests.
As well as Minerva and candlelight vigil participants, evictees at Yongsan are treated as criminals because they have different thoughts from the government. If regulations regarding gathering and cyber contempt are passed in the future as the government tries, netizens who will write criticism no matter how strong or weak their writings are will be penalties and arrested[…]
This tragedy brought a big shock to people and has been added to the concern of weaker voice of citizens.
용산 참사! 분노하지 않으면 다음 차례는 당신입니다!
The tactics that the government uses seem to generate more complaints and criticisms.
[…]모든 문제가 그렇다. 문제를 해결하려면 사태의 본질을 보고 해결책을 내 놓아 야 한다. 그렇지 않으면 같은 사태는 또다시 반복될 것이다. 이번 사태의 핵심은 무엇인가? 왜 그들은 화염병을 준비해야 했을까. 아니 그 이전에 왜 그들은 친지들의 걱정을 뒤로 하고 가족들의 만류를 뿌리치고 시위를 시작해야 했을까? 언론과 정부 당국 모두 ‘철거민’이라는 용어를 남발하지만 ‘철거’라는 사태의 핵심을 주목하는 곳은 많지 않다. 그러니까 사태의 핵심은 바로 ‘철거’다. 그것도 ‘강제 철거’ . 그들을 가족의 품에서 떼어놓아 시위장으로 향하게 만든 것은 바로 강제 철거다. 빛까지 내며 1억원 이상을 들여 개업한 가게를 단 돈 5천만원으로 보상하겠다는 철거, 교복을 챙겨나올새도 없이 어린 학생이 사복을 입고 등교하게 만든 철거, 온 가족을 천막에서 생활하게 한 철거, 바로 그 철거가 사태의 핵심이다. 이렇게 무리하게 추진된 철거는 사회 내에서 갈등을 양산한다. 철거를 하겠다는 자들과 철거를 당하제 않겠다는, 그러나 결국 철거를 당할 수 밖에 없는 자들간의 갈등 말이다. 이러한 갈등은 명백히 치안의 문제가 아니다. 갈등과 대립은 어느 사회에서나 일어날 수 밖에 없다. 그러한 모든 갈등을 경찰력을 동원해 해결할 수는 없다. 그것은 말 그대로의 ‘해결’이 아닌 ‘진압’이다. 갈등의 양 축에 위치한 자 중 상대적 약자를 억누름으로써 일시적으로 갈등을 잠재우는 ‘진압’이다.
우리는 이번 사태를 명백히 ‘정치’의 문제로 보아야 한다. […]
We should clearly look into this incident as a ‘political’ problem.

author: Hyejin Kim


text:
Madagascar: “Unmitigated Disaster”  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

( Soldiers in burned block by Mehmoud Karim) )
After two days of upheaval that resulted in an estimated death toll at 80 nationally, and the looting of dozens of stores, a day of relative calm greeted a stunned nation.
Soldiers are now patrolling Antananarivo, and both parties have called for supporters to stand down. The mayor of Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina, called for a “ghost town” operation in the capital today, January 29th, urging supporters to stay at home, but attend an organized public demonstration on Saturday, January 31st. President Ravalomanana met with his executive cabinet as well as religious leaders to find a solution to the current instability. Many foreign embassies have issued alerts to their citizens about carefully considering traveling to Madagascar.
Bloggers reflect on what many locally called “Black Monday” as confusion and anger prevail.
Mialisoa Randriamampianina writes that both sides should take responsibility for this “unmitigated disaster”(fr):
Marc Ravalomanana et Andry Rajoelina se défendent de toute responsabilité face à cette incroyable débandade : cela ne les dédouanera pas d’avoir allumé la mèche sur une poudrière. En même temps, l’audace de se croire «innocents» devant ce chaos général relève d’une impressionnante mauvaise foi
( Photo of fire and car destroyed by Jentilisa )
A journalist blogging under the acronym POV explains that the animosity between the two politicians is rooted in personal rivalry but is also stoked by the agenda of former leaders (fr):
Les observateurs estiment que le jeune maire ne serait pas aussi téméraire sans être « appuyé ». Histoire de dire que toute cette manœuvre est soutenue par des hommes de l’ombre [..] A en juger par les milliards que Andry Rajoelina dilapide dans cette guéguerre, l’on estime qu’il jouit d’un puissant sponsor. Personne n’ose le dire, mais beaucoup le pensent…tout bas : les caciques de l’ancien régime.
Whatever of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering, the people are left contemplating images of burn bodies, stores broken open and general desolation. Groups on Facebook are calling for a return to peace in Madagascar and a show of love for the country regardless of political affiliation and gathered hundreds of members in a few days. Passionate conversations are taking place (fr):
On the forum, ” Ras le bol de l'instabilité politique à Madagascar“, Mandy says (fr):
je souhaite dire stop à ces politiciens qui ne pensent qu'à leurs gueules: Laissons les urnes s'exprimer.
Another group named “TSIA, tsy isan'ireo izay manakorontana” calls for unity:
Conscient que malgrès la difficulté, nous saurons relever la tete
-Conscient que la victoire ne peut s'obtenir que par l'unité
-Conscient que le patriotisme ne rime pas avec extremisme,
Finally, a group of Peace Corps Volunteers, disappointed by the lack of information in the US mainstream media, created a group to gather updates related to the crisis and the whereabouts of their colleagues all over Madagascar. John Elliot posted the following update:
Yesterday the U.S. ambassador met with Ravolamanana to try and talk sense to him, but bore little fruit. His car was attacked/rocked by a mob after leaving the meeting. Now the economic impact is more threatening than the violence. Gas prices have skyrocketed, food will soon follow. Gas stations are like parking lots, lines around the block, and most are out of gas.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


text:
Martinique, South Africa: Cultural Exchange · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Africlassical reports that South Africa's Premier ballet company has been invited to dance in Martinique as part of a cultural collaboration.


text:
Paraguay: English Words in Advertising · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

José Ángel Lopez Barrios is not too pleased with the emergence of so many English words in advertising that are being adopted by Paraguayan stores [es]. He gives the example of the word “Sale”, which in Spanish means “get out.”


text:
Protest Video: Dancing Filipina Maids In Hong Kong · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

There are many YouTube videos featuring dance performances of various groups and individuals. These videos were uploaded in order to promote products, to entertain, and sometimes to highlight political issues.
In the Philippines the YouTube video of the dancing prisoners in Cebu province became a worldwide hit two years ago. There are other videos of dancing Filipinos which were conceptualized as a component of protest campaigns.
Last month Juana Change videos became popular in the Philippines. These videos were used to express opposition to the administration-sponsored legislative bill that would amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Another video which entertained the public was the “100 women dance against charter change” in Hong Kong.
Check out the video first:
Were Hong Kong residents surprised to see that 100 dancing Filipinas in the streets last month? This special protest dance was reported by Inquirer, the Philippines’ top mainstream news website.
The video featured dancers wearing placards that read:
1. No to ChaCha (No to Charter Change) – referring to the proposal to amend the nation’s Charter.
2. Oust GMA (Oust Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) – referring to the Philippine president.
The dance was held in Chater Road in downtown HK last December 28. The Chater Road is a famous meeting place of migrant domestic helpers every Sunday. Majority of domestic helpers in HK are Filipinas. Many of these domestic helpers are college graduates who left the Philippines to seek employment.
The protest dance was organized by members of Gabriela, an activist women’s group. The group issued this statement:
“Dancing against charter change is the way Filipino migrants in Hong Kong shall express opposition to the evident desperation of (Philippine President) Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to stay in power by changing the Constitution.
“Filipino migrants have every right to oppose charter change for it shall only further intensify the inhuman labor export program of the Philippine government.
“With its sellout of the country’s patrimony and resources to foreign capital, there can be no doubt that it will bring more massive displacement of people from their lands, jobs and livelihood. The already more than 10 million Filipinos who have been forced to migrate shall surely increase faster as the people seek ways for their families to survive.”
The group is opposing the proposal of the government to intensify the liberalization and privatization of many sectors of the domestic economy.
Sailing Swanee lauds the dancing workers:
“I'm also against the charter changes, so I'm with you girls. I'm an Australian living in Hong Kong and have many friends in the Philippines and love the country and the people, But Gloria Arroyo doesn't deserve an extended term, in fact she should step aside now as she has been a disaster for the country.”
Kape't Yosi was one of the organizers of the dance:
“It was political and, at the same time, so fun to do. It did rain but it did not dampen the anti-chacha spirit of the dancers.”
as is explains why Chater Road is special to the Filipino community in Hong Kong:
Some people, definitely not friends of mine, find Filipino domestics sitting on the cold concrete of Chater Road an eye sore.
They think that them domestics are a weird contrast to Prada, Mandarin Hotel and the posh grandiosity of Central.
I think otherwise.
While Chater Road was not really closed for the sake of domestic helpers (that will be too considerate of Hong Kong), it has become a completely different community of people I can easily relate to, enjoy the heat of the sun while eating home-cooked meals with, brave the cold winds of yesterday’s climate while gulping hot coffee, think about our future while discussing our present.
It has become my new Manila as Victoria Park is Bandung for an Indonesian friend.
During weekdays, Chater Road teems with suits and ties, red cabs and cars.
On Sundays, and sometimes holidays, it simply teems with life.
Maybe the migrant workers who meet every Sunday on Chater Road in downtown Hong Kong felt powerless that they couldn’t directly express their anger at Filipino politicians. And so they danced in the streets hoping that their protest will be reported in the Philippines. They succeeded. The protest dance has proven that migrant workers can show concern for the homeland through special and symbolic actions. The internet can facilitate the sending of the message to the world.
Pictures courtesy of Arkibong Bayan

author: Mong Palatino


text:
Russia: Conscript Seeks Asylum in Georgia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Aleksandr Glukhov, a 21-year-old Russian conscript, has asked for asylum in the Republic of Georgia to escape the “unbearable conditions” in the Russian army. One of Glukhov's media appearances took place as he was dining at a McDonald's restaurant in Tbilisi. Russian officials claim that Glukhov was captured by Georgian armed forces in South Ossetia, where he was performing his compulsory military service, and taken to the Georgian capital. Quite a few people in Russia seem to consider Glukhov “a traitor.” Below are some of the reactions from the Russophone blogosphere.
LJ user shurigin:
[…] The defense ministry is currently [trying to figure out how all this could have happened]. To begin with, it turns out that this soldier is a conscript. How he got to South Ossetia, despite the order to staff military units with contract soldiers – no one can answer this question coherently.
LJ user introvertoff:
I was on the way home late at night yesterday. On a [bus], in addition to me, there was a bus driver, a couple of men and a couple of women, aged 50 to 60. The radio was playing the news:
“And, finally, metropolitan Kirill becomes the finalist of the “choose the patriarch” game,” – the radio was saying something like this, only in a more formal style. […] The bus filled with happy noise – women and men started a joyful discussion about how they worried, how they hoped, how they prayed. They are happy that the Church will now turn to the right path, etc.
And suddenly! They started talking about the news of the deserter Sergeant Glukhov on the radio. And the happy noise was replaced with angry cries – “How could he!”, “A dirty deserter!”, “He's exchanged his motherland for junk food!”, “And he was under oath!”, “Impale him, the dog, impale him!” Orthodox Christians, who were [wiping tears of joy] a minute ago, turned into bloodthirsty fanatics demanding punishment for a traitor! […]
LJ user drugoi:
[…] He's not a traitor, of course. Just a fool, immature, a boy. He doesn't belong in the army, he should be making sand pies in a sandbox still.
LJ user mike67:
Maybe Glukhov deserves condemnation, but how to do it when you are weeping with laughter? […]
When it turns out that a soldier has defected to the enemy because his unit didn't have a bath and the commander was cursing when orders weren't carried out… No one believes this. They are looking for politics, suspect pressure from the Georgian side. What pressure? Wake up: it's the same people who interpret a request to take out the garbage as an attempt on their human dignity. This is a free generation, […], and they sure know about honor and dignity a lot more than we do.
[…]
No one is getting it: it's not politics, it's an infantile generation, raised on […] an opportunity to take a loan for a plasma-panel display – or even a car – right after high school. […] The idea that every person deserves the best […] is spreading around the world like a virus. […]
A note on the living conditions in the Russian army, by LJ user shabolovka38, in a comment to LJ user grazy-gunner‘s post:
[…] And one woman there says: Yes, the conditions are bad. They live in tents, heated by stoves.
And where are soldiers supposed to live? In a cottage?
LJ user budimir:
Aleksandr Glukhov: «I'm loving it!».
McDonald's has launched a creative […] advertisement: a Russian soldier, unable to bear the hardships of service in South Ossetia, where they didn't feed him properly, deserts to the Georgian side and finds happiness there […].
LJ user merjageko:
I wonder if Russia is going to send tanks to Georgia, to save Sergeant Glukhov? Because he's being tortured with McDonald's there…
LJ user neznaika-nalune asks:
Tell me, is an out-of-the-way McDonald's with peeling walls a new symbol of the “famed Georgian hospitality” and the “famous Georgian cuisine?”
LJ user taganay replies:
This kind of hospitality befits this kind of a defector.


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Construction Confusion  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Some of the things being revealed are proving to be so massively embarrassing, so massively corrupt that it boggles the mind”: Trinidadian diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch is following the Commission of Inquiry into the local construction sector.


text:
UAE: Snow in Ras Al Khaymah  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Who would have ever thought that something like this could happen in the UAE? I sure hope it survives till the weekend so I could go and take photos,” says Jar of Juice, from the UAE, after newspaper reports wrote about snowfall in nearby Ras Al Khaymah.


text:
Zambia: Gateway Liberalisation · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Zambian Economist is happy about the Zambian government decision to liberalise international gateway, “Its been a long road arguing for decoupling Zamtel and full IG liberalisation. To see government signal both is quite something.”


text:
Afghanistan: Bagram Prison and Obama’s Gitmo Policy Change  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Patrick Frost reflects on how President Obama's political stand towards Guantanamo prison would change the administration's position regarding Bagram Air Base prison in Afghanistan.


text:
Bangladesh: The Future Of Jute In Peril? · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

With both the demand and prices of jute falling in the International market, many of the jute mills in Bangladesh are facing closure. At Muktangan, Monjuraul wonders whether the jute industry in Bangladesh will eventually perish.

author: Aparna Ray


text:
Bermuda: No Thank You?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Vexed Bermoothes is sceptical about the Premier's “kind offer” to subsidize the University of the West Indies, saying: “It’s more ideology than about educational opportunity.”


text:
Cambodia: Internet censorship targets artists · Global Voices
Tharum Bun

As the number of Internet users has been growing rapidly in Southeast Asia in recent years, online censorship has proliferated, from China to Cambodia, as if it runs through the Mekong river.
Not only the “Great Firewall of China” that is known to many people, democratic country like Thailand also blocks a large number of Web sites; in Vietnam, its Ministry of Information and Communication has recently released a circular to regulate and enforce blogging rules in the country in late 2008. With rules and regulations in place, these governments have developed and deployed their own censorship machine to control how citizens publish and access online contents.
Although Cambodia has the lowest Internet penetration rate (70,000 users as of 2007), artists, however, are more recognized not through offline exhibitions, but their presence on the world wide web. This increasing use of blog to reach out larger audiences attracts more than attention and support.
A former freelance editorial cartoonist for Far Eastern Economic Review from 1997-1999, Bun Heang Ung presently lives in Australia. Observing his home country Cambodia from the other side, the 57-year-old cartoonist launched Sacrava Toons blog in 2004, nearly a decade after he published ‘The Murderous Revolution : Life and Death in Pol Pot's Kampuchea,’ his first book of black and white line illustrations that tells his very own experiences of the Khmer Rouge regime. In voicing his opinions, the talented cartoonist publish his drawings of all things that matter to him on the Web. In one of his recent posts, he used ‘I have a dream’ as a backdrop for his illustration of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States.
Recently, according to Wikileaks, the political cartoonist's blog is being blocked in Thailand, where its Ministry of Information and Communication Technology is in charge of banning Internet sites that violates its Kingdom's lèse majesté.
Cambodian blogger Thom Vanak, at Blog By Khmer, made his point on the issue:
Regarding Lèse majesté, although I think it's archaic and outdated law in this day and age, but nevertheless, it's still Thai's law. If I ever set my foot on Thai soil I would respect their laws. The same if I'm to visit any other country, I would respect the local laws of that country.
While the prominent cartoonist's blog appears on censorship list (as of 20 Dec 2008) by Thailand, the Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs, in December last year, threatened to block a Web site that contains artistic illustrations of bare-breasted Apsara dancers and a Khmer Rouge soldier. The attempt to shut down reahu.net (or at least to filter it by Internet Service Providers in the Cambodian capital) was echoed by a human rights activist, who was quoted as saying that “the Web site should be shut down because it appealed too much to young Cambodians.”
Reahu.net is currently not accessible by Internet visitors in Cambodia, while there is no issue with access in the U.S. The error message appears:
Cambodia's most prominent anonymous blog author at ‘Cambodia: Details are Sketchy’ wrote about the controversial issue:
“If anyone should understand the value of free speech, the deputy director of communication and advocacy at Licadho seems a likely candidate. It is disheartening that Vann Sophath supports censoring Reahu’s illustrations”
Artist Reahu posted a note on his site, recently becoming popular after gaining media attentions in the past few months, in response to his critics:
Judging from the complaints, I wonder how we as Khmer will be able to make it in the 21st Century. Please be open-minded, you must be able to see beyond the four walls surrounding your hut.

author: Tharum Bun


text:
China: Sino-French Ties in 2009 · Global Voices
Yantao BI

Mr. Song Luzheng (宋鲁郑）, a Chinese blogger who specializes in international politics, recently listed the five factors that have undermined the Sino-French relations (zh). He asserts that it is too hard to improve the bilateral relations to a mutually satisfying level unless the mutual trust is effectively enhanced.

author: Yantao BI


text:
Cuba: Hope and Change  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

On hearing the news that two black Cubans were arrested “after they were heard making favorable comments” about the Obama presidency, Uncommon Sense has these words for the new president: “Please do not let their faith in you, and their faith in real hope and change for their country, be in vain.”


text:
Ecuador: Finding a Candidate to Face Correa · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The opposition in Ecuador is having a tough time finding a suitable candidate to face current President Rafael Correa writes La Voz de Guamote [es].


text:
Egypt: Hijacked ship will be blown up · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

A few weeks after confirming the hijacking of an Egyptian ship by pirates of Somalia, Zeinobia reminds us again with the current status.
On one hand, according to the crew's families, negotiations have stopped regarding the ransom because the pirates refuse to lower it and because the owners of the ship, the “Blue Marine” company, are refusing to pay more than $100,000. Additionally, the food rations on board for the crew ran out over a week ago and there is no medical care for a crew member who was shot in his leg by the pirates.
On the other hand, the pirates already announced that they will blow the ship if their demands are not met by Saturday.
The pirates already announced tomorrow Saturday as a deadline ,if their demands are not met , they will blow the ship !! Yes in less than 48 hours the Blue star ship will be bombed and its crew will be killed if the demands of the Somali pirates are not met
Yesterday Thursday the families of the crew protested in front of the Blue Marine Company in the middle of Alexandria over the news that the company will abandon the ship
She further questions the Egyptian foreign ministry’s rule, as well who is responsible for this:
There 28 crew members on the board of the Blue star
I do not know where the hell is the Foreign Ministry?? Where are our army and our navy?? where are our naval special forces ??
I pray to God that the crew members return back to their families safe and the company gives the pirates the ransom they want even if they have to sell the company itself , we are talking about people , if those 28 crew members are killed their blood will be distributed equally between Blue Marine Co., Foreign Ministry ,the Egyptian Navy and any party who can help them in this crisis and did not do it.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


text:
Ethiopia: What a Difference Water Makes  · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

At the end of last year, five families decided that visiting Ethiopia with their daughters would be the best way for them to see what their donations to provide fresh, clean and safe water sources were doing to change the lives of families and complete villages. Through their blog and videos, they have been able to share the importance of charity:water in making this possible, and hopefully raise more donations and engage more people to help.
In the Fall of 2008 a major donor to charity: water mentioned that he wanted to take his nine year-old daughter on a trip to Africa. I offered to join them along with my nine-year old daughter, Julia. As so often happens with Scott Harrison, the founder of charity: water, the plan got bigger. Within a few weeks we were looking at a trip with five girls and their five fathers. Unfortunately, the original donor had to drop out of the trip and I added my older daughter, Katie. So now five girls, four dads and Scott are heading off to Ethiopia next week. We've armed the girls with four Flip cameras so they can tell us about themselves, can share their journey and can share the stories of the people they meet.
Five for Water is the name of the blog that these families have created as a way to raise awareness of the lives of children in Ethiopia:how clean water may very well be the greatest change they've seen in their lives, and why more people (and schools) should join in the effort.
In the previous video, which can be found on this post, young Campbell discovers that children in Ethiopia might have more in common with her than she previously thought: they are seeing the same math that she is.
However, there are some small but significant differences, as another one of the girls, Chloe, wrote:
Later when I was taking pictures of the children at the well, Gebre was telling me that the people did not really understand what camera’s and photographs were. When I showed the children the photo I took of them on the camera display screen, they looked very confused. Gebre told me a story that he took a picture of 3 boys, and showed one of the boys and asked him who was in the picture. The boy said well they are my two friends, but I don’t know who he is (pointing at himself). Of course he would not know what he looks like, as they do not have mirrors, to me I could not understand this, because of course I look in the mirror before I leave the house, to check I do not have toothpaste or breakfast down me. But here that probably would not worry them, but not knowing how you look! Its just so different here its like a separate world.
Or this that Carley wrote:
We visited a school. It was so poor… It was very sad… It made me think how fortunate I am. Most classrooms didn’t have desks, They sat on rocks instead. There was a chalkboard with holes in it…
I went to the library there was about 20 books. Some were story books, but lots of them were about HIV-AIDS.
And Campbell records young girls carrying big jerrycans filled with water, and states that:
Without water, girls often have to walk long distances carrying heavy water. It takes away from homework. Here I met a girl carrying a lot of water yesterday evening.
The number one reason that girls drop out of school is because they don't have clean water or bathrooms.
Getting water to these populations requires donations to cover the digging of wells, and then the actual procedure. In this post and video, they explain a how hand-dug wells happen:
There are ways in which you can help, and right around the corner comes the Twestival.
The Twestival is a worldwide festival being organized by groups of users of the popular micro-blogging tool Twitter which will take place on February 12th, with more than 100 cities participating. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to benefit the organization Charity:Water, and it has resulted in renewed attention to the problem of water; its scarcity, cleanliness and availability.  You can read more about this completely volunteer initiative, and how to help: either by organizing a Twestival in your city, attending one or participating online.
Carrying Water by magnusfranklin

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


text:
Europe: The “Two Cows” Jokes · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Inspired by the “two cows” joke that's “been around for years in one form or another,” 20 east comes up with a few ones of his own.


text:
France, Guadeloupe: Obama Appointment?  · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Indiscrétions and RCIgp [Fr] wonder if the appointment of former LCI journalist (Guadeloupean-born Christine Kelly) at the CSA is as a result of the Obama effect.


text:
French Caribbean: Carnival 2009 is launched · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Carnival is a tradition, a part of every West Indian soul and the French Caribbean is no exception.
Here is a review of blogs from Martinique, French Guiana, Haiti and Guadeloupe, which highlights the features of Carnival there.
In brevesdeguyane, we learn about the kick-off of Carnival in French Guiana and discover pictures illustrating the French Guianese tradition of the “Touloulous“.  The term originally refers to small colorful earth crabs, which swiftly run and hide under the ground whenever they feel threatened. So what is the connection with those wonderfully disguised women?  Lilie Belle in MaGuyane decribes Carnival in French Guiana and provides an answer to the question [Fr]:
Le touloulou se pavane devant les hommes. ils arrivent seuls ou en groupe dans le dancing. Ce qui veut dire que monsieur ne sait pas comment est habillée sa femme. Le touloulou peut narguer son mari ou voir même son patron !! Ce sont les touloulous qui invitent les hommes à dancer. […]Depuis quelques années, il existe la version homme : les Tololos. Ce sont les hommes qui se déguisent et invitent les femmes à danser.
Darlie's words echo Lillie Belle‘s and Eric Leon ‘s in 97320, a French Guianese blog, when she states that the launching of Carnival is a much awaited event [Fr]:
Ça y est mesdames et messieurs, à l'instant même, le coup d'envoi est donné, le carnaval haïtien est lancé et c'est parti pour un mois et demi d'ambiance populaire.
In a few words, Darlie explains what (Haitian) Carnival is about [Fr]:
Couleur, Costume, masque, majorette, danse, humour, Charles Oscar, Char, spectacle… un menu très varié et pimenté vous attend mesdames, messieurs dans la capitale haïtienne et à Jamel à partir de ce dimanche jusqu'au mercredi des cendres avant le levé du soleil.
When she talks about diversity, Darlie tackles a core aspect of the French Caribbean Carnival: the expression of its various influences and origins.  Nowadays, in Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Martinique, Carnival is celebrated every Sunday with popular parades of well-organized mas bands, of different sorts.  Some bands are influenced by European carnival and wear very colorful, feathery, beady, sparkling and shimmering costumes, as in most Latin Carnivals, like the famous one in Rio de Janeiro. These bands always take part in competitions to elect the best band, the best music, the best choreography and eventually the King and the Queen of Carnival. This webpage from “la Mairie de Fort-de-France“, in Martinique shows pictures of this election which gathers different generations: Baby Queen, Mini Queen, Queen and Queen Mother.
The second type of band was first developed in Guadeloupe: they are generally called cultural movements, the aim of which is to bring French Caribbeans closer to their African roots. They promote a Carnival based on spiritual traditions, authenticity and nature and a more traditional music with local drums, made with young goat skins (”mas a pô”). They are announced by whips and incense and do not play rhythmical music, nor do they perform choreographies in the street. Their trademark is marching in a spiritual, almost mystical atmosphere. Here are pictures of “Kléla” (the key), a “mas a pô” band from Guadeloupe.
Those two main types of bands are in the streets from Epiphany Sunday until Ash Wednesday, when Vaval (the effigy of the King of Carnival) is burnt symbolically as the end of Carnival and the beginning of Lent. In Guadeloupe though, people go back for one more parade 15 days later, on “Jeudi de la Mi-Carême” at mid-Lent. The colors of this parade are red and black to show that Vaval is dead but is going to live again the next year.


text:
Georgia: Glukhov’s Case; U.S.-Based “Georgian Chalabis” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Scraps of Moscow writes about Aleksandr Glukhov's case, and notes on the possibility “that Georgian Chalabis are already being groomed Stateside.”


text:
Guadeloupe: Pépin questions national conscience · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

In the midst of the social unrest that has been shaking Guadeloupe for almost 11 days, Indiscrétions publishes writer Ernest Pépin's letter to his fellow Guadeloupeans.


text:
India: Blogger silenced · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chyetanya Kunte is an Indian blogger living in the Netherlands. On 27th of November, 2008 during the terror attacks in Mumbai he wrote a blog post (now available through Google cache) criticizing Indian private television channel New Delhi Television (NDTV) and particularly their group editor Barkha Dutt's coverage of the incident.
The post was deleted from Chyetanya's blog, and on 26th of January, 2009 he posted this apology confirming unconditional withdrawal of the post. This has sparked anger and strong condemnations in the Indian blogosphere.
Gaurav Sabnis at Vantage point predicts:
It does not take a PhD in reading between the lines to guess what happened. NDTV probably sent Kunte a legal notice, asking him to pull the post down, apologize, never write about them again, and pay an absurdly massive amount of money.
Retributions confirms quoting Barkha Dutts's Facebook message that Chyetanya Kunte was indeed served with a legal notice on 3rd of January. She apparently wrote:
Just because some random bloke can sit at a computer and make up stuff doesn't mean he or others like him need to be dignified with responding to their utter and total rubbish. rubbish is what it is. And as already mentioned. Mr. Kunte has been served a legal notice for libel by NDTV. That should give you some indication of where we and I stand. The freedom afforded by the Internet cannot be used to fling allegations at individuals or groups in the hope that they will then respond to things that aren't worthy of engagement.
Gaurav Mishra at Gauravonomics Blog compiles a roundup of condemnations by Indian bloggers for silencing Chyetanya. He also reveals:
Chyetanya sent me an email on January 25th, requesting me to take down the link to his post in my roundup of reactions to media coverage of the 11/26 Mumbai terror attack. I haven’t taken down the link and excerpt yet, but I have refrained from blogging about the issue so far out of concern for complicating Chyetanya’s and, perhaps, my own legal situation.
The fact is that Chyetanya wasn't the only one criticizing NDTV. According to Gaurav:
Bloggers were scathing in their criticism of Barkha Dutt’s sensationalistic coverage of the 11/26 Mumbai terror attack, accusing her of broadcasting sensitive information about the position of hostages and security troops, sensationalizing the news coverage, and being borderline hysterical, in general.
Nanopolitan tells NDTV in the post “congratulations NDTV“:
The apology you extracted reminds us of re-education programs that totalitarian regimes impose on dissidents. Or of re-induction rituals in third rate gangster movies.
Gargi at POV writes:
Amongst the institutions that has rapidly lost my trust, especially in the last two years, is the broadcast news media. Between the Prince episode, the Arushi Murder Case, running recorded footage with live bugs, with the 26/11 coverage – i have stopped watching TV news. I read magazines, i read newspapers and I read blogs.  I do these because i have far more faith in the credibility of those who write – than the credibility of those who produce and package news on TV.
Updates of the Indian bloggers’ reactions can be found at Desipundit. Blogbharti posts an appeal:
We urge all bloggers to send us their views on this issue. And to protest NDTV’s highhanded efforts to curb our freedom of speech.


text:
India: Jaipur Literary Festival  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Jabberwock attended the Jaipur literary festival 2009 and wrote about it in a series of posts.


text:
Indonesia: Fatwa against smoking, yoga, vasectomies…. · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s highest Islamic authority, has issued a Fatwa against the following last week:
1. A ban on aspects of yoga that contain Hindu elements.
2. A ban on vote abstention if “qualified” candidates exist.
3. A ban on smoking by children and pregnant women, and in public places.
4. A ban on abortion unless the mother is a rape victim, the pregnancy endangers her life, or the fetus is aged less than 5 weeks.
5. A ban on vasectomy because the process is “irreversible”.
6. A ban on marriage with minors, based on a 1974 law that forbids men under 19 and women under 16 years old from marrying.
The edict against yoga has captured the attention of many people in the world. A few weeks ago, Malaysia also banned the mantras associated with yoga. Indonesians are debating the fatwa in an online forum. As expected, yoga teachers criticized the ban on yoga:
“To me, yoga is not something that can be regulated by clerics. It’s up to the individual how they practice it,” said Pujiastuti Sindhu, a Muslim and the owner of the Yoga Leaf Studio in Bandung, south of the capital Jakarta.
“The clerics are afraid that people who practice yoga are worshipping another god but we are not. It’s only because they don’t understand what yoga is and they feel it’s a threat. They should go to yoga class and try it.”
Via Twitter, here are some of the comments on the Fatwa:
astrid_amalia: If yoga is a sin, then let me live in my own sin. Yoga has proven 2 open my eyes about God, so where's the sin?
ifahmi: I do read the Fatwa. And for me all of them are stupid, because it's none of their bussiness. Smoking, Yoga, vasectomy, voting.
kapkap: Very very embarrassing. While people are striving to overcome global crisis, here MUI talking stuffs such as yoga is evil
LeonnieFM: I read many tweets about MUI tonight saying about they ban yoga? I suggest they ban them selves for being such hypocrite
Everything Indonesia reminds the Ulema Council that there are other more important issues than yoga:
I have no particular beef with the Ulema Council that recently banned yoga for Indonesian Muslims. But don't they have better things to do, than touring the country's gym classes and coming out against Hindu chanting?
The fatwa was also criticized by the Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organization:
Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organisation, slammed the edicts as “excessive.”
NU deputy head Masdar F. Mas’udi said the MUI should not have dragged religion into the three matters.
Yoga, as it is practiced in Indonesia, he said, was a pastime and must not be seen in the context of religious worship.
To discourage people from smoking, he added, the MUI should not use “Islamic law” as a tool.
He also said the MUI should “not bring in God and threaten people with hell” if it wanted to encourage Muslims to vote.
My Busy Brain believes there is no teaching against abstinence from voting:
“Regarding the abstinence from voting, I don’t see anything from the teaching in Islam, which is clearly written in the Qur’an, that says not voting is haram(sinful act).  What Islam teaches is to pick the right leader (with all the description of what a good leader should be like).  Islam also teaches about choices.  It teaches about freedom.”
Multibrand says the fatwa cannot be enforced legally:
“I say that although according to our legal system a Fatwa of MUI is not part of our positive law, therefore could not be enforced legally, however considering MUI is the highest Moslem religious authority said Fatwa will surely have moral impact especially among people living in rural area.”
Smokers were disappointed with the fatwa against smoking:
“I am angry about the fatwa, because both my father and grandfather are smokers and the new fatwa now makes them sinners,” said Abdul Hardiyanto, 38, a Muslim stock broker.
“I am going to keep smoking, because religion must stay away from this matter. We have government regulation for this kind of thing,” added Wisena, 33, a Muslim who works in a fish shop.
The photo that appeared in the homepage was taken from the My Yoga Online.


text:
Japan: Blurry Lines Between Buzz and Truth – McDonald’s Quarter Pounder Debut · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Cultivating imported products into megahits is a big part of how consumer trends are created in Japan, and food is no exception to the rule. Last year, it was the American donut shop, Krispy Kreme. The year before that, it was the American ice cream shop, Cold Stone Creamery. Both are Western foods that are familiar to the Japanese, with a unique twist. Both gained fame for long lines in front of their stores. And both were carefully cultivated hits.
Another hit involving long lines made news last November. In a lauded marketing scheme to introduce the Quarter Pounder to the Japanese market, McDonald's reopened two shops in the fashion district of Omotesando and hippie hotspot of Shibuya as renovated “Quarter Pounder Shops” without using the McDonald's brand name. With a red and black color scheme, the stores only had two items on the menu: the Quarter Pounder and the Double Quarter Pounder. Neil Duckett reports on his trip to the Shibuya shop with photos.
Following a successful debut in Tokyo, McDonald's Japan announced [ja] that the Quarter Pounder debut in the Kansai region was also a major success – Midosuji-Suomachi shop in Osaka had received about 15,000 customers on the first day and broke sales records.
However, around 1,000 of those customers turned out to have been hired beforehand to make a purchase. Talk began to circulate around the blogosphere after Ubersite GIGAZINE posted a screenshot of a recent ad from the temp agency Fullcast in an article titled “Short-term job to ‘line up to buy and eat a new product’ announced – Hourly rate is 1000 JPY”. McDonald's says that it was market research to collect feedback, and that it wasn't an intentional attempt to create buzz.
Hiroshi Onishi questions that claim:
マクドナルドの人たちは、新聞とかテレビなどのニュースしかチェックしてなかった可能性があります。今どきは、ネットを検索し、ネットでの反応も含め、どういったことがネットに流れているのかとチェックするのは常識だと思うし、チェックしていれば、膨大なアクセス数を誇るGIGAZINEの記事を見逃すわけが無く、モニター調査だったという苦しい言い訳をしないで済んだと思いますね。
Happy-kernel wonders about other companies:
しかし、ファーストフードの雄・マクドナルドがこのような、｢サクラ｣を使って行列を作らせ、販売促進をしていたとなると、もしかして・・・他社はどうなのだろう？と、思ってしまうのは私だけではないと思う。と言うのも｢行列が出来ると、その行列に意味もなく並んでしまう｣という傾向は、誰にでもあるからだ。
Takeshi Kouno refers to the story of the Emperor's new clothes and points out:
ていうか団体の中にそういう企業がいる場合、ちゃんと参加企業同士でチェックできますかというのがひとつ目の問題。そして、仮に自社がステルスやPPP（PayPerPost）をやってないとしても、クライアント（この場合マクド）と取引がある場合、ちゃんと批判できますかというのが二つ目の問題。広告出稿してもらってるから、別件で仕事してるから、そういう理由で黙殺しませんか。実際トヨタやパナソニックが問題起こしても、テレビではほとんど報じられないよね。少なくともいまのテレビに代表される旧メディアの広告代理店と媒体企業は言えてないわけで、同じジレンマに陥るのがオチじゃないかと。
Minesuke Nakamura gives his opinion from a journalistic point of view:
勘違いすべきでないのは、今回、マスコミが「怒って」いるのは、マクドナルドがモニターを動員したこと自体ではなく、その事実を伏せたまま、「過去最高売上」「徹夜の大行列」をアナウンスしたことにあります。それを信じて記事を書いた記者には、誤った情報を読者に届けてしまった、という「損害」が発生しているのです。
「報道」としてメディアに露出される「パブリシティ」は、「広告」と異なり、おカネで買うものではありません。メディア（その背後の読者・視聴者）にとって価値のあるニュース素材を、それが「ウソ」「誇張」「間違い」ではないという信頼のもとに提供するから、企業にとっては、無料で宣伝できる、というメリットが発生します。マクドナルドが今回、メディアから失った「信頼」を回復するのは、容易なことではないと思います。

author: Tomomi Sasaki


text:
Kazakhstan: Innovations, Kazakh-Style  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Arseny writes about the government's innovation strategies in Kazakhstan, and how efficient they actually are.


text:
Kazakhstan: Livejournal Unblocked. And Blocked Again · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

On Junuary 28, the Kazakhstani Internet users were suddenly granted access to LiveJournal – the most popular blog platform in the post-Soviet Russian-speaking blogosphere. It was blocked by the national ISP on October 7 last year under unknown reasons – “Kazakhtelecom” has never acknowledged the fact of filtering.
We used various technical tricks to access Livejournal. On January 28, it has been unblocked. Who made a decision to filter it and to open it up – we don't know. How long will we have an opportunity to enjoy open access to it – we don't know. Maybe I have to scream “hurray”, but for some reason I want to curse.
said eev [ru].
Many bloggers did not believe the unexpected happiness – their Livejournals were full of excited posts. Skeptics were doubtful, and lord-fame was among them [ru]:
I bet ten to one that they will find the “bug” and block the website again.
graveric added:
There is a suspicion that a petty trouble occured somewhere at Kazakhtelecom. It will be fixed soon.
That's exactly what has happened by the evening of the next day. Cyber-gorynych says that there was an upgrade of equipment on Kazakhtelecom, while lord-of-silence explains it with the change of IP addresses of Livejournal itself, so that they were temporarily open for the users, but later they were filtered [ru].
We shall remind that this fuss is taking place against the background of the new draft law on Internet regulation, currently under consideration in the Parliament. As pulemetchizza comments [ru]:
The law, if adopted, will determine which website should be open for the Kazakhstani citizens, and which websites should be banned here. What Kazakhlecom did illegally and on the sly with Livejournal, will be possible to do with any other website – and legally. On the pretext of threat to national security. The decision will be made by the prosecutor without sending a notice to the website owner.
Earlier reports on Livejournal blockage in Kazakhstan here and here.
Also posted on neweurasia.


text:
Kazakhstan: State-run web-sites tested by the public  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Mursya reviews the results of an evaluation of web-sites run by Kazakhstani state authorities.  The evaluation was performed by MediaNet, the International Journalism Center, supported by Soros Foundation in Kazakhstan.


text:
Kyrgyzstan: Something About Patriotism  · Global Voices
Elena Skochilo

Kyrgyzstani citizens are now legally obliged to listen to their national anthem standing with their right hand over their heart, reports Elena.

author: Elena Skochilo


text:
Kyrgyzstan: What Did the President Mean? · Global Voices
Elena Skochilo

On January, 27th the President Kurmanbek Bakiev addressed to citizens of Kyrgyzstan. In his speech the President declared that created strategic documents must be realizing more actively. He also identified national interests and told about creation of two new structures (Secretary and Institute of the Strategic Analysis). In addition Bakiev declared about necessity to improve an efficiency  of a system of management and power system in the country.
… once again I want to stress that at the present moment the participation of all interested forces, citizens is especially important in the advancement of Kyrgyzstan but not the separate political positions and personal preferences. We all have one home country, one land and any voice with constructive suggestions will be heard. Regardless of party and political preferences”, – Bakiev told [ru].
Both simple citizens and the majority of politicians couldn’t conclude anything unambiguous from the speech of the President.
Livejournal user, communist Sergey Kozhemjakin aka kojemyakin wrote [ru] in his blog:
“All past week, since morning till the night it was repeated to all Kyrgyzstanis: on January, 27th the President will address to the people. All held breath. Such event doesn’t happen too often. About what will Bakiev tell us? About shifts in the government? About changes of foreign policy vector? Here it is! On all TV to channels, including the Russian. And … – nothing! I listened to it, I read the text … Water! True water! Nothing concrete”.
The user of Diesel forum Befs understood nothing [ru].
“I started reading and stopped after 4 phrases … Was there anything written smart? Or all was of the sort? Intricate sentences with beautiful words which were written not for understanding? Can anybody tell me the main point of that message? I am sure; it is possible to place the main point in one simple sentence.”
The deputy of Social-democratic party in parliament Isa Omurkulov supports [ru] Befs:
“I didn’t understand what he wanted to say. Nothing concrete. Now we all know that the Secretary of the president is created. That is all. Nothing more”.
The director of Institute of the Strategic Analysis and Estimation Sergey Masaulov was impressed [ru] by brevity and capacity of a statement of the basic ideas of the message:
“The most important part of president’s message was that Kurmanbek Bakiev offers an idea of balance between traditions and innovations, democracy and some order, future movement and present support. It is good, when the country has development strategy”.
Livejournal user Azamat Imanaliev aka azzzik asked[ru] some questions after speech of the President:
There are questions about the organization of the appeal of the President.
Why did he stand against a ladder? IMHO, the office would look better.
There red color prevailed on the screen during his speech.  As for me, it gives some impression of aggression.
Why was the message shown not only on the state and other local tv-channels, but also, for example, on the Russian First channel?
Why was the speech in the Kyrgyz language broad casted at 20:00, and in Russian – on an hour later?
Why were the Russian subtitles with spelling errors during performance?


text:
Latvia: Snap Election? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

All About Latvia thinks the country is “heading for snap elections” and this may be a good thing: “While the IMF sees an election as a liability because it ushers in an uncertain future, for the people of Latvia an election under new updated election laws appears to be a way out of this crisis of political credibility amidst economic uncertainty.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Martinique: Increase in domestic violence · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Martinican blogs [Fr]  Blogdemoi and Bondamanjak tell with much consternation about the dramatic increase in domestic violence.


text:
MENA: Reflections on Obama’s Al Arabiya Interview · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

It came as a surprise to many people that US President Barack Obama gave his first formal interview as president to an Arab television channel. Some were optimistic with Obama's replies, while others were disappointed. Yet, almost everybody was more concerned about the decision to have the interview conducted for Al Arabiya.
Dubai Guy quoted a few lines from Obama’s speech, and then enthusiastically shared his feelings about the interview as follows:
Watching Obama's interview has somewhat brought back the lost optimism in me. The fact that he gave his first official interview to an Arabic channel says a lot. And also the fact that he plans to address the Muslim world in his first 100 days from one of the Muslim Capitals further strengthened my faith that he means business.
From Egypt, Zeinobia, who titled her post “Good timing but bad choice for a TV channel”  questioned whether it was a good decision to have the interview hosted by Al Arabiya channel, which is not very favored by many Arab viewers. She said that she would have preferred if it was with BBC Arabic.
However, unlike Zeinobia, Rob thought it would have been a better idea to have the interview on Al Jazeera.  He explained:
Why not go on the much more popular and anti-US foreign policy Al-Jazeera?  Al-Arabiya  is viewed by alot of people in the Middle East as a propaganda outlet for the conservative pro-American regimes.     How about letting someone like Ahmed_Monsour do the interview?  That would really impress the target audience. Ok,  if not the President, at least let someone important, say Hillary Clinton, face-off with Ahmed Monsour.   If that happened,   I think that skeptics like Ibrahim Eissa and Fahmy Howedi would at least acknowledge the effort.
But The Arabist, in his “Obama’s TV appearance” post answered Zeinobia’s and Rob’s concerns pointing:
- The choice of Arabiya was most probably a decision to appeal to the Saudis, have Obama underline the importance of their Arab Initiative which has been snubbed by Israel and the US under Bush.
– Nonetheless Arabiya is problematic – this is the channel dubbed Hibriya (The Hebrew One) because of its coverage of the Gaza crisis and that generally defends the views of Riyadh, Cairo and other problematic US allies. This confirms that Obama will not, like Bush since 2006, go against Egypt and Saudi on domestic issues and there won’t be a rethink of the US relationship with these. But if you thought that would happen, you’re stupid.
– Should Obama have gone to Jazeera instead? Perhaps not, for both domestic reasons (the criticism he would expose himself to, even if unwarranted) and because there are genuine US complaints about Jazeera. But at some later point, he should go to Jazeera – especially if it is to pitch a major conflict resolution initiative in the region. At the end of the day, despite its bias, Arabiya is the number two pan-Arab stations. (In many countries, like the rest of the world, Arabs actually watch their national TV stations most.)
– Obama’s next move should be to disband al-Hurra. It’s a useless waste of money.
From Syria, the Damascene blog was very skeptical about the interview. He further explained his disappointment because of Obama’s adaptation of former US President George W Bush’s phrase “serious partnership”, where he says:
What disappointed me in the interview was not Obama's old commitment to Israel's security and the US-Israeli alliance, but his unexpected adoption of rotten Bushism:
“I also believe that there are Israelis who recognize that it is important to achieve peace. They will be willing to make sacrifices if the time is appropriate and if there is serious partnership on the other side.”
If the time is appropriate? Serious partnership? Isn't this the same Bush nonsense? Isn't this what the Sharon-Bush duo came up with during the second Intifada? Sharon then invaded the West Bank and declared that Yasser Arafat was no longer a peace partner. The peace process was stalled for years because there was no “serious partner on the other side of the table”, while Bush's “man of peace”
went on tormenting the Palestinian people. In search for that “serious partner”, Arafat was set aside and forced to appoint Abbas as prime minister. Then Abbas was forced to hold “democratic” elections, and then there was no partner again.
Arabs have to deal with Israel's political trash (Sharon, Olmert and Netanyahu in a couple of weeks) while Israel gets to pick a “serious partner”. A puppet partner is what they want. And then the time might be appropriate for so-called peace.
So much for a change.
Kalash, a blogger of a Lebanese-Palestinian descent, added  in KABOBfest an in-depth comment on the interview, and -like The Arabist- he hinted at the American TV channel Al Hurra:
The interview was conducted by Al Arabiya's Washington bureau chief, Hisham Melhem. It was weak… and the long drawn out questions were typical of Arab journalists who are more concerned with appearing informed than eliciting newsworthy information from the interviewee. Whatever the reason, Melhem made things far too easy.
[…]
From a US perspective, in the realm of media, Al Arabiya represents the moderates and Al Jazeera the radicals. While such generalizations are inaccurate and unfair, there are reasons for them. Al Jazeera is well known for a certain degree of sympathy to the Palestinian resistance; however, watching news reports on Al Arabiya, one often gets the impression that their editorial line is not too far off from the political agenda of the US government. It raises the question – why is Washington wasting hundreds of millions on the stagnant Al Hurra and its insignificant audience?
Last but not least, MrEgypt wrote an excellent and in depth blog post highlighting the importance of such interview, and what the Arab world now needs to pay attention to:
I cannot find any other reason for the fuss that’s made for Obama’s speech except one:  that he came after Bush. I hardly noticed any attention to the interview in the Arab street, as for the Arab media I only noticed a passing reference here.
[…]
I think the only problem in the Arab world would be to understand what did Obama mean by things like “reaching out to the Muslim world” or “resuming the negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis” –who, by the way, have been negotiating since the establishment of the state of Israel 60 years ago– or being somebody who “listens. “  Listen to whom?
He also commented on Obama’s reply to the question ““Will it still be possible to see a Palestinian state?”, confirming that it is not possible to have peace in the region unless policies change by understanding the Palestinian perspective.
MrEgypt added:
Thus if Obama’s job is to “communicate with the Arab world that the United States is not your enemy” this entails a totally different approach than “listening and communicating” with the Arab world. In conclusion, the US has policies and strategies in dealing with the Arab world and Middle East and only a shift in these policies and strategies could lead to some sort of rapprochement between the two entities.


text:
Moldova: A “Stable” Economy · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Moldova's economy has been declared “well-protected […] from the slowdown” by London-based magazine The Banker. Eternal Remont comments: “This one gets filed under, ‘I've been down so long it looks like up to me’.”


text:
Poland: Maanam · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

the POLSKI blog writes about Maanam, a Polish band that, in the early 1980s, was “the epitome of cool, largely thanks to their unique sound and the distinctive voice and fiery personality of their lead singer, Kora.”


text:
R.E.S.C.A.T.A.R.: Dengue: Manu militari contra la irresponsabilidad · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Carlos Rodríguez of Rescatar [es] writes that is shameful that the local government must threaten property owners to keep their land free of standing water, which is a breeding ground for mosquitoes.  This is very important since Paraguay is suffering from the spread of dengue caused by these mosquitoes.

author: Eduardo Avila


text:
Rohingya Muslims facing cultural genocide · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Prof. Marranci writes that Rohingya Muslims are “victims of their lack of strategic value, both for their native Southeast Asia and the wider international community.” The Rohingyas are also “facing a slow, silent cultural genocide.”


text:
Russia, Georgia: Glukhov’s Unit in Tskhinvali Since June 2008? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

AnTyx comments on soldier Aleksandr Glukhov‘s mention of his unit's transfer to South Ossetia in June 2008: “If true, it would mean that the war in Georgia was deliberately provoked by Russia.”


text:
Russia: Medvedev on Markelov’s Murder · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

RFE/RL's The Power Vertical, Robert Amsterdam's Blog, and Sean's Russia Blog comment on Dmitry Medvedev's remarks about the murders of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova in Moscow last week.


text:
Russia: Putin’s Response to Dell · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Eternal Remont and Scraps of Moscow comment on Vladimir Putin's response to the Dell Computer founder at the World Economic Forum in Davos.


text:
Sri Lanka: A Ceasefire, But For How Long? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kettikili at pass the roti on the left hand side writes on the latest state of the war in Northern Sri Lanka: “The announcement of a ceasefire, however brief, is welcome news. But how long will it last?”


text:
Tajikistan: Electricity rationing returns  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Seemingly a shock to some, Vadim reports upon why electricity rationing in Tajikistan has returned, as well as why it has only just been noticed by the media.


text:
Tajikistan: Terrible Tajik-Uzbek relations  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Vadim says that Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have chronically had bad relations since early history of the two countries, and the most recent actions of Uzbekistan made these relations even worse.


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival Slump?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

With just three short weeks until the big event, Discover TnT Blog and Trinidad Carnival Diary report that the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival season has been slow.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Ukraine: KGB Archive · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog writes this about Ukraine's plans “the entire KGB archive dating 1917-1991″: “These materials will certainly be employed in the further crafting of Ukraine’s ‘imagined community’ of victimization by, rather than a participant in, the Soviet regime. Sadly, using these documents for this purpose has little to do with scholarly inquiry, history, or even historical reconciliation. It has to do with nationalism.”


text:
Armenia: Diaspora Politics · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

tzitzernak2 comments on the role of the Diaspora in local politics in Armenia and raises concerns with the date of a conference to be held by one of the largest lobbying groups in the U.S., the Armenian Assembly of America. The blog says the timing of the event on the first anniversary of the 1 March post-election riot which left at least 10 people dead is disrespectful to their memory.

author: Onnik Krikorian


text:
Azerbaijan: Carbon Neutral Resort · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

otto details the development of a carbon neutral resort and residential development on the Zira Island located off the coast of Azerbaijan. The blog posts mockups of the project and says it will be the first carbon neutral development in the Caucasus and Central Asia.


text:
Azerbaijan: Mammed Amin Rasul-zadeh · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

In Mutatione Fortitudo marks the 125th anniversary of the birth of Mammed Amin Rasul-zadeh by introducing its readers to one of the founding fathers of the short-lived Azerbaijani Democratic Republic in the early 20th Century.


text:
Bangladesh: Tourist Attractions · Global Voices
Rezwan

Back To Bangladesh compiles a list of things to see and do in Bangladesh for the foreign visitors.

author: Rezwan


text:
Best Blogs Brazil: Winners by jury, public and hacker votes · Global Voices
Thiana Biondo

Be it expressing opinions, fighting for freedom of press and technology, or spreading the word about creativity and quality in writing, we know that not all blogs in the world do this, but these qualities do apply to many of those in the Brazilian blogosphere. But, how do we know which blogs really deserve a visit? Well, we always have our personal favorites, but if you read Portuguese why not broaden your feeds by looking at the best blogs of 2008?
For the second consecutive year, the polls at the Blogs Brazil 2008 Award website were open from December last year throughout January, ending at Campus Party Brazil, on January 23 and split into two types, jury and public, with the finalists grouped into 30 different categories. The jury was made up of specialists, who had been giving lectures and participating in discussions about blogs during the Campus Party. On the other hand, over 30,000 people participated in the public vote [pt]:
“Acabou a votação aberta ao público. Foram mais de 78 mil votos, dados por 34 mil pessoas que se inscreveram para participar e contribuir com o Best Blogs Brazil.”
Not always was the same blog chosen by both jury and public. According to the panel of specialists, the best blog in 2008 was Blog do Tas, whereas according to public opinion Brogui deserved the top prize. With over 1,000 followers and almost 4,000 updates, Brogui was a brave contender to beat Blog do Tas, written by a successful and well known Brazilian journalist, Marcelo Tas. Being quite as informative as Tas, Brogui is more light-hearted, design-conscious and also outdoes Blog do Tas in interactivity with other blogs. Brogui won 1,621 votes ahead of the 1,415 won by third placed Blog do Tas.
Like the main category contest, public and jury votes also diverged in the sport blogs category. Blog do Juca, by Juca Kfouri, one of the best sports journalists in Brazil, was awarded first-prize by the jury but deserved only fourth position according to public opinion. It received only 360 open votes against 1,467 cast for Terceira Via Verdao, a blog with a clear connection to Brazilian football club Palmeiras. Their content, therefore, might be more appealing for fans of that club.
Moving onto the best arts and culture blog, the focus of Livros & Afins [Books & CIA] on just one specific segment of culture – books – was enough for the blog to be the popular winner, at the same time that Amalgama, fifth in the public vote, took home the top trophy by the specialist jury. Set up by scholars and people who not only love art but understand it inside out, the blog is open to anyone who would like to jot down some ideas about cinema, literature, and music.
Only blogs in six categories were unanimously chosen as best blogs by both public and jury: the science prize went to a blog about Biology, Brontossauros em meu jardim [Brotosaurus in my Garden]; the business and finance prize was won by Dinheirama; the wedding plans of the blogger at Planejando meu Casamento won it the best blog in the daily-life category; the advertising and communication prize was won by Brainstorm #9, a blog for those who want to know about media; the best blog design prize was taken by Sedentario e Hiperativo [Sedentary and Hyperactive], and, closing the list, Kibe Loco was chosen in the humor category.
To be or not to be fair – that's the question
Blogs were nominated by anyone who had a valid email account and agreed to subscribe to the website. However, as the web is not a cheat-free zone, the organizers were driven crazy by a blogger who wanted to win at all costs – even by taking an unfair advantage. On the penultimate day of the pole, the organizers posted the following:
“Longe de ser um mar de tranquilidade, o Best Blogs Brazil foi como um tsunami nos últimos dias. Decisões foram tomadas, sempre em busca de ter uma eleição justa, imparcial e verdadeira, para sabermos quais são, de fato, os maiores blogs do Brasil.
Um fato intrigou muitos durante este tempo: como um blog anoitecia com x votos e quando era no outro dia de repente aparecia com centenas? Alguma coisa estranha existia, mas como provar? Não havia ainda uma resposta. (…)
Enfim, consegui finalmente descobrir como isso aconteceu. Simplesmente eram criadas várias contas de email para que o blog ganhasse votos. E descobri o IP desses votos.
One fact intrigued many people during this time: how could one blog have X votes in the night and then, on the next day, it would suddenly show up X hundred votes? Something weird was going on, but how could it be proved? There was no answer. (..)
At last, I finally managed to find out how it happened. Basically, there were many email accounts opened for a blog to win votes. And I found out these votes’ IP address.“
The discussion was open to everybody in the community built around the awards, and organizers and public reached a decision together:
“Decisão tomada. A votação permanece como está. Avaliando todos os comentários abaixo, vemos o quão é difícil analisar a situação. Mas se a grande parte concorda que se as regras não previam isso e se a tecnologia permite que isso aconteça, então os votos são validados. Porém, algo tinha que ser feito. Alguns IPs que enviaram uma quantidade absurda de votos, foram bloqueados. Que vença o melhor.”.
To see the full list and find out more about the other winners, visit Best Blogs Brazil 2008. To see pictures of the award ceremony, check Wagner Fontoura's photo set on Flickr. As of now, there is no news about next year's edition, but, hopefully it will take place again and this time the cheats will be, in one way or another, completely defated.

author: Thiana Biondo


text:
China: netizens regret donations to Sichuan · Global Voices
Yantao BI

Beichuan County, the hardest hit area in 5.12 Sichuan earthquake, has spent RMB 1.1 million (USD160, 854) on one Land Cruiser, an imported luxury car, which has triggered explosive critique among the Chinese netizens. Blogger 心寒 (Chilling Heart) writes he could not help bursting into rage while many others, including 贫道中国人（Humble Chinese Taoist）, regretted their donations to Sichuan (zh), but Beichuan government has repeatedly defended its decision.


text:
Czech Republic: Jobless Foreign Laborers · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Czech Daily Word writes about the situation with several thousand foreign workers in the Czech Republic, who have lost their jobs and are now stuck in the country: “And according to a friend of mine from the Foreign Ministry, a calculation is being made, as to what is cheaper: fly them home at the expense of taxpayers, or prepare for and bear the social and other costs of having the illegal jobless workers here… Tough, either way. For everyone.”


text:
Georgia: Armenian Activists Detained · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Blogian comments on the arrest of two ethnic Armenians in the Georgian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti allegedly for espionage and the formation of an armed gang.  The blog says calls for autonomy or independence from Georgia are once again being heard.


text:
Georgia: Opposition Unites, Kind Of… · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Dateline Tbilisi comments on news that twelve opposition parties have agreed to unite to call for Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's resignation. The blog says the party believes Saakashvili will be forced to resign by the end of 2009 but points out some of the many factors which will determine if they succeed or not.


text:
Iran: Bloggers mobilize for animal rights · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

In the summer of 2007, police in Iran began arresting dogs. These were not stray dogs, but domesticated pets walking with their owners. While the dog arrests subsided after a couple of weeks, the mistreatment of animals in the Islamic Republic of Iran is still widespread.
Fortunately, a number of bloggers are supporting an initiative by Iran-based blogger Mino Saberi, to defend the rights of dogs, birds, cats, and other creatures of the Earth.
Mino Saberi addresses [fa] her post to Iranian National TV and its director Ezetollah Zarghami:
آقای ضرغامی من هم چون شما مسلمان‌زاده‌ام ..، خدا را می‌پرستم و به تمام مقدسین عالم احترام می‌گذارم و تمام مخلوقات خدا را دوست می‌دارم، مگر می‌شود خدا را پرستید وآن‌چه را که خلق کرده دوست نداشت؟!
آقای ضرغامی، شما رسالت سنگینی بردوش‌تان هست و گمان می‌کنم از بخشی از آن بی‌خبرید. ..
رسالت شما تنها این نیست که از مردم بی دفاع و مظلوم این کشور و آن کشور دفاع کنید، نگاهی به دور و برتان بیندازید، گاه نگاهی هم به برنامه‌های ساخته شده از همین تلویزیون که شما ریاست‌اش را بر عهده دارید بیندازید.
دشمنی با حیوانات بی‌آزار و مظلوم تا کی؟ آن‌هم از یک رسانه پرقدرت و پرمخاطب…ما، یعنی جمعی از وبلاگ نویسان خواهان این هستیم که رسانه‌ها خصوصا” تلویزیون در برنامه‌های خود بخشی هم به آموزش مهربانی با طبیعت، چه حیوانات و چه گیاهان بدهند.
She also says that Muhammad, the Prophet taught kindness towards animals.
Sadaf-Farahani writes [fa] that the ill treatment of animals has its roots either in psychological problems or in a bad education.
Asalijon protests [fa] against the killing of stray dogs and their puppies. The blogger shares his/her experience with a stray dog named Magnolia and her seven puppies. The blogger says, one day this dog and its family was killed by bullets. Asaljoon asks if it is the right decision by Iranian authorities to kill these innocent creatures.
Bidari writes [fa]
متاسفانه اتفاقات ناهنجار و آزار و اذیت حیوانات در مملکت ما کم کم تبدیل به یک فرهنگ می شود . از خاموش کردن ته سیگار روی تن گربه ها گرفته ، تا بریدن گوش سگ های خیابانگرد و بی توجهی به پرندگانی که هرروز تعدادشان کمتر از قبل می شود.(کافی است نگاهی به اطرافتان بیندازید تا متوجه درستی این مطلب شوید)
در این تغییر فرهنگی و گرایش مردم به نادیده گرفتن حیوانات نمی توان از نقش رسانه ملی صرف نظر نمود ! رسانه ای که می تواند پیام آور صلح و دوستی  و توجه به این موهبت های بی نظیر خداوند باشد، نه تنها حرکتی در جهت دوستی مردم با حیوانات ،که بخشی از این طبیعت هستند نمی کند ، بلکه بسیار در سریال ها و فیلم ها و سایر برنامه های تلویزیون  می بینیم که آزار و اذیت حیوانات امری طبیعی و عادی جلوه داده می شود.
No animals were harmed in the writing of this post. The dog pictured above is named “Lisa”.

author: Fred Petrossian


text:
Iran: Nasir al-Mulk Mosque · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

In Hanif Doorbin you can see a photo of Nasir al-Mulk Mosque, a traditional mosque in Shiraz, Iran.


text:
Iran: Watch “Rick Steves’ Iran” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Watch Rick Steves’ Iran film here.


text:
Japan: My darling wife, I love you! · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Blogger at Prism Cafe [ja] comments on news about an event organized by Japan Aisaika Organization (日本愛妻家協会 lit. Japan Organization of Beloved Wives) yesterday, the 29th of January, when in the middle of Hibiya Park, in central Tokyo, hundreds of husbands took the microphone to shout their love to their wives.
The blogger also comments with interest and curiosity about the project “Hug Time on Beloved Wife Day” that is going to take place on the 31st of January, from 8:09 p.m, when Japanese couples are invited to hug each other on a newspaper used in this way [pdf, jp] as a “hug mat” for the occasion.

author: Scilla Alecci