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United Russia MP Scorned for Public Debauch · Global Voices
Daniel Alan Kennedy

Isaev making a statement to Russia 24 TV channel. YouTube screenshot.
The fortunes of the ruling United Russia party have been waning for some time. While President Vladimir Putin's popularity remains stable at around 65%, the party that supports him (he himself left the party in April 2012) has nosedived [ru] in the polls. Voters increasingly associate it with corruption, self-interest, and out-and-out criminality. Seeking to allay its image problem, the party announced a massive internal purge in June 2013, with Vice-Speaker Sergei Zheleznyak explaining [ru] “If a person is mixed up in criminal activities and there is documentary evidence of this, there is no place for him in the party.” Talk of improving the party's image and boosting its grassroots support also dominated at the United Russia party conference that was held October 3-5 2013.
It seems, however, that not every member got the memo on the importance of good behavior. Within three days of the conference a United Russia MP Andrei Isaev managed to get himself embroiled in yet another scandal when he and his aide, Aleksandr Poglazov, were thrown off an Aeroflot flight. Aeroflot accused Isaev of being publicly srunk, threatening the crew and delaying the flight. News of the event broke online, when Ilya Perekopsky, a passenger on the plane and vice president of Russia's most popular social network VK, sarcastically replied to one of Isaev's tweets:
Выступил на митинге профсоюзов Санкт-Петербурга, в рамках Всемирного дня борьбы профсоюзов за достойный труд
— Андрей Исаев (@AK_Isaev) October 7, 2013
I attended a demonstration of the trade unions in St Petersburg, as part of the World Day for Decent Work.
@AK_Isaev Расскажете избирателям как из-за вас и обдолбанного вашего помощника весь борт ждал, пока полиция снимет вас с рейса Питер-Мск.
— Ilya Perekopsky (@perekopsky) October 8, 2013
Tell your voters how because of you and your stoned aide the whole plane had to wait while the police took you of a flight from Petersburg to Moscow.
Perekopsky told reporters that a phone video capturing part of the event was posted online. Though Isaev is not audible, passengers can be heard shouting “Respect us, comrade!” and “Leave the plane please, we're all running late!” Following Isaev's eventual departure, the passengers applaud.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saFrTXExGZE
Isaev was quick to defend himself [ru] and to lay the blame squarely on his “stoned” aide:
Помощник был задержан и оштрафован на 100 рублей в связи с появлением в общественном месте в состоянии опьянения. Ко мне никаких претензий нет. Я покинул борт из-за помощника.
My aide was detained and fined 100 roubles ($3 USD) in connection with appearing in a public place in a state of intoxication. There are no allegations against me. I left the plane because of my aide.
Aeroflot disagreed, issuing a statement [ru] claiming that Isaev had threatened the crew:
Александр Поглазов прибыл на борт вместе с пассажиром Андреем Исаевым, который требовал пересадить Поглазова в салон бизнес-класса и угрожал членам экипажа увольнением и личными неприятностями. В итоге пассажир Поглазов был передан сотрудникам полиции, а Андрей Исаев добровольно отказался от полета.
Aleksandr Poglazov came on board together with passenger Andrei Isaev, who demanded that we transfer Poglazov to business class and threatened the crew members with dismissal and personal problems. As a result, the  passenger Poglazov was turned over to the police, and Andrei Isaev voluntarily left the flight.
Opposition bloggers were eager to jump on what they saw as further evidence that United Russia members consider themselves above the law and rules of common decency. Popular blogger Oleg Kozyrev, referencing the 30 members of a Greenpeace vessel currently being held in Murmansk on charges of piracy, tweeted:
Загадка дня. Будет ли единоросс Исаев признан воздушным пиратом
— Олег Козырев (@oleg_kozyrev) October 9, 2013
The question of the day. Will United Russia member Isaev be recognized as an air pirate?
Ilya Yashin, a prominent member of the opposition, used the incident to take a potshot at Russia's law forbidding Americans from adopting Russian orphans, which was informally dubbed “Dima Yakovlev's law” by the press:
В июне ЕР внесла в Госдуму закон об уголовной ответственности за дебоши в самолетах: http://t.co/A90ZBpimFN Теперь это “Закон Исаева”.
— Илья Яшин (@IlyaYashin) October 9, 2013
In June United Russia introduced a law in Parliament on criminal liability for drunken debauch on planes: http://t.co/A90ZBpimFN This will now be “Isaev's law”.
Sergei Markov, a prominent pro-Kremlin political commentator, who knows Isaev personally, used his facebook page [ru] to defend the embattled deputy. Markov admitted he would likely take some flack for defending Isaev, but listed four reasons he doubted the politician had done anything wrong: Isaev has never been seen very drunk in public, Isaev is an educated and “tolerant” man, Isaev is an “optimistic and calm” person, and “maybe he was simply defending his aide.”
Poglazov has since resigned as Isaev's aide “of his own volition.” Isaev tendered his resignation [ru] from the position of Deputy Secretary to the General Council of United Russia, apologized, and stated that he was “responsible for his aide.” At the same time he has ruled out resigning from his seat or the party. Though United Russia functionaries have described this response as adequate, it seems unlikely to assuage an electorate tired of seeing their politicians act as if they are above the law. While Isaev could likely have gotten away with threatening to sack the stewardess ten years ago, such behavior now alienates not only passengers on a flight, but any Russian with a computer.
If United Russia want to improve their polling they'll have to cut down on scandals like Isaev's. Their members will have wean themselves of the “migalki” and expensive foreign property they've become used to. Or perhaps, they'll take the tongue-in-cheek advice of one Tweeter user:
Был бы у Исаева собственный самолёт – скандала бы не вышло.
— Покайтесь! (@jarilo2) October 10, 2013
If only Isaev had a private jet — there wouldn't have been any scandal.

author: Daniel Alan Kennedy


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Vietnam Bids Farewell to Legendary War Hero · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Vietnam is mourning the death of General Vo Nguyen Giap, the legendary military tactician and communist leader who led Vietnam’s army in defeating the military forces of France and the United States in the 20th century. Giap was 103 years old when he died last October 4.
General Vo Nguyen Giap. Photo from ‘I Love Vietnam’ website.
He is the first four-star general and Commander-in-Chief of Vietnam. He is also called the ‘Eldest Brother’ of Vietnam People’s Army. He is generally recognized in the whole world as one of the greatest military leaders of all time.
Former party Secretary General Le Kha Phieu described Giap as Vietnam’s ‘unfailing source of light’:
The General is forever an unfailing source of light for the Vietnamese people, army and communists.
Giap is the second most revered leader in Vietnam after Ho Chi Minh. General Phung Quang Thanh, in an article first published by Nhan Dan Online, was reminded of Giap’s advice to maintain the integrity of ‘Uncle Ho’s soldiers’:
The General advised veterans to preserve and promote the quality of ‘Uncle Ho’s soldiers’, strengthen solidarity, and be exemplary by participating in local socio-economic development activities. He reminded the local Party committees and governments to listen to and respect people, and urged officials and Party members to take the lead so that people would place trust that the Party and the government would succeed in the nation’s new revolutionary cause.
After the end of Vietnam War in 1975, Giap served in the government but was reportedly sidelined after a few years. Đoan Trang surmised Giap’s reason as to why he didn’t press for a higher position in the government:
…it can be said that Vo Nguyen Giap must have done what a communist is expected to do: to sacrifice personal interests for general interests. What would have happened, they argued, if General Vo Nguyen Giap, with his dominance over the armed forces, had confronted his comrades in the ruling Communist Party to earn himself a higher position with greater privileges?
Jonathan London wrote about the impact of Giap’s death on the ruling party. He also described how the Vietnamese are paying their last respects to Giap:
In Hanoi, where thousands waited in the street to pay their last respects, the mood was at somber, electric, and unscripted. Parents brought their children, even as today’s parents and children learned about the General mostly in schoolbooks. Those with more years showed up in large numbers accompanied by their friends in some instances and their own children and grandchildren in others.
Saigon Shakers is too young to remember Giap but noted how many people are grieving the passing of the military leader:
I don’t know much about him. Only that he’s a war hero in every war in the last century, for just about every Vietnamese person. And that I haven’t seen my parents this sad over something since I told them that I’d dropped out of grad school.
Here are some reactions on Twitter:
The back of the long line to pay respects to the late General Vo Nguyen Giap. #Vietnam pic.twitter.com/T4stSoh34y
— James H. Anderson (@Jimnosredna) October 6, 2013
Vietnam's lost a great hero of all time. What a loss! Goodbye, General Vo Nguyen Giap. #vietnam
— Duong Swifty (@duongswifty21) October 12, 2013
RIP Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap – the legend of Vietnam. Thank you for everything. We love you.
— ♥ o_O TTTT O_o ♥ (@TTTT030995) October 12, 2013
In the next 3 days, young people have a chance to learn history again with all the articles about Legendary Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap. #Vietnam
— Khanh Ph.D Mai (@KhanhPhDMai) October 5, 2013
Italian communist in Hanoi for Giap funeral, tells @ap 'In the 60s and 70, we were shouting "Giap, Giap, Ho Chi Minh Vietnam will win"
— Chris Brummitt (@cjbrummitt) October 12, 2013
We are mourning for our legend: General Giap. Vietnam national flag was flown at half-mast at public places. #Vietnam pic.twitter.com/kCqF4gmVn8
— 茹峥 TranhNguyen (@tranhnguyen) October 12, 2013
Meanwhile, Calvin Godfrey doesn’t approve of the obituary written by American Senator John McCain:
…asking McCain to write the last words on one of the greatest military tacticians in history is sort of like asking the kid who repeated the ninth grade twice to give your school’s valedictorian address.
Interestingly, many Vietnamese learned about Giap's death from Facebook and other Internet websites because state media have to wait for the official announcement of the Communist Party.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Why is Cuban Dissident Sonia Garro in Prison? · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

Sonia Garro has been incarcerated in Cuba for over a year. A member of the controversial Damas de Blanco, a group of women advocating for the release of political prisoners in Cuba, Garro and her husband were arrested in a violent police raid on their home in spring of 2012. She was behind bars for several months before she was issued formal charges. Originally accused of “terrorism”, she has now been charged with assault, generating public disorder and the attempted murder of one of the police officers involved in the raid.
Sonia Garro Alfonso from Tracey Eaton on Vimeo.
US journalist and transparency advocate Tracey Eaton interviewed Garro in 2012.
Ideology smolders, but information remains scarce
Cases like Garro's are notoriously difficult to parse by following media on either side of the Florida Straits. Cuban state media portray serious government critics as “mercenaries” supported by US government money, while US news outlets regularly serve up rumors that all Cubans are either brainwashed into subservience by the Castro government or clamoring for an ill-defined clean slate of freedom. Neither side is especially convincing.
It is difficult to find an explanation of precisely why Garro is in prison and what precipitated the raid on her home. Leading Cuban state media outlets Granma and Cubadebate have not uttered a word about Garro's case. Dissident networks and foreign media report that she has been an active anti-government activist since 2009 — her activities have ranged from starting an independent community center to joining the Damas de Blanco, a group that is known to be backed by US government money. It is illegal for Cuban citizens to receive financial support from the US government agencies — despite its questionable legitimacy under international human rights norms, this could serve as a justification for her arrest under Cuban law. But Garro is one of many women involved in the effort — it may be that there is something specific about Garro's activities that led to the raid on her home.
Unfortunately, there is little transparency around law enforcement and judicial processes in Cuba, thus search and arrest warrants, charges, and other documentation are unavailable for public view. Either way, the long period of time during which Garro was held without charges suggests that there may not be a strong legal justification for her incarceration. Without further information, it seems most likely that Sonia Garro is in prison because of her political activities.
Did she cross a line?
In an article for Diario de Cuba, Ivan García wrote,
Aunque nadie conoce a ciencia cierta cuál es la delgada línea que separa lo permisivo de aquello que el Gobierno considera delito. Sonia Garro tampoco lo sabe. Ella está convencida de que solo reclamaba sus derechos.
Although no one knows the exact science that determines the thin line separating what's permitted from what that government considers a crime. Sonia doesn't know either, but she is convinced that all she did was attempt to exercise her rights.
In popular conceptualizations of political speech in Cuba, writers often refer to this “line” that García mentions. This construct can be problematic in many cases, but when it comes to financial support, the location of the proverbial line is as clear as day.
Upon crossing this line, one becomes a “gusano” or traitor, suspected of subversive behavior. Those who cross this line risk losing their jobs, severing ties with family and friends, harassment by government loyalists, and sometimes legal action. Do the Damas participate because of their political beliefs, or mostly for financial gain? Or are they motivated by some combination of the two? It is hard to know.
Some Cubans avoid the political pitfalls of this paradigm by narrowing their critiques to areas of policy and regulation, rather than ideology. But others, particularly those whose lives have been irrevocably changed by harsh penalties for political activity and small crimes alike, generally seem more willing to risk the consequences both of making broad, sweeping critiques of the system as a whole, and of accepting foreign support that allows them to sustain their livelihoods, despite the ways that this can leave them marginalized within society. Sonia Garro took major risks by engaging in anti-government activities and joining the Damas group. And now she is paying a high price for it.

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


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Chinese Journalist Arrested After Exposing Corruption Online · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Journalist Liu Hu was formally arrested for accusing officials of corruption seven weeks after his detention on Aug 24, 2013.
Liu, from the Guangzhou-based New Express, had called for an investigation into Ma Zhengqi, the deputy director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, through his account on popular microblogging site Sina Weibo on July 29. Liu’s posts detail the alleged corruption involving four high-ranking officials.
He has been detained on suspicion of “fabricating and spreading rumours” since, and his Sina Weibo account deleted during his detention.
Liu Hu’s arrest is the latest crackdown on critical voices in Chinese social media. Some high-profile liberals on Weibo have been warned or detained by the police during the past few months. In September 2013, prominent online celebrity Charles Xue was detained by Beijing police for suspected solicitation of prostitution.
Many journalists and lawyers believe Liu is innocent. Some were shocked by Liu's arrest as they compared Liu with another journalist, Luo Changping, who made similar public accusations in 2012 against Liu Tienan, the deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission. The official was sacked from his post in the end.
Journalist Liu Hu was arrested after exposing corruption online. Photo from Sina Weibo.
Despite the public anger, the chilling effect of the crackdown has reined in different voices online. A few voices of support online for Liu have been responded with pro-party lecturing, which was believed to be posted by commenters hired by the Chinese government, known as the 50 Cent party.
A Lanzhou-based journalist questioned [zh] why Liu lost his freedom:
没有嫖娼，没有造谣，没有敲诈，没有其他不法行为，仅仅因为在微博公开了官员涉嫌贪腐，就以触犯寻衅滋事罪被抓捕，且认为取保候审有社会危险性。你们真的怕了吗？可如此处理只能算愚蠢。因为我们关注的不仅仅是刘虎的自由，我们还在关注谁让刘虎失去自由！
No prostitution, no rumors, no blackmail, no other wrongdoing, simply because the microblogging exposes the suspected corruption of officials, and he was arrested disturbing public order with potential danger to the society. Are you really afraid? Do you know this kind of treatment is only considered stupid. Because we are concerned not only with the freedom of Liu Hu, but also why he has lost his freedom!
Her post was soon attacked by “other netizens” with the opposite opinion, to which she responded [zh]:
只要发个为记者刘虎被捕鸣不平的帖子，就会有大批五毛蜂拥而上发一堆垃圾跟贴。
I just wrote a post to support Liu Hu, but I got bombarded with lots of trash feedback from the 50 Cent party.
Another netizen Hu Ning echoed [zh]:
点了热门话题“刘虎被批捕”，看了搜出来的相关微博下的评论，比转发少不少，且都是些名称诡异、无v认证、甚至连头像都没有的用户所留，立场还出奇地一致。我打了个寒战。
I just clicked the hot topic “Liu Hu got arrested”, but all the related comments are either from some weird names, without any verification. Lot of accounts didn't even have profile photos. The opinions are surprisingly coherent, which made me shiver.
Some netizens have turned to other social media platforms. Lawyer Zhou Lixin analyzed [zh] on his blog:
事实上，北京警方现在这种（一没有对被举报人的清廉作出担保，二又突破法律对举报人追究刑责）做法，才是对党国伟光正形象的严重损伤。因为，这种做法向全体国民传递的信号是：我党的高级官员们不管是有没有贪腐，尔等小民是不能在网上公开举报的；有胆敢在网上公开举报者，记者刘虎遭遇的牢狱之灾就是你们的下场。
In fact, Beijing police's approach destroys the image of the party and the country. First, they did not guarantee the officials’ innocence. Second, they held a whistleblower criminally liable without going through the law. Such an approach sends a signal to all citizens: whether senior party officials are corrupt or not, you can't expose them online, and anyone who dares to do so will end up in jail like journalist Liu Hu.
On Twitter, “电车痴汉 @mrlaoyang” wrote:
抓这事儿只能证明工商局长的后台更强大
The arrest of Liu Hu can only prove that the deputy director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce has a more powerful background.
Another netizen Lily Lee [zh] expressed doubts about the government's determination to fight against corruption:
这么有正义感的记者被捕，这政府是不是真反腐已经让人看得很清楚了。
They arrest journalists like these with a strong sense of justice, which makes it unclear whether the government is really fighting against corruption.

author: Abby Liu


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Hundreds of Earthquakes on Catalan Coast Stir Protests Against Gas Company · Global Voices
Joan Antoni Guerrero Vall

Promotional image from the Castor Project website
Over 300 microtremors hit the northern area of Valencia and southern Catalonia the first week of October. The quakes could be related to the recent injection of natural gas by the Castor Project [es], a submarine natural gas company found along the Mediterranean coasts of those areas.
The injection is meant to convert an empty oil reserve into a gas storage facility. The Spanish government has stopped [es] the gas injection, which began a few weeks ago, until technical reports clarify the matter. The company denies the injection caused the tremors, but ecological and political sectors view a direct relationship, and local online movements have begun to speak out against the project using the hashtag #projectecastor [ca] (Castor Project) on Twitter. The protests connect [ca] the injection practices with the globally controversial technique of fracking.
The Castor Project boasts [es] an oil well 1,750 meters (approximately 1.1 miles) deep that stores enough gas to serve up to a third of the Spanish demand. The project, which cost 1.3 billion euros (1.762 billion US dollars), was granted approval by a joint venture with the canadian CLP (30 percent) and the Spanish ACS (70 percent), a construction company supervised by Florentino Pérez, who also oversees the football club Real Madrid.
Even though the movement against the project emerged strongly after these possibly related quakes, some ecologists and politicians have already been warning against these same sorts of threats for some time. On his blog, European parliament member and ecologist Raül Romeva noted [ca] that the concern over this gas company should not come as unexpected:
Potser hi ha qui s’ha sorprès amb les recents notícies relacionades amb els moviments sísmics que han tingut lloc a la costa, davant de Vinaròs, relacionats amb la planta d'emmagatzematge de gas, més coneguda com a Projecte Castor. No obstant, cal recordar que fa molt de temps que molta gent ens ve advertint dels riscos vinculats a aquesta mena d’explotacions, i que han fet arribar a les diferents institucions les seves preocupacions.
Perhaps there are some who have been surprised by the recent news related to the seismic movements that took place on the coast, in front of Vinaròs, related to the oil plant, better know as the Castor Project. Nevertheless, we must remember that a long time ago, many people warned us about the risks linked to this kind of cultivation, and that their concerns were sent to the different institutions.
On Twitter, Juan López de Uralde, member of the political and social movement EQUO [es], warned of the consequences that a project like Castor could create and criticizes the Spanish energy policy:
Atentos a #Castor en la costa mediterránea. Pone de manifiesto la absurda política energética española: apoyo al gas y castigo a renovables.— Juan López de Uralde (@juralde) October 1, 2013
Regarding #Castor on the Mediterranean coast. It shows the absurd Spanish energy policy: support for gas and punishment for renewables.
The mayors of some of the towns affected by the tremors have come out against the project, as announced in this tweet from the Platform in Defense of the Lands of Sénia [ca/es], located in the town of Sénia on the Catalan border near Valencia:
Marcelino Domingo, alcalde del PP de Benicarló, anuncia al seu perfil de FB q demanarà la paralització i desmantellament del #ProjecteCastor— Plataforma pel Sénia (@plataformasenia) October 1, 2013
Marcelino Domingo, head of the People's Party [es] in Benicarló, announces on his FB profile that he'll order the cessation and dismantling of #ProjecteCastor
In an interview with the leading Catalan online periodical, VilaWeb [ca], Lluc Ulldemolins, of the same Sénia Platform, shows the fears of uncertainty about the origin of the earthquakes, which continue even though the Spanish government assures that the gas injection has stopped:
—Sí, l'empresa diu que ja no injecta gas, però els terratrèmols han agafat més intensitat. I això encara és més preocupant. Si sabéssim que hi ha terratrèmols perquè s'injecta gas, tindríem la causa controlada. Però si és cert que l'empresa ho ha aturat, i amb tot i això els terratrèmols continuen, és que la situació és més complicada que no ens podíem imaginar. A qui ens hem de creure? Realment preferiríem que fos l'empresa que mentís, no per donar-li la culpa, sinó perquè almenys sabríem la raó dels moviments sísmics.
—Yes, the company says they no longer inject gas, but the earthquakes have gained force. And that's even more worrisome. If we knew that there were tremors because gas has been injected, we would have the cause controlled. But if it's true that the company has stopped injecting, and yet the quakes still continue, the situation is more complicated than we could ever imagine. Who are we to believe? We'd really prefer that the company lie, not to put them at fault, but rather to, at least, know the reason behind the seismic movements.
While the indignation and fear grow within the population, the natural gas company, according to some press reports [es], has begun to make arrangements to get rid of the grant and charge a compensation. The company has the right to reverse the grant to the state and receive the net value as compensation, since the project was promoted by Ministry of Industry.

author: Joan Antoni Guerrero Vall


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Mashrou’ Leila Is Back on Stage to #OccupyArabPop · Global Voices
Ahmed Medien

Mashrou’ Leila on stage in Metropolis, Montreal.
Photo credit: Mashrou’ Leila's Facebook page.
Have you heard of Mashrou’ Leila or #Mashrouleila? It is a Lebanese indie band, founded in 2008, that has started its own #occupy movement last July and a new tradition to use online social platforms to raise funds for its new third album, Raasük. Quite impressive.
Its members are social media gurus and change makers. In July, they started a crowd-funding campaign to raise money for their third album. They wanted to make it the biggest Album release in the Arab World. Their motto was #OccupyArabPop. The hashtag went viral between July and August. Mashrou’ Leila was able to raise +$60,000 and meet 100 per cent of its pledged budget.
This successful Zoomal campaign is giving birth to a new Arab experience and a new #supportArabcreativity campaign on Twitter. The project hopes to identify Arab underground artists such as Mashrou’ Leila and give them more recognition among a wider audience.
Mashrou’ Leila brands itself as different from mainstream Arab pop – an alternative. Its members are young and cosmopolitan. It is like no other band and is bold and innovative.
The band is active on social media and is initiating change. It posts regularly on its Facebook and Twitter pages. Its Facebook fans are almost 120,000. It has 14,000 followers on Twitter and its YouTube channel has +16,000 subscribers.
Up to now, still one or two tweets with the #occupyArabpop hashtag pour in every minute in support of the successful fund-raising campaign or to praise the group that has changed the “alternative” music scene in the Arab World. Its experience with crowd-funding is quite unique and pioneering. The band is setting the lead.
A fan from Paris recently tweeted:
With @mashrou3leila I rediscovered what is of being a fan. See u next week in Paris #occupyarabpop
— Feg (@_Occidentalist) September 27, 2013
Randy, from Texas, and founder of the @The_gay_agenda, compared Leila to U2 of Ireland:
It's true that @mashrou3leila is the U2 of Arab pop; maybe it's because Lebanon is the Ireland of the Middle East #occupyarabpop
— randy r. potts (@randyrpotts) September 18, 2013
The following video was the promotional video uploaded for the campaign. It captures some impressions of Lebanese journalists, Leila's production collaborators and the band's stories about the new album.
Beirut-based Outpost magazine writer, Ibrahim Nehme says in the video about them [ar]:
بالعالم العربي هلا ,هن من الأصوات التي أكثر عم بيمثلوا شباب و عم يقدروا يوصلوا الصوت التغييري هن الشباب بدهن إياه
They [Mashrou’ Leila] is one of the voices that most represent the youth in the Arab World. They are able to express the need for change this youth is calling for.
They sing about the troubling status quo in the Arab World, gender identity, sexuality, and hazy Arab politics. They've performed  from Tunis to Montreal.
Their recent album is Raasük Arabic for literally “being choreographed” or figuratively for “being manipulated”. First single “Lil Watan” or “For the homeland” was released on YouTube last September 12. It has garnered 74,919 views with 1064 approvals.
The song lyrics read:
وبس تتجرأ بسؤال عن تدهور الأحوال
بسكتوك بشعارات عن كل المؤامرات
خونوك القطيع كل ما طالبت بتغيير الوطن
يأسوك حتى تبيع حرياتك لما يضيع الوطن
If you dare ask a question about the deterioration of the situation
They shut you up with slogans about all and every conspiracy
The herd calls you a traitor each time you call for change
They make you desperate until you give up on your freedom
Until the nation is lost…
The American University of Beirut's student magazine referred to the song as “depict[ing] the Lebanese government exploiting the people’s patriotism without really fixing the country.”
They also use the Lebanese national symbols to show how much the government hides behind them. The chorus expresses a strong sense of exasperation by demanding: “Stop preaching, come make me dance a bit.” This directly mirrors people’s exasperation in their failed government and their constant need to party.
Mashrou’ Leila writes and produces its own music. It shies away from big business. They do not contract with any big or smaller Arab music records company. Instead, Mashrou’ Leila's premium medium is YouTube. Its members direct and edit their own videos. They shoot on a single camera, often in Lebanon. They are not too fancy. They are big on social media and you'd hardly see any negative comment about them or their music. A perfect example is that “El Hal Romancy” their only music video from their second album, El Hal Romancy or “the solution is romantic”:
The band wrote on its website:
Habibis,
We miss you, but we can take seven more days.
Leila’s super-excited for this one. El Hal Romancy – a video… This time.. she wanted to hold the camera – she wouldn’t pose for this one, she just wouldn’t.
She grabbed the camera with few of her friends, few lovers and a bride and attacked Beirut. Beirut wasn’t enough, she attacked Trablus. Trablus wasn’t enough, but there was no money and no time left. She came back with this.
Areej Mahmoud, creative director of Leo Burnett MENA who directed Leila's new video “Lil Watan” (to the homeland) totally gets their vision. He states in the promotional video:
ما في كثير ناس عام بجرب يخلقوا صوت فريد بالعالم العربي، للشباب تبع العالم العربي – الشباب الذي ما بدوا يكون غربي وما بدوا يكون تقليدي
There aren't many people trying to create a unique identity for the Arab World, for the Arab youth – an identity that is neither Westernized or traditional.

author: Ahmed Medien


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Saudis Celebrate Four Years of ACPRA, Their Defiant Human Rights Organization · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

On October 12, 2009, 11 Saudi activists announced the establishment of an independent human rights organization, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA). Four years on, Saudis celebrate its achievements.
In their Establishing Declaration, ACPRA members stated:
Why ACPRA?
1. In Saudi Arabia there are serious violations of fundamental human rights, in general, and political rights in particular. Unfortunately there has been a dramatic increase in serious human rights abuses since the Gulf war (i.e., 1990) since people have become aware of their basic rights. However, the government has increased its oppressive measures by arresting thousands of young citizens after stifling other peaceful initiatives…
Since its establishment, ACPRA has worked closely with families of the arbitrarily detained, documenting their cases, encouraging them to step up and sue the Interior Ministry and submitting their cases to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which has released many decisions against the Saudi government.
Establishing independent civil society organizations is prohibited in the absolute monarchy: its website, as well as its mirror websites, have always been blocked, members have been prosecuted, banned from travel and arrested and, in March, the association itself was dissolved by a court order.
Saudi Twitter users celebrated ACPRA's fourth anniversary. Dr. Madawi al-Rasheed tweeted [ar]:
#acpra4years لن ننساكم لانكم سطرتم حروف الحرية ودفعتم ثمنا غاليا وعلمتم جيلا جديدا معنى التحدي والمقاومة باسلوب حضاري
— Dr Madawi Al-Rasheed (@MadawiDr) October 12, 2013
We will never forget you because you have given an example of being free, and you paid a very dear price for it. You taught a new generation the meaning of challenge and struggle in a civilized manner.
Commenting on the postponement of the Civil Society Act, which was drafted in 2007 and was supposed to guarantee the freedom to establish independent assemblies, columnist Fayed al-Olaiwi tweeted:
الحكومة تعتقد بتأخيرها لقانون الجمعيات ومؤسسات المجتمع المدني أنها ستوقف الحراك السلمي،لكن هناك من هم مستعدين للتضحية كحسم #acpra4years
— فايد العليوي (@fayedalolaiwi) October 13, 2013
The government believes that by postponing the Civil Society Act peaceful activism would stop, but there will always be those who are willing to sacrifice, like ACPRA.
All ACPRA members who have been tried were charged with “insulting the judiciary.” Commenting on that, Saudi Twitter User Rana al-Mukibl tweeted:
حينما يُعتقل من يطالب بنزاهة القضاء واستقلاله ، تأكد يا عزيزي بأن الأحمق الصق التهمة على قضاءه العفن ! #acpra4years
— رنا المقبل (@Rana_Mok) October 12, 2013
When those who call for the integrity and independence of the judiciary are arrested, the foolish has confirmed these charges against their nasty judiciary.
Blogger Hadeel Mohammad remembered ACPRA's demand to remove and prosecute Saudi Interior Minister Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud:
ACPRA broke many barriers in this country. Demanding the removal of an Al-Saud? That was, still is to some, considered suicide #acpra4years
— هديل محمّد (@_TheHadeel) October 12, 2013

author: Anas Soliman


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Screening Of Sri Lankan Movie Forcefully Stopped In Nepal · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sunanda Deshapriya at Freedom Of Expression Sri Lanka reports that the international screening of No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka has been stopped in Nepal due to the pressure of Sri Lankan government. Earlier, the investigative documentary about the final weeks of the Sri Lankan Civil War was also banned in Malaysia.

author: Rezwan


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Syria: Banksy’s Crude Politics  · Global Voices
Nour Al Ali

Banksy’s video satirizing the Syrian civil war, entitled “Rebel Rocket Attack,” left Syrians and keen watchers of the conflict confused and disappointed.
The video, released on October 6, has since been viewed by over five million users on YouTube with over 25,000 likes and approximately 5,000 dislikes. Promoting the video, the anonymous British graffiti artist posted a trailer on Instagram with the following remark:
I'm not posting any pictures today. Not after this shocking footage has emerged. Go to banksy.co.uk for the full video
The trailer received over 3,000 likes and around 300 comments filled with mixed emotions.
In what appeared to be amateur rebel footage, the spoof begins with two rebels aiming a hand held missile launcher at an object in the sky. The actual audio is taken from a video of Mennegh Airport in Syria’s war-torn Aleppo posted on February 23, as Nader pointed out. A voice in the background yells, “Go back, go back, go back,” and another documents the footage saying, “God is the greatest; Aleppo’s military council air defense battalion.” Moments after firing, Disney’s Dumbo falls from the sky, battered and bruised. The masked rebels, wearing shalwar kameez, dance around and on top of the deceased cartoon character in celebration. A child, dressed in a similar attire to the adults, enters the scene, looks at Dumbo and then kicks the rebel holding the launcher. Throughout the video, the rebels are heard shouting the infamous Takbir, a chant often used by Islamists during protests and moderate Muslims praising God, “Allahu Akbar,” meaning God is the Greatest.
While the video left many wondering what “Allahu Akbar” means, it was also met with critical analysis of Banksy’s leftist views. The Washington Post’s Max Fisher writes about the work’s awkward politics:
Unlike his West Bank work, it's not really dealing with the conflict or its larger issues, even from a one-sided ideological perspective. It's not getting to the core issues, but rather sticks on one of the few aspects that European and Arab leftist movements feel comfortable addressing, and ignores all the rest. That doesn't mean the video is bad or wrong as a piece of political art, of course
Similarly, Syrian blogger Darthnader looks at the work through the eyes of Edward Said, adding that both imagery and context are offensive. He asks:
So what exactly is the message? That the Syrian regime warplanes are analogous to poor flying elephants? That the rebels in Syria are a bunch of ragtag buffoons going around trying to kill even the poorest creatures?
Twitter user MadeInNablus echoes his views:
Completely baffled by Banksy's new short vid on Syria. To me it has an air of orientalism about it..savage allahu-akbar-screaming rebels etc
— Made In Nablus (@MadeInNablus) October 9, 2013
Some even questioned the video’s purpose, concluding that Banksy tackled an issue that he “does not understand enough about,” argues Lebanese satirist Karl Sharro on PRI. Evidently, Paul Woodward of War in Context also says that it was devoid of any real meaning:
Banksy’s latest stunt is just that: a stunt which calls for attention yet speaks of little more than the universal desire to be noticed. It is a shout to be heard made by someone who has nothing to say — not a sharp piece of political commentary.
Others believed that Banksy sided with Assad, and condemned him for mocking a resistance that began with freedom graffiti. Rana Kabbani tweets:
#Banksy sides with #Assad. He 4gets that #Syrian revolution started with freedom graffiti, 4 which young boys had their nails pulled out.
— Rana Kabbani (@RanaKabbani54) October 8, 2013
While some dismissed the video as a stunt, others emphasized that it only gained attention because of the international fame Banksy has gained over the years. However, many others, specifically Syrians, did not care for it, as Twitter user Donatella points out:
The Banksy video: all my (non-Syrian) friends love it, all my Syrian friends havent seen it and dont give a damn about seeing it..#Syria
— dona (@donatelladr) October 8, 2013
–
Source of thumbnail

author: Nour Al Ali


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The Kremlin’s Internet Takeover: A Surefire Flop · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

“The Flop Scheme” from Mel Brooks’ 1968 classic, The Producers. Where Leo Bloom realizes that a producer can potentially make more money with a flop than a hit. Screenshot from YouTube.
When it comes to technology, the Russian government makes up in ambition for what it lacks in competence. Earlier this week, on October 11, 2013, the Russian newspaper Vedomosti learned [ru] that state-controlled telecom Rostelecom plans to release a government-sponsored Internet search engine early next year. The service, tentatively named Sputnik.ru, would compete with Google and Yandex, and might enjoy certain privileges on government web portals (though the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary, Natalia Timakova, denied the use of any “administrative resources”).
Writing on LiveJournal and commenting [ru] on the Russian television station Dozhd, blogger and RuNet guru Anton Nosik has criticized [ru] Sputnik.ru as the latest in a series of the state’s wasteful, doomed online projects. He compares the planned Internet search engine to Russia’s four-year-old effort to create a functioning e-government portal, where citizens can obtain state services (like obtaining licenses, paying fines, and so on) without needing to visit multiple physical offices, where people typically stand in lines for hours. Nosik points out that Rostelecom (which, along with Sputnik.ru, is charged with operating the e-government portal) has integrated only 250 of over 34 thousand government services into the website.
Nosik’s criticism echoes [ru] Dmitri Medvedev’s comments [ru] in mid-September 2013, when the Prime Minister told a state commission that the low quality of work completed on the e-government portal is a discredit to the project. Despite Medvedev’s assessment, however, the Ministry of Economic Development announced [ru] on October 9 (just two days before Vedomosti learned about Sputnik.ru) that it would be reducing the e-government integration of state services by more than ten times, cutting the figure to “about twenty of the more popular services.” If this downsizing takes place, the overall 20-billion-ruble (619-million-USD) price tag on Russia’s e-government program would raise the cost of each available service to 1 billion rubles.
Vedomosti reports that Rostelecom has already spent 20 million USD developing Sputnik.ru, though Nosik is skeptical that even this hefty sum will be enough to build a website that can rival either Google or the RuNet’s leading search engine, Yandex (which annually spends five times that amount on development). Nosik and others are convinced that the government will need to resort to administrative levers, if it is serious about competing with such Internet giants.
In fact, on September 30, 2013, the collaborative blog Habrahabr published an article [ru] suggesting that the Safe Internet League (the group that spearheaded the RuNet blacklist) is in the process of building a case against Google, presumably to justify future limitations on the company’s Russia operations. The League already accuses Google’s Russia branch of circumventing federal laws, ignoring the demands of Russian law enforcement, and exposing Russian citizens to the long arm of American intelligence agencies.
While it appears to be only a coincidence, within two weeks of publishing its article about the League’s anti-Google campaign, Habrahabr landed [ru] on the Russian government’s Internet blacklist. The offending material (a user-submitted comment [ru] about how to commit suicide by firearm) appeared in a now-deleted article [ru] mocking the vagueness of a new initiative by Roskomnadzor and the Safe Internet League to ban websites containing instructions to readers that could “possibly” result in suicide.
Bloggers joke about what Sputnik.ru’s autocomplete function might offer. Image circulated on Internet. October 2013.
While the pattern of Russia’s Internet policy is one of rising spending and growing interventions, the blacklist and news of a government-sponsored search engine have hardly had a gag effect on bloggers, who have enjoyed ridiculing [ru] the state for its string of technological failures. Valery Fedotov, for instance, has compared [ru] Sputnik.ru to Rostec’s troubled three-year effort to produce a Russian iPhone-killer (though the long-awaited result, the YotaPhone, is expected to come to market later this year). Others have photoshopped images (see above) of what Sputnik.ru’s autocomplete function might offer, joking that the service will encourage users to ask patriotic questions (such as, “Why is Russia the greatest country?” and “Why has Europe ended up in gay-slavery?”).
Given the size of the Russian Internet and the fighting spirit of ordinary Russian bloggers, it’s hard to see how any of the Kremlin’s recent flirtations with greater control over the Web could amount to much. That said, the billions of taxpayer rubles now flooding Rostelecom and its subsidiaries are perhaps all the justification Russian bureaucrats need to continue such “wasteful, doomed” work.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Man Saws Off Own Leg In Rural China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fauna from China SMACK translated a terrible news story about a man in rural China who sawed off his own leg at home because he had no money to go to hospital to have a proper surgery.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Can This Be Home? Borderlessness & The Internet Citizen · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

The Malecón, Havana, Cuba. Image by Flickr user Patxi64 (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
I once interviewed a Cuban blogger who described the Internet as a place where Cubans (the few who were online) could experience a form of citizenship—an active, participatory democratic experience—that they couldn't have in real life. As she put it, “we are learning to be citizens in cyberspace.” Although her focus was on the particular limitations on public expression and debate in Cuba, I took her point broadly, thinking of my Internet activist colleagues who often describe themselves as being citizens or residents “of the Internet.”
As online movements have grown in scope and impact, many of us have developed a do-it-yourself, participatory sense of citizenship that is more strongly tied to a global collective than to a transactional agreement with a particular nation state. We have not only fought hard to uphold some policies and strike down others, but we've actually started to develop international standards for the exercise and protection of rights online. Countries, borders, and nationalities remain dominant and important in many ways, but they do not feel as sharply defined or as binding as before.
These two paradigms, the traditional world of nation-states and the new one of fluid borders and internauts, had a nasty collision this June, when leaked NSA documents revealed that the US government was spying on a sizable chunk of the global population. It's easy to assume that this might have happened no matter what, but the particular terms that governed the lawless, unchecked surveillance regime of the NSA cut right at the heart of this question of borders and “Internet citizenship”.
We now know that NSA spying practices hinge on an arbitrary measure of “foreignness”. Predicated on the faulty assumption that terrorists are usually foreign, authorities decided to track the communications of foreigners at large, rather than limiting their investigations to people who were actually associated with terrorist organizations.
If analysts could prove that an individual was foreign or at least bore a “51% likelihood of foreignness,” a measure based on how often they communicated with individuals outside of the country, they could spy on this person as they pleased. After all, under US law, the government is not obligated to guarantee constitutional protections to people who don't live in the US.
Many advocates in the US since have focused on defending the rights of US people before this practice—over half the population of the US was deemed foreign by this standard. But the NSA's hare-brained “foreignness” measurement scheme proves that online, it is all but impossible to prioritize the rights of one group (in this case, “US people”) over those of another.
The results of this policy also prove something about the porousness of our borders. While most of us belong to at least one state, we connect to people in many countries through our daily communications and lives online. Borders are a fluid thing.
In the offline world, we accept the fact that laws and our rights vary from country to country. But online, where both social norms and technical realities have led to a more fluid reality, this is not so easy to swallow. If we continue to protect only the rights of certain people based on citizenship or some other crude measure, we will lose. We must see the borderlessness that technology has afforded us not just as a beautiful concept, but as a practical reality. The Internet is a place where we actually could try to protect everyone’s rights, equally.
In the face of these challenges, rights advocates around the world are working to assert and uphold universal human rights, a concept of which US leaders (clearly not thinking ahead) were original proponents. Arguably, there’s never been a better time to actually put this concept into action. We have at our disposal a medium that is not entirely universal, but comes closer to being so than anything else we've ever had. The Internet not only enables us to imagine this universality on a real scale — it also empowers us to do something about it.
Ellery Roberts Biddle is the editor of Global Voices Advocacy and a long-time member of the Global Voices community. She lives in San Francisco where she devotes most of her time to thinking and writing about free expression and privacy online and the politics of Internet use in Cuba. She blogs at half-wired. Follow her on Twitter at ellerybiddle.


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Colombia’s Problem with Urban Inequality · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The government has puts lots of emphasis, understandably, on Bogotá's economic growth and claimed reductions in poverty. But according to data from the United Nations Bogotá is failing on another important measure: Economic Equality.
A recent U.N. study, , found that Colombia was the country which most increased its urban inequality during the past two decades. Bogotá was the region's most unequal capital city. And of the 13 Colombian cities studied by the U.N., all increased their levels of economic inequality, according to the study.
In “The Inequality Trap”, Mike's Bogotá Blog analyses how the results from this U.N. study could relate to some of Colombia's social problems.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Craze For Football in Bhutan · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bhutan ranks 207th amongst 209 Football playing nations in the FIFA ranking. However, Sogyel Tobgyel reports that Football has become the new craze for the Bhutanese people.


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Fresh Air for Guinea-Bissau: A Country in Search of Prosperity · Global Voices
Asociación Extremeña de Comunicación Social - AECOS

This article, written by Silvia Arjona Martín, was originally published on the AECOS website with the title “Fresh Air for Guinea-Bissau” [es] on 26 August 2013.
The limited ability of Guinea-Bissau to provide for its inhabitants as the country undergoes a political transition following the latest coup d'etat on 12 April 2012 is making daily life uncomfortable and difficult for the vast majority of its 1.6 million people.
Cadija Mané, a sociologist specialising in human rights, tears up and her voice trembles as she explains the situation that the people of Guinea-Bissau are experiencing:
¡Es vergonzoso, miserable y lamentable que vayamos a cumplir 40 años de independencia y vivamos en un país en el que no podemos soñar!
It's disgraceful, miserable and pathetic that we're going to celebrate 40 years of independence and we live in a country where we cannot dream!
Living in a country where primary basic services, such as electricity and drinking water, are constantly lacking in people's homes is not easy. It can be seen everywhere: hospitals without the necessary technical material and staffing, schools without well-trained teachers, food shortages in more rural areas, violations of women's rights, intimidation and a lack of freedom of expression, corruption, drug trafficking, no communications system, etc.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) places Guinea-Bissau, a small country located between Senegal and Guinea Conakry, in the 176th position out of 186 countries. If we add to this the fact that life expectancy at birth is 48 years old, the gross national product is 1,042 dollars per capita (constant 2005 international dollars), and the primary school dropout rate stands at 88 percent, amongst other statistics, we are able to get a vague idea of the living conditions offered by the country.
In the capital Bissau, these conditions are less visible, with the exception of the potholed, dirt streets, rubbish littering every corner – including around the Presidential Palace itself – and the absolute darkness which covers the city as soon as the sun sets.
It is more evident in rural areas, where the shortages are more pronounced and where financial difficulties in purchasing food are beginning to increase in significance, above all following this year's fall in prices for the production of cashew nuts, the most important source of income in the country.
One of the streets in the centre of the capital, Bissau. Photo by Silvia Arjona
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Guinea-Bissau is currently experiencing a significant food shortage, which could be affecting some 260,000 people in the interior of the country, as a result of poor agricultural production and the political instability which the country is undergoing.
It is perhaps for this reason that Fernando Delfín da Silva, Minister of Foreign Business, Cooperation and Communities of the current transition government, considers the guaranteeing of food security to be a political priority. From his large office in the Palace of the Government of Bissau, Da Silva worriedly explains the situation, calling in some way upon the international community:
Desde que comenzamos el ciclo de castaña de cajú, hace muchos años, las personas intercambiaban cajú con arroz. Así, un kilo de arroz era igual a un kilo de cajú. Hoy, por el contrario, con un kilo de arroz compras tres de castaña de cajú, lo que significa que hay un deterioro del cambio, un problema serio para el que necesitamos apoyo
Since we began the cycle of cashew nuts, many years ago, people exchanged cashew nuts for rice. In this way, a kilo of rice was equal to a kilo of cashew nuts. Today, on the contrary, with a kilo of rice you can buy three kilos of cashew nuts, which means that there has been a decrease in the exchange rate, a serious problem which we need help with.
The lack of companies processing not only cashews, of which more than 200,000 tons are exported each year, as well as others which the country produces, is one of the key causes of Guinea-Bissau's limited development. Da Silva emphasises that the key is in processing:
Tenemos que transformar nuestros productos agrícolas. Sin eso, no tendremos buenas carreteras ni buenas escuelas ni buenos centros hospitalarios ni buenas instituciones públicas. Es urgente cambiar y transformar el modelo económico ya que el que tenemos crea pobreza en lugar de combatirla. Y no es muy difícil. Transformando eso, en cuatro o cinco años Guinea-Bissau podría reducir bastante los índices de pobreza y crear casi 20.000 puestos de trabajo. ¡Y todo sin utilizar una tecnología sofisticada ni complicada!
We must process our agricultural products. Without this, we will not have good roads, good schools, good hospitals or good public institutions. The economic model must be urgently changed and transformed, as the one which we have now creates poverty instead of fighting it. And it is not very difficult. By changing this, in four or five years Guinea-Bissau could significantly reduce its poverty levels and create almost 20,000 jobs. And all of this without using sophisticated or complicated technology!
He is convinced that this is the change which the country must pursue in order to reach a level of human, economic and social development which will provide a better quality of life for its inhabitants.
In the second part of the article, we will learn about the vision of the young people's collective Movement for Citizen Action, which was created in the last year to provide a response to popular indignation.


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“My Body is My Weapon!”, Femen in Spain to Claim the Right to Abortion  · Global Voices
Cheyenne Sánchez Prieto

Source: FEMEN
After having interrupted Minister of Justice Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón‘s [es] speech, shouting “Abortion is sacred!” in Congress, an organization called Femen took to the streets for the first time in Spain on October 12 in the city of Madrid, where Columbus Day was being celebrated.
“Of course, we will go further and of course we will continue protesting,” said Lara Alcázar, leader of the Femen movement in Spain, after being released from potentially being charged with disorderly conduct following the incident at the Congress. And this is how it has been.
Between national flags, military parades, and other patriotic symbols, women bared their torsos once again, carrying out their first official act in Spain, this time accompanied by slogans on their banners, as well as their chests and torsos, such as “I am free”, “Femen Sextremist”, and “My body is my weapon”.
Source: FEMEN
The reason that has led the activists from this controversial organization to protest is the reform [es] that the Minister of Justice put forth that would end with the current system that permits women to terminate their pregnancies without claiming a reason until the 14th week of gestation. It would also eliminate the rights of minors at ages of 16 and 17 to have abortions without parental permission.
Femen accuses the Spanish government of being sexist, bound to ideas of the Church, and being misogynistic, emphasizing their concern for “the danger to the freedom of women in Spain,” and conclude that if morals and religion are sacred to Gallardón, for them it is women's decisions over their own bodies.
In conclusion, they have ensured that their next step is to open a Femen center in Madrid to create a more powerful core for the organization in Spain and allow the protests to continue to develop.
Source: FEMEN
Below are a few comments from Twitter users:
Una ley del aborto especial para que se jodan las que no tienen medios Las que tienen dinero, en avión a abortar fuera #AlmeidaL6N
— jesuslopezvillaverde (@jesuslopezvill5) October 12, 2013
A special abortion law so that those who don't have the means are f*cked. Those who have money, on an airplane to have an abortion abroad
La verdad es que la ley anti aborto no es tan mala, si no tenemos dinero, siempre podemos alimentar a nuestros hijos con bocadillos mágicos.
— ♡ Cabronaza ♡ (@ZorraEnfurecida) October 9, 2013
The truth is that the anti-abortion law isn't so bad, if we don't have money we can always feed our children with magic sandwiches.
Votan a la gente que estando en plena crisis se preocupan por el aborto, que quieren hacer volver España de los años de Franco.. y así va.
— Ane (@AneVelez7) October 13, 2013
They vote for people that worry about abortion in the middle of a crisis, for those who want to bring Spain back to the Franco years.. and this is how it goes.
me LLAMAN FASCISTA si mis “pecados” son AMAR A ESPAÑA Y SU UNIDAD Y DEFENDER LA VIDA ¡NO AL ABORTO! LO SOY
— chesco veler (@mazinguer90) October 12, 2013
they CALL ME A FASCIST if my “sins” are LOVING SPAIN AND ITS UNITY AND DEFENDING LIFE. NO TO ABORTIONS! I AM ONE!

author: Cheyenne Sánchez Prieto


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Nepali Journalist Arrested For Sharing News On Facebook · Global Voices
Rezwan

Aakar Anil reports that Dinesh Acharya, the Editor of Nepali business weekly Share Bazaar, has been arrested on 30th September 2013 in Kathmandu, Nepal on charges of sharing a news article on a Facebook page. He was detained on charges of violating the controversial clause 47 of the Electronic Transaction Act based on a complaint filed by an industrialist.


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Official Blames Chinese Cooking Style for Polluting Air · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Zhao Huimin, director of the Beijing Foreign Affairs Office, was quoted in a T.V interview:
Our Chinese cooking styles also contribute a lot to PM 2.5 density. We hope Beijing citizens corporate with us and work with the government to clean the air.
Offbeat China wrote a round-up on Chinese netizens’ reaction.


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“Stop Harassment of Iranian Journalists’ Family Members”  · Global Voices
Farid

A group of Iranian netizens and cyber activists wrote an open letter to Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and asked him to use his authority to stop harrassment of Iranian journalists’ family members. More than 100 people, from inside and outside Iran, signed this open letter.

author: Farid


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Brunei Launches Digital Learning Hub · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The government of Brunei has launched a digital learning hub called Media and In-Service Centre “to innovate interactive fresh learning media and empower teacher capacity development.
It will usher in a new era of digital learning based on OUR digital values!
Brunei Darussalam aspires to build a strong community that embraces new technology and thrives in the digital age, while preserving and strengthening Melayu Islam Beraja (MIB) values, traditional culture and beliefs.


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Can the Kremlin Control Moscow Ethnic Violence? · Global Voices
Nina Jobe

Rioters tipping over a delivery truck in Western Biryulyovo during recent unrest in the Moscow neighborhood. YouTube screenshot.
A poverty-stricken industrial Moscow neighborhood has erupted in ethnic violence last week, after a local man named Egor Sherbakov was stabbed to death while walking home with his girlfriend by someone described as “not a Russian citizen.” Residents of Western Biryulyovo began to gather on Saturday, demanding that local police to apprehend the killer. Initially, the protest was relatively peaceful, but by Sunday afternoon it had turned aggressive, as rioters began targeting migrant workers from Central Asia and their property. Particularly, a local vegetable warehouse (the largest in Moscow), was singled out as a place that employs thousands of illegal migrants. Police from all of Moscow have been brought into the neighborhood to pacify the situation. By the end of Sunday night hundreds of people were arrested.
The response from the Russian blogosphere mainly came in two flavors. As Novosibirsk university lecturer Sergey Schmidt noted [ru], those opposing the government see the riots as proof of what the country has come to with the “crooks and thieves” in power, while those who support the Kremlin argued that the riots show what Russia would look like without a strong leader.
Pro-Kremlin newspaper editor Ashot Gabrelyanov, for example, argued the latter point:
Ситуация в Бирюлеве в очередной раз доказала, что России нужен жесткий царь и жесточайшая диктатура.
— Ashot Gabrelyanov (@gabrelyanov) October 14, 2013
The situation in Biryulyovo has once again proved that Russia needs a harsh Tsar and the most severe dictatorship.
Anti-Kremlin nationalists like Egor Kholmogorov have, as usual, tried tried to exploit the ethnic violence to promote their cause. Kholmogorov wrote [ru] an article titled “We are not vegetables,” where he blamed the grocery warehouse run by migrants for the current violence, calling it a “chancre” and a nest of “criminality” in the region. His solution for “ethnic crime” is simple: a visa regime with Central Asia and the Caucasus, and “zero tolerance for criminal actions of migrants.”
“Where's Biryulyovo?” asks a scared Sergey Sobyanin, Moscow's mayor, in a recent demotivator. Anonymous image distributed online.
Others, like the blogger colonelcassad, also see [ru] this “pogrom” as yet another in a long line of flare-ups over migration, despairing that anything would change as a result:
через несколько дней ситуация информационно сойдет на нет, до следующего взрыва аналогичного содержания ибо нет совершенно никаких предпосылок к устранению тех тенденций, которые приводят к систематическому повторению одного и того же сценария.
after a few days the informational coverage of the situation will diminish to nothing, until the next, similar, explosion because there is absolutely no reason to eliminate the trends that lead to the systematic repetition of this same scenario.
Some might disagree — in an interview [ru] on the internet TV channel TV-Rain, human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina of Memorial blamed the anti-migrant rhetoric of the September Moscow mayoral election for inciting the violence:
Ответственными за все делаются мигранты, хотя никаких доказательств пока нет. Если мы сейчас опять слышим разговоры о визах для жителей Центральной Азии, хотя вообще непонятно, оттуда ли он (убийца Егора Щербакова. – Ред.).
Migrants are being made responsible for everything, although there is still no evidence for it. If we once again see discussions about a visa regime for residents of Central Asia, although it is not clear at all if he (the killer of Yegor Sherbakov – ed.) was from there.
Internet guru Anton Nosik also thought that someone was to blame for inciting the race riot, but for him it was the Kremlin. Nosik reminded [ru] his readers of the pogroms that were so frequent 100 years ago, towards the end of the Russian empire:
Поэтому все погромы, которые тут случаются — или случались сто лет назад — так или иначе связаны с попытками власти решать свои проблемы за счёт иноверцев и инородцев, направляя в их сторону народный гнев. Опыт Николая II подсказывает, что пользы от этих попыток нет ни малейшей, а расплата за них запредельно дорога.
That is why all the pogroms, which happen here — or happened 100 years ago — in one way or another are connected with attempts by the government to solve its problems at the expense of other religions and foreigners, directing popular anger toward them. The experience of Nicholas II suggests that these efforts have no benefit, and the price paid for them is prohibitively expensive.
While Nosik thinks that the Kremlin is pulling a fast one by distracting people from their own corruption by encouraging nationalist tendencies, blogger russkiy_malchik manages to keep a brighter outlook [ru]:
Проблема межнациональных отношений в стране и в столице особенно – созрела и дошла до той кондиции, когда её хотят решать и власть, и общество.
The problem of inter-ethnic relations in the country, and especially in the capital, has reached the stage when both the government and society want to solve it.

author: Nina Jobe


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Cancellation of Electoral Debate in Trinidad & Tobago: Symptom of Political Malaise? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In the lead-up to the country's local government elections, the Trinidad and Tobago Debates Commission had planned to host a televised leader's debate tonight.  Instead, because of the Prime Minister's refusal to participate, the event has been cancelled.  The Debates Commission, seeing the writing on the wall, yesterday posted this statement on its Facebook page:
The Leaders’ debate is now doubtful.
The Trinidad and Tobago Debates Commission (TTDC), an independent NGO, has invited the Leaders of the political parties/coalition contesting the 2013 Trinidad and Tobago Local Government Elections to participate in: ‘2013 Local Government Elections Debates’. The Leaders’ Debate is carded for live airing at 8pm on television and radio on Tuesday 15 October 2013 with the theme Local Government Reform.
With respect to recent announcements by political organisations, we advise that an alternative for any of the Leaders invited is not an option. We therefore respectfully reject any alternatives being offered. Our agreement with the Leaders of the various political organisations invited and with the public mandates that only Leaders participate at the Leaders’ Debate on Tuesday 15th October.
The statement identified which political party leaders had accepted the invitation, which had done so with conditions and which had declined:
Mr David Abdulah of the Movement for Social Justice has confirmed his attendance. Dr. Rowley of the People’s National Movement has indicated that he will participate if Mrs. Persad-Bissessar’s absence is duly noted and Mr. Warner of the Independent Liberal Party is also present. Mr Warner has insisted that he will not debate without Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
The TTDC leaves open its invitation to Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar to reconsider her position and join the others on the debate night. We hope also that Mr Warner will see the importance of debating and participate with or without the leader of the People’s Partnership.
If after continued, concerted efforts to secure Leaders’ participation in the Leaders’ Debate on [Tuesday] 15th October, the TTDC will be forced to cancel the Leaders’ Debate.
The post attracted several comments.  Jamilia Wallace commended the Debates Commission for its efforts to educate and inform the voter on “matters that affect us”, adding:
However, our PM keeps being a coward to speak on issues of national interest, but she can go all over the globe to speak on varying issues.
Henry Castillo, however, challenged the Debates Commission's position:
The PP is a political coalition; each party in the coalition has candidates in this election as they did in the national elections. Each party has a poltiical (sic) leader, on whose authority can the TTDC change that?
Karen Debesaran-Boodhai responded:
It is a leaders debates (sic). Not d interim or alternative leader debate. Its (sic) is high time the leader of the pp take a stand an represent her coliation (sic) party. Dont (sic) let anyone other members of the pp take the shaft for what the party is doin. she is the leader she should start acting like one. so why not answer some questions honestly right here at home.
Amidst calls to continue with the debate even in the absence of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, (who suggested that the leader of the Congress of the People, part of the current coalition government, could represent her) the commission then posted this update:
Tell us: Would you as the public accept a debate with the Deputy Leaders of the Political Parties/Coalition?
The responses came in fast and furious; Lenlise Winchester was one of many Facebook users who answered:
Not under the label ‘Leaders’ Debate'!
Councillor Daren Mc Leod offered a different perspective:
I didn't want to hear ANY of them in the first place. I wanted to hear the candidates and how they hope to serve people since local government has no place for party politics. I wanted to hear whether they understand the complexities of the system they are about to enter and if so, how they plan to lobby for the reform that is first needed before they can properly deliver… For an election involving 14 unique Corporations, 2 debates is not a serious enough approach in my humble view.
Henry Castillo agreed:
You Sir should got of the head of the class. Why must the leaders debate or for that matter those who hold the portfolios of sitting or shadow Local Government Minister. A lot of the candidates are “tabula rasa” and have to be taught about local government from scratch. So let the candidates debate and we will be able to separate the sheep from the goat and the craupaud from the tie!
Many netizens, however, felt strongly about the Prime Minister's non-participation.  Alana Allan noted that:
The Prime minister bashed Mr. Manning back in 2010 and now she goes and do the same thing she bashed him for.
Christopher Lewis agreed:
No emphatically no they love power but not accountability hiding behind poor legalese to avoid the sunlight of responsibility.
Rudy Hanamji, who was a supporter of the Congress of the People, added:
I only want to hear from the leader of the Gov't. A Gov't I helped to install. Prakash Ramadhar should not push himself in fowl party or in this case accept directions from another, PM or not. SHE IS THE PM, SHE IS THE LEADER OF THE PP Coalition – let HER debate or call it off clearly stating that it is due to her non-participation. The person who thumped her chest and called Rowley a coward for not debating in 2010. NO NO NO
Danielle Francois asked:
can't you just let the COP leader debate? win win for all
Angelo Stephan Hart retorted:
Would you as a consumer accept Papa John's if you ordered Domino's?
Christopher Williams also weighed in:
we were promised a leaders debate. Is this what our leaders will do? they must face the moderator and answer questions as they promised to do. Our prime minster must present herself to account to the people.
Finally, late last night, the commission made its decision:
The Leaders’ Debate is Off #LGDebate
While people didn't seem surprised, they were quick to express their disappointment.  Inga Dottin wrote:
I commend the TTDC for trying. Perhaps our Democracy isn't quite ready for this. Open, cordial discussion among persons with differing political viewpoints requires a great level of maturity. At 50 T&T is still teething!
Joel Monroe called the cancellation a “sad day for concerned citizens”, while Bassem Hanna thought it a “grave disappointment”:
It really is a blow to this positive and necessary step in our democracy. I suppose it means those who do not want to face the music, simply do not have to.
The Debates Commission's last word on the situation was this statement, posted late yesterday:
‘Hopefully in the future whenever… a leader …puts the nation’s interest ahead of his or her own, the country will finally have the benefit of a national leadership debate.’ – Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar in a May 12th 2010 letter to TTDC

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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“Development For Who?” Guatemalans Resist Hydroelectric Project · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

“Development for who? Will the money stay in the community? No, it goes to fill others’ pockets, and we will continue to live in poverty. What we’re asking now is for the government to cancel all the [mining and hydroelectric] licenses that have been granted.”
In Upside Down World, Kelsey Alford-Jones, Executive Director of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA (GHRC), writes about the resistance movement against proposed hydroelectric projects in Santa Cruz Barillas, Guatemala.


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“What Comb Do You Use?”: Documentary Tackles Race and Hair In Brazil · Global Voices
Thiana Biondo

“Rebellious”, “bad”, “like steel wool”: these are some of the pejorative terms are used to describe the hair of Brazil's Afro-descendants. Those who've been at the receiving end of racist comments like the above now have a chance to share their stories in a documentary called “Qual é o pente que penteia?” [pt] (“What comb do you use?”).
A project by 25-year-old Ana Esperança, a cinema and video student at the Faculty of Arts in the state of Paraná (Fap/Unespar), the film aims to address racism. Those interested in taking part in the project can send their testimonials via e-mail, or by filling in the form on the project's web site [pt].
Screenshot from the “Qual é o pente que te penteia?” web site.
Ana, speaking with Global Voices by e-mail, said the idea of film, which is part of the requirement to finish one of her degree courses, arose from personal experience:
Since very little I was subjected to chemical [hair] treatments and I grew up with this idea that my hair was weird, that I was an ugly person. I spent a good part of my life without accepting my image very well (…) At the moment, I am proud to say that I am what I want to be and not what they told me I should be.
The film's title Qual é o pente que te penteia is taken from the title of a 1940s song composed by David Nasser and Rubens Soares and recorded by many renowned Brazilian artists, including Elis Regina and Planet Hemp.
Also read:  Afro-Brazilian Women, Tight Curly Hair and Black Consciousness, published on 20 November, 2012 on Global Voices.

author: Thiana Biondo


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Films for Good: Social Impact Media Awards · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

The Social Impact Media Awards honors independent films that advance global awareness, social justice and human rights. Submit your film before January 7, 2014 to be considered among a beautiful lineup of thought-provoking films from around the world. Here are the winners from 2013.

author: Solana Larsen


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How A Shooting Exposed The Plunder Of Malawi’s Treasury · Global Voices
Steve Sharra

President Dr. Joyce Banda returns to Malawi in October 2013 after a trip to the United States. Image from the Facebook Page of Her Excellency Dr. Joyce Banda.
On the night of Friday September 13, 2013, Paul Mphwiyo, Budget Director in Malawi's Ministry of Finance, was shot. Armed men were lying in ambush just outside the gate to his home, and fired at the 37-year-old as he drove in. Mphwiyo's family rushed him to the Area 43 MASM Clinic. It was 11:30 p.m. I happened to be at the clinic at the same time with a family member who was hospitalised. I witnessed first-hand the harrowing 30-minute frenzy during which nurses and a doctor battled to save Mphwiyo's life.
Mphwiyo staggered into the clinic, choking, leaving a trail of blood behind him. The nurses put a call through to Dr. Hetherwick Ntaba, formerly personal physician to the late Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the country's first president. Dr. Ntaba got there in less than ten minutes. He managed to assuage Mphwiyo's bleeding and stabilise his breathing. 30 minutes later, an ambulance transported Mphwiyo to the emergency department at Kamuzu Central Hospital. The following day he was flown for specialised treatment to South Africa, where he is reportedly in stable condition.
Malawi's president, Dr. Joyce Banda, announced at a public function the following afternoon that she knew who had shot Mphwiyo, and why. Accounts of the incident, purportedly written by insiders at the Ministry of Finance, began appearing online, claiming that Mphwiyo had been shot as a result of a multi-million Malawian kwacha (MWK) deal gone bad. “Flash: A senior Malawi treasury official has been shot,” tweeted journalist Mabvuto Banda. “Family says he has been receiving death threats since he cancelled dubious payment.”
Flash: A senior Malawi treasury official has been shot. Family says he has been receiving death threats since he cancelled dubious payment
— mabvuto banda (@bvutoB) September 14, 2013
President Banda left soon after for the United States, for engagements in Texas and the UN General Assembly in New York, but in Malawi the focus remained on Capital Hill, the seat of government. People began making connections between the Mphwiyo attack and an incident involving Patrick Sithole, an accounts assistant in the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. On September 11, 2013, two days before the attack, Sithole was reported by Malawi News Agency (MANA) and The Daily Times to have been found in possession of more than 120 million MWK (350,000 US dollars) cash and a brand new Toyota Fortuner.
The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) had carried the Sithole story on September 11's 8pm news bulletin, but it didn't appear in subsequent rebroadcasts. The story also disappeared from the MANA website. For two days there was no follow-up, apart from expressions of shock on social media. Then came the shooting of Paul Mphwiyo, which, in the weeks that followed, unleashed a string of stories about Capital Hill civil servants found with massive quantities of cash in their cars and houses.
In the days following the Mphwiyo shooting, reports of further looting and arrests came fast and furious, among them the case of Frank Mwanza, an assistant accountant in the Office of the President and Cabinet who made payments of over 1 billion MWK (2.7 million US dollars) to a company that had no contract with the government, but is said to be connected to a prominent cabinet minister and loyalist of President Banda's People's Party. The same reports linked Mwanza and a principal secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet to an additional 120 million MWK (350,000 US dollars) found in the car trunk of the owner of the company in question.
Cartoonist's impression of the looting. Photo Credit: Nation Publications Limited
Since she took over as president following the death of Bingu wa Mutharika in April 2012, Dr. Joyce Banda Banda has become an international star, attracting global leaders to Malawi including Hillary Clinton, Christine LaGarde, Helen Clark, Mary Robinson, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. She has openly praised international donors, whom she credits with turning the country around.
On October 3, 2013, heads of several international donor agencies summoned Vice President Khumbo Kachale, Chief Secretary to the Government, Hawa Ndilowe, and Inspector General of Police, Lot Dzonzi, expressing “worry” over the reports of the plunder of public funds. “As the civil servants are busy looting government coffers in millions, their CEO is busy meeting different donors in the USA seeking more money to support her porous government system,” wrote Economist and business entrepreneur Henry Kachaje on his Facebook page. “Either the donors are stupid or they have [so] much money that they don't give a damn how [it] is wasted or found in car boots and houses of civil servants.”
Parliament ordered an audit of the Treasury, and activists and opposition politicians called on President Banda and the Minister of Finance to resign. The president, still in the United States at the time, posted on her Facebook page on October 4: “…we have security personnel and the financial intelligence officers working round the clock to investigate any aspects of financial irregularities. I am personally ensuring that they have enough resources and staff to close all loopholes of corruption and money laundering.”
Chief Secretary Hawa Ndilowe echoed her boss's sentiments in a press conference held the following day. “To all those public servants who are stealing, we are determined to ensure that you are arrested and punished,” said Ndilowe. “A forensic audit is being arranged to analyse data from a few years back.”
Ndilowe has been quoted as saying that the plundering of government coffers dates back to 2005. A June 2013 Daily Times report corroborates this: in the eight years (2004-2012) he was in office, the personal wealth of Banda's predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, increased from a self-declared 150 million MWK (1.5 million US dollars in 2004 terms), to 61 billion (175 million US dollars). Blogger and media scholar Jimmy Kainja traces the roots of the crisis to even earlier—the administration (1994-2004) of former president Bakili Muluzi, who “poked fun at his…deputy for not ‘developing’ his home district.”
By October 5, 2013, news reports were estimating the total amount stolen to be about 1.2 billion MWK (5 million US dollars), though the actual figure was rumoured to be upward of 4 billion MWK. Headlines in that weekend's newspapers screamed: “Capital Hill Loot” (Malawi News), “Capital Hill Plunder” (Weekend Nation), “Looting Continues” (Sunday Times), “Capital Cash-Gate” (Nation on Sunday).
After returning from the United States on October 9, President Banda faced members of the press in the most eagerly anticipated press conference of her presidency. She made an about-face on her earlier assertion that she knew who shot Mphwiyo, and accused the media of targeting her because of her gender. The press demanded to know if she planned to fire line ministers and senior government officials in ministries and departments connected to the plundering, including the Office of the President and Cabinet.
On Thursday October 10, demonstrators in Lilongwe, Malawi's capital, delivered a petition to the president demanding her resignation and the dismissal of the Minister of Finance. By the end of that day State House had issued a press statement announcing the dissolution of the entire cabinet.
Whether that move is reason for optimism is left to be seen. “It took the near fatal shooting [of the] Budget Director in [the] Finance ministry for the scandal to come out,” wrote Jimmy Kainja. “The Capital Hill plunder is not just a case of rotten government acting with total impunity; it is also a symptom of a rotten nation.”
As I drove out of the Area 43 MASM clinic around 1 a.m. on September 14, I could not have imagined how serious the repercussions of the scene I'd just witnessed would be. President Joyce Banda is facing the toughest crisis of her 18-month-old presidency. Malawians have been wondering why the new optimism sweeping across Africa seems to have bypassed the country. Now they are questioning how the country's leadership can inspire hope when the government machinery itself appears devoid of that quality. The significance of the elections to be held in May 2014 just took on a new meaning.
Steve Sharra is a Malawian blogger and educationist. His blog, Afrika Aphukira, is an afro-optimistic expression of the theme of the African rebirth. Follow Steve on Twitter at @stevesharra.

author: Steve Sharra


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Massive Anti-Nuclear Protests Held in Tokyo · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

Protesters hold signs against nuclear power on the streets of Tokyo. The population's concerns over nuclear power in Japan have increased after the radioactive spill in Fukushima.
Photo by KAZUMAC, copyright (c) Demotix (October 13, 2013)
On October 13, 2013, thousands of people marched down the streets of Tokyo to protest against nuclear power. In a rally dubbed Goodbye Genpatsu [ja], Japanese people demanded the end of nuclear power plants and the use of more environmentally friendly sources of energy.
Kenzaburo Oe, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature, spoke [ja] in front of a 2000-strong crowd gathered in Hibiya Public Hall.
３．１１で多くの日本人は原発をなくすことを決意した。しかし、今、多くの政治家にはその決意がない。私たちは、子ども達が明日の世界を生きていけない場所を原子力によって作り出してしまった。その責任を自覚し、人間が本質的に生きていける世界を取り戻す必要がある
After the earthquake on March 11, 2011, Japanese people have strived to diminish nuclear power plants. However, no politicians have the determination today. Through nuclear power, we have made a very uncomfortable place for our children to live in the future. We have to admit responsibility for that and go back to a world where humans can live essentially [naturally].

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Peruvian Congressman Michael Urtecho Accused of Corruption · Global Voices
Isabel Guerra

Michael Urtecho, photo of Congress of the Republic of Peru in Flickr, under the Creative Commons licence (CC BY 2.0)
[All links lead to Spanish language pages unless otherwise noted]
Peruvian Congressman Michael Urtecho is accused, amongst other things, of pocketing a large percentage of the Congress workers’ salaries, of being inconsistent with donations of wheelchairs for disabled groups and of falsifying and altering expense receipts (and payments to “ghost companies”) in order to radically increase the amount he was reimbursed.
Last week, Congress approved the suspension and constitutional accusation order that the Ethics Commission requested against Urtecho, who, at one point, was part of this Commission in Congress. Urtecho will be suspended from his roles for 120 days and will be charged constitutionally for four crimes. Furthermore, the group National Solidarity [en], a centre-right party to which Urtecho belongs, said that the congressman would be separated from their ranks if the suspension was approved.
Congress’ approval has awakened the debate in social networks surrounding this particular case that has already been present for nearly two weeks in the Peruvian press.
Internet users have been discussing this case, focusing primarily on the presumed entrenched  corruption in Congress, in the  lack of morality of the Congressman, and in the need to establish exemplary sanctions for these cases.
Regarding the matter, Mario C. Rosina commented on twitter:
Lo de M.Urtecho parece ser solo la punta del iceberg de una costumbre delictiva instalada en el Congreso de la República desde hace mucho.
— Mario C. Rosina (@MarioRosinaB) October 11, 2013
The matter of M.Urtecho seems to be only the tip of the iceberg of a criminal custom installed in the Congress of the Republic for many years.
Carlos Francisco Herrera Díaz expresses his scepticism on Facebook:
El caso Urtecho ha incrementado las dudas sobre el Congreso en general, por lo que mal haría una gestión que ha ofrecido un trabajo con manos limpias, no adoptar medidas que ayuden en algo a pensar que todavía se puede creer en los congresistas.
Urtecho's case has increased doubts surrounding Congress in general, so it would be a mistake if an administration that has offered clean-handed management didn't adopt measures that help to maintain a belief in the credibility of Congressmen.
Pamela (@Pamelof) speculates about other types of scams:
Los ex trabajadores de #Urtecho también deben ser sancionados por complicidad, a menos que demuestren que fueron engañados.
— Pamela (@Pamelof) October 11, 2013
Urtecho's former workers should also be sanctioned for their complicity, or at least demonstrate that they were deceived.
If proven that the Congressman was involved in these acts (typified as general misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and embezzlement by Peruvian law), Urtecho (who suffers from  muscular hypotonia [en]) awaits a sentence of  fifteen years in prison.

author: Isabel Guerra


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Russian Muslim Websites Defaced by Hackers During Eid · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Moscow Muslims praying during Eid. YouTube screenshot.
As anti-migrant sentiments in Russia run high in the aftermath of last weekend's ethnic riots [Global Voices report], some individuals seem bent on increasing the tension. On October 15, the day that Russian Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha (or Kurban-Bairam as it is known in Russia), several websites of the Russian Muslim community were defaced with a photo of a severed pig's head holding the Koran in its mouth.
The photo, along with a short text, appeared on the websites of the Mufti Council of Russia, Moscow's Cathedral Mosque, and the personal website of Ravil Gaidutdin, the head of the Mufti Council, soon after a DDoS attack. Right now all three websites are offline. The text read as follows:
Здравствуйте, мусульмане. Обращаются к вам жители Москвы. Вы нас уже заебали. Мы прерасно осведомлены, что свинья является для вас грязным животным, поэтому вот вам свинка с кораном в пасти. Теперь ваше доменное имя осквернено и вы не можете больше держать тут ваш сайт. Скоро мы зароем свинок около всех ваших мечетей. Хороших праздников, хуесосы.
Greetings, Muslims. You're being addressed by the people of Moscow. We've f*cking had it with you. We know full well that the pig is a filthy animal for you, so here is a piggy with the Koran in its maw. Now this domain name has been defiled and you can no longer host your website here. Soon we will bury piggies near all your mosques. Happy holidays, c*cksuckers.
An angry mob destroys property in a market where many migrant workers operate, in Biryulevo, near Moscow, 13 October 2013, screenshot from YouTube.
According to Russia's Twitter aggregator Tjournal [ru], the first news of attack appeared [ru] on the social network VKontakte page of Evgeniy Volnov. Volnov is a ranking member of Russia's pranker [ru] community — a subculture of people who make prank phone calls, record them, and distribute the results via the Internet. It is unclear whether Volnov had anything to do with the attacks. In the meantime, it appears that the Mufti Council IT staff has identified the source of the attack. RIA Novosti quotes [ru] a Mufti Council press release:
[…] источник грязного и трусливого действия определен, о чем проинформированы соответствующие правоохранительные структуры
[…] the source of the filthy and cowardly deed has been identified, and the relevant law-enforcement authorities have been informed
Muslim religious festivals have in the past been used by Russian nationalists to point to the “growing threat” of (predominantly Muslim) migrants from Central Asia, as well as internal migrants from the North Caucasus. Both Eids are particularly susceptible to such rhetoric because tens of thousand's of Russia's Muslims congregate on the streets, sometimes engaging in the traditional slaughter of farm animals as part of the celebration, which alienates the locals.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Marking The 30th Anniversary Of The Beurs’ March For Equality · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

30 years ago (October 15, 1983), a march for equality against racism [fr] began in Marseille with 32 people, mostly of Arab origin, to ask for the right to vote and a 10-year resident card. The Beurs’ March (Beur is a colloquial french term for people with roots in Northern Africa) arrived in Paris on December 3 with more than 60,000 people having joined in the initial set of marchers. Numerous events are celebrating the anniversary all over France, though in a complicated context given the rapid rise of the far-right in France. The following video is one of the many media productions commemorating the anniversary [fr]:

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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1300 Days of Protest for Missing Balochs in Pakistan · Global Voices
Arslan

Quetta: A view of Baloch Missing Persons Camp, Mama Qadeer Baloch addressing the crowd. Image by ppiimages. Copyright Demotix (1/6/2012)
In Balochistan, the largest and poorest province of Pakistan, separatists are fighting a bloody battle for independence. Separatist sentiment in the province is nothing new – after Pakistan's independence at the end of British colonial rule, many Baloch tribal chiefs did not accept the country as their own, and various uprisings over the years have struggled against Pakistani rule. But the last nine years have seen a revival of the decades-old conflict.
Baloch separatists occupy many areas of Balochistan, and Pakistani forces carry out regular operations against them. The toll has been great – more than 2,000 civilians have been killed in the latest round of violence as well as about 700 security forces and 500 fighters.
Apart from the killings, thousands of Baloch have disappeared without explanation. According to the International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (IVBMP), at least 18,000 Balochs have been abducted between 2001 and 2013 and their whereabouts remain unknown.
It is these disappearances that Vice Chairman of IVBMP Abdul Qadeer Baloch, also known as Mama Qadeer, has made the focus of his recent efforts. Spurred by his son who was abducted in 2009 and found dead two years later, Mama Qadeer established a camp for missing persons outside the Quetta Press Club in the provincial capital city, where families of missing persons have staged hundreds of protests. His restless struggle for Baloch missing persons marked 1,300 days on 13 October, 2013.
During his time in the camp, Mama Qadeer has said that Pakistani forces severely threatened him and his camp was even set on fire. On the day he reached 1,300 days, he revealed:
IVBMP has completed its 1300 days of protest during which time we protested in Quetta, Karachi and Islamabad. I and other members of IVBMP including sister of Zakir Majeed Baloch and her family have been receiving threats. Now along with threats I have been offered huge bribes to abandon the cause of disappeared persons.
Such threats and offers cannot weaken me but what is disappointing is the internal rifts of Baloch people – otherwise no power in the world can be a hurdle in my way. My strength is the prayers of the sisters, mothers and other relatives of Baloch martyrs and disappeared activists.
Social media users reached out in support of Mama Qadeer on the occasion.
Jamal Nasir BAloch (@JNBaloch) tweeted:
#MamaQadeer is an activist of Voice For Baloch Missing Person, struggling to recover victims of enforced disappearances. #Balochistan
— BALOCH, Jamal Nasir (@JNBaloch) October 12, 2013
Mureed Bizenjo (@MureedBizenjo) described the effort:
Most of us have lost friends/family members/associates in this war, #VBMP & #MamaQadeer‘s protest touches deepest nerves of Establishment
— Mureed Bizenjo (@MureedBizenjo) August 16, 2013
Baloch rights movement activist Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur complained in a comment on the Bolan Times that society and the mainstream media usually ignore the issue of the Baloch missing persons:
Society at large and the media either refuse to see what is happening in Balochistan or try to justify the atrocities. All state institutions aid and abet in this crime, forcing the affected people to risk life and limb to express their pain.
Sana Baloch (@Senator_Baloch), a senior adviser at the United Nations, former senator and National Assembly member demanded the Nobel prize for Mama Qadeer Baloch:
Why elderly #Baloch Human Rights activist #MamaQadeer‘s 1333 day [sic] Protest didn't Qualify for #Award ? #WestrenHypocracy #HumanRights Betrayed
— Sana BALOCH (@Senator_Baloch) October 13, 2013
Faiz Baloch (@Faiz_Baluch) also demanded the same:
1300 days of consecutive struggle 4 recovery of EnforcedDisappeared Baloch, but unbroken spirit. MamaQadeer truly deserves #NobelPeacePrize
— Faiz Baluch (@Faiz_Baluch) October 13, 2013

author: Arslan