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‘The War Against Drugs Creates a War for Drugs’ · Global Voices
Autor Invitado

Phrotograph by Eneas De Troya, taken from their Flickr account and published under a Creative Commons License.
British journalist Johann Hari is the author of the book “Chasing the Scream,” which critically analyzes the so-called “War on Drugs” — the global policy driven by the United States and later forcibly exported to Mexico and the rest of Latin America that tackles the problem of drugs, weapons and prisons.
Estefanía Sepúlveda Portilla spoke with Hari for the Chilean online magazine Pousta. The interview was originally published on their website under a Creative Commons 4.0 licence, and is republished on Global Voices in two parts. The second half of the interview continues below.
Read the first half of the interview: British Journalist Thinks The World Owes Latin America an Apology for the So-Called ‘War on Drugs’.
Estefanía Sepúlveda Portilla (ESP): Why is this war still being fought? Who gains from it?
Johann Hari (JH): Hay dos maneras de responder esto: lo primero es que obviamente hay quienes se benefician de esta guerra. En Estados Unidos [votaron] para decidir si se [legalizaba] la marihuana en algunos estados. Los que financian las campañas en contra son las empresas que producen alcohol, porque no quieren esa competencia; la unión de gendarmes, porque si hay menos presos pueden perder sus trabajos; y los grupos evangélicos que tienen un tema ideológico. Y bueno, hay otros grupos que, por supuesto, no apoyan campañas: los carteles.
Johann Hari (JH): There are two ways to answer this: first is that obviously, there are people who benefit from the existence of this war. In the United States, [they voted] to decideif they should legalize marijuana in some states. Lots of different groups financed the campaigns against legalization: alcohol companies, because they don't want that competition; police unions, because if there are fewer prisoners, they could lose their jobs; evangelical groups for whom this is an ideological issue. And well, there are other groups who, naturally, don't support campaigns: the cartels.
ESP: That sounds logical. They all have their interests.
JH: Por supuesto, por eso creo que la principal razón por la que una guerra fallida de cien años continúa es porque en Chile, Gran Bretaña, o Estados Unidos, hay una mayoría que apoya la prohibición. Cuando cambia la opinión pública, cambia la política, entonces se trata de explicar bien a la gente cuáles son las otras opciones, y cómo pueden y resultan exitosas. Lo primero es que no hay nada abstracto ni teórico en las alternativas, en Colorado legalizaron la marihuana igual que el alcohol: sólo se puede consumir después de los 21 años, hay penas duras para los que venden a menores, se pagan impuestos, está regulado. Y ahora hasta la DEA dice que las actividades de los carteles casi desaparecieron, el consumo no subió tanto, incluso bajó harto en adolescentes, han recaudado fondos con los impuestos, ha sido exitoso. No es una teoría. Funciona. Legalizar otras drogas significa hacer otras cosas, porque son otros los objetivos.
JH: Of course. That's the main reason why I believe a 100-year failed war continues: it's because in Chile, in Great Britain, and the United States, the majority supports prohibition. When public opinion changes, policies change. Then it's all about explaining to people what other options are there and how they can be and actually are successful. There's nothing abstract or theoretic about the alternatives. In [the US state of] Colorado they legalized marijuana just like alcohol: it can only be consumed if you're over 21, there are stiff penalties for anyone who sells to minors, there are taxes and regulations. And now, even the [US Drug Enforcement Administration] says that the cartels’ activities have almost disappeared, the consumption hasn't gone up, youth consumption has seriously declined and they've raised funds through taxes. It's been successful. It's not a theory. It works. Legalizing other drugs means doing different things, because the objectives are different.
ESP: Are there any successful examples of the legalization of other drugs?
JH: Cuando hablamos de legalizar las drogas, la gente se asusta y cree que se trata de poder comprar crack en una tienda y no es así. Por supuesto que nadie quiere eso. Te doy un ejemplo: en Suiza, en los 80, tenían un problema terrible con la heroína. Intentaron meter presos a todos los adictos, les hicieron la guerra, y el problema se hizo peor. Despues llegó Ruth Dreifuss, que fue una gran presidenta, ella lo explicó a los suizos así: uno cree que la legalización significa anarquía y caos, pero que la verdadera anarquía y caos era hacer la guerra a las drogas, porque tienes a criminales en la oscuridad, vendiendo químicos que nadie sabe qué son, a drogadictos que también están en la oscuridad.
Todos eso provoca una mezcla de violencia, enfermedades, muerte y caos. La legalización es la forma de devolverle el orden a este caos. Lo que hicieron fue poner clínicas de heroína. Parecen peluquerías, te manda el doctor, vas muy temprano, una enfermera te la inyecta y te monitorea, luego te vas a tu trabajo. Te ayudan a encontrar casa, empleo, y todo eso, y resulta que desde entonces nadie, cero, literalmente nadie, ha muerto por sobredosis de heroína legal allá, el crimen bajó también. Los suizos son super conservadores, mi papá es de allá, y te juro que no es San Francisco. Y bueno, diez años después hicieron un referéndum para ver si seguían con esta politica y un 70% de la gente dijo que sí, porque bajó el crimen, las muertes, y las enfermedades, es un patrón que ves en todos lados.
JH: When we talk about legalizing drugs, people get scared and think it's all about being able to buy crack in a store when in reality it's not like this. Of course nobody wants that. I'll give you an example. In Switzerland, in the 1980s, they had a terrible problem with heroin. They tried to put all the addicts in jail, they waged war against them and the problem got worse. Then came Ruth Dreifuss — she was a great president — and she explained it all to the Swiss like this: one believes that legalization equals anarchy and chaos, but the real anarchy and chaos comes with the war on drugs, because you have criminals in the shadows, selling who knows what kinds of chemicals to drug addicts who are also hidden in the shadows.
All of this creates a mix of violence, sickness, death and chaos. Legalization is the way to restore order to this chaos. What they did was make heroin clinics. They looked like barber shops, the doctor gives you a prescription, you get there really early, a nurse injects you and monitors you and then you go to work. They help you find a house, a job and everything, and it turns out that since then not one, zero, literally nobody, has died from an overdose of legal heroin over there, and crime has gone down as well. The Swiss are super conservative, my father is from there, and I promise you, it's not San Francisco. And well, 10 years later they made a referendum to see if they should continue this policy and 70% of the population said yes because it reduced crime, deaths, sicknesses… It's a pattern you see everywhere.
ESP: Sounds like what they did in Paris, with the injecting rooms.
JH: Hay en Vancouver, Ginebra, y sí, en París son esenciales y reducen las muertes, pero son solo el comienzo de la alternativa. Francia dio un gran paso porque tienen pésimas políticas de drogas, pero la cosa es que para obtener las drogas ellos todavía tienen que comprarlas de los traficantes armados que siguen inyectando violencia a toda la cadena de producción. Si legalizas las drogas, sacas del juego a los traficantes y a la violencia de la cadena. No ves al gerente de Heineken disparándole en la cara al gerente de Smirnoff, pero los traficantes sí se disparan y matan todo el tiempo. Esa violencia se replica en todo el mundo: la guerra contra las drogas crea una guerra de la droga. Hay más gente que ha muerto por esto en Colombia y México que con la guerra y crisis de refugiados en Siria. Y es impactante lo poco de lo que se habla de esta cantidad de muertos que ha traído una guerra que les fue impuesta. Podríamos terminar con esa violencia rápidamente, llevar a la bancarrota al Chapo, los Zetas. ¿Dónde están los gangsters que vendían alcohol ilegal en Chicago? ¡No existen!
JH: They have them in Vancouver, Geneva, and yes, in Paris they are indispensable and they reduce the number of deaths, but they're only the beginning of an alternative. France made a huge stride because they have terrible drug policies, but the thing is that in order to get drugs, users still have to buy them from armed traffickers who keep injecting violence into the production chain. If you legalize drugs, you take the traffickers and the violence out of the game. You don't see the manager of Heineken shooting the manager of Smirnoff in the face, but traffickers do shoot and kill each other all the time. This violence is repeated all over the world: the war against drugs creates a war for drugs. There are more people in Colombia and Mexico who have died because of this than with the war and refugee crisis in Syria. And it is striking how the number of deaths brought about by this war that was forced upon them is talked about so little. We could quickly put an end to this violence, take El Chapo and Los Zetas out of business. Where are the gangsters who sell illegal alcohol in Chicago? They don't exist!
ESP: Have you received criticism from people who have a differing opinion on the war on drugs?
JH: Es cada vez más difícil encontrar a gente que la defienda, a menos que sean pagados. Creo que para ser justos, se puede decir que dieron una buena pelea durante cien años: gastaron un trillón de dolares, mataron a miles de miles de personas, metieron a dos millones de personas en la cárcel, y ni siquiera pueden mantener las drogas afuera de la cárcel, así que eso te da una buena idea de lo exitosa que fue su estrategia de mantenerlas afuera del mundo. Por eso creo que tratan de usar argumentos abstractos, morales, como que usar drogas es inmoral, pero para mí lo inmoral es provocar millones de muertes en una guerra que jamas ganarán, dejar que la gente más vulnerable y pobre se vuelva drogadicta. Particularmente en Latinoamérica yo creo que sienten que esta guerra ha sido una catástrofe. Me ha emocionado que un asesor del Presidente Santos en Colombia me dijo que leyó el libro y le hizo mucho sentido. Allá dije que el mundo les debía una disculpa, y en uno de esos lanzamientos, una joven se levantó emocionada y me dijo “nunca nadie nos ha dicho eso”, hemos tenido que pedir disculpas nosotros todo el tiempo. Eso fue muy emocionante. Creo que lo que le hemos hecho a Latinoamérica ha sido terrible hasta el extremo inimaginable, pero puede terminar. Está la alternativa.
JH: It's getting harder and harder to find people who defend it, unless they are paid to. I think, in order to be fair, it could be said that they fought a good fight during those 100 years: they spent a trillion dollars, killed thousands upon thousands of people, put 2 million people in prison, and they can't even keep drugs out of those prisons, so, that gives you a good idea of how successful their strategy was in removing them from the world. This is why they tried to use abstract and moral arguments, like that using drugs is immoral, but for me, the immoral thing is provoking millions of deaths in a war that will never be won, leaving the poorest and most vulnerable people to become drug addicts. Particularly in Latin America, I think they feel that this war has been a catastrophe. I'm excited that an adviser for President Santos of Colombia told me that he read my book and it really clicked with him. In it, I said that the world owes them an apology, and in one of the book releases, a young woman got up, very moved, and told me that no one had ever told her this, they themselves have had to apologize all the time. That was very touching. I think what we have done to Latin America has been terrible to the utmost extreme, but it can come to an end. The alternative exists.
ESP: How do you see the current situation for the continent?
JH: Lo que hizo Mujica en Uruguay es muy inspirador para el mundo. Cuando hice el lanzamiento en México, había dos políticos mexicanos que están a favor de la legalización, y ellos tenían que estar con guardaespaldas armados, porque los mayores enemigos de la legalización son los traficantes. Ellos son los que mas querrán defender la guerra contra las drogas. En Colombia, Santos ha dicho que hay que acabar la guerra de drogas. Creo que Latinoamérica, el lugar que más ha tenido que sufrir por esta política fallida, podría ser el lugar que enseñe al mundo a transformarlo todo. Al final, si es que hubiésemos escuchado a Leopoldo Salazar desde un principio [el médico que trabajó de cerca con pacientes adictos, hizo investigaciones sobre la mairjuana y que fue también un fuerte defensor de la legalización en México durante la década de 1930], nos habríamos ahorrado todo esto, no habría existido un Pablo Escobar, por dar ejemplo. Cuando todo esto acabe creo que hay que construir una estatua a Salazar. Esta guerra es algo que nunca tuvo que pasar, pero sobre todo, no tiene por qué continuar.
JH: What Mujica did in Uruguay is very inspiring for the world. When I released the book in Mexico, there were two Mexican politicians in favor of legalization and they had to come with armed guards, because the worst enemies of legalization are the traffickers. They are the ones who most want to defend the war on drugs. In Colombia, Santos has said that the war must be stopped. I believe that Latin America, the place that has had to suffer the most thanks to this failed policy, could be the place that shows the world how to change everything. In the end, if we had listened to Leopoldo Salazar from the start [a doctor who worked closely with drug-addicted patients, did extensive research on marijuana and advocated strongly for legalization in Mexico during the 1930s], we would have saved ourselves all this, a character like Pablo Escobar wouldn't have existed, to give an example. When all of this ends, I think that someone will have to build a statue for Salazar. This war is something that never had to happen, but above all, has no reason to continue.

author: Autor Invitado


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A New Audio Uploading Tool for Crowdsourced Wiktionary Project in Odia Language · Global Voices
Rezwan

A home recording setup for the Kathabhidhana project for Wiktionary. Image via Subhashish Panigrahi from Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0
Wiktionary, Wikipedia's multilingual sister project, promises a great deal. At present, there are not many open-licensed audio recordings that you can hear or download — especially if your mother tongue is not one of the major languages. Wiktionary is already available in multiple languages and in addition to the definitions of the words, many phonetic notations — at least in terms of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) — are available. Now, an Odia-language community project is helping to simplify the process of volunteer contributions to the Odia Wiktionary project.
Kathabhidhana, a community project led by Global Voices contributor and Odia Wikipedian Subhashish Panigrahi, is an open-source solution for recording large chunks of words. It then uploads them under open licenses so that they can be useful for projects like Wiktionary.
Odia, one of the state languages in India, is a Indo-Aryan language that is spoken mostly in eastern India by around 40 million native speakers. With over 5,000 years of literary heritage, it has been recognized as one of the oldest South Asian languages, and has been given the status of a classical language by the Indian government.
But thanks to the use of non-Unicode-based typing systems, the language's online presence is still lagging behind. To address these issues, a bunch of character encoding converters that change typed text to Unicode using various non-Unicode encoding systems, are incorporated in Odia Wikipedia; it now has more than 12,000 entries. The Odia Wiktionary, on the other hand, as a free, online-based and completely crowdsourced dictionary in the Odia language, is trying to bridge the gap.
The project draws its inspiration largely from other open-source software created by Shrinivasan T, who used Python programming language to automate and simplify the process. He posted this tutorial on YouTube:
Panigrahi was inspired to do the Kathabhidhana project because the existing method was a cumbersome process: you have to pronounce and record a word, then export it in Ogg Vorbis format to your Wikimedia Commons account, which is a central repository of media files for all Wikimedia projects. Once uploaded, the entry is added to the Wiktionary project. Apart from manually recording pronunciation, there is also an open-source text-to-speech project called Dhvani that works for most Indian languages.
In contrast, having audio recordings of words in Wiktionary helps non-native speakers — as well as people with visual disabilities — listen to the pronunciation of different words. The word library can also be used for several Natural Language Processing projects, like building text-to-speech and speech-to-speech engines.
You can download a copy of Kathabhidhana and find all the audio recordings made using this software.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Rezwan


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This Syrian Refugee Family Was Split Apart by New US Travel Rules · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

Gasem al-Hamad and his children are pictured here at home in Turlock, California. The family fled Syria's civil war, but now Hamad's brother is being blocked from being resettled in California as planned because of President Donald Trump's suspension of the US Syrian refugee program. Credit: Monica Campbell
This story by Monica Campbell originally appeared on PRI.org on February 3, 2017. It is republished here as part of a partnership between PRI and Global Voices.
No more Syrian refugees. That’s what US President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration makes sure of by blocking, at least temporarily, this group from entering the US. Hours after the news came, lives changed, including the life of one Syrian refugee family I have kept up with since they were resettled in Turlock, California, about two hours east of San Francisco.
It’s been about a year since I last saw Gasem al-Hamad, his wife, Wajed al-Khlifa, and their four young kids. They had been in the US about 10 months, ending a three-year journey from when they had fled their home in Homs, Syria.
It was also not long after the deadly terrorist attacks on Paris and a predictable rise in Islamaphobia. The chilling effects of that attack, the anti-Muslim bigotry — Hamad and his family felt it in Turlock. Khlifa, who wears a hijab, says she noticed that some glances turned to stares. “Since Paris … things changed,” she said.
But the family also moved forward. They celebrated their first Thanksgiving in the US. Hamad passed his driver’s test and was able to take the kids around in the family's new minivan. They found community at the local mosque, welcomed as one of the city’s first families from Syria resettled in the small city.
I wanted to call and hear how things were going for the family since Trump’s decision to temporarily block Syrian refugees.
At first, things seemed good. Hamad, with an interpreter on the line, told me his kids were doing well in school and that his wife just got her driver’s license. Hamad is also working steadily as a halal butcher. It's tough work, but he’s using a skill that he learned back in Syria.
But then talk turned to what is happening now. “My brother was supposed to arrive here on February 18,” Hamad says. “But because of President Trump’s decision, they put all reservation on hold. I’m very worried about my brother.”
Hamad’s brother also fled Syria and had a plane ticket for California. Everything was set; but Trump’s order has left Hamad’s brother stuck in Jordan, where he traveled after Syria.
However, the brother’s 24-year-old son and his son’s wife did manage to get to California just under the wire. “He arrived two weeks ago before President Trump issued his decision,” Hamad says of his nephew.
So now the family is split, and Hamad knows his brother can’t go back to Syria.
Hamad and his family barely made it out of Syria alive themselves. Not long after fleeing, their house was bombed. Neighbors emailed them photos of the rubble. “Look! This was your home!” they said.
At the same time, Hamad is not surprised that his brother is being blocked now. He has sensed change since Trump won the election. Turlock may be in California, but it’s rural, more conservative. Trump did well there.
“So, yes, there are some changes,” says Hamad. “Before, we felt that we were part of the community. After, the feeling has changed. We feel that we are strangers here.”
Gasem Al Hamad and his son, Mohamad, at home in Turlock, California. The Al Hamad family fled war in Syria and, after a three-year journey, arrived to the US as refugees. Credit: Monica Campbell
Hamad wishes more people understood how tough it was to get to the United States. The vetting he got, that he says his brother got, was intense. Long interviews, over and over. His retina was scanned for biometric data. It took nearly three years for Hamad and his family to finally touch ground in California after fleeing Syria.
Still, Hamad knows that some people, including Trump, say that refugees can be dangerous, or that they get assistance while others from the US struggle. I asked him more about that.
“America needs people,” says Hamad. “Needs people to work.”
And, he says, he gives back. “For example, I came here, I work, I pay taxes, I bought a car. I helped this country,” he says.
I asked him how he explains all of this to his kids, especially his oldest daughter, Arwa, who is 10. He says he is not sure what to say, but he knows that talk about the news comes up at school.
Turns out, Arwa has also been teaching her parents things about the US. “Two weeks ago, there was Martin Luther King Day,” Hamad says. “My daughter came to me and told me today we have a big celebration. I didn’t know about that.”
US history. Civil rights. Hamad says he enjoys seeing his daughter learn about US democracy, but he also worries about the country now. “I have big, huge concerns,” he says. “Racism is going to destroy the country. I’m worried a lot about America. If there’s a civil war in America it’s going to destroy the country. Look at what happened in Syria. Syria got destroyed.”
This fear that Hamad says fuels the racism and keeps families like his out of the country — he wishes it would go away.

author: PRI/PRX's The World


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Bulgaria’s New President Vetoes Law That Would Have ‘Opened a Door to Corruption’ · Global Voices
Nevena Borisova

A screenshot from President.bg, presenting the official CV of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, detailing his career as a pilot and high-ranking army officer. The page is not yet available in English.
Bulgarians have a new president and they're watching his every step very carefully. As the world fretted about Donald Trump in the United States, Rumen Radev won last November's election as an independent candidate with the support of the Bulgarian Socialist Party. He officially took office on Jan. 22.
One of his first moves, ten days after his inauguration, was to veto a law called the New Concessions Act, which would have regulated business dealings with the natural resources industry, like drinking water. The law was passed in the last hours before the dissolution of the previous parliament. It provides for abolishing the maximum 35-year term of concession contracts and also gives the right to open a concession procedure to government ministers and mayors.
Although the previous ruling party supported the law, environmental organizations, labor unions and right-wing nationalist parties all objected to its adoption for different reasons. Given the political drama that accompanied Radev's election and the popular discontent over corruption that helped fuel his rise to power, the veto — and its support across the political spectrum — was seen as an important development.
Environmental organizations protested, saying that the New Concessions Act would give unlimited rights to concession holders, as national news agency BTA reported. The right-wing alliance New Republic alleged that the law serves corporate interests and is aimed at cementing lucrative city cleaning concessions for “the right companies” for decades in a row. Both New Republic and trade union Podkrepa argued that the law was too quickly adopted by Parliament in the last moment of its term. Former President Georgi Parvanov (2002-2012) supported the veto as an anti-corruption measure, and the leader of Bulgarian Socialist Party, Kornelia Ninova, congratulated Radev on what she called a position to protect state property and the public interest.
President Radev justified his decision to veto the law, saying the legislation would have “opened a door to corruption,” and would have required changes in 29 other laws, which he said would only be possible after a “wide-ranging debate.” Radev stressed that a revised law will need to align with new directives from the European Union, or Bulgaria's economy could be vulnerable to sanctions from Brussels.
Others also warned of possible sanctions from the EU if a law isn't passed conforming to the body's new rules for public procurement soon. Emil Radev, a representative of the former ruling party GERB and a European Parliament member, said as much in a television interview on February 3.
While Bulgaria's mainstream media failed to report very deeply about the law, before the veto a group of four citizens analyzed the minutes of the parliamentary debate on the New Concessions Act, and appealed on the online news site Bultimes.bg to Radev to reject it. The group argued that the legislation failed to protect the public interest in transparency and control over concession contracts.
Another citizen, Nikolay Krumov, commented on Facebook about the problem with doing away with a term limit on concessions:
Вечна концесия е понятие, равно на собственост. Разширението на срока до безкрайност е начин да бъдат приватизирани собственост, достояние, услуги, права и функции, които обществото гарантира на своите граждани и следователно не са за продан!
Eternal concession is a term equal to ownership. The extension of the time limit to indefinite is a way to privatize services, rights and functions, which society guarantees to its citizens and therefore they are not for sale!
Expectations for Radev are high. As the BBC stated, Radev's recent rise to power “reflected widespread discontent with the government's poor record on tackling corruption and poverty.” Given the context, the early days of his presidency has attracted an intense focus as he has gone about appointing an interim government, which must prepare early elections in March.
While it seems that Radev's presidential tenure will be tumultuous, some like Janeta Dineva expressed optimism about the new president's first steps in office:
За десет дни Радев не само успя да състави едно от най-балансираните правителства, не само отиде до Брюксел и твърдо заяви волята на България, но и наложи първото си вето!
For ten days, Radev not only succeeded to build one of the most balanced governments, not only to go to Brussels and firmly express the will of Bulgaria, but also to put out his first veto!

author: Nevena Borisova


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Egypt’s Religious Reforms Bring Women Preachers to the Pulpit · Global Voices
Mahmud El Shafey

Woman in Alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali in Cairo. Source: WikiCommons.
For the first time ever, women preachers will be permitted to ascend the pulpit to preach in Egypt’s mosques, the country’s Ministry of Religious Endowments has announced.
Gaber Tayei, head of the religious department at Egypt’s Ministry of Religious Endowments, said 144 women imams will be taking up this new position as part of a broader government plan to “reform” religious speech in the country.
The women, who will be volunteers, will begin preaching in March and will focus on “correcting” misconceptions in Islamic jurisprudence, particularly with regard to women-related issues. Local media reported that the women will be paid just 120 EGP per month — roughly $7.25.
The new preachers will be graduates of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, the country's most senior religious body, with degrees related to “dawa,” or proselytizing, Tayei said in comments to Huffington Post Arabi.
Egypt’s government had previously issued a decree requiring all imams to be graduates of the country’s oldest and most senior religious body, as part of a broader effort to unify and moderate religious discourse nationally.
The new volunteers will preach exclusively to all-women congregations. Mosques in Egypt are segregated, with women-only sections usually in the rear.
“These women preachers will do everything that the male preachers do… but in service to the women's congregation,” Tayei added.
He said that for two days every week, women preachers will give lectures on a variety of topics. He added that the 144 women preachers are just a “first step” and that they would soon be seen “across all of Egypt.” There are currently an estimated 55,000 licensed mosque preachers in Egypt.
“This is a great step, even if it has come late,” said Dr. Amina Naseer, a member of Egypt’s parliament and former Al-Azhar professor.
“This idea should spread across Egypt and be supported by all state and religious authorities… It is an important task that requires patience,” she told Huffington Post Arabi.
In 1996, Egypt had seen the introduction of 19 women “guides” to mosques to answer religious questions posed by women, but this scheme was quickly discontinued.
Many have welcomed the news:
“These women preachers will be qualified for their work and will assist in the education of Egypt's women, ensuring that they [Egypt's women] do not fall prey to extremist trends and misguided ideology,” said Shawki Abdullatif, former undersecretary of Dawa Affairs at Egypt's Ministry of Religious Endowments, in comments carried by Al-Arabiya.
“Islamic history is full of women who have served as wise counsellors and advisers,” he added.
But there have also been complaints. Speaking to Egypt's Masr Al-Arabiya website, Sheikh Mohamed Youssef Al-Gazar cautiously welcomed women to preaching, but with the caveat that this actually should not be in mosques.
He said: “It would be better to send these women to girls’ schools rather than mosques, in order not to create problems with the imam.”
The issue also met with some resistance on social media.
في خطباء جمعة لا يملكو الامكانيات التي تؤهلهم للوقوف على المنبر والخطبة بالناس
يجب على وزارة الاوقاف والشؤون الدينية اعادة النظر بالخطباء
— Abu Al-Zain (@abuualzain) February 3, 2017
They [women] do not have the capabilities to stand on the pulpit and preach to the people. The Ministry of Religious Endowments should re-think this
أئمة: الستات مكانها البيت وتربية العيال
◼ واعظات الأوقاف والأزهر.. هل تصلح النساء للعمل الدعوي؟
التفاصيل عبر https://t.co/SA3nrsmNoZ pic.twitter.com/pNF8eNOGsI
— مصر العربية (@masralarabia) February 11, 2017
Scholars, a woman's place is in the house looking after the children.
Female preachers and Al-Azhar… is it right for women to preach?
Another Twitter user ran a poll questioning the initiative:
تصويت #تفاعلكم :
بعد اعتماده في #مصر ، هل تعتقد أن هناك حاجة إلى واعظات في المساجد؟
— العربية – #تفاعلكم (@tafa3olcom) February 12, 2017
Vote your opinion:
After its announcement in #Egypt, do you think there is a need for women preachers in mosques?
Yes. 46%
No. 54%
Egypt’s Al-Azhar University did not comment on the announcement. Egypt's senior religious body has been at odds with the government over religious space nationally. The government, led by President Abdelfattah El-Sisi, has called for Al-Azhar to take a more active role in “reforming” religious discourse.
Most recently, the two religious bodies have been at odds over which institute should oversee the content of Friday sermons, which have become standardized as part of the fight against extremism.

author: Mahmud El Shafey


text:
Fake News to Be of Major Concern in French Presidential Election Campaign · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

“Fake News” via Pixabay – Public domain
The dissemination of fake news has been widely blamed for its impact on the 2016 US presidential election, and concerns that such disinformation will also play a role in this year's French presidential election are being taken very seriously, by both media outlets and candidates’ campaign staff.
To combat this problem, many initiatives have sprung up to help the general public distinguish between verified information and the propaganda being used to damage reputations.
One such initiative is Décodex — an online tool designed to help users sort websites by their level of reliability — which a team of fact checkers at the Le Monde newspaper created and made available to the public on February 1, 2017. This tool acts like a search engine or plug-in found on browsers such as Chrome or Firefox.
Samuel Laurent, who manages the fact-checking team, explains the methodology behind this tool:
Nous avons recensés 600 sites, majoritairement français mais aussi anglais et américains et quelques allemands, avec 5 niveaux de fiabilité, repérés par cinq couleurs. Nous distinguons en gris les sites collectifs, donc non classés, comme Wikipedia, en bleu les sites parodiques, comme Le Gorafi ou NordPresse, en rouge les sites pas du tout fiables, complotistes ou trompeurs, comme le portail IVG.net qui, sous couvert d’informations, veut manipuler les femmes pour les décourager d’avorter, en orange les sites peu fiables ou très orientés, type FdeSouche, ou les attrape-clics qui republient des informations non recoupées, et enfin en vert les sites très fiables.
We have inventoried 600 sites, most of which are French, but some of which are English, American and German. There are five colours representing five levels of reliability. We use grey for sites that anyone can edit, such as Wikipedia. Blue is for satirical sites*, such as Le Gorafi or NordPresse. Red is used for sources that are completely unreliable, endorse conspiracy theories or are misleading, such as IVG.net, which presents itself as an information site but tries to manipulate women by discouraging them from having abortions. Orange is for sites of questionable reliability or sites that are very ideologically oriented**, such as FdeSouche, or clickbaits that re-post unverified news. Lastly, we use green for very reliable sources.
There have been other initiatives in the English-speaking world in recent years to identify false information on the Internet, such as Snopes. Besides, there are new tools for verifying assertions made by public figures, such as Fact Check, Politifact or Africa Check. Plugins such as B.S. Detector and Kchehck are also available on Chome and Firefox.
Given that distinguishing between what is true and what is false is not an easy task, there are many articles and guides to help Internet users do just that. Below are just a few of the guides available:
The challenge for these initiatives is to be able to make these fact checks in real time, to allow journalists to confirm or invalidate politicians’ assertions on the spot. To meet this need, The Washington Post set out to develop Truth Teller, an entirely automated tool that would verify the truthfulness of a speech. Cory Haik, The Washington Post's Executive Producer for Digital News, explains the concept:
Le défi de ce détecteur de mensonges c'est de faire un Shazam de la vérité. Comment vérifier en temps réel les déclarations et discours des politiques? Un logiciel détecteur de mensonges, qui transcrit quasiment en temps réel les discours politiques et les compare automatiquement avec un stock de vérifications déjà effectuées par les journalistes de la rédaction.
I was thinking of Shazam and thinking of how Shazam does what it does […] but a Shazam for truth.[…] Our algorithm goes through the transcript to find claims. Then, whatever claims it sees in the text, it touches our database and says, ‘OK, these claims match these facts,’ and this says it’s true or it’s false.
Unfortunately, the Truth Teller project was too ambitious and has been put on hold.

author: Rakotomalala


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Jamaica AIDS Support for Life Looks Back at Achievements, Challenges After 25 Years · Global Voices
Emma Lewis

Jamaica AIDS Support for Life staff, showing their support of the anti-gender violence movement. They are all wearing black in protest, as many people did on Monday, February 6, 2017. There is a suggestion to make this a weekly event in Jamaica. Photo courtesy JASL, used with permission.
Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL), the first non-governmental organization to respond to the growing crisis of HIV/AIDS on the island, has been celebrating its 25th anniversary with a series of events that began in late 2016 — and is inspiring a renewed focus for 2017.
On the eve of Jamaica's Safer Sex Week (which includes Valentine's Day), Global Voices talked to JASL's Executive Director Kandasi Levermore, who shared her thoughts on the organization's progress and achievements over a quarter century, as well as her vision for the future.
Global Voices (GV): Congratulations on your anniversary! How has JASL been celebrating?
JASL's Executive Director, Kandasi Levermore, and the head of UN Women, Christine Arab, at the launch of the media campaign on gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS, March 2016. Photo by Emma Lewis, used with permission.
Kandasi Levermore (KL):  We started last November and will continue for one year. We held a very successful public forum, because we wanted to give all Jamaicans (not just those working in the field) and the media an update on HIV/AIDS in Jamaica. It was broadcast live on radio. We held a seminar on November 24 to disseminate the findings of research on the structural drivers of HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other protective factions among key populations in Jamaica (gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men and transgender women). The principal researcher was Dr. Carmen Logie of the University of Toronto. On World AIDS Day (December 1), we held a joint march and mass testing with the National Family Planning Board of Jamaica. Then, in the evening, we held our annual Candlelight Vigil [which] refocuses us, re-energizes us, although it is a little solemn. We also held a Founders’ Brunch, where we recognized the people from the very early days (the ‘originals’), as well as past employees and long-standing partners such as USAID.
GV: JASL is also actively involved in the fight against gender-based violence, which has become a high-profile issue in Jamaica this year.
KL:  Yes! I have worn black for four days this week. But this is nothing new. Now there is a lot of focus on it, because of some gruesome, sensational reports; but Jamaicans could have prevented some of that long ago, if they had been more aware. What people don't understand is that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like us are on the ground every day; we can see patterns and trends and can help government and other partners create policy, even though none of us invest heavily in research. We can help. On November 25 last year, we held our own march. We completed a three-year program (Expanding Gains to Decrease and Prevent Violence against Women in the Context of HIV and AIDS) funded by the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. This included a successful media campaign last year, with partners such as Eve for Life and J-FLAG. There is a strong link between gender-based violence and HIV.
GV: What is the current situation in Jamaica regarding HIV/AIDS?
KL: According to the Ministry of Health, the estimated prevalence of HIV among adults was 1.6% in 2015. The percentage among men having sex with men is estimated at 32%, and among sex workers at 2.9%. An estimated 29,000 Jamaicans are living with HIV/AIDS and 4,640 are estimated to be unaware of their status. 15,000 Jamaicans are on anti-retroviral drugs (the medication is free).
GV: Twenty years or so ago, HIV/AIDS was a “hot topic” in Jamaica. There was a lot of focus on the disease. Do you think it has slowly dropped out of the public eye since then — except once a year around World AIDS Day?
KL:  Yes, public awareness has declined, especially among young people, and especially in relation to how HIV is transmitted and how to protect themselves. This showed up in the Ministry of Health's most recent Knowledge, Attitude, Practice and Behavior Survey.
This is currently one of our challenges. So we want to hold another public forum this year — we were very heartened by the response to last year's — and to go deeper into communities; for example, during Safer Sex Week. Our public awareness program — hashtag #StandUnited — just kicked off this year on social media and other platforms, so that the public can discuss what needs to be done. We plan to use it to mobilize resources, for example through crowd-funding.
GV: What other plans do you have for 2017?
KL: We are going back to basics. We have channeled most of our efforts towards vulnerable populations, in recent years. Now we have recognized the need to go back into more general spaces where we will likely find vulnerable people also. We will continue to roll out our community strategy, “Walk and Talk”, on the streets. The plan is for each of our three chapters to go into at least two communities per month. We are finding partnerships to facilitate our entrance into these communities.
We are also starting a weekly program on Barry G's show on Mello FM, which has been very supportive in getting information out. There has been an overwhelming response on his show every time we discuss this issue, in the past.
GV: Would you say JASL has been successful over the past 25 years in reducing stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS?
KL: Well, discrimination is not half as violent and stark as it once was, but people still talk. Discrimination is more subtle now, not expressed openly, but gestures show disdain. It is still a major problem among health professionals. The health sector has tried to deal with it, but it's still there. There is still a long way to go. To me, this reflects a general lack of compassion among health workers, and in society overall. We do still get isolated cases of discrimination — for example, very recently, a family called regarding a member who had been living in an “out room” (like a garden shed) for some time. Perhaps he had given up on life, though; he passed away.
The Ashe Performing Arts Company at the Seminar on Research into the LGBT population, November 2016. Photo by Emma Lewis, used with permission.
GV: JASL has had its fair share of struggles in the past, including funding. What progress do you see now and what are the achievements you can point to?
KL:  We started our comprehensive case management system in 2015, and this has made a big difference. We are seeing a lot of improvements in this area. So, our ongoing work in treatment is going well. We have extended the opening hours for our clinics (we have chapters in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios as well as Kingston). Our comprehensive package for clients now includes a psychologist, adherence counselor and nurses, working full-time; and a nutritionist and medical doctor, who come in part-time. We have always targeted vulnerable populations — the LGBT population, sex workers, and Jamaicans with disabilities, especially the deaf. Now we set aside time for deaf clients and when they come in, we bring in an interpreter, too.
We have no significant financial challenges now, unlike in the past. MAC-AIDS has been an important donor, and there is also the Global Fund and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Recently, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is supporting us. The Japanese government is currently assisting us with some building work at our headquarters. The Ministry of Health has always been an important partner. We are extremely grateful. It's not always about money, of course. Quite often it is valuable technical assistance that is provided.
GV: Do you see Jamaica “Getting to Zero”? (That is, 90% of people living with HIV are aware their infection, 90% of those are on antiretroviral treatment, and 90% of people on treatment have no detectable virus in their blood — the '90-90-90′ targets — by 2020?)
KL: No. We are way off [the Pan American Health Organization‘s] goal for the Americas. Nationally, the percentage is around 10 to 15% for each target. For JASL clients the rate is somewhat higher, around 20%.
GV: Do you have any major concerns, going forward?
KL: Jamaica is losing people with HIV/AIDS out of care. They don't come back and continue with treatment. They are having challenges; we're not sure what they are. JASL manages about 500 cases, and our clients are doing better than average, but this is a concern.
GV: So, how do you feel on your 25th anniversary?
KL: We're 25 years old, but we are trying to stay true to our founding principles: equality, preserving human rights and dignity, and quality service. We work with Jamaicans who are socially excluded, to ensure there is a space for them to get the care and attention they need and deserve.
Our motto is ‘Love. Action. Support.’ But I think we are a little empty in this country. In general, we are void of compassion.

author: Emma Lewis


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Online Documentary Tells Stories of Adolescent Mothers From Bulgaria · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

A frame from the documentary “Who Are Those Mothers” by Irena Daskalova.
The Bulgarian Family Planning Association (BFPA), a non-governmental organization focused on health and sex education, has published on YouTube the award-winning documentary “Who Are Those Mothers” about the lives of five women who gave birth when they were underage.
The 30-minute film from 2011 is in Bulgarian language with English subtitles, enabling a wider reach. After all, teen pregnancy and child marriage are worldwide issues.
BFPA said the filmmakers kindly permitted them to make the documentary available on YouTube. The film's description reads:
G. is 15 years old. She is pregnant in the fourth month… with her second child. She gave birth to her first son when she was only fourteen. She is one of the approximately 5,000 girls every year in Bulgaria who “marry” and bear children between age 13 and 18. Regardless of their reasoning, these are all “children-mothers”, who are raising their own children. Often, they are given no chance of making their life choice themselves and they are left in the closed loop of illiteracy, un-employment, and poverty. And their children and their children’s children will most probably re-enact the same model for they couldn’t know that life would offer other opportunities. Who are those mothers?
In March 2012, the documentary won an award at the 5th Roma Life-Central European Documentary Festival. UNFPA – United Nations Population Fund has screened the film at its events.
The director, Irena Daskalova, went on to make several more films. BFPA continues to conduct education activities on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Palestinian Authority Bans Novel for ‘Threatening Morality and Public Decency’ · Global Voices
Marwa Fatafta

Cover of ‘Crime in Ramallah’ by Abbad Yahya. Source: Akhbar El Balad
On Monday February 6, 2017, the Palestinian Authority's (PA) attorney general, Ahmad Barrak, banned a novel written by Palestinian novelist Abbad Yahya for “violating public morals and decency“.
The crime novel, “A Crime in Ramallah” (2016), was banned following an investigation by the office of the Palestinian Public Prosecution. In a statement from the attorney general's office, the ban was issued on the grounds that the novel contains text and terms that violate “public modesty, morals and decency” which would harm citizens, particularly minors and children. The statement adds that the novel breaches international treaties and a number of Palestinian laws, including the Press and Publications Law, the Penal Code, and the Palestinian Child Law.
Yahya confirmed in a Facebook status update that all copies of his novel have been pulled from bookstores, libraries and other selling points in the West Bank, and that he, the publisher, and the distributor have all been summoned for investigation over whether or not they have obtained the required permissions and licenses.
What is important here, dear friends, I am expressing my utmost concern, astonishment and shock at this decision and all its consequences of investigation and confiscation. I'm surprised and worried about the status of freedom of creativity and expression, publishing, and writing, and I am really shocked by what happened and the way it happened!
I believe, and this for all friends working in the cultural field, we are facing an unprecedented challenge, and a clear position is needed from everyone. I am sure we have, in Palestine, surpassed such case. No one will accept threatening what was achieved of literature and culture in Palestine, through harassment and confiscation.
I hope it will not become worse. Quite frankly, I am very concerned.
While the attorney general affirms that this decision doesn't violate freedom of speech, this is the first incident of its kind where a book is being investigated or banned in Palestine.
The Palestinian cultural magazine, Fus7a, reported that the ban follows an earlier controversy in the Palestinian city of Nablus, north of the West Bank, where a discussion event of the novel — which was scheduled to take place at the municipality's library — was cancelled by the city's mayor, Sameeh Tbeileh.
Palestinian activists and writers have expressed their anger on social media over the banning of the novel. While some were sharing Portable Document Format (PDF) links for the novel, others were sarcastically thanking the PA for giving the book free publicity.
Famous Palestinian writer and poet Mourid Barghouti said:
Status of Mourid Barghouti. Source: Facebook
The Palestinian Authority, which has banned the books of Edward Said years ago, is banning today a novel called ‘A Crime in Ramallah’ and the Attorney General is summoning its author, publisher and distributor for investigation. Sign on the statement below. I am not defending the book as I haven't got it yet. But I am condemning confiscating books and guarding people's minds.
Abir Kopty, a Palestinian activist from Nazareth, tweeted:
احا.. مش منقلكم صار عنا نظام عربي وسخ. هينا غرنا من مصر وصرنا نجرّم رواية.
هنا #محاكمة_الخيال_فرع_فلسطينhttps://t.co/HO3tuGFt6R …
— Abir Kopty (@AbirKopty) 6 février 2017
Damn, didn't we say that we have now a nasty Arab regime. We became jealous of Egypt and now we are banning a novel. Here #the_trial_of_imagination_Palestine_branch
Palestinian journalist and activist Hisham Naffa tweeted:
لا تملك أية جهة قانونية حق فحص أخلاقية هذا النص أو ذاك. هي ليست قيّمة على الأخلاق ولا مفوّضة عليها. ليلغ القرار ضد رواية #جريمة_في_رام_الله
— Hisham Naffa (@hishamn76) February 6, 2017
No legal entity has the right to check the morality of this or that text. It is not responsible for morals or mandated to oversee [them]. The order against the novel must be cancelled #A_Crime_in_Ramallah
Hazem AbuHelal, a human rights activists based in Ramallah, also tweeted:
وطلع في اخلاق عامة عند جماعة #اوسلو#جريمة_في_رام_الله
— Hazem AbuHelal (@HazemHelal) February 7, 2017
So the #Oslo gang has public morals after all #A_Crime_in_Ramallah
Another Palestinian poet tweeted:
منع رواية #جريمة_في_رام_الله ل #عبّاد_يحيى وسحب النسخ من السوق هي جريمة حقيقية في رام الله وهي سابقة خطيرة في الساحة الثقافية الفلسطينية
— جعفر حجاوي (@jafar_h1) 6 février 2017
Banning the novel #A_Crime_in_Ramallah by #Abbad-Yahya and confiscating copies is a real crime in Ramallah and a dangerous precedent in the Palestinian cultural scene
I will start today reading the novel A Crime in Ramallah by writer Abbad Yahya. The ban order has made me more determined to read the work looking for the rationale behind the ban, despite my refusal to force the law into the creative process. This needs a long discussion before getting into its intertwined details.
While some defended the novel, other Palestinians have supported the ban, citing its sexually explicit content. Photos of some marked pages in which a boy describes, in first person, his initial experiences of masturbation, were shared on Facebook in protest against the book.

author: Marwa Fatafta


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Trinidad & Tobago’s Carnival 2017 Playlist: Part 2 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Soca stars Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons on stage at the Fire Fête in Trinidad and Tobago in January 2014. PHOTO: Grueslayer (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
If you're going to be anywhere near Trinidad and Tobago for Carnival 2017, you'll be swivelling your hips and shaking your waist to some amazing music. I've talked about five of the best soca tunes on offer this year in this post. Now, here are my other five picks to round off the top ten. I have a pretty good feeling they'll be on your playlist for years to come…
Soca sensation Fay Ann Lyons has got under my skin with this one. The strong brass riff that opens the song is not something Carnival lovers are unaccustomed to: based on the trumpets alone, you could reasonably assume you were about to hear any traditional kaiso song. But you'd be wrong: what awaits you is an anthem by a warrior claiming her territory. Branding herself internationally as “Aza Sefu”—Swahili for “Powerful Sword”—Lyons proves herself to be just that, a potent soca princess slaying the musical space.
The introduction perfectly captures the anticipation of masqueraders just before they break away onto the stage on Carnival Tuesday—”When we come alive/See it in your eyes/Yeah you recognise/Here we come/Here we come/Here we come/Here we come/Here we come…”—and magically morphs into the pumping adrenaline-infused rhythm that might propel soldiers into battle. By the time the unexpected rave beat arrives and joins forces with the primal, Afro-inspired rhythms, you literally cannot breathe with the pace and excitement. Good thing Fay Ann has a reliable air supply.
This is such a happy, playful, good-natured road tune, it's impossible not to like it—or dance to it. It has often been said that Carnival is a woman's festival, and although “Shake” is totally fixated on seeing “all de gyal dem vibrate like earthquake”, it is all in a spirit of fun. The song has all the sassiness of the traditional Dame Lorraine Carnival character that features in the single's cover art. Flirtatious, coquettish, the song communicates some of the great joys of Carnival: to see and be seen, to feel appreciated, and to have a grand old time when you “wine dat waist and jiggle yuh bambalam”!
This is the wild card in the bunch. Not being a “jam and wine” number, it isn't typically played in parties, and has zero chance of winning the Road March. But “I Like Mehself” it's so delightfully clever that I can't help but think that the folks who haven't taken to this song must have missed the point. It's a parody, of course, poking fun at the narcissism that seems to have overtaken some aspects of the street parade. The “take a selfie” culture so perfectly suits the Trinbagonian penchant for gasconade that you can't help but smile.
It's far from a throwaway song. The lines “You make a horn and you want to dead/You want to go and eat de devil bread/Me? I want to live instead/Why? I like mehself!” reference the incidence, in Trinidad and Tobago, of murder-suicides by cuckolded men—an unusually lighthearted approach to the the fraught issue of gender-based violence. By the time the minister's voice comes into the mix, asking the persona if he takes himself to love, honour and cherish, I'm pretty convinced that Garcia gets that we might be in genuine need of self-love that goes beyond the superficial, and he has enough of the clown in him to pull it off in a non-offensive way. Haters gonna hate, as they say, but in my book, the tune is groovy, well-produced and gets full marks for holding up a looking glass to our society in an amusing, relatable way.
If one song stands out at the moment as the hit of the season, this is it. Want to understand Trinidad and Tobago in three words? Those words are “We jammin’ still”. That's right, Rome could be burning, but we're not bothered as long as we're partying. It's a double-edged sword, as our ability to laugh at practically anything may sometimes mean the joke's on us. References to the economic recession—”Recession doh bother we, promote a fete and you will see…”—and to the fictional burning of the treasury are a jab at the country's endemic corruption, which citizens complain about but rarely confront. As a lagniappe, the song throws out another telling three-word phrase: “We doh business”, meaning “We don't care”. I love the way the hook crescendoes, getting almost out of control by the end of the song, mirroring the way problems tend to mushroom if they're ignored.
Some have critiqued the song's alleged celebration of the country's “Carnival mentality”, with some social media users admonishing carnival lovers for “jammin’ still” while the crime situation worsens. But maybe the first step towards change is admitting there's a problem. Judging from the fact that this hugely popular “power soca” offering is practically the soundtrack to most Carnival fetes, I think we've acknowledged our idiosyncrasy. The song will likely dominate the street parade come Carnival Monday and Tuesday and maybe this year, after we've had our fun, we'll be energised enough to tackle the really tough issues. Or, as Ultimate Rejects puts it, to “hold them and work them.”
One of my favourite calypsoes of all time is Kitchener's “The Carnival is Over”. A tad maudlin, it's a love song for the festival, capturing the “tabanca” you'd feel for a lost lover. “All I Have Is You” is also a love song, except this time the singer's still in the relationship. The tone is peppy and the lyrics outline all the wonderful things that Carnival has brought into the singer's life: joy, new friends, a sense of belonging. When he says, “You are more than you will ever know”, you understand that Carnival is his soulmate, a raft in the deluge of life. Towards the end, when he sings, “I have you to jump and masquerade, have you to fete and misbehave”, there are echoes of Sonny and Cher's “I Got You Babe”. I love the passion this tune exudes. It's a great reminder that despite the challenges we face, we've got something truly special in Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, and like any meaningful relationship, we've got to nurture it.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trump and Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen Feature Among Sapporo Snow Festival’s Ice Sculptures · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Caption: President Trump, an apple and a pen at the Sapporo Snow Festival. Screenshot from ANN News official YouTube channel.
February marks one of the biggest events of the winter in Japan: the Sapporo Snow Festival. For nearly two weeks, two locations in Sapporo, including a large stretch of the downtown, host gigantic ice sculptures as well as winter-themed attractions.
Sapporo is the largest city on the north island of Hokkaido. At least two million people visit the festival each year, making for some great photo uploads on social media.
The ice sculptures that are a highlight of the festival typically reflect pop culture obsessions, and this year is no different. US President Donald Trump and “PPAP” (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen), an absurdist viral video by Japanese comedian PIKOTARO, were both overrepresented at this year's festival, according to one Twitter user:
how are there three pen pineapple apple pen sculptures pic.twitter.com/wOiBhQXRFn
— evan (@enjoievan) February 6, 2017
The festival occurs in two venues, one of which is Sapporo's main boulevard, which stretches through the middle of town.
【MC SODA 出演情報】
2/6 (月)13:30~14:00
第68回さっぽろ雪まつりにMC MADの客演でMC SODAが出演致します。 pic.twitter.com/c8hqiWwEH3
— panorama011.info (@panorama011info) January 31, 2017
February 6, 1:30 PM to 2 PM
The live broadcast of the 68th annual Sapporo Snow Festival begins.
The sculptures and attractions are generally gigantic, and take a week or two to create in subzero temperatures.
さっぽろ雪まつり、つどーむ会場でスタート…大通・すすきのは2月6日からhttps://t.co/hFB1rFA6Qp#モータースポーツ #motorsport #すすきの #む会場 pic.twitter.com/tl0JQRdbRw
— レスポンス (@responsejp) February 1, 2017
The Sapporo Snow Festival will soon begin at the Sapporo Community Dome.
While Donald Trump was a favorite selfie subject, there are a variety of sculptures to be seen:
「世界の架け橋（トランプPPAP）」と題された雪像を背にパシャリ　６日開幕のさっぽろ雪まつり https://t.co/xcbIXDPSSG pic.twitter.com/tenVJWKxdS
— 産経ニュース (@Sankei_news) February 5, 2017
“Bridging cultures across the world” (Trump and PPAP) and the sound of snapping selfies. The Sapporo Snow Festival starts on February 6.
さっぽろ雪まつりも見てきました。 pic.twitter.com/8qeUfGmgQ6
— 小黒祐一郎 (@animesama) February 6, 2017
I saw this at the Sapporo Snow Festival.
The festival also features a chance to try local Sapporo delicacies, including a dish of grilled mutton called “Genghis Khan.”
（´-`）.｡oO（…きこえますか…きこえますか… 今…さっぽろ #雪まつり で…大雪像を見上げてる…貴方の心に…直接呼びかけています…大通６丁目「北海道 食の広場」では…焼きたての…ジンギスカンが…貴方をお待ちしております…是非…お越しください…）#飯テロ #松尾ジンギスカン pic.twitter.com/R4bYeAIy1y
— 松尾ジンギスカン【公式】 (@matsuo1956) February 6, 2017
(´-`) .｡oO Have you heard? The Sapporo Snow Festival starts today. While there are plenty of snow sculptures, in the “Hokkaido Food Court” there will be servings of freshly roasted “Genghis Khan.” Please come and enjoy!
The main draw of the festival is the ice sculptures, some of which even included a Star Wars theme this year:
pic dump 1 pic.twitter.com/0zPULwrXKF
— evan (@enjoievan) February 6, 2017
Much of the labour needed to create the more massive ice installations is provided by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), which has a number of large bases on Hokkaido. Participating in the Sapporo Snow Festival is a bit of a public relations exercise for the JDSF, a fact that has not gone unnoticed:
「なんで、さっぽろ雪まつりに自衛隊が協力しているんですか？」
「協力なんてしてないっす！　アレは訓練っす！」
「訓練？」
「野戦築城訓練！」
「え？」
「野戦築城訓練！」
「……」 pic.twitter.com/mTZllfjEft
— ベタ藤原 (@betafujihara) February 6, 2017
A: Why are the Japanese Self-Defense Forces participating in the Sapporo Snow Festival?
B: We're not participating! We're doing training!
A: Training?
B: We're training to build fortifications!
A: What??
B: We're training to build fortifications!
A: Uh….
The JDSF also plays a big role in helping demolish the ice installations at the end of the festival each year.
さっぽろ雪まつりが明日から開催されますが、雪まつりは1日〜12日の期間中ではなく、自衛隊の皆さんが一生懸命製作した雪像を破壊する13日に観に行くのが1番エモーショナルです。 pic.twitter.com/aoetNzYxNN
— #松竹梅蔵のテレパシー (@umezo_hilite) January 31, 2017
While the Sapporo Snow Matsuri starts tomorrow (February 1, 2017), the festival doesn't end on February 12; the biggest thrill perhaps on February 13 when the Japanese Self-Defense Forces demolishes everything.
More details about the annual festival can be found here. More photos can be seen by searching Twitter and other social media platforms using the term さっぽろ雪まつり.

author: Nevin Thompson


text:
Despite What You Read, Radiation Levels at Fukushima Daiichi Aren’t ‘Soaring’ · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Caption: The damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station as seen during a sea-water sampling boat journey, 7 November 2013. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) marine monitoring experts were sent to Japan to observe sea water sampling and data analysis. Photo credit: IAEA/David Osborn
A recent news release from a Japanese power utility has generated a number of headlines across the Western media about “soaring radiation levels in Fukushima.” That would be frightening news if true, but it turns out that saying radiation levels are suddenly spiking in Fukushima isn't entirely accurate.
TEPCO is the nationalized electric utility that operated the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. On January 31, TEPCO issued a news release and information package that described the successful efforts to send a robot beneath the primary containment vessel of Unit 2. Unit 2 was one of three reactors at Fukushima Daiichi that experienced a meltdown in March 2011, following a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami wave that knocked out power to the complex (a timeline of the disaster can be found here).
Little is known about what happened to the reactor fuel assemblies following the nuclear accidents. It has been theorized that fuel assemblies in all three reactors melted through the reactor containment vessels and onto the concrete pedestal of the primary containment building.
However, radiation levels are so high that it has been impossible to use existing technology to explore the highly radioactive zone where the molten fuel assemblies are thought to remain. A sensor was briefly inserted into the Unit 2 containment vessel in 2012 and detected 73 sieverts, but radiation at that level quickly disables the electronics of any robotic device sent in to investigate.
It has taken TEPCO since 2012 to develop new technologies that can withstand the radiation. So, TEPCO's January 31 news release marked something of a milestone in the quest to decommission the Fukushima nuclear reactors because it represented the first time the radiation in the highly radioactive area below a reactor had been accurately measured.
However, much media coverage failed to frame stories around that context and instead focused on the high radiation levels measured near the pedestal of the Unit 2 reactor complex.
According to a PDF handout from TEPCO, radiation levels at one location in Unit 2 measured 530 sieverts. A sievert is a unit measurement for a dose of radiation absorbed over time. One sievert will cause illness if absorbed all at once; eight sieverts will result in death, even with treatment. A dose of 530 sieverts, totally unexpected by the robot's designers, would likely cause instant death and would disable a robot after a couple of hours.
The same probe measured a lower radiation reading of 20 sieverts in an adjacent space, but Western media attention zeroed in on the 530 sieverts number. Moreover, several news outlets characterized the findings as indicating that radiation levels are “soaring” at the Fukushima plant — despite this being the first time that technology has been able to accurately measure radiation in that area of Unit 2, and despite some evidence showing that radiation levels are generally falling in the area surrounding the Fukushima nuclear plant itself.
The Guardian newspaper's headline read, “Fukushima nuclear reactor radiation at highest level since 2011 meltdown“, while popular science blog Gizmodo noted, “Radiation Levels Are Soaring Inside the Damaged Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.” While both publications were not the first to break the story in the English-language media, both are identified by Google News as being “highly cited”, and may have influenced how other news organizations reported on the Fukushima radiation readings.
Screencap of Google News results for “Fukushima Daiichi.” The Guardian and Endgadget articles are identified by Google News as being “highly cited.”
The Guardian story was shared on social media. Many of the tweets, such as the one below, discussed the high levels of radiation observed at Fukushima, while disregarding the context where and how the readings were made.
IT'S NEVER GOING AWAY…#FUKUSHIMA Nuclear Reactor Radiation at Highest Level Since 2011 Meltdown…#Environment https://t.co/Zn7KuATWz3
— Selina (@selinasorrels) February 8, 2017
By February 8, the story was gaining steam, with rumours of another environmental calamity coming while the media looked the other way. US-based outlets such as InfoWars, the influential website devoted to conspiracy theories, and the more mainstream Fox News had picked up the story of “unimaginable” levels of radiation at the Fukushima nuclear power facility. The Fox News story quoted Adam Housley, a journalist who had covered the nuclear accident in 2011, as saying, “To put this in very simple terms. Four sieverts can kill a handful of people.”
Housley did not try to put the source of the high radiation levels in context, and instead sent out this tweet:
This report…should concern all of us and nobody is talking about it https://t.co/s12l6A36yZ
— Adam Housley (@adamhousley) February 8, 2017
The Fox News story was quickly re-tweeted by Joe Walsh, a far-right pundit and talk radio host, who provided a partisan spin to the story:
Meanwhile, the Leftist media is busy talking about Trump tweeting #EasyD.
Smh.https://t.co/8zhBihz9JU
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) February 8, 2017
The story of radiation levels in Fukushima continued to be viewed through a partisan lens. Lou Dobbs, who hosts a program on Fox Business Network, also suggested the “mainstream media” was ignoring another potential disaster. A follower then, in a reply that was favorited and retweeted dozens of times, linked the perceived disinterest in the story by the media with attacks on US President Donald Trump and global warming:
@LouDobbs @CNET @POTUS Yes. Media ignores this. But SCREAMS at Trump for not believing in #GlobalWarming
— ELwhyEssAyy (@elwhyessayy) February 7, 2017
While some of the conversations online focused on a supposed impending calamity from the high radiation readings in Fukushima, others injected wrong information into the mix.
Global Research, a Canada-based website that has been accused of spreading conspiracy theories, tweeted a misleading image to accompany its story on the high radiation levels at Fukushima Daiichi. The photograph shows a massive fire at the Cosmo petrochemical plant in Ichihara, Chiba in 2011. While the fire was caused by the massive 2011 earthquake, it has nothing to do with the Fukushima nuclear disaster:
New Radiation Level at Fukushima Dwarfs the Highest Peak at Chernobyl https://t.co/SgdSRfFl1G pic.twitter.com/MOmj1OPuA1
— Global Research (@CRG_CRM) February 7, 2017
Others used the increased interest in radiation levels at Fukushima to share highly misleading images that have circulated online ever since the disaster occurred in 2011. For example, Twitter user @MikeMtk63 included a map created in 2012 by environmental consultancy ASR:
#RADIATION ALERT: Tests at tsunami-hit #Fukushima nuclear plant reveal ‘unimaginable’ levels https://t.co/YuliSCOJxZ pic.twitter.com/TpfbrNsply
— Mike Brosnahan (@MikeMtk63) February 5, 2017
ASR's map has been shared hundreds of times over the past six years, but always out of context. In its explanation of the map, ASR says (in all caps), “THIS IS NOT A REPRESENTATION OF THE RADIOACTIVE PLUME CONCENTRATION.” Instead, ASR says the map is intended to illustrate where free floating material (fish larvae, algae, phytoplankton, zooplankton, etc.) present in the sea water near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station plant would have dispersed to in the days following the earthquake on March 11, 2011.
Another Twitter user tweeted a financial news blog Zero Hedge story that featured another widely shared image that supposedly shows radioactive contamination of the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima disaster:
Fukushima Radiation Has Contaminated The Entire Pacific Ocean (And It's Going To Get Worse): https://t.co/VgKouDe6y2
— trutherbotgold (@trutherbotgold) February 5, 2017
The image is in fact from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and is intended to represent tsunami and wave activity all across the Pacific Ocean following the March 11, 2011 megaquake that struck Japan. Once again, the image has nothing to do with the Fukushima nuclear accident.
SafeCast, a volunteer-driven grassroots organization that collects environmental data, noticed the news stories about a sudden spike in radiation levels at Fukushima. In a blog post called “No, Radiation Levels at Fukushima Daiichi Are Not Rising,” SafeCast pointed out the reason why the radiation levels measured in late January were so high was because it was the first time the area had been explored since the accident:
It must be stressed that radiation in this area has not been measured before, and it was expected to be extremely high. While 530 Sv/hr is the highest measured so far at Fukushima Daiichi, it does not mean that levels there are rising, but that a previously unmeasurable high-radiation area has finally been measured.
SafeCast got its start in 2011 in the weeks and months following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, when no one was really sure just how much radioactive contamination was occurring. While volunteers monitored and posted readings from all over Japan, since 2011 the initiative has since gone global.
The organization also stated that, according to its sensor network, radiation levels near Daiichi appear to be steadily declining. However, SafeCast says the main lesson from the January exploration of the reactor pedestal is:
The process of removing melted fuel debris from the damaged reactors at Fukushima Daiichi is expected to take decades, and these recent findings remind us once again that TEPCO has little grounds for optimism about the challenges of this massive and technically unprecedented project.


text:
‘Graduations from Hell’: A Documentary on the Mexican Prison System Crisis · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

After we posed the question Why Aren't We Talking About Mexican Prisons? in a previous post, it seemed appropriate to revisit the issue after a documentary series aired on the new open broadcast channel in Mexico, Imagen Televisión, showed once again how little media attention, if any, is paid to the prison system.
Imagen Televisión began broadcasting at the end of 2016 as an alternative to the so-called television duopoly held by predominant companies Televisa and TV Azteca.
The documentary series, hosted by renowned journalist Ciro Gómez Leyva, is titled “Graduaciones del Infierno” or “Graduations from Hell,” a reference to how inmates receive a lot of criminal training in prison. It also revealed the way in which staff at Mexico City's prisons are involved in corrupt activities, like selling or renting mobile phones to inmates, who then use the devices to commit extortion.
Phone extortion is one of the most lucrative felonies committed in Mexico, and it has been explained by the government as follows:
Ya sea a través de la llamada de una supuesta persona familiar que está en apuros o secuestrada, del mensaje de texto que te avisa de un “sorteo” que ganaste, de las amenazas de un supuesto grupo delictivo o del aviso de la suspensión temporal de tu línea telefónica por fallas en el servicio, la extorsión es un delito grave que debes denunciar.
Algunos delincuentes, emplean este método para obtener un beneficio económico; eligen números telefónicos al azar para hacer llamadas extorsivas y consiguen enganchar a sus víctimas a través de la violencia psicológica, principalmente.
Extortion is a major felony, whether it is a fake call saying that a relative has been kidnapped or harmed in any way, a message saying you won a contest, threats by a crime group, or a temporary service suspension notice from your phone company due to service problems”.
Some criminals have chosen to use this method in order to obtain financial benefits; they select phone numbers at random so as to make extortion calls and manage to control their victims mainly through psychological violence.
According to the newspaper Excélsior (a member of the Imagen group, same as the television channel), at least one of the public workers shown in the report has been apprehended and prosecuted.
Other traditional media, including major broadcasting channels in the country, for whatever reason didn't echo the reporting done by Imagen Televisión. Notwithstanding, Mexicans on social media like Twitter have become amplifying the material and discussing it under the hashtag #GraduacionesDelInfierno:
Simplemente extraordinaria la entrega #GraduacionesDelinfierno de @ImagenTVMex. Gran investigación sobre la corrupción en cárceles.
— Rodrigo de la Rosa (@RodrigodelaR7) January 17, 2017
#GraduacionesDelinfierno (Graduations from Hell) by @ImagenTVMex, a simply extraordinary report. Great investigation on corruption in prisons.
#GraduacionesDelinfierno una pequeña parte de toda la corrupción que hay en nuestro podrido Sistema Penitenciario. #YLoQueFalta https://t.co/deZRbekemj
— Edith (@SiSoyEdith) January 15, 2017
#GraduacionesDelinfierno (Graduations from Hell) a small fraction of all the corruption there is in our rotten prison system. #YLoQueFalta (And what still lies ahead)
User Madame Déficit asked the capital city's head of government, Miguel Ángel Mancera, to explain why his administration has remained idle on this subject:
Lección del reportaje #GraduacionesDelinfierno Si los políticos mexicanos no lo ven en TV, no se ponen a trabajar ¿verdad @ManceraMiguelMX?
— Madame Déficit (@Alessia_mx) January 17, 2017
Lesson from the documentary #GraduacionesDelinfierno (Graduations of Hell) If Mexican politicians don't watch it on TV, then they won't start working, right @ManceraMiguelMX?
Thanks to this research conducted by Imagen Televisión, the ruin of the Mexican prison system is in the public eye. Now the question remains for how long, and how these criminals are to be punished if many of them are already in prison.

author: J. Tadeo


text:
Hong Kong’s Pan-Democrats Grapple With Endorsing the ‘Lesser Evil’ for Chief Executive · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

John Tsang (the lesser evil), CY Leung (the most evil), Carrie Lam and CY Leung combined (the greater evil). Image from Hong Kong Free Press.
The election of Hong Kong's top leader, known as the chief executive, is to take place on March 26, and the nomination period will run from February 14 to March 1.
Ordinary people in Hong Kong, which is a special administrative region of China, are excluded from nominating and electing their leaders. Instead, potential candidates have to be endorsed by at least 150 members of a 1,200-member election committee composed of representatives of different sectors. The 1,200 members will then vote on March 26 and decide who is going to rule Hong Kong for the next five years.
One of the big divisions in the election committee is between Beijing loyalists and those who put other interests first. That could come into play in a big way in the upcoming election. The pan-democracy camp has 325 election committee seats. Furthermore, 285 members representing local business who had voted for Henry Tang in 2012 have expressed discontent over current Chief Executive CY Leung's unpopular ruling style, which some argue is partly the result of political tactics imported from the Chinese Communist Party.
This means it is quite likely that Beijing loyalists control less than 600 votes in the upcoming election. While current Chief Executive CY Leung has declared he would not run for the re-election, some from the business sector have returned to the loyalist camp. However, if a portion of business sector and the pan-democrats decide not to give their votes to the candidate blessed by the Liaison Office, the winner would not have a popular mandate even within a small circle.
In fact, Beijing’s decision to stop backing CY Leung’s bid for re-election has sent a signal that it expects the next chief executive to be more popular. Beijing’s attitude has also been reflected in the four criteria put forward by Wang Guangya, China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office director, in early January: the future chief executive should 1. love China and love Hong Kong; 2. be trusted by Beijing; 3. be capable of governing; and 4. be supported by the Hong Kong people.
Currently, there are four potential candidates who have started lobbying members of the election committee to endorse their candidacy by giving them their nomination. They are Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, a lawmaker and former security secretary; Carrie Lam, ex-chief secretary and a key ally of CY Leung; Woo Kwok-hing, a retired judge; and John Tsang, ex-finance chief.
Among the four, Beijing’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong told its loyalists on the election committee that Carrie Lam has been handpicked by the Central Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party to replace CY Leung as the next chief executive. That has led many Hong Kongers to believe that if Carrie Lam becomes the chief executive, she would be a puppet of Beijing and would not defend the city’s autonomy.
John Tsang, who is supported by the local business sector and professional groups, is generally viewed as a “lesser evil” candidate. Such a view is reflected in his successful crowdfunding campaign, and some election committee members from the pan-democracy camp have been considering nominating him.
Yet, whether Tsang is really a “lesser evil” and how exactly he is less evil than other candidates has been a subject of heated debates on social media.
Tsang has stated that future political reform should fall in line with Beijing’s “831 decision” — a framework on elections handed down by the National People’s Congress standing committee on August 31, 2014. Hong Kong's constitution, known as the Basic Law, states that the chief executive should be elected by the Hong Kong people “upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures,” and the 2017 chief executive election was meant to be the first in which Hong Kongers got to vote.
The “831 decision,” however, required that a 1,200-member committee decide the candidates first and limited the number of candidates to two or three, prompting thousands of people to occupy Hong Kong's downtown for months demanding that citizens have a say in the nomination in what was dubbed the “Umbrella Revolution”. Hong Kong's legislature eventually rejected the political reform package for 2017, leaving the current election-by-committee system in place.
Tsang has also said he would kickstart the Basic Law Article 23 legislation as soon as possible once elected. Article 23 demands that Hong Kong to enact a set of laws to prohibit acts of treason, secession, sedition and subversion against mainland China's central government. A previous attempt to pass the legislation triggered protests of half a million people in 2003.
Leung Kam Shing, a district councilor, wrote on citizen media platform inmediahk that Tsang would be no better than Beijing's favored candidate Carrie Lam:
林鄭、曾俊華任何一人當選，對中共似乎也沒有損失。從過去的政績到參選政綱，曾俊華也是「延續梁振英政策」，過去拒絕善用政府財政盈餘作長遠規劃，到政綱拒絕設立全民性免審查的退休保障制度、拒絕標準工時立法等，哪處不是延續梁振英政策。連梁振英不敢宣之於口的「廿三條立法」，曾俊華也敢做。所謂的「休養生息」只是空談，是中共「和諧社會」的「本土」說法
If either Carrie Lam or John Tsang win the race, the Chinese Communist Party will remain unharmed. From John Tsang's performance [as financial secretary] and what is written in his election platform, he will also continue CY Leung’s policies — in the past, he refused to use government surplus to plan for the future, now in his policy platform he still refuses to set up a universal pension scheme and legislation to standardize working hours. Even CY Leung dared not mentioned the enactment of Article 23, but now John Tsang has the guts to do so. The slogan of rebuilding trust, unity and hope is just an empty promise. It is just a local version of the Chinese Communist Party’s “harmonious society”.
To avoid having to compromise on a candidate, pro-democracy lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung announced he would enter the chief executive race if he receives 1 percent of registered voters’ support, i.e. 37,790 citizen nominations. He would then use the public mandate to persuade the 300-plus pan-democratic election committee members to nominate him.
Leung’s move has triggered another round of debates within the pan-democrats as some are worried that his candidacy doesn't have any real chance of winning.
Searching the Facebook hashtag “Leung Kwok-hung is guilty of ruining democracy” (#民主罪人梁國雄) sees angry comments like:
長毛食古不化,民主300+只是用選票在小圈子限制下盡量跟隨民意,事關反民意的結果是畀林鄭更大機會勝出!過往做法係選委人數少,更多的考慮是候選人差不多,邊個勝出,民意上無過激反應,更不會怪罪民主派!但這次不同,如果因為民主派投白票或投畀對林鄭威脇不大的人而使林鄭勝出,民主派將成為千夫所指,萭民唾棄!
Long Hair is too stubborn. The 300-plus pro-democracy election committee members only need to follow public opinion and cast their votes in the small circle election. Otherwise Carrie Lam will win. In the past, we didn't have so many election committee members, the chief executive candidates were of a similar nature and the public had not shown any preference. They would not blame the democrats for the result. But this time if the democrats cast blank votes or vote for candidates who don’t have a chance of winning, and Carrie Lam wins because of this, the democrats will be cursed.
But many have defended Leung’s action. For example, university professor Ho Chi-Kwan said on Facebook:
支持長毛唔係話佢係共主，係想透過佢参選凝聚住一股民間力量以抗「林惡惡」或監察「曾溫水」並且 確立民間公民提名制(突破以圈子，反对欽點)讓公民社會在整個小圈子選舉過程中有話語權， 鞏固雨傘成果(爭取真普選，保衛香港家園和核心價值等)。
Supporting Long Hair does not mean that we see him as our leader, but it's to build solidarity within civil society to fight the evil Carrie Lam or to monitor the less evil John Tsang. The process is also to establish the mechanism of “citizen nomination” and empower the public to speak out against the small circle election system and to consolidate the values we struggled for during the Umbrella Revolution.
Facebook user Billy Ho said if he were to vote, he would vote for ex-judge Woo Kwok-hing, who he considered the real lesser evil:
我也提名了，不是長毛，更絕不會是曾俊華，而是胡國興。
我不能忍受主流泛民同埋薯粉，竟然在薯片政綱還未公佈前，就用一句 “lesser evil” 作為挺曾的理由。好了，薯片出了政綱，泛民，他又有幾多政綱和泛民理念接近？如果因為薯片現在民望高所以提名他，哪他日周浩 鼎 民望高，又提名他媽？
而我至起碼看見胡官盡力在泛民與建制間中間落墨。[…]
If I had to give my nomination, I would give it not to Long Hair, absolutely not to John Tsang, but to Woo Kwok-hing.
I can accept that the mainstream democrats and John Tsang’s fans used the idea that he's the “lesser evil” to campaign for him even before he announced his election platform. Now that John Tsang has released his policy platform, exactly which policy of his is in alignment with the pan-democrats? If you give John Tsang the vote because he is popular, will you give Holden Chow [pro-Beijing lawmaker] the vote if he is popular?
Currently, I can see that Judge Woo has worked very hard to create space for negotiation between the pan-democrats and the pro-establishment camp […]
Woo has proposed to expand the voter base of the chief executive nomination committee and achieve universal suffrage in 15 years. He has also argued that before the public has consensus on political reform, the government should not enact Article 23.
Billy Ho further elaborated:
泛民現在應該做的，是用長毛和胡國興做籌碼來逼曾俊華作出更進步的政治承諾，而不是無條件地向evil （哪怕多 lesser也好！）獻媚！既然是 evil ，在未能充份控制牠時，就絕不與牠交易。而這樣才是真正的體制內抗爭！
What the pan-democrats should do is use Long Hair and Woo Kwok-HIng as a chip to force John Tsang into presenting more progressive political stances rather than flirting with evil, even if it is “lesser”. You shouldn't make a deal with evil if you can’t exercise control over it, this should be the principle of negotiations.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
Marcus Garvey and President Obama’s Missed Opportunity · Global Voices
Guest Contributor

Marcus Garvey in 1924. PHOTO: Public Domain via the Library of Congress.
By Geoffrey Philp
President Barack Obama issued 212 presidential pardons and 1715 commutations during his tenure, but he refused to sign a presidential pardon for the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey, National Hero of Jamaica (1887-1940). This despite pleas from the Congressional Black Caucus, which included civil rights movement elders such as Representatives John Conyers, John Lewis, and Charles Rangel, as well as the former and current prime ministers of Jamaica, Garvey’s son, Dr. Julius Garvey,  and thousands of activists from all over the world.
Falsely convicted on charges of mail fraud in 1923, Marcus Garvey served two-and-a-half years in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary before his sentence was commuted by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927. After many attempts to gain a presidential pardon, the first of which was initiated by Garvey himself, the election of President Obama raised hopes that attempts to clear Garvey’s good name would finally be realized.
In Dreams from my Father, then senatorial candidate Barack Obama expressed his awareness of Garvey’s stature within the Pan-African community when he quoted one of Garvey’s signature phrases, “Rise up, ye mighty race!” This was widely interpreted by many Garveyites as a sign that Obama would change US policy toward Garvey and many other black leaders whose actions where criminalized by the Bureau of Investigation (forerunner of the FBI) and the Department of Justice.
There were other signs that President Obama, who was fond of quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice,” believed in the values for which Garvey and King had sacrificed their lives. During his tenure, as Ta-Nehisi Coates has pointed out, President Obama often lectured the black community on the need for education and adherence to the values of hard work and self-reliance. And who embodied these ideals better than Marcus Garvey?
Garvey came to America a penniless immigrant in 1916, and ended up changing the way black people thought about themselves. According to the Black Business Network, “by 1917 Garvey and 13 members founded the UNIA, which by 1921 had over eight million members worldwide. He established a newspaper, The Negro World, which at its peak had a weekly circulation of over 500,000; a shipping line, the Black Star Line, which was founded with ten million dollars in investment capital; the Negro Factories Corporation, which generated income and provided jobs through its numerous enterprises, including a chain of grocery stores and restaurants, a steam laundry, tailor shop, dressmaking shop, millinery store, publishing house and doll factory. In New York City alone, Garvey owned several buildings, a fleet of trucks, and employed over 1,000 black workers.” Marcus Garvey, “the black angel of success,” had offered a proven blueprint for the redemption of Africans at home and abroad.
As someone who prides himself on his professorial credentials, President Obama missed an opportunity to engage with the American people in an honest discussion about race and the erasure of black heroes from our collective memory. Justin Hansford, attorney for the Garvey family, called this a “teachable moment,” where Obama could have shown how Garvey’s accomplishments lifted the black community out of poverty and set them on the part to self-reliance and entrepreneurship. President Obama, as the de facto political leader within the Pan-African community, could have offered a vision based on Garvey’s work—a philosophical foundation—that could have served as buttress against the incoming administration’s predictable assault on civil and human rights.
President Obama chose silence, so we are left only with questions. Did President Obama, who portrayed Garvey as merely a nationalist in Dreams, ignore Dr. Julius Garvey’s letter where he suggested a broader understanding of his father’s work as a Pan-African leader? Or was the president afraid that if he pardoned Garvey it would be perceived as an embrace of black America and by extension, disenfranchised America, regardless of race and religion? Was President Obama fearful that his legacy would be tainted by the perception of radicalism? We will never know.
One thing, however, is certain: despite his many laudable and important accomplishments, President Obama’s failure to follow through on what was a clear moral choice will never be forgotten as long as Marcus Garvey’s memory remains alive.
Geoffrey Philp is the author of Garvey’s Ghost; his work is represented in nearly every major anthology of Caribbean literature. He is currently working on a collection of poems, “Letter from Marcus Garvey.” Geoffrey lives in Miami and teaches English at the InterAmerican Campus of Miami Dade College.

author: Guest Contributor