Worldfocus

In India on Thursday, a court ruled that homosexuality should no longer be a criminal offense in New Delhi, the capital.

Outside the court, gay rights advocates hailed it as a huge step forward and said it would have the practical effect of cutting down on police harassment of gay people. Homosexuality has been a crime in conservative India since the British colonial era.

Opponents of the ruling can still challenge it in the country’s Supreme Court.

Watch a video of a recent gay pride parade in New Delhi from YouTube user trulyinternet:

Bellow, read what bloggers have to say about the court’s decision.

Blogger “Vijay” is ecstatic about the decision and takes pride in India’s progress:

In all honesty, I never thought that this will happen in India before my grandchildren came, but amazed and delighted that while some of the so called developed countries are still debating and discriminating, India, a land of multiple religions, cultures, social stigma and religious conservatism has moved forward.

Gay pride parades have risen in popularity in India.

Indian blogger Aravind is surprised at how long this decision took, adding that there has been backlash:

I was frankly surprised that such a movement took so long to arrive home in India – it is high time that people to come to terms with reality.  The response was mostly good, but it was a bit astonishing to see that several letters to [the] editor in The Hindu responded quite discouragingly.

The very first of these said removing the law would lead to dire consequences, such as leading to child abuse and a decay of morality and values, an erosion of ethics, and that it would mean giving undue freedom to minorities without responsibility and accountability.

At the heart of it all lies the myth that the whole thing is against the law of nature.

Blogger “Sanjukta” describes the reaction of religious leaders to the ruling:

The religious groups have already started reacting negatively. They say this is a sad day for civilised people.

The road ahead is still long, the next struggles would be about homosexuals couple’s property rights, adoption rights, marriage rights, domestic violence in intimate relations etc.

A blogger at “Counterlight’s Peculiars“ remains somewhat skeptical, pointing out that discrimination will continue:

Life is not likely to change much for India’s LGBT population, which faces severe public hostility and persecution. Sex of all kinds is a taboo subject in India that is rarely publicly discussed.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user lighttripper under a Creative Commons license.

Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt will lead the European Union during Sweden’s six-month presidency.

On Wednesday, the Czech Republic handed over the presidency of the European Union to Sweden. Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has called for a more aggressive approach to the problems currently facing the E.U. as it tries to settle on a new charter and gain influence on the global stage.

The recent Czech presidency has been deeply criticized for a lack of leadership on key issues like the world financial crisis. An art exhibition commemorating the Czech presidency stirred anger across the region for its depiction of Bulgaria as a toilet, among other caricatures. Many see the Swedish presidency as a departure from the Czech style of leadership, though the last Swedish presidency was markedly quiet.

Bloggers had their say about the future and past of the European Union — including Swedish Minister for European Affairs Cecilia Malmström, who will chronicle Sweden’s presidency in her blog. She writes of her ambitions:

I’m looking forward to some challenging and exciting six months, that will require a lot of hard work and creative leadership.

It’s no secret that Sweden will be leading Europe in a difficult time. The European Union is facing a number of challenges, and the presidency will work under very specific conditions. But we are not afraid of taking up the challenge. The presidency’s ambition is to achieve results on a range of issues where citizens expect the Union to deliver. While working to create better conditions for growth and jobs, we will also need to unite the world in the struggle against climate change.

Blogger Julien Frisch shares his cautious enthusiasm:

As a realist, I know that the change [Sweden] can bring in practice is limited. But knowing that the spirit behind their actions is different to the previous presidencies, I have the hope that they will make a positive difference.

“Philippe,” a Swedish blogger, feels particularly dismayed over the failures of the previous leadership:

The past months have been marked by a rudderless feeling as the domestically strife-ridden Czechs failed to stamp their authority on the bloc, and member states freely bickered over how to tackle the devastating economic crisis.

Honor Mahony of euobserver.com writes that the Swedes are in for a difficult time:

Now prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt is in the hot seat. Every word he utters will be treated as the EU’s approach to that issue. His predictions on the economic crisis and a climate change deal will be headlines in themselves. [...] Each presidency brings with it its own particular traditions – the Swedes are pushy on transparency and have relatively good green credentials.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user shapeshift under a Creative Commons license.

The Honduran military staged a coup, ousting President Manuel Zelaya. This comes after heated debates about Zelaya’s referendum on presidential term limits, which was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Many world leaders, from U.S. President Barack Obama to President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, called for Zelaya’s reinstatement. This marks the first Central American coup since the Cold War.

Christopher Sabatini, the senior director of policy for the Council of the Americas, joins Martin Savidge to analyze the consequences of the military coup.

Bellow, bloggers in Honduras react to the coup.

A blogger from Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras, is fearful what the coup may bring:

I fear we have gone from bad to worse. At least Zelaya seemed to speak out for the poor. As one priest said this morning, despite all his errors and his vanity, Zelaya was the first major leader in many years to offer people a little bit of openness to the needs of the poor. The priest said he is not supporting the person Zelaya, but the cause of the poor. Micheletti is closely tied with the economic powers to be. An indication of his position is his support of privatization of water in his own district.

Another blogger from Honduras disagrees, stating that Zelaya is to blame:

[...] Zelaya has been trying to usurp the authority of the other two branches of government with his actions of the last few weeks. If anyone was trying to overthrow the government, it was him.

A Peace Corps volunteer takes a neutral stance, pointing to the difficulty in choosing a side:

[...] many countries are around the world are denouncing the coup by the military and the U.S. government is stating it’s against democracy. In my opinion, it is very difficult to take a stance on this. President Zelaya was motivated a lot by legacy along with his buddies in Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia. There were a lot of manipulation and alternate motives during his presidency. However, the way his own government took him out of power is not the way to do things.

After a violent and deadly weekend, Iran’s most powerful security force issued its strongest warning against further protest. The Revolution Guard said there would be a “revolutionary confrontation” if demonstrators took to the streets again.

When several hundred protesters gathered in a Tehran square on Monday, riot police moved in, attacking the crowd with tear gas and firing live bullets in the air.

Ten days after Iran’s disputed presidential election, the Guardian Council — the country’s highest authority — acknowledged that there were voting problems in 50 election districts. However, it said these problems will not affect the outcome of the election.

Below, view a slideshow of recent events in Iran from an anonymous journalist with Tehran Bureau:

One Twitter user listed as living in Iran describes his/her hope for the future:

when you stand on the roof and hear allahu akbar for hours and hours its so crazy..i hear old man..so many years he wants to yell that. my country needs no more killing…no more violence ..no more fighting ..just living in peace and freedom forever. in many years people will forget about this time about me and neda they will be free to forget. free to do anything

“Neda” was a young girl who was shot during a protest. The video of her death has captured the world’s attention and is said to be circulating widely in Iran. Many Web sites have already labeled her a martyr.

Another Twitter user wrote of the girl:

If regime topples in Iran, new govt should build a statue to #Neda. Her death has galvanized everyone.

Watch the video of “Neda” below. WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES. Viewer discretion is advised.

The description accompanying the video (unverified):

Place: Karekar Ave., at the corner crossing Khosravi St. and Salehi st. A young woman who was standing aside with her father watching the protests was shot by a basij member hiding on the rooftop of a civilian house. He had clear shot at the girl and could not miss her. However, he aimed straight her heart. I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her. But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim’s chest, and she died in less than 2 minutes. The protests were going on about 1 kilometers away in the main street and some of the protesting crowd were running from tear gass used among them, towards Salehi St. The film is shot by my friend who was standing beside me. Please let the world know.

Another Twitter user asks Iranians to help out:

Ppl - stop to pay all electricity, gas, water, telephone bills from today - this will starve the Gov. Tehran is burning with the blood of our Martyrs - The streets are full of dead. if u wantto help but are frightened of the streets - give blood - that is big help.

An Iranian-American college student currently in northern Iran describes her emotions:

Everyone seems to think that blood has to be spilled in order to change anything. Although the protests are properly peaceful, the Basij police are not.

Blood has been spilled, and I am sure more will be spilled today. The question is how big a change it will make.

[...]The thing I most want to do is go home. I came to Iran to see its beautiful side, but the country and even my family have shown their ugliest faces. Their ugliest faces.

Monday marked the third day of protest in Iran after election results declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner. Commentators remain skeptical that such a landslide could have occurred, given the high turnout and the magnitude of support for the opposition candidate.

The demonstrations by supporters of pro-reform leader Mir Hossein Mousavi were described as the largest since the results were announced, and they were largely peaceful. The election dispute gained another dimension after Iran’s supreme leader ordered an investigation of Mousavi’s claims that the election had been stolen.

Ervand Abrahamian, a distinguished professor of history at the City University of New York, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the election results, allegations of fraud and how this complicates U.S. President Barack Obama’s desire to start a dialogue with Iran.

Iranian police have cracked down on foreign media covering the protests,and some protesters even shooed away secret police from foreign reporters. But as governments try to curtail the flow of information, citizen journalists have used new Internet technology to bypass restrictions.

Blogger Sanaz Arjomand observes the situation from northern Iran:

The rest of my family lament the “democracy” in Iran and get angry about the obvious taqqalob, or cheating. What I’ve heard most often is that the Rahbar (Supreme Leader) hand-picked Ahmadinejad anyway, that it was obvious that they would cheat and that they themselves would have to suffer for four more years.

In the teeny little town of Maragheh, in northeastern Iran, Ahmadinejad supporters are out in the street. But in Tehran and other bigger towns, it’s chaos. BBC Persia was showing beatings in the street and huge protests (like a river, my cousin said, they kept flowing). What I found interesting is that unlike the campaigning I wanted to post about earlier, these protests are taking place on foot. People are not hiding behind their steering wheels or zooming around on motorcycles. Instead of the “Ahmadi bye-bye!” chants (and many, many more clever ones that I’ll remember to post soon), the young crowd was shouting: Moussavi, Moussavi, ray-e ma ra pass bedee! (Moussavi, Moussavi, return our votes!)

Mousavi postponed rally plans, and the government continues its crackdown. A young Iranian student reports:

A friend of mine emailed me these lines from the University of Tehran campus where there have been wide protests: “We are in the campus my friend, tear gas is being thrown at us like a heavy snow fall, the entire building I am in right now is filled with gas. Two of my friends were wounded thirty minutes ago. There is fire everywhere. I thought I came here to study but there is nothing here but war. I can only tell you this so you’d share it on Facebook. I tried using a proxy to access Facebook but its still not possible. Thanks so much. And by the way, please don’t mention my name because there have been wide arrests everywhere.

[...] I have been numb, speechless and in tears for the past few days. These kids are Iran’s brightest students. I went to school with them. We ate lunch together and shared our sandwiches. What is happening to them?

Gary Sick, a former member of the National Security Council, writes on his Tumblr blog:

If the reports coming out of Tehran about an electoral coup are sustained, then Iran has entered an entirely new phase of its post-revolution history. One characteristic that has always distinguished Iran from the crude dictators in much of the rest of the Middle East was its respect for the voice of the people, even when that voice was saying things that much of the leadership did not want to hear…The current election appears to repudiate both of those rules. The authorities were faced with a credible challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, who had the potential to challenge the existing power structure on certain key issues. He ran a surprisingly effective campaign, and his “green wave” began to be seen as more than a wave. In fact, many began calling it a Green Revolution. For a regime that has been terrified about the possibility of a “velvet revolution,” this may have been too much.

Allahpundit wonders if Obama’s administration might just “accept” the Iranian election results:

What if Obama did walk away, though? There’s actually another possibility here: Western leaders protest the result by ending negotiations and refusing to recognize Ahmadinejad as president, which in turn encourages protesters to keep up their agitation for several more months. Paralyzed and afraid of being overthrown, the regime becomes so desperate that it agrees to give up the nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of all sanctions and renewed diplomatic ties with the U.S. in hopes that the economic turnaround produced by the influx of foreign capital will placate the people. The dilemma for The One here is that he campaigned on the moronic assumption that Iran might conceivably be willing to make a deal on nukes if we just talked nice to them or sweetened our offer a bit. Now comes the moment of truth: Does he really believe that? Does he honestly believe, after years of stonewalling, with the country maybe a year away from being able to build a bomb, that they’re going to throw in the towel now? If not, then walk away. There’s no downside and potentially a tremendous upside if the regime falls or a grateful Mousavi ends up being installed as president. And needless to say, from a moral standpoint, he’d be on the side of the angels. Conflict with the regime is inevitable; if the Iranian public’s willing to fight our battle for us, let’s support them with all we’ve got.

Rising sea levels could force the evacuation of entire populations from low-lying countries like the Maldives, Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, according to a recent United Nations report.

Last week, the U.N. passed a resolution introduced by small islands that will recognize climate change as a threat to security. Climate change could potentially create 200 million refugees by 2050.

The people of the Carteret Islands have been called the world’s first environmental refugees. Journalist “Dan” chronicled his experience at the Carteret Islands in his blog, “Journey to the Sinking Lands,” where he describes how life has been impacted by the encroaching sea:

You can walk around the largest and most populated island, Han, in less than an hour. Life on the islands moves to its own rhythms; the only electricity is supplied by a few generators or solar panels so people wake and sleep with the sun. There is virtually no paid work and instead, people fish and gather fruit from the forest to survive. They are some of the nicest people I have met and, having visited, it is more the similarities between life there and at home that stay with you.

[...] The adults can tell you where they remember the shoreline reached in their childhood – as much as 50 metres further out from where the beach is now. Coupled with this are storm surges and high tides that are far worse now than any time in living memory. These smash in and strip away the land and the people’s fruit crops. What crops remain are being poisoned by salt. As a result, the regional government has decided to evacuate the entire population of the islands.

He also provides an interactive map showing which parts of the world will be flooded as the sea level rises. Watch a video featuring the evacuees from the Carteret Islands, produced by Jennifer Redfearn of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting:

Blogger Mehrunnisa Yusuf visits the Maldives  –  the lowest-lying country in the world – and argues that the rest of the world needs to follow the small country’s lead in combating climate change:

Fortunately for the Maldivians their government, both the previous and newly elected democratic one, is doing a fair share to address these challenges. As a developing country that is challenged by its own geographical environment and resource constraints it is remarkable that they have taken such a robust stance on this issue. To be sure, the government’s decision to go carbon neutral in a decade is an ambitious target, but that is to lose sight of the important precedent that is being set. It is time for the international community to take stock and follow the steps and listen to the voices of small states.

In October, Evelyn Ng of the World Bank described life in Kiribati, one of the threatened islands:

The people of Kiribati (I-Kiribati) are thirsty. Literally. The water drawn from the wells has become almost undrinkable due to salination. The ladies say: “water cannot drink, too salty”. They would have to go digging elsewhere or share with neighbours or look for unguarded water

Kiribati is one of the island countries threatened by climate change.

sources. The I-Kiribati live mainly on coconuts and breadfruit. Three years of drought has caused some of the coconut trees to dry up, while high waves have damaged some of the trees closer to the water. Of course, I-Kiribati survive on fish too but fishermen are now suffering from the impact on global oil prices. They say:  “price gone up, now we don’t go so far, we catch smaller fish.”

Blogger Marguerite Finn writes about the difficulties facing Kiribati as it considers relocating its people — and perhaps losing its culture:

This is a huge dilemma: how to find host countries to take the immigrants and to ensure that they do not sink to the bottom of the pile, losing their self-respect and their culture.

In the best I-Kiribati paternal tradition, President Anote Tong is leading a move towards maximum education for all his people — seeing this as giving them the best equipment for the nation’s demise and their personal futures. He explained: “I don’t want my people to be called refugees – but rather immigrants who have the capacity to work on any standard skills for any jobs required in their new homes.”

There is a genuine ‘clash of cultures’ here. The Kiribati culture served its people well before being undermined by a drastic change in its climate for which it was not responsible.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user jopolopy under a Creative Commons license.

Today, Iranians exercise their right to vote in a hotly contested election that pits incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against three opponents. Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister, is the most highly regarded of the challengers to the hardline and inflammatory conservative.

Bloggers around the world are expressing surprise at the vitality of the Iranian public. For weeks, the campaign has featured painted activists and heated debates. The pivotal issues in this election include diplomacy with the U.S. and economic reforms. Due to heavy turnout, voting has been extended, and the tallies will begin coming in throughout the night.

Sanaz Arjomand writes from Maragheh in northern Iran:

The general trend seems to be that Mousavi is the best of the bad choices (which reminds me of Bush vs. Kerry), especially in large cities. Because Ahmadinejad has been handing out chickens and potatoes in the rural areas, though, his backing is still fairly strong. The outcome depends mostly on whether the population of youth (about 70%) or the population of poorer Iranians makes a stronger showing at the polls. The thing that I’ve noticed the most, however, is that nobody has any hope that the election will turn out the way they hope (i.e. Mousavi supporters are sure Ahmadinejad will cheat and win, and Ahmadinejad supporters are dismayed by the fanfare surrounding Mousavi’s campaign), nor any hope that this election will really change anything.

Either way, my Iranian birth certificate is in my purse and I’m ready to cast my vote. As they were singing on the streets of Tehran, “Ahmadi bye-bye!”

The media buzz suggests that women and young people are largely casting votes against Ahmadinejad. Mousavi’s wife has attracted huge crowds at campaign rallies. Marzieh Ghiasi, an Iranian in Canada, enthusiastically comments on a historic vote:

While cynicism remains strong and every candidate can be criticized and rightfully so, I can’t help but admire those who go to the polls to make a sincere effort towards a better tomorrow. They go with optimism and the hope that promises that have been made will be delivered. Whatever the outcome of this election, with a vote-turnout that is expected to reach into 80% (pretty incredible!), I am most glad that Iranians are so passionate about the opportunity to vote and take their fate into their own hands. I hope the same kind of fervor and call to responsibility is carried on in the post-election era because as it goes… any day without apathy is a good day.

A Turkish blogger, Sinan Kolat, describes the symbolism of this election from his vantage point in Istanbul.

It seems as the tables have turned as the color green, the symbol of Islam, is now the color of reform. Mousavi’s campaign uses it well and the youth in the streets of Tehran have been demonstrating fiercely under their new symbol. The photos coming from the country shows the change and hope, with women['s] hair clearly visible. Just like wearing a turban is a political, rather than religious, symbol in Turkey; not wearing a turban is a political symbol in Iran.

Hamid Taqvaee, the current leader of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran, is seen as one of the most vocal and radical figures opposed to the Islamic Republic:

Only the factions closest to the state and only those given the go ahead by Khamenei, the supreme spiritual leader, can participate. The rest are excluded. Only the closest insiders can run and that is why the final few candidates are always pillars of the regime…Look at this election – from Ahmadinejad, Karoubi, Mousavi to Rezai – all have been instrumental in the repression and executions that have taken place.

Even many in their own ‘second Khordad’ or ‘reformist’ faction are not allowed to participate in the election. If in Turkey or Pakistan a Council of Guardians decided on who could run, the election would be canceled! In other elections, if a candidate gets less television airtime than another, complaints are made to rectify the situation. Now if you compare the situation in Iran with that of Sweden or Denmark or France, you will see that even in the first instance what happens in Iran is anything but an election!

Campaigners and voters have shown tremendous passion for the political process and debates. Mahaan, an Iranian-American blogger, suggests:

It has been an unbelievable 2 weeks in Iran. Hot series of TV debates and constant party mode on the streets which was the best sample of tolerance and respect among the citizens, gave all of us a surprising image of our society. Independent of it, this election has given a new shape to the Iranian political and civil discourse.

The sucky part was the low key coverage that the western media gave to these events. Until last Wednesday, the coverage was minimal and even after that, it never reached the level that many smaller Iranian events (small student protest, or Roxana Saberi’s court) were covered. Maybe this relates to a higher level western policy of silence and respect that exist these days with respect to this election.

Iran’s presidential election is set for Friday, and the race between the incumbent, Mahmound Ahmadinejad, and his rivals is heating up.

Ahmadinejad appeared in a debate on Monday with another conservative candidate who is a former commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guard, while supporters of both men held rallies on the streets of Tehran.

Below, view a slideshow of Iran’s election fever:

A blogger at “Tehran Post” describes how the debates have invigorated the country:

As you might know private television channels are forbidden by the law in Iran. In general, power-holders are really touchy about any media that could challenge their authority.

However, presidential elections in Iran are a chance for people to find out about diverse, mostly dissident political views in the state-run TV and get relieved from the official political propaganda that could not be cornier. Candidates are allotted equal time to talk about their plans with the citizens.

Campaign season in Iran.

[…]When 2 A.M. in the morning Tajrish Square in north of Tehran becomes the scene of gathering of Ahmadinejad and Musavi’s supporters, both celebrating their candidate’s victory, clear it becomes that the debate has been one with a deep impact, one that Iranians remember for a long time. [...] I wish [we] had a presidential election everyday in Iran! The sense of freedom is really great!

An Iranian blogger at “Sidewalk Lyrics” talks about why the election has mobilized Iran’s youth:

I wish I was in Tehran right now. Not because I like a particular candidate. Not because I believe in change or hope or even elections.

But because some election seasons, that dark, haunted city is sprinkled with life and color. Like a flower that blooms to life every few years, only to fall back into a deep, incurable coma for which you are never certain there will be an awakening.

I contemplate what could have been, what should have been but what never is, while it dances vividly all around me and I know that its death, like its birth, I will soon see.

And every time, I can’t help but wonder: maybe, this time around, the ending will be different.

People around the world find it fascinating, pathetic or strange that we Iranian youth have flown into the streets the way we have. We have done so out of desperation, fatigue, hope and curiosity.

Mousavi became prime minister two years before I was born. One year after the war. Two years after a revolution. In the midst of chaos and bloodshed of unimaginable proportions. Times were not easy, for anyone. And there we were, dropped into this world amidst all of that.

I will be a 25 year old tomorrow when I go out to vote. Second chances don’t come easy Mr. President. Whoever you may turn out to be.

Watch a video of Ahmadinejad’s supporters celebrating following one debate from YouTube user kelashinkof:

Blogger “Kamran,” an Iranian expatriate, explains why he plans to vote despite a lack of faith in the candidates:

A short telephone conversation to a couple of friends in Iran yesterday turned into an afternoon-long debate about the upcoming election.

My simple question about the latest campaign news produced brand new jokes about the candidates. They tell me that they have heard all these promises before and remind me that it wasn’t long ago that the president was Khatami.

[…]I will take a 45 minute train trip to go to Iranian embassy in The Hague to vote.  I don’t believe in these people and do not think any of the candidates can solve the enormous challenges we face, but I am still voting. During the past thirty years, our rights as Iranian citizens have been constantly under attack. This has been true despite many promises of protection and invitations to engage in the building of our society.

I am voting with the hope that not only the hardline government will change, but that we will build a more democratic society where women’s rights, a free press, free speech, and human rights are not a dream. Last 4 years proved our right can be in more danger than we could even imagine.

Being part of this initiative was unthinkable for me just four years ago. Four years of right-wing Ahmadinejad has put Iran on a downward path. I believe that Iranian expats should play a more constructive role and not keep waiting for some magical transformation of power.

Photos courtesy of Flickr users under a Creative Commons license.

Uighurs are an ethnic Muslim population who have been persecuted by the Chinese government.

The tiny Pacific island nation of Palau has agreed to accept 17 Chinese Muslims, members of an ethnic group known as Uighurs, who are being held at Guantanamo Bay.

If sent back to China, it is feared the detainees would be executed. Palau retains diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and the U.S. may reportedly give the island nation up to $200 million dollars in exchange for accepting the detainees.

A blogger at Hotair argues that Palau is getting a good deal for accepting the 17 detainees:

One can’t blame Palau for taking the deal. First, their entire GDP for 2008 was $164 million, according to the CIA Factbook. Over 85,000 tourists visited Palau and provided about $120 million of that. Now 17 Uighurs will come to Palau with $12 million each. If they’re truly rehabilitated, well, what a deal, right? Plus, Palau gets to stick a finger in Beijing’s eye; they don’t recognize the communist regime at all and have close ties to Taiwan.

Author and journalist Andy Worthington argues that the move shows signs of desperation on the part of the Obama administration:

Could this, then, be the answer to the Obama administration’s Uighur problem? Perhaps, but if so, it will demonstrate only that, when it comes to cleaning up the mess that is Guantánamo, cowardice, desperation and the least enviable form of pragmatism available are yet another example of Bush and Cheney’s despicable legacy.

The Agitator remains skeptical, arguing that taxpayers are paying for government error:

Just so I have this straight: Because the government wrongly detained the anti-Chinese government Uighurs, U.S. taxpayers have to shell out $200 million, and the Uighurs have to spend the rest of their lives exiled to Palau?

A blogger on Flickering Pictures still has many questions:

As much as Obama deserves praise for shutting down Guantanamo, I can’t help wondering: if they’ve done something wrong, shouldn’t they be charged, rather than sent off to a tropical paradise? And if they’re innocent, shouldn’t we be talking about compensation for their kidnapping and subsequent seven years of imprisonment on a Cuban military base, with no explanations, lawyers or telephone calls?

Photo courtesy of Flickr user shapeshift under a Creative Commons license.

In a historic speech from Egypt on Thursday, President Obama called for “a new beginning” between the United States and the Muslim world, after years of mutual and deepening anger, resentment and hostility fueled by terrorism and two wars.

People all over the the Middle East — from leaders and radical groups to students and shopkeepers — reacted to Obama’s speech. See below for blogger reactions to the speech. 

Shibley Telhami, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the speech, its intended audience and Obama’s other efforts to reach out to the Muslim world.

Blogger Noha Fawzy in Egypt reacted positively:

I was impressed with all that came in his speech.  It felt as if he really feels our real and deep pains and what we suffer from daily.  However, my only disappointment that he mentioned the nuclear power in Iran, but no mention of Israel that owns already nuclear power and can be threatening to the whole region. 

I must say that his speech was structured, well presented and very well accepted by the majority of the people and his call for peace as in all religions is so much needed.

We, Egyptians, thank you Barack Obama for choosing Egypt to be your platform while addressing the Muslim World, well advised and Egyptians are the most sympathetic people who will wait for you to fulfill your commitments as you promised.

We hope you enjoyed your visit, we did and we look forward for longer visits. 

I love Egypt and Egypt will prevail.

Peter Daou, a blogger at UN Dispatch, takes a more critical tone: 

I know many will gush over President Obama’s Cairo speech and I’m likely swimming against the tide of the media and my fellow Democrats and progressives. But reading the transcript, I was struck by two things:

1. Aside from a few platitudes, it is disappointingly weak on human rights and specifically women’s rights.

2. It betrays a naiveté, perhaps feigned, about how the Arab world works.

I sometimes preface my posts by explaining that my Mideast perspective is that of an American-Lebanese-Christian-Jew who grew up in Muslim West Beirut at the height (or should I say depth) of the Lebanese civil war. The tumultuous and bloody intersection of religions and geopolitical interests is painfully real to me.

Yes, Obama is targeting the Arab ’street’ and global public opinion - but to the corrupt regimes that dominate that region of the world, his oration means virtually nothing. Repression and suppression will go on uninterrupted. And to those whose abiding hatred of Israel (and thus America) is absolute, Obama’s words will be seen as empty and hypocritical.

Blogger “Ali” shares reactions from friends across the Middle East, including “Duha” in Jordan, who thinks the speech alienated many:

I think, he spoke to the average person, to the moderates and the educated, the silent majority if you may. He spoke to people’s minds and needs for peace and prosperity which are so much needed in the Muslim world, but at the same time I think he alienated so many against him mainly the extremists from all parties arabs, israelies, muslims, even in the US. I hope he stays safe, and more important I hope he delivers.

The same blogger posts a short reaction from “Noam” in Tel Aviv:

Liked the speech but might not be very realistic. 

Further brief reactions could be found on Twitter:

diptychal in Egypt: Obama is clearly playing both sides of the fence. Couldn’t really expect otherwise

NadiaE in Egypt: Audience claps to Islamic refs: are we that desperate for recognition of our faith?

donchad in Egypt: wise speech from obama