Archive for
December 5th, 2008
Stories
Imagine what 20 million Egyptians could do
Naguib Sawiris's Mobinil is positioned as the leading mobile service operator in Egypt.
Scene & Heard hails Mobinil's inspirational campaign “Imagine what 20 million Egyptians could do.”
We don't know if you guys have heard the new Ad campaign for Mobinil on the radio, but we are honestly impressed!
It hovers on the verge of a Public Service announcement pointing out how much better our country could be if we all worked together…20 million Egyptians could build a thousand pyramids, could clean up Cairo's streets in minutes, could make each others day by just smiling…We honestly have to give it to them for thinking this through and coming out with a meaningful message…
Underneath the message Mobinil smartly points out how those same 20 million Egyptians, were able to get together and do have one thing in common…their all subscribers to their service!
Now if only we could get 20 million of us to get together for a cause…ahhh only in a perfect world!
Ad in Arabic below
Croatia: The Anti-Sanader Facebook Group Controversy
The people of Croatia are upset by their current government to produce realistic economic plans and have taken to the streets as well as the internet. The majority of the frustration is directed at Prime Minister Ivo Sanader which spawned the creation of a Facebook Group: “I bet you'll find 5000 Facebook users who do not like Sanader!”. Naturally, the group has well over 15,000 members as of this writing.
A screenshot of the Facebook group.
The creator of the group, Niksa Klečak recently got in to trouble as relayed by Svetlana Gladkova on Profy:
…the main problem with it was that the guy was not just some regular citizen unhappy with his Prime minister and the financial ideas of the government - he is actually the president of one of the local branches of the youth of SDP (social democratic party) which is in opposition to the government in Croatia…But the result of this situation is simply outrageous as yesterday the guy was arrested by the police that claimed he kept some Nazi symbols and propaganda at home. When they could not find any evidence, they claimed he had links to child porn somewhere and that could be another reason for the arrest. Eventually Niksa Klecak was let go by the police for lack of evidence but the social networks and the local media outlets are all abuzz about these actions of the police.
A very prominent voice to speak out on the absurdity of this arrest was Vesna Škare Ožbolt who was a former member of Sanader's cabinet. She wrote on her blog, Funky Politika (HRV):
In France you may sell voodoo dolls with Sarkozy.
In Croatia, virtual gatherings on Facebook are prohibited.
I can not imagine what would happen to those who would be in the middle of Zagreb selling voodoo dolls with a figure of he whose name we may not speak.
…After the incident on Facebook it has sent all a message. The message is that those who fight for the freedom of words in this country must be stronger.
On Reci.hr (Words), T-Zombix writes (HRV):
Now it is becoming clear that the main tasks of our police are: the clearance of the Mafia, who are the Mafia, and where are the Mafia. So, the Mafia is on the Internet and very active on Facebook where they are inflicting incalculable harm to this country.
Prime Minister Sanader has officially been taking the high road, as the BBC reported that he claims this was not his doing, “…no-one should be detained or arrested in Croatia for expressing different views.” Of course this is contrary to what Klečak believes as written by Marko Biočina on Tyche (HRV):
Klečak, who is not affiliated with the organization of protest initiative 5th December, in his first statements, he argued that his arrest was ordered directly from Zagreb.
The “protest initiative” is part of a movement over the past few days, that has led a great many to called for action as written on Opurba (HRV):
It is smart to choose the virtual world in which we all so brave, I do not know fear, we have our opinions and we want the Internet to a new revolution.
One of these should now leave the virtual world and overflow into the streets of major Croatian cities.
The calls were answered as Marko Biočina wrote (HRV):
…if everything is according to plan, [protests] will be held on the 5th of December at the city's central squares, eight Croatian cities, Zagreb, Split, Osijek, Rijeka, Zadar, Sibenik, Pula and Požega.
Croatian newspaper, Jutarnji (HRV) reports that the largest crowd was of 2,000 in Zagreb. It will be interesting to see the end result of these actions as Croatia is standing at a delicate point in its modern history with EU membership just within reach. Vesna Škare Ožbolt is very much aware of this as she closes (HRV) her post by stating:
Thus the continuation of repression and convulsions for the armchair power struggle could stay with us and eventually lead to a mass-produced voodoo doll, of course … only when join the EU, which is near is not it?
Senegal: Troubles in schools
Recently, several Senegalese bloggers and journalists have turned their attentions to the challenges of educating children in Senegal.
In an article on the news website PressAfrik [fr], Awa Diédhiou writes that “The Senegalese school is in danger”, because many schools -mainly in Dakar - are close to markets,
L’école sénégalaise est menacée. Beaucoup d’établissements scolaires sont en train de se transformer timidement en un fief de délinquants et l’environnement est de plus en plus carnavalesque. Les enseignements se déroulent dans un fond sonore assourdissant provenant des marchés dont l’animation et l’encombrement permettent aux voyous et aux drogués d'entrer discrètement dans les écoles
Picture of the clasroom of the school of Agnam-Goly, Senegal by Adama Diop, under Wikipedia Commons License.
Pakistan: Deadly Bomb Blast in Peshawar
Peshawar, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province in Pakistan was rocked with a high intensity car bomb blast today. The car was parked near the assembly hall laden with almost 30-40 KG explosive materials. It was not a suicidal attack as there was no one inside the car. As per the latest reports Police confirmed that 21 people were killed and more than 90 were injured.
Ayesha writes in her post “Peshawar Bleeds”:
How many more blasts and how many more deaths this historic city would see?
Koocha Risaldar, Kissa Khawni is the congested and populated area. The blast took place at such time when most people were out shopping as Eid is also round the corner. Although the blast occurred close to Imam Bargah but in my view that wasn’t the target.
The situation got worse when the electricity of that area failed and a huge fire spread out due to an explosion in an adjacent gas pipeline. Nearby Warehouses and shops were also engulfed in fire. Sources have been suspecting that this blast could be a reaction to the recent Mumbai terror attacks and the usual blame games are on in the media and news channels from Pakistan that the Indian Intelligence RAW could be behind this. The Chief Minister of NWFP has also mentioned that a foreign hand could be involved behind this attack.
Video courtesy YouTube user Kabirrind
Pakistani bloggers were slow to react to this news probably due to the weekend, Hajj and Eid ul Adha holidays. But some were seen active on Twitter in disseminating the news. For the latest updates on the tragedy you can follow the Twitter updates here or at my own Twitter Channel here. You can also find a roundup of media reports at my own blog Guppu.com.
YouTube Auditions for First Virtual Symphony Orchestra
YouTube is orchestrating an exciting new collaborative project: inviting musicians worldwide to be auditioned online for the world's first virtual symphony orchestra. Amateurs as well as professionals, have until January 28, 2009 to download sheet music, and upload videos of their performances.
In this video ad for the orchestra, Chinese composer Tan Dun (Remember the film, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”?) and many other musicians beckon: “Join us!”. The appeal is available in more than a dozen languages.
Play your part in music history and join the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. You just need to upload two videos: your contribution to the Tan Dun piece and a general audition video.
Good luck!
Here is how it works.
1. Prepare - Select your instrument to access the sheet music and rehearse with the conductor
2. Submit - Upload your performances and submit them to join the YouTube Symphony Orchestra
3. Entries - Browse videos to get ideas and check out the competition.
Professional musicians will make a first pre-selection, before a vote by the YouTube audience takes place in February 2009. The objective is a real life performance, due to take place at Carnegie Hall, in New York, on April 15, 2009, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, musical director of the San Francisco Orchestra.
Now to your instruments, and go!
Cuba: Government Officials Tell Bloggers to Cancel Planned Meeting
A Cuban blogger meet-up scheduled for December 6 is in danger of being cancelled by the authorities. The event, which has been in the planning stage for months and had 25 confirmed attendees, is being deemed “counterrevolutionary.” This is according to a recent conversation between officials from the Interior Ministry and one of the island's most well-known bloggers and Best of Blog winner Yoaní Sánchez of Generación Y [es].
Sánchez received a summons notice, which she photographed and published on her blog, for her to appear at a local police station. Her appointment with government officials took place last Wednesday, and immediately following the event, she posted about the details:
El encuentro es breve y el tono enérgico. Somos tres en la oficina y el que lleva la voz cantante se ha presentado como el agente Roque. A mi lado, otro más joven, me observa y dice que se llama Camilo. Ambos me anuncian que pertenecen al Ministerio del Interior. No están interesados en escuchar, hay un guión escrito sobre la mesa y nada que yo haga los distraerá. Son profesionales de la intimidación.
El tema me lo esperaba: estamos cerca de la fecha para el encuentro de blogger que, sin secretismo ni publicidad, hemos estado organizando desde medio año y ellos me anuncian que tenemos que suspenderlo. Media hora después, cuando ya estábamos lejos de los uniformes y de las fotos de líderes en las paredes, reconstruimos aproximadamente sus palabras:
“Queremos advertirle que usted ha transgredido todos los límites de tolerancia con su acercamiento y contacto con elementos de la contrarrevolución.Eso la descalifica totalmente para dialogar con las autoridades cubanas.
La actividad prevista para los próximos días no puede ser realizada.
Nosotros, por nuestra parte, tomaremos todas las medidas y haremos las denuncias pertinentes y las acciones necesarias. Esta actividad, en los momentos que vive la Nación, de recuperación de dos huracanes, no será permitida.”
The encounter is brief, the tone energized. There are three of us in the office, and the one with the singer’s voice introduces himself as Agent Roque. At my side, the younger one watches and says his name is Camilo. They announce that they are with the Interior Ministry. They are not interested in listening. There is a script on the table and nothing will distract them. They are professionals of intimidation.
The subject I expected: we are approaching the date of the blogger meetup we have been organizing, with neither secrecy nor publicity, for the past six months and which they proclaim must be cancelled. About a half hour later, when we were away from uniforms and photos of leaders on the walls, we tried to reconstruct what was said.
“We want to advise you that you have transgressed the limits of tolerance in your closeness and contact with elements of the counterrevolution. This disqualifies you totally to conduct dialogue with Cuban authorities.
The activity scheduled for the next few days cannot take place.
We, for our part, will take all measures and will lodge the pertinent charges and take the necessary actions. This event- in these moments which the nation is living, recuperating from two hurricanes- will not be permitted.”
(translation of Sánchez' post by Babalú blog)
Sánchez was not the only blogger to be summoned by government officials. Claudia Cadelo of Octavo Cerco [es] also received an unexpected visit by the police. She writes about the surprise in her post titled “Me too!,” where she also posts a photo of the summons:
Con Reinaldo Escobar en el teléfono, aún sin conexión, y enterándome por él de todo lo ocurrido, no tuve tiempo a expresar mi frustración ante la anulación de nuestro primer encuentro de bloggers, pues en ese mismo momento un policía tocó a mi puerta para entregarme mi respectiva citación:
Presentarse mañana en la estación de policía de Zapata y C a las 2 pm.
With Reinaldo Escobar (Yoaní Sánchez' husband) on the telephone, and still without connection and learning about everything that happened, I did not have time to express my frustration for the cancellation of our first blogger meet-up, and in that very moment a police officer knocked on my door to hand me my own citation:
Present yourself at the police station at Zapata and C at 2 pm.
Cadelo posted a photo of herself holding the summons, smiling, flashing a peace sign and a sign in the background ironically saying “I Love Minint” (Ministry of the Interior). The image drew the attention of Enrisco del Risco, who sees the photo as a sign that “times are changing” and writes [es]:
La sonrisa y el orgullo con que enarbola un papel que cada vez da menos miedo. El desafío y la complicidad. Y ese cartel al fondo que lo dice todo diciendo lo contrario con una gracia reservada para cosas menos serias. Los tiempos cambian porque ella sabe que no está sola, que ahora mismo mirando esa foto –con un punto de angustia, es cierto- estamos todos nosotros.
The smile and the pride that lifts her role and provides less and less fear. The challenge and the complicity. The sign in the background tells all and the opposite with a humor reserved for less serious things. The times are changing because she knows that she is not alone, that right now looking at that photo - certainly with a bit of distress - are all of us.
In spite of the warnings from government officials, Sánchez says that the meet-up will go on as planned. In a recent AFP news article [es], Sánchez writes that these types of intimidation tactics by the government only draws more attention to her blog and an increase in traffic. She also thinks that the summons was excessive since the meet-up was not political in nature, and that the bloggers was an informational gathering to learn about techniques and share experiences.
Links for Fri, 2008-12
False Dichotomies' Alex Stein recently received a letter from Kashmir, thanking him for his coverage of Mumbai. It read: “Jews are and always have been welcome in Kashmir. In fact, in 1991 when Jews were taken hostage by Pakistani militants, it was a Kashmiri group - JKLF which stands for secular independent Kashmir - that rescued them. The simple, decent folk of Kashmir have nothing but feelings of brotherhood and hospitality for the Jewish people. You are always welcome here.”
American Bedu, an American woman in Saudi Arabia, writes about the impact of blogs and bloggers in the Kingdom. “In my view, blogs are an excellent mechanism to further balance out and learn about Saudi Arabia,” she writes.
Khobbeizeh, from Jordan, posts photographs from recent art exhibitions in Jordan.
Susie's Big Adventure, a blog by an American woman in Saudi Arabia, introduces us to old Jeddah in this post.
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