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Asia and Oceania: Videos of Natural Disaster Aftermath · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

floods
In less than a week, earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons have struck several different countries in Oceania, East and Southeast Asia.
Previous Global Voices posts have kept us informed about what is going on at ground level in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam with Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) and about the series of strong earthquakes in Indonesia (1 and 2) just a day after the Samoa Earthquake which triggered a tsunami.
Through video uploading platforms, citizens who are experiencing these natural disasters and their aftermath have shared their video clips, so that people from other regions can identify the extent of the damages.
YouTube's CitizenTube blog have written a couple of posts regarding these events. This first one has a playlist of clips of the Samoa Earthquake and Tsunami aftermath:
And this other post has several videos of the aftermath of the Sumatran earthquake.
This one has families outside their homes, running to grab railings in case there's an aftershock:
This other shows a street view of what seems to be a shopping center with extensive damage and an area on fire:
This next video regards Typhoon (Ketsana) Ondoy, which hit the Philippines. In it you can see the extensive flooding, and the cameraman writes this in his description:
I just got back from the river's edge 5 minutes ago. A 10-15 feet height differential between the Marikina River and the embankment has now been reduced to the point that water is splashing against the high-rises of Eastwood, Metro Manila. A security guard for this sealed off area approaches me and covers me with his umbrella while I snap pictures from my phone. “Where are the police or firemen?” I asked. He first points at a speck in the middle of the river 300-400 meters out to my right. “That was a woman with her 2 year old infant clinging on to her. She passed through here in the middle of the river – waving at us for help. There was nothing we could do – she had passed though within 5 seconds. We've been seeing other people washed away.” We watched helplessly at the 20+ people 200 meters away that are now sitting on top of their corrugated roof-tops as the river rages beneath them on their submerged homes… waiting for emergency personnel yet to come.
This video, also about the flooding, shows a different face to the emergency, in the rapidly rising waters, a group of children can be seen playing and enjoying themselves:
It seems that humor has become one of the ways to cope with natural disasters for Filipinos. For example, in this blog post a message by Gwendolyn So is reposted, where she tells of her 10+ years experiencing flooding in her home at least once a year, you can see that even in the midst of trying to rescue furniture, goods and family, there is a space for having fun:
5. You can have fun in the midst of disaster so I took out our cameras and starting taking pictures. It was to make everyone have a good laugh as we surveyed the chaos around us, the cockroaches and rats swimming by, the black inky spots of oily stuff occasionally floating around.
At the end, she puts things in perspective:
It is easy to go insane after this kind of calamity, to despair of the material things we lost (especially the cars), but please be thankful you got away with your life and that of your family and loved ones
Image used to illustrate post by IronChefBalara according to CC attribution license

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Azerbaijan: Hikmat Hajizade · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Hikmat Hajizade, father of detained video blogger Adnan Hajizade, speaks about his son while the Frontline Club looks at his own past as a successful academic and diplomat.

source: news-globalvoices

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Barbados: Getting to Know Cozier  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados-based blogger B.C. Pires talks to Tony Cozier, “the voice of West Indies cricket”.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bermuda: Bad Investment · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Government misses the point. Spends millions to save thousands. Shows utter inability to invest our money wisely. Again”: New Onion takes issue with the Bermuda government's subsidizing of the solar electric industry.


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China: A birthday bash for the People’s Republic · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

DANWEI puts together newspaper front pages for October 1, 2009 to show how the country's media celebrate PRC 60th birthday.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cuba: Hip-Hopper Arrested  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Generation Y blogs about the arrest of Cuban hip-hopper, Aldo.


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Georgia: Festival of Polish Culture · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

This is Tbilisi Calling announces the start of the first festival of contemporary Polish culture in Georgia. The blog notes that links between the two countries are already established and jokes that many Georgians claim to have Polish blood somewhere in their lineage even if full details are a little bit hazy.


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Guinea: Outrage, Grief After Brutal Massacre  · Global Voices
Claire Ulrich

Still under tight police surveillance, Guinea ended several days of official mourning today for those killed in the sudden and shocking massacre of opposition protesters on Monday.  An estimated 157 (probably many more) unarmed demonstrators were shot down, knifed or clubbed to death by army soldiers in and around the “28 September Stadium”, where the opposition forces coalition, “Forces vives,” had called for a demonstration against military head of state Dadis Camara and his intention to run for president during the January 2010 election. Tragically, this stadium is named after the date Guinea celebrated its independence from France, on September 28, 1958. It is now set to become Conakry's second landmark of torture and mass murder, after the infamous Camp Boiro.
Footage of  Guinean soldiers shooting demonstrators in Conakry on Monday (ANSA, on YouTube)
On the very same day, Guinean blogger Konngol Afirik wrote with cold rage [fr], from Europe :
Les responsables du carnage de cette journée noire ont pour nom Capitaine Moussa Dadis Camara, chef de la junte et président de la République autoproclamé, Capitaine Tiegboro Camara secrétaire d’État chargé de la lutte anti-drogue et du grand banditisme, Général Sékouba Konaté ministre de la Défense, Jean Claude Pivi ministre chargé de la sécurité présidentielle. Encore une fois, l'Union Africaine et la CÉDÉAO et les partenaires internationaux se sont révélés ineffectifs devant un officier putschiste prêt à marcher sur des cadavres pour conserver le pouvoir.
Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, who seized power after a bloodless coup exactly nine month ago, a day or so after dictator Lansana Conté's passing, had first raised great expectations in Guineans. Because he was young, trained abroad (in Germany), and not involved with the previous dictatorship. As Noël Etienne Gnimassou, a technician in an aluminium factory in Conakry, recalls on the “Les observateurs” website of France24 tv channel [fr], that hope lasted three months:
Le capitaine Camara est incompétent pour le poste. Il s'est contenté de travailler pendant les trois mois qui ont suivi sa prise de pouvoir : il a lutté contre la corruption, il a mis à la retraite les vieux généraux fidèles au président Conté et il s'est attaqué au trafic de drogue. Mais passé cette période, il a commencé à se sentir à l'aise dans le fauteuil de président.
On YouTube, the anonymous account “Dadis Show” has documented his fast-forward slide into dictatorial brutality with a selection of  ranting  speeches that early on cast doubts on a leader nicknamed by magazine Jeune Afrique Captain Dadis and Mister Camara [fr].
News then slowly seeped on private chat-group from residents, doctors, and foreign correspondents of savage rapes, of soldiers attempting to camouflage the magnitude of the massacre by stealing corpses from hospital mortuaries or burying them hastily on the spot.
Anonymous :J'ai une collègue qui a perdu son neveu, mais d'apres les militaires qui ont répondu a son téléphone portable, la famille ne récupérera  pas le corps. On est confine dans les maisons. C'est vraiment terrifiant.
On Thursday, the hearsay was confirmed by the chilling public testimony on French radio RFI of a soldier who took part in the blodshed “under orders.”
Captain Dadis Camara, In an official communiqué [fr], denies any responsability, accusing, alternately, the opposition and his soldiers : “Even the head of state cannot curb this movement“. It remains to be seen who is actualy leading the army, who gave orders to hunt down two correspondents of foreign media, who “threw a bad light on Guinea.”  The vast majority of commenters on diaspora newssites and Guinean forums are appaled by his “crocodile tears” and see yet another plot unfolding in his call for “international investigation” and “a coalition government”:
Oumar, a Guinean expatriate, urges Guinean, out of fear or thirst for peace, not to fall in this traps :
Son dernier subterfuge est le gouvernement d’union nationale. Le dictateur sait que si l’opposition accepte de faire partie d’un pareil gouvernement, la communauté internationale serait embarrassée dans l’application des sanctions. Comment punir des bourreaux si leurs victimes collaborent avec eux dans un même gouvernement ?Autre idée du chef de la junte pour échapper à la justice internationale : une commission d’enquête internationale avec à sa tête un « sage africain ». À qui pense t-il quand il parle de ce fameux « sage africain » ? Certainement à son mentor Abdoulaye Wade président du Sénégal voisin qui l’appelle affectueusement « mon fils » et qui est avec Kadhafi le seul Chef d’État africain à l’avoir ouvertement soutenu depuis le début.
When will it end ? In an analysis on the BBC website, analyst Paul Melly, states one of the reasons Guinea has spent fifty years now in the grip of successive dictators :
Guinea is naturally quite wealthy. It's not easy to just force down a regime through external pressure. The [previous] Conte regime survived years of the suspension of European aid without ever caving in to the EU's demands for political reform.
Uproar in Germany
Meanwhile, Guinea's plight has raised another controversy.  When it became known in Germany, where Dadis Camara received military training, that he spoke German and always sported the German paratrooper badge on his red army beret, the German department of defence stated that training for foreign officers in Germany was promoted by the German government in order to further democracy abroad and that “Berlin was not to blame if the officers embarked on a different course when they returned home.” Outrage erupted over ten pages of comments on newsites Die Welt [german]:
Angelina: Diesem Schwein sollten alle Titel und Ränge der Deutschen Bundeswehr aberkannt werden,das Fallschirmspringerabzeichen müßte ihm Frau Merkel persönlich vom Barrett reißen!
Jennifer Brea contributed editing and translation.

author: Claire Ulrich


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Indonesia: Post quake death toll worsens · Global Voices
Juke Carolina

Latest report claimed more than 1,100 deaths in Indonesia while rescuers are struggling to get a hold of some other thousands who are still trapped under the rubbles.
Nearly 24 hours since the earthquake took place, the city is still experiencing blackout and bad cellphone reception:
andrepramana @luckytriakbar belum dapet kabar luk..padang gelap gulita..jringan hp masi eror
andrepramana: I haven't got any news.. Padang is in pitch black.. Cell phone network errors.
Many Twitter users like nenglita, is depending on their tweets to find missing relatives:
nenglita: Tlg carikan sepupu saya, Muhammad Septian Pradana,15th & Muhammad Yuniardi,13th. Almt Jl Cendana mata air no2 padang. Please<
nenglita: Please find my 15 year-old cousin  Muhammad Septian Pradana and 13 year-old  Muhammad Yuniardi. Residents of Cendana mata air street no2 padang.
President Yudhoyono and 6 state ministers are now in Padang to assess the situation and coordinate the emergency relief effort:
dedimasputra: Indonesia was hit by earthqueke again.The presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated for emergency circumstace for 2 months in West Sumatra
The Minangkabau Airport was reopened around noon local time on Thursday. However, due to massive inbound flights, ticket price sky-rocketed, reaching 3 million IDR (about 311 USD) for an economy class seat.
dinanyadonald: @sitita bandara padang udah dibuka ta,tapi sepertinya ticket jadi susah..kk sepupu g udah jalan kesana td pagi
dinanyadonald: the Padang airport reopenned, but the tickets are scarce. My cousin is on the way there this morning.
Reponding to this situation, an official of the Ministry of Transportations told [id]  local newsportal Detik that the government has requested the commercial and chartered airlines to set a normal charges on humanitarian ground which doesn't exceed standard price of 960,000 IDR (about 100 USD).
Transporting aid and volunteers to a disaster impacted area is a big challenge for archipelagic countries like Indonesia and its neighbor country the Philippines.
Thousands of Indonesian troops are deployed to search the missing victims.
Twitterers unite in gathering  specialized volunteers to be deployed to Padang:
@chairanijk : Tweeps, Jika berminat menjadi relawan di Padang, hub saya ya, bsk brgkt jam 8 pagi. Di utamakan dokter dan paramedis thx.
Tweeps, if you'd like to volunteer for Padang, please contact me, departing at 8 AM tomorrow. Doctors and paramedics preferred. Thanks.
RisyadRusdi : Ada yg mau jd relawan ke padang? Yg berminat hub gw, bsk pagi jam 8 naik pesawat carteran pak JK dr halim. makasih. http://myloc.me/QKHT
Anyone wants to be volunteer for Padang? Those who do, please contact me, we're going there at 8 AM tomorrow with VP's chartered plane from Halim (author's note: military air field)
According to Palang Merah Indonesia's (PMI- Indonesian Red Cross) report appearing on Facebook, 529 people were found dead and 80% of houses and public infrastructure are damaged, and that more tents are still needed for quake victims.
Two more quakes felt on Thursday
On the same report, the PMI also said that another 7.0 Richter scale jolt that struck Jambi province on Thursday morning.
The Jambi volcanic quake damaged some 500 houses in 4 villages. 1 death reported and injuries.
Another rattle measuring  5.5 on the Richter scale was felt in North Sulawesi's capital in Manado around 8 AM Thursday. The undersea quake epicenter is in Tahuna Sea on the eastern part of Indonesia.
Until Thursday evening, extensive reports on Jambi and North Sulawesi are still scarce.

author: Juke Carolina


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Is Japan a dying nation? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Mari writes a brief response to the BBC's article “Is Japan a dying nation?” She agrees that the population is shrinking but believes that the country will be reborn in a new and smaller form.


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Japan: Panda poo power · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Pink Tentacle blogs about the recent Ig Noble Biology prize winner Fumiaki Taguchi's research on Panda poo for disintegrating kitchen waste.


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Japan: Reactions to Tokyo’s Olympic Bid (Part One) · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

What does the Japanese blogosphere and Twitterverse have to say about Tokyo's bid to host the 2016 Olympics? Part One introduces some reactions before the announcements at the bid ceremony on October 2nd.
‘tokyo attracts the Olympics in 2016′ by Flickr user sekihan
babylonsden tweeted:
オリンピックやってほしいなぁ。前回の東京オリンピックを見た人が反対するのは聞かない。あれだけ自慢話（オリンピックの時はどうたらうんたら）を聞かせ続けて今回文句いうのは納得いかねぇ。
Uosan tweeted:
2016年、東京オリンピック招致、他に考えなければならない課題が多すぎるから。今から７年間も考え続けることはできないが、10月2日で決まれば自然に盛り上がると思う。その日まで、盛り上げようということですね。
As with many other bloggers, Happy Sachi refers to these statistics: Only 55% of Tokyo residents wanted to see the Olympics come to Tokyo according to an IOC poll held in February. This is 12 points lower than Chicago, 27 points lower than Rio, and 29 points lower than Madrid.
一番の懸念は「支持率の低さ」だそうです。
これは、日本人の特徴ですね。
恥ずかしがって、でも、だって、って感じになる。
実際やったら、国民団結で大盛り上がり。
そんな国民ですよ。
反対した人の理由は何なんでしょうね。
お金ですかね？
なんかしみったれてて嫌ですね。
お金で買えない価値が山ほどあるんだから
みんなで盛り上がっちゃえばいいのに。
プライスレスですよ。
We shy away from things and muddy the water but when the event actually happens, the country comes together and has a blast.
I wonder about the reasoning of the people who opposed the bid. Is it about the money? Such stinginess is disappointing.
There's a ton of value that simply can't be bought with money. Why not just have fun with everyone? That's priceless!
Trans Pacific Radio says no to Tokyo Olympics:
The only thing the Olympics are sure to bring is debt. In short, even if Tokyo really wanted the Olympics (and why anyone with accurate information would want them is confusing), the city could not afford them.
[…]
Money is a major consideration, of course, even the main consideration, but it is not the only consideration. Despite the TOCOG’s claims that many or most of the Olympic facilities are already in place, anyone who sees those or who knows what the IOC asks for and invariably gets, knows that this is not the case.
In fact, in its most recent evaluation of the four candidate cities, the Tokyo received a lower score than expected, partially due to the fact that many of the proposed venues were not only not ready to go, but would have to be rebuilt.
The blogger at Minkanjin desu (I am a civilian) changed his mind and now supports the bid:
私は日本のオリンピック開催に大反対でした。「人よりコンクリート」を重視するイベントになるだろう事が明らかだったからです。
しかし、今は賛成に変わりました。鳩山首相が国連で「温室効果ガスの25%削減」を宣言した為です。
2016年オリンピックの招致です。今から約７年目です。７年目と言えば、25%削減を実現する道筋がきちんと作られ、国民の生活もきわめてecoを意識したものになっているはずです。
開催されるオリンピックも環境を意識し、今までのものとは異なっているハズです（前回の北京オリンピックとはすっかり異なっている必要が有ると思います）　日本がこの方向性を世界に示す良い機会が2016年のオリンピックと思っています。
The bid is for the Olympics in 2016. That's seven years from now. That means that by then, the road to cutting emissions by 25% will have been paved and Japanese lifestyles will strongly reflect our eco-consciousness.
The Olympics will also be conscious of the environment and will be different from previous events. (I think it needs to be completely different from the Beijing Olympics.) The 2016 Olympics will be a good opportunity to show Japan's progress to the world.
Brett Larner has a list of some interesting recent articles looking at Tokyo's bid from various overseas perspectives. Hiroba Dankai took some photos of what the advertising in Tokyo looks like. Flickr user shibuya246 posted photos of the Tokyo 2016 Olympic Parade.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Morocco: From Censorship to Seizure · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The cartoon has been making its way around the blogosphere
The Moroccan Interior Ministry has decided to sue Arabic-language daily paper Akhbar Al Youm for publishing a cartoon lampooning the newly wedded Prince Moulay Ismail.  In a statement, the Ministry called the cartoon a “blatant disrespect to a member of the royal family.”  The statement also called out the specific use of the Star of David in the cartoon, stating that it “raises many questions on the insinuations of the people behind it and suggests flagrant anti-Semitic penchants.”
Blogger Analitikis thinks Morocco has lost its sense of humor, but takes issue with the journalist, who claimed that the star was intended to be the five-pointed one of the Moroccan flag, saying:
The whole episode was of course a golden opportunity for the Ministry of the Interior to ban one of the very few independent newspapers in the country…While I do support the journalist’s freedom of expression I do question his recent statement in which he declared that the star was mistaken for a star of David when it’s really just a good old Moroccan one. I, thus, decided to use the very limited Photoshop skills to test the the truthfulness of his testimony… You be the judge
The blogger then attempts to recreate a five-pointed star, proving it impossible…
Blogger Analitikis shows the star's true points
…and concluding: “I wonder if the German origin of the Prince’s wife have anything to do with this story…”
A Moroccan About the World Around Him analyzes the situation, saying:
The Moroccan government has grown increasingly sensitive to the country’s independent media as they broached subjects considered verboten. Its judicial and political cannonade of independent journalists and artists, and the newspapers and magazines they work for belies its averment it advocates and protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Some observers pointed out that the government stands as the backstage instigator of the ad hominem bickering plaguing the independent media these days.
Knowing the story behind the rift between Bouachrine and Nini of Al Masae, the latter is going to have a field day with this one.
Entre Nous Marocains has written a very detailed post assessing the situation, including two videos in his post.  The blogger concludes:
Durant deux mois, la censure de Telquel, Nichane, Le Monde et les interrogatoires de plusieurs journalistes (Al Ayam, Al Michaal, Al Jarida Al Oula) mais le meilleur pour la fin, la fin d’une époque de censure et d’interrogatoires, et le début d’une époque de saisie de biens. La caricature n’a pas suscitée tout l’intérêt qu’elle suscitera dans les prochains jours. Est-ce que par cette saisie, le ministère empêchera la publication de caricatures, articles sur le Roi ou sur les princes et princesses ?! Ni les censures, ni les interdictions, ni les gros montants de dommages et intérêts n’ont empêchés la publication de tels articles ! Il faut bien penser à une solution qui arrange LES DEUX PARTIES, pas seulement UNE ou AUCUNE comme le cas d’Akhbar Al Youm.

author: Jillian C. York


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Puerto Rico: A Crisis with Many Names · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

This has been a very difficult week in Puerto Rico: governor Luis Fortuño layed-off nearly 17,000 government employees.  In total this year, the recently elected government has laid off around 25,000 public employees.  After the announcement, people immediately mobilized. Workers, women, students, professors, and members of the civil society in general, have organized press conferences and demonstrations in order to protest the decision that leaves thousands of families in a desperate situation. In an act of civil disobedience a group of people chained themselves and blocked the main entrance to the Governor's Mansion, La Fortaleza, in Old San Juan. They set up what they called “The Camp of Dignity”, but were soon removed by a special police force. Trade unions have announced a national strike for October 15.
Civil disobedients in front of the Governor's Mansion. Photo by José Antonio Rosado from Prensa Comunitaria.
Photo by José Antonio Rosado from Prensa Comunitaria.
There have also been acts of utter frustration. While leading a press conference in the eastern zone of the Island, the Governor was egged by a man called Roberto García. The Governor dodged the egg. García was charged on attempted assault and was set free on bail. He later said that even though he had voted for the Governor, he was extremely disappointed by his decision to lay off thousands of government employees. Women's organizations have denounced the lay-offs, saying that they disproportionately affect women, especially single mothers who are the only bread-winners of their families.
Demonstrations in San Juan. Photo by José Antonio Rosado from Prensa Comunitaria.
Comments and analysis on the precarious political, social and economic situation that Puerto Rico is enduring have flooded the blogosphere. Sergio Marxuach, Policy Director of the Center for the New Economy, a nonprofit think-tank dedicated to progressive economic solutions based in Puerto Rico, analyzed the situation in the organization's new blog [ES]:
Todos los economistas están de acuerdo que el resultado de despedir 20,000 empleados públicos en una recesión va a tener los siguientes efectos:  1. Aumentar la tasa de desempleo a mas de 18%;
2. Agudizar la recesión, ya que habrá 20,000 empleados menos, lo que reduce el consumo agregado;
3. Aumentar la demanda por servicios públicos, por ejemplo, educación y salud;
4. Desempleo prolongado ya que el sector privado no va a reclutar masivamente en medio de una recesión; y
5. En el caso específico de Puerto Rico, empeorar la situación los bancos, ya que 46% de los empleados públicos tienen hipoteca.
All of the economists agree that laying off 20,000 public employees during a recession will have the following effects:
1.    An 18% increase of the unemployment rate;
2.    Worsen the recession, because there will be 20,00 fewer employees, and that decreases aggregate consumption;
3.    Increase the demand for public services, for example education and health;
4.    Prolonged unemployment due to the fact that the private sector will not recruit massively in the middle of a recession;
5.    In the specific case of Puerto Rico, local banks’ situations will worsen because 46% of public employees hold a mortgage.
In Ventanasur [ES], Reinaldo Millán comments:
El partido de gobierno está de plácemes, no tiene oposición y los medios de comunicación son de manufactura conservadora, lo que le ayuda enormemente ya que los inversionistas de los medios son parientes de los ejecutivos de empresas que se beneficiarán del mantengo corporativo de la ley de Alianzas Público Privadas, mediante la cual le transferirán no solo la responsabilidad de los servicios públicos que hagan falta ofrecer ante la eliminación de las agencias de gobierno sino la administración de fondos públicos que antes correspondían a esas dependencias gubernamentales.
The Government is utterly happy: they do not have a political opposition and the mainstream media are conservative. This helps them greatly because the major media investors are related to the executives of the firms that will benefit from the Public-Private Coalition Law. This law transfers the responsibility of certain public services to the private sector, and it also permits the private sector to administer public funds that were previously handled by public agencies that have been eliminated.
Demonstration in San Juan. Photo by José Antonio Rosado from Prensa Comunitaria.
In her blog Poder, espacio y ambiente [ES], lawyer Erika Fontánez questioned the reasons the Government offered in order to justify the lay-offs. Government officials said the cuts would ultimately benefit the population.
Necesitamos saber, por ejemplo, si variables como el género y los puestos que tradicionalmente responden a un género particular fueron tomadas en cuenta. ¿Sabemos cuantas de esas 17,000 son mujeres? ¿Cuántas madres solteras? ¿A cuanto asciende el % de mujeres desempleadas? ¿De qué sectores son? ¿Cuál es el costo de que más personas se queden eventualmente sin plan médico que cubra los servicios de salud? ¿Cuál es el número de los costos vs. los beneficios en atender más problemas de salud mental, del aumento en suicidios, de seguridad, de personas que se vean en el riesgo de perder sus viviendas y tengan que acudir a solicitar vivienda pública, lo que también está en el colapso? Números, sí, queremos números.
We need to know, for example, if variables such as gender and the jobs that women traditionally occupy were taken into account. Do we know how many of these 17,000 people are women? How many of them are single mothers? What is the percent of women?  What sectors do they belong to? What are the costs to cover people who will eventually have no health plans? What is the number of costs vs. benefits of attending to more mental health problems, an increase in suicides, insecurity, of people who may lose their houses and may need public housing (which is also collapsing)? Numbers, yes, we want numbers.
PhD student in Planning and International Development, Deepak Lamba-Nieves, also offered his insights in (Trans)actions: (Trans)acciones:
Part of the measures to cut back on government spending have included: incentivized retirement packages, voluntary reductions of work hours, the suspension of previously negotiated collective bargaining agreements, and the layoff of public employees. Asides from these draconian measures, they have pounced over the poor and destitute by displacing residents from informal settlements, curtailing the advancement of progressive grassroots efforts, and deploying police riot squads to deal with minor manifestations of civilian unrest…For now, it’s hard to imagine how this chapter of the story will end. My impression is that a good number of people are fed up what’s happening in their country. Some feel the pain more than others, but as anyone who has been injured knows, after a while, and if things don’t improve, those around you start feeling your pain. I don’t think the current administration has a good grasp of what is at stake here. Public unrest can lead to many different negative outcomes and even if the economy starts  bouncing back, certain damages (and images) are not so easy to remedy (or erase).

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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South Korea: Male social behaviour · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ask a Korean! discusses about the male expression of same sex friendship in Korea, which is quite different from western culture.


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Suriname: Tattoo Art  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Paramaribo SPAN pays a visit to artist Pierre Bong A Jan, whose work “sets up a creative dialogue between…painting and tattoos, at a meeting-point of conventional ‘fine’ art and bodily adornment, folklore and science fiction, international youth culture and personal self-expression.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Monstre Sacre  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands notes that on the heels of Roman Polanski's arrest, V.S. Naipaul has made the Washington Times‘ list of 5 “sacred monsters—artists who have misbehaved in on a grand scale.”


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Typhoon Ketsana batters Southeast Asia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Typhoon Ketsana struck several Southeast Asian countries leaving hundreds dead and millions homeless. It triggered the worst flooding in the Philippines which affected 3 million people as of this writing. It displaced hundreds of thousands of residents in central Vietnam, Cambodia and southern Laos.
“Ketsana” destroyed more than 300,000 homes, schools and other structures in Vietnam:
Since the ferocious storm struck the central coast on Tuesday, it has killed at least 92 people, left 19 missing, and injured 199, according to the latest statistics from the national flood and storm control committee.
Floodwaters from the torrential rain accompanying the ninth storm from the East Sea this year have submerged or destroyed nearly 337,000 homes, schools and other man-made structures.
It also forced the evacuation of more than 350,000 people:
The storm destroyed or damaged nearly 170,000 homes and flattened crops in six Vietnamese provinces, officials said, while more than 350,000 people were evacuated from the typhoon's path.
Residents describe “Ketsana” as “the most serious typhoon that’s hit here in four or five years.” They also fear that the “floods could reach the historic highs of 1964.”
Twitter reactions in Vietman about the storm:
jjlechau: Despite Typhoon Ketsana hitting central Vietnam, the southern part remains eerily calm. Just cloudy and a little windy.
quangdieu911: Storm devastating Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, do something good for they, please… South Vietnam is raining allnight, can't go anywhere in SG.
EmilyPham: The storm that brought heavy flooding to the Philippines, now ugraded to a typhoon, has battered Vietnam.
sereneyee: @mykelism Ketsana hasn't been to visit on this end yet. For now, it is state emergency at the central provinces of the country.
Flooding in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo from blog of Cambodia Calling
“Ketsana” also pummeled Cambodia which led to the flooding in many areas. Cambodia Calling notes that this is the first time that floods have been so bad in Siem Reap:
…it is the first time the floods have been so bad in Siem Reap.
The floods near the Siem Reap International School were bad and Thyda had to get off her motocycle and push it for 500m. Water got into the engine and it wouldn't start. She said the cars drove fast because drivers did not want to get stuck in the waters. When that happened, the ripples made it harder to push her motocycle.
Andy Brouwer mentions other flooded areas:
Overnight rain in Siem Reap has left the old market area under water including pub street and other areas including Wat Bo road and the roads in front of Hotel De La Paix, Amansara and La Residence Hotels. National Road 6 out towards the airport is also under water. In Angkor, the roads around Prasat Kravann and Banteay Kdei are flooded and the level of the water in the moat surrounding Angkor Wat is at its peak. At the moment Phnom Penh hasn't really been affected.
Church World Service lists the urgent supplies needed by Cambodians in evacuation centers:
Church World Service Cambodia reports that in one province, Kompong Thom, 223 villages–some 14,744 families–have been flooded out.
CWS Cambodia has conducted assessments and reports first priority needs in affected regions include food, shelter (plastic sheeting to protect family from the rain and heat), clean water, mosquito netting, and water and sanitation unit
(To view pictures of the damage caused by “Ketsana” in Vietnam and Cambodia, visit Vietnam Net Bridge and KI Media)
The southern part of Laos was damaged by “Ketsana.” There is widespread flooding in Xekong and Attapeu provinces. Authorities also reported that 50 hectares of agricultural land is flooded.
Accoridng to KPL Lao News Agency:
Road No.16 , bridges, villages, communication and electricity systems were cut and flooded immediately by the overflow of the Sekong River in Sekong Province since Wednesday’s morning.
At the same time, the water level of the Sedon River, under the influence of the storm, further swelled and submerged rice fields and some villages in two districts of Khongsedon and Vapy, Saravane province.
Thailand was not directly affected by “Ketsana” but the typhoon brought some rains in Bangkok. The Bangkok Bugle writes:
It's a wet and gloomy morning in Bangkok as the remnants of Typhoon Ketsana pass over the city.
There's been consistent, but not heavy, rain since around 8pm last night. The small canal in my soi (street) is high but not close to flooding, and my journey to the office this morning was uneventful. There was a noticeable wind in the city yesterday and this morning I'd estimate it is several degrees cooler than normal right now.
Ketsana is a Lao name, and referred to a tree that resembles agarwood.
To read more about the flood situation in the Philippines, Global Voices offers these articles: Flooding documented on citizen videos, Worst flooding in 40 years, 2.5 million people affected by flooding.
Flooded village in the Philippines. Photo courtesy of Migrante
The Power of Twitter
The role of social media in aiding flood rescue teams in the Philippines has been cited here in Global Voices. A specific case can further clarify the important role of microblogging sites like Twitter and Plurk in times of disaster.
A Twitter user asks for volunteers to deliver supplies to a relief center:
RT @tjmanotoc: 300 hard boiled eggs & 20 loaves of bread in Rockwell, Makati need help in delivery 2 Katipunan/Aurora drop-off point tonight
A few minutes later, the tweet received positive replies:
RT @tjmanotoc: Thanks for the RTs and offers. We have a volunteer na to deliver the eggs. :) once again, I love you Twitter
Several parts of Metro Manila are still flooded

author: Mong Palatino


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Ukraine: Broken Promises and the Presidential Election · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The presidential election in Ukraine is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2010, and although the official registration of candidates does not begin until Oct. 20, most of the key players have already started their campaigns. In the Ukrainian blogosphere, there is no shortage of posts on pre-election politics, but bloggers who exhibit genuine trust in the nation's politicians are somewhat hard to find. There is plenty of cynicism instead, however.
Some of the early campaigning highlights can be found at Ukrainiana: PM Yulia Tymoshenko‘s “With Ukraine at Heart” concert; Victor Yanukovych‘s “I Hear Everyone” ad; and “Ukraine Has To Be Strong” ad by Serhiy Tyhypko, of whom Ukrainiana‘s Taras writes: “A dead ringer for Kevin Spacey, isn’t he? Only a bit more serious. Or less.”
Blogoreader.org.ua, a blog covering the news and views from the Ukrainian blogosphere, wrote (UKR) on Sept. 30 about an interactive political project launched by news portal Korrespondent.net in July – The Measure of Truth (RUS):
[…] The goal of the Measure of Truth project is to determine the level of truth in the statements of Ukrainian politicians. The site's visitors will be assessing the credibility of specific statements, by voting either in favor of or against politicians’ quotes. In addition to this, there'll be a short editorial commentary next to each quote. So far, most of these commentaries have been caustic and ironic :)
The “truthometer” will include weekly quote credibility charts. This will make it possible to see the public attitude towards this or that politician – how much the people believe what he or she says.
According to the project's authors, it will continue to exist after the presidential election in Ukraine. […]
Below are three recent election-related quotes (RUS), by the Ukrainian president and the speaker of the parliament (both of whom are expected to run for president in 2010), as well the breakdown of the audience's pro and contra votes, and the editorial comments:
Sept. 22, 2009
[President Victor Yushchenko]
My plan is to win. < ...> And when we meet with you in six months, I'm sure I'll be the president of Ukraine.
Readers’ assessment:
-1323 ( +211 / -1534 )
Editorial comment:
There are two options here. Either Victor Yushchenko is an incredible, amazing optimist. Or he means some other Ukraine. Some fund, perhaps.
***
Sept. 29, 2009
[Parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn]
The main threat to Ukraine's national security are the Ukrainian authorities. I'm talking about them all and am not singling anyone out, because the President, the Cabinet of Ministers and the [Parliament] of Ukraine all represent this threat today.
Readers’ assessment:
1247 ( +1430 / -183 )
Editorial comment:
Volodymyr Lytvyn has never demonstrated such a high degree of honesty before.
***
Sept. 30, 2009
Victor Yushchenko
The Yushchenko who is sitting in front of you is the [Yushchenko of 2004]. I haven't deleted a single thesis from my platform.
Readers’ assessment:
0 ( +365 / -365 )
Editorial comment:
Victor Andreyevich [Yushchenko] is probably right. And this is the sad part. He hasn't managed to change anything for real in the country – not for the better, at least. All his promises have remained just that, promises, and all his words have remained mere rhetoric, and all his dreams of strong power in a prospering country have remained nothing but dreams. All he's got to do now is return to the opposition. Back to the future, so to say.
LJ user mihailobrodskiy – Ukrainian businessman Mykhaylo Brodsky, no stranger to politics and controversy himself – wrote this (RUS) about pre-election politics and trust:
I've been reading statements like these recently: [Volodymyr Lytvyn] – I'll be #1, [Yulia Tymoshenko] – I'll win, [Victor Yushchenko] – I'll win 100%. As a citizen, I'd like to hear something else. What kind of healthcare system we'll have, for example. Only spoken with responsibility. I don't trust these jerks, though. And I'll just stay silent about [Victor Yanukovych].
Here are some comments to this short post:
mikawai:
Well, Yanukovych is staying silent himself most of the time – what is there to discuss about him :)
ser_dem:
And he's doing the right thing. With his conversational skills, it's better to stay aside quietly, looking clever – who knows, maybe they'll end up electing him. And if he talks, then he'll lose again [as in 2004].
sahaleen:
[Yanukovych] is trying to appear compassionate… How are you doing?.. How is your job?.. It's all [Yulia Tymoshenko's] government's fault. That's the most evil enemy of all, and me, I'm soft and fuzzy… I'll restore order… And how he is going to restore it and, in general, what exactly he is going to do – he's not saying a word about it… Ridiculous… Is it working on anyone!?
ser_dem:
What, is there anyone at all out there who is saying HOW he is going to restore order???
LJ user nefedieff also wrote (UKR, RUS) about Victor Yanukovych's truth-telling:
[…] They say Victor Fedorovych [Yanukovych] spoke in Mykolayiv today. His solemn speech on the occasion of his arrival in the city of ship-builders is hard not to admire.
“I promise to work hard and to always tell you nothing but the truth,” emphasized the leader of Party of the Regions during his address.
Mamma mia, I was so moved, I started crying… from laughter. One thing we should now ask him is why not start telling the truth way before the election? […]
More on Ukrainian politicians’ broken promises (UKR) – by LJ user didaio:
The only reason why I'm not going to vote for Yushchenko in the presidential election is his broken promises.
And it looks like Tymoshenko has indeed learned something from him.
“I know that we'll be able to return the money to the people in two years. If I fail to return the money to the people in two years, I – unlike our our male politicians – will resign from my post, because you don't need a post if you can't give what you've promised to the people.” (Sept. 28, 2007, Yulia Tymoshenko on Channel 1+1)
Tymoshenko must resign. And it's better for her not to return.
P.S. One of the best ways to fight populism is to demand that the election promises are fulfilled.
P.P.S. Provided, of course, that the society is sick of this populism.
P.P.P.S. Which isn't happening in Ukraine yet ;(

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Algeria: Qadhafi at the UN  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Moor Next Door, an Algerian-American blogger, comments on Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi's appearance at the United Nations.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Arab World: Arabisk Dates Moved  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The last day of voting for Arab blogging contest Arabisk has been moved to 16:00 GMT, October 5, announced organisers (Ar).


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Bahrain: Bangkok Help? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif is in Bangkok – and needs your help.


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Bahrain: The end of blogging  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Redbelt, from Bahrain, predicts the end of blogging .. as we know it.


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Bahrain: Top 50 Power List  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahrain's Top 50 power list? Ammaro shares his take in this post.


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Brazil: Honduran crisis triggers international relations debate · Global Voices
Roger Franchini

There has been much discussion about the constitutional right to oust Honduras president Manuel Zelaya. The crisis itself has made the headlines in many countries and many Latin American bloggers, including Brazilians, are contributing to the debate on the events.
Brazil has now been involved in an unusual diplomatic situation. Even though there is as yet no evidence that Brazil was behind the crisis in Honduras, it is safe to say that there are no similar events in the history of international law. The crisis has reached the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa and prompted Brazilian bloggers to discuss international politics in Latin America and Brazil's role in these events.
Zelaya at the Brazilian Embassy. Picture by @kattracho on Twitpic.
Cesar Fonseca, who blogs at Independência Sul Americana [South American Independence, pt], describes the events in Honduras as a disgrace among the Latin nations because they involve the exercise of power through violence, bolstered by the military forces and the hollowness of the legislation in place:
Roberto Micheletti, presidente do Legislativo de Honduras, o Carlos Lacerda golpista hondurenho, errou o time histórico, ao aliar-se aos militares, para detonar governo constitucional de José Manuel Zelaya, que propôs referendo constitucional para respaldar nova Constituinte, que, entre outras determinações, suprimiria limite para mandatos presidenciais, como ocorre nas democracias européias.
For Bruno Kazuhiro, from the Perspectiva Política blog [Political Perspective, pt], if Zelaya was wrong to contravene the terms of the country's constitution, so were the Congress, the military forces and the judicial system that ousted him from the country without a proper trial:
O que o exército hondurenho fez foi muito errado no modo, mas não, na essência. Não deveria ter sido o exército a retirar Zelaya do poder, porém, aceita a renúncia deste pelo Congresso e nomeado o novo Presidente, Manuel Zelaya deveria sim, no fim das contas, deixar o governo. Melhor que tivesse sido voluntariamente.
Para os que me disserem que o povo hondurenho desejava mais um mandato do grupo de Zelaya, pergunto:
Por que então Zelaya não indicou sucessor e respeitou a lei?
What the Honduran army did was pretty wrong in the way they did it, but it was not wrong in itself. It was not the place of the army to strip Zelaya of his power; nevertheless, if the Congress had accepted his resignation and named a new president, Manuel Zelaya should have left the government immediately. It would have been better if he had done so voluntarily.
I ask those who say that the Honduran people wanted a new mandate of the Zelaya party:
Then why didn't Zelaya suggest a successor and respect the law?
Picture brought by @jeneffermelo on TwitPic
On September 22nd, Zelaya managed to smuggle himself into Honduran territory and reach the Brazilian embassy in the capital Tegucigalpa, finding shelter for himself and 63 other supporters on the premises of the country's diplomatic mission. Immediately, the Honduran government surrounded the building, blocked access to the place and imposed a curfew on the citizens. Energy supply has been cut off, as have telephone lines in the Brazilian embassy building.
The controversy arises from the fact that Zelaya does not intend to apply to the Brazilian government for asylum, according to an interview he gave to the Globo TV Network, and that he is staying in the embassy for protection and as a way of mustering political support. If this is his intention, it puts Brazil in a delicate position, since Brazil is harboring a persecuted politician who isn't seeking shelter, but rather wishes to summon forces to fight those who removed him from the presidency.
The Movimento Ordem Vigília Contra a Corrupção blog [pt] believes that the admittance of Zelaya to the Brazilian embassy was directly supported by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and demonstrates inconsistencies that point to alleged lies told by the main players in this crisis:
A diplomacia terceiro-mundista tupiniquim inovou, em matéria de Direito Internacional, criando a figura do perseguido que pretende ENTRAR e não SAIR. Costuma-se conceder asilo para aquele que tenta sair do país, perseguido pelo seu governo, e Zelaya, ao contrário, entrou no país com uma súcia de 60 simpatizantes, o que desfigura a individualidade do asilo. Pior: Zelaya está usando o prédio diplomático como “bunker” da guerrilha para conclamar seus desordeiros e convulsionar as forças de ordem do país.
Brazilian 3rd world diplomacy has played around with international law by creating the figure of the refugee whose intention is to GET IN rather than OUT. It is common to grant asylum to someone who is trying to leave their country, pursued by the government, but Zelaya, on the contrary, has entered his country with a band of 60 supporters, distorting the individuality of asylum. Even worse, Zelaya is using a diplomatic building as a bunker to urge on riots by guerrillas and aggravate the country's security forces.
Chávez, moreover, is a recurring figure in reports about Zelaya's return to Honduras. He himself told the BBC that he knew that Zelaya would come back to Honduras and that he had helped the president to baffle the authorities. But not all bloggers accept the idea of Chávez's influence on these events. For Leandro Fortes, who blogs at Brasília, eu vi [Brasília, I have seen, pt], this theory is the cue ball of the Latin American press and the weak point of mass media. He believes that recent left-wing demonstrations have been covered in a superficial and watered-down way, ignoring their regional nuances [pt]:
O jornalismo está abandonando, aos poucos, por motivos inconfessáveis, a valorização das personagens como elemento de narrativa. Emblemático é o caso de Honduras, um catalisador profundo das intenções de setores da imprensa cada vez mais perfilados em bloco sobre um ensaiado viés chavista (a nova panacéia editorial do continente) aplicado ao noticiário toda vez que um movimento de esquerda se insinua sobre velhos latifúndios – físicos e imateriais. Para tal, recorre-se cada vez mais a malabarismos de linguagem para se referir ao golpe militar que derrubou o presidente constitucionalmente eleito Manuel Zelaya.
Por conta disso, o governo golpista passou a ser chamado, aqui e acolá, de “governo de fato”, uma solução patética encontrada por alguns veículos para se referir a uma administração firmada na fraude eleitoral e na usurpação pura e simples de poder. Há, ainda, quem se refira à quadrilha de Roberto Micheleti como “governo interino”, o que só pode ser piada.
Little by little, journalism is ceasing to acknowledge the true characters in the story, due to ulterior motives. The Honduras case is symptomatic of a serious intent among sections of the media, increasingly grouped around a rehearsed “Chavist” bias (South America's new editorial panacea), to apply this to news headlines every time a left-wing group starts sniffing around issues – physical or intangible – involving the old landed estates. In doing so they are using increasingly deceptive language when referring to the military coup that ousted the constitutionally elected President Manuel Zelaya.
Because of that, the coup government has been called, over here and over there, as the “de facto government”, a pathetic solution found by some media outlets for referring to an administration based on electoral fraud and the outright usurpation of power. There are even those who refer to the Roberto Micheletti gang as the “interim government” – they must be joking.
A demonstration in front of Brazil Embassy in Honduras. Photo by vredeseilanden on Flickr.
The possibility of the Brazilian government's involvement in promoting Zelaya's return to his country has been discussed, but not confirmed, and was vehemently denied by the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Celso Amorim, in an interview for the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo [pt]. According to Amorim, Brazil has only admitted Zelaya to the embassy's premises in order to comply with the international rules of political asylum. Formally, the Brazilian government advocates the peaceful return of Zelaya to the presidency of Honduras and the call for elections. Journalist and blogger Luis Nassif [pt] noted the apprehension in the Minister's comments during his interview with CNN, emphasizing that the paradigm shift in the political world now requires Brazil to take a more decisive stance on events such as Honduras’ [pt]:
Mesmo que seja verdade (como disse Amorim) que o Brasil foi pego e surpresa no episódio (pedido de abrigo de Zelaya) um país que deseja se firmar como global player tem que estar preparado, não só para “surpresas” dsse tipo, como para assumir, sem hesitação ou insegurança, sua condição de protagonista, particularmente nas questões de politica continental. Para o bem ou para o mal.
Bom, espero que pelo menos a insegurança demonstrada por Amorim, (inegável na minha percepção) sirva de aprendizado.
Even if it is true (as stated by Amorim) that Brazil was surprised by this episode (Zelaya's request for asylum), a country that wishes to consolidate its position as a global player has to be prepared not only for such “surprises”, but also to assume its role as a protagonist without further hesitation or uncertainty, particularly when it comes to South American politics, for better or worse.
Well, I hope that Amorim's uncertainty (which I think was obvious enough) may at least serve as a lesson.
Gabriel Purcelli, from the Desabafo Brasil blog [Outburst Brazil, pt], maintains that the Brazilian government's behavior reaffirms its position as a leader in the region. The sheltering of the so-called “constitutional president” Zelaya, in the face of the excesses of the “de facto president” Micheletti is a step which indirectly allows it to fill the gap left by the decline of US influence in Latin America [pt]:
A jogada brasileira, na qual já estão publicamente envolvidos o chanceler Celso Amorim e o próprio presidente Lula, e para a qual estão utilizando a caixa de ressonância da Assembléia Geral da ONU, em Nova York, deve ser vista à luz da inquietação provocada em Brasília pela remobilização da IV Frota dos Estados Unidos no Atlântico Sul e a presença desse país em bases militares colombianas. Convencidos de que esses movimentos se destinam a contrabalançar sua força como potência emergente, os brasileiros não deixarão passar a oportunidade de se projetar, reafirmando-a.
Brazil's actions, in which the Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and President Lula are already publicly involved, and for which they are using the sounding board of the UN General Assembly in New York, must be viewed in the light of the unrest in Brasília caused by the remobilization of the 4th Fleet of the USA in the South Atlantic and the presence of this country in military bases in Colombia. Convinced that these moves are intended to offset its force as a potential emerging nation, Brazilians will seize this opportunity to assert themselves, rather than letting it slip.
Raphael Garcia Tsavkko [pt] follows the same line of reasoning and points out some interesting facts regarding Brazil's participation in the resolution of this conflict. He argues [pt]:
O Brasil não sai prejudicado, na verdade foi forçado – a contragosto talvez – a mostrar porque é ou quer ser o líder da América Latina. Não mais o papo de que é mas ações concretas. Resolvendo ou ajudando a resolver o conflito no país o Brasil sai fortalecido como nunca, sai com mais força para pleitear a vaga permanente no Conselho de Segurança – que conta já com o apoio entusiasmado de Sarkozy – e sai fortalecido no cenário internacional.
Brazil is not going to be harmed by this; it was actually forced – probably reluctantly – to show why it is or why it wants to be the leader of Latin America. No more bluster about already being a leader – now it has to prove it with concrete actions. By solving or helping to solve the conflict in Honduras, Brazil emerges stronger than it ever has been; it strengthens its bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council – an idea already supported enthusiastically by Sarkozy – and becomes more prominent within the international community.
The restrictions imposed on the Brazilian embassy provoke discussions about the sovereignty of the nation within the limits of the building. Although many people believe that a country's diplomatic mission constitutes foreign territory, law professor and blogger Túlio Vianna points out [pt] that, even though it is not technically considered as such, the attack of an embassy must be repudiated in the same way:
A teoria atualmente dominante para legitimar as imunidades da Missão Diplomática é a “teoria do interesse da função”. Ainda segundo Celso Mello, estes privilégios e imunidades podem ser classificados em: inviolabilidade, imunidade de jurisidição civil e criminal e isenção fiscal (v2., nº511). Nas suas palavras:
“A inviolabilidade significa que nestes locais o Estado acreditado não pode exercer nenhum ato de coação (ex: ser invadido pela polícia), a não ser que haja o consentimento do chefe da Missão. Do mesmo modo, não pode ser efetuada uma citação dentro da Missão.”
Se os golpistas hondurenhos invadirem a embaixada brasileira em Honduras para capturar Zelaya, não estarão invadindo o território brasileiro, mas violando uma imunidade diplomática.
Pode ser tão grave quanto, mas não é a mesma coisa.
The currently dominant theory for justifying the immunity of the diplomatic mission is the “theory of the interest of the function”. According to Celso Mello, those privileges and immunities may be classified as: inviolability, immunity from civil and criminal jurisdiction and tax exemption (v2., n°511). In his words:
“Inviolability means that in those places the accredited state cannot practice any act of coercion (e.g. invasion by police), unless it has the consent of the head of the mission. In the same way, a court summons cannot be made inside the mission.”
If the Honduran coup leaders invade the Brazilian embassy in Honduras to capture Zelaya, they will not be invading the Brazilian territory, but they will be violating diplomatic immunity.
It looks as serious as an invasion of territory, but it is not the same thing.
It has been confirmed that on September 25th there was a toxic gas attack on the Brazilian Embassy, causing stress to the people inside the building. The attack was firmly criticized by the UN Security Council [pt].
The Brazilian government says it is seeking a peaceful solution to the deadlock triggered by the return of Manuel Zelaya to Honduras. Bellicose gestures are not possible, as they would result in sending military forces to a foreign country. Still, bloggers are continuing to debate Brazil's role in the unfolding of this story.
You can read more about the political crisis in Honduras by following these Global Voices special coverage posts:
June 27th: Honduras: Political Crisis Over Controversial Referendum
June 29th: Honduras: Zelaya Arrested and Removed as President
July 2nd: Caribbean: On the Honduran Coup
July 4th: Honduras: Was it a Coup?
September 24th: Honduras: Citizen Videos from a Country Under Curfew
September 29th: Cuba: Eye on Honduras

author: Roger Franchini


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Dubai: The Joy of Arabic Perfume  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Fashionnova Bahrain discovers the joy of concentrated Arab perfume during a trip to Dubai, UAE.


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Hungary: Cycling Is “Chic” – but “Fascist” · Global Voices
Marietta Le

Apropos of European Car Free Days, the main cycling event of Hungary – Critical Mass (CM) – was organized again two weeks ago, with some ten thousand bicycle-riders participating.
After the first CM in 2004, in Budapest, cycling enthusiasts organized several other rallies every year not only in the capital of Hungary but in almost every other big city (HUN).
The main website of the event and the movement of cycling enthusiasts proudly announced that they broke the international record of the number of participants in 2006, and it could still increase:
[…] The first Critical Mass ride in Budapest was organised on Car Free Day, September 22, 2004, though it was preceded by at least 50 similar bicycle events initiated either by organisations, groups of bicycle couriers, or other pockets of non-affiliated individuals. The September 2004 ride, however, was significant in that it combined almost every previous organiser into one mass of cycling enthusiasts and concerned citizens. That event drew a surprising 4000 participants. By Earth Day 2005, the number of Critical Mass participants reached 10,000, and doubled again for the September 2005 event, reaching 20,000. On Earth Day 2006 an international record of 32,000 participants was reached, to be topped only by next year’s similar event, with a turnout of 50,000, reaching as many 80,000 by April 2008. […]
This photo was taken at Critical Mass Budapest last year by Zsolt Bugarszki of The Budapest Daily Photo. Bike lifting is always the main attraction of the Budapest Critical Mass (HUN, ENG) events.
This year there were two bike lifts preceded by a new cycling movement united with the ride. The Kidicalmass (HUN, ENG), the children’s protected ride, was to promote healthy lifestyle among children and to create appropriate cycling conditions for the future generation.
The first bike lift took place at the City Hall in the afternoon. As you can hear in the video below, not only Hungarian but foreign citizens also ride and lift at CM:
The second, event-closing bike lift was held in the evening at Deák Square:
In the evening, the Cycle Chic (HUN) blog had a cycling chic party with a cycling clothes fashion show (HUN) tied to the event.
Cycle Chic uses an alternative way to get people's attention by taking photos of ‘chic’ cyclists in the city. This photo below of Gréta Gaál about the fashion show illustrates well their definition of trendiness in riding a bicycle:
By bike? How does that look like? There are more and more who realize that there're other styles than trash waistcoat [high visibility waistcoat] and cycling tights. This site is about them, you, who are cycling chic. Woman, man, Hungarian, tourist, riding to work, to school, to party, in the countryside, or in Pest, their place is here. Because cycling is not only a sport but the most natural thing in the world!
However, CM is also a way of having fun together, it covers many different topics of society. Journalist Greg Spencer warned on his blog (ENG) the participants and other citizens concerned that Car Free Day is more of a political event:
[…] Unlike the Earth Day Critical Mass in the spring, which is a celebratory, weekend parade for the whole family, the ride on Car Free Day is more of a hard-nosed, politically-pointed affair. It takes place during a weekday rush hour, and only parts of the route are cordoned off from other road users. For the most part, participants ride in traffic as they would during a normal evening commute. It's in the spirit of the original Critical Masses in San Francisco, which were spontaneously organised rides to show that cyclists are part of the traffic. […]
Organizers write on Critical Mass website, they are aware of the power that could be used for party-political intentions, and they try to do their best to stay independent but fight for the rights of cycling citizens using all the means they can:
[…] Critical Mass is completely independent of any political parties, organisations or movements. It is not a registered organisation, but rather an “organised coincidence” (as it is often called in other places). […]
The largest ride so far was the April 22, 2008 Critical Mass/Earth Day demonstration, which attracted an estimated 80,000 cyclists, and was officially launched by the Dutch ambassador to Hungary, Ronald A. Mollinger, symbolising the popularity of cycling in the Netherlands now spreading to Hungary. László Sólyom, president of the Republic of Hungary also participated on two occasions (in 2006 and 2007), and rode along with the participants, rendering – at that time – unprecedented esteem to an unprecedented turnout in Hungarian as well as international terms. Other prominent individuals among participants included government ministers, the Mayor of Budapest, and many celebrities.
The Budapest City Council gave Critical Mass a Pro Budapest award for their efforts in promoting cycling as an alternative mode of urban transport and improving the transportation culture in the capital city. […]
As the number of the participants gets higher and higher, Critical Mass is more and more supported also by foreigners. Preceding the event of September 22, Greg Dorey, the British Ambassador in Budapest, sent a video message to bike-riders who fight for a more environmentally-friendly world:
Greg Dorey mentioned that critics say CM wouldn't make any difference, but it seems the event started a tense debate on the capital's transportation system. Several bloggers reposted the announcement of this week from Emberibb Parkolásért Mozgalom (EMPAMO) (HUN, ‘For A More Humanoid Parking Movement’), which is an organization representing car-drivers’ interests. The scandal broke out because of several statements in the announcement:
The Critical Mass is more and more violent, though it fights for its own rights, it doesn't consider the rights of others in traffic! Though it lifts up the voice for the protection of the environment, it induces giant traffic jams, and by appropriating additional routes of transport it would generate even bigger traffic jams. Though it [still CM] promotes: bicycle is an alternative, but it would use openly fascist methods against car-drivers, its organizers in turn run enterprises which use cars too for deliveries. […]
A well-known Hungarian right-wing blogger Tomcat also reposted and commented (HUN) on the message of EMPAMO:
[…] I kiss your hand [Hungarian greeting phrase], Critical Mass is an interest-protecting demonstration. It doesn't just exist for the hell of it, but those hundreds of thousands people want to achieve something. It becomes “more violent” because there are more who participate in it. […] I didn't know until now that we definitely need the Critical Mass to make traffic jams, until now I thought that cars can manage it by themselves. […]
CM website collected the reports and interviews (HUN) covering the recent scandal, emphasizing that two weeks ago CM didn't make it to the public TV's show debating public life Az Este (HUN, ‘The Evening’), but “fascist” Critical Mass is already interesting enough to broadcast.

author: Marietta Le


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Indonesia: Thousands still trapped under rubble · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

More than 3,000 people are still trapped under rubble days after a 7.6-magnitude quake struck Indonesia. The epicenter of the September 30 quake was located 45 km WNW of Padang, Sumatera, and 220 km SW of Pekanbaru, Sumatera. Sumatera is one of the five main islands of Indonesia.
Indonesian bloggers are reacting to the latest earthquake disaster which killed at least 1,000 people in the country. Trimaxs learned that a friend’s family lost their homes in Padang
I hear the sadness in my best friend’s voice when she called me and said that all her families lost their homes. But thankfully, everyone is safe and alive.
Hardship Posting writes that “earthquake season is upon us.”
Earthquake season is upon us, three earthquakes in two days in Sumatra with sceptics starting to say that a “biggie” is on it's way! Meanwhile in Sulawesi two earthquakes struck yesterday.
In Padang, there are already chronic shortages of surgeons, medicine and electricity which are affecting the operations of hospitals. At least nine government buildings were also destroyed
The National Disaster Management Agency reported on its Web site that at least nine government offices, including the City Hall, Provincial Legislative Council and the Central Bank, in Padang were heavily damaged along with school buildings, shopping centers, markets, office buildings, hotels and a mosque.
Visionerial probes the link between the Indonesian and Samoan earthquakes:
American Samoa and Indonesia, the victims of two earthquakes in 24 hours, both lie on the so-called Ring of Fire…So why might the Samoan and Indonesian quakes be linked? The epicentres of these earthquakes both lie near to the edge of the Australian plate, about 4,000 miles apart. It seems plausible that one movement of the Australian plate caused both earthquakes.
…there has been an upsurge in seismic activity in the Indonesian faultline since the 2004 Asian tsunami – and recent earthquakes in that region have only added to the likelihood of further disasters.
Music of My Life is relieved to learn that an uncle who is living in Sumatera is safe
My family feels very grateful that my uncle who is currently located in Southern Sumatera has survived this terrible incident. But many, many others weren't that lucky.
It's really heartbreaking to see the news right now. There are a lot of people still trapped in the ruins, including educational buildings. Many parents are still seeking for their children in the hope to find them alive…
Earthquake in Padang. From Twitter user Marcellodecaran
What's New Jakarta? asserts that the number of casualties could have been reduced if there is a stringent building code in Indonesia:
There is no doubt that a significant proportion of deaths and injuries from earthquakes in Indonesia could be avoided if building codes were more stringent. In light of this unfolding tragedy, and past earthquakes such as in Yogyakarta and given the likelihood of earthquakes continuing to occur in Indonesia in the future, we do believe that stronger building regulations need to be enforced, especially in the construction of public buildings, office towers, shopping malls, hotels etc. Developers who construct buildings which are sub-standard and which cause injury or death during earthquakes, should be held accountable by law
Spruiked identifies the people and agencies which should be blamed for the high earthquake death toll
There's this “thing” in the TwIndoVerse going around right now. Don't point the finger. Stop blaming people for the disaster in Padang. I have a problem with that because there are clearly a LOT of people to blame:
* the local and central governments who have ignored the experts’ warnings about the earthquake risk since 2004
* the developers and builders for the shoddy structures they built, collapsing like a souffle
* the people of Indonesia, if we let this happen again.
Contrary to public belief, people do not have to die in an earthquake. We let them die. If we do not make this pathetic excuse of a government take responsibility for their corruption and ineptitude, then when the next one hits — and it will — we only have ourselves to blame.
Twitter reactions to the earthquake disaster:
dnessya: GARAGE SALE:RAISE FUND for EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS. All Personal Sales will go to aid the victims.PLEASE JOIN
wawanz: Last night mom confirmed that our relatives in Padang are ok.. Phewww..
patriciadominic: The rescue team refuses to help those of Chinese background in Padang unless they pay up. Racism at it’s best
ShafiqPontoh: RT @gusgoose: Needed in Padang post-quake: small- to mid-size water filter. Preferrably non-electric. Anyone can donate this?
Kebo: RIP, ɑ victim from Padang's earthquake, ɑ beloved and loving friend, Arif Cundikiawan. Rest in Peace bro, you'll be in our hearts forever.
charlline: Watching tv one while crying hear the victims of padang earthquake
noranbakrie: have collecting news since this morning about my jambi relatives, they are all okay, post-earthquake. phew. thank you god.
methanoor: earthquake 7.6sR in my home 2 days ago.. huvb huvb,, i hope all of my friend and my family safe, , ,


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Japan: Visiting Todaiji Temple · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Yama explains [ja] in detail the architecture of Todaiji  temple [ja] (東大寺) in Nara and of its Great Buddha Hall (大仏殿 Daibutsuden), the largest wooden building in the world. Pictures of the temple complex are also provided.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Morocco: Mehdi ben Barka’s disappearance  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Maghreb Politics Review announces: “Interpol will put out an arrest warrant for four Moroccans for the ‘disappearance’ of Mehdi ben Barka.”


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Haze is back in Brunei · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Journey writes that the haze is back in Brunei. The blogger adds that it is unusual that it is almost not raining in the country today


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India: ICT for senior citizens-Where are we today? · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

October 1, was the UN-designated  International Day of Older persons and the theme this year was  “Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the International Year of Older Persons: Towards a Society for All Ages”. In his message for the day,  the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said:
Over the past decade, we intensified our efforts to build a “society for all ages” and to promote international commitment to the United Nations Principles for Older Persons. The Principles are founded on the need to build an inclusive society that emphasizes participation, self-fulfilment, independence, care and dignity for all. To transform them into deeds, we have campaigned for policies that will enable older persons to live in an environment that enhances their capabilities, fosters their independence, and provides them with adequate support and care as they age.
The motto “towards a society for all ages” was adopted in 1999 and reaffirmed at the Second World Assembly on Ageing, held in Madrid in 2002. It emphasizes the need to treat older persons as both agents and beneficiaries of development. […]
The international community is also devoting increasing attention to the human rights of older persons. We must put an end to age discrimination, abuse, neglect and violence against older persons. I urge states to put the necessary legal protections in place, and I urge all partners to help countries develop the capacity and institutions to achieve this objective.
For us in India, this seems like a perfect time to stop and take stock of the role played by ICTs in the lives of our senior citizens.
According to the Norwegian Board of Technology [pdf],
Information and communication technology (ICT) characterises today’s society. Side by side with technological development we will within the next few years be faced with a greatly increasing number of elderly people. What are the concrete challenges connected with elderly people and information and communication technology? How can positive possibilities be exploited and negative effects avoided?
With a rise in life expectancy, India has today joined the ranks of countries where demographic ageing has become an important issue. At the time of the 2001 census, there were 77mn people in the 60+yrs category, which was about 7.5% of the total population. The 2008 estimate is around 86mn. India today has the 2nd largest population of senior citizens. According to the UN, by 2050 about 20% of India's population is likely to be over 60yrs.
With the rapid growth of the elderly segment, the key question facing policy-makers (and the society in general) is how to ensure an active, healthy, independent, life of dignity for the elderly and help improve their quality of life. Recognizing the need for a national policy in this area, the Indian Government launched the National Policy on Older Persons in 1999, which sought to address  principal areas of concern such as financial security, healthcare, shelter, education, welfare, protection of life and property etc., and promote the concept of active ageing among the older population. The policy also acknowledges the role of NGOs and civil society in complementing the efforts of the government in this direction.
In their paper ‘Technology Interventions for Elderly People‘ [pdf], authors VC Goyal and Usha Dixit mention that
The use of technology to support independent living and promote independence of older persons is mentioned in recent Government policy documents (e.g. National Policy on Older Persons). There are other Government (and some non-government) initiatives which, although not specifically targeted at technological interventions for older persons, could contribute towards supporting comfortable and dignified living for this section of the society. There exists a vast scope of technology interventions for welfare of elderly people in the country so that the technologies are accessible, affordable and adaptable to the specific needs. Technological interventions can greatly help in achieving the objectives of the NPOP by providing vital inputs and capabilities.
So where are we currently as far as ICT for senior citizens/ older persons is concerned?
One of the main concerns cited often as a point against ICT has been the perception of inertia and/or technophobia among the elderly. Andy Oram at O'Reilly Radar, while commenting on a point from Nandan Nilekani's book  – Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation,  that “technophobia should not be assumed“, says that:
A lot of technologists glibly anticipate that computers and Internet access will be rejected by some group of people who are implicitly labeled ignorant or clueless: racial minorities, poor people, the elderly (“how can you get my grandmother to use this?”), etc. In every case, the key to adoption turns out to be access and sometimes the availability of useful applications. When presented with the opportunity, these populations always prove eager to take advantage…The problem is not the people, but other factors such as availability, cost, and usefulness.
Lesley D. Biswas at The WIP writes about how in a lot of cases, the ‘Silver Surfers’ are embracing the Internet to cope with a lonely future. She says:
For seniors who have been culturally conditioned to believe that their children will be at their sides in their winter years, living alone has come as a rude awakening. Loneliness itself is largely disorienting, and the absence of family members at this critical time makes it all the more profound. Now that the ideal of the Indian family structure is becoming more and more passé, seniors are finding new ways to stay connected with their children.
But, unlike in developed nations, it’s a late start for many seniors in India. Since they did not grow up with iPods and cell phones in their back pockets, and neither were they exposed to computers at work, integrating seniors into the virtual world is initially a challenge. But more often than not, once they get over their inhibition, exploring the new world at their fingertips is becoming a fascinating experience that many seniors are slowly enjoying. With children settled abroad or in other cities, a large number of senior citizens are now seeking out tutors and training schools where they can learn to use a computer.
It is therefore, no surprise that one of the key  areas where currently ICT has made inroads into the lives of senior citizens is
Helping them cope with loneliness/battling exclusion:- Land-lines/Mobile telephony, messaging, E-mails and chat are some of the ICT applications that senior citizens are warming up/ have warmed up to in order to remain connected. Of late, social networking among elderly has also become a possibility with the launch of Verdurez – A social networking site, designed for the elderly.
The site, described as the “Facebook for those 55yrs and above”, caters to the needs of senior citizens to battle loneliness, connect, network, get news and information pertaining to health etc., play games/ work on puzzles, and share life online with a group of like-minded people in their age bracket. The site has over 4000 registered users.
Seema at WATBlog.com is however, a bit cautious in her appreciation of the idea:
Social networking site for senior citizen sounds good concept, but i’m more concerned about the how many Indians of this age use computers and Internet and for how long they will use networking sites. Promoters should promote it well and associate some NGOs and oldage homes with them. We need our elder generation to enjoy the advantages of getting connected with like-minded people online through such social networking sites and don’t feel alone.
Her concern appears to be justified. For, according to Mrutyunjay Mishra of juxtconsult.com , senior citizens
…account for only 0.8% of the internet users in India, hence in our estimate around 0.32 million regular internet users are Senior Citizens (of 38miilion total regular internet users).
Nevertheless, despite the low reach through Internet, we have many other Web-based initiatives designed for the elderly, such as:
Providing them a feeling of safety: For example, a security portal Hamari Suraksha has been launched by the Mumbai police to register senior citizens and ensure their safety in the face of rising crimes against them.
Education and Healthcare: We are gradually becoming more familiar with initiatives(and the need for more integrated/better delivery of these kinds of initiatives) for the elderly in the areas of training &/or e-learning, e-health etc.
Senior citizens, especially those in the urban, up-market cluster, are themselves are getting gradually drawn into the E-culture. Thus we see that today many senior citizens are using the Internet to do their banking, paying utility bills, booking e-tickets etc., which gives them the flexibility of not having to leave the confines of their home yet do things on their own without having to to depend on others to do these tasks for them.
While in the case of the Internet, penetration, connectivity and accessibility are limiting factors, the mobile telephony market is much more broad-based. According to Rajesh Jain of Emergic,
India is now growing at about 10 million new mobile users every month, and that pace of growth will continue. We will probably be close to 450 million subscribers by end of 2009
Mobile based ICT initiatives thus hold the promise of greater reach in the current scenario. Helplines, SMS based services etc., (for ex: the The Chandigarh based NGO DadaDadi is using short messaging service (SMS), telephonic helpline and other technologies (web-based) in an effort to ensure the safety of elderly people living alone in the city)  are increasingly being used to help the elderly stay connected with convenience. In The India Post, Jorawer Singh writes about the 24X7 helpline launched in Chandigarh on October 1:
On the International day for the Elderly or the Senior Citizens’ Day as we call it, the Older Adults of the tricity gets a much awaited 24 X 7 helpline. The helpline number is 9888 9888 47. The helpline, to be monitored by a local NGO DadaDadi.org, will provide information and assistance related to varied needs of the senior citizens, from sending electricians, plumbers to legal aid and support in fighting for their cause.
The possibilities are many and India is only just waking up to the potential of harnessing the power of the ICTs to empower it's senior citizens to lead a fuller, active and independent life with dignity. However, in doing so, we need to take care of various challenges such as accessibility, design elements, human factors etc.
For example, mobile phones often have complicated navigation steps and  and the interface  is not suitable for use by the elderly. (Though, on the other hand, a mobile designed and marketed specifically for the older persons may not be exciting to the target consumer). Also, in our enthusiasm to provide gerontechnology solutions, we should not dehumanize the process to the extent that the older persons feel more isolated and disengaged.
Furthermore, we should keep in mind that the elderly are not a homogeneous group and therefore one solution will not work for all. Thus there are specific challenges to be overcome in trying to integrate various sub-categories of older persons (ex: the need for ‘last mile solutions – to reach the distant potential users of ICT’  to integrate the ‘below poverty line” and/or rural elderly.
Furthermore, as Rozina Parmar points out in her paper “ICT for elderly” [pdf]
Clearly we need a new model of innovation in ICT for ageing, one which is needs oriented and puts  users at the center of the ICT systems. New aspects are needed across all aspects of older people's lives, whether in private sphere, public sphere or at work.
Ten years have passed since the National Policy of Older Persons was launched and according to a Seniors World Chronicle report, Mr. Mathew Cherian, Chief Executive, HelpAge India, has opined that the implementation has been very poor. On his part, Mr. Wasnik, Head of the National Council for Older Persons, has admitted that the task ahead is massive but that a lot can be achieved with the involvement of civil society.

author: Aparna Ray


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Israel: Blogger Writes Open Letter to Prime Minister · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Israeli blogger Michael Eisenberg writes an open letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on his first six months in office.

author: Maya Norton


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Israel: Hacking Ahmedinejad’s Gmail Account– With Screenshot · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Israellycool and Israel at Ground Level display a hacked screenshot of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Gmail account. Correspondents include Osama Bin Laden, Hassan Nasrallah, Hugo Chavez, Kim Jong Il, and Mel Gibson.


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Israel: In Ramallah and Shechem, “Occupation” Dominates · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Jerusalem Diaries reflects on her recent visit to the Palestinian cities of Ramallah and Shechem with a team of journalists. “What you'll see are two cities completely controlled and patrolled by Arabs; not a Jew or IDF soldier anywhere in sight in either place…Despite all this, it's “the occupation” that's on everyone's lips.”


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Israel: iTunes Podcasts Aim to Convert Jews to Christianity · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Jewlicious reports that “Three of the top ten Jewish [iTunes] podcasts are non-Jewish podcasts that aim to convert Jews to Christianity.”


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Israel: Prayers and Practices for Day of Atonement · Global Voices
Maya Norton

This year, Yom Kippur was celebrated by Jews around the world on September 28th. As the holiest day of the Jewish calendar approached, Israeli bloggers took to the internet to share their thoughts, feelings, and hopes for the new year.
Non-Jewish readers will note that Rosh HaShana is the Jewish New Year, while Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement: a fast day 10 days after Rosh HaShana.
Rock of the Galilee writes about the special time of year between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.
This has been a crazy busy week between rosh hashana and yom kippur, I did two selichos [forgivness] tours, one in Tsfat with the boys… and then to Jerusalem the next evening with the girls. We also built our sukkah, which we got from our friends…
Today started at 4:30AM. That's not as early as it sounds because we changed our clocks last night, so it only felt like 5:30AM… Last night I had decided that I was going to go down to the nachal (stream) for an early dip in the mikvah (ritual bath).
Religious Jews, both men and women, traditionally purify themselves in the mikveh prior to the holy days.
At the Ingathered blog, Leah writes that there are two motivations for asking for forgiveness from G-D: fear of retribution and love of the divine. She explains that:
Though both types of teshuva [asking for forgiveness] are accepted, the first voids the sin and clears the scoreboard, while the second places the repentant at an advantage by turning his sins into virtues.
Over at Aliyah! Step by Step, Yael muses over the more practical aspects of preparing for the holiday:
Every year I am taken by surprised at this stockpiling mentality. It is like people are getting ready to descend into bunkers for the next 6 weeks or something rather than the stores simply being closed for 24 hours. The woman ahead of me kept sending her reluctant kids off to collect additional items, “Dudi, go back and get 4 more yogurts.”
On Yom Kippur, A Soldier’s Mother asks readers to remember the soldiers who protect the nation, referencing—as many Israeli bloggers did—the renewed threat of a nuclear Iran, following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly last week.
Our sons and daughters guard our borders, protected by a God who has promised us this land again and again. A God who has seen us brought home after more than 2,000 years to a land that was always ours, and always will be. The greatness of that covenant makes a mockery of Ahmadinejad and Iran. They are nothing, their missiles a joke compared to the Might of Israel.
(Click here for the full text of Ahmadinejad’s address to the United Nations on September 24th, 2009.)
At South Jerusalem, Gershom Gorenberg contemplates the ways in which Jewish ritual is shaped based on its relationships with the Diaspora communities from whence they were influences.
In subtle, indirect ways, it seems, our sense of divine mercy is shaped in part by the amount of human warmth we’ve met.
He writes that on a trip to Bangkok during Yom Kippur, he and his wife were able to visit a synagogue of Mizrachi Jews—Jews who come from Arab communities in the Middle East—and was taken aback at the different way in which  they prayed, compared to Jews from European communities.  He remembers:
It was our first time spending that long day of prayer and fasting with Mizrahi Jews. We were used to the mournful melodies of  Ashkenazim on the edge of bursting into tears.  In Bangkok, standing before heavily judgment, the Jews rocked. “Hatanu lefanekha, rahem aleinu” – “We have sinned before you, have mercy on us,” they belted out, as if no thought could be happier.
Jameel at the Muqata enacts the ritual of asking for forgiveness by doing so of his blog readers:
I would like to ask forgiveness:
– if I didn't answer your email
– if I forgot to link to your blog/add you to my blogroll
– if I neglected to write a post about something requested.
– if I wrote anything factually incorrect on the blog over this past year.
I have tried extremely hard to only post factual updates, complete with sources and hyperlinks and have tried to correct any story or post that I found to be inaccurate.
At eJewishPhilanthropy, Gail Hyman shares a related list (excerpted):
I wonder how many of these transgressions of communications we all share.
– Failure to get all the facts right.
– Failure to actively listen as an essential part of communicating.
– Failure to be open to hearing others’ opinions and points of view.
– Failure to recognize that there are many – not one – valid perspectives on a subject.
– Failure to speak out on matters that require your voice.
– Failure to communicate more often with those who need and deserve your attention.
Returning to the Muqata, Jameel also shares an interesting way that his community is commemorating Yom Kippur:
Our settlement is participating yet again in the “Biyachad” (Together) community prayer service, in which secular and religious Jews come together in prayer on Yom Kippur. It takes place in a local school, not in an official synagogue — yet in neutral ground so that no one feels “out of place.”
A community praying together, with ALL sectors represented is truly special. On this day of solemn holiness, the Jewish people put aside their difference, politics, and quibbles — and beseech G-d's forgiveness.
Over at Jerusalem Diaries and Jewlicious, bloggers Judy Lash Balint and Rabbi Yonah write about the ritual practice of kapparot. Kapparot entails a chicken (or other symbolic object) being swung around the head three times. Practitioners believe that the sin is transferred to the object and then, in the process of swinging, released from both the person and the object.
In her post, “Approaching the Big Day,” Lash Balint takes us through the steps of preparing for the holy days, starting with kapparot:
In a parking lot near Jerusalem's Machane Yehuda market, dozens of live chickens are whirled above the heads of men, women and children while a pronouncement is made declaring: “This is my substitute, my vicarious offering, my atonement: This chicken will meet its fate while I will proceed to a good, long life of peace.” …The chickens are then donated to the needy or redeemed with money that goes to the poor.
She continues:
In the streets later in the day, men hurry along with towels to the nearest mikveh (ritual bath). Many have already started building their sukkot (booths) in readiness for Sukkot, the one-week festival that starts the week after Yom Kippur. Sukkot structures of all kinds have sprung up on balconies, street corners and in front of cafes. The final decorations and theschach covering will be added right after the conclusion of Yom Kippur.
Lash Balint adds that newspapers predict that an estimated 71% of Israel Jews between 18 and 35 years old will fast this year on Yom Kippur.
At Jewlicious, Rabbi Yonah asks readers what object they are using for kapparot this year. Here were his results:
– Money (40%)
– Chicken (25%)
– Not doing Kaparos (25%)
– Vegetable (10%)
– Fish (0%)
Chaviva of Kvetching Editor reflects about her search for G-D among the prayers and practice. In a post entitled, “When I Call, Will You Answer?” she recalls her feelings about religion as she was struggling for answers at this time last year.
The one thing I always detested about “religion” was that it lacked rhyme or reason. Things were done because “that's just what we do.” You go to church on Sunday because that's what a good Christian does. You daven [pray] three times a day, because that's what a good Jew does…
The WHY gets lost in translation. That's also what drew me so much to Judaism…. It is enlightening and brilliant the amount of discussion and argument that goes into Jewish thought.
On a far more mundane note, Dion Nissenbaum of Checkpoint Jerusalem provides readers with a rabbinic rundown of whether or not Jews should wear Crocs on Yom Kippur. After reviewing the various opinions, the conclusion seems to be:
An ultra-Orthodox rabbi has determined that the ugly plastic clog doesn't provide the appropriate level of suffering for the Jewish holy day of atonement.
Jews are forbidden from wearing leather on this day, making Crocs, which are constructed of plastic, a popular alternative.
Steve of Israel Seen leaves us with a blessing of his own:
Bless all of you Jews and Non Jews a like in the celebration of life knowing full well that there are people all over the world that still suffer from oppression, poverty and lack of opportunity. Until all of us are free there will always be a piece of us that is a bit torn in the pain of the suffering.
Finally, Jewish blogger Ima On (and Off) the Bima, writing in an entry entitled, “I Hope You Don’t Have an Easy Fast,” leaves us with this fervent wish:
I don't want my fast to be easy.I want my fast to be purposeful. I want my fast to be meaningful. I want my fast to remind me that people are starving in the world. I want my fast to remind me that my spiritual self has work to do. I want to feel the light-headedness that comes at the end of the day when I've been on my feet for almost 12 hours leading services and I want that moment to lift me up and help me feel a true connection to God.
So this year I'm not wishing anyone an easy fast. May your fast be full of all that you need it to be. May your fast be powerful and purposeful and meaningful.


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Israel: Researcher Close to Finding Alzheimer’s Vaccine · Global Voices
Maya Norton

An Alzheimer's vaccine may be close at hand. OneJerusalem.com remarks  on Dr. Alon Monsonego's seminal research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.


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Israel: Tel Aviv Goes Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Tel Aviv commemorates World Breast Cancer Awareness Month by lighting up one of its most trafficked streets in pink. T In Tel Aviv posts a photo.


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Jordan: On Journalists and bloggers  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Blogging is incomprehensible to the Jordanian journalists,” announces Naseem Tarawnah at The Black Iris.


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Malaysia: Red Durians · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

An exotic durian species is getting attention in Sabah, Malaysia today. This durian fruit has a red-colored flesh.