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Outrage Brews in China Over Hong Kong Milk Powder Regulation · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

On the first day of a new restriction that limits travelers from taking more than 1.8 kg of infant milk formula out of Hong Kong, border authorities arrested 10 people in violation of the new law. The new regulations were implemented on March 1, 2013. A 47-year-old man was prosecuted March 2, and fined 5000 HKD [zh] (approximately 650 USD). The maximum penalty for smuggling milk powder out of Hong Kong would be a 500,000 HKD fine and 2-year imprisonment.
Mainland Chinese media outlets are divided in their opinion on the policy. Commentators in the newspaper Global Times criticize [zh] the policy as a de facto embargo that violates the principle of free trade. On the other hand, CCTV and the China Daily point out in their micro-blog comments [zh] that the mainland Chinese milk industry is to be blamed for the current situation.
As most of the mainland Chinese do not understand that the policy is targeting smugglers rather than normal visitors, many are outraged, in particular by the 2-year imprisonment penalty. Famous mainland Chinese property developer Pan Shiyi [zh] describes the policy as a modern version of Les Miserables:
刚看完电影《悲惨世界》，电影不错。法国大革命前夕，冉阿让给妹妹的孩子偷了一块面包，被判了五年刑。今天，2013年为给三岁以下孩子多买二罐奶粉，要判二年徒刑。@香港立法会所有成员 。
Just watched the movie Les Miserables. It is a great movie. Before the French revolution, Jean Valjean stole a piece of bread for his sister and was sentenced to 5 years in prison. Today, in 2013, people are sentenced to 2 years in prison for buying more than 2 cans of milk powder for their 3-year-old infant. @Hong Kong Legislative Council Members.
Former CEO of Google China Lee Kai-fu points out [zh] that both the Chinese government and Hong Kong government should be blamed for the ridiculous situation:
香港奶粉事件的谬论和回应：1）“应批评内地而非香港”：批评为何要二选一？毒奶粉、过高关税、荒谬徒刑我们都应批评，2）”挑拨香港内地人感情“ ：批评的是法律不是人，请勿乱扣帽子，3）”香港人买不到奶粉，所以法律合理“：请勿偷换概念：保护、限制两罐，甚至罚款都可以理解，离谱的是两年徒刑！
Comment on the fallacies concerning the Hong Kong milk powder incident: 1. Fallacy: We should criticize mainland China rather than Hong Kong – Why do we have to choose between the two? We should criticize the poisonous milk, the expensive taxation on foreign milk and the ridiculous penalty. 2. Fallacy: The criticism will create antagonism between Hong Kong and mainland Chinese – We are criticizing the law, not Hong Kong people. Do not label the discussion. 3. Fallacy: As Hong Kong people are facing milk powder shortage, the regulation is thus justified – Don't mix up the concepts: We can understand protection, restriction and fine, but a 2-year prison term is outrageous!
Ah Qiang, the director of PFLAG China, curses Hong Kong [zh]:
如果在港买3罐奶粉不但要罚50万，还要判监两年，我只能说：香港，我草你妈的法治和自由！这跟带把水果刀被牢教两年有毛的区别！我们要批评毒奶粉和内地当局的不作为，不代表就要原谅香港政府对法制的亵渎。当民粹替代法治，香港精神只剩意淫。
If buying three cans of milk powder results in a 500,000 HKD fine and 2 years in prison, my reaction is: Hong Kong, fuck your rule of law and freedom! It is like a 2-year forced labour education sentence when [the Chinese police] find people holding a small knife. Of course we have to criticize the mainland Chinese government for its inability [to maintain food security], and the poisonous milk scandal. However, we cannot forgive the Hong Kong government's abuse of the law. It is replacing rule of law with populist sentiment and the eventual erosion of Hong Kong spirit.
As more and more countries have imposed restriction on the export of infant milk powder, Chinese parents are desperate to find safe milk for their children. Children's book writer Zhen Yuanji also laments [zh]:
卖坏奶粉的不坐牢￼买好奶粉的坐牢￼童话都不敢这么写￼儿童安全是国家的头等大事。值此政府换届两会召开政府机构改革之际，呼吁组建国务院奶粉部，由副总理兼任奶粉部长。奶粉直接关系到国家的未来。
Those who sell the poisonous milk stay out of jail. Those who try to buy good milk powder are put into prison. The reality is crazier than fiction. Children's security should be prioritized in national policy. I urge that in the process of government transition, the state council should set up a milk powder office headed by the deputy premier to handle the situation. Milk powder security will affect the future of the country.
Micro-blogger Silly Child reminds [zh] those who are unhappy about the Hong Kong policy about the story of Zhao Lianhai, an activist in the 2008 Chinese milk scandal who was sentenced to 2.5 in prison for his part in the backlash against the government.
Zhao Lianhai was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for “disturbing social order.” Photo from Boxun. Non-commercial use.
As Zhao's name is still unsearchable in Chinese social media, the micro-blogger uploaded his post in image format:
Silly Child's post in image format.
We only have one Zhao Lianhai, that's why he is in jail. If we have 10 Zhaos, they will censor your voices; if we have 100 Zhaos, they can't do anything; if we have 1000 Zhaos, they will be frightened; if we have 10,000 Zhaos, the Chinese milk problem can be solved. China only has one Zhao Lianhai, though we have 10,000 people cursing the Hong Kong milk powder policy.
Indeed, while anger abounds, signs of any strong public movement are absent in the outrage.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Russia’s Public Petitions: By the People, But for Whom? · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Yesterday, on March 4, Vladimir Putin signed an executive order [ru] regarding the creation of a government petitions online platform, which will allow Russian citizens to create and vote on various policy issues at the federal, regional, and local levels. The website, which is scheduled to go live for federal petitions in April 2013 and regional and local issues in November 2013, will be called the “Russian Public Initiative.” Putin first proposed the idea in article [ru] titled “Democracy and the Quality of Government,” one of his much-publicized presidential platform op-eds from the 2012 campaign. The March 4 executive order also marks another lost battle for Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev’s government, which Putin tasked with implementing the Internet-petitions concept back in May 2012, with a (missed) deadline of September that year.
The newspaper Kommersant first reported [ru] disagreements between the Kremlin and the government in early February 2013, when unnamed sources signaled that the Kremlin was displeased with Open Government Affairs Minister Mikhail Abyzov’s plans [ru] to subject all online petitions to review by expert groups formed by his own subordinates. Putin’s March 4 order effectively crowds out Abyzov, mandating the presence of Kremlin representatives in all expert review groups for federal initiatives, and entrusting preliminary review powers and website maintenance duties to the nongovernmental organization, the “Information Democracy Foundation” [ru]. That outfit is headed by Ilya Massukh, the former Deputy Minister of Communications.
Vladimir Putin chairs the November meeting of the Presidential Human Rights Council, Moscow, Russia, 12 November 2012, photo by the Kremlin presidential service, public domain.
When he was in Putin’s government, Massukh worked under former Minister of Communications Igor Shchegolev (who currently serves as an advisor to Putin and a member of the President's Human Rights Council, where he advocated [ru] policies contrary to Abyzov's in November 2012). Massukh resigned in early July 2012 because of political differences with Shchegolev’s replacement, Nikolai Nikiforov (who joined Medvedev’s ministerial cabinet). Immediately after quitting the government, Massukh launched a personal blog on LiveJournal, where he published [ru] a “confession,” thanking Putin, Shchegolev, and former deputy prime ministers Anton Vaino, Vyacheslav Volodin, and Sergei Sobyanin for their competence, explaining that he could not muster the same respect for Nikiforov. (Massukh’s most recent activity on LJ, which he updates roughly once a month, was on February 25, when he addressed [ru] the issue of online censorship, faulting the notorious RuNet blacklist for “unprofessionalism,” but also mocking its critics as a bunch of impetuous, “fools-rush-in” worriers.)
Throughout February, Massukh criticized the government’s Internet-petition proposal, arguing that Abyzov’s blueprint failed to implement the initiative for regional and local issues (though Putin’s May 2012 directive [ru] never specified such needs). He also took issue with the Ministry of Communications’ plans for a state tender to select a third party administrator for the Public Initiative’s website. (Massukh’s own outfit ultimately won this right by presidential fiat.) In comments to Kommersant and later Gazeta.ru, Massukh complained of the tender’s illegal preconditions (which limited access to IT organizations with at least 1,000 employees, capital assets of no less than a billion rubles, and annual profits of at least 100 million rubles). On March 4, the same day that Putin awarded administration rights to Massukh’s group, the Communications Ministry rejected on mysterious technicalities [ru] the only two applicants for the tender (Rostelekom and the Postal Service of Russia), effectively canceling its own plans.
Massukh estimates [ru] that establishing the petitions website will cost 30 million rubles, with annual maintenance expenses amounting to an additional 30-50 million rubles in salaries for moderators, attorneys, and so on. The Information Democracy Foundation says it’s funded by various IT companies, though it refuses to reveal which, and will rely entirely on its own resources to finance the petitions website. (Strangely, neither the Communications Ministry nor the Kremlin planned to finance the Public Initiative with money from the federal budget, meaning that both plans expected some form of NGO voluntarism.) Massukh’s organization was founded just last October, but his ties to the Kremlin and the business community (he used to work for IBM [ru], providing software to help administer state pensions) have apparently attracted it considerable wealth. (He told Vedomosti newspaper that his foundation is preparing to spend 150 million rubles [ru] on Internet projects in 2013 alone.) The group’s first public session [ru] in mid-October last year even drew Alena Popova, a semi-oppositionist, “IT-innovations” guru known for netizen activism and eGov entrepreneurialism. (When Popova tweeted about her attendance at the event, she received a less than impressed reaction [ru] from also semi-oppositionist photoblogger Dmitri Ternovsky.)
With Putin having intervened again in the affairs of the government’s ministers, the public is left to wonder if Medvedev’s declining influence might soon pass a critical threshold. Does the Kremlin’s usurpation of ministerial powers forebode Medvedev’s ouster? Can Medvedev survive as a national political figure, if his office is completely gutted of all real authority? And what of the Internet-petitions web portal? Yesterday’s presidential order provides for two levels of filtration against “illegitimate” citizen proposals. The text bans petitions if they’re redundant with existing petitions, unconstitutional, profane, extremist, or silent about actual policy suggestions. The Information Democracy Foundation gets a first pass at removing any offending proposals (before they’re even voted upon), and expert groups composed of state officials and industry figures will pass judgment on all petitions that collect the minimum support (100 thousand votes for national initiatives, or 5% of local communities for lower level issues).
When the dust settles, average Russians will surely be curious to see how these new Internet-petitions work. Given the multiple filters in place, one doubts that any “Putin Must Go” initiatives will reach the parliament floor. More likely, perhaps, is that the Kremlin will gain a new means of attributing popular support to policies already in the works. After all, laws tightening regulations on foreign-funded political organizations, American adoptions, and subversive Internet content all enjoy the endorsement of large groups active online (if not, on some occasions [ru], a majority of the country). Control over a process that taps those stores of support is something worth fighting for. Just ask Ilya Massukh and his honorable entourage from Red Square.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Slovakia’s Roads: “Adopt a Pothole and Watch It Grow” · Global Voices
Tibor Blazko

This year, the situation on Slovakia's roads is bad. On the average, it is probably worse than a year ago.
On Feb. 28, SME newspaper wrote [sk] that in Košice county in Eastern Slovakia alone, there are over 37,000 square meters of potholes, even though the winter is still not over. Zoltán Bartos, the director of the local Road Administration, said that when they were not able to fix potholes [quickly], they had to mark them using warning road signs. Recently, drivers have been destroying these signs to avoid police fines for speeding, or to be able to get compensation for damaged cars from their insurance companies. That's why workers have already started taking pictures of the newly-installed warning signs.
Below are some of the comments from SME.sk's readers.
roman.com:
I wonder how much this pothole documenting costs.
ienko:
and what if road workers buy one sign and then take a photo with it at 25 different places?
Jirkohu:
Repair the potholes well and permanently and this new phenomenon will disappear.
Ján Divno:
In Switzerland, where they have similar if not worse weather – heat, winter, water, snow – and you won't find a single patch on the road! I don't know how they do it, but there are no potholes!
leomir:
I'm driving along the potholes, and suddenly – a road!
In another discussion [sk], users have calculated that in Slovakia €85,000 in car- and road-related fees and taxes are collected annually per each road kilometer.
Here is a dashboard camera video of a first-class road near Domaša in Eastern Slovakia:
Many other examples can be easily found by searching “výtlky 2013″ (“potholes 2013″) at images.google.sk.
Here is a joke popular with the Slovak netizens these days:
An Englishman asks a Slovak: “Which side of the road do you drive on here? Left or right?
The Slovak responds: “‘Round the holes, buddy!”
The image below comes from Diery.sk [sk], a crowdsourced map of potholes that initially covered only Slovakia's capital, Bratislava, but from the end of this week will display information provided by users in other parts of the country:
How to recognize a drunk driver – in Austria and Slovakia? (Image by Diery.sk, used with permission.)
A pothole documentation project [sk] launched by Nový čas [New Time] newspaper, has recycled this viral phrase for its title:
Adopt a pothole and watch it grow…
A recently established RSS Daily, a mock news outlet inspired by one of Slovak President's gaffes (more about it in this GV text), quotes [sk] a non-existing deputy of the Union of Slovak Car Services who thinks that pothole repairs carried out in some cities are irresponsible and discourage drivers from making timely overhauls of their cars:
Often just a torn-off wheel reveals a much more serious fault with the car.
But just as life is often stranger than fiction, so is real-life news compared to fake news. Last year, musician Milan Capák lost patience with the holes on the sidewalks of his city Rožňava in Eastern Slovakia and started repairing them on his own and at his own cost, later continuing with the potholes on the roads. German ARD TV did a story [video; de] about Capák's selfless initiative. Later, however, a city official sent him a letter [sk], requesting him to stop his work – because he was using the wrong technologies and was making repairs on the land that was not his property.

author: Tibor Blazko


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South Koreans Dub North Korea’s Armistice Threat a Daring Aid Ploy · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

North Korea has threatened to nullify the armistice that ended the Korean War, escalating the already heightened tension in East Asia region and leaving some South Koreans whirling at the brazen threat from their northern neighbor.
The ultimatum was a disturbing move by North Korea, who conducted its third nuclear test on last month. Angry over planned sanctions from the United Nations, North Korea declared on March 5, 2013 that it will end the ceasefire between the Koreas and cut off direct phone links with South Korea if the United States and South Korea go through with their annual joint military exercises.
Although peace continued over 60 years, North and South Korea are technically at war after the Korean War ended in a truce in 1953.
South Korean Web users were quick to analyze and interpret the threat, with a majority decided that it was the most wild, daring stunt North Korea has pulled to win more food aid from South Korea and dissuade the US from enacting tougher sanctions.
North Korean Soldier at DMZ, public domain
The initial online reaction in South Korea was quite chaotic, buzzing with with overly-hyped tweets from news organizations and from South Koreans trying to remind themselves that they are living technically on the brink of war:
@ubbbe: 일부 안보개념이 부족한 분들을 위해서 말씀 드립니다. ” 정전협정 폐지” 는 ” 휴전 상황 종료 ” 입니다. 북한이 이제 막바지로 버티나봐요.
The chaos was intensified thanks to local media's misleading reports on Twitter that led some to believe that North Korea has already declared a war:
@iron_heel: 언론사 트윗의 속보에 낚이지 말자. 북한이 1953년 정전협정을 철회하겠다고 일제히 [속보] 트윗을 날렸다. 근데 북한이 내세운 전제조건은 쏙 뺏다. 한미 훈련을 실시하면….이라는 전제 조건을 말이다.
However, several Twitter users responded to the above tweet [ko] writing that reports such as those are probably accurate, although they indeed left out the precondition part, because the annual US-South Korea military drills are hardly ever canceled simply due to pressure from North Korea. One response read [ko]:
@v542v:어이없어서 글남깁니다.언론사에서 이런 장난치겠습니까.그것도 찌라시도아니고 모든언론에서기사가 나오는데.[…] 미군이 주둔해있는이상 한미훈련은 계속할수밖에없을겁니다.
The fact that North Korea set a specific date, March 11, 2013, to end the armistice led many to interpret the threat as North Korean brinkmanship. Below are net users interpretations posted in one question-and-answer thread [ko] on the popular information-sharing site, Naver KIN (Knowledge-IN):
Q (by user ID: shk****) : 방금어떤기사보니까 11일부터 폐지?라고 북한이 선포했다는데. 왜이리날짜를 자세하게알려주지[…] 진짜전쟁할꺼였으면 지금당장하지않았을까요? […]저 날짜까지 식량좀달라는거아닐까요? A (by user ID: helicomoon): 일종에 남한 정부에게위협주고 미국에 대화하자고 신호를보내는방식입니다. 그 수단이 외교적인 것이 아니고 군사적 위협이란 것입니다 […] 휴전협정 파기를 갖고 이미 수 십번 공갈친 전력이 있어 새로운 소재는아니지만 현정부와 대화창구가 절실하다는 것입니다
And this Twitter user backed the claim up by linking to an old article published in 1995:
@warden_pn: 사실 이번에 북한에서 한 정전협정 파기 드립은 [링크연결]옛날에도 한번 있었던 일이다. 이번에도 초강수 한번 둔건데 그걸로 북한이 해주는대로 하자면 그건 북한에게 놀아나자는 꼴.
A majority of Web users similarly interpreted North Korea's move as a tantrum to win food aid for their starving nation. Several people from the TodayHumor website pointed out [ko] that North Korea has never been fully committed to the armistice, given their many military provocations in the past. And if they were really seriously considering starting a war, they would have already declared so and fired their missiles right from the start.
Other Twitter users mentioned that South Korean politicians will try to take advantage of the collective fear caused by the heightened military tension, as they always have done:
@ex_armydoc: 아시는지 모르겠지만, 북한은 매년 한미 합동훈련, 그리고 호국훈련 때마다 비슷한 이야기를 반복하고 있습니다. 물론 이번 ‘정전협정 백지화’는 꽤 크긴 합니다만, 심심하면 ‘서울을 불바다로 만들겠다’고 하는 애들이고, 또 매번 정부는 이를 이용하죠.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Trinidad & Tobago: Anything But “Nothing”  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Tillah Willah takes issue with Nicki Minaj's “going on American television and describing her country, my country as ‘nothing’.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Venezuela: First Reactions to Hugo Chávez’s Death · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

On March 5, 2013, the world learned of the death of the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez Frias.
According to TeleSur [es], Vice President Nicolás Maduro “made the announcement on radio and television from the Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital in Caracas (the capital), where he said ‘at 4:25 pm today, March 5, the commander and president has died.'”
After winning the elections on October 7, 2012, Chavez traveled to Cuba to undergo surgery and a series of medical treatments due to his battle against cancer. His condition worsened and he was not seen again in the media since December.
On Twitter you can follow netizen's opinions through the words Murió Hugo Chávez [es, Hugo Chávez has died], Nicolás Maduro, and the hashtag #MuereChávez [es, Hugo Chávez dies].
With regard to his famous anti-imperialist ideology, Colombian writer Hector Abad (@hectorabadf) [es] writes:
@hectorabadf: Lo cierto es que Chávez sí inoculó el chavismo por toda América Latina.
@hectorabadf: The truth is that Chávez did in fact inculcate chavismo throughout Latin America
Meanwhile from Venezuela, Nelson Bocaranada (@NelsonBocaranda) [es] shares his condolences:
Thousands marched in support of President Chávez in January 2013 while he was still undergoing cancer treatment in Cuba. Photo by Jesus Gil, copyright Demotix
@NelsonBocaranda: Hugo Chávez Frías 1954-2013. Paz a sus restos y nuestro sentido de pésame a sus familiares y seguidores.
@NelsonBocaranda: Hugo Chávez Frías 1954-2013. Peace for his remains and our most felt condolences to his family and followers.
Mauricio Rodríguez (@MauricioRG28) [es] shows his admiration for the work of Hugo Chávez:
@mauricioRG28: Hombre sin tiempo ya eres eterno.Has entregado todo a la construcción de una patria incluyente y justa. Por eso, Comandante,tu pueblo te ama
@mauricioRG28: Timeless man you are already eternal. You have given everything to build an inclusive and just country. Because of that, commander, the people love you.
And Arturo Cazal (@ArturoCazal) [es] is grateful:
@ArturoCazal: Qué puedo decir. Seguiremos adelante. Luchando, amando… Gracias comandante Chávez
@ArturoCazal: What can I say. We will continue forward. Fighting, loving…Thank you commander Chávez
Roberto Juan Carmona (@SelenioE) [es] considers Chávez to be immortal:
@SelenioE: Chávez es eterno, Chávez no estará nunca en una tumba.
@SelenioE: Chávez is eternal, Chávez will never be in a grave.
And Andreína Miárquez (@mintina) [es] refers to the polarization Chávez sowed:
@mintina: Lo único que deseo es que Hugo Chávez se lleve con él todo el odio que sembró. Adiós.
@mintina: I only wish that Hugo Chávez takes with him all the hate that he sowed. Good bye.
Lourdes (@lourdes_g) thinks it's time for Venezuelans to take back their country:
@lourdes_g: This is your chance…take to the streets and take back your country! #venezuela #chavez #muerechavez
Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo (@atoledomanrique) [es] also tweeted:
@atoledo: Es la hora de la Democracia y del pueblo venezolano. Descanse en paz, Presidente Chávez.
@atoledo: It is the time for democracy and for the Venezuelan people. Rest in peace, President Chávez.
Henrique Capriles (@hcapriles) [es], the representative of the Venezuelan opposition, called for unity:
@hcapriles:En momentos difíciles debemos demostrar nuestro profundo amor y respeto a nuestra Venezuela!Unidad de la familia venezolana!
@hcapriles: During difficult times we must show our profound love and respect for our Venezuela! Unity for the Venezuelan family!
And RJ Gómez [es] wrote on Facebook:
Ojala que ahora El y el pueblo de Venezuela puedan tener paz.
I hope that Chávez and the Venezuelan people can now have peace.
Yrivalera (@Yri_27) [es] invites netizens to show respect when they share their opinions.
@Yri_27: #MuereChávez y la gente burlándose. ¿Qué importa si no eras Chavista? Es un ser humano y merece respeto.
@Yri_27: #MuereChávez [Chávez dies] and people are making jokes. Who cares if you were not chavista? He is a human being and deserves respect.
Finally, several Latin American presidents expressed their condolences via Twitter.
Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) [es], Colombia:
@JuanManSantos: Lamento profundamente la muerte del presidente de Venezuela Hugo Chávez Frías. Nuestras sinceras condolencias… http://twiffo.com/1JJy
@JuanManSantos: I am deeply sorry about the death of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez Frías. Our sincere condolences… http://twiffo.com/1JJy
Ollanta Humala (@Ollanta_HumalaT) [es], Peru:
@Ollanta_HumalaT: Adiós Comandante y amigo Hugo Chávez. Mis sentidas condolencias a su familia y a todo el pueblo venezolano.
@Ollanta_HumalaT: Good bye Commander and friend Hugo Chávez. My heartfelt condolences for his family and the Venezuelan people.
Evo Morales, the President of Bolivia, stated that “the oligarchies, the empire, are surely celebrating,” according to CNN México (@CNNMex) [es]. Argentine President Cristina Fernández declared national mourning [es], including flags at half mast. And Sebastián Piñera, from Chile, expressed [es]: “We had differences, but I learned to appreciate the strength and commitment with which Hugo Chavez fought for his ideas”.
While in Venezuela a military and police deployment was ordered [es], thousands of opinions have been shared online, many focusing on the forthcoming changes in the country's democracy. Newspaper El País from Colombia published a multimedia timeline [es] with 36 events that marked the life of President Chavez, referred to as the leader of the XXI century Socialism.

author: Cati Restrepo


text:
Chavez’ Legacy & How His Death Could Affect the Caribbean  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The death of former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez on Tuesday has elicited a wide range of reactions throughout the blogosphere – in Latin America, to be certain – but now across the Caribbean as well.
Naturally, the Spanish-speaking regional territories were swift in blogging about the news.  From Cuba, Imagen.cu, who writes in Spanish, tried to turn reality on its head with a headline that read:
¡Chávez no ha muerto!
Chavez is not dead!
The post continued:
¡El mundo no te olvidará…CHÁVEZ ES EL PUEBLO!
The world will not forget you…Chavez is the PEOPLE!
Proposiciones echoed this view:
Chávez estará por siempre en el corazón de todos, el compromiso de vida se ensancha porque él indicó el camino a un pueblo, que en su inmensa mayoría siempre lo apoyó.
La Revolución Bolivariana llevará su impronta eternamente. Fuerza Venezuela, Chávez vivirá mientras sigamos su ejemplo…
Chavez will be forever in the hearts of all, the commitment to life broadens because he pointed the way to a people, the vast majority always supported him.
The Bolivarian Revolution will forever bear his imprint. Strength Venezuela, Chavez will live as long as we follow his example…
“Memorial for Hugo Chavez at 24th & Mission in San Francisco”, by Steve Rhodes, used under a Creative Commons license
The Cuban Triangle thought that:
Hugo Chavez had a pretty good run, governing Venezuela since 1999, winning four elections, and having lots of time to put in place and to develop his brand of socialism.
He made quite a mark.  At a time when the hemisphere, acting through the OAS, had joined together in a commitment to reject coups d’etat and similar usurpations of democracy, he governed by winning elections and then eroding elements of Venezuela’s democracy, never quite touching a tripwire that would bring an international response.  He benefited from opposition parties that had had excluded Venezuela’s poor during their decades in power, and that never found unity or balance in opposition.
Chavez cared about the poor and had an odd way of showing it.  He put social programs in place – health, education, income assistance – and at the same time implemented policies that have gone a long way toward wrecking the economy in which poor Venezuelans and all others live.  He drove away foreign investment, eroded property rights, imposed foreign exchange controls that distort the entire economy and lead to corruption, and created food shortages. All this, in an economy that is more than capable of maintaining both a strong private sector and a large financial commitment to fighting poverty.
The post examined the effect that Chavez’ passing could have on Cuba and took a look at the possible scenarios that could emerge from Venezuela's upcoming election:
For Cuba, the risk in Chavez’ passing is that the economic relationship with Venezuela may change or end, raising the cost of Cuba’s energy supplies and damaging the entire economy.  Chavez’ socialist party, having won the presidency last October and 20 of 23 state governorships last December, has to be counted as a favorite in Venezuela’s 30-day snap election scenario.  If the socialists win, the Bolivarian project would seem safe, including its international aspects.  If the opposition wins, the relationship with Cuba would likely be scaled back and new prices would be attached to the doctors-for-oil swap that so benefits Cuba today.
The bottom line is that post-Chavez politics is new in Venezuela, and that brings a note of uncertainty for Cuba, the last thing el comandante Chavez would have wanted to leave behind.
Havana Times reported that Cuba was mourning Chavez, with the government declaring two days of mourning upon news of his death:
‘Chavez is also Cuban,’ said a note from the Havana government read on state television, hours after Chavez died in Caracas at age 58 due to cancer, which he had fought since mid-2011.
The Cuban government ordered that the flag be flown at half-mast Wednesday in government buildings and military installations for the official mourning.
In another post, the blog referred to Chavez as Fidel Castro's lost heir:
With the death of Hugo Chavez, Cuba also lost the longed for great political leader after the slow public demise of Fidel Castro.
An admirer and close friend of the Cuban revolutionary, the Venezuelan president was the person who best embodied the ideas of Castro in recent decades throughout Latin America.
Chavez took on the responsibility not only helping the economically troubled Cuba with oil, but to also breathe fresh air into Fidel’s political ideas.
If Castro was for Chavez the great role model to follow, Chavez was for Castro his ideal heir at the forums throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Memorial for Hugo Chavez at 24th & Mission in San Francisco”, by Steve Rhodes, used under a Creative Commons license.
In contrast, Erasmo Calzadilla didn't get the impression that Cubans were overly moved by Chavez’ passing:
When Chavez’s death was announced, I was in the heart of the city and was able to pick up some of the spirit felt by people over the departure of the president.
I don’t know what they felt in the interior of their souls, but people on the street didn’t seem too affected by this new piece of news. It was a day like any other, except that the news was on every TV.
One of the people most moved by Chavez’s death was me.
I suspect that very difficult times will return for Cuba if Maduro is defeated in the next election.
Crises are also times of opportunity. The political earthquake could promote positive change for Cuba: more democracy, more popular empowerment and less dependence on oil.
The crisis could be exploited by the authoritarian state to further clamp down, and it could also open the nation’s doors to neoliberalism, which would be disastrous for the majority and the environment here.
Havana Times also covered a few U.S. celebrities’ reactions to the president's death; El Cafe Cubano referred to them as “dictator lovers”.
Netizen Armando Chaguaceda wrote a guest post that tried to be both respectful and personal:
Tuesday, March 5, at 5:00 pm sharp, the social networks collapsed with the death of Hugo Chavez. This took place between the tears — false and sincere — of his devotees (who seem to believe the world is ending without the physical presence of the Venezuelan leader) and the hatred — clumsy and visceral — of those who blame him for all the woes of this incurable humanity.
The historical dimension of Hugo Chavez is beyond question. His figure is part of a movement of social demands and democratic political conquests of the Venezuelan people that have grown over the last thirty years.
We owe the rise of Chavez and his movement for initiating the breakdown of neoliberal hegemony, which had produced obscene levels of inequality and social exclusion in the countries of Latin America.
Chavez is undoubtedly a person and a symbol. His image and legacy will be taken on by different peoples and perspectives. Psychologists will speak of a being clearly convinced of the need to brandish Bolivar’s sword; historians will point to his admirable ability as a political animal who won successive electoral contests until the edge of death.
Political scientists will ponder his efforts to create participatory democracy on top of the cadavers of old parties, while at the same time reproducing (and amplifying) authoritarian flaws, patronage and praetorians in Venezuelan politics.
Along the Malecon mused:
Chavez was a combative and polarizing figure. His supporters said he defended the poor and disenfranchised in Venezuela. Critics accused him of running a secretive and corrupt government, and celebrated each time new rumors surfaced that Chavez was dead.
Washington will not miss Chavez. Raúl Castro will. The oil-rich Venezuelan government provided Cuba with subsidies worth billions of dollars per year.
Cuban diaspora blog babalu was all over the story, blogging about an altercation between supporters of Chavez and a group of students in Chacao, Venezuela, reporting on what it deemed distasteful tweets from U.S. politicians and accusing Chavistas of “believing in the biggest lie of all: that socialism can really bring about prosperity and social justice.”
Netizens from the Dominican Republic also shared their thoughts about Chavez’ death and the possible implications it could have on the DR.
Interestingly, bloggers from English-speaking Caribbean territories also weighed in.  From Jamaica, Tallawah commented that Chavez was “in a league of his own”, while Barbados Underground wondered about the implications “for Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean”:
His legacy will be remembered by Barbadians for an anti-American foreign policy posture and in our backyard the Petrocaribe agreement which many Caribbean islands signed are signatories.
Bermudian blogger Catch a fire was saddened to hear about Chavez’ death:
Mr Chavez, for all his faults, represented an idea, an idea that another, better, world is possible.
He pioneered the idea of a socialism for the 21st Century.
There are criticisms that can be made of his leadership, both as President of Venezuela and as a sort of de facto leader of the Latin American left – which in turn helped to inspire movements throughout the world.
For me, though, it is the idea which he represented which is his enduring legacy.
There will be regional and global consequences of his death, and I fully expect certain factions throughout Latin America, no doubt with the support, active or ‘passive’ of the USA, to try and rollback some of the gains that Chavez’s ‘Bolivarian’ socialist movement had made, be it in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru and elsewhere.  Cuba, certainly, will be affected.
In a way his death transforms Chavez from a flawed and all-too-human into a pure ‘idea’ of this better world and the movement to build it.


text:
Hiding $2.34 Trillion in China · Global Voices
Abby Liu

The Chinese hide as much as 14.7 trillion yuan [2.34 trillion US dollars] in income per year from the government's official numbers, deputy director of the National Economic Research Institute Wang Xiaolu reported [zh] during a recent talk at the Finance Museum.
China's grey income, or unreported income, came to 9.3 trillion yuan [1.49 trillion US dollars] in 2008 plus 5.4 trillion more[8.67 million US dollars] from the economic census, Wang said. The majority of the earnings is concentrated among the country's wealthy, widening the gap between rich and poor, he said.
The term “grey income” was coined in China after the country embraced capitalist reforms in 1978. The term describes off-the-books earnings, ranging from the payment a professor receives for giving a lecture outside the college to “hongbao” a doctor is given by a patient's family in hope of good treatment.
Wang defines “gray income” based on his own understanding and practical experience. He regards all the incomes that the NBS failed to take into account as invisible income, including gray income and some legal income that people don't want to disclose. Gray income accounts for a large part of the invisible income, because its sources are hardly made public.
Wang claimed grey income has its origins in the abuse of power and is closely connected with corruption.He even admitted that he himself has earned extra cash from the research fund.
In fact, the Chinese government attempted to crack down on unreported income in 2010 in order to reverse the widening income gap. However, finding “grey income” hard to define and facing the popular belief that the earnings weren't illegal, the effort fell flat.
The widespread existence of grey income has triggered criticism among the public. Netizens discussed [zh] the monetary phenomenon on popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo.
One Weibo user “Baigu Lunjin” criticized [zh] off-the-books payments at school:
Wang Xiaolu pointed out the grey income is closely connected with corruption during an interview. (A screen shot from youku)
摆古论今: 【拜金时代：一切成为商品】小学毕业班班主任将学生介绍给初中学校，得到灰色收入。初三班主任在初三上学期劝导差生提前流失，将学生介绍给中专学校，班主任获利。重点小学班主任对学生排座，照顾一名学生得500元。
[This is] money worshiping era: everything is commodity. If the teacher from primary school graduating class introduces students to a junior high school, she or he gets gray income. If the teacher from junior high school persuades the students who perform poorly to a secondary school, the teacher gets profit. When the teacher in primary school offers a better seat for a student, she gets 500 yuan [80 US dollars].
Another Weibo user from the entertainment industry pointed out [zh] TV hosts’ extra income:
北方猎手：【央视主持人灰色收入知多少？】央视主持人的工资成一直是人们关注的焦点。主持人的工资与工作年限、工作表现息息相关，而综艺节目主持人的收入往往高于新闻主播。但据央视内部人士透露，其实主播们基本不靠工资养家，灰色收入才是他们收入的主要来源。
How much do you know about the grey income of CCTV hosts? CCTV hosts’ wages have always been the focus of attention. A host's wage is closely related to his work experience and performance. However, the entertainment host's income is often higher than the news anchor. According to CCTV insiders, they don't rely on wages to support their families, as grey income is their main source of income.
Journalist Ding Rui quoted [zh] the director of the finance division within the ministry of finance:
记者丁锐：财政部专家：公车是领导和司机的灰色收入。 现在的公车，三分之一的时间用来干公事，三分之一的时间干领导的私事，剩下三分之一的时间干司机的私事。某种意义上讲，司机和首长都有灰色收入，国际经验一大套，但中国却始终解决不了这个问题。
Work-related cars are grey income of the leaders and their drivers. The work-related cars are now used for work for one-third of the time, another one-third of the time is used for officials’ private matters, and the remaining one-third of the time is used for the driver's affair. In a sense, the driver and the leader both have grey income, we have lots of international experience, but China can never solve this problem.
Even in academic and research world, grey income exists. Liang Kele commented [zh]:
凉可乐：王小鲁和贾康今天在金融博物馆谈“灰色收入”，贾康直言，国家规定，科研单位里有工资收入的人是不能从课题费或专项基金里拿取一分钱 劳务的，但研究人员都会通过发票等形式报销以取得部分收入，就连曾专门研究灰色收入的王小鲁也不得不承认自己这么做过。
[Experts] Wang Xiaolu and Jia Kang talked about “grey income” in the Finance Museum, Jia Kang mentioned that, according to state regulations, anyone who has a wage income is not allowed to get money from research funds, but researchers use invoice and other forms of reimbursement to obtain part of their income. Even Wang Xiaolu who specialized in grey income research has admitted that he had done that.
Grey income is also widespread within the medical industry. “Shiwan gongli zhihou” mentioned [zh]:
医生是“灰色收入”最丰厚的行业，拿红包、吃回扣和“走穴”，已经到司空见惯的地步。普通人日常看个病， 动个手术，给主刀医生、帮忙医生、麻醉师、手术室护士分别送红包，都是公开的秘密。在医院圈子里收红包是很普遍的事，谁敢说自己没有收受过？吃药品回扣是 医疗界“灰色收入”的另一种形式.
Medical is the most lucrative industry where the red envelope and kickbacks are the norm. Whether you go to see a doctor or have a surgery, you need to bribe the surgeon, the anesthesiologist and the nurses, it's an open secret. Receiving red envelope is a common practice, who can say that he has never accepted one? Drug kickbacks is another form of “grey income” in medical industry.
Since grey income and hidden rules seem to exist in every industry in China, how can it be prevented? Wang Xiaolu pointed out [zh] that the key lies in reform of the current system:
王小鲁：收入分配改革其实涉及方方面面，它不仅仅是调整工资，不仅仅是调整所得税，它可能还要包括改革政府管理体制，改革财税体制，改革土地管理制度等等一系列的问题，那如果说最突出，或者最迫切的问题是什么，我觉得首先解决腐败的问题，可能是腐败的问题是我们现在面临的最大的威胁。那么解决腐败问题，光是停留在反腐败上，说是发现了什么案子，出现了贪官，有一个我们再来抓一个恐怕不够。我们首先要解决制度上的问题，就是从制度上杜绝腐败产生的那些根源，我想这个是最关键的。
In fact, the reform of the income distribution involves many aspects, it is not just about wage adjustments or income tax adjustments, it may include a range of the reform of government management system, reform of fiscal and taxation system and reform of land management systems, etc. However, the most prominent and pressing issue is corruption, the biggest threat we are facing now. However, to solve the problem of corruption, we can't just stay with anti-corruption campaign by targeting one or two corrupted officials. We must first solve the problems in the system to eliminate corruption at the roots, this is the most critical.

author: Abby Liu


text:
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Gives Farewell Report to Parliament · Global Voices
Owen Guo

On March 5, 2013, China’s retiring premier Wen Jiabao read out a carefully scripted government work report to a sea of reporters and legislators in Beijing's Great Hall of the People during the country's annual session of the parliament, marking his final televised address to the nation before stepping down.
The lengthy government work report lifted the curtain on the 2013 China's National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s highest legislative body whose members meet in Beijing every year in early March to deliberate on public policies.
Wen Jiabao and Chinese president Hu Jintao will retire from office at the end the NPC meeting to hand over power to Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, respectively appointed as the next President and Premier of China.
Wen's nearly 100-minute, 28-page report turned out to be too long for some people. In a photo posted on one Chinese news portal, a man was caught yawning and several others beside him falling asleep.
But for most, his address was a farewell to his 10-year stewardship and part of the effort for the outgoing administration to put the finishing touches on the country’s once-in-a-decade power transition. The premier highlighted China’s achievements over the past five years, including weathering a global financial meltdown, increasing the country's GDP, and launching a navigation satellite.
However, Wen also warned of problems that have undermined Chinese society, chief among them being economic downward pressure, pollution, corruption, and food safety.
A blend of paean to the party and self-criticism, the work report is emblematic of China’s strong top-down politics — the spirit of the report will be studied and appreciated, but hardly challenged by delegates. Largely a rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress will see major decisions determined behind closed-doors by influential power brokers.
One netizen from Beijing wrote sarcastically on popular Chinese microblogging site the day the Congress opened:
Wen read a carefully scripted government work report at the 2013 China's National People’s Congress. Photo by Owen.
石桥-CRI：评价任何报告，记住八字真言：求真务实，鼓舞人心！放之四海而皆准，随时错不了。
To assess any reports, you have to remember a eight-word mantra: truthful and pragmatic, encouraging and inspiring! This can be applied everywhere, and anytime.
Twitter user Sansumao (@yancaiwm) lamented:
@三俗猫：@向松祚：政府工作报告：成绩和功劳讲了50分钟（从9：05到9：55）。不足和问题讲了3分钟（从9：55到9：58）。确实是一个伟大的好报告！
@yancaiwm: Government work report: Talk of achievements and contributions lasted 50 minutes ( from 9:05-9:55). Talk of shortcomings and problems lasted three minutes (from 9:55-9:58). It was truly a great report!
Editor-in-chief of the daily tabloid Global Times Hu Xijin wrote to his three million followers on Weibo  in defense of the government：
@胡锡进：很多人抱怨政府说的很好，做的却是另一套。根本原因是这部分人的期待与中国改善的实际能力存在差距。这是很大的问题。舆论的要求是对的，希望中国向发达国家看齐这错了吗？没错。但中国只能一步一步来。客观说，中国已是这个世界上改善最快的国家，但对人民来说，没有 最快，只有更快。纠结着往前走吧。
Many complain that the government promises one thing, but ends up doing something different. The fundamental reason is that there is a gap between expectations of these people and capacity of China to improve the situation. This is a huge issue, the demands originated from public opinion are right, is it wrong for China to look to the developing countries? No. But China can only take one step at a time. It is fair to say that China is a country that has witnessed the fastest improvements in the world, but for the people, they are expecting faster. We should move ahead painstakingly.

author: Owen Guo


text:
Greece: Corruption, Police State and Struggle in Skouries · Global Voices
Andreas Kakaris

In the Skouries region of Chalkidiki, Northern Greece, Canadian company Eldorado Gold obtained mining rights for the Kakkavos Mountain gold through its Greek subsidiary, Hellenic Gold, after a controversial transfer process in 2004. Local residents have been opposed to the company owing the mining rights during the last decade. Ierissos city feels like a police state, and many suspicious events are taking place.
The surrounding forest, which will be destroyed as per 0.4% (according to the company's research), is one of the rarest European primordial forests; moreover there is likely to be significant danger to the health of nearby residents. The company's environmental impact report is deficient [el], according to Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Megali Panagia village, view from Kakkavos Mountain. Photo by author Andreas Kakaris
Financial scandal
The mining rights purchase was orchestrated with the assistance of Greek politicians, some of whom have recently been involved in corruption scandals. Among them are Christos Pachtas [el], the former Deputy Minister of National Economy and now the Mayor of Aristotelis Municipality, and George Papakonstantinou, the former Minister of Finance and Minister of Environment. Greek media magnate George Bobolas also played a key role through his construction company, AKTOR.
Journalist Fotis Kollias summarizes the history of the scandal on his blog in 2011 [el]:
Μια εταιρεία με κυριότερο περιουσιακό στοιχείο τα μεταλλεία Κασσάνδρας, που τα είχε αγοράσει μόλις 11 εκατ. ευρώ παραμονές των εκλογών του 2004 επί Κ. Σημίτη, αποτιμήθηκε 1,8 δισ. ευρώ. [..] Παραχωρήθηκαν έναντι πινακίου φακής στην «Ελληνικός Χρυσός», η οποία μάλιστα απαλλάχθηκε από την υποχρέωση καταβολής φόρου μεταβίβασης
With Kassandra Mines as its main asset, purchased for 11 million euros on the eve of the 2004 national elections under PM Costas Simitis, the company [AKTOR] was valued at 1.8 billion euros. […] Kassandra Mines were bestowed for a mess of pottage to Hellenic Gold, which was even relieved of transfer tax payment
Even the European Union was embroiled in the controversy. As reported by Mr. Toskas, member of the Struggle Committees Against the Mines, in a documentary by Greek journalist Giorgos Avgeropoulos [el]:
Και όταν η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση ζήτησε να επιστρέψει η «Ελληνικός Χρυσός» 15,5 εκατομμύρια ευρώ στο ελληνικό δημόσιο, ο τότε Υπουργός Περιβάλλοντος, ο κύριος Παπακωνσταντίνου, προσέφυγε στο Ευρωπαϊκό Δικαστήριο, για να μην πληρώσουν οι ιδιώτες τα 15,5 εκατομμύρια στο κράτος
When the European Union asked Hellenic Gold to return 15.5 million euros to the Greek state, Mr. Papakonstantinou, then the Minister of Environment, appealed to the European Court, so that the private entities involved wouldn't have to pay the 15.5 million to the state
Recently, Hellenic Gold has increased mining activity due to a price hike for the precious mineral, and the resistance by local residents has grown even stronger. The case has grown big nationally and public opinion sides with locals. The same is true in the Greek twittersphere under the hashtag #skouries.
Here are some examples [el]:
@leonidas108: Οι Σκουριές είναι κλασική περίπτωση έμμεσης και παράνομης χρηματοδότησης πολιτικών κομμάτων και προσώπων #skouries
@leonidas108: Skouries is the classical case of indirect and illegal funding of political parties and figures #skouries
@ypopto_mousi: Μην εξοργίζεστε. Η λάσπη και τα “ρεπορταζ” για τις #skouries είναι μέρος αμυντικής στρατηγικής.Τώρα ακολουθούν την ατζέντα δεν την φτιάχνουν.
@ypopto_mousi: Don't become exasperated. Mudslinging and the “reports” on #skouries are part of a defensive strategy. Now, they follow the agenda, they don't make it.
@kkostaskk: Από αυτό το εργοτάξιο ζουν 1200 οικογένειες στη Χαλκιδική. Από αυτό το εργοτάξιο πεθαίνουν όλες οι οικογένειες στη Χαλκιδική. #skouries
@kkostaskk: 1200 families in Chalkidiki live because of the [work in the] mining site. All families in Chalkidiki die because of the mining site. #skouries
@MalliarMargar: Για να καταλάβουμε τι γίνεται,γύρω από τις σκουριές αν πεις ότι είσαι οικολόγος θεωρείται κάτι ανάλογο του παιδεραστή #skouries #propaganda
@MalliarMargar: In order to understand what's going on, if someone declares himself an ecologist while on Skouries area, he is considered something like a pedophile #skouries #propaganda
Arson at the mines
Tensions culminated on Saturday, February 17, when a group of 40 masked people attacked the Skouries gold mine site with molotov cocktails, damaging machinery, containers and vehicles. According to the police, the culprits had left the scene by the time they arrived.
The following videos, leaked by security guards to the media, show what happened.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUd3P8Fh0xw
The videos were edited by the news portal Enikos.gr.
Greek mainstream media reported that unknown people doused security guards in petrol, but this hasn't been confirmed. On the contrary, Polygyros Hospital, where the guards were transferred, said they had only seen abrasions and superficial wounds. But the company didn't only suffer these damages. Its sharemarket value plunged the very same day, as cited by @northaura via the following chart:
Eldorado Gold (principal inv. company at #skouries gold-mine, N. #Greece) down 6% today = 400mil $ Graph:pic.twitter.com/NC64z72L #rbnews
The day after the arson attack, police detained 27 people who were later released. The detentions continued in the following days as well; several local residents were detained singly or in pairs and were subjected to a DNA test. As @freenet eloquently says:
Στις Σκουριές τις τελευταίες μέρες εξελίσσεται εκτεταμένη επιχείρηση συλλογής και φακελώματος DNA κατοίκων #skouries
In Skouries, an extensive operation of residents’ DNA collection and profiling has been taking place during the last days  #skouries
These police tactics have earned intense criticism by citizens and legal experts as a flagrant violation of human rights. Taking DNA samples is not legal without charges. According to the Hellenic Mining Watch blog, which plays a key role in activism and updates on the case, the situation is spinning out of control [el].
@IrateGreek summarizes some typical reports:
#Greece Detainees “disappear” in Halkidiki ie are taken to police in Polygyros & friends/relatives/lawyers can't get info #rbnews #Skouries
Also by @Inflamatory_:
Police cars reportedly outside the cafe where a meeting is held by citizens/groups against gold mining in #skouries @antigoldgreece#rbnews
While @potmos reports that [el]:
Δικηγόροι ενημερώνουν τον κόσμο για τα δικαιώματά τους στο Συντονιστικό στην Ιερισσό. Περιπολίες και προσαγωγές στο χωριό. #skouries #rbnews
Lawyers inform citizens of their rights at Ierissos coordination point. Patrols and detentions in the village. #skouries #rbnews
In an interview in Thessaloniki [el] on Friday, February 22, seven lawyers talked of the “constitutional aberration” in Skouries, referring to the incidents of the previous week.
Independent online news
Proto Thema newspaper headline: “The Gold Nuclei”, Sunday 24.2.2013. Headline insinuates ties with radical anarchist organization “Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei“
While all this happened in Chalkidiki, numerous mainstream Greek media followed a special defensive line in favor of the company. This came as no surprise since Hellenic Gold spends big money on media advertising for positive publicity on its investment. A chief example is a publication by popular newspaper Proto Thema (First Issue), which correlates the actions in Chalkidiki with terrorism.
The residents didn't give up. On Sunday, a peaceful demonstration against the gold mines took place in Megali Panagia, one of the closest villages near Kakkavos Mountain, organized by thousands of local residents, groups, and parties supporting the villagers’ struggle.
The demonstration had the form of a press conference open to anyone interested and succeeded in attendance and dissemination of residents’ message to the public. Unprecedented, though, were the measures taken by Greek Police, sending hundreds of police officers for fear of violent incidents. Police officers kept their distance from the protesters and were reportedly checking license plates. The speakers described the events, the unprecedented security measures and also the course of their litigation with the company. The last to speak were two women who were among the 40 detained [to date], one of whom described her shocking experience [el]:
Η αστυνομία μπαίνει στα σπίτια μας με επιθετική διάθεση και χωρίς κανένα σεβασμό. Προχτές μπήκε ο εισαγγελέας για την προσαγωγή μου με αποτέλεσμα να σοκαριστεί το παιδί μου.
Police entered our houses aggresively and with no respect. The day before yesterday, the prosecutor came in for my detention; as a result my child was scared.
Thousands of residents in a demonstration at Megali Panagia village, 24.2.2013. Photo by author Andreas Kakaris
Citizen journalists were also at the demonstration, which they covered by all means possible, multilingually and with objectivity, taking the place of the traditional media who were conspicuous by their absence. As Professor of Political Economy Nikos Smyrnaios remarked in a his research on coverage of the case on Twitter [el]:
communities formed in Twitter are able to operate autonomously across the news spectrum, from the production of primary news update till fact-checking and news dissemination without any journalist's participation.
All speeches appear in the following video, edited and uploaded by iosifsk on his Youtube channel:
Tension continues to reign in the area. Given the severity of the situation, we will return to the case, should more news emerge.
Spanish group Todos somos griegos (We are all Greeks) made a Storify collection of Greek and other multilingual tweets about the recent events in Skouries. Global Voices author Asteris Masouras also made a Storify collection of these troubled two days’ tweets and contributed to the creation of this article.

author: Andreas Kakaris


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Guyana: Taming the Beast of Power  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

I start to call it the red-eye beast that can whisper in you’ head and tell you to do unspeakable things.
Guyana-Gyal blogs about power, and how it affects all relationships.


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Hungarian Constitution is “Not a Toy” · Global Voices
Marietta Le

According to a report [hu] on Facebook page “The Constitution is Not a Toy,” some 100 protesters have occupied the Hungarian governing party's headquarters; a pro-government crowd, however, has also showed up at the scene. The protesters voiced their opposition to the planned new amendment of the Hungarian constitution, a basic law that was enacted in 2011, after Fidesz Party won with a two thirds majority in 2010, and has been at the center of heated debates in and outside the country ever since. The latest review of the amendment by the Princeton University professor Kim Lane Scheppele was published here.

author: Marietta Le


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Iran’s President Says “Chavez Will Return with Christ” · Global Voices
Farid

President Ahmadinejad, in his message of condolences for Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, published on his official website, referred to President Chavez as a “Martyr of service to the people of Venezuela, who died as a result of
a suspicious death.” Ahmadinejad added, “I have no doubt Chavez will return with Jesus Christ and all the other righteous ones,” referring to the Hidden Imam who some in Islam consider to be the future savior of mankind.
Ahmadinejad was criticized for this message both by netizens and by Ahmad Khatami, a leading conservative figure within the regime.
Damavandieh writes [fa]:
Iranian youth were killed, an earth quake hit the Azerbaijan province, people who served this country died, but the government did not announce a national day of mourning, even while Iranians were mourning. Now Chavez died… and all of a sudden the government announces a national day of mourning. From the moment he died, Iranians sent SMS messages to each other making jokes about him
Ahmadinejad presents Chavez as a Shi'ite Saint. Mana Neyestani in Roozonline (used with permission)
Azadi quotes Iranian media who say that Ahmadinejad called Venezuela’s vice president one month ago and said [fa] he prays to God for Chavez’s health. The blogger says with irony that hopefully Ahmadinejad is citing the same prayer for Ali Khamenei [the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader].
Azarmehr has quoted from one part of Ahmadinejad’s message about the death of Chavez and published several photos of late Venezulean president together with Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s former dictator and an arch foe of Iran and Mohammad Khatami, the former reformist president.
Challenger published [fa] Chavez photos dancing with two sexy dancers and asks whether these two will also return with Christ and the Hidden Imam.
Tweatter writes he hopes Chavez does not wait too long to come back.
1376 executions says [fa]:
If one day Iran and Italy were to develop strong ties, the Iranian government would say the same thing about former Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, that this womanizer will come back with Christ.

author: Farid


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Jamaica: Art & Blackness  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Musings on blackness and contemporary Jamaican art, from the National Gallery of Jamaica Blog.


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Maduro and Capriles will Define Venezuela’s Political Future · Global Voices
Jessica Carrillo

After Hugo Chávez's death, Venezuela's future became uncertain.
The debate is now focused on the progression of chavism without Chávez, a scenario which began to emerge on December 9, 2012. On that day, in his last public appearance [es] the President founded the bases and gave instructions for the continuity of his political project which up until then had him as the only center.
Even though the Constitution [es] provides specific instructions on the steps to take after president Chávez's absence, the various interpretations of the document have generated controversy among the different political actors in the country.
Former president and current congressman of the National Assembly (AN) Fernando Soto Rojas [es] stated that Diosdado Cabello, current president of the AN, should take over the leadership of the Executive Power. Nonetheless, chancellor Elías Jaua said [es] vice-president Nicolás Maduro will serve as temporary president and will be the United Socialist Party of Venezuela‘s (PSUV) candidate for the next presidential elections, which according to Venezuela's constitution should be held within 30 days.
Nicolás Maduro, picture by Flickr user chavezcandanga, under Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Given this fact, Suhelis Tejero (@suhelis) [es] wrote on Twitter that it looks like Soto Rojas is the only one who follows Venezuela's Constitution.
@Suhelis: Parece que el único que sabe leer la Constitución de Venezuela en el oficialismo es Soto Rojas.
@Suhelis: Apparently the only person who knows how to read Venezuela's Constitution in the governing party is Soto Rojas.
The temporary presidency will give Maduro, as it gave Chávez, the possibility to run for office with all of the State's resources at his disposal.
Luis Carlos Díaz (@luiscarlos) [es] agrees that the decision to place Maduro as the temporary president is tied to the capacity to get resources for the campaign.
@luiscarlos: El Gobierno es pragmático: mantener a Maduro en el poder le permitirá hacer otra campaña electoral abusiva.
@luiscarlos: The government is pragmatic: keeping Maduro in power will allow them to carry out another abusive electoral campaign.
On the opposite side, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) published a statement [es] expressing their condolences to the family of president Chávez and to his followers. Many interpreted this move as a formal announcement of Henrique Capriles Radonski‘s candidacy against Maduro during the next elections, since he was the one to address the people. Capriles gained 45% of the votes when he ran against Chávez in the past October 7, 2012 elections
José Miguel (@JoseMiguelIRDS) [es] considers that the current governor of the state of Miranda will run against Maduro for the presidency of Venezuela.
Capriles Radonski, photo by Flickr user César Gonzáles, under Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
@JoseMiguelIRDS: Hoy quedo claro que Capriles es el candidato
@JoseMiguelIRDS: Today it became clear that Capriles is the candidate
The strategies of both candidates during the next campaign seem to be clear considering their latest speeches: Capriles will keep resorting to a conciliatory agenda and will try to show himself as a man that bets on progress for the country. He will continue to advocate for national unity and for ending the division among Venezuelans.
On the other hand, Maduro's speech hours before he announced the President had passed away clearly showed that he will continue to use Chávez and the devotion of his followers as a cohesion force within chavism. He also pointed out that he'll keep on supporting the same values Chavez represents: anti-imperialism, fighting against the right-wing, defending the homeland's sovereignty, etc.
Maria Gabriela Méndez (@MaGaMendez) [es] said that with Chavez's death, a new cult emerged.
@MaGaMendez: Muere un hombre, nace una religión.
@MaGaMendez: A man dies, a religion is born.
Even though it's too soon to talk about possible winners, many bet on a win by the governing party based on the results of the two previous electoral campaigns.
Others, like Armando Daniel Armas (@ArmandoArmas) [es], think that the future of Venezuela is not in the hands of the government but in the hands of its people.
@ArmandoArmas: El destino d la patria no está amarrado a una persona, sino a la capacidad q tengamos todos los ciudadanos d querer y trabajar x #Venezuela
@ArmandoArmas: The homeland's destiny is not tied to one person, but to the capacity that we, as citizens, have of wanting to work for #Venezuela
There are various scenarios and the possibilities are only starting to appear, but the web has been debating and talking about them for a while. Luis Carlos Díaz (@LuisCarlos) [es] and Naky Soto (@Naky) [es] host a Google hangout since before the October 2012 elections, and this time – given Chavez's death – they discussed and analyzed what could become of Venezuela's political future.

author: Jessica Carrillo


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Mexico: A Contradictory Kiosk · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Although you might think that all kiosks offer things that can be purchased, in the blog Hazme el chingado favor [es], La Banda writes about a peculiar kiosk [es] in Mexico City, where the owner:
makes it very clear that although magazines are for sale they are really not, so don't peek in to look for him because he is not there […] but just in case, he leaves a phone there so that you can call and make an appointment so that you can finally purchase the month's magazine.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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China’s Social Web Frowns On State TV’s Live Execution Broadcast · Global Voices
Gloria Wong

The unprecedented decision of China's state-run television network to broadcast live the final moments of a Burmese drug lord just before his execution has not only sparked outrage in Myanmar but has also triggered debate on the mainland over whether the move was an act of justice or vengeance.
Naw Kham, the leader of a Burmese drug smuggling ring, and three of his accomplices, who massacred 13 Chinese crewmen on the Mekong River in 2011, were executed on March 1, 2013. The TV network chronicled the lead-up to the executions in a two-hour special that shows the convicts being escorted from the prison cells to the lethal injection room.
This isn't first time a Chinese television network has tapped into the run-up to a state execution. A controversial but wildly popular program called “Interviews Before Execution” ran from 2006 to 2012 in central Henan Province, in which a reporter interviewed murderers condemned to death shortly before the sentence was carried out.
Screen capture of the CCTV livecast of Naw Kham being escorted to the execution room.
Defending its decision, CCTV asserted that “execution isn't the same as watching people be killed”. Similar to previous shows, the criminals were taken off-camera and away from the public's eyes in the final executions.
The live broadcast instantly became a hot topic online. According to an online poll [zh] launched by a local journalist of users on the popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo, only 11.56 percent supported the live broadcast of execution, while 85.55 percent saw it as a violation of basic ethics. For those who supported the live broadcast, they applauded the death sentences as just retribution.
China leads the world in its use of capital punishment, though the exact number of executions has always remained a state secret. The Chinese legal system's incompetence and the low bar set for which crimes are punishable by death drive the regime's frequent executions, according to a review by The Atlantic magazine.
But the country has made overtures to improve the situation. In 2010, the Supreme People's Court called for judges to reserve the ultimate punishment for only serious crimes.
Long time ahead (來日方長__VR) [zh], a Baptist university student, wrote that she didn't have any problem with the broadcast:
央视直播糯康死刑是合理的，告诉大众残忍的夺取别人性命是可恨的，一定会受到应有的惩罚。央视并没有直播注射糯康过程是人道的。让民众看到一个生命消失的过程并不是法制社会所想传达的，那与古代砍下首级示众有何分别。我认为央视没有做错。
@來日方長__VR: CCTV's live broadcast is reasonable, which speaks to the fact that those who claimed others’ lives will get their due punishment. It's morally right for CCTV not to broadcast the lethal injection, because it then makes no difference between a legal society and the brutal old society. In a legal society, people should not allowed to see the disappearance of lives. I don't see anything wrong here.
But a majority of people disagreed that it was appropriate for a state-run television to broadcast the execution parade. Many lawyers decried that the TV program violated the law, while public opinion leaders complained the execution was immoral.
Attorney Si Wei Jiang (@斯伟江) [zh] was one among them:
央视直播执行死刑（？），是扩大版的执行死刑示众。最高法院司法解释明文规定：执行死刑应当公布，不应示众。从道德上来说，也是非常残酷的。
@斯伟江: CCTV's live execution is just expanding the range in which the execution is being publicly exposed. The judicial interpretations of the Supreme Court dictates that executions “should be announced, but should not be publicly exposed”. It is also crass in the moral realm.
Han Yaoyi (@刑法韩友谊) [zh] pointed out that live execution is not an embodiment of the legal spirit:
糯康该当死刑，即使面对国际反死刑公约也毫无疑问。但直播死刑执行（电视网络游街）不是法律精神的体现，是权力在肉体上的展示，寻求的是暴力的看客。我们应该清楚：仅是目的不同。从手法上讲，国家暴力并不比罪犯的暴力更高尚。
@刑法韩友谊: Naw Kham should be executed no doubt, even being protected from the international convention that is against the death penalty. But CCTV’s live broadcast of the execution is a live parade on TV and the Internet, this is not showing justice, this is showing power over flesh, and this is looking for the bystanders of the violence. We should realize that the state violence is no better than criminal violence and the difference only lies in their purposes.
Writer Zhao Chu (@赵楚) [zh] took a more humanist perspective on the issue:
罪犯依法判处死刑，只是用生命偿还罪责，刑罚问题，何必以这种方式展览残暴？罪犯也有人格，也是人，有人的基本尊严，这种尊严也是所有人的尊严，生命的尊严。
@赵楚: The criminal pays for his crime with his life. It is just a criminal punishment, which is not necessary to be exposed to the public in such a brutal way. Criminals also have their own dignity, the basic dignity that every human being should enjoy.
The other side of Netease (@网易另一面) [zh] seemed get to the heart of the problem:
抓捕并处置糯康犯罪集团，本是彰显中国有效执法的案例，但央视高调的“直播”却起到适得其反的效果。与萨达姆被绞死视频外泄不同，国家电视台的名义“直播”，表面上看是慰藉同胞的道德剧，实质则是炫耀暴力与展示权力的国家宣传片。
@网易另一面: Naw Kham and his henchman being captured and punished should have been viewed as a case study of the effective law enforcement in China. But CCTV's high-profile live broadcast led to the exact opposite effect. The live execution aired by a state-run television is different from the video of Saddam Hussein's execution, which was leaked out accidentally. At first glance, CCTV's live execution serves as the morality play that comforts Chinese, but actually it rolls out as a promotion program that showcases the nation's violence and power.

author: Gloria Wong


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One Billion Rising Campaign In Colombo · Global Voices
Rezwan

The One Billion Rising campaign constitutes of one billion people across the world showing their antipathy towards all forms of violence against women. Meg posts pictures and analysis of the One Billion Rising campaign in Colombo, Sri Lanka on the 14th of February, 2013.

author: Rezwan


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Top 10 Popular Nepali Blogs · Global Voices
Rezwan

Surath Giri compiles a list of top 10 popular Nepali blogs according to Alexa statistics.


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U.N. Passes Sanctions After North Korea’s Nuclear Threat · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

The U.N. Security Council has decided to impose tougher sanctions against North Korea after Pyongyang threatened to launch ‘preemptive nuclear attacks’ on the United Stated and neighboring South Korea. North Korea Leadership Watch wrote about the latest developments, including North Korea staging a mass Army-People solidarity rally.


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Venezuela: Open-Air Museum Few Dare to Visit · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Photographer and blogger Alberto Rojas shares photos of wall art in “The Route of the Spanish” in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo used with permission.
Alberto explains that most Caracas residents don't know about this “open-air museum” because they are afraid to visit the area. The pictures in the post were taken behind a jeep's windshield. Read more about Alberto's blog here.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Viral Video: China’s Foreigners on Politics · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Every March, thousands of “people's representatives” to the National People’s Congress (NPC) and members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) gather in Beijing for the “Two Sessions”. This year, State-run newspaper Global Times sent its reporters into the streets to ask random foreigners living in Beijing about their basic knowledge of China’s politics. The video of the interview went viral online. ChinaFile has translated netizens’ comments.


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Argentines Analyze Chávez’s Political Legacy  · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

All links lead to Spanish-language website unless otherwise noted.
Due to the death [en] of  Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, declared three days of national mourning. In the meantime, Argentinean bloggers analyze the political life of the Venezuelan leader.
Gerardo Fernandez, from the blog  Tirando al Medio (Targeting Media), analyzes the last century's political systems and the new foundations of this new political era in his post “Chávez, la democracia y el sentido de las palabras” (Chavez, democracy, and the meaning of words):
Durante casi todo el siglo pasado, las derechas continentales recurrieron a las Fuerzas Armadas para derrocar gobiernos electos democráticamente porque, según ellas, se habían apartado “del camino correcto” y en consecuencia los golpes cívico-militares se perpetraban con el “bienintencionado fin” de generar las condiciones para una democracia mejor.
El punto es que esta mecánica fue funcional a la interrupción constante del proceso democrático latinoamericano. Hasta que el nuevo siglo vio implosionar al neoliberalismo y sus consecuencias quedaron a la vista de todos. Ahí, la irrupción de Hugo Chávez se torna definitiva para comenzar a sentar las bases de un nuevo tiempo político.
During most of the last century, right-wing parties from this continent used Armed Forces to overthrow democratic governments since –according to them- they had all abandoned the “right path” and, therefore, civilian-military coup d’états were carried out aiming at the “good-intentioned goal” of creating conditions for a better democracy.
By putting this thought into practice, right-winged parties could often halt Latin America's democratic process. Nevertheless, it was not until the new century that the implosion of Neoliberalism could be perceived and its consequences could be easily noticed. In this period, Chavez's emergence is the key to start establishing the new foundations in this new political era.
In this train of thought, Marcelo Fernandez from the Novedades por el sur (News on the South), intends to recall “a fact that should raise awareness among us”.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner with Hugo Chávez, December  1st 2011. Image shared by the Flick user chavezcandanga under license Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Hugo Chávez Frías ha pasado a la historia como un líder latinoamericano que retomó una serie de banderas olvidadas a raíz de los embates furibundos que el neoliberalismo asestó a nuestra región. Ya desde 1992 -pero desde 1998 como presidente- Chávez comenzó a re-habilitar las nociones de Patria Grande, Socialismo, integración latinoamericana, Estado fuerte y redistribución de las riquezas, etc.
Hugo Chavez Frias has gone down in history as the Latin American Leader who retook some long forgotten symbols due to the enraged Neoliberalism clashes in our region. Ever since 1992, though it started in 1998 when he was elected, Chavez started to restore some concepts such as: Patria Grande, Socialism, Latin-American integration, strong State, redistribution of wealth, etc.
Moreover, the ‘Contradicto de San Telmo’ blogger wrote a poem entitled “El Perón Tropical”  (The Tropical Peron). Its verses remind us of a phrase that appeared as graffiti after the news on the death of Eva Duarte de Peron were revealed: “Long live Cancer!” [en]
While elites opens their expensive sparkling wines
Sober markets reach their climax
The powerful are turned on by their wet dreams of power
In the Doral mansions they prepare, drunk,
The painting made of tar with which they will rewrite
For the umpteenth time their laconic “Long Live Cancer”
Nevertheless, not all Argentine bloggers consider the economic policies of the Chavez Government a positive legacy. Esteban Tabasco affirms in his blog Argentina Abierta  [es] (Open Argentina):
Que nadie se equivoque: Chávez no erradicó la pobreza de Venezuela, erradicó la riqueza.
Porque un país sólo puede jactarse de haber eliminado el hambre cuando generó trabajo genuino para toda la gente, y no cuando reparte bolsas de comida, como Chávez.
Do not get confused: Chavez did not eradicate poverty in Venezuela. Instead, he eradicated wealth.
Because the only way a country can be proud of eradicating hunger is when it has created actual jobs for all people, not when it hands out food for free, like Hugo Chavez did.
Other Argentines, like football player Diego Armando Maradona (@DiegoAMaradona), used social networks to say good bye to the Venezuelan President:
@DiegoAMaradona: Hasta siempre comandante @chavezcandanga , lo vamos a extrañar x siempre #ChavezVive
@DiegoAMaradona: Farewell, Commander @chavezcandanga, we will miss you forever #ChavezVive

author: Laura Schneider


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Beauty & the Beast? “Ethnic” Pageant Winner Enrages Russian Nationalists · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Eighteen year-old Elmira Abdrazakova likely did not anticipate winning the Miss Russia pageant last Saturday, March 2, 2013. If she had, she would likely have made her profile on the Russian social network VKontakte private beforehand. Instead, she later ended up removing the profile entirely. Having grown up in the small Siberian town of Mezhdurechensk (located in Kemerovo Oblast’, a coal-mining region near Novosibirsk), Abdrazakova wasn't prepared for the amount of vitriol her victory would attract from the RuNet's nationalists, who inundated her page with racist messages.
Though her account is no more, plenty of vitriol still circulates the RuNet. When top Russian blogger Rustem Adagamov posted news [ru] of Abdrazakova's victory on his blog, along with some of her photographs, the announcement attracted comments like [ru] “Are there still Russian girls in the Russian Federation?,” not only implying that women like Abdrazakova aren't really Russian, but that foreigners are somehow taking over. (Russian society is no stranger to ethnic tensions, certainly. Indeed, there's currently an online initiative [ru] aimed explicitly at combating such “illegal immigrants.”) Nationalist ideologue and opposition Coordinating Council member Konstantin Krylov also lamented Russia's “changing face.” Posting a photograph of an elderly Asian woman to represent this “face,” he continued [ru] in a faux-folksy style:
Нам её таперича любить положено. Ну так и дочу её, значит, положено любить. И весь прочий выводок. Всех народцев-золоторотцев, в земле россиянской просиявших.
Nowadays we gotta love her. And her daughter, too, we gotta love. And the rest of the brood. All the ragamuffin peoples Resplendent in the Russian Land [ru].
Abdrazakova's name and dark hair are indeed classically Tatar, but in reality she is a Shor (a related Turkic people native to Siberia). Both the Tatars, Russia's largest ethnic minority with the eponymous Republic of Tatarstan, and the much less numerous Shors have been a peaceful part of the Russian “experience” for hundreds of years. Nevertheless, the modern crop of Russian nationalists views them (and really any other non-Russian ethnic group) with suspicion and animosity. To these nationalists, Tatars look “different,” although any foreigner would be hard-pressed to pick out a Tatar from a Russian crowd, while their traditionally Muslim faith is a reminder of the problems of the North Caucasus. Finally, Tatars are the remnants of the Tatar Yoke, the historic occupation of medieval Russia by Mongolians, which ended around seven hundred years ago.
How Russian nationalists seem to view Elmira Abdrazakova. Image remixed by author using Vereschagin's “A Bukharian Soldier,” CC 2.0 Wikimedia Commons.
These opinions are clearly visible in how the unabashedly nationalist publication Sputnik & Pogrom has reacted to Abdrazakova's victory. Egor Prosvirnin, an S&P ideologue, went the extra mile in his tirades, drawing on rumors that Abdrazakova had plastic surgery performed on her lips (a rumor that has since been disproved [ru] by Elmira's acquaintances and childhood photographs), calling her a “darkie exploding from botox” [ru] and a “provincial tatarva [disparaging] with blown up lips” [ru]. The main argument [ru], however, concerned a plot even more sinister:
[…] нам начали прививать толерантность через эталонный образ женской красоты […] меняя наше представление о том, как должна выглядеть “мисс Россия”
[…] they've began to inculcate in us tolerance through a master image of female beauty […] changing our conception of how a “Miss Russia” should look
Abdrazakova's supposed Muslim faith also reared its head — S&P readers left comments like “Miss Pakistan and Azerbaijan 2013” [ru] and “Why wasn't she wearing a burqa or at least a hijab?” [ru].
In fact, Shors are largely Russian Orthodox (as is Abdrazakova, who attended Sunday school as a child), and are only tenuously related to the Tatars. However, people who are quick to defend Abdrazakova by citing her “real” ethnicity tend to undermine their own cause: claims that “it's okay for her to win because she's not really a Tatar” are rather weak tea, as far as defense goes. This is especially dangerous in Russia, where people unironically write things like [ru] “out of the three runner-ups, Abdrazakova is closest to the europeoid racial type,” and are later surprised when this sparks a racist discussion about which of Russia's ethnicities are most European-looking, replete with mentions of Aryans and genetics. Blogger Alexander Nemirovsky, a historian, explained [ru] why, for some, Shors may be an attractive alternative to Tatars:
Шорцы – православные + сибирские аборигены. А татары – этнические мусульмане и не “хорошие индейцы отдаленной земли Сибирской”. Кроме того, шорцы не ассоциируются с властью, бизнесом и т.д., и их вообще мало кто видел, а татары – ассоциируются, и их как “чужих” себе представляют много лучше […]
Shors are Orthodox + Siberian aboriginals. Tatars on the other hand are ethnic Muslims and not “good Indians from the far away land of Siberia.” Besides, Shors aren't associated with power, business, etc., and they are in general not well known, while Tatars are associated with that, and are much easier to “other” […]
Generally, this case is reminiscent of the outpouring of nationalist hostility last summer [ru], when several North Caucasian wrestlers won gold medals competing for Russia. Few things annoy the nationalists more than “unworthy” minorities enjoying some form of success.
Meanwhile, one blogger did pen a successful defense of Abdrazakova. Anastasiya Karimova, a journalist at Kommersant and the young lady who famously brought oranges [ru] to the FSB Lubyanka office back in 2005, frankly talked about the banal racism she has had to deal with as a half-Tatar, ending on an impassioned note [ru]:
Я очень хорошо вижу разницу между национализмом и нацизмом. У меня не вызывают ужаса националисты, я даже разделяла в своё время многие предложение ДПНИ по изменению миграционной политики. Мерзкое цепляние к фамилиям и к чертам лица – это переход через черту, разделяющую два разных понятия. На Эльмиру Абдразакову вылились и продолжают выливаться потоки ксенофобского дерьма, но она может утешаться хотя бы тем, что её победа в очередной раз вскрыла старый гнойник […] Держись, Эльмира!
I see a very clear difference between nationalism and Nazism. I am not horrified by nationalists, at one point I even supported many DPNI proposals for changing immigration policy. The disgusting fascination with surnames and facial features crosses the line between two completely different notions. Streams of xenophobic crap have been, and continue to be, poured out over Elmira Abdrazakova, but she can console herself with the knowledge that her victory once again opened up an old abscess […] Be strong, Elmira!

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Breaking All-Male, Offline Trend, Cambodia’s First Female Lawmaker Blogs · Global Voices
Sopheap Chak

To commemorate the International Women's Day this year, let us meet Mu Sochua, the first woman ever to be elected to Cambodia's Parliament and one of the very few politicians in Cambodia who actively use social media.
Sochua advocates the prioritization of women issues in policymaking and is a known critic of the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
In fact, she is currently facing a government lawsuit in connection to her statement in 2009 that she would sue the Prime Minister for allegedly using derogatory and threatening language against her in a speech he made during a visit to Kampot province in southwest Cambodia. Kampot is the parliamentary district of Sochua. However, the court rejected her case while a counter case filed by her opponent was allowed. She would face a possible imprisonment term if the Supreme Court upholds her criminal defamation conviction for criticizing the Prime Minister.
Mu Sochua in a meeting with community women's groups in one of the provinces of Cambodia. Photo taken from Sochua Mu Facebook page.
Despite her court case, she continues to pursue her political goals and is optimistic with the growing number of netizens and the rise of social media which she believes can bring new ideas and different views in politics. Through an email interview, Sochua shared her perspectives on politics and social media.
1. What inspired you to join politics?
After listening to then First Lady Hillary Clinton speak about “women's rights as human rights” and the power that women need in order to make meaningful changes and give power to women-women need to seize power and become political.  That was at the 4th World Conference on Women. When I returned from Beijing, I was offered a position as Adviser to the First Prime Minister. I joined a political party then and have been active in party politics ever since.
2. When did you start blogging? How do you manage your time?
On Facebook and owning my own blog, just about two years ago. Twitter a bit later. I spend an average of two hours a day on social media and do it 95 percent of my time as I think it is important to communicate directly with fans and friends. I also think it is a responsible way to communicate as I consider politics as a personal matter. I usually research issues that I talk about. Sometimes, take my own pictures.
3. You are the only politician who maintains a blog in Cambodia. What convinced you to blog?
It comes from my interest in communications, in reading, in writing and in wanting to know more. And of course, my interest in gaining votes and getting publicity and support for my party platform.
4. Social media usage is on the rise in Cambodia. How does social media contribute to your political work?
The audience is young and that is very important and youth have potentials to bring a new vision for politics and development. I get good feedback and responses from youth and mostly local youth. It is very rewarding and engaging. I think it is a democratic process, open and free from fear and intimidation. But I also do get hate mail and sometimes very aggressive with false accusations but that is what a public figure should expect.
5. How can social media influence Cambodian politics?
It is growing every day. I hope to find more female friends and fans. I am known politician and for fans and friends to communicate with me is a sign that politics is changing. Social media brings new ideas, different views as it is for development. More ideas, more views, more differences bring diversion and will force us to be tolerant. All good for Cambodia.
6. Where do you see yourself in five years?
Still in politics and hopefully wiser.

author: Sopheap Chak


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Chinese Parliament’s First Spokeswoman Charms Media, But Web Unconvinced · Global Voices
Abby Liu

For the first time in its history, China's parliament has a spokeswoman.
While the world focused on Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao as he gave his farewell address before the National People's Congress on March 5, 2013, mainland media were charmed by the legislature's new spokeswoman Fu Ying as she made her debut chairing a news conference the same day.
Fu, foreign minister and former ambassador to the U.K., is the first woman to hold the role. Mainland media were impressed by Fu's elegant manner and approachable personality, and most importantly, her strong stance on Japan and her sharp replies to tough questions.
But Web users reading between the lines of her remarks suspected that Fu, despite breaking the role's traditional gender boundaries, is peddling more of the same.
“Fu Ying, diplomacy's ‘iron lady’, turns on the style”, wrote newspaper China Daily:
Fu was concerned whether reporters were familiar with [fully-covered budget management] and explained it to them. She also allowed an old friend from CNN to ask a question but jokingly told him to pose “a mild one”. She did not avoid talking about problems. Asked about China's environmental pollution, Fu said that every morning she draws the curtains to check whether there is haze.
NPC's new spokeswoman Fu Ying chaired the news conference on March 5, 2013. (A screenshot from youku)
Finance magazine Caijing praised [zh] her:
比较傅莹和前几任发言人的风格，会发现傅莹多了亲切柔和，少了严肃说教；多了推心置腹，少了针锋相对；多了答问的话，少了精粹精炼。 很难绝对说谁好谁不好，傅莹开创了柔性外交的“傅莹模式”，她到人大再弄出一个发言人的柔性风格，也未尝不是有益的探索。如果多几个傅莹，多以心香之诚将心比心，多纪其实存其真，只会有助于中国和西方打交道。
Compared with the former spokesman, you will find Fu Ying more friendly and soft, less serious and preaching; more heart-to-heart, less tit-for-tat; more answers to the questions, less essence. It's hard to say which is good and which is not good, but Fu Ying has created her own style of diplomacy — “Fu Ying mode”, it's something helpful and worth exploring. Frankly, if we had a few more Fu Ying types, it would only help China to communicate with the west.
Popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo was flooded with favorable comments of Fu. One user “Zheng Hongshen” wrote [zh]:
郑洪升: 人大发言人傅莹，首次亮相便赢得中外媒体喝彩。为什么？其实原因很简单，如她的那头银发一样：不假，真诚。她迟到五分钟真诚向大家说明原因；她回答问题有自己的语言灬她面带微笑，而不板着面孔；她表明我们也是有血有肉的人，决非冷血动物。各位发言人，应向傅莹学习。
National People's Congress spokeswoman Fu Ying's debut has won international and local media's praise. Why? In fact, the reason is very simple, just like her silver hair, she was not faking it, she was very sincere. She explained why she was five minutes late; she used her own words when she answered the questions, and she always wears a smile instead of keeping a straight face; she shows that we are people of flesh and blood, not cold-blooded animals. Speakers should learn from Fu Ying.
Veteran journalist Zhang Shuhong commented [zh]:
涨势如鸿 ：看傅莹女士作为人大新闻发言人的首秀，我觉得可以打80分。形象很优雅，言谈颇从容。通过大会堂迷路、探亲说反腐、出门备口罩等桥段，把个人感受融入到严肃的话题之中，拉近了与听众的距离。最后亲自指定CNN的老朋友提问，颇有人情味。而对这个问题的回答也成为整场记者会上最精彩的部分。
After watching Ms. Fu Ying's debut at the National People's Congress conference, I think I can give her 80 points. She is very elegant and calm. She talked about getting lost in the hall, visiting relatives, and wearing masks when she goes out, she injected personal feelings into serious topics, which has pulled the audience closer. She gave the last question to her old friend from CNN, which has showed her impersonal side. The answer to this question [about China's political system] has also become the highlight of the entire press conference.
Fu's comment on China's political system has triggered controversy online as users dissected the answer. Fu says China has already found its path of political reform and that it is “unfair and inaccurate” to say China will go nowhere if it does not copy other countries’ models. Writer Zhao Shilin expressed [zh] his disappointment:
赵士林微博 ：怎能指望发言人嘴里讲出有价值的东西？傅莹云政治体制改革是制度的自我完善，这一句话，已经封死了政改的路。所谓政改，看来最多是部委调整调整，做点加减法。导致腐败和集权的一党独大看来碰都不能碰。一千零一次的期望，一千零一次的的失望。
How can we expect anything valuable from a spokesperson? Fu Ying says reform of the political system is a system of self-improvement. This sentence alone has sealed the road to political reform. The so-called political reform seems to be about governmental adjustments. Anything affecting one-party dominance that has led to corruption and totalization seems untouchable. A thousand and one times expectations, and a thousand and one times disappointment.
Professor from Beijing Science and Technology University Zhao Xiao wrote [zh]:
赵晓 ：傅莹说：”很多中国人的意见是希望中国面对挑衅的时候，有更加强硬的姿态”。此乃外交。那对待内政问题：如奶粉品管、污染治理，官员财产申报、新闻自由乃至政治改革等方面，是不是也会如此顺应民意，积极回应呢？还是因为人们对这些问题的意见表达得还不够多呢？
Fu Ying said: “The view of many Chinese, including the media, is that they want China to be tougher, especially in the face of provocation.” This is diplomacy. How about dealing with domestic issues? Milk quality control, pollution control, official property declaration, freedom of the press, and even political reform… is the government going to follow public opinion, and actively respond to them? Or we haven't expressed our views enough on these issues?
Journalist Yang Hengjun wrote regarding Fu's last answer:
我如果是记者，会给傅莹发言人一个机会，也给中国一个机会，我会提一个问题，请她好好介绍一下人大制度。很显然，我们的两会与西方的议会在形式上非常类似，本质上却不同。任何一个国家都应该、能够、也必须把自己的制度说清楚，你得说清楚你那个制度如何运作，是否有效。
If I were a reporter, I would give Fu Ying an opportunity, and also give China a chance, I will ask a question, I want her to introduce clearly the people's congress system. Obviously, the two sessions form is a bit similar to the parliament in (the) West, but different in nature. Any country should be able to, and must explain its own system clearly, you have to make it clear how our system operates and whether it's effective.


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Coffee Growers’ Strike: The Crisis Behind Colombian Coffee · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

A group of Colombian coffee producers have been on strike since February 25th because of the low costs of the coffee bean, an issue that has generated systemic poverty among its producers.
The association has been in a state of crisis for more than a year, “motivated by low bean prices, the reevaluation of the Colombian peso against the dollar as well as the decrease in exports, the high prices of fertilizer and insecticides, the low harvests due to heavy rains and the plague of mildew [affecting coffee beans]”, according to a report in Colombian newspaper El Espectador [es]
The coffee farmers claim that the government has not provided any guarantees to protect them from the situation, and despite an agreement [es]between the government and the National Federation of Coffee Producers, many farmers continue blocking the country's roads, arguing that they do not feel represented by the leaders of the organization.
A huge number of images in support of the coffee growers’ strike have circulated on Facebook, such as this one from the Universidad Pública de Colombia's [es] page, in which they refer to the farmers as heroes:
“Heroes in Colombia do exist!”. Image shared on Facebook by the Universidad Pública de Colombia.
The following image, posted by El Rebelde Medios informativos [es], alludes to the harvest:
“I support the coffee growers’ strike”. Image shared on Facebook by El Rebelde Medios Informativos.
Weimar Ospina Muñoz [es] shared one of the images that has circulated widely on social networks, denouncing aggression by state security forces against the farmers.
A coffee grower injured in a confrontation with police. Photo shared by Weimar Ospina Muñoz and other Facebook users.
Weimar said:
Un país donde la fuerza publica no tiene respeto por nadie. Acaso creen que lo que se sientan a almorzar lo producen la oligarquía o el gobierno???… No … lo producen sus víctimas el campesino que horror.
A country where the state forces don't respect anyone. Do they really think what they have for lunch is produced by the oligarchy or the government???… No… it's produced by the farmers, their victims, how awful.
Like Facebook, Twitter has also become a platform to express opinions about the coffee farmers’ strike through the hashtags #Parocafetero [coffee farmers’ strike], #Colombiadicecafeterostienenrazon [Colombia says the coffee farmers are right] and #yoapoyoelparocafetero [I support the coffee farmers’ strike].
Derly Franco (@franco_derly) [es], referring to the peace process currently taking place between the government and the FARC guerrilla group, said:
@franco_derly: Lastimosamente Tenemos Un Presidente Que Prefiere Hablar Con Asesinos, Que Con Campesinos..! #YoApoyoElParoCafetero
@franco_derly: Unfortunately we have a president who would rather talk to murderers than farmers..! #YoApoyoElParoCafetero
Teto (@johnceta) [es] agreed:
@johnceta: Los terroristas piden indultos y pensiones vitalicias! Nuestros campesinos sólo piden que les paguen lo que trabajan #yoapoyoelparocafetero
@johnceta: The terrorists ask for pardons and life pensions! Our farmers only ask to be paid for their work #yoapoyoelparocafetero
While Nury Rivera (@Nury_Rivera) [es] said:
@Nury_Rivera: Si nosotros mismos no apoyamos las causas de justicia en nuestro país entonces quien #YoApoyoElParoCafetero
@Nury_Rivera: If we don't support the cause of justice in our country then who will #YoApoyoElParoCafetero
And Leszly Kálli (@leszlykalli) [es] shared a video that has circulated across social networks showing a farmer who becomes emotional while explaining the situation:
@leszlykalli: Inevitable el sabor amargo del café con el sufrimiento de nuestros campesinos caficultores #ParoCafetero http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ2XVZw0CLU …
@leszlykalli: Coffee inevitably tastes bitter with the suffering of our coffee farmers #ParoCafetero http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ2XVZw0CLU…
At the time of publication, the coffee farmers had announced [es] that they would march to the capital of Bogotá on Tuesday, March 12, if the government could not offer a solution before then.


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Crowdmapping Media Layoffs in Greece · Global Voices
Asteris Masouras

Journalist Ioanna Iliadi has created a crowdmap to monitor press layoffs in Greece, mounting in numbers and frequency, as an already brewing media crisis has been compounded by the financial crisis.
Παίζοντας με εργαλεία crowdsourcing έφτιαξα βάση για τις απολύσεις στον Τύπο https://journalistsgr.crowdmap.com/ #rbnews Ελάτε να το κάνουμε μαζί
While playing with crowdsourcing tools, I built a database on press layoffs https://journalistsgr.crowdmap.com/ #rbnews Let's do it together
Journalists have increasingly been using blogs [el] and social media [el] to report on precarious and diminishing labor rights, as well as on stories that are underreported in mainstream Greek media.

author: Asteris Masouras