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Mistake in Nepalese Cricket Team’s Jersey Dampens Fans’ Spirits · Global Voices
Sanjib Chaudhary

Young Nepali cricket fans raise the national flag to celebrate their surprise qualification for the Twenty20 World Cup final in 2014. Image by Manish Paudel, Copyright Demotix (28/11/2013)
While the national cricket team is hopeful of a respectable position in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup cricket being held in Bangladesh this month, Nepalese are enthusiastic about the celebrations of their first ever participation in the World Cup.
The national team’s jersey was unveiled on March 2, 2014 by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) and Singapore’s multinational sports company BS Sports which is sponsoring the kit. The World T20 will be the first assignment in the newly sponsored kit.
Flag-day celebrations
Just a day after the unveiling ceremony, renowned personalities from various walks of life joined hands to paint Nepal blue by wearing the national team jersey as a flag-day celebration on match days. The flag-day is a global concept which is celebrated to mark historical events. Nepal will play their first match against Hong Kong on 16 March, with Bangladesh on 18 and Afghanistan on 20 March.
Non-resident Blogger and YouTuber Lexlimbu tweeted:
Sahana Bajracharya wears the new Nepali cricket team jersey! Will you #WearTheSpirit ?? http://t.co/WsbkIRYykq #Nepal pic.twitter.com/mh5texOJzX
— lexlimbu (@lexlimbu) March 5, 2014
Among the celebrities joining hands in the campaign veteran comedy actor Hari Bansha Acharya expressed solidarity in his own style. “I will not wear it on match days only. I will wear it before the game and sleep wearing it so that I could get the glimpse of our cricket team winning in dreams,” said Acharya.
A YouTube video of the comedian duo Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya speaking about the flag-day celebrations:
A dent in the plans
As the Nepalese are eagerly waiting for the moment when their team will take on the giants of cricket this March, a silly mistake in the jersey design is poised to play spoilsport. Instead of the blue border of the Nepalese flag, the design dons a white border.
Bikash Karki, Photojournalist with Nagarik daily tweeted:
एउटा बिदेशी कंम्पनीले बनाको राष्ट्रिय जर्सीमा झण्डाको किनाराको रङ्ग फेरिदानि मौनछन् निहो फागुन होकी भदौ हो अहिले 2/2 pic.twitter.com/QLmkGNqUnF
— Bikash karki (@karki2006) March 4, 2014
There is silence even when the border of the national flag has been altered in the national jersey produced by a foreign company.  Is it Fagun (February – March) or Bhadau (August – September)?
Some have taken it as a national issue and related it to patriotism.
Somesh Verma, journalist with Republica daily tweeted:
राष्ट्रियतामाअर्कोप्रहार… नेपालीक्रिकेटटोलीकोजर्सीमाझण्डाकोरंगफेरियो… विदेशीशक्तिकोहातभएकोआशंका… देशभक्तनेपालीएकहौं…
— Love Guru (@SomeshVerma) March 4, 2014
Another blow to nationalism. The colour of the flag in the national cricket team’s jersey has been changed. Signs of foreign involvement. Patriotic Nepalis – let’s unite.
Though there is a huge hue and cry about the issue in the social media, some take it as a mere design adjustment.
Sandeep tweeted:
योझण्डाकोघेरासेतोभन्नेत्यतिठुलोइस्युहुनुपर्नेजस्तोलागेन! लोगोडिजाइनहो, एस्थेटिकरिजनभन्नेपनिहुन्छ | :))
— सन्दीप (@sndpbdl) March 4, 2014
The white border of the flag doesn’t seem to be that big a issue. It’s logo design. There’s some aesthetic reason as well.
However, people are demanding that the colour of the national flag in the national team’s jersey be corected.
Prenit Pokhrel tweeted:
@anantabrtझण्डाकोरंगतुरून्तसच्चाइयोस
— prenitpokhrel (@PrenitPokhrel) March 4, 2014
Correct the colour of the flag immediately.
Pawan Acharya, Chief of News, Radio Kantipur tweeted:
नीलोजर्सीमानीलोरंगसुहाउँदैनभन्नेहरुलेएकपटकयोफोटोपनिहेर्नेकि ?pic.twitter.com/BAOdfivWBA
— pawanacharya (@acharyapawan) March 4, 2014
Those who say blue doesn’t fit well in the blue jersey – have a look at this photo.
The designers, the approval authorities and the kit providers should have taken care to not play with the national colours. Now it is their responsibility to correct the mistake and save spoiling the spirit of the great event and enthusiasm of Nepalese supporters.


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Mother Russia, Jump the Gun · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

A column of unarmed Ukrainian soldiers confronts a militia checkpoint in the Crimea.
For all its post-Soviet struggles, the Russian military machine remains one of the most formidable fighting forces around. With that in mind, imagine how hopelessly outgunned Ukrainian soldiers now find themselves in the Crimea, where armed militia choke the roads and airports with checkpoints. Presumably equipped (and frequently staffed) by the Russian military, militias in the Crimea have bottled up and blocked out Ukrainian soldiers in bases, from airports, and elsewhere.
On March 4, 2014, a column of about fifty unarmed Ukrainian air force troops marched on Belbek Airport in Sevastopol, trying to reclaim their base. On the way, the soldiers encountered a group of militia, who fired warning shots into the air, ordering the column to a halt. After tense negotiations, the militia agreed to allow ten of the Ukrainian soldiers past the checkpoint, into the airport.
The unarmed march of soldiers naturally attracted the attention of many Internet users, who celebrated the display of courage and nonviolence. Indeed, despite getting just 1/5 of its total group through the road block, Ukrainian news sites ran headlines like “A March Under Bullets: Unarmed Ukrainian Soldiers Restore Control Over Belbek Airport.”
A column of unarmed Ukrainian soldiers pauses as its commander consults on the phone.
Russian Facebook-users interpreted the incident as a disproof of mass defections supposedly sweeping the Ukrainian military (which authorities in Crimea's autonomous government have tried to inflate in the last week). Journalist Ilya Barabanov, writing from Sevastopol, posted [ru] on Facebook that similar confrontations between determined Ukrainian troops and clumsy militia have occurred throughout the Crimea. “What son of a bitch,” Barabanov asked in disbelief, “told Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] that 22 thousand Crimea-based soldiers supposedly switched sides to the Crimean government?”
In a YouTube video (see below) posted by Andrei Borisenko (republishing footage from Ukrainian television), it's possible to view roughly three minutes of the standoff and negotiations today in Sevastopol. While the confrontation happened basically as journalists have reported, the YouTube clip (around 2:18) contains comments by one of the militiamen (the most jittery of the bunch), who exclaims to the Ukrainian soldiers, “I'm also from here,” explaining his actions as a response to “provocations.” He goes on to say, “two weeks ago, I was standing [against provocations] with just a stick,” implying that he is ex-Berkut.
The presence of former Berkut police officers in the Crimean self-defense forces makes sense. Roughly a week ago, Ukraine's new government in Kiev liquidated [ru] the Berkut—the special forces who battled protesters in Ukraine's capital for months during the recent revolution. Many Berkut officers returning (or fleeing) to eastern Ukraine, however, received a hero's welcome. Moreover, no sooner than their outfit was dismantled did Russian and Crimean authorities begin courting [ru] ex-Berkut.
If the YouTube video from Belbek Airport today is any indication, the Berkut's veterans of Maidan are more than eager to show what they can do with automatic weapons and Russian troops at their side.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Pascal Simbikangwa, Prime Accused in the Rwandan Genocide, Goes on Trial in France · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

It has taken 20 years of tireless efforts to bring the Rwandan genocidists before a French court. Outside Rwanda, many trials have taken place in various foreign countries, particularly in Europe. But in France, none of those suspected of being involved in the genocide have been brought before the courts until now. But since 4th February, 2014, for the first time in 20 years, a Rwandan is being tried in France. Captain Pascal Simbikangwa is accused of playing an active role in the massacres that resulted in the death of approximately 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus between April and July 1994. Doubts remain about the role that France may have played during the civil conflict [fr].
The following video [fr] summarizes civil society's efforts to bring genocidists before the court. The video explains that beside tracking the evidence,  it has also been a challenge for civil society to cut through the multiple administrative red tapes to have the accused stand trial in France:
There are many serious charges against Captain Pascal Simbikangwa. J. Doll, a French Foreign Affairs reporter,  points them out in a blog [fr] for youmag.com:
Pascal Simbikangwa, paraplégique et qui comparaîtra en fauteuil roulant, est jugé pour complicité de génocide et de crimes contre l'humanité : l'ancien officier de 54 ans est accusé d'avoir incité, organisé et aidé, notamment en organisant des barrages et en armant les miliciens qui les tenaient, les massacres qui firent quelque 800.000 morts en 100 jours, entre avril et juillet 1994, …..
Pascal Simbikangwa- Public domain
The appearance of the former Captain Pascal Simbikangwa who served in the Rwandan army in 1994, before the French court is largely due to the NGO, le Collectif des Parties Civiles pour le Rwanda (CPCR) [fr], led by its président, Alain Gauthier and his wife. He had agreed [fr] to answer Global Voices’ questions in 2013. Even though he is highly sought after by many journalists and other media, Gauthier updates the CPCR website daily with detailed information on each hearing day.
Many witnesses who held responsible positions or who were part of the army and militias during the genocide, are reluctant to testify against the former captain. However, some witnesses have confirmed the accusations against Simbikangwa. On February 19, 2014, this was the case for Sam Gody Nshimiyimana [fr], who was the editor of Kiberinka (Soleil couchant) in 1992. He was one of the few journalists to openly criticize President Juvénal Habyarimana's dictatorial regime. Some of his articles [fr] and editorials [fr] are part of the archives on the genocide, which are kept at the Centre de Formation et de Recherche Coopératives (IWACU), a non-governmental organization that promotes and brings in cooperatives and associations to Nyakabanda in Kigali. The journalist, who was called to testify, tells the court about the torture against him in a blog published [fr] on the CPCR website:
Pour avoir publié un article qui déplaisait à monsieur Simbikangwa et au régime, il va subir la torture, et de la part de Simbikangwa et de celle de ses acolytes. L’épreuve va durer quatre jours au cours desquels il va se faire frapper sur les pieds après qu’on lui eut bandé les yeux d’un bandeau imprégné de piment. Simbikangwa en personne est accusé d’avoir frappé le témoin avec un fer à béton.
Esq. Eric Gillet, a lawyer at the Brussels Bar, appeared as a main witness. In a blog post published on proces-genocide-rwanda.fr, Stéphanie Monsénégo wrote [fr]:
Avocat au barreau de Bruxelles depuis la fin des années 70, Eric GILLET avait un “long passé droits de l’Homme” quand la guerre a éclaté au Rwanda en 1990.
Ancien président d’Amnesty International en Belgique, c’est avec la FIDH Paris qu’Eric GILLET mènera ses premières enquêtes au Rwanda, d’abord pour défendre des journalistes, puis pour informer l’opinion publique internationale sur le massacre des Bagogwe, une petite communauté Tutsi du Nord Ouest du Rwanda, massacrée en janvier 1991 en représailles de l’attaque de la prison de Ruhengeri par le FPR.
Eric GILLET, a lawyer at the Brussels Bar since the late 1970s, has a “long history in human rights” (advocacy) since the time the war broke out in Rwanda in 1990.
Eric GILLET, former president of Amnesty International in Belgium, will conduct his initial investigations in Rwanda with FIDH Paris—first, to defend journalists and then to inform the international community about the massacre of the Bagogwes, a small Tutsi community northwest of Rwanda that was murdered in January in retaliation for RPF's attack on Ruhengeri's prison.
His testimony sheds light on the presidency's inner circle of kin. After completing a mission in that country, he published a report [fr]:
en mars 1993 dans lequel on parle de “l’Akazu”, une nébuleuse de gens qui ont confisqué le pouvoir, les ressources, les banques. Les membres de cette “organisation” appartenaient pour la plupart au cercle de la famille présidentielle auquel s’agrégeaient des militaires. En 1993, les membres de la commission ont entendu parler entre autres de Pascal Simbikangwa comme étant associé aux escadrons de la mort. Il serait connu pour avoir torturé des journalistes.
It's in March 1993, wherein we speak of “the Akazu,” a group of people who seized power, resources and banks. The members of this “organization” mainly belonged to the president's family circle that recruited soldiers. In 1993, the members of the commission heard from others that Pascal Simbikangwa [fr] was associated with death squads. He would be known for having tortured journalists.
The accused man's sarcastic comments surprised many people in the audience [fr]:
Lorsque Domitille Philippart, une des avocats du CPCR, lui demande si la date du 2 février lui dit quelque chose, il répond par la négative. “C’est la journée des Justes au Rwanda”, précise-t-elle. “Ah bon! je ne savais pas. Ca fait 20 ans que je n’y ai pas mis les pieds. Mais est-ce que je suis sur la liste? »
Eclats de rire dans la salle. L’audience est suspendue jusqu’au lendemain.
When Domitille Philippart, a CPCR [fr] lawyer, asked him whether the date of February 2 means anything to him, he answered no. “It's a day of justice in Rwanda,” she says. “Oh, I didn't know. I haven't stepped foot there in 20 years. But am I on the list?” Simbikangwa answers.
After Belgium, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany, France is also having its first trial of someone who is facing serious charges. But, because there is a controversial role attributed to French soldiers in this tragedy, it is highly possible that other people suspected of having been involved in the genocide are still at large in France. Will we also see them in court one day?

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Quran Desecration Sparks Trouble in Mauritania · Global Voices
أحمد جدو

The Mauritanian capital Nouakchott witnessed violent clashes [en] between security forces and an angry crowd. The story is that anonymous people tore up the Quran, the holy book of Islam, in one of the city's mosques. As a result of this confrontation, one person was killed [en] various people were injured and traffic was blocked in many parts of Nouakchott. The clashes happened on March 3.
Commenting the incident, blogger Abbas Braham urged his Facebook friends to be cautious and not fall in the trap of extremism (no matter what it is) [ar]:
حادثة “تدنيس”* المصاحف اليوم في العاصمة نواكشوط هي حالة تستدعي الانتباه والحذر. فلقد أصبح واضحاً أن التطرف القداسي والتطرف التدنيسي يغذيان بعضهما. وفي كل مرة نتعرض نحن في الوسط من المؤمنين باحترام المقدسات و/أو باحترام الحريات والحقوق لنيرانهما.
Today's  Koran”desecration”incident in the Capital Nouakchott is a case that raises concern and caution. It is now clear that both sacred extremism and desecration are feeding each another. And each time, it us — those are in the middle (when it comes to respecting sacredness and/or freedom and rights) — who the suffer the fires (lashes) from both parts.

author: أحمد جدو


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Tajik Human Rights Activist Named a Woman of Courage · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Michelle Obama Embraces Oinikhol Bobonazarova. State Department photo, part of public domain.
Oinikhol Bobonazarova, a prominent Tajik human rights activist, has won the International Women of Courage Award. She was named a “Woman of Courage” and felicitated by United States First Lady Michelle Obama in Washington, DC, on March 4.
In the video above, Michelle Obama congratulates Bobonazarova [from 0:18], while a Deputy Secretary of State lists her achievements:
Since the Tajik civil war ended in 1997, Oinikhol Bobonazarova has worked tirelessly to draw attention to women’s rights, torture in detention centers, and the plight of Tajik migrant laborers. In September 2013, Ms. Bobonazarova became the first ever female candidate for President of Tajikistan when the only Islamic political party in Central Asia nominated her as its standard bearer. Despite an unsuccessful bid, her nomination shattered one of the highest of glass ceilings and set an important precedent for women in politics. In the time since, she has continued to speak out against torture and has been instrumental in working to establish the first independent prison monitoring program since prisons were closed to outside access in 2004. For fearlessly advocating the rights of women and labor migrants and fighting to end torture in Tajik detention centers, we name Oinikhol Bobonazarova a Woman of Courage.
The immediate online reaction to Bobonazarova's award was one of celebration.
#Tajikistan‘s Bobonazarova,a rights activist & prez contender,among 2014 International Women of Courage Award Winners http://t.co/UfpG7a7Uin
— eTajikistan (@eTajikistan) March 4, 2014
Wow: @StateDept gives “Woman of Courage” award to Tajikistan opposition politician Oinikhol Bobonazarova. http://t.co/RvQetthMAm
— Joshua Kucera (@joshuakucera) March 4, 2014
Well-deserved! RT @Navbahor #Oinikhol Bobonazarova-only genuine #Tajik opp'n pres. candidate-named “Woman of Courage” http://t.co/rOfkwDdWWE
— Steve Swerdlow (@steveswerdlow) March 5, 2014
Congratulations from all @UKinTajikistan to Oinikhol Bobonazarova on winning US 2014 Woman of Courage award #inspirational
— Robin Ord-Smith (@RobinOrdSmith) March 5, 2014
Oynihol Bobonazarova, a Tajik human rights activist, won International Women of Courage award. Fully Deserved. pic.twitter.com/KF2Q0J9tCd
— Bejan Mahmud (@BejanMahmud) March 5, 2014
Proud of #Tajik #woman like Oynihol Bobonazarova. Hope to see more #Tajk #brave #women on this list. http://t.co/uJXwTM9nfp
— Anahita Saymidinova (@missanahita) March 5, 2014
Она заслужила эту премию! “Ойнихол Бобоназарова получила премию госдепа от Мишель Обамы” http://t.co/RQTNMjoj3P
— Томирис (@tomiristj) March 5, 2014
She deserves the award! “Oinikhol Bobonazarova Receives a Department of State Report from Michelle Obama” http://t.co/RQTNMjoj3P
Tajikistan's most courageous woman Oynikhol Bobonazarova gets an International Women of Courage Award http://t.co/XGrlJLLdwh
— Iskandar Yunus (@iskandariyunus) March 5, 2014
Табрикоти самими ба хонум Ойнихол Бобоназарова!
— Nazar (@nazar_kholik) March 5, 2014
My sincere congratulations to Oinikhol Bobonazarova!
Known mostly for her human rights activism, Bobonazarova entered the political scene in September 2013 when a coalition of opposition parties nominated her as their candidate for president. The nomination was met with both praise and criticism among social media users in Tajikistan. Despite the support from the country's two main opposition parties, Bobonazarova failed to collect enough signatures to enter the presidential race officially. She put the blame on the government, announcing that the “whole state machine” had been mobilized to prevent her from running against the country's veteran president Emomali Rahmon.
The US Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award was established in 2007. The award “honors women around the globe who have exemplified exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for human rights, women’s equality, and social progress, often at great personal risk”. Bobonazarova is the first Tajik woman to receive the award.

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Trinidad & Tobago Carnival in Danger?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

This year's Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is practically over, but it has inspired a slew of blog posts – some explaining various aspects of the celebrations, but others lamenting the state of the festival.
Tony Deyal, writing at Abeng News Magazine, described it like this:
I am in Trinidad. It is hot and dry. The roads are crowded. The murder rate is high. The nights are noisy. It is a silly season beyond reason, adequate description and financial sanity. It is Carnival time.
The rest of his post was mostly a recollection of the “Old Time Carnival” of his childhood, but even amidst the revelry, he noted:
What struck me was that there was always an undercurrent of violence- perhaps because the majority of the people worked in the cane-fields, made their living with cutlasses and spent most of their recreation time in the rum shops. It was the way disputes were settled and started.
Photo of a Jab Molassie by Quinten Questel; used under a CC license.
Back in the present day, Mark Lyndersay, via a series of thoughtful posts, contemplated the challenges facing “Carnival's leadership”.  Naturally, he consulted “people whose work [he] enjoy[s] and who also have both opinions on and skin in the festival”.  His experts included Leslie-Ann Boisselle, a ten-time queen of Carnival contestant who suggested that calypso should be taken out of Dimanche Gras:
‘Leave the kings and queens for Dimanche Gras because tourists don't understand the calypso but the visual medium of the mas resonates with them.’
She believes that both shows, a calypso final and a costume based Dimanche Gras could be ‘tight, well coordinated productions, professionally produced…make it something that could be filmed and marketed for sale, something that could be run on international tv as a two-hour special.’
“Carnival Queen”; photo by Quinten Questel, used under a CC license.
Kenwyn Murray, part-time lecturer at the University of the West Indies Carnival Studies Unit, thought that there should be more training in the Carnival arts:
‘What we admire about the mas of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s is what we forget about it. They came out of yards, where there was informal training going on.  The event has moved out of ritualistic expression to a larger commercial activity. There has been unchecked growth and people have been participating in an ad hoc way, based on what they know and what they can rely on.  Training in the industry needs to be looked at deliberately.’
To help meet meet the need, the university is now offering a Practitioners Certificate in the Carnival Arts.
“Future bat head” part of the Cat in Bag Productions 2014 Carnival presentation and an example of the skill of wire bending; photo by Georgia Popplewell, used under a CC license.
Blogger BC Pires had an interesting perspective:
‘I'd axe out VIP sections of anything, including declaring all-inclusive mas bands illegal.  If we keep turning what used to be something that brought us all together into the main device for separating us, it will end in bloodshed on the streets, and not the one or two choppings or stabbings we have now.  There will be an eruption of violence that will make the steelband clashes of old look like primary school recess lock neck. We will all be playing casualty.
No, put that change as two. The first firetrucking thing I'd do is force music systems and bands to keep their volumes to a healthy level.  NOTHING is ruining Carnival now more than the earsplitting volume of the music, it's like being beaten up.’
In another post, Lyndersay addressed “the geography of Carnival” by itemizing all the controversies that took place this year with regard to parade routes:
The road, this Carnival makes clear, is no longer made to walk as Lord Kitchener sang.
It’s now an event management challenge that must be planned and curated with immaculate clarity if everyone who hopes to enjoy Carnival is to have their space.
The country’s largest annual festival is being convened along roadways that no longer meet the needs of the vehicular traffic they were originally designed for, so it’s no surprise that they are also inadequate to meet the surge in Carnival Tuesday foot traffic.
The tweaks and adjustments that have sought to meet the growth of the festival amount to little more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
The good ship Carnival is listing badly and there seems to be a dearth of either creative or sensible thinking about how to address the problem.
He continued:
It’s been more than 60 years since the administration of Carnival came under the oversight of the State, and this premier event has attracted increased taxpayer funding even as the planning invested in its long term development has withered.
In that time, calypso has become a ward of the state, the steelband is in desperate decline and design has been balkanized into traditional and fun silos, neither of which has advanced the design of Carnival over the last two decades.
Carnival needs better analysis, better management and better organization.
The continuing wonder, that the event is so exciting…and so much fun should not cloud the thinking of the festival’s leadership.
It’s time to seriously examine the issues and make hard decisions about the festival itself that separate history, tradition and sentiment from reality.
Carnival is creatively reinvented from the ground up each year, but there is no reason that its infrastructure and organization should follow that model.
Of course, there are exceptions to the rule: small, creative Carnival bands springing up and bringing together the best of art, design and social commentary, all in a fun package.
“‘Miss Miles’ setting up”; an example of one of the small bands that blends creative design with social commentary;  photo by Georgia Popplewell, used under a CC license.
Finally, Lyndersay wondered about “how tissue thin the difference between modern soca and European dance music has become” and why local music just can't seem to break through internationally:
It’s not the only spot in the Carnival landscape where international breakthroughs seem imminent, and it also isn’t the first instance of the type of creative osmosis that’s brought the festival to international attention.
From Who let the dogs out to Minshall’s command performances for the Olympics, to the impact of Differentology on international music charts, the products, aesthetic and creative potential of Carnival always seem just on the verge of being a big thing, before retreating determinedly to the safety of the parochial.
What is it about T&T that brings us global attention, as calypso did in the 1940’s and 50’s, only to lose momentum?
In his estimation, “a misunderstanding of roles is a big part of it”:
The State really needs to decide whether it is an investor in Carnival or its sponsor. When Carnival stakeholders begin to gripe about the lavish freeness expected by representatives of the State during events, perhaps it’s time to admit that you’re a sponsor, and a loutish one at that.
Yet the conversation about Carnival is always about investment and returns and earnings, business terms that mean nothing when more than $200 million can be ploughed into the annual festival with no expectation of serious accountability for spending on that scale.
An investor considers a plan, puts money behind it and expects accurate reporting on the progress of the business.
A sponsor buys into a brand in the hopes of leveraging their own fortunes, their return comes in winning attention.
The state needs to decide which it is and stop trying to be the worst of both.
Similarly, the NCC [National Carnival Commission] really needs to decide exactly what it is, because it’s acting like the serf of the stakeholders instead of the convenor of Carnival.
He summarized the state of Carnival by saying:
Tomorrow, on Ash Wednesday, there will be much celebratory backpatting on the success of another edition of the festival.
This will happen regardless of the conspicuous failures of so many State sponsored events to galvanise public interest or to contribute to the formation of anything that might resemble a sustainable Carnival economy.
Next up is Lent, when the literal eating of fish will accelerate, despite another year’s lost opportunity during Carnival to meaningfully engage the metaphor of making fishers of men.
The images of the Future bat head and “Miss Miles” setting up are by Georgia Popplewell, used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Tunisia: Pardoned Facebook User Released From Jail · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

Jabeur Mejri, jailed for posting Prophet Muhammad cartoons on Facebook, was freed yesterday [March, 4].
In a statement, Mejri's support committee announced [fr] his release last night:
Détenu depuis deux années pour s’être exprimé, Jabeur Mejri a été libéré.
Le premier prisonnier d’opinion de Tunisie depuis les évènements de janvier 2011, a été libéré ce soir.
Detained since two years for expressing himself, Jabeur Mejri has been released. The first prisoner of conscience in Tunisia since the events of January 2011 [ouster of former dictator Zeine en Abidin Ben Ali], has been released tonight
A #freejabeur protest in the capital Tunis on September , 2013
Mejri has been in jail since March 2012. He was convicted to seven and half years in prison for publishing content “liable to cause harm to public order and morality”, “insulting others through public communication networks” and “assaulting public morals”.
On February 19, the president's office announced a pardon for Mejri. However, to the surprise of his supporters, an “embezzlement of funds” case dating back to July, 2011, kept the 30 year-old man in prison. Under this case, Mejri is accused of stealing around 1600 Tunisian Dinars worth of metro tickets when he was working at a railways company.
However, an arrest warrant was only issued in late January, 2014, a couple of weeks before the announcement of his pardon.
His support committee described the revival of the 2011 case as “judicial harassment”[fr]:
Si cette mise en liberté est une nouvelle de première importance, et une victoire pour l’ensemble des défenseurs de la Liberté de conscience et la liberté d’expression, le Comité de soutien restera actif tant que l’ensemble des charges retenues contre Jabeur Mejri seront maintenues, et tant que Jabeur Mejri n’aura pas été réhabilité.
Nous ne manquerons pas de communiquer et d’informer sur cette seconde affaire qui n’a eu d’autres objectifs que de maintenir Jabeur Mejri en prison en dépit de la grâce présidentielle.
Though this release represents news of great importance and a victory for all supporters of freedom of conscience and free speech, the support committee will remain active as long as all charges [embezzlement of funds] against Jabeur Mejri are not dismissed and as long as he is not rehabilitated. We will not miss to communicate updates on this second case, which only had as an objective keeping Jabeur Mejri in prison, despite the presidential pardon

author: Afef Abrougui


text:
Ukraine’s Activists Debunk Russian Myths on Crimea · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

A composite image created by activists showing the same event in Crimea from two vantage points, to stress how different frames can be applied to news. Courtesy of Euromaidan PR on Twitter.
As tensions escalate with Ukraine accusing Russia of invading its autonomous southern region Crimea, Ukrainian activists are busy debunking false news in Russian media by sifting fact from propaganda online.
Social network users on both sides have weighed in on the conflict, and have been active in commenting, posting videos of protests and expressing themselves through memes. In response, social media sites such as Russia's VK (VKontakte) network, the most active social network in Europe, have been blocking some protest-related Ukrainian groups, making them unavailable for those with Russian IP addresses.
Mainstream media in Russia, however, have been especially ardent at competing for people's attention and defending the actions of the Russian government, attempting to present a very specific picture of events in Ukraine. In turn, Ukrainian Internet users and journalists have attempted to combat the flood of misinformation by creating fact-checking initiatives.
The state-controlled media in Russia, which have previously attempted to downplay the scale of Ukrainian protests during the days of Euromaidan, have gone “into full fabrication mode”, a recent Daily Beast article said.
Fake guerrilla video debunked
Examples of what that entails included orchestrating skirmishes between “masked guerrillas” and Russian troops, which appeared in a video called “The Right Sector from the Western Ukraine attacking peaceful Russian citizens and killing soldiers in Crimea.” This video was quickly debunked by Live Journal blogger Raymond Saint, who pointed to multiple signs of a set-up, such as Russian arms carried by the “guerrillas” and Crimean license plates of the buses allegedly “from Western Ukraine”.
Kviv clashes depicted as Crimea clashes
One of the state-run TV stations, Russia 24 news, reportedly used footage from violent clashes in Kyiv before Yanukovych was ousted to illustrate alleged street clashes between police and protesters in the Crimean capital of Simferopol the day before troops began arriving, ostensibly to justify the invasion. Vesti.ru, a news website, also used images from Kyiv and was found out by the activists of Civic Sector of Euromaidan:
Twitter user ВьОля Ласивна also posted a screen-shot of the footage and fact-checked it in the caption:
#CrimeaInvasion #Ukraine #SaveUkraine http://t.co/yvNkX4E5lL RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA
— ВьОля Ласивна (@temno4ka) March 3, 2014
Polish border or Russian border?
On Sunday, Russian state-owned Channel 1 ran reports that around 140,000 Ukrainians had fled over the border in the past two weeks seeking refuge from the alleged crisis in the South-East of Ukraine. But Internet users, including Laura Mills, the Associated Press Moscow correspondent, quickly picked up on the fact that the footage in the report actually showed a busy Polish-Ukrainian border crossing.
Russian TV shows cars queuing to “flee East Ukraine to Russia,” is ACTUALLY average day on Polish border town Shegini pic.twitter.com/LwtTcxM2jY
— Laura Mills (@lauraphylmills) March 2, 2014
Whoops, did I tweet that?
Some of the attempts at manipulation on the Russian side were particularly amusing to many, like this screenshot of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry Twitter account, which mistakenly posted some internal correspondence with a request “to approve the competent analysis” of German news outlet Spiegel. Blogger Alisa Ruban captured the mishap on Facebook:
Debunking with StopFake
Spurred by the sheer volume of misinformation and deceit in the Russian mass media, Ukrainian journalists and activists also worked in more organized ways to counter fake news and help Ukrainians and Russians fact-check their news. Liga.Net, a top Ukrainian online news outlet, put together a listicle of the top five myths circulated in the Russian media about the situation in Ukraine [in Russian].
A group of journalists and alumni of Mohyla Journalism School in Kyiv rallied together to create a one-stop website, StopFake, to curate, debunk and translate the most egregious fakes and misinformation from the Russian media. One of the protest accounts, Euromaidan, linked to one of the StopFake stories, which exposed the Russian ITAR-TASS agency distorting the statement of US Secretary of State John Kerry:
ИТАР-ТАСС поймали на лжи о Керри. (как всегда) http://t.co/NfIM7TdUGX
— ЄВРОМАЙДАН (@euromaidan) March 3, 2014
ITAR-TASS caught lying about Kerry. (as always) http://t.co/NfIM7TdUGX
The website was so popular that it experienced frequent downtimes due to massive amounts of visits and, in the last few days, according to MSJ Director Yevhen Fedchenko, suffered multiple DDoS attacks:
#crimea during last 24 h our newly created http://t.co/DBwr1Ixwru is under constant heavy ddos attack -17mln applications(100 every second)
— Yevhen Fedchenko (@yevhenfedchenko) March 3, 2014
The work StopFake is doing has even won praise from some Russian internet users, like Moscow activist Maxim Katz, who seemed happy that the lies were being exposed:
Очень приятно наблюдать, как Украинцы ловят на лжи нашу пропаганду и последовательно это доказывают. Тут, например http://t.co/2bGegcPSOm
— Максим Кац (@max_katz) March 3, 2014
It's very satisfying to observe Ukrainians catching our propaganda and lies and consistently proving them to be such. Like here http://t.co/2bGegcPSOm
Fact-checking with FakeControl
Yet another fact-checking initiative, the founders of which prefer to remain anonymous, is FakeControl, which is also very active on Twitter (@FakeControl). They work in the same format, but only in Russian and Ukrainian, debunking fake news and investigating rumors from social networks. Here, they debunk a new story on the Russian English-language channel Russia Today alleging that Ukraine has introduced criminal punishment for double citizenship:
Russia Today наврали сегодня про закон о двойном гражданстве. Бывает! http://t.co/XNChC9kTvA
— Фейк Контроль (@fakecontrol_org) March 3, 2014
Russia Today lied today about a [new] law on double citizenship. It happens! http://t.co/XNChC9kTvA
Both StopFake and FakeControl also use their Facebook pages (StopFake on FB, FakeControl on FB) to solicit cases from Internet users and gather evidence for their fact-checking efforts, turning it into a genuinely crowd-sourced process.

author: Tanya Lokot


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Unofficial Soundtrack to Venezuela’s Protests: La Vida Boheme · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

La Vida Boheme (via Discos Caracas)
This video report by April Peavey for The World originally appeared on PRI.org on March 4, 2014 and is republished as part of a content sharing agreement.
What began as student protests in Venezuela turned large and violent in the last few weeks. Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets all over the country, protesting soaring murder rates, crippling inflation and the scarcity of essential goods. Amidst this turmoil, the music of the Venezuelan rock band La Vida Boheme has surged in popularity, becoming the unofficial soundtrack to the protests.
The band’s Grammy Award-winning album Será came out nearly a year ago — several weeks after the death of former president Hugo Chávez — and long before the recent protests. Yet the music has struck a chord with Venezuelans now out in the streets. One song in particular, “Aún” (“Still”), has become a sort of anthem for the movement:
Ya cansadas mis piernas de tanto caminar
He dejado la sierra para no volver más
Las rodillas me tiemblan pero no puedo parar
Quiero que mis hijos tengan lo que a mí me quisieron quitar
Now my legs are tired from walking
I have left the mountains to never return again
My knees are trembling but I cannot stop
I want my children to have what they took from me
“A lot of things that are captured in Será is the despair that we are living here, a country that has so many deaths,” says lead singer and songwriter Henry D’Arthenay. Over 24,000 violent deaths last year, he says.
“Most of the people that are connecting with Será as an album, they are connecting with that sense that there is something very, very wrong with our country. And it is something that we want to fix. We don't want to grow old in a country where you are afraid all the time to go outside and be kidnapped.”
La Vida Boheme has not been immune to the violence. Its manager and tour manager have been kidnapped and its booking agent was murdered. D'Arthenay says nearly everyone in Venezuela has touched by the violence.
“The violence transcends party politics,” he says. “And most of the protestors, aside from being angry at the government, drink from the angst of living in such a hostile environment with so many odds against you.”
Like many in Caracas, D’Arthenay is staying in his house as much as possible for safety. He has been voicing his opposition to the government’s violence against protesters on Twitter, and working to find hope. “I do believe that this will come to a positive, non-violent outcome. We have to build a country where each and everyone has a chance to realize themselves as human beings.”
Young Venezuelans have been sharing La Vida Boheme’s lyrics on social media. When messages of inequality and injustice reach the masses via social media, D'Arthenay says, “it makes people feel more a part of the human race and less of one country, one nationality.”
This story includes material from “The Soundtrack to Venezuela's Student Protests,” which aired on Studio 360, PRI's weekly program on pop culture, design and the arts.
Links

author: PRI/PRX's The World


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Attack Leaves Three Turkmen Border Guards Killed. But Who Killed Them? · Global Voices
Anna Fergana

On February 26, 2014, a group of Afghanistan-based militants, reportedly linked to Taliban, attacked a border patrol in northern Turkmenistan, killing at least three border guards. Although Turkmen diplomats in Afghanistan confirmed the report, state-controlled media in Turkmenistan has not mentioned the incident.
State Border Service of Turkmenistan. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
The attack became a hot topic for online discussion. Many netizen reactions reflected the facts that that was the first alleged Taliban attack on the country and that Ashgabat chose to remain silent about the incident.
On the Vienna-based opposition blog Chronicles of Turkmenistan, visitors discussed threats that the country is facing from Afghanistan-based militants. Alarmed by the attack, Dengli suggested [ru] that the country's policy of “permanent neutrality” provided the country with a measure of protection that Turkmenistan's weak military could not be trusted to provide:
Считаю позицию наших официальных властей В данной читуации пожалуй единственно верной. О боеспособности нашей армии говорить не буду она всем известна, поэтому фиговый листок нашего нейтралитета тут конечно сыграет определенную роль. Однако его защитная роль очень кратковременная и очень ненадежная.
I believe that the position that the [Turkmen] officials have taken in this situation is right. Everybody knows the condition of our military; there is no need to mention it here. That is why the [protection] provided by our neutrality will play a certain role in this situation. However, this protection is not long lasting or very reliable.
One netizen criticized [ru] the authorities for providing Turkmenistan's airspace for US and NATO forces fighting in Afghanistan and thus making the country a target of Taliban attacks. Another netizen, however, did not believe that militants from Afghanistan posed any threat. He blamed [ru] western powers for inflating the danger of “radical Islam” for geopolitical purposes:
Те, кто служил в Афганистане, подтвердят,что афганцы на наши территории не претендуют. Они занимаются только своими делами. Как только они возьмут страну на подконтроль, успокоятся. Радикалы- исламисты, которые могут проникнуть в Туркменистан управляются другими силами, а запад — Евросоюз и США пугают всех исламистами только с одной целью — самим закрепиться в центральной Азии, окончательно нагнать оттуда Россию и не дать закрепиться Китаю.
Those who served in Afghanistan [during the Soviet invasion in 1979-89] will confirm that Afghans have no claims on our land. They mind their own business. They will calm down as soon as they take [Afghanistan] under full control. Radical Islamist forces that can infiltrate Turkmenistan are controlled by other forces. The West, that is the European Union and USA, use Islamists as a scare tactic for the purpose of establishing a stronghold in Central Asia, pushing Russia out of the region, and preventing China from gaining a stronghold here.
Some netizens were also suspicious of the claim that the border patrol had been attacked by Taliban. Lebap suggested [ru] that the attack might have been carried out by Afghan narcotics traffickers:
Наркоторговцы а не исламисты.
Narcotics traffickers rather than Islamists [were behind the attack].
Another netizen agrees [ru] that drugs trafficking was a more likely reason for the border incident than Taliban-linked militancy:
Убили-то убили, но про оставленных талибами караван наркотиков, почему-то иностранные СМИ — молчат…
Yes, they killed [the border guards]. But western media remain silent about the drugs left by the “Taliban” [after the shootout]…
The netizen also claims [ru] that Afghan strongmen in the areas bordering on Turkmenistan profit handsomely from illicit trade in Turkmen oil products. Hence, these strongmen are not likely to allow the Taliban or any other militant groups to attack Turkmenistan's border guards, thus putting the lucrative trade at risk:
Тут дело тонкое, вывоз с Тм нефтепродуктов в Афганистан по крупному занимаются несколько Афганцев, стоит отвечающему за этот регион прикрыть «кислород» — найдут тех героев с семьями вместе. Уверен убийтво был случайным, или погранцы оказались не там где надо, или те взбрели не в ту степь! В любом случии тем «героям» от своих КЕРДЫК!
This is a delicate business. There are several Afghans involved in large-scale import of Turkmen oil products to Afghanistan. When whoever controls this region [in Afghanistan] puts some pressure, they will find the [attackers] and their families. I am sure that the killing [of border guards] was an incident or the guards simply happened to be in a wrong place. In any case, the people responsible for the attack [will be finished] by their own folks.
It remains unclear who and why attacked the Turkmen border guards on February 26. Following the initial reports of Taliban's involvement in the incident, the Islamist movement announced that they had nothing to do with the attack. In a statement issued on March 2, Taliban “strongly condemns” the attack, “extends its condolences” to the families of the killed border guards, and announces that the movement seeks “cordial relations” with Afghanistan's neighbors.
It is difficult to speculate about how good of a neighbor Taliban will actually be. Many netizens in Turkmenistan are worried about a possible deterioration of security in Afghanistan – and a possibility of Taliban's return to power – following the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from the country by the end of 2014.

author: Anna Fergana


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Countering Hate Speech in Tokyo’s Koreatown · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

Photo of Shin-Okubo by flickr user Metro Centric, (CC BY 2.0)
Shin-Okubo, a district in Tokyo with a high concentration of ethnic Korean residents, has been suffering from anti-Korean protests by some extremely racist citizen groups in recent years. Despite the enormous popularity of Korean pop culture such as music, drama, and beauty products among Japanese, extremist hate speech appears to be helping heighten archrival sentiments between two of the United States’ closest Asian allies.
According to Norikoe Net [ja], a group working to overcome hate speech and racism in Japan, there were 360 hate speech demonstrations and propagation [ja] in 2013, both online and offline. From their investigation in February this year, 53 hate speech scribbles on walls were found on the streets of Shin-Okubo. Another group of volunteers [ja] plans to take collective action on March 2, 2014 to erase the hateful graffiti using 20 erasers[ja] provided by a local ward office.
Map of hate speech scribbles found in Shin-Okubo area in Tokyo. The picture shows sloppy writing which says “Koreans go home” with racial slur. Screenshot from Google Map created by Norikoe Net.
Seeing the photos of hate speech scribbles, twitter user Neige (@Neige_dayo) wrote;
新大久保で問題になっている“ヘイト落書き”を消して回る『差別らくがき消し隊』が発足 #getnews http://t.co/rqR42C5Wze @getnewsfeedさんから これ、素人目には筆跡全部同じに見える。 — Neige♂ (@Neige_dayo) 2014, 2月 27
To my untrained eyes, the writings all look like the work of the same person.
The tide of anti-Korean protest in Shin-Okubo also triggered a push-back from anti-hate speech demonstrators who protested against the hate-speech protests, showing messages like “let us all be friends” or “shame on you racist”. Various groups and citizens have joined the anti-anti-Korean protest to send out positive messages. But in some cases, this resulted in arrests after police tried to avoid any conflict between both the sides.
In October 2013, responding to a lawsuit filed by Kyoto Chosen Gakuen, an operator of pro-Pyongyang Korean schools in Kyoto’s Fushimi Ward, a local court in Kyoto ruled against anti-Korean group Zaitokukai, saying that the words blared through sound trucks near a pro-Pyongyang elementary school were “extremely insulting and discriminatory”.
However, there’s no legal measure against hate speech in Japan. The Japanese Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, assembly, and freedom of thought, all of which make room for anti-Korean demonstrators to organize protests. Also, there is no law that directly bans graffiti. For the act of scribbling on other people’s properties, an offender can be arrested under Minor Criminal Offense Act, or for vandalism. In some rare cases, it is treated as a crime of damaging a building.
Japan acceded to the United Nations convention to eliminate racial discrimination in 1995, but no legislative measures have been implemented. The United Nation's Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has long shown concern (since its 2010 report [en, ja]) regarding the human rights situation in Japan, such as hate speech and racist propaganda on the Internet, the lack of concrete information about the media and integration of human rights in television and radio broadcasting and the absence of legislation to give full effect to the provisions against discrimination.
The anti-Korean protesters are variously referred with qualifiers like “Japanese patriots”, “right-leaning” or “conservative” in English media, but they are different from conventional post-war Japanese right wingers, or from patriots with political right wing aesthetics. In a live-streamed interview[ja] with a prominent netouyo user “Yogen”, Kouichi Yasuda, a journalist who investigates “netouyo”, a general term for hyper-nationalistic Japanese Web users, exposed that netouyo are inclined to reinforce their patriotism just by blasting racial slurs against ethnic Koreans in Japan and abroad or anybody they dislike by labeling them as so, under the misdirected assumption that Koreans have extraordinary privilege –that many of them live in Japan off on social aid or that they control Japanese television media–a myth that is often perpetuated by trolls on the Internet.
Prime Minister Abe, whose historical agenda is sometimes perceived as right wing by media outside of Japan, has commented about hate speech last year, calling the anti-Korean protests “extremely unfortunate” and said that true Japanese people “must be polite, generous and humble.”
Norikoe Net, which stands for “the International Network to Overcome Hate Speech and Racism” in Japanese writes about the condition of hate speech in Japan in its founding message;
Hate speech is used not only to attack Korean residents in Japan, who are an immediate target, but also to represent women in a hostile light and to attack social minorities such as the Ryukyuan or Lewchewan people, the residents of former “discriminated communities”, children born outside of marriage, the socially handicapped, sexual minorities, etc. There is a significant overlap between those groups who are subject to hate speech attacks and those whose personal rights or political rights have been violated or ignored under Japan’s postwar system. In this sense, hate speech in Japan can be viewed in itself as a form of discrimination that has been politically created by the postwar system.
The group, co-founded by an ethnic Korean activist, joined forces with a Japanese scholar, a lawyer and other prominent individuals like Chizuko Ueno, one of the most influential Japanese feminists, and even the right-wing activist Kunio Suzuki to collectively counter racism and hate speech by pushing for the enactment of an anti-discrimination legislation.
Tomone Komiya, a sociologist who translated The Freedom to Be Racist? by Erik Bleich, writes[ja] that Japan needs more materials to learn about hate speech and its legal restrictions abroad, in order to start the discussion on how to counter hatred, before hastily agreeing on policy making;
いずれにしても、日本の文脈の中でどうすべきかを議論し、決めてゆく責任が、この社会のメンバーである私たちにはあります。決して一朝一夕に考えることはできないその問いについて考えるための最初の入口を、この本は提供してくれるのではないかと思います。
Either way, we, the member of the society have responsibility to discuss and decide what to do [about hate speech] in the context of Japan. The arguments in this book provide the first step to the task, which can never be done in a day.
This post was edited by Aparna Ray

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Global Voices Partners With Refugees United · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

The world is more connected than ever, but when refugees fleeing conflict or disaster lose touch with loved ones – it's sometimes forever. Among the 43 million refugees worldwide, a staggering number of people will never see their family again because they simply have no means to reach them.
Refugees United
Refugees United is an organization that uses the internet and mobile phones to help families torn apart. Users of their system upload only the information they themselves find safe to share which enables them to stay anonymous. Many people have already found family and friends via Refugees United, but the continued success of the service ultimately depends on refugees knowing that it exists.
How will they be reached?
Since last year, Global Voices translators have been working with Refugees United to translate outreach materials, social media and SMS messages into Swahili, French, Somali, Amharic, Sudanese Arabic and Standard Arabic. We have also shared local advice on how to craft messages that clear and culturally appropriate.
Refugees United say they seek to reach 1 million people by 2015 and Global Voices is proud to offer backup.
“Our partnership with Global Voices is evidence of how we can reach even more families by collaborating with their powerful network of translators and bloggers,” says Ida Jeng of Refugees United.
The power of reconnection
On the blog of Refugees United there are countless stories about outreach and reconnections.
This animation tells the story of a woman named Estelle who found her sister after 16 years of separation.
And this is a video with two Congolese brothers separated for 15 years who met for the first time on Google Hangout on Air after locating each other via Refugees United.

author: Solana Larsen


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Guide to Mushroom Farming in Kenya · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

This is a step by step guide to mushroom farming in Kenya:
Due to public demand, we took the initiative of compiling a guide to help farmers interested in starting mushroom farming in kenya
The mushroom farming process can be divided into several steps namely
1.Compost/substrate preparation
2.spawning
3.casing
4.fruiting/growth and harvesting

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Macedonia’s Strumica Carnival Continues 350-Year Tradition · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

The Strumica Carnival took place in Macedonia from March 1-3, 2014. This traditional celebration [mk] was first mentioned as early as 1670 by Ottoman travel writer Evliya Çelebi and this year was featured by NBC News in a report about twelve similar events around the world.
Members of a Strumica carnival group named “Recycled Baroque.”   Photo: Vanco Dzambaski (CC BY-NC-SA)
Photo-activist Vanco Dzambaski shared his photo gallery from this year's Carnival events on Flickr.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Political Representation: A Key Struggle for Afro-descendants in Colombia · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

With 5 million people, or 10.6% of the total population, Colombia has the largest Afro-descendant population in Latin America, behind only Brazil, according to a 2005 census. There are, however, serious difficulties in quantifying blackness, given the mixed ethnic backgrounds of many Colombians. The stigma associated with African descent in much of the country leads mixed-race individuals to identify away from their Afro roots, and unofficial figures place the Afro-Colombian community at as high as 25% of the total population.
Maren Soendergaard in Colombia Reports writes about political exclusion of afro-descendants in Colombia, stating that “a historic lack of political representation in Colombia’s political system is one of the key focuses in the ongoing social, political and economic struggle of the Afro-Colombian community.”

author: Silvia Viñas


text:
Protesters in Brazil: ‘There Will Not Be a World Cup!’  · Global Voices
Pública - Agência de jornalismo investigativo

A protest in Brazil in January 2014. Photo by Mídia Ninja, republished by Agência Pública.
The article “Quem grita ‘Não vai ter Copa?’ (Who is shouting, ‘There will not be a World Cup?’) by Ciro Barros was originally published by Brazilian journalism organization Agência Pública on February 17, 2014 and will be republished by Global Voices in two parts. All links lead to Portuguese-language pages except when otherwise noted.
An Agência Pública reporter searched out the activists that mounted the first protest of the year against the World Cup due to be hosted in Brazil this year; what he found was a mixed group determined to stop the sporting event throughout protest and without “violent acts”.
The scene is the academic center of a university in the west part of São Paulo on a surprisingly dry January evening. About 20 people are seated in a circle. While waiting for the meeting to begin, the people converse in low voices, criticizing the police, the Cup, the federal government, the state government of São Paulo. The group is mixed: older men, adolescents of both sexes, women, workers, students. They have in common the experience of being involved in social movements – from those experienced in street protests to those who have only made a name for themselves in the recent wave of protests in June of last year.
They are there to organize the second demonstration of the year, on February 22, 2014, around a controversial motto: “Se não tiver direitos, não vai ter Copa” (If there are no rights, there will not be a Cup). The first occurred on January 25.
On social networks, the last four words of the group's motto caused a stir at the beginning of this year, as “Não Vai Ter Copa” (There will not be a Cup) emerged on the streets in June during protests [en]. Only recently was it that the PT (Worker's Party) and the federal government reacted on social networks, worried about the possibility that protests will tarnish the brilliance of the Cup in Brazil during an election year – and that they will have the same devastating effect on popularity that President Dilma Rousseff (along with all the governors) faced in June of last year.
On Sunday, January 12 – 13 days after the first protest organized by the collective – PT's reaction (Worker's Party) came in the form of a post on the party's official page on Facebook: “It's agreed. A great week for all of those that root for Brazil.” Accompanying the phrase, there was photo with the hashtag #VaiterCopa (There will be a Cup). On the official page of President Dilma, the same tone: “WITHOUT A DOUBT. A good week for all those who root for Brasil” and once more a photo with the same hashtag. Today, the hashtag used by the government and the PT is #CopadasCopas (Cup of Cups), the official motto.
On blogs and social networks, there were some who treated the movement as terrorists or “police case.” More moderate critics say that protests will happen during the Cup, and wonder if they will have the same effect on the popularity of President Dilma as before, making way for the right-wing parties.
But in the end, what is this new movement? What does it intend? How would they respond to the critics of whom they have been a target? It was these questions that brought me to that meeting.
Photo shared by Agência Pública.
Protest and the growth of liasion
(…) Junho de 2013 foi só o começo! As pessoas, os movimentos e os coletivos indignados que querem transformar a realidade afirmam através das diversas lutas que sem a consolidação dos direitos sociais (saúde, educação, moradia, transporte e tantos outros) não há possibilidade do povo brasileiro admitir megaeventos como a Copa do Mundo ou as Olimpíadas. Isso significa que as palavras de ordem no combate a esses governos que só servem às empresas e ao lucro devem ser: ‘Se não tiver direitos, não vai ter Copa!’
(…) June of 2013 was only the beginning! The outraged people, movements and collectives that want to transform our reality affirm through various struggles that without the consolidation of social rights (health, education, housing, transportation, and others), there is no possibility that the Brazilian people can allow mega-events such as the World Cup or the Olympics to take place. This means that the words representing our cause to the governors that only serve businesses and the profits should be: “If there are no rights, there will not be a Cup!”
And the manifesto continues:
Nossa proposta é barrar a Copa! Mostrar nacionalmente e internacionalmente que o poder popular não quer a Copa!
Our proposal is to stop the World Cup! To show nationally and internationally that the popular power does not want the World Cup!
After this, the manifesto refers to the protests against the rise in transportation fares which sparked the wave of protests in June:
Os dirigentes políticos disseram que era impossível atender a pauta das manifestações pela revogação do aumento, entretanto o poder popular nas ruas nos mostrou que realidades impossíveis podem ser transformadas, reivindicadas e conquistadas pelo povo. E mesmo assim dirão: ‘mas isso é impossível!’ Então nós diremos: ‘o impossível acontece!’
The political directors said that it was impossible to attend to the cause for the protests, the repeal of the fare increase, however the popular power on the streets showed us that impossible realities can be transformed, reclaimed and conquered by the people. And as such, they will say: ‘But this is impossible!’ And so we will say: ‘The impossible happens!’
Five movements signed the manifesto. The most well-known of these is perhaps the Movimento Passe Livre (Movement for Free Fare), one of the principal catalysts of the political protests in June with its focus on the current model of public transportation.
The others are the Fórum Popular de Saúde do Estado de São Paulo (Popular Forum for Health in the State of São Paulo), a group that unites various collectives in defense of public health; the Coletivo Autônomo dos Trabalhadores Sociais (Autonomous Collective of Social Workers), which unites, principally, social assistance advocates that operate in São Paulo; the Periferia Ativa (Active Periphery), funded by communities in the South Zone and metropolitan region of the capital São Paulo; and the Comitê Contra o Genocídio da População Preta, Pobre e Periférica (Committee Against the Genocide of the Black, Poor, and Underprivileged Population), which combats police violence and violence by vigilante groups.
“I'm not affiliated with anything”
The focus of the organizations, as one can see, are different, but what unites them is the fight for the human rights of the excluded population, who are considered the most threatened by the World Cup. Sérgio Lima, of the Fórum Popular de Saúde, describes the members of the movement like this:
É um pessoal que já participou de muita luta, pessoal de movimento social mesmo, que tá cansado de gabinete e tudo mais. Eu sou um caso que postulei muito tempo luta de gabinete. Mas hoje não sou filiado a nada.
They are people that have already participated in this struggle, the very people of the social movement, that are tired of offices, paperwork and everything. I am someone who has already spent a lot of time fighting the fight through offices. But today I'm not affiliated with anything.
And he explains the objectives of the group:
Ao meu ver, é dizer que a gente não precisava da Copa nesse momento, diante de tantas mazelas em transporte, educação, saúde. Acredito que é nesse sentido.
From my point of view, we are saying that we don't need the World Cup at this moment, in the face of so many problems with transportation, education, health. I believe that it is in this sense.
When reminded of the criticism, expressed principally on social networks, that the group “Não vai ter Copa” serves the interest of right-wing parties, Lima laughs. He says that he was even affiliated with the PT before. “They always say that,” he says in disdain.
I ask then, if they really intend to stop the Cup, and how:
É um objetivo sim. De enfrentamento mesmo, a gente sabe que é uma luta desleal e cruel, mas a gente tem isso como pauta, sim. Queremos ganhar a massa, ganhar corpo e fazer o enfrentamento com os protestos nas ruas. Não queremos nenhum ato violento, nem se cogita isso. Queremos barrar com os protestos mesmo.
It is an objective, yes. And in facing that reality, we know that it is a cruel and disloyal fight, but we are doing this for a cause, yes. We want to win over the masses, gain strength, and make a stand with protests on the streets. We don't want any kind of violent acts, nor even consider it. We want to stop it with protests alone.
Anti-capitalists
Besides the cited organizations, the movement has also attracted activists to the left of the PT, such as the PTSU (the United Socialist Workers’ Party) and the PSOL (the Socialism and Freedom Party). The movement Juntos! (Together!), for example, which emerged at the beginning of 2011 from the youth of the PSOL, also forms a base of support. One of their members, Maurício Costa Carvalho, says:
A gente entende a Copa do Mundo como parte de um aspecto crítico do crescimento capitalista. Com o crescimento, ao invés de termos investimentos nos setores públicos, em saúde, educação, transporte, moradia, o que temos é um processo de subserviência ao projeto tradicional de acumulação, que é esse megaevento comandado por uma entidade absolutamente corrupta como a Fifa. O único objetivo da Copa é enriquecer os parceiros comerciais da Fifa e as grandes empresas no Brasil. E isso tem sido feito com a produção de cidades de exceção.
We understand the World Cup as part of a critical aspect of capitalist growth. With this growth, instead of investing in public sectors, in health, education, transportation, housing, what we have is a process of subservience to the traditional project of accumulation, that is this mega-event commanded by an absolutely corrupt entity such as FIFA. The only objective of the World Cup is to make FIFA's commercial partners and big business in Brazil richer. And this has been done with the production of ‘cities of exception’.
For Maurício, the current protests make up part of a sequence of protests that have been occurring in the last few years around the whole world – from outraged people in Spain to Occupy Wall Street in the United States. It was these protests, he says, that motivated the creation of Juntos!:
Todos os governantes tiveram a sua popularidade bastante desgastada depois das jornadas de junho. Isso mostra que não é um problema de um partido ou de outro, só. É um problema da estrutura da velha política partidária no país. As manifestações mostraram que é necessário ter mudanças estruturais. E essas mudanças passam por ter uma política que é completamente distinta dessa política que vem sendo feita. É necessário que se ouça a voz das ruas e que a política não se resuma a passar um cheque em branco a um candidato a cada dois anos.
All the governors had a decrease in popularity after the protests in June. This shows that it is not just a problem with one party or another. It is a problem with the infrastructure of outdated party politics in the country. The protests showed that it is necessary to make structural changes. And these changes will be made to have a form of politics that is completely distinct from the politics that are now in play. It is necessary that the voices on the street are heard and that government policy doesn't end up being a blank check to a candidate every two years.
I asked if the connection of Juntos! with the PSOL party, which will support Senator Randolfe Rodrigues from Amapa as a presidential candidate this year, compromises the partisan independence of the group, to which he says:
O Juntos! é um grupo que têm militantes do PSOL, mas que tem muitos militantes que não são do PSOL, tem seus fóruns próprios, seus próprios grupos de discussão. Existem militantes do PSOL que participam de vários grupos diferentes. Então não tem nada ligado à estrutura do PSOL.
Juntos! is a group that has PSOL activists, but we also have activists that are not from the PSOL party, who have their own forums, their own discussion groups. There are many PSOL activists that participate in many different groups. As such, there is nothing linked to the structure of PSOL.
Watch out for the second part of this article, to be published shortly.


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Russia’s Fight on Oscar Night · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Sad DiCaprio selfie. Anonymous image found online.
“Russia has two allies, her army and her navy,” wrote [ru] Twitter funnyman @alcohistory, quoting the famous Tsar Alexander III maxim. “Ukraine also has two allies,” he added, “Jared Leto and the Russian liberal intelligentsia.” It was a reference to Leto's Best Supporting Actor acceptance speech at the Oscars, where he mentioned the troublesome situation in the Crimean peninsula. This part of his speech was cut from the version of the Oscars shown on Russian television the next day (which did not prevent it from being all over Twitter).
Curiously, the only reason it was possible to edit the speeches in the first place, was because the ceremony wasn't being shown live, as was originally planned. RuNet bloggers noticed this early on, wondering if the reason could be the Crimean crisis and fears of “Western subversion.” A few hours before the scheduled start of the show, Russian Internet guru Anton Nosik linked to the Facebook page [ru] of a Russian movie critic, who was supposed to be narrating the ceremony. The critic, Yyri Gladilschikov, said he got a call from Channel One, telling him the deal was off — both the live broadcast and the commentary. Gladilschikov wrote that he wasn't surprised, what with the tense situation in Ukraine:
Вообще-то я и сам сегодня думал: как это мы будем сидеть в студии все в розовеньком и обсуждать, кому достанется статуэтка, когда вокруг все катится в тартарары?
Actually, today I was also thinking: how will we sit in the studio all dressed in pink, and discuss who will get the prize, when everything around us is going to hell in a hand-basket?
Nosik wondered what the reason might be, not buying sudden sensitivity on the part of Russia's main TV channel. He blogged [ru] that there might be three explanations: desire to edit a “politically dangerous” ceremony (not the least because it was to be hosted by openly gay Ellen DeGeneres), some sort of planned action in Crimea that Russian TV would have to cover instead, or a technical snafu that made a live broadcast impossible. Nosik also started a poll, to see which option his readers thought was most likely:
Nosik's poll. Screenshot. “Why was the live broadcast canceled? 1. politically dangerous entertainment in current conditions 2. war with Ukraine scheduled for broadcast time 3. technical difficulties”
As we can see, Nosik's readers turned out to be politically savvy — with the cutting of Leto's speech, there is little argument that the first reason is the most likely explanation. Ironically Leto was the only one to mention Ukraine, and his speech was the only part of the ceremony cut. Nosik later wrote [ru] that the decision was probably made by Channel One editors who felt like they needed to cut at least something.
Meanwhile, most of the RuNet was still preoccupied with Crimea. Here is a comparison of how “Oscars” and “Crimea” fared in the English and Russian speaking Twitter communities:
Oscars, Crimea, and Ukraine. Russian search results on top. Topsy analytics. Screenshot.
Clearly, the Crimean crisis remained the news of the day — although there is a bump in Oscars talk on the RuNet, it's small in comparison to English results. That's not to say that Russians were immune to some of the drama of the night. Much like the rest of the the Internet, RuNet held its breath to see if Leonardo DiCaprio would finally get the nod. He didn't, prompting one blogger to tweet:
Члены Академии, должно быть, заядлые интернет-тролли, ибо решили не лишать нас вечных шуток про Ди Каприо и Оскар, и дали награду другому
— ОЛЕНЬ (@climbingstar) March 3, 2014
The Academy members must be dedicated internet trolls, since they decided not to bereave us of eternal jokes about DiCaprio and the Oscars, and gave the award to someone else.
With the situation in Crimea remaining tense, it is definitely good for everyone to keep a sense of humor:
A visual reference to the Sochi Olympic opening ceremony. If there was also some reference to Ukraine, it would be a trifecta of recent news stories. Anonymous image found online.
“So, how did the ceremony go?” Anonymous image found online.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Son of Dead Nigerian Dictator Sani Abacha Defends Father’s Legacy · Global Voices
Nwachukwu Egbunike

Nigeria celebrated 100 years since British colonialists united the north and south into one nation in 1914. As part of activities to mark the anniversary, the Nigerian government honoured 100 Nigerians with a Centenary Award.
Former First Lady Maryam Abacha receiving the Nigeria Centenary Award for her deceased husband (Sani Abacha) from President Jonathan [Image by Reuben Abati]
However, some Nigerians rejected the award, top among them being writer and 1986 Nobel Prize for Literature winner Professor Wole Soyinka. Soyinka rejected his award due to the inclusion of General Sani Abacha, Nigeria's deceased dictator, believed to have stolen between three and five billion dollars in five years, in the honours list.
In a letter published on news site Vanguard titled “Canonisation of Terror“, Soyinka described Abacha thus:
General Sanni Abacha, a vicious usurper under whose authority the lives of an elected president and his wife were snuffed out.  Assassinations – including through bombs cynically ascribed to the opposition – became routine. Under that ruler, torture and other forms of barbarism were enthroned as the norm of governance.  To round up, nine Nigerian citizens, including the writer and environmentalist Ken Saro-wiwa, were hanged after a trial that was stomach churning even by the most primitive standards of judicial trial, and in defiance of the intervention of world leadership. We are speaking here of a man who placed this nation under siege during an unrelenting reign of terror that is barely different from the current rampage of Boko Haram [a Jihadist group in northern Nigeria]. It is this very psychopath that was recently canonized by the government of Goodluck Jonathan in commemoration of one hundred years of Nigerian trauma.
The writer, playwright and poet rejected the award on this note:
[…] a murderer and thief of no redeeming quality known as Sanni Abacha, one whose plunder is still being pursued all over the world and recovered piecemeal by international consortiums – at the behest of this same government which sees fit to place him on the nation’s Roll of Honour! I can think of nothing more grotesque and derisive of the lifetime struggle of several on this list, and their selfless services to humanity. It all fits. In this nation of portent readers, the coincidence should not be too difficult to decipher. I reject my share of this national insult.
However, son of the ex-leader Sadiq Abacha wrote an apologia on online newspaper Daily Post, “An Open Lecture/Letter to Professor Wole Soyinka“:
Late General Sani Abacha. Image by AfricanSuccess and released under Creative Common Licence
Here I find myself defending my father 15 years after his death because some of you have no one else to pounce on, or rather, you have chosen a dead person to keep pouncing on over and over again when you have more than an array of contestants. A coward’s act I believe. “A common writer” is what I have heard you being referred to lately, and I believe a mature mind would now agree to such referrals. With all due respect, there is a great challenge that faces the country, we have to put our heads together, rather than clashing, our collective ships must sail in the same direction, let us leave the ghosts of past contention and face the future bravely as one, criticizing the past does not help the present or define a path to the future.
Sadiq Abacha told Soyinka that his late father deserved the award:
You are a learned man, you would have to undo all your learning to knowingly wish to undo all these achievements! I will be the first to proclaim that my father’s leadership was not pitch perfect or spot free, that does not exist, maybe in utopia but not here on this earth, so let us keep our discourse set in the sphere of reality please, he deserves the award, and he did not campaign for it, let it go, Sir…and allow Nigeria to at least bask in our survival and endurance in our growing prosperity and development in these trying times.
Abacha's letter to Soyinka precipitated a storm on Nigeria's blogosphere and Twittersphere. Blogger Ayo Sogunro replied in “To Sadiq Abacha – On Behalf of Wole Soyinka“:
Dear Sadiq Abacha,
[…]
Your letter started with logical principles, which is a splendid common ground for us. So let us go with the facts: General Sani Abacha was a dictator. He came into power and wielded it for 5 years in a manner hitherto unprecedented in Nigerian history. Facts: uncomfortable for your family, but true all the same.
Now, for my personal interpretations: between 1993 and 1998 inclusive, when your dada [father] was in power, I was a boy of 9 to 14 years and quite capable of making observations about my political and cultural environment. Those years have been the worst years of my material life as a Nigerian citizen. Here are a few recollections: I recollect waking up several mornings to scrape sawdust from carpentry mills, lugging the bags a long distance home, just to fuel our “Abacha stoves” because kerosene was not affordable — under your father. I recollect cowering under the cover of darkness, with family and neighbours, listening to radio stations —banned by your father. I recollect my government teacher apologetically and fearfully explaining constitutional government to us — because free speech was a crime under your father’s government. Most of all, I remember how the news of your father’s death drove me — and my colleagues at school — to a wild excitement, and we burst into the street in delirious celebration. Nobody prompted us, but even as 13 and 14 year olds, we understood the link between the death of Abacha and the hope of freedom for the ordinary man.
Many Twitter users expressed their vehemence against Abacha's letter to Soyinka:
Sadiq Abacha got me with those laws but lost me when he tried to praise his dad. Those laws tho… #WeMustNotForget
— O.J. Adeyemi (@OjaySays) March 5, 2014
Nigerian writer Tunde Leye wrote:
On Sadiq Abacha's response. If u ask Eva Braun [wife of Adolph Hitler], Hitler was a sweet lover. If u ask Holocaust survivors however…
— Tunde Leye (@tundeleye) March 5, 2014
Chimabiala, a public commentator asked Abacha a question:
You know how many people's fathers and mothers died as a result of your father's reign of terror? Atink [I think] Sadiq Abacha is high.
— Chimabiala | #BinIt (@gboukzi) March 5, 2014
Area_Boy faulted Abacha's logic:
Sadiq Abacha should never have attempted deploying, the 3 classic laws of thought as handle for his diatribe, as it simply beggars belief.
— Area_Boy (@EUgwu) March 5, 2014
However, some expressed support for Abacha. For instance, lawyer Uzoril said:
That Sadiq Abacha piece drove home some salient points. Disagree with it all you want, the boy talk true.
— Angel Uriel (@UzoUriel) March 5, 2014
Abigail, a teacher and writer, asked:
But the question is: whether he is the son of a dictator or not, did he make any valid points?
— Abigail Anaba (@Anabagail) March 5, 2014
It's a filial duty, said Pierre:
Just read the sadiq abacha letter… its all right for you to defend your blood, no matter the crimes
— Pierre (@richymania) March 5, 2014
Oluwatony Adepoxy, an engineer and social commentator, referenced the discussion of the matter on Twitter:
I hope Sadiq Abacha is not on twitter sha o. LOl.
— Òlúwatöny Adepoxy (@tonypox) March 5, 2014

author: Nwachukwu Egbunike


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Venezuela Cuts Ties with Panama  · Global Voices
Ariel Moreno

Sorprende decisión del Gobierno de Venezuela. Panamá solo anhela que ese hermano país encuentre la paz y fortalezca su democracia
— Ricardo Martinelli (@rmartinelli) March 5, 2014
Surprising decision from the Government of Venezuela. Panama only hopes this fellow country finds peace and strengthens its democracy.
This is how the president of Panama reacted upon finding out that Venezuela's government was cutting ties with them.
The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, announced that he would not allow anyone to conspire against Venezuela and accused President Martinelli of being “a lackey and a snake.” The accusation is based on the Panamanian government's request that the Permanent Council of the OAS (Organization of American States) meet to discuss the issue of Venezuela's internal conflicts.
Reactions on social networks have been ironic and angry over the actions of the South American country's government. Most Panamanians feel that President Maduro has some nerve breaking diplomatic and commercial relations with Panama when Venezuela has a debt between $800 million and $1 billion US dollars to the Colón Free Trade Zone. Charlie Cuevas says:
Que cómodo romper relaciones comerciales #Venezuela cuando le debes 1,000 millones de dólares a #Panama #SOSvenezuela
— Charlie Cuevas (@CharlieCuevas) March 5, 2014
How convenient it is for you, Venezuela, to cut commercial ties with Panama when you owe them 1 billion dollars
For other users, the Panamanian government is to blame for intervening in the internal affairs of other countries.
Que hace el Gob de Panamá opinando y metiendose en los asuntos internos de Venezuela?
— Dreetti RiDdiM  (@An_Dreetti) March 5, 2014
What is the Government of Panama doing giving their opinion on and meddling with Venezuela's internal issues?
Erick Javier clarifies that the only people that can call President Ricardo Martinelli a “lackey” and a “snake” are Panamanians:
El unico que puede llamar lacayo y rastrero a Martinello somos nosotros los Panameños @ElGallinazo
— Erick Javier ™ (@ErickJavier21) March 5, 2014
The only people that can call Martinelli a lackey and a snake are us Panamanians
Likewise, former president of Panama Ernesto Perez Balladares condemned the incident and how it was handled:
Yo adverso al Pdte. Martinelli pero no puedo aceptar que contra él ni contra ningún panameño se utilicen insultos impropios de un mandatario
— Pérez Balladares (@PerezBalladares) March 5, 2014
I do not agree with Pres. Martinelli but I cannot accept that inappropriate insults be used against him or any other Panamanian
For “Noticias sin censura” (“Uncensored News”), the Venezuelan government's decision is unwise since many of the products consumed in Venezuela are imported and pass through the Panama Canal:
Un país q importa 80% de lo q consume, casi todo pasando por Panamá, rompe relaciones económicas con ese país. Del carajo #5M #Venezuela
— #NoticiasSinCensura (@NotaSinCensura) March 5, 2014
A country that imports 80% of what it consumes, almost all of that passing through Panama, breaks economic relations with that country. What the hell?
Venezuelan Rocio San Miguel commented that the break in relations will only bring about more complications to the shortages that Venezuela is already suffering from:
La ruptura de relaciones con Panamá complicará en extremo el ya problemático abastecimiento nacional por vía marítima
— Rocío San Miguel (@rociosanmiguel) March 5, 2014
The break in relations with Panama will extremely complicate the already problematic national supply by sea
Fredy Marcial tweeted about a supposed invasion requested by Martinelli:
Presidente d Panamá es d la dinastía fam que apoyó la invasión de EE.UU a su pais por el canal, ahora ese lacayo pid que invada a Venezuela
— Freddy Marcial (@makeday) March 5, 2014
President of Panama belongs to the family dynasty that supported the U.S. invasion into its country via the canal, now this lackey asks to invade Venezuela
Lastly, Colombia Senator Juan Lozano believes that the reaction from the Venezuelan government is just an indication of desperation and agony:
Reacciòn de Maduro frente a Panamà deja ver la desesperaciòn, la angustia y la soledad tìpica de un règimen delirante a punto de colapsar.
— Juan Lozano (@JuanLozano_R) March 5, 2014
Maduro's reaction against Panama reveals the despair, anguish, and loneliness of a delirious regime on the brink of collapse.

author: Ariel Moreno


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Vote for Your Favourite Kenyan Blogs · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Voting has begun for Kenyan Blog Awards 2014:
The Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) has today [March 3, 2013] unveiled the nominees for the 2014 BAKE Kenyan Blog Awards. The Awards reward bloggers that post on a regular basis, have great and useful content presented in a creative and innovative format.
The nominees were selected by a panel of judges comprising of bloggers and media personalities.
The release of the nominees list begins the voting phase of the awards.
Voting will run from 3rd March 2014 and end on April 30th 2
014. You can vote for your favourite blogs through www.blogawards.co.ke/vote


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15 Memes That Escalate the Crimean Crisis · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Instead of trying to find some sort of compromise, the sides of an online disagreement double down on their arguments, quickly moving to threats, ad hominem attacks, and comparisons to Hitler. The disagreement turns into a flame-war, both sides convinced the opponent is stupid and/or disingenuous. Sound familiar? Sadly, this is what is happening on the RuNet with regard to the Crimean conflict. Memes and image macros lend themselves to polarizing rhetoric, not nuanced argument. But, hey, some of them are pretty funny!
1.
“Polite. Russian. Yours.” Anonymous image found online.
This jingoistic meme plays on the jocular way of calling anonymous troops occupying Crimea “the polite folks,” connecting the phrase to the Winter Olympics slogan, “Hot, Cool, Yours.” It's counterproductive, however, to diminish the significance of Russian troops on Ukrainian territory by emphasizing their politeness. They might be polite, but they still have guns.
2.
“Organized Russian tourists travel to Crimea, en masse! Anonymous image found online.”
Similarly, Russian troops aren't tourists. One might argue that this meme makes fun of Putin's hypocrisy in refusing to aknowledge Russian presence in Crimea, but I have only seen it in contexts where it serves as tacit approval of the deception (the exclamation is one clue.)
3.
Russian destroyer “The Polite.” Word bubble reads “The Gracious and The Courteous are right behind me.” Anonymous image found online.
Another example of jingoism and turning the word “polite” into a threat. Yes, Russia has a Navy in the Black Sea that is much more capable that the Ukrainian Navy (in fact, just two days ago they had blocked the Ukrainian Navy base by sinking a old ship in the entrance [ru]). This meme is particularly funny because of the Russian Naval naming convention — all light ships like destroyers are named with personal adjectives (i.e. Quick, Brave, Dauntless, etc.)
4.
“We are just a people's militia” Anonymous image found online.
On the other side, an image such is this is also counterproductive. Sure, it's funny because it's a hyperbole poking fun at Russia's transparent claims that their troops are part of a “spontaneously-organized” Crimean militia. At the same time, it denies any agency to actual Crimean self-organized militia (which does exist), and escalates the discourse from machines guns to ICBMs.
5.
Leopard, Bunny, and Bear – Sochi Olympic Mascots. Anonymous image found online.
Another Sochi joke. This one is harder to classify, but can definitely be used by both sides. See, Russians are so bloodthirsty even their plush toys ride tanks. See, Ukrainians are so pathetic all we need are plush toys to take them over. Yes, the Olympics have been tainted by politicking and aggression, next you'll tell me there is no Santa.
6.
“Banderovites are attacking Crimea!” Anonymous image found online.
Russian TV spreads a lot of propaganda about the presence of so-called “Banderovites,” or followers of Ukrainian nationalist and alleged war criminal Stepan Bandera, among the protesters who toppled Yanukovich's government. Thing is, these radicals might make up a small percentage of the protesters, but they are vocal, they do exist, and they are hostile to Russians and Russian culture. But no, Stepan Bandera's giant heads don't ride around on UFOs. That's true.
7.
“Maidan Self-Defence Forces. The American company.” Anonymous image found online.
The hoax that an American Aircraft Carrier Group has entered the Black Sea might be the most dangerous of them all. Memes 7 and 8, which perpetuate this hoax, serve to give unfounded hopes of US military assistance to the Ukrainians, and unfounded fears of US military intervention to the Russians. Never mind that according to international treaties, a carrier could never in fact enter the Black Sea. Furthermore, the caption is ironic, considering that some Russians are already accusing the Americans of organizing the Maidan protests.
8.
“#aquamaidan” (a play on #euromaidan). Anonymous image found online.
9.
Ridiculing Russia's troops because they are multi-ethnic might not be the best idea, if you want to convince the world you aren't a xenophobic nationalist.
“[Eskimo] not conqueror, [Eskimo] guard” Anonymous image found online.
10.
Putin is a Nazi. Clearly. Anonymous image found online.
Remember that time you compared someone you disagreed with to Hitler, and they were totally convinced by your line of argument, and apologized? Me neither.
11.
“If Putin is Hitler, then shouldn't followers of Stepan Bandera listen to him?” Anonymous image found online.
And so the “polemic” continues.
12.
Obama hungry. Obama eat Ukraine. Anonymous image found online.
But wait, Putin isn't the only Evil Overlord (TM)!
13.
“Capitol Hill really needs a new exterior design” to make it look like the Kremlin. Anonymous image found online.
And if we are going to be jingoistic, why not go all the way?
14.
On the left, the “Sofa Self-Defense Company, #eurosofa” On the right, “Sofa forces, the Slow Response Group.” Anonymous image found online.
And so, the war continues to rage between Russian and Ukrainian “geopolitical experts.”
15.
Anonymous image found online.
But whatever you do, never discount cloying professions of friendship!


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16 Women Rocking Chile · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

A photo essay in the website Sentidos Comunes [es] highlights 16 outstanding Chilean women who “are the protagonists of the public agenda in the next five or ten years.”
The list includes photographer Paloma Palomino, politician Karol Cariola, journalist Isabel Plant, filmmaker Dominga Sotomayor, and illustrator Fran Meneses.


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A Map of China, By Stereotype · Global Voices
Abby Liu

TeaLeafNation uses China's dominant search engine Baidu's search history to finish half-written questions about different provinces in China.
A map of China, by stereotype: http://t.co/isRo4hkPTB pic.twitter.com/vhuADJsWGm
— FP's Tea Leaf Nation (@TeaLeafNation) March 4, 2014
They plot the stereotypes onto an interesting map about China. For example, Beijing was associated with “smog” and Xinjiang was considered as “being chaotic”. The piece has also explained the stereotypes about different provinces in details.

author: Abby Liu