For instance Greater Surbiton, a blog focusing on the Balkans, commented:

The Bashir indictment is to be celebrated, because whether or not it results in the tyrant ever facing justice, it represents a nail in his political coffin; a push sending him further along the road already trodden by Milosevic and Karadzic. His international isolation will increase; what is left of his legitimacy will decrease; it will be more difficult for other states to collaborate with him; and if he survives his eventual overthrow, the successor regime will have to collaborate with the ICC in bringing him to trial, which will be a catalyst to its own democratic reform - just as enforced collaboration with the ICTY catalysed democratic reform in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia.

Similarly, bloggers from Africa have been drawing parallels between Karadžić's indictment and arrest, and the potential coming ones for African dictators such as Omar al-Bashir in Sudan or Rober Mugabe in Zimbabwe (coincidentally, Sokwanele informs that yesterday Enough and Impunity Watch released a paper on the “Legal options available in holding accountable President Robert Mugabe for possible international crimes”).

Faustine Barraza, a blogger from Tanzania, commented:

It now appears that Karadzic will have his day in court […]
It is a good lessons to African dictators that the World is watching and that one day, they might be called to account for what they did. I hope Al-Bashir and Mugabe are paying attention.

Musengeshi Katata of the blog focusing on the DR Congo Forum Réalisance [Fr] also warns other dictators:

Il n'y a pas meilleur avertissement pour Omar el Béchir, le prochain candidat de la Cour Internationale de Justice. Ainsi qu'à tous ceux qui croient qu'ils peuvent, sans tenir compte de nos valeurs, de notre éthique et morale humaine, nous servir impunément leurs bassesses quelques soient les fonctions qu'ils exercent, leur nationalité, leur confession, la couleur de leur peau. And justice for all.

There is no better warning for Omar al-Bashir, the next candidate for the International Criminal Court. As well as for all those that believe they can, without taking into consideration our human values, ethics and morality, impose their vileness with impunity no matter their position, their nationality, their religion, their skin color. And justice for all.

Black River Eagle from the blog Jewels in the Jungle on African issues, participating in the debate at the portal African Loft, wondered:

Let’s see if Serbia extradites this European war criminal to Den Haag (The Hague) or demand that he be tried in their own national courts. This could have a negative impact on the pending indictment and trial of Omar al-Bashir at the ICC if the Serbs insist on doing the latter.
[…]
Because he is a Muslim, a serving head-of-state of an African country he should escape international justice? In the name of peace for Darfur and a negotiated political settlement that will hold up over time? Give me break. Karadzic specialized in the slaughter and mass rape of thousands of Muslims in the heart of Europe, and the sucker is going down I guarantee you.

A few other Africans have given their opinion regarding Karadžić's arrest on the BBC World Have your say blog, on yesterday's post about his arrest. Below is a selection of them.

Arnaud Ntirenganya Emmanuel, a Rwandan in Cameroon:

As a victim of Rwandan genocide the arrest of Radovan Karadzic is not enough at all, this man is supposed to tried quickly and pay for suffer and misery he caused. His arrest can only help to heal the wounds if he is treated exactly the same as his victims. For me I will have peace of mind when all perpetrators of Rwandan genocide are hanged.

Kelvin Kamayoyo:

The issue of sitting presidents hidding in the principle of sovereignity must not be their defence and lead to prolonged suffering of the innocent citizens as in the case of Zimbabwe, Sudan-Darfur. Omar al Bashir must be indicted as soon as possible and spped up the trials of the alleged cases before him as doing so it will enable to hasten the quenching of the civil war in Darfur.

George Wills Bangirana:

This is very interesting news for all citizens of the world but more so for us in Africa who live the brutality of our leaders past and present.
It beats my understanding how these once “mighty” people who hold political office unleash all kinds of mayhem on the very people they are supposed to protect without as much as a flinch and then when their turn in the cooler comes up, they live like rats-Saddam Style- or cry out to the very people they were brutalising for mercy and help. it only confirms one thing that No condition in the world is permanent and leaders better beware. Your turn may be not very far away.

Julie Kampala:

Though the arrest of Karadzic will not ressurect the dead that he killed. It will deter other dictators or dictatorships like Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Bashir of Sudan and the Burman government.

No one is more thankful than we are to everyone who traveled from far and wide to join us and share their stories. We've compiled choice quotes, links, and photos as a thank you to everyone who participated.

The PDF above was created by Paula Góes, Solana Larsen, and Georgia Popplewell. Go ahead, download it!

The Summit is over, but at least we'll always have the memories. And the videos. Thanks to Sami Ben Gharbia, our Video Archive has been updated with edited, high-resolution videos of the entire public event.

We're especially thankful to our Summit Sponsors for supporting the work of Global Voices and so many online activists around the world with this event. We hope to see everyone again next year!

Breaking news in the Israeli mainstream news and blogosphere reports that a man driving a bulldozer ploughed down the streets of Jerusalem in a mad rampage, mimicking the tractor attack of 20 days past.

An estimated 24 people were wounded and three killed when armed civilian Yaakov Asael and border guard Amal Ganem shot the driver dead, ending the assault. The murderer is reportedly a Palestinian from East Jerusalem in possession of an Israeli identity card.

While a gag order has been placed on the mainstream news media in releasing an identity, the blogosphere reports the attacker's name as Ghasam Abu-Tir. His name was released with initial news of the attack and widely publicized on the radio, but is now being hidden by official news sources.

The Israeli Blogosphere Reacts–

A Soldier's Mother writes in This is Israel an entry entitled, “It's Happened Again”:

Yet again, a bulldozer has been used as a terrorist weapon to hurt innocent civilians. Today's terrorist has been identified as Ghasam Abu-Tir, a relative of Hamas lawmaker Muhammad Abu-Tir… The terrorist was 22 years old and a resident of an Arab neighborhood in Jerusalem… What Israel will do as a result of this latest attack…no one knows. Stay tuned and pray for the wounded.

Brian Blum of This Normal Life recounts his day in Jerusalem:

Amir and I were downtown when the police cars and ambulances started zooming past us, their sirens blaring. We had just finished an ice coffee at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and were waiting at a bus stop to go home. One after another, the police sped down Jaffa Road. There must have been at least 100 vehicles in just a few minutes. The reason was clear: there had been a terror attack. But we didn’t know what or where…

Was it a suicide bomber on a bus? An explosion at a cafe? The police all seemed to be heading in the direction of the King David Hotel. Wasn’t British Prime Minister Gordon Brown staying there? Had U.S. Democratic candidate Barack Obama already arrived. About that time, my cell phone died, leaving us incommunicado.

He continues:

The bulldozer driver had apparently been working just around the corner in nearby Yemin Moshe, one of Jerusalem’s most fashionable and expensive neighborhoods. Two accomplices fled and the police were sealing off any possible escape routes. Immediately after the attack, politicians began calling for a ban in the employment of East Jerusalem Arabs as construction workers in the city. But how? Jerusalem these days is one big construction zone. Bulldozers abound. Do we need to fear walking past a new building going up like we once avoided cafes and buses? What means will the terrorists use next?

…In another hour we have guests coming from overseas for a pizza party. Tonight I have a conference call with the States. Just another day in Jerusalem. Life goes on. But a normal life? Never.

Izzy Bee of Israelity Bites was also having an average day until she encountered “Massive Weapons of Construction”:

Today, I was coming back from my dentist appointment and took a shortcut through the YMCA carpark (It's across the street from the King David Hotel, where British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife had just left and Barack Obama is due to check in tonight.) Timing is everything, they say. Just ten minutes later, chaos broke out.

Once again a Palestinian construction worker –aren't they all?—let loose against the traffic in the heat of a Jerusalem afternoon. After he rammed a bus and passing cars with his bulldozer, armed civilians shot him dead. One car driver was seriously hurt, and at least ten other people were injured, including a scuffed up little baby.

David Bogner of Treppenwitz comments:

Guns don't kill people… apparently tractors kill people.

Another heavy equipment terror attack just occured on Jerusalem's crowded streets. Another Arab terrorist is off to meet his 72 virgins. I can only pray that they are all male… and none too tender about their first time.

I really have nothing constructive to say about this.

Jameel of The Muqata posts about the incident including photos and videos, as well as updated news about the attack. He explains:

Once again, civilians keep the streets of Jerusalem safer. The responsible person for shooting and killing the terrorist was a civilian. A Border policeman apparently also took part. There are 5 wounded, 2 of them in serious condition and one of the wounded is an infant. [Note: these numbers are now outdated] 2 cars and a bus were damaged by the tractor. The attack took place near the King David hotel.

Dion Nissenbaum of Checkpoint Jerusalem asks:

Since this attack comes about two weeks after the first bizarre construction vehicle rampage in Jerusalem, it is certain to stoke the debate here about whether this is a new strategy being used by Palestinians - and what can be done to stop these attacks.

Since the first attacker acted alone and had no known ties to militant groups, it was thought that the rampage might be a strange anomaly.

But, as newspaper editors always tell us, it only takes three to call something a trend.

Now we have two.

In “Race of Suffering,” Lirun of East Med Sea Peace adds questions of her own:

Another psycho attacker has struck innocent pedestrians in jerusalem… i wonder who will suffer the most.. will it be israelis.. the wounded.. our economy.. world image? will it be the palestinians.. their farmers.. the residents of jerusalem or their world image? how many new roadblocks will be set up?

In a post entitled, “Using Technology to Tell You I Am OK,” Israluv of Sabra at Heart reassures:

Another terrorist bulldozer attack near my neighborhood and it means I need to change my status on Facebook, MSN Messenger, Gtalk and twitter to let everyone know I am ok. It makes life a bit easier to share the news via the web and lucky for me most of the people I know use one of the many different services listed above.

Changing my status online doesnt stop the influx of “are you ok” phone calls but it definitely helps me share the news with those who don't live in Jerusalem or even in this region with my status. My parents are still in New York and since we are 7 hours ahead I have to notify them before they even awake that I am ok…

Looking forward to the day my status online no longer needs to be updated to tell people that I am ok.

Possible Implications–

Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski reacted to today's attack saying, “You throw terrorists out the door, they climb through the window with all kinds of means and ideas. Every working tool becomes a means of terror and we must rethink how we employ those working here.”

A Note to My Readers–

At this time, I'd also like to add a personal note to my Global Voices Online readers, who I know to be intelligent and critical media consumers. As you are reading news of this incident, please take into consideration the tone and words that different news sources use in describing it and how it reflects the content of the article. Does the headline mention people or objects? Who does it hold responsible for what happened? How does the author view the attack in light of the larger situation in Israel and Palestine?

Compare these sampling of headlines:

• “Sixteen wounded in copycat bulldozer attack in Jerusalem” (Jerusalem Post, Israel)
• “Second Palestinian bulldozer rampage injures 29 on Jerusalem main street” (DebkaFile, Israel)
• “Israel terror: Three killed, 44 hurt as Palestinian runs amok with bulldozer in street” (Guardian, UK)
• “Palestinian in construction truck rams cars” (Yahoo! News)
• “Israel Bulldozer Driver Shot Dead” (BBC News, UK)
• “Bulldozer attack: Israel threatens military action” (France 24)
• “Bulldozer attack hits Jerusalem” (Al Jazeera, English version)
• “Attack injures 5 near Obama's Jerusalem hotel” (CNN)
• “Attack with bulldozer near where Obama to stay” (New York Times via Reuters)

Have Your Say–

What is your country saying? Do bloggers' headlines differ from those of the mainstream news? Please add your own findings in the comments section. Let's compare.

Desertpeace repeats the popular headline in today's news, “Heavy machinery attack injures 2 near Obama’s Jerusalem hotel,” then asks:

THIS ONE still hasn’t been reported…. and it happened almost a month ago.

Israelis Assault Award Winning IPS Journalist

~~~ WHY??? ~~~

KABOBfest is perplexed at the focus on Obama's whereabouts:

The New York Times and world press covered today’s bulldozer attack in Jerusalem, the second in a month. The frame was typical: enraged Palestinian used construction equipment to attack Israeli civilians. The extra spice in the article is that it occurred “near” where Obama will be staying soon. Wow, what a news hook!

The blogger then remarks:

Pundits were alarmed by the last bulldozer attack, saying Palestinians were finding new ways to try to destroy Israel – yet Palestinians are in the stone age compared to Israel’s advanced killing technology. The bulldozer is now the Palestinian Merkava.

An anonymous commenter on the post showed concern:

A few more attacks like this and they will purge Palestinians from construction duties and replace them with Filipinos. Same quality of work, no political baggage. Construction is the last industry in Israel that still relies on Palestinian labor, but not nearly as much as it once did. If you go to Netanya, the entire city was built by Palestinian labor in the 1970s. A lot of Palestinians are going to lose their jobs over this.

Another commenter, uday, was alarmed at Obama's response to the incident:

Speaking at a news conference in Amman, Obama said “Today's bulldozer attack is a reminder of what Israelis have courageously lived with on a daily basis for far too long.”

What colonialist Israelis have “lived with”?! And what about the helpless Palestinians being crushed daily by the Zionist Boot?! Are they not courageous? Is 60 years of occupation, humiliation and oppression not long enough for Obama to notice?!

Following the bulldozer attack, it was reported by the Jerusalem Post that a group of angry yeshiva students attempted to lynch two Palestinians. Of this story, blogger Chet points out:

Dear friends,

Here is the other event in Jerusalem today that your media will most likely ignore. Guess how this would be covered if the roles were reversed.

Times are tense.

This madness is man-made,
Sam

For more on this story, read Maya Norton's coverage of the Israeli blogosphere on Global Voices.

They said that Radovan Karadzic lived in Belgrade under false name of Dragan David Dabic. He was disguised as an alternative medicine doctor and even worked in one private clinic in Belgrade. He also was a contributor to the Healthy Life magazine and took part in forums and lectures, gathering up to several hundred people. At the time of the arrest, Radovan Karadzic (aka Dragan Dabic) had long hair and a white beard.

Dragan Dabic had an official web site. [Editor's Note: The site later turned out to be a fake. Please see comments below, or follow these links - here and here - to read more about the hoax.] Here is what is says there (SRP):

Dr. Dragan “David” Dabic was born some 60 years ago in a small Serbian village of Kovaci, near Kraljevo. As a young boy, he liked to explore nearby forests and mountains, spending a lot of time on Kopaonik mountain, where he used to pick the omnipresent natural and potent medicinal herbs that grew there.

As a young man he moved to Belgrade, and then on to Moscow, where he graduated with a Psychiatry degree from the Moscow State University (Lomonosov). After Russia, Dr. Dabic travelled around India and Japan, after which he settled in China, where he specialized in alternative medicine, with a special emphasis on Chinese herbs. In the mid-1990s, Dr. Dabic returned to Mother Serbia for good.

Since then, Dr. Dabic has emerged as one of the most prominent experts in the field of alternative medicine, bio-energy and macrobiotic diet in the whole of the Balkans, and is a frequent guest on many forums, seminars and symposiums (Belgrade, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Sombor, Smederevo…) dedicated to these topics.

For panel invitations or private consultations, Dr. Dragan Dabic can be reached at the following contact:

healingwounds@dragandabic.com

According to B92, the editor of Dabic/Karadzic at Healthy Life, Goran Kojic, was stunned to discover that he had published articles written by a man accused of grave war crimes:

He would come and communicate with me personally, and it's really interesting that I never saw in that man… that it was the last thing on my mind, that this was Radovan Karadžić. We never discussed politics or anything of the sort either.

Bloggers have different opinions on one of the most wanted fugitives in the world - Radovan Karadzic aka Dr Dragan David Dabic.

Niko, in the his post titled “Dr. Dragan Dabic,” writes quite ironically (SRP):

The man who was sitting next to my mother at the Hotel Intercontinental.

The man who introduced himself to participants […] as a doctor speaker next month - August - in the same place.

The man common folks trusted and applauded, healthy and sick ones were giving credit to him.

The man who is a such hero and patriot that he changed his own name, who isolated his own country and who made his own people suffer, who did not want to go to the Tribunal in the Hague and tried to defend himself and in this way tried to save his own pride and the pride of his country.

The man many young people (who don't know recent history of their country) pledged allegiance to and wore t-shirts with his name written on them. His name? Dr. Dabic? All of them were idiots. They wore t-shirts with the wrong name of the wrong man. Idiots.

Their hero is a man who, unlike them, might not to introduce himself by his own name. The incarnation of patriotism for them is the man who has changed his identity in order to be unknown.

Idiots, your hero has always been Dr. Dabic. Change your t-shirts.

Burek, a blogger from Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina, believes (BOS) that the victims of the Srebrenica massacre will get some satisfaction, following the arrest of Radovan Karadzic:

[…] We've heard that Dr. Dragan Dabic alias Radovan Karadzic, an alternative medicine doctor, has lived quietly in Belgrade for the past few years. It was very difficult to identify him because he had long gray hair and a beard, said the police from Serbia. Although it is difficult to believe in that, let's ask a question why, after so many years, the killer from Durmitor was arrested only in July? It is difficult to answer exactly, but it is not necessary to waste time on that. At the moment, the most important thing is that he has been arrested. It is also important that he looks healthy and will be able to participate in the trial. […]

Finally, the victims of the most terrible massacre in Europe since World War II could get some satisfaction. […]

Danilovic is apparently disappointed because of the arrest of Radovan Karadzic. He writes (SRP):

Belgrade is not my capital more. This government is not my government. This polished man (president Tadic) is not my president. Traitors to my country are not my brothers. Traitors are not my compatriots. I am proud because I am a Serb and an Orthodox Christian. I am proud because Radovan Karadzic's horoscope sign is a Gemini, just like mine. I am proud because he has made a fool of the traitors for the past few years. I am proud because he has saved a million Serbs from being murdered. I am proud because he did not allow 1941 to happen once again. I am proud because he is Serbian […]

The process of establishing a democratic system in Serbia is a very long one and it implies a lot of international obligations. One of them was the arrest of Radovan Karadzic. In that context, Dejan Jovic concludes (SRP) in his post on B92's blog platform:

[…] The arrest of Karadzic is great news. The friends of democracy in Serbia were waiting for it very long. Now Serbia will have an opportunity to establish authority of the democratic and pro-European forces. For the first time since 1989, Serbia has got a chance to become a respectable European country. At the same time, this arrest presents a very hard challenge for nationalist forces. Democratic Serbia should not miss this chance.

While not having suffered as severely as the Bosniaks at the hands of Radovan Karadžić, opinions amongst Croatians were varied, although most were pleased with his arrest and looked forward to the day when he will face trial. Here are some opinions from the Croatian blogosphere:

Tinolovka writes (HRV):

Sacrificed victims cannot return to life and it is difficult to bring a fair and appropriate judgment that would finally find satisfaction of all the evil that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is hard to find consolation for Srebrenica, but this is a good start, only now they should not stop until all ultimately responsible stand before justice.

Tonique DeWeen writes (HRV) about his disbelief of Karadžić living in plain sight in Belgrade, yet not being found:

Such a scenario would not have even come up in Hollywood: a wanted war criminal hiding in the capital city under the false identity of an alternative medicine doctor who published papers in journals and appeared on TV, and nobody alive recognizes him?

Angel&Wolf takes steps (HRV) beyond cautious optimism to take a more pessimistic stance:

…I have an uncomfortable feeling that this is no longer important. The arrest of Radovan is a matter that will pass after a week and once again we shall all continue to enjoy what was the legacy of Radovan…

Žuta Minuta (”Yellow Minute”) recalls (HRV) life in Sarajevo during the war and her feelings the day Karadžić's capture was announced:

…the memory of my first true fear of war. It was a 1992. With my mother, brother and I we dwelt in the Sarajevo settlement of Dobrinja. […] So Radovan Karadzic did not celebrate Vidovdan [St. Vitus Day] in Dobrinja. In fact, perhaps he did, sometime later, but no one recognized him. I do not know in which moment I slept, but today the whole day I feel good and rested. Honestly, I lost faith that they would ever catch Radovan Karadzic, so I was delighted.

‘It’s my trust vote and I’ll shout if I want’ – Mahima Kaul titles her post at her blog ‘The life and times’ , introducing us to the scene at the lower house in the Parliament of India. She writes:

They came from everywhere; wheelchairs and stretchers – jail. And the anticipation of drama delivered! From the moment a crore of rupees was placed in the House by three BJP MPs – everything changed. Read on to see how the BJP's staged drama did not hold a trust vote down.

Phoenix recaps the political setup on his blog ‘Public diary…” , under the post, ‘The Great Indian Drama: What's the big DEAL about?’

The Left withdrew support as the UPA refused to back out of the 1-2-3 agreement with the US and thus began the numbers game…. If anything, Left leaving was slightly relieving as it brought hopes that maybe, if the Govt survived, some reforms would go ahead without the political compulsions that Left's persistent threats gave rise to. Afterall, the last four years India has hardly seen an Opposition, with the NDA mostly asleep, and the Govt had to keep fighting tooth n nail within itself thanks to the communist parties.
…
When the political scene heated up with BJP finally seeming to wake up a little…

There was money up for grabs just to vote against the N-deal. And Nita tells you why, in her post – ‘Between the horse traders and traitors who is left’ on her blog, ‘A wide angle view of India’ .

There is so much corruption amongst politicians that some of our MP’s make petty money (Rs 30,000/- and above) from just raising questions in parliament and the BJP has such MP’s too.
….
The fact is that India is number one when it comes to money in Swiss bank accounts and we have no way of knowing who doesn’t have an account there. While people from all walks of life probably have accounts there, I am sure our politicians lead the pack. People who are there to make our country prosper are looting it!!

Also giving us estimates on the total amount India is said to have in the Swiss banks, “India with $1456 billion or $1.4 trillion has more money in Swiss banks than rest of the world COMBINED.” But she is disgusted:

As for the live proceedings of the Nuclear Deal Debate in the Lok Sabha on television (just before the Trust vote) that reality show should have got an “A” certificate. If children see this how do you think they will behave in class…! But this time there was no violence…throwing of chairs and pushing and shoving, all of which I have seen on live TV in parliament. I guess we should be grateful.

In conclusion to it all, Yossarin has few things to tell the Prime minister of India, against the speech Manmohan Singh was said to have had ready, but did not deliver. Yossarin writes in the blog ‘Offstumped’ in the post, ‘Manmohan Confidence Vote - A Pyrrhic Victory’ :

You were right to pursue the strategic intent of getting India out of the nuclear winter it has been in. But sir you did not convince any political formation to express confidence on the merits of your record. You did not convince a significant number of individual members cutting across party lines to express confidence on the voice of their conscience. Rooted in questionable abstentions this is a pyrrhic victory and it is beginning of the end of your Ultimate Perverse Alliance that saw you accidentally occupy this august office.

You can find the Prime Minister’s speech here . Who are the real winners? – the question is answered here . Neha, our South Asian Blogsphere Editor for GVO, comments here .

The following video which is from a major TV news channel, shows the chaos in the Parliament when some of the members alleged bribery and started waving big piles of cash around.

The Slovak government announced some months ago that they will not recognize Kosovo's independence. Furthermore, the Foreign Ministry has stated that the Slovak government will not recognize any documents from an independent Kosovo, including a Kosovar passport. Peter Martinovic, a Slovak blogger, writes:

[…] If a citizen of Kosovo find himself/herself being on the Slovak territory, he/she will be considered to be an illegal immigrant despite having a valid [Schengen ] visa. […]

So what gives? Why doesn't Slovakia recognize Kosovo's independence when Slovakia's closest neighboring countries like the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary have? Why would a country like Slovakia, where its people had lived under the rule of a powerful empire for centuries, and the country has only had its own independence for 15 years, choose to not recognize the independence of a country like Kosovo where its people have endured what the UN calls “massive human-rights violations” from their country's majority government?

Martinovic offers the following explanation:

[…] This question is one of the few that bring the Slovak political spectrum together. With the exception of the Hungarian minority party , all political subjects (whether they are just pro-European or fanatically pro-European ) agree upon refusal of Kosovo independence. Its roots can not only be found in a moved history of the 20th century […], but also in a lurking feeling of general public […] that Hungarian minority living in the south is a threat to our state's most important interests and that they still plan to break away and become part of Hungary. […]

The land that makes up modern-day Slovakia was once part of the large Hungarian Kingdom. Slovaks were under Hungarian rule for centuries. Many of those years they struggled to gain rights as an ethnic group and also for independence. After the end of World War I, Czechoslovakia was formed. When the new border was drawn, some Hungarians found themselves living in Czechoslovakia. Today the Hungarian minority makes up at least 10% of the total population of Slovakia, with some areas in the south of Slovakia that have more than 40% of their population who are of Hungarian ethnicity.

Martinovic evaluates the legitimacy of the concern that Hungarians might break away from Slovakia:

[…] [This] is of course nonsense and can be described only as a vulgar nationalism of some politicians that secures them votes of less educated (yet numerous) voters, although a behaviour of some Hungarian representatives hasn't been very helpful in order to calm down the situation. […]

Martinovic goes on to say that he doesn't like the fact that the Kosovo situation sets a precedent for part of a state territory “to declare independence without a consent of a central government and still be recognized by international community.”

Here is another view on the issue , expressed by a 24-year-old Slovak named Jan, at Us Europeans blog:

[…] The wish of Kosovo to become independent did not get the support from the Slovakian government. We think that Kosovo is part of Serbia and it should have remained so. It's not a situation where two parties win. We have a similar situation in the south, with some local Hungarian minorities who want to proclaim independence. For us Slovaks, such a move would be completely unacceptable. It would in no way be similar to the way we separated from the Czech Republic. […]

Romania-based blogger Corina Murafa comments:

[…] It’s like saying “sure all people are equal, but some people are more equal than other”. When we like separatist movements - for any reason that may be - sure, let me break loose. When we don’t, we immediately claim “the story is different”, separation would be unacceptable, so on. […]

Kosovar independence is a prickly question in many parts of Europe. It's simply not possible for all ethnicities to have their own independent nations. It raises questions about how minorities are treated and represented by their country's government, however; and dialog is almost always a good thing.

Now that everyone seems to be talking (RUS) about an impending war over Abkhazia, in spite of Germany's best efforts (see the latest news here or here), I decided to finally translate this post from a few months ago (RUS) by LiveJournal blogger cyxymu (the blog's name uses letters of the Latin alphabet to spell out the name of Sukhumi, Abkhazia's capital, as it looks in Cyrillic), a Georgian who spent his childhood in Abkhazia but now lives in Tbilisi, having become an “internally displaced person” (IDP) during the hostilities in the early 1990s.

Here is cyxymu's post, titled “Home“:

Last night I dreamed about my grandfather's house. I hadn't dreamed about it in a long time, and it was amazing to find myself back in my childhood.

Most of the time I spent in Sukhumi I lived in that house, I knew all of its nooks and crannies, had secret hiding places and places to be alone and dream…

I dreamed that I was climbing the stairs to the attic, and it was so nice to listen to the rain fall up there. My brother and I went up there a lot and listened to thunderstorms, you could hear the branches banging against the corrugated roof, the rain pounding the tile and flowing down the gutter.

I also liked to hide in the garage, my brother and I had our headquarters there, the garage had a metal roof and the rain would pound on it really hard…

Sometimes when the Besletka [river] would rise during a rainstorm, it would start to flood. The water would pour into the cellar, and then we had to save our supplies ) heroism was rewarded with the jam that grandmother made.

In the cellar we had hiding places where we hid all sorts of things, even just before we left, we hid an optical sight that I had found that very day. In the back of the house was a chicken coop, and a rooster woke us up every morning as he summoned the sun to rise. Sometimes rats would get into the chicken coop, and I would hunt them with a small-caliber Geco. That's what I wanted the sight for.

In the garden grew everything necessary for human life: two types of pears, apples (champagne and winter), persimmons, green springtime plums [tkemali], plums, [feijoa], [medlar], figs and two kinds of cherries. I planted the peaches with my own hands. And tomatoes, cucumbers, raspberries, strawberries (though the strawberries often went bad, since we had very damp earth). The cucumbers liked to climb up on the raspberries, and we sometimes missed a cucumber, since we couldn't always see them in the greenery, and it would grow into a big, yellow cucumber. Then grandpa would say, “Well, it's OK, we'll use it for seeds next year.”

Every spring he would start the seeds first in cans, then he would replant them into wooden crates, and only then into glass hot-houses. And when the tomatoes grew tall, grandpa and I strung nets over them, so that the pears wouldn't fall on the tomatoes when they ripened.

During [the war], when an Abkhazian shell hit next door, a bit of shrapnel took down a branch of the champagne apple tree as wide as your arm, some of the other trees lost limbs also, and I kept saying that it was the trees that protected us…

Shrapnel chopped up the whole house then, pieces flew in the window of the room where grandpa and grandma slept, miraculously not touching them, lots of bits penetrated the walls, tore the roof apart, knocked out all the windows in the house… But we didn't go move into an Abkhazian's house, instead we put in new glass and fixed the roof (patched the holes). Thinking ahead, we stuck crosses of white paper tape on the windows…

My heart aches for that house more than any other, in spite of the fact that we had nicer houses and apartments in Sukhumi. My heart stayed behind in that house.

And more than anything I can't forgive myself for leaving behind my grandpa and grandma - when I took my parents out of Sukhumi, I was hoping to return in a couple of days.

And no one from my family was able to make it to Sukhumi for my grandpa and grandma's funerals. We simply weren't allowed to return.

Mohmmad Ali Abtahi, a former Iranian Vice President and blogger, says that everybody who knows about world politics and is a little bit honest, will acknowledge Hezbollah's and Sayed Hasan Nasrallah’s great victories in last two years. Abtahi adds:

Western media claims that Nasrallah is under the influence of Iranian officials, who are in the charge of country’s [Lebanon] foreign affairs. I guess these are empty words because if our diplomacy could act for Iran’s interests as did Hezbollah for its own interests, Iran could achieve great victories. With such victories that Sayed Hasan got, we just could wish he would Iran’s diplomacy’s adviser.

Furogh2007 says that Iran's national (state) media celebrated this exchange between Hezbollah and Israel. The blogger adds:

“There are several Iranian security agents have been taken as hostages in south Lebanon but the Iranian Government refuses negotiation. Why is the Iranian Government rejoicing about the exchange of prisoners in Lebanon but refuses such an act to save Iranian citizens.”

Tobi begs to differ[Fa] and says:

Iranian officials are wrong when they say this exchange was a humiliating defeat for Israel. Israel showed it considers their dead people with great value.

A 35-year-old woman killed on the spot was said to be on the way home for her kid’s birthday.

Police have confirmed the incidents were deliberately made, though cause unknown. Timed-bomb may be used on the attacks, according to the police.

The attacks inevitably created panics among Chinese, not only because the Olympics is drawing close, but also that it adds to the recent series of unrests across the country a new episode. The stun it brings about was concluded as the name of blogger Wang Xuguang’s post:

恐怖主义离我们有多远？

How far away is terrorism from us?

From Zhangjiajie blast, Weng’an conflict, Shanghai police-killings, to the very near tragedy that two villagers got killed by riot police, the nerves of Chinese were kept highly strained. However, though more or less unsettled mentally, people have not been so much panic as in this time that the shadow of death falls on innocent citizens.

On the previous stretch of conflicts, since the spearheads were pointed towards the authority that treated people unfairly, blogshpere and words of mouth more or less identified with the “trouble-makers”, most of them suppressed commons. Even when 6 Shanghai police were stabbed dead, not a small number of people side and bear compassion with the murderer Yang Jia.

However, people’s mind dramatically turned over this time, as the attacks were directed to innocent and uninformed people.

hndashu said:

The strongest condemnation of terrorism aimed at common citizens.

强烈谴责针对平民的恐怖袭击罪行

老树根007 said:

炸老百姓的真是混蛋！

What bastards those bombed people!

And more netizens thought they should have a more suitable group of people to bomb.

wjszhangm suggested:

看不起这帮废物，有种你去炸贪官啊？！脑C,和底层的草根过不去算个P本事

Shame on these craps! You should bomb the corrupted officials if you dare! Idiots, what the hell do you think you are to be hostile against grassroots!

Words of anger were poured out:

xpts0102

妈的，这般畜生，这么多贪官污吏不去炸，这么多土匪不去炸，炸无辜百姓算什么。

F***k such jerks, that bombed the innocent and leave so many officials that take, so many outlaws that plunder out of target.

岁在甲午 said:

炸贪官还能落个好名声，炸老百姓简直就是畜生。

A good reputation you get to bomb a corrupted official, but only a beast you are to kill common people.

More details about the detonation is yet unknown, but the quick response of police win applauds. Information were available very soon after the event and no restriction of interview were met by journalists, including those from Hong Kong.

However, the cause and purpose of the explosion is still a mystery. And that some citizens got alert text-message before the attack incurred a lot more suspects and guesses, so that people on the internet united to launch the flesh search engine, trying to search out the murderer. Netizens commented that the campaign would be the most meaningful use of the flesh engine.

Also, the anti-terrorism tide has rushed to Free-Tibetters, who were also the suspects.

对于藏独，疆独，回独等KB分子，除了必要的审讯要舌头，其余的应该就地枪毙

For the terrorists of Free-Tibet, Xingjiang-independence and Hui-indenpence, except the necessary trial, they should be shot right away.

A time of unrest might be coming. What or who is to blame?

Two-thirds of Egyptian men harass women showed a survey reported by Reuters. The survey of more than 2,000 Egyptian men and women and 109 foreign women said

• 62% of Egyptian men reported perpetrating harassment.
• 83% of Egyptian women reported having been sexually harassed.
• 98% of foreign women saying they had experienced harassment in the country.
• Nearly half of women said the abuse occurred daily.
• 2.4% of Egyptian women reported it to the police.
• Most Egyptian women believed the victim should “remain silent.”
• 53% of men blamed women for bringing on sexual harassment, saying they enjoyed it or were dressed in a way deemed indecent. Some women agreed.
• Most agreed women should be home by 8 p.m.
• The survey said most of the Egyptian women who told of being harassed said they were dressed conservatively, with the majority wearing the Islamic headscarf.
• The harassment took place on the streets or on public transport, as well as in tourist destinations and foreign educational institutions.

Dina Ayoub a 26 year old female blogger residing in Canada wrote a post titled Epidemic of Sexual Harassment in Egypt in response to that report declaring that

That's exactly what it is. An epidemic. One that's been festering and spreading for years upon years, and only gets worse. I wonder if a cure will emerge some day for this sickening behavior.

Dina believes the 83% is a false figure and that more Egyptian women have had at least one sexual harassment experience; they are just living in denial

I think the 17% of women who have reported not being harassed on the streets either live under a rock & never come out, or are too ashamed to admit to it, or maybe think that saying it never happened will make it true. Or perhaps they just don't want to worsen Egypt's reputation. Or maybe they blame themselves for it, just like society does, so they don't really consider it harassment.

The infuriated blogger envies the 98% of foreign women who admitted to being harassed on Egyptian streets because

they probably get harassed LESS than Egyptian women do. Why? Because the guys who harass them are cowards. The tourist police actually cares about what the tourists think or else they won't come back to the country and spend some more money, so they handle their complaints seriously - unlike the normal police which just adds insult to injury. So they are afraid. I used to go to Khan El Khalili a lot, and I would see Egyptian women get harassed, myself included, but never a foreign woman. NEVER. So if 98% of them have been harassed, my guess is on the streets elsewhere not at a touristic place.

Dina - now living in Vancouver - remembers what every Egyptian woman identifies with saying

There's this look in an Egyptian man's eyes that makes me want to poke his eyes out, mutilate his body parts, and then kill him. A psychotic, undressing, invasive and violating look. A look so disgusting that it makes me shiver in my own skin, and wish that the earth would just swallow me up to cover me from it. A look so filthy, that you can see the virtual assault on you in his sleazy eyes. I hate that look so much.

How men and women responded in the survey will not help Egypt or Egyptian women

The worst part of it, is that people think it's the woman's fault. That is just sad. That's exactly the same thought path of psychotic rapists who think “she asked for it”. It's sick, perverted, twisted, uncivilized, and just plain stupid. And this has nothing to do with religion, as a matter of fact. It's just a sick culture.

Dina goes from her own analysis to Islam and how it is being used and abused by people who are - at best - ignorant

In Islam, a woman is supposed to dress modestly, cover her body, not wear tight or revealing clothes. BUT, and this is a very big BUT, a man is also supposed to not look at the women, to be polite in looking. Not be invasive. Somehow society has forgotten about this latter part, or more like… chosen to ignore it, just as it has chosen to ignore many of women's' rights, and all they can do is blame the woman. Same old story, always blame the woman.

Then you find a woman walking in hijab (veil), fully covered, nothing tight, nothing revealing.. and she still gets harassed. You find a 60 year old veiled woman that gets into a cab and gets harassed. You find a 12 year old girl being harassed. Even a women in niqab (head to toe veil) is not immune to such behavior. These are all things I've witnessed myself or heard of from people I know well, so they are nothing out of the ordinary, just the daily bullshit an Egyptian woman has to live with.

When Dina used to live in Cairo, she felt more comfortable in the company of a male chaperone

I used to hate walking in Egypt. I really did. I always dreaded going somewhere, and limited my walking to the very minimum. If I were to go out in public, I'd make damn sure I have a male friend with me, and with that I'd avoid the comments and physical harassment, but not the petrifying stares. I couldn't just go shopping in peace. Walk to the women's hairdresser a couple of blocks away, even cross the street I live on without dreading a harassment.

Now mind you, I am nothing spectacular. I'm no beauty queen, on the contrary, I'm on the lower side of that scale. And I wear a hijab (veil). And I'm not physically provocative. But that doesn't matter. We're just pieces of meat walking around some hungry dogs.

Stretching her post a bit further, Dina talked about rape and how women take the fall for that kind of abuse too

In Egypt, if a woman goes to a man's house and gets raped, she has no rights. Seriously. That is just sad. So if one day you go over to your friend's house for a nice dinner with a lot of other friends, and for your shitty luck something happens and you are there alone with someone sick, that's it. You are pretty much screwed. Not that women would report it anyway in Egypt, many of them just don't report it at all, because in Egypt a woman's reputation is everything. Something I despise to my very core. But you don't even have the option to, because “it's your own damn fault, you're a whore for going to a man's house”.

Are all Egyptian men cheap predators? Are they all sick stalkers? Do they all want to grab a piece of meat?

Now, I'm not claiming all men in Egypt are bad. I know very honorable men who would never hurt a fly, let alone a woman. Men who are noble, who abide by their beliefs, respect women and endless other great qualities. But sadly, they are not the majority. They are rare pearls that I've had the honor & privilege of finding in my life. I wish Egypt could fill up on the likes of those men.

When it comes to a cure, Dina hangs on to education … not the kind of education that we currently have

Many an educated man in Egypt have the narrowest and most retarded of minds. Education of Rights. They should add a new course to all schooling systems from year 1. Perhaps if people understood one's right to be treated with respect, and freedom, some of the harassment would cease. But that's just the optimist in me. We are light years away from that.

At the end of her post, Dina wrote a disclaimer owning her ideas and opinions and, like me, admitting that the only purpose of this post is to make Egypt a better place.

1- This is how I personally feel about these issues. You are free to agree or disagree, and perhaps your life experiences show you otherwise - but please respect my right to an opinion of my own on the matter.
2- This article means no disrespect to Egypt, my home, and my love. This frustration and embitterment comes out of the love for Egypt and wanting it to be a better place for all people, women and men.

Given the spectacles that took place during the Hong Kong and Shenzhen (and later) legs of the torch relay earlier this summer, a rule like will probably go a long way to prevent any heated or violent outbursts during the Games. At least, it's definitely creating a lot of heated discussion, and a lot of netizens are wondering: “Why?”

The simple answer is that no banners more than 2 meters in length and 1 meter in width are allowed at the Olympics. Chinese MySpace user Jiuduo is one of many netizens that have reposted the official prepared statement that's been circulating with the story today, presented as a conversation between an unnamed Xinhua reporter and an unnamed Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee spokesperson. Here's the question about the ban on “Go China!” banners:

记者：为何禁止携带诸如“中国加油”这样的横幅或标语牌？

北京奥组委：本届奥运会在北京举办，我们是主场，志愿者知道大家写的是“中国加油”，不是什么不好的话，但是其他200多个国家的观众写的文字我们都能看懂吗？让不让进？我们想象一下，在上届雅典奥运会或者下届伦敦奥运会，如果别人由于不认识中文而不让我们带着准备好的横幅进去，我们会是什么样的心情？

另外，奥运五环象征着五大洲的团结以及全世界运动员以公正、坦率的比赛和友好的精神在奥林匹克运动会上相见，奥运会的比赛精神是公平、公正的竞赛精神。我们要使奥运会超越一切意识形态，无论是中国、日本、美国，还是法国，所有人都能像奥运五环一样，大家开心地在一起享受盛事，增进彼此了解。如果现场出现各种各样的横幅一定会破坏这样的氛围，所以国际奥委会几十年来一直坚持制定这项规则。

Or does the potential for UV-intensive displays of Chinese patriotism have nothing to do with this? From the comments section of Jiuduo's post:

为什么？那可以带其他国家“Ｘ国加油”的横幅吗？在自己家里不可以带真有点笑话了．

我带一长1.9，宽0.9的旗子进去成不？害怕就说害怕，别那么多冠冕堂皇的话。你说怕藏独举口号，没人说你怂，何必呢。

While there isn't space for comments on the original Kunming-based Cailong China story, the number found on the Netease version is growing quickly:

网易内蒙古赤峰网友 ip：222.74.*.*：
2008-07-22 15:57:04 发表
抓住他们，杀无赦

网易河北唐山网友 ip：121.20.*.*：
2008-07-22 15:58:03 发表
板凳？

网易陕西西安网友 ip：125.76.*.*：
2008-07-22 16:08:25 发表
这些家伙太可恶了
一定要严查，解决打击这些社会败类
向遇难的同胞默哀！

网易山东菏泽网友 ip：219.146.*.*：
2008-07-22 16:28:31 发表
不顾百姓安危搞恐怖事件的极端分子讲会受到全世界人民的惩罚。
支持的顶起

Danwei and Shanghaiist have as usual been on top of the news. Shanghaiist links to a GoKunming post which looks at the possibility that there were actually three explosions yesterday; a commenter at Danwei puts forward a rumor that there as many as five. Also in the comments on Danwei's post is active China expat blog commenter Spelunker, who notes the wording of an SMS text message which Kunming police have already confirmed was sent out prior to the first blast:

Evidently somebody in Kunming sent the following text message warning around 5:30 am before the bombings:

“蝼蚁总动员……希望收到此短信的市民，不要在明天早上乘坐54、64、及84路工（公）交车……”
The Guardian translates it into English as:
“The general mobilisation of ants… (I) hope citizens receiving this message will not take bus lines 54, 64 and 84 tomorrow morning,”

Speculation so far on motive for the attack seems to have painted a group of disgruntled rubber farmers not far from Kunming as the top suspects, so how do…ants figure in? Ants??

On the night of July 21-22, many major world media outlets and almost all the media from Serbia immediately issued reports of the arrest.

Many bloggers from the Serbian blogosphere were surprised by the news. Below are the first reactions from some of them.

On the his blog, Co of SLIKE I DOGADJAJI wrote (SRP):

While I was prepering a report about my visit to Portland, I ran into the news that Radovan Karadzic has been arrested. I simply could not believe that it was true, but the news is published on all web sites.

[…]

Hugh Griffiths, a B92 blogger, wrote this in English:

Many of us never thought we would see this day come, that the unholy trinity of the secret police, the criminals and the priests who protected you would ensure an enduring freedom until your dying day. But luckily for us, even pessimists are wrong, at least some of the time. […]

Blogger Dynhysbys of A K U L T U R A expressed his satisfaction (SRP) with the news of Radovan Karadzic's arrest:

[…] I am glad because this government is ready and has an intention to face the problems that are still pulling Serbia into the hell of the 90's. […]

Misha of the Doctor blog criticized the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), but wrote that even though he didn't believe in its justice, he loved Serbia more than Radovan Karadzic:

[…] No matter how bad the reputation of the Tribunal in the Hague is because of the acquittals of the cutthroats such as [Ramus Haradinaji] and [Naser Oric], and no matter how innocent Radovan Karadzic was (God will help him to prove it?), Serbia is always on the first place for me. […]