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Peru: Film Festival Poster Brings Cries of Racism · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

At first glance, it may seem unlogical to speak of racism in Peru, a multiracial country in which the majority of citizens have, in varying degrees, an indigenous background. Asking someone to to prove their ‘racial purity’ in Peru would be unbelievable. During the Inca Empire, a number of different ethnic groups existed (among them, the Aymara, the Wankas, the Chimu, and many others) but what we don't know is if there were racist practices among them.
Juan Arellano of Globalizado [ES] provides his own opinion on the state of racism in Peru:
El racismo en el Perú existe pues definitivamente y suele ser asolapado, nadie acepta ser racista, pero en la confianza de estar entre similares mucha gente lo expresa y lo practica. Obviamente el objeto del racismo somos los cholos y los negros. Antes era común también el racismo hacia los orientales pero al haberse transformado en un grupo económicamente poderoso se ha dado el fenómeno conocido como “blanqueo”, o como popularmente se diría “el dinero te cambia el color de la piel”.
Cada cierto tiempo el racismo es tema de conversación preferente entre la gente llamada “intelectual” o llega a los medios masivos debido a alguna denuncia o campaña en su contra, tal como hace tiempo posteamos acá también (ver: En la Playa contra el Racismo, en Palacio contra la Muerte). Pero muchos peruanos continúan sufriendo el racismo día a día, en formas sutiles o groseras y es difícil creer que algo vaya a cambiar debido a la forma clasista, elitista y segregacionista en la que está estructurada nuestra sociedad (y nuestra ciudad de Lima), sin embargo es cierto que la situación general ha cambiado con respecto a la que se vivía hace 50 o 60 años, así que ¿Quién sabe en qué país vivirán nuestros nietos?
Racism exists in present day Peru, but it tends to be subtle. In general, no one admits to being racist, but when people are among their ethnic peers, they feel free to express the fact they are racist, or practice racism. Obviously, those who are the targets of racism are the cholos (as those who have indigenous background are called in Peru) or Afro Peruvians. In the past, there was also racism against people of Asian origin but since that ethic group has become economically powerful, they have experienced the phenomenon known as ‘whitening’, or as it is known popularly, ‘money changes the color of your skin’.
Every once in a while, racism becomes the topic of conversation among those who consider themselves ‘intellectuals’, or the subject reaches the Peruvian mass media due to complaints or campaigns against it, as we posted here before (see:  To the beach against racism, to the Presidential Palace against the death penalty).
Yet, many Peruvians continue to suffer racism in their day to day lives, whether it be in subtle or egregious ways, and it is difficult to believe that something will change due to the classist, elitist, and segregacionist manner in which Peruvian society is structured, including the city of Lima. However, it is true that the general situation has changed in the past 50 or 60 years, so who knows what kind of society our Peruvian grandchildren will live in.
Of course, the latest episodes of racism in Peru have been discussed in the Peruvian blogosphere.  For example, Polysocial [ES] tells us in a recent post that the Poster for the 2007 Lima Film Festival is elitist, racist, and exclusionary. This is why:
La publicidad de este Festival “objetivamente” hablando no es mala, porque creo que se enfoca directamente al publico objetivo que quiere llegar, el publico habitual del Centro Cultural de la PUCP (ubicado en San Isidro) y el que va a poder pagar su entrada para ver las peliculas y asistir a los seminarios (precios de 50 a 100 soles). El resto de los asistentes al festival que van a asistir a las funciones gratis en -por ejemplo- la Biblioteca Nacional (en el Centro de Lima) no son el público objetivo de los organizadores de este evento.
El afiche no hubiera causado polémica si la agencia de publicidad no hubiese intentando quedar bien con su cliente (el CCPUCP) y al mismo tiempo tratar de ubicarse ante la población -como lo viene haciendo- como una agencia enfocada en promover la inclusión social. Es más fácil dar la idea de promover ésta con publicidad orientada a productos de consumo masivo como son los celulares.
Si en el afiche el señor de espaldas no hubiera aparecido creo que el afiche no habría sido criticado, algunas personas podrían haber continuado sí criticando al festival porque aunque éste festival tenga el nombre de Festival de Lima es más asociado con el festival del CCPUCP y es conocida por lo menos en Lima la fama que tiene el CCPUCP de ser elitista, frecuentada por snobs, gente llamada caviar, etc.
The promotion of the Film Festival “objectively” speaking isn't bad, because I think it is focused directly to the public it wants to reach, the traditional public who attend events at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru's (PUCP) Cultural Center (located in San Isidro, Lima's wealthiest old-guard district) and who can afford the entrance fees (which range from 50 to 100 soles, 15 and 30 USD) to see the films and attend the seminars. The people who are going to attend the Festival's free events (for example, one at the National Library in the center of Lima) are not the Festival organizer's target audience.
The poster wouldn't be so controversial if the advertising agency hadn't tried to please its client, the PUCP Cultural Center, and at the same time try to promote themselves in the public's eye, as they have been doing, as an ad agency concerned about social inclusion. This concept is easier to promote with advertising dealing with products of mass consumption, like cellular phones.
If the man who has his back to the viewer had not been included in the poster, I don't think the poster would have been criticized. Some people would have continued to complain because while the event is billed as the Lima Film Festival, it is more regarded as the PUCP's Cultural Center's Festival, which in Lima has the fame of being an elitist institution, frequented by snobs, and people we call ‘caviar’.
The blog Pueblo Vruto [ES] also touches disenchantedly upon the subject of the Film Festival's poster and racism. RACIST ME, RACIST YOU…? [ES] says that by talking about racism, one is being racist, and that no matter how much one can discuss the issue, things won't change:
Ahora, podremos rasgarnos las vestiduras todo lo que queramos por CIERTO racismo en nuestra sociedad (nadie protestaría si se tratara de un colorado el discriminado), pero si no atinamos a una sola propuesta creativa (constructiva) en lugar de los fichajes nacionalsozialistas (Toleranz macht frei?), seguiremos en lo de siempre: la cháchara de salón, los kilómetros de ensayos y monografías, el mero motivo para hablar (bloggear ).
We can rend our garments as much as we want due to CERTAIN types of racism in our society (no one would protest if a “whitey” was the object of discrimination), but if we're unable to come up with even one creative (constructive) proposal in lieu of the the national socialist ones [read: Nazi (Toleranz macht frei?)], then we're going to continue in the same vein: the bla-bla-bla at tea parties, the kilometers of essays and monographs, and the same old reason to speak (blog) ).
The blog, Cinencuentro [ES], has dedicated a couple of posts to the issue since it has to do with its main subject (film): Lima Film Festival 2007: The poster of discord [ES] (with links to other blogs that discuss the issue, which is why I won't mention them, but recommend you visit them). In Lima Film Festival 2007: Toronja responds about the poster [ES], they publish the response given by Sandro Venturo, a member of Toronja, the advertising agency that produced the controversial poster. Here is an excerpt:
No buscamos hacer comunicación racista, ni mucho menos. Sin embargo, entendemos que el afiche del Festival sea considerado polémico. De hecho, lo es. La realidad a la que refiere es difícil. Los peruanos nos damos demasiado seguido la espalda y nos cuesta admitirlo.
Si alguien se ha sentido ofendido, sepa que esa no ha sido nuestra intención. A través de un símbolo hemos puesto en imagen las contradicciones de una sociedad que queremos cambiar. Basta revisar nuestra trayectoria para constatar que nuestro compromiso está alineado con los derechos ciudadanos.
We don't seek to make racist statements, nor anything else; however, we understand the Film Festival's poster is considered controversial. In fact, it is. The reality which it refers to is difficult. We Peruvians often turn our backs on each other and it is hard for us to admit that.
If anyone has felt offended, know that that was not our intention. By using a symbol, we have placed an image of the contradictions of a society we wish to change. All one needs to do is see our history [as a company] to prove that our commitment is for the rights of citizens.
Contrary to what was meant to happen, this response by Toronja's Director has caused even more controversy (and it really could not have been otherwise) such as  El Utero de Marita [ES] post Toronja's latest poster [ES], where in addition to reaching certain conclusions about the subject, they reproduce a funny caricature about the  controversial poster.
1. Como dice el Morsa, el problema no es lo que quiso o no decir Toronja. No creo que el buen Sandro Venturo o el siempre correcto Gustavo Rodríguez hayan tenido una intención racista. Creo que el escándalo se ha debido a su incoherencia con a) el rollo profesional de Toronja, que siempre ha sido de “inclusión” y b) el rollo académico de la organizadora del evento, mi PUCP, que se encuentra en las mismas coordenadas, especialmente por la vinculación de lo mejorcito de su plana docente con la CVR. Peores cosas se ven en la publicidad de cervezas…
3. … no me van a decir que se creyeron ese floro de “hemos puesto en imagen las contradicciones de una sociedad que queremos cambiar”. Por favor. Esa carta de Venturo lo enredó todo. Prefiero obviarla del debate. (Además, si les creyéramos, deberíamos asumir que Toronja inserta caleta nomás mensajes trasgresores en sus trabajos comerciales; y por más que las veo y las reveo, no encuentro nada que me ilustre sobre las “contradicciones” en sus campañas para Yanacocha y Camisea).
1. As el Morsa [ES] says, the problem is not what Toronja wanted to say or not. I don't believe that the good Sandro Venturo or the always proper Gustavo Rodríguez had the intent of being racist. I think the scandal has to do with the incoherence of a) the professional line of Toronja, which has always been about “inclusion” and b) the academic role of the event's organizer, my PUCP, which finds itself in the same coordinates, especially with its ties with the the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  You see worse things in ads for beer…
3. … don't try to make me believe that double-talk like, “we put that image [on the poster] because we wanted to show the contradictions of a society we want to change.” Oh, please. Ventura's response has really messed it all up. I prefer to keep it out of the debate. (Besides, if we believed him, then we have to believe that Toronja subtly inserts transgressive images in its commercial work; and, no matter how much I look at them and then look at them again, I don't see anything that gives me insight into said “contradictions” in their campaigns for [mining companies] Yanacocha and Camisea).
Leaving behind the subject of the poster (but not much) here is an extract of the post  Racism and Segregation in Lima: A Film Festival and a Water Park which Peruanista [ES/EN] recently published:
Lima es una ciudad que esta dividida no solamente por la enorme diferencia entre el rico y el pobre sino también por una crisis de identidad que es común entre los limeños… la gente en Lima tiene la percepción de que su ciudad y su cultura son mayoritariamente de influencia española… Los blancos peruanos o pitucos, son apoyados en su admiración por todo lo europeo, por gente que quieren aparentar ser blancos y estos ven con desprecio a todo lo que sea peruano, excepto cuando es algo que produzca ganancias o cuando van al extranjero y contentos muestran chullos y fotos de Machu Picchu.
Lo que es mas desafortunado es que esa gente está en control de los medios escritos, la TV, política, economía y las instituciones culturales… (Y) enviando un mensaje de exclusión, segregación y división. Considerando que la mayoría de los limeños son hijos de inmigrantes indígenas y afro descendientes y la mayoría vive en la pobreza, es obvio porqué algunos limeños no sienten que pertenecen a esa ciudad y su identidad urbana. Mostrar un afiche racista así, es un golpe en el rostro de esta gente y es totalmente inexcusable.
Los ricos no deberían segregar la cultura y convertir el arte en otra de sus exclusividades, como ocurre en todo el mundo. La cultura y educación son derechos de todos. El programa del Festival de Lima comenzó con una ceremonia de homenaje a 3 directores de cine quienes eran todos blancos: dos españoles y un cubano. Y el evento se realizo en un centro cultural ubicado en un barrio exclusivo de Lima. Tu saca la cuenta.
Lima is a city that is divided not only by the huge gap between the rich and the poor but also by an identity crisis that is common among Limeños… people in Lima have the perception that their city and their culture is mostly of Spanish influence…  Peru's white people or pitucos, are joined by white-wannabe people in their admiration for anything that comes from Europe, and they look down to whatever is originally from Peru, except when its for profits or they are overseas they will be glad to show you a chullo [a typical Andean knit cap] and a photo of Machu Picchu.
What is more unfortunate is that those people control most of the written media, TV, politics, economy and cultural institutions.… (and) send a message of exclusion, segregation, and division. Considering the fact that the mayority of Lima's population are children of Andean immigrants or Afro Peruvians, and that the majority of them live in poverty, it is obvious why some of Lima's citizens don't feel they belong to that city and its urban identity. To show a racist poster like that, is a slap on the face of those people and totally inexcusable.
The rich shouldn't segregate culture and convert art into something exclusive, as occurs worldwide. Culture and education is everyone's right. The Lima Film Festival's program began with a ceremony in which three directors were honored, all of whom were white: two from Spain, and a Cuban. And the event was held in a cultural center located in an exclusive Lima neighborhood. You reach your own conclusions.
In Peru, racism doesn't only occur in artistic events. The blog, Lo justo, varón [ES] tells the story of what happened to a Peruvian journalist who tried to enter the La Sede nightclub in Lima's Miraflores district. The journalist wrote about it for his newspaper. The blog published two posts with regards to this. The first one titled,  Disgusting: Journalist discriminated at the door to La Sede echoes the note published by journalist Marco Avilés, and the second post, La Sede, part II reproduces various opinions about what happened. Here are some excerpts from both posts:
(…) así que estacioné el auto enfrente, me acomodé el saco, revisé mi solvencia económica, compré los cigarrillos de rigor, caminé los once pasos hacia la portería, solo y lindo, y, entonces, al tocar con mis manos la puerta tras de la cual fluía la música linda, el lindo bodoque que custodiaba el digno local me soltó el mismo cuento del cual, como periodista hogareño que soy, he tenido noticias lejanas y del que me he enterado a través de los diarios y a veces por los testimonios de feos amigos noctámbulos que osan frecuentar los lindos locales de moda:
Perdón, la fiesta es privada.
——
yo soy casero en La Sede y no tengo ningún problema en decirlo. Es cierto que, en algunas ocasiones, a algunas personas se les hace ‘el pare’ en la puerta, pero ello ocurre, básicamente, cuando es o aparenta ser bastante chiquillo o cuando esta persona está ya en estado etílico. (Paulo César Polo)
en una ocasion decidí ir a la Sede, pero no me dejaron entrar (eran como las 11.30 pm) argumentando que aun había poca gente y que el ingreso era con un pase. O sea, choteado. Luego por esas cosas de la vida me fui a una disco y conoci a un pata, extranjero él, rubio y que hablaba inglés, y ¡uy caramba! cuando decidi ir con él y una amigo más, fijate que sí me dejaron ingresar… y eso que estábamos un poquito picados (Carlos Omar Araya Fidel )
(…) so, I parked the car in front of the club, I fixed my coat, I checked my wallet to make sure I had enough money, I bought a couple of cigarettes, I walked the eleven steps to the door, alone and lovely, and when my hands touched the handles of the door, through which I could hear the lovely music coming from inside, the lovely doorman who was in charge of watching the place told me the same old phrase I had heard about as a journalist, and I had read about in the press, and had been told about by unlovely friends who dare to frequent lovely fashionable night spots:
Sorry, it's a private party.
——
I'm a regular at La Sede and I don't have a problem saying it. It's true, that on some occasions, some people are stopped at the door, but that generally happens when either the person is very young, or when the person is already inebriated. (Paulo César Polo)
Once, I decided to go to La Sede, but they didn't let me in (it was about 11:30 p.m.) saying that there were very few customers and you could only enter with a pass. In other words, I was rejected. Then, with those turns of life, I went to a disco and became friends with a foreigner, a blonde, who spoke English, and wow! when I decided to go with him and another friend to La Sede, they did let me in…and that, despite the fact we were already tipsy.  (Carlos Omar Araya Fidel )
A third post emerged about what happened at La Sede: La Sede III: Descent from the bar (and a duplicate Avilés).
Some say that even the powerful are not free from racism, and not only directed towards to the common masses, the humble, or the poor (generally, these three go together so instead of “or” it should say “and”).  A few days ago, I read in the blog Gran Combo Club [ES] about presidents and racism: The hypothesis of racism, an interesting post about the hidden yet always present racism among Lima's elites, and how the media also falls into that half-whispered game:
Lo he escuchado mucho. La prensa se metía con el ex-presidente Toledo en una forma inusual. No lo hizo así con presidentes anteriores, ni lo está haciendo con su sucesor. ¿Por qué? Una hipótesis es el racismo. Toledo, un mestizo, habría creado muchos anticuerpos por razón de su origen y su raza. Incluso cierto sector de la prensa informaba de los entretelones que ocurrían en palacio, en Punta Sal, en reuniones sociales. Sí, metió la pata en muchas cosas, él al igual que Karp, pero las críticas y la forma cómo se hicieron no se han visto antes ni después con otros presidentes peruanos. El caso de Federico Dantón, por ejemplo, fue abordado de manera muy diferente por la prensa limeña y peruana…
I've heard it a lot. The press would get on ex-President Toledo's back in an unusual way. It never did that with previous presidents, nor is it doing it with his successor. Why? One hypothesis is racism. Toledo, a mixed-race man, had created many antibodies due to his origins and race. In fact, certain sectors of the press informed us of the backstage goings-on that occurred in the Presidential Palace, in the beach town of Punta Sal, at social reunions. Yes, he stumbled many times, just like [his wife] Karp, but the criticisms of him and the way in which they were carried out hadn't been seen before and haven't been seen since with other Peruvian presidents. The Federico Dantón case, for example, was taken up in a very different way by the Lima and Peruvian press…
As the earlier post demonstrates, not even a President is free from racism. Even though it appears that racism is ingrained in Peruvian society and that maybe it cannot be eliminated.  However, through the attention given to it by individuals, such as bloggers, it may be moderated, and maybe even overcome.
Translation: Alejandro García

author: Juan Arellano


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Peru: Printed Maritime Map Causes Tensions · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Andean Currents writes about a controversial map printed in the El Peruano newspaper, which claims a portion of the Pacific Ocean already claimed by Chile.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Eduardo Avila


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Poland: “Political Purgatory” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Vilhelm Konnander writes about “a prolonged political purgatory” that awaits Poland following the early parliamentary election.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Baikal Photo · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Jane Keeler of From Russia With Blog submits a Baikal photo to a JPG Magazine's contest and asks for your vote.


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Russia: Ethnic Hate Crime Video · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog writes about a video of the execution of two ethnic non-Russians by masked figures claiming to be members of a Russian neo-Nazi group. The violent video has been one of the most discussed topics in the Russian blogosphere lately; it's authenticity has not been confirmed yet.


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Russia: Hitler’s Music Collection · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog writes about a Russian woman whose father owned 100 items from Hitler's private record collection.


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Russia: Savva Terentyev’s Case · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Robert Amsterdam writes about a Russian blogger facing a jail sentence.


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Russia: “Sunken Submarines” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Accidental Russophile writes about Russia's “sunken submarines”: the Kursk and the Komsomolets.


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Russia: Tunguska Meteorite Stolen · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The famous – and really huge – Tunguska meteorite has been stolen. Siberian Light writes about this and other notable metal thefts in Russia and Ukraine.


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Sri Lanka: Oslo and Colombo · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A Voice In Colombo on the Sri Lankan conflict affecting Oslo in Norway.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Syria: US Afraid of Arabic · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Syrian blogger Yaman asks: Who is afraid of the Arabic language, following an outrage in the US over a T-shirt which has the Arabic inscription Intifada written on it.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Taiwan: Thao Indigenous People · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Esouth has a series of posts on the Thao indigenous people in Taiwan. There are 500 people left in Taiwan, less than 50 families. Because of the development of tourism, their distinctive culture is vanishing (zh). Here is a chronology of development projects since 1932 that ruined their living space (zh).

author: Oiwan Lam


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Taiwan: The blog pirates · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

(Photo courtesy of Mrs. Turtle.  The words on the photo are: All right preserved.  No co-authors.  Toy turtle claims: I only go out with Mrs. Turtle.)
When more and more people share their thoughts, knowledge, and experience on their blogs, more and more blog pirates appear.  These pirates not only take the original photos (some even with the authors’ mark on them) or copy paste the original articles to their blogs but also submit some pieces for other publications or even blog awards.  Here are some victims:
2007/3/18, cottom_vitas:
今天開網誌發現，有好心人告知我的文章被盜用了，連我的圖都被偷了，看了真是傻眼 …整篇文章連改都沒有改…只有把我的名字改成她的名字，而且還可以回應別人問她的問題…她不只偷我的文，很多人的文章也都被偷了，我不懂用別人的文章當成自己的生活經驗，不是很沒有意義嗎?
2007/3/19,cindyfeng:
看到內容，不知是要哭還是要笑，連我和Larry的對話也改成她和朋友的msn的對話了…我那篇文章是1/18登上的，她1/19就掛在自己的網站裡，手腳還真是快。
2007/6/15,Mr.&Ms. Days:
我們真的很不喜歡做這種糾察隊的事情。我們都已經這麼慷慨了，讓大家可以全文轉載了，而您所需要做的事情就是加記出處以及連結，我相信這種隨手的事情對大家不會是一種負擔吧。
2007/7/25,beats:
難道因為網上文字被抄襲時有所聞，並不罕見，所以我們就要啞忍，就要息事寧人嗎？
難道因為有人以為網上文章純屬嬉戲之作，我們就應該容許別人隨便抄襲，當作自己的文字來發表，甚至把你的文字，用別人的名字印在書上嗎？
我要強調的是：這並不是一件普通的網上抄襲事件，而是蓄意瞞騙。
2007/7/31,Patrick:
當你的生活全部變成了別人的生活…那是什麼感覺？
當你辛辛苦苦拍攝的照片，所寫下的文字，全部變成了別人的版權所有，還拿去出版賣錢，招搖撞騙，那又是什麼感覺？
當你明明不認識某個人，卻又要被那個人說跟她很熟，還三個人一起出去旅行（幾乎是每一次），那又是什麼感覺？
以前被剽竊的經驗真的不算什麼了，這一次我可以說，我真的真正見識到對岸的網路文化與盜版文化了。一個美好的夏日午后就這樣被搞砸了，也真正開始思考網站的去留，還是把好東西都留給真正的出版吧！
How can bloggers deal with blog pirates?
Mr. Wednesday tried to develop a tool that can find similar documents on internet:
由於前一陣子MMDAYS發生了文章被抄襲的事件，因此Mr. Wednesday開發了一個工具來幫助了解這類情況，取名為《Parrot》，用於尋找網路上高相似度的文件。
YC:
昨晚到今天早上，已經寄出了三封電子郵件，分別是三個網站網管及法律顧問，以及我所委託的律師朋友，累死人了。
目前止看到兩個比較嚴重的網站裡，星空網已經關閉這個BLOG，Blogbus還是出現著網站更新中的圖案。
效果如何？還不確定，就等看看吧。
把這件事情放到中國相關網站的討論區？這也是個辦法，不過如果要讓網站管理人員針對這種事情進行道歉，這倒是不可能，也不切實際的作法。畢竟在各個網站的使用授權上，都有免責的條款，也就是並沒有對這些使用侵權的文章、圖片有負責任的行為。
cindyfeng:
看來我以後的照片都要寫上我的網站和名字好了。
If there is no way to prevent these persistent pirates from keeping pirating on different websites, what will the future blogs look like?

author: I-fan Lin


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Tajikistan: No more tangems · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Vadim notes that Chinese minivans that have become popular means of transportation in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe recently are being banned by the local government.

author: Ben Paarmann


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Thailand: Vegas Tycoon in Thai Traditional Boxing · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The lost boy takes us through a muay Thai (traditional thai kick boxing) bout where a fifty-five year old multi-millionaire Vegas  tycoon took on a twenty five year old Thai boxer.

author: Preetam Rai


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Uzbekistan: Are dogs enemies? · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Jamiyat says that Uzbeks don't hate dogs, despite recent media coverage claiming the contrary.


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Afghanistan: Glass half full or half empty? · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

In describing the situation in Afghanistan, Barnett R. Rubin argues that it does not matter if the glass is half full or half empty: “The Afghan glass may be half full, a tenth full, or near to overflowing. But it is standing on a very rickety table in an earthquake prone area. It will not matter how full the glass is if the table collapses or one of the region's unstable tectonic plates suddenly shifts.”


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Afghanistan: Hostage crisis · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

In the latest developments of the Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan, Eugene Echo reports that another female hostage was picked to be released today.


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Africa: debating the role of informal sector · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

What is the role of informal sector in Africa's development?: “Namely, if there was a place that companies, organizations, governments, and individuals should direct there energies and resources for their benefit and for the continent’s where should it be-to Africa’s formal economies or to the continent’s informal economies?”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Anguilla, Cayman Islands: Transparency  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Corruption-free Anguilla takes on the issue of government transparency.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Argentina: MDZ, a New Participatory Online Newspaper · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Mariano Amartino of Denken Über [ES] reports on his visit to Mendoza for the launch of MDZ, a new online newspaper where the owners repeatedly used the words “participation” and “democratization.”


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Bahamas: Anger Management?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com wonders “if the anger being exhibited in…general problem solving is not somehow related to the failure of our educational system?”


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Bahamas, Barbados: What’s the Plan?   · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Nicolette Bethel thinks that Bahamians can learn from “how Barbados is designing its economy to meet the demands of the 21st century”.


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Bahrain: Super Rich Gulfies · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini Esra'a discusses what it means to be a Gulf national abroad.


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Barbados: Chocolate Controversy · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Following the firing of Barbados’ Banks Beer calendar girl after a controversial display, Gallimaufry writes: “I find it kind of gross that people would eat chocolate that a half-naked woman with whom they are not intimately acquainted has been sitting down in”, while Cheese-on-Bread says: “Our ancestral women, black white or yellow, didn't fight for equality of the sexes so that today's females could make exhibitions of themselves.”


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Barbados: Journalist on Rape Charge · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Underground reports that a former newspaper editor has been charged with rape, while Barbados Free Press wonders “whether or not Bajan blogs impacted the decision of the police and the prosecutors to bring formal charges against a well known and influential journalist.”


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Barbados: Tropical Storm Dean  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press reports that Tropical Storm Dean, currently headed towards the Lesser Antilles, could “turn nasty”, while News of St. John says that the storm track “has dropped further south, indicating its winds will only brush the territory”.


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Beyond Borders: Bloggers Face off over Jordanian Treatment of Iraqi Travellers · Global Voices
Mohamed Nanabhay

The treatment of Iraqis at the Jordan's Queen Alia Airport has triggered a storm in the Middle Eastern blogosphere. What at first seemed to be a straight forward story of refugees being ill-treated by their neighbour's security guards has spawned into a Pan-Arab spat (the type of which is normally reserved for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict).
It all started with a post by Mohammed, a 25-year-old Iraqi dentist on his blog “Last of Iraqis“. More of a short story than a blog post, Mohammed describes a story of love, war, deception, agony, humiliation and hope.
He braved Sadr City and lied his way into getting “sick note” from a doctor, then lied to his boss so he could take his wife on a vacation to Amman, Jordan. And that's where our story begins:
“…In the Jordanian airport we waited in hall to meet the intelligence officer, who will decide whether we can enter Jordan or not, I wasn't afraid and didn't worry because I used to go to Amman every summer, and so did my wife.”
After being question by Intelligence and a long wait he was told that he couldn't enter Jordan
“..then an officer came to us and told us that we aren't going to enter Amman in the most humiliating way of speaking , and walked away I tried to talk to him but he closed the door in my face…..I was so angry of the way he treated us , we are locked in a small room now , and my wife is scared of closed places , she was so scared and she began to cry hysterically I felt that she will die if she staid like this and again there was nothing I can do , this really makes me hate my self when I can do nothing , I knocked on the door many times but no one answered , it's like a prison , I shouted : don't let us in , just let us out , get us back to Iraq , I don't want to be humiliated like this…… there was no answer , they just ignored us again.
…all of us were so scared from the idea that we will sleep in a jail for the first time in our lives for no crime we did , just because we are Iraqis , why does everyone treat Iraqis like this , we are humans , we aren't aliens , we are not animals to be put in jail for no crime”
… all the men had red eyes , they struggled to keep the tears in their eyes , and I was one of them , I don't know why they were so sad may be some of them for the price of the ticket 644$ which was lost , maybe for the business and opportunity they have lost , but for me it's for the humiliation and disrespect I have seen , for the way Jordanians treat Iraqis , for the lost chance of seeing our parents
Mohammed was “jailed” with a mother who was not allowed to get new diapers to change her crying baby, a man who had been kidnapped and ransomed and was trying to flee Iraq, a student trying to visit the US Embassy in order to take up a University scholarship in the US and wealthy Iraqis trying to get their money out of Jordanian banks.
To make matters worse, he recalls times when Iraq had allowed Jordanians to come into the country and prosper:
…Now I remember at Saddam's times when the Jordanian students come to Iraq and study for free and the government gives them flats and pocket money as to encourage the so called “Arab Unity” what a comedy! They have the priority in applying for the universities in Baghdad, Saddam gave Jordan oil and electricity for free, now I was so mad, but I didn't on whom should I be mad; of Saddam or of Jordanians? Saddam wanted good relations with them so he did that, and that's the way the treat us, I wish the time could go back, I wish.
Eventually he gets deported back to Iraq and makes his way to Syria where he is enjoying his vacation. I'm not sure if he realises what a storm he has started…
Soon other bloggers started pointing out similar stories that had previously been posted elsewhere. Iraq the Model had a similar experience visiting Amman where he had need to go to the American Embassy to get his visa in order to take up a scholarship in the States:
“An hour passed before I could absorb what happened to me; locked up in a crowded room and just been denied the rare opportunity I had been working on for a year, for no other crime than being Iraqi. There were about forty or fifty of us there at any point and the number went up and down as new arriving flights brought in more unfortunate Iraqis, or departing flights took some of us back home.
It wasn’t the typical scene of impoverished and suffering refugees, but in it’s own way it was painful to watch educated and professional people, doctors, businessmen and even diplomats with their red passports being treated this way; sleeping on the floor and asking for permission from a guard to go to the restroom.”
Zeyad from Healing Iraq learnt that his sister and brother-in-law were also denied entry to Jordan while his father is soon going to attempt the same trip. While Mohammed was denied a vacation and Iraq the Model higher education, Zeyad says that it would cause the breakup of his family:
If he is denied entry then the breakup of my family would be complete, stranded between four countries, and there would be no hope for resettlement in a third country.
In response to a video of Iraqis in the prison he blogged:
This is what has become of Iraqis: beggars on the gates of nations that used to live on our scraps.
Fyrouz recalled her own ordeal where she was travelling with her siblings and young nephew. After being interogated for three hours they were denied access to Amman and then forced to spend approximately 48 hours in the custody centre where the lights were on 24 hours a day. She called claims that the experience had “tortured us mentally” and wondered:
Isn't it a violation of human rights to keep us in custody for no reason? Is it humanely proper to keep a child in custody for two days without reason? I just wonder.
These stories from Iraqis prompted Silly Bahraini Girl to write a scathing piece on how the Iraqis were treated under the headline “Shame on your Jordan!” saying
This is a story of how one Arab eats the flesh of another Arab.
…And please remember this story every time you see a Jordanian mercenary member of our esteemed police, special guard or defense forces.. for very soon we will be treated with such contempt in our own country…if it isn't already happening that is.
From the bottom of my heart – shame on you Jordan. Thanks for showing your true face!
Commentators on her blog responded saying that it is unfair that she is blaming the whole of Jordan for these incidents and that she shouldn't generalise and “insult a whole country“.
That post kicked off a storm and caused Jordanians to pile in with reactions ranging from embarrassment to Xenophobia (coupled with the type of blind nationalism that makes smart people dumb).
Konfused Kid, an Iraqi living in Jordan, nicely sums up the drama in historical terms [spoiler alert!]:
Jordanian: If you don't like it, get out. This happens everywhere…
Iraqis: We're giving you oil for (10, 20, 100) years and this is how you repay us? We built you.
Jordanian: Who killed Saddam Hussein? You bastards! (few Pan-Arab tears shed here)
Iraqi: You traitors! We are all Arab (national pan-Arab anthem plays here, but the happy commercial does not end on good terms…)
Jordanian: Shut up, ya balad al-Shiqaq wa Nifaq (Land of Discord & Hypocrisy, the favorite Arab slander of Iraqis, thank you Mr. Hajaj)
Iraqi: Shut up, Qawm Lot (the infamous anicent butt-sex freaks people of the Prophet Lot, unfortunately situated near the Dead Sea.)
When the story started taking off (and in response to Silly Bahraini Girl’s post) Black Iris felt he needed to give a “Jordanian perspective” and pointed out that the incidents were not
…a public policy, nor is it a social element. It’s like the difference between hating Americans and hating American foreign policy. So “shame on Jordan” entails a whole social aspect to it that is as valid as saying “Zarqawi, the Jordanian terrorist”; he was just a terrorist.
I also want to point out that for those who may be shocked by the “photographic evidence”, that what some have lovingly dubbed a “prison”, well, that’s actually our airport. It’s pretty bad; we know. We have to sit on those same chairs, and don’t even get me started on passport control. If Iraqis were put in a real Jordanian jail, they would have a whole other story to tell.
… I’m sorry that when Iraqis come to Jordan there isn’t a red carpet waiting for them and a palace hall with a golden buffet of exotic fruits. And to expect thousands of people coming in from a war torn country to be given the exact same treatment as that of a tourist, then you must be out of your frikin mind.
He goes on to write that the Iraqis are putting a strain on Jordan's economy:
This is a country of about 5.6 million people that has extremely limited resources. We are in the top 10 list of countries in the world with the least water resources.In 4 years we’ve had just about 1 million Iraqis come into the country. One million.
They don’t live in refugee camps they live in urban areas, predominantly the capital Amman, which is home to about 2.3 million Jordanians. In other words, nearly one third of the city is Iraqi.
Most Jordanians make about 150JDs ($211) per month. With Iraqis in the country (and their high level of consumption) inflation is at a record high for Jordan, with purchasing power virtually eroding that 150JDs to dust. Most Jordanians are poorer than they were 5 years ago before the war started.
Food prices have gone up. The most common staple, tomatoes, have gone from 30piasters to 70piasters in only 2-3 years. Petrol has increased, as has electricity and water (for those who still manage to get it pumped to their home once a week). Natural gas, which pretty much keep Jordanians alive by either heating their bodies or their food, has gone from roughly 2JDs to about 4.25JDs. Universities classrooms are growing larger and larger, as will our public schools this year (which are already ailing), now that Iraqi children will be allowed to enter, regardless of their parent’s residency status.
Not to mention the burden on other infrastructure that includes sewage, waste disposal, health, education, roads, government services and yes, our security apparatus.
Made in Jordan interprets the influx of Iraqi's differently and is “ashamed at their behaviour“:
Shortly after the war, Jordan received an influx of Iraqis, that were estimated at around 750,000 in 2005. These Iraqis have helped revitalize the economy, by bringing in more cash, brains and brawls to the country. More real estate development projects popped up, more jobs were created thanks to the hotels, landscape development projects, design firms and publishing houses that were set up by the Iraqis. But these investments came from a small portion of Iraqis. The Iraqis that you don’t read about in the papers, or see in the news, are definitely not happy campers in Jordan. In fact, some of them believe that the Jordanian police really is an extension of Saddam’s brutal regime.
Acknowledging the opportunities and support that Iraq gave to Jordan previously, he writes:
And we really can’t blame them. And honestly, I am ashamed of myself being a Jordanian at this moment. For years, we have been receiving subsidized oil from Iraq, in turn for providing logistical means for Iraq. Try to go way back, in the 1948 and 1967 wars against Israel. The Iraqi air force and army stood tall to support Jordan. Even during Saddam’s regime, I personally know many Jordanians who finished their Master’s Degree in Iraq, free of charge. Iraq has long been the symbol of strength, vigor and pride for us as Jordanians and Arabs. Yet, this is how we repay the favor. We publicly warn of a Shiite threat. We start an inquisition roller coaster to hunt down Iraqi Shiites and kick them off to the borders. We do not provide displaced Iraqis with at least a full-refugee status, nor do we embrace them to become Jordanians. We leave Iraqis stranded at the airport for hours, and interrogate them as if they’re scum. While in fact, we are the scum. I still do not get it, but am I seeing a pattern here in the way Arabs treat each other?
…Because, when Iraq was good to us, we were good to them. But when Iraq became weak, we just kicked them while they’re still on the floor. That, is the most purest form of capitalism you could ever get.
Meanwhile, Moey picks up from where Black Iris left off and provides a classic and time tested schoolboy response to a disagreement “If you don't like it, LEAVE!”. He sends this message to those sympathising with the treatment of the Iraqis in Jordan:
A Message to Iraqis and their fans (sorry, It might be harsh a bit): If you don’t like the way Jordan treats you then get the hell out of it! Yes, you can… there’s Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and many other countries that you can consider home. Help youself!
We are not guilty, we are not disgusting, you need to get a life! and I will never be ashamed to be a Jordanian. God bless jordan, and god bless our security forces, Jordan still has men who will give up their life for our security.
and the question goes to you Silly Bahraini Girl (quoting Batir Wardam), What would happen if we direct 750,000 Iraqis to Bahrain instead of Jordan…
Jordan, I will be back is more tempered and thinks that it is hypocritical for other Arabs to attack the Jordanian security apparatus when they are treated just as badly in their own countries:
It is just amazing to me how we Jordanians always try to be the only ones who are politically correct! I bet that this journalist was strip searched in Iraq, I bet that before he enters the “green zone” his family will be strip searched, but NO, if Jordanians ask him a couple of questions and put them in a room they are low level people (Jordanians)”
Most disturbing was the Facebook group discovered by Konfused Kid which is called I hate Iraqis (152 members so far!) which has a running discussion on “how to kick Iraqi's out of Jordan” with suggestions such as “any iraqi u c in the street kick thier ass so they can maybe hve a lil respect”.
Of course, other Jordanians were not happy with the way the Iraqis were treated at the border or by the responses from bloggers. Qwaider was one of them and wrote:
I'm really shocked by so many of the responses I'm seeing on this matter. From both sides of the isle. On one side, people are bashing Jordan and Jordanians beyond hell. On the other, Jordanians are being so juvenile and uncivilized in the way they treat the whole matter. Some are in scattered in the middle but those are really a minority.
…If anything, people claiming to talk about Human rights, and Freedom of speech should be ashamed of their positions on what appears to be a very basic violation of human rights.
…That's where I stand. I'm saying, what happened is sad, and I call for a fact finding committee to conduct a full and open investigation. (And I assure you, my sources tell me that it will happen). We should probably apologize for it, and make it better. Make sure it's not going to happen again.
…Another extremely outrageous argument is the “Do you expect to be received on a Red carpet or with Rose petals?” and the obvious answer to that is NO, we don't expect to do that to Iraqis, what they're asking for is simply to maintain their dignity. And to be treated like human beings. Nothing more, nothing less!
…There you have it! I'm a Jordanian, and I apologize for the Iraqi people for what happened. I hope I represent a segment of the society that has it's value and not only represent my self.
SugarCubes symapathises on a personal level that the Iraqis had to go through the ordeal at the airport but does not believe Jordan was at fault.
For Natasha Tynes the reactions are an indication of the “tension between these two Arab nations on an individual level seems to be on the rise” and thinks that the international community needs to help Jordan find a way to deal with the influx of refugees. Khalaf from What's Up in Jordan is also embarrassed at how the issue was dealt with and notes that a polite system for dealing with people who you don't want already exists – “Consulates and Visas” but
“If it is impossible to establish an embassy or consulate in Iraq, then this situation can not be avoided. Given the problems in Iraq, no responsible government in the world will allow people in without thorough security screening. It is sad, but not as sad as the reality in Iraq.”
Catholic Sunni Shia also provided a blow-by-blow coverage and commentary of the saga.
It seems appropriate to end with the view of an Iraqi who is living in Jordan who tells his own story of moving to Jordan
I was warned by many friends that Jordanians ‘hate our guts’, judging from personal experience, my homeland (and all Arabs, as I found out) exaggerate in terms of racism, so while I tried hard to shrug this off, I nevertheless embraced Jordan with a huge feeling of self-consciousness, eventually I found out that you basically can get your way around here pretty much okay in terms of day-to-day interaction if you respect people and be pleasant with them. It's hard to exactly describe the love-hate relationship between Arabs of different countries, but it's best summarized by the Bedouin saying: ‘Me and my brother on my cousin, me and my cousin on the enemy.’
He even blogs a story of respectful Jordanian security:
…the last time I entered Jordan was September 2006 with my grandparents, for the first time I was nervous because of the many rejection stories I have heard, amazingly, it wasn't me who was the problem but my 84-year old grandfather, who had a FAKE passport, my grandfather's passport was done in Iraq through a connection, who brought it to him with somebody else's fingerprints on it, being a stalwart man of principle, Grandpa insisted that he get a clean passport so he can put his own print on it, sure enough, the passport comes a week later, what we didn't know is that the man who did it (either the connection or the passport officer) had simply ripped the page and replaced it with a new one. Anyway, after being held by intelligence officers for about 15 minutes, they gave him a two-weeks admission notice based on his old age, another thing which might have helped was his serving in the Palestine 1948 war, anyway, my grandfather said that the Jordanian officials were ‘very respectful'…
Finally, putting the whole thing into a pan-Arab perspective he says
…in the larger world, we are all insignificant if we continue to squabble like this. I hope there would be one improbable day when Iraqis, Jordanians, Kuwaitis, Palestinians and all realize that those phony classifications are drawn by a map based on a British-French treaty held in 1916.

author: Mohamed Nanabhay


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Bolivia: National Pride During Military Parade · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Beverly Centellas of Mom's Blog reflects on the controversial military parade in Santa Cruz, which demonstrated that Bolivia “sure understands the word ‘respect’ when it comes to their flag and their nation, even in the midst of national crisis and disaccord.”


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Bulgaria, Czech Republic: Flat Tax · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

More on flat tax in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic – at Dr. Sean's Diary.


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Chile: New Film About Pablo Neruda · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Chileno writes about a new documentary film about the life of Pablo Neruda and how people can help to bring it to the screen.


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China: Create a harmonious society and receive 5,000 yuan! · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chris O'Brien blogs about a writing competition organized by Chinese Internet operators for creating a harmonious society.


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China: Faked News Reporter in Jail · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated and summarized reports and comments on the sentence of Zi Beijia, the mastermind behind the fabricated investigation into cardboard baozi that aired on Beijing TV, into one year imprisonment.


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China: Kidnapped and sent to the mines · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joel from DANWEI translated the kidnapped case of a 17 years old boy, Wei Wenlin. He was kidnapped from Hebei on 6 of Aug and sent to a mine in Shanxi, working there as slave. According to Beijing News, in Shanxi Province alone, there were 36,286 unlicensed work units, making up 42% of the total inspectedm, and 65.5% of 4860 brick kilns in the province were unlicensed, with 17 engaged in serious criminal activity.


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China: Survival for standalone blogs · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

William Long in Moonlight blog summarizes the steps and conditions for legally setting up a blog on a standalone domain in China.


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China: Traffic Jam Fee · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Shenzhen will be the first city in China to introduce traffic fee to vehicle to increase the cost of driving and avoid traffic jam. Wei Ying-jie from 1510 disagreed with the arrangement and argued (zh) that the cost of driving is not low because of road fee (70% of the World's charged roads are located in China).


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Cuba: Birthday Homage? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Child of the Revolution blogs about the Cuban media “trying to outdo each other once again in dreaming up ever-more outlandish titles to bestow on Castro on his birthday.”


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Dominica: Earth Bag Home  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Joanna's Eco Travel Blog is pleased to find an earth bag house being built in Dominica: “The idea of an Earth Bag home is that it is resistant to extreme climate occurrences such as hurricanes and tornadoes. It is also supposed to be able to handle earthquakes.”


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D.R. of Congo: Rest in Peace, Madilu “Multi Système” · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Rest in peace the Grand Pharaoh, Madilu: “He was Bialu Madilu, also known as Multi Système, Grand Pharaoh, Grand Ninja, Sa Majesté and Grande Baleine. Born in Matadi, in the province of Bas Congo, he sang with Simaro and Tabu Ley Rochereau before joining TPOK Jazz. Sadly, he died on Saturday, and all of Kinshasa is in mourning. Radio stations have been playing his music almost non-stop for three days now.”


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Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood to Release Party Platform · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is reportedly about to release the long-awaited platform for its political party, reports Marc Lynch.


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Honduras: An Introduction to Honduran Blogs – Part 3  · Global Voices
Aaron Ortiz

“Welcome to Honduras” photo taken by BurocraciaNeuronal and used under a Creative Commons license
Despite the success of the first two installments, I've indulged in the slightly masochistic guilt of procrastination. But, finally part 3 is ready (weeks late)!
Many young Hondurans are blogging now, and personal blogs in Spanish abound. These defy being pigeon-holed into categories. Many entries are about anything or nothing in particular, the latest movie trailers, family stories, and even raunchy ads. Here's a sampling of the many, many blogs I've been researching.
Los Mercenarios [ES], (mercenario.zoomblog.com), written by Alex Cerrato and Aroni Dominguez, is a mixture of everything that's interesting to a young Honduran technophile. For instance, you can read a detailed review of Transformers, or hear an eulogy for long-defunct Mafalda, whose voice still echoes from the 60's comic strips which Quino drew her in. You can learn to create your own Simpsons avatar, see the brilliant humor of a CD label designer, or witness a battle of titans between two otakus (Japanese anime obsessive geeks).
La vida es Bella [ES] (irina-orellana.blogspot.com) is written by Irina Orellana, and in her words, you can read:
Un poquito sobre lo cotidiano y extraordinario del día a día, visto por los ojos de una mujer que cada vez se convence más, que la vida es bella y vale la pena vivirla. A pesar de los malos ratos y aunque no lo creas, siempre habrá algo o alguien por quien vivir!
A little of the everyday and the extraordinary, seen through the eyes of a woman who is every day more convinced that life is beautiful and worth living. In spite of the bad moments, and although you don't believe it, there will always be something or someone to live for!
You can read about her participation in The March for Dignity, her latest visit to her grandmother and the memories that evoked, Madonna's confessions, and her view of her beloved New Orleans, 1 year after Katrina.
Un Souvenir [ES] (juliagomez.blogspot.com), is written by Julia Gomez, who strives with success to ” share an essence of herself” through posts like, Excuses to Dump a Guy, The Best Diet, and her unfortunate choice of a purple raincoat on a rainy day.
Miguel Muñoz, a professor of theology in the Christian University of Honduras, writes several blogs. His posts include topics such as social justice, James Cameron's documentary about the tomb of Jesus, the Honduran congress’ decision to deny a visa to the leader of a cult ( he calls himself “Jesus Christ the man”, and the “Antichrist”).
As with my earlier posts, I've left out many blogs. I hope to be able to bring them to light by highlighting their posts in the future.
In our final installment of Honduran Blogs, we'll examine some very academic and intellectual blogs in and about Honduras.

author: Aaron Ortiz


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India: Economic Freedom · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Atanu Dey on economic freedom in India, and the potential it unleashes.


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India: What a speech! · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Middle Stage on the art of oratory and great speeches of Modern India.


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Iran:Bill Kristol Makes me Apoplectic · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

View from Iran writes about the interview with Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard with Jon Stewart of The Daily Show.The blogger says  I am not even well-informed about Iraq, but it seems to me that the rhetoric of the American supporters of the war seems to be echoing the rhetoric that has justified the oppression of the Shia by the Sunni in Iraq. Shia are inferior and Iranian.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iraq: Saddam and His Palaces · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saddam Hussein and his palaces are the subject of a new book to hit the shelves, reports The Angry Arab News Service.


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Israel: Policeman Bribed in Bashkiriya · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Snoopy The Goon, from Israel, relates the story of a policeman who accepted a bribe, in Bashkiriya.


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Israel: Sudanese Refugees · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Stephanie from Israel discusses the problems facing Sudanese refugees in Israel in this post.


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Jamaica: Rock and a Hard Place · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Francis Wade examines the conundrum that many Jamaicans living abroad face: “They love their country, and miss it terribly. They are angry that they cannot return (for many good reasons.) They are unwilling to assimilate into the mainstream U.S. (which for most means becoming African Americans.) They are stuck.”


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Jordan Bans Chicken Shawarma · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Jordanian blogosphere is mourning a ban on the sale of chicken Shawarma – chicken or beef, tossed salad and tahini – all rolled in delicious pita bread.
Hareega, who lives in the US, writes (Ar):
Fellow blogger Khalaf adds:
After the third mass shawerma poisoning within the last year, the government has decided to banish the greasy treat from the country’s restaurants. This ban will last until they figure out how to keep it safe.
I suppose this is prudent, although it punishes clean establishments for the sins of the unhygienic. Maybe they should prevent people from drinking water as well.
In another food-related item, Hareega protests the Israeli ‘hijacking’ of a number of the Levant's delicacies and dishes, declaring:
Steal the land, kill the people, terrorize the kids, occupy the villages and cut off water and electricity from everyone, but don't ever think of stealing my food!


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Kenya: Media Bill Faces Public Opposition · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Kenyan media and human rights groups are protesting against the controversial Media Bill passed by the Kenyan Parliament last week. The Bill is waiting Presidents Mwai Kibaki's assent to become part of the Kenyan law. Kenyan bloggers have been analyzing it, blogging about demonstrations in opposition to the Bill and publishing photos of demonstrators in the streets of Nairobi.
One of the clauses, which seems to draw intense opposition is the one that requires editors to disclose identity of unnamed party in a news article: “When a story includes unnamed parties who are not disclosed and the same becomes the subject of a legal tussle as to who is meant, then the editor shall be obligated to disclose the identity of the party or parties referred to.”
Richard Mbuthia considers the whole Media Bill “pretty dark”:
The whole of the Bill seems pretty dark but certain clauses in it come out nakedly in attack of our fundamental freedoms. A clause in the Media Bill forces journalists to divulge their source of information in the event that their stories ‘stir a court case’.
He continues:
The purpose of journalism is to provide people with the information they need to be free and self-governing. To fulfill this task, journalism's first obligation is to the truth and its first loyalty is to the citizens. Period.
This means that nothing should be allowed to come in-between. The noxious Bill states that journalists will be required to name the sources to their stories should the stories they write warrant a court case. This, to me, is tantamount to paralyzing and curtailing media activity. Why do I say this? Sources of information are the lifeblood of journalists whether working in print or broadcast industries. Who would want to volunteer ‘sensitive information’ to the media knowing too well that they could be exposed to the public should someone find the story unflattering and drag the media outlet to court? Does this mean, then, that the office of the ‘good old’ whistle-blower is in its death throes?
The controversial Media Bill was passed by only 27 MPs. The Kenyan Parliament has over 200 MPs. Kenyan Pundit writes, “Outrageous MP performance continues”:
The controversial Media Bill was passed with only a dismaying 27 MPs in attendance, that’s even less than what’s required for quorum so we wonder how that is legal.
Assidous wants the names of the 27 MPs to be released to the public:
What we need is a comprehensive list of the 27 MPs who were in the chamber on that day, then we the voters can show them who really has the final say on matters legislative!
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) plans to go to court if the Bill becomes law:
LSK vows to find Media Law in court if the President assents. I’m curious as to how successful a challenge to the shortfall in quorum when the Bill was passed would be. And where were all those MPs who are now critiquing the Bill when the Bill was being passed? Kenyan politicians = useless.
Mental Acrobatics and Rebecca Wanjiku have taken part in street demonstrations. Mental Acrobatics writes about last week's demonstration in Nairobi:
On Wednesday afternoon I joined civil society activist in a peaceful march to parliament to present a petition to parliament protesting against the Media Bill passed by parliament which is now awaiting presidential consent and the corrupt, immoral, illegal “gratuity” payment Kenyan legislators are attempting to award themselves.
Rebecca Wanjiru writes about the silent demonstration in Nairobi organized by journalists:
dressed mainly in black and covering their mouths, kenyan media practitioners matched throught the streets of Nairobi, protestitng aganist the media bill.
the early morning march was well attended by all journalists from all media houses. they carried their tools of trade.
Julie Gichuru read the petition at the state law office. the gates were locked and the journalists could only speak from outside.
i think the public is right when it accuses the media of being selfish. just google the hulla balloo about the media bill and you will see the number of pages coming up.
the media went on with the silent demo as a way of making a point to the government.
off course the media was there to cover itself.
This was the first time in the history of Kenya for journalists to take their concerns to the streets:
it is only times like these that one can tell how many journalists in kenya. for once, we rallied to our cause.
it was historic, never before have journalists taken to the streets.
today, editors, writers, photojournalists took to the streets..
Kumekucha analyzes the political implication of the Bill:
The truth is that even as the powerful Kibaki insiders look like they are now retreating at this eleventh hour with their tails firmly between their legs, great irreparable damage has already been done. I personally know of a half a dozen previously Kibaki votes that have evaporated courtesy of this ill-advised media bill. You can be sure that there are many others country-wide.
The question that many voters are asking themselves is what does the Kibaki administration have to hide, so desperately pushing for media regulation just before the election?
Even communication minister Mutahi Kagwe sounded tired and nervous answering questions from the press about the controversial bill yesterday. My wild guess is that he is irritated because he advised against it but was ignored and ended up just following orders in pushing it. You tend to get really angry when they tide turns and you are proved right.
Dan Teng'o argues that the government drafted the Media Bill because of “apparent lack of clear and adequate structures for media self-regulation and accountability.”  According to Dan, the Media Council of Kenya has not done its job of protecting the public:
So far, the voluntary Media Council of Kenya has been the most vocal advocate of self-regulation and a stalwart defender of the media and journalists. However, it should also consider its responsibility to the public. As presently sonstituted, the council strikes me more as a reactive institution keen on defending media organisations than as a proactive self-regulatory body genuinely working in the public's interest.
Other than serving as a self-preservation agency for the media, the council, which was calved as a reaction to the government's attempt to regulate the media, doesn't seem to do much to champion the public's interest. According to the council's Website , its stakeholders are the Media Owners Association, Kenya Union of Journalists( whatever is left of it), the Editors Guild, Kenya Correspondents Association, media non-governmental organisations, training institutions, state/public media and the alternative press.
It seems odd that ordinary members of the public, whose interest is often invoked in the media's battles against government gags, don't feature anywhere in the council, which receives and adjudicates complaints against the media. The council should be independent of the hegemonic power of media organisations and assume a tripartite model structured around the separate and distinct interests of the public, journalists, and media owners or managers.
The Bill will surely be a political capital to some:
The media bill pending presidential assent seems to have turned to a tsunami of proportions that cant be quantified at the moment. And trust the media and all goodwill Kenyans to milk as much political capital as is possible.
In yesterday's papers for instance, the editorial as well as the opinions were all about the bill as well as reasons why Kibaki shouldn't assent the said bill. One even told him that he was ‘child of the media freedom’, reminding him about one press conference in the early nineties when he went on holiday to Mombasa and returned to Nairobi as the DP chairman! Very True.


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Korea: National Hero or Terrorist · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘terrorists’? The word is at the center of a controversy over a lecture given on Korean modern history by a foreign professor. Marmot’s Hole, an American in Korea, writes about the issue.
Foreign Professor Calls Kim Gu, Yun Bong-gil ‘Terrorists’: Report
A foreign professor teaching modern Korean history for a summer program at Korea University has sparked controversy by calling Kim Ku, Yun Bong-gil and Lee Bong-chang “terrorists.”
According to the Joongang Ilbo, the professor — whose name I won’t print at this point even though it’s in the JoongAng piece — apparently made the offending remarks 20 minutes into a 1 hour, 30 minute lecture. In materials distributed by Internet prior to the lecture, he reportedly included a picture of Kim Gu under the title of “Terrorist Groups.”
Some of the students protested the description. One Boston College student attending the program said he protested that while the 9.11 terrorists killed innocent civilians, Kim Gu fought for independence, but the professor refused to take back his description.
An official with the program told the offended students that the professor was a man with much interest in Korea (in fact, I believe he’s a Korean Studies lecturer at SOAS) and fully qualified to lecture on Korean history.
The JoongAng Ilbo said the problem was that the students attending the lecture were Koreans studying overseas and gyopo who did not sufficiently understand modern Korean history. One Canadian gyopo student who attended the lecture even said there wasn’t a problem with the lecture, and wondered whether prohibiting the lecturer from calling the afore mentioned independence fighters “terrorists” wasn’t extreme nationalism.
About the controversy, a modern Korean history professor at Ehwa University, Jeong Byeong-jun, said calling Kim Gu, Yun Bong-gil and other independence fighters “terrorists” was nothing more than the view of Westerners, and that one must clearly differentiate terrorism, which targets innocent people, and the Korean independence movement.
Meanwhile, the foreign professor said he used the term “terrorist” because there was no appropriate term to express the armed independence movement. He said he recognized that he used a term that could provoke emotions and would be careful in the future.
While some of them are mad at the foreign professor’s definition of the national hero, others try to approach the definition of terror and terrorists. Not a few bloggers question why the professor chose the word and compare similar activities in other countries. Here is one example.
백과사전적 의미에서 테러,테러리즘의 범주에 들어가는 프랑스의 레지스탕스활동과 그 조직원들을 구미역사학자들이 왜 아무도 테러리즘,테러리스트라고 표현하지 않는지 한번 살펴보시기를 권해드립니다.
김구테러리스트 주장을 펴시는 분들은 의식적이든 무의식적이든 근본적으로 일본의 한일합방이 ‘합법적'이며 ‘정당했다'는 전제를 갖고 출발합니다.몇년전 비밀해제된 문서들이 공개되어 ‘국제학적'으로 불법이었다는 사실이 밝혀졌기때문에 이미 출발부터 잘못된 전제임에도 그런 주장을 굽히지 않는 이유는 (한일합방이 불법이었다는)역사학적으로도 입증된 사실에 대해서 아직 모른다고 생각할 수밖에 없을것 같네요.
한일합방이 무력에 의한 불법침략이었기에 ‘역사학적'으로나 ‘국제관계학적’ 관점으로도 당연히 임시정부와 광복군의 정당성을 인정할 수 있는 논리가 성립되며 그들의 저항은 레지스탕스 활동이 되는 것입니다.
People here who insist Kim Gu was a terrorist consciously or unconsciously think that the Japanese annexation of Korea was fundamentally ‘legal’ and ‘justifiable.’  Several years ago, declassified historical documents proved that the annexation was ‘internationally’ illegal. Regardless of it, the reason why they still insist on the point could be because they even have not been aware that the truth has been historically proven.
According to this truth, with ‘historical’ and ‘international’ perspectives, the activities of the Korean Provisional Government and Liberation Army are justifiable and their resistance could be regarded as equal to the French Resistance.
Other bloggers compare differences between Kim Gu’s activities and 9.11 activities.
더군다나 2차대전당시 민간인들의 안전을 고려하지 않은 무자비한 공격으로 레지스탕스 활동은 악명높았다.하지만 아무도 그들을 테러리스트라고 부르지 않는다.분명한 1차적 목표는 독일군이었으며 궁극적으로 무력강점당한 조국이 해방이라는 정당한 목적이 있었기에.
오직 민간인들을 대상으로 세계무역센터를 폭파하여 국적도 다양한 5000명을 살해한 폭력과 임시정부의 광복군이 한국과 중국침략의 선봉에 섰던 일본군과 그 수뇌부를 공격한 것을 같다고 주장하는 사람들은 대체 어떤 정신세계를 가지고 있는건가?…
김구는 한국에 있었던 일본인들의 거류지조차 함부로 들어가지 못하게 지시했던 사람이다.침략국의 국민들이지만 민간인들에게 해를 입히면 안되며 임시정부의 광복군은 일본군대를 상대로만 싸워야 한다고 지시했던 임정수반이 반세기가 훨씬지난 지금,한국인들의 입에서조차 테러리스트 소리를 들을때면 정말 가슴이 아프다.
미국교수의 망언은 한국역사에 대한 무지와 이해부족에서 나온 것이다.분명 그는 드골이나 워싱턴을 프랑스와 미국의 독립영웅이라고 교육받았을 것이며 본인도 그들을 테러리스트라고 말하진 않을 것이다.
임시정부의 수반과 광복군이라는 정확한 명칭은 아니더라도 레지스탕스라는 단어조차 모를리는 없었을텐데 마땅한 단어가 없어 테러리스트라고 설명했다는 주장은 변명으로밖에는 들리지 않는다.
만약 한국인이 프랑스에서 대학교수직을 얻어 프랑스학생들에게 드골은 테러리스트라고 강의한다면 과연 그가 교수직에 계속 머물 수 있었을까?그런 사람을 비판하면 프랑스국민들은 세계화를 모르는 뼜속까지 국수주의자가 되는 것인가?
How can people think the Liberation Army of the Korean Provisional Government that tried to attack the Japanese Army invading Korea and China is equal to the violence that murdered 5,000 civilians from all over the world in the Twin Towers?
Kim Gu strictly ordered other activists not to randomly break into Japanese residential areas. Even though they were from the aggressor nation, he suggested that we should fight against the Japanese Army, not harming civilians. But now he is called a terrorist even from his own people.
The American professor’s absurd remark was from his ignorance and the lack of understanding about Korea history. I am sure that he was raised to learn that De Gaulle and Washington are independent heroes of France and America. He wouldn’t call them terrorists.
What he said sounded like an excuse because he couldn’t find an appropriate word, so he chose the word, terrorist. He might not have known the terms, head of the Korean Provisional Government and Liberation Army, but I don’t think that he’s unfamiliar with the word “Resistance.”
If a Korean professor gives a lecture that De Gaulle was a terrorist to French students, could he keep his job? If French citizens criticize that person, is it also regarded as ultra-nationalism and ignorant people who don’t know about globalization?
Not a few bloggers try to find the more fundamental problem behind this issue arisen.
김구선생을 테러리스트로 만드는건 한국인들입니다.
다들 테러리스트란 단어 자체가 풍기는 부정적인 뉘앙스에만 천착하고 계시는 듯 합니다. 테러리스트의 정의 자체가 시대별로 국가별로 다르다는 말씀은 몇 분이 이미 지적하시니 이에 대한 내용은 생략하겠습니다.
이 문제를 좀 다른 시각에서 볼 필요도 있다고 생각합니다
어쨌거나 동아시아의 역사를 공부한 학자 중에서 주전공이 한국 역사를 공부하는 경우는 상대적으로 중국이나 일본의 경우보다 드뭅니다. 일본이나 중국이 우리보다 강대국이고 역사적으로 중요해서 그런 면도 있지만… 무엇보다 한국에 대한 역사적 사료가 드물기 때문입니다.
한국의 역사를 공부하기 위해서는 한국어를 우선 공부해야 되는데 한국어 자체도 까다롭고, 게다가 전공하는 사람도 많지 않기 때문에 당연히 자국네 말로된 책에 의존하게 됩니다. 즉 영어로 된 책을 보게 되는 겁니다.
그럼 영어로 된 책은 누가 발간하게 될까요?
한국에서 오래산 미국인이 책을 펴게 될까요? 물론 그런 책도 있습니다. 하지만 대부분의 책은 일본에서 나오고 있습니다.
즉 일본의 역사학자들이 자국의 역사관으로 한국이란 나라를 미국이나 유럽에 소개하고 있다는 얘기가 되죠. 당장 외국 도서관에 가실 수 있는 분은 가셔서 한국 역사에 관한 책이 얼마나 되는지, 그리고 일본 중국의 사서에 비해 그 양과 질에서 얼마나 압도당하고 있는지를 알게 되면 이런 일이 왜 발생하게 되는지 알게 됩니다. 일본의 역사가가 자신의 제국주의 역사를 과연 악평을 하게 될까요? 아니죠. 당연히 일본과 반대축에 서는 쪽을 악으로 몰고 자신들의 역사를 합리화하게 됩니다.
고대에 온 영국인 교수도 일본이나 중국이 펴낸 역사서를 가지고 한국을 이해하게 되는거죠. 일본에게 김구는 분명히 자국의 요인들을 암살하는 테러리스트이며 그러기에 당연하게 Kim Goo is a terrorist라고 일본인 역사가는 기술했을테고 영국인 교수는 그렇게 이해하게 되는 겁니다.
문제는 김구선생의 독립운동 활동내역이 소개된 책자 아니 팜플렛이라도 영어 또는 다른 언어로 찍어낸 적이 있을까요? 외국인의 입장에서 김구선생이 어떻게 활동을 했는지 알기가 힘듭니다…일본의 민간인들에 대해선 손가락 하나 안 건드신 김구선생의 숭고한 정신 같은걸 대체 어디서 찾아보라는 말입니까?
그 외국인 교수만 탓할게 못됩니다. 그런 외국 학자는 널리고 널렸습니다. 이를 방관한 우리에게도 어느 정도 책임이 있는겁니다.
…All of you just stick to the negative nuance that the word terrorist has. On the other hand, many people pointed out that the definition of terrorist is different depending on the period and by the countries.
I think that we should look at this issue from another perspective…
Scholars majoring in East Asia rarely focus on Korea history, compared to China and Japan. Of course they’re stronger nations and historically important… but most of all, historical materials about Korea are rare.
In order to study Korean history, they should learn the Korean language first, but the language is not so easy to learn and most of them don’t major in the language. Therefore, they lean on books in their own languages. English.
Then who publishes those books in English? Foreigners who have lived in Korea for a long time? Of course some of them are like that. But most books are from Japan.
Japanese historians with their own historical perspectives, they introduce Korea to Europe and America. Check foreign libraries for how many history books about Korea they have! You will understand compared to books of China and Japan, the quantity and quality of books about Korea are nothing. Do you think that Japanese historians would criticize their imperialism history? Of course, they will justify the history in their own perspectives and interpret other sides bad.
The professor could understand Korea through history books that Japan and China published. To Japan, Kim Gu is a terrorist who killed their people and therefore it is understandable why the professor thinks ‘Kim Gu is a terrorist…’
The problem is have we tried to make books or brochures about what Kim Gu did for the independence of Korea in English? It is impossible for foreigners to understand his activities… How could they know Kim Gu’s motto was not to touch even the fingers of Japanese civilians?
…We shouldn’t criticize the foreign professor. He wouldn’t be the only one. It’s our fault to have looked on with this issue…

author: Hyejin Kim


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Kyrgyzstan: Chinese Flattery · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Kyrgyz Report reports that now that the Chinese delegation has arrived in Kyrygzstan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, the Kyrygz president Kurmanbek promptly signed a declaration that Taiwan is an “inalienable part” of China. Mirsulzhan Namazaliev comments: “I think President Bakiev hasn't even understood what he signed, as he probably doesn’t know the history of China-Taiwan conflict.”


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Kyrgyzstan: Legalise prostitution? · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Asel discusses whether one should legalise or ban prostitution in Kyrgyzstan. On his blog, Mirsulzhan argues for legalisation, and on Genderstan, Anna compares the situation in Kyrgyzstan with examples from Western countries.


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Lebanon: Hizbulla’s “Big Surprise” · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Angry Arab News Service Dr Assad Abu Khalil remarks on  Hizbulla's threats to Israel and their impact on Lebanese politics.


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Mexico: New Twenty Peso Bill · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Isopixel [ES] provides some thoughts on the new 20 peso bill that will soon be in circulation.


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Mongolia: Street children · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Bonnie Boyd links to a Worldvision video documenting the plight of Mongolian street children.


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Morocco: Bloggers React to Failed Meknes Suicide Bombing · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

It has been an eventful week in Morocco.  First a minor earthquake rocked the country on Sunday night, then an attempted suicide bombing rocked the city of Meknes on Monday morning (the last such attempt was in April).  The bomber, identified in Jordan's Al Bawaba news site as Hisham Dokkali, is a 30- year-old engineer.  No one was killed in the incident, not even Dokkali, who did lose an arm as a result, however.  He is thought to have been targeting a tour bus parked near Place Hedim in the center of Meknes’ old city, or medina.
The attempt gave way to a variety of reactions – blogger Myrtus asked, “Dannnng where the hell do they find these stupid people?” while The Morocco Report was a bit cynical:
Great, I’m gone from Morocco for less than two weeks and someone tries to blow himself up in Place Hedim (the center of Meknes) – and yet, he failed and didn’t even manage to kill himself. Just like a Moroccan suicide bomber
The latter post garnered interesting comments – Adilski was shocked:
Everything is shaking in Morocco. The soil, Political scene, media and people. I’d love to know what went on in this guy’s mind carrying a butane container to detonate himself. Good thing everything is safe but the suicidal ideology amongst Moroccan youth is just shocking.
Xoussef thanked God for the incompetence of the bomber, which Elle took further, saying:
They are so incompetent that they could not even get the message that Allah is not helping them to do harm to innocent people!
Ange Bleu was outraged as well:
Un autre imbécile parmis tant d'autres qui croit que la violence va régler tout.
Samuel Gunter of Life Called…, who is a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco, sent a missive via his blog:
There was yet another bombing in Morocco. This time it wasn't in the far off coastal city of Casablanca, it was in Meknes, one of the Imperial Cities. To set your mind at ease… Meknes, although considerably closer to me than Casablanca, is still about 140km away from me. So don't worry about me, worry about Morocco and worry about our world, and if you pray, pray for us all.
We, all of us, are in the fight of our lives. You and I are warring against indifference in our own lives, and the objectifying influence hatred and ignorance have on all of our hearts. As long as we live in a world with and “us and a them” we will be at war. Until we finally discover that there is nothing but “we” we will always be fighting. Those of here attempt to stand in that gap and are struggle against both ourselves and other forces to bring two wayward families together, or at least to remind all of us that we are family.
There are always times of doubt here because sometimes because the immediacy doesn't always seem that evident.
It is.
Photo of Place Hedim (Meknes, Morocco) by Jillian York.

author: Jillian C. York


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Pakistan: Patriotism and Music · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Patriotism seems to find a lot of resonance in music. More at Metroblogging Lahore.


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Pakistan: Power Supply · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Power supply appears to have become more erratic in parts of the country. The Pakistani Spectator on inadequate infrastructure.


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Palestine: Animal-Friendly Hamas · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jerusalem-based Charles Levinson links to a Hamas TV children's programme on cruelty against animals. “The clip ultimately arrives at a rather commendable end with a message about being kind to animals, although one might question the means used to deliver the message,” he notes.


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Russia: Blogger Faces Jail · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

More on the Russian blogger facing a jail sentence for insulting police on his blog – at Publius Pundit and La Russophobe.


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Russia: Bomb Derails Train · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A passenger train on its way from Moscow to St. Petersburg was derailed Monday night by a homemade bomb set along railroad tracks. No one was killed, but some 60 passengers of the more than 230 on board were injured, at least three of them seriously.
For a while, Russian bloggers were ahead of the Russian media on this story.
The accident occurred at 9:38 PM Moscow time, and LJ user lightbird was one of the first to report on it on her blog – in this entry (RUS), posted at 9:54 PM:
Oh God. My colleague has just called me – a [Moscow-St. Petersburg] train has been derailed. Everything's in smoke, the train cars are turned over. She's okay, but something has to be done?! How can we help? So far, there's silence in the news.
From 10:15 PM, LJ user katoga was liveblogging (RUS) from Malaya Vishera, a town nearby, while her husband was at the site of the crash:
I've just heard from friends that close to us, near the village of Burga, the Nevsky Express train #166 has been derailed. Right now. It's not clear why. They are saying something about an explosion. Some people have been injured. The police and ambulance are on the way there from Malaya Vishera. We can hear their sirens right outside our windows. Terrible…
There's nothing in the news yet. Maybe they'll have a report soon…
P.S. 1. [10:50 PM] They've just confirmed it on the NTV news. Said there were many injured. Nothing is known yet about the cause of the crash. The main thing is for everyone to survive…
P.S. 2. [10:55] Got a call from there. No casualties. Two with serious injuries. Many injured, but it looks like they're all not in critical condition, except for those two.
[…]
August again. I'm beginning to fear this month already… [Awful things – like the 2000 Kursk submarine disaster or the 2004 plane crashes – seem to wait to happen in Russia in August. As one blogger (LJ user mysteelheart) commented (RUS) in another post, “It's August, my friend. We've got this tradition – terrorist acts take place in August.] […]
But this time, EVERYONE'S ALIVE… And this is what matters…
[…]
[LJers], IF ANY OF YOU HAVE RELATIVES OR FRIENDS THERE, GET IN TOUCH WITH ME. [phone number]
I'M JUST A 15-MINUTE DRIVE AWAY. YOUR PEOPLE CAN GET TO MALAYA VISHERA AND STAY WITH ME. SPEND THE NIGHT HERE, CALM DOWN. THEN TOMORROW THEY'LL GET WHEREVER THEY NEED WITHOUT PROBLEMS BY COMMUTER TRAIN. EVERYONE'S WELCOME!!!
In the comments to katoga‘s post, there is this discussion (RUS) on what kind of a blast might have caused a crash like this; the discussion took place a few hours after the accident, on Monday night:
katoga:
[…] By the way, they were saved by high speed. The explosion took place by the bridge. If they were going not as fast, the train would've fallen right under the bridge. It's 25 meters or so. But the train is heavy and, thanks to high speed and inertia, it flew past the bridge and only there derailed.
ignescentis:
This means the explosion (if there really was an explosion) wasn't too powerful. Otherwise, high speed would've only exacerbated the situation.
katoga:
Yes, most likely it wasn't too powerful. The crater's diameter is about 1.5 meters.
[…]
ignescentis:
By the way, it's possible that there was no explosion at all. Accident sites sometimes look as if they've been bombed. :) And [fear tends to make things appear worse than they are].
katoga:
There was definitely an explosion. Even special services confirm this.
ignescentis:
We'll see. Tomorrow they may as well […] start asserting the opposite. […]
LJ user egorich239 is among those who suspect (RUS) that the accident could have something to do with the upcoming presidential election in Russia:
[…] Or perhaps this is a pre-election thing. And then yet another guy will appear – “who will restore order.” […]
LJ user ka52ever was on the Moscow-St. Petersburg train when the crash occurred; here is part of her account (RUS):
[…] I was napping, then heard a blow, and the man sitting next to me suddenly said: “Hold on tight.” I opened my eyes and saw that everyone jumping up from their seats and grabbing their luggage. I turned towards the exit and saw smoke there. At first I got scared because I thought there was a fire. But it turned out to be cement dust.
We got out. The young attendant on the really high heels was stretching out her hand to everyone and helping to get down to the ground.
The cars derailed, the tracks were broken, wires were hanging down, some part of the roof was on the ground, and it was horrible to look further on. The other cars lay on their side.
People started calling their relatives right away, all were saying the same words: “Don't worry, I'm fine, but there's been an accident here, the train has derailed…” And then they were telling what they'd  seen and understood.
[…]
In 20 minutes or so, cops arrived in two cars, and they must've been so distressed that they couldn't really explain where we were exactly. […]
The most surprising thing were the cab drivers. They showed up almost immediately and were asking 3,500 rubles [$140] for a trip to St. Pete. […]
In an hour or so, ambulances, the police, etc., began to arrive. And, of course, the gawkers…
I was in a somewhat detached state.
Today, though, I'm beginning to feel uneasy.
The passengers, by the way, acted very calm, no one got hysterical, no one screamed, everyone tried to be helpful to other in some way.
The accident has interrupted rail services on one of Russia’s busiest rail lines. LJ user serni was traveling from St. Petersburg to Moscow that night and ended up spending 27 hours on the train – instead of the scheduled eight. There was little food or water on this tiresome journey, and among serni‘s fellow passengers were an infant and a diabetic woman who had run out of insulin. Here's one of his observations (RUS):
Funny: one small bomb has completely paralyzed traffic in Russia's European part. And what if there is war? […]


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Russia: More on the Violent Video · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

More on the video of the execution of two non-Russians – at The Accidental Russophile.


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Russia: St. Pete Pics; A. Kostia’s Short Story · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Random pictures from St. Petersburg, including one of a pub called Puberty – at Megan Case's blog. Also, a translation of A. Kostia's short story, Mama.


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Russia: Ulster in North Caucasus · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“Russian forces fighting Chechens and other rebels in the North Caucasus today are self-consciously copying the approach their British counterparts used against the Irish Republican Army in Ulster 40 years ago,” writes Window on Eurasia.


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Russia: Washington Post Conflict · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

James of Robert Amsterdam's blog writes about “a war of words” between the Washington Post and Russia.


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Sierra Leone: election update · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sierra Leone election update: “Pre-Elections Last Week, the first ever presidential debates were held in Freetown at Lagoonda Entertainment Complex and this young wannabe scored tickets curtesy of a friend with the BBC. All parties were represented at the Debate besides the SLPP….Berewa refused to attend the debate because as he believed who ever was hosting it had no authority to call him to a debate and what not.”


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Sierra Leone: frustrated voters · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Voters in Freetown, Sierra Leone, were like frustrated dancers: “If the frustrated dancer is not given the floor or if the rules of the dancing competition were changed immediately to pose unexpected challenges for him, then this anxious dancer can return home a permanently frustrated man.”


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South Korea: Inter-Korean Summit Agenda Up-in-the-air · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Lee Byong-chul from Ohmynews International reports on the difficulties in formulating the agenda for the inter-Korean summit.


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Sri Lanka: Mahavilachchiya Reservoir · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Nipuna Roshan on a reservoir constructed in 140 AD, still active and providing water to the villages around.


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Taiwan: Ma’s Corruption Case · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Michael Turton summarized the verdict of former Taipei's Mayor, Ma Ying Jeou's corruption case with some comments: even more fundamental than the Blue-Green divide, this verdict was a case of the System protecting itself.


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Tanzania: let’s talk about textmessaging · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Let's talk about textmessaging in Dar es Salaam:“And then comes the theme of this story. Somewhere along the route going at eighty kilometres per hour, the driver decides to send a text message. His eyes dart between the road and his deftly held cell phone. I am thinking, here I am, in a sprinting bus wearing no seat belt my life in the hands of a lunatic who doesn’t care whether we will crash or not.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Bake & Shark  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I am always very curious to see what people say about Trinidad and Tobago.  Not because I want to see their view so much as I am interested to see how accurate they are.”  Adele at Thebookmann reports on a television series featuring some of T&T's “bizarre foods”.


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Ukraine: Immoral Politicians · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Taras Kuzio comments on the immorality of some Ukrainian politicians: “Anatoliy Kinakh, Oleksandr Lavrynovych, Ivan Bilas, Taras Chornovil, Moroz, Holovatiy and many others all have one thing in common: they are male and have bruised ego’s, injured male pride and immaturity.”


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Ukraine: Karpachova’s Award · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes writes about Ukraine's Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, who has just received an award from the president that she doesn't deserve.


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Ukraine: More Sketches From Lviv · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Olechko is in Lviv again – and is posting her lovely sketched of the city.


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Ukraine, U.S.: Gogol Bordello · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukraine List writes that Gogol Bordello band “has been all over the TV and radio in the US as of late promoting their new album Super Taranta.”


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Vote for Bahrain · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif is encouraging his readers to vote for Bahrain in a business poll.


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Yemen: Bin Ghanim R.I.P · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Yemeni Omar Barsawad mourns the death of a national leader – Dr Faraj Bin Ghanim.


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Afghanistan: Debunking myths · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Afghan President Karzai criticised the kidnapping of women (of the Korean hostage group) as un-Islamic and un-Afghan. Blogger Mohammad Fahim Khairy disagrees and says that during most of Afghanistan's recent history, women were treated badly and also got kidnapped.


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Armenia: Orphanage · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Thomas of Follow the Way posts photos taken by Lilit Abrahamyan. They depict the daily life in an orphanage for mentally handicapped kids near Armenia's capital Yerevan.


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Bangladesh: Military and Government · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

E-Bangladesh on murder and consequence in Bangladesh – taking a closer look at the role of military in governance.


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Barbados, Dominica: Hurricane Dean  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As Tropical Storm Dean gets upgraded to a hurricane, Barbados Free Press puts out an alert to other Caribbean islands, while Steve's Dominica reports: “It's strengthening rapidly. It's due to pass over us. We'll start to see it within 24 hours.  The usual preparations are being made. Store lots of water, buy lots of canned food.”


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Barbados, Grenada: PM Lawsuit  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It looks like Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur isn’t the only Caribbean Head Of State being sued in a foreign court”:  Barbados Free Press learns that the Grenadian Prime Minister has a corruption case pending in New York.


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Belarus: Andrei Liankevich · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus writes about Belarusian photographer Andrei Liankevich's exhibition in Dresden.


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Belarus: Internet Regulations · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus writes about Internet regulations currently being considered by the government.


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Belize: King Passes On  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Belize News Blog acknowledges the passing of Belizean television pioneer Emory King.


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Brazil: Ad campaign compares bloggers with monkeys · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

A traditional Brazilian newspaper launched an advertising campaign to promote its new website, and the core message of all video and visual pieces was based on a humorous approach of blogs as bad sources of information. One video piece went far enough as comparing bloggers with monkeys. As expected, the local blogosphere took it personally.
Em sua página, a agência Talent explica da seguinte maneira a sua nova campanha para divulgar o site do Estadão: “Ela expõe, de maneira bem-humorada, os riscos de consultas a sites na internet, e divulga as novidades do site do jornal“. Com senso de humor um tanto quanto duvidoso, diga-se de passagem, comparando grosseiramente blogueiros a… macacos.
Estadão contra os blogs? – Pensar Enlouquece
Alguns comentários tentam amenizar a posição do jornal, encontrar algumas interpretações. Porém, como eu também disse nos comentários: isso não é possível, não existe margem para interpretações nesse posicionamento. A mensagem é absolutamente clara e generalista: todos os blogs, e mais, TODO O CONTEÚDO CRIADO POR NÃO PROFISSIONAIS, não presta. A campanha é clara ao afirmar: blogs copiam informações, blogs só escrevem bobagem, blogs não tem discernimento.
Estadão faz campanha contra os blogs – Brainstorm #9
It is obvious that Estadão's marketing strategy was counting on the noise bloggers would make over the ads in order to achieve its goals, and the blogging crowd was surely among those who prompted a visit to Estadão's new website. On the other side, some bloggers guesstimate that inflaming the dispute between blogs and traditional media at this time may turn out to be a bad idea, while others find it better to follow the joke.
Mais uma curiosidade é que, dos grandes impressos, o Estadão é o único que não é hospedado por um grande portal de internet. Isso é apenas uma observação, as conclusões cada um tira da maneira que quiser. Além disso, utilizam anúncios do AdSense no site. Pelo que vi são os únicos dos grandes que fazem isso. Concorrência desleal, hein Estadão? Baita sacanagem um jornal de grande porte como o de vocês querer ganhar uns trocados da mesma maneira que esses macacos virtuais. Agora, deixando a ironia de lado, se o Estadão realmente tiver essa visão retrógrada, estão mal das pernas, pois é remar contra a maré.
Estadão, blogs e a reação da blogosfera – Tech Letters
OH NO! I got uncovered by Estadão!!! – Charles Pilger
This is the only way to deal with such an idiocy
The provocative campaign came in a moment when local bloggers were still digesting an interview given by Andrew Keen — the British historian who announced that Internet is killing our culture — to a  local major weekly magazine. Laughable as it may be, the coincidence of the events reverberated on the traditional media, generating some weird attacks on the blogosphere.
Hoje, o Diário do Nordeste entrou na história em seu editorial que também fala sobre a preparação (ou a falta dela) das pessoas que publicam blogs e como a juventude está recebendo uma má influência desses manipuladores da verdade (nós, os blogueiros): “… com a proliferação e popularização desse tipo de informação distorcida, os próprios adultos poderão ir perdendo, progressivamente, sua capacidade crítica, passando a ter pontos de vista moldados por escusos e ocultos interesses particulares. O pior, no caso, é que também se constata a existência de blogs que, aparentando ser de indivíduos, são, na verdade, manipulados por grandes grupos ligados a objetivos inconfessáveis“.
Diário do Nordeste, Estadão e os Blogs – Astrogyldo: O Estudante de Jornalismo
Apart from the monkey noise all around, a meaningful novelty from the digital media ecology called the attention of some bloggers: the addition of comments in Google News. Only the future will tell if it is just one more erratic Google beta app or a crucial step into a new era of online media, but the launching of the feature looks like a clear indication that the monkeys are not going away.
Os textos e posts publicados assumem cada vez mais a função de propor temas para discussão pelos leitores por meio de comentários. Na teoria, esta sempre foi a missão principal do jornalismo, mas ela acabou sendo alterada, na prática, pela indústria da comunicação, através da transformação da notícia num produto de consumo. Antes da internet, a ausência de  mecanismos rápidos para interação entre redações e leitores contribuiu para que a autoria da notícia fosse mais importante que a sua discussão. A situação mudou agora na Web com a multiplicação quase frenética de softwares voltados para a participação dos internautas, apesar desta reviravolta ainda não ter sido totalmente digerida e entendida pelas redações. A notícia está deixando de ser um produto para se transformar no ponto de partida de um processo, que começa com os jornalistas, que depois cedem o papel principal para os leitores. Os profissionais deixam de ser os donos da notícia. A compreensão deste processo seguramente vai ajudar a reduzir muito as atuais desconfianças mútuas entre as redações e o público leitor de jornais e revistas, mas também entre os espectadores e ouvintes das emissoras de TV e rádio.
Interatividade com leitores corrige distorção na prática do jornalismo – Código Aberto

author: Jose Murilo


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China and Hong Kong: Yahoo HK and Shi Tao · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chinese Law Prof Blog gave some update on the Shi Tao's case, a Chinese journalist arrested and imprisoned for 10 years because Yahoo provided the Chinese government Shi's user information. The blogger pointed to a document that showed it was Yahoo (HK) not Yahoo (China) that provided the information. Soon after the document exposed the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (CFA) started investigating on Yahoo's 2006 testimony.


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China: Chinabiz Project · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fon described the Chinabiz speakers project (China business information center) in the China Herald.


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China: Land Expropriation For Panda Base · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Zoula reports on the forced land expropriation for panda base in Chengdu. Villagers were forced to move away with very limited compensation (zh).


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China: Sundried Tomato from Xinjiang · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Opposite end of China described the best quality of sundried tomato from Xinjiang.


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Colombia: Next Stage of HiperBarrio · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Juliana Rincón of Medea Material [ES] announces the launch of the next stage of the HiperBarrio project, which will begin on Saturday, August 18 in Santo Domingo Savio.


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Egypt: Children’s Stories · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Baheyya goes down memory lane and enchants us with story books of a well spent childhood.


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Egypt: Sandmonkey in Mourning · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian Sandmonkey is back with a moving post, which mourns the death of his grandmother.


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Former Soviet Union: Jazz · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about jazz in the Soviet Union – and about stilyagas.