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Peace Corps Volunteers are Leaving Turkmenistan · Global Voices
Anna Fergana

The United States Embassy in Ashgabat announced recently that the Peace Corps – a US government-run volunteer program – would close its programs in Turkmenistan and leave the country by the end of 2012. The August 31 announcement reads:
Since 1993, more than 740 health and English-language teacher volunteers have lived and worked in every region of Turkmenistan. Peace Corps considers its program to have been extraordinarily successful in terms of achieving its development and cultural exchange goals. Currently, there are 18 serving volunteers in Turkmenistan. They will complete their service in September and the Peace Corps administrative office in Ashgabat will close in December.
Limited education opportunities
A Peace Corps Volunteer shares a meal with her community members in Turkmenistan. Image uploaded by Flickr user Peace Corps on October 31, 2007 (U.S. Government Work License)
The author contacted several Turkmen students studying abroad to ask what they thought about Peace Corps operations in Turkmenistan. Most of these students said that the Peace Corps volunteers used to run community development projects, summer camps and English language clubs.
Through this engagement, the volunteers encouraged many Turkmen students to apply for scholarships to study abroad, thus offering them a rare window to the outside world. In addition, the volunteers opened NGOs outside Turkmenistan to work with Turkmen students and continued to contribute to community development projects even after leaving the country.
One of the Turkmen students at the American University in Bulgaria, who asked not to disclose her name, said [ru]:
когда я училась в школе я и не мечтала о том, чтобы учиться за границей. но волнтер корпуса мира поддержал меня, вдохновил изучать английский и подать документы на учебу. я смогла поступить в колледж только через 4 года после того как окончила школу, но все же у меня получилось. он помог мне найти стипендию и подать заявление. но самое главное, это то, что он изменил мой взгляд на мир и мое отношение к тому, что творится вокруг
The Peace Corps’ withdrawal is yet another development aimed at limiting foreign education opportunities for Turkmen students. Other U.S. government-funded programs such as Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX) and Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (UGRAD) have also been restricted in Turkmenistan, effectively leaving the Caspian state cut off from global educational networks.
“Foreign agents” or useful service providers?
The announcement of the Peace Corps’ imminent closure triggered a discussion among Turkmen internet user about the role played by the program's volunteers. Some netizens opine that the volunteers are “agents” of the U.S. government. Writing on the Turkmen Chronicles, Tushkan announced [ru]:
Давно пора было выгнать из Туркменистана эту ячейку ЦРУ с её «скаутами-волонтёрами».
Other comments indicate that this view is far from being dominant. Adalat Seeker responded [ru]:
Балбес ты, тушкан, и лузер. Волонтеры принесли огромную пользу Туркменистану, молодежи, учителям и врачам.
Mary added [ru]:
Огромная польза была от Американцев..народ Туркменский просвещали. Вот их и бояться…
And Merdan chimed in [ru]:
тушкан, в туркменистане у цру есть другие, гораздо влиятельнее и информирований источники получения информации чем волантеры корпуса мира, твое умозаклюние полный абсурд …
Within Turkmenistan which remains one of the most isolated countries of the world, many people remain highly suspicious of the role of foreign volunteers in their communities. [Read Global Voices September 21, 2011 post for more background].
Lasting legacy
Peace Corps volunteer learning to use the clay pot for cooking with a Turkmen woman.Image uploaded by Flickr user Peace Corps on October 31, 2007 (U.S. Government Work License)
Following the announcement of the program's withdrawal, neither the government of Turkmenistan nor the U.S. embassy offered any explanation. In fact, the Peace Corps’ problems in Turkmenistan are not new. Already last year, its volunteers had problems extending their visas. In neighboring Kazakhstan, the program also had to close in 2011.
Despite the imminent departure, the Peace Corps seems to have left a lasting cultural legacy in the country. As Maya Saryeva recalls in a backdated post on the Friends of Turkmenistan blog:
I still remember the feeling of anxiousness and excitement that I felt when I exchanged my first English words with a PCV named Matthew. In that sense, I think Peace Corps Volunteers  help Turkmen youth the most, in providing them with an opportunity to better their English and offer them a window into a world of real knowledge about United States. Undoubtedly, many PCVs bring a positive contribution to the lives of young student participants who get to enjoy taking part in summer camps or other educational activities organized by PCV. If Peace Corps ceased to exist in Turkmenistan, the majority of the population will probably never notice, however the youth will lack that personal interaction with a person from a different part of the world, and many kids will never get to experience the feelings I felt when I first had to speak to a Peace Corps Volunteer at the age of nine.

author: Anna Fergana


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Philippines: Senate President Wants Law to Regulate Blogs · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Philippine Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile admitted that he doesn’t know anything about blogs and blogging but he still proposed a law to regulate blogs after one of his colleagues in the senate complained of being a victim of cyber bullying. Many people think it is an attempt to restrict online freedom in the country.
Shades of Gray reminds the senator to focus on other issues:
Here's a good suggestion senator, instead of proposing an ANTI-BLOGGING law why not push for an anti-plagiarism law and while you are at it how about developing a good code of conduct and ethics too?
Philippine Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. Photo from Wikipedia
Bong Mendoza asks if it’s realisticto regulate political blogs:
How about political blogs? How do you regulate them? Should they be regulated in the first place? Blogs are covered by the constitutional provision on free speech. Aren’t there enough laws that can regulate blogs like libel? If a blogger advocates the overthrow of government, he could be charged with sedition or rebellion? Of course, the blogger enjoys the anonymity of cyberspace. Investigators, however, can trace his IP address(es).
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile wades in and confesses he is Internet-illiterate. He does not know what blogs are. He thought they were slogans. He does not have a blog of his own. Yet he readily sees the need to pass a law that will regulate blogs.
If such a law will be passed, we will be victimized anew. We will probably be the first country that will have a blog regulation law initiated by senatorial pique
Cyber crimes, not blogs, should be monitored according to Sassy Lawyer:
I don’t know how to explain it anymore. Creativity on the internet grew because it was allowed to grow at its own pace. Without intervention. But that’s not their concern, is it?… It isn’t blogs that need watching, it is the commission of cyber crimes. I get plagiarized almost everyday, sometimes, even by major dailies (Bulletin, case in point). And I fight tooth and nail to get plagiarists’ websites shut down or, at the very least, have the stolen materials taken down from their sites. But how do people who have no experience with what it’s like even begin to comprehend?
Mula Sa Pilipinas equates the blogging bill with control of mass media:
Law on blogging? looks like its Martial Law all over again: “control of mass media”.
Anti-blogging bill- is that the most you can come out with? Curtailling our right to voice out whatever we are feeling and thinking on how the three branches of the government are managing the country? You could do more if you will humble yourself and instead of that idiotic antiblogging bill- you will introduce amendments in our antiquated Revised Penal Code
Senate President Enrile was one of the implementers of martial law in the country between 1972 to 1981.
The Vincenton Post’s message to senators: “Leave the Internet and blog society alone!”
It appears that the country’s statist lawmakers collectively agree on one thing: the proposal to put the Internet, not just blogging and other social network activities, under state control.
I strongly reject the Reproductive Health bill for its fascistic provisions and intrusiveness. But this one… this proposal to regulate NOT just blogging but the entire Internet in the Philippines is just unspeakable.
Let the Internet be a nation or country of itself!
Leave the Internet and blog society alone!
Enrile’s idea of a blog law came out after Senator Tito Sotto accused local internet users of harassing him with regard to his opposition to the controversial Reproductive Health bill. Sotto was also responding to allegations that he plagiarized an American blogger when he delivered a speech last month about the dangers of artificial contraceptives.
stuart santiago asserts that it is Sotto who has been harassing his critics:
sotto is the one who’s being aggressive, lashing out at us from the senate on high, from a position of power. sotto is the the one who is assaulting and harassing us verbally from that privileged podium, accusing us of malice and, even, of attacking him for the money
what sotto really wants is for all of us to shut up, stop ganging up on him.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Portugal: More Austerity, Why’s the Revolution Taking So Long?  · Global Voices
Hugo Ferro

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
The Portuguese government led by Pedro Passos Coelho is increasingly distancing itself from its electoral promises and from the path which it promised to follow during the election period, generating a wave of discontent which is manifesting itself primarily on the social networks.
On the night of 7 September, 2012, the Prime Minister gave an address [pt] to the country, broadcast live on public television, shortly before the broadcast of a football match, announcing more austerity measures which were immediately discussed by some Twitter users through the hashtags #Passos and #Austeridade (austerity).
Ângelo Fernandes (@angelofernandes) [pt], for example, wrote:
Basicamente aquele senhor acabou de me dizer que na minha casa vamos ter um decréscimo de 14% no orçamento. Felicidade ao rubro. #passos
‘It's just a little rise, come on’ ‘18%?!’ Satire in response to the announced rise in Social Security contributions from 11% to 18%, expanding to the private sector. Cartoon by Zouzacomics
José Guilherme M. (@guilherme_m [pt]) lamented:
Vou perder o equivalente a um mês de ordenado por ano. Que dizer. #austeridade
During the rest of the evening, the moment [pt] chosen by the prime minister to give the address – before the “football and bullfight” on public television (on its way to being privatised, as Global Voices has reported) – had already become the target of criticism.
Sílvia Vaz Guedes (@SilviaGuedes) predicted that Passos Coelho's announcement would be “drowned out” by the football match:
Isto de dar as más notícias antes do jogo foi bem pensado, ó Passos. Só se vai falar de futebol nas redes sociais.
However, the predictions that the football would make the country forget the announcement did not become reality. Minutes after the announcement had been made, criticisms began to invade Passos Coelho's official page [pt] on Facebook, with clear references to his electoral promises.
Many social networks were used by the current government leader (@passoscoelho [pt]) during the electoral and pre-electoral period, especially Twitter where some of these promises can still be seen:
Pedro Passos Coelho and his wife on the night on which the new austerity measures were announced. Image shared on the “Tugaleaks” Facebook page (reproduced here with permission)
A pior coisa é ter um Governo fraco. Um Governo mais forte imporá menos sacrifícios aos contribuintes e aos cidadãos. (24 March, 2011)
A ideia que se foi gerando de que o PSD [Partido Social Democrata, actualmente no poder] vai aumentar o IVA não tem fundamento. (30 March, 2011)
Já ouvi o primeiro-ministro [José Sócrates] dizer que o PSD quer acabar com o 13.º mês, mas nós nunca falámos disso e é um disparate. (1 April, 2011)
O PSD chumbou o PEC 4 [Pacto de Estabilidade e Crescimento] porque tem de se dizer basta: a austeridade não pode incidir sempre no aumento de impostos e no corte de rendimento. (12 April, 2011)
Se formos Governo, posso garantir que não será necessário despedir pessoas nem cortar mais salários para sanear o sistema português. (2 May, 2011)
However, a day after announcing the new austerity measures, Passos Coelho returned to his Facebook [pt] to give an address to the country, addressing users as “friends” and signing off simply as “Pedro”.
Queria escrever-vos hoje, nesta página pessoal, não como Primeiro-Ministro mas como cidadão e como pai, para vos dizer apenas isto: esta história não acaba assim. Não baixaremos os braços até o trabalho estar feito, e nunca esqueceremos que os nossos filhos nos estão a ver, e que é por eles e para eles que continuaremos, hoje, amanhã e enquanto for necessário, a sacrificar tanto para recuperar um Portugal onde eles não precisarão de o fazer. Obrigado a todos. Pedro
Criticisms inundated the Prime Minister's wall once again, exceeding 35,000 comments (at the time of publication), with the revolt including even some people who confessed that they had voted for him.
Image shared on the Facebook page relating to the “Get lost Troika! We want our lives”
In spite of the criticisms and the aggressive and insulting tone used by some internet users, the mood only appeared to be angry on online platforms. In the streets, there are still no protests and one of the historically most active parties, the Portuguese Communist Party, swapped protests for a weekend of socialising at the party's celebration [pt], which has taken place every year since 1976.
Unlike other countries which are going through a similar situation, people are taking a long time to show their dissatisfaction in the street and the alternatives and solutions offered are few. The publications of the majority of Facebook and Twitter users reveal their dissatisfaction, but do are little more than that.
A good example is the publication by André Garcia (@andrefgarcia) who wrote:
aguardo serenamente por um golpe de estado em Portugal
For now, more than a dozen protests [pt] have been organised from the north to the south of the country for the 15th September with the slogan “Get lost Troika! We want our lives”, including continental Portugal's major cities: Lisbon [pt], Porto [pt], Coimbra [pt] and Braga [pt] and the city of Funchal [pt], on the island of Madeira, (which displayed around 20,000 intended participants, in total, at the time of publication).
It was through the social networks that, in 2010, the Geração à Rasca protest which was the beginning of the fall of the government of José Sócrates gained momentum.
This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis

author: Hugo Ferro


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Paralympic Inspiration · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

They are all winners because they chose not to feel sorry for themselves but to embrace life despite their limitations.
Abeni salutes the Paralympians.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Syria: Free Syria in Sign Language · Global Voices
Thalia Rahme

Even the Deaf should see what Syria wants
This is what YouTube user Zazo22 writes under a video showing how to say “Free Syria” in sign language in support of the Syrian Revolution.

author: Thalia Rahme


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Trinidad & Tobago: Internet Governance Issues  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

ICT Pulse lays out a few key points about Internet governance and explains why you should care; a follow-up post identifies three emerging trends in Caribbean Internet governance policy.


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Trinidad & Tobago: iPads for Parliament?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

If this Government…want[s] to appear to be the pillar of honesty they must go out for an open public tender for tablets…and not simply go out to tender for the prestigious iPad.
An apparent penchant for Parliamentary iPads has aka_lol concerned about transparency and good governance.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Section 34? Last Straw! · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Political bloggers in Trinidad and Tobago are having a field day with the government's latest missteps. The first issue involves a motion by former Deputy Chairman of the Congress of the People (part of the current People's Partnership government coalition) stating that Jack Warner should be made to give up his position as Minister of National Security, in light of several corruption allegations against him.
There was talk that the CoP would walk away from the People's Partnership if this was not done; instead, the motion was defeated by a 91-6 vote and the CoP has remained as part of the government coalition.
Plain Talk asked:
Should the citizenry cast themselves selves into the roles of judge, jury and executioners in these matters? Of course not. This is a matter for the legal system and Mr. Warner should be given every opportunity to clear his name. But to do so while sitting as am MP flies in the face of the Parliamentary Code of Ethics and undermines the standards of that hallowed place whether we like it or not, and further, to have him function as the line Minister over the very police officers that must investigate him confounds due process in my opinion and puts the officers under unnecessary duress.
The blogger, Phillip Alexander, then proceeded to address “the waffling” on the part of the Congress of the People:
The COP release states – ‘The COP's position remains that Mr Warner should step down from Ministerial responsibility until investigations are concluded’ which sounds like a rational position until he qualifies it this way – ‘The COP is also clear that Mr Warner's refusal to remove himself from Ministerial positions puts the question of whether he should be removed as a Minister, in the hands of the Political Leader of his party and Prime Minister and not the COP.’
Now this is where Prakash is playing smart with foolishness, because the motion as worded puts the responsibility of dealing with Mr. Warner squarely at the feet of his political leader and the current Prime Minister and seeks to remove the Congress of the People from the decision as it ought to.
In a follow-up post yesterday, Plain Talk took issue with the approach to the vote that rendered the CoP motion irrelevant:
Like many organizations that use the word ‘democracy’ conveniently, what took place at Sunday's Congress of the People's National Council was anything but real democracy at work and based on the deception that was openly displayed and the flouting of the party's past precedents and espoused principles it is my view that what remains of that party is alive now in name only and ought not to be considered important to the national politics perhaps outside of being at best a UNC [the United National Congress, the political party which the current Prime Minister heads] party group.
The Eternal Pantomime, however, predicted the outcome:
So by show of hands, who here believes the COP has integrity and capable of walking away from the Eat Ah Food Buffet? Budget just around the corner and Vernon expect Ramadhar to walk away from the goodies that the Rani will be sharing out?
After Prakash showed us that his is a party of easy virtue in May of this year; the COP then proceeded to play the role of virgin in the whorehouse: trying to play all innocent and pure while consorting with what is the most rapacious, corrupt and greedy government to date.
The last time this COP threatened to walk on an issue Ramadhar went on vacation, returned and changed his tune ever so subtly, and then eventually the entire COP chorus line joined him.
The second issue that raised hackles was talk of Parliamentarians getting iPads, all part of a wider debate about austerity. The Eternal Pantomime weighed in:
Use of a tool such as the iPad, coupled with a social media platform could actually make Parliament more interactive with citizens being able to log on and weigh in on debates.
But perhaps this a pipe dream.
My instincts tell me that this will be just an accessory for most MPs. it may be an opportunity for some to secretly purchase iPads for their girlfriends and mothers. Further it may be a way for the friend of a minister to eat ah food.
If this government…both Cabinet and Opposition, was really serious about belt tightening, running the country and setting an example they’d offer to purchase their own iPads and use it as the work tool it is.
She went on to address the bigger issue:
Every single cent that has been spent by the People’s Partnership doesn’t belong to them, it belongs to the state, it comes from our taxes and our fuel revenue. Yet this lot seems to think that the treasury is their own petty cash till and they can squander it as they like.
Why do I have to submit to thrift? How exactly are citizens of this country overspending and squandering state funds?
Consider all the other areas of squandering money: a failed SOE; paying the PM’s sister to be her minder on state trips; renting a crop duster to fight crime; overspending on Government credit cards; underselling our fast ferries; use of National Security helicopters as a taxi for the PM at state expense; $2million extra given to food card holders; exorbitant independence celebrations complete with daily caravans toting the PM and her entourage…and now $10m per MP for the next 3 years with no explanation for how the money is to be managed and IPads for Ministers who probably already have government issued technology!
This government is overspending, not the citizens, and nothing that I have listed there redounds to the benefit of the citizenry.
But news that the two businessmen facing fraud and money laundering charges (and wanted for extradition by the U.S.) involving the construction of the new airport in Trinidad may walk thanks to Section 34 of the Indictable Offences Act, was the final straw for The Eternal Pantomime. [The clause, which was insidiously made into law while the country was in the midst of its 50th anniversary celebrations, basically allows for the prevention of prosecution for accused whose trial has been delayed for up to ten years after the alleged offence was committed. There are exceptions made in cases of “blood crimes”]:
I feel as if we are on the verge of collapse because what this government has shown us today is that they will rape the constitution of Trinidad and Tobago into oblivion to serve the needs and interests of its friends.
The issue of financing of political parties is thrown into full relief now because everyone should know that Ish and Steve are financiers of the UNC…they have also financed other political parties in the past, like the PNM, but they came into the spotlight in the late 90s as financiers of the UNC who managed to pour more than a billion dollars of the country’s money into their pockets under the guise of building an international airport.
In Trinidad and Tobago most people don’t take corruption and fraud crimes seriously, least of all our government and legal system…but the enormity of Ish and Steve’s theft has most of the nation up in arms for over a decade. Today, 2.5 years of cunning, conniving and corruption came to a head as we saw the hard work of Hubery Volney, Minister of Justice; Prakash Ramadhar, Minister of Legal Affairs; and Anand Ramlogan, attorney general come to fruition…in the midst of Independence celebrations for our 50th Anniversary the Govt tried to slip a new law out whereby a sub-section provided the loophole for Steve and Ish to petition the judicial system to have all charges against them be dropped.
Rhoda Bharath, the Pantomime blogger, continued:
Parliament is convening tomorrow to repeal Section 34 after The Keith breathed fire and brimstone this morning and the US Embassy issued a veiled threat in a press release.
There is, however, no confirmation yet that Ish and Steve won’t walk free…you see, they petitioned when Section 34 was part of a law….repealing Section 34 tomorrow may have no impact on Steve and Ish at all….and so, they may still walk away as free men….and then it remains to be seen what the US will do.
She was also incensed that “to date only the Leader of the Opposition and his team has spoken about or responded to the issues for the public”:
Thus far Prakash Ramadhar, our Minister of Legal Affairs…and by the way this is a post that has huge responsibilities when it comes to drafting laws and Constitutional Reform….and the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the Cabinet have had NOTHING TO SAY.


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Tunisia: Not a Twitter Revolution?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

On Tunisian blogging portal Nawaat, Christopher Barrie writes:
It is surely not unreasonable to argue that the 2011 revolution which followed this period of unrest could well have happened in the absence of new media. … It is therefore clear that the existence of Twitter was not a decisive element in the outbreak of the mass demonstrations of 2010-11.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Turkmenistan: The End of One-Party Rule · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

[The second political party] has formally brought to end Turkmenistan’s twenty-year-old system of single party rule. The question is whether it [has] brought it to an end really, and that remains to be seen.
Annasoltan on NewEurasia.net suggests there is little substance behind the recent establishment of the second political party in Turkmenistan.

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Venezuela’s 2012 Election Guide · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

AS/COA (Americas Society/Council of the Americas) has put together an election guide for Venezuela's upcoming presidential election on October 7, 2012. The guide includes a section on social media:
During the 2012 election, social media will play an important role. Twitter has one of its largest user bases in Venezuela, where there are also over 9 million Facebook users. That brings Facebook’s penetration rate in Venezuela to 33 percent.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Argentina: Blog Covers Trial for Crimes Against Humanity · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The blog Juicio V Cuerpo Ejército Bahía Blanca [es] has been following a trial over crimes against humanity committed in the city of Bahía Blanca during Argentina's military dictatorship. In the blog you can read a detailed report about the case [es] and the victims [es]. You can also follow the trial on Facebook [es] and Twitter [es].


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China: Hulunbuir Grassland Destroyed by Coal Mining Activities · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Hulunbuir Grassland, located in the northeast of Inner Mongolia, provides beautiful scenery of vast grassland, forests, rivers and lake where the Mongolian shepherds herd their cattle and sheep. It is also a famous tourist site. However, as a result of coal mining near the surface of the ground, the grassland is eroding rapidly.
The vanishing Hulunbuir Grassland
On September 12, 2012, a Shanghai based micro-blogger, Baoyi, posted [zh] a number of photos in his Weibo and urged others to pay attention:
多次被删，请速转||呼伦贝尔草原是世界上著名的三大草原之一，生长着碱草、针茅、苜蓿、冰草等120多种营养丰富的牧草，素有“牧草王国”之称。这里也是夏季游客们最喜欢去的地方，蓝天白云，绿草如茵。策马奔腾的牧民，这种广袤又洒脱的意境是呼伦贝尔所独有的。正在建设的煤炭基地改变了这一切。
Hulunbuir Grassland destroyed by coal mining activities. Baoyi's Weibo Photos.
Famous blogger, Zhai Ming Lei, joined [zh] the discussion:
太惨了，呼伦贝尔草原是内蒙唯一剩下的两片草原（另一片是锡林郭勒），而且是生态最好的，为什么偏偏是这儿开矿，当局真是无脑透了。宝贵大草原不珍惜，小小的一个芝麻岛，大动肝火。
Zhai explained [zh] the ecological conditions in the grassland:
草原为啥挖不得，内 草原黑土层很薄，薄的地方甚至只有半米。黑土下面就是古海洋的沙层。所以草原很容易沙化。现在保护还来不及，来挖矿是加速沙化。加速 沙尘暴。尼玛的，当地政府人员死绝了吗？没人管吗？
He added [zh]:
知道吗，蒙古人自古以来是不挖地，不挖井的。他们视大地为母亲，天空为父亲。所以不会用金属开挖土地。连植物与药材的根都不吃。开挖草原不仅是破坏自然，而且是侵犯少数民族的文化。（当年日本关东军打进来，怕中国人投毒，才第一次在内蒙草原挖井，现在是开矿，比日本人还狠。）制止对草原的犯罪！！

author: Oiwan Lam


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Eastern Europe: An Informal Economy Develops in Times of Crisis · Global Voices
Stanislas Jourdan

“Governments should be worried about this [trend], because it leads to potentially negative consequences for competitiveness and growth, harms social programs, undermines social cohesion and law and order, and erodes tax revenues.”
Charlotte Guériaux writing at the website New Eastern Europe about the phenomenon of an increased informal economy in Eastern European countries. In times of crisis, this hidden economy also happens to be a source of jobs and a safety net for many people.

author: Stanislas Jourdan


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Guinea: Acts of Torture, Symptoms of a Country Still Divided · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

[All links forward to French articles unless otherwise stated]
Guinea's transition from the notorious military regime of Moussa Dadis Camara (which ended in January 2010) towards a democratic political system with the elected President Alpha Condé has not gone smoothly. The country is still experiencing strong internal divisions as indicated by the attempted coup d'etat against the president on 18 July, 2011. The rule of law is still under construction and there are numerous accounts of torture within the military.
ACAT- France, the French branch of The International Federation of Action by Christians for the abolition of torture and execution, launched an online petition called “Stop the Torture” addressed to President Alpha Condé of Guinea. This petition is part of a campaign whose aims are:
to advance the rule of law in Guinea, to influence freedom surrounding torture, to denigrate inhuman treatment and make President Alpha Condé act by arranging the necessary measures.
This campaign follows a field survey conducted jointly in 2011 by ACAT-France and three NGO's engaged with local human rights issues: AVIPA (Association of Victims, Relatives and Friends from September 28, 2009), MDT (The Same Rights for All) and OGDH (Guinean Organisation for the Defence of the Rights of Man and Citizen). A report published in November 2011 has revealed that:
torture remains a common practice in the country, whether against prisoners on the occasion of demonstrators suppression or to punish military suspected of insubordination.
The following video of UFDG2010, testifies the violence committed by security forces against opposition demonstrators:
As well, Human Right Watch, in its report 2012 on Guinea, deals with the consequences of an attack at the residence of the Head of State in July 2011 which:
has resulted in the arrest of at least 38 people, including 25 soldiers. The arrests and detention of certain military arms personal were accompanied by physical abuse and in some cases torture. This has highlighted the persistent division based on ethnic and regional factors within the army, as well as the frailness of the political process.
The report continues:
The emergence of a militia recruited within the same ethnic group as the president has equally raised concerns.
These are “Donzos“, armed traditional hunters, originating from the region of President Alpha Condé. In a press release issued on infoguinee.com, the collective of political parties for transition completion has condemned their use in the repression against civilian members of the opposition:
According to the collective, during the peaceful march on 27th September, security forces backed by members of the “Donzos” militia have killed five people, injured hundreds, some severely, including pregnant women and children.
Another report from HRW talks about the worsening of relations between the main ethnic groups, for which poor governance is hold partially responsible:
These include the failure by the government to discipline members of security services for ethnic slurs against the Peuls; discriminatory appointment practices which have resulted in the assignation by the president of a disproportionate number of individuals from the Malinké ethnic group and at times partisan use of the security services and judiciary to restrict and punish members of the political opposition for exercising their right to freedom or peaceful assembly.
After the massacre that took place at the stadium on the 28 September, 2009, none of the responsible security forces and perpetrators, that have been included in the lists established by investigation of HRW and the UN Commission of persons suspected to have committed crimes against humanity, have been worried, instead they have been promoted:
Two years later, none of the supposed leaders have been arrested and “we watch powerless at the promotion of some of the presumed authors of barbaric acts into high civil and military positions”, laments the Guinea Organisation for the Defence of Human Rights (OGDH). The organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) states that among the newly promoted is “Lieutenant Colonel Claude Pivi as Minister of the Presidential Security” and “Lieutenant Colonel Moussa Tiégboro Camara as Director of the National Agency for fight against drugs, organised crime and terrorism”.
In an environment of impunity, the judges of Conakry have proved courageous and were hailed by 10 NGO's protecting human rights for having charged Lieutenant Colonel Moussa Tiégboro Camara in February 2012 as responsiblefor the bloody repression of the events in 28 September, 2009, in Conakry:
Our organisations welcome the charging in February 2012 of Lieutenant Colonel Moussa Tiegboro CAMARA for his alleged role in the serious violations of human rights carried on September 28th 2009 in the stadium of Conakry. Moussa Tiegboro CAMARA, who holds the status of minister and is currently director of the National Agency for fight against drugs, organised crime and terrorism, was extensively interviewed today in the court hearing by the judges in charge of the case.
But as proof of the impunity culture still prevailing in Guinea, this powerful character still occupies the same function with full impunity.
The web site Guinee58.com has published a note of Naby Laye Camara dealing with the consequences of ethnically-based recruitment in a mining forest area of Guinea:
After police violence on the night of Friday to Saturday in the south-east of the country that ended with five dead during a protest of villagers condemning the recruitment policies of the Brazilian mining society Vale, Guinea has been the scene of new clashes in the north-east at Siguiri on Tuesday 7th August.
Representatives of the Commission for Human Rights (HCDH), the UN at Conakry, Tthe NGO “Lawyers without Borders Guinea” (ASF-Guinea), ‘PACEM IN TERRIS’, the Catholic Church of N’Zérékoré and a journalist from Renaissance Radio have co-produced a joint report after visiting the village disclosing:
As for those in support of such arguments as the maintenance of order and the detention of strikers, they need to know that the selected timings (at midnight and three days after the strike), the means employed (12 vehicles, the nature of arms, the numbers of police and military forces) and the methods used (firing live ammunition on houses and hangars, burning of properties, public abuse and extra-judicial executions…) prohibit any person truly aware of basic human rights to believe such declarations.
On 27 August, 2012, in order to prevent an unauthorised demonstration by the opposition, the counter-demonstrators threw stones at them and the security forces raided the headquarters of the opposition parties and the homes of their leaders. Attacks against the media activists coming from the ruling party militants were also reported.
The video shows the intervention of Brigadier General Ibrahima Baldé following the opposition protests.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Guinea: Are Guineans less Capable than their Neighbours? · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

“You can't say that our neighbours are more intelligent than us, but they have had forthright leaders who have maintained the basis of a modern administration system and laid the foundations of an educational system which gives their citizens the means to take on international competition.”
Palabres du Wassoulou on [fr] why Guinea is behind its neighbours.


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Is Tanzania’s Peaceful Reputation in Danger? · Global Voices
Pernille Baerendtsen

Tanzania has experienced several crises since October 2010 general elections, including some which have resulted in violence and death. Blogger Dunia Duara made a (not complete) list of events fuelled by different kinds of crises or conflicts, which recently have caused serious problems in Tanzania:
2011 January: CHADEMA [main opposition party] lead demonstration in Arusha conflicts with police
2011 February: Explosions in Gongo La Mboto
2011 July: [street vendors] clash with police in Mwanza
2011 September: MV Spicelander sinks between Zanzibar and Pemba
2011 December: Dar es Salaam floods
2012 February: Police killings in Songea
2012 April: Land issues and bi-elections in Arumeru
2012 May: Riots in Zanzibar related to UAMSHO [separatist group in Zanzibar]
2012 June: Doctors’ strike (back in February and onwards) and the abduction of Dr Ulimboka.
2012 July: A ferry on its way from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar sinks.
2012 July: Riots in Zanzibar related to UAMSHO, and mourning of the dead from the ferry accident.
Police brutality in Tanzania. Photo source: wavuti.com, used with permission.
Most recently, on September 2, 2012, Tanzanian journalist Daudi Mwangosi was killed by a tear gas canister in Nyololo Village in Mufindi South (Iringa Region) in Southern Tanzania. The Citizen was amongst the first of the Tanzanian dailies to report about the incident, describing how police used tear gas to disperse a group of CHADEMA (opposition party) supporters:
Mr Mwangosi becomes the second person to be killed in conflicts pitting the Police Force and the opposition party in the space of two weeks. On August 27, one Ally Zona was killed in Morogoro as police dispersed Chadema supporters who were gearing up for a demonstrations.
Pictures of the incident in Nyololo Village quickly circulated on social media sites. The blog Wawuti.com has collected a comprehensive selection (see also photo above). [Please, be warned that some of the photos are very graphic, depicting the remains of the deceased journalist whose body was blown to pieces by the tear gas canister.]
The incident has been covered intensively and many different newspapers, in Kiswahili and English as well as international, have commented extensively. Social media users have expressed anger and shock over what appears to be a senseless and very violent killing. People have expressed shock about both the killing and the police brutality.
Daraja blog was quick to produce a factual list of ‘key sources’, including links to Tanzania's Media Council's statement and the World Association of Press Council's statement, but Daraja also did a thorough analysis – stating in the headline that “a line has been crossed”.
First, an overview of what happened:
They tell us that Mwangosi was in Nyololo together with several other journalists to report on Chadema opening an office in the village, in defiance of police orders against political activities during the census period. There was a heavy police presence in the village. Another journalist, Godfrey Mushi of Nipashe, was apprehended by the police, and Mwangosi went to find out why. A group of police officers then turned on Mwangosi, beating him badly for several minutes.
The reports tell us that Regional Police Commander, Michael Kamuhanda, was nearby in a stationary vehicle, and was informed that the man the police were beating was a journalist. However, he took no steps to stop this, and a few minutes later a tear gas cannister was shot into Mwangosi's stomach from point blank range. Mwangosi died instantly, and a police officer was injured.
Journalists demonstrate in Dar es Salaam on September 10 against the police violence which caused Daudi Mwangosi's death. Photo by Gaure Mdee, used by permission.
Daraja continues:
There is no suggestion that Daud was doing anything improper. He was there as a journalist, with a legitimate right to be there and to report on Chadema's activities and the police's response. He was not there as a Chadema supporter at a rally, so he was not even breaching the police ban on political activities during the census period. (Though even if a Chadema activist who had been killed in this way, the police's actions would still have been disproportionate and wrong.)
Daraja raises serious questions:
Will the responsible police be held to account for this?
And what will be the effect on the media?
The answers are far from given.
Tanzanian media professionals have expressed their sympathy with their former colleague when they demonstrated in Dar es Salaam on September 10, against the most recent police violence.
Tanzania's reputation as a peaceful country is indeed becoming increasingly questionable with these recent events.

author: Pernille Baerendtsen


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Macedonia: Human Rights Activist Trajanoski on Trial · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Today, at 13:00 CET, the Basic Court Skopje 1 will hold the main session of the trial against human rights activist Zarko Trajanoski, charged with defamation of Milenko Nedelkovski, a pro-government talk show host. Trajanoski is on trial [mk] for using the term “media charlatan” in a statement on the evening news of the ‘deceased’ A1 TV in a discussion about Nedelkovski's ongoing hate speech campaign, including his calls to murder ‘traitorous’ journalists [en, mk].
The latest highlight [mk] by Nedelkovski, a “journalist who acts as a personal friend to the Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski” and proudly declared with impunity that “traitors deserve hate speech,” was using the tragic death of his activist son to publicly insult former A1 editor Aco Kabranov.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Pakistan: On ‘The Innocence of Muslims’ Film · Global Voices
Sidra Rizvi

‘Islam is a cancer’, says United States (US) filmmaker Sam Bacile, the man responsible for sparking outrage amongst the Muslims of the Middle East. The 13 minute trailer of his movie ‘The Innocence of Muslims’ was recently released to the social networking website YouTube. The movie is said to be strongly anti-Islamic, and in his own words, Bacile said he intended his film to be a provocative political statement condemning the religion.
The movie, also dubbed in Egyptian Arabic, came under much scrutiny causing an instant backlash which lead to the deaths of the US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and his three aides. Violent protests were held outside the American embassy in Cairo, Egypt where people scaled the Embassy’s walls and tried to burn the American flag.
Egyptians demonstrate against the film ‘The Innocence of Muslims’, produced by an expatriate member of Egypt's Christian minority residing in the United States. Image by Nameer Galal. Copyright Demotix (11/9/2012)
Things took a turn for the worse when protestors in neighbouring Libya followed suit, and attacked the US Consulate. The furious mob set the embassy in Benghazi on fire. There were also reports of rocket propelled grenades being used.
The attack saw the deaths of US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and his three aides due to smoke asphyxiation. People across the globe took to social media websites to voice opinions about the attacks and pay tribute to the late Ambassador. The reactions in the Pakistan Twittersphere however were mixed.
@mehreenkasana: I saw the trailer of the anti-Islam film. You'd expect someone with a budget of $5 million to come up with a film worth the rage. Nothing.
@basmasiddiqui: another movie on the Prophet the killings in #Libya should make them realise degrading a religion will lead no one no where
@Narjis_Fatema: Islam needs burning of consulates as its defense mechanism? Muslims answer Jews in their own language, act smart for once #Benghazi #Libya
@beenasarwar: Irresponsible RT @alisalmanalvi: The filmmaker Sam Bacile, who describes Islam as “a cancer”, has reportedly gone into hiding. #Egypt #Libya
@snarwani: 100s of 1,000s of Arabs & Muslims slaughtered by American troops. Tell me again why I should care about whatshisname-plus-three? #Libya
@Narjis189: Sad to hear about U.S Ambassador , Christopher Stevens death #Libya
@Manafism: What a disastrous security failure on the part of both #Libya & #USA. #usembassy
Protester Chanting anti USA slogans in front of the American Embassy protesting a minute trailer for the film, ‘The Innocence of Muslims’. Image by Rabii Kalboussi. Copyright Demotix (12/9/2012)
The US filmmaker Sam Bacile has reportedly gone into hiding from where he spoke to the media via telephone. Claiming to be an Israeli Jew, hoping to bring out the truth behind Islam, Bacile believes his movie will help his native land, Israel. Israeli officials however say they have no record of Bacile being a citizen.
While Bacile said he was apologetic over the deaths caused because of his movie, he said the security at the embassy was not enough to stand up against the radical ‘Islamists’.
After the director’s disappearance, speculations about his existence have now taken centre stage. Whether he is a real person, or a pseudo identity remains to be seen. Amidst the controversy, a man name Steven Klein has come forward, who calls himself a ‘self-described militant Christian activist’.
According to Klein, Bacile came to him for help on his movie and confided in him because of Klein’s frequent anti-Islamic protests in front of mosques and schools in California after the 9/11 attacks.
After 9/11 I went out to look for terror cells in California and found them, piece of cake. Sam (Bacile) found out about me. The Middle East Christian and Jewish communities trust me.
Klein denies that the filmmaker is an Israeli or Jewish. Pakistanis on twitter have their suspicions as well:
@fbNaqvi: uh…ohk…Muhammad Film Consultant: ‘Sam Bacile’ is Not Israeli, and Not a Real Name – Jeffrey Goldberg – The Atlantic
@GibranAshraf: Sam Bacile: The Mysterious Filmmaker Who Set the Muslim World on Fire -
@shaidavis: It occurs to me that “Sam Bacile” is likely a pseudonym — and given how close it sounds to “Imbecile” — a pretty poorly chosen one.
Prior to this incident, the movie ‘The Innocence of Muslims’ was played once in a Hollywood theatre earlier this year. The turnout was not impressive.

author: Sidra Rizvi


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Peru: Gastronomy and Culture in Mistura 2012 Fair · Global Voices
Isabel Guerra

[Translator's note: All links forward to websites in Spanish, unless stated otherwise.]
‘Mistura’, Peru's Gastronomy Fair, opened its doors in Lima for the fifth consecutive year [en], hoping not only to repeat its past success but also to increase the number of visitors, this year estimated at 600,000.
Mistura, organized by the Peruvian Gastronomy Association (Apega), has grown rapidly and now is considered the most important gastronomy fair in all Latin America.
Peruvians are very proud of their fair [en] since they highly value their gastronomy: as a reference, Mistura's Facebook page already has more than 409,000 subscribers.
Mistura 2012 opening ceremony. Photo by APEGA under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
During the opening ceremony, Nadine Heredia, Peru's First Lady, pointed out that Mistura “gives new value to our diversity” and called upon cooks to create an “Andean diet” that favours nutritional content for children.
Mistura 2012 gathers 54 restaurants, 70 food carts, 16 rustic kitchens, and an area called “great market”, where the main products and ingredients of Peruvian cuisine are sold. In addition to lectures by international guests, there are plenty of other programmed activities devoted to regional cuisines, traditional food and beverages, contests, prizes, and music shows.
Quoting Mistura's organizers:
Aquí se reúnen los diversos actores de la cadena gastronómica: pequeños agricultores, cocineros, panaderos,vivanderas, dulceras, mozos, restaurantes, institutos de cocina, comensales, entre otros; para rendirle homenaje a nuestra biodiversidad, una de las más ricas del planeta.
Nada de esto sería realidad sin el esfuerzo de nuestros hermanos campesinos […] A este esfuerzo se suma el generoso aporte de los distintos estilos culinarios de las diferentes regiones de nuestro país, así como el de las cocinas europeas, árabes, chinas, japonesas y africanas, que han nutrido a nuestra gastronomía convirtiéndola en una de las más variadas del mundo y de la cual nos sentimos muy orgullosos.
Here are brought together the different actors in the gastronomic chain — small farmers, cooks, bakers, street vendors, sweets sellers, waiters, restaurants, culinary institutes, patrons, among others — to pay tribute to our biodiversity, one of the richest in the world.
None of this would be possible without the effort of our fellow farmers […] To this effort we add the generous contribution of all the diverse culinary styles coming from the different regions of our country, as well as from the European, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and African cuisines, which have nourished our gastronomy making it one of the richest in the world and a great source of pride for us.
The main protagonists of Mistura 2012 are Andean grains, explains Bernardo Roca Rey Miró Quesada, the director of Apega.
Quinoa, the Peruvian grain with the highest protein content. Photo by APEGA under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The blog Marcamasi explains further:
Más de 350 productores mostrarán al mundo nuestra gran biodiversidad: cerca de 200 stands con productos de la costa, sierra y selva. Para ello, Apega trabaja con CONVEAGRO, la Asociación Nacional de Productores Ecológicos (ANPE), el Ministerio de Agricultura, la Universidad Nacional Agraria y asociaciones de pequeños agricultores. Triciclos panaderos y un Rincón del Chocolate con más de 30 expositores […]
Mistura's Chocolate Corner. Photo by APEGA under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
This edition of Mistura comes with some singular novelties, like the very entertaining “Dance of the Bakers“, who celebrate with joy their work and their products.
The festive “Dance of the Bakers”. Photo by APEGA under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The Twitter user Reportera Repostera (@Reporterarepost) comments:
@Reporterarepost: En el bulevar de la dulzura de #Mistura, no solo hay dulces buenos, sino también buenas historias q escuchar de los reposteros
Going to Mistura has become a habit for the locals; therefore, some bloggers even post tips and suggestions to have a better time, like Paloma on her blog Miss Cupcakes.
Foreign visitors are also attracted by the fair: many travel agencies include it in their tours, and the foreign community residing in Peru follows it closely, as Eric Ludy [en] comments in a post about the subject on the Facebook group “Expatriates in Peru” [en]:
Definitely worth a trip. As the others say, the lines are dreadful, but where else can you get Gaston's ceviche or a seafood medley from Amoramar for only 6 soles? We're talking gourmet for the masses here. And when I went I managed to buy a scalped entrance ticket outside for only 20 soles.
Recognition to the reach and achievements of Mistura comes also from foreign countries. From Spain, Erika Silva comments on her blog Marketing Gastronómico:
Cada año me sorprende más o más bien, me agrada más el trabajo que está haciendo Mistura, la feria gastronómica más grande de Lationamerica y a mi parecer, el modelo de negocio más acertado para una feria de gastronomía… Una feria que valora el esfuerzo de todas las personas que trabajan en el sector, no sólo de los chefs, ya comienza bien y su destino no puede ser otro que tener el éxito que está teniendo.
Even the international organization Oxfam America (@OxfamAmerica) [en] comments in its Twitter page:
@OxfamAmerica: The main ingredient of Peruvian cuisine is small agriculture. It generates 60% of the food consumed in Peru @MisturaPeru#Mistura
Nevertheless, as it has happened in all previous editions [en], with all the praise also come criticisms and controversy; this year they have focused on the supposed ecological damage that the fair will cause in its surroundings.
Given that Lima lacks an appropriate fairground for events this size, this year they fitted out the “Campo de Marte” (Field of Mars), one of the most emblematic parks of the city. The fact that has generated more contention is the dismantling of some areas of the park to cover them with concrete platforms on which to install the fairground.
The president of Apega, Bernardo Roca Rey, has stressed that the ecosystem of the Field of Mars will be respected; in spite of this, Facebook users like Patricia Loyola Campos started a campaign on social networks that began with the posting of a series of pictures that cast doubt on the supposed temporary nature of the structures.
Photo posted by Patricia Loyola Campos on Facebook
Even if most people seem to support and appreciate this gastronomy fair, there's still a sector that doesn't agree with what Mistura has to offer, holding opinions like this one from Edwin on his blog La Vida Diaria de Edch (“Edch's everyday life”) in a post called “Gula y Prepotencia” (“Gluttony and Arrogance”):
me niego a aceptar que la cocina peruana pueda ser la solución a la gran brecha social y económica que sufre nuestro país desde el inicio de su vida republicana […] además, la comida al convertirse en un producto tiende a diferenciar, se quiera aceptar o no […] Segundo, la necesidad de rescatar a los pequeños vendedores y de cocineros regionales me parece insuficiente […] si realmente se quisiera incluir a los peruanos como tales y no solo a los limeños, cada edición de Mistura se debería realizar en una ciudad diferente cada año, con lo cual se tendría una cocina local como estrella y las demás como invitadas, además promovería el turismo a lo largo y ancho del país…
There are also posts that comment that it is not necessary to go to these fairs, because  you can find authentically popular traditional and homemade food on every corner of Peru. But for people in Lima the best thing to do is to visit the fair and see for themselves all the activities going on and, of course, taste some of the best Peruvian cuisine.

author: Isabel Guerra


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Streets of Afghanistan Photo Exhibit Heads to Kabul · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Afghan farmer in poppy field. By Wakil Kohsar, Copyright © Mountain2Mountain
Streets of Afghanistan, a life-size photo exhibition by Afghan and Western photographers organized by the non-profit organization Mountain2Mountain now plans to bring the exhibit to Kabul as public street art.

author: Solana Larsen


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Tajikistan: ‘Blogosphere is a Democracy’ · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

The blogosphere is a democracy. Blogs give anyone and everyone a voice on the World Wide Web. This is a real voice which can be heard all over the world…
Tajik blogger Temur Mengliev urges [ru] the country's internet users to blog.


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Tajikistan: Singer Praising Putin Draws Anger · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Tajik singer Tolibjon Kurbonkhonov is an Internet star. Hundreds of thousands of people have watched his three videos (see below) uploaded this year on YouTube, and he is now a frequent guest on television talk shows in Russia.
Yet, despite his quick rise to prominence, the singer does not have many fans in Tajikistan. Most of people who have heard of Kurbonkhonov in his home country either think he is a “jester” or despise him. The reason for this are the young star's songs which extol the virtues of an unlikely hero, Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Three hits
Global Voices reported about Kurbonkhonov's first video, “V.V.P.” [ru] (Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the Russian leader's full name), which was uploaded on YouTube in February 2012 and quickly went viral. Appearing on the Internet roughly one month before Russia's presidential election and praising Putin, the key contender for the post, as “God's messenger” and “savior of the country,” the song was bound to become a hit.
Interestingly, the video caused a lot of speculation in Russia about whether it was actually complimenting Putin or ridiculing him.
After Putin won the election, Kurbonkhonov recorded another music video, “Thank You, God, for Vladimir” [ru]. The song claimed that the newly re-elected Russian president – the singer's “hero” and “idol” – had been “chosen by heaven”.
On a popular talk show on Russia's NTV channel, Kurbonkhonov announced [ru] that he had hoped to sing the song at Putin's inauguration. Shedding light on his background, the singer also said that he had worked as a car dealer in Tajikistan before leaving for Russia to look for a better job. Explaining his admiration of Russia's leader, he confessed that he had become a Russian citizen in 2010.
On September 6, a new song by Kurbonkhonov was uploaded on YouTube, surpassing 100,000 hits in three days. The new hit, “Happy Jubilee, Mr. President” [ru], praises Putin's mother and urges Russians to celebrate the president's 50th birthday on October 7. Closer to the end of the song (2:28), Kurbonkhonov recites, “Dear friends, respect for the leader of the country means respect for Mother Russia. Respect him the way I do. Respect him, Russia.”
Reactions in Tajikistan
Internet users in Tajikistan were bemused by their compatriot's two first songs. Although the both videos have attracted some unflattering comments in Tajik on YouTube, those were effectively lost among hundreds of comments by Russians. Reactions to the most recent video, however, indicate that many people in the country are angered by what they see as the Tajik singer's “sycophancy” and “lack of patriotism”.
Commenting under a news report on TopTJ.com about Kurbonkhonov's latest song , user “Kayfalon” wrote [ru]:
Лишить гражданства Таджикистана!!! Пускай остается в росии. Мразь и позор Таджиков.
User “KFRN” added [ru]:
Путина в России не больно уж и любят сами русские, а теперь представьте что думают о таджиках русские когда смотрят этот клип…
On “Platforma”, the largest Tajik group on Facebook, Abdumannon Sheraliev proposed [ru]:
Предлагаю объявить Толибчона Курбонхонова персоной нон грата и потребовать у властей лишить его гражданство и не пускать в страну. Подхалимы которые облизывают своих, еще терпимы, а он опозорил весь Таджикистан.
Amid a flow of angry comments, Jasur Ashurov suggested [ru] that the singer should not be taken too seriously:
Ну, не знаю. В России к нему относятся как к дебилу, не больше не меньше. Пусть поёт. У меня собака тоже всю ночь под окном лает – никого ведь не позорит )
As Facebook users continue discussing a possible punishment for Kurbonkhonov's “sycophancy” in Russia, Ashurov makes [ru] another proposal:
Ему нужно мягко так подсказать, что он смешон. Например, обьявить какую-нибудь интернет-премию “Шут Года” и вручить ему ее – сразу во всех номинациях.


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Tajikistan: The Beauty of ‘Pamiristan’ · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Statue of Stalin in a Pamiri house. Copyright © Matthieu Paley.
Photographer Matthieu Paley presents ‘Pamiristan’, a marvelous photo set from Tajikistan's high-altitude region of Mountainous Badakhshan.


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Video: “Social Media Has Consumed Our Lives” · Global Voices
Claire Ulrich

Taxi highlights the work of street artist “Above” and his recent manifesto against the overpowering presence of social media in our connected lives. Here is a 5 day time-lapse video of his messages painted on a wall during the GALORE festival in Copenhagen, Denmark earlier this month.
more

author: Claire Ulrich


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Zambia: Mining Proposal Threatens Lower Zambezi Ecosystem · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

Potential mining activity in Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park is threatening its ecosystem and that of the adjacent Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. The two national parks, rich in wildlife and one of the last bastions of huge elephant populations in Southern Africa, are situated less than 200 kilometres downstream from the hydroelectric Kariba Dam.
Wildlife and environmental activists are alarmed with the call for investment in mining at Kangaluwi, an area being considered as part of a greater World Heritage Area to include the two national parks on both sides of the Zambezi River.
Map of proposed location of open pit mine in the Lower Zambezi National Park. Image via the online petition to stop mining in the area.
Quoting I.P.A Manning, who heads the official Change.org petition against the Zambezi Resources project, the Economy News wrote:
The Lower Zambezi National Park is due to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as a result of the Zambian Government's agreement not to allow mining there.
A Facebook group, Save Mana Pools, has been formed to campaign against mining in the area. Writing on its wall, Audrey Masara said:
That's sad! I hear the company that has been granted a mining licence is only awaiting the EIA results which, as soon as they are available, should see them starting operations. And the company's CEO believes God placed the resources there for them to be harvested and that the fact that the mining has to be done in particularly that area should be blamed on geology. What say you?
Reads the Change.org petition:
The Lower Zambezi National Park was due to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as a result of the Zambian government's agreement not to allow mining there. However, Zambia has since allowed an environmental impact statement to be tendered by the Austrailian company, Zambezi Resources for a massive open-pit mining operation in the park, suggesting a change of mind on the part of the Patriotic Front government. Should mining go ahead, one of the last great areas of primary nature in Zambia – including as it does the Mana Pools National Park ( a World Heritage Site) in Zimbabwe and the Mid-Zambezi Biosphere Reserve, would be severely damaged.
Diane Abspoel who has visited the Lower Zambezi National Park writes on Facebook:
Has anyone realised that that due to the central position of [the] proposed mine the whole park will be lost to tourism (read safaris) as the consequences and inf[r]a structure of the miningarea will [be] impossible to miss. And so the experience of a remote and true wilderness will be lost. I visited the area years ago and althought i have seen many beatiful places in Africa this remains on the top of my list.
Increased mining, if it goes ahead, will bring an influx of people in this sparsely populated area where tourism is the main economic activity, and with it will come the encroachment on the wildlife habitat and poaching that comes with increased human activity.

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


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Argentina: Protesters Say “Enough” to Government’s Policies · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

On September 13, 2012, several marches and cacerolazos (pots and pans protest) were held in different cities across Argentina to protest the recent policies enacted by the government of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. The mobilization was organized through social networks, where people are clamoring for “Justice, Liberty, Security, Inflation, [a] Locked Exchanged Market” [es].
The Facebook page “Yo no voté a la Kretina y Ud?” [es] (I did not vote the Cretin and you?) spread the announcement [es] and later published images of the protests held in different cities. The page El Cipayo [es] also shared videos and photos of the mobilizations.
On YouTube, the user Yamil Santoro [es] shared a video which he titled “Bare Argentina”, where he undresses while telling viewers why they should participate in the protests on September 13. The video concludes with the following phrase:
“No dejes que te sigan robando tu futuro, no dejes que te sigan robando tu libertad. Resistí, vos podés”
The Facebook page El anti K [es] spread [es] the call with this message:
Hoy 13 de Septiembre nos manifestamos en Plaza de Mayo y en todo el país. Pueden ver los puntos de reunión en la convocatoria y comunicarse con las personas que asistirán al evento en tu provincia. Ganar una elección no da impunidad para cometer delitos y para ocultar inflación e inseguridad ! Este gobierno debe saber que todos debemos ser escuchados ! El dia de hoy si queres compartir información con nosotros que estaremos en el evento, podes enviarnos sms al 15-6-808-9938. Demostremos que no tenemos miedo !
Today September 13 we protest in Plaza de Mayo square and across the country. You can see the assembly points in the call and communicate with people attending the event in your province. Winning an election does not give impunity to commit crimes and hide inflation and insecurity! This government should know that everyone should be heard! If you want to share information with us, you can send us a text message to 15-6-808-9938. Let's show that we are not afraid!
Protest in the city of Rosario – Image shared by Twitter user @meindol
Argentinians also tweeted about the various protests held around the country. Antonio Ledesma (@agrledes) [es] reported from Rosario :
@agrledes [es] : En rosario es multitudianria [sic] la convocatoria en el monumento a la bandera.
@agrledes [es]: In Rosario there is a massive protest by the Flag Monument
User @carteraspalermo [es] said:
@carteraspalermo: Siento una profunda emocion ver gente como uno que labura 10 horas por dia , que la pelea todos los dias unida en plaza de mayo!!!!
@carteraspalermo [es]: I feel a deep emotion seeing so many people who work 10 hours a day, and who give a fight everyday and are now united in Plaza de Mayo square!!!!
While the protests were being held, the Twitter hashtag #SanJuan [es] became a local trending topic because President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was at the San Juan province inaugurating industrial plants. National News Agency, Telam [es], published part of her speech:
“nerviosa no me voy a poner ni me van a poner”, y destacó además que Néstor Kirchner “murió de pie como un árbol y dio sus frutos: ustedes, que están de pie”.
“I will not be nervous, nor will people make me nervous” and pointed out that [her husband and former president of Argentina] Nestor Kirchner “died standing like a tree and gave fruit: you, who are standing.”
In reference to her phrase, Javier (@Avetuitera) [es] tweeted:
@AveTuitera: Desde San Juan… Kristina: Yo Nerviosa, no me voy a poner… Otra frase que denota su Soberbia… BASTA
@AveTuitera [es]: From San Juan… Kristina: I will not get nervous… another phrase that shows her Arrogance… ENOUGH
On the other hand, during the evening of September 13, Diego Sívori (@Diegosivori) [es] reminded his followers:
@Diegosivori: Hace un año el 54% le dijo sí a Cristina. Al que no le guste el resultado electoral y democrático, que espere a las próximas elecciones.
@Diegosivori [es]: A year ago 54% said yes to Cristina. Those who do not like this democratic result should wait for the next elections.
Other hashtags that became local trending topics were #cacerolazo [es] (pots and pans protest), #Cristina [es] and #13ASTA [es] (enough).
Protest in Buenos Aires – Image shared by Twitter user @CarlaBHO

author: Laura Schneider


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Armenia: A New Transit Route? · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenian Observer reports that construction has started on upgrading Armenia's highways. Effectively connecting Iran with Georgia via Armenia more efficiently, the blog notes the Armenian government's hopes that the road will make the landlocked country an important transit route between Europe and Asia.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Armenia-Azerbaijan: International Day of Peace · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Following an increase in tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, locked as they are in a bitter stalemate over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, Mountains of Peace looks ahead to the International Day of Peace.
[…] enough is enough. It is time to make a stance, time to speak out, time to stop the war, before it stops you! 21 September […] is a good day to see the birth of a new peace movement in the South Caucasus.


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Armenia: Chess Olympiad Triumph · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenian Observer posts photographs of celebrations following Armenia's victory in the 2012 Chess Olympiad held in Istanbul, Turkey.


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Bangladesh: Mismanagement In The Banking Sector · Global Voices
Rezwan

An ordinary citizen reflects on the recent huge bank loan scam in Bangladesh and the blogger is worried about the mismanagement in the banking sector.

author: Rezwan


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Bolivia: Miners’ Dispute Holds La Paz Under Siege · Global Voices
Pablo Andres Rivero

Hundreds of miners from private cooperatives are continuing to block the main access roads to La Paz, Bolivia's seat of Government.
The siege was sparked by a dispute between private cooperative miners from the La Paz Departmental Federation of Mining Cooperatives (Fedecomin in Spanish) and employed miners from the state-run Bolivian Mining Corporation (Comibol in Spanish). Both rival groups are seeking to take control of the zinc and tin Colquiri mine, nationalised from Glencore International by Bolivia’s government in June 2012.
The issue arises from Supreme Decree 1337, signed by President Evo Morales, which guarantees the control of operating activities in the northern part of the mine Colquiri, more precisely the Rosario vein.
The conflict began on the ground after the delimitation of operation areas: Colquiri unionised miners, who are meant to operate in the south, refuse to give the cooperative miners participation. Moreover, unionised miners are blocking the access to the Colquiri mine, 92 miles (149 kilometers) from La Paz.
The government had set up negotiation talks between the rival factions, and it was agreed that the siege would be lifted during the evening of Wednesday, September 12; however, the blockades remain and the miners have issued further threats [es].
Private cooperative miners have been close allies of the government led by left-wing President Evo Morales. This group has declared that the unionised miners, who are also members of the Bolivian Workers’ Center (COB in Spanish), are ‘irreconcilable enemies’.
The blog [es] Videourgente (“urgent video”) posts a video showing demonstrations by unionised miners in La Paz:
According to the Americas Quarterly blog:
President Morales has asked the warring factions to respect each other’s rights: “Both sectors…have constitutional rights and have an obligation to understand each other and work together to exploit the natural resources that are so important for Bolivians.”
However, Eduardo Bowles states [es] in his blog that both miners’ groups are corroding the mining industry and affecting the State's interests:
En este momento, ambos grupos de mineros están haciendo lo que todos los sectores sociales han hecho en la última década: desafiar la autoridad, imponer el principio del caos, violentar las leyes y seguir minando las posibilidades de construir un Estado en Bolivia. La única diferencia es que en esta ocasión ha sido el propio Estado Plurinacional el impulsor de su propia desaparición.

author: Pablo Andres Rivero


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Burkina Faso, Niger: Cholera Kills 80 after Floods  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Bark Biiga writes on Fasozine [fr] that  following the floods that plagued Niger and Burkina Faso, 80 people have succumbed to Cholera in the Western Region of Niger. The disease also threatens to spread into neighboring Burkina Faso.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Chile: Reforesting Patagonia through Social Media · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Reforest Patagonia has managed to plant 100,000 native-species trees thanks to its creative social media donation campaign, ”Create Your Own Forest.” […] Reforest Patagonia’s main campaigning tool is its online platform, i.e. its virtual forest, which lets individuals and companies plant trees in Patagonia thanks to a small contribution.
Anna Heim from The Next Web writes about Reforest Patagonia, “a non-profit public-private partnership to replant trees all across the region.” Follow Reforest Patagonia on Twitter and Facebook.


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China: Guangzhou Students Protest University Gender Quotas · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ewan Christie from Nanfang.com reports about university students’ protest against the university gender quotas. Female students have to obtain a much higher score than the male counter part in the public examination to enter the same university.


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China: Street Drummer Performance · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Click through for a great street drummer's performance video!
Beijing Cream has posted a drummer's street performance video; the impressive rock beat comes from buckets, iron and copper plates.


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China: The Million Tree Project · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jonah Kessel introduces a NGO called Shanghai Roots & Shoots which carried out the Million Tree Project in Kulun Qi of inner Mongolia by working with the national and regional Chinese government.


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China: Traffic Jam · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chengdu Living blogs about the problems behind traffic jam in China: the rapidly increasing urban population, number of car owners, poor city planning because of corruption.


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Ecuador on Alert over Forest Fires · Global Voices
Daniela Gallardo

Since June 1, 2012, Ecuadorian authorities have reported  [es] 2,568 forest fires throughout the country.
As soon as the warning signal was given by citizens and authorities, the hashtag #incendiosforestales (forest fires) became a trending topic on Twitter in Ecuador, permitting the public to inform and share their points of view on the state of emergency in the country.
The newspaper El Comercio [es] transcribed the words of the mayor of Quito, Augusto Barrera, in an interview with GamaTV:
[…] el 99% de los incendios son provocados por las personas, no solo en Quito, sino en todo el callejón interandino, lo que se suma a otros tres componentes propios en estos meses que son: la temporada seca que según Barrera es una de las más graves de la historia, el nivel alto de radiación solar, y los fuertes vientos.
Twitter users like Ricardo Rosero B. (@ricroserob) [es] show the severity of the forest fires in the city of Quito via images:
Photo of the forest fire near to SEK University. Photo shared by Twitter user @ricroserob
Martha Medranda A. (@martha_elena_m) [es] bemoans:
@martha_elena_m: Que tristeza que el verdor de las colinas que circundan Quito se tornen grises!!.. Emergencia!!.. #incendiosforestales
Meanwhile, Ramiro Benavides (@ramirobl2012) [es] tweets his point of view on the issue:
@ramirobl2012: No todos los #incendiosforestales son provocados. Hay hojarasca y basura que se enciende espontáneamente. Falta limpieza en los bosques.
David OSO Pérez (@maconhoso) [es] shares an image of the area called Carcelén, in the north of Quito, where the smoke almost impedes the view of the mountains:
Forest fire in Carcelen. Via @maconhoso
Through their Twitter account, the Quito Fire Department (@BomberosQuito) [es] has been keeping the public updated about the work that they are doing to fight the various forest fires, primarily in the areas of Panecillo, Angamarca, Balcones del Norte, San Bartolo, Terminal Quitumbe, Playa Chica, Zambiza y Pomasqui.
@BomberosQuito [es] is also calling for the public's attention and inviting citizens to report those who are identifiable as responsible for the forest fires:
@BomberosQuito: Denuncie e identifique a quienes provocan #incendiosforestales al siguiente número telefónico 2505560
On the evening of September 11 Ecuavisa [es] reported:
Guayaquil será la primera ciudad del país con una división de bomberos especializada en incendios forestales. Por esta razón el Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos conformó este año una unidad especializada en este tipo de incendios. El equipo empezará sus operaciones en uno de los 43 carteles con los que cuenta la ciudad.
The Ministry of the Environment (MAE), the Secretary of Risk Management, Firemen, and communities have stepped up to the challenge of managing the situation so that it does not get out of control; according to the announcement made by the MAE [es] on its website, where it was stated that the situation is being analyzed for immediate response.
The Ministry of the Environment has also launched a national campaign called “Protect the Forests” to prevent fires that cause serious environmental damage:
The authorities continue to work from different parts of the country and  alert [es] the public that they can report arsonists by calling ‘1 800 delito’. They are also appealing to the raising of public awareness via social networks with the hashtag #CuidemosLosBosques (Protect the Forests).

author: Daniela Gallardo


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Greece: Petition for Neo-Nazi ‘Golden Dawn’ Group Investigation · Global Voices
Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni

Screenshot from a video in which members of Greece's extreme-right Golden Dawn party pose as police to check migrant market traders’ papers – and then attack a stall.
Twitter users are promoting an international petition to urge a full criminal investigation into the Golden Dawn party in Greece.
This video, uploaded to YouTube on September 9, 2012, by user aVeNGgeERR appears to show supporters from Greece's extreme-right Golden Dawn party in the town of Rafina, near Athens, asking to see migrant vendors’ residence papers. Shortly afterwards another group is seen kicking over one of the stalls and smashing up merchandise. Twitter users are promoting an international petition to urge a full criminal investigation into the Golden Dawn party in Greece. Sign the petition here.

author: Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni


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Hungary: Armenian Singer Condemns Diplomatic Failure · Global Voices
Marietta Le

It seems that to some politicians money means more than the honour of their own country or their relations with other countries. This case could affect the stability of the whole region.
Lángoló Gitárok, a Hungarian music blog, has published an interview [hu] with Gaya Arutyunyan, a Hungary-based singer of Armenian origin.
Commenting on the extradition of Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan, which resulted in Armenia severing diplomatic ties with Hungary, she said the case could lead to more deaths and to an outbreak of a new wave of violence.

author: Marietta Le


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In Sea of Censorship, China Allows Anti-Japan War Vitriol · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Everything politically sensitive, such as the missing future Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the anti-national education protest in Hong Kong, is usually censored on the Chinese Internet. However, one hot topic allowed to emerge over the past few days has been the Diaoyu Islands conflict (the name is controversial and they are also known as the Senkaku Islands).
This morning [Friday 14 September] a fleet of six Chinese surveillance ships arrived in the disputed water in response to the Japanese government's move to purchase three of the islets from their private Japanese owners.
In reaction to the news, some Chinese netizens are collectively fantasizing a Sino-Japanese War via social media channels.
Famous nationalist blogger Sima Nan's post [zh] to certain extent reflects the online militant nationalist sentiment:
A map showing the disputed area. By KentonNGO under CC: NC-SA
我明白的浅显道理是：1、打小日本必须把他当大日本打；2、小日本后边是美国，本质上是与美国较力；3、不打便罢，一旦开战，必须抱定大打、打核大战的决心；4、不如此便不足以胜美日联军，不足以阻嚇周边蠢蠢欲动的趁火打劫者；5、不惜付出最大的民族牺牲，才能保全民族利益。
Joy Nicky, a young person from Beijing has written a recommended [zh] popular post on Sina Weibo, one of the most popular social media platforms:
看到国内各个打砸抢事件的爆发，我个人非常着急。前几年还有人喊喊“打日本我捐一条命”的空话，如今就只剩下用牵强的理由攻击同胞的行为…如果这群爱国贼就代表了中国一代年轻人…那么…我们什么时候才能真正的干死小日本儿？不想骂…真tm着急！！！
If you search the phrase, “打日本” (meaning “beat up Japan” or “war with Japan”) on Sina Weibo, a new micro-blog pops up almost every second. Below is a translation of some random posts picked up from the search [zh]:
景熙melody：打吧！对待日本不用如此理智。这点该向米国学习，不服？打到你服为止、中国已经很强大了，没必要一直退让，既然谈判解决不了问题，那就开战吧！有时战争就是维系和平最好的方式！
Mr-Jinsan：这次真的要打日本了么？别骗我，别伤害中国人民的感情。
im911：日本人，滾出中國，滾出上海，不要妄想追中國女孩去酒吧都開香檳，你們日本人一杯威士忌坐一晚上，不來中國消費，還想追中國女孩，還想搶中國土地，白日做夢臭不要臉，怪不得在上海老被人打。大使館玻璃被砸。打日本我們都捐錢，中國人要團結，相親相愛！
Fortunately, there are also some counter-balancing voices [zh]:
JUTAIMEMA: 行为过于极端，丢中国人的脸，有本事去打日本领导啊，打遍所有日本人又能怎么样？所以说一个国家的领导的决策直严重影响到本国人民群众的生命安危。日本领导们，你们对得起你国的民众吗？
大白熊各种喵：#钓鱼岛是中国的# 刚刚在凤凰视频评论区看到有人呼吁走在路上看见日本人就打，看见日本人就拿车撞……能不能不发这种脑残呼吁？日本人就不是人吗？人家的生命权就不用尊重吗？发这种话的人，是在拿国家和民族的正义要求来宣泄自己丑恶到底的残暴渴望！这种人，是在给中国人脸上抹黑。
暈阿赟赟黃：每天在我头上飞来飞去的战斗机，你们丫的太闲去打日本，老在我耳边叫唤，耳膜被震破了，啊架！
邱林川 ： 打日本同意嗎？我說同意啊，只是必須讓富二代、官二代打頭陣，後面跟上貪官、酷吏及其所有打手、五毛。普通群眾墊後，“改革開放先窮下去的人”如下崗的、拆遷的、退伍的、血汗工廠打工的，一律排最後。陣亡遺產沒人繼承的，都給低保戶。如此布陣才有助解決中國目前主要矛盾：公義缺失、階級分化！
There are still some Chinese netizens claiming that they would give their life for the war against Japan. If you search “打日本我捐一條命” (I will give my life to fight Japan), you can find a few pages of search results. But xyh999 has a different interpretation of the sentence:
那些喊着打日本捐一条命的人，潜台词是拿生命保证中日不会打起来吧！

author: Oiwan Lam


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India: Husbands to Pay Wives for Doing Household Chores? · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

The Union Women and Child Development Ministry in India is considering a draft bill which, if passed by parliament, would make it legally compulsory for husbands to pay out a portion of their monthly income to their homemaker wives, for doing household chores.
As per the Ministry's proposal, a model is being framed which will allow for valuation of the work done by homemakers in economic terms and then recognition of this contribution to the economy by compensating homemakers for their labour.
The proposed law is expected to refer to homemakers as “home engineers“. Minister Krishna Tirath has said that this amount, which could be anywhere between 10-20% of the husband's monthly salary, should not be looked upon as salary for housework; rather it could be referred to as an honorarium or something similar.
While the Minister sees this as a step forward in women's empowerment, the proposal is being debated hotly, both offline as well as online.
A woman washing clothes. Image by Neil Moralee CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Some feel that “measuring the value of unpaid work at home is conceptually correct and well worth trying”, though making it mandatory for husbands to pay out a fixed percentage of their salaries in lieu of this work may be the wrong way forward.
Others wonder how it will be possible to put a ‘price tag’ on all the work that goes on within a home and how such a law would be implemented – given the various questions that are sure to come up in it's wake.
And questions are indeed being asked. For example, LordRaj asks:
In Ground Report, which is an open news platform, D. Chaitanya outlines some further questions related to this issue that people (both men and women) appear to be hotly debating. For example:
Blogger Surya Murali too is wondering how the government proposes to implement a law such as this. She says on her blog:
I am all for the empowerment of women, and also their financial independence… (but) my biggest question to these lawmakers is that how are they planning to implement the proposal? If they go about doing it the way such that a husband shares a percentage of his income with his wife for her work, I don’t see how it makes the economic situation of the house any better or how it makes the woman independent and empowered.  The gross income remaining the same, the household economy is not changed.  Most responsible husbands, in my belief, would share the running costs of the household with their wives anyway… if that isn’t the case, then this sort of a scheme is not going to improve the husband-wife equation of those households.
At iDiva, Archana Jayakumar asks:
How does all of this not make her anything but a glorified servant?
Sunita at Supari.org agrees and calls this proposed Bill as “family breaking move” by the government. Blogger LordRaj concludes that
Under the guise of ‘development and welfare’ of women, all you have been doing is promoting a bias against men.
Men's rights groups tend to agree. Vicky Nanjappa points out:
A proposal to part with a portion of the husband’s salary and hand it over to the wife has been strongly opposed by Men’s rights groups…The ‘Save Family Foundation’ has written a letter to Krishna Tirath, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, seeking immediate withdrawal of the proposal. The foundation, representing around 40 different men’s organizations across the country, has termed this proposal as one-sided.
The Cursed Indian Male appears to be feeling the pressure already. He laments:
With such incentives, it is not surprising that many wives would rather just sit idle, and get free doles from their husbands, with the kind blessings of the Indian judicial system.  And all this under the guise of women empowerment
However, others are more positive to this proposal for various reasons. For example, in a discussion in the Defence Forum India, Yusuf appears pleased. He writes:
Actually this news is music to my ears. Gives me more ways to save tax. :-)
Blogger Surya Murali goes on to offer, what she feels is a more practical solution to the issue, something that will truly benefit the women without getting her into the “employer-employee” hierarchy within the family. She suggests:
Let the government work out a method in which they evaluate the households economically and they give the housewives / homemakers an allowance. This totally skips the husband as a middleman and is a direct deal between the people who want the housewives to be empowered and the housewives. In my opinion, this would not only help the women be independent, it will also improve the general quality of life in households which otherwise manage with meager means. Thus, both targets of economic upliftment and female empowerment would be achieved.
InfoQueenBee agrees and adds:
Instead of making the law to provide for the ‘salary’ to the housewife, some other schemes may be introduced such as statutory-minimum/compulsory life-insurance, medical insurance, investments etc. for the housewives and children.
While we wait to see what happens to the Minister's proposal, it appears that the debate surrounding the question of the husband being forced to pay his “house engineer” an ‘honorarium’ for household work, is far from over.

author: Aparna Ray


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India: Subscribe and Get a Harley-Davidson · Global Voices
Rezwan

It’s raining gifts in the Bengali newspaper wars. And gone is the age of fress flasks, timepieces and tee-shirts to woo subscribers.
Sans Serif reports.
Yes, Ei Bela (the moment), a Bengali tabloid from the Ananda Bazaar Patrika group is rolling out Apple iPods, laptops, smartphones, SUVs and Harley Davidson motorcycles for its subscribers.


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India: Koodankulam Nuclear Plant Starts Amidst Protests · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, India, started operations recently despite demands to stall it. In recent months the police had cracked down on several protests (see Global Voices report) of activists and inhabitants of nearby villages against this plant.
The ‘People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy’ (PMANE) activists fear that this nuclear power plant is prone to an accident similar to the radiation leak at the Japanese coastal nuclear plant last year.
The latest Court rulings enabled commissioning of Units I and II of the nuclear plant. Karthik Ganesh at Youth Ki Awaaz notes that safety recommendations were not adhered to:
In spite of all the clearances from the High Court, the state government is yet to ascertain an escape route for the inhabitants living in and around the nuclear plant, prepare a plan to decommission the power plant post its life span and formulate a detailed analysis of a disaster scenario in agreement with the international standards.
The proximity of Idinthakarai, and nearby villages to the Koodankulam nuclear power plant at the Indian Ocean. Image courtesy Google maps
On Sunday morning [9 September, 2012] protestors from eight villages near the plant assembled at the beach and stood in sea water to protest moves to load uranium fuel in one of the two reactors.
Nityanand Jayaraman reports in Dianuke.org:
Responding to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board’s clearance to commence nuclear fuel loading in the Koodankulam plant, the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy announced that protestors would lay siege to the plant on 9 September. Police force was deployed in huge numbers in the area. On that day, between 8000 and 10000 people, including children and women from Idinthakarai and neighboring villages started from the Lourde Matha church in Idinthakarai. They walked down the coastal path avoiding the road route and were stopped by the police around 800 metres away from the plant. The protesters sat down on the sea shore and said they will continue their struggle from there.
On the morning of the 10 September, the police came in with the strike force and fired tear gas and used batons to disperse thousands of protestors causing some of them them to flee to the sea in boats. The police atrocity was caught on camera and uploaded to the Dianuke.org site. Many people including some from media covering the incident were injured. Hundreds of villagers were arrested.
Thousands of villagers protesting at the beach. Image by Anthony kebiston Ferando, courtesy Dianuke.org
On 11 September a 44 year old fisherman was killed by police in Tuticorin as the protests turned violent. Around 4,000 security personnel, including the Rapid Action Force, have been deployed in the area.
First Post reports that on September 13, the Supreme Court has refused to halt the loading of fuel rods in one of the two reactors of the Koodankulam nuclear power plant, but they have agreed to examine the risk associated to the project and consider peoples’ safety.
Suvrat Raju, a physicist, provides a brief summary of the issues involved:
1) The local residents of the region have never been consulted or taken into confidence about the project.
[..]
9) The Government has signed a secret “liability” agreement with Russia completely indemnifying the Russian company in the event of an accident.
Koodankulam Nuclear Plant, Tamil Nadu, India. Image by Flickr user Eunheui. CC BY-NC 2.0
A discussion thread in the First Post shows divided opinions of netizens on this issue:
G_PramodKumar: The protestors in Koodankulam may be justified in their safety fears, but they offer no space for negotiations because their single-point agenda is to close the plant. Other demands are certainly red herrings. This is unreasonable mainly because it came rather too late in the day. The foundation stone of the plant was laid a decade ago and the protestors should have stalled it either then or before that.
hummmingbird: Protestors are not well informed and being exploited by interested parties towards achieving their own selfish goals.
hema: Many of the developed countries are rethinking on their nuclear policy. Why can't we learn from others’ experiences.
Durga_Raghunath: Every citizen has the legal right to know how his health and his environment are being affected. Neither the officials running Koodankulam nor the government has shared with the people of Idinthakarai the right kinds of accessible information that would give them confidence of their safety. It really leaves them with little choice.
bud: If India has to progress we have to take some risks. This is one of them.
Here are more Twitter reactions:
@peninthepond: 7,000 people in Koodankulam face sedition charges. Are we moving towards fascism? http://t.co/v0u37KNN
@DiaNuke_org: Another death in Koodankulam: Mr. Sahayam from Idinthakarai, who was standing in Line Curve bridge and… http://t.co/UT6cTobR
@boazbchacko: #Koodankulam. It's not fair a democratic govt. waging war against its own people. Trust of the civil society of #idinthakarai to be gained.


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Internet Activa: Online Course for Digital Activists · Global Voices
Lully

From September 14, 2012 to February 15, 2013, the Karisma Foundation [es] (supported by Google Colombia and RedPaTodos [es]) will teach a free, open and digital course [es] “on civil liberties, digital rights, freedom of expression, collective financing for projects, among other topics.” Read more about the course on the Internet Activa (Active Internet) [es] website and follow them on Facebook, Google + and Twitter.

author: Lully


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Iran: “Civil Society” Charter for Iran · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

A group of Iranian intellectuals including Ramin Jahanbegloo wrote a new charter that aims to unite the Iranian people around a common human rights and civic agenda. Charter 91 has launched a Facebook page to promote its ideas.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Quake Survivors Battle Cold · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several bloggers including Tohirow say [fa] that East Azarbaijan's earthquake survivors are now battling bitterly cold weather conditions.


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Japan: Kansai Queer Film Festival Kicks Off · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

Japan's 7th Kansai Queer Film Festival kicks off in Osaka this weekend September 15-17, and will be held in Kyoto on October 12-14. It celebrates and shows various films that focus on diverse gender and sexuality issues around the world.
The Festival will screen carefully curated list of domestic and international films followed by panel discussions. Visit the page [en] for the  list of films.

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Maghreb, France: The Arc of Revolution is Long but It Bends towards Freedom  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Had humanity obsessed itself with  the potential pitfalls of every fight for emancipation and always analyze the events under the prism of one segment of society, we all will still be living under the old regime of monarchy.
Faysal Riad argues that the revolution in France took almost a century [fr] to reach its current democratic format. It is premature to assert that the arab spring has lost its way.


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Puerto Rico from Above · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

The Caribbean Society of Astronomy posted [es] some of the astonishing images that astronaut Joseph Acabá-of Puerto Rican descendance- shot of the island on September 1st, 2012, from the International Space Station (ISS), a habitable satellite that orbits the Earth at an altitude between 330 km (205 mi) and 410 km (255 mi).

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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The LGBT Community in El Salvador · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Danielle Mackey has written a three-part series on recent historical moments (from 2009 to the present) for the LGBT community in El Salvador. Read part I, part II, and part III in her blog Grit and Grace.

author: Silvia Viñas


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The Netherlands: Balkan Snapshots Festival 2012 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A promo poster for the Balkan Snapshots Festival 2012.
Balkan Buro, a Dutch non-profit “dedicated to providing a platform for artistic and cultural encounters between Western and Southeastern Europe,” announces the Balkan Snapshots Festival 2012, which will take place in Amsterdam on Sept. 21-23: “three nights of music, creativity, movies and inspiring debates!”
The Festival will open with the screening of Klip (Clip), a Serbian film directed by Maja Miloš. (The Russian Ministry of Culture banned the film's release in August; GV's RuNet Echo wrote about it here.)

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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China: Another Waves of Anti-Japan Protest · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Anne Henochowicz from China Digital Times reports on the new waves of anti-Japan protest in major cities in China. Some angry protesters attempted to attack Japanese restaurants and cars.


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China: Making Fun of the Length of Apple iPhone · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chinese netizens create a satirical image to mock the design of iPhone5, which is four inches longer than the iPhone4 but with very few new functional features (via China Hush).
Chinese netizens remix image to mock the design of the iPhone5. Image from China Hush.


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China: RMB 4 Trillion Stimulus Package Questioned  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In the past few months, some online public opinion leaders have openly criticized the Chinese government's RMB 4 trillion [approximately US 586 billion] stimulus package introduced in 2008 during the global financial crisis. But Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao defended the policy during the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin on September 11, 2012 and stressed that the government “will not hesitate to use [the 1 trillion yuan budget surplus] for the fine-tuning of the economy” in the upcoming budget year.
Usually, when the Chinese government has made the decision on a certain policy, critical opinions would be censored. Beijing-based economist Han Zhiguo urged [zh] for more time for deliberation:
四万亿救巿问题必须允许讨论，如果当年允许讨论而不是狂删博客，就不致于对整个经济造成如此重大伤害。
A poster against the hegemony property developer by Cou4 Visual Labs’ Facebook Page.
Han is very critical [zh] on the stimulus package:
【 四万亿救市祸国殃民 】 ①通过释放流动性来打鸡血，导致货币泛滥成灾和严重通胀，对居民财富形成隐性掠夺。②中国失去在危机中转型的天赐良机，落后产能得到保护，重复建设遗患无穷。③房价暴涨使得整整一代人买不起房，高房价扼住了中国经济喉咙。④地方融资平台恶性膨胀，债务危机紧扣中国大门。
Blogger Wang Liangzhi explained [zh] the adverse effect of the stimulus package by focusing on the property bubbles:
拉动内需变成了拉动房地产，救民生变成了救楼市，使得房地产市场调控变成空调，刚刚回归理性的房价又报复性反弹一路狂飙。救市初衷和目标均以落空告终。酿成了我国经济发展史上一大悲剧。四万亿救市动用的是国库资金，最后却有相当一部分资金莫名其妙的流入楼市，流进开发商的腰包。地方政府也疯狂出台了一批以救楼市为主要目标的救市新政，助推楼市起死回生、报复性反弹，房地产市场又继续疯狂发飙。开发商由于手里有了国库资金，催生了一个个天价地王，催生了一个个天价楼盘，房地产市场狼烟四起，国民经济又陷入一片混乱之中。
Both Han and Wang's opinion echoed with other economic experts, such as Li Jing, a researcher on Chinese business, who explained the situation in China in more theoretic terms [zh]:
然而，在中国，政府职能过于宽泛，政企不分，官员们还是以追求虚的政绩为目标。政府把扩大内需搞成简单的总量扩张，不加控制地实行货币和财政双扩张的政策，盲目投资、重复建设通过大量投入来求得GDP的增长。继而产生泡沫经济，地方政府逼迫银行贷款，进一步加大金融风险，最终引发通货膨胀。
凯恩斯主义的基本理论是否可靠，是一个广为争议的话题。然而我们几乎可以肯定，凯恩斯主义不能发展中国。
If you find the above discussions a bit too academic, Tomorrow's Sky's blog post spells out [zh] the popular sentiment on the housing bubble more vividly:
有人说楼市泡沫是个鬼，大家都说有，谁也没见过。弦外之音是我们的房地产健康着呢，根本没什么泡沫，有的只是泡澡。一个个先泡芬兰，再洗桑拿，舒服着呢！…
因为高房价，我们的GDP跃升为全球第二，由于高房价，我们的个人家庭资产超过了收入是我们十倍的美国。人家房产占全部家庭财产的不到30%，我们的房产在家庭财产中的比重居然超过了70%；人家城市居民住房拥有率才区区的百分之五、六十，我们城市居民的住房拥有率接近90%。还说我们的楼市没有泡沫，还说楼市泡沫是个鬼，我看楼市泡沫不是鬼，有些人的心中倒是有鬼。
我们这个社会得利最多的是谁？是富人与某些贪官；我们这个社会住房最多的是谁？也是富人和贪官；我们这个社会移民最多的是哪些人？还是富人和贪官；说我们楼市没有泡沫，反对开征房产税，反对取消商品房预售制的又是哪些人？不用说，还是这些人。为什么？他们是既得利益者，谁都不愿意拿自己开刀。他们做着外国人，却霸占着中国的资源，独享着中国发展的成果，不但对中国的未来漠不关心，还把中国当成一个金矿，不淘空绝不放手。
Who gain most interest in our society? The rich and the corrupt officials. Who owns most of the housing property here? Also the rich and the corrupt officials. Who migrates out of the country? Here again, the rich and the corrupt officials. Who said that we don't have property bubbles and opposed the property tax and pre-sell policy? Of course, it is the same group of people. Why? They are the vested interest group and they don't want to harm their own interests. They have become foreigners but have taken our resources and the fruits of our economic development. They don't care about China's future, but see it as a gold mine. They will not stop until the mine has been emptied.