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France: Calls for Official Recognition of 1961 Paris Algerian Massacre · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

On October 17, 1961, in the midst of the Algerian war, the security forces from the Paris Prefecture of Police, under orders from Maurice Papon, cruelly suppressed a peaceful demonstration in the city by Algerians organized by the Fédération de France du FLN (National Liberation Front) [fr] to protest against the curfew specifically imposed upon them.
According to the historian Jean-Luc Einaudi [fr], at least 200 people of Algerian origin were killed – either thrown from bridges, shot, or bludgeoned to death. The press statement from the police chief reported the next day two demonstrators dead and several injured.
Fifty years later, these reported figures are the object of a controversial argument between the historians [fr] Einaudi and Brunet, and are still played down [fr] by right-wing politicians and historians, amid a deafening official silence.
17 October, 1961, tribute by illicomache on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)
The later police charge on the Charonne metro station on 8 February, 1962, which left eight dead, received much more attention. Now, people everywhere are speaking out and calling for the French government's admission of the 1961 tragedy.
Calls for government admission
On 12 October, 2011, the website Mediapart launched its online ‘Call for the official admission of the tragedy of 17 October 1961 in Paris‘ [fr], signed by a number of personalities as well as the full contingency of the French political left. The petition is still open:
The time has come for an official acknowledgement of this tragedy, the memory of which is as much French as Algerian. The forgotten victims of 17 October 1961 were working, residing, living their lives in France.  We owe them this basic justice, that of remembering.
This 17 October (2011) some of the press were on the same wavelength. Le Monde.fr published online previously unseen photos [fr] from 1961, while OWNI published “accusing archives from the Prefecture of Police” [fr] under the heading “A French Shame 17 October 1961″, and on OWNI.eu, a graphic of the arrests made on that day.
Public radio service FranceInter devoted its broadcast “The March of History” to “The Police and North Africans in France, 1945-1961″, available on podcast here [fr], and France-Culture called its special report [fr] “The scar of the suppression of 17 October 1961″.
In an opinion piece published by Rue 89, the American historian Robert Zaretsky wrote [fr] as an introduction to his detailed account of the day of 17 October, 1961, and of its aftermath:
On 17th October, Nicolas Sarkozy's Gaullist government will not be aware of the fiftieth anniversary of a murderous event, shrouded in silence and confusion even today, that sheds crucial light on the complex relationship between the past and present, between the French and the Algerians in contemporary France.
In an interview with the historian of French colonialism, Gilles Manceron, the site bastamag.net tried to clarify the reasons [fr] for the French government's silence. According to Manceron, there had been a real desire to cover it up; he explains how the veil has gradually been lifted:
This was done on several occasions.  In 1972, in his book La Torture dans la République (Torture in the Republic), Pierre Vidal-Naquet recalls the massacres of October 1961:  “In 1961, Paris had been the scene of a real pogrom.”  On 17 October 1980, Libération devoted a special report of several pages to it, entitled, “19 Years ago:  a racist massacre in the centre of Paris”. In 1981, for the twentieth anniversary, Libération returned to the fray, followed by Le Monde. And for the first time, the events of 17 October 1961 have been discussed on television:  Antenne 2 broadcast a report from Marcel Trillat and Georges Mattéi.  In 1984, the novel by Didier Daeninckx, Meurtres pour mémoire (Murders for the record), also looked back on these events.
But it was so preposterous that these writings had no effect.  It seemed implausible. Then came the 1990s, with the publication of the key work by Jean-Luc Einaudi, La Bataille de Paris – 17 octobre 1961 (The Battle of Paris – 17 October 1961), and the release of the film by Mehdi Lallaoui, Le Silence du fleuve (The Silence of the River). Young people who were children of immigrants picked up on this issue.  All these factors and the different players led to  the truth finally re-emerging.
Blogger BiBi was made aware of these events when reading Meutres pour mémoire, and commented [fr]:
Through those in power, France makes herself an arrogant sermoniser on history, the most recent lesson coming from Sarkozy.  He rants and raves about the Turks and the Armenian genocide but there's no doubt at all that he has forgotten the murders perpetrated on 17 October 1961, the day when French Police, under orders from a certain Police Chief from the Seine by the name of Maurice Papon, threw Algerian opponents into the Seine when they came to protest against the unjust curfew which affected only them.
On the Bondy Blog, Chahira Bakhtaoui provides a commentary on a documentary [fr] by Yasmina Abdi, Ici on noie les Algériens (Here they drown Algerians), and Sarah Ichou interviewed [fr] her grandmother who was 27 years old at the time of the massacre, and her aunt who was eight:
When did you know what had happened? The next day and the following days, because there was no television.  We knew then that there had been some deaths, that they had thrown Algerians into the Seine.  I remember the sadness of the people surrounding me.  Some men who went to demonstrate for their country, their independence and rights were killed and tossed into the water.  So, it was dreadful, but we only learned of all this afterwards, that there had been dozens and dozens of deaths.  It was the period of French Algeria.  But everything I'm telling you is only the memories of a little girl  8 years old.  I didn't know much about politics, but I did know that there was a war on, that we had to demonstrate for our country;  I would hear it from the adults.  I was living in this climate with my parents.  I just have this memory of fear from this day, 17 October 1961.  The proof that I remember it, is that it made a deep impression on me.  In any case, in demonstrations there are always people who come to take revenge, to kill, to do whatever, because normally a demonstration is peaceful.  People go to demonstrate for their rights and not to get themselves killed.  On the other hand, those who came to kill didn't come to demonstrate.  Those people are racists, they came because there was an Algerian demonstration, because there were Arabs, nobodies, so they needed to be dropped into the water,  a page from history that's sad but unfortunately it's like that in all wars.  That's the problem.
Médiapart has put online a map of the demonstrations [fr] that took place to mark the anniversary in France.
In Algeria, where a commemorative stamp has been issued, Akram Belkaïd on Slate Afrique recalls the Massacre d'État (State Massacre) [fr] and Afrik.com, the Nuit oubliée (Forgotten Night) [fr].
The editorial writer of El Watan meanwhile hopes [fr] to see “After denial, admission”, but it's October 1988 [date of democratic reform riots in Algeria] that another news writer remembers [fr], quoted by Courrier International.
@Celestissima was the source of several links in this post.
This text has been  abridged and edited for English speaking audience.

author: Suzanne Lehn


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Greece: When the Crisis Hit the Fan · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Freelance journalist Kostas Kallergis started a blog in English about the Greek crisis, documenting on a daily basis various “small things that usually go unreported in the international press,” from graffiti in the streets of Athens to roundups of the local press coverage and historical analyses.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Honduran Police Suspected of Killing Two University Students · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Two university students were killed on October 22; La Gringa's Blogcito reports that four police suspected of killing the students were taken into custody but later “escaped”. “Even in this high profile case, it appears that police still attempted cover up and still felt free to intimidate reporters. What should also be clear to everyone is why citizens are afraid to report crimes or abuse or corruption on the part of the police”, she writes.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: After Anya  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I was struck by her looks of course and her flagrantly innovative personal style but complementing these was her personality, the warm intelligence of someone totally comfortable in her skin”: From Jamaica, Annie Paul blogs about Anya Ayoung-Chee, the Season 9 Project Runway winner, while back in Trinidad, Outlish asks about life post-Anya's win: “What will we do now?”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Macedonia: Lead Smelting Factory Problem in Veles · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Jovan Petrov provides an overview of the problem with the lead and zync smelting factory in Veles, after the court rejected a suit against the state from the municipality and local NGOs, demanding cleaning of pollution which will affect “10 generations to come” in this impoverished community.


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Mexico: Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt over Anonymous’ #OpCartel · Global Voices
Geraldine Juarez

In recent days many media outlets have widely publicized news about a video by Anonymous Mexico threatening the Zetas cartel as a response to the kidnapping of one the former's members during #OpPaperStorm (‘Operation Paper Storm’) in Veracruz.
Queremos que sepan que han secuestrado a uno de nuestros miembros mientras realizaba #opPaperstorm en nuestra ciudad. Exigimos su liberación [..] Queremos que la marina y el ejército sepan que estamos cansados del grupo delictivo de los Zetas que se han dedicado a secuestrar, robar y extorsionar en diferentes formas [..] Estamos cansados de los periodistas y periodicos de Jalapa, Veracruz, Córdoba y Orizaba ya que siempre tiran mierda a autoridades honestas como los militares y marinos. Estamos cansados de los taxistas, comandantes y polizetas municipales de Córdoba, Xalapa y Orizaba, Nogales y Río Blanco . Por el momento no publicaremos nombres y fotografías de los taxistas, periodistas o de los periodicos, tampoco de los policias..pero en caso de ser necesario los publicaremos y hasta con su dirección para ver si el gobierno los detiene. [..] Todos sabemos quienes son y en donde se encuentran. Cometieron un gran error al llevarse a uno de nosotros, liberenlo y si algo les pasa ustedes hijos de puta recordaran este 5 de noviembre.
Fear, uncertainty and doubt
‘Anonymous’ mask. Image by Flickr user luccast85 (CC BY 2.0).
Newspaper El Universal [es] published the news two days ago under the headline “Hackers launch a threat against the Zeta's cartel”, whereby they stated that Anonymous has information on people who have colluded with ‘The Zetas'; the paper quotes the security research firm Stratfor, which believes that revealing this information will result in a new wave of assassinations.
A summary of the intel report by Stratfor states that:
The validity of the information Anonymous has threatened to reveal is uncertain, as it might not have been vetted. This could pose an indiscriminate danger to individuals mentioned in whatever Anonymous decides to release.
The full Stratfor Intel report can be found here.
Animal Político published the video by Anonymous [es] where they refer specifically to the situation in Veracruz; the video actually dates back to October 6, as the video's YouTube information points out:
Uploaded by MrAnonymousguyfawkes on Oct 6, 2011
Hacked page screenshot retrieved from Spiegel.de on Monday 31, October at 13:00.
Hours after the news of the video started to spread, reports of a hacked page also appeared. The site in question was www.gustavorosario.com [es], but Anonymous Mexico published a communique on Facebook denying their involvement [es]:
Estimados Seguidoras y seguidores de esta página. Por este conducto Anonymous México se deslinda completamente de la responsabilidad de la noticia de hackeo de una página que presuntamente está relacionada con el cártel de los Zetas […] Nuestra lucha no es de este tipo y nuestros ideales no van con esa operación. La nota publicada por varios medios electrónicos es completamente falsa. Pedimos su apoyo para difundir este comunicado.
ABC [es], a newspaper from Spain, quotes a tweet by @anonymousIRC [es] from September 27, which has no relation to the Veracruz situation that the video mentions; in fact, it refers to Nuevo Laredo, a city in Tamaulipas:
Hola Cárteles Mexicanos de la Droga. Nosotros no olvidamos #NuevoLaredo #Anonymous
Internationally, Chron.com first published an article by the Houston Chronicle on Saturday, October 29, with mostly the same information, but also recognizing that:
The person reportedly kidnapped is not named, and the video does not share information about the kidnapping other than that it occurred in the Mexican state of Veracruz during a street protest.
Today, Mexican newspaper Milenio [es] published an article announcing that Anonymous’ #OpCartel was cancelled. The piece contains an interview with some alleged members of Anonymous Mexico who declared:
Siguen otras operaciones, pero por el momento esperamos que quede claro que Operación Cartel es falso.
To add to the confusion, Anonymous Iberoamerica published a blog entry “About #opCartel” [es] where they recognize that the alleged operation has sparked criticism and they don't want to put anyone in risk. However, they state they will move forward with the operation:
¿Tenemos miedo? Claro. ¿Tememos por nuestras vidas? Evidentemente. No obstante, creemos que es tiempo de decir alto y basta a la terrible situación provocada por la falsedad de los gobiernos [..] han provocado una deplorable situación de ruina y desencanto en lugares como México, un país que se encuentra al borde del colapso, a sólo pasos de una aniquilación total, por la necedad del gobierno en atacar los síntomas del problema y no sus causas […]
Nosotros seguiremos adelante con la operación, ya que así se nos ha solicitado. Para este fin, conformaremos una fuerza de tarea especial dedicada a este asunto. Sin embargo, requerimos de apoyo.
Are we afraid? Yes. Do we fear for our lives? Yes. But we believe that it is time to say stop and enough to this terrible situation provoked by the phoniness of governments [..] who have produced a grim situation of ruin and disenchantment in places like Mexico, a country that is on the brink of collapse, steps from total annihilation, because of the stubbornness of the government in attacking the problem and not the causes.
We will go forward with the operation because it's been solicited. To this end we will build a special task force dedicated to this issue. However, we need support.
Online reactions
Prominent and reliable journalists have accepted the inconsistencies in all this information. Shannon Young (@Syoungreports) asks:
Was the #OpCartel Anonymous Hackers vs. Zetas story a highly publicized hoax? Seems account which originated call @Sm0k34n0n is now deleted
In relation to this, the account is actually still active, but the previously mentioned Milenio interview [es] states that @Sm0k34n0n erased tweets related to the operation being cancelled:
@Sm0k34n0n y otros tuiteros borraron sus tuits sobre la operación cancelada y circularon que la operación continuaría:
“Detener #OpCartel con tanto entusiasmo es estar en complicidad con los Zetas”, manifestó @Sm0k34n0n horas más tarde.
@Sm0k34n0n and other Twitter users erased their tweets about the cancelled operation and said that it will continue:
“Stopping #opCartel with enthusiasm means to be in complicity with the Zetas.” stated @Sm0k34n0n hours later.
However, Milenio does not link to the tweets in question.
Journalist Daniel Hernandez (@longdrivesouth) tweets:
There are inconsistencies in links/track/webbing of the supposed #Anonymous threat to the #Zetas. I can't verify the components. #opcartel
Blogger @ThinkMexican  also warns:
There are conflicting reports being published. It's possible the story was fabricated; not #Anonymous. Follow #OpCartel for updates.
Media outlets worldwide like The Guardian, Gawker, Wired, Salon  and The Telegraph reproduced the news containing dubious information, which has unfortunately already spread.
The blog TestHats offers a much needed and so far absent criticism. The post calls Anonymous to not take over this operation which the Test Hat Team considers “an incredible and unexpected twist in the world of Hacktivism”:
We commend anyone making a stand against criminal gangs and those who disrupt the norms of society and the right to live peacefully.
However, we DO NOT agree that #OpCartel moving into Dox’ing Zeta is appropriate. We encourage Anonymous to cancel the operation and act at a level appropriate to the processes of Hacktivism. We're very very worried about well intentioned individuals getting hurt, please be careful.

author: Geraldine Juarez


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Pakistan: Say No To Plastic Bags · Global Voices
Rezwan

95% people use plastic bags in Pakistan and only 15% of these bags are properly disposed off, informs Rai Muhammad Azlan Shahid, while advocating for banning them.

author: Rezwan


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Peruvian Blogger Lists Some Universal Truths and Questions · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón

Cyrano, from the blog Columna 17 [es] discusses some universal truths and questions, like “The fastest horses belong to the bandits” and “Who is the mother of Donald Duck's nephews?”

author: Gabriela García Calderón


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Puerto Rico: “Baleros” by Esoez · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Th esoez.com team has posted two episodes of their video series “Baleros.” [es]

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Puerto Rico: Bike Messengers Take the Streets · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

At El Punto Es [es] Mariángel González interviews Rafi Robles [es], co-founder of the first bicycle messenger company in Puerto Rico Ecomensajería [es].


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Puerto Rico: Charly García Turns 60 · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Chemi González remembers the rock legend from Argentina, Charly García [es], on his 60th birthday.


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Puerto Rico: Remembering Luisa Capetillo · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The digital news outlet Noticel published an article commemorating the birth 132 years ago of the pioneering Puerto Rican union leader, anarchist, and feminist Luisa Capetillo [es].


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Puerto Rico: Rita Indiana’s New Video · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The music blog Puerto Rico Indie comments on Dominican singer-songwriter Rita Indiana's most recent video production of her song “Da pa lo do.”


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Puerto Rico: Sports Journalism and Female Athletes · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Blogger and sports journalist Rafael R. Díaz offers a critique of the sexist language sports journalists in Puerto Rico used to describe the triumph of the female basketball team at the Pan American Games [es] being held in Guadalajara, Mexico. The women'es basketball team won the gold medal in a historic triumph.


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Puerto Rico: The Old San Juan in Photos · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Another beautiful photo essay of the Old San Juan by blogger Yésica Isabel [es].


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Russia: Alternative Voting Portal Launched · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Habrahabr-user uhaby writes [ru] about otdamgolos.ru, a web-portal that offers users to propose alternative parliamentary and presidential candidates as well as to vote for them. The author claims that within 10 days his website attended 137,500+ visitors. In the virtual parliamentary election three parties received most votes: 1. The Pirate Party, 2. Yabloko (social liberal), 3. CPRF (communists). Most popular presidential candidates are: blogger Alexey Navalny, imprisoned oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, “Against Everybody.”

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: Izhevsk City Manager Caught on Camera Talking About Election Bribery · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Udmurtia.tv publishes a video [ru] of Denis Agashin, Izhevsk city manager, telling the representatives of veteran organizations that the next year's financial support will depend on the results of “United Russia” party in their district. As Alexander Kynev, a prominent political analyst, points out: “Progress it's not only forcing students to make pictures of their signed bulletins [to ensure ‘proper’ voting], it is also a risk to be recorded.”


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Russia: Pirate Flag Over Novosibirsk City · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

LJ-user dedmaxopka publishes [ru] pictures of himself placing a pirate flag over Novosibirsk city administration. “We just wanted to make nice pictures of the city,” explained the blogger to the police that identified him the same day. Blogger was charged with ‘petty hooliganism’ and had to pay a small fine.


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Russia: The Data Leak War and Other Pre-Election Surprises · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.
The second half of October 2011, was marked in Russia by a significant increase in online political activity. To be more precise, current online political activity points to information warfare occurring between independent civil-society groups or remnants of ‘traditional’ political opposition, against various government officials and pro-government youth movements.
The pre-election situation online now reminds us of the offline situation in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when competitive elections existed. Before the election dates all competing sides would try to spread as much compromising information against their rivals as possible.
Very often (although, not always) the information was true and revealed connections with mafia, bribery, etc, which meant that during the pre-election periods, Russian society had true ‘enlightening’ moments about their elites and rulers. The amount of ‘black hat’ (underhand) election techniques was one of the excuses to remove the competitive election system in the country in the mid-2000s.
The situation in 2011, that thanks to the Internet and especially YouTube, the amount of compromising materials is back. The difference, however, is that in the 90's people could choose someone else instead of an outspoken politician. Now, it hardly seems to be the case. Still, the netizens’ attempts to bring back electoral competition are overwhelming.
Mobile cameras and YouTube are major gamechangers in the Russian pre-election season 2011. Image by Shawn McClung on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
Private data leak war
The October 2011 leaks began with the publication of ruleaks.ru in the beginning of the month (see detailed GV analysis here).
The series of events subsequently dubbed as ‘the Data Leak War,’ however, started later. On October 23, Kseniya Sobchak, a celebrity journalist, shot a video of Vasiliy Yakemenko, the head of the Federal Agency for Youth and unspoken leader of the pro-Kremlin youth movement “Nashi,” in the most expensive restaurant in Moscow.
Criticism followed the video [ru] upload: according to his tax declaration [ru], Yakemenko could hardly afford to attend such a place.
Later Anna Biryukova, the Federal Agency's press-secretary, sent removal demands to a number of websites (Echo Moskvy [ru], and Metronews [ru]) threatening to sue them on the grounds of violation of Yakemenko's private life and image. Portals claimed Agency's threats had no legal base, since Yakemenko was spotted in a public place and is indeed a public figure.
A strike-back didn't take long to appear. On October 26, the contents of several private mailboxes belonging to Alexey Navalny, the famous anti-corruption blogger, and his wife, were published at navalnymail.kz by someone nicknamed onenavnav [ru] (the account was later suspended).
Hacker Hell, a German-based cyber-criminal (still not arrested) who has a reputation of hacking accounts of opposition activists, gave an interview [ru] claiming he hacked Navalny's mailbox in late summer. Then he transfered data to ‘friends’ that he refused to name. Hell's ‘friends’ had probably kept the data until the opportune moment presented.
Observers, however, could not find anything compromising in Navalny's letters, except fragments Navalny claimed had been ‘planted’ by the publisher of the leak; in one of the fragments someone offers Navalny US$ 50,000 to blackmouth one of the Russian oligarchs. Netizens, however, seem to support Navalny's version that these fragments were planted.
As popular blogger Leonid Kaganov pointed out [ru], if Navalny would agree to publish compromising materials against the oligarch, it could be hardly a minus for Navalny himself:
допустим, Навальный скомпрометирован. Допустим, точно выяснено, что он берет деньги за публикации компромата, торгует водкой и ездит в тонированном авто. Пусть даже неопровержимо выяснится, что он педофил, людоед и разжигатель торфяников. Но как это относится к тому компромату на чиновников, который он публикует, а никто не опровергает?
In other words, Navalny once again proved his online dominance and successfully mitigated compromising attempts, by directly addressing the materials. This, however, did not end the leak war.
On October 27, the RuNet was struck with a massive leak [ru] of personal data belonging to 24,324 participants of the pro-Kremlin youth camp “Seliger 2011.” The .zip archive contained names, family names, dates of birth, e-mails, and telephone numbers of pro-Kremlin activists, as well as some ‘ratings’ – probably a system of internal evaluation of the activists.
After the exchange of hits, the RuNet stands still.
Damn YouTube!
At the same time, new information fronts are opening all across the country.
On October 24, an Omsk-based Russian policeman who was caught in July 2011 on camera [ru] cursing at his colleagues, was fired [ru] after the video (so far 280,000+ views) became public.
On October 25, in Sochi (the future venue of the Olympic Games) YouTube user belayalenta1 published a hidden recording of an interview [ru, en] with the city's Deputy Mayor Nikolay Yermolov, who was quite eloquent in sharing various techniques of discrimination of the civil society activists (the video has subtitles in English).
Three days later, almost 9,000 kilometers from Sochi, an anonymous male prison officer from the Amur region who had been captured beating and abusing female inmates was arrested [ru]. The arrest was conducted after the shocking video [Warning: graphic content] (146,500+ views) of prison violence was uploaded by YouTube user MrArtur113 in early October.
On October 27, Udmurtia.tv published a video [ru] (138,400+ views) of Denis Agashin, Izhevsk city manager, telling the representatives of veteran organizations that the next year's financial support would depend on the election results of the “United Russia” party in their district. On October 31, representatives of the party “Patriots of Russia” filed a complaint [ru] against Agashin calling the prosecutor to start a criminal investigation that might end with a five-year jail sentence.
The examples seem to multiply every hour. They exemplify, however, one thing: despite the manipulations, citizens seem to not only to mitigate online discrimination attempts but also be victorious in exposing the authorities.
As Alexander Kynev, a prominent political analyst, pointed out: “Progress it's not only forcing students to make pictures of their signed bulletins [to ensure ‘proper’ voting, a ‘popular’ use of the administrative resource by university deans], it is also a risk to be recorded.”
This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.


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Russia/India: Video of a Paraglider Pilot Attacked by an Eagle in Himalayas · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

11-minute headcam video [ru] of a story that could end up with a human casualty. Russian paraglider pilot making his first flight in Himalayas was attacked by three eagles, one of which got trapped into the paraglider strings. Thanks to the second parachute the pilot could land and then – to release the eagle.


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Saudi Arabia: Poverty Video Vloggers Released  · Global Voices
Mona Kareem

Tweeted picture of Firas with his little brothers after getting released
Around two weeks ago, Saudi Arabia arrested three young video bloggers Firas Buqna, Hussam Al-Darwish and Khaled Al-Rasheed for producing an episode of their show Malub Alena about poverty in one of Riyadh's areas. The name of the show can be translated into We Are Being Fooled and this episode was actually their fourth episode after previous shows on youth and police corruption. Before the arrests, the show was having a good number of views but in few days after their arrests, it was viewed for more than 600,000 times.
Here's a copy of the video, with English subtitles, from YouTube:
http://youtu.be/p_2PTKlz2lw
The show's title also turned into a Twitter hashtag #Mal3ob3lena, where Saudis condemned the arrests of those three young men and also expressed their sorrow against the oppression of free speech in the kingdom. This came hand in hand with the use of another hashtag that has been alive for months #e3teqal (translated to: Arrest) where people post updates and discuss the issue of thousands of Saudi detainees, many of whom arrested for no valid reasons and are being denied the right to fair trials.
Saudi blogger Haneen wrote a post [ar] about what those three young vloggers have done:
Twitter surely carried most of the Saudi reactions towards the news of releasing the three vloggers.  Firas’ mother (@omm_feras) joined Twitter after his arrest only to post her prayers and thus gain attention, support, and sympathy for her son's case. After his release she tweeted for her 6000+ followers, whom she gained over two weeks, saying:
Saudi blogger Khaled Al-Nasser (@Mashi9a7) found the arrests helpful for the cause:
Saudi blogger Abdullah Al-Suwaiyan wrote a post after the arrests  entitled Firas.. the prophet of new media:
Saad Al-Najdi (@SNajdi) used the opportunity to compare between mainstream media and citizen media:
Lahem Alnasser (@lahem88) made the connection between the vloggers and political detainees in Saudi Arabia:
Another Saudi user (@SaudiLibral) saw releasing the vloggers as a victory:
Ali Al-Nuaim (@nuaim2), Firas’ friend, tweeted the Firas’ words after his release:
Saudi (@eyad94Z) expressed his happiness with the release:
Dhary Al-Sahbibi (@iDharoooy212) asked a question which was repeated by others:
هل سيكمل فراس برنامجه ؟ لا أظن .. الذي أظنه أن أفكاره تغيرت حالياً

author: Mona Kareem


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Taiwan: Photos from the LGBT Pride Parade 2011 in Taipei · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

The logo of Taiwan LGBT Pride 2011
More than 50,000 people joined the annual Taiwan LGBT Pride parade in Taipei on October 29, 2011, marking the biggest gay pride parade in Asia.
The Taiwanese LGBT community has been struggling for decades to obtain equality and respect. Though there is less and less hostility in everyday life interaction, discrimination is still very much embedded in the education and legal system.
According to the event's official website:
A boy holding a board saying ‘My mom is lesbian, and my mom is perfect'. Photo by Coolloud.org (CC-BY-ND-ND)
Compared with the very direct, “in- your- face” hostility toward LGBT people a decade ago, the anti- LGBT groups nowadays have learnt to say words like “we respect LGBT people” and pretend to be liberal. In the meanwhile they never stop trying to deprive LGBT people of basic citizen rights. Furthermore, they even started to adopt unethical means to influence the legislators and policy makers, which might jeopardize our precious achievement of democratic development. Under this tough circumstance, Taiwan LGBT Pride Community urges the LGBT people to be more cautious about discrimination in the culture and society, and keep uncovering the well- camouflaged hostility in order to build a more solid foundation for our human rights.
First held in 2003 with about 500 participants, the event has quickly grown more popular with 25,000 people participating in 2009, and 30,000 in 2010. This year, the participant record has been broken again.
Under the theme “LGBT fight back! Discrimination get out!”, the parade started at Kaidagelan Boulevard in Taipei and separated into two routes before reconvening at the Kaidagelan Boulevard. Demonstrators demanded respect for the sexual orientation and preferences of youth, implementation of sex education, legalization of gay marriage, and also decriminalization of sex work.
Below are some photos from this year's parade taken by Coolloud.org.tw:
Some religious group are against informing youth about LGBT in schools. A parade participant plays ‘Guanyin (觀世音菩薩)', a bodhisatta regarded as both male and female, to demonstrate that ‘even gods can be LGBT'.
Students from many university LGBT clubs took part in the parade.
Many foreign tourists and exchange students are also supporters.
The speaker spoke of the negative treatment he received from his employer because he wears women's clothing to work. The board says ‘cross-gender needs labor representation'
Taiwan International Workers Association also voices the sexual rights of underrepresented migrant workers in Taiwan
LGBT members with physical disabilities say they suffer double discrimination.
Popular singer Deserts Chang is this year's ‘Rainbow Ambassador'
You can see more photos in this Coolloud.org's flickr album and the official album released by the parade's website.

author: Portnoy Zheng


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Trinidad & Tobago: Role of the Telecommunications Authority  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Plain Talk suggests that the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago is abdicating its responsibility in light of the recent national broadcast of the rape of a child and the release of a soca song that “glorif[ies] and promote[s] human trafficking and sexual slavery”, saying: “Much of what is being passed off as culture and entertainment is in fact the prostituting of our women and children for profit. We need a return to decency in public life in how we interact, in what we say and in what we do if we are to turn this situation around.”


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Tunisia: Elections Usher in a New Dawn  · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.
October 23, 2011, was another historic turning point for Tunisia, the birthplace of the so-called Arab Spring. It was election day, and for the first time Tunisians freely elected their representatives who will form a national constituent assembly which will draft the country's constitution.
The moderate Islamist party, Ennahdha won 90 out of 217 seats at the assembly (that is 41.47% of the votes). The centre-left secular Congress for the Republic came second with 30 seats, followed by Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties, a social democratic party, which gained 22 seats at the assembly.
European Union observers declared that the election “met international standards.” However, not everyone in Tunisia is satisfied with the results.
Post electoral Riots in Sidi Bouzid, picture by SBZone
Indeed, in Sidi Bouzid, where the protests movement which overthrew ousted president Zeine El Abidine Ben Ali kicked off, demonstrators took to the streets to protest against the disqualification of a number of seats previously attributed to an independent list called ‘”the Popular Petition.”
The independent commission claims that the disqualification came over campaign finance violations. Before the disqualification, provisional results had suggested that the ”popular petition” won most of the votes in Sidi Bouzid. Despite the disqualification, the popular petition led by Hechmi Hamdi, an outspoken supporter of the former regime, won 19 seats at the assembly.
On Twitter, netizens were left with questions [fr]:
@OBergervdn: #SidiBouzid, symbole de la révolution, a donc voté pour les anciens Benalistes d'Aridha. Ironique, non ? #tnelec
The post election protests in Sidi Bouzid were shaped by violence, vandalism, and riots. Tunisia Live tweeted on the night of October 27,  when the results were officially released, tweeted:
Large protests in #SidiBouzid #roadblocks tires burning. People shouting “the revolution is ours and you can't take it from us” #tnelec
Titof explains [ar] why the protesters in Sidi Bouzid reacted that way:
Police used tear gas to disperse the angry protesters. Calm returned to Sidi Bouzid on Saturday, and the residents launched a cleaning campaign.
Picture by Azyz Amamy, shared vit twipic
Meanwhile, Tunisian bloggers expressed their anger about foreign media coverage of the elections, mainly the Islamist party winning the biggest share of the votes.
@Psycke tweets [fr]:
Je suis révoltée par les titres de la presse française auj! Arrêtez de projeter votre peur sur nous!!!!!!! #tnelec #Tunisie
”You did not see the Dictator. Now, you see the Islamists”, was the message of the blogger Azyz Amamy (@azyyoz) to Western media.
The violence that almost tarnished the country's historic election, and the Western media's coverage of the election and viewed as unfair by many Tunisians, did not stop some bloggers from expressing their satisfaction about the election, and their optimism for a better future.
L'exception tunisienne writes [fr]:
La droite conservatrice remporte la mise. Mais le plus grand gagnant dans tout cela, c'est le peuple tunisien qui est sorti en masse et d'une manière spontanée et volontaire pour dire son mot
Olfa   too has an optimistic vision for Tunisia [fr]:
Ennahda a été élu démocratiquement : il faut lui donner une chance. […]A regarder le chemin parcouru, cependant, je considère que l'avenir qui s'offre à la Tunisie est non pas une menace, mais une chance. La société tunisienne est depuis longtemps sécularisée et n’a pas l’intention de céder sur ses acquis, notamment en matière de droits des femmes. Je reste donc optimiste !
This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Afef Abrougui


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Tunisia: Let’s Invade Social Networks! · Global Voices
Mona Kareem

This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.
A crazy wave of posts hit the world of social networks when Tunisian netizens decided to invade Facebook and Twitter with their comments. The move started with netizens showing solidarity and support for the American Occupy movement by posting chants and messages on the official Facebook page of United States President Barack Obama. Many of those comments were funny as they tried to Americanize the chants of their revolution that started last December.
This came hand in hand with a hashtag on Twitter called #TrollingObama. Those posts not only to supported the protests across the US but to also criticized US foreign policy.
Twitter reactions
Here are some of the reactions from Twitter:
@JuveSimo: Unbelievable! More than 75 000 comments in Obama official page on #fb. Tunisians are showing a great solidarity.
@esslem: 2008 Obama : Yes we can.. 2012 Obama : Oh no I cant I cant I cant :( Tunisians make me crazy :'( I cant :(
@GKaroui: #ObamaSpeech saying that he'll strike very hard on protesters.
@Geekette86: After #TrollingObama and #TrollingSarkozy, Tunisians are #TrollingNetanyahu now #TrollingGhannouchi and #TrollingSaudi
@butterfly_miss_: Tunisians giving #Obama communications team a headache
@maydu: breaking news: #Libya is threatening to use its veto power to avoid African union's intervention in the #US #trollingobama.
@othmaniRabeb: Note to the World: If Tunisia loose power and Internet, it's probably Obama's gov xD #Censorship
@slim404: Tunisia Trolls™ are showing their domination over FB. Zuckerberg got scared and closed his wall http://facebook.com/zuck
@AfefTN: the #trollingobama idea is funny, but it is tainted with black humor and has a serious message behind it.
@AfefTN: explanation of #trollingobama : Tunisians are not doing it just for fun, but to mock the Obama administration which claims to support democracy in the Arab World but oppress its own people.
@TunisianAmazigh: I'm a Tunisian and I am proud of my #FreedomOfTrolling :D
@Dima_Khatib: Tunisians writing on Obama's FBpage : Obama Coward You Are An Agent of the Americans! :) (slogan used against Arab dictators).
Facebook attack!
Up until 8 pm (EST time) Tunisians posted over 80,000 comments on Obama's official Facebook page; here are some snapshots of what they wrote:
#TrollingSarkozy and more
Although this spam-attack campaign started with Obama to show the Tunisian dislike of the police brutality used against the protesters of the Occupy movement, it didn't take Tunisians long to subsequently attack the official page of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and use the hashtag #TrollingSarkozy.
The trolling movement has also included Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Head of Tunisian Islamic party Al-Nehdeh Rached Ghannouchi , Hanibal TV which has been accused of being friends with the former regime and of being funded by Libyan Moamer Al-Gaddafi, and Al-Jazeera Mubashar  as Tunisians accuse Qatar of interfering in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya especially by supporting Islamists.
In the snapshot below, one can read comments from the wall of Islamist Tunisian figure Rached Ghannouchi. Some wrote “Degage” which is the famous French word used in the protests against ousted Tunisian President Zeine Al Abedine Ben Ali to demand his departure. Some defended Habib Bourgiba, the president of Tunisia before Ben Ali, whom Ghannouchi criticizes. One comment wrote a parody statement that Ghannouchi would write to condemn police brutality against the Occupy protesters:
This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.


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Venezuela: Discovering New Attractions in El Hatillo · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Mirelis Morales Tovar in her blog Caracas Ciudad de la Furia [es] writes about the new attractions she discovered at El Hatillo, a “town” in Caracas.


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Albania: Universities – Quantity vs Quality · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Home of the Albanian Blogger writes about a BalkanInsight.com article, whose author has “counted some 10 public and over 30 private universities [in Albania], which beats the rest of the Balkan countries.” The quality of education at some of these institutions is something to be worried about, too.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Barbados: Accept Gays or Lose Aid Money  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In light of the British Prime Minister's statement threatening “countries that ban homosexuality with losing aid payments unless they reform”, Barbados Underground says that “the financial dependent countries of the world will have no choice but to fall in line.”


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Brazil: #OccupyBeloMonte Evicted from Dam Construction Site · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

This post is part of our special coverage Forest Focus: Amazon, Indigenous Rights and #Occupy Worldwide.
[All links in this post lead to Portuguese language pages.]
For a few hours on October 27, 2011, indigenous peoples from the Xingu region occupied the construction site of the Belo Monte dam following the global movement of “taking the streets against financial slavery, corruption and other forms of capitalist coercion” which started on October 15.
#OccupyBeloMonte
Movimento Xingu Vivo (Alive Xingu Movement) explains:
Cerca de 300 indígenas, pescadores e ribeirinhos da bacia do rio Xingu estão acampados pacificamente, desde a madrugada de hoje, no  canteiro de obras de Belo Monte para exigir a paralisação das obras da  usina hidrelétrica, em Altamira, no Pará.  A rodovia Transamazônica, na altura do quilômetro 50, também foi interditada. O protesto não tem  prazo para terminar.
Indigenous wields bow and arrow in front of the construction site. © Ivan Canabrava/ Illuminati filmes shared by Xingu Vivo (used with permission)
Though the #OccupyBeloMonte protest intended the occupation of the plant – that belongs to the company Norte Energia – to last indefinitely, in fact it only lasted until the following day, as Professor Sonia explains on her blog, Personal Escritor:
Foi expedida ordem judicial para que saíssem, mas houve  resistência. A desocupação se deu hoje, 28 de outubro de 2011, através  de policiais federais e de soldados da Força Nacional.
Programmer Walter Gandarella, from the blog Pare Belo Monte (Stop Belo Monte) criticized Norte Energia (North Energy), which he calls Morte Energia (Death Energy, a play with words), for carrying out the construction of the plant without consulting or respecting the surrounding population:
Pois bem, dona Morte Energia, vocês não souberam  ouvir as comunidades antes do início das obras, como manda a  constituição e as leis para licenciamento ambiental, mas se  dizem estar fazendo a coisa certa. É mesmo? […]
Como quem não deve, não teme, e já que a Norte Energia alega que  ouviu todas as comunidades que seriam afetadas, qual o problema em  provar isto levando a público estes relatórios bem como as provas  documentais de cada reunião feita com as comunidades?
Well, ‘Ms. Death Energy’, you were unable to listen to the communities before the works started, as mandated by the constitution and laws for environmental licensing, but you say you're doing the right thing. Really? […]
As one who owes nothing, fears nothing, and seeing that Norte Energia claims that it has heard all the communities that would be affected, what is the issue with proving this by bringing to the public arena these reports as well as the documentary evidence of each meeting held with the communities?
Indigenous protestors at the entrance of the construction site. © Ivan Canabrava/ Illuminati filmes shared by Movimento Xingu Vivo (used with permission).
And he also criticized the Brazilian press for keeping silent about the occupation,  saying that if not “the news would completely destabilize the firm position of the Government to persevere the construction of the dam”:
Muita gente,  sabendo o mínimo sobre este empreendimento, já é logo contra este  absurdo, imagina então se a maior parcela da população tomasse  conhecimento? Realmente seria uma tragédia para os planos de  “desenvolvimento sustentável” do país.
Lucas Morais, writing for Diário Liberdade (Liberty Journal), criticizes the government for the intransigence on the construction of the dam:
Mas, se o governo insiste na pauta dos Direitos Humanos,  o que tem a dizer sobre os indígenas que ali têm suas terras  tradicionais? E os ribeirinhos? E os mais de 300 mil habitantes da  região que terão suas vidas afetadas diretamente? Será que Dilma  Rousseff seguirá insistindo na pauta dos direitos humanos tendo em vista  toda essa flagrante violência contra os povos originários e  brasileiros?
Video from the user Midialivre (free media) on YouTube with images from the dam site occupation:
Besides several lawsuits against Belo Monte in Brazilian courts, in April the government was convicted by the Interamerican Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) of the  Organization of American States (OAS) who has pressured the government to dialogue with the indigenous and river dwellers who will be affected by the dam either directly or indirectly.
Refusing to follow the order of the Commission, the country had been once again summoned to explain itself and to negotiate with the local population in a meeting scheduled for October 26 in Washington. Once again Brazil has refused to even sending a representative to dialogue with the organizations that advocate for the victims, which may lead to a new condemnation of Brazil.
National Force intervention
The police arrive to evict the dam site area. Photo by Movimento Xingu Vivo (CC BY 3.0)
The natives from Xingu have sent an open letter stating that though they had been expelled from the construction site by the so-called Força Nacional, they will keep resisting the construction of Belo Monte.
Reactions on Twitter didn't take long to appear. Blogger and translator Lucas Morais criticized the decision of the government on imposing a permanent settlement of the Força Nacional on site, to avoid new “invasions”:
@Luckaz: Belo Monte terá alojamento para abrigar Força Nacional http://is.gd/HXDnDw Que beleza de direitos humanos, hein?
Civil policeman Caetano Pacheco said that the initiative is illegal, whereas “Força Nacional is not in the Art. 144 of the Federal Constitution”:
@cp_vader: A Força Nacional é uma excrescência ilegítima criada por decreto. Não  tem legitimidade conferida pela Constituição para agir como polícia.
The organization Justiça Global (Global Justice), on Twitter (@justicaglobal), informed that the Transamazônica highway had been closed, and also on Twitter the blog collective Pare Belo Monte (@PareBeloMonte) informed that there are 21 indigenous ethnic groups engaged in the occupation and struggle against Belo Monte, as well as fishermen and local farmers.
Professor Idelber Avelar pointed out that some people who showed solidarity with the occupation movement around the world were criticizing the occupation of Belo Monte:
@iavelar: Gente que apoiou #OccupyWallStreet agora repete argumento da polícia EUA p/desqualificar ocupação de Belo Monte. Coerência manda lembranças.
Despite fears of violence during the night, with the indigenous groups surrounded by the riot battalion, military police and National Force, the next day the eviction took place smoothly.
A group on Facebook was created to update the occupation and the next moves of the local indigenous community who, according to note that has been widely shared by several movements, promised to resist.
This post is part of our special coverage Forest Focus: Amazon, Indigenous Rights and #Occupy Worldwide.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Brunei’s First Social Media Meet Up · Global Voices
Zul-Fadly

The social media scene in Brunei has again made its presence felt. Bloggers and twitterers in the sultanate gathered to attend a historic event in social media to unite and bring forth the faces and people behind the screen of their PCs or Laptops or whatever device they use.
Last October 21 marked an important date in the local social media calendar when the big guns of the Brunei blogosphere got together and organised Brunei's first Social Media Conference: “That's where it's @”. The event was held at the Radisson Hotel in Bandar Seri Begawan and some 80 social media enthusiasts attended this half-day event. A #socmedbn hash tag was created by the organizers to allow tweeps to share updates and quotes from this historic event.
Photo from  CandidSyndrome Brunei ·
Before the panel discussions took place, Mr Lim Ming Soon of Telbru started the event with a very enlightening presentation of facts and figures and how TelBru, a major local Telco company, is embracing social media and trying its best to support and respond to the ever growing number of internet users in Brunei.
The conference was divided into three sessions. The first session “Dude, Where's my traffic?” was moderated by @emmagoodegg and on the panel were Rano Iskandar @ranoadidas of ranoadidas.com – No.1 Social Commercial Blogger in Brunei, Delwin Keasberry @BruneiTweet of projekbrunei.com – Brunei's No.1 Twitter star  and Dinoza Maruf @Dinoza of Breeze Magazine, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Each panelist had expertise in different platform and spoke about their highs and low and how to get more traffic. Rano spoke about the number of hits and which news attracted a lot of hits. He also shared how he came about doing what he is doing now. BruneiTweet or also known as Delwin spoke about how his twitter persona as someone who has been away frrom Brunei wanted to bring together amazing stories about other Bruneians through his blog, but his main forte is his twitter presence. Dinoza hails from Sabah, Malaysia and his expertise is how he managed to get Breeze Magazine‘s existing 300 fans to more than 14,000 fans on Facebook. This came after their decision to shutdown their website and focus on their Facebook page. One of his pointers for generating follower was organizing competitions and giving way amazing and attractive prizes.
The second session was a much anticipated one because two prominent figures took center stage. The topic was “140 character or less: Why joined the twitter conversation?”. Moderating was blog hero, Tuan Haji Rozan bin Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yunos of @Bruneiresources and Bruneiresources.blogspot.com and his panel included Dato Timothy Ong, Chairman of Asia Inc Forum, who recently embraced social media via twitter, @Timothy_OngTM.
Dato Timothy spoke so passionately about his decision to participate in discussion with the young people of Brunei. He wanted to engage them and listen to them because these are the people who will one day lead this country and he was able to do this via twitter. You may view the whole panel discussion that has been uploaded on Youtube. 140 characters or less: Why join the twitter conversation?
The final session after a short break was a session entitled: “From Idea to Enterprise: What does it take?”. Moderating the panel was Tom Bonius, Social Media Coordinator, Rapidea Solutions, Sabah, Malaysia and his panel were Keeran Janin (@keeranJ), Founder of MeSixty and Simon Soo, Director of Mint. Both the panelists shared their experiences in the ICT profession  and how to deal with the ups and downs managing your own business.
One of the highlights of the conference was the use of Pigeonhole, a site where people can log in via Facebook or Twitter or Linked and direct questions to the panelist. It was a good platform but in the words of Dato Timothy, nothing beats human contact.
From @emmagoodegg, an assessment of the event
Aside from the social media angles, I personally felt that one more important aspect of events like these is to get off your backside and get involved in your community. As residents, we must take responsibility for our society and encourage the spirit of togetherness. And that is to me the beauty of social media, the general good that can be done by cultivating social networks, large and small, through IT.
The final word however, is that in spite of all of this IT, it is important to actually make human contact, to sit in a room, in a group and hear one another speak face to face. To paraphrase one prominent speaker, it is what makes us human; we are after all not robots.
@marg was impressed with the conference
Another thing that thoroughly impressed me was how unlike normal conferences, where people just sat, listen, took notes and asked questions, this conference was where most sat, eyes on their smart devices (laptops, phones etc), tweeted what struck them throughout the sessions and asked questions ONLINE!
Oddly enough, on this day when everyone had their fingers glued onto their keyboards/keypads/touchscreens, they weren’t being anti-social! In fact, it was pretty interactive as the questions posted and the number of votes were projected for all to see

author: Zul-Fadly


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Colombia: Gustavo Petro, Bogotá’s New Mayor · Global Voices
Robert Valencia

This last weekend of October, regional elections took place in Colombia to elect governors, mayors, councils, assemblies and local action boards. To make sure election day ran as smoothly as possible, a “dry law” was implemented, prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages and the possession of weapons. The measure included the closing of international land and sea borders, and the deployment of 350,000 members of the armed forces [es].
Although the right to vote was exercised throughout the country, the Bogotá election generated the greatest expectation since its citizens went to the polls during one of the capital city's biggest institutional crises, due to the arrest of former mayor Samuel Moreno and his alleged participation in contract irregularities in the expansion of the Transmilenio, Bogotá’s bus rapid transit.
According to newspaper El Tiempo [es], whoever takes over the destiny of the bogotanos faces a series of challenges, like mobility, management of the capital city's economy, and security.
Gustavo Petro is Bogota's elected mayor, giving continuity to  center-left policies. Photo by Jimmy_jazz_ataca on Flickr (CC-BY NC 2.0)
With polling stations closed, bogotanos gave Gustavo Petro [es] the victory. Petro beat strong opponents like Gina Parody and Enrique Peñalosa, whose campaigns had been supported by important public figures like former Bogotá Mayor and former presidential candidate Antanas Mockus, and former President Álvaro Uribe, respectively.
Once again citizens of Colombia's capital confirmed their preference for center-left policies– particularly those from the middle-lower class stratus. This will result in 12 uninterrupted years of administrations governing under this political idology.
As expected, the blogosphere generated expectations and even a sense of uncertainty about Bogotá's future facing these elections. Mike Ceaser writes in the blog Colombia Reports:
Bogota voters can use this month's mayoral election to choose between two futures: One in which the gap in quality of life between the rich minority and poor majority will continue widening; in which traffic jams, pollution and crime will worsen; in which individual interests will take priority over the collective and quality of life for the majority will decline. And a second future in which the interests of the majority receive priority and Bogotanos confront problems with a common civic spirit.
Once it was announced that Petro had won the election, Mike’s Bogota Blog expressed certain hopes for the elected mayor:
As a candidate, Petro made some unpopular (but necessary) proposals, such as addressing Bogotá's traffic jams by charging drivers a congestion tax. But he also made populist gestures, such as promising free water for the poor….Let's hope that as mayor his pragmatic side wins out over his ideological one. As a politician who speaks his mind and whose prospects for higher office are in any case limited, perhaps Petro will be willing to make courageous, unpopular decisions in the mold of London Mayor ‘Red’ Ken Livingstone.
Netizens also expressed their point of view on Twitter. Nicolás Arrieta (@nikoarrieta) thinks Petro's administration will be a continuation of what was left from Samuel Moreno's term:
De los mismos creadores de “Samuel Moreno Alcalde” llega Gustavo Petro Alcalde.
Holman Darío Suarez (@Holman0823) seems to be resigned to Petro's victory:
No todas se ganan. Confío en que Gina Parody hará un buen control político… y que Gustavo Petro cumplirá lo que prometió.
Anfioligo (@anfioligo) expects good results from the new administration:
hoy resultaron electos Gustavo Petro y Angélica Lozano, unos buenos candidatos; que alcancen grandes logros en el ejercicio de sus funciones.
Camilo Hoyos (@JonathanHoyos), despite not sharing Petro's political views, shows his commitment to the city:
No soy de los afines de Gustavo Petro pero me comprometo a dar mi granito de arena por hacer de esta ciudad mucho mejor una verdadera ciudad
Julio Clavijo (@JuliusEC), meanwhile, laments Petro's victory and at the same time recalls the elected mayor's insurgent past:
Pobre Bogotá…..El ex guerrillero Gustavo Petro gana la alcaldía de Bogotá http://www.larepublica.ec/blog/portada/2011/10/30/gustavo-petro-es-el-nuevo-alcalde-de-bogota/
Finally, Juan David Jimenes (@Juandajimenz) defines what he hopes Petro's administration will represent:
Gustavo petro un nuevo cambio para nuestra sociedad

author: Robert Valencia


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Colombia: The 2011 Regional Elections  · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

On Sunday, October 30, 2011, Colombia held regional elections [es] for local public posts such as governors, department assemblies, mayors, city councils, and local administrative boards.
Colombia is divided into 32 administrative departments (which are grouped by cities) led by governors. At the same time, these departments have departmental assemblies and each city or municipality (the name depends on the number of residents) has a mayor, a group of council members that basically oversee the city hall, and a number of local administrative boards that represent different neighborhoods.
Due to the importance of these posts, these elections are tracked in the same manner as the presidential elections. Citizens followed the voting closely and the elections were widely discussed on citizen media platforms and social networks.
La Alpujarra Administrative Center, complex where the Departmental Governor of Antioquia and the Municipal Governor of Medellín are located.  Image from the Secretary of Transport and Transit of Medelllín (CC BY 2.0)
Many invited others to vote regardless of the candidate or political party of their preference.
From outside of the country, RosaCris (@rosacris) said:
Cada voto es importante. Por eso mi colombianitis. Es la primera vez q no votaré. Aprendizajes para la próxima q esté fuera del país. Iré…
Online journalist Juan Martín (@juamac) wrote:
A menos de dos horas para que finalice la jornada electoral, ¿ya votaron? #Yocuidomivoto
Information continued circulating across telephone lines to report irregularities and the site Pilas con el voto [es] posted inforgraphics with statistics from citizens.
Víctor Solano (@solano), blogger and journalist, published the following from Bogotá:
Línea gratuita para reportar irregularidades durante #VotoCo: 018000912005
Meanwhile, PAPpereza (@papereza) provided this information:
Por ahora Antioquia le gana al país en materia de irregularidades electorales denunciadas en Pilas Con El Voto
At the end of the day, some citizens published assessments of what they experienced.
Carlos A. Ramirez (@Caligular) said:
Muy tranquilas y con buena asistencia las votaciones en el centro occidente de Medellín. Una ligera lluvia humedece el final de la jornada.
Wiki Communication (@Wikiperiodismo) reported:
Largas filas se registran en algunos puestos de votación en Cali, el invierno azota el norte del Valle y relativa normal del órden público
At the closure of the voting posts, some reflections surged, such as that of Luis Alirio Calle (@LuisAlirioCalle), who referred to buying votes:
El problema del mundo no es de cositas, de regalitos, de empleítos. El problema del mundo es de conciencia.
From Medellín, Juan Mosquera (@lluevelove) published:
Son los que han decidido que su voto no tiene precio los que harán la diferencia al final del día.
Some Twitter users posted reactions starting the count of votes, like Carlos Correa Cano (@kloscorrea):
Por favor pueblo colombiano no le vamos a echar la culpa a Dios… El abstencionismo y los elegidos es culpa nuestra.
Making a soccer analogy, Mr Arias (@chori) said:
Oir resultados de elecciones me genera la misma sensacion que ver penaltis, pero más larga. Que cosa maluca.
Raigohead (@raigohead) warned from Medellín:
Tengan miedo. Mucho Miedo.
From the same city, Perla Toro (@PerlaToro) tweeted when Gustavo Petro and Aníbal Gaviria had won the mayoral posts in Bogotá and Medellín, respectively [es]:
Dios existe y al pueblo le queda gente honesta. #elecciones2011
Angel, from the PC Web blog, has his criticisms [es]:
Era impresionante cómo los “placeros” (aludiendo al parecido con los  vendedores ambulantes de las plazas, los que venden aguacates, gafas y  cosas por el estilo) de los partidos se abalanzaban sobre los electores  para inducirlos a votar por sus candidatos.
He continues on to question the fact that there is still no electronic voting in Colombia:
Independientemente de los votos recogidos el día de hoy ciudad por ciudad en Colombia, creo que ya es hora (hace mucho rato es hora) de estar manejando el voto sistematizado, sin tarjetones de papel, sin tanto personal en las mesas, es más, uno debería poder hacerlo desde su casa si así lo prefiriera como elector, siempre y cuando valide su cédula, su huella digital y/o su rostro en el sistema para evitar suplantación de identidad. Pero no, aquí en este país de lentos en términos digitales, prefieren despilfarrar millonadas en tarjetones, personal supernumerario, jurados, testigos, etc. y no invertir en tecnología de punta que agilice procesos y les de transparencia.
Additionally, through Facebook [es], people were invited to submit a paper with the text “No to the Law 30 reform,” with the goal of calling attention to the higher education reform that the current government is leading.
The surprise of the day was the victory of the blank paper ballot vote in the Bello municipality from the Antioquia department, which will require a repeat of the elections. [es]
Finally, Ana Vallejo (@anavallejoc) makes a pertinent reflection:
Lo que creo es que nos preocupamos el dia de elecciones y luego no  hacemos control ciudadano para que las promesas sean cumplidas.
You can follow more reactions to these elections with the hashtags #elecciones2011 and #VotoCo

author: Cati Restrepo


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Cuba: Archbishop Ortega Carries On  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Unlike other bloggers and many dissidents, The Cuban Triangle supports the Archbishop of Havana, whose resignation letter was dismissed by the Pope, who “told him to stay where he is, and to continue doing what he is doing.”


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Cuba: Guardians of Urban Green Spaces · Global Voices
Elaine Diaz

In December 2006 a century-old Ceiba tree was cut down in the San Agustín neighborhood of Havana, the Cuban capital. But this was more than a tree. It was the symbol of the city and of the cultural heritage of this Caribbean nation.
This sad event inspired a group of young Cubans to found El Guardabosques (The Guardian of the Forest or Forest Ranger) in January 2007 with the mission to “contribute to a better management of green spaces.”
El Guardabosques reported the death of the Ceiba tree by email to hundreds of recipients, including government institutions.
“The response was incredible,”says Isbel Díaz, founder of the environmental group, “and it prompted us to perform the first action: edit a digital newsletter.” The group now publishes a free digital newsletter “to denounce anti-ecological depredations in the urban environment.”
Isbel Díaz, founder of El Guardabosques
The members of this project recognize the role of technology and virtual networks in the creation of a community. According to Isbel Díaz, networks allow you to build “your own communication channels to denounce the actions of private or state institutions that violate the law, or that hidden in the lagoons of the law, damage the environment.”
Thus El Guardabosques was born, a non-institutionalized network of people passionate about nature [es]:
A partir de un núcleo inicial de unas cinco personas, todas vecinos de San Agustín, se han ido sumando puntualmente personas y colectivos a este trabajo. Hay quienes han estado solo en la siembra de una postura y nunca más hemos coincidido, y están quienes han participado en casi todo lo que se hace.
The most significant aspect of this project is its focus on inclusion and participative democracy. There are no exclusions based on age, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, political affiliation or economic status to participate in El Guardabosques.
For over five years, the distribution of the newsletter on the Internet has been complemented with hundreds of actions such as cleaning rivers, oceans and landfills. In addition, community projects have focused on planting and caring for trees.
Currently, El Guardabosques’ newsletter is sent to nearly 1,000 email addresses. Seventy-eight percent belong to residents in Cuba who access the Internet from the internal network, mainly from universities, research institutes, cultural and artistic institutions. The group has also participated in events like the panel “We think Cuba,” which is coordinated by the Hermanos Saiz Association.
Planting of an Anacagüita. Photo: Courtesy of Isbel Díaz
In June 2009, El Guardabosques joined the Red Protagónica Observatorio Crítico [es], a network which includes a dozen projects that work on issues related to childhood, sexual diversity, race, information, cultural promotion, among others. Participants inaugurated their fourth meeting in 2010 by planting an Anacagüita tree in a nursery.
According to the newsletter:
Trabajadoras del centro, encabezadas por su amable directora, niños de la comunidad, miembros de la Red Protagónica Observatorio Crítico, e invitados al evento decidimos colectivamente el mejor sitio para sembrar el arbolito, cavamos el hoyo, y sembramos y regamos la planta.
The death of the Ceiba tree in San Agustín has inspired the creation of a wonderful network of people who support each other and believe in environmental causes. El Guardabosque has also expanded its network of environmentalists and has created a space for exchange with other projects.

author: Elaine Diaz


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Cuba: Occupy on Facebook · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Occupy Wall Street phenomenon has apparently inspired an Occupy Cuba movement; Uncommon Sense posts links about it here and here.


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Ecuador: Leaning to Make Colada Morada for Day of the Dead · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

On the Day of the Dead –November 2– Ecuadorians prepare colada morada, a traditional drink made with various fruits and black maize; the beverage and a bread called guagas de pan are left at the graveside of deceased ancestors at cemeteries across the country. The blog El Ecuador de Hoy [es] shares two videos which show how to make colada morada.


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Egypt: Blogger Maikel Nabil Military Trial Postponed  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.
Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad, who has so far spent 216 days in prison and 71 days on hunger strike, today refused to stand trial in a military court. Sanad was arrested days after Hosni Mubarak stepped down as the president of Egypt, and was sentenced in April to three years in prison for posts he published on his blog.
The charges against him are insulting the armed forces, publishing false information on his blog and disturbing public security. Last month, the Supreme Military Court of Appeals annulled the conviction but continued to hold Sanad, who had started a hunger strike, transferring him to a mental health facility.
Back in prison, Sanad today continues with his hunger strike and his defiance to accept being subjected to the trial of a military court, a stance similar to that of blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah, who was detained for 15 days by a military court on Sunday (October 30) for refusing to be interrogated by the Military Prosecutor, in protest against its legitimacy.
A stenciled image of Sanad calling for his freedom. Photo by Hossam Elhamalawy
Sanad's trial was today postponed to November 13, creating an uproar on social networking sites. A group of supporters who waited outside court chanted against military trials.
On Twitter, journalist Adam Makary announces:
@adamakary: #BREAKING: #MaikelNabil trial postponed to November 13. Four witnesses called to the stand #egypt
The Big Pharaoh explains:
@TheBigPharaoh: Lawyers advised #mikaelnabil to apologise for his anti-SCAF blog post. He refused and also refused to accept military court legitimacy.
And Mona Seif, who has been campaigning against the military trial of civilians since January and who is Abd El Fattah's sister, notes [ar]:
مايكل نبيل في جلسة النهاردة،أصر على موقفه و طلب من محاميه الا يترافعوا،و منع المحامي المنتدب من المحكمة من التحدث باسمه. منتظرين حكم المحكمة
The Free Maikel Twitter account released the following statement, reportedly written by Sanad and smuggled out of prison, last night:
@freeMaikel: Urgent statement from #MaikelNabil: I’m Still Boycotting the Military Judicature and I Bear the Consequences
A full statement is available on the Free Maikel Nabil Sanad Facebook page here. In the statement, he writes:
History repeats itself, the same way I objected the compulsory military service last year, this year I boycott litigation before the military officers.
Mr. officers… I say Mr. Officers and not Mr. judge, because the judge before anything has to have the characteristic of independence, whereas military officers are a branch of the executive authority. That’s why, you are an officer, not a judge no matter what names, titles or descriptions you were called.
Sanad continues:
I am a civilian person, I refuse to be tried before a military judicature or any other exceptional judicature, even any judicature lacking independence. I refuse to be tried for my beliefs or my opinions, or that settling of accounts be done with me for the same of fascist Intelligence agencies, which don’t respect rights.
Sanad is one of 12,000 Egyptian civilians subjected to military trials since the ousting of Mubarak after the January 25 revolution.
Supporters the Maikel Nabil military trial. Photo from Twitter by Adam Makary
After hearing about the postponement of the case, Columnist Mona Eltahawy tweets:
@monaeltahawy: #SCAF is waiting for #MaikelNabil to die. There is no other conclusion. And after 70days hunger strike& case postponed again, he will soon.
Sandra Yacoub adds:
@SandraYacoub: very few ppl thoughout hisotry lasted more than 70 days without food. They are killing #maikelnabil #freemaikel
And Mohannad concludes [ar]:
This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Global Voices Podcast: Bridging the Language Gaps · Global Voices
Jamillah Knowles

This post is part of our special coverage Languages and the Internet.
Hello World!
In this edition of the Global Voices Podcast we discuss languages that are hard to find on the internet. Do you speak a language that is hard to find online? Are you from a place where your mother tongue is not widely spoken? Then you may be a part of large number of people around the world who speak and write “under-represented languages”. We also look forward to the 11 Eleven Project on 11/11/11.
New dialogue on preserving languages on the internet
The good news is that here on Global Voices, we are seeking news ways for people to use citizen media to strengthen and enjoy under-represented and indigenous languages. Eddie Avila is the director of Global Voices project, Rising Voices. He told me how he came to explore this subject and how he is working with New Tactics for Human Rights and others to get the discussion going.
In our interview Eddie mentions the amazing work of Kevin Scannell. Kevin is a professor of mathematics and computer science at St. Louis University in Missouri, USA. He told us how he got into the field of mapping Indigenous tweets and micro-blogs around the world.
Phones to help solve India's language challenge
Using a mobile phone to access the web in an under-represented language is still less than simple. But the internet is filled with people who are willing to take on challenges like this to make our digital world a more inclusive place. One of our Global Voices authors Aparna Ray pointed me in the direction of Shubhranshu Choudhary who works with CG Net Swara, a community radio on mobile phones in India. He explained how this service helps people who do not communicate in more widely spoken languages.
A Quechua language podcast
There are many really interesting initiatives online that can help us all explore under-represented languages online. Christine Mladic is the program administrator at the centre for Latin American and Caribbean studies at New York University and is involved with a podcast series called Rimasun that highlights and makes use of the Quechua languages.
A day to remember
As this is the November edition of the Global Voices Podcast, it means we are just ahead of the date, 11/11/11. This is also special day for anyone participating in the 11 Eleven Project. Danielle Lauren is the creative director and she explained what is about to happen and how we can all get involved.
Some of the people of Earth that Danielle mentions are also Global Voices authors, and ambassadors for the Eleven Eleven project, so I asked Salman Latif in Pakistan and Lalatiana Rahariniaina from Madagascar to share their hopes for the day.
We're also on…
That’s all we could fit into the podcast for this time. But there is good news! The Global Voices podcast is now available in brand new ways! If you are interested in public radio sharing, then you might want to listen via PRX. If you would also like to hear longer cuts and clips of our guests in interview, then you can follow us now on SoundCloud. Share your world with us so that we can share it back with you!
Music credits
In the podcast you can hear lots of lovely Creative Commons music. If you want to find out more about these artists here are the links for you. Thanks to Orb Gettarr for the atmospheric Return of the Atlanteans Lemurian Candidate, to Mark Cotton for his Spiritualized Homage, to Superbus feat. NS for Fujjad! Most of the music was found via OpSound.Org, The Free Music Archive or direct from the artists. Thanks also to all of the wonderful voice over performances and clips that help to glue the podcast together.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS

author: Jamillah Knowles


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Greece: Polarized Reactions to the Debt “Haircut” Deal · Global Voices
Asteris Masouras

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
The Greek “haircut” debt deal reached by European politicians and banks after a year and a half of agonizing negotiations and unpopular and ineffective austerity measures, has been touted as a solution to stem the sovereign debt crisis.
However, many Greek citizens have reacted with uncertainty and anger to the deal, fearing that it will incur austerity with no end in sight, and that the permanent oversight it imposes will compromise national sovereignty.
“Haircut” analysis
Pensioner protest. Banner reads: "The Greek government has offended my personal worth & merit. As an irritated citizen, I ask for my direct moral satisfaction. The grandfather". Image by Alexandros Michailidis, copyright Demotix (27/10/11).
The particulars of the “haircut” deal – an unfortunate and frequently derided misnomer for conditional and partial debt abolition – have baffled even journalists and seasoned financial analysts, let alone taxpayers. Financial blogger Zerohedge posted an analysis, claiming that the 50% haircut deal will only reduce the Greek debt – currently $374.76 million – by 28%, leaving the additional debt incurred by the bailouts untouched.
In a more reassuring overview [el] posted on Protagon.gr two days earlier, Greek economist Yannis Varoufakis had outlined optimal conditions to make the best of the situation:
Το κούρεμα είναι αναπόφευκτο, πρέπει να είναι μεγάλο (για να έχει νόημα) [..] έπρεπε να έχει γίνει πριν δυο χρόνια, ή τουλάχιστον να το έχουμε χρησιμοποιήσει ως διαπραγματευτικό μέσο. Τι θα σημάνει τώρα πια για την καθημερινότητα του πολίτη [..] Εξαρτάται (1) από τον αντίκτυπο που θα έχει στην Ιταλία και στις Γάλλο-γερμανικές τράπεζες και (2) από το κατά πόσον οι πλεονασματικές χώρες θα προσπαθήσουν να συνδέσουν το κούρεμα με μέτρα που στόχο δεν θα έχουν την βελτίωση της ελληνικής οικονομίας αλλά νέες τιμωρίες για τους έλληνες προς παραδειγματισμό των Ιταλών
Nick Malkoutzis, deputy editor at daily newspaper Kathimerini wondered out loud:
@nickmalkoutzis: If someone has better understanding please tell me: non-Greek banks losing approx 60 bn in haircut but being given 30 bn in sweeteners?
Software engineer Manolis Platakis, one of the many Greeks who emigrated abroad to find employment, mused dejectedly:
@emufear: Spent some time today explaining to my colleagues how the 50% haircut does not (even close) mean 50% reduction in Greece's sovereign debt.
A former economist (@albertjohn on Twitter) based in Thessaloniki published an analysis of the quandary Greece faces on his blog, Redesigning the Foot:
the problem with Greek austerity measures and structural reforms is all that money that has gone outside the country. Greek assets, including properties, will become even cheaper and capital will flow back in (hailed as a success) to buy them back up. Citizens, the poor, the ex-middle-classes, will be worse off (hailed a success. Well done Greece, more competitive, fly the flag, bright future etc). The result will be an increase in inequality and a re-vamped oligarchy energized by financial occupiers who would then slip away quietly.
Erik Wesselius, a senior policy researcher for lobbying watchdog Corporate Europe Observatory, whose Twitter avatar features the Greek flag in solidarity, also cautioned that the deck might be stacked against Greece:
@erikwesselius: ISDA, winner of EU Worst Lobbying Award 2010http://www.worstlobby.eu/ decides if Greece triggers a CDS payout.http://bit.ly/rW8Ouk #ISDA #CDS
Journalists Andreas Panagopoulos and Yannis Bogiopoulos laid out a plain and harsh explanation of the deal [el]:
@AnemosNaftilos: To ΠΑΣΟΚ παρέλαβε το χρέος στο 115% του ΑΕΠ και τώρα διαπραγματεύεται να το φτάσει στο 120%, το 2020! Κατάλαβες;
@Yboyio: Το χρέος μειώνεται 100 δισ για να πάρουμε δάνειο 130. Τα υπόλοιπα είναι μπούρδες. Το δε 120% του 2020 είναι χάντρες για ιθαγενείς
Reactions to prime minister's announcement
The Greek prime minister addressed the nation in a prerecorded speech [el], following a live press conference by the country's finance minister. Journalist Diane Shugart echoed sentiments common among Greeks [el]:
@dianalizia: οι ευρωπαίοι θα είναι μόνιμα στην ελλάδα για να επικοινωνούμε εύκολα, είπε ο βενιζέλος. να, σαν την πεθερά σου που εγκαταστάθηκε στο σπίτι.
@dianalizia: ουάου! πάλι πρωτοτυπίσαμε. είναι η πρώτη φορά που νικήτρια δυνάμης (της μάχης των μαχών, μάλιστα) βρίσκεται υπό κατοχή.
The official Twitter account of the Greek prime minister posted highlights of his upbeat and reassuring address as it was being broadcast on television [el]:
@PrimeministerGR: Εμείς θα φτιάξουμε την Ελλάδα κανείς άλλος. Μην περιμένουμε ούτε κακούς δαίμονες ούτε θεούς να έρθουν να κάνουν την δουλειά για εμάς #Greece
The speech was ill-received, with journalists and citizens – who had been agonizing for days over the outcome of negotiations – deriding both content and delivery. Web designer Cyberela pointed out a glaring omission [el]:
@Cyberela: Ούτε μία κουβέντα ο @PrimeministerGR για την *ανεργία*. Σαν να μην υπάρχει.
Political communications consultant Vivian Efthymiopoulou was aghast [el]:
@vivian_e: Εχει γίνει πλέον σαφές ότι τα κάστανα από τη φωτιά θα πρέπει να τα βγάλουμε μόνοι μας. Οι άνθρωποι θέλουν αλλά δεν μπορούν. Όλοι τους.
There were some calls for positive action, echoing the prime minister's plea for Greeks to work together. Communications expert George Flessas [el]:
@gflessas: Αντί των αναλύσεων και των αφορισμών χρειάζεται θετική δράση: για μείωση δαπανών,προσέλκυση επενδύσεων, μηδενισμός γραφειοκρατίας κλπ
Writer and journalist Manolis Andriotakis blogged about the need to provide tangible hope to the coming generations [el]:
@andriotakis: Δώστε στα παιδιά εργαλεία να σκέφτονται, να κρίνουν, να δημιουργούν κι όχι να ονειρεύονται τη Δυστοπία http://bit.ly/uAv9sa
Just say no?
Documentary journalist Janine Louloudi pointed out a potentially inauspicious and prophetic slip of the prime minister's tongue:
@janinel83: Through his twitter account #Papandreou asks every Greek to have his own “small revolution”..talk about wrong choice of words…#gap #Greece
Students parade with Greek flags during Ochi Day, Thessaloniki, Greece. Image by Alexandros Michailidis, copyright Demotix (27/10/11).
The level of discontent with politicians in Greece is high, with many ministers and parliamentarians accosted by angry crowds in recent months over austerity policies. Reportedly, no high ranking government officials attended the school pupils’ parade – and subsequent protests – in Thessaloniki, on the eve of the national celebration of October 28, 2011, for the “Ochi Day” (“No Day”). Even Chinese dignitaries were mistakenly booed [el] during a recent visit to the Knossos archeological site in Crete.
Teacher and citizen photojournalist Craig Wherlock, present at the earlier incident, commented:
@teacherdude: About the bravest thing a Greek minister can do is to try and walk thru the streets of Athens.
In the wake of the “haircut” deal, indignant activists celebrated Ochi Day in their own fashion this year, urging people through an impromptu Facebook campaign (since deleted) to hang banners with the word “Ochi” (No) from their balconies and protest at local parades.
This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Asteris Masouras


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Indonesia: Impact of Oil Palm Plantations · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Greg Acciaioli writes about the social and economic impact of expanding oil palm plantations in Borneo Island.

author: Mong Palatino


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Iran: A Storm of Reactions to Hillary Clinton · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

A remark by Hillary Clinton in an interview with the BBC in October 26, 2011 that the Iranian Green Movement would be smart to seek foreign assistance, spurred a lot of reactions – among others from the Green Movement's well known figures and bloggers, who also criticized Green “public figures” in the West.
In her interview, Clinton raised several issues, but it seems that this remark was the most commented on:
I will tell you it was a very tough time for us, because we wanted to be full-hearted in favor of what was going on inside Iran, and we kept being cautioned that we would put people’s lives in danger, we would discredit the movement, we would undermine their aspirations. I think if something were to happen again, it would be smart for the Green Movement or some other movement inside Iran to say, “We want the voices of the world. We want the support of the world behind us.
That’s what the Libyan opposition figures did, as you remember…
Hillary Clinton interview with BBC
Abulhassan Banisadr, a former president in exile, criticized [fa] Clinton, and said the USA does not want democracy for Iran, but an obedient regime as an alternative to the Islamic Republic.
Banouyesabz has published  an English translation of Mir Hussein Mousavi's, senior advisor, Ardeshir Amir Arjomand's reaction to Clinton's interview:
Motivation of foreign powers go beyond human rights
Our position is the position of the leaders of Iran’s Green Movement Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. Iran’s Green movement is a grassroots movement with its roots deeply embedded in our country, in the heart of our citizens and their will and power to mobilize.  We will continue to unequivocally emphasize the independence of the Green movement, for it is this independence that is key to the strength of our movement…It goes without saying, that historically speaking, all across the globe, when we witness a nation interfering in another nation’s internal affairs, it is never merely because they are seeking to uphold human rights and adhere to democratic principles. Generally speaking when foreign interference takes place, there is a motivation behind the interference. Our nation is not one that depends on other governments.
Arjomand requests US government help?
While Arjomand appears to be against all US support for the Green Movement, Zirepoust Shahr has published a translation of a Wikileaks cable describing Arjomand's request for help from a US embassy in Turkey to protect him when he left the country:
Ardeshir entered Turkey illegally but he holds a valid French residency permit. He asked for [US government] help in ensuring his safe onward travel either to France or the U.S. We explained that the USG cannot give any help inconsistent with Turkish or U.S. laws and urged him to consider registering with UNHCR as an asylum-seeker, a suggestion he rejected for fear that Turkey would send him back to Iran.
Khorshid Neshan writes [fa] with irony that:
Once again Arjomand appeared as the “owner” of the Green Movement, and as the authorities of the Islamic Republic's criticized Hillary Clinton… It's amazing that all these reformists living in the USA or big cities in Europe, never pass up meeting the Iranian lobby groups.. Of course, the USA is protecting its own interests, but now these interests are in the same direction as that of the Iranian people… It was good that Arjomand did not burn this opportunity.
On October 27, Mojtaba Vahedi, Mehid Karoubi's advisor, said in a YouTube message [fa] from Washington DC, where he is based that the US “owes” the Iranian opposition movement suport:
Persian Letters on RFL translated his statement to English:
Right when the Green Movement was in full swing, [U.S. President Obama] said his country is ready to talk with the [Islamic Republic]. By doing so Washington morally supported the Iranian government, [which] was very fearful of domestic and international conditions,” Vahedi said.
Vahedi added that in his view the U.S. also owes the Iranian opposition movement for not pressuring allies that supported Iran in its crackdown, This support included providing Tehran with surveillance technology.
Vahedi added that in his view the U.S. owes the Iranian opposition movement also for not pressuring allies that supported Iran in its crackdown, including by providing Tehran with surveillance technology.  He also called on the United States to ask former President Jimmy Carter to travel to Iran to monitor the March 2012 parliamentary elections. He suggested the move would put the Iranian government in a difficult position. He noted that Tehran has expressed support and approval for Carter's supervision of the Palestinian and Tunisian votes.
Gole Ayneh critcized Vahedi and says that she, an Iranian woman, rejects any foreign intervention and is surprised that Vahedi thinks the US owes anything to Iran:
Obama swears to defend and protect American interests and not Iranian ones… you suggest sending Carter to supervise parliamentary elections! It seems you ignore protesters’ slogans in the streets, chanting against theocracy…

author: Fred Petrossian


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Kazakhstan: Bloggers Discuss New Copyright Protection Bill · Global Voices
Sergey Park

Kazakhstan's Internet community has yet again suffered a setback, this time at the hands of state authorities. In recent months, state interference in the growth of the Internet has reached unprecedented heights. The government's interest in the new trend can be evaluated in various ways but, in particular, as a desire to diffuse and reinforce state power throughout various sectors of society.
Since the Internet is growing quickly, that ambition is quite obvious. It is worth noting, however, that the Internet has one very significant feature: a lack of laws and regulators. And inventing laws for that which bows to no law is a very difficult task.
Intellectual property bill
In early autumn, the government introduced a bill aimed at the defence of intellectual property to the Mazhilis (Kazakhstan's lower house of parliament). The bill, should it pass, will entail a number of changes to the various regulatory instruments of the state, in particular the criminal code and several other laws. Unfortunately, not everyone is prepared to adapt to these modifications, since they believe that the Internet should not be restricted by legal parameters – otherwise, it loses its beauty and reason for existence.
Image: Sunqar
This past spring, the ‘three-click’ method [ru] was introduced in Kazakhstan. (The method of “three clicks” consists of several steps: first – formal notice for author of illegal  content, second – warning and the third one – opening of criminal case  against violator. It was proposed by President of Association of Legal  Entities and «Internet— Association of Kazakhstan” Shavkat Sabirov for work on websites with pirate content).
Obviously, it is starting to gain practical support, although the implementation has not been entirely welcome – it is not enough that implementation of the legislation leads only to sanctions (an immediate punishment without warning), but should result in the mass shut-down of sites. Remember the clash over LiveJournal [ru] and counters, and aspects of other portals as well? Domestic ‘shutdowners’ now have local Internet resources in their sights: the target has become torrent-trackers, which massively violate copyright legislation and other related laws.
These decisions have infuriated the Internet community. One portal has been closed down despite its users numbering at least 20,000. Rafik Jafarof is not pleased [ru]:
By passing this law they've set themselves back a minimum of seven years seeing as a large proportion of users will stop using the Internet, which means that internet providers will take a colossal beating […] It would be better to police the streets – how many drug addicts, criminals and potential murders roam these streets? –  instead of ‘fighting for copyright.’
On his blog, Sunqar posted a brief analysis [ru] summing up the situation:
‘2 clicks’ in all its glory. The first time, they will warn a fan who shares ‘cultural goods’ with the community. The second time it happens within a year, the justice-makers will fine him, say, 150 bucks and cheerfully take away his computer and modem.
A representative of the publisher iPORT.kz – JZU – speculates [ru]:
Even though the closure of the offending sites is adequate, the powers that be still made me laugh: they caught some of the thousands of illegal distributors (and made a PR stunt out of it) when there are a lot of other illegal things that could be pointed to on Kaznet.
The editors of the New Reporter published a fresh and topical post [ru] on the matter, in which they assembled all the most interesting opinions:
Deputy Murat Abenov suggests freeing the owners of Internet resources of responsibility for the actions of those users who, for example, host pirate films, and to punish them only if the owner knows about counterfeit content but does not react to an appeal from the copyright holder. A similar practice is in operation in the USA and permits sites to develop actively.
Another deputy, Nurlan Onerbay, suggested combatting not only domestic pirates, but foreign ones too. His version of the clause on the violation of copyright stipulates that “for foreign media that constitute Internet resources:  the closure of access to the specified Internet resources on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.”
Moreover, the issue is not just the closure of particular pages but the complete blocking of a site. By the way, on YouTube, VKontakte, and Moy Mir there are dozens of clips of the singer Nurlan Onerbay. If the deputy/singer's amendments are accepted, these resources, which are popular in Kazakhstan, could be completely blocked.
Internet user Rocfor went over all the aforementioned in quite a harsh manner and, as a result, declared [ru]:
In this country there are so many problems of a social character, yet they […] are thinking about the Internet – how progressive and considerate our government is.
Internet user Zebroman talks [ru] about how the bill is not the best idea, confirming his opinion with these words:
I am a young professional. The country should in principle be interested in me. My salary is 42,000 tenge (US$ 285). Licences cost (for your ‘music lovers’) from 2,000 to 5,000 tenge (US$ 13 – 34). A cinema ticket costs 1,000 (around US$ 7). The question of the day is: what else can I do but download films, music, games and trackers?
We decided to consult other well known Kazakh commentators; Azamat Omarov [ru], gave this opinion on the matter:
If we compare the current version of the law and the draft the new version, I do not see anything fundamentally new. The emphasis in the draft is placed on punitive measures and does not reveal procedural aspects. The future law will not make possible any kind of reduction in the use of unlicensed content on the global network. The most that it can do is put Kaznet's leaders out by sending Kazakh users to external sites. Everyone understands perfectly well that even if all Kazakh sites were to be shut down, the number of users of counterfeit material would not diminish and copyright holders should expect no increase in revenues.
On the whole, the new law gives exclusive discretion over what falls in line to state authorities. Consequently, it is now possible to close absolutely any portal if an authority considers that it violates copyright law. But this inevitably will lead to a deterioration in the relationship between the state and its citizens, seeing as it interferes with the constitutional right to free access to information. However, approval of the law is planned for the middle of 2012 and in all likelihood a lot will change before then.

author: Sergey Park