Archive for
December 27th, 2007


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Pakistan: Bhutto's Death and Impending Elections 

a small portrait of this author Neha Viswanathan · 19:46
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Still reeling with the shock, The Emergency Times, which has kept a very close eye on the unfolding political situation in Pakistan, writes

At this tragic moment in the history of Pakistan, we at the Emergency Times are shocked beyond words at this intolerable and brutal act of the murder, along with others, of possibly the most popular leader of our country. No words can adequately condemn this barbaric act, which can only lead to more death and destruction for this tortured land. Her death will leave a gaping chasm in our country's leadership. One can only hope, beyond hope, that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
May God help us all.

Pickled Politics links to the news and a commenter writes “Assassination of leading political figures is a very bad sign for a society, for it shows a clear and direct lack of trust and respect for the institutions of the state and society. One can only hope that the perpetrators are brought to justice.”

Some other perspectives have also emerged, looking at Bhutto both as a possible leader and a mover in international politics. Counter Terrorism Blog says

She was someone who the U.S. could actually work with to seek a way forward for Pakistan in light of the profound challenges posed by religious intolerance and political extremism, the drug trade, governmental institutions that do not provide essential services in many areas of the country, and Pakistan's troubled relationships with of its immediate neighbors — Afghanistan, India, and Iran.

Her faults were also profound, as the well-documented grand corruption cases brought against her and her husband attest. She did indeed treat her country like it was a family-owned business, with corrosive results. These includied her removal from power in 1990 and again in 1996 as the corruption both weakened her politically and played a significant role in her inability to deliver the reforms needed to make Pakistan's government responsive to the needs of its people

The Moderate Voice has a bio on Benazir Bhutto, including information on her father who was also the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and was sentenced to death in the 70s for charges similar to the ones Benazir faced much later.

From across the border, Indian Muslims comment on the assassination, and debate various conspiracy theories.

The hands of Nawaz Sharif cannot be completely ignored as he too had his reason for her removal: He now is the only national level leader who has experience as a Prime Minister. He is now sure to take over as PM of Pakistan. The chances of this conspiracy are rare but you never know with these opportunistic and individualistic politicians.

Meanwhile, Sepia Mutiny's post on Bhutto's death already has over a hundred comments. One commenter says

One wonders if she truly felt she would be safe in Pakistan. Love of country and desire to contribute aside, is there some shred of a risk-taking thrill inherent in this endeavor she had embarked upon? Some level of martyrlike delusion, however deeply buried? Can any of us imagine being devoted enough to any political cause to risk our life so boldly? Was it worth it, Benazir?

Truly sad. Whither Pakistan?

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Guatemala: The Media's Shortcomings 

a small portrait of this author Renata Avila · 18:56
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In Guatemala, coverage outside of the capital city is said to be not as important for national newspapers, and because of that many stories are left uncovered. In spite of its national circulation, some newspapers choose to devote more coverage to other countries in the region. Blogger Charakotel [es] makes a detailed analysis of media, strongly criticizing the media and their coverage of rural areas:

La importancia de lo que sucede en la provincia es tal para Prensa Libre que en una misma página (la 25), arrincona acontecimientos intracendentes de cuatro distintos departamentos. Llama poderosamente la atención los contrastes que se dan al presentar las noticias departamentales de Guatemala (el diario Prensa Libre es de circulación nacional en Guatemala) y las páginas enteras a las noticias de Venezuela, a la que le dedican además el editorial del día; Bolivia y Ecuador.

The importance of what is going on in rural areas for Prensa Libre (newspaper of the capital) is such that on the same page (p.25) it compiles all the events not so relevant of four different departments. It is important to notice the contrast between the news in rural areas (Prensa Libre circulates in the whole country), and a lot of pages devoted to cover Venezuela, even the day's editorial, furthermore, more coverage is also given to Bolivia and Ecuador.

Venezuela has a special place in Guatemalan media, and is more relevant, sadly, than the things happening in rural areas, todays headlines of a newspaper, derivated on a post by Guate360 [es] titled “The head of Chavez has a price in Guate“

No sabremos exactamente los detalles del plan de complot que ha llegado a las manos del gobierno de Hugo Chavez, lo que agrega incertidumbre de la visita a Guatemala en Enero próximo. ¿Un complot donde el gobierno de Estados Unidos estaría implicado? Me recuerda mucho al documental de War on Democracy.

We do not know precisely the details of the plan known by Hugo Chavez government, and now his visit to Guatemala next January is uncertain. Would this be a plan where the U.S. government might be involved? It brings to my mind the documentary War on Democracy.

But is not only the lack of news and info of the rural areas or the extra emphasis on Venezuela that concerns some bloggers, but rather the reduced spaces to spread ideas, where one must look for alternate venues. Now that many newspaper's sites enable comments from readers, there are some criticisms to how these are used. Mario Cordero of Diario Paranoico [es] on his post Freedom of Speech? [es] tells how the director of one of the most important newspapers argued with the comment left by Mario, when he stated he did not share the opinion of “the best book of the year”, and that the reaction of the director was condescending:

..En el blog “abierto” de El Periódico, envié de nuevo mi comentario a lo expresado por el señor Font, pues no me pareció justa su calificación hacia mí diciendo que, como opino distinto a él, yo ni siquiera “había leído la novela”. Lamentablemente, los censores de elPeriódico ni siquiera dejaron pasar ese comentario. En Guatemala, casi nunca nos animamos a opinar, mucho menos cuando queremos contrariar una opinión de una persona “respetable”….

On the “open” blog of El Periodico, I commented on the opinion of Mr Font, because some of his comments were not fair arguing just because we do not share opinions, that I has not read the book. Sadly, I had to add that they did not published my comment. In Guatemala we do not dare to express our opinions, especially when is contrary to the point of view of someone “respectable.”

The relationship by these “respectable” persons and individuals in government also draws scrutiny from bloggers. Some believe that politicians receive special attention from the mainstream media. Blogger Quicheleño [es] also added:

Recientemente, Prensa Libre criticó al presidente electo Alvaro Colom por haber tenido la temeridad de decir que iba a gobernar para los pobres. Ni siquiera ha llegado Colom al poder y ya le están haciendo la vida imposible. El editorial en cuestión no habría sido motivo de crítica si no fuera porque cuando en marzo del 2004 Berger dijo que el suyo era un “gobierno de empresarios” Prensa Libre no dijo nada.

Recently, Prensa Libre criticized President-elected Alvaro Colom, for daring to declare that his government was for the poor people. He had not even assumed power, and the press is giving him a hard time. The editorial would not be subject to scrutiny, but in comparison, when in March 2004, the President Berger said that his government was for businessmen, Prensa Libre did not say anything at all.

In addition, Cordero adds:

Lo verdaderamente molesto es que se creen defensores de la libertad de expresión, siempre y cuando esa expresión no vaya en contra de sus propias opiniones.

What bothers me is that the media are the guardians of freedom of expression, but only if the expressed ideas are not against their own opinions.

Bloggers are relieved to know that there are other ways to spread news and information.

 

 

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Special Coverage: The assassination of Benazir Bhutto 

a small portrait of this author Georgia Popplewell · 17:43
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sample image for this post

Given the volume of commentary from bloggers throughout the world about the assassination of ex-prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, we have set up a Special Coverage page aggregating some of the reactions from Pakistan and other parts of South Asia, as well as our own coverage here on Global Voices. Visit the special coverage page for regular updates.

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Pakistan: Reactions to Bhutto's death 

a small portrait of this author Neha Viswanathan · 15:32
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Benazir Bhutto's death has come as a shock to many of the bloggers writing from and about Pakistan. While Bhutto's politics may be controversial, her assasinaton comes at a time when it was hoped that Pakistan could overcome the years of lapse of democracy.

At Metroblogging Islamabad, the post provokes some comments - from disbelief, to worry about the impending elections.

This is a sad day for Pakistan. Bhutto was not perfect, but at least she was for a democratic process. Democracy once again dies with her. Our condolences to the people of Pakistan from Metroblogging Mumbai.

Abu Muqawam states that while it is one thing to mourn the death of Benazir Bhutto, it is important to keep in mind the nature of her politics.

The folks on NBC, though, are making it sound as if Bhutto was some brave liberal alternative to the Musharraf regime, swallowing hook, line, and sinker this narrative that Benazir Bhutto was some kind of Pakistani Aung San Suu Kyi. Okay, folks, we all know she was eloquent, went to Harvard and Oxford and was a darling of the English-language media. But she was arguably the most corrupt woman in the history of South Asia.

While some bloggers expressing reservations about Benazir Bhutto being good for Pakistan, at All Things Pakistan, Adil Nijam writes that at this moment, the event is tragic at a very human level.

At a human level this is a tragedy like no other. Only a few days ago I was mentioning to someone that the single most tragic person in all of Pakistan - maybe all the world - is Nusrat Bhutto. Benazir’s mother. Think about it. Her husband, killed. One son poisoned. Another son assasinated. One daughter dead possibly of drug overdose. Another daughter rises to be Prime Minister twice, but jailed, exiled, and finally gunned down.

Today, in shock, I can think only of Benazir Bhutto the human being. Tomorrow, maybe, I will think of politics.

Chapati Mystery writes

In the nation whose history is dotted by military coups, assassinations and hangings of public figures, this is surely the bloodiest stain. She titled her autobiography, the Daughter of Destiny - but surely she deserved a fate other than the destiny of her father and Liaqut Ali Khan. It is truly a tragedy and a revelation of the chaos gripping the nation.

Pakistan Policy Blog provides details of how Bhutto was assassinated and some details on others who are critically injured. “The chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party was leaving Liaquat Park in Rawalpindi, where she was addressing a party rally, when an assassin fired 3-5 shots at her, one of which struck her in the neck. The assassin then blew himself up. Rehman Malik, Bhutto’s chief security adviser and Naheed Khan, a close Bhutto friend are critically injured. Over thirty others have been killed.”

As bloggers reflect on this tragedy, there are those who express worry that this could lead to violence and protests on the streets. Metroblogging Karachi reports that offices are being closed and people are rushing back home. A commenter states that gunfire can be heard outside. The Pakistani Spectator writes “In other areas of Rawalpindi like Faizabad, Saddar and Murree Road, angry crowd is burning shops and vehicles and shouting slogans against the terrorists.”

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RIP: Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan 

a small portrait of this author Kamla Bhatt · 15:16
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Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto (54) was assassinated in Rawalpindi earlier today at a political rally. Ironically according to media reports Rawalpindi is one of the most secure cities in Pakistan and teeming with security folks. In another irony according to a report on the BBC Benazir was assassinated in almost the same place as Pakistan's first Prime Minister.

Her assassination puts the future of Pakistan's political future in turmoil and there are questions being raised if Pakistan will plunge into a civil war.

Benazir was the first woman to be elected twice as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

What a tragic end for a leader, who was fighting for democracy in Pakistan. Her return to Pakistan earlier this year started off on a wrong foot when an attempt was made to bomb her cavalcade that was traveling from the airport to her ancestral home. With this sudden death the political future of Pakistan is once again on an uncertain footing. The question is whether elections will be held next month.

A controversial leader, Benazir's political views were shaped by her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a former Prime Minister of Pakistan. A seasoned orator and writer Benazir studied in UK and the USA before returning to Pakistan and joining her father's political party Pakistan's People's Party (PPP) and was was the Prime Minister of Pakistan. At Metroblogging Lahore, a blogger states that despite not supporting Bhutto's politics, the sudden death of the political leader is a tragic event.

I personally have never supported Ms Benazir and her party (the PPP). But this, by all means, goes beyond the immediate politics of pretty much everything. It goes without saying that no one, and I mean no one — even for a moment — deserves to go this way, to die in such an unnatural manner and for such obnoxiously stupid reasons. Fate, as we already should know, is not without a sense of irony; Benazir has died (primarily) due to gunfire wounds while leaving a political gathering at Liaquat Gardens; Liaquat Gardens is not only named after, but is also the same place where the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Khan Liaquat Ali Khan was murdered with a bullet.

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China:Seething Eve on Nankai Campus 

a small portrait of this author Bob Chen · 14:22

Though it is not the first time for a crash between pass-by vehicles and students riding bicycles, in the campus of Nankai University, such a significant accident is unprecedented. Hundreds of restless students, 20 police cars, and a broken, battered Buick sedan marked the seething Christmas Eve of this prominent school.

On the night of 24th, December, a female student unheedingly scratched a non-campus Buick sedan when riding past the Student Activity Center. According to some witnesses, the car, in which sat 2 adults and 2 girls, suddenly turned right and therefore got the scrape, which was about 15cm long. The female driver in a black coat immediately got off and grasped the student, on a demand for apology and compensation. She presumptuously abused the student before calling the police, and the controversy continued till the arrival of the police. During the course, even with the presence of the police, the driver still cursed the student “if my kids were college students like you I’d better throw them away”, and cried “you want a punch-war? Who fears who?” She furthermore threatened “I’ll show my ID card that overawes you!” which later triggered strong indignation against her smug manner of boasting her power.



A group of angry students then circled the car. Exactly at the moment, the male owner of the car slipped away and was later back with several other men who then caught a male student that spoke for the rider and punched him. The daughter of the driver as well got hurt during the chaos. Soon the several offenders caught a chance to run away. The police failed to stop them, a miss that later came to be a trigger, but instead tried to send the beaten student into a police car. More students halted the police and managed to take the student back, who was soon sent to the hospital by am ambulance.

It was now 10 pm. Many school guards were dispatched to pacify the situation while receiving no effect, because thousands of students flooded to the scene after the self-study hour, and all were questioning why the police would let the offender escape. The students howled to require the police to explain their neglecting, and moreover, that a school governor should come out. However, no official had ever come and the police just stood idly by. The neglected students could no longer hold their anger and the long-existed grief against the overbearing drivers. The temper burst out.

The passengers and the driver were removed out of the car. Then furious students stroke the car, smashed the windshield and then even collectively turned over the Buick. Meanwhile no police dared to come up and some teachers who tried to calm the students were pushed out of the circle. The car was damaged to be a bulk of iron.




The time approached to 12 pm. The frightened driver had now remained silent. Not until then did the two headmasters come. One of them spoke through a microphone 3 promises to the students.
1. Students won’t be punished.
2. Improve the traffic condition on the campus.
3. Punish the offenders.


It was 2 pm. Swarms of students still gathered and started singing their school songs. The incident was commented by many alumni a chance for the school to regain their mettle. It was later circulated on many websites, though the related posts were soon filtrated.

However, several famous comments were preserved. They will be translated and put on here tomorrow. You can see Chinese posts about the incident here (many original posts have benn blocked). The news above is written according to these posts. Pictures are from FlyingMonkey.

It was not the first time for a traffic conflict between bicycles and vehicles. According to students there, it was always the students involved finally apologized to the drivers and paid the bill, though the crashes happened on the campus. The accumulated anger undoubtedly fueled the 12.24 incidence.

A post from the net forum Skyline (Tianya天涯) said (the original post got filtrated):

这些开着鸟车发着鸟财的人们，如果想让社会尊重你们，你们也应该学会尊重别人。这个社会允许你们先富起来，允许你们占有比别人多的社会资源，但没有给你们更
大的道德豁免权，你们也没有比我们这些骑着自行车的学生更高的权利。你忘了，在这
个后革命时代，当我们被物质和利益消磨得只能在你们面前唯唯诺诺的时候，你们好像
忘了一些久远戒律的提醒：哪里有压迫，哪里就有反抗。

Those who drive the damn cars and earn bonanza wrongfully should first respect others before you demand others to respect you. The society allows you to get rich more quickly and take up more resources but has never allowed you to be exempt from moral obligation. You don’t deserve more than us students that ride bicycles. You shouldn’t have forgotten, in this post-revolutionary age, when we people worn out by the material interest only have the right to be obsequious to you guys, this rule remains: where there is oppression, there is resistance.

有人说，为什么不好好说话，为什么要打打杀杀？为什么不可以谈判，为什么不好
好提出一个方案？学生们不是不会谈判，他们很多人就是学这个的。学生们不是不会文
雅，他们已经克制得够多了。可是看看那个骂骂咧咧的车主，那个纠集流氓的司机（他
还是酒后驾车），那些唯唯诺诺的警察。
所以，为什么要打打杀杀？很简单，因为没人给你面子！！

Someone questioned why students didn’t sit down and talk but had to resort to violence. The students are not unable to talk and many of them learn how to talk in school. Also, they are not unable to be polite; they have tolerated so much. But please look at the spiteful car owner, the driver that called rogues to beat the students, and those weak-kneed police. So, why did they have to employ violence? Because no one would really care about their rights without doing so!

Another post that appeared on the Nankai campus website soon after the incidence while got blocked later commented:

津F9556，一辆别克车，被砸了！！学生不再沉默！这是出于愤怒的咆哮！
2007年12月24日，南开园发生了一件历史性的事件，无论别人如何将她定位，我为身为
一个南开人而感到自豪！为校友的勇气永远感到骄傲！

Jing-F9556, a Buick car was battered! Students refused to keep silent！This is a growl out of rage!
On 24th, December, 2007, a historic incidence happened on Nankai campus. No matter how others would define it, I am proud of being a student of Nankai University. I am proud of my schoolmates’ courage!

诚然，中国现在实用主义风行。其实，美国人的哲学是什么？就是实用主义！可美国的
大学呢？中美之间的教育差异，难道仅仅体现在量化的科研成果上吗？学校得不到应有
社会地位！如果说像南开这样的学校都得不到，不知道在中国，还有几所学校可以的得
到，如果有很多学校的得到，天津，你是否就需要反省？

Indeed, today pragmatism prevailed in China. However, America adopts pragmatism as well while the universities there never did so (worship the power). Is the margin on education quality between China and America simply lying on the quantitative results of scientific researches? It lies on that schools here get no social status they deserve! How many schools can get what they deserve even if a school like Nankai University could not? If only did Nankai fail on this, should you Tianjing City reexamine yourself?

学生在自己的校园里被打？！荒唐！可笑！可耻！
你们太低估南开学生力量了，数百名学生面对数十辆警车，敢于站在警车前面，绝不让
他们一个学生带走！我为你们自豪！为书生气浓郁的南开园里依然能培养出这么多血气
十足、又有理有据有节的学生感到自豪！

Students got punched on their campus? So ridiculous and shameful! You have underestimated our power! Hundreds of students dared to stand in front of the police cars and halted the police from taking a single student. I am proud of you! I am proud that the bookish campus can cultivate so many students with courage and reason!

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West Africa: The four Cameroonian historical myths 

a small portrait of this author David Ajao · 13:31
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This week's blog round-up starts on a literary note, with Voice in the Desert's review of The Door of No Return - a book targetted at children:

Congratulations to Sarah Mussi for her triumph in the Children's category of the 2007 Glen Dimplex Awards.

I read The Door of No Return earlier this year and really enjoyed it.

The surge of children's books set in Africa recently has been extraordinary. Was it really only last August that Amanda Craig commented in her Times column that it had been a long time since a children's author dared to write about Africa? That column elicited THIS BEAUT LETTER from my dear Mum (at a time when she was also going into Waterstones and carefully adjusting copies of ‘Sophie and the Albino Camel' to make them more prominent - not that I've ever done that, of course!).

From Burkina Faso, we now switch gears and move onto bi-lingual Cameroon as Dibussi Tande of Scribbles From The Den goes down the memory lane to blog about: “Four Myths About the Unification of British and French Cameroons“:

Anglophone nationalist leaders and scholars, in turn, have quickly recognised the importance of rediscovering Anglophone history as an invaluable political resource in combating the regime and raising the consciousness of the Anglophone population. They have therefore attempted to bring back Anglophone identity into the historical space, strongly contesting some of the myths created by the regime and organic scholars. We have only room here for a few examples.

Although each myth is discussed extensively on the said blog post, for the sake of brevity, only the core points would be listed below:

Myth # 1: “Cameroon has always been one and no more”
Myth # 2: Reunification was warm-heartedly and freely embraced by both parties
Myth # 3: The constitution of a reunified Cameroon was agreed upon in Foumban in 1961
Myth # 4: The 1972 Unitary State was the outcome of a massive vote by Cameroonian people.

Cameroonian blogger, Rosemary Ekosso of Enanga's Pov shares the opinion of an article in the Proletarian : Africans need true independence not imperialist ‘charity':

I found a 2005 article that reflects much of what I have been saying on this blog about Africa's relationship with the West.

As I have said before, what galls me is the hypocrisy that permeates everything the Western world, or at least its governments, would like us to believe about ourselves. The article that follows is reproduced with the kind permission of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). It reflects the socio-economic and political views of its author, and while I do not consider myself to be a socialist or communist, I was struck by the careful research that produced it. It shows what people can do when they start thinknig for themselves. I was particularly interested in the following statement, which is attributed to John Pilger:

“At present, for every $1 of ‘aid' to Africa, $3 are taken out by western banks, institutions and governments - and that does not account for the repatriated profit of transnational corporations.”

Still on African issues, Imnakoya of Grandiose Parlor has this to ask: “AFRICOM: Where does Nigeria stand?“:

The bone of contention here is a statement attributed to Nigeria's President Musa Yar'Adua after a meeting with President George Bush where the former was reported to have announced that:

“We have discussed on security issues, security within Nigeria, the Niger Delta, the Gulf of Guinea and peace and security on the African continent. We shall partner AFRICOM to assist not only Nigeria but also the African continent to actualise its peace and security initiatives. It is an initiative to have standby forces in each of the regional economic groupings in Africa.” - Via VOA, December 13, 2007..

Imnakoya has this to say about the issue:

In what can be considered the first major international media event for YarA’dua, not only did he present himself as a green-eared president going by his “I will never forget this moment….” ’star-struck statement’ - not sure if YarA’dua was simply at awe of the magnificence of the White House or swept off his feet at meeting the ‘notorious’ George Bush - whatever the reasons may be, YarA’dua came across, embarrassingly, as a media relations mediocre. His statement on AFRICOM - which now deserves some white-washing - is an indication of how lax our foreign affairs department is. Shouldn’t the department have assessed the likely post-meeting scenarios and prepared accordingly - prepping the poor YarA’dua on what and what not to say, and how to say what he ought to say, even before he left Abuja for Washington?

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Arab Bloggers Alarmed by Al Farhan's Arrest 

a small portrait of this author Amira Al Hussaini · 06:23
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Reactions continue to reverberate across the Arab blogosphere following the arrest of Saudi blogger Fouad Al Farhan, whose charges still remain unknown.

The leading blogger, who is among the first in the country to have a blog carrying his real name, was earlier this year harassed by authorities and forced to stop blogging. Bloggers from across the region continue to rally for his freedom or at least understand the charges being leveled against him. It is understood that Al Farhan is being detained for his blog-related activism.

Saudi Arabia:

Rasheed Abou-Alsamh, a Saudi-American blogger and journalist, who is also based in Jeddah, speculates about why Al Farhan may be in prison and calls more reforms in the Kingdom. He explains:

The latest arrest comes after he visited one of nine Saudi reformists who were arrested on Feb. 10, 2007, and are still being held at a secret police detention facility in north Jeddah after refusing to sign undertakings that they would cease their calls for political reform. Fuad wrote about his visit on his blog.

I just hope that Fuad will be released soon and allowed to blog again. The wave of greater accountability, more transparency and allowing the citizenry of Saudi Arabia a higher voice in how our country is run is the ongoing legacy of King Abdullah's reformist agenda. I hope that this will be allowed to continue. Arresting reformists and bloggers does not help the cause of reform in the Kingdom, and just serves to bring us back to those dreaded old days when everyone was too afraid to say in public what they really felt. I and many other Saudis like me had thought that those days were long gone. I hope we're right.

Fellow blogger Saudi Jeans also hopes Al Farhan would be released soon. He notes:

I hope that Fouad would be released soon to come back to his family and friends. This country needs more people like him, people who love their country and want to see it thrive and advance.

Bahrain:

From Bahrain, Mahmood Al Yousif tells Al Farhan he is not alone, assuring him of support. He writes:

If the reason for his arrest is due to his writing, then this is obviously a gross violation of an individual’s basic human right to freedom of expression. I call on the Saudi authorities to respect their role in the world and immediately release Fouad Al-Farhan and call on them to guarantee his safety throughout his detention.
Hang in there Fouad, you have a lot of friends with you. I applaud your determination to speak your mind for the better of our community.

Egypt:

Many Egyptian bloggers also called for Al Farhan's release. Among them was blogger Bella, who laments the condition of Arabs, who speak their minds. She writes:

في بلادنا التعبير عن الراي جريمة يُعاقب عليها القانون
في بلادنا القلم حيازته تهمة تستوجب الزج في غياهب السجون
في بلادنا اللصوص مكرمون
في بلادنا الفاسدون يرتعون
في بلادنا تجار الارزاق هانئون
في بلادنا الراقصات يُحتفى بهم أينما حلوا وحيثما ارتحلوا
في بلادنا المجد للممثلين ولاعبي كرة القدم
في بلادنا يموت العلماء ولا يجدون من يتحدث عنهم
في بلادنا من يقول الحق يصبح طريد العدالة
هكذا تكافئ بلادنا من يعبر عن رأيه
وترتعد الأنظمة امام الكلمات فلاتجد سبيلاً إلا سجنها في الحلوق
أصبح التدوين تهمة تستوجب الإعتقال
والتعبير عن الراي يجب التصدي له بكتم هذا الراي
والقلم ينبغي قصفه وسحق من يُمسك به
هذا ماحدث مع المدون السعودي فؤاد الفرحان
In our country, freedom of expression is a crime punishable by law,
In our country, possessing a pen is a crime which deserves imprisonment,
In our country, thieves are honoured,
In our country, corrupt people are prospering,
In our country, drug lords are happy,
In our country, belly dancers are honoured were ever they go,
In our country, glory is for actors and football players,
In our country, scientists die and no one speaks about them,
In our country, whoever says the truth is pursed by the judiciary system,
This is how our country rewards those who express their opinion,
Regimes are threatened by words and don't have a way around that except through suppressing words in throats.
Blogging has become a crime which warrants arrest
And expressing opinions should be overcome by muzzling such views.
Pens should be smashed and those holding them should be destroyed.
This is what happened to Saudi blogger Fouad Al Farhan.

A blog has also been set up by activists to rally for his support here.

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Japan: Learning from the failure of Second Life 

a small portrait of this author Chris Salzberg · 04:43

Second Life in Japan is virtually dead. While three-dimensional environments such as “meet me” [ja] and Hatena World have seen their popularity rise, the most famous virtual environment in the world has seen its virtual space steadily depopulate in Japan. When a reporter from J-Cast went to check out [ja] some of the Second Life “virtual shops” and “virtual companies” earlier this month, the buildings were apparently still there but the inhabitants were nowhere to be found.

In his December 24th post entitled “A few things one should learn from the failure of Second Life,” blogger shi3z reviews the reasons why Second Life failed to catch on in Japan:

半年くらい前、国内でのセカンドライフは完全にバブル状態だったのですが、誰もがこれがバブルだと認識しつつ敢えて踊らされる側に回った、というのがとても印象的でした。知人のセカンドライフビジネス関係者で本気でセカンドライフをやっていこうとしているのは1割もいませんでしたし、みんな心のどこかで「まあこんなの今だけだし」と思っていた点は否めません。

About a half a year ago, Second Life in Japan was in a complete bubble state, but what was really striking was that everyone chose to be swayed by the trend even while they recognized that it was a bubble. Of the acquaintances I have who were involved in Second Life, not even 10 percent were serious about it, and it can't be denied that everyone, in their heart, was thinking: “This is not going to last.”

セカンドライフはCTOが解雇されるなど、完璧にグダグダなモードに入っています。それにしても、あまりにも早い幕引きだったなと思います。Web2.0はまだ成長途上にあるともいえますが、その先にあると期待されていたメタヴァース(セカンドライフ的なシステムすべて) があっさりと失速してしまったのは印象的です。

Second Life has had its chief technical officer dismissed, and has entered a completely exhausted mode. Even so, it seems to me that it came to an end much too soon. What is striking is that, while Web 2.0 may be said to have not yet reached its full growth, the metaverses (Second Life-like systems) which were expected to follow it have fizzled away so quickly.

既にさまざまなところでセカンドライフの「失敗」について議論がなされていますが、僕が個人的に前々から思っていたことをまとめ、「ではセカンドライフ的なものはどうすれば成功するのか」考える糸口にしたいと思います。

A lot of arguments have been made in various places about the “failure” of Second Life, but here I'd like to summarize what I've personally thought for a long time, [and offer] a clue about how to think about [the question]: “How can one achieve success with Second Life-like [projects]?”
  1. サーバの処理能力が低すぎた→同時ログイン20人は21世紀のサービスとしてどうか
  2. ビジネスモデルが未熟過ぎた→良い面もあったが、悪い面も多かった
  3. システムの自由度が低すぎた→LSLは本質的になんでもできそうでなにもできなかった
  4. 急速に普及させすぎた→ブームをしかけるタイミングを誤った
  1. Processing capacity of the server was too low → As a 21st century service, 20 people logging in at the same time is questionable
  2. Business model is too immature → While there were up sides to this as well, there were many bad sides
  3. The system's degree of freedom is too low → LSL [Linden Scripting Language] essentially looked like it could do anything, but actually couldn't do anything
  4. Became popular too fast → Made a mistake with the timing of the boom

1と3はいいとして、まず問題なのはビジネスモデルだったのではないかと思います。

Putting aside 1 and 3, the main problem was I think the business model.

ユーザがお金を払って、ユーザ同士が架空世界でお金をやりとりする。

このアイデアそのものはすばらしいものですし、セカンドライフ以後も、同様または同等のビジネス形態は発展していってほしいと思わせるだけの魅力のあるプランです。

しかし、ユーザが価値(この場合リンデンドルという仮想貨幣)を交換するということは、セカンドライフそのものがお金を生むためには、ユーザにどんどんリンデンドルを買わせなければいけません。

Users paid money, and then could exchange money with other users in the imaginary world.

This idea itself is great; it is an attractive plan which only makes me think that, even after Second Life, I would like to develop an identical or similar business structure.

However, the fact that users can exchange value (in this case an imaginary currency called Linden dollars) means that in order for Second Life to make money, you have to make users keep buying more Linden dollars.

売り手のユーザは自分専用の土地を維持したり、テクスチャをアップロードしたりするたびにお金がかかりますが、それ以外の価値はユーザ自ら価値創造して提供します。

ここにいくつかいびつな点があったことは否めません。

When vendor users maintain plots of land for their exclusive use, and upload textures, this costs money, but all other value is value that is created and offered by the user themself.

That there are a few awkward points here cannot be denied.

当初セカンドライフは家を持ったり、店を開いたりといったことでユーザが現実の収益を上げるようなイメージだったと思うのですが、だんだんとサービス業のような職種が生まれたり、発展していくにつれて、物販そのものでは実はなかなか(リンデンラボが)お金は取れないという現実に直面します。

At first I think that Second Life had an image of users having a house opening a store, and making real profits, but gradually as service industry-type occupations started to emerge and develop, Linden Lab confronted the reality that selling things was itself by no means enough to make money.

そこで土地代として、サーバホスティング料を作り手のユーザから徴収するのです。このモデルはASPとして考えるとうまくいきそうな気がします。しかし絶対的にサーバの処理性能が低すぎるので、一日に売れるアイテムの数も限度があります。

So as a land fee, hosting fees are levied from users who build [things]. If you think of this model as ASP [Application Service Provider], then I have the feeling that you could do well [with this]. However, the server's processing capacity was absolutely too low, so there was a limit on the number of items that could be sold in one day.

さらに、LSLという独自スクリプト言語です。
この言語に関して言いたいことは山ほどありますが、とにかくできることが少ないということに尽きます。

Furthermore, there is also this original LSL scripting language.
There is already a mountain of things said about this language that I'd like to say, but anyway the main thing is that there isn't much that you can do with it.

たとえば車や飛行機を簡単に作れるのはいいのですが、車のようなものをゼロからプログラムしようとすると、とてつもなく大変になるし、おそらく現実的な実行時間で動作させるのはきわめて困難です。

物理シミュレーションと変形を実に巧みに使って多足ロボットのようなものを動かしている人がいらっしゃいましたが、逆にいえばそれが限界です。

どこまでがんばっても車の性能は一定です。カローラの形をしていてフェラーリと同じスピードの車が誰でも簡単に作れてしまいます。

For example it's good that you can easily build a car or a plane, but to try to program something like a car out of nothing is unbelievably hard, and realistically operating it in real-time is perhaps extremely difficult.

While there are some people who can indeed skillfully use physics simulations and transformations, and who can operate things like multi-legged robots, if one looks at it the other way around, then this is actually a limitation.

However much someone might try, the performance of a car is fixed. Anybody can easily make a car in the shape of a Corolla with the speed of a Ferrari.

誰でも簡単にその環境で最高性能のものが作れるということは、競争ができないということです。

　「作ってみたぜ。わーい」

というレベルでは楽しいでしょうが、そもそもセカンドライフの収益源はユーザによる価値創造にあるはずで、この価値創造の糊しろがあまりに少ないと、あっという間に飽和してしまいます。

The fact that, in that environment, anybody can easily make high-performance [machines], means that they cannot compete.

“I went and made it. Yay!”

At this level it's fun, but to begin with the profit-making source in Second Life is value created by users, and if there is no space for glue in this value creation, then very quickly it will become saturated.

[…]

セカンドライフに関していえば「やってない人」と「やったけどやめた人」、「やってる人」という三種類のユーザ状態があり、「やったけどやめた人」はよほどのことがない限り二度と「やってる人」にはならないのだろうということをもっと意識する必要があったのだと思います。

Among users, there are three types of status regarding Second Life: “People who have never tried it”, “people who tried it but stopped playing”, and “people who are [still] playing”. I think it is essential that people recognize that, except for extraordinary circumstances, “people who tried it and stopped playing” never again become “people who are playing”.

[…]

話が散逸してしまいましたが、まとめると、僕がセカンドライフ(やそれに関連して思い出したこと)を見て、教訓にせねばと思ったのは以下のことです。

I digressed [from the original topic], but to bring things back to a conclusion, lessons that I think can be gained from Second Life (and related things that I brought up) are the following:
  1. サービスは小さく生んで大きく育てよう
  2. 多くの人の注目を浴びることよりも、やってきたユーザの習慣の一部になるサービスを目指そう
  3. 金さえあればなんとでもなるという考え方でサービスを作るのはやめよう。むしろお金を使わないで素晴らしいサービスを作る方法を考えよう
  4. ユーザ同士でお金をやりとりする方式は今後も増えていくかもしれない
  5. ユーザに与えられたシステムの自由度を高めつつ、入門者の敷居を下げる工夫が必要だろう
  6. 本当に回線が細いことが理由で普及しないのなら、そももそ回線が太くなった時代が来るまで一般公開は控えるべきだったかもしれない。存在しないくらい高性能なGPU用に作られたゲームは普通販売されない。
  1. Produce services small and grow them to be big
  2. Rather than winning lots of attention from many people, aim for a service that becomes a part of the common practice of users
  3. Stop making services with the thinking that money alone will make anything possible. Rather, think of how to make a great service without using money.
  4. The ways by which fellow users can exchange money may possibly increase in the future.
  5. As the level of freedom awarded to users in the system is increased, a scheme is necessary for decreasing the [participation] threshold to new users.
  6. If it is the case that the reason why [the service] was not popular was that [the carrying capacity of] the connection is too small, then until the age came when faster connections were possible, it might have been better to hold back from [opening the service] to the general public. Games which use high-performance GPU [Graphics Processing Unit] are almost non-existent and do not normally sell very well.
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