text:
Jamaica Loses a Visionary With the Passing of Artist Peter Dean Rickards  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Screenshot of The Afflicted Yard website after Peter Dean Rickards’ death on December 31, 2014.
In the early hours of the last day of 2014, the inventive Peter Dean Rickards lost his battle with cancer. Rickards was a photographer, cinematographer and director with an original eye, quick wit and unique perspective. He was also an astute user of social media as a vehicle for his thoughts and his art — right up until his death, he held active accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, under the handle Afflicted Yard.
And he was. The consummate creative, Rickards was smart, edgy and a little off the wall. On Facebook, people who knew him said he was a man before his time — that Jamaica and the world weren't yet ready for him.
In a piece shared by ARC Magazine, the pulse of the region's artistic community, Ross Sheil called him Jamaica's “most important artist”. Sheil began by recounting his first encounter with Rickards:
The day I met Peter summed him up perfectly. Sometime in 2003 I was sitting with my then boss by the Kingston Hilton poolside preparing for a meeting with some businessmen or other, when this man with crazy hair showed up for the first time. ‘I’m gonna go shoot Ninjaman [a dancehall DJ] on the run from police…guns…somewhere in the bush…ya wanna come?’
[…]
But that was Peter: prepared to do something completely nuts; a something that occurred only to him, and that only he would risk doing; and trusting me, basically a stranger at that time, to share the experience. The end result was that iconic photo of Ninjaman holding Peter’s ‘Get out of jail free’ Monopoly card – one of a series of shots, which included the deejay waving around a loaded gun.
Little did I know then that I’d have the privilege of crashing on his pleather couch for the best part of the year…and dodging the occasional firework he liked to let off inside the apartment.
The post went on to talk about how Rickards, in hospital towards the end, was “interested only in hearing news about others”:
Peter had lived life to its fullest. And it was his appreciation of life that which was such an essential quality of his art. There weren’t the conventional divides in his work: he crisscrossed uptown as much as downtown as much as country; and he looked outwards of Jamaica as much as he proudly celebrated his own culture.
His eye for a story enabled him to work across different media – from writing to video – and to chance upon random, fascinating subjects that the rest of us would pass on by. Peter would show them in an honest and fresh light: he loved the underdog the unusual, and equally, he shunned the fake or hypocrites.
A self proclaimed “media terrorist”, Rickards often spoke his mind quite bluntly, which didn't always go over well with those with something to lose by it. As an artist and as a Jamaican that understood the nuances and contradictions of his society, Rickards was keenly interested in “challeng[ing] not just the competing foreign depictions of Jamaica as either some ‘Hearts of Darkness’ versus ‘Happy Rastas’ serenading tourists on the beach; but in doing so also to challenge our own insecurities as a small island nation.” Sheil praised Rickards’ “natural sense of inquiry” and autodidacticism:
The moment he found a subject, the little boy inside him became immediately fascinated. He didn’t know how to webcast, so he taught himself, the same way he learned how to build a website and as a photographer began with a crappy 1-megapixel, moving onto a more ‘professional’ camera only after he’d already learned how to frame shots beautifully as well as capture Jamaica’s breathtaking natural light.
I think we call that ‘creativity’. And in the Jamaican context where so many must make do with so little it made his work all the more authentic.
Another close friend, blogger Annie Paul, was heartbroken upon hearing the news of Rickards’ passing and put together a compilation of “some of the most compelling tributes” she found on social media. In the post, Paul made special mention of a tribute from LA Lewis and Rickards’ “magnificent spoof of the artworld –The Concepshional Artist”, which used LA Lewis as his subject. You can see it in this tweet that Rickards sent out shortly before his death:
Dem get out Bab Morley, Dem get out Bill Casby, and now they try to get out me. #kim #pete #uptown pic.twitter.com/HR1U8XdHEm
— Peter Dean Rickards (@afflictedyard) December 19, 2014
@walshyfire tweeted:
Photo: RIP to a great friend. One the most loved, hated, and feared people in the internet. From 1994 on… http://t.co/Oo0JeOyi8c
— Mango chow (@walshyfire) December 31, 2014
Berette Macaulay called Rickards “a brilliant visionary of style, wit, and talent”, saying:
He was committed to showing the world the raw side of #Jamaica that frankly few others really looked at or cared to do honest photo-essays about…and he represented this with poetry and the sexiest style. In this singularity I absolutely respected his stubborn tenacious and incomparable vision.
Sweetland Photos, also mentioned in Paul's post, remembered Rickards as “always thinking outside of the box, always different, always…FIRST”:
Still trying to grasp some of your work, thats how advanced you were.
Christina Xu's most definitive memory of Rickards was his link with legendary graffiti artist Bansky. On Twitter, friends, colleagues and admirers lauded Rickards’ vision and accomplishments:
Saddest thing is Jamaica lost its most important artist today and they don't even realise it. @afflictedyard #afflictedyard #timewilltell
— Russell Hergert (@russellhergert) December 31, 2014
PETER DEAN. ONE OF THE MOST LOVED, FEARED AND CONTROVERSIAL INNOVATORS OF THE INTERNET AGE. FROM F1RST… http://t.co/OcLvwKptyP
— MAJOR LAZER (@MAJORLAZER) January 4, 2015
Kingston Signals, The Afflicted Yard, FIRST Magazine. The list goes on. @afflictedyard‘s legacy will live on forever. #rip
— Tobias Huber (@tobiashuber) December 31, 2014
It certainly will. Even in death, Rickards decided how the last page of his story would be written.
Jokes even from the grave. http://t.co/rsv4cbo8XA now updated #RIPpdr pic.twitter.com/xiHSIUucaR
— Ross Sheil (@RossSheil) December 31, 2014


text:
Japanese Singer Sports Hitler Moustache in New Year’s Political Statement · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Image courtesy NHK
A Japanese pop megastar caused consternation during a popular annual New Year's Eve broadcast on December 31 by wearing a fake Hitler moustache during his performance.
Keisuke Kuwata is the founder and lead-singer of the Southern All Stars, one of the most beloved and iconic pop bands in 1980s Japan. After selling millions of records and going on hiatus between 2008 and 2013, the Southern All Stars, fronted by Kuwata, appeared via live satellite feed as part of the NHK Red and White Song Competition, known as the Kohaku. Watching the Kohaku has been a New Year's Eve tradition millions of Japanese people since its start on December 31,1949.
The appearance this year of the Southern All Stars was supposed to be a special treat. However, Kuwata's decision to surprise viewers by sporting a fake Hitler moustache at the start of the band's set quickly became one of the hottest trending topics in Japan's social media landscape.
Why was Keisuke Kuwata sporting a Hitler moustache? He hasn't said why, which has resulted in a lot of Internet speculation.
Many feel the key to the mystery of Hitler moustache (called a ちょび髭 or chobi hige in Japanese) is the fact Kuwata was sporting it as the Southern All Stars kicked off their hit single “Peace and Hi-Lite.”
According to remarks Kuwata made about the song as reported by the Japan Times in August 2013:
“I saw on the news that our neighbors were irritated. No matter how much dialogue we hold, it seems that the argument doesn’t change,” go the lyrics penned by the venerable band’s leader, Keisuke Kuwata.
The song also expresses what could be interpreted as criticism of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his revisionist views of history, warning that “people tend to forget the tragic past and their foolish act
The December 31, 2014 Kohaku broadcast came in the aftermath of a snap December election that saw the ruling bloc, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), re-elected with a 325-seat super-majority.
While the LDP itself actually lost several seats, there are fears that the ruling bloc's super-majority will allow Abe to change Japan's “peace constitution” — which denounces war and endorses pacifism — and even start a war.
And so Keisuke Kuwata sported a Hitler moustache as he sang an anti-war song during one of Japan's biggest and most treasured cultural events.
サザンが紅白後、ライブで安倍批判らしいね。じゃ、あのちょび髭はヒトラーな話だねぇ？
— ネズミさん (@Nezmi_san) December 31, 2014
It seems that the Southern All Stars were criticizing [Japanese Prime Minister] Abe. So, was that funny little moustache supposed to symbolize Hitler?
LDP lawmaker Masaru Onodera remarked:
素晴らしいアーティストが、愛国者だとは限らない。作品を愛してもその者の主張を盲目的に信じてはならない。 【サザン、紅白歌合戦で安倍政権を痛烈批判！ちょび髭を付けて「ピースとハイライト」を熱唱！生放送のコメントが超大荒れ状態に！ 】http://t.co/dLhDDXkVWu
— 小野寺まさる (@onoderamasaru) January 1, 2015
Just because you are a great artist does not mean you are more of a patriot than anyone else. And just because you happen to like what an artist does, does not mean you have to blindly accept whatever they say. RE: Kohaku Criticism of Abe Ignites Firestorm of Controversy.
One Twitter user posted a tongue-in-cheek interpretation of Kuwata's moustache:
サザンの桑田さんのちょび髭は加藤茶のモノマネだと思ってた ヒトラーと安部総理では政策も目指すところも全く違う サザンファンが言うのもなんだが、桑田さんの政治家批判の歌は全てにおいて心に響かない好きになれない ヒトラーのマネしてる時点で放送するのは不謹慎だよnhkとWOWOW
— のぶこ (@viva6x6) January 4, 2015
I though Keisuke Kuwata's Hitler moustache was more of an homage to [popular comedian] Cha Kato's shtick. It has nothing to do with criticizing Abe. Although I simply cannot relate to any of the Southern All Stars’ political songs at all. And NHK: how could you broadcast someone impersonating Hitler???

source: news-globalvoices

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Nevin Thompson


text:
Kenya Monitor: Mobile Citizen Media and News App · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenya Monitor app is a m-Media & News app. It is the to-go citizen journalism app for all local content. It brings together all favorite news in one place from different counties in Kenya. All content is presented in a fun and intuitive manner.
Getting reliable news stories about Kenya or about development issues has become a rarity. Any story that is covered is vague and has no follow-up. The Kenya Monitor app will seek to change this. All stories will focus on what is going on in the different locales. Anyone will get to play a role in telling the story of where they live.
Kenya Monitor will provide Kenyans with a platform to tell their stories in what is known as citizen journalism. Kenyans from all walks of life will get to tell stories about where they live, how they want it to be told and at the time they think it should be told. All content will be gathered from the people themselves. Stories will be submitted through SMS enabling anyone with access to a phone to do so. One does not need a smart phone to send in or receive content.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Kenyan Blog OilNews Among World’s Top Oil and Gas Websites · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Oilnews Kenya has been ranked as top blog in Africa on matters oil and gas, Kachwanya reports:
The website recently launched as first of its kind in Kenya aiming to give Kenyans insight in the oil and gas industry opening up information platform for explorers, investors and stakeholders in the sector.
Following increased interest from investors in the oil and gas sectors with a number of discoveries in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique that has seen the East African region now named the new oil frontier, Kamau Mbote founder of Oilnewskenya saw it fit to give exposure to the latter as well as provide Kenyans more information on the sector.
The website has been ranked 22 globally and 1st in Africa with a Visibility of 58%, Engagement of 41% and relevance rating at 100% according to a research by Inkybee a renown research company.


text:
Language Revitalization in Oklahoma and Texas: 2014 Year in Review · Global Voices
Rising Voices

Rising Voices note: The following is a guest post by Colleen Fitzgerald, Director of the 2014 Institute on Collaborative Language Research at the University of Texas at Arlington.
CoLang 2014 Group Photo, courtesy of UTA/Robert Crosby.
National Geographic’s Enduring Voices project describes Oklahoma a linguistic hotspot, having the highest density of indigenous languages in the United States, with 39 tribal languages associated with the state. Nearby Texas has three federally recognized tribes, but historically, many more indigenous tribes made their home here. Spanish missions and military campaigns against tribes in the region, and the greater American West, changed the indigenous settlement patterns.
Federal policies like Manifest Destiny drove American settlers to push westward from the eastern United States, dislocating and often forcibly removing indigenous tribes from their aboriginal homelands. So-called ‘Indian Territory,’ which eventually became what is now known as Oklahoma, became a landing site for many of these displaced communities. Later, in the 1950s, a federal relocation program moved many American Indians into Dallas-Fort Worth and other cities. Today, Oklahoma and Texas constitute a hotbed of linguistic revitalization and language documentation, with a plethora of training opportunities and collaborations for its many indigenous communities.
The Native American Languages Lab at the University of Texas at Arlington is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, a short drive from the Oklahoma state border. Our 2014 year-end activity summary includes:
We are particularly proud of our local impact, with at least 20 of the different tribes in Oklahoma and two of the three federally recognized tribes in Texas having at least one representative coming to one of our events.
While several tribal language programs are perennial ‘players’ – the Choctaw, the Chickasaw, the Sac and Fox, the Cherokee – 2014 put other programs on our radar.
One of these is the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Language Program. Master Teacher Joyce Twins is a twenty-year veteran of teaching Cheyenne who has long been involved in Oklahoma language workshops, including the Oklahoma Breath of Life Workshop in 2012. Under the helm of Director Rebecca Risenhoover, the program has expanded to a staff of nine.
They sent two people to UT Arlington for our ‘Talking Dictionaries for Indigenous Languages,’ and brought eight staff members to Ada, Oklahoma for the ‘Living Your Language Workshop.’ With a presence on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, they advertise their community language courses and post teaching videos in both Cheyenne and Arapaho languages.
Also on the upswing is the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma's language program, which has gained national press for their newly established and growing immersion school. As part of a prestigious Administration for Native American grant, they have been building a Maskoke (Creek) immersion language curriculum modeled after the Lakota second language curriculum. With two fluent expert speakers in the program, the program does group Master-Apprentice language lessons for staff, community language outreach, and a host of other activities in addition to their work to create the next generation of Maskoke speakers from their youngest tribal citizens. We worked with Director Jeremiah Maylen to host them at UT Arlington for an educational panel, “Bringing Native American Language into Classrooms/the Nak-kerretv Ohhayetv Project.”
The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas is also renewing its interest in language activities. The reservation is located in densest portion of the ‘Piney Woods’ part of the eastern Texas, known as the Big Thicket region. Alabama and Coushatta represent two distinct, but related tribes and languages. Alabama is spoken nowhere else except Texas.
This summer, UT Arlington hosted a major international language documentation and revitalization workshop, CoLang 2014 (the Institute on Collaborative Language Research). The first two weeks were short workshops taught by a variety of people, and the final month was a type of practicum experience, where participants learned how to apply their newly-acquired skills in field methods by working with a speaker or two of an endangered language, under the guidance of an experienced field linguist. CoLang brings in academic linguists (the Linguistic Society of America is a co-sponsor) and community language activists.
I directed one of these classes, with Alabama speaker Jonelle Battise sharing her knowledge of her language. Because Jonelle's parents did not permit English in the home, she and her brothers make up the youngest generation of Alabama speakers. By coincidence, the Tribe was about to hold a Cultural Camp in July, and her mother Beryl Battise would be doing a language session. Several of us put together Alabama materials for the camp. These include a beautiful memory card game, a practical phrase book for use between parents and children in the home, and a subtitled movie and bilingual book made from a spontaneous short story, everything with audio. The materials were a big hit and we just made another batch for a language camp in January. We're also sharing these ideas and projects at the biggest national annual meeting of academic linguists in the United States.
Memory game
Our region has much to offer in terms of inspiring stories and language heroes, and the sparks from 2014 already suggest that 2014 will continue to offer encouraging examples for Native American languages in Texas, Oklahoma and beyond.

author: Rising Voices


text:
MTN South Africa launches FrontRow · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Nationalist Vigilante Group in Kyrgyzstan Targets Chinese Expatriates and Suspected Sex Workers · Global Voices
Aliaskar Adylov

Members of KyrgChoro push girls in a video uploaded by local media outlet Kloop.kg.
With Kyrgyz law enforcement corrupt and over-burdened, xenophobic vigilante groups — some of whom claim ties to the government — are growing more powerful every year.
Take the public association ‘Kyrgyz Choroloru’. Kyrgyz Choroloru, which translates as Kyrgyz Warriors and is shortened to KyrgChoro, is one of several groups that have issued calls to restrict the number of foreign workers living in Kyrgyzstan and positioned themselves as defenders of the national honour.
On December 28 last year, KyrgChoro, clad in traditional Kyrgyz hats — ak kalpaks — raided a Bishkek karaoke club, asserting that it was a cover for a brothel frequented by foreign businessmen. They claimed they had informed police of the existence of the brothel but that police had not reacted to their information.
A video of the raid shows KyrgChoro members invade private rooms in the club and confront a group of 17 middle-aged Chinese men and 22 young Kyrgyz women, presumed to be sex workers. Both men and women were forcefully taken out of the rooms and lined against the walls.
A separate video of the same incident, sent to media outlet Kloop.kg shows KyrgChoro physically intimidating the Chinese karaoke club clients and the women, who tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade the group they were working as waitresses.
At one point a member of KyrgChoro tells the women:
You are so immoral! Aren't there enough Kyrgyz men? Shame on you! [You are] standing here and pretending to cry. How dare you? You will be mothers in the future, you will feed your own children. Why do you do this? You don't have cash [bribes] to pass your exams?
After KyrgChoro questioned the club-goers, police arrived and took both the girls and the Chinese men to the station. Later police initiated hooliganism charges against five members of KyrgChoro, for breaking several doors down during the raid and stealing tapes from security cameras. The women and Chinese men were quickly released due to the lack of evidence of any illegal activity at the club.
KyrgChoro justified their actions in terms of the struggle for “the values of Kyrgyz” and “honour of women” in their interview with Kloop.kg.
The video sent shockwaves through the Kyrgyz Internet space.
YouTube user Bektur Elebesov, who commented on the second video, was broadly supportive of the group:
Я против национализма, но ведь тут явно видно что девушки занимаются проституцией, а китайцы их клиенты. Раз уж менты с этим не борются и более того крышуют их, то мне хочется поддержать этих активистов, хоть они и преувеличили свои полномочия.
I am against nationalism, but here it is obvious that girls [in the video] are prostitutes and Chinese [men] are their clients. Given the police does not fight [prostitution] and, moreover, covers and protects it, I would like to state my support for these activists, despite the fact that they exceeded their mandate.
Facebook user Meder Sulyukta also justified the group's work:
Зато в следующий раз и эти малолетки и китайцы десять раз подумают прежде чем посетить такие злополучные места. Если власть не может навести порядок то пускай хотя бы такие активисты наводят.
At least these girls and Chinese [men] will think ten times before visiting such illegal places. If our authorities cannot solve the problem, let our activists to do it.
But others considered KyrgChoro as nothing more than hoodlums:
“Кыргыз чоролору” быдло вы а не защитники и борцы.
— Девушка-энергетик (@energetic1414) December 31, 2014
‘Kyrgyz Chorologu’ you are trash and not protectors [of morality].
Marat Muratali, commenting on Kloop.kg's Facebook plugin, saw similarities between the activities of KyrgChor and the Russia-based Kyrgyz migrants that attack their female compatriots for associating with foreign men. (This phenomenon has been covered by Global Voices here and here).
это прямое продолжение “патриотов” в россии (дело Сапаргуль), избивавших и убивавших соотечественниц за отношения с иностранцами. по законам Кыргызстана – уголовщина. в реалии – измельчение нации, результат коррупции и отсутствия интеллекта у этой массовки под гордым названием “Чоролор”. Уят. Нам всем большой уят.
This is the direct continuation of [the work of] ‘patriots’ in Russia [the case of Sapargul], who beat and killed our female compatriots because of their relationships with foreigners. According to the laws of Kyrgyzstan [this incident should be] a criminal case. [We are witnessing] the degradation of a nation, which is the result of corruption and the lack of intelligence  of a group that proudly calls itself ‘warriors’. Shame. Shame on all of us.
Shockingly, a few days after the incident took place, the leader of KyrgChoro, Zamirbek Kerchebaev, told Kloop.kg that his group had signed agreements with Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Committee of National Security, the Ministry of Labour, Migration and Youth, and the General Prosecutor. He also mentioned that the Ministry of Economy of Kyrgyzstan had provided them with a small office in the center of Bishkek. A Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesperson confirmed the existence of several agreements between the state and KyrgChoro but said the agreements were limited to information-sharing and did not legislate for raids on private karaoke clubs.
Nationalist vigilante groups have mushroomed in Kyrgyzstan since the country's second revolution in 2010, and have remained powerful amid poor socioeconomic conditions. Earlier this year a youth organisation, Kalys, or ‘Justice’, prevented a concert taking place in Bishkek because they judged that the event's headline act, Ukrainian boy band Kazaky, had dance routines that glorified homosexuality. Police were unable or unwilling to stop Kalys breaking up the performance and costing the rock club hosting Kazaky thousands of dollars-worth of ticket fees. Kalys regularly cite “traditional values” as grounds for their homophobic stunts.
Along with the LGBT community, Chinese expatriates in Kyrgyzstan are also disproportionately targeted by patriotic groups, who fear the small country will be inundated by incomers from their populous neighbour. The Coalition of a New Generation is one group that carries out impromptu inspections of companies employing Chinese migrants, a function the group deems state authorities are failing to fulfil.

author: Aliaskar Adylov


text:
Video Captures Trinidad & Tobago Police Officer Slapping Man in Wheelchair · Global Voices
Flora Thomas

A screenshot of the video that has been circulating on social media showing a plainclothes policeman in Trinidad and Tobago slapping a man in a wheelchair.
The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service's already plummeting public image has been further deteriorated by a video that has been circulating on social media. Please note that the video contains obscene language. In it, a plainclothes policeman physically and verbally abuses a disabled man in a wheelchair soon after a uniformed policewoman pushes the man into oncoming traffic.
Both officers have reportedly been suspended from their duties while authorities conduct investigations into the incident. Mainstream media picked up on the story; relatives of the male police officer are allegedly calling the whole thing “an edited set up”.
Netizens, in speaking out about the incident, are weary of this “it wasn't me” stance. In the past year, several videos have made their way around social media — one with a mother hitting her child with a shovel, another of a former government minister allegedly rolling marijuana in a hotel room and yet another of who some believe to be the current wife of the same minister caught in a sexually compromising position with another man. In all three cases, those embarrassed by the videos have taken what has come to be known as the Shaggy defence.
One Facebook user, Rhoda Bharath, responded to the latest claims of video editing by saying:
The slap was edited.
Lurbz tongue was edited.
The Minister in Room 201 was edited.
Meme commentary naturally followed:
In the Facebook group WTF Trinidad, comments were coming fast and furious. One Facebook user thought that the disabled man looked troublesome, and defended the policeman:
He was being perverse, he didn't kick the guy in the face. He hit him two open handed slaps. That's a wake up call not intended to injure.
Shanelle Whyte responded:
Police officer or not, that is NO WAY to treat people. Just because of thier [sic] ‘status’ they feel they could take advantage of anyone, and they feel people cant do nun bout it because they is ‘police’. Yeah the man in the weelchair [sic] was wrong, but slapping him up is no way to address the situation. Just goes to show lack of humanity in this country.
Before this latest video surfaced, Trinidad and Tobago's police force had already been heavily criticised over allegations of corruption and its collective inability to curtail escalating crime.
One commenter laid blame at the feet of the person who was recording the video, saying that he egged on the disabled man to go back and confront the female police officer. Another claimed that the male police officer had a history of aggression and violent behaviour.
Lindell Malton Sealey thought that, regardless of how insolent the wheelchair-using man may have been, the officers were out of bounds:
Don't matter what trouble making the gentleman did there are ways to handle a situation as a officer of the law those officers had no right.
And for those of you who's [sic] making fun of the situation what if this was one of your family member whether his condition alcoholic, drug addiction young or old those officers abused there [sic] authority & should be punished as an example that they are not above the law ..
Alvaro Mitchell agreed:
Now I don't know what law this man broke to earn him harsh treatment and hard slaps to his face but this is sad. He doesn't have a weapon, no drugs, no real threat, it looks like he can't even get onto the pavement.
Ronald Ramquar thought the officers should be fired, as the police action was contrary to the service's motto to protect and serve. David Frost suggested that both parties were wrong, but that the onus to show a higher standard of behaviour was on the police:
While much is expected from the TTPS, they also shouldn't be provoked. This […] shows more of a micheivous [sic] attempt to discredit and bring into disrepute the men of the uniform (although I agree he willingly placed himself there).
The sad part is that this just starts us back at square one everytime something like this happens..much to the dismay of the truly hard working and compassionate cops out there.
Finally, Lucille Duntin Stewart expressed her hope that the commissioner of police would deal with the situation swiftly:
I hope that the Comissioner [sic] of Police will investigate thi [sic] brutality dished out by these police officers who pledged to protect and serve the masses.This kind of reckless behavior comes from the top of institutions hence Trinbago is a lawless place.One has to give respect to earn respect.Simple as that.

author: Flora Thomas


text:
Young Brazilians Are Creating Radio Jingles to Promote Sustainable Amazon Development · Global Voices
Thiana Biondo

Pablo Diego, Évany Valente, Jessica Ertel, Carol Sousa and Manoela Souza record jingles for Rádio Arraia
Brazilian youth leaders aged 12 to 19 are using arts and communication to show that another kind of development is possible for Brazil. In an area located in the Amazon rainforest called Cabelo Seco, a neighborhood in the city of Marabá in the federal state of Pará, they are part of the collective Rios de Encontro (Gathering Rivers), which promotes cultural activities in the community with a focus on sustainable energy, natural medicine, and education. This year, they created the Radio Arraia, a grantee of Rising Voices 2014 that broadcasts jingles about the group's activities around town.
In this part of the country, a series of hydroelectric dam projects and the extraction of minerals are part of the Brazilian plan for growth. For example, the short jingles they create are played on the radio talking about alternatives to the hydroelectric dam of Marabá, which critics say will flood the nearby town of São João and disturb the lives of the residents of Marabá and the southeastern part of Pará if it is built.
Listen to the jingle “I Want Solar Energy” by Radio Arraia:
The Rios de Encontro community seeks to promote sustainable social changes through various projects. They have worked with the African-descendant community of Cabelo Seco since 2009, and have already mobilized 380 families there. The outskirt area, once known for its violent drug trafficking, has become a reference for cultural and ecological events in the region.
Jessica Ertel, Renato Cavalcate (Federal University of Pará), who worked together with the young coordinators Evany Valente, Carol Sousa and Pablo Diego. They feature the bicycle powered by solar energy, launched on December 14 in Cabelo Seco.
Rising Voices spoke with the educators and adult coordinators of the group: Manuela Souza, 40, and Dan Baron, 57, creators of the Institute Transformance, which has worked with various communities around the world, and Ana Carolina de Souza, 13, Evany Valente, 15, Pablo Diego, 15, and Sandoval Maia, 13.
After three months of research, the young people launched the “bici-rádio solar”, a bicycle with sound equipment attached to it that is fully powered by solar energy. It is through the bike that they want to take the jingles to the residents of Marabá.
Pablo Diego is one of the young people in charge of the radio bike. “I believe that we will educate people to not destroy the environment, to not flood our town”.
The production of jingles began last year, even before Radio Arraia started. For Manoela, there is still more to come:
We want to expand our activities with the radio bike. The teenagers have already created videos about community leaders. This year, we taught courses about living history and community radio. With Rádio Arraia, we have been encouraged to set up a community radio online in the Amazon.
The Rising Voices microgrant will help the community add this digital component to their work.
When it is time to create jingles, each of the youth coordinators speak or play an instrument. The material is then edited on the computer by Dan Baron, along with the young leaders.
While Evany takes care of the musical part, Sandoval is the one in charge of the radio program. Both are musicians: he plays clarinet and she plays a great deal of instruments, besides teaching guitar and saxophone.” Evany inspires me and Manoela is giving me support in coordinating the jingles production. We have to take the Radio idea very seriously. Soon, in addition to the jingles, we will be doing interviews,” said Sandoval, who is already learning how to edit the jingles.
For Évany, the collective aspect is the best thing about the creative process. “In the group, one motivates the other.”
Besides Radio Arraia, the collective Rios de Encontro also have set up other microprojects called Latinhas de Quintal (music), Afro Mundi: Pés no Chão (dance), Cine Coruja (cinema), Rabetas Videos, Social Journalism, Bicicletadas pela Vida (Riding for life), Bibliotecas Folhas da Vida (Library Leaves of Life) and Roupas ao Vento (about gender). The Radio spreads the word about all these cultural activities in the community.
With the help of Ana Carolina de Souza, 13, Evany also coordinates the Cine Coruja. Everyone does a little bit of everything in the end. Ana Carolina works with medicinal plants as well as leads the project Roupas ao Vento, which seeks to raise awareness about the issues of gender violence.
For Dan, these young people are very courageous to speak out publicly and raise the question about the hydroelectric project and the waterway in the region:
Here, to speak publicly is so dangerous that keeping silence is the best way to survive. They are very aware young people and artists, not ‘activists’ as we know it in the sense of this word. We are using the radio as a way to raise awareness and encourage communities who have been victims of exclusion and poverty due to the mega projects in the Amazon.

author: Thiana Biondo


text:
A Death Sentence for Trafficking 15 Grams of Heroin? Singapore Groups Say No More. · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Screenshot from the campaign video of The Online Citizen.
In 2011, Singapore placed a moratorium on mandatory death penalties for heroin traffickers, but it resumed executions last year. Human rights groups have urged Singapore to reconsider its decision and join the majority of the world in abolishing capital punishment.
Second Chances cites a 2009 study comparing homicide rates in Singapore and Hong Kong that suggests the death penalty “is no more effective than alternative forms of punishments.” The paper also notes “socioeconomic factors and the likelihood of getting caught have more influence over crime than the severity of punishment.” The group disputes the authorities’ claim that the death penalty is an effective deterrent against crime, pointing out how capital punishment makes even small offenses a matter of life and death, motivating criminals to be more violent.
Average executions in #Singapore: 1981 – 1989 = 2 1990 – 1999 = 32.2 2000 – 2009 = 13.1 2010 – 2013 = 1 #deathpenalty
— Second Chances (@2ndchance2all) November 6, 2014
#previoustweet For example, if you are robbing a bank and you shoot in the air, you're already going to get mandatory death.
— Second Chances (@2ndchance2all) November 6, 2014
Priscilla Chia, the director of Second Chances, argued that alternative sentences can be used to punish criminals:
While law is an expression of societal values, state-sanction murder is not the only way to express moral outrage at the conduct of murderers and drug traffickers. It can be expressed equally through alternative sentences such as life imprisonment.
The Singapore Working Group on the Death Penalty, a coalition that opposes the death penalty law, described its position on the issue:
Singapore should not resort to the death penalty without concrete proof of its necessity, especially if alternative forms of punishment can have the same effect. The inevitability of human error within the system also makes the chances of wrongful executions far too high a cost for us to use capital punishment as an instrument of justice.
For its part, the government says the death penalty is working to discourage crime.

author: Mong Palatino


text:
Eastern Ukraine Unfiltered, By the Numbers · Global Voices
Daniel Alan Kennedy

Fires and fatalities after Ukrainian artillery strike in Donetsk, September 12, 2014, by Maximilian Clarke, Demotix.
This article is part of an extensive RuNet Echo study of Russian-language blogosphere in Eastern Ukraine. Explore the complete interview series on the Eastern Ukraine Unfiltered page.
Over the course of the last few months, RuNet Echo has interviewed and profiled 12 bloggers, citizen journalists, and social media users in Eastern Ukraine and Crimea. They were asked about their views, their motivations, and their experiences covering the crisis that has been unfolding there for over a year now. With the exception of one blogger, who writes in English, all the subjects blog mostly in Russian, the primary language in these regions and overwhelmingly the language of Internet use in Ukraine. Interviews were carried out online, either by Skype, email, or chat services.
The interviewees
Twelve people agreed to be interviewed by RuNet Echo over the course of the series, although many more were contacted and were either too busy, declined, or were unresponsive. Six of the people interviewed were based in Crimea. Three were based in areas that have seen fighting in Luhansk Oblast. One was based in Slavyansk, a government-controlled town in Donetsk Oblast that had previously been held by separatists. Another was based in Odessa. Still another was based in Kharkiv. Four of those contacted are anonymous bloggers. The rest do not take any significant steps to disguise their identities.
The interviewees profiled all openly identified as either supporters or opponents of the new government in Kyiv. Though RuNet Echo attempted to find a balance between different views when contacting potential interviewees, eight of those profiled broadly identified as supporters of a united Ukraine, while four identified with Russia and (to a lesser extent in some cases) with the insurgency in the Donbas. These four are all based in Crimea. Anti-government bloggers from the contested areas of Luhansk and Donetsk were generally unresponsive to interview requests.
General findings
1) Politicization of bloggers
One of the consistent trends noted throughout the series is how Russia's annexation of Crimea politicized bloggers in the region and throughout Ukraine. Half (6) of the interviewees stated that they only started their blogs or began video-streaming, after the toppling of Yanukovych. A further four conceded that their output dramatically increased and became more political, as a result of Ukraine's revolution. The violent nature of the conflict in Ukraine can be said to have energized and politicized the blogosphere to a significant extent.
2) Polarization and mistrust
There was also an increased tendency for both sides to view the other with mistrust that at times bordered on ethnic hatred. One interviewee, when asked if he had anything he wished to impart to an English-speaking audience simply stated:
I would like people in Europe to distinguish between Russians and Ukrainians. We're completely different. But they mix us up. We want to get into Europe. We want to go forward. Russians just want to drink vodka.
This mistrust was especially pronounced in the attitudes of both sides to the professional media of the other. Pro-Kyiv interviewees often didn’t make distinctions between Russian journalists and Russian military forces (two even described them as “terrorists”), and considered the “propaganda” they produce to be simply another facet of the conflict underway. As one interviewer described them, “I wouldn’t even call them journalists, they’re just people carrying out orders.”
Similarly, Crimean bloggers who support Russia have a low opinion of the Ukrainian media, believing them to be simply fulfilling orders and attempting to distort the situation.
3) Dangers of blogging and online journalism
A significant number of bloggers report they have been targeted by government or irregular forces, either online or in real life, for their opinions or coverage of events.
Three of the interviewees were forced to flee their homes. One interviewee had to flee after being captured and tortured by insurgents in Luhansk. Another received information he was going to be arrested by insurgents and fled. One woman left Crimea after she was detained and her house searched by heavily armed Russian security forces, looking for “extremist” material. Another of the (pro-Kyiv) bloggers profiled has since permanently left Crimea for unknown reasons.
Two pro-Russian Crimean bloggers reported that the Ukrainian security services were attempting to charge them with separatism. Both of the pro-Ukrainian Crimean bloggers profiled in this series have since left the territory. One left when Russian security services searched their home. The other fled, after becoming uncomfortable publicly opposing Russia's annexation.
Censorship is also a concern. One of the pro-Ukrainian bloggers profiled has had their blog added to Russia’s infamous “Internet blacklist” for “extremism.”
Tellingly, four interviewees in this series blog anonymously. For two of the interviewees, this was a matter of obvious personal security, as they write critically about anti-Kyiv militia in areas that these forces controlled. One blogger profiled did not wish to de-anonymize himself even after the town he was living in was retaken by Ukrainian soldiers, noting “the war is not yet over,” saying he “doesn't want to harm those close to [him].”
4) Views on media
Interviewees that identified as pro-Ukrainian almost universally loathed Russian media. (One conceded that while “practically 90%” of Russian media is unprofessional, “there are honest journalists and writers in Russia who aren’t afraid to tell the truth. But there are fewer and fewer of them.”) Interviewees who identified as pro-Russian universally loathed Ukrainian media. Beyond this dichotomy, however, many of the interviewees profiled had skeptical and nuanced views of traditional media.
Both pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian Crimean bloggers were willing to concede that media in “their own” country aren't always truthful or unbiased. One pro-Ukrainian interviewee told RuNet Echo:
Мне сложно говорить о СМИ в Украине, но, как мне кажется, украинские журналисты очень близко к сердцу приняли максиму об информационной войне и готовы выгораживать грехи украинской власти только по национальной (или этнической) принадлежности.
It's difficult for me to speak about the media in Ukraine, but it seems to me that Ukrainian journalists have taken the maxim of information war to heart and are prepared to gloss over the sins of the Ukrainian authorities solely out of national (or ethnic) solidarity.
Another blogger, who supported Russia's annexation of Crimea, admitted:
С российской стороны, в свою очередь, идет очень много пропаганды по поводу того, что Донбасс хочет в Россию. А реально Донбасс никуда не хочет, а на Донбассе воюют российские военные (которые приехали из России), а не местные ополченцы, как показывает российское телевидение.
From the Russian side, there's a lot of propaganda that Donbas wants to be part of Russia. Really, Donbas doesn't want to be part of anywhere and the Russian military (who came from Russia) are fighting there and not local militia, as they show on Russian television.
One pro-Russian blogger took a dim view of traditional media in general:
Я не верю в существование независимых СМИ – все они так или иначе зависимы от государства или от денег частных лиц, определяющих редакционную политику.
I don’t believe in the existence of independent media. They’re all in one way or another dependent on government or on private money, which defines the editorial line.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, bloggers on both sides of the “information war” tended to privilege new media, blogs, and streaming as sources of information.

author: Daniel Alan Kennedy


text:
Indian Netizens Criticize Online Censorship of ‘Jihadi’ Content · Global Voices
Subhashish Panigrahi

Mock-up of a blocked URL (Image: Subhashish Panigrahi, CC-by-SA 3.0)
The Government of India in the last week of 2014 asked Internet service providers (ISPs) to block 32 websites including code repository Github, video streaming sites Vimeo and Dailymotion, online archive Internet Archive, free software hosting site Sourceforge and many other websites on the basis of hosting anti-India content from the violent extremist group known as ISIS.
The blanket block on many resourceful sites has been heavily criticized on social media and blogs by reviving the hashtag #GoIblocks that evolved in the past against internet censorship by the government.
Insane! Govt orders blocking of 32 websites including @internetarchive @vimeo @github @pastebin #censorship #FoEx pic.twitter.com/F75ngSGohJ
— Pranesh Prakash (@pranesh_prakash) December 31, 2014
Nikhil Pahwa at MediaNama notes that this time many ISPs published the list of the blocked sites:
Typically, users are not informed about which websites are blocked, so this was a welcome move from the ISP.
“Say No to Censorship. #GOIBlocks” (taken from Facebook page of Free Software Foundation, Tamil Nadu)
In 2012, opposition party leader Narendra Modi (who is now India's Prime Minister) tweeted against the URL blocks by the earlier ruling of India's National Congress when then-Minister of Communications and Information Technology Kapil Sibal ordered to block 300 websites. Many eyebrows were raised when Modi repeated the move this time around.
This is what PM @narendramodi had tweeted when the then UPA Government had blocked websites #GOIblocks #JustSaying pic.twitter.com/Ws0wWWollW
— Rahul Sharma (@Biorahul) December 31, 2014
Internet censorship in India has been increasingly prominent since 1999 when Pakistani newspaper Dawn was blocked by the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited for post-Kargil War views against India. These caught heavy criticism from netizens, often under the hashtag #IdiotKapilSibal. Since then there have been many instances of government-mediated censorship, particularly with the enactment of India's Information Technology Act of 2000.
Arvind Gupta, head of Information Technology for India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, tweeted to clarify that the sites were blocked as advised by the Anti-Terrorism Squad.
The websites that have been blocked were based on an advisory by Anti Terrorism Squad, and were carrying Anti India content from ISIS. 1/2
— Arvind Gupta (@buzzindelhi) December 31, 2014
After agreeing to remove anti-India content posted by accounts that appeared to have some association with ISIS, weebly.com, vimeo.com, Pastebin, dailymotion.com and gist.github.com were unblocked.
These websites have undertaken not to allow pasting of such propaganda information on their website and also work with the government to remove such material as per the compliance with the laws of land.
-  Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India (posted in Business Standard)
Action has been initiated to unblock — http://t.co/Vl84LZbhCh, http://t.co/ynxy4A0tHx, http://t.co/QGqUC0Yyk3 and (1/2)
— Arvind Gupta (@buzzindelhi) December 31, 2014
http://t.co/UmkEYEiGkC :: http://t.co/o8UNiCEVh6 (2/2)
— Arvind Gupta (@buzzindelhi) December 31, 2014

author: Subhashish Panigrahi


text:
Alexey Navalny’s ‘Risk-Free’ Rebellion · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

“Wedding locks and Navalny,” Moscow, September 10, 2014, photo by Vladimir Varfolomeev, CC 2.0.
His admirers compare him to Mahatma Gandhi. His adversaries say he’s more like a young Nelson Mandela. Journalists in Russia and around the world leap on his every tweet. Today, he walked outside and bought some milk (defying house arrest), and The Guardian promptly wrote about it.
People say many things about Putin-critic Alexey Navalny, but calling him a nobody is plainly not an option.
Navalny is now the unlucky owner of two suspended criminal sentences. He got his second one, three-and-a-half years for supposedly defrauding a cosmetics company, last week, leading to a small, but much anticipated rally in downtown Moscow, just outside the Kremlin, at Manezh Square. The same court sent his brother Oleg to prison (no “suspended sentence”), also for three-and-a-half years.
It’s a bit tricky trying to count how many times Alexey Navalny has broken the terms of his house arrest. Last week, he left his apartment altogether and rode the subway to downtown, where he tried (and failed) to attend the rally at Manezh Square. There’s also every indication that Navalny has been authoring his own tweets and blog posts for months now, which is a no-no under the conditions of his house arrest.
Finally, this week, Navalny “threw down the gauntlet” and sliced off his location-monitoring ankle bracelet. Then he granted interviews to Russia’s independent media, describing the removal of his ankle bracelet. Prison authorities hurried to his apartment, where they photographed Navalny’s carving work and departed, leaving the monitoring device where they found it. The next day, when Navalny walked outside and visited a grocery store, to stock up on milk, three ununiformed men (police officers, presumably) escorted him home.
Да ни фига себе. https://t.co/d10cLLiOm8 pic.twitter.com/AlOSbQLyb6
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) January 6, 2015
Well how do you like that!
Online, Russians have watched Navalny’s house arrest saga, praising his courage against tyranny and, alternatively, mocking his thirst for attention. Navalny insists there are no legal grounds for his continued house arrest. Citing two Russian criminal codes (107 and 311), he says the law makes him a free man, now that he’s been sentenced.
Writing on Facebook today, Murad Musaev challenged Navalny’s interpretation of the law. Musaev is best known outside Russia as the lawyer who defended (and helped acquit) the men accused of organizing and abetting the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Today, he is the lawyer saying Navalny’s portrayal of his house arrest is “based more on emotions than legal norms.”
According to Musaev, Criminal Code 311 requires that defendants be released from captivity after a verdict is rendered, but doesn’t apply to house arrest, which can remain in effect until a verdict enters force. (Navalny’s verdict won’t enter force until the conclusion of an appeals process that hasn't yet begun.) Musaev also accused Navalny of misinterpreting Criminal Code 107, which Navalny says frees him from house arrest because he’s no longer legally considered an “accused offender” after his verdict. Not so, says Musaev, who cites another criminal code specifying that Navalny remains “accused,” again, until his verdict enters force.
Russia’s prison authorities seem to share Musaev’s understanding of the criminal codes, and they’ve complained twice already to a Moscow court about Navalny’s house-arrest violations. The courts, however, have turned away police both times. Why?
Musaev has an explanation for this, too, saying Navalny has slipped into a sort of legal limbo, where his house arrest remains in effect, but the court responsible for confining him to his apartment is powerless to consider violations of his arrest, now that a verdict has been rendered.
So police keep escorting him home, and the court keeps shrugging. Navalny can repeat this caper as many times as he likes, until either police charge him with a new crime, or his suspended sentence enters force.
“So Navalny’s gesture proved effective,” Musaev writes, “and it was practically risk-free.”

author: Kevin Rothrock


text:
Shock Over Former Minister’s Death – and How Trinidad & Tobago’s Media Reported It · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

National Security Minister Martin Joseph (left) receives military vests from US Ambassador Roy Austin (right) while Ag. Commissioner of Police Glen Roach looks on. 2007 Photo by Trinidad-News.com, used under a CC BY 2.0 license.
In the usually idyllic bathing spot of Grange Bay on Tobago's north-west coast yesterday, Trinidad and Tobago's former National Security Minister Martin Joseph drowned while going for a morning swim. Over the weekend, there were official rough seas alerts, asking citizens to stay away from the beaches, as waves were unusually high and waters choppy. While the autopsy has confirmed the cause of death, officials have not determined what exactly caused Joseph to drown. This morning, the Meteorological Office issued another rough seas bulletin.
Upon hearing the news of Joseph's disappearance yesterday, his political colleagues were hoping for the best:
PNM says it is remaining positive that Martin Joseph will be found alive. the former MNS disappeared after he went for a swim @CNC3TV
— Akash Ravi Samaroo (@AkashSamaroo) January 5, 2015
Sadly, news of his death was soon confirmed on Twitter:
Confirmation from the coast Guard that Martin Joseph's body has washed ashore. @CNC3TV
— Akash Ravi Samaroo (@AkashSamaroo) January 5, 2015
Netizens expressed their shock and sympathy:
Extending condolences to the family of former #PNM Minister of National Security, #MartinJoseph. May you #RestinPeace
— Rachael N. Collymore (@rache_col) January 5, 2015
Soon, however, some people were expressing a different kind of shock — this time, over the manner in which they felt the local mainstream media sensationalised the story.
C News found itself in hot water after asking in a poll whether people felt that Joseph was misunderstood during his tenure as National Security Minister. One commenter, Jonathan Fournillier, responded:
That was a very stupid question that has nothing to do with the issue at hand. Very insensitive C news
Jewel Joseph agreed:
The media is very insensitive while the country lost an ex minister and someone lost their husband and a father they trying to politicize this. Shame on u
Another Facebook user, Pb Balisier, compared the question to the tactics of Ian Alleyne, host of a controversial television show about crime in Trinidad and Tobago, who has often crossed the line of ethics in broadcasting:
I think we are losing respect for those who have passed on in this country, from Ian Alleyne broadcasting people bodies on TV to other shows and papers plastering out departed loved ones in their front pages and finally stupid questions like these. Regardless of your or standing in society or your political affiliations you should be shown some sort of respect after all that's what separates us from the uncivilised souls in today's society.
Another television station experienced the backlash after its evening news broadcast, in which it asked, “Do you think Martin Joseph was a better National Security Minister?” The station's Facebook page was flooded with comments. De Bush Tea took issue with the grammatical phrasing of the question:
better than what and or who?? who/what I comparing him to / with ? that question missing something .. maybe it should have been ‘Do you think he was a GOOD MoNS’
Most other Facebook users, however, were appalled at the question's timing and content. Jason Lewis thought that “none of the TV stations should have shown images of the dead covered body on the beach” as he found it “disrespectful”, and Mendoza SD asked:
Really us [sic] this what this media outlet has to ask? Can his family be allowed to grieve ?
The satirical blog Wired 868 really let TV6 News have it, saying that the station went “full corbeaux on late Security Minister” – a reference to the local term for vultures. The station reportedly showed Joseph's body as it lay on the beach, as well as footage of him being covered up. They broadcast these two images over and over — some say as many as three or four times — throughout the course of the televised report:
A 65-year-old man tragically drowned in Tobago this morning. Mr Live Wire knows what you’re thinking: What did his corpse look like and was he any good at his day job?
You weren’t thinking that at all? Well, TV6 surely was.
And so a married father of four who held three Ministerial portfolios and had enough university degrees to make Suruj Rambachan drool was reduced to a looped video of a motionless body in a red trunks—thankfully, it was not yellow—and childishly superficial narrated analysis of his time as National Security Minister.
The post continued:
At a time when Martin Joseph’s family and loved ones are grieving his loss and his eight-year-old daughter is getting a heartbreaking lesson in mortality, TV6’s viewer question was: “Do you think Martin Joseph was a better National Security Minister?”
Four years and four National Security Ministers have passed since Joseph last held that post. Is now really the time for his job appraisal TV6?
The blogger, “Mr. Live Wire”, was critical of the rapidly deteriorating standards of the local media:
In case you are wondering, 88 percent of voters declared that Joseph was indeed a better National Security Minister. But then maybe they thought TV6 Head of News Dominic Kalipersad intended to somehow resurrect Joseph and stick him back in the hot seat.
Is there any other scenario where their question might have made sense?
We can handle stupid questions though. The broadcasting of dead bodies during dinner is something else entirely.
Does the media leave anything for the imagination anymore? […]
TMI, TV6. Anymore of this and the company’s logo might as well be a corbeaux.
More references to Ian Alleyne rounded off the discussion about TV6's handling of the story, strongly insinuating that the coverage was geared towards getting ratings as opposed to responsible journalism:
No matter how many dead bodies you show, TV6. Ian Alleyne ent coming back.
Wired 868 reader Kathryn Stollmeyer-Wight ended on a hopeful note:
Who among us wants a life, (any life for that matter) so vibrantly lived, given to bursts of charm, anger, real emotion..to be seen by anyone glancing to look, lying pitifully alone on a beach? […] This excellent write must be discussed & digested, & yes, we should vomit […] up all the disgusting display of human less ness…no more! We will not be Ian Alleyne ‘wanna sees’ this year, 2015. We will be dignified & respectful or at least, we should die trying.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Sierra Leone: An Unlikely Fashion Hotspot · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Freetown Fashpack is a fashion blog by an Australian living in Freetown, Sierra Leone who intends to show a different side of a country commonly associated with civil war and blood diamonds:
My name is Jo Dunlop and I’m an Australian living in Freetown, Sierra Leone. After moving here in 2011, it soon became apparent that what Freetown lacks in high street shopping, it makes up for in style. The streets are teeming with some of the most resourceful, brave and outrageous fashion decisions ever made. In a country so commonly associated with civil war and blood diamonds I felt inspired to show a different side to Sierra Leone and reveal an unlikely fashion hotspot.


text:
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Indian E-Tail · Global Voices
Sourabh

Image from Flickr by Giuseppe Leto Barone. CC BY ND 2.0
The Indian fashion e-tailer Myntra.com just wrapped up its end of season sale, which turned out to be hugely popular amongst buyers, just like its parent brand Flipkart’s ‘Big Billion Day’. The e-tail market in India is hugely promising as the country is all set to surpass the US as the country with the second largest number of Internet users, behind China.
With huge discounts available, a large number of buyers are opting to ditch malls and stores and are shopping increasingly online. Billions of dollars are being pumped into these businesses by investors, yet all is not good with the e-commerce industry.
Consider the case of Laxminarayan Krishnamurthy, who ordered a Samsung Galaxy Core 2 smartphone for his wife from e-retailer Snapdeal.com. The package which was delivered to him in October 2014 contained a brick and a bar of soap without the smartphone he ordered. When he got in touch with the company, he was informed that his phone was stolen by middle-men during transportation. Krishnamurthy took his complaint to Facebook, where his post was shared more than 21,000 times. Bad service is one of the few problems undermining the efforts of online merchants.
Flashback to Flipkart’s ‘Big Billion Day’ sale and sales offered by other players during Diwali season in October. Goods were sold out within seconds, servers kept crashing, shopping carts were unresponsive and irregular pricing throughout were some of the glaring glitches shoppers encountered.
@myntra #bad… placed 2 orders and made payment and got the order ids as well. But it seems no order is placed. #soldoutproducts
— Ankit Sharma (@ankt_sh) January 3, 2015
Most deals on #BigBillionDay are either out of stock or sold out :|
— অগ্নিভ নিয়োগী (@Aagan86) October 6, 2014
Wtf. What kind of math is that! :/ #bigbillionday pic.twitter.com/ao7kycJS34
— Dushyant Rao (@DushyantRaoC) October 6, 2014
But, all is not wrong from the retailers end. Delivery network is yet another major problem e-tailers are facing. While shopping around these mega offers, packages usually take around two weeks to reach the buyer, which is an absolute shambles and defeats the entire purpose of shopping. This is largely due to shortage of cargo space on airlines resulting in piles of shipments gathered at airports across the country. Building an efficient delivery network is challenge in a country where millions of customers are living in more than 100,000 zip codes.
Government regulations are yet another hurdle for e-retailers in India. To protect local merchants, the government prevents companies with foreign investments to operate as retailers online. Instead, Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal all act as online bazaars. This is presenting substantial uncertainties over the operation of these players who are often accused of bypassing the rule by traders.
GV author and digital strategist Gaurav Mishra writes in his blog about the players in digital market in India:
US/ Global Products Still Dominate in India: Unlike China or Russia, products from US firms like Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn still dominate most segments, from search to social to messaging to commerce. While the Apple App Store features ‘Made in India’ apps separately, most of them are still challengers at best, except in the more locally relevant media and commerce spaces.
But all is not gloomy in India’s e-commerce. As mentioned earlier, the sales are booming and as the country is bringing enormous number of people online, the industry will see huge growth. Currently, online shopping account for less than 0.5% of India’s retail sales as compared to 6% in US and 5% in China. However, sales through e-tailers is expected to jump 70% reaching to $6 billion by 2015. People are buying everything from groceries to clothes, gadgets to plants, lingerie to books online which is a great sign of things to come.
These highly optimistic and growing numbers have persuaded many foreign investors to pour in some cash. Billionaires Masayoshi Son and Yuri Milner have committed a combined $3.6 billion in investments to Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon India. In July, Amazon announced that it plans to spend $2 billion in India to expand operations whereas other players too are attracting huge investments.
It may not be wrong to suggest that Indian e-commerce is booming, but it’s still at a nascent stage. The industry overall has a lot to learn. There are many aspects which needs addressing, but once the e-tailers learn their lessons, there is a huge demand to be catered to. As for Laxminarayan Krishnamurthy, he was gifted the phone he had ordered along with two bottles of dish soap by Unilever.

author: Sourabh


text:
The #Heimkino Project Crowdsources a Warm ‘Willkommen’ for Refugees in Germany · Global Voices
Katrin Zinoun

Sequence from the video “German for Refugees”.
When refugees arrive in Germany, they are housed for a short period of time in what is known as a reception centre, or Erstaufnahmeeinrichtung, until it is decided where they will live long term and where their application for asylum will be decided. The reception centres don't provide German language courses — refugees may only attend courses once authorities have granted them permission to remain in the country.
To make sure they feel welcome and have something to do during their stay there, a new project is crowdsourcing videos of people speaking phrases in German to teach refugees the basics of the language.
#heimkino, which means home cinema, is led by Julia Dombrowski and Markus Möller in Siegen, central Germany. It was showcased on the blog Wie kann ich helfen? (How can I help?), which highlights a number of projects and initiatives people can volunteer for.
Dombrowski, a copywriter and blogger, describes her experiences at the centre in detail on her blog. At the very first German course, which was attended by only a few participants due to low awareness of it, she found herself overcome by a slew of emotions. She writes:
Ich brauche mehr Distanz. An diesem ersten Tag haben mich so viele Eindrücke bewegt, dass ich mich zeitweise geradezu gelähmt gefühlt habe. Das ist nicht produktiv und führt zu einer wehleidigen Abwärtsspirale. Da war zum Beispiel dieser Moment, in dem mir klar wurde: Wenn diese zauberhaften Kinder, die man so leicht ins Herz schließen kann, nicht hier wären – dann wären sie jetzt in Syrien. In Syrien, wo Bomben fallen und Fanatiker unbeteiligte Menschen abschlachten. Das war ein Augenblick, in dem ich fast aus der Rolle gefallen wäre. Und das hilft niemandem. Rührseligkeit hilft einfach nicht.
I need more distance. On the first day I was emotionally affected by so many of the impressions I gained that at times, I felt almost paralysed by it. That's not productive, and it leads to a miserable downward spiral. For example, there was a point at which I realised: If these enchanting little kids who are so easy to emotionally connect with weren't here – they'd be in Syria right now. In Syria, where there are bombs falling and fanatics are slaughtering innocent people. That was a moment when I nearly fell out of character. And that doesn't help anyone. Sentimentality just won't help.
By the second week, the little room was filled with over 100 people. This made teaching a language course impossible. Dombrowski and Möller, who assisted her, had to find a solution whereby as many people as possible could learn a little German. They decided on “edutainment”.
Hatten sich den August über nicht jede Menge Menschen für die gute Sache weltweit freiwillig Eiswasser über den Kopf geschüttet (#IceBucketChallenge) und sich dabei gefilmt, weil neben der Spendenaktion für ALS eine Videoaktion mit kleinen Mitteln auch einfach Spaß macht? Könnten wir das nicht irgendwie für uns nutzen? Nutzen, dass wir viele hilfsbereite Menschen kennen, die uns Videoschnipsel schicken könnten (ganz simpel gemacht, mit der Smartphone-Kamera oder der Webcam) und wesentliche Phrasen für uns einsprechen: “Guten Tag”, “Ich heiße …”, “Bitte”, “Danke” die Zahlen von 1 bis 10 und eine Verabschiedung?
Back in August, didn't a whole load of people worldwide voluntarily throw ice water over their heads for a good cause (#IceBucketChallenge) and film themselves doing it? Because alongside collecting donations for ALS, a video campaign is also something that's good fun, even with limited equipment available. Couldn't we somehow use that for us? Use the fact that we know so many helpful people who could send us a video clip, (recorded really easily with a smartphone camera or webcam) and say essential phrases for us like “Guten Tag”, “Ich heiße …”, “Bitte”, “Danke”, the numbers from 1 to 10 and how to say goodbye?
Dombrowski and Möller called on people via social networks to send in mobile video clips. Plenty of people responded, and the first #heimkino video was born:
The videos were shown during the German course, and the students of German repeated the words and phrases in unison. But it's not only the refugees who learn something from this process: the teachers, too, experience totally new things. Möller got to know a refugee who told him about his flight from Syria, and put down his thoughts about the encounter on Dombrowski's blog:
Ich verstehe, als ich Bilder von Panzern sehe, die durch die Straßen rollen, dass ich nicht verstehen kann.
…
Ich fange an zu überlegen, ob ich 9.000 Euro für eine Flucht zusammenbekommen könnte. Bekomme ich 36.000 Euro für die komplette Familie zusammen? Und sind 9.000 Euro für syrische Verhältnisse nicht viel mehr als für uns?
Wie viel Kohle könnte ich für mein Überleben zusammenkratzen. Zwanzigtausend? Fünfzigtausend? Hunderttausend? Und wie schaffe ich es, dies so geheim zu tun, damit niemand erfährt, dass ich desertieren möchte? Das Auto könnte ich verkaufen. Es würde aber nicht viel bringen. Das Haus vielleicht. Das bräuchte ich ja nicht mehr. Wie viel bekommt man wohl für ein Haus in einem Kriegsgebiet? Wie viel, wenn es zerbombt ist?
Ich merke, dass meine Vorstellungskraft für solche Überlegungen nicht ausreicht.
I understand when I see pictures of tanks rolling through the streets that I can't possibly understand.
…
I began to wonder if I could get together €9000 for a flight. Could I get together €36,000 for the whole family? And isn't €9,000 not so much more, in Syrian terms, than it is for us?
How much could I scrape together for my survival? Twenty thousand? Fifty thousand? One hundred thousand? And how would I manage to do it so secretly, so that nobody would know I wanted to desert? I could sell the car, but it wouldn't fetch very much. The house, maybe. I suppose I wouldn't need that anymore anyway. How much would you get for a house in a war zone? How much would you get if it's bombed out?
I realise that my powers of imagination don't stretch far enough for these considerations.
Dombrowski and Möller uploaded the videos to YouTube so that others could use them as well as to show that it's easy, even with just a little effort, to support refugees and welcome them to Germany.
Here's the second #heimkino video:
Kaddour from Syria had to leave his home quickly and was grateful. He thought a little Arabic course for the German teachers wouldn't go amiss:
After each course, refugees request dictionaries so that they can continue to learn independently. For this reason, Dombrowski uses her blog and social networking accounts to request donated dictionaries while at the same time asking for friendly gestures of welcome. She suggests that people leave a greeting for the refugees in the book.

author: Katrin Zinoun


text:
Upcoming Documentary Looks at Causes of Somali Conflict · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Somali history enthusiast Mohammed Ibrahim Shire blogs about an upcoming Somali documentary Kacaan: The Untold Stories:
‘Kacaan: The Untold Stories‘ is an upcoming hard-hitting documentary film that will objectively look at the background to the Somali conflict and its causes with special emphasis on events after 1969. It will closely look at the last functioning Somali government headed by late Mohammed Siad Barre; its inception to its downfall. Kacaan (Revolution in Somali) was the self-designated name of the 1969 bloodless coup d’état in Somalia. The documentary will contain key interviews with assorted people, ranging from former senior government officials to opposition (rebel) leaders to prominent members of Somalia’s pre-199 civil society — unseen footage and will revisit key subjects in order to develop a clearer picture; separate fact from fiction and attentively look at what went right, wrong and what we can learn from it.


text:
10 Things to Love About Trinidad & Tobago Carnival · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Christmas isn't quite over yet, but Trinidad and Tobago is already in the throes of its Carnival season – that frenetic period of masquerade, soca, celebration, creativity and revelry that some say is unmatched by any other carnival in the world.
One blogger is thrilled to bits that the much-anticipated Carnival is here again – Trinidad Carnival Diary, who takes her moniker from the festival itself. Over the years, her posts has evolved from a small mas’-lover's blog to a full-fledged website that is regarded as one of the authorities on all things Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. She's done a delightful post outlining 10 reasons people love the festival so much. It's worth a read, but to whet your appetite, it involves infectious music, an incomparable sense of freedom, lots of partying with kindred spirits, incredible costumes and a real sense of togetherness.


text:
A Look Back at ‘Eastern Ukraine Unfiltered’ · Global Voices
Daniel Alan Kennedy

Putin signs Russia-Crimea treaty, March 13, 2014, by Gabriel Fortin-Harvey, Demotix.
With hindsight, the title of this series is a bit of a misnomer. We called it “Eastern Ukraine Unfiltered” to reflect the fact that the bloggers, “streamers,” and online activists we profiled are reporting on-the-ground, in areas they've often lived their whole lives. The title stems from the popular idea that citizen journalists are divorced from vested interests, government pressure, and the institutional prejudices of traditional media, and can therefore present an image of reality that's more critical, unbiased, and true to life.
The truth, of course, is everyone has a filter.
This article concludes an extensive RuNet Echo study of Russian-language blogosphere in Eastern Ukraine. Explore the complete interview series on the Eastern Ukraine Unfiltered page.
All of the people interviewed for this project have strong opinions about what constitutes “truth” and “objectivity” in Ukraine's ongoing conflict. They've been inspired by the events around them to broadcast those ideas to others online, which sometimes meant blaming the violence on a NATO-backed coup, or Ukrainian fascism, or Russian intervention.
If this interview series demonstrates anything, it's that people's biases filter any attempt to convey truth. This project is called “Eastern Ukraine Unfiltered,” but the interviews depict a Ukraine mediated through multiple filters.
The closest anyone in these interviews comes to reporting strict facts is Maksim Osovskiy, who streams live footage from Luhansk. That said, Osovskiy still has to make decisions about where and what he films. This isn't a criticism, mind you, as many of the bloggers interviewed here produce good professional-quality journalism under extremely difficult circumstances, for little or no reward. It's important to remember that objectivity is ever elusive. In the end, whether we're citizen journalists or just writing about citizen journalists, we all face certain limitations.
Despite talk of an “information war” raging online, the bloggers who participated in this study have a wide variety of opinions and display a surprising level of nuance in their work. The dull cliches of propaganda are not what fuel this activity.
A blogger like Boris Rozhin (“Colonel Cassad”), who openly espouses neo-Stalinist leftism, is able to denounce Vladimir Putin as a “capitalist master,” and in the same breath support the Kremlin's cause against “fascists” in Kyiv. Though she enthusiastically supports Russia's annexation of Crimea, Polina Dubinina openly criticizes Moscow's actions in the Donbas. Daria Karpenko lives under an occupation she opposes, but she's far from impressed with the Ukrainian media and its efforts to “whitewash” the mistakes of the new government in Kyiv.
These bloggers typically say their opponents are “brainwashed,” but individuals on both sides of the conflict in Ukraine are highly critical consumers of information, with deep skepticism towards traditional media. They've certainly got strong opinions about what's happening, but it would be profoundly inaccurate to call them passive or uncritical pawns in the information war.
It's important to remember that the information war is not some digital abstraction or PR campaign, divorced from reality on the ground; it's a manifestation of a real and bloody conflict that has already claimed thousands of lives. Three of the bloggers interviewed in this project fled their homes, fearing for their safety. Another has since left Crimea for Poland. Some of them weren't able to escape being hurt. In May, Maksim Osovskiy was kidnapped and tortured for trying to film the referendum in Luhansk.
Citizen journalism has become extremely dangerous in the Donbas and Crimea. The courage it takes to publish online isn't so different from the courage men and women need on the battlefield. Consider the anonymous Slovyansk-based blogger interviewed here, who is utterly unimpressed with his own “success” on the Internet. Initially hesitant to consent to an interview, he explained that he does what he does out of a sense of duty to tell the world about what was happening in his small provincial city. He says he has no desire for online fame, and simply wants the war to end. For him, there is no difference between the information war and the real one.
For people in a country at war, expressing the wrong opinion can be dangerous. Over the course of this project, Ukraine seemed to become a more dangerous place. The bloggers interviewed here appear to be growing intolerant of dissent and desperate for uniformity. Voices on the Internet have become more radical as the war in the Donbas continues. No matter whom people blame for the destruction of Donetsk and Luhansk, you're unlikely to find much support in Ukraine for an open dialogue between adversaries.
In the end, bloggers in Ukraine raise broadly similar complaints, despite a wide variety of political sympathies. They're sick of corruption, oligarchy, and the elites’ arbitrary lawlessness. Claims that a language barrier is what divides Kyiv and its opponents don't hold up well against the large number of pro-Ukrainian bloggers writing in Russian. Sadly, the reasons for the rift between the camps of eastern Ukraine's blogosphere now scarcely seem to matter, as bridging the gap has become nearly impossible.
Crimea's Tatars face increasing pressure from the Kremlin, and almost 20,000 have fled rather than live under Russian rule. The Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics are highly militarized states, where dissent invites violence. Many pro-Kyiv activists have already fled, as the rebels consolidate their territories, digging in for the long haul.
If both sides of this conflict are going to talk to each other, not in the sense of high-level political negotiations, but simply in terms of conversations between ordinary people, it's most likely going to be via the Internet. If there's a chance of any kind of reconciliation, both camps will have to start looking at the world though each others’ filters.


text:
Bahrain Rings in the New Year With Arrests, Tear Gas and Protests  · Global Voices
Mohamed Hassan

Manama, Bahrain. 2nd January 2015 — Baby girl surrounded by tear gas, with her mother and her siblings heading to their car during the clashes. — Violent clashes between protesters and police troops continue in Bahrain, after Sheikh Ali Salman was arrested. Opposition protesters call for his immediate release. Photograph by Sayed Baqer Al Kamel. Copyright: Demotix
Bahrain, where a crackdown following a popular uprising continues, has welcomed another year with a heavy baggage from the year before. The heads of the two largest political groups (Al Wefaq Islamic Society‘s Shaikh Ali Salman and the National Democratic Action Society‘s (Waad) Ebrahim Sharif) are in prison, the leaders of the 2011 protests are also in jail and all the country's leading human rights activists are either in exile or facing trial.
Bahrain's Twittersphere is one of the most active in Arab countries, where Bahrainis use Twitter as one of the few channels still available — not without perils though — to demonstrate dissent.
Celebrating New Year in his own style, Bahrain's Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs Khaled bin Ali Al Khalifa tweeted what many saw as a veiled threat to opposition to the regime:
كثير من الايجابيات حملتها ٢٠١٤، وتعدنا ٢٠١٥ بإيجابيات اكثر. وهي بالفعل تسبب كثيرا من الصداع السياسي لمن خانهم تفكيرهم في التعاطي الإيجابي.
— Bu Abdullah (@Khaled_Bin_Ali) January 1, 2015
A lot of positive things happened in 2014, and 2015 promises us more, and it's really causing a political headache to those betrayed by their misjudgment for positive interaction
This comes after a spat between the minister and the opposition regarding the widely boycotted parliamentary elections of 2014. The head of the largest opposition group, Al Wefaq's Shaikh Ali Salman, was arrested last week, on December 28, 2014, just before the first session of the new parliament whose elections he had called to boycott convened.
In another tweet, the justice minister quoted a poet, threatening to chop off his opponents heads:
@sawsanalshaer يقول عنترة بن شداد : وسيفي كان في الهيجا طبيبا…. يداوي رأس من يشكو الصداعا pic.twitter.com/RXw2ITqDVk
— Bu Abdullah (@Khaled_Bin_Ali) January 1, 2015
Antar Bin Shaddad [a paganist poet] said: My sword in wars was the medicine which healed those with headaches
At the other end of the political spectrum, the leader of Bahrain's secular group The Progressive Tribune Abdulnabi Salman tweeted sarcastically:
كانت امسية رائعة على رائحة الغازات المسيلة للدموع لنا ولعوائلنا ونحن نودع العام 2014..شكرا لكل من اسهموا في اسعادنا#البحرين
— Abdulnabi Salman (@BuSalman1960) December 31, 2014
It was a fantastic New Year's Eve, saying goodbye to 2014 with the smell of tear gas. Thanks to all of those who delivered us this joy
In a follow up tweet, he wrote:
عموما أتمنى لجميع أبناء شعبنا نساءا ورجالا أطفالا وشيوخا السعادة والفرح بعام جديد قادم نتجاوز فيه عذاباتنا وننظر بأمل نحو المستقبل#البحرين
— Abdulnabi Salman (@BuSalman1960) December 31, 2014
Anyway, I wish all Bahrainis, women and men, young and old, happiness and joy with a New Year in which we move beyond our grievances and look towards a better future #Bahrain
In an omen to another year of the ongoing crackdown, Bahrain's authorities ordered the detention of the general secretary of the largest political bloc. Ali Salman was just re-elected as the secretary general two days prior to his arrest. The charges against him are related to contacting regimes and organizations abroad to discuss Bahrain's “internal affairs”. The foreign interference issue has been raised against multiple countries since the crackdown, including the United States, Iran, Qatar, and even Ireland, which have been on the list of countries “conspiring” with the opposition before.
Salman's arrest brings back memories of 20 years ago, when his arrest sparked the 1990s uprising in Bahrain. As a leading figure in Bahrain's political scene, Salman won the highest voter turnout when he participated in the 2006 parliamentary elections. Naturally, his arrest sparked a series of protests across Bahrain, which continue to this day.
Twitter user @FreedomPrayers tweeted a video showing some of the aspects of the New Year's “celebrations” in the capital Manama, where protesters demonstrated against Salman's arrest:
Not the new year fireworks but post-prayers tear gas in manama tonight #bahrain https://t.co/yeWyXNz0zn
— Free Shawqi Radhi (@FreedomPrayers) January 1, 2015
Activist John Horne shared another video of a protester defying a police armoured personnel carrier near the house of Ali Salman, only to be shot from behind as he was trying to flee:
A fearless #Bahrain protester plants a flag on an armored police vehicle firing tear gas as it advances towards him https://t.co/O9oM2sT8M2
— John Horne (@JohnHorneUK) January 5, 2015
The unrest following Salman's arrest caused what some referred to as the abolition of legal opposition in Bahrain:
So I guess there's no legal opposition in Bahrain | #Bahrain al-Wefaq leader Sheikh Ali Salman arrested http://t.co/ou8Ak1MEL1
— Kristin Diwan (@kdiwaniya) December 28, 2014
Bahrain's main source of income is oil, whose prices are plunging to below US $55 a barrel. Studies suggest the government will hit a deficit and not even be able to cover the salaries of government employees when the barrel drops to US $45.
Meanwhile, more than 3,000 of the country's 600,000 population are imprisoned for their participation in the uprising and the region has just wrapped up one its most violent years in decades. It might be hard to see much of the “positives” of 2014, but I'm keeping some faith that 2015 will be a better year away from swords and headaches.

author: Mohamed Hassan


text:
Chinese Police Are Buying Spyware — And Posting Their Purchase Orders Online · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Screen capture of Wenzhou police's purchase order of surveillance software tools that target mobile phones.
It is an open secret that Chinese authorities are spying on citizens’ online and mobile communication. Yet it is still eye-popping to see hard evidence of this practice.
On January 7, Beijing news outlet Beijing Times published a surveillance software purchase order, reportedly made by a local police department, on Weibo. Netizens now can see exactly what surveillance tools police are using, and exactly how much they paid for them.
Beijing Times found the purchase order on the website of the Wenzhou district police department, took a screen capture of the order, and posted it on social media with a brief explanation of its origins. The purchase order includes two items: software for injecting trojans onto mobile phones, and a trojan for spying on mobile phone conversations, text messages, and image messages on Android and for jail breaking an iPhone. The first item cost RMB 100,000 yuan (approximately US $16,000) and the second item costed RMB 49,000 yuan (approximately US $8000).
As the news spread, the purchase order page was removed from the police department website. But netizens started digging into other local government websites’ purchase order pages. Twitter user @beidaijin found two other local governments spending tax payer money on surveillance of social media and channelling public opinion:
接前面 图一，温州经济技术开发区公安分局采购单；图二，天津市政府采购单；图三，泰安市人民政府采购单 （第三张中还有推特） pic.twitter.com/nu3tXoyn6j
— 贝带劲 (@beidaijin) January 7, 2015
The first image is the purchase order of the sub-branch of public security bureau in Wenzhou Economic and Technology Development Zone. The second image is the purchase order of Tianjin government. The third image is the purchase order of Taian city government.
The item purchased by the Tianjin government is a software tool that collects messages from overseas social media including Twitter, Facebook and Google plus. Authorities in Taian city purchased data collection software and content posting software intended to help “counter public opinion” on nine major social media platforms, both in China and overseas.
By doing a simple search on file type and using search terms “Twitter”, “information”, and “purchase”, @beidaijin found that at least a dozen other local governments have also purchased social media surveillance software:
搜关键词「filetype:doc site:.gov.cn twitter 信息 采购」。如图所示，泰安、启东、山东、呼伦贝尔、鄂尔多斯、南京、南宁、合肥、常州、清远、盐城、天津等当地政府均发布了监控国外主流社交平台的相关需求标书 pic.twitter.com/9OFQYLxA0l
— 贝带劲 (@beidaijin) January 7, 2015
Search term “filetype:doc site:.gov.cn twitter information purchase”. As shown in the screen capture, governments of Taian, Qidong, Shandong, Hulunbuir, Ordos City, Nanjing, Nanning, Hefei, Changzhou, Qingyuan, Yancheng, Tianjin and etc. have posted purchase order of surveillance softwares that target at monitoring major overseas social media.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
This Snowboarder Was Lost for 2 Nights in the Snow, But It’s His Hair People Can’t Stop Talking About · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Screenshot from ANN News Japan
A Japanese snowboarder and his two companions were rescued from a snowy mountain by helicopter after spending two freezing nights outdoors without any shelter. The Tokyo man has not only had to apologize on national television for getting lost, but he's also endured speculation online about whether he wears a wig.
The three got lost after snowboarding out-of-bounds during a blizzard:
The three snowboarders from Tokyo—Koju Neriko, 45, his wife Manami, 44, and their friend, Aki Yamamoto, 40—were reported as missing after failing to return to their lodge on Friday afternoon. They arrived at the ski resort on New Year’s Eve. Police and rescue personnel said the three were found on a mountain slope about two kilometers from the ski course, NHK reported. A helicopter picked them up just after 9 a.m. Other than frostbite, the three had no injuries.
After their rescue, the trio answered questions from journalists about their ordeal and then apologized for causing the nation any worry and inconvenience, saying they couldn't resist the attraction of snowboarding out-of-bounds in fresh powder. Those weather conditions, subsequently, made the group's two nights in a cave especially uncomfortable.
Disappearing and being rescued during the New Year's break, a traditionally slow time for news, Japanese television networks nationally broadcast the snowboarders’ press conference and apology.
One question above all others seemed to interest users of 2chan, Japan's biggest (and usually roughest) Internet forum: is that Neriko's real hair?
Screenshot found on 2chan
Says one 2chan commenter (all quotes taken from this post that curated 2chan discussions):
おまえの髪型が恐ろしいわ
Dude, your hair is a mess!
Some commenters described the rescued snowboarder's hairstyle as being “Islamic” or “resembling a turban.” Other commenters jokingingly asked if Neriko perhaps belongs to ISIS.
Others have asked if Neriko in fact sports a wig. Indeed, some intrepid 2chan users took the initiative to track down the blog of the man's hair stylist in Tokyo, which, besides providing helpful tips on how to grow dreadlocks, includes a photograph of Neriko carefully rolling what appear to be real dreadlocks:
Image source
Image source
Upon discovering this “proof” of genuine dreadlocks, comments online softened:
外見はともかく、律儀だと思うよ
Despite his outward appearance, he looks like an honest guy.
The trio's apparent remorse and chagrin after being rescued also appears to have softened the public's attitude:
この人救助されて運ばれた直後に、救助してくれた人に深々と頭下げてたよね
中身はものすごくちゃんとしてる人だと思うわ
As soon as they were rescued they apologized to every with deep bows. They seem like decent, considerate folks.
Another 2chan commenter said:
こいついいやつだな、先生に怒られて我に返った中学生みたい
He seems like a totally nice guy… totally reminds me of classmate from middle school the teacher was always getting mad at.
For another commenter, seeing the hairstyle brought back memories:
90年代中ごろのスノボブームんとき、こんなんばっかりだったろ。
そこから時間が止まってるんだよたぶん。
Back in the 90's during the snowboarding boom, all you would see back then were hairstyles like this. It's like time has stopped.