Archive for
June 23rd, 2007
Stories
Brazilian and Indian Doha Round Solidarity: Is it a reason for blame or a call for leadership?
A blame game seemed to start as soon as Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath walked out of the G4 talks with their counterparts from the US and the EU Thursday in Postdam, Germany. The meeting between these four key players in the World Trade Organization was formulated as an attempt to salvage global trade talks from a six year stalemate on the issues of farm subsidies and open markets. It turned into a fiasco and now charges over who or what caused the failure has become an open dispute, which is evoking interesting reactions from the media. Brazilian bloggers are trying to understand what's going on… and they too are offering explanations.
(more…)
Palestine: A Classic Case of Divide and Rule?
This week many of the blogs by Palestinians, and those focused on Palestinian issues, have kept their attention on the ongoing events in Gaza. Desert Peace, in Jerusalem, has found a Hebrew word to sum up the situation:
Wherever you go in Israel today you hear the word ‘balagan‘ over and over. It simply means mess…. usually one made by young children. But that is not the one talked about these days… it refers to the mess in the Occupied Land of Palestine. No one on this side of the ‘fence' really knows what is going on… but one thing is for sure, it's a ‘balagan‘.
In his ploy for power, Mahmoud Abbas forgot to take one thing into account… that being…
WHAT DO THE PALESTINIANS WANT?
He expands on this in another post:
First it was referred to as street fighting. It then was called a Civil War.
Now that the boundaries seem to be established by the rival factions, it is now referred by some in the West as post-revolutionary times.It is becoming more and more apparent as the days go by that this whole mess started, not as a result of disagreements between Fatah and Hamas, but because of the fact that both Israel and Washington refused to recognise the results of the election held in the Palestinian Territories last year. Now with Olmert and Bush ‘mapping out' the future of the Palestinian people, it is even more apparent that the Occupation will continue and Abbas will head the new ‘Puppet Regime' in the West Bank, while the population of Gaza will continue to be cut off from the world until their leaders ‘give in' to Israeli blackmail. We are seeing the establishment of a new government based on money and power…. nothing at all to do with what the people want.
However, Nadeem at the Arab-American blog KABOBfest believes that Palestinians have to accept some responsibility for the situation:
The absurd rivalry between Fatah and Hamas over a sham government that has never maintained any real or substantial authority has left Palestinians – in both Palestine and Diaspora – confused, fearful, hurt, and utterly dismayed.
While supporters on both sides point the blame at one another, the dream of Palestinian self-determination continues to slip away faster and further than it has ever done before. Without a single unified front, the Palestinian Nation, as a whole, is left susceptible to increased exploitation, oppression, violence – and recently, starvation – at the hands of foreign governments and transnational actors hoping to advance their interests at the expense of our basic human rights.
As the international community looks on in ironic bewilderment, America and Israel have already taken concrete steps towards solidifying this preposterous chasm within our socio-political structure. But are they to blame? My answer is no – at least not solely. While they rallied international support for the external (and internal) pressures that eventually made the environment ripe for such chaos to ensue, democratically-elected representatives of the Palestinian community let their constituents down by taking their bait.
Nabulsi believes the appointment of a new prime minister contravened the law:
Abbas's appointing a new prime minister was itself entirely illegal. The new ‘emergency government' is illegal, too. According to the Basic Law of Palestine (as amended in 2003), which serves as the constitution of the PA, Abbas can do neither of these things. Nor can the new ‘emergency government' claim any democratic mandate. This means that Abbas and the Fayyad government are ruling by decree, outside the framework of the Basic Law. So on what basis is that government supposed to govern — and on what basis are foreign governments supposed to deal with it?
While Ramzi Khoury at Arabisto has some advice for Mahmoud Abbas:
In this day and age communications can turn the devil into angel and beat the angel to a pulp. Under the hammer of a heavy propaganda machine supported by international networks even “legitimacy” becomes so elastic that it is no longer visible!
As lame as that would be, Abbas would do some good if he was to explain the basics of the Palestinian constitution. Under the constitution, and whereas the Palestinian Authority is a presidential system, he is the elected leader of the Palestinian people. He is the one who appointed the first Hamas government and the second unity government and has the constitutional right to sack “his” governments as he sees fit.[…]
Abbas needs to explain that according to the legitimate law of the authority, its security establishments are under the leadership of the presidency. When “his” supposed government demanded to take control of the security apparatuses, it was an attempt to take over the presidency. When “his” supposed government created an illegal brutal force that takes its orders from Khaled Meshaal in Damascus and built it to the hilt until it was ready then carried out a coup d'état in Gaza, he sacked it.
[…]
Mr. President, good intentions are not enough. For the truth to prevail, it needs to be communicated!
Philip Rizk of Tabula Gaza is looking at the bigger picture:
The colonial tactic of Conquer and Divide is being put to use on the Palestinians yet once again; initially in the Gaza Strip between Fatah and Hamas and now between the West Bank and Gaza.
[…]
Part of a Conquer and Divide strategy is timing. Why did Israel wait until this moment to consider Mahmoud Abbas a “partner committed to peace” when his positions have hardly changed since his election over two years ago? Why is Israel only now considering freeing Marwan Al-Barghouthi, a convicted Fatah activist? Why only now release the frozen government taxes ($570 million) that the Palestinians have desperately needed since Israel started withholding them in March of last year?
[…]
The plot of Conquer and Divide is a great smokescreen covering up the desecration of democracy and another attempt to lay to rest the Palestinian cause.
My Occupied Territory also thinks it is a classic case of divide and rule, with the media playing along:
One of my favorite things to do is ‘watch’ the media after a certain event and see how the creative minds start playing on words. With the recent turmoil in the Occupied Territories, the ‘buzz words’ are all too common. From ‘Hamastan’ to ‘Fatahland’ to ‘West Bank First’, when the word comes out, the rest of the media latch on to it and forget about every other word in the dictionary. By now you’ve probably heard most of them. By now you realize that most of them don’t make sense and are being used to sensationalize the news more than anything else. In my view, the way the media plays on this terminology, especially with regards to the conflict in Gaza and the West Bank, only serves to create more tensions and play on the divisions that have resulted from the recent events. And that’s just the media.
[…]Palestinians have endured a lot. And hopefully, they can overcome this pressure to divide them and further destabilize the Occupied Territories. Then the focus can be shifted back to the real cause of this turmoil: the illegal Israeli occupation that has rendered the territories incapable of being governed in any realistic or independent way.
Wassim questions the language used in the Western media, too:
…Hamas did not ‘fail to meet the conditions' of anybody, it refused the demands of the ‘International Community' (otherwise known as the West), there is a crucial difference.
I don't necessarily agree with Hamas' ideology or methods, but the reason I bring this up is because this framework of description of events is presented often in news and analysis and can misguide the layperson reading them in the Western world to think they come from countries which are somehow superior to those they are dealing with, a throwback to the days of Empire? That I don't know. We see the same framework with Iran, Syria and Hezbullah amongst others. These actors always seem to ‘fail' to meet ‘requirements', ‘conditions', ‘criteria' etc etc. The language instantly tells you who is setting the conditions and who these are 'set' upon. This logic is flawed and unacceptable. When somebody you don't like wants to make you do something and you refuse, you do not ‘fail to comply'. You refuse and stand your ground, ‘go ahead, make my day' basically. The same applies with what is happening in the Middle East at the moment.
moomin13, an American living in Ramallah, is also concerned about the influence of the media:
I don't feel unsafe here. I feel depressed and let down. I feel like all the work that human rights organizations have been doing here to expose the plight of ordinary Palestinians will now be overshadowed by the infighting and that years of work of gaining the sympathy of the international community will be ruined by a few people. If before, the international community only heard about Palestinians when one of them exploded themselves, they now have on the western news agenda two choices instead of one:
- When a Palestinian explodes himself
- When Palestinians kill each other Palestinians
Catholic Sunni Shia at Meanwhile in Palestine and Iraq has some questions for the media regarding a specific incident:
Hi, Western media where are you? Are you still pretending that Hamas burned down that church in Gaza?
When in reality it was most likely done by the thugs being supported by the West in order to cause even more internal Palestinian divisions. It probably isn't going to work, the majority of Christians in Gaza have said that they are waiting this one out and that they do not feel compelled to leave just because Hamas has control of Gaza. This is an American attempt at sectarian conflict in Palestine. How stupid are the Americans (and Israelis) though? Palestinian Christians have been as vocal as Muslims in expressing their hatred and disgust of the immoral Israeli occupation. Christians ran on the Hamas ticket during the elections. When a Palestinian church was attacked in Nablus last year after the Pope made his ridiculous remarks, I remember reading all over the Palestinian (and some Western media) that Hamas took up positions outside of the Nablus church in order to protect it. Of course, that no longer matters. Fatah thugs did this (maybe out of hatred for Christians but probably because someone put them up to it in order to blame Hamas).
Philip Rizk of Tabula Gaza fills us in on what actually happened:
In the past number of days, one of the most common headlines related to Gaza was something along the lines of a “desecrated church,” when in reality it was a case concerning the looting of a Christian school.
A friend of mine living near the school, himself a Fatah security member told me that members of the Preventative Security Force would often station themselves on the roof of the school building during attacks on their headquarters just behind the school. This was the case last week as well, as Hamas forces carried out an attack on the building from three directions.
Like many buildings that were used as strongholds the doors were blown open with an RPG to secure no resistance coming from inside it. Succeeding the attack the building was then vandalized, crosses were broken and much was stolen. It is highly unlikely that Hamas carried out this vandalism; they were after all fighting a war.
Within days Hamas had identified some of the thieves and returned six stolen computers. Gaza’s Catholic priest, Emanuel Mussalam was interviewed on Hamas radio yesterday calling for the man to be put on trial who had ordered the forced entry into the school.
Mohammed Mar'i at Arabisto wonders if there remain any lines that cannot be crossed, and concludes there may be one:
Perhaps one last redline left in Gaza after killing in the streets and looting of official and private premises; Hamas may declare women of Fatah officials as war captives and marry them.
Dew, in Gaza, repeats some questions that people are asking:
Was the authority so blind and naive that it didn't see Hamas preparing to seize Gaza? or was Hamas drawn to a big trap that was set from the Authority and Israel? why? to sack Hamas from the government i think…
Was Iran responsible for what happened either in Gaza, Lebanon or even Iraq so everybody will keep preoccupied with the M.E. and Iran can continue with it's nuclear programme?!
Was the whole thing a big charade, and both Hamas and Fatah collaborated together to deceive innocent people like us so Hamas can justify accepting negotiations with Israel?!
Too many theories but no one really knows what did really happen… but we all know one thing, that it's not over yet, it's still the beginning… beginning of what, nobody knows exactly.. too many roomers and too many assumptions, some are built on facts and some are just lies..
Naj also writes from Gaza, but remembers Ramallah:
On the third day of the clashes.. the so called Hamas-Fateh fighting, I wondered, while looking through the window of our kitchen at a couple of birds jumping and falling along the noise and passage of bullets, i wondered how do these birds perceive this status.. Death…? Facing death… but with unpaid prices… and overpaid prices. Calculations of who you are and what bullet you receive, and whether you are meant to die or no, or the source means to target someone like you or not… all these features of the perception of facing death.. What would they look like or sound like to these two birds. ? as soon as i saw them reacting to the exchange of fire around our quarter, i remembered the group of pigeons which i saw in an early morning of the Israeli invasion of Ramallah in 2002, on a very quiet morning, we wake up, I stand on my balcony checking the scene, and the pigeons stand on the tank gun playing. It was a very strange picture.. but it was lovely and sad in a way.
This time, my thinking suddenly went deeper.. to ask them what does this mean to you.. ? birds?
Asad Al Nimr in Ramallah is feeling depressed:
And I keep wondering… What do we want to achieve? What reasons can cause such death and anarchy? It looks like we are paying a very high price for nothing…
Does the anarchy in Gaza serve anyone? … How can life continue in Gaza after such events? What options have left for the citizens of Gaza? I can't really see how their life can return to normal if there is a lack of food and petrol. How families can survive and enjoy life? I am really depressed and I can truly say that my hopes are dissolving…
On World Refugee Day, Zinjabeelah takes some comfort from the coverage she has seen:
…My faith in mainstream media is somewhat restored. Two days ago, I predicted that little if any mention would be made about the Palestinian tragedy on World Refugee Day.
Well, today is World Refugee Day, and I have seen two segments on CNN, while working on some book reviews, about the misery of Palestinian refugee life. Right now Ben Wedeman is interviewing a Gaza Strip Rap/Hip Hop crew, “The G-Town Boys,” who are really talented and have some hard hitting messages.
Last night, also on CNN, I saw a clip of Angelina Jolie expressing shock at the conditions and psychological distress she witnessed in a refugee camp in Jordan.
Amal has come across an article in the Economist about the treatment of gay Palestinians:
… Israel is not interested in Palestinian gay men except as vulnerable subjects to blackmail and make into collaborators.
The article is exclusively about gay Palestinian men, not women, who do not have the men's particular experience. However, Israel's Shin Bet has used attitudes to women's sexuality as a way to blackmail both non-gay men and women into collaboration.
The only way to prevent such blackmail is to fight against homophobia and sexual discrimination in Palestinian society. Among other things, they do leave Palestinian society vulnerable for exploitation of this kind. But if men and women, gay and straight, are not made to feel ashamed of their sexuality, if their sexual choices are not criminalized, then they will not be such easy victims of colonial blackmail.
In other words, speaking up against homophobia and sexual discrimination should be part of an anti-colonial national resistance strategy.
She has learnt a new word this week:
Reading the news this morning, I learned a new Arabic word. It appears in Ali Jaradat's article in Al Ayyam. The word is “Gharbaleh,” used about the body of one of the Fateh men executed by Hamas. It means that his body was “sieved” or “made into a sieve.”
How do you do that?
45 bullets.
Moving onto other matters, loolt has asked herself why she blogs, and has discovered a number of reasons:
I started because I felt I lacked external stimulation (translation: sad little bunny with no social life)… Blog in place, and even though my social life took off, I became addicted to the adrenaline rush when someone comments… My third point, blogs are a great way to have deep discussions…
[…]
Ranting, lets face it a blog is one of the best stress relievers there are, mind you that only really works when you are properly anonymous, otherwise, well you are either careful or a total insensitive.
Getting a message out, in my case the Palestinian message, and even though there are many far superior blogs that deal with the topic, it makes me feel that at least I am doing something.
For the rest of loolt's reasons for blogging see here. We end on a humorous note with Jasim in Jordan, who has had a humiliating experience with his mother:
I was sitting doing nothing, mainly gazing at nothing because even at TV there was nothing good to watch, when my mother came in the room and said: “Hey! Why do not you come with me and pick some Thyme? You are bored and doing nothing, but I will be good with you and give you 1 JD ($1.40).” I looked at mother, and I mean 1 JD is too much to handle, but what the hell I was really bored, so yep I went to pick Thyme with mother.
While picking thyme, his mother engaged him in conversation:
At first my mother started gossiping about nearly everyone, and I was listening to her and all of I was saying is “Aha. Yes. Oh I know. Really? Oh I hate her too!” I mean really I do not like to gossip, but hey when your mother is talking you have to pay attention, although I did not really know half the people she was talking about!
When my mother felt like she was losing me, she decided to launch a counter attack, and here how it went:
“Jasim, how come you spent 50 JDs in one day?!“
“What?!“
“How the hell did you manage to spend 50 JDs in one day? Come on, I will not tell anyone.” Then came the sneaky smile of her.
“I do not know! It is my money okay! Anyway let us change the subject.” And boy I wish I did not ask for that!
For the rest of the conversation see here. More from Palestine and the Palestinian diaspora next week…
Kuwait: Give Women More Rights
As usual, this week's Kuwait round up addresses a number of issues including the disappearance of people in summer, Kuwait's unwritten traffic code, the attack of a Kuwaiti diplomat in Iran and the plight of mothers who cannot be considered as legal guardians for their children - simply because they are women.
Our first stop this week is with Purgatory over at Purgatorian Collection, who takes us on a philosophical experience .
هل تتعجب قبل أن تحط صماخك على المخدة و تخمد وين راحو الناس؟؟
Do you even wonder before you put your head on the pillow and sleep where the people have gone?
I do.يمكن الناس تدرس حق الامتحانات؟ ، بس مو جنا خلصوا الصبايا و الورعان؟
Maybe people are studying for exams? But haven't the boys and girls completed their exams?
يمكن الناس سافرت؟ بس تونا (يعني لا زلنا، مو سمك التونا) في أول موسم السفر
May they have traveled abroad? But isn't it a bit early for the travel season?
يمكن الجو مخلي الناس ما تتطلع، بس الجو لسه جميل و الهوا منعش
Maybe the weather is making people stay indoors? But the weather is still nice and the breeze is refreshing.
عيل وين راحوا الأوادم؟
So where did everyone go?
الجواب الوحيـــد حسب تحليلي المتواضع
.
.
.
الطرقThe only answer in my humble opinion is
.
.
The Roads
Qias over at Io81 discusses the local business practice of “spliting off”.
Some who follows the market news daily can notice that many companies in Kuwait are entering the stock market, the last one was Bareeq Holding. This kind of method is called split off, but it is (the) kind of the Kuwaiti split off just to gain money and raise capital. Let me give a simple example how the financial world create tools to make more existing money and opportunities
Ikuwait writes about traffic laws in Kuwait - not the actual ones but the ones he sees people exercising on roads.
1. Right of way
Right of way belongs to the vehicle which has it’s bumper 5cm ahead of another, irrespective of whether approaching from the left or right.2. The Kuwait scissors
When in 3 lanes of traffic, all traffic wishing to turn right should occupy the left hand lane and vice versa. One must then wait until the last possible moment before crossing the other two lanes at right angles to the traffic flow, to do so too early is to lose face.
Hugs from Kuwait says he was shocked while reading the newspaper and explains why he was here.
I seriously choked this morning when I opened up my morning newspaper and was met with a picture of the Hooters girls on the front page! Ugh!
Apparently, a Kuwaiti businessman is opening up a Hooters in Dubai and plans to open more in the region.
As always, The Stallion covers yet another event in Kuwait. This time it is the event EXzombie talked about a couple weeks ago - A Japanese Speech Competition and The Art of Kendo.
Last week I went to the First Japanese Speech Competition that was held at Kuwait University! The event was held by The Center for Community Service and Continued Education as well as the Japanese Embassy!
Forzaq8 complains about how little respect Kuwait is getting around the world these days - the latest being a Kuwaiti diplomat assaulted in Iran.
Our diplomat in Iran attacked, in a state where women are charged if they do not wear hijab right. I don’t think 6 people can attack a diplomat in front of his embassy that easy. Of course in any other country if anything similar like that happen it would mean War or at least cut all diplomatic ties with that country.
But not Kuwait, we are always the weakest link. Libyan attack our embassy and we don’t even get an apology.
Bint AlShamiyatalks about what she considers an insult to women.
رحت قسم البعثات الخارجية بسوى أوراق الجعده
لأمريكا…الموظفات هناك يهبلون والمعاملهً
I went to the department of Foreign Scholarships to start my son's papers
to America. The employees over there are fantastic and because of theالراقيه اللى تلقاها هناك وتفانيهم بالعمل
بديت استفسر عن الإجراءت المتبعة للبعثهgreat treatment I got there and how dedicated they were to work,
I wanted to ask about what procedures I should follow for the scholarship.وما كان هناك أى مشكله والحمد لله…..إلى أن وصلنا
من يوقع الأوراق….؟؟؟؟. وين أبوه ؟ أبوه.. ليش .؟
ردت الموظفة : حتى يوقع لنا على جميع التعهدات
ردت عليها هم ليش ؟؟؟؟ قالت لإنه هو الولي الأمرAnd there was no problem thank God until we reached the point of who should sign the papers
and they asked for the father. I was like: “His father? Why?” And the employee answered: “So that he can sign all the pledges.”
And I asked: “Why?”
And she answered: “Because he is the legal guardian.”انزين أنا أمه……… لا لا لا .ما يصير الأم توقع
الإ بتوكيل من المحكمه….شنهو…….؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟
أنا أمه ما اعتبر ولية أمر…….؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟
ردت على الموظفه قالت ما تدرين احنا مسحوقاتBut I am his mother. And she said: “No no no.. the mother can't sign
unless she gets approval from the court” and I was like “What?
I'm his mother and I'm not considered his guardian?”
And the employee answered: “Well you know, (as women) we are crushed.”بهالمجتمع….أبوه ,, عمه ,,جده,, حتى أخوه إذا يعمل
يقدر يوقع على الأوراق …….أما الأم ……لا لا لا
ما تقدر توقع الإ بتوكيل………….ما أدرى حسيت إنى
ببجى……ليش النظام يهيني جذى أنا أم مخلصه للدولهCrushed in this society, his father, his uncle, his grandfathe , even his brother if he was working can sign
the papers - but the mother? No no no.. She can't sign.. I don't know. I felt like crying.
Why is the system insulting me when I'm a loyal mother to the country.قبل إخلاصى لعيالى……هذا جزائى…..أنا مو مواطنه
ولى حقوق وواجبات ؟؟؟.حتى عيالى ما أقدر استخدم
حقى فيهم…… إذا عيالى حسوا إنى ما أقدر أسوي لهم
شيئ لأن الدوله سلبت حقي…. او الأصح طيحت
قدري عند عيالي……شلون أصير قدوه.. أمامهم
وأدير شؤن إسرتى الصغيره……أنا الحمد الله عندى
ريل وعزوه بس المسكينه المطلقه ,,والأرمله
شلون تاخذ حقوقها ؟؟؟؟؟In return for my loyalty to my sons, is this my reward ? Am I not a citizen with rights and duties?
Even my sons, I can't use my rights on them. If my sons feel I can't do anything for them because the state
has taken away my rights, how can I be an example to my family and run it ?
Thank God, I have a husband but what about widows and divorcees? How can they get their rights?هذا ظلم والإ لا …؟؟؟؟؟
كله بسبب الولايه…..أنا ماعندى اعتراض على
الولايه……بس مو يستخدمونها فى كل شيئ
ولأى شيئ
أكو أمور وايد بسيطه وسهله ليش هالتعقيدIsn't this injustice?
All of this is because of the mandate of men. I have no objection on the mandate but don't over use it
on anything and everything. There are many simple and easy things, why complicate them?فأبى همت الحقوقيات و الحقوقين والسياسيات
والسياسين والمدافعين عن حقوق
المرأة المحترمين……هونوا علينا هالتعقيدات
نصفوا المراة فى قانون الأحوال الشخصيهI call on lawyers, politicians and civil rights activists to cut down the red tape and give women justice in the Personal Law.
نبى حقوقنا المسلوبه…….نبى المساواة
نبى أبسط الأمور فى إدارة الإسرة الصغيره
بكل الحقوق والواجبات اللى كفلها لنا الدستور
مع ….. الجد,,,,و العم,,,,,,والاب
أعتقد هذا مطلب عادلWe want our stolen rights. We want equality.
We want the simplest things in running a small family, with all rights and duties that the Constitution guaranteed for us
with the grandfather, the uncle and father.
I think that's a fair demand.
China: Nailhouse 2: Residents fight back
Remember the Chongqing “most awesome nailhouse” from earlier this year? It seems now there's a whole nailbuilding, Awesome Building, in affluent coastal Zhejiang province's Shengzhou city. Some interesting pro-government opinions in response to allegations of police brutality earlier this week. Mention is made of related posts on other BBSes having been deleted; speaking of which, all comments at time of publishing were translated save one spam advertisement unrelated to the incident which was omitted. Via Paowang BBS, from Chinese search engine Baidu's message forums:
[转贴]中国最牛的楼还数浙江嵊州
China's most awesome building, Shengzhou, Zhejiang (reposted)
说起这个牛楼，可以堪比重庆的牛楼了．它地处在浙江省嵊州市市山路7号！它确实像一枚刺眼的”钉子”。格格不入的”钉”在嵊州市中心文化广场一角,与高高耸立在旁边的十八层气派的市政府大楼形成了鲜明的对比．
贴子相关图片:
作者： 伯力恒 2007-6-19 22:22 回复此发言
Author: Uncle Everpower 10:22 pm, June 19, 2007
Speaking of this ‘Awesome Building', it might even be more awesome than the Chongqing one. It's situated at Shengzhou city, Zhejiang province's #7 City Mountain Road! It definitely stands out like a “nail”. A nail sticking out of one corner of downtown Shengzhou's Culture Square, a vivid contrast to the towering 18-floor government tower sitting beside it.
那么它为什么更牛呢？
一,户主已是90高龄的张姓老太
作者： 伯力恒 2007-6-19 22:22 回复此发言
Uncle Everpower:
What's so much more awesome about this one?
1) One owner is a 90 year-old granny Zhang
二,维护法律尊严,保护合法私有财产意识更强烈。他们一家人顶住了政府组织的约几百警察，消防，法院，城管，以及众多雇员等参与的强拆行动,使政府直接受损很大。
作者： 伯力恒 2007-6-19 22:23 回复此发言
Uncle Everpower:
2) There's a much stronger consciousness of upholding the sanctity of the law, of protecting legal, privately-owned property. The whole family is withstanding the roughly several hundred police, firefighters, court staff and Urban Management workers organized by the government as well as many of its staff's attempts to forcefully tear the building down, making the damages done to the government quite large.
三,从2006年6月2日强拆开始,户主一家20多人被逼撤到房顶居住,酷暑时期被断水80多天，房屋设施多处被毁。并不时遭受到莫名的恐吓，以及不明捣乱,骚扰日常生活。其中包括90多岁高龄的张姓老太。
作者： 伯力恒 2007-6-19 22:23 回复此发言
Uncle Everpower:
3) Since June 2, 2006 when the forced eviction from the house began, the twenty-odd home owners have been forced up onto the roof to live; despite the cruel heat, the water has been cut off for over eighty days; many houses' installations have been destroyed. Further, receiving frequent inexplicable threats and intentional provocation has disrupted their daily lives. Among them is a ninety year-old grandmother named Zhang.
四,持有全国人大常委会办公厅的”请接谈并督促有关部门依法处理”的信访函。
作者： 伯力恒 2007-6-19 22:24 回复此发言
Uncle Everpower:
4) They are in possession of a letter from the office of the National People's Congress Standing Committee which reads: “please refer to the relevant department and deal with this according to the law.”
也就是在昨天,这个一年以来一直是嵊州市标志性建筑物的牛楼,又再一次成为了市民的注意力的中心.
大量市民围在牛楼的周围,等着看警察是如何把着牛楼攻克的. 从下午开始,防暴警察全副武装想冲上这个牛楼.但都被牛楼的主人们用汽油弹一次一次打退.
围观的群众在喝倒彩. 警察只有先撤下来.打算持久战. 而牛楼上的人时刻警惕着…双方相持着．．．
作者： 伯力恒 2007-6-19 22:26 回复此发言
Uncle Everpower:
Just yesterday, this Awesome Building, a landmark in Shengzhou for over a year, once again became the center of focus for city residents.
Large numbers of city residents surround the awesome building, waiting to see how the police will capture it. Starting yesterday afternoon, fully-armed riot police were ready to charge into the building but one-by-one were driven off by gasoline bombs used by the owners.
The crowds of spectators booed the police, who then dispersed. They plan to drag out the battle, but the people up on top of the ‘awesome building' were on high alert…both sides are in stalemate…
而同时, 市内极有人气的门户网站—嵊州信息港 (www.sz.zj.cn)所属于的江南论坛(bbs.sz.zj.cn).也被市政府的宣传部门管制.不准网民发表关于牛楼的文章和信息.一发上来,一律就删除.对于这种钳制民声的做法这让广大网民们大为不满．
作者： 伯力恒 2007-6-19 22:26 回复此发言
Uncle Everpower:
And at the same time, the high-volume portal website Shenzhou InfoAlley, which belongs to the Jiangnan Forum, is being controlled by the municipal government's propaganda department and is not allowing any netizens to post any information regarding The Awesome Building. The minute they're posted they all get deleted. This method of suppressing the people's voices has left the majority of netizens greatly unpleased.
怜的老奶奶坚持站在烈日下准备以死相拼
作者： 伯力恒 2007-6-19 22:27 回复此发言
Uncle Everpower:
The poor granny is staying strong and standing beneath the burning sun, prepared to die.
战斗一直到晚上.围观的群众越来越多. 警察也越来越多.对所有周围的主要街道进行管制. 准备趁着天黑想把牛楼彻底摧毁.
群众也群情激愤….
作者： 伯力恒 2007-6-19 22:27 回复此发言
Uncle Everpower:
The battle went on into the night. The crowd of spectators grew and grew. Numbers of police also grew and grew. Supervision began on the main surrounding roads. They were prepared to move in under the cover of dark and raze the Awesome Building to the ground. The crowd was joined through its fury…
但直到今天,牛楼还在. 但不知道命运会如何.让我们拭目以待吧…
作者： 伯力恒 2007-6-19 22:28 回复此发言
Uncle Everpower:
But as of today the Awesome Building is still there. Who knows what its fate will be, we can only wait and see…
牛 。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。
作者： 125.75.93.* 2007-6-19 22:38 回复此发言
IP: 125.75.93.*:
Awesome…………………….
哈哈，我昨天刚刚从嵊州来杭州，听出租车司机说已经拆掉了啊
作者： 125.120.165.* 2007-6-19 22:57 回复此发言
IP: 125.120.165.*:
Haha, I just came to Hangzhou from Shengzhou yesterday. I heard the taxi driver say it had already been torn down.
支持
民主不是嘴巴上说说的
作者： 125.127.148.* 2007-6-19 23:03 回复此发言
IP: 125.127.148.*:
I support it.
Democracy isn't just something you pay lip service to.
我们支持牛楼 反对市政府 公安部门这些贪官分子
作者： 60.187.165.* 2007-6-21 21:18 回复此发言
IP: 60.187.165.*:
We support the Awesome House
Oppose the city government
The Public Security Bureau, a bunch of corrupt officials
查查哪个豪华的市府大楼！
作者： 124.234.131.* 2007-6-22 11:13 回复此发言
IP: 124.234.131.*:
Find out which luxury government complex!
当天有一无辜围观的群众被当地的公安打死，多人被打伤。本人目睹了冲突的全过程。场面堪称混乱，凶残。嵊州市政府出动了全市所有警力，还从外地调了武警对围观在楼房旁的群众实施殴打。
作者： 60.187.165.* 2007-6-22 11:21 回复此发言
IP: 60.187.165.*:
An innocent bystander in the crowd was beaten to death that day, many people were beaten. I personally saw the course of the conflict. The scene was definitely chaotic. The Shengzhou city government called out all the police in the entire city, even bringing in People's Armed Police from out of town to start beating the crowds of spectators gathered around the building.
社会真的好黑暗啊。为什么上面的领导干部好的思想到了基层就不行了，变味了，中国的社会还是跑不了封建主义的官僚主义。我支持牛楼 反对市政府 公安部门这些贪官分子
作者： 125.127.115.* 2007-6-22 12:20 回复此发言
IP: 125.127.115.*:
Society is really too shady! Why do all the upper leaders' good ideas stop working and go bad then they reach the ground? Chinese society still can't escape the bureaucracy of feudalism. I support the Awesome Building. And oppose the city government. The Public Security Bureau are all corrupt officials.
建议中央调查组进浙!
作者： 222.71.78.* 2007-6-22 15:23 回复此发言
IP: 222.71.78.*:
I propose the Central Government Investigative Committee come to Zhejiang!
嵊州市关门吧~~~~~一群贪污分子~~你们自己说，土地征用贪了多少钱~~
作者： 211.140.143.* 2007-6-22 16:22 回复此发言
IP: 211.140.143.*:
Shengzhou city government ought to be shut down………..a bunch of corrupt elements……you all tell me, how much are bribes to get land confiscated..?
钉主户的四个儿子,不按法办事,目无国法.过去强行造楼,现在又对抗政府数年不拆楼.以汔油弹炸执法人员,有组织有网络地组织人们围攻执法人员,推翻警车,用小技造假搞死人场面,真是看不过去.
嵊州市的一位老人说句话.
作者： 60.187.162.* 2007-6-22 16:48 回复此发言
IP: 60.187.162.*:
The nail-owner has four children. Not handling this in according with the law, disregard for national law. They once forced this building's construction, not they want a facedown with the government over a building that should have been torn down years ago. Even blasting law enforcement officers with paint bombs, grouping up to use the internet to organize people to come mob law enforcement officers, flipping over police cars, using this dinky website to fabricate people's deaths, it's really too much to bear watching.
A Shengzhou city senior has spoken.
支持牛楼，反对政府。因为我们市长太笨了，要是我直接炸了，后果不管了，先把这个问题搞定，后面的后面再说，呵呵
作者： 220.189.231.* 2007-6-22 17:33 回复此发言
IP: 220.189.231.*:
I support Awesome Building, oppose the government. Our mayor is too stupid, I ought to blast him myself; I don't care about the consequences. Fix this problem first and worry about the rest later, hehe.
钉主户的四个儿子,不按法办事,目无国法.过去强行造楼,现在又对抗政府数年不拆楼.以汔油弹炸执法人员,有组织有网络地组织人们围攻执法人员,推翻警车,用小技造假搞死人场面,真是看不过去.
嵊州市的一位老人说句话.
—————————————————————
这位我知道，是频频出现各大报纸上面的”一位退休老工人”
这老家伙还没死哪？
作者： 203.81.17.* 2007-6-22 18:24 回复此发言
IP: 203.81.17.*:
“The nail-owner has four children. Not handling this in according with the law, disregard for national law. They once forced this building's construction, not they want a facedown with the government over a building that should have been torn down years ago. Even blasting law enforcement officers with paint bombs, grouping to use the internet to organize people to come mob law enforcement officers, flipping over police cars, using this dinky website to fabricate people's deaths, it's really too much to bear watching. A Shengzhou city senior has spoken.” –I know who this is, it's “a retired old worker” who always shows up in every major paper. This old guy still isn't dead?
共产党没有一个是好东西,
作者： 218.0.96.* 2007-6-22 19:25 回复此发言
IP: 218.0.96.*:
There's not a single Communist Party that's a good thing.
有人打死了？？~~真的假啊~~
作者： may的day 2007-6-22 19:33 回复此发言
may's day:
Someone was beaten to death? For real?
回复：[转贴]中国最牛的楼还数浙江嵊州
哈哈，我昨天刚刚从嵊州来杭州，听出租车司机说已经拆掉了啊
乱说！！今天还没拆呢！
作者： may的day 2007-6-22 19:34 回复此发言
may's day:
“Haha, I just came to Hangzhou from Shengzhou yesterday. I heard the taxi driver say it had already been torn down.” –Nonsense! It still hadn't been torn down today!
我也看到了.不过有的真有的假
作者： 60.187.161.* 2007-6-22 19:38 回复此发言
IP: 60.187.161.*
I saw it too. But some of what's here is true, some of it is false.
哪有什么人打死，他现在好着呢
作者： 220.191.227.* 2007-6-22 20:21 回复此发言
IP: 220.191.227.*:
Yeah whatever someone got killed. Is the guy okay now?
这位老太据说才八十多，平时都住在敬老院的，儿子们也并不很孝顺，现在为了谋取一己之私，居然把老娘亲拿来作挡箭牌，于心何忍，居心何在！！
作者： 220.191.227.* 2007-6-22 20:24 回复此发言
IP: 220.191.227.*
They say that old lady is over eighty years old, normally just stays in a senior's facility. And her sons aren't very filial, now they're just using her for their personal gain, actually bringing old mum out to act as a shield. Don't they have hearts? What are they thinking!
共产党没有一个是好东西,
作者： 218.0.96.* 2007-6-22 19:25 回复此发言
没有共产党就没有新中国，又哪来我们今天幸福安定的生活呢？安分守己的人是不会希望天下大乱的。
作者： 220.191.227.* 2007-6-22 20:28 回复此发言
IP: 220.191.227.*:
“There's not a single Communist Party that's a good thing.” –Without the Communist Party there wouldn't be a New China. Where else do you think the happy, stable lives we have today came from? Law-abiding citizens wouldn't want to see chaos under heaven.
坚决支持合法拆迁，不拆迁就不会有生活环境的改善，不会有生活的进步，更不会有建设的日新月异。再说了，假如当年没有拆迁，这旁边没有文化广场，没有其他拆迁户的积极配合，他这房子能这么显山露水，房价也不可能有这么高，更不能以日益增长的房价来估量现在他这房子的价格；再说了，如果所有的人都像他这样，那城市建设还要不要搞，难道其他拆迁的人都是傻瓜不成！拆迁固然要合法，要关注百姓们的利益，但也绝不能让此成为某些人的幌子，如果不合理合法，其他拆迁户又怎么会拆呢？
作者： 220.191.227.* 2007-6-22 20:36 回复此发言
IP: 220.191.227.*:
I firmly support the legal demolition and eviction. To not go ahead with it would mean no improvement of our living environment, no improvement of life and, especially, no constant new development. Again, back in the day if things hadn't been torn down and people relocated, there would be no Culture Square, and no other relocatees at the time would have actively cooperated. This house of their's now is just dew on a wet mountain; the price of the house can't be that high, and the price of this house of his definitely can't be estimated based on the standard, rising daily, [market] price of houses. Again, if everyone acted like him, would there still be any construction left happening in the city? Or were all the other evictees too stupid? Demolitions and relocations of course need to be done in accordance with the law, in consideration of the public's interest, but it absolutely cannot be allowed to become some people's camouflage. If it hadn't been done reasonably and by the law, why did the other evictees agree?
如果不合理合法，其他拆迁户又怎么会拆呢？
作者： 220.191.227.* 2007-6-22 20:36 回复此发言
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也许那就是中国人的奴性啊～～～
作者： may的day 2007-6-22 21:49 回复此发言
may's day:
“If it hadn't been done reasonably and by the law, why did the other evictees agree?” –maybe it's just that Chinese people are servile.
可怜的老娘，被不孝子当作生财的工具，从敬老院接回也有1年多了吧
作者： 60.187.216.* 2007-6-22 21:59 回复此发言
IP: 60.187.216.*:
The poor old mum, being used as a profitable tool by her unfilial son, kept out of the senior's home for a year already
市人大的人都吃干屎去了!
作者： 218.74.45.* 2007-6-22 22:02 回复此发言
IP: 218.74.45.*:
The city's NPC delegates are all off eating dried shit!
从下午开始,防暴警察全副武装想冲上这个牛楼.但都被牛楼的主人们用汽油弹一次一次打退.
好厉害哦？？？？
作者： 60.187.221.* 2007-6-22 22:04 回复此发言
IP: 60.187.221.*:
“Starting yesterday afternoon, fully-armed riot police were ready to charge into the building but one-by-one were driven off by paint bombs used by the owners.” –a little fierce, no?
没错，那地段至少值5000块钱，居然只肯给2500每平米。禽兽啊。我有春节时实拍的照片
作者： 221.225.159.* 2007-6-22 22:05 回复此发言
221.225.159.*:
That's right, that piece of land is at least worth 5,000 yuan/square meter, but they're actually only willing to give 2,500/m. The beasts! I have some photos I took in the spring.
如果不合理合法，其他拆迁户又怎么会拆呢？
——————————————————————————–
估计楼上的是枪手啊~哈哈~~~
作者： may的day 2007-6-22 22:32 回复此发言
may's day:
“If it hadn't been done reasonably and by the law, why did the other evictees agree?” –I bet this guy's a gunman…haha….
51楼，你是一条好狗。
作者： 125.119.186.* 2007-6-22 22:48 回复此发言
IP: 125.119.186.*:
220.191.227.*, you're one good little dog.
我只是觉得.,中国的房价TNND是不是涨的快了点啊,2500么差不多了.5000哪个买的起,房产公司买就要5000 ,卖到我们手里不就上 6.7000了呢.工资呢.我们这边工资才多少.2000一个月啊.要还多少年啊?要5000,还让不让人活了啊!!!!!!!!
作者： 60.187.231.* 2007-6-22 22:54 回复此发言
60.187.231.*:
I just think, aren't China's housing prices rising a little too fricking quickly? RMB 2,500/meter is about right. 5,000/meter, who can afford that? If realty companies buy it at 5,000, they'll sell it to us at 6000 or 7000/meter. Wages? How much do we get paid? RMB 2,000 a month! How many years is that? 5,000 a month, how could we live?????
房主不厚道,有一次看到一些人在牛楼边谈论此事,其中当有人表示牛楼主人做法不妥时,旁边立即有人气势凶凶地威胁起他来,让他不敢再说话了.这才明白牛楼边老是有楼主安排的人在造舆论．
作者： 60.187.209.* 2007-6-22 23:27 回复此发言
60.187.209.*:
The owner's not lenient enough. One time I saw some people at Awesome Building talking about this. When one of them said that the owner's actions were inappropriate, immediately people appeared and started threatening him, leaving him afraid to keep talking. Then I understood that the Awesome Building owners always arrange for people to be fabricating public opinion.
生为嵊州人 哎…..我感到….!!! 高兴
作者： 218.75.114.* 2007-6-22 23:38 回复此发言
IP: 218.75.114.*:
As a Shengzhou native, aye….I feel….pleased!!!
官逼民反，危矣！
作者： 218.59.224.* 2007-6-23 08:45 回复此发言
IP: 218.59.224.*:
Officials always force the people to fight back, so dangerous!
我市依法查处一名网上虚构事实扰乱公共秩序的违法人员
文章提交者：与人为善【江南论坛】 http://www.jnbbs.cn
2007年6月18日我市发生一起因拆迁引起的群体性事件，违法嫌疑人黄某（男，３２岁，通源乡岗下村人）在互联网上收集现场照片并自己撰写了一些”浙江嵊州因政府强制拆迁导致群众冲击政府大楼，现在已经有一群众在冲突中身亡，多人受伤，政府部门暴力执法，警察手持警棍殴打无辜百姓”等信息的帖子发至凤凰论坛、绍兴E网论坛等互交式网站中，经核实此次事件中并无人员死亡，属于虚假信息。此信息造成了严重的社会影响，扰乱了正常的社会秩序。根据《中华人民共和国治安管理处罚法》的相关规定，公安机关对此人已采取治安拘留处罚。文字狱也随即上演了
作者： 125.121.1.* 2007-6-23 09:03 回复此发言
IP: 125.121.1.*:
“Our city was legally able to search out one criminal responsible for inventing truths online and disturbing public order
Document submitted by: ‘Friendly For And With The People', Jiangnan BBS, http://www.jnbbs.cn
On June 18, a mass incident instigated by a ‘demolition-eviction' took place in our city. The criminal suspect Mr. Huang (Male, 32 years old, from Tongyuan County, Gangxia Village) collected photos from the scene and placed them on the internet, writing: “In Shengzhou, Zhejiang, the government's forced demolition and eviction [of a building] gave rise to a mass clash at the government tower. Many people have already died in the conflict at present, many more are hurt and government departments are using violence to enforce the law. Police are carrying batons and violently beating innocent civilians” such information in a post published on the Phoenix Forum, the Shaoxing eNet Forum and other interactive internet sites. Following verification, no people were hurt during this incident, it's a matter of false information. This information has had serious social impact, disturbing the normal social order. According to the related provisions in “Public Order and Punishment Law of the People's Republic of China”, the police department has already taken measures to restore order and arrest and punish those responsible.”—literary persecution comes at any time…
房主不厚道,有一次看到一些人在牛楼边谈论此事,其中当有人表示牛楼主人做法不妥时,旁边立即有人气势凶凶地威胁起他来,让他不敢再说话了.这才明白牛楼边老是有楼主安排的人在造舆论．
作者： 60.187.209.* 2007-6-22 23:27 回复此发言
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你在给政府造舆论吧,在威胁我们网民吧.你这个狗东西.
作者： 125.113.150.* 2007-6-23 09:28 回复此发言
IP: 125.113.150.*:
“The owner's not lenient enough. One time I saw some people at Awesome Building talking about this. When one of them said that the owner's actions were inappropriate, immediately people appeared and started threatening him, leaving him afraid to keep talking. Then I understood that the Awesome House owners always arrange for people to be fabricating public opinion.”
—You're just fabricating public opinion for the government, threatening us netizens. You're just a low-down dog.
不是文字狱,没人死,也没那么多人受伤,要说受伤,估计警察受伤的人最多.要说损失,估计警察的损失最大,那他们就不是人了?百姓是人,警察就不是人?警察就活该让人乱扔砖头???警察就活该让人打死?虽然说警察没制造好隔离带,让那些浑水摸鱼的人混进来制造混乱,但是个人,就不可能被人乱扔石头打伤了还平平静静的维持治安,那谁还肯做警察?谁来给我们维持治安.需要用警察的社会就叫爹叫娘叫叔叔,不要用到的时候警察就是条狗???可怜的中国人啊,可怜的中国警察,可怜的半桶水资本主义人权思想,凡是要想周全,估计在这发言的人极大部分是想当公务员而当不了公务员的吧.要人权,去美国吧,乖乖交税才能获取你该有的人权
作者： 60.187.227.* 2007-6-23 11:59 回复此发言
IP: 60.187.227.*:
It's not literary persecution and nobody died. There's not even that many hurt. You wanna talk about hurt? I'll bet most of the people hurt are police. You want to talk about loss? I'll bet that the police have lost the most. Aren't they people too? Civilians are people but police aren't? Police should have bricks thrown at them just because they're alive? Though the police didn't set up the barrier tape properly to stop those profiteering troublemakers from rolling in and creating chaos, people can't be expected to quietly go on maintaining the peace when people are madly throwing rocks and hurting them. Otherwise, who'd be willing to be a police officer? Who would come and maintain public order for us? When people need a policed society it's all 'sir', ‘ma'am', ‘uncle', but the minute that's not wanted, police are just dogs???? The poor Chinese people! The poor Chinese police! The poor half-filled bucket of capitalist and human rights ideology water! We always need to see the big picture. I'll bet that the vast majority of people posting here are just people who wanted to be civil servants but couldn't get in! You want human rights? Go to America. Be good and pay your taxes and then you'll get the human rights you deserve.
我在想..要是中国所有百姓所有官员所有公司一个都不逃税,会出现什么情况………交了税,百姓就有权利使用自己该有的权利,官还敢不敢贪污受贿???还敢不敢欺上瞒下???
作者： 60.187.227.* 2007-6-23 12:06 回复此发言
IP: 60.187.227.*:
I'm just thinking….if all the Chinese people, all the Chinese officials, all the Chinese companies didn't evade their taxes, what sort of situation would develop……..if we paid our taxes, the common people would have the right to make use of the rights we deserve. Would officials still dare to accept bribes then??? Would they still dare to lie to and steal from everyone below and above them?
Oman: Blogging Back on Track
The Omani blogging scene is growing out of Gonu, the tropical storm that hit the country earlier this month. Bloggers this week have tried to move on and discuss different topics.
Ti3gib thinks that Omani bloggers are fading away and are not as active as bloggers from neighbouring countries:
The number of active bloggers has been decreasing steadily and radically over the last year, and if it continues at this rate, we -Omani bloggers- should be keyboard-silent in a few months from now. I don't know what the causes are, but I think time-management could be a big role. Too busy, is and excuse but not a reason, maybe laziness and routine and those could easily be dealt with.
As summer approaches, Al Mawaali asks bloggers about their summer plans,
and Omani Expat posts about available indoor leisure activities that could be done:
From May to September, temperature and humidity become very high in the Sultanate. Outdoor activities, such as tourism or trekking, are not possible anymore. You have to make do with indoor activities, such as :
- Intercontinental club, where you can use the swimming pool, squash courts and gym room.
- …..
This one is the for Omani consumer, Suburban tells her story of horrible customer service, harassment, and the pain of dealing with the delivery boys of a huge electronics shop in Oman:
I bought a shockingly expensive new washing machine last week from EMAX. It has all the bells and whistles, about ten thousand different washing programmes and comes from a trusted manufacturer. The salesman was clueless, but as helpful. A delivery was arranged for two days later. Two days later, as promised I get a call from the lost delivery guys trying to find my house in the war-zone that is my neighborhood. Everything went wrong from there.
Bloggers all around Oman have been sharing the Gonu song by Omani singer Salah Al Zadjali, here is what Muscat & Wife said about it:
I know we weren't in the best of spirits because of what happened (Gonu and whatnot), but if you are reading this, then Im sure you have survived it :)
I wanted to share something special with you. Its Salah's Al Zadjali's new song. One which he wrote during the aftermath of Gonu..
Korea: Military Service
Military service in Korea: Is there any topic more sensitive? And draft dodger? And even a public figure? That spells death in society. Several years ago, a popular male singer chose American citizenship in order to evade military service. After it was exposed, he is still not allowed to return to Korea. His main stage is in China now. His statement in an interview that he hopes to come back to Korea brought outrage among people in Korea. He isn’t forgiven, especially by men who have already devoted years of their youth to military service. Maybe he will never be forgiven.
Another singer made a mistake about military service. While he was in military service, he didn’t perform his duties adequately. His duty was called ‘byeong yeok teuk rye: san eop che yo won’ (special military service: industrial field service men). He finished it several years ago. Then somehow the fact that he did not completely perform all of his duties has been exposed. After an investigation, it was decided he would go to military service again and he accepted it with public apology. There are several reasons why he is blamed. It is suspected that he used a private connection to go to the special military service through his relative, even though he was physically healthy. Even though he didn’t have any special skills, he was allowed in with a certificate that many Korean young people acquire. In addition, repeated suspicious military service exemptions for healthy male entertainers (like singers and movie stars) makes people angrier about this scandal.
[In Korea, there are different kinds of military service. The most common service is to serve for 24 to 28 months as national soldiers. They work in the air force, navy, and the national army. They stay together and are sometimes allowed to take vacations. Usually, healthy Korean men serve in this. The other one is public service, which has to serve for 18 to 28 months. Like regular workers, they work from morning to afternoon in public service places. The division is by physical status (but other matters are involved which causes criticisms) or special skills, such as technical skills. And there are men who can be exempted from this service due to physical or mental status (or other matters). They are called ‘God’s sons.’ The singer Psy’s case was to serve his duty in an industrial company – regular working hours – instead of military service as the qualification of skillful technician in IT for three years.]
Does he really have to go through military service again? Some wonder about it. That’s the only way to justify military duty. Others are so sure of this judgment.
Moveon21 was shocked about the decision that the Prosecutors’ Office made.
군대 제대한 사람 중에 지금 다시 군대 갔다 오라고 한다면 받아들일 사람 있을까. 난 거짓말 하나 안보태고 천억을 줘도 안 간다. 이건 남자에게 교도소 2년 갔다 올래와 거의 차이가 없는 질문이다. 아마 병역필한 남자라면 나의 말에 거의 동감할 것이다.
지금도 가끔 피곤하면 군대에 다시 붙들려 가는 꿈을 꾼다. 영장을 제시하는 병역청 공무원 앞에서 이건 착오라며 다시 확인해달라며 울부짖다 깨곤 한다. 군대 가기 전엔 누군가에게 쫒기는 꿈을 악몽이라고 꾼 거 같은데 군대 다녀온 후에는 군대 다시 가는 꿈이 지금까지 악몽의 자리를 차지하고 있다. 아마 내가 더 충격적인 경험을 하지 않는 한 죽을 때까지 군대는 악몽으로 남아 있을 것이다.
그런데 이 어이없는 악몽의 상황에 우리가 잘 아는 한 남자가 직면해 있다. 바로 싸이다. 검찰에서 부실근무 판정을 받은 싸이에게 현역입대 판정이 확실시 되고, 싸이는 행정소송 하지 않고 그냥 받아들이기로 했다고 한다. 아무리 복무를 부실하게 했기로 서니 다시 군대까지 가야 한다니, 만약 내가 저 처지라면 생각하니 악몽이 떠올라 온 몸에 오한이 드는 기분이다. 그래서 싸이의 부실근무 사건을 바라보면서 고소함 보다는 말할 수 없는 착찹함을 더 느끼게 된다.
국가가 싸이를 다시 한 번 군에 부른다면 그건 법이 아니라 폭력이다.
Even now I have a dream of being dragged to military service when I’m tired. I cry, asking the government official who brought the order form to check one more time, ‘it’s a mistake.’ Before I went to military service, I had a nightmare of being chased. After military service, my nightmare is to be dragged to military service again. As long as I don’t have any other shocking experience, this dream will be my nightmare.
And there is a man who is facing this nightmare now. It’s a singer, Psy. Due to insincere duty, the Prosecutor’s Office ordered him to go to military service again. He decided not to appeal. Even though he didn’t follow the duty well, he has to go to military service again! I felt chilly because it reminds me of the nightmare. Rather than feeling fair, I feel perplexed.
If the nation called him again, this is not a law, but violence.
About his post, there are already 95 opinions below.
One poster, Himneyo, doesn’t understand how it was possible for Psy to work so casually and to skip working hours, an