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June 4th, 2008
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Egypt: Great Firewall of China Coming Soon
Egyptian bloggers have one hand on their keyboard and another on their hearts. Following a recent crackdown on bloggers and online activists following the April 6 unrest, some are now predicting the worse is yet to come.
Tarek, at Not Gr33n Data, writes:
It's getting more and more fishy everyday, the Newspapers are attacking what they call “The Dark World of the Internet”, you may read Al-Ahram Newspaper's article here [Ar]. They are blaming the Egyptian people because they use the internet to … ehm … spread rumours, call for strikes, and post videos that may harm the Egyptian National Security!
You know what, I am getting more and more confident now, that the Government's next move will be filtering the Internet. I already had similar suspicions a long while ago, but now I am really afraid that they may start filtering the Internet here in Egypt very soon, they may block sites such as Facebook, because what's said that the April 6th General Strike was organized there. They may also block YouTube, and who knows what will they block next.
Seems that the Great Firewall of China is on its way to Egypt.
Mostafa Hussein [Ar], also from Egypt, is equally infuriated with the attack on online activists. He uses the same style the article was written in to discredit the credibility of newspapers and writes:
أكاذيب مفضوحة, وألفاظ مطاطة, وسب وقذف بلا حسيب ولا رقيب, وأخبار كاذبة, ودعوات للتشهير, ومحاولات للوقيعة بين أبناء الشعب الواحد. هذه هي الصورة السوداء للصحافة الرسمية في مصر حاليا للأسف الشديد, والتي رسم سوادها قلة من السياسيين, وإن كان هذا السواد يغطي حاليا علي أغلبية استخدامات هذه الوسيلة الإعلامية التي يفترض أنها أكثر عراقه ونظافة من هذا المستوي إلي الدرجة التي بات الأمر معها يستدعي وقفة من القراء ضد هذه الإساءات والانتهاكات الصارخة قبل المطالبة بتدخل الجهات الشعبية لإعادة التوازن إلي هذه المنطقة الخطرة علي المجتمع وعقلة واستقراره وحريته!
وعلي الرغم من أن مصر تفخر بأنها تملك أكبر عدد من قراء الصحف في المنطقة العربية, فإنها عانت في الفترة الأخيرة إساءة استخدام السلطة لهذه الوسيلة, حيث باتت جرائد الحكومية الشهيرة مثل الأهرام و الأخبار ساحة مناسبة يستغلها ضعاف النفوس للتضليل والكذب, ولتبادل عبارات السب والقذف والتعليقات المبتذلة التي تسيء إلي مصر بالدرجة الأولي, بل وتسيء إلي هذه الوسيلة المطبوعة الراقية التي يجيد الغرب المتحضر استخدامها بما ينفع مجتمعه, وانتشرت حملات وهمية تكالب علي إطلاقها علي الصحف بعض السياسين المصريين المندفعين بحثا عن المال والكرسي, وربما من المستترين خلف أسماء مستعارة أو وهمية, بعضها يتضمن دعاوي تحريضية علي التخلف أو علي نشر الأكاذيب.
Easily exposed lies, flowery language, insults and slander, unfounded news, libel and attempts to create a rift between the citizens of one nation. This is the black picture of our Egyptian official Press unfortunately. Its blackness was painted by a few politicians, even though this darkness now covers most of the uses of this mass media which is supposed to be clean and rich. It has now become imperative for readers to take a stance to redress the imbalance in this dangerous medium on society, its stability and freedom!
Although Egypt prides itself with having the largest number of newspaper readers in the Arab world, it has recently suffered from abuse at the hands of the authorities of this medium. Famous government-run papers like Al Ahram and Al Akhbar have now become the suitable forum for those who mislead and lie, as well as for the exchange of slander and insults which harm Egypt particularly and this publication in general, while the civilised West continues to utilise this medium in a manner which benefits their society. Imaginary campaigns against newspapers have also been launched by some Egyptian politicians in search of money and power. They may perhaps be those hiding behind fake names - and who rally for spreading messages which encourage backwardness and spreading lies.
Madagascar's bloggers ambivalent about Sichuan earthquake aid
The Malagasy government volunteered to help the international aid effort for the earthquake victims in the province of Sichuan, China. The immense proportions of the humanitarian disaster prompted the government to donate $100,000 USD to the Chinese ambassador Wo Ruidi in Madagascar for the rescue relief effort (fr)
The Malagasy blogosphere had mixed reactions to this donation, despite unanimously recognizing the sadness of a catastrophe of this magnitude, citing that more than 70% of the population still lives below the poverty line, there is a global food crisis and some regions in Madagascar are still trying to recover from the destruction caused by the hurricane season.
Tomavana, who also translates for GV Malagasy, posted on the blog, Malagasy Miray:
“Car c’est de façon quotidienne que la majorité de la population malgache affronte les difficultés de la cherté de la vie, augmentation du prix de l’huile alimentaire, de celui du carburant, des coupures “chroniques” de courants et autre cyclone de façon annuel. Or quel contraste entre le manque de fonds, excuse immanquablement invoquées par le gouvernement face à l’absence d’efficacité des réponses apportées à tous ces problèmes nationaux et cette solidarité internationale. A ce que je sache, ce don ne provient ni de l’argent de Ranjeva ni de celui du président Ra8, mais bien des caisses de l’état, donc du contribuable ?”
Tomavana’s post induced a few reactions in the comment section:
Manalina agrees with Tomavana (fr)
“Si sans cœur tu es alors sans cœur je suis … on sait tous ce qu’il en est”
The Malagasy government is working hard to strengthen the ties with China. In recent news, President Ravalomanana traveled to Shanghai in May and is on record for wanting to “expand collaboration with China”. The Malagasy government also was also prompt to support China’s handling of the riots in Lhasa in March and state that they would participate in the Beijing Olympics whether a boycott is in place or not.
Tattum believes that charity ought to start at home and Maintikely says that her grandmother is still waiting for the roof and the walls of her home to be replaced after the latest cyclone. Maintykely also wrote in her personal blog that the president was guilty of a blatant conflict of interest when he protected the price of oil from going up with state subsidies when he owns the company that provides most of Malagasy cooking oil.
Dotmg, on the other hand, does not understand all the negative reactions to the act of solidarity by the Malagasy government (mg):
“Rehefa misy andrarezina lavo ve ao amin’ny tanànanareo dia tsy mandeha mamangy ianareo, na mandeha mamangy ihany fa tsy mitondra solondranombary tsy masaka, sa manome ihany fa fanahy iniana atao kely satria izy aza manankarena noho ianao, ka tsy ho hitan’ny vazan’ainan’ny hareny izay kely hataonao anaty valopy?”
Vola thinks that the shocking part is the fact that 100,000 USD is really not enough when one considers the fact that 70,000 people died and many more are still not accounted for. If it was meant as symbolic gesture of solidarity, she asked, then wouldn’t a symbolic amount be more appropriate?
Many Malagasy bloggers have been actively raising fund for the earthquake victims in China and Cyclone victims in Myanmar through Facebook.
Another topic of international solidarity that got the Malagasy blogosphere talking was the call for help from Diana, a high school student in Mahajanga, who wants to help a baby born with a congenital malformation and his family get the proper medical treatment. The Malagasy Diaspora in Italy, France, Canada and South-Africa came together to raise funds for the operation and transport of the baby and his caregiver to the capital city, Antananarivo.
Ecuador: The Amazon Tribes Vs. Big Oil
Morning in the Amazon… by markg6 used according to Creative Commons attribution license.
A rekindled interest in the richness of the Amazon is one of the results of recently distributed photograph showing members of an uncontacted tribe in the Brazilian Amazon shooting arrows at the photographer's airplane which surfaced on the Internet on May 23rd. However, to some organizations, the Amazon has never been far from their minds, and today we´ll see some videos brought by Amazon Watch, some which were showcased on Witness‘ The Hub editorial section.
First, a video explaining the extent of damages that are imputed to the Chevron- Texaco oil company toxic waste management which for years has contaminated the Amazonian Basin in Ecuador. In the following video, indigenous group members tell about their health problems, cancer and their case against Chevron-Texaco where they ask them to clean up after themselves.
Then, from The Hub, curator Chris Michael picked the following two videos. First, an animation which spoofs corporate propaganda videos and shows a different perspective on the toxic oil waste disaster in Ecuador, inviting viewers to learn more about the trial, about Chevron-Texaco in Ecuador and answers to their replies that they were within the law and weren't the cause of the disaster, and in general about the harm of oil exploitation in the amazonian basin at Chevrontoxico.com
The next video portrays the story of how the tribal leaders are still struggling to keep this disaster from repeating itself, and the Ecuadorian government's insistence on leasing tracts of land where Indigenous reserves lie for oil exploitation, not just without the indigenous tribe's approval but in spite of their open opposition.
Finally, an independent documentary that can be downloaded for free titled Justicia Now: One People's Fight Against Big Oil. Following, a short clip of the film, where it tells how the biggest oil reserve lies under the most biodiverse region in the Amazon, the Yasuni reserve in Ecuador:
Peru: President Says Country Closer to Overcoming Poverty
Among the varied and recent controversial statements by Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez, and one that has provoked commentary from the most diverse political sectors, not to mention ordinary citizens, is that Peru is a step away from overcoming poverty and, moreover, soon will no longer be a developing nation.
The Lima daily, El Comercio, published the President's statement:
The President of the Republic, Alan Garcia, highlighted the reduction of poverty in 2007, affirming this decrease is a sign of the country's correct economic management, and predicting that by the year 2015 poverty will be reduced to less than 10% [of the population]. “This is good news and means that Peru is on the right path, following a good economic and social model. And, if we keep it up, in 2008 and in 2009, poverty will continue to diminish (.) My goals is to go beyond so that by 2015, we will have less than 10% [of the population living in] poverty,” he said. Based on the figures [provided by] the Peruvian National Institute of Statistics and Information (INEI), he sustained that poverty had decreased by 5.2% in the last year, meaning that one million, 380 thousand Peruvians are no longer poor.
Roberto Bustamante, writing in El blog del Morsa [es], is skeptical and cautious, recalling criticism regarding the methodology employed by civil servants in the current government and, although he recognizes there is a decrease in poverty rates, he highlights that this reduction in poverty is not across the board and there still exists much inequality. Let's read more from his post, Less Poor People in Peru:
La verdad, a estas alturas del partido, no sé si creer. El anuncio de la reducción de la pobreza en de 44% a 39% se da en un contexto, marcado por una alta desaprobación presidencial, y justo cuando los precios de los alimentos se están estabilizando de una forma u otra. … desde donde tengo entendido por lo que se dice, lo que se ha hecho es bajar la valla de la pobreza. De ese modo, evidentemente, hay menos pobres en el Perú. La pobreza también tiene varias caras. Para empezar, si vemos el problema de la desigualdad en términos relacionales, podremos darnos cuenta que existen accesos inequitativos inclusive entre hombres y mujeres en espacios rurales pobres. Como se afirmó en su momento, las mujeres rurales quechuahablantes son más pobres entre los pobres. Otro tema, ya para que me acusen de derrotista, es la desigualdad económica. Como señalé, en efecto, a nivel macro Chile pudo haber crecido económicamente, pero eso no lo hace un país menos desigual que Perú, donde el quintil superior es enormemente más rico que el quintil inferior, en términos de ingreso económico per cápita. Seguimos apostando por el chorreo como modelo, pero no para acortar las brechas entre los que ganan demasiado y los que ya se están ganando alguito.
Truthfully, at this stage of the game, I don't know whether to believe it or not. The announcement of the reduction in poverty from 44% to 39% [es] is given in a context marked by a high presidential disapproval rate [es] and just when the price of the food items is becoming somewhat stable. …as far as I understand, according to what is being said, what has happened is that the threshold of poverty has been lowered. Given that fact, clearly there are now less poor people in Peru. Poverty also has different faces. To begin with, if we look at the problem of inequality in relative terms, we would see there exists inequitable access even between men and women in poor rural communities [es] . As was mentioned, rural Quechua-speaking women are among the poorest of the poor [in Peru]. Another issue, so I can be accused of being a defeatist, is economic inequality. As I mentioned, in fact, at a macro level Chile may have grown economically, but that doesn't make it a less unequal country than Peru where the top fifth of the population is enormously wealthier than the lowest fifth, in terms of per capita income. We're still betting on the trickle-down theory as a model, but not to diminish the gaps between those who earn much and those who are just now earning a little.
Dennis David in Psicosociales [es] doesn't hesitate to categorize President Garcia's declarations as demagogic and illustrates his post, Complete demagogy: By 2015 we will no longer be Third World, with explanatory photos:
Unas cuantas fotos que muestran el abandono de los niños y damnificados del terremoto, que aún esperan apoyo; mientras el presidente García, los medios de comunicación adeptos y sus instituciones celebraban la disminución de la pobreza. ¿Por qué no muestran a esas personas que dejaron de ser pobres?. ¿Dejar la pobreza significa conseguir un trabajo con un salario de 500 soles en una service? ¿Qué significa realmente la expresión de Alan García que el Perú en el 2015 dejará de ser del tercer mundo?. ¿Moriremos todos, desaparecerá, sera un territorio de otro país? ¿Cada peruano ganará la lotería?….
[Here are] a few photos showing the abandonment of children and the survivors of the earthquake who are still waiting for aid while President Garcia, [his] supporters in the media, and his institutions celebrate the decrease of poverty. Why don't they show those people who are no longer poor? Does not being poor mean finding a job that pays a salary of 500 soles a month in a service? What does Alan Garcia's statement that by 2015 Peru will no longer be a Third World country really mean? Will we all die? Will Peru disappear? Will it become the territory of another country? Will every Peruvian win the lottery?
Cesar Vasquez in his blog, Perú: Política y Economía [es], quotes statements made by Farid Matuk, former director of the INEI (National Statistics and Information Institute) during the Toledo government, (Matuk is also quoted in the post at El blog del Morsa). The post is titled Farid Matuk explains how Alan's regime manipulated the poverty figures in Peru – Calibration: Science or Art?:
El día de hoy, martes 27 de mayo de 2008, me enteré de una característica no documentada de la medición de la pobreza que explica como se logra esta acelerada reducción de la pobreza en base a un artificio matemático, que a comienzos de 2006 había documentado para un artículo de la Revista Coyuntura de la Universidad Católica. En dicho artículo explicaba que existen cinco pasos matemáticos críticos para distorsionar la medición de la pobreza, y como en la medición del año pasado y en la del presente año se ha manipulado –con absoluta certeza– dos de los cinco pasos críticos que determinan la línea de la pobreza, y por ende el total de pobres. El primero de ellos ha sido modificar el centro de gravedad de la población de referencia, es decir donde esta el centro de la sub-muestra que determina la línea de pobreza. Desde el año pasado, el centro de gravedad son los hogares ubicados en el 38% de la distribución del ingreso, mientras que todos los estudios anteriores tenían por centro de gravedad el 40% de la distribución del ingreso. El segundo de ellos ha sido modificar el rango de referencia de la población que determina la línea de pobreza. Desde el año pasado, el rango de referencia son dos quintos de la población, mientras previamente era únicamente un quinto de la población. Ahora se tiene como rango de referencia los hogares ubicados entre el 18% y el 58% de la distribución del ingreso, mientras que antes eran los hogares ubicados entre el 30% y 50% de la distribución del ingreso.
Today, Tuesday, May 27, 2008, I learned about a non-documented characteristic in the measurement of poverty that explains how this accelerated reduction in poverty is attained via mathematical artifice, which at the beginning of 2006 was documented in an article in Coyuntura Magazine, [published by Lima's] Catholic University. That article explained there are five critical mathematical steps to distort the measurement of poverty, and how last year's measurement, [as well as] this year's, has –with absolute certainty- manipulated two of the of those five critical steps which determine the poverty threshold, and as a result, the total number of poor people. The first of these [manipulations] has been to modify the center of gravity of the population in reference, that is, where the center of the sub-sample that determines the poverty threshold is. Since last year, the center of gravity has been those households in the 38th percentile in the distribution of income, while all the previous studies had their center of gravity at the 40th percentile in the distribution of income. The second one has been to modify the range of the population reference that determines the poverty threshold. Since last year the range of reference has been two-fifths of the population, while previous it was only one-fifth of the population. Currently, the range of reference is those households between the 18th and 58th percentile of income distribution, while previously it was households between the 30th and 50th percentile of income distribution.
President Garcia mentioned, among other thing, that soon Peru's growth would surpass Chile's. I would like to quote Giovanna Aguilar of El Gran Combo Club [es] who coincidentally touched on the subject recently in the post, Peruvian Growth, Chilean Worries?
La revista chilena quépasa ha publicado, en su edición del 24 de mayo, un interesante artículo de Andrés Benítez titulado Por que Perú nunca alcanzará a Chile . En este artículo se analiza la situación de Chile y Perú en cuanto al crecimiento obtenido en los últimos años y las posibilidades que tiene el Perú de superar a Chile. Luego de cuestionar si efectivamente, el crecimiento que viene experimentando el Perú (7.1% promedio anual en los últimos años) es suficiente para superar el crecimiento y desempeño de los chilenos, reconoce que Chile ha perdido ritmo, pero que Perú no está en condiciones de alcanzarlos: “La respuesta corta es simple: estamos perdiendo el ritmo, pero de ahí a que nos alcance Perú es otra cosa”
Por otra parte en su análisis revisa cifras importantes que permiten hacer rápidas comparaciones entre países como el PBI per cápita (el de Chile es de alrededor de US$ 10,000 mientras que el de Perú es cercano a los US$ 3,500), periodos que le tomaría al Perú para alcanzar a Chile con supuestas tasas de crecimiento promedio por año, etc., para concluir que a pesar de que Perú tiene un crecimiento más acelerado que Chile en estos momentos, no lo alcanzaría. Y no sólo porque el tiempo que necesitaría para ello es largo (56 años, según sus cálculos) sino por las razones que anota, y que creo que son las que más deberían llamar nuestra atención: Perú no es un país estable económicamente y El Perú no tiene una institucionalidad estable ni eficiente.
On May 24, The Chilean magazine quépasa published an interesting article by Andres Benitez titled, “Why Peru will never surpass Chile.” In this article, he analyzes the situation between Chile and Peru with regards to its recent [economic] growth and the possibility that Peru would surpass Chile [economically]. After questioning if, in fact, the growth Peru has been experiencing (on average, annually 7.1 % in recent years) is enough to surpass the growth and performance of Chile, he recognizes that while Chile has lost its rhythm, Peru is not in condition to surpass it: “The short answer is simple: we're losing our rhythm but that Peru would overtake us is another thing.”
On the other hand, in his analysis he reviews important figures that permit quick comparison between [the two] countries; for example, their Gross Domestic Income (Chile's is around US$ 10,000, while Peru's is close US$ 3,500), the time period it would take Peru to overtake Chile with assumed rates of annual growth, etc., concluding that while Peru currently is experiencing a more accelerated growth than Chile, Peru will not overtake Chile. And not just because the time needed to do so is lengthy (56 years, according to his calculations) but for the reasons he notes [below], which I think should be the ones that we [Peruvians] should notice: Peru is neither an economically stable country nor does it have stable or efficient institutions.
In conclusion, I am going to once again quote El blog del Morsa [es] , who expands on this matter, writing in a new post, Poverty and inequality:
Seguramente en los próximos días se aclarará mejor de qué trata esta singular reducción de la pobreza en el Perú. Con el riesgo de cometer algún traspié, al no ser economista, lanzaré algunas hipótesis. 1. Efectivamente la pobreza se ha reducido en la cifra que comentó el gobierno. Lo siguiente es preguntarnos en qué zonas y por qué motivos. Al parecer, según comentarios de los propios ministros, la reducción de la pobreza se ha dado principalmente en regiones como la costa rural (tal cual lo ha dicho el ministro etnotravestido, Ismael Benavides). Esto puede deberse, de hecho, no solamente a la inversión privada, sino también al buen momento que tiene el maíz y otros productos destinados a la producción de combustibles. 2. No ha disminuido la pobreza significativamente en los departamentos donde hay minería. Esto va de acuerdo al incremento de la desigualdad económica en el Perú en las últimas décadas. ¿Por qué si estos sectores van tan bien (en términos de generación de riqueza para el país), la pobreza apenas ha disminuido ahí? Aquí la hipótesis puede ir más bien por la redistribución del gasto, cómo se gasta en el país y dónde hay mayor acumulación de riqueza.
Surely, in the upcoming days it will become clearer what this singular reduction in poverty in Peru is all about. Despite the risk of making a blunder, since I am not an economist, I will throw out some hypotheses: 1. Indeed, poverty has been reduced by the figures provided by the government. What is left is for us to ask ourselves in what regions and why. Apparently, according to comments made by the Ministers, the reduction of poverty has been seen primarily in regions such as the rural coast (as the much criticized Minister Ismael Benavides has said). This can be due, in fact, not only to private investment but also the current strong price of corn and other products destined for the production of food items. 2. Poverty has not decreased significantly in the departments where there is mining. This is in keeping with the economic inequality in Peru in recent decades. Why, if these sectors are doing so well (in terms of generating wealth for the country) has poverty barely diminished there? Here the hypothesis may have to do more with redistribution of wealth, how the country consumes, and where there is the greater accumulation of wealth.
And well, another point to note is that the media harshly refuted the government of ex-President Toledo and his head of the INEI, Farid Matuk, when they announced the country was growing and poverty was beginning to diminish. It seems that not all the presidents receive the same treatment. As demonstration of this, I invite you to read the post Article in the BBC, which Carlos translates in his blog Peruanista. In any case, there are still two years of the APRA-led government. Let's hope they don't end like Garcia's previous government with rampant inflation.
Translation by Alejandro García
Thumbnail photo by Phoosh
Hungary: Passion for Food and Wine
Hungary is a country with a very rich culinary tradition. It prides itself in its cuisine, and this is reflected in the many Hungarian blogs devoted to food or those that mention local dishes and wines at any given opportunity. Here's a little selection that we've found with just a quick browsing.
The blog Food and Beverages in Hungary reviews food and beverage festivals around Hungary, and often offers typical Hungarian recipes to its readers. One of the latest recipes posted is for a pastry filled with cottage cheese called túrós batyu (the word túró means cottage cheese and turós batyu means cheesecloth), pictured below.
Túrós batyu, by Nóra Schüttler
Nóra Schüttler, the author of Food and Beverages in Hungary, also blogs about food at Hungary Starts Here, a portal with all sorts of practical information about Hungary. In her latest post for the portal blog, she described a folk festival and fair (including a video) and offered yet another delicious recipe for a traditional Hungarian dish: Lecsó (pronounced as: leh-choh).
Lecsó, pictured below, is a simple dish “made from paprika, tomato and onion, sometimes also contains sausage and some rice or egg.” Nora describes it as follows:
Originally a Serbian dish, it has been fully assimilated into the Hungarian kitchen like the Hungarian stuffed pepper. This simple pepper and tomato ragout is served both as a side dish and as an appetizer in Hungary. It is an essential component of many Hungarian dishes.
A preserved version is also used in recipes as a substitute for fresh tomatoes and peppers when they are not in season.
Another very popular Hungarian food blog is Chew.hu, where many recipes can also be found. The latest ones, for example, are Báránypörkölt, a lamb stew from the Upper-Tisza region, and Almaleves, an apple soup. Chew also reported that last weekend two competing wine festivals were running in Budapest, recommending the Badacsony Wine Festival because not only “the Badacsony region are pretty darn good - look out for the signature kéknyelű” but also because the festival “which started life as a standard wine and cheese festival, now features some of Budapest's finest restaurants.”
Another wine festival that took place in May, the Somló Spring Festival, was reviewed by the The Hungarian Wine Guide. The blog described this festival, which takes place in the town of Somlóvásárhely, as follows:
All ages and all types of people were present: old ladies from the neighbouring villages sat in the tent quitely sipping their drinks while staring at the stage to check the appearance of a folklore dance group, there were families wandering around, kids riding horses, and some young folks trying to get a bit drunk. I really couldn't spot any of the urban yuppies here who usually frequent these types of events. And no foreigners either.
It was charming and looked more like a big family reunion in a family where winemaking tradition’s got its roots from times when Juhfark was not yet recognised as a standalone grape.
Mangalica Festival in Budapest, photo by Carolyn Bánfalvi from Chew.hu
Hungarians love their pork, as Buda Bites author Carolyn Bánfalvi explains:
Since I’ve been living in Budapest I’ve been eating more pork than I ever have before in my life. And the pork here is great. It’s definitely the meat of choice, and meat from the Mangalica pig–a heritage breed that nearly died out during the Communist-era–is the choicest kind of pork.
With this in mind, it is not surprising that Andy at The Hub Blog recently devoted two posts to describe a traditional Hungarian pig killing that he attended. According to him, the regular schedule is:
Awakening (at 5 o'clock), pálinka [Hungarian brandy], killing the pig, pálinka, breaming the pig, pálinka, breakfast (fried?/baked? blood with onion), stripping the pig, pálinka, lunch (lots of meat), pálinka, making black pudding, liverwurst, sausage etc., pálinka and wine.
He describes a moment of the hours-long pig killing:
I gulp down some wine, look at my watch, then step over a box of pig’s head (ears, snout, face etc.), and around a bucket of fresh, chopped up skin. Five minutes earlier, our friend Támas had picked up a piece of this, tossed salt onto it, and popped it into his mouth. ’Try it. It’s goood’ he’d said, holding one out to me. Woof! Politely, I’d declined.
However, in spite of it, he says: “I still like meat, and I’m still fine with the fact that to eat it, you have to kill an animal.”
Cukrászdá pastries. Photo by Dumnezu.
If (Mangalica) pork is the meat you cannot miss, pastries from a cukrászdá (a mix of coffee house and sweet shop) are an equally important Hungarian culinary institution. However, as the blog Dumneazu pointed out, there are currently very few old style honest cukrászdá left in Budapest:
Say you are slogging about downtown Budapest on a busy afternoon, and the caffeine and cream cake urge hits you. Now, this being Budapest, there ought to be some kind of Hapbsburg-centric old fashioned coffee house nearby waiting to serve up espressos and little cakes in a historic setting full of stuffed chairs and newspaper stands. One small problem: such places are pretty much gone. The city is full of cafes, but most are simply… bars… The old kavéhazák -coffee houses- so often touted in the tour books, didn't weather the changes of the early 90s well. Most closed, or were turned into snobbier, pricier Disney-Monster coffee houses.
But there's the Auguszt Cukrászda , which according to Dumneazu is almost an anachronistic place, “an island of rest” that has the best traditional kréme cakes in the world:
The Auguszt is the last bastion of the classic Hungarian pastry known as the krémes. Krémes are simply vanilla cream cakes encased in flakey pastry with a dusting of powdered sugar on top. Something so simple, however, is prone to bastardization, and most of the krémes you find around Budapest use some kind of gelatin in their cream. Not so the Auguszt. This is the same krémes that my grandparents knew.
Flodni pastries. Photo by Dumnezu.
Another favourite café of Dumnezu's is the Fröhlich Cukrászda, one of the last kosher cafés in Budapest:
At Fröhlich you get exceptionally good, light Hungarian pastry in a kosher version. No lard in the flour, for one thing, and often prepared without milk or eggs so that the result is pareve and can be eaten with any meal. […]
Most come because Fröhlich is the social hub of the neighborhood. And also the home of the world's best flodni. Flodni is considered the emblematic Hungarian Jewish cake: a triple sandwich of nuts, poppy seeds, and apple in a pite dough cover.
And if you're worried about getting fat while in Hungary, Dumneazu adds a little piece of advice:
Now, here's a dirty little secret about Budapest pastry houses: whatever you eat there can count as a healthy meal. Just eat two or three cakes. Every day thousands of elderly Budapest grandma types in fancy purple hats devour multiple cakes and call it a well balanced lunch.
Links for Wed, 2008-06
According to [Fa]Ehterame Azadi,an Iranian blogger, more than 50 students of Tarbiat Molem University in Tehran have started hunger strike to protest against the bad condition of their university.
Muslim Bloggers in Iran created a logo to remember the 19th anniversary of death of Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of Islamic Revolution.
Talk Turkey reports that Turk Telekom completed the fifth largest IPO of the world (and the largest in Turkey) by selling 15% of its stake for a total of $1.9 billion (2.4 Billion Turkish).
The Pakistani Spectator on the idea of democracy - not just theoretically, but as a choice that people make.
David Kobia discusses e-governance in Africa: “I suppose we can now officially thank government policies in African countries for their failure to expand fixed lines, leading to a projected 22% increase in mobile phone subscribers. 330 million people will own a phone in Africa, in 2008.”
With the general elections scheduled soon in India, Songs of Sixpence on the prospects of the current coalition in power.
A website - Kerals.com decides to bully and abuse a blogger, when she protests against unfair use of her content on their website. More at Ginger and Mango.
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