Bloggers in the Middle East are closely following the developments in Georgia, with some saying it could usher in World War Three. Here's a quick review of what bloggers in Yemen and Jordan are writing.

From Yemen, Omar Barsawad says a Third World War is probable - almost a century after the first. He explains:

Will NATO push on with its expansion? That would be reckless and extremely dangerous. As in both the first and second World Wars, accidentally - ‘one thing leads to another' until it becomes too late to stop events. The First World War happened, accidentally, mainly because one part of Europe wanted to be the dominant power there; the Second One, planned, was for the same reasons, but Hitler too - wanted to settle old scores and expand. And both World Wars, in one way or the other - were about power and dominating resources; mainly oil.

“Hasn't Europe learnt enough from their history of the last Century?” asks Barsawad. His other questions are:

Hasn't enough suffering, destruction and horrors happened there for them to learn to live with and accommodate each other, rather than one part wanting to expand and dominate? NATO continuously preaches that every country should respect each others borders, and yet it is aggressively expanding; what kind of message does that send? If Russia or China act in the same way - extending and spreading their arms and missiles, would NATO quietly and passively accept that?

Barsawad concludes:

Rubbing Russia's nose more and more and pushing it further and further could accidentally lead to the unimaginable: the Third World War. Any body ready for that? Nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction which both sides posses have so far been deterrents, but for how long?

Meanwhile, “Where's Georgia?” asks Jordanian blogger Naseem Tarawnah after discovering that is has been wiped off the map - Google Map, that is.

When you’re my age and you read about wars and conflict in history books, everything always seems so formulaic and perhaps even a bit ancient. So I was surprised to see today, something that speaks a little more to my generation. Apparently, the Russian-invaded country Georgia that has been making headlines this month, has been wiped off the map of the world. Google maps that is.

Tarawnah then explains the reason why Georgia doesn't appear on the map:

With infrastructure being the first target of most conflicts, the search engine giant, Google, doesn’t want to be seen as helping either side with its mapping technology. The company has since removed all the details normally seen on Google maps of a country, that include roads, towns and cities in Georgia, as well as from the maps of neighboring countries Azerbaijan and Armenia

Fellow blogger Hareega, also from Jordan, uses the crisis as an opportunity to poke fun of US President George Bush, calling his geographical knowledge into question:

The war between Russia and Georgia has got ugly. When President Bush heard about Georgia being under heavy fire, he asked the citizens of Atlanta to hold on and keep hosting the Olympics the best they could.

Global Voices is well positioned to follow the nuances of this complex issue with authors tracking citizen media in nearly every country of the planet. This article is an attempt to place an overall narrative on the global food crisis with observations from our authors from around the world. Clicking on the links will take you to all the posts that have been referenced.

Let’s begin in the Caribbean. In Barbados, locals learn to deal with a 30% increase in flour prices, along with gasoline and diesel price jumps. Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Agriculture, denies there is a food crisis on the two islands, but locals notice an increase in chicken and flour prices. Cuba is trying a new agriculture policy of providing more land to private farmers.

Prices and shortages of food can be seen across Latin America, as many people are becoming desperate. Blame is being placed on both farmers and governments for their failure to act. Arab bloggers in Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait and Egypt are also feeling the pinch, and writing about it too.

Worries continue to circulate in Cambodia that nearly 500,000 children could start missing meals due to a 20% increase in the price of rice. However, a dramatic increase in rice production may not be beyond hope in this country. Farmers here can cultivate two or three harvests per year on the same piece of land.

The latest riots

Protesters in Cairo lighting fires and throwing rocks at a barricade, April 7, 2008 - Photo by James Buck

Two days of riots broke out on April 6 and 7 in Egypt, where prices of staples have doubled since 2004 (and in some cases quadrupled). At least two people were killed and 111 people – including police – were injured (See our special coverage on Egypt's General Strike).

In Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, protesters blocked roads and burned tires, demanding the government cut taxes on key imports.

Just days later, four people were killed and 25 injured in riots in Haiti, where the prices of rice, beans, and fruit have increased 50% in the past 12 months. Less than a week after the violent demonstrations, Haiti's prime minister was ousted in a vote of no confidence.

For Natifnatal, a Haitian currently in Abu Dhabi, the food crisis offers simple math:

For those who don't even know the basics can present the equation: hunger + poverty + rising prices = demonstrations + the Prime Minister's resignation + violence, and argue that an increase in food aid would suffice to reduce hunger.

Even as a cargo plane crashed in Kinshasa on April 15 killing 75 people, Congolese blogger Du Cabiau à Kinshasa, ruminated on a more silent, less telegenic disaster facing the country: the doubling of food prices in the same week.

The effects on trade

So many countries of the developing world import a large percentage of the foodstuffs necessary to feed their populations. Rising prices means problems grow quickly. Even for food exporters, rising prices has touched a nerve. In Korea, one of the world’s most prolific rice producers, a Netizen argues that rice should be withheld from free trade talks, allowing the country to do as it seems fit with its strategic commodity.

Sometimes protectionism won’t be enough, however. As the price of rice has increased throughout Southeast Asia’s rice growing nations, governments were forced to plea for calm and pray that domestic prices would soon begin to fall. The situation is doubly bad for rice importers like the Philippines, where the poor have felt the brunt of the price increase. Indonesia, another importer, has canceled its imports due to high prices. Cambodia and Vietnam have abandoned exports. Bloggers in Malaysia report rumors of rice shortages. The Government of Brunei could move to subsidize food staples like cooking oil, flour, milk, eggs and chicken.

Milk in Japanese supermarket

For decades food prices in Japan have been in stasis, which is strange for a country that imports almost every staple other than rice. Not any longer. Price increased for the first time in more than two decades. The same goes for milk products, which consumers been paying for at the same rate for three decades. Beer, cooking oil, and soy sauce also experienced increases.

A silent killer

In Bangladesh, where people spend as much as 80% of their salaries on food, high prices for rice have hit the middle class. It’s much worse for the poor, as media reports confirm several hunger deaths. The country’s military chief raised the ire of many when he suggested people replace rice by eating potatoes.

In Tajikistan, where people already faced a winter-long energy shortage, it looks like more than 260,000 people are in need of immediate food assistance. Worries persist that this number could grow to 2 million by winter.

Talk about globalization. In Yemen, the prices of staples have risen while the cost of certain electronic goods have dropped. Kuwait has also seen price increases, no thanks to the falling U.S. dollar.

In Burkina Faso, where people felt the government sat on its hands as prices in some sectors increased more than 40% since the beginning of the year, riots sparked in several cities throughout the country in late February, resulting in plenty of property damage and more than 300 arrests.

At about the same time in Cameroon, anger over rising prices and falling wages sparked three days of violent confrontation with the military. Anger was also fed by President Paul Biya's attempt to change the constitution so he could sit for a third term.

The story is far from over. We’ll keep posting updates – so please check our Special Coverage page on the Global Food Crisis 2008 often.

Jordanian blogger Hareega, a doctor by profession, shares this ‘uncomfortable conversation' he has had with an acquaintance about his work at the HIV Aids clinic:

A friend asked, “How's your work this month”
“Good, I'm doing HIV clinics three times a week”
“HIV? like AIDS?”
“Yes”
“Watch out”
“Watch out from what?”
He looked me like I was an idiot, “Watch out from the HIV”
“Why should I watch out?”
“Well, watch out, it's HIV, it's AIDS”
“But why should I watch out? I don't sleep with my patients in the clinic”
“I know idiot, but just watch out, it's AIDS”
“I don't inject drugs with them either”
“I know I know, but just watch out”
“From what?”
“Listen, I'm no scientist (obviously), but you gotta watch out, or I have to start watching out from you”

Hareega continues:

Since January 1st, 2008, twenty-two new cases of HIV were diagnosed in Jordan.
Public knowledge about HIV among Jordanians, especially the “well-educated”: Zero, and declining.

Iraqi Layla Anwar too is incensed at the way this topic is “broached” in the Arab world - despite the increasing incidence of the disease in the region. While watching a television programme on the issue, the blogger notes:

Was watching a program some months ago, on Arabic Al-Jazeerah on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases in the Arab World.
The producer cleverly attempted to broach this “sensitive” and taboo subject, by presenting it as a religious program and invited a guest speaker who is a specialist in both medicine and religious sciences i.e Islamic theology.

Layla explains:

HIV carriers are on the increase in the Arab World. No one would like to admit that but that is a fact. We all know how HIV is transmitted and we all know that the practice of safe sex and the screening of blood banks is a must.
So this is not what really caught my attention in the program. What caught my attention is that HIV and STD's are also on the rise among married heterosexual couples in the Arab World and not just among homosexuals.
The invited guest's speciality was epidemiology and infectious diseases. And in the realm of his practice, he encountered several cases (undeclared in public statistics) of straight couples for the most part married, infected with STD's and HIV in particular.
In 99% of the cases, the woman was infected by her husband. A husband who had unprotected extra-marital relations, with other women and sometimes with other men.
In 99% of the cases, the man believing himself to be invincible, had refused the idea of protection i.e the use of a condom.
So Mr.returning from his business trip, or his night outing comes home and offers his wife/partner the kiss of death.

On taboos, Layla says:

Of course you understand that talking about this subject in the Arab World is very taboo. A lot of denial surrounds it and a lot of rationalizations, to the effect that “us in muslim societies don't have such things”, “sweep it under the carpet, and don't let the neighbors know– what will people think”….etc.
The wall of tradition and culture is so dense that it is nearly impossible to talk about this subject in public without being accused of being “decadent, lewd and immoral.”
Meanwhile, AIDS victims die in silence, quarantined in rooms made of shame and guilt.

Amal A, from Palestine, also tackles the topic of Aids, noting her disgust at how a court case was handle in Egypt, where the prosecutor told one of the men involved in the trial, when he was informed him that he is HIV positive: “People like you should be burnt alive. You do not deserve to live.”

If Egypt is going to throw in jail all Egyptian men who have sex with men, they will need many more prisons. (…)
The criminalization of AIDs is a disaster!!! Othering and demonizing patients who are HIV positive or have AIDS will not help protect Egyptians. But this is not about protecting Egyptians at all. It's about the state scapegoating the weak to consolidate its power uber alles.

But things are changing slowly and there seems to be a silver lining. Bahraini Butterfly will soon be attending in Cairo, entitled Independent Artists/Bloggers Responding to AIDS in the Arab Region.

وستضم الورشة مجموعة من المدونين والمبدعين العرب في مجال التصوير وصناعة الافلام السينمائية وغيرها من الفنون الإعلامية.
هذه هي المرة الأولى التي سيتسنى لي فيها حضور فعالية تخص برنامج الامم المتحدة الانمائي في البحرين، كما ستكون المرة الأولى ايضا التي ستتاح لي فيها فرصة اللقاء بالمدونين والمبدعين العرب من مختلف الاقطار العربية. وسأشارككم بالطبع بما سأكتشفه من اسرار ودهاليز تتعلق بهذا المرض المخيف الذي لايزال الحديث عنه محظورا في معظم دولنا العربية.

The workshop will involve bloggers and creative Arabs in the areas of photography, film making and other media arts. This is the first time I will be attending an event organised by the United Nations Development Programme in Bahrain and also meet with bloggers and artists from around the Arab world. I will definitely share with you the secrets I will uncover about this scary disease, where even talking about it is prohibited in most of our Arab countries.

And last but not least, Armies of Liberation, links to news sources about a miracle Aids herbal medicine, developed in Yemen which claims to have the cure for the deadly virus.

Yemen Times journalist Hamed Thabet describes the case:

Nojoud Muhammed Nasser arrived at court by herself on Wednesday, April 2, looking for a judge to handle her case against her father, Muhammed Nasser, who forced her two months ago to marry Faez Ali Thamer, a man 22 years her senior. The child also asked for a divorce, accusing her husband of sexual and domestic abuse.

According to Yemeni law, Nojoud cannot prosecute, as she is underage. However, court judge Muhammed Al-Qathi heard her complaint and subsequently ordered the arrests of both her father and husband.

Stupeur!! Un nouveu depart!! writes:

A huit ans, on regardait Captain Majed, Goldorac et Takaya Todoroki, on jouait au ballon à cache cache et aux sept cailloux. Nos filles jouaient à la poupée, à l’institutrice ou à l’infirmière.

Maintenant à huit ans on se retrouve devant une cour et on demande le divorce d’un mari qu’on nous a imposé.

Nojoud Mohammed Nasser est une jeune fille qui s’est présenté d’elle même à la cour de Sanaa où elle a demandé assistance à un juge. déposant plainte contre son père qui l’avait mariée de force et conte son ‘mari’ pour violences et agression sexuelles.

“A chaque fois je voulais jouer dans la cour, il me battait et m’obligeait à aller dans la chambre a coucher”

Jusqu’où iraient ces Homo-ignorens?

Au 21éme siècle on entend encore parler de ces histoires? et on se demande encore pourquoi les arabes ont mauvaise réputation! on se demande encore pourquoi on nous traite de terroristes et de sous développés.

Ne me dites surtout pas que ce sont des cas isolés! c’est très récurrent sauf que c’est tres rare qu’on en parle.

Ceci ne s’arrête pas aux enfants, mais touche même les grandes filles et les jeunes femmes.

The post's title, “Ces arabes qui ne nous ressemblent pas” (These Arabs who are nothing like this), in addition to the subject matter, provoked a range of commentary from a simple “that's disgusting” to praise for the little girl's bravery and hope that such practices won't occur elsewhere:

On a volé son enfance et son innocence à cette fille! Et quel courage a-t-elle trouvé pour se présenter elle-même devant le juge!!! Ces pratiques barbares devraient être interdites et punies! J’espère qu’on ne leur ressemblera jamais!

Another comment reminds readers that pedophilia is not a racial issue but a state responsibility:

Les arabes ressemblent à tous les humains ! Des pédophiles, il y en a partout dans le monde, et c’est écœurant. Ce n’est pas un problème de race mais de certains états qui ne prennent pas leur responsabilité en ne mettant pas en place des lois qui imposent un âge minimum pour être marié et un vrai consentement.

In response to that comment, another wrote:

bien dit Mad djerba, les occidentaux ne se marient pas à des filles de 8 ans , parce qu’il y a des lois qui les en empêchent , par contre ils ne s’empêchent de les violer ….

An emotional blogger responds:

J’ai lu l’histoire de cette fille aujourd’hui dans le Corriere della Sera.
Crois moi, j’ai eu les larmes aux yeux, et pendant 5 minutes je n’ai prononcé aucun mot…
Des pays comme le Yémen, doivent être impérativement condamnés : c’est un terrorisme qu’il tolère, celui de violer toute l’innocence des enfants. Pour moi, c’est plus pire que les tortures…
Je suis vraiment incazzato à cause de ça…J’ai trop la haine !

Echoing some of the blogger's sentiment, another writes:

Rien de quoi être fier de ce côté là de la planète…Leur âge d’or (dort)[*] est situé définitivement au passé. Et ce n’est pas demain l’éveil…

A final blogger recalled the days of socialism in Yemen, saying:

et dire qu’en 72 à Aden on était dans un pays qui se réclamait du socialisme avec des jeunes filles et des adolescentes sans complexes avec leurs petits copains dans les lycées… ça me fous un cafard terrible cette histoire t’as envie de faire sauter la baraque.

(*This is a pun. In French, “d'or” (golden) and “dort” (sleeping) sound the same.)

1. Indonesia blocks YouTube over “Fitna” the movie

The Indonesian government has ordered the country’s internet service providers to block YouTube for publishing the 15-minute anti-Muslim film “Fitna”, made by Dutch MP Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration Freedom Party (PVV). Some of the country's ISPs followed the block order, but “Fitna” could still be viewed through other providers.

“A letter was sent to Internet providers asking them to block any site or blog posting the film Fitna (…) Not only YouTube has uploaded the film, so it is up to the ISPs' discretion to block these sites,” a Communications and Information Ministry Official is quoted as saying.

Earlier this week, Indonesia had threatened to block YouTube unless the video-sharing web site removed the aforementioned movie.

2. Saudi Arabia: Fouad Alfarhan's blog and Freefouad blocked

The blog of the detained Saudi blogger Fouad Alfarhan was blocked today in Saudi Arabia, along with the Free Fouad website, which is dedicated to Alfarhan's case, and the pro-reformist blog Freedoms. Users trying to access these blogs from Saudi Arabia were met with a notice saying “Blocked URL. Dear User, Sorry, the requested page is unavailable. If you believe the requested page should not be blocked please click here. For more information about internet service in Saudi Arabia, please click here: www.internet.gov.sa“.

115 days after his arrest, on 10 December 2007, Fouad Alfarhan remains jailed for unspecified “violation of non-security regulations.” On March 11th, 2008, Alfarhan's nine-year old daughter, Raghad, released a YouTube video message for her father saying: “Daddy I miss you. When are you coming back home?”

3. Slide blocked in Turkey

A Turkish court banned access to Slide, the maker of social networking widgets, for “harboring pictures and articles that are considered to be insulting to Ataturk.”

In a note to Slide users in Turkey, Slide announced that it has contacted the Turkish government in the hope of resolving the issue via that route:

If you use Slide in Turkey, you've probably noticed that you are no longer able to access the Slide website or our applications (you may not even be able to access this post). The Turkish government has accused Slide of “harboring pictures and articles that are considered to be insulting to Ataturk,” founder of the republic.

We have contacted the government of Turkey in an effort to resolve this situation and will keep you updated on any changes. In the meantime, we're trying our best to enable Turkish citizens to access our website and applications again.

According to Slide statistics, Slide widgets are being viewed by more than 143 million unique viewers every month in more than 200 countries on websites like Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, Orkut, and Blogger.

4. Yemen blocks Maktoob blogging platform

Maktoobblog.com, one of the most popular Arab blogging platform, was recently blocked in Yemen, cutting off Yemeni Internet users from the more than 46,960 blogs the service hosts. According to MaktoobBlog, there are currently 1,226 Yemeni blogs hosted by the service. All of them disappeared from the Yemeni Internet.

On the pan-Arabic Al Hayat newspaper, Mr. Yasser Al-Eimad, from the Public Telecommunication Corporation, denied that Maktoobblog.com was blocked. But the OpenNet Initiative testing confirmed yesterday, after technical investigation, that the blog hosting service was blocked by Yemennet ISP, a service of the government's Public Telecommunication Corporation (PTC):

ONI technical investigation verified that the service has been blocked by Yemennet, Yemen’s government-run ISP. Access is blocked to the entire domain maktoobblog.com, effectively to every blog hosted by the service. Interestingly, users who attempt to access the site receive a network error message instead of the standard blockpage, which is served when users attempt to access sexual content.

This significant blocking is expected to hinder Internet users in Yemen from blogging and reading blogs because maktoobblog.com is home of one of the largest blogging communities in the Middle East and North Africa.