Archive for
February 24th, 2007
Stories
Love troubles female blogger; floods, politics and petty jobs worry Malawians
Based in the UK and studying Information Systems, Mercy Gondwe might be the only female Malawian blogger noted so far. While she has not been active she woke up on a day before Valentine's day to reflect on the day of romance. Mercy says she had to be careful with what to say on Valentine's day so that she doesn't hurt those in love:
Personally, I don’t believe in valentine and before you ask, am currently unattached. I believe everyday should be a romantic day between a man and a woman. Where love is concerned, we all need to feel appreciated all the time and not just down to one day.
Petty jobs, Big Salaries
Malawians highly respect their fellow citizens who live and work in diaspora. It is often assumed that the Malawians in diaspora have good jobs and make lots of money. Two bloggers share the reality. The UK-based Cryton Chikoko reflects on his own life in UK in a post titled Of UK petty jobs:
The fact is these petty jobs are well paying, if we compare with the perks we were getting back in Malawi. Of course being a student I work few hours to concentrate on my studies but these few hours give a pay more than that of some chief executives in Malawi. It all goes down to a powerful economy here hence there is no huge gap between high earner and low earners. We are able, through such jobs, to make ends meet and help relatives and charities in Malawi.
And writing in Chichewa (Malawi's national language), a blogger calling himself m'malawi ku theba (A Malawian in diaspora) makes most of his postings about life away from home. He bears it all in earlier posting saying,
I know very few of malawian lads who have decent jobs, the rest of us have petty jobs. If we remember our poverty, then no choice.. I dont know! This is life in diaspora.
Free Kareem: The Caribbean joins in
The Caribbean blogosphere tends to focus on internal matters, but the plight of Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Suleiman struck a chord nevertheless with a few bloggers, including Cuban-American journalist Marc Masferrer, who posts frequently on human rights issues relating to Cuba. On February 19, Masferrer encouraged readers to sign a petition and visit the Free Kareem website, saying:
Free speech repressed somewhere, is free speech repressed everywhere. Even if our words never get us this kind of trouble, it is vital that we all remain vigilant, for freedom's sake.
Masferrer called the annoucement of Kareem's conviction on February 22 “bad news for Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, for Egypt and the for the cause of free expression.” (more…)
Free Kareem: Lusophone Blogs Join the Crusade
As soon as the information about the verdict circulated on the net, Portuguese posts commenting the 4 year in prison sentence given to blogger Abdel Kareem Suleiman started to appear. Brazilian bloggers sensitiveness about any situation involving censorship is a direct consequence of the many recent attacks to their freedoms on the Internet, as showed by previous GV reports here, here, here, and also here. That's why they are ever ready to take a stance and fight to maintain a status they believe they've already conquered for themselves. In addition, Kareem's case brings in some awareness about how different might be the Arab culture in relation to the freedom notions Brazilians are now practicing through blogging.
No mundo árabe, a fronteira que separa a liberdade de imprensa da liberdade de imprensar é muito tênue. A Justiça do Egito acaba de oferecer ao mundo uma evidência do fenômeno: condenou o blogueiro Abdel Kareem Suleiman a quatro anos de cana dura. Acusam-no de ter veiculado ofensas ao presidente do país e ao islamismo.
Blogueiro egípcio condenado a 4 anos de cadeia - Josias de Souza
Blogueiro egípcio condenado a 4 anos de cadeia - Josias de Souza
Bahrain: ‘Terrorist Plot' Sparks Cynicism
Following a controversial news report about the discovery of a ‘terrorist training camp' in one of Bahrain's Shi'a villages, Bani Jamra, Bahrain's ‘blogfather' Mahmood Al Yousif writes a sarcastic post proclaiming his gratitude to Bahrain's Ministry of the Interior for making Bahrain a safer place:
I am ever so grateful to the Ministry of Interior for foiling the plot to overthrow the government, yet again, by a group of 35 youths who have confessed to not know each other yet intricately coordinate their heinous activities and practice the seditious act of throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at printed targets attached to trunks of palm trees in secret palm groves.
Adel Marzooq writes on the same topic, referring to other parties who allegedly have intentions to destabilise Bahrain:
Meanwhile, Silly Bahraini Girl makes reference to the increasing legal restrictions being imposed on bloggers in Bahrain and the rest of the Arab world:
Although we may laugh at this or that and consider them as things which will never happen to us..you really never know. You may be next for a post you published with good intent or for the heck of it … such worries are taking away the fun of blogging :) What is a blog if we are to exercise self-censorship in every other word we write? How do we protect ourselves? How do we exercise our right to freedom of speech without being labelled as traitors to our countries, religion and God?
Taiwan: Flying Saucer Houses
Photographed by CantikFoto
In Green Bay, Taipei County, there are some abandoned houses. Due to their appearance, they have been named ‘flying saucer houses' by many people in that area.
According to Echo-Maan, who lived in that area decades ago, the houses were built around 30 years ago by Tian Gong Industry Co. as resorts or vacation houses. When it was still famous, YAMAHA would hold rock music festivals for the whole summer there.
(more…)
Kazakhstan, the Soviet: “Stalinkas” and “Khrushchevkas”, Afghanistan and the Red Army Holiday
Save the Houses
Photo by Adam Kesher
Blogger Adam Kesher is displeased: the “Stalin's” house next to his own is going to be replaced by a new fancy building. These houses, built before the Second World War (1935-1938) or after (till 1955) are notable for their scale, high ceilings so rare in later Soviet block houses, huge halls and thick walls. They have nice backyards and old-style lifts. Situated mostly in the centre of Almaty, “stalinkas” for a long time represented quality and well-being. (more…)
Links for Sat, 2007-02
Campamento Cucapá has published a new video documentary with English subtitles that “tells the story the Cucapá, an Indigenous people of Mexicali, who have been denied fishing permits, even though they have been fishing in their valley for over 9,000 years.”
Jim Shultz shares his top five places of tranquility in Cochabamba.
While rising flood waters threaten the northeast province of Beni, Carlos Gustavo Machicado Salas describes the Carnival celebration in Oruro as one of the best in the world.
Ben Dangl on Ciudad del Este, Paraguay: “most of the cars had tinted windows, the private security in front of shops had loaded guns, and the streets were as full of conspiracies and rumors as pirated DVDs and sunglasses. Real guns and fake musical condoms were also for sale in the city’s humid, market streets. Though Paraguay lacks access to the sea, it contains various oceans inside its borders – oceans of soy crops. The pesticides used in this booming industry give local campesinos headaches, cancer and birth defects.”
It is the 40th anniversary of Gabriel García Márquez's Cien años de soledad, described here by Posthegemony as “a long, sprawling novel that lacks much in the way of a conventional plot. Rather, it is full of events and incidents, digressions and flashbacks or flashforwards, not least the famous flashforward with which the book opens …”
Juan Luis of Tecnorantes is intrigued [ES] by Pornoesfera [ES], an informative, Spanish-language blog about the online industry or google's most-sought-after word.
On the question of bond defaulting, ODI writes that “Rafael Correa, Ecuador’s new president, has been playing a game of chicken with the international capital markets.”
Though 2007 is not overflowing with Latin American elections like 2006, Boz has still managed to come up with a thorough set of poll numbers measuring the approval ratings of leaders throughout the region. See who's hot and who's not.
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