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Tensions High as Holy Site Reopens Following Targeted Assassination Attempt of Jewish Activist in Jerusalem  · Global Voices
Maya Norton

The rooftops of Jewish (West) Jerusalem with a view of the Temple Mount (East Jerusalem) in the background. Image by Flickr user Jelle Drok. (CC)
The targeted assassination attempt of right-wing Jewish activist Rabbi Yehuda Glick is being called a “dangerous escalation” in Israeli-Palestinian relations, leaving many concerned that the region is on the brink of a third intifada (uprising).
Glick was shot and is in critical condition as of late Wednesday night. Known as a “prominent right-wing activist”, Glick lobbied for greater access by Jews to the Temple Mount. Deemed as Judaism's most sacred site, the Temple Mount marks the original location of the Holy Temple, destroyed by Romans in 70 CE in an act that sent the Jewish people into exile for almost 2,000 years. It is also the site where Abraham the patriarch is said to have bound his son Isaac for sacrifice to God.
The Temple Mount is the world's third holiest site to Muslims and includes the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, from where it is believed the prophet Muhammad ascended to Mecca.
The day following Glick's shooting, the Temple Mount was closed to Muslim worshipers, reopening on October 31st with strengthened security ahead of weekly Friday prayers.
The site has been hotly disputed for years. The Second Intifada (the second Palestinian uprising against Israel from 2000 to 2005) was called the Al-Aqsa Intifada as it was precipitated by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount, an event considered to be incitement by the Palestinians, resulting in the start of a five-year cycle of intense violence between Palestine and Israel.
Glick is a leader of the organization Temple Mount Faithful, whose stated objectives include:
Liberating the Temple Mount from Arab (Islamic) occupation. The Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque were placed on this Jewish or biblical holy site as a specific sign of Islamic conquest and domination. The Temple Mount can never be consecrated to the Name of G‑d without removing these pagan shrines. It has been suggested that they be removed, transferred to, and rebuilt at Mecca.
Here is an excerpt from a speech Glick gave, minutes before he was shot:
This is the speech Yehuda Glick gave just moments before he was shot. Watch it and be inspired: http://t.co/f8TabVIXfU #TempleMount
— Ari Soffer (@AriSoffer1) October 30, 2014
Citizen media responded to the assassination attempt. David Ha'ivri (“David the Hebrew”) asked followers to pray for Glick's recovery:
Shout out for prayers for Yehuda Yehoshua ben Brenda. Rabbi Yehuda Glick leading advocate for Jewish rights on Temple Mount has been shot.
— David Ha'ivri (@haivri) October 29, 2014
Daniel Seidemann is the founding director of an NGO called Terrestrial Jerusalem (ירושלים דלמטה) that describes itself as:
“… an Israeli non-governmental organization that works to identify and track the full spectrum of developments in Jerusalem that could impact either the political process or permanent status options, destabilize the city or spark violence, or create humanitarian crises.”
Seidemann observed:
The attempted assassination of Temple Mount activist Rabbi Yehuda Glick is a very dangerous escalation. This looks very bad indeed.
— Daniel Seidemann (@DanielSeidemann) October 29, 2014
He warned:
Next several hours/days will witness a very serious threat to the stability of Jerusalem. Friends of Israel & Palestine should urge restaint
— Daniel Seidemann (@DanielSeidemann) October 29, 2014
Israeli journalist and avid tweeter Barak Ravid remarked:
The 3rd Intifada is already here – If there is anybody that still doesn't get it
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) October 29, 2014
While in his Twitter feed, multiple commenters remonstrated him to “calm down,” “not to jump to conclusions,” and “be a journalist, not a muckracker.”
Yara, a doctoral student who identifies as Palestinian, responded:
@jncatron @BarakRavid I think it's an outdated way to frame the situation. Since 2nd intifada, it's been terrible. Did it ever really end?
— Yara ىارا (@ConflictedBlog) octubre 29, 2014
Lisa van Wyk questioned:
“How do you define an uprising in the age of online activism and organised resistance? It's ongoing.”
US-based terrorism specialist Jonathan Schanzer posted multiple times as to the question of whether the escalation of violence in recent weeks indicates a coming intifada:
The level of Jerusalem-specific tension right now is unprecedented, I think. Always a tense town, but we're heading into something different
— Jonathan Schanzer (@JSchanzer) October 29, 2014
…the shooting tonight. All point to a very centralized storm. But could easily be a flashpoint for a broader one, given Jlem's importance
— Jonathan Schanzer (@JSchanzer) October 29, 2014
Writer and activist Mairav Zonszein noted:
Already hearing reports of Palestinians wounded by settlers in West Bank. It is only going to get worse and worse
— Mairav Zonszein (@MairavZ) October 29, 2014
We are also reminded that:
This is the 1st time in 13 years a Palestinian terror attack in #Jerusalem has been carried out against a specifically targeted individual
— Anshel Pfeffer (@AnshelPfeffer) October 29, 2014
In addition, Glick, like two others who died in the last week, was an American citizen. Infant Haya Zissel Braun was killed in a terror attack when when a car rammed into a crowd on a train station platform and she was thrown from her stroller. Orwa Abd El-Wahab Hammad, who lived in the US until he was 6, was shot and killed by Israeli troops “after he attempted to hurl a Molotov cocktail [into] traffic.”
Three-month old Haya Zissel Braun killed in Jerusalem, 14-yr-old Orwa Abd El-Wahab Hammad killed in Silwad, Yehuda Glick: all #US citizens
— Noga Tarnopolsky (@NTarnopolsky) October 29, 2014
Dr. Belal Dabour, a physician from Gaza, reminds us about the 7-week offensive in Gaza that ended on August 26 and has the last word on the mounting tension:
I don't know if it's just my circles, but some people have already given up on reconstruction and started the count-down for next war.
— Belal Dabour – Gaza (@Belalmd12) October 26, 2014


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Melton Foundation and Global Voices Successfully Complete Second Round of Collaboration · Global Voices
Guest Contributor

Melton Fellow Nickhil Sharma's story, “‘Love Jihad’ in India: Reality, Myth or Simply a Case of Political Rabble-Rousing?” published on Global Voices Sept. 29, 2014.
This post was originally published on the Melton Foundation blog and is republished on Global Voices with permission. Articles from the first round of the Global Voices-Melton Mentoring partnership can be found here.
Have you heard the term “Love Jihad”? Did you know that social unrest has been a recurring topic in Latin American football World Cup events? Ever wondered how spouses of immigrant workers fare in the United States? Why do some areas in China have more of an advantage than others in higher education testing?
For the second year in a row, a team of fellows from the Melton Foundation (MF) has put global citizenship values into action through citizen journalism, giving a voice to those who are not heard. Melton Fellows partnered with mentors from Global Voices to learn how to write and publish for a journalistic outlet.
The current mentoring period stretched from April to September 2014. The team decided to focus on inequality and discrimination as the theme for this period. All articles written for this project are accessible here.
Not all of the fellows managed to meet the goal of writing three articles for Global Voices, realizing that journalistic writing is more difficult than expected. Still, the project as a whole offered a unique learning opportunity for all those involved.
Tejasvini Prasad, an Indian Melton Fellow living in the US, described her experience:
The project was fun and enlightening. The GV team holds writers to journalistic standards, so both sides of the story must be told, quotes sourced properly and the writers’ opinion kept to a minimum. This was a new kind of writing for me. The editors were very good and watching the post change through the editing pipeline was also interesting
Xing Qing, a Melton Fellow from China, described the results of the experience as well:
As an engineering student, it was the first time for me to try to collect and reflect on Chinese current affairs, which was really amazing to me. I gradually achieved the spirit of a journalist, and now pay more attention to what happens around me, and think about reasons and solutions. Global Voice was an extraordinary experience for me.
Melton Fellows were also able to form new connections across boundaries. Nickhil Sharma said:
Recently, when we celebrated Diwali in India, the Pakistani authors exchanged warm greetings with us! This was wonderful for me personally. It made me realize that differences can be resolved when we bring out the common goals and interests in us.
While the mentoring period is over, team members are planning to stay active on the Global Voices platform. Look for updates on their future projects.
The team included Melton Fellows (MF) from different countries and mentors from the Global Voices (GV) network:

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Guest Contributor


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Myanmar Reporter Detained by the Military, then Killed · Global Voices
Juan Cebu

Many online activists used this photo as their Facebook profile photo. The Burmese script reads “everyone get involved to reveal the truth about the freelance reporter Ko Aung Kyaw Naing @ Ko Par Gyi”
The mysterious death of Ko Aung Kyaw Naing, a journalist widely known as Ko Par Gyi, has sparked anger among many in the Southeast Asian country.
Ko Par Gyi, who previously had served as a bodyguard for Aung San Suu Kyi, was covering recent clashes between the Myanmar Army and armed forces of the Karen minority rebel group in Mon State when he was detained by the Myanmar army on September 30. After three weeks, army officials notified the Interim Myanmar Press Council that the freelance reporter was killed on Oct. 4, while in their custody, and that his body has been buried already.
The death of the reporter while in the hands of the military outraged many and led to a gathering of more than 1000 people in downtown Yangon, the country's former capital, on Oct. 26. Concerned citizens, activists and roughly 46 civil society groups have since united to call for an investigation into the death of the reporter. According to Radio Free Asia, approximately 20 protesters were arrested and being charged under an unspecified section of the penal code.
An official military report indicates that Ko Par Gyi was accused of serving as a “communications captain” of the Karen armed opposition group (DKBA – Democratic Karen Benevolent Army) and that he was shot when he tried to seize a gun from a guard, in an effort to escape the prison. Both Karen leaders and the family of the victim assert that he was not associated with the group.
The journalist's wife, Than Dar, a pro-democracy activist, is skeptical of the military's claim that her husband attempted to escape prison. She fears he was tortured and killed, and has demanded a full investigation of his death, including an exhumation and autopsy on his cadaver.
Myanmar's military junta has been in power since 1962, although democratic reforms were implemented in recent years. Today, a civilian government exists but the military continues to wield considerable power and influence in the bureaucracy.
Min Ko Naing from the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society thinks that the army has been given too much authority without making them accountable for their actions. Speaking during the protest, he cited provisions in the Constitution that protect the army:
Think about it carefully; the fact that there is a law in the constitution which states that if anyone from the army — from the rank of a soldier to the general — commits any kind of crime, the civil court cannot judge; it means that they have too much privilege, and this is a bully.
Ko Ko Gyi, a political activist from the same organization, feels that there is no rule of law or security in the country. He said:
Just look at the statement of the Defense Ministry. He was arrested on 30th (September), and killed on 4th (October); his wife inquired about him on 19th (October) but they did not answer anything and then only released a statement on 24th (October). It almost took a month, more than 20 days. Who is to take responsibility for this?
Nay Myo Zin from Myanmar Social Development Organization believes that the military's pledge to provide compensation to the family of the slain journalist could mean that “citizens are not worth more than a bullet.”
Moethee Zun, a political activist and founder of Democratic Party for a New Society, said that the army should not have killed him even if he was trying to flee:
It is obvious that Ko Par Gyi has never held a gun. He is a good and responsible person. Even if he had a gun, they (the army) should not have done that to him.
Blogger Moe Zay Nyein also thinks [my] that the army's accusation is not credible.
Ko Par Gyi was not someone who is afraid of prisons. His wife was also a political prisoner. He knew that he would be released again if he went to jail. In this age of democracy, he knew that there are people who would support him if he were ever sent to prison. He was familiar with the concept of imprisonment. Therefore, it is absolutely not believable that he tried to seize a gun in order to run and escape imprisonment.
Moe Thway from Generation Wave, one of the organizers of the protest, urged people to support reporters.
During the time when we did not have media freedom, political activists were the reporters. Even the wife of Ko Par Gyi was once sentenced to life imprisonment for writing political articles. If they did not risk their lives, we would never know the truth. Therefore, instead of calling them simply as reporters or political activists, the people should protect those who are trying to bring the truth to us.
This latest killing once again illustrates the critical need for the protection of media practitioners in the country. Although the censorship board has been abolished, the death of Ko Par Gyi is a grim reminder of the continuing limitations on media freedom and democracy in Myanmar.

author: Juan Cebu


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Tajikistan Still Debating the Good and Evil of Halloween  · Global Voices
Zukhra Iakupbaeva

Tajik government officials fail to see the fun side of Halloween. Wikipedia image.
Halloween – a holiday very few people in Tajikistan even celebrate – is still under siege in the Central Asian state over two years after public discussions about a potential ban first stirred.
Celebrating the holiday is not technically illegal in the republic, but on October 25 Tajik policemen entered one of Dushanbe's more famous nightclubs during the course of a fancy dress event and ordered the club's management to switch the music off, according to RFE/RL's Tajik service. They subsequently held a would-be-witch and a faux vampire for questioning before releasing the pair.
Halloween, argue state officials and more traditionally minded bloggers, is a “Western” holiday and a corrosive influence on Tajik society. The Tajik blogosphere, however, is split between those that approve of the de facto ban and those that find it absurd.
The idea of a moral moratorium on the holiday dates back at least as far as 2012. On the eve of Halloween that year, Global Voices quoted one blogger Bachai Sao:
We should teach the younger generation that Halloween is alien to Tajiks and all Muslims. Proud Tajik boys and girls who love their nation should never celebrate alien holidays.
In 2013, when Halloween-related detentions first occurred Global Voices cited a Twitter user's opposition to attempts to ban the holiday.
Мы что живем в исламской республике, а милиция преобразована в полицию нравов? http://t.co/dtDCsV2pka
— Томирис (@tomiristj) October 28, 2013
Do we live in an Islamic republic or what? Has our police been transformed into a morality police?
Over on Blogiston.tj, an emerging blogging platform in the republic, the debate rumbles on this year.
On October 27 blogger Sitora Yusupova wrote:
Чашни холлуин моликияти аврупо мебошад. (ба мо расм шудааст, ки ба чуз илм ва хунар дигар амалхоро таклид созем ва худро чун заррае ба аврупоихо монанд бисозем, кани чавони англисе, ки икдом гирифта бошад то наврузро чашн бигирад?)
Halloween is a European holiday, and it becomes more common for us to imitate Western values. Are there any foreigners who want to celebrate our Navruz? Halloween spoils the psychology of children; children feel frightened when they see Jack-o-lanterns.
Yusupova adds that Halloween contradicts not only Islam but also Orthodox Christianity:
Рухониёни мо низ таъкид доранд, ки чашнгирии ин маросим ба мардуми мусалмон чоиз нест. Сабаби чоиз набудани чашнгирии маросими мазкурро намояндагони кумитаи дин ба якчанд критерияи чшнгирии иди зикргардида диданд, ки бо идеологияи исломи муковимати сахт дорад. Ва илова бар ин намояндагони равияи “Православи” низ зидд мебошанд. Пас аз навиштани ин мавод маро харки хонед хамонам!
Mullahs [religious leaders] say that celebrations of this holiday are not relevant to Muslim people as it does not fit the criteria of the Committee of Religion of Tajikistan. It contradicts Islamic teaching. In addition, followers of Orthodoxy are also against this holiday. After writing this post, you can call me whatever you want!
Rustam Gulov, who hosts Blogiston.tj took the middle ground in a comment under Yusupova's article:
Ман, албатта, тарафдори ҷаҳонишавиям (глобализатсия), аммо дар баробари ин хеле хурсанд мешавад, вақте фаҳмам, ки ҷавононе ҳастанд, ки урфу одат, дину фарҳанги худро пос медоранд ва ҳимоя менамоянд. Ин тақлидкорӣ ба чунин ҷашнвораҳои даҳшатангез тақлидкории кӯр-кӯрона аст. Бигузор ба илмомӯзию фаъолнокии ҷамъиятии ғарбиён тақлид кунанд, на ин ки тарзи носолими ҳаёти онҳо.
Despite the fact that I support globalization, I am really glad that there are young people [like Yusupova] who want to preserve their culture.
But a blogger on the same platform, Ovora, struck out against public pressure not to celebrate Halloween.
ну да, праздник не наш, конечно. но какой вообще праздник можно назвать нашим? 25 лет назад у нас не было ни дня независимости, ни дня конституции, ни дня национального языка. 100 лет назад у нас не было нового года, 23 февраля, 8 марта и дней рождения. а было ведь время, еще раньше, когда и исламских праздников у нас не было. так что все праздники, которые мы сегодня празднуем, были не наши – а потом стали нашими. это я о том, что делить праздники на наши и не наши наверно не совсем правильно.
Yes, Halloween is not our holiday, but what are our holidays in reality? Twenty-five years ago, we didn't have Independence Day, Day of the Constitution, Day of National Language. A hundred years ago, we didn't have New Year, February 23, March 8 and birthdays. There was even a time when we didn't have Islamic holidays. So, all holidays are universal, and it is not correct to divide holidays into “ours” and “not-ours.”
Ovora concludes that while Tajikistan is a secular state, it is the right of every human to celebrate or not celebrate a holiday.
наша жизнь состоит не только из пятикратных молитв и походов в мечеть, ибо таджикистан – не исламское государство. наши граждане хотят еще и веселиться, приятно проводить время. а празднование хэллоуина это как раз приятноe времяпровождение для людей, соскучившихся по костюмированным тематическим мероприятиям. люди ведь не становятся ближе к аллаху только от того, что они празднуют или не празднуют хэллоуин.
Our life is not only going to the mosque and praying five times a day – Tajikistan is not an Islamic state. Our people want to have fun and Halloween is just that – a fun way to spend time with other people who miss fancy-dress parties and theme events. People do not get closer to Allah because they do or do not celebrate Halloween.

author: Zukhra Iakupbaeva


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The Space Race Is Over, But Russian Schadenfreude at American Rocket Troubles Soars · Global Voices
Aric Toler

Images edited by Kevin Rothrock.
Before the smoke cleared from Tuesday’s unsuccessful launch of the Antares cargo rocket in Virginia, a number of Russian media outlets, nationalist bloggers, and regular RuNet users were beaming with national pride. The Americans had screwed up, and in the field of rocketry, where Russian patriotic pride is especially intense.
Russian media outlets have surfaced evidence that the Antares rocket's components aren't Russian, though the missile does include a Russian-made NK-33 engine, modified by American and Ukrainian designers. RT is catching flack online, where social media users noticed that the news network described the Antares as a “Russian-American rocket” in 2013, after several successful launches, but suddenly called it an “American-Ukrainian” missile, when it blew up.
One Twitter user writes:
Какие же лицемерные мрази работают на RT. Ракета стартует удачно – она российская Взрывается на старте – украинская pic.twitter.com/Gp85VXivLg
— Прокурор Крыма (@ProkyrorCrimea) October 29, 2014
Such hypocritical scum work at RT. The rocket launches successfully—it’s Russian. It explodes at launch—it’s Ukrainian
[Headline on left: “Launch of Russian-American rocket ‘Antares’ to the International Space Station successfully completed.” Headline on right: “American-Ukrainian space rocket carrier Antares exploded at launch pad in the state of Virginia.”]
In a certain sense, the failed American rocket launch has rekindled Soviet-era pride in Russia's space program. Though it was presumably planned in advance, Russia unveiled its 2018 World Cup logo aboard the International Space Station, days after the explosion of the Antares rocket.
Twitter user Dmitri Rogozhin juxtaposed the Antares failure in the United States to Russia's successful Soyuz-2.1a launch a few days later. Blaming the Antares explosion on a poisoned relationship between Kyiv and Washington, Rogozhin joked:
США поставляют Украине бракованные стержни для АЭС,а в отместку получают бракованные двигатели для ракет.Такая дружба pic.twitter.com/dXfh9pBEL3
— Дмитрий Рогожин (@danuborz) October 29, 2014
The US sends Ukraine defective rods for nuclear power plants, and in return it receives defective engines for rockets. What a friendship!
[Image caption reads, “How they send cargo to the International Space station…U.S. / Ukraine (Antares) … Russia (Soyuz-2.1a).”]
Popular pro-Kremlin blogger Anton Korobkov-Zemlyansky also took the opportunity to mock the United States after the failed rocket launch, comparing the event to the Kursk submarine disaster in 2000, when Vladimir Putin told Larry King “it sunk,” when King asked him what happened to the Kursk.
— Что случилось с вашей ракетой, Барак? — Она упала. pic.twitter.com/AuSH1fXhjp
— Ватник News (@korobkov) October 28, 2014
“What happened to your rocket, Barack?”
“It crashed.”
Another user blamed the explosion on “Ukrainian air conditioners,” referring to dubious claims from the Ukrainian government in June that a defective air-conditioning unit attracted a guided missile fired by separatists. (That blast killed eight people.)
@arsenev5553 @korobkov Не всё так однозначно! pic.twitter.com/UNRp3t4wUi
— Сашко Билый (@Evro_hohol) October 28, 2014
It's not so simple!
[Image caption reads, “Ukrainian air conditioners are conquering space!”]
Not at all shy of human tragedy, many Internet users have connected the Antares explosion to the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17. The vast majority of Russians blame the disaster on the Ukrainian military (not eastern Ukraine's pro-Russian separatists), and many on the RuNet regard the notion of Russian involvement in the plane crash to be a farce. Twitter user Alexey Bushuev, for example, joked that the West would soon blame Russian weaponry for the Antares failure:
@RT_russian На сайте СБУ появились фотографии комплекса БУК который двигался с места падения ракеты Антарес в направлении российской границы
— Алексей Бушуев (@Lexabush) October 30, 2014
Photos have appeared on the Ukrainian Security Services’ website of a Buk missile system moving from the site of the rocket crash towards the Russian border.
Some bloggers employed a little meta humor, to boot:
МОЛНИЯ! По данным Киева, американский “АНТАРЕС”, был сбит ЗРК “Бук” сепаратистами, также рассматривается версия с кондиционером.
— АРМЯНСКОЕ РАДИО!!! (@armenradiohit) October 29, 2014
BREAKING NEWS! According to Kyiv, it was separatists using a Buk missile system who shot down the American Antares rocket. Kyiv is also considering a version of the story involving an air conditioner.
Recently, Russia has discussed moving its foreign-astronauts training program to Crimea. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister has suggested that the US send its astronauts to the International Space Station with a “trampoline,” rather than use Russian rockets. Following the blame-game of the Antares accident and a rumored proposal of additional Russian counter-sanctions that will limit foreign cooperation at the International Space Station, the prospects of additional cooperation between the US and Russia in space are fading quickly.
In Russia's post-Crimea era, almost any event seems capable of sparking spasms of patriotic fervor. Whether it's events in Ferguson or the beheading of an American journalist, Russian Internet users have eagerly commented on—and sometimes celebrated—just about any bad news from the United States. Thanks to the legacy of the Cold War, space travel is a particularly sensitive flashpoint.

author: Aric Toler


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They Lied Until He Died: Zambia Acknowledges President’s Illness Just Before His Death · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

Zambia's Supreme Court reserves ruling in presidential petition case, February 17, 2009, photo by Harrison Tuntu. Lusaka, Zambia. Demotix.
Left in the dark about their leader's illness, Zambians were angry more than shocked to learn this week that the country's fifth president, Michael Sata, fondly known as King Cobra, died in London on October 28.
The government only recently acknowledged that the president was sick, waiting until October 20, four days before Zambia's 50th Independence Day, when Sata needed to be evacuated to Britain for emergency medical treatment. At the time, the presidential palace stated simply:
His Excellency, Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata, President of the Republic of Zambia, last night left for a medical check- up abroad […] First Lady Dr Christine Kaseba, some family members and his press aide have accompanied the Head of State.
This wasn't the president's first trip abroad to meet with foreign doctors, but it was the first time state officials admitted to Sata's medical needs. In the past, his administration has denied rumors by cabinet members about his declining health, maintaining that Sata was fine and busy at work. Earlier this year, the government told journalists that Sata spent a working holiday in Israel, though the Israeli media later reported that he was there to receive medical treatment.
The Zambian government's curious public relations hasn't gone unnoticed on social media. On Facebook, B.M. Jermaine Sikombe reproduced the presidential palace's vague statement announcing Sata's passing. Sikombe scoffed at the wording, calling on officials to take responsibility for leaving the public woefully misinformed.
AS YOU ARE AWARE, HIS EXCELLENCY MR. MICHAEL CHILUFYA SATA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA
HAS BEEN RECEIVING MEDICAL ATTENTION IN LONDON, IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
HE LEFT ZAMBIA WITH THE FIRST LADY AND OTHER CLOSE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY ON OCTOBER 20, 2014.
HOWEVER, IT IS WITH A VERY HEAVY HEART THAT I ADDRESSYOU TODAY, TO INFORM THE NATION THAT OUR BELOVED
PRESIDENT AND LEADER, HIS EXCELLENCY, MR MICHAEL CHILUFYA SATA HAS PASSED ON.
Sikombe writes:
And then some one must without any emotions at all in an uncoordinated announcement start the statement …… as “AS YOU ARE AWARE, HIS EXCELLENCY MR. MICHAEL CHILUFYA SATA,…..”.
what did we know who told us he was London — can we henceforth stop this nonsense?
On his Facebook page, Emmanuel Mwamba, the former spokesman of Zambia’s second president, the late Frederick Chiluba, wrote:
When Zambians were confronted with sad pictures of a frail and clearly unwell President in April 2014, which immediately evoked feelings of concern and anxiety, government officials played down the concerns.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Kalaba regularly issued ridiculous statements to Radio Phoenix such as “the Opposition leaders questioning the health of President Sata are malicious”. “Sata will outlive his enemies that wish him dead”, President Sata is enjoying the best of his health”.
Of concern was the manner President Sata was carted around to; South Africa, India, United Kingdom and Israel in a secretive and hushed manner.
Recently the nation held with bated breath when President Sata opened the fourth session of Parliament on September 19th 2014. He looked seriously unwell.
Sata disappeared from the public eye last June, after he met a delegation of senior Chinese officials. He briefly reappeared at the official opening of the 2014-2015 parliamentary session, where he failed to read his prepared speech. He later traveled to New York to appear before the United Nations General Assembly, but he missed his allotted time slot to deliver his speech.
Zambian officials's public statements were equally misleading about the health of Levy Mwanawasa, the country's third president, who died in-office from a stroke in 2008. While Mwanawasa was in a hospital bed, his vice president, Lupando Mwape, famously told the media that the president was jogging in London.
In June 2008, President Mwanawasa collapsed at a meeting of the African Union in Egypt. He was rushed to France, where he died several weeks later.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


text:
What is Your Carbon Footprint? · Global Voices
Iñaki García

Image from blog Esturirafi. Used with permission.
Today it is becoming increasingly common to hear about climate change, a topic everybody talks about but are rarely aware of its real impact. We've heard many times that we are all contributing to the destruction of the planet, but how can we know the footprint we are leaving behind? This is the question that Ruth Abrain Sanchez asks on her blog:
para saber cuál es tu impacto sobre el medio ambiente. Por ejemplo, si consumes mucha electricidad y vas siempre en coche tu huella será alta. Es una manera situarnos en la escala eco-friendly :-)
to know what is the impact on the environment. For instance, if you consume to much electricity and always go on car, your footprint will be very high. It's a way to place ourselves on the eco-friendly scale :-)
In this eco-blog, we see some guidelines to calculate our carbon footprint (CO2 produced all along our life) and become as eco-friendly as possible.
As the blogger tells us, we only need three steps to get to the result: the first would be gathering data, such as electricity, water, gas, etc. We go on looking for the factors, that is, to know the total CO2 per consumption, and finally, a calculation with this formula: Carbon footprint = Amount x Release factor.
With this simple yet useful information we come closer to the environment, aware of the damage we cause, and can try to reduce them as much as possible.
You can follow Ruth Abrain on Twitter.

author: Iñaki García


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Your Voice Counts, Don’t Be Silent · Global Voices
Iñaki García

Mujeres Construyendo (Women building) tries to raise awareness with a message mainly for women. Inequality between men and women is a fact, as confirmed by the Center of Economic Studies of Mexico, where we can see that, in terms of salaries, a woman earns 22% less, but this is just one of the problems they face.
In a short animated video they share on their Twitter account, we can see how two girls are talking, one trying to raise awareness to the other that her word is important and is as valid as anyone else's. At the end, the video gives a series of important messages:
Tu voz te da poder, te hace visible y presente. Tienes derecho a expresarte y a decir lo que piensas y sientes. El silencio es tu decisión, nadie te lo puede imponer.
Your voice gives you power, it makes you visible and present. You have the right to express yourself and to say what you think and feel. The silence is up to you, no one can impose it.
With this compelling message, the team of Mujeres Construyendo claims something that seems obvious in the 21st century, gender equality.
You can follow Mujeres Construyendo on Twitter.


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VIDEO: International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Public Liberties and Human Rights department at Aljazeera, in co-operation with several international organizations have produced a video about the campaign to end impunity for crimes against journalists:
The video supports the UN resolution on the “Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity”:
The United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/68/163 at its 68th session in 2013 which proclaimed 2 November as the ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’. The Resolution urged Member States to implement definite measures countering the present culture of impunity. The date was chosen in commemoration of the assassination of two French journalists in Mali on 2 November 2013.

author: Mong Palatino


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An iPhone Monument Is Dismantled in Russia After Tim Cook’s Coming Out · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

St. Petersburg's Steve Jobs monument is dismantled. (Images shared anonymously online.)
The six-and-a-half-foot iPhone outside the St. Petersburg National Research University—a monument to the late Steve Jobs—is dismantled and gone. The business news portal BFM.ru claims that the owner of the statue, the West European Financial Union (ZEFS), had the oversized iPhone removed in response to Apple CEO Tim Cook's coming out last week.
According to BFM.ru, ZEFS worries that the iPhone monument, following Cook's announcement that he is gay, violated Russia's laws against “homosexual propaganda [sic].” BFM.ru also says ZEFS took down its giant iPhone in protest against Apple's alleged cooperation with the National Security Agency in the United States. The statue's creators were “taken in” by the “legend of a genius programmer,” ZEFS reportedly said, but that story turned out to be a “smokescreen” for American spying.
Russians, who spent roughly $1 billion last year on iPhones, have reacted strongly to the news out of St. Petersburg today.
Opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who's spent the better part of the year under house arrest, denounced the act of homophobia:
Боже, ну и дебилы: В Петербурге после заявления Тима Кука демонтирован памятник Стиву Джобсу http://t.co/qTw1gc0ro5 pic.twitter.com/1RpTOpORp0
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) November 3, 2014
Jesus, what scumbags: In Petersburg, after Tim Cook's announcement, a monument to Steve Jobs is dismantled.
Navalny's political ally, Vladimir Ashurkov (who's now in self-exile in London, avoiding likely criminal charges in Russia), echoed Navalny's sentiment:
Быстро мозги отнимаются @BFMRU_Topnews: В С-Петербурге после заявления Тима Кука демонтирован памятник Стиву Джобсу http://t.co/e5LqIpQs7h
— Vladimir Ashurkov (@vashurkov) November 3, 2014
How quick the brain goes numb. [News report]: In Petersburg, after Tim Cook's announcement, a monument to Steve Jobs is dismantled.
Brains were a common theme in many of the tweets criticizing the removal of the iPhone statue:
В Петербурге демонтировали памятник айфону. Незадолго до этого ответственные лица демонтировали себе мозг.
— Andrew Doronin (@AndrewDoronin) November 3, 2014
They've dismantled an iPhone monument in St. Petersburg. Not long before this, those responsible also dismantled their own brains.
Russia's only independent television station, the liberal-leaning TV Rain, joked on Twitter about the different directions Russia and Ukraine seem to be heading—where Ukrainians topple old statues of Lenin and Russians pull down a monument to Steve Jobs. The TV network even juxtaposed photographs of the iPhone's removal to images from Kharkov in September earlier this year, where a local mob demolished a Lenin monument.
В Петербурге демонтировали памятник айфону. Виноваты американцы – Кук и Сноуден http://t.co/T3RdLhqzRh pic.twitter.com/Zm6yqC7BLi
— Телеканал ДОЖДЬ (@tvrain) November 3, 2014
In Petersburg, an iPhone monument has been dismantled. The Americans are guilty—Cook and Snowden. [Ukraine vs. Russia]
Not everyone is a fan of TV Rain's joke. Blogger XS_71 implies that comparing Lenin to the iPhone reveals a certain cultural or intellectual deficiency in Russian liberals:
Памятник айфону для креаклов, это что то вроде памятника Ленину в Харькове, да pic.twitter.com/brtCX7IrwF
— XS (@XS_71) November 3, 2014
The iPhone monument is for kreakls [the creative class] what the Lenin monument was in Kharkov. Yeah…
Other Russians on Twitter have wondered why a monument to Steve Jobs is being singled out, when there are other targets in St. Petersburg far riper for homophobic attacks, namely the statues and streets dedicated to composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Twitter's fake Russian Defense Ministry account got in on the fun:
Памятник Джобсу снесли. Не понимаем, как Милонов мирится с существованием в Петербурге памятника Чайковскому и улицы Чайковского!
— Мuнобороны Роисси (@FakeMORF) November 3, 2014
They've taken down a monument to Jobs. [But] we don't understand how [anti-gay city councilman Vitaly] Milonov is able to be at peace with St. Petersburg's statue to Tchaikovsky and street to Tchaikovsky!
The immensely popular Josef Stalin Twitter parody account also weighed in:
“В Петербурге после заявления Тима Кука о том, что он гей снесли памятник Стиву Джобсу” Питер, Питер… Такого мудизма я от тебя не ожидал.
— Иосиф Сталин (@StalinGulag) November 3, 2014
“In Petersburg, after Tim Cook's announcement that he's gay, a monument to Steve Jobs has been taken down.” Pete, Pete… I never expected this kind of fuckery from you.
Following the public backlash to the dismantling of the iPhone monument, St. Petersburg National Research University denied the story originally reported in BFM.ru, telling reporters at the state-run TASS news agency that the statue is only being removed temporarily, for repairs. The plans predate Cook's announcement that he is gay, the university says. The statue's disappearance, in other words, has nothing to do with Tim Cook being gay or Edward Snowden revealing America's spy empire.
Of course, some on the RuNet suspect that the monument was indeed removed for the reasons initially reported. The public reaction, says this theory, forced the authorities to backtrack and invent a new version of events.
@KevinRothrock Не выдержав всемирной славы, они дали задний ход )))
— Simply Tatyana (@SimplyTaNik) November 3, 2014
They couldn't handle the worldwide fame, and they [those who removed the statue] were given a way out.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Apple’s China Experience Sours as State Hackers Target iCloud Data · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Apple store in Beijing. Photo by Chinnian via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Hackers backed by the central Chinese government have been staging man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks on Apple's iCloud in an attempt to steal iCloud user data such as iMessages, photos and contacts. According to Greatfire.org, a research group focused on Internet censorship in China, the attacks took place when Apple launched iPhone6 in China on Oct. 17.
In the course of the attacks, hackers interposed their own website, with a fake iCloud.com certificate, between users and Apple's iCloud server to intercept user data. Earlier that day, Google, Github and Yahoo faced similar attacks aimed at stealing their users’ passwords.
Greatfire saw the attacks as emblematic of the proverbial price paid by foreign companies that choose to make their services available in China, and posited that the attacks were triggered by the increased encryption standards on the iPhone 6 and the spreading of pro-democracy protest news, images and videos to mainland China through encrypted iCloud servers. The group further explained that the attacks appeared to originate from “deep within the Chinese domestic Internet backbone” and China Internet providers could not be unaware of the data interception.
Apple was aware of the MITM attacks but its iCloud servers have not been compromised. Last week, soon after the MITM attacks on iCloud, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai. Privacy and security were among the issues brought up in the meeting, according to a report from Chinese state Xinhua news. But the main objective of the meeting is to prepare for the company's plan to bring its products and services to China, starting with Apple Pay.
This past July, China's state-run broadcaster CCTV accused Apple's iPhone of posing a threat to China's national security, forcing the company to delay the sale of the iPhone 6 in China. In August, Apple moved Chinese users’ iCloud data to China Telecom, which has become the target of the latest round of MITM attack.
Apple iPhone's market share in China has increased in recent years to 15.2%. However, the market expansion in China comes with a price tag, as Greatfire warned:
This episode should provide a clear warning signal to foreign companies that work with the Chinese authorities on their censorship agenda. Working with the authorities to help them prevent free access to news and information is not a guaranteed path to riches in China. If anything, cooperation with the Chinese authorities can now increasingly be labeled as the worst decision a foreign company can make. Not only will the authorities bite you in the ass, but your willingness to work with the censorship regime will lose you customers and fans worldwide.
When Google confronted a similar dilemma in 2010, the Internet giant decided to terminate its search service in China. The decision has hindered Google's other business in China and its other online platforms, such as Gmail, Google+ and others have suffered from disruption of services. On the other hand, social networking platform Linkedin has decided to operate in accordance with China's censorship practices. After launching its Chinese site in February, the Silicon Valley company drew fire from human rights organizations and its customers when the platform started hiding status updates from overseas users to mainland users and vis versa.
Similar to Linkedin, Apple made some concessions for continuing its service in China over past few years, in particular after China's state-controlled media launched an attack on Apple's products and services in March 2013. The company issued an apology to Chinese customers in April. Around the same time, China's National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications asked Apple to remove obscene content accessed through its online applications store. Apple complied with the order but among the supposedly obscene content removed was an application that provided access to banned books about Tibet, written by famous scholar Wang Lixiong. In October 2013, circumvention application OpenDoor was take down. And two months later in December 2013, another circumvention application, FreeWeibo app was also removed from iTunes. There may be even more examples that we do not yet know about.
While these concessions thus far have only affected its customers in mainland China, the company's image may continue to erode if more concessions are made in exchange for business.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Have You Got That Right? Australian Video Series Can Tell You the Answer · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Screenshot of ‘Have You Got That Right?’
The Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, part of Melbourne's prestigious Monash University, has launched a new video series — ‘Have You Got That Right?‘ It is named after Ron Castan, a barrister and human rights advocate who was senior counsel in the groundbreaking indigenous land rights Mabo case.
Have You Got That Right? is an innovative series of videos answering important human rights questions quickly, clearly and in a way that won’t put you to sleep.
The project will be broken into a number of 10-episode series, each with a different theme. Series one blends comedy with serious academic content, while series two will be interview-based.
Each season will have 10 episodes. ‘What are Human Rights?’ and ‘Marriage Equality’ are now online with eight more to follow in the first series.
Each video has very useful additional information about the law and a collection of excellent resources.
Future season 1 episodes will address surveillance, euthanasia, legal aid, right to vote, environment, and corporations. The videos and their support materials have international application.
Global Voices has an ongoing connection with the Castan centre. Sami Ben Gharbia, founding editor of Global Voices Advocacy, was a keynote speaker at their Human Rights Law Conference in July 2012. I attended as a citizen journalist on behalf of GV and my video is available here.
In 2014, GV Board member and Director for International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation Jillian York also addressed the annual conference. The video of her session, ‘Internet Spying: The Impact on Societies’, is here.

author: Kevin Rennie


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Corporate Critics Say Vietnam’s New Tech Regulations Are Bad for Business · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

An Internet cafe in Vietnam. Flickr photo by Kent Goldman (CC License)
When Vietnam passed Decree 72 last year, slapping new restrictions on how Internet users can share information online, the government promptly caught heat from human rights and media groups for undermining free speech. But instead of heeding these calls to review or repeal Decree 72, Vietnam has passed two more Internet-related decrees that imposed stricter regulations on tech companies, Internet users, and online transactions.
Several new requirements for general information websites and social networks were issued on Oct. 2, 2014, in Circular No. 09/2014/TT-BTTTT, a document that articulates how the government should implement provisions of Decree 72 pertaining to the regulation of “compiled information” or the sharing of online news information.
Meanwhile, a proposed Information Technology (IT) Services decree has already undergone several revisions and is expected to be signed by the prime minister before the end of the year. The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), whose members include top tech companies like Google, Facebook, eBay, and Yahoo, has expressed concern over numerous “unnecessary and vague” provisions in the draft IT Services decree.
When the online newspaper of the Vietnamese government reported the implementation of Circular 09, it described the new measure as “tightening [the] management of social networks.” Indeed, it features new requirements for licensing or registration of websites and social networks. These companies are obligated to fulfill the following requirements:
The Vietnam News Biz Hub also added that the decree requires news aggregation websites to develop “a process of public information management that defines its news sources, and must manage and check all kinds of information before and after they publish it.”
The Vietnamese government has consistently blamed social networks in the past for spreading false information that caused panic, tension, and disunity in the country. But through Decree 72 and now Circular 09, the government believes it has already enacted new regulations that will provide authorities easier access and mandate to block and remove “unwanted” online content with the help of website and social media administrators.
Through a letter submitted to Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) last June 20, the AIC called for the repeal and reformulation of many provisions in the draft IT Services Decree. This suggests that the government conducted some form of consultation on the matter, as the AIC sent a new letter on Oct. 8, reiterating its position that some of the provisions in the edited draft are still “unclear and unnecessary.”
Ostensibly, the draft requires all IT companies to register with the government, and enumerates several obligations, standards, and commitments that registered companies must follow.
The AIC believes that many of the proposed rules would be burdensome and even redundant:
Over-regulation will challenge the fundamental innovative and fast-moving nature of the technology sector. We do not think that a permission-based approach to regulation is the best structure. We would recommend industry self-regulation that is more consistent with international best practices. The current approach risks creating uncertainty within the industry… It would create a significant barrier to doing business in Vietnam.
The network highlighted Article 14 which specifies that foreign tech companies:
shall have a legitimate representing organization or individual in Vietnam to resolve, on its behalf, relevant issues and to be responsible fulfilling obligations such as tax, fees, charges and other related duties.
AIC described this item as “unique” among ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, and noted that it has “created concern for companies due to the lack of detail on expectations of local legal representatives.” It added that it also violates Vietnam’s trade commitments. And it warned that registration and other licensing rules could create an “extra layer [that] could lead to delays and miscommunications.”
If passed, the AIC worries that the decree could discourage startups and tech companies from investing or increasing their presence in Vietnam. But the government insists it is only seeking to protect Internet users and consumers.
Vietnam should also rethink some of its Internet-related laws that restrict free speech and activities of Internet users within the context of global human rights norms to which it is party. At the very least, more consultations should be conducted before before the decree moves any further in the legislative process.


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Heavy Rains Affect Several Neighborhoods in Caucasia, Colombia · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

The Colombian municipality of Caucasia, located in the subregion of Bajo Cauca Antioquia department has been affected by heavy rains that have resulted in floodings in the urban area. As a consequence, there are several inundated neighborhoods in the city and thousands of people affeted.
Twitter users posted images of the ravaged streets and areas:
#TANoticias Las lluvias de las últimas horas dejaron 15 barrios inundados en Caucasia. Organismos atienden emergencia pic.twitter.com/Habs5KpQGV
— Alejandro Calle Card (@alejocalleCS) noviembre 2, 2014
Heavy rains from the past hours have left 15 flooded neighborhoods in Caucasia. Entities are dealing with the emergency.
@NoticiasRCN emergencia por fuerte aguacero en el municipio de caucasia pic.twitter.com/2hOL63uWrb
— @Ne.ca.pi/2014 (@NelfiPitalua) noviembre 2, 2014
Emergency state due to downpour in the municipality of Caucasia.
Temporada de lluvias deja 18 barrios afectados en Caucasia. http://t.co/Dluutj22yl pic.twitter.com/yBw8dUIyHZ
— El Espectador (@elespectador) noviembre 2, 2014
Raning season causes 18 affected neighborhoods in Caucasia.
13.000 habitantes afectados por lluvias en Caucasia, Antioquia http://t.co/WP46qHqh6K
— CARACOLRADIOGUAVIARE (@caracolguaviare) noviembre 2, 2014
13.000 people affected by rains in Caucasia, Antioquia.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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This Virtual Museum in Lebanon is Winning Censorship Battles · Global Voices
Thalia Rahme

Screenshot from The Virtual Museum of Censorship in Lebanon website
Two years after its launch, the Virtual Museum of Censorship in Lebanon is still documenting impediments in freedom of expression. The Virtual Museum of Censorship in Lebanon doesn’t just document censorship, it also supports artists who have been subject to censorship, raises awareness about Lebanon’s censorship practices, advocates for changes in law and holds authorities accountable.
Having followed  the project since its early days, Global Voices interviews an activist from March Lebanon, the organization behind the museum, with the objective of shedding the light on the state of the museum now, as well as the state of censorship in a country considered to be one of the most liberal places in the Middle East but which remains burdened by deep sectarian and political troubles.
“Lebanon’s censorship practices and laws are outdated and the bureaucracy is complicated,” explains an activist from the online “museum” in this interview with Global Voices’ Thalia Rahme.
Virtual Museum of Censorship (VMC): We check a variety of sources to verify whether or not a work is censored. Usually, we go through the providers: the bookstores, the movie theaters, the music stores. Through them, we check whether a work is available or has been partially censored. We also check newspaper archives. We got the authorization from newspapers such as Al Nahar, l'Orient, and Assafir to search their archives (since the first issue) for censorship-related news. We have also verified censored works through General Security and other censoring bodies in Lebanon.
Have you received threats, warnings, or pressure? If yes ,how are you dealing with it ?
VMC: We received pressure with regards to the play against censorship we did. We decided not to be intimidated by it, so we fought back and won. As for the museum, many people tried to discredit us. Newspapers and blogs close to General Security accused us of being pro-Israeli, promoting Israeli interests and even being a front for some businessmen with hidden agendas. Obviously the claims are ridiculous and entirely without foundation. They didn’t affect us at all.
VMC: Yes, our website is hosted in Lebanon and is accessible to the Lebanese population.
VMC: We haven't heard of other projects, but we ourselves are planning to create a Museum of Censorship for other regional countries. We’ve gotten interest from people in Egypt and Iran, and we’re in talks to develop partnerships to make that happen. Ideally, we’d have a museum for each country in the region. We really support all other initiatives to document, with as much information as possible, cases of censorship of freedom of expression. It's important that censorship doesn't become the norm. It's important that we don't get used to it. Our Museum of Censorship aims to be a resource for Lebanese to know how much we're being prevented from seeing, hearing, and speaking. We encourage other similar initiatives around the world to do the same!
If the general public does get ahold of these banned books / movies / articles from outside Lebanon, are we putting ourselves at risk ?
VMC: It depends on what you mean by “at risk.” If you're looking at it from a legal perspective, according to the current laws in Lebanon, then yes — you would be at risk of legal repercussions for bringing in banned works into Lebanon. To be clear, this is not an endorsement of those laws by any means. If you individually purchase an item outside of Lebanon and bring it in your suitcase, General Security usually turns a blind eye on this.
A screenshot from the March Lebanon homepage. The Arabic reads as follows: Don't fear freedom, fear for it
VMC: This goes back to the inconsistencies in Lebanon's censorship practices. Laws are outdated and the bureaucracy is complicated. Books and other works have often been censored years after their release. This is by no means an efficient process.
VMC: Yes, many times… A book, DVD, music CD, or other form of art can be banned at one point and allowed the next. It’s important to remember that different forms of art or expression are subject to different kinds of censorship. For example, important books, movies, and CDs are subject to censorship every time they cross through customs, with no clear criteria in mind.
GV:  In your listings, sometimes the Censoring Entity field is empty. Why is that?
VMC: Because of Lebanon's archaic and convoluted censorship practices, it can be difficult at times to verify exactly which body has censored a work. On our site, we aim to be as specific as we can, but it's important to remember that this isn't a transparent process.
VMC: Yes, we do. We verify with the providers (bookstores, movie theaters, music stores, and others) to check whether a work has been partially or fully banned. We continue to update the site to provide as much specific and accurate information as possible.
VMC: Our site has become a major resource for people seeking to learn about censorship in Lebanon, including artists, writers, journalists, human rights NGOs, international embassies, and of course, Lebanese themselves. Our project has grown exponentially in the last two years, and we're proud of the work we've done. Nevertheless, the Museum is only part of the work that MARCH does. We continue to fight the battle against censorship by supporting artists who have been subject to censorship, hosting activities on university campuses, working with other NGOs on changing the law, and raising awareness in the media about Lebanon's censorship practices.
VMC: Again, this has to do with the inconsistencies of Lebanon's censorship practices. Censoring authorities often just glance at the front cover of a book to decide whether or not it will be banned. The censorship process can be very arbitrary — a book gets banned for including a certain topic, and another book on the same topic doesn't get banned.
VMC: Hate speech is not considered free expression, as it is inciting to stop the freedom of other people through the intention of harming them. This is something that is applied in Europe, for example. Hate speech is punishable by law, and we agree with that. But our censorship process is not here to protect us from hate speech. It is all about taboos (religion, politics, sex etc.) that should not be there in the first place in order to have a free open-minded and tolerant society. The only censorship that we promote, which actually does not exist yet in Lebanon, is on content for children. A rating system should be applied for that.
VMC: Actually censorship has been less active with the increased political problems. Hopefully, censorship authorities realized that there are much more important issues to focus on.
A screenshot of the VMC homepage
VMC: Because censorship in Lebanon is a continually changing and developing issue, MARCH's projects continue to develop, too. The mission of the Museum of Censorship hasn't changed, but we continue to come up with creative ways to get the most accurate information on censored works in Lebanon. It’s been difficult to compile information because of a lack of transparency and proper resources, and because works are censored one minute and uncensored the next. We do believe we are fulfilling our goals, but again, those goals keep developing according to the state of censorship in Lebanon. We are happy that people can now hold authorities accountable, which we believe has forced authorities to think twice before censoring. We are winning censorship battles, but the war for freedom of expression is a long one. We've learned many lessons along the way and are excited to continue our work for years to come!

author: Thalia Rahme


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Kissing Protest in India Ends in Police Violence and Arrests · Global Voices
Rezwan

Activists kissed in front of TV camera, and a fracas ensued with conservative participants in a TV talk show of Malayalam language channel Mathrubhumi (click to watch video)
Dozens of people were arrested at a Facebook-organized protest in the Indian state of Kerala to challenge conservative scorn of public hugging and kissing.
The “Kiss of Love” campaign, which says it was taking a stand against “moral policing” by right-wing groups, gathered hundreds of protesters on November 2, 2014 Sunday  along the shore of the city Kochi, In the Indian state of Kerala, defying a police ban. They faced off with conservative members of student wings of political parties, who prevented them from reaching their intended location. Around 50 of the protesters including the organisers were soon arrested by police, who cited intent to disrupt the peace.
A group of protesters broke away from the police cordon and kissed each other publicly. A large crowd was waiting there to see the protest.
Police dispersed the protesters violently using pepper spray and lathi (baton) charge. The Twittersphere soon erupted (many using the hashtag #KissOfLove):
The ‘kiss of love’ in #kochi turned violent as cops used lathi charge and made arrests. #kissoflove http://t.co/OyVec2ZGKL
— Shruti (@shrutidshah) November 2, 2014
Kiss of Love Protest from Kerala. Inside the police van as all protestors were arrested by the Police. pic.twitter.com/Yb9SJERbSx
— Inji Pennu (@InjiPennu) November 2, 2014
The crowd of supporters of #Kissoflove who managed to kiss pic.twitter.com/k6iFa7tZ8V
— Dhanya Rajendran (@dhanyarajendran) November 2, 2014
I'm Kerala, people are being arrested for kissing. I'm too stunned to even make a sarcastic comment about it. #KissofLove
— Gaurav Sabnis (@gauravsabnis) November 2, 2014
Public displays of affection have long been seen as vulgar in Indian societies. Even in Bollywood cinema, kissing scenes have been treated as revolutionary, although the trend is changing.
But hugging and kissing in public is still not universally accepted in India. On October 23, a Malayalam news channel owned by Indian National Congress political party carried a report with visuals of young couples kissing and embracing in several coffee shops and restaurants in north Kerala’s Kozhikode city, terming them “immoral activities.” This prompted several people, alleged to be members of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, a youth-wing affiliated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, to vandalise a coffee shop in Kozhikode. They first criticised the public display of affection by some couples there and then went on a rampage.
In response, a group of young people calling themselves “free thinkers,” launched a Facebook page for “Kiss of Love.” It has so far gathered more than 69,000 likes. It describes itself on the page (at the time of writing the report):
Moral policing is a criminal activity. Most political parties and religious organisations try to do that. A group of young bloods join their hands together to prove to the society that kiss is the symbol of love.
More than 7,000 users accepted the Facebook event invitation for the November 2 “Kiss of Love” protest at Marine Drive in Kochi. The organisers stressed that it wasn't “a kiss fest” but a gathering of people of all ages to raise awareness against moral policing.
The event received pushback before it even began. Volunteers were attacked by two men while promoting the “Kiss of Love” protest. Police also denied permission for the event, although two petitions to the high court to stop the event were rejected.
The following Tweet mentions a TV talk show recorded a few days earlier bringing the activists and the conservatives including political party members for a discussion. At one point two activists started kissing in front of camera and a heated fracas ensued between the participants.
What a joke! #KissOfLove organizers faced the ire of Yuva Morcha Jamaath. TV show was disrupted http://t.co/PnLS8TgXpd
— Radha Kapoor Sharma (@radhakaps) November 2, 2014
People supported this campaign on Twitter:
#KissofLove is not about people supporting public kiss,this is clearly a non-violent protest against the stupid moral policing activists!
— ബോബ് മുരളി (@NeutralGuy42) November 2, 2014
Whatever said and done, #KissOfLove is far better than Hartals and other forms of protests; participation and/or support is one's choice.
— dj_Crow (@StupidBeard) November 1, 2014
Doesn't matter if #KissOfLove has large turnout or not, it has already created the buzz and some awareness too, good job organizers :-)
— VenkateshThyagarajan (@myjino) November 2, 2014
All i hope is this #KissOfLove wont end as just a campaign. I hope it go further as a movement. a revolutionary movement.
— Jishnu Vediyoor (@pullipuli) November 2, 2014
However, some did not like the idea of the protest:
Will the organizers of #KissOfLove send their children/siblings for open kiss parade today?
— Abdulla Madumoole (@AMadumoole) November 2, 2014
Say no to #KissOfLove . Yardstick – whatever you are able to do with ease at home in front of parents, elders, children, etc- do in public.
— Manikant Kant (@ManikantKant) November 2, 2014
ABVP Kerala create protective wall against Love Jehadi intrusion in the name of ‘Kiss of Love’ pic.twitter.com/SZJLLsbbtK
— Jayashankar (@jaypanicker) November 2, 2014
The moral policing issue has become a problem in Kerala, especially for women who are often the targets of such efforts. Shahina KK analysed the psyche of these men who are judging others in Open magazine three years ago. The writer pegged the problem in Kerala as having to do with “a crisis of gender relations all of Kerala’s own,” pointing out that men who moral police aren't always from right-wing groups, but can span the political spectrum:
Men in Kerala appear over-concerned about what women do, how they turn up in public—with whom, how, and when. To fall in love is almost seen as a crime in the state now. Public spaces are being fumigated, so to speak, to protect society from such dangers as public displays of affection. A couple sitting together in a park or on a beach can expect to be roughed up by strangers, some of them in police uniform. Meanwhile, cases of sexual harassment, molestation and rape have reached levels never seen before.
The “Kiss of Love” campaign is reminiscent of the Pink Chaddi Campaign in Mangalore, in the neighbouring state of Karnataka, where on Valentine's Day 2009 hundreds of people sent pink underwear to the office of right-wing group Sree Ram Sena, which had harassed some women at a pub in an attempt to moral police.
It remains to be seen when the Indian culture will start accepting kissing in public.

author: Rezwan


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Childhood Play Remains Technology Free by Brazil’s ‘Old Frank’ River · Global Voices
Paula Góes

A girl and her imaginary doll in Xique-Xique, Bahia. Image by Markileide Oliveira, published with permission.
Markileide Oliveira‘s photos portray the daily life of the population of Xique-Xique, a small town located on the banks of the São Francisco River, in the backwoods of the state of Bahia – one of the most arid regions of Brazil. The “Velho Chico” (“Old Frank”), as the river is popularly known, is one of the most important rivers of the country, running through five states and providing much of the livelihood in areas that are unsuitable for agriculture.
Markileide says she is especially fond of the local children, whose universe remains untouched by technological development:
Em meio a modernidade do século XXI e o mundo virtual que abraçam as novas gerações, existe uma infância que sobrevive aos impactos das novas tecnologias. A inocência das crianças que nascem na beira do rio causa em mim um encantamento inexplicável, percebe-se que a felicidade vive no imaginário das crianças ribeirinhas, onde é possível sentir a boneca imaginária que vive nos sonhos dessa menina que posa para fotografia.
Amidst the modernity of the 21st century and the virtual world that embraces the new generations, there is a childhood that survives the impact of new technologies. The innocence of the riverbank children brings me an inexplicable enchantment; you realize that happiness lives in the imagination of local children, where you can feel the imaginary doll who lives in the dreams of this girl posing for the photo.
Just beautiful.
Away from technology, they learn to feel, to live and be a child. And to play…
With the doll, doll's house, hide and seek, using their mother's bed sheets to grab the little fish and then let it go to see it swimming and taking on the river, pretending to be washing dishes just to give tidbits to the fish…
… Our memories seem to come alive.
It's possible to relive the memories of those who spent their childhood by the riverbank.
Portrait of Childhood, “Old Frank's Riverside Community” series. Image by Markileide Oliveira, published with permission
More photos of Xique-Xique by Markileide can be seen on her Facebook page.

author: Paula Góes


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A Stretch of Asphalt Where Our Freedoms Should Be · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Steel Will: Trinidad and Tobago protestor Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh on Day 21 of his initial hunger strike in 2012. Photo by Jolynna Sinanan, used with permission.
The protests started long before 2012, when environmental activist and university lecturer Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh declared a hunger strike as a personal and public protest against the construction of a contentious section of highway between Debe and Mon Desir in the south of Trinidad. He became the face of a group called the Highway Re-Route Movement (HRM). The HRM had received assurances from the current prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and others in her party while they were still in opposition, that no road would be built through their community, and that the Oropuche Lagoon, an environmentally sensitive area, would not be affected by any potential road works.
But once Persad-Bissessar’s People's Partnership came into power in the general election of 2010, all such promises were forgotten. Construction began in earnest: backhoes destroyed the HRM's protest camp and Dr. Kublalsingh was arrested. He undertook his initial hunger strike five months later, only ending it when, on the urging of civil society groups, the government agreed to an independent assessment of the highway project.
By then, most people understood that Dr. Kublalsingh's dissent was about much more than a simple highway—it was about principle. It was about holding elected officials to account. Transparency. Good governance. About development that respected human community and the environment. It was, essentially, about progress—but not just the kind that you can easily measure. The ravages that Dr. Kublalsingh forced his body to endure for 21 days in November 2012 asked the question: “Are you, as a citizen, doing enough for your country?”
The fact that a man who had previously put himself on the line and successfully stopped the construction of two proposed aluminium smelters in south Trinidad had to resort to a hunger strike to get his government’s attention suggests that the answer is “No”. Hunger strikes are things that regularly happen in Castro's Cuba; the desperate pis aller of the powerless. Why is it that Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh has had to embark on another round of starvation to have the concerns of a significant portion of the citizenry attended to? Is this participatory democracy? When people disagree with the status quo, ignore them? Vilify them? When people ask questions, attempt to discredit them?
Supporters of the highway project say that the HRM is anti-development. In reality, the HRM is calling for the government to stand by its agreement to consider the findings of the independent Armstrong Report and re-route the Debe to Mon Desir stretch. It has even provided an alternative. There are some real achievements for our democracy here. Dr. Kublalsingh's suffering and the HRM's staunch support of him prompted positive, solutions-oriented action from civil society. Just as importantly, the government agreed to pay for the independent audit that civil society groups put forward as the solution to the impasse.
But a communication breakdown has ensued. In an unfortunate misstep, the HRM has accused the government of not tendering the project. Afra Raymond, President of the Joint Consultative Council, which helped broker the independent assessment that brought the first hunger strike to an end, thought the claim troublesome for two reasons: firstly, the highway contract was in fact tendered in 2010, and secondly, according to Raymond, the HRM’s “baseless assertions . . .  show a lack of familiarity with the contents of The Armstrong Report.”
Any meaningful discourse that the Armstrong Report occasioned has now degenerated into name-calling and vitriol from the pro-highway camp, which the Prime Minister has essentially dubbed freedom of speech so long as “they are not in breach of the law”. Apparently, the country's president did not get that memo. And apparently, there are more important priorities for a prime minister than the concerns of citizens who are represented by a dying activist.
I am weary of—and wary of—patriarchal politics. In this land of “eat a food”, I'm so fed up of the politics of public relations that I can't stomach another bite. Can we take a step back, here? Can we all just. . . hush? Because in the words of rapso group 3Canal, “everybody talking, but nobody listening,” and we're all in danger of missing the point. And if we do—if we dismiss Dr. Kublalsingh out of hand as a troublemaker, a tree-hugger, a dissident—we will not understand the importance of what he is fighting for until it is too late.
So let's stop talking and listen. What we should be focusing on, as artist Peter Minshall put it, is not whether Dr. Kublalsingh can be compared to Gandhi or whether he should have endangered his life by embarking upon a second hunger strike. At this point, the spotlight should not even be on Kublalsingh. But we're too accustomed to red herrings and robber talk, so we think this is about a stretch of asphalt, when in reality it is about our freedoms and rights as citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, whether we support the highway or not.
If the communities between Debe and Mon Desir lose their homes, their livelihoods and their sense of belonging, we lose something too. If Dr. Kublalsingh and his family recoil from the wicked words of a sect so self-assured in its mission that they cannot respectfully listen to a different point of view, our freedom to speak our own truth becomes a little more constricted. If there are attempts at reasonable compromise and the HRM is unwilling to bend, we all suffer.
I do not know Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh, but I do know this: the man has vision. He has seen the end of the road and he has put taxpayers’ money where his mouth is. So, instead of allowing ourselves to be distracted by the cacophony of tumultuous voices, let us be still and listen to Dr. Kublalsingh's message as he speaks through his laboured breath. Let us hear the groan of the bulldozers that refuse to stop long enough for everyone to regroup and gain some clarity. Let us be quiet and ruminate on the question that we have ignored for far too long: “What do we, as a country, want for ourselves?”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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#ThrowAwayYourGum, Recycling Initiative in Argentina · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

In some streets of the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, pink boxes have appeared specially for bubble gum to keep public spaces clean. The gum collected can be recycled in items such as rubber boots and sandals, among other things.
On Twitter, some users thought the initiative was a good idea, while others were skeptical:
Cada día arrojamos 650.000 chicles al suelo en CABA. Ahora tenes los bins para tirarlos ahí! #GUMPoint @BACiudadVerde
— gumpoint (@gumpoint) noviembre 1, 2014
Each day we throw away 650,000 pieces of gum on the ground in Buenos Aires. Now you have the bins to throw them in there!
Una muy buena idea #sustentable #reciclaje #BuenosAires @gcba #TiraTuChicle #TeniaQueTuitearlo pic.twitter.com/lrV1O5v9Lw
— Vir Marturet (@Vir_Marturet) octubre 31, 2014
A very good idea. #sustainable #recycling #BuenosAires #ThrowAwayYourGum #IHadToTweetIt
#Tiratuchicle y embocale ! Duraran? Lo dudo. Veremos, veremos …. pic.twitter.com/ucHy68yVnq
— Cecilia (@cepitamar) octubre 22, 2014
#Throwawayyourgum and put it in! Will they last? I doubt it. We'll see, we'll see.


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‘We Want to Live’: Thousands Endure Hunger and Thirst in Syria’s Besieged Yarmouk · Global Voices
Syria Untold

Kafranbel stands in solidarity with Yarmouk, with a banner that reads: “Yarmouk's stomachs are filled with dignity, you bastards.” Source: The We Want to Live campaign's Facebook page
This post was previously published on SyriaUntold.
As the Syrian tragedy mounts day by day, international attention increasingly focuses on the big picture of geopolitical and military clashes. Other issues go unnoticed despite their importance, such as the siege that the Palestinian camp of Yarmouk has been subject to for more than a year. The latest consequence of Yarmouk’s siege is thirst, which its inhabitants have been enduring for weeks. We Want to Live: Thirst Under Siege is the name of a grassroots campaign addressing this issue to try to bring it the attention it deserves.
The Yarmouk camp, located in the Syrian capital Damascus, was once home to 160,000 Palestinians and Syrians. Today, only 18,000 refugees still live in the besieged camp.
Launched by young Syrians and Syrian-Palestinians from inside and outside the camp, the campaign aims to raise awareness about the way the regime has been retaliating against Yarmouk. “Its inhabitants are pushed to die of starvation, thirst, and diseases,” one of the campaign’s organizers said to SyriaUntold. “The siege has been ongoing for a long time, but the situation has gotten even worse since the regime cut the water supply.”
Yarmouk has suffered partial siege since 17 December 2012, and total siege since 17 July 2013. At least 170 people have died of starvation, and more than 20,000 continue to endure the siege. The town has also suffered repeated attacks, air raids and shelling with heavy weapons on civilian buildings, schools, hospitals and mosques.
To deal with water cuts, many in Yarmouk have resorted to carrying water from wells throughout the camp to their homes. In many cases, the water was not potable and caused diseases among those drinking it.
One of the ‘We Want to Live campaign’ designs. Source: the campaign's Facebook page
The We Want to Live campaign unfolded diverse manifestations of creativity focused on Yarmouk, from leaflets and banners reflecting on the tragedy of induced thirst and starvation, to plays being performed inside the camp. Aimed at igniting solidarity with the besieged population, activists took to the Internet to share pictures and messages from Yarmouk and encourage others to partake in the campaign. Hundreds of social media users photographed themselves in solidarity with the camp and shared the pictures on Facebook and Twitter, using the hashtags #LetUsBe and #thirst_under_siege.
“We only want what we deserve: To live in dignity”, was one of the banners raised by the people of Yarmouk. The town of Kafranbel, renowned for its witty banners, reacted by sharing the following message, clearly addressed to the regime:
Yarmouk’s stomachs are filled with dignity, you bastards.
This post was previously published on SyriaUntold.

author: Syria Untold


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A Starboy is Born as Trinidad and Tobago Gets a New Work of Music-Theatre · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Promotional photo for the new indigenous music-theatre work, Jab Molassie, premiering in Trinidad and Tobago this week. Photo by Maria Nunes, courtesy the Calabash Foundation for the Arts, used with permission.
Picture this: Laventille — one of the most creative, yet most underprivileged areas of Trinidad. Jab Molassie, the Devil in disguise, tricks struggling musician Starboy, convincing him that he can realize his wildest dreams by trading his instrument for a magical book. Jab will teach Starboy how to use the book, if Starboy will teach Jab how to play the violin. The deal is made, but Starboy discovers, after too much time has passed, that he is rich but miserable. He misses his old life, but most of all, he misses his music. Left with nothing of real value, he plays against the Devil in a game of All Fours to win back his freedom. But will Starboy ever really break free from Jab Molassie?
If the plot of Trinidad and Tobago's newest indigenous piece of music-theatre sounds familiar, it may be because it's an adaptation of Igor Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale. Caitlyn Kamminga, a native of New Orleans who is currently an assistant professor of Double Bass at the University of Trinidad and Tobago's Academy for Performing Arts, wrote the libretto and collaborated with Trinidad-born, London-based composer Dominique Le Gendre to bring the concept to the stage. The Jab Molassie world premiere will take place this Thursday at The Little Carib Theatre in Port of Spain, which was founded by the legendary Trinidadian dancer Beryl McBurnie and has long been a home for the expression and development of indigenous culture. Global Voices sat down with some of the main players to find out more about the production.
Global Voices (GV): Explain what Jab Molassie is and why it is important to Trinidad and Tobago.
Dominique Le Gendre (DLG): Jab Molassie is a translation into Trinidadian culture of Stravinsky's “The Soldier's Tale”, [which] shows the universality of the original story. It is a timely cautionary tale that alerts the audience to the relaxed presence of temptation in all of its forms and the dire consequences of succumbing. It also reminds us that while we make mistakes in life, redemption requires effort if we are to hold on to the most essential part of ourselves: our integrity.
What is original about this work is the way in which it brings together characters, locations and elements of Trinidad's present with its past through the use of carnival, music design and lighting, all the while remaining a piece that is thoroughly of its time.
Natalia Dopwell and Roger Roberts playing the role of the Jab Molassies; Nickolai Salcedo as Starboy is between them. Photo by Maria Nunes, used with permission.
GV: Caitlyn, what inspired you to write the libretto? As a non-Trinidadian, how were you able to capture the spirit and culture of the place authentically?
Caitlyn Kamminga (CK): When we [Caitlyn and her husband, British trombonist Aidan Chamberlain] arrived in Trinidad in 2009, the National Academy for the Performing Arts had not yet been built. Amongst other things, we had been brought over to help create the programs for a newly-forming Academy for the Performing Arts. My colleagues and I hit the ground running, networking in the community. A big part of our ongoing research is creating a relevant concert series that opens the doors of NAPA to the public, offering a professional model to our students.
Stravinsky, at the time of writing L'Histoire, was heavily influenced by the in vogue ‘primitivism’ and African rhythms that Europeans were hearing for the first time. I really wanted to perform the work in Trinidad and Tobago, as I thought it would go down very well. It was my husband who suggested a local adaptation to make the work more accessible to Trinbagonian audiences. Once I started doing research […] I became completely immersed in the poetry of the language. I had a wonderful partner in the process, the original Corporal [a character in the play] , who was a security guard at my children's school. He was from Belmont and […] frankly, he would take the piss out of my choices of language: ‘Miss Caitlyn, they might say that in New Orleans…but a Trini would never say that!’ He was a wonderful man. Sadly, I have lost touch with him. But I am eternally grateful for his input, for the time and care that he took in helping me.
Germaine Wilson and Wendell Manwarren in the role of the Corporals. Photo by Maria Nunes, used with permission.
GV: How did Dominique get involved?
CK: Dominique and I already had a professional relationship, as she had written a piece for my group Ibis Ensemble, Fragments 1, which drew from Derek Walcott's Nobel speech. When the plan to perform the new libretto with the original score by Stravinsky fell through, I decided to approach Dominique about the possibility of commissioning new music. I loved her music and as the idea grew and formed, I realized how the creation of an entirely new work would make a much greater impact. Dom has been so delightfully creative and supportive through the process.
GV: Dominique, walk us through your composition process for Jab — what were you trying to capture through the music?
DLG: Throughout the composition I wanted to evoke the music that I grew up with: a combination of classical music, the music of and in Trinidad from the 1930s-70s, the music of Martinique and Venezuela from the same era and to use all of these sounds to capture the spirit of the characters with all of their dynamism, invention, humour, trickster-ness, compassion, envy, desire, strengths and weaknesses. The process itself was a slow one, ensuring that the music was fully expressing each character in their truth or untruth, while also maintaining an outside eye. In a way, it's difficult to explain the process of writing because once the characters and the setting are in my head, the sound appears and I simply have to follow that sound while asking myself the questions that need to be asked to ensure that what I am writing works as a coherent whole.
Some of the musicians performing in Jab Molassie. Photo by Maria Nunes, used with permission.
GV: How was the University of Trinidad and Tobago involved and why was it important to Calabash Foundation for the Arts, which helped develop the work, to have students be part of the process?
CK: My work at the UTT as an Assistant Professor in the music department and as a teaching artist requires creating constant circles from the student body out into the community and bringing the community back into the Academy for the Performing Arts. The Campus Concert Series was designed first and foremost as a professional model for our students. Both of the workshops and the premiere have been wonderful opportunities for students to work in a professional environment. Thanks to Calabash's fundraising efforts and their belief in the educational benefits of working alongside the amazing cast, the students signed professional contracts and were paid stipends in return for their commitment.
Look out for the second installment of this story, when we'll discuss the ways in which Jab Molassie has benefitted from international collaboration, the challenges of getting from idea to stage, and the future plans for the production.


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Djibouti’s Young People Look to Burkina Faso to Pave Their Own Democratic Way · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

“For a democratic nation in Djibouti”: Protests against totalitarian state in Djibouti via USN Djibouti (screen capture)
The impact of young people in Burkina Faso rallying for democracy is spreading across the African continent. A few days after deposing President Blaise Compoaré following 27 years in power, it seems that the youth of another African country are ready to say enough to another long-standing ruler, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh.
Djibouti's strongman leader has been at the helm of the country since 1999 and is holding on despite several national protests asking for a new alternative in the country. The Republic of Djibouti is a former French colony of about 850,000 citizens located between Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.
In 2010, Guelleh managed to pass constitutional reform so that he could have a third term in office. This was the exact strategy that provoked the demise of Compoaré in Burkina Faso. Guelleh has been president for 15 years, but his party has been in power for 34 years.
On November 3, the Opposition Youth Movement (Mouvement des Jeunes de l'Opposition, MJO in French) marched through the streets of Djibouti City to demand the application of transparent democratic elections in Djibouti. Here is a video of the protests:
Djiboutian blogger Houssein Ibrahim Houmed wrote the following regarding the events in Burkina Faso:
Vu de Djibouti, je peux dire avec certitude que  les sympathisants du parti politique d’Uguta-Toosa (Djibouti) soutiennent le juste combat du peuple Burkinabé. J’invite la coalition USN (Union pour le salut National) de l’opposition djiboutienne d’exprimer leur indéfectible solidarité à l’endroit de la résistance que mènent les Burkinabés contre la dictature de Blaise Compaoré.
As seen from Djibouti, I can say with certainty that the members and supporters of Uguta-Toosa (Djibouti) political party support the just struggle of the people of Burkina Faso. I invite the coalition USN (National Union for Salvation) of the Djiboutian opposition to express their unwavering solidarity with the resistance waged against the dictatorship Burkinabe Blaise Compaoré.
Guelleh's regime is well known for its disregard for democracy. In 2011, prior to the elections, the government banned all demonstrations and arbitrarily arrested peaceful protesters and opposition leaders, according to Human Rights Watch.
Yet, the ongoing struggle for more democracy in Djibouti is intricately linked to the country's relations with its larger neighbors as well as its up-and-coming economy.
Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia have each had challenges of their own to incorporate a sustainable democratic process in their politics. The emphasis on the fight against terrorism in the region has enabled the rulers of those countries to generously benefit from US aid without much of the usual democratic requirements. Moreover, the potential for a quick rising growth in the region has solidified the grip of the Guelleh on its position of power. Malik Ibrahim, an expert in the Horn of Africa region,  explained how Guelleh uses its international network to strengthen its leadership:
Americans, French, Germans, Chinese, Russians and even the Japanese have been vying for influence within the country’s government. As a result, Djibouti’s main source of income comes from the rents it charges its Western partners for the military facilities it hosts. While the exact sums are unclear, the U.S. pays some $60 million a year, while the French and the Japanese both contribute some $30 million. Most recently, the Djiboutian government signed a security and strategic defense partnership with China. Djibouti is offering China military facilities in exchange for training of their military forces
However, things can change quickly as the Burkina Faso events have shown. Blogger Houssein Ibrahim Houmed, again, offered his hopes for the country:
La disparition du régime de Guelleh sera effective, consommée et probante, que lorsque un Etat de droit sera instauré en République de Djibouti. J’ose espérer que les Etats-Unis d’Amérique, le Japon et la France favoriseront l’avènement de la démocratie et qu’ils ne cautionneront pas une prise de pouvoir par les héritiers haineux du sous clan.
The end of the Guelleh regime will be effective and consumed only when the rule of law is firmly established in the Republic of Djibouti. I hope that the United States of America, Japan and France will favor the advent of democracy here and that they will not condone an extension of the reign of this heinous clan.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Mumbai School Children Have Big Ideas About Technology and Innovation · Global Voices
Chirag Sutar

A screen grab of the video (click the photo to watch)
The author @sutarcv works as a communications co-ordinator with Atma.
Children from a local municipal school in Mumbai voice their opinions on inventions, technology, environment and money in a recent video from Atma, an education non-profit organization whose mission is to support initiatives that help underprivileged children in India.
This video gives insight into what's going on in the minds of children studying at local municipal schools, many of who face challenging circumstances like living in a bad neighborhood or having to deal with an alcoholic parent, for instance.
One girl wants to invent technology that can help a man to fly at his will. Another wants to invent a wallet in which the money never ends. As far as technology goes, it seems these children at this municipal school are enthusiastic about it. They know about messaging service WhatsApp, email and Google, but it also appears from the conversations of children that their access to Internet is limited.
Inish Merchant commented on the Atma Facebook post with the video saying:
I wish govt. schools start giving IT lessons as a part of their syllabus.
The most fascinating responses is on an hypothetical question — what would they do if they had lots of money? Some said they will save it for their parents, while others said they will donate it or help people with a disability. There are also a few who said they will build something for themselves first and then make something for others.
Prateek U Keshari,  a communications specialist with Make A Difference, a non-profit organization that works with street children and orphans, wrote:
This is beautiful! Only if more adults looked for the possibility of ideas through the eyes of a kid!

author: Chirag Sutar


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Popular Video Game Has Japanese Kids Seeing Ghosts · Global Voices
Shoko Baba

Screenshot of Yo-Kai Watch Anime, from the LEVEL 5 YouTube channel
Since its release a year ago, “Yo-Kai Watch,” a role-playing video game for Nintendo 3DS, has captured the imagination of children all over Japan. Inspired by the game, some fans have even taken to blaming the show's mischievous characters for anything bad or out of the ordinary that may happen in real life.
The game has turned into a hit anime series in Japan and seems destined to become another massive cultural export from the island country. The characters have been turning up everywhere — in online memes, on Halloween pumpkins and at McDonald's.
In Japanese culture, a yokai refers to any supernatural denizen of the spirit word, from ghosts to shape-shifting foxes. The “Yo-Kai Watch” anime is the perfect way to learn about the variety of spirits that haunt the Japanese psyche, as seen through the eyes of a young boy named Keita. According to Wikipedia:
A Yo-Kai… gives Keita a device known as the Yo-Kai Watch. Using this, Keita is able to identify and see various different Yo-Kai that are haunting people and causing mischief. Together, Keita and Whisper start making friends with all sorts of Yo-Kai, which he can summon to battle against more ill-intentioned Yo-Kai that happen to live in his town, haunting the residents and causing terrible trouble.
The anime features clever, catchy songs that themselves have become a pop-culture phenomenon themselves:
There are several reasons why “Yo-Kai Watch” has become so popular in Japan.
Level 5, the savvy game developer that created Yo-Kai Watch, has worked hard to savvily build a transmedia franchise for the game. By tying-in “Yo-Kai Watch” to a variety of media, from video games to anime and pop music, Level 5 has been able rely on multiple channels to market its product.
In September, the “Yo-Kai Watch” character trading cards made their debut as part of a McDonald's Happy Meal set, beating sales projections by 300 percent in the first five days.
マクドナルド混んでると思ったら妖怪ウォッチですかそうですか
— TM (@tkg_sub) September 6, 2014
I wondered why McDonald's was so crowded and I realized that it was because of those “Yo-Kai Watch” trading cards.
Many Twitter users have noticed the effect “Yo-Kai Watch” is having on popular culture:
なんでも妖怪のせいにする子どもが急増
— ぱちぇ@11/29 垢４周年 (@8cye) September 30, 2014
There seems to be a sudden increase in children who are blaming ghosts for anything and everything unusual that happens.
At the moment there is a meme that blames Koma-san, a character on the show, for any minor problem or inconvenience experienced in life:
あと今後ソフトクリームが一巻き足りなくても、コマさんが食べたと思えば許せる — ペンギンですけど何か (@penguin_desuga) August 26, 2014
The ice cream ran out, but I guess all is forgiven – Koma-san ate it.
Of course, Halloween occurred at the height of the boom. Jabanyan, one of the characters from the anime, has become a popular design for Halloween pumpkins:
【本日のかぼちゃカービング】妖怪ウォッチより　「ジバニャン」 pic.twitter.com/UlupkxY55D
— こだれでら (@kodaredera) September 1, 2014
Today we made a Jabanyan pumpkin carving.

author: Shoko Baba