Archive for
March 21st, 2008
Stories
Moroccans Celebrate Eid el Mawlid en-Nabaoui, the Prophet's Birthday
· 23:25
Eid el Mawlid en-Nabaoui, or the Celebration of the Prophet Muhammed's Birth took place yesterday in Morocco and throughout much of the Sunni Muslim world. It's an official holiday in Morocco, celebrated with street processions and other festivities.
0 comments · »»Iraq: Five long years … most of them in tears
· 22:11
For me the whole story of the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war can be summed up one post. One post that says nothing about the past five years but implies everything as well. We can talk about the lack of security, the number of deaths, the failure of the occupation, but all this talk has become as meaningless as glib phrases like “Collateral Damage.” What really matters is how the war is affecting people's lives. Sunshine's life this week has been rocked by death threats against her father and the deaths of friends and neighbours. She writes of the thoughts and emotions that go through her mind:
we were threatened by terrorists who wanted to kill my dad, I spent the whole nights thinking, and crying, I was in shock, and terrified…I kept wondering with tears in my eyes, what will happen next? Will they Kill my dad? Kidnap one of my family members? Why ? we're not rich, don’t belong to any political party, very simple family, and never harmed anyone, what do those terrorists want? Money? Or they just want to terrify us? … I suffered from horrible headache and insomnia, I want my dad to see me publishing my first book, graduating from the best collage, being successful person in my life, and more important I want to be so nice to him and make him forget everything, every disparity we had, & every time we argued, I hope he'll forget those memories.. and be proud of the girl he raised, although he tells me he’s proud but I want to make him even more prouder..
She concludes:
X sent me a message saying I lost my brother, my brother died, It's devastating, there isn't any family in Iraq who hasn't been threatened, or lost a son, father, daughter, or a friend, there isn't any family that didn't see the house they live in damaged, we are all hurt, but we'll continue praying to see a light at the end of this dark tunnel. In this week three big explosions happened near my school and the roads were blocked, and we hear explosions the whole time..
I don't cry easily, but I spent those two weeks crying most of the time, I am depressed, terrified, sad, and in this moment I have no hope..
most of them in tears..
so many have left Home…
the lucky reside in Tombs..
at least some still live
though without a Soul..
I wonder how much more to go?
would I be buried at Home?
The Good
Laith tries to list the good points of the new Iraq although his tongue may be firmly placed in his cheek on this one..
For this great anniversary, I want to count some great democratic changes that happened during the five years of freedom and democracy…Reducing the CO2 and the other gases in Iraq. We have big fuel crisis and people couldn't uses the kerosene heaters in winter and they cant use the propane gas all the time because of the big shortage and the high prices.
Reducing the casualties of the electrical shocks. The ministry of electricity supply most of the Iraqi governorates for less than three hours a day which forces the families to pay attention to every single ampere…
Most Iraqis became fit again and they started practicing compulsory the walking sport because either of the curfews or the sudden blocking of the streets. Now we have less angina pectoris or myocardial infarction.
Of course, I must not forget that these great changes would not be done without the big support of the US administration to the Iraqi government.
The Bad
You can find no better review of the last five years than from Last of Iraqis. He writes:
During these 5 years I have experienced everything, two of my relatives kidnapped, 6 of the people I know closely including relatives and close friends have been killed, I can't count the number of people that I know who were murdered, my niece who is 7 years old girl died in an explosion, most of my friends and relatives have left the country, I watched my teachers and college professors being killed or kidnapped one after the other, I have been near an explosion countless times, I have witnessed uncountable number of dead bodies and crying families taking their dead beloved from the forensic medicine building, I have seen 3 men at different times being shot to death in front of me, I have been through militias checkpoints several times. Me and my wife have been targeted by a national guard sniper for a reason I didn't know till this moment, I have seen dead bodies left on the side walk and no dares to bury them…I'm just one Iraqi and I have such loses, imagine 28 million ones like me, how much looses does the Iraqis have?
Correspondent Hussain compares Iraq now to before the war. He summarises:
Shortly, in the last five years, Iraqi people get suffering more than the 24 years of those during Saddam's regime. In the past, we have the mass graves hidden while nowadays we can see them in open streets. In the past we had Saddam and his security forces who caused that catastrophe while now we have the Qaeda , the gunmen, the guards of the foreign security companies and Iraqi officials , criminals and the USA troops who can cause death to anyone and anywhere in Iraq
Neurortic Iraq Wife remembers relatives who argued in favour of the war five years ago and makes a statement to them and all the war's supporters:
Im just gonna say this to Ali and all the likes of Ali, especially Bush and rumsfield. I hope and pray to god that you will find forgiveness from all the women that got widowed. Forgiveness from all the children that got orphaned. Forgiveness from every Iraqi that suffered. Not only Iraqis, but all the soldiers that died. Died due to your selfishness. Its one thing to want freedom for Iraqis, its another thing to want people to die in the name of the so called freedom. Saddam was evil, But I never imagined that there were people as evil as he was. I guess I was wrong!
BlogIraqi measures the results of the war and comes to a conclusion:
Those five years were nothing but another episode of suffering. With some new types of suffering, I must admit. If we look into facts of what this war has accomplished in five years, and I mean the accomplishments to the simple Iraqi person who does not have “Democratic” dreams, you can simply say, NOTHING.
And Layla Anwar thinks that bloggers are secretly thinking that Saddam may not have been so bad after all. So she gives a few points in his favour:
Under the former dictatorship our trees were still producing fruits and not razed to the ground. Under the former dictatorship music was still allowed, so were films.Under the former dictatorship we had no drugs, no poppy fields, no drug addicts and no drugs peddlers and traffickers. Under the former dictatorship we had no pedophile rings, no professional killers, no professional drillers and no professional rapists…
Under the former dictatorship, we had no over 100,000 detainees with no trial, no children sodomized in prisons and no women gang raped in exchange for freeing their loved ones…
Under the former dictatorship, our artists, poets, writers, singers, journalists (233 killed since 2003) were not abducted, kidnapped or assassinated…
Under the former dictatorship we had no 2 million widows, 5 million orphans, 4 million wounded, an X number of disappeared, we had no mass graves of a million plus murdered by Democracy.
Under the former dictatorship we were not considered the second most corrupt country in the world and the FIRST most dangerous country on earth…
Under the former dictatorship, we had a country called Iraq. Under the former dictatorship we had a Life. Under the former dictatorship, we were Free.
And to the Point
If you really want to know what happened, nadia n can tell you in one paragraph:
What the US did is not only overthrow Saddam - that's a byproduct -it destroyed the Iraqi state, which is something that took eighty-five years to build, all of its institutions and everything. That was not all the product of Saddam. Saddam was a latecomer. What the United States did is destroy an entire state, entire infrastructure, all of the institutions, so that there, you know - so, of course, life was better when you had a system that was functioning.
As for the noise of all the Iraqi bloggers still cheering the war on? You can just make out the sound of one hand clapping..
4 comments · »»Iran: A New Year Begins
· 19:57
Yesterday, marked the first day of spring and the Iranian New Year. Nowruz or Norouz is celebrated in Iran and several other countries such as Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Several bloggers celebrated the day and shared their wishes and ideas on this occasion.
Some, like Raze No (meaning “new secret”) added photos of festivities and spring to their blog (as above).
1Pezeshk (meaning “one doctor” in Persian), a creative blogger, asked several bloggers to express themselves on Iranian New Year in a podcast [Fa]. Seven Iranian bloggers and one Afghan blogger answered his call, and the result was a joint podcast.
Khabgard writes [Fa] with irony that the Iranian government, in the final days of last year, gave Iranians another gift: “Nine magazines were shut down!” The blogger adds that the government has delivered so many surprises, that Iranians can no longer predict what the future holds in store for the new year, let alone tomorrow!
Falosofah writes [Fa] about the difficult situation for writers and translators in Iran. He says:
The first idea crossing the mind of writers and translators is the following: “Can I keep living at the same standard as I have in the past 10 years, or will I be forced to move to smaller cities or emigrate? Each time a society faces political and economic troubles, the most affected people are the ones involved with culture and science. If you talk with a publisher or a bookstore owner, they will tell you that the prices of all other goods they sell have increased enormously, while book prices, like for other cultural products, have decreased.
Azadi Barabary blog has published [Fa], a message from Kaveh Abbassian, a left wing student leader. He says that some of his best friends are still in prison, and that students in all universities are under pressure, and freedom of speech and free association are under attack. He adds:
Despite all the pressure we say: We are present! We stand up! We don't negotiate our will to defend freedom and equality. We are stronger and more determined than ever.
Jomhour called [Fa] President Ahmadinejad's message for New Year unrealistic. The Iranian president praised economic, cultural and political achievements in last year. The blogger says the government's mismanagement created high unemployment rates and inflation. He says maybe we should change the meaning of the word ‘achievement' in the dictionary.
0 comments · »»Colombia: Reward for FARC Guerrilla for Killing His Commander
· 18:44
On March 7th, 2008, it was revealed that guerrilla commander José Juvenal Velandia, aka Iván Ríos, had been killed. Ríos was a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Secretariat, whose number two in command, Luis Édgar Devia, aka Raúl Reyes, had been killed earlier in the month, unleashing a diplomatic crisis with Ecuador, Venezuela, and Nicaragua (Reyes died in a camp inside Ecuador).
First it was thought that the Colombian Army had killed Velandia, but as the afternoon passed, the truth came to light: it turned out Pedro Pablo Montoya, aka Rojas, one of his bodyguards, had murdered Ríos to get a reward from the Colombian government:
Montoya […] shot his boss Rios with a single bullet to the head, and then killed Ríos's girlfriend. He then cut off Ríos's right hand to take to the security forces to prove he had killed the rebel leader, a member of FARC's seven-man secretariat.
One week later, and after a controversy, on March 14, the government decided to pay Montoya and another guerrilla member a US $2.5 million reward, for the “information” which allowed Iván Ríos to be found. But according to weekly news magazine Cambio's March 13 issue, a former guerrilla gave the information which allowed the Colombian Army to infiltrate FARC's Central Bloc and, through the help of the informant, who was in contact with Rojas, to instigate the latter to kill his commander.
At the digital magazine equinoXio [es], Marsares says:
Al dificultarse su captura, se le da instrucciones para que lo mate, como efectivamente lo hizo, convirtiéndose en instigador del crimen el propio Gobierno que se coloca por encima de la ley. Sencillo. Si no puedes capturar a tu enemigo, ¡mátalo!
A Ríos se le acusaba de haber cometido delitos de lesa humanidad, crímenes de guerra y delitos comunes, es cierto, pero según la Constitución, debía comparecer ante los jueces de la República para luego de ser oído y vencido en juicio, imponérsele una pena. Su ejecución extrajudicial no diferencia al Gobierno de las que hace la misma guerrilla, porque ambas carecen de legitimidad y violan nuestro ordenamiento jurídico. Al gobierno sólo le compete la labor de capturarlos, salvo un enfrentamiento armado que determine su muerte.
When his capture became difficult, they [the Colombian Army] instructed [Rojas] to kill him, as he indeed did, making the Government, who puts itself above the Law, the instigator of the crime. It's simple. If you can't capture your enemy, kill him! Ríos was accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and common crimes, that's true, but according to the Constitution, he should have appeared before the judges of the Republic to be, after being heard and defeated in trial, sentenced. His execution outside of the law does not differentiate the Government from those perpetrated by guerrilla, because both lack legitimacy and violate our legal system. The Government has the duty to capture them, unless there is an armed confrontation which determines their death.
Liberal Colombiano [es] seems to agree with Marsares in his blog:
No se pueden lograr buenos objetivos con malos medios. No se puede mejorar la seguridad y alcanzar promoviendo y pagando por asesinatos. La política de delaciones esta bien para DELACIONES. Nunca para asesinatos. El estado no debe pagar por el crimen de “Ivan Ríos” a menos que de verdad se demuestre que fue en legítima defensa. El derecho a la vida es inviolable e inalienable. […] Ojala que lo sucedido con Rojas lleve a algunas personas a la reflexión sobre los límites de la acción estatal.
La pregunta de fondo siempre será: que le esta permitido al Estado?
You can't achieve good goals through poor means. You can't improve security by promoting and paying for murders. The tip-off policy is fine for TIP-OFFS. Never for murders. The State should not pay for Iván Ríos' crime unless it's really proved that it was in legitimate defense. The right to live is inviolable and inalienable […] I wish what happened to Rojas leads some people to reflect about the limits of State action. The bottom question will always be: what's the State allowed to do?
Bloggings by Boz summarizes the debate. These are the pros:
Rojas did bring an end to a top FARC commander (which is the reason the reward exists), possibly saving lives in the process. Additionally, the government wants to create the incentive for other FARC combatants to desert and turn over information about their commanders, and failing to give Rojas the reward could harm that effort. This reward has the added bonus of possibly creating internal dissent within the FARC.
And here are the cons:
Most of the reasons not to give the reward focus on the fact Rojas was a FARC combatant for 16 years and confessed to murdering his commander. Private citizens murdering other citizens does not help the Colombian government's overall goal to enhance the state's legitimate authority across the country. Rewards are meant for citizens to provide information for the government to act on, not for them to act as a mercenary.
At the end, Boz finds himself
tempted to support giving the reward because I want to see the reward program work and I want to see more mid-level FARC commanders desert and turn in information about their superiors. However, a democratic state should not offer mercenary payments. It's a tough rule, but the Colombian government is not going to win back control of the state by taking short cuts.
Finally, Ricardo Buitrago Consuegra is overtly supportive of the payment [es]:
Nadie cuando se instauro la política de recompensas, previo este caso, como nadie, alcanzo nunca a imaginarse, la degradación a la que llegarían los grupos al margen de la ley y la misma sociedad. La recompensa debe pagarse. No hacerlo, seria un pésimo mensaje a miembros de la guerrilla susceptibles de delación de que el estado no cumple. Se constituiría en un retroceso en la aplicación de la política de recompensas, que ha sido fundamental, en el quiebre que ahora se vislumbra en la organización guerrillera. ¿Si el país entero se alegra por la muerte de delincuentes, cual es la razón de privar de la recompensa a quien propicia la alegría? Por lo tanto, o dejamos de ser hipócritas y aceptamos la degradación de nuestros principios, o nos convencemos que en guerra, el pago de este tipo de recompensas se mira desde otro contexto. En ambos casos, a pagar se dijo.
When the reward policy was established, no one could ever imagine to what point the illegal armed groups would go and where Colombian society would reach. The reward must be paid. Not to do it would be a dreadful message to the members of the guerrillas willing to tip-off that the State does not carry out their agreements. It would become a step back in the application of the reward policy, which has been essential getting a glimpse into the guerrilla organization. If the entire country is pleased with the death of the criminals, what's the reason to stopy the reward to those that provide that joy? Therefore, either we stop being hypocrites and accept the degradation of our own principles or become convinced that, in a war, the payment of this kind of rewards can be seen from another context. In both cases, it's time to pay.
On Wednesday it was learned that Rojas will have to answer for other crimes [es], such as “conspiracy for drug trafficking, terrorism, and multiple homicide” relating to massacres he allegedly helped to perpetrate, according to Colombia's Attorney General Office. This should keep the former FARC guerrilla in jail for a while. At the moment, Rojas is staying in a military facility in Risaralda Department, Western Colombia.
0 comments · »»Japan: Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing plant fuels debate
· 15:34
Like many other small towns in Japan, the village of Rokkasho (六ヶ所村) in Aomori prefecture, situated in the north of Japan's main island Honshū and just south of its northernmost prefecture Hokkaido, hosts a nuclear facility. And like other nuclear facilities in Japan, while fueling the local economy, the plant's main function is not to generate energy for local inhabitants of Aomori but rather to power the country's larger urban centers, whose need for energy drives and maintains Japan's nuclear industry as a whole.
Rokkasho Nuclear Reprocessing Plant (from Wikipedia)
The nuclear facility at Rokkasho is different from others in Japan, however, in a critical respect: it is not, strictly speaking, a nuclear power plant. It is something very different, referred to as a reprocessing plant (再処理工場). Blogger charider37 explains:
再処理工場とは、原子力発電所で出た使用済み核燃料を文字通り再処理して再び使用可能な燃料にするための工場のことです。
この使用済み核燃料の再処理技術は世界的に見てもフランスと日本にしか存在せず、本来はゴミであるものからエネルギーを抽出できるという点に関して非常に注目されているものです。
しかし、一方でマイナス点も多く、この再処理工場で再加工される際に発生する高レベル放射性廃棄物をどうするのか。そもそも、そんな危険なものをどうやって扱うのか等等･･･
特に怖いのは、万が一事故が起こったときに漏れ出す放射性物質(放射能を出す物質)です。特に、日本は地震大国のため工場自体の破損は正直言ってあると思います。
そんな時に一体どうするのか･･･下手をするとチェルノブイリのような惨事を日本にも招いてしまう虞さえあります。
One of the convergence points for discussions of the Rokkasho reprocessing plant is a documentary film entitled Rokkasho Rhapsody, directed by Kamanaka Hitomi （鎌仲ひとみ） [ja] and reviewed in English by students at the University of Chicago “Popular Culture In/Out of Japan” blog here and here (and with its own blog).
Blogger charider37 continues the above entry with a reference to Rokkasho Rhapsody:
正直な所、僕はこの再処理工場に関しては賛成でも反対でもありません。
何故ならあまりにも知識が少なすぎるためです。賛成派の意見を聞けば納得できるし、反対派の意見を聞いても納得できます。
また、今回の監督のコンセプトが「反対、賛成はともかくとにかく多くの人にこのことを知ってもらいたい。まずは『再処理』という単語を広めること」ということなので、これに則って今回の旅の中で考えたこと、感じたことなどをつづす綴っていきたいと思います。
Demonstration in Shibuya, March 16, 2008
Fears of the possible damage caused by the Rokkasho reprocessing plant to the local and global environment have sparked local fishermen, environmentalists, and other concerned citizens to mount various campaigns [ja] against the plant. Following on events held in earlier months, on March 16th protests took place in Shibuya [ja], Tokyo, and in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Blogger, translator and singer Suzuki Satomi (鈴木里美) wrote in her blog about the Sendai event:
今日、青森県六ヶ所村の使用済核燃料再処理施設をSTOPしよう！というイベントが仙台で開催されて、私も参加してきました。ドキュメンタリー映画をみて、さまざまな分野の方々のお話を聞いて、そのあとみんなで仙台の街中をピースウォークしました。いろんなことを感じましたし、いまも感じています。放射能がたれ流されるのは、やっぱり嫌ですね！海に流れれば薄められるとか、空に流れれば拡散されるとかいうまえに、そういう施設から放射能を一切放出してほしくないですね。それができるまでは稼働して欲しくないです。
Poster for event organized in Sendai (artwork by Saito Keisuke, original PDF file here)
Along with the intricate artwork of a flyer handed out at the Sendai event (above), a group called No Nukes More Hearts put together an assortment of creative designs on display at the Shibuya demonstration:
No Nukes More Hearts, by Misao Redwolf
Good Choice Good Future, by Asa
No! Nukes!!, by anonymous
Blogger Watase Yoshitaka (渡瀬義孝) meanwhile emphasizes the scale of the Rokkasho reprocessing plant in this post:
この再処理問題、実は日本の将来にとって取り返しのつかない重大な意味を持つ。
日本人の健康や食の安全にとって、再処理工場は最大の脅威だ。
中国産食品の汚染問題どころではない。
A reprocessing plant is the biggest threat to the health and food safety of Japanese people.
This is a much bigger problem than that of contaminated food products from China.
再処理工場から出る放射能は、1日で原発1年分。
つまり六ヶ所では３６５基の原発が稼動することと同じ放射能汚染が起きる。
In other words, Rokkasho will produce as much radioactive contamination as would the operation of 365 nuclear power plants.
しかも、原発では環境中に排出する放射能を規制しているが、なぜか再処理工場ではほとんど規制なし。金をかければ取り付け可能な除去装置も設置していない。
その結果、再処理工場の煙突からは大気中に、排水口からは海へ、大量の放射能が流される。
As a result, large quantities of radioactivity flow from the chimney of the reprocessing plant into the atmosphere, and from the drainage into the sea.
世界でも有数の漁場である三陸の海は、確実に放射能で汚染されていくだろう。
あの有名な大間のマグロなど、美味しい魚やカキなどに体内濃縮された放射能は、私たちの食卓に忍び込むことになる。
フランスのラ・アーグやイギリスのセラフィールドの再処理工場周辺では、小児白血病の発症率が全国平均をはるかに上回り、深刻な健康被害が生じている。
The radioactivity concentrated inside those famous Oma tuna, inside delicious fish and oysters, will creep onto our dining table.
In the area around La Hague in France, and around Sellafield in the U.K., the incidence rates of leukemia in children are far higher than the national average, and there is serious damage being caused to people's health.
しかし、日本のマスコミはこの問題についてほとんど報道しない。
最大のスポンサーである電力会社の圧力を恐れているからだ。
商業メディアの限界は明白。
The reason is that they fear the pressure of their greatest sponsors, the power companies.
The limits of commercial media are obvious.
Video of the walk a group organized from Izumo to Rokkasho in 2007.
Egypt: A Lebanese in Egypt - From Occupation to Liberation
· 14:52
Layal El Katib, is a Lebanese Blogger who lived in Egypt for a while, and here are her experiences as a Lebanese living in Egypt:
I used to speak Egyptian there, in fact nobody would know I'm Lebanese unless somebody tells them, my Egyptian accent was (and still is) flawless!
So, I didn't experience any kind of problems! it was very normal and it felt like home..At school, I made great friends, we were a family, you know hanging out with the same friends everyday for several years, the bond becomes stronger than the family blood because you get to choose your friends! I used to love the first day at school just to meet the new people! I've always loved company and I never had a problem to blend in ANY kind of groups.
But one day, a single incident at school really affected her:
Anyways, years passed by and I'm in an Arabic period in Grade 6. I don't remember what the teacher was talking about but I remember him saying “And Of course, We all know that Lebanon is being occupied now by Israel…”. I wasn't shocked by what he said, I was shocked by the whole class's reaction! It was nothing but a big “BOOOOOOO” accompanied by fingers pointed at me! I can't describe how it felt! But it was so weird and shocking that I didn't do anything but smiling! In the very same day, during the recess, I remember bursting into tears on my best friend's shoulder!
I didn't cry because of the occupation thing, I didn't cry because the teacher said that the whole Lebanese soil was occupied and that he was wrong, I did because it was the first time I felt like a stranger, a minority or an intruder!
Then a few years later:
So I'm still in Egypt, still at the same school, same friends, same street…etc. It's the year 2000, the year when the Zionist army finally left the Lebanese Soil (except for Shebaa farms) because of the amazing Lebanese resistance.
She continues:
0 comments · »»We went out later that day, I can't remember where. But I remember that when we reached the apartment's door, a guy approached us and said “Mabrouk, Rafa3to Rasna” (Meaning Congrats, You honored us). I can't describe how I felt. It was simply amazing.
That stranger and few (1 or 2) close friends probably were the only persons who congratulated us. My friends were happy for me when I told them about it. It didn't bother me really that they didn't call, and it doesn't bother me even now. We Arabs are weird! They're the same friends who BOOed, and I'm the same person who cried!!! It was still Egypt, and it was still Lebanon. Isn't it logical for the BOO to become a YAAY?
Moroccan Blogosphere on Fouad Mourtada: Finally Free
· 06:11
Today marks the celebration in Morocco of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday, Eid el Mawlid. On the occassion of big holidays such as this, prisoners are often are granted a special pardon from the king; and this is just what happened over the past few days for 566 people, including the young engineer Fouad Mourtada. Fouad caused a scandal earlier this year when he was sentenced to jail for creating a Facebook profile of the king's brother, Moulay Rachid.
Not only are bloggers throughout cyberspace thrilled about the news, but this event also means for them that an international grassroots collective has been able to push for a resolution to what most deemed a stiff sentence to trumped up charges; in short, the Moroccan blogosphere views Fouad's liberation as a step in the right direction towards improvement of personal freedoms in the Kingdom.
(more…)
China: Commons in violence and conflict
· 05:04
In order to stop the spreading panic, most of the detailed recounts of what is happening in Tibet are filtered out; however, a few blogs have survived to report what had happened at the frontline.
In the propaganda sparring, each side has shown their best skills to stand their positions by the name of “people” on their banners. But given the records of people who have in person witnessed the violence and anti-violence by the means of crackdown, it's the thousands of commons who were hurled into a sea of infinite fear.
Jiandanai posted a letter from his Tibetan schoolmate in Tibet, which records the violence aimed at Hans in Tibet
在我个人看来，此次事件策划非常圆满，从3月10号开始，拉萨周边寺庙的喇嘛尼姑就入城集会闹事，被迅速驱散（市中心大昭寺广场，数十名僧人举藏独的雪山狮子旗呼喊独立口号，两分钟内被抓捕）。之后，拉萨大批警力被派往寺庙周围，城内警力有限。到了14号上午10点，开始有人围攻市区内小昭寺外执勤警察，迅速演化为暴力行为，全城开花。可以说是非常漂亮的声东击西。
I personally think the riot is quite successfully planned. Since 10 March, monks and nuns around Lhasa have entered downtown to protest, but were soon dispelled. Then, great hordes of police were sent to around the temples at suburb, thus the force available in city was limited. On 14th, 10 am, some started to siege the police outside the Xiaozhao Temple in the city, and the action soon turned into violence. The whole city was then thrown into the insurgence. A very pretty feint.
14 号白天，在骚乱地点是见一个汉人就杀，死亡数据是封锁了的。但在14日晚九点，我同事的爱人在公安厅，当时透露了一个数据，汉族平民死亡大概在一百七八十左右，之后就没有数据了。拉萨各医院住满了伤亡者（我在报社的朋友去医院采访，亲眼见到5个失去了耳朵的伤者，还有一具被点了”天灯”女尸），武警总医院是隔几分钟就抬入一个受伤战士（因为白天不能动武，只靠人墙去挡）。顺便，可以告诉你两例真实的暴行：一是三名藏族男子追上一汉族女子，每人一刀；另一是以纯专卖店的5位花季店员，汽油瓶丢入，卷帘门拉下，被活活烧死。
On the day of 14th, (mobs) killed every Han they met at where the riot was going. But the overall death toll was unreleased. However, my colleague’s spouse who worked in Public Security department told that about 170 Hans died. Then there was no more statistics. Hospitals in Lhasa were crowded with the injured. My friend working in newspaper office has been there and saw in person 5 people lost their ears and one body of a female burnt to death. In the police hospital, every a few minutes an armed police was sent in, as in daytime they could not crackdown by force but could just stopped the mob with flesh wall.
By the way, I can tell you 2 cases of real violence: 3 Tibetans caught up a Han girl and each gave her a knife stab; another case —– 5 young salespeople were kept in a shop, door shuttered up and gas bottles thrown in. They were burnt to death.
14号夜间，对于冲击武警的，已经可以开枪了。15号凌晨5点（拉萨在西部，此时还是黑夜），军队进城，同时有40多辆轮式装甲车进入。15号15点（在拉萨，这个时间相当于天津13点），三十余辆履带式装甲车入城（对于所有汉族人，振奋人心）；同时，15号开始入户搜捕。16号22点，履带式装甲车撤出，局势基本控制，但仍有零星事件。现在17号11时，我们正常上班。
On 14th, the police were allowed to shoot at those who strike them. At 5 am, 15th, the army drove in with 40 wheeled armor cars. (That inspired us Han). And on 15th the police broke in homes for search. On 22; 00, 16th, the pedrail tanks withdrew, situation under control. But pieces of violence still existed. At 11 am, 17th, we were back to work.
Shops on fire
Town after battle
A girl working in Lhasa also recorded the day and night during the unrest. She kept using “scared” in a row.
一整个下午，都在惊恐中度过，一会儿听人说看到有装甲车出现……一会儿听人说坦克也开出来了……一会儿看到冒烟了，方位是小昭寺，我不敢出去，也不知道到底外面怎么了，只是听到很吵，有尖叫，有起哄，有追赶的声音，后来还听到两次120的声音，还有什么东
东爆炸的声音。
The whole afternoon was spent in panic. For a while we heard that armored cars had showed up…. for another while it’s said tanks came too, and then smoke rising at around Xiaozhao Temple. I dared not go out, and had no idea what’s happening outside. There was all noise —– screaming, guffaws, sound of chasing, 120 (emergency medical call) for twice and something blown up.
晚饭还好，有中午剩下的菜汤，再加点菜，居然很香！吃饭时发现多了好多人，一共十几个人吧，哪冒出这么多的人？奇怪？还有两个四川人，好像受伤了 一问，才知道是翻墙逃到隔壁屋顶上，观察良久，再翻到我们院子里来的。不知道是不是傍晚时分在我们巷子里被打得很惨叫声的主人。当时我们也吓坏了，都不敢 说话，也不敢开门，怕一说话，坏蛋一听是汉人就冲撞进来，那后果真是不敢想像……
The dinner, some soup left from lunch plus a few more dishes, is fine. It tasted so good! When at table I found quite more people, over 10 totally. Where did they come up? So strange. And there were 2 men from Sichuan, who seemed injured. The men said they hurdled the wall and observed the situation for quite a long time before skipping down to our yard. I was not sure if they were exactly the men beaten up howling when at dusk. We were so scared too, speechless, daring not to open the door for the fear that the thugs would broke in on hearing we are Han. I am too frightful to imagine that.
我打电话给还住在平措青年旅馆的温州女孩联系，问她是否平安，她说现在停 电了，什么都看不到，晚上只有一点点吃的卖很贵，下午看到平措的两边门都烧起来了，边上有家银行（应该也是门）也被烧了，旅馆老板在楼下值班守夜，她很害 怕，安慰了她一阵子挂了电话，其实我也害怕……
I phone a Wenzhou girl staying at Pingchuo Youth Hotel for regard. She said the place was out of power. The only little food could be bought was so dear. She saw the doors of Pingchuo burnt at noon and so did the door of a bank nearby. The hotel owner was keeping watch downstairs and she was also scared. I comforted her for a while and ringed off. Actually I was scared no less.
和我们一起的有游客，有在拉萨投资的，当然还有这家主人，大家表面上都不说，可是我相信大家心里都很怕！很 很怕！很很很怕！ 这逃进来的两个人中其中一个告诉我们，他的摩托车被烧了，车上有现金两万元人民币和无数帐单……我们当时就告诉他，人没事才是最重要的！他们被打劫了， 身上的钱也被抢了，而且，被打得好惨，进到我们这里，脸都是惨白的……虽然我没和他们在一起，听到他们说这些，仍然觉得，有政府各部门的关爱真是一件非常幸福的事情！假设这个时候没有政府在保护，我们这些待在拉萨的人们，是怎样的一番场景？
Staying with us were tourists, investors in Lhasa, and of course the owner of the house. Though no one spoke it out, I was sure every one of us was very scared. Very very very scared!
One of the two found here a shelter said his motor was burnt along with the 20000 RMB cash and bills on it…. We told them it’s the personal safety that matters!
They were robbed and beaten up, faces pale.
Though I had not been with them at the time, when hearing this I still thought how lucky to have the care from the government. Imagine what would have happened then without the protection of the government? What would we staying in Lhasa be?
They are both wanted by the government. Who are they? Martyrs or just killers?
Finally, a wife is praying for her husband who had been sent to Tibet for crackdown.
老公前天晚上挺进西藏了，现在也也不知道到哪了，怎么样杨，手机估计又是没有电了，联系不上，昨晚给邱打电话问了问说是要求三天内到达，应该也快到了吧。
郁闷，前几天没有看新闻，不是老公说是要去西藏还不知道发生了这么大的事情，不过好像也跟我们的生活没有太大的关系，日子照旧。可是现在不同了，这一切却 是跟我的生活挂钩了，老公去了青海保护西藏去了，在我生日的前一天晚上确切说是我生日当天的凌晨，这是我最后一个单身生日了，可是老公不在
Two nights ago my husband marched to Tibet, and I know nothing about where he is now. The cell phone must have been out of power, contact lost. Qiu told that they were demanded to reach within 3 days. They should be there now.
Gloomy…. I hadn’t read news a few days ago until my husband said he would go to Tibet. But it seemed to have nothing to do with our life. Well, now everything is different. My husband was sent to Qinghai to protect Tibet, exactly on the early morning of my birthday, a time He should have been here.
就在他们出发的那天下午—还不知道要去，去买了戒指项链等东西，总共有一万六七吧，不过还好花了7000。要不我肯定有的心疼好长一阵子了。给他也买 了不过好像也不是特别合适但是晚上他就出发了，现在也没有办法去换，只有等到回来了再去。我的戒指也稍有一点大，可是他那没有这个款了，而且这个还是铂金 镶的VVS级别的钻，应该说是很不错的，换一个可能就不会有这么好了吧。
下午去跟妈妈逛乐逛，看了看婚纱，水分还是挺大的，有一个老板要500多，后来直接跟我们说不到300，应该还能便宜。
这两天晚上一个人也不想睡觉，看电视到困的不想看了抱着枕头倒头便睡，不习惯没有他的日子，不习惯没有人陪，希望他们在外边一切顺顺利利，能够照顾好自己，也不知道给他带的衣服会不会冷，笨蛋的我还是忘了给他带洗发水了，怎么洗头发呀？
期望西藏早点安定，盼望老公早点回来
祝福西藏，祝福老公！
On the day they set off —– we didn’t know it then—- we did shopping for rings and necklace. It’s good that we just spent about 7000 or I have to be sorry for the money for quite a while. I bought some for him too, but it doesn’t fit very well. However, we had no chance to ask for a change now. I have to wait until he is back.
These two nights I don’t feel like to sleep until the TV shows made me extremely sleepy to midnight. So unaccustomed to the days without him, without a companion.
Hope they can be fine outside, take good care of themselves, and I don’t know if they’ll suffer cold with the clothes I sent. How stupid that I forgot to bring him shampoo. How could he wash hair?
Wish a peaceful Tibet coming soon, wish my husband coming soon.
Blessing on Tibet, on my husband!
They carry out orders. But what are their stories behind the cool masks?
LiveJournal: Bloggers Protest Basic Account Cancellation
· 02:40
Yet again, LJ users are in distress. Unlike the previous times, however (more on that here and here, as well as here and here), the current situation involves both the Russian-language and the English-language segments of LiveJournal.
It all began when LiveJournal's owner Sup (”an international online media company […] founded […] with Russian seed capital”) announced that no account created after March 12, 2008, could be turned into a free-of-charge and ad-free Basic Account.
Sixty-eight pages of comments (5,000 of them, the maximum number allowed) on a March 13 item (part explanatory, part conciliating) posted by theljstaff on the LJ News page is a good example of just how overwhelming the English-language bloggers' response has been.
Many more posts and comments on the unpopular changes can be found in the LJ Speaks and No Opt In, No Ads LJ communities (both in English). An informative post on Sup's other ill-received initiative - “censorship of popular interests” - was posted on InsaneJournal, an alternative platform, by Stewardess, here.
Cancellation of Basic Accounts seems to have brought the English-language and the Russian-language LJ bloggers closer together. (The initial lack of common ground was highlighted in the comments section to this post on Sup's acquisition of LiveJournal back in Dec. 2007.)
On March 16, U.S.-based LJ user beckyzoole announced her decision to go on “content strike” and called to other bloggers to join her:
The one-day content strike is on for this Friday, March 21, from midnight GMT to midnight GMT.
For 24 hours, we will not post or comment to LJ. Not in our own journals, not in communities. Not publicly, privately, or under friends-lock.
This is a protest that will have long-lasting effects, showing up forever in the daily posting statistics.
This is a protest that will not harm LJ in the long run, as leaving LJ might do.
This is a protest that will demonstrate the power of community, as all users unite to support Basic users and the concept of adfree space.
This is a protest that will educate the new owners that LJ is driven by user-created content. […]
On March 17, she further explained the goals of this initiative:
[…] We are holding the Content Strike because all of us, Paid, Permanent and Plus users as well as Basic, want to demonstrate our solidarity as a Community of Users. We do not consider Basic users to be freeloaders, we consider them to be valuable content-providers and Friends. […]
On March 18, Russian LJ user corpuscula posted a translation of LJ user beckyzoole's appeal and asked her readers to “Spread the Word!”
The word did spread, and a number of posts about the upcoming strike made it into the Yandex Blog portal's Top 30.
LJ user samoleg (Oleg Kuvaev, best-known for his cartoon creation, Masyanya) is one of the Russian LJ users on strike today. In the entry announcing his decision to join the silent protest, there's a drawing of Masyanya holding up a sign that reads (RUS): “LJ is all of us!”
Another blogger who supports the one-day boycott, LJ user rimona (Rimma Polyak), wrote this (RUS):
[…] We don't come to LJ as if it's a store, we - the LJ bloggers - are creating it by writing our blogs here. Sup is nothing without us. LJ is the bloggers, not Sup. […]
Some Russian-language bloggers have chosen to take a more radical path, proposed (RUS) by LJ user lleo (Leonid Kaganov), who is highly critical of LJ user beckyzoole's initiative:
[…] The American thinks that the whole world will support her. In fact, 3 percent will join in. Sup will notice a 3-percent drop in traffic. And then what? […]
On March 21, I'll go to this page:
http://www.livejournal.com/accountstatus.bml
and will change my status to “deleted.” That is, I'll delete my journal. A wonderful form will appear on the screen then: ay, oy, […] let us know what has made you delete your journal, and what we have to do to improve our service? In this line I'll write: “Return Basic Accounts.” That's the real statistics that Sup is going to get. It is well-known that deleting a journal this way is pure formality, because it is possible to restore the journal in a second in the next 30 days, losing absolutely nothing. And so the following day, I'll go back to that page and change status to “active” (or not, I'll think abut it). But while my journal stays in the “deleted” mode for a day, it will not only keep me from writing in it (or comment on its behalf), but everyone around will also see that my journal has been deleted. Because this (unlike “outraged silence”) is highly conspicuous and effectual. And if we want to do a protest flash mob, this is the only way to do it. […]
If you try accessing LJ user lleo's blog now, you'll will not succeed: it has indeed been deleted.
LJ user corpuscula, the one who broadcast LJ user beckyzoole's silent protest appeal to the Russian-language bloggers, seems to have temporarily deleted her blog, too.
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