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Online Obama campaign splits Ethiopian bloggers

Andrew Heavens · 19:39

lingua → mk · es · mg · sq · zht · zhs

Diaspora Ethiopians have been flexing their political muscles in the U.S., organising websites, rallies and email campaigns to persuade their compatriots to support Barack Obama's presidential run.

Many Ethiopians bloggers rallied to the cause, pledging cash and votes for the Democratic candidate whose father came from Kenya, a country that neighbours Ethiopia.

But others raised questions about the campaign, asking whether it was right to expect Ethiopian-Americans to vote en masse for any candidate.

At the head of the Obama pack was the new blog Ethiopians for Obama which, in Ethiopians Journey for Hope, said:

Most Ethiopians immigrated to America searching for the American dream—a dream for a better life and a new opportunity. Most arrived in America with the determination to fulfil the promise that America embodies; destined to realize this dream armed with little more than hope on their side. Ethiopians—like all Americans–embrace the message of Barack Obama, a message that our lives are intertwined with our infinite commonalities.

Ethiounited pointed to a YouTube video of Ethio-Americans speaking at an Obama campaign launch.

I have given a lot of money to the [Obama] campaign since I was not able to take time of from work and go volunteer at the campaign headquarters in Chicago, although I have made phone calls on behalf of the campaign for every primary.

wrote Bernos in An Obama Minute. Bernos has also been busy translating the Obama ‘Yes we can' slogan into Amharic, one of Ethiopia's main languages, for a range of targeted campaign posters.

Ethioblog talked about its growing disillusion with the Clinton camp in Falling for Clinton and Clinton’s Doubletalk. Ethiopian Politics Blog pointed to another YouTube video describing Obama as the “embodiment of the American dream”.

But Abesha Bunna Bet sounded a strong note of caution in Even Ethiopians Are Crazy About Obama:

Ethiopians. We are not a bunch of herds that needs direction. We can not be told by any group (Ethiopians or not) who to vote for with out being told why. And the ‘why’ should be answered by our individual research, and not by folks who wish to take advantage of us based on heritage.

Tobian ThinkTank's email inbox was flooded with ‘Obamaganda' by friends and relatives. When the blogger replied to them, saying he was backing Hilary Clinton, he got some hostile emails in response. In Surely, it must be that lesbian school … he wrote:

One curious thing to note about who's been sending me these emails has been that it has all come from black men. My friends who are female and black are still rooting all for Clinton…

I think Hilary & Obama should eventually run a joint ticket. They've divided the Democratic party straight down the middle line, and it is in their hands to bring the party, the country back together. As this country stands at the edge of a recession, one of my officemates pointed out, imagine Hilary as the president, Obama as vice president and Bill Clinton as a ‘first man'(?). Is that a power house, or is that a power house?

The Mongrel described how he remained suspicious of Obama, despite the current level of “mass-hysteria” in support of the African-American candidate.

In Conspiracy Brother he wrote:

Seriously though someone please put your hands on me and tell me it's OK to be black and not vote for Obama…I think that's what I'm fighting with deep inside. Either that or it's a case of OCD :-0

5 comments · »»

Vlog International: collaboration across borders

Juliana Rincón Parra · 06:53

lingua → mk · sq · pt · zht · zhs · es · de

Video Blog International Logo Vlog International is a project bringing together Spanish speaking vloggers: people submit their ideas, one is chosen and everyone records their piece, someone edits them together and they are published on their site. They began in 2006, when a group of friends got together to do a video homage for a vlogger friend [es]: it was through his website that everyone had met, and they wanted to recognize that fact publicly. The next project happened organically: the friend who had organized the first collaborative video was going through a rough spot in his life, and everyone else decided to record a birthday wish on video: they recorded themselves singing happy birthday, playing the song on instruments, dancing and sitting in front of cakes with candles, and that video can be found by following this link[es].

They began calling these experiences “Sancocho de Video“: sancocho is a name that refers to many different soups from all around Latin America. The latest video by the Vlog International group is about a walk around the block. Vloggers in Colombia, Israel, Canada, Germany and the USA all shared their surroundings. You can see it by clicking here or by pressing play on the following video.

Vlog International already has 31 collaborative videos up on their blip.tv page and they are always hoping to add more video bloggers to their site. All that is needed is for the person interested to make a 1 minute video: 30 seconds explaining where they are and who they are, and 30 seconds recording the following “mission” video, then uploading the video and emailing them the link. Instructions in Spanish can be found here.

These videos have all been released under a Creative Commons license, and you can share in on the process by reading their wiki. Browsing through their different episodes is a great way to get a global perspective on the same issue. On the following video[es], the Vloggers take us on a tour away from the supermarkets and into the different traditional marketplaces of France, England, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, the USA, Chile, Spain and Colombia.

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Japan: Architect bloggers stand against redevelopment plan

Hanako Tokita · 03:40

lingua → jp · zht · zhs

One of the most prominent modern architectural works in Japan is facing possible demolition. Japan Post, privatized last October, announced last year its plan to build a 200m building in place of the current structure, and part of the plan is scheduled to be carried out as early as May.

The Tokyo Central Post Office building was designed by Yoshida Tetsuro, a Japanese modern architect who also designed other buildings commissioned by the Ministry of Communications, and was completed in 1931. The building is listed by DoCoMoMo International as one of the 20 outstanding modern architectural works in Japan. With the old Marunouchi Building (Blog Subarashiki shinsekai[jp] has a series of photos of the building), Sanshin Building (Tokyo Lost Architecture has photos ) and others already swept by a wave of mega-redevelopment in the area adjacent to Tokyo Station, the Post Office building is one the last few historical buildings which remain standing today. (Tokyo Lost Architecture [jp] has been documenting pictures of the buildings that were torn down.)

Tokyo Central Office
Tokyo Central Post Office building (Photo by Flickr user osmatsuda Creative Commons licensed see license conditions)

The redevelopment plan has faced opposition from architects as well as Diet members and citizen groups who are demanding that the building designated an Important Cultural Property. Concerned bloggers have been expressing their concern and calling for preservation of the historical building.

Blogger schinkel has posted pictures of the Post Office building and writes that Japanese people will regret the loss of their cultural heritage one day in the future

言わずと知れた近代モダニズム建築を代表する作品。
しかしネットが張られており解体待ちといった風情だ。この国の文化的精神的貧困と洞察力の無さを象徴する光景と言える。
現代の東京の超高層ビルは1930年代における東京中央郵便局程には東アジア地域で傑出した建築ではない。いつの日か政治的にも経済的にも完全に周辺諸国の後塵を拝したときに初めて、語るべきかつての栄光ある歴史の残滓はほとんど何も残っていないことの悲哀が身にしみるのだろう。

Needless to say, this is work that represents modernist architecture.
But covered with nets, from its appearance the building looks like it is waiting to be demolished. This is a sight that symbolizes the poverty of cultural spirit and lack of perceptiveness in this country.
The skyscrapers in Tokyo today are not the preeminent East Asian architecture that the Tokyo Central Post Office was in the 1930s. It will only be one day in the future, when Japan has fallen behind its neighboring countries politically and economically, that the sadness will hit us, seeing that there is almost nothing left that is reminiscent of this country's glorious history.

Blogger and graphics designer solidThinking discusses the architectural value of the Post Office building and reflects on their experience from a trip to Amsterdam:

日本人は、どうもこうして文化遺産をいとも簡単に壊してしまうのでしょうかか？　一度壊された物は元に戻りません。
これら二つの郵便局は、日本の伝統の柱と梁というシンプルな形状を近代建築＝モダンスタイル　に応用したもので、西洋建築を模倣した、建築物と一線を画します。　これらの設計は、日本と深い関係がある、アントニン　レイモンドや、ブルーノ　タウトが賞賛したデザインです。　…

Why do Japanese people so readily destroy cultural heritage like this? What is destroyed never comes back.
In these two post offices, the traditional Japanese simple structure called post-and-beam is applied to modern architecture/modern style, and they are thus clearly different from buildings that emulated western architecture. These designs have strong connection with Japan, and were praised by Antonín Raymond and Bruno Taut.[…]

アムステルダムでは、ファサードを残し、中身を改造する建築方法と採用しています。　私が訪れた時にも、運河沿いに銀行が作られていましたが、本当に皮一つ（ファサード）のみを残して後は、全部新築です。　昔の町並みを残そうとするその試みは、民族性＝オリジナリティを残す事です。

In Amsterdam, they use a building method in which they leave the facades and renovate the inside. When I visited Amsterdam, they were building a bank along the canal, leaving only the facade and building everything else from scratch. The effort to preserve old cityscapes is an effort that also preserves national traits and originality.

Architect-blogger kurarc archiscape further describes the historical background of the building:

東京中央郵便局は建築家吉田鉄郎の設計による。郵政事業が民営化されたこともありこの建築物のある部分（またはすべて）を壊し、高層化しようという方向性が打ち出されている。その方向に異議をとなえようという会である。

The Tokyo Central Post Office was designed by architect Yoshida Tetsuro. As operations of postal services have been privatized, there has been a plan to demolish parts of the building (or all of it) and build a high-rise building. This is a group that opposes the plan.

この建築が建設された当時、ブルーノ・タウトがこの建築物を見学している。残されたタウトの日記によると、1933年の5月28日にタウトは建築家吉田鉄郎、山田守、谷口吉郎とこの建築を見学している。タウトはこの建築を「非常にすぐれている・・・・同氏（吉田）の建築は極めて即物的だ」として、吉田鉄郎を「最高の力量を具えた建築家」として絶賛している。

Bruno Taut saw this building at the time that it was built. According to the diary he left, on May 28, 1933, Taut toured the building with architects Yoshida Tetsuro, Yamada Mamoru, and Taniguchi Yoshiro. He described the architecture as “exceptional,” said that “his (Yoshida's) achitecture is extremely utilitarian” and praised Yoshida Tetsuro as “an architect of the highest caliber”.

Arichitect Koichiro　Kanematsu of Hibi from an architect, one of the active organizers of an advocacy group, calls his readers for help:

そして、東京中央郵便局。
郵政の中に昨年来「歴史検討委員会」（非公開）が設置されて審議されてきたが、このままだとほんの一部を貼り付けて高層化し、民意を受けて保存したのだといわれかねない。思い余って、危機感を持つ多くの人と共に「東京中央郵便局を重要文化財にする会」を設立することになった。
時間がない。[…]

And the Tokyo Central Post Office.
Last year, “the committee on Historical reviews”(not open to the public) was established within the Postal Service, and this was put on the table. However, if nothing is done, [the building] will be made into a high-rise with only parts [of the old building] attached, and they will claim that they preserved it in accordance with the will of the people. Not knowing what to do, with many others who have a sense of crisis, we decided to launch “The association to make the Central Post Office an important cultural property”.
We do not have time. […]

このブログを読んでくださる方々にお願いしたい。ぜひ発起人に名前を連ねていただきたいのです。恐縮ですが、ブログにリンクさせている僕のHPの「イベント情報」欄を、ぜひ開いてください。たってのお願いです。

I would like to ask those of you who are reading this blog to join the list of organizers. I would very much appreciate it if you could go to the event section of my website, which is linked to from this blog. This is my urgent request.

Another architect-blogger Nozawa Masamitsu writes that the formation of the group is an unprecedented movement:

「中央郵便局を重文にする会」は事態の急な動きを受け、１００人を超える発起人を集めて動きがしたという形のようだ。市民の参加が力強い。国会議員による動きもあり、党派を超えた２０人を超える議員による「会」できているとのことであった。今までに無い動きではないか。
吉田鉄郎という稀有な建築家について考える機会ともなろう。原状を極力回復し保存活用を望む。私は先日ウイーンでワグナーの郵便貯金局が活用されながらミュージアムとなっているのを見てきたばかりだ。彼此の差を考えざるを得ない。

“The association to make the Central Post Office an important cultural property” was formed when over 100 organizers gathered in response to sudden developments in the situation. There is power in citizen participation. I think this will be a chance to think about this extraordinary architect Yoshida Tetsuro. I hope [that the building will be] recovered as much as possible, preserved and made use of. I just saw Wagner's Post Office Savings Bank in Vienna the other day being used as a museum. I can't help thinking about these differences.

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Russia: “Presumption of Guilt”

Veronica Khokhlova · 01:06

lingua → mk · es

LJ user tibetka wrote this (RUS) about xenophobia and hate speech in LJ community moya_moskva (”My Moscow”):

Lately, something unimaginable has been taking place in [LJ] community moya_moskva. People keep writing and writing and writing about their hatred for [those who are not Moscow natives].

[…]

What's scary is the “domestic” hatred, expressed in kitchen conversations, “humorous” TV shows - because no one considers it dangerous […]. […]

The post - which is slightly longer than the quote above - has drawn nearly 350 comments in less than three days (LJ community moya_moskva is read by 3,642 LJ users, and 3,214 more are authorized to post in it).

One blogger (distort303) felt that LJ user tibetka was too idealistic and recommended that she read posts in another Moscow LJ community, ponaehali_msk, maintained by people who dislike migrants - in order to learn “how many crimes are committed by aliens from underdeveloped countries.” (An attempt to figure out what the Russian “ponaehali” - or “ponaehali tut” - stands for has been made in this thread at Expat.ru, “the virtual community for English-speaking expats and Russians.”)

Below are a few items from the “manifesto” (RUS) of LJ community ponaehali_msk (317 readers, 280 participants):

[…] They seduce our girls and get pregnant from our young men, in order to stay in our city.

They take away our jobs, because they agree to toil for [very little], just to become part of the capital's life.

They lower the average salary level, because they cost much less than we do.

They jam our roads, because they aren't capable of driving in heavy traffic.

They paralyze the work of public transportation, because they get disoriented on the subway and aren't used to moving quickly inside buses.

They destroy our language, because it's much easier to litter the pure language with village dialect than learn to speak correctly. […]

Xenophobia is not limited to virtual Moscow, of course. LJ user varfolomeev66, a Russian journalist, described (RUS) his real-life encounter with someone who did not trust Moscow's non-Slavic cab drivers:

Presumption of guilt

One evening, I was […] flagging down a car for [a female acquaintance]. She put forward a task:

- Only please make sure that the driver isn't “black” [non-Slavic, a Caucasus or Central Asia native].
- ?
- I don't want to ride with them, especially at night.
- Have you had any problems?
- They always bother you with questions, like “Do you live on your own?” etc. Had enough of it.
- But that's their mentality, oriental.
- I understand everything, but I'm still not going [with any of them]!

Ironically, only [cars driven by] the “guests” were stopping. I had to offer them a really low price, in order to reject their service politely. It took us ten minutes to find a “white” [Slavic-looking] driver and send the female friend home successfully.

She, by the way, is a very modern woman, working in a quite progressive organization.

LJ user varfolomeev66's post has received 107 comments; below are three of them:

bukvoyeditsa:

According to my observations, young people of Caucasian looks are a lot more polite than the majority of the locals. They are the ones who offer you a seat on a bus and subway.

And when I once took a cab for my 90-year-old mama, the Georgian driver got out of the car, opened the door and helped her to get out, and I just stood there, admiring the scene.

***

orjuha:

[…] Many times I rode cars with various Caucasian people. We talked about many things - about theater (with a director from Baku), and about music, and about the differences and similarities between Turkish and Azeri languages. About grapes that the driver cultivated back home, and about the wine made of these grapes. About his wife, children. About war. Sometimes they'd offer to walk me to the door - because it was dark and there were drunks around. Sometimes we were both silent, each thinking our own thoughts. But I never get into a car with someone who appears not sober/overexcited/disturbed - regardless of his ethnicity. […] Once, I was in a car with a deaf driver - wrote the address on a piece of paper for him. It went fine. Without unnecessary conversations.

***

wawa_umka:

Since I'm carless, I'm a true expert in this :)

I've been trying to classify drivers for a long time, basing it on the main features: how much they take, how they behave, etc. - but I've fail to classify them by their ethnicity.

Still, I do have some observations.

If I'm with my child, any Caucasian native is more preferable. They treat children - all children - as something sacred. They regularly refuse to take the money, even though I insist, they laugh at my son's jokes, and this is exactly what my kid needs… If I'm on my own, they almost always begin to flirt, but decently, and I've learned to deter them […] by making jokes about them, and sometimes I explain very politely that I'm in a [terrible] mood and that it's not good to have conversations in such a mood - and they leave me alone. As for the “whites,” the young ones are a lot more tiresome. It's harder to deter them. They don't get it and are asking more questions, by the way.

Oh, and the music [playing in the cars of] our [local] guys is almost always worse.

The day before yesterday, a black […] guy was giving me a ride, and he was listening to Armstrong, and didn't ask much money, and knew Moscow well, and was a good driver. […]