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Can Haitians tackle drugs and corruption?

lingua → bn · jp · zht · zhs

Last week, Haitian president René Préval declared before the leaders of the fifteen member countries of CARICOM and President George Bush that fighting corruption and drugs were his government's top priorities.

“Those dealing drugs and contraband buy police, judges, and other government officials and there will be no stability if the problem of drugs is not sorted out in the right way. It's useless to talk about investment, progress, stability if the drug problem remains intact,” Preval told Le Nouvelliste (Fr).

Collectif-haiti-de-provence responds to Préval's statements, describing how deeply-entrenched corruption is in Haiti and doubting Préval's resolve to address it.

Beaucoup d’haïtiens et d’étrangers intéressés par la situation d’Haïti s’interrogent sur la mise en œuvre d’une politique visant effectivement a redressé le pays et l’acheminer vers des lendemains un peu plus cléments pour l’ensemble de la population. Le contenu du questionnement reste dans le classique : Quand ? Comment ? Et avec qui ?

Many Haitians and foreigners interested in the situation in Haiti ask themselves about putting in place an effective policy that can set the country right and put it on a path toward a better tomorrow for all the people. The content of the question remains the same: When? How? And with whom?

(more…)

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Arabeyes: Hamas and Fatah Dig Up Some Dirt

Amira Al Hussaini · 15:06 · Middle East & North Africa

lingua → de

The battle between Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas has just got dirtier and Tunisian blogger Clandestino has the scoop.

يبدو انهم الاخوة في “فلسطين” -او ما تبقى منها- تعلّمو طرق و اساليب الدول المحترفة في الابتزاز و التهديد و نشر الفساد … فالجميع يعرفو انها فلسطين ما هياش دولة ( و شوف تولي دولة شوف لا) و لكن “الحكومات ” المتعاقبة اللي تحكم في الحوم (جمع حومة)المتفرقة و المقسّمة اللي كانت في يوم ما مدن عريقة و منارات حضارية اثّرت في التاريخ , تتصرّف كانها تحكم في دولة مستقلة عندها 51 سنة ….

It seems that the brothers in Palestine - or what is left of it - have learned from other countries which are experts in blackmail, threatening and spreading corruption. Everyone knows that Palestine isn't a state but that the successive governments which govern the different spread out and divided neighbourhoods, which were once thriving towns and centres of civilisation which had an impact on history, behave as though they are governing a country which has been independent for 51 years. They have even developed the means in which they can blackmail adversaries and achieve goals.

Candestino goes on to tell us how Hamas discovered piles sex videos featuring ministers and high profile Palestinian officials, showing us how much dirtier the war between Fatah and Hamas is getting.

From Egypt, blogger Abdulmonem Mahmood brings us the latest on a crackdown by security forces.

اعتقلت قوات أمن الدولة 33 طالبا من مصيف بمنطقة الهانوفيل بالعجمي غرب الاسكندرية في فجر اليوم بعد أن داهمت ثلاث شقق كان الطلاب يستأجرونها لقضاء ثلاثة أيام مصيف الطلاب ينتمون لجماعة الاخوان المسلمين 26 منهم من طلاب بهندسة عين شمس بالقاهرة و سبعة طلاب بجامعة الاسكندرية , وقد قام أحد الطلاب بالاتصال بأصدقائه فور مداهمة الشقة وأخبرهم باعتقالهم , هذا ولم يتم عرضهم علي أي نيابة حتي الان ويرفض جهاز مباحث أمن الدولة الادلاء بمكان احتجازهم أو سبب الاعتقال

Security Forces arrested 33 students in a summer house in Ajami, West Alexandria at dawn after breaking into three apartments booked by students who belong to the Muslim Brotherhood for three days. Twenty-six of the students study engineering at Ain Shams in Cairo and seven are from the University of Alexandria. One of the students contacted a friend as soon as the apartment was broken into and told him about the arrests. They have not been presented to the Public Prosecutor yet and the State Security refuses to tell us where they are being held or why have they all been arrested.

Still in Egypt, Ahmed Sharif, makes this video, and dedicates it to Abdulmonem Mahmood, who belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, and everyone else in Egypt.

The video appeals to the different sects and people in Egypt and stresses that despite all their different colours and hues, they are all Egyptians.
Sharif provides a translation of the Arabic video on his blog.

In Saudi Arabia, Mashghool (or Busy) narrates to us what happened to him on his brother's wedding day.

هذي الكلمة كانت راسخه في راسي مع بداية اليوم الجديد اللي راح يكون فيه زواج أخوي الكبير (نستقبل التهاني بعد العيد) :) .. وكنت شايل هم أمور كثيرة والسبب طبعاً (الحريم) .. ودنا للسوق باقي غرض ما شريناه ..:( .. (لو تبقى معهم خمسه ريال قالوا ودنا للسوق) .. طيب وديناهم للسوق .. رجعنا نتمدد بعد الظهر ونتغدا .. شوي الا يطمرون عليك بسرعة ترى بتودينا القاعة عشان متواعدين مع الكوفيرة تجينا هناك :( .. طيب طمرنا ووديناهم للقاعة اللي في قلعة وادرين ورجعنا للبيت نريح :( .. شوي الا جايني أبوي .. رح للمطعم الفلاني وخذ العصيرات وودهم للقاعة قبل المغرب ! .. ترى ما يمدي .. وانا أقول في قلبي (يازين الدوام) .. طمرنا وشرينا العصيرات ووديناهم للقاعة (مع ان القاعة المفروض توفر كل شي :( ) .. ورجعنا عقب صلاة المغرب نتمدد ( ياكثر ما تمددنا ذاك اليوم) .. شوي الا أخوي الصغير مسكت معه يلبس شماغ وعقال :( .. جاني أبوي قال رح أشترله من أي محل قريب (بقالة مو محل ملابس) .. وأنا رايح أشتري لأخوي الصغير يدق علي اخوي اللي يبي يتزوج يقولي يسألني عن وضع الفندق ( يقولي هاه كلمتهم وتأكدت من الوضع) .. قلت طيب أيه من أمس وبدق الحين أحتياط :( ..ورجعت للبيت باخذ لي شور سريع عشان أروح للقاعة مع الرجاجيل (كني بزر على هالجملة) .. وصلنا للقاعة وليتني ما وصلت .. كأني هندي جاي على كفالة هالمعازيم حط جب شف رح خذ لا ايه .. وآخر شي واحد من خوالي خلاني أدور بزارينه عشان يصورون مع أخوي :( .. يعني ذاك اليوم لو مشتغل سباك أحسن لي :( .. وأبشركم ما طلعت من القاعة الا بعد صلاة الفجر .. لزوم تكية الحريم على بالهم ان عرسهم زحمة ومطول (شي يقهر) .. مر علي يوم سيء تعبت فيه تعب مو طبيعي :(

A wedding of for two and madness is for 2,000. This is what has been echoing in my head from the beginning of the day my elder brother was getting married on. I was worried about a lot of things, mostly because of the women. Take us to the market, there are few things we haven't bought yet… They would ask to be taken to the market even if they only had 5 Riyals left. Fine, we take them to the market. We return home and rest for a while and have lunch. They then ask you to quickly take them to the wedding hall, where they have an appointment with the hairdresser. So I take them to the hall. They then ask to return them home to rest. Then my father comes, and asks me to go to a restaurant and get some juice and take it to the hall. So I take the juice to the hall before the sun sets even though the hall should have provided the juice. After the sunset prayers, we rested for a while and my little brother decided to wear the Arabic costume. So my father asks me to take my little brother to the store and buy him the clothes he wanted. As I was out with my little brother, my elder brother, who is getting married called, and asked me whether I have called the hotel where the wedding will take place and checked if all was well. I told him I had checked yesterday but will call again to double check. I returned home and took a quick shower and then went to the hall where the men gathered for the wedding. I reached the hall and I wish I hadn't/ I was like an Indian who was there under the sponsorship of the guests. They were bossing me around asking me to do everything. The final straw was my uncle who asked me to look for his little sons so that they can all take a family picture with the groom. I would have been better off had I worked as a plumber on that day. I didn't leave the hall until after the dawn prayers. I was so tired on that day.

Our last stop today is in Egypt again, where Bent Masreya (Egyptian Girl) gets an unexpected visit - from a dead grandmother.

كيف يكون هذا الشعور عندما تستيقظ من النوم وقد زارتك فى الأحلام جدتك الراحلة؟
أنا لم يزرني راحلين فى أحلامى قط.
لم تأتني جدتي التي تزور أمي وخالاتي وخالي وبعض من جاراتها.. وتكثر الزيارات إلى أختي. حتى بن بنت خال والدتي زارته فى منامه.. ولم تزرني أبداً.
والغريب أنها تزور أختي حتى فى المواضيع التي تخصني أنا. فعندما أرفض عريساً تزور أختي لتحرضها على اقناعي، فأضحك وأقول لها: “اللى عايز يقول لي حاجة، يجيلي أنا”.
وعلى هذا فأنا تصلني رسائلها من خلال وسيط :) والتي أتعامل معها بمنطق أنها جدتي التي اعتادت أن تكون السيدة صاحبة الشخصية القوية والمؤثرة والتى تنصح حفيدتها ليس إلا، وبالتالي فهذا ليس توجيها إلاهيا لأقوم بفعل ما لا أريد وما لا أقتنع به.
ولكني أظل أتسائل ما هو هذا الشعور عندما يزورك أحد الأموات فى المنام؟ كيف يكون استقبالك لهذا الحدث؟ شخص رحل عنك منذ عشرة سنوات أو أكثر، تنظر فى صوره على فترات زمنية متباعدة لكي لا تسقط ملامحه من ذاكرتك وتنمحي فى زحمة الأحداث والوجوه اليومية. ثم يأتيك على حين حلم وفي ظل الحركات السريعة للعينين وبعد أن شقت لك مغازل النوم الطريق إلى منتجع النوم العميق تجد هذا الراحل أمامك يطمئنك أو ينصحك أو يحذرك أو يبشرك.. أو حتى يلتقيك لتملأ عينيك من وجهه الذي تشتاق إليه وكف

How do you feel when you wake up after your dead grandmother visited you in your sleep? I have never been visited by the dead in my dreams. My grandmother who visits my mother, aunts, uncle and some of her neighbours, and especially my sister, has never visited me. She even visited my mother's niece's son but never visited me. What is strange is that she appears to my sister and talks to her about things about me. When I turn down a marriage proposal, she visits my sister and asks her to encourage me to accept. I used to laugh and say: Who ever has a message for me .. should deliver it himself. I used to get her messages through a mediator. But I deal with her as a grandmother who had a strong and effective personality and who was just advising her granddaughter. This is why I don't take those visions as a directive and I don't do what I am not convinced about. But I still used to ask myself how it would feel to be visited by the dead in your sleep. Some one who has died more than 10 years ago but whose image is printed in your memory and doesn't get erased by time and everyday clutter. Then as you are in deep sleep, he comes to assure, advise and warn you .. or even enables you to see the face you miss so much..

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Kuwait is like a Cinema

Abdullatif AlOmar · 14:08 · Middle East & North Africa

Kuwaiti bloggers have more than meets the eyes. This week we hear from a Kuwaiti teacher, a film maker and an artist. We also see how one blogger reacted when the electricity was cut at work and why a vital pedestrian crossing between two sections of a mall comes to a standstill at 11pm.

MacaholiQ8 explains why she is happy leaving her current school after she got transfered.

Last week school's over and I'm out of Jeleeb Sheyokh for good starting next semester (fingers crossed) so here's the ultimate “I HATE JELEEB SHEYOKH” post.

I will show you the trash yard (a.k.a. school) I've been working in for over 6 months. The school has been under construction for the whole time I've been there so that is the actual work environment.

EXzombie brings to our attention an event , the first Kuwaiti Amature short film festival, where he has a movie featured.

Kuwait Cinema Club and Kuwait National Cinema Company (Cinescape) are showing on Saturday June 30th and on Sunday July 1st at the Sha'ab cinema the First Kuwaiti Amateur Short Film Festival.

moodart shows his latest art which is linked with the current mood in Kuwait.

حديث الساعه في الكويت وايضا في منطقة الشرق الاوسط

the talk of the hour now in Kuwait and also in the Middle East

قمت بتنفيذ هذا العمل يوم امس .. cinema4d + maxwellrender

I finished this work yesterday using cinema4d + maxwellrender

عبارة عن جفاف يطال خزان المياه وايضا سطح المنزل وانابيب المياه كذلك !!

It is about a drought that hit the water tank and also the house roof and water pipes.

Marzouq over at zdistrict explains his experience at work when the power went out.

The building slowly got hotter and hotter, I was running between two buildings since the phones were out. We were making phone calls on our cell phones. Only those of us who had laptops could still do some work, and those who had desktops couldn’t really do anything.

Maze over at maze of thoughts talks about his latest Virgin Mega Store visit and how he feel it is reducing its size:

I passed by VIRGIN today morning to get some CDs and realized that the place is shrinking. The whole center of the store has been blocked by white walls. Dunno what's going on but there must be something fishy…or they have leased the place to a restaurant since VIRGIN has become these days a bazaar where all shops can sell their goods. I asked the cashier what's happening and as usual I got a confused answer.

Qaiss over at Io81 writes about a problem he faced at one of the local malls and how many others faces the same problem.

Who hasn’t been to Marine Mall? It’s a landmark in Kuwait which attracts many citizens and residents basically every single day of the week (It’s always packed no matter what day it is). The Marina Mall project as everyone is aware of, constitutes of two buildings connected by a pedestrian bridge. This bridge is there to cater for the mall’s clients/customers for ease of transportation between the main mall and the Marina Crescent, which defines the shops renting at the shopping mall and the attending customers. And whenever the mall shuts at 11pm the bridge shuts as well!

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Korea: Internet and Anonymity

Hyejin Kim · 13:51 · East Asia

lingua → es · zht · zhs

Internet portal sites in Korea will use the real-name comment system (daet-geul sil-myeong-je) from this month. Two major portal sites, Daum and Naver, already started from the 27th of June, and 35 other major portal sites will implement the system this month.

In Korean portal sites, internet news or blog news have ‘comments or responses section’ under the posts and they are called daet-geul (they usually have short contents and netizens write their opinions casually). Because it is possible to write it anonymously, some contents are not appropriate, or posted not in earnest, or represent personal attacks. What to do about this situation has been a topic of debate.

Several days have passed. Bloggers share their opinions of this new system.

Some bloggers, like minicactus, have worried about side-effects.

분명 댓글 실명제를 시행한 다음에 악성 댓글의 수위가 낮아지긴 했지만, 그 수에서는 예전과 별로 다르지 않아 보인다.결국 악성 댓글이 사라지는 데는 오랜 시간이 걸릴 것이고, 현재까지는 댓글 실명제가 별로 효과가 없어보인다.더 걱정되는 문제는 네이버와 다음에서 악성 댓글을 달던 사람들이 시간이 지나면서 점차 작은 커뮤니티 사이트로 분산되어 인터넷 전체의 분위기가 흐려지는 것이 아닐까 하는 염려다.

Since the real-name comment system, the level of malignant contents has been lower, but the number has not been dramatically decreasing. It will take time for the bad comments to disappear from the internet. Until now, it seems that it is not so effective. What I’m worried more is that these respondents with bad habits will be dispersed to small community sites and, therefore, the holistic atmosphere of the internet would be generally bad.

Whether this system would control the freedom of expression is the major concern of some bloggers, like hansfamily.

…이 제도 시행에 상당부분 반대를 하는 기류가 많은 것 같다.반대하는 주요 이유로 첫째, 인터넷 정신과 자율성에 훼손을 입힌다는 것, 둘째, 자유로운 언로의 통로가 막힐 것이라는 것, 그리고 기본적으로 권력에 의한 통제가 가능해질 것이라는 것 등이 주로 언급되고 있다.
물론 상당부분 일리있는 주장이며 기본적인 원칙에 대해서는 나도 부정할 생각은 없다.그러나 익명성 뒤에 숨어 남을 비방하고 욕을 하며 옳지않은 방향의 소문과 있지도 않은 사실의 유포가 확대되는 이 독버섯같은 사회현상을 어떻게 극복할 수 있을까? 그건 이런 법과 같은 강제성이 아닌 사용자(네티즌) 스스로의 자율 정화에 의해 극복되어야 한다고들 이야기 한다. 너무나 이상적인 희망사항 아닌가?
진짜 아무생각없는 댓글과 비방글로 인해 자살과 자괴감에 빠져 인생을 마감하는 경우를 우리는 종종 보아왔으며 그때마다 사회적 분위기로 각성을 촉구하곤 했다. 그러나 어떤가? 바뀌어가고 있는가? 오히려 더 심각해지고 있지는 않은가?

… it seems that not a few people tend to oppose this system. There are several reasons. The first is that it could damage the basic principle and freedom of the internet, the second is it could interrupt freedom of speech, and the last is the possibility it could be controlled by the authorities.
All these arguments are reasonable and I don’t deny the basic principle either. But how can we overcome this social phenomenon like poisonous mushrooms whereby fake stories are believed like true stories and people blame others? Some people say that it should be overcome by netizens’ wills, not by force. But isn’t that way too idealistic?
We have seen several incidents where some people commit suicide or are depressed due to these nasty comments, and this issue has been a great eye-opener for society. But what has happened so far? Has something changed? Isn’t it getting more serious?

몇년 전부터 지속적으로 인터넷 실명제에 대하여 토론을 벌이며 찬반에 대해 논의해 왔다. 당시에는 사회적 여론 대부분이 실명제에 대해 강력 반대 입장이었다. 그런데 요즘 들어 보니 그 사회적 여론도 일부 바뀌어가고 있다. 절대적인 반대 보다는 부분적 도입을 통해 익명성에 의한 악영향을 막아보자는 방향으로 말이다.
한 가지 궁금한 것은 주민등록번호를 확인한다고 하는데, 외국인이나 주민번호가 없는 해외 동포의 경우에는 아예 언로가 막혀버리는 것인지…

There have been arguments about whether we have to accept this ‘internet real name comment system’ for several years. At that time, the major opinion was against it. But it has been changing. Rather than absolute objections, the partial application is considered in order to interrupt the bad influence of anonymity.
One thing I am curious about is whether, like I heard, they will check ID numbers. How about foreigners or overseas Koreans who don’t have ID numbers?

A blogger brought up issues of a much bigger scope: bad comments and our education.

악플이 넷상의 주요 이슈를 넘어 사회문제가 된 지도 참 오래다. 나 역시 언젠가 부터 뉴스 댓글에 달리는 악플을 보지 않는다.지독한 악취가 나는 쓰레기 장 주변에 얼씬 거리지 않는 건 누구나 다 마찬가지가 아니겠는가? 인터넷 초기 댓글은 참 신선하고 재밌는 기능이었다.게시글에 대해 내 의견을 표현하고 싶을 때 따로 창을 열어 작성하고 봐야하는 답글에 비해 원문을 보면서 바로 아래 즉각적으로 달린 댓글은 참 편리했다. 굳이 긴 글을 달지 않아도 되기 때문에, 별 고민 없이 쉽게 달 수도 있고 , 종종 짧은 댓글 속에서 센스있는 표현들이 오고가면서 댓글 문화라는 것도 웹을 이야기 할 때 빼 놓을 수 없는 요소가 되었다. 비약일지도 모르겠지만,서비스 사용자와 사용자 간, 때로는 서비스 공급자와 사용자간에 활발하고 즉각적인 커뮤니케이션이 살아나면서 우리나라 인터넷 문화도 더욱 발전했고, 그에 따라 사용자들의 욕구와 니즈가 반영된 서비스들이 이만큼 발전해 올 수 있지 않았을까 싶다..

From sometime, I have tended not to read the comments and responses of posts. Wouldn’t everyone avoid stinky trash bins? In the early times, these comments and responses were a really fresh and fun function. This function was really convenient because we can express opinions on reading the post right away. It is much better than the reply system in which we have to open another window to write down our opinions. Because we don’t have to write down a long opinion, we write down what we feel without any serious thought. Writing is short, but there are numerous fresh expressions. I might jump to a conclusion way too fast, but instant and fast communication between service customers, and service suppliers and customers has brought faster development of internet culture in Korea. Therefore, customers’ desire and NIES have been developed fast.

뭐든 지나치면 꼭 부작용이 나타나는 건가..이제 댓글은 예전의 댓글이 아니다.
악플러의 비율이 전체 이용자의 극히 일부인 0.06% 라고는 하지만, 소수의 악플러에 의한 문제들이 사회현상으로 발현되고 있다면, 분명 해결해야 한다. 그렇다면, 실명제가 정답일까.. 실명제의 실시로 인해 제한받게 되고, 억압받을 우려가 있는 개인의 표현의 자유는 어떤식으로 보상받고 최소화 할 수 있을까..

However, anything should not be too much. Comments and responses have changed. Even though 0.06 percent is the only malignant respondents, this small number causes problems and appears as a social issue, and, therefore, we should solve this problem. Then, is the ‘real name system’ the right answer? Due to this, the freedom of opinion and speech would be controlled, and then how can we compensate for these problems?

악플은 온라인의 문제지만, 오프라인에서 그 원인을 찾는게 맞다고 생각한다.

실제 오프라인에서 사람들과 이야기 해보고 토론을 해보면…
자기 주장과 조금만 달라도 쉽게 화를 내고 흥분하는 사람들이 있다.
하나의 현상과 사실로 전체를 판단해 버리는 사람들이 있다.
주장을 펼칠 때, 논리보다는 감정과 선입견을 주요 근거로 말하는 사람들이 있다.
또, 어떤 사람들은 진지한 주제 자체에 거부감을 갖고 조롱하고 비꼬는 것이 재밌고
멋있는 것인양 행동하는 사람들이 있다.정작 면전에 대고는 아무말도 못하지만, 뒤에서는 온갖 욕설과 불만을 털어내는 사람들이 있다.

I think that malignant respondents are problems in the internet world, but we should find the cause in the off-line world.

As a matter of fact, if you sometimes try to have conversations and discussions with others in the off-line world, there are people who are easily angry at others who have different opinions. There are people who judge everything with one symptom or fact. There are people who talk based on emotion and prejudice rather than logical reasons. Or, there are people who refuse to talk about serious topics, who tend to mock those kinds of people (who are serious), and regard their own behavior as cool. There are also people who talk behind the backs of others and complain behind even though they cannot say anything in front of other people’s faces.

결국, 이런 사람들이 인터넷에서 악플을 양산하는 게 아닐까..정상적인 커뮤니케이션에 취약한 이들을 양산한 건 또 무엇일까..
중고교 시절부터 확실히 우리는 토론과 의견을 말하는 것에 익숙치 않은 환경에서 자라왔다. 수업시간에 선생님이 질문이라도 할라치면, 다들 눈을 맞추지 않으려고 애썼고, 선생님의 수업내용에 대해 자발적으로 질문을 하는 경우는 한 학기에 한 두 번도 보기 힘들었다.

In the end, aren’t these kinds of people raising malignant comments and responses on the internet? Why do we have people who are bad at normal communication? In middle and high school period, we were raised in an atmosphere unfamiliar with discussion and opinions. If teachers ask some questions, students tried not to have eye contact with the teachers. It is hard to find one or two students who voluntarily ask questions to teachers in a semester.

어쩌다 질문이라도 한 아이는 친구들 때론, 선생님에게 무안을 당하기 일쑤였고,혹여 수업 시간 끝나갈 때 쯤 질문이라도 하려면 친구들의 눈총을 사야 했다.아이들이 뭘하건 아랑곳 않고, 수업시간 내내 자기 할말만 하다가 가는 선생도 부지기수 였다.

이런 교육 환경속에서 건강한 토론과 대화의 방법을 제대로 체득하지 못한 커뮤니케이션에 취약한 수많은 사람들이 양산되어 왔다고 생각한다.

악플 문제를 해결하기 위해선 교육이 바로서야 하고,교육을 통해 올바른 토론과 대화가 자연스럽고 자유스럽게 일어나는 사회가 되야 한다.

물론, 참 이상적인 얘기이긴 하다..현실적으로는 실명제 또는 제한적 실명제, 또는 그와 비슷한 제한적 장치가 더 효과가 있을 수도 있겠다..

하지만, 근본적으로는 교육이 바로서야 한다고 나는 믿는다..

Sometimes students who asked questions were easy to be humiliated by other students or teachers. If some students ask questions when the class is almost done, they have to put up with being at glaring at by other students. Some teachers disregard students.

Under this education circumstance, we raised numerous people who didn’t acquire healthy discussion and conversation methods. In order to solve this problem, education should be straight and, through the education, upright atmosphere for discussion and conversation should be take root in our society.

Of course, it seems to be ideal. In reality, applying the real-name system, limited real-name system, or other similar limited policy would be more effective.

However, I believe that education should change first.

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Newsmakers: Bangla blog world engages in celeb talk

Aparna Ray · 12:35 · South Asia

lingua → bn

A few weeks back, the celebrity heiress Paris Hilton went in and out of jail and the media lapped up her every move. We learnt about her diet, beauty regimen, ‘mysterious' illness and even her remorse. Paris herself made the best of this opportunity and promised to pen a jail diary, to be sold to the highest bidder. Bangla blogger Konfusius followed the entire event with keen interest and wondered why Bangladeshi celebrity politicians fail to inspire such media frenzy, even as many of them head for incarceration. Does the Bangladeshi media then lack a sense of humor? He asks.

While Paris was busy penning her diaries, two famous literary personalities were creating a buzz in the Bangla blogosphere, creating a debate around the right of freedom of expression.

Novelist Salman Rushdie was honored with a knighthood, sparking protests in parts of the Muslim world. The sparks touched the Bangla world as well. Blogger Apbak found these protests by religious fanatics shameful. He felt that by undertaking such protests and launching fatwas at the slightest pretext, the Muslim community was getting more and more alienated and the inherent goodness of Islam was being forced to take a backseat.

Bangladeshi Author in exile, the fiery Taslima Nasrin's article “Tumi bhalo theko priyo desh” (Keep well, my dear country) started a conversation among bloggers, debating whether or not the ban on her should be lifted. Tariq, for one, felt that she should be allowed to return to Bangladesh, her homeland.

And talking of freedom of expression, it seems that the Bangla blogosphere needs more space to express itself. Breaking away from Somewherein, a group of Bangladeshi bloggers have launched a new blogging platform Sachalayatan . According to Arup, the space would be more like an online magazine, with contributors being given their own blog spaces. Currently however, the platform does not allow comments by all readers and is being strictly moderated. Will wait and watch to see how conversations develop in this newly created space.

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Bolivia: A Previous Encounter with the Victim and the Problem With the Fashion Society

Mario Duran · 04:25 · Americas

lingua → es

El Deber is a Santa Cruz newspaper that has been heavily using blogs as a way to communicate, Jose Andres Sanchez writes about prostituion in Santa Cruz in his blog El Pais de las Maravillas [ES]. According to him, this business makes no distinction in social classes and writes about the news of the murder of a 'supposed' pimp and a previous encounter with him for a story:

La noche del martes el ciudadano Jorge Adolfo Perales Sosa, de 49 años, fue asesinado con seis balazos. Dos de esos disparos le perforaron el corazón. Al llegar los policías, descubrieron un catálogo fotográfico con imágenes de jóvenes modelos de la ciudad. Entonces surgió la pregunta: ¿se trata de un proxeneta? ¿es éste uno de los famosos catálogos de los que tanto se habla? Ocurrió durante la noche y los medios televisivos brindaron una amplia cobertura al hecho policial.

A mí la noticia me sorprendió en lo personal y no pude dejar de sentir asombro y a la vez algo parecido a la tristeza. En febrero de este año conocí a Perales Sosa. Fue en el marco de una investigación realizada, acerca de comercio sexual infantil en Santa Cruz de la Sierra. A continuación les dejo un texto mío que mañana saldrá publicado en El Deber. Es una descripción de la manera en la que Perales realizaba sus negocios.

Tuesday night, Jorge Adolfo Perales Sosa (49) was murdered with six bullets. Two of the bullets entered his heart. When the police arrived, they discovered a photo catalog with images of young models from the city. The question emerged: was he a pimp? Is this one of those famous catalogs that has been talked about? It happened at night and the the television channels gave broad coverage of this police action.

The news surprised me personally and I could not help but feel surprised, but also saddened. In February of this year, I met Perales Sosa. It was during an investigation about child prostitution in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The following is the rest of a story that will be published in El Deber, in which it described the way Perales went about his business.

The blogger Don Juan de Sarco of Dies, Nox et Omnia [ES] reflects on the purchase of the Petrobras refineries by the Evo Morales government:

Confiamos que ésta empresa no se manejará pólíticamente (ni sindicalmente), y ojalá las decisiones técnicas de los administradores sean escuchadas y respetadas por los políticos (aunque no siempre sean entendidas) y que ésta nacionalización jamás sirva para subvencionar los precios de los carburantes a algunos sectores acostumbrados a exigir todos los servicios a título gratuito.

We hope that this company will not be run politically (or by syndicates) and hopefully the technical decisions made by the administrators will be followed and respected by the politicians (even though they are not always understood) and that this nationalization will never serve to subsidize the price of fuels to benefit some sectors that are used to demand free services.

Desnudate's [ES] Violeta writes about the trend of asking for one's ethnic origins. She also questions the “fashion society” of Santa Cruz and reflects on a recent television program that asked girls, “with what ethnicity do you identify with?”

Y la mejor respuesta: NO SE, obviamente no sabían ni siquiera que es una etnia (en la cara se les notaba), pero para compensar el reportero les pidió unos pasitos de baile, y wuauuu!!…. como saben mover el trasero!, imagino que muchos en algún momento de sus vidas dijeron: “cambio cerebro por un buen trasero que me permita bailar reggaeton, o por unas siliconas, o por una cerveza” y se les cumplió el deseo jaja

The best answer is: I don't know. Obviously they don't even know what ethnicity is (it noted on their faces), but to compensate the reporter asked for some dance steps and wow!! How they moved their behinds! I imagine that at some point in their lives, many said, “I'll exchange my brains for a nice behind that allows me to dance reggaeton or for some silicon or for some beer,” and their wish was granted.

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