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Kuwait: Shaikh Saad Remembered

Abdullatif AlOmar · 20:54 · Middle East & North Africa

lingua → ar · es

Kuwaitis are still mourning the death of their former ruler Shaikh Saad Al Abdulla Al Sabah.

We will strike with an Iron Fist!”
“We may die, but Kuwait will live on!”

I always remembered his words during those terrible days of the Iraqi Occupation, they gave us hope, enforced our need to remain steadfast in our hopes of returning to our country.

Estekana sums up his feelings of sadness in a poetic manner, saying:

مايو الحزين
في مساء غريب
في عز انشغال ولوية الكويتين
ذاك في ندوة انتخابيه يشتعل حماسا
وتلك في زيارة تنهئ بمولود جديد
وآخرمشدود الأعصاب يتابع المباراة النهائية لكأس الأمير
…وفجأة
ينقطع الارسال
يحدث شئ غريب
نتبادل النظرات بحزن
انتقل إالى رحمة الله الأمير الوالد الشيخ سعد العبدالله الصباح

May is a sad month
On a strange night
While the people of Kuwait were busy
One in an election campaign
and the other at a baby shower
and a third stressed out following a football match in the Amir's (ruler) Cup finals
…and suddenly
the broadcast is interrupted
and something strange happens.
We exchange sad looks
The Amir and father Shaikh Saad Al Abdulla Al Sabah has passed away.

يرتجف بنا الحزن
وتختنق في الروح عبرة ألم
رحل والد الجميع
حبيب الشعب
رحل من كان منا وفينا
رحل رجل المواقف
رحل أبو الجميع..
تبكيك الكويت كلها
ببحرها وجوها
تسئل عنك ابراجنا
وتشتكي فقدانك قلوبنا
رحلت في عز حاجتنا اليك
في عز حاجتنا لأمان وجودك وحسك بيننا
كنت مريض..كنا نعلم
كنت تتعب..وكنا نألم
كنت تغيب…وكنا نسئل
وجودك بيننا كان بركة للكويت كلها
!!
لن ننسى حبك لشعبك
ولن ننسى يدك التي تلوح لنا بالفرح
كيف ننسى رجل التحرير
كيف ننسى من كان لجابر سند؟

We shiver with sadness
We are choked by tears
The father of everyone has gone
The lover of people
The one who was one of us has gone
The man of difficult moments has gone
The father of all has gone …
The whole of Kuwait cries for you
Its sea and air
Our towers are asking about you
Our hearts are complaining about missing you
You left at our moment of need
You we ill .. we knew that
You were tired.. we were hurting for you
You would go missing.. we would ask about you.
Your presence among us was a blessing for Kuwait as a whole!!

We won't forget your love to your people
And we won't forget your hand waving happily to us
How can we forget the Man of our liberation
How can we forget Jaber's support?

Shagran writes:

حينما ينظر الانسان الى تاريخ الكويت المعاصر ويبحث عن بدايات ركائز الدولة الحديثة سيتراءى له بين ثناياها وفي زوايا عديدة صورة سمو الأمير الراحل الشيخ سعد العبدالله وخاصة حينما تبحث في نشأة وزارة الداخلية والدفاع
فلقد كان الأمير الراحل ذو نظرة ثاقبة وعمل بجهد فأسس أجهزة على كفاءة عالية تحمي الدولة داخليا وتضبط حدودها خارجيا..وهو عمل لايستطيعه أي رجل مسك دفة المسؤولية

ولقد توالت للأمير الراحل الكثير من الأعمال في بناء الدولة الحديثة

ولكن من وجهة نظري البسيطة فإن أهم عمل قام به الأمير الراحل بعد بطولات التحرير هو اعـــــــــادة بــــنـــــاء الــــدولـــــــة

When study Kuwait's contemporary history and search for the beginnings of the modern state, we will see different images of the former Amir Shaikh Saad Al Abdulla, especially when we dig deep into the establishment of the ministries of Interior and Defence. The former Amir had foresight and worked hard to establish capable institutions which could defend the country internally and externally and that is something which not anyone can do - except those who could shoulder responsibility. The late Amir has a number of achievements in building the modern state, but in my humble opinion, his most notable achievement after his heroic deeds during liberation is rebuilding a modern state.

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Bahrain: In the Land of Law

Amira Al Hussaini · 19:11 · Middle East & North Africa

lingua → bn · zht · zhs · es

Bahraini blogger Khalid [Ar] is surprised with knee jerk reactions taken by the government - after the Minister of Interior issued an order to ban issuing work permits for workers from Bangladesh - in a country which prides itself of being a democracy with laws and a constitution in place.

He writes:

في العهد الجديد .. عهد ما يسمي بالحرية و الديمقراطية و حرية الصحافة يكتب البعض لكونه قد وجد أخيرا متنفسا ليعبر عن رأى ما..في موضوع ما !!! هذا المتنفس كان محظورا غالبا .. لأسباب يطلق عليها جزافا ..أسباب أمنية …!!! طبعا أمنية لطرف ما ..!!! فالحكومة مثلا يمنع ذكرها إلا بكل خير ..!!! انتقادها أو وضعها في قفص الاتهام يعد من الممنوعات بالمصطلح المدني أو من المحرمات بالمصطلح الديني ..!!! بالرغم من إن الحكومة ليست سوى مجرد بشر .. يصيب ويصيب ويصيب ..بمفهوم العهد السابق ….!!!تصيب و تخطيء بالمفهوم الجديد ..!!!

في العهد الجديد ظهر مصطلح الديمقراطية.. والمدعومة بدولة المؤسسات و القانون ..!! في هذا العهد .. حيث اى فعل أو توجه أو عمل يجب إن يستند إلى قرار أو مرسوم أو تشريع ..!!! ولكن مؤخرا ظهرت عدة أموار تناقضه أو تتجاهله وعلى المكشوف .. كما يقال ..!!! فحرية الصحافة أصبحت بعد فترة من العهد الجديد تشكل عبأ على السلطة التنفيذية وهذه الأخيرة بدأت في الضغط على ما يسمي بالسلطة الرابعة وهى الصحافة ..!!! وظهر ما يسمي بالتقنين على ما يطرح للنشر .. فجريدة تحظر نشر موضوع ما وأخرى تبتر فقرة و أخرى تحذف جملة أو كلمة ..!! وأخرى تنشر بالكامل ..وخاصة الصحف الالكترونية ..!!! هذا النشر أو الحظر أو البتر يعتمد على نوع العلاقة التي تربط الجريدة بالسلطة التنفيذية والمتمثلة بالحكومة ..!!!

مؤخرا صدر قرار أو تعليمات من سعادة وزير الداخلية - مملكة البحرين - بإيقاف إصدار تأشيرات العمل للرعايا البنغاليين…!!!! بسبب الجريمة البشعة التي ارتكبها احد رعايا بنغلادش ..!!! وهنا يطرح مجرد سؤال .. ما هي الدوافع الأساسية لمثل هذا القرار أو التعليمات ..؟؟!! وما هى المرجعية القانونية لإصداره ..؟؟!!! هناك جريمة و هناك تحقيق وهناك قضاء ..!!! فلماذا هذا الحظر على أمة ” بنغلادش “..؟؟!!! ولماذا هذا التمييز ..؟؟!! وتحت اى عرف أو قانون أو تشريع يتم معاقبة شعب بجريرة فرد أو مجموعة …؟؟!!! السنا في دولة المؤسسات و القانون …؟؟!!! هل كان قرارا صائبا ..؟؟!! بالتأكيد .. لا ..وهو خطأ فادح .. فاليوم يتحدث الجميع وعل كافة الأطياف إن كافة البنغاليين مجرمون … قتلة .. يجب طردهم ..!!

In the new era, that of what is called democracy and the freedom of press, some people write because they have finally found an avenue to express their opinions on certain topics!! This space was almost always prohibited for reasons called “security reasons.” Of course, they are security matters for some! The government for instance, cannot be mentioned except in a favourable light. Criticising it or accusing it of anything is unlawful in the civil sense and a sin in religious terminology. Although governments are made of people, who only do right in the old system, they do right and commit mistakes in the new one!!!

In the new one, the terminology Democracy has emerged, and it is supported by a state, its institutions and the law! In this era, anything you do should stem from a decision, decree or constitutional amendment!! Lately, a few incidents contradicting this have happened openly. Freedom of Press has become in this new era a burden upon the government, which in turn, started to pressure the Press. This led to some control on what is being published. For instance, a newspaper may prohibit publishing an article altogether; a second may delete a paragraph; and a third may drop a sentence or a word. Others, especially online publications, will publish the article in full. The decision to publish or censor articles depends on the relationship between the newspaper and the executive branch, represented by the government.

Lately, the Minister of Interior in Bahrain issued a decree banning issuing new work permits for Bangladeshis!! That was because of the horrendous crime committed by a Bangladeshi!! And here I would like to ask: What were the main motives for issuing this law? What are the legal grounds for issuing it? There is a crime, and there is an investigation and there is a justice and courts system. So why is there this ban on the people of Bangladesh? And why this discrimination? And under which law is a whole nation being punished for the crime of one individual or group of people? Aren't we in a country of institutions and laws? Was this decision correct? Of course not and it is a grave mistake. Today, everyone is talking as if all Bangladeshis are criminals and murderers, who should be thrown out.

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Bahrain: Detainees at home and abroad

Ayesha Saldanha · 17:26 · Middle East & North Africa

lingua → sq · it

Last December, a number of Bahrainis were arrested following clashes between protestors and security forces, and many are still being detained. Allegations have been made that some of them are being tortured. In February, eight Bahrainis were arrested in Saudi Arabia, apparently for straying into a restricted area.

Concern has been expressed about the health of one of the December detainees, Abdulla Mohsen, who used to be a blogger, and Babbling Bahrania has addressed an open letter to him:

Dearest Abdullah,
The “cage went in search of a bird” - Kafka.
It was only a matter of time – but still, I didn’t expect you to be caged up for this long. Each word is a dagger wrenched out of a heart weighed heavy with shame, guilt and sorrow over what you are having to endure. The pen doesn’t know what the heart will say, but you have seen these words even before they appeared on this page since you are closer to my heart than the jugular vein. The pen is merely executing this letter-writing exercise as a postdated transcription of my tormented thoughts drained by internal bleeding. … In your letter you say that “they can fire bullets at us and at our dreams but they can not stop us from dreaming”. … Stay strong, passionate and committed…a hero needs no saviour, but we definitely need you!

Meanwhile, Ahmed Al Bader writes about the eight men being detained in Saudi Arabia:

لكل إنسان على هذه الكرة الأرضية وطن ولكل وطن شعب ولكل شعب حكومة ولكل حكومة قوانين ودساتير، ولكن هناك ثمانية أشخاص محتجزين بلا وطن وبلا حكومة ترعاهم، هم ثمانية يحملون الشهادات الجامعية ويدرسون أجيال وطن له شعب وحكومة ودستور، فهل من المعقول أن تتغافل حكومة عن مواطنيها وهم محتجزين بسجون دولة شقيقة بل دولة أخوية بكل ما تحمل من معنى الأخوة، لا يربطنها بها مجرد جسر بل يربطنا بها قوة المحبة والتعاون والتزاوج.
هم ثمانية محتجزين بالمملكة العربية السعودية (مجيد عبدالرسول سلمان الغسرة، عباس أحمد إبراهيم، سيدأحمد علوي عبدالله، عيسى عبدالحسن أحمد، محمد حسن علي مرهون، محمد عبدالله المؤمن، إبراهيم مرزم ومحمد مهدي) قصتهم أغرب إلى الخيال تم احتجازهم في بداية شهر مارس الفائت لا بسبب جرم أو إرهاب وإنما لأنهم أضاعوا الطريق ليدخلوا بالخطأ منطقة عسكرية محظورة، والعجيب بالأمر أنهم منذ احتجازهم حتى يومنا هذا وهم بالسجون الانفرادية لا يعلمون عن بعضهم بعض وفي أول وأخر زيارة لهم تمت قبل ثلاثة أسابيع قال أهاليهم الذي التقوا بهم بأنه أشكالهم تغيرت بصورة كبيرة وأثار التعب على وجوهم نعم التعب الجسدي والنفسي، تعب الابتعاد عن الأهل والوطن.
جميعهم ملفهم الأخلاقي والسياسي نظيف فلا شأن لهم بالسياسة، اهتماماتهم أما أن تكون رياضية أو ثقافية، فأين العدل والإنسانية والحقوق، فلا ذنب اكترثوا ولا محاكمة أدانتهم، فمنذ احتجازهم حتى هذه الأيام والحديث متكرر ( لم تثبت عليهم أي تهم ولكن لازال التحقيق جاري معهم ) دخلنا الشهر الثالث والتحقيق مستمر معهم.

فهل يجد هؤلاء الثمانية وطنهم الذي أحتضنهم ورعاهم؟!!

Every person on this Earth has a nation; every nation has a people; all people have governments and all governments have laws and constitutions. However, there are eight people being held without a nation or a government which cares for them. They are eight people with university degrees, who are the educators of generations in a nation with citizens, a government and a constitution. Is is possible that a government ignores its citizens who are being held in the prisons of a neighbour, which maintains a close brotherly relation with, and not just a causeway. What ties us to them is the strength of love, cooperation and inter-marriages.

They are eight held in Saudi Arabia (Majeed Abdulrasool Salman Al Ghasra, Abbas Ahmed Ibrahim, Sayed Ahmed Alawi Abdulla, Isa Abdulhassan Ahmed, Mohammed Hassan Ali Marhoon, Mohammed Abdulla Al Moamen, Ibrahim Marzam and Mohammed Mahdi). Their story is stranger than fiction. They were arrested at the beginning of March not for a crime they committed but because they took a wrong turn and entered a restricted military zone. What is strange in the matter is that they have been in solitary confinement, each in a cell not knowing of the other, since their arrest. In the first and only visit of their families to them, three weeks ago, their families said that their attires have changed a lot since they last saw them and that the effects of physical and mental exhaustion was apparent on their faces - the exhaustion of being away from home and relatives.

They all enjoy a clean record - morally and politically. They have nothing to do with politics. Their interests are in sports or cultural activities. Where is justice, humanity and rights? They have not committed a crime or have been sentenced by a court of law. Since their arrest to this day, the same comment is being repeated: “Nothing has been proved against them and investigations are continuing.” This is the third month and investigations are still continuing.

Will those eight ever find the nation which nurtured and protected them?

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Japan: Mixi and Anonymity

Chris Salzberg · 15:44, June 2nd, 2008 · East Asia

lingua → es

Mixi is Japan's most popular social networking service by a longshot, beating out its competition with over ten million users and taking the lion's share of the local SNS market. So big is Mixi that it even plans to take on the Chinese market, not that its founder Kenji Kasahara really needs to.

But the future may not be so bright for Mixi. After having found itself in hot water a few months ago for a change in its terms of use agreement, it now faces a new competitor, with Facebook having been localized by volunteers into Japanese. Mixi and Facebook are both social networking services, but they are very different in the way that their users handle identity: whereas the Mixi mode is obfuscation (fake photos, fake registered names, etc.), in Facebook users generally use their real identity.

Mixi user profile pictures
Mixi user profile photos (usernames removed)

Blogger mechag takes up the theme of Mixi and anonymity. In a post entitled “The real enemy that broke the culture of real names in Mixi“, the blogger comments on the new Japanese version of Facebook:

Facebookが本格的に日本でサービスを開始するらしい。実名を強く推進していくそうだ。実際そうなるかはともかくとして、実名でのSNSというのは当然あっていいと思う。リアルで普通に生活している場合と同様に、身元を明らかにし、仕事、近所付き合い、親戚付き合い、地域や趣味レベルのコミュニケーション手段として、SNSは便利なツールだと思う。

Apparently Facebook is going to fully launch their service in Japan. I heard that they are heavily promoting [the use of] real names. Putting aside whether this will actually happen or not, I think it is of course a good thing for there to be SNS that use real names. As a means of communication at the level of work, neighborhood associations, family associations, region and interests, one that makes clear [a person's] identity just as is in everyday life, SNS are a useful tool.

もちろんそういうSNSでは、我々が現実の世界で用いているような様々な防衛手段、嘘をつき、隠し事をし、建前で付き合う、というスタイルが求められるだろう。他人を無制限に信頼することは出来ないし、他の友人に知られたくない人間関係もある。

Of course in these SNS, there is a demand for styles [of communication] such as telling lies, hiding secrets, and maintaining a public stance, various defensive measures of the kind that we all use in real life. It's impossible to put absolute trust in a stranger, and there are human relationships that [people] do not want other friends of theirs to know about.

そういうものをきちんと保護できる機能をもつSNSは電話や郵便などと同様に本当の意味での社会のインフラとなるだろう。逆に言えば「良心」で成り立っているコミュニケーションツールというのはインフラにはなれない。悪意まで包含して初めてインフラとして機能する。

SNS with the functionality to properly protect this kind of [information] become society's infrastructure in the true sense of the term, like telephone and the postal service. Or to put it conversely, communication tools that rely on “conscience” are not capable of acting as this infrastructure. It is only once ill intentions are taken into account that [these tools] begin to function as an infrastructure.

mixiの場合、やっと最近フレンドをグループ化して公開できる日記を区分けできるようになったようだが、「良心」の幻想に引きずられるあまり遅きに失した感がある。日記の暴露が社会問題化した時点で「良心」から卒業できなかったために、mixiの実名文化は壊れてしまった。悪意に対してあまりにも無邪気に無防備だった。以前から警告は発せられていたのに「人の良心を疑うのか」「我々は人の良心を信じる」とほとんどカルトのような狂信でmixi教の信者達は警告をことごとく拒絶していた。

In the case of mixi, it has recently finally become possible to group your friends and section your diary into a part that can be made public, but I have the feeling that people have already been seduced too much by the illusion of “conscience”, and that this move may be too late. At just the point in time when diary disclosure had become a social problem, mixi was not able to graduate from [a sense of] “conscience”, and for this reason the culture of real names in mixi broke completely. They were far too naive and defenseless against ill intentions. Even though warnings had previously been issued, believers in the mixi religion, who like a cult [said things like] “do you question people's conscience?” and “we have faith in people's conscience”, fanatically denied the warnings altogether.

Mechag then goes on to argue that if real names are endorsed, the system should not be set “open to everybody” by default. The entry continues:

現実の世界で自分の交友関係のリストを誰にでも見えるように首から提げている人はいない。それじゃ小学生の名札だ。いや最近は小学生でさえ名前や学校名が書かれた名札を付けているのは危険だという議論になっている。

In the real world, nobody shows the list of all their associations so that everybody can see them. That's like an elementary school name tag. Actually nowadays even in elementary schools there are those who argue that it is dangerous to attach a name tag with the students name and name of the school on it.

その中の活動も、現実の世界のそれがそうであるように、誰が見るともわからないようなところに本音や自分の思想・信条など決して書かない。赤の他人はもちろん友人にも今の自分の悩みをさらけ出すなど以ての外だ。そういうものはごく親しい限られた親友や家族にのみ公開する。

In activities as well, nobody writes down things like their intentions, and their own thoughts and beliefs, in a place where it is not even clear who will see them. It is of course absurd that [a person] would lay bear their worries to even their own friends, let alone to perfect strangers. These are the kinds of things that people only publicize to a very limited intimate [group] of close friends and family.

実名による責任あるSNSというのはこういうものを言うのであって、善意と良心の幻想に頼ったものではない。究極のコミュニケーションツールというのは「いかにコミュニケーションを制限するか」という点に注力して設計されたツールだと思う。

SNS that demand responsibility through the use of real names state these kinds of points, and do not rely on the illusion of good intentions and conscience. The ultimate communication tool, I think, is a tool that is designed with attention focused on the issue of “how much is the communication restricted”.

もちろん匿名のSNSはあっていい。上述のような本当の意味で責任のある実名SNSでは対応しきれない人間の側面が沢山あるだろう。やたら「実名」によるコミュニケーションを賛美する人が多いけれど、それは実名に幻想を抱いているのだと思う。まるで恋愛や結婚をしたことのない少女が恋愛にあこがれるようなものだ。

It is of course good that there are anonymous SNS. I suppose that there must be many aspects of human beings that cannot be dealt with in an SNS that uses real names [to assure] responsibility in the true sense outlined above. There are many people who glorify communication based on “real names”, but doing that I think is just harboring an illusion about real names. It's just like young girls who yearn for love even though they have no experience of love or marriage.

「見ず知らずの人に本音をぶちまけたい」という不条理な願望、ある意味破滅願望に近いと思う、をもつのが人間なのだ。自殺したい、犯罪を犯したい、そういう人間の負の側面を否定してはならない。光と影、善と悪、愛と憎悪、理論と感情、博愛と利己、ネットワークは最終的に人間のすべての思考活動の受け皿になるツールでなければならない。実名での発言がきちんと社会的に保護されなければ、いくら呼びかけたところで実名は普及しないだろう。

The absurd desire to “confess one's real intention to a complete stranger” is in some sense a desire for destruction — this is the way human beings think. The negative aspects of the kind of human beings who want to commit suicide, who want to commit crimes, cannot be denied. Light and dark, good and bad, theory and emotion, charity and self-interest, networks must ultimately become tools to act as a receptacle for all human thoughts and actions. If expression using real names is not socially protected in a proper way, then it doesn't matter how much one has appealed, [the popularity] of real names will not spread.

The entry finishes with a parallel to the manga of Ishinomori Shotaro, creator of Android Kikaider:

石ノ森章太郎のマンガ「人造人間キカイダー」の主人公ジローは不完全な良心回路(ジェミニ)を持つロボットで、その不完全さゆえに作中で悩み、苦しみまくるのだが、長い戦いの末にジローが最後に手にしたのは完全な良心回路ではなく悪の心(服従回路)だった。正義と悪、2つの相反する回路のせめぎ合いによって、優しさだけでなく強さを身につけ、「これで僕は人間と同じになった」といっていずこかへ去っていく。

The main character in the manga “Android Kikaider” by Ishinomori Shotaro, Jiro, was a robot with an incomplete conscience circuit (Gemini), and as a result of this incompleteness he was full of worries and anguish. At the end of a long battle, Jiro ended up not with the perfect conscience circuit, but with an evil mind (obedience circuit). Through a conflict between the two circuits of justice and evil, he acquires not only kindness, but also strength, declaring as he leaves that: “With this, I have become the same as a human.”

今の世相はネットに完全な良心回路を求めてさまよっているジローに似ている。そんなものは手に入らないし、もし手に入れたとしても幸せにはならないだろう。それでは人間の心の半分しかサポートできないからだ。

The current social condition resembles Jiro wandering in search of a perfect conscience circuit. Such a thing is not obtainable, and even if it were, I doubt that it would make [a person] happy. Because it would only be able to support one half of the human heart.

Thanks to Taku Nakajima for the suggestion to translate this blog post.

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Taiwan: Bridging Digital Divide with Puncar

Leonard Chien · 09:51, June 2nd, 2008 · East Asia

lingua → mk · mk · fr

While Taiwan is well developed and people enjoy relative equal opportunities compared with other regions around the world, the digital divide between urban and rural area is still wide. Several projects are ongoing in the island with an attempt to reverse the trend. Project in Recycling and Transferring Used Computers [zh] (二手電腦回收轉贈計畫), founded and executed by Environment Protection Administration (行政院環保署), for example, collects, repairs and sends used computers to remote areas and schools. Digital Community (數位好厝邊), established by Chunghwa Telecom Foundation (中華電信基金會), is also introducing digital learning resources to deprived communities.

It is, of course, insufficient to have computers and internet access as people need basic skills in using technology. To help people in remote villages and tribes learn and understand internet tools and applications, such as blogs, Twitter, Google Maps, Facebook, etc., Association of Digital Culture Taiwan (ADCT) [zh] (台灣數位文化協會) starts a new project named “Puncar” (胖卡) [zh].

This 10-year-old second-hand car, although can only ride 80-90 kilometers per hour, is well equipped with cameras, computers, portable solar panels, and so on. In May 2008, volunteers have spent three weekends organizing training courses in five distant villages and tribes in southern and eastern Taiwan.

Participants in different age groups gather in the community center for the event.

One local participant A-shan (阿珊) records the event in her blog [zh]:

徐兄在台上跟大家解釋著部落格是什麼…怎麼弄…又如何使用。
[…]
伯伯轉動著滑鼠…重覆著剛才課程內容，讓自己進步每一分鐘。

Tim (CEO of ADCT), standing on stage, introduces and explains what blog is, how to use it and what can be done.
[…]
Participants move their mouses, repeat what are taught, and try to improve step by step.

Philsu(阿寬), joined the tour in the second week, reflects on his experience [zh] with Puncar:

在跟小朋友互動的舉手投足、言語交流間，
體會了好多好多事情。
那是一種內在性的衝擊，撞擊著自己習慣性的思考，
進而延伸出好多的問題跟反思。
哪怕只是短短數小時的相處，
哪怕我們只是將簡單的網路地圖＆部落格使用方法帶給你們，
但我似乎獲得了更多的東西。

I have learned so many things through interactions with these children. The experience has affected my old habits and thoughts, followed by many questions and reflections. In fact we only spent a few hours with them and taught them how to use online maps and blogs, but it turned out that I have learned more from them.

Qweaz (陳力), driver and photographer of Puncar project, offers a complete photo record in his Flickr album.

Tim Shyu (徐挺耀), CEO of ADCT, says [zh] in the Puncar blog:

部落格行動車將集結優秀及熱情的師資人才，設計活潑實用的網路教學課程，以實際走訪的方式，運用該社區已有的硬體設備，協助解決「軟體」上的不足。並進一步發掘各偏遠地區的經濟特色，給予資訊科技方面適合的建議與支援的可能。

Puncar will recruit more members with passion and skills, and design more interesting and practical internet learning programs. We visit different villages, make use of existing facilities, and help solve the problem of skill insufficiency. Through the tour, Puncar will look into the economic characters in these rural areas and provide suitable IT advices and supports.

Puncar project will last for at least three years. Carrying on with its experiences in May, Puncar will be on the road again in July. For further details, please contact ADCT through adct DOT npo AT gmail DOT com .

All pictures are used under Creative Commons license

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Korea: Battles between Netizens and Newspapers

Hyejin Kim · 00:01 · East Asia

lingua → it · bn

It started from complaints and small protests against the US-Korea Beef Trade. Koreans were upset due to the process of the negotiation of the trade between the US and Korea and due to unconditional support from major media for the current government. Candlelight vigils were expected to disappear after several days, but they have continued more than 40 days and more people with their families participate every night.

And recently, major conservative newspapers, ‘Cho-Joong-Dong’ – an abbreviation of the names of the three biggest Korean newspapers – have been seriously attacked by netizens. Netizens announce a battle with newspapers.

Campaigns not to subscribe Cho-Joong-Dong, not to go to restaurants that subscribe to Cho-Joong-Dong, not to watch KBS—the national broadcaster— to subscribe to other progressive newspapers, to leave other newspapers in subways for other commuters, to praise companies that give advertisements to other newspapers, to protest companies that put advertisements in Cho-Joong-Dong, and not to purchase products of those companies, are spread by the Internet. Netizens actively share their ideas on how to promote their campaigns.

While major media hasnn’t treat this movement seriously, the campaign in several days has prompted a 30 percent decrease in advertisement requests in the Chosun Newspaper. Netizens’ activities even led several companies to decide to cancel their advertisements to Cho-Joong-Dong newspapers and to put public apologies about their advertisements on their websites.

조선일보와 중앙일보, 동아일보의 광고기업들이 네티즌 항의에 따라 광고 철회를 알리는 내용이다.

“…네티즌의 비판과 우려는 곧 우리 국민이 르까프를 아직도 애정이 담긴 시선으로 지켜보고 있다는 것으로 생각하고 겸허히 받아들이며, 회사영업에 다소 지장이 초래되더라고 국민정서를 고려하여 지적하신 언론매체 광고는 자제하기로 결정하였으며 이후 광고에 대해서는 신중을 기하도록 하겠습니다.” - 르까프(http://www.lecaf.co.kr/)

“금일 주요 5대 일간지에 광고가 동시에 나가지 못해 고객님들의 정서에 부응해 드리지 못했던 점을 죄송스럽게 생각하며…” - 신선설농탕(http://www.sinsunfood.co.kr/)

“신문광고로 고객님들께 심려를 끼쳐드려 죄송합니다. (중략) 고객님들의 질책대로 금일 이후 광고에는 신중을 기하겠으며…” - 농협목우촌(http://www.moguchon.co.kr/)

Some companies that put advertisements in Chosun, Joongang, and Dong-a newspapers announced that they will withdraw their advertisements due to netizens’ protests.

“…We consider that netizens’ criticisms and concerns toward Lecaf mean that people are still concerned about us with affection. Even though it might affect our business, we consider people’s sentiment and decide to restrain ourselves to put advertisements to media that is laid a finger on. Afterwards, we will be more careful about placing advertisements.” – Lecaf

“We apologize not to follow customers’ sentiments and to put advertisements in five daily newspapers at the same time…” –Shinsun Food.

“…We apologize for causing worries to customers by newspaper advertisements[…] Following customers’ rebuke, we will be more careful of putting advertisements…” Nonghyup Moguchon.

Why are netizens upset with Cho-Joong-Dong?

[…]국민과 함께 하지 않는 대통령과 정치인들, 그리고 언론들은 결국 심판받을 수 밖에 없는 건 당연한 이치다. 조.중.동 등 한나라당 기관지로 치부되는 언론들이 쓰레기 취급을 받고 있다. 그건 이명박정부와 한나라당의 시녀노릇을 하고 있다는 이유 때문이다. 1년전만 하더라도 조.중.동은 노무현정부의 한미FTA강행과 소고기 수입문제에 대해 검역주권을 강조하고 요구했던 논조의 기사들을 게재했으나, 이명박정부로 권력이 바뀌자, 360도 기사내용이 바뀐 것이다. 이것은 결국 자신들의 권력에 아부하는 조.중.동이라는 언론들의 기회주의성과 이중성을 적나라하게 드러낸 것이다. 언론이란 국민과 민족을 대변하는 정론직필이 아니면 이미 그 존재가치가 없는 쓰레기에 불과하며 생명이 끝난 것이다. 또한 인터넷 시대에 있어 권력의 실체는 더 이상 언론들이 아니라, 정보를 공유하여 정확하고 객관적인 진실을 알아내고 주장하고 행동하는 네티즌들이 권력이다. 따라서 언론들이 더욱 국민과 민족을 대변하는 진실보도와 공정보도를 하지 않으면 대중은 외면한다는 의미가 된다[…]

[…] It is the principle that the president, politicians, and media that are not with the peoples should be judged. Media including Cho-Joong-Dong which is regarded as the bulletin is treated as trash because they work as servants for the Lee Government and the Grand National Party. Even one year ago, Cho-Joong-Dong continued to put articles that we should demand the right of quarantine regarding importing beef and FTA between the US and Korea. Once the authority goes to the Lee Government, their attitude completely changes. It proves that their opportunism and dualism to flatter themselves to the powerful. If media can’t represent the people and write correctly, it doesn’t have life anymore and is just trash. In addition, in the period of the Internet, the entity of the authority is not media anymore, but netizens who share information, track objective truth, and insist. Therefore, if media doesn’t represent the people well and doesn’t show impartial reports, the masses will turn away[…]

A netizen’s simple comment became popular.

미래의 한국사 시험문제:2008년 시민혁명으로 폐간된 신문은? 정답: 조중동.[…]

A question of Korean history examination in the future: What newspapers ceased to be published due to the civil revolution of 2008? Answer: Cho-Joong-Dong.[…]

An interesting thing to be observed is how netizens utilize technology well. They give light to candlelight vigils and physical conflicts between demonstrators and policemen on the popular Internet channel, Afreeca (Korean Youtube), which was the territory of broadcasting. Their mobile phones and gadgets are used for sharing visual experiences with non-participants and those graphics are transferred to the Internet instantly.

Here is a netizen’s response.

새벽까지 인터넷 생방송을 지켜 보다가 저도 연일 이런 생활이 계속 되는 통에 피곤하다는 이름으로 ,,가만히 앉아서 피곤하다고..그냥 잠이 들고 말았네요.잠이 편하지 않습디다..꿈도 뒤숭숭하고..무언지 모를 압박감에 깊은 잠에 빠지지도 못하고..어젯밤 많은 분들이수건이며 쵸코파이며 따듯한 옷, 물이 필요하다고 하는데도 전 아무 것도 못하고 그냥 멍하니 화면만 바라 보다…그러다 잠 잔다가ㅗ무식한 돼지처럼 잠 자겠다고 그냥 잠이 들었네요……….. 정말 미안합니다. 미안합니다……..죄송합니다………고작 평범한 아줌마가 할 수 잇는 일들을 찾느라 이리 저리 조중동에 광고하는 회사이름 찾아 전화 돌리고…………홈페이지 찾아가 서명하고 글 쓰고..등등의 일련의 일들도 님들의 애씀 앞에선 그저 휴지보다 못한 일들이 되고 맙니다[…]

I watched the internet live broadcast until dawn and fell asleep under the pretext of being tired. It was not a comfortable sleep. My dream was not noisy due to unknown suppression. Even though many people said they need more towels, choco pie, warm cloths, and water, I dazedly looked at the screen and fell asleep like an ignorant pig. I’m really sorry, sorry… What a middle aged ordinary woman can do is to call companies that put advertisements to Cho-Joong-Dong… leaving my opinions on their websites… Compared to what you guys do, mine is nothing[….]

On the other hand, the Fair Trade Commission announced that they will reconsider releasing a regulation (Shinmoon Goshi) that allows newspaper companies to give benefits and gifts to their customers even though it was prohibited for more active media. Major newspapers that have capital such as Cho-Joong-Dong can survive, while small capital newspaper companies have a hard time to compete.

Lee Myung Bak OUT from a candlelight vigil