Heba explains what Ramadan is like for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip:

This holy month comes to Gaza with the situation still deteriorated. However, this does not discourage people from celebrating Ramadan in their special manner as they do every year. […] I saw this woman in one of our centers who kept complaining about not finding a job whilst being a university graduate. I suddenly interrupted her and asked, “Well how are you going to manage Ramadan shopping?” She brightly smiled in my face and said, “I make my own qataif (Ramadan special dessert) and fawanis (Ramadan special lamps). So my kids do not feel they lack anything.” This simplicity and seeking alternatives have always made me highly respect Gazans' resilience and determination to survive.
Generally, I cook a lot in Ramadan. I think all people, relative to their resources, cook a lot in Ramadan too :). […] What I really noticed is the extremely high prices of food items due to the siege. […] They joke in Gaza and say that from now on you can get a gas cylinder filled if you show your marriage certificate at the station to prove that you have a family and, thus, are entitled to a gas cylinder once a month. […] The context might appear to be bleak and unpromising but it will not prevent us from enjoying this beautiful month with our kids.

We turn to a different perspective on Ramadan in Palestine. Elena is an Italian who has just gone back to the West Bank to work:

beh, tornare a Ramallah con il Ramadan appena iniziato ha una serie di risvolti pseudo-comici:
-innanzitutto l'orario: c'è un'ora di differenza tra Israele e la Palestina, per cui quando a Ramallah sono le 15.00, a Gerusalemme sono le 16,00 (ma almeno l'ora di Ramallah è la stessa dell'Italia). Ovviamente questo complica le relazioni tra chi gestisce un progetto da Gerusalemme, da gli appuntamenti e viene a lavorare a Ramallah presentandosi un'ora in anticipo. …
-il digiuno: digiunare è un'ottima scusa a qualunque cosa… sono in ritardo, sbaglio la strada, non ti ho telefonato, mi sono dimenticato di qualcosa, ho perso le chiavi, non riesco a concentrarmi, non so più chi sono/dove sono/cosa faccio…. perchè sto digiunando…. ok, è vero, non è facile lavorare durante il Ramadan (anche se gli orari vengono ridotti) ma magari non è sempre il digiuno che crea questi imprevisti :-)
-il non digiuno: se anche non digiuni (e c'è un sacco di gente che non digiuna, oltre ai cristiani) non ti metti a mangiare e/o bere davanti agli altri… quindi se alle 14.00 ti trovi a Nablus fuori dal check-point in un parcheggio sotto il sole cocente ad aspettare che il tuo service parta per riportarti a casa e ci sono 37 gradi all'ombra (molti di più nel mezzoi pubblico) e per caso ti viene voglia di bere qualcosa perchè hai un po' di arsura… te la tieni!

Well, returning to Ramallah when Ramadan had just begun has a series of pseudo-comical implications:
First of all the time: there is an hour’s difference between Israel and Palestine [because of a different schedule for daylight saving time], so when it’s 3pm in Ramallah, in Jerusalem it’s 4pm (but at least in Ramallah it’s the same time as Italy). Obviously this complicates relations between those running a project from Jerusalem, arranging appointments and coming to work in Ramallah, arriving an hour in advance. …
Fasting: fasting is an excellent excuse for anything… ‘I’m late, I took the wrong road, I didn’t call you, I’ve forgotten something, I’ve lost the keys, I can’t concentrate, I don’t know anymore who I am/where I am/what I am doing…because I am fasting.’ OK, it’s true, it’s not easy to work during Ramadan (even if working hours are shorter) but perhaps it’s not always fasting that causes these unforeseen events :-)
Not fasting: Even if you are not fasting (and there are a whole lot of people who don’t fast, besides Christians), don’t start eating and/or drinking in front of other people… So if you find yourself in Nablus at 2pm outside the [Israeli military] checkpoint, in a car park under the burning sun, waiting for your service taxi [shared taxi between cities] to depart so you can get home, and it’s 37 degrees [99 degrees Fahrenheit] in the shade (much more in public transport), and in case you feel the desire to drink something because you are parched…hold it!

In Saudi Arabia, Shari' Alatayef paints a picture of a family preparing to break the fast on the first day of Ramadan:

We end on a humorous note, with a post from Bahraini blogger Yagoob; he points out the things that change during Ramadan:

1- Our sense of time:
During the whole year, we’re accustomed to using ‘clock time’ i.e. 1:00pm, 3:30am etc… But in Ramadhan all time is converted into Islamic time i.e. After Dhuhur Prayer, After Iftar, After Taraweeh etc…or alternatively to TV show time: “I’ll see you after Baab Al-Haara” etc…
2- Anger Management:
During the whole year, cussing and cursing (especially when driving) is normal in everyday life using crude yet witty and colourful vocabulary i.e. F***(-ing-ass-tard-er-face-hole-mother+er) and sh*t(face-hole-monkey)
In Ramadhan, your anger is magnified by the fact that you’re hungry and thirsty (and hot!) yet you do not want to ‘ruin’ or ‘hurt’ your fasting so you use alternative language including ‘Allahoma ini sa’im’ [By God, I am fasting] and ‘La howla wela qowa ila billah’ [There is no power and no strength save in God] in an angry tone.
3- Sense of taste:
Eating beef, chicken, fish and shrimp anytime during the year would feel a bit over the top, but in Ramadhan not eating both red and white meat at the same meal is disappointing and some may fear for themselves from under-nourishment.

A growing perception in the general population that “all Gypsies are thieves”, is being publicly supported by some judges and politicians. According to the Interior minister and a leading figure of the anti-immigration Northern League, Roberto Maroni, the national registration initiative is needed to “prevent begging” and, if necessary, remove the children from their parents.

A few days ago the European Parliament urged the Italian government to stop the fingerprinting of Gypsies, calling it racial discrimination. The assembly agreed on a resolution saying the practice was not supported by European Union human rights treaties and insisting that, “EU citizens of Roma or Gypsy origin must be treated equally to others in Italy”. Maroni replied [it] he was outraged over the accusation of racism, insisting his plan is simply to carry out a “comprehensive national census” of the Roma people with no kind of discrimination whatsoever.

Caricature of Roberto Maroni by Gianfalco.it, republished under Creative Commons license

The ensuing, heated public debate is overflowing in the online space of Italy (and beyond), with many discussions focusing on civil rights protection and ethnic discrimination. On Kebelek [it], a widely-read blog that often links to writing by and about Roma people, Miguel Martinez writes:

Fingere la propria superiorità etica e distribuire colpe morali a grandi gruppi di persone è in qualche modo la matrice del genocidio.
Perché se gli altri hanno scelto di essere malvagi, se ogni singolo membro di quel gruppo ha scelto di essere malvagio, allora tutti i membri del gruppo meritano la punizione.
Condannare interi blocchi della specie umana per motivi morali è una perdita di tempo; e comunque le questioni sociali di grande portata non possono avere soluzioni etiche.

A blog published by the Sinti culture institute [it] provides comprehensive updates and other resources particularly on the fingerprinting issue. They also published an online poll questioning whether Maroni should resign from the Cabinet: so far 77% (262 people) voted yes. Their statement calling for Maroni's ousting [it] received many comments, including some heavy ‘flaming'.

Commenter xpisp [it]:

Personalmente se mi chiedessero di depositare impronte e DNA per creare una banca dati e risolvere + facilmente alcuni delitti, non avendo nulla da nascondere, non avrei proprio nulla in contrario.

Commenter Antonoi:

Per come è stata presa la decisione di schedare i rom sono contrario. è una politica razziale e xenofoba (giungendo da un ministro leghista….) se vi è la logica impellente della sicurezza prendiamo le impronte a tutte le persone presenti in questo momento in italia. scegliere di schedare una sola comunità è xenofobia, serve per dare un contentino al popolo bue che applaude e non capisce cosa realmente si muove in italia e soprattutto si imbocca tutto quello che mamma-tv dice.

Commenter Carlo Berini:

il problema che poni è reale ma non è che negando i diritti civili che risolverai il tuo problema, anzi…

Finally, just one of the many initiatives supporting the Roma people struggle: Immigrazione Oggi, a video website in nine languages for foreigners living in Italy, launched a “Campaign against prejudice towards Roma people” mostly based on a video [it] showing images of ordinary Roma citizens at work.

Screenshot from the video by Immigrazione Oggi

Literature

Semanario Serbio [Es] writes about the recent passing of Dejan Medaković, a writer and art historian who was the president of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts from 1999 to 2003. Quoting the director of a publishing house, Zoran Kolundžija, he commented on Medaković's contribution to Serbian arts:

Esta obra sólo hay que leerla, simplemente porque allí están muchas respuestas a nuestros problemas prácticos […] Durante su larga y fructuosa vida Medaković nos ha enseñado que lo más importante es seguir siendo fiel a tu pueblo, su cultura, a la afirmación de esa cultura y su conexión con el mundo.

Architecture

Sandra Drašković of Demystifying Serbian Design informs of the results of the competition “Boathouse” that were announced last Sunday during the Architecture Week in Belgrade. The competition was open to architects and students under 35 and its goal was to “give a new development model, functional distribution and visual identity” to commercial floating structures on the river banks of the Danube and the Sava. Drašković also posted several pictures of the winning projects, such as the one below:

(Photo of the winning project by Studio Poligon)

Nothing Against Serbia describes in a post full of photos the blokovi of New Belgrade, apartment blocks built in 1948 by the communist regime of the time. These blocks, which are home to 100,000 “socio-economically mixed inhabitants because most people in blokovi received their apartments through government-funded social programs,” have appeared in a number of Serbian movies, and have also been the protagonists of two documentaries in 1973-74 about the artists and intellectuals who used to live there, mostly on Block 45 and 70.

The blogger concludes by saying:

Although the blocks have an image of grayness and drabness (shown in movies like Rane, Apsolutnih sto, Jedan na jedan, Sutra ujutro, and Sedam i po), the reality is much friendlier than portrayed in the movies.

(Photo by Elia Varela Serra)

Music

In a later post, Nothing Against Serbia gives some examples of the artists inspired by the blocks:

From the 90's till now also the belgradian Hip-Hop scene gets its inspiration from the “blokovi” where it's kind of standard to choose the blocks as a location for videos. (see for exemple “Struka feat. Demian - 1001 plan“).

Another rap artist got his name from the blocks and made is record label (carski rez) there: Blokovski. His entire image is built around New Belgrade's Blocks!

Speaking of 1990's Serbian music, Balkan File posted a music video from 1995 by a boy band called Beat Street (Bit strit), with the comment “Glad to see that British and Serbian 90s pop share the same awful dance moves”.

Film

The first post of the brand new collective blog Balkan Crew [It] reviewed the film Apsolutnih Sto by Srđan Golubović. The review highlights the very blokovi mentioned above, where a few scenes are set, as well as the disco-restaurants on the Danube river banks also mentioned earlier.

One of their latest posts reviews another Serbian movie, Zona Zamfirova by Zdravko Šotra, set in the southern town of Niš in the 19th century. The review quotes the director speaking of the film's success:

La nostra cinematografia da 10 anni si occupa di temi contemporanei, di questi giorni tristi, delle guerre, delle sanzioni. Il pubblico dice basta a questi film. “Zona” è una commedia romantica senza parolacce e scene brutte, una storia d’amore con un po’ di melodramma. Forse la gente voleva un po’ di serenità dopo le tante cose brutte successe, rappresentate in film carichi di violenza.

Visual Arts

Diario de una serbia [Es] introduces her readers to Milena Pavlović Barilli, a Serbian painter and poet who lived between 1909 and 1945. She says that the style of her art is hard to define:

… en su obra coohabitan […] modernismo y realismo con las reminiscencias históricas en los retratos y pinturas de flores, el realismo poético o mágico están reflejados en sus retratos y composiciones de mujeres trajeadas; además existe el surrealismo que complica el tema, llevando a varios objetos a una relación irracional, liberando una misteriosa poesía de horror y aguardamiento en las pinturas con estatuas, sillas de hierro, abanicos, guantes, pájaros nocturnos, estrellas, chicas, cartas, actrices con trajes, viejas.

Cuisine

And to end this roundup on a sweet note, we recommend that you try the recipe for tulumbe, described by Marija Petrović in her blog Palachinka. She calls it “one of the most loved desserts in the Balkans, probably originally brought here during the Ottoman rule in this region.” Take a look at the picture below and see if you get inspired!

(Photo by Marija Petrović)

There is no doubt that 2008 has been one of the worst year for the Marxist guerrilla founded in 1964. Just 5 weeks ago it was confirmed that Pedro Antonio Marín, aka Manuel Marulanda Vélez or Tirofijo (”Sureshot”), its top commander, had died on March. The death of FARC's number 2, Édgar Devia, aka Raúl Reyes, unleashed a diplomatic crisis which caused the breaking of diplomatic relations with Ecuador and Nicaragua (the latter restored since). Other top bosses have been captured, killed or delivered themselves. On February 4 a huge demonstration against FARC was held.

Adam Isacson, from Plan Colombia and Beyond, writes about the “anti-FARC strategies” that have and have not worked:

[W]hat has worked over the past few years?

• Putting a much greater focus on intelligence aimed at the guerrillas’ top leadership (and hostage captors). This includes both signals intelligence to intercept their communications, and human intelligence in the form of informants and infiltrators.
• Making clear to the guerrilla rank-and-file, through public-relations campaigns and the testimonies of previous deserters, that those who surrender to the government will not only not be tortured or disappeared (as too often happened in the past), but they will get job training, perhaps a stipend, and the promise of a new life.
• Increasing the security forces’ presence in population centers and main roads and (though there is much room for improvement here) making these forces’ main mission protecting citizens instead of treating them as suspects.

What is interesting about these strategies is that, with the exception of increasing manpower and protective presence, they are relatively inexpensive. Compared to big-ticket items like fumigation and “Plan Patriota”-style military offensives, these efforts make up only a sliver of Colombia’s defense budget (and only a sliver of U.S. assistance). Planners of future aid packages to Colombia should take note.

Journalist Jaime Restrepo writes on Atrabilioso [es]:

Sin duda, el rescate militar de 15 secuestrados en poder de la estructura militar de las FARC es el más duro golpe propinado a los áulicos y servidores del totalitarismo “humanitario” en Colombia. La operación Jaque demostró con hechos que un rescate militar exitoso es posible y que las cacareadas justificaciones, según las cuales eso equivalía a condenar a muerte a los secuestrados, eran solo arengas que buscaban que las FARC, y sobre todo sus socios políticos, obtuvieran ganancias del secuestro. Quedaron sin argumentos aquellos servidores de las FARC que cada día se consagraban a presionar al Gobierno para que cediera a las condiciones que imponían los terroristas para liberar a los secuestrados: son 15 seres humanos que han sido rescatados sin despejes que dejarían a miles de colombianos a merced de los terroristas por cuenta de los intereses de los “humanitarios”.

Undoubtedly, the military rescue of the 15 kidnapped held by FARC's military structure is the hardest blow given to the aulics and servants of the “humanitarian” totalitarism in Colombia. Operation Jaque demonstrated that a successful military rescue is possible and that the widespread justifications, of those claiming that it was a death sentence for those kidnapped, were just harangues seeking that the FARC, and above all their political partners, wanted to profit from kidnapping. Those FARC servants who everyday pressured the Goverment to give in to the conditions imposed by the terrorists to release the kidnapped ended without arguments: there are 15 human beings rescued without safe havens which would have let thousands of Colombians at the mercy of the terrorists because of the interests of the “humanitarians”.

Ricardo Buitrago Consuegra praises President Álvaro Uribe and his administration [es]. He writes that the rescue raises the possibility that Uribe will be reelected as president. However, the rescue also draws attention to the role of Colombia's neighbors.

Alejandro Peláez attacks [es] the “Bolivarian coalition”:

El Ministro de Defensa ecuatoriano celebra el rescate, pero se lamenta que no fuera realizado dentro de un proceso de paz y, como cereza del postre, la maquinaria de propaganda chavista empieza a circular la versión de que a Ingrid la libretió el Gobierno colombiano. Estuve buscando la reacción de los “comités de solidaridad con Ingrid” y no dicen nada. Se quedaron sin jueguito ahora que la liberaron y van a tener que encontrar una nueva causa para subir al Mont Blanc. Paradójicamente, las palabras de Ingrid fueron el más duro golpe para los opositores que usaban su imagen y dolor para mover una agenda política.

The Ecuadorian Defence Minister celebrates the rescue, but regrets it was not carried out within a peace process and, as the cherry on the top, the Chavista propaganda machine begins to pass around the theory that Íngrid was “scripted” by the Colombian government. I was searching for the reaction of the “support committees for Íngrid” and they say nothing. They were left without nothing to play now that she was released and they will have to find a new cause to climb Mont Blanc. Ironically, Íngrid's words were the hardest blow for the opposition leaders and supporters which used her image and her pain to promote a political agenda.

Italian blogger Doppiafila gives his two cents [it]:

Da questa gioia deve nascere qualcosa di buono. Il 2 Luglio del 2008 é un grande giorno. Chissá che Ingrid Betancourt non possa essere per la Colombia come Nelson Mandela per il Sudafrica: ha pagato il prezzo della credibilitá ed a quanto pare é riuscita a mantenere la luciditá; chissa.
Le FARC hanno perso una grande occasione, e si staranno mangiando le mani. Il loro ciclo é finito, non saranno loro a cambiare il futuro del Paese. Speriamo non puntino al “colpo di coda”, magari con qualche attentato urbano da centinaia di morti - sarebbe inutile. Per Uribe, Santos, i Generali e compagnia una grande vittoria: hanno mantenuto la promessa della “mano dura”, e questo la gente lo capisce - e lo premia. Ora devono solo decidere come “passare all'incasso”.

From this joy something good should be born. July 2, 2008 is a big day. Maybe Íngrid Betancourt could not represent for Colombia the same thing Nelson Mandela for South Africa: she has paid the price of credibility and from what it seems she has achieved her lucidity; maybe.
The FARC lost a big chance, and they must be eating their hands. Their cycle is over, they will not be the ones who will change the future of the country. We hope they don't aim a “last attempt” -probably with an urban attack with hundreds of victims - would be useless. For Uribe, Santos, the generals and company it's a great victory: they have kept their promise of “hard hand”, and this is understood -and rewarded- by the people. Now they just should decide how to “to charge for it.”

Meanwhile, journalist Víctor Solano states that Ms Betancourt necessarily “overshadows” the others' rescue [es]:

Haciendo un barrido por todos varios medios de comunicación vemos con ‘alborozo’ la noticia del rescate producto de una astucia de los cuerpos de inteligencia de Colombia para ‘robarse’ a los secuestrados y llevarlos a la libertad. En prácticamente todos los medios se establecen tres niveles de importancia y hasta se señala textualmente: “Ha sido rescatada Ingrid Betancourt; también los tres norteamericanos y 11 militares”. La forma en que se revela la información a la opinión pública es normal, mas no significa que sea la forma ideal. A la hora de la verdad, cualquiera de los 15 rescatados tiene tanta importancia como ser humano. Pero resulta absolutamente normal dadas las formas de la noticiabilidad/espectacularidad con que se ha cubierto este drama. Para muchos, el drama del secuestro en Colombia y otras partes del mundo solo ha tenido un rostro: el de Ingrid.

Doing a quick check through all the mass media we see the ‘rejoice' for the news of the rescue with the shrewdness of Colombian intelligence agents to 'steal' the kidnapped taking them to freedom. Practically all the media have established three levels of importance and even textually headlining: “Íngrid Betancourt has been rescued; as well as the three Americans and 11 soldiers.” The way the information is revealed to the public opinion is the usual one, but it does not mean it is the ideal one. Actually, any of the 15 rescued has the same importance as a human being. But it turns absolutely normal given the forms of noticeability / spectacularity this drama has been covered. For a lot of people, the drama of kidnapping in Colombia and other parts of the world has only had one face: Íngrid.

Paola Vargas, a new blogger at equinoXio [es], writes, among other things, about the media coverage of the arrival of the released to Bogotá [es] (she also does not seem very convinced by the rescue operation):

El cubrimiento mediático no podía desligarse del sentimentalismo que mueve este país desde hace unos años. Noticias Caracol no resistió la tentación de hacer sonar las letras de nuestro himno nacional, el segundo mejor del mundo después del francés según el mito urbano (¡qué ironía!), cuando Íngrid (y solo ella) salió del avión que transportaba a los otros once uniformados. El canal RCN, por su parte, lucía orgulloso la bandera colombiana. Sin embargo, unos y otros convencían con el mismo discurso: las fuerzas militares han triunfado gracias a la pericia del presidente Uribe y del ministro de defensa, la guerra se acabará pronto, etc.

The media coverage couldn't separate itself from the sentimentalism that has been part of this country over the past few years. Noticias Caracol couldn't resist the temptation to play the lyrics of our national anthem, the second best of the world after the French one according to the urban legend (what an irony!), when Íngrid (and just her) came out from the plane carrying the other 11 soldiers and policemen. RCN TV, on the other hand, was proudly wearing the Colombian flag. Nevertheless, both were convinced with the same discourse: the military forces have prevailed thanks to President Uribe's and Minister of Defense's skillfulness, and that the war will soon be over, etc.

The blog Colombia Hoy [es] comments [es]:

Las FARC reciben un nuevo golpe político y militar. Si es cierta la versión oficial, lo que hay detrás de la liberación es una operación de inteligencia impecable. Inteligencia militar habría manejado el engaño con gran maestría. Está por verse cuál fue el papel jugado por los emisarios de Francia y Suiza que llegaron al país hace dos días, y si estos gobiernos formaron parte del engaño. Como sea, lo cierto es que queda en evidencia una vez más la fragilidad militar de las FARC y su vulnerabilidad frente a las infiltraciones y el engaño. Pareciera más que una coincidencia que tanto en el bombardeo al campamento de Reyes como en este caso, existe el antecedente de la visita de un agente de inteligencia francés a los campamentos guerrilleros.

FARC received a new political and military blow. If the official version is true, what lies behind the release is an impeccable intelligence operation. [Colombia's] Military intelligence handled the plot with great mastery. It remains to be seen the role of the French and Swiss envoys who arrived two days ago, and if these governments took part on the plot. Anyway, the truth is again FARC's military fragility and its vulnerability toward infiltrations and deceptions have become evident. It seems more than a coincidence that both in the bombing of Raúl Reyes camp and this case, there's the precedent of the visit of a French intelligence agent to the guerrilla camps.

There are still around 3,000 kidnapped people in Colombia, around 700 of them being held by FARC. We want all of them free and safe.

On Sunday morning, teleSUR broadcast a video [es] sent by FARC where Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri, aka “Timoleón Jiménez” or “Timochenko”, in a 12-minute speech, celebrated FARC's 44th anniversary and confirmed Sureshot's death on March 26 “of a heart attack, in the arms of his companion.” There are several doubts about where this video, using 3 cameras and editing facilities, was recorded. Some claim, because of the vegetation [es] and the uniform Londoño was wearing [es], it was shot in Venezuela.

Boz provides some context by telling us who's who in FARC's Secretariat, Adam Isacson from Plan Colombia and Beyond sees 3 likely post-Marulanda “scenarios”:

1. Disintegration (25% probability). Call this the “Shining Path” scenario: after the group loses its founder, it disintegrates. Discipline, command and ideological direction largely disappear with the maximum leader.
(…)
2. Greater cohesion and increased military action (35% probability). For the FARC, Marulanda’s latter years have resembled Cuba during Fidel Castro’s last years in office, or China awaiting Mao’s death in the mid-1970s. While a new generation awaited its turn to lead, the aging founder continued to hold ultimate decision-making power, refusing to change course - and perhaps losing touch with reality - while his creation stagnated. If Marulanda’s chosen successor, Alfonso Cano, is actually able to command the remaining top FARC leaders - a big “if” - the FARC could become more dangerous.
(…)
3. Partial fragmentation (40% probability). With Marulanda gone, a power struggle could begin within the next tier of the FARC’s leadership. There may be purges and schisms as moderates and hard-liners vie for control of the group. (…) Like bandits and drug cartels that came before, this rump would be easier for Colombia’s military to defeat within the next five to ten years.

Isacson later published a post on the questions arising from news of Marulanda's death, regarding Minister Juan Manuel Santos' presidential aspirations, FARC troop morale, and the supposed “ascension” of FARC's “political” faction.

Ricardo Buitrago Consuegra [es] seems to agree with Isacson in the third “scenario”:

[El] haber mantenido en secreto la muerte de su máximo comandante, confirma el temor, sobre las reacciones de militantes rasos y mandos medios al conocer la noticia. El anciano militante, era el factor de cohesión y aglutinamiento en las filas subversivas, por lo que se prevén deserciones, pugnas y divisiones al interior del organismo delictivo. Las FARC, están en su peor momento y virtualmente derrotadas. Muy seguramente, como en el paramilitarismo, quedaran reductos de narcotraficantes disfrazados de militantes subversivos.

The fact they kept the death of their top commander a secret confirms the fear of the reactions of low-ranking fighters and middle-ranks after learning the news. The militant old man was the cohesion and gathering factor in the subversive ranks, therefore desertions, internal struggles, and divisions in the criminal organization are expected. The FARC is going through their worst moments and is virtually defeated. Surely, as it happened with the paramilitaries, some drug-traffickers strongholds disguised as subversive guerrillas will remain.

Italian blogger Doppiafila [it] thinks that Minister Santos has “launched” his presidential campaign for 2010:

L'annuncio (e le modalitá con cui viene dato) segna il lancio “ufficioso” della candidatura di Juan Manuel Santos alla presidenza nel 2010. Resta da vedere se il tutto avviene d'accordo o alle spalle di Uribe. Di certo, il Ministro della Difesa va bene agli USA: antichavista, politico ed oligarca tradizionale, il fatto che venga ora associato alla “sconfittta delle FARC” non puó che far comodo.

The announcement (and the way it was announced) marks the “off-the-record” launch of Juan Manuel Santos's candidacy for the presidency in 2010. We'll have to see if everything that happened with Uribe's agreement is on his back. If true, the Defense Minister is a good fit for the USA: an anti-Chávez, traditional politician and oligarch, the fact he's now associated to the “FARC's defeat” can't be a comfortable one.

According to some media outlets [es], President Álvaro Uribe was somewhat upset because he likely was going to announce Sureshot's death himself later the same day to “all the media, not just one”.

Journalist Jaime Restrepo [es], from Atrabilioso, criticizes presidential adviser José Obdulio Gaviria's statements on the death of the FARC leader, who claimed “they no longer exist”:

Que ‘Tirofijo’ esté muerto no significa que las FARC hayan descendido con él al sepulcro, pues las estructuras terroristas, aunque deterioradas, siguen vivas y con capacidad de cometer crímenes contra los colombianos: además de las estructuras en el exterior (sorprendente la parafernalia que armó Telesur en menos de 24 horas para difundir la noticia del mediocre terrorista muerto) las milicias urbanas continúan activas y dos o tres terroristas pueden detonar carros-bomba, comprar secuestrados o seguir practicando el plan pistola (sicarios que disparan contra miembros de las fuerzas de seguridad).

The fact that Tirofijo is dead does not mean that FARC have descended with him to the sepulchre, because the terrorist structures, though deteriorated, are still alive and hold the capacity to perpetuate crimes against Colombians: besides their structures abroad (it's surprising all the show teleSUR put together in less than 24 hours to spread the news of the the mediocre dead terrorist), the urban militias are still active, and two or three terrorists can detonate car bombs, buy hostages or continue to practice the “pistol plan” (hit men who shoot members of the security forces).

equinoXio's Marsares comments on the “last death of Tirofijo” [es]:

Gracias a Marulanda y su degradada organización, la mayoría del pueblo colombiano cerró filas en torno a uno de los gobiernos más corruptos de la historia, comprador de conciencias, protector de paramilitares, cuidandero de las grandes fortunas. Gracias a las FARC la izquierda democrática es satanizada y nos preparamos para la segunda reelección de un régimen excluyente que a cada paso destruye la legitimidad del Estado. Dicen que Marulanda murió de un infarto. También debió ayudar la soledad y la derrota. Su castillo de 44 años derrumbado, su enemigo más fuerte que nunca, con millones en las calles gritando “no más FARC”, con sus hombres robándose la plata, matándose para cobrar recompensas, entregándose o simplemente soñando con dinosaurios. ¿Estará en el infierno, como lo desea el ministro Santos? No lo creo. El infierno lo dejó aquí. Y como siempre, Marulanda volvió a escaparse.

Thanks to Marulanda and his degraded organization, the majority of the Colombian people rallied around one of the most corrupt administrations in history, buyer of consciences, protector of paramilitaries, protector of the big fortunes. Thanks to the FARC the democratic left is demonized and we're preparing for the second re-election of an exclusionary regime which with every step destroys the legitimacy of the State. They say Marulanda died by a stroke. Loneliness and defeat must also have helped. His 44-year castle collapsed, his enemy stronger than ever, with millions on the streets shouting “no more FARC”, with his men stealing their money, killing each other to claim rewards, surrendering or simply dreaming about dinosaurs Will he be in hell, as Minister Santos wishes? I don't think so. Hell left him here. And, as usual, Marulanda escaped again.

The blog Colombia Hoy [es] analyzes the implications of Marulanda's death on the guerrilla command succession and a political negotiation with the government:

Sin la muerte de Reyes, la transición del mando se hubiera producido de una manera natural, pero en las actuales circunstancias no parece muy viable que Cano consiga mantener la unidad de unos frentes cada vez más debilitados, aislados y asediados.
(…)
Aprovechará el gobierno la coyuntura para ofrecerle a las FARC una salida política que no puedan rechazar? Entenderá el gobierno que es preferible ofrecer una salida negociada a unas FARC débiles y ad portas de una posible implosión, que buscar su destrucción definitiva al costo de su atomización en grupos aislados y la prolongación indefinida del conflicto armado? Es posible que el triunfalismo dentro del gobierno y el odio contra las FARC sea un obstáculo para encontrar salidas que sean menos costosas en términos de vidas humanas e inclusive económicos.

Without [Raúl] Reyes's death, the command transition would have taken place naturally, but with the current circumstances it is not quite feasible that [Alfonso] Cano [new FARC top commander] manages to maintain the unity of fronts that have been increasingly weakened, isolated, and besieged.
(…)
Will the government take advantage of the current situation to offer the FARC a political solution they can't reject? Will the government understand that it is better to offer a negotiated solution to a weakened and soon-to-be imploded FARC guerrilla group than seeking their definitive destruction at the price of its atomization in isolated groups and the indefinite continuation of the armed conflict? It is possible that the triumph inside the government and hatred towards the FARC had become an obstacle to find less expensive solutions in terms of human lives and even economic costs.

Álvaro Ramírez Ospina, besides being distrustful on FARC's confirmation of Sureshot's death, remembers how the way one referred to the guerrilla leader had changed with the times [es]:

Tirofijo es tan viejo como la guerra de guerrillas en Colombia. Fue campesino, y por efecto de su incorporación a la política y las armas, pasó a ser bandolero (en la época de la llamada “Violencia”, años 50 y 60); luego se convirtió en guerrillero, bandido, criminal y recientemente alcanzó la “diploma” de terrorista, por obra y gracia de la clasificación establecida por el gobierno de Bush.

Tirofijo is as old as the guerrilla war in Colombia. He was a peasant and, because of his incorporation to politics and arms, he went on to become a gangster (at the time of La Violencia, 1950s and 1960s); then he became a guerrilla, a bandit, a criminal, and recently achieved the terrorist “diploma” by the power of the classification established by Bush government.

Utopian chronicler Daniel Ramos refers to the passionate speech by Timochenko [es]:

[C]uando escuchaba a Timochenko diciendo que la humanidad no conocía a otro líder de la magnitud de Tirofijo, primero pensé en los grandes líderes (Jesucristo, Buda, Gandhi, Lincoln, Bolívar, etc.) y luego en que Timo estaba hablando evidentemente en otro contexto, estaba lanzando un nuevo tag a la nube de las FARC. La crónica utópica de las FARC es triste, dolorosa, de reseñar. Creo que la declaración de Timo es una clave para comprender por qué salió tan mal: la pérdida total de las proporciones. Imaginémonos una guerrilla de 10.000 hombres que se quiere tomar el poder en un país donde 12 millones de habitantes salen a manifestarse para decirles “No más”. Ningún presidente colombiano ha obtenido tal cantidad de votos. La maquinaria del Estado, los medios de comunicación, la publicidad desbordada de las campañas electorales nunca han sido capaces de convocar a tantos colombianos alrededor de un mismo propósito. Un genio político como Marulanda –al decir de Timo— jamás debió desestimar este indicador de legitimidad.

When I was listening to Timochenko say that humanity had not known a leader of the magnitude of Tirofijo, I first thought about the great leaders (Jesus Christ, Buddha, Gandhi, Lincoln, Bolívar, etc.) and then on the fact that Timo was evidently speaking in another context, he was releasing a new tag to the FARC's tag cloud. FARC's utopian chronicle is sad and painful to review. I think Timo's statement is a key to understanding why it went wrong: the total loss of proportions. Let's imagine a 10,000 men guerrilla army, who wants to seize power in a country where 12 million people go out into the streets to demonstrate to say to them “No more.” No Colombian president has obtained such amount of votes. The State machinery, the mass media, the burst of the electoral campaigns advertising have never been able to gather so many Colombians around a common purpose. A political genius such as Marulanda -as Timo claims- should have never dismissed such an indicator of legitimacy.

Thumbnail photo by Bastian and used under a CC license.

From Kigali in Rwanda, one of the 5 main screening locations, a slide-show of photographs from the event uploaded on OVI, the video and image platform used to promote PangeaDay content:

From Haifa in Israel, another slide-show of the gathering to watch the event near the Caesarea Port:

During the Event,the friends of Pangea website had live streaming feeds from different places in the world including US, Colombia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand. Other sites, like the Colombian Medellín PangeaDay [es] event had their own website where liveblogging, streaming video and photographs were posted during the event.

Nokia, a PangeaDay partner had the 2008 Nokia Mobile Filmmaking Awards Contest taking place along with the events, and the 5 finalists were flown into one of the 5 different screening locations. You can view the winning videos at this pangeaday OVI site.The finalists were: Rounds all around us by kayoom in India, smile by goofylopez in Indonesia, amazing rainbows! Shot and Edited with my Nokia 93 by ruperthowe in the United Kingdom, The Game -South African Children having fun in a Video Games Room by ecachucho and Clouds Running by pierba in Italy.

The Grand Prize winner on the Pangea/Nokia OVI website is ecachucho with his video on South African children playing arcade games, who won a trip to the Rwandan Gorilla Reserve, with a full crew to help the winner record his trip.

A side draw organized between Nokia and Womworld, which results were announced by David Howell Studios, the creator of the winning video would receive a Nokia N82, a carrying case, tripod, memory card, headphones and speakers. This chosen video was Amazing Rainbows, and in his announcement he mentioned that the winner was chosen because they portrayed best the spirit of the mobile video: recording those once in a lifetime moments that could be gone and never repeat themselves.

Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge, Višegrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina by Wodnerduck”, used under a Creative Commons license.

Day and Night, who posted a couple photos of the bridge, describes it as a masterpiece:

Characteristic of the apogee of Ottoman monumental architecture and civil engineering, the bridge has 11 masonry arches with spans of 11m to 15m, and an access ramp at right angles with four arches on the left bank of the river. The 179.5 m long bridge is a representative masterpiece of Sinan, one of the greatest architects and engineers of the classical Ottoman period and a contemporary of the Italian Renaissance, with which his work may be compared. The unique elegance of proportion and monumental nobility of the whole site bear witness to the greatness of this style of architecture.

The Bosnia News blog reports that on March 25th UNESCO Director Koichiro Matsuura presented the Bosnian authorities with a certificate on the listing of the bridge in a ceremony in Sarajevo, recognizing its “outstanding universal value.” However, Bosnia News explains that:

UNESCO Director Koichiro Matsuura's visit to Visegrad was canceled “for security reasons”. The organizers of the event decided not to hold the ceremony on the bridge after the Bosnian Association of Women Victims of War announced plans to put a plaque on the bridge commemorating genocide victims from Visegrad at a ceremony that was to have coincided with the certificate-awarding ceremony.
Members of this Bosnian association put the plaque on the bridge and read out the names of 3,000 genocide victims from Visegrad.

The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge is the second monument in Bosnia that UNESCO has recognized, after the Old Bridge in Mostar. About the Mostar Bridge, the blog Balkan Cities reported that “a ‘chink' (a crack?) has appeared on Mostar's Stari Most (Old Bridge). Previously, UNESCO had forced Bosnian authorities to stop the construction of a hotel near the structure by threatening the country with the removal of the bridge from the World Heritage List.”

Speaking of the Mostar Bridge, the Italian-language blog Balkanscapes, which is devoted to the restoration of buildings destroyed during the 1990s Yugoslav wars, recently analyzed the significance of the new Old Bridge. This is how he describes the construction of the original bridge, which was destroyed in 1993:

Fortemente voluto da Solimano il Magnifico, venne realizzato nel 1556, in nove anni, dal geniale architetto Miram Hajruddin, il quale, ben consapevole delle difficoltà tecniche di realizzare un ponte di quelle dimensioni con un'unica arcata, e temendo l'ira di Solimano, che gli aveva promesso la morte in caso di crollo, preparò il suo stesso funerale per il giorno in cui sarebbero state tolte le impalcature. Il ponte non crollò, e per secoli rappresento il simbolo della convivenza tra etnie diverse, cattoliche/croate, musulmane/bosniache, ortodosse/serbe. Quel ponte fu, per secoli, la vera e più autentica porta verso l'Oriente.

Intensely wanted by Suleiman the Magnificent, it was finished in 1556, in nine years, by the brilliant architect Miram Hajruddin. Being aware of the technical difficulties to build a bridge of those dimensions with just one arch, and fearing the anger of Suleiman who had threatened him with death if it collapsed, the architect prepared his own funeral for the day in which the scaffolding would be removed. The bridge didn't collapse, and for centuries it has been a symbol of the cohabitation of diverse ethnic groups, catholics/Croats, muslims/Bosniaks, orthodox/Serbs. That bridge was, for centuries, the true and most authentic door towards the East.

However, he doesn't think that the current bridge, which re-opened in 2004 after years of reconstruction, has kept the same spirit of uniting the peoples of Mostar:

Ma quel ponte, che per secoli ha unito i quartieri croati a quelli musulmani della città, che per secoli è stato luogo di transito, di passaggio, di comunicazione […], ora sembra aver incorporato un'invisivile barriera. Da soglia tra due anime della città, così dicono in tanti, esso sembra ora essere un limite invalicabile.

But that bridge, which for centuries united the Croat and the Muslim quarters of the city, which for centuries has been a place of transit, of passage, of communication, now seems to have incorporated an invisible barrier. The threshold between two souls of the city, as many say, now seems to be an impassable boundary.

The post has several comments on the new Old Bridge, and one of them, by cicciosax, says that it “has become an ethnic symbol of the Muslims which, as it was to be expected, has been rejected by the Catholics, who erected a gigantic cross to confront it.”

Now a new cross, to be erected in Sarajevo as a memorial to the Serbian war victims, is causing discomfort in the city. Samaha explains why such a memorial would be offensive to most Sarajevans and why she is against the idea:

You and I know that when that memorial is viewed from the city, that when that memorial is pointed out, the reference that will be made to it is “that is the spot from where some of the deadliest attacks were cast upon our city”. I sincerely hope that this memorial does not go up because as I stated before the memorial will not serve the purpose of honoring the dead it will serve as a landmark of aggression and ethnic cleansing and to place a cross on that spot is neither a service to God or man but if the Serbs choose to honor their dead in this way then let them.

YakimaGulagLiteraryGazett also dislikes the idea of the cross memorial:

I think that kind of memorial has more in common territorial pissing or flipping the bird than it does with anything to do with religion. […] Most Muslim memorials to the war are of very modest dimensions, and even most Croat memorials are smaller. I find crosses of this type VERY un-Christian frankly.

And she wonders:

why don't these people help Serbian war survivors? Why don't they help the injured people from their side?