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July 25th, 2007


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Turkey is Typing….Election Issue 

a small portrait of this author Deborah Ann Dilley · 17:30

The Turkish parliamentary elections were this last Sunday… and despite public protests in the last few months against the ruling party AKP, they still won with a resounding 47 per cent of the popular vote. Turkish bloggers wrote extensively this week about their predictions of the elections and what future these elections will bring, the process of voting, the increase in independent candidates, and now that the election is over will someone fix the streetlights?

Pre-Election Speculation

If you were watching the pre-election speculation you would have found that there was a ton of material out there to help you from YouTube campaign videos to political primers on the Turkish election system. Bloggers took informal polls on the parties and debated the voting rights of the Turkish diaspora, they discussed the unprecedented number of independent candidates and the hope that whoever wins as long as they can fix the streetlights on their street they would be happy. And some bloggers, like Bea from Turkey and My Foreign Perspectives wrote about why they support one party over another:

Can you believe a country with no unemployment, let alone an emerging economy like Turkey? What about only 1YTL ($1.25USD) for diesel fuel, is it possible? Well whether or not it's possible, that's exactly what some of the major politicians are promising.

CHP says they can stop the crisis of unemployment in this country, even though, they have not accomplished anything for years. MHP holds that they will get rid of the taxes which push up the cost of fuel, and the poor will be rich. They also have no legs to stand on from their past record. Conversely, AK Party promises to continue on the path they've been on since taking office in 2002.

Sorry if I offend some that say AK Party wants to implement Shari'a law; nevertheless, yes, I do support the AK Party because they have, in fact, shown their determination to do something good for the country. It matters not if a little money disappeared; the majority went into the country coffers versus the pockets of politicians.

The Voting Begins

Erkan's Field Diary kept an ongoing hourly record of the election results as well as expat blogger James in Turkey. Me and Others detailed some of the issues facing voters in order to get to the polls and the ease of voting:

i did some more translation until my father came and my wife woke up so that we could have some idea about the elections. he told me that the poll station was not crowded and it didnt take more than 5 minutes to vote for his choice, but it took almost an hour to go there and come back. he said that he felt the heat for the bad even though it was early hours of the morning.

and i vote

now it was our turn to go voting, which was as easy as crossing the street. our poll station was in the primary school just across the street, and i dont think there can be one more voter who walked shorter than we did. we just got out, got rid of the garbage i was holding, walked across the street, entered the school building and actually loved the way it was designed, made a very short search and found the classroom we were going to vote, and that was it.

there are times when two or even more elections are hold together. when it is the case it turns a slightly hard business to correctly vote for the correct event and envolope correctly in that big mass of papers you find in your hands. but this was not the case, there was only one sheet of paper, and stamping on the name and enveloping your sheet was an easy thing.

Idil from Ignore Me If You Can proudly displays her ink-covered finger:

That isn’t me flipping the finger at you.
That isn’t me showing you my new manicure because frankly..wouldn’tve been a very good nail job.
That’s me doing my duty as a Turkish nationalist and voting for the future of my country. At 8AM. ‘Cause I’m a nutjob.
I bumped into my 80+ year old neighbour who was so happy to see that “Turkeys youth got up early to come vote”.
She was adorable in her 60s style hat, still giving a damn.

Stepping Down With Grace

Two bloggers noticed that when the results were announced in the election, that the losing party reacted oddly. From Hans at Internations Musings:

Did I miss something? It is normal when a party wins an election the other party leaders send their congratulations to the leader of the winning party, or not? I didn't have seen such a move from neither Baykal nor Bahçeli. Showing respect for the winner? When I watched this evening a program a CHP guy simply said that the AKP didn't win the election. Maybe I can not count but 47% of the votes is a landslide victory. And, it looks like Deniz Baykal will stay. He looks like a gentleman but he doesn't behave accordingly.

And from Talk Turkey:

Here in the US, the loser calls the winner to concede the election and offer congratulations on a campaign well run, as soon as the results become quite obvious.

Contrary to the civility shown here even after heated debates and sometimes a nasty campaign process, the situation in Turkey is quite the opposite. It was the winner who placed phone calls to offer condolences to the losers yesterday. Something I am sure he didn't have to do especially when such things are not accustomed.

Speaking of losers, Mr. Baykal made it clear that he will not step down from party leadership. I guess he's not afraid to show his face in public even after the huge embarrassment he caused himself and his followers. In ‘civil' countries, the loser of an election, sometimes with a lesser margin of defeat, blames himself for the party's losses and clears the way for new leadership, all for the sake of his party and his country. Obviously this is not the case with Mr. Baykal.

AKP Won! Now What?

Despite the postings of regret of the elections and the exhaustion of them or the “I told you so's”, many bloggers are now looking to the road ahead for Turkey and how the parliamentary elections will affect the presidential choice. From Celal at Icarus Redeemed:

Logically speaking there were only three possible outcomes :

1) AKP gets an increased majority in the parliament, obtains the 367 MPs needed to install its own choice as president. If that happens look for a coup by the military.

2) AKP maintains its current single party majority — the status quo.
AKP is not happy but the Army is not unhappy — i.e. status quo.
Look for more of the same general level of stability.

3) AKP loses its current single party majority and has to form a coalition goverment. Erdogan has said he would resign from polticis if this were to happen. Look for turmoil and unrest with some jostling and attempted power grabs by Kurds. A state of turmoil is not too untypical of Turkish politics and could get out of hand in a couple of years bringing another coup to restore balance.

The most stable outcome therefore is no.2.

And while many lament that this election signifies the end of the left in Turkey, Erkan points out that the AKP party's victory is a true sign of what is the center of Turkish politics:

I would claim that a new political spectrum emerges now.
It really depends on the future actions of major actors but according to the latest election results AKP becomes the center. I would agree with their claim that they are not center right but the center. AKP still relies on center right mostly but with some important transfers and incorporation of some valuable political actors such as Ertuğrul Günay AKP can continue to colonize the center. There comes two nationalist parties. CHP leads the nationalist left and MHP leads the nationalist right. During the long and fragmented fieldwork process, my initial question had lost its color as the EU became a , in Cengiz Aktar's words, non-issue in Turkey. However, it seems that this question might become relevant again. General orientation of these parties imply a polarization in relation to approaches to the EU. However, local factors create a dual structure in the pole of anti-EUism. So comes left and right nationalism. Oh what to do with the Kurdish opposition (DTP) which has now a parliamentary role with around 20 MEPs? Most argue that they will ally with AKP in many issues. But then this will be exploited by the Turkish nationalist parties and here AKP's internal structure will lead the way. And of course DTP in the mean time seems to be just another nationalist bloc that is in a mutually exclusive relation with the bigger nationalist blocs in the parliament…

Of course, i am speculating at this point. But i do believe there is some substance in what i say.

I, for one, believe that Erkan has substance as well. So what will be the political future of Turkey? Good question. Feel free to leave your comments here. Will Turkey progress? Is the pro-Islamic party AKP getting a bad rep or is it deserved? Is the voting will of the people in line with Ataturk's principles? I leave those answers up to you.

6 comments · »»

India At 60: New Book on Partition of India, First Woman President and A Film on Gandhi's Son 

a small portrait of this author Kamla Bhatt · 16:55

A couple of weeks from now on August 15th and 14th, India and Pakistan will celebrate their 60th year of Independence. What stands out in stark contrast is the differences between the two nations in terms of their forms of government and their nation-building exercise. India went the democratic way and embraced the socialist way to economic growth that slowed the economic growth of the country (to put it mildly). Over in Pakistan the military or defense forces assumed a central role and continue to play a dominant role in the country ever since the country became independent 60 years ago.

UK-based researcher Yasmin Khan has a timely book out titled The Great Partition of India. In this book Yasmin looks at the partition of India by stepping back and looking at the the broader picture of what was one of the most traumatic events in the history of the subcontinent. What led to the quick and bloody partition of India? Is there a myth surrounding the peaceful decolonization of India? We will have to read the book to find out.

The internationally well-known film director Shekar Kapur has a moving blog post about the partition and how his parents, who moved from Pakistan to India in 1947 reacted to the bloody partition. He recounts:

I would often talk to my father about that time, and I would see the pain on his face. About his muslim friends lost in time. Friends with whom he stood shoulder to shoulder as they took the Hippocratic Oath. But the very friends that were too afraid to give him morphine to treat the wounded, just in case the raging, raving crowds found out they were helping the Hindus. And years later as I would go along on my scooter to my University in Delhi, I was shown a spot in Paharganj where apparently muslim women and children were thrown alive in a burning bonfire.

My mother would recoil at talking about that time. Except for the memories of the drains around the houses filled with Kerosene and put on fire. But she would soon escape into the memories of better times. Of when Lahore was the cultural capital of Asia.

From the partition of India, we move to how Web 2.0 tools are changing the notion of citizen involvement in the building of a new India. Bangalore-based Praja is a new colla-blog that plans to “bridge between those who serve us and those amongst us who care and want to participate.”

You can check and track these projects through the latest news, blog postings and other online-based information via Praja. These projects include the metro (railway) project, the new airport project, traffic and other related- projects.

As India turns 60 years old as an independent nation it also gets its first woman president: Pratibha Patil. There is a lot of buzz, including the creative kind about India's first female President. The buzz ranges right from surprise to all the way about why this buzz? India had a woman as a Prime Minister for nearly 15 years. Anyone remember Mrs. Indira Gandhi?

Aparna Ray has a limerick on India's first woman President. In an interesting twist of event Pratibha Patil is supposed to have got an indication from the spirits about her new job and that is the reference in Aparna's limerick.

As predicted by the spirit, through gran*,
We've been given, by some Divine plan,
Our first lady Prez,
Whose resume says,
Under credentials, - “A Sonia fan

Satish Acharya of Cartoon World has a wonderful cartoon welcoming the first woman President of India as the “Rubber Stamp President of India.” Satish writes:

We, the people of Indian Republic will still miss Kalam more, because Madame Sonia Gandhi's presidential choice is in complete contrast to Kalam's calibre and his values in life. The allegations against our new President may prove to be false. But it's more to do with the image you've lived with. May be Sonia Gandhi wanted a complete rubber stamp who wouldn't question back.

Dilip Krishnan recounts an interesting conversation with his cab driver about India's first woman President. Here is an excerpt:

CD: But Sir-ji, tell me something, what is all this Indian media going gaga about?

Me: Why? What happened?

CD: We had Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister for 15 long years. And that was much before Hillary came to know of hubby Bill’s extra-presidential activities in the White House.

Me: That’s true!

CD: And Indira Gandhi ruled with such authority which not many other Prime Ministers had.

Me: I agree.

CD: So, what’s this talk about women’s empowerment! Indiraji was there as Prime Minster for so long, and so long ago.

Me: What are you trying to tell me?

CD: If we could boast of a woman Prime Minister for 15 long years, and that too starting 1966, what is this tamasha about having a woman President in 2007!

President Patil's nomination was somewhat of a surprise and it turns out that her copybook is not entirely spotless. Visicous Visicous V wonders about the lukewarm response to the election of Pratibha Patil as India's first woman President. She wonders if it is because Pratibha Patil is not a leader who represents women, who continue to be discriminated in India. Visicous Visicous writes:

Despite being touted as an important step for gender equality, Patil's election has elicited only a lukewarm welcome from other women, with many saying her lackluster political career and rocky road to the presidency have given them little more than symbol — and not a leader who represents them.

From the current debate on India's first female President we switch to Mahatma Gandhi, often labeled as Father of the Nation. There is a new Hindi film (or Bollywood film) on Mahatma Gandhi's oldest son Harilal. This film has created quite a bit of stir in the online world. Amrita writes in Indiequill:

But the tag “Gandhi” has been so thoroughly taken over by the Nehru-Gandhis that when one thinks of that name, the Mahatma’s own family plays a distant second fiddle. At the most, we might think of Kasturba Gandhi, a woman who (arguably) chose to live and die by her husband’s principles, but what of his children?

Harilal, the eldest, is the most interesting of the lot.

This new film has not been without controversy. Dance with Shadow writes about the controversy and how some groups want this film on Mahatma Gandhi and his family be banned.

Gandhians have urged President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi to stop the release of Gandhi My Father as it is based on the controversial aspects of the life of the Father of the Nation.

4 comments · »»

Japan: Ground Zero at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 

a small portrait of this author Chris Salzberg · 15:20
lingua → jp · es
sample image for this post

On July 16, shaken by a massive earthquake originating in a fault line that apparently runs directly underneath it, a power generator of one of the reactors of the world's largest nuclear power plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, burst into flame and started billowing black smoke. Meanwhile, inside the fuel storage pool of another reactor, waves one metre high sloshed around and overflowed a one-metre-high rail, releasing water containing a small amount of nuclear material into the ocean.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa

One of the first on the scene of the accident was Diet Member Kondo Masamichi of the Social Democratic Party, who posted the following report of his experience (see the original post for many on-site photos):

県の出先・柏崎振興局に顔を出し、その後市役所へ。災害対策本部のおかれている市役所は、関係者、市民で大混乱。
そこで16:30、安倍総理がヘリで佐藤池球場へ着き、柏崎原発へ向かうことがわかりました。とっさに、私達も原発へ行こうと決め、原発へ向かい、兎に角、中に入れてもらいました。
原発敷地内へ。
そこで見たもの、波打つ道路、めくれ上がる建物の土台。道路に書かれた白線は曲がりくねる。
すぐ脇が、こんな状態では原発が無傷であるわけはありません。中越地震の時は停止せず、運転を続けた7機。今度は全て停止です。当然です。

We first stopped by the Kashiwazaki branch office of the prefectural Development and Promotion Bureau, and then went to the city hall. The city hall, where the disaster countermeasures office is located, was in such a chaos with city employees and citizens.

And then at 4.30pm, I found out that Prime Minister Abe [Shinzo] was arriving by helicopter at the Satogaike baseball field and that he was heading to the Kashiwazaki nuclear power plant. Right away, we decided to go to the nuclear power plant as well, and we headed to the power plant and asked them to let us in.

We entered the grounds of the nuclear power plant.

What we saw there were roads deformed like waves and building foundations that had been lifted and warped. The white lines that had been drawn on the roads were twisted.

There was no reason to believe that, sitting right next to this, the nuclear reactors would have been left in an undamaged state. In the [earlier] Chuetsu earthquake, the seven reactors were not turned off and operated right through the earthquake. This time, everything was turned off. This is only natural.

東京電力柏崎刈羽原発では、定期点検中の１、５、６号機と、稼働中だった２、３、４、７号機が自動的に緊急停止。
３号機のタービン建屋に隣接した変圧器から火が出ているのを、同社員が発見。約1時間後に消火活動が始まり、消火したという。
つまり、約２時間にわたり黒煙を上げ続けました。
— 石油工場など、通常化学工場などにある、自前常設消防隊は無いということです。ヒドイ。
市の消防隊への連携が遅れ、しかも、当然のことながら地震の交通渋滞で消防車の到着が遅れました。この点は官邸も怒っていたようです。
出火の原因は全て不明。
この消火作業の遅れが、まず批判のマトとなりました。
いずれにしても、地震直後、原発から「火が出、黒煙が上がる」は、我が国地震史上、初めてのことで大変、センセーショナルな絵になりました。

At the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Power Plant, reactors 1, 5, and 6, which were undergoing periodic inspection at the time, and reactors 2, 3, 4, and 7, which were in operation, were shut down automatically.

Employees of TEPCO discovered that a fire was burning in the electrical transformer adjacent to the building housing the turbine of reactor number 3. Operations to put out the fire reportedly began about an hour later, and the fire was eventually put out.

In other words, for about two hours black smoke was being expelled [into the atmosphere].

There is no fire-fighting team [at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa] as there are usually at chemical plants such as petroleum plants. This is horrible. Coordination with the local city fire department was late, and on top of this, the fire engine itself arrived late because it was caught in a traffic jam. The Japanese administration was also very angry about this issue.

The cause of the fire remains entirely unclear.

The late start of firefighting operations has become a target of criticism.

At any rate, this is the first time in the history of earthquakes in this country that, directly after an earthquake, fire and smoke start coming out of a nuclear power plant, and it has become a terribly sensational scene.

大渋滞の中、武本氏の先導で小道をくぐり抜け、総理が着く、ほんの少し前に原発に入りました。その直後、自民党県議らが待ち受ける中、総理が変圧器の火災現場が見えるところにバスで到着。防災大臣や、関係省庁の関係者も一緒。市長、所長らが出迎え、火災現場を指しながら、説明。
所長は「火災が原子炉建屋内ではないこと」「放射能モレは無いこと」「安全機器に異常は無い」ことを、強調。総理は、ほとんど発言せず、説明を聞きながら、「それは安心しました」などと答え、この間、わずか4〜5分。
その後、総理一行は柏崎市内へ。
マスコミの前で、まず、これをやるために、東京からヘリで来たのです。そして、いの一番に原発に来たのです。それはあのテレビの「黒煙と火」のショッキングシーン。兎に角、総理は危機対応を、しっかりとアピールしたかに見えた。
しかし、それはまもなくひっくり返る。

With the guidance of Mr. Takemoto, I was led through a major traffic jam, along small streets, and made it to the nuclear power plant shortly before the prime minister arrived. Moments later, the prime minister arrived by bus, greeted by a group of LDP members from the prefectural assembly at a location from which the fire at the electrical transformer could be seen. The Minister of State for Disaster Management, and personnel from related government ministries, were also there together. The mayor and director of the power plant met with them and indicated the location of the fire while explaining [the situation].

The director [of the nuclear power plant] emphasized that “the fire is not inside the building housing the nuclear power reactor”, “there is no radiation leak”, and “there is nothing wrong with the safety equipment”. The prime minister hardly said anything as he listened to the explanation, which went on for only about 4-5 minutes, answering things like: “I am relieved to hear that.”

After this, the group with the prime minister went into the city of Kashiwazaki.

In order to pull this off in front of the mass media, [the prime minister] had to come from Tokyo by helicopter. This way, he was able to be the first to make it to the nuclear power plant. This was the shocking scene of “black smoke and fire” that [was broadcast] on TV. In any case, it appeared as though the prime minister made an unwavering appeal for crisis response.

However, this was subsequently overturned.

原発敷地内にもこのような亀裂が。
今回の地震の加速度は設計時の想定を大幅に超えているらしい。

There were cracks like this one inside the grounds of the nuclear power plant as well.

The acceleration of the earthquake this time was apparently much greater than the estimates at the time of design [of the power plant].

Blogger mata also offers some pointed criticism of the government's handling of the crisis:

この度の地震で伝えられてくる柏崎刈羽原発に関連したニュースを聞いていると信じられない程のずさんで適当なやり方に怒りを通り越して吐き気がしてくる。

そこらの小中学生に仕事を頼んだ方がよっぽどましなのではないかと真剣に思う。
健全な学級会で議論してもらえば必ず割に合わないという結論に辿り着くはずだ。

I listen to the news related the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant that has been transmitted in the context of this earthquake, and the unbelievable sloppiness and irresponsible handling makes more than angry, it makes me sick.

I honestly think we would have been better off asking elementary and junior high school students to do the job.
If we got them to debate this at a school meeting, I am sure that they would arrive at the conclusion that the job that was done was not worth the money [that was paid for it].

・情報公開用の観測システムの不具合（わざと止めたと思う）
・外部に漏れた放射能の計算ミス（馬鹿にやらせてはいけない）
・地震観測データの紛失
・その他、まだまだ発覚していない問題と隠蔽された真実

・Failure of the open-access observation system (I think that they turned it off on purpose)
・Miscalculation of the external radiation leak (you shouldn't put idiots in charge of this)
・The loss of earthquake observation data
・Other problems that have not yet been brought to light and facts that are still being covered up

全て致命的で地域住民だけでなく日本全体だけでなく世界中に影響のある最悪の最低レベルの失態だ。
こんな最低な仕事ばかりをしている人達の高収入を支えるために高い電気料金を支払うのはおれの頭の中では残念ながらつじつまが合わない。
自分の良心を殺して嘘をついたり、ばれるのが怖くて十数年も隠していたりそんなことばかりしてよく毎日眠れるものだ。

This is a terrible and fatal failure of the worst kind, one that will affect not just community residents, not just all of Japan, but the whole world.
That we are all paying a lot of money in electricity bills to support the high incomes of people who do nothing but this kind of terrible work — sorry, but this doesn't add up, in my mind.
Silencing one's own conscience and telling lies, hiding [the reality of the situation] for dozens of years for fear of being discovered — they do these kinds of things and still manage to sleep well every night.

海に放出している放射性物質を含んだ大量の水や、煙突から放出している放射性物質を含んだ煙は人体に害のないレベルだというが、全く信用できない話だ。
東京電力の社長以下全社員が、その水を飲み煙を吸い込んでほら大丈夫！とやらない限りは絶対に信用しない。
逆に言うとそれをやれば必ず信用するし文句も言わない。

This talk that the discharge of large amounts of water containing radioactive material into the sea and the release of smoke containing radioactive material from a smokestack will not have harmful effects on the human body, I don't believe one word of it.
Until every employee working under the director of TEPCO drinks this water and breathes in this smoke and says, “SEE! it's okay!”, I will not believe them at all.
To put it the other way around, if they do this then I will definitely believe them and not make any complaints.

原子力発電所がないと東京で消費する電力を賄えないと言う話はよく聞くが、単に原発を正当化するための詭弁にしか聞こえない。
おれは普通の東京に住んでいる人々は頭を使って柔軟に対応できると思う。少なくとも今年の夏は柏崎刈羽原発は稼働できないだろうから電力不足で困るかどうかを試すいい機会だ。

There is a lot of talk about how, if this nuclear power plant were not there, there would not be enough electrical power to cover the needs of consumers in Tokyo, but quite simply all I hear is an excuse to justify the use of nuclear power.
I think that most people living in Tokyo are able to use their head and respond in a flexible way [to this situation]. At least it seems that it will not be possible to run Kashiwazaki-Kariwa this summer, so it seems like a good opportunity to see if there will really be problems in the case of a power shortage.

日本の原発の終了は近いと予想する。
いつ爆発するかわからない性能の悪い原子力発電所という名の核兵器を稼働し続けるのは、電力会社ならびにその関係する産業に関わっていない人々にとって圧倒的に損だ。

I predict that the end of nuclear power in Japan is near.
Continuing to operate these nuclear weapons — which they call nuclear power plants — with the dangerous capacity to blow up at any time, is an overwhelming loss for electricity companies as well as people involved in related industries.
1 comment · »»

Kyrgyzstan: Wedding season 

a small portrait of this author Ben Paarmann · 13:09
lingua → fr · pt · jp
sample image for this post

The summer months are the perfect time to get married. Kyrgyzstani couples are no exception to this and so, bloggers from the country are reporting both in photos and in text from their friends' weddings.

Azamat is realising a trend among his male friends:

Last Saturday marked the opening of the wedding season among my male friends (many female friends are already married), most of whom are in mid-20s. They all suddenly realized that it is time to get married.

Azamat is, however, resistant to peer pressure:

I am not getting married anytime soon. :)

Many wedding ceremonies in the mountainous country are very Western, including the one Tamara went to recently:

My friends got married yesterday, and the wedding was great. I didn't know that it is possible to organize such a ceremony in Kyrgyz conditions. The wedding took place in Kois Tash resort area, near the river, there were tennis courts and modern cottages.

Young couple had their registration next to the river, and the sound of violins made the whole picture even more romantic…

Only the weather cannot be influenced in Kyrgyzstan either, says Tamara:

Everything was great… except… it was raining, and cold.

The day of choice for many newly-weds was the 7th of July, 2007, thought to bring luck and happiness to the couples.

Notabene (one of the Kloop blogs) said (RU):

Today is 07/07/07. A lot of weddings. The central ZAGS [registration authority] had 63 just married couples, while the usual figure for a Saturday is around 40.

Elena Skochilo (LJ user morrire) took a lot of beautiful pictures while at the ZAGS on the same day, such as this one:

gv_wedding2.jpg

Elena says:

Some of them had to wait for three days, and some had to spend the night at the ZAGS to submit their application for the wedding. Some got married at that day easily. A pair of pigeon costs 200 soms, and it was a real mess and huge crowd in the bride-room! Most grooms were in light costumes, while one of the brides was in a red dress, which is unusual.

There were some comments on the ZAGS itself. For example:

le petit tank
What an awful ZAGS!

Morrire:
Our ZAGS is a really awful place to get married. Everything is in Soviet style, and at the entrance the poor couples can see nothing but ongoing construction and prostitutes!

So the Bishkek ZAGS is a place known for gathering of prostitutes. Insane, huh?

On the Diesel forum, there is also a thread on weddings taking place that very day:

Ainura Chanybaeva, head of the ZAGS says that it is good to see that the number of interethnic marriages has been growing for the past couple years.

Ravva jokes around:

Will it also bring luck if one gets a divorce on the this day?

Thanks to Asel for helping out with translations!

3 comments · »»

Reactions to kidnapping of Koreans in Afghanistan 

a small portrait of this author Hyejin Kim · 12:30
lingua → zht · zhs

South Korean Christian missionaries were abducted in Ghazni, south-west of Kabul, on the 19th of this month. The abductors who kidnapped 23 missionaries are Taleban fighters. The hostages were abducted from a bus travelling from Kandahar to Kabul. What the Taleban fighters demand to the Korean government is first to withdraw the South Korean forces in Afghanistan and to swap the 23 men and women for jailed fighters. The Korean troops had been scheduled to withdraw by the end of the year. While a team of South Korean hostage negotiators arrived in Kabul and the South Korean government is still in negotiations in Afghanistan, a question that has come up is why the missionaries had to go to such a dangerous place even though the government strongly persuaded them to avoid that place several times and whether their decision has been right or not.

A blogger, Lee Dae-geun, insists that there should be a new law to prohibit Christian missions.

기독교가 국,내외로 시도하는 선교활동이 도를 넘는거 같다. 선교활동의 책임을 개인의 범주에 한정한다면 그 누구도 말리지 못하겠지만. 이번 사태처럼 국가적으로 피해를 주게 되면 법으로 제한을 가해야한다. 우리가 사는 민주국가는 혼자서 살아가는 사회가 아니니까…

Christians’ missionary activities inside and outside have been too much. If we talk about individuals' missionary activities, nobody would have the right to stop what they do. But if these activities bring out harms on the nation, it should be limited by law. The democratic nation we belong to is not the society we live in alone…

Not a few bloggers, like Yundream, focus on the irresponsibility of the church that sent 23 young people.

이번 선교활동(봉사활동이라고 해야하나?)을 하다가 발생한 피랍사건에 대해서 “일단 집으로 무사 귀환이나 시키고 나서 비판하자”라는 주장이 있는 것을 보았습니다.

이 주장에 대한 문제점을 얘기해 보려고 합니다. 대상은 지금 억류되어있는 젊은이들이 아닌, 비판의 대상이 되는 해당 교회와 책임자로 한정하겠습니다.

예를들어서 설명하겠습니다. 동물보호단체에서 동물생태연구를 주제로 젊은사람 20명정도를 모집했습니다. 그래서 아프리카 오지의 무슨 정글로 보냈는데, 인솔자도 없고, 정글에 대해서 아는 사람도 없는 상태에서 보냈다가 “조난”을 당했다고 가정해 봅시다.

조난당한 사람을 구하는 것과는 별개로 그러한 무책임한 행위를 한 동물보호단체의 담당책임자는 곧바로 “소환”해서 조사를 하는게 당연한 겁니다. 상식적인거 아닙니까 ?

그 교회에서 설마 나쁜동기로 그 젊은이들을 보냈겠냐. 이해하자 ? 언제부터 대한민국 법률이 해당 주체의 “주관적일 수도 있는 동기”에 따라 집행이 되었습니까 ? 동기가 좋으면 과정이 필요가 없는것이었군요 !?

“너무 그들을 나무라지 마라 ?” 웃깁니다. 정치권과 법, 언론에서 그들에 대해서 아무런 말이 없는 지금 상황이 비상식적인 겁니다. 도대체 20명이 넘는 젊은이를 아무런 안전장치 없이 전쟁터에 보냈는데, 그래서 사고가 발생했는데, 그러한 무책임한 일을 벌인 그들에 대해서 조취가 취해지고 있지 않는 지금 상황이 상식적인 상황이라고 생각됩니까 ?

오히려 기독교가 가진 정치적인 힘때문에, 블로거만 열나게 떠들고 막상 전면에 나서야할 언론, 정치 쪽은 숨죽이고 있는거 아닙니까 ?

About this abduction that happened during the missionary activity (or volunteer activity?), I saw some people say “let’s criticize them after they came back home safely.”

I would like to talk about this perspective. I would like to talk about the church and the people who were in charge, rather than the young captives.

I will make an example. An animal protection organization collected 20 young people in the topic of researching the mode of animals’ lives. The organization sent them to a jungle in Africa. There was no guide and no one knew about what jungles are about.

Let’s imagine that the group came across a disaster. Besides escaping the group, we should summon the organization which took such an irresponsible action. Isn’t it natural?

That cannot be that the church sent those young people with the bad motive. So, we should understand? Since when has Korean law been enacted according to subjectively judged motives? If the motive is good, is the process not so important?

“Don’t criticize them so much?” that’s funny. Any one from politics, law, and mass media, doesn’t talk about this issue at all. It doesn’t make sense. Do you think it makes sense even though more than 20 young people were sent to the war area without any safety and they’re in danger? But nobody talks about the irresponsible action.

Due to the political power of Christianity, mass media and politics are quiet. Only bloggers are making strong arguments.

Suya 55 criticizes that opinion.

어떤사람은 생각없이 비난만한고..
어떤사람은 그 비난을 또 비난하고..
어떤사람은 기독교의 선교정신이 순교니까 가서 죽으라 말하고..
뭐 죄다 나쁜말 뿐이다.
난 우리나라에 이렇게 기독교에 대한 반감이 많은줄 처음 알았다.
기독교인들이 범죄를 일삼는 여러 깡패들보다도 더 나쁜것같이 느껴진다.

2년전 나는 국토대장정을 갔다왔다. 많은 사람들이 그거 왜하냐고 묻는다.
쓸데없는 고생 왜하나고 묻는다.
몸상하고 힘들고 시간 빼앗기는 일 왜하냐고 묻는다.

난 그들에게 묻는다. 왜사냐?
우리가 살아가는데는 의미가 있는것이다. 개개인이 하는 모든일들에는 그 이유가 있기 마련이고 그런 이유들을 서로가 존중해야 하지 않을까 싶다.

그들이 아프가니스탄으로 떠난이유는..?? 그들도 고생하면서 뭔가를 행하면서 그것에 대한 보람과 뿌듯함 그리고 나름데로의 성취감등을 느끼기 위해 개인돈들을 쓰면서 그곳으로 떠났을 것이다.

그들의 생각을 존중해야 하지 않을까? 물론 그 생각으로 인해 많은 사람들이 고생하게 되어버렸지만.
개개인의 성취감을 위해 다른사람에게 피해를 주게 되었지만. 이렇게 피해를 줄 목적으로 떠난것이 아니지 않는가? 그들은 선한 목적으로 좋은 일을 행하기 위해 갔을 뿐인데… 단지 운이 좋지 못했고, 장소가 좋지 못했을 따름인데. 너무 심하게 비난하는게 아닌가 싶다.

기독교가 평소에 여러분에게 얼머나 큰 피해를 주었는가? 단지 악성 기독교(사이비단체)들로 인해 우리의 인식이 조금 나빠짐으로 인해 국가에서 인정하는 기독교를 그렇게 비난해도 되는가?
주변을 한번 돌아봐라. 기독교 친구가 한둘은 있을것이다. 그들이 모두다 이상한놈들이고 남들에게 피해를 끼치는 사람들인가?

생각없이 기독교나 선교를 떠난이들에 대해 비난하고 있다면 당신은 참으로 이기적이다. 아니 나쁘다. 평소에 잘하는것들은 조금도 눈에 들어오지 않고 항상 조그만 실수를 엄청 잘 꼬집에 내어서 그것을 10배 100배 나쁘게 말해버린다. 군대처럼.

Some people criticize without any thoughts.
Some people criticize that criticism.
Some people even say the captives should die because the final goal of the Christian mission is martyrdom.
Criticize… criticize…
The first time I got to know there is so much antipathy toward Christians here.
It seems that they are worse than gangsters.

Two years ago, I marched across the Korean peninsula. At that time, people asked me why I unnecessarily did such a tiring job. They asked me why I did such a physically tiring job and spent so much time for that.

I would like to ask them why they live.
There are meanings and reasons to live. Each individual has a reason when they do something and we should respect it. The reason why they went to Afghanistan? They must have left for it in order to accomplish some valuable things for their lives or some confidence through their efforts. Don’t we have to respect their thoughts? I know what they did causes trouble now. But they didn’t go to that palce with the purpose to torture other people. They went there in order to accomplish good deeds. They were just unlucky. I think we criticize them way too harshly.

How much have the Christians harmed you in your lives? Because of some hideous Christians (non-authentic groups), we have bad impressions of them. But because of those people can we condemn all Christians? Look around yourself. There must be Christian friends. Are they all bad people and harm others?

If you just criticize the Christians and missionaries thoughtlessly, you’re really selfish. No, you’re bad. You don’t consider things commonly good. You just blame a small mistake and make about it 10 times or 100 times worse. Like the army…

Shiver compared the Afghaistan situation to a movie.

2002년에 개봉한 한편의 영화가 있다. ‘2009 로스트 메모리즈'
2차대전은 일본제국의 승리로 마무리 되고, 2009년 현재 서울은 일본의 제3도시이다. 일본의 지배에 대항하는 반군 조직 후레이센진. 영화의 주인공은 일본연방수사국의 요원으로 후레이센진의 테러를 진압한다. 하지만 후레이센진의 테러에서 이상한 점을 발견한 주인공은 사건을 축소시키려는 일본정부의 명령을 어기고, 점차 숨겨진 과거의 역사로 다가서게 되는데-
액션판타지를 표방한 영화로 역사적 사실과는 거리가 매우 먼 영화이다. 하지만 이 시점에서 이 영화가 떠오르는것은, 아프간과 탈레반의 입장을 이해하는 일에 우리가 지닌 역사가 시사하는 바가 분명 있을 것이기 때문이다

영화의 가정대로 일본이 2차대전의 승전국이 되고 결국 조선은 온데간데 없이 사라졌다고 생각 해 보자. 1945년으로부터 반세기가 더 지난 2009년까지도 한반도에서 일본의 지배 사회가 붕괴되지 않았다는건 우리입장에서 상상하는 것 조차 거북스러운 일이다. 누가 되었든 일본에 대항해 들고 일어섰을 것이고, 때로는 폭력적인 방법을 동원해서라도 주권을 회복하기 위한 노력을 끈질기게 이어왔을 것이다. 그리고 실제로 우리의 역사는 이러한 노력을 통해 오늘날까지 이어올 수 있게 된 것이다. 우리가 ‘의사'라고 부르며 존경해 마지 않고 교과서에 그 이름과 공적을 담아 기리는 사람들이 없었다면, 우리는 영화의 가정이 결코 가정이 아닌 오늘날을 살고 있을지도 모를 일이다.

하지만 구국의 민족 영웅인 이러한 ‘의사'들은 다른이들로 하여금 다른 이름으로 불리울 수도 있다. 바로,
테러리스트…

우리 역사의 의사들과 그들의 의거가 우리 역사에서는 결코 테러리스트들의 테러가 아니듯, 이슬람 사회에겐 빈 라덴과 탈레반은 의사요, 그들이 실행한 테러는 의거일 수 있는 것이기 때문이다

영화 속 2009년의 한국인들이 자신을 한국인이라 인식하지 못하고 살아가는 것과 마찬가지로, 우리는 우리의 입장이 아닌것을 우리의 입장으로 받아들이고 있는 일인지도 모른다.

…이슬람은 종교의 차원을 벗어나 그것을 믿는 사람들에게 깊숙히 뿌리내린 생활 양식이며 인류가 이룩한 하나의 문화이다. 이러한 문화는 결코 타 문화와 우열을 가리는 비교대상이 될 수 없다. 하지만 인질이 된 그들은 어땠는가

세계 최고의 폭력국가인 미국에 대항해 자국의 주권과 문화를 지키려는 이들에게, 그들의 주권이자 문화인 종교를 부정하며 접근하는것은 자살행위를 하는것과 마찬가지다. 동시에 다른차원의 테러이다. 미국에 대항하는것만도 많은 희생이 따르는 어려운 일인데, 거기에 미국에 지원군을 파견한 나라에서 왔다는 사람들이 자신들이 미국으로부터 지키고자 하는것을 부정하고 있으니, 오죽했으랴

그 전에 알아둬야 할 것이 있다. 아프가니스탄을 비롯한 중동의 여러 국가가 테러와의 전쟁 대상국이 되도록 만든것이 누구이며, 선교활동을 하는 이들이 납치당해야 하도록 만든것은 또 누구인지

또한 우리 역사의 의사들이 그토록 지켜내고자 한 것이 무엇이었으며, 오늘날 이슬람의 그들이 지켜내고자 하는것은 무엇인지, 그리고 오늘날의 우리가 지켜내지 못하고 있는것이 무엇인지도-
폭력은 어떠한 경우에도 정당화 될 수 없다. 하지만 더 큰 폭력에 대항하기 위한 폭력이라면?

There was a movie, ‘2009 Lost Memories,’ which showed in 2002.
The story is like this: World War II ends with the victory of Japan. Seoul is the third city of Japan. There is an anti-Japan organization, Huraisenjin. The main character is a policeman to supress terror of this organization. However, he finds strange things while he is against the organization and tracks down the history…

This fantastic movie is different from reality. But the reason why I thought about this movie was that our history could not be so different from the current situations of Afghanistan and the Taliban.

Imagine! There is no Korea. Japan won World War II like the movie. It is not so comfortable to imagine that Korea is cotrolled by Japan until 2009 from 1945 in our perspective. I am sure that, if it is like that, there will be some people who are against it and sometimes violent methods must be continually used in order to take our sovereignty back. If we didn't have “independent activists” at that time whom we respect now, the hypothesis of the movie could be real and we live like the movie today.

But these national heroes could be called different names.
It would be “terrorists.” …

Activists and their actions during the Japanese colonization period are not called terrorists and terror in our history. Bin Laden and the Taleban might not be regarded as a terrorist and terror in Islamic society. Back to the movie story, Koreans in 2009 don't recognize themselves as Koreans. We might have tried to understand situations we don’t truly understand.

Islam is not only religion, but also a living custom that Muslims built up and a culture that humans accomplished. It is impossible to compare it with others in terms of the superiority or inferiority. But how about the hostages?

It is suicide to approach these people denying their own sovereignty and religion. They are fighting against the U.S.A., the most violent country, in order to keep their authority and culture. At the same time, it is a different kind of terror. Fighting against the U.S.A. is hard enough and brings about a lot of victims. And how would they think those 20 people from a nation that supports the U.S. came to their country and denies what they regard the most important?

There are things we should know. Who made Middle Eastern countries dangerous places where wars occur? Who made missionaries be abducted? What did our national heroes try to get back, what do Muslims try to keep today, and what couldn’t we keep well today? Violence can't be justified in any cases. But if it is the violence in order to be against bigger violence?

9 comments · »»

Colombia: Inside and Out at the Colombiamoda Fashion Show 

a small portrait of this author Juliana Rincón Parra · 00:48
lingua → pt · es
sample image for this post

Colombian bloggers discuss the relevance of the ColombiaModa international fashion show, a model speaks about the not-so-rosy aspects of the fashion show, and others post their thoughts on the Independence Celebrations of July 20th, which took place in the island of San Andrés for the first time in Colombia's history.

The Colombia Moda fashion show took place July 10th – 12th in Medellín. In De Buena Fuente [ES] the author comments:

Además del atractivo de lo que pueda mostrar la diseñadora Carolina Herrera, esta nueva versión de Colombiamoda en Medellín tendrá un asunto, aparentemente superfluo, pero que reviste gran importancia en el mundo de la moda: el peso de las modelos. Por primera vez en la historia la organización del evento, Inexmoda le puso atención al tema y el peso de las modelos estará en los ojos de los especialistas. Esta preocupación en las pasarelas de todo el mundo por fin llegará a Colombiamoda donde poco caso le habían hecho al tema.”

Besides the attraction of what designer Carolina Herrera could show, this new version of Colombiamoda in Medellín will have an apparently superfluous facet, but one which has great impact on the world of fashion: the models' weight. For the first time in the history, the event's organizer Inexmoda paid attention to this issue and the models' weights will be in the hands of specialists. This common concern of runways throughout the world will finally arrive at Colombiamoda, where little attention had previously been paid to the issue.

In life is beautiful, andriumejia [ES] interviewed Carolina Herrera and asked her about her perception of the weight regulations. Herrera's answer disappointed her:

Ella, muy segura, me responde que en el mundo de la moda las modelos siempre han sido altas y fl acas. Y que además, la anorexia se da en todos los ámbitos de la vida… en la danza, el ballet, el cine… Y que ella opina que eso no tiene nada que ver con la moda si no que, más bien, se debería culpar a las familias y a las mamás que no educan a sus hijas en los hábitos alimenticios correctos y las dejan caer en esta enfermedad.”

She, quite confidently, answered that in the world of fashion models have always been tall and skinny. And besides, anorexia is something which appears in all ways of life… in dance, ballet, movies… and that she believes that this has nothing to do with fashion but that, instead, families and mothers who don't educate their children on correct eating habits and who let them fall into this disease should be blamed.

Sergio was also at Colombiamoda and posted a couple of backstage pictures he took on his blog, CiudadSolar [ES]. Andrew + Iconia also posted pictures of the fashion show on their flickr photo album. Testarudo, a fashion designer has fotos of the clothing that appeared on the runway on his blog as well as on a flickr photoset.

El fiscal in La Fiscalia [ES] wonders why Colombiamoda is so attractive to the media, who insist in covering the fashion show 24/7:

Tal vez Colombiamoda tenga mucha proyección y visitantes internacionales. No negamos su importancia dentro de la industria textil. Es decir, es importante comercialmente para quienes trabajan dentro del negocio de la moda pero a los consumidores no nos afecta en nada.

¿Por qué razón los medios nos meten a Colombiamoda por los ojos? ¿Qué tiene Colombiamoda? ¿Alguien sabe la respuesta?

Maybe Colombiamoda has internationally renowned visitors from all over. We don't doubt its importance within the textile industry. In other words, it is commercially important for those who work within the fashion industry, but it doesn't affect consumers at all.

Why does the media ceaselessly feed us Colombiamoda? What is it with Colombiamoda? Does anyone know the answer?

En El Averno [ES], Bernardo Barrera has a cutting commentary on how Colombia forgets its problems when Colombiamoda comes sashaying about:

Qué lindo, vacaciones de mitad de año, y para cerrarlas con broche de oro, Colombiamoda, magno evento de la «moda» colombiana, evento cultural y recreativo, pues: cultural porque ¿qué más cultura se le puede pedir a un colombiano? ¡Vallenato y fútbol!; recreativo porque nada mejor que ver culos, tetas y pijas forradas para olvidarse del gurre que se tiene por esposa o esposo… Y pues claro, allá está metida toda la «crema y nata» del país, todos comentando lo importante de la moda en Colombia, un país donde tres cuartos de la población es pobre, y de ellos más de la mitad no solo es pobre sino que vive en la inopia…

How nice! Mid-year vacations and along comes Colombiamoda to end them with a bang, the greatest event for Colombian “fashion”, cultural and recreational event, well: cultural because what other culture could you ask of a Colombian? Vallenato and soccer!; recreational because there's nothing better than watching asses, tits and dicks upholstered to forget the fright you have for husband or wife… And of course, Colombia's highest society will all be there, all of them discussing how important fashion is for Colombia, a country where three-fourths of the population is poor, and of those, more than half are not only poor but live in absolute misery.

W radio has an audio interview [ES] where top Colombian Model Norma Nivia comments on her experience in the fashion show and the model agency's “war” for commissions where a competing INforma model agency director attempted to pull her out of a show at last minute and substitute her with a newcomer Medellín model from her own agency, something Norma Nivia assumes is because she is from Stock Models, a competing agency in Bogotá.

On the other hand, July 20th was Colombia´s independence, and this year it was extra special.

Javier Ramírez from Tertulia Vespertina [ES] writes:

Por primera vez en la historia de Colombia, el desfile conmemorativo del 20 de Julio se realizó en el departamento archipiélago de San Andrés… Históricamente al archipiélago de San Andrés, se le ha tenido poco en cuanta en materia de inversión y participación, esto con el agravante de la insistente lucha fronteriza con Nicaragua, país que reclama el territorio. Es por esto que el desfile de hoy tiene tanta trascendencia ya que une a toda la nación entorno a la libertad.

For the first time in Colombia's history, the commemorative July 20th parade took place in the archipelago state of San Andrés.… Historically, the San Andres Archipelago has not been taken into account regarding investment and participation. In addition, there is the insistent border disputes with Nicaragua, a country which reclaims the territory. This is why today's parade was so transcendent, since it joins together our whole nation on behalf of liberty.

Colombia Digital´s blogger Carlos Sanabria is concerned:

Llevar a San Andrés el desfile militar del 20 de julio, que usualmente se realiza en Bogotá, para dar muestra de soberanía en momentos en que el Tribunal Internacional de La Haya decide si tiene o no competencia para intervenir en la reclamación que hace Nicaragua del archipiélago.

De esto último les quería hablar. Este nuevo golpe de opinión, va a tener a periodistas y analistas opinando sobre la conveniencia o no de un desfile, que podría ser considerado por Managua una demostración innecesaria de fuerza y un acto hostil.

Taking the July 20th military parade to San Andrés, which is usually done in Bogota, to prove our sovereignty at times when the International Court of Justice decides if they have or not competency to intervene with the claims Nicaragua is making of the Archipelago.

This last point I wish to discuss is the new opinion strike that will have journalists and analysts commenting on the convenience or inconvenience of the parade, which could be considered by Managua an unnecessary and hostile show of strength.

Maldoror of Un Colombiano Más [ES] also thought something along the same lines, but he ends up with a different conclusion:

Sin embargo, pienso yo, más honesto que las maruyas de Bogotá o las intrigas de Managua, más certero y valioso que lo que opine un poco de jueces en la Haya, sería hacer un plebiscito entre los habitantes de la isla, y preguntarles si quieren ser independientes, seguir con Colombia o unirse a Nicaragua. Por alguna extraña razón esa alternativa es la que nadie parece considerar.

Nevertheless, I think, something that is more honest than the mixups in Bogotá or the intrigues in Managua, and more to the point and valuable than the opinion of some judges in the Hague, it would be to have a plebiscite among the island's inhabitants and ask them if they wish to be independent, continue with Colombia or join Nicaragua. For some strange reason this alternative is the one no one seems to even consider.

If you wish to hear and see the video of Colombia's National Anthem, Julieth embedded a youtube video of Colombia´s National Anthem as a way to commemorate this date.

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