Archive for
October 26th, 2005
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The Week That Was - Bolivian Blogs
The buzz continues within the Bolivian blogosphere with the publication of the most recent article in the Bolivian press. The Extra section of El Deber featured the three creators of the website Mundo Al Revés for their work of encouraging other Bolivians to begin blogging through website hosting and other technical support. The article also featured an extensive interview with Miguel Esquirol, author of the blog El Forastero. There, he gave tips for those wanting to delve into the world of blogs. He also gave suggestions of eight noteworthy blogs.
Esquirol is also the co-creator of the Blogs de Bolivia site, which continues to uncover new Bolivian blogs on a daily basis. Its most recent discovery belongs to the blog of one of the most famous contemporary authors of Bolivian literature. Edmundo Paz Soldán, a Bolivian writer who also teaches at Cornell University, recently started his blog Río Fugitivo. The Blogs de Bolivia site was also recently featured in an article in Los Tiempos Del Mundo newspaper,
In the past, the Bolivian blogosphere has always been small enough that topics rarely overlapped. That changed during the past week, several bloggers commented on a common theme, and some even directly referred to another post in another blog. Miguel Centellas of Ciao! commented on a recent post in the Democracy Center’s blog written by Jim Shultz about the role of former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada’s in the death of a civilian nurse in February 2003. Centellas clarifies some points that he believes were missing from Shultz’s entry. The campaign website for the Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS) was discussed from two distinctly different viewpoints by MABB and Barrio Flores. Antonio Saravia and Alvaro Piaggio both applauded the recent march of Bolivian factory workers who support a free trade agreement with the United States.
A relatively new blog called Donde Estoy? Notes from Bolivia highlighted her recent experience sitting in the Zona Roja during a fútbol game between the Cochabamba teams Jorge Wilstermann and Aurora. She writes that the vulgar language used in the stands was very shocking. Tyson and Carolina are back in Cochabamba to continue their work with orphans, which is documented in their blog Camino de Amistad. Finally, Andrea finds the response particularly humorous from Miss Bolivia, when asked the question “if you were president, what would be the first thing you’d do?” in her blog Lo Digo Yo.
Travels in the Kurdish Blogosphere
This week marked the beginning of a trial for Saddam Hussein, not only is this trial an unprecedted event, but the question that lingers is that can he really be tried for all of the atrocities that he is credited for. Another interesting aspect of the trial is that the primary judge in the case is a Kurd, which is a sweet victory for the Kurdish peoples. Hiwa from Hiwa Hopes gives a moving post about why it is important that this trial is happening, and gives us some details of memories he carries from being supressed by Saddam in his youth.
Of course, when there is any speculation on what Saddam is or isn't responsible for, the issue of Iran being “next on the list” or wheter or not Iran was responsible for items attributed to Saddam comes back to the surface. On the Kurdistan Bloggers Union there is an interesting discussion as to the issue of who is responsible for the gassing of Kurds at Halapja, some critics site Iran as the perpetraitor of the deed, while it is the Iraqi regime that is traditionally held responsible. Vladimir from From Holland to Kurdistan muses as to wheter or not Iran might hold the same fate as Iraq and have its regime dismantled as well. Speaking of Iran, there has also been a revisiting of the history of Iranian oppression of the Kurds, the blog Land of the Sun: Kurdistan gives an excellent overview of Iran's actions towards the Kurds of Eastern Kurdistan.
Recently there has been an upsurge in violence in the previous peaceful areas of Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan which has been causing some concern for the Kurds in that region. Especially as there are rumors that the violence is stemming from and sanctioned by the Sunnis of Iraq.
Other issues currently facing the Kurds of Iraq are the political aspects of a new country. The new Iraqi Constitution was recently passed, however that does not mean that Iraq's stability is ensured. Kurdish critics have begun to argue that perhaps too many Kurdish consessions were made in forming the new Constitution, others have agreed with US President George Bush that the Kurdish political parties need to unite to be effective.
Perhaps the best reaction to the Kurdish involvement is the following picture posted from the blog Koerdistan:
Although the results of the constitution vote came out only yesterday, the Kurdish blogs have yet to fully comment on its impact, but I expect that more will come out in the week to come.
Iraq and Iran have not been the only countries that the Kurds are discussing this week. Turkey has also been looked at for not only its formal opening of talks with the EU but also its citizens support of honor killings. Plus, this week there was also news about Reporters without Borders report on Turkey's lack of freedom of the press.
Pakistan: Emergency/Broadcast Radio for Quake Survivors Urgently Needed
Internews, a leading international media development organisation, has called for immediate action to improve the information flow to victims of the huge earthquake which hit Pakistan on 8 October, leaving over 53,000 dead and up to 3 million homeless. Local media in the disaster zone has been badly affected, with public and commercial radio broadcast stations and newspaper printing and distribution facilities largely destroyed.
Internews has already dispatched a radio production unit with a team of 12 reporters to produce programmes highlighting the immediate needs for the people in quake-hit areas in the local languages. The programmes are being aired through a private FM station in Abbottabad city in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), with a signal that can reach almost all of the tremor-hit zone of northern Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
The major needs for broadcast/media infrastructure, production & training support are as follows:
- transmitters, antennas, mobile radio studios, and generators
- minidisk recorders, portable computers, satellite phones, transportation, and technical support
- field & mobile production equipment
If you are able to assist with this need or if you know someone who can help out with getting these emergency radio sets please contact Adnan Rehmat at +92(300) 850 6354 or contact the Internews Office in Pakistan at +92(51) 287 7984. Alternatively you may send an email to Adnan or Ivan Sigal.
Source: ReliefWeb & Contact with a team on the ground
Video: Scenes from a Bangladeshi Telecentre
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Video montage of a telecentre based at a girls school in Comilla, Bangladesh. The telecentre is run by Relief International's Schools Online program, which coordinates 20 telecentres across the country. |
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
South Asia: Blog Quake Day
It's Blog Quake Day!
Over the last year blogs have become instrumental in gathering support for causes and highlighting issues that have been forgotten by the Main Stream Media. Sepia Mutiny made a crucial statement - that there was no excuse to not give, when those with so little were giving so much.
So, while Kofi Annan slams countries for only committing to about a tenth of what quake victims need, victims of the tsunami—who are still suffering from their own tragedy which stole 200,000 lives all over Asia— have donated to local quake relief efforts. Maybe the world is suffering from “disaster fatigue”.
Responding to this call - DesiPundit announced Blog Quake Day on 26 Oct 2005. Calling to all bloggers worldwide to exericse their power
We request each of you to make a small post about the earthquake, and direct your readers to a suitable avenue for donating to the relief efforts… Every single dollar contributed, multiplied by the vast numbers of bloggers, will go a long way in helping these people rebuild their lives.
Blogs the globe over have responded to this call. Instapundit echoed the thought. Chapati Mystery has T-shirts whose sales proceeds will go for Earthquake relief. An appeal to podcasters. Other posts on Blog Quake Day - Sepia Mutiny, De Growchy Owl, Truth and Beauty, Veiled4Allah, Travel tales from India.
Voices from Zimbabwe Plus 3
Welcome to the inaugral edition of the “Voices from Zimbabwe Plus 3″ where I hope you'll find news from several small African blogospheres.
Zimbabwe:-In what has now known as the MDC Senate Debacle, the Movement for Democratic Change, Zimbabwe's main opposition party is locked in a stalemate over whether they should participate in the senate election late next month.
The Bearded Man moans the MDC's infighting thus,
“Sadly the fighting within the ranks of the MDC continues. Gift Chimanikire has publicly labasted the MDC leader, stating that the party WILL contest the senate elections and anyone who thinks otherwise should just 'shut up'. Mugabe has been quoted as saying that the fighting within the opposition party show it to be an ‘irrelevent party'.”
Eddie Cross, a top political advisor to Morgan Tsvangirai the MDC leader, shared some of his views on the crisis with readers at zimpundit.
Reknowned author Chenjerai Hove uses the disease analogy to explain what is happening with the MDC.
Meanwhile Boinky of of Mugabe Makaipa lauds the fact that the Zimbabwean dollar is going to be scrapped “at a date to be announced.”Jonathan Moyo the one time Mugabe critic turned top Mugabe henchman and ditched by Zimbabwe's strongman charges that the MDC is a party founded on “protest politics” and lacks ideology hence it's frequent failures. You can find more on this and other startling developments in Zimbabwe in zimpundit's Monday post.
Finally, Sokwanele, the civic action blog shares one of the many valuable lessons he's learnt from life in Zimbabwe.
Malawi:-Geeta points out the irony of the season's first rains while hunger threatens to make life tougher in the country.
Rwanda:- George Conard writes about the vast potential cell phones have to change life in the developing world as more and more people use the cell phone “a platform rather than just an application.” Some in Rwanda are already using cell phone airtime in place of the currency.
Burundi:- RW chronicles the loss of civilian life at the hands of Agathon Rwasa's Forces nationales de libération (FNL) during September. Here's another extensive list of atrocities.
More from ZimPundit next week!
Links for Wed, 2005-10
Animate a weblog focused on animation in Uruguay announces that the First International Animation Festival of Urugay will be held in the city of Salto from November 16th through the 20th [ES].
Zona Indie says that Argentine band, Turpentine is reminiscent of Sonic Youth or Soundgarden with a PJ Harvey-like voice. Their first EP can be downloaded for free.
Gil Schmidt says Puerto Rico's status of Estado Libre Asociado, or ELA, should stand for “Emotionally Lackadaisical Adolsescene. Aníbal Freytes says statehood is an illusion.
Ammar says that in a strict legal sense, the Mehlis Report raised more questions than it answered and ultimately proved nothing. Moreover, the UN is not exactly a court of law. The evidence presented to the Security Council does not need to be conclusive. It simply needs to establish enough political credibility to allow for a specific course of action to be adopted. This is what many in the Syrian regime fail to understand.
Rime Allaf wonders: “It would have never occurred to me that one of the TV channels, namely Al Arabiya, would actually find Hariri's appearance to be more newsworthy than the session at the UN, cutting to live coverage from London! That it happened exactly when the Syrian ambassador, Faisal Meqdad, was delivering his statement will add to Syrian paranoia; is that justified, or was it purely a coincidence?“
Farooha says that bulletin boards in universities are usually put up for academic purposes. Timetables, grades, notices and scholastic contests are all examples of what one would expect to usually find hung up by the ever so concerned faculty. However, in KSU, you would find “Conditions to Wear Hijab” poster.
Feed Your Head of Dubai Blog says that he is the only one who sees the similarity between Dubai and Milton Keynes. After all, he believes that Dubai for most people is a hotel. Looks shiny and nice on the surface but is ultimately soulless and if you look carefully you will see some serious flaws.
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