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Why CNN is Getting Praise and Flak for its Philippine Storm Coverage · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

CNN's Anderson Cooper reporting from Tacloban, Philippines. Photo from CNN website
CNN was among the first global media teams which arrived in the Philippines to cover the destruction left behind by super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). Many Filipinos recognized the extensive reporting made by CNN during and after the storm hit the central part of the country.
Wow! @CNN has great coverage of the Super Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda than local news. I wasn't worried till I switched the channel to CNN! :(
— Frances Amper Sales (@FrancesASales) November 9, 2013
Thank you @CNN for the great #Haiyan/#Yolanda coverage! The Philippines is glued to you.
— Emilio (@13thFool) November 9, 2013
Many also appreciated the arrival of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper who reported live from Tacloban City, the ground zero of the disaster.
I'd rather believe those people on the field like @andersoncooper than those inside the news room
— Mei Lamamigo (@iloveMEIself) November 13, 2013
@andersoncooper, when journalists like you keep watch/notice, there's a bigger chance that most relief donations will reach Yolanda victims.
— Tinay VCS (@tin_tangkad) November 13, 2013
Anderson cited the complaints of survivors about the slow delivery of relief and other forms of assistance from the government. Filipino journalist Gel Santos Relos believes Anderson was objective in his reporting:
I personally think Anderson and the reporters and experts have been objective in the way they have covered the situation in Leyte — pointing out the intensity and magnitude of Yolanda, the effect of storm Zoraida on relief operations, the challenges brought about by geography, etc.
CNN is not there to “demolish” the image of the Philippines. They are in fact helping our kababayans by reporting things as they see them, so the international community can respond accordingly.
But her colleague and media personality Korina Sanchez disagreed. She reportedly criticized Anderson in her radio show:
Itong si Anderson Cooper, sabi wala daw government presence sa Tacloban. Mukhang hindi niya alam ang sinasabi niya.
This Anderson Cooper, he said there is no government presence in Tacloban. It seems he doesn’t know what he is saying.
Many reacted strongly against Korina and accused her of being comfortable in a Manila office in contrast to the ground reporting of Anderson. The following day, Korina travelled to Ormoc City (another badly hit town of Leyte province) where she reported about the situation of typhoon victims.
Apparently, Anderson heard about the criticism of Korina. He defended the accuracy of his report and invited Korina to go to Tacloban:
Ms Sanchez is welcome to go there and I would urge her to go there. I don’t know if she has but her husband’s the Interior minister. I’m sure he can arrange a flight
Anderson was correct when he pointed out that Korina is the wife of Mar Roxas, the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and head of the ruling Liberal Party. Netizen reactions were mostly in favor of Anderson.
Meanwhile, Yasmin Arquiza cautions the public not to immediately accept reports made by ‘parachute journalists’:
The problem in reporting a disaster of this magnitude, stretching across a string of islands hundreds of kilometers apart from east to west, is that the stories often resemble the tale of the six blind men and the elephant – depending on who's touching which part of the animal, you'll get a different description each time. Most of the images have been distressing, and it's often hard to tell if the reports from parachute journalists – we haven't seen this many since the days of coup d'etats in these parts – are mostly anecdotal or very much reflective of the reality in the field, given the tendency of foreign correspondents to generalize situations at times.
Anderson Cooper's coverage of the haiyan disaster in tacloban is a good example of parachute journalism and scaremongering.
— cebulog (@jdlctalk) November 16, 2013
Criticism should continue against the government’s slow relief operations, writes Professor Gerry Lanuza:
Without CNN Anderson Cooper's criticism of relief operation, Korina Sanchez would have not gone to Tacloban; without the victims complaining themselves, the government would have continued its failed response, without the vigilance and criticism against government bureaucracy the relief good would have been hijacked and used for political purposes.
Law professor Florin Hilbay tweets this reminder to reporters
regardless of whose side you're on, the journalist should not be the news. http://t.co/QwIqKP21zj
— florin hilbay (@fthilbay) November 15, 2013
Ayee Macaraig writes about the mixed reactions in the Philippines about the CNN coverage of the disaster:
CNN’s coverage of the typhoon has divided Filipinos on social media, with some praising the network for its extensive coverage and for calling out the Philippine government over the slow relief efforts. Others though criticized CNN for “parachute journalism” and for resorting to blaming the government instead of understanding the logistical problems involved.
Interestingly, there was a popular meme about the praise made by CNN about the ‘resiliency’ of Filipinos in the wake of the tragedy caused by Haiyan. But the ‘praise’ was actually a comment in a CNN article about the disaster.
A ‘CNN comment’ which went viral in the Philippines. Image from Filipino FreeThinkers website
Seekers Portal explains why many Filipinos believed in the ‘CNN photo’:
I believe that the reason why this “edited CNN photo” went viral was because, we Filipinos want to somehow alleviate the sufferings of our typhoon-and-earthquake-stricken countrymen, by sharing some encouragement.
But CNN did praise the Filipinos when Anderson left this message in his report yesterday:
They’re bowed perhaps, tired and traumatized, but they are not broken. Mabuhay Philippines, maraming salamat (thank you very much) for all you’ve shown us. Maraming salamat for showing us all how to live
As expected, Filipinos appreciated this remark
Because of the accurate report of Anderson Cooper, we filipinos were awakened of the real situation w/o bias. Thanks @CNN & @andersoncooper
— Angie G ♡ (@imSoooAngie) November 15, 2013
Meanwhile, some are not happy over the VIP treatment accorded by the government to the CNN news team. Some local media are accusing the office of the president of ‘babysitting’ CNN reporters.


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1,000 Days of House Arrest · Global Voices
Farid

Three Green Movement Leaders under House Arrest. Source: Rahesabz
The three leading figures of protests that gripped the attention of the entire world as millions took to the streets of Iran remain locked up in their homes after more than 1,000 days of house arrest. On November 12, 2013 Mir Hossein Mousavi, his wife, Zahra Rahnavard and Mehdi Karoubi marked the 1,000th day of confinement without trial or any official charges.
The Green Movement erupted after the controversial 2009 presidential election that saw the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Several bloggers, news websites, and activist sites such as Rahesabz (see photo) remembered the three leaders during the week of the 1,000th day.
No Trial, No Fresh air
In a video message, Mehdi Karoubi's wife, Fatemeh Karoubi, says that her husband has health problems that have worsened under house arrest [he is kept in a building that is separate from his actual house] and that he is deprived of fresh air [it seems all windows are locked]. She emphasizes that there has been no trial.
“Hope, the last thing dies”
ُMaryam Ghasemi tweets :
اگر از یک تا هزار بشمریم حوصله سر می‌رود و اگر #هزارروز را خط بکشیم دیوارهای یک خانه کم می آورد… #حصر
— Maryam Ghassemi (@Maryaam_GH) November 13, 2013
If we count to 1,000 we will get bored. If we draw a line on a wall every day, there will be no more space after 1,000 days.
Ali Nemati Shahab reminds us of a “lesson from history” as he marks the 1000th day by tweeting:
دوبچک 20 سال انتظار کشید تا بهار پراگ زنده شد. می‌گفت: امید آخرین چیزی است که می‌میرد … #بشمر1000 برای پایان #حصر http://t.co/olrGzrycVg
— Ali Nemati Shahab (@gozareha) November 8, 2013
[Alexander] Dubček [the reformist leader of Czechoslovakia] waited for 20 years to revive Prague's spring, he used to say “Hope is last thing that dies.”
Arash Bahamani tweets:
یک نفر هم بنویسد #بشمر1000 به یاد همه کسانی که در این سی‌وچهار سال «مجبور» به ترک میهن خود شده‌اند.
— Arash Bahmani (@ArashBahmani) November 8, 2013
Let us also tweet #بشمر1000 [meaning count to 1,000] for all who were forced to leave Iran in the last 34 years [since the revolution].

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Farid


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Anglophone Bloggers Parse Russian Nationalism · Global Voices
Molly Zuckerman

Nationalist march, Moscow, Russia, 4 November 2012, photo by RiMarkin, CC 2.0.
Ethnic nationalism now seems to be enjoying a renaissance in Russia. There has been a wave of nationalist events and heightened ethnic tensions in recent months. The nationalist theme is especially pronounced in RuNet commentary, and Anglophone Russia bloggers have noticed this trend, too.
In a post on the Power Vertical blog, Brian Whitmore recently wrote about the government facing an influx of nationalists-turned-oppositionists into Russian politics, implying that the Kremlin bears some responsibility for the recent spike in xenophobic activism:
After years of successfully manipulating nationalists for their own purposes and cultivating xenophobia among the population, the Kremlin is now standing face-to-face with the monster it helped create. […] It is this latent nationalism of the silent majority that is driving much of the political dynamic right now. These aren't black-clad skinheads. Many are respectable urban professionals, students, and entrepreneurs.
Whitmore goes on to describe Alexey Navalny’s refusal to attend this year's Russian March as a “balancing act” designed to cater to the “silent majority”:
Numerous Russia-watchers have noted that he is trying to find that sweet spot that allows him to hold on to both his liberal and nationalist supporters. […] Navalny has long argued that Russian nationalism needs to be brought into the mainstream and liberalized to keep it from being monopolized by retrograde elements. But what exactly is liberal nationalism in a multiethnic state? Ideally, it wouldn't be nationalistic at all, but rather an inclusive form of civic patriotism.
Blogger LaRussophobe took issue with a report published on Russia Beyond the Headlines about Russia’s new ranking as the world's ninth most popular tourist destination. LaRu objected to the fact that the report failed of mention Russia's rising levels of xenophobia. Attacking RBTH as a Kremlin mouthpiece, LaRu blamed Vladimir Putin for Russians’ growing fears of foreigners:
Recent footage of Russian skinheads torturing a young black student in the city of Belgorod, including forcing him to kiss a watermelon, gives vivid insight into the way Russians view those who are different from themselves. […] RBTH admits that Russia has erected a horrific web of visa-related hurdles which actively prevent many tourists from even considering a trip to Russia, hurdles which are holdovers from the old Soviet era when xenophobia was official state policy and every foreign guest was considered a dangerous spy. It’s hardly a surprise, however, that RBTH doesn’t pause even for a second to ask whether having a proud KGB spy as president might be playing a negative role in promotion of tourism, much less to ask whether that spy, Vladimir Putin, even wants foreigners present in Russia.
The author of the blog MoscowMatters addressed the linguistic subtleties of Russian nationality, explaining that the words meaning “Russian”  are themselves points of contention in the language:
One of the first distinctions I was taught to make here [Russia] was that between pусские ‘Russkiye’, and россияне ‘Rassiyane’ […] Without going into the history underlying these terms, it is an undisputed fact that these two words are being used on a daily basis to differentiate in a most matter-of-factly way between those who are truly Russian, by blood, and those who aren’t. The underlying thought being: it does not matter how long you have been here, but what matters is where you came from to begin with.
MoscowMatters’ post, written in response to the ethnic riots in Biryulyovo in late October 2013, implies that economic unrest in Russia plays a major role in the country's recent ethnic violence:
What ‘Russians’ need at this moment in time is a vision of the future that includes ‘Russian nationals’ as fulfilling a large, and necessary, role in Russian economics and society rather than the unwanted burden they are now being made out to be. This is a broader societal debate that is not being acknowledged by either the opposition or ruling politicians and yet such a vision could do more than fingerprinting hundreds of thousands of migrants could ever hope to achieve.
Commenting on the blog Dictmókus, user mokus11 linked Russia's nationalist tendencies to a larger, global wave of xenophobia:
I think it’s important to think about these events in Russia not as something “the Russians do” but something that is linked to our global society, that shows once again the worrying global tendency towards right-wing propaganda, and xenophobia that just got over the tops in Russia but can be observed to different degrees almost everywhere. And the first step to let it gain power is to naturalize it, to ignore it, to shut our eyes, our ears, our newspapers.

author: Molly Zuckerman


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Australian Prime Minister Downplays Sri Lankan Torture Allegations · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Australians have been flabbergasted by the contrast between two conservative Prime Ministers over Sri Lanka’s human rights record, namely their own PM Tony Abbott and the UK’s David Cameron.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott visits the Sri Lanka Navy vessel Sayura in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Photo by Chamila Karunarathne, Copyright @Demotix (11/17/2013)
Cameron put Sri Lanka on notice over war crimes allegations. PM Abbott was far more conciliatory:
The Australian Government deplores any use of torture. Sometimes, in difficult circumstances, difficult things happen. The important thing is to act as quickly as you can to bind up the nation's wounds.
Many onliners took these remarks at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo [CHOGM] to be tacit approval of human rights violations including torture. These tweets were typical of the initial responses:
“Deplorable” and “difficult” are not synonymous, PM Abbott. Downplaying acts of torture is shameful. http://t.co/UJFa5ldAwB #auspol #CHOGM
— Senthorun Raj (@senthorun) November 16, 2013
Tony Abbott, on an international stage, tells victims of torture in Sri Lanka: Shit Happens. #auspol
— Stop Da Truth (@geeksrulz) November 16, 2013
There was the inevitable parallel with the Nazis [Godwin’s law] and misquote:
Australia's answer to Hitler on display at @chogm2013 – Abbott supports torture and human rights abuses pic.twitter.com/4RFG2F2gZP #auspol
— ☵ Z☰N Digital ® ☲ (@z3n_digital) November 16, 2013
Abbott's contentious words were reinforced by the Australian government’s gift of two patrol boats to the host country to help stop asylum seekers fleeing down under.
Rather than condemning torture and rape, the cause of refugees fleeing, Abbott gifts oppressive government with military hardware #auspol
— Ben Ekberg (@yasotdetnawtsuj) November 17, 2013
Bloggers have been slow to take up the issue but TURNLEFT2013 was quick off the mark. Tony Abbott condones Torture: Music And Politics features a song by Welsh band Manic Street Preachers ‘If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next':
If we tolerate torture of others, our children may one day be next.
Sample lyrics:
The future teaches you to be alone
The present to be afraid and cold
So if I can shoot rabbits
Then I can shoot fascists …
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Jeff Sparrow, editor of progressive magazine Overland, wrote an opinion piece, Refugees and human rights abuses: we can’t pretend that we do not know, in Guardian Australia’s Comments are free section:
…we have a responsibility to oppose Australia’s shameful refugee policy, it’s not simply for the sake of asylum seekers caught up in our jurisdiction, but because of the consequences for oppressed people elsewhere.
It received some comments arguing for a ‘realpolitik’ approach to human rights in Asia. TheGreatCucumber argued:
I'm afraid that worries about universal human rights have become a luxury that the developed world is increasingly unable to afford. The UK has enough trouble in maintaining our current level of development for our citizens without having to worry about saving the world's waifs and strays.
Another comment by trevofbillysville on the same post echoed the earlier responses on twitter:
Abbott, mouth in gear as usual ,brain not.Slogans are all he knows .What a shocker.

author: Kevin Rennie


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Bhutan’s Hydroelectric Projects and a Kingfisher · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

The Bhutanese people are slowly beginning to realize that the hydropower projects will, over time, not only ruin our environment but will also be the cause of the loss of our nationhood.
Yeshey Dorji, a photographer in Bhutan,  visited Berti, Zhemgang, in search of the white-bellied herons that are under threat, their habitats getting destroyed by large-scale hydro-power projects coming up in the area. As he waited, his camera lens found a lovely kingfisher, ‘fishing for fish’.

author: Aparna Ray


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#BlogsNi: Nicaraguan Blog Carnival Focuses on Identity · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Nicaraguan bloggers will be sharing their ideas and reflections about identity [es] throughout November 2013:
#BlogsNi ha llegado, todos y todas están invitados. Textos, imágenes, vídeos, audio y todo, todo en tu blog.
— Néstor Arce (@NestorArce) November 7, 2013
#BlogsNi is here, everyone is invited. Text, images, videos, audio and everything, everything in your blog.
The carnival will finish with a free and open event called ‘Encuentro de BlogsNi 2013′, which will include conferences and workshops at the Xabier Gorostiaga auditorium in the Central American University (UCA) on Saturday, November 23.
Bloggers [es] are sharing their posts on Twitter with the hashtag #BlogsNi [es].
You can also follow the carnival on Facebook [es].

author: Silvia Viñas


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China, Stop Calling Uyghur Muslims Terrorists · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Please don't put terrorist label on Uyghur people. Image from Flickr user @Todenhoff under CC: AT-SA
Ethnic Uyghur Muslims are more and more often associated with the term “terrorist” in China. Local authorities and media outlets often define violent incidents in border regions as terrorist activity. This official definition has turned random individual criminal acts into the collective responsibility of an ethnic minority and resulted in the labeling of its members as terrorist suspects.
The latest officially defined “terrorist case” happened on November 16 2013 in Xinjian Bachu county. Eleven people were killed in a police station, two were local police officers and nine were Muslim Uyghurs from Bachu county.
The Xinjiang local authorities quickly defined the incident as a violent terrorist attack and claimed that stability was effectively restored as the nine violent assaulters were shot dead. However according to Radio Free Asia, people who surrounded the police station had managed to capture the young attackers alive while the police officers chose to shoot them dead on the spot. As all the witnesses aside from the police are dead, it keeps people wondering what had exactly happened inside the police station.
Chinese dissident Hu Ping raises a number of questions about the incident:
11／16巴楚事件是什么性质的事件？不象是游击战的偷袭，因为没听说有接应以便逃遁，从攻击者手持斧头这样粗陋的凶器以及伤人和自伤的不成比例，也不像是自杀式恐怖袭击。其性质可想而知。@Ilham_Tohti
— Hu Ping胡平 (@HuPing1) November 17, 2013
What is the nature of the November 16 Bachu incident? It doesn't look like a guerrilla attack as they didn't have an escape plan. With the attackers’ weapons such as axes and knives being so primitive and ineffective at hurting police, it doesn't look like suicide attack. The nature is clear then. @IIham_Tohti
In reply to Hu Ping, IIham Tohti, an Uyghur university professor, stressed the need to revise the Chinese government's ethnic policy:
@HuPing1 那里到底真正发生了什么？真相是什么？我想，只有精神病才随便怀疑别人是恐怖分子！这样的事件多次发生，难道不值得反思吗？是偶然刑事案件吗？为啥拿刀的维吾尔人总要跟拿枪的干？还9个一起去赴死？当局从没想过如何避免再次发生。到今天还不反思民族政策。
— 伊力哈木土赫提IlhamTohti (@Ilham_Tohti) November 17, 2013
@HuPing1 What happened there? What is the truth? Only crazy people would believe that they were terrorists. Similar incidents have happened so many times and we have yet to see any reflection. Nine people entered the police station in search of death? The authorities cannot figure out how to prevent that from happening again. Until now there has been no reflection on ethnic policy.
A few months ago in April, a similar ethnic clash happened in the same Bachu police station and the violence left 21 people dead, including 15 police officers and government officials. The incident was also defined as a terrorist assault.
Against the background of the establishment of a top-level national security committee (NSC), many believe that ethnic minorities in border areas will become the target of anti-terrorist security control. For example, Kai Lei, a media worker from pro-Chinese government newspapers Wenhui Bao, urged the NSC to adopt a hard-handed policy in districts such as Bachu:
【当铲除巴楚等恐怖事件土壤】成立国安委，边疆事务当占重要地位，当高效应对、打击边疆恐怖、分裂势力。当严防、严打、铲除巴楚等既往发生恐怖事件地的土壤。
[Eradicate the terrorist soil in Bachu] The establishment of the NSC has great significance in border security control. Should be more effective in cracking down on terrorists, separatist forces in border areas. Adopt preventive and hard-handed crackdown policies in those areas, such as Bachu, where terrorist assaults have taken place before.
Yet the definition of terrorist assault is highly problematic in China as anonymous writer from Uighurbiz.net, “Little grand father_Aike” pointed out. The writer compared two sets of incidents in 2013 to indicate the arbitrary definition of a violent terrorist assault: the June 7 Fujian bus station arson vs. the October 28 Beijing Tiananmen Jeep cash incident, and the August 25 Chengdu hospital assault vs. the November 16 Bachu police station assault.
The arson case in Fujian left 47 dead and 34 injured, and the police said it was committed by an angry and desperate individual and defined as a criminal case. The Beijing case resulting in five dead and 38 injured was defined an organized terrorist attack. Among the dead were the three Uyghur sitting inside the Jeep.
The writer pointed out that the very definition of the crimes has instigated different reactions to the criminals. In the first casex people see it as an individual act of insanity, but in the latter case as an ethnic-based organized terrorist act:
因为新闻媒体和司法机关的定性不同让数千万维吾尔族一起背上了恐怖分子的名声，作为中国人来说大家觉得公平吗？[…] 全中国现在一说到新疆不是谈虎色变而是嗤之以鼻，总体评论就是：杀光他们，赶出去、杀几个就老实了，忘恩负义等词汇，我想说的是媒体你们有没有良心？你们的操守去了哪里？你们对全国中国人民的误导难道不是犯罪？
Because of the media and judiciary definition of the crime's nature, millions of Uyghur have to bear the terrorist label. If we are all Chinese, do you think this is fair? […] Now all over the country, whenever people talk about Xinjiang, they change their tone of voice. In summaryx they would say: Kill them all, kick them out, kill them and they would be humble. They are just a bunch of ungrateful people. Where is the conscience and ethics of the media? Doesn't using such a misleading [label] constitute a crime?
When comparing the Chengdu assault and the Bachu assault, even though the Chengdu one was well planned and specifically targeted at medical workers in a hospital, which resulted in five dead and 11 injured, the case was defined a random act of individuals, while the Bachu case, in which the nine assaulters were shot dead on the spot, was defined as a terrorist act:
这个大家可以轻描淡写的带过并没有扯到民族、暴徒等词汇，为什么新疆这么特殊？为什么维吾尔族这么特殊？西部大开发四川也是受益城市之一，大家并没有说什么四川同胞也坐享其成、好吃懒做还尽惹事添乱
[in the case of Chengdu] How come there isn't any ethnic reference and thug label? How come when similar incidents happen in Xinjiang, they get special treatment? How come the Uyghur enjoy such special treatment? Sichuan also benefits from the Western Development Project, but people there are not viewed as ungrateful beneficiaries of national policy who are good for nothing but creating chaos.
He urges authorities to reflect on the ethnic policy and help minorities establish a positive image of the ethnic group:
中国是一个多民族国家，你要先树立一个健康的民族形象，传播正确的民族文化和信仰，你才能真正意义的代表一个国家，所以我是一名维吾尔族，一个穆斯林，一名中国人，新疆正能量我传播，我为维吾尔族代言，我不是暴徒，我是中国人！
China is a multi-ethnic country. In order for the state to establish its legitimacy, you have to help different ethnic groups establish healthy and positive ethnic cultures and beliefs. I am a Uyghur, a Muslim and a Chinese. I spread a positive image for Xinjiang while I speak for Uyghur. I am not a thug, I am Chinese.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China to Ease One-child Policy · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Off-beat China translated some Chinese netizens reactions to the loosening up one-child policy. The new “long-term balanced development of the population” approach will give more autonomy for city residents to have more than one child. However, many find the ease not really helpful. For example, one comment says:
A second child is out of the question because I can afford none. I don’t even know whether I can earn enough to support myself. If I cannot give my kids a decent life, it’s better not to have them at all.


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Global Voices is Presented With Thuraya IP+ Terminal at News Xchange · Global Voices
Global Voices

In recognition for groundbreaking work with online citizen media, Global Voices was presented with a Thuraya IP+ Terminal at Eurovision's annual News Xchange conference in Marrakech, Morocco on November 15, 2013 for use by the Rising Voices community.
Solana Larsen thanks Thuraya and News Xchange in Marrakech, Morocco on November 15, 2013. Photo © Stefano Santucci/News Xchange (used with permission)
The device which provides instant access to broadband data over an extensive satellite network was presented to Global Voices by John Huddle of Thuraya, a leading mobile satellite communications company. Last year at News Xchange, a similar Thuraya device was presented to Sebastian Meyer, the founder of a photojournalism agency in Iraq called Metrography.
Global Voices Managing Editor, Solana Larsen, said, “The bloggers and citizen journalists international news media have come to rely on as sources for reporting in many countries, don't just come out of nowhere. Communities like Global Voices nurture and support new bloggers and digital activists in parts of the world where news is still waiting to happen.”
Thuraya will be sponsoring Global Voices with the device and one year of free connectivity for work in underrepresented communities with little or no internet.
Amy Selwyn, Managing Director of News Xchange says, “We are really delighted to serve as the connector. With Thuraya being a major sponsor of News Xchange, it makes it possible for us to present this equipment to Global Voices in support of global journalism.”

author: Global Voices


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How Social Media is Changing Cambodian Politics · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Colin Meyn explains how the ‘rapid spread of social media is altering Cambodia’s political landscape.’ The young electorate desirous of change plus the aggressive campaigning of the opposition in the Internet made a huge impact in the recent elections. Interestingly, the Prime Minister also mentioned Facebook several times in his first major speech during the opening of the parliament: “The government has no policy to close Facebook, but I would like to appeal to people not to let Facebook become a tool to damage social stability and insult people.”

author: Mong Palatino


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Michelle Bachelet Wins Chilean Election But Will Face Runoff · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Michelle Bachelet votes on November 17, 2013 in Santiago, Chile. Photo by prensachile3, copyright Demotix
With 46.7% of the vote, former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet was the clear winner of Chile's presidential election. However, the former Executive Director of UN Women will have to face a runoff election in December against conservative candidate Evelyn Matthei, who came in second with 25% of the vote.
Bachelet's win didn't come as a surprise, as some forecasts had even predicted that she could've won an absolute majority of the vote in the first round.
But on social networks users had voiced their discontent with Bachelet's candidacy and her previous administration throughout the campaign. After yesterday's results, many are commenting about the difference between views on social networks and reality in Chile:
Dato para las marcas: Después de los resultados de la elecciones ya sabe que las redes sociales no pesan NADA.
— Javier Ignacio (@Javierdoe) November 18, 2013
A tip for brands: After these election results you know that social networks have NO weight.
#SiVotastePorBachelet me alegra saber que las redes sociales no representan la realidad. Somos 1 grupo de privilegiados con smartphone
— Daniela (@DanielaPazP) November 18, 2013
[If you voted for Bachelet] I'm glad to know that social networks don't represent reality. We are a group of privileged people with a smartphone.
#SiVotastePorBachelet probablemente no tienes twitter
— Humberto Mansilla (@peltoman) November 18, 2013
[If you voted for Bachelet] you probably don't have Twitter.
Me gustaría saber cuantos de los que estan usando el #SiVotastePorBachelet fueron a votar…….. El pais no se cambia en Redes sociales!!!
— Diego Quiroga (@DiegoBatero) November 18, 2013
I would like to know how many of those using #SiVotastePorBachelet went out to vote….You can't change the country on social networks!!
The hashtag #SiVotastePorBachelet [If you voted for Bachelet] began trending in Chile on election day, and has been trending today too, a day after the election.
#SiVotastePorBachelet después no te quejes de las marchas estudiantiles.
— Bastian Mella (@don_bestian) November 17, 2013
[If you voted for Bachelet] don't complain about student protests.
#SiVotastePorBachelet -Empieza a despedirte de tu Pyme -menos sustentabilidad -dale la bienvenida a Monsanto -más termoeléctricas Sigo??
— Claudio Consales (@clAUDIoXC) November 18, 2013
[If you voted for Bachelet]
-Start saying goodbye to your Pyme (small and medium-sized business)
-Less sustainability
-Welcome Monsanto
-More thermoelectric plants
Should I continue?
Conservative candidate Evelyn Matthei will face Michelle Bachelet in a runoff vote on December 15, 2013. Photo by Fernando Lavoz, copyright Demotix
Meanwhile, Jeaneth Alexandra points out:
Cada vez es más fuerte la presencia de las mujeres. Dos candidatas, #Bachelet y #Matthei a la segunda vuelta para la presidencia de #Chile.
— Jeaneth Alexandra (@jeanethburbano) November 18, 2013
The presence of women is getting stronger. Two [female] candidates, Bachelet and Matthei, to the runoff for the presidency in Chile.
And Bachelet and Matthei supporters congratulate their candidates:
Felicitaciones a la próxima presidenta de mi país … Una mujer llena de convicciones, estoy contigo @ComandoMichelle !!!
— Constanza Zurita V. (@czvaldebenito_) November 18, 2013
Congratulations to the next president of my country…a woman full of convictions. I'm with you [Michelle Bachelet]
Vamos por esa 2da vuelta el 15 de dic, por un gobierno lleno de cambios @VotoEvelyn2014 #EvelynUn7ParaChile #EvelynMatthei
— Cote Boegel (@CoteBoegel) November 18, 2013
We are going for that runoff on December 15, for a government full of changes
Finally, with a conciliatory attitude, Julio Arriagada writes:
Excelente x los chilenos q votaron.Ahora se debe motivar a los q no les importó no votar . Felicidades a Bachelet y Matthei . Viva Chile!
— Julio Arriagada (@Julioarriagad) November 17, 2013
Excellent for Chileans who voted. Now we must motivate those who didn't care about voting. Congratulations to Bachelet and Matthei. Viva Chile!


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NACLA-Global Voices Partnership Tackles Gender & Sexuality in Latin America & the Caribbean  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Women of Latin America and the Caribbean took to the Streets of Bogota during the 12th International Feminist Meeting in 2011 to demand an end to violence against women and girls. Photo from Flickr user Say NO – UNiTE, under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
As part of the partnership between Global Voices and NACLA (North American Congress on Latin America), a team of five Global Voices authors from Latin America and the Caribbean will contribute weekly articles for a series about women, gender, and LGBT issues. We draw from failures and successes in Latin America and the Caribbean with an eye toward equality, advancement, and resistance for and by women and LGBT people across all borders.
We asked these five authors to tell us why they think that covering these themes in the region is important. We also asked them to share some of the online projects that they’ve discovered while covering LGBT and gender issues.
Sandra
Sandra Abd'Allah-Alvarez Ramírez [es] is Cuban. She describes herself as “a bisexual woman who loves another woman with whom she is formally married.”
“I’m Cuban, and that’s the main reason why I insistently tackle non-heteronormative sexuality, because in Cuba we have much to accomplish in that regard,” she explains. Sandra, who had to move to Germany to marry her partner, is part of Proyecto Arcoiris [es], a group of activists who are fighting against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Cuba.
Sandra pointed us to Pikara Magazine [es], a website where she often contributes [es] articles and interviews. Pikara Magazine covers news with a gender perspective, featuring people and stories that rarely appear in the media.
She also recommends visiting the blog Feminist Network Project, which seeks to “connect feminist activists around the world.”
Sandra blogs at Negra cubana tenía que ser [es] and tweets at @negracubana [es].
Ángel
“I am the son of a wonderful single mother. [She is] a person with an indomitable character, an independent spirit, and has an enviable strength. That’s why I'm interested in issues of gender equity,” Ángel Carrión [es], a Puerto Rican musician and blogger, explains.
Ángel says he has always been interested in stories about people who are marginalized by society. He thinks that valuable knowledge and perspectives are lost when people are excluded. Furthermore, Ángel feels he has a duty to draw attention to “the invisible,” and to help educate and change mentalities about LGBT and gender issues.
He recommends several projects from Puerto Rico, like Proyecto Matria [es], an organization that seeks to help victims of domestic and sexual violence on the island. He also mentions the Committee Against Homophobia and Discrimination [es], a group that started at the University of Puerto Rico, and the LGBTT Community Center of Puerto Rico [es], which offers a variety of services (legal and psychological) for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, and Transgender community.
You can follow Ángel on Twitter @angel15amc [es] and read his blog Diálogo Libre [es].
2013 pride and equality march in Santiago, Chile. Photo by Felipe Longoni, uploaded to Flickr by Movilh Chile under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Laura
Laura Vidal is a Venezuelan researcher exploring societies, their culture, and their stories. She currently lives in France.
In her opinion, “gender equality and the portrayal of movements defending the freedom of LGBT communities are fraught with misunderstandings—many intentional.” She adds that in Latin America, “the concept of gender is fiercely attacked by conservative ideas that have changed little over the years.”
Laura thinks that the debate about gender and LGBT issues in the region needs to improve, and that it is troubling to see how different parts of society dehumanize women and the LGBT community.
When asked about projects dealing with these issues, Laura mentioned the work of Coral Herrera Gómez [es], a Spanish scholar focusing on gender theory who Laura is interviewing for this series. She also mentioned the NGO Aliadas en Cadena, which organizes workshops for women affected by poverty in Venezuela.
Laura tweets at @lenguaraz.
Pamela
Pamela Martínez Achecar [es], a Dominican economist and researcher, recognizes that although Latin America and Caribbean countries have advanced rapidly in economic development and in legislation to expand freedoms for its citizens, women and the LGBT community continue to struggle to receive the same treatment their male, often straight, peers receive.
She thinks that “it is therefore vital to guide the focus of public attention to these struggles, many waged in silence, to raise awareness and to highlight the great efforts of many who are fighting against inequality.”
Pamela recommends following the Center for Gender Studies [es] from the Santo Domingo Institute of Technology, a center “devoted to higher education, research, and advocacy on public policies from a gender perspective.” She also pointed us to the Dominican feminist organization Colectiva Mujer y Salud [es] (Women and Health Collective).
Pamela blogs at Pensando a contracorriente [es] and tweets at @LlamenmePam [es].
Andrea
For Mexican journalist Andrea Arzaba, “gender equality doesn’t exist in Latin America, especially in rural communities.”
Andrea has met women from Southern Mexico who are not allowed to study beyond secondary school, “simply because they were born as women.” She has also witnessed cases of women who endure physical and psychological abuse because they are economically dependent on a man. “These are some of the cases that have inspired me to write about gender equality and to bring these issues to the online discussion.”
Andrea follows the work of World Pulse, a nonprofit social media enterprise that’s using digital media to give women from around the world a space where they can connect to each other and speak out about their issues. She also recommends following the blog Mujeres Viajeras [es] (Traveling women).
Andrea started The Sunflower Post, a blog covering news from around the world with a gender perspective, and is currently writing for several websites like Future Challenges, Animal Político [es] and IJNET. You can read her personal blog at One Lucky Life and follow her on Twitter at @andrea_arzaba.
*
Global Voices’ mission is to shed light on stories that remain untold in the mainstream media. Women, gender, and LGBT issues are generally either invisible or distorted in public discourse around the world. This invisibilization is one of the reasons we have made the coverage of these important topics one of our priorities, and a part of our partnership with NACLA.
Stay tuned to read Sandra, Angel, Laura, Pamela, and Andrea’s posts during the following weeks!


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Rising Indonesian Economy Must Address Food Security Issue · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

John McCarthy and Zahari Zen urge the Indonesian government to implement ‘transformative policies’ to solve hunger and food insecurity in the country:
The food produced is too expensive, leaving poor households vulnerable. Today, even in rural areas, the majority of people are net food buyers. This is why the poor tend to be vulnerable to price fluctuations and any measure involving price hikes has immense risks. If food is expensive, poor households have to cope. They eat cheaper, less nutritious food. Instant noodles substitute for proper meals.


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What Are Xi’s Plans for China’s Media? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

David Bandurski from China media project looked into the media policy of the new leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, in particular after the Third Plenum meeting. Against the background of the setting up of a new national security committee, the question to be addressed is:
How might the Party re-tool and redefine its approach to the internet and social media in light of its shifting approach to national security?


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Bangladesh: Is Restorative Justice the Best Way Forward? · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

In the backdrop of Bangladesh’s violent history of birth, ongoing violent political practices, and high rates of homicide, mob violence, neighborhood/street violence, violent labor unrests, family violence and intimate partner violence, the need for restorative justice is paramount. Without an intervening model aimed at resolution, we will remain a nation mired in answering violence with violence, an eye for an eye, which is exactly what retributive justice propagates.
In a well-researched post, Nadine S Murshid argues that if Bangladesh wishes to break the cycle of violence and find a way to heal, ‘restorative justice’ (instead of retributive justice) has to be the way forward.


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Bicycles as a Solution in the Streets of Damascus · Global Voices
Syria Untold

This post is cross-posted from Syria Untold.
If you walked the streets of Damascus these days, you would probably run into a young man or woman riding a bicycle, happily overtaking a car trapped at one of the endless checkpoints plaguing the city. The promotion of bicycles in Damascus is part of a campaign called She Wants a Bicycle Now led by college students, most of them from the Faculty of Engineering.
Young participants of the She Wants a Bike campaign. Source: Syria Untold
In Syria, bicycles have been traditionally considered a lower-class means of transportation, used only by those who could not afford a motor vehicle. They are also associated with male riders. To break both stereotypes and provide a solution to the traffic jams created by checkpoints, a group of young men and women decided to start riding bikes to travel around the city, and encourage others to follow suit.
Their aim, as the organizers told Syria Untold, is “to change the habits of the community and promote the use of alternative means of transportation.” They consider the cycling culture a good way to improve society by saving fuel and reducing pollution.
“It is also a channel for Syrians to break their fear of tradition, which has prevented many from riding bikes. For years, concerns over what people will say have stopped women, especially those wearing hijab, from using them.”
Young woman rides a bike in Damascus. Source: She Wants a Bike campaign´s Facebook page
To this end, the organizers called on everyone interested in joining the campaign to park their bikes by their universities, quite a symbolic gesture, since bikes are traditionally not allowed on Syrian campuses.
The initiative was very successful, and hundreds of bicycles were seen on campuses on October 4, photographs of which were shared through Facebook afterwards. Many young girls were among those sharing their photosgraphs, along with personal experiences. One of the girls recounted:
I wear hijab, and a manteau” (dark coat used by Muslim women from conservative backgrounds), and this was my first time riding a bike. I left my house in Mashru Dummar at 7am, along with my brother, who encouraged me to do this. I went down Rabwe, and continued to Mazzeh street, and there I parted with my brother, who had to go a different way. “You can do this on your own”, he told me, “break your barrier of fear and don’t worry about it.” This is where my adventure started. I continued and met many checkpoints on my way, but I have to say everyone was very nice to me, some even smiled and blessed me when they saw me. It was an amazing and liberating experience and I encourage every girl to do the same. It feels a little awkward in the beginning but you get used to it very quickly.
Among the obstacles to spread the use of bicycles in the country is the fact that they are usually quite expensive for an average Syrian – their cost has not decreased despite the currently dramatic situation – and the fact that women riding is still frowned upon in conservative areas.
However, the organizers of the campaign are committed to overcoming these obstacles by providing solutions to improve the country from the inside, pedal by pedal.
This post is cross-posted from Syria Untold.

author: Syria Untold


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Cushy New Job for Sacked Russian Defense Minister · Global Voices
Nina Jobe

(Now Former) Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia, 25 November 2010, photo by Kremlin press service, public domain.
Last week Russia's former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov announced that he will be serving as Director of a state-owned “Russian Technologies” subsidiary. The declaration came as something of a surprise due to the very public nature of Serdyukov’s ouster from the Ministry of Defense in November 2012. He was sacked after large scale real-estate fraud was uncovered at state-owned defense logistics contractor, Oboronservice. Rumor has it that Serdyukov was present when investigators raided the apartment of Evgenia Vasilyeva, his deputy — allegedly the two were lovers. The Oboronservice fraud investigation is currently continuing.
Russian bloggers reacted with bitter humor at the news of Serdyukov's new appointment so soon after his fall, and while still under investigation. LiveJournal blogger Vlad Shurigin mocked [ru] Serdyukov’s past career as a furniture salesman and his alleged future career at the helm of an agricultural machinery producer.
В общем, теперь из “Толи Табуреткина” он превратился в “Толю Тракториста”
Well, basically, now he's gone from “Anatole the Chair” to “Anatole the Tractor Driver”
Others mocked Vasilyeva, who is currently under house arrest as the investigation continues. Vladimir Soloviev tweeted:
Ну вот и всё. Всем спасибо. Сердюков примеряет очередной начальственный пиджачок. Уже не свидетель! Теперь директор!!!! Васильеву в замы?
— Vladimir Soloviev (@VRSoloviev) November 15, 2013
Well, that’s it then. Thank you very much. Serdyukov is trying out another executive position. He ain't a witness anymore! Now he is a director!!! Will Vasilyeva be a deputy?
Opposition blogger, Ilya Yashin, reminded his readers of President Putin's promises to combat corruption in his administration:
Путин пошел на решительные меры. Борьба с коррупцией в Минобороне закончилась трудоустройством Сердюкова в новое ведомство. #ПартияЖуликов
— Илья Яшин (@IlyaYashin) November 15, 2013
Putin has taken drastic measures. The fight against corruption in the Ministry of Defense has ended with Serdyukov’s appointment to a new office. #PartyOfCrooks
On his Facebook page, the journalist Aydar Muzhdabaev noted [ru] that regardless of common assumptions that he was behind the corruption, Serdyukov is currently merely a witness in the Oboronservice fraud case — not a suspect.
In general, though, the whole affair casts a bad light on Russia, thinks [ru] blogger Mikhail Belaev:
Знаете, это даже не государственный позор. Это – унижение всей нашей нации. Публичное унижение каждого из нас. А так же прямое заявление Кремлёвской власти о том, что для их касты небожителей закона не существует. […] История Сердюкова с его чудесным избавлением от уголовного дела после крупнейшего коррупционного скандала и последующее возвращение этой персоны на госслужбу – прямое тому подтверждение.
You know, this is not even a disgrace for our government. This is the humiliation of our entire nation. The public humiliation of every one of us.  And also a direct statement from the Kremlin that no laws apply its caste of “gods.”  […] The story of Serdyukov with his miraculous deliverance from a criminal case after a major corruption scandal and the subsequent return to the civil service is a direct confirmation of this.
Belaev may be headed for more disappointment. The Oboronservice fraud case potentially involves more people than those currently under investigation. At the same time, Serdyukov has not fully cooperated [ru] with Russia's Investigative Committee, a fact that has irks them greatly. Is his unexpected appointment a reward for his silence?

author: Nina Jobe


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Ecuador: “The indigenous movement will continue” · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

“The government may continue its attempt to render us invisible, but our struggle cannot be defeated. As long as there is injustice, as long as the profound inequalities between the urban and the rural remain, the indigenous movement will continue.”
Manuela Picq spoke with Carlos Pérez Guartambel, the current leader of Ecuarunari [es] (Confederation of the Kichwa of Ecuador), at an event co-sponsored by NACLA (North American Congress on Latin America) and CLACS (Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University). NACLA has published a transcript of the conversation.


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Egypt: Mohamed Mahmoud Won’t Be Forgotten · Global Voices
Rayna St.

Back in November 2011, violent clashes erupted in Mohamed Mahmoud Street, in downtown Cairo. The violence took place outside the Interior Ministry headquarters, as Egypt was preparing for its first parliamentary elections after Hosni Mubarak stepped down and while the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) ruled the country. The clashes ended with tens of deaths and thousands injured. The 2012 commemoration occurred under now-deposed Muslim Brotherhood backed president Mohamed Morsi, and was marked by other clashes. This year's anniversary is set to unfold in a tense situation as both military and Muslim Brotherhood supporters have announced marches today [19 November 2013].
In order to avoid possible violent encounters with either pro-army or pro-Muslim Brotherhood rallies and to distance themselves from groups pursuing own political agendas, individuals organized a march yesterday [18 November 2013]. The decision was taken for those who identify with neither of the opposing factions to march at 5pm Cairo time from Mohamed Street to one of the martyr's home in nearby Abdeen Palace. In the early evening, more than a thousand were marching in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square.
There are many reasons why protesters are unwilling to join marches with pro-military and Muslim Brotherhood figures and supporters. Blogger Zeinobia reminds us of one of them:
I did not forget what the MB politicians and opportunists did back then, I did not forget either what the media, honorable citizens, SCAF and Police used to said and do !! Yes what they did !!
Under now-deposed president Morsi's rule, the first anniversary of the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes left three dead adding to more than 45 martyrs from 2011.
Zeinobia's reminder is echoed by Twitter user Maher Hamoud, who recalls reactions from Muslim Brotherhood officials calling the protesters under attack ‘thugs’:
“Ta3rees: being pimp” is an Egyptian term foreigers should learn following #MohamedMahmoud anniversary, where murderers commemorate victims
— Maher Hamoud (@MaherHamoud1) November 18, 2013
The rally was thus a genuine remembrance of friends, relatives and all those who have lost their lives in clashes – with both the police and military:
“Down with all traitors” @cliffcheney يسقط من خان about to be set on fire. Being soaked in oil or something #Egypt pic.twitter.com/1uWVbJieAA
— R (@MaliciaRogue) November 18, 2013
The entrance of Mohamed Mahmoud had the very explicit banner, reading “Revolutionaries only: entry prohibited for Muslim Brotherhood, Army and Felool” (‘felool’ are the remnants of Mubarak's era):
Banner at the entry of Mohamed Mahmoud Street, 18 Nov 2013. Image by @justicentric, used with permission.
Many vividly remember the uncontrolled violence then-ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) unleashed on protesters:
#MohamedMahmoud Mohamed Mahmoud…Never going to forget your crimes #SCAF.
— #MohamedMahmoud (@TheFlyingRebels) November 18, 2013
Amro Ali digs up tweets from 2011:
(Tweet from Nov 2011): “You should go home, so when we die you guys can build the country – you're the educated ones,” #Egypt‘ian in #Tahrir
— Amro Ali (@_amroali) November 18, 2013
(Tweet Nov 2011) #Egypt “The only country where youth aren't afraid to die, but are afraid to tell their parents they're going to Tahrir.”
— Amro Ali (@_amroali) November 18, 2013
(2011) @mohabdelhamid Protesters r writing their parents phone #s on their bodies so that they wld be contacted if they were killed. #Tahrir
— Amro Ali (@_amroali) November 18, 2013
widely circulated image during #MohamedMahmoud was this protestor rescuing an old man away from the tear gas. #Egypt pic.twitter.com/FZdus1CRSo
— Amro Ali (@_amroali) November 18, 2013
A defining moment during #MohamedMahmoud was this old man standing confidently before the security forces. #Egypt pic.twitter.com/sXcAuA6Os7
— Amro Ali (@_amroali) November 18, 2013
The Mohamed Mahmoud clashes (video, Ar) are (un)famous with the use of allegedly stronger-than-usual tear gaz which caused epileptic fails, coughing blood and collapsing in multiple cases. Amro Ali recalls:
A popular Joke at #MohamedMahmoud: “New slogan at Tahrir: the people demand the return of the old tear gas!!” – (Nov 2011)
— Amro Ali (@_amroali) November 18, 2013
More #MohamedMahmoud jokes: “Tear gas certainly clears the smokers lung”, “Bring back a tear gas canister from Tahrir & get a free shisha!”
— Amro Ali (@_amroali) November 18, 2013
Another feature of these shocking times was the ferocity of the army and police: noticeably, eye snipers came to the forefront leaving many injured or blind. In turn, a number of monuments, including iconic Um Kolthoum statue in Cairo and various Graeco-Roman statues in the coastal city of Alexandria, wore eye patches. Dr. Ahmed Harara is a particularly iconic figure of this targetted violence: Harara lost one eye on 28 January 2011 and was known around Tahrir Square for wearing an eye patch which carried that date; the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes and eye snipers claimed Harara's second eye:
I will never forget when activists tweeted that Harara has lost his 2nd eye. I felt as if #Egypt‘s revolution has gone dark #MohamedMahmoud
— Nervana Mahmoud (@Nervana_1) November 18, 2013
Two years after, he was present at the rally calling for a complete reform of the police:
Dr. Ahmed Harara now on #Abdeen Stage pic.twitter.com/8vETpLaQlW @Sharkorlando #MohamedMahmoud http://t.co/U0zJon8Mi1
— Ana Mubasher (@Ana_Mubasher) November 18, 2013
Others having lost their sight also remember:
Reda Abdelaziz, shot in eye on #MohamedMahmoud while trying to pick up body of a friend, he's now completely blind. pic.twitter.com/VfqJ0102Gn
— Kristen McTighe (@KristenMcTighe) November 18, 2013
Abdelaziz, who was 19 years old when he was shot, said last thing he saw was the police officers face who shot him. #Egypt #MohamedMahmoud
— Kristen McTighe (@KristenMcTighe) November 18, 2013
Egyptian independent collective Mosireen released a powerful video juxtaposing then-spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior speech calling “for the glory of the martyrs” while police and army were beating and killing protestors prior to dragging their dead bodies into trash:
The video was screened during the 18 November rally gathering explicit reactions:
Video by @mosireen played with MOI statement spliced with footage of police killing protesters. Crowd responds: pic.twitter.com/bWlzyrjC5F
— Sharif Kouddous (@sharifkouddous) November 18, 2013
Mosireen's video, entitled ‘Never Forget. Always Remember’ is especially important as doublespeak continues: in a statement released on 16 November 2013 (Ar), the Ministry of Interior prepares the commemoration of Mohamed Mahmoud blaming “third party” for deaths having occurred during the 2011 clashes and (now-deposed president) Morsi for deaths during the commemoration back in 2012. The CIA and NGO Freedom House are also among the guilty, and the Ministry of Interior keeps on presenting itself as the people's “first protector” keeping “a watchful eye [on] this country and [on] its citizens.”
The violence has produced an incredible amount of street art, now forever disappeared but captured by Ahram Online's photographer Mai Shaheen. New graffitis have found a place to live and blossom for this year's anniversary.
Motorbikes — improvised ambulances back in 2011 — mark their glorious return: independent videojournalist Simon Hanna released an incredible video (Ar, En subtitles) where he speaks to car electrician Ezzat Hamed who had to close his shop on Mohamed Mahmoud Street due to clashes, and who “began building models from scrap metal, spent tear gas canisters and bullet cartridges”:
A Memorial built in Tahrir Square caught the attention: the monument, claimed to be a memorial for the martyrs having died during the Revolution, was built up by the army and inaugurated on 18 November 2013. Many saw this as offense, and decried it as a masquerade of justice as ‘no transitional justice starts by building a memorial’.
#Tahrir Finalized Monument pic.twitter.com/v6Pjh5PB8E
— Quick SoTic (@kikhote) November 18, 2013
Hours after the Memorial was inaugurated, it was first defaced and then protesters started (Ar) attempts to destroy it (video, Ar):
‘Down with all traitors: army, old regime (Mubarak's) and the Brotherhood’ written on Tahrir's memorial. #Egypt pic.twitter.com/dLlj2rfquw
— Galal (@GalalAmrG) November 18, 2013
Egypt braces for an even tenser week: activists have already been arrested for distributing flyers calling for an anniversary rally. November 19 is not just the first day of the week-long 2011 clashes but also marks today's army strongman, General El-Sissi's birthday. Later this week, Cairo will also host the Ghana vs. Egypt football game and the Constitutional Committee will finish voting on the new constitiution's draft.

author: Rayna St.


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Egyptian Satirist Bassem Youssef Terminates his TV Contract · Global Voices
Victor Salama

This week has seen yet another episode of the Bassem Youssef saga. Unfortunately, it wasn't aired on TV or YouTube but was of the legal kind. Indeed, the satirist, and his production partner Qsoft, have announced on his official Facebook page that they have decided to terminate their contract with the program's host channel, CBC.
Earlier this month, CBC has decided to suspend the popular TV show, whose return was much anticipated by the 30 million weekly viewers around the Arab world, alleging that the content of the first episode “violated what was agreed upon with CBC.”
Khalid Mansour, writer and comedian (he's the world famous “Gamahir” character in the show) tweeted this laconic and ironic picture:
The lesson is over, stupid. #Egypt #مصر pic.twitter.com/bLMrjtS973
— Khalid Mansour (@KhalidMans) November 17, 2013
The news was more or less expected and for some, it was even a reason to hope. Among them is film director Ahmad Abdallah, who tweeted [ar]:
اتمنى لو #باسم_يوسف فعلا فسخ عقد cbc انه اول مايتم الفسخ قانونا يعرض الحلقة الموقوفة ع يوتيوب؟ويخليهاCreative commonsفالقنوات تذيعها؟
— Ahmad Abdalla (@ahmada2) November 17, 2013
I hope that if Bassem Youssef terminates his contract with CBC, he'll post the banned episode on YouTube under Creative Commons license so that channels can show it
Writer Bassem Sabry is also optimistic:
I really hope this is the beginning of an era for Bassem Youssef rather than an end of one. He can pull it off.
— Bassem Sabry باسم (@Bassem_Sabry) November 17, 2013
The hashtag [ar] #واحشنا_يا_باسم #WeMissYouBassem expressed the Egyptian Twitterati's desire to see Youssef's return soon. Popular street artist Keizer dedicated one of his painting to Bassem which goes to show that his popularity is still very high despite only being on air once since the beginning of the season:
Artist Keizer dedicates one of his drawings to Youssef

author: Victor Salama


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Iran: You Tube and Nuclear Talk · Global Voices
Farid

Iran’s Foreign Minister Turns to YouTube to talk about Iranian nuclear program. Javad Zarif who is very active on social media and has about 600,000 fans on his Facebook page, talks about nuclear program,Iran's rights,”respect” and “dignity”.Iran and world powers will start another round of negotiation about Iranian nuclear program tomorrow in Geneva.


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Largest South Korean Church’s Embezzlement Scandal Just Got Worse · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

The largest Pentecostal Christian congregation in South Korea and the world, Yoido Full Gospel church, has repeated come under fire for its founder Cho Yong-gi and his family's involvement in a series of ugly scandals. Last weekend, more revelations were made about Cho's alleged extramarital affairs and church money misappropriations, apart from the existing embezzlement and tax evasion charges that made headlines earlier this year.
A group of church elders who used to side with the founder finally came clean and held a press conference disclosing new details and presenting evidence about Cho's alleged misdeeds. The total amount of money mentioned in this conference alone is astronomical -it easily surpasses 100 million US dollars, and most scandalously, 1.4 million US dollars were allegedly given to a female vocalist in France named Jeong who allegedly had an extramarital affair with Cho.
Sharp criticism of the pastor was easily found on Korea's Twittersphere from Christians and non-Christians alike.
Pastor Cho Yong-gi giving a sermon at Yeoido Full Gospel Church. Image by Flickr user @Theholyspirit
조용기먹사 퇴진촉구 현재 기자회견장 모습입니다. (펌) pic.twitter.com/xfdWRGli2h
— 아리솔#바람소리 (@ksk204913) November 14, 2013
This is a photo of the press conference calling on Pastor Cho Yong-gi to step down. (captured other's tweet) [Unable to locate the original tweet]
조용기 목사가 순복음교회의 돈 수천억원을 빼돌리고, 불륜관계에 있는 성악가 정아무개씨의 입을 틀어막기 위해 15억원을 줬다 합니다. 이게 목사가 할 일입니까? 사이비 교주가 할 일입니까? http://t.co/lQW1R6YIEJ
— 자로 [시국선언] (@zarodream) November 14, 2013
Pastor Cho Yong-gi allegedly had siphoned off several billions of church money and furthermore, in order to silence Ms. Jeong –a vocalist with whom Cho had an extramarital affair with– he gave her 1.5 billion Korean won [1.4 million US dollars]. Does this sound to you like something a pastor would do? Or more like a cult leader?
순복음교회 장로들이 조용기 부자의 수천억대 횡령을 폭로했지만, 문제는 다수의 교인들이 여전히 조목사를 신격화하면서 아무렇지도 않게 생각한다는 것. 한국교회의 부패는 목회자뿐 아니라 신자들에게 책임이 있음.
— 백찬홍 (@mindgood) November 14, 2013
Full Gospel church's elders have disclosed that Cho and his sons have embezzled several billions of the church's money, but still, a majority of regular church-goers continue to treat Pastor Cho as some sort of deity and don't take this case seriously. Church leadership is not the only one who should be blamed for Korean church's corruption, but also those church members, they do bear certain responsibility.
@john6311:천국에서는 한국돈이 쓸모가 없답니다.
@john6311: Korean won is totally useless in heaven.
헌금하고 천국 가려는 호구들 조용기만 천국만들어 줬네요.ㅋㅋ RT @jhem91: 은퇴하면서 퇴직금 2백억, 그 후에도 월급으로 다달이 7500만원씩 수령, 누구냐구요? 조용기목사 랍니다. 큰 은혜 받으셨네^^. 그돈 갖다 바친 모지리들은 뭡니까?
— 정의석 (@samuel6210) November 15, 2013
Those doormats who pay their way to heaven by giving church offerings– they made this place the heaven for Cho Yong-gi. RT @jhem91: Pastor Cho Yong-gi received 20 billion won [18.7 million US dollars] as his ‘retirement money’ and then he received an extra 75 million [71 thousand US dollars] on a monthly basis. He is so blessed. What happens to those idiots who funded those money?
기독교 지도자들이 썩을대로 썩은것 같아 참으로 애석하다 옛날 중동 지역에서 근무당시 존경했던 조용기 목사 였건만 하나님을 믿는 사람 으로써 마음이 무겁다
— 정의.진실.용기상식. (@a83396258) November 15, 2013
I find it so lamentable that church leaders are corrupt beyond belief. As a Christian and a person who used to respect Pastor Cho Yong-gi when I was working in the Arab region, I feel so depressed.
“조용기 목사, 퇴직금 200억 몰래 수령 5년간 특별선교비 총 600억 챙기기도” http://t.co/T2SC6qm5Jv 교회의 대형화는 돈의 축복이지 하나님의 축복은 아닌 듯 하다 돈이 흘러 넘치는 교회엔 타락도 흘러 넘치는 것 같다^^
— 제니스 (@futurism2121) November 15, 2013
Pastor Cho Yong-gi was given 20 billion won [18.7 million US dollars] of retirement money without publicly declaring the amount, and also received 60 billion won [56 million US dollars] of church money which was set aside for ‘special mission work’ (spread out) for five years. ‘A Church getting bigger’– it is not a blessing from God, but merely a blessing of money, and in a church where money overflows, corruption also overflows.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Long-Awaited Madagascar Elections Go to Second Round · Global Voices
Mialy Andriamananjara

Madagascar is headed to a presidential run-off. Results have been slow to trickle in since elections were held on October 25, 2013 -the first since a military-backed coup in 2009- but the final tally shows that candidate Jean-Louis Robinson won 21.1 percent of the vote, and Hery Rajaonarimampianina won about 15.9 percent.
The second round is scheduled for December 20. These two candidates are considered to be proxies for former President Marc Ravalomanana, who was ousted in 2009, and Andry Rajoelina, who is the current transition president. Both Ravalomanana and Rajoelina were barred from the presidential elections.
The elections were highly anticipated, and while polling was “largely peaceful” and international observers were quick to describe the process as “free and fair”, many potential voters were prevented from casting their vote due to problems with the electoral lists, allAfrica.com reported.
The two candidates who will go to the second round of elections: Jean-Louis Robinson (left) and Hery Rajaonarimampianina. Photo via Ta Ramses on Facebook (used with permission)
Bloggers reacted to the results. Lalatiana Pitchboule, on his blog [fr], wrote:
Au cœur d’un bureau populaire lors de la soirée électorale, je peux témoigner de l’enthousiasme de nos citoyens vis-à-vis du processus. Et de leur respect des résultats. Magnifique illustration de démocratie populaire ou chaque bulletin annoncé faisait l’objet d’une joyeuse approbation.
I was present in a polling station during the electoral night and I can attest to the enthusiasm of our citizens for the electoral process. I witnessed their respect of the results. Magnificent show of democracy where each vote announced was saluted by joyous approval
A video from Tossoa Bacca illustrated the atmosphere at a polling station [mg]:
Others tried to project the results of the second-round vote based on first-round results:
#mdg2013: la carte des résultats par district pourrait permettre une projection des résultats du 2ème tour… http://t.co/X1FT6qzOEc
— andrimaso (@andrimaso) November 12, 2013
#mdg2013: A map of the results per district can give indication of how the run off might look like… http://t.co/X1FT6qzOEc
#Madagascar J.L Robinson n'a aucune chance de gagner http://t.co/QhDyfktrSm La HAT fera tout pour garder le pouvoir #Madagasikara #Mdg2013
— Gasy.ImpACT (@GasyImpACT) November 13, 2013
#Madagascar: Candidate JL Robinson cannot win. The HAT [The Transitional Authority] will do anything to stay in power.
Some pessimistic voices already predict yet another crisis, as reported on Radio France Internationale [fr]:
tous les ingrédients d’une nouvelle crise sont d’ores et déjà présents : des institutions peu fiables, une élection organisée à la va-vite sans le préalable d’un contexte apaisé… D’ailleurs, plusieurs candidats ont demandé l’annulation du premier tour. L’un de ses propres alliés a accusé le candidat d’Etat, Monsieur Hery Rajaornarimampianina, d’avoir enfreint les règles et a exigé sa disqualification ! Les exemples de contestation de la sincérité du vote sont légion. Dans ce contexte, si le candidat d’Etat devait remporter au deuxième tour, il n’aurait jamais la légitimité nécessaire pour asseoir son autorité présidentielle.
Il n’y a aucune chance que le candidat de l’opposition gagne les élections car ceux qui tiennent l’Etat aujourd’hui feront tout pour garder le pouvoir. Le « ni-ni » (ni candidature de Rajoelina ni celle de Ravalomanana) a été une énorme erreur, comme les résultats du premier tour le montrent. Les électeurs ont remis en selle les deux camps qui étaient responsables de la crise de 2009 et ont éliminé tous ceux qui se revendiquaient de la troisième voie
All ingredients for a new crisis are already present: weak institutions, hastily organized elections without previously appeasing the environment… Additionally, several candidates have requested annulment of the first rounds. One of his own allies has accused the transitional regime's candidate, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, of having transgressed rules and demanded his disqualification! Examples of rebuttal of votes’ reliability abound. In this context, if the transitional regime's candidate would win the second rounds, he would never have the necessary legitimacy to settle his presidential authority.
There is no chance that the opposition's candidate win the elections because those who are in power today will do anything to keep it. The “neither nor” (neither Rajoelina's nor Ravalomanana's candidacies were accepted) was a monumental mistake, as demonstrated by the first round results. Voters reestablished both sides responsible for the 2009 crisis and eliminated all those who requested a third way.
Meanwhile, despite electoral laws prohibiting the transition president from explicitly coming out in favor of a candidate, Andry Rajoelina has publicly confirmed his support of Rajaonarimampianina, his former Minister of Finance. Radio France Internationale [fr] reported:
“Jean-Eric Rakotoarisoa, professeur de droit à l'Université d'Antananarivo, le confirme : « Ce soutien d'Andry Rajoelina peut amener à la disqualification d'Hery Rajaonarimampianina. Pour ça, il faudrait que la Cour électorale spéciale [CES, ndlr] soit saisie d'une requête, et quelle détermine si, dans les faits, Hery Rajaonarimampianina a bénéficié, ou bénéficie, du soutien d'Andry Rajoelina. »
Jean-Eric Rakotoarisoa, Law Professor at the University of Antananarivo, confirms : “Andry Rajoelina's support can lead to Hery Rajaonarimampianina's disqualification. For this to happen, the Special Electoral Court would investigate and determine if in fact, Hery Rajaonarimampianiana has benefited, or benefits, from Andry Rajoelina's support”.
Journalist Sébastien Hervieu reported the reaction of the opposition candidate to this well-known but unexpected support [fr]:
Vendredi, Robinson Jean Louis m'avait dit qu'il demanderait la démission de #Rajoelina s'il soutenait officiellement un candidat #mdg2013 — Sébastien Hervieu (@Seb_Hervieu) November 10, 2013
Friday, Robinson Jean Louis told me he would request Rajoelina's resignation if he officialy supported a candidate
Susanne compared electoral season to Carnival in Madagascar:
“In Madagascar voting is not so obvious. The are no political parties. No election manifestos. No ideology, no left- or right-, or center, no Republicans or Democrates [sic]. It's hard to make an informed choice if you can not [sic] compare programs. So how can a candidate capture a voter's attention? With T-shirts. Many t-shirts. And songs. One candidate is called Sylvain. His slogan is “Sylvain sur vingt” (quite funny). His song is brilliant: Bye Bye unemployment, bye bye famin[e], bye bye disease.  To me, half of the songs sounds like straight from church, the others like Caribbean carnival hits. Some candidates even dress like calypso artists.”

author: Mialy Andriamananjara


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Massive Railway Project between Niamey and Cotonou Underway   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

A 1,500 km-long railway project between Niamey, the capital city of Niger and Cotonou, the capital city of Benin has been green lighted by the authorities of the two countries and construction will begin on March 2014 [fr].  Francois Ndiaye in Niamey unpacks the set up of the financial agreement [fr] that includes multiple stakeholders and will be overseen by the investment group Bolloré [fr]. Benoît ILLASSA in Cotonou wonders why private investing groups from either Niger or Cotonou were not selected to pilot such projects. The projected budget  is set at 100 billions CFA (about 2 billions USD).  The railway should extend in the future to three other capital cities of the west african region : Abidjan, Ouagadougou and Lomé.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Monitoring Media Bias in Malaysia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Tessa Houghton shares the findings of a study which monitored media bias in Malaysia during the 13th General Elections a few months ago:
Malaysian citizens who relied on English and Bahasa Malaysia newspapers and/or television as their media source/s during the GE13 campaign were not provided with fair and accurate information with which to construct informed voting preferences, with clear voting patterns emerging along these strata of info-communicative diversity and scarcity, and the media used more as a tool of division than of reconciliation.


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“Underground” Newspaper Launched in Mozambique  · Global Voices
@Verdade Newspaper

A new “underground” newspaper called “Vigilant Citizen”, launched in Mozambique on the eve of elections, is being shared in .PDF by the blog Moçambique para Todos [pt]. Its cover carries the iconic image of protesters with the poster “Who keeps voting for these guys?”
“Vigilant Citizen” cover.

author: @Verdade Newspaper


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PHOTOS: Five Stories About Syrian Refugees You Need to Know · Global Voices
Rami Alhames

This post is part of our special coverage Surviving in Syria
While the world seems to be happy for Syrian president Bashar Al Assad to continue killing Syrians, international media, newspapers, blogs, social networks, and amateur and professional photographers are injecting the Internet space with stories and misery of 2 million (estimated October 2013) Syrian refugees. Nevertheless this post should be considered as “Surviving outside Syria” but it will be as part of our special coverage on Surviving in Syria to reveal the social media's contribution to the Syrian conflict.
Several photographs have been selected for this post, citing Syrian people in neighborhood countries, to illustrate a dark, hard and real life that Syrian children and women are facing away from their homes and families. Bad fate was followed some Syrians refugees in the societies that host them. In Turkey, Syrian refugees were targeted after Reyhanlı blasts, not to mention the plight of Syrian refugee girls.
Story 1: Fotojournalismus on Tubmlr posted photos of the Syrian refugees who have fled the almost three years conflict to Lebanon who is now a home to the largest number of them. Lebanon is Dealing with the massive influx of Syrian refugees which today 20-25% of total population of Lebanon are Syrian refugees. The author wrote:
While there is no official data on the number of children and adults working on the streets Lebanon, it is estimated that it could be anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000. In wealthy districts of Beirut children and adults are viewed on nearly every block begging, looking through trash or offering pedestrians a shoe shine.
A young Syrian girl sells lighters in a wealthy district of Beirut. Source: fotojournalismus on Tumblr used under CC BY 2.0
Story 2: Under the title “Wives of the Syrian Revolution” Tanya Habjouqa briefly wrote a description of one of her 10 photos:
Um Suleiman, 26, walked alone with her four children (including an infant) from Syria to Iraq and finally Jordan. They had no food on the journey. Her husband remained behind to fight.
Source: 5cents a Pound on Tumblr. Used under CC BY 2.0
And added
Far from the frontlines, these women — now refugees in Jordan — are struggling to support their families despite meager financial means. Calls from their husbands are the only thing that breaks up the dull routine of everyday life and fantasies of reunion are fed by sultry texts that have infused romance back into these marriages.
Story 3: Michael David Friberg posted a photo on his Tumblr for Syrian children playing football in the massive Zaatari refugees camp which host (Until July 4, 2013) an estimated 144,000 refugees, making it Jordan's fourth largest city.
Syrian men playing soccer on the outskirts of Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan in July 2013. Source: Michael David Friberg on Tumblr. Used under CC BY 2.0
Story 4: Give peace a chance on Tumblr also shared this photo of a Syrian worker, Tareq, who had fled to Greece.
Tareq, 46, an unemployed painter from Syria, is reflected in a mirror in a shed where he lives in an abandoned factory in Athens, Greece.
Source: Give Peace a Chance. Used under CC BY 2.0
Story 5:
Hope to comeback! This photo tells a story of three Syrian boys who are waiting for the buses that take Syrian refugees back to Syria from Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan.
4 buses leave daily and people return for a variety of reasons. Most of them would rather take their chances in Syria than live in Zaatari. The situation every day is incredibly volatile as there are more people trying to leave than their are seats on the busses. Riot police monitor the situation as people climb over each other and hoist people up into open windows.
Source: Michael David Friberg on Tumblr. Used under CC BY 2.0

author: Rami Alhames


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South Koreans in US Hold Candlelight Vigil Over Spy Agency Scandal · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

South Koreans living in the United States held a candlelight vigil in Times Square, New York, denouncing the state spy agency's interference with the latest presidential election. @Metempirics posted photos and a video clip of the protest.


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Video: Harasta/Syria massive blast captured on camera · Global Voices
Rami Alhames

An unconfirmed video posted by Syria Archives 2013 on November, 17th shows a massive blast in Harasta, a city and northeastern suburb of Damascus, Rif Dimashq, Syria, in a government military building which kills 31 members of Assad regime forces.
Booby Trap bomb Placed in Tunnel under the Assad Army Administration Transport Building in Harasta kills 31 soldiers, including 4 Generals 11-17-13 Syria تفجير مبنى ادارة المركبات العسكرية في مدينة حرستا 1


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PHOTOS: Voters Turn Out in Droves for Nepal’s Constituent Assembly Elections · Global Voices
Sanjib Chaudhary

Voters queuing outside a polling station in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo by anuj arora. Copyright Demotix (19/11/2013)
Nepal went to the polls today, November 19, 2013, to vote for a second Constituent Assembly, which will be charged with writing the constitution for the nation's governance.
Despite reports [ne] of sporadic incidents of violence and concerted efforts by the dissident Communist Party of Nepal–Maoist (CPN-M) cadres throughout the country to disrupt the election process and implement their call for poll boycott (bandha) during the election period, voters in Nepal were enthusiastic and queued at polling centres in large numbers to cast their votes.
The administration, for its part, tried to ensure tight security on the election day. According to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Nilkantha Uprety, the voter turnout was estimated to be a record 70 percent.
Security personal patrolling Kathmandu city on election day in Nepal. Photo by gagan_thapa thapa. Copyright Demotix (19/11/2013)
Interestingly, there was a lot of participation by women voters, who turned out in large numbers to vote. Kashish Das Shrestha (@kashishds), a Kathmandu- and New York-based journalist, tweeted:
Amazing long lines of #women voters. This one in Kapan (Kathmandu-4). #WomenVote #NepalVotes pic.twitter.com/4mM7w7sD7Y — Kashish Das Shrestha (@kashishds) November 19, 2013
There was also a lot of enthusiasm among the elderly to cast their votes, many of them being septuagenarians and above. One hundred and ten years old Dhan Kumari Gurung cast her vote in Sundaridanda polling centre of Kaski district, while 115-year old Parvati Devi Khadka voted in [ne] the Dadeldhura district.
From Lalitpur, Nepal, research scientist Sameer Mani Dixit (@sameermdixit) tweeted:
Child in arm grandmother brings family to vote ! #nepalispirit #democracy #NepalVotes pic.twitter.com/yfSTKogsS9 — समीरमणि दीक्षित (@sameermdixit) November 19, 2013
An elderly woman being carried by her grandson from a voting centre after casting her vote in the second Constitution Assembly election. Photo by Nabin Baral. Copyright Demotix (19/11/2013)
Throughout the country, not only was the turnout at the polling centres encouraging, but people also expressed happiness in being able to vote and hoped that this election would deliver where the last one failed. The first Constituent Assembly was formed in 2008, two years after a bloody decade-long civil war between the country's Maoists and government came to an end. Nepal's monarchy was abolished shortly afterward, but the assembly failed to write a constitution, and after four years it was dissolved, plunging the diverse country into political crisis.
Nishchal Dhakal (@nishchaldhakal), a doctor based in Kathmandu, tweeted:
Nepal won a lot today. Doubtful looking Elections was a success with the massive turnout. Against the fear and threat we came out. #Proud — Nishchal Dhakal (@nishchaldhakal) November 19, 2013
Sydney Based Nepalese Journalist Rishi Acharya (@rishiacharya) tweeted:
Today Nepal vote for second Constituent Assembly Elections hope this election will institutionalize the republic pic.twitter.com/7jxA3ywIeC — Rishi Acharya ऋषि (@rishiachayra) November 19, 2013
Encouraging number of female candidates
The fate of 6,128 candidates in the First Past the Post (FPTP) and around 10,700 Proportional Representative (PR) categories will be decided today. As reported by nepalvotes.com, 127 political parties are in the fray with 12,147,865 eligible voters. Out of the 6,128 FPTP candidates, 667 -or 10.88 percent- are female, and out of the 10,709 PR candidates, 5,291 candidates are female, reported setopati.com.
AFP Iraq Bureau Chief Prashant Rao (@prashantrao) tweeted an infographic on Nepal's voters:
It's election day in Nepal — follow @AFP‘s @akannampilly and @DeepakAdk for more #FF (graphic via @JohnSaeki) pic.twitter.com/mBlTvpSlBL — Prashant Rao (@prashantrao) November 19, 2013
Confusing symbols
While voters were busy casting their precious votes, they were likely to get confused by the election symbols which are similar if not taken carefully, reported Nepaliheadlines.
Proportional representation ballot paper featuring more than 100 parties. Photo by anuj arora. Copyright Demotix (19/11/2013)
UCPN-Maoist's election symbol is a sickle and hammer inside a circle, while CPN-ML and CPN-United's symbols are sickle and a star, and sickle respectively.
Likewise, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum's election symbol is two hands poised for a Namaste, while Nepal Sadbhawana Party's symbol is a hand and Nepal Shanti Chhetra Parishad's symbol is two hands clapping.
Rashtriya Prajatantra Party Nepal's symbol is a cow. However, Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party's symbol is oxen and the symbol of Janatantrik Terai Madhes Mukti Tigers is oxen with cart.
More confusing are the symbols of Nepal Loktantrik Samajwadi Dal, Janata Party Nepal, Terai Madhes Pahad Himal Ekata Party and Jana Unity Cooperative Party Nepal. They are a pen, a pen and an inkpot, a pencil, and a pen and a copy respectively.
Similar is the case of party symbols of Rashtrawadi Janata Party, Rashtriya Yatharthawadi Party Nepal, Nepal Samabeshi Party and Rashtrawadi Ekata Party. They are a bird, the national bird danfe, a parrot, and a pigeon.
Interesting candidates
While the political parties are competing with each other in the electoral constituencies, the candidates of Bibeksheel Party (Sensible Party) are in the fray along with the political bigwigs in the four major constituencies of Kathmandu. Interestingly, they have selected a dog (Kukur in Nepali) as their election symbol.
According to The Kathmandu Post, “all of the four candidates from Bibeksheel hail from impressive entrepreneurial and educational backgrounds”. It is a tech-savvy group that has been making wide use of social media to engage the people, especially youth. In the past, the Bibeksheel group has played active role in organizing popular social campaigns like Occupy Baluwatar (a peaceful protest movement calling on the Nepali state to better address the widespread problem of impunity and gender-based violence), Entrepreneurs for Nepal, Nepal Unites and Die Banda Die (to end the ‘bandh’ or shutdown culture in Nepal) etc.
For the elections, the one-year-old Bibeksheel party used many innovative campaigning techniques, smileys, rickshaws with flags and of course a lot of social media. There has been a lot of discussion [ne] about this group online, but it remains to be seen if these would have an actual impact on the voters and translated into votes.
Blogger Nepalikukur wrote in the online magazine La.Lit. that voting for the kukur (dog) symbol would be akin to registering a protest vote, but that it could also mark the beginning of a “genuine party of the people”.
Nepalis have given chances to Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and UCPN-Maoist each to rule the country. However, none of them have been successful in satisfying the expectations of general public. This time round, the Nepalis hope to elect a stable government who can draft a constitution and lead the country to prosperity.
Now begins the wait for the winners and, more importantly, the constitution.

author: Sanjib Chaudhary


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When Third Culture Kids Grow Up · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

At the 2012 Global Voices Summit in Nairobi Kenya.
Many of us who were raised in countries that were not our parents’ “homeland” or have parents from two different countries, have been labeled as third culture kids. Our parents’ work and lives allowed us to travel to different countries and often live on several different continents throughout our childhood, learn to speak countless languages and move seamlessly between cultures, often picking up habits from each of them that we make our own. Many people consider us lucky and, for the most part, we are.
But what happens to third culture children when they grow into adults? When the time comes for us to settle down (for a while at least), raise children, build lives and put down roots, third culture children sometimes have a tough time making the transition to becoming one culture adults. Although many of us have often wished we had been born and raised in one place, with only one bedroom and one yard that remind us of childhood and what other people call “home”, we simply don't know how to belong to just one place and one language.
This is where the World Wide Web comes in, and this is why you will find many former third culture kids, now third culture adults, playing and thriving on the Internet. They're involved in online communications, the tech industry, international media, activist organizations, and all sorts of other areas that are driven by, or which prosper thanks to the Internet. Cyberspace, where every place, every language and every culture is available to us, is where we feel at home.
Global Voices is a perfect example. I joined Global Voices when our wonderful former Editor for Central and Eastern Europe, Veronica Khokhlova, stumbled upon my English-language personal blog about “life in expat-repat limbo” in Belgrade, Serbia.
Let me clarify (if that's at all possible in this case): I was born to Serbian expat parents in Spain, raised mostly in Portugal, except for three years spent in Kuwait while growing up, where I picked up the English that you see in this post. I've also spent a lot of time on and off in the US where members of my immediate family live. My native languages are Serbian (Croatian, Bosnian), Portuguese and English; but I also speak Spanish, Italian and can read and understand Macedonian, French, Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukranian, and several others. Even though I had little free time to spare, I was happy to join Global Voices as an author in English, member of the Serbian Lingua team, and of the Portuguese Lingua team.
Just two and a half years after starting as a volunteer, I was invited by Global Voices to join our most prolific authors, editors, contributors and collaborators for the biannual GV Citizen Media Summit 2012, held in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya, I confess, was one of the few countries I longed to see but hadn't yet. But what I found there was not at all what I expected. Over five long, exciting, filled-to-the-brim days, I was in third culture adult heaven.
On the first day of the Summit, a member of the Global Voices Italian team, Abdoulaye Bah, a Guinean native and Italian citizen, came up behind me and said, “Dobar dan” (“Good day”), in perfect Serbian. Many Africans have studied in the former Yugoslavia, and I have run into plenty of them throughout the world, but it was a warm surprise to find a GVer among them, Abdoulaye's life has been more interesting than most. Abdoulaye has already told the fascinating story of fleeing his birth country and ending up in Italy, working for the United Nations. What he didn't have room to mention is that he first fled to Belgrade, Serbia, and went to high school here. We spent a while reminiscing on his teenage days and Tito's Yugoslavia – a new memory we created together that can't be picked up just anywhere.
On another day, we went out to watch a World Cup match at a local burger joint in Nairobi. By that time, many of the GVers I had been hanging out with had heard me speak several languages, some of them not quite sure where I was from anymore. At half-time, I went outside for a quick cigarette and chat about international politics, an easy topic to run into at any GV event. When I returned to our table, packed with third culture adults from at least five countries, Rafael Tsavkko, our Portuguese-born Brazilian and in-house conspiracy theorist, asked where someone was, in his native Portuguese of course. Instinctively, I responded in Portuguese that I had just seen that person outside having a cigarette. Rafael then went into one of his priceless rants that began with “What the hell? You speak Portuguese too??” and launched into a theory about how I might be a secret agent type, how no secrets could be kept from me and that I was probably the only one who knew what everyone was saying about each other. All in jest, of course, so I responded that I had been groomed as a child to be a counterintelligence operative but was left without a job after the Cold War thing fell through. Another new memory created that one can't find just anywhere.
And last, but not least: at the party on the last evening, Elena Ignatova from Macedonia, Tetyana Bohdanova from Ukraine and I were standing in a corner, talking. Sounds normal enough, except that each of us was speaking her own native language and, because we were familiar with the topic of the conversation, we understood each other perfectly. At one point, we noticed GV co-founder Ethan Zuckerman standing next to us, leaning in to hear. We asked him to join us but he said he was just wondering which language we were speaking, as he couldn't quite catch it. When we explained that each of us was speaking her own language, he stood back in surprise for just a second, then grinned widely and said something along the lines of, “This is exactly what Global Voices is about.”
The evening ended in a traditional GV a capella rendition of Queen's “Bohemian Rhapsody”, sung in several accents and terribly out of tune. Because this, this spot on the Word Wide Web that is a scrapbook of different cultures and opposing views, is where third culture kids come when they grow up.
Danica Radisic is a corporate communications consultant, writer, blogger and poet. When she's am not happily dedicating her time to Global Voices as its Central & Eastern Europe Editor, she play a part-time adult as a mom of two and CEO of Krazy Fish Consulting. On Twitter she's NikiBGD.

author: Danica Radisic


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“Catalan Independence” Explained in 16 Languages · Global Voices
Violeta Camarasa

The debut video of The Catalan Project (@Catalan_Project) features Fernando de Castro, “a Catalan from Galicia and Spanish”, presenting the project and explaining why some Catalans want independence from Spain using the 16 languages he is able to speak. Subtitles are available in English, French, German, Spanish and Catalan.
The Catalan Project, an independent and non-profit association, provides an open online platform where “all citizens that work and/or live in Catalonia and that have ideas on how to create a better country” can discuss how a hypothetical independent Catalonia should be. Because “independence is not a goal, it is a starting point”. The project is collecting funds on the crowdfunding site Verkami.

author: Violeta Camarasa


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Chinese Netizens Confused by China’s Reform Plans  · Global Voices
Abby Liu

TeaLeafNation translated some Chinese netizens’ reactions to the document released after the Third Plenum, a high-level meeting to discuss China’s future development. Many Chinese find the document, called Plenum Communiqué confusing and vague. For example, one comment says:
I can’t understand why after a meeting lasting three days, the only thing they can produce is … a document that has to be decoded. It’s like a high school exam.

author: Abby Liu


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Chinese Netizens Say Farewell to American Embassador Gary Locke · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Gary Locke, the American ambassador to China, announced on 20 November 2013 that he will leave Beijing early next year to return to the U.S. He told the press that he informed U.S president Obama earlier in November but in his public statement, he did not explain his early resignation.
Chen Guangcheng is wheeled into a hospital by Gary Locke, on 2 May 2013. U.S Beijing Embassy Photo.
As the first Chinese-American, Gary Locke was welcomed by many Chinese for his humble lifestyle when he took up his post in August 2011. At the same time, he has been highly controversial because he has been very keen to connect with Chinese intellectuals and human rights activists. In fact, his involvement in the escape of Chinese prominent human right activist, Chen Guangcheng in 2012, fomented angry reactions from the Chinese authorities. Yet he continues to meet with dissidents, as stressed in his statement on his accomplishments regarding U.S-China relations:
And we have advanced American values by meeting with religious leaders and human rights lawyers, and visiting Tibetan and Uighur ethnic minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang.
In addition, the embassy public monitoring of air-quality in Beijing via Twitter has also been considered an insult to the Chinese authorities.
In Sina Weibo, many netizens are still praising Locke for his humble lifestyle.
Pan Shiyi, the head of Soho China wrote of Gary Locke's contribution in his Weibo:
骆家辉同志在北京工作期间，克服各种困难和阻力，聘中国人办理签证，大大加快了签证速度。坚持每天公布PM2.5，引起了有关部门的重视。
Gary Locke has overcome a lot of difficulties in Beijing. He hires Chinese people to handle visas and speeds up the visa processing time. He insists on announcing to the public the PM2.5 index and the Chinese authorities have to pay attention to the situation.
Liu Guojie, a professor of journalism noticed the shift of media opinion on Gary Locke in the past two years:
骆家辉刚来中国的时候，中国媒体很感兴趣，过几天就是他的新闻。后来却悄无声息了，骆家辉的言行是不是对中国人内心冲击太大，对统治者造成威胁，后来就把他封杀了？
When Gary Lock first came to China, the Chinese media were very keen in reporting about him. Later, we could not see any news about him. I wonder if his behavior is too overwhelming for Chinese people and becomes a threat to the ruling elites. That's why there is no more reporting?
Simon Zhou, an editor from a Hong Kong based newspaper, elaborated on Gary Locke's forceful behavior:
【别了，骆家辉】中国的平民突然明白：原来美国官员是骆家辉这样的，原来中国官员那样做是不对的；中国的官僚们也突然感觉：原来当官要像骆家辉那样奉公、廉洁和克己，原来当官不可以有特权，原来当官真的就要当人民的公仆。骆家辉的行为语言，都是对中国官员无声且有力的鞭打。
[Farewell, Gary Locke] Ordinary Chinese people suddenly realized: That's how American officials behave, the Chinese officials are wrong. The Chinese officials suddenly realized: Officials should serve the public, restrict one's power, resist corruption and privileges. The Officials should be the public servants. Gary Locke's behavior has become the strongest pressure for Chinese officials.
“My heart has something to say” described Gary Locke's virtue with dark humor:
【别了，骆家辉】骆家辉你错了：你出行不该背双肩包，更不该出行乘机坐经济舱；你也不该出行乘公交车；你不该把孩子送去普通学校去上学；你不该擅自检测PM2.5，你更不该擅自公布出去；你不该陪一个残疾人去看病；你不该把自己混同于一个普通群众……你的这些行为连一个县长都不如！
[Farewell, Gary Locke] Gary Locke, you have done wrong: You should not have carried your own backpack. You should not have flown economic class. You should not take public transportation. You should not send your kids to ordinary schools. You should not monitor the PM2.5 and announce it publicly. You should not have accompanied a crippled person to the hospital [referring to Chen Guangcheng's escape]. You should not mix with ordinary people…. What you have done is lower than the head of a county in China.
In Twitter, many are speculating about the reason behind Gary Locke's resignation. @wenyunchao, a mainland Chinese dissident based in the U.S writes satirical news:
路逶社：美国驻中国大使骆家辉辞职的原因是因为北京空气太差，奥巴马总统无法拒绝这个理由。
— 北风（温云超, Yunchao Wen） (@wenyunchao) November 20, 2013
Reuuuters: The American Ambassador to China Gary Locke resigned because of Beijing's poor air quality and Obama cannot turn down his request based on this reason.
@yueyexiake's parody is more extensive:
骆家辉辞职三大理由：雾霾太大，再待下去就肺癌了；心里不平衡，一个村官儿高尔夫球都比他打得好；美元要涨淫民币要跌，赶紧兑换了回去存钱。——小酒馆社
— 月夜侠客 (@yueyexiake) November 20, 2013
Three reasons for Gary Locke's resignation: The smog is too serious, he will have lung cancer if he stays longer. He can't bare the psychological stress anymore: a village official's golf skill is better than his. The U.S dollar's value will increase, better exchange the RMB back to USD and leave.