http://odeo.com/channels/3609-Global-Voices-Online-%C2%BB-Podcasts RebeccaMacKinnon no The world is talking. Are you listening? The world is talking. Are you listening? The world is talking. Are you listening? en 40 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:38:47 -0700 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:38:47 -0700 http://odeo.com/episodes/25382902-Featured-Editor-Veronica-Khokhlova Veronica Khokhlova has been Global Voices' Central and Eastern Europe Editor since January 2006 when she first published an “Introduction to the Ukrainian Blogosphere“. She splits her time between Kyiv, Moscow, and Istanbul. In this video she looks back on her time studying in the United States, describes how she got started blogging during Ukraine's so-called Orange Revolution, and looks back on some of her favorite Global Voices posts over the years. You can help us translate the subtitles of the video into other languages on dotSUB. Veronica Khokhlova has been Global Voices' Central and Eastern Europe Editor since January 2006 when she first published an “Introduction to the Ukrainian Blogosphere“. She splits her time between Kyiv, Moscow, and Istanbul. In this video she looks back on her time studying in the United States, describes how she got started blogging during Ukraine's so-called Orange Revolution, and looks back on some of her favorite Global Voices posts over the years. You can help us translate the subtitles of the video into other languages on dotSUB. Veronica Khokhlova has been Global Voices' Central and Eastern Europe Editor since January 2006 when she first published an “Introduction to the Ukrainian Blogosphere“. She splits her time between Kyiv, Moscow, and Istanbul. In this video she looks back on her time studying in the United States, describes how she got started blogging during Ukraine's so-called Orange Revolution, and looks back on some of her favorite Global Voices posts over the years. You can help us translate the subtitles of the video into other languages on dotSUB. tag:odeo.com,2009-10-27,25382902 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:38:47 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts video, english, Ukraine, weblog, Blogger Profiles, Eastern & Central Europe http://odeo.com/episodes/25378974-Syria-Hyperlink-Podcast-Caters-to-the-Arabic-Tech-Crave Hyperlink Podcast [ar] is being received with enthusiasm among Syrian bloggers as one of the best technology podcasts available in Arabic. Hyperlink is created weekly by two Syrian blogging brothers: Mohammad and Beshr Kayyali, who garnered the respect of many due to the meticulous attention to detail in executing the recording and the wide variety of technology topics covered and interviews with influential IT professionals. Global Voices' own Alloush expressed his admiration[ar] of the quality of the work saying: ????? ?? ????? ??? ?????????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?????!! ???????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?? ?? ?? ????????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ???!. Honestly I didn't expect such professionalism from an Arabic audio blog, let alone Syrian! It's so well done that initially you think you're listening to BBC Arabic - and all of that is with the effort of two people only. 3bdulsalam also wrote a positive review[ar] of Hyperlink, but he had... Hyperlink Podcast [ar] is being received with enthusiasm among Syrian bloggers as one of the best technology podcasts available in Arabic. Hyperlink is created weekly by two Syrian blogging brothers: Mohammad and Beshr Kayyali, who garnered the respect of many due to the meticulous attention to detail in executing the recording and the wide variety of technology topics covered and interviews with influential IT professionals. Global Voices' own Alloush expressed his admiration[ar] of the quality of the work saying: ????? ?? ????? ??? ?????????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?????!! ???????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?? ?? ?? ????????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ???!. Honestly I didn't expect such professionalism from an Arabic audio blog, let alone Syrian! It's so well done that initially you think you're listening to BBC Arabic - and all of that is with the effort of two people only. 3bdulsalam also wrote a positive review[ar] of Hyperlink, but he had a suggestion to improve it: ????? ??? ????? ????????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???????? ???????? ???????? ?? ??? ????????? ??? ??????? ???????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ????. The dialogue should be more organized between Beshr and Mohammad in a way that minimizes interruptions and incomplete thoughts and preserves the spontaneous interaction between the two. Beshr Kayali, one of the creators of Hyperlink, explained some of the aspects of preparing the podcast: We face many difficulties, most importantly is the internet connection. Uploading a 50MB file is a major crisis. As for our interviews, we have been lucky to have great treatment from the people we interviewed, like Wael Ghonim from Google for example. Juanne Kubba the Public Affairs manager in Google MENA helped us so much. And speaking about the project's development Kayali added: We have a lot of ideas to convert Hyperlink into a Netcasting or Podcasting Network that does not solely revolve around technology, but also caters to other areas of interest like movies and music. We're waiting for some kind of a sponsorship deal we can give the whole project the time it deserves. If you're an Arabic speaker, you can download Hyperlink podcasts from iTunes or stream it directly from the blog, or click play on the embedded player to listen to the latest episode now. Hyperlink Podcast [ar] is being received with enthusiasm among Syrian bloggers as one of the best technology podcasts available in Arabic. Hyperlink is created weekly by two Syrian blogging brothers: Mohammad and Beshr Kayyali, who garnered the respect of many due to the meticulous attention to detail in executing the recording and the wide variety of technology topics covered and interviews with influential IT professionals. Global Voices' own Alloush expressed his admiration[ar] of the quality of the work saying: ????? ?? ????? ??? ?????????? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ?? ???? ?????!! ???????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ?? ?? ?? ????????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ???!. Honestly I didn't expect such professionalism from an Arabic audio blog, let alone Syrian! It's so well done that initially you think you're listening to BBC Arabic - and all of that is with the effort of two people only. 3bdulsalam also wrote a positive review[ar] of Hyperlink, but he had a suggestion to improve it: ????? ??? ????? ????????? ??? ??? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???????? ???????? ???????? ?? ??? ????????? ??? ??????? ???????? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ????. The dialogue should be more organized between Beshr and Mohammad in a way that minimizes interruptions and incomplete thoughts and preserves the spontaneous interaction between the two. Beshr Kayali, one of the creators of Hyperlink, explained some of the aspects of preparing the podcast: We face many difficulties, most importantly is the internet connection. Uploading a 50MB file is a major crisis. As for our interviews, we have been lucky to have great treatment from the people we interviewed, like Wael Ghonim from Google for example. Juanne Kubba the Public Affairs manager in Google MENA helped us so much. And speaking about the project's development Kayali added: We have a lot of ideas to convert Hyperlink into a Netcasting or Podcasting Network that does not solely revolve around technology, but also caters to other areas of interest like movies and music. We're waiting for some kind of a sponsorship deal we can give the whole project the time it deserves. If you're an Arabic speaker, you can download Hyperlink podcasts from iTunes or stream it directly from the blog, or click play on the embedded player to listen to the latest episode now. tag:odeo.com,2009-10-26,25378974 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:09:30 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts podcasts, Technology, syria, weblog, Arabic, Internet & Telecoms, Middle East & North Africa, Software & Tools http://odeo.com/episodes/25365281-GV-Blogger-Interview-Sylwia-Presley Sylwia Presley is our Lingua Editor for Global Voices Polska and an occasional author for Global Voices Online, but that doesn't reflect what she really means in our community, where her contribution on the internal mailing lists is received as inspiring and proactive. A prolific blogger and Twitter and Facebook user, I still don't know how she manages to get time to do all these activities.. and these are not the only things she does! So let's get to know her a little bit better in the next lines. - Hi Sylwia, tell us a bit about you and your life, please. I was born in Poland and at the age of 18 moved to Hungary to study, and later to work in Budapest. I studied Hungarian, German and American linguistics. During studies and first years of employment at Nokia and TCS Hungary I supported a Montessori high school helping talented youth from local Romani minorities to reach higher education - basically teaching English during evening class. I worked with local Polish scou... Sylwia Presley is our Lingua Editor for Global Voices Polska and an occasional author for Global Voices Online, but that doesn't reflect what she really means in our community, where her contribution on the internal mailing lists is received as inspiring and proactive. A prolific blogger and Twitter and Facebook user, I still don't know how she manages to get time to do all these activities.. and these are not the only things she does! So let's get to know her a little bit better in the next lines. - Hi Sylwia, tell us a bit about you and your life, please. I was born in Poland and at the age of 18 moved to Hungary to study, and later to work in Budapest. I studied Hungarian, German and American linguistics. During studies and first years of employment at Nokia and TCS Hungary I supported a Montessori high school helping talented youth from local Romani minorities to reach higher education - basically teaching English during evening class. I worked with local Polish scouting group and stayed involved in organising subcultural cultural events. I also started my adventure with photography then. In 2006, when my son was born, I relocated to the UK and joined a word of mouth agency, 1000heads, where I am until now using my personal passion for blogging in daily work. - How did u get involved with GV? I read about GV Summit 2008 in Budapest on a brilliant Polish blog written in Hungary and really regretted that I missed it (I already lived in the UK at the time). I noticed that GV Lingua had no Polish translation so I suggested helping out. I also posted few articles about Poland, but my main focus so far was ensuring the Polish Lingua goes live and grows gradually. Once this is accomplished I hope to spend more time on articles about Poland. I also want to get involved in Global Voices Advocacy one day fairly soon. - What are the challenges you have faced at GV in Polish? The first challenge was to create a dedicated team and I think that after few months we are there now. I think it's an on-going process though - the more content we have, the more exposure we get and thus more volunteers. There are eight girls working on GV Polska now - we all support each other not only in translating GV content but also outside of this voluntary work. It takes a certain amount of content for audience to understand what GV Polska is about, so I am glad we are working on this now. GV Polska went live recently and we have started working on other supporting mechanisms (mapping out the countries we post about on a Google map, so we do not focus on few regions too much, but try to show events in all parts of the world; engaging in conversations outside of Twitter and gradually establishing more personal relationships with Polish bloggers and social media fans). I think in another six months, we will see the results of our current work outside of the main platform. - How do you insert GV Polska on the local blogosphere, have you had problems with it? I think establishing an on-line presence is a lengthy process, and we are beginning to gain readership on the site, but also discussion in other platforms - Twitter, Facebook, Blip (Polish Twitter) and Flaker (also a Polish site). Our presence on Twitter has given us an amazing push in terms of readership, but also interactiveness - we talk about our articles there. Now we need to bring those discussions on to the Lingua blog :) Flaker is a good site for incorporating GV Polska's presence in Polish social media, so we work on that too. I also think it's a very complex process and consists of different elements (I would love to see what other Lingua teams think!). I think one, probably the most important factor is the demand for information. I think we need to target the right people and gradually we are doing so. Our challenge at the moment though is the fact that we only have one of our team members is based in Poland, so it's difficult to spread the word about the site in local communities if our private networks are based elsewhere. You also need to remember that we are reporting on discussions, we do not generate them, which restricts us in taking active part in discussions in local blogosphere. I think we need to gradually build up our content and think outside the box on how we can establish on-going strong relationships with Polish bloggers. What proves effective at the moment are the Twitter and Flaker engagements and our personal relationships with local bloggers. I think it's a good starting point. - Sylwia, as a lingua editor what do you perceive will be our challenge in the near future? With GV Polska, we will now gradually work on other tools around the main blog to reach out to different audiences and to relate our articles to different topics in Poland. Now that we have reached our first 100 posts, we have something to show and we can develop a stronger presence in Polish social media. Our next challenge will be to encourage our readers not only to read, but also to comment on our posts and with this to have a large community of GV Polska readers who spread the word about GV's message, although with current trends of moving away from commenting on blogs to discussing blog content in other places online, we might instead invest our time there. I really hope that we will be able to do something offline for our Polish readers soon, to bring our message closer to every day reality of Polish citizens - simply to show them who we are, why we do it all for free and what is the aim. Quite frankly, I want to use my other projects, like Bar Mleczny and Barcamp Transparency (next year planned for Poland too) to help to spread the word about GV Polska. I also think that posting in English about Poland will help promoting work of GV Polska better, so that will be my next, personal task. Now, in general terms, I am not sure if it's a challenge or just something to think about, and it depends on resources too, so might not be a short term plan but I think there is one bit of communication missing from the current model, which is addressing local issues and conversations in local languages. Somehow I feel it's a missing bit in closing the entire circle of information sharing. I also think it would help Lingua sites in addressing the local audience and promote Global Voices‘ message locally - I mean if I talk about discussions related to other countries in Polish to Polish audience it's great, but I think it would be also very exciting to be able to address Polish issues there. Now, I am not sure how the model would work - that would be another project, ‘Lingua Local' if you like. We could have a separate team in place to post updates on local conversations, or engage translators (who are also authors in many cases) in this additional activity. I am confident that if the rest of the community is up for it, one day we will be able to consider this option too. - As a translator, how has GV improved your skills? First of all I do not work in translation at the moment so it's great to keep doing it for GV Lingua. My jobs were always related to translation but not specifically based on it, so it's good I can keep this learned skill active and practice it in my free time. It's one of those things that is worth keeping alive, and while you are doing it you develop constantly. As a team we always discuss any problems in translations and support each other, which I find really helpful because there is sometimes need for second opinion. We use our Google group to post questions and quite recently we started weekly meet-ups on IRC to discuss GV related issues and gossip a bit;) I also think I translate faster now, because I want to do the posts and all the other activities related to it - tweet it, map it, etc. The great thing about Global Voices content is that it is very rich in different topics and cultures - so we not only learn while working, but become exposed to various types of information which we might not always read about elsewhere. - This is going to get a long answer I think. Sylwia, what other internet activities do you have? Well, I have few on-going presences and more current projects. My first blog, written in Polish is very personal. My English blog is related to my work and interests (social media, ethics, activism, photography). My Hungarian blog is written for friends, but not too often. My son's blog is updated for his UK based family, but also for my friends outside the UK. I am considering bringing them all to one, self-hosted platform now. I use Twitter (@presleysylwia) and FriendFeed for business networking and communicating with the local community, learning and sharing insights. Flickr is my photo sharing place where I meet interesting artists. Qik and YouTube are places where I share video updates - rather diary of what I do. I use Facebook, Nasza-Klara (Polish social network) and LinkedIn for networking - depending on whom I want to reach. And no, I do not spend all day on all those sites:) I use them each in its own rhythm, whenever required ;) As for projects there is Bar Mleczny - blog aiming to bring UK-based Polish bloggers together and cross the bridge between British and Polish cultures. It's still a small, one-year-old baby, but with dreams to grow big and one day open an actual dairy bar in Oxford combined with arts, music and support for the local Polish community. I have co-organised Barcamp Transparency this summer, where we talked about transparency issues in open government, social media and cyber-activism. We want to take this barcamp to Italy, Poland and Spain next year, as well as repeat the one in Oxford. I think barcamp is the best format for creative meeting of people from different business areas on a specific topic. It's free, flexible, but also very specific and practical. I also got involved in Oxford Twestival in February and have repeated it now, in September. This event brings together all the important aspects of my life really (maybe apart from motherhood;)) - charity work, art and social media in real life. Sometimes people think or actually practice on-line presence completely separating it from every day life, but for me all the online places I am in simply document and enhance my reality. Thus, I am happy I can do a party for similarly minded people who all come over to a pub in Oxford to listen to good music and poetry and all this to raise money to support Oxfam's work in Mali. I am also happy that Oxford can be a part of this global initiative. We have managed to raise £1,570, which is a great sum for such a small community (60 attendees!). And we had fun! I am sure there will be another Twestival in Oxford in spring and I hope I can get involved in it too. I have also helped out in social media strategy on few other voluntary projects, like World University Project for instance, and I hope to do so in the bear future. I am very passionate about social media and the positive effect it can have in supporting work of individuals, as well as organisations. I am trying to feed as much information as possible to the GV community, but I also do not want to be monotonous:) so I am trying to feed the information which can be crucial for us. I am a strong supporter of Twitter in our work too, and I think it's great we are gradually moving to other types of social media and reaching out to different audiences. Global Voices as a site and as a community has a great potential and I am very happy I can be a part of it! - Not all of us manage to succeed at promoting our sites on Facebook and Twitter. What suggestions can you give us? I think one point is not to push it if you do not feel you enjoy doing it. So the first step is to check your options - mainly the local community of Twitter, Facebook or other online places. If you think you have good audience there and you can bring value to their community (you have people on Twitter who talk about citizen journalism, current events, social media, etc) it's worth trying to build a GV Lingua profile there. You do not have to update it on a daily basis - everyone has their own rhythm, but it's worth doing it in a genuine, natural, personal way. With the site content, which is strongly related to online communities we all bring value. And I am sure once you start talking to others and networking you will see that the presence is not only fun but also works in both directions - you will get fed with interesting facts, local social media events, projects. Just do it;) - You mentioned photography as a personal interest, what is your approach to it? Photography and poetry (recently also video) are my passions. I believe in harmony in life, and without art my life would be unbalanced - photography is a way of showing the world how I see it, how I feel about things, what stage of my life I am in. It is my private mirror, but also my statement, if that makes sense. I like experimenting with different ways of communication - it might be the linguist blood in me (my mother is a linguist;)), but generally the photos I take reflect the way I see the world: in details, working out the general trends form little bits and pieces - a mosaic of a kind. I take photos when I feel like, but I do have a target of one exhibition per year to ensure I do not neglect this bit of my life. So far I managed to over deliver on that front, so I can relax and invest more time in social media projects. - What about other interests? Let's say books, movies, the usual thing? I like fusion jazz and anything related or created in post-modern style, maybe this is why I like the interactiveness of the web so much. And I have my ‘the best'-lists:) Books: Umberto Eco ‘Name of the Rose' (1), Anne Rice ‘Interview with the Vampire' (2), basically everything from Erich Fromm and Jean Baudrillard (3). Films: ‘Total Eclipse' (1), ‘Before the Rain' (2), ‘28 Days After' (3). Painters: Van Gogh (1) William Wharton (2), Georgia O'Keffee (3). I better stop now, it starts to look like a Facebook meme:D. Thanks Sylwia. Sylwia Presley is our Lingua Editor for Global Voices Polska and an occasional author for Global Voices Online, but that doesn't reflect what she really means in our community, where her contribution on the internal mailing lists is received as inspiring and proactive. A prolific blogger and Twitter and Facebook user, I still don't know how she manages to get time to do all these activities.. and these are not the only things she does! So let's get to know her a little bit better in the next lines. - Hi Sylwia, tell us a bit about you and your life, please. I was born in Poland and at the age of 18 moved to Hungary to study, and later to work in Budapest. I studied Hungarian, German and American linguistics. During studies and first years of employment at Nokia and TCS Hungary I supported a Montessori high school helping talented youth from local Romani minorities to reach higher education - basically teaching English during evening class. I worked with local Polish scouting group and stayed involved in organising subcultural cultural events. I also started my adventure with photography then. In 2006, when my son was born, I relocated to the UK and joined a word of mouth agency, 1000heads, where I am until now using my personal passion for blogging in daily work. - How did u get involved with GV? I read about GV Summit 2008 in Budapest on a brilliant Polish blog written in Hungary and really regretted that I missed it (I already lived in the UK at the time). I noticed that GV Lingua had no Polish translation so I suggested helping out. I also posted few articles about Poland, but my main focus so far was ensuring the Polish Lingua goes live and grows gradually. Once this is accomplished I hope to spend more time on articles about Poland. I also want to get involved in Global Voices Advocacy one day fairly soon. - What are the challenges you have faced at GV in Polish? The first challenge was to create a dedicated team and I think that after few months we are there now. I think it's an on-going process though - the more content we have, the more exposure we get and thus more volunteers. There are eight girls working on GV Polska now - we all support each other not only in translating GV content but also outside of this voluntary work. It takes a certain amount of content for audience to understand what GV Polska is about, so I am glad we are working on this now. GV Polska went live recently and we have started working on other supporting mechanisms (mapping out the countries we post about on a Google map, so we do not focus on few regions too much, but try to show events in all parts of the world; engaging in conversations outside of Twitter and gradually establishing more personal relationships with Polish bloggers and social media fans). I think in another six months, we will see the results of our current work outside of the main platform. - How do you insert GV Polska on the local blogosphere, have you had problems with it? I think establishing an on-line presence is a lengthy process, and we are beginning to gain readership on the site, but also discussion in other platforms - Twitter, Facebook, Blip (Polish Twitter) and Flaker (also a Polish site). Our presence on Twitter has given us an amazing push in terms of readership, but also interactiveness - we talk about our articles there. Now we need to bring those discussions on to the Lingua blog :) Flaker is a good site for incorporating GV Polska's presence in Polish social media, so we work on that too. I also think it's a very complex process and consists of different elements (I would love to see what other Lingua teams think!). I think one, probably the most important factor is the demand for information. I think we need to target the right people and gradually we are doing so. Our challenge at the moment though is the fact that we only have one of our team members is based in Poland, so it's difficult to spread the word about the site in local communities if our private networks are based elsewhere. You also need to remember that we are reporting on discussions, we do not generate them, which restricts us in taking active part in discussions in local blogosphere. I think we need to gradually build up our content and think outside the box on how we can establish on-going strong relationships with Polish bloggers. What proves effective at the moment are the Twitter and Flaker engagements and our personal relationships with local bloggers. I think it's a good starting point. - Sylwia, as a lingua editor what do you perceive will be our challenge in the near future? With GV Polska, we will now gradually work on other tools around the main blog to reach out to different audiences and to relate our articles to different topics in Poland. Now that we have reached our first 100 posts, we have something to show and we can develop a stronger presence in Polish social media. Our next challenge will be to encourage our readers not only to read, but also to comment on our posts and with this to have a large community of GV Polska readers who spread the word about GV's message, although with current trends of moving away from commenting on blogs to discussing blog content in other places online, we might instead invest our time there. I really hope that we will be able to do something offline for our Polish readers soon, to bring our message closer to every day reality of Polish citizens - simply to show them who we are, why we do it all for free and what is the aim. Quite frankly, I want to use my other projects, like Bar Mleczny and Barcamp Transparency (next year planned for Poland too) to help to spread the word about GV Polska. I also think that posting in English about Poland will help promoting work of GV Polska better, so that will be my next, personal task. Now, in general terms, I am not sure if it's a challenge or just something to think about, and it depends on resources too, so might not be a short term plan but I think there is one bit of communication missing from the current model, which is addressing local issues and conversations in local languages. Somehow I feel it's a missing bit in closing the entire circle of information sharing. I also think it would help Lingua sites in addressing the local audience and promote Global Voices‘ message locally - I mean if I talk about discussions related to other countries in Polish to Polish audience it's great, but I think it would be also very exciting to be able to address Polish issues there. Now, I am not sure how the model would work - that would be another project, ‘Lingua Local' if you like. We could have a separate team in place to post updates on local conversations, or engage translators (who are also authors in many cases) in this additional activity. I am confident that if the rest of the community is up for it, one day we will be able to consider this option too. - As a translator, how has GV improved your skills? First of all I do not work in translation at the moment so it's great to keep doing it for GV Lingua. My jobs were always related to translation but not specifically based on it, so it's good I can keep this learned skill active and practice it in my free time. It's one of those things that is worth keeping alive, and while you are doing it you develop constantly. As a team we always discuss any problems in translations and support each other, which I find really helpful because there is sometimes need for second opinion. We use our Google group to post questions and quite recently we started weekly meet-ups on IRC to discuss GV related issues and gossip a bit;) I also think I translate faster now, because I want to do the posts and all the other activities related to it - tweet it, map it, etc. The great thing about Global Voices content is that it is very rich in different topics and cultures - so we not only learn while working, but become exposed to various types of information which we might not always read about elsewhere. - This is going to get a long answer I think. Sylwia, what other internet activities do you have? Well, I have few on-going presences and more current projects. My first blog, written in Polish is very personal. My English blog is related to my work and interests (social media, ethics, activism, photography). My Hungarian blog is written for friends, but not too often. My son's blog is updated for his UK based family, but also for my friends outside the UK. I am considering bringing them all to one, self-hosted platform now. I use Twitter (@presleysylwia) and FriendFeed for business networking and communicating with the local community, learning and sharing insights. Flickr is my photo sharing place where I meet interesting artists. Qik and YouTube are places where I share video updates - rather diary of what I do. I use Facebook, Nasza-Klara (Polish social network) and LinkedIn for networking - depending on whom I want to reach. And no, I do not spend all day on all those sites:) I use them each in its own rhythm, whenever required ;) As for projects there is Bar Mleczny - blog aiming to bring UK-based Polish bloggers together and cross the bridge between British and Polish cultures. It's still a small, one-year-old baby, but with dreams to grow big and one day open an actual dairy bar in Oxford combined with arts, music and support for the local Polish community. I have co-organised Barcamp Transparency this summer, where we talked about transparency issues in open government, social media and cyber-activism. We want to take this barcamp to Italy, Poland and Spain next year, as well as repeat the one in Oxford. I think barcamp is the best format for creative meeting of people from different business areas on a specific topic. It's free, flexible, but also very specific and practical. I also got involved in Oxford Twestival in February and have repeated it now, in September. This event brings together all the important aspects of my life really (maybe apart from motherhood;)) - charity work, art and social media in real life. Sometimes people think or actually practice on-line presence completely separating it from every day life, but for me all the online places I am in simply document and enhance my reality. Thus, I am happy I can do a party for similarly minded people who all come over to a pub in Oxford to listen to good music and poetry and all this to raise money to support Oxfam's work in Mali. I am also happy that Oxford can be a part of this global initiative. We have managed to raise £1,570, which is a great sum for such a small community (60 attendees!). And we had fun! I am sure there will be another Twestival in Oxford in spring and I hope I can get involved in it too. I have also helped out in social media strategy on few other voluntary projects, like World University Project for instance, and I hope to do so in the bear future. I am very passionate about social media and the positive effect it can have in supporting work of individuals, as well as organisations. I am trying to feed as much information as possible to the GV community, but I also do not want to be monotonous:) so I am trying to feed the information which can be crucial for us. I am a strong supporter of Twitter in our work too, and I think it's great we are gradually moving to other types of social media and reaching out to different audiences. Global Voices as a site and as a community has a great potential and I am very happy I can be a part of it! - Not all of us manage to succeed at promoting our sites on Facebook and Twitter. What suggestions can you give us? I think one point is not to push it if you do not feel you enjoy doing it. So the first step is to check your options - mainly the local community of Twitter, Facebook or other online places. If you think you have good audience there and you can bring value to their community (you have people on Twitter who talk about citizen journalism, current events, social media, etc) it's worth trying to build a GV Lingua profile there. You do not have to update it on a daily basis - everyone has their own rhythm, but it's worth doing it in a genuine, natural, personal way. With the site content, which is strongly related to online communities we all bring value. And I am sure once you start talking to others and networking you will see that the presence is not only fun but also works in both directions - you will get fed with interesting facts, local social media events, projects. Just do it;) - You mentioned photography as a personal interest, what is your approach to it? Photography and poetry (recently also video) are my passions. I believe in harmony in life, and without art my life would be unbalanced - photography is a way of showing the world how I see it, how I feel about things, what stage of my life I am in. It is my private mirror, but also my statement, if that makes sense. I like experimenting with different ways of communication - it might be the linguist blood in me (my mother is a linguist;)), but generally the photos I take reflect the way I see the world: in details, working out the general trends form little bits and pieces - a mosaic of a kind. I take photos when I feel like, but I do have a target of one exhibition per year to ensure I do not neglect this bit of my life. So far I managed to over deliver on that front, so I can relax and invest more time in social media projects. - What about other interests? Let's say books, movies, the usual thing? I like fusion jazz and anything related or created in post-modern style, maybe this is why I like the interactiveness of the web so much. And I have my ‘the best'-lists:) Books: Umberto Eco ‘Name of the Rose' (1), Anne Rice ‘Interview with the Vampire' (2), basically everything from Erich Fromm and Jean Baudrillard (3). Films: ‘Total Eclipse' (1), ‘Before the Rain' (2), ‘28 Days After' (3). Painters: Van Gogh (1) William Wharton (2), Georgia O'Keffee (3). I better stop now, it starts to look like a Facebook meme:D. Thanks Sylwia. tag:odeo.com,2009-10-24,25365281 Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:33:02 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts podcasts, Poland, english, United Kingdom, weblog, GV Contributor Profiles, Western Europe, Eastern & Central Europe http://odeo.com/episodes/25238520-Costa-Rica-Ex-President-sentenced-to-5-years-of-prison-for-corruption-charges More than 14000  Costa Ricans who were away from TV sets today at 3pm were able to view online the judgment of ex President Rafael Ángel Calderón when at least 3 different websites decided to present the ruling via online streaming services, a record for the Costa Rican online community. Not only was streaming used, media also uploaded images through twitpic to be used  on twitter.  All these are recent developments as media starts to adapt to social networking tools for journalism. Through microblogging tool Twitter, using the tag #sentencia, #cajafischel or #Calderon, viewers followed and commented the ruling, where the ex President was convicted  and will have to serve  to a 5 year prison sentence for corruption charges. Presidential candidate Ottón Solis has already uploaded a video commentary on YouTube regarding the sentence. Journalist Amelia Rueda also tweeted the happenings inside the tribunals. She posted a short audio clip where the accused ex president spoke about his ho... More than 14000  Costa Ricans who were away from TV sets today at 3pm were able to view online the judgment of ex President Rafael Ángel Calderón when at least 3 different websites decided to present the ruling via online streaming services, a record for the Costa Rican online community. Not only was streaming used, media also uploaded images through twitpic to be used  on twitter.  All these are recent developments as media starts to adapt to social networking tools for journalism. Through microblogging tool Twitter, using the tag #sentencia, #cajafischel or #Calderon, viewers followed and commented the ruling, where the ex President was convicted  and will have to serve  to a 5 year prison sentence for corruption charges. Presidential candidate Ottón Solis has already uploaded a video commentary on YouTube regarding the sentence. Journalist Amelia Rueda also tweeted the happenings inside the tribunals. She posted a short audio clip where the accused ex president spoke about his hopes regarding the veredict, which you can hear by clicking on the player at the bottom of the post. Journalist Cristian Cambronero posted an entry on his blog where he refers to the ex president's now crushed intentions of running once again for president, confident he would be declared innocent.  Lucía comments in that post: El jalón de orejas no es solo para para Calderón y compañía (pobrecito nada¡¡¡¡ si no quiere ir a la cárcel no sea corrupto, así de simple), es para la clase política en general, que aquí como en otros países creen que uno está para serviles y no ellos para servir … Más valioso que el dinero que tienen devolver (no se cuanto es) es el haber recuperado cierta confianza en el sistema político, y como dice un conocido anuncio de tarjetas de crédito, eso no tiene precio… This slap on the hand is not only for Calderon and company (poor guy nothing!! If he doesn't want to go to jail, then don't be corrupt, it's that simple), is for the political class in general, who believe here as in other countries that everyone should serve them and not that they have to serve… More valuable than the money that they now have to return (I don't know how much it is) is that we have recovered a certain confidence in the political system, and as a known credit card company advertisement says, it is priceless… You can also view the sentence videos on UStream, uploaded by the newspaper AlDía, which shows how traditional media in Costa Rica is evolving to take advantage of online media and social networks: the first part includes the moments prior to the sentence, which starts at about the 45 minute mark.The second video continues with the judges reading of all the charges and reasoning behind the sentences for all those who had been accused, of which ex president Calderon was the main figure. And twitter user Mauricio sums up the experience of watching the veredict through online tools like this: la sentencia de #calderon ha hecho que twitter + la tv se muevan juntos, como en los mejores tiempos de #qqsm the sentencing of #calderon has made twitter and TV to move in synch, like during the best times of #Whowantstobeamillionaire And well, it wasn't even minutes before someone, in this case marenoztro, took the viral joke featuring Kanye West and did their own mashup with the president. The “Chema” referred to in the image is ex president Jose Maria Figueres Olsen who when accused of receiving 900,000 USD and not declaring the income or paying taxes. When it was discovere, the taxes were hurriedly paid up and he presented documents legalizing the income as consulting fees. image mashup by @marenoztro More than 14000  Costa Ricans who were away from TV sets today at 3pm were able to view online the judgment of ex President Rafael Ángel Calderón when at least 3 different websites decided to present the ruling via online streaming services, a record for the Costa Rican online community. Not only was streaming used, media also uploaded images through twitpic to be used  on twitter.  All these are recent developments as media starts to adapt to social networking tools for journalism. Through microblogging tool Twitter, using the tag #sentencia, #cajafischel or #Calderon, viewers followed and commented the ruling, where the ex President was convicted  and will have to serve  to a 5 year prison sentence for corruption charges. Presidential candidate Ottón Solis has already uploaded a video commentary on YouTube regarding the sentence. Journalist Amelia Rueda also tweeted the happenings inside the tribunals. She posted a short audio clip where the accused ex president spoke about his hopes regarding the veredict, which you can hear by clicking on the player at the bottom of the post. Journalist Cristian Cambronero posted an entry on his blog where he refers to the ex president's now crushed intentions of running once again for president, confident he would be declared innocent.  Lucía comments in that post: El jalón de orejas no es solo para para Calderón y compañía (pobrecito nada¡¡¡¡ si no quiere ir a la cárcel no sea corrupto, así de simple), es para la clase política en general, que aquí como en otros países creen que uno está para serviles y no ellos para servir … Más valioso que el dinero que tienen devolver (no se cuanto es) es el haber recuperado cierta confianza en el sistema político, y como dice un conocido anuncio de tarjetas de crédito, eso no tiene precio… This slap on the hand is not only for Calderon and company (poor guy nothing!! If he doesn't want to go to jail, then don't be corrupt, it's that simple), is for the political class in general, who believe here as in other countries that everyone should serve them and not that they have to serve… More valuable than the money that they now have to return (I don't know how much it is) is that we have recovered a certain confidence in the political system, and as a known credit card company advertisement says, it is priceless… You can also view the sentence videos on UStream, uploaded by the newspaper AlDía, which shows how traditional media in Costa Rica is evolving to take advantage of online media and social networks: the first part includes the moments prior to the sentence, which starts at about the 45 minute mark.The second video continues with the judges reading of all the charges and reasoning behind the sentences for all those who had been accused, of which ex president Calderon was the main figure. And twitter user Mauricio sums up the experience of watching the veredict through online tools like this: la sentencia de #calderon ha hecho que twitter + la tv se muevan juntos, como en los mejores tiempos de #qqsm the sentencing of #calderon has made twitter and TV to move in synch, like during the best times of #Whowantstobeamillionaire And well, it wasn't even minutes before someone, in this case marenoztro, took the viral joke featuring Kanye West and did their own mashup with the president. The “Chema” referred to in the image is ex president Jose Maria Figueres Olsen who when accused of receiving 900,000 USD and not declaring the income or paying taxes. When it was discovere, the taxes were hurriedly paid up and he presented documents legalizing the income as consulting fees. image mashup by @marenoztro tag:odeo.com,2009-10-05,25238520 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:37:52 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts General, Politics, law, spanish, breaking news, weblog, governance, americas, costa rica http://odeo.com/episodes/24933334-Armenia-Azerbaijan-An-interview-with-Elizabeth-M%C3%A9traux DOTCOM, a program implemented by PH International and sponsored by the US Department of State, is an online initiative using blogs and video to bring American, Armenian and Azerbaijani teenagers together to work on creating socially conscious media. With the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh understandably creating some problems, especially when ten teenagers from each of the two countries met up with their American counterparts in the U.S. last month, Program Director Elizabeth Métraux speaks candidly about some of the challenges experienced so far as well as some of the program's successes. DOTCOM has a web site at http://dotcom.ph-int.org and a portal to many of the DOTCOM participant blogs at http://www.netvibes.com/phdotcom#DOTCOM-Home_Page while the interview with Elizabeth Métraux, who also blogs on the project at http://dotcomelizabeth.blogspot.com, can be heard below. DOTCOM, a program implemented by PH International and sponsored by the US Department of State, is an online initiative using blogs and video to bring American, Armenian and Azerbaijani teenagers together to work on creating socially conscious media. With the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh understandably creating some problems, especially when ten teenagers from each of the two countries met up with their American counterparts in the U.S. last month, Program Director Elizabeth Métraux speaks candidly about some of the challenges experienced so far as well as some of the program's successes. DOTCOM has a web site at http://dotcom.ph-int.org and a portal to many of the DOTCOM participant blogs at http://www.netvibes.com/phdotcom#DOTCOM-Home_Page while the interview with Elizabeth Métraux, who also blogs on the project at http://dotcomelizabeth.blogspot.com, can be heard below. DOTCOM, a program implemented by PH International and sponsored by the US Department of State, is an online initiative using blogs and video to bring American, Armenian and Azerbaijani teenagers together to work on creating socially conscious media. With the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh understandably creating some problems, especially when ten teenagers from each of the two countries met up with their American counterparts in the U.S. last month, Program Director Elizabeth Métraux speaks candidly about some of the challenges experienced so far as well as some of the program's successes. DOTCOM has a web site at http://dotcom.ph-int.org and a portal to many of the DOTCOM participant blogs at http://www.netvibes.com/phdotcom#DOTCOM-Home_Page while the interview with Elizabeth Métraux, who also blogs on the project at http://dotcomelizabeth.blogspot.com, can be heard below. tag:odeo.com,2009-08-09,24933334 Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:01:35 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts podcasts, General, video, development, children, english, youth, armenia, freedom of speech, weblog, americas, u.s.a., international relations, ethnicity, Azerbaijan, Blogger Profiles, Cyber-Activism, Internet & Telecoms, War & Conflict, Central Asia & Caucasus http://odeo.com/episodes/24903184-Caucasus-An-interview-with-Bart-Woord Photograph courtesy Bart Woord After spending several months working with youth activists and civil society in the South Caucasus, International Federation of Liberal Youth (ILFRY) Director General Bart Woord took time out from a hectic schedule to speak to Global Voices Online about the role new media can play in the region. With youth activists in both Armenia and Azerbaijan facing increasing intimidation from the authorities, Woord specifically comments on the case of Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli, two video bloggers recently detained in Baku on what many consider to be politically motivated charges. The prospects of the two activists avoiding a lengthy jail sentence, he says, look slim. Bart is 25 years old and lives in Brussels, while rounding up his MA programme in International Relations and International Organizations at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. He has been involved in political work for several years, mostly as International Officer and Vice President o... Photograph courtesy Bart Woord After spending several months working with youth activists and civil society in the South Caucasus, International Federation of Liberal Youth (ILFRY) Director General Bart Woord took time out from a hectic schedule to speak to Global Voices Online about the role new media can play in the region. With youth activists in both Armenia and Azerbaijan facing increasing intimidation from the authorities, Woord specifically comments on the case of Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli, two video bloggers recently detained in Baku on what many consider to be politically motivated charges. The prospects of the two activists avoiding a lengthy jail sentence, he says, look slim. Bart is 25 years old and lives in Brussels, while rounding up his MA programme in International Relations and International Organizations at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. He has been involved in political work for several years, mostly as International Officer and Vice President of the Jonge Democraten, one of the two Dutch liberal youth organizations. Before, he took up numerous positions and responsibilities in different political and non-political organizations. As deputy president of the organization, Bart is involved in every facet of the day-to-day work of IFLRY. He is also in charge of the Membership and Communications departments, and is the IFLRY representative for Western Europe as well as Russia, Belarus and Ukraine which he coordinates together with IFLRY VP Jelena Spasovic. The interview makes specific reference not only to the more recent detention of activists in Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also to the 10 May dispersal of youth protesting a flower festival held a little over a week after the 30 April massacre of students in a Baku university. Himself a blogger, Woord was responsible for reporting on the situation of dozens of activists detained via Twitter and refers to the role new media can play in bringing youth activists in the region together. Background information can also be found in similar interviews held with Arzu Geybullayeva and Micael Bogar. The full interview with Bart Woord can be heard below. Photograph courtesy Bart Woord After spending several months working with youth activists and civil society in the South Caucasus, International Federation of Liberal Youth (ILFRY) Director General Bart Woord took time out from a hectic schedule to speak to Global Voices Online about the role new media can play in the region. With youth activists in both Armenia and Azerbaijan facing increasing intimidation from the authorities, Woord specifically comments on the case of Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli, two video bloggers recently detained in Baku on what many consider to be politically motivated charges. The prospects of the two activists avoiding a lengthy jail sentence, he says, look slim. Bart is 25 years old and lives in Brussels, while rounding up his MA programme in International Relations and International Organizations at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. He has been involved in political work for several years, mostly as International Officer and Vice President of the Jonge Democraten, one of the two Dutch liberal youth organizations. Before, he took up numerous positions and responsibilities in different political and non-political organizations. As deputy president of the organization, Bart is involved in every facet of the day-to-day work of IFLRY. He is also in charge of the Membership and Communications departments, and is the IFLRY representative for Western Europe as well as Russia, Belarus and Ukraine which he coordinates together with IFLRY VP Jelena Spasovic. The interview makes specific reference not only to the more recent detention of activists in Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also to the 10 May dispersal of youth protesting a flower festival held a little over a week after the 30 April massacre of students in a Baku university. Himself a blogger, Woord was responsible for reporting on the situation of dozens of activists detained via Twitter and refers to the role new media can play in bringing youth activists in the region together. Background information can also be found in similar interviews held with Arzu Geybullayeva and Micael Bogar. The full interview with Bart Woord can be heard below. tag:odeo.com,2009-08-03,24903184 Mon, 03 Aug 2009 07:51:03 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts podcasts, General, Politics, development, english, youth, protest, armenia, human rights, weblog, governance, international relations, ethnicity, Azerbaijan, Blogger Profiles, Cyber-Activism, War & Conflict, Central Asia & Caucasus http://odeo.com/episodes/24895613-Caucasus-An-interview-with-Micael-Bogar With three frozen conflicts and many ethnic fault lines, peace and stability in the South Caucasus often seems unreachable. After living and working in the the region for many years, Micael Bogar is now Projects Manager at the American University's Center for Social Media and speaks to Global Voices Online about the potential for new media tools to circumvent divisions and bring estranged neighbors together. Micael works as the Projects Manager with the Center for Social Media. Just before starting her work at the CSM, Micael returned from a Fulbright Fellowship in the Republic of Georgia where she worked with artists from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey to create an artistic collective in the Caucasus. Her first experience in the Caucasus region began back in 2003 as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Azerbaijan. After earning her degree in English from Willamette University in 2003, Micael has worked to create connections between arts communities on international as well as lo... With three frozen conflicts and many ethnic fault lines, peace and stability in the South Caucasus often seems unreachable. After living and working in the the region for many years, Micael Bogar is now Projects Manager at the American University's Center for Social Media and speaks to Global Voices Online about the potential for new media tools to circumvent divisions and bring estranged neighbors together. Micael works as the Projects Manager with the Center for Social Media. Just before starting her work at the CSM, Micael returned from a Fulbright Fellowship in the Republic of Georgia where she worked with artists from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey to create an artistic collective in the Caucasus. Her first experience in the Caucasus region began back in 2003 as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Azerbaijan. After earning her degree in English from Willamette University in 2003, Micael has worked to create connections between arts communities on international as well as local levels. Micael is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree at American University’s School for International Service in International Peace and Conflict Resolution. The interview also references one held with Arzu Geybullayeva and touches upon the recent case of Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli, two detained video bloggers in Azerbaijan, as well as peace-building and conflict-resolution initiatives in the South Caucasus. The interview can be listened to below. With three frozen conflicts and many ethnic fault lines, peace and stability in the South Caucasus often seems unreachable. After living and working in the the region for many years, Micael Bogar is now Projects Manager at the American University's Center for Social Media and speaks to Global Voices Online about the potential for new media tools to circumvent divisions and bring estranged neighbors together. Micael works as the Projects Manager with the Center for Social Media. Just before starting her work at the CSM, Micael returned from a Fulbright Fellowship in the Republic of Georgia where she worked with artists from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey to create an artistic collective in the Caucasus. Her first experience in the Caucasus region began back in 2003 as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Azerbaijan. After earning her degree in English from Willamette University in 2003, Micael has worked to create connections between arts communities on international as well as local levels. Micael is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree at American University’s School for International Service in International Peace and Conflict Resolution. The interview also references one held with Arzu Geybullayeva and touches upon the recent case of Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli, two detained video bloggers in Azerbaijan, as well as peace-building and conflict-resolution initiatives in the South Caucasus. The interview can be listened to below. tag:odeo.com,2009-08-01,24895613 Sat, 01 Aug 2009 03:26:30 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts podcasts, General, Politics, english, youth, Georgia, armenia, human rights, freedom of speech, weblog, international relations, ethnicity, Azerbaijan, Blogger Profiles, Cyber-Activism, War & Conflict, Central Asia & Caucasus http://odeo.com/episodes/24849016-Armenia-An-interview-with-Liana-Aghajanian    Born in Iran, but raised and now living in the United States, Liana Aghajanian is a writer and a relative newcomer to the Armenian blogosphere. Although blogging on her own personal site, Aghajanian has set an important precedent for alternative voices and an independent media in Armenia and the Diaspora with her Wordpress-based e-zine, Ianyan . Hello and welcome to ianyan magazine, your premiere independent Armenian publication. Ianyan first started as an idea that lay dormant in our minds for a number of years. Like all good things however, the idea finally came to fruition. We here at ianyan aim to bring you what so many Armenian publications have failed to do: objective news, features and storytelling that you can appreciate. This is not your medzbaba’s newspaper. There is no propaganda here. We not only seek the truth and report it, we bring you Armenian news from around the world, for both young and old generations and for your non-Armenian friends as well. The fu...    Born in Iran, but raised and now living in the United States, Liana Aghajanian is a writer and a relative newcomer to the Armenian blogosphere. Although blogging on her own personal site, Aghajanian has set an important precedent for alternative voices and an independent media in Armenia and the Diaspora with her Wordpress-based e-zine, Ianyan . Hello and welcome to ianyan magazine, your premiere independent Armenian publication. Ianyan first started as an idea that lay dormant in our minds for a number of years. Like all good things however, the idea finally came to fruition. We here at ianyan aim to bring you what so many Armenian publications have failed to do: objective news, features and storytelling that you can appreciate. This is not your medzbaba’s newspaper. There is no propaganda here. We not only seek the truth and report it, we bring you Armenian news from around the world, for both young and old generations and for your non-Armenian friends as well. The full interview can be heard below.    Born in Iran, but raised and now living in the United States, Liana Aghajanian is a writer and a relative newcomer to the Armenian blogosphere. Although blogging on her own personal site, Aghajanian has set an important precedent for alternative voices and an independent media in Armenia and the Diaspora with her Wordpress-based e-zine, Ianyan . Hello and welcome to ianyan magazine, your premiere independent Armenian publication. Ianyan first started as an idea that lay dormant in our minds for a number of years. Like all good things however, the idea finally came to fruition. We here at ianyan aim to bring you what so many Armenian publications have failed to do: objective news, features and storytelling that you can appreciate. This is not your medzbaba’s newspaper. There is no propaganda here. We not only seek the truth and report it, we bring you Armenian news from around the world, for both young and old generations and for your non-Armenian friends as well. The full interview can be heard below. tag:odeo.com,2009-07-23,24849016 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:06:57 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts podcasts, english, youth, armenia, weblog, diaspora, ethnicity, Blogger Profiles, Arts & culture, Central Asia & Caucasus http://odeo.com/episodes/24847873-Azerbaijan-An-interview-with-Arzu-Geybullayeva    Despite the accent formed from education in the United States and the United Kingdom, Arzu Geybullayeva, now a regional analyst, has become one of Azerbaijan's most well-known bloggers on the country with her Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines blog. Based between Istanbul and Baku, Arzu Geybullayeva took time out to speak candidly with Global Voices Online on blogging in Azerbaijan and the region, including the recent detention fo two video bloggers in the country. Arzu Geybullayeva's blog is here. The full interview, which touches upon blogging in Azerbaijan as well as its potential, can be heard below.    Despite the accent formed from education in the United States and the United Kingdom, Arzu Geybullayeva, now a regional analyst, has become one of Azerbaijan's most well-known bloggers on the country with her Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines blog. Based between Istanbul and Baku, Arzu Geybullayeva took time out to speak candidly with Global Voices Online on blogging in Azerbaijan and the region, including the recent detention fo two video bloggers in the country. Arzu Geybullayeva's blog is here. The full interview, which touches upon blogging in Azerbaijan as well as its potential, can be heard below.    Despite the accent formed from education in the United States and the United Kingdom, Arzu Geybullayeva, now a regional analyst, has become one of Azerbaijan's most well-known bloggers on the country with her Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines blog. Based between Istanbul and Baku, Arzu Geybullayeva took time out to speak candidly with Global Voices Online on blogging in Azerbaijan and the region, including the recent detention fo two video bloggers in the country. Arzu Geybullayeva's blog is here. The full interview, which touches upon blogging in Azerbaijan as well as its potential, can be heard below. tag:odeo.com,2009-07-22,24847873 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:14:56 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts podcasts, General, Politics, english, youth, human rights, weblog, Azerbaijan, Blogger Profiles, Cyber-Activism, Central Asia & Caucasus http://odeo.com/episodes/24782496-Georgia-An-Interview-with-DvOrsky Giga Paitchadze (center on right), Caucasus BarCamp, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia © Onnik Krikorian Giga Paitchadze, better known online as DvOrsky, is no stranger to the Caucasus section of Global Voices Online. In June last year, Paitchadze spoke about the Caucasus BarCamp held in Tbilisi, and a few months later about the role of new media during the August war with Russia. In the second of a series of audio interviews with bloggers in or dealing with the South Caucasus, Paitchadze updates Global Voices Online on the development of new media in Georgia in the aftermath of the conflict as well as the recent opposition protests in April. Unfortunately, the Skype connection was not the best and one part plagued with clicks making it inaudible had to be edited out. However, most of the interview is available to listen to or download below. Paitchadze's blog is at http://www.dgiuri.com [GE]. Giga Paitchadze (center on right), Caucasus BarCamp, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia © Onnik Krikorian Giga Paitchadze, better known online as DvOrsky, is no stranger to the Caucasus section of Global Voices Online. In June last year, Paitchadze spoke about the Caucasus BarCamp held in Tbilisi, and a few months later about the role of new media during the August war with Russia. In the second of a series of audio interviews with bloggers in or dealing with the South Caucasus, Paitchadze updates Global Voices Online on the development of new media in Georgia in the aftermath of the conflict as well as the recent opposition protests in April. Unfortunately, the Skype connection was not the best and one part plagued with clicks making it inaudible had to be edited out. However, most of the interview is available to listen to or download below. Paitchadze's blog is at http://www.dgiuri.com [GE]. Giga Paitchadze (center on right), Caucasus BarCamp, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia © Onnik Krikorian Giga Paitchadze, better known online as DvOrsky, is no stranger to the Caucasus section of Global Voices Online. In June last year, Paitchadze spoke about the Caucasus BarCamp held in Tbilisi, and a few months later about the role of new media during the August war with Russia. In the second of a series of audio interviews with bloggers in or dealing with the South Caucasus, Paitchadze updates Global Voices Online on the development of new media in Georgia in the aftermath of the conflict as well as the recent opposition protests in April. Unfortunately, the Skype connection was not the best and one part plagued with clicks making it inaudible had to be edited out. However, most of the interview is available to listen to or download below. Paitchadze's blog is at http://www.dgiuri.com [GE]. tag:odeo.com,2009-07-11,24782496 Sat, 11 Jul 2009 05:20:03 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts podcasts, Technology, Media, General, Politics, english, protest, Georgia, elections, weblog, governance, Blogger Profiles, Cyber-Activism, War & Conflict, Central Asia & Caucasus http://odeo.com/episodes/24777891-Azerbaijan-An-Interview-with-Scary-Azeri In recent years blogging in the South Caucasus has taken off even though Internet penetration remains low. In many cases, blogs have moved in to fill a gap left by an often politically polarized traditional media. Each with their own diaspora, blogs on the three countries that form the South Caucasus can also be found outside the region. One such blog, Scary Azeri in Suburbs , touches upon the cultural clashes often encountered by locals and foreigners alike when they meet or interact. I am 36 and a mother in suburbia. Yes, i know. There are too many blogs created by mothers. So what? I want to blog too. I am not just any suburban mother who is bored and wants to blog. I am a scary Azeri mother in an English suburb. If you don’t have any idea what that means, read on. I shall enlighten you in my typical Eastern European style and explain what it is like to change your worlds from a strange post-soviet muslim republic to a wealthy commuter village near London. Unashamedly acerbic, bu... In recent years blogging in the South Caucasus has taken off even though Internet penetration remains low. In many cases, blogs have moved in to fill a gap left by an often politically polarized traditional media. Each with their own diaspora, blogs on the three countries that form the South Caucasus can also be found outside the region. One such blog, Scary Azeri in Suburbs , touches upon the cultural clashes often encountered by locals and foreigners alike when they meet or interact. I am 36 and a mother in suburbia. Yes, i know. There are too many blogs created by mothers. So what? I want to blog too. I am not just any suburban mother who is bored and wants to blog. I am a scary Azeri mother in an English suburb. If you don’t have any idea what that means, read on. I shall enlighten you in my typical Eastern European style and explain what it is like to change your worlds from a strange post-soviet muslim republic to a wealthy commuter village near London. Unashamedly acerbic, but alway humorous, the blog has fast become popular with many interested in the region and posts have even been republished by the media in her native Azerbaijan. Today, Global Voices Online interviewed Scary Azeri about blogging, tweeting, cultural clashes, trolls and more. Incidentally, and despite her name, Global Voices Online found Scary Azeri to be anything but. Scary Azeri in Suburbs is at http://scaryazeri.blogspot.com and can be followed on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/scaryazeri. The podcast interview can be listened to online or downloaded below.   In recent years blogging in the South Caucasus has taken off even though Internet penetration remains low. In many cases, blogs have moved in to fill a gap left by an often politically polarized traditional media. Each with their own diaspora, blogs on the three countries that form the South Caucasus can also be found outside the region. One such blog, Scary Azeri in Suburbs , touches upon the cultural clashes often encountered by locals and foreigners alike when they meet or interact. I am 36 and a mother in suburbia. Yes, i know. There are too many blogs created by mothers. So what? I want to blog too. I am not just any suburban mother who is bored and wants to blog. I am a scary Azeri mother in an English suburb. If you don’t have any idea what that means, read on. I shall enlighten you in my typical Eastern European style and explain what it is like to change your worlds from a strange post-soviet muslim republic to a wealthy commuter village near London. Unashamedly acerbic, but alway humorous, the blog has fast become popular with many interested in the region and posts have even been republished by the media in her native Azerbaijan. Today, Global Voices Online interviewed Scary Azeri about blogging, tweeting, cultural clashes, trolls and more. Incidentally, and despite her name, Global Voices Online found Scary Azeri to be anything but. Scary Azeri in Suburbs is at http://scaryazeri.blogspot.com and can be followed on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/scaryazeri. The podcast interview can be listened to online or downloaded below.   tag:odeo.com,2009-07-10,24777891 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:07:43 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts podcasts, General, Humor, english, United Kingdom, gender, weblog, diaspora, ethnicity, Azerbaijan, Blogger Profiles, Western Europe, Central Asia & Caucasus http://odeo.com/episodes/24769307-Blogger-of-the-Week-Gabriela-Garc%C3%ADa-Calder%C3%B3n Gabriela Gabriela García Calderón may be the star translator of Global Voices in spanish. She translates on a daily basis for our publications, and as if that weren't enough, she still has time for writing in her personal blog, Seis de enero (January 6th). On a Lima morning, we met to have a drink and chat about various subjects. Here are the results. Hello Gabriela, let‘s start with one curiosity of mine. As a professional lawyer, what gave you the idea of embracing other hobbies, such as translating ? Little more that a year and a half ago, after almost 14 years of practicing Law as a self-employed lawyer, I felt I had to try some additional activities in my spare time. Among the professional options I had in mind when I graduated from high school were Diplomacy and Translation. I finally chose Law, because since I was 8 my dream was to be a Diplomat, which in the end didn't happen. But languages always attracted me, and those urges of translating texts from one lang... Gabriela Gabriela García Calderón may be the star translator of Global Voices in spanish. She translates on a daily basis for our publications, and as if that weren't enough, she still has time for writing in her personal blog, Seis de enero (January 6th). On a Lima morning, we met to have a drink and chat about various subjects. Here are the results. Hello Gabriela, let‘s start with one curiosity of mine. As a professional lawyer, what gave you the idea of embracing other hobbies, such as translating ? Little more that a year and a half ago, after almost 14 years of practicing Law as a self-employed lawyer, I felt I had to try some additional activities in my spare time. Among the professional options I had in mind when I graduated from high school were Diplomacy and Translation. I finally chose Law, because since I was 8 my dream was to be a Diplomat, which in the end didn't happen. But languages always attracted me, and those urges of translating texts from one language to another in order to make them understandable to other people were never really gone. I have never thought about it before, but I can see that both Translation and Diplomacy are professions that bridge people; both have to do with combining characteristics from different cultures, nations and lifestyles. That idea of [studying] Diplomacy came from a Polish friend I met when I was 8 - she was the daughter of a official from the Polish Embassy in Peru and we became best friends. Her dad's mission ended on the early 80's, and I lost track of her. Years later, her dad came back as Ambassador. I don't know how I had the nerve to call him and ask for his daughter, I mean, this is an Ambassador we are talking about! But he remembered me perfectly. He gave me my friend's address in perfectly spoken Spanish, and that's how I found her after all those years. And how did this urge lead you to Global Voices? At first, what I was interested in was translating more than anything else, as a collateral and different activity to what I have been doing in the previous years, without leaving Law aside. Gradually, I started realizing that it was a way of getting in touch with life elsewhere, with daily life in other contexts where people consider things we don't even think about around us. For instance, holidays in Muslim countries. It was important for me to realize that some dates that are so important for others while here we barely know about them. Those testimonies are much more valuable when they come from ordinary people who might go through lots of experiences in their hometowns that are similar to the complaints we have in Lima on the spreading of road works, for example, all the way to things like direct testimonies about the bombings in Gaza. My link with Global Voices (GV) started by chance: on a Saturday in November 2007, I was reading the newspaper and I see this piece saying “if you want to join this translation project, just send en e-mail to Juan Arellano.” That very day, I got an account on GV and I started learning how to edit texts. From then, I just carried on. What were your previous experiences translating? Was it very different from what you had done before? In the last few years, I had done some occasional translations, always with family friends because I am not a professional translator. That's why it had to be done for people who knew me and who would trust in the ability of someone who isn't a professional translator. I have even completed that translation of a book about Pope John Paul II, from Italian to Spanish. The author, a Polish journalist, former Polish correspondent in the Vatican (currently back in Warsaw), authorized me to translate it. That was shortly after John Paul II passed away. This is very different, because GV texts come from ordinary people, the so-called men in the street, the voices of those who don't have a voice, people next door that tell us how their lives are affected sometimes by everyday issues and by not-that-everyday issues too on a Web site with global reach. I sometimes read notes on the newspapers, about events I have translated, about subjects that make front pages in the countries where they have happened. Second, because I find it fascinating to be able to read the opinion of a Trinidadian girl that tells us about something as simple as significant as the love she has for her grandmother, or the Chinese citizen and his impressions about the 20 anniversary of Tiananmen events. And the best part is that I've been able to establish virtual friendship with people I've met thanks to these translations. One of them is Coffeewallah, from Trinidad and Tobago, precisely the one who told us about the love for her grandma. She even dedicated a post to me. That was so exciting for me, for I didn't expect it and I was speechless as I was reading her text. Another one is Mariyah, who blogs from Syria, and whose blog I got to know via a translation of a post for GVO. Before getting involved with GV, is it true that you were not aware of things such as Web 2.0 or the blogosphere? That's correct, I'd heard very little about Web 2.0. To be honest, even now I really don't understand very well what it is all about. Regarding the blogosphere, I read and commented in some blogs on a regular basis, but that was pretty much it. In fact, I think I didn't even know the term blogosphere. At first, it seemed to me an exclusive closed club, and we as readers had some access and that was it, like voices without votes. After a while, I realized that the blogosphere needs the blogger-reader feedback and reader-blogger feedback as well, and many times it needs the feedback between readers that start dialogues through their comments. That's why I don't understand what's the point of blogs that don't admit comments, bloggers that don't reply comments and those who censor comments they don't like. As is usual, we can find a little bit of everything. Shortly after joining GV in Spanish, you were “encouraged” to have your own blog. How do you feel about it now? I was encouraged [to have a blog] because what we translate here are blogs. At first, I went through some kind of stage fright: I had the blog already open but with no posts. I felt no one, or very few people, would be interested in a very simple anecdote as the guy selling churros at a corner in Lima, or memories I keep of endlessly beloved ones that are not around anymore, or those simple simple stories I talk about sometimes. Juan Arellano, our editor, told us not to write about complicated subjects - not at first at least…that it would be better to start with the subject we knew best, that is, ourselves. And little by little we'd get used to writing. In my case it worked like that, even though I've made the decision not to speak of politics at all, that's what experts are for. Now that I mention the guy selling churros, here is what happened to me as a result of that post. I posted it on March 2008, and in June 2008 I received a comment from a Peruvian girl living in Argentina, telling me she came by chance to my blog. She was looking for the blog of a friend of hers, an Argentinan girl from Córdoba, that had posted about the same guy who sells churros in Miraflores. No one can tell me that the blogosphere is not a handkerchief: it turns out that the father of this Peruvian living in Argentina, with a very good blog about cooks, was from Nauta. My mom is from Yurimaguas, and knew an aunt of this Peruvian girl, who had lived for a while in Yurimaguas. It was surprising to find out that the cousins of this Peruvian blogger had played pranks while growing up with an aunt of mine in Yurimaguas. As one can see, my blog, Seis de enero, has also allowed me to make new friends I would not have dreamed of before. If the person who encouraged me to start a blog would have told me so, I wouldn't believed it. When e-mails took the place of actual mail, I thought that the emotion that comes with receiving news from the other side of the world was forever gone. It's not quite the same, but the emotion is still there. Would you recommend starting a blog to others? Sure I would. In fact, I'd say not to doubt it for a second. It is an unpredictable way of expressing ideas, of being related with other people's opinions and experiencies. It may sometimes be useful to find out facts about ourselves that wouldn't be apparent otherwise. Whether it's a blog in which simple and everyday incidents are told, as mine is, or a recipes blog - which I may say are truly successful - or a blog about politics and current affairs…It doesn't matter the subject, it doesn't matter whether you talk about this or that, as long as it is a subject in which we have solid knowledge, and remember never to be disrespectful to anyone. There may be some people who won't agree with you, but that's only a part of the plurarity we can find in the blogosphere. What's the reason for the name Seis de enero (Janury 6th)? It's simple: it's my birthday. It was the first thing I came up with when I decided that my posts would be about my own experiences. When I was making the register of the name I thought maybe it was already registered. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. And your experience in GV, do you think it is useful in other aspects? It is indeed. As a matter of fact, though, what I learned in one of them was applied on the other one. I remember when I first started with GV, I used to run away from posts that included videos, simply because I wasn't able to insert them, until I had the idea to do so using HTML code, which is what I use when the post I pick up contains too many images, it is easier to do it that way. I think that is my major achievement, and I guess I wouldn't have figured it out had I not had the blog. Besides, I think that making translations from English to Spanish constantly has helped me learn much more. It's not just about the academic language learned from grammar, with its rules and exceptions, but richer speaking forms, more colloquial ones from each place around the world, especially the ones where English is the most spoken language. Why do you think a man in the street should read GV in Spanish? Because of the news from around the world,  everyone may realize that everywhere there are people with the same problems. Or with completely different ones from ours, but that are so present in their lives just as it had been, in a time that I really hope never comes back, blackouts and bomb blasts. To realize that we are not on our own, that unrest can be found everywhere and yet people move on, that dialogue is the most important thing, that we must communicate in order to understand each other, that we may disagree, but that is not a reason to consider other people as unworthy because they think differently. Returning to the first question, what is your specialty as a lawyer? For about the last five years I am fully dedicated to Arbitration, a way to solve conflicts between parties using an alternative to the Judiciary. At the time of carrying out a contract, the parties agree to resort to an arbitration in order to solve their disagreement. They settle the terms for carrying out the arbitration, and the arbitrator can be a sole arbitrator or be part of a court. I've worked both as a sole arbitrator and as member of a court. It is always a very enriching experience, you get to learn from the other members of the court, from the parties, from the legal secretaries who help you all along the process. And what do you think is the situation of Peruvian bloggers facing our legislation? For example, would it be easy for a blogger to be involved in legal problems for posting against the government? I really hope not. I've read and translated a lot about bloggers in other countries being held in prison and mistreated for posting what they think about this or that matter. Just for expressing ideas or thoughts! I guess the problem may exist when, misusing anonymity, a blogger dedicates time and energy to discredit other people without evidence. That's a powerful tool that can be misused in the wrong hands. Of course there is always the possibility of a rectification, but many times the damage is done and hardly repaired. You said that your family has ancestors from our Amazonian region. What do you think about the recent events unfolding there? My mom and all my family from my mom's side is from that part of Peru. My mom was born in Yurimaguas, precisely. From a long time ago I have had the feeling that that whole region only exists when there is an invasion from Ecuador. Just to speak about a concrete point, the highway Tarapoto-Yurimaguas, now that it appears every headline. It is about 130 kilometers long. Just a few years ago, it was just a road, a simple way. It wasn't conceivable, but it took 6 hours to travel across that distance. I am aware that there is a highway now (after having heard my whole life that it was the next work to be done) and now it takes two hours to travel that distance. I don't think it is possible that in that huge territorial area, so enormously rich in so many resources, there are almost no airports, the roads are not properly conserved, the villages are almost completely isolated and the utilities are so precarious. Back to Yurimaguas, there used to be an airport, but now it is hardly used because the runway is too small for big airplanes. And it just stayed like that, nobody cares and nobody does anything to link the population with the rest of the country. In the '70s, when I first went to Yurimaguas, there was electricity only some hours per day. I've always known that during the golden years of the caucho exploitation, the wealthy families sent their children to study in Europe. I assume one of the reasons may have been that coming to Lima was too complicated. While across the Amazon river, getting out to the Atlantic Ocean may have been see as more feasible. Anyway, I want to express clearly that I don't justify any kind of violence whatsoever, no matter where it comes from. As Gandhi used to say: an eye for an eye and we'll all be blind. But I've just said before, political subjects are meant for the experts. Is there anything else you'd like to add? Yes - that I feel very comfortable with being part of this wonderful community, that has made me meet a handful of wonderful, dedicated and interesting people. Lingua, GV and all the other projects give voices to those who normally don't have a channel to express and share feelings, ideas, opinions, thoughts, nuisances, injustices, joys and pains. Thank you, GV. Thank you Gabriela. N.B. - for those of you that may want to listen to our voices, I include a short podcast with greetings from Gabriela to the readers of Global Voices Online. The picture in this post is by Isabel Guerra and has been used with permisssion. Gabriela Gabriela García Calderón may be the star translator of Global Voices in spanish. She translates on a daily basis for our publications, and as if that weren't enough, she still has time for writing in her personal blog, Seis de enero (January 6th). On a Lima morning, we met to have a drink and chat about various subjects. Here are the results. Hello Gabriela, let‘s start with one curiosity of mine. As a professional lawyer, what gave you the idea of embracing other hobbies, such as translating ? Little more that a year and a half ago, after almost 14 years of practicing Law as a self-employed lawyer, I felt I had to try some additional activities in my spare time. Among the professional options I had in mind when I graduated from high school were Diplomacy and Translation. I finally chose Law, because since I was 8 my dream was to be a Diplomat, which in the end didn't happen. But languages always attracted me, and those urges of translating texts from one language to another in order to make them understandable to other people were never really gone. I have never thought about it before, but I can see that both Translation and Diplomacy are professions that bridge people; both have to do with combining characteristics from different cultures, nations and lifestyles. That idea of [studying] Diplomacy came from a Polish friend I met when I was 8 - she was the daughter of a official from the Polish Embassy in Peru and we became best friends. Her dad's mission ended on the early 80's, and I lost track of her. Years later, her dad came back as Ambassador. I don't know how I had the nerve to call him and ask for his daughter, I mean, this is an Ambassador we are talking about! But he remembered me perfectly. He gave me my friend's address in perfectly spoken Spanish, and that's how I found her after all those years. And how did this urge lead you to Global Voices? At first, what I was interested in was translating more than anything else, as a collateral and different activity to what I have been doing in the previous years, without leaving Law aside. Gradually, I started realizing that it was a way of getting in touch with life elsewhere, with daily life in other contexts where people consider things we don't even think about around us. For instance, holidays in Muslim countries. It was important for me to realize that some dates that are so important for others while here we barely know about them. Those testimonies are much more valuable when they come from ordinary people who might go through lots of experiences in their hometowns that are similar to the complaints we have in Lima on the spreading of road works, for example, all the way to things like direct testimonies about the bombings in Gaza. My link with Global Voices (GV) started by chance: on a Saturday in November 2007, I was reading the newspaper and I see this piece saying “if you want to join this translation project, just send en e-mail to Juan Arellano.” That very day, I got an account on GV and I started learning how to edit texts. From then, I just carried on. What were your previous experiences translating? Was it very different from what you had done before? In the last few years, I had done some occasional translations, always with family friends because I am not a professional translator. That's why it had to be done for people who knew me and who would trust in the ability of someone who isn't a professional translator. I have even completed that translation of a book about Pope John Paul II, from Italian to Spanish. The author, a Polish journalist, former Polish correspondent in the Vatican (currently back in Warsaw), authorized me to translate it. That was shortly after John Paul II passed away. This is very different, because GV texts come from ordinary people, the so-called men in the street, the voices of those who don't have a voice, people next door that tell us how their lives are affected sometimes by everyday issues and by not-that-everyday issues too on a Web site with global reach. I sometimes read notes on the newspapers, about events I have translated, about subjects that make front pages in the countries where they have happened. Second, because I find it fascinating to be able to read the opinion of a Trinidadian girl that tells us about something as simple as significant as the love she has for her grandmother, or the Chinese citizen and his impressions about the 20 anniversary of Tiananmen events. And the best part is that I've been able to establish virtual friendship with people I've met thanks to these translations. One of them is Coffeewallah, from Trinidad and Tobago, precisely the one who told us about the love for her grandma. She even dedicated a post to me. That was so exciting for me, for I didn't expect it and I was speechless as I was reading her text. Another one is Mariyah, who blogs from Syria, and whose blog I got to know via a translation of a post for GVO. Before getting involved with GV, is it true that you were not aware of things such as Web 2.0 or the blogosphere? That's correct, I'd heard very little about Web 2.0. To be honest, even now I really don't understand very well what it is all about. Regarding the blogosphere, I read and commented in some blogs on a regular basis, but that was pretty much it. In fact, I think I didn't even know the term blogosphere. At first, it seemed to me an exclusive closed club, and we as readers had some access and that was it, like voices without votes. After a while, I realized that the blogosphere needs the blogger-reader feedback and reader-blogger feedback as well, and many times it needs the feedback between readers that start dialogues through their comments. That's why I don't understand what's the point of blogs that don't admit comments, bloggers that don't reply comments and those who censor comments they don't like. As is usual, we can find a little bit of everything. Shortly after joining GV in Spanish, you were “encouraged” to have your own blog. How do you feel about it now? I was encouraged [to have a blog] because what we translate here are blogs. At first, I went through some kind of stage fright: I had the blog already open but with no posts. I felt no one, or very few people, would be interested in a very simple anecdote as the guy selling churros at a corner in Lima, or memories I keep of endlessly beloved ones that are not around anymore, or those simple simple stories I talk about sometimes. Juan Arellano, our editor, told us not to write about complicated subjects - not at first at least…that it would be better to start with the subject we knew best, that is, ourselves. And little by little we'd get used to writing. In my case it worked like that, even though I've made the decision not to speak of politics at all, that's what experts are for. Now that I mention the guy selling churros, here is what happened to me as a result of that post. I posted it on March 2008, and in June 2008 I received a comment from a Peruvian girl living in Argentina, telling me she came by chance to my blog. She was looking for the blog of a friend of hers, an Argentinan girl from Córdoba, that had posted about the same guy who sells churros in Miraflores. No one can tell me that the blogosphere is not a handkerchief: it turns out that the father of this Peruvian living in Argentina, with a very good blog about cooks, was from Nauta. My mom is from Yurimaguas, and knew an aunt of this Peruvian girl, who had lived for a while in Yurimaguas. It was surprising to find out that the cousins of this Peruvian blogger had played pranks while growing up with an aunt of mine in Yurimaguas. As one can see, my blog, Seis de enero, has also allowed me to make new friends I would not have dreamed of before. If the person who encouraged me to start a blog would have told me so, I wouldn't believed it. When e-mails took the place of actual mail, I thought that the emotion that comes with receiving news from the other side of the world was forever gone. It's not quite the same, but the emotion is still there. Would you recommend starting a blog to others? Sure I would. In fact, I'd say not to doubt it for a second. It is an unpredictable way of expressing ideas, of being related with other people's opinions and experiencies. It may sometimes be useful to find out facts about ourselves that wouldn't be apparent otherwise. Whether it's a blog in which simple and everyday incidents are told, as mine is, or a recipes blog - which I may say are truly successful - or a blog about politics and current affairs…It doesn't matter the subject, it doesn't matter whether you talk about this or that, as long as it is a subject in which we have solid knowledge, and remember never to be disrespectful to anyone. There may be some people who won't agree with you, but that's only a part of the plurarity we can find in the blogosphere. What's the reason for the name Seis de enero (Janury 6th)? It's simple: it's my birthday. It was the first thing I came up with when I decided that my posts would be about my own experiences. When I was making the register of the name I thought maybe it was already registered. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. And your experience in GV, do you think it is useful in other aspects? It is indeed. As a matter of fact, though, what I learned in one of them was applied on the other one. I remember when I first started with GV, I used to run away from posts that included videos, simply because I wasn't able to insert them, until I had the idea to do so using HTML code, which is what I use when the post I pick up contains too many images, it is easier to do it that way. I think that is my major achievement, and I guess I wouldn't have figured it out had I not had the blog. Besides, I think that making translations from English to Spanish constantly has helped me learn much more. It's not just about the academic language learned from grammar, with its rules and exceptions, but richer speaking forms, more colloquial ones from each place around the world, especially the ones where English is the most spoken language. Why do you think a man in the street should read GV in Spanish? Because of the news from around the world,  everyone may realize that everywhere there are people with the same problems. Or with completely different ones from ours, but that are so present in their lives just as it had been, in a time that I really hope never comes back, blackouts and bomb blasts. To realize that we are not on our own, that unrest can be found everywhere and yet people move on, that dialogue is the most important thing, that we must communicate in order to understand each other, that we may disagree, but that is not a reason to consider other people as unworthy because they think differently. Returning to the first question, what is your specialty as a lawyer? For about the last five years I am fully dedicated to Arbitration, a way to solve conflicts between parties using an alternative to the Judiciary. At the time of carrying out a contract, the parties agree to resort to an arbitration in order to solve their disagreement. They settle the terms for carrying out the arbitration, and the arbitrator can be a sole arbitrator or be part of a court. I've worked both as a sole arbitrator and as member of a court. It is always a very enriching experience, you get to learn from the other members of the court, from the parties, from the legal secretaries who help you all along the process. And what do you think is the situation of Peruvian bloggers facing our legislation? For example, would it be easy for a blogger to be involved in legal problems for posting against the government? I really hope not. I've read and translated a lot about bloggers in other countries being held in prison and mistreated for posting what they think about this or that matter. Just for expressing ideas or thoughts! I guess the problem may exist when, misusing anonymity, a blogger dedicates time and energy to discredit other people without evidence. That's a powerful tool that can be misused in the wrong hands. Of course there is always the possibility of a rectification, but many times the damage is done and hardly repaired. You said that your family has ancestors from our Amazonian region. What do you think about the recent events unfolding there? My mom and all my family from my mom's side is from that part of Peru. My mom was born in Yurimaguas, precisely. From a long time ago I have had the feeling that that whole region only exists when there is an invasion from Ecuador. Just to speak about a concrete point, the highway Tarapoto-Yurimaguas, now that it appears every headline. It is about 130 kilometers long. Just a few years ago, it was just a road, a simple way. It wasn't conceivable, but it took 6 hours to travel across that distance. I am aware that there is a highway now (after having heard my whole life that it was the next work to be done) and now it takes two hours to travel that distance. I don't think it is possible that in that huge territorial area, so enormously rich in so many resources, there are almost no airports, the roads are not properly conserved, the villages are almost completely isolated and the utilities are so precarious. Back to Yurimaguas, there used to be an airport, but now it is hardly used because the runway is too small for big airplanes. And it just stayed like that, nobody cares and nobody does anything to link the population with the rest of the country. In the '70s, when I first went to Yurimaguas, there was electricity only some hours per day. I've always known that during the golden years of the caucho exploitation, the wealthy families sent their children to study in Europe. I assume one of the reasons may have been that coming to Lima was too complicated. While across the Amazon river, getting out to the Atlantic Ocean may have been see as more feasible. Anyway, I want to express clearly that I don't justify any kind of violence whatsoever, no matter where it comes from. As Gandhi used to say: an eye for an eye and we'll all be blind. But I've just said before, political subjects are meant for the experts. Is there anything else you'd like to add? Yes - that I feel very comfortable with being part of this wonderful community, that has made me meet a handful of wonderful, dedicated and interesting people. Lingua, GV and all the other projects give voices to those who normally don't have a channel to express and share feelings, ideas, opinions, thoughts, nuisances, injustices, joys and pains. Thank you, GV. Thank you Gabriela. N.B. - for those of you that may want to listen to our voices, I include a short podcast with greetings from Gabriela to the readers of Global Voices Online. The picture in this post is by Isabel Guerra and has been used with permisssion. tag:odeo.com,2009-07-08,24769307 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:51:27 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts podcasts, english, weblog, Peru, ideas, americas, Blogger Profiles, GV Contributor Profiles http://odeo.com/episodes/24140410-Fiji-Bloggers-react-to-police-commissioner-s-%E2%80%98crusade Bloggers in Fiji are commenting on the police commissioner’s recent outburst recorded by television cameras at a meeting with Indo-Fijian officers warning them with termination if they continue to air their complaints directly to the media. The problem began when an unnamed Indo-Fijian policeman was quoted in a Fiji Sun story explaining his discomfort with the largely pro-Christian crusade commissioner Esala Teleni is undertaking to reduce crime. The unnamed policeman also alleged officers converting to the New Methodist Church — a breakaway group run by Teleni’s brother that is very active in the police crusades — are being promoted before others. In December, Teleni said the crusade to fight crime and other evils was God’s plan for Fiji, “irrespective of race, religion and culture.” Teleni said he never forced people to attend the crusades and invited members of all religions to take part. Religion, it has been argued, can be a dividing wedge in Fiji society. Indigenou... Bloggers in Fiji are commenting on the police commissioner’s recent outburst recorded by television cameras at a meeting with Indo-Fijian officers warning them with termination if they continue to air their complaints directly to the media. The problem began when an unnamed Indo-Fijian policeman was quoted in a Fiji Sun story explaining his discomfort with the largely pro-Christian crusade commissioner Esala Teleni is undertaking to reduce crime. The unnamed policeman also alleged officers converting to the New Methodist Church — a breakaway group run by Teleni’s brother that is very active in the police crusades — are being promoted before others. In December, Teleni said the crusade to fight crime and other evils was God’s plan for Fiji, “irrespective of race, religion and culture.” Teleni said he never forced people to attend the crusades and invited members of all religions to take part. Religion, it has been argued, can be a dividing wedge in Fiji society. Indigenous Fijians mainly practice Christianity; a majority of Indo-Fijians are Hindu, although a sizable Muslim minority exists. After reading the Fiji Sun story, Teleni called some Indo-Fijian officers together where he warned them to support his policies or, “I can sack everyone sitting here today and I can recruit another 200 Indian officers” in comments caught by a Fiji One camera. The police are presently looking into how the television camera could have picked up Teleni’s speech even though it was stationed well outside the building. (Here is a clip of the newscast.) In parting words to the Indo-Fijian officers, Teleni said (according to the transcript): “No one is going to deter me and my Jesus. I never talk about your religions. I never discuss your religions because I respect it. But at the same time you must respect my religion. You do not go to the press.” After the meeting became public, an unnamed “senior” police officer in attendance told Fiji Live the anonymous source of the original Fiji Sun article was not a high ranking Indo-Fijian — and my not even have been Indo-Fijian. He himself felt no obligation to attend the crusades, yet he supports them because they instill police discipline. The senior officer also said other high-ranking Indo-Fijian police officers have no problems with Teleni. Fiji’s population consists of 60 percent indigenous Fijians and around 37 percent Indo-Fijians. But that’s not always been the case. Between 1879 and 1916, Britain, the former colonial rulers, imported more than 60,000 people from India to work in Fiji’s sugar industry. By the time Fiji gained independence in 1970, Indo-Fijians made up nearly two-thirds of the islands’ population. In 1987 the country witnessed its first government led by a majority of Indo-Fijian politicians, only to have it deposed by Sitiveni Rabuka, then a colonel in Fiji’s military. Rabuka claimed he was on a “mission that God has given to me” to save the Fijian race and convert Indo-Fijians to Christianity. Shortly thereafter, Indo-Fijian outmigration (along with some educated indigenous Fijians) began in earnest. Teleni, a former Naval officer, was made police commissioner a few months after Frank Bainimarama took power in a December 2006 coup to eliminate what the self-appointed Prime Minister saw as a corrupt government bent on ruling through discriminatory policies against Indo-Fijians. Bainimarama plans to modify the country’s constitution, which since 1997 has established the “paramountcy” of indigenous Fijian interests over other races, and change the electoral system that partitions seats in Parliament on race and codifies political power to indigenous Fijian institutions like the Great Council of Chiefs, a hereditary body that appoints (with Presidential approval)14 of 32 members of the Senate. Anyway, to the bloggers. Calling for Teleni to be removed for his remarks, Raw Fiji News argues that the Bainimarama regime merely pays lip service to racial harmony. Frank’s military regime has dismantled everything Fijian in their bid to demolish Fijian behaviour they think is detrimental to their junta rulership. They have publicly pitted against the Methodist Church that many indigenous Fijians relate to as their religion. And now, we see the spiritually pumped up Police Commish, Teleni, wallop his Indo-Fijian senior staff for what he claims is their disloyalty towards him. His claim is based on religion - that gooey word that refers to the exaggerated and artificial faking of the emotions by Teleni to try and intimidate his staff.   So what kind of religion is Teleni in that is prompting him to segregate his Indo-Fijian staff like that and even to the extent of swearing at them to emphasize his anger? The Jesus he quoted to be the one he is worshipping is definitely not the Jesus reflected by Teleni’s unholy way of teaching his staff. Teleni’s TV performance is a direct representation of what his New Methodist church is reaping from the rotten seed they’ve been sowing. How dare Teleni address Fiji’s Indo-Fijian Police senior officers like that! Why pick on Indo-Fijians only Teleni? They are not the problem in the Police force. You are! Talking Fiji argues Teleni is not the only member of the government to be anti-Indo-Fijian. Last night’s Fiji TV footage of Teletubby Teleni berating senior Indian Police officers must have come as something of a shock to the Indian community in Fiji. Teleni was about as racist as one can get and its out there now in the public domain for all to hear. References in his speech to Indians as ”you people” betray his exteme contempt for the Indian community in Fiji. So much for the multi-racial Fiji much touted by the military since they took power in 2006. So now you know. The military were never really interested in racial unity at all. They used the Indian community to bolster their support for their illegal takeover and now that they have no use for them, the Indian community is being discarded like a used condom.  I’m sure after last night, the Indian Community are wondering if they made a mistake and backed the wrong horse in 2006. Well duh! The blog at the Solivakasama Worldwide Movement : Yadra [Good morning] borggers, well ketepoka [big stomach] Teleni where is your god??? You should learn to choose your words wisely because the garbage you spewed out is very unbecoming from someone claiming to be called by god to be Commissioner of Police. The funny thing ketepoka, is that you and your god seem to be the only ones who think you are fit for this position because everyone else does not think so. The good book says, ‘you will know them by their deeds’ and your deeds ketepoka definitely betray you! SWM urges the Indo-Police Officers to stand up to ketepoka the pretender and uphold the rule of law! On the other hand, IG Fiji says those criticizing Teleni by hypocritically preaching racial harmony should look themselves in the mirror. Jesus was the reason Teleni said what he said. If a man feels that he has been blessed by Jesus, then so be it - it brings him peace of mind and inner comfort. Or perhaps the bloggers have no value for Jesus and consider his works a curse? It would certainly seem to be the case as the bloggers have taken the words of Teleni to a new and twisted level. We standby Teleni's words and we agree that the Indian police officers are a dangerous lot. They are backstabbers and have done this to other Commissioners. They have an inner circle whereby they discuss how to topple their superiors and usurp power. The Indian police should certainly be sacked. These are the same grog-doped cigarette smoking lazy men who stroll around the street trying to get bribes from everyone. We believe the Commissioner should sack all these men and find others to replace him - others who are loyal and do not question the authority in a disciplined force. In addition to this, the media continue to show their true colors by running to all the anti-govt. idiots and asking them for their comments. In the end, all the people in this country got to hear was how bad a person the Commissioner was. Why not talk to other members of the govt.? Why not go out in public and ask them what their views are? The answer is obvious - it would have spoiled their slanted hypocritical stories. To worsen the situation the media ended up talking to the most racist man in Fiji - Ted Young of the SDL. This was the crowning moment of the media's inefficiency and stupidity. [Note: The SDL party headed the governing coalition that was forced out of power during the December 2006 coup.] real jack, who posts at Fiji Board Exiles, says Teleni’s outburst shows that he cares. …the other option was for him to have simply started cutting heads. he didn't have to do this - he could have just said, “right then….this is the list of guys lets start with the termination letter for name No 1 on the list” - and he could have just sat in his office pulled out his red pen and started crossing names off the list. instead he calls a meeting at Nasova, gets in his car and travels all the way there to have his outburst at the officers - he didn't have to go to all that trouble. the outburst may look irrational and temperamental but those officers, if they are smart will see it and understand that this is a guy we can work with - he can go ballistic like this and tommorow we can talk again - and thats good. we can talk to this guy face to face - and he is not going to cut us out behind our backs - he has a problem he tells it to our face - we have a problem we tell it to his face - we know where we stand with this guy. they should not take it negatively. Let’s end with a critique of the role the media played in this situation. Wendy, from Babasiga , thinks the television journalist should not have been listening to a meeting he was barred from. She also had this to say: Teleni (who seemed a nice guy when we met him during his studies) is in trouble with his espousing of New Methodist shouting style and mixing up religion with policing. Selectively targeting the Indo-Fijian policemen was certainly a provocative decision. Media critic Crosbie Walsh was much more worried with the press coverage after the meeting story broke. In a post labeled “Anything to discredit the Interim Government…,” he says the “crisis” was blown out of proportion by Fiji’s media. From Fiji: The Way It Was, Is and Can Be : There is no question that Teleni's outburst did him no credit (and no question that personal and religious freedoms must be protected) but the media also cannot escape responsibility. They started the fire and fanned the flames over what would appear to be a relatively minor incident — and much of what they reported would seem to be incorrect. To play a responsible role in a Fiji where its opponents use every opportunity to discredit the Interim Government, the media must at least check its sources — the original sources, not those of an “unnamed” someone printed by another newspaper — and do what it can to douse unnecessary heat. Bloggers in Fiji are commenting on the police commissioner’s recent outburst recorded by television cameras at a meeting with Indo-Fijian officers warning them with termination if they continue to air their complaints directly to the media. The problem began when an unnamed Indo-Fijian policeman was quoted in a Fiji Sun story explaining his discomfort with the largely pro-Christian crusade commissioner Esala Teleni is undertaking to reduce crime. The unnamed policeman also alleged officers converting to the New Methodist Church — a breakaway group run by Teleni’s brother that is very active in the police crusades — are being promoted before others. In December, Teleni said the crusade to fight crime and other evils was God’s plan for Fiji, “irrespective of race, religion and culture.” Teleni said he never forced people to attend the crusades and invited members of all religions to take part. Religion, it has been argued, can be a dividing wedge in Fiji society. Indigenous Fijians mainly practice Christianity; a majority of Indo-Fijians are Hindu, although a sizable Muslim minority exists. After reading the Fiji Sun story, Teleni called some Indo-Fijian officers together where he warned them to support his policies or, “I can sack everyone sitting here today and I can recruit another 200 Indian officers” in comments caught by a Fiji One camera. The police are presently looking into how the television camera could have picked up Teleni’s speech even though it was stationed well outside the building. (Here is a clip of the newscast.) In parting words to the Indo-Fijian officers, Teleni said (according to the transcript): “No one is going to deter me and my Jesus. I never talk about your religions. I never discuss your religions because I respect it. But at the same time you must respect my religion. You do not go to the press.” After the meeting became public, an unnamed “senior” police officer in attendance told Fiji Live the anonymous source of the original Fiji Sun article was not a high ranking Indo-Fijian — and my not even have been Indo-Fijian. He himself felt no obligation to attend the crusades, yet he supports them because they instill police discipline. The senior officer also said other high-ranking Indo-Fijian police officers have no problems with Teleni. Fiji’s population consists of 60 percent indigenous Fijians and around 37 percent Indo-Fijians. But that’s not always been the case. Between 1879 and 1916, Britain, the former colonial rulers, imported more than 60,000 people from India to work in Fiji’s sugar industry. By the time Fiji gained independence in 1970, Indo-Fijians made up nearly two-thirds of the islands’ population. In 1987 the country witnessed its first government led by a majority of Indo-Fijian politicians, only to have it deposed by Sitiveni Rabuka, then a colonel in Fiji’s military. Rabuka claimed he was on a “mission that God has given to me” to save the Fijian race and convert Indo-Fijians to Christianity. Shortly thereafter, Indo-Fijian outmigration (along with some educated indigenous Fijians) began in earnest. Teleni, a former Naval officer, was made police commissioner a few months after Frank Bainimarama took power in a December 2006 coup to eliminate what the self-appointed Prime Minister saw as a corrupt government bent on ruling through discriminatory policies against Indo-Fijians. Bainimarama plans to modify the country’s constitution, which since 1997 has established the “paramountcy” of indigenous Fijian interests over other races, and change the electoral system that partitions seats in Parliament on race and codifies political power to indigenous Fijian institutions like the Great Council of Chiefs, a hereditary body that appoints (with Presidential approval)14 of 32 members of the Senate. Anyway, to the bloggers. Calling for Teleni to be removed for his remarks, Raw Fiji News argues that the Bainimarama regime merely pays lip service to racial harmony. Frank’s military regime has dismantled everything Fijian in their bid to demolish Fijian behaviour they think is detrimental to their junta rulership. They have publicly pitted against the Methodist Church that many indigenous Fijians relate to as their religion. And now, we see the spiritually pumped up Police Commish, Teleni, wallop his Indo-Fijian senior staff for what he claims is their disloyalty towards him. His claim is based on religion - that gooey word that refers to the exaggerated and artificial faking of the emotions by Teleni to try and intimidate his staff.   So what kind of religion is Teleni in that is prompting him to segregate his Indo-Fijian staff like that and even to the extent of swearing at them to emphasize his anger? The Jesus he quoted to be the one he is worshipping is definitely not the Jesus reflected by Teleni’s unholy way of teaching his staff. Teleni’s TV performance is a direct representation of what his New Methodist church is reaping from the rotten seed they’ve been sowing. How dare Teleni address Fiji’s Indo-Fijian Police senior officers like that! Why pick on Indo-Fijians only Teleni? They are not the problem in the Police force. You are! Talking Fiji argues Teleni is not the only member of the government to be anti-Indo-Fijian. Last night’s Fiji TV footage of Teletubby Teleni berating senior Indian Police officers must have come as something of a shock to the Indian community in Fiji. Teleni was about as racist as one can get and its out there now in the public domain for all to hear. References in his speech to Indians as ”you people” betray his exteme contempt for the Indian community in Fiji. So much for the multi-racial Fiji much touted by the military since they took power in 2006. So now you know. The military were never really interested in racial unity at all. They used the Indian community to bolster their support for their illegal takeover and now that they have no use for them, the Indian community is being discarded like a used condom.  I’m sure after last night, the Indian Community are wondering if they made a mistake and backed the wrong horse in 2006. Well duh! The blog at the Solivakasama Worldwide Movement : Yadra [Good morning] borggers, well ketepoka [big stomach] Teleni where is your god??? You should learn to choose your words wisely because the garbage you spewed out is very unbecoming from someone claiming to be called by god to be Commissioner of Police. The funny thing ketepoka, is that you and your god seem to be the only ones who think you are fit for this position because everyone else does not think so. The good book says, ‘you will know them by their deeds’ and your deeds ketepoka definitely betray you! SWM urges the Indo-Police Officers to stand up to ketepoka the pretender and uphold the rule of law! On the other hand, IG Fiji says those criticizing Teleni by hypocritically preaching racial harmony should look themselves in the mirror. Jesus was the reason Teleni said what he said. If a man feels that he has been blessed by Jesus, then so be it - it brings him peace of mind and inner comfort. Or perhaps the bloggers have no value for Jesus and consider his works a curse? It would certainly seem to be the case as the bloggers have taken the words of Teleni to a new and twisted level. We standby Teleni's words and we agree that the Indian police officers are a dangerous lot. They are backstabbers and have done this to other Commissioners. They have an inner circle whereby they discuss how to topple their superiors and usurp power. The Indian police should certainly be sacked. These are the same grog-doped cigarette smoking lazy men who stroll around the street trying to get bribes from everyone. We believe the Commissioner should sack all these men and find others to replace him - others who are loyal and do not question the authority in a disciplined force. In addition to this, the media continue to show their true colors by running to all the anti-govt. idiots and asking them for their comments. In the end, all the people in this country got to hear was how bad a person the Commissioner was. Why not talk to other members of the govt.? Why not go out in public and ask them what their views are? The answer is obvious - it would have spoiled their slanted hypocritical stories. To worsen the situation the media ended up talking to the most racist man in Fiji - Ted Young of the SDL. This was the crowning moment of the media's inefficiency and stupidity. [Note: The SDL party headed the governing coalition that was forced out of power during the December 2006 coup.] real jack, who posts at Fiji Board Exiles, says Teleni’s outburst shows that he cares. …the other option was for him to have simply started cutting heads. he didn't have to do this - he could have just said, “right then….this is the list of guys lets start with the termination letter for name No 1 on the list” - and he could have just sat in his office pulled out his red pen and started crossing names off the list. instead he calls a meeting at Nasova, gets in his car and travels all the way there to have his outburst at the officers - he didn't have to go to all that trouble. the outburst may look irrational and temperamental but those officers, if they are smart will see it and understand that this is a guy we can work with - he can go ballistic like this and tommorow we can talk again - and thats good. we can talk to this guy face to face - and he is not going to cut us out behind our backs - he has a problem he tells it to our face - we have a problem we tell it to his face - we know where we stand with this guy. they should not take it negatively. Let’s end with a critique of the role the media played in this situation. Wendy, from Babasiga , thinks the television journalist should not have been listening to a meeting he was barred from. She also had this to say: Teleni (who seemed a nice guy when we met him during his studies) is in trouble with his espousing of New Methodist shouting style and mixing up religion with policing. Selectively targeting the Indo-Fijian policemen was certainly a provocative decision. Media critic Crosbie Walsh was much more worried with the press coverage after the meeting story broke. In a post labeled “Anything to discredit the Interim Government…,” he says the “crisis” was blown out of proportion by Fiji’s media. From Fiji: The Way It Was, Is and Can Be : There is no question that Teleni's outburst did him no credit (and no question that personal and religious freedoms must be protected) but the media also cannot escape responsibility. They started the fire and fanned the flames over what would appear to be a relatively minor incident — and much of what they reported would seem to be incorrect. To play a responsible role in a Fiji where its opponents use every opportunity to discredit the Interim Government, the media must at least check its sources — the original sources, not those of an “unnamed” someone printed by another newspaper — and do what it can to douse unnecessary heat. tag:odeo.com,2009-02-19,24140410 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:53:44 -0800 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts Media, General, religion, new zealand, english, weblog, indigenous, fiji, governance, ethnicity, Oceania http://odeo.com/episodes/24146633-Palestine-Prank-Calling-the-IDF Along with missiles and bombs, Palestinians in Gaza are being bombarded with flyers, asking them to rat out Hamas militants and flee their homes. Palestinian Jordanian Ali Dahmash wonders where can Gazans flee to. He writes: On Saturday Israel threw flyers over civilians in Rafah in the south of the Gaza strip. The flyers warned Palestinians to flee their homes. I was wondering where those civilians can flee to. They have no shelters, their only shelters are UN schools, Hospitals, Mosques & Churches that already have been bombed. Israel also bombed the airport more than 6 years ago which is not accessible, the sea is blocked by Israeli battleships and the land borders have been blocked for 2 years now both by Israel and Egypt. Simply Israel message was “We are coming to kill you!!” Writing at American-Palestinian group blog KABOBfest , Will notes: I have not made up mind as to whether the fliers and automated phone calls Israel's military uses to communicate wit... Along with missiles and bombs, Palestinians in Gaza are being bombarded with flyers, asking them to rat out Hamas militants and flee their homes. Palestinian Jordanian Ali Dahmash wonders where can Gazans flee to. He writes: On Saturday Israel threw flyers over civilians in Rafah in the south of the Gaza strip. The flyers warned Palestinians to flee their homes. I was wondering where those civilians can flee to. They have no shelters, their only shelters are UN schools, Hospitals, Mosques & Churches that already have been bombed. Israel also bombed the airport more than 6 years ago which is not accessible, the sea is blocked by Israeli battleships and the land borders have been blocked for 2 years now both by Israel and Egypt. Simply Israel message was “We are coming to kill you!!” Writing at American-Palestinian group blog KABOBfest , Will notes: I have not made up mind as to whether the fliers and automated phone calls Israel's military uses to communicate with Gazans are for PR or Psychological Operations purposes. One thing is for sure, they are not to help any Palestinians. He further adds: Such communications feed the myth that the Israeli army is humane. The internet stinks from all the forums and discussion boards where pro-Israeli drones claim the flyers and calls are actually helpful, or that they show how far the IDF would go to prevent civilian casualties. If anything, they only remind Gazans of the callous and ruthless nature of the Israeli regime and the utter and complete disregard it has had for the fate of the Palestinians. One of the flyers, pictured above and obtained from Electronic Intifada , addresses the inhabitants of Gaza as follows: “Assume responsibility for your fate! The throwers of rockets and the terrorist are a danger to you and your family. If you wish to provide assistance and help to your families and brothers in Gaza, all you need to do is call the number below to inform is about the location of rocket launchers and the terrorist gangs who have made of you hostages to their operations. The prevention of disaster is now in your hands.” Upon learning of the flyer, Palestinian Haitham Sabbah also takes action into his own hands and initiates a campaign urging his readers to blitz the emails and phone numbers in the flyers asking Gazans to become informants with messages: So, what can be done? Simply, I encourage everyone to call above mentioned number (from your land line, mobile phone, Skype, etc.) and say in Hebrew “Atem Poshim, tafsiku laharog palestinayim, Palestien Meshuchreret, Aza meshuchreret.” The above is an oral Hebrew translation of: “You are Criminals. Stop Killing Palestinians. Free Palestine. Free Gaza.” Alternatively, use the above mentioned email and attach one of the following photos or album link to show them the result of their war crimes in Gaza. Meanwhile, an editor at the Palestinian Electronic Intifada took the challenge literally and actually called the number on the flyer - speaking in Arabic to an operative who identified himself as Abu Ibrahim. Here's a transcript of part of the conversation from Electronic Intifada: EI: Ok, let's talk … let me give you some of the information and then we'll talk some more. Do you have a pen? Israeli officer: Yes. I have a pen and I'm writing. EI I want to give you names of the biggest terrorist organizations, not just in Gaza, but in all Palestine. Israeli officer: Ok, let's see EI: Ok, the first one … Israeli officer: You mean to tell me they're all from Hamas? EI: All of them are people … you'll see. The first one, his name is Ehud Barak [Israeli minister of defense]. Israeli officer: Ehud Barak? By God there's no one like you … EI: Second, Gabi Ashkenazi [Israeli army chief of staff] Israeli officer: Do you know him? To listen to the podcast, in Arabic, click here: [display_podcast] Checkpoint Jerusalem 's Dion Nissenbaum observes that listening to the phone conversation opens “an interesting window into the minds of the callers on both sides.” Along with missiles and bombs, Palestinians in Gaza are being bombarded with flyers, asking them to rat out Hamas militants and flee their homes. Palestinian Jordanian Ali Dahmash wonders where can Gazans flee to. He writes: On Saturday Israel threw flyers over civilians in Rafah in the south of the Gaza strip. The flyers warned Palestinians to flee their homes. I was wondering where those civilians can flee to. They have no shelters, their only shelters are UN schools, Hospitals, Mosques & Churches that already have been bombed. Israel also bombed the airport more than 6 years ago which is not accessible, the sea is blocked by Israeli battleships and the land borders have been blocked for 2 years now both by Israel and Egypt. Simply Israel message was “We are coming to kill you!!” Writing at American-Palestinian group blog KABOBfest , Will notes: I have not made up mind as to whether the fliers and automated phone calls Israel's military uses to communicate with Gazans are for PR or Psychological Operations purposes. One thing is for sure, they are not to help any Palestinians. He further adds: Such communications feed the myth that the Israeli army is humane. The internet stinks from all the forums and discussion boards where pro-Israeli drones claim the flyers and calls are actually helpful, or that they show how far the IDF would go to prevent civilian casualties. If anything, they only remind Gazans of the callous and ruthless nature of the Israeli regime and the utter and complete disregard it has had for the fate of the Palestinians. One of the flyers, pictured above and obtained from Electronic Intifada , addresses the inhabitants of Gaza as follows: “Assume responsibility for your fate! The throwers of rockets and the terrorist are a danger to you and your family. If you wish to provide assistance and help to your families and brothers in Gaza, all you need to do is call the number below to inform is about the location of rocket launchers and the terrorist gangs who have made of you hostages to their operations. The prevention of disaster is now in your hands.” Upon learning of the flyer, Palestinian Haitham Sabbah also takes action into his own hands and initiates a campaign urging his readers to blitz the emails and phone numbers in the flyers asking Gazans to become informants with messages: So, what can be done? Simply, I encourage everyone to call above mentioned number (from your land line, mobile phone, Skype, etc.) and say in Hebrew “Atem Poshim, tafsiku laharog palestinayim, Palestien Meshuchreret, Aza meshuchreret.” The above is an oral Hebrew translation of: “You are Criminals. Stop Killing Palestinians. Free Palestine. Free Gaza.” Alternatively, use the above mentioned email and attach one of the following photos or album link to show them the result of their war crimes in Gaza. Meanwhile, an editor at the Palestinian Electronic Intifada took the challenge literally and actually called the number on the flyer - speaking in Arabic to an operative who identified himself as Abu Ibrahim. Here's a transcript of part of the conversation from Electronic Intifada: EI: Ok, let's talk … let me give you some of the information and then we'll talk some more. Do you have a pen? Israeli officer: Yes. I have a pen and I'm writing. EI I want to give you names of the biggest terrorist organizations, not just in Gaza, but in all Palestine. Israeli officer: Ok, let's see EI: Ok, the first one … Israeli officer: You mean to tell me they're all from Hamas? EI: All of them are people … you'll see. The first one, his name is Ehud Barak [Israeli minister of defense]. Israeli officer: Ehud Barak? By God there's no one like you … EI: Second, Gabi Ashkenazi [Israeli army chief of staff] Israeli officer: Do you know him? To listen to the podcast, in Arabic, click here: [display_podcast] Checkpoint Jerusalem 's Dion Nissenbaum observes that listening to the phone conversation opens “an interesting window into the minds of the callers on both sides.” tag:odeo.com,2009-01-13,24146633 Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:04:51 -0800 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts podcasts, General, Israel, english, palestine, weblog, hebrew, Arabic, Cyber-Activism, Internet & Telecoms, War & Conflict, Middle East & North Africa http://odeo.com/episodes/23574894-Who-Would-Iraq-Elect-Obama-or-McCain Is the question Alive in Baghdad asks in a video roundup of public opinion, Correspondents Nabeel Kamal and Ali Al-Le’abiy interview Iraqi's on the streets of Baghdad. AiB writes: Our sampling was done in a short timeframe and by no means represents a statistically accurate cross-section of the Iraqi public. However, we do feel that you will hear an array of different opinions, and begin to gain a little insight into how the Iraqi public views the American government and electorate, more than five and years after the invasion. As Nibras Kazimi says, “Perhaps no other country in the world sees itself as directly affected by Tuesday’s outcome as much as Iraq… If any case could be made that non-Americans should be allowed to vote for either Obama or McCain, then Iraqis would get the first go.” So who would Iraqi blogger vote for? There is a very wide range of opinions to choose from. Nibras himself gives his whole hearted support to McCain. He writes: ... Is the question Alive in Baghdad asks in a video roundup of public opinion, Correspondents Nabeel Kamal and Ali Al-Le’abiy interview Iraqi's on the streets of Baghdad. AiB writes: Our sampling was done in a short timeframe and by no means represents a statistically accurate cross-section of the Iraqi public. However, we do feel that you will hear an array of different opinions, and begin to gain a little insight into how the Iraqi public views the American government and electorate, more than five and years after the invasion. As Nibras Kazimi says, “Perhaps no other country in the world sees itself as directly affected by Tuesday’s outcome as much as Iraq… If any case could be made that non-Americans should be allowed to vote for either Obama or McCain, then Iraqis would get the first go.” So who would Iraqi blogger vote for? There is a very wide range of opinions to choose from. Nibras himself gives his whole hearted support to McCain. He writes: History can be made on someone else’s time, not when there’s a crises afoot; Iraqis need to be vigilant and practical in their choice… Who will be a better president for them? Who will help them defeat the terrorists, curb Iran and stabilize the region? The clear answer is McCain. Another Iraqi living in the US, Iraqi Mojo would have supported McCain but was put off by the choice of vice president: I like McCain. I appreciate his efforts to help Iraq defend itself against terrorists. He has criticized the Bush administration's blunders in Iraq. But when it came time to choose a running mate, McCain chose poorly, in my opinion. I found her comments about “real” America to be strange - they reminded me of Arabs who cling to “real” Iraqis. Palin mocked community organizers and implied they don't have actual responsibilities. Neurotic Wife, an Iraqi who worked in the Green Zone, is not impressed with the argument that American troops needs to remain to keep Iraq secure. She writes about a conversation with her husband and discloses a hint of bitterness towards the current Iraqi government: Looks like Obama will win, he said. What do you think Neurotica? Wow, I was actually impressed he asked my opinion, for in the past few days he has been pretty sick and not really conversive. I wish Obama wins, I typed. I wish he wins and withdraws all the troops by end of the year. HUBBY was shocked at my answer. How come Neurotica? If the US leaves there will be chaos and Iran will jump in. We cant let that happen. I Lol’ed so much, for Iran is ALREADY in. The government of Iraq is nothing but Iran’s puppet. “Neighbouring countries should respect the sovereignty of Iraq” is ALL BS. I really really want the troops to leave, and Im serious… I want chaos to break. YES. I DO. This is the only solution. The only solution to the current Iraqi govt. They are useless, and will continue to be so because even though they say they want the forces to leave, they know it wont happen, and so every night when they go to bed, they're confident that a soft cushion awaits their empty heads. They depend on the forces. I get really angry when I talk about this subject. I get really upset, that such a rich, resourceful country has ended up in such filthy hands. Filthy, corrupt and no loyalty. No loyalty to the earth they are walking on. I want them to suffer… Yes, Obama, please win. Win and withdraw the troops. Personally I believe the US is wasting its time. Its time, money and effort. Try and save the fallen economy instead with the money you will be wasting on Iraq. Iraq has enough money. Iraq is rich. Unfortunately the wealth is going into Ammar al Hakeem’s pockets, and his repulsive likes. Do you know that he bought properties here in the Emirates worth millions of dollars? No you don’t know that fact. He spends millions while the children of Iraq die of starvation, cholera, typhoid, abuse, rape and torture. WELL DONE Ammar!!! Lets see what happens to you when the forces leave? I want to see you torn apart, exactly the same way a lion preys on his victim. Is what Im saying vicious? I really hope so. The reply McCain gave when one of his supporters accused Obama of being an “Arab” dismayed several bloggers. Treasure of Baghdad wrote: I'm sure all of you saw this ignorant American woman rallying for McCain saying she doesn't trust Obama and that she has “read about him and found out he's an Arab.” At first, I thought she said “he's an error” which is why I accepted McCain saying, “No, Madam. He's a decent family man…” But when I realized she meant an “Arab” and connected it to what McCain said, I felt very offended. It appeared as if he was saying, “No, Madam. He's is decent, not Arab.” I wonder if he said that deliberately to convey that Arabs are not decent and that since Obama is not an Arab, he's decent! In all cases, I'm not surprised that this came from a McCain supporter and from McCain himself. I wonder what would the Arab Americans feel when they heard this ignorant woman. What would they think when they see the country they built along with their Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, atheist and Hindu countrymen intolerant like this. Hammorabi puts his outrage more bluntly: this indicates the hatreds and racial discriminatory attitude that JM [John McCain] harbors toward the others especially Arabs and Muslims. If JM is going to be the next US president he will never be able to remove the stigma of being racially discriminating against the Arabs neither any one Muslim including the American Muslims will forget for him such nauseating comments. He will be nothing but a failure. In fact whether he is elected or not the American Muslims and American Arabs should lawsuit him for his racial insult against them. And Finally Given the obvious embarrassment Barak Obama has shown about his middle name, Hussein, I wonder how the Republicans will take Nibras Kazimi's compliments when he compares John McCain to that great Muslim leader: ‘Hussein’ is a popular name in the Muslim world, in both the Sunni and Shia components of it, because it was the name of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. There are only two male bloodlines that go back to Muhammad, through the brothers Hassan and Hussein… But Hussein is made more unique because he led a desperate rebellion against a dynasty that had usurped the leadership of Islam. Hussein was led to believe that he enjoyed overwhelming support in the battleground state of Kufa, and he barnstormed his way over there only to find that his get-out-the-vote machine was busted, while that of his enemies had managed to raise an army of several thousand… Hussein found himself on the plains of Karbala surrounded by a rebel band of a few dozen kinsmen and womenfolk, the mavericks of Islam. All around them were the fluttering banners and ranks of the enemy, thousands and thousands of them, hemming in the rebels from the riverside of the Euphrates… I will spare you the details of the epic battle… The last man standing was old Hussein. He had just watched his cousins, his brothers, and his sons get cut down one after the other… The story ends with Hussein making his last stand, and the rest is history… John McCain though, fights in the same spirit as Imam Hussein. Faced with incredible odds, he marches on towards battle. There’s honor in his cause, and that keeps him strong, unwavering. And I guess that’s also where I draw my own strength and commitment in this bleak final stretch. “Every day is Election Day. Every land is a battleground state.” Here’s to fighting the good fight! Is the question Alive in Baghdad asks in a video roundup of public opinion, Correspondents Nabeel Kamal and Ali Al-Le’abiy interview Iraqi's on the streets of Baghdad. AiB writes: Our sampling was done in a short timeframe and by no means represents a statistically accurate cross-section of the Iraqi public. However, we do feel that you will hear an array of different opinions, and begin to gain a little insight into how the Iraqi public views the American government and electorate, more than five and years after the invasion. As Nibras Kazimi says, “Perhaps no other country in the world sees itself as directly affected by Tuesday’s outcome as much as Iraq… If any case could be made that non-Americans should be allowed to vote for either Obama or McCain, then Iraqis would get the first go.” So who would Iraqi blogger vote for? There is a very wide range of opinions to choose from. Nibras himself gives his whole hearted support to McCain. He writes: History can be made on someone else’s time, not when there’s a crises afoot; Iraqis need to be vigilant and practical in their choice… Who will be a better president for them? Who will help them defeat the terrorists, curb Iran and stabilize the region? The clear answer is McCain. Another Iraqi living in the US, Iraqi Mojo would have supported McCain but was put off by the choice of vice president: I like McCain. I appreciate his efforts to help Iraq defend itself against terrorists. He has criticized the Bush administration's blunders in Iraq. But when it came time to choose a running mate, McCain chose poorly, in my opinion. I found her comments about “real” America to be strange - they reminded me of Arabs who cling to “real” Iraqis. Palin mocked community organizers and implied they don't have actual responsibilities. Neurotic Wife, an Iraqi who worked in the Green Zone, is not impressed with the argument that American troops needs to remain to keep Iraq secure. She writes about a conversation with her husband and discloses a hint of bitterness towards the current Iraqi government: Looks like Obama will win, he said. What do you think Neurotica? Wow, I was actually impressed he asked my opinion, for in the past few days he has been pretty sick and not really conversive. I wish Obama wins, I typed. I wish he wins and withdraws all the troops by end of the year. HUBBY was shocked at my answer. How come Neurotica? If the US leaves there will be chaos and Iran will jump in. We cant let that happen. I Lol’ed so much, for Iran is ALREADY in. The government of Iraq is nothing but Iran’s puppet. “Neighbouring countries should respect the sovereignty of Iraq” is ALL BS. I really really want the troops to leave, and Im serious… I want chaos to break. YES. I DO. This is the only solution. The only solution to the current Iraqi govt. They are useless, and will continue to be so because even though they say they want the forces to leave, they know it wont happen, and so every night when they go to bed, they're confident that a soft cushion awaits their empty heads. They depend on the forces. I get really angry when I talk about this subject. I get really upset, that such a rich, resourceful country has ended up in such filthy hands. Filthy, corrupt and no loyalty. No loyalty to the earth they are walking on. I want them to suffer… Yes, Obama, please win. Win and withdraw the troops. Personally I believe the US is wasting its time. Its time, money and effort. Try and save the fallen economy instead with the money you will be wasting on Iraq. Iraq has enough money. Iraq is rich. Unfortunately the wealth is going into Ammar al Hakeem’s pockets, and his repulsive likes. Do you know that he bought properties here in the Emirates worth millions of dollars? No you don’t know that fact. He spends millions while the children of Iraq die of starvation, cholera, typhoid, abuse, rape and torture. WELL DONE Ammar!!! Lets see what happens to you when the forces leave? I want to see you torn apart, exactly the same way a lion preys on his victim. Is what Im saying vicious? I really hope so. The reply McCain gave when one of his supporters accused Obama of being an “Arab” dismayed several bloggers. Treasure of Baghdad wrote: I'm sure all of you saw this ignorant American woman rallying for McCain saying she doesn't trust Obama and that she has “read about him and found out he's an Arab.” At first, I thought she said “he's an error” which is why I accepted McCain saying, “No, Madam. He's a decent family man…” But when I realized she meant an “Arab” and connected it to what McCain said, I felt very offended. It appeared as if he was saying, “No, Madam. He's is decent, not Arab.” I wonder if he said that deliberately to convey that Arabs are not decent and that since Obama is not an Arab, he's decent! In all cases, I'm not surprised that this came from a McCain supporter and from McCain himself. I wonder what would the Arab Americans feel when they heard this ignorant woman. What would they think when they see the country they built along with their Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, atheist and Hindu countrymen intolerant like this. Hammorabi puts his outrage more bluntly: this indicates the hatreds and racial discriminatory attitude that JM [John McCain] harbors toward the others especially Arabs and Muslims. If JM is going to be the next US president he will never be able to remove the stigma of being racially discriminating against the Arabs neither any one Muslim including the American Muslims will forget for him such nauseating comments. He will be nothing but a failure. In fact whether he is elected or not the American Muslims and American Arabs should lawsuit him for his racial insult against them. And Finally Given the obvious embarrassment Barak Obama has shown about his middle name, Hussein, I wonder how the Republicans will take Nibras Kazimi's compliments when he compares John McCain to that great Muslim leader: ‘Hussein’ is a popular name in the Muslim world, in both the Sunni and Shia components of it, because it was the name of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. There are only two male bloodlines that go back to Muhammad, through the brothers Hassan and Hussein… But Hussein is made more unique because he led a desperate rebellion against a dynasty that had usurped the leadership of Islam. Hussein was led to believe that he enjoyed overwhelming support in the battleground state of Kufa, and he barnstormed his way over there only to find that his get-out-the-vote machine was busted, while that of his enemies had managed to raise an army of several thousand… Hussein found himself on the plains of Karbala surrounded by a rebel band of a few dozen kinsmen and womenfolk, the mavericks of Islam. All around them were the fluttering banners and ranks of the enemy, thousands and thousands of them, hemming in the rebels from the riverside of the Euphrates… I will spare you the details of the epic battle… The last man standing was old Hussein. He had just watched his cousins, his brothers, and his sons get cut down one after the other… The story ends with Hussein making his last stand, and the rest is history… John McCain though, fights in the same spirit as Imam Hussein. Faced with incredible odds, he marches on towards battle. There’s honor in his cause, and that keeps him strong, unwavering. And I guess that’s also where I draw my own strength and commitment in this bleak final stretch. “Every day is Election Day. Every land is a battleground state.” Here’s to fighting the good fight! tag:odeo.com,2008-11-04,23574894 Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:40:01 -0800 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts General, video, Iraq, english, elections, weblog, governance, u.s.a., international relations, ethnicity, Middle East & North Africa, War & Conflict http://odeo.com/episodes/23542701-Venezuela-How-Children-Show-Their-Community-Through-Photography Ancla2 is an educational cooperative devoted to teaching photography, technology, and media skills to children from a wide variety of communities in Venezuela. According to Ancla2, when children encounter images through photography, it is a way to discover their inner self and to value their physical and interior spaces. Thanks to Ancla2, many children from small and poor communities in Venezuela have discovered a new way to see and appreciate their own surroundings, and at the same time, have learned new life skills that will help them in many other areas. The photography workshops have resulted in wonderful galleries made by children, and now these works can also be seen by many more because the children also maintain blogs that show life in their communities. These blogs written by children 9-15 years old, such as this blog from the community of La Mucuy in Mérida provide “journalistic visions” straight from the children themselves. El Guarataro Preguntón [es] and Rep... Ancla2 is an educational cooperative devoted to teaching photography, technology, and media skills to children from a wide variety of communities in Venezuela. According to Ancla2, when children encounter images through photography, it is a way to discover their inner self and to value their physical and interior spaces. Thanks to Ancla2, many children from small and poor communities in Venezuela have discovered a new way to see and appreciate their own surroundings, and at the same time, have learned new life skills that will help them in many other areas. The photography workshops have resulted in wonderful galleries made by children, and now these works can also be seen by many more because the children also maintain blogs that show life in their communities. These blogs written by children 9-15 years old, such as this blog from the community of La Mucuy in Mérida provide “journalistic visions” straight from the children themselves. El Guarataro Preguntón [es] and Reporteros del 23 [es] are two examples of these blogs. They are made by children living in two of the most poor and violent neighborhoods that surround the city of Caracas. Their main goal is to show daily life in both communities and how there is a lot more than often talked about violence inside the community. Here is an example of one of the last posts in Reporteros del 23: Benjamin estaba tomando fotografías en la subida que lleva al sector llamado “La Planada”. Una señoa en la puerta de su casa no dejaba de mirarlo, curiosa e integrada. El se percato y con gran gesto de agrado comenzó a mostrarle las fotografías que había tomado. Benjamin was taking pictures on his way up to “La Planada”. A woman standing inside the doorway of her house couldn't stop curiously looking at him. He noticed it and happily showed his pictures to her. As words of presentation, El Guarataro Preguntón [es] describes themselves: Nosotros nacimos y vivimos en El Guarataro, el barrio más famoso de Caracas y de toda Venezuela. Es un barrio lleno de vida y de sueños, que también sufre por la violencia y por los problemas que nunca faltan. El Guarataro es famoso por algo muy bueno: aquí nació el poeta Aquiles Nazoa. Si en El Guarataro todo fuera como Aquiles Nazoa escribía y quería, viviríamos de maravilla. Eso no ha sido posible, pero nosotros hemos creado un periódico que se llama El Guarataro Preguntón, después de hacer un taller de fotografía y redacción con la Cooperativa Ancla 2 (con los que aprendimos a tomar) fotografias y a elaborar un periódico, que le hablará al país de cómo somos, de cómo vivimos, de qué cosas queremos cambiar y cada vez que nos lean y nos vean, van a tener que respondernos porque vamos a preguntar de todo. We were born and live in El Guarataro, the most famous slum in Caracas and in all of Venezuela. This is a community full of dreams and life that also suffers from the violence and the problems that never go away. El Guarataro is famous for something very good: Aquiles Nazoa was born here. If everything in El Guarataro was like how it was in Nazoa's poetry, everything would be wonderful, but that hasn't been possible. Nevertheless, we have created a newspaper called El Guarataro Preguntón, after participating in workshops with Ancla2 (where we learned) to take pictures and make a newspaper that will tell the country about how we are and how we live, what are the things that we want to change and everytime they see us and read us they will have to answer because we will ask about everything. In this documentary called “Voices” (video in .mov format), part of the work with the children of Mérida is seen. All photos used with permission from Ancla2. The photography workshops have resulted in wonderful galleries made by children, and now these works can also be seen by many because the children also maintain blogs that show life in their communities. El Guarataro Preguntón [es] and Reporteros del 23 [es] are two of these blog. They are made by children living in two of the most poor and violent neighborhoods that surround the city of Caracas. Their main goal is to show daily life in both communities how there is a lot more than often talked about violence inside the community. Here is an example of one of the last posts in Reporteros del 23: Benjamin estaba tomando fotografías en la subida que lleva al sector llamado “La Planada”. Una señoa en la puerta de su casa no dejaba de mirarlo, curiosa e integrada. El se percato y con gran gesto de agrado comenzó a mostrarle las fotografías que había tomado. Benjamin was taking pictures on his way up to “La Planada”. A woman standing inside the doorway of her house couldn't stop curiously looking at him. He noticed it and happily showed his pictures to her. As words of presentation, El Guarataro Preguntón [es] describes themselves: Nosotros nacimos y vivimos en El Guarataro, el barrio más famoso de Caracas y de toda Venezuela. Es un barrio lleno de vida y de sueños, que también sufre por la violencia y por los problemas que nunca faltan. El Guarataro es famoso por algo muy bueno: aquí nació el poeta Aquiles Nazoa. Si en El Guarataro todo fuera como Aquiles Nazoa escribía y quería, viviríamos de maravilla. Eso no ha sido posible, pero nosotros hemos creado un periódico que se llama El Guarataro Preguntón, después de hacer un taller de fotografía y redacción con la Cooperativa Ancla 2 (con los que aprendimos a tomar) fotografias y a elaborar un periódico, que le hablará al país de cómo somos, de cómo vivimos, de qué cosas queremos cambiar y cada vez que nos lean y nos vean, van a tener que respondernos porque vamos a preguntar de todo. We were born and live in El Guarataro, the most famous slum in Caracas and in all of Venezuela. This is a community full of dreams and life that also suffers from the violence and the problems that never go away. El Guarataro is famous for something very good: Aquiles Nazoa was born here. If everything in El Guarataro was like how it was in Nazoa's poetry, everything would be wonderful, but that hasn't been possible. Nevertheless, we have created a newspaper called El Guarataro Preguntón, after participating in workshops with Ancla2 (where we learned) to take pictures and make a newspaper that will tell the country about how we are and how we live, what are the things that we want to change and everytime they see us and read us they will have to answer because we will ask about everything. In this documentary called “Voices” (video in .mov format), part of the work with the children of Mérida is seen. Ancla2 is an educational cooperative devoted to teaching photography, technology, and media skills to children from a wide variety of communities in Venezuela. According to Ancla2, when children encounter images through photography, it is a way to discover their inner self and to value their physical and interior spaces. Thanks to Ancla2, many children from small and poor communities in Venezuela have discovered a new way to see and appreciate their own surroundings, and at the same time, have learned new life skills that will help them in many other areas. The photography workshops have resulted in wonderful galleries made by children, and now these works can also be seen by many more because the children also maintain blogs that show life in their communities. These blogs written by children 9-15 years old, such as this blog from the community of La Mucuy in Mérida provide “journalistic visions” straight from the children themselves. El Guarataro Preguntón [es] and Reporteros del 23 [es] are two examples of these blogs. They are made by children living in two of the most poor and violent neighborhoods that surround the city of Caracas. Their main goal is to show daily life in both communities and how there is a lot more than often talked about violence inside the community. Here is an example of one of the last posts in Reporteros del 23: Benjamin estaba tomando fotografías en la subida que lleva al sector llamado “La Planada”. Una señoa en la puerta de su casa no dejaba de mirarlo, curiosa e integrada. El se percato y con gran gesto de agrado comenzó a mostrarle las fotografías que había tomado. Benjamin was taking pictures on his way up to “La Planada”. A woman standing inside the doorway of her house couldn't stop curiously looking at him. He noticed it and happily showed his pictures to her. As words of presentation, El Guarataro Preguntón [es] describes themselves: Nosotros nacimos y vivimos en El Guarataro, el barrio más famoso de Caracas y de toda Venezuela. Es un barrio lleno de vida y de sueños, que también sufre por la violencia y por los problemas que nunca faltan. El Guarataro es famoso por algo muy bueno: aquí nació el poeta Aquiles Nazoa. Si en El Guarataro todo fuera como Aquiles Nazoa escribía y quería, viviríamos de maravilla. Eso no ha sido posible, pero nosotros hemos creado un periódico que se llama El Guarataro Preguntón, después de hacer un taller de fotografía y redacción con la Cooperativa Ancla 2 (con los que aprendimos a tomar) fotografias y a elaborar un periódico, que le hablará al país de cómo somos, de cómo vivimos, de qué cosas queremos cambiar y cada vez que nos lean y nos vean, van a tener que respondernos porque vamos a preguntar de todo. We were born and live in El Guarataro, the most famous slum in Caracas and in all of Venezuela. This is a community full of dreams and life that also suffers from the violence and the problems that never go away. El Guarataro is famous for something very good: Aquiles Nazoa was born here. If everything in El Guarataro was like how it was in Nazoa's poetry, everything would be wonderful, but that hasn't been possible. Nevertheless, we have created a newspaper called El Guarataro Preguntón, after participating in workshops with Ancla2 (where we learned) to take pictures and make a newspaper that will tell the country about how we are and how we live, what are the things that we want to change and everytime they see us and read us they will have to answer because we will ask about everything. In this documentary called “Voices” (video in .mov format), part of the work with the children of Mérida is seen. All photos used with permission from Ancla2. The photography workshops have resulted in wonderful galleries made by children, and now these works can also be seen by many because the children also maintain blogs that show life in their communities. El Guarataro Preguntón [es] and Reporteros del 23 [es] are two of these blog. They are made by children living in two of the most poor and violent neighborhoods that surround the city of Caracas. Their main goal is to show daily life in both communities how there is a lot more than often talked about violence inside the community. Here is an example of one of the last posts in Reporteros del 23: Benjamin estaba tomando fotografías en la subida que lleva al sector llamado “La Planada”. Una señoa en la puerta de su casa no dejaba de mirarlo, curiosa e integrada. El se percato y con gran gesto de agrado comenzó a mostrarle las fotografías que había tomado. Benjamin was taking pictures on his way up to “La Planada”. A woman standing inside the doorway of her house couldn't stop curiously looking at him. He noticed it and happily showed his pictures to her. As words of presentation, El Guarataro Preguntón [es] describes themselves: Nosotros nacimos y vivimos en El Guarataro, el barrio más famoso de Caracas y de toda Venezuela. Es un barrio lleno de vida y de sueños, que también sufre por la violencia y por los problemas que nunca faltan. El Guarataro es famoso por algo muy bueno: aquí nació el poeta Aquiles Nazoa. Si en El Guarataro todo fuera como Aquiles Nazoa escribía y quería, viviríamos de maravilla. Eso no ha sido posible, pero nosotros hemos creado un periódico que se llama El Guarataro Preguntón, después de hacer un taller de fotografía y redacción con la Cooperativa Ancla 2 (con los que aprendimos a tomar) fotografias y a elaborar un periódico, que le hablará al país de cómo somos, de cómo vivimos, de qué cosas queremos cambiar y cada vez que nos lean y nos vean, van a tener que respondernos porque vamos a preguntar de todo. We were born and live in El Guarataro, the most famous slum in Caracas and in all of Venezuela. This is a community full of dreams and life that also suffers from the violence and the problems that never go away. El Guarataro is famous for something very good: Aquiles Nazoa was born here. If everything in El Guarataro was like how it was in Nazoa's poetry, everything would be wonderful, but that hasn't been possible. Nevertheless, we have created a newspaper called El Guarataro Preguntón, after participating in workshops with Ancla2 (where we learned) to take pictures and make a newspaper that will tell the country about how we are and how we live, what are the things that we want to change and everytime they see us and read us they will have to answer because we will ask about everything. In this documentary called “Voices” (video in .mov format), part of the work with the children of Mérida is seen. tag:odeo.com,2008-10-28,23542701 Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:27:34 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts Education, venezuela, children, photography, spanish, youth, weblog, americas, Arts & Culture http://odeo.com/episodes/23498468-China-Co-operation-2-0-on-Beijing%E2%80%99s-Black-Jails With the abolition of custody and repatriation (C&R) system in 2003, it seems the Chinese petitioners no longer have to worry about being detained as illegal residents when they leave for a strange city to petition a higher governmental institution. However, according to blogger Xu Zhiyong, a young professor of law and strong advocate for human rights, those supplicants are actually still being intercepted by the local officials from the way to the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, the Supreme People’s Court or other departments, and forcedly taken to some makeshift house of detention, being lock up without any legal process. As the places which confined the petitioners are always hidden among the ordinary buildings, people call them “Black Jails”. In cooperation with citizen reporter Zhou Shuguang (Zola) and other two journalists Chen Er (Doubleaf) and Guo Jiannong, Xu Zhiyong, who firstly blogged Beijing’s black jails in the end of September, went to visit one of the unlawfu... With the abolition of custody and repatriation (C&R) system in 2003, it seems the Chinese petitioners no longer have to worry about being detained as illegal residents when they leave for a strange city to petition a higher governmental institution. However, according to blogger Xu Zhiyong, a young professor of law and strong advocate for human rights, those supplicants are actually still being intercepted by the local officials from the way to the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, the Supreme People’s Court or other departments, and forcedly taken to some makeshift house of detention, being lock up without any legal process. As the places which confined the petitioners are always hidden among the ordinary buildings, people call them “Black Jails”. In cooperation with citizen reporter Zhou Shuguang (Zola) and other two journalists Chen Er (Doubleaf) and Guo Jiannong, Xu Zhiyong, who firstly blogged Beijing’s black jails in the end of September, went to visit one of the unlawful prisons again on Monday, attacked by a group of thugs who were allegedly hired by the authorities. Xu introduced the background of the operation in his blog: ?????????“????????????????????????????????????????????”??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? …… Yesterday I received an SMS, “This is Henan’s Ma Xirong, being confined with more than twenty people in the black jail behind the Youth Hotel on the Beijing Hufang road. Can you save us? Emergency!”. Because I was at class and tied up with my work at that moment, I promised to go there today. After the last SMS contact at about 11:00 am, making sure Ma was still there, I decided to start off at 4:00 pm. . I arranged with Zhou Shuguang and his two journalist friends to meet at the Youth Hotel. Three of us reached the door of black jail at 4:15 pm, leaving Zhou to shoot videos from a safe distance. Ma Xirong came to the window and asked to let her out, but the guard rejected her request while calling the Beijing Office of Henan Province. So she talked with us through the window, saying that she was questioned by the police while walking in Wangfujing Street. After finding her petition materials, the police arrested her and then locked her up in this place. When more and more petitioners assembled at the window, Ma Xirong was forced into the inner room by the guard and I could still hear she shouted, “I am a citizen. Who are you to stop me here?” … Doubleaf, a well-known blogger in China, from his unique angle promptly blogged the situation at that time : ????????????? Xu Zhiyong and Guo Jianlong at the gate of black jail ??????? The alley where the black jail is located …… ???????????“??????”??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????20??????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????20?????????????????????????????????“????????”????????????????????? ????????????????????3?4???????????????????????????????????????zuola???????“???????????”??????????????????????????“??”????? ?????????????5?20?????????MG8490???????????3?4???????????????????????????????????“????”?????????????????????????????zuola????????????????????????6?7????????????????????????????????????? ???????“???????”????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????“??”??????? ?????????????????????????????????5??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????? ????????17?45??? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? …… … The black jail is actually a hostel named “Cozy Youth Hotel”, west to the Temple of Heaven, in a small alley on Taiping Street near Taoranting Park, where very few people pass by. The path fully covered by fallen leaves is so narrow that only one car can fit in. Looked from the outside, this dilapidated building has nothing to relate to the black jails, although more than 20 petitioners, all from Henan, are illegally imprisoned here. In fact, the hostel is rented by the Office for Letters and Calls of Henan Province, used especially to lock up the petitioners. . At the door of black jail, Guo Jianlong and Xu Zhiyong were responsible for communicating to the people inside while I was watching the outside circumstances. After a lengthy dispute, the person we wanted to meet finally came out, briefly talking with us behind a closed security door. The one we tried to save was a woman in her fifties, who was allegedly detained before getting a chance to petition. . Subsequently, an interception officer who pretended as a petitioner’s relative came to knock at the black jail’s door, but the guard inside didn’t let him in immediately because of our visit. We talked with him for a while, learning some information. . The man didn’t get in until 20 minutes later. Then we again had a short conversation with the person we wanted. I heard she was incessantly saying, “We are just talking”, which was assumed that someone inside was attempting to stop our dialog. . In the meantime, 3 or 4 strappers stared at us from the corner and the other side of the alley. Xu Zhiyong indicated they were the black jail’s thugs, one of which even passed us with a kid in his arms. According to Zola, that man had planned “holding the kid to kick them”. After that, we had a word with another female petitioner who professed to come here of “her own volition” through the window. . About one hour later, nearly 5:20 pm, a mini-bus with the license of “? MG8490” drove into the alley, from which got off 3 or 4 big men. They abusively seized Guo Jianlong, asking why he was there. “To receive someone,” Guo replied. “Whom?! Whom?!” one of them impatiently shouted. Without surplus words, the big men started hitting us. We hastened to ask Zola staying tens of meters out run away. At the time, the thugs who watched us from the beginning came up one by one, about 6 or 7 in all. A fat guy of Beijing accent beat Xu Zhiyong the most brutally, while swearing, “You are the f*** lawyer, right?!” Maybe because it’s mainly Guo Jianlong and Xu Zhiyong that negotiated with them just now and I almost kept silent, they didn’t punch me. Even though, I was still a little scared. Without running off or fighting back, I acted as a shameful onlooker. I even got no courage to yell “stoppage”. . “Go to the police station. It’s very close,” those thugs provocatively said, while hitting and cursing. About 5 minutes later, they stopped, but we didn’t leave. “He is one of them,” one of the thugs pointed at me, though no one lifted hands against my face. . During the entire process, Xu Zhiyong and Guo Jianlong didn’t strike back in any way. . Around 17:45, the woman we expected finally came out of the jail, accompanied with the officer from the Office for Letters and Calls of her hometown. So Xu Yongzhi, Guo Jianlong and I quickly moved out of the alley. As we arrived at the corner, another brutal thug rushed into the way, threatening to bump Xu to death by car. Since Xu continued standing on the way, I hurried to draw him aside, saying, “The person has been saved. Let’s get out of here.” Xu Zhiyong then said to the thugs: “We will be back. “ … Zola gave an outline of the whole thing and had more materials in his blog: …… 10?13??????twitter???????????????doubleaf?????21?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????B??????????????????A????????A?????? … At noon of October 13?I published information in twitter, seeking for people who wanted to go to the black jail together. Doubleaf was on vacation and Guo Jianlong working at the Economy Report of 21 Century was also free, so we decided to meet before Youth Hotel at 4:00 pm. The plan was I watched and recorded at the intersection while the other three men went to the door to ask for the petitioner. . The following map shows our positions that I watch A where the other three men negotiate with the guards to ask for the petitioner from B where the gate of Beijing No. 62 High School is located. ?http://log.zuo.la/ ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????M G8790 ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????. …… You may check my short records from http://log.zuo.la/. We started at about 4:00 pm and finished at 5:30 pm. During the one-hour operation, the guards of the black jail didn’t take action until about 5:20 pm. Four or three men jumped out of a mini-bus with a number of “?MG8790”, and began to attack us. Here is the audio record which is at the great expense of Guo Jianlong and Xu Zhiyong. Welcome to download. … ???????????????????????????? The following shot was taken when the conflict occurred. I only got a video for seconds in the distance, so it’s not clear enough. ???????????????????????????????? The following picture was taken as we just reached the black jail. Guo Jianlong and Chen Er are talking on cell phones while Xu Zhiyong is knocking at the door. blockquote???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? This is my self-shot. To my west is the gate of No. 62 High School, the north is Xu Zhiyong group, the east is the side door of the Youth Hotel, where several thugs are gathered, and to my south also stands two men, who are unidentified. ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? The following picture was taken from the east. The three men are thugs, one of which holds a kid. I didn’t catch the most brutal men who rode bike to buy bears and then got drunk. He ripped off a button from Xu Yongzhi’s shirt while throttled Xu’s neck. ?????????????“???????” In the following picture, the black jacket says to the brown jacket, “Go and kick their ass.” ???10?5?????????????????????M G8790 ??????. The following picture was taken during the visit to black jail on October 5. According to the conflict this time, the car of “? MG8970” behind must belong to the black jail. Besides the four men’s admirable courage and omni-directional blogging afterwards, another stunning knockout of the black jail operation is Doubleaf and Zola’s live report on the event by Twitter, which, as Isaac Mao commented, “has showed the social media’s potential routes of transmission and power.” With the abolition of custody and repatriation (C&R) system in 2003, it seems the Chinese petitioners no longer have to worry about being detained as illegal residents when they leave for a strange city to petition a higher governmental institution. However, according to blogger Xu Zhiyong, a young professor of law and strong advocate for human rights, those supplicants are actually still being intercepted by the local officials from the way to the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, the Supreme People’s Court or other departments, and forcedly taken to some makeshift house of detention, being lock up without any legal process. As the places which confined the petitioners are always hidden among the ordinary buildings, people call them “Black Jails”. In cooperation with citizen reporter Zhou Shuguang (Zola) and other two journalists Chen Er (Doubleaf) and Guo Jiannong, Xu Zhiyong, who firstly blogged Beijing’s black jails in the end of September, went to visit one of the unlawful prisons again on Monday, attacked by a group of thugs who were allegedly hired by the authorities. Xu introduced the background of the operation in his blog: ?????????“????????????????????????????????????????????”??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? …… Yesterday I received an SMS, “This is Henan’s Ma Xirong, being confined with more than twenty people in the black jail behind the Youth Hotel on the Beijing Hufang road. Can you save us? Emergency!”. Because I was at class and tied up with my work at that moment, I promised to go there today. After the last SMS contact at about 11:00 am, making sure Ma was still there, I decided to start off at 4:00 pm. . I arranged with Zhou Shuguang and his two journalist friends to meet at the Youth Hotel. Three of us reached the door of black jail at 4:15 pm, leaving Zhou to shoot videos from a safe distance. Ma Xirong came to the window and asked to let her out, but the guard rejected her request while calling the Beijing Office of Henan Province. So she talked with us through the window, saying that she was questioned by the police while walking in Wangfujing Street. After finding her petition materials, the police arrested her and then locked her up in this place. When more and more petitioners assembled at the window, Ma Xirong was forced into the inner room by the guard and I could still hear she shouted, “I am a citizen. Who are you to stop me here?” … Doubleaf, a well-known blogger in China, from his unique angle promptly blogged the situation at that time : ????????????? Xu Zhiyong and Guo Jianlong at the gate of black jail ??????? The alley where the black jail is located …… ???????????“??????”??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????20??????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????20?????????????????????????????????“????????”????????????????????? ????????????????????3?4???????????????????????????????????????zuola???????“???????????”??????????????????????????“??”????? ?????????????5?20?????????MG8490???????????3?4???????????????????????????????????“????”?????????????????????????????zuola????????????????????????6?7????????????????????????????????????? ???????“???????”????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????“??”??????? ?????????????????????????????????5??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????? ????????17?45??? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? …… … The black jail is actually a hostel named “Cozy Youth Hotel”, west to the Temple of Heaven, in a small alley on Taiping Street near Taoranting Park, where very few people pass by. The path fully covered by fallen leaves is so narrow that only one car can fit in. Looked from the outside, this dilapidated building has nothing to relate to the black jails, although more than 20 petitioners, all from Henan, are illegally imprisoned here. In fact, the hostel is rented by the Office for Letters and Calls of Henan Province, used especially to lock up the petitioners. . At the door of black jail, Guo Jianlong and Xu Zhiyong were responsible for communicating to the people inside while I was watching the outside circumstances. After a lengthy dispute, the person we wanted to meet finally came out, briefly talking with us behind a closed security door. The one we tried to save was a woman in her fifties, who was allegedly detained before getting a chance to petition. . Subsequently, an interception officer who pretended as a petitioner’s relative came to knock at the black jail’s door, but the guard inside didn’t let him in immediately because of our visit. We talked with him for a while, learning some information. . The man didn’t get in until 20 minutes later. Then we again had a short conversation with the person we wanted. I heard she was incessantly saying, “We are just talking”, which was assumed that someone inside was attempting to stop our dialog. . In the meantime, 3 or 4 strappers stared at us from the corner and the other side of the alley. Xu Zhiyong indicated they were the black jail’s thugs, one of which even passed us with a kid in his arms. According to Zola, that man had planned “holding the kid to kick them”. After that, we had a word with another female petitioner who professed to come here of “her own volition” through the window. . About one hour later, nearly 5:20 pm, a mini-bus with the license of “? MG8490” drove into the alley, from which got off 3 or 4 big men. They abusively seized Guo Jianlong, asking why he was there. “To receive someone,” Guo replied. “Whom?! Whom?!” one of them impatiently shouted. Without surplus words, the big men started hitting us. We hastened to ask Zola staying tens of meters out run away. At the time, the thugs who watched us from the beginning came up one by one, about 6 or 7 in all. A fat guy of Beijing accent beat Xu Zhiyong the most brutally, while swearing, “You are the f*** lawyer, right?!” Maybe because it’s mainly Guo Jianlong and Xu Zhiyong that negotiated with them just now and I almost kept silent, they didn’t punch me. Even though, I was still a little scared. Without running off or fighting back, I acted as a shameful onlooker. I even got no courage to yell “stoppage”. . “Go to the police station. It’s very close,” those thugs provocatively said, while hitting and cursing. About 5 minutes later, they stopped, but we didn’t leave. “He is one of them,” one of the thugs pointed at me, though no one lifted hands against my face. . During the entire process, Xu Zhiyong and Guo Jianlong didn’t strike back in any way. . Around 17:45, the woman we expected finally came out of the jail, accompanied with the officer from the Office for Letters and Calls of her hometown. So Xu Yongzhi, Guo Jianlong and I quickly moved out of the alley. As we arrived at the corner, another brutal thug rushed into the way, threatening to bump Xu to death by car. Since Xu continued standing on the way, I hurried to draw him aside, saying, “The person has been saved. Let’s get out of here.” Xu Zhiyong then said to the thugs: “We will be back. “ … Zola gave an outline of the whole thing and had more materials in his blog: …… 10?13??????twitter???????????????doubleaf?????21?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????B??????????????????A????????A?????? … At noon of October 13?I published information in twitter, seeking for people who wanted to go to the black jail together. Doubleaf was on vacation and Guo Jianlong working at the Economy Report of 21 Century was also free, so we decided to meet before Youth Hotel at 4:00 pm. The plan was I watched and recorded at the intersection while the other three men went to the door to ask for the petitioner. . The following map shows our positions that I watch A where the other three men negotiate with the guards to ask for the petitioner from B where the gate of Beijing No. 62 High School is located. ?http://log.zuo.la/ ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????M G8790 ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????. …… You may check my short records from http://log.zuo.la/. We started at about 4:00 pm and finished at 5:30 pm. During the one-hour operation, the guards of the black jail didn’t take action until about 5:20 pm. Four or three men jumped out of a mini-bus with a number of “?MG8790”, and began to attack us. Here is the audio record which is at the great expense of Guo Jianlong and Xu Zhiyong. Welcome to download. … ???????????????????????????? The following shot was taken when the conflict occurred. I only got a video for seconds in the distance, so it’s not clear enough. ???????????????????????????????? The following picture was taken as we just reached the black jail. Guo Jianlong and Chen Er are talking on cell phones while Xu Zhiyong is knocking at the door. blockquote???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? This is my self-shot. To my west is the gate of No. 62 High School, the north is Xu Zhiyong group, the east is the side door of the Youth Hotel, where several thugs are gathered, and to my south also stands two men, who are unidentified. ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? The following picture was taken from the east. The three men are thugs, one of which holds a kid. I didn’t catch the most brutal men who rode bike to buy bears and then got drunk. He ripped off a button from Xu Yongzhi’s shirt while throttled Xu’s neck. ?????????????“???????” In the following picture, the black jacket says to the brown jacket, “Go and kick their ass.” ???10?5?????????????????????M G8790 ??????. The following picture was taken during the visit to black jail on October 5. According to the conflict this time, the car of “? MG8970” behind must belong to the black jail. Besides the four men’s admirable courage and omni-directional blogging afterwards, another stunning knockout of the black jail operation is Doubleaf and Zola’s live report on the event by Twitter, which, as Isaac Mao commented, “has showed the social media’s potential routes of transmission and power.” tag:odeo.com,2008-10-17,23498468 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:38:45 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts Media, photos, Feature, China, law, Press, english, chinese, human rights, freedom of speech, weblog, governance, East Asia http://odeo.com/episodes/23488221-Global-Babbling-Doll-Offensive-to-American-Parents If you think that the incomprehensible sounds babies make mean nothing, think again. Keeping up with the times, the blogopshere is abuzz over Fisher-Price’s Baby Cuddle and Coo doll, which allegedly proclaims: “Islam is the light.” Many parents in the US are outraged and some shops have even pulled the ‘offensive' doll off the shelves. From the US, Mike Mozart of Jeepersmedia asks his audiences to “listen and decide”: Having heard all she needs to hear, American Progressive Muslima News notes: The haters have reached new lows of Islamophobic stupidity with allegations that Fisher-Price’s “Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Cuddle and Coo” doll invokes Satan AND proclaims “Islam is the Light.” (Note to the gullible: a so-called Islamic doll would not gurgle phrases like “Satan is King.”) I listened to the clip of this doll and could not detect any words — just baby-like babbling. She further remarks: Give. Me. A. Break. From Morocco, Myrtus adds: Listen t... If you think that the incomprehensible sounds babies make mean nothing, think again. Keeping up with the times, the blogopshere is abuzz over Fisher-Price’s Baby Cuddle and Coo doll, which allegedly proclaims: “Islam is the light.” Many parents in the US are outraged and some shops have even pulled the ‘offensive' doll off the shelves. From the US, Mike Mozart of Jeepersmedia asks his audiences to “listen and decide”: Having heard all she needs to hear, American Progressive Muslima News notes: The haters have reached new lows of Islamophobic stupidity with allegations that Fisher-Price’s “Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Cuddle and Coo” doll invokes Satan AND proclaims “Islam is the Light.” (Note to the gullible: a so-called Islamic doll would not gurgle phrases like “Satan is King.”) I listened to the clip of this doll and could not detect any words — just baby-like babbling. She further remarks: Give. Me. A. Break. From Morocco, Myrtus adds: Listen to the doll and hear what it says…. “Islam is the light”? or “it's mommy's delight”? or something else. Commenting on the incident, Global Voices Online Morocco author Jillian York writes on Kabobfest : To most of us, just yet another annoying doll that makes unrealistic sounds and drives parents crazy. But to one community of Midwesterners, this doll is a terrorist. […] According to Tulsa, Oklahoma's KJRH, Baby Cuddle and Coo utters, among other things, “Islam is the light.” (Incidentally, you can hear the track right here; I can clearly hear the word “night” or “light” but otherwise have no idea what these nuts are talking about). York continues: Yeah. So let's suppose for a moment that the doll is in fact saying “Islam is the light.” Clearly, that must mean that Fisher Price is secretly owned by terrorists, aligned with Obama, and intent on world domination. Clearly. Or, it could mean that some dude had a little too much fun one day at the Fisher Price factory. And finally, Aussie Dave , from Israel, has a different take. In a post entitled Infidoll, he writes: Meet the Fisher-Price “Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Cuddle and Coo.” Or you may know it by its factory name “Little Freaky Doll That Digs Allah and Satan.” If you think that the incomprehensible sounds babies make mean nothing, think again. Keeping up with the times, the blogopshere is abuzz over Fisher-Price’s Baby Cuddle and Coo doll, which allegedly proclaims: “Islam is the light.” Many parents in the US are outraged and some shops have even pulled the ‘offensive' doll off the shelves. From the US, Mike Mozart of Jeepersmedia asks his audiences to “listen and decide”: Having heard all she needs to hear, American Progressive Muslima News notes: The haters have reached new lows of Islamophobic stupidity with allegations that Fisher-Price’s “Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Cuddle and Coo” doll invokes Satan AND proclaims “Islam is the Light.” (Note to the gullible: a so-called Islamic doll would not gurgle phrases like “Satan is King.”) I listened to the clip of this doll and could not detect any words — just baby-like babbling. She further remarks: Give. Me. A. Break. From Morocco, Myrtus adds: Listen to the doll and hear what it says…. “Islam is the light”? or “it's mommy's delight”? or something else. Commenting on the incident, Global Voices Online Morocco author Jillian York writes on Kabobfest : To most of us, just yet another annoying doll that makes unrealistic sounds and drives parents crazy. But to one community of Midwesterners, this doll is a terrorist. […] According to Tulsa, Oklahoma's KJRH, Baby Cuddle and Coo utters, among other things, “Islam is the light.” (Incidentally, you can hear the track right here; I can clearly hear the word “night” or “light” but otherwise have no idea what these nuts are talking about). York continues: Yeah. So let's suppose for a moment that the doll is in fact saying “Islam is the light.” Clearly, that must mean that Fisher Price is secretly owned by terrorists, aligned with Obama, and intent on world domination. Clearly. Or, it could mean that some dude had a little too much fun one day at the Fisher Price factory. And finally, Aussie Dave , from Israel, has a different take. In a post entitled Infidoll, he writes: Meet the Fisher-Price “Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Cuddle and Coo.” Or you may know it by its factory name “Little Freaky Doll That Digs Allah and Satan.” tag:odeo.com,2008-10-14,23488221 Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:15:14 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts Entertainment, video, Israel, religion, children, english, weblog, morocco, u.s.a., Middle East & North Africa http://odeo.com/episodes/23445002-China-Giving-a-hand-to-rescue-U-S The sweeping financial crisis that strikes U.S has brought a debate in the country and its congress whether the government should intervene and rescue the Wall Street, or even the entire economy. And It is not the only country pondering on a rescue plan. Right in a recent interview by CNN, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao appealed for giving States a hand: So this time we should join hands and meet the crisis together. If the financial and economic system in the United States go wrong, then the impact will be felt, not only in this country but also in China, in Asia and in the world at large. Wen talked so with a certain reason, as blogger ???? posted on discussion board Tianya.cn in a entry named “should China rescue U.S?” ; ???????????;? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? In this world, U.S i s the only state that may influence the entire world, not just that it’s the only super power, but that it owns th e largest con... The sweeping financial crisis that strikes U.S has brought a debate in the country and its congress whether the government should intervene and rescue the Wall Street, or even the entire economy. And It is not the only country pondering on a rescue plan. Right in a recent interview by CNN, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao appealed for giving States a hand: So this time we should join hands and meet the crisis together. If the financial and economic system in the United States go wrong, then the impact will be felt, not only in this country but also in China, in Asia and in the world at large. Wen talked so with a certain reason, as blogger ???? posted on discussion board Tianya.cn in a entry named “should China rescue U.S?” ; ???????????;? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? In this world, U.S i s the only state that may influence the entire world, not just that it’s the only super power, but that it owns th e largest consumption market all over the world. You can stop importing goods from U.S, but c an by no means ceas e exportin g to it. If such a market stagnates, the global economy has no way to avoid a disaster. The plane named “subprime mortgage crisis” is running into “Dollar status” and “foreign debt”, illustrated by unknown netizen. Besides the States’ significant influence over global market, more importantly, China is the largest holder of U.S. Treasury bills, and also maintained a strong trade tie with US where is the country’s major destination of export(21% of total). With its GDP’s reliance on export, the determination of China to help rescue U.S from another disastrous depression could be reasonable. As Wen Jiabao said in the interview, The U.S. finance is closely connected with the Chinese finance. If anything goes wrong in the U.S. financial sector, we are anxious about the safety and security of Chinese capital. But does the situation allow China to rescue U.S? Above all, the prospect of U.S economy is in deep uncertainty. No one could imagine how much the crisis that has destructed Bear Stern and Lehman Brothers is going to wreck anymore. ???? pointed out that the crisis is rooted in the States’ inherent economic system, that ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????“????”????????????????????????????? The U.S economy relied strongly on financial industry, being used to consuming on today with the money might be earned tomorrow, as determined by their consumerism culture. Thus, the consequence could be ???????????????? ????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????…… ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????1931?????????????????? ??????????????? 1. Americans dare not put money in the banks. 2. The downfall of financial industry would drive people away from the bonds Wall Street issued, thus its financing capability would be very much undermined… 5. the dollars are going to devalue so that its status as a global currency would come to an end. 6. as the largest and second holders of U.S. Treasury bills, Japan and China would be marred due to the slumping dollar value 7. Major nations in the world might endeavor to displace their crisis by the method of war, and a new world war with the massive use of nuclear weapons is inevitable….. At the end of his article, the blogger posted a critical question ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? We should know that China could play a positive role in the crisis as the largest holder of dollar reserve. The problem is, since U.S has long been giving troubles to China and trying to impede the reunification of China. Should we pay back the bad with good? In 2 pages of comments followed, firespace1 scorned ??????????? I support you to rescue U.S with your salary. 7758521wan said: ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????……????????? You are such an amazing man that is going to save America! No f**king a few days since you have enough to stuff your stomach! if you have money you had better go out to the street and accommodate a few more countrymen. Isn’t that better? ……Shame on you. Accordingly, maybe people should ask “do we have the power to save America”. ????1970 said: ??????????? ??????????????????? China has no power to give U.S a hand. It’s been the greatest support not to take its advantage to sell the treasury bills. But ??????? thought the other way, ??????????.??????.???????.??????????.?????,????????.????????????.????????????. Shut up those abuse the blogger. If the crisis keeps going, up to 10 months our domestic economy would be out of control, from financial to real estate industries. I can’t tell then how many Chinese would kill themselves. EileenZ?rebuked: ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? So as you guys say, America should never fall, and the entire world ought to uphold the power of U.S so that it can spend others’ money to pay and order goods from other countries. ?????? seconds, giving an analogy ???????????,?????????,?????.????????,???????,????????????????,??????????.???????? China is like working for U.S, a boss who someday says he has run out of money, the company going to collapse. However, China says,”No, you can't fall, or I will be starving without a job.” Then the boss says,” OK, then please lend me some money, so that I can keep the company, and you can keep working for me.” What a logic! That might be why insins said: ?????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Yes, we should help it. But it should be conditional. Though it’s not moral to bargain that way, we don’t have to feel guilty to do so with Americans, since that’s the way they treated us. We can bargain on Taiwan and Tibet issues. What good chips! More than the unwillingness to give a hand, there are voices criticizing U.S is trying to transfer his financial burden to all the rest of the world, nothing different with a rogue state's action. In another discussion board, IronBlood, ??? said ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????……???????????????????????????? The financial bankruptcy, quite the same as Chinese enterprise reform in 1997, is to rid of its financial burden. But they are inherently different, that U.S is going to rid of the debt he owed to the world, with its actual capital unaffected. Do we have to save such a country without any credit? On the one hand, China fears the financial crisis would not only involve the States itself, but destroy the global market and economic order as well; while on the other hand, it is thrilled by the significant chance, as the States might have during the World War 2, that along with the shift on power map, China would escalate to a status of super power. ???'s comment is exactly the expression of this ambition: ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????“??????????????????????????????????????” Chinese people refused to let their government to help rescue the U.S market. Firstly, China has suffered a lot in U.S financial bankruptcy; Second, dollar should no more be the single world currency we have, and stop kidnapping the global economy with such a status. Third, the world economy is in need of a reshuffle, to evade any likewise debt-shirking behavior in the future. As netizens say: the economic crisis this time is a redistribution of the economic powers in the world; China, has to be prepared for the restoration of a new order. The sweeping financial crisis that strikes U.S has brought a debate in the country and its congress whether the government should intervene and rescue the Wall Street, or even the entire economy. And It is not the only country pondering on a rescue plan. Right in a recent interview by CNN, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao appealed for giving States a hand: So this time we should join hands and meet the crisis together. If the financial and economic system in the United States go wrong, then the impact will be felt, not only in this country but also in China, in Asia and in the world at large. Wen talked so with a certain reason, as blogger ???? posted on discussion board Tianya.cn in a entry named “should China rescue U.S?” ; ???????????;? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? In this world, U.S i s the only state that may influence the entire world, not just that it’s the only super power, but that it owns th e largest consumption market all over the world. You can stop importing goods from U.S, but c an by no means ceas e exportin g to it. If such a market stagnates, the global economy has no way to avoid a disaster. The plane named “subprime mortgage crisis” is running into “Dollar status” and “foreign debt”, illustrated by unknown netizen. Besides the States’ significant influence over global market, more importantly, China is the largest holder of U.S. Treasury bills, and also maintained a strong trade tie with US where is the country’s major destination of export(21% of total). With its GDP’s reliance on export, the determination of China to help rescue U.S from another disastrous depression could be reasonable. As Wen Jiabao said in the interview, The U.S. finance is closely connected with the Chinese finance. If anything goes wrong in the U.S. financial sector, we are anxious about the safety and security of Chinese capital. But does the situation allow China to rescue U.S? Above all, the prospect of U.S economy is in deep uncertainty. No one could imagine how much the crisis that has destructed Bear Stern and Lehman Brothers is going to wreck anymore. ???? pointed out that the crisis is rooted in the States’ inherent economic system, that ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????“????”????????????????????????????? The U.S economy relied strongly on financial industry, being used to consuming on today with the money might be earned tomorrow, as determined by their consumerism culture. Thus, the consequence could be ???????????????? ????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????…… ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????1931?????????????????? ??????????????? 1. Americans dare not put money in the banks. 2. The downfall of financial industry would drive people away from the bonds Wall Street issued, thus its financing capability would be very much undermined… 5. the dollars are going to devalue so that its status as a global currency would come to an end. 6. as the largest and second holders of U.S. Treasury bills, Japan and China would be marred due to the slumping dollar value 7. Major nations in the world might endeavor to displace their crisis by the method of war, and a new world war with the massive use of nuclear weapons is inevitable….. At the end of his article, the blogger posted a critical question ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? We should know that China could play a positive role in the crisis as the largest holder of dollar reserve. The problem is, since U.S has long been giving troubles to China and trying to impede the reunification of China. Should we pay back the bad with good? In 2 pages of comments followed, firespace1 scorned ??????????? I support you to rescue U.S with your salary. 7758521wan said: ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????……????????? You are such an amazing man that is going to save America! No f**king a few days since you have enough to stuff your stomach! if you have money you had better go out to the street and accommodate a few more countrymen. Isn’t that better? ……Shame on you. Accordingly, maybe people should ask “do we have the power to save America”. ????1970 said: ??????????? ??????????????????? China has no power to give U.S a hand. It’s been the greatest support not to take its advantage to sell the treasury bills. But ??????? thought the other way, ??????????.??????.???????.??????????.?????,????????.????????????.????????????. Shut up those abuse the blogger. If the crisis keeps going, up to 10 months our domestic economy would be out of control, from financial to real estate industries. I can’t tell then how many Chinese would kill themselves. EileenZ?rebuked: ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? So as you guys say, America should never fall, and the entire world ought to uphold the power of U.S so that it can spend others’ money to pay and order goods from other countries. ?????? seconds, giving an analogy ???????????,?????????,?????.????????,???????,????????????????,??????????.???????? China is like working for U.S, a boss who someday says he has run out of money, the company going to collapse. However, China says,”No, you can't fall, or I will be starving without a job.” Then the boss says,” OK, then please lend me some money, so that I can keep the company, and you can keep working for me.” What a logic! That might be why insins said: ?????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Yes, we should help it. But it should be conditional. Though it’s not moral to bargain that way, we don’t have to feel guilty to do so with Americans, since that’s the way they treated us. We can bargain on Taiwan and Tibet issues. What good chips! More than the unwillingness to give a hand, there are voices criticizing U.S is trying to transfer his financial burden to all the rest of the world, nothing different with a rogue state's action. In another discussion board, IronBlood, ??? said ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????……???????????????????????????? The financial bankruptcy, quite the same as Chinese enterprise reform in 1997, is to rid of its financial burden. But they are inherently different, that U.S is going to rid of the debt he owed to the world, with its actual capital unaffected. Do we have to save such a country without any credit? On the one hand, China fears the financial crisis would not only involve the States itself, but destroy the global market and economic order as well; while on the other hand, it is thrilled by the significant chance, as the States might have during the World War 2, that along with the shift on power map, China would escalate to a status of super power. ???'s comment is exactly the expression of this ambition: ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????“??????????????????????????????????????” Chinese people refused to let their government to help rescue the U.S market. Firstly, China has suffered a lot in U.S financial bankruptcy; Second, dollar should no more be the single world currency we have, and stop kidnapping the global economy with such a status. Third, the world economy is in need of a reshuffle, to evade any likewise debt-shirking behavior in the future. As netizens say: the economic crisis this time is a redistribution of the economic powers in the world; China, has to be prepared for the restoration of a new order. tag:odeo.com,2008-10-03,23445002 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:07:43 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts Business, General, Politics, development, China, Finance, Economics, labor, chinese, industry, weblog, ideas, international relations, East Asia, Relief & Rescue, War & Conflict http://odeo.com/episodes/23441440-Japan-Who-can-you-call-about-Google-Street-View Blogger Hiromitsu Takagi [????] takes up the story [ja] of Google vice president Kent Walker's Q&A at a press conference in Tokyo on Sept. 29th, highlighting statements [ja] by Google Japan director K?ichir? Tsujino [?????] claiming that people who would like images from the company's Street View service to be taken down can contact their regional administrative offices or consumer centers. Takagi has his doubts and calls Google directly, then calls his local consumer center, and in the end confirms that no provisions are in place for takedown requests. Listen to his phone conversation with Google (in Japanese). (Thanks to Gen Kanai for the link.) Blogger Hiromitsu Takagi [????] takes up the story [ja] of Google vice president Kent Walker's Q&A at a press conference in Tokyo on Sept. 29th, highlighting statements [ja] by Google Japan director K?ichir? Tsujino [?????] claiming that people who would like images from the company's Street View service to be taken down can contact their regional administrative offices or consumer centers. Takagi has his doubts and calls Google directly, then calls his local consumer center, and in the end confirms that no provisions are in place for takedown requests. Listen to his phone conversation with Google (in Japanese). (Thanks to Gen Kanai for the link.) Blogger Hiromitsu Takagi [????] takes up the story [ja] of Google vice president Kent Walker's Q&A at a press conference in Tokyo on Sept. 29th, highlighting statements [ja] by Google Japan director K?ichir? Tsujino [?????] claiming that people who would like images from the company's Street View service to be taken down can contact their regional administrative offices or consumer centers. Takagi has his doubts and calls Google directly, then calls his local consumer center, and in the end confirms that no provisions are in place for takedown requests. Listen to his phone conversation with Google (in Japanese). (Thanks to Gen Kanai for the link.) tag:odeo.com,2008-10-01,23441440 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:53:12 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts Technology, japan, law, photography, breaking news, japanese, Internet & Telecoms, East Asia, Roundups, Software & Tools http://odeo.com/episodes/23384679-Iraq-Look-at-the-World-Where-is-peace So says Sahar . On the occasion of World Peace Day she writes: Look at the world – where is peace? It is shy and illusive. There is turmoil and war. There is distrust and fear of the other. There are hearts bleeding for their loved ones – it doesn't matter where, it doesn't matter who – loved ones are just as precious. Can we really strive for a day – one day of peace? One day in which we intentionally look at the half that is full instead of the half that is empty? Can we take a day to look at what human beings on Earth have in common rather than what divides us? Can we make the effort? Today a mixed bad of posts. A meeting of old friends, a little politics, a coin of excellence, a dose of female geekery and, if you read to the end, find out what fasting really does to you. If you watch no other video this week watch this one If you listen carefully to the news you may hear the odd glib comment about the concrete walls that have gone up around Baghda... So says Sahar . On the occasion of World Peace Day she writes: Look at the world – where is peace? It is shy and illusive. There is turmoil and war. There is distrust and fear of the other. There are hearts bleeding for their loved ones – it doesn't matter where, it doesn't matter who – loved ones are just as precious. Can we really strive for a day – one day of peace? One day in which we intentionally look at the half that is full instead of the half that is empty? Can we take a day to look at what human beings on Earth have in common rather than what divides us? Can we make the effort? Today a mixed bad of posts. A meeting of old friends, a little politics, a coin of excellence, a dose of female geekery and, if you read to the end, find out what fasting really does to you. If you watch no other video this week watch this one If you listen carefully to the news you may hear the odd glib comment about the concrete walls that have gone up around Baghdad. But, to truly understand the devastation these walls cause to the communities that are divided by them one must listen to the voices of the ordinary Iraqis. Which is exactly what Alive in Baghdad does. When Birds Die Where do birds dig their graves, brown and black … and blue? They crawl at the end of their time into nothingness that we will never know… They respect each others private last minute with God… before the final accession. They turn their heads the other way when loved ones die. Then turn them again to bestow all the love of the skies and flight… in parting. Poem by ZZ Bits and Pieces A&E Iraq meets his closest friend that he has not seen since they parted in Iraq. The meeting brings memories of times past: I had flashes from the past, him being threatened by the security forces, there weapons were pointed to his neck, when I started shouting and threatening. We were always ready to die together, he never let me down… I kept looking at him, the same smile, the same gestures, and the same childish behavior. I closed my eyes and found myself sitting in his black small car (the one he used to have in Baghdad), as he used to come everyday, ringing the bell, and then we both disappear. Going out, drinking special juice from (14th of Ramadan street), chatting, listening to songs, eating Falafel or Lahmb3ajeen, and then going back, sit in the car, keep talking, talking about love, friends and future plans. Last of Iraqis notices the recent prisoner releases by America but finds some ominous signs for the future peace in Iraq: I can surely say that there is a good number of [Al Qaida] members among those prisoners as a colleague of mine said when he was talking about his neighbor who is a released prisoner:” I can assure you Mohammed he was in [Al Qaida], I'm sure of that as I'm sure of my name…he was released and few hours 4 members of the Awakening came to visit him!! can you believe that…I bet the situation will get worst pretty soon”… Only god knows what the coming days are hiding for us. Inside the Green Zone, Neurotic Wife gets an award (picture left) from the Commanding General in charge of her office. For the first time “the woman that can go on talking forever and give headaches to people all over the world”, is speechless. But, she does not want to take the credit for herself. Neurotic Wife writes: I seriously don’t think I deserve this coin, but instead, I believe that this coin should be dedicated to all those who lost their lives in the name of this country. First and foremost I dedicate it to all the innocent Iraqi martyrs whose blood is still running deep. Deep within these rivers. And ofcourse, I also dedicate it to the coalition forces and the multi national forces who may not have sacrificed their lives because they “love” us, but they sacrificed their lives in the name of their own country. And to me, to me all those who sacrificed their lives for THEIR country is the epitome of ones honour. A Pure and Honest Honour… Ihath finds a Swarovski Crystal pendant that is also a USB memory stick and, as a true female geek, she cannot contain her delight. Ihath tries to explain to the confused shop assistant why this is so cool: So I began to explain to her that this thingy can be attached to a computer or a laptop and you can transfer you files to it and then you have your files with you all the time but it is also a heart shaped pendant which makes a statement about the love you have for these files. The elderly woman still looked puzzled and asked me “So why is that cool?”. “Well it is cool because you have your files with you in a heart shaped pendant hanging on your chest, which means you love your files and your digital files are important to you and you have them hanging right next to your heart, which says something” I tried to explain. “Aha” she replied, but she didn’t look very convinced. And Finally Bookish posts a result of Ramadhan that everyone fasting will find familiar: This is my weight just before having Al-Futoor. My weight just after having Al-Futoor. :) So says Sahar . On the occasion of World Peace Day she writes: Look at the world – where is peace? It is shy and illusive. There is turmoil and war. There is distrust and fear of the other. There are hearts bleeding for their loved ones – it doesn't matter where, it doesn't matter who – loved ones are just as precious. Can we really strive for a day – one day of peace? One day in which we intentionally look at the half that is full instead of the half that is empty? Can we take a day to look at what human beings on Earth have in common rather than what divides us? Can we make the effort? Today a mixed bad of posts. A meeting of old friends, a little politics, a coin of excellence, a dose of female geekery and, if you read to the end, find out what fasting really does to you. If you watch no other video this week watch this one If you listen carefully to the news you may hear the odd glib comment about the concrete walls that have gone up around Baghdad. But, to truly understand the devastation these walls cause to the communities that are divided by them one must listen to the voices of the ordinary Iraqis. Which is exactly what Alive in Baghdad does. When Birds Die Where do birds dig their graves, brown and black … and blue? They crawl at the end of their time into nothingness that we will never know… They respect each others private last minute with God… before the final accession. They turn their heads the other way when loved ones die. Then turn them again to bestow all the love of the skies and flight… in parting. Poem by ZZ Bits and Pieces A&E Iraq meets his closest friend that he has not seen since they parted in Iraq. The meeting brings memories of times past: I had flashes from the past, him being threatened by the security forces, there weapons were pointed to his neck, when I started shouting and threatening. We were always ready to die together, he never let me down… I kept looking at him, the same smile, the same gestures, and the same childish behavior. I closed my eyes and found myself sitting in his black small car (the one he used to have in Baghdad), as he used to come everyday, ringing the bell, and then we both disappear. Going out, drinking special juice from (14th of Ramadan street), chatting, listening to songs, eating Falafel or Lahmb3ajeen, and then going back, sit in the car, keep talking, talking about love, friends and future plans. Last of Iraqis notices the recent prisoner releases by America but finds some ominous signs for the future peace in Iraq: I can surely say that there is a good number of [Al Qaida] members among those prisoners as a colleague of mine said when he was talking about his neighbor who is a released prisoner:” I can assure you Mohammed he was in [Al Qaida], I'm sure of that as I'm sure of my name…he was released and few hours 4 members of the Awakening came to visit him!! can you believe that…I bet the situation will get worst pretty soon”… Only god knows what the coming days are hiding for us. Inside the Green Zone, Neurotic Wife gets an award (picture left) from the Commanding General in charge of her office. For the first time “the woman that can go on talking forever and give headaches to people all over the world”, is speechless. But, she does not want to take the credit for herself. Neurotic Wife writes: I seriously don’t think I deserve this coin, but instead, I believe that this coin should be dedicated to all those who lost their lives in the name of this country. First and foremost I dedicate it to all the innocent Iraqi martyrs whose blood is still running deep. Deep within these rivers. And ofcourse, I also dedicate it to the coalition forces and the multi national forces who may not have sacrificed their lives because they “love” us, but they sacrificed their lives in the name of their own country. And to me, to me all those who sacrificed their lives for THEIR country is the epitome of ones honour. A Pure and Honest Honour… Ihath finds a Swarovski Crystal pendant that is also a USB memory stick and, as a true female geek, she cannot contain her delight. Ihath tries to explain to the confused shop assistant why this is so cool: So I began to explain to her that this thingy can be attached to a computer or a laptop and you can transfer you files to it and then you have your files with you all the time but it is also a heart shaped pendant which makes a statement about the love you have for these files. The elderly woman still looked puzzled and asked me “So why is that cool?”. “Well it is cool because you have your files with you in a heart shaped pendant hanging on your chest, which means you love your files and your digital files are important to you and you have them hanging right next to your heart, which says something” I tried to explain. “Aha” she replied, but she didn’t look very convinced. And Finally Bookish posts a result of Ramadhan that everyone fasting will find familiar: This is my weight just before having Al-Futoor. My weight just after having Al-Futoor. :) tag:odeo.com,2008-09-22,23384679 Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:26:08 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts Technology, Iraq, Politics, literature, photography, english, Humanitarian, weblog, diaspora, Middle East & North Africa http://odeo.com/episodes/23265189-GV-Show-Special-Interview-with-Wahda-Masrya-An-Egyptian-Girl During the closing session of the new media workshop I led recently in Alexandria, Egypt, practically everybody paid tribute to Shahinaz Abdelsalam, better known in the blogosphere as Wahda Masrya - an Egyptian Girl. The lone Alexandria native and one of the few experienced bloggers among the group, Shahinaz became for most of the participants a symbol of courage and deep commitment to the cause of human rights and of freedom expression. As Delphine Nerbollier tells us in her interview (Fr) with Shahinaz on the NewsLab blog, Shahinaz broke with family tradition and left her native city in 2005, and now leads an independent life in Cairo. At 29 years old, she works as an telecommunications engineer with Orange, a job which, for her, raises a number of ethical questions. “Orange moved to this country to so they could pay engineers lower salaries, and I'm against that sort of thing,” she says. “But you still have to live, don't you?” Unlike the majority ... During the closing session of the new media workshop I led recently in Alexandria, Egypt, practically everybody paid tribute to Shahinaz Abdelsalam, better known in the blogosphere as Wahda Masrya - an Egyptian Girl. The lone Alexandria native and one of the few experienced bloggers among the group, Shahinaz became for most of the participants a symbol of courage and deep commitment to the cause of human rights and of freedom expression. As Delphine Nerbollier tells us in her interview (Fr) with Shahinaz on the NewsLab blog, Shahinaz broke with family tradition and left her native city in 2005, and now leads an independent life in Cairo. At 29 years old, she works as an telecommunications engineer with Orange, a job which, for her, raises a number of ethical questions. “Orange moved to this country to so they could pay engineers lower salaries, and I'm against that sort of thing,” she says. “But you still have to live, don't you?” Unlike the majority of Muslim women in Egypt, Shahinaz has never worn a headscarf or veil, and has no plans to do so in the future. In this special edition of the Global Voices Show, Shahinaz talks about her own reasons for blogging; the risks faced by Egyptian bloggers who dare criticise the authorities; her friend, the imprisoned blogger Kareem Amer (whom she encouraged us all to write by giving us self-addressed stamped envelopes); and the activist blogging scene in Egypt. During the closing session of the new media workshop I led recently in Alexandria, Egypt, practically everybody paid tribute to Shahinaz Abdelsalam, better known in the blogosphere as Wahda Masrya - an Egyptian Girl. The lone Alexandria native and one of the few experienced bloggers among the group, Shahinaz became for most of the participants a symbol of courage and deep commitment to the cause of human rights and of freedom expression. As Delphine Nerbollier tells us in her interview (Fr) with Shahinaz on the NewsLab blog, Shahinaz broke with family tradition and left her native city in 2005, and now leads an independent life in Cairo. At 29 years old, she works as an telecommunications engineer with Orange, a job which, for her, raises a number of ethical questions. “Orange moved to this country to so they could pay engineers lower salaries, and I'm against that sort of thing,” she says. “But you still have to live, don't you?” Unlike the majority of Muslim women in Egypt, Shahinaz has never worn a headscarf or veil, and has no plans to do so in the future. In this special edition of the Global Voices Show, Shahinaz talks about her own reasons for blogging; the risks faced by Egyptian bloggers who dare criticise the authorities; her friend, the imprisoned blogger Kareem Amer (whom she encouraged us all to write by giving us self-addressed stamped envelopes); and the activist blogging scene in Egypt. tag:odeo.com,2007-12-03,23265189 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:28:55 -0800 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts podcasts, Politics, Feature, law, freedom of speech, Egypt, weblog, Middle East & North Africa, Blogger Profiles, Cyber-Activism http://odeo.com/episodes/1313952-The-Global-Voices-Show-2 tag:odeo.com,2006-06-10,1313952 Sat, 10 Jun 2006 06:57:53 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/250156-Sudan-Darfur-pledge-mp3 tag:odeo.com,2005-09-21,250156 Wed, 21 Sep 2005 08:46:34 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/242652-Book-Review-Interview-with-Roy-Moxham tag:odeo.com,2005-09-18,242652 Sun, 18 Sep 2005 09:58:30 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/198620-Book-Review-Podcast-The-World-is-Flat tag:odeo.com,2005-08-30,198620 Tue, 30 Aug 2005 06:31:26 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/116313-Podcast-Love-blogging-in-Chinese tag:odeo.com,2005-07-27,116313 Wed, 27 Jul 2005 12:22:47 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/116312-Podcast-from-Amman-with-Ahmad-Humein tag:odeo.com,2005-07-27,116312 Wed, 27 Jul 2005 10:14:08 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/113999-Ghana-Discussing-Podcasts-and-Video-Blogs-on-Radio-Ghana tag:odeo.com,2005-07-26,113999 Tue, 26 Jul 2005 05:18:40 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/103647-Accra-Update tag:odeo.com,2005-07-22,103647 Fri, 22 Jul 2005 05:37:03 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/100501-Skypecast-Andrea-Monti-of-ICTlex tag:odeo.com,2005-07-20,100501 Wed, 20 Jul 2005 14:55:17 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/98553-The-WSIS-Youth-Caucus-in-Ghana tag:odeo.com,2005-07-19,98553 Tue, 19 Jul 2005 09:24:15 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/85845-Podcast-Chinese-bloggers-interview-each-other tag:odeo.com,2005-07-12,85845 Tue, 12 Jul 2005 13:39:05 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/83618-%E2%80%9CMr-Behi%E2%80%9D-podcasts-from-Iran tag:odeo.com,2005-07-11,83618 Mon, 11 Jul 2005 03:03:37 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/71020-Clark-Boyd-interviews-Sokari-Ekine tag:odeo.com,2005-06-30,71020 Thu, 30 Jun 2005 03:57:47 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/71001-Skypecast-Freedom-Blog-winner-Markus-Beckedahl-of-Netzpolitik tag:odeo.com,2005-06-29,71001 Wed, 29 Jun 2005 15:43:59 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/67279-Skypecast-Freedom-Blog-winner-Markus-Beckedal-of-Netzpolitik tag:odeo.com,2005-06-29,67279 Wed, 29 Jun 2005 15:43:59 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/58898-Lebanon-Skypecast-2-Blogger-%E2%80%9CLebanon-Profile%E2%80%9D tag:odeo.com,2005-06-21,58898 Tue, 21 Jun 2005 09:44:20 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts http://odeo.com/episodes/58897-Lebanon-Skypecast-1-Blogger-Gustave-Cordahi tag:odeo.com,2005-06-21,58897 Tue, 21 Jun 2005 07:12:21 -0700 no Global Voices Online » Podcasts