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Could Bahrain’s Student Movements Find a Solution for the Country’s Political Problems? · Global Voices
Mohamed Hassan

London, United Kingdom. 21st May 2011 — Bahraini and Spanish protestors grouped together outside their Embassies in London supporting each other’s fights in their quest for greater political freedoms and human rights in their countries. United Kingdom. 21st May 2011. Photograph by Justice For Bahrain. Copyright: Demotix
Bahrain, which has been experiencing political turmoil since February 2011, is unable to move beyond the impasse. Bahraini students recently held an event in London, called Bahrain Debate, in the hope of finding a new way to move forward.
Bahrain has a long history of student movements. The previous generation of national activists started their political career as members of a student coalition in the early seventies.
Abdulrahman Al Nuaimi, second from right, is the founder of WAAD (National Democratic Action Society), which is the first political party in the Gulf region. WAAD is the second largest political group in Bahrain and the largest secular political group in the country, This picture is from the days when he was with the Bahraini students union in Iraq (1975). Source: Aldemokrati
The Bahrain students union might technically be the first union in Bahrain's history. It was declared on February 25, 1972, when a group of students studying in universities in Damascus, Syria, decided to form an organized group. The union was comprised of 11 student groups from different countries at the time and it expanded to 16 groups from different countries later on.
In 1975, the Bahraini parliament was dissolved for demanding more active scrutiny on the state income. A blanket ban on unions went into effect as unions were seen as a formidable rival to authorities at that time. The student union suffered a great deal of the prosecution that followed. Many of the members of the student union were banned from travelling; those outside Bahrain were arrested and extradited to Bahrain and others were deprived of their scholarships.
Authorities in Bahrain decided to create parallel student groups, which were supported financially by the government and their objective was to stop the formation of new student movements abroad. However, even those Governmental Non-Governmental Organizations (GONGO) withered and died after a while — like most civil society groups in Bahrain at that time.
After removing the ban on unions in Bahrain in the year 2001, student movements have struggled to reemerge. Torn between the influence of political players and sectarian division, student groups in Bahrain have been sidelined from the spotlight, emerging only as proxies to the classical political players. It is rarely that an event organized by independent students will get much attention.
In February of 2012, I participated in an event discussing the crisis in Bahrain. That was the only event since then to put people from different parts of the political spectrum on the same panel publicly in Bahrain. For many reasons such events stopped in Bahrain until recently that is.
Bahrain Debate is an initiative to try and find alternative solutions for the political crisis in Bahrain. The pilot session was mostly a debate in the matters of human rights, political development, the future of the country and the role of youth in Bahrain.
In a report by the think tank Chatham House, Bahrain Debate was cited as one of the civil society initiatives that could help find new and creative solutions to the crisis in Bahrain.
The report says:
in 2012, a group of Bahraini young people held a rare public political debate, the ‘Bahrain Debate’,
at the Alumni Club in the capital. The purpose was to discuss the country’s political crisis in an open
forum that was streamed live online; the organizers said the 50 tickets for the event sold out in less
than 10 minutes. The debate was praised by Bahrainis from across the political spectrum as a rare
example of civil-society dialogue, but it has not been repeated since.
In an effort to try and re-ignite the collective brainstorming effort, a group of students in the UK decided to re-engage in a debate about the future of the conflict.
In their statement, Bahrain Debate organizers say:
“The goal of this event which is organised with the SOAS Mena Society is to rethink the conflict with a focus on political economic, historic and societal aspects. The initiative shall then decentralize and have independent bodies host debates under our umbrella, with the concept of an “in-house” debate for closely aligned political actors to debate the best approaches/policy etc”
I believe it is nothing less than our duty to use any means available to us to have some sort of impact on a political and humanitarian crisis that has been continuing for the last 3 years.
Marwa Hassan, of the SOAS Middle East and North Africa Society, University of London, is one of the organizers. Marwa says this initiative is more of a duty than a privilege. She adds:
“As a student at one of the most politically active universities, I believe it is nothing less than our duty to use any means available to us to have some sort of impact on a political and humanitarian crisis that has been continuing for the last three years. It is extremely easy to become disconnected and disillusioned from the reality of the world around us, when not being directly impacted by a crisis in a country thousands of miles away. However, ultimately it does impact us, through our political freedom and our freedom of expression. Therefore, as we have a platform to address such matters, and to potentially affect change – or at least thought – we are duty bound to exploit this. By hopefully encouraging other organisations to host similar events, we can perhaps seek to promote change and a development in the political processes of, and in, Bahrain as well as the wider Arab world.”
Abdulla Abdalaal is a PhD candidate in SOAS’ Department of Economics. He says the situation in Bahrain requires finding solutions to stop it from devolving into an even worse scenario:
“The Bahrain Debate is trying to break down walls and build bridges between different political, economic and social players both within the country and in the international community. The current climate in Bahrain is conducive to dangerous outcomes, whether it's the political impasse, economic stagnation or social degradation. We want to highlight such issues that potentially could find commonality across the spectrum, encourage fruitful debate and lay the grounds for creative solutions in rethinking the conflict.”
The organizers see this event as the beginning for more debates that will try to bring together different parts of the political spectrum, says Mohammed Aldaysi, one of the event organizers. He notes:
“Providing a much needed platform for political debate only enhances the chance of either co-operation or further conflict between political actors. The main goal here is to stress the need for a political economic analysis in order to reach more sustainable solutions to the conflict.”
This will not be the last time we hear from these young Bahrainis. Their vision is to give this initiative the momentum required to make an impact, according to another organizer Noor Bahman. She notes:
“We are currently working on it with members from across the political spectrum. We are holding a screening in Bahrain to show this event – with subtitles suitable for a Bahraini audience – and probably continuing the debate with other participants there. Realistically, we are looking at an event in Edinburgh sometime in 2015, possibly the US – we've also contacted three political coalitions in Bahrain that showed interest in hosting similar debates. Nothing is finalised yet but we have a vision.”
The first session of The Bahrain Debate took place in December 2014 in the university of SOAS. This was the first time for formal representatives of the opposition and the government to have a town-hall style event since before 2011. You can watch the whole session on the link below and you can follow The Bahrain Debate Twitter account for new updates.
شاهدوا نقاش البحرين – الجلسة الأولى (اعادة النظر في الصراع) The Bahrain Debate – 1st session: http://t.co/IgJz5WTlIu via @YouTube
— The Bahrain Debate (@Bahrain_Debate) December 22, 2014

author: Mohamed Hassan


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Guinean Bloggers Aren’t Satisfied With Government’s Handling of Ebola Epidemic · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Anti-Ebola health workers in West Africa  CC-BY-20
Guineans have lately been so gripped by the performances of their national team in the 2015 African Cup of Nations that preventive health measures against Ebola have been forgotten amidst the collective rejoicing, with many people hugging each other in the streets.
However, there are other areas of concern beyond these impromptu expressions of joy. Although data may suggest a trend towards a certain degree of stabilisation, 2,921 suspected cases of Ebola have been reported in the country as of 29 January, 2,751 of which have been confirmed, since the start of the epidemic in December 2013. This has resulted in 1,911 deaths, 1,591 of them confirmed.
Do these figures reflect reality though?
Guinean residents have raised a few questions about the way the fight against Ebola has been handled by their government. Their concerns are centered around two main themes: the resources dedicated to data collection in the remote regions and how it is validated by the government, and the communication strategy employed by the government where discordant information can be identified.
Regarding data collection, the Guinean health system has certainly been severely hit by the disease that has taken up most of the healthcare resources of the country. Data collection is a daunting challenge without even considering the lack of a robust IT systems to archive and transfer data rapidly.
In addition to the structural challenges, the communication by the government has grown increasingly confusing for Guinean citizens. In previous months, the minister of health reported that Ebola was now under control in some cities such as N'zerekore, when in fact some unexplained deaths were already reported leading to the new spike of Ebola cases reported on February 11.
Members of l’Association des blogueurs de Guinée (Ablogui), the Bloggers Association of Guinea, started a debate on their Facebook page concerning the credibility of official data and the behaviour of some government members. The debate began following the visit of one of its members, Sally Bilaly Sow, to the district of Kokouma, sub-prefecture of Dougountounni, prefecture of Mali. This member wrote the following, regarding which data to trust:
I think that in this matter, data from citizens on the ground must definitely be used. However, there is a problem with this, which I can’t figure out. When I move around with the health workers on the ground, they tell me that they send off mission reports. I don’t know where these reports go to or if these reports give a true picture of the situation on the ground. Regarding the terrible media announcement by a government minister denying the existence of the disease [in some regions], I think that at this level the courts of law must take responsibility for punishing him before he is thanked for his work by the government. After all, this is not his first blunder. On the other hand, the prime minister is threatening to deal severely with civilians who do not obey the gag order on reporting unverified Ebola cases. Why not do the same to this dubious minister who is doing the same as them, since he is, presumably, a citizen as well.
Alimou Sow, a member who works in Guinea for a large international organisation and is familiar with administration processes, responded:
Les rapports de l'OMS sont à prendre avec précaution. Ils prennent en compte plusieurs paramètres donnant parfois des résultats surprenants (augmentation/diminution du nombre de décès sans morts réels sur le terrain pendant une période donnée). C'est à dire que les données peuvent être rétroactives si l'on s'aperçoit que des décès communautaires non comptabilisés étaient dus à Ebola après coup (retard des tests, etc.). Pour la lutte contre la maladie il est clair que l'approche des autorités a été hasardeuse et la communication, dès le début, défaillante. Après plus d'un an, on se demande quel plan de lutte efficace faut il adopter à présent .
World Health Organisation (WHO) reports should be treated with caution. They take into account a number of parameters, sometimes giving surprising results (showing an increase/decrease in the number of deaths without actual deaths on the ground in a given period). It means that the data may be retroactive if it is later found that unaccounted for deaths in the community were due to Ebola (due to test delays, etc.). In the fight against the disease, it is clear that the approach taken by the authorities has been haphazard and there has been a lack of communication from the beginning. After more than a year, we are left wondering which effective plan of action should now be adopted.
Delays have occurred in the transmission of data. The lag might be explained by issue with data transmission from an IT standpoint (a common issue in Guinea). But IT issues are not the only causes of concern when it comes to the lag in Ebola progress reports.  Other issues such as data collection and uncertainty of cause of deaths have also come into play. In order to prevent any undue panic by unsubstantiated sources, the government has threatened to jail any bloggers who reports any Ebola-caused deaths that are not validated.  Still, it is astonishing that the government through the words of a minister threatens anyone who dares to put up a fight aimed at creating obstacles in the battle against the national scourge, and says nothing when another of its members succeeds in denying its existence.
Sally Bilaly Sow responded:
Nous sommes aux heures des TIC on ne peut pas comprendre cela par le retard. Cela dénote au manque d'expérience qui a prévalu leur choix.
We are living in the ICT era; this cannot be explained by a delay. It is an indication of their lack of experience, which has influenced their decision.
I think the discrepancy in the figures is due to a number of reasons, as explained above. It must also be stressed that it is very rare for accurate figures to be obtained in our country. Is this due to incompetence or an intention to mislead? As to the words of denial from a high-ranking individual, that doesn't really surprise me. Since the beginning of the epidemic, this kind of evil idea first began to form in the minds of certain ignorant “intellectuals”. They were the ones who peddled these misconceptions. It is likely that they are the hidden instigators of the acts of violence that have cost people fighting against Ebola their lives.
I believe that some of this country’s “VIPs” are responsible for this situation. From the start, the issue has been handled with a certain intention to conceal reality. It will be recalled that at the beginning of the epidemic, the health authorities described deaths from Ebola as “natural deaths”, even though all the people who touched dead bodies or sick people rapidly developed symptoms of the disease. If today we hear one of them saying that Ebola does not exist, we shouldn’t be too surprised — even if the preferred approach would be to penalise them severely, so that this dangerous idea does not take hold in the minds of people who, until now, have believed in its existence. The discrepancy between the WHO figures and those provided by the citizens on the ground are merely a reflection of the sensitive issue of figures in Guinea. It is said that “in Guinea, the best liar is the person who claims to give accurate figures on a given subject”. In our current state of development, Ebola is not the only issue on which it is difficult, or even impossible to get accurate figures.
Unless there is transparency in the fight against this epidemic in Guinea and other affected countries, the battle could be a long one, and the damage caused even more devastating. Wouldn’t it be better to follow the example of Sierra Leone, the country that has demonstrated the most transparency? It has quarantined the entire population of the country or certain regions, with a ban on leaving residences for several days, to allow medical teams to carry out a complete screening to detect new cases and to explain health measures. At one time, Sierra Leone recorded the largest number of Ebola cases, but today it has seen a large decrease in the number of new cases since the peak reached in December.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Keeping Up the Fight on World Cancer Day · Global Voices
Mary Aviles

Screenshot of the I Have Cancer and Keep Shining blog.
¡Hola! Mi nombre es Alejandra Baca, pero todos me dicen Ale, excepto los doctores, ellos me dicen “Karlita”. Vivo en Chihuahua, México. Me gusta estudiar, bailar, leer y salir con mis amigos. Estudio la Lic. en Administración y soy misionera.
Hi! My name is Alejandra Baca, but everyone calls me Ale except the doctors, who call me “Karlita.” I live in Chihuahua, Mexico. I like to study, dance, read, and go out with friends. I'm working on my degree in administration, and I'm a missionary.
The introduction from Alejandra Baca's blog, I Have Cancer and Keep Shining, where she writes about having non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Her cancer was diagnosed when she was 17. After a bone marrow transplant, chemotherapy sessions, she's had to give up modeling.
Los grandes cambios siempre vienen acompañados de una fuerte sacudida. No es el fin del mundo. Es el inicio de uno nuevo.
— Ale Baca (@AleeBaca) January 13, 201
“Big changes are always accompanied by a big blow. It's not the end of the world. It's the beginning of a new one.
February 4th is World Cancer Day (#DiaMundialcontraelCancer).

author: Mary Aviles


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More Than 20 Zamalek Fans Die Trying to Enter a Football Game in Egypt · Global Voices
Global Voices MENA

This photograph showing police shooting at a crowd outside the football stadium went viral in the hours following the carnage It is a still from this video, showing how the police attacked the fans. Source: Twitter
At least 25 fans of the Egyptian Zamalek football team died in violence in front of the Air Defense Stadium in the Nasr City in the province of Cairo where a football match between the Zamalek and ENPPI teams was getting started.
The Zamalek fan group “Ultras White Knights” and the Egyptian Interior Ministry took to Facebook to state opposing versions of the events.
The Ultras White Knights official Facebook page began posting on the events at 5.56pm with a post which read: “Breaking/ The interior [ministry] begins firing gas in front of the Air Defense Stadium and many cases of fainting and choking.”
Approximately 40 minutes later, the Ultras announced that they had received reports of “martyrs dying.”
At 6.53pm, the official Facebook page of the Interior Ministry issued a statement claiming that a large number of Zamalek fans arrived at the Air Defense Stadium without tickets to the game and attempted to storm the gates by force, and the security forces were summoned to prevent the fans from damaging the stadium's property. The ministry then called upon the fans to follow the rules and guidelines for attending the games.
At 7.19pm, a photograph of the steel cage corridor that fans had to pass through before it collapsed was uploaded to the page. Minutes later, photographs of what seemed to be casualties from the events were also uploaded.
At 7.45pm, the Ultras had reported that the number of dead had reached five. The page's cover and profile photographs were changed to plain black moments later.
The Ultras uploaded two photographs of a list of 22 names of people it said were killed as of 9.52pm. By 12.07am, the number of dead had reached 28.
At 10.16 pm, the Interior Ministry issued another statement on its Facebook page claiming that the number of fans who had gathered at the gate without tickets was over 10,000 and that they attempted to push their way through and jump over the fence. Tens of them were injured as a result, and those injured were transported to nearby hospitals, according to the statement. The statement continued:
“The forces dispersed them. They [the fans] then moved to the road leading to the stadium and blocked both ways of the traffic, forced the vehicle that was carrying the Zamalek Sports Club players to stop, prevented it from reaching the stadium, and set fire to one of the police cars. They have been dispersed, and the players’ and the coaching staff's arrival at the field has been secured. We have heard reports of cases of fatalities among the injured due to the stampede; the public prosecution has been informed and the completion of the investigation process is underway.”
The Zamalek fan page labeled the event as a “planned massacre”, pointing out that the “steel cage” – in a reference to a narrow steel corridor that the crowds of people had to pass through to enter the stadium – was set up one day before the match. The page also claimed that Mortada Mansour, the chairman of the Zamalek Sports Club, had purchased all of the tickets to the match in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior.
A video that has been circulating among Egyptian social media users shows the early moments of the incident. A large crowd of fans are seen hoping to enter the stadium. A group of security forces blocked the way to the stadium. Voices can be heard from the crowd shouting, “People are dying!” The security forces did not move. After approximately a minute and a half, a voice near the camera shouts: “The people are dying! Open up! The people are dying!” Moments later, the steel caged passage collapsed on those inside under the weight of a number of people who had gotten on top of it. The security forces are then seen backing slightly away and raising their batons as the crowd began to spread out. The video then shows an armored vehicle approaching the area and launching tear gas canisters into the crowd.
In another video posted on YouTube, police are seen shooting what seems to be a round of bird-shot into the crowd:
The Ultras White Knights
The Zamalek sports club ultras fan group “Ultras White Knights” was established on March 17, 2007, according to its official Facebook page. The group's sports-related statements, fan-gear advertisements, and graffiti work make up most of the page's posts. The group has announced in numerous statements that it has nothing to do with politics and allows its members to take part in any political activity so long as they do not use the group's name while doing so. Some of its merchandise and graffiti work, however, has displayed the group's pro-Palestine and pan-Arab beliefs. The tracks on their SoundCloud page include pan-Arab, anti-police, and pro-revolutionary songs they have produced themselves.
Despite the group's official neutral position in politics, two of its members were killed during the January 25th revolution that forced former president Hosni Mubarak out of office in 2011.
Murtada Mansour
The current chairman of the board of the Zamalek Sports Club, Murtada Mansour has been a controversial figure in the political arena and the sports industry in Egypt. A former judge and member of parliament during former president Hosni Mubarak's time in office, he has been considered by many to be a supporter of Mubarak's regime and one of its remnants. During the revolution, he joined the pro-Mubarak protesters at Moustafa Mahmoud Square in Cairo where he praised the former president.
During the last presidential elections in Egypt, Murtada Mansour announced that he was not going to run for office after having previously told his supporters that he planned joining the race. During a press conference, he stated that a dream he had involving two military officers pushed him to cancel his candidacy.
In August of last year, Murtada Mansour survived an assassination attempt. He later claimed that members of the Ultras White Knights were responsible, in addition to the son of the ousted president Muhammed Morsi.
In October, Ultras White Knights uploaded a video on their YouTube page showing one of their members coming from behind Murtada Mansour and slapping him across the back of his neck – an insult in Egyptian culture. Another member of the group came from the front and threw what the group claimed to be a bag of urine.
Social Media and the “Air Defense Stadium Massacre”
Many Egyptian personalities took to Twitter to voice their outrage. When the number of dead had reached 20, chief editor of the Egyptian newspaper ElMasryoon, Gamal Soltan, wrote:
الدم الحرام الذي هو أعظم حرمة من الكعبة المشرفة أصبح في مصر أرخص من تذكرة مباراة كرة ، يا ويل وطن يسترخص فيه الدم إلى هذا الحد ـ 20 قتيلا
— جمال سلطان (@GamalSultan1) February 8, 2015
The sanctified blood that is more sanctified than the Holy Kaaba has become, in Egypt, cheaper than a football ticket. Oh woe to a country in which blood is made cheap to this extend. – 20 dead.
Dr. Saif Abdel Fattah, a political science professor at the University of Cairo, wrote:
فى كل دول العالم من لا يمتلك تذكرة لا يحضر المباراة .. إلا فى مصر يُقتل!
— Dr.Saif AbdelFattah (@drSaifAbdelFatt) February 9, 2015
In all the countries of the world, whoever does not own a ticket does not attend the match . . except in Egypt, he is killed!
In a response to the statement by the Ministry of the Interior, Egyptian human rights activist Sherif Azer wrote:
#الداخلية يضربوا غاز و خرطوش و الناس و هي بتهرب منهم تدوس على بعض فيقولك مافيش اثار خرطوش او اختناق, دي الجريمة الكاملة #مجزرة_الدفاع_الجوي
— شريف عازر (@sherif_azer) February 8, 2015
They shoot [tear]gas and bird-shot and the people, while they run from them, step on each other so he'll tell you ‘there are no signs of bird-shot or choking.’ This is a perfect crime.
In a sarcastic tweet he wrote:
من يرتكب جريمة شنيعة لا انسانية مثل دخول مباراة بدون تذكرة يجب أن تنفذ فيه عقوبة الاعدام الميدانية فورا #مجزرة_الدفاع_الجوي
— شريف عازر (@sherif_azer) February 8, 2015
He who commits a horrible, inhumane crime such as entering a match without a ticket; he must be punished by field execution immediately.
Political activist and poet Abdul Rahman Yusuf tweeted:
أقسم بالله العظيم الذي لا إله إلا هو سوف نقتص منكم جميعا … مهما طال الزمن … ومهما حاولتم الهرب … مصيركم القصاص يا قتلة !!!
— Abdul rahman Yusuf (@arahmanyusuf) February 8, 2015
I swear by Almighty God we will take revenge on you all …. no matter how long it takes … and no matter how you try to escape, your destiny is retribution, you murderers!
Egyptian politician and former presidential candidate Abdel Meniem Abolfotoh said that interior minister Muhammed Ibrahim is directly responsible for what happened, and that Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi bears a political responsibility for the deaths.
أعزي أسر شهداء مشجعي الزمالك في مصابهم الجلل. الرئيس السيسي مسئول سياسيا ووزير الداخلية مسئول بشكل مباشر. المحاسبة واجبة
— عبدالمنعم أبو الفتوح (@DrAbolfotoh) February 10, 2015
Condolences to the families of the martyrs of the Zamalek fans in their great affliction. The president El-Sisi is politically responsible and the interior minister is directly responsible. Accountability is mandatory.
Egyptian lawyer and freedom-of-expression advocate Gamal Eid compared between the official statement of the ministry of the interior and statements from other countries regarding similar events.
في كل بلاد العالم حين تحدث جريمة يكون التصريح : الشرطة بذلت جهدها في حماية الضحايا في مصر: الشرطة لم تقتل ،، وبس #مجزرة_الدفاع_الجوي
— Gamal Eid (@gamaleid) February 9, 2015
In all the countries of the world, whenever a crime occurs, the statement is:
The police exerted its energy in protecting the victims.
In Egypt: The police did not kill.
He later suggested that the incident may prepared to cover up a recent alleged leak in which Egyptian president El-Sisi mocked the Gulf countries.
غطي على الفضيحة #تسريبات_مكتب_السيسي بجريمة #مجزرة_الدفاع_الجوي وغطي على الجريمة بفضيحة وغطي على الفضيحة بجريمة وغطي على الجريمة بفضيحة
— Gamal Eid (@gamaleid) February 9, 2015
Cover up a scandal with a crime #El-sisi_office_leaks #air_defense_stadium_massacre
And cover up the crime with a scandal,
And cover up the scandal with a crime,
And cover up the crime with a scandal.
Egypt had previously witnessed a similar football-related incident in February, 2012, when violence between fans of two football teams left 74 people dead.

author: Global Voices MENA


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Russia Says You Can’t Mention Ukrainian Nationalists, Unless You Say They’re Bad · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Images mixed by Kevin Rothrock.
Roskomnadzor, Russia's government-run media watchdog, has issued a new set of “clarifications” about the media's freedom to mention officially recognized “extremist” groups. The Justice Ministry has banned 41 such groups, most recently targeting five Ukrainian nationalist organizations in November 2014.
According to Roskomnadzor's statement today, Russia's law against extremism prohibits the dissemination of any information about a banned extremist group, unless media outlets also indicate that the organization has been “liquidated” or that its “activities have been banned in Russia.” The other permitted way to mention such organizations it to do so “in a negative light, ascribing them characteristics like ‘radical,’ ‘extremist,’ or ‘nationalist.'”
Any newspaper or website caught violating these rules is subject to a fine and an official warning from Roskomnadzor. The Justice Ministry has the power to revoke the accreditation of any media outlet that's received more than one government warning in a single 12-month period. In the last 12 months alone, Roskomnadzor has issued warnings regarding supposedly extremist content to at least six major Russian news outlets, including Lenta.ru, Novaya Gazeta, Polit.ru, BusinessOnline, BFM.ru, and MediaZona.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Some Right-Wing Groups in India Have No Love for Valentine’s Day This Year · Global Voices
Subhashish Panigrahi

Hindu Sena Activist Protest in New Delhi Against Valentine's Day. Image by Arjun Panwar. Copyright Demotix (12/2/2015)
Valentine's Day has become more and more popular over the last two decades in India, a trend that has alarmed certain camps in the country, who have sought to put a damper on the Western celebration of love and romance.
This year, Hindu Mahasabha, a right-wing Hindu nationalist political party, has announced that in the Indian city of Meerut they will force couples caught telling each other “I love you” in public or on social media will be forced to marry in an Arya Samaj wedding. If the couple are of different religious faiths, then they have to go through a religious purification ritual, the group has warned.
Similarly, another political group, Kalinga Sena from the Indian state of Odisha, has announced they will patrol public spaces, videotape couples in “vulgar” acts and share the videos with the couples’ parents. Forcing the couple to marry is also apparently part of their Valentine's Day plan.
Many have decried the groups’ intentions on social media as a violation of personal freedom and privacy. Activist organization Jhatkaa encouraged people to sign a petition on Twitter:
#HinduMahasabha want to punish couples celebrating #ValentinesDay! Sign this petition against #MoralPolicing http://t.co/WisHg5GygB
— Jhatkaa (@Jhatkaa) February 6, 2015
Unfortunately, moral policing isn't new to India. In one high-profile case from 2009, another right-wing group Sri Rama Sene assaulted young women in a pub in the city of Mysore. To protest the violence, a campaign called “Pink Chaddi campaign” (pink underwear campaign) was launched and went viral to the extent that people started sending pink underwear to Sri Rama Sene's office.
Internet jokes poking fun at the two groups’ announcements have started populating social media. One offers a tongue-and-cheek interpretation of Hindu Mahasabha's and Kalinga Sena's plans as supporting LGBT rights (gay marriage is not legally permitted in India):
Gay couples excited after #HinduMahasabha announces weddings on Valentine's Day #fake http://t.co/2dR9DUDzxx pic.twitter.com/CLBgqFB0ez
— Trending Fake News (@Fakeolizer) February 4, 2015
If I express my love for a girl on Valentine's day, will we still get married? Does this mean #HinduMahasabha supports LGBT?
— Srishti Sharma (@srishti597) February 10, 2015
Others used the news as inspiration for funny Internet memes:
ROFL #ValentinesDay #HinduMahasabha pic.twitter.com/OEsof9Q4eA
— Faheem (@stoppression) February 8, 2015
Hindu Mahasabha was founded in 1914 to advocate for a Hindu country and Hindu nationalist ideology called Hindutva. In 1948, members of the party were involved in the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, and soon after, leading Hindu Mahasabha figure Shyama Prasad Mookerjee left to form what would become India's current ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (popularly known as BJP).
Kalinga Sena, on the other hand, wishes to combine several Odia language-speaking regions of the larger Kalinga kingdom, which was disintegrated during India's independence, and advocates for the language, culture, heritage and general problems of the state.
Neither party has very much influence in current Indian politics.
Aside from its threat of moral policing, Hindu Mahasabha, Sri Rama Sene, and two other right-wing Hindu parties demonstrated their disapproval of Valentine's Day in the city of Mangalore in a protest on February 8, demanding a ban on the holiday.
In a post titled “Yes, yes, please arrange my honeymoon too!” journalist and blogger Piyush Rai sarcastically argued that Hindu Mahasabha had endorsed inter-caste marriages, traditionally frowned upon in India, with its announcement:
Of all those tragic love stories and heart-broken youngsters who never got support of their family, I am sure Hindu Mahasabha will be a one stop solution, at least on Valentines's Day.
Journalist Debashis Tripathy compared Kalinga Sena's attempt at violating people's privacy to that of Hindu Mahasabha:
Kalinga Sena to videotape couples seen together on Valentine Day & send clippings to their parents. Now beat that, Hindu Maha Sabha! #Odisha
— Debashis Tripathy (@deba1602) February 5, 2015
Writer and commentator Sameera Khan objected to Hindu Mahasabha's act as a barrier preventing women from accessing public spaces:
It’s when women want to access public space for pleasure, to wander around, sit on a park bench and read, or hang out with a boyfriend, or as we say, to loiter, that is when Indian society is not okay with it.
Some have demanded that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi comment and stop Hindu Mahasabha. Modi hasn't made any public statement so far, and Hindu Mahasabha hasn't released any further statements since it first announced its Valentine's Day plans.
#HinduMahasabha is nothing but a bunch of goons masquerading under the garb of protecting Hinduism, BJP should distance themselves from them
— Shanks (@vermashanks) February 10, 2015
The Silence Of #Modi will be repaid after 5 years #HinduMahasabha to install #Godse statue in temples -http://t.co/ZjNSep8Li7
— FreedomFighterz (@PuliArason) January 31, 2015
A satirical protest is planned in Delhi for Valentine's Day in front of Hindu Mahasabha's head office. The Facebook event page has more than 1,700 people saying they will attend:
All struggling lovers of the world and otherwise! Lets gather in heartfelt gratitude outside the Hindu Mahasabha's head office on Mandir Marg […] this Valentine's Day for the most EPIC mass marriage ceremony Delhi will ever see!
“SHUDDH DESI ROMANCE: Hindu Mahasabha Style!” a protest against Hindu Mahasabha's plan to marry off couples making public displays of affection on Valentine's Day. Image from the Facebook event page.
As Valentine's Day approaches, police are keeping a vigil eye on vulnerable places. Inspector General of the city of Meerut Alok Sharma told Times of India, “It might be Valentine's Day or any other day, no one has the right to do moral policing. But if the members of the outfit involve themselves in any such activity, they should be ready to face legal action.”
With global cultural finding more acceptance locally, the intolerance of some religious and political groups of people's changing lifestyles is disrupting the harmony of society. Intolerance like this comes at great cost to the people, damaging human rights and personal freedom.

author: Subhashish Panigrahi


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The Minsk Summit 2.0 · Global Voices
Will Wright

Images edited by Kevin Rothrock.
World leaders pulled an all-nighter in the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Wednesday in a marathon session of tense, high-stakes international diplomacy.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko welcomed two of the European Union's most powerful leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, as well as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin, all with their diplomatic entourages in tow, for a dramatic diplomatic push to stop the escalating violence in eastern Ukraine.
Ultimately, the leaders emerged Thursday morning, after a grueling 16 hours of negotiations, with a peace deal to show for their efforts.
Russians, along with citizens from around the globe, were glued to developments on social media networks as the talks unfolded. And the fact that news was sparse for most of the night, with discussions taking place behind closed doors, barely slowed down the Internet, of course.
The most popular image shared across social networks was probably this picture:
Photo from tvrain.ru
Numerous social media users utilized the photo for political commentary and jokes.
This thing will be memed from here to eternity #MinskSummit pic.twitter.com/xuOPsn33bC
— Exen (@Exen) February 12, 2015
Many of the most widely shared comments and posts likewise combined humor with cutting political undertones.
A popular RuNet account specializing in dark humor tied news of the recent accidental leak of the upcoming season of the popular Netflix series House of Cards to the tense diplomatic situation in Minsk:
Смотрят третий сезон House of Cards. pic.twitter.com/8ZhyK06MGX — Все Плохо (@sranysovok) February 11, 2015
They're watching the third season of House of Cards.
An unflattering photograph of Vladimir Putin arriving in Minsk and a witty caption garnered Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny's account hundred of retweets.
Двойника в Минск отправили. На случай, если там подстава pic.twitter.com/epAWqB1eto — Alexey Navalny (@navalny) February 11, 2015
They sent a body double to Minsk. In case it's a setup.
Another popular item to spread rapidly across social networks was this looped video, apparently showing Lukashenko pulling Putin's chair away as Putin attempts to sit down:
Most of those sharing this amusing clip appeared initially unaware, however, that it was actually news footage run in reverse for comedic effect.
As the night wore on, many social media posts, especially those by journalists, began focusing on the theme of sleep deprivation.
Пресса в Минске перешла в режим стендбай. Ну и я пойду спать. pic.twitter.com/uJilozSrch — Maro (@14720Maro) February 12, 2015
The press in Minsk has gone into sleep mode. Well, I will get some sleep too.
When #Ukraine peace talks going on for almost 12 hours ago, reporters and local staff try to get some rest pic.twitter.com/lhQOEJateR — Andrey Ostroukh (@AndreyOstroukh) February 12, 2015
TV Rain even used a photo of a yawning Poroshenko in a tweet about the negotiations entering the early morning hours.
Переговоры затянулись до глубокой ночи http://t.co/oKEaTxVrdV pic.twitter.com/JZQ9FTlkvm — Телеканал ДОЖДЬ (@tvrain) February 11, 2015
Some social media accounts also performed a more serious function. For example, one Ukrainian aide to President Poroshenko posted updates to his Facebook account and the German Foreign Office used Twitter to share breaking news:
Breaking: Agreement in #Minsk. #MinskSummit
— GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) February 12, 2015

author: Will Wright


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The Western Hemisphere’s Deadliest Country for Journalists · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

2014 World Press Freedom Index map by Reporters Without Borders.
Reporters Sans Frontières recently unveiled the World Press Freedom Index for 2014, in which Mexico ranked #152 out of 180 countries. The non-governmental press freedom organization headquartered in France highlighted a “decline on all fronts” in this year's installment of the annual ranking.
Home to both the largest mass media company in Latin America and the richest telecom mogul on Earth, Mexico has risen only four points on the Index since 2013. This distressingly low score led the NGO to emphasize the violence and impunity Mexican journalists face on a daily basis:
This was the western hemisphere's deadliest country for journalists in 2014 (for murders directly linked to media work). Murders, kidnappings, physical attacks and threats go almost entirely unpunished, fuelling fear and self-censorship.
In 2014, two professional journalists were killed, along with one citizen media worker, as a direct result of their writings. The so-called war on drug cartels launched by Mexican government in 2006 has correlated with an increase in violence and corruption in the country, leading to a weakening of justice and human rights:
Collusion between organized crime and certain politicians and local officials hampers good governance and justice at all levels. The federal mechanisms for protecting human rights defenders and journalists are not effective or rapid enough to meet the needs of endangered journalists.
In this hostile environment for press freedom, the NGO pointed out the lack of pluralism the TV sector, which is the country's most popular medium for news:
The media landscape suffers from a lack of pluralism in the TV sector and the vulnerability of community radio stations, which are often denied legal frequencies and are subject to persecution.
Mexico falls below other countries in conflict such as Afghanistan (#128) and Ukraine (#127), and far below neighboring Costa Rica (#16).
Other countries in the Americas like Venezuela (#116), Honduras (#129) and Guatemala (#125) are also above Mexico in the ranking, but still reflect a dismal scenario for media workers. Cuba (#170) ranked lower in the index than any other country in the Americas but managed to climb one point from last year.
Methodology on this sort of work is often the subject of controversy. This year, Reporters Sans Frontières changed their methods in an effort to better adapt to all the situations that “journalists, news media and bloggers may have to face.” The index is developed out of a questionnaire answered by correspondents, partner organizations and even jurists and human rights defenders, according to the NGO.
This particular approach based on individual perceptions might not satisfy all analysts, considering 10% of the respondents are foreign correspondents in the country they evaluate, as noted by Deutsche Welle.
For the time being, the specialized prosecutor for crimes against freedom of expression (Fiscal Especial para la Atención de Delitos Cometidos en Contra de la Libertad de Expresión) — a branch in the Office Mexico's Attorney General — has not issued any statement regarding the 2014 World Press Freedom Index.

author: J. Tadeo


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Two Latin Americans Nominated for Index Freedom of Expression Awards · Global Voices
Mary Aviles

Index's poster for the Freedom of Expression Awards
The communication platform, Courage for Tamaulipas, and Ecuadorian sketch artist, Xavier “Bonil” Bonilla, were the only Latin Americans nominated at the Index Freedom of Expression Awards, which recognizes organizations and individuals in the fight against censorship.
The awards were created by Index on Censorship, an international organization dedicated to defending freedom of expression. Awards are given out in four categories: journalism, art, campaigns, and digital activism. Out of a total of 2,000 nominations, only 17 advanced to the final round.
Bonilla, who's nominated in the art category, has been the target of fines and various legal battles in Ecuador. In 2013 President Rafael Correa passed a law allowing the government to control certain content by journalists. Among the first victims were the newspaper El Universo as well as Bonilla himself. Both had to retract a drawing and pay a fine.
Meanwhile, Courage for Tamaulipas is competing in the digital activism category, and here the public can vote by clicking on the following link. The Mexican site was created in one of the most dangerous areas for journalism. Since 2010, six journalists have been killed, and violence by drug cartels in the region has resulted in a media blackout. Now drug-related violence is reported anonymously by the citizens.


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Yemen Marks 4th Year Revolution Anniversary Rallying Against Houthis · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

A demonstration in Ibb commemorating the Yemeni revolution's anniversary on February 11 and condemning the Houthi militia. Photograph shared by @yemen_updates on Twitter
February 11th marked the fourth year anniversary of Yemen's revolution which toppled President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33 year rule. Yemenis took to the streets on the eve of the fall of Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in 2011 in what then became known as the Arab Spring.
Video journalist Benjamin Wiajeck, (formerly known on Twitter as @Nefermaat) recalls:
I remember 4 years ago: went out at night, people in #Sanaa celebrating #Mubarak resignation. Mass protests increased after that. #Yemen
— Benjamin Wiacek (@BenjaminWiacek) February 11, 2015
Four years ago, the Houthis were among those who gathered in Sana'a's Change Square and marched alongside the opposition to overthrow President Saleh's rule. Since Houthis took control over Yemen, they have been using the same tactics as former President Saleh to silence opposition, by kidnapping and detaining youth and verbally and physically assaulting others. Four years later, and according to photographs and posts shared on social media, some protesters have incurred injuries in Wednesday's marches.
Hamzah AlKamaly tweeted a photograph of Hisham Alwani, an activist who was stabbed by the Houthis while peacefully protesting in a march on Wednesday (February 11).
#اليمن #صورة الثائر هشام العلواني،طعنه #الحوثيون اليوم #Yemen #Houthi strapped protester was injured by houthis pic.twitter.com/nFodzdo4XE
— Hamzah alkamaly (@hamzaalkamaly) February 11, 2015
Activist Fatma Al-Aghbari tweeted in Arabic “This is how Houthis treat revolutionaries”:
هكذا يعامل الحوثيين لثوار pic.twitter.com/8bVZvTL6xb
— فاطمة الاغبري (@bag2009) February 11, 2015
Fouad Al-Hothefy tweeted:
#Yemen photo describe how houthis militias treated with peaceful youth demonstration in #sanaa pic.twitter.com/d9CmOcbH95
— Fuad Al-Hothefy (@Fuad_PRYC) February 11, 2015
Sarah Jamal tweeted:
On the 4th anniversary of 2011 uprisings, the streets r far frm safe 4 protests unless it's a houthi march #Yemen pic.twitter.com/l8UIlHi6Le
— Sarah Jamal (@Sarah_Sanaa) February 11, 2015
Despite the Houthis threats and violence, Yemenis rallied across the country to mark the revolution's anniversary and voice their objection to their rule.
Yemen Updates tweeted some photographs from anti-Houthi demonstrations:
Houthis use public resources to establish their power. Helicopters fly over #Sanaa protecting them while attacking #Feb11 protesters. #Yemen
— Yemen Updates (@yemen_updates) February 11, 2015
Pictures from a massive protest in #Taiz celebrating #Feb11 and rejecting #Houthi coup. #Yemen pic.twitter.com/YjBpBLh2pX
— Yemen Updates (@yemen_updates) February 11, 2015
Houthis storm in youth protests objecting their takeover of the state. Female protesters never afraid. #Yemen #Feb11 pic.twitter.com/S5CQpfTKni
— Yemen Updates (@yemen_updates) February 11, 2015
Hisham Omeisy tweeted photographs of Houthi demonstrations taking over the same squares and streets that witnessed the revolution against ousted President Saleh.
Here are pics from the Houthi demos in Sana'a #Yemen via their social media..yeah noticed segregation but also Women! pic.twitter.com/aRwMhR4o0B
— Hisham Al-Omeisy (@omeisy) February 11, 2015
Houthi demos in Sanaa at Change Sq, 60M, & 70M. Basically 3 main venues of 2011 rivals! Symbolism/message clear; we control ALL now #Yemen
— Hisham Al-Omeisy (@omeisy) February 11, 2015
Four years later, the demands are the same, except the Houthis are now the ones protesters are asking to step down.
Nadwa Al-Dawsari-Johnson sarcastically tweeted:
#Houthis r rejected by entire South, Mid, East & West #Yemen. If they think they can rule #Yemen by force they must be chewing too much gat
— Nadwa (@Ndawsari) February 11, 2015
Qat is a stimulating green leafy plant consumed in Yemen.
Wiajeck added:
Hundreds are marching today in #Yemen the same they were marching 4 years ago…Today, there are new players, but same demands remain ignored.
— Benjamin Wiacek (@BenjaminWiacek) February 11, 2015
February 2011 was a month when everything seemed possible. February 2015 looks much more depressing… #Yemen #hope #despair #divisions
— Benjamin Wiacek (@BenjaminWiacek) February 11, 2015
Manal Althurairi tweeted:
For as long as I can remember, it was a revolution for a better Yemen!
— Manal (@ManalAlthurairi) February 11, 2015
As news of  Embassies closing down in Yemen spread across the media, many Yemenis didn't seem as alarmed nor concerned:
Osama Abdullah tweeted what mattered most to Yemenis:
#Yemen should always be self-dependent- Embassies leaving the country is their issue with the Houthis- all forces should come together & act
— Osama Abdullah (@PoliticsYemen) February 11, 2015
Yemen's politics is complex and hard to understand. Yesterday's enemies are today's partners, yet is a great place for political science students to learn about realpolitik and not just political theories. Youth activist Farae Almuslimi simplifies Yemen politics in this tweet:
If politics in #Yemen was a soccer ball; Saleh wanted to play without rules , Islah wanted to play solely , and #Hothis ripped the ball..
— Farea Al-muslimi (@almuslimi) February 3, 2015
Yemeni politician Mostapha Noman highlighted the cause behind Yemen's political turmoil in this tweet:
@FazliCorman @NoonArabia Yemen is doomed by greedy political class, their fights have been for partisan and never for national interests
— Mustapha Noman (@MustaphaNoman) February 13, 2015
This video by a media collective SupportYemen , embodies the spirit and demands of Yemen's revolution:
Four years ago, Yemenis went out to the streets demanding change, a civil state and an end to corruption and are still in the streets today, despite their deteriorating living conditions, demanding the exact same thing. There are many arguments about why Yemen has reached this point, was it the GCC initiative not addressing the demands of the country's youth, who were the backbone of the revolution, or the international community seeking its own interest by allowing the political elite to stay in power, or Yemen's greedy political class fighting for their personal rather than national interests.
Yemen's revolution is not over, as Baraa Shiban tweeted:
The Revolution is a continuous act "11th of February" …. #Yemen
— Baraa Shiban (@BShtwtr) February 10, 2015
And on Facebook, Majda Al-haddad writes:
خرجنا قبل اربع سنوات في مثل هذا اليوم رفضا للفساد والظلم والطغيان. اليوم سنقول الاف المرات لا للمليشيات المسلحة لا للانقلاب .
الثورة مستمرة وسنبقى نعمل لاجل تحقيق حلمنا بدولة مدنية
We took to the streets four years ago on this day, in rejection of corruption, injustice and tyranny. Today we say a thousand times no to armed militias, no to a coup. The Revolution is ongoing and we will keep working in order to achieve our dream of a civil state.
Further Reading:
For previous years’ posts marking this anniversary, check out our coverage:
In 2012
In 2013
In 2014

author: Noon Arabia


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Are We Witnessing the Death of ‘Uh’? Um, Maybe — and Not Just in English · Global Voices
PRI/PRX's The World

US President Barack Obama and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte both favor “uh” (or “eh” in Dutch) over “um.” Younger people and women are more likely to say “um.” Credit: PRI's The World/Reuters.
This article and a radio report by Ari Daniel for The World in Words originally appeared on PRI.org on February 5, 2015 and is republished as part of a content-sharing agreement.
According to experts, “uh” and “um” are somewhat different beasts. “It does seem to be the case that ‘um’ generally signals a longer or more important pause than ‘uh,'” says Mark Liberman, a linguist at the University of Pennsylvania. At least that's what he thought.
Liberman has been studying these so-called “filled pauses” for almost a decade, and he has made a rather curious discovery.
“As Americans get older, they use ‘uh’ more,” he says. “And at every age, men use ‘uh’ more than women.”
If you look at “um,” exactly the opposite is true. Younger people say “um” more often than older people. And no matter the age, women say “um” more than men. Nobody, not even the linguists, were expecting this result; until they studied these hesitations, they thought it was more about the amount of time a speaker hesitates than who that speaker is.
Then, late last summer, Liberman attended a conference in Groningen in the Netherlands. During a coffee break, Liberman was chatting with a small group of researchers. He brought up his finding about the age and gender differences related to “um” and “uh,” which prompted the group to look for that pattern outside of American English. They scanned British and Scottish English, German, Danish, Dutch and Norwegian.
The result, says University of Groningen linguist Martijn Wieling, is that, “in all cases, we find the same thing.” Just like the Americans that Mark Liberman analyzed, women and younger people and younger people said “um” more than “uh.”
Wieling's conclusion is that we are witnessing a language change in progress, “and that women and younger people are leading the change.”
This pattern of women and young people leading us forward is typical of most language changes. But why is “um” our future, across at least two continents and five Germanic languages? It's still a puzzle.
Josef Fruehwald's research suggests that the use of ‘um’ is preferred among females and young people. Credit: Josef Fruehwald/University of Edinburgh.
Josef Fruehwald, a sociolinguist at the University of Edinburgh, agrees that “um” and “uh” may be used slightly differently. But as far as he is concerned, they are pretty much equivalent.
“When you have two options, you can start using one more frequently and maybe replace the other one so that it’s no longer an option,” he says. “So why ‘um?’ It’s just one of these things. There’s always a little bit of randomness to the whole situation.”
By random, he means that we do not know why changes in usage like this happen, or when the next one will be. Fruehwald admits linguists are terrible at predicting the future — worse than meteorologists! Language, he says, is even more chaotic than the weather.
As for how such a linguistic trend might have jumped from one language to another, Fruehwald says “there are some documented cases of that kind of thing happening, usually where people can speak both languages and borrow features of one into the other.”
English is the most likely to be influencing the other languages, but we still don't know whether that's actually what's happening with “um.” More research and more linguists are needed.
And as for the future, “um” and “uh” may yo-yo back and forth in terms of their popularity. Or we may well be watching the extinction of “uh” from our lexicon.
So would Fruehwald miss “uh?”. “I don’t have a really strong emotional connection to either of these,” he admits. “Although based on my age demographics, I’m likely a high ‘um’ user. So maybe that’s where I should throw my loyalties.”
The World in Words podcast is on Facebook and iTunes.
Patrick Cox adds: Also in this podcast episode, a conversation with Michael Erard, editor of Schwa Fire and author of “Um…:Slips, Stumbles and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean.”
Credit: David Conrad.

author: PRI/PRX's The World


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Leaving With the Hope of One Day Returning: A Dominican Man in Spain · Global Voices
Ana Hernández

Jesús Antonio García, the “Alfarero”. Photo taken by Ana Hernández.
This is the first in a series of interviews exploring the experiences of Latin Americans who leave their country of origin seeking new and different opportunities. In this post, Ana Hernández talks to Jesús Antonio García, a businessman from Dominican Republic living in Spain. This interview was originally posted on Ana's blog and the Spanish online newspaper El Crisol de Ciudad Real.
Low-rise and detached houses. Open skies, bright and clear. Crowded asphalt roads, very popular avenues; lots of stalls on the street. People buying, selling, screaming at the intersection of Duarte and Paris streets, where Enrique Iglesias’ dancers performed a while ago for his videoclip ‘Bailando‘, filmed in the heart of Santo Domingo.
Smells that mingle, making a difficult game of identification: ripe avocados, rice, beans and lots of veal. And 30 kilometers away, Boca Chica, a natural respite on the south coast of the island of Hispaniola. “The streets of the Dominican Republic's capital are too busy” says Jesus Antonio Garcia, from Santo Domingo, who lives in Ciudad Real in Spain, where he and his business are known as ‘Alfarero’ (potter).
Pottery requires at least two elements, the molder and the molded, “and I am of the latter because it is God who molds me,” says the 58-year-old, barely smiling but cheerful.
Jesus Antonio, a migrant who deals daily with the bureaucratic measures and the procedures alien to his home country, talks now about Dominican Republic with a confidence that comes with being at a distance:
Como otros presidentes en Latino América, Danilo Medina está fomentando la pequeña y mediana empresa. El Gobierno financia y garantiza y eso beneficia. Sobre todo al turismo y el comercio, donde destacan las inversiones, puntos fuertes del futuro de República Dominicana.
Like other presidents in Latin America, Danilo Medina is promoting small and medium businesses. The government funds and guarantees, and that’s good. Especially for tourism and trade, where investments stand out, strengths of the future of Dominican Republic.
“It's all about making things easier and providing opportunities”, explains the owner of ‘Alfarero’, where he has tried to include a little of the air that is breathed in his country.
Mi fuerte es la venta de productos latinos, pero tengo género muy variado. Hasta veinte servicios distintos disponibles veinticuatro horas sin interrupción. Fotocopias, fax, Internet, locutorio, envío de valores y de paquetes.
My forte is selling Latin products, but I have a varied selection. Up to 20 different services 24 hours without interruption. Photocopies, fax, Internet, telephone booth, money transfers, and package shipping.
Although Jesus Antonio states that he very much longs for his country, he recognizes that he is fine in Spain:
Al principio dormí en la calle, siempre en parques, pero sin miedo porque cuando no se tiene nada no se teme tampoco. Luego mejoré y con mucho interés, una pequeña ayuda de mi hermana, las metas claras, fe, ánimo y perseverancia se empiezan a lograr pequeñas cosas que conducen hacia otras mayores.
At first I slept on the street, always in parks, but without fear because when you have nothing you're not afraid. Then things got better. With a lot of will, a little help from my sister, clear goals, faith, courage and perseverance, you begin to achieve small things that lead to other bigger ones.
He considers himself to be an honest person, so he does not lie when he says that after having tried his luck in Spain, UK, Cuba, Venezuela and the United States, it's possible to improve, but never easy.
Se puede llegar sin nada y conseguir algo.
You can arrive with nothing and achieve something.
He speaks about Latin America from afar, but he ensures it is developing a lot: “Now is its time, the day-to-day is always changing and the movement keeps you alive”.
Jesus Antonio, who arrived in October, just like the hurricane season, has spent three years in Spain. He will leave come the fourth. He will return to retire from his businesses, “which requires a lot of sacrifice”. To rise again at dawn and earn enough for the day without pause until the evening, “when the party has already started”. And so, the Dominican ‘Alfarero’, from the Spanish town of Ciudad Real calmly explains:
Volveré para ser consciente de todos los cambios, porque uno de seguido no percibe tanto como cuando llega de pronto. Por eso y porque uno siempre regresa a lo que ha sido.
I will return in order to be aware of all the changes, because one often does not perceive as much as when one arrives suddenly. Because of that, and because one always comes back to what has been.

author: Ana Hernández


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Japan Needs Apartheid, Says Influential Conservative Author  · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

“Who is Ayako Sono really?” Image courtesy Kikatarou Yamazaki (originally from Shukan Kinyobi Jan. 24, 2014 issue)
In a recent newspaper column in the print edition of Sankei Shinbun, noted Japanese author and conservative political activist Ayako Sono advocated that immigrants to Japan be separated by race and forced to live in special zones.
Sono wrote the article amidst ongoing debate on whether or not to increase immigration rates to Japan in the face of an ageing population.
Hiroko Tabuchi, formerly the New York Times’ Japan correspondent, took note:
Japan needs to have a convo on racism (2) Sankei op-ed just called for immigrants to be segregated, Apartheid-style pic.twitter.com/NcdNlnUVmL
— Hiroko Tabuchi (@HirokoTabuchi) February 12, 2015
While Japan has to let immigrants come to help ease the labor difficulties facing the nursing care sector, Sono says in her Sankei column, Japan needs to create a legal framework that strictly maintains the status of these workers as immigrants, and does not permit naturalization.
She goes on to cite South Africa's former apartheid system as a good example of such a policy in action.
After noticing Sono's column was causing a considerable ruckus online in Japan, Nippon.com editor and writer Peter Durfee decided to translate her entire Sankei article.
@recordpaul @Karlagollanes the only reason I noticed and translated the article was the number of angry comments from Japanese people
— Peter Durfee (@Durf) February 12, 2015
From Durfee's translation of Ayako Sono's Sankei Shimbun column:
Ever since I learned of the situation in the Republic of South Africa some 20 or 30 years ago, I have been convinced that it is best for the races to live apart from each other, as was the case for whites, Asians, and blacks in that country.
Read Peter Durfee's full translation of Ayako Sono's Sankei column here.
Sono is no stranger to controversy in Japan:
@HirokoTabuchi @Durf @jonathan_soble not Sankei related, but found recent Sono essay on “positive” aspects of WWII… pic.twitter.com/yFxhbyNJL9
— Stephen Stapczynski (@SStapczynski) February 12, 2015
Top caption: “70 years after the war, anti-war sentiment based on simplistic “humanism” alone is not enough to be passed on to the next generation.
Headline: “More than the tragedy of war, we must also remember the wisdom we as a nation gained from it.”
Sono's comments about apartheid are notable because, born in 1931, she has been a prominent author and conservative political activist in Japan during the post-war era. She has served as education adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, sits on the board of Japan Post, and also sits on the board of NHK, Japan's national broadcaster.
Sono also has been a supporter of disgraced former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, and led the controversial Nippon Foundation in the mid-1990s.
問題は、曽野綾子氏が教育再生実行会議委員であることだ。安倍内閣は彼女を重用しているのだが、考え方が近いからなのかは確認すべき問題だ／曽野綾子のコラムに暗示する問題（uncorrelated） http://t.co/PznsSYAmeg
— BLOGOS編集部 (@ld_blogos) February 12, 2015
The problem is Ayako Sono is a member of the prime minister's committee for educational reform. The Abe government is relying on her heavily. It would be a good idea to find out if her way of thinking closely matches government policy.
Other netizens have wondered just what Sono must be thinking. Noted web entrepreneur and online influencer Takafumi Horie said:
あたまがおかしいね 曽野綾子さん「移民を受け入れ、人種で分けて居住させるべき」産経新聞で主張 – http://t.co/oaAFxqTrqb — 堀江貴文(Takafumi Horie) (@takapon_jp) February 12, 2015
She's a little funny in the head!
Others point out that such comments are parochial at best, especially considering that Tokyo will host the summer Olympics in 2020:
オリンピックを前に随分自国だけに都合の良い理屈だなこれ……。 / ネトウヨもドン引き！曽野綾子が産経のコラムでアパルトヘイト推奨 http://t.co/EUTlnhCVCK #NewsPicks — 津田大介 (@tsuda) February 12, 2015
And she's promoting a particularly insular view of our country in the lead-up to the the Olympics, too!
One South African commentator was left feeling disgusted:
.@HirokoTabuchi @Durf @Sankei_news This wouldn't even be printed in #SouthAfrica, as it violates our Press Code and incites discrimination. — Deva Lee (@DevaLee) February 12, 2015

author: Nevin Thompson


text:
Mozambique Governor Becomes Target of Backlash—Simply Because She’s a Woman · Global Voices
Dércio Tsandzana

Women in Praia do Bilene, Gaza, Mozambique. Photo by Flickr user Julien Lagarde. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Mozambique's president has the power to form a cabinet and nominate governors for the country's 11 provinces. To that end, President Filipe Nyusi, who was elected on October 15, 2014, nominated Stela Pinto to be the first woman governor of Gaza province.
Pinto is a young university professor who, before her nomination, held the post of academic dean of the Universidade Pedagógica-Quelimane. Gaza, a province in the south of Mozambique with nearly 1.2 million residents, is typically “machista” and conservative in its customs, the competence of the recently nominated governor aside.
Some residents are discontent with their governor being a woman, even within Frelimo, Pinto's political party, according to numerous news reports. In one case, the discontent has gone beyond mere grumbling — photos of a woman, supposedly the governor, in obscene poses have circulated online in what appears to be an effort to stain Pinto's reputation.
New Gaza`s Governor swearing-in. Photo: Moz Massoko. Used with permission
For member of parliament Muhamad Yassine, there was no doubt that this boiled down to a question of machismo. Most of all because a woman was nominated to such a high position, he explained on Facebook:
Numa provincia conhecida por machismo ultra ortodoxo e pelo uso da forca contra corpos políticos diferentes caiu por lá uma Dama. Em pouco dias já circulam ( verdadeiras ou nao) imagens de alegrar os homens e desagradar a moral religiosa. Nao sera uma vitoria para os machistas de lá? , ou ate olhar para uma teoria de conspiracao Gazense, Ou uma derrota para a possibilidade de se nomear mulher para um posto naquela provincia onde os homens acham que somente eles tem direito?. Porque chafurdar a vida de pessoas para delas fazer gozo?. Onde esta maldade nas fotos? Onde o sorriso no final do dia?
In a province known for ultra-orthodox machismo and for the use of force against opposing political parties, a Woman landed there. In a few days, photos (real or not) circulate to please men and displease religious morality. Could this not be a victory for the macho men there? Or going further, looking for a conspiracy theory in Gaza, a defeat for the possibility of nominating a women for that post in a province where men think only they have the right? Why ruin the lives of others just to get off on it? What is so evil about the photos? Who is smiling at the end of the day?
“Governor's competency questioned in Gaza: Cultural questions at the center of the hurricane”. Machismo in the province of Gaza – Jornal Zambeze. Photo by the author
Antonio Frangoulis, a criminologist and political commentator, spoke of the question of machismo related to the complaints coming from Gaza and from within the party Frelimo in a Facebook post:
Lí no hebdomadário “ZAMBEZE” coisas como ” A população da província de Gaza, incluindo proeminentes figuras de partido Frelimo nesta parcela do país, manifesta-se profundamente agastada em virtude do Presidente da República, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, ter nomeado a jovem Stella da Graça Pinto Zeca….(para governadora da província de Gaza )”, mais se lê “…Como forma de manifestar o seu repúdio pela nomeação, a população de Gaza, incluindo membros dos órgãos sociais do partido Frelimo, com destaque para a Organização da Mulher Moçambicana (OMM), Associação dos Combatentes da Luta de Libertação Nacional e Organização da Juventude Moçambicana (OJM), ‘gazetou’ na cerimónia pública de apresentação da nova timoneira Provincial…!!!”
Eu estou a imaginar quando aos dois órgãos sociais mais conservadores se mostrar as imagens nojentas, atribuídas* à jovem governadora, que por aí curculam, acredito que a compaixão com a (n)(p)obre alma vai ser insuficiente. É caso de dizer que “O azar nunca vem só…”, só não sei qual é o primeiro, o segundo e como não há um sem três, não sei qual será o TERCEIRO…!
Ps* Não quero participar na polémica  da verossimilhança das mesmas, porque pelo que tenho estado a acompanhar pelas redes sociais não há lógica nos discursos, mas apenas razões de coração – paixão  política, e como se sabe, não tem  limite.
I read in the weekly “ZAMBEZE” stuff like “The population of Gaza, including prominent figures from Frelimo in this area of the country, displayed their profound irritation with President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi's nomination of the young Stella da Graça Pinto Zeca (for governor of the province of Gaza)”, and it reads further, “As a way of showing their repudiation for the nomination, the population of Gaza, including members of the social institutions of Frelimo, especially the Organization of the Mozambican Woman (OMM), Association of Combatants from the Struggle for National Liberation and the Organization of Mozambican Youth (OJM), played hooky at the public ceremony of the presentation of the new leader of the Province…!!”
I am imagining when the two most conservative institutions are shown the nasty images circulating out there, attributed* to the young governor, I believe they will lack compassion with her poor soul. It's a case of bad luck coming in threes, only I'm not sure what was first, or second, and there has yet to be a third stroke of bad luck, I have no idea what the THIRD will be…!
Ps* I don't want to participate in the debate about the veracity of the images, because I have been following along on social networks, and there is no logic in the arguments, but just logic of the heart — political passion, and as we know, this has no limit.
There were those who condemned the spread of the photos on social media. Gito Gitinho Gitão wrote:
As redes sociais estão a infernizar a vida das pessoas! E a vítima desta feita é a Senhora Governadora de Gaza. Não confirmo a veracidade das fotos! Contudo, eu sempre digo, há que sermos prudente nas nossas acções, o que a gente faz hoje tem implicações no futuro! E meninas, evitem essas historietas de enviarem e tirarem fotos íntimas. Mais nada digo!
Social networks are tormenting our lives! The victim of this act is the Governor of Gaza. I deny the veracity of these photos! However, I always say, we need to be prudent in our actions, what we do today has consequences in the future! And girls, please avoid these little episodes of sending and taking intimate photos. Enough said!
In a blog post dedicated to entertainment called Moçambicanos Terra Queimada, credence is given to the theory that the photos were altered and that the governor was defamed. The post calls for intervention by the Public Prosecutor's office:
A clonagem de fotos vale o que vale quando tem um fundamento; quando serve para fazer passar uma informação consubstanciada num facto verídico. É muito fácil fazer montagem de fotos e as novas ferramentas tecnológicas permitem que a imagem de um sujeito seja adulterada. Em algum momento até tem graça, piada e revela imaginação, criatividade e arte de quem a faz. Porém, a clonagem deixa de ter essência quando o seu conteúdo é maléfico, pejorativo, sarcástico e com única intenção de prejudicar a imagem pública de um cidadão. Quando é para ferir alguém, os especialistas na matéria, que nada de útil sabem fazer, não perdem tempo e dão-se ao luxo de (re) inventar artifícios que atentam a dignidade do indivíduo (…). O que estaria por detrás de tão hediondo acto. Tudo quanto especulássemos ficaria mesmo pela teoria da conspiração (…). Está na hora, meus senhores, de os crimes cibernéticos na sociedade moçambicana serem encarados com seriedade para a responsabilização dos respectivos autores. A Procuradoria-Geral da República (PGR) deve começar a agir com rigor e eficácia, em coordenação com o Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia, Ensino Superior e Técnico Profissional, para a correcção de atitudes menos dignas.
The altering of photos is what it is when it has some motive, when it serves to turn some substantiated information into a fact. It is very easy to do a photo montage and new tools permit that an image of a person is altered. Sometimes it is funny and reveals the imagination and creativity of those who do it. However, the altering of photos no longer has this essence when its content is malicious, pejorative, sarcastic and with the sole purpose of publicly hurting the image of a citizen. When it is to hurt somebody, specialists in [altering photos], who have nothing better to do, waste time and afford themselves the (re)invention of tricks that assault the dignity of an individual. What would be behind such a heinous act. All we can speculate is that it is part of some kind of conspiracy (…) It is high time that cyber crimes in Mozambican society start to be taken seriously to hold their perpetrators accountable. The Prosecutor General's office should act with rigor and efficacy, in coordination with the Ministry of Science and Technology, Higher and Technical Education, for the correction of these undignified acts.

author: Dércio Tsandzana


text:
Teddy Bears Face Off with Police as Bahrain Marks its Fourth Anniversary of Anti-Regime Protests · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A giant Godzilla-like ape appears to guard a makeshift barricade put up by protesters in Bahrain today. Barricades made out of debris, construction material, plants and rubbish are erected by protesters on roads leading to protest spots to stall the riot police from attacking the protesters in full force. Source: Unknown
For the past four years, Bahrainis have been marking Valentine's Day with massive protests, which are faced with a brutal clampdown by the regime. This year is no different, except that protesters, in keeping with the spirit of Valentine's, took with them stuffed teddy bears to face off with the riot police.
On February 14, 2011, Bahrainis joined the bandwagon of protesters across the Arab world and staged anti-regime protests, which ushered a new era of widespread human rights abuses, arbitrary arrests of thousands of Bahrainis and the killing of protesters and bystanders, including women and children.
This year protesters marked the anniversary with a three-day strike, in which businesses in villages and protest areas shut down.
According to Bahrain Mirror, an opposition online publication in Arabic, the teddy bear has become a “political icon” used by the protesters for “political satire.”
وكانت قرية الدراز، غربيّ المنامة، أولى القرى التي يظهر فيها “الدب” تزامناً مع بدء سريان الإضراب الذي أعلنت عنه القوى الثورية
The village of Diraz, west of Manama, was the first village to see the appearance of the teddy bear with the start of the strike, announced by the revolutionary forces
Teddy bears starting to appear at barricades before #Bahrain Feb 14 anniversary @NABEELRAJAB pic.twitter.com/AdEX1nKoqA
— Brian Dooley (@dooley_dooley) February 12, 2015
Copycat teddy bears soon popped up across villages in Bahrain, and were placed at barricades put up by the protesters to protect themselves from police attacks.
this is so funny RT “@AliKaz93: Nice touch of humour this time around pic.twitter.com/orw6cFQbN3”
— وعد المرهون (@WaadAlmarhoon) February 12, 2015
On his Instagram account, photojournalist Mazen Mahdi ventures into Sitra to photograph this teddy bear, which faced off with an armoured personnel carrier (APC):
“Teddy Bear” – quickly becoming mascot of this year Feb14 protests – facing off with police during clashes in #Sitra 13 Feb 2015 in one of several protests across #Bahrain in run up to mark 4th Feb14 anniversary
A photo posted by Mazen Mahdi (@mazenmahdi) on
And the teddy bear was also teargassed:
Protester carry “Teddy Bear” – quickly becoming mascot of this year Feb14 protests – to place in front of police during clashes in #Sitra 13 Feb 2015 in one of several protests across #Bahrain in run up to mark 4th Feb14 anniversary
A photo posted by Mazen Mahdi (@mazenmahdi) on
Human rights activist Nabeel Rajab takes the opportunity to take a photograph with a teddy bear in Bilad Al Qadeem:
14feb happy valentines and happy #Bahrain revolution day pic.twitter.com/C83D2QtwO0
— Nabeel Rajab (@NABEELRAJAB) February 14, 2015
Depending on who you talk to, the symbolism of the teddy bear changes. One reader even suspects it is a marketting ploy for Ted 2,an upcoming American comedy film, scheduled to be released tomorrow.
Viral marketing for #Ted2 RT @JustAmira: #notphotoshop #Bahrain protesters unleash stuffed teddy bear at riot police. pic.twitter.com/WHHuUB2Eso
— jacqui (@heyjdey) February 13, 2015
But it wasn't all fun and playing with teddy bears for Bahraini protesters. Rajab, who was out documenting human rights abuses, witnessed the regime forces shooting shot gun at women and men protesting in Daih. He tweets to his 260K followers on Twitter:
مشاهدات امام عيني : الان إطلاق الشوزن على النساء والرجال المتظاهرين في منطقة الديه #البحرين — Nabeel Rajab (@NABEELRAJAB) February 14, 2015
I saw in front of me now the shooting of women and men protesters with gun shot in Daih
In another tweet, he shares a photo collage of injuries from gunshot from different areas in Bahrain today:
#Valentine day 14Feb 2015 in #Bahrain – This is the cost for freedom,justice and democracy my nation are paying #UK pic.twitter.com/HRo3meXRPf
— Nabeel Rajab (@NABEELRAJAB) February 14, 2015
And another tweet describes the scene in Bahrain as a “war zone.”
الالاف من القوات الخاصة والمدنيين المسلحين والمئات من المدرعات وسيارات الدفع الرباعي والطائرات تحوم وتمسح المناطق- #البحرين تبدوا كساحة حرب — Nabeel Rajab (@NABEELRAJAB) February 14, 2015
Thousands of special forces and armed civilians and hundreds of APCs and four-wheel drives and aircraft are combing all areas. Bahrain looks like a war zone
Journalist Naziha Saeed, who was covering the protests today, witnessed the overuse of teargas. She tweets from Maameer, in Sitra, saying:
In 3 minutes in #Ma‘ameer .. police fired nearly 100 rounds of teargas at scores of demonstrators #bahrain
— Naziha Saeed (@nazihasaeed) February 14, 2015
Mohammed Ashoor shares a photograph that has been widely shared on social media of riot police forces patrolling the streets:
Police army? Friday in #Bahrain.  pic.twitter.com/NPpiEeoIa3
— الوطن ليلى وكلنا قيس (@MohmdAshoor) February 13, 2015
While Ali bin Jawwad shares this video from Abu Saiba showing a riot policeman running after a young protester and shooting towards him:
أبوصيبع الشاخورة: محاولة قتل أحد الأطفال بتصويب رصاص الشوزن ناحيته بشكل مباشر و متتالي 12/2/2015 http://t.co/0cu9z4VbZp
— ali bin jawad (@alijjawad) February 12, 2015
Like many in Bahrain, Ahmed Al Ghasra has a message for the international media which is adamant in portraying the conflict in Bahrain not as a stuggle of Bahrainis against the regime, but as a Sunni-Shia conflict. He tweets:
الانتفاضة الشيعية الشيعة يتظاهرون الأغلبية الشيعية تتظاهر ضد الأقلية السنية الحاكمة إلى متى الإعلام يوقد نار الطائفية في البحرين بسنا — A7md Al-Ghasra (@A7mdG) February 14, 2015
The Shia Uprising
The Shia are protesting
The majority Shia are protesting against the minority Sunni regime
Until when will the media fan the flames of sectarianism in Bahrain
We have had enough
Four years into what has become almost daily protests and clashes with the police, and international media is still stuck in its narrative. Four years on, protesters continue to march.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Tragedy in Chapel Hill: ‘If the Murderer Were Muslim the Story Would Have Been Different’ · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

A tribute to Deah Barakat and Yusor and Razan Abu-Salha, by @_mz_cool
“We're all one, one culture,” said 21-year-old student Yusor Abu-Salha last year in an interview recorded by the StoryCorps project about growing up in the United States.
This week, Abu-Salha, along with her sister Razan (19) and husband Deah Barakat (23), were brutally murdered in their home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Police have arrested their neighbor, Craig Stephen Hicks, and charged him with first-degree murder. While stories from the two young women's friends paint Hicks as an angry man who scared them on occasion, Hicks’ wife has portrayed her husband as a tolerant man and claimed that the triple murder was prompted by “a parking dispute.”
There has been an outpouring of reactions in response to what many see as a crime motivated by hate. Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha, the father of Yusor and Razan, called on US President Barack Obama from the funeral to investigate the murders as a hate crime; reports state that the FBI has indeed launched an investigation.
Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdoğan criticized President Obama's silence on the killings, stating: “If you stay silent when faced with an incident like this, and don't make a statement, the world will stay silent towards you.” His was a sentiment echoed by many, including politicians in the Middle East, as Juan Cole points out.
On social media, people criticized the media's response, noting that it was both slower than is typical for similar crimes and that the alleged killer's background was not a topic of discussion as it would likely be if he were Arab or Muslim.
Palestinian journalist Ali Abunimah tweeted:
I remind you, Obama responded immediately to Kansas City Jewish Center shooting. Contrast his silence on Chapel Hill http://t.co/yCGkvJKDkp
— Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah) February 12, 2015
In a series of tweets, Moroccan-American writer Laila Lalami synthesized the reactions of many when she said:
We may not know all the details about the white shooter and Muslim victims, but we know how the media would cover it if roles were reversed.
— Laila Lalami (@LailaLalami) February 11, 2015
The futility of a dispute over a parking space is already being used as evidence that the murders are not motivated by bigotry.
— Laila Lalami (@LailaLalami) February 11, 2015
But if a Muslim had shot three people over a parking space, the futility of the dispute itself would be used as evidence of his savagery.
— Laila Lalami (@LailaLalami) February 11, 2015
Palestinian-American journalist Sara Yasin pointed to the absurdity of certain media claims with this tweet:
If you haven't investigated it yet, how do you know that it's not a hate crime?
— Sara Yasin (@missyasin) February 11, 2015
Mohammed Al Shuhail, from Saudi Arabia, remarks:
يصبح الإسلام كله إرهاب عندما يكون الجاني مسلماً، أما #مجزرة_شابيل_هل فهذه جريمة لا اكثر !. #ChapelHillShooting pic.twitter.com/0HZaRbf9NT
— محمد الشهيل (@Mafalsh) February 11, 2015
All adherents of the religion Islam become terrorists when the culprit is a Muslim, but with the Chapel Hill Shooting, it is just a crime and nothing more ..
This tweet by Muthker Ben Samhan, a teacher from Al Qaseem, Saudi Arabia, was retweeted 95 times and reads:
لو القاتل مسلم لشن الإعلام الغربي حربًا على الإسلام والمسلمين لكن القاتل منهم وهذه تسمى حادثة عرضية!! #مجزرة_شابيل_هل #ChapelHillShooting
— مذكر مسلط ابن سحمان (@ben_sehman) February 11, 2015
If the murderer was Muslim, the Western media would have waged a war against Islam and Muslims but because the murderer was one of them, this is just an incident
And Saudi Saud Bas tells his 8,000 followers on Twitter:
#مجزرة_شابيل_هل في الإعلام لا يسمى شابيل هل ارهابي لأنه غير مسلم (( يسمونه مجرم )) الإرهاب فقط للمسلمين.
— سعود باس (@riirs) February 11, 2015
In the media, the murderer of Chapel Hill is not called a terrorist but just a murderer.
Terrorism is just restricted to Muslims

author: Jillian C. York


text:
Wave of Arrests in France for ‘Advocating Terrorism’ After Charlie Hebdo Attack · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

“There! I see one that is not Charlie!” Cartoon posted to Encyclopedia Dramatica by user Patlalrique. Copyright-free.
Since the attack in France that left 17 dead in early January, an unprecedented wave of arrests has been unleashed throughout the country for “advocating terrorism” – defending or publicly praising terrorist actions or organizations – characterized by an unprecedented hostility in a country with such a longtime tradition of defending freedom of expression. Authorities have asked judges and prosecutors to show the utmost rigor and firmness when penalizing these types of crimes.
On January 21, 117 criminal proceedings were already initiated against French citizens accused of threatening terrorist acts, incitement of racial hatred, or for advocating terrorism. With the new law from November 2014, this crime – which only affected freedom of the press before – can impose between 5 and 7 years of imprisonment and fines ranging from 75,000€ to 100,000€. The new law considers the dissemination of messages on the Internet as an aggravating circumstance. Upon studying the impact of the new law, legislators said that they were not intended “to repress abuses to freedom of expression, but to punish acts that are directly originating terrorist acts.”
But the wild witch hunt in France does not seem to respond to this philosophy. The situation is so serious that not only adults are suffering the rigorous application of this law, but several children have also been in trouble for the same reason. In Seine-en-Marne, four teenagers will appear before juvenile court on March 25 for posting the following message on Facebook: “We are not Charlie nor will we ever be, bunch of whores. You reap what you sow.”
On January 14, a 14-year-old girl was charged in Nantes for telling off public transport officials, saying “We are the Kouachi sisters, we're going to take out Kalashnikov rifles!” In the same city, a 16-year-old young man was arrested and was released on charges for having published a cartoon satirizing the murder of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists on his Facebook page. Ironically, the cartoon that brought the adolescent to justice parodies a cover of the magazine itself, published in July 2013, and refers to Egyptian army attacks against the Muslim Brotherhood following the coup. In the image below, we can see the original cover on the left and the drawing published by the young detainee on the right:
On the left, the original cover says, “Massacre in Egypt. The Quran. This is crap. It does not stop bullets.” On the right, the parody says, “Massacre. Charlie Hebdo. This is crap. It does not stop bullets.” Image uploaded to Numerama by user mosquito33, under the CC-by-nc-nd 2.0 license.
On January 8 in Nice, an 8-year-old boy spent several hours at the police station after his school principal reported him allegedly having said, “The French must be killed,” “I stand with the terrorists,” and “The journalists deserved it,” according to the police, though the family's lawyer stated that they boy's words were: “I stand with the terrorists because I am against cartoonists who draw the prophet.”
This severity when enforcing the law has sparked protests within and outside the country. Many denounce the vagueness of the term “advocating terrorism”, which allows for arrests without any actual crime. Below is the opinion of lawyer and blogger Maitre Eolas, in an interview with L'Obs:
Une enquête terroriste prend beaucoup de temps. (…) Ici, après les événements tragiques qui se sont produits, pour de pures raisons de communication, il faut donner l'impression de réagir vite.(…) Et comme il est impossible de démanteler un réseau en claquant des doigts, on tape sur les premiers idiots venus qui, immanquablement après ces faits aussi tragiques soient-ils, insultent des policiers en se référant à l'affaire plutôt qu'en employant des insultes plus habituelles.
A terrorist investigation takes a lot of time (…) In this case, after the tragic events that have occurred, for simple reasons of communication, it is necessary to give the impression of reacting quickly. (…) And since it's impossible to instantly dismantle a network, they first appeal to the idiots who, following these events, however tragic they may be, inevitably insult the police referring to the event instead of using more common insults.
Amnesty International has also commented on the arrests in a statement which reads:
Les traités internationaux sur la prévention du terrorisme prévoient la criminalisation de l’incitation à commettre un acte terroriste. Cependant, une notion comme « l’apologie du terrorisme » risque d’être utilisée pour criminaliser des propos tenus sans l’élément intentionnel nécessaire à la définition d’une infraction et sans qu’ils soient directement susceptibles de provoquer des violences de ce type.
International treaties on terrorism prevention provide for the criminalization of incitement to commit a terrorist act. Nonetheless, there is a risk that a notion like “advocating terrorism” could be used to criminalize statements made without the intentional element required in the definition of a crime, and without them being directly liable to cause such violence.
A popular character who has suffered the rigor of this law is controversial comedian Dieudonné, a known Anti-Semite who will have to appear before an anti-terrorism court for posting a caustic comment on his Facebook page about the January 11th demonstrations, ending with the phrase, “Know that tonight, as far as I'm concerned, I feel like Charlie Coulibaly”, a mix of the demonstration's slogan and the name of the terrorist who murdered four people in a Jewish supermarket. Later, Dieudonné also explained the meaning of his words on Facebook: “They consider me to be an Amedy Coulibaly, though I am no different than Charlie.”
Nevertheless, there are also voices that defend the French government's stern policy. Manbu, for example, left this comment on Numerama's page:
Un peu de prison ne leur fera pas de mal et pourrait même les faire réfléchir à ce vieux précepte: “la liberté (d'expression) des uns s'arrête là où commence celle des autres” ou à l'article 4 de la déclaration des droits de l'homme : ” la liberté (d'expression) consiste à faire tout ce qui ne nuit pas à autrui”.
A bit of prison time won't do them any harm and can even make them reflect on this old precept: “Freedom (of expression) for some ends where it begins for others,” or on Article 4 of the Declaration of Human Rights: “Freedom (of expression) consists of doing anything that does not harm other people.”
A particularly disturbing case is that of Jean-François Chazerans, a philosophy professor at an institute in Poitiers and leftist activist who has been suspended for four months and accused of terrorism advocacy after several parents of students accused him of “disrupting the moment of silence” and “making inappropriate comments in class”, which the professor adamantly denies. Massy Palaiseau left this comment on the Facebook page that was created in support of Chazerans:
Le pauvre…il y a trois mois il aurait montre un exemplaire de Charlie Hebdo a ses eleves il aurait ete suspendu. La c est l inverse. J y comprends plus rien.
Poor man… Three months ago if he had shown a copy of Charlie Hebdo to his students, they would have suspended him. Now it's the reverse. I don't understand anything anymore.
The drift that has apparently taken French institutions suggests that we are witnessing a “tinting” of freedom of expression that could make it lose a lot of freedom. The tweet below from New York Times writer and columnist Kenan Malik points out the incoherence of this whole issue:
Now, someone remind me, what was that march in Paris last week about? Defence of free speech was it? http://t.co/QF9usdNOMk
— Kenan Malik (@kenanmalik) January 21, 2015

author: Lourdes Sada


text:
Were Taiwanese Media Too Quick to Deem Doomed TransAsia Pilots Heroes? · Global Voices
Timmy Shen

Taiwanese media reported that the pilots saved many Taipei citizens. (Photo from CNA).
A TransAsia’s airplane crashed into the Keelung River in Taiwan on February 4, killing at least 40 people. Before the authorities probed the cause of the accident, Taiwanese media concluded that the pilots were heroes, saying they “saved Taipei” by steering the doomed flight away from buildings, avoiding an even bigger calamity.
The coverage raised the eyebrow of some netizens, who criticized the media for reporting in a sensational manner by turning the tragedy into a hero drama.
In response to this, writer Jen-Chien Kuan penned “The shameful and ridiculous myth-making of the press” in a local online news portal Newstalk to criticize the media for their breathless reporting before the authorities had confirmed anything:
在飛安會尚未確定失事原因之前，媒體就搶著造神。若基隆河本來就是松山機場起飛航空器的單發動機失效時的迴避航線，那麼機師就只是按照程序在飛行而已。萬一未來黑盒子解開後，證據指向根本就是機師誤判，關掉了正常發動機，讓兩個引擎同時失去動力，那麼機師就不是英雄，可能還是害死機上43人的兇手啊？在一切狀況都未明前，媒體憑什麼盲目造神？
Before the Aviation Safety Council confirmed the cause of the accident, all major media outlets vied to idolize the pilots. If Keelung River was set to be the emergency route-to-avoid when aircrafts lose engine power, the pilots were simply following aviation safety protocol. What if upon the analysis of the “black box”, evidence reveals that the pilots erroneously shut down the functioning engine and caused two engines to lose power? If this is really the case, the pilots are not heroes but killers who are responsible for the death of 43 people on board. When everything remains so unclear, how can the media start writing the myth?
Kuan’s article was reported by local media and stimulated discussion online. Netizen Cheng-Feng Yang agreed that the media reports were too soon to draw conclusion on the crash:
黑盒子也不過就解讀出駕駛艙錄音的部份，事情都別說得太早，飛航記錄出來再來說吧，機長閃過許多重要建築是不爭的事實。
The black box merely included the audio recording of the control cabin. Do not conclude until the flight recorder data comes out! However, the fact that the pilots skipped many important buildings remains indisputable.
Nan Nan Erh Ku Niang's post on mainland China online forum Tianya argued that it was possible that the pilots did contribute to the accident and took heroic action too:
說說我三更半夜在打這篇的原因，起因於前天飛安會公佈了黑盒子的初步分析，個人認為飛安會的說法相當保留，只針對現有的證據說出狀況，但在我看了台灣網友的留言，真的感到異常地憤怒！因為幾乎所有的留言都一面倒地指責飛安會「官官相護」、「推卸責任」，我知道台灣媒體這兩天都在造神，將兩位機師的英勇行徑大加褒揚，但面對專業的調查報告，也至少該有一定的判斷能力吧！就算兩位機師真的是英雄，也不代表英雄就不會肇禍，怎麼會因為他們做了一個英勇的表現，就反推回他們絕不會犯錯，而全盤否定有機師判斷錯誤的可能？
I believed the Aviation Safety Council (ASC) initial analysis of the black box was conservative. The report just described what happened based on existing evidence. However, I was outraged by the comments of some netizens. Nearly all of them blamed ASC for taking sides with officials and shirking their responsibility. I know that Taiwanese media had been praising two pilots for their courage, but we should also make our judgment based on the professional investigation report. Granted that two pilots are heroes, it doesn't mean that heroes had played no part in causing the accident. How could we conclude that the pilots had made no mistake and deny the possibility of their misjudgment simply because they did something heroic?
In August 2014, following the crash of Malaysia Airlines MH17 in Ukraine, killing, 298 people, of whom 193 were Dutch, a Taiwanese blogger Elrohir compared Taiwanese and Dutch media's narrative style on disaster report:
平時看太多台灣媒體的新聞報導手法，再看到荷蘭處理國民死傷慘重事故的態度，兩者真的是天差地別。為什麼台灣媒體老是喜歡將家屬這種畫面給全國人民看？為什麼荷蘭就可以做得非常尊重死者及家屬？如果問我哪一邊的報導是比較優秀，當然毫無疑問是荷蘭，因為他們的做法是給予死者最高的敬意。
While getting used to the [sensational] reporting style of Taiwanese media, you could tell a huge difference when reading the Dutch reports on the deadly accident. Why did Taiwanese media always broadcast the breakdown of the victim's family’s to the entire country? Why did Dutch media manage to report on victims and their families in a respectful manner? If you ask me which media are better, I would definitely choose the Dutch. Their reports pay respect to the victims.
Bombarded by the continuous media reports on the tragedy, Sheng-Hsiang Yu, assistant professor in the Fo Guang University department of psychology, suggested a couple of measures for the audiences to keep their mind peaceful:

author: Timmy Shen