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The Russian Internet Is Not Free. A New Tax Might Make It Even Worse. · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Russians could soon find themselves paying a tax to access their favorite online content streams. Images mixed by Tetyana Lokot.
History tells us that citizens usually don't respond well to new taxes imposed on them against their will (remember the Boston Tea Party?). When the Hungarian government recently tried to foist an Internet tax on its people, thousands of Hungarians rose up and went into the streets, showering the ruling party's headquarters with old computer parts.
You'd think other countries would learn from Hungary's example. But the Russian government is now considering its own variant of an Internet tax, and wants to make all Russian Internet users pay for consuming copyrighted content online.
Whereas the Hungarian authorities wanted to tax Internet traffic per gigabyte, the Russian idea, put forth by the Russian Union of Copyright Holders (RUC), is a blanket solution for ensuring all users are automatically charged for accessing copyrighted content on the web,  regardless of whether or not they're consuming it.
How It Would Work
A new concept known as “global licensing,” proposed by RUC in October, counts a wide variety of online audio, video and literary content as collective copyrighted property, and suggests that ISPs incorporate the tax into their tariffs. Although the concept has not yet become a draft bill, it already has a snazzy website that lobbies for the idea.
The Russian government is generally in favor of the Internet tax proposal and has appointed several ministries to collaborate on its implementation, but Leonid Levin, head of the parliamentary committee on information policy, has spoken out against the initiative.
RUC's head Sergey Fedotov, told Izvestia the tax would be 25 rubles ($0.35) per month for each web-enabled device.
Стоимость лицензии для одного подключения к интернету, будь то мобильный телефон или проводной интернет, составит 25 рублей в месяц, то есть 300 рублей в год. По имеющимся статистическим данным, это около пяти процентов от средних расходов каждого абонента на интернет.
The cost of a license for each Internet connection, whether it's a mobile phone or broadband Internet, would be 25 rubles per month, or 300 rubles per year. According to our statistics, this amounts to about 5% of what an average Russian Internet user pays for their Internet connection.
Twenty-five rubles (about USD $.40) may seem like a negligible sum, but between Russia's 130 million Internet users, it would add up to a significant sum—and one that would ultimately burden ISPs. Internet users themselves would not be paying the tax directly, but would instead incur the cost by “automatically” accepting a license agreement and a higher price for their Internet connection from their ISP of choice.
What Will Be Taxed
The “global license” is a unique licensing tool that, according to the Russian Ministry of Culture, will encompass “music tracks and recordings, audio-visual content and literary works.” Content produced by media and entertainment companies that is available online for free or is ad-supported would not be at issue here: rather, the tax would cover those kinds of media products that users would usually be expected to pay for, like a movie or a music album. But RUC suggests less common types of content, such as movie fragments shared online, might also be subject to taxation. In this respect, the new tax seems to be aimed at combating online piracy, as well as at generating revenue for right holders, adding to the existing anti-piracy legislation in Russia.
The Ministry of Culture later elaborated on the Internet tax idea, proposing to create a registry of copyrighted creative content online, making it easier to track consumption. The Ministry also suggested that ISPs should be obligated to install deep packet inspection (DPI) equipment in order to identify which content users consume on the RuNet. The DPI technology, Ministry officials say, will assure that the licensing tax revenue (which they estimate to reach $860 million a year) is fairly distributed among the copyright holders who own the rights to specific works.
The DPI technology specifications have already been developed for the Ministry of Culture by a local IT company called Systematic, RBK news agency reports. Systematic claims their technology will be able to recognize up to 90% of unencrypted traffic, but will not be able to analyze encrypted connections (like https) or torrent data transmission.
Given that most users who access pirated content online do so through torrent websites, use https, VPN protocols, or TOR to anonymize their connection, Russian telecommunication experts are skeptical about the effectiveness of the expensive technology suggested by global licensing enthusiasts.
RuNet Reaction
The Internet tax idea has met harsh criticism from Internet industry representatives, telecommunication providers, RuNet users, and even some government officials. Mobile Internet providers MTS, Megafon and Vimpelcom have spoken out against the concept of global licensing, and were joined by critical voices from the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Communications.
Representatives of several other IT companies, including Mail.Ru Group, Yandex and VKontakte, published an open letter addressed to President Putin on December 1, arguing that the new system would be “harmful for authors, copyright holders, users, the Russian Internet industry and the telecommunications business.” The companies’ representatives also expressed concern at the use of DPI technology to track users online, which they suggested was “a form of surveillance that violated international norms.” Forcing ISPs to install deep packet inspection equipment would only exacerbate existing surveillance and censorship mechanisms in Russia, like the SORM communications interception system and the IP-filtering used to block websites currently on the RuNet blacklist.
The RuNet users demonstrated their dismay at the Internet tax by launching an online petition on the Russian Civic Initiative website to collect signatures against what they called an “automatic anti-piracy fee” for all Internet users. The petition, started on December 6, calls state officials to drop the Internet tax idea and instead consider alternative means for protecting intellectual property, which would not violate citizens’ rights.
Большинству пользователей придётся платить за контент, который они не потребляют. Такие налоговые отчисления будут производиться не в интересах всего населения и даже не в интересах всех российских пользователей интернета, но в интересах ограниченной группы лиц. Кроме этого, не будет никакой гарантии того, что правообладатели действительно станут получать какие-либо отчисления с этого налога.
Most users would have to pay for content they do not consume. Such tax payments would not be made in the interests of all the citizens, and not in the interests of the RuNet users, but would only serve a limited group of people. Besides, there is no guarantee that the copyright holders would actually receive any royalties from this tax.
As of December 15, the petition had just over 14k of the 100k signatures that it needs to be considered for discussion in the relevant parliamentary committee.
If signed into law, the global licensing scheme would leave RuNet users no choice but to pay the Internet tax, as it would be included in their Internet bill. For now, the Ministry of Culture is still discussing RUC's proposal, but hopes to work with other stakeholders to create a draft bill by the end of 2014. An official within the Ministry alleged the discussion could even take a year or two. While this may seem far off, the recent track record of Russian Internet legislation suggests the Internet tax has every chance of becoming a reality.


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A High-Rise Condo Tower Is Photobombing the Philippines’ National Hero · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Senator Pia Cayetano poses in front of the Rizal monument to show how the residential tower in the background is ruining the view of the heritage site. Photo from Facebook page of Senator Pia
Many Filipinos have expressed opposition to a residential building project in Manila which they claim would destroy the view of the monument of the country’s national hero, Jose Rizal.
Rizal was a writer and doctor who was martyred for espousing reforms when the Philippines was still under Spanish rule in the late 1800s. His life and writings have inspired subsequent generations to show more love to the country and pride in being a Filipino. Rizal was declared a national hero and his statue can be found in numerous parks across the country. But his most famous monument is in Luneta Park in Manila.
Rizal’s followers and even ordinary Filipinos are up in arms over the condominium project of DMCI, a major realty corporation, which is located at the back of Luneta Park. According to critics, the 49-storey DMCI Torre de Manila will be a photobombing eyesore for tourists and residents who wanted to take a photograph of Rizal’s monument.
Aside from lobbying with local officials, opponents of the project are also asking the public to support the campaign to stop the construction of the condominium, which they already called Terror de Manila instead of Torre de Manila. Using the Twitter hashtag #NoToTerrorDeManila, users have posted photographic proof of the tower's unwelcome presence behind Rizal's monument:
Thanks to our brothers from Laguna, Pasay, Quezon City and Marikina. #NoToTerrorDeManila pic.twitter.com/i3LZdaO8gU
— Knights of Rizal (@kor_ihq) August 27, 2014
“@ANCALERTS: Before & after: Controversial Torre de Manila construction near Rizal monument. pic.twitter.com/lJCB9ei13y” #NoToTerrorDeManila
— Janssen Cabrera (@jansjens) August 27, 2014
The DMCI has claimed that some of the photos have been photoshopped. It released photos to show that the Rizal monument can be photographed without including the condominium in the frame. It advised the public to shoot the monument at a certain angle if they do not want to see the tower in their photos.
Senator Pia Cayetano, who has been opposing the project, accused DMCI of insulting Filipinos:
It now wants all Filipinos, foreign tourists, dignitaries and practically coming generations from here on to adopt its preferred ‘view’ of the Rizal Monument, which until late last year, has stood there, proud and unchallenged for 100 years. How convenient!
Senator Pia released this photo on her Facebook page to prove that the tower destroys the view of the Rizal monument
Activist Sarah Katrina Maramag wrote that the Torre de Manila issue highlighted some of the problems caused by unbridled development in the city:
The Torre de Manila is not the first and it will not be the last. We live in a period when tourism is “more fun in the Philippines”. When devastation has become a smokescreen for profitable investments in the name of rehabilitation and reconstruction. When lives and livelihoods are demolished with impunity to give way to giant shopping malls and commercial complexes.
In response to the appeal to stop the construction of the building, DMCI reiterated that it has obtained all the necessary papers and permits from the city government to continue with the project.
In the meantime, more and more Filipinos are taking selfie photos with Rizal before the Torre de Manila becomes a permanent photobomb near the monument.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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‘Ferguson Is Here’: Black Brazilians Bear the Brunt of Deadly Police Violence · Global Voices
Taisa Sganzerla

“It hasn't ended, it must end: We want the end of the military police,” protesters chanted in yesterday's march. Image by Mídia Ninja CC BY 2.0.
Hundreds took to the streets in São Paulo this Thursday, December 18 to protest against racial profiling and police violence against black people.
More than just support for the rallies in the US that followed the deaths of Ferguson, Missouri's Michael Brown and New York City's Eric Garner — two unarmed black men killed by white police officers — Brazilian protesters wanted to underline the country's own reality: black people are systematically targeted and slain by the Brazilian police.
A study carried out by University of São Carlos showed that 61 percent of all people killed by the São Paulo military police were black. According to another study, from the Forum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública, Brazilian police officers are the most deadly in the world, killing six people every day in the last 5 years.
During the protest, signs with “Não conseguimos respirar” [We can't breath] written on it could be seen, as well as the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, or the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media.
A marcha Ferguson é aqui está em frente Secretaria Estadual de Segurança esperando secretário receber uma comissão. pic.twitter.com/KpM9v8opWY
— Podemos mais (@PodemosMaisBR) December 18, 2014
The Ferguson march is here in front of the State Secretary of Security waiting for the secretary to meet with a commission.
In an official letter handed to São Paulo state government, more than 50 human rights organizations and black movements detailed a number of requests: that killings of young black men by the police be investigated, that the State Prosecutor’s Office have stronger oversight of police activities, and that the families of those killed by the state receive legal compensation, among other things:
Vivenciamos em nossas comunidades o extermínio que se dá através de sistemáticos assassinatos, já traduzidos em números que se assemelham a até superam guerras. Isso somado às precárias condições de vida e à negação de direitos básicos tais como saúde, educação, segurança, moradia, transporte, acesso à universidades, à cultura e ao lazer – que atingem sobremaneira a população negra – configura na visão dos movimentos sociais e do movimento negro, um verdadeiro genocídio contra a juventude e o povo negro.
We see in our communities pure extermination, which happens through systematic homicides in numbers similar to those seen in war, or even higher. This, added to the precarious conditions of life and denial of basic rights like health, education, security, housing, transport, access to university, culture and entertainment – which affects, above all, the black population – means for the social movements and the black movements a true genocide of Brazilian black youths and the black population.
For blogger Douglas Belchior, Brazil’s mainstream media has different attitudes when covering the matter in the United States and in Brazil:
A grande mídia, por sua vez, ao mesmo tempo em que noticia parcialmente o levante das massas negras nos EUA, em denúncia à violência policial daquele país, omite-se em repercutir as atrocidades promovidas pelas polícias brasileiras. Ao contrário, […] naturalizam a morte onde, via de regra, o silêncio do morto configura a prova da inocência do assassino.
The mainstream media, while partially covering the black people's rallies in the United States denouncing the violent police there, overlooks the atrocities committed by the Brazilian police. On the contrary, […] the media naturalize death, so that [the news] reads as if the silence of the dead means the innocence of the murderer.
Since the Ferguson protests began in the US, Brazilians have been making the connection. In August, journalist Fernando Vianna wrote an article for newspaper Folha de São Paulo with the same name of yesterday’s protest, “Ferguson é aqui” (Ferguson is here), in which he says:
Protesters in São Paulo wrote the names of both Americans and Brazilians killed by police on a banner. Photo by Facebook user Leh Aguiar.
Se para cada morte de um jovem negro pela polícia, no Brasil, segmentos da população saíssem às ruas tomados de revolta similar à ocorrida em Fergurson, nos EUA, viveríamos em convulsão diária.
If after every death of a young black person at the hands of police in Brazil, part of the population took to the streets in fury, like in Ferguson, we would live in daily convulsion.
Rio de Janeiro Federal University sociologist Ignacio Cano told Bloomberg in November:
Our police kills by the hundreds. We have a Ferguson every day. [The difference is that] there (in the US) everyone agrees that all people are equal before the law. Here, there's no consensus, and many still believe that people from poor neighborhoods are dangerous or criminals, or both.
Brazilian police: a history of violence
Paintings in front of the Candelária Church in Rio de Janeiro, to remember the massacre of eight homeless teens by police officers. Image by Flicker user quentindelaroche CC BY 2.0
In the afternoon of 1992, a discussion between inmates at the prison Casa de Detenção São Paulo, known as Carandiru, sparkled a mutiny. Unable to deal with situation, security called the police, who stormed the building and killed 102 inmates.
The incident – in which the assailants only faced justice 20 years later, in 2012 – became known as “The Carandiru massacre” and was depicted in the 2003 movie “Carandiru”, which earned international acclaim.
The Carandiru bloodbath, however, is only one of the many massacres perpetrated by the many Brazilian state police forces.
A year later in 1993, eight homeless boys between 11 and 19 years old were shot and killed as they slept in front of the Candelária church in downtown Rio de Janeiro. Later, three police officers were prosecuted and went to prison, but have since been released. Their motivation remains unclear, but many speculate they killed in revenge for petty crimes perpetrated by boys in the area.
Revenge is a common motive for police’s incursions in favelas and poor neighborhoods in Brazilian cities. In that same year again in Rio de Janeiro, 50 police officers with their faces hooded executed 21 people in the Vigário Geral favela, in retaliation for the deaths of four officers in the same region. It was later proved that none of the dead had any criminal history.
Eight of the victims belonged to the family of Vera Lúcia dos Santos. Being devoted Protestant Christians, her father, mother and five brothers had just arrived from church when they were confronted by the police and shot dead.
Vera recalled that night in the documentary “À Queima Roupa” (Point Blank), which premiered in Brazil in November. In a horrifying testimony, she explains how she found their bodies after the massacre: her mother, with a Bible in her hands; her brother, on his knees, with the documents he tried to show the police before being shot:
The moon was bright, the sky was alight with stars. And then he said: your whole family is dead.
The film, which was partially crowdfunded, won the prize for Best Documentary at the Rio Film Festival in 2014. In his column about the movie in newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, leading public security and human rights reporter Bruno Paes Manso says Brazil tolerates the murder of poor, black people. He made an appeal to his readers:
Peço ao leitor, com todo o respeito, um esforço de abstração. Imagine uma vingança com tal crueldade praticada pela polícia contra moradores de Pinheiros, em São Paulo, do Leblon, no Rio, ou Stella Maris, em Salvador. Pais formados em universidades públicas, com seus filhos em colégios privados, todos brancos, sete corpos estendidos na sala de jantar para saciar a vingança e o ódio dos policiais marginais. Não sejamos hipócritas. Isso seria inconcebível. É inimaginável. O Estado não toleraria as consequências.
I ask of the reader, with all due respect, an effort of abstraction. Imagine a retaliation with the same cruelty perpetrated by the police against dwellers of Pinheiros in São Paulo, of Leblon in Rio de Janeiro, or Stella Maris in Salvador [all high-end neighborhoods]. Parents with university degrees, their children in private schools, all of them white, seven bodies lying in the dining room to fulfill the police’s thirst for vengeance and hate. Let’s not be hypocrites. This in inconceivable. It is unimaginable. The state would never tolerate its consequences.
That kind of behavior didn't stop in the 1990s. In July, police dashcam footage published by TV Globo confirmed that two officers killed a 14-year-old and injured his 15-year-old friend in Rio. After arresting the two black teens in the city center, where the two apparently used to commit petty theft, they were taken to Morro do Sumaré in the Tijuca Forest to be executed. In the footage, the officers are heard saying “stop crying, we didn't even begin hitting you yet” and laughing as they descend the hill back into town — with the two teens no longer in the car.
They didn't count on the 15-year-old surviving to tell the story. He said he pretended to be dead to save himself, and his testimony was crucial for the officers to be prosecuted.
Despite the fact that Brazil abolished the death penalty in the 19th century, many Brazilians agree with the saying that “a good criminal is a dead criminal” — 43 percent, in fact, according to a survey.
About 70 percent of Brazil's extremely poor are black. Image by Flickr user Cassimano CC BY 2.0
Brazil was one of the larger importers of African slaves in the western world. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, about 4 million people from the European colonies in Africa disembarked in Brazil – compared to less than a million in the United States, according to the Transatlantic Slavetrade Database.
Black people comprise 51 percent of the Brazilian total population, according to the 2010 Census of IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistic). But they count for 63 percent of Brazil's poor, and 70 percent of those who live below the poverty line.
In 2012, 56,000 people were murdered in Brazil, of which no less than 77 percent were black, and 53 percent were between 15 and 29 years old, according to Mapa da Violência 2014 (Violence Map 2014), a study carried out by Instituto Sangari.
According to the same institute, between 2004 and 2007 more people were killed in Brazil than in the 12 main armed conflicts that happened in the same period, including conflicts in Afghanistan, Israel and the Palestinian territories and Sudan, among others.
Such alarming numbers triggered Amnesty International's campaign Jovem Negro Vivo (Young, Black, Alive).

author: Taisa Sganzerla


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Is India Ready for the ‘Big Time’ in World Sports? · Global Voices
Sourabh

Fikru Tefera of Atletico De Kolkata somersault is goal to beat Mumbai City Fc defender during the Indian Super League (ISL) tournament at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Stadium in Salt Lake City, Kolkata, India. Image by Reporter#7585286. Kolkata, India. Copyright (12/10/2014)
Growing up in India was for the longest time synonymous with hearing “What a beautiful straight drive from Sachin Tendulkar”, but this is quickly changing. Kids today are more familiar with “What a wonderful dipping free kick from Elano” or “What an exquisite volley from Roger Federer”. Something is happening to this cricket-crazy nation, where all sports once seemed to boil down to cricket. Suddenly, the Indian Super League (ISL) is the most-attended football league in Asia and the fifth most attended in the world—a staggering statistic considering that it is the league's first season. Indian tennis is also booming is ways never before seen.
So, what's changed? Is cricket losing its grip on Indian sports? Or are cricket's competitors merely enjoying a temporary spike in popularity?
When it comes to football, India has been considered a “sleeping giant”, ever since placing fourth at the 1956 Olympic games and later winning two Asian Games gold medals. Since those successes, however, football has remained largely dormant in India. This, of course, is what the ISL wants to change. With old stars like Robert Pires, Luis Garcia, David Trezeguet, Nicholas Anelka, David James, and Joan Capdevilla, the league features some former heavyweight players. Internet users have certainly registered their excitement.
Football-mad Goans queue up for #ISL semifinals tickets at 6:30am. They go on sale at 10am. http://t.co/LiFlKchbcs pic.twitter.com/fK2dR28ZyO
— Nigel Britto (@NigelBritto) December 13, 2014
The fireworks in the #ISL matches are awesome,wish some happened on the grounds too.
— Esha Banerjee (@eshabanerjee) December 14, 2014
Sushanth Mathew killed it. What a beauty! The best goal I've seen so far #KERvCHE #ISL Indian Super League
— Aakash Singh (@AakashhSingh) December 13, 2014
This is exactly how the MLS in North America, the J-League in Japan, and the A-League in Australia managed to take off. The idea is simple—get international starts to play with home-grown players and pass on the attitude, skills, and knowledge of the game. This has certainly helped the MLS and company, who year after year perform capably on the international stage and at the World Cup. In fact, the ISL presents Indian players like TP Rehenesh, Arnab Mondal and Subash Singh with the opportunity to show their talents and test themselves against the very best.
As the ISL's attendance rises and its competitiveness improves, it's hard not to be optimistic about the future of Indian football.
Tennis is another sport where India seems to be unlocking some of its potential. This year, massive crowds attended the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) matches. In Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes, India has two all-time best double players with 12 Grand Slam titles between them. For some reason, however, India hasn't produced big time singles players.
To improve matters, India has introduced a franchise system similar to what's found in other countries. With Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Tomas Berdych, the IPTL had the biggest names in tennis playing in India this year in front of sellout audiences.
If this is what Alan Wilkins can do, god save Federer. #iptl #delhi pic.twitter.com/NkvFiYNrkt
— Atul Dev (@errows) December 6, 2014
The @IndianAces team bench celebrate @Gael_Monfils victory in the super shoot out against @tsonga7 in Delhi. #IPTL pic.twitter.com/FGll81FgWP
— AmMaD (@AmmadZahid) December 6, 2014
Many dismissed the IPTL's games as glorified exhibition matches (including ATP Tour’s executive chairman, Chris Kermode), but the IPTL is all about bringing tennis to countries that are starved for the biggest names in the game.
Traveling through Manila, New Delhi, Singapore, and Dubai, the tournament saw Indian aces win several victories. Perhaps more surprisingly, the competition drew good attendance and scored decent ratings on television. For a tournament designed merely to maintain India's interest in tennis, while the nation retools and restores its tennis infrastructure, the results were an unqualified success.
And it doesn’t stop here: India will be hosting the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2017 and the 2014 Hockey Champions Trophy, which just wrapped up in Bhubaneshwar.
As a venue of global sports, India is particularly exciting as a “sleeping giant.” The recent surge in the popularity of sports like football and tennis raise all kinds of hopes and expectations for the Indian athletes of the future.

author: Sourabh


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Murder of LGBTQ Activist Renews Venezuela’s Human Rights Debate · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

All links are in Spanish.
Migdely Miranda and Giniveth Soto (right) turning in signatures to the National Assembly for marriage equality. Photo taken from the blog, Un Pobre Peatón [A Poor Pedestrian].
LGBTQ rights defenders are mourning Giniveth Soto, a Venezuelan gender-equality activist murdered earlier this week. According to unofficial sources, a carjacker shot and killed Soto in Caracas, after she refused to surrender her car.
The right to marriage equality in Venezuela was one of Soto's most important campaign. Despite advancements on this issue in neighboring countries, same-sex couples in Venezuela are not permitted to marry. This didn't stop Soto, who in 2013 married her partner, Migdely Miranda. Venezuela's government, however, refused to recognize the ceremony and contested the parenthood of Soto's son, Salvador, who was conceived using artificial insemination.
Soto's murder has launched at least two major, nationwide public debates: urban violence and threats same-sex couples face in Venezuela.
The Un Pobre Peatón (A Poor Pedestrian) recently addressed both these issues:
En medio del robo del vehículo que usaba para hacer carreras de taxi y mantener a su familia, un delincuente le disparó y acabó con su vida (…) Todo el dolor que significa una pérdida tan trágica como ésta, parece haberse vuelto parte de la cotidianidad de Venezuela. Un país que luego de 13 Ministrxs del Interior y mas de 20 planes de “seguridad” se mantiene en los primeros lugares de muertes violentas en el mundo con decenas de miles de víctimas cada año. Aquí da la sensación de que todxs tenemos un número en la fila y estamos esperando que nos toque el turno.
While stealing the vehicle Soto also used as a taxi to support her family, the offender shot and killed her. […] All the pain that a loss as tragic as this one entails, it appears to have become part of daily life in Venezuela. Although this country has 13 Interior Ministers and more than 20 “safety” plans, it is one of the places where most violent deaths occur in the world, with tens and thousands of victims annually. Living here gives us the feeling that we are all just waiting in line, waiting for our number to be called.
Venezuela's refusal to recognize gay married couples makes death a political issue, too:
Como si fuese poco el riesgo al que estamos expuestxs todxs lxs venezolanxs de ser víctimas de la violencia y la impunidad, las personas LGBTI de Venezuela y nuestras familias también debemos enfrentarnos a la falta de protección legal. Luego del doloroso asesinato de su madre, el pequeño Salvador de apenas 3 meses de nacido ha quedado en situación de vulnerabilidad. Ni él ni su madre Migdely tienen el derecho de heredar los bienes que Gini deja en Venezuela, ni de recibir pensión de sobreviviente de corresponderle. Migdely no tenía derecho a decidir sobre los restos de su esposa, la persona a la que amaba y con la que soñaba pasar el resto de su vida.
As if the risk were low for all Venezuelans to be victims of violence and impunity, our families and those of the Venezuelan LGBTQ community must also confront the lack of legal protection. After the grievous murder of his mother, little three-month old Salvador is placed in a vulnerable situation. Neither him nor his mother, Migdely, have the right to inherit Gini's property in Venezuela. She cannot receive the survivors’ pension or legally make decisions regarding what is to be done with her wife's body; the person that she loved and dreamed about spending the rest of her life with.
In a similar tone, lawyer and activist Tamara Adrián mused online:
La violencia mató a Gini Soto. Pero la intolerancia mató los derechos de su esposa y su hijo: ni herencia ni nombre https://t.co/RZ5JIRePGW
— TamaraAdrian (@TamaraAdrian) December 15, 2014
Violence killed Gini Soto. However, intolerance killed the rights of her wife and son: no inheritance, no name.
The Civil Association for Equality in Venezuela has also weighed in, urging citizens to seek justice in this tragedy, which the group calls “a crime that afflicts the foundation of the fight for equality.”
El esclarecimiento del asesinato de nuestra valiente e imparable activista es urgente, no puede quedar impune un crimen y más aún si se trata de un crimen que aflige dolorosamente las bases de la lucha por la reivindicación de derechos de la población sexodiversa venezolana. Es imperante hacer justicia, pero además es neurálgico fortalecer nuestros poderes públicos para garantizar el efectivo ejercicio del derecho a la vida en libertad y equidad, sin discriminación ni estigmas basados en prejuicios atávicos judeo-cristianos, sin violencia psicológica y moral a consecuencia de una cultura heterosexista, machista y sexista…
An investigation into the murder of this brave and indomitable activist needs to begin immediately. Such a crime cannot go unpunished, all the more so as this crime afflicts the foundation of the fight for the rights of Venezuela's sex and gender-diverse population. It's therefore crucial that we seek justice and strengthen our public institutions, in order to guarantee our ability to exercise the right to a free and equal life without discrimination, stigmas founded on Judeo-Christian atavistic prejudices, and moral and psychological violence—the consequences of a heterosexist, macho, and sexist culture.

author: Laura Vidal


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Thousands to Attend Unsanctioned Protest Outside Kremlin Against Putin-Critic’s Verdict · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Images edited by Kevin Rothrock.
Alexey Navalny’s name used to occupy Russian news headlines and social media like it was a movement. In late 2011, he became the face of a brief season of street demonstrations that rattled the Kremlin for the first time since the days of the Yeltsin Administration. By 2013, Navalny had morphed from an anti-corruption blogger and protest leader into a bonafide politician, nearly forcing a runoff election in the Moscow mayor’s election.
Since February 2014, however, Navalny’s public presence has dwindled, following a Moscow court’s decision to place him under house arrest in connection with a trial, the Yves Rocher case, that’s only now wrapping up.
On January 15, 2015, a Moscow court is expected to announce the verdict and sentencing for Navalny and his brother, who stand accused of defrauding a French cosmetics company. Prosecutors are asking the judge to lock them up for nearly a decade. According to Navalny, as well as most independent observers, Yves Rocher’s accusations are absurd and the state’s case is politically motivated.
Leonid Volkov, one of the last members of Navalny’s brain trust yet to be arrested or forced into exile, immediately registered an event on Facebook for a mass protest against the verdict. Almost 3,000 people have already promised to attend the rally at Manezh Square, just outside the Kremlin gates, on the evening of January 15. The RSVPs are pouring in, though the Facebook event is just hours old. Expected attendance is still rising rapidly, and another 13,000 people are sitting on “invitations” to join the demonstration.
Leonid Volkov's invitation to the January 15, 2015, protest against Navalny's verdict.
On Facebook, some people question Volkov’s decision to hold the rally after, not before, Navalny’s verdict is announced. For example, Julia Sailer, a Russian-speaking woman living in Germany, warned that waiting until January 15 sends the wrong signal:
Надо 14-го собираться. Собрание после приговора означает: мы ждём милости от Путина, если её не будет – выйдем на улицу. Собрание 14-го означает: мы навязываем Путину нашу повестку дня.
We need to rally on the 14th. A demonstration after verdict [on January 15] means we’re waiting for mercy from Putin, and threatening to go into the streets, if we don’t get it. A demonstration on the 14th means we are the ones setting the agenda—not Putin.
Whether it takes place on January 14 or 15, the demonstration promises a conflict with Moscow police, as Volkov isn’t planning to ask the city’s permission. Indeed, he promises not to seek a permit, writing on Facebook, “The time for sanctioned rallies is long passed.”
If police want, they might actually use the Facebook event for the January 15 protest to target Volkov or even Facebook, in light of the fact that it is illegal in Russia to call people to an unsanctioned rally. In fact, Russia’s Attorney General has already banned 589 web pages for this and other acts of so-called Internet extremism.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Washington’s $60 Million for Russian Democracy Promotion Is ‘Essentially a Recommendation’ · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Obama and Putin meet outside Moscow, July 7, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.
The United States enacted a new law yesterday called the “Ukraine Freedom Support Act.” Today, some Russian media outlets have noticed language in the law that seems to set aside $60 million for promoting Russian “democracy and civil society organizations,” including support for “expanding uncensored Internet access.”
Access to $60 million from the US government would undoubtedly be an exciting, albeit perilous, opportunity for Russia’s many activists and journalists working online. That money, however, is unlikely ever to materialize.
The law is only an “authorization of appropriations,” not an actual appropriations bill. In other words, Congress and the president have merely signaled their support for spending this money. Without an associated appropriation, the Ukraine Freedom Support Act doesn’t actually promise so much as an extra cent for democracy promotion in Russia.
A source in Washington’s democracy-promotion community told RuNet Echo, “The authorization language is essentially a recommendation, and we’re not expecting it to result in any new appropriations for Russian media or civil society.”


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Some of Miami’s Cuban Exiles Are Disgruntled at Obama’s New Approach to Cuba · Global Voices
Robert Valencia

The Versailles restaurant in Miami's Little Havana has long been a meeting place for outspoken Cuban exiles. Since Obama's announcement the establishment has been the focus of heavy media activity. Photo by Robert Valencia.
The surprise announcement by the President of the United States Barack Obama to resume diplomatic relations with Cuba after more than 50 years of estrangement has been welcomed by many Cubans on the island and others in the international community. Nonetheless, the hard-line sector of the Cuban exile community in Miami has demonstrated an almost generalized anger.
What happened on the afternoon of December 17 has made history. In a televised address, President Barack Obama announced a series of changes in bilateral relations, including the creation of embassies in both nations, the review of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, possible visits by both heads of state, and Cuba's participation in the next Summit of the Americas in 2015, which will be held in Panama City.
The impact of Obama's speech has been such that it has generated a strong opposition among the most conservative sector of exiles in Florida, home to more than 1 million residents of Cuban descent. Senator Marco Rubio (Republican for Florida) called the President “the single worst negotiator we have had in the White House” in his lifetime, while House Republicans from Florida Ilean Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Díaz Balart called the president “naive.“
Meanwhile, the Versailles restaurant, a meeting point for many hard-line Cuban exiles in Miami, was the barometer for measuring what many called a “day of infamy.” On of these voices is Miguel Saavedra, leader of the Vigilia Mambisa, a group described on their Facebook page as “a hard-line, right wing, Anti-Castro, Anti-Communist group”. In a brief chat with Global Voices, Saavedra expressed his distaste for the measures :
Although younger generations of Cuban Americans tend to be a bit more moderate, Gabriel, a young man born in exile, was pessimistic about the measure :
Despite being a strong coming together of both nations after over five decades, the true impact that the Obama administration's new measures will have on Cuba and the United States remains to be seen.

author: Robert Valencia


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#Ferguson Killing Inspires Street Art Throughout the US · Global Voices
Natalia Safonova

“Message Reflects on Traffic” in Ferguson, Missouri. Photo by Light Brigading on Flickr.
The unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked by the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer, has had a deep influence on art there and throughout the US.
Many artists and performers have made appearances at rallies and vigils in or related to Ferguson, where protesters continue to demand justice following a grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson, who shot Brown to death.
A Ferguson-themed window mural. Photo by Paul Sableman on Flickr.
Justice for All rally in Washington DC, December 13, 2014. Photo by Stephen Melkisethian on Flickr.
Street art, including graffiti, posters, and banners at rallies, seem to be growing out of the protests and in the community daily. Recently, an article news website Mic claims that Ferguson, Missouri now has “the most powerful street art in America” and tells of a young artist, Damon Davis, who has been creating graffiti and wall art using posters of hands in the town. Davis has also collaborated with many of the local shops and businesses in creating his pieces. As he explains, though there are many managers and landowners who want to help and support the protesters, there are still some, who wants to remain “neutral”.  But as Davis noted:
If you're making money off this community, there is no neutrality.
Davis and other artists also were invited to participate or to send their work to the Wynwood protest vigil in Miami, held at the same time as the famous and widely publicized Miami Art Basel. This fair was attended by numerous celebrities and well-known artists, but was widely criticized for escapism this year.
There was, however, at least one work relating to the issue that outraged America in 2014, a hyper-realistic piece by Robert Longo, titled “Untitled (Ferguson Police August 13 2014)”. Some called the enormous painting “the most powerful piece at Art Basel Miami Beach”. In this dark painting, the ranks of police officers are depicted as a faceless and indifferent force, moving towards the viewers through a smoky haze of, presumably, tear gas.
Outside the grand Art Basel in Miami, however, imbued with the spirit of art, a vigil was organized during which those in attendance took a moment to remember the victims of police violence. On their Facebook page, the organizers of this vigil said:
Last night, we #ShutItDown, we shut down the highway and part of#ArtBasel, largest art show in the country, calling for justice for#IsraelHernandez, #MikeBrown, #EricGarner and countless other victims of police brutality!
Special attention was drawn to the 2013 death of teenage graffiti artist Israel Hernandez, who was tasered to death by a police officer after being caught spray painting the side of an abandoned McDonald's. Hernandez was a talented street artist, who received several awards for his graffiti during his short lifetime. His death caused many protests against the abuses of tasers by police and became a subject of the documentary “Tasered: The Israel Hernandez Story”.
The rallies demanding justice for all victims of police brutality have also become an anti-racist movement in many states in America and their stories have reached across the globe. From graffiti in Brooklyn, New York, showing a boy with his arms raised and the words “Don't shoot”, to graffiti in London, England, showing a boy with one arm raised and the same words across his image:
Graffiti in Brooklyn, New York in support of the Ferguson, Missouri protests. Photo by Damien Derouene on Flickr.
Graffiti in London, England in support of the Ferguson, Missouri protests. Image widely circulated on the Internet.
In Ferguson, artist Damon Davis’ explained the importance of artists:
Artists play a vital role, telling these stories and keeping history alive. [The posters] are important for people who may be on the fence to see. Maybe they'll change their minds [and start supporting us]. And for those who aren't on our side … now they know we're still here. And we're not going to back down.

author: Natalia Safonova


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Is A Citizens’ Awakening The Cure For Mexico’s “Cancer”? · Global Voices
Robert Valencia

A Mexico City's government employee tries to clean graffiti of the number “43” off a municipal. “43”, representing the number of students who were “disappeared” from their school in Ayotzinapa in September 2014, has become a symbol of protest for many Mexicans. Photo by Robert Valencia.
A few weeks ago I visited Mexico. My trip there meant more than witnessing the turquoise waters of Cancun’s Isla Mujeres, or the urban sprawl of Mexico City, or stimulating my tastebuds with Mexico’s eclectic cuisine. It was an exploration of the country’s very heart and soul, and how Mexicans cope with injustice today.
The US$7 million house, purchased by the Peña Nieto family added insult to injury. On November 17, first lady Angelica Rivera declared on TV that she bought the house with the money she earned as an actor at Televisa, Mexico's largest TV company. Her speech did not convince Mexicans.
In this meme Hollywood actors Jolie and PItt say, “We'll go straight to Mexico. Televisa pays better.” Many Mexicans don't believe first lady Angelica Rivera could have earn enough at Televisa to purchase a US$7 million mansion. Photo from Twitter feed of @YobyJackson.
The Mexican press has kept track of the country's indignation since the disappearance of Ayotzinapa's 43 students. This newspaper's front page shows a concerned Jesús Murillo Karam, who has been criticized for the lack of concrete answers with respect to the case. Photo by Robert Valencia.
Robert Valencia is a writer and Latinamericanist based in New York City.


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Mexican Soap Opera’s Gay Couple Thrown Back into the Closet on Brazilian TV · Global Voices
Fernanda Canofre

The romance between two male characters on a Mexican soap opera has been cut out by a Brazilian TV station. Image by YouTube/Reproduction.
Brazil has long been known around the world for its soap operas. “When the election of Gorbachev’s successor fell on a holiday in 1996, the Russian government aired the finale of “Mulheres de Areia” (Sand Women) to encourage voters to stay in town and head to the polls. “Escrava Isaura” (Slave Isaura), about a white woman raised as a slave during the colonial era, became a huge hit in communist China and Cuba in the 1980s.
It was through telenovelas that Brazilians became acquainted with modern-day controversies, such as surrogacy, modern slavery, the landless workers’ movement, human clones, bioethics and so on. Whether they are good drama or just poorly written romances, it's indisputable that telenovelas have been an important tool to introduce social debates in the country — even if most of the times in a pretty clichéd and conservative way.
The latest controversy, however, is related to the Mexican soap opera “Sortilégio” (Sortilege), currently being aired in Brazil by SBT channel. Since it began in October, it has stirred an outcry among viewers disappointed with the drastic adaptation of the plot made by the Brazilian TV network.
“Sortilégio” features a heterosexual couple as protagonists, but also follows two male best friends, both bisexual, who fall in love with each other. When it was aired in Mexico in 2009 and 2010, some sex scenes inflamed reactions there, forcing the show's producer Carla Estrada to respond to critics. But that was it.
The characters Ulisses (Julián Gil) and Roberto (Marcelo Córdoba), in “Sortilegio”. Image by YouTube/Reproduction
In Brazil, SBT has “adapted” the story in order for it to be aired during the day. But the TV station didn't just cut out the sex scenes — it also transformed the romantic relationship between Ulisses (Julián Gil) and Roberto (Marcelo Córdoba) into a run-of-the-mill friendship between two straight men.
Scenes where the characters look at each other lovingly were cut out; dialogue that includes one of them speaking about his interest in the other were dubbed with the name of an invented female character who never shows up; every trace of intimacy between the two men was completely deleted from the show.
According to Brazilian news portal UOL, in September – before the soup opera even went to air — the Public Prosecutor's Office had already received a couple of complaints denouncing its “improper” content and “extreme scenes of sex and violence” by people already familiar with the Mexican version.
When asked by newspapers, such as O Globo, about the changed plot and dialogues, SBT only said “no sex scenes go on air at this time of the day”, referring to the 4 p.m. hour when the novela is aired.
The curious thing is that SBT is also the channel that aired the first gay kiss on Brazilian TV. That was in 2011, in a telenovela called “Amor e Revolução” (Love and Revolution) set during Brazil's military dictatorship. Two women who were guerrilla fighters exchanged a smooth, quick kiss.
Also, earlier this year a massive social media campaign pressured TV Globo, Brazil's main TV network, into showing in the last chapter of one of its telenovelas a kiss between two gay male characters.
What TV tells us you about gay love
The first gay kiss on Brazilian Tv was aired by SBT channel in 2011. (Photo: YouTube/Reproduction)
As Bruno Bimbi, an Argentinian journalist and LGBT activist, wrote in his blog Tod@s:
La mayoría de las novelas mexicanas con personajes gays […] los presentan totalmente estereotipados y ridículos —amanerados, que se dedican a cortar cabello en peluquerías, estrafalarios en el vestir, asexuados, sin pareja ni perspectivas de tener sexo o amor, jamás dando un beso, jamás en la cama.
Gay characters in Mexican telenovelas are mostly presented as “stereotyped and ridiculous – full of mannerisms, dedicated to working in beauty parlors, with extravagant ways of dressing, asexual, with no love interests or perspectives of having neither sex nor love, never kissing, never in bed.
That is also true of most Brazilian TV, as well. With only a few exceptions, gay characters are added to the storyline as a comic relief.
With “Sortilégio”, the problem goes even further, as the original story pushes conservative moralism. After living a homosexual relationship with his best friend, party-goer Roberto, who was previously married, regrets his life of “excesses” and goes back to his wife and kids. The gay romance was, bottom line, just an element of the character's “redemption” story arc.
Bimbi also questions the “influence” gay characters may have on the audiences:
Parece que no se dieran cuenta que nosotros, gays y lesbianas, también vimos todo eso por televisión, en el cine, en la calle, en el barrio, en la escuela. Parejas de chico y chica por todos lados. Besos de chico y chica por todo lados. Historias de chico y chica por todos lados. Personajes de príncipe y princesa en cada cuento infantil. Romance y sexo entre chico y chica en cada serie, cada película, cada cuento, cada novela. Erotismo y sexo heterosexual por todas partes. Y no por eso nos transformamos mágicamente en heterosexuales, porque la sexualidad humana no funciona así, por imitación. No se contagia. No se elige. No se cambia.
It seems they haven’t noticed that we, gays and lesbians, have also seen all of this [heterosexual relationships] on television, in the movies, in the streets, at school. Boy-girl couples everywhere. Boy-girl kissing everywhere. Boy-meets-girl stories everywhere. Prince and princess characters in every single child story. Romance and sex between boy and girl in every TV show, every movie, every story, every telenovela. Erotism and heterosexual sex everywhere. And this did not transform us magically into heterosexuals, because human sexuality doesn’t work like that, by imitation. It isn’t contagious. You cannot choose it. You cannot change it.
The Brazilian government takes a stand
The controversy also motivated the Ministry of Justice’s official page on Facebook to publish a post on the issue. Using a photo from the movie “Brokeback Mountain” (2005), with the characters Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal), the office stated:
Post from Ministry of Justice's page. The caption reads: “Did you know that sex and affection scenes between same sex people or people from different sexes are all rated the same way by the Ministry of Justice?”. (Photo: Facebook/Reproduction)
O beijo é Livre (ainda bem, né?). Para a Classificação Indicativa do MJ, é indiferente se o beijo é entre pessoas do mesmo sexo ou não. A nudez não erótica também pode ser considerada Livre.
Conteúdos mais erotizados – nudez velada, insinuação sexual e carícias sexuais, como preliminares ao ato sexual – podem ser “não recomendado para menores de 12 anos”. Nesse caso, também não faz diferença para a #ClassificaçãoIndicativa se as cenas são protagonizadas por pessoas do mesmo sexo.
Kissing is “censor free” (thank goodness, right?). To the Indicative Classification of the Ministry of Justice, it is indifferent whether the kiss is between people of the same sex or not. Non-erotic nudity can also be considered “censor free”.
More erotic contents – veiled nudity, sexual insinuation and sexual caresses, like foreplay to the sexual act – may be considered “not recommended to people under 12 years old”. In this case, it also does not matter to the #IndicativeClassification if the scenes are acted out by people of the same sex.
The post attracted some homophobic reactions and criticism of Brazilian President Dilma Roussef’s government (a classic of Facebook's comments sections), but others celebrated the stand taken by the ministry. In spite of being a secular, Brazil has already missed many opportunities to advance debate on progressive laws – such as the decriminalization of abortion, marijuana or marriage equality – because of the pressure from conservative sectors of society and the members of congress elected by them.
Brazil is home to the largest Gay Pride Parade in the world, but also tops the list of reported number of murders of trans people. Brazilian TV might be taking a step back into the closet, but the Ministry of Justice's response could be a sign that some of us want it out again.

author: Fernanda Canofre


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Navalny Protest Rally Facebook Event Page Blocked in Russia · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Images mixed by Tetyana Lokot.
Just one day after supporters of Putin critic and opposition figure Alexey Navalny set up a Facebook event page for a protest rally in his support, the page has been blocked for users in Russia.
Over 12 thousand Facebook users signed up to the event in the first 24 hours, signifying their support for the cause and their intention to join the rally. But today users in Russia complained the page was not available to them. The page is still open to users outside of Russia, but some users who registered their profiles in Russia can't see it either.
The discussion on the event page and on social media quickly turned to means of getting around the block, such as Tor, Hola, and other tools, which seem to work as long as a non-Russian VPN connection is used. Users also filed complaints to Facebook about the block.
Что-то в Фейсбуке мероприятия, назначенные на 15.1.15, плохо работают. Отправил им жалобу. pic.twitter.com/XVqORzUHuj
— Nikita Kulachenkov (@nekulachenkov) December 20, 2014
It seems like events planned for January 15, 2015 don't work so well on Facebook. Filed a complaint.
VKontakte, where activists created a similar group to organize for the rally, is also blocking the page for Russian users, but provides an explanation.
А так теперь выглядит группа во ВК. Безусловно, это приведёт к тому, что все забудут где в Москве Манежная площадь. pic.twitter.com/O5Y0j20mWn
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) December 20, 2014
And this is what the VK group looks like. Of course this means everyone will forget where the Manezhnaya square is in Moscow. [screenshot text: This page is blocked at the request of the Russian Federation Prosecutor's office №27-27-2014 from 20 December 2014.]
Russian telecom watchdog Roscomnadzor told TV Rain the page was blocked at the request of the Prosecutor's office, because it violated a law forbidding to publish calls to participate in events that were not sanctioned by Russian authorities.
Navalny supporters quickly set up an alternative Facebook event page for the rally, which already counts over 4,000 RSVPs from users.
The protest rally is planned for January 15, 2015, when a Moscow court is expected to pronounce the verdict for Navalny and his brother, who have been accused of defrauding a French cosmetics company.
RuNet Echo has reached out to Facebook for comment, and a Facebook representative has said they are “looking into” the matter. We'll update the story when we have more details from them.

author: Tanya Lokot


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Harrowing Tohoku Tsunami Stories, Translated Into English · Global Voices
Nevin Thompson

Image courtesy Kahoku Shimpo
In an effort to spread awareness of the deadly March 11, 2011 “triple disaster” in Tohoku, Japan, and to help people around the world better prepare for such events in the future, a major newspaper in Tohoku is publishing English translations of its coverage.
The project is a collaboration between the Kahoku Shimpo paper and student volunteers and faculty at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Kahoku Shimpo is edited by Hideya Terashima, a TEDx presenter, and is headquartered in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Located on the Pacific coast several hundred kilometers north of Tokyo, Sendai is one of the largest cities in northeastern Tohoku region of Japan. The city was hit by both the massive earthquake on March 11, 2011, and the resulting giant tsunami.
Reporters from Kahoku Shimpo not only recorded the aftermath of that tragic day; they also suffered from the effects of the disaster.
Image: Kahoku Shimbun
Working with Harvard faculty and students, Kahoku Shimpo will translate 38 articles from the paper's “Wagakoto” series. The first installments were published on December 11, 2014, and provide a unique first-hand account in English of what happened immediately following the earthquake and tsunami:
Ogatsu Hospital was a small public hospital that stood at an inlet next to the Pacific Ocean in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture. Most patients at the hospital were elderly local residents.
On March 11, 2011, the hospital was hit by a tsunami that rose above the roof of the building, 10 meters high. All 40 of the hospitalized patients, and 24 of the 30 staff members at the hospital, became victims of the tsunami.
That day, hospital administrative staff Yoshikatsu Endo (47) managed to carry one patient to the roof with his coworkers, before being engulfed by the tsunami.
“Many died, but I was saved. It’s painful to think they might say to me, ‘Why did you abandon us?’”
From Prologue/ Preserve Lives and Communities
So far the translated ininstallmentsnclude:
More installments will be translated and published in the weeks and months ahead.
“From the moment the disaster struck on March 11, 2011, the reporters and editors and all the staff of Kahoku Shimpo have worked tirelessly to document this tragedy and also to provide resources for remembering the disaster and transmitting its lessons for posterity,” says Andrew Gordon, a Lee and Juliet Folger Fund professor of history at Harvard.
“Beginning soon after the disaster, colleagues, staff and students at Harvard University’s Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies began to work with many other organizations to create a resource for preserving and making accessible for now and for the future the digital record of this tragic disaster and its aftermath.”
In the months and years since the disaster, Gordon says, students and faculty at Harvard have forged a strong partnership with Kahoku Shimpo to make available in English translation the moving stories of people’s experience during the 3.11 disaster.

author: Nevin Thompson


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Learn Something Surprising About Africa, Courtesy of ‘Africa Facts Zone’  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Professional wresting known as Laamb in Senegal is more popular than football. Photo released under Creative Commons by Wikipedia user Pierre-Yves Beaudouin.
Did you know that Rwanda has the highest proportion of women in parliament? Or that the lyrics of Nigeria's national anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots”, are a mix of words taken from the five best entries in a national contest? The countries that make up the continent of Africa are much more than the doom and gloom portrayed in western media, but many of these facts don't receive any coverage.
17-year-old Nigerian student Isima Odeh (@IsimaOdeh) plans to change that through Africa Facts Zone, a facts brand designed to give people refreshing tidbits about Africa and Africans. He created Africa Facts Zone in 2013, and it has over 55,000 followers on Twitter and over 124 likes on Facebook page.
During a brief email conversation, Odeh told Global Voices that he came up with the idea in 2013 when he decided to use some of the time he spends on the Internet to tell people about his beautiful continent. He gets his facts from newspapers, history books, news from reliable websites, and watching the news. Something he says he did not know before he started his initiative is that Africa has the lowest divorce rate in the world.
Isima Odeh, the founder of Africa Fact Zone. Photo used with his permission.
Below is some of the information that Africa Facts Zone has shared with its followers so far.
Ghana's expat king
King Togbe Ngoryifia Céphas Kosi Bansah of Hohoe, Ghana governs his kingdom via Skype & phone calls from Germany.
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) December 1, 2014
King Bansah decided to settle in Germany after he went there as an exchange student in 1970.
Ancient Egyptian dentistry
The world's first known Dentist was from Ancient Egypt, his name was Hesi-Re.
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) November 29, 2014
Hesy-Ra was an official physician and scribe who lived during the Third dynasty of Egypt. He bore titles such as “Chief of Dentists and Physicians”.
Andry Rajoelina, ex President of Madagascar used to be a Club DJ.
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) November 24, 2014
Andry Rajoelina began working as a disc jockey when he was in high school to earn pocket money.
Marco Polo's poor navigation
The country of Madagascar got its name when Marco Polo mistakenly thought he was in Mogadishu, Somalia.
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) November 24, 2014
The name Madagascar was first recorded in the memoirs of 13th-century Venetian explorer Marco Polo as a corrupted transliteration of the name Mogadishu, the Somali port with which Polo had confused the island.
Africa has the most Heads of State that have died in office in the 21st century.
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) December 3, 2014
10 African leaders died in office between 2008 and 2012 compared to only three in the rest of the world.
Uganda's large endowment
In 2014, Members of Parliament in Uganda complained that regular condoms are too small for Ugandan men.
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) December 7, 2014
A Ugandan member of parliament, Tom Aza, said this year that Uganda's Parliamentary Committee for HIV/AIDS's tour of areas worst hit by the virus revealed that some men have bigger sexual organs and therefore should be considered for bigger condoms.
Africa's first satellite
In 2011, Nigeria launched NigeriaSat-X, the first satellite to be designed and built by Africans, into orbit.
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) December 2, 2014
Nigeria launched into orbit the first satellite to be designed and built by Africans, NigeriaSat-X, in August 2011.
Nigeria's towering bottle tree
The world's largest bottle tree is in Lagos State, Nigeria. It was made with 8,000 bottles. pic.twitter.com/l2QOF5r5mD
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) December 13, 2014
The world's tallest bottle tree, built by Nigeria's indigenous beer Star Larger, symbolises greatness and the enterprising Nigerian spirit. The tree aims to break the World Record of 1,000 beer bottles being held by the Chinese city of Shanghai.
The brave men and women fighting Ebola
Ebola health workers (Sierra Leonean, Nigerian, Guinean, Liberian, Cuban, WHO health workers etc.) are the 2014 TIME Person(s) of the Year.
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) December 11, 2014
Time magazine editor Nancy Gibbs explains why the Ebola Fighters are TIME magazine's choice for Person of the Year 2014.
Egg-cellent water storage
Khoisan hunters use ostrich eggs buried in the ground to store water while they are on hunting paths.
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) December 9, 2014
The Khoisan or San people are known for burying sealed ostrich eggs filled with water during the wet season and recovering them during the dry season.
Miriam Makeba's return home
Miriam Makeba returned to South Africa on June 10,1990 for the time since being banned in 1963 by the apartheid govt, on her French passport
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) November 23, 2014
Miriam Makeba was a Grammy Award-winning South African singer and civil rights activist. Because of her anti-apartheid work, the South African apartheid government revoked her passport in 1960 and her citizenship and right of return in 1963. She received nine passports and honorary citizenship in 10 countries.
Senegal loves wrestling
Professional wrestling is more popular than football in Senegal.
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) November 22, 2014
Senegalese professional wrestling, known as Laamb, has become a national sport.
Egyptian football rivalries
The biggest football club rivalry in Africa is between two Egyptian clubs (Al-Ahly and Zamalek).
— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) November 29, 2014
The Cairo Derby involving Al Ahly and Zamalek is most violent and fiercest football rivalry in Africa.
On October 7, 2014, Somalia got its first ATM.
Salaam Somali bank installed first ATM in Mogadishu, Somalia this year.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Pakistanis Say #ReclaimYourMosques From Radicalism in Rare, Bold Protests · Global Voices
Rezwan

Students of Army Public School, members of Civil Society, Pak Army staffs and large numbers of citizens held a candle light vigil to mourn the innocent victims. Image by PPIImages. Copyright Demotix (19/12/2014)
Two days after the horrific Taliban attack on a military-run school in Peshawar, killed more than hundred and thirty students, controversial Islamabad-based cleric Abdul Aziz refused to condemn the massacre, sparking rare protests against radicalism in the country.
Abdul Aziz also said that use of force against the Taliban is not a “wise option”. Aziz is the chief cleric at Lal Mosque, one of the biggest in the capital. The mosque and its attached seminary have a reputation for radicalism and was the scene of a massive 10-day military crackdown in 2007, which left more than a hundred dead, many of whom were radical seminary students. Aziz's brother was the chief back then, and was killed in the operation. Abdul Aziz tried to flee the mosque in a burka, but was caught. He was released on bail two years later. And has since reopened the mosque and become the chief cleric.
On December 18, a large number of activists, politicians and students arrived at the Lal Masjid chanting slogans against Abdul Aziz. They wrote names of the students killed in Peshawar on a board and started an impromptu vigil.
#ReclaimYourMosques protest in front of #LalMasjid #Islamabad. Civil society for the first time have come forward… http://t.co/dtUfLbm7pV
— S. Oon Haider Zaidi (@OonHaider) December 18, 2014
The protest was organised by Jibran Nasir, an independent politician, lawyer and human rights activist from Karachi. He said:
I came to Islamabad for a conference, but then the Peshawar tragedy struck and everything changed. The next day, Lal Masjid cleric issued a statement that I couldn’t stomach and I decided that rather than going back to Karachi, we should protest. We want to reclaim our mosques, our communities, our cities, indeed our entire country from the extremists. We can no longer allow anyone to stand on at a pulpit and preach hatred. We will no longer stand by and watch people like Abdul Aziz use the name of our Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and our religion to perpetuate violence. I call upon the people of Islamabad to come out of their homes and reclaim their city.
The administration of Lal mosque filed a First Information report (FIR) against the participants of the protest. Police in riot gear arrived on the scene and asked protesters to disperse.
Faisal Sabzwari from the political party MQM tweeted:
See…purana, Naya ya gaya #Pakistan? FIR is lodged against Civil Society 4 protesting against Lal Masjid Cleric.
— Faisal Subzwari (@faisalsubzwari) December 18, 2014
Nasir and the protesters held their ground and said they will hold the vigil for the next week in front of the Lal Mosque, and there after every Tuesday night.
Suddenly, the spontaneous protests that began on Thursday quickly spread across the country as a wider movement against Taliban apologists and extremists everywhere. There were protests after Friday prayers in several cities to condemn Lal Mosque's cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz's statement. A petition in Change.org to put Abdul Aziz on trial for treason and terrorism has more than 4000 supporters.
On December 19, an FIR (First Information Report) was lodged against Abdul Aziz at a police station and this Facebook video caught the moment.
If in tomorrow's jummah sermon your Imam wont condemn Peshawar Attack then stand up and ask him to. #ReclaimYourMosques
— Quaid Ahmed (@Quaidism) December 18, 2014
What an awesome initiative by @MJibranNasir & @marvisirmed – Fight back against militant & hatemonger clerics to #ReclaimYourMosques!
— Luqman (@luqman255) December 18, 2014
It's litmus paper test of #Mullahs they're with us or Taliban?If they DONT condemn Talibanism in sermons,lets protest & #ReclaimYourMosques
— LiberalVoicePakistan (@LiberalKR) December 19, 2014
A protester on the Facebook page #ReclaimYourMosques – We Demand Action on FIR #LalMasjid wrote:
The foundation is laid. Think over, either are u going to be a silent spectator or would do ur part. If 141 children didn't shook u off ur slumber then be sure u are an apologist of the likes of #AbdulAziz.
Huge Crowd At Karachi Press Club Demanding and Chanting #ArrestAbdulAziz pic.twitter.com/t9hhXcdeBO
— Syed Ayaz Ali (@ayazali77) December 21, 2014
Hyderabad has been completely shut down in the protest against Abdul Aziz who threatened Altaf Hussain. #ArrestAbdulAziz
— Namaloom Engineer (@Rectified_Guy) December 21, 2014
Solicitor of ISIS in Pakistan, Closest Ally of Taliban, Devil's Advocate – Abdul Aziz of Lal Mosque #ArrestAbdulAziz pic.twitter.com/suFJTRRkjI
— Syed FaiXan Jawaid (@Syedfaixan) December 21, 2014
Lal Masjid & Burka Maulana are a national shame. Both must be brought to justice to restore sovereignty of the nation. #ArrestAbdulAziz
— Hasan Tasleem (@Ha5an_) December 21, 2014
We Are Loud And Clear #ArrestAbdulAziz pic.twitter.com/cL07aNxET1
— Syed Ayaz Ali (@ayazali77) December 21, 2014
Under pressure Maulana Aziz apologised on Sunday for not condemning the killing of children. A reader replied to the article at the Tribune.com:
Sorry too little too late, shame on him that he actually had to think so hard to apologize and only after all the pressure …… He lacks total decency and morals …..innocent kids died and he had to think about it. Shame on him and shame on us for listening to him, he needs to be behind bars permanently along with all his buddies.

author: Rezwan


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Tunisians Head to Polls to Elect a New President · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

Voters stand in line to cast their votes. Photo shared by Tunisia Live on Twitter
Tunisians are once again heading to polls today to elect a new president, in the second round of the presidential election.
Outgoing interim president Moncef Marzouki faces 88-year-old political veteran Beji Caid Essebsi from Nida Tounes.
During the first round of the presidential race, Essebsi obtained 39 per cent of the votes while Mazouki came second with 33 per cent of the votes.
Essebsi's party secured a plurality during the parliamentary elections on October 26, winning 86 out of the total 217 seats. The Islamist Ennahdha movement, which won the 2011 election, obtained 69 seats.
Though his party did not do well in the legislative poll only winning four seats, Marzouki is backed by Ennahdha supporters. This is despite a decision by Ennahdha, which did not present a candidate to the presidency, not to support any of the final contenders.
‘Historic’ poll
The 21 December run-off will put an end to a four-year democratic transition that started after the ousting of former President Zine el-Abidin Ben Ali on January 14, 2011.
On Twitter, netizens are sharing their hopes for a better tomorrow for Tunisia.
4 days after 4 yr anniversary of the start of the Arab Spring, #Tunisia votes Sunday. A bright spot of democratic growth in a field of weeds
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) December 19, 2014
The powers of the upcoming president are restricted by the 2014 constitution. However, today's polls are considered ‘historic’ because this is the first time that Tunisians are able to freely elect their President.
a good news to start the day: #Tunisia is choosing its president today,which is historical in itself,regardless of who's gonna win #Tunprez
— dona (@donatelladr) December 21, 2014
Tomorrow is elections day and nobody can tell who's going to be #Tunisia next president. That, in itself, is historical. #TnPrez
— Nessryne J (@sasoukee) December 20, 2014
Whoever wins will be first freely elected President in the history of #Tunisia & only democratically elected leader in the Arab world now
— Naveena Kottoor (@NaveenaKottoor) December 21, 2014
The contenders
Beji Caid Essebsi occupied various ministerial posts under the country's autocratic post-independence president Habib Bourguiba, including the despised Interior Ministry from 1965 to 1969. Essebsi also served as the head of the chamber of deputies between 1990 to 1991 under the rule of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.
After the 2011 revolution, he was appointed as an interim prime minister before leaving office after the constituent assembly election of 2011. Essebsi's opponents criticize him for his old age and his association with the previous autocratic regimes of Bourguiba and Ben Ali. His party Nidaa Tounes includes in its leadership members of the former regime.
Aged 69, Moncef Marzouki was a human rights activist and a political opponent to the regime of Zine el Abidin Ben Ali. He served as the head of the Tunisian League for Human Rights between 1989 and 1984. In 2001, he founded the center-left Congress for the Republic party (CPR), before it was banned a year later and Marzouki went into exile in France.
Marzouki became president in December 2011 after his party came second in the Constituent Assembly election and entered into a three-party coalition government with the Islamist Ennahdha Movement, which won a plurality in the 2011 election.
Marzouki's critics blame him and the performance of his ruling partners for the erosion in living standards, the rise of militant insurgency against Tunisian troops and police and two political assassinations that claimed the lives of secular politician Chokri Belaid and constituent assembly member Mohamed Brahmi.
On December 19, Essebsi said:
الباجي قائد السبسي :على الناخبين يوم 21 ان يعلموا بأنهم يصوتون ضد من يحاولون احياء الترويكا من جديد #BCE #MFM #Tnelec #TnPrez
— Beji Caid Essebsi (@BejiCEOfficial) December 19, 2014
Beji Caid Essebsi: on December 21, voters need to realize that they will be voting against those seeking to revive Troika [the three-party coalition that served between late 2011 and early 2014]
During his campaign, Marzouki evoked his record of a human rights activist and slammed his opponent for serving under the previous regime.
أساليب العهد البائد يجب ان ترحل #TnPrez #Marzouki2014 #تونس_تنتصر
— محمد المنصف المرزوقي (@Moncef_Marzouki) December 14, 2014
The methods of the previous regime need to leave
He further presented himself as the ‘guarantor of freedoms':
سأكون ضامناً للحريات ولترسيخ الديمقراطية ومسار التاريخ لا يعود أبداً إلى الوراء #باجة #Marzouki2014 #TnPrez #تونس_تنتصر
— محمد المنصف المرزوقي (@Moncef_Marzouki) December 12, 2014
I will be the guarantor of freedoms and of democracy, and the path of history never returns back
But Essebsi also pledges to guarantee freedoms.
قائد السبسي :سأكون الضامن للحريات فنحن ننظر للمستقبل وليس للماضي كما يفعل منافسونا #BCE #Tnelec #TnPrez
— Beji Caid Essebsi (@BejiCEOfficial) December 13, 2014
Caid Essebsi: I will be the guarantor of freedoms. Unlike our opponents, we look to the future and not the past
Reports of low turnout
As voters continue to flock to polling stations which opened at 8am and close at 6pm local time, there have been reports of low turnout.
As of 10 am local time in Tunisia, election authorities have recorded a 14% turnout in the presidential runoff vote.
— Tamer El-Ghobashy (@TamerELG) December 21, 2014
Wafa Ben Hassine tweeted a picture of an empty polling station in Mahdia (central-eastern Tunisia).
Voting center in Melloulech, Mahdia is so empty :( #TnPrez #Tunisia pic.twitter.com/NsVbV1rsM5
— Wafé Ben Hassine (@ousfourita) December 21, 2014
She added in another tweet:
“There were more people voting in the first presidential elections, and more still in the legislative” voter in Mahdia #TnPrez #Tunisia
— Wafé Ben Hassine (@ousfourita) December 21, 2014
Saran Aissi tweeted:
À 9h, j'ai été le 6ème électeur du bureau de vote, les agents s'amusent à faire le décompte tellement il y a peu de participation #TnPrez
— Sarhan Aissi (@SarhanTN) December 21, 2014
At 9am, I was the 6th voter in my polling bureau. There are so very few voters that the officers are having fun at counting them
According to the electoral commission, the turnout inside the country reached 36.8 per cent as of 2:30pm.

author: Afef Abrougui


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Democratic Republic of Congo’s Dr. Mukwege: ‘How Can One Stay Silent’ in the Face of Sexual Violence? · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Dr. Mukwege poster on fighting sexual violence in DR of Congo
It's about time that Dr. Denis Mukwege is recognized for this work. Mukwenge's 15 year-long activism in favor of victims of sexual violence by armed factions in the Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo was recently awarded with several prizes.
Already the recipient of the 2013 Chirac Foundation Award for conflict prevention, he also received the 2014 Sakharov Award on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Here is the video of his speech at the award ceremony in Strasburg, France:
During his acceptance speech, many members of the European parliament could not help but shed a few tears. Here are highlights from the speech as transcribed by the Congolese blog Kamoto centre:
Comme tout être humain, je voudrais tant ne plus évoquer ces crimes odieux dont mes
semblables sont victimes. Mais comment me taire quand, depuis plus de quinze ans, nous voyons ce que même un œil de chirurgien ne peut pas s’habituer à voir ? Comment me taire quand nous savons que ces crimes contre l’humanité sont planifiés avec un mobile bassement économique ? Chaque femme violée, je l’identifie à ma femme ; chaque mère violée à ma mère et chaque enfant violé à mes enfants.Comment pouvons-nous nous taire ?
Quel est cet être humain doué de conscience qui se tairait quand on lui emmène un bébé de six mois dont le vagin a été détruit soit par la pénétration brutale ?
Like any human being, my dearest wish would be to not have to talk about these heinous crimes, of which my people are victims, anymore. But how can one stay silent when, for over 15 years, I have seen things that even a surgeon cannot get used to seeing? How can one stay silent when we know that these crimes against humanity are driven by a crass economic agenda?  Each woman raped, I identify with my wife; each mother raped I see as my mother, and each child violated as my own kids. How can we stay silent?
How can a human being endowed with a conscience be silent when he sees that a 6-month-old's vagina was destroyed by brutal penetration?
Doctor Mukwege at Panzi hopsital in DR of Congo
Dr. Mukwege's main activity with victims of sexual violence is based at Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, the main city in the Kivu region. On average, Panzi Hospital admits 410 patients per month with 200 beds devoted to sexual violence survivors.  One of the staff at Panzi, Prince Muhrula,  describes that at Panzi hospital, women can again live and enjoy a normal life since their dignity were restored :
Les survivantes des violences sexuelles prises en charge à Panzi se réjouissent de l’attention portée sur elles par le Parlement européen à travers le Dr Denis Mukwege. Après la remise du Prix Sakharov au médecin-directeur de Panzi, celles-ci ont jubilé dans la cour de l’hôpital pour exprimer leur soutien au médecin. Pour ces femmes, il s’agit d’un grand réconfort : “ça prouve qu’on est pas oubliées, que le reste du monde ne ferme pas les yeux sur notre sort” a déclaré une survivante en poussant des cris de joie. Au son des tamtams et de chants de joie improvisés, ces femmes ont loué l’œuvre du Dr Mukwege qui ne se limite pas à soigner les blessures mais s’emploie aussi à faire valoir la cause de la femme pour que celle-ci recouvre sa dignité.
Survivors of sexual violence at Panzi Hospital welcome the care provided by the center. After the Sakharov Prize, many women were celebrating in the hospital courtyard to express their support to the physician:
“It proves that we are not forgotten, that the world does not condone what was done to us,” said a survivor. With the sound of tom-toms and improvised songs of joy, the women praised the work of the hospital that goes beyond healing wounds but also seeks to assert the cause of women's dignity.
Here is the trailer of a documentary on Mukwenge's work in the Kivu region:
His work is not approved by everyone in the region, though. The armed factions have threatened him on several occasions. On October 25, 2012, he was attacked at his home, and his housekeeper died during the assault. In June 2013, a nurse from his hospital was attacked. Here are the details from the Panzi hospital Facebook page :
Madame Furaha Lugumire, infirmière à l'Hôpital Général de Référence de Panzi à Bukavu a été retrouvée la nuit du 21 au 22 Juin 2013 à minuit 3 minutes, immobilisée sur un mur d'une maison à côté de la Cité de la joie (City of Joy), toujours à Panzi. Selon l'un des policiers chargés de l'enquête, la victime a été retrouvée mains menottées derrière, elle respirait mais ne parlait pas. Il affirme qu'à côté de la victime on a retrouvé un sachet contenant de l'alcool. Madame Furaha Lugumire est présentement admise à l'hôpital de Panzi, elle est en train d'être examinée par divers médecins spécialistes de cette institution hospitalière.
Mrs. Furaha Lugumire, a nurse at Panzi General Hospital in Bukavu, was found on the night of June 21/ 22, 2013 immobilized near a wall of a house next to the City of Joy at Panzi. According to one of the police officers involved in the investigation, the victim was found handcuffed, she was breathing but was not able to speak. He says that a bag containing alcohol was found beside the victim. Mrs. Furaha Lugumire is currently admitted at the Panzi Hospital and is being examined by various specialists of the hospital.
On Cafe Babel, a Francophone community blog, Clara Fajardo Trigueros explains why the Kivu region is such a source of economic and political tension:
La colombite-tantalite ou coltan est une des clefs qui expliquent ce qu'est aujourd'hui l'enfer du Congo, car le pays compte 80% de la réserve mondiale de cette ressource minière. Mais cela pourrait aussi être son salut. Un minerai qui n'était en d'autres temps qu'une curiosité géologique est devenue une pièce fondamentale de nos dispositifs technologiques.
Coltan is one of the keys that explain why Congo is such a tough place today. The country has 80 percent of the world's reserves for this mineral resource. But it could also be its salvation. A mineral that was in other times a geological curiosity has become a fundamental part of our technological devices.
Many Internet users would like to see Mukwege's work awarded with a Nobel Prize. A Facebook page, “We want a Nobel Peace Prize for Dr Denis Mukwege“, was created to that effect.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Facebook and Twitter ‘Won’t Block’ Navalny in Russia, As Kremlin Continues to Block Protest Mentions · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Russians joke that Roscomnadzor has even blocked the Manezhnaya square, site of January 15 protest, on Yandex Maps. Images edited by Tetyana Lokot.
As Russian telecommunications regulators and law enforcement continue to play whack-a-mole online, in an attempt to block any mention of the January 15 protest in support of Alexey Navalny, it appears Facebook and Twitter have decided not to block any more pro-Navalny pages.
A TV Rain report, citing multiple sources, says Facebook has decided not to block any further protest content or pages, after the initial January 15 event page was blocked for Russian users. Twitter, TV Rain sources say, has also decided it will continue sending notifications to users whose content has been flagged by Roscomnadzor, but will not sanction the users in any way. Both platforms understand that such behavior could lead to Facebook and Twitter being fully blocked in Russia, TV Rain reports.
The initial Facebook event page for the January 15 protest is still unavailable to users inside Russia and others whose profiles are recognized as Russian. The new Facebook page, set up shortly after the blocking occurred, already has over 25 thousand users who signed up to participate.
A similar event page on VKontakte also remains blocked, and Nikolay Durov, the brother of VK founder Pavel Durov, said Roscomnadzor had sent 53 takedown requests to VK over a period of just 5 hours on December 21, targeting any groups and pages mentioning the word “Navalny.”
This is what the initial Navalny protest event page looks like to a user from Russia. [Text: The content is currently unavailable. The page you requested cannot be viewed at the moment. It might be temporarily unavailable, the link may have expired or you may not have permission to view this page.] Image courtesy of Sergey Kozlovsky.
The Russian Internet blacklist is also filling up with protest-related links, as ISPs are asked to block any content that relates to January 15.
Russian police are busy busy adding to the RuNet blacklist various websites with info about the Jan 15 Navalny rally. pic.twitter.com/JWUGwZ9yMb
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) December 22, 2014
Some ISPs have quickly complied with Roscomnadzor requests, and are diligently blocking LiveJournal posts about the protest, although some have gone as far as to block the entirety of LiveJournal blogs.
Какой Билайн молодец. Старается, чтобы я не узнал от Волкова, куда нужно идти 15 января pic.twitter.com/djVXwf2sdK
— Илья Страйкóв (@straykov) December 21, 2014
Beeline are so good. Doing everything so that I don't find out from Volkov where to go on January 15. [Text in screenshot: The resource at this IP-address has been blocked by the decision of state bodies.]
Заблокирован сегодняшний пост http://t.co/Jm55PxE6G7 – у некоторых провайдеров недоступен только он, у некоторых – весь журнал
— Leonid Volkov (@leonidvolkov) December 21, 2014
Today's post has been blocked—some providers are blocking the post only, and others block my journal as a whole.
While Twitter has been sending notifications about protest-related content to users at the request of Roscomnadzor, RuNet veterans are quick to remind everyone how to easily circumvent Twitter geo-blocking:
Спокойно, Твиттер НЕ закрывает аккаунты целиком. Поставьте все в настройках другую страну и Роскомнадзор вам будет по колено.Я вот из Уганды
— Roman Dobrokhotov (@Dobrokhotov) December 21, 2014
Calm down, Twitter is not closing accounts altogether. Change your country in your settings and Roscomnadzor won't be a problem. See, I'm from Uganda now.
Some users, like Meduza's Sultan Suleymanov, echo Facebook and Twitter's concerns, and say RuNet users should be prepared for complete blocking of platforms like Twitter and Facebook, since the anti-protest law allows for that. Instructions on getting around the blocking of whole platforms are spreading around RuNet like wildfire.
As we get closer to January 15, the pressure on RuNet users and social media platforms will likely increase. But many commentators believe the censorship is unlikely to defer protesters from coming out in Manezhnaya square in Moscow and in other Russian cities. Instead, it might spur even greater participation.


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Hate Crimes on LGBTI People in Macedonia Spark ‘Body Bag’ Protests · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Activists in front of the office of Public Prosecutor in Skopje, Macedonia. Photo by V. Dzambaski, CC BY-NC-SA.
Human rights activists have held three demonstrations this month in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, protesting the authorities’ failure to respond to several hate crimes in recent years. Macedonia has witnessed six violent attacks on human rights defenders and members of the LGBTI community in the last two years. Police have prosecuted no one for these crimes.
Despite some international support for the victims of these assaults, Macedonian officials and the local mainstream media have yet to take the matter seriously.
While these attacks cause consternation at home, the wave of violence also complicates Macedonia's road to integration in the European Union, where member states are expected to combat hate speech.
The European Commission's 2014 Progress Report for Macedonia, published on October 8, criticized the impunity with which people commit hate crimes in Macedonia, particularly against the LGBTI community. The report also cited a lack of public information about the laws Macedonian state institutions are supposed to enforce.
As regards the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons, the violent incidents against the LGBTI Support Centre have not been repeated. Nevertheless, the perpetrators of these incidents are yet to be prosecuted. Considerable efforts are needed to increase awareness of and respect for diversity within society, and to counteract the intolerance perpetuated through the media and social networks. Data on the reporting, investigation and prosecution of hate speech and hate crime is not collected systematically and training of law enforcement, prosecutors and judges needs to be stepped up. The Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination still needs to be aligned with the EU acquis as it does not prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
On October 23, two weeks after the publication of the EC Report, a group of masked hooligans assaulted a celebration organized by the LGBTI Support Center in Skopje's Old Town, wrecking a cafe and beating up the people gathered to celebrate. The LGBTI Support Center later demanded that the government publicly condemn the violence and punish those responsible, and representatives from the United States and several European nations are calling on Macedonian officials to pursue the case. The human rights groups Frontline Defenders and Amnesty International have also expressed support for the LGBTI Support Center.
On October 26, after Macedonia's biggest opposition party condemned the assault, the country's ruling party also publicly called on the state (which it currently controls) to bring the attackers to justice. The EU Delegation to Macedonia condemned the violence and even visited LGBTI Support Center's office in Skopje as a show of support.
It's been almost two months since the last violent attack on LGBTI community, but the authorities keep numb about the results of the investigation. On November 6, human rights activists held a protest in front of the public prosecutor's offices, demanding greater accountability. Several dozen protesters blocked the entrance to the office building, with banners in Macedonian and Albanian, asking “The investigation is pending… until when?!”
Human rights activists block Public Prosecutors’ Office in Skopje. Photo by Vancho Dzhambaski. (CC BY-NC-SA)
Human rights activists holding a banner “The Investigation is pending… Until when?” in front of Public Prosecutors’ Office in Skopje on November 6, 2014. Photo by Vancho Dzhambaski (CC BY-NC-SA)
The authorities inside the building did not respond to protesters. After the demonstration, Nova TV journalists tracked down Marko Zvrlevski, Macedonia's chief public prosecutor. Zvrlevski told reporters that he was “not informed about how many attacks there were against LGBTI and when did they take place.”
The interview with Zvrlevski stands out as one of the few times that public officials went on the record about the LGBTI Support Center case. Most media outlets have ignored the story almost entirely.
To compensate for a lack of coverage in the traditional media, activists have tried to raise awareness about the case by demonstrating every week, each time escalating their acts of civil disobedience. On November 13, some demonstrators began lying down in front of prosecutors’ offices, wrapped in black sacks made to look like body bags. Attempts by unidentified persons to push the body-bag protesters out of the way have been unsuccessful.
On November 16, roughly 100 people marched through downtown Skopje seeking “tolerance, justice, liberty, and equality” as part of the annual March for Tolerance, also showing support to the LGBTI Support Center case.
March for Tolerance in Skopje, Macedonia on November 16, 2014. Photo: F. Stojanovski, CC-BY.
Activists stand in silent protest in front of the building of the Government of Republic of Macedonia in Skopje, November 16, 2014. Photo: F. Stojanovski, CC-BY.
On November 20, protesters gathered against in front of the prosecutors’ office. In an effort to shame officials into making some progress on the case, organizers played an audio recording from one of the attacks on the LGBTI activists. Another such protest took place on November 27.
On December 12, the Macedonian Helsinki Committee and the LGBTI Support Centre filed criminal charges for hate speech against two talk show hosts, whose shows often feature top Macedonian political figures as guests. Several media personalities and members of the government have responded with a homophobic smear campaign against their accusers, publishing articles like, “How the LGBT Minority Terrorizes the Majority.”

author: Filip Stojanovski


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#IAm26: Open Letter Inspires Malaysians to Speak Out Against Religious Intolerance · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Department Complex of Malaysia's Prime Minister. Flickr photo from pratanti (CC License)
Twenty-five former senior civil servants in Malaysia have signed an open letter urging the government to conduct a peaceful dialogue about the application of Islamic laws in the country. The letter received widespread support, especially from those who feel that religious intolerance is rising in Muslim-dominated Malaysia.
In recent years, powerful leaders inside Malaysia’s ruling coalition have successfully lobbied for the expanded and strict implementation of Islamic laws in the country. They also have mobilized state resources against perceived threats to Islam.
The letter raised several issues concerning what they think is the excessive and unfair application of Shariah law in many aspects of governance:
We refer specifically to the current situation where religious bodies seem to be asserting authority beyond their jurisdiction; where issuance of various fatwa violate the Federal Constitution and breach the democratic and consultative process of shura [decision-making]; where the rise of supremacist NGOs accusing dissenting voices of being anti-Islam, anti-monarchy and anti-Malay has made attempts at rational discussion and conflict resolution difficult; and more importantly, where the use of the Sedition Act hangs as a constant threat to silence anyone with a contrary opinion.
They asked Prime Minister Najib Razak “to assert his personal leadership” to “champion open and coherent debate and discourse on the administration of Islamic laws in this country.” They added:
As Muslims, we want Islamic law, even more than civil law, to meet the highest standards of justice precisely because it claims to reflect divine justice. Therefore, those who act in the name of Islam through the administration of Islamic law must bear the responsibility of demonstrating that justice is done, and is seen to be done.
The letter quickly became popular and it inspired other “moderate” voices to speak out against religious and racial discrimination. A total of 93 NGOs declared support for the 25 retired high-ranking civil servants. They were joined too by the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, which praised the group for drafting the letter.
The Twitter hashtag #KamiJuga25 (We are also 25) was used by many Malaysians to show solidarity to the “prominent 25”. A #KamiJuga25 petition was also circulated on Change.org:
We cannot and must not stand silently by and allow faith to be misused as a weapon to suppress peaceful dissent, intellectual discourse and opinions and to oppress those who would challenge and support contrarian positions. It is unjust and we should never tolerate the use of faith to divide us.
A more popular online petition used the hashtag “I am #26” in support of the stand taken by the group of 25 “by standing together in solidarity as #26.”
From ‘I Am 26′ To ‘#KamiJuga25‘, The Voice Of Moderation Is Roaring Louder: http://t.co/bfxhlEN99p #iam26 #moderation pic.twitter.com/gqUxuhZyNw
— Latest on SAYS (@saysdotcom) December 18, 2014
Justin Ong of online newspaper Malay Mail Online described the act of the group as brave and appropriate:
Brave because it comes at a time when anything and everything is considered seditious or insensitive, when people go out of their way to see offence where none is intended or, worse, exists.
Appropriate because there are sections of the country that appear intent on embracing ever more strict rules on religion for hardly pious reasons and without regard for the possible consequences.
Zurairi AR, also from Malay Mail Online, echoed the questions raised by some Malaysians to the group of 25:
Why now? Why not before Malaysia went down this route?
How much did they do when they were in the system? Were they speaking from a position of regret?
But he also recognized the importance and impact of their letter sent to the government:
Not only are they contributing by providing alternative views against the conservatives, but they are also making their views prominent by virtue of their standing.
When someone like the prominent 25 speak up, they send a message that not only are those views acceptable, but there are decent people backing them.
The open letter has sparked a discussion about the role of religion and governance in society. Hopefully, it will encourage the enactment of reforms in applying Islamic laws in Malaysia.