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September 5th, 2007
Stories
Korea: After the Release - Abductees in Afghanistan
· 23:21
Finally, the 21 Korean abductees returned to Korea. While people are pleased to see them in good condition, there are numerous criticisms about them. It seems that their attitudes and the church’s reaction after their release have brought out more arguments. In addition, how to deal with the amount of money that the Korean government allegedly gave the Taliban, despite the government’s denial, has been one of the biggest arguments. The release was not the end of the story of this incident for Korean society.
Last weekend, blogs displayed photos that were taken when the abductees came out of Incheon Airport in Korea. Some of them carried duty freeshop bags while they bowed and apologized for the trouble they made. The photos gave rise to the question of whether they went to duty free shops. Whether it is true or not, another criticism was added toward them. In addition, a priest’s and other abductees’ interviews have resulted in more attention and criticism.
Many bloggers tried to track down their shopping bags.
고국으로 돌아오는 비행기..비지니스 석에 두바이 면세점에서 쇼핑까지..
쇼핑한 선글라스가 참 눈에 확 띄네요..선글라스 챙길 정신은 있었나 봅니다.
이분들 때문에 아프간에서 일을 하시던 교민 2000여분까지 일자리 몽땅 잃고..
(증거) 두바이 쇼핑몰 로고가 피랍자들이 손에 든 쇼핑백 로고와 일치합니다.
(evidence) The logo of a Dubai shopping mall matches the logo on abductees’ shopping bags.
Many bloggers disagree with it, but criticize their attitudes.
아프간 피랍자들 고국에 돌아왔죠. 역시 예상했던 데로 욕이란 욕은 다먹고 오만소리 다 나오더군요. 저도 기독교인입니다. 하지만 이 이들이 잘한일이라고는 생각하지 않습니다. 풀려나니까 차 안에서 웃고 있는 장면들까지…오히려 화가 나더군요. 근데, 어이없게 근거없는 소리들로 욕은 안했으면 좋겠습니다.
대표적인게 쇼핑백… 초등학생도 생각하면 알 수 있습니다. 상식적으로 40일 넘게 잡혀있다가 풀려났는데 쇼핑이 가능하다고 보십니까? 탈레박에게 당연히 모든 소지품은 다 뺐겼겠죠. 잡혀있을 동안 한 벌만 입고 지냈던 사람들이 어디서 돈이 갑자기 생겨서 기분좋다고 쇼핑을 합니까. 저들이 한 일들이 절대 잘했다고는 말 못하지만 잘했고 잘못했다를 따지기 전에 한국의 국민이고 사람입니다. 한 달이 넘도록 편안하게 생활했던 것도 아니고 호텔에서 머무는 정도는 저 개인적으로 괜찮다고 생각합니다.
선글라스 걸고 나오고, 풀려났다고 실실 웃다가 귀국할때 휠체어 타고 나오고 .. 이런건 저도 너무 어이 없어서 웃음이 났습니다. 누가 어떤 사람이 욕을 하든 아무도 말리진 않지만 근거없이 무작정 욕은 하지않았으면 좋겠고, 또 어차피 저들은 조금만 지나면 또 아무일 없었다는 듯이 교회 다니고 직장다니면서 살겠죠. 욕해봐야 아무 소용없었습니다. 그냥 무시하고 우리는 웃으면서 사는게 맘 편하다는 뜻이죠.
One thing is about shopping bags… even elementary school students will know. Judging by common sense, how is it possible for them to go shopping after 40 day release? They must have lost all belongings from the Taleban. They kept themselves with one piece of clothes for 40 days. What kind of mood could they have for shopping? I know what they did was not regarded as good, but before we judge them, they are Koreans and humans. As for my own opinion, I think that it’s fine for them, who had stayed in horrible situations for 40 days, to stay a hotel.
Indeed, coming out of the airport gate with sunglasses, giggling after release and, using wheel chairs when they arrived and came out of the airport gate… those scenes were too much. I can’t stop people who would like to criticize them, but I hope they do not criticize them recklessly. I am sure that, after a while, they will go to church and go to work like nothing happened. It would be useless to criticize them. I mean that it would be better for us to ignore them and to have our own lives.
There were netizens who were happy about their safe return.
어제까지만 해도 피랍자건 개신교건 다 짜증이 났는데 막상 저들이 머리숙여 죄송하다고 하는 말에 측은지심이 생기는것은 그들도 미우나 고우나 대한민국 국민이구나 하는 생각이 드네요. 머리숙여 죄송하다고 하고 나중에 소상히 기자회견에서 말해준다고 하니 그 기자회견을 기다려보죠. 솔직히 저들보단 가장 짜증났던것이 개신교단체들이죠. 선교활동을 계속 하곘다는 투덜거림도 짜증이 나구요. 일단 몸 다 추스리고 정신적 충격인 트라우마가 있을테니 안정된 시간들 어여 갖기를 바랍니다. 40일간의 공포 다 씯고 지난 일에 대한 반성과 성찰이 함꼐 하길 바랍니다.
Let’s wait for their interview that they promised to learn what went on in detail later. Honestly, I was more annoyed at the Protestan groups than those people. I was annoyed at their insistence on continuing their missionary activities.
I hope that they have enough time to be stable from spiritual trauma and physical weakness they must have. I hope that they erase the 40 day fear and have time to reflect on themselves.
And here is more.
이 사람들, 나의 이웃이었다면 좋은 이웃이 살아 돌아 온 것에 기쁘다고 생각했을지도 모른다는 생각을 했다. 40여일 동안 사지에서 평생 해도 모자랄 인간적 고뇌를 했을 것이며, 서로의 친구였음에 분명한 두 사람의 죽음을 맞닥뜨린 사람들의 마음엔 어떤 상처가 남아 있을지 생각하니 내 마음이 다 무겁다. 부디 두 사람의 몫까지 다들 건강하게 살아주시길.
The current arguments are focusing on the question of how the government solved this problem and on how those abductees, their families, and the church behave after their release.
아프간 선교여행단들의 귀환소식과 협상비용소식,,
그리고 협상비용을 소방대원의 구조활동과 비교하여 지불할 수 없다던 가족들의 행태를 보고
실소를 금치 못한다.시종일관 거짓말로 선교여행을 봉사활동으로 허위보도하는 언론의 모습과
그 와중에도 책임은 회피하며 수천의 배형규목사가 나와야 한다는 샘물교회목사..
정부상대로 고소까지 생각하고 있다는 피랍자가족의 인터뷰..하나하나 다 스트레스다.
정부는 여전히 협상과정에서 돈을 주고 받지 않았다지만,,
탈레반측에서는 200억원을 받았다며 재정난해소에 감사를 표하고 있고,,
외신에서의 총비용 300억설은 신빙성을 갖는다.
연신 거짓말로 일관하던 정부의 석방비용제로라는 말에 신뢰를 갖는 이가 과연 몇명이나 있을까?!대외적으로도 테러단체 무기구입비를 원조해준 한국에 비난의 목소리가 커져가고 있고, 21인의 생환에 곱지않은 시선을 보내는 이도 많다.
이제 당신들이 살아돌아와서 말하겠다..
나는 솔직히 위험지역 출국을 만류하는 정부의 경고를 뿌리치고
7일짜리 예수를 찬양하는 중동여행에서 잡힌 당신들이
정부의 테러단체와의 협상으로 구출되지 않기를 바랐다.비단 악한마음에서 바란것이 아니라 협상과정에서의 국익을 저해함과 향후 테러단체의 위협증가 및
21인의 목숨값때문에 탈레반에서 죽어갈 수천의 어린생명이 걱정되어서였다.21인의 생환자들은 억류중에도 단식기도를 하며 성경글귀와 함께 피랍일지를 기록 했다고 자랑한다.
그렇다면 그곳에서 순교는 왜 못하는가?!
당신들의 예수찬양여행이 자신들의 신념에 부합한다면 기꺼이 죽을 수도 있지 않은가?
왜 테러단체에 자금을 원조하고, 봉사단체를 철수하게 만들며, 테러군사정부의 힘을 실어주는일을
야기시키는가?!당신들이 죽었으면 탈레반 테러단체에 돈도 건네지 않았을 것이고 아프간 어린생명들의 목숨도 살아날 가능성이 많다. 당신들의 7일짜리 중동여행때문에 진짜 봉사마저 길이 막혔으며 탈레반은 더 많은 인질극을 벌이겠다고 세상에 공표까지 한다.
당신들이 잡혀있을때는 행여나 저주의 말이 될까봐 못했던 말 이제 살아왔으니 쓴소리를 달게 받아들여라.
미안하지만 나는 테러단체와의 협상과 굴복에 의해당신들이 살아돌아오는 것을 진심으로 바라지 않았다.
Mass media’s attitude to report falsely about those missionaries’ trip as volunteering activities, and the Saem-mul Church priest who avoids responsibility and insists that there should be several thousand more priests like Bae Hyung-gyu (who died of this accident)…Interviews from the abductee’s family who is thinking about suing the government…
Everything is stressful.
The government still says that they didn’t give any money under the process of the negotiation, but the Taleban expressed appreciation to the government for solving their financial problems with 20 milion dollars (US dollars). The 30 million dollars mentioned by the foreign mass media might be true. How many people will trust the government’s insistence that the release expense was zero?
Inside and ouside Korea, the critical voices that our money was used to support terrorists’ finance to buy weapons are getting bigger and bigger. Many people are not watching those 21 people with nice eyes.
Now I can speak loudly because you came back alive. You ignored the warning of the government that you should avoid the dangerous district and you were kidnapped with the 7 day Middle East trip to praise Jesus Christ. Honestly speaking, I hope that you did not escape from the terrorists’ group.
That doesn’t mean I have an evil mind. I was worried several thousands of innocent lives who will die by Taleban weapons that were bought with the money for 21 hostages. It will increase the threat of terrorists and destroy national advantages.
Those 21 hostages were proud that while they were under detention, they had amber days and wrote in their journal quoting the Bible. Then why didn’t you think about martyrdom? If you think that the trip to praise your Jesus Christ is for your belief, why didn’t you dare to die? Why did you cause us to support terrorists financially, let other volunteering groups withdraw, and let those terrorists have more power?
If you died, we didn’t have to give money to Taleban terrorists and Afghan children will be saved more. Due to your seven day trip, real volunteers can’t work anymore and Taleban announced that they will commit more kidnappings.
I couldn’t say any bitter words or curse because you were under detention. But now you came back safely. Take these words regardless of bitterness.
Sorry to speak, but I sincerely didn’t hope that you came back alive through negotiation and submission to the terrorists’ group.
A blogger made lists which parts should be considered through this missionary activity.
일단 피랍자분들의 생환을 진심으로 축하드리고고인이 되신 두 분께는 심심한 위로의 말씀을 드립니다.
거의 모든 네티즌들이 이야기했다시피, 일단 사람은 살리고 본 다음에 나중에 ‘결산하자'고 했으니, 이제 결산의 때가 오고 있군요. 이에 관련된 보도들을 근거로 이들과 샘물교회가 철없이 저지른 잘못의 댓가가 얼마나 될런지, 아니 얼마가 되어야 마땅한지 산수한번 해봐야 할 것입니다.
1. 피랍자 21인의 귀국관련 직접비용
다행히도, 정부는 이들의 귀국에 관련된 비용을 교회와 개인에게 청구하겠다고 했습니다. 그러나 이 기사에서 나타나는 교회측의 어처구니없는 발언은 아직도 정신을 못차렸다는 생각밖에 들지 않는군요. 이번 사태와 관련, 샘물교회의 대언론 창구 역할을 맡고 있는 권혁수 장로는 연합뉴스와 전화통화에서 “석방자들의 귀국 항공료와 희생자 2명의 운구비를 교회에서 전액 부담하기로 했다”며 “석방자들의 국내에서의 병원 치료비 문제에 대해서는 내부에서 논의 중”이라고 밝혔다. 권장로는 “배형규 목사, 심성민씨 시신 운구와 김경자.김지나씨의 귀국 및 입원치료와 관련해 외교부에서 항공료와 치료비는 가족들이 부담해야 한다고 알려왔다”며 “그러나 교회에서 최선을 다하는 의미에서 일단 항공료는 전액 지불키로 했다”고 설명했다.그러니까 정부에서 내라는 돈도 못내겠다는 심뽀라는 얘긴데, 이러다 뭇매 맞지 싶습니다.
샘물교회측은 당연한 비용인 귀국항공료와 함께 현지 호텔에서의 체재비용은 두바이-카불-델리를 모두 거쳐야 하는 4일간의 여정이므로 이때의 모든 비용이 포함되어야 합니다. 이 글을 쓰는 동안에 ‘치료비는 생각해보겠다'에서 ‘치료비도 내겠다'로 바뀌었군요.
2. 정부와 협상단 비용
이번에 파견된 정부와 협상단, 미국과 방글라데시, 사우디아라비아 등 이슬람국가와의
협상비용은 물론이거니와 이들 관리들의 항공료와 체재비 등도 변제해야 합니다.
애초 출발시에 정부의 방침에 반해서 ‘우리가 책임지겠다'고 한 만큼 약속은 지켜야겠죠.
협상단은 주로 고위관리들이라 일등석에 특급호텔이었을테니 부담 만만치 않을듯합니다.
몸값에 대해서는 이견이 있지만 만약 있다면 정부는 떳떳이 밝히고 정당히 구상권을
청구하는 것이 옳다고 봅니다. 일본의 전례를 참조해야겠지요.3. 교민과 NGO단체, 기업의 피해보상
이번 사태로 인해 본의아니게 피해롤 본 현지 교민들과 현지봉사단체의 직접손해배상도
당연히 샘물교회가 책임져야 할 부분입니다. 개신교도의 폭력적인 선교 탓에 졸지에 삶의 터전을 잃은 이들 교민은 샘물교회측에
소송을 통해서라도 피해입은 부분을 보상받는 것이 올바른 방법이라고 생각합니다.4. 사망자에 관련한 책임
이번 사태로 목숨을 잃은 두분께는 원인이야 어찌되었든 안타깝기 그지없습니다.
그러나 고귀한 목숨을 잃은 책임은 엄연히 샘물교회측에 있는 바, 유족의 소송은
당연한 결과라고 할 수 있겠습니다. 이 기사가 나고나서 샘물교회측은 부랴부랴 심씨가족에게 연락을 취한다 방문한다 하고
있지만 이미 아들을 잃은 유족의 슬픔은 달래지지 않을 것입니다.
샘물교회측은 인지상정으로 덮으려 하지 말고 솔직하게 잘못을 인정하고 적절한 배상을 해야
‘하나님의 공평하심'을 실천하는 것이라고 생각합니다…뱀발 - 이제야 언론이 눈치를 조금 덜 보는군요.
그간 국민의 정서는 깡그리 무시한 채 교회측의 입장만 전달하던 언론이 석방이 되고 난
후부터 조금씩 본연의 모습을 찾아가기 시작하는 것 같아 그나마 다행으로 생각합니다.
관련기사 - “피랍사태 관련 비용, 정부가 물을 이유 없다”
내용은 같더라도 헤드라인을 어떻게 뽑느냐에 따라 사설만큼의 여론조정이 있다는 것을
아주아주 잘 아시는 언론인들께서 뽑은 제목이니만큼 이후의 보도를 지켜봐야 할 듯합니다.그러나, 석방이 알려지자마자 가족대표와 교회측은 ‘정부와 언론에 감사한다'고 한 것으로
보아 이들이 언론에 특별한 부탁을 했고 그것을 잘 들어주신 언론에 감사할수밖에 없다는
것은 그대로 표가 날 수밖에 없는 상황이 되었군요. 언론에 감사해야죠. 당연히…정말, 다시는 이런 물의를 일으키지 않는,
정말로 선교보다 봉사가 목적인 교회가 되기 바랍니다.진정한 선교란, ‘예수님처럼'이라 말하며 ‘착하고 올바른' 삶을 사는 신자들의 모습에
감화되어 그것이 ‘예수님을 따르는 삶'인줄 알고 하나님을 믿게 하는 것이라고 생각합니다.
폭력적이고 강압적인, 또는 협박과 꼬드김으로 하는 선교가 아니라
몸소 봉사를 실천하고 선행을 보여주는 일관된 삶을 사는 것 자체가 ‘하나님의 뜻'이요
‘예수님의 삶'이라는 것을 전파하는 것이 옳지 않겠습니까?
1. Expenses to take these 21 abductees back.
Fortunately, the government said that they will ask the church and individual abductees about expenses for their return. However, the church’s absurd comments make me feel that they still don’t get it. The presbyter, Kwon Hyuk-su, said “we will take care of flight expenses for 21 people and transferring fee for two corpses,” and “we’re still discussing whether we will take care of the hospital fee for the first two abductees” in an interview with Yonhap News. He said “the Foreign Ministry told us that families should be in charge of flight and hospital fees for two abductees and transferring fee of Mr. Sim’s corpse” and continued “for the expression of our best, the church will pay the flight fee.”
Therefore, they are not going to pay everything that the government asked. They’re going to be criticized more. The church should pay the flight fee, accommodation fee for staying at a hotel in Afghanistan, and four day route fee from Dubai, to Kabul, and to Delhi.
While I am writing this, the church changed their mind and said that they will pay the hospital fee.
2. Expenses for the government and negotiation group.
They should consider the expense for the dispatched group from the government and the negotiating fee with America, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and other Muslim countries. Before they headed off, they didn’t follow the government’s advice and promised ‘we’ll take the whole responsibility.’ I am sure that the negotiating group must have stayed at an expensive hotel and therefore the expense must not be small. There are several opinions about the hostage fee. The government should publicize how much they had to pay and should ask the church in terms of the right to indemnity. We should find out how Japan responded to this problem.
3. Compensation for the loss to the Korean community, NGOs, and enterprises.
The church should take responsibity for Korean expats, volunteering groups, and enterprises that got unexpected damanges due to this accident. Due to the Protestans’ violent mission, there are Koreans who lost their livelihoods there. They should demand compensation through legal processes.
4. Responsibility for death.
Regardless of the causes, I am sorry for the two people who passed away. This responsibility should be on the church and the families should demand compensation. After the media interview with one of the families, the church hurriedly contacted Mr. Sim’s family and visited them, but it will not console the family over his death. The church should recognize their mistakes and the appropriate compensation will be how they can act on ‘Jesus Christ’s justice.’
Snakes’ legs – finally the media see how the wind blows.
Disregarding how we think, the media always conveyed the side of the church. After the release, they started recognizing their original roles (like an article, “Expenses for the hostages. The government doesn’t have to pay.” But after the release, the family representative and the church said, “we appreciate the government and the media” It seems that they asked some special requests to the media and maybe that’s why they would like to thank them. Of course they must appreciate them. Of course…
I really hope that the church recognizes their truthful goal, which is not a mission that makes so many troubles, but service.
The truthful mission is that, through looking at Christians speaking like ‘Jesus Christ’ and having ‘righteous and good lives,’ people see ‘the life following Jesus Christ’ and can become believers. Not violent and coercive mission or threat and enticement, but volunteering in person and consistent lives with good conduct would be the right way to spread ‘God’s mind, and ‘Jesus Christ’s life.’
Egypt: The Cairo Social Circus
· 21:55
After last week's “is Mubarak Dead Scare/Celebration” that swept the Egyptian blogosphere things have gone back to normal with the usual mélange of social issues, some of them a result of the scare/controversy itself.
It's often too easy to convince Egyptians of some conspiracy or gossip but equally impossible to convince them it's not true. Zeinobia recounts Egyptians skepticism on the Mubarak issue.
The Egyptian people are still disbelieving that Mubarak is fine , ok they know that he is alive and in Egypt but they do not believe that he is fine easily
On Saturday , Dream TV II popular TV Show “10 PM” discussed these rumors concerning the president's health and life , how the people received it with great worry and the reason behind the spread of these rumors and the ultimate question who spread them - they were speaking as they are rumors not a reality
As the rumors of his death have been swirling, Mubarak's wife Suzan has been pandering for peace, much to the dismay of Egyptians. To preach peace in a country where your husband persecutes religious minorities and opposing voices is hypocrisy in motion, they said. The crew at Free Kareem.org have the rest of the story.
Suzan Mubarak, Egypt’s first lady and core member/sponsor of the Women’s International Peace Movement, shares her insight with the young and diverse delegates:
“Peace is not a far-fetched idea. Youth is the most solid resource base,” Mubarak said in her opening speech. “Listening is a great start, but acting upon what you hear is more important.”
Unfortunately, acting upon what he heard is precisely what Kareem did, and he is facing prison time for it. We believe that with Kareem still in prison many youth writers, human rights activists, and even just mere students interested in free speech will take this message as a threat. Kareem is an example of a grand error which we hope to see corrected by the Egyptian government.
Societal issues facing Egyptians who live in the belly of the beast itself have out reaching hands that touch Egyptians all over the diaspora. Arima at Ha Ana Za is questioning the issue of class.
“If you work hard enough, you can get anywhere” I was told. To some extent that is true, I doubt that my forefathers would ever have believed it possible that their offspring would one day be living in the UK and studying at Oxford but then circumstances change with time and I have always said that I owe my mere existence to Nasser's revolution.
However, looking at a friend's engagement photos I was distinctly reminded that there is still such a thing as class. While I inspected her dress, and the lavish party and many guests, it dawned on me that as a ‘westerner' one is allowed to transcend some divisions in the Arab social system. Living here means that one mixes freely with anyone who happens to call themselves ‘Arab' and the massive differences in currency mean that places that would ordinarily be inaccessible to anyone other than the privileged classes, hold their doors open.
Most people raised outside of the Middle Eastern culture may be surprised to know that stereotypes and national rivalries are common place in the so called “Arab World”. Everyone dislikes everyone else and the only thing they have in common is that they share 20 something common enemies. It's a big barrel of hateful fun! These rivalries are cultivated in the home and broadcasted in national newspapers, the most recent being a Kuwaiti article. Ahmad Ghareeb has the rest…
Kuwaiti journalist Fouad Al-Hashim wrote an article published on Al-Watan newspaper attacking the Egyptian nation using sever derogatory terms!
“The Kuwaiti journalist described the Egyptians as “priced equally to a Korean washing machine”!
Ramadan is around the corner. For some preparation is a little more than gathering groceries for the month. Moon Light Shadow gives his personal opinion…
Ramadan is knocking on the doors, and all are getting ready.. each in his own way..
Government is making sure that all kinds of food are available.. People are buying Ramadan yameesh (dried fruits and nuts).. children getting their fawanees (lanterns).. T.V. channels are getting ready with their shows and ads.. charity channels are getting ready preparing shonat Ramadan.. people are collecting money for mwa2d el ra7man.. mosques are getting decorated and prepared for tarawee7 prayers.. and this list goes on..
I wonder, where am I from all this?!
I remember myself years ago.. how I used to have plans and a will to carry them out, though I never fulfilled these plans fully, but at least I had the plans.. I had it in mind..Things have been different for couple of years.. the gap is increasing, and I'm doing nothing about it.. I'm just watching.. at times it's really painful.. other times I try to let it go.. but I can't stand myself anymore.. a step should be taken.. however, whenever I just think of trying, I find something increasing the gap.. day by day my will is fading..
Well that just about covers it. As usual catch me here every week.
1 comment · »»China: Violent BBQ crackdown backfires
· 21:10
A city on a hill, south-central China's Chongqing municipality seems to stand above many other places in the the country when it comes to using affordable technology to document things like crime and clashes, and getting it on the internet.
On the evening of September 4, a squadron of urban and economic law enforcers there attacked a man selling barbecued meats on the side of one street and one bystander put the photos she took of subsequent public backlash and torching of the authorities' work vehicle up on one of China's largest internet forums. That post, it seems, was deleted, but not before another Chongqing resident and brief witness to the mass incident reposted the reporting—notice the timestamps—onto a smaller forum website. Except where noted, the words below come from the photographer herself:
昨天11点多晚上回家，我目睹了下面的情形，当时我没下车观看，出租车被警察档着，我远远的看了一会，那一刻我只遗憾我的手机像素太低，但凭我的职业经历判断，不是车辆自燃，车辆自燃车不会侧翻，也不是恐怖袭击，恐怖分子会选择人多热闹的的时候作案，我判断可能是一起刑事案件，但是今天早上我仔细看报纸，发现没有相关报道，于是我意识到，这不是一起普通案件，打开天涯重庆版，果然，就看到了以下的帖子和图片！
[转帖]『重庆』 9月4日石桥铺暴动（有照片和视频。。。）
9月4日晚石桥铺科园三街路口暴动，城管蓄意殴打小摊贩，引起群众不满后更连市民一起暴打，事件上升至焚烧城管汽车，上千市民围观。暴力与冲突不断恶化升级。
也不晓得着删不？不管了，传了再说。。。
想看视频，楼主快发～
事情大概就是：
石桥铺科园三街入口处，有一家摆烧烤的小摊。晚上大概7点左右，城管带了黑多人，把人家摊摊全部砸了，好象是蓄意的。于是有些过路的人看不下去了，就说了几句，结果城管些连同过路的群众一起暴打，结果激起民愤，不断有群众围观，导致石桥铺到陈家坪交通一度中断。
。。。
后来110来了，天天630来了，110的要带别个烤烧烤的人走，群众肯定不干塞，城管打了人想跑，群众肯定不依塞，于是警察和群众僵持发生冲突，警察又打人，结果事件进一步恶化，暴力不断升级。。这时围观群众已千多2千人，导致交通完全中断。到11点左右，城管想开车走，被老百姓围起走不掉，下车后，也不晓得哪个点燃了城管的车，于是一声爆炸后，现场一片混乱，极度失控
。。。
At the entrance to the Shiqiiaopu Science and Technology Park there is a small barbecue vendor stall. At around seven pm, the Urban Administration showed up with a bunch of people and began completely smashing the barbecue stall, as though this were premeditated. Then some by-passers couldn't stand to see this, so they said a few words, the result of which was that the Urban Administrators began fighting violently with the crowd of by-passers, inflaming the public's fury. Crowds of people kept stopping to watch, resulting in traffic being cut off all the way from Shiqiaopu to Chenjiaping.
…
Then the police showed up, and the local daily news TT630 showed up, and the police wanted to take the barbecue roaster away, the crowd wasn't about to try stop them. But then after the Urban Administration (UA) beat the guy, they wanted to run off, and the crowd wasn't about to let that happen, which led to a deadlock between the police and the crowd, which turned into a clash. The police began hitting people, and the incident then got even worse, with violence continuing to escalate…at this time there were about more than two thousand people crowded around, cutting off all traffic.
At around eleven, the UA tried to drive off, and were then surrounded by the masses, stopped from leaving. After they got out of the van, I don't know who it was who lit the UA van on fire, but with a bang it exploded and the scene turned to chaos and spun highly out of control
…
作者：巫巫格大人 回复日期：2007-9-5 03:05:00
没有拍到城管打人的照片。。。
这个确实可惜了，不然让全中国的老百姓看看城管究竟是法制的执法者还是凶狠的土匪
主要是：当时晓得是城管在砸别人小摊，对于这个，我相信重庆人早就已经见怪不怪了，当时也没觉得事情会不断升级扩大，城管不仅砸人饭碗，还连人一块端。。。。不让人吃饭，更不让人活命。。。
从晚上7点多一直到凌晨12点，上面那些当官的才姗姗来迟，确实不晓得他们干啥子切鸟。。。如果有一点点的预见性，有一点点的公正公平，有一点点对事情正确的处理和对待。。。我想也不至于让警察和群众针锋相对暴力相向。。。也不会让这个老百姓早已司空见惯的事情升级为焚车中断交通要道。。。激起千人愤慨。。。
我是在11点听到外面砰的一声时，以为是警察鸣枪示警了也，才拿出相机，结果外面一片火光、烟雾和混乱的人群。。。已经看不见哪个是警察，哪个是老百姓了。。。
It's really a pity, otherwise I could have let all the people of China see whether the UA are actually executors of the law, or just antagonistic bandits
What's most important is that upon knowing that the UA had smashed someone's push stall, I believe that Chongqingers have seen it so often that it doesn't even strike them as unusual now; at the time I also didn't expect the incident to keep escalating to as large as it did. The UA don't just smash people's rice bowls [means of living], but their dinner tables too…not letting people eat, not even letting them earn a living…
From just after seven straight until midnight, the “upstairs” officials took their sweet time getting there, I really don't know what good they thought dawdling around would do…if they had any foresight at all, even just the least bit sense of justice, an inkling of the correct way to handle and deal with things…I think it's unlikely that they'd have let the police and the crowd face off and get violent with each other…nor would they have let things escalate from what this citizen has seen time and time again into the torching of a car and the blocking of traffic…or the infuriation of over a thousand people…
It was around eleven when I heard the first bang, and I thought the police had fired a warning shot, so I took out my camera; but then a flame shot out, then smoke, and the crowd went chaotic…you couldn't see anymore who was a cop and who was a civilian…
不一会儿，消防车来了。。。防暴队来了。。。封锁了马路中间。。。
图片点击可在新窗口打开查看
这个是最边边上的人。。。
都等着看官官些浪个办啊浪个办这个时候。。。从照片日期看。。。已经凌晨过了
Waiting for those…officials to show up and do something
By this time…you can see from the date in the picture…it was already early morning
作者：巫巫格大人 回复日期：2007-9-5 03:15:00
消防车。。。。呜拉。。呜拉。。。
作者：巫巫格大人 回复日期：2007-9-5 03:18:00
被焚烧的城管的车车。。。终于熄火了，，，
只是曾经开得飞XX神气活现耀武扬威的车车。。。变成了如今一堆散发着恶臭的废铁
They used to drive it like a bunch of ****ing cowboys…now it's just a pile of reeking scrap metal
One reader asks:
作者：左正 回复日期：2007-9-5 03:18:00
还在继续没得？
作者：巫巫格大人 回复日期：2007-9-5 03:21:00
马路2边的人行道~~~~~全是人啊全是人~~~全是和那位被殴打被砸掉饭碗的烧烤主 一样的~~~~劳动人~~~普通老百姓~~~普通市民~~~
作者：巫巫格大人 回复日期：2007-9-5 03:23:00
汽车。。。。
是哪个把你变成一堆废铁？？？？
真的是在场的广大老百姓？？？
Who was it who turned it into a pile of waste metal???
Was it really the vast number of people there at the scene???
作者：巫巫格大人 回复日期：2007-9-5 03:28:00
火熄灭鸟~~~~~防暴队开始打算驱散人群。。。
带白帽子的斗室防暴队的~~~当时太混乱~~~照花了~~~
The riot squad warrior in white…everything was chaotic at the time…couldn't get a clear photo…
One reader writes:
作者：005TZ醉七少 回复日期：2007-9-5 03:43:00
六四之后不谈政治,这就是中国所谓的民主!!!!
作者：巫巫格大人 回复日期：2007-9-5 03:55:00
天涯可以发视频不哦？？
作者：巫巫格大人 回复日期：2007-9-5 03:58:00
手机照的。。不是黑清楚~~~车爆炸哒
The van exploding
作者：巫巫格大人 回复日期：2007-9-5 04:04:00
那些白点点~~~全部都是防暴队的~~~
手机照的~~~数码没电了。。。
Shot with my cellphone…the digital camera was out of power…
作者：巫巫格大人 回复日期：2007-9-5 04:09:00
市民还在围观~~~都没打算离开~~~
A reader writes:
作者：坏喜鹊啊 回复日期：2007-9-5 04:15:00
这是我去深圳出差时拍到深圳城管欺负一个卖红苕的照片，一群走狗
作者：巫巫格大人 回复日期：2007-9-5 04:27:00
当时在现场~~~~我旁边有个大妈在说~~天天630来了的~~~明天看电视~~看看放出来~~其他人怎么说~~~
呵呵~~~那让我们大家拭目以待嘛~~~看明天630播不播嘛~~~
天天630在11点前~~~便离开了~~~那个时候~~现场冲突恶化才刚刚开始~~~
没照到630那标志性的车车~~~他们跑得太快鸟~~~
那就让我们这些不是记者的小市民先让大家看到今晚所发生的事情吧~~~
远处那些白色的小点点~~~全部都是防暴队的~~~
照得不清楚~~~将就看~~~毕竟我也不是专业摄影~~~只是想让重庆人都知道自己身边到底都再发生什么事情~~~只是对那家靠自己双手吃饭不偷不抢的烧烤主~~~感到惋惜和同情~~~
如果哪天~~~我们也遭遇被人野蛮无理粗暴砸掉饭碗~~会是怎样的心情呢？？
Hehe…we'll all have to just wait and see then…see if they report on it tomorrow at 6:30
By 11:30…TT6:30 had already been made to leave…at that time…the worsening of the conflict had just begun…
I didn't get a shot of the TT630 car….they left too quickly…
So then it's just up to us non-journalist little citizens to show everyone the things that happened this evening…
Those white dots in the distance…they're all the riot squad…
My pictures aren't clear…you'll just have to deal with it…then again, I'm not a professional photographer…I just want to let Chongqingers all know what exactly has happened this time…I just feel sorry and sympathetic…to that BBQer who makes his money honestly, doesn't steal and doesn't rob…
If, one day…we ourselves see our “rice bowls” barbarically, senselessly and cruelly smashed by someone…how will we feel?
Peru: Facebook and Social Networking
· 20:38
Lately, the attention given to social networks has been strong. Who doesn't receive, even multiple times a day, invitations to subscribe to one service or another? I suppose many of these invitations are sent out by inexperienced users who simply click on “accept” without noticing much what they're doing, which sends out massive mailings to all their e-mail contacts. But, whether that be the case or not, it seems this thing will be around for a long time.
In Peru, by far the most used of these networks is Hi5, but lately Facebook is also obtaining [an inroad]; of course, there is still no comparison in numbers. I don't have data with regards to it, but there must be many tens of thousands of Peruvians registered in Hi5, while Facebook has little more than 6,000 users registered in its “Peru” network. Definitely, or at least for now, Facebook is not the social network your neighbor or your ex classmate here in Peru is using. El blog de Oscar Ugaz [ES], a Peruvian publicist living in Spain, talks to us about this in the post, Trapped in 4 social networks:
(Facebook es) la más completa. No solo las fichas de los miembros sino toda la interacción 2.0 imaginable:, los viajes que han realizado, lo que postean en sus blogs, lo que dicen en twitter, fotos, videos, etc, etc. El contra: aun no esta extendida en Latinoamerica y España por lo que la gente que tengo en Neurona y en hi5 o no se ha enterado de que Facebook existe, o es muy perezosa. Y por otro lado, la gente que tengo en Linkedin no esta tan metida en el mundo 2.0 como para apreciar las ventajas de Facebook (vamos que no todo el mundo tiene que ser un digerati).
¿Cual es la solución? O mantener las cuatro (mucho tiempo invertido) o empezar a invitar a todos a Facebook. Lo que sucede es que no soy de aquellos que manda correos con productos tratando de “evangelizar” (por más que la herramienta lea mis cuentas de correo y haga el trabajo por mi) Y por otro lado soy consciente de que entrar a una de estas redes toma tiempo. (migrar datos, subir materiales, etc, etc). Vamos que la única solución que le veo, y que creo que es lo que debe buscar la gente de Facebook, es crear una herramienta que permita migrar los datos de una red a otra. . En pocas palabras “unirte a nosotros con todos tus datos e info, solo requiere unos pocos clics”:
Y es que creo que no soy el único loco que acaba metido en cuatro de estos sitios a la vez. O por lo menos eso parece.
(Facebook is) the most complete. Not just member profiles, but the complete 2.0 interaction imaginable: trips they've taken, what they post on their blogs, what they say on Twitter, photos, videos, etc., etc. The downside: it is still not extended in Latin America and Spain, so the people I have in Neurona or Hi5 either haven't heard about Facebook's existence, or they're very lazy. And, on the other hand, people I have in Linkedin aren't so in the 2.0 world to appreciate the advantages of Facebook (not everyone wants to be a digerati).
What's the solution? Either keeping all four (a big investment of time) or beginning to invite everyone to Facebook. What happens is I'm not the type who sends e-mails with products trying to “evangelize” (no matter how much the tool reads my e-mail accounts and does my work for me). And, on the other hand, I am aware entering one of these networks is time-consuming (migrating data, uploading materials, etc., etc). Well, the only solution I see, and I think is the one Facebook people should seek, is to create a tool that allows you to migrate data from one network to another. In a few words, “joining us, with all your data and information, only takes a few clicks”. And, it's because I don't believe I'm the only one who is in four of these networks at the same time. Or, at least that's what it seems.
Jesús from X.Blog [ES] tells us in his post, Facebook: the only ring of social networks, how he came across Facebook, and why he decided to join it:
Facebook fue uno de esos encuentros casuales-obligados que a veces ocurren con una aplicación. Entrar a mi cuenta de Last.fm y ver que hay una “aplicación” (realmente son módulos) para Facebook, entrar a mi twitter y ver lo mismo, eso solo entre los dos lugares que siempre frecuento… al final curioseando descubro que hay varios servicios para Facebook: Delicious, Youtube, Flickr, etc etc etc. ¿Y qué es Facebook?, es una red social tipo Hi5, tipo Myspace, y de hecho es la competencia directa a éste último. En cuanto a diseño es simple, sencillo y ordenado. Aunque el servicio es antiguo recién despega por la compatibilidad con las aplicaciones más conocidas de la red, de hecho así yo me animé a inscribirme.
Facebook was one of those casual-obligatory encounters that sometimes occurs with an application. Entering into my Last.fm account and seeing there was an “application” (really, a module) for Facebook, entering into my Twitter and seeing the same thing, that's only at two places I always go to…in the end, out of curiosity I discover there area various services for Facebook: Delicious, Youtube, Flickr, etc., etc., etc. And, what is Facebook? It's a social network like Hi5, Myspace, and in fact, it is the direct competition of the latter of those. With regard to design, it is simple and ordered. Although the service is old, it is recently taking off because of its compatibility with the best known applications on the web. In fact, that's why I opted to sign up.
Additionally, the philosophy of cooperation and its possibility as a business is interesting. Don't believe, however, that is the only thing. In the post Interviews of virtual work at the blog El metaverso de JL Revilla [ES], we discover not-so-obvious-at-first-try uses of this network, as well as other social networks, of course:
Según el WSJ muchas empresas están experimentando con mundos virtuales para entrevistar candidatos. Mayormente se trata de Second Life, pero también es común que empresas como HP, Microsoft, Verizon y otras cuelguen videos en YouTube o creen perfiles en Facebook para reclutar personal. No sé si la tendencia pegará del todo, pero algo sí es cierto: Los ejecutivos de RRHH de hoy toman en cuenta muchos detalles interesantes de nuestra relación con la tecnología. He escuchado casos de algunos que simplemente descartan los curriculums que muestran un correo de Hotmail.
According to the WSJ many companies are experimenting with virtual worlds to interview candidates. Mostly, it has to do with Second Life, but it's also common in companies such as HP, Microsoft, Verizon, and others that post videos on YouTube or create profiles in Facebook to recruit staff. I don't know if the trend will become completely popular, but something is certain: The HR executives of today take into account many interesting details about our relationship with technology. I've heard of certain ones that simply discard the resumés that show a Hotmail address.
As expected in this type of business, because ultimately that is what they are, there is already speculation about the possible purchase of Facebook by one of the giants of the industry; in this case, Yahoo has been mentioned. The blog Software Tecnología Informática Ocio [ES] tells us about this, and other things, in the post FaceBook is going to be worth more than 10 thousand million dollars:
facebook es una pagina web donde se puede contactar con muchas personas alrededor del mundo, siempre hay riesgos en estos enlaces de amigos, puedes tener un amigo que no es quien dice ser. Facebook es una empresa revolucionaria que se esta transformando en la madre de las comunidades del mundo, creciendo de manera extraordinario al ritmo de 1 millón de Facebookers nuevos por semana. Quien no quiere tener esa cantidad de visitantes a la semana?.
facebook is a web page where you can get in contact with many people all over the world, there are always risks in these friendship links, you can have a friend who is not who he says he is. Facebook is a revolutionary company that is transforming itself into the the mother of all world communities, growing extraordinarily to the rhythm of one million new Facebook users a week. Who doesn't want to have that number of visits a week?
But obviously not all the opinions are favorable. In a more or less recent post, ElGonzi.com [ES] discusses an internet rumor and asks: Is Facebook created by the CIA?
…hablando de Facebook, podemos decir que tiene en su base de datos a más de 20 millones de personas a nivel mundial. Toda la información reunida en un solo sitio, lista para que el gobierno gringo pueda entrar y saber más de las personas que inocentemente se inscriben día a día. Esto es solamente un rumor pero hay indicios que podrían corroborar esto… Lean la fuente en inglés que hay links a noticias relacionadas.
…talking about Facebook, we can say that in its database there are more than 20 million people worldwide. All the information is together, in one place, ready so the [American] government can come in and know more about people who innocently register daily. This is only a rumor but there are indications that could confirm this… Read the link in English, with links to related news.
Ernesto, of the blog Consultor Internet [ES], in the post Rentability or “value”? , presents his objections to to what the well-known Martin Varsavsy wrote about Facebook in various posts on his blog. The divergence of opinion is principally on the side of the business model and its real value.
Martin Varsavsky comenta que una empresa llamada Facebook segun el va a valer 10,000 millones de dolares, luego de explicar a que se dedica se deshace en admiraciones a su crecimiento, a lo que hacen y al hecho de que sus empleados se haran ricos …[…]… Si claro, todo suena muy bonito, pero a la hora de la verdad en su articulo no hay ninguna mencion a si se estan generando ingresos o no, solo al crecimiento de usuarios y a lo revolucionaria que es,
me hace recordar la epoca en que los “clicks” o “visitas” eran el patron con que se valoraban las empresas, en lugar de preguntarse si el flujo de caja ya habia llegado al retorno de inversion o por lo menos iba en camino de lograrlo, ahora con esto de la Web 2.0 sin querer veo que esos criterios vuelven a aparecer, no fijarse en rentabilidad presente o potencial sino en el “valor”, …[…]… claro… ahora la idea no es generar ingresos sino esperar a quien nos compre el invento, que si… que esos procesos son a veces inevitables pero no deberian ser la base del crecimiento de los negocios en Internet,
Martin contesta parte de mis objeciones diciendo que esos millones de usuarios seran monetizados por Google (que seguramente sera quien compre a Facebook), y es de ahi de donde sale el valor del negocio. No se …. … esto me suena a “¡mira cuantas visitas tiene esta nueva Web!! ¡compremos acciones!”, bueno, es verdad que el caso de Youtube nos indica que puede llegarse a una rentabilidad debido al alto volumen de usuarios(*), pero claro… la idea de ir siempre a la masa critica y no a la rentabilidad sin un plan de negocios claro no me convence del todo, y es que fueron esos “planes” los que abundaban en la epoca de la burbuja. … Creo que en todo caso la pregunta que debe quedar seria: “el negocio que se esta construyendo, ¿tiene sentido en si mismo o necesita necesariamente ser parte de un engranaje mas grande?”
Martin Varsavsky comments that a company called Facebook according to him is going to be worth 10,000 million dollares, after explaining what he does, he makes statements of admiration for its growth, what they do, and the fact their employees will become rich…[…]… Yes, of course, it all sounds nice; but at the moment of truth, in his article there is no mention if they are generating income or not, just the growth of users, and how revolutionary it is…
…it reminds me of the period when “clicks” or “visits” were the model with which companies were valued, in place of asking themselves if the cash flow had reached the investment return or if at least if it was on the path of attaining it. Now, with this thing about Web 2.0, without wanting to I see that criteria reappear, no noticing the current or potential rentability, but rather the “value”, …[…]… of course… now the idea is not to generate income but to wait for them to buy our invention, yes… those processes are sometimes inevitable but they shouldn't be the basis of growth of business on the Internet…
… Martin responds to some of my objections saying that those millions of users will be monetized by Google (who surely will be the one that buys Facebook ), and that is where the value of the business will come out. I don't know… … this sounds to me like “look how many visits this new website has! Let's buy stocks!”, well, it's true that Youtube's case indicates to us that you can attain rentability due to high user volume (*), but of course… the idea of always going to the critical mass and not to rentability without a business plan doesn't fully convince me, and those were the types of “plans” which were in abundance during the bubble period. … I believe that in any case the question that should remain be: “the business that is being built, does it make sense on its own, or does it necessarily have to be part of a much larger [apparatus]?”
In any case, it seems that while not everyone likes it, Facebook is a success in many viewpoints, from the innovation with regards to its 2.0 platform as well as the number of users it gets, that the news of its sale for various million dollars does not surprise us. And of course, it wouldn't be too much to have a look and see if it is what we are looking for with social network material.
1 comment · »»Bloggers Discuss Africa's Informal Economies
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Africa's informal economies have for long generated intense research and debates, primarily within academic and professional circles, i.e., university professors, students, economists, and economic development professionals. A most welcomed development is the recent foray of Africa's blogosphere into this discussion. Just as a side note, I guess it doesn't hurt to mention that the business section of Africa's blogosphere shares a similar line with the academic and professional circles mentioned above.
However, this is not what makes this story so fascinating. But, perhaps something which is fascinating is that the bloggers have done something which the academic and professional communities have not been able to do: expand the discussion outside of academic circles and into real world settings.
So with that said, let's move to the actual bloggers who are discussing informal economies in Africa.
Let's start with the grandmaster of Africa's economic development blogosphere, Emeka Okafor who talks about the “go ahead” spirit of the informal markets:
“The Made in Africa Exhibition stated that:
In Mali and Senegal, those who have work in what we call the formal sector of the economy are almost wholly limited to the urban elite…The informal economy includes much of the trade that takes place in the markets and that offers possibilities for those who are inventive and possess sufficient “go-ahead” spirit”
From there we move on to IBM, via their Global Innovation Outlook blog, as they discuss the roadblocks that Africa's informal entrepreneurs face:
“The existence of informal economies is not inherently a bad thing. In fact, many in the room saw these businesses as emblematic of
Africa ’s burgeoning entrepreneurial spirit. And it serves as a means to put food on the table for millions of Africans.The problem is that these businesses have trouble growing, employing more people, and creating more wealth, because they have to continue to operate under the radar of regulatory bodies. They also have no access to financing, or the basic business training and skills that could help them improve the business.”
Loomnie, who blogs from Germany and originally hails from Lagos, Nigeria makes the connection between rural and informal economies in Africa:
“Think about this: most of Africans are rural dwellers… then wonder about how much government and the formal economy ever penetrated into rural Africa. People have been, and still are, involved in economic activities that are not captured by the official economic figures of the government. Even researchers into the informal economy in African countries, who have devoted much time to studying the informal sector in urban areas, have not paid sufficient attention to the livelihood of rural dwellers.”
Next we go back to Nigeria again with Imnakoya, who writes an insightful piece about the bottom of Nigeria's economic pyramid:
“As I mulled over the Robert’s documentary, the question that kept popping in my mind was what can be done to assist the several micro businesses operating in the slum? This is the “true bottom of the Nigerian pyramid” - and believe me you, none of the government economic policies have much meanings here, in fact majority of those not been designed to empower the folks here at all. What can be done beyond the mere “policy statements of micro-financing or micro-lending”
Here is someone who is taking a brilliant idea regarding informal economies and putting it to work in Africa, Nii Simmonds who lives in the United States but has his family ties in Ghana tells us how to grow Africa's informal sector:
Most workers who work in the informal sector have close ties to agriculture; picking fruit, tilting land, tending cattle, milking cows, and etc. Also, there are the craft industries; making mask, beads, bracelets, clothing, and etc. What if we instituted cooperatives (co-ops) for different industries in Africa that would act as a corporation on behalf of the workers in the informal sector?
Now here is a post that I have been mentally revisiting since my first read. It is about a term, which Ethan Zuckerman wrote about recently “incremental infrastructure.” It reminds me of something that I learned about during Carol Pineau's documentary, whereby an entrepreneur community becomes involved in building infrastructure for their benefit but as a byproduct others benefit from that infrastructure as well. Here is what Ethan had to say:
My friend and colleague Mike Best has challenged me on the idea of whether the examples I’m offering are really “micro” enough. By that definition, he’s most interested in “picoinfrastructure”, ways that small communities can build data infrastructure for a few thousands of dollars, not the single-digit millions I’ve pointed to in my examples from the mobile phone business. The examples Mike is offering mostly outline a model of “self-provisioning”, one where you’re building a network to meet your own needs because no one else has built that infrastructure. Where self-provisioning meets incremental infrastructure, I think, is where you overbuild for your personal needs with the goal of selling that capacity to your neighbors. Mining and oil companies self-provision infrastructure all over the African continent. Visit a gold mining center in
Ghana and you’ll find infrastructure that outpaces that in many secondary cities. But that infrastructure isn’t shared and resold - it might be vastly more cost-effective if it were, and would likely address some community concerns about the impact of extractive industries. That said, I can imagine incremental infrastructure being built at mini, micro and pico-levels. A farmer investing in water pumping equipment that could irrigate both his fields and neighboring fields might be builting pico-level incremental infrastructure, while a mobile phone company that built power plants to provide energy to mobile phone base stations, and used excess capacity to run irrigation pumps might be working on a micro or mini scale.
So far you have heard from bloggers who are either entrepreneurs or at one time were full time business persons, but now let's hear from someone who writes on a similar topic but from a very unique perspective: Sokwanele. Sokwanele is a Zimbabwean civic action support group that aims to address the needs of the everyday Zimbabwean. This post looks at the rise of Zimbabwe's informal gold mining sector:
“The then Mines Minister, Chris Anderson, said it was high time the panners were recognised as part of the informal sector. Instead of hunting them down, he said they should be encouraged to sell their gold to the reserve bank. He even suggested that small-scale miners should be paid a higher price than the market rate to prevent them from selling to the black market. Prospective panners were able to apply for permits to exploit the gold deposits from their respective councils.
The gap in production left by the near collapse of formal mining was replaced by the precious metal being brought in from the informal sector, with the Reserve Bank buying much of its gold from illegal panners. However, the panners today sell their gold on the black market as the Reserve Bank pay well under the true market value.”
Next we visit another blog from Zimbabwe, this time we visit a timeless piece that the Zimbabwe Pundit did explaining why Zimbabwe will never get rid of the informal economy that its current government tries to forbid:
Enter Hernando De Soto the Peruvian economist whose lifelong research and work chronicle this strange phenomenon. His research substantiates the case against developing countries shunning the informal market to their own undoing as the informal market has solutions for many of the problems where the formal market is failing. Check out his two books, The Other Path and The Mystery of Capital.
The root of the problem is in the laws of the land. It's not enough to clamor for the protection of property rights; we need to hold our governments responsible for crafting laws that are accomodative of everyone and laws that make the formal market place easily accessible to all people. How do informals do that? They operate in their own market (which formals and the governmnent call “black) which has laws that are reasonable and negotiable by the informals. Don't worry
Zimbabwe , the “black” market will be back. You can't destroy it by demoliting infrustructure, it is precipitated in the mind that's where it resides.
Finally, here is the post that started it all. It is from South Africa's Gavin Chait or Whythawk, as he is also known. This post echoes what was written by the Zimbabwe Pundit, but it goes into deeper detail into not only the causes behind the informal markets but it also goes into what Gavin describes as the only cure too. It's a very good read. Here is an excerpt:
A centralised state exists largely to protect contract and the enforcement of property rights. Individual rights and the welfare state are a relatively recent development. And you can't have these without taxes. And taxes don't exist without businesses and incomes to tax. And those incomes and businesses require contract protection and the enforcement of their property rights.
When individuals believe that the cost of supporting the state is less than the benefits they derive from that state then a central government is stable. When the state starts intervening in the economy and property rights are under threat then investors and business owners withdraw their support.
If they are capable of flight they will travel to other nations where they feel safer. If they are not they remove their investments to the informal market.
Informal vs Formal is subjective; technically we're discussing third-party property rights. An informal market is really a fragmented localised market where only people who trust one another directly are prepared to trade with each other.
Arabeyes: Countdown to Ramadhan
· 00:10
Ramadhan is a holy month in the Muslim calendar and it is celebrated in all Muslim countries, culminating with a feast or Eid after four weeks of fasting. Muslims are expected to stop eating and drinking, as well as refrain from sex and any ‘impure' thoughts, from sunrise to sunset during this month.
How are bloggers preparing for this month?
Jordan:
In Jordan, Naseem Tarawnah takes a look at the sanctity of Ramadhan, after reading a news article about the banning of the sale of liquor in bars, liquor stores, nightclubs and restaurants during the Holy Month and the closure of restaurants and coffee shops during the day in his country.
“By the way, I don’t have a particular stance on the issue. Obviously I’d prefer to see this kind of stuff restricted to some extent but I’m a realistic person and I know that will never happen. Which is why I could care less if they close them or open them. Because I also know that Ramadan will be full of alcohol consumption, as Arabs (not tourists) scour the city in search of a drop to drink. The reality is that most people who drink in Jordan are in fact Jordanians and would by any other definition be considered drunks if not borderline-alcoholics. The ‘casual drink’ is non-existent. Liquor cabinets are probably being filled.
As for Ramadan, well what can I say…
Nothing is sacred anymore.
That doesn’t surprise me,” he notes.
Morocco:
Lady Macleod, who lives in Morocco, is looking forward for the month but is dismayed at the way some women carry themselves around in Rabat.
“As I strolled through the Medina (town) on Saturday in search of drugs (the prescription kind) and yogurt (the Greek kind) walking side by side through the crowded streets were politics and nipples…I do not find this sexy. Perhaps the chaps do? That being said it is not appropriate for a Saturday walk in the Rabat Medina two weeks before Ramadan. Get a grip. Look at a map. Think where you are. I am neither Moroccan nor Muslim and it offended ME,” she notes.
Though not a Muslim, Lady Macleod also intends to fast the month.
“The nice woman at the apothecary tells me it is two weeks to Ramadan. I must check my calendar as I intend to fast again this year. I found it a very spiritual experience last year. The comradely of the entire country honoring the spirit of Ramadan is uplifting. In spite of this effect, our friend Rebecca, who is a Muslim, had her wallet stolen during Ramadan last year. I loved her reaction, she yelled after the thief, “I’m a Muslim you bastard, and it’s Ramadan!” So not everyone perhaps is feeling the spirit, but for me it serves as an excellent reminder of my beliefs. There are no Buddhist Temples here, but I have my altar, and love and compassion are the same no matter the religion yes?,” she explains.
Syria:
From Syria, Mustafa Hamido explains what Ramadhan means for him. He says:
“Ramadan is next week. It is something special for us as Muslims and even for Christians who are living with us in Syria and the Middle East. You can say that it is a celebration and waiting for biggest one at the end of its 30 days. It is not an only fasting from the sunset to the sunrise. It is another way of life totally different from what we used to live during a year.”
Bahrain:
From Bahrain, Silly Bahraini Girl fast forwards the month and talks about her experiences celebrating Eid, which like the beginning of Ramadhan doesn't start on the same day across all Muslim countries because of differences between the religious sects in the sighting of the new moon.
5 comments · »»“When we were growing up, having Eid start over a few days depending on which turban you followed was great. It gave us the opportunity to meet up with non-observant friends on the first day (which is usually the official one declared by Bahrain), then have lunch at one family house on the second and lunch in another house on the third! The problem actually happens when everyone observes Eid on the first day and you have to cram a million and one visits in the short span of a day .. and then make time to see friends and relax in a non-stress environment.
Let's toss a coin and see what happens this year. Will it be a united Sunni-Shia Eid .. or an Eid spread over a few days while the long beards and turbans battle it out?
Sigh..
Either way, I will celebrate Eid on the day I think it is appropriate!” she writes.
Links for Roundups
East Asia
Adamu at Mutant Frog Travelogue reports on the use of the Japanese version of Wikiscanner to track self-editing on Wikipedia by, among others, the health and labour ministry, the education ministry, a member of the Japanese National Diet, and the newspaper Mainichi shimbun. The post also links to local bloggers' reactions, and includes a partial translation of a post by Japanese blogger Kikko.
Middle East & North Africa
Bahraini blogger eMoodz is having his daily exercise routine interrupted by unannounced electricity cuts.
Eastern & Central Europe
Window on Eurasia writes about the 75th anniversary of Pavlik Morozov's death: “The anniversaries of Beslan, Khasavyurt and Kondopoga have attracted more attention this year, but as in the past, a small group of Russians met on Sunday to commemorate Pavlik Morozov, the young man killed by his relatives after turning in his parents during collectivization on September 3, 1932.”
Eastern & Central Europe
LJ user dizainer posts pictures (RUS) of campaign ads of the pro-Putin United Russia party in the Pskov region; its slogans are: “Putin's Plan - United Russia” and “United Russia - Putin's Party.”
Middle East & North Africa
Libyan blogger Highlander celebrates her blog's fourth anniversary with a trip down memory lane detailing her beginnings as a blogger.
Middle East & North Africa
Looking for an interesting sleeve for your laptop? Saudi Jeans has a few ideas.
South Asia
Metroblogging Chennai on the recent Madras Week, celebrating the city and its history.
South Asia
pretty blue salwar documents her experience teaching theatre in India, comparing her experience on an American campus with an Indian one.