Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama! Southeast Asian bloggers are celebrating his victory. In fact, his election success has led many bloggers to reflect about the need for change in their local politics. A sample of viewpoints in the region:
Rogue Economist hopes there will be “changes” as well in Brunei:
“It's official. The most powerful man on earth is now Barack Obama. This proves that nothing is impossible in this world, as long as you work (hard) for it. (Oh please God, Brunei needs someone like this to make changes!)”
Cambodia Calling reminds Obama about the challenges he will face:
“Why am I interested? Because it is everyone's business who becomes the leader of the most powerful nation in the world. The pressure on Obama will be immense. If Obama fails to deliver, it'll be a long time coming for another black president in the US.”
Return to Rai Ketak compares Obama’s victory to East Timor’s independence celebration:
“Today, phone calls and emails, online chats…All with one profoundly positive message. History does not make us. We make history. I have not felt like this since May 20, 2002. And one Timorese friend made the comparison over email as well:
“After Timorese independence, the election of Barack Obama is one of the great events of the 21st century. It does not matter what may come to pass afterwards. The great step has already been taken.”
Indonesia Anonymus wonders whether Indonesians will vote an Obama-like candidate:
“Indonesians, of course, just like many people in any other countries, are mostly for Obama. So we love Obama, no doubt about it. Now the question is: if there is an ‘obama' in our country, will we be able to spot him? Or better yet, will we vote for him?
“In Indonesia, that would make our ‘obama' half native Indonesian and half Chinese. Let's just say, our ‘obama' has a javanese mother from Solo, central Java, and an Indonesian-Chinese father with ancestors from Fujian province, China.”
GJ Jakarta notes that the world has high expectations for Obama:
“This is a huge amount of pressure for this guy, he has not only the weight of Americans’ expectations, but that of the entire world.
“The reality is there will still be a financial crisis, the USA will be in recession, there will still be soldiers dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of people will be out of work, many more will lose their homes. I know this guy didn't do that, he's not responsible, and people are just looking for a happy story, something for the future, some shining light from the dark tunnel.”
Mahaguru58 from Malaysia believes America has redeemed itself by electing Obama:
“America has redeemed itself today by electing a man whom we can all respect and honor. Just listening to him speak, gives us a sense of hope. Each word that he utters, each sentence that he proclaims, returns a sense of goodwill to America. Today, the whole world celebrates the coming of a new era.”
Obnoxious 5xmom advises Malaysian bloggers who are overjoyed by Obama’s victory to do something about Malaysia’s local problems:
“It doesn’t make sense. So many Malaysian bloggers are ooooing and ahhhaing over how Obama has won the USA election. They write so passionately about him and how he is going to bring changes to the United States and the world.
“Yet, in our very own backyard, here in beautiful Malaysia, they never even bother to do something about it. Why so over the moon with what is happening in the USA when we cannot even try to make the changes over here in our country?
“Why I don’t see them ever question our own country’s policies? Why I don’t see them ever get agitated with the things that happen over here that affects us? Why gushing over something over at the USA when we cannot even lift a finger to do something here?”
Noting that America has achieved a breakthrough after electing Obama, Lim Kit Siang bemoans the quality of race relations and nation-building in Malaysia:
“Obama’s historic breakthrough make many Malaysians ask whether it is possible for a Chinese, Indian, Kadazan to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia although the Constitution is very clear that any Malaysian citizen, regardless of race or religion can become Prime Minister.
“If such a question is asked 50 years ago, the nation’s founders would unhesitatingly answered in the positive as there is no constitutional bar - separate from the question of whether it was likely to happen.
“But if the same question is asked now, there will be strong voices (as heard in Parliament today when this question was posed) who would rise up to say no.
“Why is Malaysian race relations and nation-building going backwards in the past 50 years as compared to the historic breakthrough in race relations in the United States with Obama’s historic victory in the US presidential elections?”
Rocky's bru from Malaysia has some questions for Obama:
“Will he be able to turn around the US economy? Will he close down Guantanamo Bay? Will he stop America's holy War against Terror? I have my doubts. But who cares, uh? They say anyone after Bush would/should make a better US President, at least to the rest of the miserable world.”
The US embassy in Thailand held a mock elections in Bangkok. Guess who won in the ballots? HaPPi like a HiPPo describes the mood in Bangkok:
“In the past few days, Thai television and radio channels in Bangkok have been talking a lot about Obama and seem to have forgotten about PAD protesters. Every Thai person I know supports Obama and even the radio jockeys and news presenters love him. Soon we can expect Obama dolls and other goodies being sold on the Thai streets.”
DK from Singapore was first worried over the selection of Obama as the Democrat’s candidate:
“I must admit that I was kinda worried when I learned that Obama is the Democrat candidate instead of Hillary. My main concern was that he is a black and America might not be really for a black president yet. I’m glad I was wrong. I’m glad Obama is elected as the President of United States. And although we don’t know if he is the right person to bring USA and the world out of recession, we know that we have better chance with him in the White House.”
Stars in the making from Singapore is a supporter of McCain:
“Tears came to my eyes when I watched John McCain give his final speech of this election campaign. In my mind, John McCain should be the next President of the USA. His experience in foreign affairs & war will stand America in good stead, and to me, he is the stability that America & the world needs during these turbulent times.
“But America voted for “Change”. Obama is a good man, and will lead the country with integrity. He is a symbol of the American Dream, but how long will this dream last? Will reality bite when Obama steps into his first year in office? Will expectations be too much for him to meet?”
Obama has chosen a Filipino as his consultant on Asia Pacific issues. At midfield reacts:
“For Filipinos, we will now to see whether having a Filipina as his main consultant of Asia Pacific issues will benefit us and lead to Obama revisiting his position against the Filipino USAFFE veterans equity bill and other issues, not least of them how the war on terror is being carried out here.”
A Filipina Mom Blogger is curious about Obama’s foreign policy:
“As a Filipino, I am interested in Senator Barrack Obama’s foreign policy. In Obama, I see a president willing to reach out to world leaders, whether friend and enemy, to open dialogue and resolve differences through diplomacy rather than military engagement. After all, when did it hurt to sit down and talk to our enemies?
“An Obama election will send a signal to minorities across America and to countries around the world that the US is breaking through the racial divide, opening their hearts to people of all colors and religion.”
Tonyo Cruz asks Filipino activists to emulate Obama’s campaign strategies:
“For Filipinos, let us draw inspiration from Obama’s victory. Let us raise the call for change this early (Obama started his campaign two years ago; the next elections here will be in less than two years!), challenge the political parties, and make our issues the central issues in the presidential campaign. Of course, the Philippine political system is a totally different animal compared to the US system. But that should not be an excuse to throw out the whole Obama experience. There are plenty of lessons to learn and perhaps to also apply in our own situations.”

America and the world have witnessed a historic moment with the election of Barack Obama as president. Not only because of the color of the 44th U.S. president's skin - which alone would be enough - but also the change that Obama brings through his views, words, beliefs and future projects. Barack Obama inherits a bumpy economy, the trauma produced by the endless war in Iraq and the fight to save the environment, along with other symptoms of mismanagement from George W. Bush's administration.
Obama's victory has moved Americans and people all over the world. It is as if we were thirsty for change. It is as if the great leader we have been waiting for arrived at last. From New York, Mozambican blogger Manuel Araújo [pt] tells of the huge crowd that gathered at Times Square to see Obama. The blogger says he will be proud to tell his grandchildren he was there at this historic moment:
“A explosao de alegria no Time Square foi tanta que por momentos fiquei surdo! As lagrimas foram tantas que me senti por segundos sufocado e afogado naquele mar de alegria! A felicidade tao grande que por segundos senti um no pescoco! O ar tao quente que por segundos senti o calor da raca humana! Um calor que nuna tinha sentido antes. No Times square, hoje descobri que quando o ideal e a esperanca e grande existe apenas uma raca - A RACA HUMANA! Que nao ha negros ou brancos, mulatos ou latinos, africanos ou asiaticos, vermelhos, azuis, pobres, ricos, nordicos, autralianos, pakistanis, kenyanos, zambianos, dominiquenhos, costariquenos, japoneses! A diversidade de racas, nacionalidades, estratos sociais representadas fez-me recordar a figura biblica da Arca de Noe!”.
Angolan blog A Casa de Luanda [Luanda House, pt] made clear they shared the hopes deposited in Obama with their readers:
“Obama emocionou-me com o seu discurso. Lembrou-nos de como um país deve ir muito além de uma colectividade de indíviduos. Deve ser uma unidade de pessoas que olham umas para as outras. Lembrou que temos histórias diferentes, mas um mesmo destino. Que enquanto respiramos, temos esperança. E principalmente, convocou os americanos e o mundo para um novo espírito de trabalho, baseado na responsabilidade, nas alianças, na esperança, na liberdade e na paz. Espero que o discurso ecoe em Angola, pois este país precisa como ninguém de todos esses valores”.
With Barack Obama as president come confusing feelings. Most of the president's supporters are now happy with this victory because Obama is of black descent, and I believe that this may help him combat racial discrimination and to become a standard-bearer for the black race. In Kenya, the country of the U.S. president elect's father's birth, they naively wait salvation at Obama's hands, hoping that he will pursue the corrupt politicians there and that it will be easier to obtain visas to enter American soil. It is the “American dream” in action, materialized and delivered by Obama in his post-victory speech. But first and foremost, Barack Obama is American and was keen to stress this even during the campaign. The author from Menina de Angola [Angolan Girl, pt] reflects on the same thing:
“Angola está sorrindo, bom pelo menos a minoria que entende ou acha que entende o que está acontecendo mundo. Os poucos angolanos com acesso à informação comemoram a vitória de Barack Obama, brindam ao primeiro negro da história mundial, mas cá com os meus botões, não vejo bem o que muda para nós pobres mortais. Não vejo como a cor da pele pode alterar o rumo da história do dia para a noite. Por acaso o racismo vai acabar? A fome e miséria do mundo vão desaparecer como num passe de mágica? Os conflitos intermináveis no médio oriente terão fim? Ele é apenas mais um americano no poder, com os mesmos ideiais de todos os americanos. É mais um capitalista rico que veio de família rica e teve acesso às melhores escolas. Mas acima de tudo ele é apenas um ser humano, não um mágico, messias ou super homem com super poderes, capaz de resolver todos os problemas do mundo do dia para a noite. Não estou fazendo propaganda contra, muito pelo contrário, fiquei muito feliz com a vitória de Obama, mas não porque ele é negro, branco, amarelo ou rosa choque, mas sim porque a sua plataforma de governo inclui entre outras coisas, uma grande preocupação com o meio ambiente. Eu vou comemorar de verdade daqui a 4 ou 5 anos quando as promessas de campanha tornarem-se realidade”.
The Chez Ludgero [pt] blog from Cape Verde shows his enthusiasm for Barack Obama, writing:
“Barack Obama é um fenómeno global. Fala-se dele em todas as línguas, em todos os países. Aqui em Cabo Verde tornou-se usual ver-se gente de todas as raças, de culturas diferenciadas, oriundas de vários pontos do globo, falando de Obama. A África lusófona ficou orfã depois de perder os seus líderes históricos (Cabral, Neto, Mondlane e Machel). E isso um pouco em consequência de alguma reticência em relação a Kalungano e alguns outros, por causa da mistura de raças que corporizam. A consagração de Obama, num ambiente como o dos Estados Unidos, pode chamar toda a África à razão, mormente os países lusófonos, cuja maior riqueza reside na mistura de raças e no encontro de culturas. A consagração da educação como a chave que abre todas as portas (mesmo as da Casa Branca) seria a maior lição a tirar da trajectória de Obama.”
Whatever the reasons for supporting Obama, the new American president has managed to generate a strong empathy around him, both locally and internationally. Kianda from O silêncio da Kianda [Kianda's Silence, pt] expresses with no shame her admiration for the elected president:
“Gosto de Obama porque sou muito mais democrata do que republicana, na minha essência de mais de esquerda do que conservadora. Sou a favor do aborto, do casamento dos homossexuais, da sensibilidade para questões sociais, da não ingerência arbitrária dos EUA na política interna do resto do mundo. Acredito muito mais no programa de Obama para resolver ou controlar os problemas económicos dentro dos Estados, o que tem sempre consequências no resto do mundo. Acredito mais na calma e na serenidade de Obama para julgar os problemas. Tem o sangue frio necessário para esta altura da história.”
Architect, Illustrator, Cartoonist João thanks Obama with this cartoon at Timor Cartoon International:

Thank you Barack!
Seja qual for o resultado…
With much of the world's eyes watching their television screens with the results of the U.S. elections, many televisions in Mexico were tuned to images of the aftermath of a tragic plane accident in the capital city. On Tuesday evening, a small plane carrying 8 people including two important members of the Mexican government's fight against crime and drug-trafficking crashed into rush-hour traffic in a Chapultepec neighborhood and left at least 13 people dead, including all on board and some victims on the ground. Included in the casualties was Juan Camilo Mouriño, who was the 2nd most powerful member of the executive branch after President Felipe Calderón, who expressed his sympathies and spoke to Mouriño's children saying that “their father worked until the end working towards leaving them a better country.“
Mex Files writes about who Mouriño was within the government:
This is a huge issue, with both national security, political and international implications. Mouriño, who was only 37 years old, but was the second most powerful figure in the Mexican executive branch. Secretaria de Gobernacion has no real equivalent in English. His title is sometimes translated as “Interior Minister” or “Home Secretary” but the closest U.S. counterpart would be the Secretary of Homeland Security … as well as Director of National Security, and the closest thing Mexico has to a Vice-President.
His selection last March, as a replacement for President Calderon’s original Secretaria de Gobernacion, Francisco Ramírez Acuña, was highly controversial. Ramírez was widely despised even in his own party for his alleged ties to narcotics dealers, and accused of being AWOL — or at least negligent — in the anti-narco war, on top of his tolerance of human rights abuse during his tenure as Governor of Jalisco. Mouriño, though seen as a young, fresh face came with his own baggage.
Also in the plane was former anti-drug prosecutor Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, who had been a target of an attempted assassination in the past. As a result, the presence of both men onboard has led to some theories that this was not an accident, and rather a deliberate attempt on their lives. Speculation has shown up in many Mexican blogs by many who are used to stories of public officials and security authorities that had been killed in recent months. Even though the Mexican government recently held a press conference and released tapes and video that indicate that there was no explosion, which would have scattered debris everywhere, it would still continue the investigation, although many see it as an uphill public relations effort.
RBD Boy of Blog.com.mx [es] thinks that no matter what there will be speculation and theories that it was related to the occupants' role in fighting drug-trafficking:
Personalmente, creo que será una tarea muy difícil para el Gobierno Federal explicar este tragico suceso y convencer a todo el país que no fue un atentado; ya que esto podría ser (y recalco, “podría ser“) una represalia del narco por la purga que se esta dando en la SIEDO.
Personally, I think it will be difficult for the Federal Government to explain this tragic event and convince the entire country that it was not an attack; as this could be (and I want to emphasize “could be” retaliation by the narcos for the purge being carried out by the SIEDO (crime-fighting organization).
What will this all mean for the Mexican society? Daniel Manrique of Tome Chango Su Banana [es] writes sees things both on a personal and political level:
Let me be cold-hearted for a while and state this: Mouriño’s death will not have a great impact for Mexico or even for president Felipe Calderón’s team, his plans or aspirations. Because for all the power his position brought, Mouriño himself was a rather grey politician. So yes, let the president give speeches about how we lost a “great mexican” (he was born in Spain so even that is debatable). But the truth is, Mouriño will get replaced by someone else, with similar political prowess, capabilities, aspirations and a similar position to further Calderón’s plans, whatever they are. And in the public eye, Mouriño will fade and then disappear, to become a footnote like Ramón Martín Huerta (whose name, incidentally, has resurfaced in connection with the Mouriño tragedy).
He will disappear, that is, in the eyes of everybody but his family and friends: these people didn’t just witness the death of a high-ranking government officer; they lost a friend, a father, a husband, and a son. To them, and to all the relatives of the deceased, the tragedy has a very personal feel. This is the level at which us normal people can empathize and understand the magnitude of what happened, for any loss of human life is to be regretted. So indeed, let our prayers (for those who pray) and our condolences and best wishes be with mr. Mouriño’s family, as well as with those of all the others who lost their lives or were injured in the tragedy.
Thumbnail photo by Afagen


Despite earlier rumours of his death, Jamaica awoke this morning to the news of the passing of the legendary Byron Lee. Lee, bandleader of the Dragonaires, died at the University Hospital of the West Indies yesterday, November 4, 2008, after a two year battle with cancer.
Although the news was received in the shadow of the historic US elections, the tributes began pouring forth for a man whose career spanned more than 50 years and is credited with being one of the leading musicians to bring Jamaican music to the world.
Lee was recently awarded with the Order of Jamaica during a special ceremony at the hospital. He was given the award by Governor General Sir Kenneth Hall and the Prime Minister for his contribution to Jamaican music. The Order of Jamaica is the nation's fourth-highest honour. Lee was awarded the Order of Distinction (Officer class) in 1982. That honour was upgraded to Commander class in 2007.
On hearing of Lee's death, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, was quoted as saying:
Jamaica, and indeed the world, have lost another great music pioneer with the passing this morning of Byron Lee, one of the greatest bandleaders ever to grace the entertainment stages of the world.
For those less familiar with the work of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, Iriegyal of A Fe Me Page Dis Iyah, shared two videos from YouTube.
At the Caribbean Beat blog, writer Caroline Neisha reflected on an article written by Garry Steckles in a 2003 issue of the Caribbean Beat magazine, in which Steckles described a performance he witnessed in England:
…Lee, bandleader and musical opportunist extraordinary, had chalked up another in a long line of successes at doing what he does best — getting a crowd, any crowd, anywhere, any time, on its collective feet and dancing.
YardFlex.com extended condolences “to the entire family and all who loved this great man who has made his country Jamaica extremely proud”:
Old folk say the time eventually comes when many memorial services become the order of the day. Well for Jamaican music veterans, it appears to be that appointed time these days.
And this is how the Honourable Byron Lee Sr., OJ will be remembered - not just as a musician, bandleader, promoter, label owner, studio owner, icon, legend, musical pioneer, but as a man who, as his daughter said, “was always working to use music to unite persons of all ages, races and people from all walks of life.”
Byron's Lee's music did indeed touch people from all walks of life - and from all parts of the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago-based Caribbean Free Radio posted a photo of Lee in his element - on stage - along with a simple but heartfelt headline:
Farewell, Byron Lee…
Egyptian activists are screaming foul after Flickr resorted to ‘censoring' their accounts on the photo sharing network.
Journalist, blogger and activist Hossam El Hamalawy writes:
“I had noticed that some of my recent pix from Ireland, that included the Palestine and the Republican murals were not viewable to the public unless they were signed in. I emailed the Flickr Gods. They were kind enough to respond back quickly and un-flag some of the pix, putting them on “safe” mode, but without giving me an explanation why they were flagged in the first place.
The only reason I can think of is an editorial anti-Palestinian bias”
After exchanging a couple of mails with Flickr, he is still waiting for a satisfactory answer:
“I still haven’t received a reply from them about why my Ireland photos were censored in the first the place, or about changing the above.
I have to say I’m disgusted and I’m in need of your solidarity to get my flickr account back its “safe” mode, so that search engines can find it”
Hamalawy threatened that he would migrate to another service because he simply is not going to remove the strike and demonstration pictures, some of which have been contributed by other photographers, from his account.
Nora Younes supported Hamalawy and threatened to migrate as well.
She writes:
“If flickr case 982056 is not promptly solved; I - a 3 years FlickrPro user, photojournalist, and internationally recognized human rights activist- will migrate too.”
Nora who has recently been awarded the HRF awardexpressed her disapproval of censoring Hamalawy's account:
“free speech is now struggling several battlefields: Twitter suspended their services in Egypt. In 2007, YouTube suspended Wael Abbas’ channel while his facebook page was recently deleted. And now flickr is censoring Hossam el-Hamalawy. Instead of the growing dependency on those companies we need to develop our own Arab Social Networks”
In another development, Hamalawy reports about the censoring of activist Wael Abbas' Flickr account as well.
Oh great… They first disabled his YouTube channel, and now Facebook deleted Wael’s account..
The election of Barack Obama was a keenly watched event in India. Obama appears to have been the choice for President for many bloggers in India. Here is an quick snapshot of the initial reactions from bloggers in India about the historical significance of Obama's election. Interestingly, an underlying theme in a couple of blog posts is how and when will India's equivalent of Obama appear? Change is needed not just in America, but also in India appears to be the message from these bloggers.
Kakisi's World captures the mood and how history was created with the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the USA. The blogger writes that what India needs is an Obama:
“Barack Obama as President of the United States is a small step for humankind, a giant leap for America. All nations of the world take interest in the American elections, for America is not just a country but an idea, a dream. Only country that surpasses that dream is India for the idea of India is far more ambitious than people anywhere else would possibly imagine.”
Randeep Ramesh of ‘Asian Musings' writes about ‘Obama Nationlists' in India and says:
“Like the rest of the world, India woke up this morning agog at Obama's victory. His speech as President-elect was relayed live on every one of the three dozen local language news channels this morning displacing the usual blizzard of crime, stock market and cricket statistics.”
Randeep goes on to make a telling comment and compares the democracies between India and USA. He underscores the fact that the American version of democracy is very different from the Indian version. He adds:
“There is a presumption that democracies are all built the same…In India this is not true. People have yet to break the boundaries of gender and social-standing in India and are unable largely to choose a life for themselves. The reality is that identity – be it caste, class, race or religion - is central to the character of India's public life. It matters where you come from and who your father was in way that Americans would find bizarre.
Democracy in India is too immature to produce a President Obama. Although the country has had a Muslim nuclear scientist as president, a Sikh economist as prime minister and a Roman Catholic woman as leader of the biggest party these are merely outcomes of patronage.”
Rashmi Bansal of Youth Curry writes an interesting post about what Obama's victory means and wonders when India will get its Obama:
“And here in India one has to wonder when we will see an ‘Obama' who will help us rise above our differences. And lead us into ‘change we can believe in'…
Not in 2009… but someday for sure.”
Appopt of Daily Kos is in India and shares his thoughts about Obama fever in India and how he wished he was back in the USA just for the elections:
“I actually cried a little during Obama's speech. ….I got a little choked up during McCain's speech as well. Both made me realize that, while I enjoy traveling and seeing the world, I really do love the U.S. of A. And for a few minutes, I was tempted to email my old bosses to see if they'd take me back.”
Democrats Abroad consisting of American expats in Bangalore organized a breakfast meeting (because of the time difference between India and the USA) to watch the election results. Robin King of Bits From Bangalore shares some pictures and writes:
“Here in India they are worried about protectionism with respect to outsourcing, but overall there is great hope of a more enlightened and less boorish role for US in the world.”
Faith tackled the story published by BCC, about Ghada El-Tawil who recently returned to television, after she was sacked from her job as anchorwoman in the Egyptian National Television six years ago when she began wearing a headscarf or Hijab.
Cigay at Kuzu-Bhutan weblog writes a poem as a tribute to the coronation celebrations of the King Fifth Druk Gyalpo to be held tomorrow in Thimphu, Bhutan.
A fan of the Paraguayan football club Sportivo Luqueño recently died at the hands of rival fans. Mabel Rehnfeldt of El Dedo en la Llaga [es] is placing the blame on the clubs' management for looking the other way when dealing with supporter groups.
The View From Baku posts an account and video from the Hyatt Regency where the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan invited American citizens to watch the election returns from yesterday's presidential vote. The bloggers says the emotion was surprising and that many Azerbaijanis congratulated him on Barrack Obama's victory.
Opinion 3ccv is fed up with the increasing number of “spam” telephone calls [es] being received at home. The majority are from travel agencies offering packages and from credit card companies.
Daniel Manrique of Tome Chango Su Banana [es] writes about the some of the dangers of the public buses in Mexico City. “Peseros” have been involved in accidents, often due to inexperienced young drivers and writes, “why do they hire 18-year-olds with no experience and entrust them with the lives of up to 50 passeners?“
Footstep of dreamer from Maldives reacts to the news of Obama winning the US presidency: “2008 has definitely been a year of change..to the Maldives and to the world! But would it come as a good change?”