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Iran: Rage Over Video of Tortured Bear Cubs · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

It all started when the Iranian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals published a video showing “hunters” in Samirom in the Isfahan province killing a brown bear and torturing her cubs as a game before the camera. They tore off the belly of one cub and threw around the poor creature while it was still alive.
The film created a wave of rage and sadness among many Iranians, and a Facebook page was created calling on Iranian authorities to punish the hunters. More than 1,900 people have joined. A comment on the page says that Samirom's MP (member of parliament) Behrouz Jafari claimed that the description of events were, “exaggerated to give a negative image of Islamic Republic's environmental situation.” The Facebook group supporter asks:
“Why do you just want to run away from your responsibility and try to politicise everything.”
News reports said two of the “hunters” were arrested. One is named Hamzeh Ali Ansari, and happens to work for the Ministry of Education, and has personal ties to Samirom's MP.
Pashmak writes:
This film shows the endless cruelty of human beings to animals… They killed the bear and tore off the cubs’ belly and videotaped themselves… It is good that they made the film because it helped lead to their arrest… Hamzeh Ali Ansari, a teacher, is the main criminal who has already 100 times violated laws but has good ties with Behrouz Jafari, Samirom's MP.
Iranian blogger, Kamalia asks in a post about the bears, “What was their sin to be killed like this?” The blogger also mentions the political ties of one “hunter”.
Another blogger, Joosh writes:
After 32 years living under the violence of the Islamic Republic, the Iranian nation has become addicted to death… It can not recognise the difference between good and bad… Today, I am ashamed of being an Iranian.


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Tunisia: Whistleblower Samir Feriani Set Free · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

On September 22, a military court in Tunis temporarily released whistle blower Samir Feraini who had been in detention since May 29, 2011, after criticising the Tunisian Interior Ministry.
A few days before his arrest, Mr Feriani, a former senior official at the Interior Ministry, published two letters in the magazine Al-Khabeer [Ar] (The Expert) where he claimed that people holding key positions in the Interior Ministry were responsible for the killing of peaceful protesters during the Tunisian Revolution. He also claimed that classified documents showing collaboration between ousted Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Israel's secret service, the Mossad, were intentionally destroyed by officials in the ministry.
Samir Ferian. Photo by Yassine Gaidi via Facebook Page "Tous Uni Avec Samir Feriani"
The public sympathised with Feriani and he was often described as the first “Prisoner of Conscience” in the post revolutionary Tunisia. Ever since his arrest, protests were staged and online campaigns were organised to demand his immediate release.
The public reacted positively to the news of the release of Mr Feriani. Here are some reactions on Twitter.
@yezzifokk:Keep the faith : Feriani is Free #freeferiani #tunisia
@emnamejri:je suis très contente mm si une liberté provisoire mais c un bon signe #FreeFeriani
@omessaoud:La libération même provisoire de Samir #FERIANI est une excellente nouvelle #FreeFeriani
Feriani is accused of “harming the external security of the state,” “releasing and distributing information likely to harm public order,” and “accusing, without proof, a public agent of violating the law.” His case has been transferred to a military court. On September 29, the Military Court of Tunis will issue a verdict on his case.
Liliopatra writes:
Moment extraordinaire, le juge a prononcé la libération de Samir Feriani  …mais attention  ce n'est qu'une liberté PROVISOIRE ;le procès a été reporté au jeudi prochain 29 septembre 2011. […] Après 117 jours de détention à la caserne militaire de l'Aouina, Samir retrouve enfin sa famille, ses enfants, sa femme, ses proches et surtout sa mère qui a fondu le coeur de tous les braves tunisiens…
It remains, however, unclear why Mr Feriani had to spend more than three months in detention. Sameh raises this question

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Afef Abrougui


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Update on Global Voices Mentorship: Meet the Activists · Global Voices
Leila Nachawati Rego

For over a month, ten Global Voices bloggers have been working with activists from ten different countries as mentors of members of the new Blogger Swarm of Activista, the youth network of  international development organization ActionAid. The mentorship focusses on blogging, networking and online capacity building.
Members of the Activista Blogger Swarm (pictured here) are each working with a Global Voices mentor
In a previous post we introduced all the participants, and now we would like to invite you to find out more about the activists involved, via the Activista Youtube channel. Here's Kodili, from Uganda, sharing why she became an activist, her  motivations and her expectations of the Blogger Swarm project:
Follow the Swarm!
The Blogger Swarm aims to put youth at the forefront of the discussion about food and climate justice, the issues on which the activists involved are focusing their individual work and research.
With the help of Global Voices mentors they are working on their blogging skills while getting more comfortable with using digital tools for collaborative work and online networking. Here is a list of some of their latest blog posts:
To stay updated subscribe to the Blogger Swarm blog or follow our mentors and mentees list on Twitter.
Thanks for supporting this initiative!

author: Leila Nachawati Rego


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Video: Water Bottle Lights and Other Eco-Friendly Inventions · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Solar lights and hot water heaters from plastic water bottles, houses made from trash and a way to do without plastic bags are some of the projects making reducing, reusing and recycling not only fun and affordable but also vital to improving the quality of life of people all around the world.
Empty plastic water bottle
Let's start first with Alfredo Moser, the mastermind behind the water bottle solar light. As a mechanic during the 2002 blackouts in Brazil, he figured out a way to light his workshop and be able to continue working: he explains all about the light and the impact it is having in his community in this 2008 video:
http://youtu.be/_zMAWztZ6TI
The Liter of Light project in the Philippines has taken this idea through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and turned it into an industry which will benefit not only the people who live in the newly lighted homes, but also the families of the people making and installing the lights.
The lights are so easy to replicate that they have spread throughout the world: the next videos show their use in Mexico, Haiti and in a remote indigenous community in Chile.
And plastic water bottles are also being used to produce hot water in Brazil: this next video shared on the Eco-Ideas YouTube channel shows a solar hot water heater made of discarded plastic bottles:
Also through Eco-Ideas comes this video from Thailand, where University students are using trash to make building materials for a home:
If you are interested in improving your own life by recycling, why not try making this shopping bag out of repurposed aluminum coffee bags, like this Finnish woman?
Or learn how to make different bags using a square of fabric and knots, in what is known in Japan as furoshiki:

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Yemen: Bloodbath in Sanaa as Saleh Returns  · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.
Yemen has been witnessing increased and unprecedented violence in the past few days. Ibrahim Mothana tweeted on September 18th:
@imothana: The brutality and violence used against protesters in Sanaa today is unprecedented!! #Yemen
A hashtag #SanaaMassacre was used by Yemeni tweeps to report updates on the violence used by the regime to crack down on unarmed protesters in Change Square in Sanaa. @crazyyafi tweeted on September 22:
@crazyyaffi: The number of people killed in the past 4 days in #Yemen has surpassed 100 and is continuing to rise. #yemen #SanaaMassacre #SupportYemen
Fatima Saleh also included the figure of injured reported.
@tota770: #AJA Reporter: Death toll raised since Sunday reaching 100 dead and more than 700 injured who were shot by the regime forces #Yemen #YF
Among the 100 killed were children, the youngest being Anas a 10-month-old baby who was shot by a sniper while he and his older brother were in his parents parked car, in front of a store. This video [WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT] shows his injury and portrays the tragedy.
Yemen woke up on Friday, September 23, at dawn to the news on state TV announcing the return of President Ali Abdulla Saleh to the country, after three months of recovering in Saudi Arabia from an assassination attempt in June –  a very unexpected and unwelcome return.
Mauritanian activist Naser Weddady expressed anger at the US and Saudi Arabia, both major players in Yemen's politics for allowing such a return – a sentiment which was shared by many netizens:
@weddady: if the world's fears in #Yemen are about Al-Qaeda, then letting the country under Saleh is the best help AQAP: ENJOY!
@weddady: Allowing Ali Abdallah Saleh to return to #Yemen is criminal.
Almuraisy replied saying:
@almuraisy: Unlike expectations, protesters at change square celebrate the return of Saleh to be tried of his crimes #Yemen :)
As usual with every Saleh TV appearance, let alone his return home, there were the celebratory gunshots by his supporters. Yet tanks and heavier weapons were reportedly used this time which resulted in deaths and injuries.  A child as this video  [WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT] shows was also hurt.
Millions of protesters across Yemen took part in the “Friday of Confidence in God's Victory” demonstrations. Yemeni protesters have given each of the 33 Fridays since their revolution has started a different name. Saleh was given the shoe treatment in the Friday protest in Radaa, where protesters raised their shoes to greet his return. (Video posted by: 11119801)
Mobarak Alsharafi tweeted what State TV quoted Saleh as saying:
@Mo_Alsharafi: “I return to the nation carrying the dove of peace and the olive branch,” Saleh was quoted as saying by state television. #Yemen
Although Saleh words claimed he came in peace, which the protesters could not believe, his actions proved that he came with a vengeance. His return only intensified the violence turning it from a massacre of protesters to a genocide. Only a few hours after his arrival, 18 people were killed and 53 were injured, following yesterday's Friday prayers.
Abdullah Obal, an opposition leader, said he believed Saleh “returned to run the war and drive the country into an all-out civil war.”
Abdulkader Alguneid, who lives in Taiz and is familiar with Republican Guards daily shelling on his city, remarked:
@alguneid: Now, certainly, #Saleh will start shelling #Sanaa residential areas, from far away. That's what he is good at. #Yemen
During a night raid on Change Square in Sanaa many reported the atrocities in their tweets:
Alaa Jarban tweets:
@AJYemen: #Saleh forces are burning houses & tents in change sq. now. Protesters r dying, dead bodies b/c of missiles r all over the streets! #Yemen
Waleed Saqaf adds:
@wsaqaf: #Saleh orders storming #Tagheer Square in #Sanaa, #Yemen, a massacre is in the making, corpses, blood & panic everywhere!
Michelle Shephard from the Toronto Star notes:
@shephardm: Just awful reports about shelling, fires & continued violence in #Sanaa tonight after #Saleh made surprise return… #Yemen.
NPR's Andy Carvin was horrified of a video from the carnage and warned:
@acarvin: Horrible, *horrible* graphic footage of a severely wounded child in #Yemen. Consider carefully before viewing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Jrc72MdJM&feature=youtu.be
Yemeni protesters urged tweeps to expose Saleh's crimes.
@crazyyafai: Retweet so the world knows: #Saleh is storming sit in square burning tents & slaughtering peaceful protesters at this moment. #yemen
He cynically tweeted:
crazyyaffi: #Saleh has finally decided to come back and kill all #Yemenis & then become a president of the biggest grave in the world. #yemen
Fatima Saleh summed the eventful day in a tweet:
@tota770: what a day , started with explosions and news of #Saleh's return, ended with storming change sq and shelling youth #Yemen #yf
Clearly, Saleh's first day was not a peaceful one. Far from it, it was rather very bloody! Yemeni brace themselves and expect more of the unreserved violence in the coming days.
Today, September 24, marches are planned across 17 governarates to condemn these crimes. A series of world wide silent protests entitled #SupportYemen – Silence Kills! is also scheduled today in different cities of the world and in Yemen to condemn the media and International Community's silence towards Yemen's revolution which has allowed Saleh to continue his crimes against his people and humanity.
This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.

author: Noon Arabia


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Algeria: Football Matches New Venue to Air Dissent  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Algeria Protests 2011.
Algerians have discovered a novel way to make their voices heard. Spectators in football matches are using the opportunity to voice political views, in a country which has so far shielded itself from the revolutions of the so-called Arab Spring.
On Twitter, Algerian Twitter user Baki 7our draws our attention to the new trend.
@7our: Unusual in #Algeria: football fans singing political chant in stadium. ‘Regime puts bomb & then accuses Al Qaida’ http://ow.ly/6DIjx
The video, posted by egypteking1, shows an animated crowd singing to the tune of drums:
The words of the song, in spoken Algerian or Darijaa, say:
[Algerian President Abdulaziz] Bouteflika wants another term, and Zerhouni [former interior minister] is doing everything to make that happen, including staging bomb attacks and blaming Al Qaeda for them.
7our shares another link where spectators draw attention to the class struggle in Algeria, between the rick and poor.
@7our: #Algeria: Another political chant at football game, theme is class struggle between disadvantaged & privileged. http://ow.ly/6DJtq
Here's the video, uploaded by Saimirsaadi, on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI2u-VFgJHc
According to Malika Slimani, however, this venue to voice political views is not totally new:
@TanyaSlimani: @JustAmira I remember in Feb/Mar them chanting “libya” during anthems
Despite protests starting from February, Algeria has so far shielded itself from an Arab Spring-like full blown revolution. Could football matches be the venue to air political, social and economic grievances.
This post is part of our special coverage Algeria Protests 2011.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Bahrain: Protests on Election Eve · Global Voices
Mona Kareem

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.
For weeks, many Bahraini Twitter users used the hashtag #LuluReturn to demand going back to Pearl Square, where their massive February protests took place. The Bahraini regime shocked the world in March by demolishing the pearl monument in the square, which is actually a roundabout, as if to erase the rebellious memory attached to it. This resulted a counter-reaction that sees many Bahrainis more attached to the monument as a symbol of their struggle against a regime that discriminates against its Shia majority.
On the eve of the election, conducted to fill 18 seats vacated by the opposition Al Wefaq Society when they resigned in protest against the killing of protesters, Bahrainis from different areas decided to walk to the square this Saturday only to be faced with riot police using rubber bullets and tear gas against them.
Netizens have reported some arrests and several protesters getting beaten, including some women. The village of Sanabis, which is close to the square, was the center of clashes between protesters and riot police.
Four days before the #LuluReturn, a social networking group called Bahrain Online (@ONLINEBAHRAIN) tweeted several pictures and signs from the streets that ask for the comeback of protests including this one:
@ONLINEBAHRAIN: ‘we will return’ balloons hung on traffic lights in Daih re 23/24 #luluReturn http://yfrog.com/hwgi2qj
A Bahraini girl (@Aljazita) wrote different actions she witnessed ahead of the protests:
@Aljazita: The riot police all over Bahrain villages armed and directing their weapon at ppl to warn them.
She also added a note in another tweet saying:
@Aljazita: Milk, Pepsi, Onion, oxygen& medical masks for tear/ toxic gases effect, Drs. Nurses, all medics be ready.
and another tweet on blocking Salmaniya hospital which was besieged by the military in February because it treated injured protesters:
@Aljazita: Riot police blocking all Salmaniya hospital to prevent treating the wounded, what kind of goverment is this?
Another girl (@Bent_6raif) cheered for the #LuluReturn saying:
@Bent_6raif: Tomorrow the world will know how courageous people of #Bahrain are, Tomorrow the world will see how peaceful our revolution is #LuluReturn
A devoted Twitter account for the jailed opposition figure Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja (@Freealkhawaja) tweeted a picture of riot police beating a protester:
@Freealkhawaja: Photo of protester after being beaten by RiotPolice in 1 of the villages close to pearlsquare- as received http://yfrog.com/klrubcgj
Mohammed Al-Maskati (@MohdMaskati), President of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, wrote what he witnessed during the riot police attacks on protesters:
@MohdMaskati: Just saw a person being beaten brutally by riot police in Sanabis Village. Women attacked with stunt grenades + tear gas
Then he tweeted a picture of protesters:
@MohdMaskati: Photos of protesters close to the main street that overlooks Pearl Square http://twitpic.com/6pa9xm
Human rights activist Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) kept updating her Twitter account with different details and news of the protests and she posted in this tweet a video of women getting attacked:
@MARYAMALKHAWAJA: Video of the women confronting riot police http://youtu.be/drvmL5oJzSg
Another Bahraini social networking group called Bahrain Revolution (@Bahrain_Rev) tweeted another video from the protests eve:
@Bahrain_Rev: 5th video of mercenaries attempt to raid a house in Sanabis 24sep http://fb.me/11tpEErmq
On the other side, there were pro-regime Twitter users who objected to the #LuluReturn protests including Nouf Al Sowaidi (@nalsowaidi) who commented saying:
@nalsowaidi: Radicals have gone 2 far 2day they're no longer defying the authorities they are terrorizing their fellow Bahrainis
Fawaz Ramadhan (@FM9779) has also used the term ‘terrorism’ when describing the protesters in his tweet:
@FM9779: The 1st terrorist act just reported in #LuluReturn event, whereas Hezbollah thugs entered a shopping mall in Bahrain terrorizing citizens.
M. K. Al-Binateej (@ATEEKSTER) has also devoted himself in the past week against #LuluReturn and in this tweet he posted a video:
@ATEEKSTER: Bahrainis cheering & kissing the riot police for removing rioters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4sL2c7g_QM
At the end, protesters were prevented from reaching the square, restricting them to villages, which continued to be attacked by security forces until the early hours of this morning.
This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.

author: Mona Kareem


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Bhutan: Asian Youth Congress Inspires · Global Voices
Rezwan

Tshering Tobgay reports that the Eighth Asian Youth Congress, which took place in Thimphu recently, saw bright performance from the Bhutanese participants.

author: Rezwan


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Bulgaria: Clashes Between Roma and Ethnic Bulgarians in Katunitsa · Global Voices
Ruslan Trad

Violent clashes in the Bulgarian village of Katunitsa, near Plovdiv, broke out Friday night, following the death of a 19-year-old ethnic Bulgarian local, Angel Petrov, who had been run over by a vehicle driven by a man linked to the local Roma clan leader.
According to Focus Information Agency:
127 people were arrested in the southern village of Katunitsa where Bulgarian and Roma communities entered into clashes, following a fatal road accident involving relatives of a Roma boss – Kiril Rashkov, dubbed Tsar Kiro. The arrested were indicted for vandalism, arson and numerous other offences.
The clashes involving some 2,000 people started when relatives of a teenager who was run over by a Rashkov family vehicle attacked the Roma patriarch's home. Another person died and five others were injured.
Three policemen and two civilians were hurt in the riots, while a 16-year-old at the scene who suffered from heart problems was taken to hospital, where he later died. […]
Online responses to the riots reflect very well the dangerous tensions on the ground.
On Facebook, there is a page [bg] demanding death to the Roma boss Kiril Rashkov (“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.)” – and more than 23,000 people appear to “like” this cause.
One of the page members wrote:
We are Bulgarians, we are in Bulgaria – enough of this torment! In our own country we feel as foreigners! They want war? We will give them war!
Another Facebook page [bg] has been created in support of the ethnic Bulgarian rioters arrested in Katunitsa – as of now, 41,001 people have “liked” this page.
Riot police in the village of Katunitsa. Photo by Georgi Kozhuharov/Dnevnik.bg, used with permission.
Hot debates are taking place elsewhere on Facebook as well. On the Anti-Racism Movement in Bulgaria page, people have reported more than ten pages and groups with hate-speech content. One member of the Anti-Racism Movement wrote [bg]:
Racism is awful because of the association of ethnicity with crime. There is a proverb saying “Because of our Elijah, I started to hate Saint Elijah” [“Pokrai nash Iliq namrazih i Sveti Iliq.”] Rashkov (Tzar Kiro) is one of the many criminals and traffickers in Bulgaria and he uses the ethnicity trump card without a second thought. If the authorities take care of this kind of criminals by legal means then this will reduce many times the ethnicity tensions, which are created by the same criminals to affirm their control over the given minority.
One of the places where people are organizing protests against the Roma people is the Facebook fan page [bg] of the football team “Botev” (Plovdiv). One of the fan group's members wrote this [bg]:
The dirty Roma scum must be cleaned!
On the Bulgarian blog Bai Dalai [bg], the author wrote another opinion:
It is easy to see that this is an uprising against the painful social injustices, against the fact that the authorities are protecting the rich criminals but they are unable to provide basic security for the common people.
On Twitter, @lazarov (Alexei Lazarov) wrote [bg]:
Racial clashes in Katunitsa, Putin will run for president again – time sometimes seems to be moving backwards.

author: Ruslan Trad


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China: Interview with a digital dissident · Global Voices
Andy Yee

Tom from Seeing Red in China interviews Xiaomi (twitter: @xiaomi2020), one of the organizers of Yizhe, a group which translates Western journalism on China so that they are more accessible to ordinary Chinese. Though not politically-oriented, some members of the group were identified by authorities because they translate news considered too sensitive domestically.

author: Andy Yee


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Colombia: Outrage at President of Congress Over Oil Subsidy · Global Voices
Julián Ortega Martínez

Last week, Juan Manuel Corzo [es], Senator and president of the Congress of Colombia, caused outrage when, in order to justify a fuel subsidy for congresspeople [es], he told W Radio [es] that it was impossible to fill the gas tanks for his two vehicles with his COP$16 million (€6,418 or US$8,784) salary (the minimum wage is COP$535,600, €207 or US$279). Despite living in a middle-ranked oil producing country, Colombians pay, as of August 2011, COP$8,635 (€3.34 or US$4.51) average per gallon, more than Americans.
During the next few days, Twitter and Facebook users showed their contempt [es] toward Senator Corzo, a member of the Conservative Party, with hashtags like #juanmanuelcorzo, #fueracorzo (“get out Corzo [from Congress]”), or #corzoton (Corzo + Telethon); Facebook pages like “We demand Juan Manuel Corzo's resignation”; and an event scheduled for Tuesday September 27 in front of the National Capitol. Even Anonymous staged a DDos attack [es] against the Senate's website.
Senador Juan Manuel Corzo, RedPaTo2 on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
On Monday September 19, the issue became “personal” when Senator Corzo declared in a press conference that the Twitter users criticizing him were “rude,” and added that [es] “I'd rather not steal from the State and that [others] pay for my gasoline.” After that, Corzo claimed [es] he was going to an Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Azerbaijan to defend his controversial bill of parliamentary immunity, even though, as blogger Hernán Castro Rodríguez shows [es], the last IPU Assembly took place last April in Panama and the next one is scheduled for October in Switzerland.
Here is a small sample of the thousands of reactions on Twitter during the last days:
Daniel Arango (@stultaviro) puts things into context:
En un país con un salario mínimo de 300 dólares oír a un presidente del congreso llorando por sus cuitas de ricachón es un maldito insulto.
José Carlos García (@josecarlostecno), Technology Editor for El Tiempo newspaper, writes:
Como colombiano, creo que todas la novelas de narcos juntas no me producen tanta vergüenza como este senador Corzo
User @bobadaliteraria tweets:
Mientras tanto Corzo anda en Azerbaiyán y adivinen quiénes pagamos por su vuelo.
Omar Ferrer (@OFFezt) refers to the “coalition of national unity”:
Veo uribistas y antiuribistas (Antes fachos y mamertos) unidos en un solo #Corzoton Esa es la Unidad Nacional que sirve.
Naylea Barros (@NayBarros08) asks:
Quien mas grosero nosotros los twitteros o #JuanManuelCorzo que nos quiere tratar de estupidos?
Angela G (@gatinita) brings up Corzo's salary:
No joda, con 6 meses de sueldo se compra una estación de servicio, para que nunca vuelva a llorar por falta de gasolina.
With irony, Felipe Nuñez (@idreamofrobots) writes:
Yo cuando grande quiero ser como Juan Manuel Corzo y que ustedes me paguen la gasolina.
Angela Perversa (@AngelaPerversa) tweets about Corzo's statements:
“Prefiero no robar al estado” is the new “gracias al señor me estoy rehabilitando y no en la calle atracando a nadie, regálemen pa un pan”
Journalist and blogger Víctor Solano (@solano) refers to the same quote:
Dirán algunos: “Lo ‘bueno’ de @juanmanuelcorzo es que nos da a escoger: O le damos para la gasolina o nos atraca; otros hacen las dos”
Catalina Palmer (@catalinapalmer) calls on Twitter users to act “in the streets”, not just online:
Lo de Corzo es más que #fueraCorzo. Hagan algo en la calle, no se queden en twitter. Construyan cultura política para que no se repita.
Finally, Ramírez Jaramillo (@egolaxista_) says:
A menos que la Registraduría empiece a hacer valer el RT como voto, la indignación por lo de Corzo servirá para mierda y media.
On the blogosphere, a heavily rotated post by @cynosargo titled “Colombia: who the f**k rules you?!” [es] slams the senator:
Es la primera vez que un político nos quiere robar de frente, en la cara. Literalmente, Corzo nos pidió a los contribuyentes colombianos que le pagáramos la gasolina de los carros que utiliza -carros por los cuales nosotros ya estamos pagando-, simplemente porque no le alcanza con su oneroso sueldo -el cual también pagamos nosotros-.
The post includes a table showing that all the Presidents of Congress in the 21st century (the post is occupied by a Senator elected by fellow Senators at the beginning of the legislature, every July 20), except one, have been investigated either for corruption or for ties with armed groups, including Corzo.
Meanwhile, Ricardo Galán wonders [es] if the “I'd rather not steal from the State” remark by Corzo was a threat, blackmail, or a complaint; while Julián Rosero Navarrete, who has worked in Congress, supports [es] the general outrage but warns against discussing the issue based on erroneous information, and explains that the actual salary of a Congressman is COP$6 million (€2,321 or US$3,132), while the rest are “representation spendings,” which Corzo should be using to cover his fuel expenses.

author: Julián Ortega Martínez


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Cuba: Historic Wedding · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Paquito el de Cuba celebrates and narrates the historic wedding [es] in Havana between a man and a transgender woman: Ignacio and Wendy.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Puerto Rico: Lecture on Planning and Development · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The International Development Group (IDG) and the Community Innovator's Lab (CoLab) at MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) will be hosting a lecture by renowned planner Lucilla Fuller Marvel, titled “Planning in Puerto Rico since 1940: An Examination of Opportunities Presented and Choices Taken.”


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Russia: “For Russia Without Putin” Rally in Moscow · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ilya Varlamov (@varlamov) and Roustem Adagamov (@adagamov) are tweeting [ru] and posting pictures from the not-too-numerous “For Russia Without Putin” opposition rally in downtown Moscow.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Saudi Arabia: Women Allowed to Join Shura Council · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saudi women, who cannot drive in their own country, will be granted the right to become members in their country's 150-member consultative or Shura council, an advisory body which has limited powers in government and legislation. The position is by royal appointment only. They will also be allowed to nominate themselves and vote in municipal council elections.
Iman AlQhatani breaks the news following an announcement made by Saudi monarch King Abdulla bin Abdulaziz.
@ImaQh: Women will be granted the right to be a member in the shoura council from next year #kingshora #saudi
She further explains:
@ImaQh: Da royal orders #ShoraWomen means that women have 2 wait 2 ys 2 be appointed in the council & 4 ys 2 participate in the municipal election
The development, which takes effect beginning next year, was welcomed with joy by netizens.
Waheeb Aldakel shares this photograph of Saudi women congratulating themselves after being given the go ahead to join the Shura Council in their country
Waheeb Aldakel shares this photograph of Saudi women greeting each other outside the Shura Council.
Yazeed Al Mogren responds:
Saudi Mai Al Shareef pledges:
The decision was also met with criticism towards Saudi Arabia's policies towards women, and men for that matter.
Saudi Ahmed Al Omran laments:
@ahmed: Shoura Council is still unelected, and municipal councils are powerless, but women participation is an important progress. #Saudi #KingShora
Lou-kay quips:
@lou_kay: I really fail to admire a right that is taken away, and then repackaged back as a gift.. #KingShora #SaudiArabia
And Palestinian Yousef Munayyer adds:
@YousefMunayyer: So Saudi Arabia finally made it to the beginning to last century?
It is indeed big victory to Saudi women but the question on many netizen's minds remains:
@Zeinobia: Congratulations to the Saudi women for the vote right but who will drive them to electoral committees


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Syria: Official Websites Under Anonymous Attack · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
Official websites in every major Syrian city (link contains mirrors of the sites) have been hacked, as part of hacktivists Anonymous’ Operation Syria. On Twitter, netizens are exchanging screen grabs and views under the hashtag #OpSyria
Anonymous has replaced the home pages of official Syrian websites with an interactive map of Syria, showing the names, ages and date of deaths of victims of the Syrian regime since the protests started in March.
Freedom of speech activist and Global Voices contributor Jillian York reports:
@jilliancyork: Anonymous hacks Syrian city websites, offers safety tips for Syrian Internet users: http://homs-city.gov.sy/,
Nader, who describes himself as an Arab who grew up in Beirut, notes:
@DarthNader: Every major city's website in Syria is now down due to being hacked by Anonymous
AProudSyrian further explains:
@AProudSyrian: 2316 Reasons why Assad is finished, #OpSyria leaves Government websites with a message http://bit.ly/nZxLVc #anonymous #opsyria #Syria
A screen grab of the Tartous city defaced website
The figure 2,316 commemorates the number of Syrians killed by the Syrian regime since anti-Assad protests started in Syria in March. The victims’ names, ages and dates of death appear as you hover over the map of Syria.
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.


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United States: “Occupy Wall Street” Takes the Heart of New York’s Financial District · Global Voices
Robert Valencia

This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide.
In New York City's Financial District, a peaceful protest has been organized by the group  Occupy Wall Street (#occupywallstreet on Twitter), and supported by the Canadian organization AdBusters and the hacker group Anonymous.
Inspired by the demonstrations in cities throughout Arab and European countries, these youth are showing their dissatisfaction with the way in which Wall Street has, according to them, controlled the policies of the United States economy, making it into a “corporatocracy” and leaving millions unemployed.  This group has occupied Zuccotti Park since September 17, and they expect that more people will join in the upcoming months.
Poster from the movement.
Musicians, medical staff, an improvised library and a technology team armed with computers and other devices can all be found in the park.  The demonstrators also have created banners with pieces of cardboard in which they express their feelings against capitalism, as well as their opposition to the Troy Davis execution.
The demonstrators have joined under the motto: “We are the 99% who will not tolerate the greed and corruption of the remaining 1%.”
Sofía Gallisá photo. Published with permission.
A poster showing the online media resources for finding information.  Sofía Gallisá photo. Published with permission.
Sofía Gallisá photo. Published with permission.
Although the protests have been carrying on without much disturbances, there have been arrests: according to recent reports, close to 80 arrests took place on Saturday, September 24, mainly for disorderly conduct on behalf of “individuals who blocked pedestrian and vehicular traffic,” in addition to resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.
Nonetheless, this did not thwart the demonstrators’ march from continuing to other parts of the city such as Union Square in the center of Manhattan.  While traditional media has not provided much coverage of the protest, information has exploded all over digital social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Vimeo, Flickr).
National figures like professor and philosopher Cornel West (@CornelWest) demonstrated his support via Twitter:
Courageous folk. Civil disobedience is part and parcel of the American democratic process. #OccupyWallStreet http://ow.ly/6DNj1
Van Jones (@VanJones68), a prominent U.S. activist, also expressed his solidarity with the demonstrators while simultaneously speaking out against police misconduct:
Those Occupy Wall Street folks deserve some serious love. But NYPD? WTF? Check out video! Watching http://livestre.am/PlNN via @livestream
Other Twitter users like Michele Catalano (@inthefade) believe that the protest is a dichotomy in itself:
It's so cute how the kids at Occupy Wall Street are tweeting their fight against capitalism from their iPhones and Droids. FIGHT THE POWER.
Amidst this, Ricardo (@jrickymayo) [es] finds another contradiction to the events on the night of September 24:
y esto pasa en el pais mas [sic] libre Al menos 80 detenidos en Nueva York durante las protestas para ‘ocupar’ Wall Street http://bit.ly/onHB4C
Below we present a video of “Occupy Wall Street,” in which one can clearly see how the demonstrators are blocked off by a strong security force:
This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide.

author: Robert Valencia


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Albania: One in three pays bribes · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Home of the Albanian Blogger reports that one out of three Albanians pays bribes, making the country the most corrupt in Europe.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Bahamas: Crime Fighting Issues  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bloggers discuss the challenges of crime fighting in the Bahamas.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bangladesh: Does Anyone Care About The Urban Poor? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Unheard Voice breaks a news that authorities had started evicting the new settlements including the Jaago Foundation school for the underprivileged along the Gulshan lake in Dhaka city. When challenged they could not show any prior notice or proper authorization. The blogger questions: “does anyone really care about the urban poor?”


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Bolivia: Mobilization in Support of Indigenous Marchers · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights and Forest Focus: Amazon.
After the news of the September 25 police repression of the indigenous marchers in the town of Yucumo, there was even more reactions and mobilizations in defense of the Indigenous Territory and National Park Isiboro Sécure and against government repression.
In the past month, the marchers have received widespread support from residents of the cities that had donated food and supplies, as well as many Twitter users using the hashtag #TIPNIS to express their support. Even the international activist organization Avaaz launched a campaign to collect 150,000 signatures in defense of the TIPNIS.
In previous weeks, two Bolivian Cabinet members, Government Minister Sacha Llorenti (@sachallorenti) and Labor Minister Walter Delgadillo (@wdelgadillot) had been utilizing their Twitter account to report on the situation from the official government position. At times, there were interactions with Bolivian Twitter users that many thought was an encouraging first step. However, in recent days they have been silent on their Twitter account, causing Annelissie Arrázola (@Annelissie) to ask [es], “where are the Twitter Ministers now to explain the violence?”.
Civil disobedience sparked
The events of Sunday night are sparking acts of civil disobedience and other forms of protests across the country. Residents of the jungle town of Rurrenabaque prevented the landing of government planes [es] that were arriving to transport the detained marchers back to their communities by occupying the airport runway. Defense Minister Cecilia Chacón presented her “irrevocable” resignation.
A group calling themselves Anonymous Bolivia (@AnonBolivia) announced a “hacktivist” campaign [es] for September 27 targeting government websites.
In addition, citizens have been regularly taking to the streets in the major cities of Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, and La Paz in defense of the TIPNIS, as shown in this video by Ana Rosa López (@mivozmipalabra) taken in La Paz on September 23.
After the news and images shown by the mainstream media of the police repression, there were a series of vigils and marches around the country. In Cochabamba, Juan José Olivera (@jotajotaolivera) tweeted this photo of a march that initially was prevented by the police from entering the Main Plaza of the city, but eventually did enter the square.
There were also people gathering in the San Francisco Plaza in La Paz, as seen here in these photos taken by Sonia Soruco (@sosoruco). There were also protests in the city of Pando, where indigenous protesters spoke out in defense of the march.
'Respect for Indigenous Rights. Mr. Evo Morales, Your Mask Has Fallen' Sign from protest in Pando. Photo sent to Global Voices by anonymous and used with permission.
Moises Pacheco (@mo_i_6) writes [es]:
A las calles!!!!!!!!!!!! los indígenas ya marcharon en el campo. Nuestro turno de marchar en las ciudades.
During one march in La Paz, journalist Mery Vaca (@meryvaca) makes a mental note of the protest's composition [es]:
La marcha crece y crece a su paso por las calles de La Paz. Reconozco a muchos que hasta ayer eran evistas.
The developing events is causing some uncertainty, with rumors of other Cabinet members resigning, but Mario Durán of the blog Palabras Libres [es] sees two possible outcomes after the repressive events on September 25. He writes,
El gobierno presenta ya fisuras internas… entre el circulo afin a intereses geopoliticos del Brasil y entre quienes pretenden cierta independencia.
Jugando a lector de cartas del tarot y preveer el futuro, el gobierno tiene dos caminos: i) Hacer caer todo el peso de los resultados de la represion otra vez en los hombros del presidente Morales (como sucedio en el gasolinazo). ii) Usar de fusibles a quienes hayan ordenado la represion y sancionarlos.
The government is showing internal fissures… between the circle close to the geopolitical interests of Brazil and those that claim certain independence.
Playing the role of tarot card reader and predicting the future, the government has two paths: i) Let the entire weight of the results of the repression fall once again on the shoulders of President Morales (like what happened with the gasolinazo). [authors note: government's decision to eliminate fuel subsidies that caused widespread opposition and which was reversed by Morales] ii) Blame those that ordered the repression and punish them.
Finally, blogger Pablo Andrés Rivero focused much of the blame on Minister Llorenti for the series of events [es]. Rivero recalled some of Llorenti's previous tweets that attempted to clear up any rumors, when on September 14 he said “there will be no intervention of the march. The police's sole mission is to prevent conflict.”
Las consecuencias del el amedrentamiento, del cerco policial y ahora el exceso de violencia injustificado, los gases, confrontar a mujeres, niños y marchistas cansados en el momento que recibían un plato de comida grafica plenamente sus intenciones de poder.
Lo sensato es su renuncia pero quién es uno para pedirle semejante acto de sensatez! Allá lo que usted y su gobierno deslegitimado hagan, veamos todos cómo se manifiesta el pueblo hoy.
Ahora más que nunca el TIPNIS SOMOS TODOS!
The consequences of the intimidation, the police siege, and now the unjustified violence, the tear gas, the confronting of tired women, children, and marchers at the moment of taking a plate of food fully shows your power intentions.
The most sensible thing would be your [Llorenti's] resignation, but who is one to ask for such a sensible act! What you do is up to you and your delegitimized government, let's see how the people demonstrate today.
Now more than ever, we are all TIPNIS!
This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights and Forest Focus: Amazon.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Bolivia: Police Repression of Indigenous Marchers in Yucumo · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights and Forest Focus: Amazon.
It has been more than a month since a group of indigenous protesters from the Indigenous Territory and National Park Isiboro Sécure (TIPNIS in Spanish) started their 500km march with the goal of reaching the seat of government in La Paz to express their opposition to the planned highway construction through their land.
For several days, the march had been halted by a group of pro-government colonizers, who had blocked the road in Yucumo insisting that the protesters stop and resume dialogue with the government of Evo Morales.
Police intervention
TIPNIS march. Image by Fernando Miranda, copyright Demotix (26/09/2011).
The police also reinforced this blockade saying that it wanted to prevent any confrontation between the marchers and those blockading the road. This stoppage also prevented supplies, such as food, water, and medicine donated by thousands of residents from the cities, from reaching the protests. Tension between the sides continued to climb, and there was a sense that there would be an impending intervention by the security forces.
A little after 5 pm local time on September 25, 2011, right when the protesters were eating a meal, it was reported that approximately 500 uniformed police officers began to use tear gas to disperse the protesters with the goal of rounding them up on buses. The Fundación Tierra (Land Foundation) maintained a live blog, where it published the early actions reported by their communications team on the ground [es].
17:18 GASIFICACIÓN. En este momento comenzó la gasificación policial a los indígenas en el campamento en el que se encuentran desde ayer.
17:25 RUMBO A LA PAZ. Se informa que en este momento la policía obliga a subir a las mujeres y niños indígenas en camionetas rumbo hacia Yucumo.
17:28 DESESPERACIÓN. En medio de la desesperación los niños lloran y las madres buscan no separarse de sus hijos mientras los efectivos policiales antimotines ingresan en el campamento indígena para desalojará a los marchistas y obligarlos a subir a camionetas que llegan desde San Borja.
[…]
17:49 ESTAMOS EN EL LUGAR. Hacemos todo lo posible para actualizar con toda la información posible pero como comprenederán no es una tarea facil y las comunicaciones son intermitentes.
17:18 GASIFICATION. Right now the police have begun tear gassing the indigenous [marchers] in the camp where they have been since yesterday.
17:25 DESTINATION: LA PAZ. It is being reported that the police are forcing indigenous women and children to board trucks towards Yucumo.
17:28 DESPERATION. In the middle of the desperation, children cry and the mothers try not to be separated from their children, while the anti-riot police enter the indigenous camp to remove the marchers and force them to board trucks that arrive from San Borja.
[…]
17:49 WE ARE ON LOCATION. We will do everything possible to update with all the possible information, but please understand that it is not an easy task and communication is intermittent.
Soon after the police repression started, information began to be reported by the media on location, even though there were reports of the police confiscating cameras and cell phones from journalists. There are conflicting reports of the number of casualties, but the television channel Red Uno reported that a 3 month-old baby died [es] apparently from the fumes from the tear gas used by the police.
Media outlet Erbol reported that at least 45 people were being treated in area hospitals, and that the Director of the San Borja hospital. Javier Jiménez, said that police had handcuffed doctors and prevented them from treating the indigenous marchers [es].
The blog TIPNIS Resiste (TIPNIS Resisting) collected a personal testimony from indigenous representative Esther Argollo, who was present at the time of the police intervention [es]. She said:
Había una mujer que estaba con tres bebés, llorando en el camino y estaba entregando sus pequeños y a mí me dijo por favor mi bebé, mi bebé y yo le tuve que socorrer a un niño de tres años que estaba llorando y que rostro estaba lastimado de repente por una caída que ha tenido. Escapamos al monte porque los policías estaban tirando gases por todos lados, no han respetado a nadie, han rodeado el campamento, han tirado las cosas, han agredido a las personas, hay gente que ha sido golpeada.
… Había muchos niños perdidos, las mamás estaban buscando a sus hijos, no se sabe cuántas personas están todavía en el monte porque han corrido, estaban de miedo. Han corrido peladitos, sin nada. […] Todos están dolidos hay mamás que han perdido a sus bebés no se sabe dónde están, hay niños desaparecidos, está oscuro, no se sabe más de la gente, están perdidos, regados por todos lados.
There was a woman that was with three babies, who was crying in the road and she was handing over the small children and told me, please, my baby, my baby, and I had to help a three year-old child that was crying and had injured his face probably by a fall. We escaped to the bush because the police was launching gas everywhere, they did not respect anyone, they surrounded the camp, threw things, and attacked people, there are people that were hit.
… There were many lost children, the mothers were looking for their children, it is not known how many people are still in the bush because they ran out of fear. They ran naked, without anything […] Everyone is hurting, there are mothers that lost their children and they don't know where they are, there are children that disappeared, it is dark, and they haven't heard from them, they are lost, scattered everywhere.
This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights and Forest Focus: Amazon.


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Book Review: ‘Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives In North Korea’ · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Change in Longitude blog posted a thorough review of the book ‘Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives In North Korea’ by Barbara Demick. The book’s title comes from a song  that North Korean school children recite, “We have nothing to  envy in the world” in spite of chronic malnutrition  and famine rampant in the country.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Brazil: The Real Value of Half Price Tickets · Global Voices
Fernando Sapelli

All links are in Portuguese language.
After the confirmation of several international shows and events in Brazil, like Rock in Rio, Festival SWU and Cirque du Soleil, the public has enjoyed a great variety of cultural and artistic events. However, due to abuses regarding the prices of tickets, the great majority of the population has not being able to purchase them.
Ticket law flouted
Even though there is a federal law for half price tickets – as the greatest portion of the public can only afford half of the total value – the events charge even higher amounts.  According to the law, students and the elderly over 60 years of age pay half price across the country. Some states have their own laws, like in Paraná, where blood donors also pay only half of the total value, and in São Paulo, where teachers from the public educational system and disabled people also enjoy the benefit.
Linkin Park Concert at Festival SWU in 2010. Photo by Alexandre H. Kitamura (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Since the creation of this provisory cultural incentive in 2001, there has been a considerable increase of students attending cultural and artistic events. FENEEC (Federação Nacional das Empresas Exibidoras Cinematográficas) [National Federation of Film Exhibitors], for example, says that half price tickets sales has jumped from 40%, before 2001, to the current 70%.
If the objective was to promote cultural activities among students, the law can consider itself successful. However, many found in it a loophole to pay less. According to Marcelo Moreiro, author of the blog Combate Rock:
A medida foi elaborada com a melhor das intenções, como uma forma de facilitar o acesso à cultura aos estudantes carentes e estimulá-los a procurar os espetáculos e ir a museus, por exemplo.
In his personal blog Dr. Money, the engineer and Master in Economics and Finances Marcelo Guterman analyzes the value of half price tickets over the total revenue generated by ticket sales. Any cultural and artistic event organization must take into consideration the heavy presence of students. As a consequence, the organizers end up increasing the total value because they know the great majority of the public will only pay half, and the ones that loose out are those who have to pay full price.
Also, since it’s extremely easy to obtain a fake student identification, many started to carry one only for the purpose of paying half price, as Guterman concludes saying:
O não-estudante subsidia o estudante. E é essa justamente a idéia da lei, cheia de boas intenções. Mas ocorre que o serumano é cheio das artimanhas e, com o advento da lei, o número de estudantes com carteirinha passou a ser bem maior do que aquele que efetivamente esquenta os bancos escolares.
Main stage at Rock in Rio 2011 still in construction. Photo by Mel Toledo (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Inevitably, no private event will happen without a guaranteed revenue. The half price ticket law was an easy solution found by the government to promote culture because the citizens disburse the difference. Even though there are incentive laws through fiscal investments, most events depend only on private investment – and nearly half of ticket prices correspond to taxes.
Ticket prices in Brazil are among the highest in the world. Mônica Herculano tells in an article written for vocal technique professor and journalist Mariana Paes’ page, Catarse Musical, that:
Ainda assim, os brasileiros sofrem com os preços dos ingressos, muito mais altos que em outros lugares do mundo. Show da cantora Katy Perry em Los Angeles em agosto, por exemplo, custa de US$ 35 a US$ 50 (de R$ 55 a R$ 80). Em São Paulo, em setembro, o mesmo show sai de R$ 200 a R$ 450, mais taxa de conveniência (20% do ingresso) e entrega (R$ 18 em domicílio; R$ 3 na bilheteria).
The cost of half price tickets
«Ingresso justo, Show para Todos» (Fair Ticket, Concert for All) . Image shared at the site Ingresso Justo.
While some blame the excessive taxes, others affirm that production costs in Brazil are indeed higher than other countries. Independently, the trivialization of half price tickets has certainly contributed to the elevation of the overall full price.
The site Ingresso Justo (Fair Ticket) was created with the precise intention of protesting against these abusive prices. Through the diffusion of a petition, they want to manage to readjust the total value, since:
O Brasil tem recebido cada vez mais grandes eventos que geram empregos e movimentam a economia. Queremos que a cultura seja acessível igualmente à todos independente de seu poder de consumo, classe social, cor ou sexo.
Initiatives like this call for a discussion about the half price tickets’ real impact and cultural diffusion among society. It must be remembered that in Brazil, only 14% of the population attends higher education. Fábio Volpe, writer at NJovam, remarks that:
Do total de alunos das universidades federais, 67% pertencem a famílias com renda mensal inferior a R$ 2 600. (…) Vale lembrar que as universidades privadas são responsáveis por 74% das matrículas no país.
Theoretically, this law would be benefiting part of a public who already has certain financial conditions to guarantee basic access to culture. The great majority of lower social classes does not have an expressive representation in higher educations institutions, and therefore would not be benefited by this measure. Alesson Lasomorate from Metal Planaltina DF adds that:
E alunos de pós-graduação, já formados, empregados, quem gastam 20 mil reais por ano em um MBA, também têm direito a desconto de 50%.
And while everybody continues thinking only about their own pockets, all the citizens disburse the loss.

author: Fernando Sapelli


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Chile: Twitter Trending Topics and #yomarchoel22 · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Students marched in favor of education reform on Thursday, September 22, but surprisingly, the hashtag netizens used on Twitter –#yomarchoel22– did not become a local Trending Topic. Enzo Abbagliati in his blog Cadaunadas [es] reminds his readers that Trending Topics are a legitimate but limited representation of reality.

author: Silvia Viñas


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China: National Secrets and Face · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

C Custer explains how the Chinese authorities’ concern for their “face” is at work in Chinese media and law enforcement unit.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cuba: “Damas” Targeted Again  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Ladies in White were once more targeted this weekend for their “planned march to a church to honor Our Lady of Charity on her feast day” – bloggers have a lot to say here, here, here, here and here.


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Ecuador: Digital Illiteracy Rate in Loja · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Voces Lojanas [es] shares important data about Loja from the VII Population Census and the VI Housing Census. The census reveals that in Loja digital illiteracy is at 29%, but cell phone use is at 73%.


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El Salvador: Digital Newspaper Publishes Wikileaks Cables · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

“Almost 100 US State Department cables from the US Embassy in San Salvador have now been published on the website of El Faro. The collection of cables from WikiLeaks offers a behind-the-scenes look at US diplomacy and assessment of its tiny ally in Central America. Most of the cables come from the time of the administration of Tony Saca, but there are some more recent cables during the Funes administration”–Tim reports in Tim's El Salvador Blog.


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Ethical Issues in Doing Business in North Korea · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Uhro van der Pluijm from Omkar Gopalakrishnan's Posterous blog wrote about ethical issues in doing business in North Korea.


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Georgia: Virtual Facebook Parliamentary Speaker Election Game · Global Voices
Mirian Jugheli

Ahead of a parliamentary election in Georgia set for October 2012, David Bakradze, chair of the current parliament, is currently the most active member of the ruling party on Facebook.
His official page [ka], with 27,526 likes at time of writing, includes photos of visits and meetings as well as of his family. Bakradze has also launched a game called Elections where each person liking his page can run for position of virtual parliamentary chair.
Screen capture of David Bakradze's Facebook page.
Image from David Bakradze's official Facebook page.
The rules of the game are simple: one can register as a candidate or vote for another. Those intending to run for the position provide a brief bio and invite friends to elect them. The candidate who attracts the most votes will become the virtual parliament chair with four runners-up ‘elected’ as virtual vice-speakers.
Bakradze is one of the most Facebook-friendly members of the ruling party. In August, 2011, Bakradze invited the most active members of his page to parliament for an informal meeting and a guided tour, and last month Bakradze invited ten more to his office. Bakradze told journalists that the game aims to interest young people in elections and to encourage communication between the government and citizens.
Nevertheless, the reaction from public seems to be mixed with some thinking that the initiative is good while others say that it's a waste of time. One comment on Facebook, for example, simply said that “soon we'll elect the president with “Likes” while others thought it “a step forward in the governmental penetration of Facebook.”
Chiti (Bird) [ka], the Georgian equivalent of The Onion News weighed in with its own satirical take:
თბილისი, 21 სექტემბერი – სოციალურ ქსელ Facebook-ზე პარლამენტის თავმჯდომარის ინიციატივას, “ვირტუალური არჩევნები,” მხოლოდ სიმბოლური დატვირთვა არ ექნება. პარლამენტის აპარატის მიერ გავრცელებულ განცხადებაში ნათქვამია, რომ თამაშში გამარჯვებული ადამიანი, დავით ბაქრაძესთან ერთი დღის გატარებასთან ერთად ხელფასსა და პენსიასაც მიიღებს.
At present, 760 people have joined in the virtual election and the ‘candidate’ currently holding first place has 328 votes. More significantly, perhaps, the move marks continuing efforts by the Georgian government to harness the power of social media.

author: Mirian Jugheli


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Hong Kong: Migrant Domestic Workers · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Foreign domestic workers constitute 3,763,000 total workforce in Hong Kong. However, their rights are very often neglected. “Open door” a support group for FDW posted an article addressing the situation at inmediahk.net.


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India: A Town Shuts Down To Protest Media Corruption · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sans Serif reports that the residents of the town of Mudhol in the Karnataka state of India observed a strike recently to protest “blackmail journalism” and the growing number of imposters posing as journalists.


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India: The Dark Side Of Social Media · Global Voices
Rezwan

Lazy Optimist informs that Malini Murmu, a student of the Indian Institute Of Management (IIM) Bangalore, committed suicide  because her boyfriend “dumped her via a status update on Facebook”.


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India: To Be Poor In India · Global Voices
Rezwan

Project Why exposes that there is a serious flaw in determining who is poor in India and who will get social welfare benefit from the government. The blogger asks: “what are we trying to do: show the world that we are not poor?”


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Indonesia: Suicide Bomb Blast at Protestant Church · Global Voices
Juke Carolina

Another suicide bomb blast occurred on Sunday (September 25) in Solo, Central Java in Indonesia.  The bombing happened in Kepunton Protestant Church, right after the morning Sunday service when the congregation was departing.
As of this writing, 20 people were reported injured and two were killed in the bombing.  The bomber was among the casualties.
President Susilo Bambang said [id] that they found the similarity between the Solo bombing and the one that blew up in Cirebon six months ago, and according to the preliminary investigation of the police, the blast was intended to harm as many churchgoers as possible.
Twitter users in Solo and elsewhere are extending their condolences and expressing their disappointment over this tragic event.  Here are some reactions from twitter users using the hashtags #prayforsolo and #pray4solo:
@radixhidayat: Ini bukan soal agamamu dan agamaku. Ini soal Indonesiamu dan Indonesiaku. #prayForSolo
@papanjari:  ini akibat dr masyarakat yg kurang mdapat pendidikan yg layak..mudah dipengaruhi org tdk bertanggung jawab.. #prayforsolo #prayforindonesia
@BiancaAllysa: Masi ngebom?astagfirullah islam tidak pernah mengajarkan umatnya untuk mencelakai sesama mahluk hidup
@RyuDeka: Tuhan, sesungguhnya kami lelah dengan segala tindak kebencian yang mengatasnamakan-Mu..#prayforSolo
@tarsih_ekp: Utk temen di media harap jeli, jangan bawa masalah #bomsolo ke ranah minoritas /pun mayoritas #pray4solo
And here are reactions from the hashtag #bomsolo:
@ferouz_afr: Selama gerakan ormas2 agama yg radikal yg jelas2 ada tdk d tindak dan d biarkan teror2 bom akn selalu ada krn d situ lah bibit2 nya #bomsolo
@gstff:#BomSolo Kepada para agen intelijen yg jadi makelar pengaburan persoalan: kalian semua penghianat bangsa.
@inyourdeathbed: stupid suicide bomber, you have accomplished NOTHING but remind us that our current government administration is a TOTAL FAILURE. #BomSolo
@blangk_on: Ada pihak2 tertentu di republik ini yg tetap melihara monster pembunuh dg ideologi agama. Kapan pun bs mrk gunakan #bomSolo
@AlexKomang2000: Di mana kita mencari perlindungan keselamatan di negara ini?#bomsolo
Solo (also known as Surakarta) is known to be the stronghold of Abu Bakar Bashir, the former emir of Southeast Asian Al Qaeda Network called Jemaah Islamiyah and a spiritual guru at Ngruki Al Mukmin.
Some of Ngruki's former students have been linked to various bombings in Indonesia. However the school has never been banned by the Indonesian government. Meanwhile, mainstream media also  noted the rise of religious freedom violations in 2010.

author: Juke Carolina


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Jamaica: Gratitude to Garvey  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In his ongoing effort to petition President Obama to exonerate Marcus Garvey, Geoffrey Philp says: “Marcus Garvey's cause was justice, plain and simple. And it is ironic that unjust methods were used to malign his good name and to bring about his eventual imprisonment on fraudulent charges.”


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Japan: Tracking a telecom giant’s quest for carrying the iPhone  · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Since news broke that Japan's 2nd largest carrier KDDI has struck a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone5, tech savvy netizens are keeping a close watch on the company's actions. The company has not made an official statement at this point.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Kenya: Kenya Hosts Sixth Internet Governance Forum · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Gamelmag blogs about the sixth Internet Governance Forum, which will take place in Nairobi, Kenya from 27th September to 1st October: “If you want to take part in the IGF but you can't make it to Nairobi, don't worry. You can make your voice heard by participating remotely. You can also share your views on Twitter (#IGF) and Facebook. To learn more about Internet Governance, you can join the Diplo community.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Nepal: Buddha Air Crash, Who To Blame? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Guffadi questions the aviation security in Nepal considering why the Buddha air flight that succumbed into a crash was allowed to take off in the midst of incessant rain.

author: Rezwan


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North Korea: Kim Jong-il Plans to Solve Famine by Breeding Giant Rabbits · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Zimbabwe Metro site posted a list of eccentric acts and plans carried out by North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-il. It includes Kim's plan to solve famine by breeding giant rabbits and revelations that Kim being one of the world’s largest buyer of Hennessy, German cars and Uzbekistani caviar.


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North Korea: Kim Jong-Il’s Surprise Appearance On the Simpsons  · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Martyn Williams from the North Korea Tech blog  wrote a short post on  Kim Jong-il's appearance on “The Simpsons”. One character from the episode says that he was forced to write a musical about Kim in a North Korean prison and introduces a song addressing the regime's ban on internet.


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Philippines: Anti-Planking Bill Draws More Planks · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Congressman Winnie Castelo filed House Bill 5316 after student activists planked in the middle of busy Manila City streets to express support for jeepney (public utility vehicles) drivers striking against weekly oil price hikes. Castelo's anti-planking bill defines planking as follows:
planking is when a student or group of students lies face down in unusual locations especially in streets or other public places, keeping the hands along the body and the feet outstretched and especially where such act is meant as a form of redress of grievance against government.
But instead of discouraging the plankers, the proposal only made planking even more popular among the public with critics even planking in front of Castelo's own office in Congress to mock the measure.
Tine, who was part of the group who planked in Congress, asks:
If Rep. Castelo was so concerned with safe planking then he should have filed a Safe Planking Act (not that this will work…self-regulation within the planking community would probably be better). And why target planking protests? Actually, it is safer to plank with a big group of people.
Youth groups condemn the measure for curtailing freedom of expression and its repressive proposal to draft a code of conduct for students joining protest actions.
The anti-planking bill is not only against planking as a protest form, it even restricts our students from staging protest actions. This definitely goes against the youth’s fundamental right to freedom of expression.
Blogger Tonyo Cruz reacts against the measure:
The drafting of the bill is a total waste of time and money of taxpayers. Castelo and his fellow legislators should instead waste no time in studying and adopting measures addressing the subject of the plunking protesters — warrantless oil price increases, abusive oil cartels and taxes on petroleum products.
Planking for a cause
A few months ago, planking protests were held against education budget cuts. A few days ago, thousands of students once again held massive plankings in various parts of the country as part of a weeklong nationwide campus strike against the cuts.
Contingents of the 10,000-strong march of public university students and teachers hold a mass planking in the Mendiola bridge leading to the Malacanang Presidential Palace. It could be one of the biggest planking protests in the world :
Teo Marasigan describes the mass planking protest:
Nag-planking sila papunta at nag-planking sila pagdating sa Mendiola. Dahil ginagawa nila ang tinutuligsa at sinisiraan ng mga nasa awtoridad, militante ang dating nila. Dahil marami sila, hindi sila mukhang nagkakatuwaan lang, kundi lumalabag, lumalaban.
The Facebook group “PLANK! For a Cause” was also created to encourage plankers to share planking photos that highlight a cause “to dramatize the militancy and creativity of the youth.” Some of the photos posted in the group includes that of human rights advocates plank for the release of all political prisoners in the country.
Another is that of activists planking to commemorate the 39th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Twitter reactions
Some reactions to the anti-planking bill on Twitter:
@planetchuckie: The Anti-Planking Act of 2011 is even more useless and absurd than the act of planking itself.
@teddycasino: An anti-planking law? Ano ito, in observance of d anniversary of martial law? This is equivalent to Marcos’ banning of Voltes 5 and Daimos.
@gangbadoy: @radikalchick sinusubukan kong hanapan ng deeper meaning, pero alas…alaws! Apir, Winnie the Plank.
@choihilario: Or a new game “Plank Vs. Zombies ” RT @kakanturing: RT @gangbadoy: Winnie the Plank. :) > That sounds like a good idea for a new…
@venzie: Sinong mga kongresista at senador ang willing na makiplank sa mga iskolar ng bayan bukas sa Mendiola? Game.
@maxenemagalona: There's an anti-planking law? Plank that. Plank you.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Protecting African Forests: Wangari Maathai’s Legacy    · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

This post is part of our special coverage Forest Focus: Amazon.
Wangari Maathai,  a prominent Kenyan environmental and political activist and 2004 Nobel prize winner passed away on September 25, 2011. She was the first African woman to be awarded the prize and is recognized worldwide as the leading figure in the fight to protect the environment through sustainable actions on African continent. She was also part of the jury at the World Future Council Award this past week.
Wangari Maathai. Image under CC License from Wikipedia.
The council has selected Rwanda and Gambia as the winners of an award for best forest policies in 2011. The awards also highlighted the US Lacey Act amendment of 2008 which prohibits all trade in wood and plant products that are knowingly illegally sourced. The Lacey Act has already had a major impact in curbing down the illegal logging of rosewood from Madagascar's rainforests.
Other African nations have also done remarkably well in protecting their environment in the face of increasing threats from climate change.
Rwanda
Rwanda was awarded the prize for their continued effort in reversal in the trend of declining forest cover. The philosophy behind the prioritizing of reforestation  is explained as follows  [fr] on afrik.com:
Les experts disent que le transfert de propriété des terres et des ressources aux communautés locales est un moyen de sortir de la tragédie des biens communs, [..]  Le gouvernement est actuellement en train de mettre en oeuvre une stratégie de développement économique et de réduction de la pauvreté qui considère l’inversion de la déforestation comme un facteur crucial dans la réduction de la pauvreté, et a fixé l’objectif d’augmenter la couverture forestière du pays de 30 pour cent d’ici à 2020. La couverture forestière a déjà augmenté de 37 pour cent depuis 1990.
Gambia
Tree in Gambia by Guillaume Colin on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
The Gambia’s Community Forest Policy is the other African nation recipient of the first Silver award. Eduardo Rojas Briales, assistant director general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, explains:
The success of the Gambia's Community Forest Policy proves that even in the world's poorest countries, with the right policies and adequate legislation in place rural populations can benefit economically and significantly improve their food security. In Gambia the innovative policy included forest tenure transition from state ownership to management by local communities, which enabled them to reduce illegal logging and benefit from using the forest products.[..] Gambia has managed to buck a strong deforestation trend in Africa with over 350 villages managing twelve percent of the country’s forests, with a net increase in forest cover of 8.5 percent over the last two decades.
Madagascar
The institutional measures with the most successful impact with protecting the endangered rain forest of Madagascar can be credited to the US Lacey Act amendment of 2008 which prohibits all trade in wood and plant products that are knowingly illegally sourced.
Illegal logging of Madagascar rosewood has plagued conservation effort for several years. This trafficking has increased at an alarming rate since the political crisis of 2009, as explained previously on in these interviews and in this report.
Why is the Lacey Act effective in having an impact across borders ? Tewolde Berhan Egziabher, director general of Environmental Protection Authority in Ethiopia explains:
The strength of the Act lies in its ability to target and place responsibility on every stage of the timber supply chain. It has forced importers to take responsibility for their wood products and has already produced positive results in increasing due diligence assessments and demand for certified wood products.
This Act  has also been critical in protecting the endangered species of lemurs in the the Malagasy rain forest, most notably the silky Sifaka:
Trouble in Lemur Land from Erik R Patel on Vimeo.
The Lacey Act has also indirectly created a small diplomatic incident between France and the United States, when the First Lady Michelle Obama gifted a Gibson guitar to the model/singer and France's first lady Carla Bruni [fr]. Malagasy blogger Avylavitra explains the incident [mg]:
Fa ny tena anton-dresaka eto dia ny fanomezana nomen’ny vadin’ny filoha Amerikana, Michelle Obama ho an’i Carla Bruni, vadin’ny filoha frantsay Sarkozy, nandritra ny vovonan’ny OTAN tany Strasbourg tamin’ny taona 2009. Gitara Gibson no natolony tamin’izay fotoana izay, vita avy amin’ny hazo Andramena, hazo sarobidy voarara ny famoahana azy avy aty Madagasikara,
Senegal
Protecting forests also means fighting back the desertification across the African continent due to climate change.  The  Green Great Wall (GGW) initiative is a transcontinental project, under the umbrella of  Community of the Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) and the African Union that strives to be a multi-species vegetal belt 15 km wide that will link Dakar and Djibouti and stretch over a distance of about 7000 km.
The Sécheresse/Désertification blog explains in further detail the implications of project [fr]:
Entre 2006 et 2007, quatre mille hectares soit environ sept kilomètres d’arbres ont déjà été plantés sur le tracé sénégalais de la Grande Muraille Verte. en 2008, l’Etat plantera des arbres sur une superficie de deux mille hectares dans la région de Louga. Ces végétaux sélectionés et adaptés au territoire, seront boisés en bloc contrairement aux plantations déjà existantes qui sont cultivées de façon discontinue [..] La muraille traversera le Sénégal, la Mauritanie, le Mali, le Burkina Faso, le Niger, le Nigeria, le Soudan, l’Erythrée et finira à Djibouti [..] Le professeur Dia a annoncé que la désertification a fait perdre au Sénégal près de deux millions d’hectares de terres arables.
The legacy of Wangari Maathai will live on with all the measures taken by each African nation.  Her message to the world was that we collectively need to make sure that the challenge of desertification is being met heads on and to realize that local communities must be an integral part of this challenge.
This post is part of our special coverage Forest Focus: Amazon.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Puerto Rico: Dealing with the Murder Rate · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Dondequiera says of the country's rising murder rate: “Greed and apathy are Puerto Rico's sins, and the only way out of this nightmare is through our unity as humans.”


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Russia: Expert Analyzes RuNet’s Role Under Putin’s Presidency · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

Nikolay Kononov, a columnist of Russian “Forbes,” says [ru] that the Internet will be the only space where real politics will take place in the era of new Putin's presidency. In an article “12 Years in the Internet” [ru] he predicts that the virtual politics will be able to penetrate to the real world, once real crisis emerges.

author: Gregory Asmolov


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Sri Lanka: Colombo Municipal Council Election On Facebook · Global Voices
Rezwan

Indi.ca highlights some of the candidates of Colombo Municipal Council election, who are using Facebook and other social media tools to run their web campaigns.


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Sri Lanka: University Autonomy Under Threat · Global Voices
Rezwan

Groundviews posts an appeal of the academic community to the Sri Lankan government protesting a directive that all state universities (who enjoy autonomy) should hire the services of certain government owned company consisting of ex-servicemen for security.


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: More Violence Against Women · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The escalating violence against women in St. Vincent now has Abeni “officially scared.”


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USA: The Real and Digital Unite for Latin American Literature · Global Voices
Yarisa Colon

La Casa Azul – an online bookstore that is administrated by Aurora Anaya-Cerda – has recently announced it is going to collaborate with a new bookstore located in Washington Heights,  New York.  Word Up (@wordupbooks) has two goals: to spread Latin American literature and independent bookstores.
La Casa Azul has not only been awarded several times, but it also has done some remarkable work. In a Latina Book Club interview, Aurora explains that her digital platform has had books – and audiobooks – in Spanish and English since 2008. Aurora also organizes a reading club in the Museo del Barrio, in New York City, since the club was opened,  where people can have a conversation with different writers. The special guest for the next gathering will be Esmeralda Santiago who will talk about her new novel Conquistadora.
Although the Word Up story is a little bit different, it is also incredible. Months ago, Veronica Liu, the co founder of Fractious Press and Seven Stories Press editorial, met with the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance and Vantage Residential people in order to analyze the possibility of creating a community bookstore. This goal was attained.
The following video by ArtbyDJBoy shows the  tremendous energy this space has inspired:
We also include a request link to support this club as a permanent project, since it is temporary.
As a matter of fact, the association between both bookstores has been remarkable. Like the  Casa Azul online bulletin informs, it released its new bilingual magazine The Rio Grande Review which was created by the creative writing students in the University of Texas, in El Paso. You can see the online version of the magazine here.
You can visit both bookstores, either the real or the digital one.

author: Yarisa Colon


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Zambia: Did Ex-President Implicate Himself in Farewell Speech? · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

Netizens have been dissecting the speech by Zambia’s outgoing President Rupiah Banda to find out whether he implicated himself in the plunder of national resources.
Banda, whose MMD party ran a very elaborate and obviously expensive campaign compared to that by new President Michael Sata’s Patriotic Front, said in his farewell speech:
REMEMBER THAT THE NEXT ELECTION WILL JUDGE YOU ALSO. TREAT THOSE WHO YOU HAVE VANQUISHED WITH THE RESPECT AND HUMILITY THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT IN YOUR OWN HOUR OF DEFEAT. […] IT IS NOT FOR US TO DENY THE ZAMBIAN PEOPLE. WE NEVER RIGGED, WE NEVER CHEATED, WE NEVER KNOWINGLY ABUSED STATE FUNDS. WE SIMPLY DID WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS BEST FOR ZAMBIA. I HOPE THE NEXT GOVERNMENT WILL ACT LIKEWISE IN YEARS TO COME.
Front page of Zambian newspaper 'The Post'. Image from The Zambian Peoples PACT Facebook group.
Banda’s statement is a reflection of the treatment Zambia’s second President Frederick Chiluba received after he had his immunity removed for alleged plunder of the nation’s resources, grand theft and corruption involving millions of dollars.
Netizens are asking if the outgoing president should be investigated and prosecuted if he is found to have abused national resources.
Writing on the Zambian Peoples Pact Facebook page, Gongs Jhala asked:
Do you think RB and his sons will face criminal prosecution? I found it interesting when he said they did not “knowingly abuse public resources” [does] that mean they abused public resources but did not know they were doing so?
Commenting under the same thread,  VinStell Chanda wrote:
Ths new baby gvnt have got a mountain of work to do coz all institutions were corrupt,the OP,the interlligence, ACC,the judiciary, just the entire system was wrotten.Therefor,to bring Banda and sons to book,the PF gvmnt needs to have a new system in place wth some new faces of men and women of intergrity.I heard RB vry vry well in hs last speech were he even dropd some tears,it indicates tht he missmanaged the public funds and if he so did,he shud be brot to book,in fact thy shud strip off his immunity so that investigation can be done wthout restrictions.Its not vegence,bt justice coz RB entertained Dora Siliyas breach of the constitution of Zambia and alot of crimes have been committd in hs shortest term in the offce so RB is on hot seat, that l can asure you.Very soon will start watchng thm on tv with manzi water coming from high court due to abuse of power thereby breachng the constitution and abuse of public funds.Even George Kunda on colosal somes of kwachas on NCC,we are in for another vry interresting movie gents,just seat back and enjoy the ryde.lol
A post by Mannfred Ngweza on the same thread reinforces the need for an investigation against Banda:
Kasabo Seth Rozell Kalussa these crooks should be locked away if found wanting. This will deter future presidents and governments from doing the same. You cant talk about George W. Bush becoz thats a totally different topic. Jedidiah Manengu is right we might as well let all the thieves and rapists go. The problem in this country is that stealing has become normal coz nothing happens if u r caught.
Kasabo Seth Rozell Kalussa has a different view:
An Ex-President is an Institution, if drag him to court, you are also dragging the nation through the mud and thus the name shall tarnished. What will the rest of the world think of Zambia if President # 4 is also bundled up and makes constant appearances at Chikwa courts. The office of the President should be given the respect it deserves, if we attempt to score points with the highest office in the land, we might just end up being the laughing stock of the world. It is even for this reason that Ex-Presidents of Zambia hardly get a mention at international peace efforts, we have treated our Presidents with distain. Even the outside world will go with the flow. If we have to prosecute another ex-President lets us think twice.
On another thread Peter Vaughan Kaisa wrote:
LET NT BWEZANI THINK THAT CRYING WL MAKE SATA FEEL PITY 4 HIM. HE WL STIL BE DEALT WITH AND MADE 2 BRING BACK WAT HE STOLE FRM THE ZAMBIAN PIPO!
A response by Kasonde Brian under the same thread reads:
We need our money back. Whether he cries blood maufa yeve tiya funa [we still need our money]. Lets pray for him to be health so that he can stand trials.
One netizen, Unza Open, asks if Banda’s statement was justification for removal of the abuse of office clause in the Anti-Corruption Act:
Was this the justification for the removal of ‘Abuse of of Office’ clause? “We never knowing abused state funds but we simply did what we thought was best for Zambia.” RB. I think, a fast track court needs to be instituted to deal firmly with corruption cases.
Ston Kapotwe had this to say:
I was thnkn bout that statement too,i thnk we shud nt treat him wit kid gloves just coz he cried. Uluse lwa lile inkwale [an eagle got consumed by mercy].

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


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Zambia: Starting Life Under a New Leader · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

Zambians have started life under newly elected President Michael Sata who was inaugurated on September 23, 2011, three days after the elections which ended 20 years of rule by the MMD government.
Netizens on various social network platforms have expressed different views on the inauguration and the new presidency.
Supporters in a truck celebrate the victory of opposition leader Michael Sata as he was sworn in as the fifth Zambian president. Image by Owen Miyanza, copyright Demotix (23/12/2011).
Commenting on the Zambian Watchdog website, angel of the lord, said:
as it stands, no one can reverse time. Mr sata has already been sworn in as president. The people of zambia have spoken. Wether we voted or did not vote for him, he is the president for all zambians. My appeal to the zambia loving people is that we should not relax, lets all fight for a better tomorrow. i stil think that it will be difficult or hard for those who dint want sata as president to see him improve zambia. I appeal to all of you to give mr sata a chance (which he alredy has) and appreciat him if he happens to do as he campaigned. Lets not put our hatered in front of us, as it will be difficult for us to see change. My appeal to the president is, he should not dismantle everything that mr Ruphia Banda had started and start from scratch but to continue where mr Banda has left. Our roads are still dusty. We need tar marks.childred are still not goin to school(in rural areas).the schools need to be finished
Holding President Sata to his promise of changing the face of Zambia in 90 days, chimpuno wrote under the same story:
Lets ensure that all the promises made are met and that within 90 days we need to start feeling the change we voted for. Am pretty sure that he has seen that the slogan of donch kubeba works and it can work against him as well
On the presence of the outgoing President Rupiah Banda and Zambia’s first President Kenneth Kaunda at Mr Sata’s inauguration, ine wine wrote:
THE MERE FACT THAT WE HAD THREE PRESIDENTS ON ONE PODIUM IS EVIDENCE THAT ZAMBIANS ARE PEACE LOVING. I ALWAYS TELL CADRES THAT YOU MAY JUST KILL YOURSELVES WHEN THE PEOPLE YOU’RE KILLING EACH OTHER OVER ARE ACTUALLY ON SPEAKING TERMS. ZAMBIANS LEARN TO CRITICISE WHEN YOUR PRESIDENT IS WRONG AND ALSO TO URGE HIM ON WHEN HE IS ON THE RIGHT PATH.
Commenting on Rupiah Banda’s concession speech in which he said past presidents should be treated with respect and humility, Kasololo Chisenga, posted on Zambian Peoples Pact Facebook group:
Do you agree that if wrong things happened in RB government we should just forget about them or should we make sure wrong things are exposed and corrected?
Responding to Chisenga’s post, John G. Henry responded:
Kasololo, RB's final decision has firstly made us so proud today and made an even bigger name for our democracy in all of Africa. Going out when people want you to go is bigger than coming in with a bang like FTJ in 1991 and then leaving shamefully and being stoned whereever you go, FTJ could not even face everyday life because he used to be stoned on the CB and even in Luapula but Zambians will always salute RB. Yes, I know KK was at State House yeesterday until RB agreed but just yesterday RB had power to rig and he chose the way of democracy, I really appreciate that.
One tweep commented about seeing reports on the new government on television news:
@VusumuziS: Listening to news on Muvi TV. So intriguing to hear about “ruling Patriotic Front” and also of the “opposition MMD”. #Zambia
Zambians also want a future where younger people will lead political parties:
@missbwalya: In our future I want to see MMD, UPND & NAREP led by YOUNG vibrant men & women going up against the old establishment. #Zambia
On Zambians who, before the elections were buying groceries in bulk in anticipation of violence, luchi7 reported buying something to celebrate with:
Unlike the other day where people in spar where shopping like it was doomsday today everyones shopping for alcohol only
Thinking about the future of Zambia under new government, Zambian Economist asked his readers, “How can the new government cut waste?”:
The new PF Government is committed to cutting wasteful expenditure. So that money can be channel to poverty reduction.  Zambian Economist wants to get your ideas on how you think Government can cut waste.  We will put together a short policy paper and submit it to the new administration as soon as possible.


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Zambia: We Need to Watch Zambia · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ethan explains why the world need to watch Zambia: “There’s a danger that we miss a major story here: democracy is taking root in Africa and spreading rapidly. Nations like Zambia, which survived autocratic rule and then dominance by one party are now seeing democratic change.”


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New Partnership Between Global Voices and El Colombiano · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Global Voices in Spanish has a new agreement with a mass media outlet, newspaper El Colombiano (The Colombian) [es], the leading paper of the city of Medellin, Colombia, which will allow their readers to access Global Voices content in Spanish through a blog created for this purpose inside the EC-Blogger section of the online version.
The blog is simply entitled Global Voices and has been online since Sunday, September 18, 2011, with an article published daily.
The project has gained the enthusiastic support of various El Colombiano employees, like Interaction Editor Catalina Montoya, journalists of the Interaction area Diego Agudelo and Perla Toro, and technology reporter Estefania Botero, the person who initiated the contact.
On our side, team members of Global Voices in Spanish have collaborated to make this possible, especially Catalina Restrepo and Adriana Gutierrez.
To can get an idea of the selected content for El Colombiano readers, here are the posts they have published up to now [es]:
Also, a small presentation post:
Starting today, we will bring you the summaries of what Latin-American bloggers as well as those around the world are commenting, as well as notes on web activism, reports of ICTs entrepreneurships related with social and cultural topics, threat reports and freedom of speech assaults, and many other interesting notes.
We hope that this agreement will bring our global content to people that normally don't read us; content that is based on what netizens express through new media and social networks platforms, reported and analyzed by our authors. This will help El Colombiano readers get a taste of what is going on in the Internet world and among those who inhabit it.

author: Juan Arellano


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Arab World: Nobel Peace Prize for Revolution Netizens?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Twitter is abuzz with excitement tonight as the names of Arab netizens are being circulated as possible candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for the roles they have played in the Arab revolutions.
Egyptians Wael Ghonim (@Ghonim) and Esraa Abdelfattah (@Esraa2008) along with the April 6th Youth Movement, are joined by Global Voices Online Tunisia author and Tunisian blogger Lina Ben Mhenni (@benmhennilina), who blogs at A Tunisian Girl, according to a Reuters report. The award will be announced on October 7.
"Free Revolution zone" image by Flickr user khalid Albaih (CC BY 2.0).
Both Ghonim and Abdelfattah have contributed to the Egypt revolution through their cyber-activism. Ghonim shot to world fame after he was detained for 11 days during the Egyptian revolution. It later turned out that the Google executive was one of the administrators of a Facebook page in support of Khaled Said. We are all Khaled Said was set up to honour the memory of a young man from Alexandria, whose brutal murder at the hands of police officers sparked protests against police brutality. The January 25 revolution date itself was selected as it coincided with Police Day, a day young protesters chose to air their grieveances against police brutality and all of the regime's wrong doings.
Abdelfattah is one of the co-founders of the April 6 Facebook group, formed in 2008, to call for a day of general strike across Egypt in support of the workers in the textile district El Mahalla El Kubra. The Day of Anger, as it was known, acted as a trial run to the revolution, in terms of mobilising young people online and and using social networking to keep the world abreast with developments on the ground.
Like Ghonim, Abdelfattah too was arrested for her online activism.
While the Tunisian blogosphere has still not picked up on Ben Mhenni's speculation, Twitter is humming with Egyptians reacting to Ghonim's and Abdelfattah's news.
Omar Elhady congratulates the nominees:
Dalia Mogahed explains:
@DMogahed: Nomination of @Ghonim and Israa for Nobel Peace prize is international community's way of giving props to #EgyptianRevolution as a whole.
Gigi Ibrahim asks:
@GSquare86: Whatever happened to nominating the Egyptian people of the revolution to the noble peace prize ?!!
And Ahmed Hassan Tantawy sums it up as follows:
@Tantawist: Many egyptian activists are jealous from Ghonim,Esraa & 6 April for being nominated for Nobel peace prize…what a shame #Fail #Egypt
Ghonim, in particular, came under fire for the nomination.
Arabista chimes:
@Arabista: @JustAmira #Ghonim doesn't deserve it. There are so many nameless heroes who were much more courageous. Hes just a better self publicist
And Tom Gara comes to Ghonim's defense saying:
@tomgara: @Arabista Really unfair to say that, the guy doesnt media whore in the slightest. Declines almost all foreign media requests. @JustAmira
Tarek Shalaby attempts an explanation.
@tarekshalaby: People underestimate the immense pressure on @Ghonim since his release and especially now with the nomination. He didn't choose any of this.
Mohammed Abdelfattah adds:
@mfatta7: All the support to @Ghonim and wishing to see him win the Nobel prize. A man of our generation is a pride for all of us.
Meanwhile, Libyan Ghazi Gheblawi has other concerns. He tweets:
@Gheblawi: Hope #Nobel peace prize stays away from Arab revolutions, credibility been tarnished many times, fear it trivialise genuine freedom struggle

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Black Scholars Who Make a Specialty of Asian Studies · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

The Black Tokyo blog writes about the rich history of Asia studies by African-American scholars. “I want to follow the path of Blacks that have made it possible for other Blacks to provide information on Asia, in my case Japan, from an Afro perspective.“


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Bolivia: Cochabamba Vigil in Protest of Police Repression · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

A vigil was held in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba in protest of the September 25 police repression of the indigenous march in defense of the TIPNIS. Photo-blogger Stephany Eguino of the blog Pale Angel [es] captured the images of the gathering.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Bolivia: Police Repression is a Violation of Human Rights · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Cristina Quisbert of the blog Bolivia Indígena [es] writes about the police repression of the TIPNIS indigenous marchers as a day that “will remain recorded in the history of indigenous communities as a nefarious day in the violation of their human rights.”


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Caribbean: Bloggers Saddened by Wangari Mathai’s Death  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bloggers from Jamaica, Barbados and the Bahamas mourn the death of “The great African (Kenyan) environmentalist…and the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize, Wangari Maathai”.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Caribbean: Commonwealth Competition Winners  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Caribbean Book Blog has all the details on this year's Commonwealth Short Story Competition winners, with writers from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago being recognized.


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Chile: Students Protest Mayor’s Decision · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Erwin at The Latin Americanist updates readers on the student movement: “Last week Cristian Labbe, mayor of Providencia, ordered the suspension of the school year and permitted police to remove student protesters who have been residing on local campuses.[…]” Labbe also declared that students who lived outside of Providencia would not be allowed to enroll. “At least sixteen people were arrested this morning [September 26] after clashes between police and individuals upset at Labbe’s edict” Erwin reports.