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PHOTOS: Humans of the Caribbean · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

Following in the footsteps of photographer Brandon Stanton's blog Humans of New York series, professional and amateur photographers alike have been creating their own versions of the project across the world. Via blogs and Facebook pages, they are collecting images and stories of people from all walks of life. Here is a glimpse into some of the pages that make up the Caribbean's contribution, featuring the work of regional photographers who want to showcase their country or city through portraits of its diverse people.
Humans of Aruba, by Vanessa Paulina, was one of the first regional projects:
“As I was approaching the ladies got intimidated by my camera and fled the scene. He greeted me nicely so I stopped and asked if I could take his picture and explained to him what the purpose was.
He was okay with it so I asked ‘Fransisco Bennet’ what he was up to and if he could tell me what according to him the secret of a good life was. “
Photo by Vanessa Paulina. Used With Permission.
Humans of New York inspired Corrie Scott to start Humans of Barbados in Sept 2013. According to her, these types of projects are “…a wonderful way for us all to get to know us humans around the world.”
“How long does it take you to make these hand crafted palm brooms?”
“About 10 minutes not counting the collecting of the palm leaves, shredding them, gathering the wood for handles and more.”
“How long have you been making them? For me they are an art form in their beauty and the best broom I have ever used.”
“40 years.”
“Make lots of sales?”
” Some, but only to older people as the young generation always asking me what they are for.”
Photo by Corrie Scott, Used with Permission.
Humans of St. Croix was started in October 2013 by Charlene Springer:
“The Almighty Creator create all of us and then he give us a way of life. He guides the human beings with prophets to teach these human beings how they should live, how you should worship. This is why I color my beard because of our holy prophet, (peace be upon him, and peace be upon all of the holy prophets), he used to color his beard so I just do that to follow him. It is not for style or beauty, just to follow him. My prophet is Mohammed born in Saudi Arabia and his teaching are spread all over the world. His teachings does not deny any teachings of the previous prophets and actually all the previous prophets teach the same thing, it is the people that keep messing with the prophet's teachings. This is why the Almighty keeps sending different prophets to remind them that this is my way don't go astray.”
Photo by Charlene Springer. Used with Permission.
John Manderson started the Humans of Bermuda page back in November:
“Johnny Barnes (born John James Randolf Adolphus Mills, June 23, 1923) is a Bermuda native found waving to passing traffic at the Foot of the Lane roundabout in Hamilton, Bermuda, from roughly 3:45 am to 10 am, every workday, rain or shine. A Bermuda institution mentioned in several guidebooks and profiled in a documentary film, he is known for waving and saying ‘I love you, God loves you,’ to passing commuters during the morning rush hour into Hamilton.” Photo by John Manderson, Used with permission.
Nathalie Tancrede also created Humans of Haiti last November. This month, she is launching the page and hopes to “bring attention to the beauty and resilience of the Haitian people.”
“My parents could not afford to send me to school. I now live in the streets with a few other guys.”
He acts tough with the others but told me privately that all he wants is to go to school and learn like the other kids
Photo by Nathalie Tancrede. Used With Permission
Edward Russell III started Humans of the Bahamas when he discovered the Humans of New York project, soon after he left his job at a local newspaper, where he'd been a photojournalist for five years.
I looked at this man smiling.
“You want to take a picture ey?”
I nodded.
“Go ahead then.”
Took the shot.
“That will be two dollars please!”
Photo by Edward Russell III. Used With Permission.
Bobby Ramroop runs the page Humans of Georgetown (Guyana):
“If you own a chiney resstrawnt, sell actual chicken for once. And if you and somebody fall out, forgive them and wish them the best. Don't send them christmas cards threatening to stick a corncob around the first 2 corners of their large intestine. If you follow that we’d have a better society.”
Photo by Bobby Ramroop. Used with Permission.

author: Matthew Hunte


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Russian Politicians Stick to Their Guns as Ukraine Burns · Global Voices
Daniel Alan Kennedy

February 19, 2014. Ukraine's Trade Union House, headquarters of the protesters burns as violence intensifies. Photo CC 3.0.
As the political situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate, and reports of fatalities grow, Russian politicians have been voicing their opinions on the crisis. Somewhat predictably, opinions on who is to blame for the worst political violence to grip Europe this century were sharply divided between government and opposition figures. Several members of Russia's ruling United Russia party sharply criticised the protesters and the West for the disturbances.
Deputy Alexey Pushkov, head of the Duma's foreign affairs committee, blamed Western pressure on Ukraine's government. Referencing the 2004 ‘Orange Revolution,’ Pushkov tweeted:
Своим давлением на власти Украины и стремлением выдать хаос за демократию Запад открыл путь радикалам – и теперь в Киев оранжевый беспредел.
— Алексей Пушков (@Alexey_Pushkov) February 18, 2014
With their pressure on Ukraine's authorities, and attempts to pass off chaos as democracy, the West has opened the path to radicals, and now in Kiev there's Orange anarchy.
Deputy Robert Shlegel, who has long been an outspoken critic of American policy, sarcastically tweeted [ru] about US President Barack Obama's call for the Ukrainian army to exercise “restraint.”
“Обама потребовал от армии Украины” О_о Барак Хусейнович! Как же вам не стыдно, опять со своим колониальным мировоззрением лезете в колодец.
— Роберт Шлегель (@Shlegel) February 19, 2014
Obama making demands of Ukraine's army. :-O Barack Husseinovich! Aren't you ashamed of yourself, once again you're digging yourself a hole with your colonial worldview.
Another prominent United Russia deputy, Sergey Zheleznyak, went on Facebook to voice his full support [ru] for the Ukrainian government's violent crackdown.
Совершенно очевидно, что с бандитами, взявшими в руки оружие, не может быть никакого перемирия, это не политическая сила, с которой имеет смысл вести переговоры, а преступники, которых нужно срочно выявлять, арестовывать и привлекать к уголовной ответственности! При вооруженном сопротивления преступников, угрожающих жизни и здоровью – уничтожать их без сожаления!
It's perfectly obvious that there can't be any sort of reconciliation with bandits who have taken up arms. This isn't a political force, with whom there's sense in holding discussions, these are criminals who need to be identified, arrested and brought to criminal responsibility! During an armed confrontation, criminals who threaten life and limb need to be eliminated without pity!
Russia's more liberal-minded politicians were less critical of the protesters. Ilya Ponomaryov, a member of the opposition party ‘A Just Russia,’ wrote rather ambivalently in his LiveJournal [ru].
я полностью поддерживаю право народа на восстание, считаю события в Киеве именно народным восстанием, но скорблю, что причиной этого восстания является манипуляция общественным мнением со стороны недобросовестных политиков со всех сторон. Преследуемая людьми цель – ложная, и люди со временем это поймут, но много позже, когда пролитой кровью воспользуются проходимцы.
I fully support the right of the people to rise up. I consider the events in Kiev such a people's uprising, but regret that the reason for this uprising is the manipulation of public opinion on the part of cynical politicians on both sides. The goal people are striving for is a lie and people in time they will get this, but only much later, only after the schemers have exploited the bloodbath.
Fellow party-member Dmitry Gudkov, one of the most outspoken oppositionists sitting in the Duma, was more openly critical of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Янукович должен немедленно объявить досрочные президентские выборы и провести конституционную реформу либо готовиться к встрече с Каддафи!
— Дмитрий Гудков (@gudkovd) February 20, 2014
Yanukovych has to quickly announce early presidential elections and carry out constitutional reforms or prepare himself for a meeting with Gaddafi.
United Russia has thrown its full support behind Yanukovych and is unlikely to be swayed in its opinion by mounting casualties, which it blames ultimately on a combination of Western interference and far-right elements. Similarly, for Russia's opposition politicians, the bloodshed in Ukraine is a clear example of the dangers of corruption and an unwillingness for reform. For Russia's politicians, the battle lines over Ukraine have already been drawn, and now there can be no compromise.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Daniel Alan Kennedy


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Social Media Rallies to Help Comatose Pakistani Student in US  · Global Voices
Sana Jamil

Screenshot of Facebook page supporting  Muhammad Shahzaib Bajwa
Muhammad Shahzaib Bajwa, a 21-year-old Pakistani exchange student in the US, has been in a coma since 13 November 2013 when a deer collided with the car he and his friends were riding in outside of the city of Minneapolis. At a local hospital after the accident, Bajwa went into cardiac arrest. Doctors were able to resuscitate him, but he suffered brain damage and has been comatose ever since.
Just as Bajwa was fighting for his life, another battle was brewing. Bajwa's student visa was set to expire on 28 February, and Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth, Minnesota, where he was transferred after the accident, was making plans to deport him to a Pakistani hospital, saying its hands were legally tied. His family feared Bajwa wouldn't survive the flight.
A student of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Bajwa was also only insured for one semester for the student exchange program with a cap of 100,000 US dollars, not enough to cover the expensive costs of an extended stay in an American hospital.
Here is @ShahzaibBajwa as a child with his mother. A mother who is being told her son costs too much to keep alive. pic.twitter.com/bBfK6NpgiI
— Nabiha Meher Shaikh (@NabihaMeher) February 13, 2014
As the visa expiration date neared, support on social media for Bajwa began to pour in, and an online campaign to raise funds and to pressure the US to allow the student to stay for treatment quickly spread throughout the web. Finally, after Pakistan’s Ambassador in the US Jalil Abbas Jilani became involved, Bajwa's brother announced on 20 February that US authorities had agreed to extend the student's visa.
Social media takes up the cause
Bajwa's medical costs exceeded 350,000 dollars in mid-February and continued to climb. The hospital agreed to absorb the costs and not dip into the insurance money, but warned (before the visa was extended) that it would cease paying on 28 February. Essentia Health also said it would pay the medical evacuation costs, though it threatened to pull the coverage if the family didn't sign off on returning Bajwa to Pakistan, according to his brother Shahraiz Bajwa.
With the family unable to fund Bajwa's extensive treatment once the hospital pulled its financial support, his brother launched an online fundraising campaign on website gofundme.com, which has collected to date more than 132,000 US dollars of its 300,000-dollar goal.
Medical funds for Shahzaib http://t.co/nSYuqSfvNB via @gofundme Please everyone. Do Donate. Even a single penny is helpful.
— Anoosh Iqbal (@anooshiqbal74) February 14, 2014
On Facebook, groups such as “Support For Shahzaib Bajwa” helped to spread the word about the need for donations. “Inshallah God will help you guys more. People show that humanity still exists in its full context,” one user, Mubarik Hasan, wrote. Other users, A Facebook user like Mohammad Jibran Nasir published statuses urging friends to help.
The peace initiative of the Jang Group of Pakistan and the Times of India, Aman ki Asha, shared a plea on Facebook from someone who had met Bajwa:
From an Indian about a Pakistani: “I request you from the core of my heart if you could help this lovely guy. I met him on my last visit to Pakistan and I've great memories of the time spent with him. I request you to pl help him out of the situation in which he and his family is.”
Meanwhile, an online petition was created on change.org to demand the extension of Bajwa's visa; it has so far received more than 8,000 signatures. Bajwa's family was not hopeful about the quality of treatment he would receive in Pakistan, and his mother feared signing off on the medical flight would be sending her son to his death.
On the petition, Ivy Vainio from Minnesota wrote:
Shahzaib needs the best medical care that he can receive right now and he will get it where he is at currently. He is one of the most wonderful young men that I have met. Caring and loving to all. Please renew his visa so that he can stay and get the best treatment available to him.
Richard Mienke argued:
I would rather see such a brilliant student and decent human being be taken care of until full recovery is attained and then give him the means to continue his degree here in the United States. It is not a question of citizenship, it is a question of humanity and doing the right thing. Period.
On Twitter, users pushed the campaign even further with tweets and retweets. Professor of International Relations, Earth and Environment at Boston University Adil Najam wrote:
I met #ShahzaibBajwa when he was full of life-on #LUMS #NOP scholarship for brightest students in financial need. Now fighting for his life.
— Adil Najam (@AdilNajam) February 14, 2014
Pakistani journalist, artist and documentary filmmaker Beena Sarwar also requested the US extend Bajwa's visa:
A car accident left visiting student ShahzaibBajwa in a semi-coma. @StateDept #USA Pls extend his visa. #Humanity http://t.co/ZZDDYUl1FW
— beena sarwar (@beenasarwar) February 13, 2014
Political analyst and senior TV anchor Nasim Zehra wanted people to show generosity:
#SaveBajwa: He's our son-Pakistan lets make funds available for Shahzaib Bajwa's treatment http://t.co/zPkX9zdZFE via @gofundme
— Nasim Zehra (@NasimZehra) February 14, 2014
Slow recovery ahead
Bajwa, who suffered severe facial fractures, will eventually need reconstructive surgery. He remains comatose, but can open his eyes, squeeze his mother's hand, shrug his shoulders and has some movement in his legs.
Doctors at the Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center say that it will take at least a few years to determine his chances of complete recovery. With his visa renewed, officials are now making plans to move Bajwa to a long-term facility in the area.

author: Sana Jamil


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Tajikistan’s Tastiest Blogs · Global Voices
Mahina Shodizoda

Tajik plov. Image from vk.com/taomtj, used with permission.
There are three blogs in Tajikistan that are a must read for anyone interested in Tajik cuisine.
Tajik Restaurant [Tarabkhonai Tojiki] [tj] shares cook-it-yourself videos and recipes of popular Tajik dishes. Suhailo's Cooking Diary [Daftari pukhtu-pazhoi Suhailo] [tj] teaches its readers to bake pastries popular in the country. Finally, Osh Khona [ru] offers detailed reviews of the best places to eat plov in Tajikistan.
There is also the Tajikistan Cuisine [Taomhoi millii Tojikiston] [ru] public page on VKontakte, where hundreds of users share yummy recipes, pictures, and videos.
Warning: when you access these sources, be prepared to see much, much meat as Tajik cuisine is not for vegetarians.

author: Mahina Shodizoda


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There Will Be No Peace in Colombia Without Women   · Global Voices
Lully

[Links are to Spanish-language pages except where noted otherwise.]
The documentation centre No habrá paz sin las mujeres [There will be no peace without women] enables female leaders, professionals and survivors of the armed conflict in Colombia to express themselves and share their experiences so that, according to the website, “the lifework they have dedicated to peace is not forgotten.” Their testimony is offered through an online photography exhibition and video interviews.
Alejandra Garcia Serna, historian and documentary filmmaker. Poster for the project “There will be no peace without women”.
All peace processes should actively involve women.
Alejandra Garcia Serna, a historian and documentary filmmaker, also works for justice and memory as part of the H.I.J.O.S. cooperative. She is the orphaned daughter of Francisco Gaviria, a student leader murdered along with 4,000 militants and sympathizers of the Unión Patriótica by State agents and paramilitaries between 1985 and 1994 in a campaign of political genocide.
The project, created by the Asturian Cooperative Development Agency, gives voice to Colombian women so they can “learn from each other's experiences and strategies, be empowered in the fight to build a more just society, and advance their own proposals for peace in the process of reconciliation, reconstruction, reparation and justice.“
No habrá paz sin las mujeres began with the experiences of Colombian women  during the armed conflict [en] that has endured for more than 50 years. The group maintains that, although there are signs of hope in ongoing peace talks [en] taking place in Havana, Cuba, between the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) [en] and the Colombian government, “women are noticeably absent from the peace process: neither the issues crucial to them nor their claims or proposals for peace are being listened to.”
The website goes on to explain that talks have not taken into account United Nations Resolution 1325 [en], which calls attention to the issue of gender in conflict resolution.
Y precisamente son las mujeres las que más sufren las consecuencias de la guerra: la violencia sexual ha sido empleada por los tres actores de la guerra, los paramilitares, el Estado y la guerrilla; el reclutamiento de menores ha afectada a las niñas como combatientes pero también como esclavas sexuales; son el mayor porcentaje de población desplazada y la mayoría con cargas familiares…
It is women who suffer most from the consequences of war: sexual violence has been used by all three factions, the paramilitary, the State and the guerrillas; the recruiting of minors has damaged girls both as combatants and as sex slaves; displaced persons are disproportionately women, most of whom have families…
Efforts to help redress the situation are publicized on the website's home page through video interviews and testimonials.
One of these videos is about the artist Patricia Ariza, who found a way to express the Colombian reality through her work. Patricia also uses artistic expression to exorcize the injustice she sees in her country and of which she herself is a victim, her family having been displaced because of the violence.
Another video shows a campaign where Colombian women are committed to safekeeping their land and not allowing the multinational AngloGold Ashanti to set up gold-mining operations. The following video is an interview with a local woman, Judith Pérez Gutiérrez, who lives on a country road in the municipality of Cajamarca, Tolima; and it speaks to the dedication of women to protecting their surroundings.
Moreover, the interview reveals the fear and anxiety of Pérez Gutiérrez and her neighbours—the vulnerability and lack of support they feel at the hands of Colombian authorities, as evidenced by the serious confrontations they have had with security forces:
Ester Carmen Martínez, a teacher in Pitalito, Huila, [a major coffee-producing area] tells her personal story and that of her neighbours, who were murdered, evicted or displaced by paramilitary groups.
The project also publishes texts such as this one, which explains some of the dangers faced by women who choose activism:
En Bajo Cauca por lo menos otras cuatro líderes han sido amedrentadas y obligadas a abandonar la región en los últimos cuatro años. La restitución no avanza, y el miedo hace que ni siquiera reúnan las mesas de víctimas.
[…]
“Las víctimas estamos arrinconadas”, dijo el testigo consultado. “Hay muchas amenazas. La última fue contra una mujer que fue víctima de desplazamiento forzado y se fue para el barrio París. Allá lideró la junta de acción comunal y los pillos la amenazaron nuevamente y hasta iban a atentar contra su vida y se tuvo que ir del municipio. Lo más triste es que ni la Administración Municipal ni la Fuerza Pública atiende nuestras peticiones. ¿Usted cree que alguna de nosotras, pese a las amenazas, tiene esquema de seguridad?”
In Bajo Cauca at least four other leaders have been intimidated and forced to abandon the region in the last four years. Restitution is no further ahead, and fear means the victims don't even dare meet together anymore.
[…]
“We victims are cornered,” said the witnessed we consulted. “There are many threats. The last was against a woman who was a victim of forced displacement and went to the París area. There she led the committee for communal action and the thugs threatened her again, they were even going to try to kill her, and she had to leave the town. The saddest part is that neither the municipal government nor public security paid attention to our petitions. Do you think that any of us, despite the threat, receives any protection?”
The project has several posters depicting the reality of the many ways women suffer, in particular sexual violence.
Yoladis Zúñiga, survivor of the massacre in El Salado (Photo: Patricia Simón)
I suffered sexual violence but it did not defeat me.
Yoladis Zúñiga was raped by ten paramilitaries in front of her husband, who was later murdered, in a massacre that claimed the lives of 100 people in five days in the town of El Salado in 2000. Sexual violence is used as a weapon of war by all three factions in the conflict: guerrillas, paramilitaries and the State.
The posters also highlight the work of women who have dedicated their lives to peace and activism.
Mari La Negra, defender of human rights (Photo: Alex Zapico)
Words motivate, examples convince.
Mari La Negra began her career as an activist for workers and human rights when she was 14 years old. Not long afterwards, she was raped by State agents and jailed for three months, where she was tortured because of her efforts on behalf of organized labour. At 40, she has survived many attempts on her life and continues to be threatened by paramilitaries because of her fight for the rights of those most marginalized in society.
Marta Restrepo, feminist and community organizer (Photo: Alex Zapico)
Freedom for women means removing the right to take advantage of them.
Marta Restrepo, a member of Mujeres Feministas Antimilitaristas (Antimilitarist Feminist Women), has dedicated her life to exposing the murder of women, a plague that claims the lives of more than 1,100 victims a year in Colombia. She also militates against the use of women as sex slaves, which in many cases leads to them becoming prostitutes in Spain, and the exploitation of women as a form of currency in the war economy that rules her country.
For more information, videos, and posters, visit Facebook and Twitter @nopazsinmujeres.

author: Lully


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Venezuela Protests: ‘Dear International Media: Step it Up!’ · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Dear International Editor:
Listen and understand. The game changed in Venezuela last night. What had been a slow-motion unravelling that had stretched out over many years went kinetic all of a sudden.
What we have this morning is no longer the Venezuela story you thought you understood.
In the blog Caracas Chronicles Francisco Toro reacts to the lack of media coverage about the escalating violence and the events on February 19.
Francisco shows screen captures of news sites like the BBC, The New York Times, CNN, The Guardian, Al Jazeera English, and Fox News on the morning of February 20 –all missing articles on the violent events from the day before.
He concludes:
The level of disengagement on display is deeply shocking.
Venezuela’s domestic media blackout is joined by a parallel international blackout, one born not of censorship but of disinterest and inertia. It’s hard to express the sense of helplessness you get looking through these pages and finding nothing. Venezuela burns; nobody cares.
Let me put this clearly. Y’all need to step it up. The time to discard what you thought you knew about the way things work in Venezuela is now.
You can check out our special coverage page about the protests in Venezuela here.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Brazilian Cameraman’s Death Fuels Push for Stricter Protest Laws · Global Voices
Danillo Ferreira

Cinematographer Santiago Ilídio Andrade is struck during a protest in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: Agência Brasil
[All links lead to Portuguese-language pages except when otherwise noted.]
The death of cameraman Santiago Ilídio Andrade, who was covering a demonstration in the center of Rio de Janeiro against an increase in public transportation prices, has sparked public outcry in Brazil. Andrade was hit in the head by a firework and suffered brain death on February 10, 2014.
The Brazilian Press Association (Associação Brasileira de Imprensa) published a note inviting Brazilian society “to a broad debate about […] the urgent necessity of regulation by law that increases and reinforces the security of press professionals in the practice of their profession,” while the Jornal Nacional, the newscast with the largest audience on Brazilian television, broadcast an editorial on their national network demanding that “the guilty parties be identified, and expressly punished.”
Since then, the death of the cameraman has served as a mobilizing cause for various debates, including the safety of journalists in demonstrations, the judiciary nature of crimes committed against journalists, and ways of restricting violence committed by demonstrators in the country given that the population has taken to the streets [en] since last June demanding changes in public policy.
After the death of a colleague, cinematographers and photographers protest at Brazil's National Congress in Brasília-DF. Photo: Luis Macedo/House of the Deputies
For sociologist and professor at University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) Luiz Eduardo Soares, Armade's death demonstrates a strategic error on the part of protesters that resort to violence. He wrote on Facebook:
A morte do cinegrafista da Band é uma tragédia e um ponto de inflexão no processo político em curso. Pela tragédia, me solidarizo com a dor de familiares e amigos. Quanto à política, esse episódio dramático é a gota d'água, ou a gota de sangue que muda a qualidade dos debates e das identidades em conflito.
Quebrar vitrines é prática equivocada, contraproducente e ingênua, mas compreensível como explosão indignada, ante tanta iniquidade e a rotineira violência estatal, naturalizadas pela mídia e por parte da sociedade. Mas tudo se complica quando atos agressivos deixam de corresponder à explosão circunstancial de emoções, cuja motivação é legítima. Tudo se transforma quando atos agressivos já não são momentâneos e se convertem em tática, autonomizando-se, tornando-se uma espécie de ritual repetitivo, performance previsível, dramaturgia redundante.
Os atos agressivos passam a ser a celebração narcísica da própria força, uma teatralização paradoxalmente impotente do ódio. As cenas se sucedem de modo a espelhar a brutalidade policial, realimentando o circuito destrutivo e autodestrutivo da violência, cujo simbolismo afirma o avesso da solidariedade, da fraternidade e dos valores gregários – corroídos pelos mecanismo vigentes de exploração capitalista.
Ou seja, a ritualização da agressividade, por parte de manifestantes, ecoa, reflete e reproduz o que pretende combater. Atos guerreiros instauram nas ruas uma linguagem monossilábica e fetichista que é a réplica grotesca do espírito do capitalismo. O vocabulário de atos agressivos é exíguo e o repertório de imagens, muito pobre – mero decalque do imaginário conservador do entretenimento midiático.
The death of the Band [nickname of the Brazilian television network Rede Bandeirantes] cinematographer is a tragedy and a point of inflection in the current political process. With respect to the tragedy, I sympathize with the pain of his family and friends. As far as the politics go, this dramatic episode is a drop of water, or a drop of blood, that changes the quality of the debates and the identities in conflict.
Breaking display windows is wrong, a counterproductive and naive practice, but understandable as an indignant outburst before so much iniquity and routine state violence, naturalized and accepted by the media and by society at large. But everything gets more complicated when aggressive acts are no longer momentous and become tactical, autonomizing and becoming a type of repetitive ritual, predictable performance, or redundant dramatization.
The aggressive acts have come to be a narcissistic celebration in their own rite, a theatricality paradoxically impotent to hate. The scenes take place in a way that mirrors police brutality, feeding the destructive circuit and violent self-destruction, whose symbolism is averse to solidarity, fraternity, and gregarious values- corroded by the current mechanism of capitalist exploitation.
In other words, the ritualization of aggression on the part of protesters echoes, reflects and reproduces what it intends to combat. Guerrilla acts establish a monosyllabic and fetishistic language on the streets that is a grotesque replica of the spirit of capitalism. The vocabulary of aggressive acts is limited and the repertory of images, very poor – a mere decal of the conservative, media-trained imagination.
On the other hand, while lamenting the tragic death of the news professional, many continue to question the behavior of the mainstream press and of the government with respect to other disobedience within the protests and out. Independent journalism group Mídia Ninja stated:
Essa tragédia não irá ocultar a culpa daqueles que fizeram da violência o falso mote da luta nas ruas. Não vamos esquecer o real motivo de centenas de milhares de pessoas saírem de casa, na iminência do aumento das passagens.
O que não se fala é que não foi apenas Santiago que morreu. Ele não foi a primeira vítima da violência nos protestos no Brasil, nem a primeira morte do ato da última sexta feira. Poucos souberam do óbito do ambulante Tasman Amaral Accioly, um idoso, atropelado por um ônibus durante o caos instaurado pelas bombas da Polícia Militar em plena Central do Brasil, ou dos casos ocorridos em Belo Horizonte e Ribeirão Preto (SP) no ano passado.
Invisíveis também são milhões de vítimas de um sistema que mata, impiedosamente, todos os dias.
This tragedy will not hide the excuses of those who started violence with the false motto of the fight on the streets. We will not forget the real motive of the hundreds of thousands of people who left the house because of the imminent rise of transportation fares.
What is not being said is that it was not just Santiago that died. He wasn't the first victim of violence in the protests in Brazil, nor the first death during the protest on that day. Few know of the death of street vendor Tasman Amaral Accioly, an elderly man run over by a bus during the chaos ignited by tear gas bombs thrown by the military police in Brazil's Central station, or of the cases that occurred in Belo Horizonte and Ribeirão Preto (SP) last year.
Invisible too are the millions of victims of a system that kills mercilessly every day.
The blog Anonymous Br4sil (www.anonymousbr4sil.net) also released headlines with a list of the deaths that occurred in protests.
The Center of Independent Media (CMI) published a list of people killed and injured in demonstrations in Brazil. The majority of the victims lost their lives or vision from rubber bullets or tear gas used by police forces, but cases have also been registered of falls and even collapses of aqueducts.
New laws: against violence or against demonstrations?
Amongst the atmosphere of public clamor, political authorities are taking advantage of the controversy to lobby for “mão dura” (“iron-fist”) legislative changes that supposedly would put a stop to violence on the part of protesters. Senator Jorge Vianna (PT-AC) even gave a speech claiming that Bill 499/2013 (Projeto de Lei nº 499/2013), which defines crimes of terrorism in Brazil, should urgently be voted on.
For him, “It is a terrorist demonstration when a journalist can't work covering a protest, when a hooded man with a mask prevents the journalist from working. This is a terrorist action.”
Secretary for Public Security of Rio de Janeiro José Mariano Beltrame has submitted a bill to the Ministry of Justice that, amongst other measures, provides for the prohibition of using masks during protests.
“In the function of what we have today as law, we don't have the conditions to keep these people in prison and punish them because the crimes are of a lesser potential offense. We have arrested many people, there were almost 50 last Thursday, but all of them were released. We did this study to propose the legislative changes that will prevent this from happening,” he affirmed, concluding that “we have the World Cup at our door.”
Lawyer Pedro Abramovay reacted to the proposal as a typification of terrorism, and published a letter to Senator Vianna:
Após anos de discussão, de muito debate, de muito diálogo com experiências internacionais, estou completamente convencido de que esta legislação não trará nenhum benefício concreto para a população brasileira e pode gerar enormes prejuízos para a nossa democracia.
É necessário, em primeiro lugar, separar a ideia de condenação total do terrorismo da necessidade de se criar um tipo penal específico para ele. O terrorismo é a maior violência que se pode cometer contra a democracia. É a aposta na violência e no medo como forma de substituição do diálogo democrático. Por isso ele deve ser condenado e punido.
After years of discussion, much debate, lots of dialogue with international experiences, I am completely convinced that this legislation will not bring any concrete benefit to the Brazilian population and could generate enormous injury to our democracy.
It is necessary in the first place to separate the idea of total condemnation of terrorism borne out of the necessity to create a specific punishment for the offense. Terrorism is the greatest violence that could be committed against a democracy. It is the bet on violence and on fear as a form of substituting democratic dialogue. That's why it should be condemned and punished.
Even senators of the same party criticized the so-called Terrorism Bill:
Uma lei geral demais, como essa do terrorismo, pode levar a excessos do Estado contra o cidadão. O Brasil não precisa de outro AI-5.
— Humberto Costa (@humbertocostapt) 11 fevereiro 2014
A law that is too general, such as this terrorism law, could allow excesses of the state against its citizens. Brazil does not need another AI-5 [the Institutional Act Number Five, one of the major decrees issued by the military dictatorship in the years following the 1964 coup d'état in Brazil]

author: Danillo Ferreira


text:
#EuroMaidan Medic Shot in Neck Lives to Tweet: “I Am Alive!” · Global Voices
Tetyana Bohdanova

Volunteer medics attend to the wounded on the morning of February 20, 2014 when snipers indiscriminately took aim at protesters from the roof of Hotel Ukraine. Photo by Alan Turgutoglu © Copyright Demotix
As snipers fired at EuroMaidan protesters on February 20, 2014 one young medical volunteer was hit in the neck, but managed to write on Twitter: “I am dying”. Her message was shared by thousands of people until finally, two hours later, she tweeted that she had survived.
A tense truce between protesters and the Ukrainian government was broken that morning and sniper shots were fired at up to a hundred people in the square. Many shots were aimed at the head or neck, apparently for the purpose of killing. [There are photos and videos – WARNING graphic content].
As the shooting began, medical volunteers rushed to the scene despite the danger. Among them was a 21-year old volunteer from Ternopil, Olesya Zhukovskaya.
Olesya has been volunteering on Maidan for over three months. According to the administrator of a Facebook page about Maidan activists called “Єлюди – maidaners”, she had caught the attention of other volunteers for her bravery. On February 19, the day before shooting, one person had written to the Facebook page encouraging them to take note of Olesya and write something about her.
Олеся Жуковська з Тернополя (Кременець) на Майдані з першого дня. Їй 21 рік, працює за 250 км від дому медиком-фельдшером. На Майдан поїхала як медик-волонтер. Що вона там тільки не бачила. На Грушевського їй згорів одяг, поруч граната впала…..але вона нікуди не пішла, а лишилась допомагати людям. За 3 місяці перебування на майдані захворіла, мала страшну ангіну і лежала в лікарні. кілька днів тому поїхала додому до мами, бо матуся плакала і просила показатись їй живою, а Олеся одна єдина в сім'ї. Поїхала на кілька днів додому. Але вчора, коли побачила, що коїться на Майдані, попри сльози мами, переживання тата та родини, вночі поїхала на Майдан автобусом, в якому були тільки чоловіки, 18 людей і вона сама……Зараз вона на Майдані в медпункті біля йолки. я горджусь такими як вона, думаю, що Олеся варта того, щоб Ви про неї написали».
Olesya Zhukovskya is from Kremenets, in the Ternopil region and has been on Maidan [central square in Kyiv] from day one. She is 21 years old, and works as a medical assistant 250km away from home. She came to Maidan as a medical volunteer. She has experienced everything there. On Hrushevskogo [street where the first clashes took place] her clothing was burned when a grenade fell next to her… but she has not left, she stayed to help people. After three months on Maidan, she fell ill, had a terrible angina and had to stay at the hospital.
A few days ago she went home to see her mother, because her mother prayed and pleaded for her only child to show up at home alive.  She stayed at home for a few days. But yesterday, when she saw what was happening on Maidan, despite her mother's tears, and the concerns of her father and other family, she took a night bus to Maidan with 18 people, all men…. Now she is on Maidan, at the medical aid point next to the “Christmas tree”. I take pride in people like her and beleive Olesya deserves to be written about [on your page].
The next day snipers opened fire on protesters. Here's what Olesya tweeted that morning:
ТЕРМІНОВО ВСІ НА КИЇВ,БУДЬ-ЯКИМ ШЛЯХОМ! Потрібна ваша підтримка! Якщо бойня почалась з ранку,до вечора буде.. http://t.co/sQ7Z10oNKb
— Olesya Zhukovskaya (@OlesyaZhukovska) February 20, 2014
EVERYONE COME TO KYIV URGENTLY, IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE! Your support is needed! If a massacre has begun in the morning, there will be horror by evening! Especially when Russian troops arrive aiming to shoot Western extremists [as protesters are called in Putin's official statements].
According to the timestamp, about 20 minutes later she was shot in the neck, despite wearing a bright medical volunteer uniform. Already wounded, Olesya tweeted [uk]:
Я вмираю
— Olesya Zhukovskaya (@OlesyaZhukovska) February 20, 2014
I am dying
Her tweet went viral immediately. Media even reported Olesya's death:
The wild story of a paramedic shot in the neck in #Kiev who managed to tweet "I'm dying": http://t.co/l9B9hPMhgL pic.twitter.com/DjhB7viqrc
— The New Republic (@tnr) February 21, 2014
However, Olesya did not die, but was taken to a hospital and received an operation. Just as Maidan was trying to come to terms with the unprecedented loss of life, she tweeted again [uk]:
Я жива! Дякую всім,хто підтримує та молиться за мене! / Я в лікарні.стан поки що стабільний!
— Olesya Zhukovskaya (@OlesyaZhukovska) February 21, 2014
I am alive! Thank you to everyone who's supporting and praying for me! / I am at the hospital. My state is stable so far.
Many have referred to Olesya as “Maidan's heroine” [uk]. She gained around 8,000 new followers on her twitter account in one day. People from all over the world sent their messages of support:
@OlesyaZhukovska Олеся, выздоравливай! мы в Москве, но мы с тобой и волнуемся за тебя. ты молодец.
— Юлiя Архiпова (@moskless) February 21, 2014
Olesya, get well! We are in Moscow, but we are with you and worry for you. You have done great.
@OlesyaZhukovska Stay strong and live a long life Olesya! Ukranian, Turkish,Venezuelan, Brazilian, we're all together in this! Love and hugs
— 바흐리에 (@kitiarauthmatar) February 21, 2014
@OlesyaZhukovska <3 from Germany! Get well soon and stay strong. I believe in the power of people. May you get the democracy you fight for!
— anke domscheit-berg (@anked) February 21, 2014
In recognition of Olesya's service and sacrifice, Hungarian Red Cross held an action of solidarity for her:
200 volunteers of the Hungarian Red Cross express their solidarity. Get well soon, @OlesyaZhukovska ! pic.twitter.com/RIfhUUTyWn
— Hungarian Red Cross (@MVoroskereszt) February 21, 2014

author: Tetyana Bohdanova


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Malagasy React to SI Swimming Suit Issue and Model’s Take on Madagascar  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

The 2014 Sports Illustrated Swimming Suit Issue was shot on Nosy Iranja (Iranja Island), Madagascar:
Nosy Iranja is known as the Turtle island for the Hawksbill Turtles came to shore to lay their eggs. It is also known for the spectacular sandbank that bridges the two nearby islands.
Nosy Iranja, Madagascar – Public Domain
Russian Top model Irina Shayk and wife of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo said that she has a special relationship with Madagascar:
When I was a student I did a report on Madagascar, and ever since then it was my biggest dream to go there [..] The (Malagasy) people live and get by every day walking in the roads, living this super simple life, and they're still happy. It is an experience that keeps you humble, puts things in perspective.
Rakotonirina Miaro wonders why the world outside Madagascar seem to appreciate the island's treasures but Malgasy citizens cannot seem to notice [mg]:
Ny olon-kafa maita ny hatsaran'ny Nosin-tsik fa ny tompony jay no tsy mahafatatra fa tsar i Gasikara! Tsara daholo ny mannequin naka sary é!
Foreigners know how beautiful our island is but we, who live here, do not seem to appreciate about our own treasures. Oh yeah, and the swimming suit models were not bad looking either

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Pro-Maidan Video Goes Viral Thanks to Pavel Durov, Russia’s Zuckerberg  · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Screen capture from “Fear Is Not Real.” YouTube.
Pavel Durov, the creator of Russia's most popular online social network, Vkontakte, is an unusual man. Young and fabulously wealthy (he made nearly half a billion dollars [ru] last month divesting from VK), Durov has something of a mixed reputation. In December 2011, he gained a reputation for defending civil rights, when he publicly defied a police request to delete certain Vkontakte groups formed in opposition to United Russia, the country's dominant political party. Early last year, however, Novaya Gazeta, one of Russia's best established anti-regime newspapers, revealed evidence that Durov may have cooperated with the authorities in more subtle ways. In the last year, Durov has been at the center of a shareholders conflict with United Capital Partners, an investment group that bought 48% of Vkontakte in April 2013. Last month, Durov sold his remaining 12% in the company to a close ally of Alisher Usmanov, preserving Mail.ru Group's majority control.
While he's no longer a part-owner in the website, Durov remains Vkontakte's CEO. That arrangement might not last much longer. Indeed, there is widespread speculation in Russia that Durov will soon be forced out of the company entirely. Durov has fought hard to remain at Vkontakte, but his recent divestment suggests he may finally be acquiescing. (Losing his creation undoubtedly costs him some sleep, but Durov can now toss and turn on a bed of 420 million dollars, thanks to the stock sale.)
Besides selling off his shares, Durov did something else recently that could signify his impatience with keeping himself in the good graces of Russia's powerful. On February 20, 2014, Durov republished an evocative two-minute video featuring combat footage from Kiev, narrated in a dramatic male voice cheering on demonstrators. The video is thoroughly pro-Maidan, challenging protesters to overcome the fear of battle and encouraging them to continue resisting. At the time of this writing, Durov's post has almost 32 thousand views and over 17 thousand “likes.”
Given the political climate in Russia now, Durov's willingness to stake such an unabashedly pro-opposition position on the Ukraine crisis is rather astounding. Durov leads a multi-billion-dollar company—the “Facebook of the Russian Internet”—where an unpredictable competition between two investment tycoons will decide his future. Outside Vkontakte, Russian politicians have been on a spree of attacks against anyone who promotes “extremism” (read: any kind of support for Ukraine's opposition). As I've documented in past Global Voices posts, there have been assaults on television and radio stations, websites, and individuals—sometimes for behavior as innocuous as a bad joke. Is Durov's daring a show of open defiance?
The video: “Fear Is Not Real”
Artist Alexander Makedonskiy originally authored the video that Durov published on Vkontakte. YouTube hosts the clip, as well, on Makedonskiy's channel and other accounts. The commentary in the video is a curious mix of dialogue from two Hollywood movies: the 2013 film After Earth, starring Will Smith, and the 2006 movie Rocky Balboa, Sylvester Stallone's sixth and final Rocky installment. (The scenes harvested for the narration include father-and-son moments from each film, and the speech Rocky delivers to the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission, when he tries to renew his boxing license.)
What follows is a transcription [ru] of the “Fear Is Not Real” Maidan video, with the original English text from the two films mentioned above. The video itself, with English subtitles, can be viewed below.
Страха в реальности нет!
Страх живет в одном закоулке в наших мыслях о будущим.
Страх это плод нашего во брожения.
Он заставляет нас боятся того чего нет! И вероятно не будет ни-ког-да!
Это ж чистое безумия.
Ты только пойми меня правильно!
Опасность это реальный факт, но страх это твой выбор!
Я скажу то что для тебя не новость. Мир не такой солнечный и приветливый.
Это очень опасная и жесткая места.
Если толька дашь слабину, он опрокинет с такой сили тебя что больше уже не встанешь!
Не ты, не я не кто на свете не бьет так сильно как жизнь!
Совсем не важно как ты ударишь , а важно какой держишь удар.
Как двигаешься в перед будешь идти иди если с испугай не свернешь!
Толька так побеждают!
Если знаешь чего ты стоишь?! Иди бери свое!
Но будь готов удары держат!
А ни плакаться и говорит ” я нечего не добился из-за его из-за нее и из-за кого-то. Так делает трусы а ты не трус!!! Быт этого не может!
Если человек сам хочет за что то драться, хочет добиваться своего, кто правы остановит его?! А может кому-то из вас тоже чего-то хотелось.?! Чего-то о чем мечтал, чего-то не обычного. А его не дают “нет” говорят и точка.
Кто имеют права так говорит “кто?” Ни кто !
Человек сам решает в какую сторону ему повернуть. Права каждого быт именно тем кем он захочет быт!
Fear is not real.
The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future.
It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist.
That is near insanity.
Do not misunderstand me, danger is very real, but fear is a choice.
Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.
It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.
You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.
But it ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.
How much you can take and keep moving forward.
That’s how winning is done!
Now if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth!
But you gotta be willing to take the hits.
And not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody!
Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!
Because if you’re willing to go through all the battling you've got to go through to get where you wanna get—who’s got the right to stop you? Maybe some of you guys got something you never finished, something you really want to do, something you never said to somebody—something!—and you’re told “No,” even after you pay your dues?
Who’s got the right to tell you that? Who? Nobody!
It’s your right to listen to your gut. It ain’t nobody’s right to say “No” after you earned the right to be where you want to be and do what you want to do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=forQ6u1REac

author: Kevin Rothrock


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South Korean Figure Skater Yuna Kim’s ‘Robbed’ Sochi Gold Becomes Photoshop Meme · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

From elaborate posts, incredulous reactions and downright curses, net users, not limited to South Koreans, erupted in anger when Russian figure skater Adelina Sotnikova won gold over South Korean figure-skating legend Yuna Kim at the women's free skating event at Sochi.
Immediately after the results were announced, many questioned the crowning of Sotnikova, and even an insider alleged that the competition was rigged. News reports began to appear on the judges’ panel for the women’s free skate, which was comprised of four judges from Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, and Slovakia). The Russian judge is famously married to the general director and past president of the Figure Skating Federation of Russia, and the Ukrainian judge has a shameful past record of receiving a year-long suspension for a vote-trading deal.
For many online, it appeared to be a case of stolen gold for South Korea's beloved figure skating queen. Some net users took a proactive approach: an online petition demanding an investigation into the scoring decisions and a do-over judgment received 1.9 million signatures in less than two days. Others vented their anger with humor, giving way to images mocking the Russian player's stumble [ko] by photoshopping her into different scenes.
이 분 제가 비보이대회에서 봤는데요; pic.twitter.com/jIkTnPjSFC
— 애교 (@_Yeong7) February 20, 2014
I think I've seen her at a B-boy dance competition.
저분 엑소 커버댄서랍니다 글 내려주세요 pic.twitter.com/3426mYh3k9
— 코뿔소박스 (@kobox00) February 20, 2014
[Fake correction request] I heard that woman is a cover dancer for Exo [K-pop boy group], please remove your wrong post.
Many jokes were made about possible revenge at the 2018 Olympics, which will be hosted by South Korean city of Pyeongchang:
재미있는 트윗 글들…”두고봐라, 평창에서 보자 이것들아. 이상화 선수가 피겨에서 금메달 따는 걸 보여주겠다!”.. “편파? 흥! 우리에게도 비장의 무기가 있다. 평창에서는 검찰과 국정원이 심판 볼 거다!”
— 백찬홍 (@mindgood) February 21, 2014
There were so many hilarious tweets about this result. One says, “Wait till we host the Olympics at Pyeongchang. We will make you watch [famous speed skater of South Korea] Lee Sang-hwa winning a gold medal at figure skating”. One tweeted, “The rigging? We have a few tricks up our sleeve for that. It would be none other than our National Intelligence Service and prosecutors who will be judging the Pyeongchang Olympic games” [a reference to the spy agency's election meddling scandal].
미리보는 평창ㅇ올림픽이랰ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ pic.twitter.com/bgr02vfxBc
— 시루 (@SEERU_) February 21, 2014
They say this is a preview of the Pyeongchang Olympics. [The photoshopped image shows a traditional drum performer figure-skating] lol.lol.
여자피겨 진짜 올림픽 챔피언은…. 이 분. pic.twitter.com/dXj8WCOoHz
— jungkwon chin (@unheim) February 21, 2014
The real champion of women’s figure skating at the Olympics is … him.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Thoughts On India’s Biggest Blogging Conference · Global Voices
Rezwan

#WIN14, India's biggest blogging conference and awards, hosted by BlogAdda, took place on February 9, 2014. Blogger Dr. Roshan Radhakrishnan, who won the best creative writing blog in India, shares his thoughts and pictures.

author: Rezwan


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Top Chinese Journalist Criticized for Giving Birth in the US · Global Voices
Abby Liu

One of China's top journalists and TV anchors, Chai Jing, has caused a stir online after she gave birth in the US, with some netizens calling her a “traitor” or a “liberal hypocrisy”.
After pictures of Chai holding a newborn baby at an airport were published online, reports surfaced that she had given birth to a daughter in the US in October 2013. Obviously, the benefit is that the child becomes a US citizen.
A highly respected reporter in China, Chai is known for her sharpness, persistence and her direct, cut-to-the point interview technique. She made her name for covering the SARS epidemic in 2003 and the Sichuan earthquake in 2008.
Chai Jing holding a newborn baby at an airport. Photo from Sina Weibo
Chai giving birth in the US has disappointed a lot of her fans, with many calling her hypocritical.
Netizen “Tan” wrote:
我们应该明白一点，公知们抨击或批评这个生他养他的国家，不是爱这个国家而是为了有天有扑向美欧等国家怀抱的资本。什么人批评这个国家的不足才是真心的?只有永远是中国人的我们。
We should understand that these public figures attack or criticize their home country, not because they love this country but one day have the capability to embrace the United States, Europe and other countries. Which kind of people who criticize this country are more sincere? Only those who will always be Chinese.
However, a large number of people also expressed their support. Some were sad about the emigration trend among China’s middle class, calling for reflection among Chinese top leaders:
不懂怎么念燊微博达人：非常现实，高层应该反思为何这样，柴静看到未来，她有能力为自己孩子选择一个更为公平公正，制度健全的国家，别人没道理评论。想想自己有能力会不会加入美国籍就懂了。
Very realistic, higher-ups should reflect on why things like this happen. When thinking about the future, she has the ability to select a country with a more fair, equal and sound system for his child. It’s not for anyone else to comment on. If you have the ability, would you become a US citizen? Think about it and you will understand.
文人医生：自己不能改变现状，手中没有选票，为什么孩子还不能改变？柴静在哪里生孩子是自己的自由和私事。
We ourselves cannot change the status quo in this country, we do not have the votes, why can’t we make a change for our children? It’s Chai Jing’s own freedom and personal matter to decide where her child should be born.
Commentator Liu Xuesong wrote [zh]:
个人爱不爱这个国家，最重要的不是看他把孩子生在哪里，而是看他在这个国家的公民角色中，担了多少当，做了多少有益的事。这个国家值不值得爱，倒是与这个国家的集体意识中，是否展示了大爱的包容、和谐、友善等宽厚本色，是否将注意力放在了富强、公正、文明等向上向善的追求上有关。
Whether one is patriotic or not, the most important thing is not to find out where the child was born, but to see his role as a citizen in this country, and how many good deeds he has done. Whether if it is worth it to love this country has something to do with the collective consciousness of this country, whether it shows love, harmony, friendliness and generosity and whether it focuses on the prosperity, justice and civilization.
Another netizen wrote [zh]:
有网民说，他只是希望孩子有比较正常的生活方式，无关爱国。也许，这才是为政者应该反思的问题。
Some netizens said that she only wants the child to have a more normal lifestyle, which has nothing to do with patriotism. Perhaps, this is the problem the government should reflect on.

author: Abby Liu


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Ukraine’s President Yanukovych Ousted and Parliament Reshuffled · Global Voices
Tetyana Bohdanova

This post is part of our Special Coverage Ukraine's #Euromaidan Protests.
After a violent crackdown on anti-government Euromaidan protesters left 70 to 100 people dead this week, Ukraine's parliament formed a new majority and voted to oust President Viktor Yanukovych under the growing pressure of the protesters.
Yanukovych was not in the capital Kyiv at the time, having fled and denounced the events as a coup.
The legislature's vote was met with approval from people within the Euromaidan movement, which has protested for three months against the increasingly repressive government led by Yanukovych after he backed out of a deal with the European Union in November 2013.
Following the turmoil on 20 February when security forces shot at protesters, a deal [uk] was originally struck between the opposition and Yanukovych that would end the violence in the country, but would also see him remain president until new elections that were to be held by end of year. The deal also included a return to the 2004 version of the country's constitution, which limits presidential powers and the creation of an international commission for investigating the events in Kyiv. The agreement was brokered by three European foreign ministers.
On the evening of February 21, the leaders of the parliamentary opposition came to Kyiv's Maidan (Independence Square) – the stronghold of the protesters – to present the signed agreement to the people. They arrived just as Maidan was mourning the unprecedented loss of lives which occurred the day before. Despite risks, hundreds of thousands had gathered on the square, including some of the police officers who had deflected to the side of the protesters. People blamed the president and his regime for the escalation of violence and the use of firearms.
#Maidan now via @ukrpravda_news #Ukraine #euromaidan pic.twitter.com/USAFXoF2WY
— Tetyana Bohdanova (@tetyUAna) February 21, 2014
When the protesters heard that Yanukovych would remain in power at least until the next elections, they booed the parliament representatives. A regular member of the Maidan self-defense unit (the “sotnyk”) took to the stage and gave a very emotional speech calling on the president to resign by the next morning or Maidan would go into the offensive (video).
His call received overwhelming support from the gathered crowd, and that support was echoed by the leader of the Right Sector movement, a right-wing opposition group, albeit in a more restrained manner. Well-known journalist Dmytro Gnap also got on stage, blaming the leaders of the opposition leaders for betraying the Euromaidan movement and outlining possible options of Yanukovych's resignation.
Social media users, like @RainFromUkraine, reacted similarly:
хрипкий голос сотника був голосом всіх українців
— дощисько (@RainFromUkraine) February 21, 2014
Cracked voice of a sotnyk  was the voice of all Ukrainians.
Afterwards, one of the opposition leaders, former world boxing champion turned politician Vitaliy Klychko, got on stage and apologized to the protesters for entering into an agreement with Yanukovych and “shaking his hand“.
Shortly after these events, news spread that Yanukovych was leaving Kyiv for the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Later in the evening, however, social media activists have identified a private jet that allegedly belonged to the President leaving Ukraine via a flight tracking site FlightRadar24. As the plane was flying towards Sochi, many believed Yanukovych was fleeing to Russia.
However, the jet did not land there but went further towards the United Arab Emirates, with Yanuckovych allegedly on board. Whether Yanukovyh has really left Ukraine, however, remained unconfirmed.
In the morning of February 22, the Maidan self-defense movement announced that they were guarding Parliament and other government institutions, while government security forces had completely abandoned the government block in Kyiv apparently expecting the protesters to storm and destroy its buildings. Twitter user Pedrodon tweeted this image of the events:
Protesters are patrolling through the govt quarter and guarding parliament in #Kiev #Ukraine #ukraineprotests pic.twitter.com/GWT8fsEG0j
— Pedrodon (@stopnarcotics) February 22, 2014
A journalist from Brussels, @Balliauw, also added this image:
Self defence forces from #Maidan guarding the building of the presidential administration in #Kiev pic.twitter.com/4QFlWwUPzJ
— Balliauw (@Balliauw) February 22, 2014
Government forces and private security personnel had also abandoned Yanukovych's notoriously lavish residence Mezhygirya. Maidan self-defense members encircled the residence to prevent looting and destruction, but allowed journalists and other citizens free entry (photos). Hundreds of Ukrainians have visited the place throughout the day, which was off limits to regular citizens for years.
In the meantime, journalists discovered piles of partially destroyed records of large-scale corruption schemes.
RL/RFE reporter Irtsia Stelmakh [uk] tweeted several photos of the residence:
Ось воно #межигір‘я #Межигорье pic.twitter.com/LHnTaWDhv9
— Ірця Стельмах (@irzja_stelmakh) February 22, 2014
Here it is, Mezhygirya.
Journalist Oksana Kovalenko tweeted:
Знайшли біля причалу у воді документи pic.twitter.com/o1MYxFXoLa
— Oksana Kovalenko (@superumka) February 22, 2014
Found documents in the water near the dock.
While many Ukrainians were having a tour of Mezhygirya, MPs assembled in Parliament and began voting on a number of crucial decisions, including the return to a parliamentary-presidential republic (with limited presidential powers), choosing a new speaker of parliament, and several other key government positions.
In the midst of these events, one of the pro-government channels released a video statement [uk] by President Yanukovych, who allegedly recorded it in Kharkiv, the second largest city in the northeast of the country. In the statement, the president accused his opponents of a state coup, referred to protesters as “bandits”, and stressed that he was doing all in his power to prevent bloodshed.
He also added that he was not planning to leave the country.
A screencap of President Yanukovych’ address released on Feb. 22, 2014
While MPs in the parliament were hastily leaving the pro-presidential political party Party of Regions, several pro-presidential and pro-Russian MPs and regional authorities quickly called an assembly in Kharkiv. The move caused widespread concern that separatist or federalist statements would be adopted and appeals for Russia to deploy its troops in Ukraine would be made.
However, the assembly only called  [ru] for self-organizing to maintain order in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine and for friendly relations with Russia. In support of the event, a mass rally by Party of Regions supporters was organized in Kharkiv. While some participated genuinely, there were media reports of pressure on state employees and others [uk] to partake in the rally.
At the same time, a large rally in support of Euromaidan also took place in Kharkiv [video]. Twitter users @ShkvarkiUA tweeted from the city center:
СХІД і ЗАХІД – РАЗОМ! • СВОБОДУ НАРОДУ! – скандирует Харьков. | #євромайдан #україна #майдан #харків #Харьков pic.twitter.com/ycQiiAGWnT
— Шкварки News (@ShkvarkiUA) February 22, 2014
East and West are UNITED! FREEDOM TO THE PEOPLE! – shouts Kharkiv.
Kharkiv Euromaidan activists also demanded the removal of their separatist mayor and governor. Closer to the evening,  reports emerged [uk] that both officials were leaving for Russia, as State Security Service of Ukraine opened a criminal investigation into their separatist claims.
Later that evening, the parliament in Kyiv voted to oust President Yanukovych and called early presidential elections for May. The MPs also supported the release of former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko, who was jailed by Yanukovych in 2011.
Needless to say, the reaction of many Ukrainians was celebratory. Kyiv-based journalist and photographer Bogdana Shevchenko tweeted:
ВІТАЮ ВСІХ!!!! #євромайдан #янукович
— Bogdana Shevchenko (@bbshevch) February 22, 2014
CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!!!! #євромайдан #янукович
User Olia Riabuha tweeted:
Дякую всім хто боровся за справедливість! Слава Україні!Героям Слава!Сьогодні,ми перемогли!#Янукович #майдан #киев #дякую
— bizzle (@Olya_Riabuha) February 22, 2014
Thank you everyone who fought for justice! Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes! Today we won!
Reactions from the international community followed. British Foreign Secretary William Hague tweeted:
Agreed with German Foreign Minister Steinmeier today to support new government in #Ukraine and push for vital IMF financial package
— William Hague (@WilliamJHague) February 22, 2014
Polish Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Radosław Sikorski also added:
No coup in Kiev. Gov. buildings got abandoned. Speaker of Rada elected legally. Pres. VYanukovych has 24h to sign 04 Const. into law.
— Radosław Sikorski (@sikorskiradek) February 22, 2014
As of 7 p.m. local time on 22 February 2014, the whereabouts of Yanukovych remain unknown.


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Could Questions on Ethnicity Stir Trouble in Myanmar? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Shan minority group in Myanmar. Photo from Flickr page of EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection
Myanmar’s nationwide census scheduled from March 23 to April 10 threatens to inflame more ethnic and religious conflicts in the country over some ‘antagonistic and divisive’ issues included in the questionnaire. Myanmar’s last census was held more than 30 years ago.
The census, supported by the UN, aims to determine Myanmar’s key demographic and socio-economic statistics in order to ascertain the country’s particular development needs. But questions about ethnicity or tribal identification have become controversial after the government listed 135 ethnic groups and sub-groups on the questionnaire. Critics reminded the government that the listing is a colonial legacy which must be revamped. Several ethnic groups have complained about being lumped with other minorities while others claimed they were dropped from the listing.
The government is urged to reclassify the listing based on consultation with ethnic communities. And while the government is doing this, some groups wanted the census delayed for another month.
In Myanmar, majority are Burmans. An estimated 40 percent of the population is considered an ethnic minority, with Shan composing the biggest minority group.
The common complaint of many groups is the inaccurate categorization of ethnic groups. For example, the Palaung (Ta’aung) tribe questioned their inclusion as a Shan race:
We, Ta’aung, settled down in this land before the Shan…We are not the same with other races. We live in mountainous area and have a different culture and language.
Kyaw Thu, head of the civil society consortium Paung Ku, thinks questions on ethnicity and religion should be dropped because they are no longer necessary:
If development is the priority, the data of headcounts—the numbers of people and the age group—is enough to conduct economic projects.
Tun Myint Kyaw, local coordinator in Mon State for the European Union-funded Rule of Law Project, also urged the removal of some controversial questions in the census:
If [the Ministry of Immigration and Population] has a plan to omit the ethnicity and religion category from the national identity card, why would they still include in the census data collection?
Khun Jar of the Kachin Peace Network explained how inaccurate ethnic categorization can cause trouble; and she also warned about the danger of conducting census in some remote areas where armed conflicts are still taking place:
If the government accepts 135 ethnic groups only, it can cause harm to the peace process because ethnic groups can get into armed conflicts if disagreements arise among them
We can’t anticipate who will conduct the census in remote areas and places where there is no ceasefire. In some places there are no schools. Teachers are normally used to collect data on the population. So with no schools, it will not be easy to collect population figures at the refugee camps.
Thet Ko from Minority Affair proposed the drafting of a new listing based on the principle of democratic consultation:
The list of ethnics should be compiled again after consulting with ethnic groups through a democratic procedure.
Some ethnic groups are worried that they might lose political representation if the proposed census will adopt the official listing of ethnic groups in the country. Ethnic minister positions in local parliaments are automatically given to ethnic groups with more than 0.01 percent of the population in the area.
The government is accused of deliberately bloating the number of ethnic subgroups to deny representation to some tribes.
But in the case of the Rohingyas, the government refuses to recognize them as citizens. Kyaw Min of the Democracy and Human Rights Party is appealing for the recognition of Rohingyas, who are mostly Muslims:
Every human race has its own identity. We have our identity already…This is not just now—we have had it for a long time. But we have found that there is discrimination in the country, which ignores our demand that our identity be recognized.
One concern about the inclusion of religion in the census is the destabilization it might generate. In particular, the census might confirm that Myanmar has a growing number of Muslims which could provoke Buddhist extremist groups to cause trouble in many villages.
Worried about the threat, the International Crisis Group, is proposing to limit census questions on age, sex and marital status:
…the coming census, consisting of 41 questions, is overly complicated and fraught with danger. Myanmar is one of the most diverse countries in the region, and ethnicity is a complex, contested and politically sensitive issue, in a context where ethnic communities have long believed that the government manipulates ethnic categories for political purposes
A poorly timed census that enters into controversial areas of ethnicity and religion in an ill-conceived way will further complicate the situation.
Meanwhile, the Burma Partnership fears the census might undermine the national reconciliation process:
Yet the lack of transparency and consultation is a damning indictment of the UN’s – and donors’ – role in the census, while the accusations of inaccuracy and divisiveness only serve to further undermine the credibility of these parties. Moreover, there are real fears about the logistics of collecting the data, both in terms of authorities using the correct forms and accessing remote areas or conflict zones, which would have implications for the accuracy of data recorded
It is clear that this census represents a Pandora’s Box of potential ethnic tensions and conflict. At a time when the Burma government claims to be striving to secure a sustainable peace deal with the armed ethnic groups and cementing political reforms before the 2015 national elections, the timing and nature of the census is strange, to say the least. It risks jeopardizing national reconciliation, undermining the peace process, and exacerbating inter-communal violence.
Apparently, some ethnic groups are cynical of the census process that they chose to conduct a census on their own.

author: Mong Palatino


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China Internet Giant Tencent’s New Acquisition Follows Online2Offline Trend   · Global Voices
Jack Hu

China is the fastest growing consumption market in the world. As the economy shifts from manufacturing to the service industry, the driving force of the country's GDP will be consumption; online to offline commerce is definitely a fierce battlefield.
A recent example of this is Chinese Internet giant Tencent's acquisition of a 20-percent stake worth 400 million US dollars in Yelp-like website Dianping to further expand its online to offline (O2O) commerce.
Founded in 2003, Dianping is the largest online ratings and reviews platform in China. It provides urban guide for consumption, which includes merchant information, consumer reviews, discount, group buying, online restaurant reservations and take-out ordering services. It had more than 90 million monthly active users and more than eight million local businesses covering nearly 2,300 cities across the Chinese mainland by the fourth quarter of 2013.
Upon the acquisition, the online service platform will be integrated with Tencent's social communications platforms, in particular its instant messaging mobile applications – WeChat's online payment service, as well as Tencent's mobile map application. WeChat has gained about 600 million users by the end of 2013.
Zhang Tao, founder and CEO of Dianping, stated that Tencent's social network and traffic would boost Dianping’s growth and that he would continue to seek for an independent initial public offering for Dianping after Tencent’s investment.
As people's shopping habits have changed from offline to online, O2O commerce has become a golden goose for China's three major Internet giants – Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, collectively known as BAT – to compete for. In the past two years, the three corporations have made some strategic moves respectively.
To establish the O2O business, the connection between online social groups and offline services through social media platforms is most crucial. Tencent made the move by integrating WeChat with online shopping platforms, such as JD.com and consumption guides such as Dianping. Baidu invested in Nuomi, a group-buying service. Alibaba merged with microblogging website Sina Weibo to expand its Alipay online payments for businesses including Meitun, China's biggest group-buying site, and Kuaidi, a taxi-hailing app, as well as Citic 21CN Co., a medicine purchase platform.
Tech manager “Yu Feng” commented on the competition between Tecent and Alibaba:
对腾讯来说这绝对是O2O的胜负手，支付宝能做起来，因为背靠着淘宝巨大的交易额，微信的支付需要交易场景的加持才能真正发展起来……你可以把微信支付+大众点评，理解为另一个支付宝+淘宝的组合，就容易看懂了。
It’s a key move for Tencent to push O2O. Alipay has grown quickly because it’s been based on huge trading volume of Taobao. The growth of WeChat payments need a trading scenario……It’d be better understood when you see WeChat payments + Dianping as another Alipay + Taobao [China's biggest online shopping platform].
In the midst of fierce competition among the BAT, whether or not online e-commerce platforms can gain from the integration process remains a question. Tech Journalist “Zhao Nan100″ pointed out that Dianping has paid a large amount of “entrance fee” to Tencent in the acquisition:
为了在微信“我的银行卡”占个座，大众点评实际上不仅没从腾讯拿4亿美元，反而是给了腾讯6.9亿美元，只不过这部分钱是以出让股份的形式表现的。要知道，如果现在IPO，大众点评怎么可能只值20亿美元，折价的部分实际上就是给腾讯的钱。其它创业者们，看到微信“我的银行卡”买一个位置的花费。
Practically Dianping has not taken 400 million from Tencent, instead it’s paid Tencent 690 million in shares for a seat on WeChat’s “my bank cards” [Tencent's online payment system]. Had Dianping listed as in stock market now, it would be worth a lot more than $2 billion. The discounted part become the fee paid to Tencent. Other online business starters can see the price to buy a seat on WeChat's “my bank cards”.
Zhang Pang, a business blogger, believed that such integration will become a trend as O2O commerce continues to expand:
其实现有一个势头正在越来越明显，那就是在中国互联网产业内的创业公司想要“不站队”，保持独立发展，将会越来越艰难，巨头通过注入自身资源而不仅仅是资金，将会迅速影响创业公司在某个领域的竞争环境和前景。这个趋势，将对未来一段时间创业企业的发展路径带来深远的影响。
The trend is getting more obvious. It is more and more difficult for Chinese online businesses to remain independent and stay out of the “clans”. The giants will not only inject capital but its resources and it will affect the environment and future of the business sector. Such a trend will have serious impact on the developmental path of Internet start-ups.
However, netizen “Classmate Ji” disagreed with the technological deterministic view, writing that informative consumer information is more important than “payment connection”:
大众点评APP独立用户数去年就已经超8000万，都是来自于真实口碑用户，用得着去买微信入口？别以为有个入口就能翻云覆雨，当年口碑网挟雅虎巨大流量和资源冲击大众点评，结果怎样，现在还有人知道么。O2O不是互联网人玩概念玩出来的，那是踏踏实实沉下心来做线下做出来的。
Dianping’s independent users have risen to over 80 million last year. Does it need to buy a WeChat entrance? Don’t think you can do everything by owning an entrance. Don’t forget the Koubei.com case, which had battled with Dianping using high traffic and resources from Yahoo, but ended in failure. O2O needs down-to-earth offline work rather than playing around with Internet concepts.

author: Jack Hu


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First Open Heart Surgery in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Child awaiting heart surgery via La chaine de l'espoir with their permission
The health international network La Chaîne de l’Espoir (The Link of Hope) reports that 7 Congolese children in critical conditions benefited from open heart surgeries [fr] on February 14 in Brazzaville, Congo. With the help of the Congo Assistance Fundation as well, Prince Béni and Maya, both suffering from cardiomyopathy were operated for several hours as told in the following report [fr]:
Elle a dix ans et ne pèse que quinze kilos. Son cœur fonctionne mal. Il l'empêche de s'alimenter et donc de grandir. La petite fille doit être opérée le plus vite possible. L'intervention dure six heures.
(Mayala) is ten years old and weighs fifteen pounds. Her heart is malfunctioning. It prevents her from getting nutrients to all her cells and therefore growing. The girl needed an operation as soon as possible. The procedure took six hours.


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Indian Blogger Exposes Fuel Pump Cheating With Viral Video · Global Voices
Rezwan

Screenshot from the video uploaded by Kiruba Shankar
In India, where fraud at gas pumps is commonplace and many complaints remain unresolved, a blogger's viral Facebook video has helped shed light on the problem.
Kiruba Shankar, a digital entrepreneur, author, teacher, farmer and long-time blogger in Chennai, India, explained how he first discovered the fraudulent practice:
I just caught the staff red-handed at Bharath Petroleum fuel station on Mount Road. They tried stealing Rs.700 worth of petrol. I paid Rs.2000 for the fuel and as the meter reached Rs.1300, one of the guys tried distracting me by asking me for my car number. Immediately, his accomplice manning the fuel pump stopped the pump and quickly reset the meter. As soon as the guy asked me for the number, I smelled a rat and saw the pump just when the guy was resetting it.
This incident took place in the Bharath Petroleum's Mount Road outlet in Chennai. Kiruba uploaded the video to Facebook, and the one-minute, 44-second-long video went viral with more than 6,000 shares and 3,000 likes. Many people shared their similar experiences in the comments section and local media started reporting on it.
Rajesh Murugesan, a commenter on the video, said:
Hey guys why blame only Bharat Petroleum, it happens with all petrol bunks. our Indian officer's just need to fill their pockets and are not worried about others. These officer's to be punished or teased in public.
Yashwanth Vee, another commenter, wrote:
It is a good thing that you came out and posted this on a social network. Hope the responsible person sees this video and takes some kind of action.
Kiruba posted updates on how the authorities reacted:
The social media outrage coupled with the coverage in national dailies has brought this incident right up to the CMD and top management of Bharath Petroleum.
They requested Mr.Kshitij Midha, Area Sales Manager for South Chennai to meet me in person. He is incharge of overseeing 35 fuel stations, including the one where the incident took place. […]
The BPCL official did an investigation with the owner and staff at Ashwini Automobiles (the franchisee who runs the fuel station). After cross examining, they did find the two men guilty and they have been fired from their jobs. […]
BPCL has the official complaint numbers displayed in all petrol pumps but most of the customers don’t take the extra effort to lodge a complaint. He encouraged people to complain which will keep the staff grounded.
Blogger Shushant Kulkarni from Pune advised how not to get cheated in a petrol station:
You might be getting fooled if you are not paying close attention. […] I have noticed this a lot many times, have gotten first hand experience getting cheated a couple of times :), but eventually learned the pattern. You have experienced these or may be you are not paying attention to these.
The Allrounder blog also has similar tips to share. Vinaya Naidu at Lighthouse Insights blog lauded the role of social media in exposing malpractice in the society:
A rampant malpractice at most fuel stations in the country, one that needs to be tackled in these times of high fuel prices. It is interesting to observe how social media can play an important role in eliminating this, if leveraged fruitfully as Kiruba did.


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Macedonian Court Fines Journalist and Magazine for Quoting Source  · Global Voices
Temjana Popovska

The top headline reads: “Embassy in Czech Republic under bomb threats, Ministry for Foreign Affairs doesn't lift finger”. The second headline quotes the statement of former ambassador Igor Ilievski: “I left because of the pressure from Mijalkov”. Photo by NovaTV, used with permission.
After a controversial lawsuit in which one of Macedonia's last independent magazines, Fokus, was charged with defaming Director of the Security and Counter-Intelligence Directorate (UBK) Sasho Mijalkov, a court in Skopje ruled that the magazine must pay Mijalkov over 9,000 euros (about 12,500 US dollars) for damaging his reputation.
Mijalkov sued the daily publication, which has been shut down in the meantime and only the weekly edition of this Macedonian media house remains, for two published articles that were based on the statements of former Macedonian ambassador to the Czech Republic Igor Ilievski. Ilievski held this diplomatic position until December 2012, when he informed the media [mk] that his mandate ended before the official date, blaming Mijalkov for this.
In view of all the evidence available to the public regarding this case, it seems that the newspaper has been fined for transmitting their source's statements. The only potentially disputable statement claims, “Off the record, from before the holidays UBK Director Sasho Mijalkov is in Prague where he owns a business empire”, which alleges that Mijalkov was staying in Prague during that period, of which there was no evidence.
Vlado Apostolov, the journalist who wrote the articles involved in the lawsuit, and Editor-in-Chief of Fokus weekly Jadranka Kostova will have to pay 6,000 euros (about 8,200 dollars) in damages and some 3,300 euros (about 4,500 dollars) for the costs of Mijalkov’s lawyer during the trial.
Ilievski will also have to pay 10,000 euros (about 13,500 dollars) in damages to Mijalkov for having made a statement to the newspaper that the main reason why he resigned from his post as Macedonian ambassador to the Czech Republic was “the coordinated activity of the Chief of the Macedonian secret police, Sasho Mijalkov, with his ‘friends’ who are very well organized in the Czech Republic”.
He also stated that Mijalkov was pressing the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Popovski and Macedonian President Gorge Ivanov to take their hands off the case. In his statement for Fokus daily, Ilievski said:
Сашо Мијалков го спречи тоа и почна масовен последен напад. За среќа, неуспешен. Мијалков беше нем набљудувач на четирите закани по мојот живот и трите закани за бомба на амбасадата
Sasho Mijalkov prevented it and started his last massive attack. Fortunately, unsuccessfully. Mijalkov was a silent observer of the four threats on my life and the three threats to bomb the embassy.
Vlado Apostolov said in an interview for A1on that the ruling is scandalous and that they have been sentenced for simply presenting the statements of former ambassador Ilievski.
As previously reported by Global Voices, the media landscape in Macedonia has become a somewhat dangerous place and Apostolov reminds the public of this in the mentioned interview:
Од едена страна паричната казна е голема и за Фокус е критична, ама од друга страна Македонија е земја во која што новинари одат во затвор, други загинуваат во сообраќајни несреќи под чудни околности, и со парична казна ни е треба дури да бидеме среќни
On one side the fine is very large and critical for the magazine Fokus, but on the other side, Macedonia is a country where journalists go to jail, others die in car accidents under strange circumstances, so with this fine we should be happy.
After hearing of the court's decision, Fokus Editor-in-Chief Kostova told Balkan Insight, “With this court criteria, we might as well close Fokus. Or perhaps that is exactly their goal.” She also noted that the last remaining weekly, Fokus magazine, that is critical of the government of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski was already on the brink of financial ruin, mainly because of a series of lawsuits against it.
The court ruling also brought strong reactions from media and citizens on social networks.
Meri Jordanovska, a journalist for Fokus, posted on her Facebook profile:
И после ќе зборуваме за автоцензура? Па нормално дека ќе зборуваме!
Гарантирам дека после пресудата, ќе нема новинар што 3 пати ќе се запраша дали да пренесе изјава од некој! А во случајов тоа не е било кој, туку бивш амбасадор. Интервјуто и пренесувањето изјави ќе станат потежок жанр од истражувачкото новинарство!
Ај што луѓево одамна се плашат да проговорат, туку сега и оние што ќе сакаат да проговорат ќе нема кој да ги пренесе.
And are we going to talk about self-censorship? Of course we are!
I guarantee that after the verdict, there will be no journalist that will wonder whether to present a statement! And in this case it is not anyone, but a former ambassador. Interviews and presentation of statements will become more complicated over investigative journalism!
For a long time people are afraid to speak out, but now even those who wish to speak will have no one to present their statements.
In 2013, both the daily and weekly Fokus were closed temporarily because of the sudden death of their owner and publisher Nikola Mladenov, who died in a car accident that many suspect involved foul play. The daily newspaper was closed for financial reasons and several pending defamation lawsuits, while the weekly Fokus re-launched in July 2013 under the leadership of Kostova.
The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (ZNM) reacted strongly against the verdict, saying that it is “draconian” to punish the journalist and the editor of the newspaper for libel. In their statement, the Association said:
Ова е прва осудителна пресуда против новинари според Законот за граѓанска одговорност за навреда и клевета која може да се процени како сериозна непријателска порака кон новинарите на Македонија. Со пресудата новинарите се заплашуваат и обесхрабруваат да информираат и истражуваат за одговорноста на јавните функционери што е една од главните принципи на новинарството низ целиот свет
This is a first verdict against journalists according to the Law on Civil Liability for insult and defamation, which can be estimated as a serious hostile message to Macedonian journalists. With this verdict, journalists will be intimidated and discouraged to investigate and inform the public about the responsibility that the public officials have, which is one of the main principles of the journalism worldwide.
The Independent Journalists’ Trade Union (SSNM) also reacted, saying that this verdict is a clear indication of the attitude that the judicial system and the government have towards freedom of the press:
Казните за новинарите на Фокус е показател за исклучително непријателскиот и репресивен амбиент во кој функционираат новинарите во Македонија
The fines for the journalists from Fokus are an indicator of the extremely repressive and hostile setting where Macedonian journalists work.
International media organization Reporters without Borders strongly condemned the judicial harassment of Fokus in a statement of their own:
Репортери без граници силно го осудуваат судското малтретирање на Фокус, една од последните независни публикации во Македонија. Уште еднаш судот во Скопје го осуди Фокус на несразмерно висока парична казна со што, се чини, дека има за цел да се затвори последниот независен неделник во Македонија
Reporters without Borders strongly condemns the judicial harassment of Fokus, one of the last independent publications in Macedonia. Again, the court in Skopje condemned Fokus with a highly disproportionate fine, and it seems like the aim is to close the last independent weekly magazine in Macedonia

author: Temjana Popovska


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Not All Bad, Talking Korean Plastic Surgery from Biz Perspective · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

There have been mounting criticisms on both local and international media's coverage of rampant plastic surgeries in South Korea; many reports are highly sensational, describing how reckless and ignorant plastic surgery patients are (focused on females ones rather than male) and have successfully generated numerous crass jokes and harsh comments not only about patients, but also about the country as a whole. Wangkon936's post in Marmot's Hole blog leads readers to drop the narrow ‘good’ and ‘bad’ value position and approach the issue from a purely business perspective. Some of the highlights are:
When it comes to South Korea, much of the press is negative and borders on reporting mostly on the strange and/or weird such as the so-called “tower of jaw bones”[…] However, is it all bad? If we are to take perhaps subjective values out of the equation and just look at economic impact, then is this all “bad,” per se? From an economic and business perspective, Korea’s highly demanding aesthetics culture is creating an expertise, technology and infrastructure base […]


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Traditional Media Conspires Against Facebook · Global Voices
Rezwan

Tech blogger Amitha Amarasinghe alleges that Facebook is being portrayed negatively in mainstream media in Sri Lanka accompanied with saucy headlines like “Student commits Suicide over a Facebook photo”, “Facebook love ends in Death” etc:
All of a sudden, there is a huge increase in number of mass media content highlighting the bad side of Facebook and Social Media. If you look at these stories, the local media is highlighting the “Facebook” part of the story as the ‘news’, but undermine the social, cultural, and political factors leading to those sad incidents.


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Venezuelans in Mexico to Protesters: “You Are Not Alone” · Global Voices
Patricia Acosta

The situation in Venezuela continues to be extremely tense, with enormous marches and gatherings around the whole country that have left ten people killed and hundreds wounded. Venezuelans around the world who oppose their government have organized peaceful gatherings to make their voices heard and ensure local governments understand what their compatriots are living through. Mexico has been no exception.
Mexico City, February 16th. Photo by Patricia Acosta, author of original article.
Venezuelans resident in Mexico used social media to arrange a march on February 16th. After meeting at the Simon Bolivar (Venezuela's founding father) obelisk in the Polanco area, demonstrators walked down the main Reforma Avenue towards the Angel of Independence. There, with the support of several Mexicans, Venezuelans demanded freedom of information in the presence of media censorship and shouted in unison “freedom”, “peace”, and “no more deaths”, then sung the Venezuelan national anthem as seen in the following video [es]:
After this march, Venezuelans arranged a vigil in front of the OAS (Organization of American States) headquarters in the Mexican capital on February 18th.
Invitation to the February 18th Vigil
Wearing white and carrying candles, Venezuelans prayed for the students who died on February 12th. “Here is my message for Venezuela: You are not alone”, exclaimed a woman at the vigil.
Mexico City Vigil, Photo by Patricia Acosta, author of original article.

author: Patricia Acosta


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10 Reasons Why I Do Not Want Shariah In Pakistan · Global Voices
Rezwan

One of the Taliban negotiators pulled out during a recent talk with the Pakistan government demanding that the agenda includes the strict imposition of Sharia law. Pakistani Blogger and Journalist Beena Sarwar highlights a protest note posted in Facebook titled '10 reasons why I do not want Shariah in Pakistan’ by communities The Traitors of Pakistan (Liberal/Secular Pakistanis against oppression, discrimination, extremism and intolerance) and Pakistan Votes (activist community). Here are some gems:
1. Religion and how I choose to practice it is my business and not that of the State.
2. Enforcing Shariah will not make me a better Muslim nor will it make Pakistan a welfare state. The world’s welfare states are all governed by secular governments.
3. I reject the idea that Shariah in any form can be enforced by those who have raped and plundered my country, blown up schools and mosques and beheaded soldiers. I will not give these criminals the right to dictate to me.
4. I will not give up my civil rights, including freedom of thought and expression, under the guise of Shariah.