National Day of Mongolia

Today, Mongolia celebrates its 90th national day.

On July 11, 1921, Mongolia was declared independent after the victories of a Mongol revolutionary army led by Damdin Sükhbaatar and supported by the Soviet Red Army. They defeated a White army led by Baron Ungern-Sternberg (with his own motives in conflict with other White Russian leaders - a fantastic story worth it's own post one day!) and the Chinese occupants of Outer Mongolia.

Sükhbaatar and Choibalsan, revolutionary leaders. Sükhbaatar was a popular military leader. He died less than a year after the declaration of independence, an event surrounded by rumours. Choibalsan went on to lead Stalin-style purges, first among the Mongol monarchists and Buddhist leaders, later within the Communist party itself.

But that was not the first or only occasion in the 20th century that Mongolia's independence was declared. In December 29, 1911, the Khalkhas of Outer Mongolia declared their independence from the Qing Dynasty. They installed a lama of a high lineage as the Bögd Khaan, and thus the first independent Mongolian state of the 20th century became a theocracy. This state was later occupied by the newly established Republic of China. The second declaration of independence in 1921 led to the establishment of the Mongolian People's Republic under strong Soviet influence in 1924.

Squeezed in between two great powers, Mongolia has had a difficult task of balancing between outer pressure and inner power struggles. In 1990, a peaceful revolution led by young people and students eventually caused the single-party system to crumble. (Interestingly, even Wikipedia mentions the "thousand-year parliamentary tradition" of Mongolia!)

Protestors in Sükhbaatar square, among them Sanjaasürengiin Zorig, one of the student leaders, who became a notable progressive politician and was mysteriously murdered in 1998.

So much for the strange and violent 20th century! Now let's relax with Börte, a wonderful band that plays traditional instruments and invents new melodies on a grand scale, take us through some ancient elements of Mongolian history in this beautiful composition "Gobi".

Rescue Dogs

After the previous post on the disastrous 9.0 earthquake in Japan this weekend, I found lots of photos of search and rescue teams with dogs. Again, the core Central Asian states are seriously underrepresented - please point me in the right direction if you are in the know. Above, a Japanese dog team is looking for survivors among the destruction at the tsunami-stricken northeast coast. You can see how big ships have been thrown ashore by the mighty waves. Photo by Kazuki Wakasugi. Source: Yomiuri Shimbun

A South Korean rescue dog team arrives in Japan, as seen in the previous post. Source: Reuters

An inhabitant of the town Kesennuma, which suffered terribly under the tsunami, carries his little sheltie. Source: Der Spiegel

Indonesia is another island nation frequently experiencing earthquakes. This photo is from Sumatra 2009. A man is taking several dogs out for a walk in the partly-destroyed city.

Search and rescue dogs arrived in Sumatra from all over the world.

Taiwanese rescue workers with a search and rescue dog assisted with the recovery of survivors in Christchurch, New Zealand, earlier this year.

The Himalaya Rescue Dog Squad Nepal is the first-ever of its kind in the country. The squad's tasks include rescue operations at high altitudes and in deep jungles, after avalanches, floods, and serious traffic accidents. Since the project is so new and the working conditions are very difficult, there's a fundraising page with more information. The people involved in the project also run a caste-free school.

Ilya Zaslavski and search and rescue dog Perets arrived in Haiti 2010 from Russia. The Haiti earthquake struck a densely populated region with weak infrastructure, and recovery has been very difficult. The earthquake could inflict lasting damage on an already disadvantaged society, so we shouldn't forget about Haiti. The Red Cross has more information.

Speaking of Russia, I found a cute thread about rescue dog training in Russia by volunteers. If your dog likes to search for things and needs an interesting hobby, this could be a nice idea. Many of the more independent-minded breeds that tend to do naughty things when bored (such as shibas and terriers in the thread) are well suited for this kind of complex task.

Dogs that were injured in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake are being treated at a private shelter in Chengdu.

Rescue dog training in China: The People's Liberation Army tends towards rather showy exercises...

Jumping through fiery hoops... and the handler's arms.

Earthquakes in Asia

Japanese troops save an elderly man whose hometown has been destroyed by the Sendai earthquake and tsunami, magnitude 8.9, on 11. March 2011.

We have been following the news from Japan (live stream here: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/), and our thoughts go out to all the brave people, civilians and officials, who are doing their best to save lives in the greatest earthquake in recent Japanese history. Earthquakes happen all over the world, and we include here some photos of rescue operations during the last 5 years in Asia.

South Korean rescue workers and dogs arrive in Japan. Source: AFP

Source: Reuters. More images at Tagesschau.de (http://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/bilder/erdbebenjapan122.html)

In 2008, a devastating earthquake struck Sichuan Province in China. Here, the famous pandas of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding are being rescued.

The toll on human life was much greater. At least 68,000 people were killed in the 8.0 Ms quake centered on Wenchuan County on 12 May 2008.

Rescue workers help an elderly man.

In contrast to the numerous photos from Japan and China, it is slightly more challenging to find material from the Central Asian countries that have also been suffering from earthquakes during the last decade. These countries have also received less news coverage, globally. Above, rescue workers from the Kyrgyzstan Red Crescent Society pose for a group photo in the Alai region of Osh City in 2008. The town Nura and the village Kura were completely destroyed in the magnitude 6.6 earthquake that was felt in in Tajikistan and Xinjang Uighur as well.

Unicef specialist Yang Zhenbo among schoolkids in Sichuan after the earthquake 2008. (Source: Unicef)

And life goes on. See Claudia Janke's impressive photo series after the earthquake in Pakistan 2005. People rebuild their homes and even have time for a quick smile in spite of their difficult circumstances. But healing takes time and comes with a heavy cost - that's why international mutual help and aid always will be necessary.

EDIT: In 2010, the Yushu earthquake hit the Tibetan plateau with a magnitude of 7.1 Ms. Don't miss these images of Tibetan monks as rescue workers.

(The comparison is pretty pathetic, but Ainur has only experienced one "real" earthquake in her life and can only marvel at the survival stories above. Please correct any mistakes you can spot in this post, as it was written in a great hurry and emotional turmoil.)

Blue Buckets Demo in Russia

People in St Petersburg demonstrate against the privileged few, who disturb the traffic with their reckless and often lethal driving by special permission of the authorities. Blue buckets have become a sarcastic symbol of the blue flashlights used by businessmen, bureaucrats and other members of the elite. Police have even started to arrest people carrying blue buckets in response to the protests.

Photo by Vadim Zhernov, ITAR-TASS.
Via Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat - It is nice to see so many Finnish commentators that are supportive of the protesters, using the popular epithet "veli venäläinen" - brother Russian - not sarcastic this time...

Wladimir Klitschko fights to save dolphins in Japan

As we have reported before, heavywight boxer Vitali Klitschko has made efforts to help stray animals in Kiev. His younger brother Wladimir recently joined his girlfriend, American actress Hayden Panettiere, who is a committed marine activist, in an action to save dolphins in Taiji, Japan. Panettiere has been involved in actions in Taiji with the organisation Sea Shepherd for a few years now.

In an annual hunt that lasts from October to April, dolphins are caught for meat and to be sold to delphinariums. The official number of dolphins caught in 2007 was 1,623, but unofficial estimates say it could be as many as 23,000.
Besides humans and other great apes, whales, pigs, octopi, elephants and crows, dolphins are one of the most intelligent animal species in the world, and probably the most intelligent aquatic animals.



In a silent protest, Hayden and Wladimir laid out a giant silhouette of a dolphin on the beach outside Taiji. Then they attempted to meet the mayor, but were met by outraged locals outside. The Ukrainian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda reports that "Klitschko did not use his fists to protect his girlfriend against the offenders. Apparently the tiny but courageous actress was fully capable of standing up for herself."

One could question why an American animal rights activist doesn't look at "her own backyard" and focus on, for example, factory farming or animal testing in the USA, where slavery, torture and mass murder is carried out in an even more gruesome scale. But other animals than humans arguably don't care about human-made national boundaries. And if you have a special affection for dolphins, it makes sense to fight for dolphins anywhere in the world.

Anyway, this story is a perfect excuse to post some nice photos of Wladimir Klitschko (found in the extensive collection of sunshinetrue):





The following vintage-style photos are from the cute book Unser Fitnessbuch ("Our Fitness Book") by Vitali and Wladimir, where they present simple exercises for everybody to keep in shape.


















Above: young Wladimir. Below are some childhood photos:



Vitali, their grandma(?) and Wladimir



Vitali and Wladimir



Wladimir's school photo

Real Bears Don't Wear Somebody Else's Fur

Mum gave us a tip on this one:

After activists and supporters of the Croatian animal rights organization Animal Friends gave their support to the ice hockey club Medvescak Zagreb (Zagreb Bears) during many games in the regional league EBEL against Slovenian, Hungarian and Austrian teams by unfolding a huge banner that said "ANIMAL FRIENDS ADORE THE BEARS", the Bears paid them back for their support and in turn gave their support to the "For Croatia without Fur" campaign – by undressing their handsome 26 year old defender Luka Novosel!



Luka said: "I joined this campain because I love animals, and if there is anything I can do for them, the least I can do is to get my picture taken and help animal protection. Fur should be where it belongs. On animals!"



January 1st 2007, the new Animal Protection Act that bans fur farming in Croatia came into force. But this regulation will not be effective until January 1st 2017. In this long period, hundreds and thousands of animals will continue being killed for fashion and human vanity. And in any case, an end to fur farming does not mean an end to selling fur in Croatia and importing it from other countries. Thus, Animal Friends launched a national campaign in January 2007 called "For Croatia without Fur" - the aim of which is to completely stop the cruel treatment of animals by the fashion industry as soon as possible.
Croatian fashion models and designers have already joined the campaign, and now they also have a real Bear defender on their side!

Read more on the official Animal Friends website!

We are all Majid Tavakoli

Majid Tavakoli is a student leader in Iran, who has been arrested several times by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, most recently on 7 December 2009, during protests over the disputed presidential election of 2009.

After his December 7, 2009 arrest, semi-official news websites published photos of Tavakoli dressed in women's clothing, taken while he was in custody. These media claimed he was arrested dressed in "women's clothing" to avoid the security forces while escaping Amirkabir University in Tehran. Eyewitnesses present at the time of his arrest have denied these claims and stated that he was forced to put the hijab on while in custody by the security forces, to discredit and ridicule him.

In solidarity with Tavakoli, some Iranian men are taking pictures of themselves while wearing the Islamic hijab, which is compulsory for women in Iran. They are calling for an end to Iran’s mistreatment of prisoners like Tavakoli. Their protest is also in solidarity with women in their fights for equal rights. One message echoed by many Iranian men is "Until Iranian women are free, Iran will not be free. Iranian men: let's begin wearing the chador in solidarity with Majid AND the WOMEN of Iran". (More at Wikipedia)









































Women are also expressing their solidarity with Tavakoli by drawing moustaches and beards on their faces and putting on the hijab.

Join the protest on Facebook!