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East Timor: Oil wealth and national survival · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

East Timor possesses only 0.04% of the world's known oil reserves – with its known reserves around only half of those of Brunei, according to one estimate. But for a small, poor nation of roughly 1 million people, this is still very significant.
When the country gained independence in 2002, revenues were already streaming into Timorese coffers from the area south of the island called the Timor Gap. Even though Australia and East Timor have yet to agree on final maritime boundaries, the oil coming from Timorese oil fields is already the country's greatest source of revenue. (There is also yet-to-be-exploited natural gas in the Timor Gap.)
Image by SkyTruth shared under a CC license
Donors and Timorese leaders were keen to prove that petroleum resources could be a blessing and not a curse, calling in experts from Norway to learn from that country's famous Sovereign Fund.
The basic idea: set aside the massive influx of revenues and spend only what is earned from careful investment of that revenue. A sovereign fund, called the Petroleum Fund, was designed and its existence even alluded to in the Constitution. The subsequent Petroleum Fund Law has very strict and specific wording in relation to what can be withdrawn from the fund.
As Lu Olo, formerly a resistance leader, said in his (unsuccessful) 2007 presidential campaign [tet]:
Osan ne‘e foin maka iha tinan ida ne‘e, liu husi Orsamentu Jeral do Estado, nebé hasai husi Fundo Mina Rai. Osan mira rai nian, fahe tuir kanal estadu nian, la‘os fahe arbiru deit, hanesan esmola ne’eb’e ema riku fó ba ema kiak. Osan Mina Rai nian pertense ba povu.. Povu iha direito ba hetan benefísius dezenvolvimentu nian. Timor-Leste nia. ósan, fo tuir Fundu Komunitáriu nian, la‘os halo karidade. La halo hanesan, foin dadaun ema balu fahe mantas nebé mai husi rai seluk. Fundu Komunitáriu simu osan nebé transfere tuir leis, tuir direitos povu nian, hahú kedas hó Asembleia Konstituinte. Ne‘e osan povo nian ba ajuda povu. Ne maka independénsia. Hamrik no tani nafatin prinsipius nebé hamanas ita nia laran no halu ita luta ho brani iha Frente Armada, iha Frente Klandestina nor Frente Diplomatika Ne‘‘e maka nasionalismu lolós, ne maka independensia lolós.
The Petroleum Law states that no more than the Estimated Sustainable Income (ESI) shall be drawn down in any given year from the Petroleum Fund. The Law allows for the exceeding of this Income only with Parliamentary approval. The ESI is the key mechanism by which future generations are guaranteed benefits from the natural resources long after they have run out. On any given year the value of the ESI depends on the price of oil and other factors.
The current coalition government in Timor, which came to power in 2007, controversially drew down more than this “sustainable income” in 2008 and 2009 – invoking a clause in the Petroleum Fund Law allowing for exceptional transfers from Fund. The issue was taken to the highest level of the Timorese judiciary in late 2008.
Increases in recurrent expenses, such as subsidies for food and salaries for civil servants and parliamentarians, along with large infrastructure projects have dramatically increased government budgets.
West Timor's local petrol stations by Ernst Neumeister
In its Annual Report for 2009, local NGO Luta Hamutuk refers to people from Ermera District asking questions about the oil money during a community briefing
Participants asked for clarification in respect of petroleum fund law […] since reality had showed that government had taken beyond 3% [ESI] to be put into state general budget. Why after such money being taken, still that many of infrastructure projects like roads, schools, and clinics have been performed inappropriately? Where does the money go? Is there any indication of corruption?
Even powerful international institutions have sounded the alarm in their own way. La'o Hamutuk, an NGO set up to monitor Timor's post-independence development, quoted the World Bank's Country Director as saying in April 2009
If expenditure continued to expand at 25 percent per annum, and if medium-term oil prices were to stabilize at about $60 per barrel, which is not impossible, then the Petroleum Fund would be completely exhausted within 8-10 years.
Blog Loron Ecónomico pointed out [pt] that the Petroleum Fund's value actually decreased for the first time between November and December of 2009:
Por ele se pode verificar que entre o fim de Novembro e o fim de Dezembro passados o Fundo viu o seu capital baixar de 5.464,4 milhões de dólares para 5.376,6 milhões. Isto ficou a dever-se principalmente à combinação de dois factores: uma perda de valor dos títulos que constituem o Fundo Petrolífero devido à queda das bolsas internacionais, por um lado, e e à transferência para o Orçamento Geral do Estado de um pouco mais de 150 mil dólares.
Verificou-se, pois, uma queda do valor do Fundo durante o mês de Dezembro de 2009.
This year, the Petroleum Fund Law is up for review and this could lead to significant changes in the management of Timor's oil wealth.
Another potentially huge change is the creation of a National Oil Company. There may be political consensus around the idea, given that the current government is moving boldly ahead with the creation of the National Petroleum Authority, and the opposition while in government also appeared to favor a National Oil Company.
Last year, Vice Prime Minister (and one-time Governor of Indonesian Timor) Mário Carrascalão said to an international conference on the topic
80% of state revenues come from oil but those revenues are not produced by us. We are just watching other companies develop our resources. It is like before under the Portuguese occupation. It was the same; we just watched. It was also the same under the Indonesian occupation; we just watched. Now there is no occupation. But we are taking the rewards for work done by others.
For sure, we are lacking experience. But the time is right, now.
One real concern is that a National Oil Company would probably pay better than government regulatory bodies, and could draw away all of the talent from regulating the oil and gas sector. Besides a lack of trained people to work for the Company, one of the issues will be how it pays for capital investments necessary for its growth. (The suggestion that capital could come directly from the Petroleum Fund has some worried.)
Along with the issue of Land, debates over the Petroleum Law and the National Oil Company will likely be heated this year, and continue to gain importance over the coming years.
(Des)envolvimentu by Timor Cartoon shared under a CC license.
Poet “Minarai” (meaning “Oil” in Tetum) shared a sobering sentiment on the group poetry blog Timor Do Norte ao Sul [pt]
QUANDO O PETROLEO DORMIA
NO NOSSO TEMPO DE INFANCIA
PAZ E AMOR SEMPRE EXISTIA
POBREZA NAO TINHA IMPORTANCIA
AGORA LIQUIDO INFERNAL
QUE ACORDASTE EM TERRA MINHA
TROUXESTE GRANDE VENDAVAL
MATANDO O AMOR QUE A GENTE TINHA
Now infernal liquid mess
That you awoke in my home
You brought a great tempest
Killing the love that we'd grown
This post was the first of a series of two on Timor's natural resource wealth. The second post will look at the ongoing negotiations over maritime boundaries, future natural gas exploration in the Timor Sea, and the issue of a pipeline.

author: Janet Gunter


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Guatemala: Secretary of State Clinton’s Visit · Global Voices
Renata Avila

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Guatemala on Friday, March 5 where she met President Álvaro Colom and other leaders from Central America and the Caribbean. She addressed security issues relating to the War on Drugs and support from the U.S. for normalizing Honduran relations with the international community. However, she abstained from openly discussing immigration reform which could affect more than 400,000 undocumented Guatemalans living in the U.S. While many Guatemalan bloggers were eagerly anticipating the concert from heavy metal band Metallica, there are a couple of posts about Clinton's visit:
Secretary Clinton and President Colom in Guatemala. Photo by Gobierno de Guatemala and used under a Creative Commons license.
Much of the information from Clinton's recent Latin America tour, which included Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, and Guatemala could be followed on Twitter using the hashtag #hillarytravel. Regarding her stop in Guatemala, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela (@WHAAsstSecty) tweeted Clinton's statements:
#SecClinton: We will combat organized crime, transnational gangs and trafficking and together keep the people of Guatamala safe.
#SecClinton: We are well aware that Central America is waging their own very intense efforts against the criminal cartels.
Robin Martínez on the blog CGN [es] shared a funny anecdote about Clinton's visit:
Como víctima de su propia naturaleza humana, la señora Clinton sufrió  un especial momento de resequedad en la garganta que por largo rato  interrumpió su intervención en la conferencia de prensa. Luego de la tercera de ellas, una asistente de la Presidencia se  acercó para darle un vaso con agua, gesto que Clinton agradeció e  inmediatamente resolvió su problema. Cuando bebió su fresca agua guatemalteca, esperó unos segundos y con  voz nueva, continuó sus declaraciones a los periodistas.  Como decimos los Guatemaltecos Hillary, la pura tos.
However, in more serious matters, Mario Rodriguez from the blog of the Center for Development Research and Information (CIID for its initials in Spanish), provides his opinions on Secretary Clinton's motivations for her visit after the proposal emerged for creating a new regional bloc which would not include the United States and Canada.  Rodriguez does not buy that it was only about drug trafficking [es]:
Estados Unidos en este campo actua hipócritamente. Utiliza el tráfico  de drogas como pretexto para militarizar la zona, y como arma política  para intervenir en los países, ya sea por medio de la cooperación o por  medio de acusaciones a gobierno no amigos de Estados Unidos de propiciar  el uso de su territorio para el tráfico de drogas. Por eso la visita de Hillary Clinton al país para hablar del problema del narcotráfico es para reirse.
U.S. is a hypocrite in this issue. Using the illegal drug trade as excuse to militarize the region, and as a political weapon to interfere in internal affairs of other countries either by international aid or via accusations towards governments that do not hold the status of “friends” of US, blaming them for facilitating illegal drug trafficking through its territories.  That is why I think Hillary Clinton visiting the country “to discuss the drug traffic problem” is laughable.
Twitter user @yomararnold jokingly writes that perhaps the real reason behind Hillary's visit [es] to Guatemala was her desire to attend Metallica concert.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Renata Avila


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Haiti: More than a FAD · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Emmanuel Midi blogs about “formation, animation, discovery” for children in Haiti's disadvantaged Cité Soleil and Bas Delmas communities after the January 12 earthquake.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Pakistan: Climate Change and Global Warming · Global Voices
Ambreen Salman

Every year the winters are shrinking and a few days of cold weather leaves us fresh and pleasant to face the scorching heat of the sun. This has left everyone in every possible field worried because this global warming will affect our life styles. The earth's climate is vibrant and always changing through a natural cycle. What the world is more concerned about is that the changes that are happening today have caught fire because of our very own deeds. These transformations are being studied by scientists through out the world in an attempt to find any evidence from tree rings, pollen samples, ice cores, and sea sediments. The causes of climate change can be categorized into two main categories – those that are due to natural causes and those that are twisted by man. The natural causes are continental drifts, volcanoes, and ocean currents accompanied by earth tilts, whereas the human factors range from bomb blasts and population outgrowth which is resulting in less and less greenery.
Effect of Climate change – shrinking Sar Lake and vanishing greenary in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. Image by Flickr user NotMicroButSoft. Used under a Creative Commons License
Many Pakistani Bloggers have written about this Climate Change. In a post titled “Climate Change Cost Pakistan $3.5 Billion in 18 Years”  Karim Khan states:
Pakistan has huge reserves of coal that are used for running several industries on local scale in many areas. But emissions from coal persistently threaten the atmosphere with emissions that lead to escalating the greenhouse effect. The World Bank report mentions the Bank’s interest in developing hydropower capacity in Pakistan and Nepal. Also, it is suggested to import natural gas from the Middle East for industrial use instead of using coal, in order to protect the country from climate-related disaster.
Climate change has harshly endangered the natural habitats of much of the wildlife populations. Some of the rare birds species like the black throated thrush, finches, magpie and golden eagle have almost vanished as the local ecosystems have been futile to sustain their needs. Many species of wolf and fox and their natural habitats are also being endangered by the changing climate. The departure of vegetative covering, which has led to the migration of the Markhor and wild goats, has had ever negative implications for the elusive snow leopard, which, has now lost its critical food source.
Tahir Hameed at The Pakistani Spectator  writes in a post titled “Impending Global Warming and the world”:
Not only man but the survival of numerous plant and animal species is at stake. Imagine large arable tracts of land turning into deserts. Global warming is not only causing increases in temperatures but its causing the weather to become drier as well. The time is not far off. By the year 2025, more than 2.8 billion people living in forty eight nations will be facing water stress or water scarcity. Of these 48 nations, forty are in Near East, North Africa or in sub Saharan Africa.  It is thought that by the year 2050, the number of nations facing water stress or scarcity would have increased to fifty four and the population in these nations would be about 4 billion. That constitutes 40 percent of a projected population of 9.4 billion people.
In another post in the same blog Sher Ali says:
Unless we combine to take decisive action, climate change will ravage our planet, and with it our prosperity and security. The dangers have been becoming apparent for a generation. Now the facts have started to speak: 11 of the past 14 years have been the warmest on record, the Arctic ice-cap is melting and last year’s inflamed oil and food prices provide a foretaste of future havoc. In scientific journals the question is no longer whether humans are to blame, but how little time we have got left to limit the damage. Yet so far the world’s response has been feeble and half-hearted.
This climate change can be only delayed by adopting a few measures such as:
The objective is to bring global warming under control by restraining the discharge of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping “greenhouse” gases into the atmosphere.
Lead Pakistan, the nation's largest network of professionals on sustainable development, uploaded a two part series video in YouTube highlighting voices from Pakistan on climate change (Part 1, Part 2):
We can contribute to this global cause by taking personal measures. We can lend a hand instantaneously by becoming more energy efficient. Conserving and limiting our use of oil, gasoline and coal can set an example for others to pursue. If we do not do something now, we will leave a much larger crisis to our children. The good news is that, if we all join hands in stopping the climate change; we can decrease its impact on our lives, on our environment and on future generations.

author: Ambreen Salman


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Pakistan: Google A Taxi Driver · Global Voices
Rezwan

Pakistan Speaks talks about Asif Hussain Shah, a Pakistani taxi driver, who has found a new way to advertise his book and his taxi business with the “search on Google” phrase in his taxi body.

author: Rezwan


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Poland: ‘Buy Yourself a Blogger’ for Paula Pruska · Global Voices
Sylwia Presley

'Buy Yourself a Blogger, Price starts from 699 PLZ'
On March 4, the ‘Buy Yourself a Blogger’ campaign kicked off in Poland to raise funds for Paula (Paulina) Pruska [PL], who won the ‘Blog of the Year 2009′ prize – and who suffers from a rare type of a cancer and uses her on-line journal to fight for her own cause (read more about it in this earlier GV text).
Four leading marketing and advertising bloggers – Irena Mrozek [PL], Maciej Budzich [PL] , Jacek Gadzinowski [PL] and Natalia Hatalska [PL] – are auctioning away [PL] a 4-hour workshop on the new media and marketing, to be conducted by the four bloggers together. They are also advocating for Paulina by auctioning away a new laptop [PL].
Blogger Natalia Hatalska, who came up with the idea, explains [PL] the target audience of this fundraising campaign:
The ‘Buy Yourself a Blogger’ action is directed mainly at companies and agencies that care for deepening their understanding of the new media, blogs and unconventional means of communication. A laptop, on the other hand, is aimed at the readers of our blogs. Both actions, however, are equally targeted at those who want to and can help Paulina. We hope that this solution will help us to raise more money.
The campaign provoked mixed initial reactions. Mały MarketingOwiec responds to Natalia Hatalska's announcement post, saying [PL]:
a really cool idea ;) I hope that the auction will lead to the planned effect… I wonder, however, if it would not be better to organise a workshop/seminar of some kind for a larger audience. Naturally, every place would have to cost a predefined amount of money :)
I can only support this action by writing about it on my blog etc :)
A similar sentiment is expressed by Krzysiek on a discussion forum [PL]:
So what? Shall we collect some money? xD
Dominik Sipowicz mentions [PL] the taxing of the auctioned items:
March 5, Friday, 2 PM – the auction already has 1855 views. Nice results. I wonder what the case with the tax is ;)
Krasus posts [PL] a comment on Maciej Budzich's post, slightly criticising him for potential use of the auction to raise bloggers popularity:
It's super that we have actions like this one. But you know, Maciek, someone might say that…. you are promoting yourself based on someone's unhappiness! ;P Of course I added the widget on my site:)
Przemysław Żyła expresses his full support:
I'm signing it with my hands and legs – http://blogpr.pl and http://auditlog.pl support the action!!!
The links above lead to two blogs with embedded widgets of the campaign.
'charitable auction, check it out!'
In one of those posts, Przemysław Żyła strongly criticises [PL] people who perceive this campaign as an attempt to increase popularity of the four bloggers, who already have an established on-line presence:
I am convinced that all of those people who spend their time and knowledge have no need to build their image on-line through actions like this one. The criticism should be addressed towards those who criticize it or simply pretend they do not notice initiatives of this type.
We keep our fingers crossed for the project and […] encourage everyone to join and support the cause in any possible form:)!
Mały MarketingOwiec appears vocal on this blog as well, supporting [PL] the above opinion:
I believe that all the media and marketing specialists mentioned above already have quite a strong position and have built up their image (not only on the Internet).
Paulina Pruska adds her take [PL] on the auction:
I do not know how many similar forms of compassion I am about to experience, but I know that what you are giving me is priceless… You people are wonderful. The most wonderful. In the entire world. I have no idea how I can thank you and Natalia H. Maybe with heart beat lasting for many years? I simply have no words…
‘Buy Yourself a Blogger’ has raised 1,259 PLZ (445 USD) from the workshop auction and 1,500 PLZ (528 USD) from the laptop auction so far. Bloggers will continue both auctions until March 18.

author: Sylwia Presley


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Ukraine: Photos from Vinnytsya Region · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LJ user boga4 posts 29 photos from Vinnytsya region (UKR), including this image from Shargorod, of the Monument to a New Monument, a 2009 work by Ukrainian artist Zhanna Kadyrova.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Bangladesh: Photo Competition For The Bihari Refugees · Global Voices
Rezwan

Six Oranges reports that a photo competition titled Ummid (hope) has been arranged to mark the second anniversary of the granting of citizenship to stranded Biharis (Pakistanis) by the supreme court of Bangladesh. The competition will bring attention on the problems of the refugees that still remain.


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Bulgaria: Protesting Against Seafront Construction in Varna · Global Voices
Ruslan Trad

For the past two years, a seafront promenade in Varna known as the First Alley has been a cause of confrontation between civil society organizations and TIM Group, which runs projects throughout Eastern Bulgaria and owns many of the hotels on the coast. The activists are fighting against large-scale construction and are trying to protect the Sea Garden landscape park in Varna.
A protest poster: “Sea Garden is not for sale!”
One of the most vocal opponents of the construction project is Kalina Pavlova, a local architect. She is considered “the face” of civil society in Varna by some. Together with other citizens and NGOs, she actively works to let the public know about the circumstances of the sale of 122 acres of the Varna coast to “Holding Varna”, a TIM Group company, and about the support that private investors are getting from the municipality as they are trying to build a whole new city by the coastline of Varna: seven hotels, some 500 bars and 300 shopping centers (more graphics and photos from the location – at view.point, Pavel Yanchev's blog; BUL). In 2009, Ms. Pavlova received a special award from the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee for “exclusive civil courage in protecting the public interest against the illegal acts of the local institutions in favour of private corporations.”
User mok wrote this [BUL] at Arhitektura.bg blog on Oct. 9, 2009:
[…] This is one of the many deals struck in our dear fatherland, that everybody knows is illegal, but is deemed legal by the ones who can make it so. You are aware of our current government's motto (besides dealing with the crisis) – fighting corruption. As funny or as trivial as it may seem, we are witnessing the annulment of old deals, swaps, etc., from [the times of the Triple Coalition], found to be illegal. All that has to be done in this case was for the deal in question to be reviewed, declared illegal and therefore void. Yes, but not quite. No one's ever going to do something that's not in their interest. As long as there isn't enough uproar anyway. Is that all? Is this how things should be? Should deals contrary to the common interest be made, can't the same beautiful architecture be build with a lot of money, but in a manner not only intended to satisfy the interest of the investors?
Here is a comment from one of the readers:
It is very interesting how in this article has been highlighted that the new government reviewed the old deals, but unfortunately did not follow the new deals – I wonder why? The game [corruption] does not stop, only the players [the government] put on new faces.
Jurgen Roth, a German journalist, wrote this about TIM Group:
“[It] represents the most advanced form of organized crime, an example of what is indicated by the term “Mafia Borghese”- a structure penetrated in the higher spheres of society.”
Mr. Roth is the author of a book on organized crime in Bulgaria and is currently being sued for slander by Rumen Petkov, Bulgaria's former interior minister (earlier GV posts about the situation with Mr. Petkov are here and here). Mr. Roth chose not to show up for the second hearing of the trial this past Monday, due to threats from Mr. Petkov that he claims to have received.
Attempts to intimidate anti-construction activists in Varna have also taken place. Blogger Toross reported (BUL):
[…] Architects and organizers of the protests Nikolay Tsvetkov and Kancho Bonev were attacked – with this message, “We know what you do.”
[…]
NGOs protesting against the controversial deal sent an official letter to the prosecutor general and [PM Boyko Borisov]. No reaction. […]
Ms. Pavlova is quoted saying this (BUL) in Mirela Veselinova's text on the mafia's new project that appeared on e-vestnik.bg, an online news site:
[…] There is just no other way to live a decent life – to make a home for yourself, build a career. If you are too afraid to stand up for your rights, then you might as well leave the country. […]

author: Ruslan Trad


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Ethiopia: New book examines Ethiopia’s 1974 revolution · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Arefe reviews the new book Beneath the Lion's Gaze, the latest in a series of works examining the bloody aftermath of Ethiopia's 1974 revolution.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Ethiopia: Trailer for upcoming film on Ethiopian music · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bernos links to a trailer for an upcoming film on Ethiopian music: “Filmmaker Olivia Wyatt went to Ethiopia to document the music of 13 different tribes for her a film on tribal Music on Ethiopia.”


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Ethiopian ‘aid for arms’ story sparks storm · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

The BBC sparked a storm this week with a story claiming millions of dollars sent to help starving people in Ethiopia's 1980s famine were used to buy arms by rebels.
The rebels, who now dominate Ethiopia's government, and some aid groups dismissed the story. Bob Geldof, the Irish rock star who helped raise a lot of the money in the 80s with his Live Aid campaign, said it was “simply not the case”. Britain's Independent newspaper published a blog saying the claim was a slur, cooked up by enemies of Ethiopia's government ahead of looming elections.
Ethiopian blog Ethiopian Recycler, clearly not fan of the country's current regime, begged to differ and defended the BBC story in two posts Aid money, arms, and Sir Bob Geldof and Live Aid money did pay for weapons:
Millions of aid money raised in the 1980s was indeed diverted to buy arms and had provided rebel leaders with a lifestyle that was inhuman and extravagant even by today's standards. That is no news. Thousands of the hungry from Tigray were forced to trek to the Sudan in the course of which many perished. And hundreds that were resettled in southwestern Ethiopia were returned to Tigray through the Sudan [hundreds of which perished en route]. That is no news either. The fact that yesterday's BBC report is followed by the question whether this scam ever took place is simply absurd.
“Why did it take a quarter of a century for the truth to be told publicly,” wondered Samuel Ketema at ABBAY Media: The Ethiopian Information Bank:
If there is one thing that people should be surprised about, it must be why it took a quarter of a century for the truth to be told publicly. Otherwise, particularly the deception of the TPLF is something that the Ethiopian public know them for. How REST (Relief Society of Tigray), which is a multibillion conglomerate today, was formed is not such a big secret to the Ethiopian public. Then there is also what the CIA knew from the beginning and the American government supported it.
The two former rebel commanders, who exposed this truth, mentioned this before in different interviews they gave in Amharic. Nothing is new about this. How did TPLF win the largest and well equipped army in sub-Saharan Africa then? Meles Zenawi, as many in the west, including Bob Geldof and Bono described him, is a very smart guy, actually much smarter than his admirers in the west can understand.
A reader at Ethiopian Curret Affairs Discussion Forum, Sarah, noted that Ethiopians were not surprised by the news:
Ethiopians who knows the nature of the ruling party in Ethiopia wasn’t surprised by the news at all what surprised them was how comes the western medias start talking? and Bob Geldof acting like the Ethiopian dictators lire cadres.
The central claims in the “aid for arms” story, argued Mebre, were already common knowledge across Ethiopia:
The story you mentioned is very well known all over Ethiopia but it gives a factual evidence for the West that a dictator that do not have a moral character for his own people can give peace prosperity and freedom to the nation.We all insist the West that don’t armed dictators….give support for the poor…the poor needs freedom than anything…..
Another aspect of Ethiopia's relationship with the aid industry came under the spotlight in an article highlighted by Addis Ababa-based blogger Owen Barder. Aid blog Hand Relief International cast an ironic eye over the difference between the luxury of the capital's Sheraton hotel, where many aid officials stay, and the visible poverty just outside its walls:
One of the meetings I attended last week was in Addis Ababa where my stay in the dignified Sheraton Hotel was slightly spoiled by the vista behind the reassuring fence, where people in rags seemed in general to be enjoying slightly less comfort … Thankfully, the local drought did not affect the water pressure at the fountain systems around the hotel where we took the edge off with regular dips in the heated pool, usually before high tea. The theme of the meeting was “Drought and Famine – HRI opportunities for 2010″

author: Andrew Heavens


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India: The Women’s Reservation Bill · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sandeep Bansal  at Desicritics discusses whether the impending enactment of the Woman's reservation bill will make any significant impact to the Indian society.


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Iraq: It’s Election Day on Twitter! · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Exclusive #iraq10 picture from polling station in #Baghdad: www.mict-international.org/1a.jpg
It's election day in Iraq and the Twittersphere has been abuzz with updates since the early morning.
To keep tweeps updated, a special service is up at @iraqelections where “30 correspondents from across Iraq will twitter report on election events from 10am hour by hour as they witness them on the ground.”  It is a project coordinated by German media development organization MICT – Media in Cooperation and Transition.
@iraqelections urges readers to:
Follow our coverage of #iraqelections on Sunday, live here on Twitter. 40 Iraqi journalists #tweeting regular election updates!
Another announcement reads:
We're live – translations are on their way! Follows us for live tweets about the #iraqelection from inside #Iraq. Join the debate #iraq10
Updates by observers on the ground are typical of many elections around the world, except that Iraq is a special case. Bombs went off throughout the day and clashes were reported between various factions.
On @iraqelections, the reporters who toyed with Twitter did a fantastic job keeping us updated using social networking tools.
In one update, Laith reports:
From Sulaimaniya, Jamal writes:
#SULAIMANIYA, Jamal: Voting stations are closed. Press is not allowed to enter and monitor the counting of votes. #iraq10
Elsewhere on the Twittersphere, @iawia1 notes:
Today Iraq's having the most democratic election in the region.Hope it holds&be example4mideast #iranelection #iraqelection #iraq
American @jeffmeyerson is positive:
Celebrate with freedom-loving Iraqis as today they make their case for democracy.  #Iraq
And Miguel Marquez, ABC News’ correspondent, sums up the day saying:
#Iraq elex: 38 killed,73 injured. Nearly 40 explosions. Still the Iraqis turned out to vote. Looks like vote cnt will be higher outside BGD

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Japan: Flight Doctor Tweeting in Chile · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Flight doctor George Tomioka, who is in Chile as part of the Japan Disaster Relief Team from JICA, is tweeting at @georgetomioka [ja]. Here's a tweet from March 7th: “[Chile Info #3] The parks in Chillan were filled with tents right after the earthquake, but people have started to head home and there were only a handful of tents today. Compared to the Great Hanshin Earthquake, this is a much faster pace of recovery.”

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Malaysia: 3 women caned for having illicit sex  · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Three unmarried women, aged 17-25, were caned last month in Malaysia after a Shariah court in Kuala Lumpur found them guilty of having “sex out of wedlock.” They were the first Muslim women to be caned for committing Shariah violations.
Thirteen people witnessed the caning when authorities at Kajang Prison used a rattan stick to hit the women on their backs. Two of the three women were whipped six times and the third was given four strokes.
After the caning, the three women said they understood the punishment and vowed to repent. The two of them will soon marry their boyfriends.
Rantings by MM sarcastically suggest the opening of ‘caning spas’
They made it sound like they went to a spa. And how, pray tell, would they know what a civil whipping is like? Do they get a free course in Comparative Whipping while in prison?
But they have been punished and voila, they are now exemplary Muslims.
If it was so easy to make us into good Muslims, the government should just open lots of ‘caning spas’ where people can go for a period of time after paying RM1000 or so and come out with halos on top of their heads. Rather like those places you go for detoxing.
Raymond Yeow doubts the claim that no marks were left on the bodies of the women after the caning
The caning of these three women followed by the immediate justification from politicians seems suspicious. No marks after whipping? All jolly & holy after being whipped? This story just has too much loose ends.
jelas.info asks if politicians having illicit sex will be caned too
…can we expect every single Muslim who has sex outside marriage (or, and I suppose this is the kicker, is caught doing so) to be caned henceforth?
If this is the case, can we assume that every single politician or other leader in this country has never had sex outside marriage (or I suppose, been caught doing so), seeing as none of them have apparently been caned for the offense?
Billy wants Shariah law to be applied too against thieves and murderers
This whole caning thing is nothing but a whole load of crap. If UMNO (ruling coalition) is serious about implementing Syariah law, why just stop at caning. They might as well apply every thing in toto eg. chopping off limbs for corruption or stealing, and beheading in public for murder. How can they pick and choose what to implement.
Lim Kit Siang describes the caning incident as another international embarrassment for Malaysia
The recent caning of three Muslim women for allegedly participating in illicit sex is the latest in a series of events flooding Malaysia in adverse worldwide spotlight inimical to our international image and competitiveness in the ten months Datuk Seri Najib Razak has taken over as Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Malaysia cannot continue to be in adverse international spotlight if we are to restore our international competitiveness by regaining national and international confidence in good governance; the rule of law; a democratic, progressive and model multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious modern nation to be ideal destination for FDIs, haven for tourists and hub for international students.
The Malaysian is disappointed that caning was done in a secular country like Malaysia:
Congratulations Umno, congratulations Malaysia, for you have finally achieved the recognition which you have yearned all this while from your Islamic brothers and in the process created a record of sorts — dishing out syariah prescribed caning of women in a constitutionally secular country.
Mahaguru58 urges non-Muslims to understand Islamic Laws first before commenting on the issue
I see no reason why those who aren't Muslims ought to get into a flap and start making all kinds of statements interfering in the affairs of those who are just being punished according to the provisions of the laws binding to their faith?
Non Muslims ought to first study about the truth of the matter with regard to the Syariah laws of Al Islam before even opening their mouth to speak about something for which they have no basic right to comment in the first place.
The subject of carrying out the Syariah caning is in accordance to what Almighty Allah has prescribed to the offenders against the major sin of committing adultery, sodomy, etc?
I  believe that the time has come for those of us Muslim Bloggers to double our efforts and help clear the confusion amongst our obviously very attentive and concerned fellow Malaysians about what is the truth with regard to the stipulations of the Islamic Syariah Code and why we need to practice what we preach or risk ending up like the proverbial cockatoos out there who only know how to parrot certain slogans and battle cries but lack the willpower to really put the faith to work as we should!

author: Mong Palatino


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Philippines: Street named after cigarette company · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The decision of a remote municipal government in the Philippines  to rename a street after cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris was protested by many health advocates.


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Russia: Authorities to Eliminate “Digital Divide” in 2010 · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

Far from Moscow: Kurilsk city at the Kuril Islands. The Internet here is very expensive and very slow.
The Internet penetration in Russia continues to grow. A report by Gfk Group says [RUS] the number of Russian families that have an access to the Internet significantly increased. Currently, every third Russian family browses the Web. Not surprisingly, Moscow has the biggest Internet penetration rate of 52 percent while the Russian Far East region has the lowest penetration rate of 21 percent. The report also says that 72 percent of Russians reported that the economical crisis had no effect on the level of their Internet usage.  Another interesting fact is the increase in the number of Russians who go online via mobile devices. According to the same report, 46 percent of Internet users use their hand-held devices. The majority among those users consists of young people 16-19 years old (81 percent).
According to ACM-Consulting, the number of Runet (Russian Internet) users who have a broadband access in 2009 has raised by 36 percent from 8.3 to 11.3 millions. At the same time, the size of Russian broadband market increased by 60 percents during last year and it is currently estimated at $2.7 billion. According to Russian newspapers “Vedomosty” [RUS], the telecommunication experts predict that in 2010 the broadband market will primarily develop in Russian regions, since ¾ of the families of Moscow Internet users already have broadband access. Consequently, Internet providers will focus more on smaller cities.
The recent International Telecommunication Unit report “The Information Society Statistical Profiles 2009: CIS” [ENG] supports the claim that the Russian Internet grows very fast.  According to ITU, there are 45,250,000 Internet users in Russia as of June 2009. That is 32.3 percent of population. The report  also explains the nature of a major gap in Russian Internet infrastructure and supports the recent finding of Gfk in regard to the Russian Far East:
In Russia, a substantial digital divide can be observed among the major cities across the country’s regions. For example, the average speed of Internet access in Moscow and St.-Petersburg is about seven Мbps, compared to around 410 kbps in other large cities. This divide affects the price policies of Internet providers, with the cost of Internet services in regional cities largely exceeding that in Moscow and St.-Petersburg.
The high prices for Internet access cause outrage among inhabitants of the Russian Far East. In September 2001, people went to streets [RUS] to express their frustration with the lack of equality in Internet access. Ilya Ignatov, a resident of Yuzhno-Sahalinks and Livejournal blogger Votangi, initiated a public appeal to the President Medevedev and Russian Minister of Communication Igor Schegolev. The appeal called for eliminating unjustified high prices for Internet access. Ignatov published [RUS] the letter on his blog.
The recent attempt to connect the Sakhalin Island to broadband infrastructure – that could significantly decrease the prices – has failed [ENG]. The next attempt is planned for 2011.
"Cyber-mail" service at Kurilsk post office. The only way to access the Web for many local residents.
However, it looks like Russian authorities don’t want to wait untill 2011 and just hope that the next attempt to connect the Island will be successful. The Federal Antimonoply Service (FAS) [ENG] announced on March 4 that it might start the prosecution process against some of local operators of the major Russian telecommunication company “Svyazinvest” [ENG]. The Deputy Head of FAS Anatoliy Golomolzin told [RUS] Russian journalist that his organization already initiated legal proceedings against few Internet providers and some of them received “orders” to reduce the prices and minor fines.
FAS currently works on evaluation of prices for the Internet access on the regional markets of Russia where the price is significantly higher than in Moscow. Golomolzin said [RUS] that FAS intended to make the price for Internet access equal in any place of the country by the end of 2010 and solve the problem of digital divides by mitigating the gap between the center of Russia and its regions.
The announcement of FAS was treated [RUS] with careful excitement by Russian Internet users:
Нде, засудить этот сибирьтелеком! 1100 за мегабит в Хакасии, при 400 рублях за 2 мегабита у того же провайдера в Новосибирске. При этом всём еще и качество связи так себе. Даешь равные условиях для всех пользователей!
А 999 р за 200 килобит у Дальсвязи еще хуже. Притом что и этого не получаешь, магистральный кабель перегружен.
Вот любопытно, если ФАС признает данное нарушение фактом, имею ли я право, как пользователь данной сети, на компенсацию перерасчётом…
Russian efforts to decrease the price of the Internet access might have a strong linkage to defining the development of electronic government as a major priority on the Kremlin’s agenda. Previously, in February 2010,  Russian minister of Telecommunication Igor Shegolev asked from “Svyazinvest” to consider establishing low “social prices” in region that are supposed to be around 500 rubles ($16).
The “Svyazinvest” representative complained [RUS] against the position of FAS in interview to RBC Daily:
«Позиция ФАС не очень понятна — государство хочет, чтобы «Связьинвест» был эффективной рыночной компанией, приносящей прибыль своему основному акционеру. Если государство хочет, чтобы мы выполняли социальные функции, это тоже возможно, но надо понимать, как и на каких условиях это будет реализовываться»
Yuriy Bryukvin, a general director analytical agency “Rustelecom” explained [RUS] to RBC that sometimes the high prices are justified because the cost of infrastructure development in distant regions is higher than in the center. At the same time, Brukvin agreed that the decrease of price from 1,000 rubles to 500 rubles per month is an important step that should increase the availability of the Internet. Moreover, Bryukvin argues that it’s not enough and the monthly price of the Internet access should be the same as monthly payment for the phone line – 300 rubles ($10).
Next day after Golomolzin’s conversation with journalists , FAS officially announced [RUS] that it initiated the investigation against  “Dalsvyaz” [ENG] since it was suspected in having exaggerated prices as the only provider of the Internet access in many regions in the Russian Far East.
В результате анализа тарифов ОАО «Дальсвязь» ФАС России установила, что тарифы в Камчатском крае превышают тарифы, установленные в Москве и Санкт-Петербурге на 350-1700 %, а в Сахалинской области – превышают тарифы, установленные в других городах Дальневосточного федерального округа на 250%, в Москве и Санкт-Петербурге – 1800-5100 %. (…)
ФАС России полагает, что необоснованное завышение цен на услуги доступа к сети Интернет недопустимо, может ущемлять интересы граждан Российской Федерации, в том числе может препятствовать реализации гражданами своих прав на получение государственных услуг в электронном виде.
Ilya Ignatov, the leader of Sakhalin protest, published the letter from FAS in his blog under the title “Good news”. He wrote [RUS]:
Больше всего удивила и в некоторой степени порадовала дата рассмотрения дела 5 апреля, как раз в мой день рождения что ж, очень приятно…

author: Gregory Asmolov


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Russia: Famous Cop-Blogger Released From Jail · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Aleksey Dymovskiy, former policeman famous for publishing a series of anti-corruption videos who got arrested on January 22, 2010, had been released from the prison, newsru.com reported [RUS].

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: More People Use Twitter · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

The number of Twitter users in Russia multiplied 26 times in one year. There are currently 183.000 Russians using Twitter. The recent statistics were published by the Russian Internet company  “Yandex.” According to the data, 60% of users use the microblogging service on a daily basis and leave 150,000 tweets when only 5% among them are re-tweets.


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Russia: Photos of Rally For Police Reform · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Rally for police reforms that took place in the center of Moscow on March 6, 2010 gathered approximately 150-500 activists (according to various sources). LJ users zyalt, seg_o and martin_sqare posted photos of the event here, here and here.


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South Africa: Wake-up call for South African soccer · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Thomas Kwenaite discusses the future of South African soccer in the light of Orlando Pirates’ shocking exit from the African Champions League competition: “The South African Premiership might be rated among the seven best commercially successful leagues in the world and number one in Africa, but certainly the strength of its club football sucks!”


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Syria: Bloggers Discuss Secularism · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

Humans are religious creatures. Or are they really?
The Middle East has known waves of political ideologies throughout its long history, but it is often associated with Islam, not only as a system of belief or a cultural matrix, but also as a political ideology that is inseparable from the region's politics and forms of government. Islam's pervasiveness in every aspect of life makes it more a way of life than a strictly devotional faith. Some consider secularism a cornerstone of democracy and human progress, while others think religion can never really be separated from politics. Syrian bloggers have been reflecting on secularism: What it really means? Can it really be achieved in a Muslim majority country? Or is it just another Western ideology, incompatible with the region's traditions and values?
Anas Online [Ar] (An@s) started the discussion. Under the title “The Schizophrenia of Arab Secularists,” he writes:
هناك طرفين متناقضين في جميع هذا النوع من الحوارات:
1- طرف يرى بأنه لا ضير من وجود أحزاب قائمة على أسس دينية يحق لها التواجد على الساحة السياسية والتواجد في البرلمانات وحتى الوصول وتسلم مقاليد السلطة.
2- طرف ثاني يرى بأنه يحق للجميع تأسيس الأحزاب والتواجد السياسي بشرط ألا تكون أحزابهم قائمة على أسس دينية و(سماوية).
An@s sees a contradiction in the  Arab secularists’ support for resistance movements in the region, since most of the latter stem from religious parties. He wonders:
الاحتمال الأول: العلماني العربي هو في النهاية وليد لمجتمع ذو ثقافة إسلامية عمرها يقارب الخمسة عشر قرناً, العلماني العربي يحمل في النهاية وبشكل أو بآخر في وجدانه الجماعي جينات من حكموا يوماً نصف الكرة الأرضية بعد أن كانوا قبائل متشرذمة وكان فضل الاسلام أساسياً في قوتهم هذه, ربما يحاول أن ينكر هذا, أو ربما يحاول أن يقتنع بأن الزمن تغير وما صَلُحَ في الماضي للحكم تحت إسم (دولة إسلامية) لن يصلح الآن, وربما يسوّد الصفحات والمقالات حول هذه الفكرة لكنه يغير رأيه فوراً عند أي تجربة عملية يشاهدها على المحك, فهو لا يرى نوراً في نهاية النفق سوى تلك الحركات (الإسلامية).
الاحتمال الثاني: العلماني العربي سيُشجع الشيطان نفسه لو كان محارباً لإسرائيل, عند هذه النقطة تنتهي الخلافات والحواجز ويصبح الأمر أكبر من أن يفكر فيه بهذه الطريقة! تخيل أن يقف حينها إلى جانب العدو الإسرائيلي لمجرد أنه ضد فكرة الأحزاب الإسلامية من أساسها! الأمر غير وارد على الإطلاق.
The first possibility: the secular Arab being after all born in a society with a five century old Islamic heritage, s/he carries in her/his conscience the genes of those who were unified and empowered by Islam and who once ruled half the world. Maybe the secular Arab tries to deny this, or perhaps s/he tries to convince her/himself that times have changed and that what was successful in the past under so-called Islamic rule, might no longer work today. S/he even goes on writing whole pages and articles about these ideas but changes her/his mind immediately when they have to be put to the test. S/he does not see at the end of the tunnel other than the flicker of light coming from those same “Islamic” movements.
The second possibility: a secular Arab would associate with the devil in person if that devil was waging war against Israel. There, all the differences and barriers vanish, and the issue becomes so big the secularist can no longer think about it in the same way! Can you imagine the secular Arab standing by the Israeli enemy just because of an opposition to the idea of Islamic parties? This is out of the question.
Commenting on Anas Online‘s post, Mutanazih (متنزه بين المدونات) criticizes what he considers an unfair interpretation of secularism. He writes:
Anas Qtiesh [Ar] is a Syrian blogger. He writes:
Anas Qtiesh also asks for a more informed reading of the history of secular movements:
Also commenting on Anas Online blog, Ahmed Bakdash [Ar] writes:
المشكلة من وجهة نظري ليست ان اكون مع او ضد الاحزاب الدينية ,
المشكلة يا عزيزي اننا جميعا نعاني انفصام شخصية اكيد , فكل احزابنا الدينية واللادينية احزاب شمولية اقصائية , بدءا بالبعث والقومي السوري  […] وليس انتهاءا بالاسلامويين العرب ..
Another commenter, Hunter, seems to be more interested in what political parties can deliver, regardless of their political background:
Yassine Swiha, writing on Syrian Gavroche [Ar] is another Syrian blogger. He thinks secularism is facing major problems in the Arab world:
تعاني العلمانية إلى حد كبير من صورة نمطية سلبية عند الكثيرين مثل تصوير العلمانية ككل بأنها معادية للدين أو أن العلمانيين هم ناس منحطّون و ينادون للانحلال الأخلاقي أو ما شابه, و لا شك أن هذه الصورة النمطية هي إلى حد كبير من إنجاز فئات كثيرة تعادي أي فكرة علمانية انطلاقاً من الإيمان بفكرة دوغماتية دينية ترى في أي نظرية علمانية عدوّة لها, و لكن أيضاً هناك مسئولية كبيرة على عاتق النخب الفكرية العلمانية المختلفة أيضاً من حيث الفشل في نقل الصورة الواضحة عن فكرهم, و قد يكون هذا الفشل بسبب التضييق و المنع و الصعوبات المختلفة الأخرى, لكن كثيرين منهم ارتاح في لجوئه إلى برج عاجي و ابتعاده عن “العوام”.
Yassine Swiha goes on to explain that some Western countries’ attitude toward their Muslim communities, shouldn't be blamed on their secularism. He writes:
إن أصل الصراع على الحجاب هو نزعة قومية يمينية لا تخلو من شوفينية, و هي نزعة رجعية لا علاقة لها بمبادئ الثورة الفرنسية و لا بـ”روح الجمهورية الفرنسية” الرومانسية التحررية, و نجد في ساركوزي و فكره السياسي رمزاً لهذه النزعة التي تتبنّى تعصّباً للهويّة القومية في وجه “الغزو المهاجر”
Mohammad Online [Ar] disagrees with Yassine's analysis. He writes a comment saying:
An anonymous commenter joins the conversation saying:
Mohamed Mesrati [Ar] adds his voice to the debate [Ar]. He writes:
قبلَ البدء في التحدّث حولَ العلمانية في الوطن العربي، علينا التحدّث عن الديمقراطية في الوطن العربي.
المشكلة الأساسية هي الحكم الاستبدادي الذي نتعرّضُ له، وعدم توفّر أي مساحة نعبّر من خلالها عن أفكارنا. فالحاكم العربي باستبداديتهِ وغطرستهِ يعرفُ أنّ الدين هو الوسيلة الفعّالة للسيطرة على شعبه […]
أعتبر نفسي كانسان علماني مؤمن بالانفتاح، كافرًا بالقومية العربية لأنّها (كفكر) نظرية عنصرية. فنظام كلّنا عرب، قمعَ الكثير من الأعراق التي تقطن الشرق الأوسط، كالأمازيغ في شمال أفريقيا والأكراد في بلاد الشام والعراق…
Sham, writing on Tabashir (طباشير) [Ar], tries to draw the line between secularism and atheism. She writes:
Razan Ghazzawi is another Syrian blogger. She adds this comment to Sham's post:
إشكالية العلمانية هي انو عم تفترض انو المشكلة تكمن بأي حكم ديني, وهاد افتراض خاطئ لانو المشكلة هو أولا الدولة كسلطة بذاتها, وتانيا المشكلة بسلطة رجال الدين ياللي ترجمت الى ثقافة سلطوية تمتد إلى الحكم وإلى أفراد الشعب ياللي بمارسو هالسلطة على أفراد مهمشين تانيين. المشكلة سلطة وبس, الدين مالو علاقة. ازا حكم ملحد او ديني او علماني كلو نفس الشي.
The debate continues.

author: Hisham Almiraat


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Trinidad & Tobago: The Hart of the Matter  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

News broke late yesterday that Calder Hart, the Canadian-born head of The Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (UDeCOTT), the company pegged as “Government's primary developer of choice” with the power to award billions of TT dollars worth of construction contracts, resigned from his post as Executive Chairman of UDeCOTT, as well as his positions on several state boards.  Bloggers, who have been weighing in on the issue for a while now, were again on the ball.
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog republished several local mainstream media news stories as breaking news and continues to update the page.  Interestingly, The Secret Blog of Patrick “Patos” Manning – written from the point of view of the country's “fake” Prime Minister – was one of the earliest blogs to comment on developments, inventing a conversation between the PM and Mr. Hart:
“I know you’re in London, you know. No need to pretend. How times have changed, eh? In the old days you barely made a move without calling on Uncle Calder for advice.”
“And a lot of good that advice did me! Remember: ‘Patos, it’s only $30 million. Nobody’s gonna miss it. And if they do, tell them it’s to build a church and everybody will say it’s okay, because Trinis loooove their churches.’ And what about: ‘Patos, you know who I think would loooove to meet your prophetess? Benny Hinn!’ Look where that got me.”
“Whoa, Patos. Calm down, buddy. How’s about we make us a deal?”
“Between you and me, Calder, I’ve had enough of your deals.”
“Photos, Patos, pho-tos. And I should add that the Swiss bank account number I gave you is false. In fact, it isn’t even Swiss.”
“Argh! OK. Let me hear about this deal.”
“The deal is simple: you get us both aslyum. Or should that be “asyla”?”
Israel Khan was right. Hart was unintelligent. But the man knew how to play hardball.
Nicholas Laughlin, meanwhile, credits the placard that accompanied his Carnival Monday portrayal with “help[ing] to turn the tide”:
The face of Calder ‘Cobo’ Hart — head of the powerful state construction agency Udecott, widely suspected of massive financial improprieties and thought by some to be Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s bagman, subject of investigation by the Uff commission of enquiry — replaced the national coat of arms in the middle of a giant $100 bill.
Last night the news broke that Hart, formerly protected by Manning, was forced to resign from Udecott and his positions at other state agencies, and has fled the country with his family. This morning everybody asking how many blue notes this cobo managed to pack in his luggage.
This Beach Called Life, tongue firmly in cheek, laments the fall of a “true family man”:
Our local newspapers and those opposed to the tall and sometimes Chinese direction the country was heading, decided to gang up on a man who was legally here and banish him from the country; away from both persecution and prosecution. A man, who by his own assessment, did the country proud by ensuring his boss’s will be done on time and within padded budget. A religious man who collected offerings on behalf of his boss has left, not only the buildings, but the country.
Diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch gets a bit more serious:
The unthinkable has happened. Calder Hart has resigned…Hart was a ‘blue-eyed’ boy, protected, nurtured, given a free pass to the PNM elite, the public coffers and inside the political and financial affairs of the nation.
The newspapers have revealed that within 24 hours he was asked to resign, and within this time frame his wife and last child also left the country to Canada.
Now, this may not be the end of the story. He can still be held liable under several legal conditions, not the least of which would be lying under oath, and also under the Integrity Act.
More on this later, at the moment, I am happy taking in a few celebratory drinks. (^_^)
Twitter users were also in a celebratory mood, although @georgiap warned:
Resig. of Calder Hart may feel like the defeat of Voldemort, but remember how many books it took before V-mort finally snuffed out for good.
Many tweeple went the route of humour to have their say – Fake Patrick Manning was even forced to complain about his Wikipedia page being vandalised.  When he posted this update:
Fellow C'wealth head of gov't just asked me what I planned on doing “after the impeachment”!
Jamaican Annie Paul replied:
LOL just don't come here
Then she got serious:
How can Trinidad's Patrick Manning govt survive this political earthquake? http://bit.ly/ab4Iz6
The fallout remains to be seen.


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Uganda: Religious leader and activists petition parliament · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Religious leaders and activists petition parliament in Uganda: “On Monday 01 March 2010 a delegation of activists AIDS service providers, Spiritual mentors and counsellors took centre stage in Kampala when they met the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda Rt. Hon. Edward Ssekandi Kiwanuka over the Anti-Homosexuality Bill…”


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What is the Japanese Language Proficiency Test? · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

The NihongoUp Blog gives an in-depth explanation of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) – “It is a Japanese language test for non-native speakers, held twice a year in East Asia and once a year in the rest of the world.”


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Armenia: International Women’s Day · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Ianyan marks International Women's Day with an extended post reflecting on gender in Armenia and its Diaspora. The blogger examines several issues related to Armenian women including marriage, education, work, and sex.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Armenia: S.O.S. Save Cinema Moscow’s Open Hall · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on plans to demolish Yerevan's only open air cinema hall to make room for the construction of a new church. Although the cinema itself was constructed after the demolition of a previous church standing in the same spot, the blog says that there are enough churches in the capital and all focus should be on saving what it considers to be one of the finest buildings in the city.


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Armenia-Turkey: Response to U.S. Genocide Resolution · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian 2008
Following last week's non-binding resolution narrowly passed by a congressional Foreign Affairs Committee urging the US government to recognize the 1915 massacre and deportation of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as Genocide, reaction in the blogosphere appears to be muted, including from those Armenian sites which have covered the issue for years.
Nevertheless, what does exist is mostly negative or neutral — although not necessarily reflective of comments or posts, and even no reaction at all, on closed networking sites such as Facebook. Typical of most comments made there, Life in the Armenian Diaspora sums up that reaction.
Armenians around the world are celebrating again…. […]
[…]
Again, the White House wasn't able to stop this. Turkey wasn't able to stop it with their threats about relations, borders, protocols etc. I said it two years ago and I'll say it again now. EMPTY THREATS – CALL THEIR BLUFF! Turkey can not afford to lose the U.S. as an ally. They recalled their ambassador then and they recalled him now. BIG DEAL!
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) activists burn the Turkish flag, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian 2008
However, and in sharp contrast with previous years when similar resolutions were passed, other alternative voices are making their voices heard. Ianyan, for example, is uncertain as to what next this all means for her as an ethnic Armenian living abroad.
Right after the vote, Turkey recalled its Ambassador, Namik Tan, back for consultations, Armenian publications swiftly posted the news, status updates and tweets exploded with joy and disappointment on both sides and the Obama administration, who had urged the committee to vote against the resolution, said it will seek to block the bill from coming into fruition.
[…]
As for me, for a moment, I was shocked and surprised, although I probably shouldn’t have been. A similar resolution passed through the same committee in 2007 and was later successfully blocked from ever amounting to anything.
[…]
While we sit in free countries, in our warm houses and flashy cars in our garages, many in Armenia are still suffering from economic turmoil and poverty . There is corruption and discrimination and much more that we, thousands of miles away, have the good fortune to not see. Most diaspora Armenians have never even met a Turk, nor do they want to.  […]
Do I need the U.S. government to recognize the genocide? Maybe, but I don’t feel any less Armenian, I don’t feel like something is missing if they don’t. My feelings could very well be the result of it not being recognized for so long, who knows.
[…]
The answer still is, for me, “I don’t know.”
Armenian-Turkish border, Khor Virap, Ararat Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian 2005
Another Armenian blog, Global Chaos, however, is more critical, especially in light of a more pressing issue facing Armenia – the threat of renewed conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh.
Yes, they made a full circle and we are seeing the whole Armenian Genocide Resolution circus played out all over again. No, I'm not happy with what happened yesterday. I'm very concerned, and I don't think it's going to have ANY positive outcome for Armenia. On the contrary, it might, and I'm afraid, it will only make things worse.
[…]
American-Armenians are all upbeat about it. They learned well how to play this game called “American politics” and they want to stay politically relevant, especially this year, when the mid-term elections might turn out to be unusually interesting. […] But where's Armenia in this equation?
[…]
There is evidently a disconnect between the Diaspora, which, quite understandably, clings to the Genocide problem as a basis for its identity, and the Armenian state, which is striving to survive, attain stability, and establish itself as a significant player on the international arena. […]
[…]
Perhaps it's high time the Armenian government stops relying on the Armenian-American lobby to do both advocacy and public diplomacy in the US on its behalf? […] Yes, it is very commendable. But, it is also detrimental for Armenia, since the foreign policy of one of the most influential countries in the world toward it is being dominated by an issue the significance of which many, on both sides, don't even understand anymore.
Again, I am not saying that the Genocide should be neglected or forgotten. What I'm saying is that the focus should switch, since with the resolution of the Karabakh problem might just open a leeway for more constructive and reconciliatory dialogue on the Genocide as well. If the Diaspora lets Armenia be, that is…
The blog also raises concerns that such a resolution will increase the level of nationalism in Turkey, something that seems borne out by one Turkish blog, Talk Turkey.
Do the Armenians really think that some soiling-their-pants Congressmen care about the Armenians’ plight? Was this part of a ploy, a plan of pushing Turkey off-track and into radicalism, alienating the ‘model’ integration of secularism and Muslim-ness, and thereby prove to the ‘world’ that a moderate Islam doesn't exist?
[…] I am now definitely not in a reconciliatory mood any longer. In fact, I say ‘let the games begin!’
Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian 2008


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Bangladesh: Much Ado About Nothing · Global Voices
Rezwan

Maskwaith Ahsan at Voice Of Bangladeshi Bloggers discusses about the acrimonious politics in Bangladesh which deals with unproductive issues and not the important ones. “How come we never see this ferocity of political competition when it comes to ensuring basic necessities like food, shelter, security and human rights?” asks the blogger.


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Barbados: Water Response  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Watching how the government deals with the current drought in Barbados is an interesting lesson in crisis management”: Barbadian bloggers are dissatisfied with the water situation on the island.


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China: New Regulation Proposed For Internet Cafes · Global Voices
Don Weinland

A member of the National People’s Congress suggested quick legislative action Mar. 6 on a resolution that would close Chinese internet cafes between midnight and 8 a.m.
People’s Representative Gao Wanneng called for a “zero-hour cutoff” for internet cafes due to long-term internet addition in Chinese youth.  Gao said such addiction is responsible for high dropout rates and internet crime and asked the National People’s Congress to pass legislation regulating online gaming, reports the Worker’s Daily.
This is not the first time a nighttime ban on internet cafes has been suggested.  In Nov. of 2005 the municipality of Chongqing experienced slowly implemented “zero-hour cutoff” policy, as have other cities around the country.  Methods of control such as registration for internet café users and closure of unregistered cafes have been employed to regulate the industry, often without results.
Blogger Li Lijun writes that Representative Gao’s suggestion has brought some fun into the often solemn atmosphere of the National People’s Congress, held annually in March.
你肯定奇怪这有什么好乐的，那您就顺着这种思维方式想下去：为了防止青少年犯罪，把青少年关笼子里；为了防止家庭暴力，禁止大家结婚；为了防止食物中毒，禁止买卖任何事物…防止学生沉迷于网络的最好方法，就是限制孩子上网时间，我觉得还不如直接消灭电脑，这一点还得请兄弟国家朝鲜的专家来指导。
Of course you think it strange.  What’s fun about this?  So go along with [Gao’s] way of thinking and consider this: to stop youth from committing crime, lock them up in a cage; to prevent domestic violence, forbid marriage; to prevent food poisoning, forbid the sale of food…The best way to prevent online addiction in students, that is, restricting the child’s time online, can’t compare with directly eliminating computers, I think.  But for this you’ll have to invite our brother county North Korea for professional instruction.
Blogger Shan Cha agrees that such drastic measures will do little to solve the fundamental problem and will certainly bring hardship to the internet café industry.
当山茶看到有个别委员提出“关闭全国的网吧”、“实行零点断网政策”的提案时，心里不免产生一点忧虑，委员们你们可知否提案一旦被执行，那将对全国的网吧从业者们带来多大的冲击？你们又可知关闭了网吧和零点断了网就真的能从根源上杜绝眼下所出现的青少年问题吗？
When [I] see an individual committee member suggest “closing the country’s internet cafes,” or “carrying out zero-hour cutoff policy”, I can’t help but feel a bit uneasy.  Committee members, don’t you know that as soon as such law is carried out, what a hit it will deliver to those operating cafés throughout the country?  Do you think the closure of cafés or the cutting off of service at midnight will really solve the root of the problem that we’re seeing in youth?
Caijing reported in 2005 that a large internet café in the Chongqing Municipality stood to lose 10,000 Yuan ($1,400), nearly a third of the café’s monthly profit, with the implementation of “zero-hour cutoff” policy.
An entry at Pesea Gaming Blog notes that a cutoff of internet service between midnight and 8 a.m. will greatly limit maintenance in internet cafés.  The blog states that games, tools, and antiviral software are usually downloaded and upgraded during early morning hours.  New regulations would force owners to conduct maintenance during peak hours.
In 2006 cities like Shenzhen carried out campaigns to eradicate unlicensed internet cafés, or “black cafés” as they are known in Chinese.  Some fear that such “zero-hour cutoff” policy will force late night business into unlicensed and unregulated internet cafés.
A writer at Pesea Gaming Blog writes:
零点断网的政策一出台，国家电信部门就会积极配合，在规定的零点至八点的时间内就会中断网吧的网络接入服务。但是电信部门所能够中断的只是在有关部门合法登记的白网吧而已，那些屡禁不止的黑网吧因为没有合法的登记在案从而根本不会受到影响。
Once the “zero-hour cutoff” policy is passed, the national telecommunications department will actively cooperate, cutting off café’s internet connections between the stipulated times of midnight and 8 a.m.  But the connections that the telecommunications department can cut off are only those of legally registered cafés.  The multitude of forbidden cafés will be unaffected because they have no legal registration on file.

author: Don Weinland


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China: Provincial governor threatens questioning reporter · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Lianghui is in full swing, and media continue to find creative ways to report on the latest developments.
Journalists present at the meetings don't get many opportunities to interview higher-up representatives or committee members. A chance yesterday to put questions to governor of Hubei province Li Hongzhong ended for one reporter when he responded to hers by threatening to complain to her boss; below is constitutional lawyer and blogger Liu Xiaoyuan's post on what took place, borrowing heavily from blogger and Southern Media Group journalist Shi Feike:
据新浪微博披露，3月7日，湖北代表团开放团组。大批记者涌入。开放会议结束后，湖北省长李鸿忠步进贵宾厅接受央视“小撒探会”专访。节目录制中，各路记者围团等候。毕。马上采访。第一财经的问题回答完毕、新华社的回答完毕。省长洋洋洒洒，大谈湖北各种优势，发展势头良好。
工作人员正欲开道护送省长离开。一京华时报女记者急切的问：省长，您怎么看待邓玉娇？李鸿忠大怒，脸色在0。1秒内阴沉下来，怒视着该记者。更是在大把握着录音笔的手中准确找到该记者的录音笔，动作隐蔽但坚定的将其夺下。随后愤愤步向走廊。在大门处，李又停下来，怒视该记者“你是哪个媒体的？”“我是人民日报的”（注：京华时报乃人民日报下属市场报）。“你还是党报的！党报怎么舆论导向的？我找你社长去！！”然后李鸿忠头也不回走向电梯回房。一众记者傻眼。据说，此时，这位女记者眼圈当场就红了，很委屈。
而现场记者还透露，湖北省政府的工作人员也许是担心李鸿忠省长的失态之语被发布，还抢走了这位女记者的录音笔，是否归还不知道。（出处http://shifeike.blog125.fc2.com/blog-entry-84.html）
Toward the end of the post, Liu himself writes:
一个省长如此失态对待记者，责疑记者“怎么引导舆论导向”，李鸿忠的行为，与去年逯军责疑记者为谁说话，其实是如出一辙。省长也蛮横对待记者，失去的不只是官员风度还有民心。
In the Shi Feike post linked to by Liu, there's this audio recording of the altercation between Li and the reporter. Regarding the incident, Phoenix Television news editor and reporter Rose Luqiu Luwei wrote today on Twitter:
和被李鸿忠责骂的记者聊过，还好，她的上司不觉得她有错，大家都觉得奇怪，邓玉娇又不是敏感问题，爲何对方如此大动肝火？至于说记者“欺骗”，京华时报确实是人民日报的子报，这些记者外出采访，通常会戴上人民日报集团这样的大帽子，方便采访，不然那些封疆大吏不会理睬这些地方报纸。

author: John Kennedy


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Dominica: Online Safety  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Dominica Weekly suggests seven tips to keep you safe on social networking sites.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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First Cambodian Women Web Portal  · Global Voices
Sopheap Chak

The first ever women web portal in Cambodia was one of the women programs initiated by the Open Institute in 2006 which aimed to promote gender equality in a society where women can exercise their rights and  be empowered to participate in the economic and sociopolitical spheres. This women web portal attempts to bring women issues and their rights empowerment in the global discussion through the use of three Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools: Blog, Online Forum, Gender Mailing List.
Though the internet penetration in Cambodia is still low of which overall usage figure in 2009 survey is 9.8 percent and up to 18.8 percent in the capital, the portal is trying to make information available in Khmer language and creating platforms where women from various backgrounds ranging from commune council members, government officials, organization's representatives, teachers, students, and the youths in general can get their voices heard.
Sokhayouk Prak, Women Program's Coordinator and also active blogger whose blog aims to raise awareness on women rights gives a comprehensive introduction about the women web portal:
វិបផតថលស្ដីអំពីស្ត្រី  គឺជាបណ្ដុំព័ត៌មានអេឡិចត្រូនិក ជាភាសាខ្មែរដ៏សម្បូរបែប ទាក់ទងនឹងឯកសារច្បាប់ សិទ្ធិ យេនឌ័រ បច្ចេកវិទ្យា គមនាគមន៍ ព័ត៌មានវិទ្យា សកម្មភាព និងភាពជោគជ័យនានារបស់បណ្ដាញ/អង្គការស្ត្រី និង ឯកសារជាច្រើនទៀតទាក់ទងនឹងសេដ្ឋកិច្ច និងការអភិវឌ្ឍន៍។
វិបផតថលស្ដីអំពីស្ត្រី គឺជាវិបផតថលជាភាសាខ្មែរស្ដីអំពីស្ត្រីមុនគេបង្អស់ដែលត្រូវ បានបង្កើតឡើង និងបង្ហោះជាផ្លូវការនៅខែតុលា ឆ្នាំ ២០០៧ ក្នុងគោលបំណង ផ្សព្វផ្សាយព័ត៌មានទាក់ទងស្ត្រីនិងសិទ្ធិ និងសម្របសម្រួលការប្រាស្រ័យទាក់ទងនានា។
Women Web Portal is  the first women portal made available in Khmer language with various documents related to applicable laws,  rights,  gender issues, ICT, social and economic development. This portal officially launched in October 2007 aims to provide spaces of women related issues and platform of discussion for the common goal of gender equality in Cambodia.
From its 2009 report, there are graphs showing the majority of shared content portion and the dramatic increase of visitors which indicate the great participation of their targets.
graph showing the portal's information content
The increasing trend of web visitors
Via e-mail interview with Manavy Chim, Open Institute's Executive Director who previously spent more than 20 years working with the Ministry of Foreign Affair and International Cooperation and later joined the civil society with the hope for a greater liberty to work with local people to solve various social problems, emphasizes the great benefit of ICT in women empowerment.
Question: Why did you personally become involved in this women project?
Manavy: I want to explore more about women problem and to see what I can do to be of help. Information on legal document and document related to women rights in Khmer that can help women with problem or without problem is not easy to find. Women are facing many problems including violence against women (rape, domestic violence, human trafficking) poverty, and discrimination.
But women dare not to speak out. It is good that we provide women information they need, spaces and opportunities for women to break silence and speak out , to share with us what do they think about themselves and their future, and what is their concern. Hope this contribute to women life’ satisfactory.
Q. What have been the results?
Manavy: The Women web portal, the first and a single web portal in Khmer language in Cambodia that provides people a larger amount of information on gender, women rights and development issues. The portal was ranked by the Google Page Rank 5/10 among other web sites around the world, as a web site with meaningful, useful information and attractive to visitors. The women web portal gets more than 2000 unique visitors per day and there are more than 10000 pageviews since it was launched on late 2007.
This is not only a channel for information sharing but also provides an open space for discussion to address their concern, and also as space for women organizations to share about their organizations. There are communication tool made available through the women web portal such as blog and online forum. Take Back The Tech (TBTT) is one among an attractive way of information sharing on violence against women among young people by using and controlling technology.
The women program does not work alone, but we cooperate with the Association of Progressive Communication (APC), an international organization pioneering the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) for social justice that has more than 100 member organizations around the world. We work together on the MDG3 ( Millennium Development Goals) project on strengthening the strategic use of ICT by women to stop Violence Against Women (VAW) in which involve women from 12 countries in the regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Meanwhile, very good collaboration has been made through a Memorandum Of Understanding between the Open Institute and the Ministry of Women Affairs signed on July 2009. The Ministry and the Open Institute started coordinating government and civil society on the response to Violence Against Women, by creating public forum to discuss and coordinate the implementation of the National Action Plan to Prevent Violence on Women, which will meet several times to attempt to create a joint strategy. These actions will be supported by all the means of dissemination of the Ministry and the Open Institute, which include websites, publications, radio programs, a Guidebook for Women, and public meetings.
Q. What are the biggest obstacles to your success?
Manavy: ICT is new thing to many Cambodian people, particularly women. To promote the use of ICT by women is not yet in the agenda of the government, in most of the NGOs and of the private sectors. While world wide, women organizations and network are using online resources, web sites, to share experiences, to mobilize support for specific actions and develop global action strategies, not many Cambodian women are aware of the use of ICT. At the same time, ICT use in general, much less awareness of how ICT can be strategically used to combat VAW, is very limited in Cambodia.
Q. How do you plan on overcoming these obstacles?
Manavy: We came up with a strategic planning that involves NGOs, government institution and private sector in a systematical way. This will be collaboration and a collective solution that involve experts from our partners (the APC and MDG3 project) from other countries. This is a series of actions including capacity building to women organizations and relevant institutions both government and NGOs on ICT global knowledge and skills. The movement will be linked to the consultation meetings to discuss the interaction between VAW&ICT, the participation and how ICT can be used in the implementation of the National Action Plan to Prevent VAW.
This will help women organizations and the government to identify the issues and the need of using ICT for a better status of women. Recommendation for the regulation/policy supportive for the use of ICT for women empowerment and to enhance women rights will be made during the meetings.
Skill on e-advocacy also will be provided to our target group through the trainings. The training will guide participants on how to use our women web portal and how to get benefit from advance technology. Small grant will be made available to support the project on the use of ICT to combat VAW.
Q. What is your message to the public?
Manavy: It is imperative that women are able to draw on available resources to combat VAW. Access to ICT can be seen as central issue concerning empowerment of women. Women should be empowered by enhancing their skills, knowledge and access to information technology. Without knowledge provided to women, any attempt to promote the use of ICT by women in Cambodia would be incomplete. Key players in the society including the government, the private sector and NGOs should pay more attention on promoting and encouraging women to use and control ICT.
This should be started from education sector which provide ICT’s knowledge and skills, encourage female student take part in computer science study, ensure for ICT market and employment and the involvement of women at decision making level in such employment.  The lower price of internet access is also one among other factors to encourage people to use it.
Women should always make themselves fresh in relation to capacity building, well equipped to adopt with the rapid change of globalization and the ICT revolution, if not women will be kept behind such change.

author: Sopheap Chak


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Ghana: AccraTwestival2010  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mac announces the first ever Twitter Festival dubbed: AccraTwestival2010: It is an event been co-organized by myself; MacJordaN & RodneyQuarcoo and a few volunteers based in Accra. It is scheduled to happen on Thursday March 25, 2010


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Haiti: Permaculture   · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands looks at permaculture as a possible environmental solution for Haiti following the January 12 earthquake.


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Hong Kong: The fictitious spokesman · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

David Webb criticized the HK's government's practice of giving media briefing in anonymity in order to avoid accountability to the public.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Indonesia: Bank bailout sparks political crisis · Global Voices
Juke Carolina

The Bank Century bail out in Indonesia has become a national scandal which divided public opinion and the House of Representatives.
The case involved two Indonesian economic reformers namely Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati and the Vice President Boediono.
In 2008 the Committee for Financial System Stability (KSSK) led by Sri Mulyani at that time took over Bank Century because of its negative financial status. Later on, the state-owned Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS) claimed 90 percent of Bank Century's share and injected 6.7 trillion rupiah or almost US$700 million in total by February 2009.
Bank Century under PT Century Bank management was a small bank, but without the bailout, according to VP Boediono, the bank's collapse could jeapordize the country’s banking system. During that time, the financial crisis was spreading around the world.
The special committee to investigate the Bank Century bailout (Pansus Century) is composed of people's representatives from 8 political parties. Their job is to probe those who were involved in approving the controversial bail out program.
Blogger Patung wrote about the case:
The scandal that has become known as “Centurygate” revolves around not only the massive drain on state funds involved, but questions of whether some depositors (such as tycoon Boedi Sampoerna) had preferential treatment or access to their funds after the bailout money had been injected, and whether some of the money was diverted and embezzled.
Last Wednesday 325 Pansus Century members cast their votes at the House of Representatives to decide whether or not the bail out was necessary. Only 212 members of Congress belonging to three political parties, including the president's Democratic Party, voted in favor of the bailout. While the rest voted against and encouraged both VP and Minister of Finance to resign in order to be investigated.
On Thursday, the President finally broke his silence. During his speech, he backed both VP and the Finance Minister saying that he regrets that the committee's long inquiry overlooked the precarious situation at the time when a quick decision-making is required to weather the global economic crisis.
Twitterers sighed in relief following the much awaited speech, though some commented that the President's speech was much delayed.
@tyasnotys: whtever u said,gw ttp ngrasa pidato SBY td tepat.he actually knows how to speak properly in this condition #pidatosby
@treespotter: Presiden SBY yg menunggu sekian lama utk menjelaskan kebijakannya – karena terpaksa merespon DPR – cuma buat rakyat bingung. #PidatoSBY
@treespotter: This would be a good speech by President SBY,if delivered 3 months ago. Meh. #PidatoSBY
Unspun ponders if the speech was really timely:
If SBY has any leadership qualities at all he would know that commanding the loyalty and trust of the most capable lieutenants like Sri Mulyani and Boediono is crucial to his Cabinet’s performance and how history would judge him.
With people like Sri Mulyani and Boediono if you believe them then you need not micromanage, just run interference for them to do their jobs and, when they get into trouble, you run interference to get them out of the mess.
SBY did nothing like that. Whe  the Bank Century case began to mushroom he hid behind the excuse of non-interference and let them blow in the wind. It is only when the Pansus votes have been counted and SBY himself was personally out of danger that he finally comes out to provide some statement of support for the duo.
For people like SBY his undoing will be the gradual abandonment of good people from his ship. Unspun’s sure that the only motivations keeping Sri Mulyani, Boediono and other smart ministers still in the cabinet is the prospect of being able to do something positive for the Nation; as opposed to working for a shmuck for a boss.
Krisnov who blogged at Politikana stressed that the recommendation of the special committee should be honored and that the culprits should apologize and step down.
SBY melupakan fakta, bahwa kebijakan bailout bank Century menimbulkan korban yaitu para nasabah yang kehilangan haknya. SBY  juga melupakan fakta bahwa uang 6,7 T itu adalah kekayaan Negara.
Kesalahan memang bukan kejahatan. Tetapi seorang pejabat negara selain dituntut untuk tidak melakukan kejahatan, tetapi juga dituntut untuk tidak melakukan kesalahan.
Jika SBY, Boediono, dan Sri Mulyani masih punya rasa malu dan harga diri, semestinya malu juga ketika kebijakan yang dikeluarkannya terbukti tidak dapat diimplementasikan dengan benar dan  malah disalahgunakan oleh orang lain untuk merugikan orang banyak. Memohon maaf dan mengundurkan diri adalah jalan seorang yang terhormat dan mulia.
(It's true that) Mistake isn't a crime. But a state official is required not only to follow the laws and not to commit any crime but also to be correct and not to commit any mistake.
If the President, Boediono and Sri Mulyani still have some shame and dignity, the should feel ashamed when the policy they created can't be applied correctly and ended up being misused by someone and ended up causing some damage. Apologize and resign are the respectable and noble ways.
Indonesians are divided over the ‘Centurygate’ issue. Anti government protests were launched in the country, some of which turned violent like the action in South Sulawesi capital of Makassar.

author: Juke Carolina


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Iraq: Baghdad, Bombs and Ballots · Global Voices
Salam Adil

Will the elections herald a new era of political stability for Iraq or will it be more of the same? Iraqi bloggers discuss their fears and hopes on the day of the national elections. But first…
If you read no other post this week read this one
On the eve of the poll, Sunshine writes about her wishes for the future:
We are just tired from living in horror , we don't want to lose more people we love, this war was bloody and I just want it to end and be a bad memory in my life .. I wonder if my relatives abroad will come back, I didn't see my only aunt for 5 years, and my cousins doesn't know me.. Iraqis want their lives back… I can't wait till the day I'll wake up and open the curtains in my room and see life in my neighborhood again instead of a ghost city, I can't wait till the day that we'll remove the wood we placed over the windows, I wonder always if I and all Iraqis will ever feel relief.. I have so many hopes and plans for that day, wonder when will it come ..
I want to hear good news about rebuilding my country, the developing and improving in economy, not how many people who were killed..
She reports of the current campaign by terrorists against all Christians in her home city of Mosul and writes:
Why? why did that happen? Who's behind forcing the Christians to leave?
Political parties fight each other, and the victims are those innocents.. all of that murders and frightening was because of the election, to force the Christians to go to the countryside , and ban them from participating ..
What makes me so angry and so frustrated is, when there is a “weeping ceremony ” the country become in an emergency situation, so many soldiers and a very serious secured procedures is taken to protect the Shiites ,. While the government didn't ensure the safety of the Christians who only wanted to continue their daily lives, go to school, or work normally , it is so unfair ..
Word from the streets
Baghdad Dentist tells us how his city is on the day of the vote:
Cars were banned last night and many roads that lead to the election centres were closed by barbed wires and army vhecles.
With the begining of the voting many explosions occurred in Baghdad.news were about falling many mortar in many districts in the city including Adamyah,Al-adil,Palestine street,Ur and many other places in a wave of attacks. Baghdad is not secured…
With all the fears of going to vote,Iraqis insist on democracy to stop violence and choose Iraqi citizens to represent them
Nibras voted and felt great:
The greatest thing about it was how normal it felt; elections have become a ho-hum, commonplace occurance. That's quite a feat for a country with Iraq's past and current challenges…
This was a logistical failure for the jihadists; hardly any successful suicide bombers or sniper attacks near the polling stations. Lobbing mortars indiscriminately around Baghdad is BS intimidation. It certainly didn't deter voters.
Ladybird went to watch the voting “circus” in the Netherlands and reports:
I noticed that many people chose to vote for secular parties, especially for Allawi’s list Al-Iraqiya, but there are also Maliki’s supporters…
The queue was very long, waiting time about 4–5 hours. I left the pol center on 17.00 and the queue was about 1 km.
From what I read and watch, I think Maliki and Allawi are going against each others head to head.
and McClatchy Newspapers give the most comprehensive coverage from all over Iraq in its journalists blog.
Fears and Hope
Layla feels the initial results are hopeful but expects widespread fraud. She is tweeting results as she hears them and concludes:
This is a huge MORAL defeat for the Shiite parties and for Maliki in particular… and they have also shown what I have been saying all along for the past 4 years – that we are essentially a secular people and nationalistic one.
This is ALSO a symbolic defeat for Iran and for the AMERICAN plan, the agenda with which they brutally and criminally occupied us, dividing us along sectarian lines.
… I love you Iraq.
But after constant election watching, she  had enough:
I need to get out of the Iraqi election mood. I don't feel good about what's going to happen after the final results are published…my gut feeling tells me so…I need to switch off, completely switch off…
I need to get out of the Iraqi election mood. I don't feel good about what's going to happen after the final results are published…my gut feeling tells me so…I need to switch off, completely switch off…
Neurotic Wife did not vote and explained her reasons as a letter to her departed father:
Im sorry, but there is no one that I believe can bring a better life to the Iraqis. All the promises that these people claim to bring to Iraq are false. They entered the election race to satisfy their own egos. Their own egos and their own needs…
Yes Baba, I know you dont agree with me. I know that you always had hope. BIG hope… Baba, there is no honest man out there, believe me. Their words stopped meaning anything to me. For I know, I know that the Iraq you have known will never come back. Not now, not in my children's lifetime, not ever. And no, Im not being a pessimist as you used to call me, but a realist.
Many people are calling this a historical moment. What history? Are we gonna call every election a historical moment?Thats something I dont understand. What kind of history are they making. What will my little ones read when they grow up?Iraq, the Shattered Dream? Hundreds of thousands of people are risking their lives because of Hope. And maybe Hope is the only thing they have right now. But for me this is nothing but a repeat of a definite failure. Sorry Baba, I dont want to upset you, but you always told us to speak our minds, and this is exactly whats on my mind.
Sunshine could not disagree more. She writes:
How many times we think about ourselves, the things we need to do and use the term “I” in the day? It will be great if people say “Iraq”instead in this day, and put the benefit of the community before theirs, because there's nothing in this day more important than voting to build a better future for us and for our families..
All of my relatives in Baghdad and Mosul, inside Iraq and abroad voted, as well as my friends , even those who hesitated to go, decided to vote after I urged them..
I am so proud of all Iraqis who voted and will…
Hammorabi has some hope for the future, but not much:
the interference of the other countries including Iran and Saudi Arabia, the lack of plan for the foreign troops to leave a strong Iraqi army capable to protect the Iraqi borders and internal security and many other problems. All these and other problems resulted in a weak and corrupted Iraq…
Today most the Iraqis went for election looking for a change which they hope it will come after this election to result in a government and parliament without sectarian ideology. It should take the interest of Iraq on the top and not the interest of the other countries.
We feel that some change may come and we know there is nothing magic.
And Finally:
Living in the US, Iraq the Model has a somewhat different experience voting:
In December 2005 we walked from home to the voting center (which also used to be where I went to school as a kid) to a soundtrack of mortars and gunfire. Indeed, that ten minute walk was wrapped in so much fear and worry, but also in so much hope and pride.
My trip to the voting center will be less interesting this time because I'll be taking the orange line to Arlington where the place is, which happens to be some hotel whose owner will eventually be Paris Hilton.
Yes, that's a little boring.

author: Salam Adil


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