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Russia: Ramzan Kadyrov's Motorcade

Veronica Khokhlova · 23:49

The YouTube video below, of what is described to be a motorcade of Chechnya's president Ramzan Kadyrov, has been viewed over 100,000 times (plus, this clip has been re-posted by a number of other YouTube and RuTube users):

LJ user navalny - Aleksei Navalny, former deputy head of the Moscow branch of Yabloko party, “a democrat who's not too excited about liberals” - has tried to classify (RUS) the cars seen in the video. According to him, there are at least nine Porsche Cayenne vehicles, two BMW 5 Series, two Mercedes S-Class, and eight Lexus GX 470 (or Toyota 100 Land Cruiser). Additionally, there's this:

[…] Thirty more cars, half of which half are [Lada 110], and the other half is [a mix] of BMW 5 Series, [Mercedes G-Class], a few [Volga] cars, etc. […]

Having sorted out Kadyrov's cars, LJ user navalny continued:

[…] It's hard to calculate the motorcade's cost. Especially considering that Cayenne, for example, is the most frequently stolen expensive cars. As we know, they are mainly taken to the Caucasus. Very likely, some are taken there for the needs of the Hero of Russia [Ramzan Kadyrov].

But here's what's really interesting. Ninety-eight percent of the Chechen Republic's budget is made up of the federal budget funds.

[…]

This miraculous motorcade has been acquired and is maintained on our money.

Let's be realistic. A president of the Federation's subject cannot drive [Zhiguli], and yes, Kadyrov does need guards. Yes, he needs an expensive car, or else he won't be respected by the locals […].

But still, a motorcade consisting of more than 50 cars, of which ten are Cayennes - it's too much.

Helping observe the Chechen native traditions and customs is turning out to be a bit too expensive for other citizens of the Russian Federation.

LJ user sdobnoff posted a sarcastic comment:

The motorcade's cost is minimal!

In the past few weeks alone, 16 Porsche Cayenne cars have been stolen in Moscow.

LJ user bolshakov added one more item to LJ user navalny's list:

Right. When I was hospitalized this past summer, Kadyrov came to visit his nephew, I guess, at the Sklifosovsky Institute - there are also [Bentley]'s in the motorcade.

Back in July 2007, Timur Aliev - LJ user timur_aliev, a journalist and Ramzan Kadyrov's aide - wrote (RUS) about what had allegedly happened to the Chechen president's nephew:

The big celebration of Kadyrov's 100 days [as president], which was to take place tomorrow, has been canceled. They say it's because Ramzan's 12-year-old nephew is in an intensive care unit now - a dew days ago, he was in a car accident. He took [a Zhiguli car] from the adults and crashed in it. […]

Commenting on LJ user navalny's post now, Timur Aliev wrote:

What you see is most likely a collective motorcade of the cars belonging to the [presidential administration] and the government. The president usually rides in a 10-car motorcade, which includes the guards' cars.

3 comments · »»

Brazil: Bloggers united against Wordpress ban

Paula Góes · 16:43

lingua → pt · es

The Brazilian blogosphere has not quite yet recovered from its last fright and there is already another threat on the way: a blanket ban on blogs hosted on Wordpress.com after a judicial court passed an order to close down a specific blog. Gabriela Zabo [pt] explains why:

O motivo é uma decisão judicial expedida em março, que determina a proibição de acesso a um determinado blog, hospedado no Wordpress. O nome do blog e o motivo do bloqueio não foram revelados. O problema é que, segundo a Abranet, para que a decisão seja cumprida, seria preciso bloquear todo o domínio wordpress.com (não é possível impedir acesso a um único blog, visto que o domínio inteiro divide o mesmo IP). Blogs baseados em Wordpress, mas hospedados em outros endereços, não seriam afetados pelo bloqueio.

The reason is a court order issued in March which stipulates the prohibition of access to a particular blog, hosted on Wordpress. The blog's name and the reason for the ban have not been disclosed. The problem is that, according to Abranet [Brazilian Association of Internet Service Providers], in order for this decision to be carried out, they would need to block the entire wordpress.com domain (it is not possible to prevent access to a single blog, since the entire domain shares the same IP). Blogs based on Wordpress, but hosted under different addresses, would not be affected by the ban.

Judge Jorge Alberto Araujo [pt] gives a little of the supposed story's background, which he has called YouTubeGate:

O caso é o seguinte: uma menina muito burra se deixa filmar/fotografar pelo namorado fazendo sexo despudoradamente, briga com o namorado (que está na posse da gravação), não raro traindo-o com outro. e este, indignado publica no YouTube as cenas picantes e íntimas.

The case is as follows: a very silly girl lets her boyfriend film/photograph her shamelessly having sex, she fights with the said boyfriend (who has kept the records), betraying him with another guy. And he, disgusted, publishes the spicy and intimate scenes on YouTube.

As the criminal content in this case is still not clear, and considering that the offensive blog, according to what some bloggers and twitters have heard, has had all previous posts deleted [we decided not to publicize the URL as it shows the name of the offended person], it is very possible that the blanket ban will not ultimately happen. However, as many bloggers have pointed out, this all sounds scarily familiar to some bloggers, who have already seen an astoundingly similar decision enforced in the very same way in Brazil.

Deja vu

Back in January 2006, a Brazilian court ordered YouTube to close down its service in the country until it removed all video clips of a celebrity sex video featuring model and ex-wife of soccer player Ronaldo, Daniela Cicarelli, apparently having sexual intercourse on a beach posted on the popular video-sharing site. While YouTube was banned in the country for a few days, allegedly the second largest national user of the site, thousands of YouTube users and bloggers launched an e-mail protest against Cicarelli and suggested a boycott of her television program on Brazilian MTV. Loosing money and prestige, the model denied participation in the lawsuit and the law was reverted.

Considering the previous legal decision to ban blogs from the pre-election campaign debate, some bloggers did seriously contemplate the possibility of yet another blanket ban. Knowing too well that it is better to be safe than sorry, they decided to take preemptive action. Wordpresser Celso Bessa reminds readers of the above mentioned event in an open letter to Matt Mullenweg and Wordpress/Automattic staff, also detailing other mishaps that the Brazilian blogosphere has gone through in the last years. He cries for help:

For this reason, I ask you guys to help defend our rights in cases like this, if the court really tries to reach you:
1. By providing the Brazilian Court with a technical report and knowledge support about the best way to handle the blocking order of this specific blog, without compromising the access to wordpress.com
2. By providing the blog owner with enought time and ways to keep his/her right to defense, to keep his data, and use the tools to migrate his blog and show the world his/her opinion.
3. By providing the blogsphere, with the information about the blog address and content. In order to allow us to judge the case by ourselves and the opportunity to a) take a side and b) show the world that we are fighting for our right to balance the power
You’ve shown, several times, that you guys respect democracy, common sense and internet collective good.

Rodrigo Ghedin [pt] also sent an e-mail to Wordpress and received an answer in a matter of hours. The blogger asks why those involved in this current controversy did not do the same in the first place and hopes for a sensible outcome:

É tão difícil enviar um e-mail para lá, e simplesmente solicitar a exclusão do blog? Casos extrajudiciais muito mais simples do que o que está gerando todo esse rebuliço são tratados com seriedade e profissionalismo. Tem algum blog hospedado no WordPress.com plagiando seu conteúdo? Basta mandar um e-mail embasado (com links servindo de prova), e pedir a exclusão. Dia desses algum orelhudo copiou o layout e as notícias do WinAjuda. Notifiquei o problema ao Mark, e hoje aquele exemplo de mau uso da ferramenta não existe mais. Espero que o bom senso vença no final das contas, e que o WordPress.com não fique fora do ar no Brasil em virtude de uma decisão judicial por um segundo sequer.

Is it so difficult to send an email to them, and simply request the blog to be deleted? Much more simple out of court settlements than the one causing all this fuss are treated with seriousness and professionalism. Is there any WordPress.com blog plagiarizing your content? You only need to send a sound email (with links as proof), and ask for its exclusion. Recently someone copied the layout and news pieces from WinAjuda. I informed Mark about the problem, and now that example of misuse of the tool no longer exists. I hope that common sense wins at the end of the day, and that WordPress.com does not get blocked for even a second in Brazil as a result of a court order.

Once bitten, twice shy

Considering that 90% of the Brazilian internet providers are affiliated to the Abranet, if the blanket ban comes true, nearly everyone in the country will loose access to the one million plus blogs hosted on the Wordpress platform. Twice bitten Brazilian bloggers won't let this happen easily. As soon as the news broke, a ‘No to the Ban' blog was set up, making available badges like the ones that illustrate this article. An Orkut community has been growing at fast pace.

Gustavo de Moraes from TampaBlog! [pt] points out that Wordpress pages are the 27th most accessed from Brazil and says that it will not be easy to block them, as the Brazilian blogosphere has by now learned how to fight:

Não entendo de leis, porém, de blogs eu entendo e tenho certeza de que tal ação não será tão fácil quanto imaginam os homens da lei. Eu, pelo menos, já estou fazendo minha parte para informar à todos blogueiros sobre a ordem judicial e tentar abrir os olhos da justiça, o tamanho do estrago que causarão cumprindo esta lei. Se quiserem, passem a URL e motivo para o blog ser bloqueado que nós, blogueiros, iremos cuidar do indivíduo direitinho. Boicote nós sabemos fazer muito bem. Mas mesmo assim, não estranhe se um dia desses tentarem entrar no TampaBlog! e em outros Milhares de blogs e estes, estiverem fora do ar. Esta é a justiça brasileira… liberdade para corruptos, cadeiras de couros para presos ricos e boicote a blogueiros.

I don't understand much about law, however, I do understand blogging and I'm sure that such a lawsuit won't be as easy as the law people think. I am, at least, doing my bit to inform all the bloggers of the court order and try to open the eyes of justice, about the size of the damage that fulfilling this law would cause. If they like, they can share the blog URL and the reason for the ban, and we bloggers will take care of said person. We do know how to boycott very well. But even then, don't be surprised if one day you try to access the TampaBlog! and thousands of other blogs and find them inaccessible. This is Brazilian justice… Freedom to the corrupt, leather chairs for rich inmates and boycotts to bloggers.

Other bloggers mentioned recent decisions, such as the ban on games (Counter-Strike, everquest and more recently Bully), not to mention a threat to close Orkut, the much loved (by Brazilians) social networking site. Yuri Torres [pt] is not happy at all:

Explico: Desde que foi implementado a privacidade nas fotos dos álbuns, existem denúncias sobre pornografia infantil. O Ministério público afirma que se não tiver acesso a todos os álbuns, para verificar as denúncias, tirará o Orkut do ar. E tem mais: Além do Orkut, ainda vão bloquear o Wordpress! Sim, o meu blog, e os outros 1 milhão de blogs brasileiros serão bloqueados, tudo por causa de um blog. Em vez de simplesmente solicitar o bloqueio ao Wordpress desse determinado blog, que nem foi divulgado qual é, vão bloquear todos! ODIO DA JUSTIÇA BRASILEIRA! Esses dinossauso que fazem as leis, que não tem nenhuma noção de tecnologia, e que fazem essas leis ridículas (vide proibir Counter Strike).

I explain: since photo albums privacy was implemented, there have been complaints about child pornography. The Public Ministry says that if they don't get access to all albums, in order to verify the complaints, they will close Orkut down. There's more: in addition to this, besides Orkut they will also block Wordpress! Yes, my blog and the some 1 million Brazilian's blogs will be blocked, all because of one blog. Instead of simply asking Wordpress to block this particular blog, which has not been disclosed, they will block it all! I HATE BRAZILIAN JUSTICE! These dinosaurs who make the laws, who have no concept of technology, and who pass these ridiculous laws (such as the prohibition of Counter Strike).

Cyber censorship or cyber ignorance?

In his first blog post ever, Daniel de Magalhães [pt] was unfortunate enough to carry this bad news. He asks:

Estamos entrando na era da censura cibernética? Até quando ficaremos sem leis claras sobre a internet?

Are we entering the era of cyber censorship? Up to when will we have no clear laws on the Internet?

This bottom line is also stressed by Raquel Recuero [pt], who says that, again, such a decision shows how unprepared Brazilian judges are to deal with the issue of law on the Internet.

O Brasil não tem legislação específica para isso, portanto, trabalha com analogia de outras leis. O problema é que a maioria dos juízes, nascidos em uma época pré-Internet, acabam não tendo o preparo e o conhecimento técnico para lidar com uma nova sociedade em rede. Assim, as decisões com relação a esses elementos, que acabam gerando efeitos fabulosos e desmedidos na sociedade brasileira.

Brazil has no specific legislation for this, therefore, they work using other laws as analogy. The problem is that most judges, who were born in the pre-Internet era, are not prepared and in possession of technical knowledge to deal with a new wired society. Thus, their decisions related to these issues, which ultimately end up generating fabulous and far-fetched effects on Brazilian society.

In fact, in November 2006 a rather clumsy ‘Cybercrime Bill' was solemnly announced. Authored by Senator Eduardo Azeredo, the original text had been proceeding through the Brazilian Congress for about 7 years with no public debate, and the suggested bill was unanimously rejected by the blogosphere for, among other reasons, requiring compulsory registration for Internet users that would allow tracking either by the provider or by a governmental body, and offending people's right to privacy. Nearly two years on, the project still has a long way to go before being approved or, hopefully, be amended accordingly [pt].

Meanwhile, as disclosed this week, Brazil is not one of the four Latin American and Caribbean economies in the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2007-2008 Global Information Technology Report top 50. Latin America has fallen to the bottom of the worldwide technological development ranking, while Brazil fell six positions to number 59, compared to the previous year’s number 53.

Not the only one

Brazil is not the first country to face such a problem. In August last year, Turkey faced a similar situation and Wordpress has in fact been blocked and remains inaccessible in that country.

10 comments · »»

El Salvador: Blogging for Justice in a Little Girl's Murder

Tim Muth · 16:32

lingua → es

Bloggers in El Salvador have taken up the cause of justice in the nine year old murder case of Katya Miranda. This young girl was murdered in 1999 in a crime of shocking depravity.

The facts of the case are recounted in a video interview of Katya's mother and available on YouTube. Katya's mother left her two daughters at the home of her paternal grandfather along El Salvador's coast with a promise to pick them up in the morning. Yet when morning came, nine-year-old Katya was dead — raped, beaten and murdered. Despite the presence of members of her father's family and their employees at the home, nobody claimed to have seen or heard anything. The father, grandfather and other male relatives are high-ranking officials in El Salvador's military and the National Civilian Police.

Many believe that the investigation of the crime was haphazard and incomplete, but eventually Katya's father, grandfather and two employees were charged with the crime in 2000. However all the charges against them were subsequently dismissed in legal proceedings widely criticized by human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and the Human Rights Institute at the University of Central America in San Salvador. The current attorney general has indicated no interest in reopening the case.

With the ninth anniversary of Katya's murder, Salvadoran bloggers are raising a call for justice to be done in this case. The symbol of their campaign is the logo at the top of this post.

Carlos Abrego at Cosas Tan Pasajeras [es] urged readers to participate in the organized campaign which includes signing an online petition, to take a photo of the campaign logo at locations across the world which will be added to a photo CD to be delivered to the attorney general, and to participate in a “Day of Roses” march to commemorate the little girl.

The blog Salvadoreños en el Mundo [es] carried a letter to Katya written by her mother to commemorate this anniversary. Ixquic* [es], a single mother and human rights lawyer who has written about Katya's case many times, displayed a tiny angel made of seashells found on the beach where Katya's small body was found.

Ernesto Rivas-Gallont urged readers to sign the petition and expressed the outrage of many [es], when he wrote:

¡Qué espanto! ¿Qué se puede decir de una sociedad donde existan individuos capaces de perpetrar crímenes de esta magnitud? El caso de Katya ha tomado relevancia por el cinismo de los asesinos y por su prominencia y por la prominencia de la institución a la cual pertenecen. Pero monstruos como ellos abundan en este país.

No es raro leer en nuestra prensa o escuchar en los noticieros, de padres que violan a sus hijas y, aunque no con la misma frecuencia, de padres que asesinan a sus hijos.

¿Cómo nos verán desde afuera? ¿Qué informarán los embajadores de países amigos a sus cancillerías?

What horror! What can one say about a society where individuals exist capable of perpetrating crimes of this magnitude? The case of Katya has taken relevance for the cynicism of the murderers and their prominence and for the prominence of the institution to which they belong. But monsters like them abound in this country.
It is not rare to read in our press or to hear in the news, of fathers who rape their daughters and, although not with the same frequency, of fathers who murder their children.

How will they see us from outside? What will the ambassadors of friendly countries report to their ministries?

Victor at Alta Hora de la Noche [es] wrote on his blog a personal reflection of his own fortune having a father and family who protected him during the years of El Salvador's civil war. Katya's violation at the hands of male relatives demands justice:

Que se pida que se haga justicia va mas allá de cualquier discursito barato de que lo social va a ser prioritario de acá en adelante…. Antes de pensar en esas supuestas reformas hay que limpiar lo sucio que hay en los rincones de nuestra patria. Y que se omita hacer justicia en el caso de una niña violada y asesinada, asi como se omite hacer justicia con muchos otros casos de niñas y niños violentados física y sexualmente es una enorme mancha que va a seguir empañando nuestra sociedad y en especial a quienes hemos delegado la facultad de hacer valer la justicia.

To ask for justice is done goes beyond any cheap little talk that the social good will be a priority from here onwards… Before one thinks of reforms, one must clean up the filth in the corners of our country. And failing to do justice in the case of a girl raped and murdered, as there has been a failure of justice in many other cases of children physically and sexually abused is a huge stain that will continue tarnishing our society and especially those to whom we have delegated the authority to enforce justice.

The time for justice in Katya's case is fast expiring as the ten year statue of limitations expires in 2009. To remind readers of the urgency, Salvadoran blogger Hunnapuh [es]added a countdown timer which counts down the time within which new legal proceedings must be taken.

3 comments · »»

Madagascar: Too much emphasis on the environment ?

Lova Rakotomalala · 13:31

lingua → mg · es · zht · zhs

Forrest madagascar
(photo via Harinjaka)

Madagascar is arguably most renowned for its unique biodiversity. However, the focus on the environment is sometimes resented by Malagasies who think it diverts attention away from the hardships of the Malagasy people.
(more…)

7 comments · »»

Thailand: YouTube self-censored lese majeste protest clip

Arthit · 05:16

lingua → mk · pt · sq · es · zht · zhs

Self-censorship on YouTube is working well - silently. Yesterday, a FACT signer reported one of the silently banned clips, which can be viewed everywhere in the world, except Thailand.

Since agreement with Thailand's Ministry of Information and Communication Technology last year, YouTube's management agreed to block any video clips deemed offensive to Thai people or those that violate Thai law. In other words, YouTube will do the censorship by themselves, so that the site will not be blocked again by the Ministry.

When users from Thailand try to access the reported link, http://youtube.com/watch?v=70m1ncXQjXA , they will find this message:

This video is not available in your country.

It is a lèse majesté law protest clip, which contains few caricature of the King images and Thailand flag, the royal anthem is played as a background music, and between those images, the clip runs the following messages in black over yellow background:

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of is a dictator.

He sends anyone who speaks against him to prison - for up to 15 years.

F**k the king of Thailand - long live free speech!

Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code stipulates the penalty for a lèse majesté offence as 3-15 years' imprisonment.

source: Freedom Against Censorship Thailand

5 comments · »»

Southeast Asia: Rising price of rice

Mong Palatino · 05:04

lingua → fr · de · es · zht · zhs

Rice is the staple food in Southeast Asia and in many parts of the world. Asia 2008 notes how rice is valued in Indochina:

“In Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, saying ‘eat rice’ means more than just ‘eat rice’. In Thailand it just means ‘eat’ (kin khao). Asking ‘have you eaten rice today?’ is a way of saying ‘how are you?’ In Vietnamese it is polite to say ‘please eat rice’ (mơi ăn cơm) before every meal – even if the meal is noodles. You can even get rice-flavored ice-cream here. It's not bad.”

Bruneians believe that rice is not just a food that fulfills hunger. Elders remind the children to finish their meal to the last grain of rice because if not, the rice would cry. Philippine scholar Michael Tan writes the importance of rice in Filipino culture. Lovely Laos quotes a colonial ruler who once said: “The Vietnamese plant rice, the Cambodians watch it grow and the Lao listen to it grow.”

Rice is also a very strategic commodity. Rice shortages can cause panic and unrest in many countries. Many people in Southeast Asia are worried over reports that rice is getting more expensive and supplies are dwindling. Southeast Asian governments are assuring their constituents that prices will stabilize soon and there will be no shortages in the local markets.

Singapore Short Stories sums up the reasons why rice is expensive today:

1) Higher fuel costs, with crude soaring above US $100 a barrel and threatening to stay that way, have been a major factor in the crisis, making fertilizer more expensive and increasing transport costs.
2) In Southeast Asia, disease, pests and an unparalleled 45-day cold snap that extended from China to Vietnam in January and February have also hurt harvests. Flooding in the Philippines and Vietnam has added to the growing crisis.
3) Medium-grade rice exported from Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter, reached $760 a metric ton, up from $360 a ton at the end of last year.

Precious Kingdoms links to an article which cites the effects of rising rice prices in Asia:

33% Rise since January in price paid by Philippines for rice from Vietnam
3 billion People worldwide who rely on rice as a staple food
40% Rise in rice price in Thailand this year
19.2% Rise in consumer prices in Vietnam last month, against March 2007
8.4% Rise in food prices in the Philippines last month, compared with March 2007
854 million Number of people worldwide who are “food insecure”
1 billion People globally who survive on less than $1 a day, defined as “absolute poverty”

The Philippines is the world’s top rice importer. Arnold Padilla explains the rice situation in the Philippines today:

“Tight supply and high prices will hurt the poor most. The rich have extra money to buy a big volume of rice, even at unusually high prices, that could meet their families’ need for a couple of months. For most families, however, they buy rice to meet a day’s need, or in many cases, a meal’s need. (Aside from those who could not afford a meal at all.)”

Indonesia First quotes a government minister who asserted that the rice price in Indonesia is slightly lower than in the world market. Humbahas writes that the government would no longer conduct rice import this year because with last year’s rice procurement drive, Indonesia now has more than one million tons in stock.

Manjaku Sayang points out how expensive rice will hurt the poor:

“So what does this mean for us, the people having fried rice for lunch? For the wealthy and middle class consumers, rice and wheat price increases are a pricier inconvenience that they can and will have to bear with. But if prices go higher, it will be a disaster for the poor, who spend most of their disposable income on food.”

Exegesis is disappointed with the rice policies of the Indonesian government. Cafe Salemba is frustrated too:

“Some months ago, when the domestic rice price was high –due to shortage–, and the international price low, we didn't want to import because, some said, it would hurt the rice farmers, even though when majority net consumers would love to have lower imported rice price. Now, when the domestic price is low –due to harvest season–, and the international price high, we don't want to export because, some says, it would be good to have large domestic reserve to protect the rice consumers, even though at the cost of, well, the rice farmers who may gain for that high international price. So which one is which –defending the rice farmers or consumers? I am scratching my head.”

Simply Jean observes that Singaporeans have started on a buying spree on all rice available in the market. nightorchid's garden thinks the biggest winners of this situation are the rice millers and packers since all they have to do is hold on to their rice and wait for the price to rise. blabbering blob of blogging blogger reminds us that the backup rice supply is not going to become a mechanism to keep prices down since the blogger believes rice is still gonna become more expensive.

in passing – malaysian has a message to fellow Malaysians:

“When news that there are shortages of rice in some countries in this part of the world, we in Malaysia began to fear of rice shortage as well. To allay that fear the authority has assured consumers that there are ample stocks of rice in this country. So folks do takes it easy and continue to enjoy this wonderful grain that we call Rice.”

Tangents has a proposal on how to strengthen rice subsidies in Malaysia:

“With savings resulting from the above abolishing of subsidies for sugar and cooking oil, as well as longer term savings on health costs, etc, the government may be able to continue supporting subsidies for staple food items such as rice and flour. Rice especially is worthy of subsidies both for strategically ensuring supply security locally and to support farmers that remain on the poverty line.”

Tonyhiicon blogs about the initial reactions of Malaysians over reports of a global rice shortage:

“It instantly cast a chill over the market, sending consumers at large to a state of fret. Coupled with the price talk was a widespread scare of a possible scarcity of supplies in the market. This imbalance position is definitely going to exert pressure on pricing. Fortunately rice is a controlled item in Malaysia.”

Words from Malaysia says it is healthy to reduce consumption of rice:

“For strategic and health reasons, let us keep to a minimum our rice intake. Rice may be great for our taste buds, but not for our body. Rice and other grains like wheat and corn are actually worse than sugar. Rice is chemically no different from sugar. When digested, it becomes sugar. One bowl of cooked rice is the caloric equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar. It does not matter whether the rice is white, brown or organic. Brown rice is richer in fiber, has some B vitamins and minerals, but one bowl of it is still the caloric equal of 10 teaspoons of sugar.”

Straight Talk has an advice for the government:

* Promote better management of internal resources to avoid wastage and non-performance and channel extra resources to the poor to mitigate the increase in cost of living;
* Encourage local food production and upstream activities e.g. poultry, vegetable, fruits and rice cultivation;
* Create a committee to look into issues faced by a new class of urban poor;
* Review the current subsidy system to ensure our scarce funds are used for more appropriate functions; and
* Create a contingency plan in the case of acute rice shortage

MangoZeen reports that in Cambodia the rice crisis has lead to suspension of exports as speculators gamble on the increasing demand for the food staple. The Mirror reports that the opposition is taking advantage of the rice situation by conducting demagogy. KI Media quotes Cambodian leader Hun Sen:

“Hun Sen said that the price of rice should jump in 2000-2001 when there was a major flood in Cambodia, but the price of rice during that time was stable. Regarding the current rice price soaring, it is due to the fact that Cambodian rice is the cheapest in the region, and even Malaysia and The Philippines is considering buying rice from Cambodia also. Furthermore, Thailand and Vietnam are both currently buying rice from Cambodia. Hun Sen added: ‘Is Cambodia short of rice yet? Because there are dishonest people who are instigating rumors about rice shortage in the market.”

Brunei Lifestyle is happy that the current stock for the nation’s needs is more than sufficient and that the price has not changed since the government is subsidizing the price. Liyana Tassim appeals to the public to save the environment.

Vietnam Business Finance reports that the price of Vietnamese rice is higher than Thai rice.
Magnoy Samsara warns that rice bandits are scaring Thailand. Burma News notes that despite the drastic price increase, observers say there is no immediate fear of a rice crisis, as most of the rice consumed in Myanmar is produced domestically.

Chao-Vietnam explains why Vietnam has imposed a ban on rice exports:

“Vietnam has extended a ban on rice sales until June to help stabilize domestic food prices as it tries to tame double-digit inflation…A cold spell that damaged part of agricultural crops in northern Vietnam early this year and double-digit inflation rocking the country's small economy have prompted Hanoi to halt its grain exports.”

Thailand Crisis praises a public official for explaining the factors which made rice more expensive:

“Accusing the people who hoard and speculate… it’s easy… It can pay on a political level. But it’s of course not enough to explain the current situation (much more complex). Talking about world market prices, demand, population growth and pressures on lands this is new. And courageous.”

6 comments · »»

Kuwait: A Ridiculous Mixture of Hail, Rain, Wind and Dust

Amira Al Hussaini · 00:17

lingua → pt · zht · zhs

Unusual for this time of the year, Kuwait was just hit by a 'semi-tornado,' which included “a ridiculous mixture of hail, rain, wind, dust, gusts” in the words of blogger Kuwaitism. Equipped with cells phones and digital cameras, the Kuwaiti blogopshere is full of stories reporting the unexpected weather which hit the country.

Kuwaitism even puts together this quick video, filmed with his mobile phone, which is available on YouTube:

Kuwaitism's post also features a number of photographs, clearly showing snow on the streets, as well as uprooted trees - one of them on the bonnet of a car. He explains the mayhem as follows:

There were many many more scenes like that which I couldnt take pictures of! I saw light posts on the ground, I saw scaffolding fallen from buildings onto the roads, I saw huge billboards plucked from the ground …

I really hope not many people were hurt, and thank God we have the law against the elections signs on the roads, otherwise it could have been even more disastrous!

Rampurple asks if there is a hurricane in Kuwait and says:

What just happened? One minute I’m surfing the net with my window open enjoying the breezy air and the next minute am running around the room flooded with water!!!

Mark, meanwhile, provides us with a detailed report on what happened. He writes:

Although my windows were all closed dust still managed to come into the house and now EVERYTHING has a layer of sand on it. I couldn’t see ANYTHING outside my window. When I first heard the wind I looked outside and I saw a cloud of sand literally sweep into my block like a huge wave, something I’ve only seen in movies. Within second visibility dropped down to like 10cm, I couldn’t see ANYTHING outside. That extremely powerful wind with dust continued for a couple of minutes before I started hearing a banging sound on my window. I stepped back thinking whatever was hitting my window was going to break it but then I noticed it was rain drops. In a few seconds it started raining really strong and the dust cleared up but then I noticed the rain was so powerful and in such large quantity that water started pouring into my apartment like a waterfall from the window sill. I quickly grabbed a ton of towels and started to do what I can to hold back the water.

He also set up an email account, calling on readers to send him pictures of the damages, which are now being posted here. Mark posts links videos of the storm here.

In keeping with tradition and naming hurricanes after females, Kuwaitism calls the hurricane Sibeecha, while Mark calls it Kuwaitina, following a tip from Susheeh.

Frankom (Ar) meanwhile wasn't in the capital Kuwait, in the chalets area, a popular resort. He predicts:

صحف الغد ستكون عناوينها كالتالي … تسونامي الكويت أو كاترينا كويتي

The headlines of tomorrow's newspapers would read: The Kuwaiti Tsunami or The Kuwaiti Katrina

According to AFP, one man was killed and several injured when the gale-force storm lashed the Emirate.

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