Archive for
April 29th, 2009
Stories
Syria: Reactions to the Hariri Tribunal
The UN's Special Tribunal for Lebanon today ordered the release of all four suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on February 14th, 2005, in Beirut. Syria was largely blamed for the attack, and that caused the deterioration of its relations with the West, including the Bush Administration's recall of the American Ambassador to Damascus.
The four Lebanese nationals were all are generals who headed the Syrian-backed Lebanese security and intelligence departments at the time of Hariri’s murder, according to Press reports.
Sasa from The Syrian News Wire is thrilled to see the verdict as he was reporting it on his blog and Twitter feed as the events unfolded. He writes:
Although they could still be indicted at a later date, this essentially clears Syria and renders the UN Special Tribunal meaningless.
The four men have been held without trial for three years. Lebanon thought they could fish for some evidence - the UN says there are no grounds for them to face trial.
And 3abdulsalam is critical of the entire tribunal and the March 14 team that was demanding it. He says [ar]:
وهل سيكون عداد انتظار الحقيقة وشعار الحرية والسيادة والإستقلال ومجموع الإتهامات التي لم تعرف سوى مسار واحد والمطالبة المحمومة بقيام المحكمة الدولية حصير الشوك الذي غزلوه بيديهم؟
Will the waiting-for-truth ticker and the slogan of “freedom, independence and sovereignty” and all the accusations going in a single track and all the feverish demands for the International Tribunal be their own wrong doing.
After the announcement, Lebanese blogger Qifa Nabki tweeted hearing “celebratory gunfire” in Beirut:
The issue is far from over, but indicates a move toward normalized relations between Syria and Lebanon.
Egypt: Plans for Sexual Harassment Film Unveiled
After the success of Egypt's Anti-Harassment Day, Egyptian blogger Asser Yasser invited women to share their personal experiences with this issue.
Asser wrote:
الفيلم لا يتبع أى جهة رسمية أو قناة فضائية أو محلية ولا أى مركز ابحاث
*******
طبيعة الفيلم تقوم على متابعة عدد من الفتيات والسيدات على الطبيعة أثناء سيرهم فى الشارع بالكاميرا
لمدة 5 دقائق .. وتصوير المضايقات التى يمكن أن يتعرضن أثناء سيرهن فى الشارع على الطبيعة
ثم يتم حصر عدد المضايقات بالنسبة لعدد الفتيات أو السيدات محل الدراسة
*******
مطلوب متطوعات لتصوير الفيلم
*******
The documentary is based on following a number of females around for five minutes as they walk in the street. Our aim is to get footage of the forms of harassment they get exposed to while running errands. At a later stage, the forms will be categorized and will be studied independently.
Volunteers wanted!
Egyptian women join hands against harassment
The activist also shared pictures (see above) and details of the activities organised on the anti-harassment day here.
Asser's call received several responses, the most interesting of which was a blog post in solidarity with the cause by Wandering Scarab - an Egyptian woman living in Canada:
When I was living in Egypt, in the early 90s, I was subjected to sexual harassment on a daily basis. From the clerk at the grocery store all the way to the guy taking my order for pizza delivery, sexual harassment in Egypt is very common. Some behaviors that constitute sexual misconduct in Western societies are even completely acceptable in Egypt such as whistling and verbal abuse of women passing by. As women, we are often taught that there is something wrong with us and that perhaps we give the wrong signals or do something to attract the attention of sexual predators. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I recall some of the things I've experienced - some of them funny, some scary.
The average Egyptian girl, including myself, suffers sexual abuse almost constantly as a normal part of her life.
The post goes into more details - in English and in Arabic - about the exact details of harassment.
Bubisher: A Bus of Books for Children in Western Sahara
Bubisher..Books for Western Sahara children in refugee camps
Bubisher means “a bird bringing good news.” According to Roge Blog, it is also the name of a Saharaui poetry book. But for hundreds of children living in refugee camps in Western Sahara, it is the name of a bus full of books, explains Haz lo que debas.
Gonzalo Moure, a children's book author and the man behind Bubisher says:
El Bubisher no lleva libros regalados o sobrantes, sino un plan de lectura, con 4 o 20 ejemplares por titulo, para un fondo inicial de 1400 libros.
Abueliki blog encourages us to read the Bubisher blog, meet the creative bus and support the endeavour - not only with funding but through sharing experiences and learning about the exemplary way in which volunteers engage in the project and love it. Among them are politicians, universities, publishing houses and ordinary people.
EL PAJARO QUE TRAE LA BUENA SUERTE from Irene Bailo on Vimeo.
Kalandra Blog explains more:
Además de libros en castellano, donados por editoriales como KALANDRAKA, el Bubisher también incorpora una selección de literatura infantil y juvenil en árabe, lo que afianza los lazos de la multiculturalidad. Frente a la carencia de libros y de espacios de lectura, el Bubi supone “una biblioteca abierta y que se acerca a los lectores”, tal y como ha expresado Gonzalo Moure. Una biblioteca rodante, en constante movimiento.
Would you like to volunteer with Bubisher? You can do it by joining their 120 Bubisher friends initiative which partners with classrooms or even schools to collect some funds or you can donate books or funds on your own. You can also translate their materials from Spanish to other languages or you can just forward the Bubisher poster to your friends and print it to show it to your offline community. And there is more, you can visit the refugee camps as a volunteer and share some good readings with the children.
In conclusion, I would like to quote Bubisher creator Gonzalo Moure, discussing literature and books:
Eso es la literatura: corazones que no dejan de latir, pensamiento sin la barrera del tiempo. El corazón del abuelo latiendo en nuestro pecho. El aliento de Homero en nuestros oídos. Leer es vencer al tiempo, tener mil corazones
UAE: Torture video sends shock waves around the world
Last week, a grainy video from 2005 made headlines, shaking up viewers around the globe. The video, first shown on U.S.-based ABC News, showed Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan - brother of UAE's crown prince Sheikh Mohammed - torturing an Afghan grain farmer, attacking him with a cattle prod, then literally pouring salt on his wounds (WARNING: Video contains graphic content and is not suitable for all viewers. The video is accessible at ABC News ).
In Bahrain, Internet users were surprised to find out that access to the video on YouTube had been blocked by the Bahraini authorities. Writing on popular online forum, Bahrain Online, which is also banned in Bahrain, user Mahdy notes:
قامت وزارة الاعلام البحرينية بتستر على احد الجرائم التي بثت على اليوتيوب بعدما حجبت احد الفيديوهات التي تم نشرها في موقع اليوتيوب الشهير التي تظهر فيه تعذيب افغاني على يد عيسى بن راشد ال نهيان يظهر فيه وهو يعذب افغاني ، الراوبط في الاسفل محجوبة من قبل وزارة الاعلام ؟
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGWj…eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGWjxzMka4
هذا الموقع مغلق لمخالفته الأنظمة والقوانين في مملكة البحرين !
The Bahraini Ministry of Information is trying to cover up on a crime being broadcast on YouTube after it filtered a video published on the famous site which features an Afghani being tortured at the hands of Isa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The following links are blocked by the Ministry of Information:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGWj…eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGWjxzMka4
They are blocked because they go against the laws and regulations in the Kingdom of Bahrain!
Arab Lady, a UAE-based blogger, had only this to say about the video:
No comment!!Mercy Mercy Mercy on Earth ya Allahhhhhhhhhhhh
Twitter user tomsp, who is based in Dubai, drew comparisons between the U.S. government and that of the Emirates:
Muscat Confidential, an Oman-based blog, also brings up the U.S. in its assessment of the situation:
Tapes released by a former business partner of the Sheikh, and broadcast last week by US network ABC, showed the UAE Sheikh personally torturing an Afghan trader over a missing load of grain. The story was around in mid-2008, but now that ABC have broadcast it, the issue is again in the news: the main question is what will the new US Administration do?
The activist site UAE Torture, which is reportedly blocked in the UAE, offers more information on the story and its background.
United Kingdom: Barcamp Transparency to discuss Internet monitoring by government
A new U.K. government plan to monitor all email, phone calls, and internet use as part of a counter-terrorism initiative has already sparked lots of negative commentary in forums and blogs. It makes even more timely an upcoming Barcamp Transparency meeting in Oxford on 26 July, 2009 where internet enthusiasts will discuss and consider how to support privacy, freedom of speech and web 2.0 ethics in the United Kingdom and around the world.
A “BarCamp” is a meeting format where networks of people organize a public event using the internet, collaborating openly on the agenda. The idea for BarCamp Transparency arose in April during a session at BarCamp Apache Oxford on cyberactivism that demonstrated substantial interest from attendees in discussing everything related to privacy online.
Orwellian?
The U.K. may not be famous for its lack of privacy or freedom of expression, but readers of news articles about the government's new surveillance plans have left numerous concerned comments in online forums.
A BBC News article by Dominic Cascani is the subject of discussion on the RichardDawkins.net website.
Widecora from the UK, posts in response to the article:
What if I don't care if I get blown up by a terrorist? Can I have my privacy back, please?
Ficklefiend from Scotland, agrees:
WTF? p.s- exactly how many murderers do they estimate send the details of their exploits via email?
On Livejournal, a newspaper article from The Independent also receives many responses, including one from Mannygoldstein who thinks the reference to terrorism disingenuous:
Are things not now grotesquely out of proportion? There are many threats to the safety and security of the UK and its citizens but they cover a whole gamut of items including road accidents, swine flu and lightning! How many deaths and injuries have resulted from terrorism and how many resources have been spent on 'security' to protect the public from such a threat?
Spreading the word
Derryquinn has created a video on YouTube against government surveillance and censorship and writes: “Please spread this video around, refuse censorship of the web. Send this message to your local councillors, whatever country you are in. Tell them you will not stand for orwellian monitoring of the internet.”
Bloggers have also reacted.
Richard at How This Old Brit Sees It… thinks the new idea is insane:
Bloody brilliant, eh? That'll teach the bad guys, eh? That'll stop ‘em, eh? That'll certainly make us all a lot safer, eh?
Since the baddies won't be reading & hearing what everyone else now is, eh? So they won't increasingly simply start switching back to using all sorts of ‘good old fashioned' low-tech stuff for their secretive plotting & planning, eh?
Nawh! Never!
Not!
On Twitter @lostmoya started a discussion linking to a BBC article, and received support from a fellow follower, @4TMSocialMedia:
@lostmoya I agree. Internet monitoring, CCTV cameras with microphones, anti-terror laws used against civilians. Orwell's 1984 has arrived.
… and thoughtful consideration from @glynmoody:
@lostmoya well, that might just take a long time to get round to doing things, hoping the next election supervenes
Reactions to the announcement will provide a basis for face-to-face discussion on this and other topics related to privacy in the UK and worldwide during Barcamp Transparency.
Egypt's First Independent Union Formed
Egyptian activist and blogger, Hossam El Hamalawy, blogged about his initial impressions of victory after he spent a day with tax collectors, who descended on Nasr City, to lobby the Labor Ministry into recognizing their free union. He then uploaded the pictures he took for the demonstration, and also quoted Sara Carr's report - in Daily News Egypt. This is the first time real estate tax collectors have formed their first independent trade union since 1957.
Tax Collectors celebrate the formation of their union. Picture by Hossam El Hamlawy
Later on, El Hamalawy added that the union has won international legitimacy - in addition to the local one - when the Arab, African, International representatives of the Public Services International accepted the membership of Egypt’s Union of Real Estate Tax Authority Employees.
Links for Wed, 2009-04
Pak Voices is a crisis reporting tool for Pakistan based on the Ushahidi engine. The website is mapping the recent unrest in Karachi city. “Submitted incidents will appear online [pending approval]” reports Dr. Awab in his twitter account.
Following the scandal surrounding Georgia's aborted attempt to enter a song mocking the former Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Moscow, This is Tbilisi Calling says that the country will instead hold its own alternative international song contest.
Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines comments on the continuing saga of Parviz Azimov, a youth activist recently expelled from his university. The blog notes that whereas the police usually concentrate on preventing serious criminals from carrying on their activities, in undemocratic countries they usually focus on youth and political activists instead.
Pakistani blogger Faisal K. at Deadpan Thoughts questioned an enlightened scholar of Islam to confirm that what the Talibans are preaching is “hardly the Islam brought by the Quran and taught by the Prophet through his teachings.”
Madhu at Indian Election 2009 blog comments: “Tamil Nadu elections have been hijacked by the conflict in Sri lanka, all the political parties raise this issue and only this issue.” The blog also reports that the hunger strike of Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Mr. Karunanidhi was an alleged ploy to gain some votes.
The news that Taiwan will be participating in the World Health Assembly under the name Chinese Taipei came from the island's president and is received simultaneously as humiliating, a major step toward international recognition, and as nothing really important.
At Absurdity, Allegory and China, Jim Gourley discusses the extent and severity of China's climigration problem, and the reasons there's yet to be seen meaningful change.
Julian Wong at The Green Leap Forward scans the plans the “California of China” has to boost solar power projects this year and for the coming few.
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