During the unrest, on April 6 and 7, Egyptian bloggers worked round the clock telling the world about the workers' revolt that shook their country, as thousands rioted at a textile mill in Al Mahalla. They were also among the first casualties of the unrest, which left some killed, scores injured and an undetermined number of activists, organisers and mere spectators behind bars. Their coverage came in the form of blog posts, YouTube videos, Twitter feeds, Flickr shots, Facebook messages and all other online tools they could get their hands on.

The saga seems to continue, as some activists are still detained, six weeks after their arrest, prompting calls from their colleagues for their immediate release. Others, allegedly harassed, physically abused and later released by the police, continue to use online tools to tell the world their story.

This is one of many images of the back of Egyptian Facebook user Ahmed Maher, taken by award winning blogger Wael Abbas and posted here, under the title: The Newest Egyptian Method to Find Out Your Facebook's Account Password.

أحمد ماهر هو المؤسس الحقيقي لجروب الإضراب على الفيس بوك وليست إسراء عبد الفتاح كما زعموا والسبب في وجود إسمها وحدها على الجروب الآن هو أن فيس بوك أوقفت حساب أحمد ماهر لأنه كان يرسل عدد ضخم من الرسائل يوميا ليضم أعضاء للجروب وكان هذا المجهود هو سبب إنضمام أكثر من سبعون ألف عضو للجروب فإعتبره سبامر واوقفوا حسابه بينما كان كل دور إسراء هو المساعدة في الإدارة وحذف التعليقات المسيئة فقط لكن بعض وسائل الإعلام كانت تبحث عن قصة شيقة وبالونة لنفخها ولم يكن همهم أبدا الدقة في المعلومة أو البحث عن الحقيقة والقصة السليمة مما أضر بالحركة الوطنية من اجل التغيير ككل وبمصداقية نشطاء الإنترنت خصوصا وهو أمر لا يمكن التسامح ف

Ahmed Maher is the real founder of the Strike's Facebook Group and not Esraa Abdulfattah as everyone assumed. The reason why her name alone appears on the group until now is because Facebook suspended Ahmed Maher's account because he used to send huge numbers of messages daily for new members to join the group. It was as a result of this effort that more than 70,000 members joined. They considered him as a spammer and closed his account while Esraa's role was to help in administrating the site and deleting derogatory comments only. Some media organisations, which were looking for an exciting story and a balloon to blow, were not concerned with the accuracy of the story or looking for the truth. This has negatively impacted the national movement for change overall and the credibility of cyberactivists, in particular and this is an issue we can't forgive.

Elijah Zarwan tells us what happened to Maher:

I’ve just heard from a friend that Ahmed Maher, a 27-year-old engineer quoted in the Western press as a May 4 Facebook activist, is alleging that he was beaten in State Security custody. Details are still sketchy, but apparently State Security called him in for a “friendly” coffee earlier this week. When he didn’t go, my friend tells me, State Security took him from his home in the middle of the night, beat him, and released him with the warning that they were “just pulling his ear” this time, and that next time would be worse. He is reportedly in hospital now.

And Abbas posts the following video showing the extend of torture Maher has been subjected to:

In the video [Ar], Maher says how his clothes were ripped off by the police and then shows us scars on his back which he says were caused by policemen beating him on his back with their bare hands.

Blogger Hossam el Hamalawy links to a newspaper report on what happened to the Facebook user and how he was arrested and tortured by police here.

Hamalawy also draws our attention to the plight of blogger and activist Kareem Al Beheiri, who has been behind bars since April 7. He writes:

In an interview with el-Badeel, released Karama Party activist Ahmad Amin Ahmad Eid said that:

Kareem el-Beheiri was tortured in Mahalla’s State Security Police office for more than 18 hours. He told me his torturer was listening to the Quran while torturing him. I saw in Mahalla’s 2nd Police Station children no more than 13 years old, whose eyes and bodies were injured by rubber bullets. They said police kidnapped them from the hospital where they were receiving treatment and accused them of participating in the strike.

Hamalawy also reports that Mohamed Maree, a translator who was arrested along with American photojournalist James Buck, while interviewing the families of those arrested in Mahalla, has been tortured. While Buck was released and asked to leave the country, Maree continues to languish in prison, despite an outcry from activists for his release. Hamalawy writes:

The latest information we have on Mohamed was by rights lawyers who visited Bourg el-Arab Prison on Saturday:

We managed to visit Bourg el-Arab Prison today. It turned out that translator Mohamed Saleh Maree is detained as a ‘criminal’ after he was detained in the company of US journalist James Buck. The latter was released by the police in Mahalla after pressures from his embassy, but Mohamed Saleh was kept in custody despite a release order from the prosecutor. We couldn’t back then find out where he was kept. Today we visited him, and he mentioned he was tortured by beatings and electric shocks in Mahalla’s State Security office. Mohamed was also banned by the prison administration from taking his exam at the university.

Buck continue to fight for his colleague's freedom and is spearheading a campaign to draw the world's attention to his friend's plight. He has also set up a petition on his blog calling for Maree's release.

[two photos from the greenhouse]

Why is it considered romantic to give flowers as gifts? I went to [Podmoskovye], observed how they are growing roses there. It's easy. Dutch technologies. Expensive. The director is from Cosa Nostra or is representing it: black shoes, black jeans, black leather jacket and a black Beemer. The real owner is a deputy from the [Putin-led United Russia Party], still a businessman, but a future politician, too, or, more likely, both. Engineers and the agronomist are Dutch. The workers are [gastarbeiter, migrant laborers], and they have fewer rights and respect than Moscow bums from [Kurskiy train station]. And a corresponding salary - “whatever God sends down.” One rose costs 30-40 rubles [$1.25-$1.70] at the […] farm, and 130-140 rubles [$5.45-$5.90] in Moscow. Everything they produce goes to Moscow. There are not enough flowers. The business is flourishing and growing. Damaged flowers are sent to churches. For free. A way to atone for their sins, obviously. God is not at the market - won't notice the damage.

[Migrant workers] can barely speak Russian. They work almost illegally, and perhaps their status in the country isn't too official, either - but it's hard to find out. […]

A woman from Tajikistan, whose hands are all covered with bruises from rose thorns, said to me in Russian: “I love flowers, they are hope.” It was strange to see the silent and humiliated human beings - as if transfered from the Middle Ages - work next to the high-tech [equipment]. And I still don't understand why women like everything that has to do with slavery: diamonds, gold and flowers.

The early warning siren that was supposed to warn of the missile attack on Ashkelon was turned off in the early afternoon because Military Intelligence said there was a low probability of an attack on Ashkelon. False alarms which caused panic in the city also prompted the city to turn the sirens off.

They turned off Ashkelon's siren system because some complained that the false alarms made them anxious, and thus it was decided to take down the our protection.
I cannot find the appropriate words to describe just how infuriated I am by this. Even the 15 seconds that we get from the alarm is taken from us? 15 seconds… that's nothing, right?
But these 15 seconds can be the difference between life and death.
In 15 seconds you can reach a shelter, hide away from glass windows, seek a secure space or even hide under a table. You can say a prayer, hug the children real hard, say a calm word.
Ashkelon's residents who spent their time in the mall yesterday did not get these “spoiling” 15 seconds.
only 15 seconds… source

Below are photos and a video clip taken in the mall shortly after the missiles hit Ashkelon:

above: damage from the rockets

above: toddler's bloody shoe, left in the mall

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs analyzes the underlying message sent by Hamas:

Firing the grad missiles on Ashkelon during Ehud Olmert's meeting with George Bush, carries a clear political message. Negotiation with Hamas came to a halt after much pressure from the Israeli public ,forcing to add the request to free (the captured soldier) Gilad shalit, which was not included in the early agreement with Hamas. It seems like the Ashkelon bombing is intended to shake Israel from its request to free Shalit, and return to the original agreements. The fact that a high profile delegation from Hamas is heading to Cairo, along with messages coming out of Israel, teach us that an option for ceasefire is still preferred by both sides.

Arguments have been developing within virtual spaces within talkbacks (web-comments) around the Hebrew blogosphere - on images, videos and articles describing the Ashkelon bombing. Hundreds of user-generated comments have been written in response to news articles. Below is a translation of one thread which is fairly popular these days, especially after attacks in the south - a wish for missiles to finally hit Tel-Aviv and shake the country out of its current status quo:

No brains… No worries - I'm talking about our government

I really hope there will be rockets on Tel-Aviv
Because as long as there are rockets only on smaller cities nobody cares. Maybe if rockets land in Tel-Aviv finally someone in the army headquarters will wake up and deal with the situation in a harsh manner.

Transfer either us or them. You decide.

Even if rockets fall on Tel-Aviv and Israel reacts in a severe and outstanding manner, qassam missiles will keep landing in the south. I am sad to write this, but the problem is that in the eyes of the government, and most Israeli residents, who do not live in the south - this has become a status quo.

There is no difference between Sderot and Tel-Aviv.
Why the panic?
I wish they would execute the said threat. Israeli public got used to Hizbollah's katyusha rockets in the north. The public also got used to katyusha and qassam missiles in Sderot. Qassams missiles hitting settlements in the outskirts of Gaza is routine. Back then, we all got used to shootings in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem. So what will happen if katyushas hit Tel-Aviv? …We will all become accustomed to it. Maybe in 20 years we will understand that we shouldn't have restrained, not even for one second. Go learn how to deal with bad kids. Very simple. If you concede to their wrongdoings they spin out of control. Here is precisely the same thing.
So perhaps katyushas on Tel-Aviv will wake this nation up!!

Olmert, Peretz and the rest of our “acting” politicians!
Why don't you all stop with the game of positions in this musical chairs you are playing. The situation with our enemy is heating up. It is necessary to manage the country under threats, perhaps even war.
Climb down from the tree - you were not chosen by the people so that you could play around.
Start working!

Amen! God give us rockets on Tel-Aviv.

Nobody protests over the 500 missiles which were fired since disengagement from Gaza.
Because this is not Tel-Aviv.
Because we are type B citizens.
We were promised that if one qassam hits all of Gaza will shake…
Only here, as long as it is not Tel-Aviv, it is normal.

Links to related posts from GVO:
- Ashkelon is ‘on the map'
- Two Sderot Kids Severely Injured by Hamas Missiles
- Israeli Bloggers Respond to Crisis in Palestine
- Rockets Hit Sderot, Flame the Israeli Blogosphere
- Sderot's Invisible Wounds

LJ user kkk147 went for a morning bike ride and happened upon the departure of missiles, tanks and other heavy weaponry for the military parade on Red Square. He wrote (RUS):

Lots of fun to watch the parade when there are few people around and the vehicles are moving [so close you can touch them if you stretch out your hand] :)

More photos and video from kkk147 are here.

Aleksandr Plushev, Radio Echo of Moscow journalist, had a chance to see the same military vehicles on their way to the parade from his office on Novy Arbat. He posted photos and video on his blog, and wrote (RUS):

Finally, we've got something more interesting than the presidential motorcade driving by [below].

More parade photos from Plushev are on his Flickr page.

LJ user riverpilgrim (Mikhail Arkhipov) posted an impressive photo report from the parade's air show segment.

LJ user warsh (journalist Sergei Varshavchik) posted a photo tribute to surviving war veterans. In response to a reaader's comment, he wrote (RUS):

My grandfathers and grandmother are no longer alive, too. That's why I attend these veterans' reunions.

LJ user yashin (Ilya Yashin, leader of the youth wing of Grigory Yavlinsky's Yabloko Party) also posted veteran photos on his blog, taken by LJ user marie_automne. The first photo is of an elderly man holding a handmade poster that says that he returned from the front in 1944, disabled for life, and that his disability pension equals zero rubles, and that on May 9, 2007, there were 18,000 people like him - but only 6,000 remain this year. The last photo is of an SUV with the words “ON TO BERLIN!!!” scrawled on its back window. Yashin wrote (RUS):

On May 9, there were hundreds of veterans in the center of Moscow. They were being congratulated, children were giving them flowers, some were crying, others dancing.

And some remembered that in a few days people would take off their [St. George Ribbons] and forget about Victory Day till next year's May 9. […]

LJ user drugoi, a top-ranking Russian blogger, posted parade and veterans photos, as well as a photo report from the Communists' May 9 rally. Below are a few comments (RUS) to the latter series:

4lynch:

Ha-ha… This [KPRF] is the only party opposed to the Kremlin in the [State Duma]. Only what's the difference between them? They've got so much in common. […]

***

leo_nardo:

Amusing. A legalized alternative.

***

mcvanich:

Would be more use of them if they were cleaning streets and backyards.

***

shapelez:

Russia is an amazing country. Here, natural selection doesn't affect idiots - they continue to exist.

Stalin… I think these people hardly imagine what life was like in those conditions. […]

LJ user net_livejournal posted more photos from the Communists march.

LJ user photolga was dismayed with the way some people in St. Petersburg were wearing their St. George Ribbons - “one of the most recognised and respected symbols of military valour in modern Russia,” according to Wikipedia. She ended her photo report (RUS) on a reconciliatory note, however:

[…] Perhaps, it's not worth it to condemn anyone - these people have not seen the war, they don't know what this Ribbon really stands for. […]

LJ user onepamop posted two photos from a May 9 trip to [Novgorod] region, during which unburied bodies of 150 WWII soldiers were found, along with 36 medals. He wrote (RUS):

[…] This is a lot, [discoveries like this are made] very rarely, if at all.

If you manage - drink to these guys, too. It's needed today.

[…]

[…] These people (of all kinds of different ethnic backgrounds) died at the very start of the war, spent 60 years lying unidentified in a swamp and were buried today by those who found them, in a way that befits the ones who die in a battle for their Motherland. […]

April 26th, 2008 should be a usual day, no more.
However, this March, Wenwei mentioned about a 24-hr photo activity held in 1992, and Yangphoto decided to hold a 24-hr photo blogging relay on April 26th:

照片具有歷史意義
影像能表達生命力
相機掌握在你手上
按下生命感動的快門

In response to this call,

來自台灣各個角落的一百九十位攝影者在當天拿起相機，按下快門，接力記錄台灣的24小時。
這些照片與連結將在今天（5月5日）在網路部落格完整呈現….

00:00-07:00:People finishing yesterday's work, people preparing for a new day, and people supporting the the former two groups of people.
07:00-11:00:People eating breakfast, people starting working, and people taking a day off.
11:00-15:00:Young people and cats waking up and hanging around, people keeping working, and people attending activities.
15:00-17:00:People keeping working, people playing, and more people playing.
16:54-21:00:People with their family, people with their friends, people with themselves, and people with food.
21:00-24:00:People keeping working, people going home, and people trying to find their home.

Yangphoto said,

而從這些照片來看，參與這次活動有媒體的攝影記者、高度使用網路部落格的學生、為人師表的老師、一般的市井小民…等[…]容或影像水準不一，容或是負面的台灣，但他們真實呈現了所看到的台灣。

Wenwei said this kind of activity can

使在台灣的每一人有命運共同體的體認。

He also hopes that in the future we can have

台灣企業的２４小時、台灣勞工的２４小時、台灣婦女的２４小時.

There is also a video including some photos in this activity on youtube (uploaded by ohho0625):