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Goodbye, “Online.” Hello, HTTPS! · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

On November 7, 2014, Ethan Zuckerman announced he was going to war. The web domain we'd been lusting after for a decade was up for grabs, and come hell or high water, he was going to win it.
The domain was globalvoices.org, which, if the world always worked in one’s favour, would have been the address visitors to the Global Voices web site saw in their browsers from the day the site launched in 2005. But back then it was owned by the civic engagement nonprofit AmericaSpeaks, who couldn’t be persuaded to sell. Our fallback was the long, unwieldy globalvoicesonline.org, which we grew to love even as it spilled over the edges of our business cards and caused some people to refer to us as “Global Voices Online”.
Our fearless co-founder Ethan, preparing for battle.
Over the years we kept an eye on AmericaSpeaks and that domain name of theirs. In early 2014, after learning they were closing down after 19 years, we had a few promising but ultimately fruitless conversations with the people charged with selling off AmericaSpeaks’ assets. Then came the note from Ethan on November 7, announcing that globalvoices.org had come on the market and he was about to embark on a bidding war for it over at GoDaddy. We wished him luck and waited the next few hours with bated breath, fingers and toes crossed, clutching our respective good luck charms.
At 6:07pm EDT that evening, an email landed in our inboxes, with the subject line “got it”. “So…,” wrote Ethan, “we're now the proud owners of globalvoices.org.”
If we didn’t all live in different parts of the world a bottle of champagne would no doubt have been uncorked, but even the virtual jubilation was loud and effervescent. Only a few weeks before we’d marked the 10th anniversary of our first ever blog post, and our official 10th birthday was just weeks away. What better 10th birthday present than to finally have our organizational and domain names in perfect alignment!
Taking possession of a new domain was one thing—implementing it across our array of 30-plus linked, multilingual WordPress sites, was quite another, especially as we planned to synchronise it with the switchover from HTTP to the more secure HTTPS, a shift that had long been in the works.
For the past several months, our Montreal-based tech lead Jeremy Clarke, with support from Carl Alexander, has been working out the intricacies and technicalities of these two unrelated but interlinked processes.
On September 15 we performed the domain migration, and in the process enabled always-on HTTPS across all our major sites. https://www.globalvoices.org is now the address that appears in your browser when you visit Global Voices’ main English site, and subdomains such as Rising Voices and our translation sites carry globalvoices.org as well.
Alongside this shift, Global Voices Advocacy, long known to community members and close friends by the much snappier “Advox”, had a whopping nine characters cut from its former URL and became the svelte https://advox.globalvoices.org. In the coming weeks, we shall proudly adopt Advox as our official name in site brand and logo.
And our work is not yet done. Despite serving all pages as HTTPS, we know that some aspects of the cryptography in our setup still need work in order to comply with the latest security protocols. But we're proud to have taken this major step forward. We salute Ethan, Jeremy and Carl for putting in the hard work that made this happen!

author: Georgia Popplewell


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In Myanmar, Election Candidates Chase Votes Via ‘Likes’ · Global Voices
The Irrawaddy

A thumbs up sign resembling the Facebook ‘like’ icon and a painted flag of Myanmar. Image by Kurious, CC License, Pixabay
This edited article by Yen Snaing is from The Irrawaddy, an independent news site in Myanmar, and is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement. Myanmar's November 8 election is seen by many international observers as an important process in the country's transition towards democracy.
With 55 days until Myanmar's November 8 general election, candidates for the poll are beginning to pound the pavement—and increasingly, the keyboard—in search of voters’ favor.
Unsurprisingly, given the enormous popularity of the social networking platform, several candidates have taken to Facebook to garner support for their parliamentary bids in recent days, and a steady stream of candidate portraits and photos of campaign activities has been making the social media rounds since the election’s official campaign period began on September 8.
Zin Ni Ni Win, a candidate for the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Pakokku, Magwe Division, quickly found herself with thousands of followers after word of her candidacy got out. A young, fresh face whose Facebook page also boasts pictures of the candidate with the hugely popular NLD chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi, Zin Ni Ni Win has seen her “likes” skyrocket to more than 25,000 since she set up her account earlier this month.
Nay Phone Latt, another NLD candidate who is also founder of the technology NGO Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO), said his party’s online media team was compiling candidates’ information to be posted on the NLD’s official website.
In an age of growing connectivity in Myanmar, Nay Phone Latt said social media had an important role to play in candidates’ outreach to voters.
If we want to campaign toward youths and the middle-aged, we cannot refrain from using it.
Nay Phone Latt said this while noting that the Internet could just as easily serve as a platform for hate speech.
The online engagement is a new phenomenon for Burmese, who saw little to nothing in the way of e-campaigning in Myanmar’s 2010 general election; a product of the country’s almost negligible Internet penetration, apathy due to sky-high SIM card prices and perceptions that the vote would be rigged.
Five years on, foreign telecommunications firms have helped drive SIM prices down and mobile usage up, and the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has enacted enough reforms to convince more than 90 political parties to contest the upcoming election.
Min Zayar Oo, a Lower House candidate with the Mon National Party (MNP), first used his Facebook account to inform followers that his candidacy was under review. Having cleared the vetting process, he has since used it to make campaign pamphlets and voter education materials available to voters online.
It has been a long time that I have been using social media. … I am well-connected with most Moulmein accounts. Some people also redistribute my information.
Min Zayar Oo said this referring to the capital of Mon State.
Most MNP candidates are online, he said, adding that some of the party’s older candidates who are not Internet-savvy have enlisted young hands to manage their accounts.
Computer users in Myanmar. Photo by Manaw Htun, Copyright @Demotix (6/12/2014)
Nang Shwe Kyar, a candidate for the Wun Thar Nu Democratic Party, said she was using her personal Facebook account as a means of widely disseminating her policy positions and activities among the public, and to gain name recognition. Her party’s other three candidates were also using Facebook as part of their campaign strategies, she said.
Michael Suantak, program manager with Phandeeyar, a local technology organization that supports social innovation, said although use of social media for online electioneering had “good potential,” the effectiveness of such outreach had yet to be tested.
There are about 6 million Facebook users among Myanmar’s population of 51 million, according to Suantak, who said about two-thirds of those users were living in the country’s two largest cities, Rangoon and Mandalay, and the capital Naypyidaw.
Suantak pointed out that Facebook “likes” would not necessarily translate to votes on November 8. Poor connectivity also meant social media campaigning would have limited traction in the rural constituencies that make up much of the country, he added.
Given the new online territory that candidates are treading in this election year, Suantak said a lack of “data literacy” would likely bring hiccups both in sending and receiving election-related information.
“The candidates themselves are just taking photos and posting words. They need a strategy. Also the public lacks experience and knowledge to filter fake news from genuine news,” Suantak said, warning that bogus accounts could also be used to attack candidates or otherwise incite unrest.
Union Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann has become an increasingly prominent Facebook presence in recent months, a trend that looks likely to continue as the campaign unfolds over the coming weeks. Over the weekend, he posted pictures of himself on the campaign trail in his native Phyu Township, where he will contest for a seat in Parliament’s Lower House with the USDP.
For Hla Swe, another USDP lawmaker with a strong Facebook following, social media is about letting constituents know what he’s up to. He said:
It’s not good not to share what one does. I think I should tell the public what I do. That’s why I use Facebook. For example, I went to a village, I met with villagers, took photos and posted them, saying I serve their needs.
And while the impact of Facebook and other social media platforms on the 2015 race remains to be seen, Hla Swe claims he’s at least got a grasp on how to gauge reaction to any given posting.
If I post a status, I get about 2,000 ‘likes’ and 100 comments. I assume the 2,000 people are those who like me, and the 100 are those who don’t like me.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: The Irrawaddy


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The End of Japan’s ‘Peace Constitution’ Draws Ever Closer · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

A scuffle breaks out in a committee meeting in Japan's Diet. Screencap from official ANN YouTube channel.
Update: Japan's parliament passed the Legislation for Peace and Security into law early on Saturday, September 19, 2015.
Chaos reigned in Japan's Diet for most of the week of September 14 as the coalition government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe started the process of finalizing controversial new legislation that will allow Japan to go to war.
Abe has stated he wishes to see the bill passed into law by the House of Councillors, the upper house of Japan's bicameral parliament, by the evening of Friday, September 18 at the latest.
Opposition parties did their best to foil the ruling bloc's plans and have been encouraged by tens of thousands of protesters chanting on the streets just a block away in the heart of Tokyo.
【New】安保法案、大詰め　与野党が激しく対立、国会前は抗議デモ http://t.co/KG6NSke1ho pic.twitter.com/4F5XqjLZGg
— ハフィントンポスト日本版 (@HuffPostJapan) septiembre 16, 2015
Breaking: Opposition parties put up a fierce fight [against passage of the] Legislation for Peace and Security, while crowds gather to protest outside of Japan's National Diet.
Once passed, the Legislation for Peace and Security will greatly expand the overseas role of the Self-Defense Forces and allow for Japan to exercise its “right to collective self-defense” and participate in military operations with other countries such as the United States.
Depending on who you ask, the proposed law can be considered technically unconstitutional, contravening Article 9 of Japan's post-World War II “Peace Constitution”.
The government began the process of enacting the bill into law on Wednesday, September 16. At first the special committee of the Upper House could not begin as doors were blocked by protesting legislators, as seen in the video below:
Many of the legislators blocking access to the hall were women wearing pink headbands reading “Stop sexual harassment!” (セクハラやめろ！). The headbands are possibly a reference to the fact that at least 50% of female legislators in Japan report having experienced sexual harassment.
Not all Twitter commenters were sympathetic.
【緊迫・安保法案】「触るな！セクハラだ！」の警告に鴻池委員長、入室できない状態つづく　元近鉄の石井議員も“冤罪”被害か-産経 http://t.co/yZzCon4CPt セクハラの意味も痴漢との違いも分からない哀れなピンク鉢巻！ pic.twitter.com/xN4p8ehbWR — Atsuo Kawasaki (@Atsuo_Kawasaki) septiembre 16, 2015
Tensions over Peace and Security Legislation: As he hears warnings of “Don't touch me! That's sexual harassment!” committee chair Konoike Yoshitada cannot enter committee chambers. Was former Kintestu baseball player Ishii Hiro also falsely accused? Sankei:  http://www.sankei.com/politics/news/150916/plt1509160079-n1.html These pitiful pink headbands probably don't know the difference between sexual harassment and groping on the train.
Eventually lawmakers were allowed into committee chambers, where the opposition tried every trick in the book to delay the committee vote needed to move the bill on to the next stage of the legislative process. There were even plans to submit a motion of non-confidence of committee chair Konoike Yoshitada.
Eventually, ruling lawmakers came up with a cunning plan whereby they approved the bill in committee. Opposition lawmakers, realizing they had been tricked, quickly rushed towards the speaker, resulting in a minor brawl in the Diet chamber.
紙面【一面】強行採決再び。安保法案 参院委で可決。野党 内閣不信任案案提出へ。反対聞こえた 野党「引けない」ほか 詳しくは本日(9月18日付)東京新聞朝刊にて。 pic.twitter.com/l8IVRuZc5K — 東京新聞ほっとWeb オフィシャル (@tokyohotweb) septiembre 17, 2015
From the front page of the Tokyo Shimbun: Government continues to ram through passage of bill. Peace and Security Bill approved in committee. Opposition parties get ready to submit a motion of non-confidence, vow “no compromise.” For more details read the September 18 morning edition of the Tokyo Shimbun.
Of special interest to many Japanese is that the mustachioed man in the right of the picture is retired Colonel Masahisa Sato. Now a sitting as member of the governing party in the House of Councillors in Japan's Diet, Sato once led the Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group in January and February 2004, the first foreign deployment of the Japanese military since the Second World War.
Earlier in the week, before the altercation, Sato took to Twitter to complain about the tough working conditions in Japan's Diet:
夕方からずっと理事会室に缶詰め状態。委員会室に委員長共々移動出来ず。トイレに行くのもバリケード中の野党議員の許可制状態。 — 佐藤正久 (@SatoMasahisa) septiembre 16, 2015
We spent the whole evening stuck in a meeting room, and were totally blocked from getting into the committee chambers. We were even barricaded from the toilets by opposition MPs.
Not everyone felt sorry for Sato and other government lawmakers who were inconvenienced by the antics of the opposition:
@SatoMasahisa @emi_mumemo わかっているね佐藤正久、すべてあんたらが憲法違反をしているからだよ。
— washiroh (@alexbk09) septiembre 16, 2015
Surely you must understand, Sato Masahisa, that what you guys are doing is unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, a heavy police presence blocked protesters from the Diet in central Tokyo.
しかし、非暴力なデモに対して、この異常でヒステリックな弾圧の絵を作って見せたことは、世界に対しては「日本は民主主義やめます宣言」にしか見えないのでは。 pic.twitter.com/11N93WfrGY
— emi kiyomizu (@kiyomizu5) septiembre 17, 2015
Although the demonstrations are non-violent, we're seeing historical display of force here. We're telling the world that “Japan has vowed to end democracy.”

author: Nevin Thompson


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Photos Show How Badly the Haze Is Affecting Southeast Asia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A family riding a motorcycle wear masks as protection against the haze in Riau Province, Indonesia. Photo by Fachrozi Amri, Copyright @Demotix (9/17/2015)
A massive forest fire in Indonesia has worsened the air pollution levels in several parts of the Southeast Asian region. The blaze, caused by drought and land-clearing operations, brought haze not only to the skies of Indonesia, but also in Malaysia and Singapore.
Haze is a recurring problem which is blamed by many on slash and burn practices of small farmers and big palm oil plantations. Indonesia has vowed to go after these individuals and companies to stop the burning of the forest.
Meanwhile, the fire is still spreading in the western part of Indonesia, and the smoke continues to descend in several cities of the country and in nearby Malaysia and Singapore.
Below are some photos which show how residents of the region are suffering from the impact of the haze.
A volunteer try to extinguish a fire in a peatland in Rimbo Long, Kampar, Riau province, Indonesia. Photo by Fachrozi Amri, Copyright @Demotix (9/14/2015)
Soldiers extinguish the fire that burned peatlands in Rimbo Long, Kampar, Riau Province, Indonesia's Sumatra. Photo by Fachrozi Amri, Copyright @Demotix (9/16/2015)
A jogger uses a mask as protection against the haze in Riau Province, Indonesia. Photo by Fachrozi Amri, Copyright @Demotix (9/17/2015)
A vendor wearing a mask sells newspaper as the city of Pekanbaru in Indonesia is enveloped with haze. Photo by Fachrozi Amri, Copyright @Demotix (9/14/2015)
Thick haze covered Sultan Syarif Kasim II airport in Riau Province, Indonesia which resulted in the delay and cancellation of some domestic and international flights. Photo by Fachrozi Amri, Copyright @Demotix (9/15/2015)
A man wearing a face mask checks his smartphone while the city of Johor in Malaysia is blanketed by a thick haze. Photo by Fadzil Daud, Copyright @Demotix (9/13/2015)
A boy covers up his face while playing football in Kuala Lumpur. The iconic buildings (Back) of Kuala Lumpur are seen shrouded by haze. Photo by Mukhriz Hazim Mohammad Zabidi, Copyright @Demotix (9/13/2015)
A student wears a face mask during a school assembly due to haze that hit several states in Malaysia. Photo by Fadzil Daud, Copyright @Demotix (9/13/2015)
The air pollution index soared to an unhealthy level in Malaysia forcing students to wear face masks in school. Photo by Fadzil Daud, Copyright @Demotix (9/13/2015)
Singapore’s National Environment Agency issued this advisory on September 17, 2015, about the health impact of the haze:
Given the air quality forecast for the next 24 hours, healthy persons should reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion. The elderly, pregnant women and children should minimise prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion, while those with chronic lung or heart disease should avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion. Persons who are not feeling well, especially the elderly and children, and those with chronic heart or lung conditions, should seek medical attention.
Twitter users from Singapore are sharing photos through the hashtag #sghaze. The iconic Marina Bays Sands of Singapore is shrouded with haze
200 PSI is the new 400 PSI. #sghaze [Photo by my friend WK] pic.twitter.com/i0bGUWwfbZ
— mrbrown (@mrbrown) September 14, 2015
Will this lead to heaven #sghaze pic.twitter.com/Z3BuAnhrxt
— o,o (@jinglebells61) September 14, 2015
And finally, this parody of a Hollywood movie poster mocks the situation in Singapore today:
If Maze Runner is filmed in Singapore #sghaze pic.twitter.com/i0KTTfgZhc
—   (@M2CTR) September 13, 2015

author: Mong Palatino


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Russia’s Favorite Beer-Eating Patriot Has Now Burned, Eaten, and Stomped on 20,000 ‘Dollars’ · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Stas Baretsky destroys Western currencies for Mother Russia, and for the iPhone and Samsung cameras. September 16, 2015. YouTube.
Stas Baretsky is a large, red-coated man who’s recently been in the news because he likes biting into cans of beer. When he performs this stunt, the beer explodes forwards, showering the ground below in fizz and foam. Once upon a time, from 2005 to 2008, Baretsky was a member of the famous Russian music group Leningrad. This summer, thanks to his unusual size and talent for tearing apart aluminum with his teeth, Baretsky has rebranded himself as crusader against Western imports.
This week, he unveiled the latest chapter in his assault on things not Russian, when he burned up, chewed up, stomped on, and then sprayed with beer a stack of dollars and euros. Baretsky said the money added up to about $20,000—his supposed life savings. Before setting the cash ablaze, he addressed “all the businessmen of Russia,” calling on them to follow his lead and free themselves from bedeviled foreign currencies. “We need to use our own rubles,” he yelled, and then he tore into the “foreign papers.” (The money Baretsky burned, it turns out, was fake.)
After some trouble getting the “money” to catch fire, Baretsky stuffed the wad into his mouth and posed for videos and photographs. Bystanders ran up and recorded him with their iPhones and Samsung Galaxies—an ironic twist, given that Baretsky’s previous stunt involved an attack on foreign gadgets in an electronics store on August 27. For his next stunt, he’s suggested that he plans to set his BMW on fire and upload the video to the Web.
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its continued intervention in eastern Ukraine, Moscow has pursued an expanding “import-substitution” policy that involves replacing foreign goods with products made in Russia. The movement is such a phenomenon of Russian political life today that Vladimir Putin was recently compelled to deny publicly that it has become “a kind of fetish.”

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Skepticism Follows Arrest of Four Philanthropists Who Care for Bangladeshi Street Children · Global Voices
Pantha Rahman Reza

A street children plays in the plastic dumps in Bangladesh. Photo by Md. Manik. Copyright Demotix (23/01/2014)
Police raided  an apartment in Dhaka's Rampura area on Saturday, 12 September, and claimed to have rescued 10 children, aged between 9 and 14 years old, who were in the care of a volunteer organisation meant to help street children. Arifur Rahman, Zakia Sultana, Hasibul Hasan Sabuj and Firoj Alam Khan Shuvo, members of the organisation, called Adamya, were arrested on charges of human trafficking.
Police said that they conducted the raid after receiving a complaint from the uncle of one of the children named Mobarok. Mobarok was handed over to his family and the others were sent to a juvenile correction centre because their families could not be found.
শিশু পাচারের অভিযোগে গ্রেফতার ‘অদম্য বাংলাদেশের’ ৪ সেচ্ছাসেবী http://t.co/bqowOXUoux pic.twitter.com/PLAwHK7qst
— Ekushey Tv (@EkusheyTvlive) September 16, 2015
Four social workers of Adamya Bangladesh arrested on the charges of trafficking kids.
But the police action sparked outrage among supporters of the organisation. Some criticised the authorities for labeling the four as human traffickers before the completion of the investigation.
The Adamya Bangladesh Foundation was founded by four young Bangladeshi students — Arifur Rahman, Zakia Sultana, Hasibul Hasan Sabuj and Firoj Alam Khan Shuvo — to improve the lives of street children in Bangladesh and provide education for them in the hopes of making them self-sufficient in the future.
There are no accurate statistics on the number of street children in Bangladesh. According to some groups, the capital city Dhaka is home to most of the country's estimated 1.2 million homeless children. For them, three square meals a day isn't guaranteed. These children grow up malnourished and vulnerable in miserable, unhealthy conditions (read a Global Voices report).
Most of the sheltered kids at the Adamya foundation were homeless street children with no family. Before coming to Adamya, some of the children collected garbage on city streets and some spent their nights at the Kamalapur Railway. A couple of children had fled home following horrific mistreatment from their step-mothers. Some were victims of domestic abuse, while others had arrived to Dhaka just to visit the city and ended up not returning home.
The rescued kids told police that under the supervision of Adamya they were better.
The organisation runs two schools for street children; one is called Mojar School (Fun School). Facebook user Tanvir Ahmed, who said he volunteers at the school, described his experience there:
তিনটা বছর ধরে মাথার ঘাম পায়ে ফেলে রোদ বৃষ্টি হরতাল অবরোধ সব কিছুর বাঁধা তোয়াক্কা করে ছুটে গেছি রাস্তার পাশে থাকা পার্কের বেঞ্চে রাত কাটালো বাচ্চাগুলোর কাছে ওদের একটু লেখাপড়া একবেলা ভালো খাবার খাওয়ানো ।এই সব কিছু করা কি আমাদের দোষ ছিলো এটার জন্য আমাকে তো কোন টাকা দেওয়া হতো না বরং ওদের কে খাওয়ানোর জন্য নিজের পকেটের টাকা খরচ করতাম আর আজকে আমরা হলাম পাচারকারী।
I've been with them for three years. Strike, blockade, rain and hot weather, nothing can stop us from reaching the kids who spend their nights on park benches or on the kerbs. We had only one objective: educate them and give them some healthy food. Was it our fault to carry out these activities? We did not get any money for this. Rather, we spent our pocket money to feed them. Now, we are accused of being human traffickers.
Arian Arif, founder of Adamya Bangladesh Foundation. Image taken from a Facebook event page.
Blogger Omi Rahman Pial wrote:
[…] তরুণ বয়সে অনেক রোমান্টিসিজম থাকে মানুষের, সমাজ বদলের স্বপ্ন এই সময়টাতেই দেখে মানুষ। আরিফ, সবুজ, জাকিয়া শুভরাও সেই স্বপ্ন নিয়েই কাজ করছিলো পথ শিশুদের নিয়ে। এরপর যা ঘটলো সেটা তারা হয়তো দুঃস্বপ্নেও কল্পনা করেনি। রামপুরা থানা পুলিশ এই চার তরুণ তরুণীকে গ্রেফতার করেছে মানবপাচারকারী হিসেবে, পথ থেকে কুড়িয়ে এনে যাদের মানুষ বানানোর দায়িত্ব নিয়েছিলো তাদের দেখিয়েছে উদ্ধার হিসেবে।
Young people have a lot of romanticism for changing the world. This time, they dreamt about social change. Arif, Sobuz, Zakia and Shuvo were also working with street kids, keeping their dreams alive. They could have never imagined that something like this could ever happen. Rampura police have arrested these four young people as human traffickers. These volunteers rescued these kids from the street and took on the responsibility of improving their lives, but law enforcement claims that they rescued these kids from them.
Last year, the organisation arranged for a special meal for the street children in a posh restaurant. Writer Ashif Entaz Rabi was involved in that event. He recalled:
আমরা গত বছর স্টার কাবারে ৩৬৫ জন বাচ্চাকে ভরপেট মাংস পোলাও খাইয়েছিলাম। যে বাচ্চারা স্টার কাবাবের সামনে দাঁড়িয়ে এক টুকরো হাড্ডি ভিক্ষা চাইতো, তারা গিয়ে বসেছিলো শীতাতাপ নিয়ন্ত্রিত টেবিলে। বেয়ারারা এসে বিনয়ের সাথে বলেছে, স্যার কি খাবেন?
তারপর তাদের পছন্দ মতো খাবার, পানীয় দেয়া হয়েছে।
খাবারের ফাঁকে ফাঁকে ছিলো সিসিমপুরের কার্টুন প্রদর্শনী।
[…]এই আয়োজনের দুই নিবেদিতপ্রাণ এবং মূল কর্মী, যারা সারাজীবন বাচ্চাদের নিয়ে কাজ করেছে আরিফ আরিয়ান আর জাকিয়া পুলিশী রিমান্ডে। তারা নাকি শিশু পাচারকারী। এই দুঃখ আমি কোথায় রাখবো?
Last year, we organized a program for 365 street children at Star Kabab in Dhaka. Those who used to beg for a piece of bone in front of Star Kabab were invited to sit at the table inside its an air-conditioned environment. They ate meat and pulau to their hearts content. The waiters came and politely asked them, “What will you eat, sir?” And they got whatever food they liked. Between meals, they watched the “Sisimpur” (a Bengali version of “Sesame Street”) cartoon show. […]
Two devoted organisers of this event, Arif Arian and Zakia, who had worked with the street children for a long time, are now arrested. They are accused of being human traffickers. Where should I hide my shame?
Arif R Husain  reminisced about the foundation of the organisation's Mojar School:
অনেক স্বপ্ন আছে এদের… একটা বাস বানানো হবে মজার ইশকুল নামে
কনসেপ্টটাও মজার; যে সকল সুবিধাবঞ্চিত বাচ্চারা স্কুলে যেতে পারে না … স্কুল তাদের কাছে যাবে
এক একদিন একএকটা এলাকার বস্তির সামনে যেয়ে এই বাস থামবে
বাসের ভিতরে কোন সিট থাকবে না… থাকবে মাদুর বিছানো…
সবাই মাদুরে বসে প্রোজেক্টরে কার্টুন দেখবে… পড়াশোনা করবে… ধাক্কাধাক্কি করবে… হৈচৈ করবে
… এই ছেলেসহ মজার স্কুলের ৪ জনকে ৩ দিন আগে পুলিশ ধরে নিয়ে যায়
They had a lot of dreams… there will be a school for the street kids in a bus; the name of the school will be Mojar School.
The concept was kind of interesting; the disadvantaged children who can’t go to school… the school will reach to them.
The bus will stop in one slum area each day and will move around.
There will be no seats on the bus… there will be mats to sit on the floor…
The kids will sit on the mats and will watch cartoons or educational programs from a projector… they will read books… play with each other… and will make a lot of noise…
Three days before police arrested four organisers of this school.
Blogger Hasan Murshed criticised police for mentioning them as human traffickers on their Facebook page before the investigation was complete:
কয়েকজন তরুন তরুনী ছিন্নমুল পথশিশুদের রাস্তা থেকে তুলে এনে আশ্রয়, খাদ্য ও শিক্ষার ব্যবস্থা করছিলো। শিশু পাচারকারী বানিয়ে তাদের গ্রেপ্তার ও রিমান্ড দেয়া হয়েছে। পুলিশের ফেসবুক পেজে তাদের ছবি ও পোষ্ট হয়ে গেছে। আদালত কর্তৃক অপরাধ প্রমানিত হবার আগে কাউকে অপরাধী হিসেবে প্রচার করাটা আইনসম্মত কিনা সেই প্রশ্ন আর উত্থাপন নাইবা করলাম।
Some young volunteers rescued a number of homeless street children and gave them shelter, food and education. But the police arrested and questioned them as child traffickers. The police have posted their pictures on their Facebook page, naming them child traffickers. Before being proved guilty by the court as criminals, is it legal to publicly shame them as criminals?
Activists and well-wishers of the young volunteers slammed law enforcement for their actions. In response to the criticism, Dhaka Metropolitan Police wrote on Facebook:
আমি শুধু বুঝে পাচ্ছিনা আপনাদের সম্পূর্ণ ক্ষোভ যেয়ে পুলিশের উপর বর্তাচ্ছে কেন? এক বাচ্চার চাচা এসে অভিযোগ করলো তার ভাতিজা কে পাওয়া যাচ্ছেনা! আনুষ্ঠানিক একটি এজাহার দায়ের হয়েছে বুঝতে পেরেছেন?! আনুষ্ঠানিক অভিযোগ আসলে পুলিশকে তার তদন্ত কার্যক্রম চালাতেই হবে এটিই আইনি বাধ্যবাধকতা !! এর বাইরে যাওয়ার পুলিশের উপায় নেই !
We don’t understand why everyone is criticising the police? The uncle of a child complained that his nephew was missing! He filed a formal complaint of abduction with us, do you understand? After receiving a formal complaint we are responsible for conducting an investigation. This is our legal obligation. We were not acting on our own!
The police also advised the men's supporters to present evidence their social activities:
আপ্নারা যা করতে পারেন তাদের ভাল কাজের প্রমাণাদি সহ একটি ফাইল তৈরি করে আমাদের কাছে নিয়ে আসুন, আমি সেটি মামলার তদন্তকারী কর্মকর্তার কাছে পৌঁছে দেব !! আশা করছি এটি তাদের কিছুটা হলেও সাহায্য করবে !!
You can make a file with evidence of their Samaritan social work and bring it to us; we will send it to the investigative officers on this case. Hopefully, it will help them!
Soon after police released their statement, blogger Abdullah published a photo post on somewherein blog showcasing some of Adamya's work.
Probir Bidhan wrote on Facebook:
ভুল তথ্য নিয়ে কাজ করলে #পুলিশ ভুল করতেই পারে। স্বীকার করতে দোষ কি? আরিয়ান আরিফসহ অদম্য বাংলাদেশ ফাউন্ডেশনের চারজনকে ছেড়ে দিন ও ভুল স্বীকার করে নিন।
Police can make mistakes if they work with false information. What's wrong in admitting this? Please release the four organisers of Adamya Foundation and admit your mistake.
A newly created Facebook  event page demands the four's release. More than 7,000 Facebook users have already joined.
Image credit Wasfia Zannat
The page offers some updates to the case:
সকালে ঢাকার প্রেসক্লাবে প্রায় সাতটি আটটি সমাজসেবক সংগঠনের উপস্থিতিতে একটি শান্তিপূর্ণ মানব বন্ধন অনুষ্ঠিত হয়েছে। এরপর পরই চট্টগ্রামেও ‘অদম্য বাংলাদেশ ফাউন্ডেশন’ এর চার স্বেচ্ছাসেবীর নিঃশর্ত মুক্তির দাবিতে মানব বন্ধন অনুষ্ঠিত হয়েছে
#ডিএমপি র ফেসবুক পেইজ থেকে বহুল আলোচিত সেই পোস্টটি সরিয়ে ফেলা হয়েছে।
#কেন্দ্রীয়_কারাগারে চারজনের সাথে দেখা করা হয়েছে। জাকিয়া আপু ভালো নেই। প্রায় না খেয়ে আছে বলা যায়।
In the morning of Thursday, 17 September, a number of social welfare organisations arranged a peaceful human chain in front of the press club in Dhaka. In Chittagong, another human chain was formed demanding the release of the four organisers of Adamya.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police's controversial Facebook post has been removed.
We went to Dhaka central jail to meet the four organisers of Adamya. Zakia is not well. She is almost on a hunger strike.
At the time of writing, the four remain in jail.

author: Pantha Rahman Reza


text:
South Africa’s President Blames the West for Surge in Refugees, So ‘They Must Address It’ · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Refugees on Hungarian highway on their march towards the Austrian border. Photo released under Creative Commons by Joachim Seidler.
South African President Jacob Zuma has blamed the West, particularly NATO members, for the tremendous influx of refugees arriving in Europe.
During his address to foreign diplomats in South Africa on Tuesday, September 15, 2015, he said that military action against Libya's late dictator Muammar Gadafi opened the floodgates of refugees.
“It is their responsibility. They caused it, they must address it,” Zuma said.
Watch Zuma addressing diplomats on the YouTube video below posted by ENCA News:
Zuma also called for the recognition of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, warning that there can be no lasting peace in the region as long as Palestinians are denied right to a land of their own.  On Syria, he said that there should be no military action to change the regime. He also called for a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council from the African continent, wondering how “a continent with more than one billion people” does not have a permanent member.
Noting that there was a “grain of truth” in Zuma’s speech, Peter Fabricius, a security consultant for the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies, however, argued that his analysis was “narrow, deficient, accusatory and plain wrong”:
No doubt NATO’s intervention contributed to the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi and therefore to the power vacuum that has turned Libya into ungoverned space, allowing human traffickers, unfettered, to launch tens of thousands of migrants from its shores towards Europe.
And conversely, the rival Libyan militias have made a business of trafficking migrants in order to raise money to further their own interests. This is a key driving force in the sudden ‘surge’ of refugees coming through that route.
Yet it was not ‘all quiet’ and ‘normal’ before NATO intervened, as Zuma suggested. The people of Libya had already risen against their brutal leader. And if ‘things were normal’ why did South Africa, Gabon and Nigeria vote for UN Security Council Resolution 1973 of 2011, authorising the NATO military intervention?
Like the NATO countries, South Africa did so because it feared Gaddafi was about to carry out his threat to exterminate the rebellious residents of Benghazi. So South Africa may also be said to have made its small contribution to the European refugee crisis.
Also, the events in Libya hardly account for the whole mass of refugees now reaching Europe, as Zuma implied. Most of the refugees are not from Libya. Most, now, are from Syria and – as the speechwriters acknowledged – are fleeing the war there with its brutal foes on both sides. The EU has had little to do with that war. Nor with many of the other places from which migrants are flowing, such as Eritrea, although it is certainly true that some EU nations share responsibility for the chaos in Afghanistan and Iraq, two other major sources of migrants.
Reacting to an article about the speech on This is Africa, Buh Mai supported the argument that the West must take responsibility:
The first time you have Spoken well Britain France and America should take full responsibility they cause this problem
Ngariwa Aba Stanley saw hope in African leaders such as Zuma, who are standing up to “Western tyranny”:
This however is a sight of hope that African Fathers to mother Africa like Jacob Zuma, [Zimbabwe President] Robert Mugabe, [Cameroon President] Paul Biya, [Equatorial Guinea President] Teodoro Obiang Nguema, [Kenya President] Uhuru Kenyatta and me, and the other few are now speaking and standing up against western tyranny. The west has been pulling off plugs in Africa for far too long directly and often times systematically. This has got to stop NOW!
While agreeing with Zuma’s analysis, Marcus A Mitchell, however, noted that South Africa signed the Resolution 1973, which authorised military action in Libya:
He is right… and so should South Africa… the signed Resolution 1973 also… all countries that signed should have a part to play
Echoing similar sentiment, Mbalekwa Ronald Mthombeni asked:
Speaking with a forked tongue. He contributed in killing Gadaffi by signing that resolution. Didn't he read before signing?
Commenting on Dispatch Live (there are not links for individual comments), Tron mocked Zuma:
I love the way Zuma stands up there and dictates to the rest of the world how to run their countries, while in the meantime, Zuma cannot run this country.
He is skating on thin ice by criticising some of these other countries.
Kenneth Burns, a commenter on Daily Maverick, said:
“The western world, and the “imperialist” US in particular, came in for stinging criticism, while China’s leadership was lauded as the “guiding lodestar of our own struggle”.” Yet just yesterday the Minister of Health was turning to the U.S. to help South Africa with BCG vaccines for children to immunize them against TB. The [African National Congress, Zuma's party] is imploding, everyone has their own agenda due to lack of real leadership.
Joseph Brenner accused Zuma of hypocrisy:
He points fingers at the imperial west but hops on a plane with his begging bowl in hand at the U.N summit. Not to mention the financial aid running into hundreds of billions given to S.A for development programs such as HIV/AIDS, our biggest killer.
It's time the west stops riding this wave of white guilt, handing out charity while getting mocked when they turn their backs. Africa needs to grow up.
Lawrence Dahl thought Zuma is making a terrible mistake for criticising the West:
His anti-“imperialist,” anti-US stance will probably ultimately cost us AGOA [a US legislation designed to assist the economies of sub-Saharan Africa and to improve economic relations between the United States and the region] money. He is making a terrible mistake, but then all clear-thinking people know that already.
Although Pierre Potgieter does not like Zuma, he thought his analysis was correct:
I don't like the man, but he is correct. France and Nato's attack on Gaddafi, removed the one stabilizing factor in that country. By Attacking Assad in Syria they are making the same mistake.
Finally, a piece of advice from Erik Grobbelaar:
As the “leader” of a pretty disfunctional outfit called SA, he should probably rather withhold comment and focus his energy locally ….

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
The Lebanese Government vs Protesters: Oppression, Arrests and Thugs · Global Voices
Abir Ghattas

From You, For You, On You – Art work by Ali Rafei – Gemmayzeh, Beirut
Wednesday, September 17 marked the second round of the dialogue session, launched by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, between political leaders in Lebanon. This round of dialogue is the third of major talks between the March 8 and March 14 coalitions in the last decade and it is an attempt to reach common ground to end the presidential stalemate.
Wednesday also marked the use of uncontrollable violence, both from the state and thugs, against the civil society activists and protesters who were demonstrating against these sessions. For all of those who were on the streets on Wednesday, it was a very long and violent day.
Lebanon suffers from weak governance, poor infrastructure and daily electricity cuts, and has had no president for more than a year. In 2009, its parliament extended its term until 2017, with no elections, citing instability as a reason.
For weeks, thousands of Lebanese have been protesting under the umbrella of the You Stink movement, which kicked off calling for sustainable solutions to the waste problem and got people on the streets. The situation quickly escalated beyond trash towards addressing larger problems related to corruption within the current government.
At 9 a.m., a group of activists gathered in front of the Annahar building, next to the Martyr's square, to try and stop the political leaders from attending the dialogue session.
منشان ما حدا ينسى.. بكرا الساعة 9 صباحا أمام جريدة النهار كرمال نتوزع عكل المداخل ونمنع المتحاورين يوصلوا عالمجلس.. #تصعيد #مستمرون #طلعت_ريحتكم
Posted by طلعت ريحتكم on Tuesday, September 15, 2015
So that no one forgets, tomorrow at 9 a.m. in front of the Annahar building so that we try and stop them from reaching the parliament #YouStink #Escalation #WeWillContinue
Blogger Marina Chamma echoed the thoughts of the majority of the protesters who are opposing the dialogue sessions:
Another day, another round of #nationaldialogue, wasteful, corrupt, tragic, comedic, unconstitutional, mafia-like crap #Beirut #YouStink
— Marina Chamma (@eyeontheeast) September 16, 2015
In their call for the rally on Wednesday morning, #YouStink described the dialogue sessions as illegitimate and unconstitutional:
We are all invited tomorrow to confront the Dialogue Table physically and vocally. Let us meet tomorrow Wednesday the 16th of September at 9 AM in front of the Annahar Building in order to close all the entrances leading to the illegitimate and unconstitutional Dialogue Table thus hampering the conferees from reaching their goals of dissolving our case and agreeing on our fate. NO for useless dialogues that abate the work of the State’s institutions.
Bring your pans, your eggs, your garbage and your veggies…#Escalation #YouStink
The protesters tried to remove the wire barriers installed by the police in front of Annahar building in an attempt to make their way towards the parliament. Akhbar Al Saha, an alternative media page that is covering the current demonstrations in Lebanon, reported on this attempt:
الآن: قام المعتصمون في محيط مبنى جريدة #النهار في وسط #بيروت بمحاولة ازالة العوائق الحديدية #طلعت_ريحتكم #أخبار_الساحة Posted by أخبار الساحة on Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Now: The protesters around Annahar building are trying to remove the iron barriers #YouStink #Akhbar_AlSaha
The police responded to this attempt by surrounding the protesters and making its first arrests. Shortly after, clashes erupted and the protesters were faced by uncontrollable violence.
Riot police: guns, batons, tear gas, shields, helmets Protesters: eggs #Beirut #YouStink #طلعت_ريحتكم #بيروت #Lebanon — Kareem C (@kareemvots) September 16, 2015
Activist Hassan Chamas posted later that day on his Facebook account the following photo:
Bruises on Hassan Chamas's body after being beaten by the police. Source: https://www.facebook.com/soona2?fref=ts
Mohamad Najem, the co-founder of SMEX, tweeted the names of the activists under arrest:
Arresting 6 activists now around Nejmeh square area: Ali, Samer, Hikmat, Hoshar, Lucien, and Maya #Youstink #طلعت_ريحتكم #Beirut
— Mohamad محمد (@monajem) September 16, 2015
So did the journalist and activist MoeAli Nayel:
Protest in downtown #Beirut against the fraudulent dialogue. Many protesters arrested around Annhar building #Youstink #Lebanon — moeali nayel (@MoeAliN) September 16, 2015
A tweet from blogger and Global Voices author Joey Ayoub shows that the arrests were targeted. He quoted Imad Bazzi, one the YouStink members, saying:
.@TrellaLB “we are hearing cops naming us by name and arresting us. At least 25 people are arrested.” #طلعت_ريحتكم #Lebanon
— Joey Ayoub جووي أيوب (@joeyayoub) September 16, 2015
Journalist Youmna Fawaz also tweeted about the arrests and mentioned that these arrests were not at all arbitrary. She claims the police were following a list — they knew who to arrest:
اعتقالات في صفوف المتظاهرين بالأسماء، ونقلهم الى ثكنة الحلو ، #بدنا_نحاسب و #طلعت_ريحتكم يناشدون المواطنين بالتوجه الى محيط البرلمان — Yumna Fawaz (@yumnafawaz) September 16, 2015
Targeted arrests of protesters, who are then being transferred to El Helou Barrack #YouStink & #BadnaNhasseb groups are urging people to join them in the Parliament's vicinity
The wave of arrests didn't stop; a total of 43 protesters were arrested and many more brutally attacked:
Updated list of those arrested today #طلعت_ريحتكم pic.twitter.com/ruJC3eTYW1
— AUB Secular Club (@secular_club) September 16, 2015
The committee of lawyers that was put in place to offer free legal help and represent those who get arrested in the demonstrations announced on their Facebook page that a total of 43 arrests were made on Wednesday.
Journalists were also beaten and arrested:
Photojournalist Zeinoon al-Nabulsi being arrested today #طلعت_ريحتكم cc @SK_Eyes #Beirut https://t.co/VQsM1aJ57p
— Alex Rowell (@disgraceofgod) September 16, 2015
Raida Hatoum compiled some photos showing the brutality of the police through out the day:
Even the huger strikers got their share of the state love. Waref Sleiman, who was on a two-week hunger strike, was attacked and later arrested by the police.
BREAKING: Hunger-striker Waref Sleiman, who has been without food for 14 days, arrested now. #طلعت_ريحتكم #Lebanon
— Joey Ayoub جووي أيوب (@joeyayoub) September 16, 2015
#Lebanon security forces beat & arrest peaceful activists like Waref Suleiman on hunger strike for 2 weeks #YouStink pic.twitter.com/xsPAv62t0j
— Sam Dagher (@samdagher) September 16, 2015
As I said, Wednesday was a long day for all the protesters. After the brutal attacks by the riot police and the targeted arrests, a group of civilians attacked the tents of hunger strikers and the protesters gathered around them because they were chanting against Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon and the head of the Amal Movement. Berri's thugs attacked the peaceful protesters with rocks, knifes and anything else they could get their hands on. They attacked the protesters twice, while the police was watching. Investigative journalist and blogger Habib Battah documented the attack:  The thugs didn't spare anyone. They even attacked journalists on the scene.  Kareem Chehayeb, blogger and co-founder of Beirut Syndrome, tweeted:
@alaraby_en journalist Hussein Beidoun attacked by Berri thugs, rushed to hospital #Beirut #طلعت_ريحتكم https://t.co/DfN1gJxEhz — Kareem C (@kareemvots) September 16, 2015
Essam Sahmarani added:
سلامات للزميل المصور حسين بيضون الذي أصيب بحجر أمام خيم المضربين عن الطعام بينما كان يؤدي واجبه المهني. #جايي_التغيير pic.twitter.com/Ii3X20yccY
— Essam Sahmarani (@esahmarani) September 17, 2015
Speedy recovery for our colleague photographer Hussein Beidoun who was hit by a stone in front of the hunger strike tent while he was carrying out his professional duty
Lawyer and Legal Agenda founder Nizar Saghieh announced that they documented all the attacks and they will be pressing charges:
Nizar Saghieh holding one of the rocks that #Berri thugs threw at the protesters on hunger strike #YouStink #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/s5FqTtSgph — Abir Ghattas (@AbirGhattas) September 16, 2015
The Daily Star also published another video showing the civilians who clearly identify themselves as supporters of Speaker Nabih Berri attack the protesters in front of the Ministry of Environment.
It is worth noting that this is the first time female police officers participate in the oppression, beating and arresting the protesters. This only proves, along with the targeted arrests, that the police are obeying clear premeditated orders
Finally, all the groups of the popular civic movement called for a protest this Sunday, September 20 at 5 p.m. that will start from Bourj Hammoud and end in Nejmeh Square. In parallel, the Lebanese diaspora is organizing protests in Paris, London and NewYork, in solidarity with the movement in Lebanon.
For-up to-date information on the what's happening on the street follow Akhbar el Saha, in both English and Arabic, Beirut Syndrome & the official pages of #YouStink, #BadnaNhasseb & #AlSha'bYoureed .
Stay tuned for more Global Voices Online coverage.

author: Abir Ghattas


text:
Brewing Sake in Japan Is Becoming a Woman’s Game—Again · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Master brewer – or toji – Emi Machida at the 130-year-old Machida Brewery in Gunma, Japan. Under her direction, her family's premium sake has won gold seven times at the Annual Japan Sake Awards. Credit: Naomi Gingold. Used with PRI's permission
This article and radio report by Naomi Gingold for The World originally appeared on PRI.org on September 11, 2015, and is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement.
For a long time, sake brewing in Japan was an industry made up of owners who didn’t brew the sake themselves, and migrant master brewers, called Toji, who would live at distilleries in the winter brewing season and then go home.
But the industry’s been in decline. The number of people drinking sake’s gone down, the number of sake breweries in Japan has fallen to about half the number there were in the 1970s, and master brewers are getting older and are often unwilling to change habits to reach new or younger customers.
Emi Machida, the Toji, or master sake brewer, at Machida Brewery in Gunma Japan says, “in order to stay alive, we decided to become an owner-brewer distillery; make the kind of sake we really wanted to make and drink. So 10 years ago we stopped using the migrant brewer system.”
Her family's owned the brewery for more than 130 years, but she is the first Toji in the family.
Machida is at the forefront of a rising owner-brewer movement in Japan. But Machida is also unusual, because she is one of the few women Toji in what’s long been a men-only world.
In ancient times, some say sake-brewing was actually a women's craft. In fact, the word Toji, when written in old characters, can actually mean lady.
A display of Machida Brewery's award-winning sake. Credit: Naomi Gingold. Used with PRI's permission
But when Machida’s grandfather ran the brewery, Machida says, “women were seen as dirty, unclean, so he would say women can’t enter the sacred brewery.”
Sake is often used in religious rituals in Japan, and Machida Brewery, like just about all sake breweries, is blessed by a Shinto priest and decorated with sacred Shinto ropes.
Growing up, Machida never imagined becoming a sake brewer. She went to college in Tokyo, but like a lot of women, found herself tracked into a dead-end career path, bringing tea and making copies.
And the idea of going back to Gunma to carry on the family business was something she’d always thought about, especially as the eldest daughter.
When she started out as Toji, things didn't always go smoothly. Her all-male employees wouldn't listen to her.
“If I said put this here, they would move it to a different spot. Things just wouldn't turn out the way I asked,” she says. “In the end, everyone would leave at 5, and I’d be up ‘til the middle of the night redoing things.”
She’d also hear that there were a lot of customers who didn't want to buy sake from a non-veteran and especially a non-male brewer.
But now, she doesn’t hear that anymore. Since she took over as Toji 10 years ago, Machida Brewery’s premium sake has won gold at the Annual Japan Sake Awards seven times. That never happened with the old Toji.
To make sake, you start by polishing off the outer layer of rice; how much you take off is key in deciding how premium of a sake you get. Then the rice is washed, steamed and (this is the short version) fermented.
Little things matter a lot: what rice you use, what kind of water, how often and at what stages or micro-stages you adjust the temperature.
It takes about 45 days to make one vat of sake.
Today, as the master brewer Machida doesn't just oversee employees and equipment and taste the sake, from day one she is in the warehouse, hauling around tons of rice, spending a couple days and nights in a 100-plus degree room to make the fermentation starter, carrying 30-pound buckets of water up and down tall ladders, and mixing huge 3000-6000 liter vats of fermenting rice. It’s back-breaking work.
To learn the art, Machida studied with older brewers and from books. “I’m still studying, but, essentially, the most important thing is to make something that you like and want to drink,” she says.
She respects the old traditions but also thinks it’s important to experiment with new ways of doing things.
She often goes to monthly study events with other Toji, and she’s also a part of what’s called “Kura Josei No Kai,” The Women’s Sake Industry Group.
And support from them, she says, especially the other female Toji has been key.
Women toji – master brewers – at the 2014 ‘Kura Josei Summit,’ the Japanese Women's Sake Industry Group. Credit: Courtesy Japanese Women’s Sake Industry Group. Used with PRI's permission
“Joining the group gave me courage and energy,” she adds.  She realized she wasn’t alone and that everyone was facing the same issues.
There are now 20-some women Toji across Japan, and Machida often does events with them.
She points out that being a female in the business can have its benefits. Because it’s unusual, the media and customers sometimes pay more attention. Sometimes older male brewers are more excited to teach them.
But most importantly, now, Machida has respect because of her delicious sake.
Yeah. Sorry you can’t taste it via our story. But you can find it in Tokyo, most areas of Japan, and maybe some day in the future, she’ll sell it abroad.
”That’s a dream I have,” she says.

author: PRI/PRX's The World


text:
Dying for a Drink? This New Web Series About São Paulo’s Drought Might Be for You · Global Voices
Taisa Sganzerla

Volume Vivo (“Live Volume”), an independent Brazilian Web series about São Paulo's water crisis, is an exploration of the hidden structure of one of the world's largest and most chaotic cities.
The Web series covers multiple aspects of the water crisis that hit São Paulo more than a year ago and still shows no signs of ending. From the politics behind São Paulo's water management to the illusion of water as a limitless resource, the show presents a whole picture of the city's dire predicament. It features a wealth of data, as well as interviews with experts, citizens, and farmers affected by the catastrophe.
The show's title is a play on the expression “dead volume,” which most of São Paulo's residents learned in the past year. The so-called “dead” reserves are found in the body of water that lies at the bottom of a lake. This water is typically not altogether safe to drink. Sabesp, the utility company that manages São Paulo's water supply, has been collecting water from those reserves since the reservoirs started to dry up.
The Cantareira System, which supplies half of São Paulo city, has been operating at bare-minimum capacity since 2014. Photo: Demotix
According to Volume Vivo’s official website, “the crisis is an opportune moment to reflect on the use of an essential resource to human life in Brazil's most populous region.”
Entirely crowdfunded, the series was directed by young Brazilian filmmaker Caio Silva Ferraz. In 2009, he produced the acclaimed documentary Entre Rios (“Between Rivers”), which tells the history of São Paulo's urbanization and the city's changing relationship with its rivers.
Two episodes have been released so far. The first, named “The Denial of the Crisis,” addresses how the São Paulo state government downplayed the seriousness of the crisis in 2014 in order to avoid political turmoil ahead of elections.
The second episode, “Inner Water,” exposes the bizarre logic of a managerial strategy that collects water in increasingly far-away sites, while polluting the city's own river basins.
For now, only the first episode has English subtitles.

author: Taisa Sganzerla


text:
Saudi Court’s Death Sentence for Young Ali Al-Nimr Disputed by Human Rights Defenders · Global Voices
Mohammed Al Nemer

A drawing raising awareness of Ali al-Nimr's case. Image by Gianluca Costantini.
A Saudi court has endorsed the death sentence of 21-year-old Ali al-Nimr for “participating in demonstrations against the government, attacking the security forces, possessing a machine-gun and armed robbery,” the daily Okaz reported on September 14.
When al-Nimr was initially arrested on February 14, 2012, he was 17 years old. He was taken to the General Directorate of Investigations (GDI) prison in Dammam, in the Eastern Province. Al-Nimr's case was then transferred to the Ministry of Interior, according to his father, political activist Mohammed al-Nimr. The Specialized Criminal Court in Jeddah initially sentenced al-Nimr to death on May 27. According to news reports, al-Nimr will first be beheaded, and then have “his body strapped to a cross to rot.”
“The court seems to have based its decision on signed ‘confessions’ which Ali al-Nimr claims were extracted under torture and other ill-treatment, and has refused to look into this allegation,” Amnesty International said in a report released in 2014.
The accused's father criticized the media coverage of the trial.
The Saudi media reported on the court hearings of #Ali_AlNimr & uncle #SheikhNimr to push their narrative made up of scenarios & accusations
— محمد النمرm. alnemer (@mbanalnemer) September 12, 2015
The daily news outlet Okaz mentioned in its report that Ali is the nephew of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a Saudi Shiite cleric who has been detained since July 2012, who is also sentenced to the death penalty and had led protests in Qatif at the height of the Arab spring in 2011.
Mohammed al-Nimr, Ali’s father, has been actively tweeting about the details of the case, drawing attention to human rights issues and due process violations.
The appeals & high court have endorsed the Death penalty sentence for young #Ali_AlNimr &his case transferred to Ministry of Interior #Saudi
— محمد النمرm. alnemer (@mbanalnemer) September 11, 2015
During #Ali_AlNimr investigation, the investigator wrote a scandalous statement & took Ali's thumb threatening to stamp with his fingerprint
— محمد النمرm. alnemer (@mbanalnemer) September 11, 2015
#Ali_AlNimr lawyer was not able to sit with his client in court &the investigation bureau refused judges sentence & pushed for death penalty
— محمد النمرm. alnemer (@mbanalnemer) September 11, 2015
Young men like #Ali_AlNimr should be in school & not in prison or in courts which lack minimum standards of due process. #Qatif #Saudi
— محمد النمرm. alnemer (@mbanalnemer) September 11, 2015
Eman al-Hakeem, a Saudi lawyer, chided the actions of children's rights advocates in the case:
يعلم المدافعين عن الحقوق بأمر الطفل #علي_النمر لكنهم اختاروا الصمت أولا لأنهم طائفيون وثانيًا لأنهم جبناء.
— إيمان الحكيم (@__EMAN_) September 13, 2015
Child rights defenders know about Ali al-Nimr's case, but they chose to be silent because they are, first, sectarians, second, cowards.
Waleed Sulais, human rights activist, tweeted:
ادعو هيئة حقوق الانسان ان تنظر في الإجراءات التي تمت ضد #علي_النمر من لحظة القبض عليه الى صدور الحكم ورفع تقرير بذلك الى الديوان الملكي .
— وليد سليس (@WaleedSulais) September 14, 2015
I call on the Human Rights Commission to consider the procedures carried out against Ali al-Nimr from the moment he was arrested to the sentence and report it to the Royal Court.
He added:
مصادقة حكم الإعدام على #علي_النمر مرحلة خطرة بكل المقاييس ان يُقتل شخص قبض عليه وهو طفل ولم يقم ب “أشد الجرائم خطورة”التي يحكم فيها بالإعدام
— وليد سليس (@WaleedSulais) September 14, 2015
The approval of Ali al-Nimr's death sentence is a dangerous phase by all standards: to kill a person who was arrested as a child and has not made the “most serious crimes” which led to death.
Fatima Kareem shared a video  on Twitter showing al-Nimr arguing with police who were threatening to shoot at him. He was filming them as they were looking into his house:
In the video Ali said: I don't have anything, just my camera. You're looking at my house which is the reason why I'm recording.
al-Nimr's execution will be carried out as soon as the Saudi King ratifies the sentence.
According to Amnesty International “Saudi Arabia is one of the most prolific executioners in the world, putting more than 2,200 people to death between 1985 and 2015. Between January and the end of August 2015, it executed at least 130 people, almost half of them for offences that do not meet the threshold of ‘most serious crimes’ for which the death penalty can be imposed under international law.”

author: Mohammed Al Nemer


text:
Taiwan Fishing Heritage: Fish and Fire Dance in the Sea · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

The whole fishing team works together to catch the fish. Photo by Ming-Chih Chang.
Pōng-hué-á (蹦火仔, pōng is for the sound of fire) or “jolting fire” (sometimes also translated as “sulfuric fire”) is a fishing technique once widely used by the aboriginal people in Taiwan. In the night, indigenous fishermen used to light a fire with bamboo or wood in their boats to attract the swimming fish nearer to the vessels.
Later this aboriginal fishing technique was reinvented, and fishermen began using kerosene to light the fire. During Japanese rule over Taiwan, fisherman switched to using acetylene gas for stoking the flames. The gas was generated from the chemical effect of putting the so-called “sulfuric stone” (calcium carbide) into water.
The acetylene gas technique has been preserved to this day in the Jinshan Harbor on the northern coast of Taiwan. The harbor was used to transport sulfur harvested in the nearby mountains since the period of Spanish Rule (between 1626-1642).
Jolting fire fishing has been very popular in the Jinshan Harbor since the Qing Dynasty and a must-see attraction during the summer time when massive shoals of anchovies and sardines swim off the northern coast of Taiwan. Yet the traditional fishing technique is waning, with only four fishing vessels still using this method.
Last month, on August 31, the fishing technique using acetylene gas was registered as a cultural heritage activity under the Department of Cultural Affairs of the New Taipei City Government.
Journalist Huei-Jen Lin from News Market, an independent news site, explained why this technique is eco-friendly:
目前大多數的漁船使用強光照明，容易讓魚眼睛爆出死亡，招致許多生態上的批評，蹦火則因作業範圍小、時間短，被視為友善環境的漁法
Nowadays most fishing boats use extremely bright lighting, which makes the fish eyeballs explode. This kind of technique is criticized as not eco-friendly. On the other hand, the fishing technique such as jolting fire is only applied in a small area for a short time, so it is considered to be eco-friendly.
The Jinshan Culture and History Studio has studied the jolting fire technique for years, and helps organize tours allowing tourists to experience the fishing technique and understand its advantages:
本漁法僅需一艘船便可單獨作業[…]機動性頗高。
The fishermen only need one boat to apply this technique. […] It is very flexible.
How exactly do fishermen apply the technique to catch the fish? Journalist Huei-Jen Lin from News Market took some photos of the action and described the procedure in details in her report.
蹦火船通常在6點前就會出港，找到魚群後就定位，等待夜晚到來。
The jolting fire boats usually leave the harbor at 6pm. After they localize the fish, they come back and wait until it turns dark.
The fire chief holds the fire to attract the fish. Photo from Ray J. Lee.
The fire chief directs the fishing team, which usually includes the following members (see photo at the top of the post):
俗稱「海腳」的漁工，負責下網、收網，組成五人抄網團隊，從船尾到船頭的人員任務分別是牽網仔、推桸竿、拿桸竿（抄網手）、踩桸竿、拉桸竿[…]船上還有一名俗稱「磺火鉗仔」的裝填人員，負責替換磺石、控制水量，掌握乙炔的釋出量[…]另一個不可或缺的關鍵人物是駕駛，有經驗的駕駛可以觀潮汐、看水流，協助火長找魚，在魚群靠近時迅速剎車或轉彎，讓抄網手找到最適合的角度下網。
Fishermen called “ocean poles” need to assemble a five-member netting team to set the net and collect it. The job of these fishermen, standing from the head to the tail of the boat, is to drag the net, pull the poles, control the poles (i.e., the netting guy), step the poles, and drag the poles. […] There is a staff on the boat called carbide fitter, who is responsible to replace sulfur rock [calcium carbide] and control the volume of water to generating acetylene gas. […] Another important person is the boat driver. An experienced boat driver would observe the tide and oceanic flow to help the fire chief find the fish. When the fish moves close, the boat driver needs to stop or turn around swiftly so the netting guy can find the perfect angle to set the net.
When the fishing boat moves close to the fish, all the staff on the boat are prepared for the catch:
負責推桸竿的海腳高舉左邊桸竿，讓叉網斜放船緣，所有船員屏氣凝神，等待火長將火把逐漸轉向左後方的叉網，引導魚群聚集。
「下落！」火長命令一下，海腳用力將叉網推入海下，待魚入網後，三、四個海腳利用槓桿原理齊壓桸竿，把靠在船邊的叉網撐起，活跳跳的青鱗魚掃過腳邊，直入貨艙，有時漁獲太多，三、四個男人還得跳起來壓才能把桸竿撐起來。
整個過程不到十秒，所有船員各司其職，一氣呵成，魚群大量聚集時，經常可見火長連蹦四、五次，海腳必須在一明一滅間，連續下網、收網、再舉網、下網、收網⋯⋯，豐收時，一個晚上可能得重複上百次。
蹦火仔重視團隊合作，駕駛和火長、火長和抄網手的默契缺一不可。
The fisherman who is responsible for pulling the poles raises the left pole to set the net on the edge of the boat. All the staff hold their breath and wait for the fire chief to turn the fire and direct the fish swarm to the net set at the left tail side of the boat.
Once the fire chief gives the order, saying “Put it down,” the netting team push the net into the sea. After the fish come into the net, the netting team presses the poles and uses the lever principle to bring the net up. The lively sardines are dragged past the fishermen’s feet and thrown directly into the trunk. Sometimes there are too many fish [in the net], and three or four fishermen need to work together to bring up the net.
The whole process is finished within 10 seconds or so. Everyone on the boat has their own responsibility and they need to work together. When there are a lot of fish, the fire chief may decide to set the jolting fire up four or five times in a row, and the netting team need to set the net, pull the net, and raise the net again and again, repeating the cycle many times. When there is a big harvest, the fishing teams might need to repeat this process hundreds of times in one night.
The technique of jolting fire emphasizes team work. The camaraderie between the boat driver and the fire chief and between the fire chief and the netting team is very important.
Watch the YouTube video made by News Market to see how the jolting fire teams work together to catch the fish.

author: I-fan Lin


text:
Guinean Bloggers Battle the Digital Divide and Threats to Free Speech · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Participants attending the second #blogcamp224. Source: nonloin.mondoblog.org.
Note: All links lead to French-language pages
Well aware of the catastrophic situation in Guinea and the crucial role the Internet plays in the development of a nation, young Guineans have now decided to rise to the challenge, by getting together to blog online and spread this culture of blogging throughout their country.
They have started by providing greater exposure of their blogging activities as well as training up other potential bloggers. The group of bloggers organised their second #blogcamp day on May 23, 2015 after the first ‘Blogging Initiation Day’ took place in February 2011. This first blog camp aimed to promote citizen journalism in Guinea and it had as its slogan “Bloguons Ensemble” (“Let’s blog together”). Unfortunately, this first attempt did not give the bloggers the results they had hoped for. In fact, not one of the blogs created during the first blogging day has survived till now.
Fode Sanikayi Kouyaté, who was at the heart of this initiative (and who had invited me to participate in relaunching these projects) came to his own conclusions. Just before the second #blogcamp took place, the Association of Guinean Bloggers “ablogui” (“blogged”), was formed. The association's birth was followed by the creation of a committee comprised of members living both in and outside the country. Last weekend, the democratic elections for this blogging committee were held online.
In a blog post written soon after the election process, Fode Sanikayi Kouyaté, who was elected as President, describes the process:
Il serait hypocrite de prétendre défendre des valeurs que l’on ne peut intégrer dans son comportement. C’est pourquoi, au préalable, ablogui qui compte à jour plus de 75 blogueurs a clairement défini les règles et la procédure d’élection de son bureau composé de sept (7) membres. Il sont élus pour un mandat de trois (3) ans renouvelable une seule fois…
Tout a commencé par la mise en place d’une commission électorale qui a été présidée par Abdoulaye Bah le doyen du blogging en Guinée. Les deux autres membres étaient les blogueurs Gata Doré et Aminata Bérété. En 24h, cette commission a reçu les candidatures et a publié la liste des candidats aux différents postes. Ensuite, une campagne de 72h a été ouverte. Les candidats ont utilisé les canaux de communication internes pour présenter et défendre leur projet pour le réseau. L’étape finale qui est le vote a duré 48h pour permettre à tous les abloguinéens se trouvant partout à travers le monde, d’exercer leur droit. L’élection s’est faite en ligne avec un système de vote très sécurisé et totalement anonyme. Le système a été programmé pour être verrouillé le 15 juin à 18h00 GMT. Automatiquement, les résultats étaient déjà disponibles après quelques secondes. Comme pour dire que le bureau de vote a été fermé à 18h00 et les résultats ont été publiés à 18h00 grâce à l’outil Balotilo.
It would be hypocritical to try to defend values that one cannot incorporate into one’s own behaviour.  This is why “ablogui,” which currently has more than 75 bloggers, clearly defined the rules and the election process of its seven-member committee beforehand. Committee members were elected for a period of three years and allowed to run again only once thereafter…
The election process began with the establishment of an electoral commission, chaired by Abdoulaye Bah, the doyen of blogging in Guinea. The two other members were bloggers Gata Doré and Aminata Bérété. Within 24 hours, the commission had received applications from the candidates and published the list of individuals running for the different positions. Then came the launch of the 72-hour campaign. The candidates used their various internal communication channels to present and defend their proposals for the online network. The final stage of the process was the voting period which lasted 48 hours. This was in order to allow all of the “ablogui” followers scattered across the globe to exercise their right to vote. The elections took place online anonymously through a very secure voting system. The system was programmed to switch off at precisely 6pm GMT on June 15. The results were automatically available just a few seconds later. Indeed, it was the tool Balotilo that made it possible to close the voting system and publish the results simultaneously.
The candidates put everything they had into their electoral campaigns, whether it was individually or with the aid of a campaign director.
Here is the list of the members selected to committee positions:
To see what each member publishes, click on their name.
These bloggers hope to play a positive role in keeping Internet users well-informed of anything that could be relevant to the upcoming elections. The bloggers will be closely monitoring the behaviour of the presidential candidates with the aim of informing the online community of any slip ups which could harm the fragile social and political cohesion in the run up to the elections scheduled for October 2015. That's if the incumbent president and the opposition leader manage to come to an agreement.
The penetration rate of the Internet and mobile phone in the continent of Africa. Source: demain.infhotep.com
One should not solely attribute the step back by the “Haute Autorité pour la Communication” (HAC, National Agency for Communication) to the bloggers’ actions. The clumsy decision taken by Martine Condé, President of the HAC organisation, to regulate media activities during the pre-election period has sparked huge concern within the Guinean online community. The surge of online reactions forced the HAC to correct the restrictive measures they had initially put in place.
The reactions of “ablogui” members were just as strong on Facebook. Here are a few extracts:
Sally Bilaly Sow En lisant le texte de la HAC ( Haute Autorité de la Communication) je pensais être vraiment en Corée du Nord. Où tout est à refaire. Du n'importe quoi.
“ Sally Bilaly Sow Just reading the HAC’s text I really thought for a moment I was in North Korea, where everything needs to be taken back to square one. What a load of rubbish.
Thierno Diallo Qu'ils préparent leurs prisons aussi. Parce qu'avec ou sans leur accord la liberté d'expression demeurera en Guinée. A eux de voir.
Thierno Diallo They must be preparing their prisons too. Because whether we have their agreement or not, freedom of expression isn't going anywhere in Guinea. It's up to them to see that.
Bafodé Bangoura Martine Condé sait très bien qu'elle a été illégalement installée à son poste; elle et sa Hac pensent que notre bouche la c'est elles qui l'ont creusées, elles se trompent. Elle n'est pas venue a son temps c'est pourquoi sans quoi elle n'allait pas se permettre de tenter ces genres de “chose” dans ce monde moderne où même les SOURD-MUETS n'ont plus d'obstacle pour s'exprimer facilement et librement.
Bafodé Bangoura Martine Condé knows very well that she was unduly elected to her position; she and her agency think that they are the ones who help us express ourselves, they are wrong. She is a bit late to the party and that is why she cannot try these sorts of things in these times when even the DEAF AND MUTE no longer have anything stopping them from expressing themselves freely.
Mamata Sanguiana Camara C'est du n'importe quoi. On ne peut vivre dans un Etat qui se dit démocratique et que notre liberté d'expression soit limitée. Nous sommes quand même le médium idéal entre gouvernants et gouvernés, la voix des sans voix. La HAC est sensée faire valoir les droits des journalistes et non les limiter. Suis d'avis qu'on insulte pas le président mais le critiquer ça sera impossible. Ce sont les critiques et observation du 4ème pouvoir que nous sommes qui les feront changer. La HAC est là pour imposer ce que l'Etat souhaite ou pour proner la liberté d'expression et le droit à l information? Les professionnelles savent comment sensurer leur produit pour éviter le pire en Guinée car un homme de médias peut détruir un pays vous le savez mieux que moi. Bref on.insultera pas le président mais les critiques et dénonciations avec preuves à l'appui veront toujours le jour.
Mamata Sanguiana Camara It’s a load of rubbish. We can’t live in a state that calls itself democratic and then have our freedom of expression limited. Although we are the ideal medium between those that rule and those that are ruled, the voice of the voiceless. The HAC is supposed to value the rights of journalists, not limit them. In my opinion no one should be allowed to insult the president, but criticising him will be impossible under the current ruling. It is the people's criticisms and observations that will make them change. Is the HAC there to impose what the State wishes or is it meant to advocate freedom of expression and the right to information? Professionals know how to censure their products to avoid the worst for Guinea because the media is capable of destroying a country; you know it better than me. Anyway, we shouldn't insult the president but criticism and denunciations with solid proof will see the light of day.
The presence of the armed forces during protests in Guinea. Image via GuineeWeb CC-BY-20
The bloggers have been among the first to denounce the HAC's press report. The agency had to retract the press release it initially sent out. As reported by radio kankan, the corrected press release recognised the lack of tact in the initial report:
au point 2 de l’article 3, il est notamment libellé : “ S’abstenir de l’usage des genres d’opinions tels : l’éditorial, le commentaire, la chronique, le billet’’ Pour l’incompréhension suscitée par cet article, la HAC présente ses excuses aux médias, aux citoyens et à tous les usagers de la presse et les invite à lire cet article nouveau ainsi libellé : ‘’Faire preuve de professionnalisme et de responsabilité dans l’usage des genres d’opinions tels : l’éditorial, le commentaire, la chronique, le billet en tenant compte de la situation socio politique qui prévaut dans le pays
In Article 3 item 2, it is notably worded: “To refrain from expressing viewpoints in the form of: editorial writing, comments, gossip columns, newspaper columns”  Due to the confusion caused by this article, the HAC presents its excuses to the media, citizens and all users of the press. The organisation invites them to read this latest Article as follows: “To display professionalism and responsibility when expressing viewpoints in the form of: Editorial writing, comments, gossip columns, newspaper columns by taking into account the sociopolitical situation that prevails in the country.
In a country that has no weekly newspapers, Guinean bloggers play a key role in informing the online community and contributing to the development of public opinion. The hope is that no one takes advantage of such an opportunity to spread malevolent sentiment. In order for the Association of Guinean Bloggers to be respected, it is fundamental that it holds onto its independence in the face of politicians and maintains a solid credibility.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Surprise Swings Lead to Landslide Victory for Singapore’s Ruling Party · Global Voices
Kirsten Han

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong addresses a crowd in a campaign rally. The slogan of the ruling party is “With you, for you, and for Singapore.” Photo from the Facebook page of People's Action Party.
Singapore's ruling People's Action Party (PAP) dominated the general election with almost 70 percent of the vote, about a 10-point improvement on the previous election in 2011 that was meant to have signaled a transition away from one-party rule in the city-state.
The 2015 general election was held a few months after the passing of the country's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, and was announced right after the massive Golden Jubilee celebration. The campaign period lasted for only 10 days. Apart from the incumbent PAP, eight other political parties of various sizes and quality entered the fray. It was the first time since 1963 that every single seat in Parliament was contested.
The election was largely expected to continue the trend that began in 2011, when the PAP won 60.1 percent of the popular vote, its worst performance since coming to power in 1959. Opposition parties were largely expected to make gains, particularly the Workers’ Party—the only opposition party with elected Members of Parliament.
But many Singaporeans were stunned when the ruling party ended up winning 69.86 percent of the vote as every constituency across the island saw swings away from the opposition. The Workers’ Party lost one of its seven seats in parliament, while clinging on to its five-seat Aljunied Group Representation Constituency (GRC) by a winning margin of under one percent.
Some Singaporean bloggers and analysts dissected the election results to gain a better understanding of why the PAP won more votes despite the expectation that it would lose a significant number of seats.
With the new results made public, blogger Alex Au re-evaluated the way in which the previous general election could be seen:
The 2011 results, including the by-election results following that general election, now have to be read as purely a protest vote. People were angry at a few things, and once the government took the sting out of these key issues with a number of policy tweaks, the electorate reverted to form.
Ghui, a commentator on The Online Citizen, speculated that the swing towards the PAP came from a fear of a “freak election”—one in which a sudden surge of support for the opposition would lead to the PAP losing the power to form a government, leaving the task to an unstable coalition of opposition parties:
The PAP… played up the threat of the opposition ruining Singapore, feeding fears that the entire governmental system would collapse, inexperienced politicians would charge into Parliament and the country would be run to the ground.
People I have spoken to unanimously agreed that they wanted more opposition MPs in Parliament. Most were also in agreement that seven elected MPs were insufficient to be an effective check in Parliament. Yet, many were also fearful that if everyone voted that way, the PAP may end up losing power.
E Lee, a member of one of the opposition parties, also wrote an account of his election experience for The Online Citizen, highlighting the difficulties opposition parties face in taking on the powerful PAP:
The fact that the official media limits the publication and portrayal of political parties is widely known. But what is not so common knowledge is how they do so. Take, for instance, my experience with a local broadcaster to get our party’s script cleared for TV during this general election. As the person who submitted the script, I was required to stay behind for six hours until I received clearance from their legal department. On that occasion, their representative highlighted four short sentences in our script that contained a few “potentially defamatory” names and words. I sought clarification for why these words were defamatory, but the representative merely said they do not want to be liable for the statements made by the party and wanted us to relook the content.
Yeoh Lam Keong, former chief economist at one of Singapore's sovereign wealth funds, highlighted the obstacles that opposition parties face:
…there are severe barriers to entry to effective political competition. Extensively redrawn political districts, minister-fortified GRCs, a govt dominated mainstream media, ridiculously short campaigning periods, non independent civil service organizations (to name a few) mean the playing field is extremely unequal to begin with and that better MPs are deterred from offering their services as opposition members while less able or altruistic ones my be incentivized to join the ruling party. Just look around. Meritocracy in politics is being eroded, which is not good for governance long term.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the new parliament would open to start work in January.

author: Kirsten Han


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Ugandan Minister Mysteriously Dies, the Internet Goes Haywire · Global Voices
James Propa

One of the last pictures of Gen. Aronda taken in S. Korea. (Internet Photo)
On Saturday, 12 September, 2015 the country woke up to shocking news of the sudden death of Ugandan Internal Affairs Minister and former Chief Of Defence Forces, General Aronda Nyakairima. General Aronda died in Dubai while in transit from a visit to South Korea.
After the news broke out, many people took to social media to send messages expressing their condolences. Some social media users, however, started floating conspiracy theories about his death. During Aronda's state funeral on September 19, 2015, Minister of State for Internal Affairs, James Baba, warned social media users against misusing social networks to spread potentially false and damaging information. The Minister also said that the government intends to come up with a legal framework to crack down on social media users spreading malicious information.
A postmortem report released on 17 September, 2015 stated that the General had died of heart failure. During the requeim service for the late official, however, his widow, Mrs. Lindah Aronda said:
This heart problem you are talking about, OK it may have been there but we [the family] have never seen it.
My [two] children are are my witnesses. He was full of strength…For 19 years he has never failed to get out of bed or fall sick.
However, President Museveni said he managed to obtain medical reports that indicated that Aronda had had “mild hypertension” for many years.
Facebook user Peter Clever supported Aronda's widow's suspicions:
She has every reason to doubt because even before the postmortem report, gov't sources had it that he died of heart failure;where did they get that information before the said doctors were sent in to investigate his death? These silent killin ll be put to books oneday.
Another Facebook user, Namanya Robert wondered how Ugandans would ever know the truth of the matter:
Someone to die from heart failure should have had episodes in the previous history because heart failure may progress gradually, how should we know the truth
A colleague and best friend to the late General, Brig. Kasirye Gwanga, said that the general did not die of heart attack but rather that someone had killed him. In a video published online, he promised to come after those that had done it.
In 2013, when General Aronda Nyakairima was appointed the Minister of Internal Affairs, one of his main tasks was to curb corruption that was deeply rooted into the immigration department and passport office. During his acceptance speech, he promised to work day and night to make Uganda a better country.
Commending him for his work, NTV Uganda's senior journalist, Maurice Mugisha, tweeted:
Aronda on his 1st day in office as Minister said ‘Ours will be about service delivery’. Indeed it was… Fare thee well General. #RIPAronda
— Maurice Mugisha (@MauriceMugisha) September 12, 2015
Commenting on the New Vision website, Wamala Isaac, also felt there was something fishy about Aronda's death:
sorry for the loss we have encountered bt there must something behind his death, all in all words alone are not enough to explain we wish you were still alive
Dalton Owponya found Aronda's death puzzling:
Possibly the fittest man (physically) in the cabinet, to die of heart attack? It is puzzling. Big loss of the only OB of Kitgum High School in cabinet to pass on so young!
User Brian Akandwanaho compared General Aronda's death to that of Uganda's former army chief James Kazini:
I really ask what is in the lineage of chiefs of defense forces? from kazini to aronda all dying mysteriously. RIP and may God use others to carry on your best plans for the country
Jims Marie asked the government to run a thorough investigation before the final conclusions about the cause of Aronda's death:
Something is terribly wrong …. ! There needs to be a thorough investigation and autopsy done by the UG gov't. What did he eat in the plane or before leaving S.Korea? Who did he meet the last 24 hrs before he left S.Korea..? Did he meet any foreign officials, and who where they, and from which country(ies)?….The whole thing looks suspicious..!! Serious investigations are needed to get to the bottom of what really happened? Heart attacks can be induced through all kinds of chemicals or medications. Was he travelling on official duty..? who was he travelling with from his ministry or gov't? Given his profile, background and national responsibilities with regards to national security and intelligence matters, the gov't needs to questions and thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding his death…! Something seems very wrong here..!
General Aronda Nyakairima was also representing the Ugandan army in Parliament, which often put him at loggerheads with some of the other politicians. Uganda's laws do not allow active army officers to occupy political posts, such as that of a minister. It is not clear why he was allowed to represent the Ugandan army in Parliament while he was already a cabinet minister.
Uganda's main opposition leader, Kiiza Besigye, has called for a full investigation into Aronda's death. Ugandan Members of Parliament, however, remain divided over the need to investigate his death.

author: James Propa


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What Could a Protest of Taxi Drivers in Lisbon and Jakarta Possibly Have in Common? Uber! · Global Voices
Manuel Ribeiro

Taxi from Lisbon, Portugal. Photo: Manuel Correia (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Juliana Harsianti also contributed to this post.
As a platform, Uber has provided an alternative to the car-riding public in many countries, but it has also earned the ire of taxi drivers and other public transport operators who feel threatened by it. Some of those who believe that Uber is hurting the local economy have even organized protests across the world. Recently, protests against Uber were launched in both Portugal and Indonesia.
Taxi drivers from the three main Portuguese cities—Faro, Lisbon, and Porto—gathered together for a massive rally against Uber. Thousands of taxi drivers took to the streets to express their concern about the company's work.
Cerca de 3500 taxistas protestaram contra a Uber em Lisboa, Porto e Faro http://t.co/A3pZGPgWNK pic.twitter.com/pTr1cVfRLg
— NOFango (@elfango) September 9, 2015
About 3,500 taxi drivers protested against Uber in Lisbon, Porto, and Faro
The drivers’ main grievance is that Uber has no license to operate as a passenger transportation business in Portugal, yet it continues to offer its service to the public. Many taxi drivers say they felt tricked when they lost customers to Uber. Thus, they decided to hold a protest.
The protest, however, got the attention of the international media for an entirely wrong reason. News about the mass rally trended because of a violent incident featuring taxi drivers and a photojournalist who was also caught in the middle of the confusion and ended up in the hospital after being bashed by infuriated taxi drivers. The organizers of the Taxi Drivers’ Protest against Uber said they deeply regretted the incident with the journalist.
In the end, it seems the protests are only making Uber more popular: its Portuguese app recently became the most downloaded app in the country.
Eis o resultado da Manif. #taxis #Uber #manifestação #lisboa pic.twitter.com/rg3Jfl4K6H — tiagopacheco (@tiagopacheco) September 9, 2015
Here is the result of the protest (Uber app most downloaded in the Portuguese ranking for the day)
The protest activity also made some Portuguese citizens want to know more about the Uber service, and many were tempted to try it:
Pensava q a @Uber_Lisboa acabará cá por motivos legais. Os taxistas n só me alertaram para o contrário cm agr tenho vontade de experimentar!
— Tomás T. (@tomas6) September 8, 2015
I thought @Uber_Lisboa ended for legal reasons. Taxi drivers just alerted me of the contrary, now I really want to try it!
Before this massive protest, Uber was prohibited from operating in Portugal as ordered by a court in Lisbon. However, the company has continued to run its business, according to its website.
Reacting to the court decision banning the service, a group of citizens launched an online petition requesting that Uber be allowed to operate in the country.
Three days before the taxi drivers’ demonstration, the Portuguese government asked the European Union and the European Parliament for help in regulating the company. The main issue Portuguese officials want to settle is whether Uber is an online service delivery platform or a passenger transportation company.
In the meantime, tourists are the ones who suffer most. Getting an Uber service at the Lisbon airport has become dangerous since Portuguese taxi drivers are now patrolling the area to drive away Uber cars.
The video below shows a group of taxi drivers preventing an Uber car from transporting a tourist:
Taxi in Jakarta. Photo: Celica21gtfour (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Some cities in Indonesia have also recently seen protests against Uber. As in Portugal, taxi drivers in Bandung and Jakarta in Indonesia feel that Uber is undermining their livelihood.
But Uber has proven popular among the public who noticed that regular taxis usually charge higher rates. “The consumer now has more choices and then gets more benefit,” said Ficky, one of the Uber riders in Indonesia.
The Uber Jakarta map. Screenshot from the Uber app.
Furthermore, passengers seem to appreciate that Uber cars are usually bigger and more comfortable.
A few months after Uber was launched in Indonesia, some licensed taxi operators filed a police complaint in Jakarta and Bandung. The petitioners claimed that Uber prices were low because the company wasn't paying the right amount of taxes to the government.
There were a total of 9 taxi companies that joined the protest and filed the report to the police. In Bandung and Jakarta, the local governments ruled that Uber was illegally operating as a public transport service. Then, a joint task force was formed among the local governments, district police, and Ministry of Transportation to halt the operations of Uber as a taxi service. Ipung Purnomo of Jakarta Police said:
In order to protect the safety of the people, we decided to forbid Uber in some cities. This decision is based on the rule that forbids using private cars as a means of public transportation.
The protests in both Portugal and Indonesia show that in many countries, online platforms like Uber, though offering cheaper rides and more convenience, face both the displeasure of local taxi drivers and regulatory challenges. The regulation of services like Uber can directly affect local businesses and ordinary citizens.

author: Manuel Ribeiro