Archive for
June 18th, 2009
Stories
Bolivia: Warnings of Scams in El Alto
Falling victim to scams in Bolivia is not uncommon. Attempts to swindle people out of money come in all shapes and sizes, and often come at times when people are most vulnerable, in a hurry or when they are alone, for example. There is a term called “El Cuento del Tío” that is often used to describe these tricks targeted on people in attempt to receive money or other material goods. There is no exact translation for the phrased, but it loosely means, “The Uncle's Story” and can refer to a relative or the god of the mine shafts.
Two bloggers from El Alto share their experiences of being deceived, as well as a failed attempted to be tricked, respectively. They both wanted to share their stories, so that the same thing does not happen to anyone else.
Nancy Condori of El Chairo [es] retells her experience during some travels with her mother, where they fell for a convincing story:
Al promediar aproximadamente las 8 de la noche, nos encontrabamos en la terminal de el Alto en busca de una Flota con destino a Potosí ,en vista de que mi madre se dedica al comercio y entre tanto lleva mercadería al lugar ya mencionado; entonces, como era un dia de demanda de pasajeros no había flota disponible para transvordarla,tanta era la desesperación de viajar supongo que el antisocial se dió cuenta y se acerco a nosotras ofreciendonos llevarnos, indicando de que venía de la terminal de la ciudad una flota vacía y que podía cargar toda la mercadería afirmando que era ayudante te una linea de buses X, pero a cambio teníamos que adelantarle para reservar espacio, bueno mi madre le adelanto un monto considerable para tal hecho.
Sin embargo nosotras no fuimos a la oficina de tal empresa para serciorarnos de que ese tipo pertenecía al personal, hasta que llego tal flota a la parada, mi madre se subio tranquila y yo le dije al ayudante que estaba cargando en ese momento las maletas suba mis bultos pero, el me dijo su boleto y le dije le page al otro ayudante, no existe ningun otro ayudante respondió, me quedé asustada y mi madre al percatarse de tal situación hizo un escandalo porque el muchacho que le cobró ya no aparecía en esos momentos, no sabíamos que hacer talvez es culpa nuestra por confiar y no aserciorarnos de que era cierto de lo que decía ese muchacho ladrón y no pudimos rescatar tal dinero fue una estafa que podíamos evitar si hubiésemos comprado los boletos de la boleteria.
At approximately 8 pm, we were in the bus terminal in El Alto looking for a bus heading to Potosí, and since my mother is a businesswoman, every once in awhile she takes merchandise to that city; since it was a high demand day there was no longer any seats. We were so desperate to travel that the delinquent must have noticed and approached us offering to take us. He indicated that there was an empty bus coming from La Paz, and that he could help us load the cargo, assuring us that he was an employee of the X bus line. However, in exchange, we needed to pay him in advance in order to reserve space. My mother gave him a considerable amount for advance payment for this.
However, we did not go to the office of this company to make sure that this man belonged to the staff, until the bus arrived to stop. My mother boarded the bus and I told the bus assistant that they were loading the suitcases and cargo. The assistant asked for the bus fare and I told him that I already paid the other assistant. There is no other assistant, he responded. I became scared and when my mother noticed what was happening, made a huge fuss because the man already charged her and did not appear at that time, we didn't know what to do. Maybe it was our fault for trusting and for not making sure what the thief was telling us and we could not get out money back. It was a scam that could have been avoided had we bought the tickets at the ticket counter.
Marisol Medina of Lengua, Cultura y Sociedad [es] was a little more vigilant when she soon noticed that things were too good to be true:
Estaba en la ceja de la ciudad de El Alto esperando a unos amigos para ir a pasear por alguna extraña razón llegue temprano, y como era domingo no había mucha gente. Me encontraba sola y de pronto se me acerca dos mujeres que afirmaban ser de la empresa COCA COLA y que estaban entregando premios.
Bueno la señora me da un calendario con dos papeles envueltos y me dice que los abra para ver que me gane (lo mas increíble era lo rápido que hablaba esta señora, realmente te confundía). Abrí el primer papel y según ella me gane 10 bolivianos yo me alegre luego me ice que abra el segundo papel y lo hice me gane 15 camisetas las cuales, según ella, debía recoger en la empresa con mi carnet de identidad.
Lo siguiente que paso es que ella me dice que le tengo que dar 100 bolivianos si quiero ganarme mas premios y ahí fue cuando me di cuenta del engaño hice una mueca con mi cara la cual no pude disimular y la señora me pregunta que me pasa y yo le dije que nada. Bueno la señora sigue y me pregunta si quiero ganarme más premios, y yo le dije ¡NO! Me pregunta por mi celular y yo le seguí respondiendo ¡NO! Las dos señoras se apuraron y se marcharon llevandose los 10 pesos que me había ganado. Creo que se dieron cuenta de que yo ya me había dado cuenta de su artimaña
I was in the Ceja (area of the city with a lot of pedestrian and public transport traffic) in El Alto, waiting for some friends. For some strange reason, I arrived early and because it was Sunday, there were not many people. I was alone and soon two women approached me saying that they were from the COCA COLA company and that they were giving away prizes.
One woman gave me a calendar with two wrapped papers. She told me to open them to see what I had won (what was incredible was how fast the woman spoke, she really confused me). I opened the first paper and according to her, I won 10 bolivianos (approximately $1.50 USD), which made me happy. Later, she told me to open the second paper and told me that I had won 15 t-shirts, which according to her, I must pick up at the company with my identification card.
Later, she told me that I should give her 100 bolivianos (approximately $14.00 USD), if I wanted to win more prizes. That is when I realized that it was a trick. I sneered, which I could not hide and she asked me what was wrong and I told her nothing. The woman continued and asked if I wanted to win more prizes, and I said No! She asked to see my mobile phone and I continued to say No! The women hurriedly left and took the 10 bolivianos that I had supposedly won. I think they realized that I knew about their trick.
These types of attempted scams happen in every large city in Bolivia, and comes in different variations. These bloggers share their experiences, so that others can spot similar attempts in the future.
Iran: Green Silent Protest Movement in photos
Protesters all over Iran continue their demonstrations against the June 12 presidential election result that declared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner. Supporters of Ahmadinejad's challenger, Mir Hussein Mousavi, and many Iranians who profess to believe in “change” continue to use the colour green as the symbol of their movement. Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, the other reformist candidate, have asked people to stay calm and protest peacefully. While Iranian state-run TV is not showing images of the demonstrations, Iranian citizen media is full of fascinating photos. Hamed Saber has published several photos on Wendesday's demonstartion in Hafte tir Square in Tehran. These photos reveal the nature of Iranian protest movement:
Green Silence or Silent Protest
No time to rest
Creativity
Huge Masses
Che meets Mousavi
Kosoof also published the photos of Tehran march when Mir Hussein Mousavi and Mehdi karoubi were present:
Mass Movement
Mir Hussein Mousavi among People
Mehdi Karoubi Greetings Crowd
On Thursday Mousavi delivered a speech in Imam Khomeni Square in Tehran. His wife, Zahra Rahnavard, was with him and appears in following photo.
Bahrain: Ahmadinejad, For And Against
Bahrain has many historical and cultural links to Iran. A number of Bahrainis (both Shi'a and Sunnis) have Persian roots and speak Persian, and many of Bahrain's Shi'a community regularly travel to religious sites in Iran. On Bahraini blogs and forums there has been a lot of support expressed for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, thanks in particular to his reputation as a clean politician and modest person, but he is not popular with everyone.
Rayyash wanted Ahmadinejad to win:
وعودا الى نجاد المتواضع والنزيه والذي كشف عن ميزة جديدة وهي الشرس !! حيث كشر عن أنيابه في المناظرة التلفزيونية مع خصومة ولكنه لم ينجح لأنه ناقش في الخصوصيات والامور التي لاتمت للسياسة بصلة وهي ضربات تحت الحزام ما كان يتوقعها منافسوه!! ولعلها كشفت بكل جلاء أن في السياسية ترفع جميع الخطط الحمراء والشرعية !!!
Returning to the modest and honest Ahmadinejad, we see that he has revealed a new quality, and that is his ferocity! He bared his fangs in the televised debates with his opponents, but he did not succeed as he discussed private matters and issues which had nothing to do with politics, and which were hits below the belt - that his opponents did not expect! This clearly shows that politics removes all boundaries and propriety!
On Bahrain Online, the most popular forum in Bahrain, Tammuz commented before the election results were announced:
On the same thread, Al Shafaq says:
كم احب هذا الرجل المتواضع
اتمنى ان يعرف الإيرانيين قدر هذا الرجل
On another thread, Athbat Al Oyoun says:
Ali Abdulemam is no fan of Ahmadinejad:
I used to call Ahmedi Najad the crazy, even when i was in Iran talking with my cousins while we are talking about his politic, i used to call him crazy so i mean no harm to all of you.
honestly i was supporting mir hussain mosavi because i feel Iran will need a presedent like Khatami, more freedom, more respect, freedom of choices to be made…this is what i believe not in iran only but in every where in the world, but at the end, we are not iranian, we have to respect this crazy [man] when he come to the power and we have to deal with him for the next four years
I was following the election by persian blogs, thanks god i know persian so it was easy for me , the strange things i discovered is, Najad failed in economic area, and its reflecting the poor people which is the majority in Iran, but the poor majority didn't talk about economy as its one of their criterias , these were talking that Najad is clean, we need to vote for clean people
Arab World: “Iran is a Democratic Dictatorship”
Reactions continue to pour across the Arab world over developments in Iran, in the aftermath of the country's presidential elections which saw Mahmoud Ahmedinejad winning a second term, with 66 per cent of the overall votes.
In this round up of reactions, Arab bloggers compare between the political scenes in their countries with that in Iran as well as offer their insights to developments on the ground.
On Twitter, Essam Al Zamel [Ar], from Saudi Arabia, quips:
A screenshot of Al Zamel
The European Union is calling for an investigation on the results of the Iranian elections. What a farce! Arab countries hold elections where the winners win by 99 per cent and we haven't heard any objections from them!?
Jordanian Ali Dahmash also notes how democracy in the Arab world pales compared to that in Iran:
Iran is a Democratic Dictatorship State as I name it. The country enjoys a good amount of liberalism and freedom that doesn’t exist in the Arab World. The men and women of Iran get to choose their leadership, but the Supreme Leader is still in control of everything. Women can vote, work anywhere, drive, travel, ski in the mountains but cannot nominate themselves in the elections. Iran is the largest democracy in the Middle East and the second after Lebanon, but minorities like Baha’is, Homosexuals and Armenians are still subject to oppression, persecution and the threat of being jailed or killed.
On the latest turmoil regarding the election results, the blogger explains:
While Mousavi accused the government of fraud and deception in the elections; since 14 million votes were not counted, his supporters took their despair and anger to the streets of Tehran. Most of the demonstrators are youth who are seeking reform and change. This middle class age group has always been the flame that flares any revolution or uprising. But I don’t see this as a revolt against the Islamic state, something that many people are looking forward to, but a slow reform process for change and modernization that should take its course. This is an inevitable internal path that should not be imposed by external powers or international threats. Time will eventually change Iran.
And Dahmash also comments on the power of Twitter, which has allowed the voices of Iranian protesters to echo around the world, despite the Iranian government's clampdown on free speech:
The government still controls the media and access to Internet sites such as (You Tube) & (Facebook) that are currently inaccessible. It has blocked International media from covering the riots. So protestors have switched to Twitter and other social networking sites to report what is going on in the streets of Tehran. Traditional media are also turning to Iran’s Internet users to get reports and videos of the situation there. The Obama administration has urged Twitter to delay its maintenance outage as this is the only way for Iranins to communicate with the rest of the world! Many protestors are risking their lives by using their Phone Cameras to shoot videos and pictures of the rallies that started peacefully a week ago and turned out violently with 7 slain so far.
Our last stop is at Palestinian Pundit, where Zarathustra lashes out at Arab youth saying:
What is taking place in Iran today (regardless of which side you support or if the opposition is truly reformist or not) only reaffirms how the Arab people (youth in particular) are the most impotent and spineless people in the middle east.
When was the last time that they defied government orders and went to the street by the tens of thousands to show their displeasure with anything their government has done ? Arab regimes have mastered the art of oppression so well for generations that they have created a generation of Arab youth that is fully happy to sit down, play cards , smoke Hookah and dream about going to Dubai or the west to work and make a lot of money. A generation of youth that cares more about meaningless danish cartoons humiliating the prophet than their daily humiliation and oppression. You have youth movements active all around the world from Latin America
to Iran to Turkey where the young people are trying to take an active role in determining their future, but not in the Arab world.
Arab youth's indifference and apathy is a direct result of the massive failure of their parent's generation. It is sad that everyone in the 3rd world it seems is attempting to change their reality , except Arabs , where the same tyrants and their sons have been ruling them for decades and that does not seem to concern them at all.
Lebanon: Bloggers React to Iran Crisis
Only a week after its own tight elections, Lebanese bloggers have been intently watching the fallout from Iran's disputed polls.
The turmoil in Iran - a key power broker in Lebanon and main supporter of the powerful Lebanese Shia group Hezballah - has received mixed reactions.
Whilst many of the bloggers are resisting to choose a side in Iran's dispute, they have plenty to say on other fronts.
Asad Abu Khalil at the Angry Arab News Service has slammed the UN, Western governments and media for their double standard approach to Iran's elections:
There is so much hypocrisy in the Western coverage and official reactions to the developments. Most glaring for me was the statement by the secretary-general of the UN who insisted on the respect of the will of the Iranian people. Would that US designate utter such words, say, about Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and other dictatorships that are approved by the US?
Asad continues by criticising both Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Mir Hossein Mousavi for their failures, instead highlighting the plight of the Iranian people as his main concern:
Typically, I support neither side in the Iranian situation: but I support those Iranians who are struggling against both sides. I have worried before about the impact of Ahmadinajad's stupid rhetoric on the Iranian public attitudes toward the Palestinian question. I worried that in the long run it will move the public away from solidarity with the Palestinians.
but I am in no way sympathetic to Moussavi. He is a man who suddenly discovered the virtues of democracy. When he was prime minister back in the 1980s, he presided over a regime far more oppressive than Ahmadinajad's. And why has no Western media really commented on his rhetoric during his own campaign: the man kept saying that he wants a “return” to the teachings of Khomeini. I in no way support a man who wants a “return” to the teachings of Khomeini. But Western media are always quick to pick villains and heroes: especially when one side is identified against Israel.
Sursock points to the Ahmedinijad-Mousavi dispute as a deep internal struggle within the ruling establishment that is tearing the Islamic Republic apart:
The elections in Iran have revealed the deep divisions at the heart of Iran’s ruling class.
The country is internationally isolated, faces a growing economic crisis and is ruled by a faction associated with the “hardliners” that want to be the main beneficiaries of privatisation of state-owned companies.
This faction has coalesced around the incumbent president Mahmud Ahmadinijad. They see his populist appeal as an important bulwark against the deep discontent that is sweeping the country.
A second section fears that the widespread corruption at the heart of the system is undermining popular support for the republic. They want the economy opened up and strip from power those they see as lining their pockets.
This faction, that includes many senior figures in the religious establishment, has put its hopes in Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
Mousavi and other reformers want to harness the growing disquiet in the country to oust one faction of the ruling class from power. They want Ahmadinejad and the hardliners removed, but also limit the scope of popular anger.
The danger is that this movement could quickly run out of their control.
Meanwhile, Abu Muqawama has ridiculed rumours that Hezballah has sent 5,000 paramilitaries to support Ahmedinejad:
A friend of mine raised a good point regarding the Spiegel/VOA claim that 5,000 Hizballah footsoldiers were on the streets of Tehran. 1) Hizballah had approximately 1,200 full-time fighters in 2006. So unless they have beefed up their ranks much more rapidly than anyone could have guessed and 2) have left southern Lebanon now completely defenseless, the odds that they have deployed 5,000 to Tehran to put down some popular revolt is just silly.
Joseph el-Khoury at ArabDemocracy compares Iran's theocracy to the Soviet Union, but warns the West on expecting a friendlier Iran should a regime change occur:
The Iranian theocracy is a regime ‘against nature’; one that defies the basic aspirations of human beings for freedom and emancipation. In a way, it is no different from the Soviet illusion, which seemed unshakable for decades only to collapse overnight like a pack of cards. These regimes shared a similar path, from popular revolutions against a Western backed Monarch they turned into authoritarian leviathans promoting the interests of a small group of self reproducing autocrats.
The demonstrations are inevitably the start of something, an awakening perhaps that will hopefully be followed by a process of political maturation. But talk of a pro-American ‘democratic’ Iran is wishful thinking limited to western powerhouses and their media outlets…these same outlets who brought us the ‘liberation’ of Iraq and the ‘pacification’ of Afghanistan.
Finally, a supporter of Lebanon's pro-American March 14 bloc has posted bloody images of Iran's violent protests on his blog, Blacksmiths of Lebanon. He finishes his post with a quote that summarises the fear of many pro-March 14 Lebanese:
As level of chaos rises in Iran, worries grow that Hizballah will act to create a distraction in the region, sparking Leb bloodshed.
Kenyans Race to Get Furadan Banned
Lion cub poisoned in the Masai Mara
Kenyan conservationists are making gains in their push to have Furadan, a carbofuran-based pesticide that has so far caused the death of 76 lions, banned in the country.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Naivasha Constituency, Honourable John Mututho, has now joined the call for a total ban on this lethal poison by taking the appeal to parliament. On Tuesday, 2 June 2009, the Baraza blog reports scanned some pieces from the news, and reports that Hon. Mututho asked the Minister for Forestry and Wildlife for the ban amid overwhelming support from other parliamentarians.
In today’s national newspapers in Kenya, there were two stories about lion poisoning in the Masai Mara. One in The Standard reports the Minister for Forestry and Wildlife Services Dr Noah Wekesa saying that lions were dying in the Masai Mara and Furadan was responsible. He however referred Hon. John Mututho’s call for its ban to the Agriculture Minister and the Pesticide Control Products Board.
In the other news item appearing in the Daily Nation, the Kenya Wildlife Service, which is the custodian of Kenya’s wildlife, has accused farmers of poisoning one lion, some hyenas and 35 vultures in the Mara. The KWS said that there were traces of a pinkish substance on the carcase that was used to bait the these carnivores and scavengers.
The Minister on his part, while acknowledging that Furadan was killing many lions in a country that now has only 2100 lions down from 30,000 a few decades back, however, referred the question of the ban to the Minister for Agriculture and the Pest Control Products Board - the government organization that regulates pesticides in Kenya.
Kenyan conservationists have been fighting for the removal of Furadan from the market since the mid-1990s when massive poisoning of wild ducks was being witnessed in the rice-growing Mwea Irrigation Scheme in the Eastern Province. It was however the recent coverage of lion poisoning problem by American broadcaster CBS that this issue has become of great concern for Kenyan leaders. Hon Mututho however had asked for a ban back in 2008 following the death of lions in Masai Mara.
Although FMC Corporation, the Philadelphia-based manufacturer of Furadan announced an immediate withdrawal of the lethal chemical from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania just hours after the CBS programme on 60 Minutes, lions and other wildlife are still being poisoned with Furadan. Martin Odino, a Kenyan researcher attached to the National Museums of Kenya, has been reporting in his Stop Wildlife Poisoning blog about alarming poisoning of birds which seem to be sold for food.
About a month after FMC's withdrawal of the chemical from the market, Baraza blog reports that an eight-month-old lion cub died after consuming a carcase of a cow that had been laced with a pesticide suspected to be Furadan. Several hyenas and an estimated 40 vultures were also poisoned by the same carcase. With the lion cub was four other lions whose fate has not been established yet.
These poisoning cases have made conservationists relentless in their pursuit for the ban. On 9 June 2009, conservationists met at WildlifeDirect offices in Nairobi and in that meeting, they brought out the dire situation facing birds. It emerged that even as lion poisoning was in the limelight, the poisoning of birds was equally catastrophic. A report by KWS indicated that birds were being poisoned in ‘pick-up truck loads'. WildlifeDirect, which convened this meeting, promptly issued a statement throught the Baraza blog.
The Baraza blog provides a way for readers to make a donation.
Links for Thu, 2009-06
India, the defending champion, was out of this year's Twenty20 World Cup cricket tournament early. No wonder the cricket crazy nation is buzzing with the discussion “what went wrong”. Blogbharti summarizes some bloggers' reactions.
Balkans via Bohemia looks at how the events in Iran “would play out vis a vis other successful and unsuccessful revolutions in the past two decades,” including those in Serbia, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine and China.
Writing at Baghdad Observer journalist Mike Tharp describes the ritual he went through at the International Zone in Baghdad to get his “U.S. military ID badges so we could be street legal and enter places we couldn't go without ‘em.”
Morofilm is nominating the word “scripted” as the word of the year in the Philippines.
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