Archive for
November 29th, 2005
Stories
Costa Rica: Impact of the Internet on the 2006 Presidential Elections
La versión original de este artículo está disponible en español.
These presidential elections have had a special element as they are the first elections where the internet has played a very important part. Not only for the web pages of the various political parties and candidates (ML, PLN, UPC, PAC, PUSC), but also because these elections have allowed diverse and agreeable discussions of ideas, ideologies, and points of view about one or another candidate. What is most important is that many of these discussions have taken place in the growing community of Costa Rican blogs, in which websites like jdclarke (posts: 1, 2, 3, 4), even include videos of the debates. Or blogs like fusildechispas which commented on the last presidential debate, which lasted more than five hours and did much to lose our interest as the minutes ticked by.
In other blogs like La Suiza Centroamericana (posts: 1, 2, 3, 4), Dean Cornito often puts forth his discomfort with the political class of this country. Bandidocr, one of the courageous few that managed to watch the debate in its entirety gives a small analysis of each one of the candidate's performance. Se salvó el pais speaks about the quality of the public announcements or campaign propaganda just like others of us have commented before on their (lack of) efficacy as much of it has fallen to a ridiculous level and become a waste of time.
To conclude, a good portion of the Costa Rican blogs are playing a very important part in shaping the public's opinion and in stimulating healthy discussion about the presidential elections as they near. Never before have the candidates been so critically analyzed as they are now.
Translation by David Sasaki
Iranian Blogs: Unrest in University, Ahmadinejad in UN
Government chose a cleric and university Professor, Ayatollah Amid Zanjani, as chancellor of Tehran University. There are many questions and concerns about his education and conservative political background. Fanous ( Link in Persian), a collective blog, writes that Mr.Amid Zanjani has no university degree and government imposed his choice on university . According to Fanous, all of us in university have read his Islamic revolution & its roots book and all know he has nothing to do with university & research mentality.
Students in Tehran University protested against Mr.Amid Zanjani. It is said Iranian state is increasing security forces in universities. Hanif Mazroi(Link in Persian) considers student protest against new head of Tehran University useless. He also says he has a PhD from university. Further information from Khalagi, Iranian researcher based in Washington Institue, showed he was wrong on this point.According to Khalagi, Amid Zanjani is a conservative cleric close to Motalefeh »(a very conservative group) and several times he was their candidate for parliamentary election. He is the first cleric as the head of University of Tehran, but during last two decades Iranian universities have experienced leadership of clerics many times.
Another hot issue in sites and even international newspapers is Mr.Ahmadinejad’s story in UN. He claims during his speech in UN a light surrounded him ( he means supernatural light).(Link in Persian in BBC).
Abthai (Link in Persian), former Vice President, says if by this light he means presence of Hidden Imam is not acceptable in our religion.
Voices from Zimbabwe Plus
The people of Zimbabwe gave the ruling ZANU-PF and indeed all forms of purposeless politics their boldest affront to date as very few Zimbabweans turned up to vote during the senate elections held over the weekend. At some polling stations, only 6% percent of eligible voters showed indicating the undisputable demise of elections on the national agenda. Explaining the disinterest, This is Zimbabwe writes,
“Nothing is going to change as a result of having a senate. These elections are not going to improve democracy in Zimbabwe; they won’t fix unemployment; they won’t bring fuel to the country; people won’t suddenly be able to feed their children and afford school fees; the sick are not going to be able to get drugs or treatment in well resourced clinics and employers will still struggle every single day to keep their businesses afloat through hyperinflation and a rapidly collapsing economy.”
Echoing the sentiment, Zimpundit writes,
“Understand this reader dearest; it is not that we don't care about democracy or having the right politicians in place or any other high sounding question you may want to throw at us. No, our nonchalence is evidence only that we care about other things more than we care about politics and governance. We care more about living to see tomorrow. It is all about survival now. Such is the result of how simple and unsophisticated a society ZANU-PF has made us.”
This is Zimbabwe suprisingly notes that ZANU-PF was still not content with the guarranteed win they had going into the elections. So,
“They still resorted to their old dirty tricks. For example, someone I know who comes from Intabzinduna north of Bulawayo told me that zanu-pf campaigned for the senate elections using food. They brought in maize and only gave it to those that voted ZANU PF in the last election and they told people that others won’t get until they stop voting MDC!”
The MDC still swept all five senates seats in Bulawayo.
Burundi: Agathon Rwasa decries the fact that the UN has offered neither apology nor explanation a week after Agathon Rwasa's chief of staff was found in posession of UN uniforms when he was arrested last week.
DRC:In an extensive roundup of the stories making headlines in November, Adventures of a Retired Armchair Traveler reports among other things that; UN and Congolese troops destroyed a rebel camp, the search for Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in DRC has intensified, and Hilary Benn the British secretary for development urged the government to pay the army to ensure security.
Malawi: Geeta lauds the efforts of Dignitas International, a non governmental organization whose innovative cooperation with the ministry of health which impacted the districts in which Dignitas operates.
Mike of Hacktivate explains how to reverse an ssh connection which among other things allows access to network resources behind a firewall.
Links for Tue, 2005-11
Clarín's Weblog Sobre Weblogs charts the growing trend of soccer blogs (ES).
Roberto Borrero posts a copy of the Garífuna Summit Declaration signed by six Central American and Caribbean heads of state to safeguard Garífuna culture.
Onnik Krikorian has scenes from Gyumri, the site of the 1988 earthquake from which the city is still suffering.
neweurasia reports that the Kazakh government has arrived at a strange conclusion in the investigation into the death of an opposition politician.
Chiriqui Chatter explains why Panama has two independence days in the same month.
br23 blog reports that struggles in German politics are being felt in Belarus.
Onnik Krikorian reports on another Armenian opposition protest at neweurasia.
neweurasia reports on prison tattoos in Tajikistan..
Hungarian Accent rounds up reactions in the Hungarian blogosphere to a new television show called “Hungarikum” that some view as disrespectful to historical figures.
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