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Chilean Bloggers Update

Normally, Chilean bloggers have common concerns in their blogs, but this week coordination just didn’t happen. So, this is a cocktail of news.

Leo Prieto (ES) , posts about his interview with the Sub-Secretary of Government Telecommunications to promote broadband internet access in Chile. The initiative carried the support of the online community, Atina Chile (ES). Most politicians have touched on these concerns in their speeches, but they don’t put them into action. As a result of this, everyday users are introducing the subject into the political sphere.

“Donde Fuego Hubo” (ES) posts about Chilean bloggers that have had bad experiences with mainstream media outlets using their photos without any author attribution. He writes his personal experience with El Morrocotudo (ES) that used his photo without mentioning him. He also posts about two more cases. Unfortunately in Chile, Creative Commons Licences are still in the twilight zone.

The newspaper El Mercurio (ES), made a sports blog (ES) especially for the world football cup. This also is a good strategy for newspapers to start using blogs.

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Muscovites in Kyiv: Pizza Delivery Fiasco

Veronica Khokhlova · 19:35 · Eastern & Central Europe

On weekends, Kyiv teems with tourists from Moscow. Train tickets for overnight Friday and Sunday rides between the two capitals have to be ordered well in advance. The number of Muscovites settling in Kyiv permanently to do business is growing, too.

To make the new migrants' lives easier, a special Russian-language LJ community has been created: moscow_in_kiev (aka Muscovites in Kiev, aka The Capital Express).

Below is the translation of an entry (RUS) on pizza delivery, an art outrageously underdeveloped in the Ukrainian capital, written by the community's moderator, LJ user yhn (aka Your Humble Narrator, who has been working in Kyiv since mid-July 2005 and started the community two months after his arrival from Moscow):

Pizza Delivery in Kyiv

In Kyiv, pizza delivery service is absolutely undeveloped. For many reasons familiar to most office workers, pizza is the only way to survive till dinnertime. Judging by my experience, many people in Kyiv fail to survive…

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Cartoon, Insecurity & Media

Farid Pouya · 16:02 · Middle East & North Africa

According to news Iran's government has suspended a state-controlled newspaper after it published a cartoon that provoked riots among the country's minority Azeri community. The cartoon shows that a cockroach says in Azeri :” Namana” which means “What?” It is very interesting to see that even Turkish speaking ( Azeri) bloggers do not share same idea about this cartoon.

Anger & Protest

Shalakhte reports that many Azeri students have demonstrated at different universities ( Persian) including Tehran , Tabriz & Amir Kabir. According to the blogger in a few cities such as Khoy, there has been confrontation between demonstrators and security forces. The blogger says:

“Iran (name of newspaper) in its kid's section has published an article with the following title: What we do that cockroaches do not make us a cockroach? Then there is a cartoon in the article where a cockroach says a word in Turkish (Namana means what). The blogger adds that while some Persian speaking people who are used to humiliating Turkish speaking ethnic groups consider this word funny or a joke but for free thinking countrymen this cannot be accepted… The movement that wants to impose pan-Persianism on us does not have a sound understanding of ethnic minorities. These ethnic minorities do not have elementary rights such as the right to read and write in their mother tongue. Because of this continuous humiliation of ethnic groups the country is sitting on an explosive.”

Harfaye Khodemonie Man, a blogger from Azeri community, reports that Iran newspaper office in Urmia was set on fire and its office in Zanjan was stoned. The blogger says

“I do not approve of violent acts. These are some opportunists who want to take advantage of the situation.” Finally, he adds that the Minister of Culture is going to investigate this case. Thanks to the pressure of Turkish speaking people including students, government and Parliament has made them break silence and talk about this issue, but for it is just for a cooling down period.”

Blogger adds we should continue our struggle to get our own rights (Persian).
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Arabisc: Update on Detained Egyptian Bloggers

Haitham Sabbah · 14:08 · Middle East & North Africa

The following is an abbreviated translation from some of the Egyptian Arabic-language blogsphere.

It's been more than two weeks since the detention of Alaa along with many other bloggers and activists. Today we came to know about some good news related to some other detained Egyptian bloggers.

Two bloggers were released…

Arabisc: Update: Detained Egyptian Bloggers Malek and Mohammed; the two bloggers who were arrested and detained a month ago during a peaceful protest in support of two senior judges, Mahmoud Mekki and Hisham Bastawisi, are now free, or so it appears.

Gharbeia blog reports:

أمرت نيابة أمن الدولة بالإفراج عن مالك مصطفى، ومحمد عادل، وأكرم الإيراني، ومحمد فوزي، ومحمد عبد اللطيف. هم الآن في الطريق العودة إلى سجن طرة، وكما تم مع من أفرج عنهم منذ يومين، قد ينقلون بين عدد من الأقسام، وربما أمن الدولة، وفي الغالب يفرج عنهم بعدها من محال إقامتهم.

State Security Prosecution ordered the release of Malek Mustafa, Mohammad Adel, Akram Alirani, Mohammed Fawzi and Mohammad Abdul Latif. They are now on their way back to Tora prison, and as with who were released two days ago, maybe they will be transferred between a number of police departments, and possibly to the Security of the State, as usually might be released from a place near to their residence.

On the other hand, speaking of the political reform in Egypt and the judges case, last week, Judge Mekki was declared innocent, Judge Bastawisi got a repremeditation, but will still have his job. The disciplinary panel was a result for speaking out against election irregularities.

According to Zamakan blog, it seems that some bloggers now feel that the disciplinary panel and the whole case was faked and it was a planed setup between the Government and Judges:

يَسري في المدونات و بالتأكيد في المجالس غيرها ما يصب في اتجاه أن أن القضاة باعوا القضية بمجرد انتهاء مجلس التأديب الهزلي؛ و عن صفقات بين القضاة و الحكومة!

Zamakan don't agree with these claims:

لا تحملوا القضاة فوق طاقتهم. فنحن و هم نريد القضاء مستقلا لأنه حق لنا، و ليس مطلوبا منهم أن يكونوا طرفا في خصومة غير ما يتعلق باستقلال مؤسستهم و سلامة أشخاصهم، و هم قادرون على هذا، و تزيد قدرتهم عليه بتضامنن

Don't bore the judges. We and they want an independent judiciary because it is our right, and they are not required to be a party of the opponents unless it affects the independence and integrity of their organization and safety of the judges, and they are capable of doing this, and we can increase their ability by supporting them.

Back to the detained bloggers, most of the Egyptian bloggers are publishing the attached banner on their sidebar, which lists the names of all the detainees, including bloggers (names followed with asterisk). The title of the banners reads:

الأسماء التالية معتقلون جوه الزنزانه، أما بقيه الشعب المصري، معتقلين برة الزنزانه

The following is the names of detainees inside the prisons, but the rest of Egyptians are detained outside the prisons.

One of the other remarkable notes is the published letters of the detainees. Following the first letter from inside the prison by Alaa, Manalaa blog has dedicated a page for these letter. So did Kefaya Heros blog in publishing letter from a lot other detainees beside many news and poems in support for all the detainees.

Keeping in mind that among Alaa group of detainees was, Asma'a, a young female blogger. wa7da_masrya published what seems to be a letter from Asma'a, Rasha and Nada. They describe the horror moments of there detention, interrogation and life inside a ‘criminal' prison:

يعاني السجن من حالة أزدحام شديد لدرجة ان عدد كبير من السجينات ينام مفترشا الأرض حتى داخل الحمام و لولا ان بعض السجينات تنازلن لنا عن أسررتهن في أصرار و كرم شديدين لأاضطررنا لمشاركتهن نفس الحالة ولا يتوافر للسجينات أدنى درجة من الحياة الأدمية و الرعاية الصحية

The prison suffer from great congestion were a large number of prisoners sleep on floor or even inside the bathrooms, but some imprisoned females insisted to give us their beds, otherwise we would have no choice but to share the floor. The situation here is inhuman and no health care is available.

We hope to hear some (more) good news soon!

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Edible Blog Report

Melissa De Leòn Douglass · 13:43 · Middle East & North Africa , Sub-Saharan Africa

#1: A food blogger's reunion in Pistoia, Italy: Kishko and Lucullian Delights tell the story in their blogs. The photos are stunning. It makes me want to go there!

Then we bought some chocolate and loitered around, looking at the main sights but as I am a lousy guide and obviously forgot to bring the guide of Pistoia, it wasn't any serious sight-seeing. But maybe next time because she is coming back as we bought tickets to Bob Dylan concert that is part of the Pistoia Blues Festival in July, so there will be at least two food bloggers in the audience, anyone else coming? But we will meet before that because I'm going to Florence so that we can make a survey of the food markets there as well and then there is that pasticceria…

#2: CaDs from Panama, on Eating Chinese in Panama! Yum Dim Sum!

#3: Besides Tacos and Fajitas, Mexico has also a Vegetarian Cuisine, is a very interesting historical review by Ya Rayi Our Rai.

It is said that Montezuma, the last Aztec ruler, selected his daily meals from some 300 exotically prepared foods and, no doubt, from among these were a good number of vegetarian dishes. In fact, the central core of the indigenous kitchen included, besides chillies and tomatoes, corn, beans and squash - called by some food writers `the holy threesome'. Even though, in our times, most Mexican foods are served with meat, there are numerous delightful vegetable dishes in that country, with roots that go back to pre-Columbian times. Some still carry their Indian names like mole, a series of well-known sauces , deriving their name from the Aztec molli…(read the complete article)

#4: Elena visits Malaysia, and gives a complete report on the "Gourmand World Media Awards 2005 - Kuala Lumpur," and tours the Hindu market in Penang. Gorgeous photos!

#5: Canadian Blogging by Post #1, hosted by Sweet Pleasure!

Curious to see what Canadian food bloggers sent each other in the first Canadian Blogging By Post (CBBP) event? If so, click on the word "package" in the list below to see the amazing treats each blogger received. Some packages haven't arrived, but as soon as they are posted I will add them. You may also want to look back at the recipe round-up for CBBP #1 to see the fabulous chocolate desserts that bloggers made.

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African Music #9

Obi · 07:10 · Middle East & North Africa , Sub-Saharan Africa

There is nothing like a local library that truly caters for the community. Wandering around my local library I came across a CD “Africa Remix (Ah Freak Iya)” and the tracklisting was a delight. It was released to compliment the Africa Remix ‘05 exhibition, one of which i had the pleasure of attending summer last year. The cream of African music is well represented here from Awilo Longomba to Oumou Sangare. With a nice inlay booklet profiling the exhibition and artists it really is a well put together compilation. With my headphones on, inspiring myself, I welcome you to the African music roundup #9.

Anandkumar Arumugasamy of My XPerience as me blog talks on the inclusion of music in computer games and highlights an in-game song, “Baba Yetu” (The Lord's Prayer in Swahili), featured in the game Civilization 4:

“The first track, “Baba yetu”, is like THE perfect song and made quite an impression the first time I heard it. It's an awesome intro song for an awesome game. The song itself is in Swahili (an African tongue) and features bold drums, a great voice and a soothing chorus. You wouldn't understand a word of it of course, but if you care to know, the song's supposed to be a famous christian prayer called ‘The Lord's Prayer'”

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