Global Voices Online

Safrang says that residents of Kabul protest against the Afghan government’s inaction on Behsud, a district is not very far from the presidential palace, where civilians are being terrorized by the armed Pashtun Kochi force since the beginning of summer.

The Rumi reports that the Afghanistan Attorney General dismissed on July 16, by President Karzai after he announced intending to run for presidency election of next year.

The Rumi reports that a 13 years old girl was raped by five policemen after torturing her family inside their house in central city of Sare-Pol province, northern part of Afghanistan.

The Afghan Penlog reflects on why Suicide and suicide attack is happening in Afghanistan.

A young person in El Salvador does not have the same opportunities than in other countries writes JJ Mar at Hunnapuh [es] and in addition they represent the sector with the highest rates of unemployment.

Da Rússia (SPA) comments on the claims by a member or Russia's Central Election Commission that OSCE election observers are Western spies.

LJ community Politika v Rossii (RUS) discusses results from a set of Russian opinion polls, quite alarming for the government, and asks whether the figures are true or false.

Copydude argues that foreigners living in Russia are experiencing increasing difficulties with staying on due to stiffer visa regulations, and even portrays the situation as an exodus for expats from the country.

A Step At A Time quotes an RFE/RL piece on the adoption by the Russian Orthodox Church of its Basic Principles on Human Dignity, Freedom, and Rights. One of its authors, Eurasianist Aleksandr Dugin, argues that the 1948 UN Human Rights declaration should be reexamined. Western HR-values should be replaced by Orthodox principles, according to Dugin.

As US presidential hopeful Barack Obama wraps up a tour of Israel and Palestine, newspaper headlines all over the world are fixated on the Senator's attention to Israel…and lack of attention to Palestine's struggle.

One headline in particular, from Israel's Haaretz, could aptly sum up the feelings of the Palestinian blogosphere: “Obama visit all about wooing Jewish American voters.” Indeed, the words of the Palestinian blogosphere echo this notion, with particular focus on Obama's choice of Sderot as a destination.

bruised earth felt that Obama took advantage of the situation by visiting Sderot, not giving thought to how his actions would affect greater Palestinian opinion. The blogger remarked:

I know he is looking for some votes - but the nerve to visit Sderot (with just a flying visit of Ramallah - where no such statements were made) and again speak out against the daily misery of border settlers who have chosen (!) to live in this location and who are not caged or bound - or worse - imprisoned by the military, shows a level of ‘cheek’ here-to-fore unimaginable.

Let us not forget that Obama was the one Presidential hopeful strong enough to speak out against the violence and plight perpetrated on the Palestinian people. Where is that leader now? Are we to assume he will return once elected?

A very dangerous game continues to unfold…can votes possibly be worth this?

The title of a recent blog post from Desertpeace reads “Obama at the Wall.” Using few words, the blogger explained further:

NOT the wall of apartheid as one might have hoped…..But the Western Wall.

AMPAL (American Palestinian) expressed surprise that Obama hadn't visited the Holy Sepulchre, explaining:

Quite the contrary, it seems that the correct place for a CHRISTIAN future president of the United States of American to visit (kinda like his visit to AIPAC's convention days after he won the nomination) is to the Jewish Wailing Wall. Mind you the Moslem's third holy site, the Haram al Sharif, is just across that Wailing Wall. Seems like he has got it right twice in a row: prostrate yourself, nay, grind yourself into the dirt, in front of the rulers of your destiny (Zionists of both American and Israeli flavors) in order that you be receive some blessing by the so-called Chosen Ones. And even then they doubt you Oh Obama…

While other bloggers focused on Obama's actions, The Angry Arabs' Comment Section took issue with his words, particularly his proclamation that Jerusalem “will be the capital of Israel.” The blogger pondered:

Huh? The phrase “I say it will be the capital” is diametrically opposed to the view that it's a final status issue to be negotiated by the parties. Unless he's got a crystal ball and knows the outcome in advance.

The question remains: Will Obama's seemingly unwavering support of Israel strongly affect his campaign? Joseph Al-Khoury, writing for the Arabdemocracy blog, gives reasons why, for Arab-Americans, it shouldn't:

The US has been unwavering in its support for the Zionist entity since its creation in 1948 providing it consistently with the financial, technological, military means to dominate the Middle East and wreck the hopes of one Arab generation after the other. This is unlikely to change regardless of who takes over the White House come November. But two factors Arab voters should consider while casting their votes. The first factor is that An Obama administration will not be motivated by ideology in its position vis-a-vis Israel while remnants of the neo-conservative and evangelical Christian agenda will persist in a Bush-McCain transition. Pragmatic policies might still be detrimental to the Palestinians but are easier to debate and challenge than those backed by divine intervention. The second factor is that the election of a Liberal modern Black man to the highest office will be good for America, whatever foreign policy he adopts. This is a revolution in the making and as all astute immigrants know it is by joining hands with the locals for the common good that you gain acceptance. As the American poet Gil Scott-Heron cynically puts it: ‘The revolution will not be televised…’ but the election certainly will!

This article has also been posted on Voices without Votes.

Gildas Le Lidec, the French ambassador to Madagascar, astounded his audience at the July 14th celebration last week by announcing that he was leaving his post after only six months:

Je regrette profondément que le président de la République de Madagascar ne m'ait pas accordé la moindre chance pour pouvoir remplir l'exaltante mission dont je rêvais depuis longtemps.

The reasons for the ambassador's departure are not clear. Some have speculated Malagasy President Marc Ravalomanana many not have appreciated Le Lidec's habit of being in countries during times of crisis.  Le Lidec was in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in October 2000, when Laurent-Désiré Kabila was murdered, and in Cote d'Ivoire from 2002 to 2005, during the armed rebellion against Laurent Gbagbo.

Probably thinking that Le Lidec's presence during these turbulent times was more than a coincidence, some journalists close to the Malagasy government have wondered about French intentions in the Great Red Island:

Il vient pour tuer le President.

The French press has been quick to ridicule Marc Ravalomanana's aversion to Gildas Le Lidec, reporting on the Malagasy President's supposed superstitions:

La raison de la défiance dont est victime le diplomate tient, selon les responsables français, à la personnalité du président Ravalomana, “un homme jeune à la fois moderne et superstitieux, voire arriéré.

Sylvain Ranjalahy, a Malagasy journalist, sees in the public nature of this incident a sign of rupture in Franco-Malagasy relations.  Although this type of information is usually not disclosed to the general public, the French ambassador publicly accused the Malagasy President of being responsible for his persona non grata condition.

Some in African blogospheres, including Ivoirian blogger Théophile Kouamouo, seemed to agree with Ravalomanana's distrust of the French ambassador:

Le Lidec semble étonnamment présent quand les présidents se font tuer, ou vivent des tentatives d'assassinat, surtout dans les pays où la France est potentiellement fortement impliquée.

Others see in the “expulsion” of the French diplomat as a sign that African presidents have lost their meekness and timidity towards their former colonizers. The following comment by Rakoto, a reader from Madagascar, in response to Kouamouo's post is particularly telling:

… ça discréditait un président que n'apprécient guère certains milieux.
Un journal français l'a même traité “d'arriéré”. Que diraient ces “vazaha” si notre Presse utilisait des qualificatifs équivalents à l'égard de leurs hommes d'Etat ? Une mentalité raciste et méprisante n'a pas été éradiquée chez les anciens colonisateurs et certains compatriotes psychologiquement “aliénés ” leur emboîtent hélas triomphalement le pas.On a donc mis sur le dos du président Ravalomanana, à qui on ne pardonne pas non plus l'utilisation de la langue maternelle dans l'enseignement primaire, ce qui est une querelle franco-française ; Ce faisant, on se défausse de ses turpitudes sur quelqu'un qui, pour le moment, n'a pas rejoint la “France-Afrique”. Ce qui est clair c'est que, dans le départ de l'ambassadeur, ni la superstition, ni le côté arriéré de notre président ne sont en cause.

This skepticism of the Malagasy President's responsibility in the matter is echoed by this Malagasy comment on the Serasera Forum:

Raha tena i filoha hajaina marina no nitondra ity baolina ity, nahoana kay no ingahy Ambasadaoro no nampilAza azy voalohany t@ mpanao gazety, ARY t@ andron'ny fety nasionaly firantsay? Mahagaga!!!
Raha tena i filoha hajaina marina no tena mazana t@ ity aferafera ity, nahoana ingahy zokinibe Ramarisely toa nihanahAna sahala @ zanak'Akoho natelindrRamenarana t@ io fotoana io? Io ihany dia efa manambara amiko fa TSY nampoizin'ingahy zokibe Ramarisely ity fanambarAna nataon'i ambasadaoro ity.

A French netizen, responding to an article in Le Monde, “French Ambassador expelled from Madagascar for giving the evil eye,” wonders if all this could have been avoided:

“Pour autant, si la raison est vraiment un problème de superstition, c'est une faute de notre diplomatie de ne pas l'avoir prise en compte lors de la nomination de notre représentant. Tout ceci n'enlève rien à son talent, bien entendu. Tout simplement une erreur de “casting”

While another Le Monde reader wonders if this was a repercussion of Ravalomanana's allegedly bitter personal experiences with the French administration:

Peut-être faut-il aussi rappeler le sentiment anti-français du président malgache. Peu de gens savent que ce sentiment est né alors que le Président actuel n'était qu'un petit industriel et qu'il s'est vu maltraité par le consulat lors d'une demande de visa. Faut-il aussi rappeler les sarcasmes entendus dans la bouche de nos diplomates toujours si arrogants lorsque ce petit industriel devenu plus grand a accédé à la mairie de Tananarive. Et nos diplomates continuent de railler…

And another sarcastically comments on the “backwardness” of African societies:

L'horoscope de l'ambassadeur était en contradiction avec celui du président malgache ? Mon Dieu ! Mon Dieu ! L'Afrique est bien sur la voie du modernisme ! Aucun doute …

Arnis Balcus has started a Latvia photoblog: “Here I want to display my findings because the things that interest me are very often taken for granted and passed away unnoticed. These are little things that one day will disappear, for instance, architecture and its elements that remind of Soviet times or construction sites that come and go. But I want to capture them to remember as we start to value things once they are not present.”

One of China's oldest blog service providers, Sohoxiaobao, has been kept shut down for a week already and looks to stay that way until the Beijing Olympics wrap up in late August.

Belgrade street art photos - at Transgresor blog.

On 21 July at a news conference held at the presidential palace to mark the 100th day of the new president's term in office, two bloggers were invited to attend alongside 38 journalists. Allowed to ask one question in each, the bloggers were effectively considered as the equals of journalists. In fact, considering that some pro-opposition media weren't invited, those bloggers might even be considered as ‘even more equal' given that the highest circulation daily in Armenia has a print-run of around 10,000 copies. The precedent was surely set for taking blogs as a medium seriously.

Indeed, it has to be said that such signs were already there given that Serzh Sargsyan had a blog established on his behalf even before he was sworn in as the new president in April. The blog collected several hundred questions from readers on the shaky political situation after the disputed presidential elections held in February and the violent clashes between radical opposition supporters and the police in Yerevan on 1 March. Initiated by Akunamatata_Ser [RU], who remembered that Sargsyan had promised to answer questions from bloggers again on the 100th day of his presidency, around 50 questions were collected.

The blogger reports on the historic occasion.

It turned out that the people on the helms of government actually look after us and even follow us. Today akunamatata_ser and pigh were invited to the presidential palace!!!!!! It turned out the fact that we remember and don't forget the promises to bloggers hasn't slipped the eye of the ‘big brother'

In an excited entry, RealArmenia welcomes the participation of Armenian bloggers in the press conference, noting that “Armenia so far becomes one of the rare country where the bloggers are going to be equal to journalists” and congratulates Sergey Chamanyan (akunamatata_ser) and Tigran Kocharyan (pigh) as a result.

However, not all bloggers welcomed the news and there was also much criticism in the Armenian blogosphere. Pro-opposition blogger Nazarian, for example, remarked that “The invited were palace bloggers serving the needs of the regime. The questions they asked obviously were pro-regime..” Unzipped went further, wondering if “the real intention behind recent close engagements of presidential staff with few pro-government bloggers is to discredit blogs/blogging in the eyes of population, in general, from the beginning, without even allowing their further development.”

Tumanyan [RU] takes a more satirical approach and looks forward 70 years with a short story in the best traditions of Orwell's 1984.

Veteran journalist Mark Grigorian [RU] instead initiated a more theoretical discussion on the acceptability of inviting bloggers, i.e. non-professional journalists to a press-conference even if his argument presupposes that journalists in the country maintain a certain degree of professionalism. Grigorian speculates that although the invited bloggers have around the same numbers of readers as some newspapers, they should not be considered as representatives of the mass media.

The blog is not updated regularly (one day a blog might have several entries, on another days - none at all), the blogger might not necissarily be the author of information published on the blog, and the blog might not always contain inormation — we know that often blog entries are just photos or a link to a music video on YouTube, etc.

Hence blogging requires other skills, then those necessary for working in Mass Media. And that was perfectly illustrated on Armenian president's press conference.

Former journalist and media professional Ogostos [RU] was also not impressed.

There is no logic in the appearance of bloggers in a presidential press-conference […]. If presidential spin-doctors consider bloggers full-fledged players in the information field and want to demonstrate their “transparency” by inviting bloggers, they should be aware, that this “transparency” is fully blown-up by the absence of pro-opposition journalists - who are undoubtedly NO LESS FULL-FLEDGED PLAYERS. If the presidential spin-doctors view bloggers as civil-society, they should also invite other members of civil society and call it public consultations or something else, instead of inviting a press-conference.

In response to the wave of criticism, one of those bloggers invited to the press conference — Pigh [RU] — makes some valid points in his defense, saying that he doesn't respect most journalists because of their “unscrupulousness, non-professionalism and venal practices.” Instead, he paints the picture of experienced bloggers being those with no editors slowing down or even preventing certain information from being published.

The blogger says that his motivation to attend the press-conference was to promote blogging and blogosphere, and believes that this objective was achieved. “Take it easy, people,” he tells his critics, summarizing the achievements of the event.

Dear bloggers. It is so cool that we, positionists and oppositionsists, have stepped on the feet of journalists with our blogs. And even with our professionalism. I personally am flattered to see, that the number of my blog's pageviews surpasses 90 percent of printruns of Armenian newspapers. It is great to be able to enter the blog, see a post and be able to express your agreement disagreement (instead of running to the courts and demanding refutation in the newspapers). […] Virtual reality is slowly, but surely stepping on the feet of printed press. Progress, has slowly but surely penetrated here as well.

How many times has the BOCOG promised that foreign reporters will be given full reign to interview and report during the Olympics Games? Davesgonechina at Mutant Palm looks at the somewhat different story that Chinese police are—and have been, for at least two years—prepared to tell. This story was linked to earlier here.

White African informs about 5 upcoming conferences around technology or internet issues in Africa.

Bankelele describes the first session of the Kwani Literary Festival in Nairobi that started Wednesday night, with the title “How foreign correspondents have formed the literary image of Africa”.

You've probably already heard that American president George W. Bush will be attending next month's Olympic Games in Beijing, but have you checked to see if you'll be sitting next to him? You might want to check again after you've seen this Olympic countdown clock.

Deadpan Thoughts on returning to Pakistan after a stint abroad for education.