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May 12th, 2008


Stories

Moroccan Student in Lebanon Chronicles Life in the Middle of Political Crisis 

a small portrait of this author Lydia Beyoud · 23:41
lingua → es

Manal, a female Moroccan blogger studying at the American University of Beirut, has been drawing lots of attention to her blog Carpe Diem with her on going account of the rising crisis in Lebanon. Manal fills her readers in with a mix of trepidation, hope and on-the-street commentary, offering what is perhaps a rare glimpse at a foreign -though Arab- “on the ground” perspective of what's happening in Beirut. The following are extracts from several of her most recent posts:
(more…)

1 comment · »»

Kuwait: Elections Getting Closer 

a small portrait of this author Abdullatif AlOmar · 17:53

Kuwait is gearing up for another round of Parliamentary elections on Saturday (May 17), allowing women to cast votes and nominate themselves for the second time in the country's history.

Fifty seats are being contested in the elections, for the National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma). Kuwait's 1962 constitution calls for elections to the unicameral National Assembly every four years. Elections are held earlier if the Emir (Ruler) exercises his constitutional power to dissolve parliament. On May 21, 2006, the Emir dissolved the National Assembly through constitutional means and Kuwait held national elections on June 29, 2006. The voters selected the 50 members of the country's National Assembly and for the first time ever, women in this Arab country were able to vote. On March 19, the Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah dissolved parliament again after constant clashes between the government and the elected MPs, and called for new elections on May 17.

Amer over at Hilaliya is blogging his ‘election tour,' where he is going from one campaign headquarters to the other. In his latest post, he visits one of the candidates and writes:

A few nights ago I attended the campaign inauguration of a friend and former colleague of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2nd District candidate Abdullah Al-Yahya, whom I've always known to be a candid and fervent defender of the Kuwaiti democratic institution.

Amer also encourages fellow bloggers to write about the elections and says:

Now many Arabic-language blogs and some English-language blogs are already excelling at the election coverage with its smorgasbord of polemic side dishes, but many of you out there still have not taken a dip into the election lake. I urge the Kuwaiti Blogosphere - at least the ones who haven't touched on the upcoming elections to at least post one story about the upcoming elections, it could be a candidate profile, a television spot, an a campaign rally still, a humorous spoof…you decide.

Do your thing. The results might surprise you.

Meanwhile, Ducati [Ar] writes about how everything in his life now rotates around the elections, saying:

هاليومين صاير الجو انتخابي بحت
يعني احس قمنا نشرب انتخابات
ناكل انتخابات
نتنفس انتخابات
نقرا انتخابات
انام بالإنتخابات
اصحى على الإنتخابات
اقعد مع ابوي نسولف بالإنتخابات
اقعد مع امي مع يدتي نسولف بالإنتخابات
مع الدكتور مع رفيجي مع الي ينظف الشارع أيضا بالإنتخابات
حتى الإعلانات التجارية صارت ذات صبغه انتخابية

Those couple of days have been about the elections only. I feel that we are drinking elections, eating elections, breathing elections, reading about the elections, sleeping elections, waking up on the elections. I sit with my father for a chat and we talk about the elections. I sit with my mother and grandmother and we talk about the elections. I talk about the elections with my doctor too, with my friends and with the man who cleans the street. Even commercial advertisements are tainted with elections.

Last but not least, we stop with Aseel [Ar] over at the 5-Q8 blog, who sends a strong message to the women of Kuwait, urging them to use their votes wisely. She notes:

تنوعت المذاهب الفكرية، وتلونت الضمائر والعقول، وتعددت المصالح وتباين الوعي السياسي والوطني، ليضيع الوطن الكويت بين حانا ومانا!!.. لن نناشد بالمدينة الفاضلة، فأفلاطون لم يكن يوما هنا، ولكن نناشد بقليل من العقلانية والتفكير بصالح هذه الأرض المتعبة والمنهكة بأحمال شعب وحكومة
There are diverse intellectual doctrines and different consciences and minds, as well as various levels of political and national awareness, which make Kuwait lost. We are not calling for a Utopia as Plato has never been here, but we are appealing for a little rationality and concern for the well-being of this land, which is tired and worn out from the burden of the actions of its people and Government.
هؤلاء من يصنعن من السلبية ثوبا يلبسنه في هذه الفترة العصيبة لا يعلمن بأن مواقفهن تبني وتهد الكثير، قد تغير مستقبل أبنائهن وطباخ ديرتهن، وقد تُلبس الكويت أسوأ أو أفضل صيحات الموضة على جميع أصعدتها، وهؤلاء من يحلمن بغايات شخصية، بزيادة راتب أو إسقاط قرض وغيره من أحلام شبيهة، ألا يعلمن بأن مصلحة الوطن أهم وأكبر؟ وأن من يعمل لصالح الوطن بالأحرى هو يعمل لصالح المواطن وإن كان على المدى البعيد؟ فليلبسن عيني زرقاء اليمامة قليلا ليوقنّ بأن هذه المصالح الشخصية والوقتية هي ذرى وطن مكلوم، وأن هناك ما هو أجدى لدولة ووطن وشعب
Those who weave from negativity a garment to wear at this difficult time, do not know that their stances make and break a lot. It might even change the course of the future of their children. Kuwaitis may wear the worst or the best of the latest fashions, across all levels, and those who dream of personal gains, like a salary increment, the dropping of loans or similar dreams, should realise that the interest of their nation is bigger and more important. Those who work for the benefit of the nation in reality work for the benefit of citizens, even if this benefit may only be evident on the long run. Let them look longer in the distance to learn that such personal interests are the grains for a distressed country, and that there are things which are better for the state, the nation and its people.
وهؤلاء الأخوات ممن يناشدن للانتخاب كالقطيع وراء عائلة أو قبيلة، يسقط الوطن من عقولهن وقلوبهن لتسكن جاهلية الفكر مكانهما، ومن ثم يترحمن على غياب الكويت من ركب التقدم والحضارة!.. يسقط من ذاكرتهن بأن تقدم الدول لا يكون بالعودة لعصر الجاهلية الأولى والتمسك بأسمال العائلة والقبيلة، يتناسين بأن الكويت أثمن وأفخر من أي تبعية، ومصلحتها هي مصلحتهن لا شيء آخر سواء على المدى العاجل أو الآجل، فهل نسين أيام سود جثم فيها الغزو البائد على أرض هذا الوطن الصغير بمساحته الكبير بهمومه؟ نسين بأن أشمل ما يجمعنا هو وطن لا عائلة وقبيلة؟ حزين هو مشهد هذا القطيع من النساء وهن منقادات تابعات معصوبات الأعين والضمائر وراء جاهلية العقل والقلب
There are women who are flocking to the elections like a herd, rallying for candidates based on their family and tribal allegiances. They ignore the nation in their minds and hearts and replace them with the thoughts of Al Jahiliya (the Age of Ignorance, before the emergence of Islam) and they then complain about the absence of Kuwait from development and civilization! They seem to forget that the development of nations doesn't happen by going back to the early Al Jahiliya Age and holding tight to family and tribal allegiances. They seem to forget that Kuwait is more precious than any allegiance and that its interest is above all else. Have they forgotten the dark days of the occupation, on the small land of this country, which is cumbered with worry? Have they forgotten that what ties us to each other is this nation and not families and tribes? It is sad seeing these blindfolded women, with ignorant minds and hearts, being herded.
وأما من يتحيزن لمذهب أي كان، لن نناشد بالانسلاخ من جلد المذهبية، لن ندعو إلى أحلام ذهبية ليس هذا آوانها، ولكن قليلا من التفكير بهذه الأرض التي حملت بكن وأنجبتكن بنات لها، آزرن الأصلح للكويت ولمستقبل أبنائكن
For those biased for their own (religious) sects, I will not appeal to you to let do of your sectarianism, for this golden dream is premature. I only ask you to give a little thought to this land, which carried you and gave birth to you as its daughters: support those who are best for Kuwait and the future of your children.
وهؤلاء الحالمات بالدينار الحرام، أملا في تحسين هزيل لوضع مادي أو لرفاهية مؤقتة، لن نناشد بوطن ومستقبل دولة، بل بدين وعزة نفس وكرامة اجتماعية يسقطون كالشهب من سماء ذواتكن، فتُمعنّ في السقوط أكثر، وفي عصْر الكويت ليمونة ليشرب الجميع مذاقها الحامض
And those longing for money obtained by unlawful methods, looking for a means to improve their lot or short-lived luxury, I will not appeal to you in the name of the nation and the future of this country, but in the name of religion, your dignity and social morality. You can continue to fall some more, in an age where Kuwait has become a lemon, and everyone can taste its sourness.
انسوا الشعارات الرنانة واتركوا عنكم مثيري المشاعر ومدغدغي الوطنية والاصلاح والشفافية وانظروا لمن يعمل.. انتخبوا الأصلح فمجلس 2006 انتم الذين واللاتي صنعتمتوه وأنتم من اكلتم نتاج حصاده.. كلنا امل بان لا يعيد التاريخ نفسه بأيديكم
Forget resonant slogans and those who tickle your feelings with words about nationalism, reform and transparency. Look at those who work .. and elect the best. The 2006 Parliament was what you created and you were the ones who reaped the harvest. We hope that you will not contribute to history repeating itself again.
0 comments · »»

Sri Lanka: Government Wins Eastern Polls 

a small portrait of this author Nishadha Silva · 17:13

The much hyped Eastern Provincial council elections were held last Saturday ( 10, May ) with the government winning 20 of the of the allocated 37 seats.United National Party won 15 seats and JVP and TDNA won 1 seat each.While the government hailed this as a major victory in the fight against terrorism the two major opposing parties and many independent observers complained about rigging and many incident of tampering. Blogger were divided in their opinions with some supporting it some criticizing the violations and some questioning the validity of Provincial councils.

Lanka Rising in his post The result of the election: the victory for democracy and defeat for separatist terrorism gives a very detailed analysis about the elections and the events leading up to it. There are few nice comments as well with some heated discussion :)

The long march of democracy in Eastern province started with the liberation of Mavillaru sluice gate from LTTE and restoring the supply of water for the innocent farmers in the area. It was a time when LTTE artillery were even targeting Tricomalee town and strategic Navy camp as a result of shameful CFA signed by UNP leader Ranil Wickramasingha and Prabakaran. The monks of JHU timely influenced the government to take speedy action at a time when new UPFA government seemed to be trapped with the CFA signed by previous UNP leadership. The success of Mavillaru operation not only prevented another attempt of LTTE to chase away Sinhala and Muslim farming community from Eastern province, but also mark the beginning or new democratic era in Eastern province.

Court Jester questions the validity and the use of provincial councils and also questions whether the government has truly liberated the Eastern Province in his post Provincial Council Elections and related issues.

I have long taken a dim view of these Provincial Councils: all they do is add another layer of unnecessary bureaucracy to an already inefficient administrative system. If anyone knows what value the provincial councils add to the public let me know.

The report goes on to state that “The LTTE had resorted to various terror acts to intimidate and keep voters away from polling booths”.
So the LTTE appears to be active again in the East. We are left to wonder if they re-infiltrated the cleared areas or whether they were actually cleared out as thoroughly as previously claimed.

Dennam Batey in his post Eastern Polls - Yet another ‘crucial' (to whom it is crucial is questionable) election is over !!! criticize the usual post election statements where the winners take it all and the losers cry foul and points out that no party has yet to appoint an independent body to hold elections.

We can remember the days of UNP and CBK where hundreds and thousands of votes were rigged and laws were grossly ignored. Why cry only when you are in the opposition?

Deane's Dimension has a very different view of things in his post Terrorists and Government win in the rigged Eastern Polls where he states that terrorism is fine as long as the terrorists support the government.

See, it's often mistakenly thought there's a war against terror in Sri Lanka. Nonsense. Most Sri Lankans, the ruling party and particularly the president is fine with terrorrism as long as the terrorists are on ‘their' side.

1 comment · »»

Global Voices partners with NewsTrust 

a small portrait of this author Amira Al Hussaini · 15:42
lingua → zhs · zht · de · bn

News Trust Button Global Voices's Middle East and North Africa (MENA) team is partnering with NewsTrust, a leading site for reviewing quality journalism on the web, on a ‘news hunt' starting today, May 12.

During the event, which continues until May 16, we invite the public to review our Middle East and North Africa coverage on NewsTrust special Middle East Page, as well as articles and content from the Council for Foreign Relations, a leading US think tank on global affairs, and Link TV, which broadcasts programmes that engage, educate and inspire viewers to become involved in world affairs.

This week's featured topic at NewsTrust is the Middle East, with a focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and our goal is to highlight quality journalism about this complex issue which impacts not just the Middle East, but the entire world. The timing of this partnership is particularly important as this week marks the 60th anniversary of Israel's founding, or what many Arabs refer to as ‘Al-Nakba, or ‘the catastrophe' - which speaks of the depth of this entrenched conflict. Iraq and Lebanon are also facing new escalations in their security situations as the region continues to make headlines around the world.

The partnership is aimed at giving our readers and the rest of the online community a chance to judge our articles, which amplify the voices of bloggers and citizen journalists from the region, based on a point system devised by NewsTrust. Reviewers will be able to evaluate each article using core journalistic principles such as fairness, evidence, sourcing and context. For us at Global Voices this provides a great opportunity to showcase the work we do in showcasing the voices of bloggers in the Middle East on a larger scale.

To help us achieve this goal, we would like to invite you to register at the NewsTrust site and give us your opinion on our articles, as well as other articles which will be highlighted during this Middle East and North Africa week. To be able to quickly submit new stories on this topic, be sure to get the NewsTrust bookmarklet. Once registered, you can be a reviewer at NewsTrust for as long as you wish.

We look forward to your constructive criticism.

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China: Quake damage rising; witness in affected cities 

a small portrait of this author Bob Chen · 13:39
lingua → es · bn · zht · zhs
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Death tolls: 22069 (official statistic,23pm,05.16). The number is estimated to rise up to 50000 in following days. The update in this post will be stopped. So hard to see the relentlessly rising number!

Further coverage on this quake might be put forward soon….Prayers.

Updated: The previously isolated towns in epicenter finally saw the first 1300 soldiers. But as the landslide cut off most the roads and high way, communication remains hard.

Situation of another 50 thousand people is yet unknown. In Peng-zhou, over 100 thousand people were estimated to be blocked up inside mountains. Troops are getting through the hindrance.

Updated: 9219 （8.00 am, 05.13） deaths were reported in 8 provinces. But still, nothing is known from the 3 towns at the epicenter.
Bei-chuan county was much buried by the falling rocks. Part of it was devastated, kindergartens and schools suffering the most.
The landslide is still hiting the region.

A picture of Bei-chuan before the earthquake
beichuan

bei-chuan now
Bei-chuan now, almost devastated

In a secondary school in Dujiangyan, where 900 students were reported to be buried, the collapsed teaching buildings have killed over 60 students.
secondary students
Their bodies were laid on the playground. PRAY!

A list of casualty in every affected regions was being refreshed in portal websites.

Updated: 9219（8.00 am, 05.13） deaths were reported in 8 provinces, while the information in Wenchuan county (汶川县),the epicenter, is still unknown. It has been isolated as the communication and roads were cut off. The place is where Han, Tibetans, Hui people lived together.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck China at 2:28 p.m. local time. The quake was centered at Wen-chuan county, Sichuan province, some 50 miles west-northwest to Chengdu, where 12 million people live. It was not only intense but massive as well, since across the country has felt its impact. Up till now 107 deaths have been reported, along with cases of injured and collapsed buildings.

The road to Wen-chuan has been paralyzed.

The casualty is feared to be still rising.

Updated: In the evening, 3000 to 5000 deaths were estimated in Beichuan county, contiguous to the epicenter.

After about an hour of the tremor, related news was released on scores of websites, including Xinhua Net, the official news agency.

Premier Wenjiabao has reached the disaster area to lead the rescue, saying that the situation is “particularly severe”. 5000 soldiers have been sent for rescue.

The range of the quake’s impact is huge. It could by no means be covered up as shortly after the seism occurred, from southern cities as far as Hong Kong and Haikou, to northern metropolises such as Beijing, or populated regions like Chongqing and Shanghai, tremor, shaking, and dizziness caused by wobbling were felt in varied degree.

Swarms of people went online to share their experiences during the quakes that lasted for over 10 seconds. A roundup is coming.

A netizen from Beijing reported:

木樨地有震感！我还以为是自己头晕呢，原来是发地震了！

I could feel the timber floor vibrating! I first thought I was just giddy. Then I realized it was an earthquake.

Another netizen in Tianjing commented

我单位在16层，震感很明显，持续了约2分钟。

I worked on the 16th floor, and the tremor was evident. It continued for about 2 minutes.

Beijing and Tianjing were 960 miles to the northeast of the epicenter, a fact from which people came to realize how severe the seism was. The picture below showed exactly the evacuated people outside the building of Xinhua Net, the official news agency in Beijing.

Beijing

In tianya, a special thread was opened to collect the information from all over the country about the astounding minutes.

Briel told what he felt in Luoyang, Henan, middle China.

我在十楼上。。。突然发现自己在晃。灯在乱抖，然后外面有玻璃哗啦掉的声音。。
晃的好厉害啊！
现在好了。

I was on the 10th floor, and suddenly felt myself in shaking. The lamp was swaying and the crack of falling glass from outside was heard. So crazily shaking!
It’s better now.

There was no exception even in Ningbo, a coastal city on the east-south. NeverFly said:

　　摇的非常厉害啊
我在18楼，前后摇晃的感觉非常明显，感觉在坐船一样
而且人有明显的恶心头晕感

我出门问别人什么事
单位同事叫我跑下去
我们走到消防楼梯一看，全是人
走到楼下一看，写字楼的人基本都跑出来了
到现在还觉得有点头晕恶心呢

So terribly shaking!
I was on the 18th floor, and could feel strongly the house swaying to and fro, just like on a boat. I was so dizzy at the time. When running out to ask about what happened, my colleagues told me to go downstairs. People gathered on the staircases. And I saw all people in the office building were out there.

I am still feeling uncomfortable.

Feeling dizzy is what quite a lot of people initially felt when the quake coming. Most of them were amazed at the situation, having no idea what was happened. But soon the instinct forced them to act.

In a voting “do you feel the quake?” on Tianya.com, Chongqing, a city of over 30 million people, topped the list that most people felt the tremor there. The city was contiguous to Sichuna province.

In 163.com, someone from Chongqing told her hard time:

当时正睡午觉,货架上的货物哗哗掉,只见房子剧烈晃动,老公拉上我就跑,车都没敢去开~~~~
从来没想过,合川还会地震

I was taking a nap then, and heard the packages and sundries clamoring down, and the house shaking intensely. My husband dragged me away on foot immediately, without even trying to get in the car.
I have never thought the city would meet an earthquake.

chongqing
In a Chongqing community, people in panic
yybz020123 told about Xi'an, a city in mid-China:

西安震感强烈，有十几秒，大地在抖，窗子，门，在响，现在院子里都是人，手机没型号

The city was rocking for over 10 seconds, the land trembling, so were the windows, doors rattling. Now people are gathering in the yard. But the cellphones are not able to work.

According to the updated news, 2300 telecommunication towers were disrupted by the quake, which added to the hardship of rescue.

rescuing students
Students getting rescued.

Shanghai was affected as well.

上海有震感，我们大楼晃了几分钟，头晕得厉害

The quake was felt here too. Our building wobbled for a few minutes, which made me dizzy.

Deep-adventure was in Guangzhou

　广州感觉到了 我还以为我患了帕金逊
当时蹲在椅子上 全身不自觉左摇右摆 好可怕
7.8级 祈求不要有人员伤亡
今年有点烦

Guangzhou got it, too. I thought I had parkinsonism.
I was then crouching on my seat, involuntarily shaking left and right. So terrible!
7.8! Pray no one get hurt. Such a year!

20 comments · »»

China: 7.8 scale earthquake felt across most of China 

a small portrait of this author John Kennedy · 08:57
lingua → mk · sq · bn · mg · es
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Around two hours ago, an earthquake registering 7.8 on the Richter scale struck in southwestern China's Sichuan province, centered in Wenchuan county, and with tremors felt as far away as Beijing and Hong Kong.

Update, Tuesday 9am: QQ has been aggregating video shot by its users from many of the affected areas; many of these videos can be seen here. The video below comes from user Gary, taken in an unspecified location:

240px-2008_sichuan_province_earthquake.jpg
The earthquake was reportedly felt in Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, parts of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Gansu, Henan, Ningxia and Jiangsu.

See below for updates by region.

From Chinese video-sharing website Tudou, user danta1990's footage taken in the Sichuan capital Chengdu:

Danwei has already compiled a number of updates from various sources, as has Shanghaiist, with information on user-shot video from Sichuan Chinese video portal websites were quick to get up on their front pages.

This clip on 56.com comes from user Little Fish in Wenchuan, Sichuan:

And this from video sharing website Youku.com comes from user xiaoyu82528, showing the effect of the earthquake as felt as far away as Beijing:

Twitter seems to be a top source of breaking details for the moment; Many are writing of difficulties connecting to those at the center of the quake zone over telephone, but the internet seems to still be functioning. Beijing-based tech guru Kaiser Kuo writes that the government Seismological Bureau website is currently inaccessible, presumably from high levels of traffic.

Users inwalkedbud and Lyrrael have been posting updates in English, reporting what they can. River Crab Goes Ashore has been collecting live updates on Chinese microblogging service provider Fanfou.

Inwalkedbud writes from Chengdu, quite near the center of the earthquake: “Doesn't seem to be much damage to buildings, but people are shaken up. Electricity/water/gas seems to be working still.”

Other areas have not been as fortunate; Chinese Twitter user Raine, based in Hubei, writes of possible destruction there:

同事刚电话回家，湖北的荆州、沙市的房子倒了一片，有灾情。

One colleague just phoned home to Jingzhou in Hubei, houses in Shashi have collapsed, it's a disaster there.

Also via Danwei is a note to keep following Summize.com, one Twitter search engine which supports Chinese characters, for steady updates; updates found via Summize and other places will be added here as they are found. Photos can be seen on Flickr via searches for ‘earthquake' in English and Chinese and on Yupoo.com.

Anyone with more information regarding other areas around China that have been affected is invited to gives us a heads-up in the comments.

Microblog updates by region:
Sichuan
Photos of the devastation in Jiangyan, Jiangsu provinceDujiangyu, one of the hardest-hit places known so far. Several portray dead bodies.
jiang1.jpg
Monday 21:52 http://jiwai.de/IQ%E5%B0%8F%E5%AD%90/statuses/8802456

“English”语言的维基百科“List of earthquakes”词条中已经增加了此次四川大地震的内容,此外该语言已经新增了“2008 Sichuan Province earthquake”的词条。中文维基百科尚无相关内容更新。

The English-language ‘list of earthquakes' entry already has information on this Sichuan earthquake, and on top of that there's even a “2008 Sichuan Province earthquake” entry. Chinese Wikipedia still has no related information.

Monday 22:40 http://jiwai.de/doggienest/statuses/8803411

往成都固定电话打通了

Home phones in Chengdu can receive calls now

http://fanfou.com/statuses/g2QgIe8OWzM
Monday 22:25 http://ledao.in/blog.php?blog_id=156

汶川是去九寨沟的必经之路，那里山势陡峭，地表植被因过度开采受损，而岷江流经此地，造成水土流失严重，是个容易发生地质灾害的地方，这次惨了。

Wenchuan is on the way to Jiuzaigou; the terrain there is all craggy mountains. Due to excess ore extraction all surface plants have been damaged and then you have the Min River passing through there, creating great risk of mudslides and making this an easy place for geological disasters to happen. This has been tragic.

四川大学要求同学离开宿舍 通知4点余震开始

Sichuan University has ordered all students out of dorms, saying aftershocks to being at 4pm

https://twitter.com/shizhao/statuses/809213970

据说四川地区CDMA，小灵通可以打通

Sounds like CDMA and local network phones are working in the Sichuan region

https://twitter.com/niubi/statuses/809205236

chengdu airport closed. flights heading there beijing redirectede to chongqing

https://twitter.com/guiyinzhang/statuses/809162622
Monday 5:30 pm: https://twitter.com/Aether/statuses/809193571

成都互联网通讯有能连上的了。

The internet is connected in Chengdu

http://fanfou.com/statuses/l6XlCAxBJCI

绵阳花盆啥的都碎了，饮水机震倒说塌了好多房子，人都到河堤上去了

Flowerpots and everything are broken in Mianyang, water coolers shaking, many houses have collapsed, everybody has gone to the banks of the river.

http://fanfou.com/statuses/aOdJ1I6y1YU

四川阿坝州理县县城1人死亡8人重伤 汶川县发生7.8级地震后，截止12日17时10分，阿坝州政府应急办了解到的情况是：汶川、理县、茂县交通、通讯全面中断，黑水、小金、金川、马尔康、松潘、九寨沟等县均有房屋倒塌、道路中断、山体滑坡、人员伤亡(其中茂县林业电台报告伤亡人员较多，

One dead and eight seriously hurt in Lixian County, Abazhou, Sichuan. At 5:10pm government issued urgent notice, traffic and communications completely cut off in Wenchuan, Lixian and Maoxian; houses have collapsed and roads cut off and persons injured by mountain run-off in Heishui, Xiaojin, Ma'erkang, Songfan and Jiuzaigou,

Beijing
https://twitter.com/flypig/statuses/809127403

中国南北网络断了吗？怎么啥都上不去了？

Has the China internet backbone been cut? Why can't I get online?

https://twitter.com/imagethief/statuses/809121832
https://twitter.com/kaiserkuo/statuses/809123623
https://twitter.com/kaiserkuo/statuses/809124220
https://twitter.com/Tangos/statuses/809124276
https://twitter.com/niubi/statuses/809132301
https://twitter.com/fuzheado/statuses/809131321
photo https://twitter.com/flypig/statuses/809135452

Shanghai
https://twitter.com/nocas/statuses/809139803
https://twitter.com/casperodj/statuses/809196553
https://twitter.com/leoshcn/statuses/809195725

Shaanxi
https://twitter.com/yesky12/statuses/809191510
https://twitter.com/QienKuen/statuses/809199223

只能和西安那边发短信，电话打不进去。。

I can only text with people in Xi'an, can't get through by phone…

Henan
Monday 21:39 http://jiwai.de/jiangyh/statuses/8802154

15时48分，河南省地震局通过手机短信、电视、广播等形式，向群众发布震情提示：“地震台网测定今天14：28四川汶川发生7.8级地震，震感波及我省，不会影响正常生活，请不要恐慌，本局正关…

At 3:48 pm the Henan Seismological Bureau sent out a warning to the public through mobile phone text message, television and radio: “The Seismological Station Web has determined that at 2:28 today a 7.8 scale earthquake took place in Wenchuan, Sichuan; the earthquake shocks have affected our province, but will not affect day-to-day life, please do not panic, the Bureau is looking into this…”

http://fanfou.com/statuses/O8h2ttRuQJ8

郑州国家电网公司的大楼都疏散到空地了

The State Power Grid Tower in Zhengzhou has been evacuated

Jiangxi
http://fanfou.com/statuses/7bjUhAwYzH8

Anhui
https://twitter.com/seekDench/statuses/809183753

Guangdong
Monday 21:19 http://fanfou.com/statuses/LhifhcSKPXw

76年的唐山地震马上就被翻出。现在全国最忙碌最紧张最加班加点的部门不是地震局，不是救灾队，是中宣部

Soon this will have been bigger than the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. Right now the busiest most nervous department putting in the most extra shifts isn't the Seismological Bureau, not the Disaster Relief Squads, it's the Central Propaganda Department

Zhejiang
https://twitter.com/Fenng/statuses/809127914

杭州网络正常。公司大部分同事都跑到外面去了。

The internet is functioning normally in Hangzhou. Most people in the office here have gone outside.

http://fanfou.com/statuses/k0jIs0Mkmz8

浙江嘉兴、上海间发生5.7级地震 暂无人员伤亡

5.7 earthquake between Jiaxing in Zhejiang province and Shanghai. Nobody injured at present.

http://fanfou.com/statuses/nOwacdhRpdA
宁波世贸中心大楼倾斜3度！！！！！！！！！！！！
The World Trade Center in Ningbo has tilted 3 degrees!!!!!!!!

Chongqing
https://twitter.com/Tangos/statuses/809188431
https://twitter.com/shizhao/statuses/809211439

重庆2小学倒塌，4学生死亡

Two primary schools in Chongqing have collapsed, four students dead

Changsha
http://twitter.com/dadi007/statuses/809209238

Guangxi
http://fanfou.com/statuses/8lgMEGMOzUE

Hubei
Wuchang: http://twitter.com/lenvow/statuses/809197185

湖北多地有地震震感 武昌出现手机信号盲区

Many places in Hubei felt the earthquake; Wuchang is experiencing cellphone blind zones.
59 comments · »»

Uzbekistan: Unwanted Changes 

This author has no photo Tolkun · 07:22
lingua → es

After the disintegration of the USSR, the Soviet communist identity and ideology ceased to exist and the new countries confronted the vital problems of defining new identities and ideologies. Most of the ex-Soviet countries were quick to give up the past and embrace the new life with new national values and ideas. Uzbekistan was one of the few countries where a process of defining a new identity and setting up new national values went in a very rapid manner.

The changing cultural and political atmosphere was first reflected throughout Uzbekistan through renaming of squares, streets and parks from Soviet-type names into symbols of either independence or national identity. All Soviet monuments were dismantled, being replaced with the heroes of Uzbek history. For the last two weeks, the Uzbek blogosphere discussed changes that were happenning in the post-Soviet period in Uzbekistan. (more…)

1 comment · »»

PangeaDay: an event lived worldwide This is a Video post

a small portrait of this author Juliana Rincón Parra · 04:14
lingua → mk · sq · de
sample image for this post

Pangea Day took place Saturday, and people from different parts of the world got together to watch movies and be a part of the worldwide event where movies, speakers and music showed us a bit of life on the other side of the globe, uniting people from all walks of life to believe that we aren't as different as we would believe. It also included a mobile video contest, with an international lineup of winners.

From Kigali in Rwanda, one of the 5 main screening locations, a slide-show of photographs from the event uploaded on OVI, the video and image platform used to promote PangeaDay content:

From Haifa in Israel, another slide-show of the gathering to watch the event near the Caesarea Port:

During the Event,the friends of Pangea website had live streaming feeds from different places in the world including US, Colombia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand. Other sites, like the Colombian Medellín PangeaDay [es] event had their own website where liveblogging, streaming video and photographs were posted during the event.

Nokia, a PangeaDay partner had the 2008 Nokia Mobile Filmmaking Awards Contest taking place along with the events, and the 5 finalists were flown into one of the 5 different screening locations. You can view the winning videos at this pangeaday OVI site.The finalists were: Rounds all around us by kayoom in India, smile by goofylopez in Indonesia, amazing rainbows! Shot and Edited with my Nokia 93 by ruperthowe in the United Kingdom, The Game -South African Children having fun in a Video Games Room by ecachucho and Clouds Running by pierba in Italy.

The Grand Prize winner on the Pangea/Nokia OVI website is ecachucho with his video on South African children playing arcade games, who won a trip to the Rwandan Gorilla Reserve, with a full crew to help the winner record his trip.

A side draw organized between Nokia and Womworld, which results were announced by David Howell Studios, the creator of the winning video would receive a Nokia N82, a carrying case, tripod, memory card, headphones and speakers. This chosen video was Amazing Rainbows, and in his announcement he mentioned that the winner was chosen because they portrayed best the spirit of the mobile video: recording those once in a lifetime moments that could be gone and never repeat themselves.

3 comments · »»

Saudi Arabia: Why Are There No Cinemas? 

a small portrait of this author Amira Al Hussaini · 04:01
lingua → bn · mg · ar · es · it

“Why are there no cinemas in Saudi Arabia?” asks Saudi blogger Hayfa [Ar], who offers us her ideas of a workable plan to make cineplexes and movie screenings compliant with her country's traditional and religious outlook.

She explains:

ما الذي يمنع وجود دور السينما في السعودية؟ للأسف عادةً يُطرح هذا السؤال في بداية النقاش لتأتي الإجابة لاحقاً متضمنة الأسباب، لكن دون إجابة مقنعة، حيث تضيع الفكرة الرئيسية ونكتفي فقط بمناقشة فكرة دور السينما بشكل عام قبل أن تصبح في السعودية. ما يخطئ به الكثيرين هو الاعتقاد الخاطئ حول فائدة السينما، فالكثيرون يعتبرونها “مجرّد” وسيلة ترفيهية، بينما هي أكثر من ذلك بكثير.. فالسينما وسيلة ثقافية قبل أن تصبح وسيلة إمتاع مثلها في ذلك مثل الكتب. ومايقدّم فيها لا يقلّ أهميّةً عن أي فنّ آخر. وليست الأفلام بالأمر الجديد علينا، فأسواق الفيديو لدينا خير شاهد على اطّلاعنا على هذا الفن، وإن كان هناك نوعٌ من الإحباط في الأفلام التي تزخر بها أسواقنا ذات الطابع الحركي والكوميدي الرخيص نظراً للاحتكار وسيطرة التجارة في هذه المسألة. الخشية تكون دائماً من المحتوى لا من دور العرض، هكذا يجب أن يكون المنطق.. فالأفكار والمشاهد تنقل بالمادّة، والسينما ليست إلا وعاء لهذه المادّة كالتلفاز تماماً وهذا الأخير ليس ممنوعاً في بلدنا. إذن لمَ التخوّف؟ ماذا لو كانت السينما بضوابط إسلامية؟ وأصبحت مواضيع الأفلام مراقبة؟.
في كل الدول تصنّف الأفلام تصنيفاً عمرياً، وهذه الطريقة تنظّم عرض الأفلام بشكل أكبر، وفي استطاعة الجهات الرقابية لدينا التحكّم بالتصنيفات العمرية بالطريقة التي تراها مناسبة. وليتم اقتطاع اللقطات غير مستحبّة كما هو حاصل الآن في شرائط الفيديو دون أن يخل هذا الاقتطاع بمسار الفيلم. ولتكن أوقات عرض الأفلام متناسبة مع أوقات الصلاة..
ولماذا لا نجد طريقة يتم فيها فصل سينما النساء والأطفال عن سينما الرجال؟ نحن لا نريد السينما لعرض ثقافة الآخر بقدر ما نريدها لإنتاج ثقافتنا الخاصة، فالسينما رسالة نستطيع توجيهها كيفما أردنا، وباستخدامنا لها سنضمن وصول صوتنا للعالم دون تشويه، كما هي آراؤهم حولنا.

What prevents the presence of cinema screening halls in Saudi Arabia? Unfortunately, this is the question poised at the beginning of every discussion for an answer which contains the reasons to follow - but the reasons are never convincing. The main idea is lost and we are content with discussing the idea of cinema halls in general before they become a reality in Saudi Arabia. What many people are misguided about is the wrong belief of the benefit of cinemas. A lot of people think that it is ‘merely' a means of entertainment. In reality, it is more than that by a lot.. Cinema is, like books, a means of culture more than entertainment. What it presents is not lesser in importance than any other art. Films are not something new for us. The video market we have is a testimony that we are well versed in this art, even when this is a depressing reality as the videos in our market focus on action and cheap comedy because of the monopoly and commercial nature of this market. The worry is always from the content and not from the screening halls - this is how we should think logically. Thoughts come to the viewer because of the content (of those movies) and the cinema is a vehicle for this thought just as television is - and the latter is not banned in our country. What is the fear for then?
What if we presented a cinema with Islamic regulations, with the material censored? All countries categorise films based on age groups and this method regulates how films are screened in a better way. Censors can decide on the age groups suitable for each movie in the way they see suitable. They can cut the undesirable parts just as they do with video tapes and in a way which doesn't effect the proceedings of the film. And let the cinema showing timings not coincide with prayer timings.. Why can't we find a way to separate the women's and children's cinemas from the men's cinema? We don't want a cinema to showcase the culture of others, as much as we need it produce our own culture. Cinemas carry a message which we can project the way we want and by utilising it effectively, we can make the world listen to our voices without the stereotypes which mar our images in their eyes.

4 comments · »»