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Trinidad & Tobago: Intellectual Property Guideline · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Mark Lyndersay on yet another instance of copyright infringement: “If an image, or a video, or a story or any other intellectual property is still owned by its creator, whether or nor it's being actively exploited, the right to make use of that work remains with its creator until a license is negotiated for its use. If you don't do that, you're stealing people's work and it really doesn't matter how noble the cause that you espouse.”


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Why did RIM Blackberry choose Malaysia over Indonesia? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Instead of punishing the company and imposing more taxes, Unspun reminds Indonesia to review its investment policies as RIM Blackberry chose Malaysia over Indonesia in setting up its production base.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Bahamas: Convicted Child Molester May Walk  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It is shocking to me that a judge in this country can sentence a man to freedom after a jury has found him guilty of a violent crime”: Womanish Words is demanding jail time for a twice-convicted child rapist, saying: “This family, this child, deserves justice. Violent crime against women and children of the Bahamas carries on because we give impunity to offenders instead of justice to victims.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bhutan: Copyright And The Right To Translate  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Penstar raises questions about some news reports published in Dzongkha language newspapers. A number of those reports are translated from news sites like CNN, BBC or NDTV, but no credit to the source is usually given.

author: Rezwan


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Brazil: Floods Hit Santa Catarina State Again · Global Voices
Fernando Sapelli

Intense rains over the state of Santa Catarina in Brazil’s South Region have once again caused floods in several cities. Since September 8, 2011, floods, flash floods and landslides have hit 96 cities in the region and, according to mainstream news, nearly 1 million people have been affected.
In 2008, the State of Santa Catarina went through a similar tragedy, as reported by Global Voices. From then on, certain preventive measures were expected to be taken by the responsible authorities, but after three deaths and more than 15,000 relocated to provisional shelters, it is clear that little was accomplished.
Romário Badia. Photo from Twitter's user Isabela Belli (@belinhaah__)
The city of Itajai, one of the most affected, has had 80% of its urban area occupied by water from the Itajaí-Mirim and Itajaí-Açu rivers – similarly to the 2008 disaster.
Internet users utilized online tools to expose the tragedy’s dimension. In one video posted on Youtube on September 8, damage in the city of Brusque is shown:
Another netizen registered the catastrophe’s effects in the city of Rio do Sul, one of the most severely hit by the rains, which still remains completely isolated from other areas:
Blumenau, the third biggest city in Santa Catarina, also suffered with the rains; this Internet user recorded the moment in which a truck driver decided to confront the Itajai-Acu river's high water levels, causing even more damage:
City councils in the affected regions have also begun to utilize online tools to help the local population. In Itajai, the blog Desabrigados (Homeless) [pt] was created so that residents could list the name of missing people and the place where they were being sheltered.
After a decrease in rainfall allowed the start of the recovery operation, several Internet users began to mobilize through the social network Twitter, via the hashtag  #chuvaemSC (#raininSC).
Despite the widespread sense of solidarity among residents, a certain level of indignation remains among some. This phenomenon was no novelty to Brazilians. In the beginning of 2011, a similar catastrophe hit the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, claiming over 500 fatalities.
In an account published [pt] on Luis Nassif’s blog, Sergio Lamarca points to the development of residential and commercial areas in regions where the balance between nature and economical activities are fragile. He further complements:
(…) o desafio de daqui para frente em caso de que a cada ano ou dois anos termos uma enchente e ficarmos 15 a 20 dias com a economia da região paralisada, considero que medidas proativas devem ser tomadas. Para isso a sociedade organizada, as universidades e o poder público devem juntar os esforços para dar uma solução para quem vai viver nesta região nos próximos 30 anos.

author: Fernando Sapelli


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China: Chinese blaze new paths in Africa · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu translated a NetEase story feature on Chinese people working in Africa on Chinese invested construction projects.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: WikiLeaks Misreading Leads to Online ‘Spy’ Hunt · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

This page is part of our special coverage WikiLeaks and the World.
The release of unredacted United States (US) diplomatic cables since late August 2011 by WikiLeaks, has resulted in an online witch hunt in China.
The word “informant” in the documents was misinterpreted as “Xianren” which usually refers to a “rat” or “spy” who makes a living by selling information. As a result, those civilians who appeared in the cables have been accused by nationalists as being traitors of the country, even though quite a large number of the informants are Chinese government officials or work for government think tanks.
Poster urging readers to be aware of the "Xianren" informants.
Online witch hunt
Utopia, a website upholding Maoist ideology, has created a post “Who are the Xianren of the US State Council?” and singled out a number of the informants. The post has attracted many angry comments, such as:
国家危险，对汉奸不得心慈手软，呼吁全民行动锄奸！
这些个汉奸，都该死。先记下，来日算帐。
有名有姓有单位，应该统统逮捕，以叛国罪枪毙。
这些人都是操纵舆论的主力，天下事可知矣！
Extreme nationalist website Jinbushehui Net, has documented all the details of the informants who appear in the cables, as well as more than a hundred Weibo commentaries attacking law professor He Weifang.
The website has also posted a full list of the “strictly protected” informant's names on forum Weibo, urging readers [zh] to be aware of them. Another Weibo user, @ac0591, has picked out some 20 names from the 100 plus mentioned, as smearing targets. This list was further spread by another law professor Wu Fatian and attracted a lot of attention on the forum.
He Weifang has responded [zh] to the organized witch hunt on Weibo:
【惊为线人】利用许多人看不到或看不懂英文原文，将见面谈话交流对相关问题的看法歪曲为所谓“线人”提供情报，真是用心险恶啊。请问：英文原文哪里有“线人”之说？而且，照这个逻辑，几乎天天跟外国元首见面“亲切友好交谈”的党和国家领导人算什么人？
Reactions and debate
After a round of debate, Wu Fatian apologised on Weibo. However, another round of heated exchange has since been triggered off with Science Cop, Fang Zhouzi‘s comments about the cables, in which he highlighted [zh] Yu Jianrong's “strictly protected” status:
根据维基解密披露的美国大使馆密电，贺卫方在2007到2009年间共与美国官员面谈过8次，次数之多在公知中排第一，但其级别还只是“保护”。于建嵘只面谈过一次就成了“严格保护”。密电称贺卫方为“大使馆关系人”（embassy contact），不是外媒和国外网站说的线人（ informer）或协作者（collaborator）
Even though Fang did not make any accusations, Yu Jianrong, a political science professor and a government think tank employee was outraged by his comment. He replies [zh] with the following statement in Weibo:
网上传本人成了美国政府＂严格保护＂的＂线人＂。现声明如下：1、本人充分相信中国国家安全部门的能力，绝对不会放过如此重大特情。2、本人一直严格遵守国家工作人员外事活动纪律，与包括美国及其它国家外交人员会见，均事前有批准，事后有汇报。3、对一切抹黑行为，本人严重鄙视。
Overseas scholar Xue Yong defends [zh] Yu Jianrong with a sense of humor:
薛涌微博：惊闻于建嵘是美国使馆的线人，被严格保护。迄今所知，他给美国人讲私有化刺激经济发展，土地财政很糟糕。俺举报他抄袭亚当斯密和国内媒体！其实他是俺的线人。他告我哈佛边上有个四川馆子很好。这才是严格意义上的情报。我问他餐馆名字和地点好赴约，他只知道“在个超市边上”。公知当线人，废物一个。
Many public intellectuals on Weibo helped to correct the misleading translation of “informant”. Famous blogger, WuYueShengRen writes [zh]:
何所谓“线人”？道上也叫做卧底、二五仔，提供情报给警方，然后警方去抓黑社会。把正常交流的学者与民间人士、前官方人士称作美国的“线人”，把我堂堂祖国政府视作什么了？说这话的人其心可诛——抱歉，是“猪”。这是玩笑话。一帮不掌握国家机密的文人学者，报国不但无门，卖国也轮不到他们的。
Law professor Zhang Xuezhong has also spoken out [zh] to clarify the misunderstanding:
[ 我是线人吗？］如果一个外国机构向我了解对一些中国问题的看法，只要我无为该机构当间谍（或线人）的故意，且发表的言论和提供的信息并不违背中国法律，那么不管该外国机构本身的目的是什么，我的行为都没有可非议之处。外国机构也经常向中国领导人了解对一些问题的看法，但我们也不认为他们是线人。
Lawyer Pu Zhiqiang wonders [zh] why he had not been put on the informant list:
维基解密里的美方线人，有@贺卫方 @刘晓原律师2010 反倒没我啥事，我很郁闷。我准备试着一稿两投，比如搜集中国司法机关的黑恶跟公检两家的蛮横，外加黎民百姓的无助，同时寄往咱的国安部和美国的中情局，抄报日内瓦联合国总部！要做，我就做中美双料线人，而且要排在老贺前边儿！
This page is part of our special coverage WikiLeaks and the World.


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Colombia: “New York Hurts More” · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

@RedMujeresC, the Twitter account of Red Mujeres Ciudadanas – Colombia, quotes Mare Nubium on the massacres perpetrated by illegally armed groups in Colombia [es]. The author manifests her indignation because, in her opinion, some Colombians seem to care more about the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States than the violence and the large number of deaths caused by the armed conflict in Colombia.

author: Cati Restrepo


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Cuba: Released/Re-arrested · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense reports that bloggers who were detained allegedly for taking part in protests commemorating fallen Cuban prisoners have been released; Babalu, however, posted this morning that “Cuban independent journalist Jose Luis Ferrer Garica reports through Twitter that former prisoner of conscience from the Group of 75, Angel Moya, was arrested once again by Castro State Security.”


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Guyana: Hidden Waterfall  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Voice of the Taino People Online blogs about ‘Barbadiana Jones’, reportedly the first outsider to ever see – and photograph – a ‘hidden’ waterfall in Guyana's South Pakaraima mountains.


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Honduras: Recent Cables Released by WikiLeaks · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

‘La Gringa’ from La Gringa's Blogcito summarizes the content found in selected diplomatic cables that were recently released by Wikileaks. The cables “were from 2002-2004, when Larry Palmer was US Ambassador to Honduras, and Ricardo Maduro was president,” she explains.

author: Silvia Viñas


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India: Open Letter to The British Parliament On Kashmir · Global Voices
Rezwan

After decades the British Parliament is going to discuss Kashmir tomorrow. Al Haqu Murun writes an open letter to Mr Steve Baker, MP for Wycombe, and the British Parliament asking to increase pressure to Pakistan and India to resolve the Kashmir dispute.


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Iran: Protest Art to Save Lake Urmia · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Protesters took to the streets again on Monday in Ardabil, in Iran's Azarbaijan's region, to demand that the Iranian government save Lake Urmia. Iranian bloggers reported about repression and arrests of several Azeri activists.
Authorities have recently pledged to dedicate about $95 million dollars to divert water from rivers to rehabilitate one of the world's largest saltwater lakes.
Goftar Sabz was a witness to what happened on Monday in Ardabil. The blogger writes [fa]:
'Stay blue' – protest art for Lake Urmia on Facebook
I was walking in Ardabil, at about 6 o'clock in evening and there was a heavy presence of security forces. Two protesters got arrested as they chanted slogans. I walked toward Shariati Square and I witnessed ten people getting arrested. I heard in other parts of town that more were arrested by security forces.
Sev-news blog writes  [fa]:
There were several demonstrations in Ardabil, internet speed was close to zero and there was no possibility to communicate via mobile phones. People continue their protest and chant the slogans to defend the life of Lake Urmia.
Kolekhabar writes [fa] that a couple of days ago security forces arrested activists in their homes and confiscated their personal belongings.
Rah Azadi says [fa] Ardabil is like an occupied city and that security forces are omnipresent.
Urmia Lake supporters also created a Facebook page, which already has more than 4700 fans. On one of the Facebook group images (above) we read: “Remain blue.”
There are other artistic creations the Facebook page, this one (below) calling for, “Heaven help us, while humans fail and ignore.”
Lake Urmia protest art

author: Fred Petrossian


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Mexico: Mexico City Mayor and His Online Interaction with Citizens · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubon is the mayor of the Federal District (Mexico City), headquarters of the union powers and capital city of the United Mexican States. Ebrard has been in such office since December 5, 2006 and belongs to the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) (Party of Democratic Revolution). On May 2011, he received the World Mayor Prize 2010 delivered by The City Mayors Foundation.
Some people identify Marcelo Ebrard as a potential presidential candidate for the PRD for the upcoming elections next year in Mexico. Fernando Acosta [es] of Aporrea describes him as follows:
Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, es también el político de izquierda “sensato” con el cual “se puede negociar fácilmente”, según la señora Elba Esther Gordillo, jefa máxima del Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (SNTE). Es también el “nuevo líder” de la izquierda mexicana según la prensa francesa. La oligarquía mexicana y transnacional desean que sea candidato a la presidencia en 2012 para que pierda frente a Enrique Peña Nieto, el priísta que tiene el visto bueno de la CIA, la DEA, el gobierno estadounidense y los promotores de la guerra que supuestamente libran contra el narcotráfico. El jefe de Gobierno del Distrito Federal es también la ficha clave de la oligarquía para que la izquierda llegue dividida al proceso electoral de 2012.
Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, is also the “reasonable” left wing politician with whom “one can easily negotiate”, according to Mrs. Elba Esther Gordillo, maximum chief of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE). He is too, the “new leader” of the Mexican leftists according to the French press. The Mexican and transnational oligarchy wish he becomes candidate for the 2012 presidential elections so he can lose to Enrique Peña Nieto, the ‘priista’ (PRI party member) who is in good standing with the CIA, DEA, the American government and the promoters of the war that is supposedly being fought against drug dealers. The chief of the Federal District Government is also the key the oligarchy has to have the left divided during the electoral process of 2012.
Marcelo Ebrard. Image by Flickr user Noticias de tu Ciudad (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Some of his government actions have had the objective of optimizing the population's access to the Internet. Blogger Sopitas [es] for example, agreeably reported Ebrard's intention to grant Internet access to public transportation (subway) users:
Marcelo Ebrard, Jefe de Gobierno de Distrito Federal anunció que en los próximos meses, los usuarios del sistema de transporte colectivo Metro, podrán disfrutar de internet inalámbrico de manera gratuita en las 175 estaciones que conforman este sistema de transporte público.
Según “el carnal” Marcelo, su administración realizó en los últimos meses todas las gestiones necesarias para instalar el sistema de fibra óptica más importante de la ciudad con más de 200 kilómetros de longitud, lo cual permitirá que los usuarios del metro, puedan conectar todo tipo de dispositivos móbiles a la red, ya sean telefonos celulares, tabletas, o computadoras portátiles desde cualquier ruta del metro. (sic)
According to “our bro” Marcelo, his administration managed to complete everything needed to install the most important fiber optic system in the city, with more than 200 kilometers in length, all of which will allow subway users to connect to the Internet with all sorts of mobile devices like cellphones, tablets, or personal computers from any subway route. [sic]
Meanwhile, other ‘capitalinos’ (Mexico City inhabitant) used the blogosphere to express their disapproval of some of the constructions Ebrard's local government is working on. Like the blog Crónica de un Ecocidio Llamado Supervía Poniente (Cronicle of an ‘Ecocide’ called East Superhighway) [es] that focuses on protesting against an infrastructure development, with the moto “against Marcelo Ebrard's ecocide (ecological homicide)”.
Gabriela Cuevas [es] (a local political scene player) is also opposed to the site, as she stated on her webpage:
Se le pide al Jefe de Gobierno ordene la suspensión de la Supervía Poniente hasta que la empresa cumpla con las obligaciones impuestas por la normatividad aplicable, sean resarcidos los derechos de los ciudadanos de las delegaciones Magdalena Contreras y Álvaro Obregón, y se lleve a cabo una consulta pública.
We are asking the Mayor to order the suspension of East Superhighway until the company fulfills the imposed obligations given by the applicable regulations, the rights of the citizens in the communities of Magdalena Contreras and Alvaro Obregon are compensated, and a public consultation takes place.
In spite of the previous examples, the communication between the governed and the government seems not to be unilateral. Nowadays, Ebrard's administration promotes an exercise to communicate with citizens in which the Mayor answers questions made by the people through a Gmail account. The project is called “Marcelo te escucha, Ebrard te responde” (Marcelo hears you, Ebrard responds) [es].
Furthermore, Mexico City's Mayor seems to be paying close attention to his Twitter account (@m_ebrard) through which he interacts with netizens to answer their doubts and complaints.
Here's an example of a possible failure of the above mentioned subway system reported to Ebrard by user David Lopez (@Dave_yardo):
@Dave_yardo: @STCMetroDF@m_ebrard que pasa en la linea rosa q nada se mueve! Ya mas de 15 mins y no llega ni se va el metro!!
@Dave_yardo: @STCMetroDF@m_ebrard what's going on with the pink line that nothing seems to move! It's been 15 mins and it [the train] won't arrive or leave!!
@m_ebrard: @Dave_yardo estoy verificando
@m_ebrard: @Dave_yardo I'm checking
A similar exchange took place when Carolina Ayala (@Carol_Ayala_M) reported to the Mayor an alleged omission from the trash pick up service for not taking away some smelly trash:
@Carol_Ayala_M: @m_ebrard Mirador, Delg Coy, Tiene 15 dias y no pueden recoger sto, huele horrible y ade+ es el paso para la esc pic.twitter.com/Ecpp7rO
@Carol_Ayala_M: @m_ebrard Mirador, Delg Coy, It's been 15 days and they [trash service] do not take this away, smells horrible and it's on my way to school pic.twitter.com/Ecpp7rO
@m_ebrard: @Carol_Ayala_M ahora pregunto para corregir
@m_ebrard: @Carol_Ayala_M I will ask so they can take care of it
@Carol_Ayala_M: @m_ebrard Mil gRAcias¡¡ (sic)
@Carol_Ayala_M: @m_ebrard Thanks a lot
Furthermore, the ‘capitalino’ politician now and then seems to take advantage of Twitter to respond to some of his opposers. An example was his reply to a user R.A (@djfandango) who gave him a hard time for “looking for the big prize” (caring for his presidential ambitions) instead of taking care of the citizens:
@djfandango: @MarcelaHerreraR@javiermorlett@m_ebrard el carnal marchelo esta buscando la grande no tiene tiempo para atender ciudadanos
@m_ebrard: @djfandango te equivocas es lo que hago todo el dia
The use of technology could be closing the gap between authorities and citizens in Mexico City, favoring not only expression, but contact and interaction to solve problems and all kinds of doubts. If this interaction persists, it could result in interesting results in the future.

author: J. Tadeo


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Mexico: Protest Calls Attention to Slain Journalists [Video] · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Erwin from The Latin Americanist posts a video by Periodismo IDN of a protest held on Sunday, September 11, where around “250 protesters marched in Mexico City to call attention to the eighty journalists slain in Mexico since 2000.”


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Palestine: Twitter Debate on the Statehood  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Chris Keeler, from Notes from a Medinah, rehashes a Twitter conversation between Blake Hounshell of Foreign Policy, Marc Lynch (Abu Aardvark) of the Middle East Channel and Yousef Munayyer of The Palestine Center on the Palestinian statehood here.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Paraguay: Indigenous Peoples Fighting to Save Their Ancestral Home  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

At the Council on Hemispheric Affairs Blog, Research Associate Sean O’ Leary reports that the Ayoreo indigenous people are “fighting for their very survival. These indigenous people are struggling to save their ancestral home in the Chaco region from cattle companies, farmers and religious sects who are moving into the region and clearing the land.”


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Puerto Rico: Tuning In to a New Voice For Political Satire · Global Voices
Alfredo Richner

Really?! Yes – there is a political satire show aimed at young people, and it’s not Los Rayos Gamma™ 2.0. En Serio is broadcast on channel 30 (Play TV) in Puerto Rico, Sundays at 6pm, and through their website.
It’s inspired mainly by successful American political satire shows – blending Stephen Colbert’s irreverence, Jon Stewart’s social commentary and Bill Maher’s panel discussions, and adapting those influences for a young Puerto Rican audience with topics of interest and local guests. To date, En Serio’s studio has hosted a healthy mix of politicians, bloggers, analysts, musicians and activists.
With the show's first season officially over, we sent some questions to En Serio’s anchorman, Alejandro Díaz, in order to learn more about his experience with the show and its production process. The resulting interview is a great way to familiarize yourselves with the show before the start of its second season, scheduled to begin during this month (September 2011).
Global Voices (GV): For those who haven’t tuned in yet, what is ¿¡En Serio!?, and where can you catch the show?
Alejandro Díaz (AD): En Serio is a political satire show produced with the intention of reporting the weekly news in a humorous way, thus setting us apart from traditional media and their manner of reporting, which never breaks the surface. You can tune in on Sundays at 6pm, on channel 30 (on local Puerto Rican television station Play TV). You can also watch us on Mondays from 6pm through our website achoenserio.com [es], where all of our episodes are uploaded.
GV: How did this project come into being? Was it always meant to be broadcast through both TV and the Internet?
AD: It was our producer’s (Juan Marrero) idea. Juan came to me with the concept more than two years ago, but it wasn’t anything tangible. None of us thought it would materialize. Last summer, we attempted to start working on the show, made exclusively for the Internet. But our lack of discipline kept us from even writing a script. Last February, Juan calls me up and tells me that the owner of local channel 30 (Play TV) was interested in the show – that he wouldn’t censor us, and that he would allow us to put all the episodes online. It was very important for us to be able to upload all episodes to the Internet because our target audience spends more time online than in front of the TV set. Besides, there aren’t that many shows that do that sort of thing in Puerto Rico.
Image credit: achoenserio.com
GV: Do you have any academic background on media production? Who or what inspired you to make a show about political commentary, discussion, and satire?
AD: I have no academic background on production, but I’ve worked in many production projects. My father was a publicist for years, and I used to help him out in the sets for his ads. I also worked with my brother in some short films he made. I never expected to work in production, and I wasn’t interested in being in front of the cameras either, but Juan’s idea got me really motivated. I’m a fan of politics, but I’ve never been fond of how they treat political topics on our island. I used to get embarrassed when my friends turned on my car’s stereo and it happened to be tuned to AM radio.
GV: How many people are involved in the show’s production? How long does it take to make an episode?
AD: Right now, there’s 5 of us, and it takes us 5 days to make a complete episode. On Wednesdays we meet up to discuss the most relevant topics and to decide which of those have the most potential for comedy. This meeting is very important because it is where we decide the angle from which we will report each news piece, and we are at disadvantage because we’re the last show to discuss any topic on a typical news cycle since we air on Sundays. On Thursdays and Friday mornings, I write the script. We record the monologue and panel discussion on Friday nights. On Saturdays, our art director (Alfredo Bermúdez) works on all the required images and edits the recordings from his home. By 6pm on Sunday, Alfredo has a finished show, and we do the interview live.
GV: How do you decide whom to invite to the show, either for an interview or a discussion panel?
AD: We try to have young people that ascribe to different societal and economical ideologies (conservatives vs. liberals) for the discussion panel. We’re not interested in partisan debates because they’ve proved to be of no use at all as a solution to anything. Besides, there’s WKAQ [es] and RadioIsla [es] for that. In the next few months we’re going to try new things with the panel. We want political discussions to be more humorous without losing substance. We also have a discussion panel about films, plus other pending panels about sports and music. Some of the guests are friends of ours, others have been referred to us. We’ve even met some of them through Twitter.
I have to admit I don’t have a set system when it comes to choosing guests. Usually, Juan comes up with a name, then I come up with another, until we come to an agreement. The difficulty in getting a hold of them factors into our decision.
GV: Which is the most difficult: the monologue, the interview or the discussion panel? Which part of your job is your favorite, and why?
AD: The most difficult is the monologue. Preparing it takes the most time in the production stage, and it’s an emotional investment. That’s why I think it’s my favorite part as well. Seeing the final product and hearing the audience’s reactions and laughter is very gratifying.
GV: Who would you like to interview in the future? Is there anyone you wouldn’t interview?
AD: I’d like to interview Alejandro García Padilla, since he conveyed interest in coming to the show before announcing his candidacy [for local governor], but we don’t exist for him anymore. Apparently, channel 30 is below his level now. I confess that I’d also like to interview Ruben Sánchez [a local TV and radio personality] and spend the entire interview interrupting him [as he does frequently on his interviews].
GV: Who constitutes the show’s audience? What are you doing to make the numbers grow?
AD: Our audience is composed of young people – students and professionals interested in local and global politics. We’ve worked to make our audience grow by handing out flyers in places where they gather. We’ve also been reviewed by local newspapers, and our press releases have been published. Another medium that has covered the show is the Puerto Rican blogosphere.
GV: I imagine you watch shows like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Real Time with Bill Maher… Do you have a favorite? Who has the best monologue, in your opinion?
AD: Of course I watch them! They were the inspiration for this project. My favorite, even though I know some of my colleagues think otherwise, is Jon Stewart. Stewart has achieved what I aspire to: a balance between comedy and information. Stewart is the happy medium between Colbert and Maher. He’s not as serious as Maher, nor as silly as Colbert. For most young people, these shows – along with the Internet and social networks – are their main news sources. That is what we aspire to be.
We want to be one of the primary news sources for Puerto Rico's youth. Behind our cynicism and satire are actual facts that help keep our audience informed.

author: Alfredo Richner


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Russia: Prosecutor General Calls For Control Over Social Networks · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

“You saw what had happened in London. To my mind, it is evident that there should be control over this [social network] activity, and I think it will be a reasonable control, in the interest of protection of the civic liberties,” said Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika at the summit of the CIS prosecutor coordination summit, lenta.ru reported [ru]. Prosecutors of Kazakhstan and Belarus had supported the statement.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Trinidad & Tobago: A Sleeping Giant?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

aka_lol says of recent developments in Trinidad and Tobago's State of Emergency: “The plus side of extending the SOE and increasing the number of hot spots by eleven is that the criminal element will be even more dormant.  But dormant means asleep and like all hibernating evil creatures, once awake will be hungry like a starving giant.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Looking Forward to Film Festival  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

MEP Caribbean Publishers is “really excited for the opening of this year's installment of the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival”, which begins next week.


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Tunisia: Bloggers for Parliament  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A number of Tunisian bloggers will be running in their country's parliamentary elections, announced Tunisian blogging portal Nawaat [Fr].


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Ukraine: Photographing the TB Epidemic · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainian photographer Maxim Dondyuk (@dondyuk) is documenting the TB epidemic in Ukraine: “Each day 30 people die. Each year takes more than 10,000 lives.” Dondyuk's powerful, heartbreaking photographs of TB patients can be viewed online on his Tumblr blog [ru], his website, and on Lightstalkers.com [en]. On Sep. 15, an exhibition of Dondyuk's work opens in Moscow [ru] at the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Argentina: Government Returns Land to Indigenous Communities · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

“On Saturday, September 10th, the Argentinian government returned 9,475 hectares (more than 23,000 acres) of land to the Tehuelche and Mapuche communities living new in Las Heras (located in the northern portion of the Santa Cruz province)”, Ryan Seelau at Indigenous News reports.


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Barbados: Learning from Crime in the Region  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Underground contends that “the news that Trinidad has overtaken Jamaica as the murder capital of the English speaking Caribbean should be a wakeup call for Barbadians.”


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Bolivia: Journalist Receives Death Threats · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Tania Lara from the Knight Center's Journalism in the Americas Blog highlights the case of Mónica Oblitas, a Bolivian journalist who recently reveled on her personal blog [es] that she has received death threats. Tania explains: “‘Your days are numbered,’ was one of several telephone and e-mail messages she received after publishing a report in the newspaper La Prensa on April 4 about a coroner who charged money for false death certificates.”


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Brazil: American Rapper uses classic samba cover without credit · Global Voices
Debora Baldelli

American Rapper Curren$y is being criticized by Brazilian bloggers [pt] for using Cartola’s classic cover “Verde Que Te Quero Verde” for his new work without mentioning or giving credit to one of the most important figures of Samba and Brazilian Music.

author: Debora Baldelli


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Cameroon: Women Must Vote During Presidential Election · Global Voices
Philippe Menkoue

Le journal du Cameroun notes that “civil society organizations are rallying to encourage women to vote [fr] during the upcoming Cameroon presidential election, on October 9″.

author: Philippe Menkoue


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Central African Republic: ‘Letter to the Person Sending Me Death Threats’ · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Central African Republic blogger, Blogmandebangos, has posted a letter to the person sending him death threats [fr] for his blogging: “The truth is that I just want to be the painter of my society, a good testimony, I only write about things that happen here…I talk about the  daily life we all share, I echo what is going on in Centrafrique, the other CAR, hidden from the eyes of the world.”

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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China: What Chinese youths say about sex? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Olivia from China Hush has translated a web project from You and Me [zh] recording via photos on Chinese youths’ comment about sex.


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Colombia: Politics in Street Art · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

LatAm Communiqué posts pictures of political posters, graffiti, and murals in Bogotá, Zipaquirá, Popayán, and Medellín.


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Comoros: Reactions of the Comoran Community  to Minister’s Accusation  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

After the French Interior Ministry stated that Comorian Community is to blame for some of the violence in Marseille[fr], the governing body of the Comoros Union is denouncing such stigmatization of their community[fr], it encourages Comoran to stay calm and fight back violence only via legal means.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Cuba: 6.0 Quake Hits Off Coast  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bloggers republish news of a 6.0 magnitude earthquake that happened off the southeastern coast of Cuba early this morning.


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India: The Booming Publishing Industry · Global Voices
Rezwan

Vaibhav Kathuria at ‘Youth Ki Awaaz’ says that “India has just witnessed a publishing boom”.


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Iran: Female Blogger Receives 50 Lashes · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

These are the words Iranian blogger Somayeh Tohidloo wrote [fa] in her blog after receiving 50 whip lashes in Evin Prison on September 14, 2011:
Be happy, for if you wanted to humiliate me, I confess that I feel my entire body is suffering with degradation.
Somayeh Tohidloo
Somayeh was active during the 2009 presidential election in the campaign for Mir Hussein Mousavi, and she was jailed for 70 days in 2009, after a mass protest movement erupted in Iran. She was released after paying bail, but the flogging sentence was eventually upheld.
Green City writes [fa]:
Here is Iran, where Somayeh Tohidloo, a PhD-graduate is lashed while a $3 billion dollar fraud [over a Lake Urmia] happens, and nothing is done to punish the fraudulent acts.
Gomnamian blog writes [fa]:
Somayeh was accused of insulting Ahmadinejad… I was appalled to see a human being lashed for writing a post about a criminal.
Azarmehr writes:
Today, Somayeh's facebook page was inundated with messages of support. Mohammad Ali Abtahi, former advisor to Khatami, wrote: “Everyone who knows Somayeh Tohidlou, regard her as a symbol of  reasonableness, moderation and character. Today when I learned she had received 50 lashes for having insulted the ‘very respectable president’, I felt it was the Iranian pride which had been flagellated and not Somayeh's body. Somayeh, you are the only one who has not been humiliated as a result of this sentence”
The Islamic Republic has jailed several bloggers in recent years. Omid Reza MirSayafi, an Iranian blogger, died in prison on March 18, 2009, under suspicious circumstances.


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Jamaica: “Ma Lou”‘s Art · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

National Gallery of Jamaica Blog profiles another art pioneer: “Louisa Jones…popularly known as Ma Lou…a national treasure and a master practitioner of the African-Jamaican pottery tradition.”


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Korea: Plan to Launch Satellite TV Airing Programs to North Korea · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Martyn Williams from North Korea Tech blog posted about a private South Korean group's plan to launch a satellite TV station that will air South Korean dramas and entertainment programs in North Korea. Williams, however, voiced worries that it would be nearly impossible for  impoverished North Koreans to afford the satellite dishes and receivers.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Macedonia: Celebrating Basketball Win Over Lithuania · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

The celebration of the Macedonian entry in the semifinals of the European basketball championship has spilled over from the country's streets, balconies and town squares into the blogosphere.
Ogledalo na edna dusha (Mirror of a Soul) blog posted [mk] photos and videos from the celebration of the victory of the Macedonian national team over the host, Lithuania, at the EuroBasket 2011, with levels of euphoria higher than the precedent with Greece.
Barabass considers [mk] this win as a defining moment of his generation, “something to tell the grandkids about.”
Ruling politicians have scrambled to get on the basketball victory bandwagon. The president already gave a medal to the national team in absentia, while the government used taxpayers’ money to buy tickets for 150 hand-picked “professional fans” [mk] to go to the game.
Citizens privately voiced frustration over the brazen lack of transparency and accountability, especially because some of the pro-government media used the phrase “at its own expense,” as if the ministers were paying from their own pockets. The charter flight for this allegedly politically-connected group was sponsored by the Turkish company TAV, a a major investor in Macedonia. According to Netpress [mk], the “select” mob had a fight on the plane and compromised its security, and the airliner refused to accept 11 of them on the return flight.
The state budget also funded celebratory fireworks at Skopje's main square:
Social media users spread the following joke, referring to the general low level of knowledge about Macedonia in geographic terms outside of the Balkan region (most Macedonians who have been abroad can share a story about meeting people who had no clue where it was, or said it was an island in Africa or something to that effect).
- Where are you from?
– From Macedonia.
– And where is Macedonia?
– In the semifinals!!!
Twitter user Biljana also noted [sr] that the celebrations also spread to Serbia [sr] – a historic first gesture of “reciprocity.” Most Macedonian sports fans traditionally root for all ex-Yugoslav teams that make it to international competitions, when they don't compete against Macedonia.
Twitter users in the past few days have however, expressed aggravation due to the uncalled-for demeaning comments in some media from these countries.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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North Korea’s First Cruise Ship Draw Harsh Reviews · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Bearded Wiseman from the 2Oceansvibe site wrote about North Korea's first cruise ship, calling it a ‘bit of a joke’.


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Pakistan: Eid Moon Madness · Global Voices
Rezwan

Pak Tea House  posts a caption collage on the controversy regarding Eid Moon sighting in Pakistan.

author: Rezwan


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Pakistan: Speaking Out the Unspoken – Gawaahi · Global Voices
Salman Latif

Information and communications technology (ICT) has long been hailed as a harbinger of a global change. Researchers have argued over the potential of ICT, specifically in promoting literacy and raising social awareness. A number of projects around the globe have made a mark while trying to utilize ICT towards such ends proving ICT could be of immense significance in our world.
Gawaahi is one such venture that aims to bring to fore underrepresented voices of Pakistani society. Coupling ICT with social activism, Gawaahi was started off by two eminent Pakistani social activists, Naveen Naqvi and Sana Saleem. It is basically an online archive of videos and digital stories that aims to promote ‘the other story’, issues that don’t usually make it to the mainstream media or are underreported.
Speaking about what Gawaahi highlights, Naveen says:
We want to share people's stories. Kids off the streets of Karachi. A peasant farmer from Qambar Shahdad Kot. A young woman who was molested at the age of eight and has survived to share the tale with us as a young woman. An acid survivor from the interior of Punjab. A woman displaced because of a landslide in the Hunza valley. These are the stories you will find on Gawaahi.
What started off as a small venture in 2011 has turned into a well-known online phenomenon in Pakistan’s online media. Not only has the project had a national impact, it has also made headlines in the international social media. Within two months of the launch, Gawaahi was nominated for the Best Social Activism Campaign and Best English Blog categories of the prestigious Deutsche Welle Blog Awards.
What can be called a truly unique aspect of the portal is its inclusion of digital stories. Digital story-telling has been around for long but is still struggling to find its way into the Pakistani blogosphere. The Gawaahi team has brought this facet of online activism to fore by narrating a number of stories digitally. To this, much has been contributed by Mehreen Kasana, an active blogger and an activist who is known for her awesome doodles. On the home page of it’s YouTube channel, a digital story narrates how a girl was molested for many years by her dad’s friend until she decided to speak up.
The presentation of the story and the aesthetics are captivating. Gawaahi’s YouTube channel also hosts dozens of videos: these are stories of abused women, tutorials on how to use cameras, as well as interviews with national and international bloggers and journalists about the significance of social activism, especially in the online world.
Today, Gawaahi is a registered NGO. The official website states that it “plans to produce video testimonies of abuse and survival for awareness and advocacy campaigns.” Talking about the possible significance of the portal, Naveen says:
We’re hoping it will be a useful resource for donor agencies, NGOs, media houses, governments including ours, donor states and philanthropist organizations.

author: Salman Latif


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Russia: To Vote or Not To Vote? · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.
As the Russian parliamentary election approaches, the Internet is fast becoming the main stage for the debate on the election strategy that the Russian opposition should take.
Despite manipulation and censorship, the web plays an important role in choosing an intelligent strategy to combat the ruling United Russia party's dominance.
Background
August 2011 has shown the lowest popular support for the current government in the last six years, with only 36 percent [ru] of Russians agreeing with the statement that the country is going in the right direction. Thirty nine percent [ru] of the population (compared to 47 percent just a year ago) would vote for Vladimir Putin, and even less for the current president, Vladimir Medvedev. United Russia had also lost support [ru], from 64 percent of the voting population in 2009 to 54 percent at present.
* Based on the August poll by Levada.ru. Comparison of electoral and social media data, 2007-2011. Compiled by Alexey Sidorenko.
Andrey Malgin has leaked [ru] some insider information on the perception of the situation inside the United Russia party:
Позавчера я ужинал с депутатом Думы от “Единой России”, отвечающим за выборы в одном из регионов. […] задача ставится не достигнуть конституционного большинства (это невозможно даже при массовых фальсификациях), а дотянуть любыми силами до 50.
[…]
Они уверены, что главным врагом на предстоящих выборах у них будет интернет. Не было ни одного совещания на тему выборов, где не звучала бы фамилия Навальный и не проводились бы конспирологические параллели с африканскими событиями. Главная головная боль – как ограничить распространение негативной информации, способной повлиять на результаты голосования; как скомпрометировать интернет в целом и не дать ему стать инструментом объединения масс. Даже задача компрометации участвующих на выборах партий отошла на второй план.
The day before yesterday I had dinner with a “United Russia” deputy, who is responsible for the elections in one of the regions. […] The task for them is not to get the Constitutional majority [two thirds of the seats] (it is impossible even with the mass falsifications), but to get to at least 50%.
[…]
They're sure that the Internet is their most important enemy. There has not been a single meeting on the topic of elections, where the name Navalny [infamous anti-corruption blogger] has not been heard, and where conspirology parallels with the African events haven't been made*. The main headache [of “United Russia”] is how to limit the distribution of negative information that is capable of influencing the results of the elections; how to discredit the Internet as a whole, and to prevent it becoming an instrument for the unification of the masses. Even the discrediting of the participating parties has lost its importance.
Indeed, talk about the Internet as a key revolutionary element provoke more and more furious statements by public officials. The will to control the RuNet was expressed this year by the Ministry of Interior, Prosecutor General, and most eloquently by Vasiliy Yakemenko, head of the Federal Youth Agency and an unspoken leader of the notorious “Nashi” pro-Kremlin movement (read the detailed analysis of Yakemenko's statement at Sean's Russia Blog).
It seems, however, that the real danger of the web for the ruling party lies not in its attributed mobilisation power (still arguable, wherever it exists or not), rather in the creation of free and public platforms for postulating, choosing, and, most importantly promoting an intelligent alternative electoral strategy.
The poster agitating to vote for any other party but "United Russia," By RosAgit
To vote, or not to vote?
Opposition politicians had so far proposed three solutions. All of them were presented exclusively online and have been widely discussed via online platforms – a phenomena that was not fully present in the last (2007) presidential election campaign.
Popular blogger Anton Nosik, wrote [ru] that the Internet was a bad agitation tool for any opposition party but it has tremendous power to change the turnout of the elections, and therefore United Russia's results:
Я считаю, что Интернет не в состоянии кого бы то ни было сагитировать голосовать так или иначе. Потому что в Интернете у каждого — своя голова на плечах. Люди сюда приходят не за руководящими указаниями, как им голосовать, а по своим делам.
[…]
Единственная вещь, на которую Интернет может когда-нибудь реально повлиять — это собственно явка на выборы.
[…]
Поэтому единственный способ Интернету повлиять на результаты декабрьского голосования — это повысить явку среди тех самых 52,9 миллионов российских пользователей.
Vladimir Milov, the only leader (out of four) of the PARNAS non-registered party has compared [ru] these elections to the 1989 elections, and noted the importance to choose “realistic” options:
[…] что предшествовало избранию Ельцина? Несколько лет упорной политической борьбы, напоминавшей бесконечное перетягивание каната. […] Были выборы 1990 года в Верховный совет РСФСР, про который тогда говорили – да он ничего не решает, всю повестку определяют союзные органы. С огромным трудом удалось избрать Ельцина председателем Верховного совета РСФСР. Потом с еще большим трудом – пробить введение поста президента РСФСР. Потом – провести эти выборы.
Все это было безумно нудно и скучно. […] Тогда тоже были свои нах-нахи, которые твердили: все это нелегитимный фарс, мы в фарсе не участвуем, бойкот, […] нах-нах-нах.
Но в итоге, по крупице, шаг за шагом, ценой упорных, рутинных, очень скучных усилий был достигнут политический результат.
Сегодня есть реальная возможность лишить “Единую Россию” конституционного большинства в парламенте. Впервые за 8 лет. […] Идея голосовать на выборах против “ЕР” вызывает энтузиазм у большого количества людей, многие из которых знать не знают про существование оппозиции и ее лидеров. […] Цель реальна. Игра стоит свеч.
[…] What was before the election of Boris Yeltsin [to the chair of the President of Russia]? Several years of persistent political struggle that reminded one of a never ending tug-of-war. […] There were elections in 1990 to the Supreme Soviet of Russia, about which people said – yes, it doesn't decide anything, the agenda is being decided on the higher [Soviet] level. It took a great effort to elect Yeltsin as the chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Russian Federation. Then, with an even harder effort – to create the chair of the president of the Russian Federation. Then to run the elections.
It was all very boring. […] Then, there were also ‘nakh-nakhs,’ that were saying: it's all a non-legitimate farce, we're not participating in farce, we're boycotting, nakh-nakh-nakh.
But, at the end of the day, step by step, at the price of persistent, routine, very dull efforts, the political result was achieved.
Today exists the real possibility to deprive “United Russia” of the constitutional majority in the Parliament. For the first time in eight years. […] The idea to vote against “United Russia” attracts many people, who don't even know contemporary opposition or its leaders. […] the aim is real. The game IS worth the candle.
This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.


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Social Media Uprising in the Chinese-speaking World  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Hong Kong In-Media, a media advocacy organization based in Hong Kong has published an e-book, Social Media Uprising in the Chinese-speaking World. The preface of the book, written by Jack Qui Linchuan is posted at interlocals.net, where you can also download a pdf preview of the book.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Sri Lanka: Managing The Colombo Traffic · Global Voices
Rezwan

Going Global discusses how to manage the overburdened Colombo traffic.


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Trinidad & Tobago: New Curfew Areas  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Gerard Best notes that five new curfew areas have been established in Trinidad and Tobago's ongoing State of Emergency.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Tunisia: Blogger Beaten up by Police for Telling a Joke · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.
Eight months after the fall of the regime of Ben Ali, police in Tunisia have still not given up their brutality and violations of human rights.
On Wednesday, Tunisian blogger Azyz Amamy (@Azyyoz) was arrested and beaten up by police for telling a joke on bananas while he was near a police station.  He was released on the same day.
No one knows what Amamy's joke was, but it seems that it  provoked the police officers. Indeed, last week, Interim Prime Minister Beji Caid Sebsi addressed the nation. During his speech, he said that “97 per cent of the National Guard agents are good, and the rest are monkeys.” The comment outraged police officers, who called for an apology from the PM.
Azyz Amami, Twitter profile.
This might explain why the police reacted brutally to Amamy's joke.
Liliopatra reports:
Cet après midi, 14 septembre 2011, soit 8 mois après la fuite du dictateur ben ali, la police continue à agir comme des voyous :Le militant Aziz Amami alias @Azyyoz a été arreté par la police parce qu'il aurait sorti une voyous sur les bananes devant un poste de police.Il a été emmené au poste de police rue Yougoslavie et il a été violemment tabassé.
Rappel:  Aucune loi en Tunisie n'autorise la police à tabasser-violenter ou même insulter un citoyen même s'il est CRIMINEL. Merci de noter toute atteinte aux droits de l'homme de la part de la police hors la loi.
This afternoon, September, 14, eight months after the escape of the dictator Ben Ali, the police continues to act as thugs: the militant Azyz Amamy (@Azyyoz) was arrested by the police for telling a joke on bananas in front of a police station. He was taken to the police station (Yougoslavie Street) where he was brutally beaten.
Reminder: There is no law in Tunisia that allows the police to beat or even insult a citizen even if he is a criminal. Please record any human rights violation committed by the police and not acting according to the law
The assault on Amamy outraged Tunisian netizens, who once again were reminded that the fight for freedom of speech was not over with the former President fleeing the country.
Here are some of their reactions on Twitter:
@slim404:Azyz @azyyoz vient de m'appeler. il est arrêté au poste de police rue Yougoslavie. Je vais le voir.
@slim404 Les policiers disent qu'ils ont relâché @azyyoz . Son téléphone est occupé.
@FaresAzzabi D'après des pages fb @azyyoz est arrêté pour avoir sorti une blague sur les bananes devant un policier! Qui confirme? @Zinga_ @Slim404
@Beheeddine: j'espère que @azyyoz portera plainte contre ses agresseurs .. blague ou pas .. ils n'ont pas le droit de le toucher .. #Tunisie
@slim404: Je viensd'avoir @azyyoz au tel. Il a ete relâché. Il s'est fait tabasse. Il va porter plainte.
@MiDovSkyTN: Solidaire avec @Azyyoz
@emnamejri: j'aimerai savoir nokta eli 9alha @Azyyoz 3al banane
Standing in solidarity with her fellow blogger,  Insane wrote a poem [ar] dedicated to Amamy. Here is a short excerpt:
فيق يا عون يا ضابط يا رفيق ، فيق يا مدير : يا حسرة على زمان التغيير ، تضرب عزيز ينبتلك ألف عزيز ، أحنا اليوم  نقرروا المصير قدّاش من عزيز وقدّاش من ثورة تلزمك باش تولي إنسان ؟
!
This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Afef Abrougui


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U.S. Virgin Islands: Here Comes the Sun Again  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“That was one large storm but it didn't really live up to the forecasts thank goodness”: live de life is glad to see the back of Tropical Storm Maria, saying: “Finally the rain has stopped and we're seeing the sun again!”


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Africa: Using Social Media for Citizen Engagement · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Gamelmag blogs about the use of social media for citizen engagement in West Africa: “Government-to-citizen engagement- Ghana's Constitution Review Committee put together various channels such as Facebook, Twitter and SMS to collate views from individuals as part of the country's constitutional review process.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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All-Day Virtual Event in Spanish for Bloggers · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Día del Blog will hold a virtual event on Saturday September 17 [es] with several discussions broadcast through live streaming [es] with speakers from Spain, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Panama. Spanish Translation Manager Juan Arellano will participate in a panel discussion [es] about “Revolution on social networks: cyber-activism, citizen mobilization and political participation”.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Angola: The Hot Embers of a Repressed Protest · Global Voices
Clara Onofre

Recent events have shaken Angolan society and the state. A first demonstration against the 32 year-long government of José Eduardo dos Santos happened in March of this year, a second one happened in May. Last week, on September 3, Angolan youth went to the streets once again.
Eugénio Costa Almeida, author of the blog Pululu [pt], commented on the large police response to protesters and did not let the day go by without summing it up:
Um número (in)determinado de Agentes da Polícia  Nacional, travou in extremis, a marcha que cerca de trezentos manifestantes pretendiam fazer em direcção ao Palácio Presidencial da Cidade Alta, depois de se terem manifestadado na Praça da Independência na manhã deste sábado. (…) Da resfrega resultou um morto [não confirmado] alguns feridos e vários detidos.
In a press conference, the youth of the Revolutionary Movement clarified that the protest was peaceful and that the authorities knew it would occur. Only after the unjustified detention of one of the protesters, which occurred during a police intervention, was the protest moved towards the Presidential Palace [pt]:
The human rights organisation Human Rights Watch reacted swiftly in relation to the violent events of September 3, appealing to the government to not make use of “unnecessary force against protesters”.
Also the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned “the use of violence and intimidation by security forces to prevent journalists from covering protests against the government”, namely aggression against one of the journalists of the local branch of Voice of America, which put out its own press release republished on the blog  Universal [pt].
The “Tragicomedy” of prison sentences
Protesters face police in Luanda. Screenshot of a video by ekuikui shared on the blog Angola Resistente.
In light of new developments, the about 21 protesters who were detained were taken to court, of whom 18 were accused [pt] of assault and battery and sentenced to between 45 days and 3 months of prison, as was reported by Human Rights Watch which has called for the release of the unjustly convicted protesters.
In contrast to what might be assumed, the prosecutor did not formally inform the defence counsel of the charges to be brought against their clients until the first hearing which occurred on September 6, the eve of the beginning of the trial [pt].
The defence counsel has already appealed the decision [pt] of the judge, which they consider a “tragicomedy”, as they are “policies without any legal basis”.
The blog Quintas de Debate features an appeal [pt] by the “Organisations of Civil Society Defending Human Rights and supporting the position on aggression and detention of protesters on the 3rd of September” that:
constataram com preocupação o estado degradante e desumano em que se apresentaram em tribunal alguns dos detidos da manifestação de 3 de setembro, que mostravam sinais visíveis da tortura de que foram vítimas.
In spite of these events which reveal again the fragility of freedom of expression in Angola, in recent days the country was commented on in the blogosphere and made it to the world's trending topics on Twitter for another reason: the designation of Angolan Leila Lopes as Miss Universe. In an article published on the site Club-K the singer Aline Frazão comments [pt]:
Indigno-me ao ver mulheres angolanas a dizer que “estamos todas de parabéns pelo feito de Leila Lopes”, esquecendo os feitos de Ermelinda, Diana e Elsa, por exemplo, mulheres que arriscaram a sua vida para gritar pelos direitos básicos de 16 milhões de angolanos e angolanas.
Frazão refers to some women leaders of the protest of September 3 that “also went out on the streets to cry for ‘freedom’ and to demand a fairer Angola”.  In spite of the celebrations, Gil Lopes of the blog Universal, asks [pt]:
poderá ser uma manobra de diversão internacional para silenciar/esquecer a morte da liberdade e da democracia em Angola?

author: Clara Onofre


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Bermuda: Term Limits Backlash  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Vexed Bermoothes says of the government's imposition of work permit term limits: “This – combined with the general pissiness of  the PLP towards expatriates and international business – led to a massive exodus from the island”; Politics.bm adds: “Their signature policies have hurt Bermudians. Time to fess up.”


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Bolivians to Follow on Twitter · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Luis Ramos in Citizen of La Paz [es] recommends 12 Bolivians to follow on Twitter.


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China: Wall Lords graffiti battle in Chengdu · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Charlie from Chengdu Living blogs about the Wall Lords graffiti battle in Chengdu in last weekend. The event took place at a just-constructed church on the outskirts of Chengdu. The blogger has posted a large number of photos to show the creative process.


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Cuba: An “Unstoppable March”  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Pedazos de La Isla blogs here and here about the “unstoppable march”; Uncommon Sense posts an update on the arrests of dissidents Angel Moya Acosta and Guillermo Farinas that followed that march and Babalu notes that the island “has already recorded almost 200 political arrests this month.”


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Curacao: Images of Slavery Inappropriate  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

TRIUNFO DI SABLIKA takes issue with certain images on the Golden Coach, which has become the symbol of the Dutch monarchy: “The sidebar ‘Tribute of the Colonies’ activates great resistance from us. On that side are half-naked black men and women who offer their riches to the royal king. In the colonial era and the aftermath of slavery this seemed like a very ordinary picture. Now it reminds us of a horrible period in Dutch history.”


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Ecuador: Victims of Domestic Violence Ignored by Media and Society · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Lunas Azules [es] argues that victims of domestic violence are often ignored by the media and by society because of their “little political weight” and because their aggressor is not usually labeled as a criminal.


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Guatemala: A Look at the Candidates for November’s Runoff Election · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

“So come the 6th November, Guatemalans should they vote, will have a  choice between a former military and a business man – each with their  own murky backgrounds and each who wield considerable power and  influence among those who rule Guatemala”: Kevin D in his blog at Guatemala Solidarity Network comments on the results of the September 11 elections and the two candidates that will face each other in the runoff election.


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Iran: Animal cruelty enraged bloggers · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

A film showing two “hunters” killing a brown bear and torturing her two cubs in front of a camera, enraged several bloggers. Joosh writes Iranian people have lived for last 32 years in such violence under the Islamic Republic that lost all their values.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Jamaica: Disaster Preparedness  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In the midst of the hurricane season, Ruthibelle suggests that “damages could be minimised and it would cost this country less if we would stop living on luck, and starting living out emergency disaster preparedness, until it is ingrained in our culture…”


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Kenya: WordCamp Kenya 2011 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

7 reasons to attend WordCamp Kenya 2011: “This is a great chance to meet up with other WordPress fanatics and learn from the different levels of the conference. WordCamp is coming to East Africa for the first time and it is a great thing that it is happening in Kenya.”


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Mauritius: The First Rally of the “Outraged” Youth · Global Voices
Claire Ulrich

Khal Torabully on Africultures analyses [fr]  the emerging  movement of “outraged” (indignés) youth in Mauritius, where their first demonstration[fr] took place on September 10.  “What if this “digital 2.0″ movement heralded a genuine revolution, making room for a new political culture, and encouraging the country to reflect in a more modern way on the political and economical issues of this small democracy anchored in the Indian Ocean?”.

author: Claire Ulrich


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Russia: A 2007 Paper on HIV/AIDS · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Donna Welles posts her 2007 paper on “how the peculiarities of the Russian culture, government, economy, etc. all make the country extremely vulnerable to the AIDS epidemic.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Trinidad & Tobago: Questions on the State of Emergency  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Gerard Best has a few questions he'd like answered about the country's State of Emergency.


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Ukraine: Raid on Denis Oleinikov’s ProstoPrint.com · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Updates on the situation with Denis Oleinikov‘s ProstoPrint.com goods-on-demand company, which was raided by the Ukrainian police last week: Courtney Boyd Myers’ Sep. 8 text on The Next Web; on Demotix, Kost Bezginsky's photos from the Sep. 15 brawl with riot police during the “charity fair” in support of ProstoPrint.com, as well as the text of “an open letter from Ukrainian entrepreneurs and active Internet users” to UEFA's President Michel Platini.


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Bhutan: Busy People Suck · Global Voices
Rezwan

D Stehle writes from the land of the highest gross national happiness that “busy people suck”.


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Bhutan: How To Be A Good Citizen · Global Voices
Rezwan

Penstar posts an essay written by Thinley Samdrup, a Bhutanese student of class IX, who discusses how one can be a good citizen.


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Brazil: Chained Teachers in the Freedom Square · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Brazilian blogger Beto Mafra shared [pt] videos and pictures of a demonstration of public school teachers in the state of Minas Gerais who after 101 days of strike, have chained themselves in front of the Palace of Liberty during a visit of the President Rousseff. The police later charged on the them.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Brazil: University Campus Closed Due to a “Legalize” Party · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

The Rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP), Dirceu de Melo, ordered closing down the main campus on September 16, to prevent the First Festival of Cannabis Culture [pt] – a party seeking to discuss the legalization of marijuana among students, informs us [pt] Ivan de Sampaio, on his blog.


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CIVICUS: Reflections on the Power of Civil Society · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

For three days several civil society representatives met in Montreal, Canada for the CIVICUS World Assembly to discuss different ways to mobilize people, starting with their own aspirations.
The subjects were (and still are) diverse: from civil movements, social equality, and the effects of new technologies, to climate justice. Participants discussed the role of technology in empowering communities, the necessary changes in the relationship between citizens and governments, the online and offline world, movements in the Arab world, and the role of youth in building new societies.
Between activists, academics, workers, thinkers and bloggers, the discussions filled webpages, posts, tweets and other media. Ideas where exchanged with the purpose of continuing with the activities that have made changes in civil participation visible.
In order to maintain ideas flowing, here are some posts that covered the assembly, particularly during the end of it. The discussions are far from over, and the more you read and share, the better!
Paul McAdams wrote his reflections in a letter dedicated to his children. He named it “You can make a difference”:
The people I met agreed that “new technologies” like Twitter and Facebook and YouTube and text messages (none of which were ever new to you) are important tools to connect us together and learn more about struggles happening half a world away. But (…) is not enough.
Anna Mazgal says in her post “All Kinds of Mushrooms”:
I think big thanks go to both the facilitators and the audience that posed very good questions to inspire the rest and avoided easy answers. Any answer conceived in an hour-and-a-half workshop would be strikingly false on the issue that still belongs to the future.
In the post “When Communities of the Poor Empower Themselves“, written by one of the organizers, there were some interesting thoughts:
The heady events we have come to know as the Arab Spring are just one recent example of the aspirations of millions of people in North Africa and the Middle East for a greater say in their lives, for more just and economically equitable societies. In many other countries, from Brazil to Thailand to Senegal – to name only a representative few – social movements already decades old have also been struggling to define their own development processes.
Finally, in a blog post in French, Sophie Verdon shares her conclusions :
(…) la participation citoyenne est bel et bien présente à travers le monde, les citoyens de partout veulent exercer leur pouvoir citoyen de diverses façons. Le contexte amène souvent des complications à cet exercice, mais la volonté y est! Le pouvoir du nombre et la solidarité pourront amener les citoyens à se mobiliser (…). Profitons de la conjoncture favorable qui nous est offerte ici, et dont nous ne profitons malheureusement pas assez…! Tout cela est en émergence et en évolution constante, tout cela m’a beaucoup inspirée.
Tristan Brand | CIVICUS World Assembly 2011 – Used with permission
This is just a small sample. It is worth going to the Assembly's blog and reviewing what has been said. Bloggers have shared their perspectives in English, French and Spanish, and through various tweets.
The hope is that after this event more voices in favor of empowering citizens will join in. Ideas and experiences gain strength when they are shared, as we have seen before. Technology has come to the aid of those who did not attend CIVICUS: the videos of the conferences are available here. The public space is open, may ideas keep flowing!

author: Laura Vidal


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Cuba: A Very Painful Issue · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

El Taburete [es] reposts singer-songwriter Vicente Feliú's statement on the controversy ensued after renowned artist Pablo Milanés publicly criticized the Cuban government.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Cuba: In Solidarity with World Bloggers · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Yasmín Portales supports [es] fellow blogger Elaine Díaz's idea  [es] of reuniting Cuban bloggers in Havana at the same time of the first world meeting of bloggers in Brazil next October [pt].


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Cuba: Thoughts on “Habanastation” · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Negra Cubana [es] comments on Habanastation, a Cuban fim about two kids from Havana.


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D.R of Congo: California Passes Bill on Congo Conflict Minerals · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

California passes first-ever state bill on Congo conflict minerals: “By a vote of 67 to 11, the California state assembly passed a bill that prohibits state agencies from signing contracts with companies that fail to comply with federal regulations aimed at deterring business with armed groups in eastern Congo.”


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India: Lessons Learnt On Managing Rural Development · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sparsh lists 10 lessons learnt during a post graduate study on rural management in the context of rural India.


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Lebanon: Sabra and Chatila Massacre Remembered 29 Years On · Global Voices
Antoun Issa

September 16, 2011, marked the 29th anniversary of the most grueling moment in the six-decade long Arab-Israeli conflict – the massacre at Sabra and Chatila.
On this day in 1982, Israeli-backed Lebanese Phalangist (Arabic: al-Kataeb) militiamen entered the Sabra and Chatila Palestinian refugee camps in West Beirut, and slaughtered at will. Age or gender were never a consideration, as the elderly, women, children and even toddlers became easy prey.
Courtesy of Mondoweiss
The death toll has never been verified, ranging from 800 to 3,500, which is testimony to the destruction wrought by the Phalangists that many bodies were never uncovered.
The massacre occurred under the watch of the Israeli Defense Force, who at the time had gained control of West Beirut, guarded the entrances to the camps, and lit flares at night to provide visibility to their Lebanese allies.
An Israeli investigation, the Kahan Commission, found then Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon personally responsible, and recommended his resignation from the Israeli Government.
The blogosphere was swarming with tributes to the victims of the massacre.
DesertPeace posted a video tribute [WARNING: graphic content]:
Political blog, Pulse, recounted the gruesome tragedy:
At six on Thursday evening. In the first penetration, three hundred  and twenty men were brought on thirty trucks. Four gangs invading from  four approaches. These were the most blood-addicted, rape-happy,  battle-addled of militiamen, men long ago surfeited on outrage, men who  required ever more extreme atrocities to stir their glutted senses. Ever  wilder, ever sharper.
Israel lit the sky for them. White phosphorus flares trailing and  dancing. Fire above like a terrible sun in the ceiling, a sun switched  on in anger, while the children are sleeping…
Carelessly, they shot small children too, and their annoying mothers.  Plus things that shrieked and things that ran. House to house, to the  inner room, to the furthest wall. Hot work. Soon they shot with greater  care, enjoying the sport, slashing and chopping and stabbing too. They  swigged whisky and araq, snorted cocaine from flesh and knife blades.Throughout Thursday night bulldozers levelled the buildings closest  to the camp entrance. A machine was sent in to dig trenches. Wailing and  shooting whirled around the streets. People shut themselves in,  waiting. They whispered amongst themselves, guessing the direction of  the slaughter, or making excuses for the noise. Some still didn’t know  the extent of it, or didn’t believe. Tomorrow would make believers of  them.
They huddled in the darkest dark. Outside the night sun shone; inside  not even a candle. Dark as dark as ignorance. The dawn brought smoke  and a smell of blood.
On Friday the massacre intensified. Reached its fiercest height in  the area surrounding the Gaza Hospital. Finally waned to a dribbling  halt around 8am on Saturday morning. A long debauch. More than 36 hours  of it.
Christof Lehmann offers his tribute at the Sabbah Report:
Twenty nine years have past, my goodness. I'll never forget you  wonderful people. Neither will I forget the extremes of inhumanity and  human compassion, the ugliness and beauty, the laughter and grins while  murdering with a disregard for humanity and life impossible to  comprehend, and the tears and cries of deepest despair and suffering no  human being, not even an animal should experience.The days of terror I  had to share with you were also the greatest lesson on human greatness,  and the deepest beauty of the collective Palestinian Spirit, I ever had  to endure.
Confused ? So am I.
Even after 29 years I still can't  comprehend the full impact the experience has had on me, nor on you. At  least I had the privilege to leave after it was possible to get out of  the ruins of Sabra and Shatila. You could not. It makes me sad, really.  So sad that I never returned to face the demons in my memory and my bad  conscience over leaving you behind. There is so much I don't know  because I left you behind, beaten, bloody in body mind and soul. Broken  glass that shines like a diamond in the sun, crying out to the world,  “let us live in peace”. The only thing I know with absolute certainty is  this:
Neither you, nor me, nor anyone should ever experience the  inhumanity of pure unleashed evil, and until my last breath I will do  what I can to prevent anything like Sabra and Shatila from ever  happening again.
As you see, I am utter failure.
David Samel brought attention to Israel's other crimes during its invasion of Lebanon in 1982 in a comment at Mondoweiss:
As terrible as these atrocities were, they were only icing on the cake  of Israel’s June 1982 invasion of Lebanon, based upon a false pretext,  that took the lives of about 15,000 to 20,000 Lebanese and Palestinians.   “Liberal” Israelis actually point to Sabra and Shatila to demonstrate  how progressive their country is.  After all, hundreds of thousands of  Israelis demonstrated against the massacres, and the Kahan Commission  held bigwigs Sharon and Eitan indirectly responsible.  The movie “Waltz  With Bashir” showed Israeli veterans sensitively coping with their  memories and their guilt. But the whole summer of 1982 was filled with  savagery that exceeds the more recent 2006 Lebanon and 2008-9 Gaza  bombings/invasions combined.  It’s a crime that Begin and Sharon died  (in Sharon’s case, virtually) without ever having to answer for this  high-water mark of mass murder and state terrorism.
Marcy Newman at Body on the Line argues that marking the anniversary is in vain while the plight of Palestinian refugees continues to be ignored:
What I find especially disturbing about all of this is how everyone  remembers the anniversary of the Sabra and Chatila massacre but no one  seems to remember the destruction of Nahr el Bared refugee camp. It is  rather convenient that Mitchell and his Lebanese cohorts discussed Palestinian refugees, but of course did not reveal any tangible  information about their right of return. For Palestinians from Nahr el Bared this right of return is now two-fold: first to their camp and then  to Palestine. If only that first step could be eliminated and they  could return home immediately.
This is why I am feeling like I am against anniversaries. Anniversaries, ideally, should be a time when you reflect upon the  person/people/event. It should make you act in a way that honors that  memory. The only real way to honor the memory of the massacre in 1982 or  the destruction of Nahr el Bared in 2007 is to fight for the right of  return for Palestinian refugees. But no one is talking about that, nor  are they talking about reconstructing Nahr el Bared
Twitter tributes also flooded in:
@motantawi: A tragedy is a tragedy. Commemorating 9-11 doesn't outdo or erase the memory of the tragedy of Sabra and Chatila so why the comparison?
@rida_faisal: So why is it that the victims of Sabra and Chatila don't get a massive memorial ceremony? News coverage? Oh right, it's not American blood.
@HamzehLattouf: #Sabra and Chatila are ugly crimes, the uglier crime was committed by the “civilized world” for letting the murderers get away with it
@fadiseikaly: and here are my 140 characters dedicated to the victims of Sabra And Chatila in 1982. I hope in his coma, Sharon sees their faces every day.
@omerrcelik: Today is the 29th anniversary of Sabra and Chatila massacre. The day of one of the most brutal attacks in history, carried out by Israel
@IamDiijah: The world will not observe a minute of silence for the 3,500 innocent Palestinian victims of Sabra and Chatila
@KShihabi: #Sabra and Chatila massacre 16-19/9/1982… No one has paid the price yet #Palestine #FreePalestine
@hamna_: Tomorrow, Sept 16-17th 1982 marks the Sabra and Chatila massacre. But of course, no one will remember as much as 9/11 was remembered.
While the remembrance of Sabra and Chatila is widespread across social media, the Lebanese blogosphere remained largely mute on the massacre.
As with the entire Lebanese Civil War, an air of forgetful silence is embraced by many Lebanese, as evident by the blogosphere's near complete avoidance of the Sabra and Chatila anniversary.
For many Lebanese, the Civil War and its atrocities remain a dark memory that one never mentions, suppressing the wounds.
Rather, life goes on as normal, oblivious to the crimes against humanity once carried on Lebanese soil.
As such, no Lebanese perpetrator of the Sabra and Chatila massacre, or any massacre in the Lebanese Civil War, has ever been brought to justice.

author: Antoun Issa


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Madagascar: Reactions to the Road Map Agreement to End the Crisis  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

The road map to end the Madagascar crisis has been signed by nearly all parties on September 16. Malagasy bloggers followed the event in real time and reacted to the implications [fr] of the agreement for the elections and the potential candidates.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Malaysia: Mahathir Says Bush Lied About 9/11  · Global Voices
Jerrenn Lam

This page is part of our special coverage Global Voices 9/11 Retrospective.
While the world took to mourning the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States (U.S.), former Malaysia Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has come out to again maintain his opinion that it was not the work of Muslim extremists.
Having famously proclaimed that ‘if they can make Avatar, they can make anything’, this time Mahathir has said in his blog that former U.S President George W. Bush has lied to the American people:
I believe Arab Muslims are angry enough to sacrifice their lives and become suicide bombers. But they or their handlers do not strike me as capable of planning and strategising such attacks so as to maximise the damage to the enemy.
But consider the attack on 9/11. The planning must have taken a considerable length of time. The candidates had to learn to fly in tiny aircrafts. Unless they were already airline pilots familiar with big passenger aircraft, their pupil pilot licenses would not be of much help to fly the four aircrafts to their targets which were not an the route of the planes.
Planning to hijack four aircrafts simultaneously would require great precision in timing and logistics. One aircraft maybe. But four simultaneously!! I don’t think Arab terrorists from Saudi Arabia can carry out this highly sophisticated operation with such success.
It is now the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Bush lied about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction. As a result hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, Afghans and a few thousand of young American soldiers died, thousands more are wounded, maimed for life, suffering mental breakdowns. Two countries have been devastated and fratricidal wars have become endemic. And still no democracy.
This is the legacy of George W. Bush. If they can lie so as to kill Iraqis, Afghans and American soldiers, it is not unthinkable for Bush & Co. to lie about who was responsible for 9/11. Human lives do not seem to mean much to Bush!!
Gary Brecher, writing in The Exiled, wrote:
Brilliant. That’s the way to win Muslim hearts’n’minds. It’s not even sensible; there are (well, there used to be) some reasonably intelligent people at the top of Al Qaeda. And the idea of using a plane to hit a tower, though it’s a very good plan, isn’t all that complicated.
Here are some reactions to Mahathir’s post: ray2467 advises the former Prime Minister to keep his ‘poisonous’ theories to himself:
Keep your theories to yourself
Many lives were lost and you have this silly theory to poison everybody against the west.
Bush is better man than you!
Dtan is not impressed with this latest conspiracy theory:
Conspiracy Theorists focus on all the extraneous events. Why the building didn’t fall the way they expected and come up with BS Theories using fantastical explosives like Thermite. They themselves have no evidence on how these explosives were placed. As if, there was a great plan whereby dozens of building or elevator technicians sneaked around placing the precise explosives did not draw any attention months before this event. Their mentality like yours (its been researched) is to draw concentric circles around your imagination to explain or deny what you want or not to believe.
Many people were murdered in those buildings. Do you think you honour their memory with your conjecture? Do you think God Almighty equates Conspiracy Theorists to Slanderers?
Dr Syed Alwi Ahmad tells Mahathir to retire from politics:
I hate to say this publicly but with all due respect and with the interest of Malaysia and ASEAN in mind – I think the time has come for both you and LKY (Lee Kuan Yew, former leader of Singapore) – to walk into the sunset and forget anymore publicity. Both you and LKY are making a fool of yourselves publicly and it does not do justice to your lifetime achievements.
I say this with no regrets. ASEAN has to move on and please – both Tun and LKY – you both have one last contribution to make – and that is – LEAVE THE SCENE.
This page is part of our special coverage Global Voices 9/11 Retrospective.

author: Jerrenn Lam


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Nepal: A Socially Connected Prime Minister · Global Voices
Rezwan

The new Nepali Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is “definitely on the way to revolutionize the way government works” – thinks Nepali Blogger. He already has a blog and a Facebook account and now he is publicizing his email to get in touch with the general citizens.

author: Rezwan


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Pakistan: Dengue Crisis Worsens · Global Voices
Rezwan

Mohammad Yusha reports that the mosquito-borne Dengue fever crisis has worsened in the Punjab region of Pakistan.


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Philippines: Filipinos Abuzz With Miss Universe Results · Global Voices
Julius Rocas

And third runner up is…Miss Philippines, Shamcey Supsup! This has been the cause for much celebration and cheering in the Philippines at the conclusion of the 2011 Miss Universe Beauty Pageant, held on September 13 in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
The title went to Miss Angola – a result which surprised many here back home. In the run-up to the coronation night, many Filipinos believed that Shamcey would either place first runner up or take home the crown, as she had a strong following and was amongst the favorites this year.
But the results are now out and being third runner up is a great improvement over last year's achievement of Venus Raj, who took the fourth runner up position.
Shamcey Supsup
Filipinos both online and offline are talking about the results, in particular, Shamcey's answer to judge Vivica A. Fox's question:
Would you change your religious beliefs to marry the person that you love? Why or why not?
Here's a sample of what Filipino netizens are saying about the answer and the results.
Imagine Life Without X takes the result as it is, thankful that Shamcey was able to improve on Venus Raj's 2010 efforts:
There nothing much to talk about, she got the looks, the height, the brains, and that distinctive beauty of a Filipina it’s just that she only won as 3rd-runner up. Oh c’mon, call me bias, but yes GIVE ME A BREAK!  Kidding guys! But who wants to lose right?  Well come to think of it, 3rd-runner up is 3rd-runner up, better than nothing. Maybe it’s not yet the right time for the Philippines to get the crown but soon enough we’ll have the leisure of winning such a prestigious pageant once again.
Colegiala Girl writes about how Shamcey Supsup surpassed all her expectations of how the competition would turn out:
Forget all the other details of the pageant, but Miss Supsup has been one of the most popular candidates among the Miss Universe contestants in Brazil. When she landed among the 15 semi-finalist, I said that is good enough. But I was wrong she was picked up among the top 10 finalists and I told myself, well she must be lucky to be one of them. I did not hope for more. To me being on the top 10 is already a good achievement. but I again I was wrong. She landed on the 5 finalists where she was judged and announced later  as 3rd finalist.
Focusing more Shamcey's answer to the question, The Black Fedora blog adores her for it:
For me, she is my Miss Universe and most of you agrees on that. As a Catholic, I love her answer and it’s the winning answer. But digging further, the Miss Universe Pageant was a showcase of different nationalities with different views and perspective especially when it comes to religion. Shamcey’s answer may be right for most of us, again because we’re God-fearing, but then again, perhaps it did not impress some of the judges. This is just my two cents worth
Jenny J. Talam was also able to connect profoundly to Shamcey's answer:
Shamcey’s answer may have not made sense to some of the judges’s ears, but to the true and all-powerful Judge, it made sense. A whole lot of sense. Until you accept your place in the world as a reflector of God, your life and your world won’t make any sense.
On the other hand, Cocoy sees something more behind Shamcey's answer, something that brings to focus the state of our society at present and how it is going about in facing current challenges:
Personally?  I thought the answer was a bit naive, and incredelous.  It is one of those things you do a mental shrug.
—-
Going back to the Shamcey Supsup question, aside from the God question, her response strikes a cord because it goes after that moveable target called, “Love”.  The Miss Universe question after all, is a timeless one.  Romantics believe that true love is about moving mountains.  It is the test of time.  Hell, isn’t there a Biblical quote that says you leave your parents to go live with the one you marry?  At the heart of the Shamcey question was a timeless question: “Would you move mountains for love?”
He then concludes on the following:
Put in another way, The Miss Universe pageant asked Shamcey if she would defy destiny, causality, the nexus of time itself for a boy.  Her answer was, “No”.  There is no right or wrong answer.  Is it fair then to be injecting own mores, and is it fair to Shamcey to represent all that clashing idea of who is the Filipina in this modern world?
Paolo Mandingiado tackles the issue of using interpreters and how it reflects our collective effort to establish some sort of ‘national identity':
My post-pageant realization is that it was not really about the use of Tagalog or English. For me, it boils down to how we want to be perceived and represented as a nation. To some degree, the candidates we send year in and year out to these international beauty pageants are no different from the intellectuals we fly in to science and math Olympiads worldwide, the athletes we support in international meets, and to the artists and performers we applaud in the global stage.
Aren’t they all simply ambassadors of the Philippines and its people?
All in all, Shamcey Supsup's achievements have given the country another reason to celebrate being a Filipino and a Filipina. In these challenging times, symbols of achievement, success and something positive would do good in keeping a nation working and striving for a better life.

author: Julius Rocas


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South African: Facebook Profile Picture Creates Controversy · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

South Africa's Facebook profile photo creates controversy: Authorities in South Africa are investigating a white man’s Facebook profile picture with a hunting rifle and a big grin kneeling in a classic hunter’s pose over what appears to be the lifeless body of a black boy – as if he is  his “prey”.


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South Asia: Worst Cities In South Asia · Global Voices
Rezwan

South Asia Blog analyzes the Global Livability Report and its assumption of the worst cities in South Asia.


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Sri Lanka: Identity Crisis · Global Voices
Rezwan

Shaahima Fahim at Groundviews discusses about the notion of the search for national identity in the post-war Sri Lanka.


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Uganda: Is This the End of Amnesty for LRA Rebels? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Uganda seeks to end amnesty for rebels belong to the Lord's Resistance Army, Ashley Benner reports: “The controversial trial of former Lord’s Resistance Army commander Thomas Kwoyelo has taken a discouraging turn. The first former LRA rebel to stand trial, Kwoyelo has applied for amnesty through Uganda’s Amnesty Act of 2000 but has not been granted it.”


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Zambia: Wikileaks Cables Not As Toxic · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

This post is part of our special coverage WikiLeaks and the World.
Almost a year after the United States (US) government diplomatic cables were released by Wikileaks, Zambia’s tranche of the documents have recently surfaced but as it has turned out, nothing drastic has been disclosed by the leaks which have proved toxic in other countries. There are no signs that the latest revelations will affect the outcome of September 20 tripartite elections.
However, it is the US diplomats’ comments on the Zambian government that are scathing particularly on the lack of action in a number of areas. One of the cables, somewhat exposed the inherent weaknesses of the ruling MMD soon after the 2008 presidential by-election. Said the cable of the MMD which goes into an election with nine other parties:
Wikileaks logo from Wikimedia Commons.
Despite having won Zambia's October 30 presidential by-election, the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD), which has dominated the Zambian political scene since the end of one-party rule in 1991, is engaging in the types of behavior normally characteristic of losing organizations — finger pointing, witch hunting, airing of dirty laundry, and suppression of dissension. In addition, certain members of the MMD are setting themselves up for presidential candidacies to succeed Rupiah Banda in 2011…One of these is Katele Kalumba, National Secretary of the MMD and currently the third highest ranking member of the party, as there is no party president or vice president since President Mwanawasa's death.
Katele Kalumba has since given up his position as national secretary following his conviction on abuse of office and corruption charges in the infamous plunder cases that also involved the late former President, Frederick Chiluba.
Kalumba, according to the cables, also criticized President Rupiah Banda’s campaign strategy which led the MMD win the presidential by beating the closes rival, Patriotic Front (PF)’s Michael Sata, who is also the closest rival in the upcoming elections by about 35,000:
Kalumba was unsparing in his criticism of both President Banda and his cabinet choices in a conversation with P/E Chief November 18. He said MMD's relatively poor showing was due to Banda's poor campaigning, his campaign team's disorganization and miscalculations, as well as division within the party itself. Kalumba said Banda's cabinet choices were also “real dummies.”
The cables have also not spared PF:
…In addition, the members of the main opposition  party, the Patriotic Front, have proven time and again they  are equally willing to cannibalize each other to suit their  individual political aspirations.  Which party will remain  the most intact for the election in 2011 remains to be seen.
Below is what the US embassy said about Michael Sata in the 2008 elections:
Although still a strong contender in the October 30 by-election, presidential candidate Michael Sata  appears to have lost some of his momentum due to internal  party strife.  The Patriotic Front leader excommunicated half of his party’s parliamentarians in late 2007 over  disagreements regarding the National Constitutional  Conference (NCC), and one of them now appears bent on foiling  Sata’s presidential ambitions.  Despite this setback, Sata is  determined to win the presidency and has begun targeting  rural areas in order to expand his electoral base beyond  discontented urban youth.
The report concluded:
In a particularly telling move, Sata abandoned his former website (www.pf.com.zm) and created a new domain name  (www.michaelsata.co.zm), which most appropriately conveys the true nature of his personality-driven party.  Despite Sata’s  demagoguery, he is surrounded by many thoughtful politicians  who seem to believe in his cause and his political prospects  and are willing to overlook his eccentricities, shortcomings, and frequent populist poppycock.
Readers at Zambian Watchdog had this to say:
Kibakimani said:
“Although seen as a “straight talker,” the PF leader’s discourse is not burdened by an unwavering commitment to accuracy or truth.”
Simply put, Sata is a liar. This is how diplomats write. Infact, Sata is more than a liar, he is a LIE. That is why he can claim so many things, including being a freedom fighter when he was a shu shu [intelligence officer] for the Tsamundas…
That is why he can claim everything from building flyover bridges, construction of avondale to bringing trousers for hospital nurses. I can imagine if he ever was Minister of transport how he would be bosting about bringing busses.
Sata is a lie.
Moses said:
MICHAEL KOPLOVSKY, in some of the Wikileaks cables, described George Kunda [Zambia's Vice-President] as a semi-competent, ill clumsy pit bull. A pit bull is that chi dog with a big mouth.By nature, a pit bull is very clumsy. That’s how low the US thinks of our Geroge Kunda…ke ke ke ke. Even the whites don’t take GK seriously
Nostradamus said:
Now we know why Rajan Mahtan [Former owner of Finance Bank which has controversially being sold by the government] is still suffering on MMD’s crucifix.
It is difficulty to find doubtful leak in this, so much truth in it. What about this year’s leaks, is King Cobra winning elections?
Another scathing comment questioned President Banda's commitment to fighting corruption. One comment in particular relates to the deal in which communications giant, Zambia Telecommunications Company, was sold and how one former minister, Dora Siliya, appeared before a high court ministerial tribunal to explain the deal:
Although President Banda deftly painted himself into a corner by offering Siliya his vocal and unwavering support, he shows little discomfort at being there. Instead of containing the scandal or distancing themselves from it, he and his Vice President amplified it by implicating themselves further. Within hours of dismissing Kapitolo, Banda appointed a new ZPPA Director, described by civil society organizations as more “user friendly” to State House. The appointment of a new ZPPA head and board, and the government's careless handling of the Siliya affair, suggests a domestic agenda directed by Banda's personal interests and efforts to consolidate his control over his party, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD)
Another corruption-related cable was how corruption scandals turned off donors:
The governments of Sweden and the Netherlands froze their development assistance to Zambia's health sector following reports of serious fraud at the Ministry of Health (MoH). Their course of action reflects mounting donor anxiety, not so much at corruption itself as at the Zambian Government's (GRZ's) seemingly tepid response to it.
In another cable, President Banda allegedly told a World Bank Vice President that he would fight corruption effectively if he was elected for a full five year term in the 2011 election:
Zambian President Rupiah Banda told a World Bank Vice President he could not undertake a robust anti-corruption stance because he “has multiple constituencies to satisfy.” During a late September meeting on the margins of UNGA in New York, IBRD Africa Vice President told the Zambian leader, his Trade Minister Felix Mutate and State House Economic Advisor Richard Chembe that Banda needs to deal with the perception that he is soft on corruption. Banda reportedly insisted he was committed to working to fight corruption, but he is being “pulled in different directions. Banda also said it would be easier for him to tackle Zambia's corruption problems and the associated perceptions when and if he is reelected to a full five year term in 2011.
This post is part of our special coverage WikiLeaks and the World.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu