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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[photo]

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

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

[photo]

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

[photo]

Here is a collection of “green” movement paintings created by Soheil Tavakoli, an Iranian artist based in the United States:

Hamed Pourabedin created another piece of art on his Facebook page: Oxygen for Iran

As Iranian protesters prepare for  yet another demonstration on December 4, the Day of University Students (16th of Azar), they have created dozens of posters.

“On green 16th of Azar, we get our Iran back”

Also see previous Global Voices stories:

Iran: Art for Protest's Sake
Iran: Protest Movement Inspires Art

They join others such as the Presidency of the European Union, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders as well as many others in condemning the verdict.

Amnesty International has also declared the two men to be prisoners of conscience. Interesting Times, an “online initiative monitoring attempts throughout the world to censor and restrict free access to the Internet,” puts the trial in context.

The latest show of repression by state forces in Azerbaijan leaves no doubt that both journalists and bloggers exercise their right to express themselves freely at their own risk.

[…]

Thanks to international pressure such as the WPFC letter and several others, the Azeri government has been compelled to release journalists from prison.

But this latest act of repression against two bloggers leaves no doubt that, if left alone, public officials in Azerbaijan will continue their abusive ways.

Notes from Abroad is also not surprised by the verdict.

On Tuesday, two young bloggers were sentenced to prison — one for two-and-a-half years, the other for two years — on the ridiculous charge of hooliganism. The whole thing is a sham — driven by political motives, but it is not surprising.

[…]

Since Azerbaijan is an oil-rich fiefdom, the West has treaded carefully in responding to this very undemocratic behavior by the Azeri government.

The Azeri government must be strongly condemned by the democracies of the world that this kind of behavior is unacceptable.

The Blogar, however, is nearly speechless.

So the verdict is in.
Emin and Adnan are officially hooligans.
At a loss here on what to say.
Supposedly social media had a role in putting them behind bars, a role in getting the word out on the street about the injustice but was unable to change the minds of the corrupt Azerbaijan legal system.
Dont mess with Ilham.

[…] My thoughts are with their families and them.

However, with an appeal due to be lodged and possible action in the European Court of Human Rights, L4L, a new English-language Azeri blog, says that this is just the beginning.

What to do next? First of all we should not stop. We should continue working towards liberty of our friends and towards freedom of all Azerbaijan. […] Adnan and Emin showed no fear and we should not be anything less than courageous and inspiring.

[…]

This is hardly end. It all begins now.

Parvana Persiani and Global Voices Online's David Sasaki, World Blogging Forum, Bucharest, Romania © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2009

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the World Blogging Forum in Bucharest, Romania, Global Voices Online held a first aborted interview with Parvana Persiani, an Executive Board Member of the OL! Azerbaijani youth movement which her boyfriend, the imprisoned Adnan Hajizade, co-founded.

More updates will be posted as of when. Meanwhile, full coverage of the detention, trial and imprisonment of Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli is available in the Azerbaijan section of Global Voices Online and on the OL! Blog (in English and Azeri). The hashtag #EminAdnan is also used on Twitter.

Algerian blogger Adel [Fr], sums up the chain of events that led to the row. He writes:

Ce n’est pas sur le carré vert que le match a commencé à se jouer mais sur la toile. En attendant l’entrée des 22 joueurs sur la pelouse du fameux Cairo Stadium, la rencontre a débuté de manière assez peu banale entre les «Facebookeurs» (membres du réseau Facebook) algériens et égyptiens. Tout a commencé par de simples discussions dans les forums avant que cela ne prenne de l’ampleur. Voulant montrer leur savoir-faire dans la retouche d’image, les Egyptiens ont été les premiers à ouvrir les hostilités en publiant des photos «anti-algérien».

Les Egyptiens voulaient expliquer à travers un tel acte que leurs joueurs sont «très forts» et qu’ils sont en mesure d’écraser l’équipe nationale algérienne. Cela donna le top à une guerre d’un genre particulier. La guerre des images et des parodies.

Videos, dubbing scenes taken from famous Hollywood blockbusters, flooded YouTube, placing the face-off at a Homeric level.

In the following video [Ar], posted by hakemvoip [Fr], Mel Gibson is Rabah Wallace (Braveheart), an Algerian war leader who tries to galvanize his troops ahead of the much expected confrontation:

In this other video, Egyptian ulyesis welcomes Algerian fans to what he calls “hell” in Cairo:

Blogger GEMYHOoOD [Ar] posts pictures of thousands of Egyptian fans who queued up in different parts of Cairo, hoping to get tickets for the match. He publishes pictures of the gatherings:

GEMYHOoOD also posts some eyewitness accounts:

The official bus of the Algerian football team, which arrived in Cairo on November 12, was allegedly assaulted by local fans, as the following video, posted on YouTube by Vidéos Mouloudia Club d'Oran, seems to be showing:

The world football governing body FIFA, felt it necessary to issue a warning to the football associations of Algeria and Egypt, reminding both that “the preliminary competition for the 2010 World Cup should end as it began, in the spirit of fair play with the necessary cooperation of all the parties.”

A website, Algerie Egypte Match [Ar, Fr], dedicated to the event and monitoring all kind of news related to the match, was created by Algerian fans.

Within this climate of bitter rivalry, some people created a group on the social networking website Facebook, pleading for more tempered feelings. Laama Bouchema posts a message on the group's Wall saying:

[A]s much as i am angry for what happend to the algerian team, i do not judge a whole nation for what some idiots did! it is stupid what angry fans are doing! for god's sake it wont matter who gets in the [Wold Cup].

Egyptian blogger Lasto Adri [Ar], deplores how what was supposed to be a sporting event, degenerated into a nasty confrontation. She writes:

“The reality as you know it on the ground in Madagascar is characterized by fatigue that is felt by the people of Madagascar, people who are hoping the crisis will come to an end. A crisis to which, after all, they are the hostages. Whereas the socio-economic situation in your country is getting worse day by day. The people of Madagascar deserve better destiny and that depends completely on you”

This sentiment seems to be shared by a large portion of the blogosphere who focused their attention on the other challenges affecting Madagascar. Several provinces are currently plagued by the cumulative disastrous effects of a severe drought, the toxic spill of a ship wreck that poisoned the livelihood of thousands of fishermen and the ecological disaster of illegal logging of the rain forests.
(Update: A power sharing agreement was signed by the 4 political movements over the week-end (BBC) where Madagascar will be led by 3 co-presidents. More analysis can be found on this political breakthrough on Reuters and Madagascar Tribune (fr) )

The ecological scandal of the Gulser Ana toxic spill

The Gulser Ana was a Turkish freighter transporting Phosphate that sunk off the coast of Madagascar, spilling toxic waste in the process and killing migrating whales and causing illness among the fishermen community. Although the disaster has been reported in a few media recently, the ship started to sink two months ago as Malagasy bloggers signaled on their blogs back in early September.
Tomavana wrote on his blog (fr):

En plus d’écarter le drame écologique du Sud de l’île des actualités nationales, la controverse politique autour de ces nouvelles nominations pose la question du suivi de ce dossier sensible

Joan asks simply: “Have you heard of the Gulser Ana ?”. In the comment section, Capt Collin Smith explores the possible causes of the grounding:

The only explanation which can exculpate the Captain and Officer of the Watch of this vessel is mechanical breakdown. Anything else is human error, and therefore incompetence, if not recklessness. How can a ship go aground in perfect visibility if the OOW and Captain are paying attention and properly trained? [..] Another practice to save money. The Captain and OOW should have been arrested when they got ashore, and held.

Mialisoa reports on her blog that (fr):

les habitants « souffrent de problèmes respiratoires, et de maladies cutanées et diarrhéiques ». Car non seulement ces personnes ont été exposées aux déchets toxiques, mais le nettoyage des zones polluées s’est fait sans vêtements de protection et sans équipements adéquats

The lack of report early on in the media prompted this reaction from Tomavana on twitter:

“@fanjakely j'ai l'impression que les habitants Sud #Madagascar sont des malgaches de 2nde zone. J'entends nos beaux discours mais nous sommes pas #Solidaire”

Ship wreck via http://mialisenfout.hautetfort.com

Unfortunately that was not the only source of worry in the region.

Severe drought

Rain has been very scarce in the Southern region. According to the Guardian, the unseasonal dry weather caused by climate change (10% increase in temperature) has prompted a severe drought and warning signs of famine for the past six months. Tovoheryzo Raobi Jaona explains how climate change has affected the south (fr):

“Avant, il y avait une sécheresse tous les dix ans. Or, depuis 2000, il y en a eu quatre”

Féroce Remanongona, an elected official goes further as to say (fr):

Nous prions le Grand Dieu que le cyclone passe chez nous. Même s’il détruit nos maisons, c’est mieux que subir la sécheresse

This is a powerful statement when one recalls how the recent cyclone devastated the majority of the region.

The Panos Insitute recently published a series called “Pushed to the Edge” about the effect of climate change on the Malagasy population in the Southern region. Here is a testimony from the report by Bruno:

I noticed that the weather had changed from our usual predictions, and the rainy seasons were starting very late… Not only was rice production affected, but also sweet potatoes and cassava. It was getting hotter and hotter, which made planting cassava challenging… When I harvested it, I discovered that the roots had become smaller, compared to my previous harvest. In terms of rice, I used to collect three to four large baskets and now I can harvest only one small basket. The change is so obvious that it makes me ask the question, “What is happening to the climate?”

A recent academic paper for the American Political Science Association by Richard Marcus illustrates the challenges of water resource management in the Ambovombe-Androy region. The paper states that

“Rural communities are suddenly faced with having to pay exorbitant costs for water. They are ill-prepared to carry out their municipal functions and unable to raise the level of user-fees or community taxes necessary to fund infrastructure development”

Stephane, a blogger from Foko Madagascar attended the UN conference on climate change in September and blogged about the challenges facing developing countries like Madagascar.

Finally, a resolution to condemn the plundering of natural resources in Madagascar has been introduced by Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) at the House of Representatives. Illegal logging of precious woods from the rain forest has been increasing with the political turmoil. Courier International and l'Express de Madagascar also reveals that the government allowed for exportation of precious rosewood in late September (fr). More details on the illegal logging of the rain forest are available here (fr) .

The quintessential element of Moroccan cooking…the tajine!

Ask anyone who's never been what they know about Morocco, and it's likely that one of the first words out of their mouth will be “couscous.”  The seminal Moroccan dish is famous the world over, and to many, is synonymous with the country itself.  But Moroccan cuisine goes far beyond couscous, offering delectables both sweet and savory, meaty and vegetarian.  And this week, bloggers are tempting us with all of it!

The View from Fez digs into couscous in a post about Peace Corps volunteer Cynthia Berning (a blogger herself), who is working with Association ENNAHDA to create an eco-tourism experience around food.  The blogger writes:

Now the association has an eco-tourism project where groups of visitors are welcomed to Khoukhate to learn the secrets of a good Moroccan couscous, and at the same time experience traditional rural life. Visitors roll their own couscous from scratch with the local women, and then cook it and eat it for lunch.

(A note to tourists: Fez Food has teamed up with Association ENNAHDA to offer the experience in the city of Fez.)

Typical seven-vegetable couscous (photo by ukcider*)

Moving to American blogger 760 Days in Morocco, we learn about fast food options in the city of Rabat.  The blogger shares her favorite quick-stop restaurant, writing:

Our favorite place for roasted chicken platters is Brador Pizza Restaurant because their rice is deliciously spiked with veggies, cloves and herbs.  They also serve roasted garlic and herb potatoes, plus fries and their tomato sauce is excellent.  Any leftovers from there are promptly eaten as a snack later in the evening.  One of the best parts of this meal is the price, usually 20-25 DH at any given place which is $2.60-3.25 as of today’s exchange rate- for all that food!

The blogger also shares a tempting soup recipe accompanied by photos of the finished product.

Photo from Mint Tea & Tagine

After couscous, tajine is probably the best-known dish (or group of dishes) that comes to mind.  Named for the conical pot it's cooked in, a tajine can take many forms; some are filled with meat and eggs, while others combine sweet and savory with chicken and prunes.  The aptly-named blog Mint Tea & Tagine shares a delectable-sounding recipe for Chicken and Fennel Tajine, complete with photographs (see left).

And what would any good cuisine be without dessert?  The blogger behind The Good Life in Morocco shares some photographs of delicate Moroccan pastries in this post.  And of course, what would any dessert be without an obligatory (best obligation ever!) cup of steaming hot mint tea?  Christine Benlafquih, the About.com guide to Moroccan food, recently shared the darija vocabulary for tea:

Atay is the Moroccan Arabic word for tea. In Morocco, green tea is usually steeped in a berrad (Moroccan teapot) with lots of mint (na'na') and then sweetened with generous amounts of sugar.

The resulting drink is Morocco's famous mint tea, or atay bi na'na. The Moroccan Mint Tea Recipe tells how to make it, and you can see more Moroccan tea recipes in the glossary listing for atay.

For those do-it-yourself types following along at home, Christine's page is an excellent place to find authentic Moroccan recipes.  And for an extra-special treat, you can follow Mediterranean cooking expert (and cookbook author) Paula Wolfert on Twitter.  Happy cooking!

*Creative Commons-licensed photo by ukcider.