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Help End the Imprisonment of Iranian Web Developer Saeed Malekpour · Global Voices
Mahsa Alimardani

#FreeSaeed campaign image.
When Saeed Malekpour was arrested and jailed in 2008 over his code, it seemed like a nightmare of unjust proportions. Now, eight years on, the enduring nightmare seems unthinkable.
Saeed was living in Canada as a permanent resident before he embarked on what was supposed to be a short trip to Iran in October 2008. While visiting his father in Iran, authorities decided to target Malekpour for his open source software program that others had used to upload pornographic images to the Internet.
His story is one of many that exemplify the fear Iranian authorities use to control the nation's Internet space. Saeed was charged with threatening the nation's Islamic ideals and national security via propaganda against the system, but evidence against him was scant. He spent time in solitary confinement and gave forced confessions — widely publicized on national television in 2010 — that were extracted under torture, including beatings, electrocution and threats of rape.
Maryam Malekpour explains her brother's innocence in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's ‘Offline’ campaign. (CC BY 2.0)
He was originally sentenced to death. Some activists believe that global attention and internal pressure convinced Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to call off his death sentence and instead let him spend the rest of his life in prison.
Saeed's arrest coincided with the start of strict Internet control policies after a cyber crimes law was ratified in Iran in 2008. Many Internet activists have reasoned Saeed's case is also a product of the lack of awareness among Iranian authorities on how free software is created and used.
On the eighth anniversary of his arrest, there is a lot that can be done to help pressure the Iranian government, and others, such as the Canadian government, to press for his release. A coordinated Twitter storm has been spearheaded by Saeed's sister Maryam along with other dedicated campaigners.
#SaeedMalekpour deserves unconditional release from prison.
Join the Twitter storm on Tuesday October 4th, 3 Pm Est. #freesaeed pic.twitter.com/mMLLHUUuuW
— Maryam Malekpour (@malekpourm) October 2, 2016
Please contribute your voice on Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at 3pm EST to pressure for Saeed's release and make this final year in prison.
Other campaigns include the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Help Saeed: Write to Justin Trudeau initiative that asks supporters to send mail to the current Canadian government headed by Justin Trudeau to ask them to put pressure on the Iranian government for his release.
You can read Maryam Malekpour's plea to the Canadian government to help pressure for her brothers release here:

author: Mahsa Alimardani


text:
Macedonian Journalist Božinovski Continues Hunger Strike in Face of Trial Postponement · Global Voices
Marko Angelov

Press conference by Association of Journalists of Macedonia and International Federation of Journalists informing about Božinovski's hunger strike. Photo by AJM, used with permission.
Macedonian journalist Zoran Božinovski, who is awaiting trial on espionage charges, has been on hunger strike since September 14. He has been in pre-trial detention for over five months.
Božinovski runs the tabloid-style web portal Burevesnik.org, famous for publishing leaked information that implicated prominent members of the Macedonian political elite in a variety of misdeeds. In 2012 the Macedonian government launched a court case code-named “Spy” (“Шпион” in Macedonian) accusing about 20 people, including Božinovski and other government critics and whistle-blowers, of spying on behalf of EU members Greece and Hungary (Macedonia is a candidate for EU membership).
Most of the suspects in this case had already been found guilty by the Criminal Court and their case is currently expecting a decision from the Court of Appeals. However, as Božinovski lived abroad at the time, a separate trial was set for him within the Criminal Court.
Božinovski was arrested and jailed on an Interpol warrant in 2013 in Serbia, but released after 300 days while Macedonian authorities made a case for his extradition. He was finally extradited to Macedonia in April 2016.
The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) and the Journalist Trade Union have been organizing protests, demanding that Božinovski be immediately released from detention on bail. AJM has expressed alarm at the delay in court proceedings in Božinovski's case. In a recent statement, AJM warned that “the court is violating his right to a fair trial.”
Новинарот Божиновски веќе две недели штрајкува со глад со барање да му се укине притворот, а судот денеска по втор пат го одложи судењето поради лични и семејни прилики на судијката Сандра Крстиќ.
Со упорното одбивање да го укине притворот за Божиновски судот применува двојни аршини. Не изрекува притвор за поранешни владини функционери осомничени за тешки кривични дела, а без сериозна причина скоро шест месеци држи во притвор новинар. Со тоа притворот не служи за непречено одвивање на постапката, туку прераснува во казна.
Journalist Bozinovski for two weeks has been on a hunger strike, demanding an end to his detention, and the court today for the second time postponed the trial because of “personal and family circumstances” of Judge Sandra Krstic.
With persistent refusal to release Bozinovski, the court applied double standards. The Court does not impose detention for former government officials suspected of serious crimes, and without due cause has held a journalist in custody for nearly six months. At this point, detention does not serve as means for an uninterrupted process, but rather becomes a punishment.
On September 23, AJM president Naser Selmani revealed that Zoran Božinovski had started a hunger strike on September 14, due to the unjust extension of his pretrial detention and the delaying of his court case. AJM claims that prison authorities and the court did not inform Božinovski's lawyer or the Ombudsman about his hunger strike, “with the apparent intention of hiding this information from the public.”
There are also widespread, credible fears that Božinovski may experience serious mistreatment in prison. Leaked wiretapped conversations published by Macedonia's political opposition in 2015 revealed some top politicians seemingly making threats of torture toward Božinovski. In a conversation between Martin Protuger, the right-hand man of Macedonia's then-Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, and the then-Minister of Interior Gordana Jankuloska, the two discuss how they plan to torture him once he is in their custody. Protuger requests to pay him a visit “with the CCTV camera turned off in that time.” They also discuss arranging his rape by other inmates as something “that goes without saying.”
On September 22, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) also called for the immediate release of the journalist. EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez reported that the court ignored their official request to allow them to visit Božinovski in prison:
The Macedonian government signed, on 13 April, the Recommendation of the Council of Europe on the protection of journalism and safety of journalists. My question today to the government is: what have you done so far to put into practice the recommendations you signed in April? What have you done to ensure independence of the media and safeguard media pluralism? What have you done to protect journalistic sources and whistleblowers? What have you done to prevent unlawful detention of journalists? What have you done to stop the culture of impunity regarding attacks on journalists? How many investigations have you launched? How many prosecutions? How many people responsible for such crimes have been brought to Justice and condemned?
This information has not exactly caused a stir among the Macedonian public, where most mainstream media outlets fall under direct control of the ruling parties. Still, some social media users commented on this status quo of institutional uncertainty.
Trial of incarcerated #Macedonia|n journo Z.Bozinovski is set in 3 days.
His lawyer still hasn't received ANY evidence from the court.
— Vladimir Petreski (@VPetreski) September 24, 2016
Зоран Божиновски штрајкува со глад. Судиката замисли побарала да биде прераспределена, па судењето е одложено. РЕКОВ ДЕКА ШТРАЈКУВА СО ГЛАД?
— В!Дана (@VidanaDeSign) September 27, 2016
Zoran Božinovski is on hunger strike. Can you believe it, the judge asked to be re-аssigned, which had postponed his trial. DID I MENTION THAT HE'S ON HUNGER STRIKE?
The AJM called upon the Court of Appeals in Skopje to immediately submit the decision for the “Spy” case to the Criminal Court, which would enable Božinovski's lawyers to have access to evidence and prepare his defense. Barring this, they argue there will be further delays and the public will continue to believe that the case was “politically rigged.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Marko Angelov


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Qatari Emir’s Dead Falcon Sets the Stage for Diplomatic Stir with Kazakhstan · Global Voices
Eurasianet

Pixabay image. Creative commons.
The following is a partner post from EurasiaNet.org written by Aktan Rysaliev. Republished with permission.
Middle Eastern royalty are not an uncommon sight in Central Asia, which is a favored destination for lovers of falconry.
So there was nothing too unusual on September 28, when Forbes.kz reported that the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had flown into Kazakhstan on a private visit for a hunt with his beloved bustards.
The emir is a regular visitor to Kazakhstan and reportedly favors hunting in the deserts near Lake Balkhash, the site of a falconry facility. His latest visit was due to last two weeks, but for an unfortunate incident at Almaty airport.
As journalist Denis Krivosheev revealed on his Facebook account, the emir’s favorite falcon, Ali, died in the customs warehouse from “overexposure.” A day later, yet another falcon perished.
Krivosheev wrote that 12 rare saker falcons had been brought into Almaty for further transportation to the southern city of Taraz. Officials with the prosecutor’s office, however, insisted the birds not be released pending inspection as there have been cases of old falcons being brought into Kazakhstan and switched for younger ones, which would then be exported, depriving the country of healthier specimens. Last year, the inspection routine was performed discreetly and lasted no more than six hours, Krivosheev reported.
“They fed them the first time on Monday [September 26], but the birds already began falling ill,” he wrote. “There were no obvious reasons for holding them, but still the falcons stayed in the same place.”
Each falcon can, by some estimates, cost anything between $100,000 and $150,000, so it may not be surprising that the emir is, according to Krivosheev, mulling writing a formal note of protest.
Tengri News has cited the office of the State Revenues Department in Almaty as saying the birds were held because of failure to properly follow documentation procedures. Airport officials, meanwhile, are pinning the blame on customs officials, who they said put the falcons in premises not designed to store live animals.
The Emir of Qatar left Kazakhstan on October 1, and there is no indication he plans to ever come back — an embarrassing impasse for a country whose tourist industry has profited handsomely from falconry.
According to Forbes magazine, Kazakhstan has for 16 years offered a unique service to avid falconers by allowing hunting in the wild. In 2000, the government drew up rules on falconry that regulated the activity. These rules granted special permits to foreign nationals that could demonstrate their contribution to the preservation and reproduction of endangered species through their sport. Hunters from the Middle East, who have invested into researching and revitalizing Kazakhstan’s native falcon population, were lively beneficiaries of the laws.

author: Eurasianet


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Venezuelan Government Jails Video Producers on Charges of ‘Instigating Rebellion’ · Global Voices
Advox

Screenshot of the video made by producers Marco Trejo, César Cuellar y James Mathison for the opposition political party Primero Justicia.
Venezuelan video producers Marco Trejo, César Cuellar and James Mathison were detained by political police on September 20 in connection with their work on a video for the political party Primero Justicia shortly after its release on television and social media.
#AHORA DGCIM arresta a Marco Trejo, César Cuellar y James Mathison tras producir video de Primero Justicia sobre militares.
— Andrews Abreu (@AndrewsAbreu) September 20, 2016
#Now [the Directorate General of Military Counterintelligence] is arresting Marco Trejo, César Cuellar y James Mathison after video production for [political opposition party Primero Justicia] about the military.
The video shows a young girl caring for her mother and then searching an empty house for medicine and food. She sends texts messages to a military officer, presumably her father, standing before a legion of protesters. With music swelling, we hear the girl's voice as he reads from his phone. She says:
Dad, mom is still sick and we've run out of medicine.
I will go wait in line because there's no food home.
Remember that the people you're sent to repress are experiencing the same thing as we are.
The video, a bold representation of the current climate for many Venezuelans today, is clearly attributed to Primero Justicia.
Authorities also have an arrest warrant for a fourth producer, Andrés Eloy Moreno Febres-Cordero. All four producers are being charged with offenses under the Military Code of Justice, including offending the Armed Forces and instigating rebellion.
Julio Borges, the National Coordinator of the political party Primero Justicia declared on YouTube that every communication is signed by the party and that the detentions constitute a violation of freedom of speech and that it doesn't constitute incitement to crime in any way. In spite of this, the producers will be tried by a military court, a violation of the principle of natural justice. According to Venezuela's Criminal Justice Code, civilians cannot be tried before a military judge, except in a handful of exceptional specific cases that do not apply to the matter at hand.

author: Advox


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A Russian Traveled the US Campaign Trail and This Is What He Saw · Global Voices
Christopher Moldes

Photo: Ilya Varlamov. Used with permission.
Ever since the Democratic National Committee’s servers were hacked, the US news media has run rampant with speculation about what influence the Kremlin might be wielding in the American presidential race. On an almost daily basis, there are articles published decrying Russia’s interference in the election, or Republican candidate Donald Trump’s affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia has become a central theme this fall—something unheard of since the years of the Cold War.
The Kremlin has denied all accusations of wrongdoing, as bilateral relations between Moscow and Washington have become increasingly strained. Just this week, Russia suspended an agreement with the United States to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium, listing major geopolitical demands the Kremlin says must be fulfilled before the deal is reinstated. Hours later, following through on threats issued day earlier, the White House suspended all bilateral talks with Russia over Syria, where both states are busy dropping bombs and aiding ground forces in a long and blood civil war.
But just as the White House is only a metonym for US government, the Kremlin isn't the same as ordinary Russian people, many of whom have been intensely interested in the American presidential race.
Ilya Varlamov is one of the most popular photographers and bloggers active today on the Russian Internet. Last month, he traveled across the United States, capturing images that he thought would appeal to his readers back home.
So English-language readers can see what stood out to this Russian visitor, RuNet Echo's Christopher Moldes reached out to Varlamov, who granted us permission to translate his election-season travelogue and share his photos.
Americans have found themselves in such a tricky situation that I’ve even started to feel a little bit sorry for them. Imagine: the presidential elections are fast approaching and there's no one to choose from! It's as if you were given the choice between Zyuganov [the head of the Russian Communist Party] and Zhirinovsky [the head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia]. It's awful to think about, but that's what the Americans have done to themselves.
On one side there's Clinton, the old lady who everyone’s had enough of, who faints every now and then, and who'll die at any moment. On the other side there’s Trump, the delusional clown who has made a show out of the elections, who spews all kinds of bullshit, and who openly mocks everyone. And you ask, who is there to vote for?
I asked Leva, a fellow blogger who's been living in New York for 26 years and is closely following the situation, to comment. Leva plans to go for Clinton:
“When Varlamov told me about how Russia's electoral season lasts about a month, I almost choked on my sake! Can you really call that an election?! That's no match for the United States. Here, the presidential elections have gone on for practically all of 2016, and the primaries began way back in the summer of 2015. And that's the way it should be: there's no need to rush when you’re picking the person who will be blamed for all the world's troubles for the next for years, from beat-up roads to whatever new Maidans spring up.
There are now only two months until election day, and everyone knows the two main contenders in this game of thrones. There's Hillary Clinton from the Democratic Party and Donald Trump from the Republican Party. Both received the support of their parties after a long primary election process.
Hillary is a completely conventional candidate. I'd even say she's boring. Until 2000, her political career consisted of being the wife of Bill Clinton, who was first elected as governor of the state of Arkansas, and later as president of the USA. As first lady, she was subject to severe criticism for her attempts to play an active role in the development of healthcare reform, which had already fallen apart at that time.
Near the end of her husband's second term, Hillary was elected as senator from the state of New York, and in 2006 easily won a second term. In 2008 she ran to become the Democratic presidential nominee, but lost in the primaries to the young and charismatic Obama. Having secured a smashing victory, he offered her a position in his government as Secretary of State, and she, swallowing her pride, accepted. They say that it was at this moment that Obama and his team developed a deep respect for Hillary.
Clinton has been in the national spotlight for 25 years, and in this time has managed to make a bunch of enemies, although even they admit that she's someone who is ready to compromise in pursuit of her goals. She's extremely well-informed about international and domestic politics, understands economics fairly well, and is never at a loss for words.
In her years in politics, Hillary has dealt with her fair share of mud-slinging, and although not one of the numerous scandals she has found herself in has exposed any serious sins, a bit of “crust” remains. Many voters see her as hypocritical, conniving, and vain.
But Clinton's main problem is that she’s not charismatic enough. The qualities that could make her a good president in fact turn her into a weak candidate: She's too accommodating, too wrapped up in the details, overly meticulous and detailed in her explanations.
Clinton's main supporters are adult, moderate liberals. She isn't as capable of inspiring young idealists, as her main competitor in the primaries, Bernie Sanders, was. Her staff's main hope is that all these young people will vote for her in November if only to avoid a Trump victory. It's exactly for this reason that 80 percent of people I know intend to support her.
This is because, in contrast to Clinton, Trump's candidacy is anything but traditional. His victory in the Republican primaries nearly split the party in two. Many of the most high-profile Republican politicians have only grudgingly supported him, and quite a few have decided to not even do that.
The thing is that Trump is in no way a Republican in the usual sense. He's a businessman who's made his money in real estate, and until this election had never participated in politics. And, unlike politicians, he doesn't hesitate to say infeasible nonsense, which his electorate happily eats up. In this way, Trump is like Zhirinovsky: they both style themselves in such a way that no one attaches any particular importance to their words.
In the course of his campaign, Trump has made loads of unrealistic promises, the main one being to build a wall on the Mexican border (over three thousand kilometers) and force Mexico to pay for it. He also promised to ban all Muslims from entering the country, without clarifying what he would do with the ones that are citizens. Trump easily disavows his own words, changes positions, and pulls all kinds of maneuvers that would make other politicians look dishonest. But no one seems to expect consistency from him. His last scandal came after he gave an interview to Russia Today. Everyone knows that this is a Kremlin propaganda outlet, and his appearance there raised many questions. Trump immediately stated that he didn’t know anything about Russia Today, saying only that he had given his old friend Larry King an interview for his podcast. King had gracelessly set him up.
Trump's potential voters can be divided into several groups. There are those who really do agree with his main pronouncements a la “all your problems are caused by Mexicans/Muslims/the Chinese.” Others (and they aren't just a few!) simply really don't want to see Hillary in the president's chair. My parents, for example, think that she is an unacceptable candidate. After all, she is most certainly an anti-Semite: there are picture's going around the Internet where she’s embracing Arafat. You know, she's been caught up in so many scandals! Where there's smoke, there's fire (I've heard the same things said about Navalny). And in general, it would be a good idea to stop God knows who from entering the country (even among immigrants, there are those who seriously think like this).
As you can already tell, I myself am all for Clinton. What's more, I was for her even back in 2008! To me it seems that she's qualified, intelligent, and capable of improving a lot in America. While Trump claims that everything's bad and points out who is guilty, she says that for the most part, things are going quite well. There are problems, she says, and here's how we're going to solve them.
Unfortunately, she doesn't have enough charisma, and if the Republicans had any sort of qualified candidate things would be bad for her. But many believe that Trump does not seriously want to be President, and that's why his campaign isn't serious. For a long time, the campaign was just fiery speeches and television interviews, while Hillary was developing her volunteer network across the whole country. Trump has had to change the leadership of his campaign staff several times, each time explaining that he had been planning on doing so all along.
Hillary has been leading in the polls for essentially the entirety of the election season (with the only exception being after the Republican convention, when they showed Trump on TV non-stop). The best site for monitoring the race is fivethirtyeight, where some pretty smart people formulate statistical forecasts based on all sorts of surveys, which take into account the weight of each state and the historical accuracy and bias of each pollster.
And some other news came out yesterday: at a ceremony honoring the victims of the September 11th terror attacks, Clinton got sick. She had to leave the event early, and everyone was posting a video where she couldn't stand without support while she getting into her car. At first, her staff said that nothing was wrong, she simply overheated a bit (it’s a bit hot in New York right now), but later her doctors admitted that she has pneumonia. She had to cancel a two-day trip to California. Her opponents have long been fueling rumors about her poor health, and even if she were to get better quickly and return to the campaign trail, this episode may still seriously harm her.
Right now the gap between Clinton and Trump is about 4 percent, which allows the statisticians at Fivethirtyeight to say that the probability of her victory is about 70 percent. Let's hope that that's how it will be.
1. Supporters of Trump are mainly from rural areas, while Clinton supporters live in large cities, especially the on coasts – primarily California, New York and its surrounding areas, and other large urban areas. There is a lot of campaign signage along roads. Here's a pedestrian crosswalk in the countryside, where some rednecks have decorated it with Trump signs.
08. Horny Hillary and Donald Chump blow-up dolls.
Well, who do you think will win? Hay-haired Trump? Iron Hillary? Someone else that Americans will write in on the ballot?

author: Christopher Moldes


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Ethiopian Authorities Send a Chilling Message to the Oromo People With Deadly Holiday Crackdown · Global Voices
Endalkachew Chala

A screenshot from video posted to Facebook by Jawar Mohammed of the Irreecha stampede, in which security forces look on as people run away. Shots can be heard as smoke rises from the scene.
A combination of smoke bombs and live bullets from security forces at the largest gathering for the Irreecha holiday in the Ethiopian state Oromia triggered a deadly stampede on Sunday, October 2. At least 52 people were killed, according to the government, but a major opposition activist group said the death toll is as high 600 people.
Separately, an unspecified number of people were killed in numerous other towns across Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest state, as the news prompted fresh protests, the activist group said, and hundreds were arrested over the weekend.
Demonstrations have taken place with regular frequency in Oromia since November 2015, demanding greater self-rule, freedom and respect for the ethnic identity of the Oromo people, who have experienced systematic marginalization and persecution over the last quarter century. Authorities have used deadly force against the protesters on more than one occasion.
The bloody incident on Sunday occurred at Lake Hora, considered ritual ground, in a town called Bishoftu, about 48 kilometers south east of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. Hundreds of thousands of people were estimated to have gathered from every corner of Ethiopia not only for Irreecha, a holiday that marks the beginning of the new season of harvests in Oromia, but also to stage a peaceful protest.
The streets of Bishoftu and the fields around Lake Hora were lined with thousands of people who were waiting to place green grass and flowers on the shore of the lake, an Irreecha ritual that marks the beginning of the new season. At the same time, there was also a heavy presence of security forces dressed in riot gear and gas masks, bearing long truncheons and guns with military vehicles. Some participants chanted as they moved through the area, holding up their arms into an X — a sign used by the Oromo people to protest against repression by the Ethiopian government.
At the venue, when a government official tried to make a speech before the Irreecha procession, protesters preempted him in a chaotic confrontation. A video captures a protester taking the stage and leading the public in a chant, “down, down TPLF”. TPLF stands for Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, the main party in the ruling coalition of Ethiopia.
Then, a series of shots rang out around the area. Meanwhile, a helicopter hovered above the gathering. Chaos erupted as marchers fled to seek shelter. “People started scattering in every direction screaming and yelling that ‘they were shooting causing a large number of people to fall over a cliff,” a survivor who was at the scene told me.
Irreecha is the most popular festival in Oromia and is known for its emphasis on an indigenous cultural and religious practice of the Oromos, the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. In this way, the biannual celebration of Irreecha is intertwined with the politics of performing what it means to be Oromo.
In addition, for many years now, opposition Oromo activists have been explicitly expressing their discontent with the Ethiopian politico-economic system at Irreecha events. Even during the earlier times of quieter political activism, attendees of Irreecha events in Oromia openly declared their allegiance to banned Oromo political parties such as the Oromo Liberation Front. Making political statements at Irreecha events emerged out of the feelings of decades of marginalization and dispossession.
However, the 2016 Irreecha celebration was even more charged than usual because it came at a time of mourning those who have died over the last 11 months while protesting. By some counts, at least 700 people have been killed in relation with the ongoing protests in 2016. Since November 2015, reports of a person being shot, arrested or subjected to a violent harassment from security forces have surfaced on a daily basis.
On Sunday, the Oromo people had converted Irreecha into a place to celebrate their identity, but also to show their grievances. The violence there has shaken Ethiopia, as it appears to be the first assault by security forces on a major cultural and religious ritual of the Oromo people as well as among the most brutal crackdowns ever perpetrated specifically against the Oromo identity. The incident was probably intended to intimidate the persisting protests in Oromia as well as similar ones in the state of Amhara, to say the Ethiopian government is powerful entity and anyone who dares to challenge it will suffer.

author: Endalkachew Chala


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Feast Your Eyes on Brunei’s Capital, the Day It Broke Free From Cars · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Brunei's first car-free day. Photo from the Facebook page of the Ministry of Health, Brunei Darussalam
For four glorious hours this past Sunday, October 2, the capital of Brunei was car-free for the first time this year. The experiment is part of the government’s “Bandarku Ceria” (My Happy City) program to turn Bandar Seri Begawan into an urban park.
Officials transformed the city's center into a large park where bicycles and joggers replaced the cars. The government encouraged families to conduct outdoor activities, and invited small entrepreneurs to sell products in the streets. Even artists were seen exhibiting their work during the first car-free day in 2016.
Tourism officials also offered a “heritage-selfie” walking tour as part of the campaign to increase public awareness about the city’s historical sites.
Bandar Seri Begawan’s municipal department explained that the car-free day “aims to promote a healthy lifestyle and reduce the city's carbon footprint.”
Inspired by the success of the event, officials said the program will be repeated every week to encourage more residents to adopt a healthier and cleaner lifestyle
The weekly event can be monitored through these social media hashtags: #carfreesundaybn and #bandarkuceria.
#carfree #BandarkuCeria pic.twitter.com/CC2pDaINAp
— asp (@aiddisyafi) October 2, 2016
Sunday Morning activity ! 💃🏻 #DiscoverBrunei 🇧🇳 pic.twitter.com/8Z6WvoNdHR
— ziäh (@haziahsn) October 2, 2016
Here are just some of the scenes in the capital from Sunday’s car-free day:
Photo from the Facebook page of the Ministry of Health, Brunei Darussalam
Photo from the Facebook page of the Ministry of Health, Brunei Darussalam
Artworks for sale during the car-free day. Photo from the Facebook page of Nabil Fikri Haronli
Photo from the Facebook page of the Ministry of Health, Brunei Darussalam
Photo from the Facebook page of the Ministry of Health, Brunei Darussalam
Photo from the Facebook page of the Ministry of Health, Brunei Darussalam

author: Mong Palatino


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São Paulo’s New Mayor and Donald Trump Sure Have a Lot in Common · Global Voices
Taisa Sganzerla

João Doria, São Paulo's newly elected mayor, while presenting the country's version of “The Apprentice” in 2010. YouTube screenshot
He is a businessman with assets estimated at 170 million Brazilian reais, or about 52 million US dollars. He founded an empire of seven large corporations, in sectors from events management to publishing. He hosted three reality TV programs on network television — among them, the Brazilian version of “The Apprentice” itself.
And on October 2 after a campaign that splintered his center-right party, he was elected mayor of Brazil's largest city in a sweeping victory.
Is this Brazil's very own Donald Trump?
The similarities go beyond their knack for reality TV. Like Trump, João Agripino da Costa Doria Júnior, or João Doria for short, comes from outside of the political establishment, something that proved crucial in the current political atmosphere in Brazil.
The “lava jato” investigations into a bribery scheme worth billions of dollars involving the state-run oil company Petrobras and several large construction companies has left the population with a profound disillusionment with the entire political class.
No wonder then that on Sunday, the rate of abstentions and blank and void votes in São Paulo was the highest it has been of the past six elections. The total number of disinterested voters even surpassed the number of votes Doria amassed for himself.
The center-left Workers’ Party (or PT), which has been in power for 13 years, certainly has bore the brunt of this dismay as it has fielded an avalanche of corruption accusations, a growing recession and the clumsy administration of now-impeached President Dilma Rousseff.
Doria was cleverly placed to embody this anti-politics and anti-PT sentiment. As he has exhaustively repeated, he is “a businessman, not a politician”. In the campaign, he promised to “sweep the PT away from São Paulo”; his slogan, “speed up, São Paulo”, is a direct spoof on Fernando Haddad, São Paulo's current mayor from the Workers’ Party who introduced a maximum speed limit on the heavily congested city's main avenues, angering many drivers.
Doria received an overwhelming amount of votes in São Paulo's poorest suburbs, despite hardly being a member of the country's lower classes himself.
The elected mayor is the president of Lide, an association of 1,700 corporations that represents 52% of São Paulo's gross domestic product (GDP) — a state that in turn represents 32% of the national GDP of Brazil's, the world's sixth largest economy. Among the publications owned by his conglomerate is the magazine Caviar Lifestyle, which covers luxury consumption and high-class living.
The new mayor promises to privatize São Paulo's parks, football stadiums, bike and bus lanes, as well as increase vacancies in hospitals and child care by making use of the private healthcare network.
In public, Doria is always finely dressed with designer clothes, from Louis Vuitton suitcases to extravagant Hermès belts accessorizing his signature look of a cashmere sweater wrapped up around his neck. His preppy image has triggered much disdain from his opponents.
While out on the campaign trail, a photo of him making a face while drinking cheap coffee and eating pastel (a type of fried pie) in one of São Paulo's typical padarias (simple eateries that are a hallmark of the city), made the rounds on social media and earned him the nickname “Richard Rich”. But apparently that didn't prevent him from achieving majority of votes in 56 of São Paulo's 58 constituencies.
“Richard Rich” João Doria, São Paulo's new mayor, doesn't look like he enjoys the burnt and overly sweetened coffee served in São Paulo's padarias. Photo shared widely on social media.
Like Trump in the Republican party, Doria's candidacy triggered an unprecedented rift in the center-right Social Democratic Party. Seen as an outsider by some of the party's caciques, he was accused of jumping the queue of politicians in line for the leadership of Brazil's most important city. Some of his rivals accused him of buying votes during the party's primaries and went so far as to sue him over it.
Doria had a powerful godfather, of course: São Paulo's state governor, Geraldo Alckmin, who has long had a silent feud with the party's leadership (among them, Brazilian ex-President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Aécio Neves, Rousseff's rival in the presidential elections of 2014). Many see Doria's victory in São Paulo as a personal victory for Alckmin, who has high hopes of running for president in 2018.
And despite his praising of the free market economy, Doria benefited greatly from relationships with the public sector. A story by the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo revealed his companies received 10.6 million reais since 2005 from doing business with the state throughout different governments, including the Workers’ Party-led one. The biggest sum came from Geraldo Alckmin's government, who paid 4.5 million in government advertising in his publisher's magazines.
On Facebook, São Paulo-based university professor Pablo Ortellado summed up Doria's rise to power:
Maravilhas do marketing político: um notório mauricinho foi transmutado em Joâo trabalhador; um político de velho tipo que rachou seu partido com a compra de votos nas prévias foi transmutado em gestor antipolítico; por fim, um administrador de empresas que fez carreira explorando as relações com o Estado foi transmutado em defensor da eficácia do setor privado. Comunicação é tudo. “Em política, tudo o que parece é”.
Wonders of political marketing: a notorious preppy boy was transmuted into a hardworking John; an old-school politician that splintered his party by buying votes at the primaries was transformed into an anti-political manager; finally, a businessman that made a career of exploiting relationships with the state was transformed into an activist of the efficiency of the private sector. Communication is everything. “In politics, what seems to be, is”.

author: Taisa Sganzerla


text:
Six Months After Massive Fish Kill in Central Vietnam, Thousands Protest Lack of Aid · Global Voices
Don Le

More than 10,000 people protest outside Formosa in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam. Source: Facebook page of Giới Trẻ Giáo Hạt Kỳ Anh
Around 10,000 to 15,000 people joined a non-violent protest outside the steel plant of a company accused of polluting a waterway that triggered a massive fish kill off Vietnam's central coast.
The protest took place on October 2 and was organized by affected residents and fisherfolk who have reportedly not yet received any compensation from Formosa Ha Tinh, the Taiwanese company which owns the steel plant.
The environmental disaster was first reported in April 2016.
Weekly demonstrations were organised to protest the government's slow investigation, despite the growing cases of fish kills in Ha Tinh province.
Finally, a settlement was announced by the government and Formosa in June that would require the company to provide financial compensation to affected residents.
However, dissatisfaction grew among fisherfolk and their families in the local areas as no compensation had been paid out.
During the recent weekend protest, activists and citizen journalists took advantage of various social media tools to broadcast the non-violent action. Vietnamese authorities had previously blocked Facebook during major events related to fish kills. However, netizens used circumvention tools to access the popular social media site.
The Facebook page by Ky Anh Congregation Youth used a drone video to document the protest. The video had already attracted more than 250,000 views since the initial recording.
Photos of people protesting outside Formosa were quickly shared over social media, with many photos going viral.
A nun holding a sign “Stand up for justice, don’t be afraid”. Source: Facebook page of Cát Trắng Sông La
Despite police presence, the peaceful protesters were able to climb and spray paint the gates outside Formosa. Citizen journalist Paulus Le Son posted a recording of the incident on his page, attracting more than 500,000 views.
Protesters sit on the gate outside Formosa Ha Tinh. Source: Facebook page of Giới Trẻ Dũ Yên
Aside from the protest in front of the steel plant, more than 1,000 households in Ha Tinh province have filed a petition sent to Vietnam’s National Assembly calling the government to immediately distribute compensation to affected residents. They were joined by 619 affected families from Quynh Luu District in Nghe An Province who also sent petitions to the National Assembly on October 3.
Father Tran Dinh Lai, a community organiser in Ha Tinh province, explained the importance of the protest action:
We know this regime won’t offer us justice. Nor do they represent the interests of the victims. We know that too well. However, there is a saying: ‘if a baby doesn't cry, then the mother won’t know when to feed the baby.’ If the victims and the people don't speak out, no one will feel the pressure.
Some petitioners warned authorities of mass lawsuits to add to the ones already pending if their demands are not addressed within two weeks.
On September 26 and 27, hundreds of residents travelled more than 200 kilometers to file more than 500 lawsuits against Formosa.
The Facebook page Catholic Youth broadcast live the gathering of petitioners which attracted the attention of the local online community.
Events inside and outside Ky Anh Court were broadcast using Facebook Live by members of the delegation including Peter Tran Sang, whose videos attracted a large following during the recording.
A photo he uploaded went viral, with the caption being shared by hundreds saying:
I, too, am thirsty and tired but I’ll share this with you if you side with the people.
Source: Facebook page of Peter Trần Sáng
The victims of this environmental disaster have successfully asserted their demands in all branches of the government, according to prominent human rights lawyer Le Cong Dinh.

author: Don Le


text:
The Singaporean Prime Minister’s ‘Simple’ Bus Breaks With India’s VIP Culture · Global Voices
Rezwan

Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, at Komala Vilas Restaurant, Little India, Singapore on November 23, 2015. Image via Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 2.0
There is a growing resentment amongst ordinary people in India over “VIP culture,” or how politicians and bureaucrats seek special treatment in every aspect of life because of their position. Their actions sometimes make headlines, such as a VIP motorcade with a lot of police protection that held up traffic and people, including an ambulance carrying patients, for hours earlier this year. On average, there are three policemen protecting one VIP, whereas, only one policeman is available for more than 700 ordinary citizens.
That might be why Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who arrived in Delhi on Monday, October 3 for a five-day visit, seemed to be a breath of fresh air for many Indians. He broke the tradition of taking the official entourage of official cars and opted for a chartered bus for himself, his wife Ho Ching and a delegation comprising key ministers, members of parliament and senior officials to reach their hotel.
This unconventional method to travel by an international delegation was hailed in India by the social media users.
No fancy limo, Singapore PM boards a bus from the airport to the hotel. #FTW https://t.co/X0cMpkAOj6
— Smita Prakash (@smitaprakash) October 3, 2016
A lot to learn from Singapore https://t.co/WlBs5gsmqA
— Arun Kumar Pathak (@arun_k_pathak) October 4, 2016
On India Visit, Singapore PM Ditches VIP Convoy For Bus Ride:https://t.co/JsjM3MzQYr: our politicians don't have courage to be so simple
— R B Chaudhary (@chaurb) October 4, 2016
“We should learn from him and do away with this VIP culture in India ” https://t.co/d9Tr40czfn
— Niranjan Khagta (@nskhagta) October 4, 2016
These comments show the frustrations amongst ordinary people who would like to see an end to VIP culture in India. A video posted on YouTube by user Rajeev Ram shows that the motorcade of one Indian deputy chief minister consists of more than 20 vehicles:
Akshaya Mishra at news site Firstpost said that the VIP culture is demeaning:
In India, just about everybody, who’s anybody is protected. The list is impressive indeed: politicians, ministers, bureaucrats, judges, spiritual leaders, criminals and even the kin of the leaders.
Nandini at Indian Youth site wrote:
The whole VIP culture is nothing but another aspect of corruption in India, when you see a VIP being treated like a king, there is a person behind the scene who has been bribed. The VIPs and the people who serve them initiate a vicious circle of corruption and the general public often has to haggle to get their way through a normal government office.
R Jagannathan at Firstpost thought that the issue is just not about VIPs; it's embedded in everyday people and is a consequence of bad parenting:
VIP cultures do not develop in a vacuum. They come from the attitudes we inculcate in our children and young adults at home and school.
There is an increasing awareness among people in India about the misuse of privileges by the VIPs at the expense of the people. Many think that like many Western countries, VIPs should be treated like the general public, should not be allowed to block traffic or be given extra privileges.

author: Rezwan


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The Updated Australian National Dictionary Is Here to Teach You ‘Dinkum’ Aussie English · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Australian National Dictionary 2nd Edition. Author's photo.
When I was a teacher, an unfamiliar student approached me in the schoolyard during play lunch, or the mid-morning break. “Is it true you read the dictionary for fun?” he enquired. His response to my positive answer was, “You're a sick man!” You've been warned.
Over the years, Global Voices editors and translators have wondered about some of the words in my posts. For those struggling with or just interested in ‘Australianisms’, the updated Australian National Dictionary may be a timely addition to your library.
To most English-speaking people, Australian English, otherwise known as Strine, must seem like a foreign language. Take the sentence below:
Any true blue, dinkum Aussie battler from Astraya's Deep North knows that Canberrans are really Mexicans.
Translation:
Any genuine Australian from Northern Queensland knows that residents of Canberra, the national capital, are from south of the border (and hence inferior).
Interstate or regional rivalry down under is present in a lot of Australian English terms (both geographical references in the sentence above carry derogatory connotations). For example, Taswegians, who are from the southern island state of Tasmania, are proud of their contributions to the Australian National Dictionary, and as such their bragging might qualify them as a ‘yaffler’, or a loudmouth.
Taswegians view the rest of Australia as ‘mainlanders':
Tourism pitch to ‘save a mainlander’ – ABC News (Australian … http://t.co/WiQVsXDT
— Manny Papadoulis (@TourismSMM) June 4, 2012
Two new additions to the dictionary are related to Australia's capital, Canberra: ‘Canberran’ is a person from Canberra, and ‘Canberra bashing’ is somewhat of a national political pastime. The local chief minister had a message to the online oligarchs to fix their spellcheckers:
Canberran has finally made it to the dictionary but it's time for that underline to go #Microsoft #Apple #Twitter pic.twitter.com/ND10ElyjwB
— Andrew Barr (@ABarrMLA) August 23, 2016
Another Canberra politician, member of the House of Representatives Andrew Leigh, helped launch the second edition of the dictionary, 28 years after the first. In his remarks, he highlighted some of the phrases that made it into the publication:
He also pointed out some of the Indigenous words that now feature, such as ‘gubinge’, which is a type of plum, and ‘migaloo’, meaning a white person.
‘Migaloo’ is only one of over 500 words from 100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, as Australian National Dictionary editor Bruce Moore explained on news and analysis site The Conversation in a post titled ‘Do you know a Bunji from a Boorie? Meet our dictionary’s new Indigenous words’.
While all these entries are touted as ‘new’, many are only new to the dictionary. During the 1960s, for example, my father claimed that he always wrote ‘callithumpian’ as his religion on the Census form.
The ‘OS’ (overseas) Twitterverse seemed obsessed with one favourite Oz (Australian) put-down:
“That’s right. Australia is the home of the fuckwit.” By @superlinguo at @Slate https://t.co/J0jmF9peTo
— Laura Helmuth (@laurahelmuth) September 24, 2016
There are plenty more insults. My preferences are ‘dropkick’ (a sports term that rhymes with ‘prick’ and is used to mean the same) and ‘dickhead’. In addition to the media's favourite ‘bogan’ (an uncultured and unsophisticated person), there are heaps of terms for people with shades of meaning, such as ‘dag’ (a nerd), ‘hoon’ (a lout) and ‘tall poppy’ (a prominent or successful person). A ‘stunned mullet’ (dazed expression) is a visual delight.
Recent prime ministers have been the focus for some of our local vernacular. Julia Gillard achieved this memorable cartoon title: Head Ranga (redhead) in sanger [sandwich] clanger! (Aussies can't claim ‘clanger’. It's British in origin, meaning glaring mistake or embarrassing remark.)
Her successor Tony Abbott gained an international audience for the sports term ‘shirtfront‘ (an Australian Rules football term for illegally charging an opponent head-on) and ‘budgie smugglers’ (close fitting swimming briefs).
Even the New York Times has been charmed by this weighty tome. The Australian National Dictionary's two volumes are 4.54 kilos (10 lbs) and contain 1,864 pages. There are now 16,000 entries.
An Australian dictionary has added 6,000 popular terms. Test your kwoedge. https://t.co/OANh5Inlp0 pic.twitter.com/XSuT3hCntC
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) August 24, 2016
Another contribution from sport is ‘falcon’ (an accidental hit on the head by the ball). Its etymology or origin involves a rugby league footballer of Maltese background.
Current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull inspired ‘fizza’ posters during the last election, an alternative to ‘fizzer’ (a firecracker that fails to explode). Cutting down tall poppies (attacking or criticising people of high status such as politicians or celebrities) is part of ‘Canberra bashing’.
Animal associations are a recurring theme, especially zoomorphisms (giving alleged animal qualities to humans):
Donkey-voters and dead dingo’s donger: a new edition of the Australian National Dictionary – https://t.co/CMVRecLYMB pic.twitter.com/aWqugZTqcl
— Oxford Dictionaries (@OxfordWords) September 26, 2016
Among its many entries, ‘dingo’ means a person showing cowardice or treachery. A ‘two dog night’ is a measure of how cold the weather is. The dictionary revels in the Aussie sense of humour, which is often as ‘dry as a dead dingo’s donger’ (wild dog's penis). This should not be confused with homophone ‘donga’ (temporary dwelling).
“As dry as a dead dingo's donger” dictionary entry. Author's photo
One of my favourite Australianisms is ‘you wouldn't be dead for quids [for anything]. A quid was slang for a pound (£) before decimal currency. It roughly means, ‘Isn't life great! I wouldn't have missed this for anything’.
Some final words from Marta Cooper, a reporter at US news website Quartz and longstanding member of the Global Voices community:
We compared the new words in the Australian and Oxford dictionaries, and now we don’t know if we’re Arthur or Martha https://t.co/zSVzIhnNN8
— Quartz (@qz) August 25, 2016
The Australian National Dictionary is an essential part of any ‘dinkum’ library or home pool room. Its 123,000 citations are extra grouse (exceptionally good). The first edition is available online. Let's hope that the second follows soon.

author: Kevin Rennie


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Whose Face Should Appear on Tajikistan’s Banknotes? · Global Voices
Akhal-Tech Collective

Photoshopped image of Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon on a banknote. Shared by Said Safarov on Facebook.
Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon's blooming cult of personality is not news to anyone following the impoverished Central Asian country, nor is the republic's dependence on migrant remittances transferred by blue collar labourers toiling in Russia.
Recently a Tajik Facebook user irked by a pro-government figure's suggestion in a state-run newspaper that the country should issue banknotes worth 1000 somoni bearing Rakhmon's image decided to put the two side by side.
Said Safarov wrote:
Photoshop of a Tajik migrant on a Tajik banknote, above and Rakhmon below. Shared by Facebook user Said Safarov.
Директор филиала ГУП «Таджиксугурта» в Шахринаве, Шариф Каримов в своей статье, опубликованной в газете «Таджикистан», предлагает выпустить банкноты достоинством 1000 сомони с изображением президента Таджикистана Эмомали Рахмона.
Мой ответ:
Сегодня именно трудовой мигрант достоин как никто другой изображения на купюрах. Именно трудовой мигрант кормит всю страну, в отличии от людей, растаскивающих ее по кускам на свои офшорные счета. Именно трудовой мигрант, сегодня погибает на фронтах трудовой миграции ради куска хлеба для Таджикистана. Именно трудовой мигрант спасает жалкое подобие экономики страны от полного дефолта. Именно трудовой мигрант, как заботливый отец тащит последнюю копейку домой. Именно трудовой мигрант достоин быть изображен на деньгах, ему должны быть поставлены памятники и их именами должны быть названы улицы и села. Вот кто действительно достоин таких почестей!
The Branch Director of the state-owned enterprise “Tadzhiksugurta” in Shahrinav, Sharif Karimov, wrote in an article published in the newspaper Tajikistan, that banknotes worth 1000 somoni ($127 according to official rates) should bear the image of Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon.
My answer: Today, no person is more worthy [of this honour] than the migrant worker. It is the migrant worker who feeds the entire country, as opposed to the people who take her away in pieces to their offshore accounts. It is the migrant worker today who dies in a foreign land for the sake of a piece of bread for Tajikistan. It is the migrant worker who spares the country's economy from total default. It is the migrant worker, like a caring father who sends his last penny home. That migrant worker deserves to be depicted on the money, monuments should be made to him and streets and villages should take their names [of migrants]. That's who is truly worthy of such honours!
In 2014 Tajik migrant workers sent back money equivalent to nearly 50% of the country's Gross Domestic Product while around half of all working-age males from the country earned a living abroad.
These proportions have since shrunk, however, due to the effects of the economic crisis in Russia. Remittances in the first half of this year were down by more than a fifth compared to the same period last year while the number of migrants leaving for Russia in this period has fallen 8% according to authorities.

author: Akhal-Tech Collective


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Women in Poland Go on ‘Black Monday’ Strike Against Proposed Abortion Ban · Global Voices
Kasia Odrozek

Women and men wearing black as a sign of opposition in the #BlackProtest in Berlin. Photo by Kasia Odrozek, CC BY.
Tens of thousands of people joined in “Black Monday” protests across Europe, wearing black to show their solidarity with women on strike in Poland against legislation that would criminalize almost all kinds of abortion there.
Before the event, it was estimated that millions of women were set not to go to their workplaces or do domestic work. While the total number of strikers is still unknown, the action inspired supporting protests in tens of Polish cities. Massive demonstrations of solidarity also took place in Berlin, Brussels and Kiev, and smaller scale events were seen in Zagreb and Skopje — about 60 European cities in total. The high turnout was widely commented on social media and in the international press.
Under the hashtag #BlackMonday, #BlackProtest and #CzarnyProtest (“czarny” means black), participants and observers posted pictures and videos including this video of an estimated 30,000 people in Warsaw's old town protesting in pouring rain. Thousands went on the streets of Gdansk, Wroclaw and Krakow.
MASSIVE turnout in Warsaw #CzarnyProtest via @PStrzalkowski https://t.co/6clvlE88ip by #senzasinistra via @c0nvey
— maurizio (@maucan) 3. Oktober 2016
Jest moc! #CzarnyProtest #Kraków @partiarazem pic.twitter.com/IhmEaEFxQQ
— Tomek Czech (@finicestfini) 3. Oktober 2016
There is power!
The strike is a continuation of the “Black Protest” movement, a massive reaction to the government's latest plan to increase the severity of the country's anti-abortion law by including stipulations such as five-year prison terms for both women abortion patients — including rape victims — and doctors. Right-wing national-conservative party PiS (short for the “Law and Justice” party) holds a majority in the parliament and has the backing of the Catholic Church.
A solidarity protest organised by the local chapter of the feminist organisation Dziewuchy Dziewuchom took place  on Warschauer Strasse (Warsaw Street) in Berlin, gathering over a thousand people. Polish women and men as well as German and international supporters of all generations came together to show their opposition to the bill and solidarity with women in Poland.
“It is important to protest in Berlin not only because there are many Polish people here but also to speak out very loud about what is happening in Poland,” said Anna Krenz, one of the organisers of the protest in Berlin.
Solidarity #BlackProtest in Berlin. Photo by Kasia Odrozek, CC BY.
Karolina, a Polish protester living in Berlin, told Global Voices her moving story of miscarriage and why it was so important for her to protest on Monday:
A few months ago, the day I realized I was pregnant, I have also gotten the news that my grandmother had a stroke and is fighting for her life in a hospital in Poland. Some days later I packed my stuff and went to see her and (as it clear from today's perspective) say goodbye.
It was a long drive, a very emotional days and a hard time. On the way back home, to Berlin, still hundreds of kilometers away from Germany, I've started to have terrible pains and cramps in my lower abdomen. I also started bleeding. I immediately knew, what was going on, I've heard it from many friends, I was warned, that in the early stage of a pregnancy, miscarriages happen pretty often. I was crying, praying and suffering and of course the question came up, if I should just be driven to the next hospital.
But my intuition said “No! I will make it to Berlin and go to see doctors there”, which (after a call with my doctor) I did. I have sadly had a miscarriage, there was nothing to be done, but I had the best moral support from my doctors, I could have expected. They told me, it was not my fault, it couldn't have been the stress I have put myself into, there has most likely been a genetic problem and that I should be thankful to my body, because it protected me in the way it should. The doctors were warm, caring, understanding, supporting and just plain wonderful.
If I imagine what could have awaited me in a Polish hospital in the same situation, it makes me really grateful to be living abroad. If besides the trauma of losing a baby, I would have to have gone through the trauma of questions, accusations, moral instructions, shame, fear, denial of help or even the possibility of imprisonment, I would have been traumatized for life. I demonstrated today, because I just can't accept the new proposals of the abortion law in Poland. If they go through, the will destroy women's bodies, minds and souls. Even if it makes me speechless, I will raise my voice!
Displayed for public view: a list of parliamentarians who voted in favour of proceeding with the anti-abortion law.
Meanwhile, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Witold Waszczykowski dismissed the protest in a morning radio show with the words: “Let them play. If somebody thinks there are no more serious problems in Poland today, go ahead.” He further claimed that women's rights in Poland are in no way in danger.
In response to the plans of the government to tighten the anti-abortion law, feminist activists are planning to gather a million signatures and submit a petition on the European level in order to influence Polish law via the European Union, of which Poland is a member.
Looking at the increasing scope and strength of the #BlackProtest, they might have a good chance.

author: Kasia Odrozek


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Chinese Authorities Shutter ‘Gongshi’ Intellectual Website, Leading Netizens to Ask: Is This ‘The End of Consensus’? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Website logo of “Gongshi”.
The homepage of the influential intellectual website “Gongshi” or Consensus (21ccom.net) became inaccessible on 1 October, Chinese National Day. The timing of the block suggested that the shutdown was intentional and symbolic. Numerous netizens have declared that the incident marks the “end of consensus.”
While the homepage was inaccessible at the time of this article's publication, URLs for specific individual posts are still functioning.
Launched on 1 September 2009 and operated by Lide Consensus Media Group, Gongshi written mostly for an audience within the Chinese government and Communist Party. With sections dedicated to global affairs, China studies, and “Revisiting History,” Gongshi includes among its writers academics, experienced journalists, prominent writers and legal experts. Most are political liberals. The magazine's mission is to “seek consensus in the era of great transformation.”
The magazine is distributed through special subscription channels and its target audiences are Chinese government officials, corporate CEOs, top ranking People's Liberation Army officials and other similar entities. The website also is affiliated the Hong Kong-based magazine Leader, which ceased operations several months ago after nearly twelve years of operation.
Similar to the reformist magazine Yanhuang Chunqui, which was taken over in July 2016 after authorities raided its offices and took control of the website, Gongshi is believed to have been connected to a power sector from within the Chinese Communist Party. It was designed as an experiment in “authoritarian deliberation,” an academic term denoting participatory consensus-building in addressing social and political crisis in an authoritative regime.
Zhou Zhixing, one of the founders of Gongshi and the Editor-in-Chief of Leader has many high-level connections within the CCP. Zhou explained the shutdown on WeChat:
当局希望我们关闭共识网，认为是传递错误思想的平台。我们无奈准备关闭。特此报告。
the authorities want us to shut down the website, saying that the platform had spread wrong ideas. With dismay, we shut down. This is my report.
The closure of the homepage was unexpected. As recently as 29 September, Gongshi announced on their social media account the details of a US tour, that would include visits to a number of academic institutions to interview scholars and experts on their views about US-China relations after the US presidential election.
Observers have shared various speculations on what exactly caused the shutdown. Yue Wenxiao, a writer from Falun Gong-affiliated dissent site, Sound of Hope, compiled a list of politically sensitive stories published by Gongshi in 2016. Titles include:
These topics are clearly sensitive and would not be allowed to be published in the majority of media outlets in China. The space for these kinds of political deliberations has to come from top leaders. But such spaces have diminished since current president Xi Jinping consolidated his power in 2012.
Yuan Bin, a mainland Chinese political exile in Taiwan proclaimed the shutdown as a sign of the end of the reformist project on overseas dissent site, Epoch Times:
中共对言论自由的打压尤其是近年来不断收缩言论空间的一系列举措表明，它并不想跟形形色色谋求同自己建立共识的改良派建立什么共识，不但不想跟他们建立共识，连他们那种想要跟自己谋求共识，在不挑战一党专政的前提下实现中国民主化的改良言论也不允许公开存在。从大规模打压维权律师到强行收编《炎黄春秋》再到关闭共识网，无非是想告诉他们一个意思：别以为我跟你们有什么共识可言，想让我搞西方那套没门。在我的地盘绝不允许存在任何〝政治特区〞和〝思想特区
The recent crackdown on speech by the CCP indicated that it does not want to build consensus with the reformists who are eager to seek consensus from within the party. Not only does it not want to build consensus, it does not even allow those who want to build consensus on democratic reform without challenging the principle of single-party dictatorship to exist. The crackdown on human right lawyers, the takeover of Yanhuang Chunqui and the shutdown of Gongshi deliver one message to them [the reformists]: I cannot have any consensus with you. There is no way for me to pick up the western model. On my turf, I won’t allow the existence of any special region for politics and thoughts.
On Chinese social media, many shared the feeling that the incident marks the end of an era:
这个年月虽说五花八门的网站很多，但是真正有思想深度的基本上是凤毛麟角。这两年来每天都要看一看的《共识网》突然之间就停掉了。从这两年的风向看来，一直有一种回到过去的感觉，没想到倒退的速度竟然是如此的快。但是这个社会真的能回到毛时代吗？
Although there are so many websites serving different interests showing up, it is difficult to find a site where you can find truly intellectual thoughts. In the past two years, I visited Gongshi every day and all of a sudden it has shut down. Judging from the political atmosphere, we are on the path to our past. I just could not have anticipated that the regression would happen so quickly. But can our society really return to Mao's era?
共识网打烊，中国再无科学社会主义和社会民主主义。
Gongshi has ceased to operate. China no longer has scientific socialism and socialist democracy.
Since distinctive URLs linking to individual posts still work, some believe that the site will be restored or taken over by more “loyal” and “submissive” editorial team, sharing a fate similar to that of Yanhuang Chunqui. In this case of Yanhuan Chunqui, the takeover happened abruptly, without the lead editors’ involvement or consent.

author: Oiwan Lam


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As Violence Escalates in Ethiopia, Zone9 and Other Prominent Bloggers Face New Legal Threats · Global Voices
Endalkachew Chala

Students mourning at Haromaya University. Photo shared widely on social media.
Seyoum Teshome, a prominent member of the embattled community of Ethiopian online writers was arrested last Friday. He is being held in a Weliso town jail cell and he was reportedly brought to the court on Tuesday but remained remanded into police custody for 10 days pending further investigation according to reports.
This comes on the heels of an appeal in the high-profile case of the Zone9 bloggers. Members of the Addis Ababa-based blogging collective, six of whom are Global Voices contributors, were jailed for more than a year on terrorism charges. Although they were released (in two groups) in July and October of 2015, they will soon once again face trial as public prosecutors have appealed their acquittal. They return to court on October 21, 2016.
A few weeks prior to his arrest, Seyoum Teshome published an open letter on the online platform EthioThinkTank, addressing Ethiopian prime minister Desalegn Hailemariam. He wrote:
I am a teacher at Ambo University. In my spare time I write analytical pieces on various issues. Nine months ago, when I started writing, I wrote about massive protests that I saw in the town where I live, Weliso. Since then, I have published more than fifty articles on a website. I am writing this because I wanted the public and the government to know that the purpose of my writing is just to inform the public and suggest solutions. I also wanted to let everybody know the occasion that made me start to write.
Seyoum writes prolifically about Ethiopia’s ongoing protests in the Oromo region. He has been writing and commenting on online platforms including the pro-regime websites such as Horn Affairs, and made national headlines when he gave an interview about the Oromo protests to a New York Times reporter. The story he commented for was published with the catchy headline: ‘A Generation is Protesting’ in Ethiopia, Long a U.S. Ally
Seyoum's arrest and the renewed case against the Zone9 bloggers come at a critical moment in the ongoing protest movement in the Oromo region. Demonstrations have taken place with regular frequency in Oromia since November 2015, with protesters demanding greater self-rule, freedom and respect for the ethnic identity of the Oromo people, who have experienced systematic marginalization and persecution over the last quarter century. Authorities have used deadly force against the protesters on more than one occasion. On October 2 alone, 52 people were killed. The diaspora-based human rights group 7 kilo has reported a death toll of nearly 600 people.
Over the past several years, numerous Ethiopians who write on online platforms have been arrested, prosecuted, or forced into exile. Getachew Shiferaw, who launched his journalism career by writing on online platforms was arrested and prosecuted on terrorism charges in December 2015. Zelalem Workagegnhu was found guilty of terrorism charges and he is serving his long term prison sentences. Eskinder Nega has suffered a similar fate, this past September will mark the fifth year of his 18-year prison sentence.


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#FreeBassel: Missing for More Than a Year, Syrian Web Developer is Not Forgotten · Global Voices
Elia J. Ayoub

Source: Dino Ahmad Ali, Freebassel, 2013. Source.
It has been one year since Syrian-Palestinian software developer Bassel Khartabil, also known as Bassel Safadi, disappeared from his prison cell in Syria.
The open-source software developer and blogger has been in the custody of Syrian government authorities since March 2012. In October 2015, Bassel was taken from Adra prison, a civilian facility, to an undisclosed location. His wife, Noura Ghazi, reported that “military police took Bassel from his cell in Adra with a ‘top secret’ sealed order from the Military Field Court.”
On November 12, 2015, Ghazi reported that she was contacted by people who identified themselves as insiders in the Assad government who informed her of the alleged death sentence. Ghazi wrote on Facebook at the time:
إجاني خبر صاعق انو باسل محكوم اعدام وهاد بيعني انو نقلو عالشرطة العسكرية كتير خطير … ما بعرف شي غير هيك وما بعرف اذا تنفذ شي بحقو … يارب نقدر نساعد باسل … يا رب ما يكون فات الاوان عالمحاولات …. كتير خايفين على حياة باسل
I've just gotten disturbing and shocking news that Bassel has been sentenced to death. I think this means that the transfer to military prison was very dangerous. I really don't know other news. May God help him, we hope it's not too late. We are worried sick about his life.
These details on Bassel's location and condition were never confirmed, and no further information has been confirmed since October 2015. This is only the latest chapter in the story of Bassel's imprisonment and disappearance.
Electronic Frontier Foundation, “Offline” project. Licensed for reuse..
A Creative Commons leader in Syria and active in projects like Mozilla Firefox and Wikipedia, Bassel is credited with opening up the Syrian Internet and extending online access and knowledge to the public. According to the European Parliament, his detention is part of Syrian government efforts to restrict access to online communities and stifle freedom of expression in the country.
From March through December 2012, Bassel was held in a military intelligence base in the Kafr Suseh section of Damascus. At the end of 2012, he was transferred to Adra, where he was afforded occasional visits with family.
At Global Voices’ January 2014 Arab Bloggers Meeting in Amman, Jordan, Bassel sent a message from prison to our community:
In 2009, I was honored to have my body and soul with you in Beirut. That meeting taught me a lot and charged me for the next years of civic activism and for the now, with more challenges facing activists, bloggers, and countries. I know for sure that your future is in your hands, and it will be bright since you are still meeting!
I'm honored again to have my soul with you in this meeting while my body is still locked in jail. Which doesn't matter since we will win the future.
Bassel Safadi and his wife Noura. Photo from Noura Ghazi Safadi's Facebook page.
On 3 October 2016, Ghazi posted a long reflection (below) on the pain she has experienced since his arrest, and in particular, since his disappearance. Her hopes that he is still alive are dwindling.
سنة ، ويا طول السنة ، ما حدا بيعرف كيف عم يمر الليل والنهار عليي غير الله ، نطرت باسل سنة بغيابه بعد ما نطرته 4 سنين باعتقاله ، وكنت مستعدة انطره كل العمر … بس مرت سنة عالغياب ، وما في غير خبر اعدامه يلي تسرب بعد غيابه بشهر … سنة ، الحياة فيها عم تمشي بس انا حياتي واقفة ، واقفة عند باسل ، وباسل ما عم يرجع وكل يوم الامل برجعته عم يتلاشى اكتر … يمكن صار لازم أتعامل مع اختفاء باسل بشكل عقلاني ومنطقي ، كتير قاسي هالحكي ، والاقسى منه شعوري باني ما عاد في شي انتظره ، بس صار لازم واجه الواقع ، واقع انه باسل غايب … التمسك بالامل شي حلو وعظيم ، بس التعلق بالوهم هو مرض خطير ، يمكن صار لازم اقتنع انه مستقبلي ما عاد فيه باسل ، يمكن صار لازم واجه هالواقع بطريقة ما تأذيني أكتر ، بعرف أنه كتير صعب وبشع هالحكي ، بس للأسف هاد هو الوضع السوري يلي أنا وباسل جزء منه …. ما بعرف شو ناطرني ، بس بعرف أنه باسل رح يبقى معشش بقلبي وروحي لآخر لحظة بحياتي …
It’s been a year, and what a long year. No one knows how the days and nights go by besides God. I’ve been waiting for Bassel for a year since his disappearance and four more years since his arrest. And I was ready to wait forever. But a year has passed since his absence, and there is no news but the one of his supposed execution a month after having disappeared…
A year where life goes on, but not mine. My life stopped with Bassel. Bassel isn’t coming back and every day the hope that he will ever come back fades away. Maybe I need to start dealing with his disappearance rationally and logically. It’s harsh to think this way, and even harsher still to feel that there is nothing to wait for. But I have to start facing reality, the reality of Bassel’s absence.
Holding on to hope is something beautiful and powerful. But hanging on to an illusion is a very dangerous illness. I should probably accept that my future will not have Bassel in it. Maybe it’s time for me to face that reality in a way that won’t hurt me even more. I know that this is difficult and ugly. But unfortunately this is the Syrian situation that me and Bassel are a part of…
I don’t know what awaits me, but I know that Bassel will remain present in my heart and soul until my last breath…
At the 2016 iGmena summit in Tunis, Global Voices contributor Leila Nachawati Rego remembered Bassel as well as prominent Egyptian coder, blogger and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, in prison for over 840 days, and Iranian Web Developer Saeed Malekpour, in prison for over eight years.
.@leila_na introduces the session on CS in MENA w/a touching reminder abt Alaa&Bassel #iGmena#freealaa#freebasselpic.twitter.com/mKIhOXamDu
— Elsa Saade (@Elsa_Saade) 30 September 2016
Global Voices Lingua Director and Board Member Mohamed ElGohary also remembered Bassel and echoed calls for his release:
#freebassel#iGmenapic.twitter.com/LsSJY4QtGa
— Mohamed ElGohary (@ircpresident) 3 October 2016
The Global Voices community has called for Bassel's release since 2012. We repeat our call on this sad anniversary in the hope that it will be our last.

author: Elia J. Ayoub


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Hong Kong’s Iconic Post-WWII State Theatre Faces Demolition · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

An infographic on the historical, cultural and architectural value of the State Theatre. Via petition platform Supporthk.org
Hong Kong, a city which was first made world famous by its cinema, doesn't have very many post-World War II theatres left, and now the oldest one on Hong Kong island is on the chopping block. The State Theatre, which opened in 1952, is likely to give way to another business tower development project as the government’s Antiquities and Monuments Office proposed in April 2016 to give the lowest grade to the historic building, which is literally a green light to its demolition.
The State Theatre was founded by Harry Odell, Hong Kong's first impresario who started the film business in Hong Kong, persuaded famous performers to visit and successfully lobbied the government to support cultural development, namely the construction of the City Hall theatre complex in 1960s.
Odell's personal project, the State Theatre, was thus designed as a cultural landmark for grand theatrical and musical performances. At the time, it featured local and foreign works ranging from western dramas, Mandarin Pop concerts and Cantonese opera to popular Mandarin and Cantonese films. The theatre bore witness to the rise of cinema in Hong Kong in the post-WWII era, and saw the development of Hong Kong people’s cultural identities during its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s.
The theatre’s unique roof structure, with parabolic concrete roof trusses, has been highly praised by architectural conservation groups as a leading example of Modern Movement architecture.
As the golden era of Hong Kong cinema came to an end in the late 1990s, the theatre ceased to operate in 1997 and was converted into a shopping mall and snooker club in 2000. But both the external and internal structure remain intact. In a joint statement, local conservation groups stresses:
The spectacular roof structure of the former State Theatre towers over King’s Road like a giant public art installation. A highly-distinctive icon in Hong Kong’s cityscape, it captures the buoyancy of a past era, and there is no reason why it cannot belong to the future too. Indisputably an architectural gem both locally and worldwide, if this forgotten post-war wonder can be imaginatively transformed, it surely has the potential to develop into a tourism highlight and a cultural landmark that Hong Kong people can be proud of. Any self-respecting city should know where its soft power lies.
However, in April a five-member panel in the Antiquities and Monuments Office proposed to rank the building as third grade simply based on its age. Such a ranking is the lowest in the classification system, which clears the way for demolition if preservation is not practicable. Local media have reported that the old apartment buildings surrounding the theatre had been bought up by a local developer, who aims to redevelop the area into a residential and business district; the State Theatre will be rebuilt into two business towers, according to the development plan.
State Theatre Building along King's Road in 2013. While a billboard is concealing most of the facade, the special features of the roof are visible. Photo by Skiawems. CC BY-SA 3.0
A petition has been launched to pressure the government and the Antiquities Advisory Board  to make the State Theatre a grade one historical building in its December meeting. The grade one ranking is assigned to “buildings of outstanding merit, which every effort should be made to preserve if possible.” The petition says:
State Theatre is an internationally unique piece of architecture because of the exposed reinforced concrete roof trusses that soar over the building, which make it an imposing urban landmark. The theatre has retained a good degree of authenticity internally despite its conversion to a snooker club in 2000 – the original internal structure and the former theatre space have all been kept. This precious symbol of the most popular form of post-war mass entertainment recalls the heyday of Hong Kong cinema, and it also serves as a rare reminder of North Point’s “Little Shanghai” in the 1950s and early 1960s. The heritage significance of State Theatre should be duly recognised and protected.
Though the Hong Kong government has vowed to support Hong Kong’s film industry and set up a film development fund to help finance local film productions, it sees Hong Kong cinema as just another business investment rather than a material culture that brings the society together. Throughout the past two decades, many historical landmarks have given way to redevelopment projects. Till now, Hong Kong people still feel sore about the demolition of the pre-WWII Lee Theatre in 1991 to make a commercial plaza.
The current petition campaign is another test on the city’s choice between the pursuit of quick capital returns and the preservation of its cultural and historical heritage.


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Macedonian Activist Pavle Bogoevski to Stand Trial for Participating in a ‘Colorful Revolution’ Protest · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Pavle Bogoevski (foreground) speaking at anti-mafia protest in March 2016. Photo by Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA.
Pavle Bogoevski, one of the most visible activists participating in Macedonia's “Colorful Revolution” protests, faces trial in Criminal Court on October 5 in Skopje.
Macedonia's authorities have charged Bogoevski with “participation in a mob about to commit a criminal act” on April 18, when the building housing the Ministry of Culture was splashed with paint during a protest against the pardons of suspects for high level political corruption. Demonstrators demanded an end to efforts to obstruct the work of the Special Prosecutor's Office (SPO).
Though throwing paint is just a misdemeanor in Macedonia, the case has attracted national attention and become a major controversy. State prosecutors claim the Culture Ministry's building qualifies as an object of “protected cultural heritage,” though the government failed to post any signs to indicate this status, as mandated by law. Recently, officials have exploited similar legalistic tactics to bring criminal charges against prominent protesters, threatening activists with possible imprisonment.
“We demand persecution of government crimes.” April 18, 2016 ‘Colorful Revolution’ protest in Skopje, Macedonia. Photo by Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA.
Bogoevski was subject to two “spectacular arrests” during protests that took place between April and June. On both occasions, the arrests incited further demonstrations, and the police soon released him.
The anti-corruption protests, dubbed the “Colorful Revolution.” were non-violent demonstrations that included marches, performances, and a great deal of color. Carrying paint buckets and water squirters, protesters in more than 20 cities across the country splashed paint on structures they say symbolize the “impunity and poor governance” of the ruling regime.
Thousands of people participated in the April 18 protest, which included a march through the streets of Skopje from the SPO headquarters to the parliament, painting the Triumphal Arc, and throwing soap in the Alexander the Great fountain. The group then walked to the Ministry of Culture building and the seat of the government. Police only singled out some demonstrators, however, marking them for “selective justice.”
For years, human rights reports have documented the Macedonian government's interference in the judiciary and prosecutor's office.
Macedonian police guarding Ministry of Culture in Skopje on April 18, 2016. Photo by Vančo Džambaski, CC BY-NC-SA.
Other participants in the “Colorful Revolution” expressed moral support for Bogoevski, announcing on the movement's “official” Facebook page that they want to protest in front of the courthouse before the start of the trial. The message has been shared on Twitter, too.:
Утре да му дадеме поддршка на нашиот другар и соборец @PavleBogoevski #НемаПравдаНемаМир#протестирам
✊✊✊ pic.twitter.com/dbGccqvAYj
— Краљица Иринка I (@the_irinka) October 4, 2016
Tweet: “Let's give support to our comrade and brother in arms, Pavle Bogoevski. No Justice No Peace! I protest!”
Colorful Revolution FB post: “One for all and all for one!
On Wednesday 05.10.2016 at 10:45 hrs we will be togather with our brother in arms Pavle Bogoevski in front of the Basic Court Skopje 1. We call upon you to join us.
The pressures against the people who protested daily and continue to protest against this regime do not cease. Citizens who criticize the government are put on trials, while the criminals walk around freely, destroying evidence and traces of their old crimes, and commit new ones!
Public Prosecutors Office lead by Zvrlevski blames Pavle for participation in a crowd about to commit a criminal act. This is the first criminal charge for paining the symbols of the criminal regime in Skopje is another attempt by the prosecutors and the judiciary appointed through Gorde's notebook [former Minister of Interior and high official of ruling party VMRO-DPMNE, Gordana Jankuloska] to
You can put Pavle on trial only after [former Prime Minister and head of VMRO-DPMNE Nikola] Gruevski first undergoes a trial in an adjacent courtroom, in front of truly independent and impartial Court!
Until, if there's NO JUSTICE, there will be NO PEACE!”
In an interview with the independent news portal Slobodna Makedonija (“Free Macedonia”), Pavle Bogoevski denounced public prosecutor Marko Zvrlevski, who he says “didn't moved his little finger against the cancer-like mafia that was destroying our state.” Bogoevski says he feels no guilt for his actions, but he is ready to face justice, “when there will be justice for all.”
Но, не мислам дека сум обвинет само поради „штетата“ нанесена врз Министерство за култура. Уверен сум, дека овие процеси имаат една цел – режимот на груевски да испрати порака со која вели дека се уште е непобедлив и дека „правдата“ ќе биде брза, строга и ефикасна за сите кои нема да му се покорат. Уште повеќе, тој дрско го користи кривично-правниот систем во Република Македонија за да може официјално да ги етикетира сите кои се осмелуваат да го кренат гласот против него како „осудени криминалци“ и „сторители на кривични дела“.
I don't think I am charged because of the “damage” to the Ministry of Culture. I am convinced that these trials have only one purpose: Gruevski's regime sends a message saying that they are still invincible and that their “justice” will be swift, hard, and efficient against all who don't submit. Moreover, they still use the judiciary in Republic of Macedonia to label officially those who dare to raise their voices against them as “convicted felons” and “perpetrators of criminal acts.”

author: Filip Stojanovski


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‘September’: A New Platform for Leftists Across the Former Soviet Union · Global Voices
Isaac Webb

Source: tetedelacourse, Flickr. CC 2.0
On Friday, a group of activists and academics from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan launched “September,” a website they hope will be a platform for leftist discourse across the former Soviet Union. The project, which grew out of “Commons” in Ukraine, “Pravsvet” in Belarus, and other regional leftist initiatives, aims to offer a transnational perspective on post-Soviet leftism, and will feature essays from writers across the region.
Aliona Lyasheva, an editor at September and a PhD student at the University of Milan-Bicocca, says the absence of strong leftist voices in Ukraine and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union was one of the impetuses behind the project. Public discourse, she says, is dominated by mainstream and right-wing politics, pushing leftist ideas to the margins. “In Ukraine, for example, there are prominent liberal and right-wing opinions about the war in the east, but nothing from the left. Why not?”
September's About Us page reads:
Во многих постсоветских обществах сегодня происходят активизация ультраправых движений, заражающих наши страны ксенофобией, неолиберальные реформы, умножающие бедность, и территориальные споры, ведущие к кровопролитию. Эти явления редко сопоставляются друг с другом и рассматриваются в межрегиональной перспективе. Такие глобальные тренды как влияние новых технологий на общества также редко подвергаются анализу в контексте постсоветского пространства.Сентябрь нацелен  на заполнение этих пробелов  посредством выстраивания связей и диалога поверх государственных границ и даже линий вооруженных конфликтов.
In many post-Soviet societies we have seen the birth of far-right movements that infect our countries with xenophobia, as well as neoliberal reforms that increase poverty and territorial disputes that lead to bloodshed. These phenomena are rarely discussed together and are observed in an inter-regional perspective. Global trends like the influence of new technologies on society are also rarely the subject of analysis in the context of the post-Soviet space. September aims to fill this space by building connections and dialogue across state borders and even across lines of armed conflict.
September features the tongue-in-cheek tagline “It’s not October yet, but it’s close,” hinting at the imminence of the next revolution. Still, Lyasheva and her colleagues harbor no sympathies for the totalitarian regime came to power in October, 1917. Part of the problem for contemporary leftists, she says, is that they are immediately associated with the USSR: “When you talk about the left here, people associate you with the old Communists and the Soviet Union. That’s not who we are…We don’t want to have a red star on our website.”
September, which is entirely self-funded, will cover topics ranging from contemporary politics and political theory to science and education. There are currently 18 people on the editorial board and a network of contributors across the region that Lyasheva says she hopes will grow.
Aliona Lyasheva. Source: Facebook
For now, September is only published in Russia, though the editors do plan to translate texts from left-leaning publications like Jacobin and Open Democracy. Current posts on the site include “Neoliberalism with Russian Characteristics,” by Ilya Matveev and “The Fog of ‘Hybrid War': Why It's Dangerous to Think Hybrid,” by Vladimir Artyukh.
Beyond giving voice to leftist ideas, Lyasheva thinks September has an opportunity to change the way people in the West and in the region think about the countries of the former Soviet Union:
We understand that there are numerous commonalities and interconnections among the post-Soviet countries, in terms of economic interdependence and cultural commonalities. For example, even after two years of war, Ukraine's biggest trade partner is Russia (if we are not counting the EU as one country), and Russia's political and military presence is overwhelming in the region. This creates a basis for structural interconnectedness of the area, which is either ignored in [the West] or subsumed under more general categories of ‘post-socialism’, ‘transitional economies’, etc. If we want to know how to act in these circumstances, we need to have a clear shared idea of what is actually happening. But at the same time we do not dream about any sort of ‘pan-Eurasian’ unification on this post-Soviet basis, and do not have any Soviet nostalgia.
Vladimir Artyukh, an editor at September and a PhD student at the Central European University in Budapest, concurs, saying that he wants the project to challenge certain frameworks that the West has imposed on the the post-Soviet space. Still, he says, September is a project that will grapple with the region's commonalities.
It's October now, and the revolution has yet to come. Then again, September's only just launched.

author: Isaac Webb


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This Woman’s Voice Makes World History Intimate to Millions in Spanish · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Uribe in one of her history programs. Photograph shared on Google with permission for republication.
For years, Diana Uribe's colorful and friendly voice made Colombians pause and listen. The world and its events seemed closer, and more lucid, because of her storytelling.
The 57-year-old award-winning radio journalist and world historian is trusted across Colombia. Now, thanks to the Internet, her Spanish audio programs or podcasts on world history have fans and followers across Latin America, and even the world. She started her career at Radio Caracol, with the show “The History of the World,” and now her programs can be accessed through Ivoox, a podcast and radio platform, and even YouTube, where she has more than 75K subscribers.
Her shows on Japan, China, Panama, Spain and the Islamic Revolution on YouTube have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.
Uribe explores the connection between history and contemporary events. Her narration focuses on well-known historical characters. With dramatic music interspersed, each episode chooses a region of the world and connects its history to the series of events for which it is known today. Her overall theme connects how we are all really the same and that different regions of the world are only distinct in appearance because of time and space.
Her series on Latin American history is special. In it, writers and musicians who lived through difficult and historical eras are remembered and celebrated. In these episodes, Uribe also makes connections to current events and today's political dilemmas. In a program dedicated to the history of migration to Argentina, which is part of a series dedicated to the country, the origins of Argentina's multicultural identity are connected to the migratory problems of today:
[En las épocas de las migraciones desde Europa a Argentina] había oportunidades, para todo el mundo. Hoy por hoy, cuando los migrantes atraviesan el mediterráneo, huyendo exactamente de lo mismo, del hambre, de las guerras, de las guerras que muchas veces son producto de las decisiones europeas en la época de la repartición del Imperio Otomano, o de la manera como crearon frontera artificiales. Hoy, cuando estos migrantes atraviesan el Mediterráneo, provenientes de Siria […] provenientes del África, después del reparto del colonialismo y de todo lo que les ha pasado, después de todas las guerras que se han creado, después del 11 de septiembre, después de toda la geopolítica convulsiva que se ha hecho, para ellos no hay nada. Para ellos no hay tierra, no hay oportunidades, no hay recepción, no hay campos.
[In the age of migrations from Europe to Argentina] there had been opportunities, for everyone. Currently, when migrants brave the Mediterranean, they are fleeing from exactly the same things, from hunger, from wars, from wars that many times are products of European decisions made during the partition of the Ottoman Empire, or from the manner in which they created artificial borders. Today, when those migrants cross the Mediterranean, coming from Syria […] coming from Africa, after the distribution of colonialism and all that has happened to them, after all of the wars that have been created, after September 11, after all of the convulsive geopolitics that has been made, there's nothing for them. For them there is no land, there are no opportunities, there is no welcome, there are no fields.
And she continues:
Para ellos hay deportaciones […] Para ellos hay desprecio, hay xenofobia […] Los europeos fueron ayudados por el mundo entero. 40 millones de Europeos fueron recibidos por la América. Y ahora, cuando de Europa se pide la ayuda, Europa responde con barreras, responde con mallas, con muros de papel o de alambre. Con divisiones y separaciones para no darle la mano en la historia a pueblos que […] en otra época se la dieron a ella. Ésa es la diferencia de los emigrantes que estaban poblando la Argentina a los migrantes que hoy han convertido al Mediterráneo en una fosa común.
For them there are deportations […] For them there is disdain, there is xenophobia […] The Europeans were helped by the entire world. 40 million Europeans were welcomed by the Americas. And now, when Europe is asked for help, Europe responds with barriers, responds with mesh, with walls made of paper or barbed wire. With divisions and separations so as to not help people that, in the past […] in another era had given such to Europe. That is the difference between the migrants that populated Argentina and the migrants who today have converted the Mediterranean into a common grave.
Her other work is also mentioned on her  Wikipedia page:
En 2008 presentó su primer audiolibro, La historia de las civilizaciones, donde hace un recorrido por algunos momentos de la historia de la humanidad. En 2009 publicó el segundo, llamado La historia de las independencias, enfocado en la independencia latinoamericana en el siglo XIX. En 2011 sacó el tercero, La historia en los viajes, que trata sobre Rusia, Turquía y Sudáfrica. En 2013 publicó la aplicación El juego de la historia.
Uribe es especialista en los movimientos de contracultura de los años 1960. También se interesa por la permanencia de los mitos y leyendas en los imaginarios contemporáneos, en particular en la literatura oral.
In 2008, she presented her first audio book, La Historia de las Civilizaciones (The History of Civilization), where she covers some moments from humanity's history. In 2009, she published her second audio book called, La Historia de las Independencias (The History of the Wars of Independence), focused on the Latin-American wars of independence in the 19th century. In 2011, her third audio book came out, La Historia en los Viajes (History through Traveling), which deals with Russia, Turkey, and South Africa. In 2013, she published the app, El Juego de la Historia (The History Game).
Uribe is a specialist in counter-cultural movements from the 1960s. She is also interested in the continuation of myths and legends in the contemporary collective imagination, and in particular oral tradition.

author: Laura Vidal