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Greece: Public Suicide of 77 Year Old Man in Athens Square · Global Voices
Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
All Greece was shocked this morning by the news that Dimitris Christoulas, aged 77, shot himself in the head around 9 am, in full view of passersby in Syntagma square, Athens, across from the Parliament building.
The man is reported to have been a retired pharmacist, who sold his pharmacy in 1994. Before the shot, he reportedly shouted that he “didn't want to leave any debts to his children”.
A Facebook event calls for a gathering to Syntagma square today evening: “Everyone at Syntagma. Let's not get used to death”.
Global Voices author Asteris Masouras has made a collection of posts and media on Storify.
Poster from a Facebook event for this evening in Syntagma square. It reads: "It wasn't a suicide. It was a murder. LET'S NOT GET USED TO DEATH."
Greek Twitter has been buzzing all day with mixed comments and reactions on this tragic event:
@YanniKouts: Suicide of a 77-year old man this morning in Syntagma Sq shocks #Greece. “It's the only way for a dignified end, I can't eat from garbage”.
User Arkoudos makes a wish for all those left behind [el]:
@arkoudos: Μακάρι να μη φύγεις. Μακάρι να μείνεις, να παλέψεις. Κι άλλο. Μακάρι.Μακάρι να μη ντρέπεσαι. Μακάρι να ντραπούμε, πρώτα, εμείς.
User Magica underlines the shame both sides share on this controversial issue [el]:
@magicasland: ειναι ντροπή αυτο που κανει το κράτος στο λαό του. αλλά ειναι και ντροπή να αυτοκτονείς ενω επιβίωσε με πεισμα τόσος κοσμος επι κατοχής
Syntagma Square, Athens, Greece. Image by Flickr user YanniKouts (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
Online debate went political, apart from its unquestionable humanitarian aspect. Journalist Aris Chatzistefanou drew parallels to the Bouazizi suicide in Tunisia [el]:
@xstefanou: Η Ελλάδα έχει το δικό της Μπουαζίζι. Πρέπει να δείξει αν έχει και λαό ισάξιο της Τυνησίας και της Αιγύπτου η μόνο ψηφοφόρους ΠΑΣΟΚ -ΝΔ-ΛΑΟΣ.
User Elikas seeks justice [el]:
@Elikas: Κάποια στιγμή πρέπει να δικαστούν και οι ηθικοί αυτουργοί για όλες αυτές τις αυτοκτονίες. Που στην πραγματικότητα είναι δολοφονίες.
User Sara Firth criticizes the European methods for Greek rescue:
@SaraFirth_RT: Europes [sic] methods for ‘saving Greece’ are now literally killing the Greek people. The syntagma suicide should never have happened #greece
Athens News reports about a suicide note found on the victim, where reportedly he compared the present Greek government to wartime collaborationists:
The Tsolakoglou government has annihilated all traces for my survival. And since I cannot find justice, I cannot find another means to react besides putting a decent end [to my life], before I start searching the garbage for food.
Georgios Tsolakoglou was a Greek military officer who became the first prime minister of the Greek collaborationist government during the Axis Occupation in 1941-1942. The reference is obviously seen as a comparison between the wartime government and the current government of Lucas Papademos.
User PenelopeD10, mocking Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis for his decision last summer to oust tents protesters off Syntagma square, because it was a bad image for Athens tourists, says ironically [el]:
@PenelopeD10: Μη βγάλει κι άλλο φιρμάνι ο Καμίνης “απαγορεύονται οι αυτοκτονίες στο κέντρο γιατί βλάπτουν τον τουρισμό”…
Many also accused people that tried to politically exploit and use a simple person's death for politics or their own interests:
@dianalizia: shameless! karatzaferis opportunistically uses man's suicide this morning to criticize corrupt politicians & system (he is a part of)
@mindstripper: Οι δημοσιογράφοι πανηγυρίζουν, οι πολιτικοί παπαγαλίζουν κι εμείς στις εκλογές θα κάψουμε γι άλλη μία φορά τη χώρα. Καλό ταξίδι στον άνθρωπο
Apart from any political interpretation or exploitation of this tragic incident, user Serk01 brings on the simple truth of human existence [el]:
@serk01: κανε ενα βήμα ‘πισω’ και σκέψου τι σημαίνει να αυτοκτονεί ενας ανθρωπος.
This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni


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Haiti: Women & the Spoken Word (Part 2)  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

This post is a follow-up to an interview with Haitian photographer Francesca Andre. It focuses on the enthralling subject of the new video that Andre has directed, spoken-word artist Melissa Beauvery.
Of Haitian parentage, Beauvery was born in the United States. Growing up in Brooklyn, she was surrounded by the lilt of Creole; the language was very much a part of her everyday experience. Her new spoken-word CD, “My Grandmother's Tongue”, which the video highlights, depicts her experience as a Haitian-American woman. She talks to Global Voices about her inspiration for the project, the importance of oral tradition, Haitian culture and the close-knit community that is the Haitian diaspora.
•••
Spoken-word artist Melissa Beauvery; photo by Francesca Andre
Janine Mendes-Franco (JMF): As a spoken-word artist, you continue the oral tradition that is so fundamental to Haitian (and Caribbean) culture. In what ways do you think that new media (e.g.: this video that you and Francesca have produced, as well as other social media avenues) will help to spread your message? Do you see new media as a useful tool?
Melissa Beauvery (MB): As a spoken-word artist, I believe that new media is, in this day and age, fundamental in spreading messages, ideas and movements at a much faster rate – and reaching a more diverse audience. The video Francesca has produced illustrated the project in a way ‘word of mouth’ or even just doing local performances and conferences would not be able to do. The video is an important element of spreading news about the project due to the power of visual communication. Part of the reason why I believe that oral tradition is so important because it allows you to capture image[s] through words. This gives artists such as myself and Francesca the opportunity to present more accurate and personal images of the lifestyles of Haitians around the world.
Spoken Word Artist: Melissa Beauvery from Victor Oliveira on Vimeo.
JMF: Your reverence for the Creole language is inspiring, particularly because it could have been considered “fringe” in the wider context of American society. Explain why it is so important to you and your work.
MB: My earliest childhood memory was hearing Creole. Because my grandmother was illiterate, instead of writing letters, she would record what she had to say on cassette tapes. I never would forget listening to a language that didn't mirror the languages of the cartoons that I often watched. Creole opened up a portal to self-discovery. Who am I? Why doesn't my grandmother speak English like ‘everyone’ else? It was because I was Haitian. Despite being born and mostly raised in Brooklyn, I was from somewhere else and I had to dig deeper to understand this Haitian identity that cannot be forgotten. This is why, even in my poems that are mostly in English, you will always hear at least a few words in Creole. This is part of my self-expression as a Haitian living in America. Creole is the heart of my project.
A still from the video "My Grandmother's Tongue"; photo by Francesca Andre
JMF: In the poem “My Grandmother’s Tongue”, you juxtapose white and black, light and dark. Haiti is often painted in mainstream media with a sombre brush, whereas this project honours everything that is strong and inspiring about the country and its people. As a Haitian-American, what is your vision of Haiti?
MB: The poem ‘My Grandmother's Tongue’ is a love poem. It represents my love for Haiti and my grandmother who was always Haiti to me. My grandmother [was] very patriotic, always made sure each trip was a learning experience. It was through my grandmother [that] I understood the beauty that is Haiti. Not everyone can appreciate its beauty. Haiti has a kind of beauty that needs particular vision. My vision of Haiti is love…that kind of love keeps a Brooklyn-born artist such as myself constantly inspired and eager to write. This tongue, my grandmother's tongue, is so important and was essential in my upbringing.
JMF: Can you share what it was like to work with such accomplished Haitian musicians and how the power of music helped to transform and add depth to your poetry?
MB: Because ‘My Grandmother's Tongue’ is my first project, I was very nervous and intimated working with all of the[se] accomplished musicians. I was also fearful that some of musicians who are more used to collaborating with vocalists would not be as enthusiastic because it was poetry and not singing. But to my surprise, all of the musicians were extremely helpful and offered their talent and advice. They understood me. The musicians truly breathe life into ‘My Grandmother's Tongue’. The instruments truly complement my words in a way I can't even verbalize; I am truly thankful for all of the giants that selflessly offered their talents.
Melissa Beauvery; photo by Francesca Andre
JMF: Tell us a little about the kinship of the Haitian community in the United States and what it has been able to accomplish.
MB: Many Haitians in the U.S. constantly have Haiti in mind. Even those who don't go back to Haiti, they are always sending money or paying for school for family members or even children of childhood friends. It becomes an obligation. For if we don't look out for family back home, who will? And kinship goes beyond particular bloodlines. This kinship also transforms artists into family. Francesca and I started sharing more ideas for different projects because we felt compelled to do more to promote a more accurate and humane image of Haitian people in Haiti and abroad. It is our obligation as a large family.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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India: The ‘Coup’ That Never Was · Global Voices
Rezwan

Yesterday (4, April, 2012) an article in the Indian Express reported on an attempted coup mentioning that two key  Indian Army units had moved towards Delhi without notifying the government on the night of January 16-17. Everybody from the government to the common people have dismissed the Indian Express’ front-page story and Twitter users have joined in the analysis.
The timing of the army movement coincided with the date of Army Chief V.K. Singh‘s petition before the Supreme Court on his date of birth. On the other hand, the Army said that it was a routine exercise to test fog preparedness.
Indian army men practice operating a ZU23 Double barrel gun during a military war exercise. Image by Sanjeev Syal. copy right Demotix (29/5/2011)
Harini Calamur writes:
Maybe the good editor of IE would like to check out the story of the boy who cried wolf … or maybe their calendars have all been hacked and their internal system clock tells them it is April 1st. Maybe it is curiosity that has gone awry ….and maybe they thought that scoop is spelt as s’coup. or maybe the way they thought they will get some visiblity in the social and main stream media is to become the story themselves.
Sans Serif opines:
As the old saying goes, never believe a story until it is officially denied.
Still, is the Express story a “scoop” throwing light on something that was hidden or unknown; a rehash of previously published stuff; or just plain Delhi-style “spin”, against the backdrop of leaks and plants that have been coming in a torrent in the crossfire between the outgoing Army chief and the “establishment”?
Here are some of the Tweets on the story:
@vinugeorge: Indian express ‘attempted military C**P’ story is interesting. Shekhar Gupta is someone with a lot of reputation.
@atishmathur: India is a little too democratically docile to have an attempted military coup!!
@sprayrose: Shekhar Gupta thinks that common sense is very uncommon… so ppl will lap up his story that 2 units of Army can take over India in a #Coup
@SmokeNLace: indians have taken over twitter! trending topics include: Indian Express, Shekhar Gupta, Subhash something…wtf?
@anishparikh07: Indian Express has lost its credibility!! It may as well stop being printed!! #coup
@smrutiranjansa9: fear of a coup by the indian army….sry globe…democracy is deep rooted in indian soil…not made in india though…..:)
@mahigupta: #Thingsnottodoinpublic publish Military coup story on front page of your news paper in India..without knowing awareness of common man.
@gauravsabnis: Yo India… still upset at Indian Express for doing its job, i.e., reporting?
Nitin Pai at the Acorn tries to analyze the unusual movement of two army units towards New Delhi:
The two most important questions at this time are the following. First, why were the two military formations moved in an ostensibly unusual manner? Second, why did the government permit this report to be published at all, and why now?
The blogger suggests that the report was let published so that “the public is kept informed of the slightest risks to our democratic setup”.
Meanwhile in an announcement the Indian Express has stood by its report.

author: Rezwan


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Jamaica, U.S.A.: Asking for Justice in Martin Killing  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Of the “Wild Wild West” killing of Trayvon Martin, Abeng News Magazine says: “When stories like these emerge from the streets of cities in the Middle East and other countries in the developing world, Western political leaders and ‘rights’ agencies lambast the nations as lawless and prepare to depose their despotic leaders.”


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Mauritania: Complex Problem of Slavery · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Erin Pettigrew discusses the complex problem of slavery in Mauritania: “I’ve been working in Mauritania on and off for the past eight years and this issue of ‘slavery’ is still one I am struggling to fully understand. I certainly cringe every time I see a young black child working in someone’s home, whether they be Black or Arab, in Mauritania and these relationships of work and pay are rarely clear to me.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Netizens’ reactions to China Election Monitors to Myanmar · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joe from ChinaSMACK translated netizens’ reactions to Chinese government's election monitor tour to Myanmar. Many comments mocked at the hypocrisy of China monitoring a foreign election when China itself has no direct elections.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Panama: A Video Testimony on Mining in the Azuero Peninsula · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Joao Quiróz from Medio Cerrado [es] interviews Joaquín Moreno, a resident of the Herrera province in the Azuero Peninsula in Panamá, about mining. Joaquín tells Joao about his opposition to a mining project in the area.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Swaziland: King Demands Cows From the Poor · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Multimillionaire King Mswati of Swaziland demands cows from the poor: “King Mswati III of Swaziland’s demand that his impoverished subjects supply him with cattle to slaughter for his birthday party has been met with anger and scorn. The king is estimated to have a personal fortune of US$200 million while seven in ten of his subjects earn less than US$2 per day.”


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Brazil: Collective Blogging to Uncover Dictatorship Files · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Journalist and blogger Niara de Oliveira compiled [pt] the 52 posts published within the fifth collective blogging “DesarquivandoBR” (“Unarchiving” Brazil), urging the opening of files kept secret from Brazil's military dictatorship (1964 -1985) and the repeal of the Amnesty Law.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Brazil: University Students Make Demands and Question Budget for Aquarium · Global Voices
João Miguel Lima

About 200 students of the Regional University of Cariri [pt], Brazil, protested on Monday, April 2, for state government resources to hire teachers and improve infrastructure. On a video of the demonstration published on Youtube, students question the construction of a 250 million reais aquarium in Fortaleza, state of Ceará: “there is budget for the aquarium, but none for education?”

author: João Miguel Lima


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China: Dissident Artist Ai Weiwei Puts Himself Under Web Surveillance · Global Voices
Violeta Camarasa

Prominent Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has installed four live webcams at his home in Beijing as a symbolic protest against the police's 24-hour surveillance of him. [Update: The Chinese authorities ordered Ai to turn off his webcams yesterday on April 4.]
Last year on April 3 [zh], Ai Weiwei was arrested at the Beijing airport under the pretext of being “a threat to national security”. The police action was believed to be part of the crackdown of the call for Chinese Jasmine Revolution inspired by the Arab Spring. Ai was detained for 81 days in a secret location and interrogated more than 50 times for inciting state sedition, economic flaw, tax evasion, distribution of indecent and obscene photos, double marriage, illegal money exchange, etc.
He has been under probation since June 22, 2011. Since then he has been under constant surveillance by the police. There are at least 15 cameras outside his house.
The four webcams are placed parallel to his computer screen and near the ceiling to oversee his working desk, courtyard and bedroom. Below is a screen capture of him sleeping on April 3:
Ai's bedroom webcam
As a part of Ai Weiwei's artivist performance to remember the anniversary of his disappearance, human rights lawyer and Ai's friend Liu Xiaoyuan interviewed Ai on Twitter:
@刘晓原律师: 今天是@aiww失踪一周年“纪念”日，请问@aiww是否想过将来哪一天还会有类似经历？
@Aiww: 随时都有可能
@刘晓原律师: 采访一下@aiww：在去年四月三日以前，是否想过会有被失踪的一天？曾有网友说过，凭你在杨佳案时写的文章，就足以判你个煽覆罪，坐个十年八年的牢。之所以当年不抓你，是因为你父亲曾是高官？我不明白的是，为何在杨案件过去近三年后，又把你给抓了？难道你真是“反话”势力总指挥？
@Aiww: 我从来没有幻想，我父亲曾承受更大折磨，我公开承认是反华势力。
@刘晓原律师: 采访@aiww:你是一个艺术淫，为何不搞一些歌颂伟大祖国的作品，专喜搞什么草泥马之类的东西？你是天性喜欢与国家势力作对吗？
@Aiww: 言论自由是生命的权利，是生命的属性，祖国在我的生存经验中伤害了如此原则。
@刘晓原律师: 你会象王立军躲进米帝使馆吗？
@Aiww: 王吃了一次亏，奥胆怯呢。
A less sarcastic explanation of his action can be found at New York Times. Ai Weiwei said to the news agency:
In my life there is so much surveillance and monitoring – my phone, my computer. Our office has been searched. I have been searched, every day I am being followed, there are surveillance cameras in front of my house. So I was wondering why don’t I put some [cameras] in there so people can see all my activities. I can do that and I hope the other party [authorities] can also show some transparency.

author: Violeta Camarasa


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Colombia: Nostalgia for 1990s Peruvian TV · Global Voices
Julián Ortega Martínez

In the 1990s, cable television was too expensive for most Colombians, who resorted to cheap satellite dish services colloquially known as perubólicas [es] (a portmanteau of Peru and [antenas] parabólicas), because they carried virtually all Peruvian networks. On the night of April 4, 2012, hundreds of Colombian Twitter users recalled their favourite TV shows, commercials and characters of the era using #NostalgiaDePerubolica.

author: Julián Ortega Martínez


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Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood versus SCAF – the Fall of the Masks? · Global Voices
Menna Alaa

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.
“A million men march to demand the fall of Ganzouri's cabinet” read the official newspaper of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood) after events that have left the Egyptian population baffled. “How did it all start?” was the question being asked by everyone. How did the close relationship between Egypt's military council (SCAF) and the nearly controlling political majority lead to a “bad breakup”?
The series of accusations erupted when the FJP issued a statement [ar]:
Reasons given by the Freedom and Justice Party for opposing the current government.
SCAF's response was as provocative as the Muslim Brotherhood's statements, bringing to mind the events of 1954 when the Muslim Brotherhood were blamed, banned, thrown into prisons, and tortured by the authorities. SCAF has stated that accusations of rigging the elections were a slander. They also used a threatening tone when they asked “certain political forces” to learn the lessons of the past.
The public was left wondering what will happen in this game of rivalry between the people in power and the people yet to be handed power. Will they clash or was it just one of the acts in the political play Egypt is enacting nowadays?
Simultaneously, the Muslim Brotherhood tried to step up their game, and announced that Khairat Al Shater, former deputy supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood and businessman tycoon, is their choice in Egypt's alternating Presidency act. The decision was shocking, even for members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Freedom and Justice Party.
Many people viewed it as the wrong one, with some claiming it to be a sign of “the beginning of the end”. Others referred to the Muslim Brotherhood as the new NDP, where authority and money become a dominating factor for control.
Social media users have been on a mission to act as analysts and give their opinions and views regarding the bizarre choice:
Khaled El Baramawy [ar] compared Shater to Aboul Fotouh (a leading Brotherhood figure who was expelled after announcing his intention to run for president) and sarcastically tweeted:
@Egypress : مره واحد رشح نفسه اتفصل … قام اللي فصله رشح نفسه سبــــــــــــــــحان الله.. يعنى قاله ماعنديش وهو كان عنده جوة ! #Egypt #Ikhwan
Taqadum El Khatib [ar] tweeted:
@Taqadum : الإخوان ..كاذبون كاذبون كاذبون كاذبون كاذبون كاذبون …إلى شباب الإخوان استقيلوا يرحمكم الله واتركوا القيادات الكذابة #ikhwan
Wael Eskaner had a more balanced view:
@weskandar: If Al-Shater is the consensus candidate then the #SCAF is the #Ikhwan. It's very unlikely that he is.
Ahmed Aggour tweeted:
@Psypherize: The oppressed have become the oppressors. #Ikhwan
Hassan El Shater, one of Khairat El Shater's 10 children, was not the happiest with his dad's nomination when he tweeted:
@Hassan_elShater : Unfortunately dad is running for presidency! :s
No one really knows what the conclusion of the political play in Egypt will be, but one thing is certain, Egyptians are witnessing an exciting period and they alone will determine their history.
This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.

author: Menna Alaa


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France:  Pirate Party Fields Candidates in Legislative Election · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

The Pirate Party, which was started in Sweden in 2006, has since spread to other countries in Europe. In Germany, the local elections of Sunday, March 25, 2012, allowed the party to enter the parliament of Saarland after an earlier victory admitted it to the Berlin Parliament. This result has inspired its French counterpart to put forward candidates for this year's French Legislative Election. The newly created Alsace branch [fr] of the Pirate Party is preparing an “essentially digital campaign costing zero Euros”. Le blog de la vache libre [fr] hosted a video [fr] interview in which a candidate explains the objectives [fr] of the party, and journalism student Jérémie Nadé describes the anticipated pirate invasion on his blog.

author: Suzanne Lehn


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Mali: An Introduction to the Tuareg Population  · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

The blog of the Tuareg movement Temoust Survie  publishes a post (via information from l'Express [fr])  that provides [fr] a brief introduction to the Tuareg culture  : “we are a nomadic people living from farming and trade. The Tuaregs are estimated to be about 1.5 million in a region that spans across Mali, Niger, Algeria, but also Libya, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. The common language Tamashek is related to the Berber language. With the Ethiopian population, the Tuaregs are one of the few African people with their own calligraphy.  The distinguishing features of the Tuareg clothing are the indigo veil they wear hence their nickname “the men in blue”.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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South Korea: Illegal Surveillance of Citizens and Entertainers · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

South Korea's presidential house has come under fire over its illegal monitoring of civilians. The case, which started as allegations raised by the opposition sides, has now escalated and has even been referred to as the Korean Watergate scandal [ko]. Entertainers who often hosted anti-government protests have revealed that they have been followed and monitored by government intelligence agence officials.
While the investigation is underway, the nation's online space has erupted with people's angry responses. This is one of the biggest political scandals under the current President Lee Myung-bak's administration.
The nation's Democratic party and the KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) labor union has released parts of government documents comprising about 2,600 pages, which show the current regime monitored activities of their citizens, including journalists, activists, rival party members and even comedians, who openly expressed their political stances.
Kim Jae-dong, participating in the broadcaster's strike against unfair journalism, Screen capture image of a Youtube video uploaded by user mbcunion2012
Kim Jae-dong is a well-known comedian and talk show host who publicly expresses his liberal political stance and is often unfairly accused as being a ‘pro-North Korean leftist’ by conservative sides. Kim said in an interview with the nation's investigative news magazine SisaIN [ko] that he had two encounters with a man who introduced himself as working for the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the FBI equivalent agency in South Korea.
The anonymous agent tried to persuade him to drop his planned hosting of a funeral event (not an official funeral ceremony) for the deceased former president. However, Kim went on to host the event and his talk show, which was about to be launched, was subsequently cancelled, fueling various suspects online.
This gave evidence to the theory that the government indeed monitored a wide array of civilians and it has ignited public anger online. Baek Chan-hong (@mindgood) tweeted [ko]:
MB정권하에서 연예인들까지 사찰대상이었다는 보도를 보면 50년대 미국 메카시 선풍이 생각날 정도. 지난 4년간 정권의 눈밖에 나면 누구나 감시대상이 되는 상황에서 국민들은 말그대로 철장없는 감옥에서 살았던 것.
Other than Kim, one of the nation's most famous rock singers, Yoon Do-hyun, and Kim Mi-hwa, a comedy godmother figure and radio show host, are also believed to have made to the government's monitoring list [ko] after being labeled as ‘leftist entertainers’.
Twitter user @cinemAgora tweeted [ko]:
[…]연예인까지 사찰 대상. 이 정부의 레드 콤플렉스가 이 정도일 줄은 몰랐다.
The nation's influential but also controversial culture critic, Chin Jung-kwon (@unheim) urged people to vote [ko] to punish the government and ruling party. A general election is on coming up next week and the presidential election is in December this year.
“국정원 직원 두 번 찾아왔다.” 결국 김제동씨가 증언을 했군요. 충격, 또 충격. 총리실과 국정원이 연예인을 사찰하고
협박하고… 대체 뭣들 하는 짓인지. 응징의 방법은 단 하나, 투표입니다.
Mr. Chin analyzed [ko] the shift of power caused by the new media environment:
과거의 독재정권들은 ‘지식인'을 사찰했지요. 근데 왜 이 정권은 애먼 ‘연예인'을 사찰하느냐? 그건 미디어 환경의 변화지요. 사회의 주요한 소통수단은 텍스트에서 이미지로 넘어갔죠. 지식인은 텍스트 문화의 영웅, 연예인은 이미지 문화의 영웅입니다.
Those entertainers who have been monitored by the government were also active Twitter users. Whenever their tweets made headlines, discussions followed on whether the government or broadcasting companies should set stricter guidelines on Twitter usage by influential people. Twitter user @tsbre commented [ko]:
사찰이후 정권이 맘에 들지않는 연예인은 1.우선 편파심의로 징계하고 2.제작진을 경쟁력 저하라는 막연한 잣대로 압박하며 3.그래도 안되면 방송사별 소셜테이너 금지조항을 만들어 억지로 프로그램 하차시켰죠
The presidential house argues [ko] that most monitoring cases recorded in the disclosed government documents date back to the former administration. But some journalists disagree [ko] by saying that while the past government focused on checking up on their officials, the current one targets ordinary people.
Twitter user @yaaacool [ko] has expressed his discontent in watching the government and ruling party shirk the blame and added this civilian monitoring gives him the chills since anyone could be the next victim.
Freedom House last year downgraded South Korea's status from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’ to reflect an increase in official censorship and the government’s attempt to influence media outlets’ news and censor contents online.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Ukraine: Lukyanivska Prison – “Where People Are Kept Like Animals” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On April 2, 2012, the Ukrainian TV channel TVi aired Kostiantyn Usov's documentary [uk, ru] about living conditions and treatment of inmates at Kyiv's Lukyanivska prison (known in Ukrainian as Lukyanivsky SIZO, or remand prison), as well as widespread corruption among the facility's staff.
The film, which is available on YouTube, includes mobile phone footage made surreptitiously by a number of inmates over the past few months at the journalist's request.
Many of those who have already watched Usov's documentary were shocked by what they saw, to say the least.
LEvko of the English-language Foreign Notes blog wrote this in a post entitled, “The hell-hole that is Lukyaniv prison”:
The brave investigative journalist Konstyantyn Usov from TVi recently managed to smuggle several mobile phones into the notorious Lukyaniv investigative isolation unit where [ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko] was detained, and where [ex-minister of internal affairs Yuriy Lutsenko] is still being held. His nightmarish television documentary can be seen here….
The conditions in some of the cells are unimaginably bad…diabolical…don't watch it before going to bed…
Remember, the inmates shown have not been tried or sentenced – many may be innocent but may nevertheless be detained there for years….
It is difficult to accept that human beings can be so maltreated in a state institution in the capital city of a European democracy in the 21st century.. utterly and absolutely shameful. […]
Lukyanivska prison gained some international exposure last year, when ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko was placed there during her trial. The Guardian's Miriam Elder described the detention facility on October 16, 2011:
[…] Tymoshenko remains inside Lukyanivska, which functions mainly as a pre-trial detention centre. She shares a 15 sq m space with two other women, both awaiting charges on economic crimes.
There is a small window, covered with three sets of bars. There is no hot water and the thick walls of the 19th-century prison keep its interior cold and damp. Tymoshenko spends her days reading. […]
In December 2011, a leaked video showing Tymoshenko at the medical wing of Lukyanivska prison was aired on TV and shared on social networks in Ukraine. Reuters reported on December 15:
[…] The video clip was one of two aired on TV with the apparent aim of showing Tymoshenko was being well treated and living in conditions akin to those of a good hotel.
[…]
In the video, prison guards are actively helping the cameraman to shoot the film, even holding back a keyhole cover into the room for him.
The 51-year-old Tymoshenko, who was mostly covered by bed-clothes, was clearly unhappy at being filmed, though her words were not audible.
In another part of the footage, which showed a well-furnished room with a refrigerator, Tymoshenko can be heard saying: “I was being kept before in unacceptable conditions and I don't want you to show this false picture now.” […]
In his documentary, Kostiantyn Usov shows the Lukyanivska prison the way it really is, as a place where thousands of Ukrainians with no access to domestic or international media spend years living in overcrowded, subhuman conditions as they await their verdicts. He wrote this [uk] about the making of the film on his blog at Ukrainska Pravda:
Lukyanivsky SIZO. A place where people are kept as animals.
Lukyanivska prison is a facility of preliminary detention. To be staying in its dark cells isn't a punishment, but a preventive measure. That is, any suspect can be locked up here, and in contemporary Ukraine it absolutely does not mean that one has to be a real criminal.
[Lukyanivska prison] occupies the first place in the number of reports of cruelty, torture, inhuman living conditions and mysterious deaths in prison cells, and […] this is where the regime of [President Victor Yanukovych] has been [placing] its enemies – and this is why we have made it our goal to find a way to show people the real Lukyanivka. The real one, and not what they show to the select media.
We created our own network of agents inside the prison, in order to have our own people in every building, on every floor of the SIZO in a minimal period of time. From the [free outside], we [smuggled] mobile phones equipped with video cameras to each of our agents, and the inmates were sending us glimpses into their lives, little by little, 10 to 15 seconds at a time, for six months. […]
Usov has been receiving feedback on his film on his Ukrainska Pravda blog, as well as on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and elsewhere.
Many people praise Usov for his courage. On YouTube, user slafkorood wrote [uk]:
I can imagine what it took Usov and his team [to make this film], his work will never be in vain, he is a brave person, if only there were more people like him.
Many are concerned for the journalist's safety. On Facebook, Roman Plechun wrote [uk]:
Kostiantyn, aren't you afraid that “the regime” will come after you? I'd just like to understand how you found courage for this!?
YouTube user BenderZT wrote this [ru] about the main implication of the film:
A good phrase as [the film's] conclusion, that [Lukyanivska prison] is a micro-model of the country. Very sad to realize this…
Facebook user Yevgeny Titorchuk wrote [ru]:
[…] Hard to watch it and see all the horror and meaninglessness of the system that is indifferent to the human being. And the most terrible thing is that this system has been created by human beings and is being maintained by human beings too.
On Usov's Ukrainska Pravda blog, Facebook user Lyubomyr Drozdovskyy offered this explanation [uk] for the shocking cruelty of life at Lukyanivska shown in the film:
Actually, financial gain [of the prison staff] isn't the only reason for such horrible conditions at the SIZO. The other goal of the SIZO is to create conditions so unbearable that a person would be basically begging to be transferred to [the real prison], where the conditions are somewhat better after all. Say, there is someone whose case lacks any evidence needed to prove guilt, but [the authorities need to convict this person for their own benefit, to improve the statistics of solved cases, for example]. So they put this person into the SIZO, and after a few months of what in fact is torture, [he or she] is ready to testify against [him/herself], submit a self-incriminating statement, admit guilt completely – just to have a chance to get out of the SIZO, even if it means getting out to [prison].
In another comment on Usov's Ukrainska Pravda blog, user skilachi wrote this [uk]:
Almost everything is the way it was eight years ago. I still remember each of the 254 days [that I spent there]. […] Upon my release I wished for this: that every future employee of the [Ministry of Internal Affairs], prosecutor's office, court or any other entity that locks people up, had an “internship” for at least a few months at this facility prior to [assuming their positions in law enforcements and the judiciary]. Maybe then they'd view the use of preventive measures towards suspects and the accused differently. But this is just [wishful thinking]. To those who have been through this hell, my best wishes of health. To those who fail to avoid this, remember to always remain human beings.
There seems to have been no reaction from the authorities to Usov's film yet. The State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine, however, issued a statement [uk] through its press service on April 2, which reads like a “preemptive strike” type of message to journalists like Usov:
Kyiv SIZO – the most interesting facility for the mass media
Recently, there have been more and more information, commentaries and random stories appearing in the mass media about the work of the [Penitentiary Service] facilities. The majority of these stories comment on the conditions in which the arrested and convicted persons are being kept, as well as on the actions by the penitentiary facilities’ staff.
The analysis of the publications and [films] shows lack of competence and objectivity, and sometimes outright unhidden bias of the journalists […]. Due to this, [penitentiary service representatives] systematically refute the published information or provide additional commentary on it. […]
As for Lukyanivska prison's most recent international exposure, LEvko of Foreign Notes links to this Kyiv Post item on the April 3 meeting of Freedom House representatives with one of the SIZO's highest-ranking current inmates, ex-minister of internal affairs Yuri Lutsenko. LEvko writes:
[…] The Freedom House guys who visited Yuriy Lutsenko at the prison on Tuesday should check out [Usov's] video….After their visit: “The [Ukrainian] State Penitentiary Service stressed that the visitors noted that Ukraine took measures to bring conditions for detention and medical treatment for detainees in line with international standards.”
You f***ing liars…

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Video: Firefox Flicks Video Contest · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The Firefox Flicks worldwide contest will give awards for short films teaching web browser consumers about online issues such as privacy, choice, interoperability and opportunity, and how the non-profit Firefox brand helps people to face these issues. They have a series of inspirational films to set the creative juices flowing.
Mozilla wants the world to know more about what makes Firefox different: that we're a non-profit organization aimed at keeping the power of the Web in people's hands. Our hope is that through high-quality videos, we can help mainstream Internet users know more about the issues that affect their online lives and, more importantly, how Firefox addresses these issues. Winning videos will be used in worldwide marketing campaigns and public service announcements.
Participants will be able to create a short video ad or story (no more than 120 seconds long) that explains why Firefox does what it does in one of four categories: a 30 second spot, an animation, a short made with open technology, and a Public Service Announcement (PSA). A very complete creative brief goes on to explain the types of videos they'd like to receive and what they'll be looking out for to choose the winning videos, and the FAQ answers other pertinent questions. Submissions will be accepted until May 1st.
There will be a grand prize winner in each one of the regions: North America, Latin America, EU and Asia, Australia & New Zealand will receive $10000 USD. There will also be a winner for each of the 4 categories in each region who will receive $5000 USD. The prize money will be given either in video equipment or cash to be used to pay their tuition in their film school or to fund their next film project. All submitted entries to the contest will also receive a Firefox prize pack.
To make it easier for international entries, although films in languages other than English are required to have a complete script or subtitles, Firefox is volunteering to help if participants have trouble translating their film.
Many videos have already been submitted, and you can view and vote on them on the Firefox Flicks site. For example, these entries from India, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Video: Nonprofits Show Their Work Through Award Winning Videos · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Winners for the 6th Annual doGooder Non Profit Video Awards were announced on 5 April, 2012. Following, the winning videos for the 4 different categories: small, medium and large organizations and best storytelling, and the 4 winning films in the fearless category.
For the wmall organization award, the winner was Protect the Defenders, an organization that honors, supports, and gives voice to people serving in the US military services who have been raped or sexually assaulted by fellow service members.
For the medium organization award, the prize went to Solid Women, a video made by Fonkoze, Haiti's largest microfinancing organization which shows the impact the organization's programs has had on 5 different women.
The large organization award went to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's video on a new medication to treat CF which is benefiting some patients, although efforts are still needed to find treatments for other patients.
Best video storytelling was to the World Memory Project‘s video on how information is helping Holocaust survivors get some closure as they are able to discover what happened to their loved ones during the World War II. In the video, Sol discovers what happened to his father after they separated the day before the liberation.
Four separate grant money awards went to the most fearless videos in the contest. Real Stories of Addiction and Recovery, The Story of Cholera, Not Acceptable R-word PSA and the story of Robert, a homeless man.


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‘Anonymous’ Aims at Hacking China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Hackers network “Anonymous” claimed that they have hacked more than 500 Chinese government websites and will continue to make statements against China censorship measures. China Digital Times has a round up of their action.


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Argentina: Interviews from the Mapuche Nation’s Meeting on Environmental Conflicts · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Deep Dish Waves of Change shares a video of interviews [es] recorded during the first encounter of the indigenous Mapuche group regarding environmental conflicts during February 2012 in Argentina.


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Argentina: The Price of the Popular Yerba Mate Goes Up · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

Starting on April 1, 2012, the price of yerba mate increased from 50 to 100%. An increase which directly hurts Argentinians’ wallets. On Twitter, Sebas (@pepinorios) commented:
Hasta la tradición nos están haciendo difícil acceder. #Yerba
Now they're even making it difficult for us to stick to tradition. #Yerba
Mate Culture
But why is yerba mate so important for Argentinians? The page  Argentinian Mate [es] explains:
La Yerba mate es un árbol que crece en las cuencas de los ríos Paraná, Uruguay y Paraguay, en una región que abarca la zona limítrofe entre los países de Argentina, Brasil y Paraguay(triple frontera). Los indígenas de esa zona, los Guaraníes, usaron este vegetal por sus propiedades alimenticias y curativas.
Hoy el uso de la Yerba mate difiere de la antigua manera de consumirla de los Guaraníes, quienes maceraban sus hojas por días y luego bebían esa preparación como un curativo para diversas enfermedades (reumáticas, intestinales, etc.) y como un elíxir reconfortante que les brindaba fuerza y energía.
Yerba mate is a tree that grows in the Paraná, Uruguay and Paraguay river basins; the region where Argentina's, Brazil's, and Paraguay's three borders meet. The indigenous people of that area, the Guarani, used this plant for its nutrition and healing effects.
Yerba mate's use today is different from the old Guarani method of consuming it. They would marinate the leaves for days and then drink the liquid as medicine to cure a variety of diseases (rheumatic, intestinal, etc.) and as a comforting elixir that would provide them with strength and energy.
The page continues to explain how it is consumed:
el mate se toma de diferentes maneras(gustos), de acuerdo a las tradiciones y gustos en las diferentes regiones del país agregándole a la yerba, azúcar negro, cascarillas de naranja o hierbas que varían de región en región como por ej:manzanilla, café, menta, etc.
Argentinian Mate, photo by Laura Schneider
Mate is a deep-rooted tradition in Argentina that begins in adolescence and continues on through adulthood. The Informative Blog [es] explains:
Se trata de una infusión que parte de su encanto radica en el pequeño ritual que se crea en torno a él. Para quienes no lo sepan la palabra mate tiene su origen en el vocablo quechua mathi que significa vaso o recipiente hecho de calabaza para beber. Bueno, pues eso es el mate. Se coloca yerba mate en su interior y una bombilla, que es una especie de pajilla con un filtro en el extremo inferior. El acto de rellenar con agua caliente (nunca hirviendo) se denomina cebar.
Reactions to the Price Increase
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fish [es], announced through a press release [es], the new prices that are being set for the produce, that is to say for the producer:
El ministro de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca de la Nación, Norberto Yauhar, firmó el precio para la yerba verde en $1,70 y de $6,90 para la canchada, que entrarán en vigencia a partir del 1 de abril. “Fijamos un laudo que comprende el pedido de todos los eslabones de la cadena. Defendiendo no sólo a productores, sino también a los consumidores”
The prices before the increase were fixed at $0.90 per kilo of green yerba and $3.30 for the canchada placed out to dry. Thus the increase is around 88%.
But if one takes into account the production cycle of yerba mate, the final product increases would begin starting June of 2012. However, storekeepers applied the increase on April 1 for the final product already on the shelves.
On April 3 the hashtag #yerba [es] began to trend locally. Many used it to express their outrage, anger and even solutions to the increase, such as Analía Roca (@AnaliaRoca) [es]:
“Hágalo Ud. Mismo” Manual para cultivar #yerba mate en su casa. Incluye secadora de hojas. Sin subsidio. PSP $5.500.- #librospermitidos
Pablo Sanchez (@decadente83) [es] proposes another solution:
Ya vuelvo, voy a poner un poco de #yerba usada arriba del techo para volver a usarla cuando se seque.
Caro Hernandez (@CaroHernandezC) [es] shares a photo and comments:
Vamos disminuyendo el consumo de #yerba en esta casa! Con 4 mates por mañana, nos fundimos en dias! http://yfrog.com/nw3shrtj
We are starting to use less #yerba in our house! With 4 mates each morning, we'll be broke in a few days! http://yfrog.com/nw3shrtj
Controversy Caused by the Secretary of Trade
However, the controversy surrounding yerba mate arose before the price increase, when yerba mate producers from the Misiones province [es] requested from the Secretary of Domestic Trade Guillermo Moreno a renegotiation of the yerba price. According to the webpage AIM Digital [es], the following was the Secretary's response:
“Estoy cansado de los polacos pelotudos del interior que vienen a Buenos Aires a hacer reclamos. El precio (de la yerba) lo defino yo y al que no le gusta que se ponga en cuatro”
The Polish community in Argentina did not take long to react. Gustavo Sterczek, a historian of polish descent and member of the Polish Association of Argentina, sent a letter, which several of the country's media groups have published, that was in reaction to the Domestic Trade Secretary's words.The webpage of the station Misiones Cuatro [es] published it:
Sus declaraciones ofenden no sólo a ellos en particular, sino a todos los que llevamos orgullosamente su origen. Mi abuelo fue uno de esos inmigrantes que arribó a este gran país, como tantos otros, era una persona humilde, pero culta y con valores. Se ofreció de voluntario en la segunda guerra mundial para poder pelear por su amada patria invadida por los nazis. No se si usted escucha música, pero le recomiendo a un tal Chopin, considerado uno de los más grandes compositores de la historia, era polaco, pero no pelotudo.
The Polish ambassador to Argentina, Jacek Bazanski, also sent a letter to the Secretary of Domestic Trade, expressing the community's pain. The newspaper La Razon[es] writes:
El embajador polaco presentó en la mesa de entradas de la Secretaría que conduce Moreno la carta en la que se muestra “profundamente dolido por las palabras expresadas para con el pueblo polaco durante una reunión con industriales yerbateros y aún más sorprendido por tratarse de la expresión verbal de un funcionario público”.
The Chamber of Deputies released a statement, rejecting [es] Moreno's words. While users on Facebook the group “Solidarity with the polish yerba farmers” [es] also showed their outrage.
Between the controversy caused by Moreno's declarations and the price increase, today mate tastes even more bitter to Argentinians. Keky Criante Gómez (@KekyCG) [es] concludes:
A Moreno le dicen “Agua hervida” [el agua para el mate no debe hervir, ya que el calor quema la yerba] porque nos cagó el mate #yerba

author: Laura Schneider


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Armenia: Straight to the village · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

With a GDP per capita estimated at just $5,400 in 2011, Armenia is one of the poorest countries in the former Soviet Union. But although development in the center of the country's capital, Yerevan, might paint a different picture for some tourists, especially from its large Diaspora, the economic situation is most evident in the regions of the landlocked South Caucasus country.
With regional development increasingly a priority in Armenia, online site CivilNet has teamed up with Timothy Straight, one of Armenia's few non-Armenian foreigners who have made the country their home. Traveling to a different village each week, the former head of the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Honorary Consul for Norway and Finland, hopes to change all that.
“What we're trying to do is gather information and spread it, so that people can get correct understanding of what village life in Armenia is like,” explains the text accompanying a promotional video for  Թիմը գնում է գյուղ (Tim goes to the village), otherwise known as Straight to the village.
The first episode went online on 20 September last year and takes a look at two villages close to the border with Turkey whose income is based on fruit production.
In the latest installment uploaded to YouTube on 2 April, and subtitled in English and Armenian, Straight travels to the impoverished town of Vardenis close to Armenia's Lake Sevan. The purpose of the visit is to meet with a local NGO working with disabled children.
On 12 March, the program celebrated its 20th episode with an interview with Straight where he “talks about some of the highlights and explains the reason why he does the program and the potential long-term effect of the show.”
Knighted by the King of Norway in 2010, Straight's involvement in regional development in Armenia is not limited to the video reports. Homeland Handicrafts, for example, is a voluntary organization dedicated to creating a sustainable income for artisans in Armenia.
Particularly using online tools, a blog as well as Facebook and Pinterest pages are also used to promote the initiative. Timothy Straight can also be followed on Twitter at @timothystraight.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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China: No Fishes for Chinese Fishermen · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu translated a local feature story about the livelihood of Chinese fishermen who can't find fishes near the China coast because of pollution and over fishing.


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Global Voices Podcast: The Good and Bad of Online Campaigns · Global Voices
Jamillah Knowles

Hello World!
Welcome to another edition of the Global Voices podcast.
In this edition we have company in the voice of co-host Yazan Badran, a Global Voices author from Syria based in Japan. The topic this month is global social media campaigns: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Views on Kony 2012 from Africa
In the last month we have seen one of the most controversial social media campaigns light up Twitter, Facebook and other social networks. The “Kony 2012″ campaign by the organisation Invisible Children went viral with a video about war Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony that was seen by millions of people. But was it the right way to highlight an issue? We've tracked several responses here.
There were many points of criticism when it came to the project, not least from people in Uganda.
Rosebell Kagumire is a journalist, blogger and Global Voices author from Uganda, living in Kampala. She works as an editor for Channel 16, a news site by bloggers about conflict and humanitarian news. When she first saw the Kony 2012 video, Rosebell uploaded a very critical YouTube response that has been viewed more than 500,000 times. She shares her thoughts with us about her initial reactions.
Citizens in many African nations took issue with the Kony campaign.
‘Femi Adesina is a British-born Nigerian web and creative technologist who describes herself as an African in the diaspora. She agrees there are problems with Kony 2012, but thinks it's hard to be too critical when people have the best intentions.
Are social media campaigns always a good thing?
Online campaigning is not new. It can be a good way to crowdsource opinions, attract volunteers and even raise money. Yazan argues that the anti-SOPA blackouts were quite effective. They were informative and educated many people about the dangers of institutional censorship of the web.
We threw the question out to the Global Voices community asking for their thoughts on online campaigns. Thanks to Asteris Masouras from Greece, Lova Rakotomalala from Madagascar, Mohamed Ragab from Egypt, Rana Khattab from Palestine based in Saudi Arabia, and Mohammed Adel from Yemen for their views.
Unite for Syria marked the escalation of protests and violence in that country by encouraging people around the world to uploading images to show their support for Syrians. Tarek Amr, an engineer and an author for Global Voices from Cairo, Egypt, told us more about the campaign that also involved global celebrities.
PR for charities and NGOs
As well as grassroots efforts, there are PR companies who work closely with online campaigns for non-profits and activist groups. Boyd Neil is SVP and National Practice Leader for Social Media and Digital Communications at Hill+Knowlton Strategies in Canada. He says getting the social web right is difficult.
It seems from our guests in this edition are divided on what they made of the Kony campaign, but mostly united in the idea that the social web can help to amplify a message in a good way.
Of course, it all depends on how you measure success. Amplifying a message, doesn’t necessarily translate into the desired effect beyond the virtual realm.
Thank you for listening!
We hope you enjoyed this edition of the podcast. A huge thank you to Yazan for being great company and a brilliant co-presenter, as well as to all of our informed and amazing guests.
The Global Voices Podcast, the world is talking, we hope you’ve been listening!
Music Credits
In the podcast you can hear lots of lovely Creative Commons music. Thanks to Mark Cotton  for his fantastic creations and thanks also to all of the wonderful voice over performances and clips that help to glue the podcast together. The Global Voices Podcast, the world is talking, we hope you’re listening!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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author: Jamillah Knowles


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Is Basketball’s Jeremy Lin the Light of Taiwan? · Global Voices
bonniefly

From a benchwarmer to an NBA basketball player who led the New York Knicks to seven consecutive victories in February 2012, Jeremy Lin's inspiring Cinderella story has incited “Linsanity” in the United States and Taiwan. It has also occupied the pages of every major American newspaper, and indeed swept the world. (Update: Lin was removed from the court in late March to recover from a knee injury)
Jeremy Lin's past life, his religious faith, his experience studying at Harvard University, his status as an Asian American and other such points of interest have been closely examined by the media. The outstanding performance of Lin also caused American society to critically examine the issue of racial discrimination in the NBA.
Jeremy Lin. From Wikipedia (CC: SA 2.0)
Jeremy Lin's parents are immigrants from Taiwan. With his father's encouragement, he fell in love with basketball and represented his high school and university competitively, achieving quite good results. However, Jeremy Lin's road to professional basketball was in no way smooth. Lin had been passed over twice in two NBA drafts, signed with the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, and was later let go by both teams before he was signed by the New York Knicks.
An unlikely rise to fame
However, the contract Lin signed with the Knicks was a non-guaranteed “probationary contract”. As a result, he didn't want to rashly enter into a long-term lease in New York. So, fellow Knicks player and good friend Landry Fields let Lin sleep on his sofa temporarily. After Jeremy Lin's rise to fame, that sofa was held up by the media as a “magic couch.”
At the time, even with a star line-up, the New York Knicks were unable to effectively integrate their team, resulting in just 8 wins in 23 games. As a result, there was speculation that if the Knicks lost again to the New Jersey Nets on February 4, the Knicks would fall below the Nets in the rankings, and coach Mike D'Antoni would be in danger of being fired. However, in the February 4 game against the Nets, D'Antoni took a shot in the dark by sending benchwarmer Jeremy Lin onto the field. Lin then scored 25 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds, helping the Knicks to victory. This game released Jeremy Lin from the worry of being dropped, and allowed him to smoothly obtain a guaranteed contract. Because of his dazzling performance in the game, Lin was consistently placed in the starting line-up in subsequent games, repeatedly breaking his personal best and leading the Knicks to an impressive seven consecutive victories.
The outstanding performance of Asian American Jeremy Lin has also caused all areas of American society to critically examine the issue of racial discrimination in the NBA. Few NBA players have received higher education or are devout Christians. Add to that the fact that Asian people are often subject to racial discrimination in the sporting field, and this is another reason for Jeremy Lin's explosion in popularity. Before Jeremy Lin became famous, spectators would reportedly sometimes call out discriminatory remarks like “Go back where you came from!” In a match against Connecticut when Lin was studying at Harvard, the first time he stepped up to the free throw line, a bigoted basketball fan yelled “Won ton soup!” from the stands. However, Jeremy Lin broke the stereotype, proving with his abilities that he could hold a place in the NBA, which is largely dominated by African American players.
“The light of Taiwan”
Jeremy Lin's meteoric rise to fame and explosion in popularity raised a wave of ‘Linsanity’ among the Taiwanese people, and made him the pride of Taiwan. All major newspapers have extravagantly portrayed him as “the light of Taiwan.”
However, “piet” on the forum Mobile 01 sparked heated online discussion after reposting an article [zh] by Tsinghua University physics professor Wang Daowei: “Nothing simple about Jeremy's parents” [zh]. Wang Daowei believes that Taiwanese parents don't encourage their children to pursue their dreams in life, but rather make them follow a less risky path:
与别人一样拼明星学校、选热门科系与作别人羡慕的职业。这样的想法虽是出自于父母亲的“善意”，但却根深蒂固于我们社会，成为台湾教育改革始终无法成功的根本原因。事实上，这也是正是林书豪的家庭教育（而非学校教育）与我们最大的不同之处。因为有这样的父母，也才能造就林书豪在NBA的杰出表现。
According to Taiwanese blogger Heiyu (‘Black Rain’), Jeremy Lin is “the light of America” [zh].
林书豪生在美国、长在美国，他从小对自己的认知就是一个美国人。不管是他的教育过程或篮球实力训练过程，都是美国这个大环境造就的结果，这跟中国、台湾、或韩国哪有关系呢？…..
林书豪的成就，是美国这个国家的成就。我们该学习的，是如何让台湾下一代对运动有兴趣的孩子们能够拥有相似够水准的训练、发展、与求职环境，而非抱着捡便宜的心态，到处想沾其他国家的光芒。
Additionally, some bloggers think it's unimportant whether Jeremy Lin is “the light of Taiwan.” Study Success Blog believes that in comparison, the much more important question is why Jeremy Lin achieved such a remarkable performance. [zh]：
和自己多少有一点关连的人（不管是民族、读过的学校、甚至是头发颜色）、有了杰出的表现时，会觉得与有荣焉也是正常的，除非是深山独居者或精神病患之类的，脱离正常的心理现象。所以血统什么的，我的看法是根本就无所谓，沾光就沾光，这不是理所当然吗？
Online discussion on popular BBS forum PTT has also been intense. “Safelove's” claim that Jeremy Lin is a disgrace to Taiwanese basketball [zh] and is not the light of Taiwan, received a heated response.
林书豪今天在NBA有多成功，就代表台湾篮球界有多失败，我们篮球打输人最大的藉口就是基因。但林书豪告诉我们基因不是问题，环境和教育才是。我们这么多专打球不念书的体保生 结果不如一个哈佛大学的高材生。
What do you think? What thoughts do you have on the Jeremy Lin phenomenon? We welcome you to share them with us.

author: bonniefly


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Laos: Creative Minds Come Together to Produce Children’s Programming · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Through a workshop on Innovative Communication for Early Childhood Development, creative minds in Lao People’s Democratic Republic came together with UNICEF to  generate quality media for children, as can be seen on video in Young People's Media Network's post.


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Russia: Blogger Dmitri Shipilov Convicted of “Insulting a State Official” · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Earlier this week, on April 3, 2012, a Kemerovo court convicted blogger Dmitri Shipilov of violating Article 319 [en] of the Criminal Code, “insulting a state official in public.” As a result, he was sentenced to eleven months of community service, with ten percent of his earnings earmarked for the government’s treasury. Shipilov’s crime was authoring two blog posts in November 2011 that each lampooned the region’s governor, Aman Tuleyev, as well as members of his staff, often in colorful language.
The first blog post [ru] criticized Tuleyev for a pronatalist initiative [ru] that awarded 30,000 rubles (roughly 1,000 USD) to any couples who agreed to register their marriages on November 11, 2011 (“11/11/11”). Shipilov estimated that the project cost nearly 15 million rubles — one short of the sixteen million the government had collected for sick children in an October fundraising event [ru] that included visits by presumably well-compensated movie stars like Sophia Loren. Shipilov wrote:
So it turns out that the Kemerovo oblast’ administration doesn't have any money for sick children, but, to support newlyweds obsessed with numbers, it's got money!
Shipilov also targeted the head of the region’s Department of Culture and Nationalities Policy, Larisa Zauervain [ru], highlighting her role in the government’s recent creation of a widely-mocked “Abominable Snowman Day” [ru] (or “Yeti Day”), as well as her part in a November 2011 local rock concert by the legendary Mashina Vremeni (“Time Machine”), which provoked loud booing from the audience, when fans were informed that the event was sponsored by the political party United Russia. After videos [ru] of the booing went viral on YouTube, Mashina Vremeni’s lead singer, Andrei Makarevich, explained that the band had agreed to receive honorary awards from the governor, but had not consented to make any political endorsements. (In a blog post on Snob.ru, the rock star described the tactics of Tuleyev’s staff as “screwing someone without permission.”) Zauervain, in turn, accused the group of political “provocations.”
In his blog, next to a photo of Zauervain, Shipilov wrote:
This is Larisa Zauervain, a pure maiden from the department of culture and ethnic hatred [sic]. After the head of this most exalted agency couldn't become provost of Kemerovskii State University for Culture and the Arts, she decided to go all out: she sent Vasily “I'll suck you off for eight grand a month and a crate of vodka” Zhopka up shit creek, removing him from the editorial board at the journal  ‘Ogni Kuzbassa’ (she gets my respect for that), then she ran around Mount Shoria, looking for female yetis to breed abominable snowmen, and finally she awarded the musicians of ‘Mashina Vremeni’ a memorable and steaming pile of shit (which, for a couple of days, sent the whole blogosphere howling at how ‘Yetinited Russia’ had tried to ride the coattails of such a famous band).
Finally, Shipilov turned to Elena Rudneva, Kemerovo’s Deputy Head of Municipal Education, whom he describes as a low-ranking but overachieving bureaucrat with sinister ambitions. The blog post includes scans (here and here) of a May 2010 departmental memo, in which Rudneva lays out a plan “to break up the illegal activities of [Kemerovo’s] destructive social forces.” In the text, Rudneva proposes the following curious approach:
Organize constant contact with destructive members of society, identify their personal problems (their employment situation, any medical needs, their children's schooling, and so on), and take timely measures to establish a constructive dialog with them.
Responding to Rudneva’s idea, Shipilov wrote:
[She] really wants to participate in the political life of the region, but the narrowness of her authority prevents it from happening, as propagating political ideas in educational institutions is prohibited by our country’s laws. So she decided to take another route, drafting a document that offers truly bedazzling brown-nosing.
About a week later, Shipilov followed this post with a bit of creative writing [ru], composing a script for a fictional television show set ten years in the future, titled “One Day in the Life of Aman Gumirovich [Tuleyev],” airing on “Al Jazeera Kuzbass.” (The racial overtones in Shipilov’s script, poking fun at the half-Kazakh, half-Bashkir Governor, possibly contributed to early reports [ru] that, in addition to Article 319, Shipilov would also be charged with inciting ethnic hatred under Article 282 [en].)
The text satirizes Kemerovo’s Governor, placing him in absurd and embarrassing situations (his wife feeds him bugs and urine, he receives hate mail at work, and so on), and Tuleyev himself behaves ridiculously. In one scene, he appears on “I Am Alive!” (a fictional Al Jazeera TV show), where he speaks in “balalaika language,” punctuating every word with the sound “ama,” imitating the Central Asian stereotype popularized [ru] by comedian Mikhail Galustian. When leaving the studio, an aide returns a left-behind cosmetics purse to Tuleyev, who responds:
Thank you, Zakhar. Just in time, too. I need some foundation and superglue. My ear came unglued and some spots of dead flesh are showing on my neck.
Reactions from Kemerovo bloggers have varied. Aleksandr Sorokin, a lecturer at a local liberal arts university, said in January 2012 [ru] that police officers interrogated him to confirm that he had read Shipilov’s blog posts (in order to prove in court that LiveJournal can be considered a public forum). By February 2012 [ru], while still opposed to the enforcement of Article 319, Sorokin faulted Shipilov for failing to keep the public informed about his trial. Kemerovo journalist Vasily Popok (whom Shipilov distinguishes above as a man willing to do most anything for money and liquor) welcomed this week’s verdict [ru], though he later lamented [ru] that Shipilov is unlikely to have learned his lesson. Popok also reposted an article by Andrei Ivanov, another Kemerovo resident, who took issue with how DozhdTV covered the Shipilov story. On air [ru], a DozhdTV anchor alleged that the Kemerovo court had, in fact, condemned Shipilov to hard labor. Ivanov responded [ru] sarcastically:
It turns out that Dmitri's sentence is far more than a bit of street sweeping, as naive Kuzbass natives might have thought. In Maskva [sic] they know for real that the vicious Tuleyev decided to send the guy to rot in the mines, digging for toxic waste.
Meanwhile, Shipilov has promised to appeal the ruling, saying that he is prepared to take his case to the European Court. Tuleyev's lawyer, Aleksei Sinitsin, on the other hand, told [ru] a Novokuznetskoe television station that the court's decision was within the confines of European law, claiming that no state allows its citizens to publish obscene insults directed at government officials. Ironically, Pavel Chikov, Chairman of the human rights group “Agora,” told Gazeta.ru precisely the opposite, arguing that criminal cases against bloggers are becoming a thing of the past because the practice violates Russia’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights [en].

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Taiwan: A Family’s Forced Eviction Casts Shadow on Urban Renewal Act · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

The outrageous eviction of the Wang family executed by Taipei City government showed the public how fragile citizens’ private rights is in front of the urban renewal projects. More and more, public opinion has urged the Premier, Chong Chen, to  revise the current Urban Renewal Act [zh].
Manipulation of resident opinions
Hsieh-Li Wang pointed out that [zh] the current Act allows construction companies to put forward an urban renewal plan even when the majority of the residents refuse to join this project:
Wang's house before demolition. Photo by Flickr User munch999 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
都更條例的大陷阱在此：都更條例第十條第二款規定的「十分之一所有權人同意，再加上土地或建物樓地板面積超過十分之一，即可申請更新」。這是什麼意思？來自五分埔的都更受害戶李昭玫說，「就是只要有錢人或建商想都更，買下幾戶，灌進大量人頭，然後佔多數，就可以開啟都更大門。」李昭玫的社區就遇到幾戶灌進七十多個人頭的個案。
Based on Article 25 of the Urban Renewal Act, the government is allowed to approve an urban renewal project when 80% of the involved residents agree to join the project [zh]. For those who refuse to join the project, they will be punished with forced eviction executed by the government. Yo-Yu Hsih, a law student criticized [zh] the tyranny of the majority which violates the rights of a minority.
採行多數決同意之目的，無非係要使珍貴稀少的土地資源有效利用，避免在都更劃定範圍內發生少數綁架多數，阻礙都更進行，延滯都市發展。
按多數決同意的制度多有走向多數暴力的風險，其並無法兼顧全體所有權人之利益…目前都更條例第22條第1項僅有多數決原則而無相關保護少數人之制度，如此對少數人甚為不利，恐已違反最小侵害原則。
(However) Majority decision may result in tyranny that sacrifices the minority's interest… Currently Article 22, clause 1 of the Urban Renewal Act endorses majority decision without any protection for the minority. This will put the minority in a vulnerable situation and jeopardize their rights. I am afraid this Act has violated the legal principle of minimum encroachment.
A poster outside Wang's houses. It says ‘my house was bought when I was 40, and it was torn down when I was 70.’ Photo by Flickr User munch999 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
Government involvement
Hsieh-Li Wang questioned [zh] why the Act allows the government to use police force to serve the interest of developers:
更爭議的是，第三十六條規定，建商可向政府申請，由公權力代為拆除拒遷戶。讓不少專家認為，都更條例的多數決和過度支持建商，有違背憲法對人民財產保障的基本權利.
The Taiwan Association for Human Rights demanded a thorough revision of the Urban Renewal Act in accordance with the Constitution. In the Yuan Legislature, legislator Mei-Nyu You urged [zh] the  Minister of Interior to revise the current Urban Renewal Act:
今天如果你的房子出租，遇到一個奧客不肯搬走，你能不能用公權力直接把他趕走？…你得要先去法院告他打官司，拿到勝訴後再向法院聲請強制執行，法院還會給他一個緩衝期讓他搬遷，這是尊重人民居住的權利.
今天我的房子好好的，沒有礙到誰，沒有因為交通、安全、房子破舊需重建的問題，完全沒有。只是因為建商看中我的土地，看中我的容積率，就叫我非遷（不可），然後就越過司法權，直接用行政權介入來拆房子，這樣符合程序的正義嗎？
Defending constitutional rights
Torrent criticized the political party's election politics and retreated [zh] to citizen action for defending their constitutional rights:
Graffiti against an urban renewal project. Photo by Flickr User theAthena (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
與民眾權益攸關高居憲法總綱後的第二章人民之權利義務，越來越成為其它章節爭奪戰中的口號…台灣社會已經縱容這些人的謊言太久，他們告訴我們只要搶到憲法第四章的總統大位、得到第六章立法權的多數，就能夠自然達到憲法第二章居住權、遷徙權、言論權、生存權、工作權、財產權，但他們永遠都有理由和藉口。
所以我們要求改革不正義的都更，保障每一個人民的居住權。這才是寫台灣人民的歷史，才能從龐大的謊言中抗爭出空隙拿回屬於我們的憲法。

author: I-fan Lin


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Uganda: LRA Rebels React to KONY 2012 Video · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Lord’s Resistance Army has responded to a viral video calling for the capture of its leader Joseph Kony: LRA has taken a jab at the US and the Invisible Children describing the campaign as “a cheap and banal panic act of mass trickery to make the unsuspecting peoples of the world complicit in the US rogue and murderous activities in Central Africa.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Azerbaijan: Anti-virus software and machine translation · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

NetProphet comments on the release of Azerbaijan's first domestically produced anti-virus software, named after the country's capital, B.A.K.U. Launched at an expensive hotel, the event was not without its glitches, however, and most notably with invitations plagued by grammatical errors from what appeared to be machine translation. Amused, social network users reportedly shared them online.


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Bangladesh: Eviction of Slum in Dhaka Creates Humanitarian Catastrophe · Global Voices
Rezwan

On Wednesday (4th of April, 2012) the dwellers of Karail slum, one of the biggest in the Bangladesh capital, were evicted by the authorities to free Gulshan Lake from land grabbers. The inhabitants were given short notice via miking in the previous day, which many might have missed. Thousands of structures including houses and shops were demolished on less than a day's notice at 80-acre land of BTCL in Karail and other slums in Dhaka. A slum dweller claimed that her 4 year old girl has been missing as soon as bulldozers had hit the shanties.
The Incremental House posted a case study on this expansive slum:
The entire settlement is resistance. It is on someone else’s land. Morphologically, it couldn’t be any more different than the surrounding wealthy estates of Gulshan and Banani. The water bounds is. The inhabitants have set up full formal transportation networks of boats to ferry people to and from their jobs.
[..] It is pretty clearly planned, does that make it a space of resistance? Where does it gets it water and electricity from? The boats scrape the water pipes floating in the water. The pipes tap into the main lines in Banani. Someone is controlling it. Electricity is strung over the water, again tapped into the main line.
Here is a short video (uploaded by lizscarff) showing glimpses of coexistence of rich and poor in the surroundings of Karail slum:
In my Bangla blog I wrote  [bn] about the background of the eviction:
গত বছর ২০শে সেপ্টেম্বর রাজউক এরকম স্বল্প নোটিসে আরেকটি উচ্ছেদ অভিযান চালায় সেখানে। পুলিশ আর পাড়ার মাস্তানদের দ্বারা ১২০টিরও বেশী পরিবার উচ্ছেদ করা হলেও পরে তারা আবার এসে বাসা করে। গত ২০০৮ সালে প্রথম পিডাব্লিউডি উচ্ছেদের নোটিশ পাঠালে আইন ও শালিস কেন্দ্র পুনর্বাসন ছাড়া  উচ্ছেদ মানবাধিকার লঙ্ঘন এই বলে হাইকোর্টে একটি স্টে অর্ডার নেয়। সেই মামলার বিভিন্ন শুনানীতে পুনর্বাসনের কথা বলা হয় তবে গত জানুয়ারীতে হাইকোর্ট সরকারকে আদেশ দেয় দুই মাসের মধ্যে এই বেদখলকৃত জমি উদ্ধার করতে – তবে সেখানে পুনর্বাসনের কোন কথা বলা হয় নি।
করাইল এলাকার এইসব ভূমিহীন বস্তিবাসীর ৩০ ভাগ দিনমুজুর, ২০% রিক্সা-ভ্যান চালায়, ১৮% গার্মেন্টস কর্মী ও ১২% ছোট ব্যবসা করে। তাদের মাসিক আয় ২৫০০-৪৫০০ টাকা এবং স্থানীয় মান্তানদের ৮০ স্কয়ার ফিটের ঘর ভাড়া দিতে হয়  ৮০০-১২০০ টাকা।
Residents of ‘Karail Slum’ take part at a human chain  to express their demands. Image by  Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (18/2/2012)
Julkarnain questions [bn] the eviction without any plans to rehabilitate these people:
আমাদের মানবিক বিবেচনা কী দিন দিন হারিয়ে যাচ্ছে? নাকি বিবেচনার গলা টিপে রোবোটিক হয়ে উঠছি প্রতিনিয়ত আমরা? এমনিতেই শহরে প্রচুর ভাসমান লোক এখানে সেখানে বসবাস করে। তার সাথে যদি এরা যুক্ত হয় তাহলে শহরের না কোনও সৌন্দর্য বর্ধন হবে না আইন-শৃংখলা পরিস্থিতির কোনও উন্নয়ন সাধন হবে।
The slum dwellers protested forming a human chain and blocking important roads of the capital creating a chaos in the roads. The traffic was suspended in the Gulshan Mohakhali link road on Wednesday for three hours creating long tails in many roads of the capital.
Twitter users also expressed their opinions.
@nhasan89: I think today is a dark day that will go down in history. The people are being pushed to their absolute limit. #karail #freebangladesh
@EEP_shiree: A devastating eviction in Karail slum on April 4 broke nearly 45,000 houses … what can we do for these urban extreme poor people?
@KorviRakshand: At this moment, thousands of people are homeless and without shelter at the Karail Slum near Banani Lake.   http://t.co/LpeAmBnk
Shanty dwellers of Karail Slum take shelter at T&T Colony ground in Gulshan after eviction. Image by Firoz Ahmed (Copyright Demotix 5/4/2012)
@shahanasiddiqui: It's unbelievably dark out – #kaalboishakhi – summer storm. Really worried about the ppl of #karail who are out under the open sky
@mehrabsaurav: Lying in my bed but thinking about the homeless people who were evicted from Karail Slum. I feel helpless, I couldn't be of any help! #Dhaka
@shahanasiddiqui: Hey everyone, @JAAGOFoundation is preparing food for the #karail evictees. help needed with distribution. Pls be there by 12 noon TNT field
@JAAGOFoundation: For the last 36 hours, we have been distributing food to the victims of the Karail Slum Demolition from a small… http://t.co/NarANbkC
Heavy downpour on Friday made the situation worse for the evicted slum dwellers.

author: Rezwan


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Brazilian Music Loses Influential Scholar, Santuza Cambraia Naves · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages, except when otherwise noted.]
A quietly influential voice in the study of Brazilian popular music fell silent on Wednesday, April 4, when Rio de Janeiro-based researcher Santuza Cambraia Naves died unexpectedly at the age of 59.
Brazilian music is its most well-known cultural export, and in the country, popular music is so much a part of daily life and Brazilian being that people almost take it for granted. As Researcher Leonardo Davino wrote:
Portanto, quem tem a autoridade para criticar canção? De todos e de ninguém, aliada à forte penetração no cotidiano, a (linguagem) canção vive e sofre a mercê do gosto de quem lhe comenta, resenha, critica. E nem podemos dizer que, diferente do que acontece com a literatura, haja uma querela entre crítica acadêmica e crítica de periódicos e blogs. Em canção, há uma ensurdecedora ausência de espírito crítico.
Yet in spite of what Davino describes, in recent decades, the academic study of music in contemporary Brazilian history (Bossa Nova [en], Tropicália [en], and MPB – Brazilian Popular Music [en]) has made important strides.
MPB – Photo by Flickr user minusbaby (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Relevant, indispensable references
In her work, Cambraia was interested telling the interwoven stories of these musical movements. She articulated best what “MPB” meant in an important interview with Historia Agora (History Now), in 2007:
Quando surge o conceito de MPB nos anos 1960, criado pela geração pós-Bossa Nova, ou seja: a geração de Chico, do Edu Lobo, e etc. Que foi uma geração muito politizada, surgida dentro de um contexto nacionalista. Criou-se uma idéia de costurar o Brasil através da música. Todo mundo, nesse período estava pensando no projeto do Brasil. Não foi um nacionalismo xenófobo, é muito sofisticado.
Davino cites Cambraia's book Canção popular no Brasil (Popular song in Brazil) about this period after bossa nova
[…] a canção popular tornou-se um espaço crítico em relação ao seu meio de produção, consumo e circulação. (…) Não se trata de uma crítica que se restringe à participação do intelectual na vida pública, como de fato ocorre, mas também de operar com o pensamento crítico no próprio processo criativo, lidando com procedimentos intertextuais e metalinguísticos.
Cambraia provided “indispensable references” like these, beyond her work on individuals like Caetano Veloso and Noel Rosa, said Scholar Luiz Henrique Garcia on his blog Massa Crítica MPB.
This October 2011 lecture on tropicália is “classic Santuza” – she describes the movement as a reaction against the “mainstream” MPB of the time. She goes on to say how today it is almost impossible to find one “mainstream” popular music to react against.
While Cambraia's initial research was about 20 century Brazilian popular music, she was interested in what was popular in Brazil and the flip-side, Brazil's countercultures. She was at ease commenting on hip-hop, electronic, and other emergent forms of music. Her recent lectures on digital music consumption and the impacts of technological change on music production give an idea of ongoing relevance of her work.
Tributes to Santuza
Santuza Cambraia Naves, 19/05/1952 – 04/04/2012. Photo by Rui Britto (used with permission)
Revista de História paid tribute and explained Cambraia's significance in the post Triste Som do Silêncio (The Sad Sound of Silence):
Em diversas oportunidades a autora destacou a importância do método historiográfico para a etnografia com textos e foi uma das pioneiras na reflexão mais profunda e sistemática sobre a MPB.
Students, colleagues, publishers and cultural institutions paid tribute to her on Facebook and Twitter, including musician and ex-Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil who retweeted the sad news.
Musical group Passarela 10 (@passarela10) wrote “a great loss for those who produce and reflect on music.”
Gilberto Porcidonio (@_puppet) said “Another great professor leaves us: Santuza Cambraia Naves. How sad, how sad…”
Judging by the emotive reactions, her character was just as important as her academic production. Most knew her by her first name. As historian Cecília M. (@senhoritaci) put it “People like Santuza should not be allowed to die.”
Ethnomusicologist and Global Voices contributor Debora Baldelli, who studied with Santuza as an undergrad over a decade ago, described her as a long-time academic mentor who was “very caring and enthusiastic, and giving a lot of space.” Baldelli remembers on her blog:
Santuza tinha um modo muito próprio de dar aulas, um tom de voz muito particular também, uma risada e um sorriso contagiante e, claro, um cigarrinho fumado de um jeito muito Santuza, que entrava ali na aula como parte necessária do cenário. […] Ir para a aula da Santuza era como entrar num atmosfera à parte.
Cambraia's gift of “great intelligence, sensibility and generosity, and (…) contagious joie de vivre.“, as blogger António Cicero described her, will be remembered by many.

author: Janet Gunter


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Colombia: Award Winning Journalism Video Making Rounds on the Web · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The award winning video [es] of 2011 that tries to explain why Colombians are poor despite the natural wealth of the nation has strongly made its rounds on the web, getting close to a million views.


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Colombia: “Lend Your Leg” Campaign Raises Awareness about Antipersonnel Mines · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

On April 4, The “International Day for Mine Awareness” took place worldwide as part of the Lend Your Leg campaign. In Colombia, the Fundación Arcángeles [es] (Archangel Foundation) was in charge of directing and facilitating the campaign's activities. As well as other foundations like Mi Sangre [es] (My Blood), or higher education institutions such as SENA [es], that all came together to direct what has since 2011 in Colombia been called “Roll it up, lend your leg.”
People worldwide were invited to roll up a pant leg in honor of the victims of these devices that Wikipedia in Spanish defines as [es]:
“tipo de mina terrestre. Están diseñadas para matar o incapacitar a sus víctimas. Se utilizan para colapsar los servicios médicos enemigos, degradar la moral de sus tropas, y dañar vehículos no blindados. Por ello, se busca sobre todo que hieran gravemente o mutilen, y no tanto que maten, ya que un muerto no causa tantos problemas como un herido. Así, sus efectos más comunes son amputaciones, mutilaciones genitales, lesiones musculares y en órganos internos, quemaduras. Se calcula que hay más de 110 millones de minas repartidas en más de 64 países (la mayoría en África)”.
In Colombia, according to  reports from PAICMA [es] (Presidential Program for Comprehensive Care for Victims of Anti-personnel Mines), between 1990 and the start of 2012 there have been 9704 victims.
April 4. International Day for Mine Awareness. Image by Germán Vitti on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Martha Elena González shared a text [es] on the blog La Ciudad (The City) that circulated on the Internet [es] explaining Lend Your Leg:
Este 4 se abre una gran convocatoria para que las personas de todos los rincones del mundo presten su pierna remangando su pantalón en un acto simbólico contra las minas antipersonales, un problema que todavía representa una amenaza grave y permanente para  distintas poblaciones civiles alrededor del mundo.
Las cifras lo demuestran.  De acuerdo con el ICBL (International Campaign to Ban Landmines) en el Landmine Monitor Report 2011, hubo 4.191 víctimas reportadas en 2010 por accidentes con minas antipersonales y restos de explosivos de la guerra, un 5% más que en el año 2009.  Además, se sabe que las cifras en algunos países muchas veces están incompletas, por lo que se presume que es los números son notablemente mayores.
This 4th there is a call going out to people from all parts of the world to lend their leg by rolling up their pant leg symbolically against antipersonnel mines. These mines are a problem that still represent a grave and permanent danger for many civilian populations around the world.
The numbers show it all. According to the ICBL (International Campaign to Ban Landmines) in the Landmine Monitor Report 2011, there were 4,191 reported victims in 2012 because of antipersonnel mine accidents and remaining explosives from wars, 5% more than in 2009. Moreover, these figures are known to be often incomplete in some countries, thus the numbers are supposedly much higher.
The text continues to explain that initially Remángate (Roll it up) was a Colombian campaign, and then became a global initiative, Lend Your Leg:
La campaña Lend Your Leg, ahora global y la segunda consecutiva en Colombia, y que conmemora el 4 de abril el Día Internacional de la Lucha Contra las Minas Antipersonales, ha sido promovida por el Programa Presidencial para la Erradicación de las Minas Antipersonales, la ONG Arcángeles, la organización civil GTO14, UNICEF, UNDP, UNMAS, OCHA, la Agencia Presidencial para la Acción Social y Cooperación Internacional y la OEA. En 2012 la campaña global cuenta con el soporte de la ONU, el ICBL y distintos países que están trabajando juntos.
On April 4 different opinions were present on Twitter about what this situation means for the world, and especially Colombia, using the hashtags #Remángate [es] (Roll it up) y #Lendyourleg [es]:
Soy Yerbatero (@yerbatero1) [es] wrote:
Quitar una mina cuesta entre 300 y 1.000 Dolares. Sembrarla cuesta entre 1 y 3 dolares. @remangate #remangate
Autoktonus (@autoktonus) [es] reported on some of the countries where the initiative was particularly strong:
Nueva Zelanda+Bélgica+Australia+Indonesia+Panamá Allí se están remangando #Remangate tú también #LendYourLeg
While Óscar Alberto Murcia (@MurciaAlberto) [es] displayed an image with his pant leg rolled up, saying:
Yo también preste mi pierna de apoyo contra las víctimas de las minas quiebra patas #remángate http://yfrog.com/nzn4otbj
Image by Óscar Alberto Murcia, used with permission
On social networks the call was linked to the desire to be able to walk without fear. To that effect, Andrea (@AndreaCorner) [es] wrote:
Exijo! caminar sin miedos ni temores #Remangate
Although there were some who expressed their disagreement with the act of rolling it up, like David Prada (@davidprada) [es]:
Remangarse el pantalón le es tan útil a las víctimas de minas como una foto de aire lo es para alguien q se esta ahogando. #Remangate
Alejandra Alzate (@aleja_alzate) [es] wrote that he was skeptical about the day:
Sinceramente no pensé que tanta gente fuera a demostrar admiración,apoyo y respeto por las victimas de las minas antipersona #REMANGATE #FF
While still others called for coexistence and tolerance. Lau G. Osorio (@Deathlovenight) posted:
Pero ustedes todo lo pelean ¿quieren remangarse? Haganlo. ¿ No quieren remangarse? No lo hagan y dejen de joder. #remángate
On the official global campaign website you can find photos and videos about the event. What is more, the United Nations Mine Action Service invited netizens to post photos of themselves “lending their leg”. @MineAction asked:
Take photos of you “lending your leg” & add them to the #lendyourleg for a #landmine free world @Flickr group! http://goo.gl/BLiyX
In this group you can find a variety of photographic material, while the promotional video of “Remángate” can be found in English and Spanish on the organizer's Youtube account:

author: Cati Restrepo


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Iran: 86-year-old mother of political prisoner write a letter to Regime’s Leader · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to news sites and blogs,86-year-old mother of an Iranian political prisoner and former MP wrote a letter to Ali Khamenei, Islamic Republic's Leader.
Ghasem Sholeh Sadi's mother compare Khamenei to Iran's shah and criticized his policy.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: “We must boycott national internet” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Anidshehnovin says [fa] that we should boycott Iranian government's national internet because using it means being trapped by intelligent services in Iran. National internet will take off in June according Iranian government. Read more here.


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Kuwait: Bedoon Light Candles for Freedom · Global Voices
Mona Kareem

As a protest against discriminatory state policies and arbitrary arrests, the stateless community in Kuwait (Bedoon) decided to light candles in their houses and post pictures of them on Twitter. The idea was suggested by blogger 7anthala Al-Bedoon who thought it would be a message to the authorities that “the struggle is going on and that their peaceful objections will not end until they get their rights”.
On Wednesday 4 April, a flood of pictures went on Twitter as people expressed themselves variously with candles using the hashtag #شمعة_حرية_وأمل meaning “a candle of freedom and hope”.
Here are some of the pictures shared:
Picture posted by @m_mubher has a line by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish: We do what the prisoners and the unemployed do; we grow hope.
Two Bedoon students in Jordan write "Bedoon" (without) using candles (posted by @alenazi90)
Posted by @mohammedalouda
"Group 29", a group of Kuwaiti activists focused on Bedoon rights, took this picture in support (posted by @al29ela)
Three girls holding "Until when will we remain stateless?" (posted by @7MODQ8)
Bedoon woman @mayar114 posted this picture saying "Give me my freedom"
The following two pictures were sent to blogger 7anthala:
Picture of the article concerning equality  in Kuwait's constitution, with candles
"Not allowed to travel" with the campaign's hashtag
This is a video of a candle being lit by the beach, uploaded by user arzag1:
And a video of candles and a sign next to a cellphone playing a video of a Bedoon protest, uploaded by user fal3nze:

author: Mona Kareem


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Malawi: Online Reaction to Mutharika’s Death · Global Voices
Victor Kaonga

Media reports within Malawi and all over the world state that Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika is dead. While there is no official government communication at the time of publishing this, the delay in the announcement has created more belief for the worst [*See updates below].
State Radio Malawi Broadcasting Corporation announced on Thursday evening that Mutharika (reported to have been 78) was taken to South Africa following a cardiac arrest on Thursday morning.
Mutharika has been under heavy local and international pressure to improve political and socio-economic situation for Malawi.
While business went on as usual in Malawi's towns, bloggers and other netizens in social media sites have received the news with mixed feelings.
On Malawi Fuel Watch Facebook group, one netizen wrote:
lol the president is gone and now petrol is being found!
Malawians have been queuing up for hours for fuel since 2010.
While another wrote:
Peter Mutharika [President's brother], let Joyce [Vice President] take over if status quo remains, we need fuel now…
Bingu wa Mutharika at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson released in the Public Domain.
Malawian journalist and blogger Rebekka Chimjeka reported that Bingu’s remains were to return to Malawi soon. She said that Malawi expects Vice President Joyce Banda to address members of the press. She has been updating her blog with news related to Mutharika's death.
Another journalist Kondwani Munthali refuted reports that Mutharika was admitted at Milpark Hospital in South Africa:
Malawi is at crossroads. President Bingu wa Mutharika was never admitted at Milpark Hospital as suggested by Government as it has been found.
All indications, medical, DPP, family and others sources indicate the President sadly passed away yesterday and he is at a funeral home in South Africa.
Medical records from Milpark Hospital indicate 16 people were at the Intensive Care Unit this morning at the Hospital and none of the President.
He prayed for Malawi hoping that the constitution will prevail:
There are reports of some people in the ruling party trying to force Parliament to convene and change the constitution not to allow the Vice President to assume office.
It is the prayer of this blog, that constitutional order will prevail and that the Legacy, Honour and Dignity of the President will be honoured by allowing peace and constitutional order to prevail.
The prophecy by Nigerian TB Joshua in February about death of an African president created fears for Malawi and many believers seemed to have intensified that God intervenes in the situation.
*Update 1: Malawi's Vice-President Joyce Banda has confirmed that President Bingu wa Mutharika has died and declared 10 days of mourning. Under the constitution, Vice-President Joyce Banda takes over. However, government spokesperson says that she cannot succeed Mutharika because she is not a member of the ruling party. She was expelled from the ruling party in 2010 after a dispute with Mutharika's attempt to position his brother as his successor.
Malawi Voices reported that army chiefs have agreed to follow the constitution by supporting Joyce Banda:
The Malawi Defence Played a crucial role, General Odillo chaired a meeting with military chiefs and unanimously agreed follow the constitution. The General Informed Joyce banda, Peter Mutharika and Goodall Gondwe that the army will uphold the constitution anything other than that will not be entertained. Team of soldiers was on stand-by at Kamuzu Barracks and a few others went to guard the Veep's residence. This plus US govt direct pressure on Peter Mutharika deflated “Peter and Goodall's plans”
A group of Cabinet ministers appeared at a news conference on Friday night to declare that Vice-President Joyce Banda cannot succeed President Bingu wa Mutharika.
This is the first time Malawi will bury a sitting president.
*Update 2: Following death of President Bingu wa Mutharika last Thursday, Malawi sworn in Vice President Joyce Banda as its president at the Parliament in Lilongwe on Saturday 7 April, 2012. She becomes the 4th but first Malawi's female president and will serve for the remainder of Mutharika's term to May 2014.
The swearing in ceremony on Saturday puts to rest the apparent power struggle by Mutharika's Democratic Progress Party which kicked Banda out of the ruling party in 2010.
Malawi's first female president Joyce Banda. Photo source: Friends of Joyce Banda Facebook page.
Malawians across the world have rejoiced over the smooth transition amidst fears that Peter Mutharika was to be unconstitutionally endorsed as president.
President Joyce Banda is the second female president in Africa after Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia.

author: Victor Kaonga