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Mexico: What are Mexicans Saying About Their President’s Annual State of the Union? · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

On September 1, 2011, the President of the United Mexican States, Felipe Calderón, fulfilled his constitutional duty of presenting a written report of the state of the Union before the Congress, in which he manifests the overall state of the public administration in the country. He did it through the Secretary of the Interior, José Francisco Blake Mora, who delivered the document to the President of the Congress Board of Directors.
The next day, on September 2, the President pronounced a speech from the headquarters of the National Anthropology Museum [es], as his fifth (and second to last) state of the Union. Dulce Ramos [es] of Animal Político (Political Animal), took the task of putting together a compendium of phrases she considered relevant from the leader's speech.
Fifth State of the Union speech. Image from Gobierno Federal (Federal Government) in Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Before the presentation of the document and the speech, Abel Magaña [es] whose opinion was collected by Actualidades México (Mexico's Current Affairs), predicted the purpose of the President's message, and remembered that he was not to present himself at the Congress Palace in Saint Lazaro, as it is usually the case in other states of the Union:
Ahora, el show del V Informe de Gobierno del presidente Felipe Calderón…  No hay quinto malo, pero puede haber quinto pésimo… Y una vez más, el  presidente Calderón se reunirá con los suyos para magnificar sus logros y  cumplirá con el Congreso a través de un propio, pues no hará frente a  la crítica de la oposición y menos le dará la cara al país… Ya van cinco  años y Felipe Calderón no se para por San Lázaro, luego del pisa y  corre para rendir protesta como Presidente de México, gracias a los  priístas… Cinco años en que ha rendido cuentas por escrito y a través de  un propio que en esta ocasión será el secretario de Gobernación, Francisco Blake,  quien llevará el informe a los Diputados y hasta ahí… Cinco años han  pasado y Felipe Calderón no ha ido para nada a San Lázaro y ya no lo  hará, pues el próximo año hará lo mismo y es posible que tampoco  entregue la banda presidencial… Ni falta que hace… De un tiempo para  acá, aparecen spots en radio y televisión de los logros de la actual  administración.
And now, the V State of the Union show by President Felipe Calderon… They say there's no bad fifth, but there could be a worse fifth… And once again, President Calderon will get together with his peers to highlight his accomplishments and will comply with the Congress through a third person, because he will not face the criticism from the opposition and even less will he face the country… It's been five years and Felipe Calderon will not put a step on Saint Lazaro, after he was almost chased away by priistas (members of the PRI party) when he took the oath as President of Mexico… Five years in which he has taken responsibility only in writing and through a third person, in this occasion, the Secretary of Interior, Francisco Blake, who will take the document to the congressmen and just that… Five years have passed and Felipe Calderon hasn't been in Saint Lazar and he will not go, because he'll pull the same stunt next year and it is even possible he won't even hand over the presidential sash… And there's no need to… From some time now, radio and television ads have been seen to promote the current administration's achievements.
After the speech was aired, reactions were fast among Mexicans. El Insurgente Press [es] described the content of the Mexican President's message:
Felipe Calderón volvió a defender su cuestionada ofensiva militar contra los cárteles de las drogas y afirmó que no es una opción claudicar en esa lucha.
Felipe Calderon defended his questioned military offensive against drug cartels again and he declared that quitting this fight is not an option.
Also, the post made reference to the context in which the fifth State of the Union took place:
La defensa de su gestión ocurre cuando faltan 10 meses para las elecciones presidenciales, para las que es favorito el opositor Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), y la economía crece lento debido a las turbulencias en los Estados Unidos, socio clave de México.
The defense of his management occurs when we are 10 months away from presidential elections, for which the opposition party, Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Revolutionary Institutional Party) PRI is the favorite to win and when the economy is growing slowly because of the turbulence in the United States, a key partner for Mexico.
Lilia Arellano [es] of Por Esto! Dignidad, Identidad y Soberanía (Because of this! Dignity, Identity and Sovereignty) expressed her opinion of the current administration up until today:
Al llegar a su quinto informe de gobierno, Felipe Calderón se asentó como el mandatario que llevó al país a la tragedia nacional, pues en su gestión se han registrado las peores cifras en violencia, economía y bienestar social. Su administración es una página negra para nuestra historia y tomará generaciones para recuperarnos de sus errores, de la ruptura de la cohesión social del país, de la pérdida de miles de vidas y de la esperanza de la gente a aspirar a una vida mejor.
Su gobierno fracasó en cada uno de los rubros que se propuso como detonantes económicos; la creación de pequeñas y medianas empresas naufragó; el despilfarro propagandístico tratando de difundir logros que no existen es ofensivo.
His government failed in each of the items it proposed as economic take off platforms; the creation of small and medium companies shipwrecked; the waste in propaganda trying to spread accomplishments that don't exist is offensive.
Marcial Martínez [es] wrote her point of view about the state of the Union keeping in mind the upcoming elections and made a reference to the exercise of citizen contact that will be held with the help of Google:
Entre más se acercan los tiempos electorales, más populistas se ponen nuestros gobernantes. Hace unos días fue Marcelo Ebrard quien abrió un espacio para responder las preguntas más populares que le hicieran los ciudadanos. Ahora toca el turno a nuestro mandatario Felipe Calderón, quien realizará la misma práctica el próximo 5 de septiembre como parte de este quinto informe de gobierno.
Pregúntale al Presidente, es un espacio donde cualquier ciudadano con una cuenta en Google (Gmail) puede mandar una pregunta a nuestro mandatario. Como serán demasiadas preguntas las que reciba, solo responderá las más populares. No habrá censura a preguntas (al menos eso espero) ya que no será la página del Gobierno Federal quien recibirá las preguntas y realice el conteo de votos; sino será una plataforma de Google llamada Moderador. De ahí la necesidad de tener una cuenta en Gmail.
Ask the President is a space where any citizen with a Google account (Gmail) can send a question to our mandatary. Since there will be a lot of questions, he will only answer the most popular ones. There will be no censorship to the questions (at least I hope so) since the official web page of the Federal Government will not be the recipient and they won't be in charge of counting the votes; the responsability will fall on the Google platform, called Moderator. Therefore, the need to have a Gmail account.
Twitter worked as an expression forum for the Mexicans who wanted to share their opinion on the message delivered by the President for his annual report. Manuel Espino (@ManuelEspino), former President of PAN (National Action Party) and leader of the Volver a Empezar [es] (Starting Again), mentioned the President's intention of keeping the current strategy running:
Ya nos lo advirtió Calderón, sostendrá su estrategia fallida anticipen “hasta el último día” de su mandato. Sordera presidencial? (sic)
We were warned by Calderon, he will keep up with his failed strategy until “the last day” of his term. Presidential deafness?
Beder Almeida (@BederAlmeida) described what happened with the annual Presidential report:
El quinto informe de gobierno es lo mismo, solo aumenta el número de casas, hospitales, panteones, funerales, gente muerta y así. #Mexico
The fifth state of the Union was the same, there was only an increase the number of houses, hospitals, pantheons, funerals, and death people, and so on. #Mexico
Users like Kathia Bustamante (@KathBustamante) took the opportunity to show some hope:
Viendo el “Mensaje con motivo del Quinto Informe de Gobierno”. Vamos México, el cambio está en ciudadanos con fé, hagamos un país diferente.
Watching the “Message reagarding the Fifth State of the Union”. Go Mexico, the change comes from citizens with faith, let's make a different country.
Meanwhile, Suzel NG (@SuzelNG) congratulated the President:
Viendo fragmentos del quinto informe de gobierno. México saldrá adelante!! Felicidades por la determinación d mi presidente @FelipeCalderon (sic)
Watching fragments of the fifth state of the union. Mexico will thrive!! Congratulations on the determination of my President @FelipeCalderon [sic]
There is no doubt that the main characteristic of the second to last annual report of the President's actions was the diversity of  reactions among citizens.

author: J. Tadeo


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Morocco: SlutWalk Gets a Toehold · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

This post is part of our special coverage SlutWalks 2011.
“Stand out for yourselves and demand respect. Shame has to switch sides!” This is the cri de guerre of Majdoline Lyazidi, the 20-year-old founder of SlutWalk Morocco, a Facebook page which aims at raising awareness against sexual harassment in the Moroccan society. The concept seems to be catching on, with more than 3,000 members joining in less than 15 days since the page was first created.
The SlutWalk protest marches started out in the city of Toronto, Canada, on April 3, 2011, as a movement against excusing rape by referring to a woman's appearance. It was sparked by a controversial statement made by one of the city's police officers who told a group of young female college students that to protect themselves against rapists “women should avoid dressing like sluts.” It quickly became a global movement with rallies and marches from Sydney to London. See Global Voices coverage on SlutWalks in Costa Rica, India, Brazil and Australia.
"Respect" – Picture from SlutWalk Morocco Facebook Page
The concept didn't quite catch on in the Arab world. Some have blamed the fact on a culturally loaded, Western-centric campaign. Others explain that the region is busy fighting for greater change anyway. But there are those like Majdoline who think a genuine change must include the fight against gender-based forms of violence and a shift in the way women are treated in society.
In an interview with fellow Moroccan blogger Hind, Majdoline explains what inspired her in the first place:
[The SlutWalk movement] was a wake-up call for me. Growing up, I’ve never really understood why society kept teaching us the “don’t get raped” mentality instead of a “don’t rape” one, anchoring that way a never-ending victim blaming process of “she was asking/looking for it”.
I think it’s time to change this mentality, we’ve got to give a chance to the next generations to walk the moroccan streets feeling SAFE & RESPECTED, a feeling moroccan women are missing today.
Majdoline also recognizes the name of the campaign might be an issue:
We want this to be a Moroccan version of SlutWalk and we want it to be 100% moroccan, suiting our society, our community’s beliefs & values. But to tell you the truth, it’s hard to find a name as catchy as “SlutWalk”!
The group's founder has now teamed up with friends, young men and women, to push the idea forward. They have announced an imminent change in the group's name. Suggestions include WomenShoufoush, a play of words which in Moroccan Arabic alludes to seduction but can also be interpreted as a call to find a solution to a problem.
Reactions to the SlutWalk Morocco initiative were mostly supportive, but there are critics as well. The fact the group was launched halfway through the holy Muslim month of Ramadan seems to have angered blogger Youssef Boukhouya. He writes [fr]:
[C]ette petite communauté pointe son nez le mois sacré de Ramadan, ce qui représente un manque de respect envers les marocains, et pour exceller dans la bêtise mis à part qu’ils ont choisi un mauvais timing, ils ont pris un très mauvais exemple pour exprimer leurs soi-disant bonnes intentions avec « le mouvement SlutWalk » ou la marche des salopes tout simplement ! alors imaginez une foule de filles marocaines défiler dans les rues à moitié nues, et nous dire que c’est pour la bonne cause… eh ben C’EST DE LA FOUTAISE rien de plus ! et c’est une chose que je trouve personnellement horrible et inacceptable !
For their part, Moroccans For Change question the wisdom of importing readily available protest methods from the West. They write:
Some of us feel the same way about the Moroccan version of SlutWalk. While we condemn violence against women, we wonder about blindly borrowed activism methods. Clearly, “No” means “No” means “No”. But what’s the Slutwalk have to do with Morocco?
Supporters of SlutWalk Morocco include blogger Mahmoud Khattab. He explains [fr] why he likes the idea:
Personnellement j’adhère au mouvement, par conviction, et par peur. J’ai peur pour ma mère, mes sœurs, mes tantes, ma grand-mère […], et puis j’adhère parce que je vois une lueur d’espoir, même petite mais qui mérite d’être supportée, pour une société qui respecte vraiment les femmes, nos femmes, vos femmes.
In an interview with the local press [fr], Majdouline says her group wants to remain independent but it is also open to feminist and human rights groups in Morocco to help it organize a march in favor of women's rights.
This post is part of our special coverage SlutWalks 2011.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Hisham Almiraat


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North Korea’s Character Set has Unique Characters Reserved for Kim Jong Il · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Martyn Williams from North Korea Tech blog posted an interesting article on North Korea's official character set. According to the author, the set includes unique characters reserved for Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and special symbols for their ruling Worker's Party.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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North Korea’s GPS Jamming Device · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Edwin Kee from Ubergizmo site wrote about North Korea's  GPS jamming device that can disrupt signals which occur across a wide  area, even places 100 kilometers away.


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Peru Enacts Law Requiring Prior Consultation with Indigenous Peoples · Global Voices
Isabel Guerra

The President of Peru, Ollanta Humala, enacted the long-awaited law requiring prior consultation with Indigenous Peoples [es], which is expected to contribute to investment and business development with the participation of the local population. Humala stated that this law does not imply immediate solutions, but that it will mark a new stage [es] in relations with indigenous peoples. Lauletras (@Lauletras) and Leonel Caceres (@JericoCQ) comment on the law on Twitter, while Numa Armacanqui [es] comments on it on Facebook.

author: Isabel Guerra


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Puerto Rico: A Puerto Rican in Berlin · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Mariángel González from the digital magazine El punto es [es] interviewed the Puerto Rican jewelry designer Lucía Nieves, who lives in Berlin, Germany. You can see her beautiful collection “Snou” here.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Puerto Rico: Campo-Formio is Back · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The music blog Puerto Rico Indie [es] presents the latest from the alternative local post-punk band Campo-Formio.


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Puerto Rico: From the Land to the Table · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Prensa Comunitaria features [es] the project Departamento de la Comida [es], founded by Tara Rodríguez Besosa and Olga Casellas, dedicated to supporting local agriculture by distributing fresh organic produce to consumers in the island.


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Puerto Rico: “Machismo” and the Judicial System · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Aníbal Rosario Lebrón analyzes [es] the gender biases entrenched in Puerto Rico's judicial system.


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Puerto Rico: Miguel Zenón and his “Alma adentro” · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Journalist Mariana Reyes Angleró interviews Puerto Rican saxophonist and musician Miguel Zenón about his most recent album “Alma adentro.”


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Puerto Rico: Santurce is Art · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The collective of independent artists Santurce es Ley [es] celebrates the third edition of their festival this Saturday September 10 dedicated to promoting the arts in the community of Santurce, in San Juan.


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Russia: Plane Crashes with Lokomotive Ice Hockey Team · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

On the afternoon of September 7, 2011 an airplane carrying nearly all the players of the Lokomotive professional ice hockey team crashed only 500 meters after take-off near Yaroslavl in Russia. From the 45 passengers (including international team members from Belarus, Canada, Czech Republic, Sweden and Ukraine) only 2 survived. The plane was a Yak-42 of the executive charter airline Yak-Service and was on its way to Belarus.
One of the first videos [ru] from the scene of the crash was uploaded by migalki on YouTube. It shows the burning remains of the plane in shallow water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f18w1DZcom4
Initial reactions
Ice hockey is the sport of pride for Russians and is adored countrywide. This is why the reactions to the catastrophe were even more vocal than for previous crashes, as it was considered not only a human loss, but also a loss for Russian hockey and Russian sport. Blogger Pilgrim-67 wrote [ru]:
Я много лет наслаждаюсь хоккеем. Локомотив в любых составах доставлял мне столько удовольствия своей игрой. Услышав об их гибели я испытал шок. В шоке и пребываю. Как будто кусок души вырвали.
One of the first collections of data on the tragedy was compiled [ru] on Livejournal by gooodvins in the Ru-hockey community.
A touching video statement announcing that the plane crashed [ru] by the president of the Kontinental Hockey League, Alexander Medvedev, was widely cited by the bloggers. He expressed his grief as he spoke to team supporters in an ice hockey rink in Ufa, and suggested a minute of silence to mourn.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YwWVDuLh6w
Later on, Medvedev appeared again. Unable to conceal his emotions, he announced that the first match of the season of the Kontinental Hockey League had been cancelled.
Russian airspace – the most dangerous in 2011
This is the sixth deadly plane crash in Russia since January 2011, and it has incited another wave of demands to tighten safety controls, and retire the obsolete and unsafe planes of Russian airlines.
User grozaa exclaimed [ru]:
Сколько это будет продолжаться????????? ????Я плачу!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Вашу мать когда мы будем думать о безопасности перелетов?????????? Жизнь одна!!!!
Avast85 wrote [ru]:
Блин как же так в 21 веке……. Е..чее правительсво неужели нельзя нормальные самолёты пускать в полёт(((((
Treblaine, however, was sure it was not the question of the plane, but rather a mistake of the pilot:
Хотя тут ошибка пилота судя по СМИ.
Як -42 один из самых надежных в мире.
Тем более тут ВИП самолет,за которым следят по полной.
newworld2011, said [ru] that a pilot's mistake could be only one factor of the crash, and the both the plane and the landing services contributed to the catastrophe.
Whom to blame?
The criticism immediately spilled over to political figures, mainly to Igor Levitin, the minister of transportation. He has held the seat since 2004, and his political career has survived 15 large crashes, including the crash of 96 senior members of the Polish government in 2010.
Blogger ky3necoff wrote [ru]:
Левитин железный человек. Столько катастроф, а он все так же сидит в своем кресле.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Spain: Interview of Leila Nachawati · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Journalist, blogger and Global Voices contributor Leila Nachawati talks about the Spanish and Syrian protest movements  in an interview by David Sasaki previous to her participation at the festival of art and technology Ars Electronica.


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Wikileaks & 2005 Election  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Wikileaks controversy involving journalist Peter Wickham and Prime Minister Gonsalves has Vincentian blogger Abeni commenting: “I suspect the fall out will be great.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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U.S. Virgin Islands: Possible Storm  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As the National Hurricane Center predicts that another tropical storm could pass over the Virgin Islands this weekend, News of St. John says: “It's that time of year.”


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9/11 Retrospective: The Birth of a Generation · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

This post is part of our special coverage Global Voices 9/11 Retrospective.
New York 9/11 Museum, photo by PeterJBellis (CC-BY)
Ten years have passed since the coordinated 9/11 attacks on the USA by al-Qaeda; that one event altered the way the West interacted with the Middle East, changed attitudes towards Islamism, and introduced new restrictions regarding travel and border crossings. All this is discussed by young people from all around the world through a series of short videos, reflecting on coming of age in the post 9/11 era.
Salmaa Elshanshory lived in Texas at the time of the attack, and as a Muslim American she felt both the negative stereotypes borne from ignorance as well as the support, kindness and generosity of the community which came together to help strangers after the attacks. She prefers to think of  her generation as one where people learned to stand next to strangers in the face of uncertainty and move on reacting in a positive manner.
Hisham Almiraat from Morocco [Disclosure: Hisham is a collaborator for Global Voices Online] felt misrepresented as a Muslim and Arab: not only by the government, which failed to acknowledge that there were people who did not support their attack, but also the media and by the attackers themselves, who declared that they had done so on Arab's behalf.  Ten years afterwards, he has seen the decrease in popularity for Arabic autocratic regimes, fanaticism and extremism, and a rise in popular movements struggling and managing to topple these regimes to replace them with a more egalitarian society.
Generation 9/11: Hisham Almiraat (Morocco) from British Council USA on Vimeo.
Hungarian Krisztian Gal reflects that even though they were geographically removed from the events, firefighters in his city and schools all took action to remember those who lost their lives during the attacks.  What he realized is that being outside of the events allows people to have a different perspective on what is going on, and that connecting to different cultures and nations is a way to get a better grasp of world politics and international relations he decided to include this new insight into his work and life.
Generation 9/11: Krisztian Gal (Hungary) from British Council USA on Vimeo.
Cristina Balli in Texas remembers how fear possessed her community and how borders were scapegoated as the sources of danger. Immigrants in general became something to be feared and it turned into an Us Vs.Them situation, even though the attackers hadn't come in through the Mexico-US border and the communities had nothing to do with the attack. The previously fluid border where cultural exchanges had taken place for generations became a wall, and she says it completely affected the dynamic and changed the way of life in her town.
Generation 9/11: Cristina Balli (USA) from British Council USA on Vimeo.
More videos are available on the Generation 9/11 video project website.  The project is a joint endeavor of the British Council's Our Shared Future and Transatlantic Network 2020.
This post is part of our special coverage Global Voices 9/11 Retrospective.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Bahrain: Medical Staff Released After Hunger Strike  · Global Voices
Mona Kareem

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.
Bahrain yesterday released doctors and medical personnel who have been behind bars since March 2011, after increased international condemnation and a series of hunger strikes by supporters inside and outside the country. The medical staff, who treated injured protesters during Bahrain's revolution and spoke to the media about the horrors they witnessed among the dead and injured, found themselves behind bars accused of killing protesters and hiding arms inside hospital wards.
Avatar used on Twitter to support detained Bahraini doctors
The outcry from the international community for the release of the doctors continued to snowball, as the doctors and medical personnel continued to stand trial in a military court.  Over the past 24 hours, Irish doctors went on a hunger strike to show solidarity with their fellow Bahraini imprisoned doctors who have been on hunger strike for over seven days.
Professor Damien McCormack was the one to propose the idea and a video has been posted by “Front Line defenders” where he explains their intentions of this fast.
News has also been circulating about Australian doctors and Bahraini medical doctors in Australia staging a hunger strike in front of the American Embassy in Sydney to demand their release. This news was all featured on Twitter under the hashtag #HungerStrike, which was generated to become an open invitation for everyone to go on hunger strike in support of the detained doctors. Last night, the good news came from the Bahraini court which decided to release Bahraini doctors, without dropping the charges against them. They go on trial again on September 26, 2011.
One of the first people to start the hunger strike and announce it online was Fatima H.Tublani (@FatimaTublani) the daughter of detained doctor Hassan Tublani, when she tweeted five days ago that she will be going on a hunger strike:
@FatimaTublani: I am Fatima daughter of Dr.Hassan Tublani and i will be in a #Hungerstrike startimg 2morrow supporting my father and the rest of the Docs.
Bahraini tweep Hussain Mah (@HussainMah) expressed his disgust of how doctors are treated in Bahrain saying:
@HussainMah: Just in #Bahrain: Doctors are trails in military courts cuz they treat patients!! shame on this US ally regime!
Another Bahraini tweep (@ProudBahraini11) went on hunger strike before stopping yesterday:
@ProudBahraini11: Broke my #Hungerstrike, wasn't easy but it was needed!! Wishing the best for those who r continuing it.
A group of Bahraini youth on social networks called (@Bahrain_Rev) has tweeted  a video showing a group of men and women standing in silence to demand the release of Bahraini doctors, and then have been attacked by security forces:
@Bahrain_Rev: video of attacking the sit-in supporting detainees n #hungerStrike & medics near #Bahrain mall 5sep http://fb.me/ZdySxDG0
The same group has also posted on their Facebook page the following picture of the Irish doctors who went on hunger strike:
Irish Doctors went on hunger strike demanding the release of their fellow deatined doctors in Bahrain
The Twitter account demanding the release of Dr. Maitham AlSalman (@FreeMaitham) had a different point of view opposing the hunger strike:
@FreeMaitham: Children and family on #hungerstrike please … your family need your strength so there is nothing to be gained by continuing the strike.
And a  female tweep from the UAE (@emiratiandproud) described the hunger strike as “immature” in her tweet:
@emiratiandproud: #hungerstrike is meaningless n it just shows how uneducated a person is. Its a very immature way of trying to get what u want I dont get it
Another tweep from Bahrain (@EmaK80) was not happy with releasing the doctors and wrote saying:
@EmaK80: So what doctors are freed, the case isn't closed! They lost our respect, their reputation and their patients.
Hassan Abdulla (@HassanAbdullaBH) found the hunger strike as a way of peaceful protest:
@HassanAbdullaBH: To everyone that said #Hungerstrike would do nothing; I say this is just the beginning of peaceful protest outcomes.
Bahraini activist Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) and daughter of detained opposition figure Abdulhadi Alkhawja has been tweeting updates of the hunger strike and she wrote a tweet today about the release of doctors saying:
@MARYAMALKHAWAJA: release of #bahrain docs came after bahraini's & internationals joined #hungerstrike in solidarity, international pressure goes a long way!
Bahraini student Mahdi Ali (@MahdiJAli) thought the hunger strike was useful and should go on until everyone is released:
@MahdiJAli: The #HungerStrike payed off. Now, even more of us shud go on #HungerStrike to pressure and lead to the release of more detainees.
This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.

author: Mona Kareem


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Bolivia: Interview With Blogger Hugo Miranda · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Daniel Calbimonte interviewed [es] blogger Hugo Miranda of Angel Caído [es]. In the interview Hugo explains what it means to be a Community Manager, lists his favorite blogs, discusses the future of the Internet, and answers other related questions.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Brazil: Does Crime Pay? The Truth About Reclusion Benefits · Global Voices
Fernando Sapelli

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages]
The Brazilian government’s initiative to offer benefits to prisoners’ family members and dependents has prompted discussion in online citizen media. Created in 2003, with a base value of R$ 560,81 (US$ 374.00), the ‘Reclusion-Benefit's’ total value has been readjusted since then, and nowadays is fixed at R$ 862,60 (US$ 575.00).
This “benefit owed to the dependents of those brought to prison, during the period in which the person remains imprisoned in a closed or semi-open regime” was made know at the end of 2009 via a chain email, which still today circulates around the Internet affirming that:
todo presidiário com filhos tem direito a uma bolsa que para sustentar a família, já que o coitadinho não pode trabalhar para sustentar os filhos por estar preso.
Prison, Bahia state, Brazil. Photo by Gov/Ba on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
The satirical tone that follows the words serves as propaganda against social projects, such as Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) and Bolsa Familia (Family Allowance), which became popular in Brazil since the election of former president, Lula da Silva. His government, characterised by a more social management, tried to reduce the inequality among social classes through these benefits, creating a certain controversy because of the lack of incentives to the sustainability of lower classes.
Uncovering the benefit
Though the content of the circulating email makes clear that propaganda against the reclusion-benefit exists, some bloggers decided to seek the truth behind these affirmations.
In the very email, a link to Brazil’s Previdência Social (Social Security) is provided, confirming the total value published in the email; however, the value corresponds to the last imprisoned individual’s contribution-salary. In other words, only those that were already contributing to Previdência Social before being arrested are entitled to the Reclusion-Benefit.
An article published in 2010 by then journalism student Jean Takada on the site Atibaia News, was widely shared on the blogosphere with the objective of clarifying the “show of mistakes in the network” and further elaborate on the benefit:
Na verdade o Auxílio Reclusão não é um projeto aprovado para ajudar os presos e seus filhos. É uma ajuda prevista no inciso IV do artigo 201 da Constituição Federal, que diz que a Previdência Social deve pagar o auxílio reclusão para dependentes dos “segurados” de baixa renda recolhidos ao Sistema Penitenciário Nacional (…) e só vale para pessoas com trabalho comprovado em carteira ou contrato que comprove contribuição ao INSS. Para a família ou dependentes ter direito à ajuda, o último salário deve ser igual ou menor a R$ 798,30 (…) e não pode estar recebendo outros benefícios como auxílio doença, aposentadoria ou abono de permanência em serviço.
The greater theme sustained by the email (without the proper explanation regarding the functionality of the Reclusion-Benefit) is that welfare would be an incentive to criminality since any,
bandido com 5 filhos, além de comandar o crime de dentro das prisões, comer e beber nas costas de quem trabalha e/ou paga impostos, ainda tem direito a receber auxílio reclusão de R$3.991,50 da Previdência Social.
The site E-Farsas, from researcher Gilmar Lopes, dedicated to uncovering the truth regarding Internet farces, begins clarifying that this total value is impossible to be given,
o benefício é único e independente da quantidade de filhos que o preso possui. Não importa se ele tem 4 ou 5 dependentes. O valor do auxílio é sempre o mesmo. Também é bom ressaltar aqui que a ajuda não é dada ao preso e sim à sua família.
Maybe part of the email’s controversy derives from the fact that the Brazilian prison population has tripled in the past 15 years, causing a greater public expense with the sector. According to data from 2010 and posted on ExpressoMT, Brazil,
tem uma população carcerária de 494.237 presos. Desse total, 153.526 são provisórios, 172.942 cumprem pena em regime fechado, 64.717 em regime semiaberto e 16.315 em regime aberto. O sistema prisional tem hoje cerca de 60 mil agentes penitenciários.
Independently from numbers or values, an individual’s imprisonment is directly related to human rights matters. Without the responsible guardian being able to provide for his family, it’s up to the government to provide this basic benefit, as long as it’s within the contributor’s rights.
Prison, Bahia state, Brazil. Photo by Gov/Ba on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
According to Igor Fonseca Rodrigues, from the blog Pensando Direito (Thinking Right),
em sendo um seguro, na verdade o preso que recebe o auxílio-reclusão não está recebendo nada além do que aquilo pelo qual já pagou.
Logo, não se trata de um gracioso favor prestado pelo governo, mas sim o pagamento daquilo que estava antecipadamente previsto na legislação.
in being an insurance, the prisoner that receives the reclusion-benefit, in truth is not receiving anything beyond what he hasn’t paid already.
Hence, it’s not about a gracious favor being provided by the government, but rather a payment of what was previously foreseen in the constitution.
The article published on the website, finished with the following thought:
óbvio, nada contra discutir se é o melhor para a sociedade brasileira que esse benefício exista, mas pelo menos devemos nos pautar pelo que efetivamente está previsto, e não por um conceito imaginário do que seria essa benesse.
With this final reflection, several commentaries resulted, ranging from those that support the government’s measure to those that are opposed to the benefit. Among them, the commentary signed by Racquel Gaia says:
A questão não é se o detento matou, seqüestrou, roubou, extorquiu, etc. A questão é: ele trabalhou, contribui para a previdência, logo ele adquiriu o direito de receber todos os benefícios advindos da previdência social. Se qualquer um de nós for preso (não importa o motivo), mas contribuímos para a previdência, então qualquer um de nós tem o direito a receber qualquer auxílio do INSS, não importa quem somos ou o que fizemos, importa é que pagamos, então adquirimos o direito.
Another commentator, Mario Costa, points out:
Realmente, a familia do presidiário não pode ser punida pelo que ele fez. Porém, ninguém aqui tocou no assunto : o presidiário deveria trabalhar na cadeia, para prover seu próprio sustento. É facil viver à nossas expensas. Compare: se o segurado morrer, até a despesa do enterro é da familia, recebendo um pequeno auxilio funeral. Se o segurado ficar doente, vai ter que viver (ele e sua família) com o auxilio doença. Se ele for preso, só vai dar despesa, como comida, roupa, escolta para ser ouvido, etc… e a família recebe o auxilio reclusão. Isso é igualdade?
Based on the other commentaries, a certain “reclusion” among prisoners and commentators transpires. It maybe a direct reflection of values projected by Brazilian society, but there is a general understanding of superiority expressed by those who enjoy complete freedom, leading to believe that the Reclusion-Benefit is just another benefit provided to those who don’t deserve it.
So here is a question: “What’s your take on the Reclusion-Benefit?”

author: Fernando Sapelli


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Burundi: The Challenges of Making a Living from Farming · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Lwesso writes [fr] :” It is difficult nowadays to find people who can make a living from farming in Burundi. Farmers often lack the necessary capital to run their businesses and end up putting their lands up for lease.”

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Cambodia: ‘Avatar’ Rally to Protect Country’s Forest  · Global Voices
Sopheap Chak

This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights and Forest Focus: Amazon.
Dressed like the Na'vi tribe from the 2009 science-fiction film Avatar, Cambodian villagers protested the plan to clear the Prey Lang forest to make way for the establishment of plantations and mines. Prey Lang is the “largest primary lowland dry evergreen forest remaining both in Cambodia and on the Indochinese Peninsular”:
Prey Lang is arguably the largest intact area of indigenous land left in Cambodia. Located between the Mekong and Stung Sen Ricers, the forest straddles four provinces (Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom, Kratie, and Stung Treng.)
About 200,000 people, mostly indigenous Kuy (pronounced Koo-ie,) live in 339 villages in six districts surrounding the forest.  As many as 350,000 people live in the greater Prey Lang area.
"Pray Long for Prey Lang" Ceremony to have the forest protected, photo courtesy to http://ourpreylang.wordpress.com/
The ‘Avatar’ protesters have also maximized the cyberspace to gather more support for their campaign. Aside from an online petition to save the forest, a blog was set-up to provide public updates on some of their activities like prayer ceremonies and leaflet distribution.
In behalf of the Prey Lang Network, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights highlights the views of villagers who stand to suffer the most if Prey Lang forest is destroyed.
Minh Ny from Prey Lang:  “Through this peaceful event I hope that we save Prey Lang for the next generation and make the media and public know about the importance of the forest to the lives of the residents who live within it and to the environment more generally.”
Phok Hong, an indigenous Kuy from Prey Lang:  “If I lose Prey Lang, I lose my life.  Everyday I worry about losing Prey Lang.  I worry that the land broker and the company will destroy it and I will lose my way of life.  If we lose Prey Lang we lose the forest, the herbal remedies, the wild life and most importantly the indigenous traditions that have been passed down through many generations of our ancestors.  Today I will pray for the world to appreciate the importance of Prey Lang and help us put and end to this conflict”.
Seng Sokheng a representative of the Community Peace-building Network:  “The scale of this event is unprecedented and yet it does not fully reflect the gravity of the threat against Prey Lang. Though all land conflicts can destroy lives those that relate to the destruction of natural resources and forest areas create environmental changes that will affect generations. It is great to see communities uniting together against injustices relating to land and, particularly, to the management of our natural resources.”
Prey Lang Avatar
The protests have been generally peaceful but the recent activity of the Prey Lang ‘Avatars’ involving a Buddhist prayer ceremony and leaflet distribution was disrupted by Phnom Penh's local authorities. More than 100 individuals were briefly detained and questioned but they were released afterwards. The photos and videos of the arrest are available on a Cambodian human rights portal, Sithi.
A documentary about Prey Lang, “One Forest, One Future”, was produced by Jocelyn and Ben Pederick:
Those who support the struggle of the indigenous communities living in Prey Lang are encouraged to write to the government of Cambodia. Below is an excerpt of a sample letter addressed to Prime Minister Hun Sen
Dear Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen,
I am writing to you to urge you to do everything in your power to protect the Prey Lang forest which is an important resource for the people of Cambodia, of Southeast Asia, and of the world.
I ask you to take the following actions:
–Suspend all logging and mining concessions in the greater Prey Lang area
–Confer Prey Lang with protected status and enforce its protection
–Replant already cleared areas of the forest
–Commit to sustainably managing the forest in cooperation with the Prey Lang Community Network.
This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights and Forest Focus: Amazon.

author: Sopheap Chak


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Cambodia: SMS versus Malaria · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Mobiledia reports how Cambodian health workers use mobile phone texting to fight Malaria.

author: Mong Palatino


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Cambodia: State of Human Rights · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The latest report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia is now online. The report expressed concern about the violations on the “freedom of expression and land and housing rights” in Cambodia


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East Timor urged not to borrow · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Debt-free East Timor must resist the urge to borrow and avoid the curse of other developing nations whose huge foreign loans have stunted progress. This was the message of 117 organizations based in 28 countries and 20 groups in East Timor who signed a statement addressed to the government.


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Honduras: Video ‘Paradise in Peril’ Documents Destruction of Río Platano Biosphere Reserve · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Aaron Ortiz and La Gringa's Blogcito share “Paradise in Peril” by Skyship Films, a video “about the destruction being done in the ‘protected’ Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve,” as ‘La Gringa’ explains.


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Israel: Stop Motion Inside Stop Motion · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Eran Amir produced a stop motion video  showing 500 people around Israel holding up more than 1500 developed pictures. You'll have to see it twice, once to focus on the story told through the black and white pictures the people hold, and the other to enjoy watching the people and scenery of Israel.


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Madagascar: Singles, Beware of Bloggers ! · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Andriamihaja, a young blogger from Toliara (a city in southern Madagascar) lists  ten reasons not to date a blogger. [fr] One of the reasons is:  “the rare times they will ask you for advice, it is probably to get materials for their blogs.”


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Mexico: The Importance of Literacy · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Ismael Flores at Vivir México [es] blogs about the importance of literacy. He provides some historical background and looks at current challenges related to literacy in Mexico.


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Morocco: The Twitter Opposition Party · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

On Monday 5 September, 2011, the Moroccan government launched a campaign to showcase its “achievements” since attaining power. Posters and randomly sent SMS text messages praise the “gains harvested” after four years under the conservative government of M. Abbas El Fassi.
Makassib.ma (Makassib meaning Achievements), is a website dedicated to the campaign which comes only two months before parliamentary elections expected to be held on November 25, 2011. Moroccan Twitter users used the platform to mock their government's claims.
Blogger Feryate writes [ar]:
With a touch of humor and loads of sarcasm, Moroccan tweeters decided to dedicate a hashtag, #Makassib, to parody the alleged successes of their government. Here is a small sample of what they have been tweeting:
Omar El Hyani (@O_El_Hyani):
@O_El_Hyani: “If you can't convice them, confuse them” #makassib
Yassine (@Yastoch):
@yastoch: مكاسب قوم عند قوم مصائب #makassib
Adil Amouri (@AdilAmouri):
@AdilAmouri: En consultant #Makassib .ma, j'allais presque croire qu'on a plus de problèmes au Maroc !
Nawfal (@nawfal):
@nawfal: Ce qui est intéressant dans #makassib c'est que le web s'impose définitivement comme canal officiel de com au Maroc.Ça c'est un vrai makssab
Sana Guessous (@sguessous) links to a video made by young pro-democracy activists calling for a march next Sunday to protest living conditions. She tweets:
@sguessous: Et pan dans ta face, #Makassib !
Here is the video:


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Panama: Twitter Users Spark Protests Against the Government · Global Voices
Ariel Moreno

The controversial and unilateral decisions taken by the current Panamanian government have brought about fear of political instability and for some, a cruel sense of déjà vu of that which was lived through during the Panamanian dictatorship.
Following the break-up of the alliance [es] of the parties in power, the government has insisted upon changing a number of electoral laws; for example, establishing the second round of elections so that the presidential winner must acquire the post with 51%.  The CD party (governing party) has insisted that the second round strengthens democracy, while the opposition, including the Panamanian electoral tribunal, has signaled that a change of this nature can only be made by way of a constitutional motion, as opposed to law (meaning through a referendum or passage of a law in two consecutive government terms).
President of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli. Photo from the Presidency of the Republic of Ecuandor on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Civil society seems to have begun to rise and last Sunday, September 4, and Monday, September 5, hundreds of Panamanians agreed to honk their car horns and hit their pots with spoons. This method was also adopted in the 1980s to protest the Manuel Noriega dictatorship.
Blogger Chris Faw, in his blog Chris Faw [es] reminds us of that time:
Para poner un poco en contexto las cosas: el año era 1989. El país, Panamá. Tras más de 2 décadas de dictadura militar, los sucesos estaban colmando a una población civil que no estaba en condiciones de levantarse en armas ante un régimen con más poder que tamaño (aunque esto tambien aplica para describir a quien lo encabezaba.) Su única opción era una insurrección civil organizada, pacífica y desarmada. La premisa era vestirse de blanco, con pitos y pailas en mano, y salir a la calle a protestar contra un gobierno opresor que no dudaba en utilizar la fuerza para contener a la multitud que clamaba su salida.
This was 21 years ago, returning to current times, La Prensa [es] reports:
El choque de cucharas contra las pailas hizo retumbar anoche áreas de la capital como las del Cangrejo, Vía Argentina y San Francisco durante 30 minutos. La medida se pretende repetir próximamente.
Some political figures promoted the idea of making noise with kitchen utensils from balconies as a way of reminding President Ricardo Martinelli that, in Panama, people do not live under a dictatorship but rather a democracy. Miguel Antonio Bernal (@MiguelABernalV) wrote on Twitter:
Panameño prepara paila para protesta por prepotencia presidencial pita para pailear pailea para pitar panama puede prevenir peores pasos
Milton Henriquez (@miltonhenriquez), one of the government's principle opposers, appeared satisfied with the way in which Panamanians showed their discontent with the current government:
¡Exito rotundo el paileo democràtico! Sonaron como las campanas de la libertad. “Paila Pueblo, Paila…”
José Blandon (@BlandonJose), a member of the Panama party that just broke away from the government following the rupture, remembered how this very method was used to fight against the military dictatorship:
En la heroica Via Argentina, todavia esta la tocadera de paila. Ya luchamos una vez en dictadura y ahora d nvo x no perder la democracia.
Ricardo Zanetti (@ricardozanetti) shows his disagreement with the President's discourse and tells others to make decisions based on what the majority wants:
En un país de 3 millones, 400 mil no son la mayoría. A las 8PM toca pito y paila! #PanamaUnidaEnDemocracia
The hashtag #tweetpaila (#tweetpan) was also created, where people invited one another to bang pans or other items so long as they made enough noise until the sounds reached the head of state.
The Twitter user that calls himself an Agent of change (@despierta507) contributed the following:
#tweetpaila la sociedad no solo esta peleando contra las mentiras d @rmartinelli sino contra las mentiras d sus obsecuentes
Others such as Karla Acedo (@karla_acedo) protested by writing the onomatopoeic sound of the pans on Twitter:
#tweetpaila clin clin clin clin clin clin clin clin clin clin
Ricardo Martinelli (@rmartinelli), on his part, announced on Twitter that he would ask that the proposal for the second electoral round be a referendum:
Quienes se oponen a la 2 vuelta ponen sus intereses personales y del partido sobre la voluntad popular. Que el pueblo decida rn referendun
The president's declarations immediately counted on the approval of those Panamanians that see the referendum as the best solution. For example, Fary Levy (@Fary71) concluded that this was proof of how democratic the current government actually is:
@rmartinelli: para lo q dicen q no tenemos un presidente DEMOCRATICO! Aqui esta! Ahora a ver inventan ☺ va x referendum la 2da vuelta
Ana Maria Miranda (@Annie2813) pointed out that it was further proof that this government always puts the people first:
@rmartinelli: Excelente el Pueblo Primero! Como siempre ha sido el interés de este Gobierno.
The method of hitting pans and pots seems to be gaining strength and for now, the demonstrators have decided to do it every night at 8pm. Perhaps the noise will one day reach the president's ears.

author: Ariel Moreno


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Russia: Crowdsourced Map of Electoral Violations Launched · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Electoral monitoring association “Golos” together with gazeta.ru had launched Kartanarusheniy.ru, a crowdsourced mechanism for collecting user data on electoral violations. Ushahidi-like map (although developed on a different software) allows users to report agitation violations, administrative and police pressure, bribery, misuse of power, violation of candidates’ rights.


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Russia: President’s Office Orders Blog Campaign to Neutralize 2012 APEC Summit Criticisms · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Russian president's office administration had published a grant proposal for a blog campaign worth of 3 mln roubles (about 100,000 US dollars) to support the organization of 2012 APEC Summit in Vladivostok, gazeta.ru reported [ru]. The blog campaign will, among others, include reacting to negative messages posted online, “creation of a Facebook page,” and a series of paid blog posts written by popular bloggers.


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Zimbabwe: Deluge of Online Reactions to Latest WikiLeaks   · Global Voices
Madalitso Mwando

This post is part of our special coverage WikiLeaks and the World.
Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks cables are raising an online storm among Zimbabwe’s netizens with the latest public release of diplomatic cables from the United States Embassy in Harare upping the political temperatures among the ruling elite amid denials and rebuttals. Dubbed Cablegate, the cables show how fragile political loyalties can be as allies are quoted disparing one another.
Zimbabwean netizens are responding to the WikiLeaks cables. Most of them wonder what would be the possible implications to the country’s political scene.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor says Mugabe will die of prostate cancer before 2013. Photo source: dodmedia.osd.mil/Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
On Facebook, Ntungamili Nkomo wrote:
Now that the political backbiting has been exposed thanks to WikiLeaks, it is time for desperate rebuttals and recriminations. Talk of Gono [Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor] saying Mugabe will die of prostate cancer before 2013, Gutu and Chamisa disparaging Tsvangirai is weak, Saviour Kasukuwere trashing Zanu Pf old-guard, Mujuru meeting Westerners outside protocol, Gono wanting Chinamasa wounded, and the two Generals who berated Chiwenga. Let the fallout begin, and may the double-faced, hobnobbing hypocrites fall!
Responding to Ntungamili’s wall post, Fambai Ngirande wrote:
I hate the way the State is held at ransom by dysfunctional politics and juvenile politicians.
Vusumuzi made the following observation:
If only politicians could also say in public some of the things we only got to know through WikiLeaks.
Nqaba Matshazi tweeted:
Its Tsvangirai corrupt, wikileaks reveals his Gono [Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor], these cables are pretty damning.
He continued:
Most weekend newspapers sold out, wikileaks is a seller, but there will be backlash.
Mduduzi Mathuthu considers Julian Assange a legend:
Cde Julian Assange. What a legend! He is causing alarm, fear and despondancy across the world.
@Mathuthu wrote again:
Up next on NewZimbabwe.com. Devastating. “Tsvangirai does what last person says,” Roy Bennet #WikiLeaks.
Lance Guma commented on Twitter:
so now we know why Zanu PF want early election. According to Gideon Gono doctors told Mugabe he has prostate cancer and will be dead by 2013.
Newsman, publisher and government critic Trevor Ncube whose ownership of a daily paper is brought into question in the WikiLeaks cables reacted:
WikiLeaks become just another channel for eeckless proganda and misinformation. The real tragedy about WikiLeaks is journalist who take gossip by US Diplomats as gospel truth. No effort to check facts in most instances.
The Bearded Man  did not take lightly the news that Mugabe is sick:
I sometimes am concerned at what WikiLeaks has to say and why they should say it – but when it comes to Mugabe, I do believe that the idea that he is very poorly and close to death should be considered.
There has also been a deluge of comments from readers of Zimbabwe's online media. Zimbabweans increasingly rely on online news outlets. At Newzimbabwe.com, reader Wilberforce Majaji wrote:
I am shocked and stumped by these WikiLeaks revelations. After all the suffering we go through to support political leaders to present us the go at night and present themselves to the Americans. This is pathetic leadeership from our cur[rent] leadership. There should now be a resolution among young Zimbabweans to take over leadership of the country because the current leadership has failed Zimbabwe for personal gain. A revolution to uproot all of Zimbabwe's leadership should follow behind these WikiLeaks.
Another Newzimbabwe.com reader commented“:
WikiLeaks is the best resource ever for ZANU. Not only can the party now know the MDC schemes with the americans, it get the bonus revelations on who within the organisation was betraying the party. Going forward, the party can now ascertain who genuinly believes in its policies or who is in it for power and can easily stich on the party to advance their interests. This is a blessing that rarely manifests itself ever. Also there shall be more revelations on the role African ambassadors have been playing in helping destabilise our country, even as they publicly declared themselves aligned to our cause. Lindiwe Zuluis about to be exposed big time!
Newsday.co.zw readers such as Shepherd Sithole also had their say. Sithole used the online reader comments platform to express his views and wrote:
I love WikiLeaks for bringing out the fact that every Zimbabwean want Bob to go. Those in Zanu PF are not brave enough to say it out.
At herald.co.zw, reader Chamboko posted:
WikiLeaks tells the truth everytime!!!!!!!!!!! Remember when Zi PF wanted Tsvangison tried for treason? I wonder what will become of this guy!!!!
Another reader at herald.co.zw, Simbaregono, thought that Wikileaks reports are causing a lot of harm to individuals:
WikiLeaks may want to get at USA, but they are doing a lot of harm to individuals, friendships, parties e.t.c. Anything that was said confidentially, under the cover of darkness should stay that way.
Samubvuta, however, pointed out that people should say things they are prepared to stand by:
No-more secrets, trust nobody. The solution is to always say things you are prepared to stand by when they WIKILEAK one day. no matter how true.
Takura Zhangazha said that Wikileaks saga would make for a good script for comedy:
if it was not a demonstration of the quality of some of our political leaders, the WikiLeaks saga would make for a good script for a theatrical satire or comedy. When political party leaders or government ministers were meeting American diplomats and giving their mostly unmitigated opinions on our country’s politics they must have taken themselves and their American counterparts very seriously. In fact more seriously than they would take their own party meetings, Parliamentary hearings or even cabinet sessions. Judging by the content of the cables, those who were meeting with the American diplomats were under the obvious illusion of secrecy. Never in their minds did it occur to them that these discussions would see the light of day. And for that we have WikiLeaks to thank or chastise depending on your viewpoint.
Zimtweets tweeted:
Wikileaks somehow reminds me of that wierdo postman aiba tsamba dzedu dzabva kuLondon, [postman who used to steal our letters from London] snooping on my family's juicy gossip.
This post is part of our special coverage WikiLeaks and the World.

author: Madalitso Mwando


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Bangladesh: The Facebook Status Controversy · Global Voices
বিজয়

Facebook is becoming a popular social media in Bangladesh like the rest of the world.  It is not only limited to interaction between friends but also used as an useful tool to disseminate news and information. More importantly Facebook is also being used to discuss political views.
Bangladeshi Facebook users frequently express their opinions, anger, rights, likes and dislikes and some of them are filled with emotions. Once someone posted this status in a Facebook wall which became viral: “I may be poor, but I have a Status”. Now this slogan also has a separate Facebook page.
Image by Flickr user Christy Sheffield. CC By-NC 2.0
But sometime your Facebook status can bring peril. Ruhul Amin recently has been in trouble because of his Facebook status. The recent death of prodigies Tareq Masud and Ashfaque Munier in a road accident has lead many users venting their reactions and anger in Facebook. Ruhul   also expressed his strong reactions which led to actions against him as initiated by the Bangladesh High Court.
What was Ruhul's status? BDNews24blog [bn] quotes from the web news network BDNEWS24.com:
The Highcourt has asked why Ruhul Amin Khondker, a  teacher living abroad, won't be brought to justice because he expressed that the Prime Minister should die.
The blog informs:
Ruhul, a lecturer of The Institute of Information Technology of Jahangirnagar University is now on a study leave in Australia. Ruhul had posted a Facebook status where he expressed “why the prime minister do not die”. This was prompted by the reaction to the death of five persons including internationally renowned filmmaker Tareq Masud and the CEO of the TV channel ATN News Ashfaq (Mishuk) Munier in a road accident near Manikganj. A local newspaper carried the story on the Facebook status of the teacher. The court learned the news and took a Suo motu action.
Mr. Ruhul posted two statuses on his wall. He wrote on Saturday 7.40 pm: “the consequence of issuing driving license without written exam – five dead including Tareque and Mishuk Munier. Everybody dies except the prime minister”. Another status on Sunday morning at 4:59 am read: “Driving License without written exam? Can you imagine this in any civilized society? Where the whole world is becoming strict on issuing driving license, the Hasina government is issuing license without examination.”
The main anger behind the status is the reaction to the news [bn] that the Shipping Minister had requested the Roads and Highways Minister that 21000 applicants (some claim 24000 people) should be provided [bn] driving license without completing all the tests (since many are not literate enough).
The post at BDNews24blog attracted many comments [bn]. Some supported Ruhul and some had other ideas.
Rabbani said:
I also support Ruhul's status and term the rule of the highcourt as a misuse of power and rule of law and it is agaisnt the human rights of common people. Ruhul with his words has protested against the negligence of the political leaders about the 12000 deaths on the road each year.
Mohammad Morshed Alam thinks this law is a blow to the freedom of speech. He comments:
Isn't attack on freedom of speech against democracy? Hasn't this weakened the trust on our judicial system? Dear judges – please refrain from taking away the hast hope of the citizens. (Friday the 19th of August)
Mohsin Rahman says:
The teacher commented from his personal anger which in fact reflects many citizen's thoughts. What the teacher couldn't do was achieved by those judges. The issue has been highlighted and publicized by the media. (Friday the 19th of August)
Hasan says:
I fear to comment on this, if accusations against me are brought for contempt of court! :P (Friday the 19th of August)
Ratan Adhikary says these comments are out of line. He says:
This is way out of line. What Part-time lecturer Muhammad Ruhul Amin Khondoker said cannot be supported in any way. We hope Mr. Ruhul and his supporters become aware of their behavior. (Friday the 19th of August)
Netpoka says:
This type of comment is very indecent. But on what basis is this against the law, can anyone tell? (Friday the 19th of August)
Extreme regulations lead to censorship. Image by Flickr user publik15 (CC BY 2.0).
Anik Iqbal is a blogger. He posted in a group mail of the students of Jahangir Nagar University (published with permission):
I am interested to see whether government can really strongly build the case and justify their argument. but if they decide to go for it, a lot will be at stake. the government's character as the protector of its citizens’ personal rights will be in question. again, their attitude might be termed as oppression and silencing people's opinions by force. whether or not they win the case, chances are that it will damage their image, which is already in jeopardy.
Ruhul Amin gave an interview via email to Bangla News [bn] where he provided the context of his statements:
Dear brothers and sisters:
I should not reiterate what we have lost in the tragic death of Tareq Masud and Mishuk Munier. The day they died I was reading online versions of Bangladeshi newspapers. I also tried to find other news items on this. I was moved by the hundreds of comments left on those news items. I was so full of emotion, I compiled some of the quotes and posted in my status.
He added:
I say without any hesitation that I do not have any personal grudge against the Prime Minister and do not pose any threat against her by my status in any manner. I just wanted to share with my friends the reactions of common people on that road accident. So by terming this statement as completely my own statement is against the truth. I have trust on my Prime Minister, especially as a teacher of an independent university. Moreover, if that status hurt others feeling I am truly sorry for that.
Ruhul ends with this:
The misinterpretation of the status has lead to unwanted consequences. I hope the unfortunate matter will end here.
Anik conludes:
I am keenly following the developments. this case, at the least, will decide the future of the flourishing of electronic media and define people's right to share their opinions over this very modern and powerful medium.

author: বিজয়


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Barbados, St. Vincent: More Wikileaks  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press, still following the Wikileaks fallout, applauds a Vincentian journalist who is “standing behind what he said.”


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Brazil: Mapping Online Art from the Streets of São Paulo · Global Voices
Debora Baldelli

Arte Fora do Museu [Art outside the museum, pt] intends to map online art from the streets of São Paulo, Brazil. The project so far has mapped 100 “pieces” from grafittis, sculptures, walls and architectural works.

author: Debora Baldelli


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China: Funeral for Starved Cows After Melamine Milk Scandal · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ministry of Tofu translates a local report about a funeral held for cows by local farmers in Henan province. The cows were starved to death because the local government cut the fund for the farmers after the melamine milk scandal.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: Strengthening Ties Between ‘Chiva’ Bus Owners Through Social Media · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Carlos Múnera quotes [es] a reader's comment calling owners and drivers of ‘chiva’ buses to use the Internet to communicate, share ideas and inform each other about policies that could affect their work. The reader indicates that he is currently creating a Facebook group for fans of these buses.


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Cuba: The Virgin of Charity  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuban bloggers discuss the goings-on during the feast of Cuba's patron saint, The Virgin of Charity.  Photos are here and here.


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Egypt: Protesters Bring Down Israel Embassy Security Wall and Flag  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.
Thousands of protesters took to Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the Egyptian revolution in downtown Cairo, today in protest against Egypt's military rulers. Soon, crowds of young men swarmed to the Israeli Embassy, where they tore down a security wall built to protect the Embassy, and brought down the Israeli flag, as chaos continued into the night. Here's a snippet of how the events played out on Twitter.
This is the second time in a month that protestors scale the 15-storey Embassy building to remove the Israeli flag. Reports say that four protesters climbed the building today.
Five hours ago Al Jazeera‘s correspondent Sherine Tadros reported:
@SherineT: Heading to israeli embassy where reportedly protesters trying to tear down wall #egypt
Mahmoud Abu Sharkh shares a photograph of protesters at the Israel Embassy breaking the security wall.
An hour later, she noted:
@SherineT: Waving the #palestinian flag on top of demolished wall infront of #israel embassy, #egypt
And about two hours ago, she added:
@SherineT: Hundreds headed towards israeli embassy..people all over the streets shouting and chanting #egypt #tahrir
A few minutes later, Tadros tweeted:
@SherineT: Protesters threw israeli flag off the side of the bldg which houses #israel embassy
Salma Said quipped:
Lobna Darwish shares this picture on Twitter of an Egyptian man carrying the Israel Embassy plaque
And Mosa'ab Elshamy added:
@mosaabrizing: It's like a party up there. The flagMEN waving to protesters from balcony under #IsraeliEmbassy, fireworks and all.
Raafat joked [ar]:
Others on Twitter as not as ecstatic.
Gigi Ibrahim tweeted:
@Gsquare86: Seriously there is no point to stay at #IsraelEmbassy tonight, we did it all: the flag&wall r down, ppl r almost in emb, csf truck burned
And Dina Salah, from Cairo, added:
@Sonadina: Gotta say I'm not impressed that my tax money will go to the rebuilding of #IsraeliEmbassy wall by el Me2awleen el 3arab (Arab Contractors),  tomorrow morning.
The situation continues to unfold.
Gigi reported:
@Gsquare86: The papers r being thrown out of balcony from flat beneath #IsraelEmbassy .. People fightig after papers as they come down #hilarious
Hisham Al Miraat added:
@_Hisham: Al Jazeera correspondent says Israeli embassy not stormed but rather a lower floor used to archive docs from embassy. Police standing still
Omar noted:
@beirutwhat: Re: Israeli embassy in Cairo. SCAF will show the video in every western capital to justify their control over politics.
And Foreign Policy magazine managing editor Blake Hounshell explained:
@blakehounshell: The near storming of the Israeli Embassy tonight will sour a lot of people on the Egyptian Revolution. Fallout unclear.
This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Ghana: Entrepreneurs to Make Ghana a Tech Startup Hub · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

African entrepreneurs are making Ghana into a tech startup hub, Zak reports: “The nonprofit World Wide Web Foundation is working with local developers through a training program called Mobile Web Ghana to give participants the business and technology skills they need to leverage ideas into successful mobile web companies.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Guatemala: Voting Out Cultural Intolerance · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Sakis González shares a video [es] of Guatemalan artists speaking out against “cultural intolerance” after the municipality of Guatemala City rejected the reopening of the cultural center ‘Rock’ol Vuh’. Sakis points out that citizens will have the power to choose their leaders this Sunday, September 11, during the general election.


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Haiti: UN Troops Must Go, Say Haitians After Rape Scandal · Global Voices
Alice Backer

A disturbing video [Warning: graphic content] has been circulating online, showing four United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) peacekeepers from Uruguay allegedly raping a 19 year-old man at a military base in Port-Salut, a Southern Haitian town.
By some accounts, YouTube has censored some versions of the video – but even so, all of Port-Salut, most of Haiti and much of the diaspora have seen it via various channels.  The graphic video shows four lighter-skinned or white men, one of whom is wearing a blue beret, holding a younger darker-skinned  man down and restraining his arms behind his back while apparently sodomizing him. The young man is heard screaming for help.
The images have generated outrage online, including a #withdrawminustah hashtag on Twitter.  This is not the first MINUSTAH scandal; 6,000 died from a cholera epidemic brought to Haiti by Nepalese peace keepers from the UN force.
Controversies
Réseau National de Défense des Droits Humains (RNDDH), a local human rights organization, has published a report [fr] on the alleged rape case, recommending the UN provide reparations for this and other mishaps in Haiti. It also demands further investigation into yet another controversy for the United Nations force: minors in Port-Salut allegedly pregnant by peacekeeping staff at the base.
Journalists and bloggers such as  Etant Dupain (@gaetantguevara) and Ansel Herz and Uruguyan televison [es] have since dug up details on children born to underage Haitian women and Uruguyan men.
Journalist Ansel Herz, who blogs at mediahacker, has published an interview with the two local youths who leaked the video to the Haitian press. One of them stumbled upon it on a peacekeeper’s phone while trying to transfer a song and captured the video via Bluetooth after recognizing that the victim was his cousin. He has now received what he believes to be threats by night visitors to his home, according to [fr] Haiti Press Network.
Haitian President Michel Martelly has condemned [fr] the case, saying the reprehensible act “shocks the national conscience”. Uruguay’s president has offered an official apology [fr,es] to the Haitian people, citing Haiti’s historic contribution to the independence struggles of many Latin American countries:
Le président et le ministre de la défense de l’Uruguay disent s’exprimer au nom du peuple noble, hospitalier et solidaire de leur pays qui reconnait en Haïti une nation sœur, dont la fraternité s’est exprimée au moment de la lutte pour l’indépendance des pays sud-américains.
The chief of the Uruguayan UN contingent [fr] and the four suspects [fr] have been repatriated and are due to be tried [fr] in the Uruguayan courts.
Twitter reactions to the video
Haitians and Haiti sympathizers have reacted with anger, many seeing the apparent rape as a metaphor for how the mission and thousands of foreign NGOs treat Haiti.
@NegAyiti: Mission des Nations Unis pour le Sacrilege et la Terreur Amere en Haiti= MINUSTAH.
@GioJules who blogs at Haitianist had this to say:
@GioJules: We have too many fake aid workers wannabe-famous journos #Haiti. Everyone come here to get their own piece of the cake just to spit on it
@GraceinTC, an American who fundraises for a Haiti-based dental care non-governmental organization, was as strident as some Haitian tweeters:
@GraceinTC: To say the MINUSTAH video is disturbing is the understatement of the century & angry, sick, broken hearted is a small portion of what I feel
She went on to say:
@GraceinTC: It is ridiculous that those in a position to “keep the peace” are in reality causing so much more pain than can easily be imagined….
Another American, who works at Let Haiti Live, asked for a completely independent investigation:
@melindaayiti: We must demand an independent investigation of MINUSTAH – the UN and Uruguay don't cut it! #Haiti #justice #withdrawMINUSTAH
Live tweeting Monday's anti-UN demonstration
On Monday September 5, 2011, a demonstration was held in Port-Salut, the southern coastal town where the rape is believed to have occurred.  Parliament members such as Youri Latortue attended.
Activist and blogger @gaetantguevara (Etant Dupain) tweeted and posted pictures on Lockerz.
Image by Etant Dupain (@gaetantguevara) via Lockerz.
@gaetantguevara: Si otorite yo pa't Konnen vrè misión #minustah kounye a yo Konnen #withdrawMINUSTAH http://lockerz.com/s/136088239
Image by Etant Dupain (@gaetantguevara) via Lockerz.
@gaetantguevara: Majistra port salut a di yo pral fe yon petisyon pou mande gouvenman an ak nasyonzini retire #minustah nan port salut
@gaetantguevara: Moun yo konn sa yo vle. #withdrawMINUSTAH http://lockerz.com/s/136089571
Image by Etant Dupain (@gaetantguevara) via Lockerz.
Pregnant minors
Early yesterday, Etant Dupain (@Gaetantguevara) posted a video of a Port-Salut woman and the child she had with a Uruguyan peacekeeper stationed in Haiti from 2006 to 2008 who has since left.
On the blog Bri Kouri Nouvèl Gaye,  Dupain goes on to report on various pregnancies resulting from relationships with Uruguyan peacekeepers in Port-Salut:
One of the things that people in the streets of Port Salut know is that MINUSTAH soldiers have fathered many children in the village, and they have a habit of exchanging food and money with women for sex.
(…)
It wouldn’t be surprising if in a few years we see Port Salut turn into a town where many of the children are half Uruguayan and half Haitian, because one of the things the Uruguayan soldiers have done in the area is impregnate women and not take care of their children.
(…)
Rose Mina Joseph is seventeen years old and eight months pregnant. A Uruguayan soldier named Julio Posse got her pregnant after they had liked each other for a few months. Rose Mina was only sixteen years old when she got pregnant and now she is counting the days until her baby is born.
(…)
Johnny Jean became one of many victims of MINUSTAH but it was not the first dishonorable act by the MINUSTAH in Port Salut. The worst thing in the history of violations of human rights MINUSTAH has perpetrated in Port Salut are the authorities who are aware but they never do anything to help the victims or denounce MINUSTAH, and because of this we have arrives at the case of Johnny Jean and a revolting act.
One of the reasons MINUSTAH has created so many problems in Port Salut is that they have no work to do – it is a peaceful and beautiful town that has never had any reputation of violence.
@Ansel (also known as Mediahacker) tweeted yesterday that Rose Mina Joseph’s baby is due imminently:
@Ansel: Was just told by phone that 17-yr-old Rose Mina Joseph has been in the hospital since last night, may give birth shortly. #Haiti
MINUSTAH withdrawal?
Fatigue among Haitians (both in Haiti and throughout the diaspora) with MINUSTAH and the thousands of NGOs stationed in the country has been palpable for quite some time.  Back in May 2011, Massachussetts-based Reginald Toussaint (Toussaint on Haiti) posted:
In light of the recent report by an independent panel indicating that the recent cholera outbreak in Haiti can be traced to the UN base in Mirebalais, it's clear that the UN needs to leave Haiti, now!!!
I'm not one those anti-UN people. I like the idea of a United Nations and, for the most part, I think they do good work. Especially in cases where they can really serve as a peacekeeping force. However, in the case of Haiti, they are causing more harm than good. Whether it's in providing support in running elections or with earthquake reconstruction the UN comes across as a bloated, inefficient organization that's often out of touch with the needs of Haiti.
The diaspora blogger revisited the topic in June and added:
MINUSTAH’s presence in Haiti has been fraught with controversy. At times, they’ve appeared as an infective organization that’s more concerned about justifying their presence than helping Haiti. This was especially true after last year’s devastating earthquake that destroyed much of Port-au-Prince. To many Haitians, they seemed more concerned about their own workers and their image than taking a leadership role in the larger rescue effort.
The blogger reacted to news of the alleged Port-Salut rape with the following tweet, echoing an argument by Mark Weisbrot of the Guardian:
@RPrestonT: Why are UN soldiers in Haiti referred to as peacekeepers when there is no war?
Recent works by local artists and performers also reflect the unease with NGOs, as related by Nadève Ménard at the blog Tande:
Les Mots Vulnerables was the title chosen for the event held at the French Insitute as part of La Quinzaine du Livre on Friday, June 24th. A theater group presented a short sketch and several authors (Edwidge Danticat, Kettly Mars, Verly Dabel, Lyonel Trouillot, and Georges Castera, among others)  read excerpts of their published works and other short texts. The crowd seemed to especially appreciate Dabel's take on Haiti's post-earthquake situation, including his critique of the international community and various NGO's.
A UNASUR meeting took place yesterday in Uruguay among South American countries who contribute the bulk of peace keepers to MINUSTAH to decide on the future of the mission, reported [fr] Haitian paper Radio Kiskeya.  The various countries discussed a recent report recommending a gradual end to the mission. The Brazilian Minister of defense has recognized that [fr] “maintaining troops in Haiti will not be beneficial in the long term”.  At the meeting, the countries’ decided to ask the UN security council to withdraw gradually, starting with an immediate withdrawal of 15% of the troops, as reported by Haiti Libre:
Celso Amorim the new Brazilian Minister of Defense has called, during this meeting, to a decrease of 15% of the staff of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, aiming to hand over to the Haitians the responsibility for the security of their country. The Brazilian Minister said that Brazil was negotiating with the United Nations to initiate this withdrawal, but that it would maintain its troops in Haiti until the local forces are ready to take over.
Various Haitian groups which form the “Collectif pour un dédommagement en faveur des victimes du choléra” (Collective for Reparations for Cholera Victims) are organizing a series of activities [fr] against MINUSTAH, including a lawsuit for reparations for cholera victims and a popular tribunal – and according to Haitian paper Alterpresse [fr], the Haitian Senate’s justice commission is also planning to propose a resolution to encourage a withdrawal calendar for MINUSTAH.

author: Alice Backer


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India: A Market For Class Notes · Global Voices
Rezwan

Youth Ki Awaaz  highlights an online market for class notes in India where students are rewarded for their academic success by getting paid to share and sell their school notes and study materials.

author: Rezwan


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Morocco: Blogger Arrested in Northern City of Fnidaq · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

According to activists, Moroccan blogger and web programmer Mohamed Douas was arrested on Monday morning in the city of Fnidaq. His supporters say the arrest is related to Wikileaks Fnidaq, a website Mohamed helped create and in which documents intended to expose corruption within the local administration were published.

author: Hisham Almiraat


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Pakistan: The Dengue Crisis In Punjab · Global Voices
Rezwan

After the recent heavy rains, dengue fever has turned into an epidemic in Punjab, reports Chowrangi.


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Peru: The State of Quechua on the Internet · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

This post is part of our special coverage Languages and the Internet and Indigenous Rights.
Quechua, or Runa Simi, is one of the original languages of Peru, said to have emerged in the middle of the first millennium of our era. Today, it is spoken by 8-10 million people and it is the most extended of the linguistic family in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador after Indo-European languages according to Wikipedia. This same source adds:
Hacia el siglo XV, el llamado quechua clásico se convirtió en una importante lengua vehicular del Antiguo Perú y fue adoptado como lengua oficial por el Estado incaico. Esta variante fue la lengua más importante empleada para la catequesis de los indígenas durante la colonia. A inicios del siglo XX, el quechua sufrió un retroceso por el avance del español a través de la escolarización del medio rural.
Street name "El camino del zorro" (Fox Lane) in Quechua. Image by user geoced on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).
Quechua online
The Peruvian constitution [es] (article 48) gives it an official rank in the zones where it is predominantly spoken, which is basically the entire sierra region or Peruvian Andes. But its influence is felt in Spanish and various languages from the Amazon.
However, when we talk about Quechua, we mean several Quechua dialects, in Peru mainly “cusqueño” or “5 syllable”, and “ayacuchano” or “3 syllable”. Although their differences aren't vast, they aren't the only existing variants. And although many have spoken about discrimination [es] of the use of Quechua, or of the danger of it becoming a dead language [es], not everyone thinks [es] the same way.
Quechua can be found on the Internet via various sources: the most well known is the Google Quechua search engine. Wikipedia also has a page in Quechua, where you can find 16,631 articles in that language. With respect to tools, the website El quechua en internet (Quechua on the Internet) [es] has various resources, as well as Idioma Runasimi (Runasimi language) [es]. Articles of discussions about Quechua can be found on Welcome to Quechua! and on Slideshare one can see various presentations [es] on distinct aspects of Quechua.
If you are interested in learning Quechua, Runasimi.org [es] contains tips for grammar and an online dictionary, while Runasimi.net [es] provides reports on a commission formed to standardize Quechua. Idioma quechua (The Quechua Language) [es] is a site that aims to promote the learning of the language and contains various recordings of stories from the Andes narrated in Quechua. Also, there's curso de quechua (a course in Quechua language) [es] from Yachay and  one from the  PUCP (Pontificated Catholic University of Peru).
Blogging Quechua
But there are people in the Quechua speaking community who have taken the initiative to do something to maintain or encourage the presence of this language on the web. Such is the case of Noemi Vizcardo. Her bilingual, Spanish to Quechua blog Hablaquechua, has been in existence since 2005. I had the privilege of interviewing her in 2006, when among other things, she told me what the Quechua language means to her:
El quechua para mi es connatural, es decir siempre estuvo presente desde que fui concebida, pues provengo de un pueblo bilingüe donde el común denominador es la comunicación oral en quechua, pese a que en mi casa mi padre prohibía que lo hablemos por el casi generalizado y errado concepto de la sociedad criolla de ese entonces, que era un lenguaje de los “indios”,
Another blog on Quechua belongs to Dina Vela: Quechua nuestra lengua (Our language, Quechua) [es]. In one of her posts she talks about numbers in Quechua:
Las investigaciones que se han realizado sobre los números en quechua nos muestran que en el Antiguo Perú, los incas usaban el sistema decimal. Esto se ha podido determinar gracias a la interpretación de los quipus, los cuales están organizados de tal forma que los nudos nos muestran de acuerdo a su ubicación la representación de las unidades, decenas, centenas, etc. […] acercarnos a los números en quechua nos permite dar una mirada a nuestra historia y revalorar la importancia del runasimi. En este link, podremos apreciar un vídeo de una clase sobre los números básicos, con un alumno de 7 años que está aprendiendo el quechua cuzqueño, sujeto a las normas de la Academia Mayor de la Lengua Quechua.
In Nancy Ayala writes for a blog called Tukuy niraq willakuykuna on the Radio Peru network, an important media conglomerate.  Here is a brief point [es] on one of her first posts:
A modo de comentario podemos mencionar que una de las características de este bello y dulce idioma es su carácter aglutinante, porque une o abraza dos o más palabras del Español utilizando sufijos, esto quiere decir que una oración de varias palabras en Español se puede expresar en una sola palabra, por ejemplo, la oración te quiero mucho se aglutina en la palabra quechua kuyakuykim.
The most informative blog post is from Lorena Chauca's blog Allillanchu [es] which makes the daily communication in Quechua in Peru noteworthy:
Los peruanos usamos más palabras en quechua de las que creemos. Y es que “cancha” proviene de la palabra quechua “Kancha”, que significa patio, corralón o solar. “Chiripa” quiere decir casualidad o azar en quechua. La expresión “pucho” viene de “puchu”, que en quechua significa residuo o sobrante. El nombre de la lotería más conocida del Perú, la “T'inka”, significa juego. Al gato se le conoce como “michi” y la palabra “yapa”, que es de uso popular entre los peruanos, significa aumento.
Other examples of blogs on the Quechua language are: Runasimillapi [es], Runasimi ñawpa willana [es], Runasimi (Quechua) [es], and runasimi qallarisun. There are also groups and pages on Facebook, like Admiradores del idioma quechua (Runasimi) [es] (Fans of the quechua language) or Runa Simi Raymi Suyu [es]. And on Twitter there's @hablemosquechua where they teach Runasimi.
Finally, it is important to mention Runasimipi.org, which is a site dedicated to creating software in Quechua. Its manifiesto declares [es]:
Hoy en día, muchos piensan que el runasimi es sólo una lengua de nuestros antepasados y sólo sirve para cosas del pasado. Muchos niños en la ciudad tienen vergüenza de hablar en quechua con sus amigos. Se dice que el quechua no sirve para las cosas «chéveres», especialmente con las cosas de modernidad y de tecnología. Frente a ello, declaramos que el runasimi es una lengua rica que puede utilizarse en todos los contextos, inclusive en la tecnología. El runasimi no sólo representa un gran acervo cultural y lingüístico, es también una lengua viva y necesaria para el futuro andino. Pero, queremos que todos valoren esta lengua no sólo como la lengua “de los Inkas”, también como la lengua de hoy que es muy adaptable y de expresión rica.
Quechua or Runasimi is a language that is very much alive and in constant evolution, part of a millennium old culture that uses the internet as a medium of consolidating itself in the 21st century. Also, it is a language that doesn't stop using whatever other means or other elements to arrive at or incorporate its own sounds and images, such as these that you can appreciate in these two videos.
This post is part of our special coverage Languages and the Internet and Indigenous Rights.

author: Juan Arellano


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Portugal: Citizens Ask Icelanders About Democracy · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

This page is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
In the same week in April that former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates announced the need for an international financial bailout to pay for its public debt of 80 billion Euros, Icelanders went to the polls to reject tax payers participation in the “Icesave” bank bailout deal.
Though Iceland’s practice of direct democracy, renunciation of an international bailout and economic recovery in two years has not been properly covered by the Portuguese mainstream media, bloggers are analysing and getting inspired by the story.
Reykjavik Protest, 2008. Photo by Kristine Lowe on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Clavis Prophetarum [pseudonymn], from the blog Quintus, tells why he thinks Iceland’s “brave resistance to the political-financial complex that ademocratically rules the European Union nowadays” is being ignored [pt]:
A opção islandesa não serviu os interesses dos bancos europeus, logo estes têm todo o interesse em que se não fale dela nem que esta possível via chegue aos ouvidos dos cidadãos.
Quando em 2007, a Islândia foi o primeiro país europeus a soçobrar perante a crise mundial, declarando bancarrota por causa da falência do seu maior banco muitos desconsideraram o impacto de tal crise alegando que se tratava apenas de um pequeno país com pouco mais de meio milhão de habitantes e que seria facilmente “socorrido” por um empréstimo do FMI. O problema foi que na Islândia a “ajuda” do FMI foi levada a referendo e… derrotada.
The Icelandic option did not serve the interests of European banks, so they have vested interests in this option not being mentioned and  that the possibility of such a path never becomes known to citizens.
When in 2007, Iceland was the first European country to sink in face of the global crisis by declaring bankruptcy because of the collapse of its largest bank, many overlooked the impact of this crisis and claimed that it was only a small country with just over half a million people and it would be easily “rescued” by an IMF loan. The problem was that in Iceland the “help” of the IMF was taken to referendum and… it was defeated.
He adds that in Portugal also, “the solution for the current crisis cannot rely on ten years of severe budget restrictions to keep the banks that have greedily and unbridledly lent us money”.
The national ballot is just one of the “lessons” [pt] for Portugal and the rest of the European countries to learn from Iceland, as the online news platform i reports [pt].  The people have also organized sit-ins in front of the Parliament demanding the fall of the conservative government, have taken those responsible for the crisis to justice – including the former prime minister Geir Haarde whose trial started last Monday, September 5 – and a new crowdsourced constitution is in the works.
“Do you think that we in Portugal should do the same that you do?”
In a video by Miguel Marques, a group of Portuguese citizens ask Icelanders about their social mobilization:
How did the unions in Iceland took [sic] position and saw [sic] themselves as players in the movements of the resistance against the debt crisis in Iceland and all over europe? (…)
How are you Icelanders organizing yourselves to make a better future for you?
(…) What’s happening now? What are you still doing? What are you struggling for and what do you think is worth fighting for, like the constitution? Is this constitution really separating the powers – economical, political, religious? How do you think it will help? What things do you want the constitution to help change? (…)
What are you doing now? The popular movements… are you still gathering? Are you organized in small groups? Did people split like the four of them who were elected? Do you have small groups of interests?
(…) Whether you people in Europe, and us here in the south, if we could find a way to get together and get what’s wrong with the whole of the system, capitalist system of course? How can we actually create a network of help in which we could actually propose a whole new system for Europe and beyond? Go Iceland people!
For Miguel Madeira, from the blog Vias de Facto [pt], “the relative Icelandic success is more the result of popular mobilization than of ‘new governments'”. In a comment [pt] to his post, Fernando Ribeiro starts by highlighting the fact that in Iceland there was no need for “violent clashes” and considers that whereas “in Greece, Ireland and Portugal the political class didn’t – and will not – consult the voters it represents when making such important decisions as falling back on the European fund”. It is important to:
requerer abertamente mais democracia na hora das tomadas de decisão fundamentais, e ultrapassar o argumento caduco da democracia liberal em que a democracia representativa funciona assim mesmo.
Icelanders are not only demanding more democracy but also taking part in “the ultimate affirmation of participatory  democracy. (…) Democracy 2.0″, through a new crowdsourced constitution to be debated in the Parliament in October. Paula Thomaz from Carta Capital sums up the process [pt]:
a discussão para a nova [constituição] islandesa se dá através de vídeos do Youtube em tempo real, que mostram os debates do Conselho; fotos no Flickr; pequenas frases no Twitter; no site oficial dos temas (em islandês e em inglês); e no Facebook é que as ideias estão abertas para discussão.
To wrap up a thorough analysis on Iceland’s response to the crisis, in an opinion article [pt] originally published in the website Noticias do Douro and widely shared online, engineer and public servant Fernando Gouveia, writes:
Se isto servir para esclarecer uma única pessoa que seja deste pobre país aqui plantado no fundo da Europa, que por cá anda sem eira nem beira ao sabor dos acordos milionários que os seus governantes acertam com o capital internacional, e onde os seus cidadãos passam fome para que as contas dos corruptos se encham até abarrotar, já posso dar por bem empregue o tempo que levei a escrever este artigo.
This page is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Sara Moreira


text:
Puerto Rico: Police Accused of Abuses  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Police in Puerto Rico have been accused of civil rights abuses – including using excessive force; Gil the Jenius and Dondequiera weigh in.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco