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Did News Story on Riches of China’s Premier Weaken Reformists? · Global Voices
Violeta Camarasa

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.
Grandpa Wen’s Nightmare, by Hexie Farm (蟹农场) (used with permission)
The hot pot of Chinese politics is still boiling madly after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party and the leadership transition that took place in Beijing on November 14, 2012. Many see the composition of the new Politburo Standing Committee as a defeat for outgoing President Hu Jintao, who failed to see his reformist allies promoted. Moreover, Hu stepped down as the chairman of the Central Military Commission sooner than expected. Were Chinese conservatives stronger than expected or did something weaken the reformists?
Just two weeks before the Congress started the New York Times published a story alleging that members of Wen Jiabao’s family have amassed a combined fortune of $2.7 billion by using the Premier’s influence and close links between politics and business in China.
With Chinese politics already at boiling point, the New York Times article exploded on Sina Weibo, the social media site that is purported to be a reasonable reflection of public opinion. Comments expressing both surprise and disappointment flooded the Internet, but also many of unconditional support for Wen, reported Rachel Lu on Tea Leaf Nation.
With China’s censorship machine ready to stop any “harmony disruption”, both the English and Chinese versions of the New York Times website were blocked within hours of the article’s publication. However, Chinese netizens know creative ways to jump the Great Firewall and had already been using the code word “Sparta” (which has a similar pronunciation to ‘18th Congress’ in Chinese) in order to access the article. Lily Kuo explores on Quartz how Chinese netizens got around the censors to read the article and discuss the issue. Kuo writes:
Chinese bloggers have been using various homonyms for the New York Times to get by the censors. One that translates to “twisted waist times” (扭腰时报) and sounds like the Chinese name for the paper has already been blocked. But “Cattle Times,” another homonym, seems to have gotten through for now.
Some have logically related the news story and its timing to what may be the greatest political scandal in the last months: the fall of high-flying politician Bo Xilai. Despite the Party’s efforts to present it as an example of the fight against corruption, many perceived it as a clear sign of internal struggle. Bo Xilai is seen as a representative of the leftist wing of the party (which means conservative in China) that is pitted against reformists represented by Wen Jiabao.
In her post on Tea Leaf Nation, Lu collects some of the comments pointing in that direction:
“What position is the New York Times taking? Have they been bought out by the supporters of Mao?” asked one user. “All sides are making their final moves and positioning their pieces–that is what I think about the NYT’s headline today,” commented another. Some believe the newspaper is being used as a pawn in the power struggle, “This time NYT really does not understand China–too much of a puppet.” Another user wrote: “The information is probably given to the New York Times by left-wing powers in China, and the right-wing deserves it.”
Others still admire Wen for being the most senior and the most vocal among those Chinese officials who dare to openly call for reforms. “It doesn’t matter if these disclosures are true, I don’t expect high officials in the CCP [the Chinese Communist Party] to be clean anyway. I just hope that the liberals and the reformers can start real political reforms,” wrote one user.
Though it seems clear that New York Times journalist David Barboza did much research in complicated corporate records, the possibility that someone may have helped him cannot be ruled out. This would not devalue his work, but it could help explain the dominance of the conservative wing once led by Bo Xilai on the new cycle of Chinese politics that now begins.
This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by the International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide. This post was first published on the ISN blog, see similar stories here.

author: Violeta Camarasa


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Malaysian Residents Oppose Rare Earths Refinery · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Malaysia’s High Court has given the green light to the construction of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) near Kuantan after it rejected petitions to annul the permit given by the government for the project. The plant, which is an undertaking of an Australian company, will be the world's biggest refinery for rare earths.
The project is being  intensely opposed by environment groups and residents near Kuantan who fear for the safety and health of their communities. Ram Govindasamy, a community organizer, echoes the sentiment of the opposition block:
We do not want Lynas in Malaysia! We will campaign strong and hard to vote OUT the current government that approved the Lynas rare earth plant. Malaysians are sick and tired of a corrupted and irresponsible government. We want to reclaim our democracy and future
From the Stop Lynas website
Haji Ismail Abu Bakar warns Lynas that its recent court victory doesn’t mean that the resistance will subside in Malaysia:
If Lynas thinks that we rakyat (people) will simply give up just like this, then it has completely under estimated how strongly we are opposed to its rare earth refinery project. We want a future for our children and their children. We do not want them and the future generations to bear the burden of having to deal with the pollution problems and the millions of tonnes of toxic radioactive waste left behind by Lynas tax free
A group of mothers from Kuantan have written a letter addressed to the Prime Minister asking the latter to disapprove the project:
Malaysia will earn a poor reputation for hosting such a world-scale hazardous project and allowing a foreign company to dump millions of tonnes of toxic radioactive waste (imported from Australia) onto our beautiful shore tax free. Only a third world country will do that!
As mothers, we are extremely concerned with the impact of such a poor and ill-considered decision on our family and the many generations to come.
We appeal to you, Honourable Prime Minister, a loyal son of Pahang and as a father, to exercise your duty of care and to show strong leadership to intervene in the interests of the rakyat and for the country’s long-term sustainable development before it is too late.
Charles Hector argues that the Lynas project mirrors the state of governance in the country:
What is happening in Lynas is reflective of the Barisan Nasional government that we now have – a government that seems to place public health and safety of the people (the ‘rakyat’) at a low priority…
But Malaysians are no longer cowed into silence by the government but will continue the struggle for justice and rights…
Route of the “green walk’ in protest against the rare earth refinery. Photo from blog of JW
In response to the court order allowing the construction of the refinery, hundreds of individuals and groups have embarked on a ‘long march’ or a ‘green walk’ from Kuantan to the country’s capital to dramatize their protest. One of the group’s leaders, Mr Wong Tack, was interviewed by Tan Kai Swee:
When I planned the walk, I was prepared to do it all alone. When I started the walk on November the 13th from Kuantan, to my surprise more than 50 people joined in the walk including 13 Kenyahs from Baram, Sarawak.
Today is something I never expected, it is extraordinary and I am very touched. More and more people are coming to realise the true meaning of this walk.
JW, a participant of the ‘green walk’ is inspired by the support given by ordinary citizens:
Along the way, Green Walk received a lot of support from the kind hearted. There are medical doctors (who) traveled all the way from Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan putting their medical license at stake. One particular Chinese Medical Doctor, Yong attended Kg. Awah (in the) middle of the night. “i don't (have) money, car, house, what left of me is medical knowledge,” he said.
There are restaurants being warned (against) offering food to Green Walk participants, risking their operation license, they went all the way, giving shelter, food, drinks and then they “green walked”. There are people donating coconuts, ice-creams, socks, chicken essence……
to be able to inspire does keep the morale high.
But not all Malaysians are opposed to the plant. NK Khoo accuses the opposition of spreading misinformation about the project:
I have appealed for a long time to any anti-Lynas group to buy me a terrace house next to Lynas plant for me to stay there as a guinea pig to prove my belief that the Lynas plant is safe for human beings
The Choice sees massive economic gains for Malaysia if the refinery is constructed:
It is therefore in Malaysia's interest that this strategically important facility is allowed, to expand our green technology base and create local jobs.
But the national interest probably means nothing to the few protesters who want to stall the project for their own selfish agenda. In any case, most analysts believe that their legal challenges will not succeed in stalling the plant
Trying to force a legitimate plant to cease operations merely to score political brownie points, speaks volumes on how their personal agenda has blinded the protesters to the larger national interest.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Myanmar Overwhelmed by Obama’s Kiss · Global Voices
Chan Myae Khine

Barack Obama made history by becoming the first president of the United States to set foot on Myanmar. Many people cheered his visit while others reminded him that it's premature for a U.S. president to visit Myanmar today. Netizens used the hashtag #Oburma to document and monitor Obama's trip. Keywords such as “Myanmar” and “Aung San Suu Kyi” became worldwide trends.
News about Obama's plan to visit Myanmar excited many people. Printing shops hurriedly distributed U.S. flags and Obama merchandise items.
Thant Myint U, a historian and grandson of former United Nations Secretary U Thant, mentioned that Obama's grandfather had been to Myanmar during World War II.
@thantmyintu Remembering that Pres Obama's grandfather served with King's African Rifles in Burma, was prob part of advance down Chindwin to Mandalay.
Obama's historic visit to Myanmar. Photo from CJMyanmar
A young graffiti artist, Ar Kar Kyaw, painted “Welcome Obama”graffiti in Yangon which grabbed media and public attention, although the artwork was almost damaged by rival painters.
Yangon University underwent some renovations since Obama was set to deliver a speech in the school prompting Ko Htike to comment[my]:
On the other hand, some assumed his visit as an effort to establish closer relations with a country which has been dealing only with China in the past few decades. Myo Set discusses[my] this viewpoint:
Rather than emphasizing on Kachin [Civil War] issue, Obama is expected to talk more seriously about the Rohingya riots when he comes. In the name of promoting humanitarian aid, he will make effort to irritate China regarding the Kyaut Phyu Pipeline. […] I just want to suggest to Rakhine organisations to provide detailed historical facts and proofs (regarding the Rohingya issue). Furthermore, I wish they could discuss (with Obama) about the geographical situation of Myanmar and the reported overpopulation of Bangladesh together with Myanmar Human Rights Commission. […] Regardless of what Obama will be discussing, his aim is just to take Myanmar from China. I guess the main purpose of lifting the sanctions is also for this. […] I assume we have to face the unnecessary U.S-China rivalry too early than we expected.
Just before President Obama arrived, 49 political prisoners[my] were freed by the government.
Obama was greeted by motorcades and large crowds everywhere. A few years ago, no one would have expected to see U.S. flags in the streets of Myanmar. But what the public appreciated the most was the kiss Obama gave to opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Although Myanmar remains a conservative country, almost everyone online did not think it as inappropriate and even praised it as a “royal kiss“. Thin Thin Tun describes[my] it as a gesture of friendship between the two countries:
Although it's not quite comfortable to see it through “Myanmar's eyes”, (I believe) it is a reflection of the warm and lovely friendship (between U.S and Myanmar).
Thousands of people gathered in the streets of Yangon to greet Obama. Photo from CJMyanmar
Those who did not have a chance to attend Obama's speech at the university enjoyed the live broadcasting from local channels and some went to tea shops to watch it together with neighbours. Nay Myo Zin, on a different note, wrote[my] about the power outage in some parts of Yangon while Obama was delivering his lecture:
A while after the speech was broadcasted, the electricity went off in Yangon. Till now 5:15 pm, we have to stay in the dark. Day time is short as the cold season is approaching. I silently welcome the U.S. president from the dark land of Myanmar. I was thinking I could die happily if we have a chance to live with stable supply of water and electricity while I was listening President's speech. Now, it becomes dark as there is no light in South Dagon township. By flapping the fan, I am wishing no mosquitoes would bite Obama in the dark.
Obama's speech remains the most talked about issue in Myanmar. Rohingya supporters criticized Obama for not strongly condemning the riots in western Myanmar, while others gave high praises for the speech. Meanwhile, Tom Bergreen asserted that Myanmar should not follow the diversity in the way U.S managed to do it:
For the most part I liked his speech, but there are two areas where our opinions diverge.
First, and this is a rather general thing and is a criticism of US and western foreign policy in general, I think that the worship of Daw Suu is understandable, but I think it creates a cult of personality around her as an individual rather than embracing her ideas and leadership.
Second, although there cannot be exceptions with respect to human rights and slowing ALL persons to live in dignity… (but) citizenship should be based on a set of laws that are applied equally to all within Myanmar borders. As long as the conflict there is viewed erroneously (IMHO) by foreign media and governments as a sectarian one, resolution is nearly impossible. This should be treated as a constitutional issue and must be decided by Rule of Law.
Of course some netizens were humorous in their comments about Obama's trip. Others were more interested in using traditional astrological belief to determine the day Obama was born. For instance, Win Min Ko shared a photo of Obama pouring water at the Friday corner of Shwedagon Pagoda with a caption:
Friday born Obama.

author: Chan Myae Khine


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People Believe China’s Hope Depends on Democracy · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Rachel Wang from Tea Leaf Nation reports on the result of an online poll in Sina Weibo conducted by People's Daily, in which a landslide majority of people vote for democracy as the hope of China's future.

author: Oiwan Lam


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YouTube Temporarily Lands on Russia’s Internet Blacklist · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Thanks to a temporary glitch [ru], the Russian federal government briefly banned the entirety of YouTube earlier today. This comes shortly after Google's IP address [ru] also temporarily appeared on the state's Internet blacklist. Russian bloggers were quick [ru] to sound the alarm in both instances, prompting officials to correct the mistakes within hours.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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French-Afghan Filmmaker Wins Award in Tajikistan · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

The Patience Stone has won the main award at a film festival in Tajikistan. Image from Wikipedia.
Atiq Rahimi‘s The Patience Stone has won the main award for best feature film at the Didor International Film Festival in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The film addresses “the plight of modern-day Muslim women who are still ruled by archaic laws and traditions”. Rahimi is an Afghan writer and film-maker who has lived in France since 1984. Blogger Jovid Muqim writes [tj] about the film and other features screened at Didor.

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Honduras’ Presidential Candidates for 2013 · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

On Sunday, November 18, 2012, three Honduran political parties (Liberal, National, and Libre) chose their presidential candidates for next year's election. Blogger David Moran from El Catracho [es] writes about Sunday's elections and the country's electoral system:
For common Hondurans it's about choosing between a known evil and the evil which is to come; for politicians and those close the them, it's a party because they live and get rich from it.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Israeli Media Criticized for Coverage of Gaza Conflict · Global Voices
Elizabeth Tsurkov

The latest round of fighting between Israel and Gaza militants was covered around the clock in Israel. Media outlets largely adopted the government's narrative and justifications for the offensive. Leftist Israeli bloggers and netizens, while criticizing the government throughout the operation, also attacked what they saw as a biased coverage of the events.
Israeli leftist tweep Uri Horesh chastised a Jerusalem Post reporter who was assigned to write a story about the suffering of pets in southern Israel. Here's the exchange between them:
@sharonudasin: Does anyone have pets who are freaking out because of the rocket sirens? If so, please contact me today for a story. Thanks! #jpost
@urihoresh: @sharonudasin Are you writing for The Onion?
@sharonudasin: @urihoresh no, this is a real concern for southern dog and cat owners in Israel!
@urihoresh: .@sharonudasin Children are being murdered in #Gaza, and the Jerusalem Post is running a story about puppies in Ashdod afraid of sirens. OK.
Channel 2 Military Correspondent, Roni Daniel, was widely criticized by leftists for what they consider to be war-mongering. Journalist Alexandra Belopolsky wrote in her Saloona blog [heb]:
“הגיע הזמן להפסיק עם הפינצטה”, קבע דניאל בקולו הרדיופוני שאין עליו עוררין, תוך שהוא מנסה “לחנך” את צה”ל לפעולה הנכונה לדידו. “הגיע הזמן להוציא את הפטיש הכבד. בשלב מסוים צריך לעבור למשהו יותר קשה ואלים”.
קל לפספס בתוך זרם הברברת המגויסת לדגל, נטולת הביקורת, הממלאת את המסכים בימים האחרונים, את עוצמת הזעזוע שאמור לייצר משפט כזה. ודווקא משום כך, אסור בשום אופן להקל בו ראש. מצב שבו עיתונאי בכיר, שאמור להעניק לצופים מידע ופרספקטיבה, קורא באופן בלתי מוסווה לאלימות צבאית באוכלוסיה בלתי-לוחמת הוא מצב שאסור בשום אופן לעבור עליו לסדר היום.
“It's time to stop with the precision attacks,” stated Daniel in his radio-phonic and authoritative voice as he tried to “educate” the IDF on how they should act. “It's time to bring out the heavy hammer. At some point, we need to something more harsh and violent.” In the stream of the patriotic, unquestioning babble that has been filling our screens in recent days, it is understandable why this sentence did not shock many. And exactly because of this, it should not be taken lightly. We should not accept a situation in which a prominent journalist, who is supposed to provide viewers with information and perspective, clearly calls for military aggression against a civilian population.
Leading leftist blogger Yossi Gurvitz tweeted:
התקשורת הישראלית, באופן שבו היא מדווחת על האירועים ברצועה, חזרה שני דורות אחורה, לימי פעולות התגמול. שוב היא שופר של מערכת הבטחון.
In the way it is reporting about the events in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli media has moved backwards to two decades, to the era of the Reprisal Operations when it served as the mouthpiece of the military establishment.
Analyzing the symbiosis between the IDF Spokesperson Unit and Israel media, Daniel Argo and Shiri Eiram wrote on the blog of the media watchdog Keshev [heb]:
במלחמות הקודמות צה”ל היה “מזרים” מידע לכתבים הצבאיים, ומזין מערכות תקשורת בחומר וידאו ובהדלפות מהשטח. את החומרים שנאספו היו מערכות התקשורת “מעבדות” בצורה זו או אחרת, ומשדרות את מה שהתאים, או לא התאים, למהדורה. בקיצור – צה”ל היה זקוק לעיתונאים כשם שהם נזקקו למידע של צה”ל. אבל במבצע הנוכחי משהו השתנה…. התהליך בו הופך צה”ל לכלי התקשורת המרכזי, ולבעליו של המידע הבלעדי החשוב ביותר, הוא תהליך שבסופו המידע שמגיע לאזרח – מגיע משובש. חלק גדול מהאחריות במקרה זה נופל גם על כלי התקשורת בישראל – אלו שבוחרים לשדר את ידיעות דובר צה”ל מבלי לבדוק ומבלי לשאול שאלות. בסופו של דבר הם אלו המחויבים לאתיקה ולכללי עבודה עיתונאיים. דובר צה”ל, למרות שקל לשכוח זאת, מחויב לא לאמת אלא למטרות המבצעיות של צה”ל.
In previous wars, the IDF would ‘feed’ military correspondents with information, and provided media outlets with video material and leaks from the field of combat. The media would process this material in one way or another, and air what fit their broadcasts. In short – the IDF needed the journalists just like the journalists needed the IDF's information. But in the current operation something changed… The process in which IDF becomes a media outlet of itself, and the owner of the exclusive and most important information is a process in which the information that is transmitted to the citizen is inaccurate. Part of the responsibility for this falls on Israeli media outlets that choose to air the statements of the IDF Spokesperson without fact-checking and without asking questions. At the end of the day, it is the journalists who are obligated to follow the rules of proper and ethical journalistic work. On the other hand, the obligation of the IDF Spokesperson, although it is easy to forget this, is not to the truth, but to the IDF's military objectives.

author: Elizabeth Tsurkov


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Kazakhstan as Seen by Camera Phone Users · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Sometimes you don't need to be a professional photographer or have fancy cameras and lenses to take great pictures. Vox Populi is now featuring pictures of Kazakhstan taken by camera phone users and uploaded on Instagram photo-sharing network.


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Lebanon: France, Oil and Independence Day  · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Nadine Mazloum puts together a collection of Lebanese Twitter user reactions to Independence Day (Nov 22). She ends her article with a sarcastic comparison of the various occupiers of Lebanon in which France wins the first place. Thus, France is called upon to come back, especially now that oil was discovered in Lebanon.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Mapa76: Database Journalism Reveals Abuses of the Argentine Dictatorship · Global Voices
Periodismo Ciudadano

In Argentina, database journalism is playing a critical role in investigative reports on the country's present and past.
Paula Gonzalo of Periodismo Ciudadano [es] (Citizen Journalism) highlights the work of journalist Sandra Crucianelli in this field and presents the Mapa76 project, a map that geotags and compiles information about the victims of human rights abuses during the dictatorship that ruled the country from 1976 to 1983.
Below is Paula Gonzalo's article [es], which is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0).
Mapa 76
The technological revolution and development of tools and means of civic participation have made the present era an especially vibrant one for journalism and communication. Database journalism is one new approach that is helping us move towards another way of understanding investigative journalism.
From Argentina, Sandra Crucianelli, a Knight International Journalism Fellow, explains how database journalism, citizen participation and new technologies can come together in the service of transparency with prominent media organizations like La Nación [es], one of the country's leading newspapers.
Sandra Crucianelli leads a team of investigative journalists to track tax revenue for the country's public services. She helps train a team of database journalists who can extract and analyze this kind of information for later investigative reports “and invite the public to respond and participate.”
Crucianelli also works with the local chapter of Hacks/Hackers to create new apps for collecting and displaying data. These projects include Mapa76 [es], a map on which information related to the infamous “dirty war” can be geotagged, and information about the victims of human rights abuses during the Argentine dictatorship (1976-83) is compiled.
As they say on the site:
Mapa76 es un software de investigación periodística dedicado a la extracción automática de datos, análisis semántico y la estructuración de la información recopilada con el propósito de mostrar relaciones de manera visual e interactiva (líneas de tiempo, mapas interactivos y árboles de conexiones -treemap-) en la información relacionada con los juicios de la última dictadura militar y los juicios en curso. Esta herramienta debe permitir que el investigador pueda seleccionar y cruzar datos de diversas fuentes documentales para generar historias e identificar relaciones difíciles de encontrar y/o comprender por métodos tradicionales.
Las cifras oficiales de desaparecidos durante la última dictadura militar argentina (1976-1983) ascienden a 13.000, pero las organizaciones de derechos humanos afirman que son 30.000.
Mapa76 [es] is investigative journalism software dedicated to automatic data extraction, semantic analysis and the organization of information collected to demonstrate correlations in a visual and interactive way (timelines, interactive maps and treemaps) regarding the trials of the former military dictatorship, as well as ongoing trials. This tool should allow researchers to choose and cross-reference data from various documentary sources to generate stories and identify those relationships that are difficult to find and/or understand using traditional methods.
Official figures [es] estimate that there were 13,000 “disappeared” persons under Argentina's former military dictatorship [es] (1976-1983), but human rights organizations say that there were 30,000 [es].
In this video recorded in the National Archive of Memory [es], in the former Navy School of Mechanics (ESMA) –where the largest center for clandestine detention (CCD), torture and assassination was located– the Mapa76 team explains how Mapa76 works to display content from a database provided by the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP).

author: Periodismo Ciudadano


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Mauritanian Teachers Break into Education Minister’s Office · Global Voices
أحمد جدو

[Note: All links are in Arabic]
A group of secondary school teachers broke into and entered the office of the Minister of Education in protest against the arbitrary transfer of 120 teachers to other schools. The transfers were made to punish teachers who participated in last year's strikes demanding the improvement of the conditions of employees in the education sector. The teachers considered this act a punishment for a strike they held to demand of their rights and also a violation of civil service law in Mauritania.
For his part, Mohamed Ould Rabani, Secretary General of the independent syndicate of secondary education teachers, slammed the transfer as a dangerous precedent in the history of Mauritania and asked his colleagues not to conform to the ministry's orders. In the same context, another group of arbitrary transferred teachers, held a demonstration in front of the Education Minister Ahmed Ould Bah's office, denouncing the decision and demanding its immediate retreat. Some of them also protested in front of the presidential palace in Nouakchott and threatened to resign from their posts in case the decision is not retracted. It is worth mentioning that the ministry had suspended the salaries of hundreds of teachers after their participation in the strikes organized by the syndicate.
Photograph of the protesting teachers posted on Twitter by
The National Syndicate for Secondary Education issued a statement condemning the arbitrary transfer:
قدمت وزارة الدولة الموريتانية للتهذيب الوطني الأسبوع الماضي على التحويل التعسفي لعشرات أساتذة التعليم الثانوي بسبب مشاركتهم في إضرابات مشروعة، وهو ما يعد انتهاكا خطيرا للحقوق النقابية، وخاصة الحق في الإضراب المكفول بموجب المادة 14 من الدستور ولاتفاقيات الدولية التي وقعتها بلادنا، مثل اتفاقية منظمة العمل الدولية رقم 87 المتعلقة بالحريات النقابية.
The Mauritanian Ministry of Education arbitrarily transferred dozens of secondary education teachers because of their participation in legitimate strikes which is considered a dangerous violation of the rights of syndicate members, especially the right to demonstrate, which is guaranteed by article 14 in the constitution and by the international agreements signed by our country, such as the the International Labor Convention number 87, which is related to syndicate freedoms.
Tiguend blog posts a testimony of one the teachers effected by the transfers, entitled “This is why I deserve the sanction” where he speaks of the injustice of that decision:
منذ عشر سنوات وأنا أزاول مهنة التدريس في ولاية الترارزة، ولم أحصل طيلة تلك السنوات على تقويم سنوي أقل من 17 نقطة، وعملت مع مديرين مختلفين، ولم يعلق راتبي طيلة هذه الفترة إلا بسبب واحد وهو المشاركة في الإضراب، وليس لي سجل في الغياب ولا التهاون في أداء مهنتي ولله كل الحمد على التوفيق.. إلى أن جاء المدير الجهوي محمد السالك ولد الطالب وبتقرير منه شخصيا ولمدير إعدادية روصو رقم 1 الذي يخضع له ليمنحني درجة بائسة لا تتجاوز 6/20 وليزيد بي “سبحة الوشاية والنميمة” التي يعلقها منذ وصوله غير القانوني للإدارة، ثم ليجعل كل ذلك سببا في تحويلي تعسفيا ضمن 16 أستاذا في ولاية الترارزة لم يكن لهم من ذنب إلا أنهم أضربوا – والقانون يكفل ذلك والدستور يحميه – من أجل حياة كريمة وتعليم أكثر كرامة.
I have been teaching for 10 years in Trarza region and never during those years have I got less then 17 points [out of a total of 20] on my evaluation. I have worked with various directors and my salary has never been suspended except this time because of my participation in the strike. I have no record of absence or slackening in my duties and everything is fine, thanks God, until the director Mohamed Ould el Talib came and sent a report to the Rousou School director to whom he reports, asking him to give me a 6/20 grade and to accuse me of snitching and gossip, which he has been bragging about since his illegal nomination as head of administration. All this was a reason to transfer me arbitrarily along with 16 other teachers in Trarza whose only fault is to have taken part in the strike knowing that the law guarantees this right and the constitution protects it for a noble life and a more dignified education.
Mauritan.net says that the transfer is a result of a complaint, accusing the teachers of “inciting strikes and exercising politics”:
قد جاء نقل الاساتذة بناء على تقارير المدرين الجهويين عن طريق الولاة، وكانت رسائل الولاة تتضمن أن هؤلاء الأساتذة “يحرضون على الإضراب، ويمارسون السياسة”.
The transfer of the teachers was based on directors reports via the governors and the letters of the governors’ letters stated that they are inciting strikes and practicing politics.
Dedda Cheikh Brahim criticizes the way the Mauritanian regime is dealing with teacher's protests:
@dedda04 في ديمقراطية العسكر الاحتجاجات لها عقوبتها والأساتذة يدفعونها الآن بطريق قانونية #موريتانيا
In the military democracy, protests are punishable and the teachers are now paying for it in a legal way
He adds:
@dedda04 الأساتذة تم تحويلهم بعد أن قرروا المطالبة بحقوقهم. لك الله أيها الموريتاني
The teachers were transferred after they decided to demand their rights. There is God oh Mauritanian
Mauritanian journalist Mohamed Ould Salem also slammed the Minister of Education for creating a crisis in the education sector:
@medsa20 لا يتنفس ولد باهية الأكسجين العادي وإنما يعيش من صناعة الأزمات والظلم ولذلك قرر عقاب 108 من خيرة الأساتذة لأنهم شاركوا في إضرابات مرخصة
Ould Bah doesn't breathe ordinary Oxygen but lives from making crises and injustice. This is why he decided to punish 108 of the best teachers because they participated in legal strikes.
He adds:
@medsa20 موعد جديد مع عام مأزوم في التعليم 108 أستاذ يرفضون التحويل العقابي ونقابات تعليمية تتعهد بإسقاطه، ووزير يبدع في صناعة الأزمات ومراكمة الفشل
A new date with a year marked with a crisis in the education sector with 108 teachers refusing punitive transfer and education syndicates promising to make the decision fall and a minister who is very creative in making up crises and accumulating failure
Nasser Al Hachemi tweets:
@n_nasser56 إنه الإذلال والتعسف. قلبي معكم يا حَملة النور
It is humiliation and tyranny. My heart with you oh you holders of the light
Activist Mejdi Ahmed also had his word about the matter:
@mejdmr الأساتذة إعتصمو بالأمس في مباني وزارة التعليم لمطالبة السلطات بالعدول عن قرار تحويلهم والذي وصفوه بالجائر
The teachers protested yesterday in the Education Minister premises asking to renounce the decision of transferring them – a decision they judged unfair.
Al Cheikh Ould Horma also tweeted:
@Cheikh_Horma في #موريتانيا: الأساتذة يصرون على أدلجة الصراع مع الوزارة التي تصر بدورها على أدلجة مطالب الأساتذة !
In Mauritania the teachers insist to ideologize the conflict with minister who in turn insists of ideologizing the teachers demand
He concluded:
<
a href=”https://twitter.com/Cheikh_Horma/status/251075845123366914″ target=”_blank”>@Cheikh_Hormaالسنة الدراسية على الأبواب في #موريتانيا والمعركة تبدأ من جديد بين الوزارة والنقابات.. حرب بسوس !
The academic year is about to start in Mauritania and the battle starts again between the Minister and the syndicates. A dire war

author: أحمد جدو


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Mobs Burn Dalit Homes in Response to Intercaste Marriage in India · Global Voices
Lakshmi Sarah

On 7 November 2012, up to 2,000 people attacked three Dalit settlements in the Dharmapuri District of Tamil Nadu in India, according to the International Dalit Solidarity Network (ISDN) with sources from The Hindu, IBN, Times of India and Countercurrents.
According to newspaper reports, a nursing student, from the Vanniyar (Shudra) community married a man from Aadidravida (dalit) community in the Natham Colony. After her father committed suicide in disgrace, mobs organized against the Dalit community. According to ISDN, the mobs came in the afternoon in vast numbers, looting Dalit homes and torching them with petrol bombs. Hundreds of homes were damaged and 1,500 Dalits left without shelter and belongings.
As Vidya Bhushan Rawat (@freetohumanity), a social and human rights activist, writes in Countercurrents in a post titled Caste And Honor:
The violence against Dalits in the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu is a shocking reminder of social prejudices prevalent in our society and how honor is closely linked to our caste identity.
According to Rawat, “The newspapers have not reported the entire incident and completely ignore as who are the people who have attacked. It is important to identify the communities. It is open and unambiguous that the biggest violence against the Dalits in Tamiladu is inflicted by Thevars and Vanniyars, two major shudra communities lead by different political parties.” While this kind of violence is not permitted in the constitution, “violence against Dalits cannot evaporate with simple rule of law.”
Guriya & Desi Lal are Dalits or untouchables, part of the Harigans, the people in charge of cleaning the streets. Image by Yan Seiler. Copyright Demotix (27/9/2011)
Newspapers have also suggested that there have been nearly ten inter-caste marriages between Vanniyars and Dalits in this village, suggesting that the violence was incited for political purposes to prevent the threat of growing incidents of such cases in a systematic and ‘well-organized’ attack.
According to IDSN, Henri Tiphagne, executive director of the human rights organization People’s Watch, (an IDSN associate) traveled to the area to assess the situation and provide assistance to children, as he says, “It was the most shocking of caste atrocity incidents that I have seen in my life so far in terms of the effect of the incident – one inter-caste marriage that has been performed with police knowledge and protection resulting in violence with 430 houses attacked.”
On Twitter:
@Rights4Edu (Rights for Education): #Dalit students face #discrimination in Dharmapuri http://thne.ws/WxZYiZ via @thehindu #inclusiveeducation.
@meenakandasamy (Meena Kandasamy): in Dharmapuri. #shame #atrocity #dalits
@dhilipYo (Dhilip Joe Ramki): Industrialise southern districts: Sarath Kumar: Condemning the recent violence against Dalits in Dharmapuri… http://dlvr.it/2WbNK3
According to @kotravai_n (Kotravai) there will be a protest organized by Saathi AAthikka Ethirppu kootiyakkam on November 30 near Memorial Hall at 4pm.
Additional information about the incidents in Dharmapuri can be found at Sanhati in a post titled “Fighting Neoliberalism in Bengal and Beyond.”

author: Lakshmi Sarah


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New Art Exhibit Draws Attention to the Disabled in Jamaica · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

November 17th marked the debut of Jamaican artist Astro Saulter's first exhibition at Studio 174 in downtown Kingston. The exhibit, dubbed “Astro: The Morning Star”, was significant not only because it introduced a new artist to the local art scene, but also because the fact that this particular artist was able to have an exhibition at all is amazing.  Living with cerebral palsy, Astro lacks control over most of his muscles and creates his work using the EZ Keys software. The method is painstaking, with each drawing taking about a month to complete.  While the primary goal of the The Astro Project (the team behind this initiative) was to bring attention to the work of Astro Saulter, it has embraced wider objectives, all related to the need for greater access to arts education, particularly by disabled persons:
Chris Blackwell chatting at the opening.
Rosie Chung, the director of Studio 174, had intended to use the space for her own work but decided to open it up for use by others in the community. She also pointed out that students from Studio 174 created the striking mural now residing on Knutsford Blvd.
Astro comes from an artistic family. In fact his brothers, filmmakers Storm and Nile Saulter produced a short documentary about him earlier this year:
In his artistic statement, Astro wrote that his artwork served as his primary mode of self-expression:
I have no voice but I am not silent. I use tools beyond my physical body to communicate.  Across the years my voice has been expressed mostly through the written word via a computer, and now, in recent years it has become my artwork, more than words, that has satisfied my deep need to connect with people in an authentic way.
Family Jeep
He also asked for greater appreciation of artists and their work:
We are all artists in some form or another. I hope that all people will truly appreciate, and understand the love and effort that goes into my work. To my fellow artists, keep reaching for the stars, and remember, if we have a vision and a passion for something that we really want to do, we can meet that challenge, and succeed in our dream if we try hard enough. All artists are beautiful people, and we really can make a difference in the world with our work that has a positive impact on people in so many ways.
Ackee
Kate Chappell of the Jamaica Journal hopes that Astro's accomplishment will bring attention not only to the challenges facing disabled people but also to their great potential:
It is never easy to go through life with a disability, and Jamaica appears to be an especially challenging place to live. Stereotypes, fear and marginalization prevail. Nowhere accommodates people who use a wheelchair. It is difficult enough for able-bodied people to get around the streets, I can’t imagine what it is like with a wheelchair or other aids. But events like this help to raise awareness and to show people that a disability need not impede one’s goals or dreams. It also illustrates the irrational fears and prejudices towards people with disabilities. It seems as though the message is starting to get out.  Let’s hope the growing awareness continues.
Astro with the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario David Onley, who is partially paralyzed due to polio.
Blogger Annie Paul attended the exhibition and was impressed:
Thoroughly enjoyed the opening of Astro’s show at Studio 174 last night…Born with cerebral palsy into the talented Saulter family (brother Storm Saulter is the acclaimed director of the film Better Mus Come and responsible for injecting new life into the filmmaking circuits in Jamaica and the Caribbean), Astro is a poster boy for the cause of creative development and nurturing for everyone no matter the physical challenges they’re saddled with. The artworks he’s produced using a computer and his head to direct digital tools are at once graphically sophisticated and chromatically intense, products of a refreshingly unjaded, ingenuous eye.
Tanya Batson-Savage also found the work to be promising:
Indeed, that is the most important element of the exhibition which showcases inspiring possibilities.  Through these 35 digital impressions which touch on the Caribbean landscapes, [make] comments about impressions of physical beauty and even [touch] on Barack Obama, Astro: The Morning Star, shines with possibility.

author: Matthew Hunte


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Russia: Attempted Hijacking of Regional News Website · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

When internet domains are hijacked, the theft is usually facilitated by hackers. A stolen email password, a virus, or compromised server can wreak havoc on the ability of owners to maintain control of a website. However, it now appears that technological savvy is unnecessary for such a hostile takeover. Yesterday Aksana Panova, editor-in-chief of Yekaterinburg news website URA.ru, reported on her Facebook [ru] that someone filed paperwork with Russian domain registrar RU-CENTER [ru], requesting that the domain www.ura.ru [ru] be reissued to unknown third-parties. Panova only found out about this request when RU-CENTER informed her that website passwords have been changed.
The anonymous perpetrators had copies of all the relevant documents, including a copy of Panova's passport. Panova believes that the documents were acquired during the recent police raid [GV] of URA.ru's offices, her passport copied by the police during interrogation. For the past few months URA.ru and Panova have been under investigation by local police, in what many see as payback for critical coverage orchestrated by the regional government. In this light, domain theft appears to be an attempt to exert further pressure on the beleaguered publication.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Russia, Tajikistan: Who is Insulted by the Migrant Worker’s Guide? · Global Voices
Asia Plus

Note: This is an adapted version of a blog post by Tajikistani journalist Olga Tutubalina that was originally published on the website of Dushanbe-based news agency Asia-PLUS. Global Voices Online has content-sharing partnership with Asia-PLUS.
The youth wing of Tajikistan's ruling People's Democratic Party, ‘Sozandagoni Vatan’ [roughly translated as ‘Builders of the Homeland’], has condemned the «Migrant Worker's Guide» [ru, pdf] published in Russia (read a Global Voices article on the guide here). The leader of the group, Adham Mirsaidov, stated that the representations of migrant workers as construction tools in the guide are offensive and insulting to the national feelings of Tajik migrant workers. “‘Sozandagoni Vatan’ requests imperatively that the relevant government agencies of the Russian Federation take effective measures to remove [from circulation] and destroy the guide”.
It is understandable [why] people do not like the guide. It is unclear why the authors designed it in this particular way, with these particular illustrations. However, it could be suggested that the Tajiks themselves are more to blame for this: evidently, citizens of Tajikistan are associated with brooms, brushes and similar construction tools in Russia. But on the other hand, it is not highly qualified doctors, experienced teachers, or great scientists that travel to Russia [for work].
Image from the “Migrant Worker's Guide”
Possibly, many have been insulted by the images; others, including the [labor] migrants themselves, do not care how they are depicted as long as they have an opportunity to earn their bread.
It is quite possible that the individuals who designed the guides were not very professional. But this is not the problem that the National Democratic Party of Tajikistan should be using to score points. This behavior of theirs is even more indecent than the actual publication of the guide. This is nothing but hypocrisy towards those whom they are supposedly defending.
This incident is just a [result of] stupid misunderstanding which should not be used to draw general conclusions about the nationalist Russia. Let us ‘compare instead] what the supposedly hostile Russia is doing for Tajik migrant workers and what their home country is doing for them.
What does Russia do?
Russia is extending the period during which citizens of Tajikistan are allowed to stay on its territory without registration [with the migration authorities]. It is also increasing the duration of work permits [for Tajiks].
Russia is sending dozens of teachers to Tajikistan so that our children could receive an education. For the same reason, Russia is also opening its universities in [Tajikistan].
Russia is opening schools for the children of migrant workers on its territory.
Effectively, Russia is providing Tajiks with jobs on its territory. And there is no point in saying that [Russia] also needs [these migrant workers]; it is Tajikistan that is critically dependent on Russia's labor market for its survival.
Russia is removing export duties on oil deliveries [to Tajikistan] (even if it does so in exchange for [Tajikistan allowing Moscow to keep its military base in the country], common citizens do not care about this).
What does Tajikistan do?
Tajikistan is raising the cost of phone calls to Russia.
Tajikistan (its government) has been considering taxing the remittances that its migrant workers are sending home [from Russia].
The country's Ministry of Finance is slashing welfare benefits for the poorest segments of the population and for pensioners.
Tajikistan is being unable to feed its own people and to provide them with heating. It is being unable to provide them with decent education and well-paid jobs.
So, stop talking about your unique nation and pride, there is nothing unique about us. Start to respect yourselves in a real way. Not because we are Tajiks, but because we are human beings. The others will then start to respect us as well. This is common sense, but people should be continuously reminded of these things.

author: Asia Plus


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Why Vote-Rigging in Ukraine’s Elections Shouldn’t Go Unpunished · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

This post is part of our International Relations & Security coverage.
Opposition activists and supporters rally outside the Central Election Commission in Kyiv. Photo by ukrafoto ukrainian news, copyright © Demotix (5/11/12).
The October 28, 2012 parliamentary elections in Ukraine are likely to be best-remembered for widespread protest voting, seemingly endless vote counts in disputed voting districts, allegations of vote-rigging and a rather lackluster public protest in Kyiv. However, an abundance of citizen media reports, live online broadcasts and other monitoring initiatives is what makes this election – not to mention violations that occurred before, during and after the vote – memorable. As Ukrainska Pravda journalist Kateryna Avramchuk commented [uk] via Twitter on the situation at one of the contested voting districts:
@avramchuk_katya: There's a live broadcast of our votes being stolen […] And you expect people not to be apolitical after that?
Protesters in Kyiv during the Orange Revolution of 2004. Photo by Veronica Khokhlova.
Eight years ago, electoral fraud during the 2004 presidential vote sparked the protests that came to be known as the Orange Revolution. The opposition won back then, but later failed to properly investigate the numerous violations and to prosecute those responsible. Some of the accused even ended up receiving state awards. This, alongside the constant infighting, eventually eroded much of the public support that the victorious “Orange” team used to enjoy.
The attitude of many Ukrainian voters today is reflected well enough in this Facebook comment [uk]:
…People say they don't want to [join street protests] because they have already given their votes – and now let [the opposition politicians] fight with the regime for their [parliament seats] on their own…
The current post-election situation stems from impunity and systematic corruption prevalent in Ukraine. But it also offers the opposition yet another chance to make up for its past mistakes.
Politicians and citizens may disagree on the best strategy for re-establishing the true will of voters in these circumstances (a complete or partial re-vote, or just a re-count of the votes in contested districts). Most, however, agree that the opposition has to stick together this time, taking legal action against the perpetrators of electoral fraud, and seeing it through – instead of just talking about the necessity to do so.
Olga Ajvazovska, coordinator of electoral programs at Civil Network OPORA, argued [uk] against re-voting in the contested districts:
[…] If this week the world has seen [riot police] “counting” the votes and candidates kidnapping heads of [district election commissions] with their [official] stamps, then in 60 days [in time for a partial re-vote] we may witness some shooting. […] Is there really anyone who thinks that a new campaign will secure a victory for those who have already won in these districts? […] The winners have lost [due to fraud], and the losers will win [in case of a re-vote]. If no one goes to jail for falsifications, then the fate of this campaign has already been decided.
Mykola Kniazhytsky, general director of the TVi channel and an oppositional candidate in this election, agreed [uk] with Ajvazovska:
[…] The people have won honestly. If we decide to schedule a re-vote, it should happen only after criminal charges are filed against the falsifiers. Otherwise, we'll be exonerating and encouraging them.
Andriy Parubiy, another opposition candidate, favored a re-count [uk] over a re-vote and suggested [uk] creating a public nationwide register of election fraudsters, “from [President Viktor Yanukovych] to heads of [local election commissions]” [uk].
It remains to be seen, however, whether any of those responsible for the current crisis will ever be brought to justice.
This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by the International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide. This post was first published on the ISN blog, see similar stories here.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Afro-Brazilian Women, Tight Curly Hair and Black Consciousness · Global Voices
Yohana de Andrade

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages unless otherwise noted]
“You can wear your hair loose at my school, but I don't like to because it's dry and looks bad. My hair looks bad.” This statement was uttered by a young girl on the web documentary Raíz Forte (Strong Roots), which depicts how black women in Brazil have historically dealt with their hair. According to the description on the documentary's Facebook page, the idea is to “start a discussion about hair in terms of belonging to and explaining our African ancestry.”
On November 20, Brazil celebrated Black Awareness Day; in honor of the day, we invite you to watch this film whose first-person narrative connects different protagonists’ stories, depicting many years of social prejudices as well as the protagonist's own prejudices.
The three-part documentary begins with an overview of the techniques used to work with the tight, frizzy curls of young black girls and proceeds to show how a number of woman have presented their hair in the face of options available to them during their youth and adolescence. The third and final episode presents experiences from youth through adolescence of a number of women that have marked them to this day.
In an interview on the blog Meninas Black Power (Black Power Girls), Charlene Bicalho, creator of the documentary Raiz Forte, shares her own experience with her hair. According to Charlene, her “roots” were dismissed from infancy through adulthood, and her natural hair was masked in a number of ways, such as braiding, “straightening as salvation for [my] problem,” the consequent brittleness, and dependence on expensive, chemical treatments. Finally, at age 26, she decided to do something that would allow her to once again discover just what her hair was really like. And the result? Charlene recalls:
Charlene Bicalho
comecei a ser abordada por mulheres negras, em ambientes que eu frequentava, perguntando o que eu fazia para meu cabelo ficar daquela forma. As abordagens aumentavam a medida que o meu cabelo crescia e isso começou a mexer comigo porque eu me via naquelas mulheres, via nelas meu cabelo de anos atrás.  Comecei então a pensar algum projeto cultural onde pudesse abordar essa temática, no intuito de mostrar para essas mulheres que existem alternativas para tratar dos cabelos diferentes das que geralmente são ensinadas no âmbito familiar. Dessas reflexões surgiu o projeto RAIZ FORTE!
Black women began approaching me everywhere, asking what I did to get my hair that way. More people approached me the more I let my hair grow. And this began to affect me because I saw myself reflected in those women; I saw in them how I had been years before. So then I started a cultural project to discuss this topic in order to show these women that there are ways to take care of your hair that are different from the ways traditionally taught . And it was from these reflections that the project RAIZ FORTE [STRONG ROOTS] emerged!
The relationship between prejudice, black women and tight, curly hair is found in many sectors of society and the media.
As expressed on the website Jezebel, in an article entitled “Bombril pads are steel scouring pads. Kinky hair is another thing all together,” Livia Deodato criticizes the comparison of steel scouring pads to her hair:
Aí, quando a gente pensa que todo este mal-estar ficou lá nos anos 80, vem a Bombril [empresa cujo principal produto é palha de aço, pejorativamente associada aos cabelos crespos], ciente da associação preconceituosa criada em torno da sua marca, claro, e lança um concurso para descobrir a nova melhor cantora do Brasil no programa do Raul Gil: Mulheres que Brilham, cujo logo é a sombra de uma mulher de perfil que tem cabelo crespo.
Uggg, just when we think that we left all of this attitude behind us in the eighties, along comes Bombril [a company whose main product is the steel scouring pad pejoratively associated with kinky hair], aware of the prejudice associated with its brand, of course, and decides to hold a contest to discover the best female singer in Brazil on the Raul Gil program: Women Who Shine, whose logo is the shadowed profile of a woman with tight, curly hair.
(The winners of the contest, which ran from June to October 2012, were signers Bruna and Keyla, notably blonde and not Afro-Brazilian).
The blog Cabelo Crespo é Cabelo Bom (Kinky Hair is Good Hair), by reporter Mariangela Miguel, has the same objective as the documentary: to show that tight, curly hair is just as good as straight hair:
Quando o seu cabelo só cresce para cima, como explicar para uma menina de 13 anos que ela não pode nem sonhar com o cabelo Chanel? Quem é o culpado? O cabelo ruim.
Acreditei nisso por muitos anos. Hoje, depois de tantas experiências (que vou fazer questão de contar cada uma para vocês), cheguei a seguinte conclusão: se meu cabelo fosse realmente ruim, não teria agüentado tanto secador, chapinha e química.
When your hair only grows upwards, how do you explain to a 13-year old girl that she cannot even dream of having hair like the girls in Chanel ads? Who's to blame? Bad hair.
I believed that for many years. Today, after much experience (about which I can tell you in detail), I came to the following conclusion: if my hair were really so bad, it would not have been able to handle the frequency of the b blow dryer, straightener and chemical treatment.
Luísa Diogo, former prime minister of Mozambique, in the documentary “Mulheres Africanas – A Rede Invísivel“, presenting the history of battles and lobbies of the African women in different countries in the African continent. (Click to see the trailer)
“This phenomenon through which women's hairdos go through is not exclusive to Brazilian women,” the blog Colherada Cultural states:
Nos Estados Unidos a questão está tão presente que virou tema de um divertido documentário chamado “Good Hair” (ou “Cabelo Bom”, em tradução livre) (…) [que] mostra como age a indústria de produtos para cabelos voltada aos negros, bem como a ausência quase que total de personalidades negras que assumem os fios crespos.
The question is so frequently debated the United States that it has became part of the documentary entitled “Good Hair,”… [which] shows how hair-product manufacturers act to market to black hair as well as the near total lack of blacks who proudly wear their tight curls.
This topic is also addressed in music. One example is the young psychologist Jessica Sandim, who shares on her blog the song “I am not my hair,” from US singer India Arie, dedicated to:
nós que sempre, I mean, SEMPRE TODA A VIDA, entramos em conflito sobre nossos cabelos, nossa identidade, nosso gosto e a “maldita ditadura da sociedade”…
E também pra você que adora criticar tudo que é diferente.
Those of us who have always, and I mean ALWAYS AND FOREVER, been in conflict with our hair, our identity, our taste and the damn dictatorship of society”
And also for you who loves to criticize everything that is different.
The music stands for refusing stereotypes rampant in society and has been shared in the blogosphere as the “freedom song,” or so says the author of Diário de Bordo, Bordado a Bordô: ”the song of when one already has it, a tribute to the path that is.”

author: Yohana de Andrade


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Candles Lit for Gaza in Bulgaria’s Capital · Global Voices
Ruslan Trad

About 100 people gathered in Sofia's central square to show their support for the victims of Israel's recent Operation Pillar of Defense in the Gaza Strip. Facebook page “Together for Palestine” [bg] has this photo of commemorative candles lit in Bulgaria's capital; another page, “Bulgaria supports Palestinian independence in the UN” [bg], has more updates and photos. A few pro- and anti-Assad Syrians were seen arguing with each other during this solidarity gathering:
Photo by Ruslan Trad.

author: Ruslan Trad


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Cat Finds Home Thanks to Kids’ Facebook Campaign · Global Voices
Paula Góes

“‘My sister and I really want a cat. Our papa promises we can get one if we can get 1,000 likes'”
Hairyette Pawturr may be the first cat to find a home via Facebook thanks to a campaign by 7-year-old Remi and his 1-year-old sister Evelyn in the United States, writes Ingrid King on Conscious Cat. Their picture currently has 128,723 likes, 107,876 shares and the family have now adopted a tabby cat from the Ellen M. Gifford Cat Shelter.

author: Paula Góes


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China: Last Words of 19 Tibetans Who Committed Self-Immolation · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

[All links lead to Chinese-language websites unless otherwise noted.]
On November 17, 2012, the number of self-immolations since February 2009 committed by Tibetans in protest of Chinese rule of the Tibet Autonomous Region reached [en] 79. Even though United Nations human rights chief has finally spoken out and urged [en] the Chinese government to address the grievances of Tibetans, discussion about the religious and cultural oppression of Tibet as well as the the rash of self-immolations by Tibetans continues to be banned in the online and offline public sphere by the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) [en] because of its political sensitive nature.
Dissent writer Woser, who reports on the human rights situation in Tibet, has collected 19 last wills and testaments of Tibetans who self-immolated to help people understand their grievances.
Nyankar Tashi's last words. Image from Woeser.
1. Songye Tsering (桑德才让), a 24-year-old herdswoman, self-immolated outside the local government in Zeku County, Qinghai Province on November 17, 2012:
西藏没有自由，达赖喇嘛尊者被禁止返回西藏，班禅喇嘛被监禁在狱中，另有无数个西藏英雄相继自焚牺牲，因此，自己不想活在这个世上，活得也没有意义。…我们是雪狮的儿子，红脸藏人的后代，请铭记雪山的尊严。
There is no freedom in Tibet, His Holiness Dalai Lama is forbidden to return home. Panchen Lama [the second highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama] is in prison. Numerous Tibetan heroes have made the sacrifice of self-immolation. I don't want to live anymore, there is no meaning in living… We are the son of Snow Lion, the offspring of red face Tibetans. Please remember the dignity of Snow mountain.
2. Nyankar Tashi (娘尕扎西), 24 years old, self-immolated on November 24, 2012 in Tongren County, Qinghai Province. He left a letter to Dalai and Panchen Lama as well as to six million Tibetans:
西藏要自由、要独立。释放班禅仁波切，让嘉瓦仁波切返回家园！我自焚抗议中国政府！父亲扎西南杰为主的人，不要为我悲痛，随佛法，行善事，我的希望是，六百万藏人要学习母语、讲母语，穿藏服，团结一致。
Tibet needs freedom and independence. Release Panchen and let Dalai return home. I self-immolate to protest against the Chinese government! Father, please don't be disheartened because of me. I follow the Buddha and Goodness. My wish is that six million Tibetans will learn their mother tongue, wear Tibetan clothes and be united.
Tingzin's portrait. Image from Woeser.
3. Tingzin (丹珍措), 23-year-old herdswoman living with her parents and her six-year-old son, self-immolated on November 7, 2012 before the 18th National Chinese Communist Party Congress in Tongren Province. She left her last words to her father:
阿爸，我们藏人真难啊，连嘉瓦仁波切（尊者达赖喇嘛）的法像都不能供养的话，那是真的没有自由了……
Father, being a Tibetan is so difficult. We can't even say our prayer to Dalai Lama's portrait. We have no freedom at all…
4. Lhamo Kyap (拉莫嘉), a herdsman in his 20s with two young daughters, self-immolated on October 20, 2012 near Bora Temple in Xiahe County, Gansu Province. A Tibetan friend of Lhamo recorded the details of a conversation he had with him on the date of Lhamo's self-immolation:
拉姆嘉“通过电话对他的一位好友表示，能否到博拉寺接他，而他的朋友回答说，因为自己没有摩托车可能无法接应后，拉姆嘉表示，哦，那没关系，今天下午或许你会听到一个消息。拉姆嘉还对他的好友提问说，中国的十八大会议什么时候召开？并最后叹气说，这中国（藏语：加）真不让我们过一个安心的日子后，挂断了电话。”
Lhamo Kyap asked his close friend in a phone conversation if he could pick him up at Bora Temple. His friend said that he did not have his motorbike with him and might not be able to help. Lhamo said, it's OK, today you may hear news. He asked if his friend knew when exactly the 18th Congress of the CCP would take place. He sighed, China does not allow us to live in peace. Then he hung up the phone.
5. Dhondup (頓珠), a 61-year-old herdsman, self-immolated on October 22, 2012 at Labrang Monastery in Xiahe County, Gansu Province. According to Voice of Tibet:
他“经常呼吁拉卜楞寺僧人和当地年轻藏人不要选择自焚，要留住生命，为民族未来事业作出努力和贡献。公开表示自己和老一代人在1958年和1959年期间，曾遭受中共政府的迫害和折磨，因此，他和其他年事已高的老一代人才应该选择自焚等。”
He used to tell other monks from Labrang Monastery and young Tibetans not to self-immolate. Live their lives and contribute to the future of Tibet. He said that his generation had been prosecuted by the Chinese Communists back in 1958 and 1959, so his generation should choose to self-immolate.
6. Gudup (古珠), a 43-year-old Tibetan writer, self-immolated on October 4, 2012 in Biru County, Tibet. He left his last words in an update to his QQ account, a popular Chinese social networking site. Below is an excerpt:
达赖喇嘛尊者提倡非暴力中间道路政策，努力争取自治权利，为此境内外600万藏人也一直遵从尊者的教言长期期盼，但中共政府不仅不给予支持和关注，反而提及藏人福祉的人都会遭到监禁和无尽的酷刑折磨，更严重的是污蔑达赖喇嘛，只要不承认西藏是中国的一部分，将会遭到暗杀或失踪，藏人的福祉利益根本置之不理，因此，为了见证和宣传西藏的真实状况，我们要把和平斗争更加激烈化，将自身燃烧呼唤西藏独立之声。
His Holiness Dalai Lama advocates for a non-violent middle-way policy for the right to Tibetan autonomy. Six million Tibetans have been following His Holiness’ teaching. But the CCP shows no support. Instead, they arrested and tortured those who demand Tibetan's rights. They defame Dalai Lama and when anyone does not recognize Tibet as part of China, they will disappear or be assassinated. They don't care about Tibetans and in order to let the world know about the real situation in Tibet, we have to radicalize our peaceful action, voice out Tibetan independence by lighting up our bodies.
7-8. Tenzin Kedhup (丹增克珠), a 24-year-old herdsman and a former monk. Ngawang Norphel (阿旺诺培), 22 years old. They self-immolated together with the Tibetan national flag in Chindu County, Qinghai Province on June 20, 2012. They recorded their last words together:
对我俩来说，没有能力从西藏的宗教和文化上出力，在经济上，也没有帮助西藏人民的能力，所以我俩为了西藏民族，特别是为了达赖喇嘛尊者能够永驻世间并且尽快返回西藏，而选择了自焚的方式。告知和我俩一样的西藏青年们，我们希望而且也相信大家会立誓，永远不在藏人间进行内斗，要团结一致，守护住西藏的民族赤诚。
We do not have the ability to help Tibetan's religion and culture. We do not have the economic means to help other Tibetans. For the sake of our Tibetan race, in particular for the return of His Holiness Dalai Lama to Tibet, we choose self-immolation. We want to tell all the Tibetan youth, swear to yourself, never fight against each other, among Tibetans, we have to be united and protect our race.
9. Tamding That (旦正塔), a 64-year-old herdsman, self-immolated at Jainca County outside a military office in Qinghai Province on June 15, 2012. He left a short note:
皈依三宝，
祈愿世界和平。
祈愿尊者达赖喇嘛回归故里。
为了守护西藏国，
我将献身自焚。
Rely on three treasures [Buddha, Buddhist Law and Monk]
Wish for world peace,
Wish for His Holiness Dalai Lama to return home.
Protect the Tibetan State,
I self-immolate to contribute [to the wish].
Rechok's portrait. Image from Woeser.
10. Rechok (日玖), a 33-year-old herdsman with three children, self-immolated on May 30, 2012 near the Grand Lamasery of Dzamthang, Sichuan Province. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights received his last words on August 18:
祈愿世界和平幸福。为了使尊者达赖喇嘛能够返回西藏，請不要纵容自己恣意地屠宰或交易牲畜，更不要偷盗；藏人要说藏語，不要打架。我愿为一切苦难的有情众生承担痛苦。如果我落到中共当局的手中，請不要反抗抵制。大家要团结一致，学习文化知识，家人不要为我的自焚感到伤心。
Wish for world peace and happiness. Please don't indulge yourself in killing and selling animal stocks, don't steal for the sake of His Holiness Dalai Lama to return to Tibet. Tibetans should speak to Tibetans and should not fight each other. I am willing to take up the pain and sufferings of all living beings. If I fall at the hand of the Communist Party of China, please don't resist. We have to be united and learn our culture. My family, don't be disheartened by my self-immolation.
11-12. Soinam (索南), a 24-year-old student. Choephak Kyab (曲帕嘉）, a 25-year-old student. The two self-immolated near the Grand Lamasery of Dzamthang, Sichuan Province, at different spots on April 19, 2012. Their last words was released on YouTube. Below is an excerpt:
藏民族是有着与众不同的宗教和文化、慈悲和善良、有利他之心的民族，但是，藏民族受到中国的侵略、镇压和欺骗。我们是为了藏民族没有基本人权的痛苦和实现世界和平而点火自焚的，我们藏民族没有最基本人权的痛苦比我俩自焚的痛苦还要大。
Tibetans have distinctive religion and culture. The nation believes in love and compassion, with respect to others. However, Tibet has been invaded, repressed and cheated by China. We self-immolated for our misery and lack of basic human rights, as well as for world peace. The suffering of Tibetans deprived of basic human rights is much greater than our self-immolation.
13. Sobha Rinpoche (江白益西), a 27-year-old exiled Tibetan from Dawu County, Sichuan Province, self-immolated in Delhi a protest against the Chinese president's visit to India on March 26, 2012. Below is an excerpt of his last will:
同胞们，为未来幸福和前景我们要有尊严和骨气。尊严是一个民族的灵魂，是寻找正义的勇气，更是未来幸福的向导。同胞们，寻求与全球民众同等的幸福，必须要牢记尊严，大事小事都要付出努力，总而言之，尊严是辨别是非的智慧；
自由是所有生命物的幸福所在，失去自由、像是在风中的酥 油灯，像是六百万藏人的趋向，如果三区藏人能够团结力量必会取得成果，请不要失去信心；
My fellow Tibetans, for the future of our happiness, we need to have dignity and courage. Dignity is the spirit of a nationality, the courage for justice, the compass leading to future happiness. My fellow Tibetans, to seek the same happiness that is shared by all people in this world, we have to remember our dignity and make an effort in all matters. Dignity is the wisdom to distinguish right from wrong.
Freedom is the path to happiness for all living beings. Without freedom, we become a candle flame in the wind, the fate of six million Tibetans. If Tibetans from the three autonomous regions can be united, we will have won an accomplishment. Please don't lose your faith.
14. Tsering Kyi (才讓吉), a 19-year-old student, self-immolated in a market in Maqu County, Gansu Province on March 3, 2012. According to a reporter's account:
一月初，才让吉在与她的一个亲戚谈到一连串的自焚事件时表示，她很理解他们为什么要这样做。‘没有人可以像这样继续生活下去。’
Back in January, Tsering Kyi discussed self-immolations with one of her family members. She said she understood why those people had chosen to do so: “No one deserves to live like this”.
15. Nya Drul (朗卓), an 18-year-old student, self-immolated on February 19, 2012 in Camtang County, Sichuan Province. He wrote his will in the form of a poem:
昂起你坚强的头，为朗卓之尊严。
我那厚恩的父母、亲爱的兄弟及亲属，我即将要离世。
为恩惠无量的藏人，我将点燃躯体。
藏民族的儿女们，我的希望就是，你们要团结一致。
若你是藏人要穿藏装，并要讲藏语，勿忘自己是藏人；
若是藏人要有慈悲之心，要爱戴父母，要民族团结，要怜悯旁生，珍惜动物生命。
Keep your courageous head up, for my dignity.
My parents to whom I owe their deepest love, my dear brother and family, I have to leave this world.
For my compassionate Tibetans, I will light my body.
My wish for Tibetan sons and daughters, you have to be united.
If you are Tibetan, you have to wear Tibetan clothing and speak Tibetan. Don't forget you are Tibetan.
If Tibetans are compassionate, love your parents and be united. Treasure the lives of all living beings and animals.
16. Sobha Rinpoche (索巴仁波切), 42 years old, self-immolated in a square in Gade County, Qinghai Province on January 8, 2012. His last words, which are accessible here, reaffirmed his religious faith:
如佛陀当年舍身饲虎一般，其他牺牲的藏人同胞也是如我一般，为了真理和自由而舍生取义。
Like Buddha who gave his body to feed the tiger. Those Tibetans who sacrificed their lives shared my purpose – we give up our life for justice, truth, and freedom.
17. Tenzin Phuntsog (丁増朋措), a 41-year-old peasant and former monk, self-immolated in front of the district government in Qamdo County, Tibet, on December 1, 2011. He left behind four notes. Below is his last note:
想到整个西藏和今年噶玛寺的苦难，我无法继续活下去空等。
Whenever I think of Tibet and the suffering of Karma Monastery, I can't continue my life waiting.
18. Phuntsog (彭措）, a 19-year-old monk at Gulden Temple, self-immolated in Ngawa County, Sichuan Province on March 16, 2011. According to an interview with other monks in the Temple, he told them:
我无法继续忍受心中的痛苦，2011年3月16日我将向世人表现一点迹象。
I can't bear the pain in my heart. I will leave behind some trace for the world on March 16, 2011.
19. Tapey (扎白), a 20-year-old monk in Gulden Temple, self-immolated on February 27, 2009 in Ngawa County, Sichuan Province. According to an article published on June 2, 2012 [en] in The New York Times, Tapey left a note behind saying he would kill himself if the government stopped an important prayer ceremony that very same day.


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China: “Most Awesome Nail House” Stands In Middle Of Highway · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The picture above is the screen capture of a TV report on a house, which stands in the middle of a highway near the railway station in Taizhou, Wenlin, Zhejiang province. As the relocation settlement is not enough for the reconstruction of his 5-story-building, the owner refused to move and now his house is cut from energy and water supply but stilling nailing on the ground. Anthony Tao has uploaded the report in Youtube and curated the story in Beijing cream.


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China: Re-education through Labour System Under Fire · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A number of state-controlled media outlets ran articles criticizing the process of re-education through the labour system. Some netizens are speculating that this may be a sign of impending legal reform under the new leadership of the Chinese Communist Party after the 18th Party Congress. (more from China Media Project)


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Crowdmapping Water Contamination in Peruvian Indigenous Communities · Global Voices
Susannah Vila

This post was originally published in The Engine Room.
In Peru, the economy is booming thanks largely to multi-billion dollar mining efforts. As miners and drillers start new projects, what’s the impact on people who live near them? One issue is contaminated water sources linked to illness and death. In the Peruvian Amazon – and in other parts of the world – how can individuals hold the extractive industries accountable for the impacts – poisoned water, food, and heightened conflict are a few examples – of its activities?
One project, called La Cuidadora, provides an information sharing network to assist indigenous communities in better protecting them selves from these impacts. Using a Ushahidi deployment (translated into the indigenous language Shipibo), information from within affected communities gets reported, mapped and then distributed out to national organizations and media outlets as well as back to people in the affected communities. To make this work, La Cuidadora relies on its relationships with community based NGOs like the Defensa Indigena and the Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos. Its reports have made their way into national conversations about controversial mining projects as in – for example – this Twitter exchange from a few days ago.
La Cuidadora crowdmapping platform
I sat down with the founder, Jonattan Rupire, and asked him how he would expand La Cuidadora if he had more resources. He said he would turn it into a more systematized early warning system with trained Cuidadoras in each community. He’d choose villages located along the rivers that go from the top of mountains being mined to their base. A Cuidadora at the top of a mountain would detect contamination in the river and send a text message to Cuidadoras at a lower points. Upon finding out about contamination, village dwellers would have more opportunity to make sure that they and their neighbors avoided it.
It’s great to protect individual lives from the daily impacts of mining and drilling, but how can this work also yield more transparency and accountability in the extractive industries? By scaling up the early warning system, La Cuidadora would be simultaneously growing its database of information and building a more powerful tool for advocacy. Including a component that provides immediate utility for community members – saving lives is a strong incentive for participation – dramatically increases the likelihood of success for longer term goals of advocating for better practices using data collected over time. Indeed, it makes a data collection process that does not provide short-term benefits to participating communities seem downright silly.
The system outlined in the diagram above would be concretized into a distribution of open source software tools designed expressly for this purpose. Using this distribution, other communities affected by the extractive industries could more easily replicate La Cuidadora’s work. It would include the localizations of Ushahidi to indigenous languages, the taxonomy system, the structure of text messages sent among village leaders about contamination, and the SIM card apps and SMS gateways that worked best for the initiative..
Where else have early warning systems been combined with advocacy to bring about more transparency and accountability in the mining industry? Let us know in the comments.

author: Susannah Vila


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Hackathons in Droves: How is a Hackathon Organised? · Global Voices
JJ Merelo

[All links lead to Spanish language pages unless otherwise noted]
In the following article, guest, J.J. Merelo, Doctor in Physics and Professor at the University of Granada, Spain, tells us of his experience organising educational hackathons in light of the regional Hackathon Developing Latin America 2012 [en] which will take place next month in December.
A priori the word hackathon should not give rise to many doubts: marathon + programming. 52 kilometres of programming until someone collapses with exhaustion. Joined by a few others, you'll say, come on, let's programme! Any doubts? No? Well off you go.
In reality, it isn't so easy and we realised this when organising the first free software projects hackathon in the UGR (University of Granada).
Photo taken from the album Hackathon in Picasa, used under the licence Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0).
This hackathon was carried out in order to support the projects participating in the Free Software Contest, which was being celebrated for the second time in Granada. The main idea was to spread awareness of the projects, attract the community and, obviously, to give a little push in order to help the participants from the UGR to work on their projects and resolve any problems that they were having. I don't know what ideas we had if I'm honest. If only the most experienced person in the UGR in Java [en], Python [en], MVC environment [en] and, of course, programming methodology would come.
Naturally, we did have all of this. Moreover, arriving eager to learn, came along the freshman, and the telecommunications guy who had only seen Java and thought that Python was the name of a revolver. And the translators. When you do a hackathon in the university, people from the whole university will come. The university is a big place and is home to diversity.
To get programming from the word go is very difficult. The tools used have to be taught, these are principally tools for collaborative development and social networks. Yes, social networks. Believe it or not, there are more Whatsapp users than there are for Twitter. Also, development methodology. It isn't about ‘you’, or you do this and you do that but what to do, how to do it and with whom to do it. To whom will you present the result? How will you test the development to make sure it's correct? Everything. So begins the hackathon: bringing everyone up to speed and to the same level as far as possible. And with that, the first hours are filled.
In reality, the first hours have been filled well before then: in the buildup to the hackathon. All of the projects’ participants have to organise tasks that are going to try to address the same issue. Tasks for all levels, from Jennifer's level in  IT Crowd: barely knowing how to click the mouse once or twice, up to the level of: “don't worry, I've already created a new interpreter for the language that I created in one afternoon.” And, of course, preparing the talks specific to the project in which you are going to work. What libraries am I using and why? Do I have some specific criteria for coding? Am I using a strange language that nobody knows and will I have to teach it to people? Like this, the following hours are filled.
Photo taken from the album Hackathon in Picasa, used under the licence Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Fortunately, the programming itself comes next, and that needs time and space. Sufficient time in order to be able to start and finish the task and a space in which it can be developed. This should be well connected with good lighting (in my case the lights went in the house where we were working) and, above all, well known by the pizza boy so that he can arrive quickly and efficiently. It can even be a bar, but it should have sockets and no one must look badly upon those that throw back a beer every hour. Or if you polish off three beers in half an hour. Sometimes coding needs high octane lubrication.
In the end there are three key parts to a successful hackathon: awareness (and I must emphasise there must be a lot, over a lot of time, from word of mouth, posters, social networks to press releases), adequate preparation from participating projects (sufficient tasks and sufficient formation for those that are going to be involved) and attractive projects (if someone wants to make a compilation of Brainfuck [en] they are not going to be as successful as if they wanted to make a mobile app for finding a partner). The latter of course, you cannot guarantee. Sad as it seems, a project may not always take off, so you, as an organiser, must have something up your sleeve. A ‘guardian hackathoner’ if you like.
What do you get at the end of the hackathon? Coding, of course. This isn't to say that it is a social event where participants leave empty-handed, but rather as collaborators and sometimes having made lasting friendships. So, we will most certainly be doing it again next year. If you're in Spain, will you join the 5th UGR projects hackathon? And if you're in Latin America, will you join Dal2012?

author: JJ Merelo


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Has Morsi Pulled a Mubarak and Cut the Internet Off Tahrir Square?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian netizens are reporting Internet cuts around Tahrir Square, the epi-centre of the Egyptian revolution while others are saying it is working fine.
If the Internet is being disrupted by the authorities, it brings to mind what happened on the second day of the start of the Egyptian revolution, when access to the Internet was cut off in Egypt on January 26, 2011.
Egyptians are back to Tahrir Square today [Nov 23, 2012] to protest sweeping powers their new president Mohammed Morsi has granted himself. According to news reports, Morsi has neutralised the judiciary, declaring that courts will not be allowed to challenge his decisions. This has angered Egyptians, who have turned out en masse at Tahrir Square to protest what they call Egypt's new pharaoh and his Muslim Brotherhood organisation, which they say is grabbing too much power.
Back to the Internet cuts, Jadaliyya reports:
@jadaliyya: Reports: cellphone & internet networks in Tahrir suspended. Minister of Communications: “These are policies in which I am not involved”
Majdi Abdelhadi quips:
@maegdi: reports of cutting internet and mobile phone coverage in Tahrir area .. is Mubarak back ? #egypt
And others see the Internet cuts as an important move, to draw more crowds to the streets. Tarek Mostafa says:
@TarekMostafa: Egyptian tweeps are calling to cut the cellphone signal & internet so all people join the protests. #Egypt #Nov23 #Tahrir
According to activists, it was the Internet cut which drove millions to the streets at the beginning of the Egyptian revolution, leading to the toppling of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's 32-year rule after 18 days of massive protest.
On Twitter, Mai Abdelqader tweets:
@Mai_AbdelKader: #Morsi, repeating #Mubarak's scenario, and disconnecting #Internet in #Tahrir area. #Cairo #Egypt
She adds:
@Mai_AbdelKader: Can #Morsi be that much stupid to disconnect #Internet again? Unbelievable #Tahrir #Egypt
And Samar Elhussieny confirms:
@S_Elhussieny: Internet & communication networks cut off in #Tahrir SQ #Egypt #23nov
However, But @Som3aNada writes [ar]:
الانترنت شغال في التحرير بطلوا اشاعات بقي
@Som3aNada: The Internet is working in Tahrir. Please stop spreading rumours

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Iran: Ten Members of Pan-Iranist Party Arrested · Global Voices
Hooman Askary

Several bloggers reported that security forces arrested ten members of Pan-Iranist Party in Iran.
Neshador writes media remained silent about this case. [Update:most of them were released after few days of detention]

author: Hooman Askary


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Iran: ‘Back to the Stone Age’ · Global Voices
Hooman Askary

Iran Abad writes with irony that Iran's regime has an extraordinary talent to take Iranian economy back to the Stone Age.The blogger mentions several examples such as giving more incentives to buying luxury cars than purchasing medicine.


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The Voices of Sex Workers in El Salvador · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Sex workers in the city of San Salvador face ongoing discrimination, as well as potential health hazards from HIV and STDs. Others search for alternative forms of income, such as making piñatas, so that they can eventually leave this work behind.
The team from “Hablemos de VIHA” (Let's talk about HIV), which is part of CONASIDA (National Commission Against AIDS), created this [es] video so that these women can tell their own stories about how they support one another, and put a personal face on this poorly understood occupation.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Trinidad & Tobago: Hunger Striker Prepared to go the Distance to Protest Highway  · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

Environmental activist and literature professor Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh has gone on a hunger strike to protest the construction of the Debe to Mon Desir section of a highway from San Fernando to Point Fortin in southeastern Trinidad. Kublalsingh is camped outside the Office of the Prime Minister in the capital city of Port-of-Spain and has refused to eat or drink anything until the Prime Minister meets with him and the other members of the Highway Re-route Movement. Kublalsingh and the lobby group he represents insist that the current highway route would displace many homes and would adversely affect the environment.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar instructed the country's Minister of Health to visit Kublalsingh and to offer him the use of an ambulance. When Minister Fuad Khan attempted to persuade Kublalsingh to seek medical attention, he was dismissed in strident terms:
Philip Edward Alexander felt the government should have sent someone to mediate the situation instead of sending Khan to see after Kublalsingh personally:
What the Health Minister was sent to offer Dr. Kublalsingh he already had, the choice and the means to save his own life. What he did not bring was the Prime Minister's best wishes, her compassion, and a promise to halt all work until the conclusion of arbitration between both sides; had she sent someone other than the generally liked and amiable Fuad Khan they might have gotten more than a good cussing for the insult.
Alexander noted that many of the people he considers indifferent to Kublalsingh's cause would have been supporters had it been politically expedient:
What is shameful is that if Patrick Manning was in power today Kamla, Prakash and Warner would have been there washing Kublalsingh's feet, championing the cause. We have strayed from good governance into questionable territory and common sense needs to prevail to save this man's life, a good man clearly intent on sacrificing himself if that is what it takes to change how we treat with each other.
Tobago Justice noted that the Prime Minister supported Kublalsingh when he protested against a proposed aluminum smelter during the prevous administration's tenure:
This hunger striker showed up among scores of supporters demonstrating their support for the highway being built in the controversial proposed manner. This hunger striker's camp was erected in Penal near Kamla Persad Bissessar's constituency office. He has now [called] for an audience with the Prime Minister as he [will] not eat until the PM meets with him.  The interesting aspect of this entire ‘war’ is that the High Way Re-route Movement's proposal removes the highway from passing within three communities, inclusive of the Prime Minister's village of Siparia. It leaves much to be considered as to why Dr. Kublalsingh is now feeling the full length of the State's might, even from a former comrade in the person of Kamla Persad Bissessar in fighting against the Aluminum Smelter proposed by the former PNM regime.  Is it the a matter of State against Kublalsingh or is it a matter of Personalities/Persons against Kublalsingh?
Just Methinks admired Kublalsingh for taking such a strong stance on a development which doesn't affect him personally:
Wayne Kublalsingh doesn't live in [the] area that's about to be razed in preparation for the Mon Desir to Debe section of the new highway. He doesn't have any personal ties to the issue. In fact, he was only called into this fight because of his success in preventing the construction of the proposed aluminum smelter in La Brea (where he also does not live). Despite the fact that he has no personal dog in this fight, he's announced that he's prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to defend the perspective of these people.
The blogger also wondered why other Trinidadians weren't as willing to stand up for what they believed:
What about the rest of us? Those who are too busy with the daily grind to take any kind of active interest in what's going on around us. We who sit around waiting for the world to change instead of getting up and doing something about the myriad issues we spend our free time griping about. What do we do when we see a man take a stand in a way that is all but unheard of in our culture? We laugh. We sneer. We try to undermine by quibbling about how many calories are necessary to qualify for a hunger strike.
The Eternal Pantomime also wondered why others were so apathetic:
Yesterday at  NAPA I engaged a person of the upper class in discussion about Kublalsingh’s Hunger Strike, and her response was she understood the cause but she felt Wayne must be going mad. I then asked if she didn’t think that the atrocities the government has been committing worthy of a fast….and she went silent and refused to be pulled into discussion again.
In a subsequent post she give her thoughts on the Prime Minister's letter to Kublalsingh's mother:
Mind you, Mrs Persad-Bissessar’s office is just upstairs from where Kublalsingh is holding his hunger strike/vigil. But I guess it would take too much time to take an elevator and go down and speak to Kublalsingh and the protesters in person, the way a real leader would. It was far quicker to just pen the letter and send it off to media houses…thereby ensuring that she stays in the limelight, but outside of the glare of angry citizens. Well played Kamla Rani, well played.
She also pointed out that the protest was never about stopping the highway but instead, re-routing it:
This protest has never been about stopping the building of a highway; it has been about shifting a portion of the highway so that it does not interfere with the quality of life of a village. But many think it makes more sense for the village to move than for the highway to change course.
Wired868 asked what Kublalsingh's life is worth:
Last week, National Security Minister Jack Warner said that $4.5 million spent on a Laventille family day was excellent business if it saved just one life.
The life of an environmental activist, it seems, is not worth even the chance that a highway might not be completed.
Attorney and former Opposition Senator Robin Montano suggested that Kublalsingh's protest is quixotic and it would set a bad precedent if the Prime Minister gave in to his demands:
It is tempting to argue that Dr. Kublalsingh is doing the same with this hunger strike as Don Quixote did with his windmills. He is insisting that he will starve himself to death if the Prime Minister of this little Republic refuses to meet with him (and no doubt capitulate to his demands). That this is emotional blackmail of the highest order cannot be in doubt. In other words, he is saying that it will be the fault of Mrs. Persad-Bissessar, and only Mrs. Persad-Bissessar, if he dies. Now let me be clear: whether you fall on the side of the “re-routers” or not: NO Prime Minister can ever be seen to be giving in to this sort of blackmail … and it is blackmail! If it happens in this case, where would it end. No! As much as Mrs. Persad-Bissessar's humanity and her obviously clear desire is not to see a needless death, as Prime Minister she cannot allow herself to be forced to do something like this. It is clearly not in the interests of the State. If she did this (give in) today, what would stop somebody else from doing a similar thing tomorrow? Where should we draw the line?
A counter argument was a video posted on Facebook by a group (PNM Abroad) that supports the Opposition party.  In it, Dr. Kublalsingh's brother says that he is “totally shocked at the Prime Minister's behaviour”, maintaining that “it's a simple matter of her committing to a PROMISE she made” [to meet with the Highway Re-Route Movement].
Still, Montano felt that regardless of whether Kublalsingh and the Highway Re-route Movement are right, this manner of protest isn't worth it:
In other words, Dr. Kublalsingh is probably killing himself (for that is exactly what he is doing) for a lost cause. As I said at the beginning of this post: I do admire his passion; I admire his commitment, but I don't think that this particular cause is worth killing himself for. Even if you think that what he is doing is pure tomfoolery or that he is just plain wrong on this issue, I would urge you to add your voice to mine and say to him please don't kill yourself. There will be other causes where your country will need your passion and your commitment. If you are dead then it will be our loss and you won't be there to help.
Montano ended with a quote form George Bernard Shaw:
The famous English playwright, George Bernard Shaw, said it best when he said ‘The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable man insists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.’


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Zambian Phone Apps Gather Country’s News in One Place · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

After an Android phone app that allows Zambians to participate in the on-going constitution writing process was developed this year, a couple of other apps, Zambia News Daily and The Zambian which collate news about the country from a number of online sources, have appeared on the market.
The summary of the Zambia News Daily on the Google Play website reads:
Dear Zambia News Reader! We know how important it is to be aware of the LATEST NEWS about the country. And we want you to be the first person to know these news. That's why our team has created this tool especially for you.
But that's not all. Just in case you are tourist who wants to find out more about the country of Zambia, or local who likes to see pictures of the country you will be able to view PHOTOS of Zambia just by using this application.
So why use multiple sources of information while you can access all the info you need with this app? If for some reason you don't like this app, then you can simply uninstall it.
A screenshot of Zambia News Daily on a smartphone showing one of the stories that appeared on the Global Voices website.
If on the other hand you love the application – simply enjoy and have a good time with it!
This app has been developed by Rangerapps, which has also developed similar apps for a number of countries like Nigeria, Ghana and other countries.
The Zambian, also on Google Play, describes itself in the following words:
The Zambian covers the latest news from Zambia. With our mobile application you can now stay connected with Zambian news on the go. We aim to make our mobile application the only one you'll ever need on Zambia […]
With these apps on their phone, netizens will no longer need to surf a number of news websites to get news about Zambia.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu