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Ecuador: Breaking Diplomatic Ties With Colombia

Milton Ramirez · 18:24

lingua → pt · bn · es

Ecuadorians are divided regarding the incidents along Ecuador's Northern border with Colombia, when the Colombian army attacked a group of FARC guerrillas, killing a top leader, Raul Reyes. As a result President Rafael Correa decided to break off diplomatic relations with Colombia. Many agree with the president, but others are asking for more explanations about what's really happening under table when Internal and External Security Minister Coordinator of Ecuador, Gustavo Larrea has confirmed that he had a meeting with Raul Reyes this past January at a site that was not either Colombian or Ecuadorian.

Cambiemos Ecuador [es] is the medium with more informative updates and written by different reporters and is generating buzz on the web. Alex Anazco, Omar Vargas and Jaime Izurieta had published their opinions about this conflict among Bolivarian countries.

Hay una incubación que se viene gestando en presencia de todos. Me asombra leer que solamente se recrimina lo actuado por el ejercito colombiano, pero prácticamente nadie condena a la vez la invasión de la soberanía nacional por guerrilleros para unos, beligerantes para otros y terroristas para muchos, que cometen horrorosos crimenes. Que el sentido común y la prudencia se antepongan a las bajas pasiones.
[…]
Solo nuestra tibieza e hipocresía en relación al conflicto colombiano, originó tan incomoda situación, que tiene en vilo la estabilidad en la región. Ni siquiera, Chávez fue tan apático. El sí jugó un rol protagónico a favor de las FARC.

There is an incubation that has been brewing in the presence of all. I am amazed to read that there are only complaints about the actions by the Colombian army, but virtually nobody at the same time is condemning the invasion of national sovereignty by guerrillas for some, for others belligerent, and terrorists for many, who commit horrific crimes. Common sense and prudence are coming before low passions.
[…]
Only our luke-warm reaction and hypocrisy in relation to the Colombian conflict, originated such an uncomfortable situation, which creates instability in the region. Even, Chavez was not so apathetic. He did play a protagonistic role in favor of the FARC.

The very well known Cobertura Digital [es], looks for fresh information by following Tweet Scan. This is what Christian Espinosa, wrote in his page:

En Tweet Scan se puede palpar reacciones en el formato de microblogging sin el problema del ruido que genera una serie de sitios que supuestamente son blogs en Google Blogs y nada tienen que hacer en el tema porque no son más que noticias de agencias trasladadas al formato de bitácoras.

In Tweet Scan you can feel the reactions in the format of microblogging without the problem of noise generated by a number of sites which are supposed to be blogs on Google Blogs and have nothing to do in the matter because there are no more than news agencies changed to the blog format

Crónica Cero [es] thinks Correa and Ecuadorians are living a very difficult moment in a crossroads where all nationals are concerned and complain about the humanitarian procedures of those who took down Reyes:

Uno puede decir ese lugar tan común: “los guerrilleros murieron en su ley”. Pero entrar a un país, para llevarse el trofeo (cadáver de Reyes), dejar el resto, e incluso abandonar a los heridos, es algo que merece otro tipo de análisis. ¿Acaso el derecho a la legítima defensa se ejerce en lugares donde no tienes competencia? Eso solo lo puedes hacer cuando tienes la potestad o protección del imperio. Y aquí está claro que Estados Unidos defenderá a su bastión

One can say this common saying: “the guerrillas were killed according to their law.” But to enter another country, to take the trophy (corpse of Reyes), leave the rest, or even abandon the wounded, is something that deserves another kind of analysis. Is the right to self-defense only exercised in places where you have no lawful competence? That's something you can do only when you have the power or protection of the empire. And here it's clear that the United States will defend its stronghold.

El Federalista [es] is a blog we've been quoted before and today has a very different opinion from other his fellow bloggers and says President Correa is not suited for his position and he even thinks of him as a probable country's traitor because of this document:

..La posición del gobierno ecuatoriano es débil internacionalmente. En la práctica, el régimen de Rafael Correa sólo tiene un endeble asidero político, respaldado localmente por una decreciente popularidad e internacionalmente por la coyuntura configurada por un conjunto de intereses internacionales basados en el alto precio del petróleo y los compromisos políticos con el régimen de Caracas.
[…]
¿Está Rafael Correa dispuesto a aceptar los resultados de una investigación internacional e imparcial sobre los documentos encontrados en los computadores de las FARC?

The position of the Ecuadorian government is internationally weak. In the meantime, the regime of Rafael Correa has only a tenuous political hold, backed by a decreasing popularity locally and internationally based on a set of international interests based on the high price of oil and political commitments with the regime of Caracas .
[…]
Is Rafael Correa prepared to accept the results of an international and impartial investigation regarding the documents found on the computers of the FARC?

La Voz de Guamote [es], quotes a source from the Ecuadorian Army and says thousands of troop's elements were placed along the border, in addition to the 11,000 already posted in the Amazon province of Sucumbios:

Ecuador, que mantiene 11.000 soldados en la frontera con Colombia, concentró a 3.200 de ellos en la provincia amazónica de Sucumbíos, escenario de una incursión colombiana contra las FARC que derivó en una crisis diplomática, dijo este lunes el general Luis Garzón.

Ecuador, which maintains 11,000 troops on the border with Colombia, brought together 3,200 of them in the a
Amazon province of Sucumbios, scene of a raid against Colombian FARC that led to a diplomatic crisis, said on Monday General Luis Garzon.

Libros, Autores y Riesgos [es], a blog that usually publishes about literature and books today calls Ecuadorians to take it easy and starts his post saying, relax, relax… and continues:

¿Se le puede creer a un Gobierno cuya cabeza ha demostrado su no interés en resolver el conflicto de manera pacífica? ¿Se puede creer a un Presidente cuyas relaciones con el cartel de Medellín son más que evidentes? Yo no puedo. Y más allá de defender al Gobierno de mi país, es el hecho de entender cómo la política exterior es un juego de criminales. El peso de las consecuencias y la incapacidad de hacer lo necesario. ¿No era más sencillo avisarle al Ejército ecuatoriano sobre la incursión? No, porque no iban a matar a Reyes, sino echarlo.

Can you believe a government whose head hasn't shown any interest in resolving the conflict peacefully? Can you believe a President whose relations with the Medellin cartel are more than obvious? I cannot. And beyond defending the government of my country, the fact of the matter is understand how foreign policy is a game of criminals. The consequences' weight and the inability to do what is necessary. Wasn't it easier to tell the Ecuadorian army about the incursion? No, because they wouldn't kill Reyes, but instead throw him out.

One of the Ecuadorians newspapers with online edition and national coverage La Hora, quotes a long post about the international community support to the Ecuadorian cause and quoted from the EFE., among other things they posted:

Una de las reacciones más fuertes fue la del diputado brasileño Florisvaldo Fier, vicepresidente del Parlamento del Mercosur, quien afirmó que Colombia “no es un vecino confiable”.

“La postura del Gobierno colombiano compromete la integración regional”, sobre todo cuando el ataque a las FARC en suelo ecuatoriano ocurrió cuando está planteada para fin de mes una cumbre de la Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (UNASUR), precisamente en Colombia.

One of the strongest reactions was that one of the Brazilian's Congresswomen Florisvaldo Fier, Vice President of the Mercosur Parliament, who said that Colombia “is not a trusted neighbor,” and “the position of the Colombian government compromises regional integration”, especially when the attack to the FARC in Ecuadorean soil occurred when a summit of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) was scheduled at the end of the month, specifically in Colombia.

These are the first reactions about the ‘Raul Reyes' death in Ecuadoran territory which under another circunstances could have been a hard hit to the insurgent organization, the FARC and, a credit to the Colombian government. Now it is difficult to see how this may resolve itself.

4 comments · »»

Japan: The decline of pachinko

Chris Salzberg · 14:07

lingua → es · zht · zhs

A staple of the modern Japanese cityscape, pachinko parlors employ a third of a million people in Japan, draw in an estimated 30 trillion yen per year, and entice roughly one quarter of the country's entire population to play at least occasionally, 17 million of them on a regular basis.

Pachinko is a struggling industry of late, however. In the past, pachinko has benefited as Japan's “national pastime” from a special arrangement in which its more unsavory gambling-like nature has been tolerated through a third-party prize-exchange system referred to as “santen hoshiki” (三店方式) [ja]. Stricter regulations and a changing market landscape, however, are set to alter this arrangement, with one-third of all parlors expected to close in coming years. Even the support of famous American movie stars would appear to be ineffective in the face of the impending crisis and resulting declining interest in the game.

Pachinko player (by Flickr user Suviko)

The latest threat to the pachinko industry comes from plans to legalize and regulate casinos in Japan [ja], endorsed by both major parties in a rare show of unity [ja]. The move places the status of pachinko as semi-legal gambling into question, and has sparked comments and blog posts reflecting on the place of pachinko and gambling in modern Japanese society.

Many are critical of pachinko's highly addictive and ultimately destructive nature. In a post entitled “Is pachinko gambling?”, blogger Harumi writes:

私はパチンコをしないし親がパチンコに夢中で子供が亡くなることが相次いでいるので無くなってもいいと思います
そもそも違法ですよね
パチンコで破産しても自己破産の理由には出来ません
理由は、パチンコがギャンブルと見なされるからです
でも自己破産する人の多くがパチンコが原因のようです
今まで放置されてきたこと自体不思議でなりません

I don't play pachinko, and when I see one after another these cases in which children die while their parents are engrossed in pachinko, I have to think that we would be better off without these places.
In the first place, they're illegal.
Even if you go bankrupt as a result of pachinko, you can't use it as a reason for personal bankruptcy.
The reason for this is that pachinko is regarded as gambling.
But the cause of many personal bankruptcies appears to be pachinko.
The fact that [this issue] has been neglected up to now is itself nothing short of a mystery.

Blogger hoopou-chu, meanwhile, wonders about the legality of casinos given a ban on gambling:

元々この「カジノ」は、日本では賭博行為の禁止に該当するわけだが、もし法案が成立した場合には賭博行為との整合性がどうなるのだろうか？

From the start, this “casino” comes under the ban against acts of gambling. If this bill is established, I wonder if it will be consistent with the ban on gambling.

Comments responding to a J-cast article on the casino legislation brought up a number of interesting points. In comment #7, one user remarked:

借金をしてまでやる人が大勢いる時点で遊戯の域を超えている。麻薬みたいに常習性がありすぎる。何らかの規制を入れることは当たり前だと思う。パチンコって庶民の娯楽なんでしょ。換金できるから集客出来ているならただのギャンブルだよ。ギャンブル場が特に区画も決めずどこの駅前にある品格の無い国なんて日本だけ。恥ずかしい事。

When there are such a great number of people going as far as to borrow money [for pachinko], it has gone beyond the level of amusement. There is too much of a narcotic-like addictive nature to it. It is obvious that it should be subject to some kind of regulation. Pachinko, it's amusement for the common people, right? If it attracts customers because [winnings] can be turned into cash, then it is nothing but gambling. It is only in Japan, a country without dignity, that these gambling halls are found right in front of train stations, not even sectioned off in any particular way. It's shameful.

News that South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak expressed concern to Japanese opposition leader Ozawa Ichirō about the status of Korean pachinko parlor operators in Japan prompted commenter #10 to point out that in South Korea, pachinko is actually illegal:

韓国は自国ではパチンコを禁止している。
みんな知っている理由でだ。
パチンコは射倖性が高く、生活破綻者を多く生み出し、サラ金の多重債務者の発生原因だからだ。
それなのに、日本政府に圧力をかけている。
自国では禁止している犯罪を日本では蔓延させよういるのだ。
パチンコは賭博であり、日本でも廃止すべき時期に来ているのは明白。
日本政府には韓国の圧力を無視して、このままパチンコ業界の安楽死の道を推進してもらいたい。

South Korea prohibits pachinko back in its homeland.
Everybody knows the reason [they do this].
It is because there is a high level of speculation in pachinko, it destroys the lives of many people, and it gives rise to [the phenomenon of] people being heavily indebted to loan sharks (sara-kin).
Even so, a lot of pressure is being put on the Japanese government.
They are spreading the crime that is banned in their homeland around Japan.
Pachinko is gambling, and it is clear that the time has come for it to be abolished in Japan as well.
I hope that the Japanese government ignores the pressure from South Korea and moves ahead as it has been on the path toward bringing the pachinko industry to an end.

Commenter #12 questioned the exclusive status of pachinko as quasi-legal gambling:

三店方式をパチンコ以外の、たとえばマージャンやポーカーゲームでやったら捕まえるだろうが。
パチンコだと捕まらないというのは、何か特別な事情でもあるのかね？

With the exception of pachinko, if you apply santen hoshiki to say mahjong or poker, you get arrested.
Are their some special circumstances to explain why you are not arrested in the case of pachinko?

Finally, in comment #13 one user questions the “amusement” value of pachinko:

自分の周りにも「パチンコさえしなきゃぁ良い人なのに。」なんて思える人がいますね。そんな訳で、パチンコなんて無くなってしまえば良い！　
今更ですが、遊戯ではなく換金目的で打ってる人が殆どでしょ。

There are people around me about whom I think: “If only they didn't play pachinko, they would be a good person.” That's why I think, if pachinko completely disappeared it would be a good thing!
This is nothing new, but most people do not play for amusement, they play with the goal of exchanging prizes for money.

2 comments · »»

Russia: Notes on the Post-Election Protest Rallies

Veronica Khokhlova · 03:30

lingua → zht · zhs · es

On Monday, riot police in Moscow arrested dozens of people who attempted to take part in an unauthorized post-election protest rally.

Marina Litvinovich (LJ user abstract2001, an aide to Garry Kasparov) was one of those who got detained. Here's part of what she wrote (RUS) following her release:

I'm home, yes.

Briefly: my arm is bruised, my glasses broken, I was upside down when they threw me into the riot police bus, [hit] my head on the stairs a bit. Not the best way to enter a bus.

Inside my bus […] there were mainly those who got detained at McDonald's. Riot police burst into [the McDonald's] and snatched people out. They seized those who [had nothing to do with the rally], too. We had two underaged [schoolkids]. Also, God forgive me, there were two [members of the pro-Kremlin youth movement Nashi] on our bus. Nice kids, who quickly enough [received a political orientation] from other detainees ;) Well, and the situation [was as good as any political orientation], too… […]

Sergei Davidis (LJ user blacky_sergei) wrote this (RUS) about the election and the Moscow rally:

Sad…

The election has made me sad somehow. Not because of Medvedev's victory - it was predictable. But because of the boldness and disrespect for law, which was evident in Moscow, for example. Shameless [falsifications], mass voting by dead souls, attempts to chase away and bribe the observers, refusal to accept complaints… followed by bold statements that there had been no complaints… All this with no real need for all this…

There are no rules that these jerks are prepared to respect, and it makes me feel helpless.

And then there's also the Dissenters' March today. It wasn't enough that these jerks hadn't approved it in a timely and lawful manner, it wasn't enough that they packed the whole neighborhood with cops. It wasn't enough that they were grabbing anyone who tried to chant or attracted too much media attention. But they were also seizing people who committed no violations whatsoever. Mikhail Kriger [LJ user kitaychonok_li was detained around 4:20 PM with no explanations given to him; he obeyed the police, as usual, even though their demands were unlawful. And in the evening, it became known that he was being accused of [resisting the police] and they wanted to subject him to administrative arrest. Since the cops were purposefully searching for him both at the protesters' gathering place and inside the buses carrying those already detained, it appears that they chose to punish him for an overly active position. He, for example, was one of those who initiated and took part in the single-person rallies in support of [Vasily Alexanyan], and then in support of [Natalya Morar].

And [LJ user dmitryhorse], along with other [members of AKM, the Vanguard of the Red Youth movement], was detained at the Chistyye Prudy McDonald's around 4:45 PM. In the protocol they wrote that he was marching along Chistoprudny Boulevard at 5:30 PM…

And there's practically no doubt that the courts would stamp these decisions, ignoring the witnesses' accounts… […]

LJ user ilugru described (RUS) a march of his own - a one-person protest rally of sorts:

I left work earlier, but still too late to really take part in the event - by 5:50 PM they had detained nearly everyone they could detain, there was a hellish crowd of cops by Turgenevskaya [subway station], the remnants of the protesters and a crowd of journalists. I didn't encounter anyone I knew and decided to carry out a tiny individual march. Good thing [The New Times, a Russian-language weekly] had made a really good pre-election issue, which consisted mainly of pages full of slogans. I opened the page with the words “Vote or not, [you'll still get a male reproductive organ]…” and walked along Myasnitskaya St. towards Lubyanka, holding it close to me. I didn't run into riot police along the way, [regular] cops were looking intensely [at me], some were making steps towards me, but no one [really got me]. At the square near the Solovetsky Stone [Lubyanka], I saw a really amusing scene - hordes of cops were guarding all entrances to the square, which was occupied by six (!) people gloomily waving flags of the [pro-Kremlin Young Russia youth movement]. […] I would give a lot to listen to the thoughts of the big riot police guys who had to stand along the perimeter, guarding these clowns.

In St. Petersburg, the post-election protest rally was an authorized one - and it actually did take place. One of the protesters, LJ user aneta_spb, wrote this (RUS) on her blog:

It was good. But not much. It's clear that in the nearest future we will not see tens of thousands of protesters. […]

***

Links to some photos and a video from the Moscow and St. Petersburg rallies are in these earlier Global Voices posts: here, here, and here.

1 comment · »»

Kuwait's Double National Day Celebrations

Abdullatif AlOmar · 01:00

lingua → sq · ar · bn · es

Two national day celebrations were marked in Kuwait last week - one on February 25 and the second on February 26. Kuwait's bloggers were quick to dig into the history of the celebrations.

LiL ALiEN in a post entitled معلومات وطنية للجيل الجديد (National Information for New Generation) writes:

ماهو التاريخ الاساسي لإستقلال دولة الكويت؟

في 19 يونيو 1961 تم إلغاء معاهدة الحماية البريطانية التي وقعت في 23 يناير 1899 ، و إعلان استقلال دولة الكويت

What is the actual day for Kuwait's independence? On June 19, 1961, the British protectorate treaty was annulled and Kuwait's independence was announced. The treaty was signed on January 23, 1899.

لماذا يحتفل الناس بالعيد الوطني لدولة الكويت بتاريخ 25 فبراير؟

لأنه اليوم الذي استلم فيه المرحوم الشيخ عبدالله السالم الصباح الحكم بتاريخ 25 فبراير 1950 بالإضافه أنه اول يوم بدأ فيه استخدام النشيد الوطني الحالي

Why people celebrate the national independence day on February 25 then?
Because it's the day Sheikh Abdullah AlSalim AlSabbah became the Amir in 1950. (Sheikh Abdullah was the one to cancel the treaty with Britain and announce the constitution) and it was also the first time the new and current national anthem was used.

ماذا يعني تاريخ 26 فبراير لدولة الكويت؟

26 فبراير 1991 هو يوم تحرير الكويت من الغزو الصدامي الغاشم الذي بدأ في 2 اغسطس 1990 ودام 7 أشهر، وساعد في تحرير الكويت 30 دولة بقيادة الولايات المتحدة وبتشريع من الأمم المتحدة

What does February 26 mean to Kuwait ?
February 26 is the day Kuwait was liberated from the Iraqi invasion which started on August 2, 1990, and lasted for seven months. More than 30 countries helped liberate Kuwait under the leadership of the United States and the mandate of the United Nations.

RADIANT GUY created a slide show to commemorate the occasion.

I've created this slide show (below) for Kuwait's independence and liberation days using photos I've taken my self between 2006 - 2008 in several locations

Decorations to mark Kuwait

Forzaq8 wrote a short poem:

We may speak of as if its dull
While it seem as if amount of logic is null
Sometimes you are surrounded by culls
Which would drive you mad and make you go on quell
But there is nothing like that can make you lull
In the end the glass is not half empty but half full

Of course not everyone is happy with what happens during such celebrations.
intlxpatr describes what happened to her when she went out.

Yesterday, I was finishing up a project around 6 and heading to my next appointment when I turned onto Gulf road. Big mistake. I should have taken my clue from the barriers guarding entry to the left on Gulf road, but as I was turning right, I didn’t give it more than a second thought.

Big mistake. Suddenly I am caught in semi-gridlock, and the worst kind, gridlock with gangs of adolescents wandering the sidewalks on both sides of the car, gridlock with main routes being barred, gridlock with people in adjacent cars spraying each other with high arching streams of foam - it’s like suddenly being in the middle of a nightmare.

mpjs gives advice of what to do during the Hala February celebrations, an extravagant celebration to mark the occasion.

After a year of waiting, Hala February Celebrations have come to their max today. I very eagerly wait for today since I get sprayed with foam when I make eye contact with these kids. I wait eagerly every year for this day waiting for the newspaper guy to come to my doorstep and drop the paper so that I can read about the crimes they have committed

Image Credit : Yousef from somecontrast

1 comment · »»

Guatemala: Addressing the Energy Crisis

Renata Avila · 00:55

lingua → zht · zhs · es

When discussing the energy crisis in Guatemala and possible solutions, the only source people looked at was oil. Now there are other ways to find alternative sources. The infrastructure and development blog AIDG explains how a community can get cheap access to energy using alternative sources. In 2007, they worked on building infrastructure to help Guatemalans improve their quality of life by testing the use of biogas in a small plant in La Florida, which is a model that they will implemente in Haiti later this year. The blog writes:

The system will safely process waste from the community's pigs into biogas, a fuel that can be used like propane or natural gas, and fertilizer. Processing animal waste in this way will help the community keep untreated manure out of local water sources and provide them with an alternative to firewood. It also helps trap methane, a greenhouse gas that is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

However, policy-makers in Guatemala are only encouraging the use of another alternative, the mixing of gas with ethanol. Here are some views on the bad impact of this in consumers:

Al utilizar etanol, la dependencia de Estados Unidos y del resto de Occidente sobre el petróleo politizado desde la OPEP y Venezuela estará mucho más limitado. Estados Unidos y su frágil estabilidad macroeconómica dependerá en los próximos 10 años en su capacidad para estabilizar la política internacional y los precios del petróleo a su favor.

With the use of ethanol, the dependence of the United States and the rest of the Western countries on oil, politicized from OPEC and Venezuela will be reduced. The US and their fragile economic stability will depend on their capacity to balance the international policy on oil and their prices the next 10 years..

There is also a blog written by enthusiastic students from Stanford University during their year of service abroad. They are in Guatemala to learn about the coffee industry, called GSBCAFFEINATION, and there they described the amazing labor of Technoserve, a famous NGO that seeks to find solutions with the development of biofuels, as described here:

The biofuel project seems extremely interesting. Theya re helping producers to grow and cultivate jatropha plants, which can be used to make biofuel. My understanding is that there is no demand for biofuel from jatropha plants in Guatemala at the present, nor does there exist the capability to process the plants into biofuel, but Technoserve is hoping it can develop the industry. Very ambitious!

The alternative biofuel market in the region were studied by a team that participated in the Greaseball Challenge 2007, a rally across Central America and part of Mexico using modified cars and filling it with alternative sources of energy.

It was described on one of the driver´s blog:

This audacious 4-wheeled, or any wheeled, grease extravaganza throws down a greasy gauntlet challenging teams to drive 4,500 miles on pure plant power from the US to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. All that in a car bought for the same price as a packet of Reeses Pieces. We'll be using waste grease from restaurants and fast-food joints, veggie oil fresh from farms, markets or supermarkets, and biodiesel wherever we find it. Nasty old fossil fuels are not allowed (except in emergencies, and there will be lots of those). All cars and funds are donated to benefit environmental projects in the destination countries.

Guatemala gets their energy from dams and oil, however, dams are not necessary the best source because they have led to several social conflicts in the past. Misinformation might be an issue in such matters, as el Blog de Rudel [es] explains:

…. aproximadamente 150 campesinos y sus lideres, realizaron una marcha pacifica en el area central de Petén en contra de la “supuesta” construccion de una represa sobre el Río San Juan en el Municipio de Dolores, Petén. Lamentablemente, como sucede siempre, nuestros compatriotas fueron mal informados y manipulados por fuerzas oscuras, quienes pretenden desestabilizar este recien formado gobierno, ya que tal proyecto no se esta llevando a cabo.

… aproximately 150 peasants and their leaders made a peaceful protest on the central area of Petén, against the “supposed” construction of a dam on the San Juan River, in the region of Dolores, Petén. Sadly, our brothers were misinformed and manipulated by the hidden powers trying to destabilize the new government. The dam project has not even started.

On energy crisis, blame the government, as the blogger of Antigua VIP [es] did, and they argued that the authorities are wrong in deciding to adjust the daylight savings time in order to save energy:

Que mal están las autoridades en querer adelantar la hora, como si esa fuera la solución para la crisis de energía que estamos viviendo, como en el congreso y en las municipalidades es fácil que los altos mandatarios se presenten tarde a trabajar no les importa, pero deberían de pensar en aquellos maestros que tienen que recorrer kilómetros para llegar a las aldeas alejadas, o que piensen en los niños que tienen que salir temprano a estudiar hasta algún municipio porque viven en aldeas marginadas.

It is wrong that the authorities want to adjust the time, as if it is the solution to solve the crisis of energy we are going through. It is easy for the congressmen and the local governors to adjust the time. If they are late to work is not a problem, but they should consider that there are many teachers that have to walk many kilometers to the villages and there are many kids that have to go out early in the morning since they live far in the marginal areas.

As bloggers have noted that if Guatemala can produce energy using wind, water, thermal energy and alternative sources, it is important to see all the possibilities, and consider all the factors such as social impact, environmental impact and not only interests of groups.

6 comments · »»

The Blog for a Cause! guide is now available in Spanish

Sami Ben Gharbia · 00:39

lingua → es · zht · zhs

Blog for a Cause!, the Global Voices Guide of Blog Advocacy, is now available in Spanish thanks to this translation by María Florencia Puente from Global voices en Español.

The guide outlines easy-to-follow tips on how to use blogs as part of campaigns against injustice and features successful examples of advocacy blogs from around the world. It is divided into five sections:

Frequently asked questions about what blog advocacy is
The 5 key elements of any successful advocacy blog
The 4 steps to creating an advocacy blog
How to make your blog a vibrant community of active volunteers
Tips to help blog activists stay safe online.

Blog Por Una Causa! is availble for download as a PDF file. You may need to install the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it.

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Russia: Anglophone Bloggers Discuss the Presidential Election

Veronica Khokhlova · 00:36

Eternal Remont posted this summary of the March 2 presidential election in Russia:

Russia’s nail-biting presidential election came down to the wire yesterday, as the world cautiously awaited the outcome of the vote. For it's part, Eternal Remont has stayed above the petty cynicism of western observers who gratuitously forecast the outcome of the event before all the votes were counted.

In the end, Dmitry Medvedev pulled a comfertible 70.23% of the electorate – 2,373,736 more votes than Putin won in his 2004 re-election (Jamestown).

This is not too shabby when your only opponents are, as Anne Applebaum writes,“a clapped out communist, a complete nonentity, and the ludicrous anti-Semite and vulgarian Vladimir Zhirinovsky.” (Here’s the lovable Zhirinovsky ordering his bodyguard to shoot Andrey Bogdanov during a national debate.)

Below are a few more samplings of the coverage that the election has received in the English-language blogosphere.

Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa had to explain himself after he wrote this in the introduction to his election post:

The Russian people, burdened by numerous good choices in their presidential election, finally settled on Dmitri Medvedev yesterday, a 42-year-old fan of the rock group Deep Purple who will become the youngest Russian head of state since Prime Minister Aleksander Kerensky took over the reins from Georgy Lvov in July 1917 at the age of 36.

A reader inquired:

[…] Justin, you are kidding, aren't you? The malignant little troll settled on a puppet. The “Russian people” weren't consulted.

Giustino replied:

I forgot to mention that I frequently employ sarcasm in my blog posts. Maybe I should put up a disclaimer?

Andy H of Csíkszereda Musings mentioned Medvedev's age in a different context:

On the day that I turned 42, Russia elected a president who is also 42. I grew up in a world in which the Russian (then Soviet) presidents were basically the oldest men in the world. Anyone remember Konstantin Chernenko for example? A man who seemed so old that he could barely appear on TV, and who proved to be just as frail by expiring soon after ascending to the role of leader. With these memories, being as old as the president of Russia is a little bit sobering. […]

David Weman of A Fistful of Euros began his election post this way:

Guess what? Medvedev won! […]

He then pointed out the “tandem” arrangement of Medvedev's forthcoming presidency:

[…] The question is if Medvedev eventually will become the de facto head. […] Another question would be what could happen if Putin would die or partly retire. […]

Taras of Ukrainiana also commented on “the Medvedev-Putin tandem”:

[…] Some analysts and Western politicians view Medvedev as Putin’s softer alter ego — a more liberal, more tech-savvy, more Western-friendly type of guy.

Some also believe Putin’s premiership will result in a redistribution of power. Yet others say Putin will run for president again, which the Russian Constitution allows him to dо after a one-term break from the presidency. Well, let’s see. Let's see how the Medvedev-Putin tandem works. […]

Taras also posted five Medvedev/Putin-related videos, including the quite famous 2004 footage of “Medvedev as the protocol-conscious guy who couldn't refuse Yanukovych’s offer of candy at a parade in Kyiv […].”

Andy of Siberian Light liveblogged the election, producing what Tim Worstall has called “a masterpiece of redundant blogging.” Among other things, Andy wrote this about Medvedev's victory:

[…] 70% is an important psychological figure, which will on the face of things give much more credibility to backers of Medvedev. On the other hand, the late increase in Medvedev’s vote share, from 64% late yesterday to just over 70% at the close of play, might arouse suspicions among the more conspiracy minded observers of Russian politics…

By the way - Medvedev gained slightly more votes in total than Putin four years ago (translation here), but a slightly lower overall percentage - Putin managed 71.31%.

[…]

In Chechnya, Medvedev gained a disappointing 90% of the vote (translation here). Disappointing because Putin gained 99% there just four years ago… […]

Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog commented on the election and the coverage it received in the American media:

[…] The editors from the Washington Post can’t get it through their thick skulls that the “head of the Communist Party” and the “buffoonish ultranationalist” are the only serious opposition simply because they actually have political constituencies. To suggest otherwise would be like saying Ralph Nader is the only serious opposition in the American election. The real sad part is that instead of allowing Kasyanov to run openly and uninhibited to show the world that Russians don’t care about him, the Kremlin’s minion in the Central Election Commission disqualified him for allegedly faking signatures. I believe this claim. But the election is all bullshit anyway so the way I see it you might as well let all bullshitters play. At least that way the whole process won’t be so goddamn boring. […]

James of Robert Amsterdam's blog re-posted Michael Idov's video roundup of the election day:

Michael Idov of the New Republic had a hard time finding anyone who had actually voted in the Russian presidential election, apart from those who attended the polls for free food and prizes. Others he spoke with voted for Zyuganov simply because they wanted to vote for someone who was not “rammed down their throats.” Idov also remarks on the sad state of the opposition, left huddling and hiding in “smoky rooms”, making “hopeless jokes” like dissidents of the Khrushchev era.

Perspectives on the New Russia, writing on the eve of the election, recounted nine “attractions that are being offered at different polling stations to encourage Russians to come out and vote.” Here's one: