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Russian Oligarch Khodorkovsky Will Go Free When He’s Dead? · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, 1 April 2001, Press Center of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, CC 3.0.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia’s most infamous oligarch and famous political prisoner, is scheduled to leave jail later next year, but there are now signs that he may face new criminal charges [ru] before he can breathe free air. On Friday, December 6, 2013, Deputy Prosecutor General Aleksandr Zviagintsev told [ru] Interfax News that his agency is investigating several new charges against Khodorkovsky. A source within the General Prosecutor’s office told Interfax that the new case against the former oil tycoon involves the alleged laundering of over ten billion dollars, including efforts to use that money “to alter Russian legal statues.” Vladimir Markin, the spokesman for Russia’s Investigative Committee (another police branch of the federal government and a bureaucratic rival to the General Prosecutor), refused to comment [ru] on Zviagintsev’s revelation.
If Khodorkovsky returns to court to face money-laundering charges, it would be his third consecutive trial. Arrested in October 2003, he has spent over a decade in prison, convicted of fraud and tax evasion in 2005 and embezzlement in 2011.
Though the news of a possible third case against Khodorkovsky is still just hours old, many prominent liberal journalists are already expressing their anger in posts on Facebook and Twitter, ahead of what will undoubtedly be many disapproving articles and op-eds.
Journalist Yuri Saprykin was at a loss for words, writing [ru] on Facebook:
третье дело. слов уже никаких не осталось.
A third case. There aren’t even any words left.
Another journalist, Anton Krasovsky, joked [ru]:
Бог троицу любит.
God loves a trinity.
Ekaterina Vinokurova saw [ru] the possibility of a new trial as insulting:
Новое дело против Ходорковского – это какое-то издевательство уже.
A new case against Khodorkovsky. They’re just using him as a punching bag now.
Writing on Facebook, Tikhon Dzyadko expressed [ru] eagerness to know how Dmitri Medvedev’s press secretary, Natalia Timakova, will respond to the news. In comments on Dzyadko’s post, others faulted him for looking to Medvedev rather than Putin, though Dzyadko insisted that there is nothing wrong with addressing Russia’s “number two” political figure. (Dzyadko has a history of asking Timakova uncomfortable questions on Facebook. In August last year, he criticized [ru] her for a lavish vacation in Italy.)
In another post on Facebook, journalist Dmitri Bavyrin bleakly downplayed the shock of Zviagintsev’s announcement about new charges against Khodorkovsky, writing [ru]:
А что Ходорковского живым не выпустят – это, извините, давно понятно было.
I’m sorry, but it’s long been clear that Khodorkovsky will never be released while he’s still alive.
Political analyst Fyodor Krasheninnkov echoed this sentiment on Twitter:
Ходорковский может оказаться на свободе только после того как кончится Путин. Верить в иное – самообман и наивность. Как ни печально
— Фёдор Крашенинников (@Fyodorrrrr) December 6, 2013
Khodorkovsky can go free only after the end of Putin. Believing anything else is self-deception and naiveté. Sad as it sounds.
Still, others are optimistic that Khodorkovsky could yet emerge from prison. Stanislav Yakovlev (aka Ortega, aka Kreutzwald) wrote on Twitter that he is confident state prosecutors will not have time to complete a new case against Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev before their current sentences expire.
@ruxaland Я о том, что пока дело будут раскачивать – Ходорковский и Лебедев окажутся на свободе к тому времени.
— Kreutzwald (@Kreutzwald) December 6, 2013
I’m saying that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev will go free, while [prosecutors] build up the [new] case.
Interfax’s Prosecutor General source says that formal charges against Khodorkovsky (as either a witness or a suspect) are just a “matter of time.” If a case is indeed imminent, it’s strange that the Investigative Committee’s representative is so reticent to comment now. In the Committee’s past persecution of the Kremlin’s political pests, like Alexey Navalny, Markin has been far more eager to grandstand for reporters. Could this restraint indicate that the investigation has a way to go, as Yakovlev argues, or does it mean that the Prosecutor General is now leading the way?

author: Kevin Rothrock


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The Russian Parliament’s Golden Gun · Global Voices
Nina Jobe

Image mixed by Kevin Rothrock.
Former speaker of Russia's parliament Boris Gryzlov once declared [ru] that the Duma isn't a place for “waging political battles.” Considering the managed and artificial political parties that have dominated Russia's legislature for the last decade, Gryzlov had a point. Russia's real political battles are fought in the Kremlin and the federal ministries, where various clans and cliques compete for control and influence over the levers of the government. This, however, is not to say that conflict is absent altogether in the Duma. For instance, last Tuesday, December 3, 2013, two deputies demonstrated that the Duma still has some fight left it in, when they got into a fistfight in the halls of the parliament building.
The cause of the fight remains unclear, as the two opponents tell different stories. Deputy Alexey Zhuravlyov alleged that the brawl began when his colleague, Adam Delimkhanov, confronted him about a new monument honoring Chechen women killed by Russian imperial troops in the 19th century [see previous Global Voices article]. (Zhuravlyov has complained about the project, asking [ru] Russia's Prosecutor General to investigate Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov for inciting separatism.) Delimkhanov threw the first punch, according to Zhuravlyov’s spokeswoman. The scuffle only ended when a gold-plated gun fell out of Delimkhanov’s clothing. Neither Delimkhanov nor his office would comment on Zhuravlyov’s accusations.
Alexey Navalny posted the story on his blog, and noted [ru]:
Эта ГосДума должна быть распущена. Часть депутатов должна быть отдана под суд, часть – в цирк, часть – в поликлинику (на опыты).
This Duma should be disbanded. Some deputies should be put on trial, some in the circus, and some in a clinic (for tests).
Blogger Valery Amirov alleged [ru] that Delimkhanov had planned the encounter to take place in a location where there were no closed-circuit cameras.
One of Amirov’s readers commented:
На улице гопник с кавказа поведением ни чем не отличается от “своего” депутата, один в один, ни культуры, ни разума. Отсюда вопрос можно ли их допускать в общество нормальных людей, если даже депутат “кавказец” по сути обыкновенное быдло.
The behavior of this deputy [Delimkhanov] is no different from any Kavkaz hood. They're one in the same—neither has any culture or brains. So the question is whether a society of normal people can tolerate them, when even the Caucasians’ Duma deputy is really just a typical thug.
Alfred Koch joked:
Я думаю, депутаты должны стреляться. В прямом эфире. У Соловьева в “Поединке”. Почему? Ну, во-первых, это красиво…
I think that the deputies should duel. On live television. On Soloviyev’s [TV show] “Duel.” Why? Well, firstly, it is beautiful…
Vladimir Varfolomeev also thought a duel was in order:
Депутатам Делимханову и Журавлёву надо провести честную дуэль. С 20 шагов. Кто победит, тот и останется в Госдуме. Это будет справедливо.
— Владимир Варфоломеев (@Varfolomeev) December 4, 2013
Deputies Delimkhanov and Zhuraleov should hold a real duel. At 20 paces. Whoever wins can remain in the Duma. This will be fair.
Meanwhile, Kirill Shulika (LJ's Viking_Nord) saw the incident as just another example of the Kremlin giving Kadyrov’s people “a free pass”:
Если Журавлев говорит правду, а, скорее всего, так оно и есть, то Делимханов должен был немедленно лишен полномочий депутата. А Кремлю, который пестует всю эту шпану, надо задуматься. Она свои порядки устанавливает не только в Грозном, а даже уже в здании российского парламента. Если сойдет им это с рук, завтра они всех женщин в Думе в хиджабы оденут.
If Zhuravliev is telling the truth (and most likely he is), then Delimkhanov should be stripped of his powers as a deputy immediately. And the Kremlin, which supports all these riffraff, needs to rethink it. They [Caucasians] live by their own rules not only in Grozny, but even in the halls of the Russian parliament. If they get away with it, tomorrow they will have all the women in the Duma in hijabs.
Shulika may be exaggerating, but his concerns reflect common apprehensions in Russia about Kadyrov's influence. Russians increasingly fear that Kadyrov and his cronies have been given a free pass by the Kremlin to do whatever they please, both in Chechnya and throughout the country. And every time a Chechen state official looks to be flaunting the law with impunity, popular resentments spike. How much longer can the Kremlin turn a blind eye to these incidents without a backlash that crosses some critical threshold?

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nina Jobe


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Top 4 Buzzwords that People in Japan Couldn’t Stop Saying in 2013 · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

In 2013, Japan had variety of newly introduced phrases and words. Image by Keiko Tanaka
Among the slew of new and popular words to emerge in Japan this year, only four have risen above the rest to win the honor of the 2013 New Buzzwords Award [ja], an annual distinction handed out by distance learning company U-Can and publishing firm Liberal National.
In an unprecedented result, the four winners tied for first place out of 50 nominees. They are:
1. Imadesho!
Meaning “how 'bout now?!”, the phrase was made popular by Hayashi Osamu, a lecturer who teaches modern Japanese at a specialized school known as a cram school, after he used it in a commercial for the school, saying that it was about time that the viewer start studying for exams.
2. O-mo-te-na-shi
Simply the spelling aloud of the Japanese word “omotenashi”, meaning hospitality, this buzzword was introduced to the Japanese language by Christel Takigawa, a news presenter who spoke at the final Olympic bid meeting for Japan. Hospitality and warm welcomes that are deeply rooted in Japanese society.
3. Jejeje
Meaning “What? What?! WHAT!?”, the phrase entered the public's vocabulary thanks to the 2013 widely popular television drama “Amachan.” This is part of a dialect used by the main character who is from the Tohoku region to express surprise. She tries to become a celebrity idol in Tokyo, and finally returns to Tohoku to help revitalize the area after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
4. Baigaeshi
Also from a popular television drama, “baigaeshi” means “two-fold payback” or “revenge” and is the catchphrase of the main character on “Hanazawa Naoki,” a banker who stands up to his unreasonable boss.
Twitter user Yukihiro Matsumoto commented about the television link between all four of the top words:
流行語大賞。４つ選ばれたものすべてがテレビ由来ということは、テレビの影響力はまだまだ大きいってことだよね。
— Yukihiro Matsumoto (@yukihiro_matz) 2013, 12月 2
With the Buzzwords Award, the fact that all four selected words have some basis in television just goes to show that television’s sphere of influence is larger than before.
Among others that entered into the top ten on the list announced on December 2, 2013 was “hate speech”, a word that was on the lips of many in 2013, a year that saw anti-Korea protesters, angry over the popularity of Korean products on the Japanese market, grow more vocal.
Other words in the top ten included “PM 2.5”, as it is commonly called, or atmospheric pollution in the form of particulate matter, which became a buzzword stoked by fears that neighboring China's pollution is reaching Japan; “Secret Protection Bill,” a controversial bill that would toughen penalties for leaking national secrets; and “Abenomics,” a sort of slogan for the administration of President Shinzo Abe’s economic policies.
Ascii art used to describe gekiokopunpunmaru, a new buzzword used in 2013 to express one's anger
Net Buzzwords Award
Another award, this time the “Net Buzzword Award [ja],” which was announced on December 2, seemed to generate even more talk. The award, which highlights popular words from the Internet, is carried out by a Japan's search engine company, and decided by users from 2chan, an online bulletin board, who cast their votes [ja] on what they think were the most well-noted phrases of the year.
The Net Buzzwords Award also awarded the top spot to “Imadesho!”, while “Baigaeshi” took third. In second place was “gekiokopunpunmaru”, a phrase that childishly expresses extreme anger in the form of an onomatopoeia and therefore is fairly difficult to translate into English.
Commenting on the similarities between the Net Buzzword and New Buzzword awards, Twitter user Katsura Igarashi wrote:
ネット流行語大賞が普通の流行語大賞と大して変わらないの、隠れ家としてのネットの終焉だなあ。
— 五十嵐桂 (@tvoisdeadend) 2013, 12月 2
The Net Buzzwords Award and the regular Buzzwords Award were pretty much the same. This is the end of the Internet as a refuge .

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Causes of Bangkok Road Accidents · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Interestingly, the Bangkok police in Thailand claims that 30 percent of road accidents is caused by ‘unroadworthy cars’ while speeding only accounts for 5 percent of accidents. Writer Thitipol Panyalimpanun notes that in most countries, traffic accidents are blamed on driver error and not on vehicles.

author: Mong Palatino


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China Downplays English-Language Education With Series of Reforms · Global Voices
Jack Hu

A language school in the Tianhe district of Guangzhou. Photo by Jussi Mononen CC: AT-NC-SA.
Efforts are underway in parts of China to strip English-language education of some of its importance within the country's school systems, a move that has been widely applauded online.
The Beijing Municipal Education Commission has introduced a series of reforms to cool down enthusiasm for English in the education system since October 2013. The Commission has reduced the weight of the English ability test from 150 to 100 in the Gaokao, China's national higher education entrance examination. At the same time, the weight of the Chinese ability test will be increased from 150 to 180 in the new scheme that will go into effect in 2016.
English learning for primary school students will also be postponed from first grade to third grade.
The policy changes have been backed by Chinese Communist Party think tanks, such as the Intelligence Research Academy, whose head Zhang Shuhua argued in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference that English-language studies were “destructive” to education as a whole. Zhang stressed that language studies should be treated as a means for social reform and development rather than an end.
Compared to Beijing, education authorities from other provinces have taken even more radical measures. For example, the Shandong government decided to cancel the English-listening test for Gaokao in 2014, while the Jiangsu government is considering excluding the English ability test altogether from the Gaokao.
These changes have received quite a lot of support from users on China's social web, where there is a tendency to see English and Chinese at odds with each other. For example, in the comment section of a popular local media outlet, Phoenix's special feature report about the policy change, a netizen from Guangxi wrote:
英语害了多少中国人，早该废除了。本来英语是一门语言，应该按学语言的方式来学英语，可国人却把英语当符号来学，死记硬背，应付考试了之。[…]曾经一段时期，很多专业要英语过多少级才能获得学位，这就使很多学生把时间都用来攻英语，而专业课却勉勉强强，学而不精。
语文不单是一门语言，它承载着祖国的千年文化，它不只是文学，也是人学。提高语文的地位，增加国学内容，削减英语的分量，利国利民。
How many Chinese have been hurt by the English education? It should have been abolished long ago. English is a language and should be studied as such. But Chinese students force themselves to remember the English vocabularies as imprinted signs for exam purpose […] For a period of time, some universities demanded that their students pass the English language examination as a precondition for their degree. Students are forced to spend all their time studying English and so neglect their own field.
Chinese is not only a language, it embodies our country's thousand-year culture. It covers both literature and humanity. Lifting the status of the Chinese language and cutting English from our education will benefit the country as well as the people.
An anonymous article widely circulated online even connected the policy with the official political propaganda of the Chinese Dream:
不立即废除英语高考，中国复兴梦是白日梦！【转】 学英语是是孩子的恶梦，中国人的肿瘤，应该做手术了。
[…] 为了学英语浪费了多少有志之士的心血？这是我国科技发展迟缓的一个重要因素。全民学英语是中国教育的一大失败，高层应当进行反思。
As long as the English test still is part of the Gaokao, the revival of the Chinese Dream is a daydream! [Repost] The English language is the nightmare of children, the tumor of the Chinese people. It's time for surgery […] How many people have put in hours of work sweating over learning English? This is a factor contributing to the backward development of our country's science and technology. Elementary English education is a failure of the Chinese education system, and upper-ranking authorities should reflect on this.
Some educators are uneasy about such advocacy for radical changes. Educator Ling Zongwei (@凌宗伟1376361860) rebuffed the ideological argument:
一个想复兴的民族，拒绝学外语，如何融入世界呢？我甚至怀疑取消英语教学与考试是一个阴谋。
How can a nation be revived by rejecting foreign language learning? How can it integrate with the world? I am a bit skeptical about the policy and inclined to believe that the abolition of English-language education and examination is a conspiracy.
Current affairs observer Xu Jianming (@许建民) also found the education campaign disturbing:
当下，取消英语教学和考试之风，似乎越演越烈。人有惰性，谁都不愿考试。当年文革，学生们不仅反对考试，还打倒教师，砸烂学校，的确轻松潇洒。结果，却是荒废了学业，虚度了年华，多少人抱憾终生。经济全球化以来，印度发展加快，原因就在于英语的普及。因此，英语教学不应强制推行，但也不应一风吹。
The movement calling for the abolition of English-language education and examination is getting stronger and stronger. Students are by nature lazy and don't want to take examinations. During the Cultural Revolution, students were against examinations. They beat up teachers and tore down schools. Everything came so naturally. Eventually they lost their time and their education and were regretful throughout their lives. In the time of economic globalization, the development of India is driven by their popular English education. I do agree that we don't need to make English-language education compulsory, but abolition is another story.
“Grey-pigeon silver-water” (@灰鸽子银水) believed that the policy will result in an educational divide:
根据我对山东河南高中教育的一些了解，高考取消英语，只是取消了穷孩子学英语的权利而已，人生，又一扇窗关掉了。至于沿海的，有钱人家的孩子，他们反正是要本科出国念的，或者会在国内大学大二出国交换的，反正会学好英语的。
According to my experience in teaching high schools in Shandong and Henan provinces, to exclude the English test from the Gaokao would mean to deprive poor children of the right to learn English. Another window in their lives will be closed. In coastal provinces, children from wealthy families are able to pursue tertiary education aboard, or they have the chance to join exchange programs while they are attending local universities. The opportunity to learn English is always there for them.
Indeed, Wang Haitao, vice president of New Oriental Education and Technology Group, a private education institute to train students’ language ability and examination skill, stated [en] that the decision will create new business opportunities for families looking to supplement their children's English language education.
So far, public opinion is in favor of the education reform: 72 percent of approximately 35,000 respondents in an online poll conducted by Sina Survey expressed their support for the changes to the national examination system. However, in another online survey conducted by state-owned broadcaster CCTV, the same percentage of voters want to have mathematics taken off of the Gaokao, believing that it is useless except for counting money:
继北京高考英语降分引发热议后，数学又引发了大家的集体吐槽，认为数学难度太大，平时生活中，买菜什么的需要用到几何函数吗？关于“数学该滚出高考吗”的调查显示，7万多网友支持数学滚出高考，称自己仅是“做题机器”。
Math prompts public complaints also, following hot discussion over Beijing's reduction of English-language points on the Gaokao. Many think math curricula are too difficult for students. Do we need to use geometric function in our daily lives when we're buying vegetables? The poll question “should math be taken off of the Gaokao?” received more than 70,000 yes votes from netizens, calling themselves “mathematics exercise machine [calculator]”.

author: Jack Hu


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A Brief Unity of Purpose: Marching for Puerto Rican Prisoner Oscar López Rivera · Global Voices
Ángel Carrión

November 23 was a gorgeous day. Cool breezes blew through the streets and the temperature was nothing short of ideal on what I expected to be a stifling hot Saturday afternoon. Even the trees on the grounds of the Federal Court appeared to be in on the act, providing shade from the bright Caribbean sun. It was as if nature had conspired to create perfect weather, as if it, too, was somehow in solidarity with the thousands of us who gathered in front of the Federal Court building in Hato Rey, the economic hub of Puerto Rico’s capital city, San Juan, to demand the release of the country’s longest-held political prisoner.
Thousands gathered in Hato Rey, the economic hub of the capital city of San Juan, on Saturday, November 23, to demand the release of Oscar López Rivera from prison. The banner says “Christmas with Oscar back home!” Image taken from the Facebook page 32 x Oscar [es].
Oscar López Rivera has been imprisoned for 32 years, and counting, by the U.S. federal government in Terre Haute, Indiana. The charge is “seditious conspiracy,” even though he was never convicted of crimes that resulted in death or injury to anyone. His lawyers have reported he has been subjected to inhumane treatment during his incarceration. They have also said he has been singled out for punitive treatment because of his political affiliations, which prompted Amnesty International to criticize the conditions under which which he and other political prisoners were being held.
And yet, through it all, Oscar's spirit remains serenely unbroken. So much so, that in 1999 he refused the conditional clemency offered by President Bill Clinton, saying that it would be like being in prison outside of prison.
Image taken from the Facebook page Free Oscar López Rivera Now.
Looking around as more and more people arrived to join the march, I marveled at the diversity around me. The campaign to secure Oscar López Rivera’s release from prison is supported by people from all walks of life, of all ages, and across the political spectrum. Granted, the most vocal sector calling for his release is still associated with the political left. Nevertheless, it has reached to a point where it doesn't matter if you're in favor of independence, statehood, or something in between for Puerto Rico.
One of the things that immediately drew my attention was a huge effigy of a Caribbean version of Lady Justice, the famous image of a woman with scales in one hand and a sword in the other that adorns many a courthouse around the world. I remember remarking to my mother how odd it seemed that she wasn't blindfolded. She said, “Well, maybe they decided to remove her blindfold to see if she is more just without it; it certainly hasn't worked so far.” The oft-repeated phrase “a nation/country of law and order” came to mind, and I thought to myself how little that actually had to do with justice and doing the right thing. Perhaps the blindfold that Lady Justice is often seen wearing also blinds her to the injustice of the legal system that she stands for, turning her into nothing more than a legalistic automaton.
An effigy of Lady Justice rises over the crowd at the protest to demand Oscar López Rivera's release. Image taken from the Facebook page 32 x Oscar [es].
As in any decent Puerto Rican protest, the mood was festive. Plena rhythms and artistic creativity abounded. Outsiders often find this strange, possibly because they're more used to protests more serious in tone, more solemn and angry, even when it is a peaceful one. This isn't to say that people weren't serious about what they were trying to accomplish, or that they weren't angry about Oscar López Rivera's incarceration. Rather, this is a distinct characteristic of Caribbean societies, and in a society like Puerto Rico's, which, like all Caribbean countries, has historically been oppressed by an external power that tries to build itself up in the minds of people as the model of all that is civilized, cultured, enlightened, and just plain better, there is no more effective way to deflate that power. Humor and the carnivalesque are, in other words, an important form of resistance.
It was only later, when I thought about the poor coverage the march had received in the international mainstream news, that I realized there was no chopper overflying the area. This was mind-boggling, considering that simultaneous protests were taking place in New York, Chicago, and Washington, DC, and that there were a many as 40,000 people gathered to protest in Puerto Rico alone. René Pérez, from the band Calle 13, had lent his support and was participating in the march held in New York. Calle 13's tweet became the most relevant topic on Twitter related to President Barack Obama's Twitter account:
Marchando rumbo a Brooklyn. Libertad para Oscar Lopez @BarackObama Free Oscar Lopez! pic.twitter.com/cYtrwsGyqK
— Residente C13/ RC13 (@Calle13Oficial) November 23, 2013
I must confess that until about a year and a half ago, I knew practically nothing about Oscar López Rivera. As I gradually learned about him, I couldn't help but feel that the cause in favor of his release from prison should also be my cause, just as his cause to free Puerto Rico from colonial rule is also my cause, one that I pursue in my own small way every day.
Seeing the unity of purpose show, if only for the briefest of moments, on that Saturday afternoon by such a large, diverse crowd of Puerto Ricans renews my faith that someday we may, perhaps, unite to demand the decolonization of Puerto Rico once and for all.
That, I believe, is the secret to the remarkable resilience of Oscar López Rivera's spirit: His conscious, defiant resistance that translates into a faith that rejects the nihilism of self-fulfilling despair, in spite of the temptation to retreat into the seductive silence of comfortable passivity.

author: Ángel Carrión


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Review of University Websites in Southeast Asia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Le Minh Khai reviewed the websites of the leading universities in Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and was disappointed with the design and content of these online platforms.


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Russian Nationalists Find Themselves a “Saint” · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

An Andy Warhol version of a young Moscow Metro gunman. Anonymous image distributed online.
A November 23, 2013 shooting that took place in a Moscow Metro train has spawned a new meme for Russia's radical nationalist and anti-migrant movement. The incident was caught on the train's CCTV camera. On the video a man is seen approaching two seated passengers and after after a brief exchange, one of these men stands up, takes out an air or gas powered rubber-bullet pistol and shoots the first man in the face at point-blank range. His companion, a younger man, also pulls out a gun and keeps it trained on the injured man, as the two exit the carriage. The video [ru] was acquired by the tabloid LifeNews, and has since spread widely on the RuNet.
The shooting victim was Hashim Latipov, a Dagestani, while the two men that shot him, seemingly for no reason, looked to be ethnic Russians. And although Latipov says that the altercation was unprovoked from his side, the fact of his ethnicity was enough for Russian nationalists to assume that the two Russian men were acting in self-defense. Not only that, but their actions are valorized by nationalist online communities — there the two men are portrayed as vigilantes meting out harsh justice to outsiders.
The vigilante crime-fighter angle (never mind that it has no basis) is being actively promoted by images like the one below, where the two shooters have been photoshopped into a poster of the movie “Boondock Saints.”
Anonymous image with the heads of the metro shooters pasted onto the Boondock Saints movie poster. Caption on bottom reads “Whacha looking at?”
A similar angle of portraying the shooters as “cool” is captured by another meme — this one with the heads of characters from Quentin Tarantino's cult movie Pulp Fiction photoshopped into a screenshot of the CCTV video:
Pulp Fiction's Vincent and Jules on the Moscow metro. Anonymous image distributed online.
But another screenshot from the same video is apparently iconic enough not to need any photoshopping — it has been turned into stencils and pop-art type cutouts (see top of post):
Stencil of the two shooters. The man on the left is particularly photogenic. The text reads “It's time to be harsh.” Anonymous image distributed online.
Someone even painted one of the shooters in the style of an Orthodox icon, complete with golden nimbus, perhaps playing off of the Boondock Saints comparison:
One of the shooters given a religious treatment in a painting by an unknown author.
The image led one VKontakte blogger to react [ru]:
Такой воодушевленной “народной канонизации” не было уже очень давно… да чего там давно — вообще ничего подобного на своем веку не припомню, если честно.
There hasn't been such an inspired “popular canonization” for quite some time… not even quite some time — I haven't every seen anything like this in all my life.
Whatever the case may be, memes like this nicely illustrate the Russia's ever-growing ethnic tensions.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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“Take Back the Tech” Campaign: 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

“If you're being harassed or abused online, find help and report it.  Online abuse exists and it's a crime.  Virtual Self-Defense, 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence.”  Image shared on Facebook by Dominemos la tecnología (Take Back the Tech's Spanish language campaign).
From 25th November to 10th December, 2013, the group “Take Back the Tech” invites you to the 16 Days of No Violence Against Women campaign, and to take action each of those days in order to end gender violence.
Each day's action explores a problem related to violence against women and its connection to communication rights. These actions will tackle different communication platforms both on and offline, in creative and tactical ways.
¿Cuál es el límite entre lo privado y lo público? ¿Es el hogar? ¿El cuerpo? ¿Se trata de pensamientos, relaciones, o espacios? ¿Qué pasa con los espacios digitales que cada vez ocupan más lugar en nuestras vidas? […]. Define tu límite. Da forma a tu espacio. Puedes aprender más acerca de la campaña este año aquí. […] #dominemoslastic #privacidad #16días
What is the limit between the private and the public? Is it the home? The body? Does it relate to thoughts, relationships or spaces? What about the digital spaces that take up more and more room in our lives?  […]. Define your limit. Shape your space. You can learn more about this year's campaign here. […] [Take Back the Tech] [Privacy] [16 Days]
“Take Back the Tech” was created in 2006 as a part of the women's rights program Association for Progressive Communications or (APC), a group of women from different parts of the world who “advocate for online collaboration in order to achieve social change and empower women through the use of information and communication technologies.”
The group aims to create safe digital spaces that protect everyone's right to participate freely, without harassment or threats to individual security.  “Take Back the Tech” also looks to recognize women's critical participation throughout history as well as their contribution to the development of information and communication technologies. Campaign kits and other material are offered on their website to help those interested organize individual or group campaigns.
The group starts with the premise that privacy is a right and an essential element in women's security; but that the same digital tools that are used to upset our privacy can also be used to recover it.
Violence exists not only physically, but in social networks when one half of a relationship uses technology to watch their partner's behavior, often protected by the anonymity these spaces allow.
“If you have experienced, or are experiencing internet violence, you can report it [on this website].” Virtual self defense, 16 Day of Activism Against Violence Against Women. Image shared on Facebook by Take Back the Tech.
In social media networks the idea of what is public and private is risky and contradictory, meaning that women are at risk of new forms of violence. It's not always clear when consent is necessary, if anyone is watching, exactly what they are revealing or how open they are being with the public.
There are many victims of online abuse, including the making of threats or false accusations – frequently with insinuations of a sexual nature – on blogs, in chat rooms or over the phone. Some cases go so far as to end in identity theft, or the theft of personal information, to spying or to tracing internet and computer use. Threats such as these can make their way from the digital, into the physical world.
On Twitter, users quickly turned to the platform to express their opinions using the hashtags #16days and #takebackthetech [Tweets below come from the hashtags #16días and #dominemoslastic from the Spanish language campaign].
Some users offered quotes and statistics:
A nivel mundial, el 7% de las mujeres han sido agredidas sexualmente por una persona distinta de su pareja. #16días
— USINT Havana (@USINTHavana) diciembre 2, 2013
On a world scale, 7% of women have been sexually assaulted by a person other than their partner. [16 Days]
Las mujeres que han sufrido #violencia sexual son 2,6 veces más propensas a sufrir depresiones o ansiedad. #16días
— USINT Havana (@USINTHavana) diciembre 2, 2013
Women who have suffered sexual violence are 2-6 times more likely to suffer from depression or anxiety. [16 Days]
Zonas urbanas:mujeres tienen doble d probabilidad q hombres d sufrir violencia. #Orangeurworld #16días pic.twitter.com/kOoLd40gzy
— ONU Mujeres/Mulheres (@ONUMujeres) diciembre 2, 2013
In urban zones, women are two times more likely than men to suffer from violence [Orange the World – another hashtag associated with the campaign] [16 Days]
Mujeres:2-4x +probabilidad que hombres de contraer #VIH. #Orangeurworld #16días http://t.co/Mvn3HtU72g pic.twitter.com/E4UbF3WA8p
— ONU Mujeres/Mulheres (@ONUMujeres) diciembre 1, 2013
Women: 2-4 times more likely than men to contract HIV. [Orange the World] [16 Days]
Others shared their ideas about the campaign:
@Juanqro nos dijo: DENUNCIA. #Únete #16Días por la No Violencia a Mujeres y Niñas. pic.twitter.com/WqgoV9G2rL
— ONMPRI CDE QUERETARO (@ONMPRI_QRO) diciembre 2, 2013
@Juanqro said it: REPORT IT. [Join In] [16 Days] to end Violence Against Women and Girls.
¡Pintemos el mundo de naranja en 16 días! #16días de activismo contra la violencia de género http://t.co/LpooXkTI8E pic.twitter.com/SyyD9NhR6q
— Ángela MV (@AnyelinaJolin) diciembre 2, 2013
Let's color the world orange in 16 days! [16 Days] of activism against gender violence.
#Sumate al igual@albertocara25 Se Mujer, Se Valiente, DENUNCIA. #Únete #16Días por la No Violencia a Mujeres y Niñas. pic.twitter.com/rYqzr5RFba
— PRIMxQueretaro (@PRIMxQueretaro) diciembre 2, 2013
[Get Involved] @albertocara25 Be a Women, Be Brave, REPORT IT. [Join In] [16 Days] to end Violence Against Women and Girls
@dirpoblaciones @mincultura Tantas formas de esclavitud que lamentablemente sobreviven. #16dias contra la violencia hacia la mujer.
— Karen Abudinen (@karenabudi) diciembre 2, 2013
@dirpoblaciones @mincultura Sadly, so many forms of slavery survive. [16 Days] against violence against women.
Several websites, like Amnesty International and the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) have joined the campaign with links on Twitter and Faceboook showing examples and concrete cases of women whose rights have been violated.
If you want to get involved in the campaign, a 16 day blogathon has been organized, allowing both men and women to share their reflections, write poetry and stories, or publish information and photos to express their opinion against violence against women.  You can write about topics related to women, gender relations and their connection with technology.  There so many ways to participate – you just have to choose the one you like best!

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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3,000 Students Protest against Educational Reform in Gabon  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Reforms to the educational system were suspended [fr] in Gabon after teachers and students marched together in protests. In the proposed reform, the final exam to obtain the high school diploma will be done in one round instead of two and the entry into high school will be subjected to a final exam instead of a passing grade at the end of the final year of middle high school. Charlie M. explains what was at stake :
By acting spontaneously without waiting for a go ahead word from anyone, young students demonstrated that they were capable on their own, to realize that to deal with the situation, it was necessary for them to intervene and mobilize. Nobody would do it in their place; especially not their elders who are not capable of that. The youth, unlike their seniors, understand better that democrats, regardless of their views, cannot accept that their rights be violated, and therefore cannot yield when it comes to these fundamental issues such as the right to a quality education
A young student n in defiance of the security forces in the streets of Libreville, Gabon via le Gabon qui dit non

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Infinite Detention Legalized in Saudi Arabia · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

Saudi Arabia just approved a law which allows judges to detain people indefinitely.
Back in September 2012, a committee within the appointed Saudi Consultative Assembly proposed removing the limit on detention without a court case after it had been a maximum of six months. Back then, the proposal was criticized by human rights advocates because it could legalize the abuses of the so-called War on Terrorism and open the door for a wider crackdown on dissidents. The amendment proposed allows judges to extend the detention infinitely even if no case was filed against the detainee.
On November 22nd, the Saudi king approved this amendment among others turning it into a law which came into effect on Friday, December 6th.
The issue of arbitrary detainment has always incited criticism for the Saudi government. Independent human rights sources say that there are over 30,000 arbitrarily imprisoned people [ar], who were arrested without a warrant and have not had access to lawyers and a trial. Many of whom were arrested in the massive, post-9/11 “war on terrorism”.
The governmental Human Rights Commission held a meeting in which they thanked the King for approving the amendments. Al Riyadh newspaper reported [ar]:
وأشار المجلس إلى أن صدور هذه الأنظمة الثلاثة تؤكد النهج السليم الذي سارت عليه المملكة منذ تأسيسها في ترسيخ دعائم الحق والعدل، موضحاً أن تلك الأنظمة ستحقق، بإذن الله، نقلة جوهرية في مسيرة نظام القضاء الذي كفل حفظ الحقوق وصونها، وستسهم في تطوير أجهزة القضاء.
The board noted that issuing these three regulations confirms that the kingdom has been taking the correct path to promote rights and justice since it was founded. [The board] noted that these regulations will, God willing, radically transform the judiciary which protects rights and they will contribute to improving judicial institutions.
Activist Mohammad al-Abdualkareem explained the consequence of the amendment:
المادة 114 تسمج للقاضي أن يسجن المتهم بدون مدة بحسب ما يراه .فممكن يسجنه5سنوات دون محاكمة ويخرج براءة بدون تعويض #لاللسجن_الإحتياطي_دون_مدة
— محمد العبدالكريم (@alabdulkarim00) December 6, 2013
Article 114 allows the judge to imprison the suspect without any limit as he sees fit. Someone could be imprisoned for five years without a trial and then found innocent without any compensation.
Twitter user Sultan al-Fifi criticized the amendment citing a previous court case in which the judge was very repressive against political activists:
اشتراط أمر قضائي للتوقيف السرمدي ليس ضمانة عند قاضٍ يقول للهاشمي: أنت تستحق السيف لكني خففت عليك وحكمتك ب ٣٠ سنة #لاللسجن_الإحتياطي_دون_مدة
— سلطان الفيفي (@SultanAlfifi) December 7, 2013
Adding a condition of a judge's warrant before infinite detention is not a guarantee when the judge tells [political activist] al-Hashmi: You deserve [to be killed by] a sword, but I commuted the sentence to 30 years in prison.

author: Anas Soliman


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Interview With Chinese Political Cartoonist · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Digital Times interviewed Australia Chinese political cartoonist @badiucao on his upbringing and view on China. The cartoonist said:
As a rebel, I want to use my pen to record history from my perspective, and use my individual perspective to confront the official record. Of course, as one person I can’t do enough, so I hope more people will contribute to this record, because the more diverse perspectives we have, the more objective the record will be that is left.

author: Oiwan Lam


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In Japan, Disaster and a Radio Show Put Refugees On the Agenda · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

Radio host Katsuya Soda talks to the audience at Radio Cafe, a community radio station in Kyoto. Used with permission.
“You see, it’s different here. It’s much safer and more peaceful in Japan,” said my friend. I was introducing her to the idea of Global Voices: hearing stories from other side of the world, because “the world is talking”.
She continued: “There’s almost no need for people here to voice any kind of opinion or point of view, especially when your life is secured by following the norm.”
In a way she’s right. People living in Japan don’t always have to be concerned to what’s going on elsewhere. News headlines reflect this: in the public evening news broadcast, international news makes up only 7% of the total coverage. A researcher who monitored the broadcast [ja] over a period of three months found that a total of only two minutes, or 0.7 % of overall, were dedicated to reporting anything related to the African continent.
What’s going on outside the island usually doesn't matter to Japanese, unless it’s North Korea conducting nuclear tests, or something significant related to the superpower, the United States. And ignorance is bliss, as they say.
One Japanese citizen who disagrees is Katsuya Soda, who believes that the public’s indifference to world affairs is ruining things in Japan. In February 2004, Katsuya started Nanmin Now! [ja], a radio program about refugee issues that airs on a community radio station in Kyoto. The show begins with an introduction by Katsuya in Kyoto-flavored dialect: “It’s time for Nanmin Now! A program that reports refugee information like a weather report.”
Before the Internet and social media became a space for popular expression, low-power FM, or community radio was the only medium available to those who wanted to get an issue like the plight of refugees on the airwaves in a traditional city like Kyoto.
“At that time, information from the Internet had even less credibility than it does now,” says Katsuya. “I thought it was important to provide information via a medium that was familiar to everyone. Community radio is small in terms of reach, but it’s a trusted medium, as the airwaves are mandated by law to transmit information.”
With Nammin Now!, Katsuya’s ambition was to report news about refugees in such a way as to make refugee issues an item of concern in the minds of fellow Japanese. He was inspired to start the show after reading a book by Sadako Ogata, former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “It taught the importance of the role of media and sustainable relationships, and the idea of a weather forecast came to my mind,” Katsuya says. “I decided to start a radio program that continuously reports on refugee issues just like the weather.”
Since launching the show, Katsuya has interviewed more than 500 people on the topic of refugees. The six-minute broadcast airs on a Saturday.
The word refugee—“nanmin” in Japanese — doesn't appear very frequently in the Japanese news headlines. Japan accepts fewer than 50 refugees per year (in 2010 it accepted 39), even though it makes the world’s second largest financial contribution to the UNHCR. This is a surprisingly small number for a secure and peaceful island country. Some of these asylum-seekers even experience difficulties in Japan, such as deportation and detention. For the Japanese, the refugee problem is something going on the other, poorer side of the world. “It’s like a distant sorrow,” Katsuya says, “not just in terms of physical distance but also mentally. People believe they could never be a refugee.”
The mission of Nanmin Now! Is to ensure that “all the children of the world can sleep at home safely,” referring chiefly to places like certain countries in Africa, Afghanistan, and Myanmar, major sources of refugees. In the aftermath of Japan’s March 2011 earthquake, however, and accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that followed, Katsuya became concerned about children in Japan.
The disaster destroyed 126,583 residences [ja], and, in Fukushima alone, 160,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. 100,000 people now live in temporary housing inside Fukushima, with another 60,000 are scattered throughout Japan.
After the earthquake, Katsuya joined a team setting up a temporary radio station in a disaster-stricken area to provide emergency information. After the government shifting the radiation exposure limit [ja] for children from 1 to 20 millisieverts, some people in Japan came to consider they were being put at risk by their own leaders, and Katsuya became actively involved with people who evacuated from Fukushima.
“When I communicated with evacuees from area with high radiation levels,” Katsuya says, “I started to see a kind of similarity between Fukushima evacuees and refugees: both have to do with structural violence. People had to evacuate from their homes in Fukushima because there was a nuclear accident. The act of locating a nuclear power plant is like a domestic colonization, which marginalized communities have to accept.”
For the Japanese people, the 2011 earthquake and the Fukushima accident have brought the refugee issue very close to home, both validating and amplifying the work Katsuya has been doing for nearly 10 years.
Nanmin now! airs on FM79.7MHz, a community radio station in Kyoto, as well as online on-demand. Katsuya Soda's first book [written in Japanese] A Proposal from Community Radio in an Era When Everyone Has a Risk of Becoming a Refugee―Connecting the Voices from Fukushima is available [ja] on Amazon.co.jp.
Keiko Tanaka is a Japanese civic media enthusiast interested in digital engagement, radio and youth culture.


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Monitoring Indonesia’s 2014 Election Campaign · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Ayo Vote is a useful website to monitor the 2014 election campaign in Indonesia. Sidarta Danang Kristianto hopes for better information about election parties and candidates:
… the government has created a website where voters can access information on each of the candidates, including a full biography. While the site is a great resource and will undoubtedly help many Indonesians to make their decisions, it seems something of an attempt to paper over the cracks in Indonesian democracy. Why are our future leaders and representatives presented to us in the same way we pick items on online shopping website?


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Outrage Over Famous Chinese Director Zhang Yimou’s Extra Kids Privilege · Global Voices
Jack Hu

Propaganda posters from the Chinese government on its one-child policy. Photo taken by @kattebelletje CC: AT-NC
Famous Chinese film director Zhang Yimou has apologized for violating China's one-child policy, admitting that he has three children with his current wife.
Reports surfaced online earlier this year in May that he is father to at least seven children, but as some of the children are from previous marriage and relations and that the implementation of one-child policy is through the control of woman's body, the father usually can be excused from the law. As the latest report indicated that Zhang has three children with his current wife, he was forced to acknowledge publicly that he has broken the family planning law.
Zhang began his career in China on rocky footing, with some of his early films in the 1980s being banned in China for taking on sensitive subjects, but he has since won many awards and become close with authorities. He was picked to direct the opening ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Zhang's apology comes as China plans to relax its one-child policy, allowing couple's to have a second child if at least one of the parents is an only child. Current policy only allows couples to have two babies if both mother and father are only children.
The change, announced last month, is the most significant relaxation of its population control regime in nearly three decades. However, cases like Zhang's and others have fueled concerns that reproduction rights in China are a privilege enjoyed only by celebrities and the wealthy because they are able to afford the fines. Their extra children enjoy full legal rights, but women who cannot afford to do so have been forced to have abortions. Such inequality is a source of public outrage over the privileges of the rich and powerful.
According to the law, people who breach the one-child policy have to pay a social-compensation fee based on their annual income. Calculating what Zhang would owe, Chinese state newspaper People's Daily put the potential fines at up to 160 million yuan (about 26 million US dollars), basing the figure on Zhang’s 2004 income as reported by the media, which amounted to 80 million yuan (12.8 million US dollars).
A historical author, Wu Gou, criticized Zhang on popular microblogging site Sina Weibo in a post titled “The issue obviously exposes cynicism of China’s elites”:
【张艺谋事件明白无误地显示了当下中国精英的犬儒主义】这些比普遍公民有着更多影响力的精英，心里都知道计划生育违背人道、人权，但他们从来不敢运用他们的影响力发声，推动变革，而是选择偷偷摸摸“超生”，与计生当局达到暧昧的默契。
These elites with more influence than common people know that family planning has violated humanity and human rights, but they have never dared to speak out against it and push for reform. Instead, they consent to the family planning authority and choose to bear extra children stealthily [without openly confronting the unreasonable policy].
As Zhang's early films touched upon many social problems, he was loved by grassroots movements. However, in the last two decades, his films were made to target larger markets and lost their edge. Lawyer Young Lewis wrote on Weibo that Zhang has become uncritical of his privileged position and has betrayed the common people:
人民给张艺谋再多的支持，张转身就投靠权贵，想当年张的作品被打压他被封杀，人民给予他的支持那么多，他转身就去拍所谓的大片以及劳民伤财的开幕式，把人民丢弃。
People give Zhang a lot of support, but he defers to dignitaries. When the government cracked down on his films years ago, the common people supported him. But then he abandoned people by making so-called blockbusters and Olympic Opening boondoggles.
Wang Xuming, the former spokesman of China's Ministry of Education, wondered how Zhang had managed to secure an exemption from the local household registration authority:
据报道张艺谋、陈婷两人的三个子女均在婚前已出生，属非婚生育。有关人士认为，该问问当地户政部门，新生儿入户的办理标准是否一致？对张艺谋的孩子是否网开一面。问得好！我想弱弱的问句艺谋谋艺谋得好，莫非谋人也高人一筹？谋艺叫艺谋，谋人叫阴谋。是什么阴谋让管户口的管计生的都下水？
Zhang and his current wife's three kids were reportedly born out of wedlock. Some critics are questioning if the local household registration authority's standard for newborn registration is equal. Have they exempted Zhang from punishment? I want to gently ask Zhang how he had managed to secure an exemption from officials. How he managed to drag the household registration authority into dirty water?
As the right to reproduction is basic human right, Zhang also has his supporters. For example, in an interview with ifeng.com's reporter, economist Hu Shizhi suggested:
①生育是与生俱来的权利，张艺谋能逃脱计生，该为他们高兴。②该道歉的不是张艺谋，而是计生官员。 ③如果法律本身就是恶法，还机械地要求法律面前人人平等，就是在纵容恶。
1. We should be happy to see Zhang able to escape family planning because reproduction is an inherent human right. 2. Who should apologize is not Zhang, but family planning officials. 3. It would constitute wrongdoing if we were to stubbornly require equality before the law, which is itself illegal.


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Syria’s Desolate Winter Just Got $100,347 Times Warmer · Global Voices
Nour Al Ali

With the help of netizens, the Illinois-based Karam Foundation raised a total of $100,347 from an original goal of $10,000 in its “Shave a Mustache, Keep a Syrian Child Warm” virtual campaign that lasted from November 30 to December 4.
The campaign originally yielded a stunning $56,287 by December 3 and in effect won the Razoo Foundation’s #GivingTuesday competition, hence winning an additional $15,000. The donations amount continues to increase to date.
It involved 27 participants and organizers from 12 teams based in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, who competed to raise money by not shaving their movember mustaches.
Photo source: Karam Foundation's fundraiser page
Proceeds of the campaign will go to creating $20 winter packages for children inside Syria that include a winter coat, a blanket, and a hat, mitten or scarf in each set.
Kareem Omara, one of the organizers, said he was ecstatic to be part of the campaign, adding that having hope can go a long way:
Every single one of you is a beautiful person that has made a difference whether you donated, advertised, or whatever. I mean I'm just some broke college student that can't donate that much, but I found my way to contribute. Don't lose hope and think you can't make a difference. We can all contribute in our own way, no matter how big or how small.
Another organizer, Kenan Rahmani stressed on the need for united efforts to yield the best results:
We are BETTER when we're TOGETHER. Seriously people. The activist community always likes to go in ten directions at once and we hardly ever come together like we did for this campaign. Maybe I am guilty of this too. I completely understand that everyone has their own ideas and they want others to support them.
Mohannad, too, was quite pleased with what they achieved:
70,000? Haha SIKE… scratch that we made over $95,000 <33 I'm so happy
— MohaNNad أبو مازن (@TheMoeDee) December 4, 2013
Syrian columnist Robin Yassin-Kassab, who also participated in the campaign, vouched for the integrity of the organizers, adding that:
I know the organizers of this charity and can vouch that they are absolutely honest, that every single penny will go to keeping a Syrian child warm this winter. Please do donate, and please share this page. We just have a few days to raise as much as we possibly can.
Winter Has Come
Three years into unrest, Syria’s winter is far from dead, and spring is nowhere near. If not the shelling – then the rattling cold will keep Syria’s little angels from sleep at night. In December of 2012, Save the Children organization complied testimonies and photos to document the stark reality Syrian families endure during winter. Quoted in the report, 11-year-old Ali said that while help is provided, it is not enough:
“We have one blanket. We don’t have anything else – even clothes. We received one blanket and there are three of us. How is it going to fit us? How is it going to warm us? It is not enough. We are getting sick – i’m getting sick.”
Earlier last month, Istanbul-based photographer John Wreford said that displaced Syrian families not only endure exile but also have winter to fear:
Huddled in an Istanbul park a couple of Syrian families from Homs, ten very small children, its getting colder each night now.
— John Wreford (@JohnWreford) November 16, 2013
Help is also needed inside Syria, says Homs-based activist Luisa Zangh, who pleaded for humanitarian help:
A humanitarian call. If you want to help, make sure #Syria receives blankets. Still a huge shortage in the north and its cold.
— Luisa Zangh (@LuisaZangh) December 1, 2013
Every penny counts. You can still donate here.

author: Nour Al Ali


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Ukrainian Civil Society Calls for International Investigation of Yanukovych’ Financial Activities  · Global Voices
Tetyana Bohdanova

As anti-government Euromaidan protests enter their forth week in Ukraine, representatives of Ukrainian civil society are calling on leaders of the European Union, the US and their law enforcement agencies and financial institutions to investigate alleged incidences of corruption and money laundering by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his son, Oleksandr Yanukovych.
The data collected by activists has been presented in infographics published recently on http://www.yanukovich.info/.
Their open appeal on the website reads [en, uk]:
We believe that authoritarian regime of President Viktor Yanukovych has been fueled by proceeds of corruption laundered via the international financial system through the network of shell-companies and professional intermediaries. We reckon as unacceptable the usage of the international financial system to support the Yanukovych regime, which violently disperses peaceful demonstrations, organizes bloody beating of armless people, and kangaroo courts, that throw them later in jail.

author: Tetyana Bohdanova


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Upholding the Essential Values of the Bhutanese Youth · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bhutanese youth playing. Image by Morgan Ommer. Copyright Demotix (15/2/2009)
Bhutan has been blessed with a sustained, rich cultural heritage and the Bhutanese people take pride in upholding a number of essential values including harmony, compassion and patriotism. Blogger Dorji Wangchuk has been working with the recovering addicts and alcoholics and looks for a long-term solution of the problem among the Bhutanese youth. He asserts that educating own children is not enough, there is a need to work extra hard towards fostering the children of fellow citizens to inspire them to become good human beings.

author: Rezwan


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What the Situation of Street Children in Port-au-Prince is Telling a Haitian Citizen  · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Valéry Moise, a Haitian physician and activist, reflects upon the dire situation of street children [fr] in Port-au-Prince :
Moi, quand je regarde un enfant des rues briser une vitre, je vois une promesse électorale non tenue, quand je regarde un enfant sans idéal, je vois un gouvernement sans vision, quand je regarde un enfant manquer de respect à une loi établie, je vois de policiers et officiels circuler en sens inverse, quand je regarde un enfant essuyer une voiture aux heures de classe, je vois une société touchant le fond de l’abîme. Rendez-moi fou ou sage, je verrai toujours à travers les enfants l’image des adultes.
When I witness a child breaking a window, what it tells me is that another promise by a politician went unfulfilled. When I see a child without a dream, it tells me that the government is lacking a vision for the country. When a child does not respect the law, what I see are police forces going the other way. When I see a child cleaning cars when he should be at school, I see a society that has reached the bottom of the ocean. Color me crazy or wise, but I will always see the characters of the adults through the behavior of their children.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Facebook in Guarani: What is Facebook Doing in Paraguay? · Global Voices
Gabriela Galilea

Image from Shutterstock. Copyright: 1000 Words.
On December 3 in the former train station of Asunción, Facebook, the social network with 1.2 billion users, launched a Guarani language interface. The translation itself was carried out in conjunction with the Secretary of Linguistic Policies of Paraguay (Guarani is a native language that is spoken currently in the country and is the second official language, after Spanish).
Furthermore, with the objective to connect the whole country, a limited time promotion was launched that lets one access the social network for free from any cell phone.
It is the first official move of the gigantic start-up in our country and it comes to our attention: What is Facebook looking for in a market of only 6.9 million inhabitants?
Taking advantage of the presence of Laura Gonzalez Estéfani, Facebook's Director of Latin American Growth, we took a few minutes to chat and asked her:
Is it your first time in Paraguay?
Uy no, es la quinta vez que vengo por este proyecto. Estoy muy emocionada con él.
How has the growth of Facebook in Latin America been in recent years?
El crecimiento ha sido vertiginoso pero natural. Los latinonamericanos son sociales por naturaleza. Creo que los latinos han encontrado en Facebook una herramienta para expresarse mas allá de sus fronteras. Y si a eso añades, que Latinoamerica es “móvil por naturaleza” con una penetración de internet tan alta a través de teléfonos móviles, tienes que este gran crecimiento es algo casi lógico.
Why Paraguay?
Creemos en que la conectividad y el acceso a internet es un derecho fundamental para acceder a contenido pero también para mantener relaciones humanas. Nos encantaría conectar a todo el mundo y por eso este proyecto nos emociona tanto. Paraguay es el primer país en el que lo estamos probando.
At this time, do campaigns or similar projects exist in other countries?
No te lo puedo adelantar, pero tan grande como éste, solo en Paraguay por el momento.
Where did the idea to launch a Guarani interface come from?
Cuando empezamos a conversar sobre este proyecto surgió la premisa de que “si vamos a conectar a todos los paraguayos, lo tenemos que hacer en su idioma”. Y así nació el proyecto.
How many more users do you think you will attract with this campaign?
A todos. Queremos que todos los paraguayos mayores de 13 años tengan acceso a internet y sean usuarios de Facebook.
How will you ensure that populations without telephones can access Facebook?
La idea es que con cualquier teléfono básico (sea más o menos smart) puedan aprovechar de esta campaña para tener Facebook gratis en todo el país. De todos modos, sé que se está trabajando en campañas especiales para que estos teléfonos sean mas accesibles y con una buena financiación.
After the talk, Laura Gonzalez expressed the interest and willingness of Facebook to continue supporting access to the internet and thus to culture by utilizing these tools in our country.
Could it be an effective solution to close the digital divide? What do you think?

author: Gabriela Galilea


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How Internet Tools Turned Ukraine’s #Euromaidan Protests Into a Movement · Global Voices
Tetyana Bohdanova

This post is part of our Special Coverage Ukraine's #Euromaidan Protests.
As Euromaidan protests enter their third week in Ukraine, social media and technology still play a key role in their organization. As the government violently cracked down on peaceful protesters on November 30, the eight day of the protests, this has turned into a mass anti-government movement in the country and has begun to resemble the 2004 Orange Revolution in many ways.
One of the major differences, however, between Euromaidan and the 2004 protests has been the use of new media, social networks and other IT tools for organizing and sustaining the protests.
A man opens his laptop while sitting on chopped wood amid protesters in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo by Dima Kravchuk. Dec. 5, 2013. Used with permission.
Since the beginning of the protests, Facebook in particular has played a central role in organizing protesters and informing wider audiences about the latest developments. The first gathering of protesters, organized in Kyiv on the eve of November 21 and which was immediately dubbed Euromaidan (European Square), was sparked by the appeals of several journalists and civil activists, including Mustafa Nayyem [uk], a contributor of the leading independent online news outlet Ukrainska Pravda.
Organizing protesters through Facebook and Twitter
Facebook and Twitter soon became the key platforms for coordinating protest activities and sharing information. The now official EuroMaidan Facebook page [uk] set a new record in Ukraine [uk], having accumulated 76,000 likes in just the first eight days of its existence. The page is used to inform protesters about urgent news and issues, discuss plans of future actions, warn against using violence, share advice on how to deal with police forces, and much more. It has currently reached over 141,000 likes and over 167,700 interactions. An English-language page Euromaidan has also been set up, along with regional pages like Euromaidan Lviv [uk].
Official Euromaidan Twitter accounts @EuroMaydan [uk] and @EuroMaydan_eng [en] play a role similar to their respective Facebook pages, while they also help inform international audiences about the protests in Ukraine that initially went almost unnoticed by international media.
A screenshot of an official Euromaiden protests Facebook page. The inscription on the cover page quotes the country's constitution: “The people shall be the bearer of sovereignty and the sole source of power in Ukraine”[uk].
Before these leading social media accounts emerged and accumulated their audience, users largely relied on hashtags (#Євромайдан in Ukrainian and #Евромайдан in Russian) to share information. To help gather all relevant information and social media posts in one place, activists put together several websites with social media aggregators and useful links. Among them are Euromaidan.eu [uk], Euromaidan.tk [uk, ru, en], Euromaidan.com [ru], Maidan.in.ua [en].
“Euromaidan – SOS”: Tracking repression and offering timely help
Following beatings of protesters by riot police  and the first arrests, additional Facebook pages and groups emerged to meet the growing need for medical and legal assistance, as well as for spreading basic information to keep protesters safe.
Євромайдан SOS (Euromaidan SOS) [uk] gathers information about victims of police beatings, government pressure and detentions. The description on the page reads [uk]:
A screenshot of “Euromaidan-SOS” Facebook page, a group offering free legal assistance to victims of police violence or arrests on #Euromaidan. A caption reads: “Human rights above all” [uk].
Ця сторінка створена для надання правової допомоги постраждалим на Євромайдані. Ми юристи громадські активісти та журналісти – оперативно збираємо всю інформацію про постраждалих та тих, хто досі приймає участь у мітингах. А також про юристів, консультантів, які готові надати їм правову допомогу – та повязуємо їх між собою.Якщо у вас пропали родичі чи Ви стали жертвою побиття – НЕ МОВЧІТЬ! Відстоюйте свої права разом з нами!
This page is created to offer legal help for those injured during Euromaidan. We – lawyers, civic activists and journalists – collect timely information about injured and active protesters, as well as about lawyers and consultants ready to offer legal advice, and put them in touch with each other. If your relatives have gone missing or you have become a victim of beating – DO NOT KEEP SILENT! Fight for your rights together with us!
Soon, a separate website, Eurozahyst.org [uk], was also established for the same purpose.
An open Facebook group “The Revolution's Legal Department” [uk] has also been set up to discuss the legal side of Euromaidan-related developments in the country, share ideas and offer legal guidance to those who need it.
Along with lawyers, medical practicioners and students also organized to offer free medical aid to Euromaidan participants. They have set up several Facebook pages including “Організація волонтерів-медиків” (Organization of volunteer doctors) [uk] and Майдан.Медики (Maidan.Doctors) [uk] for organizing medical volunteers, with the first on-the-ground headquarters based in Kyiv's Mykhailivsky Cathedral and on Independence Square, the main gathering sites of the protests.
A screenshot of a Facebook page for a group of volunteer doctors offering free medical aid for Euromaidan in Kyiv.
Crowdsourcing creative ideas and resources
Another Facebook page has been established to gather and share ideas for sustaining and expanding the Euromaidan movement. The Information Center “НЕ ЗЛИй МАЙДАН” (Don't Ditch Maidan) [uk] began as an idea on December 1 at the main protest site in Kyiv, and the Facebook page [uk] was set up four days later. With already more than 3,000 likes as of December 7, 2013, it solicits creative ideas for actions, slogans and posters from Facebook users and shares them with a wider Internet audience. It also interacts with other Euromaidan-related online initiatives.
Image created by Vitaliy Moroz on Dec. 1, 2013 and circulated online. The image conveys a key message about Euromaidan to the world.
In addition, a separate Facebook page “Страйк плакат” (Strike placard) [uk] has been established specifically for sharing creative posters and designs for the protest.
An NGO, “Kyevers for reforms”, launched a crowdfunding initiative on Biggggidea.com, aiming to collect some 12,000 US dollars to help keep Euromaidan protesters in Kyiv warm and fed [uk]. Double this amount was been collected for the project by its December 8, 2013 deadline.
Coordinating volunteers for Euromaidan
Many observers have noted how well-organized the main protest site, Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), and the protest headquarters, the Kyiv City Administration building taken over by protesters on December 1, are. In fact, Independence Square has already been barricaded by activists who protect it during the day and patrol it at night. People also bring and serve food there, help provide shelter and medical aid for protesters, while activists also entertain each other with a wide range of activities [photos], from football games to concerts, books and open public lectures [uk] offered by specialists in various areas. While the credit for this goes to the protesters on the ground, activists have also made use of available Internet tools to aid the process.
Website Galas.org.ua[uk] uses crowdmapping to coordinate the needs of Euromaidan participants with volunteers willing to help. A related Facebook page [uk] has also been launched.
A screenshot of a crowdmapping tool that activists use to coordinate Euromaidan volunteers in Kyiv.
Maidanhelp.org serves a similar purpose, crowdsourcing information about current needs of Euromaidan participants.
Solidarity through Internet access
With these and other initiatives emerging every day, it is clear that technology has become one of the keys to coordinating and, more importantly, sustaining Euromaidan protests in Ukraine. During the previous weekend of protests, one of the major Ukrainian Internet providers, Volya-Cable, announced [uk] that it increased the speed of Internet connection for its clients residing in the center of Kyiv and called on them to open Internet access for protesters to use. Many have followed this advice and opened their WiFi connections, while other users released their WiFi passwords [uk] to the public.


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Jurrat – Marking First Anniversary of the Delhi Gang-rape · Global Voices
Qurratulain (Annie) Zaman

Jurrat wants Delhiites to reclaim the streets of Delhi. Image courtesy Jurrat.
From 10-16th December Jurrat (courage), a campaign on violence against women, is marking the anniversary of the heinous Delhi gang rape. One year ago a 23-year old medical student was gang-raped in a Delhi bus.
A mobile music concert by Swaang (a Mumbai based theatre and protest music group) and Majma (a Delhi based cultural group) will be performed on a moving trailer through the streets of Delhi on 16th Dec 2013. According to the organizer Swara Bhaskar, “we want to reclaim the streets of Delhi and make them safer for all women.”
Swang made a song about Delhi incident, ‘Maa Nee Meri’.
‘Maa Nee Meri’
Mixed in every morsel,
What was that chant you kept repeating?
In the garb of concern and worry,
Why was fear the only virtue I learnt of your teaching?
Mother, I will not fear
Mother, I will not become you.
Jurrat invites peoples on the streets of Delhi on 16th December and part of their campaign.
Swara adds:
To get out on the streets of Delhi on 16th December 2013, to fight, to resist, to protest and to pledge against gender based and sexual violence.
Stop Violence Against Women

author: Qurratulain (Annie) Zaman


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PHOTOS: Heavy Smog Chokes China · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Both western media and Chinese media have been writing a lot about the record levels of smog in eastern China during the past week. Flights have been cancelled, schools have been delayed.
On China’s social media, Weibo and WeChat users have been posting pictures of their shrouded cities and updating the air quality index. A depressing infographic with ways to beat the smog was circulated on Weibo on 4 December 2013.
Netizens post photos of Shanghai's smog on WeChat
The suggestions read:
1 Wear a hat
2 Wear a mask
3 Wear long coat
4 Avoid outdoor activities
5 Wash your face and hands after being outside
6 Use your nose to breathe instead of your mouth
7 Clean your nose
8 Open windows at the right time
9 Sleep early
10 Drink lots of water
11 Avoid smoking
12 Eat lots of food containing crude fiber
While China’s government uses the weather and street BBQs as excuses for the hazy weather and shares common knowledge about how to beat the smog, outspoken TV show host Mengfei was brave enough to share [zh] his insights into the air pollution, a rare act at a time when Weibo has become a dangerous place for debate and opinions since the government’s crackdown on Big Vs. He shared the message through a screenshot to avoid being censored:
1 The smog is not only due to the weather, but environmental pollution, the government should shoulder the biggest responsibility.
2 Coal-fired power generation is the most significant source of air pollution and the hazy weather. But getting rid of it will slow down the GDP, so the local government is reluctant to do so.
3 Calling people to drive less to fight the air pollution is not nonsense, but it’s also a good way to distract people’s attention. America is a nation living on the automobile, how come they don’t have such hazy weather?
4 Those experts and officials who think street BBQs and cooking have increased the pollution are idiots. Fart is also pollution, why not put this on the list?
5 Government should take the biggest responsibility for the environmental disaster, when they say “everyone has responsibility”, they are trying to avoid their own responsibility.
The screenshot was reposted over 130,000 times and has triggered over 40,000 comments. Many netizens showed support.
Netizens post pictures of Shanghai's smog on WeChat
Movie director Yangyi wrote [zh]:
面对空气污染,我们要做的不是带上面具，还是站起来说“不”。
Facing air pollution, what we should do is not wear a mask, but stand up and say no.
Another netizen “Du jingwei” called for energy restructuring:
能源结构转型，提高工厂废气排放标准是唯一解决途径！
Energy restructuring, raising emission standards for coal-fired power plants is the only way to solve the problem!
However, some netizens blamed greater numbers of automobiles as the main reason for the air pollution. Journalist Jiang jing wrote on Weibo:
晚高峰时在街上堵着，就会发现北京的公共汽车很多都是空的或者乘客很少，跟北欧那些人口稀少的城市差不多。人们要么开车，要么坐地铁。没有鼓励绿色生活的政策，人们就会这样一边堵着，一边呼吸着毒气，一边骂政府过活。
During rush hours in the evening, you will find many buses in Beijing are empty or have few passengers, just like the cities in northern Europe with small populations. People either drive or take the subway. There's no policy to encourage green living, so people keep facing traffic jams while breathing in toxic gas and cursing the government.
Check out more photos from WeChat below:
The sign reads, “I want to breathe”.
Shanghai's skyscrapers in smog

author: Abby Liu


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Reasons Behind Ukraine’s Protests Run Deeper than “Pro-EU” or “Anti-Russian” · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

What most media and people following the recent developments in Ukraine know as “pro-EU” or “anti-Russian” protests after the Ukrainian government backed out of a historical agreement with the European Union that was to bring Ukrainians one step closer to Western Europe, are in fact protests that seem to have been in the making for the past several years.
In terms of corruption, Ukraine ranks 144th out of 177 countries, tying with Nigeria, Iran and the Central African Republic on that list. Dissatisfaction and outrage runs deep among Ukrainian citizens, many of whom were, according to a recent study, ready to leave the country to improve their living standards. Sophia Opatska, CEO of the Lviv Business School, explains in detail on the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) Knowledge@Wharton website why the people of Ukraine are taking action and demanding the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych and his government:
In the last couple of years, Ukraine has been in a recession. Although the current government outlined plans to make improvements and reforms, only a small number of people close to the president’s family has experienced any benefits.[…]
Meanwhile, small- and medium-sized businesses have constantly felt intense pressure from tax departments, while reports have surfaced about corruption in state administrations and the courts. The country suffers from low levels of investment, a small number of new business projects and an out-of-date economic structure.[…]
At the same time, the system of social justice in Ukraine is in tatters. On the night of November 30, Ukrainian authorities used brutal violence against a group of students and young people who had been peacefully demonstrating against the government’s U-turn decision. This shows how Ukrainians’ personal security is not assured and citizens can easily be humiliated by the authorities. During the last 22 years of Ukrainian independence, there have been many political games, agreements and trade-offs between parties and politicians, but these social boundaries were not crossed.
On November 30, Ukrainians woke up in a new country. Social media and smartphones allowed us to see the cruelty and violence perpetrated by the authorities, and civil society reacted immediately, with nearly half a million people staging a peaceful demonstration in Kiev the next day. This enormous support came as a surprise to the authorities and opposition leaders.

author: Danica Radisic


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The Man Who Helped Reveal South Korea’s Election Manipulation Online · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Protests have continued for almost a year about the snowballing allegations that South Korean government bodies were engaged in an orchestrated effort to manipulate last year's presidential election. The very latest revelation alleges [ko] that there were an additional 20 million tweets written by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to either smear the opposition candidates or praise the current President Park Geun-hye. This number easily surpasses last month’s count: 1.2 million tweets by the National Intelligence Service and 23 million tweets [ko] by the Defense Ministry's Cyberwarfare Command.
Twitter user Zaro's profile photo, used with permission. It is a photo of his young daughter holding a candle, a reference to the candlelight vigils staged in protest of the South Korean government's manipulation of public opinon ahead of last year's elections.
There is an ordinary individual who worked behind the scenes for a year to make this groundbreaking revelation possible – a 40-year-old net user who goes by the penname Zaro (@zarodream) [ko]. Zaro, who introduced himself as a full-time office worker who neither has a background in technology nor any political affiliations, kindly answered questions asked by Global Voices Korean editor via email.
Global Voices (GV): Many net users call you by your famed nickname “The Netizen Investigator”. When did you start using your nickname, and what does this nickname entail?
제가 ‘네티즌 수사대'라고 스스로를 자처하게 된 것은 국정원 트위터의 흔적을 본격적으로 추적하면서부터 입니다. 사실 처음에는 직접 나서는 것이 부담스러워서 여러 언론사에 제가 발견한 내용들을 제보하는 것으로 출발했습니다. 그런데 대부분의 언론사에서는 제가 제보한 내용들을 무시하더군요. 그리고 보도를 하더라도 제한적인 폭에 그치더군요. 그래서 제가 직접 ‘네티즌 수사대'라는 이름을 내걸고 직접 공개하기 시작한 것입니다. 그러자 오히려 언론에서 저에게 더 많은 관심을 보이며 제가 만든 자료들을 보도하기 시작하더군요[…] 사안에 따라서는, 특히 증거인멸의 가능성이 있는 경우에는 언론사나 수사기관에 직접 따로 제보하는 경우도 많습니다[…] 때로는 수사기관에서 어떤 방식으로 수사를 진행하면 좋을지에 대한 방법을 제안하기도 합니다. 실제로 검찰이 제 글을 읽었는지는 모르겠지만 검찰이 수사결과를 발표할 때 보면 제가 제안한 방식을 그대로 적용하고 있는 경우가 많더군요.
Zaro (ZA): As I dedicated myself to tracking the NIS’ trail on Twitter, I started calling myself ‘The Netizen Investigator’. Since there is a lot of pressure that comes with publishing revelations under my name, at first, I merely passed along my findings to media outlets. However, most media companies ignored my reports. And even if some did report, they ended up using only small portions of my findings. That is why I decided to directly publish my findings. Once I did that, then the media showed a sudden interest in me and started reporting my findings […] In some cases where my (premature) posting of information could lead to the destruction of evidence, then I contact media and investigative agencies directly and report them my findings […] Sometimes, I suggest to investigative agencies specific ways of how to execute the investigations. Although no one can verify whether prosecutors have read my writings or not, I noticed that they followed some of the ways I suggested.
GV: You also run a personal blog. Are there other sites that you usually go to? What do you usually write about?
블로그와 트위터 외에도 저는 ‘Daum 아고라’, ‘오늘의 유머’, ‘MLB파크'에서도 활발하게 활동하고 있습니다. 그런데 참으로 안타까운 것은 이 세곳 모두 국정원의 여론조작과 종북몰이로부터 자유롭지 않다는 것입니다. ‘Daum 아고라'의 경우 국정원 뿐만 아니라 탈북자 단체인 NK지식인연대가 조직적으로 여론조작을 벌인 곳입니다. ‘오늘의 유머'의 경우 국정원이 다수의 아이디로 추천-반대 조작을 한것도 모자라서 아예 종북 사이트로 낙인을 찍어버렸고, 이 사이트의 운영자인 이호철씨는 국정원으로부터 고소당한 상태입니다.
ZA: Beside my personal blog and Twitter account, I am active on these sites: Daum Agora, TodayHumor, MLB Park [ko] [note: Daum Agora is known to be an online venue where serious political debates are taking place, while TodayHumor is an online community site that hosts discussions on various topics not limited to politics, including fashion, online games, celebrities and users’ personal worries and issues]. Unfortunately, all three of these sites were not free from the NIS’ manipulation of public opinion and their ‘pro-North Korean sympathizer’ rhetoric. In the case of Daum Agora, not only the NIS but the North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity carried out a systematic manipulation of public opinion. On the TodayHumor site, NIS agents, using multiple net IDs have upvoted and downvoted certain posts (in order to influence the site). They even took it one step further, branding the site as ‘pro-North Korean’, and they sued Mr. Lee Ho-chul, who runs the site.
GV: What motivated you to track down NIS’ online activities? How much time have you spent?
지난 4월에 인터넷 독립언론 뉴스타파(KCIJ)는 국정원으로 추정되는 핵심계정 10개를 공개했습니다. 그런데 참 안타까웠던 것은 이 사실에 대해 메이저 언론사들이 외면해버리더군요. 특히 수사를 진행하고 있던 검찰은 국정원 트위터에 대해 수사할 의지 자체를 보여주지 않았습니다. 그래서 제가 뛰어든 겁니다. 저는 비록 검찰처럼 수사권도 없고 첨단 장비도 하나 없지만 일개 네티즌도 마음만 먹으면 이만큼이나 찾아낼 수 있다는 것을 보여주고 싶었습니다[…] 저도 생업이 있는 직장인이기 때문에 대부분의 작업은 밤 늦은 시간부터 새벽까지 이어졌습니다. 하루에 약 3~4시간 정도 작업을 하고 있습니다. 최근에는 軍사이버사령부의 트위터-블로그-게시글 등을 추적하는 일에 많은 시간을 보내고 있습니다[…] 제 예상으로는 아마도 국정원보다 훨씬 광범위한 규모가 될 가능성이 높아보입니다.
ZA: Back in April of this year, independent online news outlet NewsTapa [ko] (Korea Center for Investigative Journalism) revealed the ten key net accounts that belong to the NIS. Sadly, (despite their revelation) South Korean mainstream media outlets totally ignored the report as if nothing had ever happened, and the prosecutor’s office did not show any intention to investigate the NIS’ Twitter accounts. That's when I jumped in. I wanted to prove that an ordinary user such as myself, who neither has the official investigative rights that the prosecutors have nor any decent devices, can reveal this much, when I am so determined. […] Since I am a (full-time) office worker, most of my investigation started late at night and continued till early in the morning. I spend about 3-4 hours daily. Currently, I spend much more time tracking the Defense Ministry’s Cyber Warfare Command’s activities on Twitter, blogs and their posts (written on online community sites) […] I expect their online activities would be done on a much bigger scale than those of the NIS.
GV: Could you elaborate on the logistics of your investigation of NIS on Twitter?  (Some of Zaro's findings, such as one on net user ID taesan4 [ko] and ID shore0987 [ko] are posted on Daum Agora)
저는 먼저 핵심계정 10개가 직접 작성하거나 RT한 트윗들을 찾는 작업을 진행했습니다. 1차적으로 구글에 핵심 계정을 입력하고 검색을 누르면 다양한 정보들이 쏟아집니다. 특히 구글에는 해당 트윗을 삭제했더라도 그 흔적이 고스란히 남아있는 경우가 많습니다. 또한 핵심계정이 올린 트윗을 누군가가 인용하여 RT를 했다면 원글이 삭제되더라도 그 기록이 고스란히 남아있게 됩니다[…] 그리고 구글에는 검색을 도와주는 여러 명령어가 있는데 이를 적절히 활용하면 작업을 하는데 큰 도움이 됩니다. 예를 들어 ‘site'라는 명령어를 활용하면 해당 계정에서 사용된 특정 단어가 포함된 트윗들을 찾을 수 있습니다. 그리고 온라인에서 제공되는 여러 트위터 관리 사이트가 제공하는 정보들을 살펴보면 특정 트윗에 대해 누가 RT를 많이 했는지를 볼수 있습니다. 그리고 RT한 내용 중 사진이나 동영상이 포함되어 있는 경우에는 그 흔적을 찾기가 더 용이합니다.
ZA: The first step was to locate tweets or retweets made by the ten key accounts. When I googled those major accounts, various search results came up since even after they had removed certain tweets. There are still traces of that tweet on Google. When someone mentioned or retweeted certain tweets, a trace of the tweets remains intact even after the original tweet is long gone. […] On Google, there are several useful commands that people can take advantage of. For example, the command “site” can be used to track tweets that include certain words. And there are many Twitter management sites and tools that enable users to check who retweeted specific tweets. When tweets include images or video clips, it is much easier to track those.
GV: Is there any specific reason you focused on tracking NIS’s Twitter activities insetad of their other online activities?
트위터는 다른 온라인 활동과는 다르게 그 흔적이 고스란히 남습니다. 자신이 작성한 모든 트윗과 계정까지 삭제를 하더라도 구글을 통해 검색이 용이하고 빅데이터업체를 통해 복원이 가능합니다[…] 그리고 중요한 것은 서로가 트윗을 주고받고 RT된 내용들을 분석해보면 하나의 사회관계망이 도출된다는 것입니다.
ZA: Twitter, unlike other online activities, leaves discernible traces. Even after a user removes every tweet he wrote and even his Twitter account, [some of the tweets] are still searchable by Google, and we are able to recover some by getting help from big data companies […] And most importantly, if you analyze the interactions between certain Twitter accounts, you can figure out the connections between accounts.
GV: It is tricky to match a Twitter ID with one’s real identity. How was this possible?
뉴스타파가 공개한 핵심계정 10개 중에서도 가장 핵심으로 꼽혔던 대장계정은 ‘nudlenudle'이라는 계정입니다[…] 저는 핵심계정 10개와 동일한 계정으로 이메일을 제공하는 대형 포털 사이트인 네이버, 다음, 네이트, 야후 등에 계정이 있을수 있다는 생각이 들었습니다. 저는 회원가입 절차에 나오는 ‘아이디 중복 체크’ 방법을 통해 핵심계정 10개를 확인해봤더니 다수의 아이디가 동일한 계정이 존재한다는 것을 발견했습니다. 이를 바탕으로 뉴스타파는 ‘nudlenudle'이 국정원 심리전담 직원 이모씨 라는 것을 최종 확인하게 된 것입니다.
ZA: One of the most important accounts, even among the NIS’ ten key Twitter accounts revealed by Newstapa, was net ID: ‘nudlenudle’ […] After thinking that there must be accounts using the same ID on major portal sites, such as Naver, Daum, Nate and Yahoo, I used the user registration pages’ ‘Check for ID availability’. I checked all ten key accounts [on these portal user registration pages] and was able to reach a conclusion that there are accounts using that same ID. Based on my finding, Newstapa was able to confirm that the user ID ‘nudlenudle’ is an account belonging to Ms. Lee who works for the NIS psychological warfare team. [editor's note: Major South Korean portals require users to type in their real names and social security numbers at time of registration, providing the possibility that checking portal sites accounts could lead to the verification of Twitter user's identity]
GV: What led you to suspect that certain content was written by the NIS? Are there any patterns that NIS’ tweets share?
가장 큰 특징은 북한에 대한 내용이 상당히 많다는 것입니다. 그것도 일반인들이 알기는 힘든 차원의 정보가 담긴 내용들이 상당히 많습니다. 그리고 종북몰이에 혈안이 되어 있습니다[…] 문제는 지금까지 드러난 것은 아직 빙산의 일각일 뿐이며, 감춰진 진실을 밝히기 위해서는 꼭 특검이 실시되어야만 합니다.
ZA: The most significant trait of the NIS is that they quoted lots of North Korean-related content. They often contained information that no ordinary citizen could have access to and they were very eager to brand (someone/group) as a ‘pro-North Korean sympathizer’ […] What has been revealed so far is just the tip of the iceberg. A special prosecutor should be assigned to unearth the hidden truth.
Zaro thanked Newstapa's investigative journalists for their endeavors and humbly added that “he merely reported information and suggested possibilities to them”. He explained the reason for his profile photo above: It is a picture of his young daughter holding a lit candle, meaning that he hopes to see “a society where no candlelight is ever needed”, referring to the candlelight vigils staged in protest to the government's election manipulation, and that “building such a world for his daughter would be Zaro's dream”.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Ukraine: Translators Organize on Facebook to Provide Live #Euromaidan Updates · Global Voices
Tetyana Bohdanova

Volunteer translators following the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine have organized on Facebook, setting up pages like Maidan Needs Translators and Euromaidan Translators where urgent news from the protests that require translation to reach a wider international audience are shared and Euro-Maidan As It Is, where translated content is published.
The translators also provide content for counterpart English-language pages Euromaidan in English, Euromaidan Updates in English and Euromaidan News and Analysis [uk, en]. The process is very decentralized with volunteers not only carrying out translations but also suggesting fresh content.
Description on Maidan Needs Translators page reads:
Looking for those who are willing to translate for us and native speakers to proof-read. All help will be appreciated!
The pages that coordinate translations gathered hundreds of likes in just the first two days. Throughout the mass Euromaidan rally of December 8, Facebook volunteers played an important role, offering real-time translations of important news and developments.


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Venezuela’s Municipal Elections: “Both Sides Lose” · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Although the ruling PSUV party won the majority of mayoral races in the country's municipal elections, Boz from Bloggings by Boz says that Venezuela “remains divided and neither side has a clear majority.”
According to the results announced by The National Electoral Council (CNE), the ruling party won 196 municipalities, while the opposing MUD won 53.
The blog Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights kept a live blog of the elections on December 8, 2013. They explain that the opposition “won all of the expected symbolic capitals”, and add:
This result clearly gives [President] Maduro some breathing room. Compared to where he was two months ago, with a government in a tail spin, he now looks like he is in control, having gotten past a major hurdle. The opposition clearly did not get the big plebiscite win that it sought. But it is in reasonable shape with a good showing in popular vote despite all of the campaign inequities. They gained ground in number of mayors and control many important capitals. This will give them space to provide an alternative model of governance and maintain their public profile. Maduro has gained some breathing room but 2014 is guaranteed to be a difficult year.

author: Silvia Viñas


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“Where the Sea Breathes”: A Letter from Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Oscar López Rivera · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Oscar López Rivera. Photo from ProLibertad Web.
Oscar López Rivera has been imprisoned in the United States for 32 years on charges of “seditious conspiracy” and “conspiracy to escape” for which he received a 70 year sentence. López Rivera, who is now 70, is a fighter for the independence of Puerto Rico, a colony of the United States.
Politicians, artists, and human rights activists across the political spectrum have united to ask the president of the United States, Barack Obama, to pardon López Rivera, who has been called the longest held political prisoner in the western hemisphere. In 1999, U.S. President Bill Clinton offered him a pardon, which Oscar rejected because some of his imprisoned independentista comrades were not included in the presidential pardon. Internationally renowned human rights advocates have called for Oscar's release, such as the South African Anglican archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize, Desmond Tutu (see video), and the Guatemalan indigenous rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize Rigoberta Menchú.
Every Saturday, the Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día publishes the letters that Óscar López Rivera sends from prison to his granddaughter Karina, who he has only met through prison bars. Global Voices translator Kitty Garden translated his second letter [es] titled “Donde respira el mar”, published in El Nuevo Día on September 14, 2013.
To this date, 12 letters [es] have been published.
“I kept quiet and tried to concentrate on the sound of the waves, I closed my eyes and saw them breaking on Cueva del Indio,” Oscar López Rivera. Cueva del Indio, Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Photo by NomadicStateofMind, taken from Flickr under CC License BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Dear Karina. After my family, what I miss the most is the sea.
It has been 35 years since the last time I saw it. But I have painted it many times, both the Atlantic and the Caribbean, the smiling foam in Cabo Rojo, which is made of light mixed with salt.
For any Puerto Rican, living far from the sea is almost incomprehensible. It’s different when you know you are free to move anywhere and to travel to see it. It doesn’t matter if it is grey and cold. Even if you see the sea in a faraway country, you realize that it always starts again (as a poet once said), and that fish that drew close to your land may pass through this sea, bringing memories from over there.
I learned to swim from a very young age, I must have been about three years old. One of my father’s cousins, who lived with us and was like a big brother to me, used to take me to the beach where he swam with his friends, and would throw me into the water so that I would learn. Later, when I was at school, I used to escape with the other children to a nearby river. All this seems far away now.
Here in prison I have often felt nostalgic for the sea; filling my lungs with its smell; touching it and wetting my lips, but right away I realize that many years may have to pass before I can give myself that simple pleasure.
I always miss the sea, but I think I never needed it as much as when they transferred me from Marion prison in Illinois, to Florence, in Colorado. In Marion, I went out into the yard once a week, and from there I could see the trees, the birds… I heard the sounds of the train and the song of the cicadas. I would run over the earth and smell it. I could grab the grass and let the butterflies surround me. But in Florence all that came to an end.
Did you now that ADX, which is the maximum-security prison in Florence, is designed for the worst criminals in the United States and is considered the hardest and most impenetrable in the country? There the prisoners have no contact with each other, it’s a labyrinth of steel and concrete built to isolate and incapacitate. I was among the first men in this prison.
When I arrived, I was woken several times during the night, and for a long time I couldn’t sleep for more than 50 minutes at a time. There were only four prisoners in that ward, but one of them had a long history of mental problems, and he spent the night and day shouting obscenities, fighting his war against invisible enemies. We were almost always in the cells, we even had to eat in them. All the furniture was made of concrete and none of it could be moved. I didn’t understand how the neighbors in the town of Florence had accepted such an inhumane prison amongst then. But today the prison industry is one of the most powerful in the United States. It makes money, and that seems to be the only thing that matters.
In Florence, at night, the prisoners communicated through a kind of air vent that was close to the ceiling. You had to shout to make yourself heard, everyone shouted and it was very unnerving.
I kept quiet and tried to concentrate on the sound of the waves, I closed my eyes and saw them breaking on Cueva del Indio. The screams in the prison then started to fade. The sea rose and fell like a torso, transmitting its strength and its breath.
I know that some day I will spend a whole night on the coast, and I will wait until dawn begins to appear. Then I would like to do the same in Jayuya, to watch the sun rise over the mountains.
With this hope, in resistance and in struggle, your grandfather sends you a hug…

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle