Archive for
May 25th, 2008
Stories
Peru: Lima Plays Host to Regional Summit
Recently the 5th Latin American - European Union Summit (ALC-UE for its initials in Spanish) [es] was held in Lima, Peru. The gathering brings together heads of state from the different countries in those regions and is held in May every two years. Based on the strategic and bi-regional association outlined in the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted during the first summit held in Río de Janeiro in June 1999. This meeting evaluates the progess in the fields of economic integration, poverty reduction, equality, and social justice in Latin America. Lima will also be the site of another international summit: the Asian-Pacific Economic Forum.
Bloggers are obviously writing about the topic, such as Laura Arroyo of Menosacanas [es] who writes about the advantages and disadvantages of holding such a summit in Peru.
Un buen porcentaje de la ciudadanía se encuentra indiferente frente a estos acontecimientos, otro grupo (significativo también) se siente algo enojado pues además del hecho de percibir que el desarrollo de estas cumbres nada tiene que ver con ellos, encima crean caos y desorden; finalmente, hay algunos pocos que se identifican con ambas y las ven como algo positivo.
Creo que debemos ver las cumbres como una oportunidad. Las cumbres causan impacto pese a que muchos sientan que no hacen la diferencia y se trata de eventos protocolares que se quedan justamente en eso: el protocolo. Es preciso no simplificar el asunto. El hecho de que el Perú sea sede implica, justamente, que los ojos del mundo estén prestando atención a nuestro país. Por otro lado, la cantidad de jefes de estado que vendrá al país, ha fomentado que muchos hoteles se adecuen a estos inusuales e importantes huéspedes.
A large percentage of the citizens are indifferent to these types of events, another group (also significant in numbers) feel rather angry because in addition to the perception that these summits have nothing to do with them, they also create chaos and disorder; finally, there are some that feel the same, but see it as something positive.
We must look at these summits as an opportunity. The summits cause an impact even though many feel that they do not make a difference and they are just protocol events in nature. One must not simplify things. The fact that Peru is the site of the summit justly implies that the eyes of the world are focused on our country. On the other hand, with the number of heads of states that come to our country, many hotels must adapt to these unusual and important guests.
But not everyone has a favorable opinion, for example, Carlos Mejia of El Gran Combo Club [es] is a bit skepitcal about the summit and about how much work can actually be accomplished in such a short time:
¿Puede alguien sostener que en tres días los presidentes de tantos países pueden alcanzar algún acuerdo realmente significativo? Una hipótesis: los poderes fácticos, aquellos que definen las políticas que afectan realmente a los ciudadanos no se reúnen en estas cumbres de prensa internacional y alfombras rojas. Los presidentes o mandatarios que aún detentan un poder soberano son precisamente los que menos vienen a negociar o deliberar a estas Cumbres. Están para el show y nada más (…) En ese sentido, uno no puede esperar cambios o giros en espacios como esta Cumbre.
Can anyone say that in three days that the presidents of so many countries can actually reach a significant agreement? A hypothesis: the current powers, those that define policies that really affect people, do not gather in these summits with the presence of the international press and red carpets. The presidents or leaders that still hold soverign power are those that are least likely to come to negotiate or deliberate at these summits. They are here for show and nothing more. (…) In this way, one cannot expect for changes or grand changes in direction in these summits.
Juan Sheput of Mate Pastor [es] summarizes the criticisms of President Alan Garcia's opening speech, and also collects some of the criticisms regarding the organization of the summit.
El País, el principal diario de España, indica respecto a la V Cumbre ALC-UE lo siguiente: “Un clima devaluado por importantes ausencias europeas, como la del francés Nicolas Sarkozy, el británico Gordon Brown y el italiano Silvio Berlusconi. Y muy enrarecido tras los reiterados ataques personales del presidente venezolano, Hugo Chávez, contra la canciller alemana, Angela Merkel, y la entrada en la escena del boliviano Evo Morales, que ha lanzando duras acusaciones contra Colombia y Perú, el anfitrión de la cumbre, por su política internacional.” La noticia completa la pueden leer haciendo click aquí. En tanto Clarín de Argentina da cuenta de la protesta de Greenpeace en Machu Picchu.
El País, the most important newspaper in Spain, writes the following about the V Summit ALC-UE: “A devalued climate due to the important absences of European leaders, such as Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Gordon Brown of Britain and Silvio Berlusconi of Italy. And very unsupportable for the repeated personal attacks from Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, against the German foreign minister, Angela Merkel and entrance into the stage by Evo Morales of Bolivia, who had launched harsh accusations against Colombia and Peru, the host of the summit, for their international policies.” The entire note can be read here [es]. The Argentine newspaper Clarín also writes about the Greenpeace protest in Machu Picchu [es].
José Talavera of Bloguiarquía [es] posts his opinion and about his experience as a volunteer during the summit.
Cuestión aparte es lo que tuvieron que pasar varios voluntarios (entre ellos yo), que más que ser parte de la desorganización, la sufrieron: algunos sin acreditaciones hasta el día miércoles, otros sin uniforme, o uniformes no hechos a la medida. En plena cumbre, la duplicidad de funciones, el desperdicio de horas-hombre, horarios inhumanos (vg. 13 horas parados en la entrada de un hotel), sin siquiera un pequeño refrigerio: muchos tuvieron que poner de su propio dinero para comer, y las zonas aledañas a los hoteles y al Museo de la Nación no se caracterizan precisamente por ser baratos. En conclusión, muchos voluntarios que fueron con ganas de ayudar se sintieron simplemente defraudados.
This is what some volunteers (including myself) had to go through: in addition to the disorganziation, others did not receive their accreditation until Wednesday, others were left without uniforms, or uniforms that did not fit. In the middle of the summit, there was the duplication of tasks, a waste of time, inhumane hours (for example 13 hours standing at the entrance of the hotel), without even a small snack: many had to spend their own money in order to eat, and the area around the hotels and the National Museum is not known for being inexpensive. In conclusion, many volunteers that went with the desire to help came away simply disappointed.
Finally, Giovanni Lamarca of the blog Natua [es] compiles what the different media and blogs have been publishing about the summit. It is worth mentioning that while the summit of leaders has been taking place, there has been a 3rd Summit of the People ALC-UE or Anti-Summit. Luis Orihuela of Pedro Vilcapaza [es] posts the final declaration of the summit:
Exigimos a los gobiernos atender efectivamente las demandas de los pueblos por construir otro tipo de relaciones entre las regiones, basadas en la superación del modelo de mercado. Hacemos un llamado a la población a no dejarse engañar más por gobiernos autoritarios que pretenden criminalizar la justa protesta civil. Instamos a los habitantes de América Latina, el Caribe y Europa a sumarse a la fuerza cada vez mayor de organizaciones que buscan un mundo mejor para todos, y así estar a la altura de los desafíos que hoy enfrenta la humanidad.
We call on the governments to effectively attend to the demands of the people by constucting another type of relations within the regions, based on the the superation of the market model. We make a call to the population to not allow themselves to be fooled by authoritarian governments that attempt to criminalize the just civil protest. We call on the residents of Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe to join growing forces of organizations that look for a better world for all, and to rise to the challenges that humanity currently faces.
China: Q&A with Premier Wen
While the Chinese internet moved out of its three-day mourning period earlier this week following the 5.12 earthquake, many questions remain to be answered.
And the questions are being answered. Phoenix TV reporter and editor Rose Luqiu had a chance to ask Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao a few while he visited earthquake victims living in tents in Sichuan's Pengzhou city this week, and was nice enough to post them and his answers in full on her My1510 blog in a May 24 post, ‘Q&A with Premier Wen':
1。能不能告诉我们，灾后重建从那几个方面展开？
摆在我们面前最紧迫的任务，就是灾民的安置，首先是灾民的安置。灾民的安置目前突出三件事情，第一件事情就是住的问题，因为吃的问题和使用洁净水的问题我们还能够解决，但是住的问题，老实讲我们比较困难。因为房屋倒塌，已经超过一千六百万间，需要大量的帐篷，而且从长远考虑，光靠帐篷还不行，因为还有县，乡的搬迁，因为地震的原因，不能在那里再建乡镇，以至于县，就像北川，你们都去过。这就需要给我们时间，群众也需要有一个安居的时间，所以我们在建活动板房，这个图纸你也看到了，活动板房的设计师非常周到的，考虑到全部生活的需要，你比如说大家非常关心的，一千套活动板房要建一所学校，这个学校，活动板房是按教室设计的。两千套活动板房要建一所中学，每五十套活动板房要建一个厕所，一个垃圾站，所有的活动板房都要通电，这样所有的居民就可以居住在那里一年，两年，以至于三年。我们做最困难的准备，我们调集了各方面的力量，集中来建活动板房，初步计划是用三个月的时间。向灾区运送到一百万套，第一批六千套已经运到了，现在每天都在生产，如果在其间还能够扩大生产能力，我们还要增加。这是第一事情，第二件事情，就是确保灾后无大疫，这不仅是我们关心的，也是世界关心的，确保灾后无大疫，就需要做好两方面的工作，一个方面就是要配备足够的防疫人员，不仅有喷洒药物的一般的防疫人员，我指的，最重要的，是技术人员和督导员。这个已经派了三千五百人了，视情况，如果不够，还要派，这是一，第二，使药品。药品，你知道，是缺的，特别是杀菌的，灭菌的药剂，量太大了。第三，难度最大的一个项目工作，就是切断污染源。切断污染源我们要依法办事，所以就要清理那些产生污染的场地。现在北川已经开始喷洒药物了，就不让人进了。这也是国际惯例，也是为了人的安全。如果不把污染源清理了，水流经下来，它还是会带来病菌的。第三件工作，可能你不够熟悉，那就是昨天我们连夜研究到很晚，就是这次地震，造成次生灾害最大的，就是堰塞湖。堰塞湖不是所有的湖都具有威胁性，但是还是有部分的具有威胁性。其中最大的一个就是唐家山，就是在北川西北边。这个湖里，已经出水量超过一亿方，它形成的岩石的垮坝，或者叫做天然坝，相当之大，多大？六百米乘八百米，三十二万立方米的方石量，因此必须做好两个方案，一个方案，就是科学的施工促险方案，一个方案是就是下游人民移民避险方案，这样才能够把这一亿立方米以上的水，把它排下去。我觉得这三项工作是我们在居民安置工作中具体碰到的。
这段时期，应该说是最困难的时期，如果说前一阶段，任务重大紧迫，那末这段就是繁重艰巨，而且时间会很长，很多矛盾问题会暴露，时间久了，群众的情绪也会发生变化，所以作为记者，要给与理解，同情，同时给政府时间。
The third issue, and the project of the greatest difficulty, is cutting off the sources of pollution. Cutting off sources of pollution will be done in accordance with law, so we'll be clearing up those areas which are creating the pollution. Beichuan now has already begun being sprayed down with the chemicals, so people cannot go in. While this is just standard international practice, it's also for people's safety. If the pollution is not cleaned up, and water trickles down, it could be carrying with it harmful bacteria. This third area of work, you might not be so familiar with, but it was in studying this that kept us up very late last night, that being, the greatest secondary disaster created by this earthquake, barrier lakes. Not that all barrier lakes present a threat now, but there are some which are presenting a threat. The largest of those is at Tangjia Mtn., just to the north of Beichuan. The water yield from this lake has already exceeded 100 million cubes, and the breach in the stone dam, or what can be called a natural dam, that has formed there, is relatively big. How big? Six hundred meters multiplied by eight hundred meters, that's 3.2 million 320,000 cubic meters of stone. For this reason, we've had to come up with two plans: one is to have the people downriver moved out of danger, which will then allow us to let the hundred million cubic meters of runoff flow out. These three work projects are the ones we are up against in our work in looking after the residents here.
This period, it ought to be said, is the most difficult. If the tasks of the preceding phase were enormous and urgent, then those of this coming period will be more numerous and difficult and the time needed will not be short. Many conflicting problems will appear, and as time goes on, people's feelings will change. So as a journalist, you have to give the government understanding, sympathy, and at the same time, time.
2。那怎末确保善款和救灾物资不出现贪污的情况？
对，这我很早就注意到了。现在说，估计国外和国内的捐款达到一百六十亿，昨天的数字，实际到位数字没有这末多。我们必须保证，所有的款项全部用在救灾上。这件事情不能等救灾以后再去查，必须做在前头，因此由中纪委，监察部，财政部，民政部，审计署五家，下发了一个救灾款物的管理办法，我们不仅下达通知，而且派出若干个审计检查组，开始检查物品，资金发放和使用的情况，这也是对我们各级政府，非常重要的考验。
3。可以看到这次很多民间的团体和个人积极地参与，对于他们的这些爱心，政府是怎样的态度？特别是现在政府要求指定的机构来做，但是一些民间人士还是不太放心，钱到哪里去了，政府怎样让大家放心？
对，我们对民间人士献爱心，搞捐助活动，我们非常感谢，这体现，大灾无情，人有情。我们在感谢的同时，一定要把他们的捐款使用好。而且有的还要特别照顾他们的意愿，比如有些捐助大笔的款项想用在建学校，还比如有的捐助大笔的款项想用在给残疾人买轮椅，我们尽量照顾他们。而且我们将来，要一笔一笔，把他们的钱是怎样花的，要给他们一个回复，看到他们的钱所起的作用。这项工作，也是我们执政能力，和公信力的考验。
4。怎样防止豆腐渣工程再出现？
现在这个问题，我们还应该认真的进行总结，也需要时间。你比如说，北川这个地方，我们目前还是救灾，消毒，但是北川这个地方未来还是要考虑要清理。清理的过程我们考虑的是非常细致的，将来需要通过立法，政府法规，或者人大法规，地方立法。立法的话，我简单的想，几件事情是必须要做的，第一它是全国唯一的一个羌族自治县，因此有关羌族文化遗址，要尽量地把它保存下来，这是第一，第二，它又是地震死亡人数最多的县，因此重要的地震科学，具有地震科学价值的资料，包括实物资料，要把它保存下来。第三，就是你关心的，我们已经由建设部牵头，汇同地方建设部门，对于所有能够鉴定的倒塌的建筑物要进行鉴定，并且要提供完整的资料。
Israel: Going Green with Gore
Former Vice President Al Gore added his name to the list of political luminaries visiting Israel in recent months. Gore joined the Board of Governors celebrations at Tel Aviv University this week to accept the $1 million Dan David Prize for environmental activism.
Photo sourced from the Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons License)
Gore was chosen for the prize for his efforts as a “a tireless advocate for the environment throughout his career,” including:
Eloquently sound[ing] the alarm on the importance of the threat to the global ecosystem posed by the world's current and increasing reliance on carbon dioxide emitting fossil fuels as its primary energy source…
The 2008 Dan David Prize honors Al Gore in the field of Social Responsibility with Particular Emphasis on the Environment for his multiple contributions in raising the conscience of the world to the challenge posed to the continuing sustainable function of the global environment and life support system.
Among the David Prize's other 2008 recipients were:
- British playwright Tom Stoppard
- Noted Israeli author Amos Oz
- Canadian-Armenian filmmaker Atom Egoyan
- American climatologist Lonnie Thompson
- American Paleoclimatologist Ellen Mosley-Thompson
- British organic geochemist Geoffrey Eglinton
Stephanie of Israelity, who attended the award celebration, reports on the attendees and other prize recipients:
[Israeli President] Shimon [Peres] spoke eloquently, as is his habit.
Al [Gore] looked good. He’s lost some weight. He announced that the ceremony coincided with his & Tipper’s 38th wedding anniversary. He’s donating his $1 mill to climate research.
Amos Oz didn’t wear a tie - he’s a kibbutznik, after all.
Tom Stoppard described the arts as a spiritual form come to life. He said the arts are a raison d’etre. (YEAH!)
[Israeli Ambassador to the US] Itamar Rabinovitch thanked Al Gore for progress in peace negotations made during the Clinton administration.
During the ceremony the AP [Associated Press] reporter seated beside me remarked “This is like the Oscars!”
Well sorta. Yeah. Okay.
While in Israel to accept the David Prize, Gore also headlined Tel Aviv University's Renewable Energy and Beyond Conference as a keynote speaker, where he called on Israel to be a leader in promoting renewable energy:
“The people of Israel stand in my moral imagination as guardians of the proposition that we as human beings are answerable to moral duties, that there are ethical laws that should guide our decisions and choices. At this moment in history, when, for the first time, all the people of this earth have to make a clear, seemingly difficult but simple moral judgment about our future, the people of Israel can lead the way to renewable energy.”
Jonathan Shapira of Cleantech Investing in Israel remarks on the changes that will come from the conference:
Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, Israel's Minister of National Infrastructures, announced his intention to commit Israel to construct an additional solar power station in the Negev every year for the next 20 years, and to construct a 300MW wind power station by 2011. Ben-Eliezer also revealed that in the coming weeks he will introduce a government resolution designating all of the Negev Desert and southern Israel as a national preference zone for renewable energy.
Tali Aben of Israel VC on Sand Hill Road was also in attendance when Gore gave his now famous Oscar-winning presentation. She reflects on how our energy consumption habits could effect the environment:
Al Gore’s presentation has so much data, delivering a truly powerful message. As in the TED presentation [see videos], he emphasized the importance of behavior change (get rid of the SUV, install energy efficient lighting, etc.), but more significantly, changing regulation.
What would happen if SUV’s were taxed 3X of what they are today, while hybrids tax reduced to 10% (like the proposed tax for Project Better Place’s battery-powered cars)? What would happen if individuals and corporations had a carbon tax? What would happen if installation of PV on my rooftop would be subsidized, with an attractive feed-in tariff already in place? You don’t have to be a genius to figure it out.
Several Knesset [parliament] members were in attendance. I wonder if they got the message…
Ms. Aben's question about the influence of celebrity speakers, like Mr. Gore, on big time politicos and issues of national consciousness, as the environment has become, is one that Jesse Fox contemplates as well.
Fox of Green Prophet challenges his own notions on the environmental movement and how Israeli perceptions of environmental issues have taken a more prominent role in recent years:
Does Al Gore really need more money or recognition, especially when there are so many committed, homegrown environmentalists in Israel, many of whom are so under-appreciated? Wasn’t his movie just a glorified Power Point, containing no significant new insights? And even if Gore is a relentless activist today, where was his sense of commitment when he was working from the White House?
However, after pondering it over a little, it became clear to me just what an enormous impact Al Gore has had on environmental awareness in Israel…
What brought about this radical change in perception? Was it the dedicated work of the green movement in Israel, which (though often underfunded and overstressed) has invested so much in raising awareness over the past decade? Was it the familiar effect of American cultural trends seeping into Israeli culture, with the usual delayed timing? Or perhaps Israelis had noticed the strange weather patterns over the past few years, with the winter cold setting in well after Hanukkah and the rains seeming to fall less than they used to?
The answer is probably all of the above. However, for many people, the tipping point apparently came after watching “An Inconvenient Truth.” The film was screened extensively in Israel, exposing audiences in various sectors of the population to the message that climate change is real and happening now. For this alone, Al Gore deserves the award.
The lesson for the Israeli green movement is clear - inviting big-name celebrities like Al Gore to Israel to speak about the environment is an incredibly effective strategy for raising environmental awareness in Israel.
With recent Israel visits by former US President Jimmy Carter, President George Bush, and presidential candidate Senator John McCain, Mr. Fox's question about the impact of international figureheads on national thought is an important one. Would they be here in the Middle East taking a stand if they didn't think their presence would have an impact?
If key global figures can significantly influence our thinking, who would you like to hear speak? Whose ideas are most important to your nation and its consciousness? What are the most important issues affecting your culture, country, and region today?
About Al Gore–
Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2007 in partnership with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. His book-made-movie “An Inconvenient Truth” was the 2007 Academy Award winner for best documentary. As well as serving as a US Representative, Senator, and Vice President from 1977– 2001 (including an unfulfilled bid for President), Gore is also the author of Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit. You can learn more about Al Gore and how to promote climate change on his website.
Links for Sun, 2008-05
To celebrate the Africa Day today, Baluka Brazao [pt] publishes and provides info on a picture by Robert Colescott, Marching to a Different Drummer in which according to the Cape Verdean “Colescott addresses the white perception of the black and the black perception of the white, and shows how racism and imposed inferiority define the black identity.”
Jamshidi writes [Fa]that several hundreds Iranians on Friday gathered in front of the United Arab Emirates embassy in Tehran again and protested against renaming of the Persain Gulf by several Arab states. The blogger has published several photos of this demonstration and got surprised when security forces repressed a peaceful demonstration.
Mehdi Boolrian,Iranian photo blogger, has published a photo from Khorshid (means Sun) Palace , in Iran.
Pea discusses “The Challenge of the Cults in East Africa,” a video series on YouTube: “I was on YouTube just now and came across a series of videos titled “The Challenge of the Cults in East Africa.” The videos are posted by ACFAR, which I believe stands for African Centre for Apologetics Research. I watched the first two-minute video, and felt I had seen enough, but in order to keep from making assumptions, I decided to watch the rest.”
Khanya traces the origin of the word “makwerekwere,” a slang for foreigners in South Africa: ” A couple of bloggers with an interest in language have asked about the the origin and meaning of the word “makwerekwere”. It is a slang word for foreigners, and especially illegal immigrants, which I used in a post about the anti-immigrant violence that has been taking place over the last couple of months
United for Africa maps xenophobia incidents in South Africa: “The Ushahidi engine is being used to map xenophobic attacks in South Africa at the “United For Africa” website.”
Stephen believes you can learn Fulfude (one of the languages spoken in Burkina Faso) in six seconds!: “We're all familiar with dazzling language-learning promises made by Linguaphone and similar companies: Speak fluent Arabic in just three weeks! Swedish in a weekend! Well, here's Fulfulde in six seconds. Just learn this word: CHIBBEL-LIBBEL.”
Nanja Boy writes examines the fate of Nigerians in the recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa: “Lest we have forgotten, Nigerians economy now harbors the best of their businesses. For goodness sake, the lists of Nigerian-based multinational companies wholly owed or controlled by South Africa people or government is far greater than the hundreds of Nigeria migrants residing in that country. Nigerians are not destroying any of MTN’s installation even when their services are poor and genuine reasons to rampage are evident.”
“The prominent South African political folk who have enjoyed the protection of the Mozambican people and are today entrepreneurs or leaders, why don't they raise their voices strongly to protect the Mozambican against xenophobia and stop their patricians?”, asks Bosse Hammarström [pt].
This site is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
Please read our attribution policy.
Mohamed ElGohary3 posts 
Catalina Restrepo3 posts 
Belen Bogado5 posts 
Chhunny Chhean15 posts 
Jenny Cascante5 posts 
Eman AbdElRahman119 posts 
Markpeak6 posts 
Carmen Ferreiro1 posts 
Nermeen Edrees17 posts 
Janine Mendes-Franco3789 posts 
Antoun Issa10 posts 
Juliana Rotich117 posts 