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Uganda: Against Odds, Gay Pride Events Take Place in Entebbe · Global Voices
James Propa

The LGBT community has been harassed for years in Uganda. This is why the first Gay Pride organized on August 4th in Entebbe was praised worldwide.
LGBT Pride was a series of events held at Entebbe, including a party, a beach parade and a film festival. Jamaican LGBT activist Maurice Tomlinson was honored as the grand marshal of the event. In spite of widespread homophobia on the part Ugandan politicians and the public, the event was reportedly well attended. Ugandan police raided the event and detained LGBT activists who were later released.
On 14 October, 2009, David Bahati , Member of Parliament, introduced an anti-homosexuality bill (known also as “Kill the Gays bill”) criminalising same-sex relations in which a person considered as homosexual would receive the death penalty, or life imprisonment. As a result of the outrage of the international community, with some Western countries such as Sweden considering to cut financial assistance, the bill met some delays. In February this year, however, Bahati re-tabled the bill with some changes.
Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented a coalition of Ugandan rights groups with the State Department's 2011 Human Rights Defender Award in Uganda. She called the activists an inspiration for others struggling to secure equal rights around the world.
Photo by David Robinson© 2012 c/o Melanie Nathan, All Rights Reserved. One time permission for use with this article only granted to Global Voices.
Commenting on Dan Littauer's report on the Pride events in Entebbe on Gay Star News, Andyy wrote:
Every step we take is altering the entire future for many more than those alive today. Wisdom of our LGBTQ issues is already victorious over those yet bound and surround by the seemingly ever present forefather drowning mad flood ignorance. Life and death is the seriousness of our every step. Www.100stones.wordpress.com
Commenting on GayStarNews post, Darren Simpson also said:
I'm so proud of the people who never gave up on what they believe in, being gay is not a chose its a way of life and the more the gay community in Uganda stand tall a fight then one day people will stand up and listen. As a gay person am so proud of you all who became one and supported each other and risked your life to imprisonment. You have done this once you can do it again.
Responding to an article by  on newyorker.com, melnathan wrote:
The importance of this Pride event cannot be understated. The fact that these brave activists could pull this off in this milieu of persecution is a great victory for the community. Visibility like this notes the ongoing legacy of late activist David Kato, it defies the export of American Evangelical hate, and it helps ensure defeat of the Bahati Bill. It shows leadership for all of Africa, and above all it shows that the LGBT people of Uganda simply refuse to give up their right to exist and to live their natural born sexual orientation. see more photos to and article at The Advocate http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/commentary/2012/08/08/see-photos-ugandans-both-proud-and-brave
An example of media hatred towards homosexuals in Uganda: Rolling Stone's 100 Pictures of Uganda's Top Homos Leak. Photo via Gay Uganda.
Commenting on the same story, kasia_r said:
Dear Alexis, I am just an ordinary East Europe citizen, but I would like to get some information about how I can help, even if a little (unfortunately, I cannot afford a lot) financially. please, let me know what I can do. I would also be more than happy for you to give me contacts to your brave Ugandian colleagues. I am not a journalist of any sorts, I am just very much impressed and I would feel honored to ask them some questiones and to talk to them, if possible. I don't know, if you can send me a PM, but, anyway, here is my email: rogalewicz@gmail.com, please, contact me if you can.
Twitter users around the world showed their admiration and support for the bravery and courage displayed by Ugandan gay activists:
@GoodMenProject: Admire the people who marched for gay pride in Uganda. Homosexuality is a capital offense. Their bravery is beautiful. http://ht.ly/cTAHG
@Bardissimo: A #Pride march can not be any braver and prouder than this one. Gay Pride in #Uganda! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=516051181754277&set=a.510412848984777.131622.122256581133741&type=3&theater
@AskMrMickey: How amazing are the folks who marched in that Uganda Gay Pride parade? How can we support em? Fundraiser? Any ideas?
@JoeSetchell: I have the upmost respect for these guys risking imprisonment or even death. #HatsOff #GayPride #Uganda. http://pic.twitter.com/W6TlkPkK
@NewYorker: “Can you imagine that the worst place in the world to be gay is having Gay Pride?” @alexis_ok at a parade in Uganda: http://nyr.kr/Nxp0Fs
@PatrickStrud: I have the most profound respect and admiration for every single woman and man taking part in Uganda's first gay pride: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/08/gay-and-proud-in-uganda.html#slide_ss_0=1
@JoeMyGod: Gay And Proud In Uganda: It boggles the mind, but a small gay pride event was held in Uganda this weekend. Alex… http://bit.ly/OIGFfh
@ZackieAchmat: Brilliant!”Uganda Gay Pride march Indescribably brave and moving. http://pic.twitter.com/ZALQWEkq” Thanks @JRhodesPianist @dalli_weyers @gavinsilber
On 26 January, 2012, Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato was found murdered, just weeks after winning a court case against a local newspaper that had called for Ugandans to “hang” homosexuals. Kato was an advocacy officer for gay rights group Sexual Minorities Uganda.

author: James Propa


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Zambia: Four Women Murdered in Possible Ritual Killings · Global Voices
Isabella Mukanda-Shamambo

A spate of murders in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, has had the web buzzing about what needs to be done to stop them. It all started with an allegedly ritualistic murder of one young woman by the name of Ruth Mbandu in July this year. Her naked body was found with her facial skin peeled off, eyes poked out and ears cut off.
The nation reacted as the president of the former ruling party (the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy) Nevers Mumba, paid a visit to the funeral home for the deceased; some sympathized with the family and others asked for the blood of the killer/s.
Citizen reactions
Ruth Mbandu, a 19-year-old student was murdered in an incident suspected to be ritual. Image used with permission from zambianwatchdog.com
Commenting on the story one reader emphasized the importance of Christianity:
The true gospel needs to be preached in Zambia in every province Mathew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-19. May the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ shine brighter and brighter over Zambia.
Another reader, Ferigo, said:
With her blood in your hands u wil never fnd peace til justice fnds u..RIP RUTH MBANGU.
In view of the ongoing debate about the death penalty in the new constitution, Mwanambinyi had this to say:
And then you say the penalty should be done away with. These criminals should be caught and hanged!
Arrests
It was thought that the case had been brought to a conclusion when the police arrested a Christian pastor and organized a manhunt for a driver who was thought to be his accomplice. People were elated and responded accordingly with accusations leveled against the church and Satanism.
Pilila wrote:
Let them face the wrath of the law and JUSTICE should prevail.
Feckson Tembo called for regulation of churches:
CCZ/City councils should regulate the formation of churches.No wonder in Russia they don’t allow churches that never existed before 1972 to emerge.And you the same so called Pastors/Bishop you advocate for the abolition of Death Penalty to hell!
Uncle P disagreed with Feckson about registration of churches in Zambia:
@Feckson Tembo, get ur facts right. My church in Petersburg was registered in 1998.
KMM blamed new charismatic churches:
In the name of Zambia being a Christian Nation,Satanists are hiding in these small charismatic churches which are looming at a very faster rate and to take life of such a pretty young girl,with great future in a gruesome manner like that is unbearable.The culprits should rot in jail so as to endure it slowly until they die.
It is the same reason I do not trust these churches,unless main stream churches like Catholic,SDA, Jehovah’s Witnesses just to mention a few with branches all over the country and the world at large.
God bless Zambia.
Moffat Mkandawire supported the call for regulation of new churches:
That innocent soul of Ruth cannot rest just like that,the truth has to be found and the perpetrators have to be punished severely.Please let us regulate these new churches full of satanism mushroom and cover the entire country.Life is precious.
User peace told the accused not to be worried if he did not commit the crime:
If its not true surely god will fight 4 u Bishop. Don’t be afraid.
The same reader asked netizens not to accuse new churches:
Dont accuse the formation of churches MR F T but false teachers From your church or any other church. If Juda iscariot existed among the 12 DISCIPLES what of yr early chuch mr FT?
Murders continue
However, despite the arrests the murders have continued with more women being killed, bringing the number of victims so far to four.
Readers reacted to the report of the third murder on the Lusaka Times website [the site does not provide permanent links to individual comments]. Voice of Reason argued that the murders show that the Zambian police force is inefficient:
Very sad. Either the reporting is very poor or the Police are hopeless – surely the suspicion of rape is being based on the Zip of the deceased trouser being open and I quote “Police say, Mazuba, a mother of three of house number 22, Cedar Road in Woodlands, is believed to have been raped before being killed because the zipper on her trousers was found open”. Leaves a lot to be desired – Why did they remove Inspector General Martin Malama? Without him the rot that was in the Police force has once again become a given and both cops and thieves alike go about with their corrupt business and thieving with no fear. Bring back Malama
Mpingajira advised readers not to blame the victims:
It is not logical to state that the solution to the probelm is our women or girls as you call them stop moving at night. While that sounds a morally correct thing to suggest, it implies robbing people of their freedom of movement, we can not say any girl moving at night deserves to be killed in cold blood. The police should just expedite their investigations in these cases and quickly nail the culprit. We could be dealing with a serial killer and no one has even suspected that, are there any simmillarities in the profiles of the girls killed??? Lets not blame the victims, it is punishing the murderers and making our streets safe for everyone including the girls, once again!!!
Candance_Dempsey reported on Twitter about genger-based violence in Zambia, sharing a link to an article about it:
@Candace_Dempsey: Gender-based violence protested in #Zambia after 2 murders and many rapes. http://allafrica.com/c/-4Yo1G #zambia via @allafrica
@pearlyicey advised women against moving at night:
@pearlyicey: ….I think its time ladies stopped moving after 19…in Zambia..these murders are scaring me
Friends of Ruth Mbandu have started a Facebook community page, Ruth Mbandu Rest In Peace, and Open Group, Tribute to Ruth Mbandu.
Whether these murders are ritualistic, like in the case of Ruth Mbandu, or they are purely criminal activities, many people are alarmed and some feel much more should be done.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Isabella Mukanda-Shamambo


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Arab World: Curiosity Rover and Arab Scientific Decay · Global Voices
Salah Almhamdi

Following rover Curiosity‘s successful landing on Mars, Arabs on Twitter lamented the miserable state of science in the Arab world: little scientific output and very few patents.
Saudi comedian Fahad Albutairi [ar] tweeted:
One netizen, also from Saudi Arabia, made a gloomy comparison [ar]:
Blogger Khaled Khallawi tweeted [ar]:
Cartoon by Kuwait-based cartoonist Hashimoto about Arab divisions: Two Arabs arguing: One says, “You're Shia” and the other says, “You're Sunni” and the TV screen reads, “Curiosity lands on Mars”.
Zaki Safar said [ar]:
Entrepreneur Jamal Abu-Hulaigah criticized the Arab societies marked by huge consumption [ar]:
Medina resident Abu Ru'a Aljahni criticized the modernity shaping the Arab Gulf states [ar]:
Libyan blogger Salah Al-Haddad posted [ar]:

author: Salah Almhamdi


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Bhutan: Women Talents Galore · Global Voices
Rezwan

Tenziniesta at Writers Association Of Bhutan Blog celebrates the recent feats of women in Bhutan. For the the first time a female Dzongda was elected and the Supreme Court of Bhutan has a newly appointed female Justice. The Anti Corruption Commission of Bhutan is headed by an woman and guess who represented Bhutan at the Olympics 2012 in London! They were all women.

author: Rezwan


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Brazil: Judge Orders Halt to Belo Monte Dam  · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Brazilian judge Souza Prudente ordered halt to the construction of the controversial Belo Monte dam, in Altamira, state of Pará, on August 13, 2012, reports [pt] independent researcher Telma Monteiro on her blog. Netizens’ reactions on Twitter are being shared under the hashtag #BeloMonte.

author: Sara Moreira


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Caribbean: Regional Sports Academy?   · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Following the success of the Caribbean region at the London Olympics, there is now talk of “a single sports academy…located in Jamaica, and funded by all the governments and private sectors of the Caribbean Community”, to which Weblog Bahamas’ Rick Lowe quips, “Come on.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Central Asia’s Mixed Success at London Olympics · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.
The 2012 Summer Olympics offered mixed successes for the five post-Soviet Central Asian states and Afghanistan. While the Games proved nothing short of triumph for team Kazakhstan, the success of athletes from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan was more moderate. And for Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan whose athletes left London empty-handed, the London Olympics were largely a disappointment.
Afghanistan
Team Afghanistan which grew from a four-person squad at 2008 Olympics to include six athletes at the 2012 Games matched the success it achieved in Beijing four years ago. After winning Afghanistan's first ever Olympic medal in 2008, fighter Rohullah Nikpai bagged another bronze medal in men's Taekwondo in London. Now the war-torn country that has participated in 13 Summer Games has  two Olympic medals, both claimed by Nikpai.
The fighter's 2012 success was met with an explosion of excitement in social media, with some netizens suggesting that Nikpai's bronze meant more than gold for Afghanistan. Another Afghan Taekwondo fighter, Nesar Ahmad Bahawi, finished the games one step away from a bronze medal.
Internet-based Daily Outlook Afghanistan wrote about the country's success at 2012 Olympics:
Afghan athletes are real heroes of the country. Their achievements in different international sporting events have not only brought some moments of joy and pride, but also a great sense of unity among Afghans regardless of their ethnic background…
Their achievements have not only been a moral boast to the confidence and pride of our terrorism-hit people, but also a paradigm for youth to play their role in bringing honor to the country. Our athletes deserve exceptional encouragement that despite lack of facilities, they make history…
Kazakhstan
For Kazakhstan, the London Olympics have been an unprecedented success. The country's 115 athletes won 13 medals, including seven golds. Due to this dazzling success, Kazakhstan finished 12th in the overall medal table, a huge progress compared to the 2008 Games when the country was 29th. Kazakh athletes took four of the seven golds in weightlifting. Female weightlifters Zulfiya Chinshanlo, Maiya Maneza, and Svetlana Podobedova won gold in different weight divisions, with Ilya Ilyin matching their achievement in men's 94-kg division. The remaining golds were claimed by Olga Rypakova (women's triple jump), Serik Sapiyev (men's under-69-kg boxing), and Alexandr Vinokurov (men's road face).
Team Kazakhstan's success was accompanied by some controversy about its Chinese-born female weightlifters, whose success was also claimed by Beijing. However, as one blogger suggested, the national origin of the athletes in questions “doesn't change what they have accomplished. [They] were not champions in China. Kazakhstan apparently found them, trained them, and made them champions.”
On Kazakh blogging platform Yvision.kz, Bnews wrote [ru]:
[П]рошедшая Олимпиада в Лондоне стала триумфом для нашей страны, многие заговорили и узнали о нас, а в зале тяжелой атлетике уже наверное давным-давно знают наш гимн наизусть.
Спасибо нашим спортсменам и всем-всем за сказку, длиною в 2 недели и за их тяжелый труд. Желаем успехов и превосходных достижении, через 4 года в Рио-де-Жанейро результат будет еще лучше!
The London Olympics became a triumph for our country, with many people speaking about us and having learnt about [Kazakhstan]; while in the weightlifting gyms, people have long known our national anthem by heart.
Thanks to our athletes and everyone else for the fairy-tale that lasted for two weeks, and for their hard work. We wish them success and remarkable achievements. In four years, at [2016 Rio de Janeiro Games], we are going to have even better results!
Kyrgyzstan
The London Olympics were one big disappointment for Kyrgyzstan which had sent 14 athletes to the Games. Four years ago, in Beijing, the Kyrgyz took one silver and one bronze in men's Greco-Roman wrestling. Travelling to London this year, Kyrgyz wrestlers also hoped to bring home at least two medals. Among the country's main medal hopefuls in London was Aisuluu Tynybekova, a 19-year-old female wrestler, who faced a criminal charge of “hooliganism” at home. Tynybekova and all the male athletes from team Kyrgyzstan left the British capital empty-handed.
The failure of Kyrgyz athletes to win medals has cost them a lot of criticism at home. After Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Kyrgyz service asked readers of its website to say what they think of the country's performance at the 2012 Olympics, Aybek from Bishkek wrote [ru]:
…Я согласен с тем, что результаты на Олимпиаде отражают ситуацию в стране в целом, то есть все абсолютно плачевно…. Нам нечем и некем гордиться… Виноваты все – и государство и каждый из нас… Вместо того, чтобы покупать себе джипы и строить особняки, лучше бы спортсменам помогли.
But another Bishkek resident, Bolot Temirov, was less pessimistic, suggesting [ru] that the 2012 Olympic failure might actually benefit the country in a longer term:
Самое главное сделать выводы. Иногда нужны поражения, чтобы потом были победы…
Tajikistan
Just like Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan won two medals – one bronze and one silver – at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Just like Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan was hoping to at least match its 2008 success in London. Unlike Kyrgyzstan, however, Tajikistan bagged an Olympic medal at this year's Games. The country's only medal, a bronze, was won by 19-year-old female boxer, Mavzuna Chorieva. By achieving this success, the fighter is said to have broken major social stereotypes related to women's role in Tajikistan. She is also being promoted as a new “national symbol” by some netizens. The rest of the 16 athletes representing Tajikistan in London, including the 2008 Olympic heroes Rasul Boqiev and Yusup Abdusalomov, failed to impress this year.
Yet, Tajikistanis appear to be happy about the single medal taken by the female boxer. As journalist Salim Aioubzod explained [tj] on Facebook:
Як медали биринҷии мо баробари 10 нишони тилои баӣзе кишварҳост.
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan which hasn't yet won a single Olympic medal brought 10 athletes to London. None of them was expected to contend for a medal. And none of them did. Yet, according to the government news service, Turkmenistan's athletes “performed respectably” [ru] at the Games, breaking several personal and nationals records.
The only thing Turkmenistan is likely to be remembered about after the London Olympics is the incident with a Turkmen boxing referee, Ishanguly Meretnyyazov, who was expelled by the International Boxing Association for improper officiating at the Games.
Uzbekistan
Prior to London, Uzbekistan took 17 Summer Olympic medals, including four golds. At Beijing Games four years ago, Uzbek athletes won six medals: one gold (in men's freestyle wrestling), two silvers (in men's judo and wrestling), and three bronzes (in men's and women's gymnastics, and in men's judo).
Uzbekistan had a more moderate success this year in London where its 53-athlete-strong team claimed four medals. Artur Taymazov, the country's famous freestyle wrestler, won his third straight Olympic wrestling gold in men's 120-kg category. Three bronzes were won by Abbos Atoev (men's 75-kg boxing), Rishod Sobirov (men's under-60-kg judo), and Soslan Tigiev (men's 74-kg freestyle wrestling).
Discussing the results of the London Olympics for Uzbekistan on Russia's most popular online social network VKontakte, one user wrote [tj]:
Олимпиада Лондон-2012 закончилась.
Узбекистан 47 место! Кто-то доволен результатами, кто-то нет! Но всё, же мы поздравляем всех тех, кто принёс нашей стране медали (не важно какие) главное что они есть…
The London 2012 Olympics is over.
Uzbekistan is 47th [in the overall medal count]! Some people are happy about the result, some are not! Still, we extend our congratulations to those who won medals for our country (whatever medals these are). The most important thing is that we have [these medals]…
This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Chile: Mapuche Women Continue Occupation of UNICEF Office · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The peaceful occupation of UNICEF headquarters in Santiago, Chile, by Mapuche women has continued for 20 days. Mapuche leaders have stated that the occupation will continue until UNICEF becomes more actively involved in cases of police violence against Mapuche children. On August 12, blogger and photographer Kena Lorenzini Lorenzini [es] captured images of the cultural activities held in front of UNICEF to support the two women, a mother and her daughter, who are still occupying the UNICEF office.

author: Silvia Viñas


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China: Netizens’ Comments on 2012 London Olympics · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fauna from ChinaSMACK translates Chinese netizens’ general comments and impressions of the 2012 London Olympics.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China, USA: The Gap Between Chinese and American Consumers · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

David Wertime from Tea Leaf Nation translates an Infographic which tells the huge gap between Chinese and American consumers.


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Costa Rica: Cat Literally Drops In During University of Peace Class · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

A class at the  University of Peace in Costa Rica had an unexpected visitor drop in, as a cat fell through the suspended ceiling right behind a couple of students giving a presentation on the Theory of Change.  (Via Mashable)

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Egypt: Front Page of Al Doustor’s Consfiscated Issue  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bassem Sabry, from Egypt, tweets a photograph of the “controversial front page of first confiscated issue of Al-Dostour [newspaper], calling for a military-backed Turkey-like State.”

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Global Voices Podcast: More From #GV2012 · Global Voices
Jamillah Knowles

Hello World,
Welcome to the Global Voices Podcast. In this edition you'll hear more from the the Global Voices Summit which took place in Nairobi, Kenya, back in July.
The Summit is a meeting of minds, friends, new acquaintances and public participation. Many of our authors, editors and content gatherers only get to meet in person once every two years, when the Summit takes place. You can find out more about the Summit by checking the Twitter hashtag #GV2012 and by taking a look at the dedicated Summit pages.
As well as being a gathering for the public, Global Voices authors and editors to all meet and discuss their ideas, selected academics from around the world were also invited to share their knowledge and learn from the community.
Ivan Sigal is the executive director of Global Voices and he describes why it was important for the academic group to join in at the event.
There were many sessions discussing processes and methods of highlighting under-represented voices and making the most of citizen media tools that are the everyday methods of the Global Voices community. We also asked a selection of academics about their thoughts and experiences of the Summit to find out what they learned and what knowledge they might return to their work with.
Origins and futures
Of course Global Voices sprang from academia and also present at the Summit was Rebecca MacKinnon, the co-founder of the organisation, who is also an author as well as a senior fellow at the New America Foundation think tank where she works on Internet policy issues. We caught up with her to talk about the future of the Internet and what it means for freedom of communication.
Global Voices would be nothing without its contributors. So to round up our coverage of the Summit for the podcast, enjoy some closing thoughts and experiences from the authors, translators and editors who create this extraordinary source of news and information.
The Global Voices 2012 Summit location.
Thank you to all of our podcast contributors, the Summit event organisers and to you for listening.
The Global Voices Podcast. The world is talking. I hope you've been listening.
Music credits
In the podcast you can hear lots of lovely Creative Commons music. Thanks to Mark Cotton  for his fantastic creations and thanks also to all of the wonderful voice over performances and clips that help to glue the podcast together.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS

author: Jamillah Knowles


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Hollywood’s Next Go-To Enemies: North Korea and China · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

North Korea Tech blog wrote about leaked movie scripts and photos of Hollywood's upcoming movies which Chinese media denounced as ‘reshoots of Cold War movie demonizing China’.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Popsong Stirs up Hong Kong-Mainland Chinese Conflict · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A popular singer's latest album, “Not polite” has stirred up another round of Hong Kong-Mainland Chinese debate. The lyrics of one track, which states state: “not matter if you are ‘locusts’ (refers to mainland Chinese) or ‘mole crickets and ants’ (refers to Hong Kong people), should be polite to each others”, was over-interpreted as anti-mainland Chinese. More from Dictionary of Politically Incorrect Hong Kong Cantonese.


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Lebanon: Bank Robber Filmed Shooting Army Officer · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Lebanon, plus961 shares this video on YouTube showing a bank robber shooting an army officer, who happened to be at a bank they were robbing.


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Malaysia: Blackout Protest Against Internet Censorship Legislation · Global Voices
Tessa Houghton

This August 14, 2012, Malaysian netizens are blacking out in protest against the second of two recent amendments made to the Malaysian Evidence Act 1950. The amendment made by the Evidence (Amendment) (No2) Act 2012, Section 114A (S114A), deals with allegedly illicit or harmful content on the Internet.
As Malaysia's Centre for Independent Journalism states, “the amendment enables law enforcement officials to swiftly hold someone accountable for publishing seditious, defamatory, or libelous content online.”
S114A, entitled “Presumption of Fact in Publication”, holds (1) those who own, administrate, or edit websites open to public contributors, such as online forums or blogs; (2) those who provide webhosting services or Internet access; and (3) those own the computer or mobile device used to publish content online, accountable for content published through their services, on their sites, or ‘in their name’.
Furthermore, those alleged to have posted the illicit or defamatory content are assumed to be guilty until proven innocent, thus contravening the usual ‘innocent until proven guilty’ logic of judicial process.
The Amendment was tabled by ruling coalition Barisan Nasional‘s Law Minister, Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, in Dewan Rakyat (the Malaysian ‘People's Hall’ or House of Representatives) on 18 April, and was passed after the second and third reading during April's parliamentary meeting which saw a raft of laws passed without debate.
On 9 May, Dewan Negara (the Malaysian ‘National Hall’ or Senate) passed the amendment. The amendment was gazetted on 31 July 2012, meaning that the law is now fully operational.
One of the #stop114a blackout banners in Bahasa Melayu
S114A has been received with widespread criticism, but opposition had remained fractured until recently, with Malaysia's Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) coordinating and distributing an online petition asking for the Amendment to be repealed, signed by more than 3300 people, before being delivered to deputy law minister Datuk VK Liew in parliament on June 26.
As CIJ Director Jac Sm Kee commented at the time, the Amendment is likely to have a severe chilling effect upon Malaysian civil society:
What can an ordinary internet user do to prove it wasn’t them who published something online when the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) itself sometimes says it doesn’t have the technical resources to find the real culprits? … If a kopitiam [coffee shop] owner is liable for all the traffic that goes through its wi-fi, it places a lot of burden on them, in terms of monetary and human resources, to either conduct surveillance or stop providing wi-fi altogether.
When the petition was ignored and the law made operational on July 31, the CIJ began coordinating the current internet blackout campaign, using existing links with Malaysian opinion leaders and reaching out through social media platforms to publicise and gain pain participation in the blackout. The Internet blackout follows similar protests in New Zealand and France (2009), Russia and Myanmar (2012), and the global anti-SOPA/PIPA Internet blackout which occurred earlier this year, with the blackout tactic appearing to spread globally amongst digital rights supporters.
A host of news and commercial sites (including influential Malaysian independent news site Malaysiakini), bloggers, public figures, community forums and civil society organizations are participating in the Malaysian blackout, but Malaysia's social media sphere is also notably dark, with large numbers of Facebook and Twitter users ‘getting involved’ and blacking out their avatars, posting status updates criticizing the amendment, and contributing to the Twitter hashtag #stop114a.
A selection of comments from the hashtag illustrates the overwhelmingly negative response to the legislation:
@wikileaks: Tomorrow is Malaysia's ‘Internet Blackout Day’ – A campaign for internet freedom. #Stop114A https://wlfriends.org/
@DSamyVellu: Imagine a world with true Internet freedom. But freedom is not free. We must fight for our freedom. Happy #Stop114A Day. See you Wednesday.
@Mayazhrdn: #Stop114A isn't bcs of ppl being scared of being held guilty against what they say, but bcs EVEN IF you get hacked, you're guilty.
@salhasyafiqah: Evidence (Amendment) (No2) Act 2012, Section 114A –> This is crap and nonsense. #Stop114A
@Ahriman92: No #freedomofspeech equals muted injustice just like what the government wants. Oppression in broad daylight. #stop114A
One of the #stop114a tweets perhaps sums the blackout up best:
@nikicheong: #Stop114A could be Malaysia's most successful digital civil movement. Hacktivism at its best. Let's make it happen people.

author: Tessa Houghton


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Mauritania: Demanding an End to Military Rule  · Global Voices
أحمد جدو

Mauritanians took to the streets in a massive march calling for the end of their country's military rule.
The march, on June 23, 2012, was organised by the Coordination of Democratic Opposition (COD). It started near the Youth Centre in the capital Nouakchott, passing by the Security Directorate and the Palace of Justice, where participants chanted for the fall of the ruling regime. The day ended with a popular rally.
Speakers insisted on the necessity of ending the current regime, stressing they will not enter into negotiation with the military. “Marches and protests show that the people reject the regime and they represent all what remains to Mauritanians of hope to preserve the state,” said Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, the country's former president.
Photo of the protest used with permission from the page “Latest News ”  آخر خبرا
This event follows a call by the People's Progressive Alliance leader Messaoud Ould Boulkheir to the opposition to initiate a dialogue with the regime of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in order to put an end to the current crisis which has been raging in the country for more than a year. Ould Boulkheir met with all opposition parties in Mauritania introducing the initiative to them and asking them to endorse it.
Boulkheir's initiative was met with fury by the February 25th  Youth Movement [ar – fr], which has been calling for the ouster of the regime  for more than a year. The movement also launched a Facebook campaign entitled “No to Saving the General” which asks various political parties to boycott the initiative.
Likewise, “For Mauritania” organization, issued a document [ar] explaining why Mauritanians should demand the departure of the military regime.
the rally after the march …. photo by @sidimedlemin
Mauritanian blogger Dedda Ould Cheikh Brahim attended the protest and wrote about it:
The Facebook Page of the Youth Organization “تواصل” – Tewassoul (Communication), posted more than 92 photos of the event. It said:
The protest was also covered by the Youth of Democratic Forces Gathering – شباب التكتل where we can also find photographs and a document.
News about the rally was also spread by Mauritanian Twitter users, like Mejd, who noted:
Taha Ould Habib for his part denounced the lack of coverage by Al Jazeera Channel for the opposition march:
One day before the protest Moustapha Ould Bab Ahmed tweeted about the distribution of fish to the poor by the government so as to dissuade them from taking part in the rally.

author: أحمد جدو


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Oil Exploration Prompts Lake Malawi/Nyasa Ownership Dispute · Global Voices
Victor Kaonga

News that Malawi is exploring oil on Lake Nyasa (also known as Lake Malawi, Lake Nyassa, Lake Niassa and Lago Niassa) has attracted hot debate over the ownership of the lake. While the Malawian government claims exclusive ownership of the lake, Tanzania is pressing for recognition of some earlier ownership of half of the lake.
The matter dates back to colonial times in 1890, when Britain and Germany shared boundaries in East and Central Africa. At that time hopes for any oil on the lake were far fetched.
According to journalist and blogger Mavuto Jobani, last October 2011, Malawi said it had awarded oil exploration licenses to UK-based company Surestream Petroleum to search for oil in the lake.
A map showing two different borders between Tanzania and Malawi. Image courtesy of wavuti.com.
Quoting official Tanzanian sources, Jubani writes:
“Malawi claims that the whole lake belongs to the country according to colonial boundaries … But our stated position is that half of the lake belongs to Tanzania,” said Assah Mwambene, a spokesman for Tanzania’s foreign affairs ministry.
While some Malawians fear for the future, the government says things are under control as they have planned to deal with the matter appropriately.
Bloggers like Pearson Nkhoma have avoided giving their opinion on the new development preferring to present the facts as they are. For instance Nkhoma writes:
Lake Malawi is home to 1,000 endemic species of fish, an estimate to be more than any other place on earth. It is Africa’s third-largest, after Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania and Lake Victoria which is partly also owned by Tanzania. In Tanzania, Lake Malawi is called Lake Nyasa, a name derived from Malawi’s colonial name, Nyasaland.  In the early 1960s, Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, then president of Malawi, also claimed that Mbeya in Tanzania were also part of Malawi.
Malawi media and social forums are awash with the debate about the ownership of the lake and potential wealth from the oil exploration. Most Malawians claim full ownership of Africa's third largest and fresh water lake.
Lake Malawi/Nyasa view from Likoma Island. Photo released under Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) by Wikipedia user Worldtraveller.
The government of Tanzania ordered in 2007 that all maps that show that the border between Malawi and Tanzania running along the Tanzanian side of Lake Nyasa be impounded and set on fire, because they ‘mislead the Tanzanian public’ on the actual location of the border.
The two countries will meet in Malawi on 20 August, 2012, to discuss the matter.

author: Victor Kaonga


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Pakistan: Economics And Secularism · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ayusyha Khanna at Pak Tea House argues that if Pakistan truly wants to realize its potential as far as economic performance is concerned, then it should adopt secularism to create an atmosphere of peace.


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Pakistan: Fighting Stereotypes and Celebrating with India on Independence Day  · Global Voices
Salman Latif

Pakistan is, without a doubt, stranded in a plethora of problems. Mainstream and social media is usually fraught with issues ranging from terrorism and sectarianism to economic and power crisis.
However, there comes a day, once every year, when even the most cynical tend to let go of their skepticism and dwell in a rather romantic notion of hope. That day is August 14, the day Pakistan got its independence from British Raj.
Google doodle
On social media, the day kickstarted with a discussion of a special Google doodle that Google Pakistan rolled out on its Pakistan page.
Screen grab of Google Pakistan's Independence Day doodle on August 14, 2012.
The doodle features truck art, a popular art form that is inspired by commercial transportation in Pakistan which is adorned with colourful paintings and poetry. It has attracted international attention and acclaim over the years and it was truly heart-rendering for Pakistanis to see their cherished art featured on Google's home page.
Cross-border wishes
There was also a lot of cross-border talk in this year's Independence Day discussion in Pakistan.
Pakistan's Independence Day is August 14 whereas India's is August 15, so jubilations can go hand-in-hand. But this year's social media talk hinted that animosities between the two nations have significantly diminished.
Indian Twitter users actively congratulated their Pakistani counterparts and soon, a hastag #IfThereWasNoPartition was trending, which was coined pretty much to show how the two nations continue to be bonded, culturally as well as socially. [Note: Partition is the term used to describe the division of the Indian Subcontinent into India and Pakistan by the the British Raj in 1947.]
Journalist Omar Waraich tweeted from his profile:
#IfThereWasNoPartition South Asia could well have been nuclear-free.
Journalist Shiraz Hassan said:
#IfThereWasNoPartition then one could have breakfast in #Lahore and Lunch in #Amritsar daily
Speaking about Zaid Hamid, a popular televangelist who has a knack of basing his patriotism on anti-Indian sentiments, blogger Shahid Saeed wrote:
#IfThereWasNoPartition Zaid Hamid would've been jobless.
AM, from the other side of the border, tweeted:
#IfThereWasNoPartition folks from Lahore would party in Delhi on weekends and Delhiwallahs would drive down to Lahore for shopping & food.
Fighting stereotypes
While a few spoke about the issues plaguing Pakistan, most restrained themselves to positive aspects, motivational quotes and the hope for a better future. Mehreen Kasana, an avid blogger based in Pakistan who also runs an incredibly popular Tumblr account, decided to launch a new Tumblr, titled ‘Pakistanis Against Stereotyping’ on August 8, which now has over 1000 pictures like the one below.
From the ‘Pakistanis Against Stereotyping’ Tumblr. Image used with permission.
The description of the Tumblr page states:
We’re here to tell the world that it is virtually impossible to stereotype a population of 190,291,129 est. people into one racist, demeaning, hurtful character.
We’re diverse, we’re different, we’re humans just like you. Stop stereotyping. Stop the hate.
When I asked Mehreen Kasana what was it that persuaded her to do a collage of sorts about stereotyping towards Pakistanis, her response was:
I run a Tumblr where thousands follow me and it's always fun interacting with them but more often that I'd like to have it, I get these anonymous or even people with real IDs asking me whether Pakistan is really what the media portrays it to be, are we all terrorists, are we all angry and hopeless people, do we really kill and set things on fire all the time. It made me laugh until it got annoying. So I thought why not take folks on board with pictures and tell the world that no, we're not what the media portrays us to be. There's a lot more to us. I want to tell the world that it is virtually impossible to stereotype a population of 190,291,129 est. people into one racist, demeaning, hurtful character. Not only is it wrong, it is unfair. It is dangerous. It justifies all sorts of discrimination and bigotry against us. People need to rise above it.

author: Salman Latif


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Puerto Rico: Jaime Espinal’s Silver Medal Makes History · Global Voices
Ángel Carrión

This post is part of our special coverage of the London 2012 Olympics.
On 11 August 2012 Jaime Yusept Espinal became the second medallist for Puerto Rico in the London 2012 Olympic Games, after Javier Culson's bronze medal. Espinal, born in the Dominican Republic, won his historic silver medal in the final of the 84 kilo division freestyle wrestling.   He wrestled against Sharif Sharifov of Azerbaijan who then went on to win the gold medal.  There was a tie for third place and the bronze medal between Dato Mrsagishvili of Georgia and Ehsan Lashgari of Iran.
It is the first time that Puerto Rico has reached a final in wrestling and the first time that they have won an Olympic medal in this sport.  This medal is also the second Olympic medal that the country has won in a sport that is not boxing.  Puerto Rico now has six bronze medals (five in boxing and one in athletics) and two silver (one in boxing and one in wrestling) making a total of eight Olympic medals.
The euphoria was clear on Twitter since early in the morning.  The hashtag #JaimeEspinal became a trending topic on a global scale as soon as it was known that Puerto Rico were guaranteed a silver medal and that there was a possibility for a gold medal.  Once the result of the final was known, Jaime Espinal again became a trending topic.
Emotions were running high with Twitter users celebrating Puerto Rico's silver medal in the freestyle wrestling event:
@myma27: Y nos quedamos con la #Plata con la misma emoción y orgullo. #JaimeEspinal eres otro #OrgulloBoricua! GRACIAS por esta medalla! #PUR :’)) <3
@belenguis: #JaimeEspinal gracias por esa de plata
@20_dariana: Una medalla de plata no es nada facil de lograr #OrgulloBoricua#JaimeEspinal!
@jrvesco: #JaimeEspinal: gracias por la medalla!!! Pusiste a Puerto Rico en alto!
@xero94: Excelente combate de #JaimeEspinal ORGULLO BORICUA Y DEL CARIBE! #Plata
@PedVidSa: Fue de Plata pero para todo Puerto Rico fue de ORO Felicidades a #JaimeEspinal En hora buena…
@JLebronMillan: Por poco se me Sale el Corazón! #JaimeEspinal medalla de plata que vale como ORO! Felicitaciones!!!
Franklin Gómez
The wrestler Franklin Gómez was eliminated after fighting for the bronze medal in the 60 kilo event against Yogeshwawa Dutt of India. Gómez had a good chance of winning a medal, but these hopes were dashed after he contracted the flu which meant that he almost did not make it for his first fight against the Russian Besik Kudukhov.
Although he felt weaker than usual, the fighters were leveled after the first period. However, Kudukhov won the next two rounds in the close fight.  When Kudukhov reached the final, it was known that Gómez still had the chance to compete for the bronze medal against Dutt.
The first two rounds saw the fighters drawing 0-0, which meant that the fight would go on to a draw to see who would have the advantage of having the first attacking movement with the other not being able to defend.  In both occasions Dutt won the draw and was overall the victor.
Whatever the result of the final fight, Gómez was always one of the favourites to win a medal and he was always at the height of his game and gave everything – even with the flu.  Jaime Espinal and Franklin Gómez are the first to compete for Puerto Rico in Olympic wrestling after three consecutive Olympic games without fielding a competitor in the freestyle wrestling event.
This post is part of our special coverage of the London 2012 Olympics.

author: Ángel Carrión


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Russia: Moscow’s Intelligentsia on Trial in Tver? · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Russia, like any country, is a place where criminal trials often captivate and scandalize the public. While this summer's ‘hooliganism’ charges against Pussy Riot have enjoyed the spotlight at home and abroad — attracting protests from celebrities as famous and dissimilar as Madonna and Dany DeVito — there is another trial that perhaps reveals even more about tensions in modern Russian society.
That is the case against Ilya Farber, a schoolteacher and eccentric recently sentenced [ru] to eight years in prison and fined 3.2 million rubles (100,000 USD) for exhorting bribes from a building contractor.
A Muscovite who relocated to a remote village to teach art to children, Farber is the intelligentsia's quintessential tragic hero — a man supposedly punished for naively believing that Russia's benighted countryfolk would welcome his enthusiasm for originality and nonconformity. Farber's story belongs thoroughly to the “creative class,” as many are fond of calling Moscow's protesters.
While he may not have stormed a cathedral or led demonstrators into police barricades in opposition to Vladimir Putin, Farber did attempt to export the norms and temperament of Russia's dissident metropole (the current ‘base’ of anti-Kremlin energies). His failure is for many symbolic of Moscow's wider struggles to transform the rest of the country politically and culturally.
Russian school children perform at Maslenitsa Festival, 26 February 2012 by David Mbiyu, copyright © Demotix.
In other words, it's no wonder that the RuNet is now abuzz with lamentations and anger about the schoolteacher's fate. Many Russian netizens no doubt see a bit of themselves in Farber.
Writing in the online newspaper Osobaia Bukva, columnist Dmitri Kirillov even compared [ru] Farber's situation to the film The Wicker Man, explaining:
Продолжение, казалось бы, напрашивается само собой: аборигены, как в фильме ужасов 1973 года «Плетеный человек», риносят понаехавшего интеллигента в жертву. В общем, так и случилось. Фарбер действительно стал жертвой. Разве что вместо ритуала сожжения — восемь лет строгача за якобы взятку.
Olga Romanova and her group “Rus Sidiashchaia” [ru] rallied to Farber's defense early on. Using her Facebook account, Romanova published live updates from the Tver courtroom during the trial, documenting procedural violations by the judge, such as bizarrely low standards for the admission of evidence against the defendant.
(In what became a meme known as “the thirty crunches” [ru], Romanova wrote that the court established Farber's receipt of a 150,000-ruble bribe by confirming ‘the sound’ of thirty crunches in an audio recording, somehow indicating the ‘rustling of thirty 5,000-ruble-note bills.’)
Romanova, of course, is famous for her role in Russia's anti-government protests last winter, as well as her campaign to free her husband, Aleksei Kozlov, from fraud and money laundering convictions that will keep him in prison for the next four years. (On June 7, one of Ilya Farber's sons, Petr, accompanied [ru] Romanova to Kozlov's latest failed appeal [ru] in Moscow.)
More than meets the eye
Farber's story, however, is not as simple as many would like to believe. While it may not have direct bearing on the bribery charges, it is important to note that Farber had essentially become a pariah in town, prior to his arrest in Tver.
According to a detailed investigation [ru] by Polina Eremenko of PublicPost.ru, the village of Moshenka — home to just 200 souls — lodged complaints with the police against Farber constantly throughout 2011, particularly after he was appointed to run the town's recreation center. Locals protested when he fired the center's art director, and they objected to Farber's plans for the construction of an elaborate rec center building.
Farber's methods in the classroom also earned him enemies in Moshenka. The first official complaint came from local councilwoman Elena Fokina (who ironically would take Farber's place as rec center director, after his arrest.) One day, Fokina went to the school where Farber worked, where she tried to photograph him during his lessons. Apparently, Farber forcibly relieved Fokina of her camera, causing her minor injuries. (The two actually reconciled, later on.)
Farber also became infamous for a class routine he ominously called “the Evening of Fear,” wherein he placed students in an unlit room and challenged them to overcome their fear of the dark. This, unsurprisingly, prompted many parents to voice their own fear that Farber might be molesting students.
There was also the peculiar nature of Farber's ‘creativity.’ When he arrived in Moshenka, he apparently told the school that he is “an opera singer, an artist, fluent in Chinese, and adept at many musical instruments.”
Irina Fedotova, a local mother of four, told Eremenko that parents instantly suspected something was amiss when Farber added that he would work for free. “Everybody needs money,” Fedotova worried. Before spring, he upset locals again, when he tried to change the town's traditional Maslenitsa celebrations.
Farber's behavior in court was also at times strange. For some reason, he refused [ru] to hire a private attorney and instead accepted a state-appointed public defender (a woman Novaya Gazeta described [ru] as “an old doddler”). When the time came to deliver his closing statement in court, Farber wanted “to sing” his speech, rather than read it. (In a curious attempt to explain this, Romanova nonchalantly pointed out [ru] that he is, after all, a trained opera singer.)
Different sides of the story
And what of the actual charges? Farber was convicted of extorting roughly 430,000 rubles (13,500 USD) from a Tver-based contractor named Yuri Gorokhov. State prosecutors also determined that Farber's conduct was responsible for the loss of another 941,000 rubles (30,000 USD) from the town's coffers.
According to Farber and his defenders, Gorokhov is a corrupt builder who embezzled nearly 2.5 million rubles (78,000 USD) from Moshenka's budget (awarded in a state tender to remodel the rec center in 2010, before Farber became its director). Farber claims that he confronted Gorokhov about his failure to fulfill the contract, and Farber agreed not to contact the police, if the contractor would finish the job.
Farber also says that he was forced to hire additional workers, using money from his own pocket [ru]. When he was apprehended by police in Tver last September in possession of over 130,000 rubles (4,000 USD), Farber says he was only collecting money owed to him by Gorokhov for such extra expenses.
Gorokhov, who suspiciously did not attend a single day of Farber's trial, offers a very different version of events. After remaining silent for nearly a year, he recently granted an interview [ru] to Ksenia Leonova of Openspace.ru, where he described Farber as a greedy and fickle man somewhat driven mad by the powers of his small office. Gorokhov says that, once Farber started at the rec center, he called him in and rather artlessly demanded a 300,000-ruble bribe.
Though ‘everything but the painting’ had been finished in the remodeling work, Farber allegedly ordered Gorokhov to begin construction on an entirely new blueprint (one Farber's son admits to drawing up with his father). Gorokhov says that he reluctantly agreed to pay the bribe in two installments, but Farber repeatedly changed the remodeling plans. (He apparently wanted the outside of the now-three-story building to be painted black, despite Gorokhov's warnings that it would peel in harsh weather, not to mention offend most people's tastes.)
When Farber demanded a second bribe, Gorokhov contacted a local branch of the FSB (Russia's FBI), and Farber was nabbed in a sting operation.
Lingering uncertainties
While questions remain about whose version the facts better support, there are several concerns that do not seem to interest many Farber supporters. How, for instance, did the schoolteacher have enough disposable income to hire additional construction workers on his own funds? (After all, the man has three children, and supposedly moved to Moshenka primarily to take advantage of a government program that grants free land to teachers.)
Why didn't either Farber or Gorokhov go to the police when the first bribe allegedly took place? Why did Farber sign a document officially declaring the reconstruction complete last September, just before he accepted 130,000 rubles from Gorokhov, when the plans for a three-story giant remained unfulfilled?
The issues and history covered here, admittedly, address the details of Farber's life in Moshenka before he went before a judge. His trial, everyone seems to agree, was full of illegalities and brazen indifference to due process. Even Gorokhov confesses that the court's sentence — eight years and 3.2 million rubles — is excessive.
The verdict, however, was handed down by Farber's peers. (Unlike most criminal cases in Russia, this was a trial by jury.) The role of ‘regular people’ in Farber's condemnation has many Russian netizens — particularly that group's core, which is based firmly in Moscow — wondering [ru] who is the greater enemy: the ‘bloody regime’ that rules over them or their own people?

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Russia: Yekaterinburg University Begins Masters Program in Blogging & Political Journalism · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Yekaterinburg's Ural Federal University is for the first time offering a Masters Degree [ru] in “political journalism” with specific training in blogging and “image-making.” In February 2011, UFU hosted [ru] journalist and blogger Oleg Kashin for a discussion with students, where Kashin emphasized the growing importance of blogging. The new program [ru] lasts two years, and costs 5,000 USD to complete, though there are subsidized spaces for five lucky students.


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Saudi Arabia: Defending the Virtue of Syrian Women? · Global Voices
Thalia Rahme

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.
A tweet urging Saudi men to marry the wives and daughters of some 300 Syrian martyrs sparked a flurry of angry reactions online. On August 11, 2012, a Saudi young man, Bader Al Domiyat, tweeted the following message [ar]:
The tweet that caused outrage
It translates to:
This is the mobile of a Sheikh (clergyman) in Al Jawf, who is in charge of 375 sisters from Syria. Daughters and wives of martyrs. Anyone who wishes them virtue and shelter, please call ……Oh lord protect me from the curses of women and channel them to Bashar
Shortly after, Bader retracted and then deleted his tweet, apologizing for his mistake. At the time of writing this post, his Twitter account was disabled.
I deleted the tweet minutes after it was posted because the one who sent me the news, found out it was untrue. May God forgive the one who took a screen shot of it and spread it. I send my regards and appreciations to the free ladies of Syria.
Nevertheless, the message went viral, followed by rebuke from readers, who not only denounced Al Domiyat but also praised the courage of Syrian women, calling them heroines, under the hashtag #عفاف بنات سوريا or the Virtue of the Girls of Syria and بدر_التمياط_لا_يمثلنا or Bader Al Domyat doesn't represent us.
Sarah al Mutazz [ar] is very angry:
ياويلك من الله بهالايام المباركه ! تسببت في فتنة وجرحت مشاعر الآلاف من السوريين مااشوف بهالهشتاق الا السورريين يدعون عليك
Ahmed Al Hussayen [ar] warns Al Domiyat:
Majeed [ar] is keen on showing that Al Domiyat's opinion only represented himself:
Mayamy [ar] tweets:
Othman Khaleed [ar] is also quite embarrassed:
As for Emad [ar], he says:
And Mohamed Abu Saud [ar] provides a different solution:
Skon [ar] has somehow a similar opinion:
Some comments are more cynical like Rio [ar]:
Roshka [ar] from the UAE doesn't spare with her criticism:
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.

author: Thalia Rahme


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Female Saudi Athletes – Out of the Olympics, Into the Twitter Storm · Global Voices
Haifa Alrasheed

This post is part of our special coverage of the London 2012 Olympics.
After stepping out of the Olympics, the first and only Saudi female athletes in the history of the Saudi sports, Sarah Attar and Wojdan Shahrkhani have received a storm of reactions on the Saudi twittersphere.
After emerging last in the women's 800 metres, Sarah received a good round of applause from the audience – and her name became a trending topic on Twitter.
Inspiration
Below is a sample of support tweets from Saudi Twitter users for both athletes:
It's not the winning but the taking part #SaraAttar 1st female Saudi athelete to compete ever! #olympicmoments – Twitter comment by @DIAstyle, who shares this photograph on Twitter
Ali Khadra writes:
@aykcanvas: It's not always abt gold! What u did is far greater. Thank u #SaraAttar #Wejdan #Wijdan. Thank u #KSA. Better late than never #2012Olympics
Bader Aljehani beams with pride:
@BooDzJ: #SaraAttar We are proud of you and Wejdan more than anyone in the Saudi Team!
Sara Attar is a global trend :) #SaraAttar, writes @WordWizard on Twitter. He also shares this screen shot
And Nada Abu makes a promise:
@NadaAbu: You’ll see me on the screen a winner one day. Thanks for the inspiration #SaraAttar http://twitpic.com/agw7nn
You disgraced us!
On the other hand, some Saudi Twitter users were against the participation of the two athletes, blaming their families and authorities for allowing them to ‘drag down’ the Kingdom's name and reputation.
Among them in this Twitter user, Faisal Abuthnain, who writes [ar]:
ZaibB was shocked of what he read on the hashtag dedicated to the two athletes and complains:
@ZainB:مسكينة #وجدان_شهرخاني دخلت الهاشتاق فوجدتها تتعرض لثلاث انواع من العنصرية: ١- العنصرية المناطقية ٢- العنصرية القبلية ٣- العنصرية ضد المرأة
Dr. Mahammad Albarrak is critical:
@mohamdalbarrak:أشد من فعل المنكر أن يدافع الإنسان عنه ويعتبره معروفا ويحاول جاهدا أن يبحث له عن مبررات مثل الذين يدافعون عن #سارة_العطار و #وجدان_شهرخاني
Finally, Nourah is trying to justify:
@noura_aljadaan: For everyone who is laughing at #SaraAttar don't forget that schools here don't teach girls sports so going there is an accomplishment
This post is part of our special coverage of the London 2012 Olympics.

author: Haifa Alrasheed


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Saudi Arabia: Reaching the Line of Gender Equality · Global Voices
Thalia Rahme

While saluting the decision of Saudi Arabia to send two female athletes to the London Olympics, the Saudi Women Driving  deplores the fact that Saudi women cannot drive. “The whole world has been watching Saudi women and their triumphant appearance at the Olympics, and most news stories about them mention that they can't drive back home,”  it says.  The Blog of Amnesty International – USA  also notes”Evidently, Saudi Arabia has a long way to reach the finish line of ‘gender equality.’ Nevertheless, Sarah Attar’s 800 meter run at the 2012 Olympics certainly shortens the distance.”


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Sri Lanka: Time To Rethink The School Examination System · Global Voices
Rezwan

Serendipity questions the lack of credibility of the School Examination System in Sri Lanka and relates how that is contributing to the growing unemployment in the country.

author: Rezwan


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Syria: Assad Arrests Alawite Activists  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Syrian Darth Nader tweets: “Arrest of tens of Alawite activists by Assad regime for organizing relief efforts for those under siege in #Homs, #Syria.” Assad himself is of the Alawite sect.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Flood Relief  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A comprehensive post about tangible ways in which to help victims of the Trinidad floods, here, while Plain Talk questions the role of the army during the crisis.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Tunisia: Sidi Bouzid Rises. . . Again · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Sidi Bouzid, the Tunisian city which sparked the wave of Arab revolutions more than a year and a half ago, is once again simmering with a new wave of protests. Economic, social and political woes are moving the masses, who are showing increasing discontent with the current government.
Citizen media collective Nawaat shares this video on YouTube of the new wave of protests, on August 9, 2012:
The explanation which comes with the video reads [ar]:
This is another video, shared by Nawaat, showing the aftermath of the protest above:
Netizens joined forces to report on the action.
Tunisian blogger and Global Voices contributor Sami ben Gharbia reports:
@ifikra: Police fire teargas, rubber bullets at demonstrators in #sidibouzid
Free MoulaDj adds [ar]:
العودة الى التويتر مع ثورة V2.0 #sidibouzid
And Med Islem Bouazizi reports [ar]:
@bouazizi_sbz: Breaking: All of Sidi Bouzid, with its women and men, are on the streets chasing the men of police repression
Clashes with police ended with arrests.
Nawaat announced today [August 14, 2012]:
@nawaat: All those who have been arrested after the events of August the 9th are now released. #sidibouzid
Meanwhile, NPR senior strategist Andy Carvin reports:
@acarvin: Found the permalink of what appears to be the 1st use of the #sidibouzid hashtag, by @Chady2009, 18 Dec 2010: http://bit.ly/My4quN #tunisia


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UAE: Human Rights Lawyer Abdulhamed AlKumaiti Arrested  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Khalid Ibrahim reports: “#UAE:Prominent HR lawyer Abdulhamed AlKumaiti is targeted because he is as always ready to defend the civil &human rights of the detainees.” And Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth adds: “UAE strategy to keep 49 activists in prison: arrest their would-be lawyers too. Threat to national (aka govt) security.”


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Ukraine: Authorities Shut Down BitTorrent Tracker Demonoid · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On August 6, the Ukrainian authorities shut down Demonoid, one of the world's largest BitTorrent tracker sites, whose servers were hosted by a data center in Kyiv (all Ukrainian IP addresses had been blocked from accessing Demonoid, however, to avoid violating Ukraine’s copyright laws). The shutdown was allegedly connected with first deputy PM Valery Khoroshkovsky‘s  recent visit to the United States: a number of online news outlets and bloggers described it as an attempt to show Ukraine's tough stance on copyright infringements.
Anonymous, a “hacktivist” group, launched DDoS attacks against a number of Ukrainian government agencies in response, targeting the National TV and Radio Broadcasting Council, the Agency for Copyright, and the Anti-Piracy Association (the latter two are still down). AnonPR blog (“Where the Media Can't Twist our Words”) and Anonymous World Wide News blog carried the group's video and text [en] statements about the launch of #OpDemonoid.
On Watcher.com.ua blog, reader Myroslav Holyak expressed doubts [uk] about the efficiency of Anonymous’ response:
[…] All these government entities that have been attacked couldn't care less that their crappy sites are being DDoS-ed, trust me…
On the Russian collaborative blog Habrahabr.ru, user pazzive shared this insight [ru] about the timing of the shutdown:
Three years ago, I interviewed Demonoid's Ukrainian hosts [the interview with ColoCall data center, ru], and they said on-the-record that the situation would change only when the copyright holders buy themselves an MP [in the Ukrainian Parliament] who would lobby for the needed law. Because at the time no one saw the fight against pirate trackers as worthwhile, and they [ColoCall] were just providing hosting and weren't violating a single Ukrainian law. It was interesting to re-read that old interview in light of the recent events.
My impression is that someone is trying to score some points ahead of the [Oct. 28 parliamentary election in Ukraine].
Earlier this year, in February, when Ukraine's biggest file-sharing site Ex.ua (accessible to Ukrainian users, unlike Demonoid) was temporarily shut down due to repeated copyright violations, netizens protested by launching DDoS attacks on various governmental websites, including those of the Ukrainian President and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Tetyana Bohdanova's text on it is here). Ex.ua has been back online for months now – and some Habrahabr.ru users mentioned this in their conversation:
smartlight:
again, the idiocy of the situation is that they've shut down Demonoid, but ex.ua continues to work.
esc:
[The shutdown of Demonoid] is a great opportunity to bootlick the West, without upsetting the local voters ;) [the way the situation with ex.ua did]
Andriy Tsykholyas wrote this [uk] on his blog on August 7:
[First deputy PM] Valery Khoroshkovsky has done a good job of bootlicking the United States. That is, not even the States, but their film and music gangs. In order to please them, [Khoroshkovsky] shut down Demonoid, which was hosted in Ukraine.
It does not matter to [him] that there were no legal grounds to shut down this tracker (because it was not violating any local laws). But now he has a warm welcome across the ocean.
Well, Valery Khoroshkovsky truly deserves an honorable spot at http://www.political-prostitution.com. I hope this portal will not neglect [Khoroshkovsky] and place him next to the “heroes” already featured there.
On Demonoid's Facebook page (31,245 ‘likes’), some users sounded quite desperate on learning about the site's shutdown. Thomas Poterek wrote:
Someone turn on the Bat signal ..errr I mean Anon Signal!!
Patrick James McGoran wrote:
now i know what junkies go through in detox
While the Ukrainian authorities’ actions caused some to experience withdrawal symptoms, they also sparked anti-Americanism in those who considered Demonoid's shutdown a “gift” to the United States. On TorrentFreak.com, for example, an anonymous user posted this comment:
sooner or later shit will hit fan for the entertainment industries and for the US. this dictatorship will backfire on them. what the hell does the Ukraine think it is going to get from the US in return for doing this sort of thing? whatever it is, they need to think again! now they have gone down this road once, the US will just keep them on a string to do what they want as and when. what a price to pay. the guy needs to be ousted asap and told exactly why!
what pisses me off so much is, the US doesn't rule the world, has no right to rule the world and hasn't the sense to rule the world, so why the fuck does the world keep chucking itself at it's feet? why let itself be ruled by the US? unbelievable!!
The article on TorrentFreak.com has generated nearly 900 comments. At some point, when users were discussing possible host country alternatives for Demonoid (“a country like iran where they don't bend over to the US”), Russia was brought up – and quickly discarded:
Water is cool:
Russia is having its own censorship bill being concidered at the moment. Not sure on whether they rejected it or not but I do know it's been signed and was awaiting for putin to write his signature last I heard (If anyone knows the news on that,do speak).
tyr:
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Wales Celebrates its National Eisteddfod Festival, With a Digital Twist · Global Voices
Rhodri ap Dyfrig

This post is part of a special Global Voices series on Welsh language and digital media in collaboration with Hacio'r Iaith.
Last week, the world had its eyes on Britain, as the London Olympics continued to provide high sporting drama, but little did they know that in Wales another competitive event of great national importance was taking place. An event, which for many in Wales, eclipsed the Olympics for that week.
That event was the National Eisteddfod of Wales, one of Wales’ main cultural festivals. In fact it claims to be Europe's largest cultural festival. Over 130,000 people passed through the gates of this moveable festival, which this year was held in Llandw, South Wales. The festival centres mainly on poetry, song and literature competitions, but also encompasses pop music, performance, dance, science, and art.
The National Eisteddfod of Wales. Image by: Iestyn Hughes (CC-BY-SA).
Unique festival
What makes this festival unique is that it is one of the only festivals in which the Welsh language is the primary language of every aspect of activity. Many other cultural events in Wales have Welsh speaking participants or may even be held primarily in Welsh, but the Eisteddfod has a rule which states that no public activity on the maes, the Eisteddfod field, may take place in any language other than Welsh.
Some may see this as a closed, illiberal attitude towards language use. After all languages usually coexist messily, but for the speakers of Welsh many see it as a linguistically liberating experience. For one week of the year Welsh is used in every context.
People have no qualms about conducting their business in Welsh. There is none of the usual coyness about greeting a stranger in Welsh first before in English in case they may not speak the language. It is almost as if it is a collective psychological boost, a sociolinguistic battery charging point if you will, for the speakers of this minority language, for whom English is an unavoidable part of their daily lives.
This YouTube video shows a day at the Eisteddfod by two young reporters for Welsh youth magazine Clic Online / Wicid.tv:
Hacking Welsh language culture
Participant at the Eisteddfod. Image by nwdls on Flickr ().
This year, for the first time, one of the components of this celebration of Welsh culture was an experiment in bringing civic digital media to the maes and in promoting the use of Welsh language web technologies.
Hacio'r Iaith, a loose collective of web enthusiasts, digital content producers, hackers and geeks, organised a week of sessions which aimed to bring the Welsh language web to the middle of the festival.
These sessions ranged from one on one social media tutorials, to use of Welsh language Wikipedia, to coding workshops. As a thread through the weeks events was a pop-up ‘local’ online news site Blogwyr Bro, which acted as a space for bloggers to write, or post videos and images.
Welsh media and government talk digital at the Eisteddfod
It seemed as if this experiment chimed with the times as the Welsh government Minster for Education and Culture, Leighton Andrews, announced that he was looking to give additonal funding to the Eisteddfod if it was willing to modernise through the use of new technologies. However, it was unclear to many who came into the Hacio'r Iaith tent, as to whether his ‘modernisation’ also meant bringing more use of English into the Eisteddfod in order to increase visitor numbers.
Hacio'r Iaith's video workshop at the Eisteddfod. Image by nwdls on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)).
Rhodri Talfan Davies, controller of BBC Cymru Wales, also gave a speech which noted that they as an institution are facing a “challenge” to reach Welsh speakers in an age of diverse digital platforms, but that they were aiming to reach 50,000 Welsh speakers by 2015.
Some online commenters have raised doubts about this commitment however, as it comes at a time when the BBC have cut back on Welsh language online services and staff, such as their online sports coverage.
The Welsh language broadcaster S4C also pitched in to this Welsh digital zeitgeist, with the launch of a new digital fund which would fund new interactive services and products such as apps and web based video series. At least in this case there is funding behind the words which offers a path, in the short term at least, for improving the the Welsh language's use online through investing in content.
Tradition and technology in perfect harmony?
So was the experiment in bringing online civic media to Wales’ most venerated festival successful? On the whole, yes. Despite difficulties with connectivity and location, many people turned up to have practical advice about how to use Twitter for their societies or clubs, how to create Wikipedia articles or to learn more about the Welsh language software that is available. It is certainly an aspect that could be developed further for future festivals, and which could have a direct impact on how Welsh speakers use their language online.
The Hacio'r Iaith collective also put together concrete ideas for action to ensure that Welsh culture at the Eisteddfod can be shared much more widely with the world through the use of online media and technologies. On the whole these did depend upon having good access to the Internet at the festival which is not available at present and which is essential if they are to make the most of the possibilities of online communication and media.
Digital media and the web are often spoken of by institutions in broad catchphrases which can sound impressive but all too often lack the detail of how we use digital media to our benefit, and the problems that we face in doing that for small languages.
Small languages have to know how to use every tool in the box in order to survive but time and energy are rare resources, and decisions about the priorities for the use of those tools is probably the most important ones that their speakers make.
Next year's Eisteddfod will be a test as to whether the priorities, both linguistic and technological, are in the right place.

author: Rhodri ap Dyfrig


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Yemen: Journalist Mohammed Al Qadhi Arrested while Covering Clashes · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Adam Baron tweets: “Alarming news via his Facebook: Yemeni journalist @mohammedalqadhi apparently arrested today while covering clashes at the min of def #yemen”


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China: Cross-Province Hunting of an Investigative Reporter · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Zhou Xiaoyun, an investigative reporter based in China's Guangdong province, is being hunted by Jiangsu Province, Funing County's government authority, after he exposed a corruption scandal. Since August 14, 2012, Zhou has been calling for help via various social media platforms.
Around 10:30am on August 14, the following post [zh] appeared on Zhou's timeline on the micro-blogging site Sina Weibo. At the time of writing the post this has been forwarded more than 15,700 times:
Zhou Xiaoyun's profile picture at Sina Weibo.
【周筱赟因揭黑遭跨省！】我揭露江苏阜宁县下文件安置61名判刑领导刑满重新入编，当地承认文件真实但强调完全合法，遭我驳斥后，竟派6名领导昨天飞到广州对我跨省！发誓一定要挖出周筱赟！通过各种关系传话，先威胁再利诱，查我银行账号想干吗？竟还有自称美女网友想搞色诱。阜宁县政府你还要不要脸？
The term “cross-province hunting” 跨省追捕 is used to describe a local authority that exercise power outside its jurisdiction. The authority would abduct the suspect back to their jurisdiction for trial. But in the past few years, more and more cross-province hunting activities have taken place targeting netizens from outside the province who have exposed local authorities’ corruption via the Internet. Zhou added [zh] further information in the afternoon:
阜宁县这次派出6名主要领导，带队的是阜宁县委宣传部部长，人高马大，气势汹汹闯进来，但没找到我。从江苏阜宁到广东广州，横跨这么多省，机票钱应该是纳税人买单吧？还托了各种老乡的老乡、同学的同学来带话，要当面找我谈谈，被我拒绝。查我银行账号是想栽赃吗？对于色诱，我是不是要将计就计呢？
Zhou Xiaoyun's report was published [zh] in the newspaper Nanfang Weekend in August 9, 2012. The investigative report revealed that the Funing County government has re-appointed 61 former officials who had been convicted and sentenced to prison on charges of corruption, to the civil service. According to the leaked document, the 61 officials were given the option of either receiving their salaries without actually carrying out their duties, or retiring with the full pension and benefits enjoyed by all other government officials.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: International Scholars Call on Guangdong Government to Stop Repression against Labor NGOs · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

SACOM posts an open letter jointly signed by a group of international scholars, urging the Guangdong government to stop suppressing labour NGOs.


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Colombia: Salsa Musician Jairo Varela Dies · Global Voices
Lully

Jairo Varela Martínez, Colombian musician and founder of the salsa group El Grupo Niche, died August 8, 2012, after falling in the bathroom of his Cali home, “apparently suffering a heart attack and hitting his head”, according to family sources. Varela was born in Quibdó, in the Colombian department of Chocó, on December 9, 1949.
At the age of 8, he formed a band in Quibdó called La Timba [a type of salsa music] and in the 70s he moved to Bogotá, where in 1978 he started the salsa group El Grupo Niche. This salsa band became an icon of the country for songs like “Gotas de Lluvia”, “Ana Milé“, “Cali Pachanguero”, “Una Aventura”, and “La magia de tus besos”.
There was a time when drug traffickers hired the orchestra for their extravagant parties, which caused Varela to be linked to drug trafficking. He was charged with “profiting through illegal means” [taking dirty money] and imprisoned, which debilitated him financially and emotionally. He later wrote a novel about his hometown and continued working on his new album, which will soon be released by his children.
Jairo Varela, photo by Umberto Valverde and Carlos Andrés Valverde from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
His body was taken to the Teatro Jorge Isaac en Cali for vigil, so his followers could gather en masse to say good-bye until August 12, the date on which his orchestra would perform a musical tribute.
There were many comments on Twitter under different tags (Jairo Varela, Grupo Niche and Cali Pachanguero) [es] as soon as his death was known.
The user Oscarcito (@oscarcitomundo) [es] quotes two of his songs:
@oscarcitomundo:  Ana Mile tú no tienes, no tienes la culpa, q tu niño este llorando, porque su padre no cumpla! Te pinto pajaritos en el aire.  “Jairo Varela”…
The journalist Ángela Patricia Janiot (@patriciajaniot) [es] tried to interpret one of his songs and ended up praising Varela's work with the orchestra:
@patriciajaniot: “Una aventura…..es tan bonita”.  Como no destacar la dimensión internacional que Jairo Varela le dio a Niche.
Fernán Martínez (@FernanMartinez) [es] considers him a poet:
@FernanMartínez: Leyendo al poeta Jairo Varela, elogio a las cosas más sencillas metidas entre los sentimientos más profundos. Imágenes y emociones.
Some blogs dedicated themselves to reporting [es] what had been reported by several traditional media outlets as a tribute to Varela, while the blog El Payanes  closed a short tribute with an emotional phrase [es]: “Today Colombian salsa and the entire world is in mourning”. Other blogs like Nuestra Gente Digital [es] shared his music videos, like this one which many recognize as an anthem that he sings to the City of Cali: “Cali Pachanguero”:
Meanwhile, the blog Qué hay para hacer stresses his importance  [es] towards promoting the good image of Colombia:
Para la música del Pacifico, para la Salsa que nos identifica y para el país en general es una gran pérdida, pues Jairo Varela además de músico y compositor, fue un empresario y un visionario que se convirtió en imagen de Colombia para el mundo.
And the blog Noticias del mundo salsero  closed an entry  [es] with the following acknowledgement and tribute:
Después de más de 35 composiciones, más de 130 músicos que pasaron por el Grupo Niche, de más de 30 años de carrera musical, y de un sin número de premios obtenidos; hoy, a la edad de 62 años tras padecer de problemas de tensión alta, el compositor chocoano Jairo Varela se despidió de este mundo para hacer parte del orquesta celestial. Feliz Viaje Jairo…!

author: Lully


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Côte d’Ivoire: CivRoute, a Citizen Project to Monitor Road Traffic in Real Time      · Global Voices
Claire Ulrich

In Abidjan, Cyriac Gbogou introduces on his blog [fr] the citizen collaborative project Civroute [fr] that he co-founded. This online plateform will collect information sent by car drivers on the state of road circulation and potential traffic jams on the ivorian avenues via SMS, Twitter or Facebook.

author: Claire Ulrich


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#DearEgyptAir, Better Service Please · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Over the past few years it has become apparent that, if one has a loud enough voice and a big enough audience — not to mention a good sense of humor — social media can serve as a great platform for change.  And while that often means political or social change, it can also mean — as famous blogger Heather Armstrong, aka Dooce, has proven — the ability to get a major company to listen to your complaints.
Fed up with EgyptAir's service, English-Egyptian writer Amy Mowafi took to Twitter early Wednesday morning to gripe about her experience booking with the airline:
It has LITERALLY taken me an HOUR to bloody book my ticket @flyegyptair on the phone #FML
Adding a hashtag, Mowafi encouraged followers to tweet their own complaints about the airline:
To all those who've been tortured by @flyegyptair please join me in my plight to get them to answer and explain themselves #DearEgyptAir
Many quickly followed suit.  Waleed Mowafi (@WallyMow) added:
#DearEgyptAir Sometimes when i'm at home I rub sandpaper on my arms because i miss the feel of the Egypt Air blankets @flyegyptair
Mai Eldib (@14inchHEELS) complained:
#DearEgyptAir would it be possible for me to once fly without having pilots smoking in the cockpit @AmyMowafi
@Mayounah had a more pressing concern:
#DearEgyptAir plz don't roll your eyes at me when I complain water is dripping from your ac on board…I'm pretty sure it is an issue
Many were focused on the culinary “delights” offered by the airline.  @ShadenFawaz said of the cake:
#DearEgyptAir have you tried eating that “cake” that you serve!? Well it's not food in case you haven't noticed
@LailaShentenawi quipped:
#DearEgyptAir U make sure no one boards with a nail file! Yet u ignore that if someone got hit with the bread u serve he/she could die!
Waleed Mowafi mocked:
#DearEgyptAir I think you guys are pushing culinary boundaries by creating a fish, chicken & meat dish that all taste the same @flyegyptair
@MarwaAyad was a little more straightforward:
#DearEgyptAir Who prepares and cooks those meals? Seriously who?

author: Jillian C. York


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Egypt: Essential Academic History Book Banned · Global Voices
Salah Almhamdi

The Egyptian authorities have banned the import of A History of the Modern Middle East by eminent academics William L Cleveland and Martin Bunton without giving reasons for the ban. On Twitter, @Milllyz reacts: “Now that they have banned William L. Cleveland's “A History of the Modern Middle East”, all I want to do is read it. #CensorshipGoToHell”

author: Salah Almhamdi


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France: Stories of Everyday Sexism · Global Voices
Anna Gueye

[All links in French unless otherwise stated]
After being harassed and insulted by men in the streets of Brussels, Belgian student Sofie Peeters made a hidden-camera film [nl] to denounce the male chauvinism experienced every day by unaccompanied women in the streets.
Her film and its subject have caused controversy in Belgium and France. Under the hashtag #harcelementderue (street harassment), French women testify to the verbal abuse and sexual harassment that they have been subjected to in the street.
“Délivrez-moi du mâle” (Deliver me from man), wall stencil by French artist MissTic, photo by xtof on Flickr, used under Creative Common license
In her article ‘Machisme ordinaire : non messieurs, dire “t'es bonne” n'est pas un compliment‘ (Everyday Machismo: no, gentlemen, ‘you're hot’ is not a compliment), Dom B. thanks Sofie Peeters for the debate she has sparked:
Le documentaire d'une étudiante belge, intitulé “Femme de la rue“, expose via une caméra cachée, le harcèlement sexuel dont elle est victime chaque jour. C'est grâce à elle que le débat a été relancé.
A Belgian student's documentary, titled ‘Femme de la rue‘ [street woman], exposes via hidden camera the sexual harassment she suffers every day. It is thanks to her that the debate has been reopened.
This video by RTBF (Radio Télévision Belge Francophone, the public broadcasting organization of the French Community of Belgium) includes some excerpts from the film [Dutch and French with English subtitles]:
Blogger Sandrine notes that in France too:
Le harcèlement de rue est une réalité quotidienne pour quasiment toutes les femmes.
Street harassment is a daily reality for practically all women.
As evidence, one woman's account posted on the webzine madmoizelle, in which she lists examples of crude comments, propositions, and insults she has received in the streets, has more than 10,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook:
Le harcèlement de rue, ou le fait de se faire aborder, voire verbalement agresser par des inconnus, sort enfin de l’ombre.
Street harassment – being approached or even verbally assaulted by strangers – is finally coming out of the shadows.
Men do not understand, or misunderstand. In fact, the hashtag #harcelementderue was created because of this tweet by French Twitter user @mathieuge who, like many men, was skeptical towards the controversy:
A noter sur la fille belge insultée dans la rue que je n'ai vu aucune fille se plaindre d'avoir eu à subir le même traitement en France…… Ce qui me laisse à croire que ça demeure un cas extrême relativement isolé.
A note about the Belgian girl insulted in the streets, I've never seen a girl complain about the same treatment in France…… Which leads me to believe that this is a relatively isolated, extreme case.
@valerieCG reacted by sending out a call for personal accounts:
@valerieCG : Si vous avez été victime de harcèlement dans la rue merci de le dire via #harcelementderue pour montrer à @mathieuge l'importance du truc.
@valerieCG: If you have been a victim of street harassment, please say so via #harcelementderue to show @mathieuge how prevalent it is.
@Agnesleglise quipped:
@Agnesleglise : @valerieCG @mathieuge que celles qui n'en ont jamais été victime se signalent, ça ira plus vite (si il y en a) #harcelementderue
@Agnesleglise : @valerieCG @mathieuge those who have never been victims of it should declare themselves, it will go faster (if there are any) #harcelementderue
Two hours after its introduction, the hashtag was the fourth most trending topic in the French Twitter community, and one week later, an avalanche of testimonies continue to pour in, along with many articles reflecting on the issue. Note that in France, ever since the DSK Affair [en], women have been speaking out and campaigning, using Twitter hashtags as a driving force, with the press then taking up the story.
Reactions from men make it clear that they are not aware of the problem, as @cha_matou points out:
@cha_matou: Ne vous étonnez pas qu'on ne parle jamais du #harcèlementderue [quand on lit sur Twitter] :
- @El_Mehdiiii: C'est quoi ce hashtag #HarcelementDeRue, certains voit une belle femme, ils tentent leur chance. C'est naturel et propre à chaque espèce. ET
- @LuneHolmes: y a agression et agression. Un gars qui passe à coté de toi et qui lâche un “salope”, c'est pas une agression, désolée.
@cha_matou: Don't be surprised that #harcelementderue is never talked about [when you see tweets like these]:
- @El_Mehdiiii:  What's this #HarcelementDeRue hashtag, some guys see a beautiful woman, they try their luck. It's natural and specific to each species. AND
- @LuneHolmes: Assault is assault. A guy walking by you and letting out a “slut” is not an attack, sorry.
Sexist commentators or those downplaying the issue have been put in their place, for example by @Mel036:
@Mel036: Le débile qui comprend rien au #HarcelementDeRue et croit qu'on est scandalisée par la drague. Non, par les insultes et agressions verbales …Et les mecs, on a le droit de penser que la rue n'est pas un terrain de chasse, fait pour draguer la 1ère nana qui passe?
Wall stencil “Dans la rue” (in the street) – Photo by Yann Seitek on Flickr, used under Creative Commons license
@Mel036: The moron who understands nothing about #HarcelementDeRue and thinks we're outraged by flirting. No, it's the insults and verbal attacks. …And guys, aren't we allowed to think that the street isn't a hunting ground, made for hitting on the first chick who walks by?
After the personal experiences, Twitter became a forum for reflection. Why are women always verbally abused and insulted in the streets? One of many responses from @SexismAndTheCT:
@SexismAndTheCT: Le #harcelementderue sert à rappeler aux femmes “seules” qu'elles sont des objets et que leur sécurité est un privilège, non un droit.
#Harcelementderue is used to remind ‘single’ women that they are objects and their safety is a privilege, not a right.
Bonnequestion suggests:
Mais ce n’est pas de la drague. Les hommes en question n’ont probablement même pas une vraie intention d’avoir une relation (sexuelle ou pas) avec cette jeune femme. C’est de la domination pure, l’idée que les femmes sont disponibles et qu’il n’y a aucun problème à les insulter.
But this is not flirting. The men in question probably do not even have any real intention of having a relationship (sexual or not) with this young woman. It is pure domination, the idea that women are available and there is no problem with insulting them.
To counter remarks blaming immigrants for the majority of insults in the streets, @elodieesc gives a reminder that harassment is as rampant on popular streets as it is in nice neighbourhoods and on public transit:
@elodieesc:”#harcelementderue entre le gars qui te susurre des insanités en plein Neuilly, le tripoteur de genoux du RER et d'autres à oublier …
#harcelementderue between the guy whispering insanities to you right in the middle of Neuilly[-sur-Seine, an upscale suburb of Paris], the knee-groper on the RER [public transit in Paris] and others to forget …
@Oniromanie adds:
@Oniromanie: “Un élément tout bête : ceux qui trainent dans la rue, ce sont les pauvres. Les riches harcèlent dans les salons ou à l'Assemblée [nationale].
Something stupid: the poor are the ones who hang out in the streets. The wealthy harass in lounges or in the [National – en] Assembly.
To which Dom B.  responds:
Aux sociologues, philosophes, politiques, spécialistes d'analyser et expliquer quelle part tient la religion, par le poids des frustrations sexuelles qu'elle impose dans ses interdits, par rapport à un déficit d'éducation, de vivre-ensemble ou de différences culturelles.
It's up to sociologists, philosophers, politicians, and specialists to analyze and explain how much of it has to do with religion [en] – because of the burden of sexual frustration imposed by its taboos – compared with a lack of education, social cohesion or cultural differences.
As for @Hans_Bod, he finally understands why women in France do not like to be approached in the streets:
@Hans_Bod: Merci à #harcelementderue maintenant je sais pourquoi quand je dis bonjour à une inconnue en France j'ai l'impression de la violer.
@Hans_Bod: Thanks to #harcelementderue now I know why when I say hello to a stranger in France I feel like I am violating her.
The controversy comes as the president of the French Republic has ratified a new sexual harassment law [en - full text of law in French here]. On August 3, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Minister of Women's Rights and Government spokesperson, posted this tweet:
@najatvb: #harcèlementderue: la nouvelle loi s’appliquera partout. La libération de la parole des femmes est importante. Restons mobilisé(e)s !
@najatvb: #harcèlementderue: the new law will be applied everywhere. Freedom of speech for women is important. Let's stay mobilized!
Mobilized, French women will have to stay: the blog Les Martiennes teaches us that sexists do not take vacations, Crêpe Georgette wonders if antisexist education courses should be taught starting in nursery school, and the site Génération Réactive tries to go further in asking this question:
… et si finalement, les femmes étaient « responsables » de la transmission des inégalités homme-femme par l’éducation différenciée qu’elles donnent  à leurs enfants ? On ne serait plus seulement dans la victimisation et les hommes ne seraient pas entièrement responsables de tous les maux …
… what if, in the end, women were “responsible” for the transmission of gender inequalities through the differentiated instruction they give to their children? We would not just be victims anymore and men would not be entirely responsible for all evil…

author: Anna Gueye


text:
Is China’s Africa Policy Failing? · Global Voices
Ronald Yick

The story about a Chinese mining boss allegedly being killed by striking workers in Zambia has been widely reported in major news outlets in China, including the Workers’ Daily and The Beijing News. These reports have caught Chinese netizens’ attention. Some compare the working conditions in Zambia to China, while others reflect upon China's policy of ‘development-aid diplomacy’ in Africa.
Exporting the exploitation model
On the Chinese micro-blogging platform Weibo, some netizens suggested that the riot occurred because Chinese bosses treat Zambian workers exactly the way they treat workers in China, with low wages and few labor protection standards [zh]:
@拓拔英雄：用对待中国工人的方法对待赞比亚工人，效果就不一样了，以为是人就可以这样对待。赞比亚人忍不住了，中国人还能忍多久。
@21世纪经济报道微评：【赞比亚】近日，一赞比亚中资煤矿公司发生劳资纠纷骚乱，一名中方经理死亡多人受伤。这种事情屡见不鲜。就像西方人喜欢输出自己的意识形态判断，中国人也喜欢输出自己的过低劳工标准，于是，悲剧就产生了。
Many were surprised after a People's Forum writer pointed out that the new Zambian minimum wage is higher than that in Beijing. The monthly minimum wages for average workers in Zambia is 1,132,400 Kshilings (around 220 US dollars), while in Beijing it is 1,260 Reminbi (around 200 US dollars). At the end of the article, the writer asks [zh]:
看来我们还不如非洲，那么哪个猪头决定要援助他们的？
Development-aid diplomacy
Official logo of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
China has provided massive amounts of development aid and loans, along with expertise to African countries, in exchange for support in diplomatic relations. One of the most celebrated projects supported by China is the Tanzania-Zambia (TAZARA) Railway, built in the 1970s. But some netizens are doubtful about the effectiveness of the decade-long ‘development-aid diplomacy’ after the riot [zh]:
@艾磊儿：主要还是中国政府太贱！非洲被西方欺负也不敢说话，中国却拿钱去舔人家屁股，还自吹什么中非友好，在人家眼里你就是傻B!
Yuaner1989 complained about Africa not being grateful for China’s assistance in building infrastructure [zh]:
@yuaner1989：赞比亚爆发骚乱，中国人遭昔日的“老朋友”绑架威胁，非洲曾经对中国的无私援建感恩戴德，为何如今却翻脸不认人？中国在崛起的过程却发现朋友越来越少，时移世易，中国是否应当去试图结交一些新的朋友？
There were also more reflective responses, which highlighted the exploitation and negligence of local needs by  Chinese businesses [zh]:
@刘克斯：从赞比亚煤矿劳资纠纷看我国国外企业的国际责任。我们曾经是帝国主义的殖民地，深受被掠夺被奴役的痛苦。今西方国家称非洲是中国殖民地，我们竭力反对，但是否静静反思一下，我们到非洲办企业开矿山，除考虑到企业自身利益，是否考虑到当事国利益？包括环保、公益、劳动保护、工人工资和福利待遇等等！

author: Ronald Yick