Archive for
February 11th, 2009
Stories
Hungary: The Roma and the Killing of Marian Cozma
Marian Cozma, a Romanian handball player, was killed in a nightclub fight in Veszprém, Hungary, on Feb. 8. Here's some of what's been written by bloggers about the circumstances of Cozma's death.
Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum:
Saturday night the members of the Veszprém handball team decided to have a celebratory night out. One of their colleagues, Gergő Iváncsik, and his wife had just had a baby. They picked a bar/disco sometimes called Skorpió, sometimes Patrióta. […]
The day before a young man from Enying (Fejér county) exchanged some harsh words with F.B., a well known thug in town. This man most likely was Iván Sztojka. Sztojka wanted to retaliate against F.B., this time with a show of force. He enlisted a group of fifteen or twenty friends and relatives who went to Veszprém in search of F.B.
They first went to the bar and ordered drinks, but F.B. wasn't there. For whatever reason, they decided not to pay their tab. The barmaid demanded that they settle up. In response, they grabbed her by the hair and banged her head a couple of times on the counter. According to some reports she broke her jaw. At this point some of the handball players came to the girl's assistance. A fight ensued, during which one of Sztojka's cohorts smashed a chair on the head of Zarko Sesum, a Serbian player. He was the luckiest of the three players. The attacking group either forced two of the players outside or they were foolish enough to follow them, but by then knives were drawn. Marian Cozma, a Romanian player, received a mortal stab wound directly through his heart while Ivan Pesic, a Croatian who tried to help Cozma, was stabbed in the back. As a result, he lost one of his kidneys. Cozma is dead, Sesum and Pesic are in the hospital.
[…]
By this afternoon the police identified two men, both Gypsies, as the alleged perpetrators. […]
The police might be able to round up the guilty ones but that won't resolve the real problem of the growing anti-Gypsy sentiment. […]
Andy Hockley of Csíkszereda musings:
[…] I have to confess that one of my first reactions on hearing this tragic story (when all I knew was that a famous Romanian handball star had been killed in Hungary), was to fear that he had been murdered by some crazy Hungarian nationalist intent on somehow getting his own back for Trianon or some such. Not that the manner or motive for the killing would matter to Cozma or his family or friends, but that if it were a hate crime, then it could turn into something more widespread and have long term political ramifications. As far as we know this wasn't the case and the team just got attacked for being in the wrong place at the wrong time while what amounted to a local gang/mafia type grudge was being played out.
However, the case is not without its ramifications and ethnic overtones. The men accused of killing Cozma are, you see, Rroma. So large swathes of the Hungarian press and its right-wing politicians have seized on this as clear evidence that this is an ethnic problem, and that “Gypsies” in general are to blame. A newspaper writer, for example, described gypsies as “not human beings, but animals”. […]
Antal Dániel of Central Europe Activ:
[…]
A little bit of contextualization: The citizens of Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Serbia did not get on very well with each other. All relatively new nation states with a strong nationalistic sentiment that has been surpassed by Communist ‘internationalism’: the past decades have seen a lot of verbal assaults against each other. When the otherwise marginalized Hungarian far-right has set up a uniformed group under the name of ‘Hungarian Guard’ Slovakia cried fool and even accused Hungary for not fulfilling her obligations under the Paris Peace Treaty to wipe out fascist paramilitary groups. But these were just provocations. The Hungarian Guard, now banned by Hungarian law after a proper process in court, was not a paramilitary group, and certainly it had no intention to harass Slovaks or Romanians. It is a new manifestation of racism. The Hungarian Guard has one single activity: to threaten Roma communities within Hungary. […]
Earlier I noticed that things have changed a lot with the EU accession of the group. Romanian-Hungarian relations are on a historical all-time high. Hungary with Austria are the most firm supporters of Serbia’s and Croatia’s European integration. Slovakia has some extremists in the government coalitions, whose provocations are sometimes verbally met by Hungarian politicians out of mere pride, but I think the people are getting well with each other. Unfortunately, all these nations have found a common enemy: their shared Gypsy minorities, which belong to a number of groups, mostly including the Roma.
[…]
The comments in the YouTube page (and similar pages) are in Hungarian, Romanian, English, Croatians and Serb. They show grief, solidarity and every second calls for revenge on Gypsies.
The different Gypsy groups in all these countries are segregated, discriminated in schools and on the workplace and mainly live on the black market, social benefits and crime. As a visibly different native minority, their chances of assimilation is minimal. It is very ironic, that 20 years ago it could have been impossible that a Romanian sportsman is making a successful career in Hungary and becomes a favorite of his township, or a leading Hungarian professional sports club is a mix of Hungarian, Serb and Romanian players. It is a very sad irony that part of this new-found friendliness lies on a commonly shared racist attitude towards to Roma.
Qatar and Bahrain: Disappearing the Internet
It would seem that another crackdown on Internet freedoms is occurring in the Middle East. Once thought to be the last bastion of free speech, the Internet has recently been subjected to a spate of blockings; and while censorship is no new thing to the region, the willingness of countries such as Bahrain and Qatar to adopt strict Internet policies akin to those in neighboring Saudi Arabia has created a sense of alarm amongst the online community.
Silly Bahraini Girl posted earlier this week about a petition urging supporters of a free Internet to oppose Internet censorship in Bahrain. She wrote:
I'm really curious to know why only 420 people have signed this petition against Internet censorship in Bahrain.
Does this mean that the remainder of the population is in agreement with the draconian law which bans and blocks and censors access to information without a court order - at the whim of some little child who can rest his behind on a chair and tell us what we can and cannot access online?
Are they fine with the rest of the world laughing at our country at a day and age when you cannot block out the sun, cannot say no to free speech and cannot, under any circumstances, block access to information and censor the world wide web?
And while many of you say that such a petition is useless, in a democracy, which we were the last time I checked, petitions are a legitimate and civil means of protest.
By signing the petition, all you do really is clear your conscience and say no to another injustice being committed against you, in your name.
Arab-American blog KABOBfest also commented on Bahrain's new policies:
In light of the ongoing tensions between the Bahraini government and the disenfranchised Shia majority, the government has decided to take the highroad. And by highroad I mean, increasing internet censorship. It looks like Bahrain is working hard to join the 15 “enemies of the internet“. You know you are doin' something right when you get to join with the likes of Syria, Zimbabwe and Belarus!!
The OpenNet Initiative, a global group which studies Internet filtering, remarked on Bahrain's filtering strategy:
The following message appears when users try to access a blocked website: “Site Blocked: This website has been blocked by the order of the Ministry of Culture and Information based on Article 19 of decree Law No. 47, 2002 regarding the organisation of the press, printing and publishing in the Kingdom of Bahrain, due to the publication of prohibited content on the aforementioned site.”
There also two Facebook groups set up to combat filtering in Bahrain.
An example of a Qatar blockpage
A member of community site Qatar Living posted earlier this week that Qatar is experiencing a rise in Internet filtering as well:
Last night i was surfing the net and it was 11:20 as i was loged in on many other sites including TAGGED.When i refresh the page to update it i was shocked that it become ban by QTEL suddenly.No idea this BAN is for longtime or a short time or maybe forever as i heard this website [www.tagged.com] is banned in many countries in the world…
One commenter on the post noted that Internet Service Provider (ISP) QTel had remarked on the specific block:
Qtel Update on Community Internet Safety Policy
Decision to Block Specific Social Networking Site in Line with Culture of Qatar and Expectations of Customers
Qtel today provided an update on its Community Internet Safety Policy, following the decision over the weekend to block a specific social networking site within Qatar.
In its role as a licensed Internet Service Provider (ISP) and in response to customer requests, Qtel has a clear policy that aims to prevent damage to the values of the community from harmful material on websites. This policy has received strong support from the local community and ongoing market research shows that families and residents in Qatar overwhelmingly prefer there to be safeguards in place against illegal, pornographic and socially-harmful material.
It is notable that both Bahrain and Qatar allow Internet users to request sites to be unblocked. In Bahrain, one can utilize a web form, whereas QTel (Qatar's only ISP at the moment) prefers to receive e-mail (help-at-isp.qa).
Thai gov't upset over Angelina Jolie comment on refugees
Last week American actress Angelina Jolie visited Thailand’s Ban Mai Nai Soi camp which houses more than 18,000 refugees from Myanmar. Jolie is Goodwill Ambassador of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The government of Thailand is upset over the visit and Jolie’s comments on the plight of the refugees.
Jolie also expressed concern for the Rohingya whose situation has caught the world’s attention:
“I also hope the Rohingya situation stabilizes and their life in Myanmar improves so the people do not feel the desperate need to flee, especially considering how dangerous their journey has become,”
“I was saddened to meet a 21-year-old woman who was born in a refugee camp, who has never even been out of the camp and is now raising her own child in a camp”
Thailand is accused of abandoning and mistreating hundreds of Rohingya refugees who escaped Myanmar.
Below is a video clip on Youtube which shows Jolie’s visit in Thailand:
Thailand’s foreign minister warned UNHCR “that they should not comment on the matter because they have no mandate.” The minister added:
“The UNHCR should not have brought Jolie, its goodwill ambassador, to one of the nine refugee camps stringing the border which are run by Thailand's interior ministry.”
“The Thai government will issue a reprimand letter to UNHCR, asking why it allowed Angelina Jolie to visit the refugee camps.”
Bangkok Pundit believes that Jolie’s criticism was only mild:
Reprimand letter? As others have noted, Jolie’s criticism was not strongly worded and more implied than a direct Thai-government-is-evil statement. Yet, even such mild criticism has the Foreign Ministry in a hissy fit. Next time, the UNHCR should have invite someone like Sean Penn and there will surely be fireworks….
Pierre agrees that Jolie did not say anything directly critical of Thailand:
Jolie doesn't seem to say anything directly critical of Thailand, its government, or policies. What she does do, though, is draw attention to the plight of refugees and so-called “economic migrants” in Thailand.
Fear from Freedom, a Burmese blogger, is unhappy over the “western imposed democracy in eastern countries” and urges Jolie to ask the United States to accept Mexican workers in its borders:
“The international news we read this week about my country is sick as well, Angelina Jolie asked Thailand to accept the Burmese refugees. She should also ask US to accept the Mexican workers…The pictures show normal life like any other villages in Myanmar except that the victims were caged in that area for some people to tap funds from governments…There will always be problem with western imposed democracy in eastern countries as long as people do not understand the culture and stages of development of different parts of the globe.”
Angelina Jolie at a refugee camp in Thailand. Photo from UNHCR
Namizon, a Thai citizen, insists that Thailand has been very generous in accepting refugees from neighboring countries:
“…Did you know that Thais have always supported refugees from all nations around Thailand? We have refugee camps for Burmese-Kayan, Hmong-Laotian, Cambodian, etc. Thailand is just a small developing country; although we Thais have the heart, kindness and the willingness to help all those unfortunate people. We always try our best to support them, yet we still lack many resources; space, money, manpower and jobs to support the refugees.
“From my point of view, Thai government has a priority to take care of Thai people first. Call me selfish but that’s all the governments in all countries do, isn’t it? Even American Government does.
“The war in Viet Nam and Laos - which government took the major part in? American? Can I say that American Troops is the reason all these refugees flee their countries into Thailand? I’m not playing the blame game here, but isn’t it the right thing American Government has to do? Clearing up their mess after what they did? Instead of having a permanent camp in Thailand, American should offer to take ALL people affected by the war to relocate to USA. The fact? US only takes educated-skilled labors; doctor, teacher, religion leader, etc. That’s why the resettlement process is taking so long. Americans only wants USEFUL refugees. Those who didn’t pass “the bar” get left behind and stuck in Thai camp, cannot return to the countries they fled, cannot go to America.”
The Nation, Thailand’s top English broadsheet, points to Myanmar as the cause of the refugee problem:
“We don't need to dance to Jolie's tune just because she is a Hollywood superstar. What we need to do is come up with a sound policy that is based on legal and humanitarian principles. Instead of blaming Jolie, who has the luxury of walking away from this after a few days of photo ops, why don't we start talking about the root cause of the problem? Or is that against the unwritten rules of Asean when it comes to “domestic matters” in a neighbouring member country?
“This particular problem is caused by the Burmese junta - a source of headaches and heartache for Thailand, all Asean members and the international community.”
On Valentine's: Teach Someone You Love to Blog (or Micro-Blog!)
Valentine's Day (February 14) is a day of love, friendship and communication. What better way to mark the occasion than to teach someone you love to blog or micro-blog?
If you are a Global Voices contributor or reader, you know that blogging brings joy, happiness and new friends to millions of people. Bloggers in our community have already pledged to teach their friends and loved ones, and will be writing about it in their own blogs on Valentines Day. You can sign it too…
We'd like to invite you to join us in this meme!
Think for a moment about the people in your life. Share this gift with you family, friends, readers and sweethearts - and tell us how it went!
Love is communication
Here are four simple steps to join us on Valentine's Day.
Step 1: You're never alone with a blog. Tell your readers why you love them, and why they should love you.
Step 2: Teach someone you love to blog (or micro-blog!).
Step 3: Link to their first blog post, and encourage readers to visit them. Use this tag: #SMK [social media kisses]
Step 4: Tag your blogging friends to take part in this meme.
Here are some images to decorate your post: Small | Medium | Large
Share the love
We're serious about loving you. At Global Voices, we amplify the words of bloggers in all corners of the world. You only need to scroll through the pages of this site, to see that ordinary people are making a difference and adding perspective to world events, simply by writing what they think. Or by translating the thoughts of others.
In the developing world, we've helped fund several new blogging workshops and projects through Rising Voices. Soon we'll be announcing more, along with as an initiative to encourage more blogging about HIV/AIDS. On Global Voices Advocacy, we track and work with bloggers who defy censorship, and organize across borders with other online activists for freedom of speech.
We can all play a part helping people overcome barriers (technical or otherwise) that stop them from taking part in this everyday online media revolution. Help close the digital divide in your own friendship circle or community.
Guides to blogging and micro-blogging
If you need help describing what blogging is, or why people should be interested, download the Introduction to Citizen Media from Rising Voices.
Once you've got their attention, why not take a look at the Global Voices Advocacy guide, Blog For a Cause. Is there an issue you can help with?
These videos, from Common Craft, can help you explain how it works.
How to Blog (link)
How to Twitter (link)
HAPPY VALENTINES' DAY - WE LOVE YOU > SHARE THE LOVE > PASS IT ON >>>>> **** SOCIAL MEDIA KISSES #SMK #SMK #SMK
Arab World: Job Losses on the Way?
With news headlines spelling out economic doom as governments, companies and individuals continue to tighten their belts, bloggers across the Arab world jump on the bandwagon and ask: “Are job layoffs coming our way?”
In Saudi Arabia, Nzingha writes about how a relative lost her job after the company she worked with “went under.” She explains:
My sister in law, the widow with three children, took on a job a few months back. She worked over the phone selling car insurance and was quite happy with her job and the extra income it brought into the home. Being a widow whose husband worked for the government she receives a 1500 SR pension a month. That is 374 USD and less than the bike that I just had to pay for. 1500 SR is not sufficient enough of an income to live off of, especially if you have three growing children to raise.
Notice I used the past tense to describe her employment status for as of now she doesn't work. She, along with the others in the company, were all fired because the company went under. She was given a couple of weeks notice and that was the end of it. Many women around the world can relate to her story, working one day and given notice the next especially when you consider the economic world crisis. However as a woman in Saudi her work opportunities are extremely limited unlike many companies in the world and this is due to the fact that she is a woman.
From the UAE, The Grapeshisha Blog links to a CNN Video discussing the economic crisis' impact on Dubai and notes:
If you are listening correctly, 8% reduction in population, means something - less jobs…in some industries.
WebJunky comments on the post saying:
quite frankly i am expecting unemployment to hit double digits very soon. dubai will continue to fall for at least 6-12 months before showing any signs of rebound. market in way overvalued in that region right now
Jordanian Moey, who works and lives in Kuwait, links to the same video and asks:
Should we expect anything in Kuwait?
And reader The M Code answers him:
We shouldn’t expect anything anywhere, It’s a global economic crisis but people are watching Dubai as it crashes because they were watching it as it was rising. It will hopefully get back on it’s feet one day. They are the pride and home for many Arabs from around the world, I wish them all the best.
At the UAE community blog, Sarcastic Guy has the following announcement to make:
Three prominent Dubai businessmen confessed.. err.. confirmed that the market situation in Dubai is extremely positive and all rumors about a weak economy and a weaker outlook are just propaganda. The Chinese, British and Indian businessmen affirmed their enthusiasm for the opportunities in Dubai while a friendly government official hovered around to ensure their safety.
The sarcastic tone of this post is not lost on readers, who post their comments here.
Job cuts in Dubai are also the topic of this post, by Shamsi, at Dubai Metblogs.
Japan: Threats to freedom of speech and freedom to protest
On the 16th of January a group of protesters gathered outside Shinjuku station (one of the most crowded stations in Tokyo) to denounce Prime Minister Aso and his cabinet. While others in the group were distributing handbills to passersby, the leader of the Executive Committee “Overthrow Asō ! Down with the Cabinet!” (「麻生を倒せ！ないかくだとう」実行委員会) [ja], with a microphone in one hand, made a public speech denouncing the inability of the government to tackle the problems that afflict contemporary Japan (like the increasingly unstable economy, the lack of jobs and social differences between the poor and the rich classes) and blaming the Japanese political system thanks to which, for decades, sons and nephews of political men have had seats reserved for them in the National Diet.
Thanks to a video that documents events as they happened, it is possible to see the exact sequence of facts, with comments by some bloggers included below:
For the record, and to help readers better understand, here is a short recap of the scenes shown in the video [in Japanese only]:
- A police man, from the Shinjuku Police Department, begs the cameraman to film everything and appeals to the viewers to always have an official permit for using roads, in case of demonstrations.
- The leader of the Executive Committee starts giving his speech. Others in the group start distributing the handbills.
- A woman wearing a leopard-skin coat, who is taking a record of the demo, is framed on video. She makes herself know as Sergeant Nagashima of the Traffic Division of the Shinjuku Police Department. She says that distributing handbills without a permit violates the Road Traffic Law. The leader of the group reminds her about rights written in the Constitution, but she insists, saying that this is a different matter.
- Another man in civilian clothes appears. He says that he is about to call 110 but as soon as he and Serg. Nagashima go away, other policemen appear. The subtitle suggests that they were probably already there beforehand, ready to intervene.
- A confrontation begins between the first policeman who appeared in the video and the protesters. The policeman refers to the Road Traffic Law and demands an official request. The demonstrators tell him that until that day no permit was necessary to distribute handbills in the street.
- The leader of the Committee takes the microphone and explains what is happening to people passing by: the police says that without their permit they cannot distribute handbills but the protesters’ purpose was to exercise their right of freedom of speech and denounces the wrongs of Aso’s cabinet. He also invites people to look at the number of policemen and patrol cars called on to stop them, and to consider the lack of freedom in their country.
- The first policeman issues an order to surround the protesters, while the policewoman threatens them to issue an arrest warrant if they don’t suspend the distribution of handbills.
A blogger at spiders_nest, the official blog of the Freeter Union [see here for the meaning of the term “freeter”], who participated in the demonstration, saw with his eyes what happened and assures readers that protesters did not violate any law:
「麻生を倒せ！ないかくだとう」実行委員会が行った新宿東南口広場でのビラまきに参加してきた。
すると新宿警察署の警察官だという豹柄のコートの女性があらわれ、「ビラまき、マイクでの宣伝には警察署長の許可がいる」という。えー、そんなの聞いたことないよ、というわけで話していると、別の警察官が自ら110番してパトカー4台、警官30名を連れてきた。それでやむなく宣伝は中止。
あとで調べてみると道路交通法77条には道路使用許可が必要となる事例が挙がっているのだが、ビラまきやマイクの使用に警察署長の許可が必要などとどこにも書いていない。うそじゃん。
Then this woman with a leopard-skin coat claiming to be from the Shinjuku Police Department tells us that “Permission from the police is required to distribute handbills or make public speeches with a microphone”. And when we tried to say that “we've never heard of any permission being needed”, another policeman started calling 110, and 4 patrol cars with 30 policemen arrived. At that point the speech was inevitably suspended.
After that I did some research about article 77 of the Road Traffic Law and it turned out that in some cases, permission for the use of a public street is needed, but nowhere was there mention of any permission being needed from police for the distribution of handbills or for the use of a microphone. It’s a lie.
Tzetze harshly criticizes the abuse of power by the police and statements by the police which sound like threats to freedom of expression, unacceptable in a democratic country:
「警察が『適正』な、『公務（の執行？）』するところをちゃんと撮っといてね！」「ガタガタいまここで配るんだったら、逮捕するよ。アタシたちの権限で逮捕できるから」「表現の自由とか、日本国民のね、平和の担保のためなの」
暴言を並べてみたらよくわかるけど、ここで警察が言っていることっていうのは、「公務」と称してあなたたちをいつでも逮捕するよ！私たちは権力だから実際に合法かどうかとは関係なく逮捕できるんだよ！ということです。しかもそれは「平和の担保」のためなんだと。そういう意味で大変やばいことが起きているわけです。
一応、基本的なことから。通常のビラまきに許可はいらない。「許可がないビラまきは違法だ」と警察官が言っても、その許可制が適用されるのは「道路交通に著しい支障を生じる場合」に限られている。道交法にも明言されている。ちなみに駅の敷地内のビラまきには鉄道営業法が適用され、鉄道業務に支障のない限り、自由というのが原則。
Similarly, noiz tried to illuminate the causes of the police intervention:
動画の冒頭に情宣活動を録画する警察官が出てくるが、こちらは交通課だとなのっている。しかし非番でもあ るまいし、わざわざ私服で登場して情報活動をこなしつつ、それがバレてつめられると手際よく別の警官が応援要請ときたもんだ。おまけに要請をうけて先頭 きってとびこんできたのが警備課（の公安）って、あらかじめ準備していたとしか考えられない。
要するに、「政治的なもの」を狙い撃ちにして封じ込めようとする警察（新宿署）の意図があったということだ。事前に呼びかけを公表して街宣活動をおこなえば、情勢によっては公安警察がはりこんで面割りしてるってこともあるにはあるが、交通課が警備課よんで逮捕恫喝をかけながら取り締るなんて尋常じゃない。死に体の麻生政権の打倒をよびかける行動 だったから？ それとも行動呼びかけの面々がきにくわないから？
新宿署はいったいなにを怖れているんだ。
In other words, the purpose of the police (the Shinjuku Police Department) was to confine [the demonstrators], making the “political issue” a target. When you organize a city campaign and announce it beforehand, it is possible, depending on the circumstances, that the Division for the Safeguard of Public Security watches over what happens and intervenes. It is not often that the Traffic Division calls the Patrol Division and takes action against [protesters] while threatening to issue an arrest warrant. Was it because the protest was meant to overthrow the lame-duck government Asō in power? Or was it because every incitation to protest is in itself disagreeable?
What on earth is the Shinjuku Police Department scared of?
「土足OK - KICK ASO OUT!」_Poster of the “Defeat Aso! Street Demonstration” that took place in Tokyo on the 8th of Feb. (by Illcommonz)
On the 27th of January, the Executive Committee posted on its official blog a letter addressed to the Shinjuku Police Department, demanding a clear explanation in legal terms of the action that it took on the day of the protest and that led to the forced termination of the demonstration.
① 日本国憲法は第21条において「集会、結社及び言論、出版その他一切の表現の自由は、これを保障する」と定めると同時に、同99条において「天皇又は摂政 及び国務大臣、国会議員、裁判官その他の公務員は、この憲法を尊重し擁護する義務を負ふ」としていますが、この条文をご承知でしょうか。
② 新宿署では、その職務を遂行する際に人々の表現の自由を妨げることのないように署員に何をどのように周知しているでしょうか。そのための具体的な研修プログラムはあるでしょうか。
③ 長島警部補は新宿署管内で歩道上でのビラ配布に警察署長の許可がいると発言していますが、新宿署管内でのビラ配布は許可制なのでしょうか。また許可制となったのならば、それはいつからのことでしょうか。その法令上の根拠を教示下さい。
④ 新宿署員にビラ配布の中止を命じる権限はあるのでしょうか。それはいつから与えられたのでしょうか。その法令上の根拠を教示下さい。
⑤ 道路交通法は第七十七条において道路の使用の許可を受ける必要がある場合として、計四号の行為をあげていますが、歩道上での通行人へのビラの配布はどの号にあたるとお考えでしょうか。
⑥ 道路交通法第七十七条四号に定める「一般交通に著しい影響を及ぼすような通行の形態若しくは方法により道路を使用する行為」はどのような行為を想定したものと解釈しているのでしょうか。
Links for Wed, 2009-02
The roads of Dumaguete suddenly became rivers when heavy rains battered the central Philippine city over the weekend. I Hate My Job shares his account of the flooding along with photos and videos. He also posted more pictures of the destruction left in the flood's aftermath. Meanwhile, Anthology of Snippets witnessed the flood firsthand. aNesstajah claims that Dumaguete is awash with flood stories.
Through Twitter, Enda reports that Indonesia has the highest percentage of Firefox 2 users.
According to The Irrawaddy, the Tripartite Core Group of Burma has a 3-year recovery and preparedness plan and will seek US $691 million to continue the Cyclone Nargis relief effort. Nargis hit Myanmar last May 2008 which killed and displaced hundreds of thousands in the country.
Opposition newspapers Harakah and Suara KeADILan have been confiscated by the tens of thousands in Malaysia. Critics say this “is a politically motivated move by the government to block information.”
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake jolts Indonesia and some parts of the Philippines. Twitter broke the news ahead of mainstream media. Jyamasaki tweets: “I continue to be impressed how twitter is able to report on the Earthquake in Indonesia a few hours before it's reported on major news sites.”
Gray Falcon critiques some of the Balkan war movies.
This site is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
Please read our attribution policy.
Thiana Biondo11 posts 
Samuel Maina18 posts 
Alexey Sidorenko9 posts 
Sylwia Presley11 posts 
Sara Moreira13 posts 
Issa Villarreal14 posts 
Jennifer Brea386 posts 
David Sasaki2549 posts 
Nermeen Edrees17 posts 
Richard Wanjohi1 posts 
Milton Ramirez50 posts 
Sadiq Alam2 posts 