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Body-Policing and Identity Politics Bog Down Trinidad Gymnasts’ Olympic Dreams · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Gymnastics Artistic”; photo by 713 Avenue, used under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license.
It is rare that gymnastics, considered a fringe sport in Trinidad and Tobago, captures the attention of the local blogosphere. But that's exactly what happened this week when 20-year-old gymnast Thema Williams, the country's best hope in the sport for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, suddenly became the victim of perceived character assassination over a photograph she had posted more than a year ago on Instagram.
Popular online news site Wired868, known for its sharp reporting and sometimes satirical take on politics and sport, reported that on February 22, “Georgette Heinz, the self-declared mother of an unnamed young female gymnast, sent a topless photograph of Williams to the Trinidad and Tobago media, the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF) and members of the local gymnastics fraternity”:
The photograph, which was posted on Williams’ Instagram page, was captioned: ‘Being a Black Woman is an honour… Always.’
Williams covered up competently with her arms and there was no exposure of her breasts in the shot, although it was clear that she did not have a top on.
Heinz called the photograph ‘disgraceful’ and demanded that the TTGF take action against the gifted athlete.
Although no-one in the local gymnastics fraternity could say they knew anyone by the name of Georgette Heinz, the TTGF confirmed that it would meet to discuss the situation and announce a decision.
Williams said she had posted the photo in February 2015, but had deleted it a day later after her American coach, John Geddert, relayed his concerns about the shot. “It was supposed to be about appreciation for your body, especially in the skin that I am in. The caption itself said I am a proud black woman,” she told Wired.
The timing is indeed quite curious, as Williams is currently prepping for the Olympic Test event in April in Rio, the final qualifier for the Olympic Games. Should the board decide to rule against Williams, Marisa Dick, a Canada-born gymnast who can represent Trinidad and Tobago since her mother is a national, would theoretically take her place.
The lead-up to securing that Olympic spot has been fraught, however, since Trinidad and Tobago had only one Women’s Artistic Gymnastics spot for the Rio Olympics. The TTGF contract made it clear that its selection committee would choose the gymnast with the highest all-around score at the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow to go on to the Olympic Test Event in April.
Williams placed 59th out of 192 participants at the World Gymnastics Championships; Dick placed 77th. But a month after the competition, the TTGF still had not confirmed that Williams had qualified to compete in the Test Event. However, Wired868 reported that “Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) president Brian Lewis met with the TTGF on the issue and [said] that Williams was the chosen gymnast.”
Dick, meanwhile, was busy patenting a new mount that bears her name and is now in the sport's official Code of Points (a set of rules that informs the scoring system for each level of competition in gymnastics). She was also named as the TTGF's 2015 nominee for the Sportswoman of the Year award, an honour bestowed upon athletes by the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, despite Williams having been the first Trinidad and Tobago gymnast to ever qualify for an Olympics in that same year.
It is noteworthy that the TTGF letter, which both gymnasts received prior to the Glasgow competition, cited that an athlete could only be ruled out of the Olympics due to doping or injury — but according to the Wired post:
A subsequent contract listed another criteria under the heading of ‘Ambassador of the Sport’ and both girls were required to swear that: ‘I am a representative of TTFG and must conduct myself in a manner that upholds the name, reputation and goodwill of TTGF… As such, my conduct publicly known and not publicly known must not reflect poorly upon or bring discredit to TTGF, its other athletes, its coaches or its events and programs.
My conduct extends beyond actions on the field of play, including but not limited to actions/posting/images disseminated in the public domain.’
In a curious twist, on February 25 the TTGF ended up sending both gymnasts to its Disciplinary Committee after a second photograph, this time of Dick, surfaced. In the photo, which appeared to be from Snapchat, Dick is clearly topless, but her breasts are not exposed. The committee will deliberate on the matter next week.
Social media users soon weighed in on the discussion. Facebook user Omari Ashby publicly shared this meme:
Meme criticising the perceived patriarchal stance of the Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation, widely shared on Facebook.
Facebook user Natasha Ramnauth added:
The whole thing is such farce. So what if they have a bunch of topless pics, which by the way, show not a whole lot of anything. What a load of bullcrap, not to mention hypocritical considering this is the same country where it was perfectly acceptable a couple of weeks ago for literally HUNDREDS of women to gyrate through the streets of POS wearing barely there costumes, or pasties or paint and thongs. The real travesty is that we have two athletes, both of whom want to compete at the Olympics. One managed to make it despite all her early training here without access to the kind of facilities that make world class gymnasts. The other is a Canadian girl, who I'm sure worked very hard to get where she is and probably would have competed for Canada but since that's not on is now trading on “trini by descent”. All very well and good, happens all the time and countries have benefited from this. But when you have ONE slot, and the home grown girl scored higher than the other one…well, exactly what are we debating?
Trinidadian comedian and Williams’ godmother Nikki Crosby said in a public Facebook post:
So many countries celebrate an athlete's body. In my country, a female athlete could be shamed and disciplined for showing hers. Thema Williams is my beautiful, confident, talented goddaughter and she has been training for the Olympics since she was 3 years old. She's almost there and it's a shame she is distracted by this nonsense. Shame on you adults who try to bring down our young athletes. Thema has given up a scholarship, family, friends, boyfriends, to train and live her dream of representing her country at the Olympics. I am disappointed that this is even an issue and I hope that the Olympic board will wake up in the 21st century and dismiss this matter as soon as possible so our athletes could focus on what they need to. #3rdworldmentality #Growup #Steups
The Trinidad and Tobago-based feminist group Womantra was also critical of the TTGF's decision to send both athletes to its Disciplinary Committee and said that the photos should have no bearing on whether they represent Trinidad and Tobago at the upcoming Olympic Games. Their statement made the point that the email by “Georgette Heinz” that accompanied Williams’ photo “is reflective of a larger systemic problem in our country referred to as the policing of women's bodies”.
Former professional football player Shaka Hislop also added his voice to the discussion, saying:
I currently work for ESPN, a Disney-owned company. Every year, ESPN Magazine put[s] out the ‘Body Issue’, where dozens of fully naked athletes—women from basketball player Britney Griner to auto racing driver Danika Patrick—pose showing their physiques.
I am yet to see an uproar about that, either on these pages or elsewhere. And I couldn’t help but wonder if ‘Georgette Heinz’, who wrote that initial email complaining of Thema’s Instagram post, will also stop her daughter from watching Disney movies, or playing with her Snow White doll in response to ESPN Magazine’s Body publication.
Hislop also addressed the vitriol that was being directed at Dick for not being “fully Trinidadian”:
Please remember that you are talking about two young women who are both trying to find their way in an increasingly confusing world.
They are at an age where they are both discovering their sexuality, recognising the strength of their shared heritage, and trying to do so in a world in which women of every colour are asserting their equality.
You are discussing two young women who have both committed countless hours to gymnastics. You are discussing two young women whose only ‘crime’ is to harbour ambition of representing Trinidad and Tobago in their sport of choice.
An online petition in solidarity with the two gymnasts has since been started, requesting that the TTGF “take a deeper look into the timing of the release of these pictures as they seem steeped in malicious intent.” It called on supporters to:
Let us stop body-shaming. Let us show our support. Let us take a stand, and not hamper the future of our girls and our chances at the Olympics.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Can Goodwill Gestures Help End Burundi’s Political Crisis? · Global Voices
Liam Anderson

Aerial view of Lusenda Burundian refugees’ camp, South Kivu, DRC. August 2015. Photo released under Creative Commons by MONUSCO/Abel Kavanagh.
Amid ongoing political instability, Burundi’s government suddenly announced several goodwill gestures last week.
President Nkurunziza took a controversial third term in mid-2015, leading to protests, repression, insurgencies, and many fleeing as refugees or exiles. Independent radios were shut down, forcing them to take their broadcasts online, and many journalists fled.
The government has strongly resisted international pressure thus far, but these gestures appeared to be good news, taken ahead of United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to the country on 22-23 February, a subsequent visit by a high-level African Union delegation on 25-26 February, and an upcoming East African Community summit.
On February 19, it was announced  that the Isanganiro and pro-government Rema radio stations had been permitted to return to air, although this did not apply to the other three main independent radio stations. The returning radios had to sign an “acte d’engagement” — an agreement on conditions — with the National Council of Communication.
Several directors of independent radio stations remain in exile, and the Bonesha, Radio Publique Africaine, and Renaissance radio stations remain blocked. Coincidentally, this announcement came at the 20th anniversary of Bonesha radio, among those still blocked.
Restarting broadcasting operations faces practical difficulties, however, as equipment was destroyed when offices were attacked during the failed May 2015 coup. Samson Maniradukunda, the acting-director of Isanganiro radio ever since his predecessor went into exile, lamented this while surveying the company's wrecked offices. He estimated the damages to be around 350,000,000 Burundian Francs (US$ 224,581), noting the station's inability to generate revenue after months of shutdown.
The “acte d’engagement” demands that reporting is “balanced” and does not harm the country’s “security”. Open to interpretation, this leaves the possibility of reporting being controlled. Having two radio stations back on air is certainly positive, but it remains to be seen how freely they will be able to report.
On Saturday 20 February, 15 of 34 international arrest warrants were lifted, including the one on Iwacu website’s Antoine Kaburahe. The official letter, shared by SOS Médias Burundi, states simply that the original reasons for the arrest warrants “no longer persist”.
In a press communique, the CNARED opposition movement described the lifted arrest warrants as an attempt to divert international attention from both the UN visit and the possible EU sanctions; it stated that the best “gauge” of progress would be annulling all arbitrary judicial proceedings.
The government agreed to receive more African Union human rights observers, as well as three UN human rights investigators. Following Ban Ki-moon and President Nkurunziza’s meeting, the freeing of 2,000 prisoners was also promised. The increased number of arrests during the crisis has added to already crowded prisons.
However, shortly after Ban Ki-moon’s meeting, uncertainties emerged over the number of prisoners to be freed. It also became apparent that the government essentially excluded those arrested during this crisis. Similarly, online commenters were sceptical about the safety of released political prisoners:
@SOSMediasBDI hope they will nor follow them and kill them at night
— stanley owuor (@stanleyowuor1) February 23, 2016
Notably, the president denounced hateful speech, some of which has had worryingly ethnicized and confrontational tones during the crisis:
No hate speech or songs against @paulkagame during ongoing demonstrations, urges @pnkurunziza. All we need is peace b/w #Burundi & #Rwanda
— Willy Nyamitwe (@willynyamitwe) February 20, 2016
Economic sanctions have  weighed on the government, especially as the European Union (EU) — the country's single largest donor — considers rerouting aid to non-government channels. International aid accounts for around half of the national budget, and the government has increasingly faced financial hardship, which is affecting crucial public services like education and healthcare.
Against a backdrop of continued insecurity characterized by violence, arrests, and impunity, resolving Burundi's political crisis needs much more than gestures, positive though they are. If those relieved of arrest warrants still fear attacks for example, they may be reticent to actually return. Tensions with Rwanda have also increased, with many expressing anger over accusations of training insurgents.
There has also been a lack of dialogue with exiled opposition. Following his meeting with President Nkurunziza, Ban Ki-moon announced promises of such dialogue, but ministers made it clear that this does not include those they accuse of destabilizing Burundi. As before, this leaves the possibility of excluding many groups, undermining any attempt at genuinely inclusive dialogue. Civil society figure Vital Nshimirimana said that many are tired with “impermeability” to diplomatic approaches.
Ministers have bought time before. A prime example was their attendance at peace talks last December in Uganda, followed by their refusal to continue further sessions. The move entrenched their position without making substantial concessions, apparently hoping to simply tire both opponents and international interest. It therefore remains to be proved that such actions indicate any genuine change in approach to the crisis.
Both RED-TABARA, a rebel group which openly claims responsibility for attacks on security services, and the political opposition CNARED movement have condemned arbitrary grenade attacks that target civilians. Ministers blame “opposition”, conflating various groups, while CNARED accuses the government of creating a pretext to repress opponents. Whoever is responsible, sustained goodwill gestures from all parties — along with dialogue — could open political space and hopefully end the motivation for and deescalate violence against civilians, as well as between security services and insurgents.
USA’s special representative, Thomas Perriello, hoped these gestures would be followed by concrete actions:
Next 10 days are crucial for #Burundi government to show concrete results on AU monitors, regional talks and opening political space. (2/2)
— U.S. Special Envoy (@US_SEGL) February 21, 2016
This hope however, was met with much scepticism:
@US_SEGL Then what will happen?Statements?Another visit?Statements?Another visit/community works?Statements?
— Paul Burundi (@AnotherRoar) February 22, 2016
@US_SEGL honestly, you really believe something is going to change or you haven't measured the magnitude of the crimes & future development?
— Albert Rudatsimburwa (@albcontact) February 21, 2016
An African Union delegation, headed by South African President Jacob Zuma, met with the government, internal opposition, and civil society leaders to discuss their differences and resolve the Burundian crisis. However, opposition figures expressed concern about the delegation's ability to achieve a broad dialogue outside of Burundi.
Charles Nditije of the UPRONA party — a rare remaining opposition politician — even said that the African Union delegation was simply legitimizing the government’s position, noting that Zuma had excluded the topic of Nkurunziza's contentious third term from discussions. If goodwill does not outlive diplomatic visits, the violence in Burundi may continue to escalate.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Liam Anderson


text:
Colombia Edges Closer to Signing Peace Agreement · Global Voices
Lully

The peace process was one of the topics discussed by President Juan Manuel Santos during his meeting with officers and NCOs of the First Division of the Army in Santa Marta in mid-February. Photo: Colombian Presidency.
The Colombian government hopes to sign a peace agreement in March with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (RAFC), the oldest guerilla movement in Latin America, which would end the armed conflict that has bled the country for over half a century.
More 220,000 people have been killed, 25,000 disappeared, and 4,744,046 displaced in a period spanning from 1958 to 2012, according to a report by the National Centre for Historical Memory, published by Colombian newspaper El País.
Peace talks between representatives of the Colombian government and members of the guerilla group began in Havana, Cuba, in 2012 .
The post-conflict situation recently got a new ally, after Santos met with US President Barack Obama in Washington to commemorate 15 years of bilateral cooperation on the controversial Colombia Plan and to launch a second phase of support called “Peace for Colombia.”
The White House published on its website the Spanish-language document “FACT SHEET: Peace for Colombia: A new era of partnership between the US and Colombia,” outlining the scope of cooperation:
(…) esta iniciativa de varios años aumentaría el apoyo catalítico de EE. UU. para ayudar a Colombia a “lograr la paz”. Paz Colombia centrará la futura asistencia de EE. UU. en tres pilares: 1) consolidación y expansión del progreso alcanzado en seguridad y operaciones antidroga y al mismo tiempo, reintegración de la FARC a la sociedad; 2) expansión de la presencia del estado y las instituciones para fortalecer el estado de derecho y las economías rurales, especialmente en previas zonas de conflicto; y 3) promoción de la justicia y otros servicios esenciales para las víctimas del conflicto. Como parte de ese marco y para apoyar la implementación del acuerdo de paz, el Presidente solicitará más de $390 millones para el año fiscal 2017 de asistencia extranjera bilateral. La Administración también solicitará fondos para el año fiscal 2017 para otros programas en curso que contribuirían con los objetivos de Paz Colombia tales como asistencia humanitaria para las poblaciones vulnerables y programas para operaciones antidroga del Departamento de Defensa que, de ser aprobados por el Congreso, aumentarían nuestro nivel de esfuerzo total a más de $450 millones.
[…] this multi-year initiative will increase the catalytic support of the US to help Colombia to “achieve peace.” Peace for Colombia will focus on three core pillars: 1) to consolidate and expand prior progress in security and anti-drugs operations and reintegrate the RAFC into society; 2) to expand government presence to strengthen the state of law and rural economies, particularly in ex-conflict zones; and 3) to promote justice and other essential services for victims of the conflict. Within this framework and to support the implementation of the peace deal, the president will request more than $390 million in bilateral foreign aid for the 2017 fiscal year. The government will also request funds for the 2017 fiscal year for other ongoing programmes which will contribute to the objectives of Peace for Colombia, such as humanitarian assistance for vulnerable citizens and programmes for anti-drugs operations from the Defense Department. Once approved by Congress, will increase the total level of US support to more than $450 million.
The Colombian government echoed this announcement on Twitter:
La paz es la transformación para todos los colombianos. Tendremos un mejor país. #PazColombia pic.twitter.com/dM07PlwNrq
— Presidencia Colombia (@infopresidencia) febrero 9, 2016
Peace is transformation for all Colombians. We will have a better country #PeaceForColombia
In a brief written for the website Ciudadano en la Red [Community involvement], however, Olmedo Ramírez expressed scepticism of the role of the United States:
‘Mucho ruido y pocas nueces’ es la percepción de muchos colombianos frente al proyectado fondo de USA por un valor de US$450 millones ¿por año? para financiar la paz, más allá del conflicto -que todavía está en veremos- y como sustituto del ‘Plan Colombia’ por un valor cercano a los US$5000 millones, de tan profundo impacto en la modernización de nuestras fuerzas militares y el progreso de nuestra ya larga batalla contra la subversión y el narcotráfico que también le compete a los consumidores por aquello de “es la demanda la que crea la oferta”, apenas morigerado por el gran significado político que este hecho reviste, de la mano del involucramiento unánime del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU en la vigilancia del desarme de la guerrilla en el posconflicto.
“Much ado about nothing” is the perception of many Colombians towards the planned US support worth $450 million (per year?) to finance peace. It does not compare to the nearly $5-billion “Plan Colombia” that it will replace. The previous initiative has had such a profound impact in the modernization of Colombian armed forces and the progress of our already considerable battle against subversion and drug-trafficking—largely a result of consumers as “demand creates supply.” The UN Security Council will be unanimously engaged with moderating the guerilla disarmament over the post-conflict period.
For many, peace implies a reform of the national constitution. This is how the website Pacifista explained it:
Sectores dispares parecen ahora encontrarse en la necesidad de que, ya sea para la etapa de refrendación o de implementación de los acuerdos con las Farc, se convoque a una asamblea nacional constituyente que tenga a su cargo moldear una constitución acorde con el escenario que se abriría con la terminación del conflicto.
A range of sectors, whether for the stage of endorsing or implementation of agreements with the RAFC, now seem to feel the need to call a National Constituent Assembly that will be tasked with forming a constitution in line with the anticipated post-conflict scenario.
Despite differing opinions, all Colombians say an end to the conflict is what they want, Alfonso Ojeda Awad points out on the website Kien Y Ke:
Para alegría de todos los colombianos, amantes de la Paz y la Reconciliación, en el año de 2016 se firmará por fin, el esperado documento que ponga fin a la guerra fratricida que por más de cincuenta años ha ensangrentado todo el territorio nacional. Los significativos esfuerzos realizados por las delegaciones oficiales, tanto del gobierno nacional como de las Farc, indican que van llegando a conclusiones posibles y factibles que permitirán darle un ejemplo al mundo de cómo se solucionan contradicciones que en determinados momentos y circunstancias se consideraron insuperables y solo se veía la guerra como el único camino existente.
To the delight of the Colombian people, lovers of peace and reconciliation, in 2016 the much awaited documents will finally be signed which will bring an end to the civil war which for more than 50 years has bloodstained all our national territory. The significant efforts carried out by the official delegations, both the government and the RAFC, suggest that workable conclusions are being reached which will allow us to set an example to the world of how to overcome situations which had once been though insurmountable. War is no longer the only way forward.
If the peace deal is signed in March, as scheduled, “Colombians will be called to the ballot box during the first half of 2016 to support or reject the peace deals that are achieved with the RAFC,” according to newspaper El Tiempo.
On Twitter, Jeisson Zubieta Díaz expressed his support for the referendum and his opposition to constitutional reform:
Las Farc dicen que el Plebiscito para la Paz es un “error político”. Lo que realmente es un error político es propuesta de constituyente.
— Jeisson Zubieta Diaz (@JeissonZubieta) febrero 8, 2016
The RAFC say that the peace referendum is a “political error.” The real political error is the proposal to amend the constitution.
Luis Fernández expressed his support for peace:
@JuanManSantos lo apoyamos en su esfuerzo por la paz en Colombia que será la paz para todos los latinoamericanos y caribeños.
— Luis Fernández (@LuisFernandezH2) octubre 29, 2015
[…] we support him in his efforts for peace in Colombia which will be peace for all Latin American and Caribbean people.
Nerita Versicolor acknowledged all parties in Colombia that have worked towards peace:
Es también el momento de agradecer a todos esos q día a día trabajan por La Paz en Colombia,incansablemente, d manera anónima y silenciosa.
— Nerita Versicolor (@NeraVersicolor) septiembre 23, 2015
It is also time to thank everyone that works tirelessly and anonymously every day for peace in Colombia.
Luis Alberto recapped what's now necessary to achieve and maintain peace:
La paz en colombia no es posible si no hay justicia, equidad , desmonte del paramilitarismo, y lucha frontal contra la corrupcion
— luis alberto (@LuisT1959) febrero 4, 2016
Peace in Colombia is not possible without justice, equality, bringing down paramilitarism, and a frontal assault on corruption.
With the final and hopefully definitive phase of the peace process is under way, agreements have been launched in areas related to “integrated agricultural development, the political participation of the guerilla once they have demobilized, and solutions to the problems of the drug trade and victims and justice.” It's this latter issue that is the most delicate for the RAFC.
According to the government's website, the justice system establishes four divisions: 1) acknowledgement of truth and responsibility, 2) amnesty or pardon, 3) “definition of legal situations” and 4) investigation and prosecution. This implies that not only the guerillas will be accountable, but also anyone who has supported and financed the paramilitary groups that continue to operate in Colombia.
It's still uncertain how the country will deal with other armed groups, such as the National Liberation Army and the Popular Liberation Army, which are not involved in the current discussions.
The government is nevertheless making great progress in the post-conflict scenario, through alliances and associations for peace, while simultaneously establishing an awareness plan in education centres, at public events, in public places, and elsewhere.

author: Lully


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Macedonian Court Rejects Appeal by Activist Sentenced for Defaming Pro-Government TV Host · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Activist and human rights expert Zharko Trajanoski. Photo   used with his permission.
Five years after the case first began, Macedonia's judiciary has finally rejected an appeal by an activist, sentenced for defaming a pro-government television show host.
Global Voices reported in 2010 about the court case against human rights activist Zharko Trajanoski, accused of defamation by Milenko Nedelkovski, the host of a TV show that airs on the national TV channel Kanal 5, and is frequented by former Prime Minister Gruevski, President Ivanov, and other ruling party functionaries. A vocal supporter of the government, Nedelkovski has several times advocated the murder of the ruling Party critics (especially journalists and civil-society activists). Nedelkovski didn't deny using hate speech, arguing instead that “traitors” deserve hate.
In 2010, Trajanoski called Nedelkovski a “media charlatan,” criticizing the TV show host's tendency to praise ethnic and religious discrimination, sexual harassment, and homophobia on his show and online, where he mixes local political propaganda with conspiracy theories, off-road driving, and old YouTube videos about unsolved mysteries, like UFOs.
In November 2012, Macedonia decriminalized defamation, moving it from criminal to civil courts, though steep fines are still possible. Despite this reform, the case against Trajanoski went ahead, and he was sentenced in 2014.
More than a year later, Nedelkovski's public behavior hasn't changed. In March 2015, he earned condemnations from both the OSCE and Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia for continuing his “negative practice of hate speech.”
On December 29, 2015, moreover, a Macedonian appellate court refused to reconsider Trajanoski's verdict. On January 29, 2016, Trajanoski posted a photo of the court decision on his Facebook profile with the following comment:
Part of the Appellate Court Skopje verdict against Zharko Trajanoski.
Апелациониот суд Скопје ја потврди пресудата со која треба да му платам 20.000 денари плус камата на медиумскиот шарлатан Миленко Неделковски. Судот си додели и 52.170 денари за судски трошоци во постапка која траеше 5 години. Бев обвинет по еден закон, а осуден по друг, во кафкијански процес.
Ич не му се лутам на Миленко. Тој ја докажува секојдневно вистинитоста на моето тврдење дека е медиумски шарлатан, а се надмина себеси како шарлатан со пропагирањето дека земјата е рамна плоча.
Гневен сум на сите судии што застанаа во одбрана на честа и угледот на медиумскиот шарлатан, кој сеуште неказнето повикува на ликвидација на неистомисленици. Борбата продолжува.
Skopje Appellate Court confirmed the sentence that I should pay MKD 20.000 (USD $362), plus interest, to the media charlatan Milenko Nedelkovski. The court also awarded itself with MKD 52.170 (USD $943) in court expenses, for a trial lasting five years. I was accused according to one law, sentenced according to another, in a Kafkian process.
I am not mad at Milenko. He's been proving the truthfulness of my claim that he's a media charlatan on daily basis, and he surpassed himself as a charlatan by propagating that the earth is flat.
I am angry at all the judges who stood in defense of the honor and reputation of the media charlatan, who still enjoys impunity while calling for liquidation of people who disagree with him. The struggle continues.
Just two days before Trajanoski's announcement above, Nedelkovski posted the following list on Facebook, which drew considerable attention on social media.
Screen shot of a Facebook post by Milenko Nedelkovski, promoting the notion that the Earth is flat as part of a global conspiracy theory.
In his January 27 post, Nedelkovski wrote:
Неколку дилеми:
1. Има ли вистинска фотографија или видео на “планетата“ Земја од вселената? (ве молам без компјутерски имиџи)
2. Има ли фотографија од воздух на Јужниот пол?
3. Зошто авионите од ЈАР летаат за Австралија преку Индија?
4. Има ли вистинска слика на Земјата направена од Месечината?
5. Зошто нема директен лет од Сантјаго де Чиле до Сиднеј?
6. Како светилниците се гледаат толку на далеку?
Не брзајте со дебата, оти имам документ од НАСА дека земјата не е топка, ами рамна!!!
Several dilemmas:
1. Is there a true photo or video of “the planet” Earth from space? (please without computer images)
2. Is there a photo from air of the South Pole?
3. Why do airplanes from South Africa fly to Australia via India?
4. Is there a true photo of Earth made from the Moon?
5. Why is there no direct flight from Santiago de Chile to Sydney?
6. How come lighthouses can be seen from so far away?
Don't hurry with the debate, I have a NASA document confirming that Earth is not a ball, but that it's flat!!!
There's been relatively little debate about Trajanoski's trial in public. In fact, only two websites even reported the verdict (Plusinfo and Okno), and Trajanoski's own Facebook post attracted just 50 “shares.” Readers’ comments offered sentiments that ranged from dismay to opinions that his trial is proof of judicial corruption and a warning to all who dare to speak out against what they regard as hate speech sanctioned by the country's ruling party.

author: Filip Stojanovski


text:
Macedonians Protest to ‘Defend the Constitution from the Constitutional Court Justices’ · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

“Lets defend the Constitution from the Constitutional Court justices.” Second day of protest on Feb. 25, 2016 in Skopje, Macedonia. Photo by Vancho Dzhambaski (CC BY-NC-SA).
Macedonian citizens held a series of protests in front of Constitutional Court in Skopje, outraged by the court's decision to deliberate on possibly changing the country's Amnesty Law to remove restrictions on pardoning crimes related to electoral fraud, child molestation and terrorism.
The first two protests, organized by the civil platform Ajde!, took place on February 24 and 25, just after the Constitutional Court agreed to consider the initiative. The proposed changes to the law were submitted by a young lawyer who received his license in December 2015 and happens to “share office space” with the lawyer defending former Minister of the Interior Gordana Jankuloska, one of the key figures being investigated for allegedly rigging elections in 2013 to guarantee that the VMRO-DPMNE party won.
While the court usually takes up to two or more years to consider similar initiatives, this time it took just few weeks. Out of nine justices, five voted to accept it.
Citizens, opposition politicians and civil society organizations expressed their anger at the court's move, suspecting covert interference from the ruling VMRO-DPMNE. While the party denied involvement, some social media users have been digging up articles and other data pointing to links between the five justices and VMRO-DPMNE. All five were appointed to the bench by the parliamentary majority dominated by VMRO-DPMNE. Some have close personal ties with party officials, and their family members hold positions in the VMRO-DPMNE government. For instance, the opposition revealed that the daughter of one of the justices was head of the committee for the botched 2011 census.
Constitutional Court judge's son is President's secretary. Still, he didn't recuse himself f. a vote on presidential pardons law.#Macedonia
— Vladimir Petreski (@VPetreski) February 24, 2016
Apparently it's perfectly legal to do election fraud, and whatever crimes you commit as long as the court approves it #Macedonia #justice
— Сеир.мк (@seirdotmk) February 24, 2016
If the Constitutional Court changes the Amnesty Law, the current president will have the power to pardon people who committed crimes in order to ensure his party's victory. As activist Ognen Janevski noted:
Доколку се докаже дека имало изборни нерегуларности и злосторничко здружување против изборите и гласањето во Р. Македонија, попрецизно претседателските избори во 2014 година, тогаш д-р Ѓорге Иванов кој доби втор мандат за Претседател поддржан од владејачкото мнозинство во Собранието на Р.М. би бил нелегитимен Претседател на државата, со што по автоматизам сите негови одлуки, па дури и тие одлуки за помилување автоматски стануваат ништовни односно, нелегитимни, поточно би биле нелегитимни и ништовни?
If it's proven that there were election irregularities and criminal conspiracy in the elections and voting in the Republic of Macedonia, more precisely the 2014 presidential elections, then George Ivanov, PhD, who got his second presidential mandate with support of the ruling parliamentary majority, would be an illegitimate president of the state. Would that make all his pardon decisions void and illegitimate?
At the protests in front of the court, participants shouted slogans against the “judicial mafia” and the “gravediggers of democracy” and chanted “no justice – no peace!” They also pelted the faux-baroque facade with eggs. Both at the court and on social media, protesters demanded accountability from the five justices, whom they named by name.
Photo by Vancho Dzhambaski (CC BY-NC-SA).
The court's decision to consider the initiative also drew attention from the representatives of the international community in Macedonia. For instance, the UK ambassador shared his puzzlement on Twitter.
Return from London meeting with Europe Min @DLidington. What's this news about enabling pardons for electoral fraud? pic.twitter.com/qKRcJzjt11
— Charles Garrett (@BritAmbCGarrett) February 25, 2016
By some estimates, the court could begin to deliberate on the initiative in April. Ajde! is organizing the next protest in front of the Constitutional Court for Monday, February 29, at noon.
Нема правда – нема мир!#протестирам #Скопје #Македонија pic.twitter.com/TNcWQNwkgr
— Ајде! | Hajde! (@ajde_hajde) 25 de febrero de 2016
“No Justice – No Peace!”


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Ukraine’s Eurovision 2016 Entry Is About Stalin’s Repressions. Russia Isn’t Thrilled. · Global Voices
Anna Poludenko-Young

Is Putin akin to Stalin in the eyes of Crimean Tatars? Jamala's Eurovision song sheds light on the issue. Images mixed by Anna Poludenko-Young.
A song about Soviet Moscow’s repressions against the Crimean Tatar community is Ukraine’s entry for the Eurovision 2016 music contest. Though it concerns events that took place over 70 years ago under Stalin’s regime, the online community seems to be discerning hints at Russia's more recent annexation of Crimea.
A 32–year-old Crimean Tatar singer Susana Jamaladinova, who performs under the stage name Jamala, will represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2016, the annual European music contest.
Jamala’s song, “1944,” tells the story of her own great grandmother. Just like 240,000 other Crimean Tatars (the Turkic ethnic group that historically formed the main population of the Crimean peninsula, also known as Qırımlı), she was accused of being a Nazi collaborator, was thrown out of her home by the Soviet Red Army soldiers, and deported to Central Asia. Not everyone survived the trip in overcrowded trains without food, water or even fresh air. Many Crimean Tatars died on the way there. It was only 40 years later, around 1989, that Qırımlı were allowed to return to their homeland.
“When strangers are coming,
they come to your house.
They kill you all and say
‘We’re not guilty’.”
This is how the song begins (see video with full lyrics in English here).
Although it doesn’t contain a single word about Russian president Vladimir Putin or Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Jamala has been quite open about where her sympathies lie.
In an interview to AFP news agency before the national content selection finale, she said she wanted people to hear a song written “in a state of helplessness” after Russia annexed Crimea, her home.
“It was hard for me to recall all these memories again and again, but I understand that it is necessary now,” she said. “Because now Crimean Tatars are desperate and they need support.”
Earlier, speaking to Radio Free Liberty, Jamala confessed that she is trying to attract international attention to what Russia is doing to Crimean Tatars. Without this publicity, she said, history might repeat itself.
“Now, Crimean Tatars are on occupied territory,” she said. “And it is very hard for them. They are under tremendous pressure. Some have disappeared without a trace, and that is terrifying.”
Social media users in Ukraine as well as abroad who are following the story of Jamala and her performance in the national Eurovision finale seem to have no doubt that when she sings “1944,” what she really means is “2016.” Or that when she says “Stalin,” she really means “Putin.”
#Russia complains about #Ukraine‘s Eurovision entry. Yep, it's a dig at Russia. And not very subtle https://t.co/Y00Rn2OlqQ #Crimea #Tartars
— Dirk Hanke (@DirkHanke) February 27, 2016
RU parliament is unsatisfied #Jamala will represent #Ukraine at #Eurovision.Best proof we made good choice!
— Kateryna_Kruk (@Kateryna_Kruk) February 22, 2016
Russia also got the message the Ukrainian singer was sending. Shortly after Ukraine announced its entry for Eurovision 2016, Vadim Dengin, a Russian lawmaker and deputy head of the State Duma's committee on information policy, said he hoped the organizers of the European music competition would disqualify Jamala.
“A strange choice. I am sure that they (Ukrainians—GV) rigged the vote count, just to offend Russia one more time,” Dengin said in a comment to RIA Novosti news agency. The lawmaker also quipped that ordinary Ukrainians likely wouldn't care for Eurovision at all, because “they aren't being paid enough to afford electricity.”
Another State Duma deputy and deputy head of the culture committee, Elena Drapenko, noted that by choosing Jamala with her song “1944,” Ukrainians are trying to pull all possible strings to provoke Russia. “They are trying to find anything to pick on Russia, anything at all, even Crimean Tatars,” Drapenko said.
Such a reaction from Moscow and a creeping anti-Jamala campaign among residents of Crimea pretty much guarantee zero points from Russia for Ukraine’s performance at Eurovision this year. On the other hand, if Jamala is allowed to perform “1944,” she might bring victory (or at least international attention) to Ukraine and the plight of Crimean Tatars. After all, there are quite a few countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia that can relate to the experience of dealing with Soviet Russia back in the days to which Jamala refers in her song.
Points from Azerbaijan, Poland, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria and Netherlands deffo I reckon. #jamala #eurovision
— Hanif Leylabi حنيف (@hanifleylabi) February 21, 2016
At the same time, it is still a big ‘if’ whether Jamala will be able to perform her song without any changes to the lyrics. As a general rule, Eurovision guidelines prohibit songs with lyrics that have political content.
A Eurovision spokesman told The Telegraph that all songs would be formally examined at a meeting on March 14, 2016. He declined to say whether it was likely that “1944” would be seen as overly political, but previous entries that have been deemed controversial have been banned or asked to alter their lyrics.
For example, in 2009, less than a year after Georgia and Russia engaged in a brief war, and Russia occupied two territories that previously belonged to Georgia, the competition barred Georgia’s proposed entrant from participating because the group’s song lampooned Russian President Vladimir Putin.
So far, Ukrainians at least seem to be pretty content with their choice of the song and the politics and history it represents.
Я просто плакала,пригала і піщала.
Джамала їде на Євробачення!!
Це приклад людини,яка добивається своєї мети!!!
💕💕💕💕#євробачення2016
— телепузик (@Hel_Teletubbie) February 21, 2016
I just cried, jumped and squealed. Jamala is going to Eurovision! This is an example of a person who achieves their goal!!!
Джамала їде на Євробачення. Ви за неї вболіваєте?
— Татьяна Ткачук (@Stix_i_ia) February 24, 2016
Jamala is going to Eurovision. Are you rooting for her?
13% no
73% yes
4% better than Serdyuchka (Ukraine's 2007 Eurovision entry)
10% there's something about her voice
This year’s Eurovision music contest with competitors from around the continent (and beyond) will be held in Stockholm on 14 May, 2016.

author: Anna Poludenko-Young


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Youth NGOs in Central and Eastern Europe Tackle Corruption With a New Documentary Series · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Image: The film “Corruption in Education: Defining and Recognizing Corruption” / YouTube
In order to combat corruption, one first has to recognize it and stop treating it as something “normal.” Activists argue that public education is the key to reversing attitudes that allow societies to remain complacent to corruption.
In this context, three youth anti-corruption networks from Central and Eastern Europe are sharing their experiences in a new documentary series about corruption in education, which is now available online:
Corrupt practices are especially visible in education systems. From kindergarten to university, generations of children and students grow up learning about corruption from their own experiences. As a result these generations develop particular sets of attitudes and behaviors:
“Everything can be bought. Among other things, there is a message: It's important to succeed, no matter what means you are using to achieve success…” [the film quotes professor Cedomir Cupic, the former president of Serbian Anti-corruption Agency].
Produced by Macedonia's Youth Educational Forum, the series includes testimonies by students, teachers, and activists affected by corruption (and now involved in fighting it) in Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina and Armenia.
The first episode, “Defining and Recognizing Corruption,” is available in English and Macedonian:
The next four documentaries in the series will cover “Youth Networking Against Corruption,” “Data and Research on Corruption,” “Online and Offline Activism Against Corruption,” and “Institutional Communication.” The networks contributing to the production are the Anti-Corruption Student Network in South East Europe, Global Youth Anti-Corruption Network, and Transparent Education Network.


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‘Barber Show’ Web Series Offers an Honest and Funny Glimpse of Paris’s African Community · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

‘When a man shows a bit of flesh, do we call him a whore?’  Screenshot from the web series “Barber Show”
“Lorsqu’un homme se déshabille, est-ce qu'on dit c’est une pute ?”
When a man shows a bit of flesh, do we call him a whore?
The web series “Barber Show” is awash with such outspoken comments. This one in particular is taken from an episode which deals with sexism in show business. “Barber Show”, the creation of Hugues Lawson-Body, plunges viewers into the African neighbourhoods of the 10th arrondissement of Paris.
The documentary series is filmed entirely in an African barbershop called Lucky Coiffure (Lucky Hairdo), where the relationships that are forged amongst regulars are as important as having the freshest hairstyle on the street. Babs, a barber of Ghanaian-Nigerian origin, manages Lucky Coiffure with the help of friend Gaye, who mediates a range of debates with the clientèle.
Hugues Lawson-Body is the producer of the series. He was born in Togo and raised in Paris from a young age. A talented and reputed photographer, he has travelled the world capturing some of the best known celebrities, from actor and director Spike Lee to right-wing French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen.
Despite this international success, his favourite past-time is closer to home: photographing the youth of Paris. This led to his discovery of Lucky Coiffure and its cosmopolitan microcosm. Lawson-Body decided to film daily life in the barbershop, where conversations often reflect debates happening elsewhere in society. Six episodes have already been filmed and no subjects are off limits, from the lightest, such as the rivalry between American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, to the most dramatic, all seen through the eyes of barbershop regulars.
At times, the generally good-natured and light-hearted atmosphere can become tense. This was certainly the case in an emotionally charged episode titled J'ai deux amours (I have two loves), filmed on November 13, 2015, following the coordinated attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead. The nightmare begins as friends and customers at the barbershop are watching an international football match between France and Germany on TV. As news of the attacks begins to flood the screen, those in the barbershop are shocked. Emotions run high.
Géraldine, a hospital worker, recounts her personal experience during the attacks, as well as her fears and her reaction. Babs asks if Géraldine has hung a French flag on her balcony (a popular display of solidarity and defiance following the attacks). Géraldine retorts that she has no need for a flag to prove her French identity. Babs then preempts an argument about the disparity in media coverage with violence elsewhere in the world, for example, in Nigeria and Lebanon. He explains:
Moi je vis en France, tout ce qui touche la France me touche de près. Ça veut pas dire que je ne compatis pas quand cela se passe en Afrique mais la distance fait que tu n’as pas le même ressenti
I live in France: what affects France affects me too. That's not to say that I don't sympathise when this sort of thing happens in Africa, but the distance means that you don't feel the same emotions.
This episode has been viewed over a million times. Another episode focuses on the style of dress of black American celebrities. Gaye thinks that singer Beyoncé may have had a different reputation if she dressed in another way. His friend explains to him that by dressing as she does, Beyoncé defends the right of women to dress as they wish:
Tu as le droit de t'habiller sexy car tu as un business à défendre, mais elles défendent aussi la valeur des femmes. Lorsqu’un homme se déshabille, est-ce qu'on dit c’est une pute?
[She] has the right to dress sexily to protect her business, but she is also defending the values of being a women. When a man shows a bit of flesh, do we call him a whore?
Jay Z vs Kanye West : le tout premier épisode du Barber Show
"Le level de Kanye West ne pourra jamais atteindre la cheville de Jay Z !"Jay Z ou Kanye West : le tout premier épisode du Barber Show !
Posted by Konbini on Friday, December 4, 2015
What is the secret of Barber Show's success? Hugues Lawson-Body says he is seduced by the charm and language of the regulars :
C’est une institution dans le quartier, une sorte de social club. Médecins, chauffeurs, avocats, entrepreneurs, amis, ils ont l’habitude de s’y retrouver, le soir après le travail. C’est un îlot de sympathie et d’humour, l’ambiance est chouette et accueillante et chaque vois que j’y vais, j’en sors avec la pêche. On parle de tout, y compris des traditions ou des sujets parfois « clichés ». Des go (filles), du racisme, de celui qui des deux rappeurs américains, Jay-Z ou de Kennie West, marquera le plus son temps…voire même des « marabouts ».
[The barbershop] is a neighbourhood institution, a sort of social club. Doctors, drivers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, friends are used to meeting there in the evenings after work. It's a little island of funny friendliness, the ambiance is cool and welcoming and every time I go there I come away feeling great. Every subject is discussed, including those that are sometimes clichéd; from go (women), racism, American rappers such as Jay-Z and Kanye West, even marabouts [fortune tellers of West African origin]
He adds:
La série montre une communauté assez peu représentée.  l’objectif était de témoigner de cette richesse culturelle.
The series shows an under-represented community. The aim was to show the cultural richness of this community.
Facebook users are also positive about the success of the series.
Sofiane Mourier is full of praise for the concept:
Le barber show est un excellent concept d'après moi, vous traitez de sujets très sérieux tout en y ajoutant une touche d'humour, j'apprécie vraiment ce type d'émissions et j'espère que celle ci continuera longtemps
I think Barber Show is a great idea; you cover serious subjects with a touch of humour. I really enjoy this type of show and I hope it will continue for a long time to come.
Marie Tsama feels Barber Show is a fair reflection of her life as an African woman in Paris:
Vous illustrez tout ce qui nous remue . Peace , Joy, and Unity. Merci beaucoup mes Frères et Soeurs
You convey everything that defines us. Peace, Joy and Unity. Thank you, my brothers and sisters.

author: Rakotomalala


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Cartoonist Snoggie Gives Uganda’s Very Serious Political Issues a Touch of Humor · Global Voices
Prudence Nyamishana

A compilation of some of Snoggie's work.
Uganda's recent elections were characterized by tension, arrests, and rigging allegations. Not exactly a laughing matter, but there's still room for humor. Just ask Snoggie, one of the country's leading political cartoonists, who regularly commented on these issues throughout the voting season.
Ugandans cast their ballots in presidential, parliamentary and local council elections on February 18, 2016. The Electoral Commission of Uganda announced two days later that incumbent President Yoweri Museveni had won with 60.75% of the votes. Main opposition candidate Kizza Besigye, who was arrested multiple times during the lead-up to the election, followed with 35.37%, and former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi came in third with 1.75%.
Snoogie shares his art in the Uganda's Daily Monitor newspaper as well as on his Facebook page, Snoggies World for Uganda,  which has close to 30,000 followers. His cartoons offer insight into the political drama playing out in Uganda at the moment. Below are some of his works posted on his Facebook page.
Image by Snoggie. Used with permission.
The person in the driver's seat above is the chairman of the Electoral Commission, Badru Kiggundu. The passengers in the back seats are the main opposition leaders, Amma Mbabazi of the Go Forward movement and Kizza Besigye, whose slogan was “For The Change We Deserve.” Holding the map is President Yoweri Museveni.
Image by Snoggie. Used with permission.
President Museveni refused to attend the first presidential debate saying that he was busy. However, he attended the second presidential debate. Mirundi was Museveni's press secretary for 13 years.
Image by Snoggie. Used with permission.
Delivering an eviction notice above is Kizza Besigye, the main opposition leader. Besigye attracted huge crowds during the campaigns. Many people anticipated that Museveni was actually headed for a defeat before the election results were released.
Image by Snoggie. Used with permission.
After elections, there was a heavy police and military presence in the streets. Unlike past elections, streets were empty of celebrations.
Image by Snoggie. Used with permission.
Afande means officer in Swahili, and Dr. Badru Kiggundu is the Electoral Commission chairman. The man in the officers’ custody is Kizza Besigye, who was was arrested four times between 15-23 February. He was put under house arrest after the results were announced.
Image by Snoggie. Used with permission.
Uganda is the only country in East Africa without presidential term limits. Technically, Museveni can stand for elections in 2021.

author: Prudence Nyamishana


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China Silences Outspoken Tycoon and Other Celebrities on Social Media · Global Voices
Lynn Fang

Ren Zhiqiang. Photo: Beijing Tsinghua University CIDEG Center
The Cyberspace Administration of China has accused outspoken real estate tycoon Ren Zhiqiang of publishing “illegal messages with a negative impact.” On February 28, officials ordered two major social media platforms, Sina and Tencent, to shut down Ren's user accounts.
Two days before Ren lost his social media accounts, the authorities criticized certain Internet celebrities for “ignoring their social responsibilities, abusing their influence, and constantly publishing information that breaks the law by disturbing social order on social media.” A number of celebrities were banned from accessing their accounts.
Ren is a member of the Communist Party, in addition to being a prominent micro-blogger with nearly 38 million followers on Sina Weibo. People believe he was punished for his comment about Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent speech addressing the political role of the media. Xi insisted that state-affiliated media outlets should serve the party and Ren questioned the president's view on Weibo:
人民政府啥时候改党政府了？花的是党费吗？别用纳税人的钱去办
为纳税人提供服务的事。
When did the people’s government transform into the party’s government? Was it spending the party’s money? Don’t use taxpayers’ money to do something that doesn’t serve the people.
Critics drew attention to Ren's remark, calling it anti-party, though censors quickly removed it after just a few hours.
Ren’s social media accounts then vanished. An official statement published by the Cyberspace Administration accused Ren of using Sina and Tencent's social media accounts to “publish illegal information, which had a negative impact.” The agency also said Internet service providers and Internet users both need to “improve their self-discipline and awareness of standards.”
While the statement didn’t specify what exactly he'd said illegally, Ren's local Communist Party district committee issued a notice accusing him of violating party discipline, which the committee says it takes very seriously.
Some official media outlets deactivated or limited their comment function when distributing the Cyberspace Administration's statement on social media platforms. Even when comments were allowed, they were filtered of “sensitive language.”
Many netizens criticized China's brutal silencing of dissents:
各大发布消息的媒体基本集体关评，完全就是限制言论自由。大家还是乖乖不要说话，或者老老实实当五毛，不然随时被封号。
Major media outlets have blocked their commenting function. This is a complete restriction of free speech. People can only behave and be quiet, or be one of the 50 Cent Party [government-hired commenters], otherwise your account can be deleted at any minute.
有的评论继续显示，一会指责任志强的多，一会挺大炮的多。但一会再翻过去，发现好些评论又不见了。
Some news portals still have comments. But sometimes there are more comments attacking Ren Zhiqiang, while sometimes there are more supporting him. And if you go back to the previous comments, you find many comments are gone.
都不让人说话了，恐怖的时代来临了。
People are not allowed to speak now. The horrifying era has come.
文化大革命又要来了。
Here comes the Cultural Revolution again!
删评论好厉害呀？到㡳怕什么？难道真做了什么见不得人的事？干嘛一直要删评论？自信呢？楼要塌了？吓晕头了？这种不让人说话的无赖行为让人鄙视。
What exactly are they so afraid of? How many shameful things have they done? Why keep deleting comments? Where's the confidence? This sort of rogue behavior that keeps people from speaking out is so despicable.
Lao Xu, an experienced Web administrator, argued that silencing Ren and other celebrities will result in an antagonistic relationship between the party and the people:
其实，打倒一个「任大炮」简单，打倒他 3000 多万粉丝的意志却没那么容易。网络大 V 之所以拥有巨大的影响力和号召力，敢说真话是他们共同的特点。他们的影响力，源自他们真实的声音。他们的众多粉丝，都是自发关注形成的，是民意的一种选择和升华。注意倾听他们的理性声音，某种程度上就是倾听民意，至少是部分民意。[…]与民意为敌，只能是掩耳盗铃。尽管能得到一时的表面平静，但却孕育着长久的地狱之火。长此以往，必定失去民心。
It is not difficult to beat down “the Cannon” [Ren Zhiqiang], but it won't be easy to suppress the will of his 30 million fans. The reason why Big V [opinion leaders] are influential is because they are outspoken and sincere in expressing themselves. Their fans follow them out of choice. It is a reflection of public opinion. Listen to their rational voices and you get to know the view of the people, or at least a group of people. […] Making enemies with the people is a dumb act. It's silent, but hell's fires are burning. Eventually, you'll lose people's hearts.
Ren Zhiqiang (nicknamed by netizens “the Cannon” for his reputation for posting controversial arguments online) was the president of Beijng Huayuan Group, a real estate company. He stepped down in 2011 but remained the president of a publicly listed subsidiary until 2014.
Ren was not the only one to lose his micro-blog. On February 26, the Cyberspace Administration ordered the closure of several celebrities’ social media accounts, including the account of famous actor Sun Haiying, scholar Rong Jian, and urban affairs expert Luo Yameng. The authorities stated, “There are some Internet celebrities who ignore their social responsibilities, abuse their influence, and constantly publish information that is against of the law, which disturbs the social order, and damages the country’s well-being and reputation. Therefore, these accounts will be shut down.”

author: Lynn Fang


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Filmmakers Lubezki and Iñárritu Once Again Bring Mexican Flavor to the Academy Awards · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

The Mexican film director Alejandro González Iñárritu, winner of Academy Award for Best Director for ‘The Revenant’. Photo from the Flickr account of Tarlen Handayani. Used under Creative Commons licence 2.0
For the third consecutive year, the Dolby Theatre in California felt like it was tinged with green, white, and red — the colors of the Mexican flag — during the Oscar ceremony presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, thanks to major wins by Emmanuel Lubezki and Alejandro González Iñárritu.
This prestigious recognition given to Mexicans by one of the most influential and economically powerful industries in the United States has come right when several US presidential hopefuls have proposed increasingly severe immigration policies. Furthermore, Republican candidate Donald Trump has continuously spoken maliciously against the Mexican people.
Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki was awarded in the category of Best Cinematography for his work in film “The Revenant”, which was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Lubezki thus became the first cinematographer in history to win the coveted statuette three years in a row; however, that does not make him the most awarded, since both Leon Shamroy and Joseph Ruttenberg each won in the same category on four occasions, although not consecutively. In the last two years, Lubezki won the award for his work on “Gravity” and “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”. He has received a total of eight Academy Awards nominations throughout his career.
Prior to arriving in Hollywood, Lubezki had studied history, but later enrolled at the Center for Cinematographic Studies of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Luis Estrada (“La Dictadura Perfecta” (The Perfect Dictatorship) and Alfonso Cuarón (“Great Expectations”), both award-winning Mexican directors, studied there as well.
On social media, users expressed their excitement at the news. @bettanzoss even opined that Lubezki should replace the image of Miguel Hidalgo, a leader of Mexico's independence, on banknotes.
Quiten a Miguel Hidalgo de los billetes de $1,000 y pongan a Emmanuel Lubezki.
— Betanzos (@bettanzoss) February 29, 2016
Get rid of Miguel Hidalgo on the $1,000 bills and put Emmanuel Lubezki.
Meanwhile, Héctor Alvarez wrote:
Son un grandioso ejemplo a seguir Iñárritu y Lubezki. Demostrando que los mexicanos tenemos mucho talento.
— Hector Alvarez (@HectorAlvB) February 29, 2016
Iñárritu and Lubezki are great examples to follow. Proving that the Mexican people have a lot of talent.
Sergio B. took the opportunity to remember another Mexican cinematographer, absent on this occasion:
Ahorita viendo a Lubezki en conferencia, recordé a Rodrigo Prieto y su igualmente espectacular labor en Brokeback Mountain.
Nomás decía.
— Sergio B. (@sergb__) February 29, 2016
Watching Lubezki conference right now, I remembered Rodrigo Prieto and his equally spectacular work on Brokeback Mountain.
Just saying.
It was not all good news for the Mexicans nominated, since Martín Hernández once again left without an award for Best Sound Editing, this time for his work on “The Revenant”, which received 12 nominations in total. Hernández went home empty-handed last year when he had been nominated in the same category for his work in “Birdman”. In addition to film, Hernández has worked as a journalist and was one of the original commentators on the morning radio show “Así Las Cosas“, which broadcasts in Mexico City.
Alejandro González Iñárritu received the award for Best Director for his work on “The Revenant”, leaving Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight”) and Adam McKay (“The Big Short”) without an Oscar. Last year, González Iñárritu was awarded in the same category for “Birdman”. Even before that, he was no stranger to Hollywood — his previous films, such as “Babel”, were also nominated for an Academy Award. Before being recognized by the mainstream film industry, González Iñárritu worked as a director of music videos as well as commercials for brands such as Nike.
Mauricio Tolosa remembers the film that put González Iñárritu on the road to stardom:
Qué gran obra ha construido Alejandro González Iñárritu, desde que partió el milenio con “Amores Perros”. #Oscars
— Mauricio Tolosa (@MAUtolosa) February 29, 2016
Alejandro González Iñárritu has created such amazing work since setting off the millennium with “Amores Perros” (Love's a Bitch). #Oscars
The Twitter account of Spanish newspaper 20minutos (20 minutes) shared the news of González Iñárritu’s triumph:
González Iñárritu gana su segundo Oscar consecutivo como mejor director https://t.co/PtNAX13dgE#Oscars#OscarEn20mpic.twitter.com/dSsL1ksxgJ
— 20minutos.es (@20m) February 29, 2016
González Iñárritu has won his second consecutive Oscar for Best Director.
In his acceptance speech, González Iñárritu was not as political as last year, but gave a nod to the controversy over the lack of diversity in the nominees, saying:
…what a great opportunity to our generation to really liberate ourselves from all prejudice and, you know, this tribal thinking, and make sure for once and forever that the color of the skin becomes as irrelevant as the length of our hair.
For his achievements, and those of other Mexican filmmakers, political scientist Alberto Díaz-Cayeros concluded:
Cuaron, Lubezki & Iñarritu are not flukes but proof of creative vitality Mexican culture, ethics hard work & opportunity from globalization
— Alberto Diaz-Cayeros (@diazcayeros) February 29, 2016

author: J. Tadeo


text:
How to Comb Russia’s TV News · Global Voices
Aric Toler

Combing Russia's television news networks. Image: Kevin Rothrock.
This article is part of a larger guidebook by RuNet Echo to help people learn how to conduct open-source research on the Russian Internet. Explore the complete guidebook at the special project page.
According to survey research by the Levada Center, the vast majority of Russians (85 percent) say they watch television to learn about the country's news. While less than half (41 percent) say they also trust the news they learn from TV, it still inspires twice at least as much confidence than any of its competitors. When conducting online open-source research in Russian, finding and evaluating television reports is often just as important as combing social media and online news sources. This guide explains how to evaluate TV news sources and navigate television networks’ online video archives, in order to compare coverage of specific events.
Contents
This is the most-watched channel in Russia, airing a variety of news, entertainment, and sports programs. The channel is state-owned and has a generally pro-government bias. For open-source research, the most relevant programming is the popular “Vremya” (Время) nightly news program, which has a weekly segment by the infamous pundit Dmitry Kiselyov. A livestream of the channel can be viewed here.
The fastest way to locate particular pieces of Channel One's news coverage is by searching through its easy-to-use video archive, sorted by date (if you cannot read the months, check a reference guide here from MasterRussian.com). The archive goes back to 1999, providing a wealth of easily accessible information.
Additionally, you can search through Channel One’s YouTube channel here.
This is the second-most-watched channel in Russia, airing news, entertainment, sports, documentaries, and other programming. Like Channel One, the channel is state-owned and the news coverage is rarely, if ever, critical of the Kremlin. Each news segment's title contains the word “Vesti” (Вести), including “Vesti,” “Vesti on Saturday” (Вести в субботу), “Vesti at 8:00 p.m.” (Вести в 20:00), and so on. A livestream of the channel can be viewed here.
The website makes it very easy to search for news segments, categorizing them by date and by specific program. After clicking on a Vesti segment, you can search by a calendar (календарь) to find a news broadcast on a specific date, going back to 2012.
Additionally, Russia 1 has numerous regional channels. For their video broadcasts, search for Россия 1 with the region or city name—for example, enter “Россия 1 Ярославль” to find the station's Yaroslavl branch. Googling this phrase will bring the official television station’s website and the YouTube channel for the station, giving us an archive of nearly all of their local news broadcasts.
This is a 24-hour news channel and the sister channel to Russia 1. The channel was named “Vesti” (Вести) until 2010, and still retains the same URL of Vesti.ru. A livestream of the channel can be viewed here.
As with Russia 1, there are vast video archives for the news broadcasts for this channel, accessible by category and show here. You can filter the results by date after searching a term (click the magnifying glass in top-right corner), then selecting a date range.
Additionally, Russia 24’s vast news broadcast archives are accessible (going back a few years) on its YouTube channel. The programs are filtered on the YouTube channel by theme (such as the more-than-1,000 videos on the “Situation in Ukraine” channel) or by program.
Since its takeover in March 2000 (following Putin's first presidential election win), NTV has been under the control of Media-Most and, after 2001, Gazprom Media. NTV is nominally independent, but the state has a majority stake in Gazprom, effectively putting the Kremlin in control of the network's major editorial policies.
NTV airs a number of news programs, along with shows, movies, and emotional investigations that often focus on crime. Its news is slanted towards the government line, and it's often more sensationalist than Russia 1 or Channel One. A livestream of the channel can be viewed here.
The easiest way to navigate NTV’s broadcast archive is by filtering its news page. From the “news” (новости) page, scroll down to find a small segment on the right-hand part of the page showing the date.
After selecting the desired date, any news segments that aired on that day will appear. When searching by key word, there is no way to search within a date range, but the results are ordered chronologically by default. You can also search through the daily news programs of NTV (“Сегодня” and “Итоги дня”) using NTV's YouTube channel.
This is the Russian Defense Ministry's television network. As you might imagine, Zvezda airs programs that focus on the Russian military, including documentaries, news programs, and war movies. The news itself is very pro-Kremlin, and sometimes it publishes and airs unverified content from fringe websites, such as a story claiming that “thousands” of ISIS fighters arrived in Odessa in November 2015. A livestream of the channel can be viewed here.
Zvezda’s YouTube channel with programming is available here (and the news-only channel is here). Unfortunately, the search function on the Zvezda website to find specific news segments is cumbersome, but you can still navigate it with some effort. Go to their search page and type anything into the field in the top-right of the page (which will say “поиск”). This will bring up the search parameters. When searching for a particular date, you must choose the date you wish to search (the first one, after “от”) and the day after the desired date (after “до”). For example, if you wish to search for a news segment on December 1, 2014, the graphic below show the needed search parameters (along with a key word in Russian after “По контексту”):
Alternatively, you may find success searching within Zvezda’s YouTube channel, avoiding the awkward search interface of its native website.
This is a privately-held television channel that has gained quite a reputation throughout the Ukrainian crisis as sensationalist and loose with facts. LifeNews—owned by Aram Gabrelyanov and said to be close with Russia's security services—prides itself at being the first to report news (often to the detriment of the truth and taste). Since the cooling of the Ukrainian crisis, LifeNews has gone back to focusing on sensationalist stories and a higher dose of celebrity news than Russia 1 or Channel One. You can watch LifeNews’ livestream here.
Of all of the television channels outlined in this guide, the broadcast archives of LifeNews are probably the most difficult to navigate. On the network's website, the search function only allows keyword search, without date parameters. You may have better luck searching through their YouTube channel, or trying focused searches through Google Video. For example, the search parameters below would search for all videos on LifeNews’ website that appeared on July 8, 2015, that also contain a keyword of choice:
Lastly, there is the independent, generally anti-Kremlin television network TV Rain, which moved to a subscription model after most cable carriers dropped it from coverage. The station often hosts pro-Western, anti-Kremlin guests, and occasionally grants airtime to pro-Kremlin figures and even some state officials. The network is said to have ties to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's circle of influence. While the great majority of the channel’s programming is news, there are also some entertainment programs. A livestream can be viewed here (with a paid subscription).
The channel’s archives are very easy to navigate using its archive here. For example, the search below for November (“Ноябрь”) 10, 2014, yields 52 results, including 17 broadcast segments.
While access to some results may require a subscription, the great majority of the archived broadcast segments is accessible to everyone. You can also access the channel’s broadcasts on its YouTube channel.
***
There are, of course, additional channels in Russia producing news coverage—such as REN TV (РЕН ТВ), Channel 5 (Пятый канал), and RBC (РБК)—but for most purposes, the channels outlined above will be more than sufficient for research, in conjunction with local television channels. Unlike American and some European media outlets, Russian television channels are often meticulous in publicly cataloging their broadcasts, sometimes going back over a decade. When conducting open-source research on nearly any event in Russia—a protest, natural disaster, crime, or any other topic—these archived broadcasts often provide incredible amounts of information, along with a window into the source that the vast majority of Russians rely on for their news.

author: Aric Toler


text:
In Bahrain, a Thousand Tears for One Hug · Global Voices
Batool Al Musawi

Archive photograph: People rally in Bahrain on May 8, 2015, calling on authorities to stop the human rights abuses taking place in Jaw prison. Photo from Al Wefaq National Islamic Society's Official Twitter Account @AlWefaqEN
Bahrainis responded to a Twitter campaign call to press the Dry Dock prison administration to improve the poor conditions of the facility and remove the glass barriers that keep the detainees apart from their families and children during scheduled visits. The prison is a remand center where detainees are placed until the courts decide on their cases. Many prisoners have been there for months as their detentions are renewed and trials adjourned several times, whilst deprived from hugging or even shaking hands with family members and children.
Reema Ashallan, a Bahraini lawyer, joined the campaign tweeting:
اضرب العديد من الموقوفين في سجن الحوض عن الطعام، وتعرض عدد منهم لنوبات صحية احتجاجا على الأوضاع #اكسروا_حاجز_اللاإنسانية #سجناء_الضمير
— ريما شعلان (@reemashallan) February 28, 2016
Many detainees in the Dry Dock prison have gone on hunger strike. A number of them suffered health setbacks as they protested the [prison] conditions.
In another tweet, she added:
تواصل عدد من أهالي سجن الحوض الجاف مع الأمانة العامة للتظلمات حول سوء الأوضاع الا انها لم تتغير #اكسروا_حاجز_اللاإنسانية #سجناء_الضمير
— ريما شعلان (@reemashallan) February 28, 2016
A number of families of detainees in the Dry Dock prison complained to the Ombudsman Office about the poor conditions, but nothing changed.
Bahraini human rights defender Ebtisam Alsaegh made an appeal to the Red Cross:
#اكسروا_حاجز_اللاإنسانية يجب أن يكون هناك تدخل من الصليب الأحمر الدولي لمتابعة الحالات المتضررة بصورة سريعة لتحسين أوضاع سجناء #البحرين
— ebtisam Alsaegh (@ealsaegh) February 26, 2016
The Red Cross must intervene to promptly follow the cases of which detainees have been affected and to improve their conditions.
Zainab Mohamed, who has been campaigning for the release of her husband, Mohamed Ramadan, shared a photograph of her child drawing out his feelings with his little fingers. With that, she attached a picture of her husband giving their child a kiss on the cheek from behind a glass barrier.
أبي … أتمنى أن أبقى خلف القضبان لكي أبقى معك #محمد_رمضان #البحرين #اكسروا_حاجز_اللاانسانيه pic.twitter.com/oXU1Tz3K8p
— Zainab Mohamed (@zainabmohamed55) February 28, 2016
Father, I wish I was in prison to remain with you.
Mohsin Mohamed shared interview footage with family members of a 17-year-old detainee, Dawood Khalil, held in the Dry Dock prison.
@KarranahNews #اكسروا_حاجز_اللاإنسانية | شقيق المعتقل داوود سلمان خليل يتألم لفراق أخيه https://t.co/esDvbjmmKM
— Mohsin Mohamed (@Mohsiners) February 28, 2016
When I go to see my brother there [in prison] I see him crying, I want to hug him but I can't. I want to shake hands with him and I can't. I want to play with him. Break your silence so they break the inhumane barrier.
In a longer video of the same interview, the mother said that her son was made to confess to charges under coercion. She also mentions that he has joined the hunger strike.
Fatima Halwachi, head of monitoring and documentation at the European-Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights, tweeted to her followers:
صحة وسلامة المعتقلين في خطر وخاصة ذوي الامراض المزمنة إذ يمنع عليهم الدواء والمعاينة ويتم التهديد بقطع مياه الشرب! #اكسروا_حاجز_اللاإنسانية
— Fatima (@FatiimaHalwachi) February 28, 2016
The detainees’ health condition is at risk, especially those with chronic diseases as they are denied medicine and medical care and threatened to be denied drinking water.
Fatima has had her own heartbreaking experience waiting for two years to get to hug her jailed father.
As a Swedish citizen, Fatima published an open letter to the president of the European Parliament, urging for interference to release her father, Khalil Alhalwachi, an activist and teacher and one of thousands of Bahraini dissidents who have been locked up for their opinions and political activism.
In her letter she describes the feeling of having to meet loved ones from behind a barrier:
For the past 16 months I have been denied to touch, hug and feel the warmth of my father’s hands. Every week in our 25-minutes visit inside prison, he is sat behind a glass barrier, where our only connection is by placing our hands against each other behind the glass and wish we could feel the touch.
A scene I only witnessed in movies but never thought it could ever happen to me!
Yet, these cases are few of many. One cannot imagine the feelings of a father who is deprived from holding his newly born child.
In September 2015, five years after the eruption of nationwide pro-democracy protests, 33 member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council released a damning joint-statement expressing “serious concern” over the human rights situation in Bahrain and urging for the release of prisoners of conscience. Today, and as the HRC meets again, nothing seems to have changed in Bahrain.
Five years on, the center of those protests in the capital Manama remains shut down and protests have been banned all together.
American journalist Therese Day, who was recently detained in Bahrain while covering protests, explains the situation in more detail in her first interview following her release.
As more people are detained and released on a daily basis, human rights activists estimate the number of political prisoners at around 4,000 people, including many juveniles.

author: Batool Al Musawi


text:
Latin America’s Informal Recyclers Push for Recognition and Protection on International Waste Pickers’ Day · Global Voices
Pamela Ramírez

Recycler at a collection center in Bogota, Colombia, one of the most advanced countries in the region in legislation and recycler appreciation. Photo by the Regional Initiative for Inclusive Recycling. Used with permission.
You may not know it, but in Latin America and the Caribbean alone, around 4 million people making their living as waste pickers, according to figures from the Regional Initiative for Inclusive Recycling (IRR). Every day, these men and women collect, select, retrieve and sell solid waste from primary sources, which could be private homes, commercial or industrial sites, or even collection centers such as landfills.
March 1 is International Waste Pickers’ Day. On this day, recyclers, as they are also called, seek to highlight the importance of the role they play as well as lobby governments for more protection and more inclusive waste management polices.
Recyclers make many contributions through their work, including creating jobs and reducing municipal spending on waste management, all of which has a positive impact on local economies. Recyclers also provide a valuable service that contributes to protecting the environment and public health:
Los #RecicladoresInformales ayudan a mitigar el #CambioClimático #EconomíaVerde vía @WIEGOGLOBAL #GlobalBPS pic.twitter.com/CRTn0kYw7P
— Tania Espinosa (@espinosamente) 25 de febrero de 2016
Informal recyclers help mitigate #ClimateChange #GreenEconomy via @WIEGOGLOBAL #GlobalBPS
Chilean recycler participating in a personal development, empowerment, and leadership workshop. IRR photo, used with pemission
But waste pickers still face challenges.
Waste pickers provide the Latin American recycling industry with between 50% to 90% of its solid material, more than any other source, according to the IRR. But despite being the backbone of the industry, they only receive about 5% of the profits made.
This alarming figure is explained by the limited inclusion of recyclers in waste management policies, weak regulations supporting their work and the informality of their profession. A situation that has been well illustrated by the president of the National Network of Recyclers of Ecuador, Laura Guanoluisa for her country:
ECUADOR:No hay ley que promueva RECICLAJE INCLUSIVO del reciclador. Sí políticas para los municipios, pero no las aplican.
Laura Guanoluisa
— Red Lacre (@RedLacre) 10 de febrero de 2016
ECUADOR: There is no law that promotes INCLUSIVE RECYCLING for waste pickers. Yes, there are municipal policies, but those do not apply. -Laura Guanoluisa
La principal amenaza que enfrentamos las y los RECICLADORES en ECUADOR son las dificultades de acceso a los residuos
* Laura Guanoluisa
— Red Lacre (@RedLacre) 11 de febrero de 2016
The difficulty of accessing waste is the main threat that we RECYCLERS in ECUADOR are facing. -Laura Guanoluisa
International Waste Pickers’ Day falls on the anniversary of a tragedy that exposed the vulnerability of those who collect waste. On March 1, 1992, 11 recyclers were killed in a Colombian university, which they had entered under the promise that they would receive donated waste material. However, the real purpose was to harvest and profit from their bodies.
To commemorate their deaths, 34 countries gathered at the International Meeting of Recyclers in 2008 and established this date as International Waste Pickers’ Day.
1° Marzo de 2016 #DíaMundialRecicladores
¡Un solo Gremio, una sola Lucha! pic.twitter.com/1bxN6D21Iq
— Red Lacre (@RedLacre) 25 de febrero de 2016
March 1, 2016 #InternationalWastePickers'Day One guild, one fight!
Currently, the recyclers of Latin America are organized under the LACRE network (Latin American Network of Recyclers), and have made progress in recent decades in raising awareness of their work and their contributions to the economy and to the sustainable development of their respective countries. The video below, titled “Where everyone throws things away, we create”, shows some members in different parts of the region presenting some of their ideas for fostering an even stronger contribution:
Progress has been made in Chile towards an inclusive recycling model in four communities in the capital city, thanks to alliances between waste pickers, local governments and the private sector. Photo by IRR. Used with permission.
Along with seeking the protection and formalization of these workers, recycler organizations campaign for solid waste management that’s more comprehensive than simply moving trash from dumpster to landfill.
One of these experiences is the IRR which has sought to influence the public policy debate on waste in 16 countries in the region. Since 2011, this group, through municipal and national projects, has worked to train and formalize waste pickers as well as create tools for inclusion, which they say has directly benefited more than 17,000 recyclers in the continent.
For these organizations, waste picking represents more than just a source of income (although that certainly is important). Well-managed recycling can help boost the local economy and protect the environment and public health — if everyone with an interest works together.

author: Pamela Ramírez


text:
Poyais, the 19th-Century Con That Remains One of History’s Boldest · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Engraving of Mosquito Oast in the alleged territory of Poyais. Image from Wikipedia, public domain.
If you thought corruption scandals belonged to contemporary criminals and governments, this story is for you. Around the 1820s, Scottish General Gregor MacGregor, an army officer who served with distinction in the Venezuelan War of Independence, started calling himself the cacique of Poyais, a fake Central American country of his own invention that he used to conduct fraudulent business, including selling lands to other Scotsmen.
This is the summary of his big con, as told by the blog El hombre lobo (The Wolf Man):
MacGregor era un militar condecorado en los ejércitos Ingleses, Portugués y Venezolano. Tras varias acciones militares, llegó a una zona de las costa Nicaragüense dominada por los indios Poyais, con los que firmó un acuerdo de “colonización” […y sobre la] base a los supuestos recursos naturales del Poyais, comenzó a emitir bonos que daban intereses del 6%, garantizados por el Reino de Poyais.
MacGregor was a decorated army officer in the British, Portuguese and Venezuelan armies. After several military actions, he arrived to an area on the Nicaraguan coast dominated by the Poyais indigenous people, with whom he signed a “colonization” agreement […and] based on the supposed natural resources from the Poyais, he started to issue bonds with interest rates of 6%, guaranteed by the Kingdom of Poyais.
The blog's author also explained the context of the time and why so many people fell for the deceit:
Hay que situarse en el momento histórico en el que estamos. Hablamos de 1822, donde las ex-colonias Españolas estaban apareciendo en el panorama mundial como nuevos países con enorme potencial, donde muchos países con increíbles recursos necesitaban dinero para financiar sus infraestructuras y donde los rendimientos que ofrecían eran mucho mayores que los ofrecidos en Europa.
We have to place ourselves in that moment in history. It's 1822 we are talking about, when the former Spanish colonies were making their debut on the world stage as new countries with huge potential, when many countries with amazing resources needed money in order to fund their infrastructures and when the promised profits were way higher than what was offered in Europe.
Honduran news site El Heraldo picks up the story from there:
Alleged location of Poyais in Central America. Image from Wikipedia, edits by the author. Public domain.
En septiembre de 1822 un curioso fenómeno ocurría en el puerto de Londres: el barco Honduras Packet levaba anclas con 70 colonos, incluyendo doctores, abogados y un banquero, rumbo al Reino de Poyais […].
Pero cuando arribaron a la costa atlántica de Honduras lo que hallaron fue una selva inhóspita que ofrecía más enfermedades que oro, al reverso de cómo les había prometido Gregor McGregor, un timador brillante autotitulado cacique de Poyais y a quien el “rey” misquito Frederik Augustus le había cedido en 1820 inmensas áreas de tierra (12 500 millas cuadradas) para que fundara allí un vasto Estado monárquico que al fin acabó siendo la mayor estafa internacional del siglo XIX. De los 240 colonos llegados a Poyais murió la mitad, otros volvieron a Londres o radicaron en Belice.
In September 1822, something curious took place in the port of London: the ship Honduras Packet raised anchor with 70 would-be settlers, including doctors, lawyers and a banker, and headed to the Kingdom of Poyais […].
But when they arrived to the Atlantic coast of Honduras, what they found was an inhospitable jungle that offered more illnesses than gold, the very opposite of what Gregor McGregor [sic] had promised them. The brilliant swindler had declared himself the cacique of Poyais, after the Miskito “king” Frederik Augustus in 1820 had handed over to him immense swathes of land (12,500 square miles) so he could establish there a huge monarchical state, what actually ended up being the biggest international scam of the 19th century. Of the 240 settlers that arrived to Poyais, half of them died, others went back to London or settled down in Belize.
Coat of arms of the Poyais. Image from Wikipedia. Public domain.
MacGregor's promises, such as that the natives were friendly, the land was incredibly fertile, and gold was abundant, seemed too good to be true, but he still managed to fool seasoned army officers, doctors and a banker. How did he manage it? The Economist magazine tried to find an answer:
Research from Tamar Frankel at Boston University might give some insight:
Frankel studied hundreds of financial cons, looking for recurring patterns. One set that pops up time and time again describes the traits of the victims. They tend to be excessively trusting, have a high risk tolerance, and—especially the more educated victims—have a need to feel exclusive, or part of a special group. […] Some feel envious of their economic neighbours, which can lead to greedy, risky investing.
The country invented by MacGregor had even its own legal currency. With this useless banknote, deals were closed, and those who wanted to find fortune on the other side of the ocean paid for it with British money.
Bank of Poyais one dollar banknote, used by McGregor for transactions in exchange for British currency. Image taken from Wikipedia. Public domain.
Almost two centuries later, people from around the globe still talk about Poyais. Media outlets now and then revisit the story.
@bbcmundo
Gregor MacGregor, “príncipe de Poyais”: héroe de la independencia y estafador https://t.co/2atA3SF8gs https://t.co/ytLWZIW4qM
— vivian murcia (@vivimur83) 8 de febrero de 2016
Gregor MacGregor, “prince of Poyais”: hero of the independence and conman.
History's most audacious scam #Poyais #Scam #Scotlandhttps://t.co/5wAPLUNaDe pic.twitter.com/zs3YHmOWc5
— Imran Ahsan Mirza (@imranahsanmirza) 2 de febrero de 2016
Some Web users evevn make connections between MacGregor and the present, such as this tweet about “JOH”, or Juan Orlando Hernández, incumbent president of Honduras:
Poyais debe ser la Honduras que JOH  anda vendiendo… seguro es descendiente de ese farsante escocés…. https://t.co/VEiZHEwrgU
— RMA (@galileo_rm) 15 de febrero de 2016
Poyais must be the Honduras that JOH goes on selling… for sure, he descends from that deceitful Scotsman.
MacGregor managed to escape punishment for his deception. He passed away in Caracas on 4 December 1845, and was buried with full military honours in Caracas Cathedral.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


text:
36 Years After Guyanese Activist Walter Rodney’s ‘State-Sanctioned’ Murder, a Glimmer of Justice · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Walter Rodney poster, Georgetown, Guyana, July 2005. Photo by Nicholas Laughlin, used under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.
June 13, 1980 was a dark day in Guyana: Walter Rodney, a prominent historian, academic and political activist, was assassinated.
No-one was ever convicted for the murder, but many of Rodney's friends and part of the country's intelligentsia suggested that his death was politically motivated. The regime of then-President Forbes Burnham claimed that the car bomb that killed him was made by Rodney himself, saying he intended to use it to release men imprisoned on treason charges. The country's opposition — echoed by Rodney's brother, who was injured in the blast — maintained that the bomb was planted in a radio given to Rodney by a sergeant in the Guyana Defence Force.
Donald Rodney-brother of #WalterRodney via SKYPE from #Trinidad. He was with his brother the day he was assassinated pic.twitter.com/dsVh9sx2wt
— AUC Woodruff Library (@AUCWoodruffLib) February 25, 2016
Thirty-six years later, the findings of a Commission of Inquiry into the murder has finally vindicated the views of Rodney's supporters, ruling that “the Burnham Government had been directly involved in Rodney’s assassination”.
#WalterRodney was victim of state-organised killing #StabroekNews A leaked report of the Commission of Inquiry… https://t.co/SRBiIzfDwn
— Fahamu (@FahamuAfrica) February 25, 2016
Journalist Raffique Shah, a former trade union leader and lieutenant who led a 1970 army mutiny against the backdrop of Black Power riots in Trinidad and Tobago, called the commission's findings “an indictment not only against the Forbes Burnham dictatorship that ruled Guyana for 21 horrible years, but also other Caricom governments and countries that never condemned Burnham’s atrocities”:
More damning, the report implicated Guyana’s Police Service and Defence Force in the plot to kill Rodney, and afterwards to suppress investigations, destroy evidence and ex-filtrate the assassin, soldier Gregory Smith, and his family to French Guiana on a military aircraft.
Rodney, more of a socialist along the political spectrum than anything else, had been quite critical of the region's middle class and the spineless position it took with regard to building a more equitable society post-independence. He soon grew involved in Pan-Africanism and became a recognised figure in the Black Power movements throughout the region and in North America.
Shah, who had been a friend of Rodney's, chronicled the activist's work and explained why he was a threat to Burnham's People's National Congress (PNC) government:
Rodney was a Guyanese patriot, the consummate Caribbean Man and a leader who, had he lived, might have healed the racial divide that has haunted Guyana’s politics for much longer than it has [Trinidad and Tobago]’s.
His book ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa’ is a classic in colonial and post-colonial politics and economics.
And his innovative method of imparting knowledge and stimulating the minds of the masses by leaving [University of the West Indies]’s Mona campus where he lectured to “ground with the brothers” in urban Kingston in 1968—which led to him being expelled from Jamaica—was one spark that helped ignite black consciousness across the Caribbean, leading to the events of 1970.
Such a man could not be allowed to live. Not in Guyana where Burnham, who was installed in power in 1964 by the British and United States governments through rigged elections—I shall direct doubters to hard evidence if they wish—and whose political life depended on keeping Indo- and Afro-Guyanese at each other’s throats.
So Rodney, who attracted support across the race-divide, had to die. And Burnham thought nothing of killing him. Something we, Walter’s friends, knew all along.
Indeed, Rodney's hope — via the Working People's Alliance (WPA), a political party that offered the strongest challenge to the PNC government — to unite the country's two main ethnic groups that had been completely disenfranchised by both colonial and post-colonial governments, was a serious threat to the foundation upon which Burnham had structured his power.
Burnham understood the risk and tried in various ways over the years to intimidate and silence Rodney: blocking his appointment as a professor at the University of Guyana in 1974; arresting him for arson after two government offices were burned in 1979. But Rodney was unstoppable and the tide of support was turning, despite the fact that neighbouring governments largely tolerated Burnham.
Shah's post also made the point that although successive regimes in Guyana did convict “some of the criminals who had acted on Burnham’s behalf”, Rodney's ghost has continued to haunt the country:
His ghost stalks the incumbent government: President David Granger leads a coalition that includes the PNC and ironically, the WPA.
Also, Granger is a retired brigadier, so he must have been a junior officer in 1980 when Sergeant Smith orchestrated Rodney’s death. Did he know of the plot?
And what would Rodney make of his one-time comrades in the WPA being in alliance in government with Burnham’s PNC?
Interestingly, many found President Granger's response to the findings of the Commission of Inquiry contentious. The president reportedly called the report “flawed”, suggested that it was based on “hearsay”, did not reflect the “truth” and that it would be challenged.
The Justice for Walter Rodney Committee weighed in on the president's comments and called for him to release the full contents of the report to the public, saying that the information it contained was “vital to […] the health of the society.”
@KabuMaatKheru #WRCOI report #WalterRodney assassination in hands of President of #Guyana release it 2 public #TheAfricaForum @IRIE_FM
— Selecta Princess (@selectaprincess) February 14, 2016
Dr. David Hinds, who had been one of Rodney's comrades, argued in a letter to the editor in the Guyana Times newspaper that “whatever its shortcomings”, the inquiry was significant for a few reasons:
There are some lessons to be learned from the findings of the Commission. First, these findings are an indictment of our State. Our post-colonial or independence state, replete with all the characteristics of colonial domination has been the antithesis of independence. We have failed miserably in the area of human-rights for our weak, our powerless, our sufferers and those who dared to stand with them. We in Guyana and the rest of Caribbean never learned how to deal with dissent in our politics. As a society we are products of resistance, but we have used the state to assassinate resistance at every twist and turn. […]
I have heard many well-meaning and some not so well-meaning say that Rodney’s WPA declined after his assassination. In their haste to talk cheap politics they miss something fundamental—Guyana declined after Rodney’s death. […]
We will hear the responses and counter-responses to the verdict of the Commission. […] The findings will be discredited by some. But, I hope that these findings do not become a source of further conflict but an occasion for bringing the country together.