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Afghanistan Post-2014: Will the Dark Days Return? · Global Voices
Omid Bidar

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.
Afghan National Army (ANA). Photograph by Lt Sally Armstrong, RN / MOD via Helmand Blog on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
October 7, 2012 marked the 11th anniversary of the United States-led war in Afghanistan. International combat forces are due to leave the country at the end of 2014, yet the war has remained “mission unaccomplished“. After years of conflict, NATO forces are set to handover responsibility for securing the country to the Afghan armed forces. However, it remains to be seen whether the Afghan’s will be able maintain order and stability after the withdrawal of foreign troops?
In the aftermath of 9/11, the United States and its NATO allies invaded Afghanistan in order to dismantle the Taliban regime and the core leadership of al Qaeda. After several weeks of conflict, NATO troops successfully ousted the Taliban from various cities and helped to establish a new democratic country — the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
As a result, the Taliban regime remains a bitter memory for most Afghans, who never want to see them come to power again.
Naseer, a Kabul resident writes [fa]:
زمان طالبان،یک زمان تاریک در تاریخ کشور ماست. در زمان طالبان مردم ما هیچ امیدی برای زندگی کردن نداشتند. چون هرچه که داشتند توسط طالبان یا سوزانده شد یا هم خراب شد[…] دوره طالبان دوره سیاهی است که هیچ شهروند افغان خاطرات آن را از یاد نمی‌برند.
The Taliban regime is a dark period of our country's history. During the Taliban regime our people had no hope to live. For, had they anything, it was either burned or destroyed […] The Taliban regime was a dark period that any Afghan citizen would never forget.
And while many Afghans suffered during the Taliban regime in various ways, it was females who suffered the most.
Tahmina Barakzay, a female teacher based in Kabul, writes [fa]:
«در زمان طالبان ما مجبور بودیم که در خانه باشیم. در بیرون از خانه کارکرده نمی‌توانستیم. اگر بیرون می‌برآمدیم حتما چادری می‌پوشیدیم. اگر چه من منحیث زن مسلمان پیش از زمان طالبان هم چادر به سرداشتم و حجاب اسلامی را مراعات می‌کردم اما در زمان طالبان اگر چادری نمی‌داشتیم، توسط طالبان کیبل می‌خوردیم […] ما از طالبان خاطره خوش نداریم. طالبان بدبختی‌های مردم ما را زیاد کردند و نمی‌خواهیم که این‌ها بار دیگر سر قدرت بیایند.
During the Taliban regime we were compelled to stay at home. [We] couldn't work outdoors. If we went outside we had to wear a burka. As a Muslim woman before the Taliban regime I still wore a veil and followed Islamic rules regarding the hijab, however, during the Taliban if we didn’t wear a burka we were whipped […] We have an ill-fated memory of the Taliban. [They] increased the miseries of our people and we don’t want them to come to power ever again.
Should they stay or should they go?
Zmaray Zalmay, a 30-year-old aid worker in Kabul says:
The Americans should not leave Afghanistan until 2020. We have the experience of 1992 [the year the Soviet-backed communist government fell in Afghanistan sparking a civil war]. We have Russia, China and Pakistan to worry about. We need America.
Not all Afghans share the same views. Many are unconvinced about the presence of NATO forces in the country. For instance, Ghulam Habib, a member of a local district council in Takhar Province claims:
For the past 10 years, with the Americans here, the situation has turned from bad to worse. The presence of the Taliban and Al Qaeda has increased day by day, which shows the US strategy cannot bring security. So they can go.
A recent report by The International Crisis Group (ICG) warned that the Afghan government could collapse after the troop withdrawal. And some also predict ethnic clashes in the country.
In response to the report, an Afghan government statement said:
Our nation was not born in 2002. We have a history of 5,000 years. We have fought against superpowers in the past. Our national police and army are ready to defend the country's soul and sovereignty.
The United Nations envoy, Jan Kubis, has also dismissed predictions that Afghanistan is heading for collapse after 2014. Kubis said:
The international community is ready to do everything possible to support Afghanistan and frankly, to keep Afghanistan from lapsing into these kind of doom-and-gloom scenarios that are coming from different places
Frogh Wazhma, an Afghan gender and development specialist and human rights activist, criticized on Twitter:
@FroghWazhma: Reports over Reports predicting Afghanistan's descent into chaos. Why are the experts so excitingly promoting & predicting failure??
This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by the International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide. This post was first published on the ISN blog, see similar stories here.

author: Omid Bidar


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Colombia: Journalist Fired Over Article About Oil Company · Global Voices
Lully

Colombian journalist Daniel Pardo was fired by the website  Kien&Ke [es] after writing a column  [es] about the influence exercised by the Canadian oil company Pacific Rubiales in media like W Radio [es].
The text (also reproduced [es] in Pardo's personal blog), questioned the handling of Pacific Rubiales saying that “In general, in the media where Pacific shows up, the only way the company is mentioned is to praise or defend it”, and alleges that Pacific manipulates paid infomercials presented as journalism.
On October 22, Kien&Ke published a short note [es] reporting the decision to fire the journalist, stating it had asked Pardo for “documented proof”. The note explains: “The director of publication, María Elvira Bonilla, reiterated the urgency of sending proof. Daniel Pardo didn't send it, so the magazine dispensed with his contributions.”
Columnist Daniel Pardo on Kien&Ke
Kien&Ke's note also quotes Héctor Mario Rodríguez (owner of the website Primera Página [es] and the source quoted by Pardo in his column), who allegedly contradicted the claims in his column. Contrary to this, Héctor Mario Rodríguez corroborated the information in an interview with Blu Radio, [es] and stated that what Daniel Pardo said in his column was completely true.
Consequently, many believe that this dismissal is a clear attack on freedom of the press. Netizens on Twitter have expressed many reactions, making  Daniel Pardo, [es] Kien&Ke, [es] and Pacific Rubiales local trends on Twitter.
Julio Ivan Bedoya (@julioivanb) [es], like others, calls for a statement from Julio Sánchez of W Radio:
@julioivanb: @WRadioColombia @BluradioCo Alguien que le informe a Julio Sánchez sobre el caso Daniel Pardo, hoy es el cuarto día y nada que se pronuncia
@julioivanb: @WRadioColombia @BluradioCo Somebody tell Julio Sánchez about Daniel Pardo's case, this is the fourth day and there has been no statement
The journalist Claudia López (@CLOPEZanalista) [es] denounces the advertising methods of the company in question:
@CLOPEZanalista: Empresas como Pacific Rubiales no pautan comerciales. Pautan propaganda, es decir q se publiquen como periodísticos publireportajes sesgados
@CLOPEZanalista: Companies like Pacific Rubiales don't advertise through commercials. They publish propaganda, that is, they publish biased infomercials as journalism.
User Leo (@Pata_Leo) [es] criticizes the media:
@Pata_Leo: Y después, los medios salen a rasgarse las vestiduras hablando de “libertad de prensa” y “libertad de expresión”. El ejemplo empieza en casa
@Pata_Leo: And then, the media feigns indignation talking about “freedom of the press” and “freedom of expression”. The example starts at home.
Blogs and alternative media have also spoken up. La Silla Vacía [es] reported that an agency that handles advertising for Pacific Rubiales called them to buy a positive story about the oil company and its social responsibility. The website didn't do it. La Silla Vacía also published a table tracking the media coverage of Pacific Rubiales over the past three years and showing the advertising strategy.
Meanwhile, other blogs continue supporting the reporter and reproducing his column [es] in their virtual spaces.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Lully


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France: Will Winter Come Early for Nice’s Famous Flower Market? · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

On the occasion of the Sainte Fleur festival on 29 September, 2012, Nice-Matin, the local daily paper of the capital of the French Riviera, published an article titled “Nice: the famous flower market of the Cours Saleya in danger” [fr]. According to Sophie Casals, the author of the article, the florists of the Cour Saleya [fr] (a popular town square in Nice) are having to deal with more and more administrative red tape – in addition to problems posed by the waste-management authorities.
The article provoked many comments on the web. One reader, pinklotusinindia [fr], has noted:
qu'elle tristesse si ce marché (presque typique bien que cher surtout en été) disparait, un lieu incontournable pour les touristes et les niçois qui aiment s'y promener, on l'a déjà amputé de la place à coté de la chapelle de la miséricorde, une grande place vide remplie de grands pots…
Il faut sauver le cours Saleya et ses petits marchands,et faire revivre une âme niçoise!!
how sad it would be if this market (almost iconic – although expensive, particularly in the summer) disappeared, a must for tourists and for Nice locals who love to go for walks there, we have already cut it off from the nearby Square of the Chapel of Mercy, a great open space full of great pots…
We have to save the Cours Saleya and its small merchants, and revive the Nice soul!!
The Nice flower market by Chris230*** on FlickR (License CC-2.0)
Writing on the Blog du Vieux Nice (the Old Nice Blog), Adèle thinks [fr] that:
Il faut garder ce bout de paradis que représente le marché aux fleurs! Il représente l'emblème de notre belle ville partout dans le monde! On y trouve de magnifiques compositions et à prix abordables! Beaucoup de touristes retournent bien souvent chez eux avec un bouquet “Niçois”!
We have to keep the piece of paradise that the flower market represents! It represents the emblem of our beautiful city everywhere in the world! You can find there magnificent bouquets at affordable prices! Many tourists will often return home with a “Niçois” bouquet.
Here's a brief history of the Cours Saleya [fr] according to nicetourisme.com:
Ancien parc, le cours Saleya, zone piétonne au cœur du Vieux-Nice, est devenu un lieu pittoresque et immanquable pour les niçois et les touristes.
Once a park, the Cours Saleya, now a pedestrian mall at the heart of the Nice Old Town, had become a picturesque, unmissable spot both for Nice locals and for tourists.
Here is a sample, taken from tripadvisor.co.uk, of what the tourists themselves think. David_PRG85, from Prague in the Czech Republic, wrote:
We've visited Cours Saleya around 8-9am, to avoid crowds and it was great. Still had the atmosphere of local city market with all the fresh fish, sausages, cheese, mushrooms, flowers, etc. You can have still warm croissant, quiche, or pain au chocolat for breakfast for a very reasonable price and eat it just across the road on the beach.
The Cours Saleya by Dalbera on FlickR (license CC-2.0)
On the same site, Yung T from Austin, Texas, wrote:
Faldi wrote:
I hardly remember such a big place like this, with so many restaurants and bars all crammed at night with so many nice people, all in the same spot. A beautiful view, reat to stroll just a bit too hot  :-).
The Riviera online community suspect that the administrative red tape binding the florists works to the advantage of the restaurants with whom they share the town square – and this is provoking anger. Many netizens have posted their reactions on nicematin.com. Here are some examples:
chfjdli [fr], appealing to the local municipal authorities, wrote [fr]:
Il est impensable que le marché aux fleurs du Cours Saleya disparaisse. Une des vitrines de Nice après la promenade des Anglais lieux incontournables pour les touristes, ce marché doit faire l'objet de toute notre sollicitude et les pouvoirs publics doivent impérativement se pencher sur la question de la cohabitation des restaurants qui grignotent tous les jours du terrain comme je le constate en qualité de cliente de ce marché très agréable. Si les fleuristes quittent la place ce sera la fin aussi pour beaucoup de restaurants, les touristes passeront dans d'autres secteurs il n'y aura plus ce pôle d'attraction pour les inciter à venir. D'autre part les employés de la voiries doivent recevoir des instructions pour montrer un peu plus de discernement dans leurs interventions. Merci à notre Maire de bien vouloir prendre un moment pour se pencher sur ce problème très important et trouver un bon compromis.
It is unthinkable that the Cours Saleya flower market should disappear. An unmissable Nice showcase for tourists (second only the Promenade des Anglais), this market warrants all of our concern and the authorities must immediately address the issue of co-existence with the restaurants which munch up more territory with each day as I, a customer of this very pleasant market, am noticing. If the florists leave the square it will also be the end for many restaurants – the tourists will pass over to other areas as this attraction will no longer be there to incite them to come over. In addition, waste-disposal employees should be instructed to be a bit more discerning in their work there. We would be grateful if our Mayor took a moment to address this very important problem and to find a compromise.
Aristide [fr], appreciating the tiresome work being done by the florists, said [fr]:
Parlons-en des fleuristes du cours Saleya: ils font un boulot dans des conditions de travail qui ne sont pas enviables et pourtant ils font partie du patrimoine Niçois. … Faudrait les aider, plutôt que les critiquer et les verbaliser, mais nous sommes dirigés par des personnages qui sont plus souvent à Paris ou ailleurs que dans la ville qu'ils sont censés gérer.
Let's talk about the florists of the Cours Saleya: they are working in conditions that few would envy and yet they are part of the Nice heritage. … We ought to help them rather than criticize and regulate them, but we are being led by people who spend more time in Paris and elsewhere than they do in the city that they are supposed to be managing.
Bastian [fr] expresses his sentiments on the matter with a sense of humour [fr]:
Place aux restaus ….De toute façon il n'y a plus de producteurs, qui ont vendu leur terrain agricole en terrain a bâtir, il n'y [en] aura plus dans quelques temps… Mais qui fera vivre ces restaurants quand les touristes iront ailleurs… au fait il faut penser à alerter les guides touristiques sur la disparition du point d'intérêt qui a fait historiquement la gloire de NICE.
More room for restaurants…In any case there there are no longer any local producers, they all sold their farmland and turned it into building plots, so there won't be any soon enough… But who will keep these restaurants viable when the tourists go elsewhere… incidentally, we should think about alerting the tourist guides about the disappearance of this attraction which has historically been the glory of NICE.
On a practical note, ABDULLAH [fr], a resident of the Nice Old Town, wrote [fr]:
Les fleurs c'est fini, les romantiques disparaissent progressivement, les gens pensent uniquement à leurs estomacs, il faut de la bouffe; par conséquent le produit à la mode est le kebab, et les ingrédients qui vont avec : frites salade; produit peu cher à la portée de toutes les bourses. Il faut réserver le meilleur accueil aux futurs vendeurs de ce produit d'avenir sur Nice, car les temps changent, il faut s'adapter aux nouveautés
Flowers are finished, romantics are progressively disappearing, people are thinking only about their stomachs (we need chow!); as a result, the currently preferred product is the kebab and its various accompaniments: chips and salad – inexpensive products within the reach of every budget. We should save our warmest welcome for the coming vendors of this future product in Nice, because times are changing, and you've got to adopt to the new
When it comes to what makes Nice an internationally renowned city, apart from its climate and coast, credit must also go to the many tourist attractions – among them the Cours Saleya – which ought to be cherished and conserved.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Occupy Movement Rallies for ‘Debt Strike’ Worldwide · Global Voices
Stanislas Jourdan

This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide.
Under the slogan “You are not a loan, you are not alone,” Occupy Wall Street's  “Strike Debt” group is aiming to inject life into a resistance movement against debt repayment. The operation is gaining worldwide support, and could very well revive the protest movement which was born a year ago.
Strike the Debt poster – Public domain
The basic premise laid out in a joint statement by Occupy Wall Street, Real Democracy Now, the 15-M movement and various organisations asserts a demand for a debt audit by the people, announcing:
To the financial institutions of the world, we have only one thing to say: we owe you nothing.
Mortgages, medical debts, student loans, credit cards, or even local government debts: making war against any form of illegitimate debt is the new combat for an increasing number of protest movements throughout the world.
There are already several videos online calling for debts to be wiped out:
The movement is already world-wide, but its momentum originates in the United States, where a striking reality cannot be denied: a debt strike is actually already underway there. Nicholas Mirzoeffe writes in his blog:
27 percent of student loans are in default and that number is rising.
$1.2 trillion of mortgage debt is underwater (debt exceeds value of property) or about one-third of all properties.
5 million homes have been foreclosed and 5 million more are under threat of foreclosure, meaning that owners are in default or behind on payments. 300,000 people had a foreclosure notification added to their credit report in the first quarter of this year.  27% of mortgages are seriously delinquent–ironically, a slight improvement. 300,000 more people went bankrupt.
The average credit card debt per household has fallen from $17, 936 in 2009 to $14,336 now: because of mass default. In 2010, credit card companies had to write off fully 10% of all debt.
These observations are striking. But how does one go from an individual refusal to repay – often without much choice – to a collective rebellion against debt?
That is the object of the Strike Debt operation. On the operation's official site there is even a “Debt Resisters’ Operations Manual.” This comprehensive, referenced and argumented 100-pages-long document explains how to negotiate a credit card overdraft, the risks one runs if one do not repay the student loan or the merits or lack thereof of declaring yourself bankrupt. Another section gives advice about how to best manage debts arising from medical care.
In each section, a short history of the evolution of the banking and financial system allows for a better understanding of the perversity of the financial system. It presents, for example, the collaboration between banks and universities:
A 2006 investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s Office concluded that the business relationship between lenders and university officials amounted to an “unholy alliance.” Lenders paid kickbacks to universities based on the loan volume that financial aid offices steered their way; lenders also gave all-expenses-paid Caribbean vacations to financial aid administrators, and even put them on their payroll.
The Strike Debt operation is aiming in particular to create solidarity between ordinary people, by reminding them that they are not alone faced with their debts:
If you are about to default on a student loan, remember that you are not alone. There are approximately 4 to 5 million other Americans that have already done so.
On November 15, Strike Debt will announce the launch of an operation named “Rolling Jubilee”.  The idea is to create a network of mutual help, allowing those who are not indebted to legally buy up the personal debts of those who are collapsing under their repayments.
Rolling Debt Jubilee _ Public domain
The twitter feed @Occupytheory adds:
@Occupytheory: A bailout for the people by the people #undebt #n15
Towards bailing out the people?
However, beyond education and acts of solidarity, several Strike Debt activists have a more general proposal to put forward. They suggest a modern debt jubilee, meaning a massive debt cancellation.
The Australian economist Steve Keen also calls this idea a “quantitative easing for the people,” in reference to the huge support central banks give to private banks through their policy of purchasing assets. He explains his proposal on his site:
A Modern Jubilee would create fiat money in the same way as with Quantitative Easing, but would direct that money to the bank accounts of the public with the requirement that the first use of this money would be to reduce debt. Debtors whose debt exceeded their injection would have their debt reduced but not eliminated, while at the other extreme, recipients with no debt would receive a cash injection into their deposit accounts.
Fistfullproductions has uploaded an interview with Keen:
The anthropologist David Graeber is one of the main sources of inspiration behind the operation. This anarchist,  one of the early instigators of Occupy Wall Street, is the author of a key work published in 2011, “Debt: the first 5,000 years,” in which he explores the history of debt, and launches an appeal for a debt jubilee, which was an important custom in antiquity, as he points out in his book.
In the third edition of the review Tidal, edited by the Occupy movement, he argues:
No doubt, readers will object: “but if you just print trillions of dollars, wouldn’t that cause severe inflation?” Well, yes, in theory, it should. But it seems the theory here is flawed, since that’s exactly what the government is doing: they’ve been printing trillions of dollars, and so far, it hasn’t had any notable inflationary effect.
(…)
The problem is it didn’t work. Either to get the economy moving, or to increase inflation. First of all, banks did not invest the money. Mainly, they either lent it back to the government again, or deposited it in the Federal Reserve, which paid them a higher interest rate for just keeping it there than they were charging those same banks to borrow it. So in effect, the government has been printing money and giving it to the banks and the banks have just sat on it.
So in the end why not give money directly to the people if we are now giving it to the banks? Presented in these terms, the idea probably seems less absurd.
In the name of what type of ethics does the debt contract rule?
Going beyond economic justifications, Occupy activists completely reject the moral argument often associated with debt according to which “all debt should be repaid.” On the site The Occupied Times, Michael Richmond writes:
What kind of morality is this morality of debt that says paying one’s debts is more important than anything else? We are seeing a regression back to Victorian times when debtors were criminalised, jailed and branded with a stigma that couldn’t be erased. And yet, everyone is in some kind of debt because the system is built on it, none more so than the entire financial sector which can only survive on public bailouts.
How long will the strike hold? It's difficult to predict, but it is sure that one year after the birth of Occupy Wall Street, the emergence of a global consensus around the operation is marking the start of a new era for the movement. As Astra Taylor interpreted it on September 5 2012 on the site The Nation:
Debt, a growing number of organizers believe, has the potential to serve as a kind of connective tissue for the Occupy movement, uniting increasingly dispersed organizing efforts around a common problem (debt) as opposed to a common tactic (occupation).
In another article on the same site, David Greaber goes as far as to wonder whether debt could trigger a revolution:
Occupy was right to resist the temptation to issue concrete demands. But if I were to frame a demand today, it would be for as broad a cancellation of debt as possible, followed by a mass reduction of working hours – say to a five-hour workday or a guaranteed five-month vacation.
By attacking debt, Occupy is attacking the basis of the system, and no longer only those who benefit from it or even their tools (austerity, bail-outs, central banks). The Occupy movement's change in direction is certainly ambitious, difficult and resolutely more subversive. However for David Greaber, this is not the problem:
If such a suggestion seems outrageous, even inconceivable, it’s just a measure of the degree to which our horizons have shrunk.
This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide.

author: Stanislas Jourdan


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Russia: Facebook Insults Lead to a Fight at the Bolshoi · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Earlier this week, an online spat between the chief editors of Russian GQ and Russian Tatler magazines came to physical blows on the steps of the famous Bolshoi Theater. First, Tatler's Eduard Dorozhkin insulted GQ's Michael Idov in a Facebook post that had anti-Semitic overtones [ru]. Idov, a Jewish emigre whose parents fled the Soviet Union to escape bigotry against Jews, took such offense that he accosted Dorozhkin by slapping him in the face. (Dorozhkin claims he was punched.) Idov defended [ru] his actions as a justified retaliation against racism. Dorozhkin meanwhile has filed charges [ru] with the police.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Russia: the Scuffles of the Moscow Literati · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Online conflicts between Russia’s bloggers, journalists, and political activists are common. Now that everything people say is meticulously recorded by one social network or other, it is easy to find cause for offence. These virtual conflicts usually stay virtual, even though the insults can get quite vicious. There are, of course, occasional threats of physical violence loosely equivalent to “if I could only get my hands on you.” These are usually ignored as posturing, and rightly so.
For example, when a Twitter spat between blogger Maksim Kononenko and Pussy Riot lawyer Mark Feygin devolved into mutual accusations of homosexuality, Feygin ended the conversation saying [ru]:
Ну,что же. В сети я с тобой прекращаю общаться. А вот вне ее надеюсь встретиться. Попробуй повторить это мне в лицо.
Well then. I’m going to stop talking to you on the internet. But outside of it I hope to meet you. Try telling me this to my face.
As far as anyone knows, nothing violent followed, and probably won’t. It’s not as if Feygin is the first person to threaten Kononenko, a well known troll. Back in 2006 journalist Alexander Ryklin made a similar threat [ru]:
Я просто набью вам морду. Как только где-нибудь встречу, так сразу и набью.
I’ll just deck you in the face. As soon as I meet you somewhere, I’ll deck you right away.
Once again, there was no actual fight.
Mikhail Idov at GQ Man of the Year 2012. Youtube Screenshot. October 27, 2012
Nevertheless, there are exceptions. Just recently, an online altercation between Mikhail Idov, the new editor-in-chief of GQ Russia, and Eduard Dorozhkin, an editor at Tatler Russia, ended in physical violence. According to Dorozhkin [ru], he was standing with friends near the entrance to the Bolshoi Theater, when Idov came up, asked him to “step outside,” and when Dorozhkin refused, slapped him in the face and left. Dorozhkin, who has had several concussions in the past, was not amused.
Idov explained his actions in a friends-only Facebook post (re-posted here [ru]):
Пощечина – идиотский способ решения проблем. Но безнаказанный антисемит у тебя под боком – в разы более идиотская проблема.
A slap is an idiotic way of solving problems. But an unpunished anti-Semite at your side is a proportionately more idiotic problem.
Eduard Dorozhkin's Facebook page. Screenshot. October 27, 2012
Idov claims that Dorozhkin has been systematically insulting him and GQ, and is an anti-Semite. It appears that this particular slap came in response to Dorozhkin’s Facebook post from October 9 [ru]. In the post Dorozhkin complains about New York, says that the weather is awful and as a result:
Неудивительно, что некоторые еврейские литераторы так и стремятся в Россию “на ловлю счастья и чинов”, как писал один русский поэт, – и все метят в главные редакторы русскоязычных изданий, так им неймется в социальном жилье а Брайтон Бич.
No wonder, that certain Jewish men-of-letters want to go to Russia “to find happiness and rank,” as one Russian poet wrote; and all of them aim to be the editors-in-chief of Russian publications, they are that uncomfortable in public housing on Brighton Beach.
Although no names are named, this was likely a veiled jab at Idov, who until last year was a Russian immigrant living in New York, and is of Jewish descent.
It’s hard to tell for sure whether Dorozhkin’s intent with the hyperbolic statement was anti-Semitic, or whether he was driven by a personal dislike of Idov. A society pages journalist, Bozhena Rynska, seems to think the latter is to blame, as well as Dorozhkin’s general style of conversation [ru]:
Я не думаю, что Дорожкин антисемит. Просто грязный рот. Типичное пидовское злословие, которое, кстати, в светской беседе очень мило.
I don’t think Dorozhkin is an anti-Semite. He just has a dirty mouth. It was typical gay backbiting, which, can, by the way, be cute during small talk.
Rynska’s opinion is suspect, since she herself seems to stereotype Dorozhkin, who is homosexual, as a “sassy queen.”
Even if Dorozhkin’s statement was anti-Semitic, it raises the question of appropriate response. If Idov felt offended or slandered he should have taken Dorozhkin to court, or written an editorial and let the court of public opinion decide. One user on Friendfeed commented [ru] on his seemingly disproportional, yet ultimately ineffective actions:
дать пощёчину педерасту из журнала про знаменитостей в рамках борьбы с антисемитизмом в россии, my ass! в следующий раз когда спартак коням проиграет, отвешу леща консьержке, пожалуй
to slap a pederast from a celebrity magazine as a way of fighting the good fight against anti-Semitism in Russia, my ass! next time when Spartak loses to CSK [Moscow soccer teams.-A.T.], maybe I’ll punch the concierge.
As seen from above comments, Russian homophobia holds its own with anti-Semitism.
Meanwhile, journalist Oleg Kashin reacted [ru] to Idov with a sad-face:
@tsuvorova Заразился нравами, блин((
@tsuvorova [He’s] gotten infected with our habits, damn((
Kashin knows what he’s talking about. In 2008 he himself was a victim of assault, when the popular writer Eduard Bagirov attacked him [ru] at a restaurant where Kashin was having dinner with a friend, as a response to an online insult. In a situation similar to Dorozhkin’s, Bagirov first offered Kashin to “step outside,” then, when Kashin refused, punched him in the face. Just recently the self-same Bagirov and another writer, Sergey Minaev, beat up [ru] GQ contributor Andrey Ryvkin over Twitter comments (Bagirov later said that it was “only a slap”).
There are other examples; in fact, altogether too many. Wikireality, a wiki project cataloging the RuNet, even has an article entitled “Blogger Fights [ru].” Among these it lists the “tomato terrorist” Andrey Morozov, who famously used tomatoes to move internet disagreements to the physical plane (Global Voices did a profile of Morozov last May). Ilya Yashin, currently a member of the Coordinating Council of the opposition, also made the list for his fight with nationalist publicist Egor Holmogorov.
Regardless of his motives, Idov’s recent actions have contributed to an unfortunate trend. But his touchiness is perhaps understandable — he does have big shoes to fill. GQ Russia’s former editor, Nikolai Uskov, held the job for nine years and is somewhat of a legend on RuNet; a divisive figure, often mocked for his refined tastes. Currently the editor of the Snob project, he once wrote a list of “simple things” he enjoys. The list famously included [ru]:
Джем из кумквата на бруске ржаного вестфальского хлеба за завтраком
Kumquat jam on a slab of Westphalian rye bread at breakfast
and
Мощная струя любимого Comme des Garcons 71 на чистое тело
A powerful jet of my favorite Comme des Garcons 71 after a bath
Uskov's list did not include vigilantism. Idov might do better to emulate his predecessor and keep online conflicts virtual.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Turkmenistan at Twenty-One: Double Holiday and Thaw with Russia · Global Voices
Anna Fergana

Turkmenistan marks its Independence Day on October 27. Every year, the celebrations of the country's main holiday become more and more stupendous, with the authorities eager to demonstrate the pyrotechnic and other technological advances brought to the country in the period that is officially referred to as the “Golden Age“.
Last year the government put on an impressive laser show. The nuts and bolts of the show were supplied by a Chinese company which built a huge screen consisting of 2,000 square meters of LED panels with an enormous eight-angle star in the middle to aid the celebrations (watch the video below).
Double holiday
This year, Independence Day arrived on the same day as Gurban Baýramy (aka Eid al-Adha). These two public holidays are very popular in Turkmenistan. Thus, internet users in the country were keen to exchange mutual greetings and warm wishes.  For example, akylym1990 wrote [tr] on the popular youth chat group Teswirler:
Biziñ ilde gosha baýram gosha toý! Åhli watandashlarymy ýetip gelýän baýramlary bilen gutlaýan!!!
Our nation has a double holiday, a double celebration! [I wish] all my fellow compatriots happy coming holidays!!!
Still, as noted by Ruslan T. on Chrono-Tm, an independent information service set up by Turkmen expatriates, preparations for the Independence Day are always fairly totalitarian in scope:
“…the number of ceremonial events is not limited to the aforementioned 70 [events announced by the government]. The number of festivities organized by local authorities in the provinces, NGOs, regional offices of ministries and agencies is countless. Mass participation needs to be demonstrated in all television broadcasts…Large-scale participation is staged by schoolchildren, students and employees of state-owned organizations, the number of which is limited. This crowd of people is sent from one event to another while TV crews make TV coverage in advance in order to show the entire country rejoicing during celebrations of Independence Day…”
“Thaw” in relations with Russia
This year, the Independence Day also comes at a time of the apparent “thaw” in what used to be “icy” relations between the gas-rich Caspian state and Russia.
Over the last 21 years of independence, the leadership of Turkmenistan has praised the collapse of the Soviet Union and the country's “liberation” from the alien values of communism. Due to Turkmenistan's stubborn insistence on neutrality (yes, there is a public holiday to celebrate that as well) in opposition to Russia's preference for close bilateral ties, relations between the two countries have often been rather tense. But as of 2011 relations have been said to be warming up again, mainly because Turkmenistan is interested in selling Moscow more of its gas. And Moscow is keen on reclaiming the status of Turkmenistan's key gas re-exporter.
Safe in the knowledge that Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov loves titles and honours, Russian sports organizations lined up this summer to award the Turkmen president a number of medals and titles, accolades that local netizens saw as tacit political gifts from Moscow.
And, as Myles Smith writes on EurasiaNet's Sifting the Karakum blog, Berdymukhamedov returned the favour earlier this month, awarding the prestigious (in Turkmenistan) Ruhubelent state award to Dmitri Medvedev's wife Svetlana Medvedeva:
Berdymukhamedov and Putin also spoke by phone the previous week. And they spoke in July when Putin called to congratulate Berdymukhamedov on his birthday. At the time, Putin and Medvedev also sent congratulatory letters. Perhaps Medvedev’s specific reference to the grand time the two shared in Rio de Janeiro – at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in June – helped land his wife the Turkmen trophy.
But beneath all the new found bonhomie, there will be much talk of who gets what, when and how, as analysts anticipate a Moscow-Ashkhabad rapprochement imminently. The relationship with Russia is hotly debated by the anonymous posters on Chrono-TM. One user, Mered suggested [ru] earlier this year that Turkmenistan needs to give up its neutrality and open up its borders to Vladimir Putin's nascent Eurasian Union:
Туркмении однозначно вступать в Евразийский Союз и открывать границы. В гордом одиночестве долго не протянем.
Turkmenistan should definitely join the Eurasian Union and open up its borders. We can’t [survive] too long in proud loneliness.
Another netizen, FE, opposes [ru] Turkmenistan's potential accession to the Putin-backed “union of states”, echoing the familiar rhetoric of ‘positive neutrality’ in world politics:
Думается России больше нужен Туркменистан, чем Туркменистану Россия, из-за геополитики. Если дружба (пишем, а продажу углеводородов имеем в виду)не с Россией, так найдутся выходы на Восток (чем тебе Китай хуже РФ, или Индия…?).
I think Russia needs Turkmenistan more than Turkmenistan needs Russia, due to geopolitics. If Russia doesn't become Turkmenistan's friend (we write “friendship” but actually mean the supply of hydrocarbons), we can find [friends] in the East (is China or India anyhow worse that [Russia]?..).
For the moment, the troublesome Turkmenistan-Russia relationship appears to be improving on all fronts. Global Voices Online reported on June 13 that the scandal surrounding a popular Russian mobile operator in Turkmenistan appears to be correcting itself somewhat. So, while Berdymukhamedov receives a congratulatory Independence Day call from Vladimir Putin (the man who wishes the Soviet Union had never collapsed), the ordinary Turkmen will be able to call one another using a reliable connection to wish each other a “happy double holiday”.

author: Anna Fergana


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Ukraine: Technology for Transparent Elections · Global Voices
Tetyana Bohdanova

On October 28, Ukrainians will elect their parliament. With the current president‘s main political opponent in jail, the upcoming elections come under increasing attention from the international community.
Amidst mounting allegations of the ruling party’s use of administrative resource during election campaign, the current Ukrainian government has pledged to keep the elections free and fair and accommodated over 3,700 international observers.
Ukraine’s Ministry of the Interior has decided to utilize crowdmapping and set up an Ushahidi-based map of registered violations [uk]. According to the officials, the aim of their initiative is to “help society form an objective opinion about the course of the 2012 election-related events” [uk].
To ensure electoral transparency and to check the government's pledges for themselves, local election monitoring groups, too, have been using new technology.
OPORA
Civic network OPORA [en] has utilized an interactive map [en, uk] that contains full information about all the 225 electoral districts and 33,000 polling stations, including contacts of the local commissions overseeing the vote. The monitoring is conducted by 3,800 professional observers, and when violations are recorded, they place their findings on the map, along with the available photo and video evidence. The group also uses crowdsourcing – anyone may submit information about violations via a hotline or through an online form [uk, en]. After verification, these messages are also published on the map. On the Election Day, OPORA plans to conduct a statistics-based quick count of the votes utilizing SMS and GSM technology, in order to verify the election results.
Maidan.org.ua
Online citizen activism hub Maidan.org.ua [uk] has launched a project called “Maidan-monitoring” [en], which utilizes crowdmapping and visualizes the findings on an Ushahidi-based map of violations [en, uk]. The main difference of Maidan’s project from the classic crowdsourcing initiatives is that it makes an effort to verify every piece of information it receives before publishing it online. An additional project of Maidan.org.ua – the “People’s CEC [Central Election Commission]” [uk] – calls on election commission members and ordinary voters to submit electronic photographs of the final voting protocols that are later posted online in order to prevent any manipulations with the election results.
ElectUa.org
Another non-partisan crowdsourcing election-monitoring project, ElectUa [uk, en; GV roundup] by Internews-Ukraine, also uses a map to visualize reported violations, and utilizes “smart crowdsourcing,” verifying every report before publishing it online. The project has grown from the previously successful Twitter-broadcasts of the 2009 and 2010 elections that contributed significantly to the promotion of crowdsourcing technology and Twitter in Ukraine [en]. Messages for ElectUA 2012 can be submitted via e-mail, SMS, phone, as well as the project's website, Facebook or Twitter.

author: Tetyana Bohdanova


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Caribbean: Hurricane Sandy’s Wake  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As Hurricane Sandy closes in on the east coast of the United States, bloggers in the Caribbean who have already experienced the storm share their experiences.
Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense collated tweets and photographs from netizens who were on the island when Sandy hit, while Havana Times posted a series of entries telling of continued alerts for rain and potential flooding in the country's central provinces, the postponement of a second round of municipal elections which was originally scheduled to take place this morning, and the devastating damage that took place in Holguin province.
In a post written soon after the hurricane hit, the blog reported:
Preliminary data on the effects of Hurricane Sandy in eastern Cuba shows 11 fatalities, nine in Santiago de Cuba and two in Guantanamo…
Fallen trees and collapsed homes are some of the causes already identified.
Hurricane Sandy touched land in Santiago de Cuba Province on Wednesday night and left the island on Thursday morning from Banes, Holguin.
The blog's most recent update, posted this morning, said that government reports showed “widespread devastation in Santiago de Cuba and Holguin”:
In Santiago, where Sandy entered Cuba from the south, the local authorities reported on Saturday that 132,733 homes, apartments and other buildings were damaged, of those 15,322 were considered totally destroyed.  Over 43,000 of the homes lost part or all of the roofs.
In Holguin, the province from where Sandy left Cuba in route to The Bahamas and the USA, an estimated 17,000 homes were damaged, 1,800 totally destroyed and 3,000 without roofs.
There were also many homes damaged in Guantanamo province.
Electric service is still out in many parts of the affected region and hundreds of electric workers from other parts of the country have joined in the effort to restore energy as quickly as possible.
Over a thousand four hundred schools and nearly four hundred health facilities were damaged by the storm’s 105 mph winds.
Meanwhile, Generation Y wrote a post that contained suggestions for the authorities after Hurricane Sandy:
Thursday morning will never be forgotten by thousands of people in Eastern Cuba. The wind, flying roofs, heavy rains and trees falling on streets and houses, will remain as permanent memories of Hurricane Sandy. Some people lost everything, which was not much. For the victims it rains and it pours, literally and metaphorically. Nature intensifies the economic collapse and social problems of this region of the country. So these are the times to redouble our solidarity, to roll up our sleeves and help them rebuild their homes, to divide the piece of bread, and to go all out to contribute to those unlucky Cubans that Sandy left behind.
I think we all know what we can give and do, but I still dare to venture some proposals directed at the Cuban authorities. The decisions they make in the coming days will be crucial to shortening and mitigating the tragedy…
Here are a few of her ideas:
- Eliminate the custom duties for entry into the country of food, medicines, appliances and building materials.
– Ensure that the public is organized to collect, transport and deliver clothes, medicines and other resources to the affected areas.
– Encourage and authorize the collection of funds and resources from Cuban immigrants to bring to the island, both on a personal level as well as a group or institutional level.
– Ask for an assessment by and cooperation from international organizations that provide aid, loans and advice to overcome this disaster.
In comparison, the Bahamas managed to fare pretty well.  Rick Lowe at Weblog Bahamas reported:
Just spoke with the family in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, and while there is loss of shingles and a now leak in the roof, so far, so good.
Have not heard from family and friends on Eleuthera and the surrounding islands but have heard no reports of loss of life.
Of course the people of Cat Island seem to have taken the brunt of yet another storm. As a friend pointed out, they are strong people and will bounce back. Let's hope it will will quick and easy for them to do so.
We were lucky here at our house. Trees down in the road that we cleaned up already (pushed them on the side) and the highest gust we clocked was 40 mph.
In New Providence, Womanish Words had a similar experience:
Hurricane Sandy is upon us in The Bahamas…we are having only small, 20mph gusts, interspersed with moments of stillness, so far so good, I think the trees will hold.
Right now, another calm, another little 20 mph gust wooshing in the trees, its quite pleasant. For now.
In Haiti, it was a different story.  The Life and Times of the Mangine Many wrote:
We got the east side of the storm which packed inches upon inches of rain.
Now, that can be a problem anywhere, but in a country that is 75% deforested, flash flooding and landslides present unique challenges.
Also worth mentioning– there has been a constant problem with the river banks eroding whenever it floods (read: rains) in Jacmel.  To help fix that, someone (the government?) has been doing a bunch of work making a wall to reinforce the river bank.  A bit of a bandaid on a bullet wound, eh?  (In their defense, the wall was not yet finished, but yeah, didn't hold the water back so well…)
To quote Steve Concepcion (with Praxis Haiti) on this issue, ‘This is why attention to the environment matters.’

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Central Asians Treated ‘Like Crap’ at Moscow Airport · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

I realized that once you find yourself at [the Moscow airport] Domodedovo, you start feeling like you are [crap]. And you feel so not because you are actually [crap], but because the personnel at the airport treat you this way.
In an emotional post, blogger Diana Rahmanova writes [ru] about the mistreatment of Central Asians at the Moscow airport. Millions of migrant workers from Central Asia travel to Russia every year, with many of them arriving at the Domodedovo airport.

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Colombia: Kien&Ke’s Director Resigns After Journalist’s Dismissal  · Global Voices
Lully

Maria Elvira Bonilla, director of online portal Kien & Ke, resigned after acknowledging her error in firing journalist Daniel Pardo for his column about the influence exercised by the Canadian oil company Pacific Rubiales in media like W Radio [es]-a case that sparked outrage among Colombians.
Bonilla confirmed her resignation through a column titled ‘One last reflection’ [es], where she recognizes the error, clarifies what happened and also reports the resignation of deputy director Harold Abueta.


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Confusion over Agreement with OIC to Establish Office in Myanmar · Global Voices
Chan Myae Khine

This post is part of our special coverage Myanmar's Rohingya.
The June 2012 riots in western Myanmar involving Rohingyas and Rakhine prompted several international Islamic organizations and countries to extend their offer of assistance to resolve the conflict and deliver aid to victims.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), for instance, has proposed the establishment of a permanent office in Myanmar. This initiative sparked phenomenal opposition across the country, especially in Yangon, Mandalay, Pakkoku, Sittwe and Phyar Pone. Online comments are also  almost unanimous in opposing an OIC presence in the country.
Many people in Myanmar believe that an OIC office is not necessary to help the Muslim minority in Myanmar. Dr. Aye Maung, a member of parliament and the president of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party has argued [my] that aid and donation can be delivered without setting up an OIC office in the country:
OIC is mainly for religion purposes, an organisation with 57 countries which are cooperating with Islamic countries. It's unlike ASEAN which is a regional and multi-religious association nor European Union.[…] And therefore we can and should receive the donations through the government without opening an OIC office.
Myo Set advised the OIC to communicate directly with other UN bodies and NGOs if they found the government machinery unreliable:
Burma has full cooperation with NGOs and UN which is why no more political coalition is needed if OIC's pure intention is to provide only food, shelter, health care service and security for Muslims. Whatever they wish to supply can go through the UN if Burmese authorities are not reliable.
Ko Htike wrote with the view that the riot was not a religious clash, thereby asserting that the OIC should not shape the situation to be one.
The Rohingya issue is neither a religious clash nor ethnic clash. It's just a problem between illegal immigrants and locals. It is such an ordinary problem which usually occur in many countries across the world. Nothing more.
I think OIC should not shape the situation to be a religious issue. I respect the kindness to provide humanitarian aid. If the intent is for humanitarian reason, other states and regions in Myanmar should be given assistance as well just like what other countries (e.g. Japan, US) are doing.
Ko Htike echoed the popular domestic opinion in Myanmar, opposing the Rohingya's struggle for recognition as an ethnic minority in the country. Opinion on the Rohingyas is divided; the global community consider them as among the most persecuted minorities in Asia.
For several weeks, there has been talk of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the OIC and Myanmar's Ministry of Border Affairs, though there is little information about whether the agreement actually exists, and if so, what it comprises. When people started posting comments opposing the agreement, Hmuu Zaw from the president's office clarified[my] that the OIC office would only be a temporary liaison office rather than an official representative office.
This explanation didn't convince many. Tyfone Athene questioned the possible duration of the temporary office:
Temporary liaison office? how long will it take? 60 or unlimited years?
Poe Pwint Phyu thinks that if the government regarded the original incident a non-sectarian clash, then the agreement with the OIC should not have been signed:
Photo – CJ Myanmar Facebook Page
My last question to Mr. President's advisers: Do you see this recent conflict as merely a religious riot (thus you allowed a temporary office for OIC) or urgent issue of neglect and violence which victimized Rakhine natives? The answer will explain the present government's direction and its commitment to Rakhine and the survival of democratic Union—where every girl can freely get education and equal rights from the institution.
Others criticized the lack of transparency on procedures of government ministries. Ah Moe made this request [my]:
Be it a temporary liaison office or permanent branch office, what we are asking for now is to show a copy of that MOU to public, that's what we want mainly.
The government attempted to dissuade people from joining the protests against the setting up of an OIC office; despite this, they were held October 15 in several cities across the country. Bowing to public pressure, the president's office announced on the same day that the government would not permit the setting up of an OIC liaison office in Myanmar. However, it didn't mention the content of the controversial MOU. It was not clear if the government had informed the OIC of this decision.
The government has assured [my] the public that it would continue to accept humanitarian aid by coordinating closely with OIC and other international groups.
Meanwhile, the OIC said they have yet to receive a formal notification from Myanmar government regarding a decision to disallow a liaison office.
In related news, the Myanmar Red Cross Society issued a press release denying rumors that it is sponsoring a hidden OIC office inside its building.
This post is part of our special coverage Myanmar's Rohingya.

author: Chan Myae Khine


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Discussing New Forms of Journalism · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

What distinguishes citizen media from traditional media? Is it even still possible do draw the line?
Global Voices author Débora Medeiros shares her notes from a discussion on new forms of journalism, which took place during a barcamp session at the Berlin Colloquium for Internet and Society, on October 26, 2012.

author: Sara Moreira


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Entrepreneurship, Culture and Solidarity in Africa · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

Since the early 2000s, entrepreneurship in Africa [fr] has reported strong organic growth [fr]. However this development has not spread in all market sectors and too often seems to be limited to service industries and trade. Africa has 65 million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) [fr], nevertheless it is still struggling to develop a class of local entrepreneurs to manage strategic industries, specifically the export of agricultural raw materials, mining, transport and industry public works where the market too often turns to foreign managers.
Yet investors’ enthusiasm for Africa, that many see as the latest Gold Rush for those seeking an alternative to Asian markets, has an impact on local government policies which are concerned with developing their private sectors. The final report [fr] of the World Bank indicates that the reforms undertaken by most African governments have improved the business environment in the administrative, fiscal and regulatory domains.
Candy factory of the Senegalese Sugar Company (Senegal) by Manu25 on Wikipedia under creative commons licence
Numerous academics and researchers have examined the influence of cultural practices in order to understand the entrepreneurial adventure in Africa. Their researches led them to consider the weight of cultural values and principles strongly anchored into the collective psyche of African businessmen to evaluate the factors for success for African entrepreneurs.
The irrationality of economic choices of African business executives facing the social pressure of ethnicity,or their extended family has been extensively studied.
Success stories in Africa- sucessful and entrepreneurial leaders in Africa
from news21TV with M. Dogui president of Africagora club
Traditional African values facing the liberal economy
Kabeya Tshikuku, professor at the Institute of Economic and Social Research (IRES) at the University of Kinshasa, has argued that business logic is forcing African policymakers to make a difficult choice between the core values of their civilization (family solidarity, peers well being and other support platforms) and business administration, linked to a search for profit devoid of human consideration. The roots of capitalism, utility and individualism, encountered more resistance in the African psyche.
Africa and Africans are not liable guilty of any offence in the form of irrationality. The « cultural issue” lies elsewhere, as far development is concerned. It lies entirely in the distinction made by each culture between « cardinal values of civilization ” and the “ instrumental values”. From the strict cultural point of view, two systems are competing for the allegiance of people and the allocation of resources. […] To put it clearly, Africa is navigating between two competing systems of culture, the retrograde system of management of people and the (revolutionary?) administration of things. The reasons for existence and action have not yet completely lost their roots in the pre-capitalist system; they have not yet taken root in the capitalist system. The old framework of lifelong solidarity has not totally disintegrated; the new framework of capitalist individualism has not finished moving in.
Combining solidarity and growth
The growth that fueled the continent's GDP over the past decade indicates that this rational, individualistic capitalism is installed progressively albeit unevenly across the continent. It penetrates the public consciousness at the discretion of the efficiency or the aggressiveness of reforms undertaken by the government to boost the private sector. Corporate governance has become a central theme for the business community especially after the shocking wave of the Enron scandal in United States. Will African entrepreneurs know how to integrate the principles of corporate governance with the ubuntu philosophy in which the group comes before the individual?
The former Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Mali, Amadou Abdoulaye Diallo, pointed out that Africa is an excellent example of the paradox. He explains to Célia d'ALMEIDA in the Journal of Mali:
Il y a une décennie, l’environnement socio-économique en Afrique était jugé défavorable à la création et au développement de l’entreprise. Dans certains pays, le cadre juridique des affaires n’est pas très incitatif à cause de la faiblesse, voir l’absence, d’accès au crédit, l’accès difficile à l’information sur les opportunités d’affaires, du manque de soutien au jeune entrepreneur (absence d’incubateurs d’entreprises) et de l’insuffisance de main d’œuvre qualifiée pour la gestion de l’entreprise. À tout cela, s’ajoutait le manque de stratégie politique. Mais, depuis quelques années, des pays africains comme le nôtre, ont amorcé d’importantes réformes pour faciliter la création d’entreprise et offrir un climat favorable au développement des entreprises.
A decade ago, the African socio-economic environment was considered unfavourable to the creation and development of business ventures. In some countries, the legal framework for business leaves room for few incentives due to weaknesses such as lack of credit access, scarcity of information on business opportunities, absence of support for young entrepreneurs (no business incubators) and insufficient skilled workforce for company management. To all this is added a shortage of political strategy. However, more recently, African countries like ours, undertake major reforms to facilitate business creation and provide a favourable climate for business development.
In Cameroon, Richard Ewelle's post in Kamer Blog concludes [fr] on culture and entrepreneurship in Africa:
Le développement de l’entreprenariat en Afrique passera par la création d’un concept d’entrepreneuriat africain et pas forcément par la copie conforme de ce qui existe à l’étranger. Nous devons associer les bonnes pratiques occidentales en matière de création d’entreprise, au contexte et aux concepts africains. Le concept de l’entrepreneuriat africain sera basé sur la valorisation de la culture africaine mais aussi sur le développement solidaire en mettant en avant l’environnement socio-économique.
The development of entrepreneurship in Africa will require the creation of the concept of African entrepreneurship and not necessarily an exact copy of what is abroad. We need to combine best practices in creating Western corporate context along African concepts. The concept of African entrepreneurship will be based on the value of African culture but also on developing solidarity that promotes the socio-economic environment.

author: Rakotomalala


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Gambia: Dramatic Increase in Executions · Global Voices
Anna Gueye

There has been a dramatic rise in the number of executions recently in Gambia, with nine prisoners put to death on a single day, August 23, 2012. Forty seven people have been condemned to death since July 2010. The sudden increase in capital punishment over the last few months coupled with confusing declarations from President Jammeh have worried citizens of Gambia as well as those in neighbouring countries. The death penalty was abolished in Gambia in 1993. However, Yaya Jammeh re-established it by decree in August 1995, after coming to power in the coup of July 22, 1994.
On blog Assirou.net [fr] a post entitled Yahya Jammeh’s Macabre Clean-up [fr] explained how the world heard about the latest executions in Gambia:
Le 20 août, dans une adresse à la Nation diffusée en boucle, le croque-mort gambien déclarait vouloir rayer de la liste des vivants, d’ici le milieu du mois de septembre, tous les condamnés à la peine capitale [D’après un décompte de l’AFP, depuis juillet 2010, 47 personnes au total ont été condamnées à mort dans le pays.]. Argument de cette subite poussée de fièvre présidentielle: il n’est pas question que le gouvernement «permette que 99% de la population soit prise en otage par des criminels».
Yahya Jammeh, president of Gambia by John Armagh on wikipedia – used under GNU licence
Faced with the international outcry that this declaration has created, it seemed for a while that the Gambian dictator would back down as we can read on diasponews.com in a post entitled ‘Gambia: Banjul talks about “slips of the tongue” and “misinterpretation”’ [fr]:
L’ambassadeur de Gambie au Sénégal … aurait fait état d’une «mauvaise interprétation de (ses) propos» par les opposants et par la presse. Et dans «le pire des cas», aurait-il ajouté, il s’agirait d’un «dérapage verbal» qui ne portera à aucune conséquence.
Yet two days later, on August 23, although there had been no executions in the country for a quarter of a century, the executions of nine [fr] who had been sentenced to death including a man and a woman [fr] from Senegal [fr] were announced to a shocked populace.
Video of Jammeh explaining the carrying out of executions by YouTube User  112233444821
Finally, on September 21, Jammeh broke his silence regarding the recent executions [fr]:
Semblant dans une bulle, Yaya Jammeh n’avait pas juge nécessaire de répondre a toutes les attaques dirigées contre son pays et ses pratiques.
Serekunda Market by Ikiwaner on Wikipedia under Creative Commons licence
Senego.com continued [fr]:
Yahya Jammeh a profité de l’audience qu’il a accordée à ses compatriotes venus labourer ses champs à Kanilaï, pour leur expliquer les raisons pour lesquelles il a fait exécuter les neuf prisonniers condamnés à mort avant de leur demander leur position par rapport au débat soulevé.
« Je travaille pour vous et même si je dois mourir pour vous, je le ferai. Je ne vais jamais succomber à la pression humaine, mais si vous le peuple gambien me suppliez d’arrêter les exécutions, je vais les suspendre parce que tout ce que je fais je le fais pour votre intérêt.
Si je dois signer dix mille condamnations à mort pour sauver 1,6 million de Gambiens, je le ferais. Si un pays a un citoyen en Gambie et ne veut pas qu’il soit exécuté, qu’il ne laisse pas tuer quelqu’un en territoire gambien. Je vais mourir pour l’Afrique », a martelé le dirigeant gambien »
Yahya Jammeh used the audience he gave his countrymen who came to work in the fields of Kanilai to explain to them why he executed the nine prisoners who had been sentenced to death. He then asked their position in relation to the debate raised.
“I work for you and even if I must die for you, I will. I will never give in to pressure from people, but if you, the Gambian people, implore me to stop the executions, I will suspend them because all that I do, I do for your benefit.
If I have to sign ten thousand death sentences to save 1.6 million Gambians, I will. If a country has one of its citizens in Gambia, and doesn’t want them to be executed, then they shouldn’t let them kill anyone on Gambian territory. I would die for Africa”, thundered the Gambian leader.
One month later, on October 20, Senego.com [fr] informed us that  four detainees had died [from what appears to be poisoning]  [fr] [and that this must have been] the new way of executing those condemned to death.
The same weekend we learned that the death penalty was pronounced for seven detainees [fr], including former soldiers.
Here is a video showing one of the executed prisoners, Tabara Samb, from YouTube User tfm:

author: Anna Gueye


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Guinea-Bissau:  Suspected Coup Leader Pansau N’Tchama Captured  · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

“@zenaidamz: #GuineaBissau: Pansau N´Tchama, the man who allegedly plotted Sunday attack to army barracks which killed six, has been captured”


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Indonesia: ‘Jokowi’ Phenomenon in Jakarta · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Meet Jakarta’s new governor: Joko Widodo or Jokowi. His recent electoral victory surprised many people who now regard him as Indonesia’s most charismatic leader. Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia.
Multibrand explains why Jokowi has become an instant political legend. He also identifies some of the obstacles that Jokowi has to hurdle in the next few months:
…has become a legend because he has shown what one man with integrity and political will can do for a city and, by extension, for the country.
I was not surprised when Jokowi and his running mate Basuki a.k.a Ahok won the first round of election for the governor of Jakarta on 11 July 2012, and final round on 20 September 2012. although they were only supported by minority nationalist parties i.e. the PDIP and Gerindra, each of which own 11 and 6 seats out of the total of 94 seats in the Jakarta regional Parliament.
Jokowi has great obstacles facing him, because he is only supported by 18% of the seats in Jakarta parliament. He has to compromise with the big political parties like Democrat and Golkar if he wants to make his plans realized.
That would not be easy considering all the parties are preparing for the 2014 general and presidential elections.
Colson believes that solving Jakarta’s problems will take some time:
I gladly add my congratulations to yours. To the winner and hopefully to the people of Jakarta.
One warning though: even Jokowi will not be able to solve Jakarta's problems overnight. At best it will be an incremental process.
Supporters hit the streets to celebrate the inauguration Joko Widodo and Basuki Tjahaya Purnama as the new Jakarta Governor and Deputy Governor. Photo by Denny pohan, copyright Demotix (10/15/2012)
A week after taking his oath, Jokowi made a surprise visit in some offices and discovered that many government employees have not yet reported for work. rossrightangle supports the move of Jokowi:
So GOOD ON YA, again, Pak Jokowi – you are living up to the hopes you inspired in millions here that SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!
PS Staring silenty at it is a good start – replace its (non) occupant next!
Jokowi’s brand of governance is also noticed on twitter:
@waliwali1 This poor guy is probably thinking “what the heck have the past governors been doing the last 20 years??!?!?” :) #jokowi
@criesmary The dude even got the time to watch JakJazz without any special VVIP Treatment. #Jokowi is really a force to be reckoned with..
@criesmary I rarely talk about politics, but this #Jokowi dude is awesome. He gives a nice clean spirit of working to Jakarta in just seven days!
@irya2003 For those who always critize our new governor,what have u done for ur city?#jokowi
Susi Johnston thinks the global media should pay more attention to Jokowi:
Jokowi is a phenomenon. Funny how his miraculous and idiosyncratic ascendancy has gone unheralded by the world press. They should be all over it. And they will be.
I am impressed by his courage and humility. He kindles a new flame of hope not only for Jakarta and for Indonesia, but for the world. Ok, I know . . . we’ve had high hopes many times in Indonesia, only to see them dashed to the ground yet again. But there’s a fundamental difference in the form of leadership Jokowi embodies…
I googled around looking to see if and how the world press had cheered on Widodo’s modest and self-effacing rise to altruistic servitude (and inevitable conflict, with martyrdom not ruled out ever), as the new Mayor of Jakarta. Hardly a single whisper anywhere. I guess the world has (once again) failed to pay adequate attention to Indonesia
Projecting Indonesia believes that Jokowi’s victory is good for Indonesian democracy:
The rise of Jokowi-Ahok to power is certainly not smooth. Initially they were considered to be ‘peanuts’ in the tough political contestation. But the genuine-type and proven leader such as Jokowi quickly gained popularity among the public who were tired with the previous leadership.
Furthermore, Ahok himself had been much challenged due to his ‘minority’ issue. But with his humbleness and unprovoking reaction to the issue, Ahok finally succeeded winning the test.
The winning of Jokowi-Ahok would also provide momentum in the country’s political sphere. Previously lots of people thought that only money and the elite power that can control the many. But a simple leader like Jokowi and a minority figure such as Ahok can win too. In other words, Indonesian democracy becomes more and more aligning towards a better direction.
Indonesia's Urban Studies agrees with Jokowi’s plan on how to solve the traffic mess in Jakarta:
I commend the mindset of Jokowi in addressing the most acute urban problem of Jakarta– traffic congestion. He understands that the correct way of addressing traffic congestion is not building more roads, but developing mass transportation. He said during his campaign that “Move People, Not Cars” was the solution for the Jakarta's traffic congestion.
Jokowi also maximized the social media during the campaign period.

author: Mong Palatino


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Mauritania: A glimpse on Nouakchott’s 7th Short Film Festival  · Global Voices
أحمد جدو

On the 23rd of October, 2012, Nouakchott's 7th short film festival kicked off. Organized by the House of Mauritanian Filmmakers, the festival's opening was marked by the screening of “Twilight Flowers” [ar], a Mauritanian, Saudi and Tunisian co-production directed by Tunisian Nassim al-Korbi and performed by Mauritanian actor Salem Dando.
This one-week event showcased hundreds of screenings, in addition to three workshops in directing, photography, editing and screenwriting techniques in both Arabic and French. Among the other activities that were penciled as well was an activity entitled “White Card,” which focused on Feature Films.
An international film contest and a local one were also held in this 7th edition of the festival, which featured entries from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Egypt and France, along with Mauritania. The festival hosted a number of well renowned movie and documentary makers and experts from all over the world.
The festival's poster published by the organizers on the event's Facebook page
Those who attended the shows commented on what they have seen:
Egyptian TV presenter and filmmaker Mohammed Said Mahfouz, who is also the festival jury president, expressed his admiration for the opening movie and wrote:
@Dr_M_S_Mahfouz  أجمل ما في مهرجان نواكشوط للفيلم القصير الليلة كان فيلم الافتتاح الرقيق (أزهار التيوليت) إخراج التونسي وسيم قربي وبطولة الموريتاني سالم دندو
The best thing in Nouakchott's short film festival was “Twilight Flowers”, the opening movie by Tunisian director Nassim al-Korbi, which starred Mauritanian actor Salem Dando.
He also notes that the president assassination attempt didn't affect the Mauritanians':
@Dr_M_S_Mahfouz  محاولة اغتيال الرئيس الموريتاني لم تؤثر على هدوء الحياة في موريتانيا على الإطلاق.. الوضع (بلا حسد) آمن تماماً..
The assassination attempt of the Mauritanian President didn't affect at all, the calmness of life in Mauritania… The situation (without envy) is completely safe.
Moustapha Ould Elbou also voiced his admiration for the opening movie:
@elboutapha  سالم دندو ممثل رائع ..تحبه الكاميرا و يحبها لكنه لم يجد من يضعه في قالبه المناسب له ..!!
Salem Dandou is a great actor. The camera loves him and he loves it but he didn't find the one (director) who puts him in the right framework.
He adds:
@elboutapha أعجبني تصوير و مونتاج فيلم ” زهرة تيويليت ” لكن يبدو أن مخرجه متأثر بالراحل يوسف شاهين الذي مات و ترك وراءه إرثا ضبابيا…!!
I liked the shooting and editing of the “Twilight Flowers” but it seems that his director is influenced by late Youssef Chahine who died leaving behind him a foggy heritage.
Mauritanian journalist @ebyzeidane praised the opening movie director:
@ebyzeidane المخرج التونسي وسيم قربي كان-عن جدارة- نجم الليلة الافتتاحية لمهرجان أنواكشوط للفيلم القصير#تونس #موريتانيا
Tunisian Director, Nassim al-Korbi was truly the star of the festival's opening,
He points out to some of the incidents that marked the festival:
@ebyzeidane في ساحة فضاء التنوع الثقافي دخل احدهم ملتحيا، وطلب من المنظمين استبدال موسيقى تصويرية بالقران الكريم. المسؤول اندهش ولم يعرف بماذا يجيب!!!
In the “Cultural Diversity Sphere” plaza, a bearded guy entered and asked the organizers to replace music with the Koran. The person was surprised and didn't know what to answer.
Mauritanian director Selma Cheikh Elweli comments:
@oummariem1 ذهب بعضي من المهرجان قبل نهاية العرض وبقي بعضي الآخر …
A part of me left before the end of the screening while the other part stayed.

author: أحمد جدو


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Nepal: The Minimum Wages vs Productivity · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chandan Sapkota informs that as per trade unions demand the wages have gone up in Nepal to the highest minimum wage in South Asia, but the productivity has not increased due to several factors.

author: Rezwan


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Puerto Rico: Another Way to Look Up · Global Voices
Alfredo Richner

Puerto Rican street artist and photographer Enrique Arce, known as Aslan, (@ASLANTWIT) has been posting photographs of airplanes on his Instagram account for over six months now as part of his “#parriba” (upwards) series. The project looks to engage with the community via a “Scavenger Hunt” [es] challenge detailed on his blog. Selections from the series are printed and pasted unto tiles, which are then tacked on to walls and buildings throughout San Juan. Those lucky enough to be the first to find one of these tiles and send a picture to Aslan with its location win a copy of the tile for them to keep.
In a recent interview published by Global Voices, Aslan notes: “I started collecting [the photographs] at first without a clear motive. It wasn't until I decided to work on the series that I realized that this exploration could lend itself to a different type of artistic creation that would attract attention. Its interesting to see how simple ideas such as looking up (or “p'arriba”) and photographing an airplane are the ones that attract more people.”
Below you will find ten of my favorite #parriba airplane photographs from the gigantic series – with over 600 photographs to date! All photos are republished with the artist's permission. Follow Aslan as he continues to collect more photographs through Twitter and his blog.
The following paintings belong to Aslan's collection of Creaturas en limbo (Creatures In Limbo), presented here to show some of the artist's other work. More can be seen in his blog.

author: Alfredo Richner


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Slovakia: Protesting SOZA’s Newest Copyright Fees · Global Voices
Tibor Blazko

Recently, the Slovak Performing and Mechanical Rights Society (SOZA) has once again tried to push the boundaries of what's acceptable.
SOZA's general manager Vladimír Repčík addressed Slovak high school seniors via his blog on October 22, urging them to register with his agency and pay €15 for their traditional graduation parties (the post [sk] has since been removed by SOZA):
[…] A license for €15 for the whole event isn't going to ruin any graduation party. […]
The Ministry of Culture appealed to SOZA, insisting that student graduation parties were for parents and teachers and could not be considered public events – hence, there was no reason for SOZA to introduce a fee for them.
In reaction, SOZA declared [sk] that “due to special social character” of such parties, they will not be charged – “even though the law allows SOZA to ask for payment.”
As usual, SOZA's actions elicited angry responses on blogs and in comments to media articles.
Martin Královič thought [sk] it would be a good idea to register Christmas of 2012, his 50th birthday celebration (in 2038) and his own funeral with SOZA.
Martin Huba asked [sk] about the whereabouts of the money paid by clubs where he gave concerts with his band: as an author, he has been filling SOZA forms, providing an address to which this money should have been sent.
Badatel.sk thought [sk] that strict application of the laws was the best way to deal with SOZA. Using the Ministry of Culture's graduation party statement as a precedent, restaurants paying to SOZA for public music could declare themselves private clubs (with low entrance fees, though). Concert organizers and others could do the same.
CynickaObluda.com came up with this parody [sk], featuring Repčík and Adolf Hitler:
“There's nothing better than an overly active officer.” Repčík: “Look, I do not care if the law is good or fair. I follow it blindly.” Hitler: “That one I want! That's what an officer has to be!” (Image by CynickaObluda.com, used with permission.)
On October 25, a small rally [sk; images, video] took place in front of the Ministry of Culture. About a dozen anti-SOZA activists [sk, image] were asking the ministry to consider canceling SOZA's license and were appealing to SOZA to replace their chief. The ministry later announced it had no direct influence on SOZA (one blogger called it [sk] absurd), but urged the agency to act “sensitively and in accordance with common sense.”
The related copyright law is to be slightly updated in the coming weeks – “to avoid repeating [some of the recent] absurd cases.” (See GV posts here and here for more; also, this month, SOZA was trying to impose [sk] a €20 fee for music played at dentists’ offices.)

author: Tibor Blazko


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Spain: The Minister of Education’s Many Gaffes · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

[All links lead to Spanish-language websites unless otherwise noted]
The Spanish Minister of Education, Culture, and Sport, José Ignacio Wert, has sparked controversy after controversy since starting the position less than a year ago. It isn't an accident that he is the minister with the worst approval rating in the entire government. In a parliamentary session several weeks ago, with the delicate situation of Catalonia, where nationalist parties have revived the debate over independence, hanging over head, Wert let loose the following to representative Francesc Vallès:
Nuestro interés es españolizar a los alumnos catalanes y que se sientan tan orgullosos de ser españoles como de ser catalanes.
His remark made the hashtags #wert and #EspañolizarEs [To Spanish-ize is] trending topics on Twitter that same day:
@ElPolisemico: #EspañolizarEs matar toros, ser fiel a la Pantoja, dejar vía libre a la corrupción y reprimir manifestaciones
@melycamento:  #EspañolizarEs gritar “Yo soy español español” llevar la bandera de España en el polo, cinturón y pulsera y luego defraudar a Hacienda. #OLÉ
@ElExpecial: ÚLTIMA HORA: El ministro Wert será el encargado del cambio horario el 28 de octubre: a las 2 de la madrugada será 1939.
Rocky Horror was more realistic:
@helenanito: Españolizar a los Beatles cantando “All I need is work”
The Spanish Minister of Education, José Ignacio Wert. Photo from the blog Cinereverso.org
In a country troubled more and more by austerity measures affecting all parts of society, education is a sore subject. In budget estimations for the 2012/2013 term, education suffered a cutback of almost 22%, meanwhile higher Value Added Tax (VAT) rates that went into effect in September have spiked the tax on school materials 17 points, going from the superreduced rate of 4% to the general rate of 21%. Even though textbooks continue to be taxed at 4%, the budget for grants to help with the purchase of books has been reduced by 70%, which means that many families have been forced to cover the cost. And that's not the only thing being slashed from the budget – money allocated for meal programs, school transportation and scholarships has also been reduced.
The minister has stated that the number of students per class has not increased, but that the limit has been “eased by 20%“. And he considers the change to be a good thing for children:
Porque hay que tener en cuenta que además de aprender, los niños en la escuela pues socializan, se comunican con otros niños, tienen experiencias formativas distintas… que son muy difíciles si el número es muy escaso.
He has also said that “it isn't true that scholarships have been cut,” even though 185 million euros set aside for this type of aid have in fact been done away with. When it comes to increases in university tuition, the minister has declared:
¿Que la familia no tiene recursos para afrontar el pago de esas tasas? Evidentemente, se pueden dar casos, pero no tener recursos, pregunto una vez más, ¿qué quiere decir? que no se quieren dedicar, eh, recursos a eso en detrimento de otras posibilidades de usar los recursos en otras cosas.
With such damaging cuts being made to the education system, the Student Union called for a 72-hour strike on October 16, 17, and 18, which the Confederation of Mothers and Fathers of Students (CEAPA) joined. The minister branded those parents “irresponsible” and criticized the organization for supporting the strike:
que una asociación de padres y madres [se sume a esa huelga es] insólito y francamente contrario a la obligación que tienen los padres de procurar la mejor educación para sus hijos
Because according to him:
se trata de una huelga política inspirada desde supuestos de la extrema izquierda más radical antisistema.
These defamatory remarks were followed by a letter titled “Dear Minister Wert…” by Cecilia Jan published on October 17 on the About Mamas and Papas blog hosted by the newspaper El País:
Parents protest in June. Photo by Arriel Domínguez on arainfo.org.
Me presento, soy una de esas madres radicales extremistas y antisistema que mañana han decidido no llevar a sus hijos al colegio. (…)
Señor Wert, basta. Basta de tratarnos a los padres como a estúpidos con consejos como “reutilizar los libros” si no podemos pagarlos. Como si no se nos hubiera ocurrido. Como si siempre fuera posible. O con eufemismos como que “el número de alumnos por clase no aumenta, se flexibiliza”. (…)
Basta de recortar en profesorado. Basta de segregar a los que se quedan rezagados. Basta de fomentar la desigualdad reduciendo becas y subiendo tasas. Si realmente le interesa mejorar la competitividad de las futuras generaciones y sacarnos del primer puesto en fracaso escolar en Europa (…)
Let me introduce myself, I am one of those extreme, radical and anti-government mothers who have decided to not take their children to school this morning. (…)
Mr. Wert, enough. Enough of treating us parents like idiots with advice such as “reuse books” if we can't pay for them. As if it hadn't occurred to us. As if it is always possible. Or with euphemisms such as “the number of students per class hasn't increased, it's been made more flexible”. (…)
Enough of cutting teachers. Enough of segregating the students who lag behind. Enough of fomenting inequality by reducing scholarships and raising fees. If you are truly interested in increasing the competitiveness of future generations and combating the drop-out rate, one of the highest in Europe (…)
Or as San Tiago said on Twitter:
@San_Tiago: A mi hijo autista le quitan 40% d ayudas y el irresponsable soy yo x llevarle a manifas y hacer huelgas http://alasombradeltomate.es/2012/10/18/ministro-wert/ …#ParemosLeyWert
However, even though Minister Wert has made cuts to all areas of culture, education, and sport, he announced in June the creation of a committee to draw up a National Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Bullfighting which will dedicate an as yet unknown amount of money to advertising and subsidizing bullfighting organizations. This support for bullfighting won him the honor of being named “Jerk of the Week” by the magazine El Jueves, which inspired the following comment from  CorrePayo, Lapoli
DADA LA COMPENTENSIA DE ESTE MINISTRO PROPONGO NOMBRARLE PARA EL GALLARDON DE JILIPOYAS DEL AÑO! PD: PERDONEN LAS FALTAS ESQUE ME SIENTO ATRAS Y CON MIS 50 COMPAÑEROS NO ENTIENDO BIEN NADA ^^

author: Lourdes Sada


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Sri Lanka: Tales Of Police Torture · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chitrangi posts news of police brutality on a 20 years old unmarried youth from Rabavava, Ihala Puliyankulama, Puttalam and many more in her blog.


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Ukraine: Election Monitors’ Websites Under DDoS Attack · Global Voices
Tetyana Bohdanova

Ukrainian domestic election monitoring organizations and projects using crowdsourcing for mapping election violations (see GV post) reported [uk] being DDoS-ed on the day of the vote:
[…] web-sites of election monitoring organizations are experiencing DDos attacks. Maidan, OPORA, ElectUa.
Watcher.com.ua wrote  [uk] that websites of opposition parties Frontzmin.ua [uk], Tymoshenko.ua [uk] and grytsenko.com.ua [uk] were also down due to a DDos attack.


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Ukraine: Election Votes for Sale Via Social Network · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A screenshot of the VKontakte vote auction page.
Odessablog draws attention [en] to a VKontakte page [ru] used by those who are willing to sell their Oct. 28 election votes. Roma Lexikov, one of the very few users who posted on the page to protest the practice, wrote:
You better sell your body – you'll make more money this way! If I could, I'd take away citizenship from the slaves like you and chase you out of the country! […] Because of people like you, we haven't managed to build a normal country in 20 years!

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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USA: Commissioner David Stern Set to Exit NBA in 2014 · Global Voices
Richard Wanjohi

One of sport's longest serving administrators, Commissioner David Stern, has announced he will be leaving his job as head of the world's most popular basketball league, the NBA (National Basketball Association). The announcement comes just a few days before the 2012-13 season start, on 31 October, 2012. Here's a video of the retirement announcement on ESPN's YouTube channel.
Faniq reported this as follows:
David Stern has announced that he will be stepping down as commissioner of the NBA on February 1, 2014.  The date is significant in that it marks the 30th year since Stern’s inception into the NBA.
“I told (the owners) that it's been a great run that will continue for another 15 months,” said Stern. I'd like to think I did an adequate job. But one of the things I did best was provide a successor. I'm not going anyplace in the next 15 months, but this gives us the opportunity to have a very smooth transition.”
David Stern via Wikimedia CC.
The Triangle blog on Grantland.com had a lengthy post on David Stern's legacy:
It is for other people, including those who worked with and against him for three decades, to hash out Stern’s legacy. He is a bit of a bully, with a legendary temper that set league office employees on edge. He is also a creative thinker and a visionary who has been willing to admit, when asked the right questions, how fortunate he was to take the job when he did — in 1984, as Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were taking the league from tape delay to prime time, and as Michael Jordan and Nike were beginning their dual rise to an unprecedented level of fame that would change sports forever. The next 15 months will feature hagiographies to Stern, and the NBA will rightfully honor him as the steward who negotiated mammoth television deals, understood the importance of media, took risks both successful (the Dream Team) and less successful (the NBA’s ongoing venture into China) to expand the game globally, and always operated with the best interests of the league — and its owners — in mind. Another part of that legacy: He and the players union pioneered the salary cap system, now common in other sports, that links player salaries in the aggregate with league revenues and simultaneously limits what each team can spend.
Stern announced on Wednesday his plans to retire on February 1, 2014–which coincidentally happens to be the official 30-year mark of when he took over the job as commissioner. When the time does come around, Stern will hand the keys over to current deputy commissioner Adam Silver.
There are mixed feelings about this move by Stern as he’s been the type of commissioner who has received almost as much praise as criticism when it comes to his job. While Stern played a big role in helping the NBA grow in general during the 80′s and 90′s along with basketball around the world, Stern was also part of two seasons that were cut short due to a lockout–with the latest one taking place last year when the Heat won it all.
Oh and let’s not forget all of the controversy surrounding Tim Donaghy and the referee scandal regarding whether or not certain games were fixed to help win bets.
Whether you liked him or not, it’s safe to say Stern’s time as commissioner of the NBA was long overdue and it should be interesting to see how he does during his final 15 months on the job.
Sekou's Smith Hang-time Blog on NBA.com also gave a brief on David Stern's ‘anointed’ successor, Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver:
Silver, 50, has been an NBA executive for 20 years and deputy commissioner since July 2006. After a few weeks of negotiations, the Board of Governors is expected to hold a vote in April that will result in Silver becoming just the fifth commissioner in league history, succeeding Maurice Podoloff(1947-63), J. Walter Kennedy (1963-75), Larry O’Brien (1975-84) and Stern.
Now “commissioner-elect,” Silver said to Stern, seated next to him during the news conference: “I think there’s no doubt you’ll be remembered as the best [commissioner] of all time. You set the standard, not just for the sports industry but I think all CEOs.”
Stern called Silver a “world-class executive” and said, while he had him in mind as his likely successor for years, he “could not be happier” that the Board of Governors approved Silver unanimously.
The game of basketball enjoys fairly good reach around the globe, and no doubt David Stern has helped achieve this in part in the 30 years he has served; it just shows what a great legacy he will leave.

author: Richard Wanjohi


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Asylum Seekers Tent Camp in The Netherlands · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Entrance to refugee camp in Amsterdam. Photo by Bloggers without Borders (used with permission)
On Bloggers without Borders, Sanne van Oosten and Davey Meelker visit the Amsterdam Osdorp refugee camp in The Netherlands, where 80 rejected asylum seekers from 17 countries brave the winter cold in tents. “If I leave this camp, I’ll be arrested and sent to prison,” says one man. See more  photos.

author: Solana Larsen


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Chad: President’s Plane Botched Landing in Kalait      · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Blogger Malaika reports [fr] that the plane carrying Chad president Idriss Deby botched its landing in the Kalait region. No one was hurt in the accident. The president was to take part in a forum on development and peace in the region.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Chile: The Day After the Municipal Elections · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Last night's municipal elections were unusually interesting. First, they took place in the context of social unrest and mobilization. Second, polls aside, they were a real test of the government's popularity. Third, they were the first elections to take place under a new system of automatic registration and voluntary voting.
Robert L. Funk analyzes Chile's municipal elections, which were held on Sunday, October 28, 2012.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Cuban Government Lifts Travel Restrictions for Citizens · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

On October 16, the Cuban government announced plans to eliminate controversial travel restrictions on Cuban citizens. For decades, Cubans have been required to apply for government permission to exit the country.  According to the Gaceta Oficial de Cuba, the nation’s official public record for legal and regulatory reforms, this requirement will be eliminated beginning in January of 2013.
On Twitter, some users responded with elation. Francisco Vergara (@vergaraf1) tweeted,
Celebro la decisión del gobierno de #Cuba de eliminar el permiso de salida a sus ciudadanos. Libre albedrío puro.
I celebrate the decision of the Cuban government to eliminate the exit permit for its citizens. Pure free will.
Cuban Passport. Wikimedia Image – public domain.
Luis A. Gonzalez (@3L_V0C3R0) welcomed the news and noted that the policy shift would likely bring an influx of Cubans to Miami:
“Cuba elimina permiso de salida” A partir del enero 14 del 2013 los Cubanos podrán salir libremente de su país. Ahora es q Miami será Cuba
“Cuba eliminates exit permission” Beginning January 14 of 2013 Cubans will be able to leave their country freely. Now Miami will become Cuba
Under the current travel application process, individuals must submit ample documentation describing the nature of their travel and obtain an official letter of invitation from the person or institution outside of the country that will host them during their time abroad. Human rights advocates and foreign government leaders alike routinely classify this policy as a violation of Cubans’ right to movement. Although thousands of Cubans are granted travel permissions each year, there is a perception [es] that travel permission is granted only to citizens who are in “good” political standing with the government.
While the new policy eliminates the cumbersome and expensive bureaucratic obstacles to travel, the text of the law indicates that the government will still have some discretion over who is and is not allowed to travel through the passport application process. Martí Noticias describes [es] how the government may refuse to grant passports to certain kinds of professionals (in order to avoid “brain drain”) and for reasons related to national security and defense.
Prominent blogger and Havana resident Yoani Sánchez [es] wrote
[A]hora en la propia confección y validación del pasaporte se definirá quiénes lograran franquear las fronteras nacionales y quiénes no.
[…]
esta no es la nueva ley de migración que estábamos aguardando. Demasiado limitada, demasiado estrecha. Pero al menos ha quedado por escrito una legalidad a partir de la cual ahora empezaremos a exigir, protestar, denunciar.
Now the process of making and validating one’s passport will determine who gets to cross national borders and who does not.
[…]
this is not the new migration law we were hoping for. It is too limited, too narrow. But at least there is now written legislation on which we can make demands, protest, denounce.
Marta López [@aircag] expressed similar frustrations on Twitter:
#Cuba No se necesitara permiso de salida pero el gobierno tiene el derecho de no otorgarte el pasaporte si lo estima pertinente.
You no longer need an exit permit but the government has the right to not issue you a passport if it so pleases
US-based technology researcher Larry Press, who focuses on Internet infrastructure in Cuba, wrote:
It is easy to imagine these caveats being used to deny passports to people like dissident bloggers, networking professionals, and computer science students and professors. One can also imagine freer flows of information and IT goods — particularly between Cuba and the US.
Mainstream media also commented on the effects that the reform would have on countries like the United States and Russia, both of which have special exceptions in their immigration policies for Cuban nationals. In the US, under the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act of 1966, Cuban nationals can obtain permanent residency in the United States after spending one year in-country.
This is not the first time that the Cuban government has lifted travel restrictions on citizens. In the 1981 Mariel Boatlift and the 1994 Balsero Crisis, Cubans were permitted to leave the country and did so en masse. In both cases, historians saw these temporary shifts in travel policy as attempts by the Castro government to allow discontented citizens to leave the country, a move that presumably decreased pressure on the government to change policies that limit civil, political, and economic rights. While many media have drawn parallels between these events and the current situation, it is not clear that last week's decision falls into the same category.
Cuban economy expert Phil Peters acknowledged some of these points, but ultimately characterized the policy as a positive step that will improve the lives of families that are divided between Cuba and other countries, and that will allow for greater exchange of knowledge and ideas, as well as capital, between Cubans and the rest of the world.
Today’s bet seems to be that Cuba will be stronger with a more normal and modern immigration policy – and that many Cubans, given the freedom to come and go, want to visit family and see the world and then return home.

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


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Facebook Donations Support Volleyball in Tajikistan · Global Voices
Musharraf

A new Facebook page, Volleyball for Tajikistan, has recently been launched to raise funds for two volleyball teams created in the country's south. Within eight days after the launch, people from across the United States donated enough money to purchase uniforms for 26 young Tajikistani volleyball players, including 13 girls.

author: Musharraf


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Greek Journalist Arrested for Publishing List of Alleged Tax Evaders · Global Voices
Asteris Masouras

Greek journalist and editor of Hot Doc magazine, Kostas Vaxevanis, tweeted his arrest and posted a video message [el] a few hours after his magazine published a leaked list of over 2,000 names of Greeks with bank accounts in Switzerland, allegedly the “Lagarde list” that Greek governments had misplaced for years.
Reporters Sans Frontieres appealed for Baxevanis’ release and published an interview excerpt [fr], and netizens rallied to his support on Twitter, gathering over 16,000 signatures on a petition demanding that charges be dropped.

author: Asteris Masouras