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Libya: “Tonight is the night. TONIGHT.” · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.
Events in Libya can no longer be termed just anti-government protests. Fighting with anything from heavy weapons to clubs and sticks has broken out throughout certain cities between defecting members of the military who have joined civilians against the remaining factions of Muammar Al Gaddafi's government and foreign mercenaries he has brought in to protect his regime.
As of 11 PM Sunday, February 20 local time in Libya, media reported heavy gunfire and fires in the capitol Tripoli. Benghazi, the heart of Saturday's protest, still has unconfirmed reports that what remains of the military in the country's second-largest city has joined the side of protesters. Gunshots were also heard at Col. Ghadaffi's residence.
Everything is happening very fast. Once again: To keep up with protests in Libya (and government reactions), please view this map created by @Arasmus from “trusted Twitter accounts” to help with communication gap as independent media in Libya is scarce. This site also collects regularly updated Twitter feeds.
As of early Sunday, February 20 Human Rights Watch placed the number of civilian deaths at more than 170 during the five-day uprising. That number will certainly climb said a Libyan doctor in an interview with BBC Radio 5 about the protests and the casualties on Sunday, February 20.
The Twitter masses are relentlessly trying to keep up with events across the country.
@AJELive:“there is a white mitsubishi lancer … they are shooting at people randomly” doctor in Tripoli tells @AJELive #Libya
@MbinH: Gaddafi is hiring thugs to rape women in an attempt to keep their husbands indoors. His end is near. #Genocide #Libya #Gaddafi
@ChangeInLibya: Tonight is the night. TONIGHT. There are literally hundreds of thousands on the street now in areas surrounding green sqr accrdn to frnd
@abdu: the Tuareg tribes in southern Libya have joined the protesters. This is from a Libyan Tuareg activist based in London (to AJ). #Libya
@ShababLibya: BREAKING CONFIRMED: Protesters in Tripoli marching towards the Green Square chanting: No God but God and Gaddafi is the Enemy of God #feb17
@SultanAlQassemi: Al Jazeera: Libya's Ambassador to the Arab League submits resignation over what he called “the mass genocide of Libyans”
@iyad_elbaghdadiAljazeera seeing live footage of youths taking down #Gaddafi's flag and raising original #Libya independence tricolor flag! #Feb17
@ChangeInLibya: Hearing very very distant gunfire in tripoli for the first time… nhar ehraff illela leltek ya geddafi #feb17
@LibyansUnite: i've just received some news that my two uncles have joined in protests, obviously i'm crying bcoz i don't know if they're guna survive this
@evanchill: Tripoli sources to Al Jazeera: Security forces “besieging” the court complex where dozens of judges are protesting. #feb17
@FreeLibyan87:Source from the ground #Gergarish area is like a war zone. with live weapons and mercenaries. #Libya #Feb17
@iyad_elbaghdadi: 250-300 dead in #Benghazi alone since start of protests #Feb17 #Libya
@iyad_elbaghdadi:50 dead in #Benghazi today since afternoon only #Feb17 #Libya
@FreeLibyanman: Guys are keeping females all together in safe places and gathering..
@iyad_elbaghdadi: Live from #Misurata: Confirmation that army & police forces in the city gave up their weapons and joined the protesters #Feb17 #Libya
@iyad_elbaghdadi: #Benghazi: Pharmacies distributing medicine for free; youths taken care of city's security, not a single case of looting reported #Libya
@ChangeInLibya: The libyan word I love so much right now “maqluba” or “upside down”. means all hell has broken loose on #gaddafi ‘s *** #feb17 @ShababLibya
@ShababLibya: Breaking: AJ Caller: Lieutenant Abdel Fatah Younis ElObeidi, has joined protesters (minister of public security) #feb17 #Libya
@ShababLibya: In answer to your questions, yes i do think his fall is soon god willing, i think we will see more ministers join protests first #Libya
This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.


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Morocco: Explaining the Protests · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

This post is part of our special coverage Morocco Protests 2011.
Yesterday marked what many called Morocco's “Day of Dignity.”  Asking for constitutional reform and an end to corruption, rather than an overthrow of the monarchy, protesters were relatively well-received by the government and police which sought to contain the protests.  The protests took place in a number of cities across the country–most notably Casablanca, Fes, Rabat, and Tangier–and were largely peaceful, save for some destruction of property in Marrakech and Larache, two cities with a strong sense of economic inequality.
Blogger Ibn Kafka, a Moroccan who lives abroad, explains why the protests are taking place:
What is moving the protesters? Well, it’s not as though Moroccans lack cause for protests against their ruler(s). While the UNDP’s human development index has improved slightly (Morocco ranks a lowly 114th, up though from 124th in 2005) ,Morocco’s achievements are still abysmal. On the political front, the initial moves towards deepening liberalisation taken under King Mohammed VI’s first few years on the throne have now long stalled, and the régime is in full reverse gear. The Palace’s smothering control of the political and parliamentarian scene has made partisan politics irrelevant, while the cronyism of close associates to the King (Fouad Ali el Himma, de facto leader of  upwardly mobile Parti authenticité et modernité (PAM) a.k.a. « the King’s shadow« , or Mounir Majidi, in charge of the Palace’s ever increasing economic and financial interests) fuels cynicism, disillusion and anger. The absolute fraud that is Morocco’s judiciary merely compounds the twin problems of corruption and repression that have beset Morocco since independence.
Quoting NPR, The View From Fez sums up the government's view toward the protests:
There was no violence because “the government was well-prepared for these demonstrations. And what they did is, they tried to contain them rather than press them. I mean, they've been saying all along, look, we're accustomed to demonstrations in Morocco. We believe in the right to peaceful dissent. They went out of their way to maintain a very low police presence.
The blogger also notes:
At the end of the day, the Moroccan people made a point and the government will certainly have taken notice. Analysts around the globe maintain that because of the advances made here, that “revolution” is not the agenda, but evolution. Many Moroccans would agree.
Twitter user @mariammaslouhi adds a note about the destruction of property:
After the peacuful demonstration of the youth of 20th Feb #feb20 Soccerhooligans attacked buildings in the city of Tanger.
Writer Laila Lalami, blogging for The Nation, shares details on the sentiment of the protests:
Today, the peaceful protests that took place throughout the kingdom put the lie to all the accusations that the pro-government forces had been spreading. No one held signs demanding the ouster of the king or offering support to the Polisario Front or any other foreign entity. Instead, protesters denounced corruption and oppression, and demanded democracy and freedom: “Yes to a parliamentary democracy.” “In favor of a democratic constitution.” “Accountability for thieves / of money and dignity.” “The king reigns, but doesn’t govern.” My personal favorite was the multicolored banner that quoted the famed lines of the Algerian poet Tahar Djaout: “If you speak, you die. If you stay silent, you die. So speak, and die.” (You can view some of the signs here.)
Photo from Rabat protests by Omar El Hyani
Bill Day of the blog the a la menthe used to live in Morocco and still follows its politics from afar.  He writes:
For the present, news reports suggest that that the focus of the protests in Morocco is reform not revolution. So it appears that Mohammed VI is facing a Louis XVI moment. Confronted with popular demands for reform after the storming of the Bastille and the establishment of the National Assembly, Louis elected instead to attempt to flee France in search of Austrian support to reassert his absolute authority. From the moment he was captured and forced to return to Paris under a humiliating guard, the tide of history turned against him, leading to his ultimate execution.
Mohammed VI may still have an opportunity to be Morocco's greatest monarch, the one who let his people go and guided them to a true democracy, even if in the guise of a constitutional monarchy. But to keep his position, he must give up his power. This would be a great gift to the Moroccan people. The only question is whether Mohammed VI is wiser than Louis XVI.
This post is part of our special coverage Morocco Protests 2011.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Jillian C. York


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Morocco: Portraits of a Protest · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

This post is part of our special coverage Morocco Protests 2011.
With camera and smart phones proliferating throughout Morocco, it is no longer difficult to take a look inside the country, at anything from its stunning nature to its epic cities. Yesterday, as protests were organized throughout the country, was no exception.
Few captured the February 20, 2011 protests as beautifully as Omar El Hyani, whose photos from Rabat were linked to by online newspaper The Nation and posted on the Moroccan independent news portal Mamfakinch (see the entire series here [fr]).
Banner reads: "No to a ruler who steals public money".
Banner reads: "Yes for a constitutional monarchy". The smaller sign says: "Democracy now!"
Protesters wave the Moroccan flag.
Banner reads: "Holding those who steal money and abuse human rights accountable".
Banner reads: "If you speak, you will die; and if you keep quiet, you will die. So speak up and die!"
This post is part of our special coverage Morocco Protests 2011.


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North Korea: Kim Jung-un Holding a Pair of Binoculars Upside down · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

North Korea's heir apparent, Kim Jong-un's photo of him holding a pair of binoculars upside down has been widely tweeted in South Korean Tweetosphere. This photo of Kim was aired by North Korea's official television station.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Nepal: More On Bryan Adams · Global Voices
Rezwan

Pradeep Kumar Singh describes how international rock star Bryan Adams kept Nepal captivated for a few days.

author: Rezwan


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Pakistan: Ruling Party Under Pressure · Global Voices
Rezwan

Faheem Haider at Pakistan Foreign Policy Blog explains how a strong and ever stronger opposition in Pakistan is pressuring the ruling party.


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Russia: Blog Mapping Project Launches · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Creators of crowdsourcing mapping service blog-map.ru ambitiously aim to “unite all bloggers on one map.” Despite many incorrectly mapped blogs, the service offers quite unusual experience of finding Russian bloggers even in the most distant places [RUS].

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: Photos of “Putin’s Palace” Published by Bloggers · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Krasnodar environmentalist group “Open Shore” published a photo report that illustrates how a number of huge villas have been built on a place of a relict forest on the shore of the Black sea. One of the villas shot by activists is the so-called “Putin's Palace,” a 3-storey luxurious manor that allegedly belongs to Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.


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Russia: Ulyanovsk News Portal Under Attack for Exposing Politician · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

73online.ru had been DDOS-ed for publishing compromising materials on Igor Bulanov, deputy speaker of Ulyanovsk legislative assembly. The portal published details on police detaining Bulanov and finding drugs in his car's glove compartment. After Bulanov was refused to remove the compromising publication, journalists started to receive threats while their website – a DDOS attack. Sergey Krasilnikov, portal's editor-in-chief, issued [RUS] an official address on the matter.


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Somalia: Welcome to Poet Nation · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Poet Nation is a multimedia brand dedicated to Somali art and culture that combines a mix of original and user generated content. The Poet Nation features poets, musicians, writers, storytellers and other artists.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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South Asia: Explaining Cricket And Cricket World Cup · Global Voices
Rezwan

Vivek at Sepia Mutiny explains the rules of the game of cricket and what the cricket world cup 2011 means for South Asia.


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St. Lucia, T&T, Cuba: Literary Festivals  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“All indications are it promises to be a grand affair with an eclectic mix of creative offerings that are sure to appeal to literature fans from all over the world”: Caribbean Book Blog is excited about the Bocas Lit Fest, while Iván's File Cabinet blogs about the Havana Book Festival.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: Child Found Dead  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guanaguanare and gspott are devastated over the murder of an eight year old boy.


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Uruguayan Politicians on Twitter · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Federico Lorenzo [es] provides a list of Uruguayan politicians on Twitter, grouped by their political party.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Venezuela: Brazilian Music in Venezuela’s Web 2.0 · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

The cultural relationship between Brazil and Venezuela is commonly seen in the way carnival is celebrated and in the high ratings Brazilian soap operas have enjoyed in Venezuela for many years. But today, at a time when the web is made by the people, we see other manifestations that show a profound appreciation for Brazilian culture through its music. Through blogs, MySpace and YouTube, Venezuelan groups share their arrangements and interpretations of Brazilian music.
Petrusco, an engineer, blogger, musician and percussionist, is one of these Venezuelans spreading his love for Brazilian music online. In his blog Petruscosas [es] he shares photographs from his concerts and his thoughts about Brazilian music and life in Venezuela:
Luego de estar algunos años sambando sabroso por estas calles y locales así como también grabando junto con hermanos músicos verdaderos, bellas personas, talentosos, profesores, estudiantes y hasta familiares, me gustaría pensar que puedo ayudar un poco a entender y tocar esa clave “tramposa” que usan los brasileros en el samba la cual, por tendencia natural, “criollizamos” sin querer.
And in his post “Caracas, Carioca” [es] [pt] he mixes styles, images and languages:
Yo imagino Río como mi propia ciudad
pero multiplicada 100 veces, una enormidad
con muchas calles oscuras como si fueran de noche
y otras que parecen pleno día de tan iluminadas
en el aire flotando un olor a ciudad obstinada
y el asfalto pulsando a ritmo de batucada
o salsa brava
Eu imagino Rio como a minha cidade
mas multiplicada cem vezes, uma enormidade
com muitas ruas obscuras como si fosse a noite
e outras que parecem meio dia de tão iluminadas
no ar frota um olor a cidade obstinada
y o asfalto pulsando ao ritmo de batucada
Ou de salsa brava
Con sabor a cachaça como aquí Ron
un gol como un jonrón
y la playa siempre anhelada entre tanto concreto
me imagino Rio como esto que vivo pero batiendo en samba
y más inimaginable de lo que creo
como mis calles de Caracas me son más cotidianas
de lo que pienso
Com sabor a cachaça como aqui Ron
um gol como um jonrón
e a praia sempre ansiada entre tanto concreto
eu imagino Rio como isto que eu vivo pero batendo em samba
e mais inimaginável de o que eu acho
como as minhas ruas de Caracas são mais cotidianas
de o que eu penso
With the flavor of cachaça as it tastes like Rum here
a goal as a home run
and always longing for the beach in the middle of so much concrete
I imagine Rio is like what I live here but in samba beat
and more unimaginable than what I think
as my streets in Caracas are more common to me
than what I think
Furthermore, through his YouTube channel he shares videos of concerts with his band Pimenteira Brasil:
In the same channel he posts videos of other Venezuelan groups playing Brazilian music:

author: Laura Vidal


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Voices from Libya: “It’s a massacre” (Audio) · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.
As the scale of atrocities carried out by the Libya's government's against protesters begins to mount, people around the world have been clamoring for reliable information. It's very difficulty in a country where foreign media has found it hard to penetrate and the government has attempted to restrict service to the internet and cell phones.
Yet, the online group feb17voices has begun interviewing and collecting audio testimonies of people throughout Libya. This is the same group behind the jan25voices during the demonstrations that toppled Egypt's long-serving president Honsi Mubarek. What feb17voices has created is a very personal and immediate perspective of the protests and how people are dealing with the chaos and violence. Here is a sampling of feb17voices from the group's channel on the audioBoo website.
This man speculates on whether members of the Libyan military or mercenaries were shooting at protesters.
This person speaks about the alleged militias from sub-Saharan African countries who were brought to Tripoli and are attacking people like guerrillas.
A person from Misrata, 200 kilometers east of Tripoli, describes the protests taking place after a funeral where demonstrators were fired on by police, who killed one person and severally wounding six others
A man from Benghazi talking about the damage near Benghazi police department, which is like a war zone.
A woman from the Tipoli area reported heavy protests in districts of the capitol city, where snipers were shooting at protesters and the police making many arrests in Tajura.
A person from Benghazi describing the Saturday, February 19 fight between protesters and soldiers and mercenaries.
This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.

author: John Liebhardt


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Youtube Video Mocking Kim Jong-il’s Commemorative Stamp · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

A South Korean user uploaded a Youtube video[ko] mocking North Korea's latest commemorative stamp which was made to celebrate Kim Jong-il's birthday. The video claims that the three monkeys from the stamp which all sit on a same tree branch (appears on the video around 2 min 10 sec) refer to Kim's power succession to its 3rd generation.


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Africa: Africa 2.0: Achieving Growth Through Innovation · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Loy announces Africa 2.0 conference: MIT Sloan Africa Business Club presents it’s inaugural conference “Africa 2.0: Achieving Growth Through Innovation”.


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Africa: How tech entrepreneurs can succeed in Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mkaigwa explains how African tech entrepreneurs can succeed: “I am not the first to write about the seeming shortcomings that the African Internet tech scene is currently undergoing. A state in which many competent and talented coders, programmers and creatives with working products just aren’t making viable and sustainable profit. There are of course many reasons as to why this happens…It is the lack of products, solutions and innovations that capture the population’s imagination and aspiration.”


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Africa: Online Radio for African Poets · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Lauri comes across Badilisha Poetry Radio, which features African poets: “I've managed to lose an hour listening to poetry by African poets both here and abroad. I got captured by Karin Schmike's poem Shamshack about the two-faced, false concern of politicians.”


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Africa: Tributes to Pan-African leaders and revolutionaries · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Have you heard Didier Awadi's tributes to Pan-African African leaders and revolutionaries.  The Senegalese DJ, Didier Awadi ,is one of the most highly respected African musicians.


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Angola: Mass Evictions Displace Thousands · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.
A large-scale demolition in Lubango,  capital of Huíla province, carried out by the government of Angola, has already left in its wake over 5,000 displaced people in the southwest of the country.
During the “Operation combat and demolish slums and anarchic construction in the municipality of Lubango” [pt] not only have the human rights of those directly affected been violated but also journalists who have reported on the case have been persecuted. The vacuum of information in the media [pt] about what goes well beyond a “clean up to construct areas of public interest” has been complemented by citizen media and information from civil society and religious organizations.
Seven families are homeless in the Chimucua area, without basic services (Ocotber 2010). Photo by OMUNGA on the blog Quintas de Debate
Upon reconstructing this puzzle from blogs, the image that persists of the social consequences of the demolitions is tragic. Luiz Araújo summarizes [pt] on the blog Angola Resistente (Resistant Angola):
Desânimo, suicídio, falência dos pequenos negócios de  sobrevivência, frustração por não verem cumpridas as promessas de apoio  ao realojamento, impossibilidade de prosseguir estudos são efeitos  previsíveis do desalojamento e deslocação forçada que têm autores e que  devem ser responsabilizados por esses crimes, pois afinal são isso  mesmo, CRIMES.
On the blog Folha8, in an article by Kuiba Afonso & Arlindo  Santana they provide the historical background [pt] of migration in Lubango:
Por ocasião do reatamento da guerra depois das eleições   fracassadas de 1992, muita gente foi obrigada a fugir das suas terras de   origem por razões óbvias de sobrevivência. A cidade do Lubango não   escapou às consequências dessas efémeras transumâncias humanas e viu-se a   braços com a chegada de muita gente vinda das cidades, bualas e outros   centros urbanos do sul do país.
Almost two decades later, Lubango is no longer a shelter for those who have now become homeless Lubanguese [pt]:
Os bulldozers continuaram sob olhar indignado de muitos   cidadãos, que a guerra trouxe a cidade do Lubango em busca de segurança,   mas transformadas pelas instituições estatais em cenário de violações   dos direitos fundamentais do homem, consagrados na Constituição e   Declaração Universal. A guerra terminou há oito anos.
Luis Samacumbi, on the site Pambazuka news, reported  on the beginning of the fear and panic in Lubango:
The demolitions began Saturday March  6th, 2010. The next  day raised dustier than other days. It was the dust of homes knocked  down the day before.
Three victims did not receive any compensation (October 2010). Photo by OMUNGA on the blog Quintas de Debate.
The result of the March demolitions along the railroad line in Lubando, displacing thousands to Tchavola, 10km from the center of the city, was dramatic. Beyond the “tensions and conflicts between between the local inhabitants and the new tenants” because allegedly fields belonging to the local people were ceded to the new “dropped off” people, Gil Gonçalves of the blog Universidade, wrote about the human losses [pt]:
Várias fontes falam de 7 mortes no total, sendo uma  criança que caiu do camião que transportava pessoas desalojadas, uma  criança que foi atropelada por carros do Governo que fugiam o  apedrejamento de populares no bairro Canguinda, no Domingo, dia 7, um  adulto que desmaiou aquando da demolição da sua casa e acabou por morrer  hoje no hospital Central. Entretanto, a família do finado já está na  Tchavola, lugar onde está a ser depositada a população desalojada, mas  não tem lugar para fazer o óbito. Outras pessoas que morreram incluem  crianças que teriam ficado numa das casas demolidas .
According to an article [pt] published on the portal A Pátria (The Nation),  the Governor of Huila, Isaac dos Anjos, declared that the families whose residences had been demolished would have to buy land, to which the people replied “it is not easy to construct” with no money or materials. In a comment Ninguém [Nobody] writes:
É louvável que se faça infra-estruturas num país pós  guerra,mas desde que seja de uma maneira mais coerente, responsável e  razoável para com a população e não esses desalojamentos que fazem como  se as pessoas fossem apenas cães rafeiros ou mesmo objectos  descartáveis!!!! Seria muito melhor, se o governo fizesse um aviso  previo(com dois anos de antecedencia) e antecipadamente [reunisse]  condicoes financeiras suficiente para que as pessoas construam suas  novas casas para terem onde ficar quando tiverem que abandonar o espaco  precisado pelo governo.
In September [pt],  “the wrecking ball returned to spy over the city of Lubango”.
The construction work along a 50m stretch along the side of the river Mukufi, in the center of the city surprised “many families whose houses were not marked for demolition but who saw the wrecking ball destroy their homes without prior warning” in the neighborhoods of Lucrécia, Comercial, 14 de Abril and Favorita.
An unsigned article [pt] shared by the Center for Development and Partnerships of Angola, states that “The path of destruction can only be compared with the damage done in Haiti by the forces of Nature”:
Desolação, lágrimas e frustração a mistura marcam, desde  quarta-feira, a vida de perto de duas mil famílias desalojadas pelo  governo da província da Huíla, em Angola, seis meses de pois das  primeiras três mil vítimas de demolições forçadas, em Março 2010,  continuarem em condições precárias na zona da Tchavola.
The same article says that “children, the elderly, disabled people, and pregnant women were transferred without any compensation to a place called Tchumucua, where there are no schools, health posts or drinking water” and that “the families affected were given a space of one thousand square feet, where they are forced to restart their lives, through a process of [government] directed self-construction, without any material support from the government”.
Video on the blog ídeo Quintas de Debate: Lubango demolitions of more than one thousand houses – Interview "The Voice of the Victims" to the victims from the area surrounding Mukufi river
According to the website of Voice of America [pt], the consequences of the inhuman conditions offered to the population of Huila, and the frustration caused by the condemnable policies of rehousing in deplorable conditions, is causing weekly deaths of the elderly and of children left behind during the demolitions and has already caused four young people to kill themselves in Tchavola and Tchimucua.
Everything indicates that in 2011 the tragedy will continue with the launch of a new phase of the project.
The blogosphere predicts that another twenty residences [pt] in the Rangel neighborhood “will be left to fate”, a church [pt] constructed in 1948, and the 4 Cine building [pt]. The 4 Cine Residents Association fears they will be left on the street, as the alternative housing presented to them leaves much to be desired:
«É uma mata fora, sem água, sem energia eléctrica nem  estrada de acesso. (…) dizem que estão a preparar tendas para preparar  o nosso desalojamento, para uma área sem nenhuma condição de  habitabilidade».
The blog Folha8 concludes:
Dizer que todos estes atentados à dignidade se perpetram  numa repetição de actos de despejo cometidos “éne” vezes desde que  Angola é independente, já se tornou ladainha de pessoas que acreditam  num futuro de Angola em que as coisas melhorarão, o que não passa de um  simples acto de fé, à maneira de crentes que rezam para que Deus os tire  da miséria. Com um pseudo-governo, a agir deste modo, nunca mais!
Dont tear down my house, Conference about the demolitions and forced evictions. Photo by OMUNGA, on the blog Quintas de Debate
Alerting others to the scale of the demolitions, Jacques Arlindo dos Santos, of the Association Chá  de Caxinde, launched a petition [pt]. He directs himself to the President of the Parliament, appealing for the respect of “the sacred rights of citizens” in the face of “archaic push to demolish houses in various cities of the country”.
OMUNGA, an NGO (meaning “Union” in Umbundo language), has appealed [pt] since 2010 for the state of Angola to take measures in a way “which respects the Constitution of Angola and other human rights treaties”. At the time of the March demolitions it requested that  Parliament urgently create a commission [to investigate and evaluate] the breadth of the process of demolitions under way” and called on  President José Eduardo dos Santos to immediately cease activity as long as the “enforcement of all of the necessary preconditions  for actions of this type” are not put in place.
This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.

author: Sara Moreira


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Argentina: Lionel Messi to sue politician for improper use of his image · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The Latin Americanist reports that a photo of football player Lionel Messi “appeared in a campaign ad for Argentine legislator Alfredo Olmedo, a candidate running for governor of Salta. ‘Say yes to sport, say no to drugs’ is the slogan of the ad […] Messi’s lawyer, Ricardo Giusepponi, declared on Monday that Messi would sue Olmedo for improper use of his client’s image.”


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Azerbaijan: Assimilation Disorder  · Global Voices
Aygun Janmammadova

Known for its caustic humor and sarcastic insight, London-based Azerbaijani blogger Scary Azeri touches upon the sensitive issue of cultural (in)compatibility noting how a traditional mindset of her countrymen may seem out of place when living in a foreign country especially as they often find it hard, or refuse, to adapt to the local culture.

author: Aygun Janmammadova


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Bahrain: Loyalty to the Martyrs · Global Voices
Yacoub Al-Slaise

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.
Since Saturday, anti government protesters have been protesting peacefully and freely at Pearl (Lulu) Roundabout. Today marked the eighth day of Bahrain's Day of Wrath protests, as Bahrain's opposition parties organized a mass march from Bahrain Mall to Pearl (Lulu) Roundabout as a sign of loyalty to the eight fallen martyrs from the protests.
@ba7ari Anti gov protesters heading to Lulu sq, more to come #bahrain #feb14 #eu #hrw #un #gcc #gulf #uae
Demonstrators marching towards Pearl Roundabout
@arwaCNN Biggest anti-govt march in #bahrain along main road 2 pearl roundabout http://yfrog.com/gzkocsqj
Aerial view of march in front of Bahrain Mall
@alihashemii حاليابالبحرين مسيرةالشهداء http://twitpic.com/42juom
‘Now at the Loyalty for the Martyrs march’
@emoodz Organizers confirm a gridlock! They start at Bahrain Mall and extends all the way to #lulu.. #Bahrain
@Nabeelrajab
#bahrain #feb14 اكثر من خمسون الف امراءة مشاركة في التظاهرة ويصرخن سلمية سلمية مسيرتنا سلمي
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVaLqkZo_ts
A short video of the protest on the ground. Uploaded by YouTube user nadooiwish
Despite national TV broadcasting Monday's National Unity rally at Al-Fateh Mosque, no television cameras nor mention of the Martyr's March reached the Bahrain TV. The Bahrain Twittersphere was quick to notice that and expressed their disappointment and frustration of the government biased programming.
@Joojalkhalifa BTV totally ignoring today's protest. Not even happening, nope. Nothing. What? Protest?Who?Where?Manama?Ppl went yesterday to Fateh, yes…
@angryarabiya Bahrain TV why do u put live broadcast of pro-gov rally for hours and not even one image of todays more than 100thousand protesters rally?
@ehsankooheji I mostly blame BTV's selective reporting for the unhealthy divide we are in today. More than I blame riot police or military shootings.
@MDaaysi #Btv in serious denial at the moment … why not show all protests in #Bahrain if you showed yesterday's ? #feb14 #justsaying
CNN's Arwa Damon, who has been covering Bahrain's protests, was broadcasting images from the march live but received word from Bahrain's Information Affairs Authority to cut the live broadcast.
@arwaCNN After our last live broadcast #bahrain min. of information called & said we R not allowed 2 live broadcast #cnn
This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.

author: Yacoub Al-Slaise


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Brazil: Trial for murder of Guarani Kaiowa begins · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Update on GV's post Brazil: Eradicating the Indigenous Guarani Kaiowa. The trial of the accused for the murder of chief Marcos Veron resumed on February 21. The website Indigenous Peoples Issues translates an article by CIMI (Indigenous Missionary Council) about the mobilization of Guarani indians to accompany the trial.


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Cameroon: Police Brutality against Protesters  · Global Voices
Julie Owono

Patrice Nganang posted on Twitter a link to a video showing police violently dispersing a demonstration in Douala on February 21. Cameroonians are calling for large demonstrations for free elections on 23rd February.

author: Julie Owono


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China: A Chinese Perspective on the “Jasmine Revolution” · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jottings from the Granite Studio has a guest post by Yajun commenting on the so-called “Jasmine Revolution” in China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: The ten years of a Chinese middle class · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Hush translated a Netease feature story on the aspiration and struggle of a Chinese middle class man from 2000-2010.


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Cuba: Cigar Fest · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Havana Times and Repeating Islands blog about Cuba's Cigar Festival.


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Cuba: Masses for Tamayo · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Uncommon Sense reports that “State Security agents this week have been warning parishes in Havana to not celebrate Masses to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo.”


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Egypt: Social Media in the Middle East as a Tool for Incremental Change  · Global Voices
Gilad Lotan

In this post, we reflect on Egyptian blogger Hani Morsi‘s writing about technology driven activism and the role social media plays in providing incremental societal change. Hani's core argument focuses on the long term effects of social media. Rather than looking at it as a cathartic outlet for the oppressed, he stresses its value in making an otherwise impossible popular political discourse possible.
A man thanks Facebook and the Egyptian youth
In a post from early August, Hani writes a thoughtful critique of Rami Khouri's NYT op-ed in which Rami claims that, while we see a substantial rise in young bloggers from Morocco, Iran and Egypt, they have not triggered any significant signal or lasting change in Arab or Iranian political culture. He continues, blaming technology for “shifting the individual from the realm of participant to the real of spectator, from what would otherwise be an act of political activism, to an act of passive, harmless personal entertainment.”
Hani argues against this claim, providing the April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt and the Iranian Green Revolution as prime examples of political activism movements that heavily relied on social media to mobilize, publicize and organize almost all aspects of their activities. He continues to talk about the incremental form of change brought on by social media:
Did “tangible change” come about as a result of these social media-fueled movements? Depends on how you define “tangible change”, but my answer would be yes. Khouri’s definition of change seems to be about the immediate form of it,  that of traditional coups and revolutions, and in assuming this to be his definition, it is not difficult to see why he is disappointed.
Technology-driven activism is not necessarily about short-term, abrupt change (which, histrionically, has been seen to do more harm than good), but rather about the incremental form of change. It is about the dissemination of ideas and the stirring active and inclusive societal dialogue about the requisite form of change and the means by which it should be brought about.
In a post from February 15th, Hani brings up Malcolm Gladwell's New Yorker post “Does Egypt need Twitter?” in which Gladwell makes an argument that social media is not necessary for revolutions. Hani asks if Gladwell is answering the wrong question (Is social media necessary for popular uprising?) while missing the more important question: Is digital activism a true catalyst for social change?
He continues:
Indeed, the revolt of the oppressed is inevitable, notwithstanding the availability of social media tools, but it is not a question of necessity, but one of effect.
In other words, perhaps it could be argued that the current wave of uprisings and protests  in the Middle East would have eventually happened given the aging, coercive non-democratic patriarchal regimes that dominate the region. Nonetheless, to use a Gladwellian term, the “tipping point” of this dominos effect (Tunisia, Egypt, now Algeria, Bahrain  and Jordan in progress) would have been much further down the road. These uprisings would have been disconnected and far between if social media tools were to be taken out of the equation. Strangely, Gladwell posits that social activism requires “strong ties“, then dismisses the role of social media in fostering and enriching such ties not only within nations, but across borders as is the case with the Middle East right now.
In a follow up post, Hani describes a coercive regime's fear of open dialogue:
One of any coercive regime’s worst fears is a rich, open public dialogue on change and reform. When people start candidly discussing and debating their concerns, hopes and dreams, they begin to be aware of their true priorities and rights, and what must be done to reclaim those rights. Walls of fear begin to crumble. The regime’s cautionary myth of trading security and stability for freedom shatters.
Hani continues to talk about the role social media played in reviving a dormant public consciousness into a dynamic social discourse in Egypt. He  describes the long-term influence of social media, since the faux presidential elections of 2005:
The assumption that social media’s largest influence was during or shortly before the 18 days in which Mubarak’s regime was brought down is very naive. This has been simmering under the surface of the Egyptian political scene for a while, particularly since the Presidential “elections” of 2005. The boiling point was reached on January 25th 2011. What I refer to here as the virtualization of dissent is what happened when the popular desire for change was shifted from real space, where it was in long somnolence, and cultivated it in a space that the Patriarchs do not understand: virtual space. Faced with something they could not yet comprehend neither the workings nor the effects of, the best the regime could do was detain and intimidate, and ultimately completely shut down the medium when the revolution broke out (a move which only betrayed how weak they have become and added fuel to the fire). They never really attempted to understand this medium and instigate their own countermeasures in “virtual space”, much to their own peril.
This virtualization of dissent from real space to virtual space is key to understanding impact of Social Media in Egypt. According to Hani, the old patriarchs did not attempt to understand this new digital medium, and thus did not instigate countermeasures as they do in “physical space.”
Finally, Hani notes that the instigators of the Egyptian riots are not particularly representative of the vast majority of Egyptians. These are young, educated, tech-savvy, upper-middle class individuals. They are not the truly oppressed masses, but rather speak for all of Egypt. They do this by taking the war for reform to their virtual turf, away from the regime's clamp down on political action, and then funneling it back to the physical world in the form of a mighty wave of revolt.
To understand what this means, take a quick look at the demographics of a random sample of Egyptian “net activists”: young, educated, tech-savvy middle/upper-middle class (as compared to a country with a 42% illiteracy rate, for instance). In other words, those are not the truly oppressed masses, especially from an economic sense. This minority, however, spoke for all of Egypt…
They have  reclaimed Egypt!
Photo made available under Creative Commons 2.0 Generic license (CC by 2.0) by Monasosh

author: Gilad Lotan


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Gabon: Mourning Unrest’s First Casualty, as Bongo Meets Sarkozy · Global Voices
Julie Owono

This post is part of our special coverage of Gabon Unrest 2011.
Gabon is mourning the first casualty of the country's political unrest. Marie Mendome was beaten up during the January 29, 2011 attack on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) building in Libreville, where self-proclaimed president André Mba Obame and his government have taken refuge. According to several testimonies, Mendome died of wounds caused by police brutality.
First alleged victim of the political crisis that began on 25th January 2011 in Gabon
On February 18,  Gabonite wrote on the social network Twitter:
Une mère battue à mort par les « forces de sécurité » au Gabon!
La voix du Peuple Gabon (Voice of Gabonese People) on its website confirms the information that the woman died because police violence:
Pour avoir été manifester pour dire non, ça suffit comme ça, cette jeune femme de 38 ans s'est sauvagement fait matraquer par ceux-là même qui sont sensés nous protéger.
The site continues:
ayant eu plusieurs côtes cassées, elle s'est rendu dans un hopital de la place où on lui a clairement fait comprendre que les manifestants n'etaient pas les bienvenus
The report, however, was denied by the Gabonese authorities.  Agence France Press (AFP) published on February 20, 2011 an article entitled “Death of a woman is not due to police brutality” [fr]:
Le Ministère de l'Intérieur a démenti dimanche auprès de l'AFP que le décès d'une sympathisante du président auto-proclamé André Mba Obame,(…) soit dû à des brutalités policières.
This caused several reactions from Gabonese netizens. Bantuconnexion on Twitter opined:
Now Official: l'AFP Libreville est l'agence de communication du min. de l'intérieur gabonais.
In spite of the polemic, Marie Mendome's picture was used as profile picture on Facebook as a tribute:
Liberté du Gabon Révolution (Freedom of Gabon Revolution) used Marie Mendome's image as profile picture  on social network Facebook
Her funerals were organised on Sunday February 20, 2011.
Marie Mendome's funerals in Gasepga, Libreville, where she used to live
Sarkozy and Bongo Meet in Paris
French President Sarkozy received in a non-official visit the Gabonese president Bongo on February 21, 2011. Among several subjects, the two Head of States talked about the “wind of revolution” blowing throughout Africa. Interviewed by a Vox Africa Journalist, Ali Bongo declared that [fr]:
Il ne faut pas faire de parallèle entre les différents pays. Certaines situations sont totalement différentes.
During the visit, Ali Bongo and Nicolas Sarkozy discussed the the deployment of the French Military Defense Force in Central Africa, whose base is in Libreville:
The visit was highly criticised by the French environmental political Party in a press release [fr]:
Europe Ecologie Les Verts demande au président français de mettre un terme à ces pratiques de prédation économique et écologique, et d’en finir avec sa complaisance vis-à-vis du régime gabonais qui se refuse à la démocratisation.
Gabonese activists also had a sit-in inside a building that belongs to the Gabonese authorities in Paris. Their actions was quickly repressed by the French police forces with tear gas [fr]. The activists were protesting against the acquisition by Ali Bongo of this 140 millions Euros luxurious mansion in Paris in May 2010:
Gloria Mika, a fashion model and Gabonese activist wonders on Twitter about the lack of outrage over the plight of the Gabonese struggle:
This post is part of our special coverage of Gabon Unrest 2011.


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Ghana: Action Chapel, turn your noise down · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Christian “terrorism” in Ghana: “It’s Sunday morning and yet again the local church, Action Chapel, has turned its speakers up full blast and are terrorising the neighbourhood with its noise. There is no escape in any room in my house as it sounds as if the church is taking place inside it!”


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Iran: VOA Hacked by “Cyber Army” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iran's “Cyber Army” hacked Voice of America's website today and left a message for Hilary Clinton: “Mrs. Clinton, Do you want to hear the voice of the oppressed nations? The Islamic nations would no more be tricked by the US, and we want you to stop interfering in the Islamic countries.”

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iraqis Calling for Change · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

Uprisings and demonstrations are currently occurring all over the Arab world. In Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Bahrain and other Arab countries, people are arranging to protest; some are looking to topple their existing regimes, some are willing to simply fix them. Iraq is no different, and its people are calling for change.
Iraqis protest on 14 February, 2011. Photo taken from Iraqi Streets 4 Change's photo gallery.
Violent protests have taken place in Iraq in recent days, with anti-government protesters demonstrating against corruption, poor basic services and high unemployment.
Iraqi Streets 4 Change (Iq4C) is a website [ar] created by young Iraqis:
Who we are: We are young Iraqis, independent, and we love our country.
Why ‘Iraqi Streets for Change'?
Because we want to change the reality of life in Iraq on two levels: The first is to improve social services and push for urban development; the second is to change the reality of living in Iraq.
Their plan for achieving the desired change includes:
What is our goal?
At this stage we hope to:
Voicing Demands
A page on Iq4C has been created for Iraqi people to voice their demands [ar]. Some people commenting on the page are looking for political reform, while some others are asking for better services and living standards.
Raya asked [ar] for better availability of services, especially electricity, which seems to be a very common request among those commenting:
Tayyar Al-Gomhor-Al Iraqi believes [ar] that focusing on political reform should come first:
Ameer wants [ar] to put an end to sectarianism:
Ahmed Jaf's demand from the government [ar] was simple:
Banner reads: “Tahrir Square number II”, in reference to Iraq's own Tahrir (liberation) Square, similarly named to Egypt's famous protest square. Photograph taken from Iraqi Streets 4 Change's photo gallery.
Initiatives for Change
Beside these demands, some people have decided to hold their own initiatives for a better Iraq [ar]; this call for action appeared on the Iq4C Facebook page:
The Iraqi Shia scholar Ali Al-Sistani has said that he understands people's demands, however he has urged [ar] them to hold peaceful demonstrations and not to attack people or property.
It seems that the things have not been that peaceful though, as Twitter reports from Iraqi capital Baghdad's own Tahrir (liberation) Square have shown:
@kellymcevers: Protesters say plainclothes, clean-shaven thugs attacked after midnight in Tahrir Sq. Soldiers afraid to help. 6 stabbed. #Iraq #Feb25 #Iq4c

author: Tarek Amr


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Jamaica: Awaiting Word on Buju · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As the jury in Buju Banton's second drug trial continues to deliberate, Jamaica Salt “keep[s] looking for the result – but if the jury couldn’t decide last time, things are more hopeful for Buju this time round.”


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Jamaica, Haiti: Insensitive Treatment?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The Haitians are clearly hurt and humiliated” over the treatment of its youth football team, writes Active Voice, some of members of which were found to be suffering from malaria.


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Kenya: Video: Me and My Bike · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A group of teenagers from Nairobi won the $8000 Passion Pictures Best Film and Artists Project Earth Youth Visions award as part of the 1 min to Save the World contest, which challenged young filmmakers to create a one-minute video about climate change.


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Libya: Why was Gaddafi Late?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.
Libya's dictator Muammar Al Gaddafi is now speaking on State TV. In the wait leading up to his speech, tweeple tried to figure out why he was late in giving his anticipated speech in the following round up of tweets.
The same hashtag (several variations, in fact), was used when his son Seif Al Islam, addressed Libyans earlier.
@hatemation: Gaddafi is live on AJ
@wickedlypink: #Gaddafi on TV NOW #libya
@Aymansalhieh: #WhyGadafiIsLate he is fixing the tent
@FatmaTarek: #WhyGadafiIsLate trying to prepare a 20 sec speech that's gotta b hard!
@Lastoadri: #WhyGadafiIsLate Waiting for the woman standing behind him to dress up #Libya #Gadafi
@Aymansalhieh: #WhyGadafiIsLate Searching for a free toktok
@7usfahmy: #WhyGadafiIsLate rehearsing the speech!! LOOL!! #Ghaddafi
@Lastoadri: #WhyGadafiIsLate Broke his sunglasses #Libya #Gadafi
@Lastoadri: #WhyGadafiIsLate Waiting till it rains again #Libya #Gadafi
@leimolavida: #WhyGadafiIsLate he lost his umbrella
@HeyJacquiDey: #WhyisGaddafilate? Because he's trying to look human & is too busy wiping the blood of his victims off of his face. #Qaddafi #Libya #Feb17
@FritzKarlWatel: #WhyIsGaddafiLate bcz Venezuela is UTC-04:30 #libya #feb17 #qaddafi
@gazzel: Gadhafi To Make Speech to Night! -Hey Moammar Free advice- Don't be late. Twitter will hash tag you to death With #WhyIsGadafiLate
@InnocentDuchess: #WhyGaddafiIsLate Looking for a good position to his umbrella
@MoatazMekki: #whygaddafiislate maybe setting up the tent inside the studio ?!
@lampini1: #whygaddafiislate .. What 2 wear, what to wear…? #Libya
@PNSR: #WhyGaddafiIsLate His son is talking him out of his good speech.
@spentrainydays: why are the weirdest spellings of LIBYA and GADDAFI tweeting?”Libia and Kadhafi?”
@ayakhalil: ive never wanted to smash somebody's ugly head as i want to with #Gaddafi #Libya
@popgunning: its unfathomable to think how much Gaddafi has underestimated the Libyan people #libya
This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Libya’s Gaddafi: Death to All for Everything · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.
Libya's dictator Muammar Al Gaddafi just gave a furious speech on Libyan State TV today, Tuesday, warning and threatening anti-government protesters and their supporters, that the Libya would end up like Afghanistan, Iraq, or Somalia. He encouraged Libyans to come out of their homes tomorrow and chase down “the terrorists” and hand them in to security forces so they could be “punished with death”. He said he would keep fighting for Libya till “his last drop of blood” and went on to list in great detail every single thing that would be punished with death, including working for a foreign organization, using force against government forces, or threatening the unity of the country. The rambling, apparently unscripted speech was followed by Libyans, Arabs, and citizens everywhere on Twitter, and evoked both sarcasm and ridicule, even amidst the tragic circumstances of death and instability in the country.
Gaddafi justified Libya's brutal crackdown on protests in recent days, listing other moments in history when governments have killed protesters, saying things like, “The unity of China, was more important that those on Tianamen Square.” Tomorrow, he said, youth (those not “on drugs”) should form committees to defend his revolution. “You are more than them,” he said.
In the wait leading up to his speech, tweeple humorously guessed  why he was late in giving his anticipated speech.
@acarvin: Gaddafi: raise your heads for revolution, for battles of liberation.
@acarvin: Gaddafi: youths were taken from families and given hallucinagenics. Punishment is for the people who gave them.
@rania_hafez: Gaddafi: Those who oppose the Libyan authorities, raise weapons against other libyans will be punished by death according to Libya's law
@draddee: Gaddafi calling for social committees to protect society values, morality and manners #Libya
@habibh: #Gaddafi threatening his own people on TV with death sentences…
@kimo79: The biggest service that #gaddafi is doing with his rubbish speech is that he is unifying the revolution of #libya more and more.
@blakehounshell: what's he reading from?
@themoornextdoor: Reading from the book: the pages are blank, he's making it up as he goes
@EDSETIADI:And this lunatic's starting to read from his green book. Oh crap this is going to be long. http://twitpic.com/42m3bt
@timrylands: Gadaffi now playing the part of my old mad art teacher marking my sketchbook #libya http://yfrog.com/h6vdwp
@acarvin: Gaddafi: they don't want me or libya. This is a criminal act. Anyone who lifts arm shall be punished with death.
@Ssirgany: He switched eyeglasses to read from the green book.
@iandstone: Gaddafi ranting. “Where are the rats and rodents?” “Attacking the police station like mice?” This guy needs Rentokill
@tololy: NOW Gaddafi: “If things reach the level of using force, we WILL use it in accordance with int'l law & the Libyan constitution”
@Raafatology: #Gaddafi says ” Gaddafi is the Glory” I am not kidding. he just said that #Libya
@rania_hafez: Gaddafi calls out to those who love him, to go out and protect the country from those drugged gangs in the street now!! (civil war) #libya
@acarvin: Gaddafi:we didn't use force against the people but will use force if needed, according to intl and Libyan law.
@avinunu: Gaddafi: “All towns and cities that love Muammar Gaddafi must come out into the streets”
@acarvin: Gaddafi: With oil ownership turned back to the people, get out of your homes, secure the streets, take out the greasy rats.
@acarvin: Gaddafi, raising arms in air: Those who carried the arms, young people given armored vehicles.
@acarvin: Gaddafi: you are responsible for the people's committees. I call on the Libyan people to form new municipalities as mentioned by my son.
@nour_odeh: #Gaddafi: world is laughing at u [rebels]. People must form new muncipalities, pplr comtts like Saif told you #Libya
@ChangeInLibya: He's swearing at the people, who are “supporting him”, “in the green square”… Also images 20 days old from green sqr bng shown :)
@acarvin: Gaddafi: the struggle for power has been resolved.
@acarvin: Gaddafi: it is the Libyan people's consent along. In hospitals, offices, farms, everywhere.
@nour_odeh: #Gaddafi: We left power to the people in 1977. We don't have any position or authority, only fighting for Libya & defending it #Libya
@Dima_Khatib: Gaddafi: some youth sometimes try and imitate what happened in Tunisia & Egypt #libya #feb17
@avinunu: Gaddafi denies that he holds any power at all, that he handed it all over to the Libyan people back in 1977.
@draddee: Gaddafi: We are the ones who fought the US and UK on our soil and said we would die unless they cleared out. Where were you? #Libya
@acarvin: Gaddafi: At the hospital, no one dared to change the name. Where were you, you mercenaries? Who dared to do such things?
@avinunu: Gaddafi also claimed that all who had been killed were police.
@TravellerW: Don't dictators ever get tired of the “blaming the foreigners” theme? #libya #gaddafi
@JNovak_Yemen: #Libyan lunatic calls people to streets to fight protesters, taking a page from #AliSaleh rent-a-mobs #Yemen
@Ssirgany: He's directly calling for a civil war, telling his supporters to take to the streets, ARMED. #gaddafi #libya
@evanchill: Libyan state TV finally finds some “pro-Gaddafi” crowds, but they have to go to a dateless, placeless splitscreen to find them.
@sate3: http://twitpic.com/42lt4u – Clearly this is a delusional defiant & angry speech by a frustrated, helpless & gradiose dictator. #Feb17 #Libya
@Arabista: He's actually off his rocker!!!
@artate: in the reflection in Ghadaffi's glasses, you can't see any people in front, right?… http://tinyurl.com/6632g87 #libya #crazytalk
@ChangeInLibya: I don't get it? If he's swearing at our grandparents for not fighting americans.. aren't we meant to be egyptians and tunisians? #feb17
@blakehounshell: Amazing how hollow the anti-American rhetoric rings now #Qaddafi
@sate3: The view outside the building from where #Gaddafi is giving his speech #Feb17 http://twitpic.com/42lwil
@alexlobov: Can someone drone him now & put us all out of our misery?
@ceoDanya: #Gadafi is a psyco.
@Cyrenaican: We're not afraid of you, we were never your people.
@ceoDanya: DO YOU SEE PEOPLE WHAT I am TALKING ABOUT what the LIBYAN PPL are talking aBOUT! We need help! Men hal psyco!!
@lisang: I think these dictators are sharing a script. Evil foreign media, bad foreign influences, I spilt my blood for this country, time for reform
@tomgara: Look, Americans, this building has already been softened up by Reagan. Shouldn't be too hard to finish the job. Best live TV ending EVER.
@algergawi: Gaddafi Arabic speech should be transcribed in Arabic too.
@Mustafa_Qadri: “It's not true, Michael Jackson stole the colonel outfit from me” says Gaddafi “The one white glove was my idea!”
@bongkersz: I wonder if Hitler is going to be mad again on Youtube because #Gaddafi just sounded madder than him..
@TravellerW: A frequent theme in dictators’ speeches is how demonstrators are “children/youth/misguided/etc”, in order to discredit opponents. #libya
@AfriNomad: Does this count as Speech #2 or #3? And what's with #Gaddafi's fascination with rats & hallucinogens? #Libya #Feb17
@lioncub4justice: Breaking News: #Gaddafi is crazy #Libya
@warrenellis: Gadaffi's speech seems to boil down to “Everyone is on drugs except me. Also I am Batman.”
@thelieisacake: #Gaddafi will be a true test of the will and moral compass of the UN Security Council and countries/businesses that do business in #libya
This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.


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Macedonia: Early Elections Imminent, Date Uncertain · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Several days after being summoned to Washington, D.C., to report to the U.S. Vice President and the Secretary of State, who had expressed serious concerns about the situation in Macedonia, PM Nikola Gruevski said he accepted the opposition's challenge to test the support of the people in early elections.
Blogger Neutralec (“The Neutral One”) reported [MKD] by posting his comments and a video of PM's interview:
Yesterday on Sitel TV, our Prime Minister and the president of the biggest political party [VMRO-DPMNE] exclaimed that he would duel with [Branko Crvenkovski], and announced readiness to organize early elections just like in 2008. During his interview yesterday, Mr. Nikola Gruevski said that he planned to devote this year to economic growth and finishing of the ongoing reforms, but this would change if [the leader of the biggest opposition party] accepted the challenge, implying that [SDSM]'s wish for elections would be the reason for slowing down Macedonia's progress.
I wrote against the early elections two months ago, and I am still against it. [Grujo], [Branko], [Ljubčo] or [Ljube] should measure and compare their members somewhere else. The taxpayers’ money will be wasted on printing ballots and the circus of 20 days of election campaign and 2 days of electoral silence. However, the TV stations and the printed newspapers will have a great time, because they will earn a bunch of money, which will come from the pockets of the citizens, one way or another.
The representatives of the biggest opposition party took their time responding, as their official statement came a day later. In the meantime, right-wing blogger Alek Careca published a taunting post, [MKD] which included an old video clip from the satirical TV show K-15. In the clip, made before the elections several years ago, various persons call Branko [Crvenkovski] to come out.
In a comment to Careca's post, left-wing blogger Barabbas posted a link [MKD] to a news item that claimed that in the biggest opposition party's headquarters, the assembled members waited for the official response by their leader while listening to the song “Pada vlada” (The Government is Going Down).
The song is from the Serbian film The Professional (2003), sung by the popular pop-rocker Bajaga.
A bit later, Barabass also reacted [MKD] to and passed the latest news:
Gugi decided to play the hero, and threw in his glove.
B.C. also wanna play tough – let's do it in June [MKD].
We all know what will follow – “BC pussy, Grujo the bluffer, the scared opposition, administration lost in space and time, blah blah blah… Sincerely, I couldn't care less about their perceptions.
As a citizen, I consider all elections good, because before the elections, the government steals a bit less and spends part of the public funds to truly satisfy the needs of the citizens, so they can get more voters. Therefore, as far as I am concerned, let there be elections every year.
The situation is not quite straightforward. The government says the elections can take place in April (allegedly, while the government still has favorable ratings to ensure the majority vote). The opposition agrees to get back to the Parliament and take part in the preparations for June, only if the conditions [MKD] they claim would ensure fairness are met.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Morocco: King Sets Up Economic and Social Council · Global Voices
Nabila Taj

This post is part of our special coverage Morocco Protests 2011.
After a visit to France, Morocco's King Mohammed VI returned to the Royal Palace in Casablanca to announce [fr] the initiation of an Economic and Social Council on Monday, February 21, 2011.
Protesters gathered in solidarity with Moroccan people in Paris, France. Photo by sebastien rabany, copyright Demotix (20/02/2011).
He explained:
Si Nous donnons le coup d’envoi de ce Conseil aujourd’hui, c’est parce que Nous nous sommes constamment refusé à céder à la démagogie et à l’improvisation dans Notre action visant à consolider notre modèle singulier de démocratie et de développement.
Chapter 9 of the 1996 Constitution of the Kingdom of Morocco in fact first established the existence of the Council:
Article 94: The Economic and Social Council may be consulted by the Government, as well as the House of Representatives and the House of Counsellors on all matters of economic or social nature. It shall give its opinion on the general guidelines pertaining to the national economy and training programmes.
However, King Mohammed VI did not instigate the development of the council until October 2008, as detailed in his address to the two chambers of the Moroccan Parliament at the time:
My decision to set up the Economic and Social Council is in line with our standard policy to press ahead with comprehensive institutional reform.
I hope the setting up of this development-oriented constitutional body will boost national advisory institutions which have proved their efficiency and credibility in both the political and legal domains.
I should like this council to be set up as soon as possible and I therefore invite the government to prepare the organic law for its constitution and to submit it to Parliament before the end of the current session.
On May 5, 2010, Siham Ali, for website Magharebia, reported that, “Twenty-four unions will eventually make it into the CES: 12 chosen by the prime minister, and six each selected by the two chambers of Parliament.”
According to Ali: “There have even been many calls for the Economic and Social Council to replace the Chamber of Councillors.”
The King confirmed in his speech on Monday that, “By welcoming the pluralistic composition of the Council who counts among her socio-economic fabric of associations and scientific and intellectual skills, we affirm that we all take for equal members of this institution.”
Twitter updates in response to the latest speech vary from support to utter condemnation:
@mhantirah: King Mohammed VI speech is reminiscent of Mubarak's 1st speech. They don't get it
@freearab: Should the King of #Morocco rule? or should the prime minster rule as in the UK.
@mokromike:The King has showed himself a real dictator. We Moroccans despise him and his family. M6 DÉGAGE !!
@NickKristof: The Arab leader who handled protests most wisely is King Mohammed VI of Morocco. He treated them as a sign of progress.
Laila Lalami, in an article in Foreign Policy, highlights that in his speech, “the king made no reference to the Feb. 20 movement or to the protests.”
This post is part of our special coverage Morocco Protests 2011.

author: Nabila Taj


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Peru: Wikileaks Cable Stirs Electoral Campaign · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Juan Arellano in Globalizado [es] reports on reactions to a 2005 cable released by Wikileaks, which reveals that “Fernando Rospigliosi, former Minister of Interior in the administration of Alejandro Toledo, asked for the collaboration of the United States Embassy to carry out a campaign against Ollanta Humala.”


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Poland: Best Blogs of 2010 Announced · Global Voices
Jakub Górnicki

The sixth edition of the “Blog of the Year” contest is over, and the results have been announced. This year (as in a few previous editions), the whole contest was divided into three stages. The first one – general nominations, the second – SMS voting and selecting finalists per categories, and the third, the final, one, where the winners were chosen by a special committee. Also, each category had its own jury member, an acclaimed person connected to the topic.
The Best Blog of 2010, the Best Blog by Bloggers (an award given by bloggers who had won in the previous years) and the Best Blog in the category “My passions” was won by Mateusz Biskup, the author of the blog Zapiski z Granitowego Miasta (“Notes from the City of Granite”).
Other categories:
Special
Special awards were given to blogs that made an impact on the development of the Polish blogosphere:
White Plate
Bez sloganu (Without a slogan)
Wrocław z wybory (Wrocław from choice)
The blogosphere and prominent Polish bloggers took the whole contest and its results very well.
Maciej Budzich commented:
I am positively surprised with the atmosphere, the good energy, organisation and the quality of the blogs that took part in this year's competition.
Maciej also wrote in his video post that, thanks to this contest, a nice database of quality Polish blogs is being built and that's one of the best places to look for new stories and bloggers.
dash wrote:
In general, #blogroku [#blogoftheyear] was really good.

author: Jakub Górnicki


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Poland: Ex-PM Jarosław Kaczyński Starts Blogging · Global Voices
Jakub Górnicki

On Feb. 18, Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Poland's national conservative Law and Justice party, started a blog on the popular platform Salon24.
His first post is a transcript of one of the speeches he delivered a few weeks ago, titled “Poland and the Polish people deserve modern economic patriotism”:
Patriotism means loyalty to your own nation. It's based on the trust in the community whose traditions have shaped the way we live and the institutions that organize our life activities. Given this, we can talk about economic patriotism, but here we see some difficulty. In Poland, the tradition of being wealthy is rather weak and, above all, dramatically discontinuous. So, the Polish patriotism, evaluated from the economic perspective, needs more modernizing characteristics and is associated with loyalty to our nation as a project. A great project – Poland! […]
Igor Janke, editor-in-chief of the blogging platform Salon24 (which is considered very right-wing), welcomed Jarosław Kaczyński in his recent post:
I am very pleased that Jarosław Kaczyński has decided to join Salon24. He is not an ordinary guest. Warm greetings. The appearance of this blog got many of his enemies and supporters interested. Almost at the same time, [deputy PM Waldemar Pawlak] has returned to blogging. Blog posts from [SLD, the Democratic Left Alliance, and PO, the Civic Platform] MPs have appeared. These are all good signs. Salon24 is supposed to offer diverse opinions. We invite politicians and supporters of all political options.
Given that Jarosław Kaczyński is one of Poland's key politicians, and taking into account his controversial theories, the upcoming first anniversary of his brother's death, and the parliamentary elections in October 2011, this blog is likely to become a very important voice for Poland. It will create an opportunity for other bloggers to start conversations or at least comment within the blogosphere on Kaczyński's ideas. He used to neglect such interaction in the past and was thought to be an enemy of Internet users, which resulted in plenty of negative publicity for him.
Kaczyński has published only one post so far, but it has generated over 1,650 comments in just two days (partly due to the fact that the story was picked up by the mainstream media and TV stations). Below are some examples that show how many emotions surround this new blogger.
“Average woman”:
I am really happy that I can say how much I admire your determination and strength, and also your normal, human kindness.
Kendzior67:
With all due respect to Mr. Kaczyński, but it is going to be like with the [head of our social insurance office] and his blog – he is not responding to comments either.
Blachara:
I suggest that you start with learning the [national] anthem.
Zap30:
Mr Jarek, this post is one big pre-election propaganda. You are not saying anything detailed. […]
Anna M.:
Mr. [Kaczyński], please be here as often as you can and prove your critics wrong. I am honoured to meet you “online” and exchange views on important topics


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Portugal: Fight against prejudice on transgenderism · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

In her blog, Eduarda Santos – a portuguese advocate for transgender rights – points several examples [pt] of transphobic prejudice by the mainstream media. In January she had posted a thorough analysis [pt] of President Cavaco Silva's enactment against the change of name and gender of transsexual people.


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Puerto Rico: “I Do Not Belong to That Class” · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

A group of Law professors of the University of Puerto Rico have opened a section of their blog, Derecho al Derecho [es], to provide information on how lawyers can opt-out of a federal class suit against the Bar Association of Puerto Rico, an institution that has been practically dismantled by the current Legislature.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Rwanda: Is it Denver Dictatorship Conference? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Vincent does not understand why Rwandan president Paul Kagame is invited to Denver Leadership Conference: “Paul Kagame is responsable, according to several UN reports, of plundering the congo, supporting armed rebels inside the Congo, crimes against humanity and possibly genocide on an immensely large scale.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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South Korea: Botched Spying Attempt Embarrasses Citizens · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

South Korea’s intelligence agency has made headlines in the country for several consecutive days, after its agents allegedly broke into an Indonesian delegation’s hotel room last week in Seoul, in an attempt to steal classified information on Indonesia’s planned arms trade with South Korea.
None of the alleged South Korean spies had bothered disguising themselves as hotel staff. Image by Flickr user  By Digiart2001 | jason.kuffer (CC BY-SA 2.0).
Korean media and net users lambasted it as both a botched spying job and an ethically regrettable act. The intelligence agency has neither denied nor admitted the allegation.
Yesterday afternoon an Indonesian delegate told the press that the South Korean agent has simply mistakenly entered the wrong room, which happened to be that of the envoy – an excuse people highly doubt.
Caught Red-Handed
Local media reported that two men and one woman broke into the suite room at the Lotte Hotel on February 16, 2011 and fled after a delegation member saw them copying computer files onto a USB memory stick. South Korea’s Chosun newspaper reported an exclusive story strongly suggesting that the three intruders were members of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), South Korea’s top intelligence agency.
The 50-member delegation of Indonesian President Yudhoyono stayed for three days in Korea from February 15-17, 2011, to discuss on expanding bilateral economic and military cooperation between South Korea and Indonesia.
The three spies, who had not even disguised themselves as hotel staff, were caught red-handed handling two laptops in the room. When an Indonesian delegate walked in and found them, one agent handed him a laptop right away, while the other agents walked out of the room carrying another laptop to the hallway, only to then hand it back to the delegate.
Rookie Mistakes
Local reports, quoting Yonhap news agency's analysis [ko], lashed out at the agency for making too many rookie mistakes during the operation. The Yonhap report called the agency's work as “an act hard to believe that it was carried by professionals”, and pointed out that the trio wandered around hotel rooms together in a group, drawing attention to themselves. Furthermore, no one from the group kept watch at the door.
When the news spread on the Korean twittersphere, countless criticisms flowed in. Some tweets mocked the agency's failure as “worse than a knock-off CSI series”.
South Korean Twitter user @serapim1211 tweeted:
부끄러워서 살수가 없습니다! RT @tak0518:  국정원 방 잘못 찾아갔단 해명보단, 인니사절단 서프라이즈파티 해주려 했다는게 더 그럴듯했을 뻔 했다[…]
@Sangawon tweeted:
아무리 정보화 시대라지만 국정원 직원의 인도네시아 대통령특사단 숙소에 들어가 노트북 손댓다가 틀통사건 정말 우리나라의 신뢰도를 땅에 떨구는 행위라고 볼수밖에 없네요~! 아무리 국익이라도 그건 도둑질,,,
Do In-hyo, on Daum Agora, South Korea's most visited public forum, reasoned [ko] why the excuse is unconvincing and emphasized the seriousness of the issue:
국정원은 조선일보의 보도에 국정원 직원이 특사단이 묵고있는 바로 윗층에 숙소가 있어 직원들이 숙소를 잘못 알고 인도네시아 특사단의 방으로 들어 갔다고 했다는데. 여러명이 동시에 방호수를 잘못 볼수도 있단 말인가[…]세명이나 되는 직원들이 층수도 모르고 방호수도 모르고 들어간 방이 공교롭게도 특사단의 숙소였다?? 국민을 전부 바보로 알고 있는지 국정원 해명의 수준이 정말 가관이지 않은가[…]국정원이 특사단의 노트북에서 몰래 얻으려한 정보는. 우리가 인도네시아와 수출협의 중인 훈련기나 무기등에 대한 인도네시아 측의 가격이 궁금했을 것이다.[…]우리의 물건에 관심이 있어 구매 협의를 하기위해 고맙게도 손님이 방문을 했는데, 미련하게도 손님의 숙소에 무단 침입하여 손님이 사고자 하는 가격을 몰래 훔쳐 보려다 들킨 꼴이니. 앞으로 어떤 손님들이 우리를 신뢰하고 물건을 구입하려 들것인가 말이다.
The incident brokered a rare truce between South Korea's two main political parties, who are usually fierce opponents. The ruling Grand National party condemned it as a shameful incident: a member commented, “when they were caught, they should have at least have jumped out of the window”. The opposition Democratic party commented, “the prestigious NIS has stooped to plain burglary”, and called for prompt clarification of the incident.
While many focused on the agents’ incompetence, some warned the act itself was reprehensible. Choi Sang-won (@sangawon), who works in the construction industry,  tweeted:
인도네시아 사건은 국정원을 떠나 우리나라에서 벌어졌다는 것 자체에도 사과해야할 것이다. 왜냐하면 대통령 특사로 왔으니…그만한 경호를 해줘야하는것 아닌지? […]인도네시아가 얼마나 크고 잠재력이 무궁무진한 나라인데.
Blogger kkh6934 expressed concerns [ko] over the government's obsession with economic growth and people's tendency to ignore the moral issues.
경제력만 집중하지 말고 국가란 큰 틀에서 도덕성이 있어야 한다. 한 국가의 문화의 힘의 근원은 경제력이 아니라 도덕성이다.
Twitter user @datjin sent a rare note of condolence to the agents, saying they must have been severely bruised [emotionally or even physically] after they failed.
Spying on foreign delegates and scavenging classified information during their visits to countries are often treated as an ‘open secret’ in diplomatic underworld, as the Wikileaks cable dumps revealed. Still, this customary act comes at a price: Indonesia has officially asked for verification of reports on the Korean agents’ intrusion.
Local media such as Asia Today speculated [ko] that it may adversely affect collaborative economic projects planned between the two countries for the future.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Outcry Over Molestation Charges  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

‘Three male teachers were questioned/detained on charges of gross indecency and acts of lewdness with their male charges”, causing a firestorm of reaction in St. Vincent.  Abeni hopes to bring some reason to the debate, saying: “In the hysteria over a story that is yet to be proven we cry death to all homosexuals conveniently forgetting that…homosexuality and paedophilia are two separate issues.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Taiwan:Is Central News Agency Censoring China’s Jasmine Revolution? · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

The National News Agency-Central News Agency of Taiwan is suspected to censor related news about China's Jasmine Revolution yesterday. Jou Ying-Cheng, blogger and former reporter of CNA, accused CNA for not syndicating the second and further interview with Tan Lan-Yin(談蘭英)’ son due to political sensitivity, and such news blocking has happened before when he was working for CNA.  Tan is a famous petitioner in Shanghai, and her missing might be related to China's Jasmine revolution.

author: Portnoy Zheng


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Trinidad & Tobago: Learning from Nature  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It's not always necessary to have complete control in a garden. Sometimes it's necessary to stand back and let things evolve naturally”: My Chutney Garden lets nature take the lead.


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UAE: Libyan Consulate in Dubai Occupied and Flags Removed · Global Voices
Yacoub Al-Slaise

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.
In response to the ongoing massacre in Libya under a media blackout, protesters in Dubai, UAE, headed towards the Libyan Consulate on Tuesday to call for the end of the bloodshed and toppling Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime.
@Rayyalmulla Picture of libyans protesters near libya consulate on #dubai, #uae #libya #gadafi #arabrevolutions http://yfrog.com/h7q3gtj
Protesters outside the Libyan Consulate in Dubai, UAE
The protesters then stormed into the Consulate with news channel Al-Arabiya reporting that portraits of the dictator Colonel Gaddafi have been smashed.
@nalshaikh AlArabiya: Protestors charge in Libyan Consulate in #Dubai & smash portraits of #Gaddafi. #Feb17 #Libya
@MohannadKhairy Protesters have succeeded in getting #libya consulate in dxb to remove green flag. calling for free democratic and dignified state #fb
Tweep Danya B Mohammed (@ceoDanya) who describes herself as “The next President of Libya” tweeted the events since storming in the Libyan Consulate:
@ceoDanya Everyone IN UAE!! Please join me in GOING TO THE EMBASSY of LIBYA for UAE to PROTEST! RT btw you might get arrested.
@ceoDanya PROTEST IN UAE IS OFF THE HOOK!!!! Ya rab [Please God] hear our prayers we need the kelb [dog] out
She continues to tweet that after storming the consulate, saying they were locked in the building.
@ceoDanya THEY HAVE LOCKED THE LIBYAN PPL INSIDE THE CONSULTE IN UAE @ABC @CNN @andersoncooper @BBC HELP!!! We can't get OUT!!!
Despite being locked in, protesters went on to remove Libya's green flag originally instated by Colonel Gaddafi, mirroring the same gestures in Benghazi where protesters liberated the city and raised Libya's former flag instead of the current green flag.
@ceoDanya We TOOK OFF THE FLAG IN UAE!!! CONSULTE!! But they have locked us in!! @SultanAlQassemi @ShababLibya
@allawati The Gaddafi regime's flag has just been taken down at the Libyan consulate in Dubai http://twitpic.com/42in89
Libyan flags removed from the masts above the Libyan Consulate in Dubai, UAE
@ceoDanya We GOT OUT! And 2morrow we will have our official papers 2 protest 2morrow #SAVELIBYA #Gadaffi. @SultanAlQassemi UAE
The lockdown in the consulate lasted for two hours before their release.
@ceoDanya Since 1030am to 300pm! They were in the consulate and locked in since 12pm to 2pm! #DUBAI #PROTEST LIBYAN NATIONALTIES and police where
This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.


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Uganda: No Signs of Egypt-Style Uprising · Global Voices
Mark Jordahl

This post is part of our special coverage Uganda: Walk to Work Protests.
The 2011 Presidential Elections in Uganda have concluded relatively peacefully, with rolling results being announced over the course of the weekend. Incumbent President Museveni won handily, with 68-ish% of the vote (I add the “ish” because 117 polling stations did not return their results before the Sunday evening deadline).
The blogging community and, in fact, the entire country are fairly quiet at this point, breathing a sigh of relief that things went as calmly as they did despite widespread accusations of ballot stuffing, voter intimidation, and other irregularities. Things basically turned out the way everybody expected them to.
There are calls for protest, but they are only coming from the candidates who lost the election and not from the general populace. Steven Youngblood, a trainer in Peace and Electoral Journalism in Uganda, sees these as empty threats:
Two losing candidates, Olara Ottunu (1.6% of the vote) and Samuel Lubega (0.4%) today threatened to mobilize Egypt-style protests (AP). Seriously, these guys could barely muster 2% combined of the vote total, and they’re going to organize protests? Fantasy. The one opposition candidate with the most credibility to organize demonstrations, Kizza Besigye (2nd place, 26%), has complained that the election was corrupt and unfair, but has stopped short of calling for protests. The other losing candidate with some gravitas, Norbert Mao, is expected to make a statement Tuesday.
My Song from the Trenches  also picks apart Kizza Besigye's claims:
I[s it] just me who notices the inconsistency when Besigye says, on the one hand, that he won the election by vote count (“49%, 48%” or some such contrived ratio), and on the other hand that the NRM bribed and intimidated all his voters away, and stole all the votes?
Which is it? Did his voters get deterred from voting for him, but that nevertheless they voted for him, even though they did not (due to either reason he cites: bribery, intimidation, the works)? Please.
It's not that people don't think the elections were rigged. Uganda Picks  quotes a DEMGroup report on the elections stating that:
139,541 people on the voters’ register are dead persons while 418,623 of the registered voters are foreigners.
According to the same report, 5,000 registered voters would be over 110 years old, remarkable in a country with a life expectancy of 52 years.
This NTV video highlights just one of many incidents of vote buying:
The two most vocal losing candidates, Kizza Besigye and Norbert Mao, have both publicly rejected the results and are making some very provocative statements about their plans to contest the elections. Another Uganda Picks post quotes Besigye saying:
“This has been a well-planned electoral rigging that we have never seen before. These pre-ticked ballot papers were in many parts of the country. We have witnessed ghost voting, multiple voter register and falsification of the results from different polling station in a wide spread fashion.”
[Besigye] called upon the people to exercise their rights if the results were not as they expected. He also went on to note that dictators are not removed by free and fair elections and that Kayihura (Gen. Inspector of Police) did not have enough army men to prevent what happened in Egypt from happening in Uganda.
The peacefulness of these elections has allowed some bloggers to to look at the funny side of things. Urban Legend Kampala keeps things in perspective, with fictitious interviews:
Urban Legend: Mr Museveni, what plans do you have for this next term of yours?
Museveni: Well, generally speaking our vision is to consolidate the gains made so far by my government so far, to keep Uganda progressing on track, to discover and exploit even more ways to maximize our natural resources and to further cement the vice-grip I currently have on power until the point that not even Armageddon can unseat me.
Urban Legend: Good luck with that, sir.
…and photographic evidence from Urban Legend Kampala that presidential candidate Olara Otunnu didn't vote because he was too busy DJing at a club:
We had a candidate that did not show up to vote for himself. Or to vote for another candidate. Or to vote for anyone for that matter. Minutes after 5pm on polling day, we broke the news on his whereabouts here, on ULK, your number one source of hot information. Our reports showed that he was outside countries partying  hard, celebrating his victory. Pictured here (in background).
The next test for Uganda will be the Mayoral Elections on Wednesday, 22 February. This election is expected to be more closely contested than the presidential election and, potentially, more tense within Kampala. At this time, though, police and army deployment is so heavy that it is unlikely that things will get out of hand.
This post is part of our special coverage Uganda: Walk to Work Protests.

author: Mark Jordahl


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USA: Journalists, Lawyers Forced to Handover Data At Airports · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Several American journalists and lawyers who work abroad regularly, have their laptops, flash drives, notebooks and business cards copied by immigration authorities at airports, according to the ACLU. Amy Goodman shares the story of journalist Brandon Jourdan, who says it's happened to him seven times.

author: Solana Larsen


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Video: Learning a New Language Through Online Video · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

This post is part of our special coverage Languages and the Internet.
February 21st is the International Mother Language Day and this year's theme is Linguistic Diversity and New Technologies. With that in mind, we bring you a series of examples of how people are celebrating and sharing their mother language with others through online videos and websites.
Our first linguistic stop is Aymara; this language, used by more than two million people is spoken in Bolivia, Peru and Chile and is recognized as an official language in the first two.  Aymara speakers are becoming more active on the web through projects such as Jaqi Aru in El Alto, Bolivia and thanks to their efforts in translation, now Global Voices is available in Aymara.  Following, through this short video by Choice Humanitarian Org we can learn a few phrases in Aymara from the native speakers:
Another Amerindian language family is Quechua: from Ecuador to Argentina, different dialects of Quechua are spoken by more than 10 million people.  It is also an official language in Peru and Bolivia.  Jaime Salazar learned to love Quechua as an adult: when he was younger he considered that it was a dying language and that there weren't enough books in Quechua to consider it worth his time, although he admitted to liking several songs in that language. Now he teaches Quechua online both to English and Spanish speaking audiences through his YouTube channel.  In this next video he teaches us how to say “I love to learn”
Lets head over to Namibia, and learn a bit about KhoeKhoegowab. It is one of the most widespread languages of the Khoe language family,  recognized for their particular clicking sounds in certain words.  Primary school teachers Thusnelda Dausas and Gabriel /Khoeseb will teach us the four clicking sounds: !, /, # and // in this next video.
Learning through song is a fun way to learn, and not only for children. This next song lesson will teach us how to greet people in Swahili, the Lingua Franca or common tongue in most of East Africa.
Welsh is the official language of Wales, but is also spoken in some places of England, New Zealand, Australia and even Argentina. In this next video, Ben Low will teach us (while he teaches his friend David) how to pronounce Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, the name of a Welsh town whose claim to fame is its very, very long name.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-JbavUh5vQ
And last but not least, lets revisit the origins of the International Mother Language Day. This commemorative event can can trace its story to the University of Dhaka in 1952 when students protesting for the conservation of Bengali as an official language of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) were killed. Bangla is now the official language of not only Bangladesh but also India and Sierra Leone. Susan is the one who will teach us how to greet people in Bangla.
Global Voices Online deeply cares about linguistic diversity and multilingualism: GVO is made up of of hundreds of volunteers, translators, authors and editors who speak or write in more than one language. Many of our readers are also bilingual, but we work very hard for those who may not speak English as a second language and who deserve to be able to read worldwide content in their mother tongue. So please feel free to check out the different Global Voices Lingua sites and if you wish to, leave a comment and show your support.
This post is part of our special coverage Languages and the Internet.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Why is President Obama Traveling to El Salvador in March? · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Mike in Central American Politics mentions several reasons why President Obama is traveling to El Salvador in March of this year, “in addition to security, trade, energy, poverty, etc.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Yemen: Bullets, Screams and Sirens (Video) · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.
Breaking reports from Yemen's capital Sanaa claim that at least one university student has been killed and many others wounded in late-night fights with pro-government forces.
Witnesses say that pro-government “thugs” attacked the students with knives and rocks. Local media report that attackers also fired weapons from buildings at the student protesters, who have been staging a sit-in near the university of Saana since Sunday, February 20.  University students and other young people have been leading protests for nearly two weeks against the deep political and economic problems facing the country.
Yemen currently ranks 133 out of 169 countries on the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index, lodged between Myanmar and Benin. According to Transparency International, Yemen is tied with Libya as the second to last in an index on how people judge the level of corruption in Middle Eastern and North African countries.
As one commentator, Ibrahim Sharqieh of the Brookings Center in Doha, put it:
“The unemployment rate and other economic indicators suggest that Yemen is near its breaking point.”
At the heart of some of the protesters’ anger lies the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power since 1978. Saleh recently reiterated he would not leave until elections are held in 2013.
Tuesday night's violence came at the end of a day that saw thousands of protesters demonstrate in the city of Aden and Sanaa, where five protesters were injured.
In an occasionally choppy film, uploaded by EBNSHAMS, student demonstrators are shown clashing with attacking “bullies.” Gunshots can clearly be heard.
Here is how the news was reported on Twitter:
@carlconradi: What's this about pro-government trying to erect tents near the University? Information? #Yemen #Sanaa
@Yemen_2011: #Sanaa shooting -pro-gov planted tents near Univ, students & qabilis tried 2 kick pro-gov out & shooting started – still chking on it #Yemen
@ReemQatar:Just Now : Two killed many others wounded amongst protest against the gov't in #Yemen. #MiddleEast #Libya
@Yemen_2011: URGENT NEWS: The number of protesters outside #sanaa uni injured by the pro-govt (thugs) has now risen to 10 one in a critical condition #yf
@tomfinn__: students were attacked by men carrying pistols, knives and guns, over 20 injured #Sanaa #Yemen #yf
@Yemen_2011: wow…jst getting info frm friend here- Hashid joined students at 5pm – involved in Univ shooting 30misn ago, shooting back @ gov suporters
@tomfinn__: I confirm 2 people were killed (shot dead) and at least 20 people injured at #Sanaa university #yf I just saw the 5th ambulance leaving
@tomfinn__: Spoke 2 another doctor at #Sanaa uni:1 student shot dead on the spot another shot in the head, at hospital in critical condition. #yf”
@Yemen_2011: The 2cars driven by thugs that attacked the protesters in #sanaa number plates: mazda (2/6462) and the second mercedes (1/4121) #yf #sanaa
@shephardm:The first deaths in Sanaa. Witnesses saying two student protestors killed and many injured in late night clash with pro-Saleh forces. #yemen
@JebBoone:Just returned from #Sana'a Uni. After rock throwing exchange, Pro-Saleh thugs fire on rival demo. 1 dead, 1 critical, 20 injured.#Yemen #YF
@gregorydjohnsen: @prince640 I think it is unfair to blame this on the tribes – yes, temps rose, but reports suggest this was thugs not tribes
@Yemen_2011: What the flip goes on these dictators heads?! Any logical person would understand that if u kill ur ppl they are going to h8 u even more #yf
This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.

author: John Liebhardt


text:
Yemen: Walking the Walk, One More Protester Dies (Videos) · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.
A teenager was shot and killed in Aden, Yemen on Monday, February 21 as tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in four separate cities on the 11th day of protests calling for the end of the three-decade reign of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. At least 11 people have died since the demonstrations began, and Amnesty International says at least 78 people have been injured. Five students remain in police custody.
In a press conference on Monday, President Saleh said he refused to step down, but did offer to hold talks with opposition parties. This was quickly rejected. The protesters, younger citizens and opposition party supporters, don't appear to be going anywhere soon. Students began camping out at Sana'a University on Sunday. And in Aden, police fired warning shots to disperse protesters, who also said they would make a camp.
Al-Masdar Online has photos from Monday's rallies.
Video photographers grabbed shots from all over the country.
This video, uploaded by Mualla district of Aden hurling a photo of the president over a balcony.
This is a video of a February 21 protest in a district of Aden, uploaded by Diaz9th
A video, uploaded by yemen5100 shows an anti-government demonstration.
People inside and outside Yemen were also active on Twitter.
@yemen4change: It's very inspiring to hear citizens from #Ibb & #Abyan provinces showing solidarity by joining pro-change demonstrators in Liberty Square in #Taiz #Yemen
@Yemen_2011 #Yemen -some friends in Sanaa who spoke of support 4 #Egypt #Tunisia hv nw fully joined protesters – Yemenis walk da talk – many new faces
@dia_assada: Right now in Freedom Square, Taiz, #Yemen, all the protesters are praying in one voice for saving their brothers n sisters in #Libya
@AlaaIsam links to a photo of a demonstration of Northern Works in Sailah market in Saana's crater district.
The  photo is here.
@ma2moun: By the way, Ali Abdullah Saleh, if you are watching and trying to learn fro Gaddafi u better not, ur people have tanks, leave now #Yemen
@nayemkabir: That bastion of truth, Hillary Clinton has spoken out against the tyrant Gaddafi but still stands firm with her friends in Yemen & Morocco.
This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.