Archive for
January 26th, 2007
Stories
Chavez Plans to Revoke Station's Broadcast License in Venezuela
Los Amigos Invisibles con Patricia [at RCTV] by Alfredo Izaguirre F.
Hugo Chavez, shortly after his re-election in December for a term of 6 more years of governance, announced that the license of a television channel, whose editorial line tends toward opposition, will not be renewed. Channel RCTV, with 52 years of operation, will have its transmission limited and it will no longer be able to broadcast over public spectrum, which puts its sustainability at risk. For that reason before the expression “closure of channel” and “no renovation of licensing” is a difference in what can be considered legitimate state procedure.
In the Venezuelan blogosphere, reflecting the current political division, opinions are split on one side or the other. Within the Venezuelan context, political debate circles around the emotional sensibility of each faction, which is why the arguments of both sides seem to be subject to the same reflections made by politicians.
On the one hand, the reasons of the Government to not renew the broadcasting license are based on the participation of the television station in the attempted coup d'etat of 2002 and oil sabotage of that same year. Also, the channel has maintained a critical and propagandistic editorial line against the government of Hugo Chavez. The president alleges that some constitutional laws and media-based legislation have been violated, although, up until now, no cases have been filed.
Brazil Again: Blogs Banished from 2007 PanAm Games in Rio
The Brazilian blogosphere is becoming one of the main fronts in the battle against Internet censorship. The reason for that can be the growing audience created by the amount of time local internauts devote to web surfing, which was once again rated as the highest in the world. But it can also derive from the silliness displayed by local authorities on decisions that directly meddle with the very core of what has come to be accepted as Internet freedom. The attack this time centers around the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio and takes the form of a policy that prohibits the participating athletes from maintaining blogs, flogs, video logs or personal websites during the Games. And — if that wasn't enough — Internet media won't be allowed to present any story or news featuring audiovisual content of the competition, not even trainings in public locations.
Acabo de ler agora no Jornal O DIA, aqui do Rio de Janeiro, que o COB pretende censurar os atletas para que eles não possam publicar em seus blogues ou sítios pessoais nada sobre os jogos panamericanos de 2007!… Não é possível imaginar um disparate destes em plena Era da Informação! Ei McFly, a personalidade do ano de 2006 foi o cidadão comum [1] , que, se desejar, usa o seu blogue como lhe convier para, entre outras coisas, dá a sua visão das coisas! Acorda Sr. Nuzman!
COB tem mentalidade da Era Industrial… - Sérgio Blog 2.3
COB has industrial age mentality… - Sérgio Blog 2.3
Russia: Roma Wedding and Christmas
The flag of the Roma people. According to Wikipedia, it “was approved at the First World Romani Congress in 1971, held in London, UK. The flag consists of a background of dark blue and green, representing the heavens and earth, respectively. The flag also contains a red chakra, or spoked wheel, in the centre, representing the Indo-Aryan heritage of the Romani people.”
Of the 8 to 10 million Roma people living all over the world today, more than 180,000 live in Russia. Photographer Tanya Kotova (LJ user tanyakotova) has recently posted two wonderful photo stories about the Roma population of Peri, a village located not far from St. Petersburg.
The first entry contains 15 photos and this text about a local wedding celebration (RUS):
“Tabor” [the camp] is how the Roma call their settlement in the village of Peri. They moved here from Moldova over 30 years ago. The local government built houses for them - a whole street named after cosmonaut [Yuri Gagarin]. Then the relatives of the Roma arrived, and relatives of the relatives, and the houses expanded… Currently, over 500 Roma families live in Peri. Live is tough here, but also bright and unusual - a true [Emir Kusturica] movie. Women's dresses of incredible beauty, the kids' curious black eyes, golden teeth of honorable men and silver threads in the long braids of the elderly - the endlessly beautiful old gypsy women. What's striking is the open-mindedness and hospitality of the young housewives with little kids in their arms, how they welcome you into their houses. Here, people smile a lot more often than they are sad, though they face a lot more everyday problems than their Russian neighbors do.
The Global Voices iTunes podcast feed — alive again!
Many, many apologies to those of you who attempted to access the iTunes MP3 feed for the Global Voices podcasts through this page and found the latest edition of The Global Voices Show absent without leave. Thanks to the interventions of deputy geek Jeremy Clarke, however, the iTunes feed is working once more, and now even bears the GV logo!
To play the latest edition of The Global Voices Show directly from this page, please visit the original post and click on the he “Audio MP3″ and “Audio M4A” buttons at the end. The show is available in stereo MP3, enhanced AAC (the good-looking, chapterized one with the embedded images and hyperlinks) and mono MP3 (for low-bandwidth users).
Or subscribe to this podcast using any of the following links:
MP3 (all Global Voices podcasts) - RSS | iTunes (podcast page) | iTunes (direct subscription link) | Odeo
AAC (Global Voices Show) - RSS | iTunes (podcast page) | iTunes (direct subscription link)
Thanks for tuning in!
Ghana: It's Harmattan again, Re-denomination of Ghanian Currency Looms Large, Why the Ghanian Worker Wants to Leave, and 82 Steps to Renew a Visa
Ghana is currently experiencing a harmattan, and this state of play evidently does not escape the comment of Leanne, of An American in Africa, who explains how the harmattan, which she defines as:
a dry dusty wind that blows along the northwest coast of Africa. Its time-frame, she describes as “usually show[ing] up in December and blow[ing]s itself out by March.
Harmattan is, indeed, “messy”, covering cars with “fine grit” and “bare tile floors are dusted with a layer of North African sand.” Except that this time, Ghana meteorologists claim they came from Eastern Europe.
Rob Taylor, Canadian blogger in Ghana writing in his blog A Canadian Couple Relishes Acronyms, in his characteristically humorous style, lists the ordeal of getting his passport renewed in Ghana, a process which took nothing less than 82 steps to obtain! By the time he obtained his visa, he writes, he felt:
fully welcomed to Ghana (just in time to leave again)!
Links for Fri, 2007-01
Ahfook in Malaysia is lists blog posts in support of the two bloggers who are being sued by a newspaper. The newspaper claims that the two bloggers have defamed the newspaper and its employees in their posts. The list is being maintained by Duller blog and by 4896 blog.
Dr Hareega, an Arab doctor in the US, is finding it difficult to find a restroom (bathroom) in the clinic he works at.
“In the clinic I was looking for a restroom, couldn't find anythen I found a room next to me , looked like a bathroom from inside, with a label on the door, “Micturition Room”
I asked another resident next to me, “Does this mean this is a bathroom?”
He said, “Yes, but it's just a micturition room, defecation is not allowed :) ” he wrote.
Tel Avivian blogger Yohay Elam today attended a jamming session to make noise against forced prostitution.
“Hundreds of women are held against their will in central cities in Israel, and “employed” as prostitutes. The authorities know where they are, and don’t act to release them. The media usually ignores these cases,” he wrote.
Says Blog Politique du Senegal (Fr): “As predicted, tensions are rising [in Casamance] following the death of Diamacoune. The measliest local chief is going to develop ambitions as a future president and launch “operations” in order to demonstrate his ability to flex his muscle. The hostilities have only just begun.”
Leila reports on the first blogger to go on trial for blogging in Kazakhstan.
Josh Foust, writing at Registan.net, says that when Afghani women are left to their own devices, they prosper.
Kyrgyz Report profiles the new candidate for prime minister in Kyrgyzstan.
Zarchka laments the loss of Khoren Palian, a well-known performer of Armenian spiritual music.
The Priestess is a new Armenian film with high production values. Rhyne of Armenia Blog wants to see the movie, but skpped out on doing so due to ridiculous ticket prices.
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