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Jamaica: out of context · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

In the run-up to a general election in Jamaica, is a political advertisement misrepresenting opposition leader Portia Simpson-Miller by taking her comments out of context? Active Voice asks: “is it accurate and ethical to splice disparate bits of video and audio together like this?”


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Jamaica: support for LGBT rights? · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

In a televised election debate, Jamaica's opposition leader Portia Simpson-Miller expressed cautious support for LGBT rights and for repealing the country's buggery laws. Ross Sheil gives a summary of the public reaction, “which shows the country softening or becoming more pragmatic on the issue.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nicholas Laughlin


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Japan: Archiving Online Videos of Quake and Tsunami · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

More than 9 months have passed since the earthquake and tsunami which devastated many areas of Japan on March 11th. Rick Martin has been mapping and tagging videos taken during both events and during the aftermath.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Japan: New Video Footage of Tsunami Tidal Surge · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Devastating tsunami tidal surges are quiet and quick, as a recently uploaded video shows. The video was recorded from inside a truck which got stuck in the rising waters more than 1 mile from the coast 1 hour after the March 11 earthquake. The driver was able to swim to safety.


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Macedonia, Nepal: First Female Macedonian on Major Himalayan Peak · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Macedonian climbers Ilina Arsova and Ilija Ristovski have successfully climbed the Himalayan summit of Ama Dablam, on Nov. 18, 2011. Ilina wrote about this achievement on her blog, in Macedonian and English.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Macedonia, Poland: Remembering Solidarność · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Macedonian blogger Zoriv reminisced about the fall of socialism by publishing original photos [mk] he made during the 1981 protests in Warsaw, Poland, organized by Solidarity Trade Union.


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Philippines: State of National Calamity After Tropical Storm Sendong · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A state of national calamity was declared by the Philippine President after tropical storm Sendong (international name: Washi) devastated many parts of north Mindanao Island, located in the southern part of the country. According to the government, 1,080 people died and 1,000 more are still missing after Sendong triggered flashfloods in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan last week.
Rubz shares the story of a survivor:
Around 10pm, she could hear their roof shaking. The rain was non-stop. Then suddenly, her mom and dad called on her because the water is rising up…They decided to climb a tree to hold on but one of their neighbor's houses came to them knocking the tree down along with her father…She jumped and jumped until she was able to grab on a big log. She rode on it over Cagayan de Oro River until she saw a family floating holding a refrigerator. She asked for their help and they helped her cling to the refrigerator. There were six of them hanging including a child…Because it happened during the coldness of the night, they couldn't see much but they could hear a lot of people crying for help…When daylight came, they noticed that there were a lot of dead bodies floating near them.
Overview of flood impact. Photo from Tony Alejo on Facebook.
Mindanaoan’s house was damaged by the floods:
So much have happened ever since I woke up yesterday. Survived strong rains and winds, endured hours of brownout, found out that we didn't have water supply, found out that our humble house in Cagayan de Oro City also got damaged and that we have no choice but to face business losses. Still, my family and I have so much to be thankful for. All of us are safe and alive and able to help out those in need
Through the hashtag #sendong, netizens express their sympathy for the flood victims:
@jeffcanoy: Woman identifies a cadaver as her husband after seeing their wedding ring on his finger. #Sendong #heartbreak
@momblogger: Pls do not ever tell the victims “life goes on” at this point,. Trauma so fresh. They will move on to their new life at some point
@piacayetano: Don't ever think the little things u do to help #Sendong victims are insignificant. It matters.
This video shows the rising waters on Bayug Island:
Netizens are also active in spreading information about how to help flood evacuees aside from Red Cross and government relief efforts. Citizen media photos about the destructive impact of the floods are also posted on Facebook:
Damaged car. Photo from Alam Kana Nakin.
Flooded street. Photo from Alam Kana Nakin
Scene inside an evacuation center. Photo from Beatriz Arcinas Cañedo
Flooded village. Photo from Rachel Monterona
Pecier Decierdo highlights the need for scientific literacy to minimize the harsh impact of storms:
Although we grieve for the victims of tragedy caused by Sendong, we must not fail to learn from this event. Both the public and the government can help prevent a similar tragedy by learning more about how the Earth works and how its workings are being altered due to climate change.
Let this tragedy be a painful reminder to the public and the policy makers that in this day and age, making decisions based on a high level of scientific literacy is a matter of life and death.
Stuart Santiago wasn’t impressed with the speech of the president in the aftermath of the storm:
“hearing” the president wondering why illegal logging hasn’t stopped despite his order, why people won’t evacuate despite warnings, why people even build and live in risky areas, why rescuers have to risk their own lives to save people who refused to heed warnings — these do not inspire confidence that the president despite his super-powers is anywhere near to coming up with ways of mitigating the devastating effects of future sendongs.

author: Mong Palatino


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Russia: Opposition Faces Online Communication Problems · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.
The current political protest is network-based. Many of its participants, excluded from mainstream politics, are veterans of online battles. However, as most of them are joining the protest from different perspectives, offline communication between them could have been smoother.
A union against the common enemy, rigged election results, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's political machine: this is what has brought into one place representatives of Russia's liberal, social-democratic, and nationalist forces. On December 22, 2011, we saw them creating a coalition decision for the first and, hopefully, not for the last time.
All parties are very interested in legibility (as compared to the sliding legitimacy of the ruling regime) and therefore resort to online tools that would allow to reach a new level of transparency.
Voting for the balanced representation proposed by Alexey Navalny. Screenshot from rusotv.ru
The revolution will be both tweeted and televised
And indeed, the protesters are a lot tech-savvier and much more transparent than their counterparts. The meeting of the organizational committee of the December 24 rally that was held on December 22 was very well live-streamed by rusotv.org, an online live-broadcasting media portal.
The ability to broadcast the events of December 2011 live online has made people around the world and in Russia the spectators of a truly historical event – a gathering of some 100-150 opposition activists, who represented thousands of the netizens and millions of not-connected Russians.
The meeting was moderated by Alexey Navalny, a politician-turned-blogger-turned-political-prisoner-turned-politician. Next to him were the nationalists (including Dmitry Krylov and Vladimir Tor) and the liberals (including Boris Nemtsov and former chess champion Garry Kasparov), social-democrats, anarchists, environmentalists, unionized car owners, the Pirate Party, and many others.
The key question of the meeting was to decide who would be the host at the December 24 meeting. It was not just an organizational issue, but the question of whether the different, polarized political groups would manage to find a formula that would suit the majority of the diverse citizen groups.
Earlier, the protesters had decided they would use two tools: the Facebook voting tool and Survey Monkey [poll temporarily unavailable] to let people add their own rally speaker candidates. Problems, however, emerged with both tools.
Platform bias or ease of rigging?
Denis Bilunov, representative of the “Solidarity” movement and a person responsible for the online polls, presented the results of the popular vote. Some 83,000 users took part in the Survey Monkey poll, but the results were rather disgruntling: Alexey Navalny came in first, but right after him were a neo-Nazi nicknamed “Tesak” and a fraudster businessman Sergey Mavrodi (both received about 20 percent of the votes). Bilunov recognized them as rigged (in his opinion, the SurveyMonkey service had been abused by a vote-stuffing bot) and proposed to disregard them.
Aside from these two ‘rigged’ candidates (participants believed it was used by the authorities to discredit the voting system), the following candidates were on top of the list:
It is important to note that in the Top 30 list, four nationalists were on high positions, while on Facebook there was none.
This led to a controversy. An anarchist who called himself Ukrop (‘dill’ in Russian) stated that these online elections “were as falsified as the official ones.” Boris Nemtsov, leader of Solidarity movement, who had been caught cursing at his political allies, supported this idea. As one representative proposed: “Let an IT guy create a program that would make 2,000 votes in a few minutes and let everyone see how easy it's to cheat online with such voting.”
The option of using SurveyMonkey in the future seemed to be recognized as flawed. Then Bilunov proposed to use either Facebook or Democracy2.ru (an e-democracy platform created by the author of “Cloud Democracy” concept Leonid Volkov). Geidar Djemal had a Bolshevik-style proposal of choosing delegates based on their “political suitability” and not on poll results.
The nationalists, however, didn't like Facebook voting, claiming there were “only liberals” there, and that the choice of the platform would have a significant impact on the outcome of the voting.
Ilya Ponomarev, one of the creators and main ideologists of the open voting, defended the results, saying that despite controversy, this was still the most massive online poll ever conducted in Russia.
Navalny formula
The option proposed by Alexey Navalny seemed to have aggregated all options expressed by the speakers. He followed those speakers who proposed a mixed approach: the majority of the speakers (mostly celebrities: actors, journalists, writers, and even the former USSR president Mikhail Gorbachev, whom he described as “inherently liberal”) are those who are on top of both the SurveyMonkey and Facebook lists, given they will attend the December 24 protest, plus the representatives from political groups: 2-3 persons from the nationalists (the speakers will be selected by Dmitry Krylov and Vladimir Tor), 2-3 from the leftists (selected by Ilya Ponomaryov and Sergey Udaltsov).
The voting, assembled after some major shouting, showed: 80 persons for Navalny's option, 32 against. The decision passed.
Those who participated decided to form a new political body that would unite the anti-government effort and continue the protests against the elections.
Rustem Adagamov, a popular blogger, remarked [ru]:
Хорошо бы всё у них получилось — у нас прямо на глазах строится новая демократия в стране.
And then he added [ru]:
Офигенно приятно смотреть на такое количество здравых, умных людей, слышащих друг друга. Это прямо новая Россия, которая мне очень нравится
This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Spain: Fighting for the Right to a Home · Global Voices
Lali Sandiumenge

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
The explosive cocktail of the housing bubble, the financial crisis, and high unemployment rates have left thousands of families without homes in Spain. But the victims of mortgage eviction are not anonymous, they have names and stories to tell.
Francisco had to vacate Getafe (in Madrid) this week; and Sheila and Medeleine, single mothers of five children, who will be evicted from their homes in Barcelona; and Alex and his family, who have returned as okupas (to occupy) to the home they had lost in the Catalan locality of Terrassa.
All of them contracted mortgages in the years of supposed prosperity and easy credit, ended without incomes, and now cannot pay them.  They not only lost their apartments, but are also indebted.  There are many more people in this situation, they are among the thousands. They have broken out of anonymity thanks to a collective of activists, composed of those affected, as well as supporters, who have joined together in a campaign of pacifist resistance to stop the crisis.  The motto is clear: “We will not let the bank kick us out of our homes.”
This kind of guerrilla against evictions was born in 2009 in Barcelona when a group of victims created the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH in Spanish), to denounce these abuses and the legal protection of financial entities.  “Neither the banks nor public powers are interested in our uproar,” they affirm in their blog. “Resisting evictions means challenging them, standing up to them, looking at them as one equal to another (…).  Our house is our instrument of battle, our lever of pressure, our greatest ally.”
In November of 2010, they achieved a milestone: they stopped an initial eviction near Barcelona and prevented Lluís and his 13-year-old son from being left to the streets.
The PAH continued to work until it received an unexpected boost this spring — support from the collectives that form part of the 15M movement. Now other similar groups exist, including neighborhood assemblies,  and social and local entities in many Spanish cities that fight for the right to a decent home. In total, the PAH assures that it has stopped 109 evictions.
While that number is large, an enormous amount of work remains to be done, taking into account that between 2007 and 2011, almost half a million foreclosures are expected to take place in Spain (there have been 32,000 proceedings in the first half of this year and almost 48,000 in 2010, according to data from the General Council of the Judiciary [es].)
A digital alliance
The campaign counts on a strong online component, from where it organizes and connects those affected with activists and the rest of society. Stop Eviction's webpage [es] was created in June with the goal of generating a network of alerts and a state map of the dramatic situation.  Anyone who will fall victim to a mortgage eviction can present his or her case there and set off an effort of coordination to receive help.
The alerts are also spread through the campaign's Twitter accounts, @LA_PAH and @stopdesahucios, and through hashtags #stopdesahucios (#stopevictions) o #stopdesnonaments (“stop evictions” in Catalan).  And it works — the tweets are retweeted and information is disseminated, getting groups of sympathizers, neighbors, and activists show up to stop the evictions.  Below are some recent examples:
@oscartaxibcn: Mañana pararemos un desahucio 13D, Barcelona – Ciutat Meridiana. A las 08:30h, C/ Les Agudes 58b, bloque K #stopdesnonaments via @LA_PAH
@alertadesahucio: L'Hospitalet. Parado hoy desahucio en la C. Jardín. Próxima cita el jueves a las 8 en C. Llançà, 7 miguel-delamo.blogspot.com/2011/12/otro-d…#stopdesahucios
@GetafeAsamblea: Si conseguimos ayudar a Antonia, el miércoles hay que apoyar a Paco ¿venís?#stopdesahuciosbit.ly/sMs2pi
“Family evicted, house reappropriated!”
Over time, the PAH and 15M have launched another fighting front.  It no longer has to do only with stopping evictions, but also to relocating families to unused buildings due to housing speculation: Family evicted, house reappropriated!  The first cases took place in Barcelona and Madrid on October 15, following the massive global demonstration in both cities.  Under the slogan, “from indignation to action,” they occupied a building in Barcelona, which was the property of a seized construction company, and “Hotel Madrid” in Madrid, which was up for auction.
Both initiatives created blogs: Edifici 15O [es] and Hotel Madrid [es].  Although the police evicted the families relocated in Hotel Madrid, the movement did not back down.  Twitter user @Arganda15m wrote that very day: “They're chanting ‘An eviction, another occupation’ #withoutahome.”
A month later, on November 18, a similar case occurred in Barcelona, when members of the Indignant Assembly from the Sants neighborhood, also members of the 15 M, occupied a block of apartments that remained empty for a number of years. They accommodated five evicted families and launched a blog [es], as well as a Twitter account [es], to spread information about the case, now known as “Habitatge18N” (“House18N” in Catalán).  Twelve days later, the alarm spread widely [ca]:
@La_Directa: Els #Mossos tenen previst desallotjar @habitatge18n d'Hostafrancs aquesta matinada
@Acampadabcn: Va, som-hi! Hashtag per seguir tot el que (no) passi aquesta nit a @habitatge18n ->#totesambH18n Recordem: c/ Hostafrancs, 3
The building was effectively evacuated that morning in a controversial police operation, which, according to the collective, is being investigated by Amnesty International.  Nevertheless, the project continues on and remains quite active.
The campaign against evictions has captured the interest of the media and some proposals that it defends are making room for it in their political agenda.  This is the case of the  “dación en pago [es],” which promotes that by law the debt be condoned when the property is acquired, as it is in other European countries.  They have also relocated a number of families in subsidized housing and have led some city councils to ask for a modification of mortgage legislation.
Clearly, there are motives to celebrate.  This is how they did it on Twitter on November 30:
@acampadasol Cumpleaños feliz para @La_PAH: 100 desahucios paralizados, ¡sí se puede! bit.ly/tBUefB#stopdesahucios
and in response:
@LA_PAH: “@acampadasol felicidades tb a vosotr@s! es una victoria de tod@s!”
This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Lali Sandiumenge


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Tanzania: Dar Youth Mobilise Online to Assist Flood Victims · Global Voices
J. Nambiza Tungaraza

Dar es Salaam’s young social media users are mobilising volunteers to assist in relief efforts following the floods that inundated vast areas of Dar es Salaam causing deaths and damage to infrastructure.  Using the hashtag #Darfloods, Twitter users have been in the forefront informing the public and mobilising relief efforts.
The floods were unleashed by heavy rains that poured continuously for two days caused at least 13 deaths and huge damage to infrastructure. Floods inundated office buildings and residential areas leaving hundreds of people homeless. According to Daily News, Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) said these are the heaviest rains Tanzania has experienced in 57 years.
Dar es Salaam youths rescuing children. Photo courtesy of http://issamichuzi.blogspot.com/.
In the past three days, bloggers and social network users used the social media platforms to send their condolences as well as important updates.
Altaz Premji wrote:
@altazpremji: step in right direction RT @ihelptz: All willing to lend a helping hand in the #DarFloods response can reach out at +255 222181117
Amor Mtage posted a contact number for those who would like to volunteer their time to help the victims:
@AmorMtage: The chairperson UN youth association can be reached thru 0718104565 for anyone hu wants to contribute or volunteer #darfloods
Bongo 5 Media Group posted the locations of emergency relief centres:
@bongofive: Vituo vya waathirika wa #DarFloods ni Sekondari za Azania, Msimbazi, Mchikichini, Kibasila, Mzambaraoni. Sh. msingi Mchikichini, Muhimbili
So far due to ordinary people’s efforts thousands of victims are receiving assistance. Luca in Dar Es Salaam writes:
@simplyluca: We hv seen over 3000 #DarFloods victims, efforts continue kesho (tomorrow)and thereafter. This is real..not for PR! They need help now, acheni majungu (stop witch-hunting)
Acknowledging that more needs to be done at the relief centres, Lusajo L.M tweeted:
@sajjo: @DarFloods kindly concentrate on coordinating relief efforts and disseminating information about #DarFloods leave Politics to Politicians.
President Jakaya Kikwete’s Twitter account (@jmkikwete) posted the following message:
@jmkikwete: @DJ_KIMZ The government is doing it's part.TPDF [Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Force] has been working for the past two days to help victims,hand in hand with other stakeholders.
And Singida Member of Parliament Mohammed Dewji posted a statement from the president on his blog:
Nimepokea kwa masikitiko habari za vifo vya wenzetu 13 vilivyotokana na mafuriko yaliyosababishwa na mvua kubwa ambayo sote tumeishuhudia katika mkoa wa Dar Es Salaam tokea jana.
While massive rescue efforts continued, several bloggers in Dar Es Salaam including Issa Michuzi and Bongo5 posted photos showing the severity of the floods.
Dar Es Salaam based tweeps,  Rakesh Rajani and Mikie Mckee, explained the extent of flooding in some office buildings:
@rakeshrajani: #Twaweza Dar closed until further notice due to severe flooding (chest high inside the office!). Extensive damage, will take days to fix
@MikieMckee: Diplomatic offices and international organization Including UN Tanzania, Swiss Embassy, Twaweza, India Embassy zimejaa majii #DarFloods
Other tweeps posted much needed real time status of roads using #Darfloods hashtag.  EATV 5 twitter account @Number1youthchannel tweeted:
@Number1youthchannel: Lugalo /Tangi Bovu Bridge collapses. NO cars allowed to PASS over it. Picture Courtesy of Jimmy Blanks.
Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete visited the affected areas showing his government's commitment in leading the relief efforts.

author: J. Nambiza Tungaraza


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Video Highlights: Protests, Elections, Culture and GV · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

This section aims to showcase interesting and recent posts in Global Voices that show the many ways in which videos are helping people tell stories all around the world. You can follow the activity by regions in our YouTube channel or by clicking on the regional header links.
2011 was a year of popular uprisings. The end of the year is no different than the past months, with fed up people turning to the streets in their hope to get their voices heard and make a difference.
Middle East- North Africa
Kuwait: Stateless Protesters Attacked for Demanding Rights
Police attacked stateless protesters in Kuwait, who were demanding their rights to documents, education, healthcare, employment and naturalization.
Egypt: Women Against SCAF – Who Wins?
Egyptians are outraged at the Supreme Council for Armed Forces continuing brutality and abuse against women; this time they beat and in the process, undressed a veiled female protester, an action which was caught on video.
Egypt: Women Rally for Dignity
A couple of days after the events on the previous video, women marched in Cairo protesting against the abuses to women and also called for the fall of military rule as told in  Bahrain: A Bloody National Day, a Funeral and More Suppression.
Iran: Where Is My Classmate?
A student campaign was launched on December 7 to remember all those students who have been unable to return to Iran's universities due to religious or political reasons: some banned, others expelled, some in prison and some of them were killed on the streets. Support from other places in the world was shown through videos to remember the departed and repressed students. This video was sent in from Barcelona, Spain.
http://youtu.be/4535gGdL-qQ
Saudi Arabia: Netizens Use Online Activism to Draw Attention to Qatif Protests
The month of November marked the return of protests to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia in 2011, as the people of Qatif took to the streets to demand reforms, equality, the release of their detainees, and political freedom as many of their slogans and chants have expressed. So far, four protesters have been shot dead by security forces as a result.
Occupy Protests Worldwide
See special coverage page.
USA: Uncertain Future of Student Occupy Movement in California
After the pepper spray incident and video,  the University of California's participation in the worldwide Occupy movement gained media attention. They are protesting against a  40% enrollment free increase, the high interest rates for student loans and the decreased availability of state financial aid.
Bahrain: #OccupyBudaiyaSt Continues
Peaceful protesters in Bahrain who are pressuring the government to release political prisoners and pay tribute to the more than 40 people killed by security forces since February have been faced with police attacks, brutality, tear gas, and rubber bullets. This comes after police were caught on different videos brutalizing 25 protesters on a roof with batons and knives.
Philippines: “Occupy” Protests Overcome Police Brutality
Highlighting the theme “sawang-sawa na tayo (we are fed up),” the campout protest tackled a broad range of issues from the Aquino administration's budget cuts for education and social services, nonstop oil and basic commodities price hikes, land reform, migrant issues, urban poor demolitions, and persistent human rights violations.
Electoral unrest has also motivated thousands out into the streets. In Russia the result reporting more than 140% of voters has already become a meme. And although the Congolese diaspora was unable to vote, they made sure to get their voices heard by the world.
Eastern and Central Europe
With the elections in Russia, online video has proven a useful tool in documenting electoral violations such as disappearing ink pens, paid voters and inflated turnouts as well as the later post electoral protests. Posts like  Russia: No Violation of Election Violations  and Russia: Second Day of Post-Election Protests  explain the motives behind the protests such as election results, blogger arrests and  also the clashes with anti-activists groups recruited and shipped into Moscow from other regions to demonstrate support for Vladimir Putin.  An example of the electoral violations is the use of erasable pens left in voting booths:
Subsaharan Africa
D.R. of Congo: Congolese Diaspora Erupts Against Kabila
The Congolese nationals based outside the Congo demonstrated in front of embassies in several different countries. Although they weren't granted the possibility to vote in the past presidential and parliamentary elections, they protested to bring awareness to the situation in their country and in some cases to protest the results of the elections and to demand the departure of President Kabila. International governments have already approached the Congolese government to intercede and stop the violence in their capitals.
Is culture found in the traditions handed down through generations or is it found in the behaviors and activities which get adopted and followed by the population? In Mexico, children are growing up believing they are less because of their skin color.  In Cuba, very popular but sexually explicit music gets censored, and in Trinidad, a religious Shia Muslim commemoration has in turn become a festival.
Latin America
Mexico: The Results of a Racism Experiment with Children
These children demonstrate how pervasive racism has become in Mexico. All that was needed was a pair of dolls, one light skinned and one dark for children to express how they felt the whiter doll was better, even if they identified more with the dark-skinned one.
Caribbean
Ashura Commemorations Around the World
The Shia Muslim commemoration of Ashura takes place in many places around the world. In Trinidad and Tobago it has transformed into the festival of Hosay and the ritual is shared with Sunnis, Hindus and Afro-Trinidadians.
Cuba: Reggaeton Hit ‘Chupi Chupi’ Denounced by Authorities
A popular reggaeton song which sings explicitly about oral sex has been denounced as obscene by the authorities in Cuba. The debate on censorship has moved online where people debate on the song's merits as part of the actual culture of the island, whether people like it or not, and the impact the authorities comments will have on the songs popularity.
I would like to thank you for reading and supporting our work, thanks to which we can bring you these and other stories. Please take a second to read about our new fundraising campaign which comes with a lovely video:
Global Voices is a volunteer community of over 500 writers, translators, and digital media activists who bring you underreported stories and conversations from around the world. Watch our new video highlighting images and quotations from some of our supporters:
The video is also available in multiple languages.


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Armenia: Fans of Facebook Cocktail Bar · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Global Voices’ Caucasus Editor snaps a photo from mobile of a new cocktail bar in Yerevan, the Armenian capital. The bar is called ‘Fans of Facebook’ and there's of course a group page on the popular social networking site.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Barbados: leptospirosis outbreak · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

A government press conference addressing a leptospirosis outbreak prompts Barbados Free Press to ask some questions: “Why must every new leptospirosis outbreak be a surprise? Why are Barbados governments incapable of implementing and carrying through with long-term plans about issues that are foundational to the health and safety of citizens?”


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Cuba: Dance Flash Mob in Plaza Vieja · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

To celebrate the end of the year long activities around the 20 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,  Unicef, ballet and dance students worked together to produce a colorful flash mob in the Old Square of La Habana as seen in this video.


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Hungary: Presidents in Correspondence, Journalist in Blind Copy · Global Voices
Marietta Le

Attila Mong, a Hungarian journalist, has obtained the letter sent by José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, to the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán. The journalist has published in three parts the letter on his blog Napi Fix. The whole letter in English and in Hungarian is available in this post.
Mr. Mong was fired in January from a public radio channel for observing a minute of silence on the morning news program, protesting against the then introduced media law.
He has published an article [hu] about the content of the letter first on origo.hu, a Hungarian news site. This happened following an interruption to the talks between the Hungarian government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week because of the two laws the government insisted on introducing. In his letter, Mr. Barroso advised the Hungarian PM to withdraw the two cardinal laws on the Hungarian National Bank and on financial stability for not being compatible with the European Union's legal system:
[…] These laws contain provisions which could be in contradiction with the Treaty and interfere with previously issued European policy advice. The Commission has serious doubts on the compatibility of the current version of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) bill with Article 130 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. I also regret that the last drafts of these laws have not been subject to a consultation with the ECB which repeatedly expressed its concerns. […]
Since the credibility of the journalist had been questioned by several government officials (by the government's spokesman, Fidesz faction leader János Lázár [hu]), Mr. Mong decided to share the letter on his blog, mixing the order of the three parts and dedicating them to the officials and the minister leading the talks with the IMF. (Part one, Part two, Part three [hu]) In the fourth post [hu], he shared the whole text and pictures, confirming that he had a hard copy of the letter. This post was dedicated to Máté Kocsis and Sándor Pintér.
“How could the letter of the president of the European Commission get to journalist Attila Mong?” was the question raised by the member of the Hungarian Parliament, Máté Kocsis (also known for being the advisor on homeless issues of the governing party). The formal question [hu] was sent to the Minister of the Interior, Sándor Pintér, just a few days after the Hungarian Constitutional Court ruled out a part of the much-debated Hungarian media law in effect since January 2011. The decision was made in favour of journalistic source protection.
Signature of José Manuel Barroso on the letter sent to Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, as published on Napi Fix

author: Marietta Le


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Indonesia: Solidarity March for Aceh Punks · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

EngageMedia uploads a video of the solidarity march which was organized to support 64 musicians who were detained in Aceh, Indonesia for being “punks” and “disturbing the peace.”


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Jamaica: politician too loud? · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Yvette J. Rowe contemplates a Jamaican election campaign advertisement that portrays opposition leader Portia Simpson-Miller as “too loud”: “These ads about attitude and posture are scoring dubious points rather  than talking about the policies or the future of the country.”


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Singapore Memory Project · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

irememberSG is part of the Singapore Memory Project, a national initiative to “collect, preserve and provide access to the memories” of a nation which rose to become one of the most prosperous cities in the world.


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Singapore: Person of the Year · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Alvinology lists 12 individuals as possible choices for Singapore's person of the year.


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Singapore’s Transport Problems · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Molly Meek writes about the frustration of many Singaporeans with the country's inefficient transportation system


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Syria: Regime Affiliates Try to Frame Muslim Brotherhood for Damascus Car Bombs  · Global Voices
Anas Qtiesh

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
Official Syrian media outlets yesterday published a statement allegedly issued by the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood (MB) taking responsibility for the twin car bomb attacks that caused heavy casualties on Friday. The statement came from an alleged MB website.
The statement was used by regime-aligned media as evidence that the MB was behind the atrocious attach, while the authorities claimed Al Qaeda was responsible for the attack shortly after the explosions took place. Several irregularities and inconsistencies in the regime's story prompted Syrian netizens to investigate the matter further.
The URL was one of the first reasons to raise suspicion; the website is new, created less than a month ago on 30 November, and is not blocked in Syria. The official website of the MB, which has been online for more than five years despite being blocked in Syria, is http://www.ikhwansyria.com. Furthermore, the language of the alleged statement was poor and had several outrageous grammar mistakes that is uncharacteristic of Islamic groups, which usually have a superb command of Arabic due to extensive study of the Qur'an.
The newly-created website also had a number of odd headlines that were highly charged with sectarianism that were unrelated to the video added under them, and had misspelled the name of the leader of the MB in Syria.
Checking the official website of the MB, one finds a long statement[ar] indicting the attacks and reiterating commitment to nonviolent forms of protest.
Syrian activists searched for the site's registration info using the whois domain lookup and found the website registered under a fake name and a poorly disguised phone number: only the country code was changed. Personal info can be faked when registering a domain, but you'll need a working email address to register a domain.
Searching for that email on Facebook, activists found it associated with a Syrian man in Aleppo, Emile Kas Nasrallah. They then sent him a friend request, which he approved. Checking his profile, they found that he was the son of Bassel Kas Nasrallah, an adviser of the Grand Mufti of Syria, Muhammed Bader Hassoun. Needless to say, Hassoun was appointed by Assad and is an advocate of the regime.
The above findings clearly show that the fake statement and website are easily traced back to regime affiliates. Many opposition members, activists, and protesters believe the regime is responsible for the explosions. They argue that only the regime benefits from those explosions that occurred only one day after an Arab League delegation of monitors was allowed into the country.
Since the activists broke the story, Nasrallah has tried to cover the traces and shut down the fake website. Activists had already took screenshots of all the info. Shortly after breaking the story, journalist Eiad Shurbaji, who had been arrested for sometime earlier this year, has said that he's been receiving countless death threats and threats of physical violence.
The fake statement and website initially fooled international media, including AP, to report the story of the MB claiming responsibility for the bombings. The coverage was later updated to mention that the MB denied any relation to the bombings.
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.

author: Anas Qtiesh


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Yemen: The Amazing Life March Arrives in Sanaa  · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.
Yemen's revolutionaries are not deterred nor did they give up on their demands despite the signing of the strongly rejected Gulf Cooperation Council's initiative proposed in April and finally signed by Saleh on November 23rd, providing a so called mechanism for him to “relinquish” power. They went out on a 264km march on foot from the city of Taiz in the south to the capital Sanaa in the north to send a message to the world, the UN, US, the GCC and Saleh that they reject the newly formed unity government and are determined to demand  that Saleh, who was granted immunity from prosecution for his involvement in an 11-month crackdown on protesters demanding democracy, gets punished for his crimes.
@marimehdi tweets how the martyrs are never forgotten:
#LifeMarch #Taiz2Sanaa ppl r marchin on a distance of 260km 4 tell da world they can't forget their martyrs as #GCCdeal & Saleh wants #Yemen
James Gurdan points in his blog The Trench the protesters’ view:
“These GCC states are not at all competent to deal with popular requests for liberty and freedom, not to mention democratic government, because they themselves are mostly despotic regimes,” observed Yemen’s Coordinating Council of the Youth Revolution of Change (CCYRC). “They themselves would never welcome such requests from their own people, let alone be ready to accommodate such demands by people in neighboring states.”
The Life March continues to Sanaa. Photo credit: The Life March Blog
The march includes men, women and even a few handicapped, reportedly seems to have started with 700 men and 18 women. It left Taiz on foot on December 20th and passed by many villages and towns.  Along the way, the marchers were greeted by fireworks and cheered by chants, welcomed and offered shelter and food and joined in each city by protesters on their way to Sanaa, swelling their numbers.
@Abe_Alansy   proudly tweets:
Very proud of my people, Yemeni People are showing the world powerful examples of peaceful struggle. #Yemen #LifeMarch #SupportYemen
@wsaqaf adds:
Life March of 260km+ from #Taiz to #Sanaa a reminder of resilience & perseverance of #Yemen people. Proud of being a #Yemeni!
This video posted by Almobdieen shows the march as it left the city of Taiz on the 20th of December.
@crazyyafai tweets:
#Lifemarch left #Taiz knowing many dangerous routes & terrain land & undeveloped roads ahead of them but freedom couldn't stop them. #Yemen
This next video posted by Almobdieen shows the difficult terrain from Taiz to Ibb:
The procession also includes a kitchen and medical unit. However, generous banquets of breakfasts, lunches and dinners were offered in each city they stopped in, as shown in this video, also posted by Almobdieen:
The impressive march and powerful chants on the outskirts of the city of Dhamar, half way en route to Sanaa from Taiz, shows the resilience and power of the people. This feeling is captured in this video posted by moathdamar:
The people of Yemen proved to be people of resilience and steadfastness and keep impressing the world with their civil peaceful resistance in their struggle for freedom, democracy and building a new Yemen.
An impressed and hopeful @Dilmunite tweeted:
You people will have trouble believing it… but #Yemen might be one of the star surprises of this year, against all odds. #LifeMarch
As impressive as the march has been yet there has been a disappointing and evident lack of media coverage to the historic 264km Life March, which is the longest since Mahatma Gandhi's Salt March in 1930 which was 390km long.
@Yemen4Change wonders:
How come #LifeMarch is NOT being covered the way it should? #Yemen
..while @wsaqaf  tweets in dismay:
Shameful Arab & Intl #media blackout of the ‘Life March’ of #Yemen protestors crossing 260km+ walking from #Taiz to #Sanaa
Blake Hounshell @blakehounshell Managing editor of Foreign Policy magazine tweets:
Tens of thousands of Yemenis marched peacefully from Taiz to Sanaa — 260 kilometers — and got zero coverage. #LifeMarch
Yemeni are heroically writing their own history and are making sure that the world gets to see it while it is written despite the mainstream media blackout throughout the revolution, with the use of social media, such as blogs, Facebook, YouTube, Storify and, of course, Twitter.
@NasserMaweri tweets:
Let's all participate in the #LifeMarch by covering every event in it..No media coverage so let's keep #LifeMarch alive on #Twitter. #Yemen
@NajlaMo posted on her blog  an update of the first three days of Life March here.
And @NotUntilHeFalls blogged also about the March of Life here.
@Abe_Alansy uses Storify to curate the story. The link is available here.
And finally, this is my Storify version of the march: The Amazing March of Life #Lifemarch.
Adel Mozip @shabadel set up an interactive map and  website to follow the Life March:
A page documenting and following #LifeMarch in REAL-TIME & Interactive @Google Map bit.ly/LifeMarch or lifemarch.supportyemen.org !!
After four days of walking a route full of steep mountain paths and difficult curves, a usually dangerous drive by car, the march of tens od thousands finally reached Sanaa today, December 24th. (video posted by: FreeDomTaiz)
The protesters were greeted with chants from the people of the capital and with security forces’ heavy tear gas and live bullets who tried to disperse and stall their procession from reaching Change square. A number of deaths, the first victim a woman shot in the head, and some serious injuries were reported and the numbers keept increasing reaching 13 deaths by the end of the day.
@NajlaMo tweeted:
So far 2 killed and several wounded, some are trapped and some are kidnapped. #LifeMarch #Yemen
@wsaqaf wonders until when will the world  turn a blind eye on Yemen:
At least 2 protesters in #Yemen's #LifeMarch killed today by Saleh forces & world remains silent
The march pumped life into Yemen's ongoing revolution and gave many Yemeni lots of hope and pride. It is a fine example of passive resistance and of Yemeni resilience and steadfastness.
This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.

author: Noon Arabia


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Macedonia: Christmas Tree Made of Plastic Bottles · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Inspired by the example of Kaunas, Lithuania, Macedonian Twitter users made a Christmas tree from plastic bottles at the Skopje City Park on Dec. 25, to raise awareness of everyone's responsibility for the environment. The action's organizers used their blogs [mk, mk, mk, mk] as a starting point for the quick social media campaign #елкамк (elka = a fir tree). The tree has remained in place during the night, and if the poor people who gather plastic from the streets and garbage dumpsters for recycling don't harvest it, the authors plan [mk] to properly dispose of it after the New Year's.


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Singapore: MP Apologizes Over ‘Racist’ Remark · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Singapore MP Seng Han Thong issued a statement of apology after it was reported that he cited the poor English proficiency of Indian and Malay staffs for the unpreparedness of the Singapore's Mass Rapid Transport during emergency situations. Many people criticized the comment for its racist undertone.


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Singapore: Train Disruptions Spark Debate · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Train disruptions marred the operations of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transport (SMRT) this month which inconvenienced thousands of passengers and generated a heated discussion about the quality and efficiency of the country’s transportation system. Initial investigation revealed 61 faults in the rails and 13 trains were found to be defective.
Unbranded BreadnButter notes the decline of the SMRT which was once the world’s first listed metropolitan rail company
From the blog of Gintai
When it was first listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2000, it prided itself as the world’s first listed metropolitan rail company that was publicly listed.  More than a decade down the road, with epic disruptions during the peak shopping period, cracks are appearing on this grand experiment once lauded as a world class public transport system.
Ravi Philemon compares the rise and fall of SMRT to Singapore society
Why do I say that the story of the SMRT is the story of Singapore? Because the early leaders of the country put in place various rigorous systems for governing the nation, and the leaders who came after them assumed that these systems are fool-proof; that you only need to put in place trusted aides to maintain these systems and everything will be fine.
From 2010, there have been over 40 disruptions in train services. Vandals had broken into SMRT train depot to vandalise the trains on two occasions, raising concerns of security. SMRT has never taken responsibility for any of these failures. In fact, SMRT has tried to shift the blame to the security company when they were questioned for the security lapse in their depot.
To appease public anger, the government immediately created a committee to probe the disruptions in train service. Political Writings suggests some questions for the committee
The Committee of Inquiry is to establish the cause of the incident, ie who created the physical conditions that led to the incident. Who did not follow procedure, who did not perform the necessary maintenance, was the maintenance regime adequate and in line with manufacturers’ recommendations to begin with, were we running the system beyond it’s design load and/or design frequency, etc.
Reinventing the Rice Bowl thinks competition will be good for SMRT
While it may be impractical to have two MRT operators on the same line we can certainly have independent bus operators who compete with the train operators and are not part of the same monopoly.  Hopefully they would then be able to respond much faster to the current shortfall in service on the MRT network.  More competition would also be likely to lead to greater investment and a better travel experience for commuters.
Desparatebeep questions the financial priorities of the train company
Well, I'm not going to go into the financial statements of the transport opperators but what's clear is that the money which seemed to flow to the senior management and majority shareholders didn't flow into simple routine checks that could have saved people a lot of agravation and trauma.
My Singapore News is worried that fare hikes will be proposed soon to improve the quality of train service
From the blog of Gintai
The second point is equipment failure and more maintenance. More maintenance and servicing, more frequent change of equipment means more cost. You just cannot have more servicing and maintenance without having more technicians.
Whatever the outcome, commuter pockets gonna be burnt a big hole. It is going to be costly to the commuters as the profits must still go up and up.
The Blue Sweater believes that the profit-driven SMRT is not compatible with its public-oriented mission
While the profit-motive is arguably a contributing factor in the crisis, as necessary expenses (such as personnel and maintenance) are driven down with consequences, another reason could be that the profit-driven ethos of the corporation is at odds with the public-oriented mission it is supposed to serve.
I’m not calling for the re-nationalisation of our public transport, but it does raise questions about the promises of privatisation and corporatisation, and forces us to re-think the balance between private management and government regulation.
Encountering Urbanization hopes the debates will foster more dialogue between government and the people
Additionally while these disruptions are certainly inconvenient I must admit it is also refreshing to see so much discussion among friends, colleagues and across the Internet about the role of public servants and public agencies in a place that has been dubbed a “nanny state” for taking care of its citizens. Perhaps these disruptions and people’s anger can help shape the evolving dialogue in Singapore between the government and the people. After all a more resilient city needs not just resilient infrastructure but also resilient and engaged citizens that help create innovative solutions to benefit their city.
Singapore Recalcitrant criticizes the SMRT management
The frequency in the number of breakdowns in services does not convey confidence in the commuting public nor does it reflect well on the efficiency or the lack of it in the management. One or two breakdowns should have forewarned the management of possible flaws in the system and that efforts should have been made to detect these defects and rectify them. Complacency seems to be the order of the day and nothing seems to have changed the frequency of disruptions.


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Zambia: Has the 90 Days Promise Been Fulfilled? · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

Zambia’s President Michael Sata’s government reached its landmark 90 days in government on December 23, a period his Patriotic Front party promised it would turn around people’s lives and improve general governance.
Sata’s defeated the MMD which had been in power for 20 years after promising the electorate more money in their pockets and delivery of a new constitution, among other things, in 90 days. Netizens on various social networking sites have been assessing the new government’s achievements, if any, and failures.
Satire columnist, Kalaki’s Corner, captured an imaginary exchange between the president and the first lady:
Artistic depiction of Michael Sata as Zambia's Black Moses. Image source: 90 Days Countdown Facebok group.
I had nearly finished my toast and marmalade when he finally appeared, flicking specks of invisible dust from his lapel. ‘Good morning, darling,’ I said.
‘If you say so,’ he replied. ‘What’s in the papers this morning?’
‘The Boast has got a long editorial…’
‘That’s nothing new,’ he chuckled, ‘It always has a long editorial. Nobody to edit the editor, that’s the problem.’
‘Ninety days of broken promises.’
‘What did you say dear?’
‘That’s the title of the editorial. Ninety days of broken promises.’
‘Would you mind, my dear,’ he replied, ‘pouring me a cup of tea.’
‘Ninety days of broken promises,’ I repeated, as I poured him a cup to tea.
‘Who’s been breaking their promises?’
‘You, my dearest. He’s talking about you.’
He hung his head for a moment. Then looked up, and looked me straight in the eye. I’m very worried. Everybody will be talking about it.’
On the Facebook group, Zambia People’s Parliament (ZAPP), the 90-day promise did not escape debate by the “Honourable Members”. One member, Sidique Abdullah Gondwe Geloo, suggested a public march with people expressing their personal experience in the three months of the new government:
Mr Speaker sir,after much consultative counsel with both people of high profile and laymen, I proposed and stick to the following”The 90Days Promise Progress Check Match.” They campaigned, we listened; they promised, we believed; elections came, we voted. Now we ask, “How far have we come?” Join us in a Match to mark the 90days of PF in power. Bring your placard, happy or sad. Share your views, popular or unpopular.” Do I believe this match will yield fruit? In more ways than one.The government will get the message that we as a people are nolonger the gullible bunch that they feel can tremble or fear to stand up against false promises made.
On another Facebook group, The 90 days Countdown, Ebron Ngoma dismissed calls for a march:
My experiences in Zambia with demos. No one takes particula attention to detail as to why they are protesting. Today We are making noise about 90days ,so far no one has come up with a clear list of what pf promised to deliver in 90days. We need to be more inteligent than merely exciting pipo. Am a firm believer of making a politician accountable and no one wil ever change my views on accountability. If we dont have a list of the promises, we are as gud as leting it pass. A list of promises pipo, then am in. We need a clear roadmap on how we whant to do this, not just excitement. A youth who refuses to learn from the past will never be guaranteed of success. Lets NOT DEMOSTRATE because we want to, we need a CLEAR OBJECTIVE,then you will have the whole Zambian youth with you on that day. Politicians cannot be fought by shadow boxing-they must know that we are watching with intelegence.I INSIST -A LIST OF PF PROMISES vs ACHIEVEMENTS.
Most of the readers’ reactions to a story on the Zambian Watchdog quoting Information Minister Given Lubinda, the Chief Government Spokesman, saying that the Vice President Guy Scott would present a statement to Parliament detailing the achievements of the PF government in the first 90 days of its rule, did not spare government on backtracking on its campaign promises. One reader, Pimbi Mano wrote:
Mr Lubinda,please let the Zambians be the judges of your performance.You can not be your own judge and jury,the Zambia people have the right to analyse your performance in the last 90 days and give you a mark.
My mark so far is 1% just for keeping Zambia so far-but you have failed the rest.Your Cabinet is the worst since independence.Nobody knows what your long-term policies are. The only people who know what you are trying to do are the kaponyas [street vendors]-who have no idea of what they are doing in the first place.
Theb economy is in danger of not growing as fast as it grew in in the last 5 years. Look at the Zambian kwacha and see how it is doing.How real jobs have you created so far-noone.The truth is that you will not create any jobs during the next five years.
Your foreign policy is a mess.Angola,Malawi and evening Mozamabique are really not happy with you. You said you did not want any investment from China and now you are talking to China.
Mr Lubinda,please do not waste your time with a parliamentary statement-Zambians everywhere are watching.Remember every dog has its time.
However, one reader, Twesheko supported the PF government:
I am so surprised people made a big thing out of the 90 days remark. Seriously, how can you believe in such political statements? This was just an empty political statement – the PF is in power not because of the 90 day thing – actually, the Vice President should not even say anything about achieving promisses in 90 days – this is because PF won as result of the long term strategic plans that they have outlined in their manifesto which you will start seeing in the 2013 budget. So far so good. Mineral Royalty tax has increase, there is Tax Relief on PAYE, cleaning up the fuel procurement process – fuel reduced, minimum wage to be revised per sector in consultation with all – the 90 days have been useful but are not the most important thing.
There were also questions about the 90 day promise on Twitter. One such entry read:
@sandakc: Michael Sata gave himself a 90-day honeymoon to turn #Zambia around, a deadline that expires Friday. Has he delivered on his 90-day promise?

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


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Bangladesh: The Cost of Being Fooled · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

Kotha-Chhilo rues the fact that we are often made fools of, something that is likely to end up costing all of us dearly.

author: Aparna Ray


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Bhutan: In Search of the Ngultrum Identity  · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

PaSsu wonders about the the Identity of the Ngultrum, the currency of Bhutan


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Brazil: Murder or Suicide of Controversial Blogger? · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Cases of online censorship in Brazil and even attempts of murder against bloggers critical of political groups and families who remain in power in several cities and states in Brazil, have become commonplace. In December new threats became known against Ricardo Gama, the blogger who was shot in an attack in Rio de Janeiro in March 2011 and survived, and now we learn of the death of Alexander Hamilton, known as ‘Mosquito’.
Altamiro Borges explains [pt]:
O blogueiro Hamilton Alexandre, o Mosquito, foi encontrado morto em seu  apartamento, em Palhoça, Santa Catarina, na tarde de ontem (13). Segundo  a polícia, tratou-se de “suicídio por enforcamento”. A rápida  conclusão, porém, não convenceu seus amigos e familiares, que exigem  rigorosa apuração do caso.
"Freedom of expression is the expression of freedom""
He adds:
Com suas “tijoladas” na internet, Mosquito fez inúmeros inimigos. Nos  últimos tempos, ele alertou que estava sendo ameaçado. Na semana  retrasada, ele anunciou o fim da sua página: “O blog Tijoladas acabou  para eu continuar vivo. Não é uma capitulação. Não mudei meu modo de  pensar. Não mudei minhas convicções”.
There are great suspicions surrounding the case; at the time of his death Mosquito was facing more than 30 lawsuits [pt].
Murder or suicide?
Mosquito became famous – as well as a victim of political harassment – in his state, after reporting a rape case in Florianópolis, capital of Santa Catarina, which involved the son of a director (Sergio Sirotsky) of RBS, a leading media company linked to Rede Globo in the region, and a 13 year old girl, in June 2010. The media, in general, sought to hush up the case.
Mosquito was widely criticized at the time for revealing the name of the raped girl who, being under age, should by law have stayed anonymous.
Many of his friends and acquaintances refuse to believe that the blogger would take his own life, while others believe that an effective investigation into the case can only be done via social networks, as stated [pt] by Luis Soares, of the blog Pragmatismo Político (Political Pragmatism):
A morte de Mosquito, que jamais se calou diante da operação abafa implementada por um grupo poderoso e pelos seus cúmplices, é um alívio  para quem não estava nem um pouco acostumado a ter o calcanhar  pisoteado. Agora já podem retomar tranquilamente a rotina. Caberá novamente às mídias alternativas fazer um pouco de barulho em meio ao silêncio conveniente; um silêncio que nem sequer esboça sinal de partida.
Smith also published a message of an anonymous friend of Mosquito, commenting on the alleged suicide, not believing the official story and presenting arguments against the thesis adopted by the police:
Ele  era alvo de várias ameaças de morte. Era defensor da sustentabilidade,  modo de vida saudável, andava de bicicleta, trocava frutas e verduras do  quintal com seus vizinhos. Era defensor da transparência e combatia os  poderosos. Era pai de uma adolescente. Filho querido de uma mãe  ainda viva por quem  tinha muito carinho. Um cidadão com esse perfil não  se suicida. A porta da sua casa estava aberta. Sua casa é de esquina,  de um lado os fundos, do outro, um terreno baldio. Foi encontrado com  lençol enrolado no pescoço, quem se suicida de forma tão cruel, correndo risco de morte lenta e dolorosa? Sendo morador solitário, não seria mais fácil entupir-se de comprimidos?
Image of Mosquito's blog, Tijoladas, saying "nobody silences this blog"
Lawyer Izidoro Azevedo dos Santos, who was a lawyer in two cases of Mosquito's, pointed to several of the enemies of the blogger, “from politicians of various parties” to influential names in the media, justice, police, government and business, “which were denounced without blinking, for alleged frauds, omissions, inefficiency” and asked [pt]:
terá mesmo o blogueiro se suicidado,  ou sua morte terá sido obra dos incontáveis desafetos que cultivou, com  suas enérgicas e contundentes denúncias de corrupção e lambanças  políticas  as mais variadas.
For the time being, the blogosphere awaits the outcome of the police investigation and at the same time seeks to investigate what may have led to death of the famous blogger.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Chile: If You Are a Maid, Identify Yourself · Global Voices
Elizabeth Rivera

It is well known that in Chile, as well as in many other Latin American countries, there is a severe problem of class discrimination. But on December 23, 2011, the issue was put on the table again when an instruction letter [es] distributed to the members of the Breezes of Chicureo Golf Club [es] went viral [es]. The letter, handed out last week, said:
Debido al aumento de niñeras, les recordamos a nuestros socios el ARTICULO 21º: Los niños menores de 8 años sólo podrán frecuentar el Club y hacer uso de sus instalaciones acompañados de sus padres o hermanos mayores. En caso de utilizar espacios externos, como sector de juegos, jardines o canchas de tenis, podrán también ser acompañados por nanas o niñeras, quienes deberán vestir su uniforme o tenida que claramente las identifique como tales. Tratándose de la piscina, sólo podrán ingresar a ese sector los socios, su grupo familiar y los invitados de éstos.
Due to the increase number of nannies, we remind our members of Article 21st: Children under the age of 8 can only attend the Club and use the facilities if they are accompanied by their parents or older siblings. In case they are using external spaces, like the playground, gardens or tennis courts, they can also be escorted by their maids or nannies, who should be wearing a uniform or dress so they can be clearly identified as such. As for the pool, only members, their families and guests are allowed inside.
The letter sparked all kinds of reactions on Twitter, making the phrase “Brisas de Chicureo” [Breezes of Chicureo] a national trending topic.
The account of the political program Difamadores [Scandal doers] (@difamadores) [es] commented:
La gente de este Club es tan discriminadora, que te obliga ser discriminador para entrar quepasa.cl/articulo/ojos-d…
The people from this Club are so discriminating, they force you to be a discriminator to get in quepasa.cl/articulo/ojos-d…
Congresswoman Karla Rubilar (@karlarubilar) [es] noted:
Quiere ver DISCRIMINACION MODE ON? http://bit.ly/ueIKgp VERGONZOSO!
Do you want to see DISCRIMINATION MODE ON? http://bit.ly/ueIKgp EMBARRASSING!
The coordinator of the online political space Red Liberal [Liberal Net], Davor Mimica (@dmimica) [es] reminded his followers:
¿Se acuerdan cuando los miembros de una raza debían utilizar una banda o parche en el brazo para ser identificados? bit.ly/sw4Jco
Do you remember when members of a race had to use a band or patch on the arm to be identified? bit.ly/sw4Jco
Breezes of Chicureo by German Parra (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Others, like the reporter Axel Pickett (@axelpickett), speculated:
Hay 2 posibilidades pa la circular anticonfusión de Chicureo: “nanas” que parecen dueñas de casas, o dueñas de casas igualitas a sus “nanas”
There are 2 possibilities for the Chicureo anti-confusion letter: “maids” that look like house wives or house wives that look just like their “maids”
Meanwhile the radio host Nacho Lira (@nacholira) [es], ironically tweeted:
“Nanas en la piscina no por favor, se ve feo”. Se pasaron en las Brisas de Chicureo. http://t.co/urVhWDLw
“Maids in the pool, no please, it looks ugly”. They crossed the line at Breezes de Chicureo. http://t.co/urVhWDLw
On the other hand, Carlos Miram (@carlosmiram) [es] said:
Las Brisas de Chicureo es un Club Privado. Tanto escándalo por el tema de las nanas. Ahora diputados y senadores opinando. Gran TEMA País.
The Breezes of Chicureo is a Private Club. So much fuzz for the maid thing. Now congressmen and senators are expressing their views. Big country ISSUE.
On the same line of thinking, PipeRocks commented under the post “The National Elite Orders that the Members of Chicureo Club Must Have Their Maids Dress As Such” [es] from the blog El Antro [The Joint] [es]:
Las nanas, estan cumpliendo un trabajo, con contrato y cotizaciones respectivas, y como muchos trabajos existen codigos de vestuario y como recinto privado estan en su derecho a exigir cierto estandar casi obvio. Asi como en algunos restaurantes te obligan a usar chaqueta y corbata.
El afan de criticar por criticar.
The maids are doing their job, with a contract and benefits, and as many other jobs out there, they have a dressing code and since it's a private property, they have the right to demand a certain standard that is almost obvious. Like some restaurants that require diners to use jacket and tie. This eagerness to criticize just to criticize.
Axel Pickett (@axelpickett) [es] also took it with humor, and taking the holidays into account tweeted:
BREAKING NEWS: Santa Claus sent a letter to Breezes de Chicureo asking how the heck he needs to dress his reindeer so they can be allowed in

author: Elizabeth Rivera


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China: Only Talking About a Revolution · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Race car driver, author and one of China's most popular bloggers, Han Han dropped a bomb this weekend with three new blog posts, respectively discussing the possibilities for revolution, democracy and freedom in China.
Unlike Chen Wei, who was just sentenced to nine years in prison for writing four essays, Han and his views on the reform vs. revolution debate and Chinese citizens’ ability to survive institutions such as freedom or democracy have, at least for the moment, brought discussion of a more open future China from the academic and ‘dissident’ spheres to the top of mainstream blog portals and all throughout microblog sites.
Between the three essays, Han frankly addresses questions that Chinese public intellectuals are often criticized for shying away from, but is himself now being accused of misrepresenting the many people in China who do advocate serious political change.
Roland Soong at EastSouthWestNorth has translated two of Han's essays, On Revolution, On Democracy with the third, ‘Wanting Freedom’, here.
We're trying to keep up with the hundreds of responses from public intellectuals and netizens to Han's ‘gauntlet’, which we'll be adding below as we come across them. First up, Han's own father, Han Renjun, who at times seems to take on the role of Han Jr.'s spokesperson on Sina Weibo:
我电话问韩寒，你为什么这么取题目，谈革命和说民主，又大又危险。他说，两篇小文章哪里说的明白啊，只是这样取名字，让人可以开始敢于谈论这些以前不太敢触碰的词语，能争鸣总是一件好事。我一想也是，无奈有些学者不解风情，大谈什么读书少，学术差，不专业最好闭嘴，肤浅不配这些标题啊，真滑稽。
我还是觉得那些不解风情的朋友不能因为韩寒读书少学术差不专业就要求他闭嘴；韩寒说的话再肤浅，也不能不许他用这些词作标题，就像你姓金的话生了儿子哪怕智障也大可文不对题取名正日、日成，只要不讳本朝就行；韩寒两篇博文只是一些问答，大家有才能有兴趣尽可以去写专著系统论述，供全国人民学习。
Han Han: [T]he leader of the revolution is not going to be the good-natured, benevolent character that you imagine as you sit in front of your computer right now.  Such a revolutionary leader is most likely going to be dictatorial, domineering, egotistical, presumptuous, venomous and incendiary.  Yes, this sounds familiar but the Chinese people fall for this kind of style.  This society is used to seeing the villains take charge and the good folks get slaughtered.  The leaders who are preferred by the young culturati won't last a week.
Michael Anti:
韩寒这篇《谈革命》的文章没什么，就是他读书太少而已。台湾1980年代党外运动推动民主化的时候，国民党的启蒙者改革者拒绝民主化都是类似的腔调：不遵守公德的人如何能谈民主、中国人你为什么不生气之类。结果都是屁话，还不是正常民主化了？
Hu Xijin, editor of Global Times:
韩寒连发博客，他“不认为天鹅绒革命能发生在中国”，认为“革命的最终收获者一定是心狠手辣者”，因此支持“更有力的改革”。他还认为中共有8000万党员，3亿亲属，“已不能简单被认为是一个党派或阶层了”，“党组织庞大到一定程度，它就是人民本身，人民就是体制本身”。当下中国难得听到的大实话！
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei:
没有看到辩论，就文章而言，太落俗套的腔调，向权利倾斜的立场，乏于认真的论述，过于默契、几近谄媚的论断，主动放弃和偏颇的贬褒。。。适合环球时报采用。
Han's publisher, Lu Jinbo, who some suspect came up with the idea for the three posts as a promotional tactic:
几日没怎么上网，各种文章都没看。我先说一句：在这甜腻腻的岁末季节，韩寒用两篇合计四千字博客文章，成功掀起了关于政治、民主的网络大讨论。这本身就是载入史册的大事件。
Beijing Film Academy professor Cui Weiping, who interrupted her live-tweeting of Vaclav Havel's state funeral to share her thoughts:
仅仅说一句，通常革命是突然爆发的，不可预期和难以逆料。因此，就目前而言，即使是革命论者，也不可能提前进入难以预料的未来之中，显得与他人有什么不同。
当时许多的捷克人有住房，有小汽车，但为什么还要起来革命？天鹅绒革命是一场人的尊严的革命，存在和价值的革命。这场革命远远没有结束。哈维尔也并非是一个成功人士，也许是一个失败的典型。他是一个永远异议者，令权贵们不舒服，也刺痛一向自满的人。
At the time, a lot of Czechs had housing, their own cars, so why did they have a revolution? The Velvet Revolution was a revolution in human dignity, both in people's existence and values. It's also a revolution which isn't even close to being over. Havel wasn't someone who excelled through life, you might even say he was a typical loser. But he was an eternal dissenter, afflicting the comfortable, a constant thorn in the sides of the complacent.
Academic Xue Yong:
我劝韩寒多读些书，去哈佛。我并不主张谁都要读书。但他要纵论历史、革命，基本的书还是要读的。否则只会拿共产党教他那几个概念胡乱演绎。什么东方社会不能革命。日本，韩国、台湾等，都已经是现代民主社会。其生成过程有许多革命（当然不仅仅是革命）。
Chinese businessman and online personality Bei Zhicheng:
常识1：民主靠得不是民众的素质，靠的是人贪婪的本能；贪婪的本能决定了人会把选票投给他认为能带给自己最大利益的政客。所以你要说有个什么地方的人连这种本能都木有了，那真是邪门鸟。
常识2：老有人抱怨说“我身边的朋友不关心政治，只关心自己涨工资卖房子”。错了，你的朋友只是胆小而已，等到他真的能自由选择了，再有人告诉他你每年交的税有2万块是去养一帮无用的官员，你买房的房价里有70%也是养他们，现在你如此如此就可以不承担这些，你看他们不一蹦三丈高的。
我老在想动不动说中国人素质低农民根本不懂维护自己利益，和乌坎村一有骚乱就大喊这样的暴民太不理性了的是不是一拨人啊
People always complain that those around them aren't interested in politics, that they only care about getting a raise or paying off their mortgage. Wrong. Your friends are just afraid. Wait until they have the freedom to choose, and see what happens when they're told that the 20,000 RMB they pay in taxes every year goes toward raising a bunch of useless officials, that 70% of the price of your house also goes toward raising them, and if you do this and that, you won't have to put up with this anymore.
These people who are always quick to say that Chinese people have poor quality of character, that rural residents don't know how to defend their interests, how are they different from the people who started calling the Wukan villagers irrational thugs the second unrest broke out?
独立思考本身是种可贵的品质，但不是为逻辑不通辩护的理由，也不是为不读书辩护的理由。一个人物理就小学水平，当然会独立思考出“宇宙怎么会有边界呢？宇宙怎么可能起源于一个奇点呢？”，这时候你应该劝他却学习，而不是夸奖“很欣喜他确实在独立思考”
别拿中国民众的素质说事，要说民主制度下民众素质低的例子容易得很。英国贵族统治早早就废除了奴隶制没有种族隔离，美国白人老百姓就是看黑人讨厌经历了血腥内战还又过了百年才搞定种族隔离。这是不该实行民主的理由吗？不是，因为你避免了这些缺点会有更可怕的东东等着你，例如“三年自然灾害”
我认为韩寒是个很好的作家，出道以来一直保持独立思考不被拥趸所裹挟，对于社会问题他善于站在普通人的感受角度漂亮的批判；但是他的确在社会科学知识储备不够，复杂的问题容易绕晕。
Leave the quality of character of Chinese people out of this, examples of low quality people in democratic systems are easy to find. The British aristocracy did away with the slave trade and racial segregation ages ago, but white Americans had a bloody civil war just because they didn't like the sight of black people and took a hundred years to finally eradicate racial segregation. Is that a reason not to implement democracy? No, rather it's that when you start avoiding defects like this you end up with the “three years of natural disasters.”
I think Han Han is a good writer. He's been able to maintain independence of thought without getting carried away with fans, and he's great at delivering criticism of social problems from the average person's point of view. But he truly does lack familiarity with sociological theory and easily gets in over his head in complex issues.
[…]
如果看完韩寒三篇文章，可以看出他是改良主义者，作为中产阶级和父亲担心彻底改变政体的变动带来的动荡和不可知的后果，这是可以理解的。可以先把之前举出的他的逻辑不清放在一边。事实上，如果他期望的改革能成功，革命派应该也能接受。只怕执政者顽固到底把改革派都变成革命派
Window on the South journalist Xiong Peiyun:
韩寒没有有些朋友批评的那么差，但也没强到可做救世主。他只是个有独立人格的正常人。一个正常人能在这个国家成为时代偶像是这个时代的悲剧，但也说明这个时代悲剧正接近尾声。韩寒谈革命一文，我读到更多的是无奈、诚恳与责任。这些年我们批评政府很多，却忘了建设社会同样是关键，甚至是最重要一环。
今之时代，一个人如果指出国王没穿衣服，他是勇敢的批评者；如果他指出民众可能也没有穿衣服，那么他就成了懦弱的背叛者。这样的思维是非常可怕的，这也恰恰是统治者思维。最理性的方法，我仍旧认为是对于政府与社会，都要坚持批评。舍此，我们不可能有可靠的进步。
Today, any person who points out that the emperor has no clothes on is a brave critic, but if the same person points out that the public might also not be wearing any clothes, well then he's just a spineless traitor. This train of thought is very frightening, and is exactly the way rulers see things. The most rational option, I've always felt, is to be thorough in criticizing both government and society. Only this way will we see lasting progress.
Media commentator Wuyue Sanren:
绕口令：韩少的粉丝面对别人对韩少批评时的态度，正好给韩少所有的论点补充了论据。奇怪的是，韩少提出问题是寻求某种解决，而崇拜他的很多人恰恰是解决问题的阻力。仿韩少说一句：你们就是那些会车时从来不关的远光灯。
韩寒的两篇文章出来之后，有个很奇怪的现象，就是我心目中那些大知识分子基本都反对他，而中小知识分子以及我这种知道分子最多是对其某些论点不同意，大方向上是赞同的（胡锡进就算了，他无法归类）。我不知道谁对，但我觉得这就是目前的现状与韩寒文章最好的注释。
After Han published his two essays, something strange occurred: those I consider to be the greatest of intellectuals are now all criticizing Han, whereas lower to mid-level intellectuals and commentators like myself stopped at disagreeing with certain parts of his argument but agreeing overall (Hu Xijin too, but then he is unclassifiable). I can't say who's right, but I think this is the current situation and the best footnote to Han's writings.
每个人最大限度的、不伤害其他人的自由，是人类社会追求的目标，民主是目前所有试验过的手段中，最有效达成这个目标的方式，而宪政则是保证民主不演变成“大多数的暴政”的防波堤。我个人理解这三者的关系是：宪政为民主之基、民主是自由之路——就教于方家。
韩寒新文章《要自由》比前面两篇好，有妥协也有要求、有威胁，是个讨价还价的路子。其实我个人欣赏的恰恰就是这种看上去不彻底的东西，当年那些学生就是想一夜之间全部翻盘，最终才造成的不进反退。只谈应该如何、不谈合理妥协的，不是政治白痴就是别有用心。
Han's latest essay, Wanting Freedom, is better than the first two. It makes both compromises and demands, threats, and proposes a quid pro quo relationship. My preference is for things like this which don't appear complete. Those students that year wanted to see change overnight, and in the end there was no space left for discussion. If you talk only of how things should be done and not of reasonable compromises, then you're either an idiot in politics or you have an ulterior motive.
个人而言，非常欣赏wk的这次对抗与结果。我也想看着那里的村民完胜，但谁都知道那是不可能的。这事儿牛逼在于村民的组织与决心，以及最后求得一个目前所能达到的最好结果，为以后的解决做了范例。结合韩寒这三篇文章看，暗室之灯看来真的点亮了。

author: John Kennedy


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China: Rich Chinese Couple Uses 2 Surrogate Mothers To Have 8 Babies · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated a local news story and netizens’ comment about a rich Chinese couple in Guangdong using 2 surrogate mothers to have 8 babies.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: Christmas for Children at ‘The House of the Hummingbird’ · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Mike, in his blog about Bogotá, posts pictures of Christmas at La Casa del Colobrí (“The House of the Hummingbird”), which “supports many poor families who live in central Bogotá – in particular families who were displaced when the old Cartucho neighborhood was bulldozed to create the Tercer Milenio Park.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Colombia: Vigil for the Release of Hostages · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

On December 23, Las Voces del Secuestro [es] (“Voices of Kidnappings”) called for a ‘great vigil for the release of hostages’ [es],  which “has as its main point of concentration the Plaza de Bolivar in Bogota, which for 17 years has received people accompanying relatives of hostages.” Vigils were also organized in cities like Mexico City, Miami, New York, London, Madrid, Paris and Rome, to demand the release of hostages before midnight on December 24.

author: Cati Restrepo


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Costa Rica: Numerous Sectors Oppose Government Tax Plan · Global Voices
Luis Diego Molina

[All links lead to Spanish language pages except when otherwise noted]
At the moment, the priority for the Costa Rican government is to pass a tax plan named “Solidaridad Tributaria” (Tax Solidarity) (See hashtag #planfiscal), and as a result, it has gone so far as to leave the agenda for the Legislative Assembly (Congress) blank, so that only this subject can be discussed.
However, different sectors of society, political parties and businessmen have declared their strong opposition to this fiscal reform, which was halted by an action of unconstitutionality imposed by Luis Fishman, a member of the opposition. This appeal is founded on the fact that the “vía rápida” (fast-track), as it is called by Congress, does not allow members to have a good enough look at the plan. The fast-track is used for priority projects and it reduces the margin of time for discussion about voting on a law.
Ciitzens also raised their voices against the tax package, and on December 13, more than two thousand people marched to the Legislative Assembly to demand it to put an end to the plan. The point that generated most disagreement was the proposed change of the 13% sales tax, which applies to consumer goods, to a value-added tax of 14%, which would also include the services that have, so far, been exonerated from any changes.
Criticism of the Fiscal Plan during the protests by indignant Costa Ricans 11 November 2011. Photo: Luis Diego Molina.
Blogger El Chamuko wrote about the movement against the plan in El Infierno en Costa Rica (The Inferno in Costa Rica):
Este Chamuko ve con buenos ojos que al fin se lograra articular en un  solo movimiento a los sectores populares contra este garrotazo gestado  por el pacto PALI [“el pacto PALI” es un apodo que se utiliza en redes  sociales para denominar el pacto que realizaron el partido gobernante  Liberación Nacional y el Partido Acción Ciudadana, segunda fuerza  política del país, que desembocó en el Plan Fiscal que se encuentra en  estudio]. Este Chamuko cree firmemente que el gobierno debe recaudar  bien los impuestos existentes y eliminar completamente el 70% de evasión  fiscal, y esto no se logra cerrando soditas y tiendas de tarjetas, son  necesarias acciones más contundentes para agarrar a los grandes  evasores.”
The syndicates that called for protests warned that it would continue until next year, regardless of whether party members approve the plan. On the webpage for the Association for Teachers of Secondary Education (APSE), an important syndicate, affirms that:
Si el proyecto es aprobado en primer debate antes del 24 de  diciembre, no nos cruzaremos de brazos; las acciones de protesta  seguirán en el 2012, aun cuando la Sala Cuarta declare que no contiene  vicios de inconstitucionalidad”.
On the same day as the protest, the  University Council of the University of Costa Rica issued a statement which expressed that the plan “is inconvenient for the country” and it appealed to the government to combat tax evasion (click here to see the statement as a .pdf). Previously, business groups were also opposed to the plan [en].
Against this background, the government's aim of approving this project before the end of the year has been greatly complicated. Costa Rica will close out 2011 with the largest fiscal deficit in Latin America, putting the government firmly between a rock and a hard place on this issue.
Aware of the urgent need to find solutions to this dilemma, David Solís, a citizen, commented via an opinion article published in the digital magazine Amauta:
Los sectores populares estamos dispuestos pagar impuestos pero que  sea de forma equitativa, lo cual implica derrotar este plan fiscal y  generar un real acuerdo social respetuoso para las familias trabajadoras  donde el Estado perciba más impuesto por un proyecto que rompa la  regresividad de los impuestos actuales y de los propuestos por el  PLN-PAC.”

author: Luis Diego Molina


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India: Old Indian Photos · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

Old Indian Photos – an amazing archive of photos from India, right from the 1800's. Go, take a peek.


text:
India: The Appeal of Christmas · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

Raja Basu at Potpourri tells us why he feels that Christmas is a pan-religious festival, meant for the entire world.


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Liberia: Who Was at Fault for Monrovia Riots?  · Global Voices
Counselor Track

The Liberian capital Monrovia has been experiencing chaos and violence at the hands of angry students. What started less than a month ago as the presidential vacation job scheme for students turned Monrovia into a scene of violence. Government structures, public schools and vehicles were destroyed by angry students.
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf had earlier mandated the Monrovia City Corporation to design a scheme to get some 3,000 students employed under the auspices of a vacation job scheme. A program that was intended for 3,000 students turned out to be a chaotic 20,000 or more student vacation job program that soured the relations between the students and the Liberian government .
The riots are said to have erupted after the students who reportedly worked for around a week or so doing sanitation related works in Monrovia turned out for the promised $35 but could not get their pay in time and thereafter ran out of patience.
Liberian police battling to quell rioting students. Photo courtesy of Earnest Garbleejay Smith Facebook page.
The violence has left so many with hundreds of unaswered of questions regarding the path of national development. Did the future leaders of Liberia behave like decent people with integrity? Nathan Patio Charles lamented:
@NathanPatio: for the second time vocation job students in # Liberia have gone on the rampage in Monrovia , burning gov't and private #cars,
Svaye saw the problem from a spiritual perspective:
@beSassic: Sending prayers to my sweet #Liberia
Samuel Herring weighed on the other side of the coin:
@theboyfromlib: Heard its not really the youth who worked. It those tryna get paid and can't provide identification. #Liberia
Le Patron Vonk quickly diagnosed the problem and recommended a remedy:
The hungry man is an angry man…Pay the students for the job they  did…No curfew will solve this problem…blame it on Mary Broh.
Commenting on Le Patron Vonk's observations, Massa Johnson noted:
ur know we liberians are full off corruption.ur hired ppl with out proper id i myself if i was in lib i will be standing on line with my family.
Clarence Pratt wondered why will the students who will eventually get paid want destroy their country:
@Arsenalistical: They going to get pay so why are they overreacting and destroying homes, business and cars. Come on # Liberia
John Kantan, a victim of police brutality. Photo courtesy of Liberian Observer Online.
Moses Carter pointed out the source of the problem:
I think the problem here is there was error on the part of  the  recruitment process.. I see it as done in bogus manner.. many  youths  managed to squeeze their names on the lists through the printing  of  their own membership forms.. The Government also made mistake by   converging over 10,000 youths at one Center to pay them.. something   which became very impossible to have been done in time given the bogus   recruitment that they had to verify names before payment which took some   considerable time… The youths also failed to exercise patients.. the   fact that the Government promised to pay them before the season, they   needed to have exercise the wait and see action  to see what was going   to be the outcome of the process.. but instead they ran too fast out of   patience… Hope lessons are learnt for future initiatives…
The government of Liberia announced last Friday that it would suspend the payments to all beneficiaries of the Christmas vacation job scheme because unscrupulous individuals infiltrated the process and caused damage to public and private properties. Who was at fault? The debate will certainly continue.

author: Counselor Track


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Pakistan: An Uneasy Alliance · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

Saad Hafiz at the Pak Tea House discusses the uneasy alliance between Pakistan and the United States


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Peru: Blogger Discusses Discrimination in Interview with Indigenous Peruvians · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Blogger Carlos Quiroz from Peruanista interviewed three indigenous Peruvians living in Lima, including Julián Apaza, whose brother, Ricardo Apaza, recently suffered from discrimination at a Lima movie theater. In the video interview [es] they discuss racism, Andean indigenous cultures, what it is like to be of native descent, and whether there is a a renaissance of Andean cultures in Peru.


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Sri Lanka: When Santa Looks Scary · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

indi.ca feels that Sri Lanka's Santas are invariably scary – offers a few pictures to illustrate the same.


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A Radical Solution For Global Poverty: Open Borders · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

18 December was the occasion to celebrate The International Migrants Day [fr]. During the current global financial crisis, immigration from developing countries has been blamed by several political parties as the source of unemployment in their countries. Even though there hasn't been a single study, so far, that has proved that immigration has had in fact a meaningful role in the employment crisis, this belief remains strongly anchored in the minds of many.
Another phenomenon is also strongly anchored in the fabric of many developed societies: the increase in frequency of humanitarian campaigns around the holiday season.
Indeed, at every year's end in the more developed countries, one can observe campaigns that encourage their citizens to make donations to fight poverty in distant, less fortunate countries.
In addition to the recurring images of extreme poverty around the holidays (also referred to as “poverty porn” in the development sector whenever pictures of poor people are excessively exploited by charities), there are some worrying statistics: 1.4 billion people live with less than $1.25 a day. Despite some undeniable economic progress in many African nations, social inequality is still even more striking on the African continent.
Economists also project that 1/3 of the poor in the world will reside on the African continent by 2015. In fact, economic hardship is one of the key factors mentioned by the 700 million people worldwide who are eager to leave their countries of origin.
Nomads in Morocco on Flickr by Antonioperezrio (CC-NC-2.0)
It often seems that the least developed countries just cannot escape the scourge of poverty, apparently powerless against the magnitude of the task at hand. Moreover, these countries are often reminded of their inability to meet the needs of the population without international support. Although international aid is a consequence of urgent crises, this situation is often felt as a recurring affront to national pride.
Various experts postulate, however, that extreme poverty isn't inevitable. The most radical solution to drastically reducing global poverty would be, for many economic experts, opening the borders  between countries and allowing workers to migrate where labor is most needed.
Professors Marko Bagaric and Lant Pritchett are two of the first scholars to introduce the  concept of “open borders” as a solution to reducing global poverty.
To this effect, Bagaric writes::
Sending resources to impoverished places has merit. But it is a slow and fickle way of enhancing well-being. Instead, we directly pursue this aim by freeing up the flow of people so they can travel to where the goods are. [..] The starvation crisis is simply one of food distribution, not shortage.  The best way to ameliorate Third World poverty is by massively increasing migration to the West. Left to their own devices many people would gravitate to life-sustaining resources, leading to a rough equilibrium between the world's resources and its population.
Lant Pritchett explains this notion in details in his book: Let Their People Come: Breaking the Policy Deadlock on International Labor Mobility. He quotes the results of a study claiming that:
Eliminating the planet’s remaining trade barriers would increase global GDP by around $US100 billion.
Eliminating immigration barriers, by comparison, would as much as double world income: that is, increase global GDP by $US60 trillion.
This added wealth would be shared, but the overwhelming beneficiaries would be people who now live in poor countries.
Demonstrations held in favor of the immigrants’ right to work in Paris  by austinevan on Flickr (CC-NC-SA-2.0)
The World Bank published a study about immigrants’ contribution to the economy of their native countries through remittances from abroad. The study also shows that remittances  are expected to reach as high as 351 billion dollars to the developing countries, and 481 billion dollars globally including the high-income countries. The study also mentions that:
Remittance flows to four of the six World Bank-designated developing regions grew faster than expected — by 11 percent to Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 10.1 percent to South Asia, 7.6 percent to East Asia and Pacific and 7.4 percent to Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the difficult economic conditions in Europe and other destinations of African migrants.
Needless to say, these non-orthodox theories are questioned by various experts and politicians. Frank Salter explains that the main concerns come from the inherent dysfunctions of every multicultural society:
Unrestricted migration would harm (Australia’s) national interests in ways documented by scholars in economics, sociology and related disciplines. Much of the harm is predictable from what is known about the dysfunctions of diversity. They include growing inequality in the especially invidious form of ethnic stratification [..] Diversity has also been associated with reduced democracy, slowed economic growth, falling social cohesion and foreign aid, as well as rising corruption and risk of civil conflict
From a political point of view, Europe is far from opening the borders, rather the contrary. In France, the Guéant Act restricts foreign graduates’ possibility of recruitment, giving birth to various reactions. Julie Owono, Global Voices member, describes the implications of this law and the reactions of various African bloggers that see this law as an additional reason to contribute to the development of their countries. On the Rue89's blog, Owono adds that the Guéant Act also ostracizes financially limited foreign students [fr].
In Africa, only a few experts have studied the concept of open borders, an idea that is, without doubt, too distant from the continent realities to persist. McGill University philosophy professor, Arash Abizadeh, doesn't encourage the opening of borders, yet states that the current border system can't be justified by a liberal egalitarian logic. Abidazeh states that if we want to stick to the belief that “All men are born free and equal”, the constitution of borders is by itself a violation of such a principle.
Malagasy blogger Sly writes about the risks of opening the borders:
I'm African and while it seems that this would be a good idea there are some drawbacks
-child trafficiking
-drug trafficking
-spread of HIV and other diseases.
-refugees will form camps in more prosperous nations causing some problems.
Having said this some countries in Africa do have open borders with some neighbourig countries.
Sly refers to the fact that opening the borders between Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia, in an attempt to increase regional economic integration, raised some major challenges in the region during the recent food crisis.
This concept of using open borders to reduce global social inequalities implies that reducing global poverty would be the highest priority in the world. It would come before other important considerations such as national security and the national interests of each country. This theory of Pritchett and Magric certainly has a contentious side that aims to provoke a debate.
However, despite the claims of the international community that wants to reduce poverty worldwide, the open borders solution is only to be considered in specific contexts and won't take precedence over other items on the international agenda.

author: Rakotomalala


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