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Sri Lanka needs a National Media Commission · Global Voices
Rezwan

Shenali Waduge opines that Sri Lanka needs a National Media Commission to steer Journalistic Ethics. The blogger adds: “in the absence of self-regulation by mass media and communication channels there is a need for content analysis by a competent and unbiased team”.


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Brunei: National Day Logo 2013 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Brunei Times announced the winning logo designed by @keeranj for Brunei's National Day 2013 celebration

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Censorship Lift for “V for Vendetta” Shocks China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

V for Vendetta, a thriller film produced in 2005 about a near-future dystopian society, previously censored in China, was aired on China Central Television Station (CCTV) Channel Six on December 14, 2012. Many people are surprised by the screening, in particular the mask of V, which has been used by activists all over the world as a symbol of resistance against government oppression.
Screening of a politically charged film
This video uploaded by youtube user loveforchina is an example showing how activists have made use of the film to protest against the human rights situation in China:
That's why CCTV's gesture soon became a hot topic online on Chinese micro-blogging platform Sina Weibo. A huati [zh], topical discussion, was even set up on the platform, which soon had more than 3469 conversation threads.
Trumpet Micro News (喇叭微新聞's highlights [zh] this popular discussion thread:
V occupied the China Central Television Station. A photoshopped image by Twitter user Kunshou.
NOW！CCTV6正在播出《v字别动队》（又名《V字仇杀队》）。应该算是大陆首播了！
Now! CCTV6 is showing V for Vendetta. This should be the first time the film is on show in mainland China.
The news highlight attracted many to join the conversation:
橐橐：禁播才心里有鬼，放开后发现其实也没什么大不了，也许中国不要中共的领导也不会有什么啦，一切都是猜测。
橐橐：Censorship means that there is a ghost in [the authorities] heart. Once the censorship is lifted, everything is normal. Maybe China does not really need the Chinese Communist Party for leadership, of course this is speculation.
叶孤城蝶恋花：￼知道CCTV6播V确实是激动了半天，感觉天朝还是有希望的，就是没想通怎么要改成个别动队，求解释
叶孤城蝶恋花：I am so excited about CCTV 6's screening of V and feel that there is hope for the Empire after all. But I don't understand why they changed the film title (from V Revenge Killing Squad” V字仇殺隊）to “V Don't Move Team” （V字別動隊 – or V Commando Team) . Can someone explain?
Less censorship in the future?
Apart from the film title, its content had not been edited, as pointed out by the China Digital Times. LosAngels Angel pointed out [zh] that the State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARF) is directly responsible for the management of CCTV 6's program, that's why the gesture has political implications:
2月14日晚，大陆央视电影频道首次播放了禁片《V字别动队》，该举动引发了了网友们的热议，很多人甚至在怀疑自己的眼睛或者是电影频道的编审们睡过了头。不过，据圈内人介绍，央视电影频道名义上属央视，但该频道播出与制作分离，行政上由国家广电总局负责，
On the evening of December 14, CCTV aired the censored movie, V for Vendetta for the first time. The move has triggered hot discussion among netizens and some found it unbelievable or said that the channel operators had fallen asleep [at the controls]. However, according to the TV circle, the production and management of CCTV's film channel are separate, the SARF is directly responsible for its administration.
Even Global Times, the state controlled media outlet, highlighted netizens’ reactions on their microblog and attracted some critical comments:
南扉：能不能放，不是由老百姓说了算。制度不改革，老百姓只能旁观是明君还是昏君
南扉：Whether the movie can be aired or not is not decided by the people. If there is no reform within the system, people can only comment on whether the king is good or bad.
我愛壹玖捌柒：该上船的早已经上去了，谁还管你电视放什么电影，既然这样，把那部三个小时的《天安门》也放一下吧。
我愛壹玖捌柒：Those who decided to leave have already gone and no one cares what films are put on air. Why not show the three-hour long movie: Tiananmen?
Cupid_Yes：干脆把局域网也开放点？
Cupid_Yes：Why don't you open up the Great Fire Wall (internet filter)?
静静的粉玫瑰：真心希望这是一个好的信号。其实中国一直是一个有深厚文化底蕴的国度，非常怀念春秋战国时期百家争鸣，各种思想家争相涌现的时代。解放思想，文化多元，这个国家才有希望，才会让脚踏实地地人们学会仰望星空。
静静的粉玫瑰：Really hope that this is a good signal. China is a nation with rich culture. I miss the the Spring and Autumn warring states period where there were so many schools of thought competing with each other. A country has hope when it has liberated thought and diverse culture. Only till then people can look at the starry sky peacefully, while staying on solid ground.
Bridge bloggers were quick to pick up the news. Brendon Connelly also found the screening surprising:
I have no idea how many millions may have seen this story of a masked insurgent leading a revolution against a corrupt regime, and we can only guess what cultural impact it may – or may not – have had. Pretty soon, maybe, all of the cheap V masks won’t be just made in China.
So have things started to change in Chinese broadcasting? Xi Jinping assumed office as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China on November 15th and he may have brought a more liberal attitude with him…
…or perhaps V was a one-off. Time will tell.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: Where’s the Indignation? · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón

Blogger Miguel from Mike's Bogota Blog lists some situations that make people feel indignation and wonders:
So, why is it that all kinds of vehicles and industry can poison us, day in and day out, in plain sight, and almost nobody does anything?
He also shares pictures and concludes his reflections by saying “we can expect to live with rolling chimneys in Bogota for a long time.”

author: Gabriela García Calderón


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Delhi Gang Rape Case Evokes Rage Across India · Global Voices
Rezwan

A 23 year-old woman was stripped, beaten and raped in a moving bus in South Delhi on December 16, 2012,  stirring shock and outrage in India.
The victim and her male companion, who was also beaten with an iron rod, were then thrown off the bus, and dumped semi naked near Delhi's Mahipalpur flyover. She is now in the hospital with critical injuries.
The victim, a physiotherapist and her companion, a 28-year-old software engineer, were returning from watching a movie, when they got on to the private luxury bus which was en route to Dwarka. The bus driver along with six others, allegedly gang raped the woman. The police tracked down the bus and have arrested four persons.
Every year hundreds of rapes are registered in Delhi and hundreds more are not reported. In India rape is considered taboo which leads to few cases being registered. This incident has raised a lot of questions regarding public safety in the Indian capital.
The matter has been the talk of the town and was also been addressed in the parliament. But the most buzz was found on social media.
Perhaps Moonmoon Ghosh's Twitter status catches the frustration most:
@mooninanfield (Moonmoon Ghosh): Scary to be a woman in #Delhi. Actually, in whole of India. Sick. http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities
Posters from the Delhi Slutwalk. Image by Rahul Kumar. Copyright Demotix (30/07/2011)
More reactions in Twitter:
@vanithaj: Delhi rape victim intestine and private parts hurt badly-doctors report. Is death punishment right for accused? No, hurt their private parts
@ArvindKejriwal7 (Arvind Kejriwal):635 rapes regd in delhi during 2012. Anyone punished so far? No? Doesn't it encourage such crimes? Each rape case shud be decided in 1 month
@anandmahindra (Anand Mahindra): The right measure of anger has built up in response to the Delhi gangrape. Media&social media need to sustain relentless pressure for action
@JusticeForWomen: #RAPE is not a #DELHI problem. Women and very young girls are raped EVERYDAY and EVERYWHERE in #India – The issue needs NATIONAL focus.
A Woman in Today's India is furious:
This is not the first time it has happened. It will not be the last!
It will happen again, and again, and again, multiple times in a day, across this great, goddess-worshipping nation called India. [..]
Rapes happen in India, because we are a callous nation.
An Indian Homemaker has a lot of questions:
What do you think made these rapists in Delhi so fearless? [..]
Do you think our society really sees rapists as serious criminals? Many of us seem to see rape as something that happens when a rapist is not able to control himself. It seems we have special standards for judging sexual criminals, and rapists know this.
Lakshmi Chaudhry writes:
Each time a sensational rape hits the headlines, each time a politician opens his or her mouth, it is an unwelcome reminder of this other India, of our slower, more dangerous twin that stubbornly refuses to grow or change. It is also irrefutable evidence that it is our world that is not entirely real, existing solely in a carefully guarded bubble built on the delusion of safety. A bubble that can be breached at will by the other India that we try so hard to insulate ourselves from.
Men participating at the Delhi Slutwalk. Image by Rahul Kumar. Copyright Demotix
Ritu Lalit posts an open letter to social activists, law makers and law enforcers. An excerpt:
I would like to draw your attention to the actual downtrodden of our country, our women. Why has the plight of our women escaped your notice? Why cant you froth in the mouth for them? The most public figures among you are women, and they freak about something that happened in 2002!
The Pregnant Thought opines:
The rape culture in delhi was not born yesterday. It is the illegitimate child of our unruly upbringing. Delhi hasn't failed. We have failed.
We have strict laws, we don't have proper implementation. More than stricter laws, we need a more open culture. What kind of culture is this where sex is a bad word, and rape is a norm.
What would it take for us to understand that “to address an issue, you need to undress it”
Wake up. Open up!

author: Rezwan


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Fiji Hit by Strong Cyclone · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A 170-185km storm-force winds hit Fiji causing power outages, flooding and structural damage in the island. Photo by Brendan O'Farrell, Copyright @Demotix (12/16/2012)


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Football: Who Holds the Record, Argentina’s Messi or Zambia’s Chitalu? · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi has broken most football records including the number of goals scored in a season, or has he?
An unlikely challenger to Messi, who is a marvel to watch when he turns up for his Spanish la Liga team FC Barcelona, has emerged in Zambia – in the form of a footballer who died nearly 20 years ago.
Godfrey Chitalu was with 30 other team members and administrators when a plane carrying the Zambia National Team to a World Cup outing in Senegal crashed in Gabon on April 28, 1993.
Godfrey Chitalu was well known by his moniker Ucar, and at the time of his death was National team coach. Ucar which almost became like his middle name – originated from his boundless energy on the pitch like the battery UCAR (made by Union Carbide) which powered the two-band radio sets people listened to football commentaries on.
One website, the Bleacher Report, noted of Chitalu who is reputed to have scored 107 goals in the 1972 season:
Don't rewrite that record book just yet—unless the name Godfrey Chitalu is going in.
On Twitter, the name Godfrey Chitalu went viral after western media reported Messi’s supposed record breaking goal-scoaring.
@oluwashina Dear Messi, yes you've surpassed Gerd Muller's record but not Godfrey Chitalu's 107 goals in a calendar year 1972. *In MJ's voice – Beat it*
One tweep disputing Messi’s record and seemingly accusing western media of biasness, wrote:
@bishopskid14 @world_dream that goal record is held by godfrey chitalu another example of clear bias
UKZambians, a citizen media website based in the UK, quoted a Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) official:
Even as the world has been looking at Lionel Messi’s record, breaking Gerd Muller’s, the debate and discussion back here has been why Godfrey’s goals are not being recognized. What we are doing is, we have commissioned an independent team locally to go back into the archives and record minute-by-minute each of those goals. The team that we have put together is going to calculate all of those goals, recording which ever game or tournament they were scored in.
We will then send that to CAF [Confederation of African Football] and FIFA so that we can show that, while Messi’s record is there, while Muller’s record is there, the actual record holder in terms of goals per calendar year is actually an African. It’s actually Godfrey Chitalu.
Arguably, Zambia’s football at that time was not as professional as it is today, but football-loving Zambians can only hope that at least their record keeping improves from this story.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


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Hong Kong: Grandma’s Wallet · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Screen capture from Grandma's Wallet.
In Hong Kong, many old people are living in poverty despite the fact that the society is very prosperous as a whole. The video taken by Wu Hoi Ching shows how her grandma manages her living by squeezing her daily expenses.


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Hungarian Students Call for Nationwide Strike · Global Voices
Marietta Le

Last week, Hungarian high school and college students protested from Monday to Friday. This week, the young people are still demanding that the government set university admission quotas to a reasonable level and help those from lower income households to access higher education.
On Monday, thousands of students marched again on the streets of the Hungarian capital. After protesting in front of the Parliament [hu], they went to the Hungarian Radio's headquarters to demand an announcement of the 5 + 1 points, which they had decided on during one of the last week's forums. Kettős Mérce blog reported [hu] that eventually the Radio's presenters talked about the students’ demands at 9 PM, but did not read the list on air.
Student protests continue in Budapest. Photo by David Ferenczy, copyright © Demotix (12/12/2012).
The march ended with a forum at the University of Theatre and Film Arts, where the following video was recorded. The video calls everyone affected by the cuts in higher education quotas, etc., to join the “nationwide higher education strike” [hu] on Wednesday.
From 1:28 on the video, the students are shouting “We call every sympathizer and the affected ones to join. [We demand] a general strike. Nothing about us without us.” And the last sentence is repeated many times until 2:36.
The students, among other things, are demanding a more professional decision-making process in solving the problems of the Hungarian higher education. One of the reasons for this particular demand is PM Viktor Orbán's appearance in a downtown pub on Saturday with a group of allegedly unknown students – those who are definitely not members of any currently protesting student unions; afterwards, he said there wouldn't be any admission quotas. This statement was later clarified by the Minister of Human Resources, who said that students would have to meet “quality requirements” [hu].

author: Marietta Le


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Increasing Risks of Humanitarian Disaster in Masisi Territory of DR of Congo  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Much suggests Masisi territory being the neuralgic point, both in terms of politico-military contest and its humanitarian consequences.Any extension of the M23 conflict farther into Masisi territory contains immense potential of escalation.
Christophe Ethuin reports that there is much reason for concerns in Masisi Territory as the conflict with M23 lingers on. Doctors without Borders, Oxfam and JRS have warned against additional potential humanitarian disasters in the upcoming weeks.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Independent Turkmen Website Hacked · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Chronicles of Turkmenistan (www.chrono-tm.org), the website run by Turkmen human rights activists in exile, has been hacked [ru] for the third time this year and remains down. Catherine Fitzpatrick on Different Stans blog suggests that the “way too important” website was hacked by “Turkmen Secret Police”. She also lists alternative social media where the authors of Chronicles of Turkmenistan post content.

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Infographic: Ten Ways of Torture in China’s Black Jail  · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Tencent News recently published an infographic introducing how prisoners have been tortured in the black jail in Chongqing, China. The black jail was set up by Bo Xilai and the controversial infographic triggered many comments from netizens. Offbeat China provides more details with the translation of the inforgraphic.

author: Abby Liu


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Japan: Signature Campaign Calling for the Release of Anti-Nuclear Scholar · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

An online signature campaign has been launched to call for the release of Masaki Shimoji, Associate Professor of Economy at Hannan University, who has been arrested by Osaka police on December 9 for his campaign to oppose city plans to incinerate imported earthquake debris contaminated by nuclear leak in Fukishima.


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People’s Daily: The Internet is Not Outside the Law · Global Voices
Abby Liu

On Dec 18, China's state media, People's Daily published a piece titled “The Internet is Not Outside the Law,” which serves as a reminder of government control over internet and social media in China. China Media Project translated the whole piece.


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Tajiks and Uzbeks Disagree on Birthplace of Poet · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Travelling through Central Asia, blogger Don Croner writes that the “dispute over the birthplace of the Poet Rudaki (858-c.941) is heating up and may soon lead to wine-throwing and fist-fights”. The problem is that “both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are claiming Rudaki as one of their own”. In Tajikistan, the poet is considered to be the “founder of the Tajik classic literature” [ru] and the “sun of the Tajik civilization” [ru]. It is widely believed that Rudaki was born and is buried in a village in northern Tajikistan.


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The Elusive Quest for Peace with the M23 in the DRC · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.
The current conflict in the Kivu Region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) threatens to linger on despite an international effort to broker a truce between the M23 rebellion and the Congolese government. The 2012 version of this conflict is difficult to grasp, particularly because the M23 is a shifting armed movement, both geographically and politically. Its leadership is interchangeable among commanders, and the movement is supported by foreign influences with an eye on the geological riches of the region.
M23 rebels on a truck in the streets of Goma (November 29, 2012) VOA via Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
The evolution of the M23 Rebellion
Who exactly are the M23 rebels? This is the question the Rift Valley Institute’s Usamala Project tries to unpack in its recent report “From CNDP to M23: The evolution of an armed movement in Eastern Congo” (PDF). While the armed branch of the rebellion is easy to define, its political leadership is more elusive. The report explains further:
The M23 political leadership was made up mostly of former CNDP [National Congress for the Defence of the People] loyalists, with Jean-Marie Runiga Lugerero, the CNDP’s representative in Kinshasa, as political coordinator. However, there were also some new names, allegedly appointed after pressure by Rwanda (…) Between May and August 2012 the M23 also began to beef up its political wing. It named several new local chiefs, set up a tax collection network, and established a formal liaison office for humanitarians working in the area––structures reminiscent to those of the CNDP era. They also established two websites (www.soleildugraben.com and congodrcnews.com), a Facebook fan page and several Twitter accounts run by them or people close to them. On 20 October, in a move to further boost their legitimacy, they renamed their armed wing the Armée Révolutionaire du Congo (ARC, Congolese Revolutionary Army).
Indeed, while rudimentary at first, the public relations strategy of the M23 rebels has grown increasingly sophisticated in order to garner the public support. On Jeune Afrique, Trésor Kibungula illustrates the evolution of M23 on Facebook [fr], from a timid start back in July, to a media platform sufficiently controversial that Facebook eventually had to shut it down.
An interview with  the M23’s Bertrand Bisimwa on the Congo Siaisa blog helps to explain the genesis of the movement and its alleged overarching goals:
The M23 is made up of armed groups that signed the March 23 agreement. We started by asking for the implementation of that deal. The government fought us, saying we didn’t have the right to demand that [..] Today, in addition to the March 23 agreement we want good governance in the country and a legitimate government. You have to realize that not all ex-CNDP joined the M23. In fact, most didn’t. It was these others, those who didn’t join, who helped rig the elections in [Jospeh] Kabila’s favor in Masisi.
General Sultani Makenga, the military leader of the M23 also gave an interview recently where he speaks about the fluid leadership of the M23 movement [fr], giving updates on the status of former CNDP leader Laurent Nkunda and arrested general Bosco Ntaganda within the movement.
Aside from its shifting leadership, Melanie Gouby in Newsweek Magazine explains that the movement does not seem to have a defined political ideology and seems mostly driven to protect the economic and political interests of neighboring nations.
Involving all players in the quest for peace
The two nations with most economic and political stakes in the conflict are Rwanda and Uganda. According to the United Nations, Rwanda has been tied to the conflict in Kivu for a long time, despite denials from President Paul Kagame’s administration. Yet, there is little uncertainty about the Rwandan support as the Usamala project report explains:
Rwandan support for M23 has now been well documented, in particular by the UN Group of Experts. Their conclusions have been confirmed by Human Rights Watch, by MONUSCO, and by at least three embassies in Kigali through internal investigations [..]
With regards to Rwanda’s role in the crisis, the U.S. policy to minimize sanctions against Kagame’s administration is perplexing to many observers.
The Ugandan government is also suspected of providing logistics support to the latest M23 offensive. In the following video, Ugandan lawmakers ask the president to explain the relation to the Congo M23 rebels:
With so many players involved in the crisis, what’s in store for the region is still very unclear. Is the Goma withdrawal definitive for the M23? Some M23 fighters seem to firmly believe they will soon be back in the city. Observers do not seem to expect much from peace talks.
Gérard Prunier, a French academic and author, argues that Congo and Rwanda are “just playing a waiting game until the situation on the ground gets sorted out.” He believes there could be an escalation of the crisis:
If tomorrow you could have the secession of Katanga (ed’s note: a Congo region rich in minerals) back on the books, I wouldn’t be surprised
Meanwhile, the local population bears the main burden of this never ending war. The World Food Programme reports that at least 80,000 people are displaced in the region:
http://youtu.be/mt2CMh0Gkww
This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by the International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide. This post was first published on the ISN blog, see similar stories here.


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United States: Occupy Sandy Stands Up to Destruction · Global Voices
Robert Valencia

It has been one month since Hurricane Sandy reeked havoc in the Northeast of the United States; however, relief efforts continue in the aftermath of this natural phenomenon. While federal aid and concerts like 12.12.12 organized by Bruce Springsteen seek help for hundreds of thousands of families, organizations such as Occupy Sandy got down to work from the moment that the amount of damage was assessed.
Organized by the group InterOccupy, Occupy Sandy was created as a part of the Occupy movement whose methodology was to organize general assemblies, attracting individuals and groups working to promote mutual communication. As stipulated in its mission, the movement seeks to respond to the needs of the 99 percent.
As with Occupy Street, Occupy Sandy also has made use of social networks to inspire activism. The movement has led to the creation of online centers called hubs where one can find, among others, Twitter accounts like @OccupyIsaac, to gather funds for the victims of the tornado that hit New Orleans, and @OccupySandyNJ, to coordinate relief efforts in New Jersey. Similarly, the hashtag #occupysandy has become a trending topic, demonstrating user impact.
Communities of color affected by Sandy and the challenges organizations like Occupy Sandy face can be found in the middle of the 99 percent, as a note from Truthout.org indicates:
For decades, the red-lining of black and brown neighborhoods by real estate agencies, banks and insurance companies has starved these communities of investment and served to geographically marginalize poor people. This history of economic and social marginalization helped ensure that these communities are also the ones hardest hit by disasters such as Hurricane Sandy. The challenge now facing Occupy Sandy and similar grassroots recovery efforts is to build community power around these structural inequalities through an environmental justice framework, while confronting environmental racism head on.
On Twitter, users discuss the role of Occupy Sandy. User thelaughingman (@EcBillofRights) addresses the issue:
@EcBillofRights: @Hakem_Burhan Therefore, it took #OccupySandy to pick up where the authorities in NYC failed to respond.
Daniel Solomon (@danatgu) celebrates the recognition of Occupy Sandy by the New York City police department:
@danatgu: This is pretty remarkable: NYPD credits #OccupySandy‘s mutual aid program with post-Sandy crime dip: http://bit.ly/RD0Ul0.
Similarly, Carrie M (@CarrieM213) applauds the efforts of Occupy Sandy:
@CarrieM213: It's okay. Luckily #OccupySandy does not exist to get accolades from corporations and celebrities. We know that we are helping people!
Not just Twitter users find the efforts of Occupy Wall Street commendable. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited one of the areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy and congratulated the movement's efforts, as demonstrated in the following video:
*Thumbnail photo taken from video.

author: Robert Valencia


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Argentina: Remembering December 19, 2001 · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón

From Argentina, blogger Rafael, on Fin del capitalismo ¿salvaje? [The end of the wild? capitalism] remembers some of the events [es] occured on December 19, 2001:
On the night of [December] 19, that bastard [former Minister of Economy, Domingo] Cavallo had already resigned, then came the tear gases at the square and the violent repression from the State and the killing of many people ordered by [former President Fernando] De la Rua, killings that are still unpunished.


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Bauls – Worshiping The Great God In Man · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bauliana posts a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Bauls, a group of mystic minstrels from Bengal. Although current day Bauls are very small in numbers, their influence in the culture of Bengal is considerable.


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Cambodia Bans Internet Cafes Near Schools · Global Voices
Kounila Keo

Cambodia's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications has issued a circular banning internet cafes within 500 meters of schools or educational buildings. The circular also prohibits internet cafes from welcoming young people under the age of 18, pointing that internet poses numerous dangers such as terrorism, economic crimes and the distribution of pornography, as the Cambodia Daily newspaper reported.
This circular came a few months after the government enforced a previous circular that required internet cafes to set up surveillance cameras and register callers.
The internet-free zones would lead to the closure of almost all internet cafe shops in Phnom Penh. Mapping by Licadho
This has raised a lot of eyebrows among Cambodian bloggers. Tharum Bun wrote on the VOA blogthat the new government would eventually eliminate Phnom Penh cyber cafes altogether.
The circular also mentions in a vaguely worded document that people should stop playing internet games.
Tep Sovichet, a 17-year-old blogger and student in Phnom Penh, thinks that the ban cannot stop students from dropping off classes and playing games at cyber cafes. He all but supports the circular.
Not all the cyber cafes are places where students play internet games, and online crimes aren't usually conducted from cyber cafes. Not all students go to internet cafes for games, but it can be for various purposes […] such as doing assignments, learning new things and geting news from all kinds of sources.
According to the circular, internet cafe owners throughout the country are being asked to sign the contract with the Ministry.
Khmerbird, another Cambodian blogger, wrote in his blog:
I totally support the ideas behind this circular. But I think to restrict games and pornography from those internet cafes, it is not necessary to close the internet cafes. Moreover if we apply this rule, almost every internet cafe in Phnom Penh center would be closed.
According to the circular, if an internet cafe is caught within the red zone or if the crime is committed on the premises, “the shop would be closed, all the equipment would be confiscated, and owners would face arrest and be sent to court.”
Faine Greenwood, an avid blogger and freelance journalist based in Southeast Asia wrote on her blog about the ban of the internet cafes on December 18:
Sure, it’s unclear exactly how much power a “circular” actually has to effect change here in Cambodia, or if this is likely to ever become law. But the fact it’s floating around at all is a disturbing indication that the Cambodian government is looking into restricting its relatively free Internet, following the deeply dubious lead of China, an influential friend to the Hun Sen regime.
Urban Voice Cambodia, a crowd-mapping project for Phnom Penh, has started its campaign against the ban by asking people to add their local internet cafes to their website “Submit Report.” By its own calculation, almost all the Internet cafes in Phnom Penh would be closed.
Human rights group Licadho also opposed the circular:
This heavy-handed effort to shut down affordable and accessible venues for using the Internet in Cambodia is not only legally unfounded, it is a transparent attempt to block part of the population’s access to independent sources of information through news sites and social media

author: Kounila Keo


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Caribbean: What Happened in 2012 (Part 1)  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

This year, events in the Caribbean blogosphere were curiously bookended by hunger strikes.  In January 2012, Cuban prisoner of conscience Wilman Villar Mendoza died as a result of a hunger strike he had undertaken about two months before.  On December 5, 2012, Trinidadian environmental activist Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh ended his own 21-day hunger strike based on assurances that the government, the Highway Re-route Movement and various civil society groups would undertake an independent study about the section of proposed highway his lobby group was against.  This resorting to hunger strike speaks volumes about the frustration many Caribbean citizens feel about their ability to have their voices heard.  Here is a look back – by country – at some of the regional issues that generated meaningful online discussion this year…
The Bahamas
Elections were the hot topic of interest in the Bahamian blogosphere this year, with netizens weighing in here and here, after the results were out.  The country got a new government: the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), which previously occupied the opposition bench in Parliament, was voted into power in what bloggers called a “landslide” victory.
Cuba
An economic embargo that has been in place for half a century seems almost unbelievable, but that's the reality that Cuban bloggers were discussing on the 50th anniversary of the United States’ embargo against the island.  The most interesting part?  The difference in perspective between Cubans still living in Cuba and those who are part of the diaspora.
The papal visit to Cuba in March also caused a lot of furor in the Cuban blogosphere, with many seeing the pontiff's trip as the Vatican's endorsement of the Castro regime, despite its questionable human rights record.  Alienating bloggers further was the inability of the pontiff to meet with local opposition groups; the entire situation came to a head when the Archbishop of Havana asked that protesters who were demanding freedom for political prisoners and an end to the persecution of opponents of the regime, be forcibly removed from a church.  Statements the Archbishop made afterwards did not help matters.
Pope Benedict XVI; CC image by Catholic Church (England and Wales)
In May, Cuban bloggers were talking about Mariela Castro's visit to the United States in her capacity as the Director of the country's Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual (National Center for Sex Education), as well as the state of human rights on the island, following a request for information by the United Nations‘ Committee Against Torture with regard to alleged human rights abuses.  Press freedom on the island also came under scrutiny.
A more optimistic note was hit when bloggers got excited about Cuba's Click Festival, which focused on Internet and Society in Cuba, and the role technology can play in the country's future.
French-speaking Caribbean
One of the biggest points of discussion in the Haitian blogosphere this year was the Jean-Claude Duvalier trial.  At the end of January 2012, the investigative magistrate looking into human rights charges against Haiti's ousted dictator “Baby Doc”, came to the decision that “the statute of limitations had run out” on those human rights abuses – but not on Duvalier's misappropriation of public funds.  Haitians, both on the island and throughout the diaspora, watched as the greater charges against the formerly feared dictator fell away and he headed to court for what was essentially a slap on the wrist for financial impropriety.
Wyclef Jean; CC image by  jdlasica
In August, the island was hit by Tropical Storm Isaac and two months later, a storm of a different nature took hold as musician and activist Wyclef Jean's defunct charity Yéle Haiti faced various allegations of financial impropriety.  That same month, Mother Nature once again took a toll on Haiti in the form of Hurricane Sandy.
Issues of ethnicity, national identity, religion and immigration were once again raised with bloggers from Martinique and Guadeloupe, following some controversial political statements as well as the “Miss Black France” beauty contest.  One of the most controversial posts of the year came from Martinique, about the alleged cancellation of the release of the American movie “Think Like A Man” in French movie theaters, which also raised questions about race and ethnicity.  The debate continued following the French presidential elections; there was discussion as to whether Francois Hollande's new government – in which he had promised an equal number of women and men and ministers, and from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds – was appointing ministers for their competence or as ethnic tokens.
Read the second part of this post to find out more about what happened this year in Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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China:10 Best Weibo Stories of 2012 · Global Voices
Abby Liu

The Chinese internet is a fascinating place. Stories break online everyday. Despite the strong censorship, Chinese internet users are able to keep their sense of humor(and the censors at bay) by creating different buzzwords and memes. As the year comes to an end, TeaLeafNation has collected the 10 most funny and smart stories of 2012 on Chinese internet.


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Israel Media Ratings War Spills into Conflict Coverage · Global Voices
Elizabeth Tsurkov

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.
Elderly man checks the headlines in Tel Aviv, Israel – 2005. Photo by Shachar Abiry שחר אבירי on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Israeli media has undergone significant changes over the past few years. Growing economic strains have increased competition between media outlets fighting for a share of advertising revenue. However, because the market that media outlets operate in is relatively small many are experiencing serious financial problems. This includes the daily newspaper Maariv, which was recently sold to a right-wing publisher. As a result, many of the newspaper’s workers are expected to lose their job. A similar fate may fall upon employees at Channel 10 and the only left-leaning Israeli daily, Haaretz, which are also incurring heavy losses.
Financial troubles have the potential, therefore, to decrease the independence of reporters, who may be less willing to challenge the wishes of their editors or managers who are, in turn, accountable to the owners of media outlets. In a recent blog post on The 7th Eye, Prof. Gabriel Weimann challenged the view that Israeli media is becoming increasingly biased and polarized due to ideological reasons. He writes:
מה שמניע מגמה זו בישראל אינו הזדהות אידיאולוגית, אימוץ גלוי ואמיץ של אג'נדה חברתית או מחויבות ארוכת טווח לקו פוליטי. מי שמעצבים תהליך זה בישראל הם שיקולים תחרותיים, עסקיים ויוקרתיים.
…
הזדהות עם או יציאה נגד מנהיג פוליטי או מפלגתו אינן בחירות מערכתיות המבוססות על בחינת עמדות והערכות בדבר נכונות הדרך. אלו בחירות המונעת לעתים על-ידי שיקולי תחרות (“אם המתחרה שלי הוא בעד, אז אני נגד”), ולעתים על-ידי רשת סבוכה של קשרים עסקיים, שותפויות בבעלות צולבת של תקשורת ועסקים.
What causes this trend in Israel is not ideological identification, an unabashed and brave adoption of a social agenda or a long-term commitment to a political worldview. What shapes this process are competitiveness, financial considerations and prestige.
(…)
Support or opposition to a political leader or his party are not choices made based on a worldview or assessments regarding whether the leader is right. These are choices that are often motivated by competitive considerations (“if my competitor is for him, I am against”) and sometimes by an intricate web of commercial connections, and cross ownerships of media outlets and businesses.
The desire to maintain a large number of viewers, listeners or readers has increased the importance of ratings and the desire of media outlets not to report matters that might decrease their audience. Israeli media outlets attempt to reflect to their audience what Israeli society likes to think of their country: as a moral, powerful country that only acts in self-defense. This is one reason why the coverage of the Israeli-Arab conflict is generally very sympathetic of the Israeli government’s narrative.
One recent example of this bias is the coverage of the killing near the Gaza-Israel border of Anwar Abdul Hadi Qudaih, a 20-year-old Palestinian. IDF soldiers shot at Anwar after the cease fire that was brokered between Hamas and Israel following Operation Pillar of Defense came into effect. Israeli media adopted the IDF’s line that Anwar and 300 other protesters attempted to breach the border fence and enter Israel. A video of the event showed that the number of protesters was in fact closer to 30 and they were not close to the border fence when the IDF shot Anwar.
The blogger Ishton, who wrote a detailed post about this discrepancy between Israeli coverage and reality, argued:
זה לא רק צה”ל שמפעיל כוח בלתי סביר בעליל, אלא גם התקשורת. ומה נותר לנו? לחפש באתרי חדשות מהעולם את האמת? לכתוב פוסט שיקרא על ידי אלפים בודדים ויותיר מיליונים חשופים לאש החיה של התסלופת הישראלית? כמו עם הפלסטינים, כמו עם אנואר, זה פשוט לא כוחות. כנגד סרטוני יוטיוב ופוסטים בשולי השוליים, עומדת התקשורת ומפגיזה את הקורא – אם בידיעות מעוותות ואם בחוסר ידיעות על האמת… אתם, העיתונאים והעורכים, החתומים על הכתבות הללו, מרגישים בנוח בגלימה השחורה, שאיש לא התיר לכם ללבוש. אתם חורצים את דינם של אנשים, שלא נותר להם בית משפט אחר מלבד התקשורת (כי בתי המשפט שלנו לא יקשיבו להם). ובמחיקתם וסילופם, בכך שאתם “רק עושים את תפקידכם” כשופרי דובר צה”ל, אתם אינכם מדווחים את המצב, אלא מייצרים ומנציחים אותו.
It is not just the IDF that uses excessive force, but also the media. What are we left to do? Search international news sites for the truth? Write a post that will be read by a few thousands but will leave millions exposed to Israeli propaganda? Just like [Israel’s conflict] with the Palestinians, the forces are not evenly matched. Against YouTube videos and marginal posts, stands the media, which either bombards the reader with false reports or just does not report about the truth… You, journalists and editors, who are responsible for these reports, feel comfortable in your black [judges’] gown, which no one allowed you to wear. You seal the fate of people who have no trial left to stand except the media (since our courts won’t hear them). When you distort the truth or erase them, when you are “just doing your job” as the mouthpieces of the IDF spokesperson, you are not reporting on the situation, but creating and perpetuating it.
Increasingly, citizen journalists and bloggers fill in the void of Israeli mainstream media coverage. Bloggers such as Ishton, Idan Landau, Yossi Gurvitz, Haggai Mattar, Noam Rotem, and Yair Kaldor cover and offer commentary of issues that are often neglected by Israeli mainstream media.
This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by the International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide. This post was first published on the ISN blog, see similar stories here.

author: Elizabeth Tsurkov


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Kazakhstan to Switch to Latin Script · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Following years of intense debates, Kazakhstan is finally set to abandon Cyrillic script in favor of the Latin alphabet by 2025. It appears that the alphabet is still a very divisive issue in the country (see, for example, hundreds of comments under this blog [ru]). Michael Hancock-Parmer writes on Registan.net:
I have reservations that [the Latinization program] will adversely affect Kazakhstan’s citizens in their efforts to better understand their past and the formation of their current situation.


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The Spanish Government’s “Boomerang” Hashtag · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

This article is part of our special news coverage Europe in Crisis.
Spain's government is being flooded with “tides” of all colors: the “green tide” [es] of professors, students, and parents against cuts to education and reforms, the “black tide” [es] of judges, prosecutors, and lawyers against the judicial system and the imposition of fees for utilizing the law, and the “white tide” [es] of healthcare personnel against reforms to Social Security and the privatization of hospitals in various autonomous communities.
Healthcare management in Spain depends on the autonomous (regional) governments. Some of these autonomous governments, due to the economic crisis and cuts applied to their budgets, have decided to privatize their hospital management, given that the private companies responsible for said management will be capable of giving the same service for a smaller budget and, of course, also turn a profit for its shareholders.
One of the autonomous communities whose hospital management is about to be privatized is Madrid, which, being the nation's capital, has the biggest and most important hospitals in Spain. In Madrid, like in other communities, health workers in hospitals have mobilized and organized strikes, marches, demonstrations, and other actions aimed not only to protest these measures, but also to inform the hospitals’ patients of the danger that, in their opinion, the excellent and free-of-charge Social Security system that the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies comments on in their 2010 report on Spain [es] is in, stating the following:
A “white tide” of health workers in a demonstration against the government's healthcare policies. Photo from the blog Kinkalla.
(…)  el SNS [Sistema Nacional de Salud] ha hecho gala de una notable capacidad para generar buenos resultados sostenibles con arreglo a distintos parámetros de rendimiento.
(…) Estos logros se han alcanzado con un nivel relativamente bajo de gasto (…) inferior al promedio europeo. La conclusión que puede extraerse de estos datos es que, en términos generales, los ciudadanos españoles disfrutan de un sistema sanitario con una buena relación coste-calidad.
(…) the SNS [National Healthcare System] has displayed a remarkable ability to generate sustainable results under different performance parameters.
(…) These goals have been reached with a relatively low level of spending (…) below the European average. The conclusion that can be drawn from this data is that, generally speaking, Spanish citizens enjoy a healthcare system with a good cost-quality relationship.
To counter these demonstrations, and the information that is slowly penetrating public opinion, Madrid's People's Party (PP) decided to launch its own information campaign on December 12. Between the hours of 11 a.m. and 12 p.m., the People's Party [es] created the Twitter hashtag #quenotelienconlasanidad [#dontletthemscrewyouonhealthcare] and used it to upload tweets explaining their vision of healthcare reforms. For example:
@ppmadrid: No se está diciendo la verdad. Algunos sólo defienden ciertos privilegios, demandas salariales y retributivas. #quenotelienconlasanidad
@ppmadrid: The truth is not being told. Some only defend certain privileges, salary demands, and compensation. #quenotelienconlasanidad [es]
@ppmadrid: Con menor presupuesto, si no se afrontan reformas el sistema público sanitario estaría en riesgo. #quenotelienconlasanidad
@ppmadrid: With a minimal budget, if reforms are not confronted, the public healthcare system will be placed at risk. #quenotelienconlasanidad
Those responsible for the initiative most likely had not counted on thousands of netizens taking advantage of the campaign to flood the PP's hashtag with tweets, turning it into a trending topic for very different reasons than those intended by its creators.
Twitter users oscar g (@oscarvk), Gema C R (@amegcr), Be-Ta-U (@medicblasto) and Nell McKinnon at (@Gadylen) were among those that used the hashtag to ensure that their opinions reached the PP:
@oscarvk: ya me va quedando todo más claro… jua, jua,jua !!! gracias al pp por dejarnos explicarlo todo aki !!! #quenotelienconlasanidad
@oscarvk: everything is slowly becoming clearer to me… ha, ha, ha!!! thank you to the PP for letting us explain everything here !!! #quenotelienconlasanidad
Poster from a demonstration: “Diagnosis? That was before. I am creating a budget for you.” Photo from the “Enjoy what you voted for” Facebook page.
@amegcr: Ayer no pagaba medicina, hoy si. Hoy no pago ambulancia,mañana si. Mañana no pago sanidad, pasado mañana? #quenotelienconlasanidad
@amegcr: Yesterday I didn't pay for medication, today I do. Today I'm not paying for an ambulance, tomorrow I will. Tomorrow I will not pay for healthcare, and after tomorrow? #quenotelienconlasanidad
@medicblasto: Todo vuelve al mismo punto…QUE YA SE HA PROBADO en Alzira Y NO FUNCIONA. #quenotelienconlasanidad [Vídeo sobre el Hospital semiprivado de Alzira]
@medicblasto: Everything comes back to the same point…IT WAS ALREADY TESTED in Alzira AND IT DOES NOT WORK. #quenotelienconlasanidad [Video about the semi-privatized hospital in Alzira]
@Gadylen: Lo próximo será cobrar la entrada en los centros de salud y hospitales y sin derecho a consumición / tratamiento #quenotelienconlasanidad
@Gadylen: Next they will be charging an entrance fee to health centers and hospitals and with no right to consumption / treatment #quenotelienconlasanidad
Some netizens, like Ángel (@angelfmarin) and Yefri Bomon (@yefribomon), mention Capio [es], a company that already manages several hospitals in other autonomous communities, in which there are a number of high-ranking PP shareholders and people close to the leadership, such as Rodrigo Rato, former President Aznar or María Dolores de Cospedal and her husband.
@angelfmarin: #quenotelienconlasanidad A ver si os creéis que los cochazos de los consejeros de Capio se pagan solos.
@angelfmarin: #quenotelienconlasanidad Let's see if you believe that the Capio executives’ fancy cars pay for themselves.
@yefribomon: #quenotelienconlasanidad Capio es una empresa sin ánimo de lucro, como el Instituto Noos [El caso Noos y el yerno del rey]
@yefribomon: #quenotelienconlasanidad is a non-profit organization, just like the Noos Institute [The case of Noos and the king's son-in-law]
The La Paz Hospital personnel ask: Has a limit been placed on the profits to concessionary companies? And their managers’ salaries? Photo from the “Voice of the HULP” blog.
It also happens that, as of January 2013, Capio will begin “managing” the hospital in Collado Villalba [es], which will not be open until some time within the next year. Over the course of this year, Madrid will pay Capio over 900,000 euros per month.
Dantes [es] and Santiago Herrera [es] remind us that the government just announced the ambulance charge for the chronically ill:
@KimeraDantes: Al subir en una ambulancia RECUERDA No hablar con el conductor No levantarte de la camilla LLEVAR el importe exacto
@KimeraDantes: When getting into an ambulance, REMEMBER: do not talk to the driver, do not get up from the bed, CARRY exact change
@Santihehe: Mirad el lado bueno, ahora trae más cuenta pedir una ambulancia que un taxi para ir al aeropuerto. #quenotelíenconlasanidad
@Santihehe: Look on the bright side, now it is more worthwhile to call an ambulance than a taxi to get to the airport. #quenotelíenconlasanidad
Simone Santini says what many Spaniards think:
@simone_santini: #quenotelienconlasanidad mintiéron con las pensiones, mintiéron con el rescate, ¿y ahora les vamos a creer con la sanidad? Vamos…
@simone_santini: #quenotelienconlasanidad they lied about pensions, they lied about the bailout, and now we're going to believe them on healthcare? Come on…
Although the flood of tweets against the privatization policy was overwhelming, some appeared to not notice:
@PPHortaleza: Éxito de la campaña del @ppmadrid  #quenotelienconlasanidad convirtiéndose en TT en la @ComunidadMadrid y España: http://www.europapress.es/madrid/noticia-pp-lanza-campanana-redes-sociales-defender-reforma-sanitaria-nombre-hora-desmentido-20121212114239.html …
@PPHortaleza: The success of @ppmadrid‘s #quenotelienconlasanidad campaign becoming a TT in @ComunidadMadrid and Spain: http://www.europapress.es/madrid/noticia-pp-lanza-campanana-redes-sociales-defender-reforma-sanitaria-nombre-hora-desmentido-20121212114239.html …
PP de Madrid: @ppmadrid:  #quenotelienconlaSanidad es TT nacional. Los ciudadanos no se creen las mentiras que se lanzan sobre la Sanidad Pública
PP de Madrid: @ppmadrid: #quenotelienconlaSanidad is trending nationally. Citizens do not believe the lies that are spread about Public Health.
To which Serguei Sanz [es] responded:
@Remensa_S: Si el PP tiene tanta idea de gestionar hospitales como de redes sociales debemos temer por nuestra salud
@Remensa_S: If the PP has as much of an idea on how to manage hospitals as they do for social networks, we should fear for our health
This article is part of our special news coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Lourdes Sada


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A Comparison of China’s and America’s Richest People · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Liz Carter from the Tea Leaf Nation translated an info-graphic by CN politics [zh], which compares the character of China's and America's richest people.


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Caribbean: What Happened in 2012 (Part 2)  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The first part of this post observed that in the Caribbean blogosphere, the year was punctuated by hunger strikes – the first in Cuba, which ended with the death of prisoner of conscience Wilman Villar Mendoza – and the second in Trinidad and Tobago, where Trinidadian environmental activist Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh finally ended his own 21-day hunger strike on December 5, based on assurances that the government, the Highway Re-route Movement and various civil society groups would undertake an independent study about the section of proposed highway his lobby group was against.  Part 2 of the regional blogosphere's 2012 summary recalls other issues that got Caribbean netizens talking – from the Olympics to the need for greater political transparency…
Guyana
It was a challenging year in Guyana, following the killing of three people (many more were injured) in the mining town of Linden, after police fired upon a crowd who reportedly blocked the Wismar Bridge while protesting an increase in the electricity tariff.  The incident prompted an online discussion about the abuse of power by police; more protests – this time about the killings – ensued, with social media playing a pivotal role in getting the message out.  Even the #OccupyGuyana Movement came out in support of the Linden protesters.
Just about a month later, there was another shooting of civilians by police; the fact that the victim was a 17-year old boy, by all reports unarmed, only added to the outrage.
Chris Brown; CC image by  Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer
The very next month, insult was added to injury when talk of an upcoming Chris Brown concert in the country's capital, which was allegedly being financially supported (at least via tax breaks) by the Guyanese government, raised the issue of domestic violence in the country.  (Brown had been charged with assault in 2009, when the news broke he had allegedly assaulted his then-girlfriend, Barbadian-born singer, Rihanna.)  It wasn't long before those protests seemingly put an end to any possibility of Brown performing in Guyana.
Jamaica
On August 6, 2012, Jamaica marked 50 years of Independence from Great Britain, a milestone that was made even more special by the outstanding performance of the Jamaican athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the former “mother country”.
Usain Bolt; CC image by Alexandre Moreau | Photography
As one of Jamaica's most influential poets, Louise Bennett-Coverley, wrote:
She hope dem caution worl-map
Fi stop draw Jamaica small
For de lickle speck cyaan show
We independantness at all!
(Of course, other Caribbean territories had their Olympic dreams come true as well, most notably Grenada, which won its first ever Olympic medal thanks to Kirani James’ gold in the Men's 400 Metres event.)
The euphoria gave way to despair, though, when in early November, there were reports of a vicious beating of a gay student at the UTech campus in Kingston: the issue of homophobia in Jamaica was once again under the harsh glare of the spotlight.  One blogger even wondered whether gay bashing had now become a national policy, given the island's history of anti-gay dancehall lyrics, media blocks on pro-tolerance public service announcements and former prime ministerial positions on gays in government.  Online discussion of the topic was ongoing and intelligent.
St. Lucia
The citizens of St. Vincent and St. Lucia grappled with a new visa entry requirement imposed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) this year.  St. Lucians also had to face the economic reality of the country's new Value Added Tax and looked at the possibility of bananas becoming a renewable energy source.
Trinidad & Tobago
The political shenanigans in the twin island nation helped to make its blogosphere one of the most active this year.  As early as March, netizens began questioning the relevance of the Congress of the People, one of the political parties that form the People's Partnership government.
The gaffes and political missteps were seemingly endless: a police raid of the home of a journalist which raised concerns about press freedom (a concern that was shared by other regional territories); the commitment of an employee of the Ministry of Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development to the St. Ann's Psychiatric Hospital after she reportedly got into an argument with a senior official; the controversial appointment of Jack Warner as Minister of National Security and his first “accomplishment” –  the removal by army troops of members of The Highway Re-Route Movement a protest group demanding that the leg of the $7.5 billion Point Fortin highway which passes through their community be abandoned or, at the very least, redirected.  That action would come back to plague the government later in the year.
The ruling party appeared to bloggers to be floundering: there was a Cabinet reshuffle, the unfortunate turtle crushing incident and a serious episode of flooding as a result of torrential rains from a tropical depression that immobilised entire communities on the country's densely populated northwest peninsula.
Keshorn Walcott; CC image by ciamabue
The only distraction from the disaster was the fact that Trinidad and Tobago won its second Olympic gold medal in history, thanks to the stellar performance of nineteen-year-old Keshorn Walcott in the Javelin Throw event.
And then things got even more serious, thanks to the Section 34 controversy, in which it was revealed that the law was manipulated, the houses of Parliament misled and the population duped – distracted by celebrations for the country's 50th anniversary of Independence, no less – ostensibly to secure the freedom of those involved in the Piarco airport corruption scandal, who are alleged suporters of the United National Congress, the main party comprising the People's Partnership government.  With the fallout came the firing of the country's Minister of Justice, a disenchanted electorate and massive protest action.
Protesters in Port-of-Spain; image by @RaiRicomas, used with permission.
Everything came to a head when Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh, an environmental activist and literature professor, undertook a hunger strike to protest the construction of the Debe to Mon Desir section of a highway from San Fernando to Point Fortin in southeastern Trinidad. Kublalsingh refused to eat or drink anything until the Prime Minister made good on her promise to meet with him and other members of the Highway Re-route Movement, who insisted that the current route would displace many homes and adversely affect the environment.  Soon though, the protest became more symbolic, with many netizens seeing his dissidence as a plea for transparency in the use of public funds and a demonstration against the cavalier manner in which the electorate's concerns are managed by those in public office.
Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh; photo by Jo Sinanan, used with permission
The eventual agreement by the government to an independent assessment of the project signalled an end to the hunger strike, but the entire standoff still reminded some bloggers of the Section 34 debacle:
Many of the issues of the Debe to Mon Desir Highway are quite similar to Section 34, in a general sense. Both issues showed us a government unwilling to act responsibly and transparently, and undertaking a project for the benefit of their financiers. Accountability, Transparency and Party Finance Reform. Kamla and them promising this since 2010, not so? And a man had was to almost kill heself to remind them and us of this!


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Chinese Responses to the North Korea Missile Launch · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Adam Cathcart from Sino-NK has translated and collected a wide range of reports, comments and discussions from Chinese government, media outlets and concerned citizens about the North Korea Missile launch last week on December 12.


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Copa Sudamericana Final Ends in Violence · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages unless otherwise stated.]
The heated final match of the Copa Sudamericana on the 12 December, 2012 at the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, between Brazilian team São Paulo FC and Club Atletico Tigre, from Argentina, ended unexpectedly. And violently, too.
After an eventful first half which ended with São Paulo leading 2-0, a fight broke out between the players after alleged provocations from the Argentinian side. The fight spilled into the changing rooms, where Tigre players and their coaches claim to have suffered aggression from the Military Police and the Brazilian team's security staff.
Tigre's official Twitter account (@catigreoficial) first announced [es] the police's attack on the players and then concluded by stating [es] that the players did not feel safe enough to continue. After the team's coach, Pipo Gorosito, refused to return to the pitch, the game's suspension was in the end confirmed on Twitter by the Copa Sudamericana (@CBS_oficial). After a few minutes, Chilean referee Enrique Osses put a definitive end to the match.
Video showing the ruckus at half-time, before the aggression allegedly suffered by the Tigre players:
http://youtu.be/7ZnBvYJwV80
Journalist Vinicius Grissi (@viniciusgrissi) reproduced the Tigre players’ complaint:
Representante do Tigre diz ter levado uma coronhada (de fato está inchado) e diz que pelo menos seis jogadores estão sangrando ou machucados
Tigre representative says to have received a blow from the butt of a gun (he does in fact have a swelling) and says that at least six players are bleeding or injured
Journalist Rodrigo Cardia criticised Tigre, saying that, if things did get violent, they should have taken to the pitch to complain instead of hiding in the changing rooms, but that even so, their claim is serious and must be investigated. Publicist Rodrigo Weber (@RodrigoWeber) criticised the South American Football Confederation [Conmebol] for the lack of information:
Conmebol deveria ter explicado para o público no Estádio e para a imprensa tudo o que aconteceu e o porquê da decisão que foi tomada.
Conmebol should have explained to the public in the stadium and to the press everything that had happened and the reason for the decision that was taken.
São Paulo supporters celebrate in the Morumbi Stadium during the match against Tigre. Photo by Cleber Machado, with the permission of Creative Commons.
The allegations of violence spread. Tigre players revealed bruises and clots. Fox Sports Latinoamérica, the only television network given access to the players, tweeted images of blood on the changing room walls. Journalist Mauricio Stycer (@MauricioStycer) reported that the Major of the local Military Police had broken up a fight between São Paulo's security staff and Tigre players, which could confirm the players’ allegations of violence:
PM: “Quando chegamos lá, a briga já estava generalizada. Entre jogadores do Tigre e seguranças do São Paulo”.
Military Police: “When we arrived, the fight had already begun between Tigre players and São Paulo security guards”.
Alexandre de Santi, who writes for football blog Impedimento, explained:
A baderna TERIA COMEÇADO nos túneis. A primeira informação na volta do intervalo seria de que dois jogadores TERIAM SIDO expulsos, um de cada time. Mas o site da Conmebol só confirma o vermelho para Paulo Miranda. (…) O São Paulo estava pronto para jogar o segundo tempo (…) quando a demora do Tigre começou a soar estanha. Contávamos 23 minutos de intervalo e nada dos argentinos. Na primeira informação desencontrada, o Tigre TERIA alegado que havia sido agredido por seguranças do São Paulo, que TERIAM apontado uma arma para os jogadores.
The riot allegedly began in the changing room tunnels. The first report when the match restarted after half-time was that two players had been sent off, one from each team. But on their website Conmebol only states that Paulo Miranda received a red card. […] São Paulo was all ready to start the second half […] when the Argentinian team's delayed absence began to raise suspicions. We'd had 23 minutes of half-time and still no Argentinians. The first in a series of staggered reports said that Tigre alleged that they had been assaulted by São Paulo security guards, one of whom had pointed a gun at the team.
Online debate focused on the contested question of whether firearms had been used to intimidate the Argentinian players. Journalist Fernando “Gravz” believes that São Paulo security guards did not carry firearms, whereas Rodrigo Vianna (@rvianna), another journalist, emphasised the need to make sure that the “gun in question did not in fact belong to a member of the Argentinian team”. According to reports, after the match Tigre players did not tell the police that they had been threatened with a gun.
Lawyer Vinicius Duarte (@viniciusduarte) added more detail to the picture with a testimony from the Military Police:
PM: “Armas de fogo=ZERO, a briga tinha uns 10 seguranças do SP contra toda a equipe e CT do Tigre. Só separamos.”
Military Police: “There were zero firearms. The fight was 10 or so security guards from the São Paulo side against the entire Tigre team and their coaches. We only broke things up.”
Journalist Alexandre Lozetti (@Ale_Lozetti) relayed the reports of José Francisco Manssur, advisor to the President and one of São Paulo FC's lawyers, that the Tigre players had tried to break into São Paulo's changing room and were prevented by unarmed security guards, at which point “the Argentinians ransacked the changing rooms”.
Journalist Menon summarised what had happened on his blog:
1) Versão do Tigre – Os jogadores foram atacados, no vestiário, por seguranças do São Paulo. Havia uma arma. Os jogadores apanharam muito. Três ou quatro ficaram sem condições físicas de voltar a campo.
2) Versão do São Paulo – Os jogadores do Tigre, continuando a briga do final do primeiro tempo, invadiram o vestiário do São Paulo. Os seguranças do clube defenderam os jogadores e houve confronto.
Eu considero as duas versões fantasiosas. Difícil acreditar. Seja qual for a verdade, ela é vergonhosa, é um acinte ao futebol.
1) The “Tigre” version: The players were attacked in the changing rooms by São Paulo security. There was a gun. The players were beaten several times. Three or four were so badly injured that they could not return to the pitch.
2) The “São Paulo” version: The Tigre players, continuing the fight that started at the end of the first half, broke into São Paulo's changing rooms. The Brazilian team's security guards defended the players and there was some kind of confrontation.
I think both versions are imaginary. Difficult to believe. Whatever the truth actually is, it's embarrassing, an insult to football.
André Kfouri commented on the possibility of punishment [es] for both teams, unconvinced, however, of their execution:
Por enquanto, fala-se até em excluir o Tigre da próxima Copa Libertadores. O São Paulo receberia uma multa pesada e perderia mandos de jogos do torneio no ano que vem.
For the time being, it seems likely that Tigre will be suspended from the next Copa Libertadores. São Paulo could receive a hefty fine and lose “mandos de jogos” in next year's tournament [translator's note: the team with the “mandos de jogos” gains the right to organise the match, play the opposing team at home and claim the revenue from ticket sales].
Indeed, several members of the Twitter community did not hesitate to compare the situation with the notorious Rojas case [en] in the 1990 World Cup heats.
São Paulo supporters celebrate in the Morumbi Stadium during the game against Tigres. Photo by Cleber Machado, with the permission of Creative Commons.
Where will sports journalism end?
The usual complaints about media coverage also abounded. Professor Idelber Avelar (@iavelar) said that “Brazil continues to practise some of the worst sports journalism in the world” and exclaimed:
Duas emissoras de TV, dezenas de jornalistas no Morumbi, denúncias dos argentinos e ninguém sabe o que aconteceu. Parabéns, jornalismo!
Two television broadcasting stations, many journalists at the Morumbi Stadium, complaints from the Argentinian team, and still nobody knows what went on. Congratulations, journalism!
Though journalist Emerson Luis (@emerluis) praised Fox Sports, the only network to try and get to the bottom of what really happened, others criticised TV network Globo's coverage of the events. Impedimento (@impedimento), meanwhile, mentioned the torture and deaths that occurred in Chile's National Stadium during the Chilean military coup:
Bela cobertura da Fox. Globo, como disseram na timeline, poderia estar no Estádio Nacional do Chile em 1973 e só cobriria um jogo de futebol
Wonderful Fox coverage. Globo could have been in Chile's National Stadium in 1973 and would still only bother to cover a football match
Pedro Venâncio, from blog Trivela, wrote about the reaction of the foreign press:
Em vários momentos, a imprensa europeia não dá muita atenção para o futebol brasileiro, ou sul-americano. Uma notinha de rodapé aqui, uma chamada tímida ali, e segue o jogo, segue a vida, cada um no seu quadrado. Mas quando o assunto tem sangue no meio, amigo, a curiosidade é universal e a repercussão é forte em todo mundo
Time and again the European press has paid little attention to Brazilian football, or South American football for that matter. A footnote here, a timid reference there, and the game continues, life continues, each in its own little box. But when the game gets spattered with blood, my friend, the curiosity is univeral and the repercussions are heavy for everyone
Now we can only await a serious investigation about what really happened.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Film Festival on Organic Farming in Japan · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

The international Film Festival on Organic Farming was held in Satta Hall at Hosei University in Tokyo, December 16, 2012. One participant ama_san [ja] commented on Twitter:
Yesterday I went to the International Film Festival on Organic Farming. I was surprised to learn about the power of soil. This day and age, we are too removed from the earth. At the end of the day, it all comes down to earth, the birth place of everything. I was very moved.
The festival showcased 12 films about the environment, farmers and organic farming including “Yet We Sow: Voices of Organic Farmers after Fukushima“, a short film documenting organic farmers in Fukushima.

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Former Dictator’s Daughter Elected As President of South Korea · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

On December 19, 2012, Park Geun-hye was elected as the next President of South Korea. She is from the ruling conservative Saenuri party and daughter of the former dictator Park Chung-hee.
Despite Park's feat in being elected as the first woman president in a largely patriarchal society, young progressives and activists are strongly opposed to Park, because for her party's reputation of being corrupt and her vague and unapologetic attitude to her father’s dictatorship. Park's father, Park Chung-hee is one of the most polarizing figures in South Korea's modern history –  for his authoritarian rule and for the massive economic development that took place under him.
The tight race and the nation's sharp divide over issues and party affiliations show the status of the country's political landscape. Indeed, the race was extremely tight and too close to call even after several hours the exit poll result was released.
Park Geun-hye during campaign, Upload by Flickr User 박근혜 공식앨범 (CC 2.0 BY-NC-SA)
Many net users blamed the South Korean mainstream media for siding with Park for several months; and especially in their campaign coverages which rarely brought up historical issues. They pointed out [ko] that international reports always mentioned Park's father when introducing her.  @comeback_mj23 wrote [ko]:
잠들기 전에 우리나라 대선에 관한 외신(BBC, CNN, NYT 등..) 기사를 훑어보고 있는데… 공통적으로 쓰이는 한 문장이 너무 선명하게 보인다. 굳이 언급할 필요가 없는 바로 그 문장… 과연 그 분이 스스로 굴레를 벗어던질 수 있을까?
Before going to bed, I browsed over how other foreign media have covered and read their headlines on our presidential election (such as BBC, CNN, NYT and etc). I just cannot un-notice that one phrase these reports share in common. That one sentence that is so obvious to address. Would she be able to throw off that title? [note:referring that Park is the daughter of the dictator]
@aannyeong wrote [ko] about Lee Jung-hee, a woman contenter who shattered Park during the presidential debate in almost every issue, but soon dropped out of the race.
[…] 이정희는 여태 한국 사회와 언론이 썩혀두면서 아무도 건드릴 생각도 못했던 걸 들춰냈다. 심지어 당사자 앞에서. 더군다나 공중파 대선토론에서. 그걸 보고 듣고도 사람들이 깨달음이 없었다는 게 슬프다.
Lee Jung-hee was able to dig up something that the Korean society and the media never even dare to touch– on air in a presidential debate on Network TV. It is so sad that people dont realize the truth even after watching that debate.
@kbsmuckraker added [ko]:
사실 이번 대선결과는 예정된 것이었다. 지상파와 조중동 등 여론시장을 지배하는 주류매체가 일방적으로 박근혜를 지원하는 상황에서 다른 결과를 이끌어내긴 힘들었다. 이런 수구 권언복합구도를 깨지 않으면 앞으로도 어렵다.
This presidential election outcome was an expected one. In a situation the Network TVs and Cho-Joong-Dong [note: a popular acronym for three major newspaper in South Korea- a combination of Chosun, Joongang and Donga] dominating the public discussion and single-handedly supporting Park, it was so hard to churn out a different outcome. If we cannot end this conservative power-media tie, we will continue to face a tough situation in the future.
@stpstp919 mentioned [ko] a tweet sharing how several families in three Asian countries keep their grips on power for generations.
유미리 트위터 “한국대선에서 박근혜가 승리하면,박정희 대통령의 딸과 김일성주석의 손자와 기시 노부스케 총리의 손자가 맞서게 된다.”
Yumiri’s tweet says “If Park won the South Korean presidential election, we will see Park Chung-hee’s daughter encountering with the grandson of Kim Il-sung (in North Korea) and grandson of Nobusuke Kishi (referring to Shinzo Abe) in the (international affairs) stage.
Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Democratic United Party, during campaign, Upload by Flickr User moonjaein (CC 2.0 BY-NC-ND)
This election made a record number of voter turnout, 75.8% [ko], which is the highest in a decade. @realolol commented about [ko] this aspect:
한 사이트에서 봤던 인상 깊은 글. “이번 투표율이 높았던건 그만큼 국민들이 깨어 있다는 걸 의미하지만 단기간에 그렇게 올랐다는건 지난 대선과 이번 대선간의 빈 공백의 기간동안 국민들이 불만이 많았거나 살기 어려웠단걸 뜻하지”
I’ve read this impressive post on one site “The fact that this election’s voter turnout was so high is an indication that people are aware of politics. However, at the same time, the fact that the rate made such a sharp increase, shows that people had so many complaints built up and have had rough years between the last and current presidential election.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Guaraní language is less spoken in Paraguay · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón

Group blog E'a Periódico de Interpretación y Análisis [es] tells that, according to parcial results of the 2012 Population Census, there are 10% less Guaraní speakers in the country. Among the factors the blog lists [en] for this situation, we find “resistence, voluntary or not, from the political class to include [the Guaraní language] in the state and social organizations the usage of the language […] and maybe more relevantly, this progressive decreasing is the failure of the formal biligual education, especially the Guaraní one, in schools and universities, both public and private”.


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Yemen’s Long Awaited Army Restructure · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

Yemenis were pleasantly surprised yesterday to hear about President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's bold decisions: a number of long awaited decrees were issued, including restructuring the armed forces into four major units – land forces, navy, air force and border forces, and abolishing the Republican Guard and the First Armored Division.
Yesterday's decrees were welcomed nationwide because it also realized one of the goals of Yemen's revolution,  restructuring the army was a top demand by Yemenis after President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s ouster in February. Dismissing former president Saleh's son, Ahmed, as chief of the Republican Guards, Saleh's nephew Yehya Saleh as head of the Central Security Forces and General Ali Muhsin from the leadership of the First Armed Division was the biggest obstacle towards Yemen's transition and forming a strong unified military.
Yemeni journalists Mohammed Alasaadi, who runs the Twitter account @Yemen_Updates, tweeted the breaking news:
@yemen_updates: #BreakingNews: President Hadi puts all executive power under of the army under the Ministry of Defence- as a unifying entity. #yemen
@yemen_updates: #BreakingNews: President Hadi removed Saleh's nephew Yehya Saleh from the command of Central Security. #yemen
@yemen_updates: #BreakingNews: President Hadi's new army structure removes Saleh's son from Rep. Guards & Ali Mohsen from 1st Armored Division. #yemen
And journalist Nasser Arrabyee tweeted explaining:
@narrabyee: Yemen army will be land, sea, air, border forces. Land forces will be in seven military regions, including Rep guards & 1st armored division.
A video of the decrees read by an anchor on national television in Arabic was posted via alqershi2011‘s YouTube channel:
Many Yemeni neitzens welcomed these decisions, albeit some with caution:
@Afrahnasser: Prs. Hadi removed those names but it's not clear though what will they be doing later! #Yemen
@Nefermaat: Guys, who said Ahmed Ali and Ali Mohsen wont hold new positions in the army? Were they clearly and officially sacked yesterday……? #Yemen
@yemen4freedom: This is the real beginning of the end for the worst nightmare of the last 33 years in Yemeni politics #Yemen #Hadi
@imothanaYemen: Remarkable day for Yemen's revolution and transition. Military restructuring is inevitable for the country to move ahead. #Hadi
Journalist Hafez Bukari was hoping for more drastic changes. He tweeted wondering:
@hafezbukari: GPC is now the last big front for former president Ali Saleh. Will president hadi be able to take over Saleh in GPC? #Yemen
Other netizens feared the consequences, and electricity cuts was just one of them:
@imothanaYemen: Saleh will definitely retaliate but it's too late for change to be reversed! #Yemen
@YusraAlA: A lot of ppl are getting ready for power outages in #Yemen after army restructuring decrees by #Hadi today #Yemen lol
@Afrahnasser
Super major decisions made by prs. Hadi announced tonight reg. #Yemen's army. I'm more concerned of the backlash.
And as expected the electricity power grids were once again attacked in Mareb today, by the usual “unknown” hands.
Sarah Jamal tweeted:
@Sarah_Sanaa: 8 hours without electricity so far in Sanaa.. Our first punishment after yesterday's decree on army restructure #Yemen
Many Yemenis are experiencing mixed emotions today.  One can not but be jubilant that this step has finally been taken by President Hadi, yet one can not but be anxious about what will follow and wonder if this is a total dismissal of Saleh's relatives from the military or is it just a reshuffle….only time will tell.

author: Noon Arabia


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Video Plea for Public Toilet Facilities in Jharkhand, India  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Amit Topno, a ‘Video Volunteers’ community correspondent reports that the residents of Nichitpur village in the Indian State of Jharkhand do not have any working public toilet. The villagers plea to the local authorities via this video to ensure that proper toilets are installed.


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Lobbying and Transparency: Pressuring the European Union · Global Voices
Elena Arrontes

This article is part of our special news coverage Europe in Crisis.
Since the economic crisis began, citizens have become increasingly attentive to corruption scandals and the relationships between politicians and private companies, in which they sometimes acquire top positions, denouncing “a global dictatorship of the markets.” In short, the strong link between political power and financial power is in the spotlight.
Recently, it has been possible to understand the attempted privatisation of the public health system in Spain [es] because of the close relationship between politicians and the private company CAPIO [es]. Another well-known fact is the hiring of previous political officers to work in large multinationals (a phenomenon known as the “revolving door”), such as the hiring of the ex Minister of Economy, Elena Salgado, by the electric utility giant, Endesa [es]. These incidents endanger popular sovereignty, democracy and citizen participation in the process of decision-making. The lack of demarcation between financial power and politics causes that private interest prevail above the public's.
Lobbying and Transparency
Image from the campaign “Clear the smoke in Brussels” (ALTER-EU)
The lack of transparency in lobbying is another element that actively affects both this link between the super powers as well as citizens. Lobbying means any individual or group that seeks to influence citizen representatives in order to get them to legislate laws in their interest. Large lobbyists operate according to private interests in a process that leaves citizens uninformed, lacking the opportunity to participate. This often goes against public interest. A few weeks ago  the Dalli scandal leapt into the media spotlight [es] when the European Union Health Superintendent let a Maltese Chairman request, under his name, that a Swedish tobacco company influence the EU rules on tobacco consumption in exchange for money.
The EU has increasingly more influence in the laws and policies that affect more than 500 million Europeans; however, few know about the European Representatives and the pressure groups that influence them. For this reason, various organisations from all over Europe, amongst which are ALTER-EU, Friends of the Earth Europe and Unlock Democracy, fight for the transparency in lobbying, and are trying to implement an obligatory lobbying register accesible to the public for controlling pressure groups in different countries. This register would show who politicians are meeting with, when, for what purpose, and for how much money, as well as having information about the company that the lobbyists represent.
A group of citizens before the European Parliament enclosure. By Elena Arrontes
Various NGOs, like Access Info Europe, HAI, Environmental Service Law and Spinwatch, decided to raise awareness of the need to control lobbying through the EU Citizens Project. This allowed more than 40 European citizens, committed to transparency, to travel to Belgium in order to discover the framework of the European Institutions, to meet with European officials and to reflect about problems generated by lobbying. The central event was the conference Participation, Ethics and Transparency: What the Citizens Want from Brussels, on November 16th. Rainer Wieland (Vice-President of the European Parliament, responsible for Transparency), representatives of the Office of the Ombudsman and other European Officials formed part of the event.
Amidst the event, there were two positions running with regards to the topic of transparency: that of Isabelle Durant, Vice-President of Parliament and Head of Code of Conducts [es], who is in agreement that a Member has the obligation to declare all its spending and make public their agenda, facing the position of Wieland, who said that this would hamper the paperwork. Members of the NGO organisers reminded MEPs that they work with public money and should provide an explanation to those they represent. Wieland does not consider it to be an ethical lapse that an MEP has a second job, combining his duties with business functions. Some of the NGOs are completely against it as parliamentary work requires a full-time commitment, the salary is sufficiently high, and furthermore it combines public office with private interests which has huge risks of creating a conflict of interests.
On the second panel, more focussed on the control of lobbying, the staff of the European Commissioners unanimously asserted to be “satisfied” with the lobbying register introduced a year ago in the EU. Once again, those from the NGO EU Citizens Project  complained that the registration is voluntary and therefore ineffective.
A short clip displays a summary of the conference with conclusions of the speakers:
Some of the citizens that participated in this trip published their impressions in their blogs. Alex Soler, in his blog Ominids [es], says:
Ciento cincuenta euros. Es el valor máximo legalmente aceptado para cualquier regalo que quiera hacerle, a un parlamentario europeo, una persona que se interese por su bienestar, ya sea un admirador o un lobbista representando los intereses de un determinado grupo de multinacionales. La norma no pone límite al número de veces que se le pueden hacer dichos regalos de 150€, ni tampoco al valor de los regalos que pueden recibir sus asistentes.
One hundred and fifty euros. It is the legal maximum value that can be accepted for any gift given to an MEP by a person interested in their wellbeing, whether that of an admirer or a lobbyist representing the interests of a determined group of multinationals. The law does not put a limit on the number of times that said gifts of €150 can be given, nor a value to gifts that can be received by assistants.
Jonás Candalija, writing for The Deactivating of Mines [es], finds the transparency problem is something that affects not only Spain, but the whole European Union more than he suspected:
No puedo decir que sea un experto en lobby. A duras penas consigo convencerme a mí mismo de cualquier cosa. Sin embargo, resulta un ejercicio reparador conocer hasta qué punto la opacidad informativa oscurece la actividad política en España y Europa. Cuando pensaba que el oscurantismo y la falsa rendición de cuentas eran un asunto netamente español [es], Europa se descubre como un elemento paradigmático.
I can't say that I am a lobbying expert. I hardly manage to convince myself of anything. However, it turns out to be a refreshing exercise to know  to what extent the news obscures political activity in Spain and Europe. When I thought that  obscurantism and the false releasing of stories was a purely Spanish matter, Europe is discovered as a paradigmatic element.
In the EU, there is considerable political resistance to the culture of transparency, a worrying fact if one considers that 50% of the national laws originate in Brussels. It is difficult to understand so much resistance and conformism in this sense, given that European institutions are living a crisis of credibility [es], a crisis that could be overcome with transparency, ethics and greater citizen participation on European issues responding to citizen demands for real and participatory democracy.
*Title page photo taken from video.
This article is part of our special news coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Elena Arrontes


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Macedonia Fails to Honor Victims of 1911 Terror Campaign · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

GV Author Filip Stojanovski blogs about Macedonia's failure to properly commemorate the victims of “the so-called ‘Donkey Assassinations'” that took place in the city of Štip in 1911:
[…] Several months ago, several right-wing political parties including the ruling party running the Government of RM paid respects to the organizer of these assassinations, [Todor Aleksandrov]. They organized several Orthodox Christian memorial services in his honor, attended by at least one governmental minister. They even built an EUR 73.000 equestrian monument dedicated to him in Skopje […], and sang а song about him during party celebration. However, not a word about the victims. […]

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Mirelis Morales’ ‘City of Fury’: A positive view of Caracas · Global Voices
Silvia Vinas

The blogger, tweep and journalist Mirelis Morales Tovar is a “genuine caraqueña.” She was born in the Venezuelan capital and says that “although the traffic and safety problems are almost always overwhelming,” she can't imagine living anywhere else.
Mirelis runs the blog Caracas Ciudad de la Furia (Caracas City of Fury) [es], where she invites readers to describe the positive side of Caracas: experiences, places, images, flavors and sounds missed by many people who haven't taken the opportunity to get to know their city.
On her blog Mirelis describes herself [es] as a “citizen on foot, on a moto, on a bus, on the Metro and in a car.” In an interview with Global Voices, Mirelis told us:
I love the view of El Avila [a national park in Caracas] and this exceptional climate. Besides, I owe everything to this city and to my country. My family, my friends, my loves, my work, my relations… everything I am. For this, I should repay it somehow.
Mirelis took some time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions about her blog.
GV: How, when and why did Caracas Ciudad de Furia begin?
Mirelis Morales T.: Originally the blog began in September of 2009 to archive the pieces I had published in the Caracas section of the Diario El Universal [a Caracas newspaper]. But when I stopped working at the newspaper, the blog became my means to continue practicing my profession. I decided to focus on the theme of the city because it's what I had been doing and because very few people speak about Caracas from a positive angle.
So I dedicated myself to write about the city from a more constructive perspective, which would help show us its potential and to reflect on what we as citizens can do to make it more livable or less hostile.
Mirelis Morales Tovar in Caracas. Photo: Carlos Armas.
GV: Why did you call it “Ciudad de la Furia”?
MMT: I got the sentiment from the music of [Gustavo] Cerati. And I believe there is no better phrase to describe Caracas than City of Fury. Caracas is just that: it's furious, rebellious, chaotic, unpredictable. It's a city of contrasts and contradictions. But in spite of everything, it refuses to die.
GV: Various blogs [es] focus on Caracas. What makes yours different? What do you hope to achieve with this blog?
MMT: I'm trying to show an image of Caracas beyond that of chaos, traffic and danger. Why? Because I'm convinced that Caracas is more than that. Those of us who live in the city have faith that it is. When you're capable of defying prejudices a little and you begin to walk through the city, to get to know it, to discover its curiosities, you begin to reconcile with it, to see it from another perspective. And the city will also calm down and begin to show you the best of itself.
The only way to generate a sense of belonging and identification with your city is to know it. And I believe that this is a big problem for caraqueños [people from Caracas], that they don't know their own city. Fear keeps them locked up. Because of this, I do my best to invite readers to go out, to offer them alternatives, to tell them my experience in this or that place, so that they venture out and live Caracas.
Many of the blog's readers have accepted this invitation and have shared their own experiences in Caracas by participating in Ciudad Positiva (Positive City) [es], a photo competition that Mirelis has organized since 2010. On November 4, 2010, Mirelis wrote:
Our proposed challenge was to focus our gaze –if only for a minute- on a friendly side of the city. On that thing -natural or constructed- that characterizes us as the capital city or that differentiates Caracas from all other cities in the world.
Photos from the 2010 and 2011 editions can be found on Flickr.
GV: Tell us a little more about the photo contest Ciudad Positiva.
MMT: In addition to being a blogger I also tweet. While on Twitter, I noticed that people love to post photos of Caracas and I thought that maybe I could use the blog to promote a contest to choose the best photos and to disseminate them in another format. This is how I came up with the idea of creating notebooks of Caracas with the winning images. Why notebooks? Because it seemed to me that they would be a good way to carry the best of the city with you or to exchange it with others.
The contest has had three editions. And each year we have a different theme. The first year, we showed what characterizes Caracas; the second, its people; and the third, its colors. Every edition we have added more allies who believe in a positive city and we hope to have an open-air exhibition to share our vision of the city.
GV: What's in store for Caracas Ciudad de la Furia in 2013?
MMT: I would love to be able to change the blog's image. I've already begun to move to WordPress. I would like to create a logo. Essentially, to make it more professional. I want to include information that will be useful for people visiting Caracas, since the city lacks maps or guides. Thanks to the blog I've been in contact with people from Argentina, Spain, Costa Rica and Chile who have written to me asking for recommendations about the city. With that in mind, I would like to make the blog a little more formal and offer more alternatives.
GV: Do you have any advice for bloggers writing about cities?
MMT: To keep their eyes open. A city is a living being that always has something to offer. To look without prejudice. To be open to trying new things. I believe that every city has good things to offer. And it is good to be critical, but always with a constructive vision. To be a blogger is also to be a public servant.
Mirelis has received various acknowledgements for her blog. In 2010, she received the Premio Arturo Uslar Pietri del Colegio Nacional de Periodistas [Arturo Uslar Pietri Prize from the National School of Journalists] for “best web site” [es], and the “Caracas through a journalist's eyes” -mention in online category- award granted by the Caracas Chamber of Commerce. This year, the mayor of Baruta gave her a “Citizen Values” [es] award for promoting civic coexistence.
Follow Mirelis and her blog on Twitter (@mi_mo_to).

author: Silvia Vinas


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Reflections on the Croatian Generals’ Acquittal · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Alan Jaksic of Balkan Anarchist posts a follow-up to his initial comments on the Nov. 16 reversal of the convictions of the Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač:
[…] So do I still consider last month’s acquittal at the Hague a “disgraceful acquittal”, an “outrage” and an “insult to all the Serbs from the fallen Krajina…”, and most importantly a “mockery of justice”? Well, I was upset by this vindication initially […]. […] However, I do concede that I lack the qualifications to brand any verdict a “mockery of justice” as an expert could; I am not qualified to use that term in any case and I regret using it in my previous article. I’ll end this post with what I sincerely believe is right:
I don’t want revenge; I just want justice for all victims. I want innocence to be highly regarded, and impunity to be completely condemned. But in a world of state authority and standing armies, I think this will always be compromised in one way or another.