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	<title>Cactus News Online&#187; global news</title>
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		<title>Ukraine: Businessman Seeks Protection Via YouTube, Not Police</title>
		<link>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/08/14/ukraine-businessman-seeks-protection-via-youtube-not-police/</link>
		<comments>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/08/14/ukraine-businessman-seeks-protection-via-youtube-not-police/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 14 Aug 2010 15:27:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>CH Elliot</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[global news]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[By Veronica Khokhlova A Donetsk businessman posts hidden camera footage of threats and harassment by a competitor, as well as an appeal for help to the Ukrainian president, on YouTube; the video (RUS) has generated over 56,000 views so far. (A detailed Kyiv Post story by Peter Byrne is here (ENG); Vadim Isakov&#8217;s GV translation [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span class="text-credits">By <a title="View all posts by Veronica Khokhlova" href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/author/neeka/">Veronica Khokhlova</a></span></p>
<p>A Donetsk businessman posts hidden camera footage of threats and harassment by a competitor, as well as an appeal for help to the Ukrainian president, on YouTube; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgPpUDv-fmA">the video</a> (RUS) has generated over 56,000 views so far. (A detailed <em>Kyiv Post</em> story by Peter Byrne is <a href="http://www.kyivpost.com/news/politics/detail/78148/">here</a> (ENG); Vadim Isakov&#8217;s GV translation on a similar case in Russia is <a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/08/10/russia-blogosphere-helps-man-fight-local-administration/">here</a>.)</p>
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		<title>The Greek Brigands - The Culture of Financial Crisis</title>
		<link>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/06/11/the-greek-brigands-the-culture-of-financial-crisis/</link>
		<comments>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/06/11/the-greek-brigands-the-culture-of-financial-crisis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>CH Elliot</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[global news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[financial crisis]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[The Greek Brigands &#8211; The Culture of Financial Crisis By Remko Caprio &#8220;But what about the Greeks? Their national character is based on the idea of the impoverished and downtrodden little man getting the better of the world around him by sheer cunning.&#8221; &#8211; Lawrence Durrell, Prospero&#8217;s Cell (1945) The Greek crisis has exposed existential [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cactusnewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/greek-building.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1039" title="greek building" src="http://cactusnewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/greek-building-181x300.jpg" alt="" width="181" height="300" /></a><em><strong><br />
</strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong>The Greek Brigands &#8211; The Culture of Financial Crisis<br />
By <a href="http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Remko_Caprio">Remko Caprio</a></strong></em></p>
<p>&#8220;But what about the Greeks? Their national character is based on the idea of the impoverished and downtrodden little man getting the better of the world around him by sheer cunning.&#8221; &#8211; Lawrence Durrell, Prospero&#8217;s Cell (1945)</p>
<p>The Greek crisis has exposed existential weaknesses in the Greek economy and revealed shortcomings in the larger European system of financial checks and balances. But the often emotional responses have also proven a cultural polarity between north and south. The German magazine, Focus, captured this antagonism by an image of the Venus of Milo suggestively sticking up the middle finger at Germany. Angered Greeks in return reminded Germans of the Nazi looting of Greek gold reserves and unpaid war retributions.</p>
<p>Beyond this populism in the media, there exists a fundamental rift in policy views between Mediterranean countries on the one side and Atlantic countries on the other side. In his influential book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905), the German sociologist Max Weber studied already the relationship between culture and economic performance. Weber considered the Protestant working ethic a pivotal element in the development of capitalist modernity. Behind the state of affairs of the Greek crisis lie causes rooted deeper in Greek culture than the immediate problems of government and economic structure. The traces of these historic roots carve an individual psychology and shape social norms that are difficult to change with measures of policy by politicians responding to the market&#8217;s wits.</p>
<p>In traditional Greek dances a group of dancers, interlocked arm over shoulder, form a circle and move with a set of prescribed steps. The Greeks do not easily break with their tradition and they do not possess an innate curiosity for the new like Western culture. Greeks depend on the bonds with family and their community. Arms locked, only the leader of the dance improvises, while the rest do not break the line of the circle.</p>
<p>The eyes of the international financial markets are on the fiscal measures announced by George Papandreou, the first citizen of Athens, and the reforms to be implemented by the central government. The response of Greek society and the economic support by the European Union members will be decisive in their success. The question is if the government can enforce the new policies in a country so geographically scattered and with a history of tax evasion as Greece. Historically Greeks dislike central government and have relied primarily on local self-governance, strengthened by the geographic distance of the islands from Athens and the isolation of mountainous villages. Not even the chief-god Zeus could rule the lesser Greek gods from the peaks of Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in the country. Greek history justifies mistrust in a Greek success. Measures to centralize government and constitute an efficient modern state have always been resisted, from classic times with the Delian League that ended in the Peloponnesian War, the occupation by the Ottoman Empire that gave birth to the palikare, the Greek folk hero, or the rise of the current government for which corruption and tax evasion are emblematic.</p>
<p>When the Persian empire threatened the independence of the Greek city states, Athens and the allied Greek city states formed the Delian League in 487 BCE. Members of the League were obliged to contribute soldiers for the defense of Greek democracies or could alternatively pay taxes to the League. When Athens started to control the League, Athens forced other city states to continue paying taxes to the League solely for its own benefit. When cities refused, they faced the wrath of the Athenian army and were simply annexed by Athens. But when the famous statesman Pericles moved the treasury holding the paid tax contributions, from the island of Delos to Athens, the rest of the Greeks defied. The resistance against dominance by Athens resulted in the Peloponnesian Wars and finally in the defeat and surrender of Athens in 404 BCE. Can Athens ensure a different outcome now?</p>
<p>Already under the Ottoman empire the Greeks resisted taxation, which was a symbol of oppression. From the fifteenth century they suffered heavy taxation by the Ottomans. As Christians under Islamic rule they were obliged to pay a land tax and the jizya, a tax for non-Muslims which was symbolic for subjection to the Ottoman rule. Heavy taxation reduced most Greeks to subsistence farming, while large estates fell into the hands of Ottoman nobles. Resentment against such taxation accumulated over almost five hundred years of occupation. The problems of modern Greece cannot be understood without understanding this Ottoman occupation of Greece and the long struggle for independence that lasted over a century, only ending bitterly for the Greeks in the disastrous defeat of 1922 against the forces of Atatürk&#8217;s modern Turkish state. The 1922 defeat meant an end to the Greek megali idea or great idea of a larger Greece that included Asia Minor and Constantinople, current day Istanbul. This defeat of the Greek state in Asia Minor was a failure by the central state with traumatic consequences.</p>
<p>The Museum for the Macedonian Struggle in Thessaloniki is a very small museum but with a deeply significant meaning for Greeks. In a corner mansion behind Aristotle Square, it showcases the history of the Macedonian Struggle, the guerrilla war against the Ottomans from 1900 to 1908, which annexed the Greek populace in Macedonia to the independent Greek territory. In 1821 the Greeks had won independence but it did not extend far beyond the Peloponnesos and Attica. The annexation of Macedonia gave the Greek state a renewed confidence that defined the Greek national identity and placed a claim on all territory in the greater region with Greek populations.</p>
<p>One room in the museum is devoted to Pavlos Melas who fought in the Macedonian Struggle. Behind a vitrine lay on view relics of Melas and part of his former personal belongings, a Smith and Wesson 38 revolver, an invitation card to his wedding, ribbons from his memorial wreaths, and a tin cup. He is a national symbol for the enosi or union of Greece that was hard fought and thereby of the Greek national identity. He is the embodiment of the traditional Greek folk hero, the palikare. As a lieutenant he left the regular service in the new army of the Greek state in order to fight as a brigand or irregular fighter against Ottoman occupation in Northern Greece. Greece was confined largely to the Peloponnese and consisted of a patchwork of people with different dialects. The irregular fighters became folk heroes to the Greeks, where the regular Greek army seemed incapable to protect the occupied Greeks in the north.</p>
<p>The irregular fighters fought in the same tradition as the Greek Klepths. These men had fled to the mountains in the eighteenth century to avoid the rule of the Ottomans and had formed bands of outlaws that later fought in the Greek War of Independence from 1821 to 1829. But also the Ottomans had used irregular forces to control impenetrable mountain areas. They allowed powerful local captains in these lawless areas to rule at will under oversight of distant Ottoman overlords. Even in our time, the use of irregular fighters was widespread during the recent Balkan Wars.</p>
<p>The palikare was in essence not more than a small brigand, who in groups roamed the mountains under the banner of irredentism and liberation of the Greeks. They evaded the rule of law and depended often on captains that exercised local power. The Greek national writer, Nikos Kazantzakis, describes this archetype colorful in his novels. In Freedom and Death the palikare Captain Michales refuses to swallow the occupation of Crete by the Turks, and the unruly Zorba is described in the novel Zorba the Greek, brilliantly enacted by Anthony Quinn in the 1964 film. The mountain freedom fighter, evading authority and growing a beard in defiance, this is the Greek traditional spirit.</p>
<p>The palikare is a symbol of the current Greek financial crisis, reflected in a popular sentiment that rejects the centralized modern state and commends the outlaw. The Greeks do not identify with the politics of central government, despite the fact that one out of every four Greeks is a public servant and is directly dependent on the government for their income. The central government is considered wasteful and corrupt, from which it is justified to extort money. While the citizen rejects subjection to the rule of the central state, the central state is a corrupt body that accommodates a game of lies in order to accumulate monetary gain.</p>
<p>The Greeks cunningly receive an income from government, while evading taxes and participating in the informal economy, defrauding the central state. This lack of loyalty extends to the even more remote European Union. Greeks gladly accept the EU subsidies paying lip services to its demands, but resent any interference in their lives. This practice goes back to the times of the Ottoman state, where Greek subjects evaded being taxed but sent representatives to Constantinople to request fiscal favors. While Ottoman rule had instituted local self-governance as the means for tax-assessment and tax-collection, the system developed local councils that were dominated by powerful local captains and wealthy families with a patron-client dependence.</p>
<p>Since its independence in 1821 the modern Greek state that emerged out of the Ottoman system has not been able to eradicate this local patron-client system which depends on counter dealings and favoritism. On the contrary, it could only emerge and survive by favoring such interests of the powerful local patrons or captains in return for their support, in a similar process as the centralized power of the European Union only is advanced by returning political favors.</p>
<p>Prime-minister George Papandreou understands the Atlantic European perspective and sensitivities. Like many Greeks who worked in Germany or America for the best part of their lives, he lived and studied in America and in Sweden during the formative years in his life. But although George Papandreou calms European suspicions by vocalizing a firm though nothing but verbal promise of reform, he himself is a vested representative of those powerful families that are symbolic of the centuries-old formalized corruption. Papandreou&#8217;s grandfather was three times prime-minister of Greece, his father founded the social-democratic party PASOK and also served as prime-minister, while the Nea Democratia party has been dominated by the patrons of the Karamanlis family.</p>
<p>Greek promises and measures of reform have pacified international markets and appeased European political leaders for the time being. Since Greece&#8217;s accession to the EU, however, Greek promises and assurances have been provided continuously under very similar scandals, and there has been little assurance from recent developments in Greece that this time will be different. The cotton-growers of Thessaly are perhaps exemplary for the problems of the Greek economy which is simply not compatible on the international market and for Greek fraud. Cotton growers depend heavily on subsidies for profitability, not shunning fraud and corruption, like wetting the cotton crop with water to increase the weight of the cotton. In 1992, for instance Greek farmers invented one fifth of its cotton crop in order to claim extra EU subsidies, and in Greece cotton farmers recently blocked most of the highways in Northern Greece, demanding payments from the government to offset loss of income from falling cotton prices on the international markets, while having resisted agricultural reforms for decades.</p>
<p>And even while prime-minister George Papandreou was on a credibility-building tour around European capitals, among other speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos to calm unrest on the financial markets and restore political credibility, his own Minister of Agriculture Katerina Batzeli reached an agreement with protesting farmers to provide financial compensation. Among the key measures was the injection of five and a half billion Euro by the Greek state to boost incomes and liquidity, promising little change in policies at home. And ask a Greek for an analysis of the current crisis, they will without exception point at the corruption of remote politicians, only admitting to some blame themselves in a delayed sub-clause.</p>
<p>But Europe has always been blinded by its love for Greece and one must fear that this will not change overnight. It has always admired Greece as the ideological and cultural foundation of European values. We learn from Greece the principles of Athenian democracy and copy Greek architecture, our secular thinkers study Heraclitus and Parmenides, our Christian moralists study Aristotle, Plato and Socrates, we learn the mathematics of Pythagoras, Euclid and Archimedes, our intellectuals learn by heart the Iliad and the Odyssey, even European cynics and stoics cling to the Greek. But this impression of Greece is overly romantic and Byronic, and one must hope that it is soon replaced by a more northern sense for Real-Politics.</p>
<p>The Philhellenic idea of a pastoral Greece in perfect harmony with nature disputes the complex reality of a twenty first century Greece. The sentiment of betrayal felt in Europe is as much a self-betrayal by a European Byronic complex. As Greece struggles to reconcile Western austerity with its Orthodox Byzantine generosity.</p>
<p>So, the Greek suitors have feasted and the time for reckoning has come. The return of order must be considered without sentimental attachments or unreasonable demands, while Europe must not be blinded by Greek cunning and abuse. The Greeks must decide to either be part of Europe and respect its fiscal rules or return to the Drachma as a political currency and loose its place at the European table.</p>
<p>&#8220;I detest that man, who hides one thing in the depths of his heart, and speaks forth another.&#8221; &#8211; Homer, Iliad IX, 312-13</p>
<p>Remko Caprio<br />
Living on Ikaria, Greece<br />
Writing currently on several publications, among other, a Poetic Travel Guide &#8216;The Lydian Verses&#8217; and a non-fiction publication &#8216;The Ikarians&#8217; about the &#8216;Red Island&#8217; better known as Ikaria, Greece.<br />
Homepage: <a href="http://carackus.blogspot.com" target="_new">http://carackus.blogspot.com</a><br />
Email: <a href="mailto:rc@remkocaprio.com">rc@remkocaprio.com</a></p>
<p>Remko Caprio is a European writer residing in New York City. He is currently at work on a travel guide of poetry called &#8216;The Lydian Verses&#8217; describing ancient Lydia in Western Turkey. Influences: Fernando Pessoa, Henry Miller, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, Classicism, Surrealism, Nihislim, et al. You can find notes and writing in progress at his website <a href="http://carackus.blogspot.com" target="_new">http://carackus.blogspot.com</a>.</p>
<p>Article Source: <a href="http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Remko_Caprio" target="_new">http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Remko_Caprio</a></p>
<p><a href="http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Greek-Brigands---The-Culture-of-Financial-Crisis&amp;id=4436569" target="_new">http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Greek-Brigands&#8212;The-Culture-of-Financial-Crisis&amp;id=4436569</a></p>
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		<title>Bahrain: More Freedom Please</title>
		<link>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/05/08/bahrain-more-freedom-please/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sat, 08 May 2010 20:28:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>CH Elliot</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[global news]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[By Amira Al Hussaini A new Facebook group, entitled Enough restricting Bahraini freedom, has been set up in Bahrain, calling for more freedom. So far, 257 members have joined the group. Sourced from: Global Voices in English Related posts:


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span class="text-credits">By <a title="View all posts by Amira Al Hussaini" href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/author/amira-al-hussaini/">Amira Al Hussaini</a></span></p>
<p>A new <em>Facebook</em> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118642051490816">group</a>, entitled <em>Enough restricting Bahraini freedom</em>, has been set up in Bahrain, calling for more freedom. So far, 257 members have joined the group.</p>
<p class="vcard author"><a title="SourcedFrom" href="http://sourcedfrom.com"><img style="border: 0px none; margin: 0 0 -6px 0; padding: 0;" src="http://sourcedfrom.com/analytics/token.png" alt="SourcedFrom" width="15" height="21" /></a> Sourced from: <a class="url fn" style="margin: 0; padding: 0;" href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/05/08/bahrain-more-freedom-please/">Global Voices in English</a></p>
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		<title>Japan: People live longer, so do TV shows</title>
		<link>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/04/18/japan-people-live-longer-so-do-tv-shows/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:06:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>msliwa</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[global news]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Japan may be known for the longevity of its people, but the TV programs have a rich and long history as its population. There are some series that have been on air for more than half a century. What&#8217;s interesting is its variety: everything from talk shows, news, and sports to shows on cooking, music, [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Japan may be known for the longevity of its people, but the TV programs have a rich and long history as its population. There are some series that have been on air for more than half a century. What&#8217;s interesting is its variety: everything from talk shows, news, and sports to shows on cooking, music, anime and even a program about the Imperial Family. This article takes a look at Japanese <em>Choju Bangumi</em> (長寿番組), which literally means “long living program”. Definitions for Choju  programs range from as young as 10 years or as old as 50.</p>
<div class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 370px"><a href="http://cactusnewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Tokyo.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-698" src="http://cactusnewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Tokyo-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p>
<p class="wp-caption-text">An image of the Fuji TV building by Flickr user kamoda</p>
</div>
<p>Oricon, which published a survey-based popularity ranking, defines Choju programs as shows that have aired longer than 10 years. The various genres of these Choju programs are certainly represented in their top 10 most favorites ranking based on the questionnaire in October, 2009.</p>
<blockquote><p>オリコンでは<a href="http://life.oricon.co.jp/70005/full">『好きな長寿番組』</a>についてアンケートを実施したところ、1位は1982年に放送がスタートした昼のバラエティ番組【森田一義アワー　笑っていいとも！】（フジテレビ系）が選ばれた。番組の企画構成やレギュラー出演者の豪華さはもちろんだが、主な支持の理由として、司会のタモリを称える意見が圧倒的。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">According to the Oricon questionaire about “Favorite Choju Programs,” <a href="http://www.fujitv.co.jp/b_hp/iitomo/"><em>“Waratte Iitomo”</em></a>, a lunchtime variety show from Fuji TV that started broadcasting in 1982, has been selected as No. 1. In addition to the show&#8217;s structures/programming and the celebrity cast, an overwhleming number of responders listed the praise for MC “Tamori” as their reason for the top ranking favorite Choju program.</div>
<blockquote><p>3位に「数少ない正統派の歌番組」（埼玉県/30代/女性）と【ミュージックステーション】（テレビ朝日系）がランクイン。「生放送独特の緊張感やハプニングがいい。さらにミュージシャンの素が垣間見えて面白い」（長野県/30代/女性）と、音楽番組として放送開始時から変わらないスタンスと真摯な番組作り、さらに音楽番組として今では数少ない“生放送”という番組形態が高い支持を獲得。</p>
<p>なお、2位には国民的アニメ【サザエさん】（フジテレビ系）、4位に【笑点】（日本テレビ系）と日曜夕方の定番番組が挙がり、いずれも「家族団らんの時間の象徴になっているから」（埼玉県/10代/女性）と家族揃って観ても安心できる番組として親しまれているようだ。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">TV Asahi&#8217;s “<a href="http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/music/"><em>Music Station</em></a>” came in third place.  A female responder in her 30&#8242;s from Saitama Prefecture describes it as ‘one of the few old school music programs.&#8217; As another female responder from Nagano Prefecture, also in her 30&#8242;s, says: ‘the tension that is unique to live broadcast and happenings are great. Also, it&#8217;s interesting because I can see the real personality of musicians from time to time”. The show captured a lot of support based on its style, which hasn&#8217;t changed since its inception as a musuc program, the earnest production, and the programming that is one of the few music shows today broadcasting live.</p>
<p>Fuji TV&#8217;s <a href="http://www.fujitv.co.jp/b_hp/sazaesan/"><em>“Sazaesan”</em></a>, which is considered an iconic anime show, came in second. The fourth was <a href="http://www.ntv.co.jp/sho-ten/"><em>“Shoten”</em></a> by Nippon TV. Both are regulars on Sunday evenings which seem to indicate the popularity of programs that family can watch safely together. As a teenage female responder from Saitama summed it up, they are “the symbols of the time spent together with family.”</p>
</div>
<p>Project planner <a href="http://bizmakoto.jp/makoto/articles/1002/09/news008.html"><em>Shuji Nakamura </em></a>says that the ratings of long-running anime show <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sazae-san">Sazaesan</a> reflect the state of the economy in Japan:</p>
<blockquote><p>アニメ『サザエさん』の第1回放送は1969年10月5日。今年で41年目を迎える長寿番組である。ゴールデンタイムのドラマの視聴率が20％あれば御の字という時代になっても、平均視聴率が20％前後という非常に高い数字をはじき出す国民的アニメだ。きっとキャラクターも、認知率は100％に近いだろう。<br />
日曜18時30分から放送という国民的アニメであるため、その視聴率は景気と連動していると言われている。景気の良いときは、日曜18時30分になっても家に帰らず、外食やレジャーを楽しむ家族が多いため、視聴率が下がる。しかし、不景気の時は日曜に外へ出かけないで家にこもり、みんなで夕食を食べながら『サザエさん』を見るというスタイルになるため、視聴率が上がるというわけだ。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">The first broadcast of the anime “Sazaesan” was on October 5th, 1969. It&#8217;s a long running show that marked its 41st year this year. In an age where 20% ratings for prime time dramas have become rare, “Sazaesan” averages a solid 20%. This is extremely high for an anime show and has established the show as a national icon. The characters are probably recognized by 100% of the public.</p>
<p>It has been said that the ratings corelate to the economic climate in Japan because of its broadcast time of 6:30 on Sunday evenings.  With a booming economy, the ratings decline because many families are still out enjoying dining or leisure activities at 6:30 p.m. on Sundays.  However, during recession, the ratings go up as more families stay home on Sundays and watch “Sazaesan” together during family supper.</p>
</div>
<p>For comparison, I looked up the longest running TV shows in the U.S. which is de facto the longest in the world. This would be <a href="http:"><em>“Meet the Press” </em></a>on NBC, the Sunday morning political talk show that debuted in 1947. Next is <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/eveningnews/main3420.shtml"><em>“CBS Evening News”</em></a> and NBC&#8217;s morning news program <a href="http://today.msnbc.msn.com/"><em>“Today.”</em></a> No. 4 is CBS Daytime drama <a href="http://www.cbs.com/daytime/guiding_light/"><em>“Guiding Light.”</em></a></p>
<p>What stands out in the list of <a href="http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/長寿番組"><em>Japanese Choju programs</em></a> is the dominance of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHK"><em>NHK</em></a> (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), especially when you look at the shows with more than half a century of history. A wide range of genres are represented here as well, including the singing contest <a href="http://www.nhk.or.jp/nodojiman/"><em>“Nodojiman”</em></a> (which can be said to resemble <a href="http://www.americanidol.com/"><em>American Idol</em></a>), and <a href="http://www9.nhk.or.jp/kouhaku/"><em>Kohaku Uta Gassen</em></a> (= an annual music show), and limited to news programs like in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_running_United_States_television_series"><em>American list</em></a>.</p>
<p>PBS, which could be considered the U.S. equivalent as another public broadcasting company that pioneered the industry in their respective countries, barely makes in a top 10.</p>
<p>While asking more than 1.75 million fellow users of the Japanese message board called <a href="http://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/"><em>“Oshiete! Goo”</em></a> for their favorite shows, many listed one of the Choju programs as favorites.</p>
<p>After watched an episode of “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sazae-san">Sazae-san</a>“, blogger <a href="http://zakiyamayumeko.blog2.fc2.com/blog-entry-14.html">Zakiyama Yumeko</a> explained its plot and pondered:</p>
<blockquote><p>こういうところが、長寿番組の秘訣でしょうか。ほのぼのした、いい話が多いですよね。<br />
気がつけば、物心ついたころからサザエさんを見ていると思います。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">I wonder if the atmosphere of “feeling good” is the secret of Choju programs? There are so many heart warming stories.<br />
For most people, I think they&#8217;ll find that they&#8217;ve watched Sazae-san for as long as they can remember.</div>
<p>What kind of shows do you like? Do you enjoy watching the shows your parents and your grandparents also enjoyed or are they outdated and boring? Do you think shows with decades of history will be around 20 years from now?</p>
<p class="vcard author"><a title="SourcedFrom" href="http://sourcedfrom.com"><img style="border: 0px none;margin: 0 0 -6px 0;padding: 0" src="http://sourcedfrom.com/analytics/token.png" alt="SourcedFrom" width="15" height="21" /></a> Sourced from: <a class="url fn" href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/04/18/japan-people-live-longer-so-do-tv-shows/">Global Voices Online</a></p>
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		<title>16 Years Later, the Rwandan Genocide Remembered</title>
		<link>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/04/11/16-years-later-the-rwandan-genocide-remembered/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 20:25:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>CH Elliot</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[global news]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[On April 7th, Rwanda commemorated the 16th anniversary of the genocide that took the lives of as many as 800,000 people and traumatized a whole region to this day. The genocide is commemorated to keep the memory of the victims alive and honor them  but also to help the country move forward in the spirit [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On April 7th, Rwanda commemorated the 16th anniversary of the genocide that took the lives of as many as 800,000 people and traumatized a whole region to this day. The genocide is commemorated to keep the memory of the victims alive and honor them  but also to help the country move forward in the spirit of unity and reconciliation. Survivors of the genocide recall those 100 days when humanity as a whole failed them immensely and consistently. Many of them are involved in the reconstruction process, creating networks to sustain coexistence. In the aftermath of French president Sarkozy recent visit to Kigali and acknowledging in a joint press conference with President Kagame that <a href="http://www.liberation.fr/monde/0101621494-au-rwanda-sarkozy-s-incline-sans-s-excuser">“mistakes were made”</a> in 1994 (fr),  bloggers discuss the meaning of Genocide Memorial Day (although commemorations really last a week) and the complexity of Rwanda&#8217;s international relations.</p>
<p>Tutsi  survivor <em>Norah Bagarinka </em>recalls how <a href="http://www.ushmm.org/genocide/take_action/gallery/portrait/bagarinka">she was stopped by militiamen</a> but was eventually saved by one of them who happened to be her gardener:</p>
<blockquote><p>He took us, my other and three other ladies, aside on the other bush. When we reached there, he got some leaves, bandaged my hand, and he told us: ” Run, run for your safety”. And he apologized.</p></blockquote>
<p>The project <em>Voices of Rwanda </em> records the life stories of Rwandans &#8211; not just stories about the genocide, but about their lives as whole. This testimony from a survivors explain why <a href="http://www.voicesofrwanda.org/whosevoice.html">she feels compelled to remember</a> and provide her testimony:</p>
<blockquote><p>” If I die without telling my story here, my lineage will be snuffed out”</p></blockquote>
<p>(For more details on Voices of Rwanda, read <a href="http://hub.witness.org/en/VoicesofRwanda">the article</a> on <em>The Hub at Witness</em>)</p>
<p>Blogger <em>Mamadou Kouyate</em> posts an article on the <a href="http://hungryoftruth.blogspot.com/2010/03/ghosts-of-genocide-story-of-kibeho.html#links">recollection of a group of Australian soldiers from the UN peacekeeping team</a> of the Kibeho massacre:</p>
<blockquote><p>“Many of the vets have a lot of guilt about what happened because they were not able to do the best they could do to save lives. They could not do anything to defend those who couldn&#8217;t defend themselves.”[..] “All that seemed to remain was the stench of genocide and children abandoned by war pathetically wandering the streets, traumatised by the death and destruction they had witnessed.”</p></blockquote>
<p>The commemoration in  Amohoro (Peace) Stadium were followed by 20,000 people in a calm and uplifting atmosphere. <em>Sara Strawczynski</em> provides a description of t<a href="http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2010/04/07/a-walk-to-remember/">he Walk to Remember in the streets of Kigali</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>During my months living and working as a Kiva Fellow in Rwanda, I’ve had a hard time reconciling what I know to have taken place with what I experience day-to-day. Kigali is a safe, clean and beautiful city. The countryside is lush and stunning. [..] That said, signs of Rwanda’s genocide are never far beneath the surface [..] we passed two groups of prisoners, easily identifiable in their pink, orange and blue jumpsuits. Rwanda’s prisons are filled with people accused and convicted of genocide and war crimes, and its incarceration rate is among the highest in the world.</p></blockquote>
<p><em>Jenny Clover</em> attended <a href="http://jenny-clover.blogspot.com/2010/04/if-you-knew-me-and-you-knew-yourself.html">a commemoration at the Church of Nyamata</a> where 10,000 people were killed:</p>
<blockquote><p>The church at Nyamata is filled with the clothes of all 10,000 people who died there – thousands and thousands of shirts, dresses, socks and trousers piled on church pews. They start to blur into one after a while – just a muddy pile of tatty clothes, pulled from a mass grave where the murderers tried to cover up what they had done. [..] There&#8217;s a lot more to say about the memorial at Nyamata: the rows and rows of skulls neatly lined up in the cold underground crypt, some with clean machete cuts right though them..</p></blockquote>
<p>This is the second time that <em>Jenny Morse</em> is in Rwanda during Memorial Day. She is torn between “<a href="http://www.jinamoore.com/2010/04/07/time/">the obligation to attend and the urge to stay away</a>“:</p>
<blockquote><p>Many are marking something they know from memory; others are remembering the loss of family, even if they were abroad and did not face genocide themselves. But this is not my memory. Without a doubt, I will spend the better part of today thinking of my friends who are survivors, and thinking of the family they lost who, through my friends&#8217; stories, feel almost like people I knew, too. Perhaps I will mark some part of the day with those friends. Perhaps not. There is often discussion among the mzungus here of whether it&#8217;s intrusive of us to go to these programs, or on the other hand whether it&#8217;s disrespectful not to. I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s a rule.</p></blockquote>
<p>Many local bloggers have also reacted to the complex relations between Rwanda and the international community.</p>
<p><em>Stephane Ballong</em> explains that the <a href="http://www.afrik.com/article16576.html">relation between Rwanda and France</a> is still a bit tense (fr):</p>
<blockquote><p>En août 2008, Kigali qui a rompu ces relations diplomatiques avec Paris, avait menacé de traduire en justice 33 personnalités françaises. Dans un rapport de 500 pages, les autorités rwandaises ont dénoncé l’implication du gouvernement français dans le génocide. Le document confirmait les responsabilités directes de treize politiciens et vingt militaires français dans ces tueries.</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">In August 2008, Kigali severed diplomatic ties with Paris and threaten to pursue in court 33 French personalities. In a 500-pages long report, the Rwandan authority denounced the involvement of France in the genocide. The document confirmed the direct ties of 13 politicians and 20 French army personnel in the killings.</div>
<p><em>Christophe Ayad</em> goes into <a href="http://africa.blogs.liberation.fr/diplomatie/2010/04/rwanda-1-le-gendarme-la-veuve-et-la-barbouze.html">more details about these allegations</a> that will be published in a dossier  called ” «<em>La France au Rwanda</em>»    (fr):</p>
<blockquote><p>Dans «Là haut, sur la colline de Bisesero», Jean-François Dupaquier fait le récit des premiers jours de l&#8217;opération Turquoise -opération militaro-humanitaire controversée et destinée à «stopper les massacres»- à travers le témoignage long et détaillé de l&#8217;adjudant-chef Thierry Prungnaud, gendarme du GIGN. Il est envoyé en élément précurseur sous le commandement du COS (Commandement des opérations spéciales). Pendant plusieurs jours, il ne comprend rien à la situation. Et pour cause. Voici le tableau de la situation qu&#8217;on lui a dressé avant sa mission: «Les Tutsis exterminent les Hutus. Nous sommes venus pour les protéger, mettre fin aux massacres (…) Votre rôle est de vous informer de la situation sur le terrain, de voir où en sont les rebelles du FPR». C&#8217;est exactement le contraire de la réalité: les Tutsis sont massacrés par les Hutus et le Front Patriotique Rwandais (FPR) n&#8217;est en rien impliqué dans le génocide, qu&#8217;il cherche plutôt à stopper.</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">In “Up in the Bisesero Hill”,  Jean-François Dupaquier tells the story of the first day of l&#8217;opération Turquoise- a semi-humanitarian military operation destined to stop the massacres- through the testimony of Thierry Prungnaud, member of GIGN armed forces. Prungnaud is sent on a reconnaissance mission under the command of the COS ( Special Operation Command). For days, he cannot make sense of the situation. Indeed, he was  told before his mission that: Tutsis were exterminating Hutus. We are here to protect them and end the massacre (..) your role is to stay informed about the situation on site and to determine the location of the FPR rebels. It is quite the opposite of reality: The Tutsis were being massacred by the Hutus and the FPR (Rwandan Patriotic Front) had nothing to do with the genocide, instead they were trying to stop it</div>
<p>France is not the only country being accused of involvement in Rwanda&#8217;s tragedy. <em>Mamadou Kouyate </em> posts on his blog <a href="http://hungryoftruth.blogspot.com/2010/04/us-was-behind-rwandan-genocide.html">an article</a> by <em>Michel Chossudovsky </em> at <em>Global Research </em> that claims that the war in Rwanda and the ethnic massacres were <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&amp;code=CHO20100407&amp;articleId=18540">part of US foreign policy</a>.</p>
<p>All these allegations and the still palpable trauma from the tragedy make for a very complex diplomatic and political scene in Rwanda.  Local bloggers are weary that a few months away from the elections ( scheduled in august 2010), political tensions might rise again. <em>Jean-Marie Vianney Ndagijimana </em> writes that the opposition party, Les Forces Démocratiques Unifiées-Inkingi (FDU-Inkingi) has been <a href="http://www.france-rwanda.info/article-la-nature-totalitaire-du-regime-rwandais-47788120.html">under duress  on several ocasions</a>, namely by being denied passports, being subject to arbitrary police investigations and physical threats.</p>
<p>=================================================================================<br />
<em>(Global Voices in French author <a href="http://fr.globalvoicesonline.org/author/abdoulaye-bah/">Abdoulaye Bah</a> contributed to this article with links.  For bloggers&#8217; reactions to last year&#8217;s Genocide Memorial Day, please read Elia&#8217;s <a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/04/14/rwanda-fifteen-years-after-the-genocide/">compelling article</a>) </em></p>
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		<title>Poland: Video Reactions to the Deadly Plane Crash</title>
		<link>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/04/11/poland-video-reactions-to-the-deadly-plane-crash/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:45:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>CH Elliot</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[global news]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Following the shocking news of the death of President Lech Kaczyński and 95 other officials, Poland starts the official week of mourning. Next to an enormous amount of reactions in various online venues, video messages present themselves as a very powerful tool to express the feelings of the nation. Natalia10odd posts her poem, including an [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Following the <a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/04/10/poland-president-kaczynski-is-killed-in-plane-crash-in-russia-initial-reactions/">shocking news</a> of the death of President Lech Kaczyński and 95 other officials, Poland starts the official week of mourning. Next to an enormous amount of reactions in various online venues, video messages present themselves as a very powerful tool to express the feelings of the nation.</p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Natalia10odd">Natalia10odd</a></em> posts her poem, including an English translation:</p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/bettymegami">Bettymegami</a></em> pays tribute to Lech Kaczyński:</p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Sasuuka">Sasuuka</a></em> reminds us of the faces and names of all the victims of the plane crash:</p>
<p>The most striking is this simple message of the Polish flag, a black ribbon and the Polish national anthem starting with lyrics ‘Poland is not vanished, until we are alive…&#8217; in the context of its title &#8211; ‘In memory of the victims who died on April 10, 2010″ uploaded by <em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/gucio3417">gucio3417</a></em>:</p>
<p class="vcard author"><a title="SourcedFrom" href="http://sourcedfrom.com"><img style="border: 0px none; margin: 0 0 -6px 0; padding: 0;" src="http://sourcedfrom.com/analytics/token.png" alt="SourcedFrom" width="15" height="21" /></a> Sourced from: <a class="url fn" style="margin: 0; padding: 0;" href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/04/11/poland-video-reactions-to-the-deadly-plane-crash/">Global Voices Online</a></p>
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<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/02/28/poland-real-time-reactions-to-kowalczyks-gold-in-vancouver/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Poland: Real-Time Reactions to Kowalczyk's Gold in Vancouver'>Poland: Real-Time Reactions to Kowalczyk's Gold in Vancouver</a> <small>As the world is carefully keeping an eye on tsunami...</small></li>
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		<title>Russia: April Fool&#039;s Online Pranks</title>
		<link>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/04/04/russia-april-fools-online-pranks/</link>
		<comments>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/04/04/russia-april-fools-online-pranks/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 18:01:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>CH Elliot</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[global news]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://cactusnewsonline.com/?p=548</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Although the beginning of the week has been marked by the disaster and grief [RUS], Russian bloggers and computer geeks tried to leave some place in their lives for a smile. Below are few of the pranks proposed by bloggers and several software companies. Blogger Smoking Observer published the photo of the new “Stealth” tank [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Although the beginning of the week has been marked by the <a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/03/29/russia-initial-coverage-of-the-moscow-subway-bombings/">disaster and grief [RUS]</a>, Russian bloggers and computer geeks tried to leave some place in their lives for a smile. Below are few of the pranks proposed by bloggers and several software companies.</p>
<p>Blogger <em>Smoking Observer</em> published the photo of the new “Stealth” tank named T-90 “Ghost”:</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px;"><a href="http://smokingobserver.livejournal.com/295233.html"><img class="size-medium wp-image-131901" title="T-90 &quot;Ghost&quot;" src="http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/tank-300x160.jpg" alt="T-90 &quot;Ghost&quot;, collage by Smoking Observer" width="300" height="160" /></a></p>
<p class="wp-caption-text">T-90 &#8220;Ghost&#8221;, collage by Smoking Observer</p>
</div>
<p>Russian leading search engine <em>Yandex</em> turned all the images in its images search upside down. Some bloggers <a href="http://habrahabr.ru/blogs/wisdom_of_the_crowds/89558/">thought</a> [RUS] it was a browser&#8217;s bug, however the date of the unusual “feature” spoke for itself.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px;"><a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/yandex.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-131902" title="Yandex upside-down pictures" src="http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/yandex-300x179.jpg" alt="Yandex upside-down pictures, screenshot by Pchel" width="300" height="179" /></a></p>
<p class="wp-caption-text">Yandex upside-down pictures, screenshot by Pchel</p>
</div>
<p>Software company <em>ABBYY </em>that specializes in electronic translation services <a href="http://cnews.ru/news/line/index.shtml?2010/04/01/385062">announced</a> [RUS] that it was going to include a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na'vi_language">Na&#8217;vi language</a> dictionary in the next release supporting the announcement with the Na&#8217;vi-like picture of one of the top-managers:</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 210px;"><a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/naavi.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-131903" title="Naavi-like picture of Alexander Rylov" src="http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/naavi-200x300.jpg" alt="Naavi-like picture of Alexander Rylov, photo by ABBYY" width="200" height="300" /></a></p>
<p class="wp-caption-text">Naavi-like picture of Alexander Rylov, photo by ABBYY</p>
</div>
<p>Popular humor portal <em>bash.org.ru</em> <a href="http://habrahabr.ru/blogs/lenta/89599/#habracut">changed</a> its interface to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reforms_of_Russian_orthography">Empire-Russian language</a> (the style of writing existed before 1917):</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 303px;"><a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/bashorg.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-131905" title="Bashorg Empire-Russian interface" src="http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/bashorg-293x300.png" alt="Bashorg Empire-Russian interface, screenshot by Mithgol" width="293" height="300" /></a></p>
<p class="wp-caption-text">Bashorg Empire-Russian interface, screenshot by Mithgol</p>
</div>
<p>Initial mistakes in the old-Russian orthography provoked <a href="http://habrahabr.ru/blogs/lenta/89599/#habracut">a lengthy discussion</a> [RUS] among bloggers.</p>
<p>Israelinfo.ru, a Russian-speaking Israeli portal, <a href="http://news.israelinfo.ru/technology/32669">posted info</a> [RUS] on the upcoming e-mail tax, proposed by Knesset.</p>
<p>But the most influential (and most make-believe) was a <a href="http://www.nr2.ru/ekb/277264.html">prank by popular portal “Novy Region”</a> with the photo of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-300_(missile)">missile launcher S-300</a> stuck in the puddle of mud:</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px;"><a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/nr.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-131906" title="S-300 in the puddle of mud" src="http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/nr-300x225.jpg" alt="S-300 in the puddle of mud, collage by Novy Region" width="300" height="225" /></a></p>
<p class="wp-caption-text">S-300 in the puddle of mud, collage by Novy Region</p>
</div>
<p class="vcard author"><a title="SourcedFrom" href="http://sourcedfrom.com"><img style="border: 0px none; margin: 0 0 -6px 0; padding: 0;" src="http://sourcedfrom.com/analytics/token.png" alt="SourcedFrom" width="15" height="21" /></a> Sourced from: <a class="url fn" style="margin: 0; padding: 0;" href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/04/04/russia-april-fools-online-pranks/">Global Voices Online</a></p>
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		<title>China: Various aspects of censorship</title>
		<link>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/03/18/china-various-aspects-of-censorship/</link>
		<comments>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/03/18/china-various-aspects-of-censorship/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:18:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>CH Elliot</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[global news]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://cactusnewsonline.com/?p=476</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[March 12 was the World Day Against Cyber Censorship and Reporter without Border announced its latest list of “Enemies of the Internet” which points finger at China, among other authoritarian states. Jason Ng from Kenengba tries to enrich the discussion by outline various aspects of Chinese Internet censorship. 1. Non-transparent censorship A. Where comes the [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>March 12 was the World Day Against Cyber Censorship and Reporter without Border announced its <a href="http://www.rsf.org/World-Day-Against-Cyber-Censorship.html">latest list of “Enemies of the Internet”</a> which points finger at China, among other authoritarian states.</p>
<p>Jason Ng from <a href="http://www.kenengba.com/post/2812.html">Kenengba</a> tries to enrich the discussion by outline various aspects of Chinese Internet censorship.</p>
<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-128918" href="http://cactusnewsonline.com/?attachment_id=128918"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-128918" title="censor 1" src="http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/censor-1-300x171.jpg" alt="censor 1" width="300" height="171" /></a></p>
<p><strong>1. Non-transparent censorship</strong></p>
<p><strong><em>A. Where comes the openness?</em></strong></p>
<p>First of all, the blogger points out that whenever the Chinese government reacts to the issue of Internet censorship, it would state that “Internet in China is very open” and then support the statement with statistics such as “there are more than 3,800 million internet users in China”. However, the two statements do not carry any logical relation.</p>
<p><strong><em>B. Unreasonable censorship</em></strong></p>
<p>Secondly, he points out that main reason why people hate China&#8217;s Internet censorship is because of its lack of transparency:</p>
<blockquote><p>我曾经在新浪微博发布了关于“群众抗议番禺建立垃圾焚烧厂”一条信息，然后我收到新浪微博的管理员发的邮件说我这条信息含有非法内容，所以被删除了。然后我问，这条信息违反了具体哪条法律，新浪的审核人猿没有给我回复。同样的事情也发生在中国最大的SNS人人网。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">I had once posted a message concerning the protest against the construction of incinerator in Panyu at Sina micro blog. Then I received a message from the webmaster that my message was deleted because of illegal content. I asked which regulation the message had violated, I did not get any answer. Similar incidents also happen in the biggest SNS in China.</div>
<blockquote><p>网站审查人员之所以进行不透明的审查，是因为他们收到了政府部门不透明的规章。…<br />
没有一个透明的规章，人们就不能去遵守所谓的制度。政府部门高兴的时候可以说“我爱共产党”这句话是褒义的，在不高兴的时候可以说你在讽刺它。你只能无奈地对着屏幕喊草泥马。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">The reason why the web-censors are not transparent in their practice is because of the government&#8217;s non-transparent regulation…</p>
<p>Once the regulation is in the dark, people cannot act according to the system. The government administration can react to the statement “I love CCP” positively when it is in good mood. When it is in bad mood, it will take it as an irony. And you can only swear “Grass-mud horse” to the computer screen.</p>
</div>
<p><strong><em>C. Google&#8217;s protest</em></strong></p>
<p>The blogger believes the reason why Google is unhappy about China&#8217;s censorship is also due to the problem of transparency:</p>
<blockquote><p>而Google在中国，每天都收到通知要屏蔽这个网站屏蔽那个网站、屏蔽这个关键词屏蔽那个关键词，这些通知是没有规律可寻的，也没有法例列明。你要细问法例，得到的回答只会是“依法屏蔽”。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">In China, Google.cn receives a lot of notifications concerning the blocking of websites and sensitive terms, and you can&#8217;t identify any pattern from all these notifications, nor any legal explanation.  All they say is “block according to the law”.</div>
<p><strong>2. The Censor machine</strong></p>
<p>The blogger has identified a number of censorship mechanism in China.</p>
<p><strong><em>A. Self censorship</em></strong></p>
<blockquote><p>中国网民由于长期生活在信息审查之中，他们意识到很多文字用直接发送的方式会发送失败或很快被删除，于是他们在发布信息之前就对信息做了修改，要么将较为敏感的部分替换成意思相近的词语，要么删掉了这部分内容。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">Chinese Internet users are aware of the blocking of sensitive terms. When they publish a message, they would express the term differently or delete the sensitive content.</div>
<p><strong><em>B. Machine censor</em></strong></p>
<p>In the case of machine censor, the users have to guess what are the sensitive terms whenever they publish an article. Here is what Internet users will encounter:</p>
<blockquote><p>1）假设你输入了10000字，其中第100、101两字是敏感词。你点击了发布。<br />
（2）然后你发现自己只发布了99个字，第100个字和后面9900个字都不见了。<br />
（3）你在任何地方都找不到这丢失的9900个字，你需要重新敲打一次。<br />
（4）你意识到第100、101个字是敏感词，于是你替换成其它字了，接着你重新发布一次。<br />
（5）然后你又发现，发布出去后只剩下200个字，因为第201个字又是敏感词。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">1. If you have written 10,000 words,  in case the number 100 and 101 words are sensitive terms, and you publish it.<br />
2. You will find out that you only manage to publish 99 words and all words from 100-9900 will disappear.<br />
3. You can&#8217;t recover the 9900 words again and you have to retype them.<br />
4. Then you realize that the number 100 and 101 are sensitive, you change the expression and publish it again.<br />
5. You then find out that you only manage to publish 200 words because the number 201 word is a sensitive term again…</div>
<p>Another machine censor example is the Green Dam:</p>
<blockquote><p>当你的浏览器开了10多个标签，其中一个有一张肉色比较多的照片时，全部浏览器进程就会被绿坝结束。或许你在其中一个标签正在工作，不好意思，都没了。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">When you have opened 10 pages in your browser. And then one of the pictures has a bigger portion of flesh color. Voila! All your pages will be closed suddenly. If you are working online in one of the pages, sorry, everything will be gone.</p>
<p><strong><em>C.  Human Flesh Censor</em></strong></p>
<blockquote><p>中国很多网站，尤其是门户网站都有一个专门的人工审查团队。饭否由于没有审查团队，“非法”信息泛滥，最终被死亡。据我所知，像新浪这样的网站，审查人员是数以百计的。<br />
一个曾经在腾讯负责做审查的朋友告诉我，每当敏感日子，比如两会，他们的工作量就非常大，他们不但需要审查论坛、博客，就连用户的邮件他们都要随机抽查。在中国，邮件不算是隐私。<br />
人肉审查团队在判断非法信息的时候没有一定的标准，在很多时候，他们只是根据自己或上级临时下发的文件去判断一条信息是否被屏蔽。对于他们来说，宁可杀错1000条，绝对不能放过1条。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">Many websites, especially portal websites, have a team of censors. The reason why Fanfou was forced to close down is because it did not have a censor team. For websites like Sina, they have more than a hundred staffs working on censorship.</p>
<p>A friend who once worked in Tencent told me that whenever the time was sensitive, such as during the annual National People&#8217;s Congress, their workload would increase. They had to censor BBS, blog, and randomly users&#8217; email. In China, email communication has no privacy.</p>
<p>Human flesh censors do not have standard in their practice. Very often, they judge according to their supervisor&#8217;s guidelines. And they&#8217;d rather delete 1000 than letting 1 sensitive message to surface.</p>
</div>
<p><strong><em>D. The notification team</em></strong></p>
<blockquote><p>在中国，大多数网站底部都会有一个备案号，通过这个备案号，政府的审查人员可以很方便地联系到站长。<br />
一般来说，当网管发现某网站上有“非法”信息的时候，他们首先会打电话给服务器的托管商，托管商再打电话联系站长删除所谓的“非法”信息。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">Most websites have a license number so that the government can contact the webmaster whenever they want.</p>
<p>Whenever the Internet control administration finds an “illegal” information online, they would call up the data center and the data center would call up the webmaster to delete the “illegal” message.</p>
</div>
<p><strong><em>E. Red Head document team</em></strong></p>
<blockquote><p>有时候，审查不仅仅是要求网站删掉某些内容，还包括统一转载某些稿件、统一将搜索结果指向官方网站。这种通知称之为红头文件，一般由网管办或新闻办下发。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">Sometimes, the Internet censor would not only demand the website to delete content, but also demand them to re-post or direct search result to certain official websites. Such kind of notification is usually called Red Head paper. They are issued either by the Internet control administration or by the government information office.</div>
<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-128926" href="http://cactusnewsonline.com/?attachment_id=128926"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-128926" title="censor 2" src="http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/censor-22.jpg" alt="censor 2" width="220" height="202" /></a></p>
<blockquote><p>门户网站每天都会收到网管办下发的通知，这些通知的类型一般包括：<br />
（1）不能报道什么<br />
（2）应该报道什么<br />
（3）头条应该放什么<br />
（4）哪些新闻需要引导讨论<br />
（5）哪些搜索关键词应该屏蔽或指向指定的结果<br />
（6）哪些新闻必须统一采用新华网、人民网的稿件</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">For portal websites they would received notifications from the Internet control administration every day. The notifications are usually about:</p>
<p>1. What cannot be reported<br />
2. What should be reported<br />
3. What should the headline be<br />
4. Which news should be channeled in the discussion<br />
5. Which keywords should be blocked or redirected to a destinate search result<br />
6. Which news story should be limited to the use of the Xinhua and People&#8217;s Daily news sources</p>
</div>
<p><strong><em>F. Mama Jury</em></strong></p>
<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-128929" href="http://cactusnewsonline.com/?attachment_id=128929"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-128929" title="censor 3" src="http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/censor-3-275x300.jpg" alt="censor 3" width="275" height="300" /></a></p>
<blockquote><p>妈妈评审团的成员来自各行各业，有些人之前几乎没有接触过互联网。她们一边接受政府的培训，一边按要求每月提交一定数量的不适合儿童观看的内容。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">Members of the Mama jury come from all walks of life. Some have very little online experience. They receive training from the government and regularly submit a certain number of web contents not suitable for children to the administration.</div>
<p><strong><em>G. Tea and Talks</em></strong></p>
<blockquote><p>如果你一直在网上发布政府不愿意看到的言论，或者支持一些民间的运动，例如散步或者维权，你将会被邀请喝茶。<br />
去年国庆前夕，一位北京的初中生在博客和Twitter表达了对国庆彩排的不满，认为这是浪费时间没有意义的。不久之后，他被国家报卫队的人邀请“喝茶”，他们威胁他，如果再在网上发布这些言论，他将不能在理想的高中念书。<br />
在那之后，这位初中生在Twitter上安静了很长的时间。</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">If you keep publishing informations that make the government unhappy, or if you support citizen actions such as strolling or citizen rights campaign, you would receive a tea time invitation.</p>
<p>Last year before the national day, a middle school kid criticized the preparatory performance of the ceremony for wasting his time in Twitter. Very soon, he was invited by the national security police for tea session. They threatened him that if he continued to talk like that, he would not be able to enter a good high school.</p>
<p>For a very long period of time, that school kid has kept silent in twitter.</p>
</div>
<p><strong><em>H. The Great Firewall</em></strong></p>
<p>A picture is worth a thousand words:</p>
<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-128930" href="http://cactusnewsonline.com/?attachment_id=128930"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-128930" title="censor 4" src="http://globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/censor-4.jpg" alt="censor 4" width="264" height="294" /></a></p>
<p><strong><em>I. The 50 Cent Party</em></strong></p>
<blockquote><p>在多年的探索过程中，中国政府意识到光做减法是不行的，有时要做一做加法，要占领舆论高地。于是中国就出现了一种解决就业问题的职业–网络评论员，俗称五毛党。</p>
<p>当政府需要引导舆论的时候，五毛党就会成群出没。他们会在论坛、博客、门户甚至是报纸、电视等媒体发布一边倒的支持政府的言论。他们一般都是成群结队出动，很少单独行动…</p></blockquote>
<div class="translation">After many years of censorship experiment, the Chinese government comes to aware that they have to channel the public opinion. That&#8217;s how the setting up of Internet commentator position popped up and it also solve unemployment problem. These commentators are generally known as the 50 cent party.</p>
<p>Whenever the government needs to channel public opinion, the 50 cent party would take action. They would write and voice out pro-government opinions in BBS, blogs, portal websites or even in traditional media like newspapers and T.V. They usually take action together and seldom act alone.</p>
</div>
<p>In spite of so many sophisticated censorship mechanism, the blogger still believes that democracy will eventually come and replace the brutal control over speech and expression.</p>
</div>
<p class="vcard author"><a title="SourcedFrom" href="http://sourcedfrom.com"><img style="border: 0px none; margin: 0 0 -6px 0; padding: 0;" src="http://sourcedfrom.com/analytics/token.png" alt="SourcedFrom" width="15" height="21" /></a> Sourced from: <a class="url fn" style="margin: 0; padding: 0;" href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/03/17/china-various-aspects-of-censorship/">Global Voices Online</a></p>
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		<title>Taiwan: Construction of ethnic identity</title>
		<link>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/03/10/taiwan-construction-of-ethnic-identity/</link>
		<comments>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/03/10/taiwan-construction-of-ethnic-identity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:26:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>CH Elliot</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[global news]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Taiwan in Cycles comments on how a man&#8217;s choice to identify himself by saying, “I am not an Aborigine!” reveals about the construction of ethnic identities in Taiwan. Sourced from: Global Voices Online Related posts:


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Taiwan in Cycles</em> comments on how a man&#8217;s choice to identify himself by saying, “I  am not an Aborigine!” reveals about <a href="http://taiwanincycles.blogspot.com/2010/03/losing-indigenality.html">the construction of ethnic identities in Taiwan</a>.</p>
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		<title>Russia: Blogger&#039;s Video Leads to Punishment of Policeman</title>
		<link>http://cactusnewsonline.com/2010/03/09/russia-bloggers-video-leads-to-punishment-of-policeman/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:59:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>CH Elliot</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[global news]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[A blogger posted a video address about a policeman who stopped regular cars on the Moscow belt-road to create a “live barrier” and stop an alleged criminal&#8217;s car. In less than a day after the blog post, the policeman responsible for this unlawful action got a sever warning, expert.ru reported. Sourced from: Global Voices Online Related [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A blogger posted a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p03wfPi3xgY&amp;feature=player_embedded">video address</a> about a policeman who stopped regular cars on the Moscow belt-road to create a “live barrier” and stop an alleged criminal&#8217;s car. In less than a day after the blog post, the policeman responsible for this unlawful action got a sever warning, <em>expert.ru</em> <a href="http://www.expert.ru/news/2010/03/09/mkad/">reported</a>.</p>
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