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TV Reporter Sacked Over Less-Than-Rosy Tweets About Australia’s War Memorial Day · Global Voices
Manuel Ribeiro

Anzac day ceremony held in Australia. Photo: Manuel Ribeiro/GV
A sports reporter for Australian public broadcaster SBS has been sacked after using Twitter to criticise Anzac Day, a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand commemorating Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.
Observed on April 25 each year, Anzac Day was originally to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli (Turkey) against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. This year, the celebrations marked its centenary.
Scott McIntyre published a series of five tweets regarding the day that distressed some readers, blasting some of Australia's actions in WWI and WWII.
The cultification of an imperialist invasion of a foreign nation that Australia had no quarrel with is against all ideals of modern society.
— Scott McIntyre (@mcintinhos) April 25, 2015
Wonder if the poorly-read, largely white, nationalist drinkers and gamblers pause today to consider the horror that all mankind suffered.
— Scott McIntyre (@mcintinhos) April 25, 2015
Remembering the summary execution, widespread rape and theft committed by these ‘brave’ Anzacs in Egypt, Palestine and Japan. — Scott McIntyre (@mcintinhos) April 25, 2015
Not forgetting that the largest single-day terrorist attacks in history were committed by this nation & their allies in Hiroshima & Nagasaki
— Scott McIntyre (@mcintinhos) April 25, 2015
Innocent children, on the way to school, murdered. Their shadows seared into the concrete of Hiroshima. pic.twitter.com/DQOGXiKxEb — Scott McIntyre (@mcintinhos) April 25, 2015
Australian Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull described these comments as “inappropriate” and “despicable which deserve to be condemned”:
Difficult to think of more offensive or inappropriate comments than those by @mcintinhos. Despicable remarks which deserve to be condemned. — Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) April 25, 2015
SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid also disapproved of Mr McIntyre's statements on Twitter:
Comments from @mcintinhos are his own, disrespectful and not at all the views of @SBS. We remember and commemorate our ANZACs. — Michael Ebeid (@michaelebeid) April 25, 2015
Scott McIntyre. Photo: Twitter
In a statement issued the following day, he and SBS Sports Director Ken Shipp announced McIntyre had been fired:
Mr McIntyre’s actions have breached the SBS Code of Conduct and social media policy and as a result, SBS has taken decisive action to terminate Mr McIntyre’s position at SBS, with immediate effect.
At SBS, employees on and off air are encouraged to participate in social media, however maintaining the integrity of the network and audience trust is vital. It is unfortunate that on this very important occasion, Mr McIntyre’s comments have compromised both.
The episode sparked a debate on Twitter about freedom of expression.
Some users drew parallels between the criticism of McIntyre's comments and worldwide solidarity for French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, known for its crass and vulgar humour, following an attack on its Paris office that left 12 dead.
Oh look #sackScottMcIntyre is a thing #JeSuisScottMcIntyre isn't via @nzherald http://t.co/gcejA558dM — Joseph (@JosephKay76) April 26, 2015
We've gone from #JeSuisCharlie to #SackScottMcIntyre in 4 short months. Free speech depends on the subject matter, apparently #Anzac100
— Peter Hinton (@peterjhinton) April 26, 2015
Ten News’ Hugh Riminton agreed that McIntyre's tweets were “immature”, but argued that Australian troops have fought for his right to express them:
#ScottMcIntyre‘s tweets were untimely, immature and in one case offensively wrong. But lest we forget, Our Diggers also died for free speech — Hugh Riminton (@hughriminton) April 26, 2015
Riminton believed SBS should have acted differently:
Wrong call @michaelebeid. You had options other than sacking him.
— Hugh Riminton (@hughriminton) April 26, 2015
SBS Managing Director replied:
@hughriminton Hugh, this has nothing to do with free speech. It's not tenable to remain on air if your audience doesn't respect or trust you
— Michael Ebeid (@michaelebeid) April 26, 2015
The debate its far from over. It is challenging for an individual to find the boundary between expressing a personal opinion without affecting the reputation of an employer.
Academic Julie Posetti is currently writing her PhD dissertation on ‘The Twitterisation of Journalism’ at the University of Wollongong. In 2012, Julie wrote an article entitled “Journalists, Twitter Gaffes and Freedom of Expression” where she argued that it is increasingly difficult for journalists to claim that their personal Twitter accounts “are not the views of my employer.” At the same time, it is growing harder for employers to apply standards of conduct onto journalists when the latter are commenting on personal social media accounts.
The same matter is also being discussed in other countries around the world. In Europe, Portuguese journalists have recently faced pressure from news outlets trying to enforce a code of conduct, specifically when using their private social media accounts. University of Porto journalism lecturer and researcher Suzana Cavaco believes this is a matter of self-regulation, in which the journalist should take into consideration individual ethics in determining if what he or she is about to say is moral.
McIntyre hasn't publicly responded to his termination nor to the Twitter campaign #sackScottMcIntyre.
In the meantime, Australian journalists union Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) challenged the fairness of McIntyre´s dismissal in a statement issued today:
[…] media employees are being required to use social media platforms to promote their work and those accounts are then being used as a marketing tool benefiting media employers. The policies have begun to infringe on the private lives of media professionals, dictating what they can and can’t say in a private capacity, outside of their work.
MEAA believes that employers must recognize that their employees are entitled to a private life, with their own beliefs and opinions; opinions that should be able to be expressed without heavy-handed retribution by the employer.
Striking a balance between engaging in debate and freedom of expression requires social media policies to be nuanced. What MEAA is finding is that social media policies of employers are inflexible and deny staff the right to have and express a personal opinion.
Not all Australians took issue with McIntyre's tweets:
@mcintinhos Scott unfortunately sacking you for telling the truth about bloody fake Anzac is shame, but u won't have trouble finding a job!
— Wes (@WesJalala) April 26, 2015
Anzac Day has become a celebration of war. No one mentions war atrocities, suicides, and domestic violence. Shame. #ANZAC100 #ScottMcIntyre — Jinho Choi (@GoldenTalon) April 26, 2015
And some considered the TV network's actions shameful:
Shame on @SBS for firing @mcintinhos – his tweets were fresh air compared to the gross propaganda of all other media http://t.co/vpryN2zlHS
— Shaharha Tay (@shaharantay) April 26, 2015

author: Manuel Ribeiro


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VIDEO: The World Is Saying #FreeZone9Bloggers · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

#FreeZone9bloggers from Global Voices on Vimeo.
On April 25, 2014, nine bloggers and journalists were arrested in Ethiopia. Several of these men and women had worked with Zone9, a collective blog that covered social and political issues in Ethiopia and promoted human rights and government accountability. And four of them were Global Voices authors. In July, they were charged under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. They have been behind bars ever since and have yet to stand trial.
To mark the one-year anniversary of the arrest and detention of the Zone9 bloggers and associated journalists, our community crowd-sourced this video to support our jailed colleagues. This collage features messages and wishes from Mexico, Chile, the US, Cuba, Croatia, Colombia, Kenya, Switzerland, Iran, Syria, France, Azerbaijan and of course, Ethiopia. Watch, share, and say it with us: #FreeZone9Bloggers!
This video was lovingly created by J. Tadeo, Elizabeth Rivera, Elaine Díaz, Lully Posada, Daudi Were, Angela Oduor Lungati, Sebastian Mitchell, Nekesa Were, Pauline Ratzé, Niki Korth, Leila Nachawati, Marie Boehner, Marinella Matejčić, Mahsa Alimardani, Arzu Geybullayeva, Endalk Chala, Ellery Roberts Biddle, and Sahar Habib Ghazi.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


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Chilean Volcano Wakes Up After Four Decades of Inactivity With Violent, Spectacular Eruption · Global Voices
Global Voices Latin America

The Chilean government declared a state of emergency caused by the disaster in towns near the Calbuco volcano, in southern Chile and on the border with Argentina, after it erupted violently Wednesday.
The people of Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, Frutillar in Chile and Villa La Angostura, San Martin de los Andes and Bariloche in Argentina were surprised by column of ash belched by the volcano. These areas are near the 2,015-meter-high volcano, which was dormant for 43 years ago.
After a second eruption at one in the morning on Thursday, the Chilean government established an exclusion zone of 20 kilometers around the volcano.
The Ministry of Interior and Public Security (ONEMI) of Chile reported on Thursday morning that 4,150 people were evacuated because of the incident, and so far there have been no fatalities.
However, the spectacular images of the eruption caught the attention of social media under the hashtags #Calbuco and #VolcánCalbuco, as shown in the following video from the Facebook page Todo Puerto Montt.
Calbuco is considered one of the three most dangerous volcanoes of the 90 that are active in Chile, as reported by the BBC.

author: Global Voices Latin America


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Is Mexico’s National Game a Beloved Sport or Animal Cruelty? · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

Charrería in Mexico, October 27, 2007, photo by Ruben Balderas, CC 2.0.
Though many think football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Mexico, the charrería is considered to be Mexico's only national sport (translator's note: the name charrería comes from the word charro, the Mexican cowboy). It's an activity that involves the charro (the rider) and various animals, such as a horse, bull, calf, or mare. Unlike many other sports, in charrería, women have also a role. They're known as escaramuzas (literally: skirmishes). According to Wikipedia, urban populations ignore the basics of charrería, but its advocates consider it a very old activity, and a fundamentally Mexican one.
The charrería can be performed as a mere show or as a competition. If it's the latter, some rules must be observed. The activity is carried out through a series of suertes charras (horse shows) or acrobatics, that combine the charro expertise with the training the animal has. Among those acrobatics we can fin the “bull ridings” and the paso de la muerte (the deadly step). The latter consists of a rider riding a horse at full speed that jumps directly to another horse (named “raw” horse) that is also in motion while being spurred on by other charros.
The civil association Mexican Federation of Charrería, located at the Historic Downtown in Mexican capital city, is one of the authorities of this activity. Besides fostering the paracharrería (which is the same activity but carried out by individuals with special needs), the Federation also aims to make this an inclusive activity and to prevent discrimination. According to the group itself, their mission is:
Participar en la prevención y eliminación de la discriminación de las personas con discapacidad, así como en su integración a la sociedad, favoreciendo su participación en el deporte en general y de éstos la CHARRERIA EN PARTICULAR por ser el único deporte 100% Nacional y dar la oportunidad a los Charros y Charras, que por algún accidente dentro de este deporte hayan quedado con alguna discapacidad, de continuar participando activamente en éste, nuestro Deporte Nacional.
Take part in prevention and removal of discrimination of handicapped individuals, as well as making them part of society, contributing to their participation in sports activities in general and particularly in charrería, as this is the only 100 percent national sport and give an opportunity for male and female charros that due to some accident for practicing charrería are affected by any disability, to continue be active in our national sport.
Despite being a popular tradition, charrería isn't supported by everybody in the country, as some people claim it's an activity that promotes abuse or mistreatment to the animals involved. On the Derecho Animal (Animal Rights) online portal, we can find an explanation about this practice, that extends all the way to the United States.
La Charrería […] se ha convertido en una fiesta cada vez más popular en los Estados Unidos.
Langan, el presidente de una de las asociaciones defensoras, comenta tienen mucha preocupación por estos eventos, “El número de animales que esta siendo expuesto a lesiones es cada vez mayor” advirtió.
The Humane Society ha solicitado a los gobiernos estatales y locales que prohíban este tipo de práctica, que tienen como consecuencia el maltrato de muchos animales, y han logrado ser escuchados en lugares como Nebraska,Colorado y California.
En la ciudad de Omaha y Nebraska, se analiza prohibir este espectáculo, tras escuchar los argumentos a favor y en contra de esta terrible tradición.
Charrería […] has become a increasingly popular celebration in the United States.
Langan, chairman of one of the [animal] advocate associations, remarks they are very concerned for these events, “The number of animals that are being exposed to injuries is increasing”, he warned.
The Humane Society has requested local and state governments to ban this practice, that result in mistreatment to many animals, and they've managed to be heard in places such as Nebraska, Colorado and California.
In the city of Omaha and Nebraska, they are considering to ban this kind of show, after listening the pros and cons of this terrible tradition.
The website concludes with this phrase:
Al ser una tradición que es realizada [desde] hace mucho tiempo es de esperarse que los mexicanos defiendan la misma y aseguren que las charreadas son eventos culturales importantes y no peligrosos.
As this is a long-existing tradition, it's expected that Mexicans may defend it and assert that charreadas are important cultural events not dangerous at all.
On Twitter, Param0_ asks:
#charrería ¿deporte nacional? O excusa para el maltrato animal #México
— E Páramo (@Param0_) marzo 28, 2015
Is charrería a national sport or an excuse for animal abuse?
Meanwhile, Eugenio Peña points out other practices that should be banned too, if Mexico indeed must end charrería:
Si buscan erradicar el maltrato animal, entonces no solo hay que ir contra #CircosSinAnimales tmb #charrería #toros #acuarios #jaulas etc.
— Eugenio Peña Peña (@EugenioPena) junio 11, 2014
If you want to ban animal abuse, then you have to be against circus without animals as well as charrería, bullfighting, aqcuariums, cages, etc.
A member of the association Unidos Para Proteger a los Animales (United to Protect Animals) told the news site Angel Guardián:
El conocido escritor mexicano Carlos Fuentes sostenía que: “La cultura o es universal o no es cultura; es folclore”.
La charrería es mal llamada “El deporte nacional”, y digo mal llamada porque el Comité Olímpico define claramente que para poder considerar deporte cualquier práctica, los contendientes deben estar en igualdad de condiciones y el caballo no tiene ni remotamente las mismas oportunidades de su oponente el hombre.
Renowned Mexicano author Carlos Fuentes claimed that: “Culture is universal or it's not culture; it's folklore.”
Charrería is inappropriately known as “the national sport”, and I say inappropriately known as the Olympic Committee clearly defines that for any practice to be considered a sport, contenders should be under the same conditions, and here the horse is not even close to have the same chances as this contender, a human being.
Unidos Para Proteger a los Animales argues:
Al igual que la tauromaquia y las peleas de gallos, la charrería es otra forma de maltrato animal.
Si, la charrería es una tradición y una costumbre. Pero no es universal, por lo tanto no es patrimonio cultural ni deporte, tan sólo es una expresión del folclore mexicano.
As bullfight and cockfight, charrería is another way on animal abuse.
Yes, charrería is a tradition and a custom. But it's not universal, so it's neither cultural heritage nor sports, it's just an expression of Mexican folklore.
Mexican charros. Photo taken by the author and available on his blog.
These are the two sides of the same coin: an old Mexican regional practice that uses animals and has become a show and maybe a sport, or an activity that should be considered synonymous with bullfighting. However, we should note that in charrería, the goal is not to kill the animal but to perform the “perfect thrust”.
Charrería will probably come up for discussion by lawmakers soon, as the public shows growing interest protecting animals from public performances. When that debate comes to the public, we can expect to hear voices on both sides of the isle.

author: J. Tadeo


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Meet the Woman Who’s Shaking Up Pakistan’s Social Gaming Industry · Global Voices
Faisal Kapadia

Mariam Adil (far right) onstage at a Clinton Global Initiative University's conference with President Bill Clinton and other commitment makers. Image courtesy GRID Website
Mariam Adil, a young entrepreneur, is making waves in the Pakistani gaming industry.
According to recent data, Pakistan's software industry employs more than 24,000 people, including many startups like Mindstorm Studios by Ahmed, We R Play by Mohsin Ali Afzal and Waqar Azim, and the now famous Caramel Tech Studios in Lahore. Pakistan's developers have achieved new renown thanks to games like “Whacksy Taxi”, which has become one of the most downloaded App Store games in 25 different countries, and other projects like “Stick Cricket”. Firms hold regular “game jams” in Lahore to attract innovators with competitions between young would-be game developers. Jobs at these companies are highly coveted by young people: the workday ends around 4pm, and employees often hang out together afterwards, literally playing games!
Mariam Adil is one of the dynamic women leading this new era of entrepreneurialism in Pakistan, perhaps the country's best-kept secret. While most of the world probably thinks of all Pakistani women as oppressed and chained down by society, there are dozens of bright women entrepreneurs managing incubators and programs in Pakistan today.
Adil is the founder of the Gaming Revolution for International Development (“GRID”), a game development startup that designs low-cost video games to simulate common issues in development fieldwork and teach development skills. Its game “Randomania” serves up scenarios that any development-sector professional can relate to and encourages policy decisions, showing the results of those decisions. Stereowiped, on the other hand, is a boundary-breaker when it comes to race and barriers of prejudice and is a great example of what social impact games can achieve.
Faisal Kapadia recently spoke to Adil about her work and much more.
Why did you think of forming a company like the grid to solve issues when there is plenty of opportunity available for game developers commercially?
Mariam Adil (MA): Born out of pure inspiration, GRID hits at a niche market and gives me the flexibility to think creatively about pushing the boundaries of technology innovations for creating development solutions. It was less driven by a need to earn money and more by my passion for the idea.
While developing Randomania did you do a lot of research on different situations faced by professionals in the development sector?
MA: My day job at the World Bank allows me to have my hand on the pulse. Having designed and implemented several Impact Evaluations, I am familiar with the challenges that practitioners face while designing randomized control trials. This perspective, put together with feedback from some very supportive colleagues at the World Bank allowed us to make sure Randomania could do justice to the challenges of rigorously evaluating development projects.
What kind of impact do you think a game like Randomania can have? Does it lead to as a test case more cohesive thought or efficiency?
MA: In my opinion, there is a gap between the science of International Development taught to students and development practitioners, and the art of development practiced by professionals in the field. Until now, there have been few tools to bridge that gap – to provide the experiential learning required to practice complex decision-making, at a scale well beyond one to one interaction.
Games like Randomania offer a safe environment to simulate the effects of policies and understand the trade-offs involved in the decision-making process. With a push towards innovative use of technology in international development, and the effectiveness of games as learning tools, the stage is set for development games to be introduced as learning tools for development practitioners and students.
Randomania – Pic Credit GRID Website
In Stereowiped you try to break in a fun manner racial barriers and boundaries what gave you the vision for this venture?
MA: As the world around us becomes increasingly globalized, conflict driven by stereotypes is becoming a serious issue. The total number of migrant youth was estimated at 27 million (2010), representing 12.4% of the 214 million international migrants. With this level of youth mobility, issues of identity, cultural diversity and individuality become more and more real, especially in the New Yorks and Dubais around the world. For instance, following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Sikhs reported a rise in attacks, both verbal and physical, against them, simply because the sight of a long beard and turban was associated with the stereotype of terrorists having beards. More recently, we have seen stereotypes in play behind conflicts all over the news, be it the unfortunate reinforcement of the racial divide in US after the Ferguson tragedy, the Islamophobia following the Charlie Hebdo attack, the fear of Ebola from African travelers or the profiling of rape victims in Delhi.
The need is now to explore innovative ways for addressing the damage that is done by labeling and alienating entire populations.
You do happen to believe in the school of thought that games impact the player, does that then mean we should stay away from or keep kids away from first person shooters?
MA: Mention the word video games, and so many of us have images of 26 year-old dudes locked up in a basement apartment with empty soda cans and pizza boxes littered around them. But slowly and gradually, the stereotype is breaking, not only because the average gamer has changed in terms of age and gender but also because games are no longer just about guns and cars. The past decade has seen a rise in “social impact” games, games with a purpose, games that put the time of many young (and old) people to good use. From curing depression (SuperBetter) to raising awareness about pregnancy in Kenya (9 Minutes), the interactive nature of games is being increasingly used to build capacity and spread awareness. Games, like all other technology, can be beneficial or harmful depending on the way they are used. I am a strong proponent of leveraging the interactive nature of video games to serve as mechanisms of behavioural change that leads to social good.
You represent immense talent from a country like Pakistan how do you feel can the local game industry overcome some of their hurdles?
MA: It does not matter what industry you work in, what country you belong to or what gender you are, what matters is the fire in the belly. My core team of developers is based in Pakistan simply because we have amazing talent and a strong work ethic. Our hurdles are only as big as our lack of willingness to overcome them, I have immense faith in the Pakistani youth and believe we are well-positioned to tackle huge challenges and emerge with a sense of pride at the other end.
As someone whose lived a life on both sides of the fence do you feel it's easier as a startup in the US?
MA: Start ups are an uphill battle, be it anywhere in the world. While US may offer more female-friendly opportunities it also comes with the challenges of figuring out the investment landscape of a foreign country. On the other hand start ups in Pakistan may struggle with legislation and weak socioeconomic infrastructure but have a strong informal network that can pull them through the teething issues of setting up shop.
Did you do any boot-strapping in the early days in your company or you were blessed with capital?
MA: The great thing about tech startups is the low level of up front investment that is needed. A super committed team, some funding from competitions and a couple of pilot projects had GRID up and running.
What's the future for your organisation where do you see this all leading to?
MA: There are more than one billion people living under $1.25 a day and half a billion playing at least one hour of video games a day worldwide. The challenge of poverty is massive and so is the potential of video games. Through GRID, I am invested in thinking creatively about leveraging the interactive nature of video games to enhance the effectiveness of international development and hope I can make my contribution to this area, one game at a time.
Do you have a message for the game geeks and devs out there all over the world?
MA: The gaming industry is male-dominated. The disparity that this creates isn’t just bad for gender equality. It’s bad for gaming itself. An industry doesn’t reach its full potential by stifling its already limited talent pool. By letting gaming becomes more inclusive, the industry can do so much more to advance social progress.

author: Faisal Kapadia


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Mexican Rescue Team Asks for Help to Go to Nepal · Global Voices
Global Voices Latin America

Urgen donativos para 25 rescatistas paypal:donativos@brigada-rescate-topos.org CLABE Santander:01418092000709294 tel.5554160417 #ToposANepal
— Topos México (@topos) April 27, 2015
Donations are needed urgently for 25 rescuers paypal: donativos@brigada-rescate-topos.org CLABE Santander:01418092000709294 tel.5554160417 #ToposANepal (Topos to Nepal)
The Rescue Brigade Topos México Tlatelolco has started a fundraising campaign to be able to join rescue efforts there after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook Nepal last Saturday, leaving more than 4,000 people death and 7,000 injured.
The group was born when volunteers spontaneously showed up to help in the aftermath of 1985 Mexico City earthquake. The group was formally organized as a civil association in February 1986 and for more than three decades, they have assisted rescue and recovery efforts in the Mexican states of Tabasco, Chiapas, Oaxaca, State of Mexico, Veracruz and Mexico City, and in countries all over the world including Haiti, Indonesia, El Salvador and Chile.
Topos México doesn't receive any payment for their work since it is entirely based on volunteers. Most of the time, local authorities or Mexico's federal government cover their travel expenses and the countries they go give them visas and access to the disaster zones.
The following video shows a summary of the Topos’ work.


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‘Nappies in Adolescence’: Alarming Number of Pregnant Teens in Venezuela · Global Voices
Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez

Desireé Lozano, blogging for Voces Visibles, urges attention be paid to the extremely high rate of teenage pregnancies in Venezuela, where 25% of the pregnancies are among young people, and the lack of an appropriate public policy to counter this phenomenon and its repercussions. Venezuelan statistics are the highest in South America and remains in first place from two years ago.
Maternal mortality is an issue directly related to teen pregnancy. Desiree cited Venezuelan deputy Dinorah Figuera, president of the Family Committee of the Venezuelan National Assembly, who said the state's responsibility is to provide prevention:
“Una de esas consecuencias es que las madres adolescentes son mujeres que pierden oportunidades para desarrollarse desde el punto de vista profesional y aceptan cualquier tipo de trabajo para tener algún tipo de ingresos. Por esta razón el Estado debe aplicar una gigantesca campaña de concientización para la prevención del embarazo adolescente”, señala la diputada venezolana
“One consequence of teen mothers is woman lose development opportunities from a professional viewpoint, take any job in order to make some income. For this reason, the state should mount a massive campaign to prevent teenage pregnancy,” the Venezuelan deputy says.
Additionally, teenage pregnancy contributes to an already established trend, the feminization of poverty. Furthermore, the phenomenon embodies a risk for the mother’s health, running a greater danger than the average. In her article, the writer collects interesting expert statements on the subject providing an overview of the problem.
Continue reading Desireé Lozano‘s and Voces Visibles‘ work here or on Twitter.

author: Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez


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#NepalQuake: A Tale of Personal and National Tragedy · Global Voices
Narayan Adhikari

Thaprek village in Nepal was completely destroyed by the earthquake. PHOTO: Madhav Adhikari. Used with permission.
The death toll from the massive earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015 has already crossed 5,000, and according to estimates may reach as high as 10,000. More than 8,000 people have been injured. The extent of damage from the earthquake and its aftershocks is huge. It will cost in billions to rebuild. According to the United Nations, 8 million people have been affected, and 1.4 million are in need of food assistance. Reaching the remote areas presents a special challenge.
I live in the UK, but I was born in Thaprek VDC in Nuwakot district, about 100 km north-west of Kathmandu. Nuwakot district is very close to the earthquake's epicentre. Saturday's massive earthquake annihilated my entire village, including my home. Nature has rendered me homeless.
I lost four relatives and more than a dozen other family members and neighbours are seriously injured. There is no government presence in Thaprek, and no rescue team has arrived since the events on Saturday. Villagers are facing a horrific situation. Injured people are awaiting for treatment. Children and elderly people are suffering as a result of the cold and rain. There is no water or food.
Estimated shaking intensity by district in Nepal in Saturday's 7.8-magnitude quake pic.twitter.com/U9VxFpbmEK
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) April 27, 2015
Nuwakot, Gorkha, Lamjung and Dhading district, the districts surrounding the Kathmandu valley, are the areas most affected by the earthquake. The international community is sending rescue teams to help with search and rescue efforts, but that is still not enough. Foreign aid workers from India, China, UK, US, Singapore, Pakistan, Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Poland and EU are conducting search and rescue operations inside Kathmandu valley, but they are yet to reach the remote village areas.
Indian choppers, Israeli hospitals and Malay medics: How the world is coming to #Nepal‘s aid http://t.co/54wXrHf1th pic.twitter.com/Uq9EYD5Kfr
— Anup Kaphle (@AnupKaphle) April 27, 2015
When I heard the news, I tried calling my family several times from the UK. Worryingly, the calls were not connecting. I started to panic. Each minute felt to me like one year. I succeeded in getting through by midnight Nepal time on Saturday, and was about to talk to my parents over the phone and get information. I asked my father to give the phone to my mother, and before I could speak my mother asked, “How are you? We are fine here, but lost home, relatives and the entire village.” I had prepared myself to hear bad news, as I had been watching the television coverage of the earthquake. I managed not to cry, controling myself while I was talking with mother. But when the conversation was over I could no longer hold back my tears.
This woman was separating dust particles and small pebbles from rice grains as a 7.8-magnitude quake hit Nepal on Saturday and destroyed her house along with the remaining food supplies their family had. Bungamati village, about 8 kilometres south of Kathmandu. Image by Sumit Shrestha. Copyright Demotix (27/4/2015)
After talking with my family I tried to reach the Nepal police control room, and the US and Indian embassies in Nepal to arrange fro them to send rescue teams to my village. But the phone network was not working properly. On Sunday morning I started calling again about getting help for my village. I communicated with the Indian embassy and the US embassy via Twitter, but unfortunately they were engaged only with the situation in Kathmandu valley, and unable to send a rescue team to my village.
@USEmbassyNepal Nuwakot Thaprek – 9851024011, 9801024011.. Waiting for rescue and help.
— N Adhikari (@BraboAlfa) April 26, 2015
Other Twitter users supported me:
#NepalQuakeRelief @adgpi @MEAcontrolroom rescue ops status please? https://t.co/3Pbupn0QEA
— The Earthwoman (@tw_bhav) April 26, 2015
Entire villages of Gorkha, Sindupalan, Dhading, Lamjing destroyed. Waiting for any Help. #NepalQuake #NepalEarthquake pic.twitter.com/YHiCku6C3u
— JigmeUgen (@JigmeUgen) April 27, 2015
And others raised concerns that people in remote areas are being neglected:
Many of us fear #NepalQuake victims in villages are neglected. We can't let this happen. It's morally reprehensible. They need #nepalrelief
— Ravi Nepal (@RaviNepal) April 28, 2015
#NepalQuakeRelief Villages in the vicinity of our Disaster Relief Camp that are severely affected pic.twitter.com/N76TboXhqH
— SAR DOGS NEPAL (NFP) (@sardogsnepal) April 28, 2015
But that didn't generate any result in the relief and rescue efforts in my village. Several have expressed appreciation for the international response:
A nice Sand Art on #NepalEarthquake with a message “Join Hands to Help victims” at Puri beach of Odisha, India. RT pic.twitter.com/YW5oPTcI9H
— Dr. Imran H Sarker (@ImranHSarker) April 26, 2015
भुईचालोले ध्वस्त पारेको लाप्राक गाउँ [“Larpak village of Gorakha district, after the massive earthquake.”] https://t.co/jqzz9HORbJ via @setopati pic.twitter.com/rcNtibuH2B
— Setopati (@setopati) April 26, 2015
The earthquake has completely destroyed Laprak village.
Running for my life with thousands of other not something I want to do again. pic.twitter.com/sLmATKypCR
— Siobhan Heanue (@siobhanheanue) April 25, 2015
But since Saturday the residents of remote villages have been waiting in vain for rescue and search operations to arrive. According to today's news, however, the Nepalese army is preparing a push into remote areas with aid.

author: Narayan Adhikari


text:
One Croatian Village’s Memory Lives On, 71 Years After Nazis Destroyed It · Global Voices
Marinella Matejcic

Some of the houses in Lipa destroyed during that 30 April 1944. The ruins are preserved to keep the memory of the horror of hate alive. Photo credit: Marinella Matejčić
On April 30, 1944, around 2:30 in the afternoon, the village of Lipa in Croatia was surrounded by a group of German SS division officers and Wehrmacht members as well as Italian fascist militia. Allegedly, there were Chetniks and Slovenian Home Guards in the group, and they were under the command of Aurelio Piese, head of the fascist militia in Rupa, Croatia.
They stormed into the village around 3 o'clock and began stealing everything they could carry, including livestock. The group raped women and girls, slaughtered babies and the elderly. After torturing and murdering 21 people, they realized that they couldn't destroy the village in this manner, so they changed tactics. They gathered everyone from the village, telling them to pack their valuables in a bundle, and ordered them sent to internment camps.
The Nazis led the people to the Kvartika's house, house number 20 at the entrance to the village, and told them to get in, after which they threw fire bombs and shot into the house. The militant group then doused the house with petrol and burned everyone locked inside.
They murdered 269 people, of which 121 were children, aged from 7 months to 15 years. The Nazis burnt the entire village to the ground and removed the incinerated corpses. Lipa was completely destroyed, all 87 residential houses and 85 outbuildings. Of all the villagers who were there that day, only one man and one woman survived.
Nazis going through victim's bundles, collecting valuables. Original photographs, courtesy of Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral Rijeka, re-posted with permission.
The Nazi group's action was recorded on camera by the perpetrators, intended as boasting material for their superiors and friends, and the film was later taken to the photography workshop of Silvestar Marož in Ilirska Bistrica, Slovenia, just 17.5 kilometers from Lipa, for development. His sister made duplicates of the photographs and hid them, so they were preserved until the end of the war. When everything was over, the photographs were put in the workshop's showcase for somebody to recognize. It didn't take long for passersby to recognize the village.
The photographs are now a part of Lipa Remembers Memorial Center, which officially opened on March 8, 2015. Curator Vana Gović explains to Global Voices:
Fotografije zamišljene kao ratne trofeje mi danas koristimo za osudu tog čina. Ostvarili smo dostojanstven tretman memorijalne građe, jer ove potresne fotografije prikazuju se samo ako se pojavi osoba, koja može uspostaviti odnos prema njima. Prostor na katu je intiman, zagušenog osvjetljenja i namijenjen refleksiji, kako bi posjetitelji mogli uspostaviti odnos sa žrtvama i zločinom kojeg su pretrpjeli.
Photos conceived as war trophies we use today to condemn this act. We have achieved a dignified treatment for memorial items, as these seismic images are displayed only if there is a person who can establish a relationship with them. The room on the first floor is intimate, with dimmed lighting intended for reflection, so that visitors can establish a relationship with the victims and crimes that they have suffered.
The forerunner to today's Memorial Center was the Lipa Memorial Museum, which was first opened in 1968, while the ethnographic collection and the preserved ruins were incorporated in May 1969. The same building housed a school for preschool children, a nursery and an after-hours daycare center for children from Lipa who attended school in the remote villages of Rupa and Matulji. The museum and school was led by Danica Maljavac, a history and geography teacher, whose grandmother was one of the two survivors and who has often spoken publicly about the atrocities committed at Lipa.
The Memorial Center, located in the heart of the village, consists of a basement, ground floor, and first floor. The basement contains the ethnological collection of the region and is not yet opened, while the ground and first floors are open and tell the terrifying tale of WWII in the Western Balkans. The ground floor has a multifunctional space and a permanent exhibition on the history and life of Lipa and the whole Liburnian karst area. Besides the photographs with context, visitors can see the Slovenian documentary “The Day Lipa Died”, in which the living witnesses describe the terrible day and listen to the testimonies of informants. As the center is trying to continue the tradition of Memorial Center, the ground floor will be used as a communal room for meetings, various exhibitions, and other events.
Victims, which were later collected and burned. Original photograph, curtesy of Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral Rijeka, re-posted with exclusive permission
Gović says:
Stalna izložba u prizemlju posvećena je životu prije i nakon stradanja Lipe, jer namjera je, da svaki posjetitelj iz muzeja izađe sa spoznajom da ovaj tragičan i strašni događaj nije bio ni početak ni kraj Lipljana. Iako je teško stradanje pod nacistima obilježilo ovu zajednicu, riječ je o samo jednoj odrednici njihova identiteta. Kao i češke Lidice i francuski Oradour sur Glane, i Lipu su nacisti u potpunosti uništili i pobili svo stanovništvo koje su zatekli, no Lipa je specifična po tome što je jedina od ta tri mjesta nastavila živjeti.
The permanent exhibition on the ground floor is dedicated to life before and after the suffering of Lipa. Our intention is to make every visitor, after visiting the museum, aware that this tragic and horrible event was neither the beginning, nor the end of the Lipa people. Although the severe destruction under the Nazis marked this community, it is only one part of their identity. As the Czech Lidice and France Oradour Sur Glane, so was Lipa completely destroyed by the Nazis and everyone found killed. But Lipa is unique in one regard: it's the only place of that three that continued to live.
The first floor tells the story of the destruction, people, and hatred. When visitors climb up the stairs, there is a sound installation of the Nazi march, so-called “goose steps”, and the walls are covered with replicas of military helmets. Both the steps and the upper rooms are black, with dim light and in silence — so that every person can relate to the victims and read their story. Names of the people killed weren't put on one large collective list, in an attempt to maintain their identity. Instead, their names have been marked in little houses with individual names and addresses on it, mimicking the village that once was. The Lipa Remembers Memorial Center is a part of the City of Rijeka's Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral.
But, what were the events that preceded this horror? After the capitulation of Italy in September 1943, the area of Liburnia karst fell under fascist “Salo Republic”, which was founded by Adolf Hitler in northern Italy, for the Italian duce Benito Mussolini. However, both in the “Republic” and in the Operational zone of the Adriatic Littoral, which Lipa was part of, German Nazi troops were in charge.
General Ludwig Kübler was the commanding officer of the German XCVII Corps, while the police and SS order were led by Odilo Globocnik, one of the largest Nazi criminals and the mastermind behind the death camps in Poland. Beginning in 1944, rival resistance movement Partisan increased the number and size of their actions in this area. Since Partisans were outnumbered by the Germans, they used hit-and-run guerrilla tactics. Attacking railways and roads, Partisan resistance troops destroyed infrastructure vital to the Nazi forces.
The Partisans were led by Josip Broz Tito, who was head of the underground Yugoslav Communist Party (KPJ), and received support from Stalin's Soviet Union. Broz was a Croatian-Slovene peasant, who after capture as an Austro-Hungarian soldier by the Russians during the Great War, had become a fanatical Communist.
While the Partisans proved elusive, the local population, however, which provided assistance and support for the Partisans, was an easy target. Because of his specific problems with the Partisans, General Kübler brought his ten units to fight against what he called the “gangs”. He ordered and encouraged killing, looting and mass reprisals against the population, which was, in the eyes of the Nazis, nothing but the logistic base for their sworn enemies, Partisans. “Terror against terror, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth,” were his orders.
Curator Vana Gović explains:
Nacisti su obilazili selo i nekoliko dana nakon ubojstava – njihove mete su bili svi koji su pomagali partizanima. Tijekom jednog kontrolnog posjeta su presreli starog seljana Josipa Simčića i njegovu kći,Vinku. Nakon što su ju silovali, pitali su ih tko će biti prvi obješen. Josip je rekao – ubijte nju prvu, jer će meni biti lakše gledati nju kako visi, nego ona mene. Obješeni su na raskršću između Lipe i Rupe.
The Nazis continued to visit the village several days after the killings — their target were everyone who was helping the Partisans. During one patrol, they stumbled upon old man Josip Simčić and his daughter Vinka. After raping her, the Nazis asked them who wanted to be hanged first. Josip said kill her first because it will be easier for me to watch her hang, than the other way around. They were hanged on the crossroad between Lipa and Rupa.
Kvartika's house, where nearly all of the village was murdered, is now a memorial and ossuary. The crossroad where Josip Simčić and his daughter Vinka were hangedthe crossroad mentioned earlier has a cenotaph. The whole village is preserved as a reminder for posterity that such barbarity should never happen again. Lipa remembers. So should everyone else.
Kvartika's house is now a memorial and an ossuary. Photo credit: Marinella Matejcic

author: Marinella Matejcic


text:
Peru Struggles to Navigate the Needs of Intelligence Collection and Privacy Rights · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Network security. Photo from Yuri Samoilov's account on Flickr, under Creative Commons license.
This post was originally published on the blog Globalizado.
On March 30, 2015, Peru's Congress opposition representatives get to approve a motion of censure filed against Ana Jara, the president of the Council of Ministers and a member of the country's ruling party, for “failure to investigate duly, denounce, and sanction those accused of committing illegal acts within the country's intelligence agency, known as Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia, (DINI)”.
What is the DINI and what is the nature of the criminal accusations?
The DINI is a government agency under the National Intelligence System. It is attached to the President of the Council of Ministers and is functionally dependent on the President of Peru. Its primary role is Intelligence-gathering for the President and the Council of Ministers.
In 2011, already under President Ollanta Humala's government, a former adviser from the Council of Ministers denounced the DINI for spying on and monitoring him illegally. The complaint and subsequent investigation came to nothing because of a lack of evidence.
In 2013, amid efforts to investigate the DINI's request for greater funding (allegedly to allow the agency to monitor opposition members and ultimately denied by the government), a former minister accused the DINI of using social networks to promote attacks against political opponents on Twitter and Facebook. On that occasion, the Congress Intelligence Committee concluded that the DINI was not being used for electoral purposes.
The public has also learned that the DINI spent nearly 15 million dollars in 2013 on the acquisition of wiretapping equipment, which it purchased from the Verint Systems, an analytics company headquartered in Israel, and also paid around 1 million dollars to Consitrade and Vsense Technologies, ICT security companies.
On January 15, 2015, the magazine Correo Semanal published a report about how the DINI systematically monitors members of the opposition, releashing photos, videos, and documents as evidence. Initially, the President of the Council of Ministers, Ana Jara, denied the matter. Then, before a congressional committee, she speculated that the spying could have been the work of a criminal organization and asked for further investigation. A few days later, Jara announced that the DINI would be closed for restructuring, for a period of 180 days.
But that was not all. On February 19, a new report from Correo Semanal revealed that the DINI collected information about Congress members with data obtained through various public institutions (public records, immigration, the police, the judiciary, and so on). On March 19, another report disclosed that the DINI also targeted politicians, businessmen, journalists, and ordinary citizens.
That same day, Congress required the President of the Council of Ministers’ presence to explain the new allegations. Jara appeared the next day before Congress and for seven hours answered the questions from its members. She asked the Attorney General's Office to investigate the matter and announced the replacement of the DINI's senior members. But the opposition was unconvinced by Jara’s explanations and therefore presented the already-mentioned motion of censure.
Quieres saber si gobierno te rastreaba? @diariocorreo habilita buscador online #DINILEAKS http://t.co/It2sF3Av3e” pic.twitter.com/hnoEH6wbst
— El Útero de Favre (@uterofavre) March 25, 2015
Do you want to know if you were being tracked by the government? @diariocorreo enables online search engine
Journalists reporting on this story made available to the general public a search in the data files known as #Dinileaks, provided to them by undisclosed sources, where anyone could enter and check to see if they have been monitored by the government. Twitter users also tweeted the hashtag #Dinileaks in comments about the story.
quien ha sido el #snowden de la #dini que esta filtrando toda la info de la #dini <- #dinileaks
— Erick Iriarte Ahon (@coyotegris) March 30, 2015
Who was the DINI's Snowden, filtering all the info on #dinileaks
Writing on the blog LexDigitalis, Erick Iriarte addressed the discussion about the legality of the DINI's monitoring. He considers that intelligence institutions must act with due respect for human rights, the constitution, and laws, concluding that the DINI's actions were harmful to the public interest and the human rights principles laid out by the United Nations:
bajo la premisa que las entidades publicas solo pueden realizar lo que explícitamente se indican en sus normativas, no hay bajo premisa alguna la recopilación, acumulación, gestión y/o manipulación de datos personales (puntual o masiva, como ha sido este caso) […] debemos añadir que, si como informo el congresista Victor Garcia Belaunde también se han recopilado datos de historias clínicas, el carácter de dato sensible de dichos datos, esto aumenta la gravedad de la violación de la ley de datos personales, por su protección especial que tienen, dado que estos datos pueden configurar instrumentos de discriminación.
[…] under the premise that public entities can only do what is explicitly stated in their regulations, it is not written anywhere the permission for collection, storage, management and / or handling of personal data  […] we must add that, if as reported by Congressman Victor Garcia Belaunde, there were also information-gathering from medical records, it constitute a serious violation of the law relating to personal data, since medical data can become an instrument of discrimination.
Javier Casas, another lawyer, approaches the issue from the perspective of public data. Why would it be illegal for the state to collect and examine public data, if it is done by some NGO, for example, in the electoral context? Because in that case, it would affect only public officials and politicians, not ordinary people. According to Casas, it demonstrates “the DINI’s lack of control and poor quality in performing this task.”
Casas says of public data-gathering:
Ni para el periodismo de investigación ni para quienes producen inteligencia en otros ámbitos hay buenos y malos a priori, más bien es en este espacio donde se pone en evidencia a los sospechosos y luego el sistema de justicia y la policía se encarga de ellos. Pero, por eso mismo, en todos estos casos debe haber controles y rigor. Si de inicio argumentamos que estamos violando la privacidad de las personas por el empleo de esta técnica investigativa, le estamos diciendo adiós al periodismo de investigación del siglo XXI y a la producción de inteligencia eficaz, más aún si se trata del procesamiento de información pública. Ello de ningún modo significa abdicar de la protección del derecho a la privacidad o al honor, sino, más bien, pensar en donde, en qué etapa del proceso, establecer los controles para garantizarlos sin restringir de manera ilegítima el interés público, la defensa nacional o la lucha contra la delincuencia organizada.
There are not a priori, good or bad people for investigative journalism and intelligence. It is rather a space to bring issues to the fore, so justice and the police can deal with them. But, for that matter, in all these cases there should be regulations and rigor. If we agree that we are violating an individual's privacy through the use of this investigative technique, we are giving up on 21st century investigative journalism and the production of effective intelligence, especially if we deal with public data-gathering. We should reflect on what stage of the process to set legal control to guarantee national defense or the fight against organized crime, without jeopardizing individual right to honor and privacy.
We will have to await the DINI’’s restructuring to see if its intelligence-gathering changes in a meaningful way, meeting the demands of individual privacy and human rights.

author: Juan Arellano


text:
Authorities Said a Protester Assaulted Hong Kong Police. Witness Video Showed Otherwise · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Citizens monitor police use of force with their cameras. Photo taken by Gundam Lam for inmediahk.net. Used with permission.
Police arrested 1,003 people, including protesters, reporters and medics, who participated or were in the area of the massive Occupy Central sit-in between September 28, 2014 and December 15, 2014 in Hong Kong's Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. Among those arrested, more than 100 were prosecuted. The majority of cases are headed for prosecution.
Thanks to the watchful eye of ordinary citizens who bore witness to the “crime scene”, a number of cases have been acquitted.
One such case is that of 17-year-old student protester Ho Pak-Hei. On April 2, he was acquitted of assaulting a police officer in Mong Kok in November because a retired couple appeared in court and presented a video that showed the student did not touch any police officer.
W.B. Yeung, from an organization called the Progressive Lawyers Group, recounted Ho's story for non-profit online media the Stand News, and Jason Li turned the post into a comic (republished here with his permission):
The protests, dubbed the Umbrella Revolution or Umbrella Movement by the media, sought to pressure the Beijing government to allow Hong Kong citizens the right to nominate candidates for the city's top leader, called the chief executive. Hong Kong, a special administrative region of mainland China, will vote for the chief executive for the first time in its history in 2017.
Though Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen stressed that decisions to prosecute were free from political considerations and would be made in accordance with the penal code and the evidence available, several cases have indicated otherwise. Below are a few examples thus far:
As W.B Yeung concluded in his article “The Courage of Ordinary People, and Its Opposite” about Ho Pak-Hei's acquittal:
Ho’s acquittal and the acts of the elderly couple gave us an opportunity to celebrate the courage of ordinary people. One day, we also hope to celebrate the courage of those in positions of power to admit their mistakes.
Follow our in-depth coverage: Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
Ukraine’s Security Service Takes Down 30,000 Websites to Fight ‘Pro-Russian Propaganda’ · Global Voices
Anna Poludenko-Young

Almost 30,000 websites went down after SBU seized a Ukrainian hosting provider's servers. Images mixed by Tetyana Lokot.
Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) was initially aiming to shut down five websites that had been allegedly spreading pro-Russian views about the conflict in Ukraine. Instead, they ended up crushing thousands of other websites, halting business and other activities of the Ukrainian segment of the Internet.
How It All Went Down
In an attempt to block five allegedly anti-Ukrainian websites, the State Security Service cracked down on a local web-hosting company, NIC.ua, also the largest domain registrar in Ukraine. SBU officers seized hosting servers at four NIC.ua data centers in Kyiv on April 7, 2015. Surprisingly, the targeted ‘pro-Russian’ websites resumed work in a few hours, but almost 30,000 Ukrainian websites that had nothing to do with the information war between Ukraine and Russia went down for weeks. Among them were e-commerce, charity, news, and even local government websites.
The problem was hidden in the details. As it turned out, the Ukrainian service provider was not hosting the websites targeted by the SBU. According to Andrew Khvetkevich, NIC.ua CEO, his company previously hosted only one of the five websites, and had blocked it back in January. In a Facebook post, Khvetkevich said that hree other websites used the Ukrainian company only as a registrar, but kept all their files on servers in Russia. Finally, the last targeted website turned out to be a WordPress.com blog, hosted by WordPress.
This is a list of sites that have been in the court's decision (which allowed to seize servers): nahnews.com.ua; slv.org.ua; rubezhnoe.org.ua; odnarodyna.com.ua; slavgromada.wordpress.com.
Markian Lubkivskyi, senior advisor at the Security Service of Ukraine, said that before seizing the servers, the SBU officially requested NIC.ua to block the targeted websites, but the company did not comply.
NIC.ua denied the fact that they received any official requests from SSU. CEO Khvetkevich said they received only a few poorly scanned information requests. Khvetkevich also noted that it is illegal in Ukraine to simply block a website based on a scanned request or warrant, and the proper procedure would require original documents.
While the SBU and NIC.ua have been trying to decide who is to blame for hosting the ‘pro-Russian’ websites, a few hundred websites that are hosted by NIC.ua servers still remain inaccessible. Thousands of websites that were initially incapacitated have been coming back online over the last few weeks, after SBU's Lubkivskyi promised that SBU would be returning copies of data from the seized servers to those who approach the Security Service with a written request. SBU said it would keep the physical servers for the next two months ‘for investigative purposes.’
Internet Users Not Impressed
Needless to say, the online community was not very excited about SBU's actions. Maksym Savanevsky, chief editor of Watcher, a website about Internet business and social media marketing in Ukraine, whose website also went down as a result of the server seizure, wrote in a blog post that SBU's server data return mechanism looked strange and wasn't very helpful.
This is very weird, because it is impossible to get data without a concrete connection to the servers. Without the NIC.ua experts, the SBU will be able to return only files at best, not the databases, but the website doesn’t function without them.
Facebook users also left quite a few angry comments under Lubkivsky’s announcement about providing copies of the data to websites who had suffered from the blanket server seizure. User Ekaterina Glebova wondered who would compensate for the hosting fees she'd paid and where SBU suggested she put the copies of files if her server was in their hands.
Dear Markian Lubkivskyi, where are we supposed to put those obtained copies? We’ve paid for the hosting. Maybe the hosting for all the NIC.ua customers will be on you? Also, why do I have to go now somewhere to obtain my lawfully created website, that I worked on and invested in?
Let’s come to the SSU all together and stand there until we get back our websites and hosting from those who caused us these loses.
Mykola Radchenko echoed Glebova's sentiment and said even schoolchildren could figure out that you don't need to extract the whole server farm to take down a few websites.
What do I need the copy of the website for? What am I going to do with it? I want to use the hosting that I paid for. The provider can’t help me, because you seized the servers. It is all very simple. Will you be reimbursing people or what?
[…]
In order to turn off the light in one apartment, you don’t need to destroy the power station! I hope you got the comparison.
Facebook users, especially representatives of Internet businesses, expressed another concern: incidents like this could very well kill the Ukrainian hosting market. If servers can be seized so easily and without due process, hosting providers fear that Ukrainian companies and individuals are likely to shift to services by international hosting companies, forcing the local ones to go out of business.
That fear is not entirely unreasonable: over three weeks, thousands of Ukrainian websites were offline, losing views, clicks and potential business. At the time of publishing, NIC.ua said 91% of hosted accounts that were down as a result of the server seizure are now back online.

author: Anna Poludenko-Young


text:
We Are Working To Prevent Explosions: Spoken Word in East Africa · Global Voices
Pernille Baerendtsen

A poet on stage during a Fatuma’s Voice event in Nairobi, Kenya. PHOTO: Pernille Baerendtsen
The sun hangs low as the hosts of Fatuma’s Voice step on stage at a crowded venue in Nairobi. Words make the space hum. English mixed with Swahili and Sheng (local slang). People turn and twist mobile phones to capture photos, which are Instagrammed and tweeted with tags like #fatumasvoice. We are at Pawa254, a creative hub situated between the university and State House in the capital of Kenya.
The darkness of the early evening embraces us, and the stark, bright light from the ceiling lamps bounces off the leaves on the trees outside the windows. The leaves reflect back a fluorescent green light, creating a fitting backdrop for what’s about to happen.
Fatuma’s Voice is a weekly event where people are invited on stage to recite poems, make statements, perform music. This evening a group sharing their experiences with police harassment opens the show. The previous week they’d been doing improvised spoken word street performances around Nairobi that the police perceived as a provocation. On stage the group recounts stories of how they were forced to roll in mud as punishment. Among the audience there is no doubt that these young guys are true heroes. The audience shows appreciation for their courage with loud cheering and applause.
“Poetry sets me free,” says Chris Mukasa, and delivers another image provoking metaphor: “The youth of Kenya are like time bombs. We are working to prevent explosions. If words are never let out, we’ll explode! Especially youth need to speak openly about what is going on in their minds. If you we don’t speak about things it will turn into frustration.”
The people behind Fatuma’s Voice are Chris Mukasa and Nuru Bahati Shukrani, founders of the semi-virtual community, Kenyan Poets’ Lounge. Sitting at a café on busy Moi Avenue in central Nairobi, the two young men explain that they started the initiative among students at the nearby university. The audience grew gradually, and in 2013 the event was transferred to Pawa254, a place also known for its founder, the Kenyan photographer and socio-political activist Boniface Mwangi.
For Mukasa and Shukrani it is also about taking social responsibility and about contributing to the fight for equal distribution of Kenya’s wealth. Fatuma’s Voice is named after a fictional woman who was born dumb, explains Chris Mukasa, adding that the average Kenyan woman utters 2,500 words a day. As Fatuma has not spoken for over 50 years, many words are trapped inside her, waiting to be spoken.
The Kenyan Poets’ Lounge Facebook group has more than 58,000 members. The poems shared deal with everything from activism and politics to religion and romance. The space between fantasy and fact is central here. The space can release freedom of thought. Hence, Fatuma’s Voice’s most precious task is to provide space where fantasy can be given free rein. Mukasa’s and Shukrani’s next mission is to create more local platforms outside of Nairobi.
Es Taa: “Poems can put things which are difficult to deal with in words. I will not allow my culture or my tradition to reduce my influence. Writing poetry gives power to change things.” PHOTO: Pernille Baerendtsen
“People have heard me, not read me,” says Esther-Karin Mngodo from the other side of the plastic table in the cafeteria in Tanzania’s national library, Maktaba Kuu ya Taifa, in central Dar es Salaam. Esther-Karin works as a journalist for the Tanzanian daily, The Citizen, where she writes about culture. When she writes poetry, her name is Es Taa.
If she’s going to reach a larger audience, it’s not going to happen by selling poetry in printed form. Therefore, spoken word events and social media make sense. They’re free, and the poet can practice her/his material and receive immediate feedback from the audience. In 2014, Esther-Karin received the Ebrahim Hussein Poetry Prize for her work.
The themes of Esther-Karin’s poems include taboo subjects such as sexuality. When she shares a poem on social media or at a spoken word event, she’s is also testing the limits of how far she can go. People sometimes believe that her poems are drawn from personal experience, but she says that is far from the case, claiming the right to play with the space fiction creates.
X-FACTOR, WITHOUT THE JUDGES
On weekends, Nyumbani Lounge in Dar es Salaam functions as a concert venue and nightclub. Beams of light shimmer off in the chandelier hanging over the bar. The sofas and the dense red spotlight trained on the centre of the stage add a touch of glamour to the atmosphere.
Spoken word is also taking place here, in one of Dar es Salaam’s more well-heeled middle-class areas. The organisers, Nancy Lazaro Mwaisaka and Neema Komba, have named the event La Poetista. It runs twice monthly, and admission is 5000 TZS (2,5 euro). The principle is similar to Fatuma’s Voice in Nairobi—all are welcome to sign up to recite a poem or perform music.
Nancy Lazaro Mwaisaka writes poems herself. The audience listens in silence as she recites a poem about a young woman’s struggle to accept herself in spite of criticism and jealousy.
A man is introduced on stage as “Black Feet”. Clad in his “Tanzanian office uniform” of crisp shirt and neatly ironed trousers, Black Feet delivers a performance that veers between hip-hop and preaching.
The stage is open. People perform in English, “American” and Swahili. On taking the stage many cautiously announce that it is their first time. Many have brought friends and families. It is their applause that counts right now.
The approach is non-academic. Strict attention to the rules of poetic composition or style are not on the agenda. It’s as if those qualities step aside to make way way for joyful expression and exploration of the freedom to say exactly what comes to mind. But the young people who walk shyly on stage step down elevated.
“We are Tanzania’s X-Factor—only without the judges,” the MC exclaims in a fit of breathless enthusiasm as he winds up this evening’s session. It triggers the audience’s applause, which is spiced with chants and whistles.
Whether the location is a night club stage as in Dar es Salaam, or an activism hub such as Nairobi’s Pawa254, something is happening. Words want out. Cloaked in performance. Words about issues, which take personal courage to express in front of a crowd. What is this all about?
SPACE FOR FANTASY
One of the most important advocates for literature produced by Africans, and for unconventional ways of dealing with the spoken and written word, is the Kenyan publishing house Kwani? (Swahili for “what’s up?”). Established in 2003, Kwani? publishes books, stages open mic events, and is working on solutions to make it easy for people to read books on their mobile phones. Kwani? is particularly known for mixing illustrations and texts presented in the languages people speak in Kenya.
The writer Binyavanga Wainaina is a co-founder of Kwani?, and is known for challenging the West’s stereotypical perception of Africa. His 2005 satirical essay “How to Write About Africa” sparked a global debate. In 2014, Times Magazine listed him among the world’s 100 most influential persons after he created a stir with article titled “I’m a homosexual, mum” on the blog “Africa Is A Country” (After that he said that his memoir, “One Day I Will Write about This Place”, needed a new chapter to align with the truth.) On social media, people questioned the courage of a Kenyan man declaring his sexuality in a country where homosexual acts are a criminal offense. Some wondered if the declaration was real or fictional. In a blog post entitled “We Must Free Our Imaginations”, Binyavanga outlined his dream of a continent where Africans do not need permission to indulge in fantasy.
Over half the population in East Africa is below the age of 15. Young people challenging tradition and testing the limits of expression is not new. Nor do spoken word activities stand alone; rather, they merge into a larger wave of exploration of new ways of doing things.
It takes courage and fantasy to imagine that things can be done differently, and some of this is already happening. Youthful politicians in Tanzania challenge the elderly’s perceptions that their candidacy can be taken granted. Activists in Nairobi walk in protest when MPs raise their own salaries, or when youth organize “My dress, My choice” protests advocating the right to choose one's own dress code. Fashion designers create new models based on traditional fabrics. Musicians fuse electronic vibes with old, African drum beats and name it “afrofuturism”.
Something is on the way. But, is it new?
POLITICS AND POETRY
Demere Kitunga has established Soma Book Café in a residential area in Dar es Salaam. In the garden, between the café and the library, the traffic noise from nearby New Bagamoyo Road is blocked out by big trees. Soma Book Café hosts spoken word and other literary events. It also hosts an annual short story competition for secondary schools, and offers a mobile street library for children in an adjacent, less privileged neighbourhood.
Demere, who is a writer, activist and publisher, has worked in education and publishing for decades. She hesitates to call spoken word a new trend.
“For what is our baseline? Do we go 500 years back in history, back to the fight for independence (early 1960s), or are we talking about right now?” she says. She draws lines between poetry and Tanzania’s history, and emphasizes particularly significant periods. The political climate has always influenced poetry and the level of freedom of expression.
Gerry Bukini steps on stage to recite a poem in Swahili. Blinded by the red spotlight, he tries to focus on the audience while he clicks his poem forward on his mobile phone screen. “I didn’t know I could write poems in my own language,” he says, during a break between performances. PHOTO: Pernille Baerendtsen.
“During the struggle for independence the papers printed nationalistic poems,” Demere says. “It still exists.”
Tanzania’s most popular national poet, Shaaban Roberts (1909-1962) used poetry to formulate what kind of society he wished to see materialize after independence from the colonial powers. Today, the politician Zitto Kabwe, who is the most followed Tanzanian on Twitter, occasionally shares poems with themes like patriotism and responsibility.
Traditional poetry is still practiced today in Tanzania, while other forms of poetry have changed, along with globalization and general development. Utenzi, for instance, a kind of poetic recitation dating back to the 18th century, is still practised at weddings. Taraab—Swahili poetry accompanied by music played on Arab instruments—is still performed traditionally. Today, taraab is also practised in a popular version known as “modern taraab” at venues where female singers and smaller orchestras with electronic keyboards perform with texts renowned for their detailed narrations about sex and love.
When Tanzania introduced a multi-party political system and liberalized its economy in 1992, the country gradually opened up towards the world. This created a new space for media and culture, and the music genre Bongo Flava was born. (Tanzania’s commercial capital is popularly named Bongo, which means “brain” in Swahili—it takes brains to make it in the big city! “Flava” is a swahilification of the English “flavor”). Bongo Flava was inspired by American hip-hop, but with lyrics in Swahili, and became a voice for many. Bongo Flava today has spread over many genres, and also spills onto the spoken word stage in Tanzania.
If spoken word can be categorized as a new trend, it is too early to say. “So far spoken word in Tanzania is only popular among a smaller segment where culture is already trendy.” says Demere Kitunga. Several factors will determine if this new wave of words will grow, and in what way. Economic development is one. The expectations for Tanzania making a profit on gas extractions are sky high. It is, however, difficult to predict if economic growth will result in investment in the cultural industries. Geography and technological access also play a role. It is not rural youth who right now enjoy the spotlight—this is an urban phenomenon.
In Tanzania it is not the university or the publishing houses which spearhead the development of art and culture. In Kenya the cultural industries are more dynamic, but in both countries, spoken word is driven by the youth, who have the energy and who are turned on by thinking outside the box.
Find African writers and poets on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Dunia_Duara/lists/writers-poets-africa
The article was previously published in Danish for the Danish International Aid Agency’s magazine ‘Udvikling’ (Development), March 2015. The Danish version was slightly adapted.

author: Pernille Baerendtsen


text:
Chernobyl Is Burning, But Who’s to Blame? · Global Voices
Aric Toler

Chernobyl reactor #4 seen from across the man-made cooling river, Ukraine, in 2013. Image by Guy Corbishley from Demotix.
As Russia recovers from massive wildfires in the Siberian regions of Khakassia and Zabaikal, Ukraine has encountered an even more alarming problem: a 400-hectare wildfire dangerously close to the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
Ukrainian officials have said that Reactor Four, which failed during the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, is not in danger from the wildfire. Still, Ukraine has mobilized firefighters, the National Guard, and head officials to the affected area to prevent a potential crisis. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who arrived at the scene of the fire on April 28, has said that even though the situation is “under control,” it is the largest wildfire near Chernobyl since a massive 1992 blaze.
The Ukrainian Minister of Interior Affairs, Arsen Avakov, initially announced the situation on his Facebook page on the evening of April 28, when strong winds were making it likely the fire could spread to the 20 km (12.5 mile) exclusion zone around Chernobyl.
Работаем. Понимаем ответственность и не допустим недооценки рисков!
We're working. We understand the responsibility and we won't allow risks to be underestimated!
As in the case with the wildfires in Russia, social media has already emerged as a vital tool in distributing information to local residents regarding the status of the wildfire. Along with Minister Avakov, the Ukrainian head of the State Service of Emergency Situations, Zoryan Shkiryak, has been providing regular updates on the wildfire on Facebook, detailing the response to and the extent of the blaze.
However, much as Greenpeace had criticized the Russian response to the Siberian wildfires, the environmental organization has cited different figures on the Chernobyl wildfire from those released by Ukrainian officials. Soon after statements from Avakov and Shkiryak putting the size of the wildfire at 4,000 hectares or fewer, Greenpeace put the blaze at 10,000 hectares.
Reactions From Nearby
Many in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, which lies about 100 km (62 miles) south of Chernobyl, have expressed concerns regarding the fire online. A poll on the popular “Typical Kyiv” (Типичный Киев) VK group asked users if they could smell the smoke from the wildfire, garnering about 4000 responses (only 20% said yes).
Though it is unlikely than the smoke these 20% were smelling was smoke from the wildfire, another popular post in the group offering tips for dealing with radiation demonstrated the anxiety that still looms over Ukraine a generation after the Chernobyl disaster. But radiation levels in the capital remained within norm, as journalist Sergiy Karazy demonstrated in a FB post:
Сьогодні можна проводити експрес IQ тест в українському сегменті ФБ. Всі хто серйозно обговорює необхідність заклеювати вікна, не виходити на вулицю і пити йод, його безнадійно провалили.
На фото – рівень Гамма-потужності в центрі Києва 0.09 од. при допустимому максимумі в 0.30.
Today you could do an express IQ test in the Ukrainian Fb segment. All of those who are seriously discussing taping up windows, staying inside and drink iodine, have failed this test hopelessly.
The photo shows the level of gamma radiation in downtown Kyiv at 0.09 μSv/h with an acceptable maximum of 0.30 μSv/h.
Reactions From Further Away
While the online reaction in Kyiv was one of panicked concern, the response from separatist-held eastern Ukraine was slightly more bizarre. According to a conspiracy theory from one pro-separatist news website, the Ukrainian government may have started the wildfire as a “provokatsiya” (provocation, roughly equating to a “false flag”) in order to extract financial assistance from the European Union, representatives of which had recently visited Kyiv.
Примечательно, что пожар вспыхнул как раз во время проведения в Киеве саммита «Украина-ЕС». Учитывая, насколько Евросоюз озабочен безопасностью объектов, подобных Чернобыльской АЭС, и в этой связи на протяжении нескольких десятилетий выделяет немалые средства на предотвращение техногенных катастроф, то исключать вероятность провокации со стороны киевской хунты нельзя.
It's worth noting that the fire erupted during the exact time the “Ukraine-EU” summit was happening in Kyiv. Knowing how concerned the EU is with the safety of objects like the Chernobyl power station, and how it has been giving sizable amounts of money for decades to prevent tehcnogenic catastrophes, we can't exclude the possibility of a provocation from the Kyiv junta.
Though it seems implausible that Ukrainian officials plotted a fire near the site of a nuclear disaster only to provide by-the-minute social media updates on firefighting later, Minister Avakov has indicated via his Facebook that arson could be a likely cause of the fire.
As of the morning of Wednesday, April 29, emergency officials said the fire was contained, with over 300 people and 50 vehicles working to extinguish the remaining blazes in an area narrowed down to 270 hectares. Whatever the facts, both the panic and the conspiracy theories will likely smolder for a while. As Ukrainian emergency responders fight to prevent a further disaster in Chernobyl, the information war seems to burn as hot as ever.

author: Aric Toler


text:
In the Face of Destruction, Nepal Refuses to Be Broken · Global Voices
Saprina Panday

Slowly things are coming back to normal after the devastating earthquake of Saturday but still thousands of people taking shelter at open spaces due to the fear of aftershocks. Image by Ajaya Manandhar. Copyright Demotix (27/4/2015)
Images of broken buildings, collapsed temples, and spilled bricks have blanketed the airwaves for days now. The world is witnessing the aftermath of a 7.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday, April 25, and killed thousands of people, with more dying still. Humanitarian relief has flooded the country, but what might be described as an “avalanche of aid” has failed to reach many in remote places, where it's needed desperately.
The full scale of the #NepalEarthquake became apparent Sunday when helicopters found villages completely flattened http://t.co/ZlU1LCF0G0
— Nepali Times (@nepalitimes) April 27, 2015
This will be a lot worse if we don't focus on this NOW. Already late. https://t.co/BPxxf0HgLN
— Prashant Jha (@prashantktm) April 27, 2015
Tragedy of rural Nepal in time of crisis – lack of able-bodied youth to be part of rescue, aways on job migration to India, Gulf, Malaysia.
— Kanak Mani Dixit (@KanakManiDixit) April 28, 2015
People are gradually realizing another disheartening result of the earthquake: the Nepali government is completely overwhelmed.
Also read: #NepalQuake: A Tale of Personal and National Tragedy
Journalists on the ground have expressed their frustration with the situation:
Where are the local authorities? Where is the government? Everyone's asking the same question. #Nepalearthquake @AJENews @AJEnglish
— Subina Shrestha (@ShresthaSubina) April 28, 2015
The Indian helicopters are a resource, but they are not being used. Where is the bottleneck, Ministers of Govt of Nepal get into the act!
— Kanak Mani Dixit (@KanakManiDixit) April 28, 2015
Jan Egeland is the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), an independent, humanitarian, non-profit, non-governmental organisation with expertise in assistance and protection of internally displaced persons in times of crisis. The NRC was present in Haiti in 2010, as well as in the aftermath of Typhoon Hayyan in the Philippines. The group currently have two experts on the ground in Nepal with more on the way.
Egeland highlights the absence of Nepali state officials in relief work by praising all the non-governmental organisations for their work:
Nepalese civil society is by far the biggest responder in #NepalEarthquake, but once again largely ignored by international media.
— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) April 27, 2015
To the many far from the disaster zone, eyes glued to a mobile device or computer, praying and waiting for news about the safety of their loved ones, anxiety has become chronic. With tensions running high, the government's apparent incapacity has spurred groups and individuals to act independently.
Also read: Social Media Becomes a Lifeline in the Nepal Earthquake Aftermath
Abroad people have gathered together to pray and show support.
In India, Nepalese students held a vigil under the banner #PrayforNepal:
Nepalese students in India hold #PrayforNepal vigil: “We all are in sorrow” http://t.co/aheeJYTQVl pic.twitter.com/0nA3qlne4j
— CNN iReport (@cnnireport) April 27, 2015
In New York City, Prabal Gurung, a highly celebrated Fashion Designer originally from Nepal, organised a fund raiser where he managed to raise $120,000.
#PrayForNepal: candle light vigil in New York for the earthquake victims in Nepal by Adhikaar & Hyolmo Youth Club. It was inspiring to see the community come together.  Your donation will make a difference. Click on my bio for link. Every dollar counts. -PG.  https://www.crowdrise.com/NepalEarthquakeFund/fundraiser/prabalgurung Photo: @arhant99
A photo posted by Prabal Gurung (@prabalgurung) on
In France, under the aegis of the Nepali embassy, many will gather in Paris at the famous Trocadero Plaza overlooking the Eiffel Tower on Saturday May 2 to raise funds that will support either the immediate needs of Nepal's relief efforts or the country's future needs, when international groups leave for other projects. (For more information, please see #SolidariteNepal.)
Yet, while Nepal is still struggling to grasp the quake's impact, people on the ground are now pushing a new narrative of “getting back to normal,” trying to broaden the media's focus beyond stories of loss.
As dust clears, thru binocs from hilltop south of Valley I estimate 80 percent of buildings intact.
— Kunda Dixit (@kundadixit) April 25, 2015
Everyone can do with Kindness at trying times. A young girl feeds her #dog food to street dogs around Boudha. pic.twitter.com/rJfs39Essx
— Kashish Das Shrestha (@kashishds) April 27, 2015
Ratnakar Mahabir. In Patan seems newar comm doing what they do best communally for gens. Little state relief presence pic.twitter.com/SjGHIfWGuS
— Kashish Das Shrestha (@kashishds) April 27, 2015
Yoshadhara Mahabir, Patan – ppl drying traditional sukul after last nite's rain.Again- old houses down, new still up. pic.twitter.com/bJaFbT40Rz
— Kashish Das Shrestha (@kashishds) April 27, 2015
Photographer Bhushan Shilpakar, a leading member of photo.circle, a well-established platform for photography engaging with social change in Nepal, has also started telling the alternate stories of people taking independent action, capturing the sense of purpose and continuity that motivates many people now doing important work on the ground in Nepal.
Man Kaji Magar has been busy selling meat from early morning today at Gwarko, Lalitpur. "Don't ask me how much is it per kilo, just tell me how many kilos you need. I don't have time to reply back to your question." #nepalearthquake #nepalphotoproject
A photo posted by Bhushan Shilpakar (@bhushanshilpakar) on
For Krishna Chaudhary from Tikapur, Kailali, life must go on after the massive quake. He resumed work from today at his factory in Imadol, Lalitpur. #nepalearthhquake #nepalphotoproject
A photo posted by Bhushan Shilpakar (@bhushanshilpakar) on
Laxmi Acharya and her daughter Sharda are migrants from Panauti selling mushroom at Mangal Bazar, Lalitpur. Their only complain, those volunteers didn't come setup tarp for us, saying those are only for locals. #nepalearthquake #nepalphotoproject
A photo posted by Bhushan Shilpakar (@bhushanshilpakar) on
On this picture, one comment was:
I think this is old photo I can see temples.
Bhushan Shilpakar's reply was:
this was taken an hour ago, not all temples have fallen apart in the square.
To all those watching from abroad, out of reach, this is a reminder not to forget, that even in the toughest times, not all temples have fallen apart. Like them, in the midst of this emotional and physical storm, our common human spirit can, and must, stand firm.
If you would like 100 percent of your proceeds to reach victims of the earthquake please donate to Relief for Nepal Earthquake Victims, where photo.circle has mobilized a group of deeply dedicated independent volunteers to procure basic essentials in Kathmandu – with plastic tarps on the top of the list- and to distribute these to various locations on the periphery of the valley. All administrative costs are covered, you can follow how your funds are being used and, you will be able to see the positive change you are contributing to, through photographs.

author: Saprina Panday


text:
Parenting 101: How to Raise Children the Arab Way · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Satirist Karl Sharro dishes out some parenting advice on Twitter to his 51K followers, on how to bring up children, after reading news today that Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has announced a major cabinet reshuffle.
The Saudi king has appointed his nephew, Minister of Interior Mohammed bin Nayef, Crown Prince, and his son and Defense Minister, Mohammed bin Salman, has been made Deputy Crown Prince.
Sharro tweets:
The Saudi king replaced his brother with his nephew. I didn't know we are allowed to replace our brothers.
— Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) April 29, 2015
He adds:
In principle I'm against Saudi court politics. But in practice it's a very effective way to keep my 5-year-old and 3-year-old under control.
— Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) April 29, 2015
Sharro explains the importance of having parents hang their own pictures all over the house:
Another strategy I learned from Ba'athists is creating a personality cult by putting pictures of me around the house. pic.twitter.com/6yT4ejAtOo
— Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) April 29, 2015
For more parenting advice, wait for Sharro's new parenting book:
I will be publishing all these tactics and many others in my upcoming book on good parenting.
— Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) April 29, 2015
Did I mention Sharro is a satirist?

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
What Has Happened to Russia’s Best Independent Radio Station? · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Last November, it looked like Russia was about to lose Echo of Moscow, one of the country’s longest lasting, most respected, and widely consumed news sources. The outlet’s chief editor, Alexei Venediktov, was fighting for his job, following a scandal involving one of his reporters. For several days, there was a board meeting scheduled, where Venediktov was expected to get the boot, ending an entire era of Russian journalism. For a week, Russia’s opinion columns and social media overflowed with panegyrics to Venediktov’s courage, mourning the looming blow to Russia’s free press.
Zeroing in on “Echo of Moscow.” Image by Kevin Rothrock.
And then it happened. The Echo of Moscow Russians had come to know and cherish seemed to vanish.
Venediktov didn’t go anywhere, though. And the radio station is still one of the few outlets in Russia where you’ll find reporting and analysis that’s sharply critical of the Kremlin. But Echo of Moscow has become Russia’s liberal radio station that Russian liberals love to hate.
To be fair, Venediktov and his methods have always been controversial. His willingness to mingle with powerful people, not just ambush them with scathing questions, makes Venediktov unpopular among those who’d sooner spit in the face of Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, than schmooze him over a bottle of champagne.
And yet there’s something remarkable about the way Echo of Moscow’s reputation has plummeted in the past five months.
Less than a week after Venediktov saved himself from being fired, he was back in liberals’ crosshairs for attending a swanky party and taking selfies with state-TV anchor Mikhail Leontyev, who just days earlier had reported bogus information claiming Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 had been downed by a jet fighter, not a surface-to-air missile fired by Russian-backed separatists.
In December 2014, as thousands of Muscovites prepared to attend an unsanctioned demonstration outside the Kremlin to protest what they anticipated would be Alexey Navalny’s prison sentence, Echo of Moscow aired a bizarre radio interview with an unknown “political figure” named Alexei Bozhenov, who accused actress Liya Akhedzhakova and filmmaker Leonid Parfenov of filming anti-Navalny advertisements for large sums of money. The interview with Bozhenov, still available on the station’s website, grants an odd validity to what is almost certainly a fake news story.
There’s also something of a new dynasty at Echo of Moscow, which has entered the era of Lesya Ryabtseva, Venediktov’s 23-year-old personal assistant, whom he has granted an unusual amount of authority at the station, which she has at times mismanaged.
Lesya Ryabtseva, assistant to “Echo of Moscow” chief editor, Alexei Venediktov. Facebook.
In November 2014, Ryabtseva wrote a blog post indicating that Echo of Moscow had played a crucial role in crafting Russia’s “law on bloggers”—a widely hated piece of legislation that saddles some bloggers with stiffer regulations. In January 2015, she booted off the air photographer and activist Mitya Aleshkovsky. When the conflict became a public story, she joked about her influence over the station’s chief editor, alluding to her role “beneath Venediktov’s desk.” In April 2015, Ryabtseva made a fool of herself again, declaring in a live interview that there are only 8 million people in the Russian Federation. (The population is closer to 146 million people.)
This week, Russians witnessed the latest scandal to hit Echo of Moscow, when a blog post supposedly written by a journalist named Lara Voropayeva appeared on the station’s website. Voropayeva’s text, titled Feast in a Time of Plague, savages TV Rain, Russia’s only independent television station, for supposedly receiving and wasting vast sums of government money on a recent five-year anniversary concert.
The blog post was a polemic based on accusations now working their way through the police that Russia’s Federal Agency on Press and Mass Communications may have paid a handful of independent media outlets several million rubles in government grants. TV Rain says it did receive roughly $500,000 in state grants between 2011 and 2013, and there are fears that investigators might try to link the money to an ongoing criminal case against Alexandrina Markvo, the domestic partner of Vladimir Ashurkov, a close associate of Russia’s most prominent opposition activist, Alexey Navalny.
Voropayeva’s criticism of TV Rain was questionable, certainly, but what turned out to be far curiouser is the fact that Lara Voropayeva does not exist.
Ilya Klishin, TV Rain’s online editor, soon discovered that Voropayeva’s record as a journalist is nonexistent, and her profile photo on Echo of Moscow’s website proved to belong to a young woman in St. Petersburg named Istora Saidova.
Ilya Klishin, TV Rain’s online editor. Facebook.
Not long after Klishin’s discovery, Echo of Moscow’s own online editor, Vitaly Ruvinsky, issued an apology to TV Rain, saying the blog post should never have been published, and vowed that “Lara Voropayeva” would never be allowed to author another story. (Echo of Moscow has now deleted from its website everything written by Voropayeva.)
What Ruvinsky calls a “slip-up,” however, seems to be something of a trend at Echo of Moscow, where there have been several questionable editorial decisions in recent months. Indeed, on Facebook, where Ruvinsky first apologized for the “slip-up,” writer Oleg Kashin offered to show him another dozen examples of similar phony journalism on Echo of Moscow’s website.
Ruvinsky said it wouldn’t be necessary, and promised that Echo of Moscow is doing everything it can to purge itself of phony authors publishing planted stories against the opposition.
People on Facebook seemed to appreciate Ruvinsky’s efforts, but it remains a hell of a thing that Echo of Moscow, that last bastion of the independent media, is so near to being a pariah in Russia’s free press today.

author: Kevin Rothrock