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Bahrain: Fikr 6 - Changing the World

Ayesha Saldanha · 19:38

lingua → pt

Last week I was privileged to attend Fikr 6, a conference organised by the Arab Thought Foundation:

In keeping with the mission of the Arab Thought Foundation to promote the unique culture and values of the Arab people, Fikr 6: Arab Strategies For the Global Era will assemble the smartest leaders in Arab countries and beyond to discuss the major challenges facing the region, and how they are developing innovative solutions to the complex problems of: the rapidly rising global energy demand, regional and country-specific security measures, fulfilling the expectation of a youthful population, mitigating economic disparities alongside prosperity, meeting societal needs, and developing a sustainable environment. We will ask the assembled leaders how they are engaged in doing good for society while doing well for their organizations and business enterprises in the different Arab countries.

The speakers came from all over the world - and included John Clippinger and John Palfrey from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, which founded Global Voices!

Six Bahraini bloggers attended the event in all (each link takes you to all the Fikr 6 posts by that blogger):

المنعوت دائما

هذيان الحروف

ammaro.com

bint battuta in bahrain

Mahmood's Den

Yagoob's Dome

Ammar wonders about globalisation:

A question was raised over what the Arab world has contributed to the process of Globalization; the answer was “We buy. The world produces and we buy”. This does make you think, considering that we have become consumer economies rather than producers (with the exception of oil). We don't export motor vehicles, we don't export electronics, we don't export technology, and so on. People don't travel to world to attend our universities, people don't leave their countries to receive our healthcare.

Sure, a few countries do produce and offer services to a certain extent, but overall the general notion is that we consume. Essentially this means that most of our money is not being used inside our countries, and is slowly being pumped out of the region. Cash inflow from outside the region isn't very outstanding either, and besides the petroleum (for a few countries) and to a certain extent, investments, what else do we really have to offer the world? Isn't it about time this started to change?

Mahmood reports on a session about education he chaired:

It was agreed that modern education is the missing catalyst in the Arab world, a situation which must be corrected at all levels and completely overhauled should we wish to be part of this technologically advanced era. […] The political situation in many parts of the Arab world coupled with the dearth of opportunities for young minds provide a fertile ground for frustration, one that possibly leads to that young mind to prefer foreign lands for furthering their education or indeed to emigrate to in the hope of more respect, remuneration and a wealth of other opportunities. The “brain-drain”; however, is not that simple. The panel suggested that for enterprising minds the world over, geographical limits are immaterial, and in a lot of cases this migration is actually beneficial to the person’s country of origin or community as when the resources are provided, then the result of that migration will cross the physical geographical border and have a positive impact on the community as a whole.

Bint Battuta (that's me) quotes a surprising statistic:

In Finland you need to be in the top ten per cent of graduates to become a teacher. In South Korea you need to be in the top five per cent, in Singapore and Hong Kong the top thirty per cent. In the Arab world teachers tend to be recruited from the bottom twenty per cent of graduates, who have no other option.

Yagoob is impressed by a young Saudi student:

A surprise addition to the panel was the young Abdulaziz Al-Taraizouni, a Saudi studying at King Fahad University and heads an IT society at his university. He compares the education of old as the obtainment of “pure knowledge and nothing else” whereas modern education is looking ahead and is more concerned with the job market. He supported his fellow panelists in that students must gain the skills needed to adapt to all changes. The society he heads is the ‘IT Leaders Society’ which is a society that encourages the students to find new and innovative ways to use and create technology. He finds that the society has given so much freedom for the students and much room to grow, develop and find themselves with the final product being the amount of productivity the students show in their work..

Bint Battuta is also impressed by the Saudi participants in Fikr 6:

Some of the most impressive speakers were Saudi, and I mention that only because of the stereotype of Saudis prevalent in the Gulf, let alone the rest of the world. I have encountered a number of very cultured Saudis, mainly writers, but this was the first time I had listened to people working in business and industry, and I was struck by their education and articulacy (whether in Arabic or English) and their dynamism and innovative thinking. At one point I was feeling tired, and uncertain whether I could sit through a particular session; I checked to see who the speakers were, and because they were Saudi I knew it would be worth attending.

Butterfly is happy to have had the opportunity to attend:

أنتهى المؤتمر وخرجت بحصيلة من الافكار والمعلومات من خلال ورش العمل والجلسات التي كانت في المجمل هادفة ومميزة اثراها التفاعل المتواصل بين الحضور والمشاركين أثناء الجلسات وبعدها. أستمتعت كثيرا بالجو العام الذي ساده الود والتفاؤل وأستمتعت أكثر بالنقاشات واللقاءات التي جمعتني بنخبة من المثقفين والمفكرين العرب من المغرب ومصر وفلسطين والسودان والذين لم اكن لألتقيهم لولا هذا المؤتمر

The conference ended and I left having gained ideas and information from the workshops and sessions, which were on the whole focused and effective in terms of the interaction and connection between the audience and the speakers both during the sessions and after. I very much enjoyed the general atmosphere in which friendship and optimism prevailed, and enjoyed even more the discussions and meetings which brought me in contact with the elite of Arab intellectuals and cultured people, from Morocco, Egypt, Palestine, Sudan – whom I wouldn’t have ever met if not for this conference.

But she wonders what the follow-up will be:

الاسئلة المهمة التي تطرح نفسها، هل يكفي أن تنجح مؤتمراتنا العربية؟ وكيف يمكننا ان نقلل الفجوة بين الآمال التي نعقدها على هذه المؤتمرات وبين تنفيذها على ارض الواقع؟

Some important questions which present themselves: Is it enough that Arab conferences succeed? How can we reduce the gap between the hopes that we pin on these conferences, and their implementation on the ground?

Other Fikr 6 posts worth reading: a debate about the single Gulf currency, and an interview with philanthropist and high-tech entrepreneur, Kamran Elahian.

Photo credits: ammaro.com

1 comment · »»

Iran: Leftist Students Arrested

Hamid Tehrani · 12:31

lingua → pt · ar · es · zht · zhs

The Iranian government arrested several leftists students in Tehran and Mazandaran last week - perhaps as a preemptive action before the “Student Day” (16 Azar). The leftists student group “Students for Freedom and Equality” informed the world about this through their blogs, and were able to organize several rallies for freedom, peace, and equality in different universities in Iran in spite of arrests.

iranian student protest
Photo is from azady-barabary-01.blogspot.com

There are at least three interesting things about the student leftist movement: 1- After the mass execution of thousands of leftist militants in the 1980’s the Marxist/Socialist idea is still able to mobilize people in Iran. 2- The repression of the socialist students is happening in a country that has close ties with socialist leaders in Latin America including Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega. 3- This movement essentially relies on blogs to communicate and organise.

Peace, Equality and Freedom

The Barabary Azadi blog (means “equality freedom”) belonging to leftist students, writes that on December 2 while students were preparing themselves for demonstrations, the authorities began to arrest activists in Tehran.

The blog adds:

… But the demonstration was held by the Radical Left on Tuesday, in the University of Tehran in front of the Engineering Faculty. The demonstration started with singing revolutionary songs by the students; many students carring posters and slogans defining their wants and aims such as “The University Is Not a Garrison”, “Liberty of Women Is Liberty of Society”, “NO WAR”, “Hands Off the People of Iran”, “Free the Political Prisoners”, “There IS an Alternative”, “Free Our Classmates”, “The Student Movement is Allied with the Workers and Women's Movements”, “We Want Independent Unions.

The blog also published a list of names of students who were arrested and promised the movement will go ahead, no matter how many are arrested.

Schhr, Student Committee of Human Rights Reporters blog reports [Fa] that relatives of the jailed students are worried about their conditions in detention. Most of these students are being held in isolation cells in the notorious Evin prison. The Ministry of Intelligence has told students’ families they can keep them for 90 days without providing any information about them.

Back to the 80s?

The Mbulletin blog belonging to leftists students in Mazandaran, in the north of Iran, says five students were arrested and it reminds them of the bad days in the 80s where thousands of leftist militants were arrested and executed in Iran.

The blog writes [Fa]:

Once more Islamic Republic Intelliegence failed in its calculation, and “Students for Freedom and Equality” organized the Student Day in different universities all over country. Demonstrators showed their solidarity with jailed students. Students in universities in Tehran, Shiraz, Ahwaz, Mashad, Isfahan, Sanandaj and Mazandaran called for freedom for their fellow students.

Stars in chains

Salam Demokrat says [Fa] students were transfered to Evin prison. The blog says there are many other political prisoners such as labor and women's rights activists. The blogger comments that the Evin prison is “full of shining stars”.

1 comment · »»

Japan: Flaming and the secrets we hide

Chris Salzberg · 08:15

The phenomenon of flaming (enjo) is widespread in Japan, particularly on the notoriously free-wheeling frontier of anonymous posting forums such as 2-channel. In contrast to popular depictions of Japanese as the “humble giants of the web“, posters in these forums are known for being ruthless in the extent to which they will chase people down for their perceived wrongdoing. Just a few weeks ago, a site created to allow users to pick out sites to flame and comment on them was shut down [ja] two days after going online due to complaints from site owners, flamed by an estimated 200,000 users.

The topic of flaming was taken up last week by one Japanese blogger, who argued that the nature of the Internet as a medium of communication has distorted the separation of public and private, of what is shared and what is hidden in a society. Blogger Kusamisusa asked: are the things that people are attacked for so viciously online really so out-of-the-ordinary?

In the blog entry, he writes:

「うわべだけ規則に従って、規則違反はコッソリやるべし」という規律は、「健全な社会」にとって極めて重要である。（炎上と、< 他者>のメンツを立てること）

A rule that says: “Obey the rule superficially, violations should be done stealthily” — this observation is very important for a “healthy society”. (Flaming and saving the face of the ‘other person')

他に言葉が見つからないので「健全な社会」と鍵括弧つきで書いてみた。

I wasn't able to find any other words, so I'm writing “healthy society” [kenzen-na shakai] in brackets [quotes].

たとえばオタの集まるイベントで働いてた人がコッソリ「オタきもい」と言ってもたいして問題ないし、牛丼家で働いてる人がコッソリ食材を粗末に扱って遊んでもたいして問題ないし、未成年がコッソリ酒を飲んだりタバコを吸ったりしてもたいして問題ない。

For example, it's not a major problem if a person, working at an event where otaku [geeks] are gathering, secretly says “these otaku are gross”, nor is it a major problem if someone working at a gyudon [beef-covered rice] shop secretly uses crude ingredients and fools around with them, nor is it a major problem if underage kids secretly drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes.

問題だけどたいして問題じゃないこと、悪いことだけどたいして悪くないこと、が、世の中にはたくさんある。そしてそれらは、コッソリ行なわれなければならない。

Things that are problems but not major problems, things that are bad but not terribly bad — in the world there are many things like this. These kinds of things must be done in secret.

たとえばあなたが中学生であるとして、あなたが学校で漫画雑誌を読んだり菓子を食べたりしてもたいした問題ではない。教員もそれを知っているとしよう。だが、あなたは絶対にそういう行為を教員の目の前でやってはならない。彼のメンツを潰してはならない。歩行者が信号無視をしてもたいした問題ではない。だが、交番の真ん前の交差点では、青になるのを待つべきである。

For example, suppose that you are a junior high school student. Even if you read manga [comic books] or eat sweets at school, it's not a major problem. Let's suppose that the teaching staff even know about it. Even so, you would definitely not do these kinds of things right in front of their eyes. One must not cause them to lose face. A pedestrians ignoring a traffic signal is also not a particularly big problem. However, when right in front of a police box, you should wait until the light turns green [before crossing].

黙認と容認の間には致命的な差異がある。この差異はくだらないといえばくだらないものなのだが、しかし社会はこれを簡単には放棄することができない。< 他者>に隠れて行為しうること、これはどうしても重要なことだ。

There is a fatal difference between tacit consent and approval. You can call this difference stupid, but for society to abandon it is not such an easy thing. To hide from the “other person” and act, this is after all a very important thing.

「炎上」のひとつのパターンは、「< たいして悪くないけど悪いこと>をしたことがネット上で明らかになり、叩かれる」というものだ。このタイプの炎上を巡って必ず出てくるのは、「そんなには悪いことではないのだから、そんなに激しく叩くことはない」という意見と「悪いことをしたのだから、叩かれて当然だ」という意見との対立である。どちらの意見も正しいと言えるだろう。それは確かに悪いことであるが、そんなに悪いことでもないのだ。

One of the patterns of a “flaming” occurs when “a ‘bad but not particularly bad thing' that [someone] did gets revealed on the web, and [the person] is attacked for it.” Regarding this type of flaming, there is invariably antagonism between those with the opinion that: “This is not such a bad thing, so there is no need to attack them so fiercely,” and those with the opinion that: “This is something bad, so it is natural that they get attacked for it.” Both of these opinions I suppose may be said to be correct. Because while it is certainly something bad, it is not that bad.

< たいして悪くないけど悪いこと>がコッソリ行なわれているうちは、私たちはそれを黙認しうる。だが、それが大っぴらに行なわれれば、私たちはそれを見過ごすわけには行かない。メンツを潰されてはたまらない。コッソリやってれば咎められないような行為がネット上に（本人の意思で）晒される、という事態は、私たちを当惑させる。悪いことは悪いことなのだから、懲らしめるべきだ。いやしかし、その程度の悪さは誰だってやっている…。

When these ‘bad but not particularly bad things' are being done stealthily, we all tolerate them. However, when they are done out in the open, there is no way to overlook them. One must not cause [someone else] to lose face. We are bewildered by situations in which these kinds of actions, actions for which a person cannot be blamed as long as they are done stealthily, are exposed on the Internet (by the person [who carried out the act] themself). Bad things are bad things, so they should be punished. And yet, however, at that degree of badness, everybody is doing these things…

あるいは、コッソリ隠れていようがどうしようが、規則を完璧に一律に徹底したほうが社会は「健全」だろうか。それこそ、法治国家のあるべき姿なのではないか。恣意的な運用を一切排した、ルールに基づく支配。それはおそらく非人間的な状況であろうが、別に非人間的で不味いこともないかもしれない。

Alternatively, whether you hide it stealthily or whatever, it would seem that following rules thoroughly and without exception would make for a more “healthy” society. Isn't this exactly what the image of a country with a constitutional government should look like? Governance grounded in rules that completely eliminate all arbitrary operations. This seems perhaps like a dehumanizing state of affairs, but it may not be such a particularly unappealing thing.

インターネットの普及が、「うわべ」と「コッソリ」の間を、パブリックとプライベートの境目を、奇妙な形に捻じ曲げてしまった。炎上は、この捩れがもたらす混乱として在る。私が居酒屋で友人に話すならば何ら問題にならないような話も、ブログに書けば炎上の火種になる。では、居酒屋でその話を聞かされた友人は、私の悪事を咎めなかった不道徳な人間として責めを負うべきなのか。出火元を叩く「ネットイナゴ」がもしもその友人の立場だったら、その場で私をただろうか。では、ネットで公開したことが問題なのか。ネットはパブリックな場であり、私的で反社会的な内容は書かれるべきでないのか。完全匿名で叩かれないように書けばよいのか。匿名でならばやってよいが顕名／実名でやってはならないこと、が存在するのか。ネットで「本音」を聞き出してはいけないのか。芸能人やアルファブロガーが書くとダメで、私が書いてもＯＫな内容が存在するのか。

Popularization of the Internet has distorted the separation between the “facade” [uwabe] and “secretive” [kossori], the boundary between public and private, into a strange shape. Flaming exists as [a manifestation of] the confusion brought on by this distortion. Although what I say to friends at an izakaya [Japanese bar/restaurant] may have nothing particularly problematic about it, if I write about it in my blog then it becomes the possible source of flaming. But then, would my friends at the izakaya who heard what I said and did not reproach my wickedness also bear responsibility as immoral human beings? If the “net inago” that attacks the outbreak of the flaming were in the position of my friends, would they, in that situation, have taken me to task? Well then, was publicizing it on the net a problem? The net is a public space, and is it not a place where private antisocial matters should be written? Would it be better if people tried to write without anonymously attacking [people]? Do there really exist things that can be done anonymously but that cannot be done using a real name or proxy? Is it wrong on the net to ask for someone's “real intention”? Are there subjects about which famous performers or alpha bloggers cannot write, but that for me are OK to write about?

おそらく、公共空間というものについて、よく考える必要がある。

There is a need, perhaps, to think carefully about this thing called public space.

1 comment · »»

Russia: President Dmitry Medvedev?

Veronica Khokhlova · 02:23

lingua → zht · zhs · es

A year and a half ago, Moscow bloggers had to go all the way to the Zoo to yell “Preved, Medved!“ to the bears there. Today, they don't even have to leave their computers - all thanks to president Vladimir Putin's pledge of support to Dmitry Medvedev, first deputy prime minister and the likely 2008 presidential candidate.

Medvedev's last name stems from the Russian word for “bear” - medved' - and Yandex Blogs portal (RUS) lists over 1,500 posts in the Russian blogosphere today that greet him irreverently with “Preved, Medved!” (RUS) and over 1,400 more posts that refer to Medvedev in a more reserved manner (RUS), by what appears to be his semi-official title by now - “the successor.”

Anglophone Russia bloggers are also discussing the much-awaited announcement of the person who is likely to become Russia's next president. Below are some of the reactions.

Mark MacKinnon's Blog:

[…] So all hail President Dmitry. There is, of course, the small matter of elections to be sorted out, but you can be sure that the Kremlin - unless this decision creates a major rift behind the red walls - will make sure Putin's man is elected. The liberal opposition is self-destructing anyway, choosing not one, but three candidates to run for the presidency in April.

[…]

Medvedev owes Putin everything. If Putin asks him to do something - to make him prime minister, or even to relinquish the presidency because Vladimir Vladimirovich misses the comforts of the Kremlin - he'll do it.

Ruminations on Russia:

The Last Act or Just the Prelude

Google News has links to 108 news feeds announcing that Dmitry Medvedev was nominated to be the Presidential candidate for United Russia and other Kremlin-friendly non-jackal parties; and VVP saw the nomination and thought that it was good.

Too easy, its not going to end just like that. That may be a front for being caught off-guard. The rumour doing the rounds in late summer was that Medvedev had been caught with his hands in the cookie jar and would henceforth be the man running the key cookie jar (GAZP) but would not be running the whole damn thing. […]

Sean's Russia Blog:

[…] This is still an unfolding story and more will be discussed in the coming days. However, even at these early stages, one thing is clear. No matter what Putin does to show that he’s leaving the Presidency, his very own critics just won’t let him go. As Michael Corleone declared in Godfather III: “Just when I think I’m out, they keep pulling me back in.”

Siberian Light:

[…] I’m beginning to wonder (and I don’t think I’m alone), though, whether Medvedev could actually be the real deal - that is, a President who actually leads Russia, as Putin slips gently into an early semi-retirement.

Medvedev’s loyalty to Putin means that he is unlikely to turn on his former boss. And, rather like Putin back in 2000, Medvedev is the man nobody can conceive of as being President - no power base, stuck in the middle of warring clans. The perfect man to hold everything together… […]

Perspectives on the New Russia:

[…] 4. The Russian blogging community has responded with commentary, some of it fairly cynical. A couple of bloggers have suggested that Putin picked Medvedev because he is the only candidate shorter than Putin, others have suggested that they now will be voting for Gazprom to be the new Russian president.

5. Finally, it turns out that Mr. Medvedev - who is a soft spoken and largely wooden on camera particularly in contrast to the more charismatic leaders like Zhirinovskii - as a youth was a major hard rock fan, loving Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin. He also reportedly loves the sound of vinyl records.

The Accidental Russophile:

[…] I very much doubt it will affect any change in the direction of Russia, Inc. In fact, Medvedev's strong business experience and persona lend itself to Russia as the emerging corporate state, a nation that is run like a business. Most analysts tend to cast Medvedev as a liberal - I think this is a mistake. He simply isn't the sort of Russian man who shoots his mouth off to show what a real man he truly is.

[…]

[…] Medvedev won't lend himself to the easy, knee-jerk, “He's a fascist” kind of blogging. He doesn't appear to be so vain as to appear shirtless for photos while fishing with some prince. He is unlikely to kiss children on the belly.

In short, the man is a professional.

Scraps of Moscow:

[…] The Russian stock market has surged - Gazprom, where Medvedev is Chairman of the Board, is up 3% - and I have to say that in the imperfect world of Russian politics a smooth transition to a Medvedev administration may be the best possible outcome for anyone concerned about continued growth and stability in Russia. Medvedev's involvement in corporate Russia predates his involvement with Gazprom - he was head of legal affairs at SPB-based timbercompany Ilim Pulp for most of the 1990s - and fits with his the “moderate liberal / technocrat” label generally applied to Medvedev's politics.

The market's favorable reaction to this news may also reflect a sense of relief that the succession process is moving forward.

[…]

Looking ahead, this may also be good news for the future of the US-Russian relationship, both because making money is one thing both countries agree on and because of who Medvedev is not - a hawk like Sergei Ivanov. But who knows - the past few months have been all about surprises and the expectation of more surprises […].

3 comments · »»

The Anonymous Blogging guide is now available in French

Sami Ben Gharbia · 00:29

lingua → mg · fr · es

The Anonymous Blogging with Wordpress and Tor guide is now available in French thanks to this translation by the Tunisian blogger Malek Khadhraoui, and we are busy making translations into other languages.

The guide outlines several methods of protecting one’s identity in order to avoid retaliation and can considerably reduce the risks that a blogger’s identity will be linked to his or her online writings through technical means.

Le “Guide pour bloguer anonymement avec Wordpress & Tor” is availble for download as a PDF file. You may need to install the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the PDF. If you experience difficulties viewing PDF format online, try this linkable and blogging-friendly HTML version.

Please link to it, download it and help disseminate this important information. You can simply grab the HTML code from here!

1 comment · »»

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