"When news broke out that London had been bombed I was in a pub"

A contribution from Kudzanai Musange, a Zimbabwean journalist writing from Harare.

"The reaction over the London bombings? well, it's unfortunate to say
that the incident elicited some wideranging reactions -from the
sympathetic to the celebratory "i-told-u-so" kind of thing!

There is a huge population of Zimbabweans in England -an estimated 1.5
million people. According to the last census which was carried out in
2002, we have a population of 12 million. Another 2 million
Zimbabweans is scattered all over the world, especially in the US, New
Zealand, Australia and Ireland.

When news broke out that London had been bombed I was in pub and the
first remark that I registered was that the bombing should have
happened at our State House where president Mugabe is resident....Like
I said, it's sad that such a thing occurred in London -every
Zimbabwean feels the proximity, but in a way, that also poses
questions about the justice of the "world system" --we should not
condemn injustices in one part of the world and condone similar
injustices in another part of the world...conscious people will always
ask, what about Guantanamo, what about Palestine?

So, while I would have loved to give u a straight-forward answer, i feel i'm
still overwhelmed by the happenings of today's world..."

London attacks seen from Tanzania

MArko Gideon, a journalist from Tanzania writes:
"Very sad news indeed. But I wonder majority of
ordinary citizens don't care, neither shocked too much
by the incident.

I have just scanned the evening newspaper here. They
are concluding that Osama bin Laden was directly
involved in the attacks.

But the international news is yet to confirm.

This is Tanzanian media."

Al Qaeda in London as viewed from many parts of the world

BRITAIN EXPLOSION,
originally uploaded by javierespinoza.

London woke up today, during its rush hour, with a series of explosions coming presumably from the same group that committed the attacks in the US and Spain: Al Qaeda.
I dediced to go to my contacts in my msn and ask them how they experienced the news in the regions of the world where they are currently living.
As for my friend Nerina Cevra, from Bosnia, she is currently in Geneva and she told me "it seems we have gotten used to this" because people continued with business as usual.
Nicole, from Trinidad, currently living in Washington DC, told me people say "nothing" about the attacks. But the US Media has the news all over.
Olive Munyi, from Kenya, living in Nairobi, was on an internet cafe talking with me about the news. She said she will find out more and let me know.
José Luis Sanz, from Spain, was visiting his parents in Spain when he heard of the attacks. He described the events as "sad" too.
Lay Chin Koh, a reporter from Malasia, who studied in the UK for three years, was trying to contact her friends with no results cause the lines were all jammed.

Survey on Latin American journalists

More than half of Latin American journalists in a recent survey said they had studied communication, while one-fourth had studied journalism specifically. About 300 participated in the study, which aimed to analyze the level of professional training among Latin American journalists.

Traditional healing can be best at times.......

This is a story of an american recovering from Parkinson's disease after he underwent traditional healing here in Bhutan. Micheal is parkinson's patient for last thirteen years.

28th June, Thimphu: Micheal Borre had deep brain stimulus surgery for his Parkinson’s disease, which he had for the last thirteen years, in January 2003. And since then he had his right side of the body fully controlled by a machine fixed inside his left chest. The machine when put on with a help of a remote control generates energy and sends it to the brain, which then makes his right side of the body numb. It is the latest scientific treatment for Parkinson's disease.But in the last two weeks his body has been functioning without the help of this machine. This was possible after he underwent traditional healing under His late Holiness, the Nyezer Trulku (highly regarded lama and also the former head of the monastic body in Bhutan) before he passed away on 11th June 2005.He was the last person to have given the audience by the late Nyezer Trulku. Micheal told BBS that he was very fortunate to meet and get the blessings from the Late Trulku. “It was remarkable,” he said.He had the opportunity to meet various lamas. He told BBS that he was very lucky, having got the chance to come across so many lamas and get their blessings in a short time. He said his body’s mobility and flexibility was coming back. “ I have cut down my medicine by half. It is some sort of a miracle,” he said. The Code of Culture, Bhutan Dance Preservation Project, brought him to Bhutan for traditional healing. He receives Jabthro (ritual) from Lopon Yeshi every morning.Before coming to Bhutan he said he did not believe in any traditional healing but was optimistic. “ I have tried other forms of healing also, so I thought why not give it a try,” he told BBS.He said he regretted for his surgery done in 2003. “ I should have come to Bhutan before the surgery was done.” The deep brain surgery in the left hemisphere of his brain to control his right side of the body lasted for seven hours and had to be awake through out the operation time. “ I could feel the drilling done through my skull though it was painless.” He added that he had the idea of doing it for the right hemisphere to control the left side of the body as well. Now he has given up that idea. Being raised as a catholic he said he couldn’t think about other religion. “Now I feel that I can embrace Buddhism,” he told BBS.Micheal Borre has a wife and three children in Kalamazoo Michigan, his hometown. He is 45 years old.
He is flying back to USA tomorrow. "I will come back to Bhutan with my family," he said.

By Jigme Thinley

This story was run on National News, the Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS)

Should journalists use at their will secret sources?

03-18_KarlRoveBehindBush,
originally uploaded by javierespinoza.

What a nice day for a story to break. it is Independence Day in the US and
americans are waking up today with the news that Karl Rove, the guy who manufacture
Bush´s electoral propaganda and who is pretty much responsible for his winning, provided journalists with secret information allegedly to damage a politician who was against the war in Iraq.
Rove leaked the identity of an intelligence agent to the world. According to "Ohmy News" website, "rumors that Rove "ratted out" Plame in retaliation against her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, have been in and out of the news since the story first appeared in 2004, but Rove has repeatedly denied that he is involved.
The story broke after Matt Cooper writing for Time Magazine, refused to identigy his source.
The question for journalists now is whether or not we can refuse to identify our sources even if it means not cooperating with legal authorities. If we dont, doesnt that give room to journalists making up their sources?