The Hungarian Foreign Ministry on Sunday issued a statement condemning comments made by radical nationalist Jobbik lawmaker Marton Gyongyosi, which were reported in the Jerusalem Post. Gyongyosi, the party’s foreign affairs spokesman, questioned the number of Hungarian Holocaust victims and compared Israel to a Nazi system. He also said Jobbik supported Iran. The ministry said […]

from Politics.hu http://bit.ly/AElUJx

Alcuni giorni fa, in un notiziario radiofonico della RAI, annunciano un servizio sulla Coppa d’Africa, attualmente in corso in Guina Equatoriale e Gabon. La voce dell’inviato ci giunge gracchiante come uno si aspetta che sia provendendo da un luogo lontano. Fa un effetto d’antan, simpatico. Provo un’imponderabile e imprevisto amor proprio all’idea che l’emittente pubblica abbia fatto tali passi avanti: un inviato alla Coppa d’Africa! Un segno che forse sono finiti i tempi in cui la RAI mandava all’estero gente che non sapeva nemmeno parlare una lingua straniera (e governava male pure l’italiano) a riferire cose inutili da paesi stra-noti. Verso la fine del servizio mi sorge un dubbio: ma non è che l’inviato ci sta raccontando la Coppa d’Africa seduto nel suo studio di Nairobi? E’ proprio così, il malaugurato inviato della RAI non si è spostato dal Kenia (unica sede di rappresentanza della RAI in Africa) e ha raccontato due notizie che avrà trovato nel sito ufficiale della manifestazione e si è pure lamentato che la Guinea Equatoriale non offre adeguate garanzie tecnologiche per i collegamenti…insomma, il suo ragionamento è stato: andare in Guinea era un po’ scomodo e così son rimasto in Kenia! Attorno a questa triste storiella si possono fare alcuni ragionamenti.

Uno. Nell’epoca dei telefoni cellulari multifunzione, dei collegamenti satellitari, dei computer palmari, e dei servizi radiotelevisivi di qualità professionale prodotti da una sola persona in condizioni precarie, non è credibile che la RAI non potesse mandare qualcuno in Guinea o Gabon, e non da Roma ma da Nairobi. In fondo questa edizione della Coppa d’Africa è la più seguita di sempre a livello mondiale e la controversa sede in cui viene ospitata offre molti elementi di interesse al giornalista attento a quello che accade anche al di fuori dall’evento sportivo. Ma forse questo è chiedere troppo al carrozzone RAI. Chissà che il vento moralizzatore dei professori al governo non porti dei cambiamenti anche da quelle parti. Sarebbero più opportuni di altri cambiamenti annunciati o già avviati.

Due. Mai come in questo momento il sistema informativo è in difficoltà. Non passa giorno senza che qualche testata giornalistica (di solito giornali cartacei) non annunci tagli al personale, alle sedi periferiche e agli investimenti. I giornalisti vanno in pensione senza venire sostituiti. Nel contempo c’è un fortissimo interesse da parte delle giovani generazioni a viaggiare, capire e raccontare, a fare quello per cui il giornalismo è nato, o almeno vogliamo tenacemente credere ambisse ad essere. Se per la RAI è troppo impegnativo o costoso mandare un suo inviato in Gabon perché non si affida a qualche giovane e valido free lance che lavora sul posto? Durante la mia permanenza in Venezuela conobbi un giovane collega freelance francese che corrispondeva per Liberation e altre testate. Non aveva un fisso garantito e per questo era sempre in movimento. Tra i suoi committenti c’era la Radio Vaticana! Lui non era cattolico, o perlomeno non praticante, ma il suo lavoro lo sapeva fare e i preti, evidentemente, lo apprezzavano.

Tre. I frequentatori del mio cortile digitale sanno che non sono uso a martellare su quanto belle sono le cose al di fuori dell’Italia. Tendo ad essere ontologicamente critico della realtà, in qualsiasi luogo essa si manifesti, cosciente che la rappresentazioni mediatiche sono sempre tendenzialmente fuorvianti. Quindi tratto Berlino, Dublino, Caracas, Londra o Udine allo stesso modo. Se vedo del bello ne parlo, lo stesso faccio con il brutto. E di cose belle o brutte ce ne sono ovunque. Però. Però sul giornalismo mi sento di fare un’eccezione. Fare giornalismo in Italia è impresa difficile, e non mi riferisco qui alle minacce mafiose e camorriste a giornalisti locali, che sono la cima del problema. Parlo di esperienze più semplici e meno rischiose. Per esempio la mia.

Nel 2007 ho gettato la spugna. Dopo aver fatto giornalismo per circa quindici anni, per la radio, i giornali e per un periodo anche per un sito internet, ho capito che non c’era più spazio per lavorare. La chiusura di Diario, per cui avevo corrisposto per circa otto anni, fu come una lanterna che si spegneva in un cortile già poco illuminato. Annunciava un cambiamento nell’interesse del pubblico o semplicemente tempi nuovi. Per me, tuttavia, il cambiamento era già in corso. In quell’anno avevo lavorato per circa due mesi ad un’inchiesta sulla gestione dei rifiuti in provincia di Udine. La mescolanza di poco trasparenti interessi politici e malcostume imprenditoriale erano così lampanti  che meritava un’attenzione particolare. Consegnai il mio pezzo a Diario, che lo valutò e in un primo tempo lo considerò troppo tecnico, “ci sono troppi numeri”, mi dissero. Così smussai alcune parti ma l’articolo non uscì comunque. Perchè? Lo chiesi ad uno dei miei informatori, uno dei maggiori esperti sulla gestione dei rifiuti in Italia, che mi disse che l’articolo era valido, toccava questioni importanti e meritava la pubblicazione. Provai ad insistere ma senza successo. Di lì a pochi mesi Diario avrebbe chiuso i battenti e il mio articolo era forse solo un (piccolo) episodio all’interno di un conflitto redazionale già in corso.

L’inchiesta sulla gestione dei rifiuti nella provincia di Udine uscì dopo qualche tempo – ulteriormente rimaneggiata -sulle pagine di Carta. Va da sé che non ebbi un euro di compenso per il mio lavoro. La politica di Carta era chiara, non possiamo pagare, lavoriamo grazie al contributo di volontari. Se volevo che quell’articolo alla fine uscisse non avevo alternative. Alcune le avevo tentata e non erano state fruttuose.

Quell’esperienza mi ha insegnato alcune cose. Che per fare giornalismo d’inchiesta in Italia (soprattutto con le leggi sulla diffamazione vigenti) bisogna essere: 1) incoscienti; 2) benestanti; 3) vocati al martirio. Che senso ha fare un gran lavoro di ricerca sul capo quando la generalità degli articoli e dei servizi degli organi di informazione è costruita su materiali disponibili in rete? Chi me lo fa fare di sporcarmi le scarpe ad andare a vedere coi miei occhi se posso soddisfare i miei committenti – editori, ma i lettori? – senza muovermi da casa? E poi, che senso ha fare le pulci al potere, qualsiasi colore esso abbia, se poi i giornali o le radio o le tv hanno un riferimento politico a cui, in un modo o nell’altro, vogliono rendere conto? Qui non parlo di idee politiche del giornalista. Io non ho mai fatto mistero di essere anti-clericale, anti-militarista, libertario, in favore di identità flessibili ecc. Parlo della convenienza al mimetismo, al non dire apertamente, al cercare la “sistemazione” più che la verità.

Negli ultimi quattro anni mi sono impegnato in una ricerca in ambito accademico con l’ambizione di verificare se ci sono spazi per capire e ragionare sugli eventi sociali, senza condizionamenti politici o ideologici. Fare etnografia non è molto diverso dal fare giornalismo d’inchiesta, per chi non ha la vista appannata dalle categorie disciplinari. Va da sé che per tentare un tale percorso ho dovuto andare all’estero. La mia esperienza di giornalista e scrittore esperto  dell’immigrazione all’università italiana non interessava.

What songwriting has to do with string theory.

What would happen if you crossed the physics of time with the science of something and nothing? You might get closer to understanding the multiverse. In Imagining the Tenth Dimension: A New Way of Thinking About Time and Space, Rob Bryanton — a self-described “non-scientist with an inquisitive mind,” whose dayjob as a sound designer involves composing music for TV series and films — proposes a theory of the universe based on ten dimensions, a bold and progressive lens on string theory based on the idea that countless tiny “superstrings” are vibrating in a tenth dimension. In order for us, creatures of a three-and-a-half-dimensional world, to begin to wrap our heads around this concept, we have to radically reconsider our perception of infinity, the possible and the impossible, and consciousness itself — which is precisely what Bryanton sets out to do, in what he is careful to frame as a personal expression rather than a traditional scientific theory.

For a taste, here is a mind-bending explanation of ten dimensions might mean:

The project began as a set of 26 songs, exploring the intersection of science and philosophy. Over the years, Bryanton began to see connections between his own ideas and scientific theories across quantum physics, multiple dimensions, and superstrings, including the “Many Worlds Theory” first advanced by physicist Hugh Everett III in 1957. In time, he developed a model of the universe based on the harmonics of superstring vibrations.

Before launching into the additional dimensions, Bryanton also breaks down the familiar three:

A kind of scientific expressionism and creative exploration of curiosity, Imagining the Tenth Dimension might not rewrite the theories of Stephen Hawking, but it is certain to give you pause.

HT It’s Okay To Be Smart

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An interesting algorithm based method of creating accurate globe projections. (via the Volume Project and NewScientist)

Mapping the earth is a classic problem. For thousands of years cartographers, mathematicians, and inventors have come up with methods to map the curved surface of the earth to a flat plane. The main problem is that you cannot do this perfectly, such that both the shape and size of the surface are depicted properly everywhere. This has intrigued me for a long time. Why not just take a map of a small part of the earth, which is almost perfect, glue neighboring maps to it, and repeat this until the whole earth is shown? Of course you get interrupts, but does this matter? What does such a map look like? To check this out, we developed myriahedral projections.

Reports from foreigners living in Prague list a number of woes in regard to Czechs’ unwelcoming behavior: the service in restaurants is terrible, nobody speaks English, if the locals even speak to you, they never smile, it’s not easy to befriend Czechs, they don’t invite you to their homes. The list seems to go on forever. The prevailing opinion holds that the exaggerated fear and dislike of strangers (xenophobia) is an ugly mark left by the socialist era – the period of the mass paranoia, distrust and reclusiveness. It is noteworthy, however, that compared to the neighboring Eastern states there is not a single far-right party in Czech politics – a rare occurrence on the pan-European scale. This doesn’t necessarily indicate the absence of xenophobic sentiments in the country, but rather sheds light on the suppressed and self-censoring nature of Czech racism.

Disturbingly, Jobbik, Hungary’s openly anti-Semitic and anti-Roma far-right party won 17 percent of the vote in the 2010 general elections and the popularity of far-right ideas in the country has doubled throughout the last ten years. Slovakia, Czech Republic’s Eastern neighbor is not far off: its Slovak National Party leader, Jan Slota has enjoyed a parliament seat since 1990 and is currently a government member despite his notorious anti-Hungarian remarks. Bulgaria’s right wing party, Ataka, is openly hostile towards the country’s Turkish residents, but this hasn’t prevented it from gaining over 20 seats in parliament every election since 2005.

To be fair, Czech politics have never been entirely immune from right-wing radicalism. The Workers Party, established in 2003, was described as anti-Semitic, xenophobic, homophobic and neo-Nazi. However, the party no longer exists, at least in an official capacity. The court banned the Workers Party in February 2010 following a rise in violence and hatred against the Roma minority group. The party was expelled primarily due to rising governmental concerns that the right wing party was exploiting the economic downturn to incite racial hatred and make scapegoats of minorities in the country.  At one point the radical sentiment turned so violent that a 3-year-old Roma girl was badly burned in a racial assault in the small town of Vítkov, Eastern Czech Republic.

“The official minority groups benefit from the same rights and privileges as the natives in Czech Republic as far as the basic citizenship rights are concerned,” says Jakub Stredron, director of Czech House of National Minorities, a city-funded center serving needs the minority groups. However, some groups enjoy greater socioeconomic statuses than others, and greater opportunities of participation in a legislative body. “Sexual minorities are represented in the Czech parliament,” says Stredron, but other national minority groups are not as present. Only a small number of ethnic Slovaks hold high ranks in the Czech government. At one point under Jan Fischer’s cabinet in 2009-2010, three out of 17 government members were ethnic Slovaks; one of the three, Minister of Transport Gustáv Slamečka, received Czech citizenship right before receiving the job – Slamečka’s Slovak citizenship was a minor obstacle to gaining the minister’s position, says Stredron.

Still, prestigious governmental jobs are not so freely available for other minority groups in the Czech Republic; the participation of Roma in high-rank or even white-collar jobs is very low. Unsurprisingly, the natural outcome of this situation is a lack of Roma issues in the general public discourse and their alienation from mainstream social and political life. In effect, this leads to great discrimination.

Media Representations

Representation of minority groups within the Czech media is another complex issue. A study involving the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of media texts, called Antimetrics, was designed specifically to detect signs of hate speech in Czech media.[1] The study claimed,“to create a diagnostic test for discerning varieties of hate speech in a society,” with the ultimate aim to prevent hate “from developing into more embedded prejudice and ultimately violence.” The Antimetrics project sought to unveil implicit racist discourse.

Specifically, the study looked at the nature of “New Racism” in the Czech media. Marxist and professor of film, Martin Baker, first coined the term in 1981, referring to allegedly racist public discourse on immigrants during the Margaret Thatcher years in the UK. Linguists and scholars, like Teun A. van Dijk, developed the term further.  Van Dijk calls “New Racism” the modern prototype of “old” racism (apartheid, slavery, segregation), but with a more covert nature, which poses a different potential threat and harm to minority groups.

Further, according to van Dijk, “New Racism” claims to be democratic and fair and rejects that it is racism at all: “Minorities are not biologically inferior, but different. They have a different culture, although in many respects there are deficiencies, such as single-parent families, drug abuse, lacking achievement values, and dependence on welfare and affirmative action –‘ pathologies’ that need to be corrected.”[2]

In his prominent study, van Dijk analyzed one article on immigration in the British daily The Sun. The article, in its classic terminology, portrayed Britain as being “swamped” by an “army of illegals.” The language of the article was so defamatory that the piece could arguably be seen less as a standard of the “New Racism” than a flashback to the “old,” flaunting an openly bigoted agenda as was used to cover immigration in the 1960s. Moreover, research conducted by Catherine Rothon and Anthony Heath of Oxford University found an increase in the self-reported racism among the British people, which they linked with the overly negative media portrayal of asylum seekers and immigrants. The study found a long-term correlation between self-reported prejudice and hostile newspaper coverage of immigration in Britain. In contrast, Antimetrics team researcher, Tess Slavíčková, claims that the overtly racist and xenophobic speech in the Czech press is a rare occurrence – a far cry from the plain defamatory nature of certain British tabloids.

The study attributes the lack of blatantly pejorative language in the Czech media to the “professional commitment to journalistic neutrality.” That said, the final findings of the project contain some troubling elements in the Czech media: evidence of the milder indications of xenophobic hate speech were found to be abundant. Moreover, the study uncovered the trend of victimhood perceptions in the ethnic majority of the country with Czechs repeatedly portrayed as innocent prey of migrant deviants.

Due to the poor quality control of media content and insufficient monitoring in the editorial rooms, according to the report, the dangerous patterns of “victimhood” and implicit hate speech has the potential to grow in the future.

In journalistic reporting in the Czech Republic, hate speech is often disguised by dysphemistic slang and jokes, the skewing of events or personalities, prioritization of narrative coherence over factual precision, the over-representation of heroes versus villains, and the silencing of crucial witnesses to events. Moreover, the study asserts that the minorities are rarely the information providers or the authoritative commentators for the news stories. In fact, Vietnamese and Roma, two of the largest minorities in the Czech Republic, are seldom shown in the news apart from in crime reports.

Another study of Roma representation in Czech TV presents a similar picture. The research conducted by Ivan Leudar and Jiří Nekvapil about how Roma are depicted in Czech programs exposed a high level of “warranted” descriptions of the minority group present in the shows.[3] According to the study, the program participants seemed to express a common knowledge whilst discussing the Roma as “those who do not live like normal people, who create problems and commit crime.” The researchers expressed indignation at how little they learned about the Roma people and their lives from the shows and that the minority group was increasingly characterized “by the absence of positive qualities.”

Slavíčková doesn’t find the situation particularly dangerous. She notes, however, that racist discourse has penetrated the different political parties: “Even though there’s no far right movement in the Czech politics, the patterns of the radical ideology traditionally associated with such groups are to be found throughout a considerable portion of the local political spectrum.”

Thus, it can be argued that the xenophobic/racist discourse in Czech Republic has a self-contradictory nature. On the surface, the waters rarely seem to boil – neither media nor government openly voices disdain. However, closer inspection of the country’s inner dynamics paints a direr picture of restrained anger and quenched animosity towards minority groups.

The Czech Republic shows a decent outer façade with its treatment of immigrants with the anger and frustration internalized and neatly repressed.  That may arguably be preferable to the radical far right political outcries in Slovakia and Hungary or to the overly defamatory and partisan nature of the British tabloids. One may argue, however, that guaranteeing free speech may be better for democracy – revealing racism can be better than camouflaging it. After all, the danger of dormant volcanoes should not be underestimated; their potential is as great as those that are active.

* Ekaterine Lolashvili studies mass media and communications at the University of New York in Prague. She is currently interning at The New Presence.

[1] Tess Slavickova and Peter Zvagulis “CDA as a tool for monitoring hate speech in the Czech print media” 2010:1-8

[2] Teun A. van Dijk  “New (S) Racism: A Discourse Analytical Approach” 2000:34.

[3] Ivan Leudar and Jiří Nekvapil “Presentations of Romanies in the Czech Media: On Category Work in Television Debates,” Discourse & Society, 2000: 506-507.

Serbian NGOs call for the dismissal of the newly appointed Head of the Serbian Army, Ljubisa Dikovic, accusing him of command responsibility during the war in Kosovo.

from Latest Headlines from the Balkans http://bit.ly/xnpXKX

The US wants to use social media in Latin American to restore and maintain its domination.

The US government report says that “Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua are led by authoritarian leaders”. That is true in the case of Cuba; Venezuela sometimes violates political rights but not systematically. The most authoritarian policy I’ve seen reported in Nicaragua is the total ban on abortions, like what most US Republicans advocate. But the list does not include countries such as Honduras and Colombia, where US-stimulated forces commit murder.

Wikipedia, Wordpress e altri siti si auto-oscurano per protesta contro leggi USA liberticide

Scritto da Paolo Attivissimo per il blog Il Disinformatico. Ripubblicabile liberamente se viene inclusa questa dicitura (dettagli). Sono ben accette le donazioni Paypal.