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Kerala, India’s Solar Sector, Government Embroiled in Fraud Case · Global Voices
Rezwan

When the Indian state of Kerala recently drafted a solar energy policy which focuses on individual solar installations, it was supposed to bring some good news to the power-starved state.
But not long after, the budding solar energy market in Kerala found itself marred by controversy as a far-reaching fraud case came to involve government officials.
In early June 2013, Saritha S Nair of Vattapara, Chegannur and her boyfriend Biju Radhakrishnan were arrested for allegedly taking millions of rupees from people after she and her boyfriend promised them investments in solar power fields and wind mill farms in various parts of India. According to the couple's rhetoric, the solar and wind farms would produce energy, which would be sold to the power-starved Tamil Nadu for instant profits.
The pair allegedly lured people into contributing to the scheme with the promise that the victims would become part owners of the business and reap windfall returns. Nair and Radhakrishnan were running a firm called Team Solar Renewable Energy Solutions at Chittoor road in Kochi.
After their arrests, the scandal touched the state government as a number of personal assistants to Chief Minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy were sacked following their reported proximity to Vattapara and Radhakrishnan. The chief minister admitted that he himself had contact with Radhakrishnan. But he refused to resign despite opposition protests against him.
Ucilia Wang delved into the scheme on Tech blog Giga Om:
At the center of the brouhaha are two alleged crooks, Biju Radhakrishnan and Saritha S. Nair, who reportedly targeted doctors with their promise to install solar panels cheaply. They then took the money, turned off their phones and tried to disappear. Police have arrested both. Some of the Kerala state officials have since been accused of helping the two.
Solar Panels in Sadhana Forest community, Auroville, Tamil Nadu. Image from Flickr by Premasagar Rose. CC BY-NC 2.0
Blogger Nikhil Narayanan (@nikhilnarayanan) shared from a news report that the ring is large:
@nikhilnarayanan: Shalu Menon, the serial actress linked with Solar fraud case is a friend of @oommen_chandy‘s son, and nephew both- http://www.deshabhimani.com/newscontent.php?id=313982 …
Superfatman (@geophyraj) wrote:
@geophyraj: Kerala Govt. Suspended a state Govt. employee because he shared a newslink about the Govt's fraud in Solar Panels. Is Kerala in China?
Superfatman is referring here that the Chinese govt vowed to cancel its subsidy scheme for solar farms in 2013, due to heavy fraud.
As supply sources are drying up fast and existing productions are being scaled down, the power situation in Kerala looks pretty grim. Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan acknowledged this and said that despite the solar fraud case “the fact remains that solar energy has a huge potential in a state which is staring at an energy crisis”.
Ucilia Wang suggests what lesson should be learnt from this fraud case:
Subsidizing solar installations has shown to be an important way to promote clean energy use. The growth of the solar markets in Europe, the United States and Japan provides proof. But those investments have to come with rules to regulate installers and protect consumers from fraud.


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Malaysian Internet TV Up with Viewers · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

KiniTV, a Malaysian Internet TV service recorded 7.2 million video views last May:
KiniTV will be producing news reports and talk-shows that come straight from ordinary people and independent analysts, free from censorship and to promote dialogue and encourage transparency.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Morsi Supporters Face-off with Anti-Morsi Protestors across Egypt  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is a part of our Special Coverage Egyptians Overthrow Morsi
The much anticipated face-off between Muslim Brotherhood supporters and protesters who called for the ousting of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi took place today [July 6, 2013]. The drama unfolded live on television, and was broadcast by local and international channels. At least 17 people were killed and more than 400 protesters injured in clashes across Egypt today, which many on social media described as “expected” and “surreal.”
Ayman Mohyeldin, Foreign Correspondent for NBC News based in Egypt, tweets:
@AymanM:  Thousands of pro-morsi protestors moving across October 6 bridge towards tahrir. Military helicopter flying above pic.twitter.com/SMbqFvQKAo
The frontline of clashes on the Nile corniche. Photograph shared by @SherineT on Twitter
Al Jazeera correspondent in Cairo Sherine Tadros adds:
@SherineT: Total mayhem here at Maspero. Thousands against thousands. Street battles. People injured lying on the ground
Maspero is the Egyptian state television and radio building in midtown Cairo, and is a few metres away from Tahrir Square, where anti-Morsi protestors are continuing to celebrate Morsi's ouster.
And Andy Carvin notes:
@acarvin: Surreal footage on aje now – over a dozen guys throwing rocks, each lit up by a green laser to be target by opposing side
All this was inside Cairo alone. Outside Cairo, clashes were also reported.
Mostafa Hussein writes:
@moftasa: Street wars still going on in Alexandria. Live coverage on Al Arabiya.
Thousands of pro-Morsi protestors cross the October 6 bridge earlier today. Photograph shared by @AymanM on Twitter
Mohamed Fadel Fahmy adds:
@Repent11: A journalist in Suez just called me saying intense clashes between army and pro-Morsi protesters. Gunshots and many injuries.
And Ahmed Mwaheb, from Ismailia, asks [ar]:
احا الجيش فين #الاسماعيلية في حرب شوارع و الاخوان معاهم كل انواع الاسلحة
@AhmedMwaheb: Where is the army? There is a street war in Ismailia and the Brotherhood have all sorts of weapons
The clashes, expected and feared by many, happen two days after Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate who became president a year ago, was ousted by the military following massive protests calling for his resignation and an end of the brotherhood's rule of Egypt.
Many point fingers at the military, the old regime and the Muslim Brotherhood for the clashes.
Philip Rizk notes:
@tabulagaza: Military/ old regime + brotherhood r to blame for the sick gun battles near tahrir. The hatred increases on both sides w every shot fired
And Mohammed Maree concludes:
الإخوان لن تقوك لهم قيامة بعد ذلك ، بعد هذة الدماء التى سالت ستحل جماعتهم ولن يمارسوا العمل السياسى
@mar3e: The Muslim Brotherhood will not have a future anymore. The blood spilled will dissolve their brotherhood and they will be banished from political life
The clashes continue at the time of filing this post.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Protests Erupt in South Korea Over Spy Agency’s Electioneering · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Protests have continued for several weeks in South Korea against revelations that the country's intelligence agency allegedly meddled in December's presidential election by undertaking an anonymous online attack campaign against opposition parties.
Nine agents from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) created hundreds of Internet IDs and wrote more than 5,000 posts on the Internet and used some of them to attack opposition parties and their candidates ahead of South Korea’s presidential election last December.
The Korea Center for Investigative Journalism (or NewsTapa) shared CSV files [ko] containing raw data and their analysis revealing that 658 Twitter accounts have been used by the NIS. Among 237,000 tweets published by the accounts, more than 25 percent of them were about domestic politics and the presidential election. Most accounts were deleted right after the NIS case made headlines around December 11, 2012 and some remaining ones were removed around March 2013 when investigative reports unearthed more details about the case.
While the NIS claims it was a part of psychological warfare campaign against North Korea with the purpose of blocking communist propaganda that spawns anti-government sentiment, protesters denounce it as a threat to democracy and a despicable act that interferes with the election.
Students at 17 major universities have officially denounced [ko] the Intelligence Service as a threat to democracy. Spearheaded by college students, protests erupted in various cities with people condemning not only the agency, but also the police and the ruling party for trying to whitewash the case.
(photos) Video clips of protests in major cities by various groups have been shared online. In this video by Vimeo user ground20, a group of college students protest in Seoul before clashing with the police.
A peaceful candlelight vigil was held in Seoul. This video was uploaded by famous citizen journalist Media Mongu to his YouTube channel.
Net users lashed out at the case, calling it a despicable act that shakes the nation to its foundation, such as the following tweet:
@bbjgo: 국정원의 조직적 선거개입은 민주주의에 대한 명백한 테러입니다[…] 국정원에 대해 헌법정신에 따른 즉각적이고 분명한 조치로 국기를 바로해야겠습니다.
@bbjgo: The state intelligence agency's systematic interference in a presidential election is an act of terror against democracy. We need to take immediate, stern action.
Although police investigation into the case dragged on for about two months, net users found it unsatisfactory as it failed to clarify how the agency’s operation affected the presidential election and Won Sei-hoon, the former director of the intelligence agency, escaped arrest.
None of the nine agents who executed the operation have been punished for breaking the national election law, which prohibits government officials from influencing elections. Prominent political blogger Impeter criticized [ko] the incompleteness of the investigation and the ruling party’s attempt to whitewash the case.
국정원은 종북세력 감시와 대북 업무차원에서 인터넷을 모니터링했다고 주장하지만, 이것은 전혀 근거가 없는 변명에 불과합니다. 특히 다음 아고라에서 보여준 국정원의 지독함은 상상을 초월할 정도였습니다. […] 도대체 국정원이 얼마나 많은 인터넷 공간에서 범죄를 저질렀는지는 정확히 판명되지 않고 있습니다. 계속해서 범죄 행위가 발견되지만, 그만큼 국정원도 발 빠르게 움직여 그들의 증거를 계속 삭제하고 증거 인멸을 꾀하고 있습니다 […] 새누리당은 경찰과 결탁하여 범죄 사실을 은폐했으며, 경찰 수사 발표를 철저히 자신들에게 유리한 시간에 터트리도록 조작했습니다. 또한 ‘여성 인권'을 강조하며 오히려 문재인 후보의 도덕성을 떨어뜨리는 수법을 자행했습니다. 조중동과 종편은 연일 경찰의 수사 발표와 새누리당의 여성 인권 논리를 계속해서 내보냄으로 국민을 세뇌시켰으며[…]
The NIS claims that they have merely monitored the online space as a part of their anti-North Korea campaign and surveillance against pro-North Korean groups, but it is a totally groundless excuse. The intensity/thoroughness of NIS’s operation in the Daum Agora site is beyond one’s imagination. To what extent did NIS commit this crime in the online space is impossible to measure [due to its vast volume]. More facts about their crimes are coming out, but NIS is reacting fast in deleting and destroying evidence. The ruling Saenuri party, who colluded with the police in covering up the crime, manipulated the timing of the police investigation report so the result would come out at the moment they prefer. Moreover, using [the fact that the secret agent was a woman] and ‘women’s rights’ rhetoric, they used this case to attack [the opposite candidate] Moon Jae-in in a way of questioning his morality. The Cho-Joong-Dong [three biggest newspapers in the country] and their child TV stations have tried to brainwash people by repeatedly reporting Saenuri’s ‘women’s rights’ logic together with the police investigation result […]
It was not only liberal groups and college students who were enraged by the case. A known conservative and former professor at the National Police university, Pyo Chang-won, filed petitions against the NIS (photo). The first round of his petition gathered more than 100,000 signatures online and the second round [ko] surpassed 200,000 signatures. A part of the second petition reads [ko]:
[수사결과에 나타난] 증거들은 국정원이 바로 ‘한국형 매카시즘’을 일으켰다는 사실을 확인해주고 있습니다. 야당과 야당 의원들, 시민단체나 노동조합, 교사단체, 정부에 비판적인 지식인이나 국민들 모두를 ‘종북’으로 매도하고 이를 뒷받침하는 허위 사실과 논리들을 무차별적으로 인터넷에 살포했습니다. 그 허위사실과 논리들은 다시 극우 논객들과 일베 등 극우적 사이트 회원들을 통해 확대 재생산되어 인터넷을 뒤덮었습니다. 국정원이 말한 ‘사이버 심리전’입니다.[…] 자신의 투표권이 유린되었다고 분노한 국민도 많지만, 여전히 국정원의 “종북 대응을 위해 필요한 활동이었다”라는 변명을 믿고싶어하는 국민 역시 많습니다. 양측 모두 “진실과 정의”를 원합니다.
Evidence [found by the police investigation] demonstrate that the NIS has incited the Korean version of McCarthyism; The opposition party, opposition party members, civic groups, labor unions, teachers unions, intellectuals and any people critical of the government — they have been labeled as Jongpuk [pro-North Korea or North Korean sympathizers]. To build their Jongpuk theory, the NIS has conjured up false evidence and used twisted logic and distributed their claims widely online. Their theories have been strengthened and magnified by extreme right wing groups and sites, such as the Ilbe site. This is what the NIS claimed as a ‘psychological warfare’ [against North Korea] […] While some express anger that this case infringed upon their voting rights, some still want to believe the agency’s excuse that it was a necessary action against pro-North Korea groups. Both, however, want the same thing — truth and justice.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Traditional Kyrgyz Clothing · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Personal appearance can tell a lot about a person and his nation. Traditional clothes of the Kyrgyz people is important part of material and spiritual culture of the nation, and it is closely linked with the country’s history
Nurzhan Kadyrkulova writes about the historical evolution and cultural significance of traditional Kyrgyz clothing.

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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China Orders Grown Children to Visit Their Parents · Global Voices
Abby Liu

China has put into effect a new law this week requiring grown children to visit their parents “frequently”.
It is strong tradition in China to respect the elderly and take care of parents as they get older, but modern lifestyles has meant that young people leave home for their own love and career. The new law says adults should care about their parents “spiritual needs” and “never neglect elderly people”, but it doesn't specify how often they need to visit the parents or what punishment they will receive if they fail to abide.
The law is designed as China's population ages rapidly due to the one-child policy. The journal reported that more than 14 percent of China’s population, or 194 million people, are over 60 years old, according to the most recent figures from the National Bureau of Statistics. By 2030, that figure will double.
Moreover, since 2012, China’s pension system has been in crisis with a shortfall of 2.9 trillion US dollars. Young Chinese are worried that they are being asked to support government retirees.
The new law has triggered ridicule on China's most popular microblogging website Sina Weibo, with many quipping that the enforcement of the law is questionable and visiting parents should be a moral issue to be encouraged rather than a law that should be enforced. Some complained that they can't get enough time off from work to visit their parents even if they wanted to, while others thought that the law was introduced to make up for China's brewing pension issue.
Online personality “Zhuomo Xiansheng” wrote [zh] sarcastically:
Photo from Sina Weibo
亲情本是人性，列入法律着实让人觉得可笑，就跟要求婚后夫妻要性生活和谐一样。
Family bonds should be based on spontaneous emotions. It's funny to make it part of a law; it's like requiring couples to have a harmonious sex life after marriage.
Lawyer Yang Lei echoed [zh] the same sentiment:
重点在于这法律怎么落实，比如说给老人家里弄个指纹考勤机让孩子打卡？
The question is how to enforce the law? For example, give the parents a fingerprint attendance machine?
“Yu linfeng” speculated[zh] China's unfair social security is one of the reasons for introducing the law:
社保基本只能保障公务员，大部分普通老百姓都将老无所依
Social security is mostly for the civil servants, most ordinary people don't have any much pension to rely on.
TV host Cao Baoying thought [zh] that the law is a way for the government to avoid its own responsibility :
法律不能片面强调公民义务，而弱化政府职责。
By introducing the law, [the government is] emphasizing the one-sided civic duty, while weakening the government responsibilties.
An ifeng news commentary piece concluded [zh]:
立法推行孝道，固然有强制子女的效用存在，但若强大的外在压力无法减轻，这种无奈的“孝道”究竟有多少真情实意？而法律的尊严又能剩下多少？
Introducing the law to promote filial piety can be effective in forcing children to visit their parents, but if their external pressure can not be reduced, how meaningful is the helpless “filial piety”? How are we supposed to feel about the dignity of the law?

author: Abby Liu


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Egypt says: “It is NOT a Coup”  · Global Voices
Nermeen Edrees

This post is a part of our Special Coverage Egyptians Overthrow Morsi
The US meddling in Egyptian affairs – and the coverage of news networks, particularly CNN, of the political developments in Egypt – came under fire last night. The ousting of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi after a year in office ushered celebrations across the country, as well as a bout of violence between pro- and anti-Morsi supporters.
While Morsi supporters say that the removal of Morsi from power was a military coup, the anti-Morsi camp insists it was the will of the people, with the support of the powerful military establishment that has made the ousting possible.
Many also are angry over what they call as the US meddling in Egyptian Affairs. They say that the “provocative statement” by US president Barak Obama ignored the masses who took the streets to reclaim their freedom and waved the aid card instead. The US statement, issued on July 3, reads:
The United States is monitoring the very fluid situation in Egypt, and we believe that ultimately the future of Egypt can only be determined by the Egyptian people. Nevertheless, we are deeply concerned by the decision of the Egyptian Armed Forces to remove President Morsy and suspend the Egyptian constitution. I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible through an inclusive and transparent process, and to avoid any arbitrary arrests of President Morsy and his supporters. Given today’s developments, I have also directed the relevant departments and agencies to review the implications under U.S. law for our assistance to the Government of Egypt.
Following this reaction, CNN, which was covering the developments live, started what many netizens call “a vapid campaign to support the ousted Muslim Brotherhood President and his legitimacy by describing the pro-Morsi rallies as “peaceful”,  calling the popular demand a “coup” and denouncing the military action against the “peaceful” MB protestors:
@:CNN Violence erupts as Morsy supporters denounce coup http://on.cnn.com/11nnpPL
The new logo of the CNN – Photo Posted by  @aelsadek
Sadek's  new logo, for CNN, includes the Muslim Brotherhood emblem. The writing in Arabic is their motto [ar]: Arm Yourself.
Wael responded with pictures to their twisted facts:
@Waelucination Peaceful demonstrations? Stop lying @CNN pic.twitter.com/y9AamNfKXF
The Muslim Brotherhood “peaceful” rallies. @Waelucination argues that the CNN is lying in its portrayal of the pro-Morsi protestors. This photograph shows armed militia among the protestors
On the CNN network's objectivity while airing the clashes instigated by MB supporters, May Kamel highlighted:
@MayKamel  Now that #MBareterrorists are attacking people in #Tahrir with live ammo, CNN Live is not interested to air. #CNN_STOP_Lying_About_Egypt
Aggravated by the US Administration and media response, netizens started the hashtags #not_a_coup & #MindYourOwnBusinessUS  on Twitter.
Waleed Says:
@WilloEgy 33 million civilians in the streets urging #Morsi to step down and you still call it military coup? You are deliberately twisting facts.
While Ahmed Sabry said:
@A_M_Sabry  #we never elected #Obama to run #Egypt .. I think #MindYourBusinessUS
Baheya added:
@Baheyah: #EgyptianRevolutionNotMilitaryCoup egyptians went out to get rid of #morsi using their weapon of mass distraction = their VOICE
In her post, entitled June 30: The Real Deal, Yusra Badr says the Muslim Brotherhood's one-year rule has deprived the Egyptian Nation of its long awaited celebrations and turned them into funerals. She adds:
I am not a political activist, I am not a reporter and I am not an expert analyst, but I am one of the millions of Egyptians who wanted Morsi out of their presidential palace. I am also one of the millions whose hearts are breaking at being deprived of the victory we achieved on June 30th by having the truth distorted and confusing the world into looking down at us.
She then concludes:
So here you have it, in very simple words, perhaps even naive, because I am writing this in the middle of the night and did not use any references. But references are unnecessary for me because I have been living in this nightmare for a year, and I am proud of what we have done on June 30 and of the support of our military.
That’s it; the real deal. This is not a coup, this is the will of the nation coming to life in an unconventional manner
This post is a part of our Special Coverage Egyptians Overthrow Morsi

author: Nermeen Edrees


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Fishermen Organize First Migrant Workers’ Union in Taiwan · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

Eighty-nine Philippine fishermen in Taiwan's Yilan County have formed the island's first migrant workers’ union, three years after an amendment to the Labor Union Act was passed giving migrant workers the right to organize their own labor unions.
The fishermen union was formed on May 25, 2013, but represents only a fraction of the migrant fishermen legally hired in Taiwain — currently, there are more than 6,000 [zh]. Among them, Indonesians are the majority, and the rest are mainly from Vietnam and the Philippines. The majority haven't been unionized and face serious exploitation from employers.
The meeting. Photo taken by Haochung (顥中) from coolloud.org. CC: NC.
Taiwan independent media Pots.com reported [zh] the common unfair employment practices for these migrant fishermen:
Jose Toquero說，契約上寫8小時，但若漁船故障需等到隔天，往往從晚上11點開始連續工作14個小時，而遠洋一次出海就需三、四天的作業，也很難明確劃分工作與休息。「我們沒有真正的休假，雖然滿月時不會出海，一個月本來規定有五天休假，但如果還需要補網子、做其他的工作，常常整個月都沒有休假，而且能不能休假也要看雇主，有的雇主完全不讓你休息。」
Rolando說，剛來台時曾經連續十八個月都只拿到8000元薪水，光仲介費就需扣掉一萬多。談話時，我注意到他眼睛裡有不尋常的泛紅血絲，一問之下，他才說那是因為工作內容不只漁船作業，全部的事情都必須做，他的眼睛就是因為被老闆叫去做焊接時，因為沒有足夠的安全措施而導致眼睛被火花噴濺受傷。
The fishing boat. Photo taken by Haochung (顥中), from Coolloud.org CC: NC.
Taiwan independent media outlet coolloud.org described [zh] the vision of this newly formed migrant workers’ union:
工會監事會召集人何希（Jose Toquero）表示，來台前與雇主之約定通常也是每日工作8小時，但海上狀況多，幾乎不可能按時下班，不只是加班費該給而未給、工時過高是一大問題，未來希望能透過工會與雇主協調並解決。
由於工會組織最早的人際網絡是菲律賓Ilonggo的在台同鄉會，所以目前加入工會的都是菲律賓籍，不過Jose強調，希望工會能持續擴大，未來能不只服務菲律賓人，要讓更多印尼漁工也一起加入…現場也有來自漁業興盛的高雄、屏東等地的移民團體前來「取經」，盼能讓移工組織工會的風氣持續擴散。
The fishermen. Photo taken by Haochung (顥中), Coolloud.org. CC: NC
Coolloud  also interviewed [zh] Lee Lee-huan (李麗華), a staff member from the Haoran Foundation, who helped establish this union, about the difficulties in organizing the migrant fishermen in Taiwan:
雖然《工會法》在2年前就修正開放外籍人士加入工會，但還欠缺許多配套，例如語言就是重要問題，多數移工不諳中文，就連要了解相關法令的內容都相當困難，此外，船上工作工時不固定、臨時狀況多，四散在不同船家的漁工們，要湊在一起開會，也實屬不易。

author: I-fan Lin


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Hong Kong’s Cosmetics Brand · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Tom Grundy from Hong Wrong introduces the most legendary locally produced cosmetic brand, the “Two Girls” by Kwong Sang Hong.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Operation Djakpata divides Opinion in Benin  · Global Voices
Sinatou Saka

[All links are to French sources.]
Operation Djakpata, launched in April 2013 by the Benin Ministry of the Interior, Public Security and Religion, intends to track all criminals engaged in illegal activities which could disturb the Benin people. However, for the past few days, public opinion of this project has been extremely divided.
Safety in Benin by Felix Krohn on Flickr CC-BY-NC
On his blog, Illassa Benoit quoted Charles Toko, a business owner from Benin:
Opération Djakpata. [Djakpata serait] un serpent qui avale des gens. Un Boa ? Hum…très peu au Sud Bénin, sinon inexistant. Un Anaconda ? Ça n’existe pas en Afrique. Une vipère ? Ça n’avale pas un homme. Or, à en croire certaines langues au sud du Bénin, Djakpata est un serpent qui avale des hommes. Ce qui est faux. Donc l’opération en elle-même est fausse au départ. Les développements le confirment.
Au départ, une manipulation. On a sorti des engins qui ne sont pas destinés au Bénin. Au fait, ce sont des engins que le Bénin loue à l’ONU. Mais depuis 2006, le mensonge est considéré par le gouvernement comme une communication par excellence. Alors, on s’y adonne. On nous montre des mini chars, des 4X4 de patrouille, des canons, …. Comme d’habitude, c’est pour mentir.
Summary of Events
President Boni Yayi’s government recently launched an operation named ‘djakpata’. On website Adjinakou, Gathum Gbaguidi summed up the context of this security operation:
” Djakpata 2013 ” c'est le nom de l'opération lancée lundi dernier par le ministre de l'intérieur, de la sécurité publique et des cultes, Benoît Dègla, sur l'esplanade du stade de l'Amitié de Cotonou. Djakpata, qui est le nom donné à la vipère en langue fon, a été attribué à l'opération qui vise à aller à l'assaut des malfrats de tout acabit dont les jours sont désormais comptés, à moins qu'ils changent de métier. Cette opération conjointe de toutes les forces de sécurité et de défense a mobilisé des milliers d'agents des forces de sécurité et de défense, des véhicules légers de patrouille, des véhicules spécifiques de maintien d'ordre et des blindés légers. Ainsi donc, pendant trois mois, cette grosse artillerie va mener une lutte sans merci contre l'insécurité sous toutes ses formes dans toutes les localités du pays en commençant par Cotonou et ses environs.
On his blog, François Django covered the objectives of the operation:
Sur une patrouille mixte des forces de l'ordres,toute l'armée béninoise se donne la main pour lutter contre l'incivisme et l'insécurité au Bénin. Désormais la nuit appartient à l'armée béninoise. Ne circule plus qui veut mais qui possède des preuves évidentes pour se défendre.
Un processus salué par la population béninoise, car vivre dans la sécurité viens la décharger des gouffres de la misère.
Le souhait est que cette opération dure dans le temps et s'élargisse à toute les autres villes. Et que la paix soit toujours l'ami du Bénin, exemple de démocratie dans la sous région et dans le monde entier.
The entire Benin army is helping to fight anti-social conduct and lack of safety in Benin by a patrol consisting of various law and order forces. From now on the night belongs to the Benin army. No-one who wants can go out any more, only those who have the right evidence to defend themselves.The process has been welcomed by the people of Benin, because living in safety relieves the depths of poverty.
The hope is that this operation will endure and spread to all the other towns. And that peace will always be the friend of Benin, example of democracy in the sub-region and worldwide.
Here is a video of the announcement of the operation by the ministry.
Benin: Benoit Degla launching Operation Djakpata by actubenin
On the social networks, the people of Benin are far from unanimously approving of this operation.
On Twitter, internet users joked:
@shimkmb: J'ai reve que les policiers de Djakpata m'embarquaient
“@Arlus_BDS: @jessebonheur:  ne m'envoi plus jamais d'invitation de path , tu veux Djakpata chez toi ou quoi ?”
“@Jules_Roland: “Opération Djakpata” tourne au fiasco ! C'est triste mais c'est à mourir de rire… #Bénin http://t.co/ep72vPhXlV
@jcommejasmine: Plus rien ne va ds ce pays… Ca nous parle d'”Opération Djakpata”, mais ca se fait braquer aussi! On est ou la?
@LaTeam_229: Les USA ont Les Experts Manhattan, Les Experts Miami nous #AuBénin on a #DJAKPATA
“@EAHOUNOU: Ou on est t-on avec l'Opération #DJAKPATA :Braquage hier vers #Missèbo à #Cotonou en plein jour… Qd la Police pense politique … #le229
“@CDjidjoho: #AuBenin quand djakpata te vois la nuit il te frappe d'abord !!! Avant de te demander des explication
Despite the important awareness campaign around Operation Djakpata, the overall efficiency of the program seems to have brought about mixed results so far.

author: Sinatou Saka


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The Disappearing Rivers Of Bangladesh · Global Voices
Rezwan

At the time of the birth of Bangladesh in 1971 the country had approximately 24000km rivers and tributaries. After four decades many rivers are dying mainly due to the unilateral water management and dams built by the upper riparian neighbor India. Wahidul Islam at Poltalk points to the problem and the consequences.

author: Rezwan


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Chinese Social Media Users are Rumor-Happy, Low-Educated, Report Says · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A new report from the state-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences that labels social media in China as a rumor mill and social media users in China as having low levels of education and income is raising alarm among netizens.
The academy released its Annual Report on the Development of China's Audio-visual New Media (2013) on June 25. The three major findings of the report include:
1. The majority of social media users belong to the “three lows”, characterized by low age, low level of education, and low income.
29 percent of microbloggers are in their 20s, 26 percent are in their teens, and 25 percent in their 30s. 80 percent of all microbloggers are below 40.
75 percent of users on China's popular microblogging website Sina Weibo have only completed a high school education and 92 percent earn less than 5,000 yuan [800 US dollars] per month.
Annual Report on the Development of China's Audio-visual New Media (2013)
2. Among the 100 hot topics appeared in the period of the study, January 2012 to January 2013, more than one third of the information and comments related to these topics were rumors, the report said.
3. The contribution of new media in revealing corruption has exceeded conventional media outlets, but the report also says there is a vulgar turn in new media anti-corruption efforts and suggests [zh] real-name registration to prevent the spread of rumors and invasion of privacy.
The “three lows” label
In China, the labeling of a certain social group usually implies that they are being targeted by some upcoming political campaign. With the characterization of social media users as the “three lows”, many on the Internet feared that the report provides a policy guideline for the government to further control and monitor people's speech.
In the Weibo comment [zh] thread of Kai-fu Lee, many netizens opened fire at the inverse of the “three lows” — the “three highs”:
小p亚风：MD，没有“三低人群”谁去喂养那些大吃大喝大包的“三高人渣”
@”Tiny P Asian Style”: Mother f–ker. Without the “three lows” who would feed the extravagant “three highs”?
水晶球O：又在有意识的吹风，象上次说：网络不是法外之地一样，中国的这些混账话决不是空穴来风。其实象这种挂着科学的牌子，和科学没毛关系的奴才单位，早该让他下岗了。
@”Crystal ball”: This is another ideological wind. Last time it said: the Internet is not an lawless space. This kind of bullshit in China does not come from no where. They use “science” to cover-up [their political intentions], this kind of research unit that has nothing to do with science and should be abolished.
CarolP：搞什么上纲上线的阶级对立呀
Rumor aggregator
The accusation that one-third of rumors come from social media caused much outrage as spreading rumors is a crime in China. To pacify angry netizens, Communist Party mouthpiece newspaper the People's Daily amended its presentation of the report [zh], stressing that new media is not rumor aggregator. However, the newspaper also stated that because microbloggers spread information according to their personal judgement, the risk of probability of distributing rumors is much higher and thus suggested that users should protect their account and fame, “like birds protecting their feathers”.
However, the People's Daily's advice was met with sarcasm in its comment section:
陆继忠：“新媒体不是谣言集散地”这个观点本人赞同，因为中国造谣的专利权已经被党刊、党报所申请保护，所以再有人造谣就是侵犯专利。
@Lu Jizhong: “I agree that new media is not rumor aggregator” because the production of rumors has been monopolized by party-affiliated journals, newspapers. For those who dare to spread rumors will be infringing their rights.
博狮锁1博士锁：真理的谣言是谣言，谣言的谣言是真理
@”Boshisuo”: Rumor that reveals truth is rumor, rumor about rumor is the truth.
Neodoxy：老媒体应该像爱护自己的眼睛一样爱护党的口舌，千万不要动不动就瞎喷、动不动就瞎舔、动不动就瞎吹。。。
@Neodoxy: Conventional media [like the People's Daily] should protect [their position as] the party's mouthpiece like people protecting their eyes, don't just shut your eyes and keep bull-shitting, ass-kissing and boasting.
wsirsir：批发谣言的风光，零售谣言的封杀，谣言也搞垄断？
@wsirsir: Rumor wholesalers are praised, rumor distributors are blocked. Rumor has to be monopolized as well?


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‘Gangnam Style’ Parody Features Urban Poor Kids in Cambodia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

‘Gangnam Style’ continues to be an Internet sensation but this time it is performed by 160 children from an urban poor village in Cambodia. The parody of the music video originally popularized by South Korean superstar Psy got more than 200,000 hits on YouTube a few days after it was uploaded.
The kids are mostly from the urban poor district of Boeng Salang in Phnom Penh, the country’s capital. Jean-Luc Nguyen, who directed the video, introduces the project:
What happens when 160 kids from a slum of Phnom Penh decide to do a parody of Gangnam Style? This amazingly funny video. These impoverished kids live in extremely basic conditions but are full of talent and potential. We wanted to give them an opportunity to express themselves through an artistic and fun project. They didn't disappoint us.
The video is a project of Taramana, an NGO which helps poor children in Cambodia. The group explains the reason for making the ‘Gangnam Kids’ video:
…produce movies that are deliberately offbeat from what you would expect from kids living in a very difficult environment. They are indeed poor, but they have so much potential and energy once you let them express themselves. It would be a shame not to enjoy so much life and joy, and their natural positivity and happiness.
We are convinced that humanitarian aid should focus on giving children strength and confidence: a bit of help that will help them believe in themselves, give them hope for a brighter future and preserve their dignity under any situation.
Below is another video showing the reaction of the children when they first watched their music video:
Khmerization praises the video:
Awwww… so it's not only a sweet tribute to K-pop superstar Psy and “Gangnam Style,” but also has a great deal of heart and hope to boot! A round of applause goes out to all of the kids involved!
Below are some reactions on Twitter
@ChtiClem Funny and inspiring Gangnam Style parody by 160 Cambodian kids from a slum of Phnom Penh!
@ManiiFanii this is awesome~ funny & touching too~ ‘Cambodian Gangnam Style parody by 160 kids from a slum of Phnom Penh
@splashpagefilms Yeah. I know Gangnam style is played out but this video of a 160 Cambodian kids from Phnom Penh dancing to it is fun.
@LinNorLam I went from laughing to crying… #cambodian “@khmerican:160 kids from the slums of Phnom Penh goes ‘Gangnam Style.’

@ChrisBurkeShay I thought I'd long had enough of #Gangnam parodies. I was wrong—this is incredibly heart-warming
This is not the first time that ‘Gangnam Style’ was used to highlight the poverty situation in Cambodia. Last December, human rights activists danced in the streets to the tune of the global hit song to protest land evictions and violations of land rights in the country.


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Philippines: Dengue Vector Surveillance Map · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Philippine government has launched a dengue surveillance map to help detect the spread of dengue in Metro Manila


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“Tweet-debate” on the Benefits and Drawbacks of Citizen Journalism · Global Voices
Elena Arrontes

The Press Association of Madrid (APM) organized a debate on Twitter about citizen journalism in its third “Tweet-debate” of the #Tuitsyperiodigno (#Tweetsanddignifiedjournalism) cycle put forth by the association in February 2013 with the goal of addressing various aspects of journalism.
Through its account, @apmadrid [es], the association launched a series of questions under the hashtag #pciudadano [es] (#citizenjournalism) upon which users began to reflect. As scheduled, Spanish media professionals [es] including Felipe Sahagún, Jaime Jiménez, Juan Varela, Juan Ramón Lucas, Pau Llop y Óscar Espiritusanto, fueled the discussion and responded to the participants’ doubts and comments. Some came from traditional media and others citizen media, thus providing varied perspectives.
The topic of the conference, “Citizen journalism,” and its format are of great interest to members of Global Voices and its readers. As such, the author of this post participated in the “tweet-debate” and shares a selection of messages. (A Storify of the debate can be found here [es]).
Influence of the debate according to Tweet-tag.com
Among the virtues of citizen journalism, users cited the coverage of events and local happenings, the proximity and general interest in the handling of information, recovering the function of anti-establishment that traditional media has lost, while, on the other hand, others felt that the lack of rigor, contextualization, depth, and contrast are flaws that, in their opinion, should be addressed by professional journalists despite the valuable information citizen journalism may provide. Some participants even questioned the term “citizen journalism” and preferred to call it “citizen collaboration.”
@espiritusanto: La info ciudadana, a veces, es mas honesta que la de los periodistas y medios censurados o afines al régimen #pciudadano @globalvoices
@espiritusanto: Citizen info is sometimes more honest than that of journalists and censored media or those related to the regime #pciudadano (#citizenj) @globalvoices
@desplazados_org: @aprensamadrid. Desventaja: el espejismo de que cualquiera es periodista, la mejor excusa para prescindir de profesionales #pciudadano
desplazados.org: @aprensamadrid. Disadvantage: the illusion that anyone is a journalist, the best excuse to dispense with professionals #pciudadano (#citizenj)
@periodistas21: @aprensamadrid#pciudadano El periodismo es más rico cuanto más refleja la ciudadanía. Integrarla es una herramienta de gran valor
@periodistas21:@aprensamadrid #pciudadano (#citizenj) The more citizens reflect, the more rich journalism is. Integrating citizens is a tool of great value.
The majority of the comments with respect to this issue pointed out that traditional media and journalism by citizens are complementary, and can and should coexist. In this sense, various tweets advised journalists not to distance themselves from citizens and keep them in mind. “Ways that traditional media can interact with citizen journalism” [es] came to illustrate this part of the debate. The following were some conclusions:
This question generated another debate on the causes of the journalism crisis, transformations of the current media model, and possible new models. Nevertheless, some responded directly and emphatically to the posed question:
Does media produced only with citizen collaboration have credibility?
There were no unanimous responses but rather an exchange of diverse opinions, and once again a debate about the informative rigor and definition of citizen journalism: Among the supporters:
Projects that work on the basis of citizen collaboration like Global Voices, Periodismo Ciudadano [es] and Journalism 21 [es] were mentioned as examples throughout the conversation on Twitter, in addition to articles, videos [es] of conferences, and concrete examples [es] of success.
Participants in the tweet-debate. Source: Tweet-Tag.com
Online debates supported on social networks are a format that is expanding. They are open spaces in which users can share thoughts, and interact on different issues. Thanks to recently created tools like Storify or Tweet-Tag.com, messages sent during these types of online events are channeled and shared with a wider audience. These tools make it possible to see who participated in the exchange, how often, the messages spread, key words, and data on the audience.
One of the main advantages of online debates is that the reflection can involve large groups of citizens, put them in contact with experts with whom they would not normally interact any other way, sustain arguments supported by graphic and audiovisual material, and overcome barriers of space and time.

author: Elena Arrontes


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Al Jazeera Accused of “Biased” Egypt Coverage  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is a part of our Special Coverage Egyptians Overthrow Morsi
Al Jazeera has come under fire in Egypt for what many describe as its “biased” reporting during and following the ousting of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi on July 4. The Qatar-based channel is being accused of siding with the Muslim Brotherhood and being its mouthpiece.
After Morsi was removed from office by the Army, Al Jazeera's Live Egypt service, Al Jazeera Mubasher, was immediately taken off air. The network announced:
Al Jazeera's live Egypt service have been taken off air along with several other TV channels.
Reports from our correspondents say this happened during a live broadcast when security forces stormed the building and arrested the presenter, guests and producers.
Two days later, the Downtown Cairo prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for the channel's news director Abdel Fattah Fayed. Fayed is being charged with “threatening public peace and national security through broadcasting incendiary news.” He was detained for two days and then released on bail.
On 8 July, mass resignation of 22 staff members  took place over what they claimed to be “coverage that was out of sync with real events in Egypt.” Other reports [ar] say that 26 Egyptian employees have resigned, including four in the main Doha office.
One of the reporters, Wesam Fadhel reportedly resigned in a Facebook post [ar]. The note reads:
I resigned from Al Jazeera today. It's lying openly. They are showing old footage from an empty Tahrir and saying it was taken a short while ago and they are airing the scenes for hours. When I asked Ahmed Abu Al Mahasen for the reason he said that I should mind my own business. Al Jazeera cameras are in Tahrir live now. Sadly I used to work in a place which I thought had credibility but [I now realise] its credibility is based on a despicable political stance.
On Twitter, Elijah Zarwan comments:
@elijahzarwan: Al-Jazeera Egypt staff resign after ‘biased coverage’: Resigning June 1 wld have been courageous http://tinyurl.com/mjculx8
And Nezar AlSayyad adds:
@nezar:  Al Jazeera Cable has recently become to Islamists in Egypt what Fox News has been to fundamentalist Republicans in the US for many years.
In another development, Rawya Rageh, Al Jazeera's reporter in Cairo, tweets photographs of threatening flyers dropped outside Al Jazeera's Cairo offices today:
A threatening flyer dropped outside Al Jazeera's office in Cairo. Photograph shared on Twitter by @RawyaRageh
@RawyaRageh: Threatening leaflets dropped near AlJazeera's offices in Cairo – bloodied hand & line ‘lies & other lies’ #Egypt
A lying camera kills a nation reads a flyer thrown outside Al Jazeera office in Cairo. Photograph shared by @RawyaRageh on Twitter
@RawyaRageh: ‘A bullet may kill a person, a lying camera kills a nation’ on flyer dropped near AlJazeera's offices #Egypt
This post is a part of our Special Coverage Egyptians Overthrow Morsi


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The New Despicableness of Doubting Navalny · Global Voices
Nina Jobe

Alexey Navalny's closing statement in a trial that could land him in prison for up to six years was a stinging, poignant speech against the current government, which he called a “feudal regime.” The popular anti-corruption blogger and opposition leader stands accused of embezzling $500 thousand worth of lumber from a state-run timber company in Kirov, where he worked as an advisor to that region’s governor. Navalny and his supporters have denounced the hearing as a politically motivated show trial. In his final address to the court, Navalny declared [ru]:
Я заявляю, что и я и мои коллеги, мы сделаем все для того, чтобы уничтожить этот феодальный строй, который делается в России. Уничтожить систему власти, при которой 83% национального богатства принадлежит 0,5% населения.
I state that I and my colleagues are doing everything in order to destroy this feudal order that is being made in Russia. To destroy the system of power under which 83 percent of the national wealth belongs to half a percent of the population.
In a post on his Facebook page, Russian mathematician and economist Alfred Kokh wrote [ru]:
Навальный неправ! У нас не феодальный строй. У нас апартеид: раздельное существование.
Они живут в отгороженных заборами местах, нас и их за одни и те же преступления наказывают по-разному, если кто-то из нас пытается получить их права – то его сажают в тюрьму. Это называется – апартеид.
Найдите, как говорится, десять отличий. Не найдете.
Navalny is wrong! We do not have a feudal system. We have apartheid: a separate existence.
They live in isolated fenced-off places, we are punished differently for the same crimes, [and] if one of us is endeavors to get his rights—he is sent to prison. This is called apartheid.
Find, as they say, ten differences. You will not find them.
Kokh’s note was reposted on the popular social network VKontakte, leading to a debate [ru] between two users about the differences between feudal and apartheid states, with one saying:
так одно и то же. При феодализме рыцари и выше тоже жили отдельно от крестьян, для них были другие законы и т.д.
They are the same. Under feudalism, knights and [those] higher also lived separate from the peasants, there were other laws for them, etc.
To which the second user replied:
рыцари и выше – привилегированная часть население (народа). Апартеид – инородный захватчик.
Knights and [those] higher were a privileged part of the population (of the people). Apartheid [implies] a foreign invader.
“Navalny is watching you.” Scene from Navalny's Moscow mayoral campaign HQ, 4 July 2013, photo by Oleg Kozlovsky, CC 2.0.
Whatever the judge decides when the sentence is read out on July 18, Navalny’s closing statement seems to have cemented his place as a moral authority for many Russians. Aider Muzhdabaev, a deputy editor at Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, wrote [ru] in his blog at Ekho Moskvy:
Последнее слово, с которым выступил Навальный, – простое, понятное, жесткое. Немного корявое, без изяществ, риторической красоты.
Он не оратор, Навальный. И даже, наверное, не политик. Может быть, он националист. Может быть, даже мизантроп, некоторые так говорят. Не знаю…. Но он смелый парень, которого следует по-человечески уважать….
Вот исходя из этого с сегодняшнего дня я и буду думать о Навальном, сверять свои мысли (высказывания) с этим фактом.
Время рассуждений о том, хорош он или плох, на мой взгляд, прошло. Раньше было можно, а теперь подлость.
The last words, delivered by Navalny were simple, clear, and firm. [They were also] a little clumsy and without grace or rhetorical beauty. He is not an orator, Navalny. And even, perhaps, not a politician. Maybe he is a nationalist. Maybe even a misanthrope, as some say. I don’t know…. But he is a brave man who should be respected as a human being….
On the basis of this, today I will think about Navalny, and compare his thoughts (statements) with this fact.
The time for speculating about whether or not he is a good person, in my opinion, has passed. Previously it was possible, but now it is despicable.

author: Nina Jobe


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China: Statue Built and Removed · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Statue of the Soong Ching Ling, wife of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of Republic of China, was appeared in November 2011 in Zhengzhou to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1911 Revolution, was quietly removed. Why? See Beijing Cream for the story.


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China’s Post-90s Migrant Workers · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Sina Photo[zh] takes a look at the lives of China's Post-90s migrant workers who aspire to an urban lifestyle. Offbeat China has translated the stories into English.


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Crooks, Thieves and the Independent Mayors Who Run Russia · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

The mayor of Yaroslavl and several of his colleagues will spend the next two months behind bars on extortion charges. Evgeny Urlashov, a former United Russia member who ran as an opposition-friendly independent, won the mayor’s seat roughly a year ago in a highly publicized election that seemed to mark a highpoint in the 2011-2012-winter protest movement. In the midnight hours, earlier this week on July 3, 2013, federal investigators arrested Urlashov and searched his home [ru]. According to some reports, over half a million dollars [ru] was hidden in his neighbor’s apartment, though leaked scans [ru] of the police search records call into question this claim.
Since Urlashov’s arrest and a subsequent court decision to keep him incarcerated until early September, many Russians have wrestled with what they perceive as the mounting evidence of their political system’s inability to tolerate an even slightly empowered opposition. For Muscovites especially, where many anti-Putin-leaning voters are rooting for blogger-turned-politician Alexey Navalny’s mayoral campaign, Urlashov’s fate seems to capture the futility of “changing the system from within.” Bonds such as these help explain why Navalny himself, blogging [ru] from the courtroom floor of his own “show trial” in Kirov, called on Yaroslavl’s denizens to attend a demonstration in support of Urlashov, held the day after his arrest.
Evgeny Urlashov at arraignment, Yaroslavl, Russia, 4 July 2013, screenshot from YouTube.
Urlashov’s supposed extortion ring amounts to a rather odd criminal enterprise. According to audio and video [ru] surveillance footage (leaked by investigators to the Kremlin-connected [ru] online tabloid Lifenews.ru), Urlashov is guilty of soliciting and receiving bribes from two local businessmen, both of whom are registered members of United Russia. In other words, police claim that Urlashov approached his political enemies [ru] and demanded kickbacks, effectively handing his rivals the means to destroy him.
Shortly after Urlashov’s arrest, a video (see below) surfaced on YouTube depicting the arrest of the Mayor’s alleged bagman in the bribery gang. Oleg Kozyrev captured the amusement of many when he described [ru] the “tears of emotion” that swelled in his eyes upon noting that police placed a purse under the head of the man being arrested, granting him a pillow presumably to make his detention more comfortable. “Yes, if only they’d arrest me like that!” he exclaimed ironically. Kozyrev’s insinuation, presumably, was that investigators were arresting one of their own—a plant, posing as Urlashov’s crony—in order to frame Yaroslavl’s troublesome mayor for extortion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86CKb-NamSs&feature=youtu.be
In a separate LiveJournal post [ru], however, Anton Tolmachev conducted a frame-by-frame analysis of the video, concluding that the bagman likely used his own purse as a pillow, and that police only later introduced the incriminating suitcase full of money. (The dialogue [ru] following the arrest suggests, oddly, that the suspect had previously confessed to transporting the ill-gotten cash.)
Over the last year [ru], Urlashov has feuded increasingly with Yaroslavl’s governor, Sergey Yastrebov. Even before his arrest last week, Urlashov had faced a police search of his car in March 2013, and United-Russia-led vote of no confidence from the city’s municipal council in June. The last few months have featured a zigzag of political setbacks for the mayor and his expanded appeals to the protest movement, which culminated in a June 19 demonstration speech, where Urlashov pledged [ru] to unseat Yastrebov as governor.
Skeptics see in Urlashov’s history the record of a political opportunist. Journalist and former activist Anastasia Karimova took issue with a Facebook post [ru] by Alexander Baunov, who argued that the arrest of Yaroslavl’s mayor is part of a larger crackdown on Russia’s opposition. “Personally, I don’t consider Urlashov to be an oppositionist,” Karimova responded [ru], citing several examples of his willingness in the past to speak kindly of Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev, his openness to collaborating with members of United Russia, and the apparently “managed news” environment Urlashov has instituted in Yaroslavl, since becoming mayor. (Indeed, some of the mayor’s supporters, like Vladimir Milov [ru], have also faulted Urlashov for replicating to his own advantage in Yaroslavl the kind of television censorship commonly attributed to United Russia throughout the rest of Russia.)
Alexey Roshchin authored what is perhaps the RuNet’s most existential reflection on Urlashov’s situation, offering an elaborate analogy [ru] to the lives of Soviet grocers. According to Roshchin, the public expects more from contemporary Russian mayors than federal funding realities allow them to provide. Comparatively, in Soviet times, grocers were expected to peddle food supplies that were typically 90% unmarketable. In other words, grocers were forced to cheat the public by selling them rotten goods, or risk being accused of embezzling whatever food they couldn’t hawk. All this bred a culture of deceit, necessitated by the shortcomings of the USSR’s centralized economy. In Russia today, political centralization has reproduced that culture in mayors, Roshchin argues:
Конечно, они воровали и воруют! Если мэр ОБЪЕКТИВНО вынужден, скажем, формировать свой «фонд черного нала» для решения НАСУЩНЫХ городских проблем – понятно, что рано или поздно он станет брать из этого «фонда» и на свои собственные нужды. Но печальная правда в том, что если он принципиально НЕ БУДЕТ формировать такой фонд (или еще как-то ловчить с деньгами и «откатами») – у него в городе все просто встанет. Или, выражаясь менее изящно – город просто утонет в говне и мусоре.
Of course [mayors] stole and are stealing! If a mayor OBJECTIVELY needs, let’s say, to form his own “slush fund” to solve the city’s vital problems, it’s clear that sooner or later he’s going to take from this “fund” some money for himself. But the sad truth is that, if he NEVER formed such a fund (or never worked his way to kickbacks of some kind), everything in town would just come to a standstill. Or, to put it less elegantly, the city would simply drown in s**t and trash.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Egypt’s Failings Become China’s Propaganda · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Following Egypt's military coup, Chinese State media ran editorials warning of the dangers of copying Western democracy, stating that democracy is not a “universal cure” for the ills that developing countries face. EPOCH TIMES has more details.


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Football Stars Duke it Out in Lima for Messi Charity · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

The so-called “duel of the giants” generated lots of hype in the Peruvian capital of Lima, with the visit of Argentinian football star Lionel Messi for a charity match with great international football figures.
The match, held on Tuesday, July 2, 2013 at Estadio Nacional in Lima, pitted “Messi and his friends” against the “rest of the world”. The match benefited Leo Messi Foundation, which protects at-risk children and teenagers. The foundation will assign part of the proceeds to a Peruvian social assistance program.
The final result was a victory for Messi's team, with eight goals, while the “rest of the world” had five.
In a country like Peru, where people are passionate about football, the arrival of Messi and other well-known football players did not go unnoticed.
Lionel Messi. Photo by Flickr user prettyfriendship (CC BY-SA 2.0).
As early as May, two months prior to match, blog 24/siete wondered “What if I save my money to go see Messi and his friends? [es]“, and compared prices of tickets for the Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifying match between Peru and Ecuador and the prices for the match with the Argentinian player:
[…] A ver, vamos por partes. La entrada más cara para ver a Perú cuesta 500 soles [unos US$ 180], y la más barata 80 soles [unos US$ 28]. Para ver a Lionel Messi y sus amigos, este 2 de julio en el Estadio Nacional, la más cara US$ 250 y la más barata, US$ 70.
Es cierto que es casi tres veces más el costo, pero se trata de Messi, el mejor jugador del mundo, y con una constelación de estrellas que solo vemos por cable, y que va a ser difícil que vuelvan a reunirse nuevamente en el Perú.
[…] Let's see it step by step. The most expensive ticket to see Peru costs 500 soles [about 180 US dollars], and the cheapest one 80 soles [about 28 US dollars]. To see Lionel Messi and his friends on July 2 at the Estadio Nacional, the most expensive costs 250 US dollars and the cheapest one 70 US dollars.
It's true it's about three times the price, but this is Messi we are talking about, the best player in the world, and with a constellation of stars we only watch on cable who will unlikely be together again in Peru.
The website Agencia de noticias Carpressica [es] reported that Messi arrived in Lima [es] in his private plane and gave details about the team's lineup [es]:
El equipo de “Messi y sus amigos”, estará dirigido por Fabio Capello [y] conformado por Leo Messi “Pulga” quien tendrá la 10; Fernando Muslera; Dani Alves, Javier Mascherano, Martín Demicheli y Eric Abidal; Sergio Busquets, Marek Hamsik, Pablo Aymar y Edinson Cavani; Lionel Messi y Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Mientras que el cuadro del “Resto del Mundo”, será dirigido por Zico, la oncena inicial será con Júlio César; Paolo Cannavaro, Marco Materazzi, Mario Yépes y Emiliano Insúa; Florent Maloudá, Juan Vargas, Jefferson Farfán y Julio Baptista; Neymar y Pablo Osvaldo.
The team “Messi and his friends” will be coached by Fabio Capello [and] will be formed by Leo Messi “Pulga” [Flea] who will be wearing number 10 jersey; Fernando Muslera; Dani Alves, Javier Mascherano, Martín Demicheli and Eric Abidal; Sergio Busquets, Marek Hamsik, Pablo Aymar and Edinson Cavani; Lionel Messi and Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Meanwhile, the team “rest of the world” will be coached by Zico, the initial team will go with Júlio César; Paolo Cannavaro, Marco Materazzi, Mario Yépes and Emiliano Insúa; Florent Maloudá, Juan Vargas, Jefferson Farfán and Julio Baptista; Neymar and Pablo Osvaldo.
On a more sour note, Herberthcastroinfantas's blog [es] referred to the accusation of tax evasion [es] that Lionel Messi is currently facing:
Lionel Messi […] y su padre Jorge Horacio fueron denunciados por evadir impuestos hasta por un monto de 4 millones de euros, algo más de 5.3 millones de dólares, que no fueron depositados en el fisco español. Y si el juicio por fraude prospera tendrán que afrontar hasta 4 años de prisión. Caso contrario, si se arregla por la vía administrativa considerando que Messi no tiene antecedentes, tendrá que pagar además del monto defraudado que asciende a 4 millones de euros, una multa de 20 millones.
[…]
No cabe duda que, con esta mala noticia, la figura de la máxima estrella del Barcelona Fútbol Club ha sido mellada.
Lionel Messi […] and his father Jorge Horacio were accused of evading taxes of up to four million euros, more than 5.3 million dollars, not deposited in the Spanish treasury. And if this fraud trial goes ahead, they will be facing up to four years in prison. Otherwise, if this gets settled through the administrative route, considering Messi has no prior record, he will have to pay, besides the evaded amount of more than four million euros, a 20-million-euro fine.
[…]
There is no doubt, with this bad news, the figure of Barcelona Football Club's shining star has been damaged.
In spite of the tax problems faced by the Pulga, as he is known, Peruvian Twitter users were up-to-date with his visit to the country with the hashtags #MessiEnLima [Messi in Lima], #DuelodeGigantes [duel of the giants] and #Messi.
Twitter user Alejandra Castillo (@alecastiCP) praised the football player:
@alecastiCP: Ala [wow] Messi parece ser un buen tipo, se le ve muy sencillo y humilde, eso hace grande a los famosos #MessiEnLima
@alecastiCP [es]: Wow, Messi seems to be a nice guy, he looks very unassuming, humble, this makes famous people great #MessiEnLima
Joe Olivas Panizo (@jolivp) made reference to current issues that appear in the news headlines, not necessarily for good reasons:
@jolivp: De pronto #MessienLima y atrás quedaron #narcoindultos, donaciones proselitistas, andahuaylazo, y demas hierbas.
@jolivp: All of a sudden, #MessienLima and no more #narcoindultos [narco pardons], proselytist donations, andahuaylazo [es] et al.
Meanwhile, Coco Esteves (@psicosour) was concerned about security issues:
@psicosour: Y el resto de la ciudad abandonada. RT @Capital967: Más de 2000 policías para seguridad de #MessienLima http://bit.ly/11V5cHM
@psicosour [es]: And the rest of the city is abandoned. RT @Capital967: More than 2,000 police agents for security at #MessienLima http://bit.ly/11V5cHM
Terra Deportes (@TerraDeportesES) gave a brief recount:
@TerraDeportesES: Messi derrota a Neymar en su primer partido desde que son compañeros, pero era por una buena causa http://bit.ly/14pI5EI  #DuelodeGigantes
@TerraDeportesES [es]: Messi defeats Neymar for the first time since they are teammates, but this one was for a good cause http://bit.ly/14pI5EI  #DuelodeGigantes
After the match, Depor.pe (@deporpe) noted:
@deporpe: Lionel Messi y Neymar regalaron magia en el Estadio Nacional. (FOTOS) #MessienLima http://ow.ly/mCHwb
@deporpe: Lionel Messi and Neymar gave away magic at the Estadio Nacional. (PHOTOS) #MessienLima http://ow.ly/mCHwb
Local station Radio Capital (@Capital967) reported:
@Capital967: #Messi abandonó molesto el Estadio Nacional antes de terminar el #DuelodeGigantes http://bit.ly/1b7EZJa
@Capital967 [es]: #Messi left Estadio Nacional angry before ending #DuelodeGigantes http://bit.ly/1b7EZJa
As it was reported, following orders given by Italian coach Fabio Capello, familiy members of the players had to be removed from the substitute bench. Among them were two brothers of the Pulga, Brazilian Neymar's dad and Colombian Mario Yepes’ children. During the second part of the match, Messi noticed the incident and asked to be subbed out of play. After leaving the field, he met with his brothers and left the stadium very upset.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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Hong Kong’s Burnt Offerings · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Burnt offerings is a religious practice of southern China to express caring of the dead. The design of the paper offerings has evolved over time and Tom Grundy shows some innovative paper designs in his blog.


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INFOGRAPHIC: China’s ‘Losers’ to Consumers · Global Voices
Abby Liu

ChinaFile has translated the infographic created by Sohu Business [zh] about the lifestyle and consumption habits of China's ordinary citizens, known as “diaosi“, who are poised to become the mainstream consumers in China. It also hints that China’s underdogs may become the country’s mainstream.


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Japan: Winny Developer Dies at 42 · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

Isamu Kaneko, the Japanese developer of file-sharing software Winny, died due to an undisclosed illness on July 8, 2013 at the age of 42. He was charged in 2006 with “assisting” Winny users to violate copyright, but the case against him was later overturned and his acquittal upheld by the country's Supreme Court.
Japanese economist Nobuo Ikeda (@ikedanob) commented in grief:
@ikedanob: 金子勇さんは歴史に残るイノベーターだった。京都府警がP2Pを敵視しなければ、日本からSkypeのような革新的なビジネスが出た可能性もあった。国家がイノベーションを生むことはできないが、じゃまはいくらでもできる。合掌
@ikedanob: Isamu Kaneko was epic innovator. If the Kyoto Prefecture Police had not regarded P2P with hostility, Japan could have been home to innovative business such as Skype. The nation state is incapable of generating innovation but is capable of interfering with it. My condolences.
Link in quote was added by Keiko Tanaka for background information.

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Korean Reactions to Asiana Airlines Crash · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

One of South Korea's two major airlines, Asiana Airliner's plane crashed in the U.S. while landing at San Francisco International Airport, killing two and injuring 181 passengers. Korea Bang translated various comments Korean nets users have made about this tragic incident.


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Royal Abdications: Netherlands, Belgium, Will Spain be Next? · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

“I'd be failing to my duties and my own conception of the royal function if I'd wish to keep on exercising whatever the cost, without being completely fit to assume my role.”
Those were the words [fr] used by Albert II, King of the Belgians, to announce on Tuesday July 3, 2013 his intention to abdicate —as Queen Beatrix of Netherlands did last April— in favour of his 53-year old son Philippe, due to his age and delicate health. In fact, King Albert will be 80 years old in 2014, as he said in his speech [fr], an age “never reached by my predecessors on the exercise of their function,” and has undergone multiple surgical procedures [fr], among them, a quadruple coronary bypass on April 2000.
King Albert and Paola of Belgium, during vacations. Photo by forum Cotilleando.
The background well-known to everybody, however, is a monarchy punised by scandals and very much needed of an urgent renovation. Delphine Boël, King Albert's illegitimate daughter, filed last June 17 before a Brussels court a paternity test [es], bringing to bear once again a case where the Belgian Royal House has shown an attitude seen by much as anachronisitic [fr]. Belgian people haven't forgotten that in 2007, Prince Lorenz, the king's youngest child, was involved in a embezzlement case of Navy funds [es], part of which were used to furnish his new house, or his non-authorized trip to Republic of the Congo [es], that almost caused him to lose his official assignement.
But what seemed to be the last straw has been the last tax scandal, taken on by his sister in law Fabiola. Fabiola, of Spanish origin, is the widow of King Baudouin I, Albert's brother and his predecessor in the throne, who died suddenly in 1993. Widow Queen Fabiola set up a private foundation [es] aiming that, upon her death, her heirs coud elude 70% of succession taxes. Apparently, the official amount perceived from public funds was included in this foundation, thus leading the Belgian government to reduce that amount.
Left, Prince Lorenz of Belgium with his son. Right, widow Queen Fabiola. Photos from the blog The Royalty Chronicles and the forum Noblesse et Royautés.
The Belgian monarchy is one of the few unifying issues in a relatively new country (less than 200 years) where the communities of majority, Flemish and Walloon, grow apart day by day due to Flanders independence aspirations [es]. Under these circumstances, doubts about Prince Philippe's leadership skills intensify. On September 28, 2012, Belgian paper Le Soir published an interview with Martin Buxant [fr], journalist and author of the book “Belgium, a King Without a Country.” When asked if Prince Philippe is ready to become king, he answered:
(…) la quarantaine de responsables politiques, économiques, culturels, diplomatiques que nous avions rencontrés  [ont] énormément de doutes quant à la capacité de Philippe à prendre la succession à court terme d’Albert. (…) Il faut être clair : non, il n’est pas prêt !
(…) the almost forty political, economic, cultural and diplomatic responsibles I've talked to [have] great doubts about Philippe's leadership skills to assume Albert's succession in the short term. (…) We have to be clear: no, he is not ready!
Or as Everett Rummage said on Twitter:
Philippe and Mathilde, future kings of Belgium, with their eldest daughter Elisabeth. Photo by blog Royalty Online
@EverettRummage: no one I knew in Belgium thought much of the King, but consensus was his son is an even bigger idiot.
From France, Marjorie [fr] shared her revolutionary ideas:
@MarjorieMarje:
je comprends pas la Belgique, moi mon Roi on le décapite !
@MarjorieMarje: [fr]: I don't understand Belgium, I'd behead my king!
In Spain, the abdication by two European kings within few months have unleashed speculations about a possible stepping down by king Juan Carlos in favour of his son Felipe.
Adrián Vidales and Otis B. Driftwood pointed the evident similarities:
@AdriVidales: Parece que el rey de Bélgica va a abdicar por delitos fiscales de parientes y líos de faldas. Se me hace difícil no hacer comparaciones…
@AdriVidales [es]: It seems that King of Belgium will abdicate due to tax offenses by relatives and “women troubles.” It's kind of hard to me not to make comparisons…
@obdriftwood: El rey abdica por un escándalo financiero y otro de adulterio. El de Bélgica, no salten antes de tiempo.
@obdriftwood [es]: The king abdicates because of a financial scandal, and another adultery one. The King of Belgium, just don't jump beforehand.
Gerard Sygranyes imagined a conversation in the Palace of Zarzuela:
@GSugranyes:-Papá, papá, el rey de Bél…
-POR QUÉ NO TE CALLAS??
“El rei de Bèlgica abdicarà el 21 juliol”: http://ara.cat/_38923284 [cat]
@GSugranyes [es]: -Dad, dad, the King of Bel…
-WHY DON'T YOU SHUT UP??
“The king of Belgium will abdicate on July 21l”: http://ara.cat/_38923284 [cat]
Other Twitter users, as Morenatti, implied some irritation:
@MiguelMorenatti: El rey de Bélgica abdicará hoy, mientras el rey de España sigue pensando que abdicar es una empresa de alquiler de coches.
@MiguelMorenatti [es]: The king of Belgium will abdicate today, while the king of Spain keeps on thinking that abdicate means an auto rental firm [note: abdicate in Spanish is abdicar].
And on Albert Cuesta‘s tweet we can see some impacience shared by many Spaniards:
@albertcuesta: – El rey abdica en favor de su hijo Felipe
– ¡Ya era hora!
– No, el de aquí no. El de Bélgica
– Ah
@albertcuesta[es]: – The king abdicates in favor of his son Philippe
– About time!
– No, not the one from here. The one from Belgium
– Ah
Others think the change should be deeper, as the comment made by trilobites [es] in an article appeared on El País [es]:
Las monarquías Europeas deben darse cuenta que tienen que dejar de parasitar de sus Estados. Abdicar y marcharse a esos paraísos fiscales que tanto visitan. Y no volver.
European monarchies should be aware they have to stop being a parasite of their states. To abdicate and leave for those tax havens they so often visit. And don't come back.
Whatever the case may be, the Belgian people will have to adjust to their new Chief of State, even though in the worst case scenario, the Belgians have shown to be perfectly able to keep on going [es] in worse situations, as it became obvious when, between 2010 and 2011, the country spent 589 days [es] without a government, the longest period known in world history.

author: Lourdes Sada


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Online Resources to Monitor Cambodian Elections · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

On July 28, Cambodian voters will decide whether to end or extend the 28-year rule of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) as the nation prepares for its fifth National Assembly elections since 1993. The CPP is led by Prime Minister Hun Sen who is already the longest serving head of state in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, opposition groups formed a coalition called Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) to challenge the dominance of Hun Sen’s party. But the opposition must work harder since most analysts believe Hun Sen is expected to win again as prime minister.
Supporters of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party during the first day of campaign. Photo by Thomas Cristofoletti, Copyright @Demotix (6/27/2013)
To know more about Cambodian elections, the National Election Committee has been providing some pertinent documents related to election laws and processes. It also launched a portal for citizens to browse the Voter List. The Twitter hashtag #electionsKH is used to monitor election updates.
The Open Development Cambodia also has a special election page to help Cambodian voters. Chunly Serey Vicheth explains why they developed the page:
Some people have asked us why we have made an elections page when, up until now, ODC has focused mostly on economic and environmental information. But from our point of view, sustainable development is dependent on good governance, which in a democracy relates to elections. We’re providing election information to citizens so that they can be informed voters.
Another election page is Cambodia Voter Voice. It has a separate portal called ‘Ask the Candidates’ where netizens can leave questions for candidates and political parties. The Committee For Free And Fair Elections or Comfrel also releases news updates about the election campaign
On Twitter, @sopheaksrey surveyed the presence of parties in the media:

@sopheaksrey On local TV voters could see CPP only, but on Facebook public should hearing CNRP mostly. On radio they seem fair play campaign. #elections
He also revealed the campaign expenses of the ruling party in 2012:
@sopheaksrey How much money political parties spent for campaign ? COMFREL learned that CPP spent at least 16 millions dollars US for campaign in 2012.
Youth members of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party gather at the freedom park of Phnom Penh. Photo by Thomas Cristofoletti, Copyright @Demotix (7/7/2013)
Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, highlights the issues that should be tackled in the campaign:
Cambodia has come a long way since the end of the civil war, in terms of securing peace and generating economic development, yet many significant and well-documented problems continue to plague Cambodia.
The Cambodian people want to hear what a future government will do about the current land crisis, how it will tackle corruption, how it will strengthen the rule of law to ensure that all Cambodians have access to justice.
Cambodians should demand that parties put people before politics – by putting policies before politicians – and they are fast running out of time.
This open letter has a single but important demand: greater media freedom:
Dear parliamentary candidates of all political parties,
We, the staff and members of the civil society groups listed, and our partners, families and friends, who are registered voters throughout Cambodia, will only consider voting for members of parliament of all political parties that keep the media free at all times.
Exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy announced that he will return to the country before election day:
I remain excluded from the electoral process, forced into exile to avoid the heavy prison sentence which accompanied the removal of my civic and political rights.
I have decided to return because my presence as leader of the opposition and the fate that awaits me will be a test of the reality of the “free and fair elections” promised by the Paris accords, which also promised for Cambodia “a system of liberal democracy, on the basis of pluralism.” My return will serve as an opportunity for democracy to develop and will remind everyone concerned, Cambodians and friends of Cambodia alike, of their obligations
But @COMFREL doubts if Sam Rainsy will fulfill the pledge:
@COMFREL Cambodian people doubt about the returning of Sam Rainsy, opposition leader before election day -July 28. He used to claim that many times.
The Cambodia Daily, an online publication, has devoted a special segment to cover the elections. Mu Sochua is an opposition politician who regularly blogs her campaign activities.
Civil society groups have earlier warned against voting irregularities:
We also wish to express our concern over the lack of transparency on preparations for the elections along with the overall poor management of the recruitment and selection of members of election commissions at all level, and the poor quality of the voter list that will result in a loss of voting rights to otherwise eligible voters.


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Slovenian Start-Ups on Kickstarter · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

Four Slovenian tech start-up companies have exceeded their initial funding expectations and managed to accumulate a total of some 400,000 U.S. dollars in funding on the popular crowdfunding site Kickstarted over the last year. Slovenia, a Eu country with a large and growing unemployment rate, has a growing ICT industry and many young entrepreneurs seem to be finding solutions to economic hardship in innovation and seeking funding from abroad while retaining their companies and development centers at home. Inventures.eu covers the success of these start-ups on Kickstarter in more detail:
It took less than five hours for Lumu to raise its initial goal of 20,000 dollars and the campaign still has a few days to go, until 12 July. The project has amassed more than 200,000 dollars in funding and the number keeps rising…
All 50 parts needed to make one Lumu are made locally in Ljubljana. To keep Lumu affordable, the team needs to make electronics in bulk quantities. They also plan on extending the features of the Lumu app. So far, more than 2000 backers have pledged between 1 and 570 dollars. The 79-dollar rewards have already sold out but for a 99 dollars pledge you can get a Lumu pack by October.

author: Danica Radisic


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50 Million Kids Without Birth Certificates · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Michelle Unwin highlights the need to provide birth certificates to Indonesia's street kids. She cited a report which says that only nine to 22 percent of street children have birth certificates. Further, an estimated 50 million children in Indonesia do not have birth certificates which deprive them of the right to receive government services.

author: Mong Palatino


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Anonymous Leaks the Accounts of Spain’s Governing Party  · Global Voices
Chris Moya

Global hacktivist group Anonymous has leaked the 1990-2011 financial accounts of the governing Partido Popular (PP) [People's Party] to the Internet.
Recently, the judge overseeing the Gürtel case, an ongoing political corruption scandal in Spain that implicates PP members, asked for access to the documents dated since 1990 on the suspicion of illegal financing. The PP refused, claiming that they were only obligated turn in documents from the last five years.
On 8 July, 2013, Anonymous uploaded close to 5GB of data of the party's accounts, and at the same time made their financial data since 1990 public on portal anonyourvoice.com. The content rapidly spread via social networks, torrents, blogs and channels. Anonymous dubbed the leak:
Cables contables. PPgoteras. Lo que debería ser público, será público.
Accounting cables. PPleaks. What should be public, will be public.
This data, which was not public before, has now become available to the citizenry. Thousands of citizens through social networks have started to share and scrutinize the documents. You can follow the examination of these documents on Twitter under the hashtag #CuentasdelPP [es]:
The PP, which promised to submit a transparency law before the first 100 days of government but has still not formalised the legislation, has been exposed through the broadcasting of its financial management to the watchful eyes of hundreds of anonymous people. Public management is being examined.

author: Chris Moya


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Barbados: Homophobia & Child Abuse  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Code Red uses the example of a child abuse case in Barbados to make the point that “the buggery laws perform a double injustice. They criminalise sexual relations between adults and support a culture of homophobia and…support an inadequate response to child sexual abuse.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bosnian Lawmakers Fail to Meet ‘Babylution’ Protest Demands · Global Voices
Tamara Gocmanac

Bosnia-Herzegovina's parliament has missed the July 1 deadline set by angry protesters demanding members fix a lapse in the country's law that is preventing newborns from being given an identity number and, by extension, travel papers and healthcare.
For more than a month, citizens have been protesting in front of their national parliament, requesting that urgent amendments be made to legislation related to Unique Master Citizen Numbers, abbreviated JMBG. The protests, which have been dubbed the “Babylution”, took off when a gravely ill three-month-old girl died while waiting to receive this unique identity number so that she could receive treatment and surgery abroad. Outrage against this denial of basic human rights ensued across several Balkan states after the tragic event and crossed ethnic divides in the region.
The protesters had given the legislative body a July 1, 2013 deadline to remedy the lapse in the ID number law, which expired in February. On July 1, as Croatia celebrated its official entry into the European Union, thousands of people gathered in the capital Sarajevo before the parliament building to send their government representatives a clear message – “You are fired!” – and inform the international community of the situation in an open letter.
“Babylution” cover photo being distributed across social networks: “01.07. Dismissal”; image courtesy of Babylution Facebook fan page.
Protests were also held across the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in Mostar, Tuzla, Zenica, Prijedor, Bugojn and other cities and towns.
Blogger Tom Simpson was among those who joined the “Babylution” online:
In the thrilling and agonizing meantime, protestors [sic] will have to muster all the courage, patience, and creativity they can. For its part, the rest of the world needs to keep putting pressure on Bosnian politicians to do the right thing: secure basic human rights and freedoms for all citizens of BiH. The Bosnian struggle is a deeply human one, and the world should stand with Bosnians and Herzegovinians, as they stand up for themselves, choose love, and dare to hope.
In the meantime, the Bosnian-Herzegovinian parliament held a session [bos], during and after which nothing changed. During the session, the #JMBG protests were labeled as “a hostage crisis” and the issues were devolved into accusations between the political parties. Solutions to issues that might benefit the citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina never came as a point of order.
Lawmakers who voiced any concern over this [bos] were far and few between, among them member of parliament Anto Domazet:
Današnja rasprava o sigurnosnoj situaciji pokazuje da je fokus poslanika na političkom pitanju koje je izazvalo i zastoj u radu i vanrednu situaciju. „Međutim, mi se moramo zapitati šta je velika stvar koja će se desiti u političkom životu BiH? Očigledno je da građani traže politički pluralizam, da o bitnim stvarima ne odlučuju lideri ili stranke već i oni sami. To je nešto na što ćemo se morati navići“, istakao je.
Smatra da poslanici moraju imati u vidu da će živjeti i raditi paralelno s civilnim aktivizmom.
Today's debate about security issues demonstrates that the focus of members of parliament is on the very political matters that provoked the delay in procedure and the crisis situation.
“However, we must ask ourselves what is the great matter that will happen in the political life of Bosnia-Herzegovina? It is evident that the citizens want political pluralism, not to have leaders or parties decide on matters, but that they themselves also [should decide]. This is something we will have to get used to,” [Domazet] emphasized.
On social networks, the anger hasn't died down. Political science student Olivier Gonner (@igonnerclast) wrote:
@igonnerclast: Ermin Zatega: “The emperor is naked” – A brilliant metaphor by Hans-Christian Anderson to describe #JMBG-Protests in #Bosnia. #Bebolucija
Edita Gorinjac (@EditaGorinjac), a journalist from Sarajevo, was among those who criticize the Parliament:
@EditaGorinjac: Zastup. u #ParlamentBiH kritiku njihovog rada nazivaju blaćenjem. Kažu to nema nigdje u svijetu. Nisam sigurna o kojem svijetu govore.#jmbg
@EditaGorinjac: Representation. In #ParlamentBiH they are calling criticism of their work mudslinging. They say it is unseen anywhere in the world. I'm not sure which world they're talking about. #jmbg
Another user on Twitter, Mahir Vražalić (@Mahir_Vrazalic), noticed:
@Mahir_Vrazalic: Znaci u Parlamentu o svemu sem #JMBG….
@Mahir_Vrazalic: So in Parliament they're discussing everything except #JMBG….
Edis Jasarevic (@EdisPG), a racing commentator, added sarcastically:
@EdisPG: Molimo da se u parlamentu pušta samo lagana jazz muzika, kako poslanici ne bi osjecali pritisak, i barem 2x dnevno antistres masaze #jmbg
@EdisPG: We ask that only smooth jazz music be played in parliament, so that members of parliament don't feel pressured, and anti-stress massages at least 2x a day #jmbg

author: Tamara Gocmanac


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Bulgarian Protesters March Kilometers to Challenge Government · Global Voices
Nevena Borisova

After 27 days of anti-government protests in Bulgaria, the leadership of this Eastern European country has so far made no changes.
The mass protests, which began on June 14, 2013 after the appointment of a controversial deputy, Delyan Peevski,  to head the Bulgarian National Security agency, have steadily grown in the number of citizens joining the daily demonstrations in the streets of the capital Sofia and other cities. Although Peevski immediately resigned from the position, protesters are asking that the newly formed government, elected in May of this year, to step down and major reforms in several sectors be made.
On Sunday, July 7, the number of protesters in the streets of the Bulgarian capital was unprecedented, as tens of thousands of citizens marched in the streets, again demanding the resignation of the current regime. The ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party, with the allied ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) by their side, refused to relinquish power despite the protests, which specifically call for more transparency and less corruption in government, action against organised crime, and an end to the “rule of oligarchy”.
Bulgarian protesters show solidarity with fellow protesters in other countries. Image meme courtesy of Revolution News.
On June 27 on an official visit to Brussels, the Bulgarian prime minister stated that he has no intention of resigning until he has parliamentary support to do so. When asked about the appointment of Peevski, a MRF deputy, Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski admitted that it was a political mistake which, in his own words, “is not a sufficient reason for a resignation”.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes of the protests, Bulgarian police officials decided  to stop announcing the number of the protesters [bg], pointing out that they do not want to cause any political conflicts.
At the same time, alternative online media are highly critical of previous announcements by police as to the scope of the protests. In response to this, a massive number of protesters strayed from their already traditional trajectory to government headquarters and poured into the streets on Sunday, the twenty-fifth day of the protests, with the particular aim of filling the three-kilometer space between Orlov most (Eagles’ Bridge), downtown Sofia, and the Pliska hotel. In the days prior to this, “Let’s fill the space in between Orlov most and Pliska hotel” was one of the popular slogans seen on Facebook.
A sea of protesters fill the three-kilometer distance from the Rectorate at Orlov most to the Plska hotel. Photo courtesy of “From the Rectorate to Pliska Hotel” Facebook page.
As Offnews reports,  tens of thousands of people [bg] stretched over the long path to Pliska hotel. The numbers that this article and other alternative media refer to contradict the information given by the Ministry of Internal Affairs that there were barely 3,000 people [bg] gathered at the protests. Offnews adds that in the beginning of the evening there were 15,000 people just at Orlov most at 10:15 in the evening. A banner on the side of the road read: “Bulgaria is ours, the bill is yours.”
On Monday, after some review of the previous day's events, media reported that Sunday's #ДАНСwithме protest, a popular hashtag for the protests, was the largest to date. Bulgarian National Radio reported [bg]:
Хора, занимавали се с охрана на масови мероприятия, заявиха, че според тях са присъствали между 30 000 и 40 000 души.
People who have experience dealing with protection of mass events, said that according to them between 30 and 40,000 people attended.
A page titled “The Bulgarian Vagabond” (“vagabond” is now common mockery in Bulgaria of a socialist deputy, Hristo Monov, who called the protesters “vagabonds”) was started on Facebook to mock the discrepancies between unofficial sources and official information.
Journalist Tony Nikolov wrote in the online edition of Kultura magazine:
Масовият протест на гражданите би трябвало да се възприеме от властта в България като въпрос, на който тя дължи незабавен отговор. Никакъв отговор обаче няма – повече от 20 дни, с което се стигна до ситуацията „парламент под обсада”.
The mass citizen protest should be perceived by the authorities as a question to which it owеs an immediate answer. However there isn't any kind of answer – more than 20 days, which lead to the situation “a parliament under siege”…
The situation formed gives us the right to make the following conclusions. First, the people who rule over us, do not care for democratic rules, for their dignity, nor do they respect the dignity of those who have sent them to the parliament or to the high levels of power. They prefer to rule behind police rows. To pretend to be blind and deaf. With the sole hope to stay a little more on power in the name of small party, personal and corporate interests.
The Bulgarian writer Zachary Karabashliev expressed his opinion on Facebook about the reactions by authorities:
Те съзнават, че не биха могли да устоят на пряк конфликт. Изплашени са. Затова го избягват на всяка цена. Ще има извинения, прошки, рокади, размествания, решения, протакане, имитации, няколко глави ще бъдат хвърлени на улицата…
They [the authorities] know that they wouldn't stand a direct conflict. They are frightened. And that is why they avoid it. There will be apologies made, forgiveness, castling, changes of places, decisions, prolonging, imitation, few heads would be thrown out on the street.
In one of the most commented articles on social networks, originally posted in the newspaper Standartnews, young journalist Raiko Baichev wrote:
А сега протестите имат нужда от едно: постоянство. Най-трудното е. Погледнете всички по-лекички избухвания на недоволство през последните години. Тия пичове с властта му знаят тактиката – чакат. Чакат като луди. Да прощавате за тъпото сравнение, но протестите май са като любовта и имат същите фази – разгар, пик и угасване. В момента ви чакат да идете на море. Надеждите им са във вашия петък вечер, вашата планина, вашитe палатки и плажове. Чакат ви да се изповлюбите…
And now, the protests need one thing: persistence. It is the most difficult thing. Look at all those lighter explosions of discontent in the recent years. These dudes in power know the tactics – they are waiting. They are waiting like mad people. Forgive my stupid comparison, but the protests seem to be like love and they have the same phases – height, culmination and dying away. At the moment they are waiting for you to go at the seaside. Their hopes are in your Friday evening, your mountain, your tents and beaches. They are waiting for you to fall in love…
A ballet dancer performing on the streets in a sign of solidarity with the Sunday protests. Photo by Ivo Mirchev. Used with permission.

author: Nevena Borisova


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Caribbean: Tropical Storm Chantal  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Tropical Storm Chantal has caused the temporary closure of some regional airports and the cancellation of flights.  The Bajan Reporter has the latest.


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Club-Goers Rebel Against Japan’s Dance Regulation · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

In Japan, dancing in the wrong place at the wrong time can get you in trouble.
Japanese law requires that public venues be licensed to permit dancing. Clubs and dance halls that are unlicensed can be – and are often – raided by the police. The Entertainment Business Act [ja] (“Fueiho” in Japanese) also requires venues to close no later that one o’clock in the morning. Venues that host all-night dance parties without a license are thus considered to be law breakers.
But on this island nation, home to a lively club scene, and the headquarters of world-renowned manufacturers of DJ turntables and loudspeakers, such as Vestax, AKAI and Pioneer, the party-people are fighting back.
They have started a campaign called “Let's DANCE” [ja]. It is a grassroots-petition initiative based on the premise that the mere act of dancing should be exempt from legal restrictions. Campaign organizers collected more than 150,000 signatures on their petition imploring the Japanese Diet members to revise the Entertainment Law. The petition was presented to Diet lawmakers on May 20, 2013.
Photo from Let's DANCE Campaign Facebook Page. Artists, citizens, attorneys and the Diet members advocate revision of the dance regulation
Raids and Arrests
The Fueiho Law was put into effect in 1948 to crack down on prostitution in dance halls.
In the aftermath of World War II in 1945, Japan established a system of state-sanctioned prostitution to service allied troops occupying the country, recruiting women with newspaper advertisements [ja] that said, “Dancers wanted for cabarets, cafés and bars.” Less than a year later, the American forces issued orders prohibiting servicemen from visiting these establishments. This resulted in the sudden unemployment of thousands of women, many of whom resorted to selling their bodies elsewhere.
Tokyo Party Time, March 2011, by flickr user dat’ (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Lawmakers at the time came to see the dance floor as a hotbed of clandestine prostitution and enacted strict regulations. Since then, a number of revisions to the law have been made.
Nightclubs have somehow circumvented the licensing rules for years, putting up with seasonal suspensions of businesses, arrests, and closures here and there. But in recent years in Japan’s second most populated region, Kansai, in the southern-central part of the main island Honshu, the police have started cracking down and tightening their control over the clubs.
Electronic music magazine Resident Advisor described the dying club scene in Kansai in January 2012:
2011 brought more closures, as club owners increasingly found themselves under pressure to conform to license requirements or face arrest. In March, big name nightclubs including Triangle and Joule were fined and forced to stop their all-night business.
Only a few months later in April 2012, police raided Club Noon in Kansai at 10 p.m. for allegedly “allowing people to dance in an unlicensed place” [ja]. The club was shut down, sparking outrage among club-goers and artists who were suddenly all too aware of the excessive power of authorities to shut down any unlicensed dance hall without a warrant at any time.
The popular outrage led to the creation of a four-day festival Save The Club Noon [ja] organized by 90 artists and DJs fighting for the right to party.
http://youtu.be/jphsxjsKjZc
This movement is being documented by a film crew who plan to make a documentary that will confront the issue of dance regulation. The film is currently seeking financial support [ja] through a crowdfunding website so they can compensate artists and music copyright holders. The deadline to support the project is July 14.
Club-goers are Evil-doers?
One of the biggest nightclubs in Tokyo, Vanity Restaurant, was raided by police on May 26, and three people were arrested.
In the mind of rock musician and Japanese punk icon Akihiro Namba (@AKIHIRONAMBA), dance regulation statutes are an absurd oppression of youth. He commented [ja] on Twitter:
@AKIHIRONAMBA:
ダンス規制法。いつの時代も悪者にされんのは若者でさ。やっぱいつの時代も、体制は若者のパワーを恐れてるんだよ。って事は若者が本気になったら凄いって事なんだよ。
Look at dance regulation. They always oppress the youth and regard young people as evil-doers. The authorities are always afraid of the power of youth, young people’s power. . In other words, the youth can turn really subversive once their heart is in it.
For young sociologist and doctoral candidate Noritoshi Furuichi (@poe1985), it's an issue of government policies on culture:
@poe1985
児童ポルノ禁止法改定案によるアニメや漫画の表現の自由規制問題、風営法によるダンス規制問題、消防法によるライブ規制問題。文化を潰そうとしている人たちのいう文化立国、クールジャパンって何なんだろうね。
I see a tendency of regulations enacted to repress cultural expression; such as, the bill to revise the Anti-Child Pornography Act, which will restrict freedom of expression through cartoon artworks, regulations on dance thanks to the Entertainment Business Act, the Fire Service Act restricting venues for live performances. And this country’s business people think they can market Japanese culture overseas as content-business. I don't get their point.
As advocates seek wider recognition of club culture, an underground hardcore band called Down for Realize (@down4realize) voiced their concern that an effort to improve recognition of clubs as a healthy cultural activity might turn such venues into insipid places that exclude certain kinds of people:
@down4realize:
クラブをなくさないために、モラルを守ること。間違いなくそれも大事、一般市民に理解してもらうためにもそういう努力が必要。だけど何の危険性もないクラブが果たして魅力的？ルールからはみ出てしまう奴らがいていい場所でもあるはず。健全なクラブ。それはもはやクラブの意味あるのか？
I understand it's important that we behave well and act ethically, moreover, I ask the general public to foster an understanding of club culture in order to keep the clubs from closing. However, do we really want all clubs to be healthy and nice? I don’t think so!
Does a club have allure when you yank out that part of it that has nefarious edge? Will there be a place for outlaws and those outsiders who live in the margins of society? Will the imagined healthy and wholesome “clubs” still be clubs?