text:
Is Senegal’s Government Spokesman Selling Out? · Global Voices
Mamadou Cherif Faye

[All links forward to articles in French unless otherwise stated]
The reputation of famous investigative journalist Abdou Latif Coulibaly as a champion of Senegal's citizen protest movements has taken a serious blow.
Latif Coulibaly has become the target of accusations that this former director of the renowned La Gazette magazine turned minister of good governance and government spokesman has forgotten his journalistic ethics for the benefit of the current administration after he forcefully distanced himself from the citizen protest movements he once praised during a political speech last month.
These movements were paramount to the success of Senegalese democracy in the 2012 presidential elections that saw the defeat of Abdoulaye Wade against his opponent Macky Sall. The Movement of June 23 (M23) and Y’en a Marre (Enough is Enough) campaigns played an important role in sustaining protests against corruption and attempts at electoral fraud.
Latif Coulibaly was a prominent Wade opponent while those protests were underway as well as a flag bearer for good governance in Senegal. He is the author of several books, including “Wade, un opposant au pouvoir: l’alternance piégée” (“Wade, an opponent to power: the trapping of the opposition”), which is often referred to as the eminent condemnation of corruption and nepotism under the Wade regime.
But during a speech he gave in his hometown of Sokone in the southwestern Fatick region of Senegal on January 19, Latif Coulibaly announced that he was joining the ruling political party, The Alliance for the Republic, and attacked the June 23 Movement (M23) and Y’en a Marre  [en] (Enough is Enough) movement:
Je n’ai jamais été membre du M23. Jamais. J’ai combattu des idées sur la base d’un idéal bien avant le 23 juin. Des gens spontanément, à cause de l’évènement important, ont fait un travail remarquable au sein du mouvement du M23. Ils sont venus me trouver sur le champ de bataille. Je me suis lié avec eux dans une alliance. Personne ne peut prouver ma présence dans une réunion du M23.
I have never been a member of the M23. Ever. I have been fighting for ideas from a principled point of view well before June 23 (ed's note: the start of the movement). Thanks to that important milestone, many people spontaneously got together and achieved a great deal within the M23 movement. We all came together on the battlefield. I forged an alliance with them in that context. But no one can prove that I attended any meeting of the M23.
Photo of Y'en a Marre movement. Used with permission.
This rejection of these movements did not sit well with a large number of political activists.
Facebook comments were not kind to the famous investigative journalist who used to denounce many political misdeeds during the Wade regime. Some accused him of happily sharing a governmental seat with people that he himself has listed as guilty of financial wrongdoings and misappropriation of public funds.
One such reaction was a rant posted by Françoise Hélène Gaye on the Facebook page “Réhabilitons notre Sénégal” (Bring Back our Senegal):
Le Sénégal est malade de ses “intellectuels” nous nous en sortirons le jour ou nous auront des concitoyens qui descendent en politique pour SERVIR et non POUR SE SERVIR. Triste scenario, triste argumentaire, je suis quand même déçue que vous soyez finalement comme tous les autres M. Coulibaly, votre silence depuis l'élection de Macky Sall [..] Il y a tellement de choses à dire à M. le président ! Il y a tant de mauvais signes précurseurs et vous décidez de vous taire ? Êtes-vous déjà fatigué ? Je demeure convaincue que vous faites erreur M. Coulibaly avec toute l'admiration et le respect que je vous dois, et surtout ne crachez pas sur la soupe. Le M23, c'est l'ensemble du peuple sénégalais en réalité pas une poignée d'individus.
Senegal is ill from its “intellectuals” shortcomings, we will finally have turned the corner when we will have citizens that go into politics to SERVE and not to HELP THEMSELVES. This is a sad state affairs and a sad conversation, I am however distressed that you Mr. Coulibaly are just like all others, [..] There are so many things to say to the President. There are plenty of warning signs and you decide to keep quiet? Are you already tired? I am convinced that you are making a mistake Mr. Coulibaly, with all the admiration and respect I have for you, you should not have spit in the face of the movements that carried you. M23, is really about all the Senegalese population and not a handful of individuals.
Françoise Hélène Gaye's criticism sparked more than 150 comments on the Facebook page between January 21 and 22. Fabienne Diop observed:
L’alternance piégée fut un chef d’œuvre mais je ne m’attendais pas à ce qu’il vienne à son tour, lui Latif, piéger notre nouvelle alternance
Ibrahima Badiane appeared to be more bitter about the situation. He wrote that Latif Coulibaly is not a man of conviction, noting that 2017, the year of the next presidential election in Senegal, is just around the corner:
Latif geumoul dara (pour dire en Wolof, il ne croit en rien). Tout ce qu’il faisait, c’était juste se construire un nom auprès des Sénégalais et se victimiser… Mais on a tout compris,
Latif geumoul dara (in Wolof, meaning he believes in nothing). Everything he did was just to build a name for himself with the Senegalese people and portay himself as a martyr … But we all know it now.
Senegalese Internet users on the Facebook page also criticized Latif Coulibaly for having joined President Macky Sall's political party, Alliance for the Republic, saying he had turned his back “on the people's cause”, a cause that he always defended and supported during the Wade regime.
Meanwhile, a few voices came to the defense of the spokesman. For instance, Ousseynou Diakhaté wrote on Facebook:
Gueumoul dara (il n’a aucune conviction) parce qu’il est dans le Gouvernement, puis a choisi son camp politique ? Un larbin parce qu’il est porte-parole du Gouvernement ? Franchement Sénégal métina (il est dure de vivre au Sénégal)… Cela me fait penser à la chanson de Youssou Ndour, Woomat (Conduite) ».
So he has no conviction (Gueumoul dara in Wolof) because he is in the government, and he chose a political side? So he is just a servant because he is the spokesperson for the Government? Frankly the Senegalese people are a tough crowd (Senegal Metina in Wolof)… This makes me think of a Youssou Ndour song, Woomat (You drive).

author: Mamadou Cherif Faye


text:
Listening to Colours · Global Voices
Vilaweb

This article was originally published on the Catalan digital newspaper  Vilaweb and is part of the collaboration agreement set up with Global Voices.
In the last edition of the independent Sundance Film Festival which took place from the 17 to the 27 of January in the mountains outside Utah, Catalan filmmaker Rafel Duran received an unexpected surprise when he discovered his documentary had won the Focus Forward Filmmaker Competition. ‘Cyborg Foundation‘ tells the story of Neil Harbisson, one of the foundation’s first members who is also officially recognized as the first cyborg by the British government. Harbisson was born with a visual condition known as achromatopsia, making it impossible for him to distinguish colours apart from black and white. This visual artist and composer invented the Eyeborg together with the help of an electronic engineer. The eyeborg is similar to an antenna and helps to receive the frequencies that the colours emit and transform them into audible impulses that he receives through the bones in his ears.
Mariana Viada and Neil Harbisson from the Cyborg Foundation.
A second surprise is the fact that Neil is one third cyborg, a third Irish/British and a third Catalan. He has lived in Mataró for many years and in 2010 set up the Cyborg Foundation there. It now has a new home in Barcelona and is the first foundation promoting the use cybernetic devices and technology to enhance our senses. Here we talk with Neil Harbisson, who has spoken at prestigious events like TED (video) and also with Mariana Viada, also from the foundation.
· Video [ca] snippet of the interview.
· Listen to the programme in mp3 [ca].
· Or also from some local radios and online [ca].
· You can download the the Internauta podcast from VilaWeb or iTunes [ca].
The Internauta [ca] is broadcast on VilaWeb every Friday afternoon.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Vilaweb


text:
North Korea Conducts 3rd Nuclear Test · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

North Korea conducted its third-ever nuclear test on Feb 12, 2013, sparking condemnation internationally. Check out this Storify link for more details. (Another Global Voices post will be published soon)

author: Lee Yoo Eun


text:
Spain: €8.1 Million Bail for the King’s Son-in-law · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

The wedding of the Infanta Cristina and athlete Iñaki Urdangarín was very much like a fairytale. Many Spaniards sympathized with this man, the masculine version of Cinderella, who had fallen in love with a princess enamored by his goals with the Olympic handball team.
Iñaki Urdangarín during his time as an Olympic handball player.
Years later, the handsome athlete who captured the princess only sees his name in the press related to scandals and corruption [es]. Iñaki Urdangarín, Duke of Palma, accused of embezzlement of public funds, fraud, breach of trust/corruption and forgery of documents since 2012, has been in and out of the courts with less than enviable frequency. Recently a warrant for Urdangarín was issued in relation to misappropriation of public funds. The judge has placed a bail of 8.1 million euros for the two suspects, Urdangarín and his old business partner, Diego Torres.
The crimes that he is accused of go back to 2004, the year in which Urdangarín became the president of the «Instituto Nóos de Estudios Estratégicos de Patrocinio y Mecenazgo» (Institute Nóos of Strategic Studies for Patronage and Sponsorship). According to its now defunct website [es], the supposed organization was nonprofit:
(…) es una asociación científica que tiene como misión promover la investigación sobre la gestión de actividades de mecenazgo, responsabilidad social y patrocinio.
(…) it is a scientific association whose mission is to promote research about the management of sponsorship activities, social responsibility and patronage.
However, the judge affirms in a 542 page thorough judicial decree [es] that there is clear evidence that in fact:
El Sr. Urdangarín, aprovechándose de su condición de miembro de la casa Real española, contactó con diferentes personalidades políticas (…) para, después de proponer sus “proyectos”, conseguir que los mismos fueran aprobados (…) intentar dar una cobertura de aparente legalidad a una ilegalidad manifiesta que era la adjudicación directa y (…) conceder al Sr. Urdangarín todas sus peticiones, las cuales NO respondían a ningún interés o necesidad pública, sino sólo al interés del Sr. Urdangarín (…)
(…) [Urdangarín y Torres] pudieran haber cometido varios delitos de malversación, prevaricación, falsedad, fraude fiscal, blanqueo de capitales, tráfico de influencias, etc… (…)
(…) todo es una auténtica trama urdida por los imputados, para desviar fondos públicos en su beneficio (…)
Mr. Urdangarín, taking advantage of his status as a member of the royal Spanish family, contacted various political figures (…) in order to, after proposing his “projects,” assure that they would be approved (…) trying to give seemingly legal coverage to the evident illegality of directly adjudicating and (…) granting every one of Mr. Urdangarín's requests, which did NOT correspond to any public necessity or interest, but only to the interests of Mr. Urdangarín. (…)
(…) [Urdangarín and Torres] may have committed various crimes of embezzlement, corruption, forgery, tax fraud, money laundering, influence peddling, etc… (…)
(…) All this is an authentic plot hatched by the accused, to divert public funds to their benefit. (…)
The complicated plot, which has needed several years of investigation, came to light during the investigation of another corruption scandal, the Palma Arena case [es]. The news site 20minutos.es has created a chronology of the Nóos case [es]. The issue comes from as far as can be deduced by this articule from El Siglo [es], dated May 2006, where there was already talk of concern in the royal family for Urdangarín's unclear business dealings.
Despite the fact that Princess Cristina took part as a member of Instituto Nóos’ governing board, she has never been charged. However, Ana María Tejeiro, wife of Diego Torres was charged though she did not play a role in the management of the institute. This affront [es] infuriated Diego Torres, who has jeopardized the monarchy through various public emails that implicate many people close to the royal family.
«Iñaki Urdangarín already has his throne ready». Photo courtesy of «Princess Cristina should be charged just like Iñaki Urdangarín» on Facebook.
Among those implicated is the personal secretary of the royal children, Carlos García Revenga, who was treasurer of Nóos and was also officially charged by the judge. Although the secretary affirms [es] that he never had «decision power in the management of [Nóos accounts] or accounting», emails sent to him by the Duke of Palma seem to prove that he consulted with García Revenga about received proposals. The fact that Urdangarín signed some of these messages as “El duque em…Palma…do» attests to the shared trust between the two men.
With the indictment of García Revenga, the board of directors at Instituto Nóos is suspected in this case except for the king's daughter. This fact, that has not gone unnoticed, has been another blow to the terrible state of the monarchy, that is in its worst moment since its reinstatement in 1975.
Comments made by Mª Antonia [es] on 20minutos.es [es] in reference to the king's words during his Christmas message demonstrate the damaged state of the monarchy:
Ya vemos que la justicia es igual para todos, verdad, su majestad? #ReferendumYa!
We now see that justice is equal for everyone, right, your majesty? #ReferendumNow!
The perception that Princess Cristina is protected by her family has settled in the minds of Spaniards, whose confidence in the crown has been decreasing in recent years. Davesanders [es] commented in 2011 in an article on público.es [es]:
Anti-monarchy protest in Mallorca. Photo courtesy of the blog «Aqui Tailândia».
Por favor, que estamos en el siglo XXI, los reyes, elfos, unicornios y demás seres mitológicos están bien para el cine pero para nada mas. Esta institución es un insulto para la inteligencia (…) SUPEREMOS DE UNA VEZ LA EDAD MEDIA !!!!!
Please, we are in the 21st century, kings, elves, unicorns and all other mythological creatures are fine for the movies but for nothing more. This institution is an insult to intelligence (…) FOR ONCE LET'S OVERCOME THE MIDDLE AGES !!!!!
This growing detachment towards the monarchy has been accentuated by the lukewarm reaction of the royal family to these facts. Until now, the royal family has merely withdrawn Urdangarín from their official website. Moreover, in a press release [es], the royal house reports that “no decision will be taken in the realm of responsibility without first hearing and appreciating Don Carlos García Revenga's statement before the Hon. Lord Magistrate on February 23.”
joseluis47 [es] commented on this news on publico.es [es]:
¿Y asi la Casa Real pretende dar imagen de transparencia y buenas practicas? ¿asi piensa recuperar la poca imagen que le queda? ¿no tiene bastantes indicios de las actuaciones del secretario? La mujer del Cesar, ademas de ser honrada. tiene que parecerlo, y no dejar ninguna duda
And this is how the Royal Family tries to provide an image of transparency and good practices? This is how they think they can recover the little image that remains? isn't there enough evidence of the secretary's conduct? Cesar's wife, besides being honors. must seem so, without leaving any doubt.
On Twitter many doubt that we will ever see a true end to this sad story:
@kurioso: En junio prescriben los delitos contra la Hacienda pública de Urdangarín….¿Adivináis la prisa que se van a dar en formalizar acusaciones?
@kurioso: In June the statute of limitations of Urdangarín's crimes against public finance runs out….Can you guess the rush that will be given to formalizing the charges?
@SuperFalete: Ya no está Urdangarín en las fotos. Ahora vendrán los Men in Black a borrarnos la memoria y a otra cosa.
@SuperFalete: Urdangarín is no longer in photos. Now the Men in Black will come to erase our memories and to the next thing.

author: Lourdes Sada


text:
Video of Brutal Beating of Women Shocks Angola · Global Voices
Vania Negrao

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages.]
On February 7, 2013, Angola awoke to screams of pain and the sound of two women customers of a store being whipped. In just three days the 13-minute video that showed two women being brutally beaten and had more than 25,000 views on YouTube, was aired on state television. It shocked the Angolan community.
Accused of stealing soap and champagne bottles, the women were severely punished and sexually humiliated by several men, including the owner of the store. They later told reporters their ordeal lasted hours.
The aggressors used machetes, nightsticks and hoses to torture the women, in a scene reminiscent of the days of slavery. In a country where the Internet still plays a limited role, it was transformed in this instance into an instrument of greater oversight and allowed the country to see firsthand the meaning of the term “private justice”. The internet, a symbol of emancipation, only now in Angola takes its first steps as a watchdog in service of the people, as journalist Reginaldo Silva explains on Facebook:
Acho que a partir de hoje as redes sociais ganharam um outro estatuto junto de quem manda neste país, com as minhas atenções voltadas para o poder judicial…É importante que os poderes estabelecidos passem a encarar de outra forma a informação que se produz aqui…
I think from today on, social networks earned a new status for those who run this country, with my attention now turned on the judiciary… It is important that the established powers start to face the information that is produced here in a different way…
Warning: graphic images. Video shared by ClubKnet on Youtube.
There were a number of voices raised against the video and expressing their grief and repudiation of the disseminated footage, such as the Prosecutor General Paulo Tchipilica, and the Governor of Luanda, Bento Bento. However in a statement the Radio Eclésia commentator and President of [opposition party] Bloco Democrático, Justino Pinto de Andrade, believes that it is impossible to believe these members of government:
Todos os dias há violência gratuita e bárbara contra cidadãos, como se não tivessem direitos, os mais elementares direitos. Agora, fruto da exposição a que as referidas imagens tiveram direito, ouvimos manifestações de repúdio por parte do Procurador de Justiça, Paulo Tchipilica, e até mesmo por parte do Governador de Luanda, Bento Bento. A questão que eu coloco é a seguinte: dá para acreditar na manifestar de “pesar” exibida por estes dois responsáveis, quando nunca se ouve a sua voz de protesto, quando se agridem pessoas na rua, se molestam os manifestantes de forma bárbara
Every day there is gratuitous and barbarous violence against citizens, as though they had no rights, the most fundamental rights. Now, fruit of the exposure this footage enjoyed, we hear manifestations of repudiation by the Prosecutor General, Paulo Tchipilica, and even by the Governor of Luanda, Bento Bento. The question that I pose is the following: is it possible to believe in the manifest “grief” shown by these two men in charge, when their voice of protest is never heard, when people are attacked on the street, when protesters are assailed in barbarous ways
The Group of Parliamentary women also condemned the scenes of violence against the two women.  In a communiqué to Lusa news agency, MPLA MP, and former Minister of the Family and Promotion of Women, Candida Celeste Silva said that:
O Grupo das Mulheres Parlamentares felicita os cidadãos que denunciaram o crime, considerando-o um atentado aos Direitos Humanos
The Group of Parliamentary women congratulates the citizens who reported the crime, considering it an attack on Human Rights
However journalist and ex-BBC correspondent Reginaldo Silva, believes that most women should watch the footage again:
Todas as senhoras que hoje ouvi a condenarem a cena de violência contra as duas mulheres, parecem ter ignorado que a mesma foi testemunhada no local por pelo menos três mulheres conforme as imagens comprovam facilmente. É um pormenor que faz alguma diferença e que não pode ser ignorado na hora de se fazer justiça…
All the women who I heard from today condemning the scene of violence against the two women seem to have ignored that the scenes were witnessed on the spot by at least three women, as the footage itself easily proves. It is a detail that makes some difference and should not be ignored when justice is to be done…
The stolen bottle, Moet Chandon, which costs just 28€, is now associated on social networks with the scenes of aggression, as can be seen on an image shared by Master Ngola Nvunji on Facebook.
Warning: graphic images. Video shared by ClubKnet on Youtube.
Since last year, cases of violence exposed on the internet have made Angola tremble. Earlier this year, images of a prisoner being beaten were disseminated.
The blog Círculo Angolano Intelectual (Angolan Intellectual Circuit) also cautions that this video is a portrait of Angolan society and where it is headed.
Temos que repensar o tipo de País e sociedade, que queremos deixar aos nossos filhos e as gerações vindouras, e nesse aspecto temos todos que reagir e ninguém pode ficar indiferente,porque infelizmente casos como este é o nosso dia dia… a criminalidade é fruto da pobreza , miséria ,desemprego,politicas sociais injustas, a própria polícia com baixos salários mais preocupada com a gasosa para a sua sobrevivência do que a defesa do cidadão e do bem comum.
We have to rethink the type of country and society that we want to leave for our children and future generations, and in this way we all have to react and nobody can remain indifferent, because unfortunately cases like this are everyday for us… criminality is the fruit of poverty, misery, unemployment, unjust social policies, even the police themselves with low salaries are more worried about gasosa [a way of referring to bribes] for their survival than for the defense of the citizen and the common good.
Angolan state TV reported that the Prosecutor General of the Republic and the National Police have already detained the suspects in the beating case. The Prosecutor also recognized the fundamental role of the dissemination of the video in social networks.

author: Vania Negrao


text:
When Uncle Matt Went to Albania · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Matthew Pointon of Uncle Travelling Matt shares this detailed, six-part account and photos of his travel in Albania in 1996 and 1999:
[…] The Land of the Eagle is little known even in Europe and that’s a shame since it has some incredible scenery, friendly people and fascinating history. […]

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Sina Weibo Blocks Chinese Premier’s Name · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Sina Weibo's note saying that according existing regulation, the words could not be published. Screen Shot image
The trial of “Sina Weibo’s Community Administrative Rules” has blocked China Premier's name Wen Jiabao from appearing in Weibo.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
Latin America: Pope Resigns – Hope, Humour and Speculation Follow · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Photo from Flickr user lyonora, used under Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC 2.0).
The announcement of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI from the papal throne, or, more specifically, the Supreme Pontificate of the Catholic Church, took the world by surprise on Monday, February 11, 2013. The resignation becomes effective on February 28. The period following that date is known as a sede vacante or papal interregnum, lasting until the conclave of cardinals chooses a new Pope.
Marianistas.org's blog reports that Benedict is the first pope to resign since Celestine V in 1294 and provides more background here [es]. It then shares [es] a few details about the formalities surrounding the resignation and the upcoming conclave:
- El actual Código de Derecho Canónico, promulgado por la autoridad de Juan Pablo II en 1983, en el capítulo “Del Romano Pontífice y del Colegio Episcopal” (Parte II, Sección I), canon 332, párrafo 2: “Si el Romano Pontífice renunciase a su oficio, se requiere para la validez que la renuncia sea libre y se manifieste formalmente, pero no que sea aceptada por nadie.”
- De acuerdo con las declaraciones realizadas por el P. Lombardi, Benedicto XVI no tomará parte en el próximo cónclave, desplazará su residencia a Castelgandolfo hasta que llegue el día de la renuncia, el cónclave se celebrará en marzo, los ángelus y audiencias se sucederán de la forma habitual pudiendo ser momentos de expresión de afecto al Papa. También dijo que el Papa irá a vivir a un monasterio de clausura que se encuentra en el interior del Vaticano y que actualmente está en reformas.
- De acuerdo con la normativa que rige el cónclave, este debe ser convocado cuando entre los 15 y 20 días después de que quede la sede vacante. Esto en el caso de la muerte del Papa. No se explícita si debe ser igual en el caso de renuncia. He aquí la normativa para el gobierno de la Iglesia en periodo vacante.
-The current Code of Canon Law, enacted under John Paul II in 1983, in the chapter “The Roman Pontiff and the College of Bishops” (Part II, Section I), canon 332, paragraph 2: “If it happens that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone.”
-According to statements made by Fr. Federico Lombardi, Benedict XVI will not take part in the first conclave; he will move to Castel Gandolfo at the time of his resignation; the conclave will take place in March; his Angelus addresses and audiences will go on as usual, and people will come to show their affection for the Pope. He also said that the Pope will move to a cloistered monastery within the Vatican that is currently being renovated.
-According to the rules governing the conclave, it must be called within fifteen to twenty days after the seat is left empty—this is the case when a Pope dies. They do not explicitly state whether the same rules stand in the case of a resignation. Here are the rules for government of the Church during a vacancy [es].
The blog Tan antigua y tan nueva also posted a brief analysis [es] of the papacy of Benedict XVI:
Le ha tocado un papado expuesto a toda la sociedad mediática mundial, a un hombre tan poco dado a la escena. Puso a un hombre fuerte: el cardenal Bertone, al que han atacado hasta la saciedad con todos los medios en contra hombres de la misma iglesia, como la patética figura de Viganó, que al final se han salido con la suya dando la imagen de una miseria interior en la iglesia. […] La renuncia del Papa es el triunfo de los enemigos. No vamos a juzgar al Papa. También será que el Papa no ha querido que vuelva a repetirse la penosísima imagen de Juan Pablo II en su último período.
He had a papacy that was open to the international media culture, for a man not used to the spotlight. He appointed a strong man: Cardinal Bertone, who has been endlessly attacked by all possible means from within the church, like the pathetic Viganó, who has ultimately gotten away with depicting an image of the church in distress… The resignation of the Pope is a triumph for his enemies. We are not going to judge the Pope. It could also be that the Pope does not want to recall the excruciating appearance of John Paul II in his last term.
Besides the clerical establishment, bloggers, Catholic or not, have also been expressing their views on the situation. For example, Ginés J. Parra writes [es] on the blog Cosas Mías about his hopes for the new Pope:
cada vez que hay la posibilidad de la elección de un nuevo Papa se abre una puerta a la esperanza de que el elegido sea un hombre progresista con apertura a todas las sensibilidades de la Iglesia y que se pueda ver una Iglesia Cercana la realidad social a la evolución continua de nuestro mundo y a la realidad actual de todos los cristianos. Y que sea realmente una Iglesia de y para los Pobres y excluidos de esta sociedad Que sea una Iglesia de aires nuevos, de apertura, que permita la libertad de Expresión que condene y corte de raíz los escándalos como de la Pederastia o sus relaciones con la Banca en estos momentos de crisis.
Whenever there is the possibility of a new Pope it opens a door to the hope that they will elect a progressive man who is open to all the voices of the Church and that a Church in the near Future might see the social reality of the ongoing progress of our world and of the current reality of all Christians. And that it will truly be a Church of and for those who are Poor and excluded from this society That it will be a Church of fresh air, of openness, that allows the freedom of Expression that condemns and shuts down scandals like Pedophilia or its relationship with the Banks in these moments of crisis.
Ángel Martín Tax writes [es] on the blog Noticias La Esfinge that he admires the decision:
Esto es una gran moraleja. Si uno ya no puede, pues que mejor entregar el puesto para que otro lo pueda hacer con mucha energía y fuerzas.
This is an important moral. If one is unable, it is better to give up the post so that someone else can do it with energy and strength.
But there are also those who have not given up on speculation and conspiracy theories, like perlita_rosita/NAYADE who commented [es] on her blog Desde el fondo de un espíritu libre:
Creo que este hombre no ha abdicado por gusto, a pesar de cuantas excusas se hayan inventado y hagan decir al mismo papa,para que la gente no sospeche. Mi espíritu desconfiado me avisa de que hay conspiración o bien aquí hay gato encerrado.
I don't think this man abdicated by choice, despite all the excuses that they have made up and the Pope has said himself,so people don't suspect anything. My suspicious mind tells me that there is a conspiracy or something fishy going on here.
A variety of voices on an international level reacted swiftly [es] and soon the topic was trending [es] on Twitter, in different languages and with various hashtags. In Spanish, some of the most popular hashtags were #elpapadimite, Benedicto XVI and even the more humorous #NombresParaPapa in Colombia, #sielpapafueraperuano in Peru and #RenuncioComoElPapa in Mexico.
Among the thousands of published tweets, some of the most popular ones included this sarcastic tweet [es] from the band @Calle13Oficial, which not everyone appreciated, as happened with Gladys Godines (@gladygodines):
@gladysgodines Qué chiste para más estúpido. RT @Calle13Oficial El Papa se divorcia de la Iglesia, pero se queda con la custodia de los niños..
@gladysgodines What a stupid joke. RT @Calle13Oficial The Pope is divorcing the Church, but it's getting custody of the kids..
From Peru, user Pedro Valle (@pedrovalleo) stressed that this is one of the greatest scandals of the current Catholic Church:
@PedroValleO El calvario de Benedicto XVI: en últimos tres años, 1.800 denuncias de casos pederastia llegaron al Vaticano #RenunciadelPapa @ELTIEMPO
@PedroValleO Benedicto XVI's plight: in the last three years, 1800 reported cases of pedophilia reached the Vatican #RenunciadelPapa @ELTIEMPO
The magazine Dedo Medio [Middle Finger] (@Dedomedio) made this point and linked to an explanatory article:
@Dedomedio Ratzinger perseguía pederastas mientras Wojtyla los encubría. Sí, le tienes bronca al papa equivocado. http://fb.me/2KnVxwdPR
@Dedomedio Ratzinger hunted down pedophiles while Wojtyla covered for them. Yes, you're mad at the wrong pope. http://fb.me/2KnVxwdPR
In Argentina, user Marcelo Parrilli (@parrillimarcelo) made a political comparison:
@parrillimarcelo Como cuadro político impecable Benedicto XVI, no da más y se va. Acá, en cambio, jamás se va alguien voluntariamente de un cargo.
@parrillimarcelo As a flawless political leader, Benedicto XVI can't give more and he's leaving. Here, on the flip side, no one ever voluntarily leaves a job.
From Colombia, Diego Camargo (@elDiegoCamargo) made another comparison, but to Venezuela:
@elDiegoCamargo Que el Papa renuncie y Chavez no, demuestra que en América Latina tenemos mejores condiciones laborales que en Europa…
@elDiegoCamargo The fact that the Pope is resigning and Chavez is not demonstrates that in Latin America we have better working conditions than in Europe…
And from Mexico, RoEl FuEnTes (@DRAKERS56) also responded from a local perspective:
@DRAKERS46 Rayo golpeó Basílica de San Pedro el día que renunció Benedicto XVI y en México exploto Pemex y sige [sic] EPN http://rbb.cl/4e5h  @beto230
@DRAKERS46 Lightning struck St. Peter's Basilica the day that Benedict XVI resigned and in Mexico Pemex exploded and Enrique Peña Nieto carries on http://rbb.cl/4e5h  @beto230
More tweets on the subject can be found here [es] on Melty.es (relating it to the Spanish crisis), here on Huffington Post [es], and on Storify from Diario Libre, Antena 3 Noticias,La Nación, El Colombiano, TeleSur TV, El Universo, 20m, El Tiempo, El Informador, and AristeguiOnLine [all es], among others.
Finally, some thoughts [es] from the blog OEHD:
ser Papa a estas alturas del mundo, es un acto de heroísmo (de esos que se hacen a diario en mi país y nadie nota). Recuerdo sin duda, las historias del primer Papa. Un tal.. Pedro. ¿Cómo murió? Si, en una cruz, crucificado igual que a su maestro, pero de cabeza.

Hoy en día, Ratzinger se despide igual. Crucificado por los medios de comunicación, crucificado por la opinión pública y crucificado por sus mismos hermanos católicos […]
Vivo en un mundo donde es chistoso burlarse del Papa, pero pecado mortal burlarse de un homosexual (y además ser tachado de paso como mocho, intolerante, fascista, derechista y nazi). Vivo en un mundo donde la hipocresía alimenta las almas de todos nosotros. Donde podemos juzgar a un tipo de 85 años que quiere lo mejor para la Institución que representa, pero le damos con todo porque “¿con qué derecho renuncia?”. Claro, porque en el mundo NADIE renuncia a nada.
[…] Benedicto XVI, muchas gracias por renunciar.
To be Pope at this point in time is an act of heroism (the kind that happens daily in my country and no one notices). I definitely remember the stories of the first Pope. One… Peter. How did he die? Yes, on a cross, crucified in the same way as his teacher, but through the head. Today, Ratzinger is similarly dismissed. Crucified by the media, crucified by public opinion and crucified by his own Catholic brothers…
I live in a world where it is funny to mock the Pope, but a mortal sin to mock a homosexual (and one is also labeled reactionary, intolerant, fascist, right-wing and a Nazi). I live in a world where hypocrisy feeds all our souls. Where we can judge an 85 year old man who wants the best from the Institution that he represents, but we ask “What right does he have to resign?” Of course, since NO ONE in the world resigns from anything.
… Benedict XVI, thank you very much for resigning.

author: Juan Arellano


text:
North Korea’s Nuclear Test Old Hat for South Koreans  · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

North Korea confirmed on February 12 that it had conducted its third nuclear test, drawing condemnation from the international community and escalating the already heightened tension in East Asia.
The blast, which is the first nuclear test under the leadership of Kim Jong-un, was estimated to be about half as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb, but with more explosive power than the country's previous two tests.
For some South Koreans, living in the shadow of their now three-time nuclear neighbor to the north, the news was cause for anger and alarm. For others, such as @capcold on Twitter, it meant that another tired cycle of negotiations, diplomatic talks, and economic sanctions was set to begin.
Soldiers from the Korean People's Army look south while on duty in the Joint Security Area. Photo by U.S. Army.
@capcold: 북한에서 진도 5.1 인공지진 감지[…]다시 무력시위에 나선 깡패국가를 상대로 골치아픈 외교국면에 돌입.
Unsurprisingly, many South Korean net users took a hawkish stance, with some blaming previous administrations for employing the dovish, Sunshine policy toward the North Korea.
@yoonjujin: 북한의 핵은 체제 방어용이든 협상용이든, 그게 중요한게 아닙니다. 핵이 대한민국을 겨냥하고 있으며, 안보를 위협하고 있다는 것이 중요한 것입니다. 그걸 애써 외면하면서, 김정은에게 잘해주면 핵을 포기할 것 같이 말하는 것은 심각한 왜곡이자 교란입니다.
@freedomnorth: 김씨 왕조가 자기들이 파묻힐 구덩이를 확실하게 파고 있습니다. 인민들은 당장 먹고 살아야 하는데 핵실험을 강행하다니, 이런 자들에게 식량과 현금을 묻지마 퍼준 대가입니다. 북한을 도와주지 않아서 인민이 어려운 것이 아니라 저래서 안되는 것입니다.
The current administration, which has taken a tough stance on North Korea, also came under fire. Several hours after North Korea launched its nuclear test, news broke that South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was awarded the highest government honor despite numerous allegations of corruption being made against members of his inner circle.
@nabiwahighill: 북한이 핵폭탄실험 준비하는 시간에, 퇴임앞둔 MB 스스로 자신의 공적을치하해 훈장수여를 의결하고, 최시중 천신일 박희태 측근, 친인척과 사주까지 풀어주고,집권 5년간 대한민국을 위해 한게없다.
As time passed, commentary on Twitter toned down. @drpyo expressed concerns over extreme right-wing groups taking advantage of the situation to persecute liberals and the government's critics.
@drpyo:북한 핵실험 빙자해 50~60년대 식 ‘빨갱이 때려잡자’ 선동하며 사회혼란 야기하는 자, 국익 저해하고 북한 이롭게 하는 자들입니다. 겉으론 보수, 애국, 반공 부르짖을 지 몰라도 그 결과와 효과는 북한 의도에 부응하는 것이며 북한 이롭게 합니다.
However, a significant number of South Koreans, so accustomed to news of North Korea's nuclear ambitions, were eerily indifferent; while North Korea's nuclear test dominated international headlines, in South Korea a cosmetic company's half-price promotion deal ranked above [ko] the North Korea's nuclear test in a list of the most searched words of the largest web portal. The tension between the two Koreas is nothing new, stretching for more than 60 years since the Korean war ended in a truce.
@judefri: 북한 핵실험: 역시 선택과 집중에 탁월한 국가.문제는 당장 내일 그걸 쏘겠다고 해도내일 출근해서 점심에 뭐 먹을지 고민할 사람이 더 많다는 거겠지.북핵보다 무서운 게 매너리즘이란 말도 있잖아.
For a more complete history of North Korea's nuclear program, take a look at this interactive timeline from The New York Times.


text:
Celebrating World Radio Day in Peru · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Peruvian website Servicios en Comunicación Intercultural (Servindi) proposes 15 ideas [es] to celebrate World Radio Day, marked on February 13, since 2011, and notes:
This is a day to celebrate the radio as means of communication, to improve international cooperation between braodcasting organizations, to encourage major networks and community radio stations for them to promote access to information and freedom of speech through the waves.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


text:
Politics Rings Loudly in Chinese Academia · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Digital Times has translated a list of focus areas for 2013 research proposals [zh] of the China’s National Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science. It shows how tight academic research is connected with politics.


text:
Saudi Women Protesters Arrested for “Impairing Development” · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

Last Saturday, February 9, 2013 a small protest was organized in front of the building of Human Rights Commission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by a group of women and children, including the wife, daughter and granddaughter of Suliman al-Rushoodi, the detained chairman of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association.
al-Rushoodi's wife, @omamar1, uploaded live videos from the site which were combined in the following video:
Fifteen police cars surrounded the few women and children and a policeman tried to confiscate the banners that they had. When he failed and the women started to shout “the people want to free the prisoners,” a few cars stopped. A policeman told the drivers: “Do not stop!” Another told the women: “Shame on you!” All women and children were arrested and a blood sample was taken from them. According to al-Rushoodi's wife [ar]:
سأل هل قبض عليك من قبل قلت لست مجرمة حتى اعتقل قال من قال لك انك مجرمة قلت اجل لما التبصيم بالعشرة وسحب الدم الDNA هذا لا يعمل الا للمجرمين
@omamar1: [The interrogator] asked: Have you been arrested before? I told him: I am not a criminal to be arrested. He said: Who told you that you were a criminal? I told him: So why did you take my fingerprints and blood sample for DNA? This is only to be done for criminals.
Moreover, she reported verbal abuse:
وقالت ياحيونة ويا (ق..)لا استطيع قولهاقليلة الادب…
@omamar1: [The female prison guard] said: You animals, you bit**. I cannot say the vulgar word…
Furthermore, they were not provided food for over 9 hours. Amnesty International reported:
The women and children were apparently not provided with food until around midnight after the women had pleaded with officials on behalf of their children.
The women who were arrested for the first time as well as the children were allowed to leave that evening, but three women remained under detainment for their participation in previous protests and sit-ins: Hanan al-‘Amereeni, Hameeda al-Ghamidi, and al-Rushoodi's daughter, Bahia al-Rushoodi.
Earlier today, they were brought in front of a secret court, where only one lawyer was allowed in and two family members for each of the three detainees. The charges included impairing development, inciting public opinion and blocking three main roads. Abdulaziz al-Hussan, one of the lawyers denied entry, tweeted:
خرجت من المحكمة الجزائية للتو بعد رفض القاضي دخولنا كمحامين مع عاصم المشعلي لقضية معتقلات الرياض وقمة المهزلة كذلك إدخال الجنود لقاعةالمحكمة
@AHussan: I just got out of the Criminal Court after the judge had refused to let us in as lawyers besides Asim al-Masha'li for the Riyadh female prisoners. The most absurd thing was the fact that they let soldiers into the courtroom.
Anonymous activism group, @e3teqal reported:
القاضي مرتبك و عدد العسكر في مجلس القضاء ثمانية
@e3teqal: The judge is frustrated and there are eight soldiers in the courtroom.
Asim al-Masha'li tweeted:
عاجل: أمر قضائي اﻵن بالإفراج عن معتقلات الرياض بحمدالله..
@lawyerasim: Breaking news: The judge ordered the release of Riyadh female prisoners. Thank God.
The case was not, however, dismissed and the upcoming hearing session was set for February 27.

author: Anas Soliman


text:
Thailand Rocks Hula Hoop Record · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

New Hula Hoop Dancing Record. Photo by Biel Calderon Rincon, Copyright @ Demotix (2/12/2013)
Thailand has set the new Guinness World Record for the most people hula-hooping simultaneously in one place. The new record involved almost 5,000 hula-hoopers dancing for seven minutes without break.

author: Mong Palatino


text:
Tibetans Rap for Respect · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a bold new rap song called “RESPECT” by young Tibetans who call themselves “Sheep Droppings”. The song is an angry rant against a TV drama produced by China Central Television called “Tibet’s Secret”. It is first uploaded onto Chinese video-hosting site Youku.com around February 3, 2013 but was taken offline within a day.


text:
A Fantastic Comeback for Trinidad & Tobago Carnival  · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

The International Soca Monarch Competition in Trinidad and Tobago is a major highlight of the country's Carnival festivities  but this year it also served as a comeback for former winner Austin “SuperBlue” Lyons. Lyons, who had last won the title in 2000, had not competed for nearly a decade, perhaps in part because of his struggle with addiction. This year, however, he managed to tie defending champion Machel Montano for first place and a share of the International Soca Monarch title.
On Facebook, Rubadiri Victor posted:
From the moment that skit appeared on the screen of the blue douen wandering lost to the strains of Ras Shorty I's immortal classic ‘Watch out my Children’ people began to cry- and we knew we were in a different type of performance. Blue and his team took it there… THERE!!! Into the bowels of the Hell Blue was clambering out of to deliver this gift. It was a remarkable soulful work of Art as it progressed because it located its origins in that honesty and that real wrestle with the Devil. Which is what real Art is supposed to do- take the raw material of the moment and fashion something sacred.
He continued:
Blue's team succeeded- they were able to take the context and history of the Soca Monarch competition, the crisis of Soca's direction, Blue's personal biography, national crisis, a real spiritual need of our people to believe in something real again- to fashion resurrection… I think we will look back on it as an emotional, epic moment in our nation's history, one that bought home to us the capacity of the human spirit and genius…
Comedienne Rachel Price posted a video blog (on YouTube) of her take on the competition:
But online discussion surrounding the contest soon reverted to Facebook. Nigel Campbell posted:
We have short memories to the history of comebacks, and the resultant din—some quieter that others—that keeps this place an isle full of noises at Carnival time. Soca Monarch 2013 saw the return to the top after 13 years of Superblue. An icon and, admittedly, a mentor to Machel, we know what the intervening years meant to this recovering avatar for Carnival and soca in the 21st century.
Campbell went on:
Our ageism bias creeps in unaware sometimes. When Superblue was rampant in the early 1980s and boasting Sparrow's time had passed, The Calypso King of the World came back in 1984 after 12 years and won a road march and stalled Super, and some say caused his first dive into hell. Speaking of hell, Shadow would have to wait 27 years before public accolade swept his tune ‘Stranger’ to another road march. Old men winning!
Playwright Tony Hall mused:
Super Blue has continually tried to ‘fly’ over the years. He climbed every speaker box in sight for years to accomplish this. Blue's offspring, in the ‘emancipation performance tradition’, Machel Montano, achieved it last night in the International Soca Monarch Finals 2013. It was a glorious exchange of generational energy. And Super, seeing that it was good, proceeded to conjure up a healing balm for himself and all of us…it seems that competition is the best mechanism we have invented to facilitate this kind of necessary ritual in our festival culture. but even though it is necessary to do the analysis through the lens of our festival sensibility, it may also be necessary, at times, to go beyond the spectrum of that reality to plumb the complex forces and energies that commingle below the surface. i suspect therein lies a certain mastery.
He also took a more in-depth look at the competition aspect of the national festival:
it is only partially helpful to look at ‘competition’ as a whole. we need to look, specifically, at the impulse to ‘competition’ that lies within all festival cultures (or cultures driven by festivals) to better understand that impulse and to observe how and why it can be managed and manipulated by the politics and interests that do not care about, or see anything as, steel band aesthetics (or anything that can be described as an ‘aesthetic’ for that matter). this is really a long involved discussion that is not really suited to the ‘facebook’ format because it goes to the heart of how our version of ‘democracy’ functions or does not function, the steel band being a major institution or agent of community mobilization here in T&T. and even the internal and external mechanisms of how that works are changing rapidly. the music then is the crest of the wave on the sea and the steel band movement is the big ocean. aesthetics really involve the values embedded in the sea and the ocean not just the crests of the waves, the music. so when ‘competition’ is organized this way or that, the outcome, which involves and affects the whole movement, is the ‘aesthetic’ not just the music. but what the ‘impulse’ says to us is that we cannot dispense with ‘competition’.
Philip Edward Alexander also weighed in:
Ethel and Rebecca may have gotten lost on their way to the Soca Baptist Flag Party and may have needed a Signal to Get Something and Wave in the Bachannal Time, but there is no mistaking that Blue Boy/Super Blue still owns the stage even if the crowd he once commanded are now there to catch him should he fall. Coming back from the pit of hell (who didn't know about his addictions and substance abuse issues), Trinis showed again what compassionate and loving people they are at heart and welcomed him home as if he'd never been away. His Soca Monarch support was as much a gift to ourselves as it was to him, a thank you to him for coming back to remind us of a better time not that long ago, and instilling in us a hope that that time could come back again.
SuperBlue went on to win the coveted National Road March title – his song “Fantastic Friday” was played most often by DJs who provide music for revelers on Carnival Monday and Tuesday.

author: Matthew Hunte


text:
Bangladesh Unites at Shahbag for 42-Year-Old War Crimes · Global Voices
আলীম

Drop by drop, the Shahbag intersection in Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka has become an ocean of people, demanding justice for atrocities committed during the country's 1971 liberation war and death penalty for war criminals.
According to some estimates as many as 500,000 people are at Shahbag.
Ten days ago, the Bloggers and Online Activists Network (BOAN) called for protests after the Secretary General of Bangladesh's Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami Abdul Quader Mollah was found guilty of war crimes committed during 1971. He was sentenced to life in prison on 344 counts of murder, rape and arson by the International Crimes Tribunal on 5 February 2013.
Since Bangladesh's law allows death by hanging for heinous crimes, most people expected Quader Mollah to be taken to the gallows. When he wasn't they took to the streets and to Facebook.
Ocean of people in Shahbagh. Image by Zakir Hossain Chowdhury. Copyright Demotix (11/2/2013)
Popular poet and a professor of Jahangirnagar University Khaled Hossain hopes for success of the Shahbag movement.  He writes on his Facebook wall:
লোভ থেকে বা লাভের আশা থেকে উত্থিত নয় এ অভিনব চৈতন্যের জোয়ার। সমবায়ী শুভচেতনার এ এক অভাবিতপূর্ব নান্দনিক বিস্ফোরণ। বিজয় ছাড়া আমাদের আর কোনো প্রাপ্য নেই।
This awakening is not from greed or material profit. This is an aesthetic outcome of collective positive thoughts. We have nothing to gain except victory.
Blogger, writer and teacher Moom Rahaman calls everyone to join in at the Shahbag intersection:
যে সব তরুণ সুস্থ আছেন, দেশে আছেন, অথচ এখনো শাহবাগে জাননি, তাদেরকে জানাচ্ছি আপনারা ইতিহাস থেকে দূরে আছেন, বর্তমান থেকে দূরে আছেন, ভবিষ্যত থেকে দূরে আছেন। এখনো সময় আছে, আমাদের পাশে এসে দাঁড়ান। এখন যৌবন যার, শাহবাগ যাবার তার শ্রেষ্ঠ সময়।
Those youth who are in the city and have not managed to come to Shahbag, please know that you are far away from history, away from the present and future. Still you have time to come besides us. Those who are young, this is the right time to go to Shahbag.
Tausif Hamim is a youth who is staying overnight to show solidarity to the protests. Vaskar Abedin shares Hamim's status:
নিয়ম করে তিন বেলা শাহবাগ যাই, স্লোগান দেই, ক্লান্ত হয়ে গেলে নখ দিয়ে চুলের খুশকি খুটি, আশে পাশে তাকাই, মুগ্ধ হয়ে দেখি ল্যাম্প পোস্টগুলো এক একটি ফাঁসি কাষ্ঠ, সেই কাষ্ঠে ঝুলছে কাদের মোল্লার প্রতিকৃতি, স্লোগান দেয়া আপুটার সাথে নতুন করে বর্নমালা শিখি- “স” তে সাকা চৌধুরী, তুই রাজাকার, “গ” তে গোলাম আজম, তুই রাজকার। ক্ষুধা পেলে বাসায় আসি, ভাত খাই, তারপর আবার শাহবাগ যাই, বিকাল গড়িয়ে সন্ধ্যা নামে, ফাঁসির স্লোগান তীব্র হয়, সন্ধ্যা নামলে মিছিলের উপরে মশাল জ্বলে সেই মশালের আলোতে পাপমুক্তির গন্ধ থাকে, এখানে সেখানে উল্টে পড়া মশালগুলো তুলে নিয়ে আমি এক জায়গায় জড়ো করি, পরে থাকা কেরোসিনের উপর ছড়িয়ে দেই খবরের কাগজ, আবার ক্লান্ত হই, ১০ টাকার বাদাম খাই, মোমবাতির আগুনে পোড়াই বাদামের খোসাগুলো।…
I go to Shahbag three times aday, shout slogans, when I am tired, I scratch my head, look around, see with wonder that the lamp posts have become hanging posts. Quader Mollah's effigy is hanging in that post. I learn new words – S for Saka Chowdhury, You are Razakar, G for Golam Azam, You are Razakar. When I am hungry, I come back home, eat my lunch and go back to Shahbag. The evening rolls in, the slogans get intense, as it becomes dark the burning torches smells like retribution, I collect all the used torches, put paper on the spilled kerosene, become more tired, eat peanuts and burn the peanut shells with burning candles.
Lucky Akter shouting slogans. Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (11/2/2013)
A number of private TV channels are broadcasting these ongoing protests. Because of these broadcasts, Lucky Akter, a leading protester has become popular for her fiery slogans. British-Bangladeshi Morshed Akhter writes:
আজ থেকে ‘লাকী আখতার’ নামের মেয়েটি আমার বোন। আর এভাবেই ‘লাকী’-রা আমাদের বোন হয়ে যায়, হয়ে যায় ‘আত্মার আত্মীয়'।  অফুরান ভালবাসা তোমাদের জন্য।
From today Lucky Akter is my sister. And in this way Lucky Akters become our sisters, “next to kin”. Lot of love for you.
Shimul Bashar, a reporter of a private TV channel has hopes for the #Shahbag protests:
আমি আবার বলছি, শাহবাগের এইসব দিন ইতিহাস হবে। জীবনে এর চেয়ে বড় পাওয়া আমার নেই। মা, আমার চোখে ঘুম আসেনা। আমি শাহবাগের কথা ভাবি। আমার তার মুখ মনে পড়ে।
I reiterate that these days of Shahbag will be part of history. I do not have anything greater than this in my life. Mama, i can't sleep. I keep thinking about Shahbag. I remember the faces.
Many people across the board have supported the cause but Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus is keeping mum so far. Azad Master noticed this:
নন নোবেল বিজয়ী জাফর ইকবাল স্যার আমাগো সাথে তার সহধর্মিণীকে নিয়ে এসে মঞ্চে উঠে তুই রাজাকার বলে স্লোগান দিতে পারেন । কিন্তু নোবেল বিজয়ী ডক্টর ইউণূস সাব রামুর মতো এইবারও মৌন ব্রত পালন করছেন।
Non-Nobel Dr. Zafar Iqbal has came to the podium with his wife to shout slogans. But Nobel Laureate Dr. Yunus is keeping mum this time also.
School student are protesting. Image by Zakir Hossain Chowdhury. Copyright Demotix (11/2/2013)
Saikat Shuvro Aic questions Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (the largest opposition party) – position on the ongoing protests:
হায় বিএনপি! না আছে গলায় কোনও আওয়াজ, না আছে চোখে কোনও জ্যোতি! ইয়া মাবুদ এলাহী, দলটারে তুমি রক্ষা কর. .
Oh BNP! The do not have voice, or foresight! Oh God, please save this party.
Many think that the protests are government supported. Others think that this shows a failure of the government. But Bijoy Mazumdar does not agree:
রাজনীতির জনতাকে ভুল বুঝবার কোন অবকাশ নেই।
জনতার রাজনীতি মানুষের জন্য। জনতার রাজনীতি অন্যায় , নির্যাতন, শোষণের বিরুদ্ধে। জনতার রাজনীতি ক্ষমতার জন্য নয়, ক্ষমতাকে দুর্নীতিমুক্ত করার জন্য। শাহবাগে যার অন্দোলন করছে, তাদের আন্দোলন কোন দলকে শক্তিশালী করার জন্য করছে না, তাদের এই আন্দোলন ন্যায় প্রতিষ্ঠার আন্দোলন।
এই আন্দোলন বাংলাদেশের তরুণ প্রজন্মের চৈতন্যের ফসল। [..]
কারো কাছে মনে হচ্ছে এই অন্দোলন, শাসক দলের নানাবিধ ব্যর্থতাকে আড়াল করার অপচেষ্টা।
আমার কাছে এর একটা ভিন্ন উত্তর আছে।
এখন থেকে ৪২ বছর আগের অপরাধের শাস্তি দাবী করেছে যে জনতা, সে জনতাই আরেকদিন দেশের সম্পদ লুটপাটের জন্য যারা দায়ী তাদের শাস্তি দাবীতে সোচ্চার হয়ে উঠবে।
এ জনতাই সেই জনতা যারা ১৯৭১-এ উত্তাল হয়ে উঠেছিল, স্বাধীনতাকে ছিনিয়ে এনেছিল, ২০১৩-এ সেই জনতাই আবার সোচ্চার হয়ে উঠেছে, আরেকটি অর্জনের জন্য।
In politics, there is no scope to misunderstand what people want. The people politics is for the people. The peoples’ politics is against injustice, repression and oppression. The peoples’ politics is not for power, to free the power from corruption. Those who are protesting in Shahbag, they are not doing it to empower any party. Their fight is to establish justice.
This protest in the awakening of the younger generation [..]
Some are thinking that this protest is a ploy of the ruling party to hide their failures in different areas.
I have a different answer.
Those who are uniting and asking justice for a 42 year old crime, one day the same crowd will be vocal against those who are doing rampant corruption.
This is the same crowd that become vocal in 1971 and clinched our freedom. In 2013 the same crowd has erupted, with a different purpose, for justice.
Every day songs, poems and skits are being created. Leading singer and member of the Parliament of West Bengal, India, Kabir Suman has extended his support to the #Shahbag protests by creating songs such as the “demands of the mass” and the “whole night in Shahbag.”
Every day, new Facebook accounts are being opened for and against the movement. Those for the protests include Shahbag Movement and Projonmo Square and those against are Voice of Nationalist and Bamboo Castle.
The protesters have vowed to keep Shahbag occupied till their demands are met.

author: আলীম


text:
Blood on the Russian Tracks · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Earlier today, the Russian Railways concluded its official investigation into the death of Elena Soboleva, who died on January 18 crossing the tracks at the Saltykovskaia train platform [ru], located just east of Moscow. The Railways (or RZhD, as it's known in Russian) determined [ru] that Ms. Soboleva was responsible for her own death, having elected to cross the tracks despite numerous signs and signals that a speeding train was approaching.
This verdict has inspired her husband, Kommersant radio journalist Sergei Sobolev, to launch on Facebook a civic campaign against both RZhD and the local town government for negligence in public safety. Sobolev claims that 20-25 people die annually at this train crossing, and reports that two more people have died there since his wife's fatal accident. RZhD, for its part, refutes [ru] those numbers, insisting that only nine people sustained nonfatal injuries in 2011 and 2012. Sobolev, however, says he wants to build a public campaign and eventually take formal legal action.
Mr. Sobolev's efforts have already attracted significant attention [ru] from the mainstream media at both the local and regional levels.

author: Kevin Rothrock


text:
Boy, 16, Killed on Second Anniversary of Bahrain Protests  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011/2013.
A 16-year-old boy was killed in Bahrain today (February 14, 2013), on the second anniversary of the start of widespread Arab Spring-style protests across the country. His death, reportedly from shotgun injuries, sparked anger online – and on the streets.
On Twitter, activist Maryam Alkhawaja shares a photograph of the victim's injuries, saying:
@MARYAMALKHAWAJA:  Graphic: Young protester Hussain AlJazeeri shot at close range with pellets died at the hospital RIP #bahrain #feb14 pic.twitter.com/vBFq2dgW
Al Jazeeri's death was acknowledged by the country's Ministry of Interior Twitter feed as follows:
@moi_bahrain: Operations Room received call from SMC [Salmaniya Medical Complex] reporting an injured individual pronounced dead.Public Prosecutor was informed
His death strikes a raw chord. Two years ago, another victim was killed by police in the same village – Al Daih.
Mohamed Hasan tweets:
@safybh: The place that witnessed the first death on #feb14 2011 is witnessing another today, same persons are still in charge of #bahrain
Alkhawaja adds:
@MARYAMALKHAWAJA: The child killed today is from the same village as Ali Mushaima, first person killed on #feb14 2011 #bahrain
Protesters block the road in Al Qadam, Bahrain, on the second anniversary of widespread protests. Photograph shared on Twitter by @MazenMahdi
Doctor Nabeel Tammam tweets [ar]:
يوجد لدينا نظام يقتل الأطفال في #البحرين_مقبرة_حقوق_الانسان واليوم #الشهيد_حسين_الجزيري
@ntammam: We have a regime which kills children in Bahrain, the cemetery of human rights. Today we have a martyr Hussain Al Jazeeri
Abu Omar Al Shafee comments [ar]:
سنتين و #البحرين تدور في حلقة مفرغة وكل متمسك بمطالبة ورؤاه #حسين_الجزيري رحمة الله جزء من هذه الحلقه التي لم تتوقف عن الدوران
@ALSHAF3EE: Two years and Bahrain is rotating in this vicious circle and everyone is holding firmly to his demands and opinions. Hussain Al Jazeeri, may his soul rest in peace, is part of this vicious circle than hasn't stopped rotating
Blogger Mahmood Al Yousif pleads to the authorities:
@mahmood: Today of all days, the regime in #bahrain should temper the use of violence and at least try to give people the freedom of expression #FEB14
And blogger Mohammed AlMaskati concludes:
@emoodz: Way too much anger and frustration in the air.. الله يحفظ البحرين وأهلها [May God protect Bahrain and its people]
This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011/2013.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Caribbean: Valentine’s Day is for Bloggers  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Think you know what love is all about? A few regional bloggers use Valentine's Day as an opportunity to figure it out…
From Jamaica, Nadine Tomlinson quotes a poem by Rumi to set the tone for the day, while Havana Times republished a post from the blog's inaugural year, which provided a glimpse into how February 14th is celebrated in Cuba.
Cuban diaspora blog Babalu, on the other hand, put a twist on the celebrations by offering some dictator love and criticizing the way in which New Zealanders are “celebrat[ing] the lovely bohemian ambience of the Castro Kingdom”.
Other posts from the regional diaspora included chookooloonks’ tips for a Valentine's Day craft activity “for kids with moms who are *completely* uncrafty”, while back in chookooloonks’ homeland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wuzdescene posted an image of a press advertisement that he thinks is perfect for Valentine's Day. The text reads:
Tabanca SALE!
Why buy chocolates for a person that will leave you when you can buy a computer that will stay with you?
(Tabanca, according to “Cote ci Cote la“, the Trinidad and Tobago Dictionary, is local parlance for “the forlorn feeling that one gets when a love affair is over”.)
Over in the U.S. Virgin Islands, News of St. John blogs about the eleventh annual celebration of “Celebration of Love”:
Last year, 72 couples repeated their vows in the beach ceremony organized by non-denominational minister Anne Marie Porter.
There is a practical post from the Bahamas’ Mainstream, who offers advice for men to impress the ladies “even if you're broke and clueless”, and another from Barbados’ Notes From A Small Rock, who writes about “the pillars of love and marriage” – at least according to a Barbadian pastor:
The first pillar is money. Yes money. You need money. I need money. Alicia, you must accept that Keshorn is in charge of the way the money going be handled. You must trust in he wisdom…accept that or mark my words, this marriage go be over before you could say macaroni pie.
The great temple of marriage has a second pillar and that is communication. I does meet a set of young people getting married and they don’t know how to talk to one another. They busy emailing and could spend the whole day on Facebook or texting.
The third pillar holding up the roof of the temple of marriage is sex. The adult male and adult female must have a good and regular sex life. By now you should have located her G spot. If you ain’t done your homework I promise you my friend: someone going do it for you.
The fourth pillar that you Alicia, and you Keshorn, must pay attention to is the one and only Lord God All Mighty.
Happy Valentine's Day!

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Dominica, Curacao: Carnival 2013 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Catch a glimpse of what this year's Carnival celebrations were like in Dominica and Curacao.


text:
‘Follow the Pope’s Lead,’ Brazil Tells Senate President · Global Voices
Paula Góes

On the heels of Pope Benedict XVI's sudden resignation, Brazilians in the full swing of Carnival called on the country's newly elected Senate president, who is at the center of a corruption investigation, to follow the example set by His Holiness and step down.
More than 1.5 million people have signed an online petition [pt] seeking the ouster of Renan Calheiros, who despite being investigated for embezzlement, forgery, and the use of a false document, was elected head of the Senate on February 1 in a secret ballot with 56 voting in favor and 18 against.
The accusations of corruption leveled at Calheiros by the country's top prosecutor were not made public until the same day of his victory [pt]. Calheiros himself did not mention the investigation in his opening address as Senate president.
Outraged by the secrecy surrounding the affair, Brazilians quickly mobilized at the time against Calheiros, a member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB). Carnival revelers took advantage of the pontiff's departure to reignite protests amid the festivities.
Blogger Genésio Braganza wrote [pt] that the Pope has provided a great example for Brazilian politicians:
Enquanto na renúncia do Sumo Pontífice as reações no mundo são de felicitações diante da grandeza da atitude, nos casos brasileiros, a ausência de renúncia causa rubor, indignação, insatisfação, tristeza e frustração!
While the world reacts to the Supreme Pontiff's resignation with congratulations for the greatness of His attitude, in the case of Brazilians, the absence of resignation causes blushing, anger, dissatisfaction, sadness and frustration!
“Renan, if I can you, you can, too. Resign!”. The Pope sends a message to Renan in a photomontage by badarts blog.
Neither the high-ranking position nor the allegations of corruption are anything new for Calheiros, re-elected in 2010 for his third term. The senator from the northeastern state of Alagoas was head of the upper chamber from 2005 to 2007, until a corruption scandal nicknamed “Renangate” [pt] forced him to resign. With the move, the congressman avoided a possible disqualification from holding office, which would have prevented his re-election for the current term.
If convicted this time by the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Calheiros will face up to 23 years in jail and a fine.
Journalist Marco Eusébio commented on the same day of the bombshell news [pt]:
A renúncia do papa Bento XVI é, disparado, o assunto líder em comentários hoje no “Trending Topics” do Twitter Brasil. Usuários sugerem que o novo presidente do Senado, Renan Calheiros (PMDB-AL), fiel seguidor do governo, seja qual for o governante, siga o exemplo do alemão. Doce ilusão, mas, é carnaval, e não custa fantasiar. Quem sabe cola, né?!
The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI is by far the top “Trending Topic” on Twitter Brazil today. Users suggest that the new Senate President Renan Calheiros (PMDB-ALAGOAS), a faithful follower of the government, whoever the ruler is, follow the footsteps of the German [pontiff]. A sweet dream, but it is Carnival and it costs nothing to fantasize. Who knows?!
The message below, by Tico Santa Cruz, was shared over 250 times on Twitter:
@Ticostacruz: Não sou Católico, então a Renuncia do Papa não me diz nada. Mas sou Brasileiro e a Renuncia do Renan Calheiros seria muito importante p mim
@Ticostacruz: I'm not Catholic, so the Pope's resignation means nothing to me. But I am Brazilian and Renan's resignation would be very important to me
Other tweets demonstrated the frustration and hope of the people:
@josealaide: Feliz Ano Novo a todos. O carnaval acabou. O ano começou. O Papa renunciou. O Renan ficou. E o povo… “dançou”.
@josealaide: Happy New Year everyone. Carnival is over. The year begins. The Pope has resigned. Renan carries on. And the people… “danced” [TN: slang for to come off badly].
@Nailormarques: O Papa renunciou. Chavez, Renan, Sarney vocês têm que se tocar, o prazo de validade já venceu.
@Nailormarques: The Pope has resigned. Chavez, Renan, Sarney you have to wake up, your shelf life has already passed.
And many protested with an added hint of typical Brazilian humor:
@fabricio_cunha: Especula-se um rodízio no triângulo política-religião-futebol. Renan é cotado para o Vaticano, Felipão para o Senado e o Papa p/ a seleção.
@fabricio_cunha: Rumors of a rotation policy in the politics-religion-football triangle. Renan is tipped to the Vatican, Scolari for the Senate and the Pope goes to the Brazilian National Team.
@athosronaldo: A gente faz um abaixo-assinado com mais de um milhão e trezentas mil assinaturas pela saída de Renan Calheiros e quem renuncia é o Papa.
@athosronaldo: We hold more than 1.3 million signatures in a petition to oust Renan and it is the Pope who resigns.
That online petition [pt] was set up in Avaaz by sales representative Emiliano Magalhães a few hours after Calheiros’ election and surpassed, in the heart of Carnival Sunday, the target established by the organizers of 1.36 million signatures, equivalent to 1 percent of the national electorate. The new goal is now 1.6 million – twice as many as the number of Calheiros’ electors. As of February 14, the petition was only 80,000 signatures shy of its target.
Although the petition has no value from the legal standing, it will be used to “stir things up in the media and demand the resignation of the Senate president”. The campaign's introduction reads [pt]:
Povo Brasileiro! Acabamos de ser chamados de Palhaços!!!
O Senador Renan Calheiros acaba de ser eleito Presidente do Senado com 56 votos secretos!! Isso é um absurdo! E não podemos ficar calados diante de tal ATROCIDADE!!!
Não podemos ficar de mãos atadas!
Brazilian people! We have just been made buffoons!!!
Senator Renan Calheiros has just been elected Senate president with 56 secret votes! This is absurd! And we shall not be silent in the face of such ATROCITY!!!
We must not have our hands tied!
The Carnival block party “Out Renan and the Guisers” refers to the 56 masked senators who voted in the dark for the Senate president.
Besides virtual petitions, the Brazilian population has been taking to the street throughout Brazil even over the bank holiday weekend to demand Calheiros’ impeachment or resignation. The Carnival block party “Out Renan and the Guisers” was quickly improvised in Rio de Janeiro on Ash Wednesday. According to the event page on Facebook [pt], the idea is simple:
Mask produced for the carnival block by Gustavo Fernochi. Instructions: “Save the image to your computer. At the time of printing, adjust the size of the paper. Power will always be with the people!””
Produza sua máscara, leve sua vassoura, produza uma marchinhas e envie aos organizadores… use sua criatividade e arranje uma forma de protestar e se divertir ao mesmo tempo. A ideia é inovar, conscientizar, divertir, e principalmente: protestar.
Make your own mask, bring your broom, compose marchinhas and send them to the organizers… use your creativity and come up with a way to manifest and have fun at the same time. The idea is to innovate, educate, entertain, and most of all: to protest.
Revelers have not missed a samba beat, composing several satirical songs especially for the 2013 Carnival, such as Renan's Marchinha [pt] below. With lyrics by Carlos Cabalini, it could well have been the soundtrack of the carnival block party of the 840,809 people who voted for Calheiros:
Renan, Renan
Você não é culpado
A culpa é de quem
Te mandou lá pro Senado
Quem foi, quem foi
Quem foi que te elegeu?
Eu sei, eu sei quem foi
Esse otário foi eu…
Oh Renan, poor Renan
You're not in the wrong
The blame lies with whoever thought
that in the Senate you belong
But who was it, who was it -
Which idiot elected you so unduly?
I know who it was, I know -
That idiot was yours truly.
Many other public events are being organized by the group Fora Renan Calheiros [Renan Calheiros Out, pt] on Facebook, to culminate in major protests in several Brazilian cities and abroad on February 24. Since legal proceedings against Calheiros in Supreme Federal Court “shall take a little while” [pt] – perhaps long enough for the senator's term to come to an end – the Senate may come to inspire the upcoming Dia do Basta [Day of Enough] [pt], a series protests against political corruption to be held in more than 60 cities on April 19, 20, and 21.

author: Paula Góes


text:
Hand-painted Ads in Guinea-Bissau · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Photo by Manuel Bivar on Buala (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5)
In Guinea-Bissau “there is a real market of experts on painting wall advertisements”, says landscape architect Manuel Bivar. In 2011, he shared a collection of photos featuring hand-painted ads from Guinean shops on the African contemporary culture website, Buala.

author: Sara Moreira


text:
Musicians Aim Fighting Words at the Gambia’s Hardliner President · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A popular music video featuring a group of artists taking aim at the president of the Gambia's tightening grip on the West African country is making the rounds among Gambians home and abroad.
Musicians Xuman, Djily Bagdad, Tiat, and Ombre Zion accuse Gambian President Yahya Jammeh of despotism in the song titled “Against Impunity” published on YouTube, rapping in English and Wolof about the oppressive state of Gambian society under the hardliner's thumb and encouraging Gambians to rise up. The video, which was released in December, has more than 26,000 views.
Since coming to power in 1996, President Jammeh's poor human rights record has drawn steady criticism. Last year, he oversaw the execution of a number of prisoners in a short period of time, earning condemnation from the international community and human rights groups. He has also been accused of restricting political expression and press freedom, as well as persecuting homosexuals.
The video opens with one of the musicians, who wears a blue t-shirt that reads “No to violence against journalist”, singing the song's chorus: “We have to handle our own destiny / So it’s the right time to fight against impunity”.
Later on in the video, one of the other artists raps:
Why leave our future in one man's hands?
No rules at all, it's like a no man's land
Many been declared missing
Unsolved mysteries
The population running scared
Living in misery
Stand up for our rights
And let freedom ring
Let's knock this dictator out of the ring
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh. Photo released under the GNU Free Documentation License by Wikipedia user JohnArmagh.
JollofNews reported that after its release, the video went viral among Gambians sharing it on social media websites such as Facebook.
Praise was high for the video among viewers who commented about it on YouTube, and some even went as far as to accuse local Gambian musicians of cowardice for not writing similar songs to condemn President Jammeh's documented human rights abuses. The artists in the “Against Impunity” video appear to be from the neighboring country of Senegal, not from the Gambia.
ismeala bakhoum wrote on YouTube:
Nice song and if the gambian can't fight for himself he can have the senegalese help not the senegalese goverment [sic] but the senegalese people, human right and even the artist.
This video should be a shame for the gambian artist,u calling yourself patriot but you can't fight for your country.
At least if you do not fight, do not go about making songs to promote, and that is what Gambian artists do.
Mahammadou Bah also pointed a finger at Gambian musicians:
true song i love.Gambians artist are sell outs
fanbondiK encouraged people to take action:
I got goose bumps all over my body.. Gambians lets stop slumbering and confront this dictator. We want to be FREEEEEEEEEEEE!!! How can we be enslaved by our own country man?
Pressfreedom1 criticized people who disliked the video:
Shame on people who dislike this video. Just keep on supporting this tyrant. He will one day come for your mum and dad. Idiots!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One JollofNews reader raved about the song:
Super lyrics!! Awesome video!!! And a very beautiful tune!!!
I have always loved Gambian music from santay alla, da fugitive, black nature, aada gee posse’, born africa, panachi chaw, flying lion n crew, Dj cora, Chambion DJ, u name them
This group's tune is beautiful. Some of their wollof lyrics sound to me like senegalese wollof accent.. am not really sure. need to listen to it one more time
I do know that Jammeh was not rattled by nov 11th events [Editor's note: Gambian members of the Armed Forces Patriotic Revolutionary Council ordered the summary executions of the officers and men of the Gambian armed forces on November 11th, 1994 following an abortive coup] . Am not sure if music can ever rattle him.
But one thing I do know is; this thing rocks my bones

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
North Korea’s Nuclear Slap on the Chinese New Year · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

While China was celebrating the Lunar New Year, Pyongyang launched their third underground nuclear test a hundred kilometers away from their border with China on February 11, 2013.
So far the Chinese government's response has been moderate seeking dialogue rather than sanctions.
As usual, online opinion is divided into the “pro-North Korea” nationalist and “anti-North Korea” liberal camps. However, both camps are equally unhappy with the Chinese government's overall stance on North Korea.
Matthew Gospel AAA (@马太福音AAA) who belongs to the liberal camp believes [zh] the latest test is a slap in China's face:
【評論：中國是時候拋棄朝鮮了】勸阻朝鮮放棄核實驗，中國盡力了。本來有中國在安理會，聯合國制裁聲明徒有形式。中國數次避免過度刺激朝鮮，想把它拉回談判桌。但正月初三核爆，再次證明朝鮮毫不顧忌中國感受，不考慮中國利益。中國還忍著被當眾扇耳光羞辱，還勸說它嗎！不要姑息養奸了。
[Comment: China should abandon North Korea] China has tried its best to persuade North Korea to refrain from nuclear tests. The statement that Chinese government made at the UN Security Council carried no weight. Many times, China has tried to pull North Korea back to the negotiation table. The nuclear test on the third day of the Lunar New Year has proven once again that North Korea has no respect for China and does not take China's interest into consideration. This is like a slap in the face. Is there space for persuasion? Don't let the evil mind grow.
The Maoist website Utopia, which represents extreme nationalists, issued a public statement [zh] celebrating the successful launch of the North Korea nuclear test:
Location of the North Korea nuclear test. It is a lot closer to China than South Korea and Japan.
朝鲜顶住各种反动势力的压力，成功举行核试验，表明朝鲜劳动党和金正恩同志有能力、有魄力领导朝鲜军民走向社会主义强盛国家。朝鲜获得了中国人民的尊敬，获得了全世界有良知人士的尊敬。[…]
Against all the anti-revolutionary's pressure, North Korea has successfully launched its nuclear test. It reflects the ability of Kim Jung-eun and the ruling party in leading the North Korean people and its army for building a socialist strong nation. North Korea has earned respect from the Chinese people and people who have conscience all over the world. […]
旧事如画，历史如镜。五十多年前，坚强的中国人民在伟大领袖毛主席的领导下，成功爆炸了第一颗原子弹，成功打破了美国、苏联的核讹诈，保证了中国的国家安全，提升了中国的国际地位。那个时候，中国也处于和朝鲜今天类似的处境 […]
History is like a painting and mirror. 50 years ago, under the leadership of Mao Zedong, Chinese people had successfully launched its first atomic bomb test, shattering the U.S and USSR's nuclear monopoly, ensuring Chinese national security and improving China's international status. At that time, China was in a similar situation to what North Korea is presently in. […]
由于现行国际秩序袒护强权、践踏主权，朝鲜发展卫星、导弹和核武器，就是对人类和平正义事业的贡献。朝鲜掌握核武器，是正义力量对抵抗帝国主义的新贡献，将会大大遏制帝国主义和反动势力扼杀和包围朝鲜、中国的狼子野心。
The current global order is siding with strong powers who have no respect for sovereignty of others. North Korea's development in satellite, missile and nuclear technology contributes to human peace and justice. North Korea's nuclear weapons represent the power of justice counteracting imperialism, whose reactionary forces and ambitions are isolating North Korea and China.
Fortunately we can find more moderate and critical opinion. For example “Tomorrow will come” (@不会有到不了的明天) [zh] questions the location of the nuclear test:
有一件事实在想不明白。中国老大哥送米送油送钱送枪每天焦头烂额帮这小兄弟在国际社会擦屁股，朝鲜核试验还就选在中朝边境上，中国东北三省人民莫名陪绑。金三胖那么嘴强牙硬耀武扬威，一天到晚嚷嚷要灭了南朝鲜活捉李明博的，为毛不在三八线上搞核试？
I don't understand. Big brother China keeps giving rice and oil and money to his dirty little brothers and wipes their asses in front of the world. When North Korea picked its nuclear test spot, it chose the border area that threaten China's northeastern provinces. The fatty Kim Jung-eun keeps saying that he will destroy South Korea and capture Lee Myung-bak, why wasn't the nuclear test  at the border of North and South Korea?
Blogger Cheng Tan takes a step back and wonders [zh] why the ‘little brother’ disobeys the ‘big brother':
朝鲜深知中国不仅面临全球民主化浪潮的冲击，而且由于严重的官场腐败、贫富悬殊，累积了巨大的社会矛盾，根本不敢把朝鲜发展核武器对中国国家利益的巨大损害告诉民众，以免诱发民众借机发泄对社会现实的不满。
我个人理解，我们政府在朝鲜发展大规模杀伤性武器问题上真的是左右为难——基于“外交关系中国家利益高于一切”的原则，中国必须制止朝鲜发展核武器；但基于“党的利益高于一切”和国内社会“稳定压倒一切”的政治需要，又不能对朝鲜采取过硬的制裁措施。
North Korea knows that China is now under the challenge of the global democratization movement. Domestically, it has to handle social conflict generated by corruption and the disparity between the rich and poor. The Chinese government will not have open discussion about the threat of North Korea's nuclear development with Chinese people out of fear of arousing more social discontent.
The Chinese government is caught in a dilemma — according to the principle that “China's interests comes first in diplomacy”, the Chinese government should stop North Korea for developing nuclear weapons; yet for the “CCP, stability is the first principle”, so it cannot sanction North Korea.
Some extreme nationalists believe anything anti-North Korea is against the interest of China. For example, Zhang Hongliang [zh] (@zhanghongliang), a famous nationalist opinion leader, labelled those who opposed the North Korean nuclear test as anti-communism and anti-China [zh]:
【为什么反共反华的人全都反对朝鲜核试验】虽然反对朝鲜核试验的人并非全都反共反华，但是所有反共反华的人全都反对朝鲜核试验。相反，那些支持朝鲜核试验的人，全都是拥护共产党的爱国人士。美国强割中国南海、日本侵占中国东海，国内极右势力要共产党下台，中共与这些势力站在一起，将会是如何下场？
[Why  people who are anti-communism and anti-China are against North Korea nuclear test] Although not everyone who is against North Korea's nuclear tests are anti-communism and anti-China, everyone who is anti-communism and anti-China are against North Korea's nuclear tests. On the other hand, those who support the nuclear tests are supporters of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and patriots. The U.S. has cut the South Sea from China by force, Japan has invaded China's Eastern Sea, but the extreme rightists are advocating for the downfall of CCP. What would happen if the CCP works with such forces?
Zhang is not happy with the Chinese government's foreign policy [zh]:
在得知朝鲜核试验第一时间我们就指出，朝鲜是被美国逼上核武器道路的。如果中国不与美国站在一起，任凭美国背信弃义、一再欺骗朝鲜，如何会有今天？现在美国日本把中朝两国都作为敌人，朝鲜宣布核武器是为打击美国，中国却要把拥有核武器的朝鲜作为敌人，这不是自杀又是什么？
We pointed out soon after we heard about North Korea's nuclear test that North Korea has been compelled by the U.S. to arm themselves with nuclear weapons. If China had not sided with the U.S. in cheating North Korea, would such an incident have taken place? Now that the U.S. and Japan see China and North Korea as enemies, North Korea uses nuclear weapons to strike back at the U.S. China, on the other hand, sees North Korea as enemy, this is suicide.
Zhang's opinion has been echoed by other Maoists and nationalists, like Ran Xiang [zh], however many express their contempt. For example “I am a happy farmer” said (@快乐的我是农民) [zh]:
张宏良之流赞同朝鲜核试验，赞同的原因就是美日等国反对。这种人心里没有本国人民，没有社会正义，有的只是意识形态。这种人才是真正的卖国贼，是中国人的败类，我们应该为这种人感到耻辱。
Zhang Hongliang and his fellows support North Korea's nuclear tests because the U.S. and Japan are against it. They don't have the Chinese people and social justice in their hearts. All they have is ideology. They are the traitors and Chinese scumbags. Shame on them.
Zhao Shilin (@赵士林微博), an alumnus of the Minzu University of China urged [zh] the University to sack Zhang:
致中央民族大学全体师生：北朝核爆人神共愤，金氏邪恶政权的穷兵黩武遭到全世界同声谴责，但混迹于我校的文革孽种、政治投机小丑张宏良（成教学院副教授）竟冒天下之大不韪，公然鼓噪支持北朝核爆。这种反人类的邪恶行径令我校蒙羞，是我校奇耻大辱，呼吁开展＂驱张行动＂，令张滚出我校。转发即为支持
To all the teachers and students in Minzu University: All people on earth are angry at North Korea's nuclear test. Kim and his family's evil power and abusive military action has been condemned by the whole world. However, political opportunist and an offspring of the Cultural Revolution Zhang Hongliang, who is now working in our university has become an advocator of North Korea's nuclear tests. This is a shame to our university and I hereby make a public call to “Kick Zhang Out” of our university. Retweet this to show support.
This was retweeted more than 7000 within 6 hours of being posted on February 14, 2013.


text:
Peruvian Sol Turns 150 · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Peruvian sol coin. Image from Flickr by user Eddypedro, published with Creative Commons license (CC BY-SA 2.0).
The website Qué pasa [es] writes about the 150 anniversary of the Peruvian sol on February 14, 2013:
Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCR) recalled that the change of currency was due to the invasion of feeble Bolivian currency that, since 1840, entered the country through the Southern zone, thus provoking confusion with the local currency.
Facing that situation, the currency reform replaced the Peso with the Sol, that would be coined with silver as well as with gold.


text:
Secret Life and Death of Mossad Spy ‘Prisoner X’ · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Revelations by Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) progamme Foreign Correspondent on 12 February, 2013 have fired up Australian onliners. The mysterious Prisoner X who allegedly committed suicide in an Israeli gaol in 2010 was not only a dual citizen of Australia and Israel, but also a Mossad agent.
J-Wire, Jewish online news from Australia and New Zealand, responded the next day:
The ABC program was careful to point out that certain issues which could be interpreted as facts are in fact mere speculation.
They say they “understood Zygier had been recruited by Mossad”. The ABC correcty points out that countries such as Australia and New Zealand are quiet and “innocent”.
There is no doubt that Ben Zygier “disappeared” in 2010 and human rights activists have criticized the Israeli government for the secret imprisonment of Prisoner X.
Israeli media has been silenced by powerful laws which impact on the nation’s security.
In Australia, messages left for the Zygier family remain unanswered.
Was Ben Zygier “Prisoner X”… perhaps only time will tell, and perhaps a substantial amount of time.
They underestimated the power of the media. The Israeli government tried to continue its censorship but has now come clean apparently:
Israel has confirmed the reported suicide of an Australian prisoner who had worked for the Israeli spy agency Mossad, according to Al Jazeera.
Israel broke its silence on Wednesday after Australia's ABC news network first revealed the identity of Prisoner X, a 34-year-old man who had used three different names, including Ben Zygier, Ben Allen, and Ben Alon.
Ben Zygier, Prisoner X – Image by Mahmoud illean copyright Demotix 13 Feb 2013
The Australian government also admitted knowledge of his mysterious life and death, after initial denials. What and when they knew will be an ongoing debate no doubt.
Asher Wolf  wants answers now:
@Asher_Wolf: Prisoner X never stood trial, was jailed for crimes unknown & died alone. The diplomats & politicians who abandoned him must face an inquiry
It’s not the first time that Mossad's use of Australian passports has caused tension between the two normally friendly nations. Fake passports were used in the assassination of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh in 2010.
Amelia Freelander is following connections between the events:
@MiaRubySydney: The plot thickens RT @JamalDajani Prisoner X arrest is related to the Mossad's assassination in Dubai using stolen Australian passports
Prominent Australian author and blogger Antony Loewenstein tweeted a link to Richard Silverstein’s blog Tikun Olam:
@antloewenstein: Will #Australian media ask necessary questions about #Zionist community after exposure of another likely spy? http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2013/02/12/prisoner-x-was-mossad-agent-ben-zygier/ …
According to Silverstein:
Back in 2010, I reported that Israel had arrested an unidentified individual, and imprisoned him in total secrecy in an Israeli jail. The cell he occupied had once housed Yigal Amir Even his jailers didn’t know who he was.
Wmmbb of Duckpond asks the big questions in the post PRISONER X, MURDERED?:
Speculation around the death of Ben Zyglier will now be rife. What could he have done?
The Happy Antipodean is concerned that speculation soon becomes fact in the media:
In early stories doubt was cast over the way Zygier died but today suicide is being stated as a fact…
Surprising amid all of this media scrutiny is the silence of Zygier's Melbourne family, which is prominent in the Jewish community. No media organisation has so far been able to extract new information from any of its members.
Abalinx, a supporter of the opposition Liberal Party in Australian, is concerned about support of citizens overseas:
It is bad enough when an Australian dies alone in his own country. It is worse when he or she dies alone in a foreign country, forgotten even by his own government. Even though Prisoner X (now identified as Ben Zygier) took on a dual Israeli citizenship does not absolve the Australian Foreign Affairs Department for failing to pass on the information up higher for further discussion.
Dr Ben Saul of the Sydney Centre for International Law canvasses many of international law questions at the Drum:
The Israelis are masters of all the dark arts: assassination (from Munich), abduction (from Eichmann onward), torture (of Palestinian prisoners), pre-emptive military strikes (from Iraq to Syria), violent interception of civilians at sea (the Gaza flotilla), and colonising foreign territory (the juiciest parts of Palestine).
He finishes by reflecting on local Jewish sentiment about the case:
Australia's Jewish communities are also aghast at this episode and deserve better. After giving so much to support to Israel, one would hope that Israel would treat Australian Jews serving their other homeland with greater dignity, whatever they have done.
You know you’re on a winner with an exclusive scoop like this one. Mark Scott, Managing Director of ABC, tweeted:
@abcmarkscott: Huge twitter reaction to tonight's Foreign Correspondent on Prisoner X. Up now on iview. http://bit.ly/XFBfGF @ForeignOfficial
The #prisonerx hashtag has plenty more…

author: Kevin Rennie


text:
The Chechen President’s Unlikely Instagram · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Update: at this time the alihan777 account appears to have been completely removed from Instagram, perhaps due to growing visibility. Since the photographs used in this post were embedded (for copyright reasons), they are sadly also gone. A good number of them can be found here [ru] and by following some of the internal links in this post.
It's hard to tell who noticed alihan777‘s Instagram account first. Russian TV personality Tina Kandelaki mentioned the nickname in a friendly tweet [ru] on January 8, 2013, but gave no indication of the owner's identity.
http://instagram.com/p/Vr8cVoL5zb/
From the start, however, it was obvious that the anonymous album was being updated by either Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov himself, his press secretary, or someone equally close. The surprisingly candid photographs are all almost exclusively of Kadyrov (seen above dressed in some form of traditional  armor).
http://instagram.com/p/UeCeASr555/
Some of the photos are surreal. For example, Kadyrov, who is often accused of human rights violations and authoritarianism, can be seen unironically dressed as a Central Asian khan, complete with baby tiger. Nevertheless, RuNet didn't pick up on the story until a week later, when after a few [ru] tweets [ru] it was noticed by St. Petersburg-based culture blogger Corpuscula, who reposted some of the photographs on January 15, and wondered who it was that made them [ru].
http://instagram.com/p/VZXpzXr5yH/
The next day, Marina Litvinovich, a human rights activist and former PR guru, also blogged about the account, bringing it further notoriety. Litvinovich rather mockingly singled out several photographs in which Ramzan Kadyrov is seen enjoying the Chechen countryside along with Vladislav Surkov and Surkov's wife.
http://instagram.com/p/UPSXXdL57Q/
Surkov, who is ethnically Chechen, is widely considered to have been the chief ideologue of the Putin presidency. After the 2011 parliamentary elections he was shunted from the President's Administration to a minor ministerial portfolio, which some viewed as a demotion. Following a brief stint as the First Deputy Prime Minister, Surkov now heads the Government Apparatus, the bureaucratic structure charged with supporting the Russian Government (i.e. the Ministries) — a position previously held by Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
http://instagram.com/p/UPQ7Tar55v/
Perhaps as the result of increased attention the account was briefly made private [ru], but later came back. Maybe Kadyrov was at first uncomfortable — after all he is a latecomer to the micro-blogging arena, having only started a Twitter account during the summer of 2012 (his first tweet as @RKadyrov [ru] was on June 20). Until then, bloggers were sometimes fooled by @kadirovrussia [ru], a humorously fake account active from 2011. While Kadyrov's tweets are mostly boring official announcements, the alihan777 Instagram (started in November, 2012) more than makes up for it.
http://instagram.com/p/VT768Rr50A/
Does Kadyrov use the account himself? Even when linking to a photograph of himself, Surkov, and Prime Minister Medvedev on his Twitter, Kadyrov remains somewhat tongue in cheek [ru]:
Вот такую фотку нашел у alihan777 instagram.com/p/VMjbDKr5_K/
Look at the photo I found at alihan777 instagram.com/p/VMjbDKr5_K/
А это стихи Омара Хайяма, которые я подарила @alihan777. Он очень любит поэзию и прекрасно декламирует. Надеюсь, в #железныеледи уговорить его прочитать что-нибудь из Хайяма #нтв #железныеледи
A photo posted by Тина Канделаки (@tina_kandelaki) on
However, even though Kadyrov has not publicly acknowledged that he is alihan777, it is almost certainly him. That is, if we are to believe Tina Kandelaki, who [ru]  has [ru]  been [ru]  plugging [ru]  alihan777 ever since returning from a recent visit to Chechnya. Tellingly, in her own Instagram photos along with Kadyrov (seen above), she refers [ru] to him as alihan777:
@alihan777 считает, что сейчас правильно инвестировать в бонды и технологии. Очень ему нравится кейс Инстаграма, но считает, что покупать рано
@alihan777 thinks that now is the time to invest into bonds and technology. He really likes the Instagram case, but he thinks that its still too early to buy
http://instagram.com/p/Uw-9Rdr58d/
Kadyrov, who has spent much of his time as leader of Chechnya solidifying the peace process started by his father Ahmat, often presents a rough exterior in the photos. In that, he seems to follow in the footsteps of his mentor, Vladimir Putin. At other times he exhibits his religiosity. For example, the first photograph in alihan777's album is of a lock of hair allegedly belonging to the Prophet Mohammed [ru], exhibited in Abu Dhabi. Besides for his religion and tracking down Wahhabi guerrillas in the Chechen mountains, Kadyrov seems to like, in no particular order:
Animals,
http://instagram.com/p/UeCivdL55_/
Birds,
http://instagram.com/p/Ugshi3L5-j/
And aging movie stars.
http://instagram.com/p/Ury5pfr56z/
Find more here [ru].

author: Andrey Tselikov


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Calypso Music · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Calypso dead? Not quite. Calypsonians and calypso shows being lazy and unoriginal? We have plenty of that.
The Eternal Pantomime explains.