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A Local Serbian Politician Threatened on Facebook to Hit an Activist With a Shovel for Organizing Protests · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

A tweet from activist Dragan Murar includes a screenshot of Deputy Mayor Ivan Jegorović Facebook message threatening him.
The deputy mayor of the northern Serbian municipality of Obrenovac threatened in a public status update on his personal Facebook profile to use a shovel “across the back” of activist Dragan Murar, who has been calling for protests there to demand better and more organized efforts in the badly flooded city.
Obrenovac, some 30 kilometers from Belgrade, was arguably the hardest hit in the recent tragic floods that devastated several countries in the Balkans. Most homes, crops and businesses in Obrenovac have been virtually wiped out and its population of over 30,000 people mostly displaced until further notice to Belgrade and towns throughout the area while the clean-up process is ongoing. The process is a slow and tedious one. Rains still fall every few days in the region, and many have criticized what they say is authorities’ lack of organization in making the flooded areas livable again.
Dragan Murar is among those who have been publicly demanding a better effort from the local and national governments to help Obrenovac recover. He has been trying to organize protests on Twitter in front of the town's municipal building and has, in the name of the citizens of Obrenovac, handed in a list of suggestions and demands to city officials:
Evo preciznih zahteva koji su dostavljeni kabinetu predsednika vlade Marku Blagojeviću I Zorani Mihajlović pic.twitter.com/U092AmdVp9
— Dragan Murar (@muki68) July 7, 2014
Here are the precise demands that were delivered to the cabinet of the Prime Minister, Marko Blagojević [appointed Head of Office for Reconstruction], and Zorana Mihajlović [Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure] pic.twitter.com/U092AmdVp9
— Dragan Murar (@muki68) July 7, 2014
Following Murar's demands and attempt to gather protesters, deputy mayor  Ivan Jegorović openly criticized Murar on Facebook and later publicly posted a picture of a shovel on his personal profile, attracting a plethora of comments both in support and against Murar from users who had followed the online altercation.
Jegorović's Facebook status has since become unavailable to the public, but screenshots of the update were captured by several users, showing Jegovorić as having said:
Ti pijanduro sto predvodis ove nazovi proteste i sto brukas Obrenovac i Obrenovcane zastupajuci politiku mediokritetskih politickih partija, bolje bi ti bilo da uzmes lopatu u ruke i uradis nesto korisno za svoj grad. Bavis se politikom i tvitujes u vreme kada je ovom gradu potreban krvav rad. UZMI TU LOPATU DA TI JE JA NE BIH DAO PO LEDJIMA.
You drunkard who has been leading those so-called protests and embarrassing Obrenovac and the people of Obrenovac by representing the politics or mediocre political parties, [you had] better take a shovel into your hands and do something useful with it. TAKE THAT SHOVEL SO I DON'T GIVE IT TO YOU ACROSS YOUR BACK.
Murar was among the first to capture a screenshot of the quote and immediately tweet it to his followers:
Direktan poziv na linč!!Ja više ne smem da se šetam mojim gradom zbog Čučkovog zamenika.Prijavio uredno policiji pic.twitter.com/l8BiQJrEvU
— Dragan Murar (@muki68) July 7, 2014
An open call for lynching!! I can't walk around my town freely anymore because of [Mayor] Čučković's deputy. Duly reported to the police pic.twitter.com/l8BiQJrEvU
— Dragan Murar (@muki68) July 7, 2014
Activists and organizations have since drawn attention to this altercation and have condemned the use of such verbal threats by politicians. Blog Open, organizer of what was the most popular annual gathering of bloggers in the country, made a statement about the matter, emphasizing:
Niko, nikakvim povodom, ne sme pretiti nikome, a posebno ne koristeći društvene mreže, jer na taj način svoje pretnje čini još opasnijim, i mogu se razumeti kao ućutkivanje, zastrašivanje i javni poziv na linč.
Svačije je pravo da izražava svoje stavove i mišljenje o bilo kakvoj društvenoj pojavi, a posebno u situaciji kada su životni uslovi toliko otežani, a dignitet ljudi toliko povređen, kao što je to slučaj u Obrenovcu.
No one, for any reason, is allowed to threaten anyone, in particular using social networks, because this makes the threat even more dangerous and can be taken as stifling, inciting fear and a public call for lynching.
Everyone has a right to express their positions and opinions about any social phenomenon, especially in a situation in which living conditions are so difficult and the dignity of people so bruised, as is the case with Obrenovac.
Other than mentioning Murar in a later status update and in comments, deputy mayor Jegorović has not made any statements regarding this matter. Many commenters on both men's social media accounts criticized the politician's verbal threats, while others agreed with him and incited further hate speech and threats.

author: Danica Radisic


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An Open Letter to Salvadoran Migrant Children · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Balloon animals lift the spirits of Central American children on the long journey. Photo on Flickr by user Peter Haden. CC BY 2.0.
From El Salvador, Pablo Lüers writes an open letter to migrant children who have traveled on their own to the United States and who will be deported back to their countries:
Ustedes aquí en El Salvador y en su pueblo o barrio, se van a encontrar de vuelta con cada una de las razones que los hicieron emprender el viaje, a pesar de todos los riesgos. Quienes de ustedes tienen hermanos mayores pandilleros, los van a encontrar todavía sin perspectiva de salida de la cárcel o de la vida criminal, porque aun no existe una política pública para abrirles puertas a una vida dentro de la sociedad.
[…] Todos, hayan sido victimas de pandillas o de policías o simplemente de la violencia generalizada, van a regresar a lo mismo. Porque es ilusorio pensar que las grandes noticias sobre su odisea en los desiertos y los territorios de narcos en México, sobre su captura y su sobre su deportación hayan despertado en los gobernantes de su patria El Salvador conciencia de lo que deben a esta generación perdida que llaman “jóvenes en riesgo”.
Así que, bichos, prepárense bien: En el aeropuerto los va a recibir con discursos conmovedores, pero al rato les va a tocar ver cómo sobreviven, cómo terminen la escuela, cómo encuentran un trabajo, y cómo hacen para no volverse pandilleros o víctimas de pandilleros, presos o muertos.
Here in El Salvador and in your town or neighborhood, you will face again the same reasons that made you set out on your journey, in spite of all possible risks. Those of you who have older brothers in gangs will find they still don't see a way out of jail or a life of crime, as there are no public policies to open doors for them in society.
[…] All of you, whether victim of gangs or police agents or just the general violence, will be back to the same situation. It is illusory to think that the big news about your ordeal in the deserts and the drug dealer territories in Mexico, about your detention and deportation have awakened awareness in the rulers of your country, El Salvador, about what they owe this lost generation they know as “youth at risk”.
So, lads, be prepared. At the airport, you'll be welcomed with heartbreaking speeches, but in no time you will have to figure out how to survive, how to graduate from school, how to find a job and how not to become part of a gang or a victim of a gang, how not to end up in jail or dead.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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Recycling Fashion · Global Voices
Luis Flores

Thread made up of used T-shirts, one of many usar for old clothes. Image by lomurella on flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
This week, Rut Abraín from Esturirafi shares some wonderful ideas that would help our economy and reduce space in our closets, even help people in need, and the planet, by recycling our used clothes:
Durante años, he ido acumulando que no usaba. La iba dejando en el montón de “ropa que no uso” y al final la acababa regalando o dejando en el fondo de un armario. Cuando fui a revisarla, me di cuenta que muchas de esas prendas estaban perfectamente y que sólo les había cogido manía, otras no me servían  y algunas estaban rotas o manchadas.
For years, I've been storing clothes I didn't use anymore. It accumulated on the pile of “clothes I don't use” that I ended up giving away or leaving at the bottom of the closet. When I checked it, I realized that many of them where in perfect shape and I just didn't like it, other were no more useful amd some had stains or holes.
According to her, the most effective ways of making the most out of it are: put it on containers for the needy, donate it or give it to a friend or relative that may want it, or remake it or use the fabric to make new things as bags or tableclothes.
To read more about conservation of the environment, you can follow Rut on her blog Esturirafi and Twitter.

author: Luis Flores


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The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same In The Bahamas · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

After 41 years of independence, says Weblog Bahamas, it is “more than a bit ironic that…so many people are discussing the same issues…it's as if very little has changed.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Argentinian Footballer Ezequiel Lavezzi Has Quite the Following Among Women · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

Enrique Lavezzi kicking the ball at the friendly match between Italy and Argentina. Photograph by Giuseppe “Pino” Fama. All rights reserved, Demotix (August 14, 2013).
The World Cup ignites passions and joy in many who watch it. But in Argentina, it isn't just the love of the game that is rustling up all these emotions — star Argentinian player Ezequiel Lavezzi, also know as “Pocho,” generated a shock wave of female fans from the very moment he took his shirt off.
The Facebook page, “Pocho Lavezzi to play shirtless,” has 381,500 fans already since its creation on June 25, 2014. On Lavezzi's Twitter account (@PochoLavezzi), after each one of his tweets, admirers respond:
Escuchame @PochoLavezzi la próxima salís en pelotas o no entras!
— ♥ PeNeLoPe ♥ (@LaMasConchuda) julio 1, 2014
Listen @PochoLavezzi, next time show up naked or not at all!
Hola @PochoLavezzi VAMOS A FESTEJAR EN BOLAS!!!!
— la huerfi (@huerfanita_) julio 1, 2014
Hello @PochoLavezzi NEXT TIME WE CELEBRATE NAKED!!!
“¡El Pocho Lavezzi imitó la caída de Sabella e hizo reír a sus compañeros!”. Lo mío no es calentura, es AMOR. pic.twitter.com/L3Z9vZ0otY
— NATI MESSI JOTA (@natijota) julio 7, 2014
“Pocho Lavezzi mimicked Sabella's fall and had his teammates laughing!” I'm not just hot for him, this is LOVE.
As if that wasn't enough, the soccer player already has his own cumbia (Latin dance):
What do men have to say about this? The Facebook page La Nueva has one take in the publication “Pocho Lavezzi's women”:
Y la verdad que el Pocho puede tener su pinta. Eso no se discute. Lo que se discute es la falta de clase: qué feas quedan las frases “te como todo”, “papito”, “mirá esos abdominales”…
Y ni hablar del mal gusto de “si el Pocho me mira, ¿sabés cómo largo al gordo?”, “mi marido tiene la misma plancha de ravioles (por los abdominales marcados) pero adentro”.
[…] Ya sabemos que somos menos deseados que el Pocho Lavezzi. Pero no hace falta que lo digan tan seguido, en voz tan alta y de manera tan grosera.
The truth is Pocho might be good-looking. You can't argue that. What we are talking about is the lack of class: how unpleasant are comments like “I'll eat you up,” “babe,” “check out those abs…” And how distasteful to hear “if Pocho so much as looks at me, do you know how fast I'll leave [my husband]?,” “my husband has the same six pack… but underneath.”
[…] We already know we are less desired than Pocho Lavezzi. But, it's not necessary to bring it up so often, and say it so loudly and so bluntly.
Enough with the Sexism claims that it's not any different from what men do:
¡Pero  en los varones que se escandalizan ahora porque algunas mujeres miran más los abdominales y pectorales de los jugadores que sus performances deportivas! ¡Cuánto cinismo en todos los que señalan el doble discurso de las mujeres, tipo: “¿No era que estaba mal cosificar a las mujeres? ¿Por qué hacen lo mismo ustedes ahora?”
Ojo, tienen razón, la cosificación es degradante sea cual sea el género.
Pero pregunto: ¿cuántos de ellos, cuando sus amigos, familiares, colegas, cosificaban a mujeres, les dijeron lo mismo y les explicaron, como ahora explican a las mujeres Lavezzi-maniáticas, que cosificar es degradante?
How hypocritical of men to be shocked because women are staring at the players abs and pecs as opposed to watching their athletic performance! How cynical of those individuals to bring up women's double standards, such as: “Wasn't it wrong to objectify women? Why are you now doing the same thing?” Listen here, that's correct, objectification is degrading no matter the gender. But I ask this: how many of those same men, brought up the topic and clearly explained to their friends, family members, and colleagues, that objectifying women is wrong, in the same manner that it is being presented to women obsessed with Lavezzi today?
We'll leave you with the following image to draw your own conclusions:
Image from Pocho Lavezzi's Instagram account

author: Laura Schneider


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US and China’s Strategic and Economic Dialogue · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China File invited economist William Adams and Political Economy Professor from Peking University, Zha Daojiong, to comment on the upcoming high-level bilateral diplomatic exchange known as the Strategic and Economic Dialogue between the U.S. and China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Why Taxi Drivers in Lima Are Seeing Red Over the City’s New Black-and-Yellow Rules  · Global Voices
Alex Pashley

“A conductor on one of Lima's combis, private minibuses which compete with Lima's taxis for both passengers and road space. Officials want to reduce their number, saying they cause accidents and are poorly maintained. Photo by Alex Pashley.
Life for Lima's licensed cabbies ain't what it used to be. Illegal taxis swelling the capital's congested roads have for years denied them customers and depressed fares. Now, new rules to rid the unruly industry of an estimated 120,000 “pirate” cabs—which flout safety inspection laws and occasionally rob passengers—are rankling the very drivers it aims to help.
Stick black-and-yellow stripes on your side-panels and a lighted ‘TAXI’ sign on your roof, or face a 190-sol (US$68) fine, the local authority told Lima’s 90,000 registered fleet this month. The new measures, says the authority, will enable passengers to distinguish the good guys from rogue operators. Drivers must also paint their cars yellow, white, or black by 2017, corresponding to whether they are self-employed, authorised to wait in a taxi rank, or take only pre-booked fares.
Taxistas (as Lima's taxi drivers are known) circulating around the suburb of Miraflores told Global Voices they didn't believe the move would cut crime, and that it's really a ruse to raise revenue for the local authority.
“We suffer every three months, there are constant changes,” said Jesús Alberto Alarcón Huauya, a self-employed licensed driver whose already yellow cab exempts him from having to make the change. “It’s not going to stop the criminals, as anyone can buy the stripes. It’s a shame that in Peru this is a business for the mayor’s office. It's all a mafia.”
“Where I am going to get this money from?” says Marco Antonio Rodríguez Atarra, a self-employed licensed driver for eight years who earns 100 soles a day on average. “It’s about 85 soles for the stripes and it could be 1,500 soles to paint a car. I give it three months maximum and then the authorities won’t bother us. I’m not going to comply and spoil my car with these stripes.” Most of his colleagues won't be obeying the rules either, added Rodríguez Atarra, even though the fine for a repeat offence is 380 soles.
A taxi driver's accumulated yearly permits displayed on his windscreen. Photo by Alex Pashley.
Congested city
Peru's capital has more than double the number of taxis it needs, reported the news daily El Comercio in 2011. According to another newspaper, El Gestión, in 2010 congestion cost the economy $1 billion in lost productivity. To formalise the trade, the local authority has in recent years tried to impose taxi meters with regulated fares, and license plates with electronic chips. Licensed drivers’ cars must not be more than 14 years old. But enforcement has been patchy.
“Taxis only satisfy 10 percent of the demand, but take up 70 percent of the roads,” said Susana Villarán, Lima’s mayor, who passed the proposal last August. Drivers said the new rules were a move to win votes for the incumbent Villarán, who seeks re-election in November's local elections. They expect the rules to be dropped if the 64-year-old centre-left mayor loses.
“What efficiency from our Mayor, waiting three-and-a-half years to sort out the taxi service,” wrote commenter AlbertoMartinezMolina on the Lima newspaper La Republica's website. “Pure opportunism for the coming elections. Long live the lady of honesty.”
Lima's absence of a formal public transit network, further strained by the near trebling of the city's population since the 1980s to over 9 million, has given free rein to the private sector. A legion of small, privately-owned minibuses, known locally as combis, and about 45,000 colectivos, taxis shared by commuters travelling the same routes, have for years clogged up Lima's main thoroughfares.
But things are changing. The local authority inaugurated its metro line in 2011, and the first stage of its underground second line will be ready in 2016, with a further three lines in the works. Larger American-style school buses, known as coasters, are being favoured over combis, which critics say drive recklessly, racing for customers waiting at stops.
But the new metro line, which has cut commutes from two hours to 30 minutes along the 34 kilometre north-south route, is inadequate: queues for the service are long, and taxis still are necessary for certain kinds of trips.
Public insecurity
Dante Paredes, a social worker, said having all taxis vouched for by the authority by displaying certain colours or stripes would make him feel safer. “It’s about stamping down order for progress,” he says. Public security ranks as a key voter concern and will be a critical factor in the local elections. Nine out of ten citizens felt unsafe in the Lima's streets, according to an Ipsos poll in January.
Jaime Sorilla, a 65-year old retired businessman, has little sympathy for the taxi drivers, but considers the ever-changing policies of mayors who govern in four-year terms  disruptive. “Drivers are going to have to finance it. If they don’t sort out this integral plan, if they don’t give us guarantees a taxi is registered, we’ll remain in danger.”
“An old mayor vowed to have all the taxis painted, then it was forgotten as the new mayor wasn’t bothered. They are cretins and donkeys. The continuation of good things mustn’t always be coloured by who’s governing,” Sorilla added.
A passenger interacts with the driver of a Lima taxi sporting the new regulation black-and-yellow stripes and lighted sign. Some Lima residents say marking licensed taxis in this way will make them feel safer. Photo by Alex Pashley.
The new informal
The cumbersome process involved in becoming a registered driver is partly to blame for the rise of the informal system.
“The system’s too chaotic,” said Vladimir Garcia, a student who regularly relies on taxis for commuting. “At the moment, in order to get a license to be a taxi driver they must queue for hours or days, which is problematic.”
High volumes of paperwork and low levels of enforcement are the reason one ‘pirate’ driver, who wished to remain anonymous, says it pays to be unlicensed. The registration service has been non-functional since November 2012.
“I work quietly, on the down low, with a number of repeat clients,” said the driver, who drove a well-maintained saloon and earns between 100-200 soles a day. “I’ve been fined once in five years. I paid 500 soles in Callao [a neighbouring city]. They police are always there but they don’t see me—it’s not bad.”
Certain exemptions
The assistant manager of the Taxi Service of the Management of Urban Transport at the local authority, Violeta Valiente, said the mayor’s office has “agreements with 19 district councils in Lima to inspect offending taxis all over the city.”
On the ruling’s first day in force, transport inspectors fined 53 drivers for not having the regulation stripes. But drivers registered in Lima’s neighbouring port city of Callao, who often cross the city limits, will need neither stripes, nor to paint their cars, confirmed Miguel Gonzalez, Urban Transport manager in the Municipality of Callao.
Valiente said it would be “ideal” to have a single authority overseeing both cities.
Lima-registered cabbie Jimmy Mulgar, who drives a “remisse” taxi that can only ferry pre-booked customers, said the fact that Callao-based drivers were exempt was “nonsense. There's great discrepancy between Lima and Callao transport, and it affects only us.”
This taxi could be fined 190 soles (US $68). But cabbies question if the changes will actually be enforced. Photo by Alex Pashley.
Slower lane
With its plans for subways and a more regulated bus service, Lima’s modernising transport system seeks to redress the dominance of the private sector. The success of the new plan for taxis relies on consistent enforcement and continuity across different mayors’ terms in office, conditions which cabbies treat with scepticism. For those who will eventually be displaced, however, a unsteady future looms.
“If things continue like this, I may have to look for other work,” says Cesar Elias. “It’s difficult. Businesses won’t give a damn about hiring me because I’m 49 years old. Some day, I would like to see how taxis are in London. You English are 200 years ahead of us.”
Alex Pashley is a British journalist based in Lima, covering current affairs of the enchanting Andean nation. Not three months into his stay, he already feels at home, having swapped the infernal drizzle and muggy skies of England's Midlands for Lima's infamous winter. He's worked for Bloomberg News in London and in the local press.

author: Alex Pashley


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As Rockets Rain on Gaza, Facebook Does Nothing to Stop Hate Speech Against Palestinians · Global Voices
Advox

Banner of Lehaselmehabel Facebook page.
Written by Dalia Othman. Ellery Roberts Biddle, Jillian C. York and Ivan Sigal contributed reporting to this post.
After three Israeli teenagers, who were later killed, were first reported missing, a page called, “Until our boys are returned – we will kill a terrorist every hour” appeared on Facebook. The page has been active for over three weeks, featuring multiple posts in Hebrew calling for violence against Palestinians and Arabs. Despite many formal abuse reports made by Facebook users, the page has not been taken down. Global Voices spoke with Facebook and they say they are reviewing the page.
The June kidnappings led to a revenge attack on 16-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Abu Khdeir, who was burned to death, and set off a massive Israeli military operation across the West Bank and Gaza, leading to the arrest of hundreds and deaths of dozens of Palestinians. The conflict has escalated further in recent days, with the massive “Operation Defensive Edge” declared against Gaza, which has killed 90 Palestinians so far, many of them women and children. From Gaza, Hamas, a group that has ruled the strip since 2007, has fired hundreds of missiles into Israel. As of July 9, Israeli officials reported that no Israelis had been killed as a result.
Conversations on social media have mirrored the rapidly rising tensions on the ground. The About section of the “Until our boys are returned – we will kill a terrorist every hour” Facebook page says:
We must use a strong hand to fight violent and life-threatening terror. The weakness shown by the Israeli Government, which released thousands of murderers has only increased their drive and led to the kidnapping of the teens. The only way to bring the teens back is to instill fear in our enemies and make them understand that they will suffer. We support executing a terrorist every hour until the teens are released.
Among some Israelis, the word “terrorist” is commonly used as a stand-in for “Palestinian”. For any person familiar with local terminology, it is difficult to see this as anything but a call to execute all Palestinians. One post on the page urges readers to “kill them while they are still in their mother’s [womb].” Violent language dominates the page and messages clearly target Arabs, specifically Palestinians. For those who do not read Hebrew, even a machine translation reveals the explosive nature of the page’s content.
This comment was reported to Facebook, but had not been removed as of July 9.
This comment was reported to Facebook, but had not been removed as of July 9.
The comment above was reported to Facebook and was deemed not a violation of the community standards. This comment both calls for “price tag” actions (defined as acts of terrorism by the US Department of State in 2013) and the transfer of Palestinians, a clear attack against a people and a call for violence.
Does the page violate Facebook’s Community Standards?
The first section of Facebook’s Community Standards reads:
Safety is Facebook's top priority. We remove content and may escalate to law enforcement when we perceive a genuine risk of physical harm, or a direct threat to public safety. You may not credibly threaten others, or organize acts of real-world violence.
A later section on hate speech is also relevant to the page:
Facebook does not permit hate speech….we do not permit individuals or groups to attack others based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition.
Since the page first appeared, concerned citizens (among them multiple trusted sources and friends of Global Voices) have used Facebook’s process for reporting abuse to call the company's attention to the page and ask for its removal. Some have taken to Twitter, urging others to do the same. But more than three weeks since it went live, the page remains active on the site.
This page is not an anomaly. After news that the three kidnapped Israeli teenagers had been killed, similar pages have sprung up with explosive racist and violent language. These pages have also attracted mainstream media’s attention. Facebook users once again tried to report the pages calling for revenge against the Palestinian population. Nevertheless, Facebook responded with similar claims (see screenshot below) that the page is not a violation of their community standards.
Facebook response to abuse report , sent July 3 2014.
The Third Intifada page
Back in 2011, there was a similar situation, in which a group of young Palestinians started a Facebook page calling for a third intifada or uprising that would build on the two historic intifadas that took place to end Israeli occupation in Palestinian territories.
Although the group's administrators set out to promote non-violent civic action in support of a free and independent Palestine, page members began posting messages that promoted violence and hatred towards Israel and Israeli people. CNN later reported that the page was taken down from the site after Facebook received a removal request from the Israeli government.
Online rights experts later suggested that the company could have suspended the accounts or pages of commenters promoting violence, rather than taking the page down altogether. In the social media ecosystem, these details matter – free expression is better preserved when harmful speech can be targeted at the level of the individual, rather than an entire page or platform. But it was understood that Facebook removed the page in an effort to extinguish violent and hateful language, and the potential real-life consequences that it could have triggered. It is troubling to see now that Facebook is not following the same standards when it comes to the recent pages.
Facebook's response
In an interview, Global Voices asked Monika Bickert, Facebook Head of Global Policy Management, to explain why this page isn’t a violation of community standards. She responded: “We clearly list the characteristics that we consider to be hate speech, and if it doesn’t come under one of those categories, we don’t consider it hate speech under our policies.”
Bickert spoke generally about their policies and not this specific case:
Facebook sets policies that can be implemented by a global, 24-hour staff of content reviewers. They seek to make decisions quickly and consistently[…] One of the toughest areas for Facebook is the area of hate speech. Here, Facebook is looking for characteristics that specifically target either an individual or a defined group [..] Because Pages change, unlike posts, they can be reviewed more than once. Decisions about individual pieces of content tend to be final, although can be reviewed for error.
Facebook should not serve as a platform for promoting violence against anyone
As defenders of free expression, we do not want Facebook to become a more controlled, more heavily censored platform. But we also cannot stand by and watch as this and other pages gain hundreds of followers by the day. It is not only hateful and discriminatory towards Palestinians and Arabs, it is a plain, unequivocal threat of violence towards human beings. With full recognition of the complex and delicate political context of this situation, we ask that Facebook reconsider this case and engage with us in a conversation about their decision-making process on this and other similar pages.
This story was updated at 17:10 GMT on July 11 to clarify that Mohamed Abu Khdeir was killed in a revenge attack.

author: Advox


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A Military Police Corporal Is the First Convicted for Brazil’s ‘Crimes of May’ Deaths · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Poster published by Mothers of May calling for supporters to follow the trial.
São Paulo's Military Police Corporal Alexandre Andre Pereira da Silva was sentenced to 36 years in prison for the deaths of Murilo de Moraes Ferreira, Felipe Vasti Santos de Oliveira and Marcelo Heyd Meres in 2006 during the so-called “Crimes of May.” Journalist Laura Capriglione from the media collective Ponte (Bridge) reported the news on Facebook.
The conviction came after years of pressure from the Mothers of May Movement, which was created after the death of around 500 young people during police actions in the state of São Paulo in May 2006.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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A Brazilian Favela Is Challenging the World Cup Champion to a Match · Global Voices
Estefanía Salazar

Image by Techo.org, used with permission.
The favela Anita Garibaldi, located 10 kilometers from Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo, Brasil, is home to 4,000 families and its own football team. Latin American origin NGO TECHO (@untecho) is campaigning for a match between the Anita Fútbol Club and this year's World Cup champion to call attention to the poverty experienced by millions of people in Latin America.
The organization is encouraging an intense campaign on social networks and in the media with the hashtag #DesafíoAnita (Challenge Anita). So far, they have been able to engage people from all around the world in petitions to the FIFA, national football federations and individuals for the challenge, still with no confirmed date.
You can follow as an “hincha” (fan) of Anita Garibaldi on their official web (in Spanish, English and Portuguese) or with the hashtag #DesafíoAnita.
Documentary in Portuguese with Spanish subtitles: “Why does Anita Garibaldi want #DesafíoAnita?”
Video in Portuguese with English subtitles: Turtao, goalkeeper of Anita Garibaldi FC, challenges Lionel Messi

author: Estefanía Salazar


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On Being Young, Black and Queer in South Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Leila Dee Dougan shares a music video from the latest album by the South African artist Umlilo:
Umlilo (previously profiled on Africa is a Country here) continues to push societal boundaries, crushing the norms of sexuality and gender roles with ‘Magic Man’, a track from his latest album, which will be released in July 2014. Watch the making of the music video and hear his thoughts on circus troops, being an outcast and how his music has become his freedom.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Oscar López Rivera Has Spent 33 Years Behind Bars in the US. Puerto Ricans Say That’s 33 Too Many · Global Voices
Ángel Carrión

Cartoonist Kike Estrada is one of several artists that has expressed solidarity with the fight to release Oscar. Image taken from his page, Planeta Kike, used with permission. It reads, “We want him home already!”
The fight to release Puerto Rican independence activist Oscar López Rivera continues to gain momentum and followers.
López Rivera, 71, has been imprisoned for 33 years in the United States charged with “seditious conspiracy” and “conspiracy to escape” for which he received a 70-year sentence. He is a fighter for the independence of Puerto Rico, a colony of the United States. Politicians, artists, and many people across different ideologies have united to ask US President Barack Obama to pardon López Rivera, who has been called the longest held political prisoner in the western hemisphere.
His case has received attention in recent weeks in various media outlets and at the United Nations from people who support his release.
In a letter to digital magazine 80, blogger, poet, and sociologist Guillermo Rebollo Gil reacted to an editorial published in June in the most circulated newspaper in Puerto Rico, El Nuevo Día, criticizing the way it tried to depoliticize López Rivera's imprisonment. The text in the editorial that Rebollo Gil found objectionable was the following:
Porque Oscar López Rivera, al margen de su ideología y de sus aspiraciones, es un ciudadano que dedicó dos años de su vida al servicio militar activo, en la guerra de Vietnam, y que se sacrificó duramente por el mismo Estados Unidos que ahora se empeña en mantenerlo aislado, tratando de acallar los reclamos para que lo excarcelen e intentando mantenerlo fuera del foco de la atención mundial.
Because Oscar López River, regardless of his ideology and aspirations, is a citizen who dedicated two years of his life to active military service in the Vietnam War, and harshly sacrificed himself for the very United States that now insists upon keeping him isolated, trying to quell claims to release him and trying to keep him out of the focus of the world's attention.
Rebollo Gil noted the importance of the fact that López Rivera's case is not merely framed as a matter of humanitarian concern, and urged people to remember why it is that he is a political prisoner. El Nuevo Día, the newspaper owned by the politically conservative Ferré Rangel family, published a series of López Rivera's letters from prison.
Que el Grupo Ferré Rangel, “al margen” de su ideología y sus intereses económicos, interese unirse al reclamo por la excarcelación de Oscar López Rivera, no le da la potestad para despolitizar la figura de Oscar. Su excarcelación no es un mero issue de interés humanitario. Oscar López Rivera es un prisionero político. Preso—es decir, marginado brutalmente—por “su ideología y sus aspiraciones.” Oscar es padre y abuelo y hermano, y escribe cartas preciosas. Es cierto. Son las cartas de un independentista puertorriqueño, injustamente encarcelado cuando era joven y bigotudo y pelú. Hoy es viejo y hermoso. Pero igualmente revolucionario. Sépase.
Even if the Ferré Rangel Group, “on the outside” of their ideology and economic interests, were interested in joining the cry for Oscar López Rivera's release, it doesn't have the power to depoliticize the figure of Oscar. His release is not a mere issue of humanitarian interest. Oscar López River is a political prisoner. Prisoner — meaning brutally marginalized — for “his ideology and aspirations.” Oscar is a father and grandfather and brother, and he writes beautiful letters. It's true. They are the letters of a Puerto Rican who is pro-independence, unjustly imprisoned when he was young, had a mustache and long hair. Now he is old and beautiful. But still the same revolutionary. Let it be known.
Poet Manuel Martínez Maldonado analyzed in an article for the magazine “Cruce” the injustice of having someone imprisoned for so much time for “seditious conspiracy,” a charge that historically the U.S. government has used to abuse anyone who disagrees with their discourse of power:
Es difícil ver, cuando no hay una guerra que represente el famoso “clear and present danger”, cómo abogar por la autonomía o independencia de Puerto Rico puede representar un riesgo a la estabilidad de los Estados Unidos. En el caso particular de Oscar López Rivera, encarcelado en 1981, sin haber sido acusado o convicto de ningún delito de violencia, el cargo de conspiración sediciosa es particularmente difícil de entender. […] ¿Cómo puede ser una amenaza contra el gobierno y sus armas un hombre anónimo y envejecido, no importa lo que diga o lo que piense?
It is difficult to see, when there is no war that represents the famous “clear and present danger,” how advocating for Puerto Rico's autonomy or independence can pose a risk to the stability of the United States. In the particular case of Oscar López Rivera, imprisoned in 1981, without having been accused or convicted of any felony, the charge of seditious conspiracy is especially difficult to understand. […] How can an anonymous and elderly man, regardless of what he says or thinks, be a threat to the government and its weapons?
Just outside the United Nations headquarters, there were demonstrations for López Rivera's release while the Decolonization Committee was holding its annual meeting. Inside, Eduardo Villanueva Muñoz, spokesman for the Puerto Rican Human Rights Committee, dedicated his presentation to López Rivera in a talk before the committee, which has considered the case of Puerto Rico each year since 1972:
Oscar López ha cumplido ejemplarmente su rol de ser símbolo de resistencia y lucha para su pueblo. Por eso sus ideales se mantienen vigentes y en mi país hay lucha comunitaria, lucha ambiental, lucha contra el racismo y la discriminación, lucha por mejores empleos y salarios justos, lucha en defensa del idioma vernáculo (el español) y la cultura que nos distingue como nación. Mil años de encierro no pueden servir para destruir esos ideales que son consustanciales a la naturaleza de las naciones, que aunque no tengan soberanía, culturalmente son naciones claramente diferenciables en el concierto de naciones del mundo. Mantener a Oscar López preso no sirve para disuadir a los que creen en sus ideales, al contrario son un estímulo para continuar la lucha y mantener sus ideales vigentes.
Oscar López has fulfilled his role of being a symbol of resistance and struggle for his people in an exemplary fashion. As such his ideals are still valid and in my country this are community struggles, environmental struggles, the fight against racism and discrimination, the fight for better jobs and wages, the fight in defense of the vernacular language (Spanish) and for the culture that distinguishes us as a nation. A thousand years of confinement cannot serve to destroy those ideals that are inherent to the nature of nations, that even without sovereignty are clearly culturally different nations in the concert of the world's nations. Keeping Oscar López a prisoner serves no deterrent to those who believe in his ideals, but on the contrary encourages them to continue the fight and maintain his ideals in full force.
Increased activity for López Rivera's release can be expected after the U.S. congressional elections in November, since President Barack Obama, now in his final term, will be able to make more decisions without having to consider their possible political cost. Meanwhile, people around the world are continuing to ensure that López Rivera's case does not become invisible.

author: Ángel Carrión


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Russian Web Animation at Its Best · Global Voices
Gulnara Yunusova

Masyanya travels to Budapest. Episode 121. YouTube.
When you think of Russia, what springs to mind? Perhaps your head floods with visions of rocket scientists, KGB badges, vodka, borsch, Putin, and so on. Even the culturally inclined are likely to think of ballet or literature before considering Russian Web animation, but it’s in this latter field that the Russian Internet has achieved something brilliant.
For more than a decade, Oleg Kuvaev has produced a Flash-animation cartoon called “Masyanya.” The Web series is named after its main character, a St. Petersburg woman in her early twenties. A punk and an anarchist in her youth, Masyanya is a mother of two by adulthood.
According to Kuvaev, the first installments of his cartoon were meant as a private joke between friends. Then, in September 2002, Leonid Parfenov, a popular television host, approached Kuvaev with the opportunity to broadcast episodes of Masyanya at the end of his TV show. The partnership lasted just one season, but the exposure created a fan base for Masyanya.
It’s difficult to explain Masyanya’s massive popularity in Russia. The cartoon is unique in many ways. It centers on Masyanya and her two friends, Hryundel and Lokhmaty, and provides an offbeat look at familiar, everyday situations. The language spoken on the show is witty and colloquial, and Kuvaev’s animation boasts some impressive graphics.
(Masyanya prepares the morning coffee.)
The show’s protagonist is undoubtedly its greatest appeal. Masyanya is an incurable optimist, prone to making philosophical observations in any situation. Oxana Pobereinaia, an author at Feminismandreligion.com, argues that Masyanya’s lifestyle is a cross between Buddhism and Feminism. Masyanya ignores various social conventions, instead following her own philosophy. She is unorthodox: Masyanya’s wedding is modest, but she celebrates her divorce like a marriage ceremony, bemusing her friends to no end. When money gets tight, Masyanya doesn’t sell her things or find a second job—she invests in a bookshop that has no cashier, where all the books are on sale at whatever price customers name.
(Oops! More misadventures from Masyanya.)
For a time, Masyanya had a whole production team, with several animators, though the show has returned to its roots, with Kuvaev writing, animating, and voicing everything by himself. New episodes appear on the program’s official website, where visitors can also find comic strips, games, and ringtones based on the Masyanya show.

author: Gulnara Yunusova


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Theater of War: Photo Captures Israelis ‘Watching’ Gaza Being Bombed  · Global Voices
Sahar Habib Ghazi

Sderot cinema. Israelis bringing chairs 2 hilltop in sderot 2 watch latest from Gaza. Clapping when blasts are heard. pic.twitter.com/WYZquV62O7
— Allan Sørensen (@allansorensen72) July 9, 2014
Danish journalist Allan Sørensen posted this image on Twitter, which shows residents watching and celebrating Gaza being bombed. Sørensen has confirmed he took the picture on Wednesday night (July 9) at a hilltop in the frontline Israeli city Sderot.
Sørensen is the Middle East correspondent with the Danish newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad.
Some western media outlets like the Telegraph, have said Sderot is being battered by missiles and rockets from Gaza. The article “Israel's front line town of Sderot battered by missiles” published by the Telegraph on June 9, around the time Sørensen took this picture, says: “Residents of the ‘city of rockets’ just a mile from Gaza describe the fear of living under bombardment by missiles.”
Sderot has a population of 24,000 people and covers a five-square-kilometer area.
Earlier this week Israel launched the massive “Operation Defensive Edge” against Gaza, which has killed over 80 Palestinians so far, many of them women and children. From Gaza, Hamas, which has ruled the strip since 2007, has fired missiles into Israel. As of July 11, Israeli officials reported that no Israelis had been killed as a result. Most of the rockets coming into Israel have caused no serious damage, due in part to the US-funded Iron Dome aerial defense system, which has intercepted at least 70 projectiles so far, according to the Guardian.

author: Sahar Habib Ghazi


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Beyond the World Cup Headlines: Tears in Brazil, Tear Gas in Bahrain and Tragedy in Qatar · Global Voices
Deji Olukotun

A young woman stages a lone protest against FIFA in front of the Maracana stadium after Belgium played Russia in their group stage match on June 22, 2014, despite a large security cordon designed to block such demonstrations against the 2014 World Cup. Photo by Marcelo Fonseca. Copyright Demotix.
This post originally appeared on Pen American Center and is republished with permission.
Like me, you may have pinched yourself to see if you were dreaming after watching Brazil's humiliating 7-1 defeat by Germany in the World Cup semifinals. But it happened. Bloggers from the Middle East and North Africa expressed their sympathy, with one Bahraini Twitter user wryly noting that the “tear gas” team was leaving in a “scandalous manner.” He was referring to the government of Bahrain's use of Brazilian tear gas to violently stop protests (warning, link contains graphic content).
Brazil will receive a minimum of $20 million for its semifinal run in the World Cup, but the team still has an opportunity to win an extra $2 million if it defeats the Netherlands, who lost to Argentina, in the third-place game. This money may be sorely needed to make changes to its soccer association.
Protests continued in the country, but not at the same scale as the lead-up to the tournament. Some 300 protesters in the city of Sao Paulo turned out to demand the release of previous demonstrators, yet the police responded by arresting six more. Most fans traveling to Brazil will not have heard any baile funk (dance funk) because it has been banned for its popularity in favelas and for its racy sounds, which feature police sirens and gunshots.
Argentina fans, meanwhile, can rejoice because they will have an opportunity to watch their team play against Germany in the final as Lionel Messi, one of the all time greats, plays with heartthrob Ezekiel Lavezzi beside him in attack. Lavezzi has attracted a few more fans after stripping off his shirt in a victory celebration.
With racism, it seems more is less. The global soccer body FIFA has revealed internal divisions about cracking down on racism at the tournament. FIFA's task force against racism disagreed with the ruling of its disciplinary panel to decline to punish national federations for racist and homophobic chants by fans because the fans were not targeting one player in particular, but entire teams.
Preparations for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar have already been marred by reports of as many as 400 Nepalese and 700 Indian construction workers dying in conditions that can approach 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius).
However, one journalism professor in the country argues that the tournament should still be staged because it will allow for sustained pressure on Qatar to improve its human rights record. He is also the co-author of one of the most comprehensive studies on social attitudes towards media in the Middle East, which you can read here in this fascinating interactive website. His study was funded by the Qatar Foundation, the same organization that sponsors FC Barcelona, home of Lionel Messi. The foundation is itself funded in part by the government of Qatar. Still following? You be the referee.
Sports pundits often talk about how they love to watch free-flowing soccer. We're going to cheer for the free flow of ideas in the final. May the best team win.

author: Deji Olukotun


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A Plea to Pope Francis to Take Action Against African Dictators   · Global Voices
Emmanuelle Leroy Cerqueira

Abdoulaye Bah, Global Voices contributor and author of the  Konakry Express blog has launched a petition to ask Pope Francis to take action against African dictators. Bah, who previously wrote about his admiration for some of the Pope's political stance, denounces the credit granted by the Papacy to five African leaders by officially receiving them at Vatican City. The petition asked for the same punishment for the dictators as what was recently bestowed on members of the Mafia when Pope Francis visited Calabria.
Your Holiness recently received President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, President Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, President Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, President Paul Biya of Cameroon, and President Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo. These five presidents broke world records for longevity in power. To do this, they have built oligarchies which pillage resources, kill innocents, rape women, torture opponents and defenders of human rights. These oligarchies also corrupt institutions, pervert their people wishes during rigged elections, and divide populations by sowing hate and provoking uprising..

author: Emmanuelle Leroy Cerqueira


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Argentina Relished Rival Brazil’s Loss to Germany So Much That Even This Military Band Got In on the Gloating · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

A screenshot of the Alto Peru Mounted Fanfare Band playing “Brasil, decime qué se siente” in Tucumán on Argentina's Independence Day.
Even before the national team defeated the Netherlands to advance to the World Cup final, Argentina was celebrating. July 9 is the country's Independence Day, and the day before archrival Brazil was knocked out of the tournament after suffering a brutal 7-1 loss to Germany.
The delight was especially palpable in Tucumán, a city that played a leading role in the Argentinian independence and was an important witness to the events of 1816. There, the Alto Peru Mounted Fanfare Band played a taunting song called “Brasil, decime qué se siente” (roughly translated as, how about that, Brazil!) that has become popular this World Cup.
The lyrics, set to the melody of Creedence Clearwater Rival's “Bad Moon Rising,” refer to Argentina's win over Brazil in the 1990 World Cup in Italy. That match remained goalless until the final minutes when Diego Maradona passed the ball to Claudio Caniggia, who managed to score on Brazilian goalkeeper Taffarel. Argentina went on to lose to West Germany in the final:
Brasil decime qué se siente tener en casa a tu papá / te juro que aunque pasen los años nunca lo vamos a olvidar / que el Diego los gambeteó, el Cani los vacunó / están llorando desde Italia hasta hoy// A Messi lo van a ver la copa nos va a traer// Maradona es más grande que Pelé.
Brazil, tell me how it feels to have your daddy home / I swear that even though time passes by we won't forget it / that Diego [Maradona] dribbled past you and [Claudio Caniggia] Cani scored on you / you have been crying since Italy / you'll see [Lionel] Messi bring us the cup / Maradona is greater than Pelé.
News and video of the military band's musical jab spread quickly on Twitter. The blog Acordes 21 posted the chords for anyone who would like to play the song.
The fans behind the song are Ignacio Harraca and Patricio Scordo. Harraca explained to Argentinian newspaper Clarín that after confirming that they had tickets to see Argentina play, him and a group of friends wanted to do something different to celebrate. Once they finalized the lyrics, they circulated them on social media and distributed them on paper. They debuted the song in front of the team's hotel the night before the Bosnia match:
Repartimos los folletos, y cuando se hizo un poco de silencio empezamos a cantarla. Al rato estaban todos prendidos y fueron como 40 minutos que se escuchó casi sin parar
We distributed the leaflets, and when there was a bit of silence we began to sing it. A while later, everyone had caught on and for like 40 minutes you could hear [the song] non-stop.
Argentina plays Germany in the World Cup final on Sunday, July 13.


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Argentina Beats the Netherlands, Heads to the World Cup Final Against Germany · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

La Pampa spurs on the Argentina national football team. Photo on Flickr from the Ministry of National Culture (CC BY-SA 2.0).
The last time that Argentina reached the final of the World Cup was 1990, when the tournament took place in Italy and West Germany was crowned the champion.
After winning against the Netherlands in a penalty shootout 4-2 on July 9, Argentina will advance to the final once again and dual Germany for the title on Sunday, July 13 in the Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, better known as the Maracanã.
Esteban Blog summarised the match like this:
Un partido con historia de finales se avecina, con Alemania demoledora en el 1-7 ante los dueños de casa, en que a Brasil le faltó el alma que hoy a argentinos y holandeses les sobró.
A match with a rich tradition of finals approaches, with Germany demolishing the host 7-1, during which Brazil lacked the heart that the Argentines and the Dutch had in excess.
The most iconic locations in Argentina were transformed into party venues and, unsurprisingly, the Argentines at Brazil's Copacabana Beach also celebrated:
La fiesta Argentina en Copacabana via @JornalOGlobo http://t.co/VbEnEFeqPB #ArgentinaALaFinal pic.twitter.com/6FMCWVd78r
— Gustavo Papasergio (@gpapasergio) July 10, 2014
The Argentina party at the Copacabana via @JornalOGlobo http://t.co/VbEnEFeqPB
In the city of Buenos Aires, the meeting point was the Obelisk, where the celebrations extended into the night:
Image from the Facebook account of Juan Pablo Paradelo.
In the city of Rosario, where Lionel Messi, Ángel di María and Maxi Rodríguez, three players from the Argentinian squad, were born, residents celebrated like this:
Photo from the Facebook account of Rosario3.
And this is how everyone celebrated in Villaguay, in the province of Entre Ríos:
Photo from the Facebook account of José Luis Raota.
There was a variety of trending hashtags on Twitter in the aftermath, such as #ArgentinaALaFinal (Argentina to the final), #EstamosEnLaFinal (We're finalists), #AlaFinal  (To the final) and #SiElDomingoGanamos (If we win on Sunday):
#SiElDomingoGanamos El País va a volver a estar de Fiesta!
— El Team SanCe XIII (@NicoKaiserr) July 10, 2014
#IfWeWinOnSunday The Country will be Partying again!
#SiElDomingoGanamos no falto mas al colegio, tengo muchas faltas
— Jota esse-* (@Flaaa9) July 10, 2014
#IfWeWinOnSunday I'll stop missing school, I've missed loads of days
And an optimistic tweet:
#SiElDomingoGanamos saquenle el ‘si’ porque es “EL DOMINGO GANAMOS”
— LPDLC#2 (@MartuBisconti) July 10, 2014
#IfWeWinOnSunday get rid of the ‘if’ because it should be “WE (WILL) WIN ON SUNDAY
The Argentines want revenge, and now they only need to wait until Sunday:
Alemania, estudiate videos, papelitos, pero sabés qué? tenemos una cuenta pendiente! #EstamosEnLaFINAL
— Silvina Manzi (@silvinamanzi) July 9, 2014
Germany, look at your videos, notes, but you know what? there's unfinished business between us!


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Chile: Controversial Draft Law Anti Memes Lasted Less Than 24 Hours · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

A very short life had the controversial anti-meme draft law, announced on Thursday July 10 by Chilean congressman of Christian Democratic Party, Jorge Sabag, as informed on Chilean media. The goal of the prohect was to preserve “authorities’ dignity” on social networks. The project imposed fines for individuals who used the face of any State officer on a meme and even considered imprisonment for the user who created and shared this kind of images on cyberspace.
On a radio interview on 11, facing the questions and jokes generated on Facebook and Twitter, Sabag admitted the project: “Was a mistake, I didn't pay close attention to what my advisors had drafted (…). It's not worth it to keep on processing it.”
The news was soon after commented on Twitter:
Jorge Sabag (DC) recuerden su nombre para que nunca más lo elijan #LeyCTM pic.twitter.com/foy41fMPDi
— Ivo Aravena (@Ivoaravena) julio 11, 2014
Jorge Sabag (DC), remember his name so he's never elected again.
Asesores de Sabag… pic.twitter.com/MbNPDy4Kfc
— Edu Castillo (@edu_castillo) julio 11, 2014
Sabag's advisors…


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Embarrassing Encounters With Foreigners Who Understand Chinese · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Charles Liu from Nanfang.com translated a local newspaper's collection of Chinese people's embarrassing stories of speaking behind the back of foreigners who understand Chinese.


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Chinese Women Protest Against the World Cup · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

12 women staged an anti-World Cup protest on 7 of July in Shanghai. Photo from Weibo via Offbeat China.
Offbeat China explained why women are so angry and how the World Cup has destroyed relationships in China.
They are primarily pissed about two things: 1) their partners neglecting family responsibilities due to late-night game watching; 2) reckless gambling on games.


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Hong Kong’s Anglican Archbishop Says Pro-Democracy Protesters Should Be Like Jesus and Keep Quiet · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Archbishop Paul Kwong said Hong Kongers should learn from Jesus and suffer in silence. Image from Wikipedia CC: BY
Pro-Beijing camps have spent the week blasting Occupy Central's plans to peacefully occupy Hong Kong's downtown to demand a genuinely democratic election of the city's next leader. More than 500 protesters were arrested at a sit-in last week that the organization called a rehearsal.
Joining the chorus is the archbishop of the Hong Kong Anglican Church, Paul Kwong, who has earned the ire of the movement after telling them to keep quiet, as Jesus did ahead of his crucifixion, in his Sunday sermon.
China has promised special administrative region Hong Kong a direct election of the next chief executive in 2017, but insists that a special committee nominate the candidates. Many citizens of the former British colony foresee China manipulating the committee to choose only pro-Beijing candidates, and so want the right to select the candidates themselves.
Kwong poked fun at protesters who participated in the overnight sit-in on July 1 for condemning the police because they were denied access to bathrooms, food and water for more than 10 hours after being arrested. He suggested the activists should “bring their Filipino domestic helpers along.”
“Why should we keep speaking out? As if we would turn dumb if we didn't,” he told his congregation. He compared the protesters to Jesus, saying that he did not speak out against his own death sentence: “He was like a lamb awaiting slaughter in silence.” He said those who joined the July 1 protest didn't have peace in their hearts or an analytical mind.
Kwong belongs to the Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CCPCC), a political advisory body for the Chinese Communist Party whose members normally put on a united front in support of the party. In 2013, he told two Hong Kong-based newspapers in an interview that Christian churches in China enjoyed much freedom, with no intervention. The statement also stirred great controversy within Christian circles in Hong Kong as all Christian churches have to register under the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, which are under the supervision of the Chinese Communist Party.
The church has defended the archbishop, saying the sermon was taken out of context and not meant to be a public statement on the protests.
The archbishop's remarks haven't gone over well with members of the Occupy Central campaign. In fact, three of the main organizers, who take their inspiration from the American pastor Martin Luther King and his fight for civil rights, are Christian.
Joshua Wong, a 17-year-old student activist who led the campaign against a national education curriculum two years ago and organized the recent Occupy Central rehearsal, grew up in a Christian family. He explained on Facebook how Christian faith has motivated him to participate in the social movement:
教會是我另一個家。還在母親的肚裡，我就參加了教會聚會，兩歲的生日禮物就是一本幼兒聖經。爸爸在客廳存放釋經宗教相關的書籍多達數千本，我是在這樣的基督教家庭長大。
從六、七歲起，爸爸就帶我探訪基層家庭、板間房（不是套房的小隔間房間）和社區的商鋪。他告訴我要關心社會上被遺棄的一群，他們一生未聞福音，生活孤獨和困苦，做為基督徒，不可以坐視不理，而只顧及自己生活圈子內的人。父親十分投入教會事奉，非常關注香港和中國的福音遍傳和宗教復興運動 […]
還記得爸爸經常在家播放記錄片 《十字架耶穌在中國》，他總看得眼泛淚光。片中講述中國家庭教會從文革至今數十年來的變遷，信徒雖以億計急速增長，卻經常被共產黨打壓批鬥。他們愈被打壓，意志就愈堅定 […]
誰叫我參與社會運動的觸發點是信仰，沒有信仰，我絕不會參與社會運動；沒有信仰，我根本不會意識到我們應該尋回個人根本的價值，肯定每個人也是平等，也是上帝所愛，也應該受平等待遇。[…]
Church is my second family. I participated in church gatherings since I was still in my mother's belly and I received a Bible for children on my second birthday. My father has more than a thousand books about Christian faith on the living room's bookshelves. I grew up in this kind of Christian family.
Since I was 6 or 7 years old, my father brought me to visit families who lived in cubicle rooms (apartments divided into small compartments) and community shops. He told me to care about the forgotten ones in the community as they have never heard the Gospel and have been living alone with difficulties. As Christians, we could not play ignore that and just care about our own lives. My father is very devoted to Church-related activities and watches the revival of Christian faith in Hong Kong and China closely. […]
I still remember that whenever my father shows the documentary “Jesus in China” at home, he always has tears in his eyes. The film talks about family church in China since the Cultural Revolution. Although the number of Christians have been increasing rapidly, the oppression from the Chinese Communist Party has never ceased. However, the harsher the oppression, the stronger the will […]
The reason why I joined the social movement is faith; without faith I would have never joined. Without faith, I wouldn't have realized that we have to search for the value of life, to respect every individual as equal. God blesses everyone and they should be treated as equal.
Lam Tin Yu, who is also a Christian, responded to Archbishop Kwong with quotes from the Bible:
我們從新約聖經中可以略見一斑：耶穌在聖殿中向買賣的人發怒，推倒桌子和凳子，「我的殿必稱為萬國禱告的殿嗎？ 你們倒使它 成為賊窩了。」，又將他們趕走（馬可福音 11:15-17；約翰福音 2:16）；馬太福音二十三章提及到耶穌當面責備文士和法利賽人的時候，形容他們是假冒為善、瞎眼的人、粉飾的墳墓、毒蛇之種。每一個形容詞和責備都是鏗鏘有力，擲地有聲，為要以儆效尤。簡單看這些經文，我們得出一個結論：耶穌有完全的人性和完全的神性。
如今香港貧富懸殊日益嚴重、巿民活在水深火熱之中、民主自由處處打壓，若擁有完全神性和人性的耶穌在香港，他還會「默默無聲」？
Let's read the Gospel: Jesus was outraged by the money changers inside the temple. He overthrew tables and chairs, yelling, “My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves”. (Mark 11:15-17; John 2:16); In Mark 23, Jesus confronted the scribes and the Pharisees, he called them hypocrites, blind guides, tomb builders, serpents and a generation of vipers, all are strong words because he wanted to make a statement about the wrongs. From the Bible verses, we can conclude that Jesus has embodied both human being and God.
Today, the disparity between the rich and poor is so serious, people are living in misery, freedom and democracy are restricted. Would Jesus, who embodies both human being and God, be silent?
Theologist Fung Wai Man compared Desmond Tutu, archbishop emeritus of the Anglican Church of South Africa who was active in the struggle against the country's system of racial discrimination known as apartheid, with Hong Kong's Kwong:
同是聖公會大主教的 Archbishop Tutu, 在南非種族隔離的抗爭關鍵時刻，也大可以套用鄺大主敎的「普選不是萬應靈丹」，「我們百多年也沒有普選」的理論。可幸這位南非大主教沒有如此，反而挺身而出，活出基督的樣式。今日南非和平非暴力成功過渡民主。Tutu 大主教是國家民族的祝福。[…]
有一點要同意鄺大主教的。就是市民關注權利的同時也應當關注責任。對的，選特首是每個香港人的權利，也是每一個人的責任。這責任不容被剝奪。
從基督信仰觀點看，這剝奪不單冒犯人，更冒犯上主。
Archbishop Tutu could have acted like Paul Kwong and said “universal suffrage cannot solve all problems” or “we didn't have universal suffrage in the past century” during the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Fortunately this South African archbishop did not act like this. He chose to stand up and put his Christian faith into practice. Today, South Africa has transformed into a democratic state through non-violent peaceful struggle. Archbishop Tutu is a blessing for the country and its people. […]
I agree with Archbishop Kwong on one point that people should not only be concerned about their rights but also their responsibility. This is correct, as the election of the chief executive is not only Hong Kong people's right but also their responsibility. Such a responsibility should not be taken away.
Depriving people of it not only offends the individual, but offends God from the Christian point of view.
Follow our in-depth coverage: Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution


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Indians Say Goodbye To Orkut, Reluctantly  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Indian users are reacting to the impending demise of Google's Orkut social networking platform. Orkut is the oldest citizen media site Indians used and around 20% of Orkut’s users today are from India.
Vinaya Naidu at Lighthouse Insights compiles some of the users’ comments on the end of Orkut:
Priya Mittal was able to find her first childhood classmate via Orkut, which “felt like a miracle then.”
Avid biker Vishal Kataria: “It took me a while to leave Orkut and switch to Facebook because I got attached to it. Somehow, that feeling has never occurred for Facebook.”

author: Rezwan


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Nobody Should Be a Number: Names of Those Killed in Gaza · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

More than 100 Palestinians, many of whom were women and children, were killed since Israel launched Operation Defense Edge against Gaza last week
At +972, Michael Omer-Man lists their names in this post entitled “Nobody should be a number: Names of those killed in Gaza.”
No Israelis have been killed in the operation. Teju Cole comments:
A hundred have died, on one side.
— Teju Cole (@tejucole) July 11, 2014

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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His Country Has Never Made it to the World Cup, But Uzbekistan’s Ravshan Irmatov is a FIFA Legend · Global Voices
Chris Rickleton

Ravshan Irmatov, Asian Football Confederation referee of the year four times in a row (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011). Wikipedia image.
Johan Cruyff, Ravshan Irmatov, Diego Maradona, Pele. Only three of this quartet are football World Cup record holders, and only one of them has never appeared in a World Cup final.
For trivia junkies, Johan Cruyff is the only of those four World Cup legends not to hold a World Cup record of some sort. Brazilian idol Pele has won more World Cups than anyone else, although football's governing body FIFA only awarded him his third World Cup winner's medal — for his two appearances in the 1962 tournament — retroactively in 2007. Argentina's former No.10 Diego Maradona has made more appearances as a captain — 16 — than any other player in World Cup history, although he used one of those appearances to handle a ball into the net in 1986 and was under the influence of performance enhancing drugs for a further two appearances in 1994.
Irmatovs junor and senior. Twitter image uploaded by @kainbek
Perhaps the most deserving record holder of that trio, then, is Uzbekistan's Ravshan Irmatov, who now holds the record for refereeing the most World Cup matches in the history of the competition, having displaced previous joint-record-holders Joël Quiniou (France), Benito Archundia (Mexico) and Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay) on July 5 following the ninth World Cup game of his career.
To be sure, Uzbekistan is not known as a footballing nation, having never featured at a World Cup despite a couple of near misses in qualification. Nor is it a country known for fair play and impartial justice. To quote Human Rights Watch's report on the country this year:
Uzbekistan’s human rights record remained abysmal across a wide spectrum of violations. The country is virtually closed to independent scrutiny. Freedom of expression is severely limited. Authorities continue to crack down on rights activists, harass activists living in exile, and persecute those who practice their religion outside strict state controls. Forced labor of adults and children continues.
But Irmatov comes from different stock to the regime in Tashkent — literally — his father, with whom he is pictured above in the Uzbek capital in 1982, was a well-regarded referee at club level during Soviet times. Since starting out as an Uzbek league referee in 2000, Irmatov junior has been recognized as the best referee in Asia four times, in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
No Final for Irmatov
Having refereed four World Cup games in Brazil this year, including his magic ninth, the quarter-final nailbiter between Holland and Costa Rica, Irmatov was a shoe-in to referee the July 13 final between Argentina and Germany. In fact, as Irmatov-mania — embodied by the #Irmatovbest hashtag — swept across Central Asian networks, so did a false rumour that he had already got the gig. One tweet, retweeted 58 times read:
Судьей на финальный матч чемпиона мира Германия – Аргентина назначен Ирматов!!! #IrmatovBest #GERvsARG pic.twitter.com/HVElDutjPv” — Наран Ситняков (@naran_official) July 11, 2014
Irmatov appointed as the referee for the World Cup Final Germany-Argentina!! #IrmatovBest #GERvsARG
This apparent “victory” led to a burst of national pride among Uzbeks on Twitter:
Applause!!!!! We did it! We're the best! We are Uzbeks!!! I love Uzbekistan!!! PROUD TO BE UZBEK!!! #IrmatovBest #uzb — Yuldasheva (@iSevchik) July 11, 2014
Unfortunately for football-lovers in Uzbekistan and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere in Central Asia, it was not to be. Despite Irmatov's impeccable credentials and the fact that his not being from either South America or Europe was viewed as an advantage, Italy's Nicola Rizzoli was selected by FIFA to referee the World Cup Final instead. This caused one distraught Uzbek fan to label the governing body a “sell-out whore” on Twitter.
Nevertheless, as Irmatov makes his way back from Brazil he will have something more important than World Cup gold: the love of his country. Moreover, at 40 years of age he will still be comfortably eligible to referee the final of the 2018 tournament, to be held in Russia, where up to 2.5 million of his compatriots earn a living as migrant laborers. Now that would be a special World Cup moment.

author: Chris Rickleton


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Reflections From a Chronic Pedestrian · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Traffic jam. Photo on Flickr by usuer Wendell (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
From Bogotá, the author of blog Juglar del Zipa remembers his childhood without a family car, among other things he hadn't at home that made him the “weird guy of the class: elder dad, wasn't a football fan but enjoyed classic music, hadn't been baptized… and didn't have a car!” That's how he became a chronic pedestrian, so he has a different view about the traffic in the city:
Nuestra primera forma de independencia es cuando podemos desplazarnos torpemente por medio de nuestro propio cuerpo, nuestro frágil cuerpo, el accidente que nos hace individuos. y por eso todos somos peatones, a todos nos iguala serlo. El mundo, sin embargo, parece estar armado para privilegiar una forma específica de desplazamiento: el motorizado. […] La realidad es que la gente cruza la calle con miedo porque sabe que quienes van en carro muy difícilmente disminuirán la velocidad pues ante todo usan la máquina con la que se desplazan como una amenaza para disuadir el paso de la gente, un espantador de «bestias». […] Dejémoslos desnudos (a los autos), como estamos nosotros, los que no nos desplazamos con esa coraza asesina.
Our first form of independence is when we are able to move around clumsily with our own body, our fragile body, the accident that makes an individual out of ourselves. And that's why we are all pedestrians, we are all the same at that. The world, however, seems to be prepared to privilege a specific way of movement: the motorized one. […] The thing is people cross the street with fear because they know that those who are in a car will hardly reduce their speed, as they use the machine that transports them as a threat to dissuade other people's way, a «beast» scarer. […] Let's leave them naked (the cars), as we all are, those who don't use that killer shields to move around.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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A Summer Reading List from Global Voices French-Language Contributors   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

“Summer reading” from Nipmuc media center. Public domain
Summer is upon us. It seems that in what has now become a worldwide tradition, a reading list is de rigueur before you step away from all your online devices and return to a more slow-paced type of readings.
If one of your goals for this summer was to get (re)acquainted with Francophone authors, look no further. Without further ado, here are a few book suggestions from our GV Francophone contributors.
Andrew Kowalczuksuggested the following top ten of books originally written in French. The list is a collection of some of the most outstanding opus from (mostly) contemporary Francophone authors. Most of them are also available in English (see links for translations):
Alexandre Dumas – “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo”
Charles Baudelaire – “Les fleurs du mal“
Arthur Rimbaud – “Poésies“
André Gide – “Les faux monnayeurs“
André Breton – “Le surréalisme et la peinture”
Albert Camus – “La chute“
Eugène Ionesco – “Rhinocéros“
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – “Le petit prince“
Jean-Paul Sartre – “L'être et le néant“
Simone de Beauvoir – “Le deuxième sexe“
Michel Foucault – “L'archéologie du savoir”
Benoît Mandelbrot – “Les objets fractals: Forme, hasard et dimension”
That is already quite a mind-opening reading list to pick from. Yet, if you are yearning for something even more timeless, Jane Ellis also suggested a few classics:
Building on Thalia's list, Alison Mcmillan recommends a few remarkable novels from Asian authors:
Vikram Seth – “A Suitable Boy”
Shashi Tharoor – “The Great Indian Novel”
Salman Rushdie – “Midnight's Children”
Upamanyu Chatterjee – “English, August”
Kiran Desai – “The Inheritance of Loss”
Front cover art for the book “A Suitable Boy.” Fair use
Claire Ulrich also favored “A Suitable Boy” as a must-read. She also suggested some poetry to go with the novels:

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Indonesians Light a Thousand Candles for Peace in Palestine · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Scores of Indonesians gather in central Jakarta, the country's capital, to light 1,000 candles in protest to the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza Strip. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.
Indonesians pray for the  Palestinians who were killed in the airstrikes launched by Israel. Photo by Abdullah Arief Siregar. Copyright @Demotix (7/11/2014)

author: Mong Palatino


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These Cubans Are Puckering Up in Support of LGBT Rights · Global Voices
Sandra Abd'Allah-Alvarez Ramírez

“We want equality in marriage.” In Sagua La Grande
Activists in Cuba are “putting the revolution in a kiss” in support of LGBT rights.
The “Second Kissing Sit-In for Diversity and Equality,” which was organized by Proyecto Arcoiris (Rainbow Project), an anti-capitalist and independent project, gathered about 60 people for the besada in one of the main plazas in Havana and about 15 people in own of Sagua La Grande in Villa Clara Province on June 28.
At the event, activists read the letter that Arcoiris recently sent to Esteban Lazo, chairman of the country's legislature, the National Assembly of People's Power, in protest of the exclusion of gender identity and HIV status as motives of discrimination in the work environment in the New Cuban Labor Code. They also collected signatures at the besada.
Historically the LGBT community in Cuba has suffered discrimination and persecution, but they have made tremendous strides in terms of acquiring rights in recent years. Still, much remains to be done.
Take a look at some photos of the kissing sit-in by Rogelio Díaz Moreno and Maykel González Vivero below, republished with their permission. For more, check out this video, “Besada for Diversity and Equality, Havana, 2014,” by Raquel Pérez.
Kissing in La Habana.
Havana
Havana
Havana
Havana
Havana
Havana
Havana
Sagua La Grande

author: Sandra Abd'Allah-Alvarez Ramírez


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Turkish Law Professor Says Transparency Unaccepted in Politics in Turkey · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

Today's Zaman interviewed İştar Gözaydın, a professor of law and politics at Doğuş University in İstanbul, who has alslo done extensive academic research on Turkish law, society, politics, and is one of the founders of the human rights organization the Helsinki Citizens Association. In the interview, Gözaydın claims, among other things, that Turkish citizens have a lack of trust in the country's judicial system, that social norms and morality are based on personal connections and, hence, biased, but also that transparency is simply not a notion that fits or is accepted in Turkish politics. The experienced Turkish professor said:
It is true that the Turkish people have a sense of a mighty state. This applies to the legal domain as well as matters of political participation. For many years, reference has been made to the weakness of civil society. […] In Turkey, civil society attempts to benefit from the state. There is a political culture that seeks the preservation of advantages rather than creating a structure separate from the state. This is also because of how we understand and define the state. There are two approaches to the problem of state in the literature: The European system referring to state power and public power and the Anglo-American structure in which a contract is made between the state and individuals. Moving away from the “mighty state” approach to the idea that “I pay tax, so the state has to be accountable for its acts” is not an easy process of change. It concerns a variety of different factors, including human psychology, mentality and morality.

author: Danica Radisic


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What We Take With Us · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Photo on Flickr by user chamo estudio (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
From Tegucigalpa, capital city of Honduras, Madame Gumbeaux tells she will return to live in the United States in a few weeks, and lists what she will miss… and other things she won't:
I will miss….
1. the guy on the motorbike who rides through the ‘hood twice a day, selling his mom's fresh tortillas. What could be better than hot-off-the-grill tortillas sold by a cute guy on a bike?
[…]
3. the sound of children everywhere. Honduras is a young country. Children playing ball, walking to and from school, calling out to one another is a constant in this place.
4. the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables on sale on street corners and parked trucks all over the city and countryside.
[…]
I WON'T miss…..
[…]
4. the loud music pouring out of every neighborhood, church, market, etc at any given hour, day or night. It may make Hondurans dance, but I get cranky when I am confronted with amplified music day and night.
5. the slooowwww service in almost every restaurant, supermarket, or store. No one, I mean no one, is in a hurry here. It's just so against my cultural upbringing.


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These 7 Cases Prove That Online Activism is Under Siege in Saudi Arabia · Global Voices
Gulf Center for Human Rights

Raif Badawi campaign poster; photo of Waleed Abu Al-Khair, from Al-Khair's Twitter account.
In Saudi Arabia, the crackdown against online activists has risen to extremely worrying levels in recent months. Human rights defenders face threats and harassment, smear campaigns in the media, arbitrary detention, illegal imprisonment, torture and ill-treatment, and fabricated judicial proceedings. The Gulf Center for Human Rights is working to raise awareness about the following recent arbitrary legal measures taken against online activists in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is one of the few remaining absolute monarchies in the world and has a deeply concerning human rights record. The country's first criminal procedure code was introduced in 2001. After King Abdullah took the throne in 2005, a series of new laws were passed and implemented including the Anti-Cyber Crime Law and the Terror Crimes Act, both of which are now being used to target human rights defenders and online activists.
1. Human rights lawyer sentenced to 15 years in prison
On July 6, 2014, the Special Criminal Court in Jeddah sentenced prominent human rights lawyer Waleed Abu Al-Khair to 15 years in prison, with five years’ probation and a 15-year travel ban as well as a fine of 200,000 Saudi riyals (approximately US $53,300). He is founder and director of the organisation Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia (MHRSA) and has an active Twitter account (@WaleedAbulkhair) with over 76,000 followers.
The General Prosecutor for the first time submitted charges under the country's Anti-Cyber Crime Law. Multiple trumped up charges were brought against Al-Khair including “antagonizing international organisations against the kingdom” (referring to his engagement with international human rights mechanisms including the UN system), “incitement of public opinion against authorities”, “setting up and supervising an unlicensed association” referring to MHRSA, and “Preparing, storing and disseminating what would prejudice public order.”
In his initial hearing, authorities were ordered to shut down Waleed Abu Al-Khair’s websites and email accounts pursuant to article XIII of the legislation. Fortunately, this has not been carried out since his sentencing.
2. Iman Al-Qahtani: “Oh dear mother, I'll stop just for you. Goodbye!”
An experienced journalist, Iman Al-Qahtani worked at several newspapers in Riyadh. She has also written for the Guardian newspaper and attended the trial of the leaders of the Association of Civil and Political Rights (ACPRA). She has reported extensively on human rights activists in detention and has expressed solidarity with their families.
With over 73,000 followers on Twitter, she actively reported on human rights abuses and related stories in Saudi Arabia. Security forces threatened to harm her family members, including her mother, if she did not stop her human rights activities. Facing continuous harassment by authorities, Al-Qahtani stopped reporting online. She closed her account, hid her previous posts, and moved away from the public spotlight. Yet Saudi authorities continue to target her. On July 19, 2013, she was stopped by authorities at the Dammam airport and prevented from traveling to Istanbul.
3. “Saudi Liberals” forum founder sentenced to 10 years’ jail time, 1000 lashes
Raif Badawi campaign image by Amnesty International.
Raif Badawi is a human rights defender and the editor of “The Liberal Saudi Network,” a website he launched with fellow human rights activists including Suad Al-Shammari that sought to foster political and social debate in Saudi Arabia.
On July 29, 2013, the District Court in Jeddah had sentenced him to 7 years and 3 months imprisonment in addition to 600 lashes and ordered that the website be shut down. Among other allegations, Badawi was charged with setting up a website that had the word “liberal” in its name. On 7 May 2014, an appellate court re-sentenced Badawi to 10 years imprisonment, 1000 lashes, and a fine of one million Saudi riyals (US $266,600).
4. Saudi Association for Civil and Political Rights founders sentenced
Mohammed Al-Qahatani, a lawyer and co-founder of the Saudi Association for Civil and Political Rights (ACPRA), is currently serving a 10-year jail term to be followed by a 10-year travel ban. The UN has demanded that charges against him be dropped and that he be released.
Human rights defender and scholar Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid, also a co-founder of ACRPA and the Legitimate Rights Defense Committee, has been arrested and jailed on multiple occasions for his human rights work. In 2004, he was imprisoned and released two years later on clemency. In 2008, he served a six-month sentence in connection with his work.
In March 2013, Al-Hamid was sentenced at the Criminal Court in Riyadh to a total of 11 years in prison — five years based on 12 charges including allegedly “refusing to submit to the will of the king”, “incitement” and “communicating with foreign entities” and another six years for an outstanding sentence from 2004 from which he was technically pardoned. A travel ban of 11 years, to take effect upon his release, was also imposed. The charge of “communicating with foreign entities” refers, at least in part, to his engagement with the UN. In one particular hearing the presiding judge in the Criminal Court in Riyadh specifically accused him of informing the international community that there are 30,000 detainees in Saudi Arabia.
In detention he has been subjected to continuous harassment. He began a hunger strike on July 25, 2013 after which he was placed in solitary confinement. He has been denied access to his lawyer and was told by authorities that he must change lawyers.
5. Blogger charged with “writing articles against state security and publishing them online”
On April 17, 2014, the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh sentenced human rights defender and blogger Fadhel Al-Manasef to 15 years in jail, a 15-year travel ban to begin after his sentence, and a fine of 100,000 riyals (US $26,700) pursuant to Saudi Arabia's Anti-Cyber Crime Law.
Al-Manasef's lawyer reported that the sentencing was based on charges related to incitement and participation in protests, writing articles against state security and publishing them online, signing an anti-government petition and contacting foreign media outlets without authorization and taking reporters to protests and giving them harmful information concerning the Kingdom. He denies that he has committed any crime and is reportedly planning to appeal the verdict and sentence. He has been arrested in the past as a result of his human rights work.
6. Mokhlif Al-Shammari targeted for “attempting to discredit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”
Human rights defender and journalist Mikhlif Al-Shammari was also targeted as a result of his online and human rights activities. He faces charges that include communicating with suspicious organisations and attempting to discredit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the eyes of internal and external public opinion.
7. Speak out against abuses in Saudi
These are represent only a handful of activists and online speakers under threat within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Hundreds of other bloggers and activists who have used various social media websites to express their views have been imprisoned as a result. Some are kept in prison for years without any trial or knowing exactly the nature of the charges directed against them.
Human rights defenders and online activists reportedly are being detained together with convicted criminals in Beriman, Dhahban, Sha'ar, Al-Tarfiyah, Ulaysha and Al-Hayer prisons. The prisons are overcrowded and imprisoned human rights defenders complain of limited sleeping and living space, poor conditions of food, inadequate medical care, and other concerns of sanitation in the prison.
Despite the grave situation, the response from the international community and intergovernmental bodies such as the United Nations has been extremely disappointing. Little support has been given to protect human rights defenders and online activists in Saudi Arabia. The Gulf Center for Human Rights urges supporters to demand the attention of the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Mr. Frank La Rue, along with government leaders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Visit the Gulf Center action page to learn how you can support this work.

author: Gulf Center for Human Rights


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“About Separation” by Mariangel · Global Voices
Luis Flores

Image by Mitchell Joyce on flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).
Mariangel from the blog El Ovario shares her poem “About separation“, about the end of relationships:
DE LA SEPARACIÓN
Ahora que ya todo acabó
lo miro con su extraño caminar
con nuestras soledades a cuestas
dos cuerpos ahora tan extraños
ajenos y alejados
dos almas que un instante
se [sintieron] gemelas
ahora tan lejanas
Nos unieron nuestras soledades
nuestras minucias
solo fuimos dos que un día
no quisieron sentirse solos
y se quisieron
y vivieron juntos
para acallar el vacio
para silenciar las voces
para creer
ABOUT SEPARATION
Now that everything is over
I look at his unique way of walking
carrying our own solitudes
two bodies, now so strangers
distant and remote,
two souls that for an instant
[were] mates
now too apart.
Our solitudes brought us together
our trifles
we were only two that one day
didn't want to be alone
and they loved each other
and lived together
to quieten the void
to quieten the voices
to believe
You can read the rest of the poem on the original post in Spanish. On the blog there are more poems as well as essays and anecdotes, from a female point of view. You can also follow her on Twitter.

author: Luis Flores


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China: No More Cantonese Mother Tongue on Guangdong TV News · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Despite the strong public sentiment against the language policy that marginalizes the Cantonese mother tongue in Guangdong province, Guangdong TV quietly replaced Cantonese news broadcast with Putonghua. How do people from Guangdong react to the change? See Charles Liu's translation from Nanfang.com.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China Detains Star News Anchor Rui Chenggang Amid Widening Anti-Corruption Campaign · Global Voices
Owen Guo

CCTV host Rui Chenggang on wrong perceptions about China in 2014. Screen grab from YouTube
China’s prosecutors are investigating a prominent news anchor with the country's national broadcaster CCTV, in a case that has ignited a buzz on social media about the fate of the anchor and the width of an ongoing anti-corruption crackdown.
Rui Chenggang, a 36-year-old presenter at the financial channel CCTV 2, was taken away from his studio on July 11 just before going on air, along with the vice director of the network’s financial news and a producer, according to state media.
The investigation into the well-known TV personality came shortly after the state TV was caught in a dragnet of an intensifying anti-graft crusade, with a senior executive being investigated last month.
Rui, a bilingual host in English and Chinese, has 10 million followers on Sina Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. He started out as a host at CCTV’s English channel in 2003, and gradually rose to national prominence to become a celebrity-like figure who attends book signings packed with admirers and imparts his secrets to success in public speeches.
A profile in The New York Times in 2009 described the host as “young”, “smart”, and “deeply nationalistic.”
Indeed, Rui’s nationalistic tendency during interviews has been a hallmark of his career. In 2010, at the G20 meeting in Seoul, he defied U.S. President Obama’s call for questions from the Korean press and said: “I hate to disappoint you, President Obama, I am actually Chinese, but I think I get to represent the entire Asia.”
In 2011, at the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China, Rui asked the then American ambassador to China if his choice of flying in economy class was a reminder that the U.S. owes China money.
This interviewing style has won him supporters who speak of him as the face of China as it grows stronger economically, as well as detractors who think he is unprofessional and cocky.
Rui was also instrumental behind the exit of Starbucks from the historic Forbidden City in Beijing. He penned a blog article in 2007 titled “Starbucks, Please get out of the Forbidden City.”
“If there is anything that college students and my young audience can relate to in my story, it's that they can see their future in me, I am like them, educated in China…. the track of my growth is very typical of Chinese students,” he said of his success during a TV interview last year.
The anchor’s career trajectory has coincided with CCTV’s pledge to increase its influence overseas and hold its various news programs to higher standards. But as a state-controlled broadcaster, its popularity has been declining over the years.
Last month, state news agency Xinhua was also implicated in the broad anti-graft campaign. The country’s anti-corruption watchdog lashed out at the news agency and said some of its provincial bureau chiefs are “chief correspondents” and “chief salesmen” at the same time, a reference to widespread paid news at some localities.
It's not clear if Rui will be charged of any wrongdoings, but Chinese news portal Tencent reported that he once held shares in a public relations company which had been involved in CCTV 2's coverage of several Davos World Economic Forum meetings. The company was acquired by international public relations conglomerate Edelman Public Relations in 2007. Rui withdrew his shares in 2010.
Yi Hong, a professor of journalism at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, wrote on Sina Weibo:
这一度是央视最具创新力的频道，也曾经是中国电视娱乐节目的引领平台。如今……，从它的领导者更关注媒体以外的目标之后，偏离轨道似乎就成为一种宿命。希望，被动卷入者越少越好。
This was once CCTV's most innovative channel, also China's leading platform for China's entertaining programs. But now…. Ever since its leader focused on things outside its media functions, its deviation from the normal track has become destined. I hope there are less people involved in this.
A Beijing-based netizen called “CCTV” by the common mocking expression “CCAV”（AV stands for adult video):
终于开始收拾ccav啦！
The time has finally come to clean up CCAV!
Independent economist Kelisifu-jin was angry at the state broadcaster:
郭振玺进去了，芮成钢被检方带走了，这些个天天励志中国人如何爱国的央视污吏，自个却是祸国殃民的蛀虫，在全社会腐败大气候下，没有法治只有人治，人人需要超人抵抗力才可能于污泥而不染，即使没有能力腐败的平头百姓，在腐败肥沃的土壤里也会滋生腐败的欲望，在腐败广袤的大地上不要轻信任何励志者。
Guo Zhenxi was arrested, and Rui Chengang was taken away by the prosecutors. CCTV, the corrupt channel that preaches every day to teach Chinese how to be patriotic, turns out to be a corrupt worm that erodes our country. Under a social atmosphere that is corrupt and without rule of law, only rule by will, people need super power to stay clean, those who do not want to commit corruption will gradually have the desire to be corrupt. Do not believe in anyone who preaches using inspirational speeches in a widely corrupt environment.
Others, like Beibeibei Jueding Geiziji, showed their support:
从中学到现在，你给了我很多勇气和力量，是我的榜样。这么久了，请一直是！加油，相信会雨过天晴的
You gave me a lot of courage and strength since I was in middle school, you are my model. So many years have passed, please continue to be my model! Hang in there, I believe the sky will clear up after the rain.

author: Owen Guo


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In Love With a Porn Star? · Global Voices
Luis Flores

Psychologist and many blogs author Johanna Pérez Vásquez writes on her blog Sexo sin maquillaje (Sex without make up) about sex without worries, taboos nor prejudices. On this post, she raises a question Can a porn actor be in a platonic relationship with a woman?:
Una mujer puede elegir como amor platónico a un deportista para satisfacer, en su imaginación, la necesidad de tener a un compañero sexual con la vitalidad suficiente para hacer el amor durante horas […] Si una mujer, insatisfecha con el rumbo que lleva su vida sexual, ve una película en la que el protagonista jala el pelo, lame la vulva y chupa los dedos de los pies justo del modo en que a ella le gusta es muy probable que surja alguna conexión, una que quizás lleve a acciones que también se dan para expresar atracción hacia amores platónicos más “castos y limpios”.
A girl can choose to have a platonic relationship with an athlete to satissfy her imagination, the need of having a sexual partner with enough vitality to make love for hours […]. If a girl, unsatisfied with the way her sex life is going, watches a movie where the leading star puls the hair, licks the vulva and the toes just as she likes it, most likely there will be some kind of connection, one that may take to actions that also express attraction into more “chaste and pure” platonic relationships.
As each day more women freely accept they watch pornography, it's probably that in the future women may share their opinions about the actors on these films and even share videos via social networks.
You can follow Johanna on her blog, Twitter, Facebook and G+.


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Instagram as a Marketing Tool · Global Voices
Luis Flores

Instagram is no longer a photo app with cute filters. Image by Jonathan Chen on flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
Online marketing consultant Elena Leukona runs the blog El Club del Marketing where she “(helps) every small business owners that don't have a marketing department so they may understand the fast world of Internet”. On the latest entry, she shares her expert opinion about Instagram, the visual social network with increasing popularity, and how small businesses can use it to enlarge their company:
Instagram may not only be useful for big brands, but also for local businesses that may need to get in touch with a specific kind of client they could not be able to reach if not through this kind of social networks. This is a very visual tool that connects users with other users and with the brands through images and vídeos.