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April 27th, 2009
Stories
Macedonia: Celebrating Sakura Becomes a Tradition
Sakura, the annual celebration of cherry blossoms through display of elements of Japanese culture, took place in Skopje, Macedonia, on April 25. The time slot was somewhat later in comparison to last year because the organizers did not want it to overlap with the Catholic and Orthodox Easter celebrations during the previous two weekends.
Origami workshop during the celebration of Sakura in Skopje, Macedonia. Photo: Irena Efremovska.
Following the tradition established last year, Bi announced [MKD] the event on her blog using a visually pleasing graphic, and several other bloggers, such as Volan and Razvigor, spread the word [MKD]. The editor of the front page of Blogeraj, Macedonia's top blogging platform, announced [MKD] the festivities also, re-using one of Volan's old photos. In addition to that, Agnes provided subtle introduction in her own way by publishing a poem entitled Sakura [MKD] several days earlier.
Kids performing karate kata during Sakura celebration in Skopje, Macedonia. Photo: Irena Efremovska.
The program, organized by the Kendo-Iaidō Federation of Macedonia in cooperation with Samurai Dojo and supported by the City of Skopje, included performing martial arts katas and an origami workshop.
Bloggers who attended the festival mostly published photo-galleries or photo-essays. Volan, who uses his blogs to serve the public as unofficial chronicler, even apologized [MKD] for providing fewer photos than usual because he arrived a bit late at the scene.
Zoriv, another elderly blogger, published his Sakura photos as part of his report [MKD] on walkabout through Skopje center on a lazy Saturday, comparing local architectural and cultural features with foreign counterparts.
As announced on the Japan@Mk blog [MKD], Sakura celebrations will continue in the evening of April 30, with indoor activities in the CK Cultural Center, including Japanese music, haiku recitations, manga art exhibition, and anime movies projections.
Sakura participants leaving the scene. Photo: Irena Efremovska
Brazil: Fly me to the moon with public money
Once more, a scandal direct from Brazil's capital Brasília has taken the blogosphere by storm – competing side by side last week with the quarrel between judges of the Supreme Court. The issue now is the misuse of publicly subsidized air tickets by parliamentarians, all paid for with public money. Vulcão Ativo [pt] summarizes this news of what has become known as the “ticket binge” in a few lines:
Agora apareceu mais um benefício camuflado entre as tantas despesas dos parlamentares de Brasília, são as passagens aéreas gratuitas para o deputado, para a mulher do deputado, para o filho do deputado, para a sogra do deputado e até para a amante do deputado e o melhor de tudo é que não interessa se é promoção com preço mais barato, tudo de primeira classe. (…)
O deputado ainda acumula passagens e quando vai para o exterior de férias, leva toda a parentada com passagens pagas pelo governo.
Deputies have even amassed ticket allowance and when they leave the country on holidays, they take all their relatives with them, with tickets paid for by the government.
Some talk about an even bigger fraud ring. A commission of inquiry has been created to investigate the alleged fraud. Two judges of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Gilmar Mendes and Eros Grau have been linked to the case. Travel records show tickets issued for Gilmar Mendes and his wife, with money from the office of Deputy Paulo Roberto (Brazilian Labor Party, State of Rio Grande do Sul). The ‘trips' were to Fortaleza (Northeast Brazil) and New York (USA) in July 2008. Gilmar shows his receipt for R$9,246.34 (USD 4,158 approximately), paid in five installments by credit card.
As for Eros Grau, the ticket was issued on the bill of Deputy Fernando de Fabinho (Democrats, State of Bahia). The flight from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro on March 31, 2008 happened because the judge had been invited to a ceremony at the University of Rio de Janeiro and the institution paid for his travel expenses.
Deputies Paulo Roberto and Fernando de Fabinho have denied any personal connection with judges Mendes and Eros and said they did not authorize any tickets to be issued on their behalf. This raises the suspicion that unused parliamentary air ticket allowance is sold illegally to travel agents, who resell it to customers. Luiz Antonio Magalhães [pt] considers everyone guilty, one way or another:
Este blog realmente duvida que exista um único parlamentar que não tenha participado da farra, até porque todos achavam a prática legal (nos dois sentidos da palavra). É evidente que a regra para uso das passagens precisa ser mudada, até deputado do Distrito Federal tem direito aos bilhetes, embora a base eleitoral seja ali mesmo, em Brasília. O ideal seria cortar o mal pela raiz e acabar com a mamata. Os gabinetes já têm verba suficiente para bancar as viagens dos parlamentares aos seus estados de origem, portanto eles que se virem com o que já têm e fim de papo.
Deputy Dagoberto Nogueira Filho (Democratic Labour Party from the State of Mato Grosso do Sul), in his ‘first time in office’, is top of the fly-for-free list. He has made 40 trips with his relatives. Ironically, the new deputy is a member of the Ethics Council of the House. Lucio Machado Borges [pt] says that there is even a rank that shows who has gone abroad most often at the taxpayers' expense
O campeão é o deputado Dagoberto Nogueira Filho (PDT-MS). Apesar de novato, o deputado é o recordista com despesas de ‘locomoção, hospedagem e alimentação', pagas com a chamada ‘verba indenizatória'. Entre janeiro de 2007 e outubro de 2008, ele usou sua cota aérea para 40 viagens internacionais.
Dagoberto encabeça lista de deputados que fizeram mais de 20 viagens internacionais usando a cota de passagens, que na realidade é destinada para voos do parlamentar para seu estado de origem. O pedetista, mesmo integrando o Conselho de Ética, acha que não cometeu nenhuma ilegalidade. Ele realizou media de 1,8 viagem ao mês ao exterior. Em 22 de suas viagens foi acompanhado da mulher, Maria Verônica, e da filha Mariana.
Dagoberto heads the list of Members of Parliament who have paid for more than 20 international trips using the quota of air tickets, which in reality is designed to fly Members of Parliament to their home state. The congressman, although a member of the Council of Ethics, thinks he has not done anything illegal. He has taken an average of 1.8 months of travel abroad. On 22 of his trips, he was accompanied by his wife, Maria Veronica, and daughter Mariana.
On being questioned, every deputy but one said they see no problems in using their air ticket allowance to fly members of their family and even acquaintances, as they were not told this was illegal beforehand. Fernando Rizzolo [pt] comments:
Não é possível que num País pobre como o Brasil, não exista entre os membros da Câmara, um consenso e uma visão de valor que esbarre num conceito de ética e, até porque não dizer, de culpabilidade social, em saber que tal atitude com o dinheiro público - mesmo que não haja irregularidade legal - fere os princípios básicos que balizam a moralidade exigida nos homens públicos.
Precisamos reeditar os conceitos da ética e da moral nas coisas públicas, para que aqueles que jamais decolaram quer do ponto de vista aéreo ou social, não se sintam humilhados, decepcionados e traídos pela democracia, nas imensas filas dos ônibus, na espera dos hospitais, ou simplesmente nas bancas de jornais.
– I have never taken a plane!
– But you pay for the tickets!
From Charges do Bruno, published with permission.
The Chamber of Deputies' President, Michel Temer, admits having used the official quota of tickets for his family trips. He argues there are no objective, clear rules regulating the subject. Silvano Corrêa [pt] contests their excuse of the absence of clear rules defining the use of the air ticket credits:
Realmente, é de deixar qualquer um abismado por tamanha falta de bom senso e esperteza. Ou seja, as limitações não estariam claramente especificadas, por isso nossos nobres (sic) parlamentares se achavam no direito de meter a mão e distribuir vantagens (criadas por eles mesmos) a familiares e amigos?! É muita cara de pau. Será que agora vamos ver um pouco mais de vergonha e critério nas decisões de nossos parlamentares? Se até o presidente da Casa achava certo favorecer os seus, qual a chance de isso vir a acontecer? Devemos ficar de olho. Transparência já e que continuemos gritando, via imprensa, para que os pesados impostos pagos sejam bem gastos… Mas em nosso favor, e não em benefício deles e de suas corriolas!
According to some deputies and senators, contrary to Temer's claim, there are actually clear rules: the tickets belong to them, for them to use the way the see it fit. Deputy Sílvio Costa, from Pernambuco, was among those most disgusted at the accusations of misuse, saying that when he became a deputy, he was told he “could use the tickets even to go to the moon”. Blogger Isaias Edson Sidney [pt] is so disgruntled that he has written an open letter to the deputy:
O senhor, ilustre deputado, declarou que (que se abram as aspas) quer dizer que agora eu venho a Brasília e minha mulher fica lá? Não é uma decisão correta. Foi uma decisão acuada da Mesa (que se fechem as aspas). Então, senhor Sílvio, o senhor quer que nós, contribuintes brasileiros, paguemos a estada de sua senhora em Brasília… porque o senhor não pode ficar alguns dias por semana sem ela… Que gracinha! Que amor de marido o senhor é, não? Não pode ficar nem um dia sem a patroa… desde que nós paguemos a conta, não é?
With or without clear rules, bloggers think that many people lacked decorum. Pedro Dória [pt] was surprised to see the name of Fernando Gabeira, a champion of ethics who has had the blogosphere's support in elections, on the list of Parliament Members who passed on tickets to family members. He examines the deputies's apology where he confesses that he fell for the “Brazilian Patrimonialism Illusion”:
“A ilusão de que o público é privado. É o deputado que se vê no direito de emitir uma passagem aérea para mulher e filhos passarem a semana em Nova York. É o carro oficial com motorista usado para assuntos não oficiais. Mas, observe aí em sua cidade: é o carro estacionado em cima da calçada. É o dono da cobertura que fez um puxadinho. É o botequim que avançou sobre o caminho do pedestre.
‘A ilusão patrimonialista brasileira.’ Grande frase. O que remete ao professor Bolívar Lamounier: No Brasil, somos todos corruptos.
Não que lhe sirva de desculpa, deputado. O senhor foi eleito, sua responsabilidade na condição de representante público é maior. Seu abuso do que é público custa mais à nação do que o abuso do cidadão comum. Custa não apenas em dinheiro: custa em exemplo, custa em esperanças, o preço que pagamos é em futuro.”
“The Brazilian Patrimonialism illusion”. Great headline. That refers us to professor Bolivar Lamounier: in Brazil, we are all corrupt.
Not that it serves as an excuse, Sir. You were elected, your responsibility is greater as a people's representative. Your abuse of the public [money] is much greater to the nation than the ordinary people's abuse. It costs not only money: it costs in examples, in costs in hopes, the price we pay is in future.
– Deputy, I can not see your accounts.
– It is because we are too transparent!
From Charges do Bruno, published with permission.
Ironically, one of the alternatives studied by parliamentarians is to give themselves a pay rise to offset a possible reduction in the ticket quota. To resolve this issue a meeting was convened, during a bank holiday, where a proposal to increase wages from R$ 16.500,00 to R$24.500,00 (approximately from USD
7,455 to USD 11,065) was made, equating their salaries to those of the ministers of the STF and thus eliminate compensation funds. For Ricardo Camargo [pt], “the problem will have no solution, it will be masked”:
Esse debate se emoldura na proposta de aumento de salários, equiparando-os aos dos Ministros do STF, acabar com verbas indenizatórias, e instituir um cartão - lembram da última farra dos cartões corporativos? - de gastos para uso da verba indenizatória e das cotas de passagens aéreas.
É o samba-do-crioulo-doido! A farra não vai acabar. Vai ganhar nova roupagem, mais eficiente na questão “esconder as maracutaias” reduzindo a exposição dos parlamentares.
Está decidido: somos todos idiotas. Eles tomaram conta de tudo. Resta-nos pagar impostos pra isso tudo…
E ainda dizem que temos ‘direito' ao voto!
It is a huge mess! The fun will not stop. It will only get new clothing, more efficient in ‘hiding the dirty tricks' while ‘reducing the parliamentarians' expenses.
It is clear: we are all idiots. They have taken care of everything. Let us pay taxes for it all …
And yet they say that we have the ‘right' to vote!
The only future solution in the long run is people stop voting on these politicians, and José Mesquita [pt] publishes the list of parliamentarians who have misused the air-tickets quota and ask the readers not to forget them:
Anotem e divulguem o nome dos caras que estão metendo a mão, desavergonhadamente, no seu, no meu, no nosso sofrido dinheirinho.
And after the scandal has swept through the chamber of deputies and the senate, Jorge Serrão [pt] believes that the President of Brazil will be the next to have to provide explanations:
Já vaza nos corredores do Congresso que a Presidência manda emitir de 40 a 65 passagens por mês para o deslocamento dos filhos de Lula pelo Brasil. Senadores ironizam que a turma do Planalto parece ter instituído uma ponte aérea subsidiada com Santa Catarina – onde moram a filha de Lula e o genro dele. Há registros de viagens emitidas para a Inglaterra, França, Grécia e Itália (país onde a primeira-dama Marisa Letícia e os filhos de Lula também têm nacionalidade reconhecida).
Although many parliamentarians speak strongly about changes to the actual system, a meeting of the main leaders of the Chamber of Deputies has been called for tomorrow, Tuesday April 28, to discuss an eventual restriction on the air ticket quota usage. Congresso em Foco [pt] website has also been following the developments closely.
Qatar: Video of Unpaid Workers Sparks Debate
The harsh realities facing migrant workers in Qatar was at the centre of a discussion on Qatar Living after an Al Jazeera English report highlighted their plight recently.
The video zooms in on the lives of construction workers, whose livelihood was impacted by the economic crisis, some of whom haven't be paid for up to four months.
Salam kicks off the discussion on the above video saying:
Ugly reality, cannot accept it, but have to put it up with it, until the issue is addressed from the roots.
No excuse for injustice and cruelty. I wish I didn't watch the video.
Fishermanalex adds:
this is the dark side of the story
no fancy cars,no high class clothes no malls no hotel just hard work and no money
Salam retorts:
Even though this issue has been raised, by the media, several hundred times, but this is maybe the only pressing exposure, that will force this kind of aching slavery to an end. I hope I live to see it buried soon, once and for all!
Mind you, the world is suffering from enslaving in other shapes and forms.
Hagar thinks this problem is region-wide:
This goes on all over the Gulf. The workers at the bottom of the food chain have little recourse. To not pay them is, of course, illegal, but the State will not act against the companies in a timely manner. There is little the workers can do, even if they never get paid. People go to prison here all the time for not paying their debts. When do we ever here of a company owner or official going to prison for not paying their workers (although the crime here is greater).
And tallg notes his surprise that the Qatar-based Al Jazeera is tackling this issue:
The plight of workers not being paid is something we're all to aware of and not at all surprising any more. What is surprising is that Al Jazeera are reporting it.
Meanwhile, Cynbob is under the assumption that Al Jazeera's report will help solve those workers problems:
Bravo Al Jazeera—perhaps now, because of Al Jazeera's credibility here in this region, these laborers can get paid.
These companies need to stop “passing the buck” so that these people can receive their hard earned money.
Do the right thing. This is beyond pitiful. It is criminal.
Farafreeexpat adds:
I cannot believe for the life of me, that people who work round the clock in very harsh and unbearable weather conditions are not paid their meagre wages and still be be treated like this?! As less humans?! This is the height of INJUSTICE and what makes matters worse is the fact that the Labourers cannot collectively voice out their grievance, no voice, no union!!!!
Is there a reason why they should be treated this way? Aren't they human beings like every other man driving fast cars and spending thousands of Riyals in one night?
The earlier the media exposes this INJUSTICE, the better the whole world knows that there is a modernized version of slavery….. —-! World's richest country!
For more reactions, click here.
Indian Elections ‘09: On the Black Money trail
This post is part of the Global Voices special coverage on the Indian Elections 2009
Black money stashed away in overseas tax havens/secret Swiss bank accounts - is not a new topic in India. Dr. Munish tells us:
Black money in Swiss accounts: this is a phrase which I remember hearing from my childhood. People believe that Indian politicians, civil servants (bureaucrats or babus), rich people have their Swiss accounts and they deposit black money there!
However, the very same topic is generating quite a bit of heat in this Election ever since the BJP brought it to the forefront of public attention by stating some figure estimates in their manifesto:
Firm action will be initiated to minimise the presence of black money in the national economy. We will take determined steps to bring back the money (estimated at Rs 25,00,000 crore [$500billion] and Rs 75,00,000 crore [$1400billion]) illegally stashed in Swiss bank accounts and tax havens, and use it for infrastructure development, housing, health and social welfare schemes.
Though other political parties like the CPI(M) also spoke of launching a drive to unearth black money in their manifesto, the amounts stated by the BJP seemed so fantastic that it soon caught the public's fancy, and became a topic of debate.
Some people, like Shakthi, were impressed:
One of the biggest things that I liked about the [BJP] manifesto is the promise to get the 25 Lakh Crore Rupees of black money in Swiss banks back into the market in India. I can imagine what a heave that will give to our economy.
Others, like b50, were sceptical:
Will the BJP Fan Club please explain to me how the Swiss Bank billions can be bought to India and spent on infra within 100 days?
No one could however ignore the issue. Soon, various political parties were hotly debating, not only about the actual amount of black money stashed abroad, but also about who was doing what to get the money back.
The CPI(M) called the BJP's stated figures a ‘hoax' and tried to re-claim the black money issue as their poll promise by pointing out that they had raised the issue ‘much before it appeared on the BJP's radar'. However, the CPI(M) also flayed the Congress for not doing enough to crack down on illicit funds.
The Congress, stung by competition's accusation that their government had not done enough to, stated that the BJP's claim of the aforementioned amounts was based on ‘bogus' sources and hence lacked credibility. Furthermore, the Congress also raised questions as to why the BJP itself had not done the needful when they were in power earlier. At the same time, the party also claimed that they were on top of things and that ‘the government was already monitoring suspicious financial transactions'.
While the political parties thrust and parry on the issue in question, a PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court by eminent citizens seeking urgent remedial measures w.r.t the black money stashed abroad and its repatriation. The Court will the hear the case (including the government's response) on May 4th.
Yes, the knowledge of the existence of black money is not new news. Then why has it become a raging debate in this election? According to Dr. Munish:
[…]in today's global economic recession, the powerful countries like USA are making efforts to recover their lost money. That makes sense! Consider a situation: when in a home, we are out of money, what we do: we look around if some money is lying around (in piggy banks, in form of deposits). Same concept lies behind the desperation that the developed countries are showing: they have fixed their eyes on black money that their countrymen had stashed out of country!
Rising above our own political preferences, there is no denying that a lot, a lot of money is stashed by Indian elite in Swiss banks: and I am of the firm opinion that these political leaders –if exposed- will be belonging to all major and many regional parties. It may be a safe guess if you believe that each and every famous leader might have some money stocked there! Thus it is amply clear that if this money is recovered and used in India: India can overnight become a major country!
In the midst of this debate, the Swiss Bankers Association has said that this topic has become “good election fodder”. However, with the OECD pressing for a crackdown on black money stashed overseas as well as cross-border tax evasions, it looks like this time round, this is an issue that is sure to remain the focus of attention for now at least.
Thumbnail image by Flickr user D.C.Atty, used under a Creative Commons License
Japan: The Trouble with ‘Free' Money
As part of an economic stimulus package, the Japanese government is spending two trillion JPY for cash handouts to boost consumer spending. To put it simply, all Japanese citizens and those registered as residents all Japanese citizens in the Basic Resident Register and those registered in the Foreign Resident Register will receive 12,000 JPY, or 20,000 JPY for those under 18 or over 65, once they've lodged their application forms.
Local municipalities are in charge of the administration, an unwelcome increase in workload that coincides with the change of the fiscal year. As of mid-April, around half of the municipalities have sent out application forms to their residents. Soka City in Saitama Prefecture and Obu City in Aichi Prefecture offer English translations of the program overview.
by flickr user alleN, used with permission
Bringing to mind a similar program conducted in 1999 that is now commonly regarded as a failure, the program is highly unpopular with the public, mainly because the actual economic effect is unclear. The government expects an increase in real consumption expenditure by 0.2%, but there seems to be no clear consensus on how much of the two trillion yen will actually go to new spending. Predictions range from 20% to 60% and everything in between.
For the past couple of months, polls have shown that many Japanese view the program as a clumsy and condescending ploy to gain ratings by the Aso Cabinet.
At Yaruo's blog — whose post on the subprime problem was recognized at 2008 Alpha Blogger Awards– the two ASCII characters Yaruo and Yaranaio, talking about the government's initiative, say:
そんなの決まってるお！選挙のために大した効果もないのに2兆円もバラまいて支持率を上げようとしてるんだお！
なるほど。予想通りの解答だな… じゃあ聞くが、国民の半分以上が評価していない定額給付金を実施して 本当に支持率は上がると思うか
Yaruo: That's what I thought you'd say. Let me ask this, do you really think that his approval ratings will increase with the execution of a program which more than half of the Japanese are against?
Coupled with other factors however, including highway toll discounts, it just might be working. Recently, Asahi Shimbun has reported that Prime Minister Aso's approval ratings have risen 4% to 26% since March.
Blogger tetsu makes a pun on Teigaku kyufu kin(定額給付金), which literally translates as ‘handouts of a fixed amount'.
本来なら「低額還付金」とか命名するべき。最も正確には「無駄に取り過ぎてた税金を、支持率が２割切った与党が苦し紛れに現金をばら撒こうって思いついた稀代の愚策金」だな。
くれぐれも間違えないように。定額給付金は“もらう”んじゃないよ～。“ちょっぴり返してもらう”だけだよ～。
Make no mistake! We're not ‘receiving' handouts. We're simply ‘getting some of it back'.
At the end of the day, money is money. This comment by Kentaro Takekuma illustrates the general feeling of ambivalence surrounding this policy:
得したような、でも考えてみれば原資は税金なのだから、単に取られたものの一部が還付されるだけであり、どこまでも微妙な気分です。とりあえず、くれるものはもらってしまえという、庶民としてはしごく当たり前の行動に出てしまいましたが。
Global Health: Swine Flu Threat Spreads Worldwide
Confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu, which was detected in Mexico earlier this month, have now been found in at least seven other countries around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that this outbreak constitutes a “public health emergency of international concern.”
Also known as swine influenza A or H1N1, swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs that can be passed between humans mainly through coughing and sneezing. In Mexico, there are over 100 deaths possibly linked to swine flu and more than 1,600 people have been sickened with suspected or confirmed cases of the virus. Confirmed cases of swine flu have now also been found in the U.S. and Canada, while New Zealand, Spain, France, Israel and Brazil all have suspected cases. Liz Borkowski, blogging on The Pump Handle, elaborates on why there is concern about the spread of swine flu:
“Swine flu is fairly common, but it’s usually only transmitted from pigs to humans. This new strain appears to be capable of human-to-human transmission, and it’s also sickening young, otherwise-healthy adults. This means the virus has the serious potential to cause a pandemic, so it’s appropriate that Mexico has closed schools until May 6 and barred large public gatherings, including church services.”
American health officials declared a public health emergency on April 26 after confirming 20 cases of swine flu in the states of California, Kansas, New York, Ohio and Texas. Most of these cases were mild, though, and no deaths have been reported. Canada also confirmed six mild cases of swine flu in the provinces of Nova Scotia and British Columbia.
News of swine flu has spread quickly on the Internet, as people search for answers and share their thoughts on the disease. Swine Flu and #swineflu are the top trending topics on Twitter at the moment, and various Google maps have been created to track the outbreak. Bloggers around the world are also talking about swine flu.
Daniel Hernandez, blogging on Intersections, describes this scene in Mexico City:
“On Saturday, while the top brass at the WHO convened an emergency meeting in Geneva, soldiers in Mexico City were passing out face-masks at traffic stops, metro stations, and plazas. A militar in fatigues handed me a mask upon entering metro Bellas Artes, but it fell apart before I could even get on a train. On board, passengers eyed one another suspiciously and made every effort to avoid contact with strangers.”
Matthew Yglesias, blogging for the Center for American Progress Action Fund, expresses concern over how those without health insurance in the U.S. will deal with this disease:
“I have no opinions on this subject beyond the observation that it would be nice to live in a country where, if fell seriously ill due to viral infection, your access to effective medical remedies was not determined by your wealth, income, or employment status.”
Jim McVeagh, blogging from New Zealand on MacDoctor, thinks that more needs to be done in his country and worldwide to contain the virus. In New Zeland, 13 students who recently visited Mexico are suspected of having the disease. McVeagh says:
“Considering the massive over-reaction that occurred with bird flu, one would have hoped for a somewhat more vigorous response to this one than simple monitoring. I would have thought isolation of cases and restriction of travel to Mexico would have been a minimum response until we have more data. Since the CDC [the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] is now waking up probably about a week too late and the WHO insists on sitting on its hands, New Zealand’s lackadaisical response looks almost brisk in comparison.
While this might indeed be another non-event, it would be nice if health authorities made that call in hindsight rather than apparently up-front with incomplete information.”
Many countries are implementing safety measures to prevent the spread of swine flu. For example, some airports are screening travelers from Mexico for flu symptoms, and China and Russia plan to put anyone with symptoms under quarantine. Vijay Sadasivam, blogging on scan man, says that no preventative initiatives are being taken in India, though, while boinky, blogging on Finestkind Clinic and fish market, describes one measure happening in the Philippines:
“The Philippines will stop importation of pork from the US and Mexico to stop the spread…this is funny, since the flu is being spread human to human, and our own pigs have Ebola Reston…
but of course it's fiesta time, and so far no talk of a human quarantine such as they did with SARS…”
Many bloggers point out that while we should take this threat seriously and be prepared, there's no need to panic just yet. For instance, a post on Utah Preppers says:
“Some quick anti-panic notes…
Swine flu CANNOT be transmitted by food. Eating pork does NOT put you at risk. This is NOT the first time the ’swine flu’ has transmitted to humans. It’s happened several times before without it becoming a pandemic. This variant of swine flu, as with any flu, is a virus and primarily spread person-to-person through coughing or sneezing. This is just a flu! The key here is to NOT GET IT.”
The WHO isn't currently recommending any travel or trade restrictions, and says they need more information on the virus before deciding whether to raise the global pandemic alert level, which is currently at level three of the six levels.
Photo of Swine Flu Protection by Sarihuella on Flickr.
Links for Mon, 2009-04
IZO writes about some of Kyiv's current art exhibitions, and posts a few random pictures from the streets of the Ukrainian capital: “The place is rich in facture, people don't seem to mind your taking them, and you don't feel you're going to be asked to desist, or worse, by the police.
Palestinian-American Sarah, at Reflections of a Cultural Mutt, attends the book signing of Anna Baltzer, the author of Anna in the Middle East and shares her reflections: “It was such a powerful presentation, and so refreshing to hear someone non-Arab speak so passionately about the injustice and oppression of another people.”
Meedan announces that data expert Will Ward is “heading to Copenhagen’s New Islamic Public Sphere programme for a couple of weeks as a Meedan representative. The idea is to share ideas about our attempts to map the Arab blogosphere and get input on our growing Arab Media Index, which will soon be featured on http://meedan.net.”
Lanka Libertarian posts updates of the results of the elections of the Western Provincial Council in Sri Lanka.
From Morocco, Cinema and Movies marks the 20th birthday of Arabic language newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi. “In my country, it is sad to hear from time to time that some journalists are given bribes to keep their thoughts hidden.However,there are others just like our modest newspaper, Al qods Al Arabi choose to fight for the truth and rightfulness,” notes blogger Allal El Alaoul.
Lilane, from Lebanon, draws our attention to a billboard which contains a marriage proposal: ‘While driving on the highway towards Antelias from Jal el Dib, just near Antelias bridge on the left, this huge billboard (a bit blurry) caught my eyes (and the eyes of all Lebanese who drove by there).
The billboard says: “Sara… will you marry me?” signed “Cédric.”‘
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