Archive for
August 18th, 2006
Stories
Transparency is Promoted and Debated in the Brazilian Election Process
The call for transparency is ringing in the Lusosphere these days. Brazilian presidential and general elections are six weeks from now and, after the innumerable corruption scandals involving congressmen and executive officials, the push for truth has become a vigorous movement on the Internet. The issue was on top of recent blog searches with the launching of a new web site service offering comprehensive information about the candidates. But, as you will see below, there is not always a clear agreement about transparency.
…projeto Excelências, da Transparência Brasil (perfil.transparencia.org.br), está experimentando uma visitação média de 15 consultas por segundo durante os últimos dez dias. São cobertos candidatos de todos os estados e de todos os partidos, e as informações prestadas são todas de domínio público. Incluem os processos judiciais a que respondem. O projeto tem o intuito de propiciar ao eleitor uma comparação direta entre os desempenhos desses candidatos, para assim melhor se orientar quanto ao voto.
Investida estapafúrdia, por Claudio Abramo - Blog do Noblat
Weird Onslaught, by Claudio Abramo - Noblat's Blog
Cuba: Sweet 15
Robin Thom had the good fortune to be on the right balcony at the right time in order to capture this lovely scene on the Paseo de Prado in Havana, Cuba. “I had always assumed this was a wedding,” writes Robin on his Flickr page, “but it was pointed out that this may be the celebration of the coming of womanhood.” Wikipedia tells us this celebration is called the “Quinceañera”, or Quince Años (Spanish for fifteen years), and is observed in parts of Latin America (the word “Quinceañera” can also refer to the subject of the celebration):
Fifteenth birthday celebrations were very popular in Cuba until the late 1970s. The custom entered the country partly via Spain, but its major influence was French. Wealthy families, who could afford to rent luxurious halls at country clubs or 4/5-star hotels and to hire choreographers, were the actual pioneers of Quinceañeras. Although lower-income families could not afford the same display of wealth, they too started to celebrate Quinceañeras, which they called Quinces. Those celebrations usually took place at the home of the Quinceañera or at the more spacious house of a relative.
While this traditional celebration is still practiced nowadays in Latin America and Latino communities in North America, it is sometimes observed by other events that focus more on the quinceañera's wishes (e.g. world travelling). In some cities, the more proper Baile de las Debutantes (Debutantes' Ball) still survives.
Lebanon: Before and After the Cease Fire
Cease fire in the Israeli-Lebanese war officially began on Monday 14th August. Enteries in the Lebanese blogosphere were diverse starting from what went on during the last days of the war to predictions and analysis about the political consequences of the war on Lebanon. Some bloggers wrote about the effect of this conflict on their personal lives and attitudes. Others wrote about the reaction of their Jewish friends during the war. There are also some war jokes, anecdotes and war dialogues. Blogging and the reading of blogs turned out to be a source of solace and therapy for at least one blogger.
Let’s start with Charles Malik who said that the Lebanese are unhappy and predicted a change in the domestic political scene in the coming days. While AM bluntly mentioned the shifts she experienced in her feelings and attitudes as a result of the war.
Walid Moukarzel makes use of soccer terminology to evaluate the players in the war.
Bob at 1TooManyPeaches compared the announced goals of the war at its beginning and at its end and asks:
So again, can someone please tell me what was this war all about? […]
But wait, there are still more good news. Olmert said that Israel has the right to respond to any violation of the truce, which will mean that another round of destruction and killing will take place. However, he vowed to hunt down Hizbullah leaders and kill them. So in a way, he has the right to violate Lebanon’s sovereignty and kill Lebanese people, but if God forbids Hizbullah would violate the truce, he has the right to respond. It is a logic i still fail to absorb much like the whole logic of this war.
Ahmadinejad's blog and Fidel Castro
According to the BBC, the launch of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s blog was reported on state TV, which urged users to send in messages to the president. Several magazines and newspapers around the world have already talked about Ahmadinejad’s blog. In his first, and so far only, post, Ahmadinejad talks about his personal history and the Islamic Revolution. Iranian bloggers have very diverse opinions about this new blog. Let’s look at some of them:
A rural attitude or a modern one?
Ayandeh Abi says that by reading Ahmadinejad’s writing, we find out about his rural value system and background, we see how peasants who immigrated to urban zones revolted against urban life and tried to destroy it. The blogger adds [Fa]:
Links for Fri, 2006-08
Nick gives an outsider's view of Uzbekistan, 15 years after becoming an independent state.
Nessuna was attacked and had her purse stolen. She gives a brief account of the experience at her blog.
Aigul of Go Kyrgyz! writes about Kyrgyz cuisine.
According to Ndjoli Bodjenga at Le Blog du Congolais (Fr) European Commissary Louis Michel has performed poorly as a mediator during the transition to elections in the DRC: “An impartial political mediator would not overtly confront one of the principal actors of the conflict to be solved; he would not sue the most popular political party when he is supposed to facilitate internal dialogue; he would not so overtly support a military candidate that might restore authoritarianism; he would have more persistent talks with more promising candidates recognized for their competence and experience (Lunda, Kamanda, Mukamba, etc.) “
At Le Blog du Congolais, Ndjoli Bodjenga assesses the recent election as follows (Fr): “The posh crowd from the international community (Miche, Okala, Barosso, Swing, etc.) is happy to have organized co-called elections and to have prioritized the participation of the 3 local warlords. (…) Elections that could have made history basically took place without campaigning or debate and without the most competent candidates (…)”
Support of Peru's Alan Garcia, mounting indecision in Ecuador, expansion support for the Panama Canal, and fraud in Mexico City. Yup, it's Boz's Friday Poll Numbers.
Mexican blogger Enigmatario (ES) has a thorough post on the latest developments in Somalia in a post titled “A country forgotten by the world, Somalia, Islamist rebels, and Africa's Islamic future.”
Living in Peru writes that Ollanta Humala has been formally charged in the forced disappearance and homicide of spouses Avila Rivera and Benigno Sullca Castro on June 17, 1992 in Pucayacu, ten minutes away from Madre Mia. Maxwell A. Cameron has posted the entre article in Spanish.
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