Archive for
April 25th, 2007
Stories
Caribbean: Farewell to a cricketing legend
The West Indies were once the cricketing giants of the world. In the '70s and '80s they were easily the most dynamic and certainly the most feared team of its day. Fast bowlers like Michael Holding (aka Whispering Death) made opponents shudder in the crease; a barrage of batting stars (Lloyd, Kanhai, Greenidge, Richards, Haynes and Richardson) routinely piled on the runs with seemingly effortless strokes of the bat.
But from the early '90s, West Indian dominance of the game began to decline. There were fewer victories to celebrate, fewer exceptional demonstrations of the brilliance to which West Indian fans had become so accustomed - and when there were bright spots, they were usually courtesy of Brian Charles Lara. Cricinfo.com summed it up in an article by Rahul Bhattacharya, entitled The Last King of Trinidad: “Lara batted with sensual beauty and gluttonous appetite. To watch him move into position was to already understand the possibilities of this game. To study his figures was to marvel the scope of his conception. He made the most runs in an over, an innings, a career. Anything anyone did he did bigger. Can you imagine someone making five hundred runs at one shot?”
For just about a decade, sports journalists have suggested possible reasons for the Windies' fall from grace, which has culminated in the team's poor showing (under Lara's captaincy) at the 2007 International Cricket Council World Cup being held on home turf - the Caribbean. The tournament has seen some low points, not the least of which has been Lara's announcement of his retirement from the sport - and bloggers Caribbean-wide are talking about it.
Caribbean Free Radio put Lara's retirement in perspective by quoting from a piece she had written “at the end of 2004, a few months before Brian Lara wrested his world record back from Matthew Hayden”:
“It’s difficult. . . to recall a time when Brian Lara was not the man of the moment. Since April 1994, when he scored 375 runs in the fourth Test against England in Antigua, breaking Sir Garry Sobers’s 36-year-old record for the greatest number of runs scored in a single innings in Test cricket, he’s carried the future of West Indies cricket on his shoulders. (Less than two months later he scored 501 for Warwickshire, his English county team, the highest score in a single innings in the history of first-class cricket.)
The burden has only become heavier with time. Having entered the senior team just as West Indies cricket was beginning its long descent from the heights of greatness, he spent his early days witnessing the departure of the old guard. By the time Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose (the last remaining members of the West Indies’ legendary pace bowling attack) departed, Lara found himself the sole repository of the people’s hopes of victory.”
Young Jamaican blogger Leon Robinson asked the question:
“I wonder what's going to happen to the West Indies team. Lara was the superstar of the team, drawing crowds and cheers. But now that he's announced his retirement, and given the massive failure of the Windies, will anyone watch them play now?”
In looking back on Lara's outstanding career, The Life and Times of Michmac worried about succession…
“He has achieved; there can be no question about that…This upcoming England tour has certainly been dealt a blow. You could say all that you want about him, but there are still thousands of people in this world who would pay any money to see him bat…Such was his hold over the game, the fans, the people. He has relinquished his dominance and the mantle must be passed…. but to whom?”
…while West Indies Cricket Blog
“felt a pang of sadness when the inevitable happened. We all knew this day was coming soon but there’s this uncomfortable feeling that this is a forced retirement, driven by the ugly things that continue to drive West Indies cricket deeper into the ground. He, like all the others before him, didn’t deserve the ridicule and abuse. And he most certainly didn’t deserve to go out like this.”
The Manicou Report has never known cricket without Lara:
“It's because of Lara that the numbers 277, 375, 400 and 501 bring me immense pride. News of his retirement hit me like an unexpected death. Now that he has retired, I feel abandoned. It's almost like I was led into a great, big forest and left for dead. Of course through Lara I have gained a great respect for the game and an admiration for other players, but I was brought to this place by Lara and it's kind of hard trying to imagine staying here without the man.”
Blogger Dre, at Allyuh.com, posted a concise “Retirement Roundup” by linking to various media articles about Lara's decision, adding a personal touch by saying:
“Brian Charles Lara has ended his international career and thus brings to an end my personal viewing of West Indies cricket for a while…I now have to look for another passionate or brilliant West Indies cricketer to follow.”
And Jonathan Ali, in response to Lara's “Did I entertain?” question, simply answered:
“Yes, Brian, you did. Thank you.”
Blogs and the Nigerian Elections: Will We Stop Talking About Our Cats And Shoes For One Day?
Nigeria has one of the most vibrant and dynamic blogospheres in Africa. It is no wonder that the Nigerian state and presidential elections were heavily blogged by Nigerians at home and abroad.
New information and communication tools such as wikis, blogs, podcasts, and social networking sites have the potential to transform election reporting, campaigning, monitoring, and political discussions all over the world. In the case of Nigeria 2007 elections, blogs were used by Nigerian citizens as a tool for debates and discussions about the future of their country and a platform for sharing election news and information. Local Nigerian bloggers published regular accounts in the form of text, audio, photos, and videos of what was taking place on the ground during the campaigns and on the election day.
While most election reports from the mainstream media were written by journalists reporting as passive observers, bloggers were writing about their personal experiences as voters in authentic voices of active and concerned citizens. Considering the number of election related posts and comments in the Nigerian blogosphere, it is safe to say that Nigerian blogs added new voices and perspectives in election coverage in Africa.
In the absence of RSS feeds from the local media in Nigeria and a lack of in-depth coverage from the mainstream media, people like Bill of Jewel in the Jungle had to visit Nigerian blogs to know what was happening:
I cannot think of any one group of people from an African nation that have been more influential and active in the growth of the blogosphere over the past 3-4 years than the Nigerian blog authors and their readers worldwide. When I want to learn the latest news about what’s happening down in Nigeria I automatically check with high-profile bloggers Imnakoya of Grandiose Parlor, Chippla Vandu of Chippla’s Blog, and Sokari Erkine of Black Looks. There are many, many more good online authors who hail from Nigeria and/or write extensively about Nigeria but these three people are my first GoTo bloggers for information about the country.
In his post titled, Nigerian Elections 2007: What's hot and what's not in the media coverage, Jewel in the Jungle wonders why CNN did not provide an in-depth coverage of Nigeria's elections:
I’m surprised that CNNI’s Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange and Inside Africa program host Femi Oke have not been reporting daily from Nigeria about the elections since the hotly debated coverage of the Niger Delta militia story last February and I am surprised that CNN has chosen not to devote more resources and reporters to cover these critical elections in Africa’s most populous and arguably most important nation. One out of every five Africans hails from Nigeria and what happens there is important. Inside Africa is sure to cover the Nigerian elections this weekend as the program’s host Femi Oke is a British born-and-bred Nigerian-European.
According to Grandiose Parlor, the majority of Nigerian mainstream news media have not made their content available via RSS feeds:
It remains a mystery why the majority of the Nigerian mainstream news media with significant real estates on the Internet have not taken steps to overhaul their various domains to reflect one of the most basic Internet trends of the new world - making their subscriptions available via RSS feeds (RSS: Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary).
He adds:
Yet, most Nigerians are news junkies, particularly those of us in the Diaspora; the consumption of news about the homeland has become a daily addiction.
Bloggers As Voters: I Finally Got to Vote!
Apart from providing socio-political context and writing critical commentaries and analysis, local bloggers in Nigeria shared their experiences and stories as voters.
Olawunmi had this to say about Funmi Iyanda's personal account of her participation in the elections:
Funmi Iyanda observed the elections personally, and her account left a sour taste in my mouth. where is democracy?
Christy Aikhorin voted in Lagos:
I finally got to vote for my Lagos state gubernatorial candidate, but it was not funny, and I guess it would be same for most Lagosians, and perhaps most Nigerians. I decided to take a walk to the polling station, which meant walking for 45 minutes—driving during the election was restricted to essential services. I didn't mind though, since the polling station was in Ikoyi (the same part of Lagos where I happen to live) and I at least had my iPod to keep my company.
Ugo Daniels leaves a comment on this post underscoring the importance of an eye-witness account:
An eye-witness account like this is indeed worthwhile, I hope the contributor would be writing a lot more on this blog.
Ore writes “Voting in Progress“:
The family went out to vote this morning. We saw a crowd of people at the Tantalizers near our place and pulled in there. Once there, we found out that there were different polling booths and that we were not all registered to vote in the same place. After returning home to get separate cars, we went back out again. I returned to the Tantalizers as that was my place to vote. And then the long wait began. I chided myself for not getting there earlier, but I heard from people who had been there at 8AM, as instructed, that the INEC officials had not yet arrived at that time.
Funmi Iyanda writes “Power from the People“:
So l sit here this morning pensive, it took all of 3 minutes for me to
cast my vote on Saturday, 3 minutes. The week before l had stood in line in the sun for two hours, hat and sunglasses firmly on, large bottle of water in hand as resolutely determined as most of my fellow country men to cast my vote. This weekend, the polling booth was a ghost town, my people had lost hope, l voted and left, because l had an access car, l had observed proceeding from the Alimosho area, through Agege, Ikeja, to Maryland and the apathy was palpable. The streets were empty as boys took to the highway playing football. Close monitoring of news reports (galaxy TV was commendable) all day showed that this was the situation nationwide along with late or non arrival of ballot material and the usual ballot snatching/ stuffing, harassment and intimidation.
Global Voices author, David Ajao, wrote a great overview of election reports and views shared by Nigerian bloggers before, during and after gubernatorial election, Blogging the historic election (Part 1).
Will We Stop Talking About Our Cats And Shoes For One Day?
Recognizing the importance of blogs as a tool for citizen journalism in Nigeria, Omodudu wrote, Calling Nigerian Bloggers:
Can blogging do for Nigeria what blogging did for the American elections? Will bloggers use their blogs as a tool for on-the-ground citizen journalism. Will bloggers post, up-to-the minute reports as the elections unfold? Will bloggers at least attempt to thwart the efforts of the individuals who have planned to rig the gubernatorial elections? Will bloggers take pictures and make videos of the pluses and minuses during the elections? Will we stop talking about our cats and shoes for one day, and focus on an issue that will determine how we live our lives in the next for years?
Snap a picture, make a video, write a comment. God bless you all.
Tobias focused his attention to blogging and civil society. He wrote a “Blueprint for a Nigerian Civil Society Election Blog,” arguing that the blog might help to prevent abuses:
One way to perhaps help to prevent widescale abuses might be to make this solidarity more readily visible on the Internet through a Nigerian Civil Society Election Blog. I did an Internet search and while there are some bloggers (like this and this and this) discussing the election and Global Voices and Pambazuka News have been covering the elections, I did not see any clear effort to use blogging specifically to prevent violence during the election.
Even if such a coordinated effort does not take off, I’d like to encourage everyone that knows anything at all about what is going on in Nigeria these days to blog actively about it and to tag blog postings at Technorati, Del.icio.us and other social networking sites. The election must be carried out as much as possible in public view, and Nigeria must know the world is watching. If you are concerned for your own safety, you can always blog under a pseudonym at WordPress.com or one of the many other free blogging sites out there.
Responding to comments from readers, Tobias pointed out:
I’ve started tagging stuff I find at del.icio.us using the (oh so imaginative) tags “nigeria” and “election” - would be interesting to see the picture that emerges at http://del.icio.us/tag/nigeria+election
At the beginning of this year, Stakeholder Democracy Network started a group election blog, Greenlight Nigeria. One of the aims of Greenlight Nigeria is to utilize social networking tools:
Use social networking tools and the power of the web to get people talking and thinking about the elections and democracy in Nigeria
Greenlight Nigeria publishes audio, video and text contributions from their contributors on the ground. They have also used Evoca to allow readers to leave audio comments:
If your computer has a microphone, you can click here and leave a message.
In 36 hours from now (after 5 pm on Wednesday) I’ll check into the Evoca account, select from any messages and edit them together for an audio feed.
I expect we’ll all feel a little goofy at first talking into a microphone to no one, but I am so impressed by the audio that election monitors have been sending up, I really want to give this a try. We just need to break the ice.
Tobias finds Greenlight Nigeria blog very inspiring:
I don’t know yet how the SMS experiment worked out, but the greenlightnigeria.org blog has been very inspiring to monitor, with audio and video testimony posted just about daily for the last two weeks.
Nigeria Election Hotline is a new citizen journalism site, which publishes Nigeria election news. It is funded by Open Society Institute and moderated by Africa Confidential:
Nigeria Election Hotline is a news website that aims to publish stories on the 2007 vote that might not otherwise reach the reading public. Despite a vibrant tradition of independent journalism, many Nigerian journalists are concerned at the level of interference in the media by political interests who are seeking to control the flow of information in the press. Nigeria Election Hotline is an effort to make sure that Nigerian voters have access to the information they need to make an informed choice at the polls.
Content from Nigeria Election Hotline appears on allAfrica.com, the largest online distributor of African news and information worldwide.
Should Mobile Blogging Be Explored?
While radio is the main source of information in Nigeria, as is the case in other parts of Africa, mobile phones continue to be the most pervasive tool of communication. According to the International Telecommunication Union, there are about 5,000,000 Internet users in Nigeria. The Network of Mobile Election Monitors of Nigeria (NMEM) puts the figure of mobile phone users to 30 million. In a country where cultural and social relationships allow for mobile phones to be used communally, the figure might be even higher. It is estimated that by the end of 2007 Nigeria will be the largest mobile phone market in Africa.
It is for this reason that The Network of Mobile Election Monitors of Nigeria (NMEM), a non-partisan non-profit project, decided to use SMS to monitor the presidential polls.
Tobias Eigen wrote about mobile election monitors in “Are you in Nigeria? Text your election observations to 0808-4032739″:
This is terrific news and I am very pleased to see that election monitors are making use of Ken Banks’s Frontline SMS tool to make this possible. These examples of SMS use for defending democracy are extremely important and can be applied everywhere in Africa.
The concept mobile blogging has not been thoroughly explored and utilized in Africa. Recently, Malawian blogger, Soyapi Mumba, argued that in Africa where Internet access is limited, mobile applications such as Twitter can be used in many ways including in political campaigns and news :
So the launching of Twitter provides a good alternative considering that the use of mobile phones is much higher than that of computers. In Malawi for example, there are about 50,000 Internet users against about 700,000 mobile phone users out of a population of about 12 million. Twitter allows users to post a small update via SMS, instant messaging client and the web.
Note: Our research has not shown any examples of Twitter being used in the Nigerian elections. We would be glad to receive such information.
Candidates' Blogs
As part of his online communication strategy, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko started a blog, Vote Mimiko. Mimiko was running for governorship in Ondo State. The blog contains a campaign video, campaign photos, and election reports. Dr. Mimiko lost to the incumbent, Gov. Olusegun Agagu. He is challenging the results at the election petition tribunal.
Before he pulled out of Peoples' Democratic Party presidential primaries, Donald Duke started a website, Donaldduke4president.org, and a blog. However, the blog allows invited readers only.
None of the main presidential contenders, Atiku Abubakar, Umar Yar'Adua, and Muhammad Buhari, had blogs.
So What?
The Nigeria 2007 elections were marred by massive irregularities, violence, and disorganization. Grandiose Parlor used one word to describe the situation: d-i-s-e-n-f-r-a-n-c-h-i-s-e-m-e-n-t!
Did blogs made any difference? What we know for sure is that blogs made it easier for Nigerians in the Diaspora and other news seekers to follow what was happening on the ground. But did blogs ensure transparency? Did they prevent rigging? Did they transform political media landscape? What value did they add in the Nigeria's quest for a democratic society?
Further Resources:
Blogs that were covering the Nigerian elections:
1. African Shirts
2. Grandiose Parlor
3. Black Looks
4. Yomi Says
5. Ore Notes
6. Trae Days
7. Chxta
8. Naija Blog
9. The World According to Adaure
10. Oluniyi David Ajao
11. Pause to Ponder
12. Nigerian Curiosity
13. Nigerian Village Square
14. Akin
15. Chipla
*This list is obviously not exhaustive. You may visit the Nigerian blogs aggregator, BlogAfrica, and Afrigator for more blogs.
Tamil Blogs: Agriculture, Street Threatre and Children
187 countries observed ‘Earth Day' on April 22nd. This month we have a new blogger in Tamil blogosphere whose blog is titled ‘iyarkai vivasaayam‘ or ‘Ecological agriculture'. In this blog Samsari talks about path-breaking, successful farmers, their techniques and issues related to farming in Tamil Nadu(TN), India.
He introduces us to the ‘Farmer Numero Uno' in Tamil Nadu, India. Anthonysami of Puliyangudi, Thiruneveli District, Tamil Nadu has researched quite extensively about water usage in farming sugarcane. Anthonysami grows lemons in 60 acres and sugarcane in another 60 acres. According to him, farmers in TN use around 20,000 - 22,000 litres of water to produce one kilogram sugar. However Anthonysami uses around 1,500-1,800 litres of water to produce the same amount.
Anthonysami uses drip irrigation and uses specific ways of plowing the land and plants sugar-cane interspersed with rows of legumes known for their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. He uses only organic fertilizers. Anthonysami's methods encourage earthworms and other useful organisms, thus cooling down the soil's temperature, which in turn requires far less water than the norm.
Samsari has encouraged interested people to visit Anthonysami and has also provided his email id, in case anybody wants to wish him well. xavierukr@yahoo.com.
In another post, Samsari talks about another farmer who could be the guiding light for everybody else. Bernard Clark, from Belgium moved to India and lived in Arvinda Ashram in Auroville, Pondicherry. While living there, Bernard Clark was given a 3 acre plot and was asked if he could turn it into a wooded area. The plot was a hardened red-earth soil full of rocks and which looked as if even 3 months of non-stop rain would not quench it's thirst. Bernard Clark accepted the challenge and has turned that plot into a veritable paradise within five years.
He chose quick growing trees which would not require much water to survive. And the trees he chose shed a lot of leaves. These leaves fertilize the soil and encourage the growth of organisms essential to make the soil rich. Bernard Clark now grows Banana, four different kinds of Okra, Bitter-gourd, Tomato, Chillies, Squash, Papaya and even Pine-apple along with herbs. Bernard Clark's advice was to first make small holes, where rainwater could gather. And to deposit anything that could decompose.
From here let's travel a short distance and watch street theater courtesy of Azhiyuran in Tirunelveli, TN, India. Azhiyuran saw two plays performed by Pralayan and his ‘Chennai Street Theatre' troupe. Azhiyuran says that the second play titled ‘payanam' or journey talks about the villagers migrating to the cities in search of livelihood. On one hand, because of urbanisation new jobs are created in the cities and on the other hand educated ‘Dalits' need to move to the cities to escape the clutches of caste-based atrocities. The play is about villagers forced to migrate to the cities - the problems they face in the city, the inhumane treatment by the authorities - namely the police and politicians. The second play started around 12.30 and ran till 2.20 am. According to Azhiyuran the whole crowd stood there spellbound. The street theater troupe did not use any mike and the songs they sang really captured the audience's attention.
Azhiyuran says that nothing can touch people's heart like Street Theatre. When an art-form discusses and dissects the problems a person faces, in front of his own door, the impact is very high. In street theatre the audience are not just an audience, they are participants too. The distance between the character in street theater and the audience is practically nil. The plea, ‘isn't there anybody who could talk about my life, my politics, my greatness, my shame' is the question in millions of peoples' minds. And street theater could be the answer to that according to Azhiyuran.
The first play performed by the Street Theater talks about school children and the school curriculum that does not seem to encourage learning. Learning by rote is the general method. And how inquisitive minds suffer is shown quite effectively. The 50 minute play is based on a work of fiction titled ‘Ayisha' by Ira.Natarajan.
If children were the theme of a play enacted by a street theater troupe in the southern tip of India, then another sad current issue is the topic of a play to be performed in Nithari. Only, this is no fiction. The play would be enacted by the very same children of Nithari. There are around 50 children in Nithari and some of them practically duped death. This play would be about the things they experienced. About the unvarnished truth, where some of their playmates never returned. The children will be involved in writing, directing and acting out a few scenes on their own. Mangai from New Delhi, India, visited Nithari recently and watched the play. She talks about the enthusiasm shown by the children to bring out the play, their performances - especially the last scene which has no dialogues. She also ponders how these children must have been affected, to stage such a play, the very same children who only a few months ago were playing cricket and flying kites.
Second Life Brings Its Second Life to Brazil
The much heralded launching of the first Second Life national community happened this Monday, April 23, and Brazilians are getting ready to their outposts in a custom tropicalized virtual environment. The novelty is attracting the attention of users as Linden Labs makes its first attempt to scale and customize the environment to host non-English speaking cultures — and markets. The initiative is the result of the partnership with the local Kaizen Games, which has been announced as a Second Life Global Provider and part of the SL Grid. Bloggers are reporting.
Parece que finalmente a espera acabou. Não há mais notícias sobre prorrogação ou novos avisos de atraso. O Second Life Brasil vai mesmo ser inaugurado, oficialmente, nesta segunda-feira (23/04) com a abertura ao público da maioria de suas 23 ilhas temáticas, ambientadas nas grandes capitais brasileiras. No entanto, a Ilha KGBR03, considerada uma ilha de ‘instrução', já se encontra aberta para visitação pública, contando com diversos residentes veteranos contratados para auxiliar os novos residentes brasileiros a interagirem no metaverso.
Second Life Brasil estréia finalmente nesta segunda-feira - Mundo Linden
Second Life Brasil finally launches on Monday - Mundo Linden
Japan: Toyama Kouichi calls for revolution, bloggers reflect on freedom of speech
“Registered voters! I am Toyama Kouichi. My countrymen! This country is an abomination!”
So began the five minute political speech of gubernatorial candidate and street musician Toyama Kouichi, aired live on Japan's public broadcaster NHK as part of a series of election broadcasts formally allotted to each contender in the Tokyo city elections earlier this month. In the now-famous speech, the 36-year-old “extreme left-wing activist”, formerly imprisoned for two years for “political crimes”, declares that he has not “a single constructive proposal” and that “there is no choice but to abandon this country”, calling on the “people of the minority” to rise up against the majority and “overthrow the government”. Within his anti-establishment tirade, Toyama also made a somewhat endearing request to “please give me a call”, an offer that some people actually took up.
Aside from causing a major stir in Japan and across the world wide web, the video sparked a serious debate on the Internet and in the Japanese blogosphere about freedom of speech and the limits of election campaign laws. While the political speech was not the first of its kind — in 1991, rock-and-roll singer and actor Uchida Yuuya told his Matayoshi Jesus ran for office as “the only God” — it was generally acknowledged to have been the most well-choreographed and skilfully executed.
Toyama Kouichi and his supporters (from スパイ日記)
At the same time as the various versions of his political speech, posted at YouTube, were drawing hundreds of thousands of views, at his “base of operations” in Kouenji, Tokyo, the real Toyama Kouichi was also causing a stir. An article posted at iza (translated here) described the events on election night:
８日午後８時。新宿からＪＲ中央線快速で約５分、外山氏が都知事選の「運動拠点」にし、選挙期間中は連日のように飲み会を開いていた高円寺駅南口には、すでに１００人近い若者らが集まり、テレビを前に酒盛りを始めていた。
８時５分ごろ、外山氏がスクーターに乗って登場。「俺たちの外山」コールが高円寺の夜空に響き渡った。
At five minutes past 8pm, Toyama made his appearance riding in on a scooter. Calls for “OUR TOYAMA” echoed through the night sky of Kouenji.
Although Toyama predictably lost the elections (with a surprising 15,059 votes), this did not deter his supporters on election night:
午後８時半ごろ、石原氏の当確が出ると、支持者らは「石原慎太郎マンセー」の掛け声で乾杯し、盛り上がりは最高潮に達した。午後９時ごろには２５０人以上の聴衆が詰めかけ、高円寺駅のホームから、多くの乗降客が「一体何事？」と南口の様子を眺めていた。
Now over two weeks later, bloggers have moved on from Toyama's political speech and his election campaign to different topics. Looking back, here's a handful of views expressed on the video and on Toyama himself.
Blogger mesmer describes his reaction upon watching the video:
これ、NHKでも放送できた。できたということが言論の自由を表しているような、そんな、政見放送。
いきなり、「反管理教育云々、極左活動家、いまどき政治犯として２年投獄、云々、、、、」とのナレーション。
You tube でたっぷり見たり、インタビューを聴いたのち、外山恒一さんを、ウィキペディアで検索すると相当詳しいプロフィールが。とにかくその動きぶりが相当精力的な活動家だ。本もだいぶ出版しているらしい。高等学校教育への強烈な反発がその原点になっているようだ。
次は熊本市議選に出るらしいが、当選は元々目的ではなく、また単なる売名行為でもなく、否定するために選挙に出ているという・・・一つには、ニヒリスト的行為ともいえるが、なんだか人が集まってお祭りのようになっているのは、ニヒリストっぽくない。 とらえどころのない人だが、不思議と、理路整然とした顔立ち、理路整然とした行動を感じる人なのだ。 カリスマ、がある。
Another blogger reflected on the thinking behind the video:
外山氏は政見放送で、「この国は滅びる」「やけっぱちの一票を」って言い放ち、中指を立てるパフォーマンスをした。
その結果、この様子はネットで話題になり、YouTubeではアップと削除のイタチゴッコが繰り広げられた。また、毎夜数十名の若者が高円寺にいる外山氏のところへ行き、飲みながら話したという。
知名度はネットを中心にして一気に上がり、外山氏の名前は、どのくらいかの人が知るようになった。
外山氏の思うツボ、といった感じの都知事選だった。
As a result, the appearance [of Toyama] became a topic of conversation on the net, and a cat and mouse game unfolded in which the video was repeatedly uploaded to YouTube and then deleted. In addition, every night, several dozen young people came to Kouenji to have a drink and chat with Mr. Toyama.
Mainly from the Internet, his name recognition all at once shot up and many people came to know Mr. Toyama's name.
I got the feeling that the elections played right into his hands.
ただ、外山氏は相当計算をしてたはず。ネットで見られる外山氏の普段の映像を見ると、政見放送とは裏腹に、かなり穏やかで礼儀正しい人って印象を受ける。
本人が言うには、政見放送が編集できない利点を使っただけじゃなく、YouTubeにアップされたりブログに書かれることを見越して、そういったパフォーマンスをしたという。（もちろん公職選挙法があるから、選挙後を視野に入れてた）確かにあの政見放送は、人の興味をひかせることを考えたら、みごとなエンターテインメントだった。
彼にとって都知事選は、自由な表現の場だった。ポスターもそう。何だって自由に書くことが保障されてる。
都知事選にあったのは、メディアや都民の注目と、これ以上ないほどの「言論の自由」や「表現の自由」だった。
Mr. Toyama himself says that he anticipated not only that he could take advantage of the fact that the election broadcast would not be altered, but also that it would be uploaded to YouTube and written about in blogs, and so he did that kind of performance. (Of course, since there is a Public Office Election Law, he was thinking about after the elections). Certainly, if you think about how that election broadcast attracted people's interest, it was amazing entertainment.
For him, the gubernatorial election was a space for free expression. His posters are the same. The freedom of written expression is ensured.
The gubernatorial election was about getting the attention of the media and citizens of Tokyo; it was about “freedom of speech” and “freedom of expression”. Nothing could have been better.
Many bloggers remarked on how they came to realize again that freedom of speech exists in Japan. Blogger escalope writes:
某知事選に出馬した外山恒一の政見放送映像を観賞。
日本には言論の自由があるのだなと強く感じたよ。
素晴らしい。
中指突き立ててもモザイクかかんないからね日本は。
国家転覆なんて言葉久しぶりに聞いたよ。
しかも、知事選だっていうのにだよ。凄い。爆笑しました。日本万歳！！
I sensed very strongly that in Japan there is freedom of speech.
Wonderful.
Even when he is giving the finger, in Japan, they don't hide it.
Subversion, it's sure been a long time since I've heard that word.
On top of that, this is the gubernatorial election. Amazing. I laughed so hard. Japan banzai!
The truth, however, is that the view that “in Japan there is freedom of speech” runs completely contrary to Toyama's own thinking. At his official webpage, there is in fact an FAQ which sets out his position on the question of freedom of speech very clearly:
「現在の日本にはすでに言論の自由はなく、例えばちょっとしたビラまきやデモなどで逮捕されることも珍しくありません。そういう事件がとくにここ数年もう頻繁に起きているのに、マスコミはろくに報道しません。その点、選挙に出ると、少なくとも期間中は、形式にはいろいろ細かい制約があるとはいえ、内容については何でも自由にやれます。選挙制度こそは、現在の日本に残された言論の自由の最後の砦であり、本当に云いたいことを云おうと思えば、これを利用する以外にもはや方法がないというろくでもない現実があるのです。都知事選での私の政見放送を見て、日本は自由な国だと再認識したというネットでの書き込みは目立ちましたが、まったく愚かな認識ですね。現実は逆で、この国ではもはや選挙の枠の中でしか、言論の自由は謳歌できないんです。」
Blogger Emily at [sub]cultural studies seemed to understand this message better many others when she wrote that:
Elections are terribly bland in this country, based on slanders and backwards promises. That such a candidate is so strongly spoken and, thanks to the internet, has received so much attention is quite a feat. More than anything else I think this shows the power of a vehicle like YouTube on the future of free speech should it be allowed. Extreme (and not so extreme) anti-status quo vehicles are treated notoriously by police and media outlets alike here. “free speech” indeed often has a very small zone, subject to arrest and censorship.
While much has been made of Toyama's video performance, those who dig deeper, or who have met him personally, are aware that the issue of free speech is extremely important to him. A Japanese university student recounts his experience actually meeting Toyama on campus:
４月の１日に早稲田大学戸山キャンパスで自分の入学式があったのですが、式を終えて外に出てみると大学のとあるサークルが大学批判をしていて止めさせようとする大学職員ともみ合ってました。
面白いので傍から見てると、どこから現れたかヒョコッと外山氏が現れたのです。
彼はサークルの側に立ち、大学職員に対して「言論弾圧はよせ！」と言ったのです。
すると職員は「なんだあんたは？」と言いました。
すると外山氏は「私は都知事候補だ！」といい選管支給の候補旗を見せました。
He took the club's side and said to the university officials: “Stop your supression of free speech!”
When he did this, the university officials were like: “Who are you?”
Toyama said: “I am a gubernatorial candidate!”, and showed them his banner issued by the Electoral Management Committee.
それから外山氏も含めて言い争ってると、お巡りさんが現れました。
大学側が外山氏の排除を求めると警察は「彼は都知事候補なのでそれは出来ません、彼には公職選挙法で認められた権利がありますので彼の遊説は自由です」と言い、逆に大学職員を排除しました。
外山氏や大学批判をしていた人たちが大盛り上がりなのは言うまでも無いでしょう。
When the university officials demanded that Toyama be removed, the officer said: “He is a gubernatorial candidate, so I cannot do that. According to the public office election law, he has an acknowledged right to campaign freely.” And then, instead of removing Toyama, the officer removed the university officials.
You can imagine how excited the protesting people and Toyama were.
Getting to Know Global Voices' Latin America Team
Some of the very best weblogs from around Latin America hardly ever receive mention on Global Voices. That's because their authors are also contributors here and spend most of their time drawing your attention to others' posts. Well, it's long past time to highlight their personal creativity and boundless enthusiasm for new media in Latin America.
Eduardo Ávila [Regional Editor] - Eduardo was one of Global Voices' first contributing authors and is now taking my place as Latin America Regional Editor to lead the rest of the talented team. In fact, his dedication to Global Voices is probably a factor in why he no longer has been able to update his personal blog Barrio Flores with the frequency that long time readers will recall. These days Barrio Flores serves mostly as a window into the colorful scenery that passes Eddie during recent travels to India, Bolivia, and Chile. Along with Natasha Quiroga, Eddie is also the co-founder of the Bolivian-American Project.
Jorge Gobbi [Argentina] - Jorge's blogging is prolific if not compulsive. In fact, he blogs so much that he routinely writes a weekly roundup of what he has written and where it's published (in addition to his “lifestream“). Besides his contributions here at Global Voices, Jorge also frequently writes about his personal travels and the travel industry in both English and Spanish. His third blog Vida Vacia [ES] tends to focus on internet related topics. In the last week alone he's meditated on what's acceptable as a blog comment [ES], Delhi's urban planning crisis [ES], the clever violators of Creative Commons licenses, and how few Latin Americans are aware of the various types of beer (eg. ale, stout, pilsen), but rather focus on the brands. Jorge is also a compulsive traveler as is readily apparent on his Flickr page. His last trip was to Peru, where he met up with our (slightly shorter) Peruvian contributor Juan Arellano:
Juan Arellano [Peru] - Juan is one of our most active members on the Latin America authors' mailing list and his charm comes across in every message. A recent and characteristic email to the group ended with “hugs for the guys … and kisses for the girls.” And, speaking of women, they are one of Juan's favorite subjects, both for his blog posts and photography. In fact, he updates his Zooomr account almost as often as he gets through a book and each day brings a new glimpse into Lima's neighborhoods, events, and, yes, women. In the last few months Juan has also been keeping a bilingual Tumblr account with fragments of fiction and everyday vignettes like this one:
Cada dos o tres días la encuentro, tomamos la misma combi y luego me siento uno o dos sitios detrás de ella, nunca a su lado. Después la contemplo maquillarse, creo que una vez me vio que la observaba a través de su espejo, no demostró inmutarse. Hoy le cedí el asiento, no me lo agradeció. Cuando me bajo ella sigue su viaje. Nunca miro atrás.
Lastly, Juan is the project lead of Global Voices' Spanish Lingua site, which he recently summed up in this post:
Pero fuera de este blog últimamente he estado en algo que implica leer muchos blogs extranjeros y enterarse de lo que pasa en distintos países, así como familiarizarse con usos y costumbres ajenas a las nuestras. Resulta que he estado haciendo algunas traducciones para Global Voices en Español. No soy traductor, pero algo entiendo de inglés, y como ésta labor está a cargo de voluntarios, pues añadí mi granito de arena al sitio. Y es algo que me ha gustado hacer.
Juliana Rincón [Colombia] - Born in Lima, raised in Colombia, working independently in Costa Rica, and now back in Medellín, Colombia to study orthodontics, Juliana might be one of the region's most connected bloggers. She frequently organized knitting meetups while living in San José and is now behind the upcoming inaugural blogger meetup in Medellín. And yet, despite all of her avid followers from Costa Rica, Colombia, and beyond, her weblog has a conversational tone that always makes you feel like it's just the two of you. Last week was her 26th birthday. As she described it:
Hace 26 años mi papá corrió emocionado por las calles de Miraflores comprando arreglos florales y diciéndole a cualquier persona que se le acercara : “¡son dos! ¡Son dos niñas!”, mientras levantaba sus dedos en una inconsciente señal de victoria … Los 25 me gustaron, creo que me gustarán más estos 26.
“there are two of them! Two girls!” while raising his thumbs in an unconscious sign of victory … 25 I liked, I think that I'll like 26 even more.
Iria Puyosa [Venezuela] - Like Eduardo, Iria was one of our first contributors, offering Global Voices readers a glimpse into Venezuela's diverse, dynamic, and always witty Spanish-speaking blogosphere. Though she hasn't been able to contribute lately, Iria's been staying plenty busy teaching university classes and frequently writing about literature, politics, and the potential of internet tools for political activism and dialogue. In the beginning of an inspiring post for media activists, she writes:
Una pregunta que me ha acompañado durante todas mis incursiones en medios (masivos, alternativos, comunitarios o ciudadanos): ¿Tiene sentido práctico un proyecto de comunicación para el desarrollo en un contexto de pobreza crítica? ¿Acaso no es más urgente atender necesidades básicas de saneamiento ambiental, recolección de basura, suministro de agua potable, cloacas, cuidado pre-natal, vacunación, medicina preventiva, nutrición, control de la delincuencia? ¿Cómo justificar invertir en radios comunitarias o en acceso a internet cuando no se pueden cubrir necesidades básicas? Sólo se justifica está inversión si entendemos que la pobreza y la exclusión no sólo tienen una dimensión económica, no sólo se miden en acceso a bienes y servicios, sino que la pobreza y la exclusión también tienen una dimensión cultural, que se mide en acceso a información y conocimiento, en capacidad para poner a circular nuevas ideas y para participar en la toma de decisiones sobre asuntos públicos.
Luis Carlos Diaz [Venezuela] - I first met Luis Carlos before I ever realized it. I had been reading Periodismo de Paz, for over a year and was looking forward to meeting the brain behind the blog at a Caracas meetup organized by Iria. I was sure that the sagacious observer of politics and society was well into his 50's and had led a long career of journalism and academia. When I met a young, easy going student just over 20, I was sure he was someone else. But Luis Carlos is much more than a talented blogger and social critic, he is also a dedicated citizen journalist as you can see in interviews and mini-documentaries he has uploaded to YouTube. He was also the lead organizer behind Elecciones 3D [ES], a citizen journalism project covering last December's presidential election. Luis Carlos is currently in Madrid, Spain for the Second International Congress on Blogs and Journalism:
Espero estar a la altura del encuentro con un relato que recoge algunas impresiones comunicacionales del pasado 3 de diciembre como fenómeno infociudadano con repercusiones en el mundo digital. Le sumé además una contextualización del panorama de medios en Venezuela, para acercarse mejor al inentendible proceso político venezolano.
Melissa de Leon [Panama] - Melissa hardly needs much of an introduction. She is the two-time, consecutive winner of the Bloggies' Best Latin American Blog category for her famous and tasty digital journal and recipe book, Cooking Diva. Lesser known, but perhaps even more impressive, is her Spanish language blog Diablos Rojos, named after the colloquial expression for Panama's brightly painted buses. Last week she was in Chicago for the IACP's International Committee Latin American Fiesta, where she sampled one of my own favorite cocktails:
Even though I consider myself a fan and researcher of Latin American drinks, always exploring new ways how to serve them, they really caught me by surprise at this party. Guests were able to sample and prepare an array of exotic combination of mojitos, including mixes with rhubarb, pomegranate, kumquats, blood orange and basil. A total revolution of flavors!
Upon returning to Panama, she discovered an article about Panamanian blogs (titled “Those Virtual Diaries”) written by Armando Carrasco and published in the weekly La Prensa supplement, Ellas Magazine.
I have scanned the three-page article to make it available to the readers that have not been able to secure a copy locally, and for the ones outside of Panama. It is in Spanish, BUT…as I always say, how about if you start now practicing this beautiful language!
Renata Ávila [Guatemala] - Renata's contributions to Global Voices have brought us much closer to Guatemala's growing blogosphere. Her blog, Nothing is Peramanent, is in Spanish, but its title and tag line (“The moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible.” Salman Rushdie.) say plenty about the author. In addition to GV contributor and personal blogger, Renata is also a human rights lawyer and the project lead, along with Francisco Marroquin, of Creative Commons Guatemala and will soon be headed to Dubrovnik, Croatia for iSummit 2007. The prose on her personal blog is so poetic, subtle, and nuanced that I would only do it harm by attempting any translation, but if you understand Spanish, I wholeheartedly encourage you to add it to your list.
Rosario Lizana [Chile] - Along with Eddie and Iria, Rosario is another of our most veteran contributors. Each week she dutifully reports on the latest events, developments, and conversations in Chile's busy and rowdy blogosphere. Along with many of Global Voices' authors, she came to India for our December Summit, but unlike the majority, she decided to stay. Make sure to check out her Flickr account for some great photos of her trip (along with her new place in Santiago). Much of her blog reflection while traveling focused not just on India, but also those who flock to the Subcontinent in search of something more. In a post titled “Ashramholic” she writes:
Hay quienes vienen a India a buscar espiritualidad, yo creo que India es una gran lección de como perder la virginidad espiritual. Y es ahí donde puedes empezar a encontrar cosas. Está todo muy confuso, mucho negocio enredado con el espíritu. El saber mirar eso y entender que este país, el segundo más poblado del mundo, debe comer todos los días, que los niños trabajan, no sólo son bonitos y que la señora que canta, no lo hace al azar, es para que le des dinero, que muchos se visten con trajes típicos para vender sus productos, que muchas casas de masajes ayurvédicos en lugares turísticos son finalmente de prostitución infantil (y que los que las usan son en su mayoría hindúes), puede ser que se encuentres algo. Algo muy bonito y muy potente.
Roy Rojas [Costa Rica] - Roy is on a comeback mission after more than a year-long absence from Global Voices. Just as Juliana moved from Costa Rica to Colombia, Roy wrote us saying he was interested in covering the Costa Rican blogosphere again. He's also making a comeback on his personal blog. Fans of South Park will be interested on his perspective of the show. From the post “Putas Gringos“:
En este video los personajes de South Park visitan Costa Rica y nuevamente siguiendo su norma racista, descriminatoria, nos muestran de muy mala forma. La verdad no es de extrañar pero deberian darse una vuelta por aqui para que vean la realidad de las cosas, una muy diferente a la que vemos