Global Voices Online » 2007 » April

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Visiting the Peruvian Blog Village

Juan Arellano · 21:20

lingua → es · zht · zhs

“Plaza de Armas with the Church of Santo Domingo in the background” by Juan Arellano

This time around we'll visit some blogs that we haven't seen before. Blogs of another type; the sort that perhaps do not catch you attention at first glace if your interests lie in politics or cyber-activism, but blogs that have their place and their followers just the same. We must always walk with a careful eye; sometimes the diamonds are where we least expected. So let's explore a little.

Without a doubt, Lima is the biggest Latin American city that borders the Pacific Ocean. Like most other similar metropolises, the public transit system is chaotic at certain times and in certain places. Many people blame the combis as the cause of this and they certainly have their point, but in general the government planning dedicated to public transportation leaves much to be desired. If you have any doubts, then take a look at the photos published at Personalmente… Juan de Dios in the post “Where are the wheels?” Fortunately, there were no injuries to lament.

And since we have already mentioned combis and their infamy, I can't help but point out a post published by Sutiyqa Mariam a few weeks ago: “Polyglot Combi,” an anecdote that causes us to think that not everything is so bad and that there is always room for improvement.

What is, in fact, really bad is Peruvian soccer. Not because of the quality of the players, but the league administrators do have much to do with this crisis. Check out the report in De Media Cancha (”At Half Field”) titled “The night has fallen: Peruvian soccer is K.O.'d.”

Como se sabe Ancash fue inhabilitado de seguir participando debido a que una resolución lo declaraba con cuatro puntos perdidos por lo que le correspondía bajar de categoría y dar paso al Jose Galvez de Chimbote. Es más los 11 clubes restantes se habrían reunido y acordado dejar participar a este club en el clausura. Pero las grandes decisiones del Directorio de la FPF dejaron sin efecto este hecho, lo que viene causando una grave molestia en los clubes profesionales. ¿Porque tanto interés que permanezca Ancash - presidido por Jose Malqui quien pertenece a la comisión mundialista-en la división de honor, acaso será cierto que se esta protegiendo un voto para que el señor Julio Vasquez Giacarini siga al frente de la ADFP?

As everyone knows, the Ancash team was disqualified from further participation due to a resolution that caused the loss of four points and lowered the club's standing to a lower division. What's more, the 11 remaining clubs were going to meet and decide to allow their participation in the end-of-the-season tournament. But the decision of the Directory of the FPF overruled, causing serious annoyance to the professional clubs. Why, as much interest that Ancash - presided over by Jose Malqui who belongs to the World Cup commission - garners in the top division, would they be kept out so that Mr. Julio Vasquez Giacarini gets to the front of the ADFP?

The blog A boca de jarro reflects a little on the consequences of this shady conduct by the leaders of Peruvian soccer in the post “Peruvian Federation of Soccer: A corrupt organization.”

Osea, si mañana nos enteramos que alguien compró árbitros, si nos enteramos que un dirigente sobornó a jugadores de otro equipo para que se “echen”, lo que Usted se imaginé, el delito deportivo que usted escoja… no se preocupe, si usted es un redomado adulón, un hombre sin alma y de barro, cualquier cosa, la FPF tiene la solución a su problemas…”la anmistía”

I mean, if tomorrow we found out that somebody bought off referees, if we found out that a leader bribed the players of another team so that “they play easy”, just imagine the penalty that you would choose … not to worry, if you are cheat, a man without soul, anything, the FPF has a solution for your problems … “amnesty.”

Better times are already on their way for Peruvian soccer, or at least we hope. As the saying goes, “nothing bad lasts one hundred years nor does any body resist it.” Everything passes, that's life. And about life, with a dose of philosophy, Comentarios de un Peregrino posts “MAF - a Master at Failure.”

Soy un master en fracasos, absolutamente si, no me queda la menor duda, pero eso no me hace menos, de hecho creo que da la capacidad de entender mas cosas, de saber que el éxito es relativo y que dura mucho menos que los fracasos, me ha permitido colocarme en los zapatos de los demás e intentar entender sus propias vidas y mas importante aún me ha permitido ser quien soy hoy día; … me hace acordar que tengo el tiempo prestado y que nada es tan serio.

I am a master at failure, absolutely, I do not have the smallesst doubt, but that does not make me any less of a failure. In fact, I believe that failing enables the capacity to understand things, to know that success is relative and that it lasts much less than failure. It has allowed me to put on the shoes of others and try to understand their lives. Even more important still, it has allowed me to be the one who I now am. It reminds me that time is borrowed and that nothing is so serious.

On the other hand, “Rain” of Puerto Asterix poetically writes in the short post “Fugacidad” (”Fleetingness”):

Todo se evapora en un segundo, en diez años, en un día o en lo que dura, el abrir los ojos en las mañanas.

Everything evaporates in one second, in ten years, in a day or in the amount of time it takes to open your eyes in the morning.

There are those things that you never know how long they will last, even though we wish that they were eternal. Mu, of Just MU It, knows this clearly and describes it in his post “Y tú por qué escribes?” (”And you, why do you write?”):

Yo escribo porque a veces pienso cosas tan irrelevantes que si se las contara a alguien de seguro haría una pausa, un silencio incómodo de 10 segundos y luego diría “anyway…” previo a un cambio de tema.

Otras veces escribo para escribir entre líneas. Decir dentro de una historia lo que siento en una línea, decirte que te quiero por ejemplo, eso me encanta.

Y porque le temo a la muerte, escribo para inmortalizarme.

I write because sometimes I think up such irrelevant things that if I said them to somebone, it would surely make them pause, followed by an uncomfortable silence of 10 seconds, and then an “anyway…” searching for a change of subject.

Other times I write to write between the lines. To say, within a story, what I feel in a single line. To say that I care about you, for example, enchants me.

And because I fear death, I write for immortality.

Irrelevant mutterings, love, desire, fear. These are things that are found in blogs. And which are among the reasons they are so widely read. But that's not it, of course; we also find literature, fiction mixed with reality and with personal twists of tales:

En el intermedio la gorda se acerca a mí como una lapa, no puedo quitármela de encima. ¿Sabes que son los blogs?- me vuelve a interrogar. No tengo ni puta idea- le respondo con una mirada que merece más su conmiseración que la reacción de rabia que yo esperaba. La gorda no se siente mal por mi respuesta, todo lo contrario, trata de explicarme que la comunidad blogger es lo mejor que hay para conocer gente culta. En este momento la gorda no cabe en su emoción: Acaba de ver en mí, a otra incauta a quien vender la idea de que ser blogger es como cambiar de religión, pues te garantiza el paraíso prometido de las relaciones sociales en èsta ciudad.

At some point the fat woman came to me and, like a mollusk, I cannot remove her from above. Do you know what blogs are? - she interrogates me again. I don't have the damndest idea I tell her with a look that deserves commiseration more than the rage I awaited. The fat woman doesn't feel bad after my response, just the opposite, she tries to explain to me that the community of bloggers is the best way to meet cultured people. At this moment the fat woman no longer fits within her emotion: She stops even seeing me and looks to seize another to sell the idea that to be a blogger is like changing your religion, it guarantees the promised paradise of social relations in this city.

The narration is called, almost inevitably, “The Fat Woman” and is in the blog “Lima: Crónicas de un Transeúnte.” (”Lima: Chronicles of a Passer-by”). It is also the blog with which we end this small journey that I hope you have enjoyed.

Translated from Spanish by David Sasaki

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Ethiopia: March to protest violence against women.

Lova Rakotomalala · 13:54

lingua → fr · zht · zhs

A march was organized on April, 14th at Merkel square, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This march wanted to show that women were still at risk of random acts of violence and that more needed to be done from a legal point of view to protect their well-being. The march was organized by the Ethiopian Wowen Lawyers Association, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) , United Nations Funds for Population (UNFPA) and the support of the Ministry of Justice and The Ministry of Women. It all started whem Kamilat Mehdi walked home after dark with her two sisters when a man stepped out of the shadows and threw sulphuric acid in her face. The Reuters article says: “Though an isolated case, the attack has horrified Ethiopia's reserved and conservative society and cast a searing light on a hidden culture of violence against women”.
Below is a video of the demonstration to increase awareness on this issue of women's legal protection against violence. The posters are written in Ahmaric and advocates firmer laws on violence and sexual harrasment:

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Russia: Dissenters' March in Moscow (1)

Veronica Khokhlova · 08:02

The volume of blog coverage of the weekend's rallies in Moscow and St. Petersburg is truly overwhelming - as overwhelming, perhaps, as the number of riot police (OMON) deployed from all over Russia to disperse the opposition's Dissenters' March. But nowhere near as shocking.

Below is the first installment of links, accompanied with snippets of text translated from Russian. (Please note that many entries - arranged in no particular order - link to bandwidth-intensive content.)

- LJ user mnog (photos):

Don't feel like writing.

Photos (more than 50 (about 6 MB) )

- LJ user insie (other bloggers' photos, text):

[…] In the backyards near Tverskaya, I was surprised to discover little streams of people, who chose this path as the best, just like I did. In the backyards closer to Pushkinskaya, I saw trucks with OMON, police officers giving threatening orders via walkie-talkies, fire trucks and an ambulance. People walking nearby were on their cell phones, saying something like this: “See you later, unless I get detained.” Made me feel uncomfortable. […]

- LJ user serni (photos, video, text):

Disclaimer: I was present at the Dissenters' March out of curiousity only.

[…] When people moved forward, trying to break through, yelling, “There are more of us,” the regime's forces produced sticks right away and started beating everyone who was in their way. It was the first time that I saw the enraged OMON fighters, walking towards me with sticks in front of them, beating everyone left and right. By miracle, I avoided the blows. It felt like a parachute dive. […]

- LJ user dolboeb (photos, text):

Some OMON fighters, in the Ninja Turtles' outfits, looked appropriately intimidating and photogenic, but the pointlessness of their being there, their walking back and forth, seemed to tire both them and the audience. […] As background for portrait shooting, the police looked great, I think.

- LJ user plushev (photos, text):

[…] We only got there at the very end of the rally, when they were no longer detaining or beating anyone - all were polite and respectful. The main and, basically, the only impression that I had the time to get was that they send A LOT OF young [police] women to work at rallies. Students of the police school, that is. Many were very beautiful, even in their ugly uniforms. Didn't manage to get a close shot of anyone - [my camera is too slow], and the girls were shy, they were turning away and asking not to photograph them.

- LJ user m_gaidar (text):

When they were taking me away, I called 02 [an equivalent of 911] and told them that I and a group of 20 people have been unlawfully kidnapped by people in uniform. The girl [operator] got very frightened and asked: “Where are you?” In a bus near Pushkinskaya, I replied, and the girl just hung up on me. I called again and asked her to introduce herself and register my call, because people in camouflage were taking us all in an unknown direction. She asked again where we were detained. I said, on Pushkinskaya, and she sign with evident relief and said: “Well… you know… here… We are just having a special operation there! Nothing to be scared of.” A special operation against whom - against me?!!!!!! And what do you mean it's nothing to be scared of - for whom nothing scary? For you or for whom?!!! The girl was definitely feeling uncomfortable… said, please call the boss [starshiy]. “What boss?” I asked. “The one in camouflage,” she replied. Okay, I see, you are all together in it, I said and hung up on her myself this time.

Anyway, I've now got a phone call from the prosecutor's office and they invited me to come tomorrow at noon to 19 Petrovka, to Boluchevskiy Sergei Anatolyevich and answer questions about my phone call. I said I'd come with journalists and a lawyer. They replied: “Yes, sure! Come with whoever you want…” Anyway, if anyone want to come along - write me. […]

[A RIA-Novosti photo of m_gaidar's detention is here.]

- LJ user okalman (text):

I'm going to the March tomorrow… For many reasons. I disagree with the Other Russia, too, among other things, but I'm still going. […] I don't like Kasyanov, nor do I like Kasparov, and even less so do I like Limonov. But if in the 1990s everyone wisely concluded that Yeltsin was a [Communist] party official and why would I go to the White House “for Yeltsin”? - then we'd still be living under Communists. […]

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Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome

Salam Adil · 06:58

The day I lost my hair
mother had dragged me out to shop

the wait for lulls in incessant crossfire
had not come to a stop
and the children were hungry
for more than just candy

check points where faces
had traces of
trashed deaths
dying answers in stillborn questions
struggling to extract
the last breath of a meaning
for the wait

it was then that the shots hailed
into the skull of a walking doll
and life stopped
right there in the remaining footprints
of the once skipping child

it was right there
that her hair came down
with a thud
on the dirt

And I walked home…
Without my mother
Who was still shopping, not stopping

and I sheared my head
and shred the tresses
into the waiting mirror…

Thikra who was once Iraq's # 1 ballerina still lives in Iraq with her mother. This is what happened when they shot a child at a checkpoint ‘by accident' in front of her…

poem by ZZ in The Words That Come Out

If you read no other post this week read this one:

Gligamesh goes for a night out in Dubai and finds the people empty:

The demographics were plenty, people from all races, lots of Brits and Arabs though, and it was amazing how many Arabs were congregated in one place, I don’t experience that much often, but nightclub guys I do not know why, all look the same, most of them have the same look, either in Canada or UAE, its almost I try the impossible to read how stupidly from their faces, but I do not see books, I am judging, but they do look like that, they look vain, empty, pleasure worshiping creatures, I figured out at one instance, if we people try as much as we try to be happy, try to help my country or other countires, it would have been that way, if we tried to study political thought process, and its applications, the world would have been a different place, but we all commercial, and all the people who do come to these commercial hubs, do what they have to do, and they are the ones who do things, who make the planet go forward not really as in forward probably forward in emitting CO2, all those people do things, but the people who really advent politics, people who made and are making political theories are only in books I read, the rest are politicians with agendas killing my country.

Just like we have money poverty, we have intellectual poverty, we have activism poverty, all those people who do philanthropy in politics are so small in number to people who do philanthropy and good will to entertain their penises, veginas, excuse my acute vulgarity but I felt he world is vulgar, insensitive, and superficial, it makes people who love and are couples smart, really smart! It makes married couples for a long time, geniuses.

Explosions and explosions

When your country has been torn apart and the world turned upside down beneath your feet, it is the familiar that you cling on to. A bridge in Baghdad destroyed by an explosion raised widespread mourning from Iraqi bloggers yet other exlospions barely raise a few eyebrows.

Iraq the Model explains: “This was an attack on both a vital infrastructure of the city and our morale, let alone the innocent lives that were lost in this vicious attack. What we lost today was not just a bridge, it was a piece of the Baghdad history.” Zappy adds: “This really was a blow to each Baghdadi, they managed to break our Hearts by blowing up the oldest bridge in Baghdad the Sarafiyah Bridge also named “Al jisr al-Hadedee” the Iron Bridge.
Many people had been effected emotionally as another Major feature of Baghdad has been destroyed.”

Konfused Kid now understands how Shia felt after the Al-Askari shrine was bombed. He writes:

a friend came and told me about Sarafiya Bridge - and as I saw the picture of that great structure on which I tread upon many days of my life, I just couldn't take it anymore. I'm really afraid of what might happen if structures I really care such as Imam Ali in Najaf or Abu Haneefa in Adhamiya are destroyed, now I can understand how Shiites felt when al-Askari was destroyed, it's horrible, just horrible i tell you, I pictured myself wearing the same armed belt, the same grenades and going around here to find where … does that sick … Harith al-Dhari lives so I can just give him the taste of his medicine once and FOR ALL. What use is us? All we do is just sit around and do nothing as our country is destroyed by those pigs, those monkeys, those apes, Remember why I was so pissed off about that Star Academy bimbo? Because when al-Askari shrine happened I was really optimistic about the Sunnis and Shiite finally proving to the world that it doesn't matter … So when I watched those 7 million asses voting and lauding it as some big deal I get a serene sense of Deja Vu… I'm beyond hate, beyond insanity now, beyond everything.

A&EIraq feels the same about the bridge and those behind its bombing: “I don’t know what to say, it was not only a bridge; it’s a symbol. Symbol for Baghdad, for love and for the ancient days. It was just a nice thing we had and yet, we lost. To everyone who likes to defend whatever he calls it; resistance, Jihad or what else, I really wish you loosing everything, I wish you suffer forever, I wish you see whatever dear to your hearts being destroyed while you’re helpless.”

aNarki-13 feels nothing for the people blown up in parliament but more for the bridge:

Three politicians wasted, So What?
Three dozen are already lined up to replace them.

I feel more hurt by a big pile of rusty steel falling in the river Tigris, than by the death of flesh-and-blood human beings, “elected” to govern us.

Why? because i FEEL MORE CONNECTION WITH THAT LUMP OF STEEL THAN WITH THOSE DEAD F***S…

LET THOSE (….) FEEL WHAT THE REST OF IRAQ IS GETTING…

all said and done, God have mercy on the dead.

And Baghdad Treasure is haunted by the image of those that died that day:

I kept thinking about how did the people who were on al-Sarrafiya bridge feel when they found their bodies riddled with shrapnel… Driving, going to work or school, thinking of death while driving and then Boom! Everything is gone, the bridge and themselves. Images of people’s bodies falling in the Tigris haunted me. What were these poor people saying to themselves in the distance between the river and the destroyed bridge as they were falling? …

When is this madness going to stop? Oh Baghdad, my heart breaks for you with every brick falling, with every blood dropping, with every tear flowing, with every Iraqi dying.

There is News and There is News

Some times you cannot be sure who to believe and you realise that the mainstream media is just one source like any other.

The report of demonstrations against the US presence by the Sadrist movement vary widely from one source to another. Omar at Iraqi the Model watches the demonstrations on television and calls them “pitiful”. He writes: “His aides were hoping to gather a million marchers for yesterday but all they could manage were less than ten thousands, that's even when they bussed people from Baghdad and Basra.”

On the other hand Zeyad has taken a different impression from photos on his IraqSlogger site.

And then there is the bombing at the Iraqi parliament cafe where the media reported eight dead including two MP's. Yet Baghdad Connect a blog not known for exaggerated reports gives an eyewitness report that conflicts widely:

38 people have been killed and 18 have been wounded including 8 Americans in the blast of what appears to be a suicide bomber. Amongst the instantly killed are 8 nos Sadrists, 3 nos. of the Mr. Mutlaq’s list including Mr. Mohd. Awad and 4 MPs from El Tawafuq (including Al Jabouri and Al Jumayli). Other bodies were taken folded from the bombing site.

And as for the reason behind the bombing of the parliament the mainstream media only gives vague answers. Raed fills in the picture by actually bothering to ask the MP's themselves:

The official spokesman of a secular group that lost an MP in the explosion announced that the attack was aimed at silencing “nationalist MPs who are against splitting iraq and against the oil law”. Looking at who was killed and injured in the attack, it seems like they were ALL nationalists. Also, considering that the parliament was just about to begin debating the oil law this week, the timing of the attack was very convenient

Now there is an original concept.. actually quoting the targets of the bombing as part of the news report. Mainstream media please take note.

And Finally…

You get a call from your aunt to help set up her new computer. As any self-respecting blogger knows it is their duty to help out even if the rewards are just a ‘Thank you' and a sandwich. aNarki-13 gets that call but things are not quite as they seem…

A13: “its no problem, everything is color coded, blue into blue and green and so on..”

B: “What colors? there are no colors!”

at this point i'm thinking that the mouse and keyboard have black connectors, and henceforth the trouble in “putting the pc together”

B: … i saw FULL PC prices and they were so expensive, 700$s and more, the one i bought cost me much less than half that.. i bought it from Company X..”

at first my eye-brows attempted to leave my face, then came back with her explanation, i thought: she didn't buy a Brand-Name system, the guys at Company X (which is very famous and very reliable around here) must have custom-built it.. at least she seems smart enough to buy cheap..

i put the monitor on the desk (a nice LCD -17″ish?- she got it for like 200$.. one day i'll get one of those, they look and display nice) connect the cables and route them thru the back of the desk, then i put the keyboard and mouse in place, speakers as well, then i ask for the case itself so i can connect everything and leave early..

her little daughter (age 12) comes in, carrying the case single-handedly, as if carrying a cellphone or something similar of weight (i'm in shock for like 3 seconds, this girl is half my age, yet she's already carrying cases in ONE HAND?? Scary little girl!) .. in her other hand, a power supply.
i realize the case is empty…

At which point things start to go downhill.

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Turkey is Typing…Presidential Protests

Deborah Ann Dilley · 06:52

As the Turkish Presidential race begins to gear up, the Republic of Turkey once again finds itself torn between the ideals of a secularist or Islamist state. This week was marked by protests and editorial after editorial of speculation about the future of Turkey and whether the ideals of democracy will survive the next election.

Let's begin with the presidential calendar given to us by Erkan's Field Diary:

Candidacy applications started today. The presidential calendar:

April 16: Candidacy applications begin.

April 17: PM Erdoğan meets political party leaders, convenes his cabinet.

April 18: AKP's Central Executive Board (MKYK) convenes.

April 25: deadline for candidacy applications.

April 26: Parliament Speaker Arınç proposes two alternative dates for election tours. According to the first alternative the first tour will start on April 26. According to the constitution the second tour is scheduled for May 1, third tour May 8 and final tour May 15.

May 3: The second alternative is to start on May 3 followed by the second tour on May 7, third tour on May 11 and the final tour on May 15. In these first two rounds of voting, in order to be elected president a candidate must receive support of at least three-fifths of the total 550 seats of the unicameral legislation, 367 votes.

May 16: Presiden Sezer completes his seven year term. The hand over ceremony takes place.

It is generally accepted that PM Tayyip Erdogan will run for the presidency, and with him a new wave of Islamist government will control the Republic of Turkey. Even though presidential speculation is nothing new to those familiar with Turkish politics, the heated discussion of secularism vs. Islam has come to a head. Founded on the principles of Kemalism which stressed a secular state, modern Turkey's history has plagued with the issue of Islamic rule. In fact the Turkish military has intervened in the form of a coup on more than one occasion to keep to the tenets of Kemalism. The White Path sums up the debate well:

First one needs to understand where this debate comes from. Anyone who follows Turkish politics will note that there are circles within Turkey who think that secularism is the outmost principle and democracy can well be sacrificed for its sake. This means that, for example, if people elect a parliament and government that is not secular enough, the Turkish Armed Forces can stage a coup. Or softer measures can be used, such as the usurpation of political power by the judiciary and other bureaucratic institutions. (And when I say “not secular enough,” I don't mean an Islamism such as that of the Taliban; in Turkey a wife with a headscarf is simply enough of a heresy according to the standards of official illiberal secularism.)

However there are other proponents of secularism in Turkey, including myself, who think that secularism is only meaningful when it is supplemented by democracy. These people also note that it is not a danger to secularism if people with deeply rooted religious beliefs come to power. This view is generally referred to as the “liberal secularism,” whose adherents generally don't see any problem with Prime Minister Erdoğan and his government with respect to the “principles of the republic.”

On the 14th of April, the debate came to a physical manifestation–a pro-secular protest staged in the country's capital of Ankara. Spooky Sense by Garfucius explains:

there was a huge rally protesting the premier's rather inarticulate desire and ambition to become president this weekend in the capital. according to reports, the tandoğan square in ankara, just a stone's throw from atatürk's mausoleum, the anıtkabir, turned into a “sea of flags” while hundreds of thousands declared fealty to the republican ideal of secularism.

the moderate and hardline pro-islamic pro-government front contended, rather than through counter-rallies, by verbally denouncing and decrying the secularists' assembly and hanging posters, banners etc. that urged national will as reflected in parliament to prevail in electing the head of state.

Estimates of the crowd at the protest in Ankara are 300,000 to 1 million, but it would be foolish to predict that an Islamist government would not take control of Turkey judging just by the numbers of protesters. Even so, optimism is high, as demonstrated by Ignore Me If You Can, who says that she lives in a country that…

Stands up for its beliefs. Where thousands of people from all over Turkey gather to become one, to make sure that their voice is heard. To make sure that the message is sent all around the world; “Turkey is a secular country and will stay secular, thanks to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk”. We will not let religious zealots take that away from us. 14th of April was a historical day for this nation. I am proud to be part of this country.

Needless to say, Turkey is in for a wild ride in the next month.

*Thumbnail photo credit to ckindel.

4 comments · »»

Taiwan: Transport what to where?

I-fan Lin · 04:32

lingua → zht · zhs

In the essay on outdoor recreation, ‘Conservation Esthetic,' Professor Leopold wrote, ‘Recreational development is a job not of building roads into the lovely country, but of building receptivity into the still unlovely human mind.'

The total area of Taiwan is about 36,000 sq. km, and mountains account for 30% of the surface area. The Central Mountain Range has been an important barrier stretching from north to south. It stops typhoons approaching from Pacific Ocean going to the western plains and stops western invaders from going to the eastern areas. Ever since Taiwan was colonized by China and Japan, transportation between the east and the west has played a critical role in the local community development, government control, and natural resource depredation.

For example, after the Mudanshe Incident in 1871, Chinese government implemented the ‘Kai Shan Fu Fan’ policy, to go into the mountains and the east. After Japan took over Taiwan in 1895, Japanese government built not only railways in the western plains but also roads and railways to the eastern areas. After world war II, Kuomintang took over the regime from Japan, and three cross-island highways were built and a circular railway around Taiwan was finished.

These days, Taiwanese have been discussing three important transportation projects: Taiwan High Speed Rail (finished), Taipei-Yilan Freeway (finished), and Yilan-Hualian freeway (decision not final yet).

For decades, Taiwan's economic growth mainly focuses on the western plains, and there has been pressure to have more efficient transportation from western plains to eastern areas for a long time. And, nowadays, people ask not only ‘highway', but 'super-highway' or ‘high-speed rail,' so that Taiwanese can travel back and forth to anywhere in Taiwan in one day.

Blackcat said,

台灣交通變得更快速便利後，心中的那張台灣地圖似乎也跟著縮小不少。

when the transportation becomes faster and more efficient, the map of Taiwan in my mind seems to get smaller and smaller.

Chieftain also said,

我以後應該會經常使用高鐵吧，以我所處地區來看，坐高鐵是比搭飛機更好的選擇。而且搭飛機的話，要從松山出來，我倒不如在火車站出來還比較省錢、方便一些。

I would probably take the High Speed Rail more often in the future; from where I am located, taking the high speed rail is a better choice, comparing to taking the plane. More, if I took airplane, I would come out from Sung Shan Airport, and the transportation from the airport is more expensive and less convenience than from the train station.

Thanks to the modern technology, our dreams have chance to come true. For example, Taiwan's Hsuehshan tunnel, world's fifth longest tunnel, probably one of the top most difficult projects to complete in the world. It penetrates into Hseuhshan, the largest mountain in northern Taiwan; the project took 15 years, one tunnel boring machine, and (based on Veterans affairs commission) thirteen workers' life (seven Thai people and six Taiwanese), and resulted in severe injury of three Taiwanese workers. Discovery produced a movie about the story: Man made marvels. Taiwan's Hsuehshan tunnel.

Wisely said,

在以往開車，大概要花費約兩個半小時，而現今只要40分鐘便可到達。這個對滿多在台北工作的人，或是想到宜蘭去觀光遊憩的外縣市遊客來說，真的相當地方便。畢竟對於離鄉在外工作的我們，這條高速公路還是充滿的便利性！我在未來購車之後，可以更常回宜蘭探望父母，也不需要配合火車的時間通勤。

it takes only 40 minutes to go to Yilan from Taipei now, and it was 2.5 hrs in the past. For many people working in Taipei or people who want to spend their vacation in Yilan, it is much more convenient now. For us who work in another city, this freeway is full of convenience and efficiency. If I owned a car in the future, I could visit my parents more often in Yilan, and my schedule would not have to be based on the train schedule.'

Children's mind said,

要是講”人定勝天”太武斷了。這似乎小看了天地自然的力量。但是人所展現的智慧毅力以及堅忍不拔，造就了雪山隧道的誕生。

it is too arbitrary to say that man will triumph over nature. These words underestimate nature's force. However, it is our knowledge and will that contributes to the tunnel birth.

Although many people embrace the efficient transportation happily, more and more Taiwanese question the necessity of building roads, especially when the disturbance to the environment is obvious.

When Hsuehshan tunnel was under construction, lots of water inside the geology structure was lost, which increased the difficulty in constructing the tunnel. After the tunnel is open, there is still water loss everyday. Based on Ministry of transportation and communications Taiwan area national expressway engineering bureau, 36 m3 water is lost every minute. Although based on the same bureau, the amount lost is not particular significant compared to the tunnels in Japan. More, based on Chun-Hung Huang's report, the water lost is not related to the amount of water flowing into the reservoirs. Even so, people are still worried about the possibility of the water resource shortage as a result of tunnel construction in the future.

Ke-Hsiang Liu said,

大量流失的地下水，到底從何而來。失去這些水後，包括大尾山在內，周遭山林是否仍能跟過去一樣，足以積蓄豐富的水源。整個微區域的雨量，能否經年正常。這些或那些不可預測的嚴重結果，以目前的科學知識，都沒有人敢掛保證，未來恐怕也難有明確的答案。

lots of underground water is disappearing, where does the water come from? After losing the water, we don’t know if the mountains and the surrounding forest could still store abundant water. We do not know if the local climate (rainfall) would still be the same. And, based on our current scientific knowledge, no one could predict the severity of the outcome, and an exact answer might still not be feasible in the near future.

Momoge discussed about the mindset of people making decision for these constructions:

如果公共工程的思維是站在發展工商那一面，就會有蘇花高，改天還會有花東高。站在自然那一面，就不會有蘇花高，而是強化現有交通，避免進一步破壞，甚至想辦法復原以往的破壞。
現在蘇花高提出來了，表示「政府就是這樣想」，這很糟糕，因為「內部已經定案了」，不過還沒蓋，還有扭轉的可能。

if the mindset behind the public projects leans toward the business/ economic development, then there would be Yilan Hualian freeway, and Hualian Taitung freeway would come shortly; if the mindset leans toward nature, then there would not be highways, rather, the focus would be on reinforcing the current highway structure, to prevent further destruction, and probably even try to reverse the existed destruction. Now the proposal of Yilan Hualian freeway is out there. This is terrible, as ‘the internal decision’ is made. However, the construction has not started yet, and there is still possibility to reverse the decision.

一封花蓮孩子的公開信：

A letter from people in Hualian：

過去的開發建設或許讓我們經濟起飛，但也讓我們經歷了許多大自然回報的慘痛代價，更何況要以高速公路帶動經濟的方式已經過於老舊，也有許多實例證明高速公路不等於經濟發展；另外一些人認為花蓮需要方便的交通，但我們認為高速公路絕對不是唯一的方式，科技進步，有更多元的方式可以增加來到花蓮的便捷性，別讓大公路主義貫徹整個台灣。最重要的，蘇花高這樣的建設具有不可恢復性，當開工後，所造成的破壞將無法彌補回來，縱使再厲害的生態工法，還是要開隧道、建馬路，沒有人可以預估對土地造成多大的傷害。

The constructions we had before may be the reason for our economic growth, but it is also the reason for the price we pay for many natural disasters. Furthermore, relying on highway for economic growth is an old strategy, many examples proves that highway development is not equal to economic development. Some people believe Hualian needs a more convenient transportation, but we believe that building highways is not the only choice. With technology advances, there are many alternatives to improve the convenience and the efficiency to come to Hualien. There is no need to let ‘highwayism' spread all over Taiwan. Most importantly, the damage to building Yilan Hualian freeway is irreversible. Once the construction starts, regardless of the advancement in our construction methodologies, the destruction can’t be repaired and no one could predict the severity made to our land.

When many people cosign to fight against the freeway constructions, Yenwen has different point of view:

人權、環保意識逐漸抬頭，很多人開始支持公益議題，或許他們覺得支持這些議題才是正義、有道德、人民素質提升的表現，但我不禁要問：
當你在連署這些公益議題時，對於他們的論述，你有能力辨別真偽嗎？
你瞭解政府的政策嗎？
台灣是否已先進到，足以接受「文化、環保高於經濟發展」？
你能提出更好的政策嗎？

when human right and environmentalism start to get more attention in our society, more people start to support public topics. Perhaps they feel supporting these topics is the right thing to do, an ethical thing to do, it is a way to show self-quality improvement. But, I can’t stop asking:
when you cosign for the public issues, do you have the ability to distinguish the legitimacy of their proposal? Do you understand the government’s policy? Has Taiwan progressed enough that we can afford to have culture and environment playing more important roles than economic growth? Do you have better proposal?

Well, these are tough questions. But maybe Taiwan Railway Administration tries to answer the last one. There will be Taroko Train running between Taipei and Hualian starting May of 2007. Based on Introductions of trains in Taiwan, the reason to use this kind of trains is to solve the problems for the curves in the railways between Taipei and Yilan, and to minimize the commute to be within 2 hours.

To get to the bottom of the questions, we still want to ask, ‘transport what to where?' If we have a lot of roads, what do we plan to do next? Leopold said, we should open our heart, to be closer to the nature. Then, if we have a lot of money, what do we want to do next? Perhaps, we want to live a more meaningful and happier life, and then our offsprings can live a happier and more meaningful life.

Mentioned in 2:30AM's blog, Tzu Chi's leader, Dharma Master Cheng Yen said in a TV show,

台灣也沒多大，高速公路一條又一條，像我們這個地方，這樣到底山要破壞多少？樹要砍伐多少？水資源要壟斷多少？都不知道！…我只能呼籲大家克己復禮！如果要救地球，要多種樹，不要再破壞了！要開的路，也已經夠多了。

Taiwan is small, but we build more and more highways. A place like this, how much destruction to the mountains we may make, how many lumbers we may cut down, and how much water resource we may lose to build the highways? We do not know!…I can only ask all of us to abnegate our desire and preserve proprieties. If we want to save the earth, we need to plant instead of destruction. The roads are enough for us.

3 comments · »»

Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Bombastic?

Janine Mendes-Franco · 01:00

Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica have been baring their teeth at each other recently over two major issues. The first is that Trinidad Cement Limited acquired a 43.5% stake in Jamaica's Carib Cement, a move that has not sat well with many Jamaicans, especially following last year’s debacle over cement quality, which resulted in the company having to face an estimated $60 million in damage control costs. In addition to having booming corporate and manufacturing sectors that see regional expansion as a legitimate means of growing business and increasing profit, T&T is perhaps the most resource-rich member of CARICOM - which makes the second issue that much harder for Jamaicans to swallow: Trinidad and Tobago's reneging on a promise to supply Liquefied Natural Gas to Jamaica, which will have a negative impact upon Jamaica's plans to expand the infrastructure for its bauxite production.

In a region that is generally regarded by outsiders to be a monolith, each Caribbean island is quite different from the other, despite shared history and commonalities of language. That said, the Caribbean, as a region, manages to operate quite well when it comes to endeavours like The University of the West Indies and West Indies Cricket (recent events concerning the latter notwithstanding).

The Trinidad Guardian's Business Editor, Anthony Wilson, wrote at length about the impasse between the two countries, noting that “The LNG would lower Alcoa’s cost of production at its alumina refinery in Clarendon and as a result of the cogeneration of electricity, some of the LNG will be passed through to Jamaica’s electricity grid, lowering the cost of production in the wider economy. So I do understand Jamaica’s position on this issue. What I do not understand is…the Jamaicans who are commenting on this issue in the newspapers and on radio stations appear not to understand some of the basics of the LNG business.”

But no commentary on the issue has caused as much ire in the blogosphere than a vitriolic piece by Jamaican columnist Dawn Ritch entitled “Bombastic Trinidadians”, published recently in the Jamaica Gleaner. Trinidad Carnival Diary shared her views in a post titled “Bombastic Jamaican”:

I find it quite ironic that a Jamaican is writing about the murder rates in Trinidad and Tobago when theirs is the highest in the region.

Bloggers also seemed insulted at Ms. Ritch's characterisation of the indigenous people of Trinidad and Tobago: “What the Jamaican Government must now have realised are baleful consequences of the Amerindian heritage of Trinidad. They are not Taino but Carib, and those were cannibals. We were not, and it's not part of our make-up. Murderous today, but still not cannibal. The only thing to do with cannibals is drive them out with prosperity. That way we will have the economic independence to buy back that which they have gloatingly captured here on the cheap.”

Roi Kwabena, a self-declared “student of our indigenous heritage”, declares:

I wish to hereby express my disgust for this unsavory commentary by this obviously IGNORANT writer who needs to learn more of the true heritage of our ancestors. The Jamaican Gleaner has woefully proven their inability to promote tolerance in the region.

Blogger Attlilah Springer wrote about Ms. Ritch's article in her own newspaper column, calling it a “crassly racist diatribe…that borders on what I can only think to describe as neo-colonial jingoism”.

Others, including Jamaican Francis Wade, after linking to the Gleaner article, and the fiery discussions that preceded it, have tried to find ways to mend the fences. He has even put forward the idea of forming a Trinidad/Jamaica Business Club.

7 comments · »»

Interview with Digital Kalashinkov, Journalist and Blogger

Hamid Tehrani · 00:28

lingua → zht · zhs · fa

In Digital Kalashinkov we find interesting stories, photos, and reflections on society and politics. In one of his recent posts, author Bahman Hedyati compared photographs of the various shop windows in Tehran, observing that even mannequins in Iran's capital are surreally covered up.

Please introduce yourself and your blog

My name is Bahman Hedyati from Tehran. I started to write Digital Kalashinkov four years ago. Of course it is a blog and a photoblog at the same time. I have taken almost all of the photos myself. The style of photography focuses on subjects and things that the official media is not interested in covering. I chose Digital Kalaeshinkov as a name because I feel many times what I am doing is like shooting with a Kalashinkov. There is a similarity between shooting, hunting and taking photos, especially in Iran where photographers face danger.

Of course Kalashinkov was the Red Army's favorite weapon, but please do not think I am a Communist. I really do not like them. My political leaning is to the right.

What is the added value of a weblog for journalists?

When journalists write their own blogs they realise the dimensions and consequences of their work because they become the owner of their own media. Direct contact without any intermediary with you audience, explaining marginalized news, untold stories of journalism, having the possibility to defend his/her own ideas are among the added values that a journalist can enjoy by authoring a blog. In other words, in general, a deep breath full of the feeling of liberty.

How you see the evolution of Iranian blogs in recent years?

Blogs, little by little, are stablising their position as a source of news and analysis. The Internet in Iran is no longer considered just an entertainment instrument, but its specialised aspects are becoming more visible. The political blogs in Iran has, at times, exceeded the expected effect on the political sphere. Some political leaders such as Ahmadinejad, aware that people are tired of official media, and tried their luck with blogs. Some blogs such as Mohammad Ali Abtahi's Webneveshteha have become a source of political information.

When we enter in your blog we hear the audio of a military march.

As you know Saddam Hussein attacked Iran in 1980 and he began a terrible 8 year war with us. I was born two days before the war broke out. For my generation, this war has always been a very nostalgic and eternal event. One of my interests is about the social, cultural, and political dimensions of wars such as the Iran-Iraq war, Vietnam War and World War II. The military march is a German military march that Iranian radio used to broadcast during military victories in the Iran-Iraq war. It is just a nostaligic feeling, do not take it seriously.

What is place of weblogs in our society?

Blogs are the most free media in Iran and have found their own place in society. The blogs have pushed the boundaries … Reformist politicians have given importance to bloggers. And conservative politicians, little by little, have disocovered the importance of being part of this new media. Of course they have a lot of enemies too.

Do you have any other ideas to share with us?

I think if different bloggers from all over the world discuss a common issue, it can communicate different bloggers' concerns and ideas to each other. It will be great if the world listens to the voice of bloggers. The blogosphere has a very interesting and complex nature and it can become the source of important change in the 21st century and become one of components of soft power in our world.

2 comments · »»

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