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Cuba: Nothing Changes on May Day  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Today, Cuba marks May Day, in acknowledgement of the Cuban Revolution. It is an occasion that is strongly linked to the concept of labour empowerment, as workers from various towns march with their colleagues to Plaza de la Revolución to hear speeches – the most substantial of which have historically been delivered by the Castros – at the foot of the statue of José Martí.
There are also many cultural and musical events in honour of the occasion. National public service announcements about this year's parade state that it “will serve to demonstrate the people’s commitment to complying with the Communist Party’s economic and social reform guidelines.”
But some bloggers are wondering whether anything has really changed in Cuba, despite the fact that self-employed workers will be taking part in the march for the first time.
At Translating Cuba, Anddy Sierra Alvarez writes:
The propaganda has begun for participation on May Day, no one is forced to go, they’ve said for a lifetime, but this is not the reality. For not only are those belonging to the Cuban Communist Party forced to participate, but they are told so in the bureaucratic meetings they have every month.
The point of the march is to show the worlds that Cubans feel fine, there’s no desperation, no dissatisfaction with the government, no hunger, and that all we Cubans here who are trying to get the government to change the form of the government — or to bring it down — are painted as liars, defamers, or mercenaries supporting the interests of the government of Barack Obama.
Generation Y draws a parallel to “the last time the Plaza of the Revolution was full, crammed with people”, which happened in March, when Cubans attended a papal mass:
The television broadcasters repeated, with a strange insistence, that attending this Mass were ‘believers and non-believers.’ It was…a clarification — and not subtle in the least — that…Cubans were there because of ‘discipline,’ out of ‘respect,’ or because they are an ‘equable’ people, but not, in fact, because of faith.
I wonder whether this May Day they will also throw out such contrasting adjectives. They could, for example, say that on this Workers’ Day both ‘Revolutionaries and Non-revolutionaries’ are marching, which would not be absurd on a day that should have a labor and union tone, not a political one. Can you imagine the grave voice of the announcer affirming that in the flag-waving crowd there are both ‘employed and unemployed'? Of these, the latter would undoubtedly have to be the most energetic block, because the number of unemployed workers in 2012 has grown to 170 million throughout the Island. In front of the microphones they should make the distinction that in the mass of people facing the statue of Jose Marti are found ‘sympathizers and non-sympathizers’ with Raul’s government. Because after all, who would believe that a million individuals are all in agreement with the administration of a president?
She continues:
There will be no surprises nor nuances, but rather attempts to lump together hundreds of thousands of participants and present them as a unanimous chorus supporting the system. And May Day once again will be hijacked, like so many times before. From the podium those who salute will be precisely those who should be called out and criticized on the banners, not those who should be leading a workers‘ commemoration. The day will end without demands being made of this boss named “the State” to raise salaries, lower the cost of living, or improve working conditions. Instead, every little head seen from the Plaza’s tower will be counted as a round of applause.
Without Evasion notes that “the official press has been announcing the parade this May 1st with a newly added component to the ‘army’ of workers that will march in support of the revolution and socialism: the self-employed”:
I cannot quite understand the issue. Aren’t the self-employed a sector that represents private enterprise? Haven’t we been taught in school that private property is one of the ‘evils of capitalism,’ a source of exploitation for the proletariat? Has the Cuban system created a new species, the owner-laborer?
What concerns her most, though, is that:
…when convening ‘independents’ to this parade, the government has the intention to continue to monitor the supply of slaves, even the sector of freedmen, i.e., those who are in the first phase of buying their freedom through their economic activity, independent of the Master. Official control mechanisms deem important that those individuals who turn autonomous do not become independent or associate freely, and, at the same time, the government needs to offer the world the impression that private businessmen and manufacturers are aligned with the revolution, thus legitimizing the ‘renewal.’
Worst of all is that there is a representative sample of the self-employed who will lend themselves to the new farce. So then, the self-employed will march this May 1st under the banners of socialism, and maybe soon a ‘union of revolutionary self-employed’ will be established. This won’t, even remotely, be a march on anyone’s own account.
Bad Handwriting finds the whole thing “surreal”:
In Cuba, where workers are being subjected to ‘downsizing’, where the uncertainty about their place of employment, and the uncertainty of non-living wage are fundamental concerns, the first of May is celebrated with massive parades in all provinces. Signs abound in support of the Revolution (read Government) but there will not be a single sign demanding wage increases, the disappearance of the double currency, or transparency in the layoffs.
This country is so surreal, that the newly unionized self-employed workers, will parade in massive numbers. A group whose main concern should be the demand for non-discriminatory treatment, easing of red tape to access a work permit, extending the range of permitted activities and less severe taxes.
Finally, Through the Eye of the Needle calls this year's anniversary “an odd May Day”:
For the first time in more than fifty years self-employed workers and owners of small businesses will take part. They are already unionized.
So, will these new people be pressing for labor concessions – something prohibited under socialism – or will they simply be supporting the Revolution and the Party?
Will this be merely a display of cowardice? If they are attending this gathering out of a sense of conviction, they should be applauded. But I fear that even in the private sector a double standard is becoming evident. It is an indication that they by no means consider themselves to be free men and women. I respect the decision they have made. But what they are aspiring towards is to be treated with respect by the State itself, which not only manipulates them at whim, but also burdens them with excessive taxes, sells them wholesale supplies at already inflated retail prices without any special consideration, while unleashing on them a herd of ravenous inspectors. And, though no one will say so publicly, they are considered to be cowards by society itself. Is this the way we pretend that change is taking place in the country?
The changes will only be successful after a resurgence of civil society. But for that to happen, it is necessary to discard the heavy ballast of our induced fears and double standards. If you do not violate the country’s laws, no matter how unjust you feel they are, behave like a respectable citizen, and neither defame nor cause harm to others, then what is there to fear?


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Indonesia: The Curious Case of the Governor’s Middle Finger · Global Voices
Agung Harsya

In the heat of his run for second term as Jakarta's Governor, Fauzi Bowo sparked controversy when netizens exposed his picture giving a middle-finger salute.
The incident took place two weeks ago when the governor attended a youth event at Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. As he stood between a girl and a boy, he was seen raising his middle finger imitating the girl's gesture. Instead of earning admiration for supporting an event organized by young people, Fauzi, or more popularly known as Foke, was seen giving a bad example instead.
Jakarta Governor Foke Giving the Middle Finger Gesture. Photo from @SHANDYKIIDNAHS
As netizens expressed their shock and rage over the “indecent” behavior, Foke's spokesman said that the governor was only joking among young people who gathered for a band competition event. The governor claimed that he doesn't “understand those kinds of things”.
Many netizen can't hide their surprise:
@vankaay: baru nyadar, bapak fauzi bowo.. acungin jari tengah pas lagi rame rame sama komunitas motor. mau gaul atau gatau artinya pak?hualahh
@Ganyut: Fauzi bowo mulai berkampanye dgn mempromosikan jari tengah,..hidup jari tengah paak!,..lanjuuuutttt!!
@ariefadjar: jargon kampanye yang akan diserukan oleh Fauzi Bowo adalah “FOKE YOU!!!” sembari mengacungkan jari tengah. :)))”
Pangeran Siahaan wrote a column on the issue and tried to understand:
With his middle finger raised and the fatherly smile glued on his face, the same smile that can be seen on billboards around the capital, the governor looked cool and firm. It’s some sort of a non-verbal communication that reflects his thoughts on the people….
…What was a little bit baffling is that wasn't what the governor was thinking when he gave the gesture. His staff clarified that Fauzi wasn't aware of the figurative meaning behind the middle-finger salute and he was just imitating the band members standing next to him.
Jakarta's election will take place on July 11, but Foke has not been attending public debates with other candidates. After not showing up for a television debate, he also turned down a chance to face an open debate in University of Indonesia last week.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Agung Harsya


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Italy: Future of News at Perugia International Journalism Festival · Global Voices
Kasia Odrozek

From April 25-29, 2012, Perugia, a charming city in the Italian region of Umbria became a vibrant meeting point for media enthusiasts and journalists from all over the world, at International Journalism Festival. Speakers included Wadah Khanfar (former director of Al Jazeera), Andy Carvin (NPR), Paul Lewis and Amelia Hill (Guardian), Marco Travaglio (Il Fatto Quotidiano), Evgeny Morozov and many others whose names ring a bell for anyone interested in media (full list of speakers).
Global Voices wouldn't miss the opportunity to be present as well, especially as this year's focus was participation and citizen journalism – arguably, the future of the news.
#ijf12 became a trending topic on Twitter. Picture: official logo.
With panel discussions, keynote speeches, workshops, networking and interviews taking place everywhere, the fast-paced atmosphere of the festival could sweep you away, especially in the heat of Italian weather. People bearing the Festival's red badges saying ‘volunteer‘, ‘speaker’ or ‘staff’ took over this beautiful city and turned it into a melting pot of visionary ideas.
But enough about the pleasant circumstances. What were they talking about and why was it so important?
Open journalism is the future
Participation and collaboration in journalism stole the show; the most attended sessions touched on sourcing citizen reporters, working with readers to fact-check and even bringing them into the heart of the editorial process. Here are some examples of the discussions:
The panels about the future of news focused on community participation and ways to engage the public in journalistic processes. Mark Johnson, community editor at The Economist, stressed the importance that reaching out to social media and engaging journalists in dialogue with readers.
A young Costa Rican journalist interviews her Ugandan colleague Kevin Doris Ejon – the first journalist to interview Joseph Kony. Photo: Kasia Odrozek
Wadah Khanfar of Al Jazeera proposed a vision for integral media in his keynote, which was livetweeted on his Twitter account, according to which journalists will actually no longer be producing the news. According to Khanfar, the news will be made through social networks and by smart bloggers, and the role of journalists will be to filter and sort out the relevant ones in order to steer the public discussion.
In addition, he stressed on Twitter:
@khanfarw: Corporations that owned the story are now challenged by those on the ground that are producing quality and accurate reports. #IJF12
In his keynote, Andy Carvin, who as he claimed, could be rather described as an information DJ [Disc Jockey] than a reporter, talked about the importance of experimenting to find new ways of doing journalism and presented his approach of reporting the Arab Spring via Twitter.
Andy Carvin's talk about tweeting the Arab Spring. Picture: Kasia Odrozek
On another panel Paul Lewis talked about the innovative culture of the Guardian and its move towards “open news”, which is more than collaboration. It is bringing readers into the newsroom and involving them in the future direction of the newspaper.
Bringing technology and data journalism into the newsroom were also key themes at the Festival, with a series of workshops on data journalism hosted by the Open Knowledge Foundation.
(Rising Voices grantee Friends of Januária from Brazil was recently featured in the new Data Journalism Handbook by the Open Knowledge Foundation and the European Journalism Centre.)
Stefano Rodotà, Emeritus Professor of law, while talking about the intersection of media, democracy, power and knowledge in his keynote speech, stated that denying someone Internet access because of downloading copyrighted material should be considered a violation of human rights.
Global Voices takes the stage
Besides a strong presence of Global Voices members, mainly from Global Voices in Italian, the Italian Editor, Bernardo Parrella, and Co-Founder of Voci Globali, Antonella Sinopoli, hosted and participated in several panel discussions. (Here is a self-produced Flickr photostream).
While debating the importance of digital and social publishing and “aggregating the news aggregation” the guests mentioned several books published by independent publishing house Quinta di Copertina in collaboration with Global Voices in Italian, ‘70 chilometri dall'Italia: la rivolta del gelsomino‘, as well as Sinopoli's book ‘White Arrogance‘.
GV at IJF12: Bernardo Parrella and Antonella Sinopoli in the panel about open journalism. Photo: Kasia Odrozek
At the panel on news reporting and social media curation, representatives of BBC, France24 and NPR debated with Bernardo Parrella about the role of citizens in the making of the news and the verification problem. The BBC insisted that traditional media, obliged by the trust put on them, provide verified news and a “whole truth” to the audience that citizen media aren't really able to. Parrella drew attention to the importance of experimenting and opening up of the mainstream media to the public.
There were many other highly interesting conversations taking place and you can find videos, press releases and articles covering almost all the events at the Festival's website.
Furthermore, consider passing by next year, as it seems the festival gets better with every edition according to Evgeny Morozov who tweeted:
@evgenymorozov: Had a very good time @journalismfest in Perugia this week – it gets better every year (and I thought last year it was impossible!)
Paul Lewis seemed to sum it all up in his tweet:
@PaulLewis: Is Perugia's #ijf12 the most enjoyable conference for journalists in the world? #ijf2012
Definitely!

author: Kasia Odrozek


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Jamaica: Housing Agency on Weak Foundation  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaica Woman Tongue says that if policy makers at the Housing Agency of Jamaica went to Sunday school, “they weren’t there the week the other children were learning…about wise and foolish builders”, adding that the organisation's “reckless policy of converting protected lands into house spots is a classic example of building on sand.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Malawi: Bloggers’ Reactions to New President Joyce Banda · Global Voices
Victor Kaonga

When Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika died on 5 April, 2012, the then Vice-President Joyce Banda took over as the country's leader in line with the constitution. But the events before and immediately after Bingu's death would not lead to an easy transition.
She was sworn in on Saturday 7 April, as Malawi's Head of State and Government, becoming first female president in the country and the SADCC region. Bloggers have generally received the transition with a lot of excitement.
In a detailed post titled ‘Joyce Banda I know and trust‘, journalist Kondwani Munthali chronicles his own admiration of Joyce Banda. Having known her from his youth, he states:
Joyce Banda speaking at the DFID conference in 2010. Photo shared on Flickr by DFID under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
The Joyce Banda I have come to know and respect, is the mother who speaks on empowering the poor from her heart. She does not read the script nor pretend she knows, she asks questions at every stage of her statement: ‘sichoncho’.
The Joyce Banda who inspires me was the one who removed all the trappings of the Vice Presidency and went to sit down on a mat in Ndirande to condole a family of the victim of Police brutality.
The JB I know that well is the one who kept telling the people empowerment is possible even at grassroot sharing of livestock such as goats, cattle, small processing plants and mechanisation of farming.
The Joyce Banda I know is the one that could go and hug an old woman anywhere and feel confortable.
My favourate quotes of President Joyce Banda remain when she spoke after attacks on women in Lilongwe and someone tried to misintepret. She said it was a sympton of the larger problem among te youth.
When she walked almost a kilometre to see Atupele Muluzi, I asked her why she decided to walk, she said, “It is a necessary evil that we can be free.”
Richard Chirombo says that Malawians should expect more from Malawi's ‘accidental’ President:
Malawi's ‘accidental’ President, Joyce Banda, has set her feet to the peddle. Her first task, as it were, was to sack flamboyant Information and Civic Education Minister, Patricia Kaliati. For a woman who prides herself in gender emancipation, Banda set in motion the opposite instinct in her mantle. Malawians should expect more.
However, Gregory Gondwe takes a very different approach. After identifying key issues needing her attention such as foreign exchange, maternal health, media freedom, nepotism, propaganda and fuel, he makes a stinging attack on the president:
This blogger understands that during her meeting with civil society organizations on Monday, President Joyce Banda alluded to the fact that hosting of the summit will depend on the AU secretariat’s assurance to source money for Malawi to host the indaba which will cost more than one billion Kwacha.
According to the president, the country could not have hosted the 53 member countries’ indaba had it been that there were no assurances from Addis Ababa and other African leaders to provide financial support.
Madame Banda, then ceremonial vice president, vehemently opposed to hosting the AU summit amidst the economic crisis the country is going through.
One final reaction comes from Ndagha who says Joyce Banda has started well but should ensure that she respects all sectors of society:
So far JB has started well and she has to keep it up. A president cannot afford to hate the media, civil society, the church, the judiciary, the electorate and academia in Malawi and expect that things will run as usual.
Yes God keep it a land of peace. God loves this country. No one should take it for granted.

author: Victor Kaonga


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May Day Marked Around the Arab World · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

May Day, or Labour Day, or International Workers’ Day is recognised as a public holiday in many Arab countries, and demonstrations and rallies are held by unions and political parties to pay tribute to the role of workers and to call for workers’ rights.
The National Transitional Council of Libya has declared [ar] International Workers’ Day to be a national public holiday starting this year. Hamid tweeted from Tripoli:
@2011feb17: #Libya's first #MayDay (Worker's Day) holiday since 42 years ago! HAPPY HOLIDAY EVERYONE Yup #Libya has changed ;)
Demonstration on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, Tunis. Image by Amine Ghrabi on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).
Bahraini activist Maryam Alkhawaja remembered the migrant workers of the Gulf:
@MARYAMALKHAWAJA: On labor day we pay tribute to all the migrant workers who r treated like modern day slaves in #gulf countries
Demonstration in Barbar, Bahrain. Image by Twitter user @bahrainiac14.
Demonstrations were held all over Bahrain demanding the reinstatement of the hundreds of workers who were fired last year for taking part in protests. Many of the demonstrations were attacked by riot police with tear gas. Journalist Mazen Mahdi reported from Manama's souq (market):
@MazenMahdi: Despite tear-gasing #Manama souq labor day protest still on-going #Bahrain
Demonstration in Khouribga, Morocco. Image by Twitter user @__Hisham.
Imad Bazzi tweeted about the hacking of the Lebanese Ministry of Labour's website:
@TrellaLB: special delivery for the Ministry of Labor in #Lebanon on Labor day, a total makeover :D loooool http://www.labor.gov.lb/ thanks to #RYV
The website was changed to say the following:
We are RYV, short for Raise Your Voice, and we are simply a group of people who could not bare sitting in silence, watching all the crimes and injustice going on in Lebanon. We will not be silenced and brainwashed by your media. We will not stop until the Lebanese people mobilize, demand their rights, and earn them. We will not stop until the standards of living are raised to where they should be in Lebanon. We will not stop until this government's self-made problems are solved, like the power shortage, water shortage, rise in gas prices and rise in food product prices. We are RYV, expect us to break the silence, whether in the streets or on the Internet.
Silence is a crime
Demonstration in Cairo. Image by Hossam el-Hamalawy on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Mexico: Bike Ride Protest Clashes With Local Government  · Global Voices
Miguel Angel Guevara

On April 28, 2012, a group of cyclists, among them a civic organisation named Bicitekas [es], organised a bike ride which would depart from the emblematic ‘Angel of Independence’ in the heart of Mexico City, heading towards the so-called ‘Supervía Poniente‘ (Poniente Super-road) [es] in protest at the construction of the latter.
At some point along the way, local police detained a group of six cyclists, according to Mónica Tapia A. [es] (@monicatapiaa):
¿Están siguiendo #fleshandconcrete ? Detuvieron y golpearon a 6 ciclistas @BernardoPadron@Karkarkarrr por subir a #2dopiso #supervia
The ‘Supervía Poniente’ is a project led by the left-wing government of Marcelo Ebrard [es], leader of the Federal District Government. The road aim is to link the south of the city with the area of transnational corporations located to the west of the city in a district known as Santa Fé.
Image of the dispute with the local police. Taken by @alconsumidor
Santa Fé has witnessed a rapid growth in its floating population, and it is for this reason that it has become a real ordeal for those who work there to drive to work everyday due to high levels of traffic. The ‘Supervía Poniente’ aims to be a solution to this problem, but it has attracted criticism from activists who argue that the works will have a serious environmental impact.
The bike ride which took place on Saturday, April 28, was just one of the protests against the construction of the road which have been carried out.
However, according to statements from witnesses which have been posted on Twitter, the police were seen clashing with cyclists. Jorge A. G. Matalí [es] (@elMatali) reported:
Se tratan de llevar a uno para intimidarnos a todos#fleshandconcrete http://instagr.am/p/J-u0DrPz5I/
The organisation Bicitekas [es] (@Bicitekas) wrote:
Nuestra rodada es pacífica, ejercemos nuestro derecho a circular. #FleshAndConcrete #CarneyConcreto #Bici
According to Daniel Gershenson [es] (@alconsumidor), the police made threats:
Después de la melée (donde un policía incluso amenazó con “llamar a granaderos”), prosigue Rodada #FleshandConcrete hacia L Cabrera [Avenida al sur de la ciudad de México]
Jordy M.Y. [es](@jordy_my) reported being taken to an office of the Public Ministry:
Después de un altercado que terminó en agresión de la policía de tránsito, estamos en la agencia 45 de Álvaro Obregón. #fleshandconcrete
Image of the construction of the Supervía, María Teresa Adalid (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
This fact angered some Twitter users, who question the coherence of a government which “promotes” the use of bicycles, as Juan Pueblo [es] (@ElcondeGiovanni) points out:
Congruencia y sentido común,se estimula uso de bicicleta en DF,pero no es correcto pedalear en vías rápidas y 2dos pisos #FleshandConcrete
For Kar (@Karkarkarrr) the police actions are negative:
Tanta represión por parte del gobierno de @m_ebrard es asquerosa e injusta. ¿Qué daño causamos? ¿Por qué detenernos? #fleshandconcrete
The capital's government has not yet made a statement on the issue, and its head of government Marcelo Ebrard [es] (@m_ebrard) seems unworried when he tweets:
Las quinceañeras 2012 en el Auditorio Nacional , son 347
These events will continue to provoke discussion, especially considering that the campaign for leadership of the capital's government was due to be launched just a few hours after the clash.

author: Miguel Angel Guevara


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Mongolia: Ex-president arrested for corruption · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Bilguun reports that the Mongolia's former president N.Enkhbayar was arrested on charges of “misappropriation or embezzlement of property” after a long stand-off between the police and his guard. Many pointed to the use of excessive force by the police during the arrest, so Bilguun also lists some questions about the operation.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Mongolia: German beavers to restore ecosystem · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

14 Eurasian beavers – known as  as ecosystem engineers – arrived in Ulaanbaatar from Bavaria, Germany, to build dams that shall bring about positive effects on the ecology of Tuul river in Mongolia, Bilguun reports.


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Singapore: Netizens Reject Proposed Code of Conduct · Global Voices
Kirsten Han

As a country with a high level of Internet penetration, a vibrant online community has sprung up in Singapore over the past few years. Blogs such as The Online Citizen, publichouse.sg and Temasek Review Emeritus have sprung up to counter traditional mainstream media outlets such as The Straits Times and Channel NewsAsia.
After the General Election of 2011 – the first elections in which blogs and social media made a huge impact – the government is now proposing an Internet Code of Conduct to combat issues of anonymity, false rumours and even extremism and terrorism. Government ministers are calling on prominent members of the online community to come forward and create a code of conduct to regulate the Internet.
Most socio-political bloggers, however, have come out against this proposal, asking that the government leave the Internet alone. Many feel that the government's constant harping on this issue betrays a desire to control Singaporeans’ freedom of expression online just as they do offline.
Ng E-Jay is unconvinced of the logic or feasibility of a Code of Conduct:
How is anyone going to enforce such a code of conduct given the free-wheeling nature of the internet that knows no geographical boundaries? How is any organization supposed to develop a code of conduct that will reflect the overall sentiment of netizens without incurring vast skepticism pertaining to their political neutrality or lack thereof?
And what is the purpose of it all, when there are already adequate laws in place to deal with destructive behaviour like incitement to violence, sedition, sowing racial hatred, defamation, or spreading malicious rumours?
Siew Kum Hong writes that those who want to make their views heard online should also be ready and willing to stand up against any potential onslaught, just like those who have spoken out against the establishment in the past:
Yes, I fundamentally believe that it is better to have more voices speaking up than less. But people have to be willing to stand up for their views — and I have to question the commitment of anyone who thinks that being flamed and criticised is too high a price to pay, and that growing the thick skin that is really just the ante for online participation today is too difficult for them.
Those of us who have stood up and spoken up on views deemed anti-establishment and anti-Government bear our own risks in doing so. Defamation lawsuits, sniping and flaming, cyber-harassment, invasion of privacy, police complaints, possible threats to employment prospects, and yes the Internal Security Act — these threats and risks all come with the territory.
An online code of conduct will do nothing to protect us from those risks. And yet we continue to do what we do. I cannot speak for others, but I have very limited sympathy for those with such thin skins that they shy away from speaking up just because of the risk that they may be flamed. Compared to what some have experienced and undergone, that almost sounds trivial.
Andrew Loh asks the government to leave the online community alone, explaining that there is a lack of trust between the bloggers and the government:
It is woeful that, after 5 decades of this so-called “nation building” mainstream media, Singaporeans feel more disenchanted with it than ever. It can laud itself with all the (in-house) awards it wants, or even win international awards for design and paper quality, the truth is that our mainstream media lacks the kind of top quality journalism a first world country like ours desperately needs.
…
Yet, Yaacob Ibrahim, like ministers before him, continues to bury his head in the sand and praises the mainstream media to the high heavens.
It just tells me, and everyone else, how woefully inadequate his understanding of public sentiments is.
It is this which makes me reject any intrusion into the online space by the government, no matter how well-intentioned its purpose may be. There is a great distrust of the government among online practitioners.
Elaine Ee believes that the Code of Conduct will not be a solution. Instead, the government should free up the mainstream media:
What we need instead is a new journalistic environment, where the mainstream media are as free to tackle issues and make opinions as new media. Mainstream media needs to be allowed to move with the times, and be released from its public relations role of helping with “nation building” and social cohesion, which should never have been its job in the first place. Even if Mica stubbornly clings to this top-down media model it doesn’t mean readers will, and unless the mainstream media is opened up, new media will always have the edge.
This means both allowing existing mainstream media to cover things more openly and critically as well as allowing more mainstream media channels to emerge that represent different points of view. So we end up with a media landscape where there is space for, say, a range of newspapers that represent a spectrum of views, from conservative to liberal.
It does not seem as if the government is going to give up on its idea of establishing a Code of Conduct despite such resistance from the online community. But if they want it to be a project willingly undertaken by the online community, it seems like they have much more convincing to do.

author: Kirsten Han


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Turkmenistan: Facebook Group Satirizes Politics · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

The Turkmen-language Facebook page “JaPBaKLaR”, originally intended as a forum to share popular Turkmen cartoons, has emerged as the biggest Turkmen Facebook community. More importantly, it’s exhibiting some behaviors that seem surprisingly civic. NewEurasia’s Annasoltan reports.


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Uzbekistan: Independent modern art theatre awarded for culture · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Tomyris reports that Uzbekistan’s Ilkhom Theatre (“Inspiration” in Uzbek) was given the 2011 Prince Claus Award, from the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development, for its cultural achievements. The Theatre is Uzbekistan’s only independent theatre, and today it also functions as a school of dramatic art.


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Africa: Calls for Transparency Over Marked Increase in Land Deals  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

An international coalition of researchers and NGOs have released the world's largest public database of international land deals, reports the Global Development blog of The Guardian's (UK). This marks an important milestone in highlighting a developmental issue that has received little attention in the international news cycle.
The report states that almost 5% of Africa's agricultural land has been bought or leased by investors since 2000, and emphasizes the fact that this is not a new issue, yet points out that the number of such land deals has increased tremendously in the past five years.
Many observers are increasingly worried that these land deals usually take place in the world's poorest countries and that they impact its most vulnerable population, the farmers. The benefits seldom go to the general population, partially because of a lack of transparency in the proceedings of the transactions.
An additional report by Global Witness, entitled Dealing with Disclosure, emphasizes the dire need for transparency in the making of land deals.
World's poorest nations targeted
The Global Witness report lists that 754 land deals have been identified, involving the majority of African countries for about 56.2 million hectares.
Target countries of land deals from the Land Matrix Project
The nations targeted are usually some of the poorest in the world. The countries with the most deals in place are Mozambique (92 deals), Ethiopia (83), Tanzania (58) and Madagascar (39). Some of those deals have made headlines because they were conducted to ensure control over food imports, when the targeted regions faced major food crises.
The NGO GRAIN has already explained in detail the gist of their concerns in an extensive report released in 2008:
Today’s food and financial crises have, in tandem, triggered a new global land grab. On the one hand, “food insecure” governments that rely on imports to feed their people are snatching up vast areas of farmland abroad for their own offshore food production. On the other hand, food corporations and private investors, hungry for profits in the midst of the deepening financial crisis, see investment in foreign farmland as an important new source of revenue. As a result, fertile agricultural land is becoming increasingly privatised and concentrated. If left unchecked, this global land grab could spell the end of small-scale farming, and rural livelihoods, in numerous places around the world.
In Malawi, land deals have grown increasingly prevalent to the detriment of the local farmers. A report from Bangula explains the challenges faced by Malawian farmers, Dorothy Dyton and her family:
Like most smallholder farmers in Malawi, they did not have a title deed for the land Dyton was born on, and in 2009 she and about 2,000 other subsistence farmers from the area were informed by their local chief that the land had been sold and they could no longer cultivate there. […] Since that time, said Dyton, “life has been very hard on us.” With a game reserve on one side of the community and the Shire river and Mozambique border on the other, there is no other available land for them to farm and the family now ekes out a living selling firewood they gather from the nearby forest.
Land construction in Madagascar. Photo by Foko Madagascar, used with the author's authorization
Farmers in Madagascar share similar concerns because they do not own the rights to the land they farm and an effective land reform is yet to be implemented. The Malagasy association Terres Malgaches has been at the forefront of land protection for the local population. They report that [fr]:
Les familles malgaches ne possèdent pas de document foncier pour sécuriser leurs terres contre les accaparements de toutes sortes. En effet, depuis la colonisation, l’obtention de titres fonciers auprès de l’un des 33 services des domaines d’un pays de 589 000 km2 nécessite 24 étapes, 6 ans en moyenne et jusqu’à 500 dollars US. (..) .  Face aux convoitises et accaparements dont les terres malgaches font l’objet actuellement, seule la possession d’un titre ou d’un certificat foncier, seuls documents juridiques reconnus, permet d’entreprendre des actions en justice en cas de conflit.
The association also reports on the practices of a mining company Sheritt, in Ambatovy, which have created a buzz in the local blogosphere because of environmental concerns for the local population and business malpractices (via MiningWatch Canada):
Sherritt International’s Ambatovy project in eastern Madagascar – costing $5.5 billion to build and scheduled to begin full production this month – will comprise a number of open pit mines (..) it will close in 29 years. There are already many concerns about the mine from the thousands of local people near the facilities. They say that their fields are destroyed ; the water is dirty ; the fish in the river are dead and there have been landslides near their village. During testing of the new plant, there have been at least four separate leaks of sulphur dioxide from the hydro-metallurgical facility which villagers say have killed at least two adults and two babies and sickened at least 50 more people. In January, laid-off construction workers from Ambatovy began a wildcat strike, arguing that the jobs they were promised when construction ended have not materialized. The people in nearby cities like Moramanga say that their daughters are increasingly engaged in prostitution.
Video of a worker's testimony in Ambatovy.
Solutions for the local population?
The plight of Madagascar's farmers’ plight may be slowly changing though. Land reform discussions are in progress, according to this report:
According to a paper presented at the 2011 International Conference on Global Land Grabbing, about 50 agribusiness projects were announced between 2005 and 2010, about 30 of which are still active, covering a total land area of about 150,000 ha. Projects include plantations to produce sugar cane, cassava and jatropha-based biofuel.
To prevent the negative impacts of land grabbing, (The NGO) EFA has set up social models for investors, with funding from the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The goal is to help investors negotiate with the people in the area where they want to implement projects, as a way to prevent future problems.
Joachim Von Braun, formerly  of the International Food Policy Insitute (IFPRI), wrote the following regarding land deals:
It is in the long-run interest of investors, host governments, and the local people involved to ensure that these arrangements are properly negotiated, practices are sustainable, and benefits are shared. Because of the transnational nature of such arrangements, no single institutional mechanism will ensure this outcome. Rather, a combination of international law, government policies, and the involvement of civil society, the media, and local communities is needed to minimize the threats and realize the benefits.
The need for transparency in land deals is further emphasized by  Megan MacInnes, Senior Land Campaigner at Global Witness:
Far too many people are being kept in the dark about massive land deals that could destroy their homes and livelihoods. That this needs to change is well understood, but how to change it is not. For the first time, this report (Dealing with Disclosure)  sets out in detail what tools governments, companies and citizens can harness to remove the shroud of secrecy that surrounds land acquisition. It takes lessons from efforts to improve transparency in other sectors and looks at what is likely to work for land. Companies should have to prove they are doing no harm, rather than communities with little information or power having to prove that a land deal is negatively affecting them.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Armenia: Backhanded Victory for Environmental Activists · Global Voices
Liana Aghajanian

After almost three months of continuous protests and sit-ins staged by activists in a battle to save Mashtots Park, the Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan, ordered the removal of structures already constructed on the basis that they weren't aesthetically appealing, a reason that wasn't on the agenda of those fighting against illegal construction in one of Yerevan's last remaining green spaces.
In addition to their demands to preserve the park for health and environmental reasons, protesters objected to the 'boutique’ kiosks because no public hearings were held on the matter and no environmental impact assessment was conducted on the area, both of which are required by law. Voice of the Nightingale voiced its concerns [AM] with the government's disregard for rule of law.
Պարզվեց, որ նախագահն օրենքի մասին պատրաստ է մոռանալ, երբ խնդրի օբյեկտն է դառնում… էսթետիկան: Նախագահը տեղում հայտարարեց, որ շինարարության առումով ամեն ինչ ճիշտ է, քաղաքապետն ամեն ինչ լավ է արել, բայց կրպակներն աչք չեն շոյում, ու լավ չի լինի, եթե երկու-երեք տարի աչք մազոլեն:
Protestors, Mashtots Park, Yerevan, Armenia © Hetq Online
The decision came just a few days after police used force against protesters, injuring a few and arresting others. Save Mashtots Park, a tumblr setup in support of the movement, named those detained while Civilnet, the news and analysis site of Yerevan-based think tank and development agency Civilitas Foundation captured footage of the scuffle.
The activists detained were later released and congratulatory messages left on the Facebook group of civic NGO Մե՛նք ենք այս քաղաքի տերը (This City Belongs to Us), who were instrumental in initiating the movement, highlighted frustration at how the Armenian president handled the situation. Group member Lena Nazaryan writes:
Սերժ Սարգսյանը ոչ մի կերպ չի անդրադարձելՀՀ քաղաքացիների իրավունքներին և ժողովրդի գերակա շահերի պաշտպանությանը, որոնք ըստ ՀՀ Սահմանադրության Հայաստանի Հանրապետության ինքնիշխանության հիմքն են և պետական պաշտոնյաների (նախագահ, քաղաքապետ և այլն) լեգիտիմության աղբյուրը:
During his visit to Mashtots Park, Sargysan was also accompanied by Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan, who didn't meet with protesters despite repeated pleas. Some, like Anahit Markosian, called for his resignation on the Armenian Environmental Network Facebook group page:
I think the latest events at Mashtots park call for mayor Margarian's resignation. Not only has he shown his unwillingness and inability to solve the problem, but he also created a situation where the citizens and police are constantly being pitched against each other, thus putting both sides in the harms way. Such irresponsible and destructive behavior on behalf of the Mayor should not be tolerated.
Although the kiosks were ordered to be dismantled for all the reasons activists were not voicing, the longevity of the movement has been seen as a sort of awakening of Armenian civil society which has otherwise remained rather apathetic since the collapse of the Soviet Union some 20 years ago.
The Armenian Observer blog comments.
[…] the activists forced the country’s top official to carry out their demand and this is a remarkable achievement of civil activism in Armenia. These guys showed they’re real fighters, who stood there under snow and rain, fought back police and provocateurs and won their cause!
Writing on his organization's blog when the movement started in February, Kirk Wallace, Armenia Office Program Director at the Armenian Environmental Network, has also seen a change.
Mashtots Park is already a victory for justice and the rule of law.  Young people have sparked a renewed interest in social consciousness and have provided the first real glimmers of hope in decades.
While welcoming the development, however, some such as Unzipped noted the timing of the move, coming as it did just days before Armenia's crucial parliamentary election. “Ha! Reports: #Armenia president visited the site, hijacked #OccupyMashtotsPark & ordered dismantlement of kiosks.How sweet #armelection #PR,” the blogger commented on Twitter.

author: Liana Aghajanian


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Cuba: Bloggers Offended by Archbishop’s Statements  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As if the Archbishop of Havana hadn't sufficiently ruffled bloggers’ feathers over the recent papal visit to Cuba – specifically his request to have protesters removed from a church and his lack of cooperation in facilitating a meeting between the pontiff and dissident groups – in a recent address at a Harvard University conference, Cardinal Ortega referred to those church protesters as criminals, once again raising the ire of Cuban netizens.
babalu called the comments “derisive” and “nothing less than reprehensible”:
This latest sin against God and His flock is only another example of what a truly despicable man Ortega is. Fortunately, the Good Lord has provided the objects of Ortega's sinful ridicule and scorn the opportunity to respond.
The blog then linked to a mainstream media article in which some of the protesters were interviewed and denied that they had criminal records.  In a subsequent post, the blog got hold of a petition for Cardinal Ortega's retirement and encouraged readers to sign:
According to the rules established by Pope John Paul II, all bishops are required to retire when they reach the age of 75. Cardinal Ortega was born in October 1936. This means he is overdue for forced retirement, yet, he clings to his post, and the Holy Father allows him to do so.
Finally, at Translating Cuba, Wendy Iriepa and Ignacio Estrada confessed that they had “no words to describe the recent statements made by his Eminence Cardinal and Archbishop of Havana Jaime Lucas Ortega Alamino during his stay last week in the United States of America”:
Despite the fact that he has spoken in a deliberate tone, the language used by the Cuban cardinal places at disadvantage the credibility of the good function of the Catholic hierarchy in the island. He has repeated in his discourse the same phrases used by the ruling class.
All of us who follow the evolution of the Catholic Church in Cuba, have denounced on many  occasions the so badly called relationship between Church and State, and the complicity of the Church with the silence of the true existing situation in the island related to the lack of a state of rights and also the lack of places for free religious worship.
They went on to say that the Cardinal's speech “was similar to one of the many speeches dictated by the office of the Department of Ideology of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba”:
Today’s comment does not attempt to criticize the role of the Church in Cuba, but it tries to put in its right place he who uses the Catholic Church for his own benefit and in defense of those who are sinking the nation into an increasing poverty.
We would have to ask such a Cuban Cardinal, “How could he have access to the police records of each person who occupied the Caridad Church in Havana?” We would also ask, “How could he obtain the information that such acts of civil disobedience were organized from Miami?” I understand this time, like many other times, that the Cardinal spoke more than he should, and now he has to withstand all the critics coming from different latitudes.
I never imagined to hear, from the lips of the highest pastor of the Cuban Church, so much malice for those who try to promote full respect to the basic freedom of each man. To call those who serve unfair sentences under the most terrible conditions not described by people like him “common delinquents,” at some international meeting, makes him an accomplice of a corrupt and inert government.


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Egypt: Eyewitness Account of Abbassiya Clashes · Global Voices
Mohamed ElGohary

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Elections 2011/12.
Eleven people were killed and more than 160 injured near Egypt's Ministry of Defence (MOD) on May 2, 2012, after protesters demanding an end to military rule were attacked by armed men. The protestors had been conducting a sit-in over a period of days outside the MOD in the Abbassiya area of Cairo, and included many supporters of Salafi politician Hazem Salah Abu Ismail who were protesting his exclusion from the forthcoming presidential elections.
The following is an eye-witness account [ar] by blogger Bassem Zakaria El-Samragy, who was at the sit-in. Bassem writes:
Clashes between thugs and protesters, by Abbassiya metro station. Image by Twitter user @adamakary.
Wounded and bloodied being carried away from Abbassiya. Image by Twitter user @sharifkouddous.
This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Elections 2011/12.

author: Mohamed ElGohary


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Ethiopia: Netizens Thrilled with PEN Award for Dissident Blogger and Journalist · Global Voices
Endalkachew Chala

Jailed Ethiopian dissident blogger and journalist Eskinder Nega is the winner of Pen America's PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award for his endeavor for freedom of expression in an extremely inhospitable media landscape. Eskinder Nega is currently facing the death penalty.
Upon collecting his prize on his behalf, Serkalem Fasil, his wife who is also a once jailed journalist, highlighted the worsening situation of Ethiopia’s free press. She said:
I accept this award on behalf of Eskinder Nega at a time when freedom of expression and press freedom are at the lowest in Ethiopia. If Eskinder were standing here, he'd accept this award, not just as a personal honor, but on behalf of all Ethiopian journalists who toil under withering conditions today: Those who went into exile over the years… those in prison with whom he now resides.
Ethiopian blogger and journalist Eskinder Nega. Photo courtesy of FreeEskinderNega.com
Ethiopian bloggers and netizens on social networking sites congratulated all Ethiopian journalists and bloggers immediately after the news appeared on the BBC and other sites. They also used the opportunity to draw attention to the deteriorating situationof media landscape in Ethiopia.
Addis Ababa based blogger Abel Wabellaa wrote:
Super excited!!! because (https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-am-Eskinder-Nega/236369699747226) I am Eskinder Nega aren't we Zelalem , BefeQadu and Jomanex ?
Another blogger residing in Addis Ababa shared an article written by Al Mariam Zelalem on his wall:
Eskinder is a hero of a special kind. He is a hero who fights with nothing more than ideas and the truth. He slays falsehoods with the sword of truth. He chases bad ideas with good ones. Armed only with a pen, Eskinder fights despair with hope; fear with courage; anger with reason; arrogance with humility; ignorance with knowledge; intolerance with forbearance; oppression with perseverance; doubt with trust and cruelty with compassion. Above all, Eskinder speaks truth to power and to those who abuse, misuse, overuse and are corrupted by power.
Yes, that is why We Are All Eskinder Nega
Endalk explained why Eskinder Nega deserved the “Freedom to Write” award and reflected on Ethiopia’s media:
In fact Eskinder is not the only gem of tattered Ethiopian modern day journalism, my favorite stalwarts of Addis Neger journalists, Dawit Kebede, Wubeshet Taye and of course Reyot Alemu are all creditable for their daring attempt in becoming alternative voices in Ethiopian media landscape. But Eskinder is a highly remarkable emblem for freedom of expression. In a time when many journalists not succeeded in enduring horrendous pressures from a range of interest groups, both financially and politically, Eskinder was something of a matchless: a well-behaved and top end professional who did not succumb to either exile and or silence.
Mesfin Negash, an exiled journalist who has also been charged with terrorism in absentia, wrote:
Eskinder Nega is increasingly becoming the human face of the repression in Ethiopia as it was Birtukan Mideksa before her release. The first name you'll hear in any discussion about Ethiopia is ESKINDER be it among donors or diplomats or right advocates. That is a constant reminder to MZ!
However, Berihun Mekonnen disagreed with Mesfin's observations:
I have every respect and appreciation for all you have done (and in fact you are still doing) concerning journalism and how to reason critically, but I think you have a problem in building some individuals cult. when Siye Abriha came out of prison your paper Addis Neger (Oh God! I missed it a lot!) gave him an unfair chance to cleanse his name and what he has done. I believe your paper has helped him to rinse his name and rise up again re-building up his personality again. Again sometime when Birtukan went to jail you were writing about her again and again like she were not an opposition politician having a political dispute with a repressive govt but as a Jean de Arc who is fighting for a truth and the nation's liberation. And now you are doing the same thing for Eskindir! I am not denying that the government is repressive but how about what these people are doing? Do you really believe that Eskindir was doing only a journalist's job? I understand he is bold and courageous but it has been said a lot about his involvement with ”illegal” politicians and politics! I am trying to convey that we should also see and talk about what ”others” have done to have offended the govt rather than talking about the govt that doesn't heed anything all the time.
More than ten journalists have been imprisoned in Ethiopia since June 2011. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that about 25% of exiled journalists in Africa are from Ethiopia, making the country the world's main enemy of major driving forces of free expression: journalists, bloggers and political dissidents.
Ethiopian government has increased its online censorship activities since September 2011.

author: Endalkachew Chala


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Georgia: Beyond Tbilisi · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Beyond Tbilisi says that local authorities plan to clean up a river full of garbage in June. The blog run by Transparency International Georgia hopes to report on issues outside of the capital and is available in Georgian and English.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Georgia: Face Control · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Evolutsia comments on a new policy of face control for entry into many of the Georgian capital's clubs. The analytical site also ponders how such a policy might affect the revenue of those Tbilisi establishments that have introduced it.


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Ghana: BlogCamp Ghana 2012 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

BlogCamp Ghana 2012 will take place on 5 May, 2012, Nana Yaw Sarpong reports: “BloggingGhana, a registered organisation of pro-Ghana bloggers, is putting together a one-day social media training event dubbed BlogCamp 2012 themed Voice of a New Generation.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Global Voices Podcast: Food for Thought, Food to Eat · Global Voices
Jamillah Knowles

Hello World!
Welcome to another edition of the Global Voices Podcast.
In this edition we explore the latest work and events in the Global Voices community. We also speak with some friends about the cross cultural elements of our lives, with a special focus on food: both food for thought, and to eat!
Silvia Vinas
First up, Silvia Viñas our Latin America regional editor, has been finding out more about translation on the Web. Intercontinental Cry is is a grassroots journal for the global indigenous movement, providing news, videos, petitions, commentary and action alerts. The site recently launched in Spanish, so Silvia had a chat with Editor and Publisher Alex Cacherino-Gorman, about spreading the news in a different language.
A previous version of the podcast said Silvia Viñas spoke to John Ahniwanika Schertow. Silvia actually spoke to Intercontinental Cry in Spanish editor Alex Cachinero-Gorman.
New Rising Voices grantees
Last month we announced, six new Rising Voices grantees from Guatemala, United States, Paraguay, Palestine, Peru and Myanmar. These new project have joined our global community will each receive microgrants to help get their ideas off the ground. Congratulations to all of the grantees!
Rising Voices
Beatrice Catanzaro is a visual artist and one of the newest additions to the Rising Voices community with her project, Food Tales from Nablus. Alongside her friend Fatima she is working with women from the heart of the Old City in the city of Nablus, Palestine, to celebrate their culinary skills. One of the major components of their project will be the creation a cooking school for foreign visitors that will employ local women as chefs and instructors. We speak with these two amazing ladies to find out more about their work.
Food across borders
If there’s one thing we like to share together at Global Voices – as well as news and stories – it has to be food. This July 2-3, we will be at the Global Voices Summit 2012 in Nairobi, Kenya, and it will be a pleasure to meet, discuss and eat with colleagues from around the world.
Gustavo Arellano, editor of the OC Weekly in Orange County, California and the writer behind ‘Ask a Mexican‘, has been on a culinary journey to find out how Mexican food has become so popular in the United States in his new book, Taco USA. Journalist, producer and blogger, Cyrus Farivar chats with Gustavo about the flavours that cross borders.
Mexican Food on 1806 Haight St in San Francisco, California. Photo by Rupert Ganzer on flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)
We hope you enjoyed this edition of the podcast. As ever a huge thank you goes to all of our contributors and interviewees, and especially to Yazan for being great company and a brilliant co-presenter. Whether it is food for thought or something to eat, the Global Voices community always has it covered.
The Global Voices Podcast, the world is talking, we hope you’re listening!
Music credits
In the podcast you can hear lots of lovely Creative Commons music. Thanks to Mark Cotton for his fantastic creations and thanks also to all of the wonderful voice over performances and clips that help to glue the podcast together.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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author: Jamillah Knowles


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Honduras: “Too much violence to keep track of” · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Adrienne Pine explains that, “since the bold repossession of lands by thousands of campesinos around Honduras on the International Day of Peasant Struggle, there have been increasingly worrisome retaliations, so frequent that I can't keep track of them.” She reports on some of these cases and on other types of violence in Honduras, including attacks on journalists. Adrienne also links to several articles on these issues.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Hong Kong: Evangelists Accuse Lady Gaga of Leading Youth Astray · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga is currently touring Asia with her ‘Born this Way Ball’. Hong Kong shows are scheduled to take place between May 2 and May 7, 2012. On the eve of her first concert there, an evangelist group's campaign against her presence in Hong Kong has ignited debate within the local community.
A right wing evangelist group, Media Evangelism Limited, has launched an online campaign against Lady Gaga's tour, inviting Christians to sign in and “pray for youth in Hong Kong against the temptation of Lady Gaga”. The online poster [zh] states:
Lady Gaga 演唱會將於 2/5 – 7/5 來港舉行，演唱會帶有色情、同性戀及崇拜撒旦的元素，亦容讓 3 歲以上人士進場。我們籲請信徒支持緊急代禱簽到行動，為青少年的心智守望禱告。
Poster calling for Christians to sign in to pray for youth against the
Facebook user Julie Lam explained the Christian's action in her prayer [zh]:
她的新歌 Born This Way “生來如此” — 聲稱上帝創造同性戀者及同性戀不是罪，她積極推動同性婚姻合法， 影響了數個國家的立法。她 的表演志在香港及亞洲打開黑暗的大門讓邪惡進入，目標是要嚴重影響青少年, 導致道德墮落。
Less than 100 people have signed in to the page with the majority being against the evangelist group's propaganda. Below is a selection of some of the prayers in the sign-up page [zh].
Johnny Cheung said [zh]:
求主使青年人有清昕頭腦, 分辨壞思想, 壞行為, 分辨到造假的諾亞方舟或者lady gaga 教壞人熟輕熟重的問題。 請所有被洗腦影音洗腦的人清醒, 回到你身邊, 呀門.
Chan Kwan Yeung defended Lady Gaga [zh]:
慈悲天父嘅主呀,求你為被”影音使團”所說的話而被蒙蔽的人,清洗他們的眼睛哦!
LadyGaga是一個歌手,她所行的一切都是引導現今青少年於正道。宣揚,愛與自由,任何種族,性別,性取向的人皆是平等。她本人並沒有崇拜撤旦,只是在節目上回應主持人的玩笑。她的心是永遠追遠追隨父神你的。神呀,請你為那些被影音使團對LadyGaga的誤解,而寬恕。請你引導這班被該團體而誤入歧途的信徒,帶回正道!阿門~
Chu Ka Yu criticized the evangelist group for spreading a ‘gay sin’ message [zh]:
將社會分化, 將同自己價值觀唔同既野打壓, 向年青人洗腦, 向佢地灌輸Gay Sin呢個message, 將自己所知所信既視為世界上唯一正確既真理, 唔去用批判思考去想上帝既道理, 用”人”既腦去解讀上帝既意旨, 呢d就係”教會”
我信主, 我信神, 我讀聖經, 所以, 我反對任何教會既存在…
你話我係魔鬼又好, 話我係咩都好…
Siu Heng pointed out that young people know how to make their own choices [zh]:
我唔係lady gaga fans, 亦冇打算去睇佢show；我亦好尊重人地既宗教信仰。但頂唔蒲有人以為青少年係白痴，睇個show就會變壞；以為自己係道德塔里班，人地同你唔同就話係歪風。
Vita Lam criticized the right wing for spreading hatred [zh]:
基督徒表達對信仰的立場 令到小數族群飽受歧視 公平嗎.
假設所有人針對基督來打壓 你們會怎樣想
與其說神愛世人 不如說是宗教挑起仇恨比較貼切
This post was sub-edited by Jane Ellis.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Indonesia: Should Mosques Lower Prayer Volume? · Global Voices
Agung Harsya

In a speech delivered during the national congress of the Indonesian Board of Mosques (DMI) last week, Vice President Boediono sparked a debate when he suggested that mosques should lower the volume of loudspeakers during the daily prayer call.
Mosques in Indonesia use loudspeakers to broadcast the “adzan” five times a day reminding people to pray. Boediono warned that the loud volume might disturb other people, including fellow Muslims. He added that a less noisy call to prayer is more likely to enter a person's heart rather than loud sounds.
But many Indonesians advised Boediono to address other more important issues. Blogger happydsf [id], voices his concern:
Grand Mosque Al-Mashun. Photo from Flickr page of hophoptuing (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
Sungguh disayangkan, bahkan sepertinya negara ini ingin mengintimidasi kebebasan warga muslim, di negaranya sendiri, yang notabene juga di sebut negara dengan jumlah penduduk muslim yang mayoritas. masih banyak hal yang harus diselesaikan para wakil rakyat daripada harus mengurusi pengeras suara untuk panggilan sholat.
Another blogger, Tototapalnise [id], tries to understand the Vice President's message:
Namun, kalau kita coba cermati dengan hati dan kepala dingin, perkataan wapres tersebut merupakan teguran halus buat kita kaum musliman dalam menjaga kualitas para muadzin sekaligus kualitas sound system di masjid-masjid….
…Lalu kenapa kita umat muslim harus memasang muka marah dengan ucapan tersebut dan langsung naik pitam? Apakah sedemikian reaktifkah umat muslim Indonesia yang merupakan mayoritas di negeri ini dengan sebuah kritikan atau masukan?
If we try to think about it carefully, the statement is a soft warning for Muslim people to maintain the adzan's quality and also the mosques’ sound system quality…
…So why we have to be angry with that and losing our temper? As the majority religion in the country, why are we so angry when we receive criticism?
Haris El Salman [id] said that the loudspeaker's volume has never been an issue in the real world:
Bukankan selama ini tenggang rasa antar pemeluk agama masih dalam tahapan yang baik? Bahkan di daerah saya masih ada masjid dan gereja yang hanya dipisahkan oleh sebuah dinding, namun belum pernah saya melihat atau mendengar terjadi pertentangan antara jemaat masjid dan gereja ditempat tersebut, mereka akur-akur saja menjalankan ibadah masing-masing…
…Bukankah ini hanya akan menimbulkan perdebatan-perdebatan yang tidak esensial? Mungkin maksud beliau baik, tapi tidak pada tepatnya. Great idea in the wrong place?
We still have great tolerance among different religions. In where I live, there's a mosque and a church only separated by a thin wall, but I never see a conflict between people. They get along together when practising their religions…
…It will only provoke non-essential arguments. His intention might be right, but not in the right place. Great idea in the wrong place?
There were also mixed reactions on Twitter [id]:
@fgaban: Dalam soal TOA, pernyataan Pak Boed itu otokritik bagus bagi Muslim Indonesia.
@anatriyana: Knp jd msalah? Selama ini kan adzan gak ganggu? RT @Yahoo_ID: Wakil Presiden Boediono meminta suara azan diatur supaya tdk trlalu kncang
@gitaputrid: Sayah senang Wapres Boediono ngomong soal TOA masjid u/azan; minimal ada nyali berani buka front versus suara mayoritas.

author: Agung Harsya


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Israel: Sharp Criticism of Israel’s Leadership by Ex-Security Chief · Global Voices
Elizabeth Tsurkov

A close up of the Israel Knesset (parliament) building in Jerusalem by zeevveez on flickr (CC-BY)
Yuval Diskin, the former chief of Israel's internal security agency, Shin Bet, caused a firestorm in Israel at the end of April, when he was recorded speaking against the Israeli leadership, specifically, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Diskin, who served as the head of Shin Bet until 2011, said to a group of local residents in the city of Kfar Sava on April 27, 2012: “I don't believe in either the prime minister or the defense minister. I don't believe in a leadership that makes decisions based on messianic feelings.” Diskin added that: “Believe me, I have observed them from up close… They are not people who I, on a personal level, trust to lead Israel to an event on that scale and carry it off. These are not people who I would want to have holding the wheel in such an event.”
Referring to recent threats by Israel to take preemptive military action against Iran, Diskin said that Netanyahu and Barak are, “misleading the public on the Iran issue. They tell the public that if Israel acts, Iran won't have a nuclear bomb. This is misleading. Actually, many experts say that an Israeli attack would accelerate the Iranian nuclear race.” He has also stated that the current government has, “no interest in solving anything with the Palestinians. This government knows that if it makes the smallest step in this direction, than the current power base and strong coalition will fall apart.”
One of many security chiefs to voice concern
Diskin's public criticism makes him the fourth security chief to voice opposition to an attack on Iran or to question the leadership of the Prime Minister and Defense Minister. He joins former Mossad Chief Meir Dagan, former head of the National Security Council Uzi Arad, and former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, who all retired in 2011 and have since gone on the record or spoken privately about their criticism of the current leadership.
The current security chiefs are believed to hold a similar position to the one held by their predecessors: all currently oppose a strike on Iran. IDF Chief of Staff, Benny Gantz, said last week that Iran hasn't yet decided to build a nuclear weapon, which puts him at odds with Netanyahu and Barak.
Accompanying the local media storm, Israelis online were quick to react to Diskin's comments (note, that the Hebrew-language blogosphere and twittersphere are dominated by the left).
Israeli journalist Amir Mizroch wrote in his blog:
In a country where security is held above everything, and security men – generals and spymasters – are held in the highest regard and are easily electable to high office, many Israelis could be influenced by Dagan and Diskin’s message that Bibi and Barak are not trustworthy.
Guy Alon Eliav, the CEO of a leading news portal in Israel wrote on Twitter:
Journalist Tal Schneider also commented on Twitter:
Barak Rom wrote on Twitter:
The Israeli twittersphere, which finds a way to joke about everything, was sure to have a good laugh about the reaction of the Israeli leadership to Diskin's statements:
Israeli journalist Guy Benyovits tweeted:
Rubynet quipped:
Commenting on the constant war-mongering coming from Israel's leadership, Elad Itzhakian wrote:

author: Elizabeth Tsurkov


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Kenya: State of Software and Intellectual Property Law in Kenya · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Learn about the state of software and intellectual property law in Kenya: “Kenya’s judiciary does not deliberate many software and IP cases and the country remains lax in terms of piracy with domestic uses of pirated software being allowed, but companies being liable for piracy if software installed on office computers or used for official purposes.”


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Lebanon: Demotivational Humour on Facebook · Global Voices
Thalia Rahme

Internet memes are just as popular in the Arab world as elsewhere. Recently a number of Facebook pages have been started about specifically Lebanese memes. In this post Global Voices interviews the creator of a page called “Demotivational Lebanon”.
Over a very short period of time Facebook pages with general themes such as “Lebanese Memes”, or more specific ones related to certain schools or universities, have become popular among Lebanese netizens. Global Voices has interviewed the creator of “Demotivational Lebanon: a demotivational page for demotivational country”, who identified himself as  “Youssef R., a 29-year-old demotivated yet angry citizen of a pseudo-nation called Lebanon”.
We are all one team – against the Lebanese people!
Global Voices (GV): How did you come up with the idea for the page?
Youssef R (YR): Months before creating the page, I discovered a type of internet meme called demotivational posters and quickly became addicted to browsing and collecting this type of poster. Then I thought, why don’t I start creating my own? So I started creating demotivationals featuring Lebanese politicians, pop stars and even Miss Lebanon and posting them on my own Facebook wall. My friends liked them and congratulated me. Later on, I learned about a page called Lebanese Memes and decided to create my own page.
I started creating new posters and posting them on the page, which quickly attracted a large number of fans who admired my efforts. Before long I stopped limiting myself to the Demotivational Poster format and started creating and posting all types of internet memes, such as the infamous Rage Comics. The page started with jokes about politicians, but then I decided to stop featuring politicians, and to tackle political, social and economic problems. It was an opportunity for me to express my anger over everything that is wrong in Lebanon using dark humor.
I get my inspiration from daily life in Lebanon. There are countless topics to address because the country is in dire need of reform. It is a country that risks sliding into a sectarian war at any given second. So I’m trying to raise awareness or at least express my anger and frustration, which a lot of fellow citizens share.
Planning to buy a house in Beirut? Please tell me which bank you will rob.
GV: Do you take the photos and do the designs yourself?
YR: I simply use Google to search for photos. I don’t have designer skills. I create the unsophisticated designs using one or a mix of the following tools: the simple design software Paint, a website called ragemaker.net for creating the Rage Comics you see everywhere on Facebook lately, and other online meme generators.
Civil war is more comfy in pyjamas – the only lesson that the Lebanese learnt from the civil war.
GV: Do you interact with visitors to the page? Have any expressed dislike for your messages?
YR: When the focus was on political figures, users used to engage in heated clashes, each defending his/her political idol, and sometimes cursing the page or its creator, but when I stopped featuring political figures and focused on issues that concern all Lebanese, fights among the users stopped and they started cursing the politicians and the political system itself, the real reason behind Lebanon’s problems. I sometimes take part in discussions. However, it is clearly mentioned in the page’s description that the page does not monitor, censor or take responsibility for user comments. Simply because I don’t have time to monitor the huge amounts of comments, given that I’m the only admin for the page.
By the way, users are allowed to send me their own demotivationals and memes and I post the ones I find creative and funny on the page’s main wall. Until now I have created 90% of the posts and other users have created only 10%. I’m looking forward to seeing a bigger contribution from the users.
I know he will steal from me, but I vote for him because he is from my religious sect.
GV: Have you thought of going beyond just a Facebook page ?
YR: That would depend on the circumstances; right now I don’t have such plans. However, I’m promoting and supporting certain causes on my page, such as freedom of expression, and trying to stand in the face of any injustice. I'm sharing the calls for protests and action on the ground. For example, the Lebanese authorities have recently detained and interrogated activists and comedians over graffiti they sprayed on Beirut’s walls. I try as much as I can to highlight these cases, defend freedom of expression and support the activists.
I think the Lebanese suffer from the Stockholm Syndrome. The Lebanese need to raise their voices. The amount of injustice in the country is unbearable. Sectarianism is preventing a real revolution in this country. The Lebanese must liberate themselves from the sectarian enslavement. They must stop thinking as sheep. The revolution does not necessarily have to be violent, it can start in the mind of every Lebanese.

author: Thalia Rahme


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Mali:  22 killed as Fighting Continues between Military Junta and Loyalists  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

In Bamako, Bruce Whitehouse's time-stamped diary reveals heavy gun fights between the military junta and loyalist soldiers on May 2. Reports confirm that administrative buildings were being evacuated because of the shooting. 22 were killed and a dozen injured (fr) (mostly soldiers but a few civilians as well) since the fighting started two days ago.


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Mexico: Blogger Starts Open Letter Initiative to Address Presidential Candidates · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Global Voices contributor [es] and blogger Juan Tadeo has started a nonpartisan initiative to encourage other bloggers and citizens to write open letters to Mexican presidential candidates. He has written his own open letters to Josefina Vázquez Mota [es] and Gabriel Quadri [es], and will soon publish his letters addressing the remaining candidates. You can follow the initiative through the hashtag #CartaAbierta [es] (Open letter).


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Palestine: Mass Hunger Strike by Prisoners · Global Voices
Jummana Kahlout

Palestinian prisoners began an open ended hunger strike on April 17 to protest the conditions within Israeli prisons. What had started earlier as a protest by a few has now increased to thousands of participants (with figures varying between 1,400 and 3,000). Several of the prisoners who began their hunger strike earlier are now at risk of dying.
There are more than 4,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, and around 320 have been held without charge or trial under so-called administrative detention.
The situation in Israeli prisons has deteriorated over the years. The prisoners are demanding an end to solitary confinement, administrative detentions and punitive measures. Protests have taken place in the past, but this strike is different, following as it does the widely reported strike of Khader Adnan.
Blogger and journalist Joseph Dana wrote about Adnan's case in February:
Mr Adnan’s story is emblematic of the administrative detention experience of many Palestinians. He claims to have been beaten and humiliated by Israeli soldiers while in custody, and began his hunger strike in protest.
Khader Adnan ended his hunger strike in February after 66 days, when the Israeli authorities agreed to release him on 17 April. Another prisoner, Hana Shalabi, ended a hunger strike after 40 days when she was exiled to Gaza for three years by the Israeli authorities.
Freedom for Bilal Dhiab and all our prisoners. Image from Facebook page of We Are All Hana Shalabi.
In the current strike two prisoners, Bilal Dhiab and Thaer Halahleh, are at grave risk of death.
Information on the hunger strike and solidarity actions can be found at the Twitter hashtag #PalHunger.
Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association based in Ramallah has been tweeting updates about the strike:
@Addameer_ps: In Ohalei Keidar prison, the 96 hunger strikers are all placed in solitary confinement cells, 2 prisoners to 1 cell. #palhunger
@Addameer_ps: 220 prisoners are on hunger strike in Ofer prison. #palhunger
@Addameer_ps: All 105 Palestinian prisoners in Eshel prison are on hunger strike #palhunger
@Addameer_ps: Hunger strikers in Naqab prison are being arbitrarily searched each day, including raids of their cells and body searches #palhunger
@Addameer_ps: Addameer currently estimating between 2,000 and 2,500 prisoners on hunger strike, but could be more #palhunger
Walaa Al Ghussein in Gaza tweeted:
@WalaaGh: My aunt's fiance is on his 20 day of hunger strike now, She is waiting him to get married,she don't want him to die! #PalHunger #Palestine
Activist Ali Abunimah commented:
@AliAbunimah: Western media kept demanding “Palestinian Gandhis.” Now that 2000 political prisoners are on hunger strike they ignore. #PalHunger

author: Jummana Kahlout


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Panama Commemorates May 1 with Protests and Work · Global Voices
Ariel Moreno

The old-age dilemma of whether or not to rest on Labour Day is no different for Panamanians. This year, the Panamanian government decided to change the date of this public holiday and give the people the day off on Monday, April 30, instead of the traditional day, May 1. The reason for this change in date was to grant the people a long weekend as well as to encourage tourism within the country. The Panamanian newspaper, El Panamá América [es] writes:
Un comunicado de la Presidencia, señala que la oportunidad es propicia para que se traslade el día de descanso y se favorezca el desarrollo del turismo interno a nivel nacional y la convivencia familiar.
A press release from the Presidency points out that the opportunity to move this day of rest is propitious. It encourages the development of local tourism at a national level as well as family time.
Several labour unions were outraged because they consider the date to be a symbol of their rights, earned by the working class throughout history. Kaos en la red[es] indicates that the change of the date is seen as an insult by many:
Como un insulto y una burla a la clase obrera, se interpreta la imposición del lunes 30 de abril como día puente por el 1º de Mayo.
At Work; Guadalupe, Cerro Punta, Chiriquí, Panamá. Image courtesy Lon&Queta on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Nevertheless, the various labour unions decided they would still carry out the marches and activities that they had planned, explained La opinión Panamá [es]:
Los dirigentes sindicalistas manifestaron que pese al día puente decretado por el Gobierno, realizarán hoy martes las distintas actividades.
The leaders of labour unions express their regret over the the change in date of the public holiday ordered by the Government, but they will still carry out their various activities today, Tuesday May 1.
Uniradioinforma [es] reports that the march became quite forceful, with signs that protest corruption as well as the high cost of living:
“Abajo el alto costo de la vida”, “La corrupción mata”, “Ni corruptos ni coimeros”, se leía en las pancartas que portaban los trabajadores, en alusión a un reciente escándalo de presunto pago de sobornos al presidente Ricardo Martinelli.
“Lower the cost of living, “Corruption kills”, “No more Corruption and No more Bribes” read the placards that were carried by workers. The slogans are in light of a recent scandal where bribery money was allegedly paid to president Ricardo Martinelli.
Netizens also participated in the celebration of Labour Day. Sthaisy Smith (@Staisy09) [es] considers it madness to have to work on a day that commemorates labour:
Y ahora el 1 de mayo a trabajar q loco esta Panamá!!!
Now we have to work on May 1, how crazy is Panama!!!
Leilani Gonzalez (@Le1lani) [es] on the other hand sees it as something logical:
Día del Trabajo, trabajando como una trabajadora!!! #Panamá
Labour Day, working as a labourer should!!! #Panamá
Agenda 507 (@agenda507) [es] wants to call attention to the fact that Labour Day is for everyone and not only for the groups of labour unions that went out to march on May 1:
#FelizDiadelTrabajador ¡El 1 Mayo es de todos! No exclusivo de un grupo, es tmbn de quienes trabajan en casa, ofi, calle, salud, campo y +
#FelizDiadelTrabajador May 1 is for everyone! It's not exclusively for one group, it is also for those who work at home, in offices, on the street, in health care, in the country etc.
It was in this way that May 1 was celebrated in Panama; some persons with slogans and others gratefully turning up at work, their opinions clearly coinciding with that of Tito Herrera (@TitoHerrera) [es]:
La mejor manera de celebrar el día del trabajo es… TRABAJANDO! Saludos a todos, Feliz día, sigamos trabajando por un mejor Panamá!
The best way to celebrate Labour Day is… WORKING! Regards to all, have a good day, we must continue working towards a better Panama!

author: Ariel Moreno


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Sierra Leone: Reflections on Charles Taylor and Justice · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Robtel Pailey reflects on Charles Taylor's verdict: “What Charles Taylor’s verdict signifies for me is the need to reconfigure Africa’s domestic systems of justice, so that we don’t have to rely on the West to judge when, where, and under what circumstances we can punish for transgressions that we deem unacceptable….International justice is clearly blind to the atrocities committed by Western agents as well as non-Western countries that wield international clout or power.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Education Situation  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Eternal Pantomime takes issue with the Minister of Education's modus operandi: “It seems every week this minister finds new ways to rub stakeholders of education in the wrong way…and he seems hellbent on antagonising the nation’s teachers.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Ukraine: “If Prison Acquires a Voice, Everything Will Change” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On April 2, the Ukrainian TV channel TVi aired Kostiantyn Usov's documentary [uk, ru] about Kyiv's Lukyanivska prison, highlighting the shocking treatment and living conditions of the inmates and drawing attention to the widespread corruption of the facility's staff (GV text about it is here).
The documentary, which has caused much outrage and debate in the past month, is now translated into English and available with subtitles on YouTube.
Usov has shared the link to the film's English version on various social networks and online media platforms, including his Facebook page [uk]. User Natalia Vorotchenko posted this comment [uk]:
[…] You've done a tremendous job… and the English translation allows even more people – those abroad – to see the truth! Step by step, blows are being dealt to the regime of the communists and the oligarchs, and I hope that it will soon vanish… And this will happen in large part thanks to your work, your stance and your heroism! […]
In the April 19 interview [ru] with Vecherniye Vesti newspaper, Usov talked about the steps being taken by the authorities since the film's release. According to him, the acting head of Lukyanivska has been forced to resign; the government has allotted 1.5 million hryvnias (approx. $185,000) for repairs inside the facility; the prosecutor's office is investigating all the violations mentioned in the film; the prison's authorities have confirmed that the walls of the cells are covered with harmful fungus.
Much of the footage in Usov's film comes from those Lukyanivska inmates who had agreed to take risks and help document their lives, using mobile phones smuggled inside the prison via bribe-taking prison employees, an illegal yet routine practice at this and other facilities. In the Vecherniye Vesti interview, Usov claimed that the “shadow” profits of Lukyanivska's staff involved in illegal transactions with the inmates and their contacts outside amounted to 1.5 million hryvnias a week. On Facebook, where Usov shared the link to the interview, user Juriy Prohorov wrote [ru]:
Every lawyer and anyone who's ever had to deal in some way with the Ukrainian legal system knows everything that [Usov] has told about in his film, and everyone from inmates to prison guards are fine with it… But [Usov] deserves credit for saying it all openly… […]
On April 21, Usov noted [uk] on Facebook that “for the first time in 20 years, Ukrainian prison officials have started addressing inmates [using the formal, respectful form of the ‘you’ pronoun]:
[…] Yes, it may seem like no big deal to some. But in fact this is the breakthrough moment.
On his Ukrainska Pravda blog, journalist Artem Shevchenko, one of Usov's film crew members, shared his views [uk] on the film's significance:
[…] It appears that [the film is relevant now] because, due to the regime's politics, prison is gradually turning into a self-sufficient actor in [Ukraine's] social and political life. There is no doubt that prison is one of the factors of today's public politics. Prison [features in top news in the media]. Some are intimidating others with prison. Others are proud of [their prison experience]. [Inmate transportation vehicles] are the most popular cars of the 2010-2011-2012 season. […] By jailing his main political opponents, President [Victor Yanukovych] seems to be catering to the complexes of his youth, which he [acquired behind bars]. A young person's mentality, maimed by prison experience, cannot be any different. When such a person gains power, [he/she] subconsciously starts building a prison [outside the prison walls].
Blogger and activist Aleksandr Volodarskiy [ru] (aka shiitman) spent a month and a half at Lukyanivska prison in 2009. He was detained for “hooliganism” [en] after imitating a sexual intercourse outside the Ukrainian Parliament on Nov. 2, 2009, as part of a protest against censorship by the Ukrainian National Expert Commission for Protection of Public Morality [ru] (www.moral.gov.ua [uk]). In early April, he wrote two blog posts about Usov's documentary, explaining how the Ukrainian prison system works and why the film might do more harm than good to those kept in detention – and suggesting ways to improve the situation. Below are excerpts from these posts.
April 5, 2012 [ru]:
[…] The prison is indeed like this, only worse.
They didn't show the “boxes” where people who are being transferred to courts/police stations and back are kept for hours. Tiny boxes with no air to breathe and often no place to sit, at times packed with dozens of people. Also not reflected is, to my mind, the key issue: IMPOSSIBILITY of communicating legally. You can't call a lawyer unless you use a banned mobile phone. The lawyer has to take initiative and come to the inmate [him/herself]. A question arises: how will the lawyer learn about violation of the client's rights if the client has no right to get in touch with [the lawyer]? Similarly, inmates cannot get in touch with family in order to ask them to send some specific food or medicines. If a person gets sick, he should wait for his lawyer's visit, to share his complaints with him, and the lawyer would then share them with family members. One can die of pneumonia a few times during this period. If you want to survive, you'll have to use the phone – local doctors can at best offer aspirin. That is, this system initially includes corruption. […]
I'm afraid that the first result of Usov's investigation will be (or is already) a mass [search] and confiscation of phones from all cells. The cops’ first reaction to any information leak is an attempt to deal with the source of this leak. They won't be solving problems by themselves – because they themselves are the problem. […]
April 7, 2012 [ru]:
[…] Many influential [inmates] don't really need things to be “in accordance with the law.” […] They need personal comfort. [Drugs and alcohol]. Things that no one will ever legalize in prison.
For that they are quite ready to tolerate beatings, anti-sanitary conditions, diseases, and the necessity to be humiliated by the cops and to pay them. […] The same type of logic works in the society as a whole. People don't want a revolution and radical changes, they are genuinely afraid of them. Because revolution inevitably causes the government's reaction that may affect not just the revolutionaries. And in general – who knows what happens after this revolution – while even though there's evil all around now, this evil is familiar. […]
Usov's mistake is that he decided to entertain the ordinary [viewers] with exotica. […] He has dealt a tremendous blow to the prison corruption infrastructure, which is not only feeding the cops, but is helping people to survive here and now. […] It's not right to sacrifice the people, not right to throw noncombatants into the line of fire.
[…]
The only way to make sure these people haven't suffered in vain is to raise two important questions:
1. Lifting the limitations on meetings, packages and correspondence for the inmates. These limitations don't contribute to finding the truth, they should be seen as a type of torture.
2. Legalization of phone connection (technically, it can be easily done by providing each cell with a couple of cell phones […])
This is something that has to be discussed at all levels now. Not the “corruption” and not even the “fungus.”
Having a legal connection with the outside world, the inmates will get a chance to talk about what's going on in prison.
If prison acquires a voice, everything will change.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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United States: Occupy Wall Street Returns · Global Voices
Robert Valencia

This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide.
Many people were questioning Occupy Wall Street's future after the eviction from Zuccotti Park and the harsh weather conditions which prevented the occupiers from camping out last winter. However, according to the occupiers themselves, the movement never disappeared and they are now determined to occupy public spaces around the country, just as they have done already in Union Square in New York City.
The movement has not only taken the streets. On February 15, 2012, a microblog titled 99% Spring was set up, in which approximately 40 organizations inspired by Occupy invited around 100,000 people on the eve of the tax period in the United States to tell “the story of our economy” from April 9-15.  The occupiers have also called for a march from the centre of Manhattan to Wall Street on May 1. The resurgence of the Occupy movement has been so impressive that one of its members in Philadelphia almost won a candidature for Congress.
The blogosphere has noticed the resurgence. The blog Indignant Feminists [es] states that the Occupy movement has become stronger through the participation of women:
Aquí en el Hemisferio Norte, por ejemplo, las mujeres participaron activamente en los inicios del movimiento Ocuppy [sic]. Sin embargo, este movimiento ha dado la imagen de ser predominantemente masculino (y en los Estados Unidos, blanco y joven) – así como indiferente al hecho de que el capitalismo simplemente no se puede transformar sin enfrentarse a su fundación: el patriarcado, que depende de controlar y explotar a las mujeres. Y las mujeres, por cierto, son el 51% por ciento de ese 99% (y el 0% del 1%).
The blog Maestroviejo [es] points out that the Occupy movement was also launched in Minneapolis towards the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012:
Durante el otoño y el invierno, los manifestantes, al instalar tiendas, realizaron manifestaciones en diferentes partes de la ciudad de Minneapolis. Después de estas protestas las fuerzas de la policía del Estado intensificaron las medidas a fin de restringir el ingreso al campo durante las noches y eliminar las tiendas de los participantes.
On Twitter, Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) refutes the idea that the Occupy movement has failed:
Think Occupy has failed? The entire rhetoric and tone used to discuss the economy & WallStreet are now different because of THAT movement.
Daltonicum (@Daltonicum) notes that there is even a discographic production in honour of the Occupy movement:
El movimiento “Occupy Wall Street” graba un disco llamado “Occupy this Album” con la colaboración de bandas como Mogwai http://daltonicum.posterous.com/el-movimiento-occupy-wall-street-graba-un-dis
Jason Brickley (@azureblade7) suggests that the movement is flourishing once again:
Spring Revival: Occupy Wall Street Seeks to Rejuvenate Movement http://dlvr.it/1SSkR2
The following images are of the Occupy movement in New York City (all photos were taken by the author):
This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide.

author: Robert Valencia


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Bahamas: Election Suggestion  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Two posts from Weblog Bahamas on the country's upcoming elections, here (about a contentious oil drilling issue) and here (which offers a suggestion on what should guide voters come Monday).


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Bahamas: Last Thoughts on Elections · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bahamians go the polls in the country's general election on Monday.  With less than a week left before voting day, bloggers are posting their thoughts about their political choices.
Rick Lowe, writing at Weblog Bahamas, calls it “an interesting time in Bahamian politics” as he examines, point by point, the claims of a former Free National Movement (the incumbent) Cabinet Minister that Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham is “untrustworthy”:
Is this being untrustworthy or is it the way majority rule works? More than 51% of the FNM supported Mr. Ingraham and not us. But should we harbour resentment or lick our wounds and move on?
All this begs a question. Did Mr. Ingraham and his supporters feel they could not trust the Dupuch team? Looking back on all this, it seems quite plausible.
Circumstances and information change perspectives. I know my perspective has changed over the years and my epiphany was coming to the realisation that the larger government gets the worse off we become as citizens.
However, when we get knocked down we have to get up, dust ourselves off and start all over again. I licked my political wounds, so to speak, and prefer to spend my free time learning, thinking about and critiquing public policy and offering alternatives that might make our country a better place for those of us here today and future generations.
Meanwhile, Political Bahamas Blog reports that the new political party on the scene, the Democratic National Alliance, is calling for the resignation of the Leader of the Opposition, Progressive Liberal Party leader Perceval “Perry” Christie over alleged connections to the Bahamas Petroleum Company.
While Weblog Bahamas’ Edward Hutcheson wonders “what the nation would look like now if a different choice was made in 1984″, Bahama Republic sees it fit to give “a last prediction” about the upcoming elections:
The Bahamas will have the same government after the election as it does now. Nothing will change. That's right, I called it. But: This is not saying that I believe the FNM will win, that Hubert Ingraham will be Prime Minister again. This is saying that regardless of which party will send more MPs to the House, and regardless of whether the Prime Minister's name is going to be Hubert Ingraham, Perry Christie, or Branville McCartney, the policies put before us, and the style of governance will not significantly change.
Bahamas, you deserve better. But unless you demand better, you will only get same old, same old.


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China and Africa: Exporting the Shenzhen Model · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Mary Ann O'Donnell from Shenzhen Noted discussed about the exportation of Shenzhen development model from China to Africa by Chinese investment.


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China: Phone calls between Teng Biao and Chen Guangcheng · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chinese activist, Chen Guangcheng, who has escaped house arrest and fled into the U.S embassy in Beijing has stepped out of the embassy and now having his body check in Chaoyang hospital. The are many speculation about his move and the transcript of phone calls between human rights lawyer Teng Biao and Chen will shed some light on the situation. via Shanghaiist.


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China: Tibetan Netizen Responses to the Self-Immolations in Tibet · Global Voices
Dechen Pemba

The April 2012 special “Hot Spots” online issue of the academic journal Cultural Anthropology focuses on the recent self-immolations in Tibet with a comprehensive background page. It features an impressive collection of scholarly responses to the self-immolations by well-known Tibet scholars such as Tsering Shakya, Janet Gyatso and Elliot Sperling. Netizens and bloggers are highlighted, such as the contributions by high-profile Beijing based Tibetan blogger Woeser, High Peaks Pure Earth and Khabdha. The editorial board of the Tibetan Political Review analyze the Exile Tibetan Government handling of this phenomenon.

author: Dechen Pemba