It was an activity-filled week for Kuwaiti bloggers, who spent time in a shooting range, doing charity work and weighing their options for the parliamentary elections later this month.

Yousef over at somecontrast writes about his visit to the shooting range - one of the many attractions in Kuwait.
I went yesterday to the Mayadeen shooting range with my friend. It was my first time in Kuwait, I went once in Dubai and I loved it over there. In Dubai I used shotguns which made quite an impression on me.. and my shoulder.
From the shooting range, we move to a touching project, led by a group of Kuwaiti girls called We Care, which also maintains a blog, describing their many activities. Their latest is a visit to a nursing home, where they went laden with gifts and food.
According to the blog [Ar]:
الاسبوعين اللي طافوا كنا نستعد لهذا اليوم .. هاليوم كان غير عن اللي قدموه we care .. بما انه طموحنا نهتم بكل فئات المجتمع .. هاليوم كان رحلة الى دار المسنين ..رايحين نقابل 18 مسنه فقط .. اهم اللي حالاتهم النفسيه والمرضيه تسمح لهم يقابلون الناس ويسولفون .. الباجي مو اجتماعيين او المرض يمنعهم.
Because our hopes is to cover all sectors of society, today we paid a visit to the Elderly Centre, where we will be meeting with 18 women, who are in a condition to meet people and chat. The rest were not sociable or were sick. We spent the previous two weeks at We Care preparing for this day, which
was different from any other.
At the centre, the blogger describes how touched the volunteers were:
عقب قعدنا وياهم نسولف ونصب لهم جاي وقهوه ..
ماخش عنكم قلبي عورني وكنت احاول امسك روحي كثر ماقدر.. وايد من القروب يطلعون بره ويردون يدشون بس عشان مايبين عليهم الحزن.. ما ننلام والله..
قعدت ويانا وحده كنا نسولف سوالف عاديه ونضحك وياهم مانبي نعرف منو يابهم والا شحقه وليش نبيهم ينسون.. هالمواضيع ماتستاهل تنفتح علشان ما نضيق خلقهم ويضيق خلقنا.. بدون مايتكلمون و خنقتنا العبره شلون لو تكلموا!؟
قعدنا مع وحده نسألها مرتاحه مستانسه وشسمج .. سوالف عاديه بنص الحجي قالت انا اخواني ماشوفهم كلش وخواتي مايزوروني بس ساعات يزوروني الخميس وكله يقولون لي بناخذج وويروحون ويخلوني وغطت روحها بالملفع و قامت تبجـي… انا عن نفسي قمت ماقدرت .. موقف صج يحس الواحد مو بس يأثر ييجرح يخليك تحلف مليون مره لو شنو ماكانوا امك وابوك جاسيين ماتقطهم هالقطه .. تحس بنعمه ما فكرت تحس فيها من قبل…
We sat, chatting with them, and pouring tea and coffee for them. I won't hide from you how much my heart hurt and how I was trying hard to hold myself but I couldn't. Many members of the group used to excuse themselves and go out, just so that they don't show their emotions and sadness. They cannot be blamed really. One of the women was chatting to us, talking about everyday matters and laughing. We didn't ask them who brought them to the centre and why, because we wanted them to forget. These are topics which shouldn't be opened so that we don't bother them and ourselves. Without them saying anything, we were choked by our tears. What would happen if they spoke?!
We asked one of the women whether she was satisfied and happy and her name. She spoke normally to us and then said that she doesn't see her brothers and that her sisters rarely visit her, sometimes on Thursdays, where they would promise her to return her home with them before leaving without her. She covered her face and started to sob. I couldn't take it and had to leave. It was a difficult situation which really hurt and made you think that however cruel your parents were, you would never throw them out like this. You feel a blessing you have never felt before.
When it came for the volunteers to leave, the blogger writes:
يت حزة الروحه وانا اسلم على اللي نادتني قتلها استانستي؟ قالت وايد قتلها تبين نزورج بعد؟ قالت تعالوا كل يوم ابيكم اتزوروني احبكم انا! …شوفوا شلون قلوبهم بيضه وصافيه ويحبون اي احد يحسون انه اهتم فيهم حتى لو ساعه…
While saying our goodbyes, one of the elderly women called me towards her. I asked her if she was happy. She said she was very happy. I asked her if she wanted us to visit her again. She said: “Come everyday. I want you to visit me. I love you!” .. See how kind-hearted they are and how they love anyone, even those who took care of them for one hour.
Away from the centre, Bu Maryoom, over at 5-q8 writes about female candidates running for the elections.
Photocredit: somecontrast

Photo by Andrea SF and used under a Creative Commons license.
Prices and shortages of food can be seen across Latin America, as many people are becoming desperate with the situation. Blame is being placed on the farmers and blame is being placed on the government for their failure to act or failure to act insufficiently. Bloggers are writing about what they are seeing around them, while others are writing about possible solutions.
One of the places where the crisis has already spilled out onto the streets in the form of protests and counter-protests is Argentina. Gabriela Peralta of La Corresponsal [es] laments that hunger is being seen across the country:
Dá ganas de gritarlo a los cuatro vientos. ¡Hay hambre! Maldita sea. Hay hambre mientras en nuestro país se dan el lujo de guardar los granos para cuando las retenciones no sean tan altas. Hay hambre mientras en nuestro país se especula con que la cosecha les queme los tiempos al sector agrario para poder obtener ganancias no coparticipables. Hay hambre mientras se incendian del Delta del Paraná para trasladar el ganado fuera y dedicarse en exclusivo a la soja. Hay hambre mientras la soja consume campos que tarde o temprano serán incultivables…hay hambre, mientras derrochamos riqueza.
I feel like screaming in all directions. There is hunger, dammit! There is hunger while our country has the luxury of storing grain for when the levies are not so high. There is hunger when in our country, harvest spectulation take place in order to split profits. There is hunger while the wetlands of the Paraná wetlands are burned so that the cattle leaves and that land can be used exclusively for soybeans. There is hunger while the soybeans overtakes so that someday the land becomes unable to be cultivated….there is hunger, while we squander our wealth.
Central America is also feeling the pressure of rising food prices, hunger and a lack of solutions. Julia Ardón of Costa Rica wonders what will become of many people during this crisis [es]:
Resulta impresindible entender qué significa eso tan mentado de “soberanía alimentaria”, y mientras en la tele se anuncian problemas de abastecimiento de alimentos y especialmente de arroz en el mundo…¿ qué vamos a comer por acá? ¿ acaso papeles? ¿ engrapadoras? ¿ sopa de juguetitos de plástico made in China? ¿ spagetti de cables telefónicos? ¿ O comida congelada gringa? eso sí…quien la pueda comprar…para luego tener los problemas de salud y obesidad que tienen los gringos…? Y entonces La Caja tenga que comprar más medicinas y no pueda por las patentes de los medicamentos…¿ No era que el TLC nos iba a beneficiar mucho? Y ya el otro día también él mismo andaba anunciando que venían dos años de vacas flacas…y a mi no me importó porque ando con el telele de convertirme en vegetariana…
It is difficult to understand the often-mentioned phrase “food sovereignty,” when on television they talk about the problems with the supply of food, especially with rice. What will eat around here? Paper? Staplers? Soup of toys made in China? Spaghetti of phone cords? American frozen fod? For those that can afford to buy, will have health problems like the Americans. Then the health system will have to buy more medicines and they won't be able to because of the medicine patents. Wasn't the Free Trade Agreement supposed to provide us benefits? The other day the news was also talking about two years of skinnier cows…it doesn't bother me because I am this close of becoming a vegetarian.
In El Salvador, Ayutuxtepeque of Hunnapuh [es] writes about some of the current proposed strategies of the government, and some additional ones that could be taken to alleviate the situation:
Las medidas que actualmente está anunciando el gobierno para enfrentar la crisis alimentaria son sencillamente insuficientes e ineficientes. Pretender que con repartir granos mejorados y otros pocos incentivos, la producción agrícola va a incrementarse, es un sueño de locos. No es con medidas aisladas, atomizadas y de plazo incierto como se resolverán las cosas. Reconstruir nuestro aparato productivo agrícola no es comida de hocicones.
Por ello continuaremos insistiendo en lo que hemos señalado en innumerables ocasiones. La reactivación del aparato productivo nacional, es urgente y requiere de una estrategia integral de corto, mediano y largo plazo. El gobierno debe comprometerse en esto con seriedad y por ello debe promover que esta estrategia deje de ser un mero plan de gobierno para convertirse en una Política de Estado. Es decir que se continúe su implementación independientemente de quien llegue al gobierno, para ello se necesita del consenso de las otras fuerzas políticas y de amplios sectores sociales. (…) Ya no estoy seguro de si tenemos tiempo para hacerlo, pero hay que empezar de inmediato. En todo caso, lo peor es no hacer nada, o conformarnos con medidas aisladas e insuficientes, que no servirán de mucho.
The proposals that the government has announced to face the food crisis are simply insufficient and inefficient. Believing that by distributing higher-quality grains and other incentives, that the agricultural production will increase, is a crazy dream. It is not with isolated, small measures will things be resolved. Reconstructing our agricultural production apparatus is not for the weak-hearted.
I continue to insist that reactivating the national production apparatus is urgent and requires a short, mid and long-term integrated strategy. The government should commit itself to act and that this strategy should be the government's plan in order to become a state policy. It means that it should continue to be implemented independiently of who in power, and for that there needs to be consensus with the other political parties and a cross-section of social sectors. (…) I am not so sure that we have enough time to make it, but we must start now. In any case, the worst thing would be to not do anything, or we conform with isolated and insufficient measures, which won't amount to much.
Some bloggers, such as Esteban Grinberg from Argentina, even put forth some possible concrete solutions to the crisis. He writes at Un Todo un Poco [es] about more state involvement to control prices:
Que pasaría si el gobierno interviniese activamente en la producción de granos y carnes en la Argentina? Por ejemplo, el día de mañana el gobierno crease algo como la MVF (Mataderos Vacunos Fiscales) o la PFF (Plantaciones Frutiferas Fiscales). Una empresa así, que no tenga intención de exportar su producción, sino vender al mercado interno a un precio rentable, pero no en dolares, permitiría por un lado recaudar un poco más pero además tener una herramienta de control de precios de ciertos productos mucho más eficiente que los acuerdos actuales, de difícil control y ejecución. Porque hay una realidad, como van a hacer los gobiernos actuales para controlar el creciente aumento de precios de los alimentos, que producto del crecimiento mundial y de la utilización de algunos cereales en la creación de biodiesel, todo indica que van a seguir aumentando? Por supuesto esta propuesta es totalmente estatista y contraria a cualquier ideología pro mercado, pero bueno, el mercado por las razones que fuese, esta haciendo aumentar el precio de los alimentos. Y por mas que algunos piensan distinto, no creo en la teoría que el Mercado va a arreglar todo por arte de magia..
What would happen if the government would actively intervene in grain production and meat industry in Argentina? For example, what if tomorrow the government would creat something like the State Meatpacking Plant or a State Fruit Plantation. A company like that, which would not have the intention of exporting its production, but rather sell to the internal market at a profitable price, but not in dollars, would allow for some revenues, but more than anything would allow for price control on certain products. This would be much more efficient than the current agreeements, which is difficult to control and enforce. There is a reality. How will the current governments control the rising price of food? Of course this proposal favors more control by the state and goes against any pro-market ideology, but for whatever reason, the price of food continues to rise. In spite of what others might say, I don't think the market will magically fix everything.
May Day is the day workers around the world rally for better working conditions and higher wages. In the Middle East, bloggers mark the day with posts and photographs reporting what happened, what the day means for them, and why it is a reason for celebration.
Turkey:
Our first stop in in Turkey, where Erkan Saka says Labour Day celebrations were met with excessive force by police. Posting pictures of demonstrators being chased by police, he notes:
Like last year, there was an unproportional use of police power.
He further adds:
[M]ainstream Turkish press has become pro-labor today in order to develop another strike at the government. However, one point is missed: Unions knew that there would be violent scenes and instead of designated areas for demonstrations, they declared days before to send their workers to areas that police would react….
Jordan:
Naseem Tarawnah, from Jordan, too wasn't too optimistic about the day and writes:
I always found labor day in Jordan to be a bit ironic. What’s it really about? A day off? From what? For whom? According to unofficial numbers, unemployment in the country is as high as 30%, and the remaining people who are employed don’t make over 200JD’s (US$280) a month.
Iran:
In Iran, Tabuot [Fa] says that workers have been under a lot of pressure in recent years and several magazines/sites covering workers' news have been filtered and banned in the last few months. According to the blogger, reliable sources report that there are more than 100,000 child workers in Iran, with many of them who could be facing serious health problems. Tabout adds that several workers have been arrested by security forces in the last year. The blogger does not say whether they faced any charges or not.
Lebanon:
From Lebanon, Rami Zurayk analyses news reports on May Day. He writes:
In the economy page, Rasha Abu Zeki nails it again: a great report on the people who actually earn the minimum wage: $200. This is an issue of contention because the hawks in the successive Lebanese governments have always denied the fact that there are people who earn minimum wage in Lebanon, and have hidden behind this argument to refuse to raise the wages. Rasha interviews 3 people from different ages and family conditions, and the stories they tell are dramatic. The main point is: to live in Lebanon, families need closer to $800 a month, so increasing the minimum wage to $260 isn't going to do much. People are supported by the remittances of relatives working abroad. Note that the $60 increase has not been approved by the government in spite of the increase in cost of living.
Still in Lebanon, A Diamond in Sunlight, turns her attention to housemaids. Being a holiday, she spent the day with her in-laws, where she notes:
For the maids of Lebanon, Labor Day probably merely means more family members around to cook for and clean up after.
Razan, meanwhile, was stuck at work on Labour Day. But she makes a point of posting pictures of May Day celebrations from Farah Kubaissi's Flickr account, which can be here here.
Writing on her blog, Farah says:
13 thousands people responded to the call of the LCP (Lebanese Communist Party) and the Leftist Gathering and the National Syndicates Union for a popular demonstration on May 1 in Lebanon.U could c a very big red wave flowing the streets of the city.
let every day, May 1…
Arab Democracy provides more information about the labour struggle in Lebanon.
Palestine:
Palestinian Al Falasteenyia, who lives in the US, caught some action from the May Day rally and shares an encounter she experienced here:
I've been so busy with the situation in Palestine lately i almost forgot- but didnt. got off work today and joined the protest for a bit before heading off to class. as i waited to cross the street to join the crowd, a white man turned to me and said: i'm so not in the mood for this.
not in the mood for worker's rights? not in the mood for rights of immigrants? not in the mood to stand in solidarity with other human beings? not in the mood to take a stand and call for justice?
excuse me, mr. america, when will you be in the mood? let me know, so i can write it down in my calendar and mark it down as:
THE DAY WE GET ALL THE RIGHTS WE DESERVE.
Back in Palestine, Palestine Free Voice provides pictures and an article on a May Day rally in Gaza.
Jordan:
Our last stop is in Jordan again, where Ola Eliwat marks the day with a positive note. She writes:
[W]hether you were the CEO of a multi-national company or just selling newspapers at the traffic lights, for each and everyone of you making this world unstoppingly viable: It’s labour day, and you’ve earned it.
The real Olympic torch relay in Hong Kong has been criticized as a political decision as most of the non-athletic torch bearers were from the pro-China political clan. In the street, the Beijing supporters also out-numbered the protesters for human rights. However, in the virtual torch relay organized by local bloggers, the viewpoints are much more diverse.

The virtual torch relay, blogtorch08, was organized by More than one on April 8, dukedom of Aberdeen wrote:
如果香港要有火炬手,應該找些不是垃圾的運動員,應該找些平民百姓甚至弱勢社群,而不是給那些政治人物或富貴人家來曝光。
我是這樣的想法,你也可以有你的想法。我還是覺得,同一個世界,最好有更多不同的夢想。
This is what I think, you can have your own opinion. I still feel that one world is better to have many diverse dreams.
Up till now, there are more than 70 blog posts. Many of them criticized the arrangement of real torch relay. Ngsezhin pointed out that:
主辦大國以一幫錦衣衛護著那可憐的小火點到處跑。與其說是傳聖火,倒不如說是示威罷?其實這也是有跡可尋。傳聖火的起源不是古代奧運會,而是 1936 年柏林奧運會中希特拉用以宣傳納粹德國的公關手段!
Nikita also pointed out that the Beijing Olympics has been politicized since the very first day:
中共在申奧時聲稱會改善人權狀況,北京申奧委副主席劉敬民的話:「由北京舉辦奧運會將有助於中國的人權事業發展。」(出處),將政治和體育混為一談的始作俑者是中共當局…
Stannum from Sidney talked about the history of Olympic torch relay protest in Australia to explain that there is nothing “Holy” about the torch. Tintin also pointed out that the Chinese translation has missed interpreted “Olympic flame” into “Olympic sacred flame”. Ah Tong followed the discussion and wondered who was the idiot to state the rules that “the Olympic sacred fire shall never be put out, not even for one second”? Singsit referred to ancient Greek mythology and pointed out that the sacred fire is originated from Prometheus’ action against the Gods, stealing fire from heaven:
假如當年普羅米和我們一般的昧著良心,不為正義去挑戰權力,不肯冒險作公民抗命的話,今天,世上還有火可以給舉起來嗎!?討厭那些人一手把人類最重要最寶貴的人權自由都沒收在手裡,然後涎著臉胡說:「聖火」不容侵犯。
Richey disagreed with the connection of Olympics and human rights issue and wanted to voice out his discontent towards the people who are using the Olympic as an excuse to force-feed something that is totally irrelevant to the Olympic game.
Daihung made fun of the Olympic torch relay protest and said that Torchsnatching has turned into an official competition in 2008 Beijing Olympics. He even made a poster for this event:
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Edmund Hui on the other hand tried to figure out how to create an inextinguishable Olympic torch. Harry Potter’s magic is one of his suggestions.
Infilmity noticed that the official name of the 08 torch relay is called “harmonious trip” and he foresaw that news and information regarding the Olympics would be “harmonized”. Technologypark complained about the harmonized measure (deleting photos with pro-Tibet protesters) in mainland China BBS forum and exclaimed that “Let’s all die in Harmony”.
Rosery joined the “Human Right in Tibet” demonstration in London and she was happy that the torch would not past through Taiwan this time.
Heart of Kafka tried to explain the Chinese logic in the Torch relay protect campaign:
中國很辛苦的掙了個資格。現在錢我交了﹐場地我建了﹐你才和我玩杯葛? 還要搶火熄火? 西藏問題這麼多年你不出聲﹐現在就比CCTV更CCTV的說中國的不是?
不過也好﹐西方傳媒與那些連西藏也不知道在哪的示威份子達成了一個中國共產黨也不能做到的目標 - 團結海外華人的”愛國”心。
Well, western media and those protesters who don’t even know where Tibet is have help the CCP to achieve a goal – united overseas Chinese.
Shadow Cabinet pointed out that the fate of China is still caught in the victim imagination during the war time. It is unreasonable that a strong country would feel threaten by a non-existing country – Tibet.
Back to the real Olympic torch relay in Hong Kong today, Tsang Hin Chi (a pro-China businessman) and Leung Chun-ying (an Executive Council member) are two most controversial figures. Point South supported both for them because their existence is a proof on the political character of the Beijing Olympics.
Chonghead has a summary of today protest action with photos and video clips:
10:35am: Protest Banner action at Tsimshatsiu: One protest banner “Human right repression” was confiscated while another one on “Release Hu Jia” was hanged out at Chungking Mansion during the relay.

10:45am: Human rights and free Tibet protesters were surrounded and attacked by pro-China cheering team.
13:00pm: Students’ protest placards were confiscated by police.
16:00pm: A protester was surrounded by cover-up polices who confiscated his protest placards and threatened to arrest him.
Have you ever found yourself working late in the office? From Saudi Arabia, Ar6abon [Ar] shares with us this fascinating story about how he was locked up in his office one night.
He explains:
احمد الله تعالى خلال هذا الأسبوع اصبحت أداوم في الوظيفة الجديدة .
وبحكم أني جديد لازم أثبت جدارتي وحماسي واندفاعي
المكتب عبارة عن وكيل لشركة عالمية , ومكتب جدة لازال في طور التأسيس , أُعتبر أنا أول موظف في المكتب ..
ولازلت حتى هذه اللحظة أداوم لوحدي .. اسرح وأمرح
حصل لي موقف أمس .. لا أحسد عليه أبدا
سبق وأخذت معي مجموعة من الملفات والعقود والدراسات الخاصة من المكتب إلى البيت , لأقوم بقراءتها وتفحصها .. حتى أكون على إطلاع ومعرفة .
ليلة أمس خرجت من البيت الساعة 11 ونص مساءً , وأنا في اتجاه الكورنيش .. مريت من قرب مقر العمل , قلت في نفسي : خليني انزل واحط الأوراق في المكتب .. وامشي
وبالفعل : طلعت للمكتب وتركت الأوراق , كان فيه شئ آخذت في قراءته , ومضى الوقت .. تفاجئت بأن الساعة صارت 12 ونص صباحا !! ..
قمت بسرعة لأخرج من المكتب , نزلت من المصعد .. وتفاجئت أن بوابة العمارة مغلقة
يظهر أن الحارس قام بإغلاق الباب بحكم أن الوقت تأخر , والمفترض أنه لا يوجد أحد في المكاتب والشركات .
وقتها أحسست بالإختنااااق .. لا يوجد أي طريقة للخروج أبدا !!
عدت للمكتب , شغلت المكيف .. وضحكت على نفسي شوي وبعدها اديييتها نومه على الكنب ..
قمت الساعة 7 والنصف صباحا
(( الناس تدخل للمكاتب لبداية اليوم الوظيفي , وأنا خارج من المكتب ووجهي معفوس ومتجه للبيت ))
موقف عجيب صراحة هههههههههههههه ..
وش رآيكم في الموقف هذا ؟
I thank Allah that I have started working in my new job this week. And because I am a new employee, I had to work hard to prove my qualifications, enthusiasm and keenness to work. The office is an agent for an international company and the Jeddah office is still being established, and I am the first person employed there. Until now, I am the only one working there, having fun on my own. Yesterday something no one can envy happened to me. I had taken some folders, contracts and studies from the office home with me, so that I can read them and examine them closely, in order for me to know what was happening. I left home at 11.30pm, and while I was on the highway overlooking the Corniche (sea front), I pass by my office. I told myself: “Let me go down and return the papers to the office and leave.” And I did just that. I went up to the office and left the papers. Something caught my eyes, I started reading, and time flew. I was shocked to see it was 12.30am. I got up quickly to go home. I took the elevator down and was surprised to see the building doors locked. It seems that the security guard locked the doors, because it was late and all the offices in the companies had no staff at this time.
I felt suffocated. There was no way out for me at all!!
I returned to the office, turned on the air-conditioner and laughed a bit at myself. Afterwards, I slept on the sofa.
I woke up at 7.30am.
People were entering their offices to start their work day, while I was leaving the office with my face messed up, on my way home.
It was a strange experience.. haha .. what do you think of it?
A contemporary Ukrainian political joke - at Ukrainiana.
Balkan Baby explains some of the issues behind the upcoming election in Serbia.
Rohail Butt reports in The Pakistani Spectator that watching the financial success of the Indian Premier League cricket, the Pakistan Cricket Board has announced their own Pakistan Premier League, which will start from next year.
The knitwear industry of Bangladesh is going to increase salary for the workers and it is also thinking of introducing food rations for the workers to overcome the present price hike. An Ordinary Citizen thinks these steps may not be fair enough and proposes to introduce profit sharing with workers for this profitable sector.