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Breaking Borders award at the GV Summit 2010

Ivan Sigal — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:58:17 +0000

The Breaking Borders Award is a new prize created by Google and Global Voices and supported by Thomson Reuters to honor outstanding web projects initiated by individuals or groups that demonstrate courage, energy and resourcefulness in using the Internet to promote freedom of expression. Closing date for applications is February 15. Get your nominations in soon!

We're excited to announce that the Breaking Borders winners will be announced at the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2010, in Santiago, Chile on May 6-7, 2010.

Visit the Summit web site for background information on the goals of the meeting, the program of events, and registration details.

Over the next days and weeks we'll be fleshing out the program, adding speaker bios, a list of attendees and more, and do keep checking in at the site for blog posts and commentary from Summit participants and others, as well as to join in the conversation.

You can also help spread the word about the Global Voices Summit and Breaking Borders by flying one of our Summit badges or banners on your blog or web site.

The Breaking Borders Award is open to people of all nationalities. Winners will be selected by a panel of experts in the field of freedom of expression. A cash prize of $10,000 will be awarded in each of three areas:

1. Advocacy, given to an activist or group that has used online tools to promote free expression or encourage political change
2. Technology, given to an individual or group that has created an important tool that enables free expression and expands access to information
3. Policy, given to a policy maker, government official or NGO leader who has made a notable contribution in the field

Nominations for and additional information about the Breaking Borders Award can be submitted at http://breakingborders.net and close on February 15, 2010.

Morocco: Talks on Western Sahara to Resume

Jillian C. York — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:46:48 +0000

The dispute over the Western Sahara is a complex one–Morocco claims it as their own, while the Saharan independence movement (the Polisario), backed by Algeria, desires independence. Three years ago, talks resumed between the Polisario and Morocco, but after four rounds of formal negotiations, a conclusion still had not been reached. Morocco's current proposal is autonomy, but the Polisario demands a referendum on the territory's future, including an option for independence.

The latest news is that talks are set to resume on February 10, informally, in upstate New York. Bloggers are weighing in with their thoughts on what the future might hold for the region. Maghreb Blog, whose author is based in the U.S., gives a bit of background to the conflict, and offers this opinion:

If the plan is not to their liking, which is obviously the case, then it is incumbent upon Algeria and the Polisario to step up to the plate and propose a non-obstructionist, realistic alternative. The blind rejectionism of anything Moroccan will only lead to maintaining the current status-quo largely in favor of Morocco at this point. Any meaningful compromise between Morocco and Algeria is beneficial, not only to the two countries, but also to the other three countries in the Maghreb region, as it could be a tremendous step towards full economic and political integration.

Commenter Chasli expresses disagreement with the blogger's assessment, saying:

You and clearly Rabat are in total denial that the Polisario has already offered a plan. Shortly before Morocco officially came forward with their autonomy plan the Polisario presented a plan that called for a referendum that, as far as I can tell, could include just about anything as long as it included independence as an option. And if the inhabitants voted for independence the Polisario pledged to allow the illegal Morrocan colonists to remain and to institute a special relationship with Morocco. This is I feel a very impressive compromise that deals with a number of Rabat's concerns; however, because Rabat flatly refuses to discuss the UN-mandated referendum on self-determination they have totally ignored the Polisario plan.

The debate continues throughout the comments section. Blogger Analitikis also takes on the subject in a recent post; discussing a recently-issued UN statement, the blogger writes:

Reading the statement and subsequent euphoria on the seeming acceptance of the parties to engage in yet another round of “talks”, one would think that a resolution to the Western Sahara conflict is within reach; that all it takes is a Security Council’s resolution, a Secretary General’s report, a Special Representative’s statement, and a parties half-hearted acceptance for a 35-year-long intractable conflict to be resolved. Little attention is paid to the process, to the parties’ readiness, and to the contextual conditions that may signal the opposite. As far as I know, neither the parties nor the UN (I use the term loosely here) are ready for any kind of serious and honest engagement that would put an end to the conflict of attrition known as the Western Sahara conflict.

Peru: Cusco Bloggers Cover the Rain Disaster

Juan Arellano — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:39:56 +0000

After two weeks of heavy rain and non-stop rainfall and following floods of Cusco, Puno and Apurímac, the citizen media has thoroughly covered the disaster in South Peru, while traditional media is now focusing on other affected zones like North shore [es], the North Jungle [es] and the Central Jungle.

Photo by Alfredo Velarde. Used following a Creative Commons license. Taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/velardemariscal/4316299488/in/set-72157623188793247/

A persistent idea in the Cusco blogosphere is the lack of prevention [es] from the local and regional governments for this type of disaster that seems to happen every year. Frida Ibáñez from Crónicas desde el centro Cusco explained the geography and characteristics of the city, and questioned why there is no planning nor prevention from the authorities [es]:

Ha llovido por cuatro días consecutivos con breves descansos, el cielo parecía no contenerse y caía agua de forma estrepitosa. Los ríos en las calles crecían cada vez más. No recuerdo una lluvia así de fuerte desde mi infancia … El Cusco es una hoyada. No es por gusto que la llaman ombligo… su geografía es particular. … Es en época de secas, entre mayo a setiembre que deberían hacerse la limpieza de los ríos, tal como lo hacían los Incas. Podríamos prevenir las pérdidas ante una eventualidad climática como la última. Nos preguntamos: ¿qué hacen las autoridades con el dinero que Cusco recibe del canon minero? recordemos que hace unos años se devolvió dinero de la Región Cusco a Lima porque no hubo capacidad de gasto y gestión.

Rain has fallen for four consecutive days with only brief stops, the sky did not seemed able to retain itself and water fell very noisily. The rivers in the streets grew each time. I don't remember rain this heavy since my childhood … Cusco is a gully. It is not called ‘navel' by nothing… its geography is very unique. … It is in times of drought, between May and September that rivers should be cleaned, like the Incas used to do. We could prevent the loss to an climatic event like the last one. We ask ourselves: what are the authorities doing with the money that is given to Cusco by the mining taxes? We should remember that years ago money was returned from the Cusco Region to Lima because there was no spend capacity or management.

Frida also wrote about helping those affected by the rain [es]. CafeHenry from the blog El Placard "H" also commented on the reaction from the government [es] .

Photo by Alfredo Velarde. Used following a Creative Commons license. Taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/velardemariscal/4315585687/in/set-72157623188793247/

Alfredo Velarde was visiting the town of Aguas Calientes, on the foothill of Machu Picchu, when it all started. On his blog, he offered a first-hand testimony of the disaster [es] and impressive photos on his Flickr account:

casi 3000 personas procedentes de Camino Inca y de la ciudad de Cusco, quedamos varadas en este pueblo, con escáso alimento, una pésima organización contra desastres naturales, autoridades corruptas y el desconcierto persistente, para el martes el caos se apodero del pueblo, debido a la poca ayuda del gobierno y las terribles desigualdades entre los residentes, turistas extranjeros y peruanos que las mismas autoridades genéran. … hoy por la tarde recién pude salir del lugar evacuado en un helicóptero de la Fuerza Aérea Peruana … pero preocupadísimo por los cientos de peruanos que por discriminación están siendo dejados de lado por la autoridades policiales, militares y por los grupos de extranejeros al mando de las actividades de organización para la evacuación.

almost 3000 people from Camino Inca and the city of Cusco were stranded in this town, with almost no goods, a faulty organization against natural disasters, corrupted authorities and persistent confusion, on Tuesday the chaos reigned in town, because of the scarce support from the government and the horrible inequalities among habitants, foreign turists and peruvians, caused by the authorities themselves. … today in the afternoon I could finally leave the place by an helicopter of the Peruvian Air Force … but I was so worried about the hundreds of peruvians that are left behind because of the discrimination by the police authorities, the military and the foreign groups in charge of the organized activities for evacuation.

Citizen media has gathered important information about the impact of the disaster. One of the most comprehensive coverages is the one of Marco Moscoso from El Caminerito, who we addressed in a previous post. He reported through his blog and Twitter account about emergency brigades, donation centers and any related irregularities, and even created a map with information of the affected areas.

Another important example is Prensa Contacto, a project started by two young communicators from Cusco who inform about what happens on their grounds. In a recent post [es] they reported that, until February 4th, in the Cusco Region there were 35,818 affected families and 13,210 dwellings damaged, following the last report from the regional president.

On his personal blog, Luis Figueroa made a virtual tour on Valle Sagrado with information about food and goods [es] in case of disaster. He also narrated and illustrated a mass and a procession to stop the rain [es]:

Desde 1986 el Taytacha no salía a las calles del Cusco fuera de su día principal -Lunes santo-, hoy, sin embargo, se realizó un servicio religioso a las 10:00 horas en el atrio de La Catedral con la intención de elevarle preces para aplacar las fuertes lluvias que caen sobre la región … Sin embargo, luego de concluida la misa, el sacerdote anunció que “para cuidar la imagen” la bendición sería impartida sólo en el atrio, a lo que el pueblo replicó “¡Que haya procesión!”. Minutos después, el Taytacha de los Temblores daba una vuelta por la Plaza de Armas para satisfacción de los fieles.

Since 1986 the Taytacha did not come out the streets of Cusco besides the main festivity -sacred Monday-, today, however, a religious service was made at 10:00 hours in the atrium of La Catedral with the purpose of praying for the tame the heavy rains that fall on the region … However, after the mass concluded, the priest announced that "in order to protect the sacred figure" the blessing would be given in the atrium, which caused the people to answer "There must be a procession!". Minutes after, the Taytacha de los Temblores [Lord of the Tremors] made rounds through the Plaza de Armas to please the believers.

On the subject of help and solidarity, the Proyect of La Casa de Mayten reported both in text and photos [es] the current actions to help those affected in the town of Huacarpay on the blog Cambiando el Mundo:

Mi meta principal del viaje hoy fue levantar/recopilar informacion sobre la situacion global actual en Huacarpay, identificar sus necesidades urgentes, ver su estado de salud, y identificar los puntos de contacto a traves de los cuales coordinar esfuerzos organizados. … pudimos rapidamente conocer a, y hablar con, los 10 representates de los 10 sectores formados en el cerro en el que se refugian desde el domingo pasado, 315 familias (aprox 1,575 personas) incluyendo al sr. alcalde y a la teniente gobernadora.

My principal achievement of today's trip was to collect/obtain information about the actual global situation in Huacarpay, identify their urgent needs, check on their health status, and identify contacts by which coordinated and organized efforts can be made. … quickly we got to know and talk with 10 representatives of 10 organized sectors in the hill where, since last Sunday, are refugeed 315 families (aprox 1,575 people) including the mayor and the lieutenant governor.

Photo by Alfredo Velarde. Used following a Creative Commons license. Taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/velardemariscal/4316294672/in/set-72157623188793247/

More coverage on this situation can be found on the blogs El Caminerito, Urquillos [es], Radio Voz Populi Urubamba [es], Apurímac, Christian David Peña [es], El Trotamundo Tartamudo [es] and Chikuchape [es].

France: International Students in Paris Blog on Cité Babel

Laura Vidal — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:14:10 +0000

The International City of Paris [Fr] is a complex that houses a community of international students living and learning at French universities. The Cité was created at a time in between the two World Wars in a pacific spirit that grew during that time in France. Their founders, based on an humanist ideal, envisioned a place that could bring together students from all over the world who would be studying in Paris and give them a home in which they could interact and learn from each other. As it is stated on their website, La Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris is a “school of human relations for peace”.

The International City of Paris

There is a blog in which many students write about these experiences in this community. This space is called Cité Babel, and is a place in the blogosphere in which thoughts, impressions, and experiences are shared, both in French and also in other variety of different languages.

Three printed publications also are related this blog, and they are all available online. The publications are the work of a team that addresses issues related to identity, interactions, cultural exchanges, languages, translation, ideas, and views of France and the world. Thus Cité Babel is the essence of a journey lived by students and professionals who are experiencing become an international citizen of the world.

To have a little view of how this blog works, here are some pieces of work written by members of the community around different subjects.

In his article “Why Paris sucks (and why I don’t want to leave)” Jake Heller, an American student explores the basic ideas that his peers from the States have of a life in Paris and the shock of the reality of a vibrant and complicated city:

The steep price of my exchange hasn’t in fact been due to the outlandish cost of living here; turns out that rectifying my actual experience with others’ expectations of what it should be has taken the much greater toll (…) When people ask me about Paris…well they usually don’t actually ask me anything. They rather frame statements like “You must be having a great time!” or “Tell me about your French girlfriend!” as questions, or pose their questions with the answer already in mind, as in “How amazing is it there?” Unhappy with their own regular lives, they expect me to be living their dream, so – at the risk of being castrated for being a whiny, unappreciative asshole upon my return – my answers to such “questions” must always include the words “amazing,” “unbelievable,” or “incredibly hot.” The problem is that, like most comparisons between idealised fantasy and reality, the Paris of the North American imagination really doesn’t stack up to the Paris of the real world. (Note: I understand that many North Americans conceptualise “the real world” as a TV show instead of as actual reality, but I think that that only reinforces my point.)

A. Aoufil, a Palestinian student writes about the views of the French media in the complex conflict happening in Gaza [Fr]. While he discusses the attention that the conflict has been given by the mainstream media (in this case the primetime of French TV news), Aoufil puts serious questions and statements on the table. As the Gaza bombings arrive to their first anniversary, this student points out how the public opinion chooses to ignore a chapter of the circumstances that for so long have tormented the life of both Palestinians and Israelis:

Apparemment, les tribulations de Berlusconi, et de Johnny Halliday, sont plus importantes que le sort de 1,8 million de palestiniens enfermés dans la ville-ghetto de Gaza (…) même chez les progressistes ou les soutiens du début 2009 à la Palestine, l’apartheid et la ghettoïsation d’un peuple, est moins important qu’une bonne bouffe en famille (…)

Ah Palestine! Ce soir, la majorité silencieuse te pleure encore, et ses larmes sont gonflées par l’outrecuidance de ces escrocs et de ces hypocrites de médias et de collaborateurs qui veulent nous faire avaler des couleuvres que leurs gorges rejettent pour éviter leur propre étouffement. Ah, j’oubliais… Bonne année 2010 !

Apparently, Berlusconi’s and Johnny Halliday’s tribulations are more important than the 1.8 million of Palestinians trapped in the ghetto-city of Gaza (…) even for the progressive groups that supported Palestine in the early days of 2009, the apartheid, and the “ghettoisation” of one people is less important than a family meal. (…)

Ah Palestine! This evening, the silent majority cries for you again, and their tears are swollen by the presumptuousness of these crooks and this hypocrites from the media, along with their collaborators, that want to makes us believe naively what they themselves are incapable to accept in order to avoid their own asphyxiation. Ah, I forgot… Happy 2010!

At the same time Chen Miao, from China, discusses the common image of the Chinese people in her post “Are the Chinese shy?” [Fr/Ch]

Un jour, un de mes amis qui habite la Cité Universitaire m’a dit « je pense que les chinois sont timides, réservés et renfermés. » (…) Mon ami n’est pas le seul à penser cela… Bien que cela ne soit pas une critique, il existe quelques malentendus.

D’abord – et nous ne sommes pas les seuls à ressentir cela, beaucoup d’étrangers en France, ont la même impression – on se sent solitaires quand on s’éloigne de son pays natal (…) Les chinois peuvent faire preuve de grandeur d’âme et de largesse d’esprit. Si cela venait d’un pays où habitent des « timides », alors cette timidité serait associée à un charme certain et à une sacrée séduction, basés sur une culture profonde, vigoureuse, saine et puissante ! Les chinois ne sont plus fermés au monde. Nous sommes sortis et nous regardons dans tous les coins de planète, nous possédons des idées innovantes et des ambitions nobles.

One day, one of my friends, living like me in the Cité Universitaire told me: “I think the Chinese are shy, reserved, and withdrawn.” (…) My friend is not the only one with that impression. Even if he didn’t mean to criticize, I think there are some misunderstandings here.

To begin with –and we are not the only ones that feel this way, a lot of foreigners in France feel the same- we feel lonely when were far from our birthplace (…Nevertheless), the Chinese can prove that they have a big spirit and a great soul. If that comes from a country inhabited by “shy” people, then this shyness would be associated to a real and seductive charm based on a deep strong culture, that is at the same time sane and powerful! The Chinese are not closed towards the world anymore. We are out there and we observe all the places of the planet

The subjects and the ideas are wide and very vibrant. This is, indeed, an international community of people aware of the wideness of the world and how, with every day passing, peoples find themselves closer than ever before. With every blog post on Cité Babel, the discussions and observations get to be seen and discussed. No matter the language, the origins or the academic education, the students find in Cité Babel’s blog a space in which they use their voice and show their own vision of an international arena that has been considered as one of the most multicultural, diverse and cosmopolitan of the world: the Paris of the 21st century.

China: Let Feng Zhenghu come home, to jail time

John Kennedy — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:56:12 +0000

Feng Zhenghu's 92-day protest in Narita airport has ended and he now has a flight back to Shanghai booked for this Friday, just in time for Chinese New Year, but updates [zh] to his Twitter account over the past weekend suggest that Feng remains unsure over whether he'll be let back into China. This Friday at noon will be his ninth consecutive attempt to return home.

Why hasn't Feng, with his valid passport, been allowed to return to China, a right supposedly afforded to all Chinese citizens? In the absence of an explanation from Beijing, many have looked to Shanghai and see Feng's story as part of a larger trend of local authorities' growing willingness to violate rule of law with disregard to response from the Central government.

Mainland Chinese media aren't reporting on Feng's current forced exile, and many blog posts and BBS threads on the topic have been harmonized; sentiment within China's virtual (self-imposed) exile community on Twitter stands quite strongly in Feng's favor, but in a case this like what more is there really to say?

A lot it turns out, judging from this archived Anti-CNN thread which dates back to December and runs on for five pages; comments from the first page illustrate a seldom-heard perspective on the larger story behind Feng's situation, that of the plight of figures in China's exiled democracy movement, several of whom have recently begun using sites like Facebook and Twitter to connect with a growing number of mainland netizens:

为你而注册:
冯正虎的事情，我好像叛变了
他还是有点钱的，要说他是美分党很难让人相信。
他没有任何组织，说他是民运，也没人相信。
５５５回不了国。连一个理由都没有。
上海怎么了？

I Signed up 4u:

WRT Feng Zhenghu's case, I think I've switched sides
You know he does have a fair amount of his own money, nobody's really going to believe that he's bankrolled by the US gov.

He's not affiliated with any groups, so it's hard to paint him as part of the democracy movement.
They won't let him come home, and he hasn't even been given a reason.

Just what is going on there in Shanghai?

liuyw2009:
你凭什么认为自己了解他？你认识他？

liuyw2009:

Who are you to speak up for him? Do you know him?

为你而注册:
我不了解他。
就是因为不了解才好奇。究竟什么原因？
难道不需要任何理由，就可以采取这种方式？
这才是让人恐惧的地方。

I Signed up 4u:

No, I don't.

But it's because I don't know him that I'm curious. I want to know what this is all about.
I mean they have to have some sort of reason to take steps like this, no?

That's the scary part.

shangqunsheng:
据了解，冯正虎拥有日本居留签证，日本入国管理局多次劝他入境。（摘自南海网）
日本人吗？仍是中国籍吗？如不是中国人当然可以拒绝入境。

shangqunsheng:

From what I know, Feng Zhenghu has a Japanese residency visa, the Immigration Bureau of Japan has let him enter the country numberous times. (according to HainanNet)

wilkins:
据称，他是三股势力的其中之一。
众人恍然大悟，明白了。

wilkins:

They say he's mixed in with one of the Three Evils.
The people's eyes have been opened, they understand now.

shangqunsheng:
问：因为被中国相关部门拒绝入境，中国公民冯正虎至今仍在日本机场滞留。为什么他作为中国公民却不被允许入境？如果他被允许回到中国，中方将如何处置他？
答：中国有关部门根据相关法律，如《中华人民共和国公民出境入境管理法》来处理。具体情况请你向有关部门去了解。（中国外交部答记者问）
以往是中国人，目前可能不是中国人。只是华裔而已。

shangqunsheng:

Q: Chinese citizen Feng Zhenghu, having been refused entry to China by the relevant authorities, to his day has been taking abode in Japan's Narita Airport. As a Chinese citizen, why is he not being allowed to enter China? Also, if he is allowed to return to China, how will he be treated?

A: The relevant Chinese authorities will deal with this according to the relevant Chinese laws, such as . For the exact details you can contact the relevant departments. (response to a journalist's question at a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press conference)

He used to be a Chinese citizen, now all he might be is just an ethnic Chinese.

woshizx:
[b]中华人民共和国公民出境入境管理法实施细则[/b]
http://www.gov.cn/banshi/2005-08/31/content_27719.htm
第十五条　有下列情形之一的，边防检查站有权阻止出境、入境：
[…]
（二）持用无效护照或者其他无效出境入境证件的；
[…]
第二十二条　中华人民共和国护照和其他出境入境证件的持有人有下列情形之一的，其护照、出境入境证件应予以吊销或者宣布作废：
[…]
（三）从事危害国家安全、荣誉和利益的活动的。
[…]

I am ZX:

Details on implementation of the Law of the PRC on the Control of the Exit and Entry of Citizens

Article 15 Under any of the following circumstances, border inspection points have the authority to refuse entry or exit:
[…]
2. Possession of an invalid passport or other invalid entry/exit document;
[…]
Article 22 PRC passports and other entry/exit documents will under any of the following circumstances be revoked or declared invalid:
[…]
3. A Chinese citizens commits an act harmful to the security, honor or interests of the country.
[…]

为你而注册:
（三）从事危害国家安全、荣誉和利益的活动的。
——————————————————-
依据这条？
那就宣布护照吊销就完了。搞得满城风雨。

I Signed up 4u:

3. A Chinese citizens commits an act harmful to the security, honor or interests of the country.

So it was based on this?
So then declare his passport invalid and be done with it, no need for all this fuss.

kachemi:
喜欢美国去美国啊不要回来装民主的精蝇

kachemi:

If he likes America so much he should just go there, don't coming back pretending to be a democracy leader or whatever

woshizx:
依据这条？
那就宣布护照吊销就完了。搞得满城风雨。
…
冯的护照早就过期了，他自己说过中国驻日本大使馆不给他续签。
政府基本上一句话不说应该是想冷处理这种事，这种的事情你一旦回应就被黏上了，到时候什么西媒、什么NGO、什么“不同政见者”甚至这个那个国家的外交部、议会都会卷进来，所以干脆不回应。
他有本事就连续几年在东京成田机场耗着，到时候看到底是中国政府着急还是日本政府着急。
这个人早年反对1989年那起风波里政府的决策，这次美国总统来访又公开呼吁奥巴马在人权问题上要向中国施压。
还有其他，不一而足。

I am ZX:

So it was based on this?
So then declare his passport invalid and be done with it, no need for all this fuss.

Feng's passport expired a long time ago, he said himself that the Chinese embassy in Japan wouldn't renew his visa.
By staying silent, the Chinese government probably just wants this to blow over; the minute you start responding to things like this, then you're in it, and Western media, NGOs, ‘dissidents' or whatever, even foreign ministries from this or that country, they all get involved. Which is why no response whatsoever should be given.

If he's so smart, let him spend a few more years in Narita Airport, then we'll see who's really worked up over this, the Chinese government, or Japan's.

First he opposed the government's policies during that storm in 1989, now when the American President came to visit he openly called on Obama to put pressure on China for its human rights issues.

There's more, that's not all he's done.

为你而注册:
这件事情我感觉不好处理。这个人和海外民运还是有本质区别，他的所谓反对政府的事情更多的是观点而不是行动。
感觉上海方面把对付海外民运那套滥用了。网络舆情不利于政府的。

I Signed up 4u:

I just feel like there's no simple way to handle this. He's obviously different from those in the overseas democracy movement, even his so-called opposition to the government at most is just a point of view and not yet an action.

It feels like Shanghai is just bringing the overseas democracy movement into this as an excuse to deal with him. Online opinion on this is not in the government's favor.

木兰歌:
又一标准的送礼出境。

Song of Mulan:

Another classic example of sending gifts to other countries.

相逢于海上:
即使是民运、轮轮
也应该让他回国，他要回来坐牢，你凭什么不让他坐牢。

Met on the Sea:

Even if he is part of the democracy movement or an FLGer
They should still let him come back. If he wants to come back and go to prison, who are you to stop him?

为你而注册:
[quote]即使是民运、轮轮
也应该让他回国，他要回来坐牢，你凭什么不让他坐牢。[/quote]
还是有区别的，民运、轮轮这些说实话是真的对中国没有一点积极意义。
这个冯的事情，他是明显的思想上是比较偏右的，但是行动上是比较温和的。也就是说说，然后帮别人维权提供法律帮组。
其实像冯这样的很多。
把他等同于海外民运、轮轮处理。
会导致人人自危。
温和右派有多少人？
算１％吧，也是上千万。
人人自危的结果。不妙！
这件事情的处理感觉很不妥当。

I Signed up 4u:

Even if he is a democracy activist or FLGer
They should still let him come back. If he wants to come back and go to prison, who are you to stop him?
There's a difference. Those in the democracy movement, FLGers, to be honest they don't do China an inch of good.
But with Feng, while his views are obviously pretty right wing, his actions are moderate enough. He'll talk a lot, but then he goes and helps people uphold their rights or provides legal support.

Actually there's a lot of people like Feng.

If we treated them all like democracy activists or FLGers, a lot of people would feel threatened.
How many people would you say belong to the moderate right?
Let's say about 1%, that's still in the tens of millions.
Putting the fear into that many people? Bad idea!
The way this is being handled just doesn't feel right.

woshizx:
[quote]即使是民运、轮轮
也应该让他回国，他要回来坐牢，你凭什么不让他坐牢。[/quote]
那不正好成就一帮所谓“义士”？
撑死了最多关几年然后放出来，不正好给他们活动资本吗？然后造就一群达赖喇嘛第二？

I am ZX:

Even if he is part of the democracy movement or an FLGer
They should still let him come back. If he wants to come back and go to prison, who are you to stop him?
Wouldn't that then make them all a bunch of so-called ‘righteous knights'?

If at most all you do is lock them up for a few years then let them out, isn't that just giving them political capital? Then wouldn't you just be making a bunch more Dalai Lama types?

woshizx:
[quote]还是有区别的，民运、轮轮这些说实话是真的对中国没有一点积极意义。
这个冯的事情，他是明显的思想上是比较偏右的，但是行动上是比较温和的。也就是说说，然后帮别人维权提供法律帮组。
其实像冯这样的很多。[/quote]
也许，这个人做的事情不仅仅是现在媒体上公开的那些那么简单？
类似的例子不是没有，比如沃维汉事件。

I am ZX:

There's a difference. Those in the democracy movement, FLGers, to be honest they don't do China an inch of good.

But with Feng, while his views are obviously pretty right wing, his actions are moderate enough. He'll talk a lot, but then he goes and helps people uphold their rights or provides legal support.
Actually there's a lot of people like Feng.

Have you considered that maybe the things this guy has done aren't as simple as what's been openly put in media?
It's not like there aren't any similar cases, like the Wo Weihan incident.

wilkins:
社会的改变，哪次不需要血来改变。
就那么轻轻松松想翻了案，哪有那么容易

wilkins:

Since when has there been social change that hasn't had a cost in blood?
You want his case to just be overturned like that? It's not that easy.

相逢于海上:
法律本来就是针对行为而不是针对某个主体的
不管你是谁，犯了这个事情，就让你接受法律的处罚，你接受完处罚了，你就是正常的人了，该干嘛干嘛去。
如果没犯这个事，不管你是什么身份，都不得处罚。
坐牢的过程就是把你对社会做的恶都抵消了，抵消完了，就两不亏欠了，坐完牢，又是一条好汉。
就像台湾的施明德，第一次犯事被关了12年，一出来马上又犯事，又关12年
人家有种，愿意坐牢，你总不能为了防止他犯事，在坐完牢，和社会两不亏欠的情况下，把他关起来或者把他移送出境吧。人家和社会两不亏欠，是个正常人，你凭什么这么对待人家？
凡是不以行为定罪，而以主体定罪的，皆是恶法，不值得遵守。
所以，如果中国真的讲法治的话，应该是千方百计让所有的轮轮、民运引渡回国让他们接受法律的审判，审判完了，他们坐完牢了，又可以在中国自由活动了，如果再犯事再抓。顶多是第二次抓按照累犯从重处罚。
如果中国政府不让他们回国，只能说明中国不是法治，而是人治。

Met on the Sea:

Law to begin with is used again specific actions, and not certain groups of people.

It doesn't matter who you are, if you break the law, then you have to accept the legal punishment, and once you've done so, then you get to be a civilian again, that's how it goes.

If you haven't broken the law, then regardless who you are, you shouldn't be punished.
The process of sending people to prison is to cancel out the evil they've done to society. Once that's done, then nobody's owed anything. Once you've done your time, you get to be a man again.

Just like Shih Ming-teh in Taiwan, he did 12 years for his first offense, then as soon as he got out, 12 more years for another.

If people have the guts, and are willing to—and do—serve time, once they've repaid their debt to society, you can't just lock them up again or kick them out of the country just to stop them from doing the same thing again. When people have repaid their debt to society, they're free. Just where do you get off wanting to treat people like that?
Any law which criminalizes people for things other than their actions, and seeks to criminalize entire communities, is inevitably a bad law, and one that doesn't deserve to be respected.

Thus, if China is truly serious about implementing rule of law, it should do everything it can to extradite all FLGers and pro-democracy activists, give them all trials; when those are over, let them carry out their sentences, and be free to move around inside China again. If they continue to break the law, they'll be arrested again. If they get arrested a second time, at most they'll be sentenced as any repeat offenders would.

If the Chinese government doesn't let them return, then all I can say is that China is not ruled by law, but by man.

再大的罪恶也没有前线军官投敌叛变的罪恶大了，就是说林毅夫。
可是台湾的“国防部”有说不许林毅夫回台湾吗？他们只是说林毅夫如果回台湾，就得接受法律的处罚，并不是一概拒绝他回台湾。
林毅夫如果愿意坐牢，当然可以回去，坐完牢，他又可以在台湾自由活动了。
可是我们呢？民运、轮轮，犯的事比的上林毅夫么？居然说一概不允许回来，人家愿意回来坐牢都不行，这是什么法治？分明是人治。

In any case, there isn't any crime worse than high-ranking military officials turning traitor and going over to the other side, by which I'm referring to Justin Lin.

But then hasn't Taiwan's “Ministry of Defense” said it won't let him return to Taiwan? By that they mean, if Justin Lin does return to Taiwan, he'll be subject to legal punishment, and not that they refuse to allow him to return.

If Lin is willing to serve time, of course he can go back, go to prison, and then he'll be free to live in Taiwan again.

But us? Do the crimes of the democracy movement or FLG compare to Justin Lin's? To go so far as to unconditionally not allow them to return, even if they're willing to go to prison for it, what kind of rule of law is that? Clearly, it's just rule of man.

net2003:
美国可以有叛国罪，为何中国不可有。
为何中国的叛国者，总是可以厚着脸和中国谈人权讲法律，还那么的理直气壮。

net2003:

Treason is a crime in America, why can't it be in China?

Why are China's traitors also so brazen about talking to China about human rights, about law, as if they're so convinced that they're in the right?

woshizx:
[quote]法律本来就是针对行为而不是针对某个主体的
不管你是谁，犯了这个事情，就让你接受法律的处罚，你接受完处罚了，你就是正常的人了，该干嘛干嘛去。
如果没犯这个事，不管你是什么身份，都不得处罚。
坐牢的过程就是 …[/quote]
不准回国也是有法律依据可循的。
想回国？可以，登报声明反省，并且以实际行动证明不再从事危害国家安全活动。
对违法行为的惩治手段并不是只有判刑一种，不准回国也是一种惩治措施。这种措施对于维护法律实施具有更好的效果，那就完全可以采用。

I am ZX:

Law to begin with is used again specific actions, and not certain groups of people.

It doesn't matter who you are, if you break the law, then you have to accept the legal punishment, and once you've done so, then you get to be a civilian again, that's how it goes.

If you haven't broken the law, then regardless who you are, you shouldn't be punished.

The process of sending people to prison is to cancel out the evil they've done to society. Once that's done, then nobody's owed anything. Once you've done your time, you get to be a man again.

Actually there is legal basis in not letting them return to China.

You want to come back? Fine, declare it in the newspaper that you've changed your ways, and put action to your words to prove that you won't commit any more acts harmful to the security of the country.

Jail time isn't the only means by which to punish illegal behavior, not letting them return to China is one too. If there are other methods which will have a better effect in upholding the law, then there's no reason why they can't be used.

相逢于海上:
[quote]美国可以有叛国罪，为何中国不可有。
为何中国的叛国者，总是可以厚着脸和中国谈人权讲法律，还那么的理直气壮。[/quote]
一个美国人犯了叛国罪逃亡在外
美国政府一定是千方百计把他引渡回来，判处刑罚
假如判处的有期徒刑不是太长，这个人坐完牢了还没死，一定是又放出来，成为一个正常的美国公民。
绝对不是说，犯了事，拒绝你回国，也不给你判刑。

Met on the Sea:

Treason is a crime in America, why can't it be in China?

Why are China's traitors also so brazen about talking to China about human rights, about law, as if they're so convinced that they're in the right?

If an American commits treason and then flees the country

The American government would certainly do everything in its power to extradite and them convict him.

Say though that the sentence wasn't that long, that this person finishes his sentence and is still alive. He'd certainly be let out, and then revert to being a normal American citizen.

They would never say, we'll you've committed a crime so we won't let you come back, and we won't sentence you either.

woshizx:
他们和中国谈人权讲法律，就真的是人权卫士护法先锋了？
哪个家伙跟自己的国家为敌的时候，不是搞一堆冠冕堂皇的理由作为挡箭牌的？

I am ZX:

These people talking to the Chinese government about human rights and rule of law, are they really human rights defenders or the avant-garde in defending Falun Gong?

Who hasn't, when going against his own country, come up with a hundred fancy reasons to serve as a pretext?

net2003:
美国的叛国罪应该是他们最严重的罪了。是可以定死刑的。

net2003:

I think treason is the most serious crime there is in America, punishable by death.

相逢于海上:
[quote]不准回国也是有法律依据可循的。
想回国？可以，登报声明反省，并且以实际行动证明不再从事危害国家安全活动。
对违法行为的惩治手段并不是只有判刑一种，不准回国也是一种惩治措施。这种措施对于维护法律实施具 …[/quote]
我暂时无法知道是否有这样的处罚措施
但是假如真的有的话，这样也是十分不人道的
这样会导致他一辈子无法跟家人团聚
除非他家人有本事全都移民出国

Met on the Sea:

Actually there is legal basis in not letting them return to China.

You want to come back? Fine, declare it in the newspaper that you've changed your ways, and put action to your words to prove that you won't commit any more acts harmful to the security of the country.

I can't say that I've ever heard of any steps like this ever having been taken.

But to allow for a moment that they could, to do so would be completely inhumane.

He'd be kept apart from his family for the rest of his life

Unless his family has the wherewithal too immigrate elsewhere

woshizx:
[quote]一个美国人犯了叛国罪逃亡在外
美国政府一定是千方百计把他引渡回来，判处刑罚
假如判处的有期徒刑不是太长，这个人坐完牢了还没死，一定是又放出来，成为一个正常的美国公民。
绝对不是说，犯了事，拒绝你回国，也 …[/quote]
美国有美国的现实，中国有中国的国情。
社会基础不一样，当然有不同的政策，包括法律适用的政策。

I am ZX:

If an American commits treason and then flees the country

The American government would certainly do everything in its power to extradite and them convict him.
Say though that the sentence wasn't that long, that this person finishes his sentence and is still alive. He'd certainly be let out, and then revert to being a normal American citizen…

American has America's reality, China has China's national condition.

The social foundations are different, of course they have different policies, including policies for application of the law.

相逢于海上:
[quote]美国的叛国罪应该是他们最严重的罪了。是可以定死刑的。[/quote]
总之，一定是千方百计把犯了叛国罪的人引渡回来判处刑罚
我们一样可以把冯正虎搞回来判刑
他自己愿意回来坐牢
我们的政府为何要让他逍遥法外，我怀疑政府包庇他，或者政府心虚

Met on the Sea:

I think treason is the most serious crime there is in America, punishable by death.

Anyway, they'd still do everything they could to extradite a person who commits treason back for sentencing.
We should bring Feng Zhenghu back for punishment the same way.

He said he's willing to do jail time.

So why does our government let him stay at large? I suspect the government's protecting him from something, either that or it itself is guilty.

woshizx:
[quote]我暂时无法知道是否有这样的处罚措施
但是假如真的有的话，这样也是十分不人道的
这样会导致他一辈子无法跟家人团聚
除非他家人有本事全都移民出国 …[/quote]
最有名的有家不能回的中国人，估计就是达赖喇嘛了。
这个人当年从中印边境出逃的时候，我空军完全有实力把他炸死，实际上当时空军的飞机已经发现他了——但结果是毛泽东亲自决策把他放出去了。
历史证明当时把达赖放出去是完全正确的。

I am ZX:

I can't say that I've ever heard of any steps like this ever having been taken.
But to allow for a moment that they could, to do so would be completely inhumane.

He'd be kept apart from his family for the rest of his life

Unless his family has the wherewithal too immigrate elsewhere

The most well-known Chinese person who can't go back to his own home, has probably got to be the Dalai Lama.
At the time when he fled across the border into India, it was completely within the power of our air force to blow him up, in fact our air force planes at the time even saw him, only Mao Zedong himself decided to let him let him go.

History has proven that letting him go at the time was completely the right decision.

net2003:
既然冯先生选择了那条路，一定是经过深思熟虑的。
至于家庭什么的其它问题，一定是经过考虑了的。用不着我们操心。
我精神上支持他，要鼓起勇气继续走下去。

net2003:

Seeing as how Mr. Feng has chosen the path he has taken, that can only have been after serious contemplation.

As for his family and other such problems, he must have taken those into consideration as well, so it's not worth us sweating over.

I support him, and I encourage him to be brave and continue to carry on.

朝浪无语:
某些人既然喜欢拿美国与中国来对比，但不愿意承认两者之间国情不同。那么我倒想问问：
某人凭什么臆想美国会如何如何？
驱逐出境是不是惩治？禁止入境是不是惩治？美国没有用这几招？何必一厢情愿的给自己圆谎？

Silent Rising Wave:

Since some people like to compare China to America, but aren't willing to admit any difference in national condition between these two countries, I just want to ask:

On what are you basing your conjecture in saying America is such-and-such?

Do you feel that expelling people from the country is a punishment or not? And barring them from entering the country? Hasn't America done precisely both of these things? Why should only one of these countries have to cover up its own hypocrisy?

相逢于海上:
[quote]某些人既然喜欢拿美国与中国来对比，但不愿意承认两者之间国情不同。那么我倒想问问：
某人凭什么臆想美国会如何如何？
驱逐出境是不是惩治？禁止入境是不是惩治？美国没有用这几招？何必一厢情愿的给自己圆谎？ …[/quote]
我只知道驱逐出境、禁止入境是针对外国人的
还真没听说这个可以用来对付本国公民

Met on the Sea:

Since some people like to compare China to America, but aren't willing to admit any difference in national condition between these two countries, I just want to ask:

On what are you basing your conjecture in saying America is such-and-such?

Do you feel that expelling people from the country is a punishment or not? And barring them from entering the country? Hasn't America done precisely both of these things? Why should only one of these countries have to cover up its own hypocrisy?

All I know is that deporting or barring people from the country is only used on foreigners.
I've really never heard of this being used on a country's own citizens.

朝浪无语:
[quote]
我只知道驱逐出境、禁止入境是针对外国人的
还真没听说这个可以用来对付本国公民[/quote]
我就知道某些人就是凭主观臆想大放厥词，已经习惯了

Silent Rising Wave:

All I know is that deporting or barring people from the country is only used on foreigners.
I've really never heard of this being used on a country's own citizens.

You see, some people can only resort to subjective assumptions and babble, not like I've never seen that before.

相逢于海上:
只要他没有加入外国国籍
他就是拥有中国国籍的中国公民

Met on the Sea:

As long as he hasn't acquired foreign citizenship
He's still a Chinese citizen with Chinese citizenship

China: #Tanzuoren - to be human

Oiwan Lam — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:01:45 +0000

Chinese activist Tan Zuoren was sentenced to 5 year imprisonment and 3 year deprivation of political rights this morning (Feb 9) under the charge of inciting subversion of state power. Tan was involved in the investigation of the relation between bean dregs school buildings and the death of school children in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake by interviewing the parents and compiling a victim list. He was arrested last year and the investigation was stopped accordingly. In his first trial, the evident that the prosecutor presented was mainly about his interviews with overseas media about the earthquake. However, all the proceedings today were linked to June 4th incident. A diary about the June 4th Incident published back in 2007 and email communications with an overseas Chinese dissident Wang Dan through his yahoo.cn email were presented as evidences for the charge. His verdict was read out in less than 10 minutes. (more from AFP)

Although the news about Tan Zuoren has been harmonized / censored in mainland China, many concerned citizens expressed their anger through twitter. Below is a selected translation of the twitter hashtag #tanzouren, and the tweets are arranged according to the time line between 9am - 4pm, Feb 9 2010.

Yahoo.cn sells out Tan Zouren, again?

E-mail providers in China have to follow local regulation and provide Chinese police with its clients' information even though some investigations are serving political prosecution and it is not the first time Yahoo.cn betrayed its clients in exchange for the China market.

daaitoulaam: No wonder Alibaba said Yahoo US was over the line for supporting Google against Chinese govt. Alibaba's Yahoo.cn sells out #tanzuoren, huh?

ruanji 美国雅虎虽然不直接经营中国雅虎，暂时作为一个投入10亿资金的大股东，也应该受到谴责。 #tanzuoren

ruanji Although yahoo.com does not directly manage yahoo.cn but it is a major stock holder and has invested more than a billion in the business. It should be condemned as well.

secretaryzhang “境外敌对分子王丹利用电子邮件与谭作人主动联系”，谭作人使用的邮箱是雅虎中国 zuoren54@yahoo.com.cn #tanzuoren

secretaryzhang “overseas enemy Wang Dan has contacted Tan Zuoren via email”, and Tan's email is yahoo.cn: zuoren54@yahoo.com.cn

Anger

Satantara 眼泪无助，愤怒廉价。愤怒会养出心中的暴力政治。民主政治是没有敌人和仇恨的政治( #tanzuoren 语)。他们自己在颠覆自己，不稀你我动手。不说谎，让更多的人知道事实，真相自有万钧之力，改变终会到来。

Satantara No use shedding tear and it is too easy to be angry. Anger will nourish violence. Democracy should not have enemy nor resentment (#tanzouren's expression). They are subverting themselves, we don't need to do that. We do not lie in order let more people knowing the truth. Truth is the most powerful weapon and change will eventually come.

hkxforce 為何揭露豆腐渣工程會是煽動顛覆國家政權罪？因為這個政權本身就是豆腐渣政權。 #tanzuoren

hkxforce Why the exposure of bean dregs construction becomes inciting subversion of state power? because this very state power is a bean dregs power bloc.

szeyan1220 @28481k @LEMONed 高智晟「失踪」，胡佳3年，刘晓波11年，谭作人5年。起到了多大的威吓作用？唤醒了多少人？我只知道，这是一场持久战，而我无论如何不会认输。历史会审判你们。 #tanzuoren

szeyan1220 @28481k @LEMONed Gao Zhisheng vanished, Hu Jia sentenced to 3 years, Liu Xiaobo 11 years, Tan Zuoren 5 years. How many people it has intimated? How many people it has awakened? This is a long term battle and I will not be defeated. History will be the judge.

Feng2084 呼唤非暴力不合作抗争,從今天起，我厭惡任何與暴政苟合的活動！ #tanzuoren

Feng2084 let's call for non-violent civil disobedient act. I despise any act that gives legitimation to the absolute state.

No justice no peace

noooo0000 颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆颠覆……….我就是想颠覆!!!我极想颠覆!!!我必颠覆!!! 一生的梦想–颠覆你!!! #tanzuoren

noooo0000 subversion subversion subversion subversion subversion subversion subversion… I want to subvert!!! I really want to subvert!!! I have to subvert!!! All I am dreaming of is to subvert you!!!

dgatterdam Chinese Government, you imprison your Heros, NO JUSTICE NO PEACE! NO JUSTICE NO PEACE NO JUSTICE NO PEACE #tanzuoren

AlChowh I support any measure to change the status quo,peaceful or violent!!!!#Tanzuoren

sanrencn 我们不能被压制而不反抗，我们不能被淹没，而不呐喊。我们微弱的抗议迟早会壮大起来踏平中共的无道 #Tanzuoren

sanrencn We have to fight back when repressed; we have to scream when drowned. Our small resistance will eventual grow into a strong force that defeat the tyranny of the CCP.

gjlawyer 宣判谭作人之后，这个大地上没有了良知，良知被谭作人带进了牢房；宣判谭作人之后，这个大地上没有了正义，正义是谭作人脚下沉重的铁镣。——恸哭中 via (@cuiweiping) #Tanzuoren

gjlawyer conscience has vanished along with the sentence of Tan Zuoren, Tan brings conscience along with him into the prison; justice has vanished along with the sentence of Tan Zuoren, justice has turned into Tan's heavy foot chain. — crying out loud via (@cuiweiping)

dante1184 中共正在挑战全中国人的心理极限，追求全人类的无耻之最。畜生不如。去死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死死！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！ #tanzuoren

dante1184 The CCP is testing the limit of Chinese's people's tolerance and it is competing for the most shameless being in this world. It is worse than animal. Go to hell hell hell hell hell hell hell hell hell hell hell hell hell !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Subverting the state with diaries

wglxh They say Tan's diaries may subvert the government. I think they mean the government of, for, and by perverts. #Tanzuoren

mranti A tweet is a mini-diary - if a diary can “subvert” a govt. #Tanzuoren

wdrdog 颠覆国家政权，最高可以判处死刑，你我这些 #Twitter 上的发言，都够这个罪，只要他们这样认为。我们的小命，就这样和谭作人刘晓波们连在了一起。 #Tanzuoren

wdrdog subverting the state power, the maximum sentence can be life imprisonment. What you and me have said in #Twitter can be charged with subversion if they want. Our lives are connected with Tan Zuoren and Liu Xiaobo.

To be human

Feng2084 #tanzuoren 當一個個公民面對強權貪腐的垭口失言噤聲，对生命的哀鸿接近麻木的時候，是你站了出來，然而他們今天對你的審判，是卑鄙与无耻对良知与正义的审判，也是对我们的审判，在这一个罪恶的国家里，我们都有罪。

Feng2084 when citizens were speechless towards the corrupted power, when they were indifferent towards life, you stood out. They have judged you today, it is a judgment of banality and shamelessness towards conscience and justice, it is also a judgment on everyone of us. In an evil country, we all have sin.

wglxh 所有的老师，都是在以各种方式给孩子们给学生们个说法。今天审判谭作人，是审判所有想给下一代一个说法的人。 #Tanzuoren

wglxh every teacher tries to explain the truth to our children and pupils. Today's judgment on Tan Zuoren is also a judgment towards those who try to deliver the truth to our next generation.

horse 今天检查的是我们“作人”的底限在哪里。一起来“作人”吧。 #Tanzuoren

horse today is a test on the baseline of our “being human”, let's “be human”. (Translator notes: the pronunciation of Tan Zuoren is similar to “Talk about being human” in English.)

Arab World: Should the New York Times Reassign Ethan Bronner?

Jillian C. York — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:09:30 +0000

Over the past couple of weeks, a much-discussed topic in the broader Arab blogosphere has been a news story that broken by a member of the blogosphere itself. On January 25, the Electronic Intifada (EI) reported that the son of Ethan Bronner, New York Times‘ Jerusalem bureau chief, had recently been inducted into the Israeli Defense Forces. Citing the NYT's company policy, EI argued that the paper had a responsibility to disclose the information to readers; the NYT's foreign editor, Susan Chira, responded by email, stating (and effectively disclosing):

Ethan Bronner referred your query to me, the foreign editor. Here is my comment: Mr. Bronner's son is a young adult who makes his own decisions. At The Times, we have found Mr. Bronner's coverage to be scrupulously fair and we are confident that will continue to be the case.

Nearly two weeks later, the NYT's Public Editor, Clark Hoyt, stated in his column that he too believed that Bronner should be reassigned. Executive editor Bill Keller disagreed.

The Angry Arab, whose prior comments can be found here, here, and here, was unconvinced by Keller's explanation:

If only one reporter for the New York Times would, for purposes of an experiment, announces that he/she has a son who has joined Hamas or Hizbullah forces, we would like then to see if Bill Keller would make the arguments that he has made regarding Ethan Bronner's son. I mean, Mr. Keller. Who are you kidding?

Arab-American blogger Suleika Jaouad sees the case as not being about Bronner, but as part of a larger issue:

This disturbing imbalance in the Times' reporting on the conflict raises some serious ethical questions about Zionism in the US media. Journalist Philip Weiss, on his blog Mondoweiss, lists a few of them: how deep does it go, and will anyone ever look into it? And on from that, Why are so many of the MSM reporters on Israel/Palestine Jews with intimate ties to Israel? When do [Arab-Americans] get to cover this story?

Palestinian writer Ali Abunimah, who is a co-founder of Electronic Intifada, raises an interesting question to that effect on Twitter:

Abunimah expands on that question on Mondoweiss, then takes it a bit further. Like Jaouad, he sees the problem as going beyond the case of Ethan Bronner and toward the question of equality. After clarifying his belief that being Jewish does not pose a conflict of interest in reporting on Israel (”So anyone who says that being Jewish automatically leads to pro-Israel bias is wrong”), he brings up the example of Palestinian Times journalist Taghreed El-Khodary, saying:

Yes, recently they have had Taghreed El-Khodary in Gaza […] But here is a crucial point: El-Khodary is allowed to report only on Palestinians. Neither she nor any other Arab reporter is allowed to report on Israeli Jews. While Jews/Americans may report on Palestinians, the converse is not true. Why is this? It must be — I assume — because there is an inherent, perhaps unacknowledged assumption that an Arab/Palestinian is or will be automatically biased against Israelis/Jews. Whereas, we are supposed to accept that in no case is a Jewish reporter who identifies with Israel biased even when his son has joined an occupation army that is raiding Palestinian refugee camps and communities dozens of times per week. Seriously?

To what can we attribute this double-standard? I am afraid it smacks of racism.

[Podcast] Interview with Fabiano Angelico of Transparência Brasil

David Sasaki — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:58:49 +0000

Fabiano Angélico is projects coordinator at Transparência Brasil. His post-graduate research includes “Transparency, Accountability and Fight against Corruption” at the University of Chile. He is currently completing a master's degree in public administration at the Fundação Getúlio Vargas in São Paulo, Brazil.

In this podcast he explains why transparency and accountability projects tend to focus on federal rather than state and local governments and points us to one innovative project in Brazil in which bloggers ‘adopt' local politicians.

Costa Rica: Laura Chinchilla Elected First Woman President

Luis Diego Molina — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:14:34 +0000

On Sunday, February 7, 2010 the people of Costa Rica went to the polls and elected the first woman president in its history, Laura Chinchilla, of the ruling National Liberation Party (PLN, for its initials in Spanish). According to official data provided by the Supreme Court Elections (TSE) won by a wide margin of cast votes. Chinchilla won 46.78% of the votes and defeated her main rival, Ottón Solis of the Citizens Action Party (PAC), who received 25.11%. The elections were conducted without incident, as the blog Elections 2014-2018 [es] (the dates were updated to reflect the next election) who writes:

Las elecciones se celebraron en un ambiente de fiesta, como lo marca la tradición en esta nación centroamericana en los últimos 50 años y que es considerada una de las democracias más sólidas y antiguas de América Latina.

The elections were held in a festive atmosphere, as is tradition in this Central American nation during the past 50 years and is considered to be one of the oldest and most solid democracies in Latin America.

The reactions of bloggers about Chinchilla’s victory did not wait. Some offered their analysis of the facts, others their opinions. An example analysis is provided by Cristian Cambronero in his blog Fusil de Chispas [es], who writes that Chinchilla's party also won the highest number of seats in the Assembly:

Según la proyecciones hasta la media noche del domingo, la próxima Asamblea, compuesta por 57 diputados, quería conformada por PLN 24 diputados del oficialista PLN (centro-derecha), 10 del opositor PAC (centro-izquierda), 10 del derechista Movimiento Libertario, 6 del PUSC (derecha), 4 del PASE, 1 del Frente Amplio (Izquierda), y 2 diputados de partidos de fuerte raíz religiosa-conservadora: 1 de Restauración Nacional y 1 de Renovación Costarricense.

According to the projections up to midnight Sunday, the next Assembly, composed of 57 deputies, would be composed of 24 deputies of the ruling PLN (center right), 10 from the opposition PAC (center left), 10 of the right Libertarian Movement, PUSC 6 (right), 4 of PASE, 1 of the Broad Front (Left) and 2 members of religious parties strong conservative roots: 1 of National Restoration and 1 of Costa Rican Renovation.

Video by YouTube user manrikecr with scenes from around San Carlos, Costa Rica:

Returning to the election of the president, views are mixed. For some bloggers, the idea of political continuity of National Liberation Party (PLN) is not encouraging, as expressed in the blog Conoche San Jose de Noche [es], who writes:

En mi humilde criterio se vienen cuatro años más de lo mismo de los últimos 25 años, donde el pobre se hace cada vez más pobre y el rico continua llenando sus bolsillos a costa del sudor de sus “colaboradores”, además claro el pueblo con su voto dio permiso a que los diputados sigan paseando en avioneta y escribiendo memorándums de terror para el pueblo.

In my humble view, four more years of the same is on its way and which have been happening over the past 25 years, where the poor are becoming poorer and the rich continue to fill their pockets at the expense of the sweat of his “friends,” of course the people with their vote gave the deputies permission to continue riding in airplane and writing terror memos for the people.

The victory of the PLN is seen as a blow to the leftist supporters, as described by the author of the blog El Mae del Bajo [es] who writes:

Ha llegado la hora para que la izquierda se una, esta elección ha manifestado la necesidad de una gran coalición de partidos de izquierda, solo así se formara un gran frente de lucha en contra de los neoliberales, pero si los mezquinos dirigente de estos partidos se niegan a unirse el único camino que les queda es la disolución, abran los ojos ante esta realidad…

The time has come for the left to unite, this election has shown the necessity of a broad coalition of leftist parties, and only in that manner will a broad front be created to fight against neo-liberals, but if the petty leaders of these parties refuse to join, the only path that remains is to dissolve, they need to open up their eyes to this reality…

Although there are abundant feelings of disappointment over the election in the blogosphere, such as from Julia Ardón, who writes about Chinchilla's victory [es]:

No me siento representada por ella. Es raro. Lloré cuando Michelle llegó a la presidencia en Chile. Pero ahorita, cuando ella dió su discurso de aceptación la escuché con atención y no sentí nada. No sé si eran los jingles que la interrumpían, no sé si era la redacción de su discurso. No sé si es que me siento muy lejos de sus ideas y de quienes la colocaron como candidata. No sé. Pero no me conecté con su corazón. No pude.

I don't feel represented by her. It is odd. I cried when Michelle (Bachelet) was elected President of Chile. But now, when she (Chinchilla) gave her acceptance speech, I listened attentively and I didn't feel anything. I don't know if it was the jingles that kept interrupting, of if it was how her speech was written. I don't know if it is because I feel far from her ideas and who placed her as a candidate. I don't know. But, I don't connect with her heart. I couldn't.

However, there are other bloggers calling for respect of the choice of the majority, which is what the blogger known as Wolverine wrote:

Ya es nuestra presidente, démosle oportunidad de demostrar su independencia y probar que ella es bastante capaz como mujer de llevar a cabo y ejercer satisfactoriamente su cargo como Presidenta de Costa Rica y superar las expectativas del pueblo, al fin y al cabo Costa Rica somos todos los ticos, no solo el Presidente y su comitiva

She is now our president, give her a chance to demonstrate her independence and prove that she is quite capable as a woman to go forward and to exercise in a satisfactory manner the office as President of Costa Rica and exceed the expectations of the people, after all, in Costa Rica we are all “ticos” (Costa Ricans), not only the President and her party.

Roy Rojas contributed to this story.

Venezuela: The Interrupted Hunger Strike of Franklin Brito

Iria Puyosa — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:08:06 +0000

Franklin Brito, a farmer from the state of Bolívar in southeastern Venezuela had been on a hunger strike since July 2009 outside of the offices of the Organization of American States (OAS) in the capital city of Caracas. In December 2009, the Public Prosecutor's Office requested a court order to place him in a hospital, which was granted. Brito has been in a military hospital since December 10, a decision that he and his family contested. They are demanding that he be treated by a doctor of his choice, but the appeal against the court order was rejected on December 21. (Watch video of the moment in which Franklin Brito was taken from OAS to the Military Hospital )

On January 9, hospital staff told Brito’s daughter, who was visiting him, that he was being taken for therapy. She says that they sedated him before taking him away. His family was not allowed to visit him the following days. Two days later, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called on the Venezuelan government to allow him visits as well as access and treatment from a doctor of his choice [es], or one provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross. That request was not granted by Venezuelan government. A similar request from the Caracas Psychology Bar was also ignored [es].

(Watch video of the press conference conducted by relatives of Brito and human rights organizations calling for his release from the military custody / Spanish )

Brito began his protest in 2006 against a decision by the Insituto Nacional de Tierras (National Land Institute), a national government office, which said that his lands were unproductive, a charge that Brito denied. The Institute ordered the confiscation of his lands. Some believe that the decision was a reprisal for corruption allegations he made against the Mayor of the nearby city of Sucre. His protests since then have included several hunger strikes. Even though the central government eventually returned ownership of the disputed lands and offered him compensation, the authorities failed to evict a group of people who have been occupying his land, leading Brito to begin his most recent hunger strike.

Brito's hunger strike has been a topic of discussion Twitter, under the hashtag #FranklinBrito. An orthodontist, Eloy Bustamante @eloybc, who examined Brito in the military hospital on January 19 tweeted:

Odontológicamente muy comprometido. Sistemicamente esta un poco mejor. Es un señor con mucha entereza. No tiene rastros de enfermedad mental

His teeth are damaged. Systemically he is a little better. He is a gentleman with great integrity. No signs of mental illness.

The Twitter user @radardebarrios also wrote about and took a photograph of the protests outside the hospital where Brito was being attended to:

Hace minutos. Dirigentes d barrios de Caracas protestan frente al Hospital Militar en solidaridad con Franklin Brito! http://tweetphoto.com/9214426

A few minutes ago. Leaders from Caracas neighborhoods protested in front of the Military Hospital in solidarity with Franklin Brito! http://tweetphoto.com/9214426

On January 16, Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action for Brito urging the authorities to reveal his whereabouts and to guarantees his safety, as well as to respect his wishes to be attended to by a doctor his choice.

Since then, Brito's wife Elena started her own hunger striker and took part in a demonstration on January 23, while seated in a wheelchair.

Photo of Elena Brito at demonstration courtesy of Brito and Habla Venezuela.

Documents about Brito's case can be found on the blog Prohibido Olvidar [es] (Forbidden to Forget).

In another twist to the story, the Public Prosecutor's Office stated that Brito was mentally ill and unable to make his own decisions. The case is regarded as an application of a popular doctrine among some government supporters, who label those who are strongly critical of the administration of Hugo Chavez, as psychotic (”disociados”) [es].

The matter is openly stated in Colofon [es], a blog written by Rodolfo, a journalist and human rights activist:

Rondaba por allí de vez en cuando cuando algunos inistían en llamarlos disociados pero con el caso de Franklin Brito que fue capturado de su huelga de hambre y trasladado a un hospital militar para luego ser llevado al área de siquiatría la tendencia se ha confirmado. Ahora el gobierno al que proteste, al que se le oponga lo considera un enfermo mental.

It was around every now and then when some people insist in calling them psychotic [to people against Chavez government] but it is in the case of Franklin Brito, when he is taken from his hunger strike under police custody to a military hospital and put into the psychiatric ward when the trend is confirmed. Now, the government would consider those who protest and those who are dissidents, as mental patients

Sri Lanka Presidential Elections: Sarath Fonseka arrested

Aparna Ray — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:21:13 +0000

General Sarath Fonseka in a press conference. Image from Flickr by Indi.ca - used under a Creative Commons License

News is just coming in that Sarath Fonseka, the opposition candidate who lost to the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the recently concluded 6th Presidential Election in Sri Lanka, has been arrested by the military police. The charges against him are military offences, conspiring to topple the government through a coup, creating divisions within the Sri Lankan army when he was at its helm etc.

Twitter is abuzz with the story and opinions, some of which have been captured below:

@LankaBreaking Gen Sarath Fonseka arrested http://tinyurl.com/yf7tnzc #slbrk

@mayooresan so its official, SF is being arrested… phew!!!! #Lanka #SRiLanka

@imahassen http://bit.ly/b380g9 Sri Lanka opposition leader arrested - physically abused and humiliated. (via @AruSivananthan) #LKA

@nrnikhil Gen Fonseka arrested in Srilanka! Are we seeing a new dictatorship in South Asia? #lanka #srilanka

@amanashraff #topstories Sri Lanka election loser arrested http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8504882.stm #lka #politics #news #bbc

@anooprk07: Opposition leader Sarath Fonseka arrested. Sri Lanka heading towards a Dictatorship??

@suhasinih: Emergency like sit in effect in Sri Lanka- Fonseka arrested say reports. #LKA

@BDUTT what? Fonseka?! Now is Sri lanka turning into Pakistan? Nawab and musharaf style! #LKA

@sardesairajdeep: the arrest of gen fonseca in sri lanka is no surprise. rajapakshe may have won elections, but he is a dictator.

@lpolgreenFonseka has been arrested for his conduct as military chief of staff, not as a candidate, a government spox told me. #SriLanka

@kanchangupta: Defence Spokesman: “Fonseka taken into custody by Army, will “face court martial for military offences committed during his service.”

@Muthukumaran Fonseka arrested and faces conspiracy charges.Life comes a full cycle.It wont be long when Rajapaksa will find himself in a dire state.

@amargovRequest right wing twitterati to hold back all the righteous indignation for Fonseka arrest. Chances are Fonseka was indeed guilty.

The Lanka Libertarian offers a quick reaction to the news of Fonseka's arrest.

nobody is above the law. if retired general sarath fonseka betrayed and endangered ppl including officers who sacrificed and contributed to defeat tamil tiger (ltte) terrorists…if he was planning to undermine democracy …if he was calling for foreign intervention to make him president after his loss in election (he is on record doing so) , he should pay the price. according to law. after a proper trial. no more no less.

Indi Samarajiva at indi.ca offers his opinion about the incident. According to him:

In this case I think the law is being applied as a weapon. People with connections can get away with murder and those without can get framed for anything. It’s a sad day for General Fonseka personally, but it’s sad day for us as well. Fonseka is no saint, but this is not even an issue of law. It’s the law being corrupted to serve a man. Sarath Fonseka’s real crime was opposing Mahinda. For that he’s in jail.

Looks like the post-Presidential-Election political drama in Sri Lanka is reaching a crescendo.

India: Death of a Prehistoric Language

Simon Maghakyan — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:33:44 +0000

The last speaker of the ancient Bo language, Boa Senior, has died in her native Andaman Islands (part of India) in February 2010. It's a vivid confirmation of last year's report from UNESCO, warning that 2,500 languages are at risk of disappearing.

Video: Boa Senior singing in her native Bo, via Survival International

In her Minnesota-based True to Words blog devoted “to the exploration of language and writing,” Sara Duane reports the news and adds that some formerly dead languages have recently revived:

In 1992 a prominent US linguist predicted that by the year 2100, 90% of the world's languages would have ceased to exist. One of those languages died last month when 85-year-old Boa Sr. passed away. She was the last speaker of Bo, which at 70,000 years was one of the world's oldest.

[..]

Languages can be brough back from the brink, or even from total extinction, if the will is strong enough and most importantly, if enough of it has been written down. Hebrew was a dead language at the beginning of the 19th century. It existed as a scholarly written language, but there was no way to know how the words were pronounced. Persistence and will from Israeli Jews brought the language back into everyday use. There has also been a revival of Welsh in the UK and Maori in New Zealand.

Transubstantiation, which described itself as trying to “make sense of the legacy of the Tower of Babel,” suggests documenting dying languages:

If we are able to preserve language life then by all means let us preserve it. However, sometimes this is not possible and then perhaps our most important task as linguists is to analyse, describe and document; set the dying language down so that we can use knowledge about it to further research into the general understanding of the human condition.

Andaman Islands from above by Venkatesh K on Flickr

Madhu Baganiar, who belongs to the indigenous Oraon (Kurukh) community comments on the demise of Bo language with the death of Boa senior:

Every language has its own unique history, culture style, story. When a language dies, a vast store house of knowledge associated with the language also dies. Today, a living tribal language “Bo” has died. Tomorrow more tribal languages of India are bound to die. There are hundred of reasons which will kill the living tribal language…

Ireland-based blogger The Poor Mouth mourns the loss of Bo, and says:

Languages come and languages go - we can see the traces of several lost languages in the British Isles (Yola, Norn, Cumbric etc) – but I can’t help feel that when they die something significant is lost from the rich, dark soup that makes up humanity. Boa’s passing diminishes us all.

Tunisia: Censorship Again and Again!

Lina Ben Mhenni — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:57:17 +0000

More than ever before, censorship seems to become the rule in Tunisia. The last two weeks in the Tunisian blogosphere witnessed a war launched by Ammar (the nickname given to the Tunisian censorship apparatus), who has been censoring blogs arbitrarily.

Following the censorship of Fatma Arabicca and Sofiene Chourabi's blogs, two other blogs had been censored. One of them is the Free Jailed Tunisian students , seen in the following screen shot:

The second blog blocked is Nocturnal Thoughts . The censorship of the latter created a wave of protests on the Tunisian blogosphere.

Ghodwa Nahrek(Tomorrow I will illegally immigrate) wrote:

عمار قالك ماعادش يحب أفكار ليلية.. يحب على افكار في القايلة
مدونة “أفكار ليلية” متاع خونا و صديقنا طارق الكحلاوي تعرضت اليوم للحجب بعد اكثر من الـ3 سنوات من التدوين المتواصل في المواضيع الهامة و الحساسة . مقصّ الرقابة في تونس ولات عندو دلالات اخرى و تجاوز كونه شكل من اشكال القمع و الحد من حرية التعبير بقدر ماهو وسام للمدوّن و شهادة من الرقيب نفسه في قيمة المدونة و اهمية المواضيع المطروحة فيها.
مبروك للصديق طارق و مرحبا به مجددا في نادي المدونات المحجوبة

Ammar said that he doesn’t like Nocturnal Thoughts anymore. He prefers afternoon thoughts. Nocturnal Thoughts, the blog of our friend and brother Tarek Kahlaoui, had been censored after more than three years of continuous blogging about interesting and sensitive subjects. In Tunisia, the scissors of censorship acquired new significance. It is no onger a form of oppression and a limit to freedom of expression as it is a medal for the blogger and a certificate from the censor showing the value of a blog and the importance of the subjects it deals with. Congratulations to our friend Tarek and welcome again in the club of censored blogs.

Matrka(Hammer) blogged saying:

المدونات تصل الجميع والامكانيات تتطور كل يوم
افكار ليلية، مدونة طارق الكحلاوي، مدونة ممتازة تستحق المطالعة والقراءة ويمكن ان يكون الفرد مختلف مع طارق في هذا الموضوع او ذاك، كما يمكن ان يختلف طارق في الرأي مع هذا او ذاك، ولكن حجبها خسارة، بالطبيعة خسارة للناس الي تقرا وتهتم بالقراءة، وحجبها هو عمل متخلف مكانو الطبيعي في بداية القرن العشرين على اكثر تقدير…

Blogs connect people and their potential is evolving every day. Nocturnal Thoughts, the blog of Tarek Kahlaoui, is a good blog which deserves reading. Individuals might not be in total agreement with Tarek about one subject or another. Tarek might have a different opinion from a person or another. But the censorship of his blog is a loss. Of course, it is a loss for those who read and are interested in reading, and its censorship is a retarded action and its normal place is in the beginning of the 20th century…

Samsoum blogged under the title Ammar does not like thoughts and thinkers especially those who blog about their nocturnal thoughts saying:

واللَه مانيش مصدَق اللي مدونة طارق الكحلاوي تصنصرت خاطر نسيت اللي عمار مقص ما عندوش لوجيك يمشي بيها في ميدان التصنصير و ممكن كي فطن اللي الموضوع فيه تفكير و كلام صعيب شوية قال مانخوش الريسك و اللي خاف نجي يعني صنصر طوَا و لوَج عي سبب من بعد
الحاصل مرحبا بطارق في نادي المصنصرين و انشالله العمليَة الارهابية متاع عمار تزيد تشجعك بش تزيد تنورنا بافكارك اكثر من قبل و مدونتي مفتوحة طالما عمار موش رادد بالو
والله الواحد يحشم علي روحو كيعرف انو استاذ يكتب في صحف اجنبية و يقري في الاجانب في تاريخ الفن يتم صنصرته في بلاده لأنو تجرَء و فكَر…

I can’t believe that the blog of Tarek Kahlaoui had been censored because I forgot that ”Ammar the Scissors“ does not have a logic to follow in the field of censorship. Maybe he discovered that the subject includes thinking and difficult discourse and decided to avoid risks so he decided to censor the blog immediately and to find an argument for this censorship later on.
Welcome Tarek in the club of the censored bloggers and I hope that the terrorist actions of Ammar, will give you courage to enlighten us with your thoughts more than before. And my blog is open to you as long as Ammar did not pay attention to it.
One is really ashamed when he knows that a professor writing in foreign newspapers and teaching the history of art abroad is censored in his own country because he dared to think.

Announcing the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2010

Georgia Popplewell — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:27:07 +0000

We're delighted to announce the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2010! Our gathering takes place this year in Santiago, Chile on May 6-7, 2010.

Visit the Summit web site for background information on the goals of the meeting, the program of events, registration details and information about the vibrant city of Santiago. Among the highlights of the proceedings will be the announcement of the winners of the Breaking Borders award, a new prize created by Google and Global Voices to honor outstanding web projects initiated by individuals or groups demonstrating courage, energy and resourcefulness in using the Internet to promote freedom of expression.

Over the next few days and weeks we'll be fleshing out the program, adding speaker bios, a list of attendees and more — and do keep checking in at the site for blog posts and commentary from Summit participants and others, as well as to join in the conversation.

You can also help spread the word about the Global Voices Summit by flying one of our Summit badges or banners on your blog or web site.

The Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2010 has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the MacArthur Foundation, Google, Open Society Institute, Knight Foundation and Yahoo!.

Current major sponsors include MacArthur Foundation, Google, Open Society Institute, Knight Foundation and Yahoo!

Video: Peruvian Cuisine on the Net

Juliana Rincón Parra — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:40:08 +0000

ceviche picture by scaredy_kat on flickr, used according to CC license

Peruvian food is considered one of the most diverse foods in the world, due in part to the varied geography of the region, the blending of different cultures into iconic dishes and the way in which ancient recipes are still being interpreted and adapted in modern cooking. In this post, we bring you some online videos which may inspire you to try your hand at some of the most representative dishes of Peruvian cuisine.

On the Seven culinary wonders of Peru site, they have listed the top 7 dishes that represent Peruvian food: cebiche, lomo saltado, aji de gallina, anticuchos, chupe de camarones, papa a la Huancaina and causa. However, as with any contest, there are dozens of dishes which weren't included in the winning list which may have been favorites in other regions. Thus, they have expanded their search and are looking for the top seven dishes in each of the provinces of Peru.

First well start with Cebiche, the widely popular Peruvian dish made of fresh fish cooked in lime juice. There are dozens of videos around ceviche (or seviche or sebiche, all correct ways to write it) on the web, some of them showing ways in which to make it, others just showing the pleased expressions when they eat a bite of it. In this next video, you can see the steps required for making a quick and easy cebiche at home. In the video, Chef Cucho La Rosa explains that the best cebiche has only 5 ingredients: absolutely fresh fish, onions, lime juice, Peruvian chili pepper and salt. Once the cebiche is done, you can eat it with a lettuce leaf as garnish, a round of corn on the cob and a slice of sweet potato:

Another recipe is the Aji de Gallina, which can be roughly translated into Hen Chili. This simple spicy dish includes peanuts, chicken and rice, and packs a lot of flavor. This recipe is in English, brought to us by Chef Guillermo:

Not all landmark recipes made it into the list: such is the case with the millenary Andean Pachamanca. The process is quite a step from the 5 ingredient ceviche since it requires more than a day's worth of prep work, and helping hands. In fact, it is reserved for feasts and special occasions, since the lengthy process that starts with marinating the meats, digging a hole and heating up clean river rocks which will become the oven to cook a mixture of beef, pork, chicken, mutton and vegetables such as potatoes, fava beans, sweet potatoes and corn. That's the story RarezaXXX tells in his video, in his case, the process started by not only digging the hole, but actually harvesting the produce which they will eat. Check out the colorful collection of potatoes, at least 5 different varieties:

The Pachamanca has made it all the way to Mexico in this next video, where Chucheman explains and illustrates the process:

Another regional dish that didn't make it into the national list is the Juane, a rice based tamale-like concoction eaten throughout the year but of mandatory consumption during the San Juan (Saint John the Baptist) festivities in the Peruvian Amazon. There are many types of Juane, but the basic shape is respected: it is round, in the shape of St. John's decapitated head which was handed to Salome on a platter in the biblical story. In spite of the not so cheerful story behind the dish, even after diaspora, Peruvians from the amazon make this dish when Saint John's day rolls around, like elmaxin who prepared them in Spain:

What is the local cuisine like where you're from? If you would recommend one local dish that everyone should try, which one would it be? Please share your answers with us through the comments, and maybe even leave some links to videos so we can try our hand in making them!