text:
Ecuador Cancels Visa for a Franco-Brazilian Journalist Assaulted During Protest · Global Voices
Gina Yauri

Screen capture that shows police forcefully arresting Franco-Brazilian journalist Manuela Picq, August 13.
Detained, beaten-up and threatened with deportation: Franco-Brazilian journalist Manuela Picq experienced the rough edges of Ecuador's political system after attending an anti-government rally this month backed by union bosses and indigenous leaders.
Although an Ecuadorian judge last week rejected the authorities’ request to deport Picq, sending it back to the Ministry of Interior for re-consideration, Picq elected to leave the country, pledging to return and fight her case at a later date.
Outrageously, the government claimed Picq's visa had long ago expired, implying she was staying in the country illegally:
La certificación de movimientos migratorios indica que Manuela Picq registra el ingreso al país, el 26 de febrero del 2012, con una visa 12 VIII, y un plazo de 180 días para su permanencia. La visa que la ciudadana extranjera mantenía actualmente se encuentra revocada por parte del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores.
The migratory flows certification shows that Manuela Picq entered the country on February 26, 2012, with a visa 12 VIII with a stay period of 180 days. The visa that the foreign citizen had has been revoked by the Ministry of External Affairs.
The official report of Manuela Picq's arrest on the Ecuadorian Ministry of Interior webpage states the journalist was being assaulted by unknown people when the national police came to her aid and gave her medical and psychological assistance.
The newspaper El Comercio shared a video in which the detention downtown in the national capital Quito can be clearly seen:
Picq — an academic and regular contributor to Al Jazeera — was subsequently taken to Hospital Eugenio Espejo. At 11 pm local time 50 police officers arrived outside the emergency ward.
Among the police officers, there were some carrying anti-riot oarlocks and shields, the newspaper El Comercio reported.
In the video below, filmed by police, Picq explains that she received assistance from the National Police and the Ministry of Public Health and at no point reveals any attack.
The following day, however, Picq wrote on her Facebook page that her visa had been cancelled.
The journalist, who has been living in Ecuador for eight years, alleged police violence in an interview with the newspaper El Comercio:
Mi visa caduca el 28 de este mes y es anual, que se renueva cada año. Es un documento totalmente legal, vigente que fue cancelado de forma arbitraria y abrupta esta mañana. Ayer, yo no estuve ilegal y me arrestaron sin ninguna razón, nunca me detuvieron con motivos… En lo humano, lo que siento es una mezcla de varias cosas. Me dieron un toletazo en la cara; perdí la visión del ojo izquierdo por varias horas ayer noche, por suerte estoy bien. Me golpearon duro, me trataron como criminal solo por caminar en las calles.
My visa expires on the 28th of this month and it is renewed on an annual basis. It is certainly a legal and valid document that was cancelled arbitrarily and abruptly this morning. Yesterday, I was not staying illegally and I was arrested without any reason, there were no causes for my detention…As a human being, I feel a mixture of many things; I received a strike with a gun to my face, I lost my left eye vision for several hours last night, thankfully I'm OK. I was beaten up badly, I was treated like a criminal only for walking the streets.
Her case promptly reached the crowdsourcing petitioner Change.org under the headline Stop the Deportation of Manuela Picq.
The letter, which raises alarm over the violent treatment accorded to Picq, is addressed to President Rafael Correa and has gathered more than 8,000 signatures.
On the blog Periodismo de las Américas, Natalia Mazotte wrote:
La hostilidad hacia los periodistas, medios de comunicación y activistas se ha incrementado en Ecuador, y los ataques a la libertad de expresión son cada vez más frecuentes. La ONG Fundamedios en su informe ‘Víctimas del clima de hostilidad en Ecuador’ mostró un aumento en los ataques contra la prensa y activistas”.
Hostility to journalists, the media and activists has increased in Ecuador, and attacks on freedom of expression are becoming more frequent. The NGO Fundamedios, in its report Victims of the Hostile Climate in Ecuador demonstrates an increase in attacks on the media.
Picq's problems may have come about due to her relationship with a prominent indigenous leader present at the protest, Carlos Pérez Guartambel.
Guartambel leads the Confederation of Peoples of Kichwa of Ecuador (Ecuarunari) and is also Picq's life partner. Ecuarunari is affiliated to a broader indigenous movement represented by the Confederation of the Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), that backed workers’ calls for the protest.
The indigenous leader, who has inflamed the government by leading opposition towards several mining projects, told journalists that what had happened to Picq was part of a concerted government campaign of threats and intimidation against him and his organisation.
The rally saw more than 70 persons arrested throughout the country.
Manuela Picq has since announced that she will try to obtain a visa to return to Ecuador and that she will file a law suit against the government before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to investigate the crime of violation of constitutional rights and migration.

author: Gina Yauri


text:
The Story of Salim Alaradi, a Canadian National of Libyan Origin Detained in the UAE · Global Voices
Faten Bushehri

A photograph of Salim Alaradi taken from the official Twitter account created for him @freesalimaradi.
Seventeen-year-old Libyan-Canadian Marwa Salim Alaradi is leading an online crusade to rescue her father from prison. It has been almost one year since Libyan-born Canadian Salim Alaradi was detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for unknown reasons, with no charges or access to a lawyer. He was arrested on August 28 of last year.
The 46-year-old man immigrated with his family to Canada from the UAE in 1998. He lived in Vancouver until 2007, when he decided to return to the Middle East to run a home appliance business with his brother in the UAE.
He was vacationing with his family in the UAE last August when he was called to go down to the hotel reception where he was staying for a quick questioning by security services, and hasn't returned since.
On July 28, Alaradi's detention has been extended for 30 more days for the 11th time since he was arrested on August 28 of last year, according to the website freesalialaradi.com.
On August 7, a coalition of national organizations, including Amnesty International, CODEPINK and Libyan Canadian Community Organization, have called on Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to intervene.
Open Letter @pmharper #cndpoli urgent #FreeSalimAlaradi signed @ICLMG @AlexNeveAmnesty http://t.co/6VEqfMVgIr pic.twitter.com/iZEQK2Ijfr
— Free Salim Alaradi (@freesalimaradi) August 9, 2015
Alaradi is the father of five children. Marwa is the oldest. She is followed by Nur, 15; Mohamed, 13; Rayhana, seven; and Yasmin, four.
His daughter Marwa took the lead in fighting for her father's case and made it her mission to work for his release. She created pages and accounts on all social media platforms to advocate and shed light on Alaradi's story. Marwa tells the story in her own words:
What Happened to Salim?
During their vacation, Alaradi received a call from the hotel reception where he was staying, asking him to go down to the lobby to be questioned regarding a matter. Alaradi did as he was told and was then abruptly taken from the hotel. For two months and 11 days, the family knew nothing about his whereabouts, charges against him, or if he was even alive. They finally received a phone call from him, and then a few other phone calls. In his first phone call Marwa says he just kept saying
“I am OK there is nothing wrong”. Like all calls from prison, it was monitored and Alaradi could not talk much about himself.
“He thought my grandmother had passed away and was very emotional. Somehow he was given that impression,” says Marwa.
About five months later his wife was allowed to visit him, and that is when she noticed a burn mark on his hand. That visit has triggered family concerns that he has been tortured at an Abu Dhabi prison where he's being held with no charges.
Daughter Marwa told Global Voices Online:
Our understanding is that in these illegal detentions the UAE State Security releases people when the marks of torture heal. We know that my father was tortured, however, this leaves us with a very difficult situation as it could mean either he was extremely tortured or they continue to torture him.
Alaradi was among 10 Libyan businessmen who were arrested around the same time, including his brother Mohammed Alaradi, and his business partner. Both his brother and business partner were released in December after having spent four months in prison. The family stayed in the UAE hoping that Alaradi would soon be released, and the case would be resolved. Seven months later with no progress, the family moved in with relatives in Windsor city in Ontario, Canada, where they continue to work for his release from there.
Political Involvement and Link to the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood
According to the official website dedicated to Alaradi, he has no political affiliations and isn't currently active. His political activism did not exceed support for the Libyan revolution against Muammar Al Gaddafi, like millions of others, including the Emirati Royal family, says the website:
The UAE fully supported the revolution and Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Charity and Abu Dhabi Khairia Charity both supplied medical treatment and humanitarian aid to Libya.
However, his brother Abdelrazag Alaradi has been more involved, and according to Marwa was a member of the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood, contrary to her father who she says was never involved in politics.
In 2014, the UAE listed the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as a terrorist organization, and that included al-Islah local group for its alleged link to the MB. It is unclear, however, whether the arrest of Alaradi has anything to do with his brother's affiliation and activity.
Who Is Salim Alaradi?
Kenneth Aquan-Assee puts it simply on Twitter:
#SalimAlaradi Canadian in #UAE prison Nocharges No action from #CanPM Harper! A pathetic leader!
— Kenneth Aquan-Assee (@3kenken3) August 11, 2015
Alaradi completed his elementary and secondary school in Libya where he was born. He then continued his undergraduate studies in business and earned a masters degree in business administration. He always had interest in entrepreneurship and started a small business in Vancouver that expanded globally. On the website created by his daughter, Alaradi's ambition is to “develop a Canadian brand while penetrating international markets.”
What's Going on Now?
A father of five gone for about a year has had its toll on his family. Marwa says her mother has been going through difficult times trying to normalize their life as much as she can.
We've told my younger siblings that my father is on a business trip. My brother knew about my father's case recently and he was heart broken he couldn't believe it. My brother Mohammed and my sister Nur are both trying to help me.
Yet his case remains on hold. The Canadian foreign affairs officials told Alaradi's family they are concerned about him and doing everything possible to get him out without really explaining what exactly has been done.
I have no doubt that the UAE State Security are not cooperating. They have kidnapped my father, interrogated and tortured him. They have denied him his basic human rights.
However, Marwa says she has faith in the Emirati royal family, and is sure they would have resolved this had they known about her father's case.
I am sure that if the UAE rulers knew what the State Security is doing they would bring this to an end. Our family lived their many years and we loved the UAE and we could not imagine something like this would happen to us or anyone.
Marwa urges the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to intervene and make a call to the highest levels in the UAE Government and arrange for her father's release. She says she is surprised Canada would allow this to happen when over 40,000 Canadians live in the UAE.
Alaradi was held in a secret prison from August until December of last year. He was then moved in January to a special wing at Whatba Prison in Abu Dhabi.
His family has tried to get lawyers but none have accepted to take on the case mainly because they can't defend him until he is charged, but also because many don't want to risk of getting involved with the national state security.
As for Marwa, she had to learn the tricks of the trade quickly to keep her father's case alive online. She explains:
I wasn’t very active online before this. I have had to learn so much. I am getting help from my relatives. At the beginning, I did some research of other campaigns that were on the internet. I have tried to figure out how they did it and copy them. I also got some tips from the family of another campaign.
I have come a long way in knowing how to write good tweets and making time every day to do it. The same goes for Facebook and the website.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Faten Bushehri


text:
Think You’re So Clever, Wikipedia? Russian Censors Are Blocking You Anyway · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Despite Wikipedia's attempts to circumvent Russian censorship, the Kremlin seems intent on blocking the website. Images mixed by Tetyana Lokot.
Russia's Internet watchdog is apparently not impressed with Wikipedia's attempts to combat censorship. On Saturday, August 22, Wikipedia made a daring move to avoid taking down content at the request of the censors—but now, it seems, the website is bound for a ban despite the cunning loophole.
On August 20 Roskomnadzor, the Kremlin's media censor, announced that it had ordered Wikipedia to remove Russian Internet users’ access to an article about charas hashish, which a court in Astrakhan banned last June. If Wikipedia refused to comply with the order, it would be banned entirely, officials said. Wikipedia refused to comply with the request and instead made a small change to the URL of the charas hashish article, technically putting it in compliance with Russian law. The old page now features a list of seven different Wikipedia entries on the various meanings of the word “charas,” while the original text about charas hashish is completely intact, but is now accessible at a new URL on the encyclopedia's website.
On Monday, August 24, Izvestia reported that Roscomnadzor was still intent on blocking Wikipedia (see update at bottom of post) for refusing to abide by Russian laws and not deleting the Russian-language article about charas hashish.
According to Izvestia‘s sources within the agency, some Internet experts, including Denis Davydov of the pro-Kremlin Safe Internet League, accused Wikipedia's Russian office of engaging in “political activity” instead of “bringing knowledge to the world,” as a “free encyclopedia” should. Roscomnadzor suggested this gave them no other choice but to block Wikipedia, acting in accordance with the earlier court ruling.
Roscomnadzor's press-office also said they didn't intend to block the whole website, and would be able to only block the offending content and pages, provided Wikipedia's management “cooperated” and removed the HTTPS encryption protocol that puts the whole website in danger of being blocked.
Wikipedia's Russian office reacted to the news on Twitter early on Monday.
Доброе утро, страна! Возможно, это наше с вами последнее утро.
— Русская Википедия (@ru_wikipedia) August 24, 2015
Good morning, country! This might well be our last morning with you!
Wikipedia stood by its decision to not take down the article, which it claims to have revised in accordance with the website’s internal quality standards (with information “based on credible sources”). Izvestia also cites Wikipedia as saying they do not plan to remove the HTTPS encryption protocol from the website, since “no state institutions or ISPs should have the means to know what the website's users are reading.”
Vladimir Medeyko, head of Wikimedia RU, told Izvestia that should the website be blocked, the RuNet users will still be able to access the online encyclopedia, as “there are lots of ways to read blocked websites.”
Если государство заблокирует «Википедию», то оно сделает хуже только себе.
If the state [Russia] blocks Wikipedia, it will only make things worse for itself.
News about Russian censors adding pages from websites like YouTube and Wikipedia to the country's Internet blacklist are now an almost daily occurrence, so it's probably safe to say that websites will continue to come up with interesting ways of circumventing censorship and remaining accessible to Russians—and Roscomnadzor will keep trying to find new pretexts to block them.
Update (8:26 PM GMT, August 24, 2015): Roscomnadzor has officially added the Wikipedia URL for the charas article to its banned websites registry. Wikipedia responded by publishing a page with instructions on how to circumvent the block and said it would be allowing Russian-language administrators and reviewers to edit the website using anonymizing proxy services and Tor.

author: Tanya Lokot


text:
‘Why Does the Thai Government Want to Destroy Krabi With Coal Power Plant?’ · Global Voices
Wanwadee Erawan

Community protest against a coal project in southern Thailand. Photo from the Facebook page of “Save Andaman from Coal”
Many residents of Krabi, a popular tourism province in southern Thailand, are opposing the government's plan to build a coal plant close to their homes.
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), an electric power transmission and generation authority owned by the Thai Ministry of Energy, proposed in early 2014 to build a coal-fired power plant with a capacity of 870 megawatts in Krabi.
Furthermore, it recommended the construction of a coal seaport in Nuea Khlong, which is also located in Krabi.
The construction is part of the government's energy plan called Power Development Plan 2010 to boost the country's power supply. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha warned that if the plan has not been realised and that Thai citizens might therefore have to bear higher electricity costs.
Krabi residents have immediately expressed concern about the possible detrimental impact of the plant to the local environment. They pointed out that the shipment of a large amount of coal and the construction of a massive port could harm the coastal area of Krabi, which is a protected RAMSAR site.
RAMSAR is an international convention which identifies wetlands that needed to be conserved to sustain global biodiversity.
Residents are also worried that the coal plant could also harm the health of the local population. Groups opposed to the project have claimed that the public hearing conducted by the project's backers covered only a small number of people.
A drawing of ‘Protect Krabi, No Coal’ campaign depicting protesters in a civil disobedience activity. Image from the Facebook page of “Save Andaman from Coal”
A local villager said that the community was not properly consulted about the project:
We did not know that there was even a public hearing though the power plant was to be constructed behind my backyard, we thought it was an elephant show. For the second public hearing, they just cancelled the event when more and more people came. During the third public hearing, there were as many as 500 police officers there, the event was postponed, but the community still has doubts.
According to the regulations of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, any power plant project slated for more than 100 megawatts of capacity must first be subjected to an Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) before it is granted a government license.
Last August 5, a letter was signed by 42 organizations and 52 individuals asking the government to scrap the project. They reminded authorities that the region's energy security is stable and it even registered a surplus in power supply. The letter has three demands:
Environmentalists are worried that the coal project will pollute Andaman Sea. Image from the Facebook page of “Save Andaman from Coal”
- The government should conduct more public consultations about the country's energy policies, specifically the use of coal in building power plants;
- The government should suspend the bidding for the Krabi coal plant pending the issuance of the EHIA; and
- The government should nullify the results of previous consultations. The next round of public hearings must be done in a transparent manner.
Local electricity producers also asserted that there are other options than coal like the use of renewable energy. They also wanted the government to address the lack of connectivity grids which is a major obstacle in delivering electricity across the country.
Akradej Chakjinda, a campaigner from Save Andaman from Coal wrote on his Facebook page about the struggle of Krabi residents to protect the integrity of their local environment:
Why does the Thai government want to destroy Krabi with a coal [burning] power plant?
Krabi has a vision and mission to be a green city. The people of Krabi also want to protect Krabi nature and the environment for the sustainability of local communities.
Krabi has a choice! We can sustain ourselves with renewable energy. Why choose coal? Thus, we would like to ask all of you — Krabi lover, to help us shout out #krabinocoal and #protectkrabi. Let our voices be heard by the Thai government!

author: Wanwadee Erawan


text:
Everyday People Put Solidarity Into Action Helping Refugees in Greece · Global Voices
Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni

Piraeus, Greece. 21 August 2015 — Syrian refugees, 2.176 in total, arrive at Piraeus harbor aboard the Eleftherios Venizelos, a special vessel chartered by the Greek government. Photo by Wassilis Aswestopoulos. Copyright Demotix
As Greece replaces Italy as the main European gateway for refugees fleeing their war-torn homelands, the country is battling to cope with the huge influx of souls at a time when it doesn't have much to give. Its economy remains severely strained. Following embattled Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ resignation, Greeks will once again go to the polls to elect a parliament — the fourth vote be held in less than three and a half years.
Given the lack of a unified European Union policy on migrants, Greece isn't finding much support from its European neighbors, either.
Almost 1,000 lives reach Greek shores every day, of which 60% are from Syria, according to the United Nations refugee agency. The Eastern and North Aegean Islands of Kos, Kalymnos, Leros, Chios and Lesbos have become temporary shelter for thousands arriving in dinghies from the sea.
The islands, many of which are tourist destinations, don't have the infrastructure and means to serve so many people. Additionally, local residents are not always in a welcoming mood.
Nevertheless, the deus ex machina in this case is not the government, but local residents and activists from near and far who are gathering food, medicine, clothes, toys and other equipment for the refugees. Many of them are using Facebook and Twitter (#refugeesGr) to spread the word.
Many older islanders have memories of the 1922 Catastrophe of Smyrna (modern Izmir in Turkey), when a great fire led countless Asia Minor refugees to flee to the same neighboring islands on the Greek side. The vast majority of local residents are descendants of those refugees.
Giorgos Tyrikos-Ergas, a member of NGO Agkalia (Hug), posted to Facebook on August 20 a brief personal account of what he witnesses every day helping refugees arriving to Lesbos Island. His post has been shared over 2,540 times and has more than 5,870 likes:
Nα βάζεις στο χέρι Σύρου πρόσφυγα πενήντα ευρώ και εκείνος να μη τα δέχεται με τίποτα λέγοντας “εγώ είμαι ένας, θα τα καταφέρω, δώσε τα σε μια οικογένεια”. Να συζητάς νύχτα στην Αγκαλιά που δεν έχει ρεύμα για την “Καρδιά του Σκότους” του Κόνραντ παρέα με Πακιστανό καθηγητή Αγγλικής Φιλολογίας από το Πανεπιστήμιο της Λαχώρης. Να σου απαγγέλλει νεαρός Αφγανός στίχους της Σαπφούς και να σου λέει πως λυπάται που ήρθε βρώμικος πρόσφυγας στο νησί της. […] Να σχολάει dj από τη νυχτερινή του βάρδια σε μπαρ, να τον πετυχαίνεις εφτά η ώρα το πρωί ξενύχτη και να σου δίνει εβδομήντα ευρώ, ο,τι έβγαλε ολόκληρο το βράδυ “για να βοηθήσω τους ανθρώπους” και να φεύγει χαμογελώντας κάνοντας και μια σούζα. […] Να έρχεται Έλληνας μετανάστης από Γερμανία και να σου λέει πεταχτά ενώ χάνεσαι πως θα πάει να προπληρώσει φρούτα και να καταλαβαίνεις πως σου πλήρωσε τα φρούτα όλου του επόμενου μήνα και βάλε και να μην ξέρεις καν το όνομά του να πεις ευχαριστώ. Να σου στέλνει μήνυμα ο Σύριος με την υπέροχη οικογένεια που πέρασε από την Αγκαλιά πριν ένα μήνα και να σου λέει “είμαστε Γερμανία, τα καταφέραμε, είμαστε ζωντανοί”. Είπα να μην κάνω άλλη ανάρτηση για αυτήν την εβδομάδα, μα τέτοια πράγματα αν δεν τα μοιραστώ θα σκάσω…Καταστάσεις που δεν είχαμε τη δύναμη να φανταστούμε. Αλήθεια δεν έχω δικαίωμα να μην πω τι ζούμε, τα καλά και τα κακά, δεν έχω το δικαίωμα.
Handing a Syrian refugee 50 euros and he won't accept it, saying “I am just one, I will make it through, give it to a family”. Discussing “The Heart of Darkness” by Conrad with a Pakistani professor of English literature from the University of Lahore throughout the night at the Agkalia [building] without electricity. An Afghan youngster reciting Sappho‘s verses and telling you he's sorry he arrived to the island as a dirty refugee. […] Α DJ finishing his nightclub shift, meeting him 7 o’ clock in the morning, sleepless, and he gives you 70 euros, his daily earnings, “to help the people” and leaves smiling on his motorcycle. […] A Greek immigrant from Germany coming and telling you quickly that he is going to prepay for fruit and moments later, you understand that he prepaid the fruit for the whole next month and more and you don't even know his name to say thank you. Receiving a message from that Syrian guy with the wonderful family that passed by Agkalia a month ago and learn that “we are in Germany, we made it, we are alive”. I said I wouldn't post anything else for this week, but I cannot help but share those things…We didn't have the power to imagine such situations. Honestly, I don't have the right to stop recounting what we are witnessing, good or bad, I don't have this right.
His grandmother, Eleni Pavlou, had told him about her family's connections to Syria. Giorgos retold her memories to journalist Anthi Pazianou from news site Efsyn:
Οι δικοί μου, πρόσφυγες στον Β’ Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο στη Συρία, έζησαν γιατί επί έξι χρόνια βρήκαν ένα πιάτο φαΐ. Είμαι ζωντανή χάρη στην αλληλεγγύη τους. Δεν ξεχνώ, τους το χρωστώ και είμαι εδώ για να βοηθήσω.
My family, refugees to Syria during World War II, managed to survive because they had a “dish to eat” during those six years. I am alive thanks to their [Syrian] solidarity. I don't forget, I owe it to them and I am here to help.
The NGO is run by four active volunteers at the moment, led by priest Papa-Stratis, who is featured in a short clip entitled “A Good Samaritan in Greece” by the UN refugee agency:
Still on Lesbos, another citizen collective has intensified its activities at the transit Kara Tepe Camp, which houses 3,000 people and where it was reported during July that the “situation is particularly dire; until a few days ago only five toilets and two showers were operational”.
Social kitchen “O Allos Anthropos” (The Other Man) distributes “Free Food For All”:
The Allos Anthropos social kitchen cooks for refugees in Kara Tepe. 2,000 portions in 6 hrs yday #Lesvos pic.twitter.com/fCp5PcmSym
— Asteris Masouras 正义 (@asteris) August 21, 2015
The group shared a collection of photos on their Facebook Page. A short commentary on their blog reads:
Πολλοι το βλεπουν σαν φιλανθρωπια,αλλοι το βλεπουν σαν ελεημοσυνη,αλλοι σαν σισιτιο,αλλοι λυπουντε,αλλοι και τι να κανουμε,αλλοι βριζουν εγω ενα εχω να πω και ας διαφωνητε με αυτο.ΔΕΝ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΦΙΛΑΝΘΡΩΠΙΑ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΑΛΛΗΛΕΓΓΥΗ ΑΠΟ ΟΛΟΥΣ ΓΙΑ ΟΛΟΥΣ ΜΕ ΤΗΝ ΣΥΜΕΤΟΧΗ ΟΛΩΝ ΑΚΟΜΑΚΑΙ ΤΩΝ ΠΡΟΣΦΥΓΩΝ,ΕΙΝΑΙ ΣΕΒΑΣΜΟΣ ΑΠΟ ΟΛΟΥΣ ΓΙΑ ΟΛΟΥΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΚΑΙ ΑΓΑΠΗ ΑΟ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΥΣ ΓΙΑ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΥΣ ΧΩΡΙΣ ΔΙΑΚΡΙΣΕΙΣ ΣΤΟ ΧΡΩΜΑ,ΣΤΗΝ ΕΘΝΙΚΟΤΗΤΑ,ΣΤΗΝ ΘΡΗΣΚΕΙΑ.
Many see it as charity, others see it as alms to the poor, others as soup kitchens, others feel sorry, others say what can we do, others curse. I have one thing to say, even if you disagree with this. It's not charity, it's solidarity from everybody to anybody: everyone participates, even the refugees. It's respect from everyone to anyone. It's also love from human beings to human beings regardless of skin color, ethnicity or religion.
On Kos Island, Symmaxia (“Coalition”) volunteers offered their help at the abandoned Captain Elias Hotel, which acts as a shelter to many refugees who have arrived to the island during the last weeks:
Today, Sunday, Symmaxia volunteers distributed food to almost 700 refugees and immigrants at Captain Elias. We hope soon the rest of the refugees currently at the port will be informed, so everybody will be fed at the hotel, they don't need to be in public squares near the port.
The UK's Channel 4 News invites Facebook users to “meet the retired British nurse helping out with the growing humanitarian crisis in Kos island”:
At Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece, the Refugee Solidarity Movement says it is “ensuring food security and basic supplies for refugees“. With the recent violence against refugees at the Greek-Macedonia border, volunteers went to the Greek border village of Eidomeni to hand out water, food, clothes and sanitary items.
Θεσσαλονίκη Συλλογή τροφίμων, φαρμάκων και ειδών πρώτης ανάγκης για #refugeesGr#antireporthttps://t.co/oxReFkn338pic.twitter.com/P9gjOwVFwB
— Dimitris Plastiras (@dplastir) August 22, 2015
Thessaloniki. We gather food, medicine and first aid items for #refugeesGr
Giving out supplies to refugees on the Greek- FYR Macedonian border. #flickrhttps://t.co/kQfQsQnBOB
— Teacher Dude (@teacherdude) August 23, 2015
Around 170 people who took shelter during the previous month at Pedion Areos park in Athens have been relocated now to Refugee Hosting Center in Elaionas. Many of them will seek asylum in other European countries as well as try to locate friends and neighbours already residing abroad.
At the center, one child illustrated the refugee experience of crossing the sea. Twitter user @epan_e_kinisi shared the drawing, a reminder that behind the numbers are thousands upon thousands of innocent human beings deserving of help:
Ζωγραφιά απο προσφυγάκι στο κέντρο Φιλοξενίας Προσφύγων Ελαιώνα. H ανθρωπιά κ η ελπίδα δεν έχουν πατρίδα. #refugeesGr pic.twitter.com/VNULnXGGl5
— ₯M@rios (@epan_e_kinisi) August 22, 2015
Drawing by a refugee kid at Elaionas Refugee Hosting Center. Humanity and hope do not have national borders.

author: Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni


text:
Australian National TV Airs Lewd Twitter Handle About Prime Minister · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Screenshot courtesy Twitter user @kobijv (Kobi J A VanBennekom )
It seems that hardly a day passes without Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR) becoming the eye of a media storm. The latest controversy involves the media itself, both old and new.
State-owned Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has apologised for allowing the words ‘AbbottLovesAnal’ to be broadcast during an episode of popular TV program Q&A, in which a panel of public figures answer questions from the audience. The ‘offensive’ phrase was a Twitter handle; the program, which is broadcast live, features an onscreen feed of tweets from viewers who participate under the hashtag #qanda.
The tweet itself read:
i prefer ones twitter feed to their biographies #qanda
At Mashable Australia, editor Jenni Ryall (@jennijenni) explained that it is the second time this year that the ABC TV program Q&A has offended the PM.
In June, the program came under fire for having controversial figure, Zaky Mallah, in its audience. He told the panel that politicians were causing Australians to leave and join the Islamic State.
Mallah was charged in 2003 under Australia's anti-terrorism laws but found not guilty. The earlier episode involved Mallah's question to a parliamentary secretary (junior minister) about his case. In June 2015 Prime Minister Abbott asked “Which side is the ABC on?” adding that “heads should roll” because the ABC had rerun the program without censorship.
Can't believe #abbottlovesanal is trending in Aus. Isn't #qanda in enough strife without adding #analgate to it. pic.twitter.com/C3CcUqGe0M
— Kobi J A VanBennekom (@kobijv) August 24, 2015
The Twitterverse responded to ABC's latest faux pas under a number of hashtags including: #AbbottLovesAnal, #QandA or just a ‘Q&A‘ search. Perhaps this comment best captures the Twitter noise:
#AbbottLovesAnal I have nothing to add I just want this to continue trending.
— Keegs (@keegs) August 25, 2015
A detailed analysis is beyond the scope of this post, so please explore the links.
Meanwhile the offending Twitter account has been removed. At this stage it's not clear whether it is an unlikely case of self-censorship or action by Twitter itself.
ABC management seems to have learnt a political lesson from the earlier controversy. It did not remove the tweet from its program repeats or online iview version, but blacked out the contentious twitter handle.
Satire site The Shovel mirrored what was happening in realpolitik but joked about the futility of attempts to muzzle the media:
After a terse phone call from Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the ABC has agreed to remove the offending tweet from repeats of the episode, to ensure those who watched the live broadcast are the only people to see the tweet.“I think through our swift actions we’ve managed to stop this from growing further,” a Government spokesperson said.
If the old cliché about all publicity being good publicity is correct, then the Abbott government should easily win the next election.

author: Kevin Rennie


text:
Chinese Cultural Revolution Sci-Fi Wins Hugo Awards’ Best Novel Prize · Global Voices
John Kennedy

2015 Hugo Awards Best Novel goes to Chinese writer Liu Cixin. Image: Book covers of Liu's first two work in his trilogy.
This year's fan-selected Hugo award for best novel goes to The Three-Body Problem, the first part of a trilogy by former engineer Liu Cixin.
Translated by American author Ken Liu, this is the first year the prestigious sci-fi prize has gone to a Chinese or even Asian author, and the first time a translated work has taken the prize.
First published in 2006 as a series in a local science magazine, Three-Body is a story of an alien invasion set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, pitching humans who side with the aliens against those who defend the human race—with some outside assistance.
Though the quality of writing hasn't been disputed by readers, Liu's win wasn't for his novel alone. A strictly homogeneous group of U.S. writers and readers had made concerted efforts to skew vote results to keep the award within their circle according to the perceived political leanings of the writers. But the “Rabid Puppies” campaign backfired when their efforts prompted their preferred frontrunner, Marko Kloos, to withdraw his nomination earlier this year and distance himself from the group, leaving Liu the voters’ choice.
小狗团体刷雨果奖的票没想到刷出来一个他们最不喜欢的结果，也挺讽刺的。虽然三体粉刷票和小狗团体刷法也差不多。顺便说我还是很讨厌在单纯的作品评选上搞政治正确。但小狗们确实玩过了。无论因为啥反正大陆作家确实第一次得到雨果奖，也算是个好事。
— virushuo (@virushuo) August 23, 2015
It's pretty ironic that the Puppies brigade tried to rig the Hugo Awards vote and ended up with an even less desirable outcome. That said, there wasn't much difference in the way Three-Body fans tried to swarm the voting. I can't stand it when works are judged solely for political correctness, but the Puppies really took it too far. In any case, it can't be that bad when it's the first time ever a mainland Chinese author has won a Hugo.
In China, interest in Three-Body now has been less focused on the Puppies campaign failure and more on details of the film adaptation, which began production in March this year. Fans fear a domestic production won't give the film the high-budget Hollywood treatment they feel it deserves.
Author Liu Cixin, who is also executive producer of the film, said in interviews that he had no time to wait for a Hollywood deal given the strong possibility the planet will be destroyed by aliens at any moment. However, Liu also pointed to films such as Japan Sinks, saying that the 2006 remake was far inferior to the 1973 original, made free of computer imagery.
Journalist and vocal Three-Body fan Michael Anti says this is simply the price to be paid for such delayed international recognition of the novel.
可惜雨果奖作品《三体》没来得及给好莱坞导演拍，给一个傻逼中国导演在糟蹋中 #获奖太迟的恶果
— Michael Anti (@mranti) August 23, 2015
It's too bad The Three-Body Problem wasn't given a Hugo Award in time for a Hollywood director to sign on to film it, and instead will be ruined by a shitty Chinese director.
The director of the film is Zhang Fanfan, who bought the copyright of the trilogy back in 2009 when Liu started repackaging the serial into book form. Many are skeptical of the upcoming movies as the production team is not considered the best that the Chinese film sector has to offer.
The Hugo award is likely to bring the book readers from outside the sci-fi community. Another sci-fi writer, Baoshu, worries that critics will ruin Liu:
真心觉得大刘不容易，以前自己想写什么写什么，现在吸引太多人的注意，新作写出来如果不严谨给硬科幻迷骂，文笔没有逼格给文评家骂，塑造的女性不如意给女权骂，设想的未来不够普世价值给右派骂，太普世了也许根本出不了……要真想方方面面周全，就永远写不出新作了。
This puts Liu in a tough spot. Before, he could write whatever he wanted, but now having drawn so much attention, if the science in his next work isn't perfect, he'll get it from his sci-fi fans. If his form isn't spot-on, he'll be hearing it from the literary critics. There'll be heat from the feminists if the women he creates don't meet expectations, as well as from the liberals if the future he imagines isn't liberal enough, though if it's too liberal it won't be any…if he has to take all these demands into account, he'll never write anything again.
Chinese sci-fi readers, many not fans themselves of political correctness, have pointed out the way women and race are portrayed in Third-Body is probably closer to the taste of right-wing Puppies than not.
And then there's an authoritarian aesthetic to which a Chinese director is more likely to stay faithful, writer Star River argued:
@mranti 三体中的科幻颇有可观，作为小说就算了，充满对极权/威权的迷恋。很多科幻来自于对现实的绝望，不可避免有所设计，反映的也就是作者的三观。让孔二狗拍是合理的，属于配套工程吧。
— 星河舰队 (@Stariver) August 23, 2015
The science fiction in Three-Body is truly impressive, but as a novel it's infatuated with totalitarianism and authoritarianism. Much sci-fi comes from despair over reality, at what's inescapable by design, and reflects the author's values and worldview. Which is why it's appropriate to have [investor] Kong Ergou make the film, it'll be part of the same project.
即便刘慈欣的科幻有大量硬伤，剥离其中的三观、文艺部分，他的想象力依然超越同时代的汉语科幻作者甚多。极权对民众智力、想象力、表现力等多方面的剥夺，使中国现代中文创造长期处于极低水平。低劣是作者与受众的共谋，也是极权的烙印。
— 星河舰队 (@Stariver) August 23, 2015
Even with all the dodgy science in Liu Cixin's sci-fi, his values and literary skill aside, his imagination still far surpasses that of other contemporary Chinese sci-fi writers. Authoritarianism strips people of wits, imagination, and ability to express one's self, which has long kept modern Chinese language literature in a very low place. Inferiority is collusion between author and audience, and also the hallmark of authoritarianism.
Liu Di, the dissident and sci-fi writer who uses the pen name Stainless Steel Rat, added:
无节操猜想：三体第一部得奖是因为控诉了文革，后面两部不符合美国人的价值观，没戏
— 刘荻 (@liudimouse) August 23, 2015
Random speculation: the first part of the trilogy was rewarded for denouncing the Cultural Revolution, but as the latter two books don't fit with American values, they don't stand a chance.
The second part of the trilogy, The Dark Forest, was published in English just this month, and the final part is in translation now.
Liu Cixin, writing this week at an online forum popular with Tsinghua university students and alumni, had this to say in his notes of thanks:
最想感谢的还是本书的读者，感谢他们分享了我的想象世界，在《The Three Body Problem》和其后的两部续集中，展现了一个最糟的宇宙，但像其它的科幻小说一样，在其中人类是做为一个整体出现的，面对着共同的危机和挑战，面对着共同的未来。在宇宙中做为一个整体的而出现的人类，是科幻小说带给我们最珍贵的感受；事实上，在现实中人类也正在变为一个整体，这不用等到外星人到来，为此，科幻小说做出了微小但宝贵的努力。
Those I'd like to thank most are the readers of these books, for sharing my imaginary world. The Three-Body Problem, along with the following two books, has revealed the worst kind of universe, but as is the case in all sci-fi novels the humans in them come together as one in the face of a common threat and challenge, and a common future. And it's the bringing together of humans as a single entity in the universe that is the beauty sci-fi gives us; in fact, in reality, humans are coming together as one at this very moment; we don't need to wait for the aliens to show up for that.

author: John Kennedy


text:
Dismissal of Mexico Coach Sparks Debate Over Freedom of Speech · Global Voices
Periodismo en las Américas

One of the many memes created by Internet users related to the confrontation between “The Louse” Herrera and reporter Christian Martinoli, which resulted in the dismissal of the Mexico manager.
This post by Mariana Muñoz was originally  published on the blog Periodismo en las Américas and has been reproduced here with authorization.
The recent dismissal of the coach of Mexico's national football team, Miguel Herrera, or “El Piojo” (The Louse), over an alleged assault against a reporter, has sparked a debate throughout the country about the freedom of speech.
Christian Martinoli, a reporter and chronicler of TV Azteca, says Herrera punched him in the neck when they saw each other at an airport in Philadelphia in the United States on July 27, according to the newspaper AS Mexico.
Martinoli also says Herrera's daughter pushed him and yelled at him to leave, as captured in images shared by Univision.
(Video in Spanish)
Herrera tried to fight the reporter and threatened him, saying, “This is what will happen every time I see you!” Martinoli claims.
According to CNN Mexico, the dispute between was triggered by comments Martinoli made after the Mexican team lost a match against Ecuador on June 19. (“What Mexico needs is a manager not a cheerleader—a manager and not a marketer,” Martinoli said on his program TV Azteca.)
The next day at a press conference, Herrera referred to Martinoli's comment, saying, “I will find him and fight him,” although he didn't mention the reporter by name.
Tension between the two then continued on Twitter. On June 21, Martinoli responded to Herrera's comments on his personal account, calling him a “barrabrava” (hooligan). Herrera then hit back, saying he wanted to meet Martinoli somewhere “to work out their differences”:
@martinolimx no soy eso pero ojalá en algún lugar te pueda encontrar. Para arreglar las diferencias
— Miguel Herrera (@MiguelHerreraDT) June 21, 2015
That's not what I'm like but I do hope to meet you somewhere.  To work out our differences
Herrera denies the airport incident and insists that he wouldn't be “so stupid” as to attack a reporter in a US airport.
Herrera's dismissal became official on July 28, when Decio de María, president of the Mexican Football Federation, announced at a press conference that Herrera's lack of respect for the freedom of speech was one of the reasons for his departure:
“La violencia no cabe en la sociedad, en la familia y mucho menos en ningún deporte. Nadie que quiera imponerse con agresiones y no con ideas y conceptos sobre el principio de la libertad de expresión puede ser miembro de la Federación Mexicana de Fútbol”.
Violence has no place in society, family, and especially sports. Anyone wanting to start a fight, or without any idea or concept of the principle of freedom of speech cannot be a member of the Mexican Football federation.
Decio de María acknowledged Herrera's success both on and off the pitch, but announced that “the score cannot come before our statutes, rules, and respect for the freedom of speech.”
That same day, Herrera released a statement offering his apologies to fans, players, directors, and the media. The statement did not address Martinoli.
Some people are beginning to question the way Martinoli has criticized coach Herrera.
Pablo Carrillo, sports reporter for Grupo Imagen Multimedia, wrote on Twitter:
¿Me pregunto también si las formas de narrar deben ser más respetuosas, con sorna, con condimento, pero sin pasarse de la raya? Me cuestiono
— Pablo Carrillo (@CarrilloPablo) July 28, 2015
I wonder also if the ways of storytelling should be more respectful, sarcastically, with relish, but without overdoing it? I have questions about it.
Support for the reporter has also been present on social media recently, with people even creating the hashtag #YoSoyMartinoli (IamMartinoli) to express solidarity for the newscaster. Various reporters such as Paola Rojas of Foro TV, ESPN's David Failteson and León Krauze, and others, have expressed their support for Martinoli on Twitter.
Inadmisible la actitud de @MiguelHerreraDT Mi solidaridad para @martinolimx http://t.co/I5Gvolnc65 — Paola Rojas (@Paola_Rojas_H) July 27, 2015
Unacceptable behavior from @MiguelHerreraDT My solidarity is with @martinolimx

author: Periodismo en las Américas


text:
This Is What Happened When a Ukrainian Film Director Was Sentenced to 20 Years in a Russian Prison · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Protesters outside the Russian embassy in Kiev demand the release of Oleg Sentsov and Aleksander Kolchenko on August 25, 2015. Photo by Inna Sokolovska from Demotix.
A military court in Russia's Rostov-on-the-Don has sentenced Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov to 20 years of hard labor in a high-security prison on charges of planning a “terrorist attack” in Crimea. Sentsov’s co-defendant, Alexander Kolchenko, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. RuNet Echo rounds up the Internet's reactions to the trial, the sentences, and their implications for access to justice in Russia.
Sentsov, a native of Crimea, is an independent film director and pro-Ukrainian activist. He denies all charges made against him and claims that the case is “politically motivated and falsified.” Sentsov has also said that after having been detained by Russian law enforcement, he was tortured, beaten, and threatened with rape while in custody. Russian prosecutors have also disregarded Sentsov's Ukrainian citizenship, claiming he was a Russian national since Crimea “became part of Russia.”
According to the investigation, in the spring of 2014 (shortly after the Russian annexation of Crimea), Oleg Sentsov “gave orders to his co-conspirators” to blow up a Lenin statue in the city of Simferopol in Crimea. Investigators also claimed that Sentsov planned another attack on Simferopol’s eternal flame monument. Kolchenko has been accused of firebombing a United Russia office in Simferopol, a charge he has admitted to, while denying the accusations of “terrorism.”
Earlier in August, more than a thousand members of the European Film Academy, including prominent film directors like Wim Wenders, Ken Loach, and Mike Leigh signed an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin calling for the release of the two men.
When the sentence was read on August 25, the defendants’ only reaction, according to the onlookers, was to smile and start singing the Ukrainian national anthem in the courtroom, as seen in a video that was shared widely on social media.
Kidnapped #Sentsov #Kolchenko hear a guilty verdict, start singing a Ukraine anthemhttps://t.co/iYWNmHC0SFThis is what defiance looks like
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) August 25, 2015
Sentsov has received praise for his conduct in court during the trial, and especially for his poignant “last words” statement befote the verdict was read. Daniel Baer, US Ambassador to OSCE, even coined a new term, “Sentsovian” to express regard for the filmmaker's poise.
Sham trial; sham verdict; sham "court".http://t.co/Rt8wJkHj3tNeologism:Sentsovian: (adj) possessing courage, poise, dignity under duress
— Daniel Baer (@danbbaer) August 25, 2015
Sentsov's final statement was quickly pulled apart into viral quotes shared by Internet users. Some of them even ended up on t-shirts.
Read this & you'll undertsand that #FreeSentsov has more courage than over 100 millions of RU population pic.twitter.com/eLV6OLXT8J
— Andrii Olefirov (@AndriiOlefirov) August 25, 2015
"Greatest sin on Earth in cowardice." Oleh Sentsov sung the anthem while sentenced to 20 yearshttp://t.co/MZwhSDU50M pic.twitter.com/rsvVo7PB2v
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) August 25, 2015
Последнее слово Олега Сенцова разобрали на цитаты pic.twitter.com/tN7Lp4es4Y
— апатия в апатитах (@eskovoroda) August 25, 2015
Oleg Sentsov's final words have been made into quotes [T-shirt: “Why bring up a new generation of slaves?”].
Shortly after the verdict became public, Ukrainians and Russians organized pickets in support of Sentsov and Kolchenko in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and even Moscow. Multiple photos from the gatherings popped up on social media.
At Russia's embassy in Kyiv a protest rally following a guilty verdict for kidnapped #Sentsov & #Kolchenkopic.twitter.com/5VTDe2Veqp
— Hromadske Int. (@Hromadske) August 25, 2015
Остатки человеков вышли на индпикеты в Москве http://t.co/qQ7jsz3Xys #Сенцов #Кольченко pic.twitter.com/q4TMDTrB38
— Грани.Ру (@GraniTweet) August 25, 2015
The few remaining humans came out for individual pickets in Moscow [poster: “Your (jail) terms will be longer”].
#Харьков сейчас возле консульства РФ акция в поддержку О.Сенцова и А.Кольченко pic.twitter.com/dukf7M8iI3
— IT Sector Харьков (@itsector) August 26, 2015
#Kharkiv now near the Russian consulate rally in support of O. Sentsov and A. Kolchenko.
Online reactions from Ukrainian and Russian users were mostly those of shock and anger, although not surprise. Ukrainian officials, like President Petro Poroshenko and UN Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev, were quick to condemn the verdicts.
Тримайся, Олеже. Прийде час, і ті, хто організував над тобою судилище, самі опиняться на лаві підсудних! pic.twitter.com/GwBTIIgSuh
— Петро Порошенко (@poroshenko) August 25, 2015
Hang in there, Oleg. The time will come, and those who organized this sham trial will be sitting in the dock themselves!
Russia? Justice??! Totally incompatible! #FreeKolchenko #FreeSentsov #FreeSavchenko
— Yuriy Sergeyev (@Yuriy_Sergeyev) August 25, 2015
Users compared Sentsov's harsh sentence with other crimes as well as the fates of individuals who they thought got off scot-free when they should have been punished.
А российскому сержанту Зайцеву, который в Крыму украинского майора Карачевского убил, два года всего дали
— MaryEl (@maryel2002) August 25, 2015
And Russian sergeant Zaitsev, who killed Ukrainian major Karachevsky in Crimea, only got two years.
Сенцову за поджог двери Единой России — 20 лет. Кадырову за участие в войне против русских — президентство, звание Героя, иммунитет, деньги
— Руслан Левиев (@RuslanLeviev) August 25, 2015
Sentsov got 20 years for setting a United Russia door on fire. Kadyrov, for participating in a war against Russians, got a presidency, a Hero status, immunity, money.
Some marvelled at the coincidence of Sentsov's verdict going public in Russia the same day that a former Defense Ministry official Evgeniya Vasilyeva was freed from prison on parole, after serving only four months of her five-year jail term for real estate fraud.
Васильевой УДО и вернуть 300 миллионов рублейСенцову 20 лет строго режимабляди
— Никотинка с Бровями (@Yoghikitt) August 25, 2015
Parole and 300 million back for Vasilyeva
20 years of high-security prison for Sentsov
Bastards
Не могу избавиться от мысли, что они специально два таких суда назначили на один день. Чтобы поглумиться.
— Владимир Варфоломеев (@Varfolomeev) August 25, 2015
I can't help but think that they scheduled these two court hearings for the same day on purpose. As a mockery.
Echo of Moscow journalist and columnist Yulia Latynina surprised many when she said on air that she thought the Russian state had “fairly serious proof” of Sentsov's guilt and that it was justified in going “berserk” and “imprisoning a man not for what he did but for denying he did it.” After a wave of consternation from social network users and fellow journalists, Latynina relented and conceded that the sentence was “insane” and that she was “ashamed” that her country was “punishing people with 20 years” in jail for being “patriots of Ukraine.”
Some RuNet users saw Sentsov and Kolchenko's trial as a fitting illustration of the overall struggle for justice in Russia, often exemplified by the fact that the statue of Themis, the goddess of Justice, in Moscow is missing the proverbial blindfold.
Украинский терроризм звучит так же, как российское правосудие.
— Дно Новороссии  (@NANOROSSIA) August 25, 2015
Ukrainian terrorism sounds very similar to Russian justice.
Напомню, что у российской Фемиды нет повязки на глазах pic.twitter.com/lz8iN4nuDH
— Руслан Левиев (@RuslanLeviev) August 25, 2015
May I remind you that the Russian Themis has no blindfold over her eyes.


text:
Uruguay, Chile and Brazil Lead South America in Download Speeds · Global Voices
Global Voices Latin America

The average Internet broadband connection speed in Latin America is 7.3 Mbps, and only three countries are above the average: Uruguay, Brazil, and Chile.
In its most recent report, “La nueva revolución digital: de la Internet del consumo a la Internet de la producción” (The New Digital Revolution: from Internet Consumption to Internet Production) the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean published the ranking of Internet connection speeds in Latin American countries.
According to the report, the average download speed on broadband is 7.3 Mbps in South America. In more advanced countries, the average download speed is 32.2 Mbps.
There are only four countries in the region that are above the average: Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay.
Chile was the country with the best ranking in 2012 with an average download speed of 8 Mbps. By the end of 2014, Uruguay had the best ranking with 22.6 Mbps. This number is very similar to that of Spain, Portugal or the United Kingdom. Excluding Uruguay, the best download speeds were recorded in Chile and Brazil. The worst download speeds were recorded in Bolivia, Paraguay, and Venezuela.
According to the same report, the average loading speeds in Latin America is 2.9 Mbps, while 13.4 Mbps is the average in more advanced countries. “Uruguay has the best loading speed (5.9 Mbps) followed by Mexico (5.7 Mbps) and Brazil (4.2 Mbps). Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru have the slowest loading speeds.”
Uruguay has the best ranking for loading and downloading speeds on mobile broadband.
En cuanto a la velocidad de descarga (16,96 Mbps), este país se encuentra por encima del promedio de los países avanzados (14,8 Mbps); lo siguen Colombia (9,9 Mbps) y Perú (9,6 Mbps). En la velocidad de carga, Uruguay (6,8 Mbps) es seguido por Perú (5,7 Mbps), ambos ubicados por encima del promedio de los países avanzados (5,6 Mbps). Colombia, con 4,8 Mbps, ocupa el tercer lugar. Bolivia, Colombia y Perú, que no destacan en banda ancha global, alcanzan buenas posiciones en las velocidades de banda ancha móvil”.
This country has a download speed (16.96 Mbps) that is above the average of more advanced countries (14.8 Mbps). It is followed by Colombia (9.9 Mbps) and Peru (9.6 Mbps). With regards to loading speeds, Uruguay (6.8 Mbps) is followed by Peru (5.7 Mbps). Both countries are above the average of more advanced countries (5.6 Mbps). Colombia is in third place with 4.8 Mbps. With no ranking in global broadband, Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru achieve better positions with mobile broadband speeds.

author: Global Voices Latin America


text:
Videos Show How Lebanese Security Forces Violently Dealt With ‘You Stink’ Protesters · Global Voices
Anna Kozakova

Beirut, Lebanon. 23rd August 2015 — A man stands next to burning barb-wire in Riad el Solh Square in Beirut, Lebanon after the army was deployed to curb the rubbish disposal protesters rallying in the capital against the government. — Protest organized by the “You Stink” movement Sunday turned into violence in Beirut Riad AlSolh square after protesters started to remove the barbed wire that leads to the Grand Seraii, Lebanese government head quarters building. Photograph by Issam Abdallah. Copyright: Demotix
Videos coming out of Lebanon show protesters being attacked viciously by security forces using teargas and water cannons, shot directly at the crowds.
The Tol3et Re7atkom (You Stink) movement gathered thousands of people last weekend in Beirut to demonstrate for a sustainable solution to the country's piling rubbish. But protesters were met with police violence in some cases, despite the movement's declarations that it is adhering to Non-Violent Direct Action (NVDA).
Here are some videos which show examples of police violence against civilians.
After chanting “This is a peaceful protests” civilians were beaten up by police forces:
This footage shows teargas being fired directly at protesters:
This video allegedly shows security forces attempting to kidnap and beat a woman:
Police trying to disperse the protesters in Beirut:
#LEBANON (Aug23 #Beirut 19:31) Video – @Byrthsn: Police trying to disperse #YouStink protesters in Beirut. pic.twitter.com/C3XRwqOGlu
— Beirut-Reporter (@beirutreporter) 23. Srpen 2015
Teargas bombs launched at the protesters:
Teargas bombs launched at #YouStink protesters. Sign of a failed state! #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/VDguScCswO
— Nadine Mazloum (@MazloumNadine) 22. Srpen 2015
Military beating peaceful protesters:
Video footage of military men beating peaceful protesters. PLEASE SHARE. MORE FOOTAGE TO COME.
Posted by طلعت ريحتكم on Saturday, 22 August 2015
Teargas fired at the protesters inside Beirut Souks:
Protesters, civilians trapped and fired with tear gasses by the police INSIDE Beirut Souks.
Posted by طلعت ريحتكم on Saturday, 22 August 2015
Lebanese blogger Joey Ayoub, who is also a Global Voices Online Lebanon author, provides a first-hand account of what happened on August 22 and how the situation escalated on his blog Hummus for Thought. Ayoub explains:
I was there alongside thousands of Lebanese citizens demanding for our rights when we were met with police brutality, teargas canisters, water-canons and armed thugs following peaceful protestors and beating them.
[…]
As one of those who helped organize this protest, I can safely tell you that the government’s reaction was beyond anything we were expecting. We were expecting water-cannons like last time, and many of us came prepared for those (putting our phones in plastic bags etc.). But we were not prepared for the teargas and we were certainly not expecting to see riot police and army men playing the role of government thugs.
[…]
The sheer savagery of riot police and army men shooting teargas canisters haphazardly at any concentration of people they saw in front of us was a shock to us all. We saw old women and children between carried by men to save them from getting crushed by everyone else. We were yelling ‘we have kids! We have kids!’ while riot police increased the velocity of the water cannons until none of us could stand on our feet. The water-cannons pushed nearly 10,000 people into one another on a narrow street. Kids who came with their parents were being trampled on, old ladies screaming ‘shame! shame!’ while they tried to run away, young men and women building a solidarity wall to prevent the brutality of water cannons from hitting the weaker ones among us.
Ayoub wonders:
It was extremely dangerous. We genuinely feared for our lives. And for what? Demanding sustainable solutions to Lebanon’s trash crisis as opposed to its current catastrophic mismanagement? Wanting to live normal lives free of such suffocating corruption and sectarian nepotism?
You Stink has broadened its focus beyond officials’ mishandling of the refuse problem following the closure of the country's largest landfill in July. Members are now calling for the government's resignation, an end to corruption and fresh parliamentary elections, among other demands. Lebanon, already suffering from a poor infrastructure and daily electricity cuts, has had no president for over a year. In 2009, its parliament extended its term until 2017, with no elections, citing instability as a reason.

author: Anna Kozakova


text:
You Can Also Demand Justice for the Journalists Killed in Mexico · Global Voices
Global Voices Latin America

Writers around the world ask President Peña Nieto of Mexico to probe journalist murders. (Here's their letter) https://t.co/qAkZI5K2MR
— Susana Hayward (@mediasayer) August 16, 2015
More than 500 journalists, writers, artists and defenders for freedom of expression from around the world wrote an open letter to the president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, in which they called for explanations on the murder of Rubén Espinosa and all other journalists killed in the country, according to the blog Journalism in the Americas.
On July 31, photo journalist Rubén Espinosa was found dead along with four women in a Mexico City apartment. Upon receiving death threats, he fled from Veracruz, where 14 other journalists were killed in recent years, to Mexico's capital last June with the purpose of protecting his integrity.
The letter says:
Since 2000, dozens of journalists have been killed in Mexico, and approximately 20 more remain disappeared. The great majority of these crimes have never been prosecuted”…
… Mr. President, we urge you:
1. To guarantee the immediate and effective investigation of the assassination of Rubén Espinosa and the shameful number of journalists in Mexico who have met the same fate, and the thorough investigation of state and municipal officials who, in each case, may have been involved.
2. To undertake an immediate review of the procedures established to protect reporters’ lives, and to make a swift and effective commitment to guarantee and protect freedom of expression in Mexico.
The letter has the support of PEN and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). People like Mexican actorGael García Bernal, Indian writer Salman Rushdie, American journalist Christiane Amanpour and hundreds of journalists, writers and artists have signed the open letter, and now you too could also add your name.


text:
An Indigenous Reindeer Herder Takes on Oil Giants in Siberia · Global Voices
350.org

Sergey Kechimov shows the traces the oil companies left on Khanty land. Courtesy Denis Sinyakov/Greenpeace.
This is an edited version of an article written by Mikhail Matveev for 350.org, an organization building a global climate movement. It is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
On August 17, a five-minute hearing was held in a provincial court of Surgut District in Russia's Siberia. The defendant, Sergey Kechimov, a reindeer herder from Yugra and one of the few Khanty indigenous people left, is accused of threatening to kill two workers of Surgutneftegaz – one of the largest Russian oil companies. Being sentenced may cost him up to two years in prison, under the Russian criminal code.
During the hearing, lawyers told Judge Asharina that Kechimov was not provided with translators throughout the investigation. Despite admitting Kechimov’s rights had been violated, the judge decided to proceed with the case. The next hearings will take place on September 12. But this is a case that goes far beyond the accusations being levied.
The Kechimov case could be framed as involving a petty crime and deemed unworthy of the public’s attention. According to the case, the conflict rose when Kechimov shot a dog owned by the oil company workers that had killed a reindeer in his herd and attacked him as well. Oil company workers claimed Kechimov also ordered them out of his ancestral lands and demanded compensation payment while waving his shotgun at them.
Kechimov is one of the last Khanty people living near the Imlor Lake. For centuries, Khantys have deified and praised nature, believing that no person can take more gifts from her than those she is ready to share.
When the oil companies arrived, the sacred Imlor Lake became an expendable source of hydrocarbons, spoiled by oil and mutilated by ugly constructions. Unsurprisingly, most of the Khanty people decided not to live side by side with the newcomers, leaving their ancestral lands behind for the oil workers to take over.
Those like Kechimov and the others who dared to stay have became a constant nuisance for the oil companies. Government measures to protect the ancestral peoples’ rights are providing effective motivation for oil companies to swiftly get rid of such peoples.
For the locals, the presence of oil companies resembles the days of military occupation – with block-posts, humiliating document checkings and personal searches by private security guards.
So the Kechimov case is not just a conflict between individuals: it’s an expression of two incompatible approaches to the relation between people and nature colliding. A conflict now left for Judge Asharina, at the 2nd sub-district of the Surgut Court District, to resolve.
Find a Change.org petition in support of Kechimov here.


text:
China Won’t Tolerate Anything but Praise for Its Showy World War II Parade · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Xi's solo military parade. Spoof image from Facebook WikLleaks Chinese page.
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, China has invited world leaders from Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Europe to take part in a large military parade on September 3. The guest list was revealed on August 24.
The disruption to people's daily lives and the absence of national leaders from Western Europe, among other aspects of the parade, were hot but censored topics on Chinese social media.
This is the first time that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has organized a military parade to commemorate the end of WWII. China's role in the Second Great War began two years before war broke out in Europe, when Japan invaded China, sparking the Second Sino-Japanese War. After Japan, which was allied with Germany and Italy, bombed the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Sino-Japanese War became a major front in the larger conflict.
As anti-Japanese war efforts were led by the Kuomintang political party of the then newly established Republic of China (Taiwan), many on Chinese social media have wondered if the CCP should claim credit for the victory in the Sino-Japanese War at all.
But Chinese President Xi Jinping was eager to exhibit the “crucial role” that the CCP played during the Sino-Japanese War as the victory is symbolic to China's national revival, a nationalist project propagated by Xi since he has taken over the leadership. Some spoofed the parade as Xi's one-man show, depicted in the image at the top of this post as well as in Patrick Boehler's video pick on Twitter:
This is how some in China mock Xi's military parade on Sept. 3. pic.twitter.com/uJoukeacPW
— Patrick Boehler 包蟠睿 (@mrbaopanrui) August 23, 2015
Cheng Ming, a political commenter based in the US, even called Xi's attempt “shameless”:
有人說這是習近平試圖通過大閱兵，嚇唬日本，逼迫安倍承認中國大陸的亞洲霸權；有人說這是習近平試圖通過大閱兵，宣示自己完全掌控了中共的槍桿子。在我看來，習近平通過這次大閱兵，試圖再一次欺騙中國人和欺騙全世界，要人們、尤其是中國大陸的年青一代，相信七十年前的抗戰勝利是在中國共產黨領導下取得的。[…] 隨著九月三日一天天臨近，中國大陸正出現大閱兵熱。在習近平要求全黨深入研究中共的「中流砥柱」指令下，中共的媒體和御用文人也正在開展一場撒謊大賽。
Some say that the military parade is Xi's attempt to intimidate Japan and force [Japanese Prime Minister] Abe to recognize China's hegemony in Asia; some say that Xi wants to demonstrate to the world that he is in control of the military force. For me, Xi is using the parade to lie to the Chinese people and the world, in particular to the young people in China that the victory of the Sino-Japanese war was led by the CCP. […] As September 3 is approaching, media hype has surrounded the military parade. Party intellectuals are participating in a lying contest to prove that the CCP played a “crucial role” in the anti-Japanese War under Xi's instruction.
Of course, the military parade is far from being a literal one-man show as 30 heads of state, mainly from Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, will be present. To make sure things stay on script, authorities have tightened their grip on and offline. During the rehearsal over the weekend, major roads, public transportation and some businesses were shut down. Some users on the ground reported on Twitter:
A car-free 2nd ring road in #beijing today thanks to the rehearsals for the military parade the next 3rd of Sept #阅兵 pic.twitter.com/fQN0QRLL6T
— Eduard Fernández/费海德 (@eduard_bcn) August 23, 2015
上午在阅兵蓝的天空下出门买菜，本来心情挺好的，结果，duang，蔬菜摊没了，9月5日才恢复，包括早餐店、黄焖鸡和我最喜欢的咖啡厅也都关了。#和战败一样萧瑟
— Michael Anti (@mranti) August 22, 2015
Went out to buy some vegetables under the blue sky prepared for the military parade in the morning. I was in a rather good mood, but then, the vegetable kiosk was gone. It will only be back in business on September 5. Breakfast shop, chicken restaurant and my favorite cafes all were shut down.
Many expressed frustration with the arrangement, but very few have dared to speak out against the state performance. A very harsh censorship directive has been issued to media outlets to make sure that:
all news and comments related to the military parade must be carefully reviewed before posting to guarantee they are positive and not offensive to the [People's Liberation Army] or the military parade; that they do not attack the Party, the [People's Republic of China], or the political system; and do not attack national leaders.
It turned out that not only critical comments but also negative news were censored. The authorities banned media outlets from reporting on the crash of a military helicopter that was preparing for a parade on August 16. More measures to restrict the flow of information will be introduced in the next few days, according to Astrill, a VPN provider, its service will be disrupted until end of the parade:
Due to upcoming Beijing's military parade next week, China is cracking down on IPSec VPNs using GFW auto-learning technique. VPN access form iOS devices may be limited at this time.
Until end of parade, some of the servers will not be available in iOS application.
Despite the harsh censorship measures, sarcastic comments and images occasionally pop up, but soon disappear. For example, on fascism:
据说有个法西斯国家要搞个反法西斯阅兵
They say a fascist country is about to host an anti-fascist military parade
Following the release of the guest list, mocking remarks surfaced, only to vanish quickly, in the comment section of a news thread. Below are some of the comments on China's parade guest list retrieved from Free Weibo, a project dedicated to recovering censored content from popular Chinese microblogging platform Weibo:
3月份刚给了三千万美金物资援助，原来是出场费，回头我也去非洲成立个国家，没事挣点钱花。
In March, [China] paid out US $30 million dollar in aid. That's the fee to show up. I should establish a country in Africa to earn some money.
参加中国阅兵的南太平洋国家瓦努阿图，1982年独立，人口20多万，被称为世界上最幸福国度。根本不知道什么是反法西斯战争。到北京打酱油的！
The Republic of Vanuatu in the southern Pacific Ocean will join the Chinese military parade. The country was established in 1982, with a population of 200,000. It is crowned as the happiest country in the world. The country has nothing to do with the anti-fascist war. They come to Beijing just to hang around.
失道寡助。九三阅兵，各国元首首脑出席者实在是可怜，独联体、前南、前华约、共产国体（蒙朝越古）、几个非洲黑兄弟、亚洲小兄弟（柬巴），估计有些还是花了银子搬来捧场的。
A person without principles has very few friends. Those state leaders who show up in September for the military parade are the pitiful few — former USSR, former communist alliances in southern Asia, the remaining communist states, a few African and Asia brothers. Some probably paid to show up.
State-controlled media are gearing up for the military parade with series of feature reports. As the performance approaches, Chinese people seem to have two options: publicly praise the parade or keep silent.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
Medical Workers Dance to Celebrate Release of Sierra Leone’s Last Ebola Patient · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sierra Leone entered a 42-day countdown on 25 August 2015 to being declared Ebola free after the country’s last known Ebola patient, Adama Sankoh, was released from hospital.
As of that day, the Ebola outbreak had killed 3,952 in the West African nation, according to the World Health Organisation.
Medical workers at the International Medical Corps treatment center in Makeni, the third largest city in Sierra Leone, danced and sang to mark the occasion. Watch the YouTube video above posted by the International Medical Corps showing the staff's celebrations.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
No, India, Hindi Will Not Take Over Without a Fight · Global Voices
Winnan Tirunallur

Image courtesy Bengaluru based Promote Linguistic Equality Facebook Page.
During this year's Independence Day celebrations in India, a group of Twitter users launched a campaign to promote greater linguistic equality in the country. As a result, the hashtag #StopHindiImposition started trending nationwide.
#stophindiimposition pic.twitter.com/WnHn7DrHSc
— Arun kumar Ganesan (@badts7bio) August 16, 2015
Hindi is of no use to us…Native +English language is working well ,it is the northies who refuse to learn English #stophindiimposition
— Nanda Karthik (@NandaAssassin) August 16, 2015
Participants in this campaign are also demanding that the government amend India's Official Language Act and declare Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, and other languages to be India's official languages.
According to census data from 2001, the most common languages spoken in India after Hindi are Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, and Tamil, whose speakers constitute about 30 percent of the population. In other words, each of these languages has more native speakers than many European languages and each state where these languages are spoken is bigger than most European countries.
The campaign on Twitter began with the Bengaluru-based Facebook group Promote Linguistic Equality, which has roughly 4,000 Facebook followers. The group says the policies of the Indian Government favor the Hindi language, ignoring rights of other languages. Promote Linguistic Equality also states that:
The purpose of this Twitter Campaign is to demand the Indian Union Govt to Promote Linguistic Equality & #StopHindiImposition on Non Hindi Speaking States.
The Anti-Hindi Imposition protest is a not a new phenomenon in India, and has in fact existed for several decades. In 1937, the Indian National Congress tried to impose Hindi education in the schools during the Madras Presidency (which the public vehemently opposed for nearly three years). In 1940, the British Governor of Madras, Lord Erskine, removed Hindi education from schools.
Image courtesy: Promote Linguistic Equality Facebook page
During the 1949 debate in India's Constituent Assembly about the country's official language, T.A. Ramalingam Chettiar, representing Madras, once warned that there would be bitter consequences, if officials imposed Hindi as a national langauge. Due to staunch opposition from the members of South India, the assembly dropped the plan to introduce Hindi or Sanskrit as India's national language.
In 1965, the Indian government tried to introduce a Hindi-only policy, which provoked widespread protests and riots across Madras. Later that year, Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri gave assurances that local officials would continue to use English as the country's official language, so long as non-Hindi-speaking states want it. In 1967, Madras also witnessed significant political changes, as the Congress party was defeated and DMK came to power for the first time.
It was in 1967 that the Indian government introduced the three-language formula, making Hindi compulsory in schools, even in Non-Hindi-speaking states. It lead to strong protests in South India, and eventually the Legislative Assembly of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) scrapped the three-language formula and introduced a two-language formula, stating that no language other than Tamil and English could be used in the state's public spaces, government administration, or educational institutions.
Anti-Hindi imposition protests were renewed recently when the new government under the Bharatiya Janata Party formed in 2014. The government, which strongly favors Hindi, decreed that “government employees and officials of all ministries, departments, corporations, or banks, who have made official accounts on social networking sites, should use Hindi, or both Hindi and English, but give priority to Hindi.” All political parties in Tamil Nadu strongly opposed the measure.
Why no award and incentive for non Hindi book author and translator while giving incentive for Hindi #stophindiimposition
— sivadoss (@sivadoss007) August 16, 2015
Stop Hindi Imposition, another Chennai-based Facebook group actively promoting linguistic rights, condemns the attitude of some of the Hindi speakers who are moving into the city, who often expect the local population to be well versed in Hindi.
On Facebook, Ganesh Velusami writes, “Will [the Hindi speaker] lament that people around him don't speak Hindi, if he were to have gone to [the] US for work? Why then this imperialistic attitude while in India alone? Because he has been brainwashed that India has one national language of first class importance: Hindi and other regional languages of the second class people.”
Sandeep Kambi posted a picture on Twitter, and asks
Why should clean india ad in Bengaluru be in Hindi? #stopHindiImposition pic.twitter.com/4BQP7px3p8
— sandeepkambi (@sandeepkambi) August 16, 2015
Most non-Kannadigas in Bengaluru feel they can get by knowing little or no Kannada at all, writes Sriram Vittalamurthy.
Twitter user Vashant Shetty raises a question:
Chennai to Coimbatore Train reservation list only in Hindi/English. No tamil. Why? #StopHindiImposition pic.twitter.com/OCaXjWrqfW
— Vasant Shetty (@vasantshetty81) August 15, 2015
Blogger Vignesh Raj complains:
I can remember my flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai by Air India. The safety announcements and other important announcements were only in Hindi and English in a region where over 90% customers know either Tamil or Malayalam or both. How fair is to make ‘ceremonial’ announcements in a region where both languages are foreign? I flew with British Airways from London Heathrow to Chennai. As I was greeted by the Air hostess I heard a welcome message ‘ British Airways ungalai anbudan varavaerkirathu (Welcomes You)’ followed by announcements in English.
Aishik Saha, a student and Quora user, writes:
The myth that Hindi is the national language of India has persisted, and been propagated by the mainstream and alternative media for a long time. Those, who have pointed this out are often shouted down by our ultra-nationalists as anti-national or anti-Hindu.
It’s not just in Bengaluru or Chennai; the imposition of Hindi is occurring in almost every part of the country.
In the past few years, due to an economic boom in southern states, many people from northern parts of the country have begun migrating to the south. But many of these people, especially in cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad, are reluctant to learn those states’ official languages, and instead lean on the locals to learn Hindi.
Penetration of Hindi is highly visible in the non-Hindi-speaking states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Telangana. This phenomenon is also present to an extent in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh.
The 1976 Official-Languages Rules of the Indian Constitution that ensures Hindi won't be used officially for any purpose in Tamil Nadu. Reality is another matter, however. Even basic day-to-day information and services in banks, railway stations, and government offices are often offered only in Hindi or English, leading many locals to complain that they're being denied their basic rights.
Preethi Sridhara, a Quora user, observes:
Kids are being taught Hindi from the first standard. There is absolutely no need of Hindi there. Then why? Why is the government shoving Hindi down their throat?
She continues:
If everybody wants a neutral language, let's go for English. Everybody understands English, right? But no, my friends are being forced to conduct meetings in Hindi. Now isn't that a little unfair?
S. Vallish Kumar writes:
Flawed language policy adopted by the Union Government of India, ever since the current political India was formed. The prolonged special treatment to Hindi by the Union Government of India, is what has caused the perception that everything related to Union Government must have Hindi in it.
Last year, E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, a member of parliament, authored a resolution to declare Tamil an official language. Union Minister of State Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary rejected the legislation, saying that Articles 343-351 of the Indian Constitution declare that only Hindi and English are the country's official languages.
As it happens, Indian languages like Tamil enjoy official-language status in Sri Lanka and Singapore. Also, Bengali and Nepali are official languages in Bangladesh and Nepal, respectively, but they are denied the same status in India, where vast majority of these languages’ native speakers live.
On Twitter, Mithun says:
@harshkn Yes. I am a Tamil and I love Hindi as a language. But I hate the Hindi imposition! Tamil is enough in Tamil Nadu; not Hindi.
— மிதுன் (@mithunio) August 15, 2015
“Aggressive Hindi propaganda by the Hindi centric Central Govt’s. and also to an extent Bollywood Movies, have created a false ego among some North Indians (not all) that Hindi is the supreme Indian language,” writes Quora user Sudhindra Sanjeev.
Prassanna LM, one of the organizers of the #StopHindiImposition campaign, demands:
Indians can enjoy true independence only when all Indians and their languages are given equal status. Otherwise, non-Hindi speakers will remain as second class citizens. We demand that all 22 languages of union be declared as official languages under the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
Though India's mainstream media has often portrayed anti Anti-Hindi-Imposition protests as isolated to Tamil Nadu, the movement has also enjoyed support in Karnataka, Maharashtra, and West Bengal, where Twitter users have echoed calls for linguistic equality in India.

author: Winnan Tirunallur


text:
8 Ways Climate Change Is Already Affecting Africa · Global Voices
350.org

Oxfam International's ‘Let Them Eat Carbon’ stunt at the UN climate summit in Durban, South Africa, in 2011. Credit: Ainhoa Goma/Oxfam. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
This article is based on a piece written by Bhavna Deonarain for 350.org, an organisation building a global climate movement, and is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Right now, the effects of climate change are already being felt by people across Africa. Evidence shows that the change in temperature has affected the health, livelihoods, food productivity, water availability, and overall security of the African people.
According to the Climate Change Vulnerability Index for 2015, seven of the ten countries most at risk from climate change are in Africa.
Africa has seen a decrease in rainfall over large parts of the Sahel and Southern Africa, and an increase in parts of Central Africa. Over the past 25 years, the number of weather-related disasters, such as floods and droughts, has doubled, resulting in Africa having a higher mortality rate from droughts than any other region.
A deserted drought-stricken village in Mauritania. 01/01/1984. Mauritania. UN Photo/John Isaac. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Flooding is the most prevalent disaster in North Africa, the second most common in East, South and Central Africa, and the third most common in West Africa (AWDR, 2006).
In North Africa, the 2001 disastrous flood in northern Algeria resulted in about 800 deaths and economic loss of about $400 million. In Mozambique, the 2000 flood (worsened by two cyclones) caused 800 deaths, affected almost 2 million people of which about 1 million needed food, 329,000 people were displaced and agricultural production land was destroyed (AWDR, 2006).
Between July 2011 and mid-2012, a severe drought affected the entire East Africa region and was said to be “the worst drought in 60 years.”
The estimated extent of the glacier on Mount Kilimanjaro in 1912, and the extent of the glaciers there in 2002. Credit: Delphine Digout, UNEP/GRID-Arendal.
Observable effects of climate change on water resources in Africa include: flooding, drought, change in distribution of rainfall, drying-up of rivers, melting of glaciers and the receding of bodies of water.
Entire economies suffer when the water levels of Africa’s huge rivers drop. Ghana, for example, has become totally reliant on the hydro-electric output of the Akosombo dam on the river Volta. Mali is dependent on the river Niger for food, water and transport. However, great stretches of the river are now facing environmental devastation as a result of pollution. In Nigeria, half the population has no access to clean water.
The gradual yet dramatic disappearance of the glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro is a result of climate change (IPCC, 2001). The glaciers act as a water tower and several rivers are now drying up. It is estimated that 82% of the ice that capped the mountain, when it was first recorded in 1912, is now gone. (IPCC, 2001)
Across Africa the landscape is changing. Droughts, heat stress and flooding have led to a reduction in crop yields and livestock productivity.
East Africa is facing the worst food crisis in the 21st century. According to Oxfam, 12 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are in dire need of food. Rainfall has been below average with 2010/2011 being the driest year since 1950/1951, a serious problem for a continent almost entirely dependent on rain for its agriculture.
Malaria medication. Nigeria. Photo: Arne Hoel / World Bank. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Climate-sensitive diseases and health impacts can be high in poor countries that have minimal resources to treat and prevent illness. Examples of climate related health impacts include:
Severe flooding and intense droughts has led to the destruction of many homes, shelters and villages across Africa. Conflicts over resources also exacerbate these impacts and, in turn, contribute to the ongoing migration within and between countries in Africa.
Extreme events displace large amounts of people, especially those who are unable to respond and rebuild after disasters, due to lack of resources.
“South Sudan refugees residing in a UN camp are living in knee-deep, sewage-contaminated floodwater, forcing some families to sleep standing up so they can hold their children out of the water,” Al Jazeera reported in August 2014.
An Ethiopian woman carries a water barrel. Photo credit: 2006 Badadha Kule/IFPRI. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Women, children and the elderly are more vulnerable to climate change impacts across Africa. Women labourers often experience additional duties as caregivers and as well as from societal responses to climate change after extreme weather events (eg, male migration).
The water scarcity places an additional burden on African women, who walk hours and sometimes even days to fetch it. (IPCC, 2014)
Children and the elderly face graver risks due to susceptibility to infectious diseases, such as malaria, limited mobility and reduced intake of food. The elderly face physical danger and even death due to droughts, heat stress and wildfires. Children often die from starvation, malnutrition, diarrheal diseases and flooding. (IPCC, 2014)
Climate change impacts have the potential to exacerbate national security issues and increase the number of international conflicts. Conflicts often occur over the use of already limited natural resources, fertile ground and water. Access to consistent and dependable sources of water is greatly valued in many African regions. However, changes in the timing and intensity of rainfall have threatened water availability and are causing conflicts over this limited resource (IPCC, 2014).
According to a United Nations report, access to water may be the single biggest cause of conflict and war in Africa in the next 25 years.
The changes in precipitation and temperature are already affecting crop yields in Sub-Saharan Africa. This has resulted in food shortages, that have triggered cross border migration and intraregional conflicts, which has sparked political instability in Nigeria for example.
Baby sea turtle in Zanzibar. Photo by Flickr user missy. CC BY 2.0
Climate change has already led to changes in freshwater and marine ecosystems in eastern and southern Africa, and terrestrial ecosystems in southern and western Africa. The extreme weather events have demonstrated the vulnerability of some of South Africa’s ecosystems. The migration patterns, geographic range and seasonal activity of many terrestrial and marine species have shifted in response to climate change. The abundance and interaction among species has also changed (IPCC, 2014).
Despite the fact that the African continent has contributed the least to anthropogenic factors causing climate change, Africa is the worst hit.


text:
Argentina Has Had Decades of Democracy, So Why Do the Disappearances Continue? · Global Voices
Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez

Mural in Buenos Aires of Susana Trimarco, the mother of Marita Verón, a young girl of 23 who disappeared from the Argentinian city of Tucumán in April 2002 at the hands of a human trafficking ring. Image taken from the Flickr account PixelBeat! under the Creative Commons license.
For many in Argentina, the image of the “missing person” vividly recalls the forced disappearances of the 1976-1983 dictatorship. Despite 32 years of democracy, however, thousands of people—particularly women and young girls—are still unaccounted for in Argentina.
According to UNICEF and Argentina's Ministry of Justice, Security, and Human Rights, more than 4,000 people become victims of the slave trade every year. One element of the trade is kidnapping, which typically targets young girls and women, as well as young boys, who are then plunged into the world of prostitution:
Esta modalidad abarca casos de secuestros de niños, niñas y adolescentes para transformarlos en verdaderos esclavos, carentes de todos los derechos, en objetos en poder de otros que dirigen sus acciones y su vida misma.
This involves the kidnapping of young boys, girls, and teenagers, who are then forced to become slaves deprived of all of their rights, [and] objects belonging to other people who are then in control of their every move and their entire life.
In 2006, Argentina implemented the Law against Human Trafficking (Law 26.364), and in June 2015, according to the officials, 8,151 human trafficking victims have been freed thanks to this legislation.
While human trafficking may not be a new problem, it has been cast into the spotlight recently due to the story of Marita Verón, a young girl of 23 who disappeared from the city of Tucumán in April 2002. She was reportedly kidnapped and sent to work as a prostitute in Argentina's northeast. In light of allegations that police and local politicians collaborate with the trafficking rings, the victim's mother, Susana Trimarco, has tirelessly dedicated herself to finding the young woman on her own.
Thirteen years have passed since Marita's disappearance and she has still not been found. On her search, Susana met the families of other young kidnap victims who managed to escape their captors. She was led to the realization that her daughter's story is not an isolated case, and that there are organized prostitution rings dedicated to the kidnapping and trafficking of women, many of which rely on political and police support. Having discovered this, Susana committed herself to the fight against human trafficking and founded the Fundación María de los Ángeles, a group that receives reports of missing people and offers support and counseling to the victims’ families.
Verón's case gained the public's awareness thanks to Vidas Robadas, a 2008 soap opera shown on national television station Telefé, which appealed to the country's civil society to come together to fight back against kidnapping. This hasn't been the only effort to draw social attention to the issue. Many producers and artists have contributed to raising awareness about human trafficking in Argentina. For example, the transmedia documentary Mujeres en Venta (Women for Sale) offers a global perspective on the problem. The program shares the heart-rending testimonies of victims, and experts discuss methods of “recruitment” and “deprivation of freedom” implemented by the human trafficking rings.
(Video in Spanish)
There are also fictional pieces that tackle the subject, such as the short film by Gustavo “oRni” Fernandez, Undercover: Human Trafficking, which has an unexpected twist to its ending.
(Video in Spanish)
Alternatively, the fictional short ALMA, which is directed by Marcela Suppicich and declared to be of “social interest” by the Legislature of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, tells the story of Alma, a young girl kidnapped by a human trafficking ring, and is a much needed wake up call on the subject.
(Video in Spanish)
Meanwhile, in the world of comic strips, reporter and cartoonist Julieta Arroquy uses her popular character Ofelia to trace parallels between the disappearances of women such as Marita Verón, Florencia Penacchi, Érica Soriano, and María Cash, and the forced disappearances that occurred during the military dictatorship.
Likewise, various campaigns have been launched on social media to raise awareness about the victims and to help end their suffering:
Sin clientes no hay trata pic.twitter.com/FtWqVQGOZx
— Elvia Carrillo Pto. (@DonaElvia) June 10, 2015
Without clients there's no trafficking
#NoaLaTrata Sin clientes no hay trata. DENUNCIA A LA LÌNEA GRATUITA 145 . ARGENTINA. http://t.co/jY1VIC9Jow
— Edison B. Urbano (@ElPayanes) March 16, 2015
#NotoTrafficking Without clients there is no trafficking. REPORT FREE ON LINE 145. ARGENTINA

author: Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez