An ad hoc choir “Singing Skopjans” (Macedonian: Распеани скопјани in Cyrillic and Raspeani skopjani in Latin alphabet) consists of citizens of Skopje who express their opinions on social matters through songs. The singers meet every Sunday at different locations throughout the capital of the Republic of Macedonia and shoot a music video, to be uploaded on the YouTube channel of the civic activist group Ploshtad Sloboda (”Freedom Square”).

The choir uses humor, which is reflected in their repertoire. They performed children's song “We are Macedonians” (Ние сме Mакедонци) [MKD] at the public holiday of the Day of the Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle, and had a performance in front of the Greek Liaison Office (a de facto Embassy of Greece) with the song “Dirlada” (Дирлада) [MKD] about summer love of a Macedonian boy and Greek girl who encounter difficulties due to visa restrictions.

On a grimmer note, the Singing Skopjans also sang “Kill me” (Убиј ме) by the local band Bernays Propaganda, which includes these lyrics:

Не сум како тебе,
немам иста боја,
омразата е твоја
…
Не сум како тебе
затоа у-б-и-ј м-е
убиј, убиј ме.

…in order to comment on the events of beating up student protesters on a Skopje square a few months ago.

The latest performance includes the Lumberjack Song by Monty Python, related to the cutting of the old threes on the Ilinden Boulevard, an act of Skopje's mayor which caused a lot of anguish and frustration [MKD] among ordinary citizens several months ago.

The word about this innovative commentary source has been spreading mainly through social media, especially through Facebook, and after a few weeks caught the attention of the traditional media: Dnevnik daily published an article about the choir [MKD].

If one travels to Colombia, it is most likely that between 3 and 6 pm that one will be invited to eat “something.” Being served a combination of coffee or hot chocolate along with a wide variety of baked goods has become a ritual for many Colombian families during the time of the day when the sun sets.

Photo by Lozbot and used under a Creative Commons license

In Reticente [es], the blog of Juan David Escobar, he writes about that tradition that has been passed down by many generations:

Mis abuelas nos enseñaron que a eso de las 3pm, se debe parar la vida para comer algo caliente con parva, o lo que te encuentres, pero comer “algo”.

More often that not, this “something” is an arepa. On a cold afternoon, Escobar participated in the preparation of arepas of chócolo (soft corn), and which is something also discussed in other Colombian blogs. The Blog de Colombia [es] provides an explanation about the process to prepare the arepa:

La arepa es una de las comidas más típicas en Colombia. Para hacerlas, los ingredientes son muy básicos: harina de diferentes tipos de maíz, agua, aceite y sal. Luego está el relleno, que cada uno puede hacer de lo que quiera, pero la arepa pura es lo importante. Aunque todavía no se pongan de acuerdo sobre qué país es el originario, la arepa colombiana tiene su propia tradición y forma de elaboración.

The arepa of chócolo is made after threshing the corn, as indicated by the blog Recetas de Cocina, Colombia Turística [es]:

Se desgranan los chócolos, y se muelen. Debe quedar una masa suave. Se arman las arepas y se ponen a asar sobre una hoja de plátano, luego se voltean sobre una hoja nueva, hasta que queden bien asados por ambos lados.

The arepa of chócolo is accompanied with cheese [es]:

Si quiere puede hacer dos cosas con el queso: cortarlo en lajitas, cortar la arepa por el borde e introducir el queso en la mitad y asarlas de nuevo por un minuto o rallar el queso y mezclarlo, con la masa, antes de armarlas.

Blogger Carlos Múnera of the blog Somos Iguales [es] affirms:

Qué cosa más rica es ese binomio culinario de la arepa de chócolo* con quesito y mejor cuando se forma aquel triángulo amoroso a la llegada de un espumoso chocolate en leche. Sí señores, ah fríos que nos ha quitado ese trinomio de sabor. Ah tardes que nos han acompañado paralelo a una buena visita parviada*. Cuán sencillos y humanos nos sentimos cuando comemos del fruto de la tierra cocido al calor del fuego.

Photo by Juan David Escobar and used with permission.

Finally, Escobar of the blog El Reticente [es] concludes his post:

Mientras los ordenes económicos y de seguridad se mueven y la ciudad crece y se moderniza, todavía por aquí tenemos las tradiciones más clásicas, a pesar de que de las abuelas ni los huesos quedan.

Several names have been thrown in the pool of candidates for Egypt's 2011 presidential elections; In September 2005 Ayman Nour of Al Ghad Party and No'man Goma'a of New Wafd Party nominated themselves against President Hosni Mubarak. Nour was charged with fraud and Goma'a was accused of insanity! Since 2000, Gamal Hosni Mubarak has the been groomed to be his father's successor and some people wondered Why Not? Rumor has it that Omar Soliman, Chief of the Egyptian General Intelligence Services, is an eligible presidential candidate. In June 2009, a blog and Facebook group were dedicated to support him. In September 2009, a Coptic lawyer threw the hat in for the Presidential run. Today Egyptians want Alaa Mubarak - Hosni Mubarak's eldest son - for president!

As a business tycoon, Alaa Mubarak has always maintained a low profile. Last May, his 12-year-old son - Mohamed - died suddenly and Egyptians sympathized highly with the bereaved father, mother, grand mother, and grand father. Zeinobia covered the funeral saying:

President Mubarak did not attend the funeral … Alaa Mubarak was crying during the prayer and the funeral. It is hard for any father to be in this situation … Seriously I feel sad … I want to hint out that across the internet where the news was published the comments came to prove how great the Egyptian people are in these times.

Before the 14th of November Egypt-Algeria match there was a lot of tension for the encounter was to determine which of the two teams would qualify to next year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa. But instead of responding to the Egyptian-Algerian actor Ahmed Mekky's wake up call for unity, peace, and tolerance, Egypt's loss on November 18th in Sudan proved that it was much more than football!

The Mubarak brothers were in Sudan to cheer for the national team and, along with the rest of the Egyptian hooligans, they were assaulted by Algerian hooligans. Upon his return Gamal Mubarak was totally silent but Alaa Mubarak made two very angry live calls.

The first call was on Dream TV with Khaled Al Ghandour.

On this call, Zeinobia wrote:

We have reached the point of no return as Alaa Mubarak has opened his fire on the Algerian federation , the Algerian fans and the Algerian thugs in Sudan not to mention the Algerian press and the Algerian Ambassador. “The Algerian press attacked him and his brother unfairly if I may say , it is a normal thing that they would support their country’s national team for God Sake !!”
Speaking about Alaa himself , well he is more human and more simple than his pale brother. There is a huge difference. If you do not know who he is , you will think that he is normal Egyptian football angry fan.

His second call was on national TV (Al Beit Beitak). Once again Zeinobia said about his second strike:

It seems that Alaa Mubarak has a lot to say from that bloody night in Khartoum that left so shaken and so furious , last night he did it again and called a live night news show ; this time it was the official Al Beit Batik.

This time it was much long , he was ballistic and you have something interesting quotes more than the previous time with his famous line “ They were treating us as if we are Jews killing people in Gaza”

On Twitter, Sandmonkey and Pakinam Amer had questions:

On Facebook, the reactions varied from extreme sarcasm to extreme endorsement as status updates, fan pages, and groups were created overnight in support of the new national hero.

Spring wrote a cynical note about the elite that ended in:

The Arabist was furious at Alaa Mubarak's shamelessness and asks what about Egyptians?

Alaa Mubarak, denounces Algeria as a “country ruled by generals and pashas!”

Mourad thinks it's all a political manouver

Nawara Negm wonders where this Alaa Mubarak came from:

Moftah quoted Alaa Mubarak's statement:

Kareem El Behiery of Egyworkers quoted political analysts saying:

And in another post Kareem El Behiery wrote:

Jack Shenker of Chatoyant Crumbs wrote:

Mubarak adds fuel to the fire as football riots spread
President vows to defend Egyptians abroad as violence spreads across Cairo and Algiers
Egyptian regime accused of whipping up nationalist fervour for political gain

Alaa Mubarak called live for the third time on TV and pulled the “I am a provoked Muslim” card

Alaa Mubarak with Amr Adib

Nawara Negm wants Alaa Mubarak to be arrested in the name of the Egyptian emergency law:

The ongoing war in Yemen certainly warrants coverage on Global Voices Online, but I was really shocked when I realized that there weren't many bloggers interested in the conflict. Here are some scattered extracts from post written by bloggers from different countries.

Yemeni journalist Nasser Arrabye keeps a dairy of his coverage on Blogspot. Last August, he wrote about the military actions between the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels:

The Yemeni government said Thursday it would take a military actions to liberate schools and government buildings used as barracks by Al Houthi rebels in Sa'ada, north of the country.

He then continued:

The statement came after information about fierce battles between the rebels and government troops in which dozens were killed and injured from both sides over this week.
“Since President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered the halt of the military operations, the saboteurs and terrorists continued their attacks on the citizens and security forces, committing heinous crimes against everyone including elders, children and women, in addition to kidnapping, cutting roads, destroying houses,” the statement added.

But it seems that the Houthi rebels had a different point of view:

The Al Houthi rebels said, however, they were only defending themselves and they do not want a new war.

A few months later, no one was able to stop the ongoing war. But a new question was raised: Is it a civil war taking place in Yemen, or are there other parties participating in this war as well.

The Houthis claimed that the Saudis are participating in the on going war, and their troops are there to help the Yemeni government. The government, on the other hand, denied this. Nasser Arrabyee wrote:

A Yemeni military official denied Monday Al Houthi rebels' allegations that the army used a Saudi base to attack them.
The Saudi authorities have “allowed Yemeni army to use a Saudi base in Jabal Al Dukhan from which it launched attacks,” said Al Houthi in statement sent through emails.
The military official, who asked not to be named, said Al Houthi tries only to cover his defeats by speaking about Saudi interference. “Jabal Al Dukhan is Yemeni not Saudi lands,” he said. This is not the first time Al Houthi rebels accuse Saudi authorities of intervening in the war.

But few days later Nasser Arrabyee wrote another post in his blog:

At least 5 Saudi soldiers and 15 Al Houthi rebels were killed in fierce confrontations between the rebels and Saudi forces in Al Khuba and Jabal Al Dukhan in Jaizan area south of the Kingdom, local sources said Thursday.
The leader of the rebels Abdul Malik Al Houthi said in a statement Thursday that the Saudi army is bombarding his fighters' posts in Al Malahaid frontline far west of Sa'ada, “with all kinds of weapons”.

So the Houthi claims about a Saudi intervention were true, and that's what forced Gregory to raise the following questions:

I get the impression that the idea of wading into the muck that is the northern revolt is not something that has been well thought out in Saudi Arabia, which also gets at something else I have been asking for a while: who exactly is running Saudi Arabia's Yemen portfolio? It certainly is not Sultan. And although Muhammad bin Nayif clearly has charge of the AQ section, Saudi Arabia is not the US and is not only focused on al-Qaeda. It has a multi-faceted relationship with Yemen.
My impression is that no one individual is in charge, but that different individuals are taking turns steering the thing with little idea of where they are going besides bouncing from crisis to crisis trying to keep the crazy Yemenis and their problems from flooding across the border.

Sapphire then left a comment on Gregory's post, and tried to elaborate why Saudi Arabia decided to enter that war:

Now, why did the Saudis decide to step in with their military into Yemen? Word has it that after loosing Iraq on their northern border to the Shi'ats of Iraq, they cannot and will not tolerate another Shi'at state on their southern border too, assuming that is, that the Huthis defeat the central Yemeni government and win their independence.

The Egyptian blogger Zeinobia wasn't pleased with the Saudi intervention:

Officially Saudi Arabia has declared war on the Houthi rebels , I will not discuss if its right or not or if it a battle in a bigger regional war but I will discuss the fact that Saudi Arabia mostly will not win this war easily or hardly as it hopes with all that multi-million gadgets they have simply because this is a guerrilla war in the mountains!

She then continued:

I do not know why the Saudis are heading to the same swamp we went to in mid 1960s , of course it is an irony because they used to back up the Yemenis against us !!! In fact I read some news claiming that KSA used White phosphorus against the civilians there !! Is this a deja Vu ??!!??

But was it only the Saudis who have been involved in the war? An Iranian ship was seized near the Yemeni coasts. And that's what made Nasser Arrabyee write the following:

An Iranian ship laden with weapons believed to be on its way to Al Houthi rebels was seized on October 26th, 2009, off the coasts of the Midi harbour in the far north west of Yemen. The 6-member crew, five Iranians and Indian, are now under investigations in the Yemeni capital Sana'a. The Iranian embassy in Sana'a denied at the time that the ship was carrying weapons.

And hence Gregory wrote about a possible proxy war taking place in Yemen:

“So it is a Saudi-Iranian proxy war,” he said. (The he being: Simon Henderson, director of Gulf and energy policy at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in Washington.)

The involvement of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sunnis and Shi'ats, rang a special bell in Abul Maali Fayek's head as it seems that what he was afraid of has happened:

And finally Zeinobia was wondering here if the Arab League of Nations still existed and why it wasn't taking any actions to stop this war:

I do not know if it is ironic or sad ; Arab and Muslim blood should not be spilled like this by the hands of another Arab and Muslim blood !! We are one by the end of the day.
I do not know where the role of the Arab league when you need it , Amr Moussa seems out of town , well guess out he is losing points as possible presidential candidate !!

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good workflow for editing a large set of photos using at least two and probably three laptops? It should be able to do f-spot-like tagging and favorit-ing of pictures, as well as cropping, simple color adjustments, etc. Goal is for Krissa and I, working together but often on our own machines, to turn 5,000 unedited honeymoon pictures into a smaller, organized, cropped, etc., set of pictures.

I’d love to just use f-spot, but as best as I can tell there is no way to share an f-spot collection (files+metadata) across multiple machines/user accounts- happy to be wrong on that count if possible.

Cartoon published in Gulf Times Nov. 22 2009

Is it satire, or just bad taste?

A cartoon of a crazed, angry-looking woman threatening a child with a dripping bowl of tainted gruel has left many Doha bloggers scratching their heads and looking for answers.

The sketch, titled ‘Housemaid's revenge,' was published in Sunday's Gulf Times, a local English newspaper.

The cartoon depicts a maid - presumably Indian, judging by the red bindi on her forehead and gold hoop earrings - threatening a toddler after being scolded by her employer.

The text reads:

Your mum shouted at me today just because I broke a plate. And I am going to strike back. Count on me you brat, you won't sleep at home tonight! You will stay at Al Sadd Children's Emergency. Open your mouth now. This dish I have made will make you so sick that it will make you dizzy for hours.

Many Doha bloggers strongly condemned the cartoon, but were undecided about the artist's intentions.

On Twitter, Weirdweb said:

No, really, Gulf Times, let it all out. Tell us how you REALLY feel about Indian maids. #racism #paranoia

On the forum Qatar Living,

Commenter Olive said:

There's so much wrong about this cartoon I'm not sure what the editor was thinking when he allowed it to be printed.

Some wondered if the message behind the cartoon was lost in translation.

On Twitter, tomgara said

What is worse in this Gulf Times (Qatar) cartoon - hectic racism or awful 6th-grade writing? The answer is both.

On Qatar Living, the debate turned to treatment of maids by their employers, who sponsor their stay in the country.

genesis said:

Mohammed cartoons are never meant to be funny. Most of his work is dark altough sarcastic. I think it's badly translated, the intention is how cruel some sponsors treat their maids

rMs_000 responded diplomatically:

It describes about the cruelty of some sponsors.. and devilish reaction of house maids. Editor doesn't show any partiality to both of them i say. So its neutral..

britexpat said

The message is quite simple..Abuse the maid and you risk her abusing the child

Satire or not, most found the cartoon to be in poor taste.

On Twitter, rachelannmorris said:

Not funny in any way shape or form

On Qatar Living,

Commenter Amoud said:

I don't like this at all…..Even the bad translation doesn't cover what bad taste this is in.

And Adham Essam chimed in:

Oh my God! I CANNOT believe that was printed. How on earth could they allow something like that??? Which ever angle they were going for, it is completely wrong of them to present the issue like this. For the maid. For the child. For the parents. Disgusting…

For more on the discussion, visit Qatar Living.

The Open Video Alliance is putting out a call out for one minute videos that make a case for Open Video for an opportunity to win a trip to South by South West Interactive 2010 festival. The contest is open to anyone regardless of nationality.

As they mention on their site:

We want to send you on a five-day, expenses paid trip to the South By Southwest Interactive 2010 festival. Tell us your story and you could be headed to Austin on us. Plus, we're giving away three Flip Mino video cameras and a bunch of sweet T-shirts.

It's simple to enter: just make a video. In 60 seconds or less, make a case for open video. Then upload it anywhere and tell us the URL. You can make any case you like, in any form you like.

It can be in any language, any form, and any topic related to open video issues, to be posted before January 31, 2010. All videos must be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) or other applicable license. For ideas of what to make the video about, they have a page with a list of topics or issues you can check before making or posting the video. Don't forget to check the FAQ as well.
So what is South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive. It is a series of events and conferences which take place in Austin, Texas:

SXSW Interactive features five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable line up of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer.

Some of the issues relevant to the contest are Art & Remix Culture and Fair Use; Citizen Journalism, Activism and Human rights; Collaborative video; Commons & Licensing; Device Freedom; Digital Divide; Education and video; Royalty-free Codecs; Media Consolidation; Net Neutrality; Privacy & Censorship and Universal Accessibility.
Some of the videos that have been uploaded already on the site are:

Be smart, support open video from Adi

Photo of So Youn shared by the Peace Corps

Two years ago, Global Voices first introduced Morocco's Peace Corps blogosphere, a close-knit group of volunteers blogging from some of Morocco's most far-flung locales. Over the years, Peace Corps bloggers have provided insight into several small, rural communities where there are few - if any - Moroccan bloggers.

This week, however, the Peace Corps bloggers are mourning the loss of a fellow volunteer, 23-year-old So Youn Kim, who had worked at a youth center in the southern Moroccan village of Tamegrout.  Although the Peace Corps has not released the cause of So Youn's death, they have assured volunteers that it was unique to her, and not related to her work in Morocco.  Bloggers who knew her and those who didn't have memorialized Kim in a set of posts describing her ambition, her beauty, her incredible drive, and the important work she was doing in Morocco.

Oclynn in Morocco describes So Youn's important work in Tamegrout, saying:

So-Youn put the workshop together in an attempt to help her host brother develop a business of conducting these workshops for tourists, Moroccan artisans and visitors. This was not her assignment as a Youth Development Volunteer, but something she took on to help her community. She was bright, driven, kind and generous.

Blogger Hillary shares a photo of So Youn

Sharing a photograph of So Youn, blogger Hillary writes:

It saddens my heart to write that fellow PCV, staj-mate (my YD training group), and friend, So-Youn, has suddenly passed away from an illness in Marrakech last night. My thoughts are with her family and friends as we all try to understand and morn for the loss of a great woman, PCV, and all around funny person. I will always remember that she loved life, reading, writing, and her friends dearly. Though I was not very close with her, when I did the pottery workshop at her site about a month ago this time, I got to know her better and see why so many people love being around her. The picture above is the last picture I had with her (she is the last person on the right side).

Blogger Shwiya-b-Shwiya honors So Youn's memory in this post:

So-Youn was an exuberant soul, feisty and fiery and feminist. She could be tempestuous, but she also had a great deal of empathy and arms big enough to enfold those twice her size in the most generous of hugs. She held fast to her moral code, and her strong sense of right and wrong drove her to speak out, to rally for change and to lead by example. She gave a great haircut. She loved her work and her village. She had a great deal to look forward to.

She lived large. She was ~ no, is ~ an inspiration.

I'm never very good with words when it comes to these things, but I felt I owe it to her to let the world know how special she was. She was beautiful, articulate and opinionated, so it seems only right to leave you with some words of hers about the experiences we've shared here.

“I believe in the power of the day to day, the simple yet otherwise impossible conversations, the truths that I speak and live that affect the people around me as I learn from the truths around me in turn.”

Joy in Morocco shares a letter letter written by Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams, an excerpt of which describes So Youn's experience in Morocco:

In September 2008, she wrote: “Youth development work is effective when young people are taught to become educated, empowered, and responsible members of their communities while being given space to explore and share the challenges of their own individual identities.”

This is an ethos and passion So-Youn brought with her to Morocco. I am sharing the news of this tragedy with the hope that all of you will honor her commitment to service by providing the best support, comfort and opportunities to our dedicated Volunteers and staff around the world.

So-Youn wrote recently, “I believe in the power of the day to day, the simple yet otherwise impossible conversations, the truths that I speak and live that affect the people around me as I learn from the truths around me in turn.”

From the Moroccan blogosphere, condolences to So Youn Kim's family and friends.

There will be a presidential election in the Philippines next year. The election season has already started with candidates filing their certificates of candidacies in government election offices throughout the country.

To attract attention and to inform voters about their candidacy, presidential candidates need to produce and pay for the airing of TV ads. Several videos of candidates have been airing on TV already in the past few months. All of these TV ads were also uploaded on YouTube.

Pinoy Picks! provides an initial list of presidential candidates in the country. Shalapog's Blog is not satisfied with the present crop of candidates:

As you wake up in the morning you can start to smell that the season is fast approaching. You can see it in all corners of the street, the music on the radio, the busy people checking their list and including TV commercials. And here comes…the PRESIDENTIABLES!

This 2010 election, I am not that excited about it because I am not satisfied with the candidates and their portfolios. I do not know much about politics, even though I took Political Science as my collegiate course, However I do care about how the country would do with the next president.

Here are the TV ads of presidential candidates:

Senator Manny Villar wants to emphasize his humble beginnings:

The young Senator Chiz Escudero plays a superhero

Defense Secretary and administration candidate Gilbert Teodoro insists that intelligence and competence are needed in government

Senator Noynoy Aquino, and son of a former president, has the most star-studded political TV ad- music video

Former President Joseph Estrada is literally running again through a commercial for an anti-arthritis capsule

Scholar Danny Arao reviews these ads:

They are strong in form but lacking in substance. Even if they stress the need for genuine change there is no attempt to categorically express their stand on burning issues of the day.

One can argue that they are just trying to introduce themselves to the public, but isn't it more endearing to the public if they immediately talk about specific problems like human rights violations and the failure of agrarian reform?

Barrio Siete dislikes political advertisements

I hate political advertisements. To me it’s just a waste of money that should be spent elsewhere. I would like the candidates to spend their election funds on projects that would be beneficial to people in need.

Officially, I have no candidates yet. I’m still busy looking through candidates with my personal magnifying glass. There are the political ads, with their shots at informing the electorate of their platform, if there ever was one, but mostly their faces and their attempt of projecting themselves as candidates, pathetic as it may be.

Due to its size and location, Singapore sources about half of its water supply from its neighbor, Malaysia. It has two major water agreements with Malaysia.

The 1961 agreement provides for the selling of 350 million gallons of raw water daily at 3 Malaysian cents per thousand gallons. Singapore also agreed to provide Johor (a Malaysian state near Singapore) with a daily supply of treated water at a price of 50 cents per 1,000 gallons. This agreement will end on 2011.

The 1962 agreement gave Singapore the right to draw water from Johor River. In return, Johor was entitled to a daily supply of treated water from Singapore. The agreement is valid for 99 years.

Since the first water agreement will end on 2011, former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad asks through his popular blog if the current government is thinking of renegotiating the agreement in order to come up with a better deal:

2011 is not too far away. Have we thought about extending the 2011 treaty or not extending it or negotiating a new water supply agreement? Are we going to be charitable again and sell raw water at 3 sen per thousand gallons to our rich neighbour?

Being charitable and not raising prickly issues is a good way to make friends. But what is the cost to the people of Malaysia.

Blogger Kent Moo notes that the former leader “unleashes a tidal wave of sarcasm over the issue of selling water to Singapore, and in the process drowns his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.”

Mahathir’s blog entry, as always, elicited many comments. Abang Din supports a renegotiated water deal:

It is really unreasonable to continue supplying raw water to Singapore if the return profit is totally unacceptable. We are doing business here, let it be a real business. Of course we must consider our friendship with Singapore, but to continue with the ridiculous deal is not an option.

I hope the Malaysia government will see this problem very seriously so as not to give bad reputations to the peoples of Malaysia. Raw water is owned by all Malaysian, so make sure that the decisions are fair and reasonable.

Ifanonline also thinks that water prices to be discussed in the deal should reflect the current market prices

It is a simple common sense. Any layman would know that if there is any new agreement to sell water to Singapore, there should be new prices according to the current market. Malaysia and Singapore can discuss diplomatically on the water issue and come to an agreement about the new water prices. It's easy actually, if Singapore don't like the price, then Malaysia should not be a goody-goody and sell the water at such a horrible low price.

Weesg believes it is still a win-win solution if the first water agreement is not renewed since Singapore can learn to be more self-sufficient

I question why this is being brought up now. Singapore has said that they would let the 1st water agreement lapse in 2011. Since Malaysia feel that the water price is unfair, and Singapore is happy to let the agreement lapse, isn't this win-win? If Singapore does not have enough NEWater after 2011, that is Singapore's own doing, right? Seems like someone is trying to flog a dead horse, yet again.
Anyway, I am glad that Malaysia has refused to extend the 2011 agreement. It is good for both countries. Singapore can also learn to be self-sufficient.

It is important to remind people that an agreement is an agreement (is an agreement). Learn to accept it. Chose your leaders wisely.

Singapore’s Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts published a primer in 2003 to clarify the issues surrounding the Malaysia-Singapore water agreements. In this primer, Singapore insists that it has been fair in dealing with Malaysia regarding the water deals

The water dispute is not about money but Singapore's existence as a sovereign nation. The Water Agreements are part of the Separation Agreement which guarantees Singapore's existence as an independent nation. If the terms of the Water Agreements can be changed by Malaysia at will, then Singapore's independence too could be called into question. This is the root dispute.

The issue is not how much we pay, but how any price revision is decided upon. The Water Agreements contain specific provisions on when the price can be revised and how the revisions should be computed. Price revision cannot be at the whim and fancy of a particular party. If Malaysia can change the terms of agreements solemnly entered into at will, where is the sanctity of agreements? Any future agreement we enter into with Malaysia will have no value.

Rajan Rishyakaran blames Malaysia’s Mahathir for the stalled negotiations between Singapore and Malaysia

Why should Singapore agree to pay significantly more on water when they get absolutely nothing in return?

Certainly, even under Mahathir’s price of raw water, Malaysian raw water will still be cheaper than self-sufficiency: but capitulating to Mahathir’s demand sets a negative precedent on Singapore. Because of Mahathir’s inability to compromise, unreasonableness and impatience with Singapore, Singapore and Malaysia is stuck in a lose-lose situation.

Singapore’s dependence on imported water has forced it to maximize new technologies in order to produce its own water supply. It has developed NEWater (reclaimed water) and it recently constructed the biggest desalination plant in Asia.

This past week at the Brazilian Digital Culture Forum [pt] I had a chance to meet up with Diego Casaes, a dedicated Global Voices author and translator from Salvador, Brazil. Much of Diego's writing on Global Voices has spread awareness about legislative threats to online freedom in Brazil, such as the infamous “Azeredo Bill“. He has also profiled cyber-activists like João Carlos Caribé and Daniel Pádua (who just lost his life to cancer) and their attempts to protect the individual freedoms and social bonds enabled by the Internet.

Diego will soon be headed to Copenhagen to report on the United Nations Climate Change Conference from December 7 - 18. He was invited to cover the conference as a winner of the Think About It blogging competition, where you can read all of his posts related to climate change in Brazil.

Transcript:

I'm Diego Casaes. I'm from Brazil. I live in Salvador in the northeastern part of Brazil. I am the coordinator of the Portuguese translation team and a voluntary author for Global Voices Online.

David: And how did you get started in Global Voices?

Diego: I got started in Global Voices when I met Paula on Twitter. She invited me to write. It was about the flooding in Brazil. And it was in May, 2009, this year. So it has been seven months.

David: What are some of the other topics that you write about on Global Voices?

Diegp: I mostly write about freedom of speech and cyberactivism. A couple of times it was about the environment. Mostly about cyberactivism.

David: How do you see the Brazilian blogosphere as different from other blogospheres around the world?

Diego: Well, maybe because we are very passionate when we discuss things
so bloggers take this passion from daily life to their blogs. So they are very optimistic and discuss really loudly with each other. They scream on Twitter. In many blogs you can see many comments … like flaming comments. People with passion. Actually, it's interesting to see how the Brazilian blogosphere is quite different from others.

David: And why do you think that is? You think it's just … cultural?

Diego: Maybe. Because I was talking to a friend from Kazakhstan and he says that the blogosphere in Kazakhstan is not very active. They have lots of blog posts, but not lots of comments. In Brazil it is very different. We see lots of comments in the blog posts. People really discuss things.

David: So what are some of the things that Brazilian bloggers are discussing these days?

Diego: These days, especially in 2009, they are very addicted to discussing about cyber-activism. Because we have lots of bills that want to take away our freedom on the internet. So, in this event where we are here now, lots of blogs from cyber-activism and freedom of speech are discussing all of this.

David: What do you write about on your personal blogs?

Diego: Well, some of my points of view on many subjects of communication, freedom of speech. But I also have a blog about Japanese culture because I listen to Japanese music and I watch many Japanese animations. So I mostly write about that. It's nice actually because nobody thinks you would write about that. I'm not very Japanese. I don't look Japanese, but I just love it.

David: You're going to Copenhagen, right? For a conference on climate change. How did that all come about?

Diego: Well, actually I got a message from my Global Voices reader profile asking me to go to Copenhagen to participate in the Think About It competition, a European blogging competition. I went to Copenhagen in December and we were at the launch event where we learned about what we were going to blog about on climate change. Now, last week, we got the news - me and two other guys - that we were selected to represent the European Journalism Centre in the COP15. From 92 bloggers only three of us.

David: Solana from Global Voices asks, “what are you going to do in Copenhagen with your blogging award?”

Diego: Well, I hope to bring bloggers' and journalists' views on the COP15. And maybe meet some world leaders and try to ask them if they really want to see the planet die. And try to bring citizen media into the discussion because there are plenty of journalists who are going to COP15 but I think this is the only actual event where many bloggers are going to a big even like this. So, it's quite different. And I hope to do a good job reporting on climate change.

David: Sylwia Presley asks, “How has working for Global Voices changed your life?”

Diego: Since I am Brazilian I am very passionate about many things and I think that Global Voices is part of us because we learn from it and we bring some of these themes that we're discussing on Global Voices to our daily life and discuss them with friends.

Sometimes I bring topics like wars in distances places like Africa
or people dying of hunger in Kazakhstan. I think Global Voices made me more aware that we are in a world and that there are other people in this life; not only our close friends.

David: This question comes from Ethan: “Where can I learn more about Technobrega music?”

Diego: I saw his question on Twitter and I was quite scared because I don't listen to technobrega. But I did some research and there is this website called bregapop.com and they gather many style of brega music
including technobrega and it is interesting because in the bands' profiles they had the Orkut profile telephone numbers. So if you want to contact them you can just go to this community and find many artists from Belém do Pará, which is the place where the technobrega emerged from.

They also embedded many YouTube videos of technobrega in this community so it's quite fun actually. It is interesting how they use citizen media
and other web 2.0 resources on this website.

David: What would you like to see for the future of Global Voices in the next five years?

Diego: For the future of Global Voices I think we are going to create much more content on the Lingua sites and I think that we'll establish a very well-known community. We'll get famous I think. Many more people will want to contribute to Global Voices. At this event where we are right now, many people came to me asking, “how can we contribute to Global Voices?” So I think that the community will grow.

Shanghai human rights activist Feng Zhenhu has been living and waiting in the hall of Japan's Narita airport since November 4 when he was barred from entering his own country by the Shanghai immigration the eighth times.

Feng is an economist and a human rights activist. After the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989, he openly criticized the repression and was under the CCP internal investigation for more than a year. In 1991, he went to Japan to study and in 1998 he returned back to China to do business but was detained by the Shanghai police and sentenced to 3 year imprisonment for illegal publication of an E-book on Shanghai Japanese investment in 2000.

Up till now, the Chinese government has not officially explained why they did not allow Feng's entrance to the country.

Feng refused to enter Japan and told FT's reporter that “For a Chinese to be kidnapped and taken to Japan like this is a humiliation for me and a humiliation for China.” He also refused UN's refugee office's suggestion in “applying political refugee status”. He just wants to go home.

Since November 7, he kept updating his status via google document and he started twitter update on November 12.

Below is a selective translation of his updates:

November 7 - A statement for giving up the Japan working visa

现在，这份2010年6月12日到期的日本工作签证已成为我回国的障碍物，也是中国上海当局利用非法手段禁止我入境回国的 障眼法。利用企业为了经济利益屈服权力的弱点，上海当局可以轻易地要求航空公司拒载或参与非法绑架，不惜一切非法手段将我强行滞留在日本…

2009年11月2日我乘全日本航空公司NH0921航班已回国，虽然没有办理入境手续，但已在中国本土，晚上住在上海浦 东机场宾馆。第2天，即11月3日上午约9;45，十几个违法的上海警察又将我强行送至全日本航空公司NH0922航班的停靠处，企图又一次非法“遣送” 一个本国公民去外国。我强烈抗议，他们使用暴力手段将我绑架至飞机上，我竭力抵抗，死守飞机的登机口，与这些绑匪搏斗了近二个小时。最后，全日空航空公司 上海经理饭田屈服于绑匪的威胁，协助他们的暴力绑架行动，四个年轻力壮的便衣警察硬将我拖至机仓底部的座位，全日本航空公司的一位身材高大的上海职员也与 我搏斗，并将我压在座位上，这时我已经筋疲力尽，无力抵抗他们的违法犯罪行为。航班上乘客亲眼目睹他们的暴力绑架场面，飞机也由此延误一个多小时起飞。 我第一次被非法强制遣送回日本，被抛在远离东京的关西机场 …

2009年11月4日被绑架到日本，至今11月7日没有入境日本，三夜四天住在入境审查大厅，晚上躺在长椅上，白天忍受饥 饿的折磨。日本成田机场出境的大厅及通道上有很多商店及吃食店，还有饮料的自动贩卖机，但是入境大厅及通道什么也没有。我三天仅吃了三个饭团，当我正式向 成田机场出入国管理局的承办官员铃木先生提出，希望他从人道的角度请入管局的职员代我购买几个饭团，但遭到拒绝。而且，我妹妹送来的食品，他们也拒收了。 他们企图通过饥饿的变相虐待方式逼我入境日本，这是不言而明的。但我会坚持下去，因为我清楚，日本官僚并非人道，不仅冷漠，甚至有点残忍。或许，友爱的国 家仅是日本鸠山总理的理想而已。如果这些事发生在中国，中国人决不会这样对待外国人，中国人内斗很残忍，但对外国人总是很客气…

November 14 - Welcome Obama's Visit to Japan and China

美国总统奥巴马昨天访问日本。我又自制了一件英文广告衫，前面的请愿文字：“Chinese citizen has been refused to return to China for eight times.”，背后的文字：“Chinese Human Right 中国人権，回国 帰国　Return to China”…

   2009 年11月15日奥巴马总统访问中国，而且首站是上海。如果奥巴马总统知道一个中国国民八次被上海当局拒绝入境回国的事件，当他见到中国政府或上海领导人 时，应该会问：“您们热烈欢迎我一个外国人，为什么无情地拒绝自己的一个国民回国呢？容纳百川的上海大城市为什么容纳不下自己的一个小小的市民呢？”一个 国民不能回国，外国人无法理解，连普通的中国人都无法相信，强大的中国无法容纳自己的一个国民。

November 18 - Feng ZhengHu's twitter

有 人说，我一个在进行一场为争取中国公民回国权的战争。但是，我觉得，我背后始终有强大的中国民众。当我处于饥饿的绝境时，中国国内、香港民众以及海外华人 纷纷向我空运食品；当我处于电脑无法上网的封闭困境中，一些不相识的国内网络专家主动提供技术支持，帮助我建立并编辑推特，我可以通过手机邮件中转的方 式，及时报道我的实况，让国内民众知道事件真相及我每天在日本国门外的流浪生活。

 November 18

我 的答复：“首先我感谢联合国难民机构对我的关心。但是，我不考虑申请难民。因为我有自己的国家，中国是我的祖国。我是中国人，是中国的知识分子，我应该对 中国负有责任。现在，我需要回国，这是中国人最基本的人权。中国当局不让中国国民回国的行为，不仅违反联合国宪章、国际人权条约，也违反中国宪法法律。中 国政府至今没有宣布不让我回国。我知道，在中国有许多许多的苦难，但我还是愿意留在中国。中国难民越来越少，中国就会变得越来越好。”

Who would have believed that a football match could cause such tension between two nations? But the truth is, the tension between Egypt and Algeria has reached an unexpected level. Many bloggers believe that the match has nothing to do with the trouble on the streets now and like me, many are really shocked that some of the well known media outlets, have misunderstood the whole affair - they still believe that supporters of the national teams of each country are demonstrating and fighting each other because of the result of a match. Here's a breakdown of how the situation escalated - in the words of bloggers.

After the match that took place in Egypt, Algerian newspapers reported that Algerians had been killed (which has been denied later on by the Algerian ambassador in Cairo). Those rumors caused several Egyptian sites in Algeria to be attacked; Egypt Air's office was damaged. More than 1,500 Egyptian workers were also reportedly attacked and taken as hostages in riots; also, the Egyptian Embassy had to be surrounded by Algerian security forces for protection.

Ihab Omar wrote in his blog El Journaljy about those rumors:

Later on, the Algerian ambassador denied that any Algerian was killed in Egypt. But as Inferad wrote in his blog, it seems that rumors and the waves of violence after them were unstoppable.

During, and after the match in Cairo, the tone of the Egyptian blogosphere was still calm. Bloggers like Nile Wise wrote, how it's just a football match, and people should not over react:

And blogs, like Inferad, believed that it was just the media in the two countries that has to be blamed. He asked people in the two countries not to believe everything they read and hear:

Meanwhile, other bloggers like Al Journaljy, admitted that there may be some violence acts that took place in each country against the fans of the other:

He then continued:

He also admitted that the Egyptian fans weren't any better than their Algerian counterparts, and that they almost did the same deeds before the match that took place in Cario.

And that's what prompted Daily Barid write the following:

In fact all the above incidents can be considered as an introduction to what happened in Sudan last Wednesday. The Egyptian and the Algerian football teams were to play there one final match in order to decide the team that will qualify for the World Cup that will be held in South Africa next year.

Some bloggers were expecting violence acts against the Egyptian fans in Sudan. And that's why Lokmet Eish called for security forces to protect the Egyptian players and fans there:

And the Sudanese did their best to secure the match with about 15,000 soldiers. But it turned out that even such a huge number of security forces was not enough. Zeinobia wrote about what happened in Khartoum in her blog:

She also wrote about the Egyptian fan who lost her eye due to this incident, and compared it to what happened 20 years ago when an Algerian football player caused another Egyptian fan to loose his eye too:

Also Bani Adam Maa Waqf El Tanfeez wrote here about what happened in Sudan. He also wrote about the videos published online that warned the Egyptians from going there, and those showing Algerian fans with knives in their hands:

He then continued:

And now it's official, the media, people in the streets, and the Egyptian government are all mad over what happened in Sudan.

Zeinobia wrote here about the reactions of Egyptian officials:

Recently, the Executive Yuan in Taiwan has passed a bill in favor of Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) fourth stage expansion. The construction plan has drawn the attention of ecologists and caused heated discussion in the Taiwan blogosphere.

Jeremy explains the problem of the construction plan in a blog post “They Don't Care About Us”:

中 科四期落腳彰化二林，其附近是有台灣米倉之稱的稻米重要產銷專區，濁水溪的水資源更是灌溉出全台數一數二的西螺與溪湖果菜市場，彰雲兩縣的沿海更是有產 值數十億的養殖漁業，包括外銷的台灣鯛與著名的王功牡蠣等。中科四期的廢水排放設計草率，可能讓沿海養殖漁業全毀，蔬果稻米染毒，縣民五次北上陳情，卻換 來環評委員會擱置爭議，仍是有條件通過中科四期開發案，…

As the driving force behind the expansion of of CTSP is the myth of I.T industry, blogger Munch points out that the industry will not save Taiwan's economy, on the other hand the current mode of production will result in a crisis:

中 科四期的問題，不是通過與阻擋的戲局，它不是開始，也不會是最終，因為台灣高科技產業，其實只是高級代工產業，權充國際生產鍊的高等加工廠。當無法在設計 與行銷創造獨特，依賴產品代工的生產，在科技產業低利潤的年代，只能不斷擴廠，開發更多的科技園區，以量能來彌補不足，然後在高產都無法創造利潤，最後就 是移轉投資、整廠遷移，留下的是已遭破壞的土地。

In order to campaign against the CTSP expansion, a group of young people set up awebsite and launched a photo signature action.

However, in response to the call for a peaceful march against the CTSP 4th project a farmer, Ouli（歐力）asked if the young organizers were ready to practice an alternative way of life:

我 是一個中年彰化農民，坐四望五之年，心中一直有一個疑惑，每一個父母希忘自己的孩子書念得好，將來有競爭力，可以進入高科技廠就業(就是你們反對的對 象)，有一個穩定的收入，有一個平安幸福的一生，幾乎沒有人希望自己的孩子回家務農，因為工作辛苦收入少得可憐，這是父母的看法。

是的，農村不快樂， 當你們年輕人響應「聲援農村」行動時，有沒有想過，自己將來是回家務農還是投入其他收入較穩定的職場？你們的熱心關懷自身所處的土地， 歐力上我百分之百支持，但是如果你不想回歸農村，又基於環保理念反對產業，將來台灣將空有荒廢的土地，而沒有產業，身為未來台灣社會舞台主角的你們，將如 何自處？

This is indeed a critical question for the young activists. In fact some young people have decided to choose farming as a way of life in the past few years. Meanwhile, ecological groups has filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the construction may lead to the lowering of the underground water levels and ground sinking. GVers in Taiwan will also continue to keep a close eye on these issues.

The recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Soile Lautsi, who was offended by crucifixes displayed in her child's school in Italy, states:

The compulsory display of a symbol of a given confession in premises used by the public authorities… restricted the right of parents to educate their children in conformity with their convictions.

The Polish parliament, however, has decided [POL] to continue allowing handing out crosses in Polish classrooms and on other public premises. And a Polish association of Catholics, Unum Principium, has also proposed including the symbol of the cross in the national emblem of Poland. Currently, the emblem has a white eagle in a golden crown on red background, but Krzysztof Zagozda, the association's spokesman, refers to the national emblem from 1927, when the eagle's crown had a cross incorporated on top of it. He explains the group's proposal [POL]:

Including cross in national symbols is important for patriotic reasons. For many Polish citizens it expresses separateness of a kind or fight for independence. Hence why we need to restore it.

Image source: Wikipedia

This proposal has generated over 500 reactions on the forum of Poland's main daily, Gazeta.pl.

Maruda.r questions the above statement [POL]:

It's not entirely right, as Polish eagles were wearing different crowns: […] Emblems, coats of arms change - they reflect certain status, which is not there any more. We might as well reach out for the chicken placed on coins in Piast times.

Feurig59 states [POL]:

Carry the crosses in your hearts. Not everything has to be shown off - worn off symbols, whose meaning is carried by very few in this country, but everyone is scrubbing and polishing their ‘gods', so everyone could see how strongly they feel about ‘tradition' and what a good Pole and Catholic they are. Makes me sick:(

Michelange75 points out [POL]:

As a Catholic I say - No. Those people do not understand that this leads to antagonisms within Polish society and a loss of trust in the church for many Poles. Are we to experience the mistake of Western countries, where churches stand empty. That is what those chauvinists and pseudo-Catholics want. If so, than in this entire war over the cross and entire aspect of moving crosses away from school ordered by Europe, and which we do not seem to have to respect, Polish Catholic church will lose. It's totally irresponsible.

This statement is followed up by a response from ludwigvanbeethoven, who is a Protestant [POL]:

Catholics believe themselves as the only right faith, but I am asking - why? As a protestant, I demand all churches in Europe to look like protestant ones. […] Religion should be an inner business of each citizen, and not a huge balloon and sour faces, that Brussels does not want to include common values into their constitution.

On another site, AdamM sounds very sarcastic [POL]:

But Poland is to be a province of Vatican, so it's easier this way. Of course during GCSA exams we will pass religion too, and on our CV's we will need to put dates of our baptism, first communion and confirmation as well as the exact amount of money given during each mass. We will let out on our streets policemen who will check if we all carry crosses and know how to pray, and for those who protest, we will build stakes. We could also do with dusting off the Middle Ages torture machines so that the conversion is smoother.

A Northern Irish Polish forum contains a discussion on how having a cross in the emblem differs from having it next to it one wall; the main thoughts are expressed by 33lncr [POL]:

Aaa, those are the guys from the Madonna concert affair [cancelled due to protest of Catholics], so the case is clear… Seriously, though, for me it's only an add-on to a picture with a bird. But when I think of it rationally, what has the cross to do with Poles - atheists or Poles-other-believers, who are also patriots, what does it have to do with Poles-Catholics who are not patriots at all (I know the last one is in our country almost an oxymoron, but logically speaking quite possible)?

There are a few supportive opinions, though, like the one expressed by Krzysiek [POL]:

I support them. Poland is a Catholic country and we should protect our faith and show it somehow. If someone is unhappy, they should go to France where Catholics have practically nothing to say, and the majority of people believes in Islam.

• The revised Google Book Settlement gained preliminary court approval. The deadline for comments is January 28, 2010, with the final fairness hearing scheduled for February 18.
• A grant from the National Science Foundation will help enhance arXiv.
• The Saarland University and State Library is conducting a questionnaire on "the desirability of various features which can be implemented in repository systems".
• HathiTrust launched its search tool for Google-digitized books.
• The British Library added the 500,000th item to its digital library -- but don't expect to see it for free.
• Cameron Neylon takes a closer look at Nature Communications, the announced Nature-branded hybrid OA journal.
• LinuxInsider looks at open source science.
• T. Scott Plutchak says that everybody likes the idea of OA, but not everybody is sure that mandates for publicly-funded research are "the best way to get there".
• Wikimedia picks up plaudits: the Webby Awards named Wikipedia one of the ten most influential projects of the decade, and the Huffington Post named Wikimedia's executive director Sue Gardner the year's top "game changer" in media.

The Oberlin College General Faculty unanimously endorsed on November 18 a resolution to make their scholarly articles openly accessible on the Internet. As a result of the measure, the rich scholarly output of the Oberlin faculty will become available to a much broader national and international audience. The Oberlin resolution is similar to policies passed at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Kansas, and Trinity University. ...

Under the new policy, Oberlin faculty and professional staff will make their peer-reviewed, scholarly articles openly accessible in a digital archive managed by the Oberlin College Library as part of the OhioLINK Digital Resource Commons. Oberlin authors may opt out of the policy for a specific article if they are not in a position to sign journal publishing agreements that are compatible with the policy, or for other reasons. The resolution also creates an institutional license that gives Oberlin College the legal right to make the articles accessible on the Internet through the digital archive. The resolution further encourages, but does not require, authors to submit publications other than peer-reviewed articles in the same manner. ...

Adopted at the recommendation of the General Faculty Library Committee, the policy calls for the committee, in consultation with a faculty council, to establish procedures for carrying out the policy and to monitor its implementation. Policy implementation will be coordinated by a scholarly communications officer, a member of the library staff designated by the director of libraries. ...

The Oberlin College Student Senate recently endorsed the national “Student Statement on the Right to Research,” which expresses a similar commitment to making scholarly research information openly accessible.

‘Security. Is IKEA OK?'

On Nov. 3, I noticed that a new Twitter account was following me on that microblogging site, and its name intrigued me: @czyIKEAjestOK [is IKEA OK?]. It turns out that the account set up only a day before, on Nov. 2, belongs to an initiative of Polish citizens who work for IKEA via another, smaller, company called Solid Security, and who claim to be mistreated by those. They claim to be earning amounts below the national minimal wage, being assigned to work up to 16 hours daily and lacking the basic benefits, as we read on their Facebook page [POL]:

Our employers lower our wages, but also make us sign fictional contracts depriving us of the basic rights like annual leave or sick leave benefits.

When representatives of the employees entered IKEA building to turn in a copy of their petition containing the above-mentioned issues and signed by all of the affected, hoping to be able to talk to an IKEA spokesman, they were asked to leave the building by the head of security himself. This situation was filmed and is available on all of their social media sites.

The initiative's blog explains the main question they are raising via the on-line campaign [POL]:

We work for IKEA, but officially we are employed by another company. We earn low wages, we have no social fund. Buying medicine, illness is a financial catastrophe for us. IKEA washed their hands off it - officially they are not responsible. Is this OK?

It also hosts a voting where you can choose between ‘I am not bothered' and ‘ I think it's not OK' options.

‘And you, what do you think? Do you think IKEA is OK? Have your say:

I am not bothered. / It's not OK.'

On their site, in the FAQ section, we find a reason why the citizens have decided to contact IKEA directly to address their issues [POL]:

Of course we wanted to talk to Solid Security, the company which employed us, first, but we were ignored. Solid are aware of their position and the advantage they have over their employees, so any conversation is very difficult. That's why we decided to seek support at the company that pays Solid and thus can have a huge impact on their operations.

This initiative was picked up by a few on-line news portals, and was described by Interaktywnie.com (a Polish social media marketing portal)  in a news article, where commentators praised the neat build-up of the on-line campaign. Generally, however, there is a small amount of reactions on-line, which focus mainly on questioning why IKEA was targeted instead of Solid Security, pointing out that no-one is forced to work there, and waiting to see how the initiative develops.

On a portal dedicated to the industry news, Abenador states [POL]:

I have no idea if IKEA is OK or not, but when it comes to work conditions at SOLID, their employees should talk to … SOLID. Including IKEA in this argument is probably unnecessary and makes no sense (they are not the employers).

Aaa2 responds to this on a different forum [POL]:

Of course the employees did go to SOLID, too. IKEA is one of the largest clients of Solid and it is also said to be socially responsible. It cannot avoid the responsibility for employees working on their grounds, if it is so sensitive socially.

Dink points out in a board discussion:

work at IKEA is not mandatory

On Wykop (a Polish version of Digg.com), crea says [POL]:

I must say it's not a good situation…but it's a corporation, so it will be difficult to win with them..

Przemek postshis opinion on an HR portal:

As I understand, Mr Roman and his company do understand the amount of brand damage they are causing… But it's not the scale of brand damage which requires serious treatment of similar cases. I will watch with interest how this case develops, mainly in the social media.

This action conduced mainly via social media channels with usage of both visual and textual content grows in followers on Twitter, Facebook and in views on YouTube, as well as in numbers of votes on the main site. Representatives of Global Union from Sweden, USA, Italy, Ireland, Holland and other countries have expressed their concerns about the case of the Polish employees in a document published on Facebook. After four weeks since the original incident, both companies remain silent.

Daniel Pádua was a well-known digital activist in Brazil. Photo brought by Cátia Kitahara in Wordpress-BR.

Brazil lost today one of its pioneers digital activists. Daniel Pádua [pt] (also known as @dpadua on Twitter) had been recently diagnosed with cancer and lost the battle this morning, in Brasília. Always present in open source software and free culture events in Brazil, he was a strong reference for many bloggers in posts about ciberactivism and freedom of speech on the Internet.

On the Wordpress-Br blog, Cátia Kitahara wrote [pt]:

Hoje perdemos um amigo queridíssimo, aqui da comunidade, o Daniel Pádua. Sentiremos muito sua falta, não só pelo grande talento e inteligência que ele possuia, mas principalmente pelo seu caráter. Queremos manifestar nosso carinho para sua família e amigos.

As the news spreads all over the web, Twitter users who known his work and commitment are honoring him and saying a last goodbye:

This is Global Voices tribute to Daniel Pádua. Rest in peace.

• Sharing data, editorial, Nature Cell Biology, November 2009 (not OA, at least so far).
• Johan Weigelt, The case for open-access chemical biology, EMBO Reports, November 2009 (not OA, at least so far).
• Christina Chandras, et al., Models for financial sustainability of biological databases and resources, Database, October 23, 2009.
• Thinh Nguyen, Remembering Babel: Open Data Sharing & Integration, Science Commons, November 19, 2009.
• Shadi S. Saleh, et al., The case for developing publicly-accessible datasets for health services research in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, BMC Health Services Research, October 29, 2009.
• Group on Earth Observations Meets in Washington to Strengthen Access to Data and Information on Biodiversity, Forest Carbon and Other Global Issues, press release, November 17, 2009.
• University of California, DataONE to deal with data deluge, press release, November 18, 2009.
• Vishwas S. Chavan and Peter Ingwersen, Towards a data publishing framework for primary biodiversity data: challenges and potentials for the biodiversity informatics community, BMC Bioinformatics, November 10, 2009.
  • Also see: Dorothea Salo, The basic carrot: usage statistics, The Book of Trogool, November 16, 2009 .
• Vincent S. Smith, et al., Scratchpads: a data-publishing framework to build, share and manage information on the diversity of life, BMC Bioinformatics, November 10, 2009.

Town of Kraskovo coat of arms (from the official site)

Russian activists gathered in Kraskovo, a small town near Moscow, to call for increasing broadband Internet access and protest against Internet provider monopoly.  The activists also talked about superficial regulations that slow down the development of wide Internet access in the country.

The story goes back to the beginning of 2008 when an Internet service provider (ISP) “CDMS, Ltd” ( “Creative Direct Marketing Solutions”) announced its plans to offer broadband Internet access to the residents of Kraskovo.  Russian laws require an ISP to obtain a permission from municipal authorities before offering its services in any town. An ISP also has to get an approval of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and install a hardware that would potentially allow to sniff the Internet traffic.

With 10 years of experience in business, the CDMS got used to all sorts of bureaucratic hurdles. The vice-president of the company Vladimir Korvatsky (lj-user korvatsky [RUS]) writes on his blog that minor problems with local authorities are nothing new but Kraskovo case is different.

According to a Russian newspaper Moskovski Komsomolets [RUS], when the CDMS applied for a permission to install Ethernet-network in Kraskovo, Mikhail Chuiko, a newly elected mayor, sent the application back with a note that the process should be coordinated with the FSB “to ensure protection against terrorists.” When the FSB finally authorized the application, the mayor requested another approval from the security service. This time he wanted the FSB to investigate the company.

This shouldn't surprise anyone in Russia. Government officials usually come up with many excuses to delay the approval process so they can make businesses pay a bribe to speed it up. But, unlike in many similar cases, the Kraskovo authorities did not want any bribes from the CDMS. They stopped all contacts with the company representatives and showed that they did not want the CDMS to enter local ISP market.

Kraskovo currently has two ISPs offering a broadband access: netts.ru and avk-wellcom.ru. Korvatsky states [RUS] that his and other companies are not allowed into the town because of strong ties and commercial interests uniting local ISPs and the town authorities.

Vladimir Korvatsky and the youth organization “Our Yard” organized a protest against the status quo with ISPs in the town:

The Moscow Region Anti-monopoly Service recently issued a statement [RUS] declaring that the Kraskovo authorities violate anti-monopoly law.

This case is far from being unique. There are thousands of small Russian towns where people don't have a luxury of the broadband services. Very often geographical isolation and the lack of initiative are just excuses for widespread corruption of local administrations in those towns. The example of Kraskovo shows how ISPs try to overcome those issues by taking public actions. At the same time,  it gives an additional reason for local authorities to accuse the ISPs of astroturfing.

The Survey of Higher Education Faculty: Use of Digital Repositories and Views on Open Access (ISBN 1-57440-137-8) presents data on how higher education faculty in the United States and Canada view the growing digital repository/open access movement. The report helps to answer questions such as: Who cooperates with requests from librarians and who does not? Who gives their articles to repositories? Who among faculty sympathizes with the aims of open access? How many scholars have had a publication fee paid for them by their library or academic department?

The report presents the results of a survey of more than 550 higher education faculty in the United States and Canada. Data is presented in the aggregate and for 12 criteria including academic field, size of college, type of college, academic title and other factors.

Just a few of the report's many findings are that:

• 13% of the faculty in the sample had ever used a college's institutional digital repository for scholarly research purposes.
• Use was greatest by faculty at specialized colleges, of whom 40% had used a digital repository at some time for research purposes
• About 28% said that they sympathize and try to help out by providing open access to their research materials as much as they possibly can.
• Although the tenured are less likely than the untenured to have heard of digital repositories, they are roughly twice as likely to have actually contributed an article to one of them.
• 74.62% of the faculty of the sample understood the meaning of the term 'open access'. Individuals on the left wing of the political spectrum were more likely than those on the right wing to understand this term.
• Older faculty were more likely than younger faculty to be mystified by open access and digital repositories. Almost 43% of faculty between the ages of 50 and 59 did not know what digital repositories or open access really were. ...

Last week To Shoot An Elephant, a CC Attribution-Share Alike licensed documentary on life in the Gaza Strip, won the award for “Most Innovative Filmmaker” at Florence’s Festival dei Popoli. From the voting committee:

“After we watched this film we engaged in a long passionate discussion. This film never left us. We want to award the filmmakers for sharing with us an emotional, physical and stressful experience for being there and witnessing the horrors and destruction of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip earlier this year.”

It is wonderful to see open source cinema receive these types of accolades, solidifying its place in the larger film landscape. Congratulations to film-makers Alberto Arce and Mohammed Rujailah on their win! You can learn more about To Shoot An Elephant at their website.

In case you haven’t heard, WikiEducator’s Wayne Mackintosh announced earlier this week that they were joining forces with Connexions “to provide educators with greater freedom of choice to mix and match the best of two OER worlds, namely “producer-consumer” models with more traditional work flow approaches and commons-based peer production.” WikiEducator and Connexions are two collaborative OER projects that use Creative Commons licenses. While WikiEducator, licensed CC BY-SA, focuses “on building capacity in the use of Mediawiki and related free software technologies for mass-collaboration in the authoring of free content,” Connexions, licensed CC BY, focuses on the collaborative development, sharing, and publishing of modular educational content that can be easily integrated into larger collections or courses. According to the announcement, the two projects will partner “to build import export capability between the Connexions and WikiEducator/Mediawiki platforms.”

It’s definitely exciting to see these two OER projects working together, especially since the collaboration is being generously funded by a grant from one of our own biggest supporters, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. There are various ways you can tune into its progress, including visiting the project planning node, subscribing to the Connexions mailing list, or helping them develop use case scenarios.

Tensions have been escalating in the last few weeks between Colombia and Venezuela, two neighboring countries which already have strained relations. In mid-October, 8 Colombians were kidnapped and murdered execution-style after playing an amateur football match across the border in Venezuela. In addition, the bodies of 1 Peruvian and 1 Venezuelan were also found in the Western Venezuelan state of Táchira. No one has been found responsible for the killings so far, though the National Liberation Army guerrilla has been initially considered as a suspect.

However, Venezuelan authorities claim that the soccer players were paramilitaries, and these claims have added to the conflict between the countries. Besides the “incidents” already described above, Colombian intelligence officials or “spies” as the Venezuelan government refers to them, have been “captured” in Venezuelan territory, 8 “paramilitaries” were arrested in Táchira, two Venezuelan national guards were killed by gunmen on the border, and another was expelled [es] by the Colombian government. Colombia's intelligence agency even admitted that documents showed by Venezuelan Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami, seized from the “spies” captured in Maracay, were authentic [es].

Venezuela's government is upset for the agreement between United States and Colombia, which allows the former to use several military bases in the latter's territory, which has been presented as a “co-operation accord”. The pact was signed in early November, but it already has been the subject of an extraordinary UNASUR meeting past August to discuss the matter.

On November 8, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez told the Venezuelan military, on his weekly program Aló, Presidente that “the best way to avoid war is by preparing for it”. (see the video on the Adam Isacson post linked at the end of this post). Around 15,000 troops have already been sent to the border by Chávez. Colombia, which planned to send 12,000 troops, took the case to the Organization of American States and the United Nations, but the letter sent by the Colombian government did not ask for actions against Caracas.

Meanwhile, President Chávez softened his rhetoric, claiming his words had been “manipulated.” In addition, its Public Works minister, who is also the president of the Communications Commission, announced it will sanction [es] the media which “manipulate” Chávez's words. However, a few days later, the Venezuelan president again raised his tone against the Colombian government, blaming the U.S. base pact for his country's tensions with its neighbor. Chávez insulted the Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva by calling him“mentally retarded”, the Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermúdez as being “disgraceful”, after Mr, Bermúdez “regretted” UNASUR's silence over Chávez's words. He also called President Álvaro Uribe Vélez by calling him“mafioso” and a “traitor” for delivering “the motherland to the yankees” [es]. Brazil, Spain, and even the United States have offered to mediate.

In the blog Atrabilioso [es], Jaime Restrepo writes:

Si hay algo repetitivo en el accionar de la dictadura venezolana es el lanzamiento de cortinas de humo. Los venezolanos están tan acostumbrados, ya vencidos por la fuerza de la repetición del mecanismo, que terminan aceptando los torpes montajes que elaboran desde Miraflores, para desviar la atención nacional e internacional.

La última cortina de humo es una ignominia: para tratar de ocultar el secuestro y ajusticiamiento de nueve colombianos en Venezuela, el dictador y su ministro del interior han armado un alboroto sobre la captura de tres presuntos funcionarios del DAS, que estarían haciendo “inteligencia” para “desestabilizar” al progresista de Miraflores.

Restrepo also criticizes the passiveness of the Colombian government. In another piece [es] published on the blog Atrabilioso, Eduardo Mackenzie writes about “Anti-Colombian pogroms” in Chavez's Venezuela:

Ese hecho y la matanza de los diez muchachos pone al orden del día un nuevo fenómeno: hay un ambiente de pogrom anticolombiano en Venezuela. Pues no sólo alguien los está asesinando sino que ahora algunos están perdiendo sus propiedades y huyendo de Venezuela. Es lo que le ocurrió a la pereirana Sonia Restrepo quien el 15 de mayo de 2009 tuvo que abandonar su fábrica de telas estampadas y huir de Guarenas, cerca de Caracas. Unas 40 personas armadas irrumpieron en su casa en nombre de un “círculo bolivariano” y la acusaron de ser una “extranjera explotadora”. Sin que ninguna autoridad la protegiera, ella perdió así la empresa que había construido durante 30 años.

Valentina Díaz, from the blog Realidades Colombianas [es] , slams Chávez and, without mentioning him by name, praises Brazilian president Lula:

El hecho de que solo hasta hace unos días Chávez haya descubierto la existencia de las teorías de Marx, socialismo comunista, no lo hace una novedad. Fueron escritas en el Siglo 19 (sic). Si no fueron capaces de sostener la revolución bolchevique a sangre y fuego en Rusia, guerra tras guerra, menos lo lograran en América un alocado y despistado mandatario latino. Obsérvese como en el Brasil su gobierno está introduciendo exitosamente lo “social”. Nadie evade a su gobernante, por el contrario, lo aplauden y le buscan para que contribuya a solucionar problemas de otros países. Es una persona que no se siente amenazado porque sabe que lo esta haciendo bien, nunca arremete ni inventa guerras con sus vecinos. Se trata de un señor, un estadista, que juzga observando primero el respeto a la dignidad humana de los pueblos, las instituciones y personas. La diferencia es muy grande y por eso al contrario de Chávez en Colombia se le quiere y aprecia.

In a subsequent piece, Valentina outspokenly criticizes [es] Chávez's war rhetoric:

Si quiere estrenar las armas que les compró a negociantes de la muerte, que las estrenen pero no con sangre colombiana ni gente inocente venezolana. Si Bolívar viviera hoy, habría sacado a Chávez a patadas del palacio de Moraflores.

However, Salomon [es] thinks that the Venezuelan president's warmongering has a “goal”:

El llamado a la guerra de Hugo Chavez Frias, solo es una medida de distracción a su verdadero objetivo: Controlar a Colombia, para expandir la influencia ideológica de su revolución, y para conseguirlo, está dispuesto a lo que sea, incluso a llevar a la guerra a dos pueblos hermanos.

Alejogalvis of Censurados: Cero [es] is “ashamed” of the Venezuelan president:

Eso de cerrar frontera cada vez que se le viene en gana deja ver la ridícula posición de este tipo, que en vez de buscar una solución, lo que intenta es enemistar a dos pueblos que se han criado de la mano, antes de la era Uribe ó de la era Chávez. Pena es lo que debería darle a Chávez que amenaza con guerra cuando su país está en pleno racionamiento de agua, luz y quién sabe qué otra plaga falta por caerle a ese país.

Blanca Rolón claims [es] Chávez is, unintentionally, helping to increase Uribe's popularity in Colombia:

1. No quiere a Uribe como presidente, pero le está haciendo la mejor campaña posible.
2. MERCOSUR está estudiando milimétricamente el ingreso de Venezuela a este organismo, pues Argentina y Paraguay no son tan retrógrados y ciegos como para no darse cuenta que Chávez no encaja por ser tan imprudente.
3. Si los organismos internacionales intervienen (OEA, ONU), pues Estados Unidos se mete en Venezuela acusándolo de auxiliar terroristas o algo así, y Colombia obviamente será su base militar.
4. El miedo de Venezuela a Estados Unidos tiene fundamento, ya que no sólo es por el petróleo, a lo mejor tiene cola de paja y, conociendo el modo de operar EE. UU., fácilmente lo acusará de peligroso para la paz de América, y más rápido lo va a invadir que como hizo con Irak.
5. Queremos a Estados Unidos fuera del dominio en América, pero con todo esto, lo que se logra es fortalecer su imperio y salvarlo de la crisis económica que tanto bien le hace en este momento a su industria militar un conflicto bélico.

Even political cartoon blogs from opposite sides, such as pro-Uribe Mamertoons [es] and anti-government Uribestiario [es], echo these opinions against a war with Venezuela.

But Plan Colombia and Beyond's Adam Isacson does not believe a war is likely, despite Chávez's rhetoric:

1. Both countries’ postures are defensive. […] Both sides are preparing to defend themselves from an attack by the other side – but neither appears to be planning an actual attack. Terms like “pre-emption” are not being used. Though each may be daring the other to make the first move, neither side is playing offense.

2. There is no definition of “victory.” It is hard to imagine a war scenario that either side can define as successful. Would Venezuela take over a few Colombian border towns? Would Colombia drop bombs on the presidential palace in Caracas? If so, then what? The scenarios themselves hardly make sense.

3. Both populations lack “war fever.” In neither Colombia nor Venezuela do we see people taking to the streets to call for war. Neither nation’s newspapers have been publishing editorials or columns demanding blood and sacrifice. There aren’t even any significant Facebook groups calling for a Colombo-Venezuelan conflict. […]

4. Much of this is about domestic politics. Both countries happen to be in a make-or-break election season.

Even so, Miguel Bernal criticizes the media coverage of the issue [es]:

Qué pereza los periódicos caldeando los ánimos. Estoy jarto de titulares tipo “Chávez le echó la madre a no se quién”

Incidents continue along the border, whose inhabitants are afraid “that the current tensions could escalate into a conflict with Venezuela.” On Thursday, November 19, three people were murdered in Arauca, near the border with Venezuela, while two civilian bridges were blown up by Venezuelan guards in Táchira, as Colombia's People's Ombudsman and Defense Minister denounced the incident [es]. The Venezuelan government claims that these bridges [es] were “hallways for contraband,” used by drug traffickers, paramilitaries, and smugglers. Colombian Defense Minister told local radio that Venezuela uses “imaginative excuses” [es] to justify the destruction of the bridges.

Ricardo Ladino had his say over this last incident [es]:

Yo también espero que los puentes de diciembre sean legales, de lo contrario Chávez nos acaba el día de las velitas y la navidad.

The Moroccan authorities are ratcheting up their attacks on independent journalists. A week rarely passes without the authorities hitting hard on the press for alleged infractions, cracking down on printed as well as online media. Press freedom watchdogs like Reporters Without Borders judge the situation of Press freedom in the country now as “difficult,” condemning a “judicial system [that] deploys an arsenal of sanctions designed to intimidate and financially asphyxiate the independent press.”

The latest attack on record has been a jail sentence pronounced on Monday from a court in Casablanca against Said Laâjal, a journalist in Al Massa'e, a widely read daily newspaper, and his publisher Rachid Nini, a popular columnist. Both journalists have been accused of “publication of false information” in connection with an article on a case of drug trafficking. Nini has declared that he won't be appealing the verdict (source: AFP). Bloggers have been reflecting on the case and the state of affairs.

eatbees, an American novelist, photographer and blogger who lives in Morocco has his suspicions about the real motivation of the prosecutors. He writes:

This is the criminalization of journalism, pure and simple. Reporters sometimes make mistakes and report things that turn out to be false. There are ways to handle that, but sending the journalists to jail is not one of them. I have the strong suspicion that Nini and Laâjal were prosecuted, not because of the facts of the case, but because they embarrassed someone important. Or maybe this was just a convenient way to go after Nini, who as publisher of Morocco’s most widely read newspaper and author of Morocco’s most widely read opinion column, is becoming a power center in his own right.

If Nini follows through on his commitment not to appeal, and goes to prison, it will be an act of courage and of civil disobedience. It will make him a martyr for press freedom in the eyes of millions of Moroccans. Good luck with that, Moroccan state.

It is worth mentioning that the journalist is already under a heavy fine for libel, threatening to bankrupt the whole publication, as blogger Ibn Kafka wrote recently [Fr], referring to a letter alleged to be written by Nini, pleading for a royal pardon:

Rachid Nini vit légitimement fort bien de cette florissante entreprise de presse (dans le contexte ravagé de la presse marocaine)…
[Il] aurait adressé une supplique au Roi […] dans laquelle il demande l’absolution des pêchés – en clair, la grâce pour son journal. Rien ne permet de garantir cette information, qui en soi n’est pas infâmante.

Rachid Nini has raised controversy recently when he publicly disavowed one of his journalists who showed support for colleagues who were being harrassed and prosecuted by the government. Larbi, who is blogging on Comme une bouteille jetée à la mer!, argues [Fr] this doesn't make Nini worthy of a jail sentence nor should the journalist be considered a hero. He writes:

[H]eureusement que tout le monde n’a pas la même conception de la liberté d’expression et liberté de la presse que celle de Monsieur Nini. La place des journalistes n’est pas la prison mais dans leurs rédactions. Cela vaut pour tous les journalistes. Cela vaut pour Monsieur Nini . Et encore plus pour le journaliste Saïd Laâjal. La place de Rachid Nini et de Saïd Laâjal n’est pas la prison mais dans leur rédaction. Je suis bien entendu solidaire avec Rachid Nini et Saïd Laâjal. Parce que la peine de prison ferme qui leur est infligée est injuste au vu de ce qui leur est reproché. Et parce que même Monsieur Nini a a droit à ce qu’il a toujours dénié aux autres : exercer son métier de journaliste et s’exprimer librement, sans intimidations et sans procès arbitraires débouchant sur des peines infamantes.

An opinion shared by Naoufel who explains [Ar] that Press freedom should apply to everyone, even to Mr Nini. He writes:

هو بالنسبة لي شخص وقح .. انتهازي و متملق، يكتب ضد أي شيء إلا الملك..يحاكم الحكومة و الشعب و زملائه في الصحافة لكنه لا يتجرأ أن يقترب من مربع القصر رغم أن اصغر طفل في المملكة التي لم تعد شريفة يعرف أن أصغر قرار لا يمر دون دراية الملك..كتب ضد من كانوا زملائه[…]
الآن..هل نتضامن معه؟
لا خيار آخر

Filip Stojanovski is a Global Voices author and translator based in Skopje, Macedonia. He is the Program Coordinator of Metamorphosis, a think tank which seeks the development of democracy and prosperity by promoting knowledge-based economy and information society. He has been blogging in both English and Macedonian since 2003 and has written a number of essays and research papers. His essay “Some Sources Of Bias In Reporting About Macedonia” is especially relevant to those interested in global perceptions of Macedonia.

You might be surprised to learn that the Japanese cherry blossom festival, Sakura, is celebrated in Macedonia's capital, Skopje. Among Filip's other blog posts: the use of new media in Macedonia's 2008 election, Facebook's removal of the personal profile of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and a recent boat accident on Lake Ohrid. His post about Greece's opposition to Macedonia's entry into NATO attracted nearly 100 long, passionate comments.

Transcript:

My name is Filip Stojanovski. I am living in Skopje, Macedonia. I contribute to Global Voices through articles usually about the Macedonian blogosphere, and I also translate some for the Macedonian version of Global Voices.

Blogs in Macedonia didn't really take off until 2004 - and especially 2005 - and as far as I know the first blog from Macedonia was founded in 2001 by a young woman called Ana Maria who is living in Poland, and then the real impulse for development of the Macedonian blogosphere came from the development of a local Macedonian-language platform called Blogerei - blog.com.mk - which also used other, offline media to promote it's functionality.

David: You told me that Global Voices is one of the key aspects in your strategy
for more e-content in Macedonia. Why is that?

Filip: Well, generally Macedonian media do not provide much content
about the situation abroad that is different from the few mainstream agencies
that are dominant on the world market. Because some of the Macedonian media are connected to say Reuters or AP through their networks of ownership. Generally we lack a lot of information which is provided by Global Voices - information by regular people about events which are not only sensationalist, but are also often
interesting for the Macedonian public because they refer to things happening which are similar to situations here, and are not covered by the media. So it is very important for us that we have the perspective of how various problems are solved and various issues are raised elsewhere which can also be replicated here. And also to share our experiences.

David: So when you translate content into Macedonian, how do you choose which content you translate?

Filip: Well, all of our translators have the latitude to choose what they will translate. Because we are all volunteers and there is no central authority delegating which article to be translated. So if somebody wants to translate an article about a topic, they do it on their own. So, for me, myself, I usually have been translating articles which are about topics that I find interesting. And which I feel need further exposure within the Macedonian public. Especially because sometimes there are parallels that can be drawn but are not exploited by the traditional media.

David: What have you learned during your time as a Global Voices author and translator?

Filip: In general, I've learned more about the diversity of various citizen journalists around the world. And also about the need for the further spreading of information because what we have now is an experience where there are more people out there with whom you can do good things together than you would suppose before. It is probably the most important thing - that there is the possibility to do more and better things in the future.

David: What do you hope to see as the future of Global Voices over the next five years?

Filip: Well, generally I hope to have a bigger influence and more influence which would be connected to maybe offline activities within various communities. Generally, the content of Global Voices I think is great and should continue in the same direction. Maybe to attract even more authors and even more translators. Because it is not only beneficial at a social level - promoting progressive changes around the world - but also beneficial at a personal level. I find it very interesting that my Global Voices profile has a higher Google ranking than most of the things that I've done over the last 10 years online. And I think that as more translators get more global in a way of trying to find customers worldwide and not just in their own little business circle then this would provide a good incentive to attract more volunteers who are professional and willing to contribute their time. But in general it would also be interesting and very beneficial to continue with Rising Voices-like initiatives that would empower more users in more diverse communities worldwide especially those with less opportunities.

Nineteen year-old Jorge Steven Mercado dreamed about working in the fashion industry. He was also a volunteer in organizations advocating for HIV prevention and gay rights. But, last week his body was found dismembered, decapitated, and partially burned, in a rural area in Guavate, Cayey, Puerto Rico. Activists from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in Puerto Rico immediately described this brutal slaying  as a hate crime. Not a single crime has been processed under the Puerto Rican Hate Crime Law since it was approved in 2002. Penalties are higher if the Hate Crime Law is applied.

Photo by Sylvar. Reprinted under CC License.

Days after the murder, 26 year-old Juan Martínez Matos confessed. According to local news reports, Martínez Matos said he went looking for a prostitute in the streets of Caguas, Puerto Rico, when Steven approached him. Martínez Matos said he “didn't know” Steven Mercado was a man until they arrived at his apartment in an another town (the victim was allegedly dressed as a woman). Gay activists Ada Conde and Pedro Julio Serrano have publicly stated that the sector where Steven Mercado was picked up is mostly frequented by transsexual and transvestite men. Martínez Matos said he killed Steven in “self defense” after they got into a fight. He then mutilated his body, and left it in a desolated area miles away from his house. Martínez Matos also stated he hated homosexuals because he had been raped when he was in jail for committing domestic violence. Gay activists were outraged when the police officer in charge of the investigation said: “Someone like that, who does those kind of things, and goes out in public, knows full well that this might happen to him.” They have demanded the officer's immediate removal from the case. Martínez Matos has been charged with murder and bail was set at $4 million USD.

Since Puerto Rico is a United States territory, federal laws apply. Two Puerto Rican United States Congress Members from New York have asked for this crime to be prosecuted under new federal hate crimes laws. The Federal Investigations Bureau (FBI) is monitoring the investigation. In the 1980s the serial murderer Ángel Colón Maldonado, known as the “Angel of the Bachelors”, killed 27 homosexuals in the Island. Recently, gay actvists have also warned about another murder against a gay man in San Juan, the country's capital.

Bloggers have reacted to this terrible crime. The human rights actvists and spokesperson of the LGBT organization Puerto Rico para Tod@s (Puerto Rico for Everyone), Pedro Julio Serrano [ES], condemned the religious leaders' and the politicians' silence:

Ante uno de los asesinatos más horrendos en la historia del País, el silencio ensordecedor de los líderes políticos y religiosos es una vergüenza de marca mayor. Les tiene que dar vergüenza de no hacer expresiones de solidaridad hacia la familia y allegados de Jorge Steven. Les tiene que dar vergüenza de no solidarizarse con las comunidades lésbica, gay, bisexual y transgénero (LGBT) ante el odio que produjo este crimen. Les tiene que dar vergüenza de no condenar la homofobia en este caso y las acciones prejuiciadas del agente investigador. Les tiene que dar vergüenza que han olvidado su obligación constitucional de instrumentar la igualdad para todos los seres humanos.

We are before one of the most horrendous murders committed in the history of this country, therefore the silence of political and religious leaders is even more shameful. They should feel embarrassed for not expressing their solidarity with Jorge Steven’s family and friends. They should feel embarrassed for not expressing solidarity with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community for the hatred that this crime has produced. They should feel embarrassed for not condemning the police officer in charge of the investigation. They should feel embarrassed for having forgotten their constitutional duty of defending equality for every human being.

In Saadaya [ES], Hiram, a Puerto Rican blogger from Chicago, lamented the long history of homophobia in Puerto Rico:

Pero el crimen no es lo único chocante. Nada sucede en un vacío: todo tiene raíces, todo tiene causas y efectos, y Puerto Rico como sociedad ha nutrido por generaciones el odio hacia los gays, lo han nutrido los líderes cristianos desde los púlpitos, los padres al criar a sus hijos, las autoridades policíacas y jurídicas […] y los políticos que tienen un convenio ilícito con las iglesias que no es muy bien disimulado. En una isla así, que quepa en el pecho de un muchacho matar a otro por ser gay del modo tan mórbido en que lo hizo no debería ser chocante: es algo que Puerto Rico llevaba tiempo cocinando.

But the crime is not the only shocking thing. Nothing happens in a vacuum: Everything has its roots, its cause and effect. Puerto Rico as a society has promoted hatred against the gay community to generations of people. Christian leaders have promoted hatred from their pulpits. Parents have instilled hatred in their children. Law and order agencies…and politicians have an illicit agreement with the church that they do not conceal very well. It should not shock us that in an Island like this, a man can murder another man for being gay in such a horrendous way. This hatred has been brewing in Puerto Rico for a long time.

This Sunday there will be a vigil in New York City in remembrance of Jorge Steven Mercado.

*Photo by Sylvar republished under a CC License. Please visit Sylvar's photostream on Flickr.

Winter is yet to arrive in much of Europe, but one of its geopolitical attributes is already back in the spotlight: fears of disruptions of natural gas deliveries from Russia seem to be growing more intense, due to the recurring dispute between Russia and Ukraine.

Politics aside, however, in some of Russia's regions winter has been there since around mid-September. In Yakutia, for example: Russia's largest federal region, close to India in size, with a population of less than a million, though, home to the Northern Hemisphere's Pole of Cold, the land rich in natural resources, including diamonds, oil and gas.

On Sept. 15, Yakutsk-based journalist and blogger Bolot Bochkarev posted two Flickr slide shows of autumn in Yakutia - in Yakutsk and in Pokrovsk - on his blog, AskYakutia.com, and wrote this (ENG):

At my Flickr account I received a good question from an Australian user, tanetahi. In his comment to one of my first autumn pics he wrote:

Do people get depressed or complain much about the cold as you progress from summer to winter in Yakutsk, or is the severe climate just accepted as an inevitable part of life there?

My answer was “September and the early October are very depressive. No, we don’t complain about the upcoming cold. We just regret sunny summer days are over, and we have to prepare to the long winter.” That’s actually depressive. […]

One day later, Bolot was forced to update his autumn post:

[…] UPDATE: Sept 16, 2009, The first snowfall happened in southern Yakutia!!! That’s in Nerungri, Tommot, Aldan! It can mean one thing only.WINTER IS HERE!!! )))

In Yakutsk it is too chilly and muddy. I wish to have snow right now, because it would be warmer a little.

Some two months later, on Nov. 18, Bolot posted this note (ENG) on his Twitter page, @yakutia:

next week we gonna have the first -40c days in yakutsk. too early. hard to believe.

(-40 degrees Celsius is -40 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Earlier this month, Bolot re-posted photos of “Yakutsk in November” taken two years ago by photographer Björn Steinz. And there is also plenty of practical travel information on Bolot's blog, including a review of a Yakutsk hostel and a “description of the standard tour to the officially acknowledged coldest Siberian place” - Oymyakon - provided by “Semen Baishev, an Oymyakon-based travel enthusiast,” who “arranges all the travel program in the Pole of Cold for individual tourists and travel agencies’ groups.”

In addition to blogging at AskYakutia.com, Bolot runs YakutiaToday.com portal (ENG) (which includes, among many other things, an editor's blog), and contributes to ColdUnited.com, “an international online project […] dedicated to the cold and everything related to the cold.” At this latter venue, Bolot has recently shared his “Don’ts in Cold Weather” - and below are a few of them:

[…] 1. I don’t smoke outdoors, when the temp is below -20C. Breathing cold air is not good for my throat. Sorry, but I smoke. I am trying to cease smoking.

[…] 4. I don’t stay outdoors longer than 20-30 minutes, when it is cold, like -40C. Even in reindeer fur boots and super warm Arctic Canada Goose parka I will start feeling chill.

5. I don’t talk much by a cellphone outdoors either. I like expressing emotions and being heard (btw, when a mobile is frozen, the microphone and speakers work terrible, as low as it can be possible). If I do that, I can get cold. Again it is not good for my throat.

7. I don’t spare money on taxi at late night. I will pay 100-200 rubles for one ride rather than 14 rubles for the public transportation. Taxi brings me straight to home in a short span of time. In case with buses, it’s always a long waiting at bus stops, and unsafe… street hooligans, you know, tend to appear at nights. […]

Elsewhere in the Russian blogosphere, Yakutia has been recently featured on LJ user sergeydolya's blog (ranked #21 on Yandex Blogs portal). The blogger posted two photo reports (RUS), on Oct. 20 and 29: one from the diamond-mining town of Udachny (the name translates from Russian as “lucky”) and the other from a deer-hunting trip (which involved lots of waiting and looking around, some drinking, but no actual hunting, as the deer never showed up).

Finally, here is what Russian photographer Oleg Klimov wrote about turning ice into drinking water in Yakutia, in his Nov. 18 post (RUS), which includes three photos:

[photo]

Traditionally, the Yakuts use proper names for any significant natural phenomena. […] [The Lena River] is known as “Grandmother Lena” and has a status of a respected grandma, while the Russians have been traditionally referring to [the Volga River] simply as “mother Volga.”

Since the Yakuts live in the permafrost conditions, they are extracting water from frozen areas, too, and they are doing it today the same way they were doing it 200 years ago. Tap water is still a luxury here. The thing is, it is a very labor-consuming process to dig up water wells in permafrost and it is not profitable in the age of “black capitalism,” so water is produced from ice that's cut from the Lena River with a [Soviet-made Druzhba gasoline-powered saw] or with specialized sawing devices. One ton of ice costs 500 rubles [approx. $17]. A truck is capable of carrying some 3 tons [of ice], which is not enough to last the whole winter. Water produced from ice is valued nearly as much as mineral water, because, it is said, crystallization freezes off all possible types of bacteria and infection.

[photo]

In villages and outside Yakutsk, they begin to store this “mineral” water in autumn, when the ice is still not too thick. And it is being delivered like stacks of firewood along the banks of the lakes and tributaries of the Lena. You're walking down by the river and see: here's the ice that belongs to the family of the Ivanovs, and here's the Petrovs' ice, etc. The best ice comes from the running water. No one is stealing other people's ice. […] If you need water (drinking or for washing), head of the household takes a crowbar […], splits the thinner ice, carries it inside the house and places it into a special barrel, where ice slowly turns into water. If you spend a week living in such a house, it is possible to forget that it's the 21st century out there, but you also begin to feel as if you are part of the nature, which, actually, we still are. Even though not its best part…

[photo]

An anonymous journalist who used to work for a Polish daily tabloid called Fakt, owned by Axel Springer AG, started a new blog, BrukowiecStory” (”TabloidStory” in English), in which he wants to write the truth about how things really work in the newsroom and in the publisher’s office.

Wiadomości24.pl, a Polish citizen journalism portal, wrote (POL) that, according to the blogger, Fakt’s success on the Polish market was mostly achieved by violating journalism ethics.

Here is an excerpt from one of the first posts (POL) on BrukowiecStory:

I think that the creation of Fakt was the biggest hit on the free Polish media since [1989]. Before 2003, there was only Super Express, an easy, light and somehow nice tabloid. It had one advantage – they always were writing the truth. In the tabloid way, but one could still call it journalism. And the status quo remained until Fakt entered the market.

For the first time in the Polish media history we experienced a new term – creating the truth. “Nothing happens? Then create the events,” the editor-in-chief was supposed to shout to working journalists. […]

The blogger also states that he wants to register an association for people damaged by Fakt, and also that a mass lawsuit for mobbing is being planned. As of now, he has not yet published concrete information about breaking the law by the newspaper’s staff.

Esther Wojcicki, Chair of the Creative Commons board of directors, has insightful comments on a recent New York Times story on teachers selling lessons online. Esther’s column in the Huffington Post closes with:

While it is an interesting alternative for teachers to have the option of selling their lesson plans, realistically the culture of teachers nationwide is one of sharing, not selling.

How true! Read the whole column, which also includes a good overview of available open educational resources.

Also, our entire board is making a public committment to raise funds for our campaign this year. We’re rolling out “personal campaign pages” for board members, where they explain why they are personally commited to CC and ask you to help them support us. Check out Esther’s campaign page and support Creative Commons today. Currently your contribution will be doubled by WhippleHill, a communications company that shares our values of openness and innovation on the web, with a particular focus on education.

• New OA backfiles:
  • Jamaica Journal (1967-2007), via the the Digital Library of the Caribbean (announcement)
  • Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society (1958-1968), via BiblicalStudies.org.uk (announcement)
  • Vox Evangelica (1962-1997), via BiblicalStudies.org.uk (announcement)
  • Reformation & Revival (1992-2005), via BiblicalStudies.org.uk (announcement)
  • Theological Students Fellowship Bulletin (1951-1975), via BiblicalStudies.org.uk (announcement)
• Converted to delayed OA:
  • L’Orientation scolaire et professionnelle (3 year delay), via Revues.org (announcement)
• New on PubMedCentral:
  • Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery (immediate OA)
  • Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology (immediate OA)
  • Advances in Bioinformatics (immediate OA) (announcement)
  • Current Cardiology Reviews (12 month embargo) (announcement)

... A few weeks ago, science blogger Lars Fischer started an e-petition on the website of the Bundestag (German parliament) calling for Open Access to publications based on research that is publicly funded. To date, the petition has been signed by over 11,000 people, making it the most-endorsed open petition currently in the system (the vote ends on November 22nd has apparently been extended to December 22nd). ...

The striking thing about the petition is not that it gives precise policy recommendations (it doesn’t) or contains meticulous explanations of what Open Access is (it doesn’t), but that is has attracted popular support extending well beyond the “usual suspects” from the OA scene.

How did that happen?

While I can’t provide absolute proof, I think the short answer is the Social Web. Fisher’s petition was scooped up by people who ordinarily have little to do with the Open Access community, which consists mostly of librarians and academics, but who are very much invested into the idea of Openness in other contexts: open (government) data, no censorship of the Internet, digital privacy rights etc. There is a budding political movement in Germany and elsewhere and the petition was interpreted as congruent with the goals of this movement and therefore spread with according speed. It was featured on Netzpolitik.org, which is frequently ranked as Germany’s most popular blog, and one prolific supporter is social media personality Sascha Lobo, who placed a banner on his website calling for support of the petition. ...

Lars makes this point in the interview with Richard Poynder:

As far as I see it, Open Access has always been treated — even by its supporters — as a niche topic for experts. But that is wrong. It is an issue that in the long run concerns everyone, and many people understand that.

My opinion (and not just mine) is that Open Access should be treated as the broad societal issue it really is, not just as a nifty way for libraries to save money or researchers to communicate more effectively. ...

If you get the Internet, Open Access is a no-brainer – in a sense the success of the petition has already proven that point. Social media appeals to people who use the Net as their primary source of information and who accordingly believe that information should be free. In other words, they believe in Open Access, even without knowing Peter Suber or having read the Berlin Declaration.

Maybe we should start talking to these people.

On the eve of Brazil's Black Pride Day – celebrated on November 20th, when the country renews its ongoing fight against discrimination – the Circo Voador Audiovisual Collective did an experiment. They filmed two members of their group, of apparently the same age and dressed similarly, trying to enter the same bank at two different moments, carrying the very same bag filled with metal - keys, coins, mobile phone. One of them took a few seconds to get in with no issues at all; the other one could not get in, barred at the revolving door, a regular feature in many Brazilian banks. The first guy was white, the second, black. See the result:

According to the filmmakers, the experiment showed that the metal detector doors are in fact activated by the banks' security guards. In other words, the security method currently employed by banks is based on their personnel's pre-judgment, often plagued with preconceptions, stereotypes and discrimination against certain types of people. On their blog, Circo Voador [Flying Circus, pt] invites readers to join forces, sending their own videos of as many different banks as possible. They explain the experiment:

Na primeira cena aparecem várias pessoas ao redor da bolsa. Todas elas fizeram o teste com a mesma bolsa, algumas foram barradas outras não. Em nenhum momento alguém alterou o conteúdo dos pertences na bolsa. A escolha da imagem do MC Shackal não se deveu ao fato dele ser negro e sim, por termos nos utilizado de câmeras escondidas e o momento em que o registramos, não sofreu interferências externas, como carros ou pessoas paradas na frente da câmera.

Many people reacted on the Circo Voador blog's comment box. Some of the readers shared similar experiences, such as Dona Biologia [pt], a teacher:

Coloquei chaves, celular, bolsinha de moedas no local indicado e a porta apitava e travava. Por fim, o rapaz chamou um pseudo gerente que atravessou a porta e, dentro do caixa eletrônico da agência, me fez abrir a bolsa de provas e quando não viu nada que justificasse, teve a audácia de dizer que fora a minha bolsinha de lápis. Me arrependo até hoje de não ter processado o banco pelo constrangimento.

Christiano J. Jabur [pt], who was once barred at a metal detector door in São Paulo because of a digital camera, claims that discrimination against people in the same revolving doors happens in banks regardless of the colour of the skin:

Tive que colocá-la numa caixinha para conseguir entrar no banco. Mas uma senhora de idade, também branca, que tentou entrar na agência da Nossa Caixa, na mesma cidade, foi barrada e não conseguiu entrar de jeito nenhum, mesmo chamando a polícia. O gerente do banco ininuou que ela poderia ser criminosa, pois existem muitas pessoas hoje, acima dos 50 e 60 anos de idade, cometendo crimes (o que não deixa de ser verdade). Não vou dizer que não exista preconceito contra negros e pardos nos bancos, por parte de vigilantes e atendentes. Mas dizer que são só os negros que são barrados nas portas giratórias é uma bela de uma mentira.

On the other hand, a security guard called Leandro [pt] explains in the same comment box how the system works, and criticizes the way the video has been interpreted by some:

Sou Vigilante (segurança), e posso afirmar, este sistema é falho, mas este vídeo esta sendo usado para sujar a imagem de profissionais que estão apenas cumprindo ordens… os ‘controles’ podem sim travar e destravar as portas giratórias, mas isso não é valido para todas as agencias, são sistemas diferenciados pra cada agencia ou cada porta giratória… e não temos controle sobre o “Nível de travamento“ de cada porta (isso é de responsabilidade do gerente), que costuma variar de 4 a 7 níveis, por isso vc pode entrar em uma agencia e ficar travado e em outra passar sem problema algum…
Sei que intenção de vc's não é esta, li o que estão propondo e apoio totalmente, mas não esta sendo divulgado desta forma, outros sites e meios de comunicação estão colocando informações “picadas”, pela metade… eu mesmo recebi um Email como Titulo: “Vigilantes racistas?”

The video has gone viral on the blogosphere too. Rafael Cesar [pt] says that whether the doors shut on white or black people is besides the point:

A questão é que sabemos que aquele detector de metais é muito mais uma desculpa para os seguranças fazerem o controle da forma como julgam apropriada do que qualquer outra coisa. O que trava, mesmo, é aquele controlezinho que eles carregam. Comigo é rotineiro, sem qualquer exagero, passar por aquela porra sem metal nenhum na mochila (já deixei até estojo naquela caixinha ao lado por causa de lapiseira) e me travarem. Ou seja: o que volta e meia detectam em mim é um meliante em potencial, porque por várias vezes não havia qualquer metal a ser detectado. Se eu não tinha metal, por que ‘a porta’ travou? E, se eu tenho metal, por que logo em seguida ‘a porta’ destrava?E nessa de o crivo da segurança passar pelos olhos dos seguranças, é claro que o indivíduo negro leva a pior. Assim como leva a pior com a polícia, com emprego etc.

Helio Ventura [pt] takes the opportunity to republish a text written in March 2007 asking if revolving doors detected metal or melanin after a black customer was killed inside the bank in Rio de Janeiro:

Rio de Janeiro, sexta-feira, 22 de dezembro de 2006, 13 horas e 20 minutos. O micro-empresário negro Jonas Eduardo Santos de Souza, 34 anos, estava na fila da agência do banco Itaú da Av. Rio Branco, da qual era cliente há 10 anos, para operações de rotina. Mas ele foi vítima do racismo que persiste em existir em nosso país, apesar de muitas vozes da elite e da intelectualidade negarem. Ele foi morto com um tiro no peito por Natalício de Souza Marins, 29 anos, vigilante da agência.
Ao tentar entrar na agência bancária, Jonas foi parado pela conhecida e constrangedora porta giratória. Ele foi abordado por Natalício e obrigado a pôr na bandeja todos os objetos que possuía. Como a porta continuava travando, Jonas foi obrigado a tirar inclusive o cinto. O gerente foi acionado por Natalício, e só autorizou o acesso do jovem micro-empresário à agência após exigir que Jonas provasse ser cliente da agência, mostrando um cartão do banco. Após o constrangimento, já dentro da agência, Jonas e Natalício continuaram a discutir, até que o vigilante, demonstrando total despreparo para o exercício da função, sacou seu revólver e matou Jonas, que não teve chance de defesa. […]
Assim como também poderíamos estar do outro lado, o de Natalício, também negro, um pai de família que teve suprimidas as oportunidades de acessar uma profissão que pudesse dar melhores condições à sua filha de 5 anos, que se viu obrigado a pleitear apenas funções que exigem menor qualificação, como a de vigilante. Ele também foi atingido pelo racismo estrutural que assola este país. Isso em nada muda o fato dele ter agido equivocadamente: é um homicida e deve receber as sanções legalmente previstas. E ser também negro não atenua o crime. Mas nos faz perguntar: que sistema é este que coloca dois semelhantes em lados opostos, fazendo com que um tire a vida do outro? Até quando fatos como este acontecerão? Percebemos o quão perverso é este “racismo à brasileira”, uma política de extermínio silenciosa, disfarçada de risco social e fatalidade.

Andréia Freitas [pt], who once managed to get undisturbed inside a bank with a kitchen knife she had bought earlier on in the day, says that the sad conclusion is that people only see each others' surfaces:

Por que será que cresceram os assaltos a banco realizados por homens de terno e gravata? Por que será que hoje existe o roubo de carros em estacionamentos e os assaltantes chegam no local pra assaltar de carro importado? Golpes de estelionatários em hotéis de luxo, em lojas de grife, em restaurantes cinco estrelas…

A resposta é óbvia: O mundo é movido por “aparências”! Sim… se você é considerada uma pessoa “bem apessoada” a vida fica mais fácil pra você em todos os aspectos. Agora… se você não está tão “bem vestido”, ou seu cabelo “acordou” num dia ruim, ou seu sapato tá meio surrado, pode apostar que a vida não será bolinho pra você.

O ser humano vê as aparências! Se as portas dos bancos fossem realmente controladas por uma máquina, por um dispositivo eletrônico de segurança, os dois caras do vídeo do YouTube tinham sido barrados! E nada mais justo do que barrar OS DOIS, que portavam objetos de metal.

An online petiton [pt] launched with the experiment demanding that Brazilian banks stop using revolving doors and invest in x-ray systems or safety equipment that shows customers' real belongings has been signed by over 2,000 people so far. Over all, the plea is that everyone is treated with respect by the banks.

Every weekday, thousands of researchers around the world access the Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR), which contains the most reliable and up-to-date genomic information available on the most widely used model organism in the plant kingdom. But now, to those users' horror, TAIR faces collapse: the US National Science Foundation (NSF) is phasing out funding after 10 years as the data resource's sole supporter.

TAIR's plight is emblematic of a broader crisis facing many of the world's biological databases and repositories. Research funding agencies recognize that such infrastructures are crucial to the ongoing conduct of science, yet few are willing to finance them indefinitely. ...

Advertising and sponsorship are unlikely to bring in enough money to pay the experts needed to maintain such resources. And the superficially plausible idea of charging subscription fees is effectively unworkable for facilities such as TAIR, because the producers and consumers of data are essentially the same community. Scientists provide data and resources for free, because sharing benefits everyone. However, they would be considerably less likely to deposit the fruits of their labour if this synergy was removed from the equation. ...

The problem is acute even for modest resources. Two examples are the kidney database EuReGene and the mouse-embryo database EURExpress, both of which were launched with funds from the European Commission that have run out in recent months. The databases are currently being maintained on a hand-to-mouth basis, and the scientists who built them don't know where to turn for maintenance money. Yet the European Commission's investment will have been wasted if the databases disappear.

It is time for a whole new approach. Front-line biology cannot function without these resources, so solutions must be found at both national and international levels.

Governments must ensure that at least one of their national funding agencies has money specifically set aside for the long-term support of bioresource infrastructures. ...

But action is also needed on the international front. ... What is required is an international cost-sharing organization that could fund competitively selected infrastructures, large and small. ...

While it may sound like a bad joke, today's World Toilet Day focuses on a not-so-funny issue impacting almost half the world's population — a lack of toilets and sanitation.

People may be too embarrassed to openly talk about it, but everyone does it, toilet or not. World Toilet Day helps people celebrate the importance of sanitation and raise awareness for the 2.5 billion people who don't have access to toilets and proper sanitation. This video by the nonprofit WaterAid highlights the luxury of having a toilet.

Celebrating your can may seem silly, but not having one can not only lead to embarrassment, lack of dignity and safety issues, but also preventable diseases and even death. When people don't have toilets, they're forced to relieve themselves in open streets, fields, or back alleys. The result? The contamination of drinking water and food sources, which leads to a slew of health risks. Lack of sanitation is the world’s biggest cause of infection and kills 1.8 million people, mostly children, a year. Even countries with abundant toilets have to deal with problems ranging from unhygienic public toilets to waterway-destroying sewage disposal.

Vanilla, blogging on Let's Look At It This Way from Singapore, says that people should care about toilets:

“I know this is a crappy topic to most people. It is unfortunate that it is a ‘taboo' topic to talk about openly and many people remain ignorant about the scale of the problem. I fail to understand how this can be an unimportant topic when, on an average, we visit the toilet 2500 times a year, or 6-8 times a day. In our life time, we would have spent 3 years in the toilet.”

Organized by the nonprofit The World Toilet Organization, World Toilet Day is being celebrated globally with various events. To further increase awareness, WaterAid announced the launch of its new ToiletFinder UK App for iPhone users this week. The free app helps Brits find the nearest public toilet while reminding them how lucky they are to have clean and safe toilets. The largest event today, called The Big Squat, asks people to stop and squat for one minute in a public place to raise awareness. These photos show people squatting globally, including this one of preschoolers in Singapore:

A blog from Brunei, the world according to panyaluru …, also shows appreciation for the toilet by putting it into perspective:

“Imagine if we are walking along in the row of shops in Kiulap or Gadong. Suddenly the tummy grumbles, just like the worst ribut you can think off. No rest bite. Grumble and grumble. Rumblings. The light is on amber and ready to turn green. But no toilets in sight. Not a single public toilet in the rows of shops…Add to that no water, no tissue, nothing! That could be the worst day of your life, your worst nightmare, ever worse than the nightmares those kids have in the Nightmare on Elm Street Movies. On this day, let’s show our appreciation to our toilets.”

Despite its serious side, many people have used humor to celebrate World Toilet Day. In the U.K., the blog London City Drains features a 10-question toilet quiz, while in this video high school teacher Matt Cheplic sings about the day.

Some bloggers point out that toilets alone may not be the answer. Sandhya, blogging on Maradhi Manni in India, says many men don't use available toilets:

“In a city like Chennai, where the climate is hot nearly 10 months of the year, I see men urinating on the roadside all the time. When women can control and go home and relieve themselves, why can't men do so, I don't know. So, first of all people should be fined heavily for doing this crime (yes, it is crime) on the spot. I have seen them doing this on the wall of the public toilets! In Srirangam, I saw them urinating on the compound wall of the temple even though every street surrounding the temple had toilets, which were clean, but pay toilets!”

While lack of sanitation impacts everyone, the taboo around toilets can disproportionately affect women. In some countries, modesty forces women do their business in fields before sunrise or to hold it until after the sun sets, leading to health and safety concerns. Joanne Sprague, blogging on Overturning Boulders in India, observes that women are absent from the morning toilet run in Chennai, while in Ethiopia the blog AN ADVENTURE IN ADDIS notices a similar situation:

“I’ve heard so often about the lack of toilet facilities for women or lack of toilets in general; that teenage girls in the countryside get up at 4 am to go out in the dark to do their business so they don’t get bullied by the boys at school or stop going to school altogether. Men just pee anywhere, cigarette in hand and there’s an assumption that women don’t need to, if they are thought about at all….I want to see a huge billboard in Amharic saying ‘Girls go too’ with a picture of Barbie sitting on a toilet.”

To celebrate World Toilet Day, blogger Jonathan Stray, takes readers on an international tour of toilets he's visited, from Thailand and the U.K. to West Africa and Oman, concluding:

“We in the west with our flush toilets and toilet paper and sparkling shower stalls are the exception; the rest of the world thinks a bathroom is a wet, smelly place, when they have a bathroom at all. A good toilet means you probably have a very good quality of life, so enjoy yours. Happy World Toilet Day!”

Photo of Tiled Toilet by nedrichards on Flickr, Creative Commons.