Veni | Вени

I’ve sent letters to some of the Bulgarian IT-organizations, asking them to join efforts with the Internet Society of Bulgaria on celebrating Sept. 22nd as not only the Day of the Bulgarian Independence, but also as the One Web Day.

The following is from the OneWebDay site:

OneWebDay is one day a year when we all – everyone around the physical globe – can celebrate the Web and what it means to us as individuals, organizations, and communities.

As with Earth Day – an inspiration and model for OneWebDay – it’s up to the celebrants to decide how to celebrate. We encourage all celebrations! Collaboration, connection, creativity, freedom.

By the end of the day, the Web should be just a little bit better than it was before, and we’ll be able to see our connection to it more clearly.

OneWebDay is September 22 every year, starting in 2006.
Read more…

I thought about this some weeks ago, but was busy doing the blog due to personal reasons.
Today, however, I saw that Cathy Young from the US have noticed it about two weeks ago. In anycase, it’s a great work (and it saves me the translation from Russian:)

One of the famoust Russian literature characters, Ostap Bender, says in one of the best Russian books from Soviet times, “The Golden Calf” (by Ilya Ilf and Evgeniy Petrov), the following words:

“I’m a dynamite emir!” he shouted, swaying on the camel’s high back.
“If we don’t get some decent food in two days, I’m going to start a rebellion among some tribes. I swear! I am going to apoint myself a representative of the Prophet and declare a holy war — jihad.
Against Denmark, for instance.
Why were the Danes so mean to their Prince Hamlet?
In the current political environment, even the League of Nations will have to find that a satisfactory pretext for war. As God is my witness, I’ll buy a million’s worth of rifles from the British — they love selling weapons to tribesmen — and then, off to Denmark we go!
Germany will have to let us through, by way of reparations. Can you imagine the tribesmen storming into Copenhagen? With me leading the way, riding a white camel?”

The original in Russian is still much better:

Я – эмир-динамит! – кричал он [Остап], покачиваясь на высоком хребте [верблюда]. Если через два дня мы не получим приличной пищи, я взбунтую какие-либо племена. Честное слово! Назначу себя уполномоченным пророка и объявлю священную войну, джихад. Например, Дании. Зачем датчане замучили своего принца Гамлета? При современной политической обстановке даже Лига наций удовлетворится таким поводом к войне. Ей-богу, куплю у англичан винтовок – они любят продавать огнестрельное оружие племенам – и марш-бросок в Данию. Германия пропустит – в счёт репараций. Представляете себе вторжение племён в Копенгаген? Впереди всех я на белом верблюде. Ах! Паниковского нет! Ему бы датского гуся!..

Another example of such prediction is at Bomarche’s Marriage of Figaro (again in Russian):

“Я состряпал комедию из гаремной жизни. Я полагал, что будучи драматургом испанским, я без зазрения совести могу нападать на Магомета. В ту же секунду некий посланник ( чёрт его знает чей ) приносит жалобу, что я в своих стихах оскорбляю блистательную Порту, Персию, часть Индии, весь Египет, также королевства: Барку, Триполи, Тунис, Алжир, Марокко. И вот мою комедию сняли в угоду магометанским владыкам , ни один из которых , я уверен , не умеет читать и которые, избивая нас до полусмерти, обыкновенно приговаривают: “Вот вам , христианские собаки !” Ум невозможно унизить, так ему отмщают тем, что гонят его”.

Бомарше. Безумный день, или Женитьба Фигаро.
Действие пятое. Явление III ( Перевод Н.М . Любимова)// Бомарше.
Избранные произведения . М.: 1954. С . 454.”

and in English:
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais’ 1784 stage comedy Marriage of Figaro (adapted by Mozart for the great opera), from the famous Freedom of Speech monologue in Act V, Scene 3:
“I cobble together a verse comedy about the customs of the harem, assuming that, as a Spanish writer, I can say what I like about Mohammed without drawing hostile fire. Next thing, some envoy from God knows where turns up and complains that in my play I have offended the Ottoman empire, Persia, a large slice of the Indian peninsula, the whole of Egypt, and the kingdoms of Barca {Ethiopia}, Tripoli, Tunisi, Algeria, and Morocco. And so my play sinks without trace, all to placate a bunch of Muslim princes, not one of whom, as far as I know, can read but who beat the living daylights out of us and say we are ‘Christian dogs.’ Since they can’t stop a man thinking, they take it out on his hide instead…”

This came today from the news agency in Greece:

Greece signs strategic agreement with Microsoft
The Greek government and IT giant Microsoft on Wednesday signed a strategic agreement offering preferential financial terms for the purchase of software licenses by the Greek state, free software use rights for Greek civil servants (including home use) and training by Microsoft on the use of new technologies.
The agreement was signed in Lisbon by Economy and Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis on behalf of the Greek state. It is part of a government plan to promote a new digital strategy in the period 2006-2013 and to forging closer cooperation between the public sector and private enterprises in the IT sector. Under the agreement, Microsoft will set up an innovation centre in Greece with the aim to support the local academic community as well as Greek software companies in developing cutting-edge technologies and to improve their international competitiveness.
Microsoft will also set up at least 10 computer labs for the vocational training of unemployed people, seniors as well as offering scholarships or free software to Greek universities. The agreement also envisages the introduction of pilot electronic governance programme and support of small- and medium-sized enterprises.
The Greek minister urged Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates to hold a future government officials’ conference on information society in Athens, while stressing that the agreement offers significant opportunities to a new generation of Greek students, researchers and businesspeople.

Compare this to the way the previous Bulgarian government gave away $ 44 million to Microsoft.