Archive for
March 10th, 2007
Stories
China: People's Conferences
· 15:50
If you've been following the glorious progress being made in this year's rounds of the parliamentary-ish National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, where members of China's government and military from across the country meet in the highest halls of power, make proposals and decide the future of the country, then you've probably seen this photo being blogged around.
‘One look and you know these people sleep a lot,' reads the caption given the photo by blogger Wang Xiaofeng. And his readers?
会不会是写提案累的？
好像每年他们都是这么睡着开会的
反正醒着也做不了什么事
But even if they wake up there's not a lot they can do
如果他们平时都这样的话，和谐社会很快就实现了。
Africa: Hope Raisers, “Da Bomb”, Swahili Hip Hop, & Zimfest
· 15:43
In the 4 weeks since my last post on Global Voices, there has been lots of activity covered by bloggers in the African music scene. Here is a roundup of just a small part of that activity.
Music from Nairobi's slums at the 2007 World Social Forum
Pambuzuka, an African news magazine that works to promote social change in Africa has a post about a special broadcast of the conscious music group “Hope Raisers” from Nairobi's slums at the World Social Forum that was held in Nairobi in January 2007. The music on the podacast is from the Hope Raisers and Tanzanian poet, writer, and musician Freddy Macha.
Praye's “da bomb”
Oluniyi David Ajao carried a post at the end of January about Praye, a Ghanian high life group. When asked about the meaning of the groups' name, Eugene Baah, one of the group members said:
Well, we chose the name Praye because this in English means a broom and since a broom is a tool for sweeping, we are also here to sweep the social vices through our music
And that they have. Praye first took West Africa by storm during a 2004 talent search contest, Nescafe African Reveleation, sponsored by Nescafe and then went on to win a Kora award, the African equivalent of a Grammy. Praye has a new album out in 2007 named “The Bomb” that has taken Ghanian airwaves by storm and is getting significant airplay. Their videos can be found on Youtube and their music can be purchased from the Big Ben Music label.
1 comment · »»Nepal: Madhesi Strike & Interim Government
· 03:23
The issue of Madheshi – the people living in the southern plains of Nepal – hasn’t ended. The Madheshi Peoples’ Right Forum, which led the biggest protest in southern Terai demanding the equal opportunity and inclusiveness, have resumed the strikes once again.
Parmendra Bhagat of Democracy for Nepal believed the calling off the protest on February 7 was a mistake. On that day, the protest was temporarily called off after the government agreed for 49 per cent of the representation of Madheshi in the constituent assembly.
It was a mistake to call off the Terai Band on February 7 in the first place. It was the movement's mistake to not have had a clear agenda. The agenda right then should have been that the Home Minister must resign and a probe commission must be formed, or the strikes would continue. Momentum was lost.
Bhagat argues that the movement should continue until all the demands are fulfilled. He also criticizes media for not covering the issue and a minority group leader for talking against the strikes.
The Madheshi strike has not only lost the momentum that it had, but also drawn criticism of closing down the transportation and businesses. Dinesh Wagle of United We Blog! summaries the defying of the strikes in the region.
Strike orders issued by the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) have been defied in various districts across the county. However, some districts in eastern Terai remain affected by the strike.
With the Maoists, the insurgents-turned-political party, readying itself to join the interim government in Nepal, its no wonder than the Nepali blogosphere is buzzing with the issue. The bloggers know the entry (more…)
0 comments · »»
Links
Sub-Saharan Africa
Elma Shaw blogs about the International Women's Day in Liberia and the motto on the the wall of the Temple of Justice: Perhaps change should begin with modification of this discriminatory and exclusive motto written in large letters on the Temple of Justice. How long will we allow it to remain as it is? Language is powerful. Simply remove the word “men” and everyone will begin to feel the difference as the new motto sinks into the psyche of our society: “Let Justice Be Done To All.”
Sub-Saharan Africa
Ahmed Quick
An American in Africa on Ghana@50, “Everyone has flags on their cars and their house gates (we do!) and all the businesses are dressed up in bunting. The city has been working for MONTHS to get everything spiffy and nice for the celebration. Last Saturday an army of volunteers was whitewashing the curbing on Liberation Rd. - by hand!” Andrew Havens
Seminawork reports that Blogger has been unblocked in Ethiopia, “It has been five days since blogspot.com is unblocked in Ethiopia. Readers in Ethiopia can now access this blog directly.” Extra Extra blogs about three Congolese park rangers with cameras and blogs, “Wildlife Direct deserve bounteous credit for arming three elite park rangers in Eastern DRC with cameras and blogs” Aloma Major posts photos and writes, “In Congo, there’s always room for one more.” Thanks to Iranian.com, we can see a short video against a possible war against Iran. Israeli blogger Sarah is excited her article on Judaism and superstition has been published. Israeli blogger Yael has had bad hummus (crushed chick peas) and is wondering whether the traditional dish has an expiry date. “How long does hummus keep in the fridge once you’ve opened it? I’m wondering because I consumed only a small quantity of hummus earlier today from a carton that had been hanging out in my fridge for about a week. It looked fine. It smelled fine. It tasted ok. I spread some on half a pita this morning with my coffee. My day was going fine. Then blam, about an hour and a half after hummus consumption I got really icky ill,” she explains. Israeli blogger Desert Peace links to a story about the killing of a Bedouin shepherdess. “It's open season on the Bedouin these days…. either their homes are demolished by the IDF .. or their children are shot for ‘trespassing',” he writes. Palestinian blogger Duried says Izzis's blog has been hijacked by “Zionist Hackers who have obviously felt the righteousness of the cause that Izzi always fought for and the effects that her truthful and touching words have on many.” Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah links keeps us updated with claims, testimonies and a photograph which shows that Israel has used Palestinian children as human shields in its attacks on a Palestinian town. Bahrain-based Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah links to a story detailing the struggle a US soldier, drafted to Iraq, went through before deserting the army and seeking refugee status with his family in Canada. Adefunke is not impressed with pro-Africa charity initiatives, “Ryan announced on the show that he and Simon had already made a trip to ‘Africa’ to witness the poverty and sickness firsthand perhaps to authenticate its existence after all they are serious celebrities who can only lend the ‘weight’ of their ‘serious’ celebrity to real causes. Cowell seemed totally convinced that poverty is real in ‘Africa’ as he stiffly shook hands with children on the obligatory tape made of their fact finding mission. Ryan went further to try and experience this poverty by attempting to balance a basket of bananas on his head.” Mimi magazine blogs announces the release of a new single, African Girl, by a Nigerian young musician, Nayo: “Nayo, MIMI's March 2007 covergirl, has released her debut single, African Girl today. To hear the clip and find out how you can purchase it, visit www.myspace.com/nayo. Nayo has also recorded a video for the track, which can also be found on her MySpace page.” My Life blogs about a new African Women's magazine, “Kitu Kizuri is a new quarterly African Women's magazine, which is currently in print, and will be available in April for the public. I'm pretty sure there are lots of other African magazines out there…maybe not, but Kitu Kizuri is very different. Think of it as the Essence of African women, xcept, it is by us, for us, and about us.” Jordanian blogger Natasha (Twal) Tynes is excited that some of her single friends can visit Jordan, now that her country has retracted “a controversial new regulation that was intended to limit the entry of single eastern European and North African women into the country.” Jordanian blogger Lina has taken up running in Amman , where she takes us with he on a tour of her favourite track so far. Jordanian blogger Hareega says people only miss what they are used to. In a post dotted with wisdom, he writes: “If you don't try something you'll never miss it. If you don't get sick you won't know how great it is to be healthy. As my best friend Aerosmith says .. ‘You got to lose to know how to win'.” Wozafriday has
Someamongus writes about leadership challenges within the main political parties in South Africa, “The ANC, for all that it is a very opaque and clandestine organisation in practice, documents its theory very closely. It publishes discussion documents and position papers regularly, particularly in advance of its major congresses and lekgotlas. The Democratic Alliance does not do this – or not enough – but conversely the DA’s systems are less institutionally opaque than the ANC’s, and DA thinking about leadership can be adduced by observing how it behaves and how it modifies its fairly fluid Constitution and electoral regulations.”
Pickled Politics on racism, the army and the government. “It is a disgusting stereotyping and an insult to any ethnic minorities who join the armed forces. If he wasn’t racist he’d be trying to stop using racially derogatory terms, not perpetuate them further by saying they are acceptable and used regularly. And the idea that the Army is completely colour blind is also rubbish.” Don't trust the Indian Media on the growth of the cellular subscriber base, and the government. “You know, I sometimes wonder if some of our politicians actually follow a policy of ‘enforced poverty' - keep people poor and uneducated so that they can hang on to power as long as possible by encouraging politics of reservation and appeasement. I mean, I'm not a loony right-wing guy, but the Sachar Committee report is insane!” The Black Lullaby on how soaps make some serious points sometimes, and how the seriousness of rape related issues are sometimes touched on in Ekta Kapoor's soaps. “An area Kapoor takes very seriously is rape because statistics show that a total number of 36 million women are raped in India every year. Through her soaps she attempts to address this broad issue and make people understand the pain of enduring such a hideous crime and how dealing with it afterward doesn’t get any better.” Madhesh Blog on the iron regime and its ways to suppress opinions. “Dozens of Madheshis have been injured from the attacks of armed police forces, in Duhabi, Nepalgunj and other areas of Madhesh; and now the curfew has been imposed and the government continues its old strategy of ruling the country by killing people and suppressing all the voices going against it. “ a Bengali in TO explains why an Islamic state is impractical. “Today, however, the clerics have dubious motives for issuing edicts - be it money, power, fame or cultural reasons. Thus, we cannot trust our ulemah to interpret Islam in a just manner, and one of the main pillars of an “Islamic” state thus falls.”Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Middle East & North Africa
Middle East & North Africa
Middle East & North Africa
Middle East & North Africa
Middle East & North Africa
Middle East & North Africa
Middle East & North Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Middle East & North Africa
Middle East & North Africa
Middle East & North Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Asia
South Asia
South Asia
South Asia
South Asia
This site is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License
Please read our attribution policy.Sponsors
Korea content
supported by
Japan content
supported by
Filip StojanovskiLatest of 3 posts
Tim MuthLatest of 26 posts
Andrew HeavensLatest of 47 posts
Meng ZhangLatest of 14 posts
Solana LarsenLatest of 22 posts
Hyejin KimLatest of 153 posts
RezwanLatest of 151 posts
Naseem TarawnahLatest of 18 posts
Chris SalzbergLatest of 197 posts
Jennifer BreaLatest of 273 posts
Aparna RayLatest of 17 posts
Oiwan LamLatest of 2348 posts