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Are Russian Pensions Robbing Peter to Pay Paul? · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

A young Vladimir Putin, imagined as a young Mr. Burns from The Simpsons, by Egor Zhgun, YouTube screenshot.
The Russian pension system is poised for a new round of reforms that will return the program to an entirely pay-as-you-go design, at least for 2014. The decision to freeze new deposits into laborers’ retirement market accounts appears to be a preemptive effort to spare the federal budget, amidst growing economic stagnation. As the government scrambles to boost available short-term funds for pension payments, ordinary Russians have denounced the move as “confiscatory.” Indeed, reactions [ru] were so ubiquitously negative that even Vladimir Putin found it necessary [ru] to exclaim publically, “The government isn’t discussing the confiscation of these savings, God forbid!” (The formal justification for freezing the market accounts is re-vetting private fund managers.)
Putin’s assurances seem to have persuaded few in the RuNet’s economically savvy ranks, where confidence is low that the state will follow through on its promise to reimburse lost income to individuals’ retirement savings accounts. (The Ministry of Finance has pledged [ru] to return the money, along with 7% interest, though the market accounts’ average profits [ru] range from 8-9%.) In fact, pessimism isn’t limited to people who claim to understand the pension system, which has grown even more convoluted in recent years. Many Russians seem to believe that the complexity of the pension system [ru] is intended, at least in part, to exploit people’s confusion.
For the last decade, Russians have paid 22% of their income [ru] into the country’s retirement program. Of that money, 6% funds the fixed basic payment collected jointly and guaranteed to all pensioners. (In January 2013, this amount was 3,610 rubles (112 USD) per month.) The other 16% is deposited into individual accounts, which function on a PAYG basis, like the basic payment deposits. The individual accounts are recorded separately, however, allowing people to earn slightly higher pensions, if they had higher salaries when they were in the workforce. When someone stops working, their monthly benefits are calculated by dividing the total value of their individual account by 228 (the number of months a person is expected to live, after retirement), and adding 3,610 rubles. This is the system that defines pensions for Russians born before 1967—the last true Soviet generation.
For Russians born in 1967 or later, the government has toyed with a market-based savings program to boost retirement funds. According to this system, only 10% of the income tax flows into the individual accounts described above. The remaining 6% is invested in the economy, and individuals are allowed to choose who manages the money: private parties (vetted by the government) or the state development bank Vnesheconombank. (People have to petition for private management. By default, the state bank takes charge of the accounts.) Last year, officials revised the program, reducing the default contribution into market accounts to just 2%, requiring individuals to petition to have the full 6% deposited.
RIA Novosti maps the course of pension tax rubles, 28 January 2013, screenshot.
According to legislation [ru] submitted to the parliament on Monday, September 30, 2013, the government now wants to remove entirely people’s freedom to contribute to market savings accounts, at least for 2014. Additionally, the state plans to redistribute all privately managed deposits in 2013 to Vnesheconombank, which averages slightly lower profit returns.
About one in four of the latter, post-1967 group of pensioners (20 million people of 76.5 million) currently entrusts a market savings account to private managers. Many of these Russians—the people who show faith in the country’s stock market—represent [ru] the confident young professionals who pervade the Russian Internet today. Despite maturing in the turbulent 1990s, an increasing number in this category have been willing to risk a chunk of their pension payments on potential future rewards. If these enterprising individuals weren’t already ill-disposed toward the Kremlin and United Russia, the (albeit temporary) seizure of their market deposits will certainly bring many new recruits to the anti-government camp.
Popular reactions online make it clear that anger about the “confiscation” of pension savings merges easily with preexisting, populist criticisms of the Putin government. Even though it only makes up about 40% of the money accumulated by one year of Russian pensions’ market savings accounts, bloggers have blamed [ru] the Sochi Winter Olympics’ 99-billion-ruble price tag [ru] for poisoning the federal budget and necessitating the raid on pensions. Political analyst Evgeny Gontmakher has exploited apparent miscommunication between Putin and the Finance Ministry to argue [ru] that the President is losing control of his administration. Writing on LiveJournal, others have adopted anti-corruption rhetoric (popularized by Alexey Navalny), asking [ru] if the Pension Fund’s palatial office buildings [ru] might be partly to blame for the system’s financial woes.
Writing on Facebook [ru], on October 1, 2013, economist Alfred Kokh said Russia’s pension system is a “ticking time bomb.” The government’s only options, he says, are to raise the retirement age, freeze benefits, and transition to a savings account system (like the one it just suspended). Such measures, however, are bound to cost the Kremlin popularity points. Before the 2011-2012 “Winter of Discontent,” Putin’s most serious confrontation with mass demonstrations was the protest against the monetization of pension benefits in 2005. How bad does Russia’s current pension crisis have to get before people take to the streets again?

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Exhibition of Fascist Paraphernalia in Public School in Spain · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

One of the market stalls, where items displaying Francoist symbols can clearly be seen. Photo uploaded to Twitter by Julio no surname
The municipality of Quijorna (Madrid) and the ‘Hermandad de Regulares de Ceuta’ [a Spanish army veterans’ organisation] organised the first “Day of Exhibition of Military and Defence Culture” on September 28, 2013. There was an exhibition and sale of items related to the military at the Príncipe de Asturias primary public school. Surprisingly, items displaying fascist symbols were amongst the merchandise for sale: pre-constitution Spanish flags, flags and uniforms of the Falange movement, paintings and photographs of dictator Francisco Franco, and José Antonio Primo de Rivera, banners with fascist slogans, and even flags displaying the swastika.
In a video broadcast by television channel La Sexta [es], a resident of Quijorna recounts her 10 year old son's experience:
Se acercó un militar y le dijo, «toma, te voy a dar esta pegatina para que la pongas en la ventana, pero a tu madre no se lo digas porque no te va a dejar ponerla».
A soldier came up to him and said “here, I'm going to give you this sticker to put on your window, but don't tell your mother because she won't let you put it up.”
The mayor of Quijorna, Mercedes García of the Partido Popular, denies having seen the fascist paraphernalia displayed on the market stalls, although she admits that she spent an hour at the exhibition. Some residents doubt her words, as Azucena Concejo, councillor and spokesperson for the opposition party Partido Socialista (PSM) explains in the same video:
Another market stall, with two large swastikas in the foreground. Photo uploaded to Twitter by Alberto Pérez Ferré
Era imposible, porque según entrabas en el recinto, a mano derecha, lo primero que te encontrabas eran dos banderas con la esvástica nazi.
That's impossible, because as soon as you entered the hall, on the right-hand side, the first things you could see were the two flags with the Nazi swastika.
Concejo has made a complaint to the Guardia Civil on the grounds that the event may contravene the Historical Memory Law. The Mayor apologised, stating that the town hall did not know which items would be displayed, and that if they had known, the exhibition would have been cancelled.
However, Mayor García, who according to the website of the public television channel rtve [es] describes herself as “a very democratic person,” participated the following day, as part of the same event, in a tribute to the fallen pro-Franco soldiers who died in the Civil War, placing a wreath in front of the monument in one of the town's squares. The plaque states:
«A los caídos por Dios y por España en la defensa de Quijorna del 6 al 8 de julio de 1937»
“To those who died for God and for Spain in the defence of Quijorna from 6th to 8th July 1937″
Internet users reacted strongly. The user nomerepresentan [es] recalled in the El País newspaper that various members of the new generations of the Partido Popular have allowed themselves to be photographed surrounded by fascist symbols [es] to the indifference of the party's leadership:
No sé de que se sorprende nadie ahora, en palabras de nuestro electo gobierno posar rodead@s de simbología fascista es una travesura…
I don't know why anybody is surprised about now, in the words of our elected government posing surrounded by fascist symbols is just mischief…
Qbertoll [sp] warned on 20minutos.es [sp] of the increase of fascist groups since the beginning of the crisis:
Por suerte, este tipo de actos y situaciones son minoritarios, de momento. Pero cuidado, porque las crisis vienen muy bien para los grupos radicales. Cuando la gente se deja llevar por las vísceras en vez de por la razón, es muy fácil manejarla y convencerla de que hay determinados chivos expiatorios (los que convengan) que tienen la culpa de su situación.
Luckily, this type of events and situations are the minority, for the moment. But be warned, because crises are good news for radical groups. When people let themselves be guided by their guts instead of their heads, it is very easy to manipulate them and convince them that there are certain scapegoats (whichever are most convenient) who are to blame for their situation.
On Twitter, users also stated their opinions:
Hola, @PPopular, ¿habéis expulsado ya a la alcaldesa de Quijorna del partido? ¿Y ahora? ¿Y ahora? ¿Y ahora? ¿Y ahora?
— Otis B. Driftwood (@obdriftwood) October 1, 2013
Hi, @PPopular, have you kicked the mayor of Quijorna out of the party yet? And now? And now? And now? And now?
— Otis B. Driftwood (@obdriftwood) October 1, 2013
“Quijorna permite un acto franquista en un colegio”. En Alemania se disculpan,pero aquí celebramos tener medio país enterrado en una cuneta. — yonyi arenas (@YonyiArenas) October 1, 2013
“Quijorna allows a pro-Franco event in a school”. In Germany they apologise, but here we celebrate having half the country buried in a ditch. — yonyi arenas (@YonyiArenas) October 1, 2013
Poster advertising the event. Image from the blog “We support our troops”
Quijorna, aislados en la nostalgia del nacional catolicismo, ejemplo de españolidad, unidad, libertad y grandeza, http://t.co/UCUqYSSRLh — Echelon_43 (@Echelon_43) September 30, 2013
Quijorna, isolated in its nostalgia for national Catholicism, a model of Spanishness, unity, freedom and nobility http://t.co/UCUqYSSRLh — Echelon_43 (@Echelon_43) September 30, 2013
Mercedes García, alcaldesa de Quijorna, dice que el fascismo es cultura. Seguro que opina que la tauromaquia también lo es.
— LOGAN´S RUN (@hijodeluniverso) October 2, 2013
Mercedes García, mayor of Quijorna, says that fascism is culture. She probably thinks bullfighting is too.
— LOGAN´S RUN (@hijodeluniverso) October 2, 2013
The director of public prosecutions has just announced that the public prosecutor's office will investigate the case to determine whether it constitutes an infraction of democratic laws. The Partido Popular of Madrid has distanced itself from the events held in Quijorna, and as El País [es] reports, some of its leaders have reproached the mayor, although it does not appear that the party will take action against her:
Pese al “estupor” y “sorpresa” de distintas voces consultadas, no trascendió que se pidiera la dimisión de Mercedes García, que no puede ser cesada, y que para salir del cargo debe dimitir.
In spite of the “astonishment” and “surprise” of the various figures consulted, it did not appear that they would call for the resignation of Mercedes García, who cannot be removed from her post unless she resigns.
As it happens, only a few days ago it was reported that the prosecutors of the supreme court of justice have begun procedures to illegalise the far-right organisation Alianza Nacional [National Alliance] [es], some of whose members attacked the Catalan government's headquarters in Madrid on September 11th, while they were celebrating the Diada, the celebration of the Catalan community.
In Spain, far-right groups do not seem to carry great weight in comparison with other countries in the region, although some commentators attribute this to the fact that these groups may have camouflaged themselves in the more conservative sectors of the Partido Popular which is currently in power. According to Francisco Riaño Campos, an Izquierda Unida parliamentarian:
España es el único país que sufrió el fascismo y no lo ha condenado. En España, no se ha convertido en delito la apología del fascismo.
Durante la Transición, el Estado Español no depuró responsabilidades, solamente pasó página y aceptó como “demócratas de toda la vida” a los afectos al régimen, (…) y muchos continuaron propagando su ideario político entre los suyos, en realidad nunca se fueron.
Spain is the only country which suffered fascism and which has not condemned it. In Spain, the defense of fascism has not been designated a crime.
During the Transition, the Spanish State did not clarify responsibilities, it simply turned the page and accepted as “lifelong democrats” those who had been involved with the regime, (…) and many continued to spread their political ideology amongst their own people, in reality they never left.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Lourdes Sada


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Interview with Guinea Boxing Champ Turned Belgian Politician · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Six time intercontinental International Boxing Federation middleweight boxing champion, Lansana Bea Diallo, better known as Bea Diallo [fr], born in Liberia and of Guinean stock, is also a Belgian politician.
Bea Diallo, Last Fight as boxer. Photo taken from his Facebook page (with permission)
Elected to the Brussels regional parliament and to the parliament of the French community, Bea Diallo is alderman for Youth, Employment, Family, Inter-generational relations and Equal Opportunity in Ixelles, one of the nineteen municipalities of the Brussels-Capital region.
Global Voices put some questions to him.
Yes, well, Guineans knew me as a boxer, but most of all as a man who tried to promote the image of Guinea and today. Not only have I been a member of the Belgian parliament for nearly ten years, but soon I will have been a local representative for almost seven years. I became a man of experience and recognised by the political world which was not a given.
Yes, high level sport is often incompatible with university studies, but, as I often say, with determination you can achieve many things and my dream was to succeed at both to be able to serve my country of origin one day. To help Guinea become a truly independent country and most of all to benefit the people with this blessing.
I really managed it by chance, I had never wanted to work in politics, but being a fighting man, committed to lots of causes, one day it was proposed that I supported a party as consensus candidate without even being in a position eligible for office as I occupied 69th place on the list. I found myself fifth out of twenty-five representatives.
I think that it was the best moment of my sporting career. That is an unforgettable time, to box in front of 60,000 people and to have over 300,000 in the streets. It was quite simply magic.
You know I have no regrets, I imagined that it was necessary to do it at that very moment; if I lost a lot of money with the bad faith of our politicians who were, besides, continuing to kill the people while living in opulence without any projects for Guineans.
Bea Diallo in political mode. Photo taken from his Facebook page, taken by Francine Verstraeten
The sole ambition that I have for Guinea is still the same – to help this wonderful country to free itself from the shackles imposed by our own Guinean brothers: the politicians, mostly in the opposition.
No, unfortunately not enough, I still have to optimise and most of all be more professional in my use of these networks which are a real communication force.
It is difficult to give advice to these young people who are trying to improve their living conditions as well as those of their families with all the risks this brings. At the same time, no policy exists to encourage these young people to stay in their home country or continent.
But, in Europe today it is difficult to find work and to sort yourself out when you come from Africa so the fight must continue in the continent [of Africa] with a new generation taking power to give it to the people.
My conclusion is my dream! I would like Africans to come to Europe just as Europeans can go to Africa, in other words, on holiday and to go home because they have work and a family waiting for them.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Hong Kong: Say No to Ivory Trade and Crafts · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A coalition of concerned individuals and NGOs, Hong Kong for Elephants, rallied on October 4 in the city center calling on the Hong Kong Government to destroy its entire stockpile of 25 tonnes of confiscated ivory.
The local rally is a solidarity action with the International March for Elephants organized by The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust under the iworry campaign.
Lucy and Christine are acting as the spokesperson for the anti-ivory trade campaign in Hong Kong. Photo from Avaaz.org
The local anti-Ivory action was launched with a petition by Lucy Lan Skrine aged 11 and Christina Seigrist aged 8 at Avaaz.org in mid September calling for the destruction of confiscated ivory in order to send a strong signal to Chinese consumers that buying ivory is immoral and wrong. The two school kids are studying in Hong Kong, a major port in the illegal global trade of ivory on route from Africa to mainland China. In an interview [zh] with inmediahk.net, they said that they love animals and wanted to stop the massive killing of elephants by helping to give them a voice. The two girls become the spokespersons for Hong Kong for Elephants.
Activists demonstrated outside the Chinese Arts and Crafts Department Store on October 4. Photo by Mara McCaffery shared in International March for Elephants’ event page.
Despite the active crackdown of ivory smugglers by the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department in the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), it has been difficult for the authorities to identify and prosecute the smugglers. Furthermore, domestic trade of ivory accessories is allowed both in Hong Kong and in mainland China. When the illegal raw ivory is successfully smuggled to mainland China via Hong Kong, it is wholesaled to carvers and manufacturers, turned into luxurious products and circulated in the domestic market through both licensed businesses and underground black market.
That's why international anti-ivory trade campaigns, such as Save All Elephants, are calling for a a stop to ivory carving industry in China:
China is the driving factor in the ivory trade, yet claims they are not responsible for poaching. It is their carving in their massive factories which produce all the items for people to buy. Carving is the Bottle Neck of the trade. China is at fault, the ivory is in their literal laps to be carved. They must be called out on it, and you, the activist, is the one to do it, the one to ask your government to demand that China stop so that elephants have their right to life.
This is also a long term goal for Hong Kong for Elephants. On October 4, around 30 animal activists rallied along the Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, a most touristic area in Hong Kong. When they passed by the Chinese Arts & Crafts, a famous department store for luxurious Chinese crafts including ivory, they urged Chinese consumers to stop buying ivory products.
Apart from raising public awareness, the coalition will submit the signatures collected from the online petition to the Hong Kong government and hasarranged a meeting with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to discuss their petition to destroy the stockpiles of confiscated ivory. As the coalition explained, destroying the stockpiles is only a start, their mission is to ban the domestic ivory trade:
Christine wants consumers aware that buying of ivory products is equal to killing of elephants. Photo from Hong Kong for Elephants.
We also want the Chinese government to ban its domestic ivory trade, to shut down the shops selling ivory products and to close down the 37 state-owned ivory carving factories across the country.
But first we want you to sign our petition asking the Hong Kong government to crush and burn the stockpile of ivory. We want Hong Kong to send a message to the world that ivory isn’t welcome here and we won’t allow our city to be any part of this cruel trade. Think about the elephants that died to create that 25 tonne pile of tusks. We must do all we can to make sure they didn’t die for nothing…

author: Oiwan Lam


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Hong Kong: Viral Video Showing Kneeling Guy Slapped 14 Times by Girlfriend  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

As explained by Tom Grundy, a pedestrian called the police and the woman was arrested for slapping her boyfriend who was kneeling down in front of her pleading for her forgiveness for bringing another woman home.


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India: Happy Hours At Hospitals To Lure Patients · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kamayani at Kracktivist reports that the Happy hours discount concept, which is popular across bars, restaurants and multiplexes, is now catching up in the Indian health care sector. A Bangalore based private hospital has recently started offering 30-75% discounts on key services, including diagnostics, radiology, and consultancy, during off-peak hours. Other leading hospital chains are preparing to follow soon.

author: Rezwan


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Should Brunei Punish its ‘Runaway’ Scholars? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Brunei is preparing legal action against government bonded scholars who have refused to come home after completing their studies abroad. Reports indicate that 12 doctors will be charged for failure to comply with their scholarship condition. Last year, the government said that 20 doctors and other medical specialists didn’t return to Brunei after finishing their training. A government minister has asked these ‘runaway’ scholars to fulfill their obligation in contributing to the national development.
Brunei students during a convocation. Photo from Flickr of Aidityafunda (CC BY 2.0)
The issue has sparked an intense discussion about Brunei’s education system, scholarship process, and state of economy.
Writer Shareen Han has raised several points about the deficiencies of the scholarship system:
We don't know the reason(s) these bonded scholars did not return to the country, but many were quick to condemn their actions.
…it tells us that there are inherent flaws in Brunei's system of awarding scholarships.
There are simply not enough jobs in the public sector for every single scholar because Brunei's economy is not growing fast enough to create jobs.
Is there a need to provide scholarships to hundreds of students every year? We have a lot of bright students who excel in their studies and show great character, but it is not sustainable for the government to sponsor every student.
How many of these scholarship students can afford to pay for higher education? How many scholarship recipients are from low-income families?
mujahidjohar urged others to understand the reasons of the young scholars who didn’t come home:
People overlook the fact that going abroad to study for a few years forces many people to reevaluate their opinions, biases, and worldview
They learn that the government shouldn't be immune to criticism, that seniority doesn't always equal competence, and some societal problems will not be handled in their lifetimes. Then they hear tales of low salaries, lack of career development options and professional satisfaction.
We need to investigate without prior judgment as to why these people flee before we punish their families who are in Brunei.
Introducing a loan component in the program could address the problem, according to Hakeem Hameed Affandy
I would suggest the government to introduce higher education loan in their scholarship scheme (half loan, half scholarship). So people who are qualified to get scholarship but don't want the government bond they can loan the money instead.
Tan Wei Lun blames lack of career opportunities in the country:
Inefficiency in the government workplace deters scholars. I've known engineering scholars come back without jobs, they're teaching math and physics in high school right now. Lack of professional pathways and advancements are also a reason.
Khairunnisa Ash'ari insists that ‘runaway’ scholars should repay the government:
I don't have any real opinion on this, but somehow allowing people to escape their contracts without any repercussions doesn't sound like a good thing either. It further encourages the mentality of not being accountable, etc. Also it would encourage more people to do the same thus leading to a brain drain in the country.
Honestly though if they don't want to honour the contract by not going back, they should at least repay back the amount they have taken, which would have gone to another individual who would eventually contribute back to the country.
Getting a scholarship in Brunei is quite difficult. Iffah Muzri elaborates:
…it’s an all-out battle trying to get the top position in school, fighting tooth and nail just to be able to qualify to even be considered to apply for a scholarship. What happens to those that didn’t get a scholarship, that couldn’t afford to be sent to universities…

author: Mong Palatino


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Who is a Real Muslim?  – The Perils Of The Muslim Minorities In Pakistan · Global Voices
Rezwan

Raza Habib Raja at Pak Tea House comments:
The biggest ‘crime’ in Pakistan is to be what I call, Non-Muslim Muslims. So if you are an Ahmedi, Shiite, and even a believer in some Sufi Saint  you will invariably be called Non-Muslim by some.
That brings one to the question “Who is a Muslim?” Raja tells:
Asking this question is dangerous and trying to define a Muslim is futile and would invariably lead to exclusion of many who do not belong to the sect of the person who is asking the question.


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Will There Be a Honeymoon For the US and Iran? · Global Voices
Farid

Presidents of Iran and US: Hassan Rouhani and Barack Obama. Via Iran-emrooz.net
Just one week after a historic phone call between Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, and Barack Obama, there were still Iranians chanting the customary “Death to America” and burning US and Israeli flags after Friday prayers in Tehran on October 4, 2013.
Still, some Iranians hope the call was a step towards thawing relations that could someday lead to US sanctions being lifted. Others are unhappy about any dialogue with “the Great Satan,” as the United States is most often referred to in Iran's official speeches.
As an indication that this topic also on President Rouhani's mind, he has reportedly asked two polling organizations to “find out” what Iranians think about USA-Iran relations. Meanwhile, netizens share their own ideas about the ongoing saga between the two countries.
One Iranian citizen uploaded a video of himself on YouTube, ironically suggesting that Rouhani add three extra questions to his survey:
- “How many people want the Islamic Republic regime?”
– “What do they think about social and political freedom?”
– “You [President Rouhani] said there was no fraud in the controversial 2009 presidential election, let's ask what Iranians think about it”
Zarebin writes [fa] in his blog that the survey will be engineered in whatever which way the Supreme Leader wants. If he wishes to improve the relationship with the USA, then the survey will reflect this. And if not, the survey will reflect that. “What a trap we are stuck in. Everything is the Leader's opinion with a survey to cover it up.”
To Talk or not to Talk
Firoozeh tweeted:
در هیچ رابطه ای عجله جایز نیست، حالا میخواد دیپلماتیک باشه یا غیر دیپلماتیک. #روحانی
— Firoozeh (@firoozehimany) September 27, 2013
In any relationship, whether diplomatic or non-diplomatic, we should not rush things.
Siding with the Islamic regime, blogger Khabrnegar1351 writes [fa]  that Iran has become so powerful that the USA “looks to Iran as superpower” and “aims to improve relations with Tehran out of fear.”
َAnother blogger, Ahestan, reminds us of the anti-American teachings of Ayatollah Khomeini, the Islamic Republic's founder and  says [fa], “The real winner of the Obama-Rouhani phone conversation is Obama.” This blogger says the main goal of the phone call was to show the millions of Muslims who follow the Imam [Khomeini's] teachings that Iran is willing to negotiate with “the Great Satan.”

author: Farid


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‘A Good Blogger Must Already Have the Intrinsic Qualities of All Good Journalists’ · Global Voices
Dibussi Tande

Digital journalism is booming in Africa thanks to the efforts of people like Cameroonian blogger and multimedia journalist Dorothée Danedjo Fouba, whose online alias is DorothyDaf.
A winner of the prize for “Best African ICT Blog, Telkom-Highway Africa New Media Awards 2013″, she recently spoke with Dibussi Tande (@dibussi) about the state of affairs in this field, and the qualities needed to excel in it.
Dorothée Danedjo Fouba receiving the “Best ICT Blog 2013″ Award. Photo courtesy of Danedjo Fouba.
Dibussi Tande (DT): Congratulations on having won the “Best African ICT Blog, Telkom-Highway Africa New Media Awards 2013″. What does this mean to you?
Dorothée Danedjo Fouba (DDF): To me, this prize represents a great recognition of my journalistic work, particularly in multimedia journalism. And one could say it is a tribute to work well done.
DT: Your blog has received awards in two consecutive years from Highway Africa. What is special about dorotheedanedjo.com?
DDF: My blog is oriented towards the Internet and new technologies for journalists and communicators. Specifically, it gives tips and teaching tools for audio and video podcasts. I think what distinguishes it from the others is: that it tries to present information in both French and English in an educational manner.
DT: In addition to your blogging, you host a show about multimedia on CRTV, and you have recently obtained a master's degree in professional design for online media education, from the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle. What is the origin of your passion for information and communications technology (ICT), and for digital journalism in particular?
DDF: Let's just say that I've always been attracted to anything that is technical, since I was a child. Perhaps it's true that I have a talent for writing, but at heart, I am a scientist. Anything that can be demonstrated in a technical manner is interesting to me, and that is why, over time, I turned towards digital journalism, because I always wanted to find out how these technologies can be used as tools of the profession.
DT: What attracted you to blogging? The desire to fulfill something that was missing in the profession, a passion for the written word, etc.?
DDF: As I was saying, I am a hybrid, a product of both writing and love of technical knowledge. I turned toward blogging, not only because it helped me to overcome a professional deficit, given the fact that it is not always easy to deal with all subjects in ordinary writing, because of the role of editors, but also to show to others what I think about the methods and approaches that can be adopted to connect media with new technologies.
Dorothée Danedjo Fouba,  receiving the Best ICT Blog 2012 Runner-up Award. Photo courtesy of Danedjo Fouba
DT: In your opinion, what is the reason for the noticable lack of blogs in Cameroon, or even in Africa, which focus on ICT?
DDF: I think that their absence can be explained by the fact that one has to invest a lot of time to create a blog that focuses mainly on ICT. Or, by definition, a blog is a personal journal, and thus, it is managed by one individual. That is not easy. In addition, it requires a certain amount of digital culture and personal effort to be able to collect information. We generally prefer to write political propaganda, essays on culture, and to “seek pity”, in the political sense, about certain topics. Or sometimes, it is simply due to laziness.
DT: Most media outlets in Cameroon are slow to adopt new technologies, have a very hesitant online presence, and do not sufficiently take advantage of social networking resources. What explains this phenomenon? Lack of financial means, unreliable internet infrastructure, or simply a lack of information?
DDF: I would blame it mostly on ignorance, and on fear of the unknown. We are afraid of anything which is new, and which would bring about a change in our habits or methods.
DT: In your opinion, what are the characteristics of a good digital journalist or blogger?
DDF: A good digital journalist or good blogger must already have the intrinsic qualities of all good journalists, which is to say: to find, collect, and distribute accurate and proven information, in a clear, concise, and precise manner, and in accordance with ethics and moral obligations regarding information publishing. They also need to have a strong sense of curiosity, and knowledge of how to create online content using digital tools.
DT: A few years ago, you advanced the idea that new media may be able to save African literature. What was that about, exactly?
DDF: That idea was in 2011, if I remember correctly. It consisted of looking into how one could create an online network for distribution of African books. My concept would be realized in the form of a specialized portal site, used to transform ordinary books into e-books. This solution could be based, strategically, on bulk SMS.
DT: In 2011, you outlined a proposal for a digital library based on two literary portals called Kamerbooks and Afrobooks. What is that project about?
DDF: Yes, indeed, that project was the result of my ideas about the uses of new medias for African literature. Two years ago, when I was looking for the ways and means to set this up, I almost got conned by a self-described Cameroonian “web entrepreneur”. Now, I am working to realize the project in as short a time as possible, and I remain open to proposals from potential partners.
DT: In March 2012, you won another pan-African prize, the African FOSS Reporter Award, which is a prize for African reporting on free and open-source software. How can these free software programs be catalysts for socioeconomic development in African nations?
DDF: In reality, the low-cost nature of this type of software, the freedom that we have to modify and to distribute it, and the resulting anti-virus protection, are such that they inevitably catalyze development. Imagine for a moment that the Cameroonian administration were using these: first, the cost of importing anti-virus would be reduced to zero, and second, the costs of buying licensed software would be cut by at least half. This undoubtedly would represent a huge gain, that would permit job creation for some of the unemployed, whom, as you know, are so numerous in developing nations.
DT: Is there a difference between “DorothyDaf”, the blogger, and Dorothée Danedjo Fouba, the veteran journalist who works at the Ministry of Communication?
DDF: Ha ha, not really. “DorothyDaf” is just an abbreviation of Dorothée Danedjo Fouba. Responsibilty for everything that I do on paper as “DorothyDaf” is entirely assumed by Dorothée Danedjo Fouba, under the general inspection of the Ministry of Communication of Cameroon. Both tasks involve my freedom and my responsibilities as a journalist, in every way.
DT: One last question : You are only 30 years old, but you already have a closet full of trophies and distinctions, including a new master's degree, among others. How do you see the rest of your career?
DDF: As for the rest of my professional career, first on the horizon will be the realization of a multimedia teaching platform for online media education, which I began to develop during the year of my master's degree program at Ingenieris Cameroon: Matic.edu (Medias assisted by ITC). I hope to have the good graces and health, which only Christ can give, to be able to see it to fruition.
Thank you for your interest, and for the encouragement you have given to me.

author: Dibussi Tande


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Bangladesh’s New Flood Forecasting Website Provides Useful Data  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Screenshot of the Bangladesh  Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) website
The South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People blog reports that Bangladesh has come up a new website containing flood forecasting and warning information available from June 2013. The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre website caters some remarkable features to provide flood forecasting information to users in local language including an Interactive Voice Response system.


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Czech Republic: Anti-Roma Riots and Attacks on the Rise · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

Anti-Roma demonstration, neo-Nazi`s alongside regular inhabitants of the area; photo by Romedia Foundation.
The Romedia Foundation, a Romani non-governmental organization based in Budapest, wrote about anti-Roma demonstrations and rising attacks on the Roma population in recent months in the Czech Republic.
In light of recent actions taken by a vast number of people, during the last 2 months, the violent riots in Czech Republic, which have been solely addressed towards the exclusion and eradication of Roma people, relates a somewhat grim mentality that an unfortunate amount of people share in the country- on extremely important values relating to human rights. These mentalities used to be shared on a large scale only within neo-Nazi and extremist circles, however since 2011 there has been a considerable, visible increase in followers of the neo-Nazi and extremist mentalities.

author: Danica Radisic


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Express Yourself: Blog Action Day on Human Rights! · Global Voices
Maria Grabowski

A photo for human rights day by Catching.Light on Flickr (CC-BY)
Since 2007, Blog Action Day has called upon bloggers around the world to hit the keys: One day, one topic, thousands of voices. The topic of this year is Human Rights – and the date is October 16. In joint effort, bloggers, podcasters and others will highlight the important global issue – and what better way of highlighting human rights than using one: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression” (Human Rights Declaration, Article 19).
On Global Voices we often discuss human rights, especially in relationship to censorship, surveillance and free speech online. We look forward to dedicating a day to thinking and talking about a topic that never seems to lose relevance.
So far, 1,377 blogs from 114 countries have registered to take part in Blog Action Day 2013. Register your blog today, and join the global conversation! The tags for this year are #BAD13, #HumanRights, #Oct16.
As usual, we will list the contributions of Global Voices authors around the world – stay tuned!

author: Maria Grabowski


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Five Issues Brunei Citizens Need to Discuss · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Teah Abdullah lists 5 issues Brunei citizens need to discuss: Upholding a realistic language, incest, overindulgence, excessive number of burger joints, and overdependence on the government. She elaborates on the last issue:
…our government is such a strong part in our everyday lives, but our dependency on them is problematic because it is as if we can't solve our own troubles. We are creating an extra strain at making the government solve all the little problems in our lives.


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Follow AfricaHackTrip Online · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A group of developers and designers from Europe who are curious about the emerging African tech hubs are on hack trip of the continent.
Check out their blog or Tumblr and follow discussion about the trip on Twitter.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Korea: Lauching High-Tech Blimps at the Border · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

South Korean Defense reportedly plans to launch military-purpose high-tech blimps at the disputed maritime border with North Korea next month. Tech blogger Martyn Williams explains in detail.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Kuwait’s Stateless Protest for Citizenship Rights · Global Voices
Mona Kareem

To mark the international day of non-violence, more than 3,000 protesters from the stateless community of Kuwait (Bedoon) marched to demand their rights to citizenship. The protest, which was covered by local civil groups and bedoon activists, took place in Taimaa area on October 2.
Inspired by the ousting of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, Kuwait's stateless community has been protesting since February 2011. Since then, activists from the community have been establishing different grassroots movements that focus on issues of citizenship, education, and poverty.
Bedoon means without in Arabic and explains the community's situation in a nutshell. Members of the community, estimated at 120,000, are denied access to healthcare, education, employment, and any sort of documentation.
Social media has revolutionized the means of communication and political dialogue among activists from the community but more importantly has contributed positively to the cause, gaining sympathizers from inside and outside Kuwait. As in other censored spaces, Twitter helps the Bedoon document violations committed against them – which are not covered by mainstream media. In fact, this protest was led and organized by an anonymous account called “A Nation's Cry” that was created last month to mobilize for the 2nd of October protest using the hashtag #اعتصام_2_أكتوبر, which translates to the October 2 Protest [ar].
هذا الحساب يدار عبر مجموعة من شباب الكويتيين البدون آمنوا بأن الحياة ماهي إلا وقفة عز وقرروا إكمال المشوار حتى اكتمال هذا العز وظهور الحق.
Q8voice1: This account is moderated by a group of Kuwaiti-Bedoon youth who believe in standing for dignity and who want to continue fighting until justice is gained.
Local Solidarity
Although Kuwaiti political groups have been reluctant in supporting the Bedoon cause, the political tension between opposition groups and authorities has been fruitful for the Bedoon. The political struggle helped kuwaiti political groups realize the importance of supporting the Bedoon in their demands. A few days before the protest, 21 political groups in Kuwait signed a statement that declares support to the October 2nd protest. The statement included three main demands: the Bedoon's right to peaceful protest, the necessity to find a final solution to their issue, and the importance of involving Kuwait's civil society in mapping out a solution for the community's longstanding issues.
In this regard, professor of political science at Kuwait University Mohammad Alwuhaib tweeted one day before the protest [ar]:
كم أتمنى أن أرى أعداد المواطنين غدا في تيماء تفوق أعداد البدون: هل بإمكان المواطن أن يتجرد من كل شيء إلا إنسانيته؟
@m_alwuhaib: I really wish to see more Kuwaiti citizens in Taimaa tomorrow than Bedoon protesters: citizens should maintain their sense of humanity.
Although only a small number of Kuwaitis showed up to the protest, one of them, who is a Kuwaiti political activist and poet, has led the march with his chants:
Tweeting the protest
Although the number of protesters was relatively big, the protest did not last more than a few hours, considering the attacks made against protesters by the riot police. Bedoon activist Falah althuwaini tweeted from the protest:
“@althuwaini: #stateless #bedoon groups are gathering in one large group near Najashi street in Taima in #Kuwait”
@althuwaini: Helicopter and riot forces in large number in Taima, so far they didn't storm the #Statelessness protesters.
“@althuwaini: #stateless #bedoon R marching from their city (for Bedoons only) Taima toward Naseem (city for Kuwaitis)”
Other accounts on Twitter were also posting updates from the protest, including this one who published a controversial picture which was widely circulated afterwards:
“@s_alshmmari: the police department's cameramen set fire to the garbage and videotape it to blame the bedoon for this act.”
Others documented the police crackdown on the protest:
“@Nashmiq8: Smoke bombs used against protesters.”
Because Bedoon women have been attacked by riot police in previous protests, many of them restrained from protesting. This picture shows balloons flying during the protests made by Bedoon women who want to show their support and presence – but could not attend the protest:

author: Mona Kareem


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Lebanon: What’s a Passport Worth? A Bitter Discussion · Global Voices
Nada

A Lebanese Passport.. one of the worst 10 passports to hold. Photo credit: Blogger Ali Sleeq
It was no big surprise to see the Lebanese passport amongst the 10 worst in the world in terms of freedom of travel and restrictions. The Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index published earlier last week did, however, highlight the morose status of the Land of the Cedars and spark bitter reactions on all fronts. At least blogger @AbirGhattas did not miss the irony in the perspective of Lebanon's notorious and dramatic racism problem:
It must be very hard on the “madame” that she is on the same list with the “help” originating from Nepal, Sudan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Of course the joke doesn't end here since the  Lebanese General Security promptly issued a press release stating “The Lebanese passport is the best in the world.” The official statement adds that Lebanon would soon adopt an “advanced” biometric passport.
It didn't impress anyone:
@mhijazi lol
— Michel Hweis (@MichelHweis) October 4, 2013
Revolution 961 calculates that the Lebanese passport is also one of the most expensive to obtain:
With only 5,296,760 Km2 that someone holding a Lebanese passport can visit without a visa, a Lebanese citizen should pay a world high 40$ ( and 70$ if you need it the same day ) to get that famous blue passport for 1 year. On the other hand, Danish and Japanese passports for example, allow for more than 73,000,000  Km2,  which is more than 15 times than our passport. But a Danish pays 10.4$ for a year ( 104$ for a 10 year passport), while a Japanese pays 13.5$ (135$ for 10 years) .
The perspective of biometrics data is not really something to look forward to either, blogger Gino calls it like he sees it:
As for the “new biometric data” thing, that only means one thing: MORE MONEY! =D We already pay hundreds of dollars to renew our flimsy passports for a few years (the most expensive I believe?) Adding RFID chips and doing the biometric analysis means only one thing: someone close to the General Security or one of the politicians/warlords will take the exclusive rights to that, charge us exorbitant amounts, and make millions for a passport that will remain equally useless and frustrating.
Meanwhile, @eliefares from A Separate State of Mind deplored the fact that while reactions ranged from denial to outrage, little is done to actually help improve the situation:
(…) a passport’s merits aren’t in the way it looks, its size or the feeling it has in your hand or how efficiently it gets scanned at border controls. But don’t tell people that because we can twist any simple data we have into whatever gets us to sleep better at night. Let’s call it a way of life. Let’s call it perpetuating the status quo. Do Lebanese really want to improve their passport? By the looks of it, many of them probably couldn’t care less.
What's in a passport anyway? In a world where national borders are significantly fading out amongst some countries, while others remain virtually locked out, a passport can mean everything. An increasing number of people may feel like citizens of the world, but their country of origin plays a big role in determining the social and economic opportunities they'll have access to. In a country of so many turmoils, dual citizenship becomes a coveted goal.
This is why @Khaladk‘s tweet may seem weird, but it's a sentence often heard in Beirut:
After my wife gets her #Australia n passport we are going to ceremoniously burn her #Lebanon one at the consulate! #justsaying
— كريم (@khaladk) October 2, 2013

author: Nada


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Mapping Earthquake Reconstruction in Tohoku, Japan · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

TPFsquare, a project by a group of volunteer professionals based in Tokyo, compiles a list of efforts to rebuild areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 into single map. The project, which is available in English, seeks to aggregate various reconstruction projects in different locations so that they can be discussed, archived, mapped, curated and made available in one place.
The interactive map showcases recovery efforts in the Tohoku region affected by the March 11, 2011 earthquake (screenshot).

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Oktoberfest in Lomé, Togo  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Beer Fest in Togo in Lomé, Togo via Togo actualités
The month of October is most often associated with Beer fest in Germany. Yet it seems that it is also slowly becoming a tradition in Togo. LoveJoyce Amavi, a blogger in Lomé, The capital city of Togo, denounces the absurdity of such a fest in his city. He writes in “L‘âge de la bière” (the age of beer) [fr]:
Si en Allemagne, pays inventeur, ou tout au moins, grand producteur de bière, la fête de la bière (die Oktoberfest), est cette rencontre coutumière, conviviale, cordiale, chez nous, l’excès suprême d’alcool, et les débordements nuisibles, sont le lot de chaque année [..] D’imaginer près de 100.000 jeunes, à la fête de la bière, et à peine 300, au forum de l’emploi des jeunes, est une blessure profonde.
In Germany, a major producer of fine hops, Oktoberfest is a traditional gathering where people have good, harmless fun. But here every year, the open access to alcohol is an opportunity for drunken obnoxious behaviors [..] To see 100,000 youngsters come to Beer Festival and then merely 300 show up at job fairs saddens me a great deal.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Sticky Rice is Bad for Babies, Lao Mothers Told · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

@LaotianMama reminds Lao mothers not to give sticky rice, a traditional Lao food, to hungry babies:
Sticky rice for infants is the Laotian equivalent to what we know as rice cereal in Western culture. The idea is the same as well where the introduction of solid foods will fill out their little bellies. Well, of course, introducing a near-empty food so early can be quite harmful to children’s developing gut and can cause problems such as food allergies, stunted development, and breastfeeding difficulty.


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Trials of Kenyan Politicians at the Hague · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Hague Trials Kenya is a project of the Africa Desk of Radio Netherlands Worldwide in collaboration with This is Africa:
How has Kenya’s post-election violence in 2007 and 2008 affected your life? What do you want to know about international justice? Share your stories, thoughts and questions right here, via e-mail (africa@rnw.nl), on Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #HagueTrials.
Your best articles, blogs, videos, photos and cartoons will get published. Feel free to indicate if you wish to remain anonymous.


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Zambia’s Ex-First Lady’s Facebook Page Faked for Alleged Scholarship Scam · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

A person who created a fake Facebook account in the name of Zambia’s former first lady Maureen Mwanawasa recently appeared in court for fraud.
Mwanawasa, the wife of Zambia’s third president, the late Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, who ruled for seven years until his death in 2008, runs a non-government organisation called the Maureen Mwanawasa Community Initiative (MMCI), which helps underprivileged people in society. The NGO was very active when her husband was in power and received support from a number of organisations and individuals. It has since scaled down its operations and it is only active in one or two areas, notably Kapiri Mposhi where it runs a school for underprivileged children.
Details about the case are scant, but Mwanawasa, a lawyer herself, appeared in court and tweeted her reasons for her attendence in response to questions from Twitter users:
@NizaSich someone has created a face book page in my name and she collects 250$ for false scholarships she has been arrested#Zambia
— Maureen K Mwanawasa (@mwanachilembo) October 3, 2013
Zambia's former First Lady Maureen Mwanawasa courtesy of her Twitter account.
The Zambian Watchdog reported a potential scam in January 2012, but it is not clear if it is related to the present court case. Quoting whistleblower Laston Nyirenda, the website reported:
I am friends [on Facebook] with the said person and they started sending me messages purporting to be Mrs Mwanawasa and started asking me to lend them $2000 and send it to the person named Florence Lucky who they said is based in Madrid, Spain and want me to send the money using western union. They even provided me a Zambian phone number I can call stating that it is for the former first lady if I want to confirm and when I called the number, the person who answered is based in [the city of] Kitwe and it is not even Mrs Mwanawasa.
After Mwanawasa made it known on Twitter that she was in court, one user asked the former first lady how it felt to be cross-examined:
@mwanachilembo how did it feel to be on the other side? probably recieving end of a X examination?
— Eric (@EricKamocha) October 2, 2013
She responded:
@EricKamocha naturally it felt strange but it was a good experience
— Maureen K Mwanawasa (@mwanachilembo) October 3, 2013
Mwanawasa’s tweets did not give a lot of details about the case such as the name of the culprit and where she is based.
The former first lady, however, is not the first high profile Zambian who has had her profile faked. Recently, a Facebook page in the name of the country’s Vice President Dr. Guy Scott, cropped up sending “friend requests” to people who usually comment on political issues on the social networking site.
When the Facebook page purported to belong to Dr. Scott emerged, citizen media website Zambian Eye reported about it, although there were questions on its authenticity:
The all (whole lot) of Guy Scott to be sending friendship requests to every Jim and Jack on Facebook. Doesn’t take you to be a genius to figure out this[these] are accounts operated by the PF fake generals [ruling Patriotic Front supporters who call themselves by that name] on Facebook that want to use it to collect data. Wake up people.
Dr Scott was latter quoted by the Zambia Intelligence News, saying:
I opened an account in 2011 for campaign purposes and I have not opened any account since then. I have not used it since then so everything else that is propping up now is fake. The whole thing is a fraud. It is basically fraudulent.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


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“And Draw Until I Die,” Eight Questions for the Illustrator Lorraine Rodriguez · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

I discovered Lorraine Rodriguez some time ago, while looking at the poetry book “El origen de los párpados” (2008) by Mara Pastor [es]. Many years went by, and I read her name again, as the illustrator of Juan Pablo Díaz's single cover “Day After Day”. And when I discovered her blog, and later her website, she blew my mind away. Her illustrated autobiography “My Name is Lorraine”, and the “about” section of her website, are the basis for the questions of this interview, done via email, like we do so many things these days.
Lorraine Rodriguez is from Puerto Rico, is 30 years old, and lives in Barcelona, Spain. But she is the best suited to offer a small glimpse into her life.
Global Voices (GV): Forgive me for such a clichéd question, but I have to ask: When and why did you start to draw?
LR: Trato de dibujar todos los días, así que usualmente son cosas que se me ocurren al momento: frases que otros dicen, cosas que leo, retratos, canciones que escucho, cosas relacionadas a temas que me interesan. También depende de mis estados de ánimo.
LR: I try to draw every day, so they are usually things that come to me in the moment: things others say, stuff I read, pictures, songs I listen to, stuff related to topics that interest me. It also depends on my mood.
LR: Siempre he estado rodeada de personas que se van. Amigos que deciden salir de Puerto Rico un rato para aventurar en otros lugares. Varios amigos habían estudiado acá y en otras ciudades de España, así que luego de pensarlo mucho, de hacer todas las preguntas del mundo -desde las más tontas hasta las más complejas-, al final me decidí. Ha sido una experiencia increíble en todos los sentidos. La ciudad, mis nuevos amigos, las nuevas experiencias. Tengo un “antes de Barcelona” y un “mientras en Barcelona”. Veremos qué sigue.
LR: I have always been surrounded by people who leave. Friends who decide to leave Puerto Rico for a while to venture off to other places. Several friends had studied here and in other cities in Spain, so after thinking a lot about it, and asking every question in the world–from the most silly to the most complex–I finally decided to come here. It has been an incredible experience in every way. The city, my new friends, the new experiences. I have a “before Barcelona” experience and a “during Barcelona” experience. We'll see what happens next.
LR: Como les pasa a todos, la distancia hace que aprecies ciertas cosas mejor. Lo que te parecía fastidioso hace un tiempo, estando fuera, entonces le encuentras lo especial. Estoy orgullosa de donde vengo y de quién soy, y de cómo se refleja en mi trabajo como ilustradora.
LR: As it happens to everyone, distance makes you appreciate certain things more. What once seemed annoying, being away from it, you then see as the most special thing ever. I am proud of where I come from and who I am, and how this is reflected in my work as an illustrator.
LR: Mientras estuve de estudiante en la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras, conocí a muchas personas. Gente de otros pueblos de la Isla. Muchos con intereses en común a los míos. Muchos de ellos, puedo decir, son mis amigos más cercanos y queridos. Muchos de ellos estudiaron cine; muchos de ellos estudiaron literatura comparada. A través de los años he aprendido mucho sobres ellos y con ellos. Claudia Calderón, Yasiri Castro, Charlie Rivera, Chemi González, Ariel Hernández Domenech, Marina Reyes Franco, Rojo Robles, Mara Pastor, Rubén González, Raymond Forbes, María Inés Lefebre, para mencionar a algunos, todos profesionales y exitosos. La verdad estoy muy contenta de cómo hemos mantenido estos lazos a través de los años.
LR: While I was a student at the University of Puerto Rico, Recinto de Rio Piedras, I met many people. People from other towns on the island. Many with common interests. Many of them, I can say, are my closest and dearest friends. Many of them studied film; many of them studied comparative literature. Throughout the years I have learned a lot about them and with them. Claudia Calderon, Yasiri Castro, Charlie Rivera, Chemi Gonzalez, Ariel Hernandez Domenech, Marina Reyes Franco, Rojo Robles, Mara Pastor, Ruben Gonzalez, Raymond Forbes, and Maria Ines Lefebre, just to mention a few, all professionals and all successful. I am truly very happy with how we have kept these bonds throughout the years.
LR: Una vez tienes la oportunidad de salir de Puerto Rico, de pronto se abre un mundo de posibilidades. A mí me encantaría poder visitar todos los confines del globo terráqueo. Pero, siendo realista, podría decir que me gustaría pasar algún tiempo en Oriente Medio por muchas razones. Siempre me ha interesado la literatura, el arte, la música y la cultura de muchos de los países que comprenden esa región geográfica. He dedicado mucho tiempo a estudiar, por mi cuenta, sobre cada una de estas cosas, y no hay descanso. Es una fijación muy bonita e intensa. Si realmente existe esto de las vidas pasadas, seguramente nací y viví allí.
LR: Once you have a chance to leave Puerto Rico, a world of possibilities opens. I would love to be able to visit every corner of the earth. But, being realistic, I would say I would like to spend some time in the Middle East for many reasons. The literature, art, music, and culture of many of the countries that make up that geographic area have always interested me. I have spent a lot of time studying each one of these things, on my own, and there are no breaks. It is a very beautiful and intense fixation. If past lives really do exist, surely I was born and lived there.
GV: And why Bob Dylan?
LR: Bob Dylan es increíble. Muchas de sus canciones son intensas y hermosas. La primera vez que me detuve a escuchar “Ballad of Hollis Brown”, pensé que era perfecta para ilustrarla. Estando acá en la universidad, se me presentó la oportunidad de trabajarla en el segundo bloque de ilustración narrativa. Fue difícil elegir los versos que iba a ilustrar porque no era un cómic extenso. Era más bien un ejercicio, así que estaba obligada a decidir cuáles aspectos emocionales y narrativos iba a resaltar en solo cuatro páginas. Una vez lo tuve claro, logré dibujarlo todo en dos días; colorearlo en un día y presentarlo.
LR: Bob Dylan is incredible. Many of his songs are intense and beautiful. The first time I stopped and listened to the “Ballad of Hollis Brown,” I thought it was perfect to illustrate. Being here at the university, I was given the chance to work in the second block of story illustration. It was difficult to choose the verses that I was going to illustrate because it wasn't a long comic. It was more like an exercise, so I had to decide what emotional and narrative aspects I was going to emphasize in only four pages. Once I had that clear, I managed to draw it all in two days; coloring it on one day and presenting it on the other.
LR: Pienso que una vez descubres qué es lo que te gusta, lo que te causa satisfacción, lo que sabes hacer, lo que te apasiona por encima de todo en la vida, entonces no hay marcha atrás. Tienes que ser responsable con eso; tienes que darle oportunidad. Descubrí que dibujar es lo que realmente me gusta, entonces ¿por qué no dedicarme a eso? Quiero ser parte de la niñez de otros, por eso quiero seguir ilustrando narrativa para niños; quiero ser parte de los proyectos musicales de otros; de sus proyectos de cine; quiero ser parte de los proyectos personales de mis amigos, de sus obras de teatro, de sus poemarios, de sus pajas mentales. Quiero contribuir en lo que pueda y sea capaz.
LR: I think that once you discover what you like, what brings you satisfaction, what you know how to do, what you're passionate about more than anything else, then there's no turning back. You have to be responsible with that; you have give it an opportunity. I discovered that drawing is what I really like, so why not do that for a living? I want to be a part of other people's childhoods, and for that reason I want to keep on illustrating stories for kids. I want to be a part of other people's musical projects, and their film projects. I want to be a part of my friends’ personal projects, their theater pieces, their poems, and their quirky fantasies. I want to contribute in any way that I can.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Argentina’s President to Undergo Surgery · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

President Cristina Fernández will undergo surgery today, October 8, to drain a brain hematoma.
Fernández was diagnosed with a subdual hematoma, bleeding in the brain, on October 5.
The Presidency's official website [es] published a statement [es] from Fundación Favaloro, the hospital where Fernández will be operated. The statement indicates that the doctor's suggestion to rest “had to be modified” because on October 6 she felt “a sensation of ‘tingling’ in her left arm”:
Faced with such symptoms, our team went to the residence of Olivos to carry out a physical and neurological examination, noting a transient and slight loss of muscle strength in the same upper limb.
The statement concludes:
In light of this, the [medical] team indicated surgery. The surgery consists of basically draining the hematoma.
Netizens in Argentina have been showing their support through the hashtag #FuerzaCristina.

author: Laura Schneider


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Brazil’s Cyberculture Has a New Book · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Cover of the book @ Internet e # Rua (The internet and the street). Visit the website ainternetearua.com.br to buy it or download the e-book for free (pdf).
A new book on cyberactivism and mobilization on social networks, @ Internet e # Rua (The Internet and the Street) [pt] has been launched in Brazil.
The authors, cyber activists and scholars Fabio Malini (@fabiomalini), from the Federal University of Espírito Santo, and Henrique Antoun (@antounh), from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, sum it up:
Os protestos no Brasil e no mundo permitiram que a hipótese central deste livro se confirmasse: rua e rede se interpenetram e fazem emergir uma política colaborativa, direta e em tempo real. E possui relação intrínseca com as práticas de compartilhamento peer-to-peer, abertas pelas gerações ciberativistas das comunidades virtuais e grupos de discussão dos anos 80; pela radical cultura hacker do vazamento de códigos e informações que amplia o livre fluxo da informação; e pelas teias das páginas públicas virtuais da WWW.

author: Sara Moreira


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Landmark Ruling in Discrimination Case Puts the Caribbean First  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In March 2011, a Jamaican national arrived in Barbados on holiday – but instead of the typical visitor's welcome, Shanique Myrie was subjected to a cavity search, kept in a dark room and subsequently deported, even though she was carrying no illegal substances. Claiming that her rights as a CARICOM citizen had been trampled upon, Ms. Myrie hired lawyers and a year later, the case was being heard before the Caribbean Court of Justice. Jamaican blog Active Voice took note of the “landmark” case, making the point that the issue of class was playing a key role in the hearing. Back then, the blogger, Annie Paul, explained:
This landmark case is not only about nationality, it’s also about ‘class’, the ungainly elephant in the room no one wants to explicitly mention. It is important to portray Myrie as ‘decent’ ‘respectable’ and ‘sober’ because the image of Jamaicans in the region is overwhelmingly influenced by the higglers, DJs and hustlers who often represent the face of Jamaica, visiting, even migrating to other countries, where they are not always welcome.
Why? because these enterprising but capitally-challenged individuals (ie owning little capital, whether financial or social) often violate all the dearly held norms of ‘decency’ ‘respectability’ and ‘good taste’ with their choice of garments, raw speech and boisterous behaviour. They regularly transgress the zealously guarded borders of civility and decorum as much as the borders of nation states which under the new Chaguaramas Treaty they now have a right to breach.
Perhaps this was why Myrie was given the finger when she arrived in prim and proper Barbados, regionally glossed as ‘Little England’. Not just because she was Jamaican but because she was perceived to be a particular kind of Jamaican.
Last Friday, the court ruled in favour of Shanique Myrie – and bloggers have been taking about it. Today, Propaganda Press posted the executive summary of the ruling. The Support Shanique Myrie Facebook page was also full of status updates and comments about the favourable judgment:
Shanique won, we all won, justice is served we r free to move abt OUR caribbean!!
Luther Tull wrote:
Congrats to Ms Myrie, U stood firm against a state n won, some of these officers don't seem to think that people have basic HUMAN RIGHTS n abuse what authority they have, so this victory is for all the people of the caribbean who were abuse n was scared to challenge the state.
Jersey Jersey quipped:
…looks like Barbados may have to pay some money that we cant (sic) afford. Civil Servants again, we need to be like Greece, fire them when they don't perform
The Facebook page, unsurprisingly, kept diligent track of the events, and was very clear in the understanding that the case was also about the state of regional relations. Quoting from a Jamaica Observer editorial, the page administrator posted this update:
All of this has raised questions about the value and relevance of Caricom to the citizens of its 15 member countries.
Indeed, these events have created resentment and an inclination to dismiss Caricom as nothing but a government ‘talk shop’. The governments themselves have not done enough to address the problem, which, if a solution is not found, will undermine the worth of Caricom to many of its citizens.
On January 28, the highly regarded former prime minister of Jamaica, PJ Patterson, publicly asked at a meeting of the Rotary Club in Guyana: ‘What purpose does the Caricom passport serve if travelling within the region is still like an obstacle race?’
This post explored the issue even further:
As a Jamaica[n] living in Barbados, I must say that we all need to look beyond our nationalities and face the issue for what [it] is. Whether the young lady is telling the truth or not, this incident should be used by both states to take an internal look at its domestic policies and address the various issues with prudence. Issues such as, to what extent are we truly committed to free movement?
Is there proper legislation in place to ensure that Immigration officers, Customs Officers, Police and other civil servants do not usurp their powers? I can attest to ill treatment from Barbadians at the airport too, but one could proffer that this is exemplary of immigration officers all over…or not?
The point is that we need to train our public personnel to address each other in a cordial manner and to not constantly overstep their boundaries. There is an underlying problem that we must address, and it has very little to do with Jamaicans backing Jamaicans and Barbadians being Xenophobic…we need to reassess the extent to which we are committed to integration and to earning rather than demanding respect.
Finally, Barbados Underground wrote an in-depth blog post about the outcome of the controversial case:
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) decision between Shanique Myrie and Barbados…continues to resonate across the region – editorials, talk shows and on the streets. What is evident is that members of Caricom need to better manage how we promote freedom of movement given our obligation under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC).
Loud by its silence has been the reaction of Barbados to the decision. The DNA of the Barbados government is to be slow in deliberation. One wonders though if the Prime Minister sees a need to demonstrate a departure from the norm given the psychological punch Barbadians have taken since the decision was delivered.
There is general acceptance that Immigration, Customs and Police officials in Barbados need to be more efficient in the execution of their duties. The Myrie matter hopefully has embarrassed the country enough to drive needed change at our borders. The bigger issue arising from the CCJ decision is the protocol which ALL Caricom States must establish to allow Caricom nationals to cross borders…
The post went on to question the wisdom of a free market economy…
There are lessons coming out of the EU experience which exposes the weakness of a free market. There are the borders of member countries whose economies are stronger which will be bombarded. There is currently discussion in the UK about floating a referendum to decide on the whether to leave the EU. Until then its borders continue to be peppered by the Easter Europeans.
There is something wrong with the Caricom free market model when there is mass movement from the largest members to the smallest.
…and ended with more questions than answers:
Now that we have this decision how will Jamaica treat with the Haitians? How will Barbados respond to the CCJ decision? Hopefully it will not ignore the CCJ Order…

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Honduras Creates Military Police to Fight Crime · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

A new military police has been approved for duty in Honduras in an attempt to fight rampant crime and violence. But this new strategy has raised concerns among human rights defenders and citizens who see the new military force as a setback.
As Themla Mejía reports for news agency IPS, “Ramón Custodio, the national human rights commissioner or ombudsman, said he was staunchly opposed to the new body on the grounds that it violated the constitution and virtually ensured the demise of the national civilian police, re-established 15 years ago when the military began to yield power to civilians.”
Honduras passed a law to create the Military Police for Public Order (Policía Militar del Orden Público, in Spanish) back in August 2013. In Upside Down World, a website that covers politics and activism in the region, Rosemary Joyce and Russell Sheptak explain that “the draft law called for the new force to ‘carry out the takeover of zones, neighborhoods, residential developments, and human settlements or public spaces where gangs or organized crime exercise their illegal activities'”:
Ironically, despite the emphasis on how this new military presence in the streets of Honduran cities should change the security situation, a command decision was taken not to announce when these troops will actually be on patrol in their war against…what?
Journalist Lilian Caballero shared a photo of the military police on October 3:
La policia Militar d #Honduras toma juramento; a partir d hoy pueden demostrar el combate a la delincuencia pic.twitter.com/8oYnPgIM41
— Lilian Caballero (@LilianCaballero) October 3, 2013
Military Police take oath. Starting today they can fight crime.
Gabo Giron in San Pedro Sula said he spotted the police on the streets that same day:
Ya vi que anda la policia militar en las calles #Honduras pic.twitter.com/gR0a5ZDGDD
— Gabo Giron ♪® (@gabogiron1987) October 3, 2013
Writing for the blog InSight Crime, Marguerite Cawley explains that “the national police are notoriously corrupt and a large percentage are thought to have organized crime ties“, but she argues that creating a military police “fails to address the need to reform the existing police.”
While the creation of a militarized police force may be a better alternative than placing the military directly on the streets, the line between the two is hazy and the force ultimately cannot replace the need for an effective national police force. The decision also raises human rights concerns regarding the potential use of military tactics to improve citizen security.
Joyce and Sheptak in Upside Down World add that “there is no political pressure to take a less hostile approach to urban crime” and that according to most polls, “majorities of the Honduran public want military police in the streets, presumably imagining this will cure crime without bringing the kind of violence against bystanders that critics fear”:
For many election cycles, a staple of presidential campaigns has been claiming that your party will improve security; for the Partido Nacional, which according to a recent poll is locked in a statistical tie with LIBRE for the November election, getting the troops out provides a visible sign of how decisively they will act if elected–unlike the current president, also from the Partido Nacional, seen by Hondurans as completely ineffective, and thus an impediment to the election of his party's candidate, Juan Orlando Hernández, the motive force behind this new law.
Hondurans will go to the polls to vote in presidential, parliamentary and local elections next month.
The article in Upside Down World continues:
Which brings us back to the actual deployment of the first 1,000 of a projected 5,000 new militarized police, rushed into service in just over a month, serving as political propaganda if nothing else. If the target size is ever reached, the new force will be one-third the size of the existing civilian police. Better paid and better armed, these new forces may well change the game in cities where the civilian police have been ineffective. However, there are already signs that their missions may take a more troubling turn even then making some of Honduras poorest neighborhoods fire-fight zones.
On Twitter, Carlos Mejía replies to a tweet [es] by political party Partido Anticorrupción (PAC) which says that to eliminate crime there needs to be more jobs and opportunities:
@PAC_HN la generación de trabajo en efecto es necesaria sin embargo también lo es la policía militar. Necesitamos sentirnos seguros. Opinión
— Carlos Mejía (@meji711) October 3, 2013
Creating jobs is indeed necessary, but the military police is also. We need to feel safe. Opinion.
Josue Banegas shares a photo:
Listos para combatir la delincuencia mil policía militar. #Honduras pic.twitter.com/SExjM3LDK8
— JOSUE BANEGAS (@jjbanegas) October 3, 2013
Ready to fight crime, 1,000 military police
And Armando Rene Boquin asks:
@jjbanegas para combatir la delincuencia o para reprimir al pueblo ? — armando rene boquin (@armandorboquin) October 7, 2013
To fight crime or to repress the people?
Meanwhile, Frank Alley wonders:
Listos para operar ¿Brindaran la seguridad que necesitamos? ¿Son la solución?… http://t.co/rsyh4hehbH
— Frank Alley (@tonyalley08) October 4, 2013
Ready to operate. Will they bring the security that we need? Are they the solution?

author: Silvia Viñas


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#IranJeans: Yes We Do Wear Jeans, Mr. Netanyahu · Global Voices
Farid

Iranians flooded the internet with posts, tweets and photos as they mocked  the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamian Netanyahu's remark that Iranians are not free to wear jeans.
‘You see Mr. Nethanyahu, we all wear jeans.’ Mana Neyestani, a leading cartoonist (used with permission)
Netanyahu, in an interview on BBC Persian on Saturday said “If the people of Iran were free they could wear blue jeans, listen to Western music and have free elections.”
Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-Israeli Middle East analyst, says , “What Prime Minister Netanyahu was thinking about when he was saying these things about Iran was most probably the former USSR.”
It is #IranJeans vs. Netanyahu.
Arash Kamangir, a Toronto-based blogger and cyber activist, says on Twitter:
#IranJeans the new face of the Iranian use of the web. Maintains criticism of the Iranian state and defends own identity at the same time.
— Arash Kamangir (@Kamangir) October 6, 2013
Iiriix, a project manager from Iran  published a photo of a shop selling jeans in Iran and writes:
Mr. @netanyahu, here is a shop selling weapons of mass destruction in #Iran. #jeans (Photo:Mehr) :) pic.twitter.com/Dhs79Vg7o5
— iiriix (@iiriix) October 6, 2013
Nima Shirazi notes that the Israeli Prime Minister called Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s new president, “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” and tweets:
For Netanyahu Iranians are either wolves in wolf's clothing or in sheep's clothing who can't wear #jeans. But really: pic.twitter.com/hkXlQLp072
— Nima Shirazi (@WideAsleepNima) October 7, 2013
N,avi,D says he wants to know Nethanyahu's size in jeans and tweets:
Iwas thinking to send a per of (Iran Tafteh'jeans) Iranian made jeans to Mr Netanyahu. Any one knows his size ??? #IranJeans
— N,avi,D (@Divan_M) October 7, 2013
The blogger Freedomseeker has another idea, and published a photo that apparently shows Iranian police stopping women in the street for what they are wearing. The blogger ironically says [fa], “Now I am listening to western pop music in disguise.”
Another blogger, Andarbab writes [fa] I am not for the Israeli Prime Minister, his problem with the Islamic Republic is about nuclear bombs and he does not care about Iranian people. But here is an article published [fa] in the semi-official Isna news where a cinema expert claims that his image was not broadcast on TV because he wore jeans.


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Jump off the Bridge! The Tajik President’s Motorcade is Coming · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Three young men were recently beaten up by police and put in prison in Dushanbe, apparently after they failed to move out of the way of the Tajik president's motorcade. The incident has triggered an outpour of anger in social media, revealing how much Tajikistani netizens hate traffic disruptions and other inconveniences caused by presidential motorcades.
On September 27, three young men working for a local charity were detained [ru] by police in central Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. The incident drew much attention after one of the detained men, Kamil Areshov, posted on Facebook his version of what had happened. According to Areshov, he and two of his coworkers were beaten up by several drunk police officers, apparently because they had been too slow in moving their car out of the way of President Emomali Rahmon's motorcade. The three young men were then convicted of “hooliganism” and sentenced to five days behind bars.
The story took a bizarre turn on October 3 when state-run television aired Areshov's “confession” in which he admitted [ru] to violating traffic rules and failing to obey police orders. As the young men and his coworkers were released, they refused to talk to media. Soon after his release, Areshov deleted his Facebook post about the incident.
A humorous photo circulating on Facebook. On the photo, a police officer is portrayed as saying, “Hey you! Jump off the bridge! The presidential motorcade is approaching!”
As the incident generated a buzz in social media, some netizens demanded that the young men be cleared of charges laid against them. For instance, Aziz Kholmatov on ASIA-Plus's blog claimed [ru] that police was to blame for the incident, demanding:
[мы] очень надеемся, что поступок тех сотрудников правоохранительных органов не останется безнаказанным и руководство МВД проведет тщательное расследование по данному факту и привлечет к ответственности причастных и виновных лиц.
We very much hope that the representatives of law-enforcement agencies will be punished for their actions, while the leadership of the [Ministry of Internal Affairs] will investigate the incident thoroughly and will hold accountable all persons involved in the incident.
Many more netizens have used the opportunity provided by the buzz to say how much they hate presidential motorcades and all the inconveniences they cause. On Blogiston.tj, Beparvo wrote [ru]:
Мы все живем в Таджикистане и мы все реально знаем как достают эти кортежи. Один президент куда то едет а изза него пол города закрывают. Его машина должна например проехать в 10 часов и всего за две минуты проедет а дороги уже в 9 часов начинают закрывать. Ментов наверно со всего Таджикистана пригоняют, они через каждый метр дороги стоят и свистят как придурки. Еще у водителей денег снимают. А бедные люди не могут на работу попасть или в школу или в больницу. Уже реально все это достало выше крыши.
We all live in Tajikistan and we know [how many problems] these motorcades cause. When a president goes somewhere, half of the city is closed off because of this. When his motorcade is expected at 10 o'clock and it takes the motorcade only two minutes to pass a certain road, they start disrupting the traffic at 9 o'clock. They bring in police officers from all over Tajikistan; these police officers then stand along the road [through which the motorcade passes], one meter from each other, and blow their whistles like idiots. They also extort payments from drivers. Meanwhile the poor people cannot get to schools or hospitals [because of traffic disruptions]. I am sick and tired of this.
According to the blogger, things get much worse when Tajikistan's capital hosts high-level international events:
А еще когда другие президенты приезжают к нам вообще черте что творится. Вообще все дороги от аэропорта закрывают, даже пешеходам не дают ходить там где хотят. Зачем нам вообще все эти гости президенты если простые люди нормально не могут в своем городе ходить и на машине ездить.
And it becomes hell when the presidents of other countries come to [Dushanbe]. All roads leading to the airport are closed off then, and people are not even allowed to walk where they want. Why on earth do we need all these presidents visiting the country when the ordinary people cannot walk freely or drive cars in their own city?
Commenting on a news report about the incident, ‘Grazhdanin’ [Citizen] suggested [ru] that the way the authorities handle presidential motorcades in Tajikistan smacked of Middle Ages:
Просто средневековье какой та. Освободите дорогу Царю. Царь едет Царь. Как в историческом кино Царь едет а вокруг все кланяться а кто оказался не в то время не том месте КАЗНИТЬ…
It is like the Middle Ages. Give way to the Tsar! The Tsar is coming! It is like in a history movie: the Tsar is coming and everyone around bows, while those who happen to be in a wrong place at a wrong time are EXECUTED…
The incident in Dushanbe has also inspired some Twitter users to put together facetious recommendations for people who happen to see a presidential motorcade.
Another photo circulating on Facebook. On this photo, Tajik police officers are portrayed as telling an elderly man, “We don't give a shit that your legs hurt. Get lost! Go over there because [the president's motorcade] is approaching.
Новый закон РТ: увидел кортеж президента – ложись на землю, лицом вниз, руки за голову, не дыши, претворись мертвым http://t.co/kx0ha13sBn
— Джура Охотник (@jurathehunter) October 2, 2013
New law in Tajikistan: if you see a presidential motorcade, lie down on the ground, facing down, with your arms behind the head, do not breathe, pretend that you are dead.
…если ты увидел его из окна дома – отойди от окна, иди в ванную комнату, запрись изнутри и выключи свет http://t.co/kx0ha13sBn
— Джура Охотник (@jurathehunter) October 2, 2013
…if you see [the motorcade] from a window in your house, move away from the window, go to the bathroom, lock yourself inside the bathroom, with lights off
…если ты в машине – прижмись к обочине, выключи зажигание, выйди из машины и быстро беги в сторону гор http://t.co/kx0ha13sBn
— Джура Охотник (@jurathehunter) October 2, 2013
…if you are driving a car [when you see the motorcade], pull over, turn off the ignition, exit the car, and run fast towards the mountains
@jurathehunter Новая версия: увидел кортеж Джаноби Оли – подними руки вверх и иди сдаваться в ближайшее отделение милиции #Таджикистан
— Jasur Ashurov (@jashurov) October 2, 2013
A newer version: if you see [Emomali Rahmon's] motorcade, raise your hands and turn yourself in to the nearest police department #Tajikistan
@jashurov @jurathehunter По дороге начинай бить себя и писать чистосердечное признание в попытке государственного переворота
— Шапараки Овора (@du15yak30) October 2, 2013
On your way to [the police department], start beating up yourself and writing an admission of guilt for a coup attempt
After Areshov's televised “confession”, an amendment to the “law” was proposed:
Новая версия закона РТ: увидел кортеж президента – иди на телевидение признаваться в преступлении http://t.co/hYVYgpGVdA
— Джура Охотник (@jurathehunter) October 5, 2013
A newer version of the law in Tajikistan: if you see a presidential motorcade, go to the television office in order to admit to a crime

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Saudi Authorities Block Women Driving Websites · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

Saudi Arabia not only prohibits women from driving, it also blocks websites which call for them to drive.
On September 21st, Saudi women activists launched the October 26th Campaign website which had a declaration calling for lifting the ban on women driving in the absolute Saudi monarchy. On September 29th, the authorities blocked the website without providing any explanation (they almost never provide any), but the declaration had had over 13,000 signatures before the blockage was imposed:
Oct 26th Women Driving Campaign Blocked in Saudi تم حجب صفحة #قيادة_26اكتوبر http://t.co/vHOmyPY9Ey
— EmanAlNafjanأم شادن (@Saudiwoman) September 29, 2013
Activists shortly launched a mirror website to circumvent censorship:
الان حتى موقع http://t.co/8WrfejrKzU اصبح فعال وبإمكانك التوقيع هناك! #قيادة_26اكتوبر We created another site instead of the blocked one!
— EmanAlNafjanأم شادن (@Saudiwoman) October 2, 2013
The standard blocking message shown in place of oct26driving.com and oct26driving.org.
On October 7th, the authorities blocked the mirror website as well:
Now the mirror site for the Oct26 Women Driving campaign that was created after original was blocked by gov is blocked too!
— EmanAlNafjanأم شادن (@Saudiwoman) October 7, 2013
The top Saudi government officials have always insisted, especially when they are talking to the Western media, that they are merely waiting for the society to accept women driving. Such actions show the active role that the government is playing in restricting women's movement.

author: Anas Soliman


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Saudi Women Driving – “A Western Demand”  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saudi blogger Ahmed Al Omran shares this tweet by a female member of the Saudi ruling family, ridiculing the call to lift the ban on women driving:
London-based Saudi princess ridicules the calls to lift the ban on women driving, calls it a Western demand pic.twitter.com/XYqfyi4kIs
— Ahmed Al Omran (@ahmed) October 8, 2013
Princess Basmah Bint Saud tweets [ar]:
كل مطالب الشعب حصروها بتفاهات مطالب الغرب: سياقة النساء"
—  الأميرة بسمة  (@PrincessBasmah) October 8, 2013
They have limited all the demands of the people in the nonsense of the West's demand: Women driving
Saudi women are planning to drive cars and defy a ban on women driving on October 26.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Syria: The Girls of Al-Tall Weave Ribbons and Freedom · Global Voices
Syria Untold

This post is cross-posted from Syria Untold.
The town of Al-Tall, in the countryside of Damascus, the Syrian capital, is famous for its highly educated inhabitants and its active women groups, despite the traditional nature of the community. In that context, we highlight the story of the eight ladies of Al-Tall and their contributions to the Syrian uprising.
A symbolic collage of women raising the banners of dignity, freedom and citizenry. Source: Syria Untold
The town joined its Syrian counterparts in demonstrations early on in the uprising. The first protests broke out after Friday prayers on March 25, 2011, with a significant participation of women, more than 150 according to activists.
Women Revolutionaries of the Tall of Freedom
After the protest, where a man was critically injured, the city was placed under severe pressure from the security forces, including many arrests and with snipers stationed on high buildings. The threat of a massacre did not deter the population and a second protest broke out the very next week, resulting in more arrests. This atmosphere prevailed until the Syrian Army entered the town, and demonstrations turned into “flying protests” of under two minutes that Syrians have resourced to in order to avoid the authority's brutal crackdown.
With the advent of organized activism in the town, a group of eight young women decided to start a group called “Women revolutionaries of the Tall of Freedom.” The group’s first act was to start a silent march in August 2011, where they walked with tied hands and muzzled mouths, and with green ribbons flying from their arms. The group marched through the main boulevard in the city until they reached Al-Zahraa hospital, where they dropped their banners.
The young women’s activities included silent sit-ins and leaflet distribution in the main streets of the town. Their signature was the green ribbons around their wrists, and around the leaflets which represents their rejection of sectarianism. Their pamphlets also reflected this conviction with slogans about freedom, national unity and anti-militarization and violence. The ladies, whose real identities were kept secret, soon became famous around the town as the “girls with the green ribbons.”
The group also devised ways to connect the local population to the protest movement by means of assimilating it into the life of the town. So in the season of olives, the group used “wedding invitations, much similar to the ones used by local families, as invitations to protests, coupled with an olive branch,” says a group member.
The women organized their work from the beginning along three weekly activities: one day for protests, one day for pamphlets and one day for graffiti. The group also took part in national campaigns like Days of Freedom, Freedom Money, We are the Moral Alternative and We were Born to Live, to name but a few. Their activities also included painting all the major squares in the city with red, and distributing pamphlets in solidarity with other towns and detainees. The group received help from individual activists with varied political and religious backgrounds as well.
By mid-2012 the group had grown to include male activists, and so the founders decided to change the name into “Our Streets”. Their activities continued even after armed opposition groups took over the city and announced its liberation from regime forces. In response to that the young women, accompanied by two young men, hung banners with the names of detainees on the central post office building, to emphasize the importance of continuing the peaceful resistance.
“No to guns, and no to abayas”
A week after al-Tall was announced as liberated, the regime began a large bombardment campaign. The severity of the shelling forced many of the residents, including members from the group, to seek shelter elsewhere. But their forced exile didn’t last long, and the women went back to the city two months later, after it was once again taken over by regime forces. Nevertheless, the general atmosphere in the town was much more tense and charged with fear, so the activists decided to go underground with another different name. Thus, the “Grain of Wheat” was born. According to one of the activists, “the name came as tribute to the town which is famous for its wheat produce, and as a tribute to the feminine influence in the group as the word ‘grain’ in Arabic is a feminine noun.” The group’s first activity after coming back was to distribute sweets with the slogans: “In deference to our martyrs, we have no Eid”.
Al-Tall, unlike many other Syrian towns did not witness an outright takeover of radical Islamist currents, and Islamic flags were raised side by side with the revolution flag. But even the early signs of radicalization spurned the women of the group into protest. They organized a silent march to the city center. The marchers carried banners of orange and blue that denounced sectarianism and promoted peace: “Power to the people, not religion”, “No to guns and no to abayas (black cloaks worn by Muslim women), we want our beautiful citizenry”, “This is a popular revolution, not an Islamic one”. As the protest was approaching the main mosque, banners were hung on the mosque’s entrance, the word “Freedom” was lit on the floor, and the marchers sang Sayyed Darwish’s classic song, “Build your palaces over our factories.”
The story of these ladies is part and parcel of the greater Syrian tragedy – a nonviolent group with very little funding and external support that defied both the regime, and its radical counterparts through civil and nonviolent means.
This post is cross-posted from Syria Untold.

author: Syria Untold


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Trinidad & Tobago: Getting the Facts on Property Tax · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In my opinion, the anti-Property Tax movement was an important measure of the extent to which our national discourse is now irrational and baseless.
Afra Raymond explains.