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Afghan Whispers: Citizens, Herat & Economy

Farid Pouya · 20:02

Sohrab Kabuli talks about social class differences in Kabul. He says that the Afghan President says citizens are secure in Kabul. Kabuli says if citizens are people who are running NGOs or national or international institutes with high salaries, holidays in Dubai or Tajikistan and with real comfort at home President is right. But thirty percent of people in Kabul have electricity or water only for 4 hours every two days and the situation is worse for the other 70 percent. He asks if one day country will emerge from the misery or killing will restart. (Link in Persian)

Maykadeh talks about his experience in Herat. The blogger says:

Herat, the only city in Afghanistan with a decent network of paved streets. Where all those streets are lined with trees. Where the shops are clean and well stocked. It’s almost as if you’re in another country. The delegation compound there was amazing too; residence was one of those old style houses with a huge manicured central courtyard. It was almost like a holiday for us! The only highlight of coming back to Mazar was going to the Buzkashi match on Friday.

To a large extent, the city has Ismail Khan known (aka IK) to thank for its prosperity. Unlike most of the commanders ruling in the provinces, he spent money on his domains. A lot of the projects that were started under his rule have now been put on hold unfortunately. He is generally popular with the masses, which is not common for politicians/warlords here. He was seen as somewhat oppressive by the small educated classes but even they admit that he was relatively constructive.

Nikobad talks about saving & investment:

Countries which pay attention to saving & investing can emerge from reconstruction period. In Afghanistan there is no saving culture and no means to invest. If country continues like that all foreign aid will be gone in a few years. Afghanistan imports more than 2 billion dollars than country exports!(Link in Persian)

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Voices from Zimbabwe and the Great Lakes

Zimpundit · 11:58

Zimbabwe: Last weekend Zimbabwean politics were rocked by the flamboyant reentry of former student activist turned rocket scientist turned businessman Arthur Mutambara. Mutambara, who captivated the nation's imagination with his radical and sometimes violent opposition to Mugabe over a decade ago, emerged as the uncontested new leader of the MDC's pros-enate faction.

The response from Zimbabwe's bloggers has been a cautioned skepticism. Said This is Zimbabwe,

Like most people, I’ve been miserable over the impact that a shattered opposition party has had on the struggle for human rights and freedom that everyone in our country deserves. So I’m not making any judgements now, simply saying that I’ll be keeping a close eye on Arthur G.O. Mutambara, a name that will no doubt start appearing in the media. Will his arrival on the political scene make a difference to the struggle for democracy in Zimbabwe? With the way things are now, we can only hope so … but experience says that only time will tell.

Zimpundit is less optimistic and feels Mutambara already sounds a lot like Mugabe.

In another shocker, Zimbabwe endured an earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale. Zimbabwe is not prone to earthquakes so when one does occur, it shakes everything to the core, not just the buildings. This was the experience as recorded by blogger Accoustic Motorbike,

From a long way off, I hear a dull roar. Of a lorry on Lomagundi Rd, perhaps, or an aeroplane echoing off the low clouds. There’s been lightning flashing the whole night. Perhaps the thunder is finally catching up.

But the roar turns into a rattle and I swear I can feel my bed shaking. I stand up, thinking maybe its just me. But the windows are jerking and the door is banging. The whole house is moving. Something triggers deep in the recesses of my reptilian brain and I know Something Is Not Right. Im squatting on my bedroom floor in my night shirt trying to remember the Earthquake Emergency Procedure.

–Stop Drop and Roll? No, that’s for if you’ve found yourself on fire.
–Storm Cellar? No, I think that’s for tornadoes.
–Earthquakes! Go to the ground floor and sit under a door frame. Or a table. Or something.

But instead I just stand there. Thinking, surely, this is not really happening. I’m in Zimbabwe. We don’t do earthquakes.

Burundi: Agathon Rwasa has a report in which Human Rights Watch called for donors to press for the end of human rights violations.

D.R.C: Congogirl feels culpable of “comparing apples to oranges” for this dissection of the amount of UN funding going towards staving of a financial crisis in Palestine as opposed to the amount they are putting into putting and to the crisis in the DRC.

She also announces that the DRC has a new constitution and new flag.

Malawi: Mike of Hacktivate is thrilled that Soyapi, a Malawian proggramer, found the solution for a problem Mike had put a “bounty” for. Curious? Read this for an explanation. Soyapi blogs about it here too.

Mike is also excited about the possibility of low cost broadband in Africa.

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From the Jordanian Blogosphere

Roba Al Assi · 11:26

A lot has happened in the past week or so that has gotten a lot of reactions from the Jordanian blogosphere- Al-Qaeda prisoners riot in Jordanian jails and other Al-Qaeda members attempt an attack on our soil. Khalaf thinks the jail riots were handled well, saying, “So, I would say that it is noteworthy that the prison warden risked his life to deal with the situation first hand, rather than send in the troops in with guns blazing. While I would hope that an inquiry on why this happened is conducted and published, my gut conclusion is that legendary abusive Jordanian police were no where to be found. And if the guards are so abusive, why weren't they harmed by the prisoners? Some of the prisoners clearly have nothing to lose, and are not above violence. Why is it so difficult for people to give credit where it is due? Just because the government is emphasizing it doesn't mean that it should be ignored.”

Naseem Tarawneh agrees, but he adds, “I have to say as a citizen the country’s security forces handled these situations fairly well. Terrorism in Jordan is a very real issue. I know everyone would like to remain thinking of it as a stable “peaceful kingdom” but it takes a lot to preserve whatever stability or peace we enjoy. Jordan is still the Holy Grail for terrorists, a pro-US monarchy that is surrounded geographically by many entrances and many unstable nations. These latest terrorists were from Libya, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, probably entering through Syria.”

Batir Wardam says, “To protect our freedoms, liberties, families, and everything we believe in we have to be an open eye for the help of security forces in one and only one dimension: monitoring and cracking down Islamist fundamentalists. The Jordanian public should be the first defense line against terrorism, and it is not a betrayal of free speech principles to adopt a public security strategy against fundamentalists that ordinary people will participate in without imposing any restrictions to peaceful and civil freedoms.”

Meanwhile, the Jordanian blogosphere is also very angry at the Israeli attack on the Church of Annunciation in neighboring Palestine.
(more…)

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