text:
Wales: From Prison, Activist Campaigns for Welsh Language Rights · Global Voices
Carl Morris

Activist Jamie Bevan of Merthyr Tudful, Wales, is currently serving 35 days in prison after refusing to pay a fine for which the summons was issued in English only.
He is a member of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg [cy], the protest movement which this month marks its 50th anniversary of campaigning to secure Welsh language rights.
Defending Welsh language rights in court
Although Welsh had its official status secured in a Welsh Government Measure in 2011, Bevan's case has highlighted failings by the nation's courts, justice system and prison service in equality of provision for speakers of the language. (Bevan had received the fine, totalling GBP 1,141, for an earlier demonstration [cy] in March 2011 in which he and a fellow member of the movement occupied the Cardiff office of a UK Member of Parliament and painted a slogan on the wall to protest against government cuts in Welsh language public service broadcasting.)
Jamie Bevan outside the court in Merthyr Tudful. Photo by Rhys Llwyd CC BY-SA
A video uploaded to YouTube [cy] by user sianel62 on Monday, 13 August, 2012, the day of the hearing, shows a speech by Gareth Miles and then Jamie Bevan greeting supporters outside the court, translated as follows:
We are here today for one reason. To show that the Welsh language is not safe. And there is still a need for great work to defend it. How many of us can put our hands up and say that we can live our lives completely through Welsh in the modern Wales, without obstacles and without being discriminated against? I'm sure there are not many of you who can do that. From monolingual English summonses to being obliged to deal with court cases through the medium of a translator to Welsh language phone lines which don't exist and being ridiculed and threatened by police and security staff and courts staff – all for wanting to speak the native language of our nation. […]
Veteran Welsh language campaigners
He also referenced the mother of direct action in Wales, Eileen Beasley, who died the previous day aged 91. Beasley and her family are remembered [cy] for their 1950s campaign of peaceful albeit costly civil disobedience to secure a council tax demand in Welsh, which provided a model for Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg:
[…] We pay tribute to Eileen Beasley and her family and promise to follow their highly commendable example as we work to secure fairness and justice to the Welsh language, for the generations which follow us.
Bevan was also joined on the steps of the court by veteran campaigner and writer Gareth Miles, a co-founder of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg. In 1962 Miles became the first member to be jailed for refusing to pay a fine in a protest calling for official status and recognition of the language. Miles gave a brief speech to supporters:
It is not a pleasure to be here but it is a privilege and an honour. It proves that Cymdeithas yr Iaith is still needed today, half a century since the beginning of the society. […] We often hear of the new democratic Wales – in too many ways it's too similar to the old Wales, subservient and colonised. […]
Bevan's court statement
Cameras were forbidden to be used inside the court. This rule was strictly enforced by G4S, the multinational company responsible for security, but the script of Bevan's speech to the magistrates has been released [cy]:
Dros y flwyddyn a hanner diwethaf rydw i wedi dilyn dulliau hollol gyfansoddiadol wrth wneud cwynion am y gwasanaeth Cymraeg pytiog a thameidiog sy'n dod o'r llysoedd a'r system gyfiawnder. Dwi wedi derbyn ymddiheuriad ar ôl ymddiheuriad gyda'r sicrhad bod gweithdrefnau yn cael eu rhoi mewn lle i wneud yn siwr nad yw'r camgymeriadau, fel y gelwir, yn digwydd eto. Ond parhau mae'r llythyron uniaith, y gwasanaeth ffon gydag opsiwn Cymraeg sydd yn arwain ‘nunlle, y wawdio a'r amharch gan staff y llysoedd, yr heddlu a'r staff diogelwch.
Yn ôl eich cynllun iaith, does dim hawl i Gymro gael gwrandawiad o flaen Llys Cymraeg. Mae'n dweud y byddwch yn trio darparu llys Cymraeg ond os na allwch fe fydd cyfieithydd yn cael ei ddarparu. Mae siaradwyr Cymraeg dan anfantais enfawr wrth dderbyn gwrandawiad trwy gyfrwng cyfieithydd gan nad ydy cyfieithydd yn galluogi'r unigolyn i gyfathrebu yn uniongyrchol a'i farnwyr. Yn wir, mae llawer o gyfreithwyr yn cynghori eu cleientiaid i beidio â mynd am achos Cymraeg gan eu bod yn cydnabod yr anfantais yma. Sefyllfa hurt yn y Gymru fodern.
Mae eich cynlluniau iaith hefyd yn gosod mas strategaeth cyflogaeth yn seiliedig ar broffil iaith ardal. Hynny ydy, bydd cyflogi siaradwyr Cymraeg i alluogi llys i ddarparu gwasanaeth Cymraeg yn dibynnu ar y canran o siaradwyr lleol a mympwy rheolwr y llys. Sut allwch gyfiawnhau bod Cymro o Ferthyr yn derbyn gwasanaeth diffygiol tra bod rhywun arall mewn rhan arall o'r wlad yn derbyn gwasanaeth gwell. Mae gan Gymry ym mhob rhan o Gymru hawl moesol i ddefnyddio'r Gymraeg yn ei llawn ystyr.
Does dim bwriad gen i gydffurfio. Does dim bwriad gen i i dalu'r un ceiniog o'r dirwy serch y ffaith y gallaf wneud yn hawdd yn ariannol. Gwnewch fel y mynnwch gyda fi. Dwi'n derbyn yn llawen unrhyw ganlyniad.
Bevan in prison
During the first week of Bevan's term in Cardiff Prison he has complained [cy] of poor Welsh language provision, including the lack of forms in Welsh when applying for basic services such as the telephone, prison library and even personal food requirements.
In response the new Welsh Language Commissioner felt obliged to issue a public press release referring to his freedom to speak in Welsh during telephone calls, prompting concern from many in Wales. A second press release stressed recent efforts by the prison governor to remedy the situation for all prisoners.

author: Carl Morris


text:
Argentina: Blogging in Welsh from Patagonia · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

This post is part of a special Global Voices series on Welsh language and digital media in collaboration with Hacio'r Iaith.
Argentina received large flows of immigrants in the late 1700s and during the 1800s, including immigrants from Wales who settled mostly in the Argentine Patagonia. Today, people from Wales and their descendants living in Argentina keep their culture and language alive through blogs and social networks.
In 2015 it will be 150 years since the founding of the Welsh colony in Patagonia. The Wales-Argentina Society [es] retells the history of this colony and how Welsh migrants settled in Argentina:
La Colonia Galesa se fundó en 1865, cuando viajaron cerca de 150 personas desde distintos sitios de Gales en un barco llamado Mimosa, para instalarse en el valle del río Chubut, en el sur de la Argentina.
Durante el medio siglo que siguió a la migración de los galeses, se fundaron las bases de las que hoy son las ciudades de Puerto Madryn en la Bahía Nueva, Rawson, Gaiman, Trelew a Dolavon en el Valle del Chubut y Trevelin en el Valle Hermoso (Cwm Hyfryd) en los Andes. Muchos de los descendientes galeses también viven en Esquel, al pie de los Andes; en Comodoro Rivadavia, la ciudad más grande de la provincia; en Colonia Sarmiento y también a lo largo y ancho de la República.
The Welsh Colony in Patagonia was established in 1865, when over 150 people from various parts of Wales sailed on the Mimosa to settle in the Chubut Valley, in Southern Argentina.
During the half century following the migration of the Welsh, the foundation was laid for what today are the cities of Puerto Madryn on Bahía Nueva, Rawson, Gaiman, Trelew to Dolavon in the Chubut Valley and Trevelin in Valle Hermoso (Cwm Hyfryd) in the Andes. Many Welsh descendants also live in Esquel, in the foothills of the Andes; in Comodoro Rivadavia, the largest city of the province; in Colonia Sarmiento and also throughout the Republic.
Train Station in Esquel – Photo: Laura Schneider
Regarding the language and education, the site writes [es]:
Hoy, existe ya una escuela bilingüe, galés-castellana, fundada en Trelew, un jardín de infantes a través del galés en Gaiman y otro en Esquel. El Eisteddfod del Chubut, festival cultural tradicional, que se celebra anualmente en octubre y el Eisteddfod yr Ifanc, festival cultural tradicional de los jóvenes, a celebrarse cada mes de septiembre, son dos de las actividades que se mantienen en plena vigencia. Se celebran también pequeños festivales (eisteddfodau llai) en el Valle del Chubut, en Puerto Madryn y en los Andes.
A Welsh-Spanish bilingual school was established recently in Trelew and there are Welsh nursery schools in Gaiman and Esquel. The Eisteddfod of Chubut, a traditional cultural festival which is held every October, and the Eisteddfod yr Ifanc, a traditional cultural festival for youth held every September, are stronger than ever. Also small festivals (eisteddfodau llai) are held in the Chubut Valley, Puerto Madryn and the Andes.
Blogging in Welsh from Argentina
Lois Dafydd [cy], from Wales, is currently teaching Welsh in Argentina. In a personal blog [cy], Lois writes about the experiences and activities of the Welsh community. The latest post, for example, is entitled “Annibyniaeth, Buddugoliaeth, Cyngerdd a Chymanfa…” [cy] (“Independence, victory and a song festival”). Lois also writes about a “Birthday weekend in Patagonia” in the post “Penwythnos Pen Blwydd Patagonaidd” [cy].
In Welsh, there is also Ellbaines's Blog [cy], who shares experiences in Patagonia. Ellbaines is also teaching Welsh in the Argentine Patagonia.
On Facebook, the Welsh community has several groups in Spanish, like “Galeses en Argentina” [es] (Welsh People in Argentina) and “Galeses por 150 años” [es] (Welsh People for 150 Years), this last one referring to the 150 year celebration of the Welsh community in Argentina.
However, Menter Patagonia [cy], an organization that promotes the Welsh language in the Argentine Welsh community and Patagonia, has a Facebook group [cy] where they write in Welsh. They also update the Twitter account @MenterPatagonia [cy]. One of their latest tweets refers to Friendship Day, which is celebrated in Argentina every July 20:
@MenterPatagonia: Diwrnod y Ffrind Llawen! Feliz Día del Amigo!
@MenterPatagonia: Diwrnod y Ffrind Llawen! Happy Friends’ Day!
Finally, a video on the blog Variete [es] shows how Welsh descendants celebrate the anniversary of the arrival of the first Welsh immigrants to Argentina.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Laura Schneider


text:
Bahrain: Nabeel Rajab Acquitted for ‘Insulting’ Tweets  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab's teenage son Adam tweets [ar]:
My father was found innocent of insulting the people of Muharraq after he spent two and a half months in prison
Rajab was handed a three-month prison sentence for tweets, which the court said insulted the inhabitants of Muharraq. The appeals court acquitted him today. Separately, Rajab is facing a three year jail sentence for taking part in anti-government protests.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Caribbean: The Number Portability Game · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

. . . there has been considerable buzz around [Number Portability], and several countries across the Caribbean have embarked upon activities that ultimately should lead to its implementation. Yet, how many countries have successfully launched a NP scheme?

author: Georgia Popplewell


text:
China: Mahjong Obsession · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu translates a local news feature on the Chinese obsession with Mahjong, a game of chance.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
China: Open Letter to Car-Smashing “Patriots” · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The territorial conflict between Japan and China has led to a series of protests in major Chinese cities, with angry patriots smashing Japanese vehicles. In response to such action, a Japanese car owner issued an open letter to the patriots. Rachael from Tea Leaf Nation translates the letter and puts it into context.


text:
China: Power Cut at Indie Film Festival · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Wendy Qian from China Digital Times translates Beijing Indie film circle's discussion about the sudden power cut at the opening of this year's Indie Film Festival.


text:
Colombia: President and Indigenous Leaders Meet to Discuss Cauca Conflict · Global Voices
Lully

This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.
After unsuccessful meetings [es] between indigenous leaders and government delegates on the ongoing conflict in the Cauca department, the Cauca indigenous people demanded a dialogue [es] with the presence of President Juan Manuel Santos. On August 15, 2012, the President met with indigenous leaders in a meeting [es] in which no solid agreements were made regarding the grievances of the indigenous people.
At the meeting's venue, the reservation of the Nasa people at la Maria, more than 16,000 indigenous people from various regions around the country showed up with the intention of speaking with the President and putting forward an initiative of peace, intending to send away armed groups participating in Colombia's armed conflict in the region.
At the meeting, the President gave signs of peace and asked for forgiveness, as Servindi [es] reports:
Durante la reunión, Juan Manuel Santos pidió perdón por las víctimas indígenas del conflicto entre las fuerzas del orden público y las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc).
“Pedirles perdón y al mismo tiempo pedirles que trabajemos juntos para que eso deje de suceder y no suceda nunca más”, expresó Santos al iniciar su intervención.
Sin embargo, reafirmó que no retirará a la fuerza pública de esa zona, como lo piden los indígenas. Las comunidades, por su parte, entregaron al presidente un documento donde exigen el retiro del ejército del cerro Berlín.
During the meeting, Juan Manuel Santos asked for forgiveness for the victims among the indigenous people in the areas of conflict between the armed forces and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).
“I am asking for forgiveness and that we work together for this to stop and to never happen again”, expressed Santos at the beginning of his intervention.
However, he reaffirmed that he will not ask the armed forces to stand down from this zone, as the indigenous people request. The communities, for their part, handed the President a document that demands the expulsion of the army from Cerro Berlín.
Besides presenting their proposal [es], the indigenous communities asked that the agreements signed in 1995 [es] be revised, as well as other policies governing indigenous people and dealing with issues like autonomy, human rights, peace, territories, health, ethno-education and communications.
Servind also refers to one [es] of the grievances of the indigenous people:
Entre las demandas de los indígenas se cuentan el retiro de las concesiones para explotación de los recursos mineros y energéticos de sus territorios y no entregar más tierras para la realización de proyectos multinacionales.
Days before the meeting, Jenny Manrique wrote about “The value of dialogue for the indigenous people of Colombia” on the blog Americas Quarterly [es]:
Es lógico. El único interlocutor válido para resolver el conflicto desatado por la presencia de grupos armados y fuerza pública en territorio Indígena de los Nasa-Páez en el norte del Cauca, es el presidente Juan Manuel Santos. Mesas temáticas, delegados ministeriales, despliegue de fuerza pública, son medidas además de controversiales, inútiles. La presencia de ONGs internacionales y los informes de los relatores de derechos humanos sobre la situación de los pueblos Indígenas, respaldan el proceso y lo blindan pero terminan siendo insuficientes porque el estado colombiano no se anima a reconocer lo que la Constitución del 1991 le dio a estas comunidades: Autonomía.
Manrique concludes:
Que la deuda del Estado con estas comunidades es histórica e inmensa se ha dicho hasta el cansancio. Masacres (como la del Nilo), desplazamientos, asesinatos selectivos han sido denunciados ante organismos como la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos que ha condenado al Estado colombiano por su acción u omisión en los hechos. De la reunión de este martes depende que se reconozca el valor del diálogo para los Indígenas y la necesidad de una interlocución seria y definitiva con el Gobierno que medie en el tema de la Autonomía contra el mandato constitucional que determina la presencia de la fuerza pública en todo el territorio nacional.
Cauca puede ser ahora un escenario piloto de un modelo pacifista, o seguir apareciendo en los medios por cuenta de una violencia que a pesar de tener múltiples calificativos de los actores, parece que sólo tiene uno para las víctimas: Indígenas.
That State's debt to these people is historical and immense has been said to weariness. Massacres (like that of El Nilo) [es], displacements, and selective assassinations have been condemned by The Inter-American Court of Human Rights which denounced the Colombian state for its actions or omission of facts. The meeting on Tuesday depends on the recognition of the value of dialogues for the indigenous people and the necessity of a serious and definitive talk with the government to mediate the theme of autonomy against the constitutional mandate that determines the presence of national armed forces in all Colombian territory.
Cauca can now be a pilot scenario for the pacifist model, or continue appearing in the media because of accounts of violence that in spite of having multiple epithets for all involved, seem to only have one for the victims: Indigenous.
On Twitter, Alfredo Niño Rico (@AlfredoNi_rico) [es] asks for results:
@AlfredoNi_rico:  Sr. Presidente necesitamos resultados en su reunión del cauca con los indígenas solución de problemas inmediatos
In a similar manner, Nerea Antia Vinós (@belartxa) [es] asks that the President's request for forgiveness be put into action:
@belartxa: El presidente colombiano Santos pide perdón a los indígenas del Cauca. Espero que sus palabras se acompañen de hechos y derechos.
Apart from highlighting the request for forgiveness from Santos [es], the majority of traditional media have also brought forward the President's affirmation of a plan by the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) to kill him. Isabel Londono (@isalondono) [es] refers to this declaration by the President:
@isalondono: Santos sale de hablar con l@s indígenas y l@s invalida declarándose amenazado por FARC no será porque salió de la reunión con manos vacías.
Despite not reaching any concrete results, President Santos “qualifies the meeting with the indigenous communities of the Cauca as an important step”, as reported on the official website [es] of the Colombian Presidency.
This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.

author: Lully


text:
Colombia: Students’ National Mobilization Call · Global Voices
Lully

On Twitter [es], Facebook [es] and other [es] media, the National Student Board (Mane) [es] is calling for a national mobilization on September 5 to protest President Santos’ failure to keep his commitments to higher education. Image from their facebook page.


text:
Egypt: Women on TV in Ramadan · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Now that Ramadan is over, I can get it out of my mind and scream hard on how women were portrayed in the Egyptian TV throughout the whole month
Eman Hashim writes in her blog.


text:
France: Unexpected Parallel Between Assange and Strauss-Kahn · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

The blog de Casimira highlights some similarities [fr] between the timing of the charges and the ensuing judicial battles facing  J. Assange and D. Strauss-Kahn.  She also clarifies the peculiarities of the charge, “sex by surprise” [fr], for which the founder of WikilLeaks is being sued. This charge, which applies when the person refuses to wear a condom, is allegedly specific to Sweden and is punishable by a fine.

author: Suzanne Lehn


text:
India: Social Media Blamed for Fueling Assam Unrest · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

This is the first post in the 2-part series about the role played by social media in India in the fallout of the Assam clashes that spilled across the country and threatened to upset the nation's peace.
On 25 July, 2012, we reported about ethnic clashes that had broken out between the indigenous Bodo tribe and Bengali Muslim settlers in the Kokrajhar district of the Indian State of Assam.
The mainstream media (MSM) at first chose to shy away from reporting the ground realities of the clashes. After being barraged with questions and criticism on social media about their silence and/or inadequate coverage of the Assam situation, various reasons were offered from their end, perhaps the most curious one being that of the “tyranny of distance” – that the clashes in Assam were happening in a faraway area. Kokrajhar is located at a driving distance of about 215 kilometres from the state capital Guwahati (the distance measured in a straight line would be about 150km), and the national media channels did not have enough reach and lacked the required media vans for reportage.
Kokrajhar is located at a driving distance of about 215km from Guwahati, the capital of Assam
This is where social media stepped in. People reported from the ground, netizens mobilized and offered information about shelters, hospitals etc., and soon a buzz was generated on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and on various websites.
It was perhaps only after the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh's visit to the violence-hit Kokrajhar district that the MSM turned their attention to the situation – yet their coverage as well their analysis of the situation left a lot to be desired as they often came up with conflicting descriptions and reasons for the clashes as well as numbers of people affected. Thus the discourse and narrative on the MSM was unable to clear the air with respect to truth versus hype regarding the situation on the ground.
Ranjona Banerji, columnist and consulting editor with MXMIndia, pointed out that the MSM's “biggest weakness has been exposed by the violence in Assam”. In the same article, she went on to add:
I have yet to read – TV is a complete failure here – any sustained set of articles in any one publication on the Assam situation…The best I have read has been in kafila.org and if newspapers are not careful, the internet is going to walk all over their domain. Given the standard of newspapers sometimes, I don’t even know if that’s a bad thing.
While the administration took time to react and the MSM (by now having had moved the Assam riots to their front pages) debated passionately about whether or not the Muslim settlers involved in the clashes were illegal immigrants, mischief-makers took this opportunity and used all the means at their disposal – be it by influencing some of the regional/ vernacular media or by using the Internet, social media as well as SMS and morphed MMS images – to spread a feeling of victim-hood and outrage among a section of the Muslim populace across the country.
People returning home to Assam as news  spread that those hailing from the North Eastern states were being attacked and/or harassed across Western and Southern India. Image by Dipyaman Sarkar. Copyright Demotix (17/8/2012)
As authorities delayed, the city of Mumbai saw vandalism caught on camera and a spurt of violence unleashed on the media. On Youth Ki Awaz, blogger Tanaya Singh described the incidents of that day:
In a protest that was meant to condemn the violence in Assam and Myanmar, two people lost their lives in Mumbai and 46 were injured. The protest rally organised by Raza Academy at Azad Maidan Ground, took a violent form leading to the incident. The rally had a collection of about 1000 people, who had turned up (to protest) against the treatment of Muslims in Assam. It is reported that the crowd suddenly became aggressive and put vehicles on fire which included media vans and a BEST bus.
[…] Though Raza Acadamy tried to keep at bay by saying the they had gathered only to protest and triggering violence was not what they wanted, the president of this academy, who was an organizer of the event, did accept that there was an “irresponsible” speech delivered at the Ground, which could have been the reason behind the whole scene.
[Author's note: the crowd was possibly of a much higher number since Raza Academy later said that they had expected a maximum of 2,000 people and were unprepared for the huge turnout. There have been conflicting reports in the MSM about the actual numbers – for example, NDTV pegged it at about 10,000 while Hindustan Times claimed that it was around 20,000.]
Other accounts however stated that morphed, ‘provocative pictures’ available via MMS and/or printed off the Internet had been circulated among the gathered protesters which led to the violence.
Though the police later rounded up over 20 people and Raza Academy, the organization that had organized the protest, tendered unconditional apology for the incident, the unrest spread and soon there were reports from Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Lucknow, Kerala etc., of sporadic attacks and threats issued to people hailing from the North-East.
The rumor juggernaut rolled on unabated for a while, creating panic and insecurity among the people from North Eastern states, prompting them to flee back to their home towns. The blog Our Funerera, blaming the rumor mongering on “fundamentalist forces”, described the events as follows:
After the Mumbai violence many people admitted receiving inflammatory and instigating messages regarding the planned protest. The messages then spread to Pune and the students of the North East region where Assam is situated were reportedly harassed and threatened. Then the evil designs invaded Bangalore—the IT hub of India. North Eastern students started fleeing their hostels in panic and in thousands taking the next available trains or flights.
The fundamentalist forces are trying to create a communal divide all over India by targeting the North Eastern students in the garb of ‘revenge’. The government of India and the concerned states have been taking steps to reassure the safety of all people from Assam and the North East living anywhere in India. But the rumor mongers and the divisive forces must be stopped before they target new areas.
As the situation threatened to spiral out of control, the Government finally took action – primarily against messaging and social media. A temporary ban was put on bulk SMS and MMS. Local police swung into action and began arresting people forwarding ‘hate’ SMS examples. Social media sites were warned to monitor and remove inflammatory content. About 310 webpages were blocked.
While Google and Facebook have promised cooperation, the government has threatened social media platforms such as Twitter with legal action for non-cooperation, though there are now reports emerging that certain specific Twitter urls have now become inaccessible.
Naga students from Bangalore arrive at the Dimapur train station amidst fears of communal violence against the North Eastern people. Image by Caisii Mao. Copyright Demotix (18/8/2012)
However, even as the government sharpens its rhetoric of cyber-terrorism and blames Pakistan-based websites for fanning the rumors, not everyone is satisfied with such polemics. Rather, many people feel that the situation resulted from the government's failure to maintain law and order and offer timely intervention (in terms of offering reassurance, ensuring safety against attacks/threats, preventing the exodus) as well as identifying and booking the criminals swiftly.
For example, Karela Fry feels that such blame game is the government's attempt to “whitewash the lack of action” on it's part to bring to book the actual perpetrators. It argues:
It should be clear that there are groups working inside the country to create trouble. They may be supported, in terms of organization, money, and material, from across the border. However, until the government takes steps to correctly identify these groups, isolate them and then punish them, such terror attacks can take place at any time.
In the next part of this series, we will examine if this ‘blame social media’ stance is warranted (or misplaced) and what role the MSM is seen to be playing in this discourse.

author: Aparna Ray


text:
Iran: Detained Green Movement Leader Moved to Hospital · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mir Hossein Mousavi, a key Iranian Green Movement leader who was a reformist candidate in the controversial 2009 presidential elections and eventually the leader of the opposition in the post-election unrest, has been moved to hospital for “heart problem” on Thursday, August 23, 2012.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, also a former Prime Minister, along with Mehdi Karoubi, another Green Movement leader, has been under house arrest for the last 520 days.
Mir Hossien Mousavi, 2009. Source: Sabzintan blog. Used with permission.
Sabzintan writes [fa]:
Mir Hussein Mousavi, according to reliable sources, was moved to hospital today after being under house arrest for 526 days. His wife, Zahra Rahnavard, was with him. Staff working in hospital have had permission to leave hospital so far and security forces are everywhere in the hospital.
Green Correspondents invites [fa]:
People plan to protest against the two Green Movement’ activists house arrest during the Non-aligned Movement Summit in Tehran from August 26-31.
Freedomseeker writes [fa]:
We do not have right to be sad about Mousavi. He was jailed for 520 days and we did not do anything. Just waited. Even now if his health was important to us we should go towards the hospital. This is not the first time that regime jailed without organizing a trial. Ayatholah Montazeri, who criticized Ayatholah Khamenei, the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader, was under house arrest for five years and we did not do anything. Let's accept we are indifferent people.

author: Fred Petrossian


text:
Lebanon: Awaiting the Pope’s Visit in September · Global Voices
Thalia Rahme

The head of the Catholic Church Benedict XVI is to visit Lebanon from September 14 to 16. Father Alex, from Germany, hopes the visit is not late for the region and asks:
Which situation we will see in 1 month there? Let's hope and pray #Syria.
For more details about this trip, follow the official Twitter account @lbpapalvisit or the hash tag #PopeInLebanon.

author: Thalia Rahme


text:
Lebanon: It’s Back to Kidnapping Time · Global Voices
Thalia Rahme

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.
22 May 2012: 11 Shiite Lebanese were kidnapped on their way back to their homeland from a pilgrimage in Iran. The abductors are said to belong to the Free Syrian Army (FSA). There are many rumors about the victims’ fate or even their location. Their relatives have been protesting in front of the various embassies (Turkish, Qatari) and burning tyres in protest since.
August 13: Hassan Salim el Mekdad, another Shiite, was kidnapped in Syria, allegedly by the FSA too.
These actions might be explained by the fact that Hassan Nassrallah, the general secretary of the shiite Hezbollah Party, has been supporting Syria's president Bashar Al Assad.
In response, the Al Mekdad Family or clan started kidnapping Syrians, who are thought to belong to the FSA, as well as two Turkish citizens. It has even threatened to target other nationalities such as Saudis and Arab Gulf nationals, prompting various embassies to ask their citizens to leave the country immediately.
In brief, the situation is quite gloomy and nothing is clear yet.
Netizens in Lebanon have commented on all these events. Dutch journalist Fernande van Tetsbased, who is based in Lebanon, provided some figures about the structure of clans in Lebanon:
If we’re talking figures, I was told the Zaitar clan is 30000 strong, the Moqdad family has  15 0000 member and the Shamas clan 8000. All these clans operate beyond the reaches of the law and the Lebanese Armed Forces do not dare to enter their territory. Neither do the Internal Security Forces usually, as the 30 000 outstanding warrants mentioned in the article testify.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese are angry and are blaming everyone. Zak, from Lebanon Spring, believes that Hezbollah is responsible for all that is happening in the country. He writes:
Hezbollah is responsible because they set a precedent in May 7 which got everyone to think that the only effective way to fulfill their demands and solve their problems is by violence. Other results of this jungle-law-thinking are obviously discarding the presence of the government and inciting sectarianism. So, as a result of that, we got local militias to surface like the Sunni ones in the north (& other places) and Al-Mokdad family militia (as if they didn’t exist before like many other Bekaa tribes), and road blockers like Sheikh Ahmad Al-Assir. And all of them practise pure chaos.
But the FSA is as guilty as the party:
Free Syrian Army is also responsible by inviting Hezbollah or Shiite community to the fighting field by starting that kidnapping spree. First with the 11 kidnapped Shia pilgrims months ago, and with Hassan Al-Mokdad last week. FSA (non-officially) claims the kidnapped individuals to be Hezbollah fighters, but the evidence or scene don’t suggest that.
United States-based Lebanese As'ad AbuKhalil, or Angry Arab, writes for Al Akhbar newspaper's  blog, blaming the Lebanese government for the loss of control:
What is clear though is that innocent Syrian workers in Lebanon were subjected to more abuse and more attacks. Just as the FSA gangs claimed that their hostages are members of Hezbollah, the Mokdads claimed that their hostages were fighters with the Free Syrian Army. Neither side bothered with providing us with evidence.
He continues:
The Western and the Saudi/Qatari-funded Arab press ignored the plight of the Lebanese hostages in Syria, just as the failed Lebanese government ignored them. But there is something dangerous looking over Lebanon and Syria. The spate of sectarian kidnappings reminded people of my generation of the beginning of the sectarian civil war.
Funky Ozzi recalls the old scenario where Lebanon was just a “playground for the region”:
Conclusion? It's 1990s all over again, it's stupid Lebanese politicians who only care about being rich, it's militias who want to remain in Power, it's a playground for the region. And finally Syria always drags Lebanon into shit, and this time, its own shit. وحدة المصير والمسار
Of course, there is always mis-information by the media, the 11 kidnapped in Syria have been killed, then the 11 kidnapped were not killed… so what is it?
My analysis might not go in depth because 10 years ago I noticed every news episode was a Deja Vu and decided to only check up on it once in a while. However, core stays the same, only the players (somehow) change and main victim remains countries like Lebanon whose leaders don't care about it.
Meanwhile, Elie, from A Lebanese State of Mind, notes that there are other Lebanese detainees in Syria, some of whom have been missing for more than 30 years but whom no one has burnt a single tyre for. He says that in Lebanon there different classes of Lebanese prisoners in Syria:
Every other Lebanese prisoner present in Syrian prisons or still missing because of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. Their parents have been protesting for the past 5 years non-stop, asking for any news about their sons and daughters. They’ve been hearing nothing. The parents of these men and women don’t want their children to return alive anymore; they just want any news about their children for the sake of a thirty-years stretched out closure. Even that is too much to ask for.
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.


text:
Peru’s Feminist Activist-Artist: María María Acha-Kutscher · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

María María Acha-Kutscher, born in Peru in 1968, has a triple role as an activist, feminist, and visual artist. Her active online presence on her website, allows netizens to enjoy and share her work. Furthermore, all her images are available under a Creative Commons license, allowing us to share her work in this post.
Acha-Kutscher's biography of Acha-Kutscher explains:
In her work there are two fundamental axes: a feminist proposal and the openness of creative process to society.  She generates projects on women[‘s] historical memory and raise[s] problems or situations related with the fact of being born [a] woman according to the political or cultural context. Her work plays a dual role: being an artistic product and also an instrument that covers a social need and also contributes to political transformations.
In the following video (with English subtitles), Acha-Kutscher presents her series ‘Les Spectaculaires‘ from the Womankind project, “a wide range production of digital photographic collages”:
In the blog Mujeres Mundi, Xaviera Medina de Albrand dedicates a post to Acha-Kutscher entitled, ‘Twice María: An artist working for women.’ The post provides a brief biography:
María María takes her grandparents’ surnames Acha-Kutscher as her stage name. Born in Lima (Peru) where she studied at the Faculty of Arts of the Pontifical Catholic University. In 1991, left Peru fascinated by Mexico, where lived her grandfather – the renowned art critic Juan Acha – living there for 10 years. She worked as a graphic designer and publicist. Until 2000 when she created her own studio associated with her mother, the documentary filmmaker Maria Rodriguez.
Xaviera continues:
At twelve years old María María was emerging as a causes defender but the idea of being an activist artist was still vague ”I said ‘I wanna be a feminist artist’ when I arrived in Spain. When you are so far from your country, it helps you to see things that do not have seen from your own land and so, it emerges emotions and interests that you were not aware. I think all women have had at least a bad personal experience of womanhood. Women are the population group most marginalized over the history of humanity and this encourages fighting, contributing and joining with other women to create consciences to give our girls a better future”.
Important Dates, September 1, 1970, New York. Hundreds of women march through 5th Avenue reclaiming gender equality and women's rights on the 50th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Drawing by María María Acha-Kutscher (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Xaviera's post also highlights some of Acha-Kutscher's recent projects, like Women Working for Women. Acha-Kutscher's website explains:
Women Working for Women is a project for public spaces that recovers the women's historic memory through portraits of female personalities who have forged change and fought to improve the situation for their gender. The project also includes visual registers based on press images of the female memory in public protests. Each image is the result of an investigation in various archives that tells us a story of struggle that has brought important changes to the way we perceive gender and, consequently, to the history of humankind. The elaboration of each portrait are made digitally and printed in large format tarp that refers to the language of political and commercial messages that abound in Latin American cities.
The following portraits from the series ‘Visual Bios‘ are part of the Women Working for Women project:
Guerrilla Girls, by María María Acha-Kutscher (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
Mexican journalist Lindia Cacho, by María María Acha-Kutscher (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot, by María María Acha-Kutscher (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
In a similar series titled ‘Behind Him‘, Acha-Kutscher presents “8 visual biographies of heterosexual artists couples”, where she highlights the life and work of the woman in the relationship:
Behind Him- Frida [Kahlo] and Diego, by María María Acha-Kutscher (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
Behind Him – Dora and Pablo, by María María Acha-Kutscher (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
Acha-Kutscher is also dedicating a series to the women who are participating in the ‘Outraged’ (Indignados) protests in Spain. She explains:
It consists of a visual memory of women in public protests in Spain in 2012-2013. The results are drawing[s] based on press photographs and other[s] taken by witness[es] of these events.
Outraged before being born, by María María Acha-Kutscher (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
Indignadas, by María María Acha-Kutscher (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
Indignadas, by María María Acha-Kutscher (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
You can follow the ‘Indignadas’ series on Facebook. Visit Acha-Kutscher's website to see more of her projects and publications.

author: Silvia Viñas


text:
Myanmar: Delta Region Hit by Worst Flooding in a Decade · Global Voices
Chan Myae Khine

Flooding has become an annual tragedy in Myanmar and August is the middle of rainy season. Due to heavy rains, flooding has hit the delta region of the Ayeyarwaddy division.
About 727 villages have been flooded and more than 30,000 people in Pathien, Ayeyarwaddy have sought shelter in 207 emergency camps. About 95 schools have been closed during what has been the worst flood of the decade [my]. Aside from the delta region, the flooded areas also include Yangon and Lashio in Shan State.
Many netizens have shown their concern not only for the flood victims but also on the potential loss in production of rice, as nearly 530,000 acres of rice paddies [my] were flooded.
Myanmar's worst flooding in a decade. Photo by Nay Myo Zin, via Facebook.
Mg Ygn is worried [my] that the price of rice might increase in the coming days:
So the price of rice is going to be up.
Nilar Aye expressed [my] concern for farmers whose lands are now managed by cronies:
Today's situation is worrisome for Myanmar. Save the farmers from natural disasters and threat of cronies who unfairly took ownership of the farms.
A number of volunteer groups started a relief drive for victims. Some groups collected online donation form overseas Burmese while others went [my] directly to the affected areas to assist in the emergency camps. Nay Myo Zin asked [my] for contacts in the flooded villages via Facebook:
The reader, kindly share and link to volunteers around Thar Paung to call us on Monday Night.
Which roads are flooded? Where should we transfer to boats? What we should buy as first priority aid? What would be the best way for relief? Please contact me, locals from Thar Paung. I'll definitely try my best to bring all.
Online Volunteers of Disasters Recovery for Myanmar (OVDR4MM) which played a great role in helping Pakkoku flood victims last year, wrote [my] about the situation of some residents in relief centers:
90% of Thar Paung town is severely suffering from the flood. The victims have to seek refuge in the limited space in Buddhist monasteries and sports halls. It's very hard to have regular meals because of flood around the town. People are in dire need of clean water. The rain continues and flood could worsen.
We are contacting the groups which can give quick relief and representatives from emergency camps in order to be certain that the collected money will go to affected areas.
As only local individuals and volunteers groups are providing aid to affected areas, some questioned [my] the stand and silence of some NGOs which are usually vocal about many issues besetting Myanmar.
Khon Ja uploaded photos of the Myit Sone Dam project which was supposedly suspended because of the protests of residents. The dam, according Khon Ja, could worsen the flooding in the country:
I denied it's the natural disaster. Last year, Pakokku suffered flood. During current rainy season, all places throughout Ayearwaddy river are flooded. It will also happen in the future.
Both sides of In Mai (or) May Kha have been excavated for 3 furlongs in width and 30 miles in length. It directly affected the lives of many people near Ayeyarwady river.
Nay Myo Zin, a former military officer, blamed [my] the junta for the destruction of the country's natural resources:
I hate from my heart every ignorant governor who destroyed our natural resources, natural forests and the rivers. I do not wish for them to suffer what the people are currently experiencing but I'm deeply sad and can't forgive them in any ways. The more I see the small faces of poor Myanmar ethnics suffering from the floods, natural disasters, and hunger, the more I can't forgive them.
Flood in Myanmar's delta region. Photo by Nay Myo Zin, via Facebook.
Tala Chan Mon urged the government to improve the country's drainage system:
We need a stronger drainage system. It's normal to see floods during heavy rains. But we need better flow of rivers, streams and drains to make rain water flow into sea quickly.
Sunney Hla requested for a long term plan to reduce the risk of flood:

author: Chan Myae Khine


text:
Peru: Syllogisms, Questions and Famous Quotes · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón

Peruvian blogger Cyrano, from Columna 17 [es], raises some interesting questions and phrases, such as “an earthquake comes when the Earth trembles with fear”, or “What if I wage it all on poker?”, allegedly by Scrooge McDuck.

author: Gabriela García Calderón


text:
Portugal: The Dark Side of the National Dam Program · Global Voices
Hugo Ferro

[All external links in Portuguese except when otherwise noted]
This article is a part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
The projects scheduled as part of Portugal's Programa Nacional de Barragens (National Dam Program) will cost the country's government €16 billion – to be spent on construction, subsidies and interest on loans. Together with wind farms, they are going to make Portuguese electricity the most expensive in the world, over the course of a few short years.
The first reactions to the construction of Portuguese dams came from environmentalists and locally affected populations, but lately, there has been more public debate about the inherent problems of the National Dam Program.
The submersed village Vilarinho das Furnas, Terras de Bouro. Photo by Flickr user Rosete Pereira (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
One of the most active and critical voices of the National Dam Program has been the President of Grupo de Estudos de Ordenamento do Território e Ambiente (GEOTA, or Study Group for Land Management and Environment), João Joanaz de Melo, who has pointed out problems that dam construction could cause and the errors transmitted to public opinion by official sources.
In an article published in January 2012, João Joanaz de Melo deconstructed five main arguments used by those who promote dam construction:
Argumento ridículo 1 – “O investimento é privado.” O investimento inicial nas nove grandes barragens aprovadas pelo Governo ascende a 3600 M€, o que, somado aos custos financeiros e ao lucro das empresas de electricidade, gerará um encargo global estimado em16.000 M€ ao longo de 75 anos – que obviamente será pago na totalidade pelos cidadãos-consumidores-contribuintes. Parte deste custo será reflectido na factura da electricidade, e parte nos impostos, para suportar o défice tarifário e a “garantia de potência” estabelecida na Portaria n.° 765/2010. O que importa é que, entre tarifa e impostos, as novas barragens implicarão um aumento superior a 10% no custo da electricidade. (…)
Another one of the most active voices is that of José Luis Pinto de Sá, engineering professor at the Instituto Superior Técnico who has alerted the fact that the energy production “[of] the new hydroelectric investments, projected or in construction” will be “null or even negative”. In a post written in May 2010, for the blog A Ciência não é neutra (Science is not neutral), Pinto de Sá explained in a simple way the calculations of the (non) production of energy of these dams:
No total (…) as barragens produzirão em média 525+175= 700 MW, mas também consumirão 700 MW de origem eólica (ou solar). Portanto, o saldo energético das barragens será nulo.
The Tua case
The Tua line. Photo by nmourao on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Of the ten dams included in the National Dam Program, the most problematic is the Foz Tua Dam. The beginning of construction, in January 2010, implied the destruction of part of the Tua railway, a historic and centuries-old route.
The Movimento Cívico Pela Linha do Tua (Civic Movement for the Tua Line), that has existed since 2006, has been the main platform for opposition to this dam, organizing numerous protest actions and arguing that the repair of the railway would be better for the region than the dam.
According to a report in the program Biosfera, “Verdades Escondidas sobre as Barragens” (Hidden truths about the Dams), studies conducted by Portuguese universities showed that repair of the railway combined with environmental and cultural tourism would generate 11 times more employment than the dam for each €1 million invested.
Of all of the arguments against dam construction, the one that has had the most impact has been the preservation of Alto Douro Vinhateiro (Upper Winegrowing Douro), World Heritage of Mankind, since 2001.
In June 2012, resulting from the intervention of the Portuguese Ambassador at the last meeting of UNESCO in St Petersburg, members of the committee voted unanimously to significantly slow down the construction until the visit of a mission to occur before the end of July.
Image shared on the Facebook page “Eu não pedi um Plano Nacional de Barragens” (I did not ask for a National Dam Plan)
In an article published in the Público newspaper and reproduced on the blog Vi(st)a Estreita, precisely in July 2012, Alberto Aroso, the operational coordinator of the company responsible for the public services managing the national rail network (REFER), maintained that:
os estragos até agora produzidos ainda são reversíveis, na medida em que o paredão ainda não está iniciado e os cortes nas encostas para o respetivo encaixe ainda não têm expressão, estando-se perante o último fôlego do vale do Tua e o último momento para suspensão dos trabalhos para reavaliação de todo o projeto, procurando-se encontrar uma solução que salvaguarde o interesse nacional. A cada dia que passa mais caro será parar a barragem, nomeadamente se a mesma se traduzir no seu abandono definitivo.
However, after the visit of UNESCO officials, the construction was not suspended with the slow down only lasting until the conclusion of the report by UNESCO mission, that is supposed to be ready by the end of the year. In keeping with this decision, the Ministry of Agriculture, Sea, Environment and Land Management decided to put off the construction of the dam wall of the Foz Tua Dam until the second semester of 2013.
Rivers are being privatized
Alongside the whole dam question, the privatization of shares of Portuguese energy company (EDP) that the Portuguese state still possesses must be kept in mind. EDP is one of the main investors in the National Dam Program.
In December 2011 the sale of the Portuguese state's 21.35% share in EDP to the Chinese company Three Gorges for the sum of €2.7 billion was announced. This sale was the ninth largest transaction on the world energy markets in 2011.
Coincidentally or not, Three Gorges Company is responsible for the Three Gorges Dam, one of the largest in the world, which is situated on the Yangtzee River.
The state maintained a 4% slice of the electricity company, that cannot be sold because it is “prisoner” to interchangeable bonds. Meanwhile, the State is expected to sell the last 4% during 2012, no longer having any share of the company.
While in Portugal new dam construction is being discussed, in the US some of the largest dams are being demolished [en] as they are too expensive, inefficient and harmful to the environment.
The National Dam Program is far from being resolved and people need to know what is at stake.
This article is a part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Hugo Ferro


text:
Russia: Drug Drugu, Wish Fulfillment via Social Networks · Global Voices
Teplitsa

Drug Drugu [ru] (“To One Another”) is a service that works with the wishes of users. Community members can not only request some kind of help, but also offer their own. The resource's operating principle is very simple: a user leaves a message in the appropriate category, assigns it a category, location, and image, and waits for another community member to response.
Users’ activity is centered around two buttons: “They Want” and “They Can.” All public messages begin with these phrases. Using this function, everyone can express their own wishes and offers.For instance, Alexandra Tryapitsyna writes:
Я хочу научиться петь джаз, очень-очень. Чувство ритма — есть. Голос и слух — не знаю. Слух вроде есть, но себя я не слышу, когда пытаюсь что-то повторить. Кажется, что не попадаю. А всё от того, что голосом управлять не умею. Ну, я так думаю. Помогите!!!
Home page of the site
One needs only an account on Facebook or Vkontakte to become a member of the community. On the profile pages of users, statistics of requests and offers are collected (such as: what she could do, what she wanted, whom she thanked, who thanked her, etcetera). A user's activity on Drug Drugu is published to either Facebook or Vkontakte, if she so chooses.
Thanks and frubles (a neologism composed of the words “friend” and “ruble“) are the only convertible currency on Drug Drugu. With the help of frubles, users can reward other members of the community. Accumulated “capital” can be exchanged at the project's store for certificates redeemable at the Russian online store “Ozon.” Site administrators temporarily suspended this service, however, as it was not popular among users.

author: Teplitsa


text:
Russia: Taxi Drivers Versus Dagestanis in Ryazan · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Last week, Global Voices covered the ugly rhetoric of some nationalist Russian bloggers responding to medal-winning ethnic-minority wrestlers representing the Russian Federation in the Olympics. On August 14, 2012, one such blogger, Pavel Rasta, published a post [ru] that began in an all too familiar fashion by belittling the achievements of those Dagestani athletes and claiming that Russians do not view their medals as an Olympic victory.
As an example of rising tensions, Rasta described an episode of recent ethnic violence in the city of Ryazan, a medium-sized regional center not far from Moscow. While part of the story had already appeared in a local online newspaper [ru] prior to Rasta's blog, it was not reported on by the mainstream media in any great detail. After publishing his version of events to his blog, it has since spread [ru] throughout the Russian Internet.
Here are the basic plot points. On August 7, several taxi drivers got into a fight with a group of Dagestanis exiting a club in Ryazan. Reportedly, the taxi drivers were defending a woman. During the fight, more Dagestanis arrived in a van, but eventually retreated after other taxi drivers turned up to help their colleagues. The taxi drivers chased the van, but lost sight of it.
“Autocross.” Ryazan, Russia, 27-28 August 2011, photo by dm_401, CC BY-SA 2.0.
In one version of the story, the Dagestanis robbed a taxi driver the night before the fight. In Pavel Rasta’s version, the Dagestanis previously beat up several taxi drivers with metal pipes. Whatever the case, combined with this new altercation, it led to dozens, and possibly hundreds, of taxi drivers organizing, apparently with the help of a local Cossack leader.
Throughout the next day, taxis circled the town looking for the Dagestani van, to no effect. Later, a column of two hundred cars (taxi drivers and civilians) drove to Kanischevo, a Ryazan suburb and Dagestani enclave.
What exactly happened in Kanischevo is unclear. The available descriptions are sparse and metaphorical. Consider [ru]:
Дальнейшее описывать смысла нет: Канищево буквально вспахали и засеяли. Годы беспредела, расползавшегося оттуда, даром не прошли.
Or [ru]:
Изначально хотели отыскать совершавших избиения. Но когда прибыли на место, стали разбираться со всеми подряд. Горцы разбегались в разные стороны.
Regardless of the specifics, if this excursion was not a pogrom, it was definitely “pogrom-like.” Ironically, the van still remained elusive.
The taxi drivers then returned to town, and established themselves on the main square, which prompted a visit from the riot police. Amazingly, the riot police talked to the protestors and refused to clear the square. The drivers eventually dispersed, but not until establishing their own street patrols [ru]. Some taxi drivers have also begun to discriminate against Dagestanis, tweeted [ru] Ryazan-based @Maninshadow.
Такси “двоечки” в Рязани не рекомендует водителям брать пассажиров кавказской национальности.
The lack of reporting makes it difficult to judge the validity of some aspects of the story. Ryazan locals on one IT forum [ru] claim that the news was fabricated. There was indeed fighting between taxi drivers and Dagestanis, but it was over territory.
Nevertheless, the details above are upheld by original reporting [ru] from “Free Press,” an online publication edited by writers Zahar Prilepin, a National Bolshevik, and Sergey Shargunov, a former member of the political parties Rodina and Just Russia. Russia’s Migrant Federation also released an official comment [ru], saying that they will send a group of observers to the region, in order to forestall any further conflict.
If true, the situation is particularly troubling because of parallels with the notorious Kondopoga ethnic riots of 2006 [ru]. Events like this raise questions about Russia's capacity to effectively cope with its multiculturalism, especially now, when the situation on the ground in the North Caucasus is so troubling. Eduard Limonov, writer and founder of the National Bolshevik Party and a perpetual leader of the opposition, is of the opinion [ru] that:
Дагестан вот-вот перестанет быть территорией Российской  Федерации

author: Andrey Tselikov


text:
Six days in Hong Kong’s Occupy Central · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Among the “occupy” movements, Hong Kong's activists probably have set the longest record in the occupation of the central financial area. Hudson Lockett from DANWEI lived with the activists and homeless for six days and told the readers what he experienced in the occupation area.


text:
Taiwan: Corporate Lawsuit Threatens Academic Freedom · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

Dr. Ben-Jei Tsuang, a professor at the Department of Environmental Engineering in National Chun Hsing University [zh], is the latest victim of a defamation lawsuit brought on by a big corporation, the Formosa Plastic Group.
Increasingly, big corporations in Taiwan are using defamation lawsuits to silence activists and scholars. In fact, many legal experts suggest that the current criminal defamation law is in violation [zh] of international covenants.
Dr. Tsuang worked with a research team to evaluate the environmental impact of 66 factories in Taichung and Yunlin. His team found that heavy metals and dioxins were being released in to the air, close to the Formosa Plastic Group (FPG)'s Six Naphtha Cracking plant. Dr. Tsuang presented his findings at several expert conferences held by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.)
In response, two affiliates of FPG, Formosa Chemicals & Fiber Corporation and Mailiao Power Corporation, filed criminal charges at the Taipei District Prosecutor's office in early April, 2012, seeking NT$40 million (about USD1.33 million) in damages for defamation [zh, pdf].
Dr. Tsuang explains the environmental impact of the petrochemical industry at an anti-Kuokuang petrochemical project protest. Photo by Gea-choas, used with permission.
Dr. Tsuang's findings are critical for several civil groups who have been advocating to stop the Kuokuang petrochemical project. In fact, these groups already won the battle, as later FPG failed to persuade any local government in Taiwan to approve their petrochemical project and decided that the project be moved out of Taiwan and relocated to Malaysia in May 2012.
With this in mind, Shih-Wei Lu, a lawyer who is assisting Dr. Tusang's defense team pointed out [zh] that the lawsuit is a ‘strategic lawsuit against public participation‘, in other words it is intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.
Many scholars and civic groups are demanding the FPG to drop the case. A joint letter by several civil groups states [zh]:
民間團體要感謝包括莊秉潔教授等多位學者，以各自不同領域的專業，不斷揭發六輕汙染環境、影響民眾健康的科學研究。
汙染者應負舉證責任，六輕應公開所有汙染物排放資訊…若無法證明其創辦人王永慶先生所說六輕「空氣清新、景色宜人」，應儘速撤告，勿漠視此事將使你們的企業形象雪上加霜，惡化社會對你們的觀感和評價。
Dr. Ming-Yi Wu from National Tsing-Hua University also wrote an article [zh] to support Dr. Tsuang:
FPG's Six Naphtha Plant is considered a serious pollution source. Photo by Changhua Coast Conservation Action. Used with Permission.
台塑大可尋求學界 支援，以學術挑戰學術…但台塑以官司取代研究，加以巨額求償…台塑這場控告，證明了對抗粗野的、惡質的企業是有價值的，那就是價值四千萬的勇氣。
Even though the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office pointed out that academic freedom is protected by Taiwan's constitution and decided to drop the charge in June 6, 2012, FPG applied to the High Court for an appeal.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tsuang is still facing the civil charge while the judge asked FPG to prepare more evidence for the next court session on September 20, 2012. To show their support and share information about the court case, Dr. Tsuang's students created a Facebook page [zh]:
老師認真於研究，
總是獨自埋頭苦幹，
努力發揮所長為臺灣環境品質作嚴格把關，
這次無故捲入與台塑訴訟的風波中，
深深為老師抱不平，
系上需要這樣盡心盡力的教授，
而社會也需要這樣不畏懼強權的人來帶領我們，
我們中興環工的學生希望可以集結社會大眾的力量，
一起為莊秉潔老師聲援!

author: I-fan Lin


text:
Togo: 11 Missing After Clashes Between Police and Protesters   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Togo protests. Image by Collectif Sauvons le Togo (used with permission).
Koaci writes that 11 protesters are reported missing [fr] after the police clashed with thousands of protesters on the streets of Lomé on August 23:
Police forces have used violence so far but they were quickly overwhelmed. For the first time, the whole city was filled with protesters.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


text:
Tunisia: Former Presidential Advisor Faces Military Trial Over Army Criticism · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

Ayoub Massoudi, a former advisor to Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, faces a military trial over his declarations regarding the extradition of former Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmoudi (under Gaddafi).
Fearing that Mahmoudi would not get a fair trial in Libya, President Moncef Marzouki had opposed the extradition. Yet, the government presided over by Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali sent Mahmoudi back home on June 24, 2012, without notifying the president who on that same day was touring the south of Tunisia, accompanied by Rachid Ammar [Chief of Staff of the Tunisian Armed Forces] and Abdelkrim Zbidi [Minister of Defence].
In a televised interview, dated July 15, and aired on the privately-owned Attounisia TV channel, Massoudi described the extradition process as a “treason against the State”, because Ammar and Zbidi who “were aware of the extradition, its time, and all of its circumstances… did not utter a word, and did not inform the President who is the Commander-in-Chief.”
“Freedom to Ayaoub Massoudi” “the military is not a red line” photo via Nawaat.org
Following a complaint lodged against him by General Rachid Ammar, Ayoub Massoudi faces charges of “harming the army's dignity, reputation, and morale” and “accusing without proof a public officer.
#FreeAyoub
Although Ayoub is not behind bars, a travel ban was imposed on him. On August 16, authorities at the Tunis Carthage Airport prevented him from boarding a plane to join his family in Paris.
Chayma Mehdi tweets [fr]:
#AyoubMassouadi n'a pas été arrêté certes, n’empêche #FreeAyoub. Parce-qu’on est censé être libre de quitté ou non notre pays.
Malek Khadhraoui, editor-in-chief of Nawaat.org, reports [fr]:
Ayoub Massoudi n'a reçu aucune notification au sujet de la plainte déposée contre lui par l'armée
“Treason against the State” not “High Treason”
The award-winning collective blog Nawaat.org obtained a copy of General Ammar's testimony in Massoudi's case. Ramzi Bettibi (aka Winston Smith) reports [ar]:
Bettibi adds:
Trial to resume next week
Protest staged outside the Tunis Military Court in support of Massoudi. Photo via Nawaat.
On August 22, the second hearing in Massoudi's case took place at the Tunis based Permanent Military Court. The trial will resume on August 30. Nawaat reports [fr] on its Facebook page:
#freeayoub La deuxième audition de Ayoub Massoudi vient de s'achever. Le juge d'instruction militaire a décidé d'une 3e audition le 30 août 2012. Ayoub Massoudi y comparaîtra libre mais demeure sous le coup de l'interdiction de voyager
Ayoub Massoudi resignation
It is worth mentioning that Ayoub Massoudi resigned on June 28, after serving as President Marzouki's top media advisor for ten months. The decision came in protest at what Massoudi described as his “exclusion” from decision-making in the presidential cabinet.
He announced his resignation on his blog in a post [fr] entitled “Je suis enfin libre” (Free at last). He wrote:
C'est en toute liberté et sans aucune contrainte ou pression que j'annonce cette démission, motivée par le respect immense que je voue à la Révolution tunisienne, aux martyrs, à l'Etat, aux tunisiens et à tous les contribuables qui payent mon salaire pour un métier que je n'exerce pas dans les faits. Pourtant, dieu sait combien j'ai essayé.

author: Afef Abrougui


text:
Angolan Tourists Spend Big Bucks in Portugal · Global Voices
Vania Negrao

For years, Angola has lived in Portugal's shadow, but things are changing; now it's money coming from Angolan tourists which is filling up the cash registers of Portugal's high-end shops. According to a study by Visa Europe, ‘Mediterranean Rim Tourism Monitor‘ [.pdf], between January and April of this year, Angolan tourists have spent more than 87 million euros in Portugal.
In 2011, Angolan tourists spent more than 59.6 million euros, which is an increase, in 2012, of 30 million euros. Orlando Castro, Angolan journalist and author of the blog Alto Hama, highlights [pt] however, that this is in stark contrast to the African reality, where a majority of the population of Africa live on less than 100 euros per day,
o perfil do povo angolano, que representa 70% da população, é pé descalço, barriga vazia, vive nos bairros de lata, é gerado com fome, nasce com fome e morre pouco depois com… fome.
Luanda: Poverty vs Development. Photo by mp3ief on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
According to Orlando Castro, the Angolan tourists spending money in Portugal are primarily “men in their forties, businessmen from the construction industry, ex-soldiers or men with links to government”.
The Angolans, who constitute 30% of the Portuguese luxury market, spend approximately 350 euros on each item they buy. Orlando Castro reinforces this, saying:
É comum uma loja de luxo facturar, numa só venda, entre 50 e 100 mil euros, pagos por transferência bancária ou cartão de crédito.
Spending by the Angolans as well as the Mozambicans is among those showing the largest increase. Angola is already second in the list of countries most commonly buying from Portugal.
The study by Visa Europe also reveals that cash withdrawals reached a total of 220 million euros between January and April 2012, “and practically all sectors have experienced an increase in expenditure by foreign visitors to Portugal”.
At the start of the year, European Parliament President, Martin Schulz claimed [pt] that the injection of Angolan capital would contribute to Portugal's “decline”, given that money which comes from states where democracy is questioned, jeopardizes the values of Portuguese democracy.
Martin Schulz's words were republished [pt] by on the Cabinda Mpalapanda Civic Association wesbite by Cisco António:
This is the future of Portugal: the economic decline, and a social hazard for people if we cannot comprehend the situation, economically speaking, and above all with our stable democratic  and economic system, we will only have the power of suggestion within the European Union.
According to the President of the European Parliament, Portugal should turn to the other European States. However, a majority of these states are currently experiencing an economic crisis themselves, and so in order to try and get itself out of this situation, Portugal has turned to states where democracy is considered a “utopia,” such as Angola and China.
Advert at Lisbon airport for an Angolan bank. Photo by Chiva Congelado no Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
On Angolan website Maka Angola, Angolan journalist Rafael Marques de Morais points out that [pt],
os grandes parceiros económicos de Angola, como a China, Brasil e Portugal têm alimentado, de forma directa, a corrupção, através de concessão de linhas de crédito por petróleo e acordos económicos bilaterais opacos.
Despite this, the Portuguese government continues to work in partnership with Angola; Rafel Marques de Morais has said that,
tais comportamentos asseguram que pouco ou nada se altere em Angola, excepto o dinheiro envolvido que se torna cada vez mais apetecível.
In his blog, Pegadas Luís Moreira confirms that [pt],
a pouco a pouco o dinheiro angolano vai dominando empresas e sectores económicos em Portugal, desde a banca, à comunicação social, aos sectores agrícolas do azeite e do vinho.
An article [pt] published at the end of July by Deutsche Welle indicates that for Portuguese Joint-Minister and minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Miguel Relvas, relations with Angola are “inseparable, hence the reason that we have seen an increase of Angolan investment in Portugal”. The minister was involved with the closure of a public radio programme in January 2012, after a story – reported by Global Voices – was broadcast which criticised the control over the Portuguese media by Angolan economic groups.
In his Pegadas blog, Luís Moreira, points out that [pt]:
o grande problema de aceitarmos como sócios países não democráticos e sem estado de direito é que os novos sócios, rapidamente, olham para o nosso país como olham para o deles. Tudo se compra, não há limites à trafulhice, nem à ganância.
In May 2011, Invest Lisbon, a partner of AICEP (which aims to encourage foreign investment in Portugal), organised a conference in Luanda aimed at attracting Angolan investors, a specific group of entrepreneurs with the capability and scope to invest internationally, and the slogan was ‘Lisbon is your capital of Europe’ [.pdf, pt].
In the Maka Angola blog, it is  stated that [pt],
entre o investimento legítimo e o branqueamento de capitais, Portugal contínua a ser o destino preferido dos ricos angolanos e a sua melhor lavandaria financeira.
Website Circulo Angolanos Intelectual (Angolan Intellectual Circle) emphasises that [pt]:
O novo-riquismo angolano em todo o seu esplendor, têm muito dinheiro e gastam muito dinheiro, todos viajam muito, por todo o mundo, compram palácios, mansões, não têm mãos a medir dado o seu incomensurável poder aquisitivo. É assim a vida dos mais ricos e mais abastados angolanos, continuam na rota do dinheiro indiferentes a pobreza da maior parte da população angolana. As desigualdades sociais em Angola, Luanda em particular, são enormes, aberrantes e absurdas para um país que ainda não se afirmou e tarda em encontrar-se
Portugal is, therefore, an obligatory destination for Angolans with money who will continue to take a chance on it, indifferent to the economic crisis which is devastating Europe.

author: Vania Negrao


text:
Arab World: 1.3m Active Twitter Users Across Arab Countries  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Arabist shares statistics on Twitter users in the Arab world, where the overall number of active Twitter users across the entire region numbers 1.3 million. The largest number of active Twitter users live in Saudi Arabia.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Bermuda: Learning from London · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Respice Finem says that there are valuable lessons to be learned from the London Olympics.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Bolivian Women Lead TIPNIS Struggle · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Their protagonism has sparked controversy in a society where patriarchal traditions and attitudes still run deep
Emily Achtenberg writes in the blog Rebel Currents. Photo by Szymon Kochanski (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).


text:
Caribbean: Escape from Tropical Storm Isaac  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Caribbean netizens have their eye on Tropical Storm Isaac, the ninth such weather system for the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. (Its predecessor, Tropical Storm Helene, brought torrential rainfall to Trinidad and Tobago, which resulted in extensive flooding, landslips and some fatalities.)  Isaac has been steadily moving up the Leeward Islands, and storm warnings and watches have been issued for Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
From Cuba, Havana Times has been charting the storm's path.  Yesterday, the blog posted that Isaac was moving “towards a predicted landing in Haiti or the Dominican Republic by late Friday or Saturday”:
A hurricane warning is in effect  for all of Haiti and portions of the DR, while a tropical storm alert is in effect for all of Puerto Rico.
Meanwhile, the Cuban Weather Service (INSMET) is advising caution, stating the storm could present a threat to Cuba.
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, News of St. John reported that people were being asked to prepare “for tropical storm conditions beginning Wednesday with torrential downpours, gusty thunderstorms and building seas”, although the storm was predicted to pass south-west of the island.  In nearby St. Thomas, bloggers were also “battening down the hatches”.  Yesterday, the St. Thomas-based blogger, Captain Jay, reported “hot and sticky” weather…
with some heavy rain and winds gusting into the thirty plus mile per hour range. It doesn't look like much damage from here.  This one has left us alone.
Then he quipped:
I think God has other plans for Isaac, thinking he might drop a message on the Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay next week. Just saying.
News of St. John, in an update earlier today, also had little damage to report, but linked to video of the storm's “winds – er, strong breezes”, here, here and here.  There was also a video of the storm's effects in Guadeloupe, posted here.
Understandably, there is concern for the effects the storm may have on Haiti, as much of its population in Port-au-Prince is still living in tent cities after the devastating effects of the 2010 earthquake.  The country has weathered storms before, of course, but the Livesay Haiti Weblog explained it this way:
Nobody needs this, especially not the left-half of Hispaniola.
Hoping and praying it shoots off into the Caribbean and leaves the islands alone.
Haiti Chery thought that the Haitian government was not doing as much as it could given the circumstances:
For Haiti and the Dominican Republic’s southern coast, a hurricane warning is in effect. Such a warning means that both countries should be urgently preparing to protect life and property.
In Haiti, the storm is expected to make a direct hit on the area including Jacmel, the Ile de la Gonave, and the populous capital city of Port-au-Prince where about half a million people still live under tents. So far, the National Center for Meteorology (CNM, Centre National de Météorologie)…and the government have merely issued color-coded alerts and warnings to avoid rivers and windows.
The heavy precipitation might cause flash floods and mud slides. On the coasts, there will be dangerous waves, and storm surges could raise the waters 3 to 5 feet above the normal tide levels.
Already there is talk of a resurgence of cholera with this coming storm; but contaminated drinking water causes cholera, not hurricanes. It behooves the Haitian health officials to take full responsibility for guaranteeing that all emergency bottled water distributed during the storm is verified as being safe to drink.
The post went on to give regular weather reports.  In an updated blog entry today, Dady Chery said, tongue firmly in cheek:
Haitian government officials finally did something about Tropical Storm Isaac.  They gathered 32 boats and 1250 temporary shelters as peace offerings to the storm gods. Then they gave a press conference at which they demanded that all those in charge of safety — whoever they might be — do their jobs, whatever these might be… like, help Haitians through ravines, for instance.
At the least, this keeps people too busy to ask the government officials to do their jobs.
The storm gods listened to all that the Haitians had to say. Then they went and listened as closely to ABC News, which prayed dearly for the winds and rain to make a mess of the Republican National Convention in Tampa.  Feeling unwanted in Haiti but welcome in Florida, the gods held a congress and made their decision. They would sail their 32 boats to Tampa.
And this is how Isaac disappeared from the Caribbean Sea to reemerge as a category 3 hurricane directly over the GOP National Convention. In the U.S., it was all news, all weather, all the time.  In Haiti, it was a beautiful, drizzly, carnival night! A miracle.


text:
Chessmaster Gary Kasparov’s Arrest During Pussy Riot Trial · Global Voices
Liana Aghajanian

Perhaps the most surprising thing to emerge out of the media saturated Pussy Riot trials other than the trial itself, was the attendance and subsequent arrest of the former Chessmaster of Caucasian descent, Gary Kasparov, at the reading of the verdict on August 17, which saw the three women accused of illegally performing  a “punk prayer” in a church receive a two year prison term.
Kasparov, born in Baku, Azerbaijan, to an Armenian mother and Jewish father, adapted his last name from his mother's Armenian maiden name, Gasparyan, after the death of his father. Kasparov and his family escaped the pogrom of Armenians in Baku  during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and settled in Moscow. He went on to become the youngest World Chess Champion and is considered to be the greatest chess player of all time.
The news of his arrest was posted by admins on Kasparov's Facebook page, which saw a sharp increase in activity after news spread of the events.
[Editors] Garry Kasparov has just been arrested outside the Moscow courthouse where the Pussy Riot trial is taking place. He was not there to protest, simply to attend, and the police cornered him and dragged him into the police van. This photo shows the police assaulting him inside the van. We hope he is all right and we will provide updates when we have them.
The first photo to come out of the arrest, which the page posted was taken by  Moscow-based journalist Olaf Koens, who tweeted it with a caption:
@obk: This is the police wrestling with Garry Kasparov inside the paddy van. Are they beating him?
Garry Kasparov after he was detained by police outside the Pussy Riot verdict hearing/Photo by Olaf Koens via Twitter
Those close to him were quick to dispel rumor that he had been protesting.
Mig Greengard, Kasparov's “aide-de-camp,” was the first to clarify:
@chessninja: At least one report that Garry Kasparov has been arrested at the Pussy Riot courthouse. He wasn't protesting, just trying to get in!
The tweet was followed by a post on chessmaster's Facebook page:
[Editors] We just spoke to Garry on the phone. He is at the police station. He was beaten but says he is okay. He isn't sure what will happen next. It seems the police are waiting for orders from above. He says he was standing calmly speaking with journalists when police pushed through and grabbed him. Thanks to everyone for the support.
Many took to Twitter to praise Kasparov, a political activist and outspoken Putin critic  who took part in setting up The Other Russia, an anti-Kremlin coalition.
@johnhm5235: Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion & current Russian democracy advocate, on CNBC. He is a hero to people who love freedom.
@RSiljanoski: Just imagine if Garry Kasparov was president of Russia what a smart country Russia would be! FreePussyRiot girls!
Kasparov was accused of biting an officer's hand during the scuffle and was yelling slogans such as “Russia Without Putin,” as The Other Russia suggests in a post on alleged falsified reports in Kasparov's arrest. Video taken during the scuffle, in which biting or yelling cannot be seen or heard, seem to tell a different story.
ChessBase.com, in a recent blog post, also refutes the allegations:
Our contacts tell us that he was outside the court house speaking to Radio Svoboda journalists when police pushed through to seize him. The 49-year-old Kasparov insisted he was not protesting, but the police grabbed him and violently dragged him into a police van, where he was further physically assaulted by the police, as documented by a photographer.
Earlier this week, Kasparov told fans on Facebook that he had gone to the Investigative Committee of Russia to submit complaints on his “illegal arrest, assault and libel” and also saw the officer he is accused of having bitten:
Unfortunately I did not have the chance to give him a strong handshake, but his hands looked fine to me… A full updating coming here tonight, with more photos and videos coming out. I am fighting bites with bytes!
Follow BBC's Moscow correspondent, Daniel Sandford, who is live tweeting from Kasparov's trial taking place today.

author: Liana Aghajanian


text:
Cuba: Foul Play in Death of Oswaldo Payá? · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

At The Cuban Triangle, Phil Peters comments on the allegations of foul play surrounding the accidental death of Cuban activist Oswaldo Payá.
[The] many efforts to accuse Havana of assassinating Payá, or in most cases to insinuate that it did so, seem hasty and very political, even as those who make the accusations complain that Havana is making its own political points.

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


text:
Ecuador on Alert Over Spewing Tungurahua Volcano · Global Voices
Alison Martinez

The Tungurahua volcano, an icon and symbol of sovereignty for Ecuadorians, has been registering new activity since the night of August 12, 2012, when incandescence was spotted around the crater zone, as reported by the Geophysical Institute EPN (Polytechnic National School) [es].
The volcano has been spewing pyroclastic material and ash throughout this month, affecting 3,072 families, 4,329 acres of pasture and crops, and 5,700 animals, according to Ministry of Agriculture [es] officials at the time of writing this post.
The “Report on recent activity in the Tungurahua volcano”, published on August 14 on the Geophysical Institute's official website, reported that the volcano's activity had remained “at a moderate to low level.” However, on Sunday, August 5, two moderate explosions were registered, and from then on greater activity has been recorded during the rest of the month.
The same report [es] points out that during the early hours of August 14,
se registró un incremento sustancial del tremor sísmico, acompañado por intensos bramidos que en algunos casos provocaron el vibrar de ventanales en el Observatorio Volcanológico del Tungurahua (OVT), […] en la mañana se reportó caídas moderadas a importantes de ceniza en Pillate y Cusúa (cantón Pelileo) y en Choglontús (cantón Penipe).
Through Facebook [es] and Twitter, the Geophysical Institute (@IGecuador) [es] shares official reports and keeps citizens informed about the latest activity in the Tungurahua. They are also sharing photos, like this one from August 12:
@IGecuador: Volcán Tungurahua: incandescencia en la zona del cráter. Noche 12 de agosto de 2012 pic.twitter.com/jWVMp6Mp
Tungurahua Volcano, August 12, 2012. Photo shared by Twitter user @IGecuador.
On Thursday, August 16, the Geophysical Institute informed [es] that the volcano had produced a loud cannon sound, generating a constant seismic signal associated with emission and accompanied by roars that shook windows in areas near the volcano.
The report added that incandescent blocks that reached several hundred meters above the crater and then descended down the flanks were also reported.
The situation worsened with the each passing day. On Saturday 18 the National Secretariat for Risk Management (SNGR [es]) declared an orange alert in all areas near the volcano in the Tungurahua province.
Radio Sucre uploaded the following video to YouTube on August 20:
In its August 20 report [es], the Geophysical Institute said that that the volcano had spewed columns of vapor with moderate ash content. These columns, which usually move west, reached maximum heights of 4 km and an average height of 1.5 km over the crater.
The next day, the Geophysical Institute (@IGecuador) [es] shared this photo:
@IGecuador: V. Tungurahua Expulsión de bloques incandescentes durante al atradecer del 20 de agosto 2012. Fuente: G. Ruiz (IGEPN) pic.twitter.com/796j3Ure
Tungurahua Volcano, August 20. Photo shared by Twitter user @IGecuador.
The volcano's recent activity is taking a toll on the people living near the volcano. The upper plains and slopes of the Quero canton are covered with a thin layer of ash which has affected potato crops, according to reports by newspaper  El Comercio [es].
Recent reports from the same newspaper [es] point out that the volcano spewed pyroclastic material through the creeks of Cusúa and La Pirámide during the afternoon of August 21. With the wind blowing westward, surrounding areas are again suffering from a threat that has generated 12 years of constant alert in the region.
On August 22, Carlos Ureña Moreno (@carlos_urenaM) [es] reported the following from Riobamba, a city affected by the volcano:
@carlos_urenaM: Ya con secuelas de la ceniza ,enfermo , volcán #Tungurahua dejenos vivir…!!! jejeje , 12 años d lo mismo : (
In its August 22 report, the Geophysical Institute said [es] that a decrease in activity had been registered, “however, evidence in the rest of the monitoring system is still present, like deformation, which indicates that there is still pressure inside the volcano.”
That same day, Pancho Gimenez (@panchojimenezo) [es] informed:
@panchojimenezo: Nueva y fuerte explosión del #volcán#Tungurahua. Sigue sin poder apreciar. Nublado totalmente
Hours later he added:
@panchojimenezo: hay expulsión de material piroplastico [sic] este momento del #volcán#Tungurahua
Newspaper El Universo shares recent images of the volcano on its Flickr account. You can also see more photos of the active volcano on the Geophysical Institute's Facebook page.

author: Alison Martinez


text:
France: Mandatory Car Driver Breathalyzers in Bid to Reduce Accidents · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

[All external links forward to French language sites]
Update – December 2012: The mandatory holding of breathalyzers in cars has been postponed several times, due to shortages of the devices and doubts about the efficiency of those put on the market.
Starting July 1, 2012, based on an official edict published by the Journal Officiel on Thursday March 1, every vehicle driver in France will need to carry a breathalyzer. This measure is aimed at diminishing the number of accidents caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol.
Implications of the new law
Mathieu Sicard explains the new regulation on Nouvel Observateur's site, Le plus:
Il faut obligatoirement pouvoir en présenter un en état de marche au policier qui vous arrête. Si vous avez opté pour le modèle à cristaux, vous devez donc en avoir au moins deux (celui dans lequel vous aurez soufflé avant de partir, et un neuf à présenter). Sa durée de vie est de deux ans. Pensez donc aussi à vérifier sa date de péremption.
Knowing whether to choose the bar or the steering wheel. Author's picture.
Jean Baptiste le Dall, a lawyer at the Court and Vice President of the Automotive Club of Lawyers reminds us that the law to keep a breathalyzer in the vehicle dates back to 1970; this clause has gone unheeded due to the lack of implementing provisions. Even so, he is wondering if it is enforceable:
Que pourra-t-on dire alors d'un automobiliste qui se croyant en règle après avoir utilisé son vieil éthylotest qui traînait depuis plusieurs mois au fond de la boîte à gants se verrait poursuivre devant le tribunal correctionnel pour alcool au volant ? Que dire alors de l'élément intentionnel du délit de conduite sous l'empire d'un état alcoolique ?
The following video uploaded to YouTube by user PreventionRoutiere75 explains how the breathalyzer would work for French commuters:
There are many accidents around urban centers that are due to drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs, which has created much outrage in the public opinion.
Repeated fatal accidents
In France in 2010, more than 450,000 drivers did not have driving licenses. In all the following accident examples, the hit-and-run drivers did not have driving licenses and their blood alcohol level was between 0.5 and 0.8 grams.
On July 22, in the 19th Arrondissement of Paris, a hit-and-run driver at the wheel of a fast car hit a woman and her 11 year-old daughter, who were crossing a street on the designated pedestrian crossing. The driver and the four passengers ran from the scene but were pulled over a few minutes later by the police. According to a post published on forum-politique.org, the driver is a repeat offender:
Présenté comme un «voyou multirécidiviste», Jiyapirasanthan J. était connu pour 22 affaires. ….le chauffard était aussi connu pour usurpations d'identité, vol à main armée et aussi par des troubles commis à l'occasion d'une manifestation sportive.
In another accident, on the same day, a 24 year-old driver caused the death of a 22 year-old woman in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine). This was also a hit-and-run incident. During that same weekend, in Saint-Georges of Oléron, a man was seriously injured in a car accident, while his son is still seriously injured.
Based on the website “Plan B”, below are the possible sanctions for blood alcohol levels whilst driving:
Si votre taux d’alcool est compris entre 0,5 et 0,8 gramme par litre de sang : vous risquez une amende forfaitaire de 135 euros et la perte de six points du permis de conduire.
Last July 30, an 11 year-old boy was killed on the sidewalk in front of his parents’ house by a driver with a blood alcohol level of 1.18 grams/liter. With a blood alcohol level higher than 0.8g/l, the penalty is a suspended driver's license, up to two years of a jail sentence, a fine of 4,500 euros, car seizure and the loss of six points on your license.
The inter-ministerial National Observatory for Road Safety also discloses:
La conduite sous l’emprise de l’alcool demeure, pour la cinquième année consécutive, la première cause infractionnelle de mortalité au volant : en 2010, plus de 30 % des personnes tuées sur la route le sont dans un accident en raison de l’alcool. Si aucun conducteur présumé responsable n’avait conduit avec un taux d’alcool positif, 1 150 vies auraient pu être épargnées.
These news stories caused a wave of protest in the media. Many listeners called their radio stations to express their indignation, or submit comments on the many news sites. KrisVador writes:
Pourquoi seulement 10 ans de détention pour quelqu'un qui -si l'on considère que la voiture est une arme par destination- a délibérément tué deux personnes ? De mon point de vue, c'est un homicide, l'arme étant le véhicule, volontaire ou non
A leparisien.fr reader comments on one of the posts on one of the accidents:
Je “connais” une personne qui a fait 1 an de prison pour avoir percuté un ado, sous l'empire de l'alcool et sans permis, de plus délit de fuite.
Grund responds to another reader, who also commented on the same post:
Si il y a décès sans intention délibérée de donner la mort, cela sera considéré comme homicide involontaire, que ce soit avec une voiture, un couteau, une arme à feu ou un râteau. Pour reprendre l'exemple que vous citez, je tiens déjà à préciser que l'état alcoolique ne changerait rien aux faits puisque la situation peut tout aussi bien se produire à jeun. Je dirais même que cela serait ou pourrait être un élément dépénalisant puisque le suspect pourrait invoquer la perte de contrôle de ses faits et gestes.
Mumbly, a reader of liberation.fr adds:
Quand la justice enverra-t-elle ces assassins en taule pour 20 ans minimum, là, peut-être qu'ils commenceront à y réfléchir à deux fois avant de prendre la route pour un circuit 24…
The struggle for safer roads has helped diminish the number of deaths on the streets since 1970; however, accidents caused by people under the influence of alcohol or without a driver's license have continued to increase from 1999 to 2010.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


text:
India: Govt. Guidelines For #SocialMedia Use · Global Voices
Rezwan

Prasant Naidu comments on the guidelines on social media to be implemented at Government offices in India:
“I am quite confident that these guidelines won’t have much of an impact when the Government itself is defying most of them while communicating with people”.

author: Rezwan