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Indonesia: Geography Lesson For Justin Bieber · Global Voices
Agung Harsya

In a recent interview during an event in London, Justin Bieber cited Indonesia as “random country” and no wonder it made a trending topic on Twitter during the last week of April.
While explaining the creative process for one of his new tracks, Bieber said that it was recorded in some “random country”. His manager, Scott Braun, interjected by saying it was produced in Indonesia. “I recorded it in a studio. Some little place. They didn't know what they were doing,” Bieber continued.
Bieber has a big following in Indonesia. He had a one day concert in Jakarta attended by ten thousand people last year. His poor sense of geography broke the hearts of his fans and made him an easy target for a banter in the internet.
Justin Bieber in Indonesia. From Twitpic page of @AnisOphelia
And netizen raise their voices to criticize the superstar:
@BarryLikumahuwa Random country? Thanks Bieber, but we got the biggest Jazz festival, even bigger than Canada's own Montreal Jazz Fest.. *boo-yah*
@anonbeliebers A Belieber Confessed: Justin Bieber said that Indonesia is some random country…. I'm sad about it. :((
@kartika_mariana don't judge my lovely country with word random. You not something without your fans here. Understand kid!@justinbieber
@kartika_mariana here, in the random country you have fans! Your statement can make them sad.@justinbieber
@mariastephani you know @justinbieber .. you`re saying my country as RANDOM COUNTRY.. I know you`ve apologise. But, ITS TOO LATE
@thaliaviotama #IHATEJUSTINBIEBER on TT because of he said “random country” to Indonesia? Honestly, I just dislike his words.
@AcilEnor You said indonesia as a random country!!! You're a random singer!! You are a boy with no manner!! Lallalallalallla
@INDOADOREBIEBER HE thought Bali was a name of a country and he forgot to say ‘Bali’ so he said “some random country”
Last but not the least, there's also netizens who defended the young star:
@pwgdochi Random country kan artinya bukan negara ga jelas, tapi dia (menurut berita) rekaman di negara acak yg ga direncanakan, y u so stupid

author: Agung Harsya


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Kenya: The Bake Blog Awards 2012 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

On 5 May, 2012 the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) rewarded bloggers that post on a regular basis, have great and useful content, are creative and innovative. The awards are part of BAKE’s efforts in the promotion of quality content creation.
The Bloggers Association of Kenya is:
BAKE is a body that promotes content creation on the web in Kenya and represents a group of content creators who are of Kenyan origin, descent or are based in Kenya and want to:
Syndicate their content
Network among other fellow content creators
Get legal and communal representation from the Bloggers Association of Kenya
Announcing the Bake Blog Awards on her blog, Njeri Wangari wrote:
Blogging awards in Kenya were first and last held in the year 2006.
Run by Kenya Unlimited which hosts the Kenyan Blog Webring (KBW),an aggregator site for Kenyan blogs, Kaybee Awards 2006 took place at a time when the blogging scene was small and most bloggers knew each other by Name.
Some of those who won in the numerous categories then are still blogging to this day but there some who moved on (most to bigger things) and no longer consider themselves as bloggers.
Bankelele (right) the winner of Best Business Blog. Photo courtesy of Njeri Wangari.
The winners were selected through the following process:
1. Submissions
From March 15th to March 29th, BAKE will be accepting submissions in the competition’s 14 categories.
2. Judges Choose the Best 5
From March 29th to April 9th, judges comprised of bloggers and media experts will decide on the 5 blogs that advance to the next round in all 14 categories. These are the blogs that will be in the running to win a BAKE blog award.
3. Online voting
The ballot box will be opened on April 10th and it will close on April 26th. Before voting you’ll need to log in via your choice of Facebook or Twitter and we’ll be limiting votes to one time per category.
4. And the winner is…
The winners will be announced at a gala event on April 28th [*Date was changed to May 5].
The winners were announced at a gala event that took place at Nairobi Serena Hotel. The event was supported by corporate sponsors such as Safaricom, Google+, Microsoft, VirtualCity, Samsung, Access Kenya and was streamed live on the CapitalFm Kenya website.
And the winners for the Bake Blog Awards 2012 are:
Logo of BAKE. Image source: http://bloggers.or.ke/.
Best Business Blog
http://bankelele.blogspot.com
Best Agriculture Blog
http://emmiekio.blogspot.com
Best Creative Writing Blog
http://www.crazynairobian.com
Best Fashion Blog
http://www.nanciemwai.com
Best Food Blog
http://healthylivingkenya.wordpress.com
Best General Blog
http://muruginjehia.blogspot.com/
Best New Blog
http://www.my254.com
Best Corporate Blog
http://blog.batakenya.com
Best Photography Blog
http://www.mutuamatheka.co.ke
Best Politics Blog
http://www.dennisitumbi.com
Best Sports Blog
http://www.michezoafrika.com
Best Technology Blog
http://www.moseskemibaro.com
Best Tweep – Corporate
http://twitter.com/KenyaRedCross
Best Tweep – Individual
http://twitter.com/KoinangeJeff
Global Voices congratulates all the winners of the Bake Blog Awards 2012.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Malaysia: Bersih Demonstrations Around the Globe · Global Voices
Jerrenn Lam

While the Bersih (clean) demonstrations were going on in Kuala Lumpur last week, similar gatherings were being organised by Malaysians overseas. Johnny Ong posted a list of Bersih demonstrations that happened around the world in support to the demand for a clean and more democratic elections.
In Hong Kong it was reported that 400 people attended the event.
Bersih in Hong Kong. From Facebook of Temily Tianmay
Demonstrators outside the Malaysian Consulate. From Facebook of Ray Kok Rui Lau
In Melbourne, Australia about a thousand people were estimated to have attended:
In Melbourne's Federation Square. From Facebook of Daniel Loh
In Washington, DC, USA:
Bersih in Washington, DC. From Facebook of Leng-Feng Lee
In Los Angeles, USA:
Bersih in Los Angeles. From Facebook of SzeMin Sim
In Toronto, Canada:
Bersih in Toronto. From Facebook of Kevin Chong
In Auckand, New Zealand:
Bersih in Auckland. From Facebook of Chung Cheong Yung
In London, UK:
Bersih in London. From Facebook of Siok Jin Lim
In Dublin, Ireland:
Bersih in Dublin. From Facebook of Chloe Cheah
In Zurich, Switzerland:
Bersih in Zurich. From the Facebook of Chia Huei Kaivalya Tan
In Paris, France:
Bersih in Paris
And in Moscow, Russia, organisers requested the participants to take photos while wearing a mask to protect their identities:
Participants of Bersih in Moscow

author: Jerrenn Lam


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Serbia: Monitoring the Elections Via Citizen Media · Global Voices
Rayna St.

Six countries in Europe have been voting on May 6, 2012, amongst which are France, electing its new President, Greece, voting for a new parliament, and Serbia. The latter is at “its most important election” since Slobodan Milosevic was demised in 2000: nearly 7 million of the Serbian citizens eligible to vote will elect the president, the parliament and various municipal and provincial governors, choosing amongst 18 lists [sr] for seats in the parliament and 12 candidates [sr] running for the head of state.
The preliminary polls in Serbia were showing low participation, and various blogs have echoed the bitter irony and disillusionment with the perspective of this crucial election taking place within the hammering pervasive austerity that has spead all over Europe. The May 6 elections will have a decisive say on Serbia's relations with the European Union, as well as with Kosovo, whose independence Serbia refuses to recognize.
A campaign flyer during the pre-electoral silence period. Image from user Zoltan Dognar on Twitter
The main fight seems to be between Tomislav Nikolic (the Serbian Progressive Party, or SNS, the opposition) and the current president Boris Tadic (the Democratic Party, DS). The political positions of the two candidates are quite similar regarding the EU, although the situation in the region would not be comfortable if Nikolic won: Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina still consider him the heir of his political mentor, Vojislav Seselj, an ultranationalist and the former president of the Serbian Radical Party, currently on trial for war crimes at The Hague.
With the recent flawed elections in other countries, Serbians were concerned for the transparency of their election process. In order to prevent fraud, an Ushahidi-based election crowdmap has been set up to allow abuse reports to be filled in. The initiative Digitalni Glas Srbije (“Digital Voice of Serbia”) [sr] was launched to monitor, aggregate and echo reactions prior to and on the election day.
Very few blogs have been publishing content on the election day itself, but Twitter was babbling with reactions, pictures and discussions, using the hashtags #izbori (“elections”), #izbori2012, #srbija (“Serbia”).
In an attempt to account for regularity, an initiative [sr] directed by the Serbian Medija Centar (“Media Center”) was aimed at monitoring how well the pre-electoral silence was observed. Political parties are prohibited from campaining during the two days immediately preceding the election day itself.
Thus, the pre-electoral silence started on Thursday, May 3, at midnight, and two reports [sr] were issued using various metrics. Their repeated calls to fellow citizens to report any infringements of this rule were followed by a number of pictures circulated through Twitter and showing illegal campaining.
Also on Twitter, youth disillusionment has been reflected:
@DunjaLazic:sutra su dakle prvi izbori na kojima mogu da glasam a baš i nemam neki izbor
Pro-SNS texts and irony. Image by user Bildi13 on Twitter
Such opinions were posted along with others [sr] discussing the relevance of the pre-electoral silence. Also, it turned out that various parties have been sending text messages to citizens’ mobile phones during the pre-electoral silence:
Dragi sugrajdani, jedino sto je potrebno Srbiji so PROMENE. Srpska napredna stanka to moze doneti. Zajedno pokrenimo Srbiju. Izadji i glasaj!
This type of illegal campaining has been reported to be very frequent from SNS's side – and people reacted with sarcasm: one user replied to the invitation to vote for the SNS saying that “even Seselj got a text message from the progressives.”
Many Twitter users were also arguing about the respective candidates and their influence on politics if elected [ru]:
@VladMiskovic: Још само четири сата до пада ЕУ режима у Србији! Гласајте против ЕУ окупације Србије, гласајте за @srpski_radikali! #izbori #izbori2012
Global Voices Author Sasa Milosevic replied to this call to vote for the Serbian Radical Party [sr]:
@journalist92: @VladMiskovic @srpski_radikali . Srpski radikali ce da nas izvuku. Glas za njih znaci glas za oruzje, ratove, krvoprolice i Srbiju u mraku
Numerous pictures on Twitter also showed a huge number of annulled ballots: very often, a small, rapidly penned Batman was indicated as the candidate of choice, but hand-written “Pirate Party” or “The Internets” have also been reported.
During the whole day, the levels of participation were announced [sr] by the Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID) and preliminary results from the diaspora were circulated on Twitter:
@NMojovic: rezultati iz toronta i čikaga: Tadić 48, Koštunica 37, Glišić 33, Nikolić 16, J. Šešelj 12, Dačić 8, Jovanović 7, Stanković 5 #izbori
So far, little is known about the preliminary results and even less information has been diffused regarding the voting in Kosovo. The OSCE mission was organizing the elections there and, even though the turnout was low at 2pm (only 17%), there seem to have been no problems:
@danielrhamilton: Just spoke to Serbia's State Secretary in #Kosovo Oliver Ivanovic. Election turnout light but no reported problems so far. #izbori2012
It is time to count now… and see what the outcome of the May 6 elections will be for Serbia and the region.

author: Rayna St.


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South Korea: Fearing Mad Cow Disease, New Protests Against US Beef · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Thousands of South Koreans held candlelight protests this week to demonstrate against continued beef imports from the United States after the detection of mad cow disease in California in April. Four years earlier in 2008, when several tens of thousands gathered for the candlelight vigils to protest a planned import, the government eventually made promises to halt imports immediately whenever the disease breaks out.
The unkept promise now reignites public anger and has revived the four-year old tradition of candlelight vigils.
Twitter Photo by user @notable1980
Twitter user  @notable1980 tweeted [ko] with a photo of protest above:
[촛불시즌2][2012년5월2일7시청계광장][…]”작은 실천이 세상을 바꿉니다.”
Twitter Photo by @opentree20
Another user @opentree20 tweeted [ko] the photo above and said:
2009년 광우병 촛불이 처음 밝혀진지 딱 4년만입니다. 4년 전 그날처럼 국민들이 같은 마음으로 한 자리에 모여 촛불을 높이 들고 있네요. 미국산 소 수입 즉각 중단하십시오!
Twitter photo by @hyojinlovelove.
Kim Hyo-jin (@hyojinlovelove) tweeted from a scene of protest that continued late into the night.
이 시간 청계광장. 미국산 광우병 소고기 수입 반대 집회. 어김없이 촛불을 들다. 시간이 지날수록 더 많은 사람들이 모이고 있어요.
Twitter photo by @sisyphus79
A tweet by user @sisyphus79 read [ko]:
촛불 4주년 광우병 쇠고기 반대 촛불집회 현장입니다. 4년 전 그때의 공기가 이곳에서 느껴집니다. http://twitpic.com/9gcd4i
Twitter Photo by @gree
Twitter user @gree tweeted [ko] the photo above and said:
다시 모이고, 다시 밝힌 촛불들이 외칩니다. “거짓말 정부 못 믿겠다. 광우병 쇠고기 수입 중단하라!”
Protesters waved candles and flags, sang songs and held banners that said “Protect the sovereignty of the people” and “Stop US beef imports” as can be seen in the pictures above. About 4,000 police officers were dispatched to the protest scene and some demonstraters have been arrested [ko].
Twitter Photo by @ytnmania
YTN Labor Union, for employees of a South Korean national cable news channel, (@ytnmania) tweeted a photo of police (above) blocking the protesters:
4년만에 다시 모인 청계광장 광우병 규탄 촛불집회에 앵그리 YTN 조합원들도 참석! 경찰 청계광장을 미리 점거해서 자리가 비좁네요!
Back in 2008 mass protests broke out and continued for over a month. Since the government lifted its ban on imports, South Korea is now the fourth-largest importer of US beef in the world.
@wjsfree posted a video explaining why people are so concerned about the import in a Storify story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0OpLlKpXhk8
A mass protest which started on May 2, 2012 continued for another day and is likely to continue throughout the next week. Several thousands gathered on the first day of protest and about a thousand [ko] continued rallying throughout the next day.
South Korea’s influential one-man media, Media Mongu uploaded a photo of a young girl who participated in the protest with her mother and grandmother. They are holding banners that read “Halt Imports (two on the right)” and “Protect Our Sovereignty (on the left)”.
Twitter Photo by Media Mongu
@jhohmylaw tweeted [ko] about his reasons for protesting on the second day:
(내가 오늘도 청계광장을 가는 이유) 1.촛불시위는 이제 시작일 뿐이다 2. 어제는 국민의 힘을 제대로 보여 주지 못했다. 3. MB정부, 쇠고기 수입중단 안하고 있다 4.자식의 안전을 걱정해야 하는 아버지다 5. 그곳에 가면 기분이 좋다.
Even the nation’s far right-wing newspapers which side with the government on almost every issue released a statistic [ko] showing 72.5 percent of Korean people want to halt the US beef imports. Meanwhile, a more progressive newspaper, Pressian, retrieved an image [ko] of a government advertisement from an old newspaper. The ad, paid for by the government's health department, said, “There is nothing more important than the public health. Count on us to protect you” and “If mad cow disease-contaminated beef were ever detected in the United States, we will immediately stop imports”.
The government's second promise was to run a thorough inspection on all imported beef and the origin of the disease breakout, which many Twitter users such as @yoji0802, thinks casts doubts [ko] on the accuracy of the results even before the inspection starts.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Yemen: How Many Women Have Been Subject to Sexual Harassment? · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

An article [ar] published in pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat on May 2, claiming that 90% of Yemeni women have been subject to sexual harassment, has caused a stir online.
While many Twitter users admitted that there was a problem with harassment in Yemen, the percentage quoted in the newspaper divided them.
Marwan Almuraisy wanted the newspaper to apologise:
Almuraisy added in a tweet addressed to Al Hayat deputy editor Jameel Theyabi:
Abeer Al Yosofi wondered:
She said:
Cartoon about harassment by Mohammed Al Ridaei. Image from the Safe Streets campaign Facebook page.
However, other people felt the problem needed to be addressed. Lamis Al Wadeai tweeted:
Muna tweeted:
@ArabsUnite: Cant believe some in Yemen R surprised @ high % of women who experience harassment. Striving4change means acknowledging flaws in our society
Alia Eshaq tried to clarify the meaning of harassment:
Najla Al Hamadi linked to an article in the Yemen Times about an initiative to fight street harassment. She made some suggestions of her own:
A campaign against sexual harassment in Yemen called Safe Streets (Facebook) [ar] was started by activist and blogger Ghaidaa Motahar last year. The campaign made this video to raise awareness and address the issue of harassment:
Mohammed Alnehmi commented:
Al Hayat newspaper did apologise for the high percentage it had quoted, saying it was an exaggerated figure based on a regional study.
Rather than addressing the issue and providing solutions, a lot of time and effort was wasted debating and dismissing the figure, which was extremely high. Whether we like to admit it or not harassment in all its forms – stares, words or actions – is widespread. It is something that many women in Yemen's main cities, just as in other countries in the region, are subject to. The phenomenon needs to be acknowledged and addressed properly, starting by teaching proper family values and incorporating them into the educational system, designing media campaigns to address harassment, and introducing and applying laws. In this way we will be able to enjoy safe streets.

author: Noon Arabia


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Belgium: Video Shows Campaign to Curb Texting and Driving · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The Impossible texting and driving test is part of a  campaign to raise awareness to the dangers of texting using mobile devices while driving in Belgium. Several young people doing their behind the wheel driving test were surprised to know there was a new test section requiring them to text while driving. The dashboard cam tells the story of how these young people faced this new part of the test.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Bolivia: Netizens Report on Transportation Strike · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Blogger Mario R. Duran from Palabras Libres [es] is gathering citizen reports and reactions to a transportation strike in El Alto and La Paz taking place today, May 7. Public transportation workers are protesting a law that reforms the municipal transportation system. You can follow the day's events on Twitter through the hashtag #parotransporte [es].

author: Silvia Viñas


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Brazil: Blog Countersues Newspaper Over Web Domain  · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Another chapter in the legal dispute between the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo and the satirical blog Falha of São Paulo is being written. However, this time Falha is the one who decided to file a lawsuit against the newspaper.
Towards the end of September 2010, Falha's website was taken down after an injunction was issued by the Brazilian courts. The site's main purpose was to satirize the newspaper Folha de São Paulo, and in order to do so it used photo-montages of false, often ironic newspaper headlines [pt] and a “generator of headlines” with the layout of Folha de Sao Paulo. Folha took the matter to court, seeking an injunction as well as claiming financial compensation for moral damages.
The first lawsuit, which resulted in a “tie” in September 2011, was, in the opinion [pt] of the journalist Rodrigo Vianna “a lesson [from the judge] on what is freedom of expression.”
Lino Bocchini protesting in front of Folha de São Paulo
Falha de São Paulo is now seeking the unfreezing of its domain, falhadespaulo.com.br, which had been frozen by the court, through a second injunction against Registro.br (the Brazilian agency that manages all domains ending in. br). Journalist Lino Bocchini, the creator of Falha,  announced in late March 2012, that  he was going to go ahead with a new lawsuit. He explained why he was doing so:
Terminou com uma espécie de empate a disputa jurídica em primeira instância entre Folha e Falha, e agora está começando a segunda. Já protocolamos nosso recurso  junto ao Tribunal de Justiça (TJ-SP) pedindo a derrubada da censura da Folha à Falha e a volta do domínio www.falhadespaulo.com.br. A sentença do juiz da 29ª Vara Cível de São Paulo informa que o juiz acolheu “parcialmente” o pedido da Folha, determinando o “congelamento” do domínio “falhadespaulo.com.br”, mas rejeitou todo o resto.
Given that the registering of even other similar domains have been prevented, it is through the alternative domain “Desculpe a nossa Falha” (Sorry our fault) that the Bocchini brothers are giving publicity to their cause, raising support and, where possible, picking on [pt] the newspaper using humor, as is characteristic of the pair.
According to Bocchini brothers, the website Folha Gospel is one of the sites that uses a similar logo clearly inspired on Folha de São Paulo
While the authors of Falha allege political persecution by Folha (with the intention to silence the direct critics of their editorial policy), Folha on the other hand, says that the problem is the misuse of their brand. In order to sustain its defense, Falha has published a series of “evidence” [pt] from websites that use similar logos from Folha (or other Brazilian online platforms) and which haven't been sued.
Journalist Lúcia Rodrigues, da from Rede Brasil Atual, briefly explains [pt] the case:
O jornalista Lino Ito Bocchini trava uma batalha judicial com a Folha de São Paulo para ter o direito de manter o domínio sobre o site Falha de São Paulo, criado por ele e seu irmão, Mario Ito Bocchini. O site é uma paródia ao jornal da família Frias e foi censurado pela justiça, a pedido da Folha, no final de 2010. Na última quinta-feira, 5, Lino organizou um debate que discutiu o papel da Folha no financiamento do golpe militar e da tortura durante a ditadura [vídeo e resumo do debate “Relações da mídia com a ditadura“]. A expectativa é que a ação contra a Folha seja julgada este ano pelos desembargadores do Tribunal de Justiça de São Paulo.
Folha's vehicle that used to be lent to the regime, was burned by left wing demonstrators
The case is one of a kind, and it may put a mark on freedom of expression in Brazilian blogsphere, as Leopoldo Loureiro and Luís Borrelli Neto, the lawyers of Falha, stated [pt].
While making the announcement of the “second round” of the legal dispute, Bocchini brothers declared [pt]:
Enfim, é sempre bom lembrar, estamos falando de uma briga um tanto desigual. De um lado são dois irmãos “avulsos”, independentes, sendo defendidos “pro-bono” (pagando apenas as custas do processo) por advogados bacanas identificados com a causa –aliás, estamos de advogado novo nessa segunda fase. Do outro está o maior jornal do país, com um gigantesco escritório de advocacia fungando nas nossas costas. O que ajuda a equilibrar o jogo é o apoio gigantesco que estamos recebendo de toda blogosfera, que entendeu que esse caso, por seu absurdo e pelo seu ineditismo, é de interesse coletivo. E não dá pra deixar barato o maior jornal do país, que vive pregando liberdade de expressão e democracia, promovendo uma censura dessas contra dois blogueiros.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Brunei: Decreasing Population Growth · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Emmagoodegg discusses Brunei's decreasing birth rate and shares some of the funny suggestions made by netizens on how to increase the country's population

author: Mong Palatino


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China: Middle-class Discontent · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Bubble Watch looks into the economic and political role of middle class in China. The blogger is not optimistic about the influence of middle class on policy decision in China because of the polarized power structure.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Rural Left-behind Children · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Acopy.net introduces a Chinese documentary, the Road, directed by independent documentary worker Jiang Nengjie on “left-behind children” in rural China.


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Colombia: Nationwide Demonstrations Mark May 1 · Global Voices
Lully

As in other countries, Colombia commemorates International Work’s Day  on 1 May. Traditionally [es], the day is celebrated by labor unions and various citizens who march on the streets to demonstrate in favor of labor welfare, social and economic development, and to reject any act that violates human dignity and the quality of life of workers.
This year in Colombia workers in different cities protested against the recently signed free trade agreement with the United Sates, high unemployment, poor salaries compared to the high living costs, outsourcing, and the transfer of the Social Security Institute to Colpensiones. Citizens also protested in favor for the right to life, education, work and health.
Marches in most cities were peaceful, as Frontera Informativa [es] reported about Manizales. But in Bogota and Medellin (where more people protested) demonstrations ended with the intervention of military forces. Several protesters were arrested and others wounded. However, traditional media spent more air time on the day's events abroad [es] than on local protests, while some [es] citizen and “independent” media outlets provided more local coverage.
“Este es El Punto” refers [es] to the origin of the day and questions the date in the United States (September 1). Finally, the blog mentions the President Santos’ [es] new decree on home-based employment contracts:
Como nota positiva el presidente santos firmo un decreto para que las empresas empiecen a contratar a sus empleados desde sus casas.
Carlos Arturo Gamboa, on the blog Tutor Virtual, reflects on employment [es] as slavery and cites a video of Argentine Santiago Bou:
El trabajo hoy, en su gran mayoría, es la marca de que el valor de lo humano es una cifra, de que la dignidad habita en el olvido y lo peor de todo, de que la mayoría de empleados están dispuestos a aceptar los más grandes vejámenes con el fin de sostenerse en su lugar. Es como si los esclavos amaran sus cadenas.
In Twitter the phrase “Día del Trabajo” (Labor Day) [es], became a Trending Topic as users referred to the marches, called for dignified work, and discussed other related issues.
Pacho  (@ pachitoelche) [es] talks about the unrest [es] and calls for dignified work:
Marcharon muchos en diferentes ciudades de Colombia también hubo disturbios. Yo marché por millones de personas q no tienen trabajo digno
Ivan Martinez (@ OlimacNavi) [es] thinks that the march [es] was affected by communists:
Otra vez los comunistas tirándose la ciudad. Luego dicen que los del ESMAD [Policía anti disturbio] son cerdos que los maltratan. Feliz Día del Trabajo en la cárcel.
Karla Serrano  (@KarlaSerrano7) [es] quotes a phrase [es]:
“El trabajo endulza la vida; pero no a todos les gustan los dulces.” Richard Hugo”
Jesus Blanco (@ Gsusologo) [es] tweeted [ [es] with irony:
Me río yo del trabajo digno…
@ Comolanigua [es] shares two images of the anti-riot police:
En la marcha de #1mayose distribuyeron decenas de papas en la cara del ESMAD
Pueblo Uníos published several videos [es] on their YouTube account. In one video they interview several workers [es] in the march in Medellin. These workers commented on the pension reform, temporary contracts, cooperatives, recognition of indigenous cultures, the free trade agreement with the U.S., and the right to health:
Finally, the blog “Marcha Patiotica” (Patriotic March) shares [es] some grim statistics:
(…) Colombia es hoy el tercer país más desigual del mundo, en el que mientras 30 compañías reportan ingresos operacionales anuales superiores a dos billones de pesos, según cifras oficiales el 43.6% de los trabajadores son informales y el 49.2% del total de ocupados recibe ingresos inferiores al salario mínimo y el nivel de crudeza e injusticia es tal que en puerto Gaitán, lugar donde tiene su principal centro de operaciones Pacific rubiales, empresa que reporta exorbitantes ganancias, los niños mueren de hambre, tendiendo este municipio el mas alto índice de mortalidad infantil del país y como muestra de la persecución sistemática contra la organización de los trabajadores entre el 2011 y lo que va corrido del 2012 han sido asesinados 35 lideres sindicales.

author: Lully


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East Timor: Government Results Portal · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

East Timor Government Results Portal is a website that aims to publish outcomes information for the most important government targets, projects and programs. It is part of the government's transparency campaign.


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Egypt: Anger at Arrest of Lawyer in Saudi Arabia · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

A lot has been going on in Egypt in the past few weeks, such as the preparation for the presidential elections, and the clashes in Abbassiya. On top of that, diplomatic relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been under pressure because of the arrest of the Egyptian lawyer Ahmed El Gizawy in Saudi Arabia.
El Gizawy was arrested as soon as he arrived in Saudi Arabia on April 17 for pilgrimage. News reports stated that he was sentenced to 20 lashes for “defaming the Saudi king”, referring to El Gizawy's criticism made on television of Saudi Arabia's imprisonment of a number of Egyptian citizens.
Ahmed El Gizawy. Image taken from Egyptian Chronicles blog.
Egyptians received the news with rage both online and offline. A special hashtag was created for tweets attacking the Saudi king; it can loosely be translated as “Screw You, Royal Highness” [ar]. In addition, protesters gathered in front of the Saudi embassy in Cairo to condemn the arrest of the Egyptian lawyer.
Saudi officials later denied that El Gizawy was arrested for defaming the king, and they claimed instead he was arrested after being found in possession of more than 21,000 pills of the anti-depressant drug, Xanax.
Egyptians don't buy this claim; they wondered how El Gizawy was able to smuggle such a huge number of pills, and why the Saudi authorities did not announce that the arrest was because of drug trafficking from day one. In addition the authorities at Cairo airport said that they did not notice anything illegal in his luggage [ar] when leaving the country.
Writer Alaa Al Aswany said:
Al-Gizawi is a brave revolutionary lawyer who defended many of the rebels before military courts. He then took the cases of Egyptian workers in Saudi Arabia who were detained without trial, thus finding himself in litigation with the Saudi king himself. When al-Gizawi and his wife went to perform umrah (pilgrimage to Mecca), he was assured that the Saudi regime would not be able to punish him for his political positions, as under Islamic law, all those who go on a pilgrimage are untouchable. Unfortunately, al-Gizawi was arrested as soon as he landed in Saudi Arabia. Those who asked about him were told that he would be whipped and imprisoned for insulting the king of Saudi Arabia. Two days later, Saudi authorities announced that they found more than 21,000 drug tablets on al-Gizawi. This silly accusation is not worth discussion. Al-Gizawi is a brave fighter who got arrested several times in defense of his principles. What made him suddenly turn into a drug dealer? Is he stupid enough to travel with such a high amount of drugs through the Cairo airport, where baggage X-rays make it impossible to transfer that many drugs? Moreover, the quantity of that many tablets weighs more than 60 kilos, and the baggage weight limit is only 30 kilos. According to the records of the Cairo airport, the weight of al-Gizawi and his wife’s bag did not exceed the limit.
Zeinobia commented:
Young Egyptians on social networks do not buy the Saudi statement as it reminded them of the case of Khaled Said and how the ministry of interior in Egypt fabricated the drug story about him.
Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm reported [ar] that El Gizawy had previously filed a lawsuit in Egypt against the Saudi ambassador regarding the detention of torture of a number of Egyptian citizens in Saudi Arabia.
Zeinobia referred to another Egyptian detainee:
Now it is not only the case of Gizawy that we should follow and work on , I think we should work on the case of other Egyptians allegedly arrested and detained for years in the Kingdom for no reason like for instance the case of Abdullah Mamdouh [ar]. Mamdouh was detained from four years ago for no reason according to his wife Israa Kamal [ar] who is campaigning online and offline for him.
The Saudi government closed its embassy in Cairo in response to the protests there, in the worst diplomatic rift in years between the two countries. However the Saudi ambassador returned to Egypt a week later, after a high-level Egyptian delegation went to Riyadh led by Saad El Katatny, Muslim Brotherhood member and the current speaker of Egypt’s parliament.
As'ad Abou-Khalil wrote about the visit in a post entitled, “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood bows down to House of Saud“:
Such an opportunity to meet with the Saudi king would likely not have arisen in the short to medium term had Gizawy's case not been escalated by Egyptian activists. During the visit, Katatny clearly stated, “We will not interfere in Gizawy's case,” adding that “the Saudi justice system is fair.” Katatny stressed the “historic relations” between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and said that Saudi has “white hands” (Arabic for “a shining track record”) in backing Egypt. Katatny again remarked that Egypt and Saudi Arabia, “the two greatest powers in the region,” could lead the region into a bright future.
Ahmed El Gizawy remains in detention in Saudi Arabia, awaiting trial.

author: Tarek Amr


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Global Voices Partners with International Relations and Security Network (ISN) · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Global Voices and the International Relations and Security Network (ISN) in Switzerland have launched a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide.
The stories written by selected Global Voices authors on different continents will be published on the ISN blog and on Global Voices the second week of every month for the next year. Additionally, ISN has commissioned Global Voices Lingua translations in Spanish, French and Arabic of each post.
The ISN, a project of the Center for Security Studies (ETH), is one of the world’s leading open access information services for international relations and security professionals.
On our part we are thrilled to be reaching a specialist audience of international security professionals with online citizen voices on issues that often go unreported in international media.
Another new ISN blog partner is Project Syndicate, who will be supplying commentary from high level international scholars and analysts, also according to a monthly calendar.
For more information about the ISN, click here.
All articles published for this partnership will be collected on our new special coverage page: International Relations and Security.

author: Solana Larsen


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Laos: Luang Prabang Airport · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Sao Darly posts photos and a video clip of the new airport of Luang Prabang in Laos


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Russia: Surprise Resignations Threaten New Governor Elections · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

This post is part of our special coverage International Relations & Security.
On April 25, 2012, the Russian Duma passed a law [ru] that restored direct gubernatorial elections (elections of governors) to Russia's federal subjects, reversing a policy of direct presidential appointments. The law is one of several concessions President Dmitry Medvedev offered in response to the Bolotnaya Square protests last winter.
However, on April 28, Medvedev accepted the resignations [ru] of the Governors of Permskiy Krai and Yaroslavkaya Oblast. These resignations have sparked outrage from opposition bloggers who believe that the Kremlin is reneging on promises to loosen its grip on central power.
The Russian Federation is composed of 83 “federal subjects” that are a mix of Republics, Oblasts and Krais with various degrees of autonomy. During the tumultuous decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union some of them gained a large measure of independence. Some, like the Chechen Republic, tried to leave the Federation altogether.
The State Duma — the house of parliament of the Russian Federation. By Michael Chu on flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
After becoming President, Vladimir Putin consolidated central authority, a campaign that culminated in 2005 with presidential appointments of hitherto elected federal governors. These appointments were a cornerstone of Putin’s “power vertical” framework, and as such, a return to elections seemed welcome reform.
Russian bloggers began to question these reforms even as the new legislation was moving through the Duma. They pointed to recent resignations by several governors, and the interim appointment of new ones.
Some of these resignations, like that of the longtime Governor of Moscow Oblast, Boris Gromov are particularly suspect. As Governor Gromov’s term was coming to an end in 2012, his seat would have been contested in the new elections.
General Boris Gromov, Governor of Moscow Oblast (2006) Photo by Mikhail Evstafiev (CC BY-SA 2.5)
But with the appointment of his replacement elections will not happen for another five years. Opposition activist/blogger Oleg Kozyrev calls this “electoral theft” [ru] and a conscious plan of deception.
Indeed, 6 of the 14 governors whose seats would be eligible for elections in 2012 [ru] have so far resigned. However, not until the resignation of Perm’s Oleg Chirkunov, and the interim appointment of Viktor Basargin, has there been a larger public outcry.
Although Chrikunov’s appointment would have lasted until 2015, he decided that he would resign early to make way for elections [ru]. Yet because the resignation took place earlier than expected, most analysts believe Basargin will become governor by appointment.
As political strategist Gleb Pavlovsky told a Perm website, once Basargin has established himself, “he will head the region, whether Perm wills it or not.” [ru]
Residents of Permskiy Krai view this as a betrayal, states a resolution [ru] by the Perm Coalition for Direct Elections [ru]:
The replacement of the head of the region using an old procedure… is a political insult and disrespect towards the citizens… of a three million strong region that has earned these elections and is already actively preparing for them.
The Coalition is using social networks to organize a protest march on May Day as part of a campaign to make sure elections do take place.
But not everyone believes that the epidemic of resignations is solely an attempt to delay local elections for a few more years [ru]. Although six of the resignations came from governors with expiring terms, six more have resigned without such pressure. And, although former minister Shoigu was appointed to replace Gromov in Moscow Oblast, polls show that he would have won had he run, notes Echo Moskvy blogger Boris Nadezhdin [ru].
Economist and blogger Sergei Aleksashenko believes that Chirkunov was forced out for delivering low results in recent parliamentary elections [ru]. Indeed, the resigned governors share one trait – Putin's party, United Russia, won less than 40% of the vote in these regions last December [ru].
In some ways this scenario is worse. If the “resignations” are in fact punishments for electoral loss or refusal to falsify elections, the Kremlin is definitely consolidating power, and not devolving it.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Russia: Violence Plunges Opposition into Debate About Tactics · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Yesterday, the Russian opposition's mass protests against Vladimir Putin for the first time produced mass violence. Dozens of protesters and police officers alike reported injuries, with several on each side requiring hospitalization.
The countless aspects and minutia of Moscow's “Million Man March” (which attracted about a tenth of that many people, according to the very highest estimates) are already the subject of immeasurable debate, which generally orbits the question of responsibility for the fighting. Why did yesterday's rally at Bolotnaia Square, the site of two previous peaceful demonstrations, end with blood spilled and Muscovites brawling?
Clashes between police and demonstrators in Moscow, Russia. (6 May 2012) Photo by ALEXEY NIKOLAEV, copyright © Demotix.
One of the most important sticking points in the interpretation of events has been organizer Sergei Udaltsov's decision to conduct a sit-in outside the Square, which some call a provocation and others believe to have been a necessary response to police force.
Journalist and popular blogger Oleg Kashin published an article [ru] hours after the violence, endorsing the sit-in, and thanking Udaltsov and Aleksei Navalny (who also participated) for injecting the protest movement with new energy. In the article, Kashin compared the opposition's situation to that of the protagonist of the 1994 Russian film “Burnt by the Sun“, where a naive Soviet general is betrayed by Stalinism and arrested by the secret police.
The hero of that movie had behaved as though the state was just, right up until he had his face bashed in by a NKVD agent. By abandoning the usual moderate speakers of past demonstrations, Kashin argues that the “Million Man March” succeeded in revealing the true nature of today's Russian authorities:
Но что знаю точно — что если бы это был митинг, как в марте на Пушкинской или на Новом Арбате, мне было бы за него стыдно, хоть я к нему и не имел никакого отношения. Но Удальцов, Навальный и прочие сели на асфальт, и, благодаря этому, мне теперь стыдно за то, что меня не было рядом с ними.
Kashin's attitude, the embrace of more confrontational tactics, is shared by many, including perennial dissident and controversial figure Eduard Limonov, who declared [ru] in his LiveJournal relievedly, “At last the protest [movement] has radicalized,” concluding, “After what happened today, there's no longer any doubt (in case anyone still had some) that a Revolution is underway in Russia.”
Oppositionist blogger and favorite of Navalny's, Vladislav Naganov, exceeded his own typically alarmist tone when he titled his most recent blog post [ru], “This Is War,” comparing yesterday's clashes to the Nazi invasion of the USSR in 1941.
In a comment [ru] on the website Snob.ru, typically oppositionist Elena Panfilova, the director of Transparency International Russia, challenged demonstration leaders’ version of events, claiming that the sit-in was clearly planned in advance, and not in response to police restricting access into Bolotnaia Square:
[…] немаленькой группы людей, был план продемонстрировать свою силу, показать, что они могут делать все, что считают нужным. […] Я пришла как наблюдатель от Общественной палаты и увидела, как огромное количество людей, пройдя всю Якиманку, поворачивает на Болотную. И на повороте стало видно, что организованные колонны остановились посредине моста и не сворачивают. Их обтекали справа и слева “неорганизованные”, а они стояли. В этот момент стало ясно, что у стоящих людей есть план: продемонстрировать силу протестного движения […].
“They deceived people!” Panfilova explained, criticizing the rally's organizers for deliberately staging a scene that would flood the crowd with “adrenaline.”
Russian celebrity and recent oppositionist figure Ksenia Sobchak also weighed in on the sit-in, despite not attending yesterday's rally. “I'll say openly,” she wrote [ru] in her blog, “why I decided not to go: because I knew in advance that the main objective would be standing on the bridge, charging the police lines, and conducting a sit-in.”
Echoing Panfilova's critique, Sobchak affirmed her commitment to peaceful resistance and gradual “perestroika,” rejecting the radicalization of protest tactics.
The events of Moscow's “Million Man March,” which clearly divide oppositionists and pro-Kremlin activists, will also exacerbate the internal frictions among the anti-Putin protesters. That prominent figures are openly contesting the merit of more confrontational methods is proof of the opposition's commitment to transparent discussion, but fissures this ‘radicalization’ is already aggravating could prove more weakening than empowering.
Ksenia Sobchak, for her part, maintains hope in the salvation powers of the Internet, writing on LiveJournal, “Please, Mother of God, send Putin a computer — it's the last chance we've got.”

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Spain: Barcelona Sieged During European Central Bank Meeting · Global Voices
Chris Moya

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
On May 2, 3, and 4 the European Central Bank meeting took place in Barcelona, Spain, a city that became sieged by the police: 8,000 police were drafted into the Catalan capital, a total of 2,300 national police officers and 1,200 civil guards, plus 4,500 troopers (Mossos d’Esquadra).
For this meeting, Spain temporarily (from April 28 until May 4) suspended the Treaty of Schengen [es] on the border with France. The Schengen agreement eliminates internal border controls between some European countries and creates only one external border where entering controls to the Schengen Area. The Schengen Area comprises only some of the member states of the European Community.
Barcelona, police city. http://t.co/QlZ3g0bJ

@premsaindignada: Jueces para la Democracia “suspender Schengen es de Estado democrático miope” http://bit.ly/BienvenidoMrBCEweb #bienvenidoMrBCE  http://bit.ly/J2ccqP
Also through Twitter, the police itself warned the citizens in an extremely patronizing way:
@policia: Recordad: Hasta el viernes, 4, suspendido Tratado Schengen y restablecidos los controles fronterizos en España y se refuerzan en #Catalunya
The suspension of the treaty is due to political reasons, in case any violent incidents were to happen between the so-called anti system groups and the groups in charge of the security during the meeting. This was a greater deployment than the one during the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, from snipers positioned in the Arts Hotel, where the economic ministers stayed, to random searches, stopping people on the street for no reason and searching their bags.
Such deployment resulted in 10 people arrested on the border, 18 people denied entrance to Spain, and more than 126 000 people searched (ID verification and even car search) while trying to cross the border [es]. People who had pending charges with the police were also arrested.
Riot police, Barcelona http://pic.twitter.com/o5kLKIhe
During the meeting, Barcelona did not witness the expected violence because the city turned its back on those attending the meeting; however, to a greater or lesser extent, there was some protesting:
@Acampadabcn; Recordar mostrar vuestro rechazo al BCE a las 21:00h en forma de cacerolada… Que nos oigan! http://bit.ly/cassoladaBCE #CassoladaBCE
On May 3, there was a student demonstration against budget cuts in public higher education and against the raise in tuition fees. Even though this demonstration was peaceful, the political leaders in charge behaved like bullies when they ordered the riot police to surround the last protesters and direct them in a provocative way, as can be seen in this photo and video.
Student demonstrators completely surrounded by riot police. http://imgur.com/tQ2cc
A comment from the video youtube account reads:
Yo estuve allí y te lo puedo explicar. Al final de una manifestación pacífica sin altercados, un grupo reducido de esa misma manifestación decidimos seguirla hasta una universidad de la zona donde había comida y actos por el tema de la subida de las tasas universitarias. A la altura de plaza Cataluña la policía que nos iba persiguiendo en furgonetas nos rodean sin ningun motivo, nos encierran con coacción y nos empiezan a grabar e intimidar.
This is how the right to protest is respected in Spain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLVUCGactac
The European Central Bank (ECB) and its head, Mario Draghi, who was CEO of the World Bank and the European vice-president of Goldman Sachs, asked Spain to continue with the current reforms and to persevere in helping the banks.
This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Chris Moya


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Switzerland: An Initiative to Establish Basic Income for All · Global Voices
Stanislas Jourdan

An initiative to establish a new federal law known as “For an unconditional basic income” [fr] was formally introduced in Switzerland in April. The idea, which consists quite simply of giving a monthly income to all citizens that is neither means-tested nor work-related, has generated commentary throughout the Swiss blogosphere.
The Swiss referendum process is a system of direct democracy that enables citizens to call for legislative change at the federal or constitutional level.
If the initiative to introduce a basic income gathers more than 100,000 signatures before October 11, 2013, the Federal Assembly is required to look into it and can call a referendum if the initiative is judged to be credible.
On his blog, Pascal Holenweg explains what it's all about [fr]:
L'initiative populaire  pour un revenu de base inconditionnel  propose d'inscrire dans la constitution fédérale l'instauration d'une allocation universelle versée sans conditions devant permettre à l'ensemble de la population de mener une existence digne et de participer à la vie publique.
La loi règlerait le financement et fixerait le montant de cette allocation (les initiants la situent à 2000-2500 francs par mois, soit, grosso modo, le montant maximum de l'aide sociale actuelle, mais n'inscrivent pas ce montant dans le texte de l'initiative). Le revenu de base est inconditionnel : il n'est subordonné à aucune contre-prestation. Il est universel (tout le monde le touche) et égalitaire (tout le monde touche le même montant). Il est individuel (il est versé aux individus, pas aux ménages).
Il n'est pas un revenu de substitution à un revenu ou un salaire perdu. En revanche, il remplace tous les revenus de substitution (assurance chômage, retraite, allocations familiales, allocations d'étude, rentes invalidité) qui lui sont inférieurs. Comment le financer? Par l'impôt direct sur le revenu et la fortune, par l'impôt indirect sur la consommation (la TVA), par un impôt sur les transactions financières, et surtout par le transfert des ressources consacrées au financement de l'AVS, de l'AI, de l'aide sociale et des autres revenus de substitution inférieurs au montant du revenu de base.
The grassroots initiative “for an unconditional basic income” proposes that “the establishment of an unconditional universal benefit” be written into the federal constitution which would “allow the entire population to lead a dignified existence and participate in public life”.The law will address financing and set the amount of the benefit (the proposers suggest around 2,000-2,500 Swiss francs per month (or 2,200-2,700 US dollars per month), which is about the same as the maximum current social security payment, but they have not written this into the text of the initiative[fr]). The basic income does not come with any conditions attached: it is not subject to any means testing. It is universal (everyone will receive it) and egalitarian (everyone will receive the same amount). It is also personal (it is paid out to individuals, not households).It is not income to replace a lost salary. Rather, it replaces all inferior income support (unemployment benefit, pensions, family allowance, student grants, disability payments). How will it be financed? Through direct taxation of income and wealth, indirect taxation on consumption (VAT), taxing financial transactions, and most especially through the reallocation of resources currently allotted to financing state pensions and unemployment payouts, social security and other welfare payments lower than the amount of the basic income.
On his blog [fr], Fred Hubleur makes the point:
Le truc important, c’est que ce revenu est fixé pour toutes et tous sans qu’il n’y ait de contrepartie de travail ; oui, un revenu sans emploi. Cela peut choquer. Mais dans le fond c’est une idée parfaitement défendable. D’une part, on lutte ainsi contre la pauvreté et la précarité, plus besoins d’aides sociales en complément de revenus autres et des dizaines d’aides différentes et complexes à mettre en œuvre. Ce revenu inconditionnel est également un bon point pour l’innovation et la création. (…) On est aussi dans un nouveau paradigme qui peut effrayer les capitalistes acharnés : libérer l’Homme du travail et lui rendre son statut d’homo sapiens prévalant à celui d’homo travaillus qui a tellement cours dans notre société.
Martouf sets out a number of arguments in favour of a basic income [fr], as illustrated here:
This new world vision has most notably been explored in the Helvetico-German film Basic Income: A Cultural Impetus, by Ennon Schmidt and Daniel Hani, two of the eight Swiss citizens founders of the initiative:
“And what would you do with a basic income?”
On the website of BIEN_Switzerland, the Swiss branch of the global network calling for a basic income, Internet users were asked the following question [fr]:
Voilà, ça y est, vous l'avez. Chaque mois vous recevez 2500 francs sans condition. Dites-nous en quoi votre vie a changé. Dites-nous ce que vous faites de votre temps. A quoi vous consacrez votre vie ?
So here it is. You receive 2,500 Swiss francs every month no strings attached. Tell us how your life would change. Tell us how you would spend your time. What would you devote your life to?
The responses were varied. Antoine would set up a restaurant. Gaetane a farm. Renaud would devote himself to music:
Mon premier projet serait de finir et de tenter de produire un instrument de musique que je suis en train de créer. Parallèlement à ça je proposerais des cours d'utilisation de mon instrument de musique préféré et peu connu dans la région
User herfou70 would prioritise his family [fr]:
Je suis Père de famille (3 enfants – 6-11-14 ans) et suis le seul salairé de la famille. Disposer d'une revenu de base me permettrait de consacrer plus temps à mes enfants. Mon épouse pourrait également avoir une activité autre que celle qu'elle occupe dans le foyer, ce qui lui permettrait de plus s'épanouir
On Facebook, supporters of the basic income initiative have launched a competition [fr] called “star for life”. Visitors to the site are invited to take a photo of themselves as if they were sentenced to life.
A basic income will “do more harm than good”
But not everyone is convinced by the idea. According to Jean Christophe Schwaab, a member of Switzerland's lower house of representatives, socialists must not support the proposition, which he judges will “do more harm than good and be a disaster for employees”. He gave the following explanation on his blog [fr]:
Les partisans du revenu de base prétendent que ce revenu doit «libérer de l’obligation de gagner sa vie» et entraînerait la disparition des emplois précaires ou mal payés, car, puisque le revenu de base garantit le minimum vital, plus personnes ne voudra de ces emplois. Or, c’est probablement le contraire qui se produirait. Comme ces faibles montants ne suffiront pas à atteindre le premier objectif de l’initiative, à savoir garantir des conditions de vie décentes, leurs bénéficiaires seront obligés de travailler quand même, malgré le revenu de base. La pression d’accepter n’importe quel emploi ne disparaîtra donc pas.
He added:
Enfin, le revenu de base inconditionnel aurait pour grave défaut d’exclure définitivement bon nombre de travailleurs du marché du travail (dont on nierait alors le droit au travail): ceux dont on ne jugerait pas la capacité de gain suffisante (p. ex. en raison d’un handicap, de maladie ou de faibles qualifications) n’auraient qu’à se contenter du revenu de base.
His analysis is controversial, as can be seen from the comments thread under his post. From a French perspective, Jeff Renault explained why the left are “dead set against” [fr] an unconditional basic income:
La gauche de la fin du 19è et du 20è siècle s’est forgée autour de la valeur travail et la défense des travailleurs. Ce combat se retrouve dans la défense persistante du salariat et de son St. Graal, le CDI, alors même que ce “statut” ne concerne plus qu’une minorité de personnes.
With the launch of the initiative, Hubleur hopes [fr] that a great societal debate will open up in Switzerland:
Ce sera au moins la porte ouverte à un grand débat de société et l’occasion de réfléchir à ce que l’on veut et à quelle vie on aspire. Ce système d’allocation universelle (ou autres noms), ça fait un moment que je le suis, je me souviens qu’on en avait parlé dans des cours sur la précarité et le lien social il y a une dizaine d’années à l’université. Le principe est franchement séduisant et mérite qu’on s’y arrête.
Quand on voit le monde que nous donne le système capitaliste et productiviste actuel, on peut bien se prendre à rêver d’autre chose, d’un monde laissant plus de chances à chacune et chacun.

author: Stanislas Jourdan


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Tunisia: Campaign for Freedom of Expression Launched · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.
The collective blog Nawaat, and IFEX-TMG (the Tunisia Monitoring Group of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange) have launched a campaign for freedom of speech in Tunisia, which remains under threat despite gains made during the last year.
Nawaat introduced [fr] the campaign:
À l’occasion de la Journée mondiale de la liberté de la presse et en soutien à la libre parole en Tunisie, une campagne publique en faveur de la liberté d’expression est lancée du 1er au 15 mai 2012. Cette campagne est menée par Nawaat et le Groupe d’observation de la Tunisie organisé par l’Échange international de la liberté d’expression (TMG de l’IFEX), une coalition de 21 membres de l’IFEX. Cette campagne est également soutenue par l’Union européenne et Oxfam Novib
"It was for an entire generation, but no more!", composed of avatars of Tunisian Twitter users. Image from Nawaat.org
Ads in Tunisian newspapers, billboard campaigns in the streets, and videos advocating freedom of expression are all part of this initiative. In addition, an anthology called Fleeting Words, bringing together articles, commentaries and poems written during and after the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been published. The campaign also includes a series of trainings and workshops.
The campaign comes 18 months after the fall of the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, a long time enemy of freedom of speech. During these 18 months, gains for freedom of expression have been made. These gains include uncensored web access, the emergence of a culture of protest, an increase in the number of media outlets, and a flourishing of art, such as the art of caricature which has witnessed a boom since Ben Ali's departure.
The old practices, however, are far from over. In February, for instance, three journalists from the Arabic daily Attounisia were arrested for publishing a front page photo of Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira with his naked girlfriend. And on May 3 (World Press Freedom Day) a court in Tunis fined the owner of Nessma TV over the broadcast of the Iranian-French animated film Persepolis.
Index on Censorship, a member of IFEX-TMG, commented:
The need for continuing work in the sector was underlined by the prosecution of Nabil Karoui, director of privately-owned Nessma TV for blasphemy and disturbing public order.
This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Afef Abrougui


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Armenia: The Bambir in Ireland · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

CHEWYOUROWNFAT reviews Beezzy, a new song by one of Armenia's most well known rock bands, The Bambir. The independent music blog says that the group, now relocated to Ireland, defines original and is definitely an act to catch live.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Cambodia Gay Pride Week 2012 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Cambodia Gay Pride Week 2012 will take place on May 11 until May 20. Some of the activities include film screenings, parties, Buddhist blessings, and the first Cambodia Pride Amazing Tuk-Tuk Race.


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Chile: The Bigger Picture in a Plan to Make Stadiums Safe · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Diego Sazo in Ballotage [es] looks at the government's plan to make football stadiums in Chile safe. He argues that the plan tackles harmless expressions that are typical in Chilean football games (like bringing a bass drum to the stadium), and that the government should instead focus on root causes of violence, like a lack of opportunities, high inequality, and the limitations in the ‘Law on Violence in Stadiums.’


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Democratic Republic of Congo: Clandestine Abortions on the Rise in Goma · Global Voices
Passy Mubalama

[Testimonies for this post were collected by email or face-to-face interviews in French and all links forward to French articles]
Illegal abortion is a common practice in several provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly in Goma, Nord-Kivu, where the number of deaths recorded as caused by these back-door procedures is increasing day by day at a worrisome rate. Several foetuses have been found in recent weeks in parts of Goma, located in the east of the D.R.C., alarming many in the community.
Local administrator Mapendo Victorine said in an email she is very concerned about this “criminal” act:
Il y a une semaine dans le quartier Mikeno à Birere un de plus grands quartiers de la ville de Goma un fœtus de 5 mois a été retrouvé emballé dans un sachet dans une poubelle publique.  La mère ou jeune fille responsable de cet acte est  inconnue.
Congolese law prohibits abortion in all parts of the country, and as such severe punishments are sanctioned to all those involved in the elicitation of illegal abortions. Lawyer Alain Lushule, a member of the bar in Goma, explained to us that Articles 165 and 166 of the Congolese Penal Code (Book II) mandate a punishment of 5 to 10 years’ imprisonment for having an abortion, and 5 to 15 years for participation in the act.
Health Centre in Goma, D.R.C., by Julien Harneis on Flickr CC-license-BY)
Photojournalist Alain Wandiwoji expressed his concerns on his blog over the distressing situation in Goma:
Depuis décembre dernier, 11 fœtus ont été ramassés dans des caniveaux, et trois bébés étranglés retrouvés dans des poubelles publiques de certains quartiers de Goma : “Trop c'est trop ! Laisse entendre un pasteur de la ville de Goma.
A mother, indignant after seeing the foetus, told us in a face-to-face interview:
La personne qui a commis cet acte doit être recherchée par la police et être punit sévèrement pour ce meurtre. Des enfants ont été les premiers à découvrir cet enfant alors qu’ils pensaient trouver un ballon. Entendant cette foule nombreuse du quartier autour de ce fœtus, il y a une forte tristesse mais personne ne veut comprendre et s’interroger sur le pourquoi de ces pratiques d’avortement qui prennent de plus en plus de l’ampleur. Tout le monde condamne cet acte.
Fortuna Lufungula, a human rights activist in Goma, in an email touched on the cultural and moral reasons behind many in the community's denunciation of abortion:
Les traditions africaines et congolaises sont fondées sur des principes selon lesquelles avorter est un meurtre. Nul n’est censé tué et personne n’est autorisé de mettre fin à une vie d’un fœtus même quand celui-ci est d’un jour. Si on l’élimine, c’est un meurtre et il doit être sanctionné.
Can it be said that abortion is a crime without identifying the causes, issues and consequences of an act that is carried out by many young women and even some married women in Goma? What are the main reasons that lead these women to have abortions?
Challenges of women in Goma by Passy Mubalama for Uhaki News
Parents’ inflexibility
Many parents in Goma still find it difficult to accept their daughters falling pregnant, even if they are not minors. When parents discover that their daughter is pregnant, she is many times immediately removed from the family home and taken to the man responsible for the pregnancy, forced into starting her own family.
Mwamini Bujiriri, the mother of a family from Goma, drove her 14-year-old daughter from their family home after discovering she was pregnant by a young man from the same village. Bujiriri explained in an interview:
Je ne peux pas rester avec ma fille lorsqu’elle est enceinte car elle m’a ridiculisé elle doit aller rejoindre son mari responsable de sa grossesse. Nous ne pouvons pas rester deux femmes dans la même maison c’est impossible.
Many parents do not want to hear the word “abortion” because, according to many of them, abortion is murder.
A woman in Goma by @RachelBayoli
The irresponsibility of young men
Irresponsibility of the young men involved, often alongside religious beliefs, force many young women into underground abortions and even infanticide.
A young girl, who does not want to be identified, gave us her account:
Lorsque je suis tombée enceinte, je n’ai pas eu le courage d’en parler à mes parents car ils devraient seulement me chasser de la maison et ou me tuer. J’ai décidé de me taire. En même temps, le garçon responsable de ma grossesse ne voulait pas croire que c'était lui le vrai responsable. Je me suis alors retrouvé entre deux mondes car je ne pouvais rien dire à mes parents et en même temps je n’avais nulle part où aller. C’est ainsi que j’ai décidé d’avorter, mais en même temps aussi je ne pouvais pas aller à l’hôpital car l’avortement n’est pas autorisé dans notre pays et donc les médecins ne pouvaient pas accepter de le faire. Je suis donc partie voir un médecin qui a fait la procédure dans la clandestinité loin de mon quartier.
There are a lot of other young girls who, like her, are forced into illegal abortions that are carried out in secret and bring with them many associated risks, including death.
Many cases are recorded by the CONDE medical clinic in the Karisimbi neighborhood in Goma. A doctor from the clinic, who wishes to remain anonymous, told us:
Au mois de Mars dernier, une jeune fille d’une vingtaine d’année est morte de suite d’un avortement qu’elle a provoqué elle est arrivé à l’hôpital dans un très mauvais état elle a provoqué la grossesse. On a tous fait pour l’aider mais elle a fini par mourir. Beaucoup des jeunes filles meurent simplement parce qu’elles ont tenté d’avorter clandestinement.
Beliefs and abortion
Many girls who are raped, sometimes by armed men, do not have abortions for fear of committing a sin against God. These girls suffer in silence, both with their unwanted pregnancies and the difficulty of upholding their religious beliefs.
A victim of sexual violence told us about her ordeal in the Lydia Centre, where she is receiving support. The centre, which oversees victims of sexual violence, was created by the ASLPC, Action Sociale pour la Promotion des Laissés pour Compte (social action association to help those left behind)  in Goma. She explains:
Quand j’ai été violée, c’était insupportable à vivre et très douloureux pour moi.  Malheureusement quelques mois après je me suis retrouvé enceinte. Je n'ai pas su quoi faire, je ne voulais même pas car c’est un péché. Mais comme je ne peux pas avorter, je garde quand même mon bébé. Même si quand je le vois je me rappelle de beaucoup des choses douloureuses.
The situation according to medical specialists
A gynaecologist from the Provincial Hospital of Goma gave his point of view:
La jeune fille devrait pouvoir avoir le droit, dans le cas où elle se sent pas prête moralement et physiquement d’avoir un enfant de choisir d'avorter.
Given the degree of the situation, it seems that the Congolese government should consider an alternative to the current law, the gynecologist explained:
Les victimes sont encore trop souvent sujets  à recourir aux avortements dans la clandestinité qui comporte  beaucoup des risques. Que le gouvernement autorise officiellement l’avortement afin que tous ces actes cessent  et que si on veut avorter,  qu’on le fasse sans aucune crainte dans des hôpitaux qui peuvent assurer une bonne prise en charge médicale. Il faut aussi  renforcer la sensibilisation des femmes et des jeunes filles sur l’utilisation des méthodes contraceptives, afin d’éviter les grossesses indésirables.

author: Passy Mubalama


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Guatemala: State of Siege Due to Hydroelectric Plant Conflict · Global Voices
Renata Avila

This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.
The Guatemalan government has declared a state of siege in Santa Cruz Barillas, following demonstrations and clashes sparked by the death of a community leader who opposed the construction of a hydroelectric plant. Citizens from this community have been using blogs and social networks to report on the current conflict.
Santa Cruz Barillas is located in Huehuetenango, one of the most culturally diverse areas in Guatemala, where members of at least four different indigenous groups live, and where Spanish speakers are the exception rather than the norm. It is also the place where the cruelest, most brutal acts of genocide were perpetrated by members of the Army back in the 1980s.
The process of peace and reconciliation never arrived there; in some of the massacres there were no survivors left behind. It is also one of the most impoverished areas with a rate of 79.7% child malnourishment [es].
The community vs. the hydroelectric plant
The unrest first started with a disagreement between Spanish energy corporation Hidralia Energia [es] (@HidraliaEnergia) [es] and the inhabitants of Santa Cruz Barillas. According to the company's public relations website, the project complies [es] with environmental regulations. However, the company did not ask for the community's approval to build the hydroelectric plant.
The entire community [es], through their legitimate representatives in each and every Community Development Council (COCODE), have opposed the hydroelectric plant, asserting that it will seriously harm the Cambalan river environment, as reported by a Santa Cruz Barillas news portal [es]. In October 2011, community leaders publicly condemned [es] and rejected the project, and during the following months the confrontation increased.
Back in 2007, more than 46,000 members of the community had voted against mining and hydroelectric companies through a mechanism of public consultation.
Picture by SantaCruzBarillas.org under a Creative Commons License
In late April 2012, allegations of land mines placed around the hydroelectric company to protect it from any disruptive actions triggered a series of protests where citizens expressed their concern and demanded that the company be expelled from the community. Protesters denounced the mined field at the offices of the police, and later demanded protection and action from the army.
Citizen media connections
In spite of limited connectivity, unstable electricity and geographical isolation – or maybe because of the latter – Santa Cruz Barillas has high quality, interactive citizen media, which is key for understanding the community's dynamics and problems, especially in moments of tension.
During the last weekend of April 2012, villagers in Santa Cruz Barillas were kicking off their local annual festivities, starting with a beauty pageant to elect the 2012/13 Mayan Q'anjob'al beauty queen, as Pancholon reported on his blog [es]. Several of these activities were even livestreamed [es], offering an opportunity for the diaspora, especially in Los Angeles, California, to watch the festivities and also become aware of local issues, such as the hydroelectric one.
Blogs represent a bridge between these two communities living so far apart and they share information through a social network called Barillenses [es], and also use Facebook and Twitter (@barillas) [es].
Among the disagreements between the community and the company was the obstruction of pedestrian movement in a public area due to the works of the company. Pancholon reported the incident in his blog [es] and provided a copy of the complaint from the community to the police.
Pancholon also shared his concern [es] that there is pressure on local media to not report on the incident:
Se ha solicitado a los medios de comunicacion en Barillas  a no hacer eco de esta noticia por temor a represalias y no pasar anuncios publicitarios a favor de la empresa Hidro Santa Cruz. La poblacion de Santa Cruz Barillas ha puesto una denuncia ante el Juzgado de paz porque se ha encontrado artefactos explosivos activados y la denotacion de bombas tipo Claimor en la entrada donde se esta construyendo la Hidroelectrica. Los vecinos se dedican al trabajo de cultivar la tierra y temen que encuentren en su camino mas explosivos, tambien han  sido obgetos de amenazas, intimidaciones via telefonica por parte de trabajadores de HIDRO-SANTA CRUZ
As reported earlier, one of the community leaders – Andrés Francisco Miguel – was killed and two others were seriously injured in their face and arms in the aftermath of these events. The community blamed the company. Since the village was celebrating its annual festivities, some of the people present were drunk and the unrest lead to the destruction of public facilities and private property. It is uncertain whether the community leaders were involved or not.
NotiBarillas [es], one of the leading local media outlets in Barillas, reports that the government declared a state of siege for 30 days and restricted, but did not cancel, the festivities in the village. They also provide a comprehensive timeline [es] of the conflict and events leading to the recent developments: more than 12 people have been arrested, including a 74-year-old woman accused of keeping unlicensed guns in her residence.
Through its blog, the peoples’ Council demanded [es] the release of the arrested community leaders and condemned the President's declarations claiming that the protests were linked to drug dealers and organized crime. Diverse social organizations, like legal advocacy group SERJUS [es] and other organizations from the neighboring Ixcan locality, demanded [es] an exhaustive investigation to discover who was behind the killing of community leader Andrés Francisco Miguel.
Declaring a state of siege has been the reiterated practice of the last three governments when situations get out of the authorities’ control. Meanwhile, citizen participation mechanisms where all stakeholders can convene and agree on the best solution have been largely ignored.
An open letter to the President was published today in a collective Latin American Social Scientists blog [es], signed by dozens of well know academics and institutions, demanding that the President of Guatemala defend the people over enterprises and private companies.
According to the government of Guatemala's Twitter account (@GuatemalaGob) [es] the President visited Santa Cruz Barillas on May 7. His message favors the hydroelectric plant and blames the conflict on organized crime and ideological disagreement. He also affirmed he will increased the number of soldiers in the village.
In his communique [es] he did not mention the killed local man, but showed the injuries of one of the soldiers.
This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.

author: Renata Avila


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India: Online Cartoon Exhibition Protesting Repression · Global Voices
Rezwan

The arrest of Ambikesh Mahapatra, a professor of Jadavpur University, for circulating West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees's cartoon has enraged many online activists. A cartoon exhibition protesting her acts is available online.

author: Rezwan


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India, Pakistan Missile Launches: Game Changers or Mere Posturing? · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

This post is part of our special coverage International Relations & Security.
On April 19, 2012, India successfully test-fired its Agni V inter-continental ballistic missile (IBCM). With a range of over 5,000 kilometres, the Agni V places India’s missile capabilities increasingly in line with the United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France and China. The following week, neighboring Pakistan successfully test-launched its nuclear capable ballistic missile, the Shaheen 1-A.
These back-to-back missile tests received widespread coverage and comment on mainstream and social media outlets. In particular, netizens have been engaging in lively online discussions regarding the escalating arms race in South Asia and its impact on the overall security of the region.
While many netizens across India and Pakistan, fuelled with nationalistic fervor, engaged in hyperbole regarding the respective missile launches, there has been some strong criticism in the Pakistani blogosphere regarding the United States’ response to India's missile launch. Labeling it as “double standards”, Yasmeen Ali, a university professor based in Lahore, wrote on Pakpotpourri2's blog:
The Agni V missile being launched off the coast of Odhisa, India, on 19th April, 2022. Image courtesy Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
The need here is to support a country within the region to act, or seem to act as a deterrent to China. Obvious choice: India.What USA had completely overlooked in this game of regional hegemony is when you let the genie out of the bottle, it will refuse to go back in the bottle. It can one day, turn upon the master, once his heart’s desire of being let out is fulfilled.
However, a section of netizens felt that these missile tests were not going to escalate security tensions among India, China and Pakistan. On his blog Chaturanga, Jaideep Prabhu pointed out that India's policy was to acquire a ‘minimum credible deterrent’ and not to escalate an arms race, as was being loosely discussed in a section of the media.
He commented:
The launch of the China-specific Agni V has generated much talk about an arms race between China and India, and consequently, India and Pakistan. The Chinese media (and hence the government) has taken exception to this, reacting sharply to the test and labeling it as India’s missile delusion…But unless India has abandoned its old policy of MUD (Mutually Unacceptable Damage), analysts and Beijing have jumped the gun.
On the blog Rolan San Juan, Rajesh Basrur, a Senior Fellow and the Coordinator of the South Asia Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), argued that the Agni-V launch was “inconsequential” in that it would not change India's “deterrence game vis-à-vis China.
In his post on The Christian Science Monitor, Scott Baldauf referred to the chain of events as ‘ritual aggression’ between India and Pakistan, a posturing more out of habit than actual security concerns, especially given that the two countries were currently trying to develop closer ties.
He wrote:
These tests follow an extraordinary set of meetings between the president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi earlier this month, in which the two nations pledged to increase trade ties and to fight against extremism. While these missile tests might have seemed to be a setback in earlier times, they have now become a kind of theater of virility, separate from any political discourse.
There were hardly any major security concerns expressed in the social media of neighbors such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

author: Aparna Ray


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Kenya: An Online Source for Kenya Architecture · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Architecture Kenya is an online source of information for a growing number of people interested in Kenyan architectural news, projects, products, events, jobs, interviews and competitions among others.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Macedonia: Protest Announced in Support of Environmental Activist on Trial · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Greenbox blog reported [mk] that the Green Coalition and NGO Lenka would hold a protest in front of Veles court on May 9, 2012, at 11:30 AM, before the start of the trial of the environmental activist Igor Smilev, who has been accused of endangering security & defamation by the manager of Мetrudhem, a corporation that aims to restart the local lead smelting factory. Lenka also published a legal opinion [mk] refuting the accusations, based on the activist's rights enshrined in international conventions, the Constitution, and national laws.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Martinique: “Think Like A Man”, Just Not in France · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

UPDATE: May 23, 2012, 9:20 pm We understand from the Allo Ciné cinema website that the status of the film “Think Like a Man” is “prochainement” (coming soon), as it has been for quite some time. Sony, the film's distributor, just issued a statement here, saying that there were never any plans for a French release date for the movie. Thus, while Afro-American films are generally not “cancelled”, strictly speaking, they are often not released, with no explanation. One possible reason for this could be the nature of the film distribution system in the country: major companies do not customize releases; they release a film in hundreds of movie theaters, or not at all. Smaller companies may release “arty” films that are likely to attract a niche audience in independent movie houses. The Afro-French community does not, by and large, have specific movie houses or distribution systems in France, perhaps because census, geolocalization, surveys and marketing based on racial standards and statistics are strictly forbidden in the country. Thus, movie-goers interested by Afro-american films usually have to wait for their video release.
Just weeks after the debate surrounding the election of Miss Black France 2012, another question is being discussed by French people of African descent: the  alleged [fr] cancellation of the release of the American movie “Think Like A Man” in French movie theaters.
How does an American movie find a place in the French social debate?
Surprising as it may be, the answer lies in the fact that the film has an all-black cast. French cinema is often pointed at for not fairly displaying all components of the country's multiethnic population. Although the recent success of the movie Les Intouchables, which earned French African actor Omar Sy the Cesar award for Best Actor in 2012, caused great pride and hope among French nationals from Africa and the Caribbean, it was not to be the turning point for a deep and lasting change.
Movie Poster for "Think Like a Man"
Martinican blogger Bondamanjak is very cynical after this tainted victory, as he  explains [fr] that Omar Sy's award nomination did not come all naturally, but was rather due to the great number of viewers in theaters.
Et la France comme un seul homme oublie que Omar Sy ne figurait pas sur la liste des nominés aux Césars […] Il a fallu que ‘Intouchables’ touche la barre des 19 000 000 d'entrées que ça râle un peu beaucoup pour que ce flagrant délit de mauvais scénario soit reconnu par l'immonde monde du cinéma français. Mais qu'on se rassure, cette récompense n'est qu'une opportuniste goutte d'eau dans un désert qui avance.
How can racial profiling in cinema be explained?
Martinican blog People Bo Kay reposts a note published [fr] on the Facebook page of Negro News, entitled “France does not want all-black couples in movies”. This analysis, which has now gone viral, develops ideas about communalism and politics in France, which are supposed to explain the rejection of the movie.
Il faut rappeler qu'il y a dans l’État français, une stratégie socio-politique qui tend à prôner le métissage plutôt que la valorisation des communautés. Dans la comédie ‘Think like a Man’, les couples noirs sont mis en avant.
According to this note, the other explanation to the blocking of African-American films in France (despite their profitability) is that:
À noter, les films de l'acteur et producteur noir Tyler Perry ne sont jamais programmés dans les salles françaises ou alors ils sortent directement en DVD. Pourtant ce producteur a pour habitude de dominer le box-office américain avec des films comme ‘Why did I get Married’ et “For Colored Girls”. La société française dans toute son hypocrisie ne veut surtout pas diffuser des films de producteurs noirs qui gagnent des millions de dollars en faisant passer un message positif pour la diaspora africaine grâce à leurs films.
In the same vein, other French Afro-Caribbean netizens, like the collective of female bloggers at La Scandaleuse condemns [fr] how some well-known French movie magazines and websites have openly underrated the movie and its cast:
Première.fr ne comprend pas comment un film avec une majorité d’acteurs noirs peut-être premier du box office! Ne connaissant aucun acteur, ils se permettent alors d’écrire «cette comédie au pitch classique et sans tête d’affiche (le chanteur Chris Brown est le nom le plus connu du générique).» Faut il vous faire la filmographie de tous les acteurs ? Non car cela est votre travail !
This lack of knowledge about African-American actors, even when they are world-famous, echoes, according to La Scandaleuse, a French trend:
Mais peut-être que dans un pays comme la France où on a du mal à faire tourner des acteurs noirs, la surprise ne peut-être que grande face au succès de «Think Like a Man» ! Qui, d’ailleurs, n’est pas présenté comme un film afro par ses acteurs ni par son réalisateur, c’est un film universel, ce qui explique son succès au box office!
African diaspora-oriented Afrik.com weighs in by adding  [fr]:
Si l’article de Première.fr semble certainement mal documenté, c’est avant tout un exemple parmi d’autres du refus des diffuseurs et du milieu du cinéma français de miser sur des films dans lesquels la majorité des acteurs sont noirs ou même de miser sur leur éventuel succès. Sous couvert de logiques économiques frileuses, ce «genre» de films, qu’ils soient américains ou français, n’existent quasiment pas dans les salles françaises.

author: Fabienne Flessel


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May Day Videos: Marches, Demonstrations and Protests Around The World · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Through cities around the globe, people took to the streets to march and commemorate the International Workers’ Day.  Videos by The Real News take us on a tour of how the day was observed throughout the world.
May Day March in Venezuela
While some places saw peaceful marches, others had violent encounters between armed forces and the protesters.  On the first part of the video, an overview of workers in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.  For example, Malaysian activists protested against the growing inequality. In the Philippines were for job security and higher wages.  Indonesians protested low wages and rough conditions. Cambodians asked for higher wages.  People in Bahrein asked for workers to be reinstated to their positions of which they were removed by the government crackdowns. In Egypt protests were on behalf of including workers rights in the constitution that is being drafted. In Europe, workers protested austerity measures that seem to target them.  In Russia, both the ruling party and the opposition had their own rallies.  The French left marched against the past of fiscal austerity. And in the London, where May Day is not a holiday, workers went on strike.
On the second part, protests in North and South America.  Demonstrations throughout Canada protesting budget cuts and rises in college tuition.  In the USA, banks were targeted in many major cities including clashes with riot police, calls to strikes, and blockades.  In Mexico workers marched to ask the government to do a better job in the face of violence. Honduras saw protests against the privatization of public services as well as corruption. In Cuba, massive parades commemorated the Cuban Revolution and in Venezuela both the government supporters and opposition marched, either for or against the recent reforms.  In Colombia there were arrests during the protests and the Chilean student movement also marched.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Mexico: Citizens Disappointed After Presidential Candidate Debate · Global Voices
Andrea Arzaba

Millions of Mexicans were expectant on the night of Sunday, May 6, when presidential candidates were scheduled to debate. The debate was especially popular among young people, who are mostly hesitant as they face the difficult decision of picking their next President.
The transmission lasted two hours, and thousands of comments where available on the web in real time and shortly after the end of the debate. In general, there was an atmosphere of hopelessness and despair after the discussion.
A Lopez Obrador supporter before the presidential candidate debate on Sunday, May 6. Sign reads "Votes don't have prices, they have consequences. We vote for real change. Lopez Obrador, we trust you" Image by Flickr user Eneas (CC BY 2.0)
Khublai Villafuerte, a blogger at Circulo de Cafe [es], affirmed that the reality of Mexican Politics hit the country once again:
La realidad política de México nos pega una vez más. Golpes por doquier y muy pocas propuestas contundentes; sólo el candidato más rezagado se dignó a presentarnos un manual de cómo formar un régimen autoritario, neoliberalista pero eso sí, sustentable. Quién pudo presentar modelos de cambio se limitó a hacerlo durante un minuto y atacar, a veces de manera muy floja; la candidata oficialista sólo declamó y el puntero repitió sus comerciales que diario escuchamos en la televisión y la radio. Casi nadie contestaba a las preguntas planteadas.
Later, he added [es] that real change will not come from a president, but rather from all of the citizens:
Como ciudadanía hemos ganado un golpe de realidad, hemos recordado que el cambio no depende de una persona que sentada en cierta silla sino de nuestra exigencia, de nuestro trabajo y sobretodo de nuestro compromiso con el país. Que este debate nos sirva para llamar nuestra atención y recordarnos que un verdadero cambio sólo vendrá desde y a través de nosotros mismos.
Animal Politico blogger Antonio Marvel argued that nobody won the debate [es]:
Un debate que no ganó nadie: no ganó Enrique Peña Nieto, no perdió Andrés Manuel López Obrador, no aprovechó Josefina Vázquez Mota y no fue para Gabriel Quadri.
The public's expectations and results were so low that, as a joke, the model designated to help during the event was named the “real winner of the debate” on social networks, simply because of her beauty and revealing attire. Blogger Chilakil [es] from Hazme el chingado favor [es] explained it:
Y entre los dimes y diretes, propuestas huecas, números, estadísticas y un sin mil de acusaciones la que mejor aprovecho el breve tiempo que se le dio y la indiscutible ganadora fue nada más y nada menos que la edecán Julia Orayen.
Among the gossip, hollow proposals, numbers, statistics and countless thousands of accusations, the one who took real advantage of the short time given, and the undisputed winner was the model, Julia Orayen.
On Twitter, 3 out of the 22 popular discussion topics became worldwide trending topics: #Debate2012 [es], #JuliaOrayen [es], and #HastaLaVictoriaConJosefina [es] (“until victory with Josefina).
Evelyn Castillejos from the blog Merca2, mentioned [es] the impact of social media, especially Twitter, during the debate:
Unfortunately, the debate did not help a lot of Mexicans make up their mind and decide who they will vote for during the next elections. Only very few proposals were mentioned and most candidates gave an answer on “what they want to tackle” instead of “how they are planning to do it”.

author: Andrea Arzaba


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Nigeria: R.I.P. Rashidi Yekini – African Football Legend · Global Voices
Richard Wanjohi

Towards the end of last week, Africa lost one of its biggest scoring heroes in football – Rashidi Yekini. After playing for several clubs and representing Nigeria in both the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup, he retired into oblivion and unknown to the world he suffered mental illness to his death.
Optimum Sports, in a very detailed post titled “Rashidi Yekini 1963-2012″ said:
He scored Nigeria's first ever goal at the World Cup, against Bulgaria at USA '94, and led the way as they won the Africa Cup of Nations in the same year. “Yekini's fantastic skills and talent were evident to the world”Issa Hayatou – CAF President
Rashidi Yekini – Nigeria's soccer legend. Photo source goal.com.
They went on to add:
He is Nigeria's top international scorer, with 37 goals from 58 games. He was also a prolific goal-scorer in club football – seeing huge success with Shooting Stars in Nigeria, Ivory Coast’ s Africa Sport and Vitoria Setubal in Portugal, amongst others
Naija-Things wrote a brief post dedicated to Nigeria’s scoring machine:
Another Naija Hero had just fallen on Friday 4th May, 2012. Rashidi Yekini eventually passed away after suffering from a mental illness for two years now
The North Bank Evening Standard from the Gambia also shared highlights of his career:
Yekini scored nearly 40 goals as a Nigerian international, and represented the nation in five major tournaments, including 2 World Cups, where he scored the country’s first-ever goal in the competition. He was also named the African Footballer of the Year once
YouTube video below: Rashidi Yekini scoring Nigeria's first ever goal at the World Cup:
Maxibeats compiled statements from former playing colleagues:
Super Eagle ex-goal keeper Ike Shorunmu also confirmed to Saturday Tribune saying ‘It’s so sad but the truth of the matter is that our dear Rashidi Yekini is dead, Shorunmu lamented. ‘He died in a private hospital in Ibadan. ‘The woman who had a daughter for Yekini told me this sad news and told me that he would be buried today in Ira, Kwara State’, said Shorunmu.
Gist Only wrote a rather controversial headline “Late Rashidi Yekini’s Wife blames the Media for his Death”:
A former wife of Rashidi Yekini, Adeola says the Late Super Eagles star would have lived longer if the media had left him in peace.The Osogbo-based mother of Yekini’s second daughter, Mariam says the media poked into his personal life all the time and abused his modesty”
The African football game has indeed lost of its most illustrious footballers. Nigeria which has lately been through rough times for its international games has lost a great role model who will forever live in our memories for his tenacious play on the pitch.
Tunde wrote about the “untold story of Rashidi Yekini's last days”:
Accounts from neighbours and associates paint a picture of a man who struggled with serious mental and delusional disorder after losing life savings to a bungled investment.
One neighbour spoke of his losing life savings to a sham investment, and another recalled seeing him frequently around women selling Bóle (roasted plantain); and on two occasions he answered nature’s call by a roadside in Ibadan where he lived away his final days.
Then, a former teammate conjectured how a disheartening jeering from fans during a crucial match that turned out his last international showing, haunted him to a bitter end.
Those who met Rashidi Yekini within the last one year say at least one of those episodes played a role in his unexpected death last week.
African football has indeed lost one of its most illustrious footballers. Nigeria, which has lately been through rough times from poor performance in international soccer, has lost a great role model who will forever live in our memories for his tenacious play on the pitch.

author: Richard Wanjohi