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Court Annuls “Mega-Commission” Findings Against Ex-President Alan García · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

[All links lead to Spanish pages, unless otherwise noted.]
Ex-president Alan García. Image by Flickr user Presidency of the Republic of Ecuador and is used under a CC license Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The attorneys for the ex-president Alan García, Wilber Medina and Genaro Vélez, reported at a press conference at Congress on April 1 that the Fifth Constitutional Court had annulled [en] the third declaration given by the ex-president last October 30 before the Congressional Investigative Commission [en] known as the mega-commission, which in effect means that the findings [en] recommending the disqualification and impeachment of the ex-president are voided.
It bears remembering that in four of the eight cases investigated by the mega-commission, impeachment was recommended:
1 – Flagship schools: For signing Emergency Decree 004-2009 which allowed the choosing of companies to remodel theses schools without open bidding.
2 – Water for Everyone: For allegedly engaging in a criminal conspiracy to violate Article 125 of the Constitution, thus allowing projects to be awarded personally and generating losses for the State with poorly designed technical documents.
3 – Political interference BTR: for interference in the political and tax investigation in the case of wiretapping by Business Track [en], in 2009.
4 – Narco-pardons: For violating the Constitution by reducing the penalty of 400 people sentenced for drug trafficking.
The mega-commission has been working on these and other cases since 2011, and ex-president Alan García has continued to point out that his goal is to get it annulled electorally for the next presidential elections in 2016.
Congressman Sergio Tejada, President of the mega-commission, stated on Twitter:
La historia de nuestro Perú no debe registrar un nuevo episodio de impunidad. La democracia se ve fuertemente mellada cuando hay intocables.
— Sergio Tejada (@sergiotej) March 31, 2014
The history of our Peru should not record a new episode of impunity. Democracy is severely chipped away when there are untouchables.
Via a Twitter account that supposedly belongs to ex-president Alan García, he expressed satisfaction with the judicial decision, adding:
Terminaré mi vida política cuando el pueblo lo disponga y mi conciencia lo mande, no cuando lo ordene quien esté en Palacio.
— Alan Garcia (@ALANGARCIAPERU) March 31, 2014
I’ll finish my political career when the people decree it, and when my conscience mandates, not when it’s ordered by whomever is in the Palace [of Government, official presidential residence].
It’s not the first time the courts have decided in favor of the ex-president. Last year it also ordered the annulment of the investigation for violating his right to due process.
In an article from late last year, the website Otra Mirada mentioned questions about the affiliation of the nation's Attorney General, José Peláez Bardales, with the Aprista Party [en] (Alan García's party) and indicated:
el ex presidente Alan García se ha venido librando de las responsabilidades de fondo en delitos de diversa dimensión que lo vienen persiguiendo desde la década de 1990. Por todo ello, resulta necesario investigar al ex presidente Alan García con el mayor detalle posible para evitar que un manto de impunidad lo libre de dar cuentas claras al país. Queda en manos del pleno del Congreso, del Ministerio Público y del Poder Judicial demostrar que en el país las leyes se respetan y los delitos tarde o temprano se pagan.
Ex-president Alan García has been freeing himself from basic responsibilities with offenses of varying degrees that have been after him since the 1990s. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate former president Alan García in as much detail as possible to avoid a blanket of impunity which frees him from an accounting to the country. It rests with the full Congress, the Public Ministry, and the judiciary to show that in this country, laws are respected and that sooner or later, crimes are paid for.
One sector of the population and several organizations that don’t agree with the judiciary’s decision called for a mobilization and protest action in the streets of Lima under the tag #TomaLaCalle [take the streets]:
Hoy lunes 31 marzo 2014 7pm en la Plaza San Martín #TOMALACALLE CONTRA @ALANGARCIAPERU #AlanNuncaMás #Perú pic.twitter.com/89d2yH17nz
— Voto Vigilante (@vvigilante) March 31, 2014
Today, March 31, 2014, in the Plaza San Martin
¿Vamos a dejar que @ALANGARCIAPERU siga burlándose del Perú? #Megacomisión #Justicia pic.twitter.com/H26QEdl6AN
— Voto Vigilante (@vvigilante) March 31, 2014
Are we going to let [Alan Garcia] keep laughing at Peru?
Sn Martin 7pm RT @NAKPeru: protesta contra vergonzoso fallo que anula informes de #Megacomisión #TomaLaCalle #NarcoIndultos #ApraCorrupción
— Spacio Libre (@spaciolibre) March 31, 2014
San Martin 7 p.m. protest against the embarrassing ruling that annuls the decision by mega-commssion.
Una vez más Alan García y el Poder Judicial se burlan de todo un país. #NoALaImpunidad #TomaLaCalle
— Christian Jáuregui (@Hombre_Alado_) April 1, 2014
Once again, Alan García and the judiciary make fun of a whole country.
But another sector didn’t hesitate to describe the protesters as lazy or worse:
Atención Lima, hoy el rojerío #TomaLaCalle, guarden sus carteras y camine con cuidado… harto delincuente disfrazado.
— LUD (@i_Ludwing) March 31, 2014
Attention, Lima! Today the lefties [are out], keep an eye on your wallets and walk carefully, I’m sick of these disguised delinquents.
1er acto: – crean #MegaComisión 2do Acto – se vuelve #MegaPapelón 3er acto – #TomaLaCalle Cómo se llama la función: – Caviares en acción
— Jaicec (@Jaicec) March 31, 2014
Act one — they create the mega-commission. Act two – it becomes mega-showoff. Act three – What is the action named – Caviar in action
Había más ambulantes que indignados hoy en #TomaLaCalle gracias tía regia #VagoQueSeRespeta cruza los brazos y vota por Susana Villarán
— Juan Perez (@rocadepapel) April 1, 2014
There were more vendors today than protesters. Thanks ‘auntie magnificent’ [nickname for Lima mayoress], lazy people who respect themselves, just cross your arms and vote for [Lima mayoress] Susana Villarán.
Sí no pueden tocar a @ALANGARCIAPERU es por la ineptitud de la #megacomision, ¿por qué no hacen un #tomalacalle por esa megaestafa?
— Vicente Mendo (@vmendoc) April 1, 2014
If they can’t touch Alan García, it’s because of the ineptitude o the mega-commission, why don’t they do a ’take the streets’ for this mega-fraud?
And then some tweets from the protest at the Plaza San Martín:
#TomaLaCalle 20h pic.twitter.com/W9OBTdz4Ta
— Jorge Pedraza (@jopedraza) April 1, 2014
Plaza San Martin! pic.twitter.com/oNGlekdby9 #TomaLaCalle
— Lucía Ferraro (@FerraroLu) April 1, 2014
“@elblogdebinario: #TomalaCalle contra la impunidad de Alan García. #Narcoindultos #Megacomisión #AlertaNoticias pic.twitter.com/MzyRGEDYwz“
— Vanessa Arias (@vane2003) April 1, 2014
Take the streets against impunity of Alan García.
But even these tweets didn’t go unchallenged by Alan García sympathizers. Armando calls the ex-president’s opponents calichines (inexperienced or amateur):
esto es #TomaLaCalle aprendan calichines!! @APRA_Oficial @ApraDigital a llorar al rio rimac!! pic.twitter.com/LYKqllNuVU
— ARMANDO (@ARMANDO1924) April 1, 2014
Take note, calichines! And go cry to the Rimac river.
The journalist Jacqueline Fowks reports that “it’s up to the congressional prosecutor to appeal this decision to the First Civil Court of Lima, above the Fifth Constitutional Court.”

author: Juan Arellano


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France, the Czech Republic and Greece Under Scrutiny for Their Treatment of Roma Community  · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

Governments across Europe are failing in their duties towards the Roma community in many ways. Discrimination, forced evictions and limited access to quality education are the norm in many countries.
An exhibition called Dignity in Strasbourg [fr] can be found on Facebook that displays photos of the community that links dignity, human rights and poverty.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Suzanne Lehn


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Jailed Iranian Blogger’s Letter Speaks of Torture · Global Voices
Farid

Iranian blogger Siamak Mehr was arrested in 2010 and is serving a 4-year sentence
Mohammad Reza Pourshajari, a jailed blogger known by his pen name Siamak Mehr, wrote an open letter from prison where he spoke of torture and extremely difficult conditions in prison. The letter, dated March 6, 2014 was widely republished by many websites at the end of March.
The 52-year old blogger is serving a 4-year sentence in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, which is north-west of Tehran. He was arrested on September 12, 2010 on charges of insulting the Prophet and enmity towards God in his  blog posts.
In the letter, Pourshajari wrote:
… as soon as I was arrested in my apartment by security forces, I was tortured, beaten and threatened to be executed… I am one of the victims of the Islamic regime's repression. I was sentenced to four years in prison for writing about injustice and violation of rights of [Iranian] citizens… I am writing this letter in a 21 square meter cell with 40 cellmates who are criminals, rapists, drug addicts… The Islamic Republic systematically represses fundamental civil rights and deprives people of freedom.
At the end of the letter, he invites the international community and governments who care for human rights to help Iranian people win their rights and freedom.
The blogger's daughter, Mitra Pourshajari, also wrote a letter in February 2014, explaining that her father's life is in danger. She said:
The authorities are refusing the transfer of Mr. Pourshajari to a medical facility and are depriving him of all his medications, in the hope that he will soon die. To [the prison authorities], the doctors’ opinions are of no importance; they completely ignore them…. All Iranians are forced to obey and do whatever pleases the system.
A Facebook page has been launched to support the jailed blogger, with a copies of his letters and updates on his situation.
Here is a video, uploaded in December 2011, showing Siamak Mehr in chains, apparently on his way to court.

author: Farid


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Japan Makes Public Transportation More Stroller-Friendly for Parents · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

A crowded train in Japan. Photo by Flickr user Tom. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Public transportation in Japan can be very crowded, especially in big cities like Tokyo, so it isn't the easiest place to be for parents pushing a young child in a stroller. With such little space, many have felt obligated to attempt the balancing act of collapsing the stroller and holding their child during the ride.
Now, they don't have to. Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has standardized [ja] the rules across its systems to allow strollers on board public transportation without being folded. The ministry has also designated a priority seat for parents, which will be marked with a special sticker.The new rules do still encourage parents to collapse strollers when transit is especially crowded, however.
According to a ministry report [ja] that details the background behind implementing the new rules, there are no statistics available for the use of baby carriages on public transportation. But it is estimated that 1-2 percent of passengers are accompanied by strollers at transport hubs in big cities, a figure 20 to 30 times higher than that of passengers in wheelchairs.
The report also noted that compared to other regions, Tokyo is less comfortable for people with strollers on public transit:
Image published by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Parents will no longer have to fold strollers when riding on trains and buses.
・混雑時に公共交通機関にベビーカーを折りたたまずに乗車することを不快・迷惑と感じる人の割合が多い。
・ベビーカーで移動する際に公共交通機関を利用する頻度が高いが、その際、車内でベビーカーを折りたたむ割合も比較的高い。
・ベビーカー利用時に周囲の方による手助けが少ない。
Twitter user yukixxxx explained the general attitude toward parents carrying their babies on public transportation:
ベビーカーたたまず乗車ＯＫ　公共交通機関でルール化　http://t.co/s4MRMONKcT　TPOをわきまえましょう。はこれまで通りで、とりあえず「たたみなさいよ！」という声に対して国が対応してもらえたのはありがたい。ベビーカーで電車乗ったことないけど。周りの目が怖いから。
— yukixxxxx (@yukixxxxx) 2014, 3月 30
We should continue to bear in mind the time, place and occasion. I appreciate the government taking on this issue while some will continue to say “you should fold the stroller anyway”. Though I've never taken trains with a baby stroller because I am scared how other passengers would look at me.
Responding to the new rules [ja], user meimei commented:
ルール化してもらえるとありがたい。常に場所取ってすいません・・・って気持ちで乗ってたから。ま、満員電車は絶対避けるけどねー。　ベビーカーたたまず乗車ＯＫ　公共交通機関でルール化（朝日新聞デジタル） – Y!ニュース http://t.co/85rcbUKDAy
— めえめえ (@meimei_BJ) 2014, 3月 27
I appreciate that they made this a rule. I have always felt sorry for taking up extra space [with a stroller] on a train. I will refrain from taking crowded trains though.
Twitter user Momoko Maeno looked backed on her days of travelling with her baby:
ふむーなるほど、そういう展開に。ベビーカー持って電車に乗るのが嫌で、車か抱っこひもで移動した結果、ベビーカーに乗ってくれない子に育ちましたw ベビーカーたたまず乗車ＯＫ　公共交通機関でルール化（朝日新聞デジタル） – Y!ニュース http://t.co/imYM4ZWqT4
— Momoko Maeno (@maemooot) 2014, 3月 27
Hmmm, to see how things have changed nowadays. Back when I was taking care of my baby, I disliked getting on the train with a baby stroller, and I would travel carrying my baby in front with a baby sling. The result is my child grew up to be one of those who refuses to get into a baby stroller. (laughing)
Another user, maguro610, recalled what used to be an unspoken rule among passengers:
良かった！うちはもう子供が18才になるけど、当時は空いてる電車でもたたむのが常識で片手に長女。片手に次女と前にベビーカーで通院も大変だった。RT ベビーカーたたまず乗車ＯＫ　公共交通機関でルール化（朝日新聞デジタル） – Y!ニュース http://t.co/bd3NA9i7qQ
— まぐろ(´•.̫ • ⋈ (@maguro610) 2014, 3月 27
Glad to hear this! My children are turning 18 years old now, but back in the day when they were babies, going to hospital was tough. It was common sense to fold the baby stroller even when the train was not crowded. I had to carry the two sisters, one in my left arm and another in my right, and I would push the folded stroller with the front of my body.
Passengers with baby strollers face additional issues at stations, such as wheels becoming caught in gaps between the platform and train and moving through the station between floors. Most train stations are equipped with at least one elevator, meant for the elderly, wheelchair-bound and passengers with strollers to use.
Some web users responded negatively toward the new rule. One mother was skeptical about it's effectiveness after reading heartless responses to the news:
マークを作ったからって、何も変わらないと思う…ちゃんと守っているママさんもいるのに、コメントの内容見ると外出したくなくなる(;_;) ベビーカーたたまず乗車ＯＫ　公共交通機関でルール化（朝日新聞デジタル） – Y!ニュース http://t.co/pwOF3qeR0u
— しーちゃんママ (@T2P_shi) 2014, 3月 27
I don't think making a rule will change anything. It makes me sad to see harsh comments in reaction to the news, and it keeps me from going out [with my baby]
Making public transit comfortable passengers with strollers may come as a first step in making Tokyo universally accessible ahead of the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

author: Keiko Tanaka


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Macedonian President’s Interview Blunders Leave Macedonians Laughing · Global Voices
Temjana Popovska

One week ahead of Macedonia's presidential elections, incumbent candidate President Gjorge Ivanov provoked widespread discussion among Macedonian social media users by making a series of gaffes in his first campaign interview.
Users quickly shared information about Ivanov's blunders using the hashtag #хорхе (a satirical Macedonian transliteration of the Spanish version of the name Gjorje – Jorje), reaching large audiences both in and outside the country.
Among other mistakes in the interview, Ivanov claimed that former French President Jacques Chirac had served as president of the US:
When Jacques Chirac was President of America, he took the position after being mayor of Paris, and because of that experience he coped with the immigrants issue.
Macedonian news portal A1on.mk published an excerpt of the televised interview that includes this claim:
Referring to the newly opened Macedonian embassy in Kazakhstan, Ivanov then claimed that Kazakhstan is larger than all the countries in Europe put together:
“I was even in Kazakhstan and opened an embassy there. And to show you how big Kazakhstan is – just imagine how big Europe and all European countries are. That is how large the surface of Kazakhstan is.”
The president is known for refusing to take part in a public debate since starting his campaign, aside from a few interviews on state-supported media.
A parody photomontage of President Gjorge Ivanov participating in the Macedonian version of the popular television quiz “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”. Image author anonymous – widely distributed on social networks.
At the start of the presidential campaign, one of the country's national television stations, Telma, claimed that it faced  [mk] unequal access to information and unfair competition in the media market and blamed this on the government. Telma stated that it had invited Ivanov to participate in a live televised interview, but that he had declined their invitation. Telma responded on their prime time news programme, saying that “Ignorance is the method of the insecure”:
The man who wants to be the president of all citizens, and that means to us too, decided to play by the rules from the centre and ignore us, without saying whether he will accept our invitation or not!
Ivanov's rejection of Telma's invitation to participate in an interview provoked a discussion among many Macedonian users on Twitter. Twitter user @parg0, a social media activist from the capital Skopje, said:
#Хорхе почна со одбивање покани. Ќе има едно празно столче во студијата гледам јас. http://t.co/AIzDm1P4ub У ствари и вака и така ќе имаше.
— Parg0 (@parg0) March 27, 2014
#Хорхе beginning to decline invitations. There's going to be an empty chair in the studio I see. http://t.co/AIzDm1P4ub Or they'd have [an empty chair] either way.
After this tweet, other users reported that Ivanov had rejected or ignored invitations for interviews or debates from other independent media outlets.
The web portal Libertas noted that several hours after the beginning of the online discussion about Ivanov's clumsy television appearance, several videos containing content from the interview in question were removed from YouTube [mk]. After the removal of some of the videos, some Twitter users compared Ivanov with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdoğan, who has also faced criticism for blocking social media sites in late March 2014
Вчера гледам го скинале видеото каде изјавува Иванов дека Ширак е претседател на Америка. Не заборавајте, на #Хорхе срцето е со Ердоган.
— Слонче (@Elislonce) March 28, 2014
I saw yesterday that the video where Ivanov said Chirac was president of the US was removed. Don’t forget, #Хорхе’s heart is with Erdoğan.
It remains unclear why the videos are no longer available. Some social media users have suggested that YouTube could have taken them down following user complaints, that the original posters of the videos have now removed them themselves, or that they had been forced to remove them under pressure from the authorities.

author: Temjana Popovska


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PHOTOS: Picnicking Under Japan’s Cherry Blossoms · Global Voices
Keiko Tanaka

Cherry blossom season is here. Viewing the delicate flower is a seasonal excuse in Japan for friends, family and colleagues to get together and enjoy food and beers underneath the full bloom of sakura.
Take a virtual tour of hanami [花見], or the activity of flower viewing, via the following collection of Creative Commons-licensed photos:
Walking underneath the full bloom of sakura can feel like walking through a floral tunnel. Photo taken April 5, 2014 by Flickr user coniferconifer. CC BY 2.0
Cherry blossoms at Chidorigafuchi park near Kudanshita station in Tokyo. Photo by Manish Prabhune. The complete photo essay with travel directions can be found at website JapanTravel. CC Attribution License
People eat underneath the cherry blossoms. Photo taken in Yawata, Kyoto on April 1, 2014 by Flickr user Japanexperterna. CC BY-SA 2.0
A cherry petal accidentally fell into a drink. Photo taken April 5, 2014 by Shogo Nozaki. CC BY-NC 2.0
People lay out a tarp at Akashi Castle park. Photo taken April 3, 2014 by Flickr user Manuel Cansaya Jauregi. CC BY-SA 2.0
People sleep on a tarp. It's common to see people napping under the cherry blossoms after so much drinking. Photo taken April 3, 2014 by Flickr user James Hadfield. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
A dog enjoys the outdoors. Taking your puppy to a park where cherry blossoms are in bloom will make for great photo ops. Photo taken April 6, 2014 at National Show Memorial Park by Flickr user luckyno3. CC BY-NC 2.0
Flickr user y.ganden spotted a Japanese Bush Warbler in the blooming sakura trees. CC BY-NC 2.0
Strong winds and spring showers down cherry blossom petals. Photo taken by Flickr user coniferconifer. CC BY 2.0
A path is covered in cherry blossom petals. Photo by flickr user y.ganden. CC BY-NC 2.0


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Project Uses Mobile Phones to Encourage Reading · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Lauri writes about a project in South Africa, FunDza Literacy Trust, that takes advantage of mobile phone technology to encourage reading among kids:
What I find lovely, though, is when Africans sort out innovative solutions to their problems. FunDza Literacy Trust is one such solution. Cellphones have taken off big in Southern Africa and FunDza has latched on to that to get kids reading. I'm proud to be writing regularly for them.
How it works is a story begins on a Friday. Each story has seven chapters and one chapter goes out on the kids’ cellphones each day. Here is my author's page with all of the stories I've written at FunDza. Click on any story and see the comments the readers leave. The kids are reading and seriously engaging with the stories! I think this is wonderful!

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Russian Internet Hipsters Are Out For Blood · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Internet fight gone bad? Journalist llya Azar vs. publicist and editor Dmitry Olshansky.
The minor scandal that I am about to describe might serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers of ill-conceived Facebook status updates, or perhaps about the growing threat of RuNet epistemic closure.
As the crisis in Eastern Ukraine shows no signs of abating, Russian bloggers are once again digging the trenches of armchair-warfare. Publicist Dmitry Olshansky, who in the past has both opposed and supported Putin, but who for the past few months has been stridently pro Russian intervention in Ukraine, posted the following text on his Facebook account:
Вниманию тех, кто может читать меня в Донецке в здании Донецкого совета – и тех, кто может продублировать для Донецка. Там находится агент враждебных СМИ гражданин России Илья Азар. Представляться будет журналистом из Москвы. Он ищет гадости для медиа, лояльных киевскому режиму. Убирайте его из здания.
Attention anybody who could be reading me in Donetsk, inside the Donetsk council building — also those who can duplicate my message for Donetsk. Inside there is an agent of hostile mass media, Russian citizen, Ilya Azar. He will say he is a journalist from Moscow. He is muck-racking for media that are loyal to the Kiev regime. Remove him from the building.
Ilya Azar, formerly of Lenta.ru (and according to some sources one of the prime causes [Global Voices report] for Kremlin pressure on its editorial staff that led to mass resignations last month), is currently reporting from Ukraine. Olshanksy's post might have been precipitated by Azar's tweets from the field like this one:
один из членов временного правительства донецкой народной республики http://t.co/eDspVcM42q pic.twitter.com/LN5eqTD2wy
— iлля¯\_(ツ)_/¯няшмяш (@A3AP) April 8, 2014
one of the members of the interim government of the donetsk people's republic
Olshansky soon removed his post, perhaps reacting to a wave of outrage both on Facebook and Twitter, but not before enterprising readers took screenshots:
Ольшанский совсем ебнулся, простите pic.twitter.com/YECACfmOGh
— Рустем Адагамов (@adagamov) April 8, 2014
Olshansky has completely lost his f*cking mind, pardon my French
But even with the prompt deletion, Olshansky's message got out — at least some of his readers were sympathetic enough to proliferate it in “anti-maidan” public groups on VKontakte and then through mobile walkie-talkie communication apps like Zello. One of Azar's followers tweeted a warning:
@belanatoli @a3ap @a3ap Уже третий раз за час на Донецком zello канале упоминают о “Азаре-провокаторе” с ориентировкой. Илья, будь осторожен
— 118088 (@118088) April 8, 2014
For the third time in an hour on the Donetsk zello channel they've mentioned “Azar-the-provocateur”, together with a description. Ilya, be careful.
It appears that Azar does indeed have something to worry about — Olshansky's message got modified as it moved through the grapevine. For example, an announcement [ru] that was posted in a public VKontakte group began much like Olshansky's original post (although Azar was referred to as a USA fifth-columnist), but then continued much more ominously:
Так же может сотрудничать с СБУ для передачи им оперативной информации и корректировки снайперов спецназа!! Размещаем его фото. Если есть такой человек – сами знаете, что нужно сделать.
He could also be cooperating with SBU (Ukrainian secret police) by giving them timely information, and directed spetsnaz snipers!! We are posting his photo. If there is a person like this – you know what to do.
Implicit threats of physical violence against Azar soon led to explicit threats against Olshansky, when journalist and writer Roman Volobuev wrote [ru] on his Facebook:
Поскольку с режимом бороться страшно и надо уметь, а бездействие деморализует, предлагаю побить Ольшанского: тут ни навыков не нужно, ни смелости, а дело хорошее — редкий случай, господа.
Because fighting the regime is scary and you need skills, and because inactivity is demoralizing, I suggest we beat up Olshanksy: you don't need skills or bravery, and at the same time it's a good cause — a rare treat, gents.
In response Olshansky called [ru] Volobuev a “stomach worm” that had “crawled out of someone's ass.” Never before has Russian intelligentsia been so close to its earthy roots.
Volobuev's sentiment was supported [ru] by former street activist Stanislav Yakovlev, and his commenters, including Ivan Kolpakov, Lenta.ru's former head of the investigative journalism department (and so Azar's former boss). When word came, however, that Roman Dobrokhotov, a little-liked-in-some-circles Internet “hipster” also volunteered [ru] to “f*ck up” Olshansky, all bets were off:
Efim Dikiy: и это, давайте лучше вместе долбанем по Доброхотову!
Станислав Яковлев: А ведь про Доброхотова отличная идея. Нет, правда, отличная.
Efim Dikiy: and yeah, better let's all gang up on Dobrokhotov!
Stanislav Yakovlev: Oh, this is actually a great idea about Dobrokhov. No, honestly, a great idea.
And so the bloody wheel of the revolution turns.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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The Kidnapping Industry Takes Hold in Cameroon · Global Voices
Dibussi Tande

The Matango Club blog reflects upon the kidnapping of two italian priests and a canadian nun [fr] on April 4, 2014 in Northern Cameroon:
Pour l’histoire, les kidnappings de ce genre ne datent pas d’aujourd’hui. Rappelons que  dernièrement, le rapt du prêtre français Georges Vandenbeusch, 42 ans, a fait beaucoup de bruit. Il avait été kidnappé un 14 novembre 2013 dans son monastère, la paroisse de Nguetchewe, près de Koza, dans le nord du pays, à 700 kilomètres de la capitale Yaoundé, une zone considérée comme très dangereuse. Avant lui, le 19 février 2013, la famille Moulin-Fournier avait elle aussi été enlevée. Ces deux derniers kidnapping avaient connu un tapage médiatique international à tel point que les soupçons qui pesaient sur le groupe islamique Boko Haram ont fini par être confirmés par le chef Abubakar Shekau, leader du groupuscule depuis 2009.
Tout juste après la libération de la famille Moulin-Fournier, la presse camerounaise et beaucoup d’opinion diverses soupçonnaient le gouvernement camerounais d’avoir donné une rançon au groupe islamique Boko Haram pour la libération des français. Ces soupçons se sont encore renforcés lorsque la même France a encore eu maille à partir avec le kidnapping du prêtre Georges qui a été libéré quelque semaines après. Ces séries de rapts et de libérations à n’en plus finir font penser que c’est devenu un marché tant du côté du Nigeria que du  Cameroun.
Kidnapping of this kind is not new in Cameroon. The abduction of French priest Georges Vandenbeusch, 42, made a lot of noise recently. He was kidnapped on November 14, 2013 in his monastery, in the parish Nguetchewe near Koza, 700 kilometers north of the capital city Yaoundé, an area that is considered very dangerous. Before him, on February 19 2013, the Moulin-Fournier family were also kidnapped. These last two kidnappings were covered to a certain extent in the international media with suspicions aimed at the Islamic group Boko Haram. These suspicions were eventually confirmed by Boko Haram's leader since 2009 Abubakar Shekau.  Just after the release of Moulin- Fournier family, the Cameroonian press suspected that the Cameroonian government paid a ransom to Boko Haram for the release of the French hostages. These suspicions were further strengthened when France seems involved in the release of priest Georges Vandenbeusch some weeks later. These series of kidnappings and releases suggest that the kidnapping industry has become a booming sector in Nigeria and now in Cameroon as well.

author: Dibussi Tande


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Video Shows How the U.S. Dropped 2.5 Million Tons of Bombs on Laos · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Mother Jones uploaded a video which simulates the 600 bombing missions conducted by the United States in Laos between 1965 to 1973 during the Vietnam War era.

author: Mong Palatino


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‘Deputy Political Center’ Rumor Heats Up Chinese City Baoding’s Property Market  · Global Voices
Holly

A busy intersection in downtown Baoding, China. Photo taken June 6, 2006 by Flickr user Tim Riley. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Home sellers in Baoding, a small city only a hundred miles away from the capital city of Beijing, haven't been this busy for quite some time.
People from cities including neighboring Beijing and Tianjin, as well as Wenzhou, home to most of the country's speculative buyers, have been flocking to Baoding lately, scooping up houses and stirring up its long-stable property market.
Average prices of new homes in Baoding rose by 4.8 percent from the previous month, the highest monthly growth seen among all 288 cities monitored by China Real Estate Information Corporation (CRIC).
The sudden upturn in the city's property market came in line with a report saying the city in northern China’s Hebei Province has been named by the central government as its “Deputy Political Center”.
Caijing, one of the top business and financial magazines in China, quoted an unnamed source as saying that a “common understanding” has been reached among Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. The three regions together form one of the country’s most important economic circles in northern China.
A week after the report came out, the Hebei provincial government announced a plan to prepare Baoding for hosting some public institutions or ministerial departments that would be relocated from Beijing.
The announcement sent a shockwave across the city’s property market, pushing up prices in what was called by locals as “unprecedented”.
Some apartments have seen their average prices jump to 8,700 yuan per meters squared (1,400 US dollars), compared with 5,000 yuan (800 US dollars) just a month ago, triggering worries about over-speculation.
Xie Lusheng, a former policy maker at the Hebei municipal government, accused some groups of plotting to make profits by causing panics among consumers.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planner, implicitly dismissed the Caijing report by saying that it has never heard of a plan to build a “Deputy Political Center”.
Some believe impacts of the recent rumor on the city's housing market would be temporary and limited since the concept of building an economic circle surrounding the capital city has been floating around for decades without leading to substantive moves.
Transactions remained tepid amid rallying prices as statistics by Centaline, a Hongkong-based real estate agency, showed a daily average of 40 houses sold in the city after the Caijing report started circulating.
Newspaper the Beijing News reported that it would take at least 40 months for the city to sell all its existing inventory of houses, so the current rally won't last long. It posted this message on its official account on Twitter-like Sina Weibo:
【保定楼市：突如其来的疯狂】“现在房价太乱了，把三年的价都涨了，”2日，保定本地人小王在电话里抱怨道，“本来保定房价根本不怎么涨，大家不着急买房，都是你们媒体和开发商一起炒的，现在都担心买不起房！”针对保定城区房价暴涨，多位业内人士都称“难以持续
Baoding property market: The sudden craziness. “Property prices are turbulent. Prices have been rising to what we'd expect three years from now,” a local Baoding resident with the surname Wang complained over the phone in April. “Property prices in Baoding have been stable, and we weren't in a hurry to buy property, but now due to the hype from the media and property developers, we are worried we won't be able to afford a house at all!” Many insiders have said the skyrocketing prices in Baoding are unsustainable.
Weibo user Chizhou Suren warned:
保定及周边房价暴涨，典型的投机疯狂，或许风暴来临前的最后疯狂！！！！欲让其毁灭，必先让其疯狂！！！
Property prices in Baoding and its surrounding areas have been skyrocketing, it's typical speculative craziness, or the final craziness before the storm!!!! Before you destroy it, you make a crazy scene first.
Yueying Shanhuwan complained:
呵呵，保定人民还没享受到福利，先承担买不起房的苦果了
Hehe, we in Baoding haven't benefitted from the move yet, but are now tasting the bitterness of not being able to afford a house.
Yingtou Xiaomao wrote:
当初看到保定的这个新闻时，我瞬间就想到了两年前海南所谓的“国际旅游岛”。这些噱头或曰风声，目测改变不了任何行政层面的东西，能实际留下的东西也就是房产泡沫而已。——事实上，我根本就怀疑这些东西都是房产商折腾出来的。
When I first saw the news about Baoding, I suddenly thought of the so-called “international tourism island” plan proposed for Hainan province two years ago. Such a stunt will not change anything at an administrative level, but what it will leave in the end is a property bubble—-In fact, I fundamentally doubt these things were planned by property developers.

author: Holly


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Ecuador: Civil Society Takes On Private Copying Levy · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

In Ecuador, the debate continues over compensatory remuneration for private copying, also known as the private copying levy. The debate was sparked by regulations proposed by the Ecuadorian Institute of Intellectual Property (IEPI, according to its Spanish name) that would impose an additional tax of 4%-10% on the importation of all music and video devices, such as cellphones, personal computers, and tablets, as well as blank media (CDs, DVDs, etc).
Image from Facebook page of Ecuador no es copión [Ecuador is no pirate]. Used with permission.
The measure has not yet been implemented and, in the interim, various civil society organizations such as Usuarios Digitales [es] have launched a campaign against the private copying levy in Ecuador. Under the hashtag #EcuadorNoEsCopión, Twitter and Facebook users have joined together to spread the anti-levy message.
In March, a working group [es] consisting of representatives of the IEPI and civil society came together, at the latter's request, to address the “Act respecting intellectual property as it pertains to taxing equipment and blank media and how the proposed measure, from its application in other countries, would include things such as participation by ENRUCOPI [Ecuador's agency responsible for phonogram and ideogram private copying] and levies collected.” Some of the arguments and proposals put forward by members of civil society included:
To which the government agency responded:
Alfredo Velazco, of the civil society organization Usuarios Digitales, and one of the participants in the working group, gave his opinion to Global Voices regarding the results of the meeting:
Creo que el principal resultado es que, después de múltiples pedidos desde la sociedad civil, se haya invitado al diálogo para escuchar a quienes finalmente pagaremos el canon digital. Ahora lo importante es que las políticas públicas plasmen no sólo las opiniones de los beneficiarios, sino de todos los actores que son impactados.
I think the main results is that, after multiple requests by civil society, a dialogue has begun to give voice to those who in the end will be paying the levy. The important thing now is that public policy expresses not just the opinions of the beneficiaries, but of all the stakeholders who are affected.
Furthermore, members of #EcuadorNoEsCopión, inspired by the campaigns against private copying levies [es] in Spain, spoke to Enrique Dans, one of the prime movers in the struggle. Asked about what Spanish experiences in the fight against levies might be useful in Ecuador, Dans mentioned:
El canon logró cosas como, por ejemplo, hundir a toda la industria local de fabricación de CDs y DVDs, y hacer menos competitivas las compras de tecnología contribuyendo así al retraso tecnológico de nuestro país con relación a su entorno. Lo único que se puede aprender, aparte de fundamentos jurídicos que pueden llegar a ser muy útiles tras su necesaria transposición a la legislación local, es que el activismo es la única respuesta, y que este tiene que ser constante y persistente.
An example of the legacy of private copying levies is the destruction of local CD and DVD manufacturing, as well as making technology more expensive, thereby contributing to the technology gap between our country and its neighbours. The only thing that can be learned, apart from the legal basis that can be useful after necessarily being implemented at the local level, is that activism is the only answer—and that it has to be constant and lasting.
From Loja, Ecuador, on his blog bitácora de calú, Carlos Correa posts a part fictional, part true story [es] about the the refrigerators of Chimborazo to exemplify misunderstood protectionism and then goes on to answer some of the arguments commonly used to defend private copying levies:
1. “Don't complain; it's only pennies.” Here there are two fallacies: a) it is not the amount, it's the principle; imagine you go to a grocery store, the guard at the door puts his hand in your bag, he takes out a nickel and says to you, “I assume you are going to steal, so this nickel is compensation for a presumed crime, so now come in, go shopping (and don't steal too much), we're open-minded here.” I bet you aren't going to feel great about it; and b) if you add up all the levies collected in the course of a year from all the data recording devices that are imported or manufactured in Ecuador, it definitely doesn't add up to “pennies”.
As was indicated in the Ecuadorian media: Compensation is not popular on the Internet [es], but from there to securing a tangible result and convincing the Ecuadorian bureaucracy of the absurdity of some of the measures proposed is a long road—a road that will be strewn with initiatives like those mentioned above and others such as the one in this YouTube video by Activista Ecuatoriano:


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Last Week 337 Workers Fainted at Garment Factories in Cambodia  · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Workers were sent to a clinic after fainting in a garment factory. Photo from Facebook page of Community Legal Education Center
Three days of mass fainting were reported in garment factories in Cambodia in the first week of April. In the country’s capital Phnom Penh, 337 workers, mostly female, were sent for treatment to four separate clinics.
Over the week, the fainting occurred at 11 buildings in three factories inside Vantanak Park – Shenzhou, Daqian Textile and New Wide. These names are not known outside Cambodia but they produce clothing for international sports brands Adidas, Puma, and Nike.
The garment sector is a $5 billion dollar export industry in Cambodia which employs more than 600,000 workers. For many years, workers have been complaining of receiving measly wages.
Labor groups initially suspected that “unsanitary water and food, and strong fabric odors” caused the fainting among workers.Mass fainting cases have been regularly reported and are blamed on poor working conditions inside the factories.
Last December, garment workers asked the government to raise the monthly minimum wage from $80 to $160 dollars. But the government said the economy can only sustain an incremental $15-$20 increase. In response, garment unions conducted a nationwide strike but this was violently dispersed by police forces in January.
The site of the bloody crackdown is only a few meters away from one of the factories where workers fainted en masse this week.
This April 3, more than 200 garment workers fainted in Canadia Park, where bloody strike in Jan 2014. CMO reported. pic.twitter.com/S5RUQQDjwn
— Sopheak SREY (@sopheaksrey) April 3, 2014
The Community Legal Education Center linked the fainting with malnutrition and poor wages of garment workers. The group urged global brands to improve the conditions of their supply-chain workers:
International brands such as Adidas, Puma and Nike are complicit in this. Whilst their various codes and standards state that wages are essential for meeting the basic needs of employees and reasonable savings and expenditure, their supply-chain workers are not seeing any tangible benefits.
And we call on international brands such as Adidas, Puma and Nike to take concrete measures to address wages that currently do not satisfy basic needs nor provide for a life with human dignity.
The group also advised the government to raise the wages of workers:
We call on the government to return to wage negotiations immediately and end the endemic corruption that businesses now associate with Cambodia.
More than 300 workers fainted at garment factories. Photo from Facebook page of Community Legal Education Center


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Meet India’s Most Powerful Women Politicians · Global Voices
Manasi Gopalakrishnan

Sonia Gandhi, current AICC president and widow of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi campaigns for Assembly elections in the eastern state of Nagaland. Image by Caisii Mao. Copyright Demotix (7/2/2014)
India may be infamous for the crimes committed against women within its borders, but the country has several female leaders who have risen to the top and changed the course of the country's politics.
With India's general elections – the world's largest – underway, get to know a little more about the country's leading women politicians.
Sonia Gandhi: The queen bee
Italian-born Sonia Gandhi has been the chief of the Indian National Congress Party, one of the two main political parties in India, since 1998. She has also been the chairperson of political coalition United Progressive Alliance since it was formed following the 2004 elections.
She is the wife of assassinated Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and her son Rahul Gandhi stands as the heir of the Gandhi family's political legacy. Rahul Gandhi, second in command of the Indian National Congress, is also participating in the elections this time and is pitted against the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Narendra Modi.
Forbes’ magazine named her the world's ninth most powerful person in 2013. Her reputation as a leader, however, has been overshadowed by the multitude of corruption cases against her party, such as her husband and party's involvement in an arms scandal in the 1990s, in which the Indian government accepted illegal kickbacks for the sale of weapons from Swedish company Bofors. She has therefore been the target of several such comments on Twitter:
Factuals on Sonia Gandhi wealth. Where did she find her wealth; surely not on salary as President of Cong Party? pic.twitter.com/x2xLUxWBRJ
— K Khorana (@oldkrish) April 5, 2014
Jayalalitha: The “mother”
“Amma” or mother is how former film star and current politician Jayalalitha's fans know her in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Jayalalitha is the chief minister there and the head of the state political party All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). M.G. Ramachandran, a revered actor himself and an eminent politician in Tamil Nadu introduced her to politics in the 1980s.
Jayalalitha Jayaram (#bday), the Queen of Tamil Nadu, dressed as the Queen of Egypt. (Anyone recognise the film?) pic.twitter.com/tQGrWcJQL3
— India in Pictures (@indiainpix) February 24, 2014
Jayalalitha came to be known as the Imelda Marcos of India after a raid in 1996 exposed a cache of more than 10,000 silk sarees and several hundred kilograms of gold and silver in her house and she was briefly jailed in 1997. For the 2014 elections, Jayalalitha or “Puratchi Thalaivi,” (revolutionary leader) as she is known to her followers, has decided to join the third front featuring smaller parties, to counter the right-wing BJP and Congress coalitions.
Mamata Banerjee: The “elder sister”
“Didi” is how Mamata Banerjee's supporters call her. She is the chief minister of West Bengal and the head of the All India Trinamool Congress party. She made a name for herself in Indian politics after becoming the country's first woman railway minister in 2002. She also supported farmers in Nandigram in West Bengal who were against the acquisition of land for the construction of a special economic zone.
Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee campaigns in South Tripura. Image by Reporter #24728. Copyright Demotix (1/4/2014)
“Didi”, who has more than 688,000 fans on Facebook, is no stranger to controversy, be it lashing out at criticism:
A concerted movement to stifle free speech in India. ‘WB govt. moves to ban film criticizing Mamata Banerjee. http://t.co/lbz4SXwKfn
— Narahari Vittal Rao (@vnarahari) February 25, 2013
Or for not heeding the Election Commission's rules:
Election Commission tells Mamata govt to comply with directives, transfer officials
— India Today (@IndiaToday) April 8, 2014
Mayawati: The “little sister”
Mayawati, the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in northern India, is a shining example of social upliftment. She joined politics in 1977 and is the head of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Bahujan in Hindi means “diverse people” and is supposed to denote the lower and backward castes in Indian society.
Mayawati's supporters adore her, but she was criticized for installing her own statues all over Lucknow, the state capital, and for wearing a garland made of rupee notes worth several million.
Can you forget Mayawati's garish garland made of currency notes? #MoneyMaya #janlokpal pic.twitter.com/FqZkIkh
— Voice of the people (@janlokpal) September 6, 2011
Sushma Swaraj: Simply herself
Sushma Swaraj. Image by Shamik Faraz, Wikimedia Commons
Swaraj is currently the leader of the Indian opposition in the lower house of the Indian parliament, called the Lok Sabha. She is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the country's main right-wing political party, and may have been a candidate for prime minister had it not been for Narendra Modi. She has more than a million fans on Twitter.
Swaraj was the youngest cabinet minister.
The winner with greatest share of votes in 2009: Sushma Swaraj (BJP), 78.8%, from Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh http://t.co/IxVPQfpngk #1bnvotes
— CNN-IBN News (@ibnlive) April 8, 2014
There are several other female politicians who have made their mark in Indian politics and may play a decisive role in forming the government this time around. These include Smriti Irani from the Bharatiya Janata Party, leader of the Communist Party of India Brinda Karat, and Uma Bharti also from Bharatiya Janata Party.

author: Manasi Gopalakrishnan


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Russia Intends to Clean Up “Internet Pollution” · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

The Russian government is drafting a new project that would redefine the “principles of state cultural policy.” In a concept paper shared with the press this week, a working group led by Sergei Ivanov, Putin's chief of staff, declared Russia's need to preserve its unique “state-civilization” and moral foundation in the face of globalization. Russia must “open up to the world” without “dissolving in it,” the paper argues.
The Ministry of Culture's plans could have a profound impact on Russia's regulation of the Internet, if future legislation adopts the language that now appears in the working group's recommendations, which likens “information quality controls” to environmental protection:
Сегодня в киберпространстве все, кто имеет доступ к компьютер и Интернету, что-то создают и распространяют вне зависимости от образования, кругозора, жизненного опыта, знания предмета, психического здоровья и их истинных намерений. В результате информационное пространство загрязнено, и воздействие на нас этих загрязнений пока еще плохо осознается, но их уже можно сравнивать с загрязнением воздуха, которым мы дышим и воды, которую мы пьем.
Today in cyberspace, everyone who has access to a computer and the Internet is creating and distributing something, regardless of their education, worldview, life experience, expertise, mental health, or true intentions. As a result, the information space is polluted. It is still early and we cannot say what impact this has on us, but we can already compare this to pollution of the air we breathe and the water we drink.
Equating “Internet pollution” with carbon emissions and water contamination would vastly expand the state's ability to regulate online activity. Lawmakers discussed the working paper in the Duma today, but no one addressed its potential application to Internet policy. Before the plan emerges as legislation, state officials have several wrinkles to iron out—particularly those concerning funding.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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The Role Of Media In The Indian General Elections 2014 · Global Voices
Rezwan

Vidyut at AamJanata, the common man's blog, writes an open letter to the Indian media criticizing its role in reporting about the ongoing Indian Lok Sabha elections.
Media has failed to report adequately on the implications of perception engineering through doctored poll surveys. Media has failed to draw attention to the problems being reported with ballot boxes. Media has failed to provide adequate disclosure of broadcasts of event feeds provided by political parties – which essentially amounts to free advertising time.

author: Rezwan


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6.2 Earthquake Hits Nicaragua · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

A powerful 6,1 earthquake hit Nicaragua on Thursday, April 10, 2014. There were reports [es] of injured people and collapsing of houses as a result of the movement.
The epicenter was located at 20 kilometers North of the capital city Managua, close to Apoyeque volcano, at 10 kilometers depth. In Twitter, users reported aftersocks and suspension of school activities:
#HenkilBernardRzb 1 Cinco réplicas tras fuerte sismo de 6,2 grados en Nicaragua: MANAGUA, Nicaragua.- Al meno… http://t.co/l1Nn3icc9G
— dime_lokito (@isaac_alvarez01) April 11, 2014
Five aftershocks after powerful 6,2 earthquake in Nicaragua: MANAGUA, Nicaragua.- At least…
NICARAGUA. Clases suspendidas en #Managua y #León tras el sismo http://t.co/sjZVa7ooCp
— Tweet Quake (@tweet_quake) April 11, 2014
Schools activities suspended in Managua and León due to the earthquake.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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A Look at the Mexico City Metro · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

April is transportation month at Global Voices, which is why it is only prudent to refer once again to the public transportation system in Mexico's capital city.
The Metro is basically the mode of transportation that mobilizes the most citizens in Mexico City, with an estimated influx of 435,440,200 passengers between October and December 2013, according to official figures [es] from last year. With such a high demand, it is natural that all sorts of users will express themselves on blogs and social networks.
Mexico City Metro. Photo from Flickr from Eneas (CC BY 2.0) .
For example, on the Íconos del Metro [es] blog, the author has taken on the task of sharing images of every station, as well as an explanation of them, for reasons he summarizes as follows:
Como parte de un proyecto aparte, realicé un par de íconos del metro en formato vectorial, deseaba ponerlos a disposición de todos en la Wikipedia, pero resulta que el Sistema de Transporte Colectivo tiene los derechos reservados sobre la iconografía de las estaciones del Metro de la Ciudad de México, y prohíbe la inclusión de estos logotipos en la enciclopedia en línea. Así pues se los comparto en este blog.
As part of a separate project, I made a couple of metro signs in a vector format. I wanted to make them available to everyone on Wikipedia, but it turns out that the Public Transportation System has reserved all rights to iconography in Mexico City's Metro stations and prohibits the inclusion of these logos in the online encyclopedia, so I'm sharing them on this blog.
On Twitter, user D G Miramontes (@zombicosmico) uses hashtag #miamigoelmetro [es] [my friend the metro] to spread her messages about everyday experiences on this mode of transportation:
#miamigoelmetro salvando el perro pic.twitter.com/H5In4t5X
— D G Miramontes (@zombicosmico) January 12, 2013
My friend the Metro saving the dog
Other users took this opportunity to publish their complaints, as is the case for Dana A. Salas (@salasdana) who expressed her feelings about the presence of street vendors or “vagoneros” (“roaming vendors”) in the Metro cars:
Según en el #MetroDF del s.XXI que nos ofrecieron ya no iba haber vendedores ambulantes. En mi trayecto de hoy conté al menos a siete.
— Dana A. Salas (@salasdana) April 10, 2014
According to the DF Metro of the 21st century that were offered to us, there were not going to be any more roaming vendors. On my commute today, I counted at least seven.
Daniel Rosas (@DanielRosasH) spoke out in the same vein:
La burla en el Metro del #DF continúa, los vagoneros desfilan uno tras otro en mayor número y los trenes tardan en una estación 5 mins o +
— DANIEL ROSAS (@DanielRosasH) March 24, 2014
Mockery in the DF Metro continues, train vendors parade one after the other in greater numbers and trains are stopped at one station for 5 minutes or more.
The biggest complaint about the Metro, however, is one that has to do with the great work done by the administration of the Head of Government, Marcelo Ebrard (known among other things for his online interactions with citizens): a whole new metro line that has had to close down a few months after his inauguration, given the litany of irregularities (financial or legal) and technical failures that it has presented. The issue was summarized by journalist Joaquín López-Dóriga [es]:
Nunca nadie pudo imaginar que la Línea 12 del Metro, la obra emblemática de Marcelo Ebrard, fuera a desembocar en el conflicto técnico, económico y político que ha escalado. Cuando aquel 30 de octubre de 2012, el entonces jefe de Gobierno del Distrito Federal cortó el listón acompañado del presidente Felipe Calderón, todo eran sonrisas y proyectos.
No one could ever imagine that Metro Line 12, Marcelo Ebrard's iconic work, would end up in the technical, economic, and political conflict that has escalated. When the then Head of the Federal District cut the ribbon on October 30, 2012, accompanied by President Felipe Calderón, it was all smiles and projects.
The journalist in question compared this local government public work to one of the flagship works of the federal government (the Estela de Luz, which was delivered extemporaneously and at an extra cost):
Catorce meses después comenzó la pesadilla con una Línea 12 que se desdoró en medio de la reiterada incapacidad gubernamental de gestión, de gerencia de obras pública, como en la Estela de Luz, la sede del Senado, de un tramo fundamental del emisor central y los segundos pisos, por citar algunos. La Línea 12, una obra fundamental que mejoró sustancialmente la calidad de vida de medio millón de personas al día, se las empeoró en menos de 24 horas, el pasado 11 de marzo, cuando se suspendió el servicio y corrida en 11 de sus veinte estaciones, once de sus 21 kilómetros.
Fourteen months later, the nightmare with Line 12 started, which was tarnished amidst the reiterated government inability to manage, to manage public works like the Estela de Luz, the Senate seat, a key stretch of the central transmitter and the second floors, to name a few. Line 12, a fundamental work that improved the quality of life substantially for half a million people per day, worsened in less than 24 hours on March 11, when the service and route in 11 of its twenty stations and eleven of its 21 kilometers were suspended.
On Twitter, user Jorge (@BladeMithology) expressed himself about the ignominious closure of Mexico City's Metro Line 12:
Y entre más se le rasca a la #Linea12 más huele a corrupción… #Fail
— JORGE (@BladeMithology) April 10, 2014
And the more you scratch Line12 the more it smells of corruption… Fail
So thus, with a look at public transportation in the Mexican capital, you can get a good idea of the challenges that citizens struggle with on a daily basis.

author: J. Tadeo


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Censorship Forces Navalny to Abandon LiveJournal · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Images remixed by Andrey Tselikov.
Russia's most famous blogger (or as he describes himself: “corruption fighter, son, husband, father”) has been forced to move away from LiveJournal, the popular blogging platform that launched him to fame in the first place. As a result of government mandated censorship [Global Voices report], and notwithstanding attempts to counteract such censorship [Global Voices report], Alexey Navalny's team has started a new standalone blog, navalny.com [ru]. Because Navalny is still under house arrest, the blog is technically run by his wife. According to the first post [ru], this blog is an attempt to create a clean slate with Russia's Internet regulators, who claim that Navalny's old blog contains calls for unlawful rallies. At this point, Navalny's LiveJournal account [ru] has stopped updating with original content — it simply links to new posts on navalny.com.


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Chinese Court Upholds Activist Xu Zhiyong’s Prison Sentence · Global Voices
Jeff South

As a Beijing court on Friday upheld the conviction of human rights lawyer Xu Zhiyong, the New Citizens Movement he co-founded took its case to the court of public opinion.
A Hong Kong publisher released the constitutional activist's book “To Be a Citizen: My Free China,” which was described as “a combination autobiography and political manifesto that traces Mr. Xu’s political awakening and elaborates his vision for a China where rules trump politics.”
At the same time, the New Citizens Movement launched a website declaring, “Freedom is our goal, justice is our spirit, and love is our foundation.”
Screenshot of the New Citizens Movement's website.
“Through the citizens movement, we will galvanise society, rebuild our values, remake our social core. The new society that emerges will lead China’s transition to constitutionalism. This is the prevailing tide of our time, and any attempt to hold it back is destined to fail, like beating back water with a sword,” the site says, according to a translation by the China Media Project at the University of Hong Kong.
“Xu Zhiyong and the others have already sacrificed their freedom in order to open a road for the New Citizens Movement. This is the road to a free China. It is the road to a better China. We have only to take to this road, to join forces with the New Citizens Movement. We are duty bound to forge ahead.”
Those developments coincided with Friday's ruling by the Beijing Supreme People’s High Court, which rejected Xu's appeal of his January conviction on charges of “gathering crowds to disrupt public order”, which is often used by Chinese authorities to clamp down on dissidents and rights activists.
The high court ruled that the trial court was correct in finding Xu guilty and sentencing him to four years in prison.
After the decision was announced, the South China Morning Post posted a video interview with Xu from his jail cell. In the interview, Xu said, “Someone has to pay the price for social progress. I am willing to pay any price for freedom, justice, love and faith.”
Xu, 41, is a lecturer at the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications and an attorney who has helped the underprivileged, including inmates on death row and families harmed by tainted baby milk in 2008.
Xu was a founder of China's Open Constitution Initiative and its successor, the New Citizens Movement. In late 2012 and early 2013, the New Citizens Movement held peaceful, small-scale protests against corruption and discrimination in Shenzhen, Beijing, Jiangxi and other cities. Chinese authorities started arresting leaders of the group, including Xu, last spring.
Many human rights and free speech advocates considered Xu's trial in January a sham. Outside the courthouse, security personnel harassed reporters, diplomats and supporters of the New Citizens Movement.
On Jan. 26, the Beijing Number One Intermediate People's Court handed down a four-year sentence to Xu, whom Foreign Policy magazine listed among the Top 100 Global Thinkers in 2013.
As the appeals court affirmed Xu's conviction and prison term, five other activists with the New Citizens Movement activists were put on trial this week, also on charges of “gathering crowds to disturb public order.”
The independent, international organization Human Rights Watch called on China to drop the charges against Ding Jiaxi, Li Wei, Zhang Baocheng, and Zhao Changqing.
“If Chinese authorities insist that these people’s peaceful civic activism constitutes a threat to public order, it’s hard to tell what doesn’t,” said China director Sophie Richardson. “The selective persecution of those who are doing nothing more than trying to improve governance through legal means has to stop now.”
Microblogs and other social media buzzed about Friday's news regarding Xu.
On Twitter, the group Human Rights in China posted Xu's statement to the high court:
#XuZhiyong told court: “shadow of authoritarianism will fade; light of freedom, justice, & love will shine on #China” http://t.co/Yk9nC0qsBX
— HumanRights in China (@hrichina) April 11, 2014
Another organization, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, tweeted its disgust with the court's ruling:
Mock of justice: Beijing High Court ruled in close-door hearing to reject #XuZhiyong‘s appeal & uphold his 4-yr imprisonment for expression.
— CHRD人权捍卫者 (@CHRDnet) April 11, 2014
Nicholas Bequelin, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, tweeted that Xi was “just asking for the right to ask for rights. Even that was too much for the Party apparently.”
A Twitter user in Beijing called Xu a “brave man.” And Time magazine's Beijing correspondent tweeted a stirring quote from Xu:
“Although the tree has been cut down, the seeds have been blown all over, and will produce more trees.” http://t.co/X8i6WYEjv8 #XuZhiyong
— Emily Rauhala (@emilyrauhala) April 11, 2014
There were postings about Xu on Sina Weibo, China's leading microblogging service, too. One man posted a photo of Xu's book and suggested it had been released in anticipation of an unfavorable ruling by the high court. But support for Xu was far less evident on Weibo than on Twitter – and that's not surprising.
The China Media Project posted on Sina Weibo a passage from Xu: “Citizens, let us begin from this moment. No matter where you are, no matter what your profession, rich or poor, let us in the depths of our hearts, in our daily lives, on the internet, and on every inch of this vast land, firmly and loudly declare the identity that rightfully belongs to us: I am a citizen; we are citizens.”
But censors deleted the post, calling it “inappropriate”:
After a deleted post quoting Xu Zhiyong (“I am a citizen”), a Sina page advises me to post “clean” content http://t.co/TB8i9IBMwC
— China Media Project (@cmphku) April 11, 2014
Many of the posts that had been deleted from Weibo have been archived at a site called FreeWeibo.com. They include, for example, a blurb from and link to a story about Xu's book by The Wall Street Journal.

author: Jeff South


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Documentary Unearths the Story of Eminent Puerto Rican Ramón Emeterio Betances · Global Voices
Ángel Carrión

Title screen from the documentary The Antillean. Image taken from the video.
Ramón Emeterio Betances is one of the most important figures in the history of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Called by many “the father of the Puerto Rican homeland,” he was instrumental in the Puerto Rican abolition movement in the 19th century, one of the intellectual leaders of the pro-independence movement and the 1868 rebellion known as the the Lares Uprising (El Grito de Lares), as well as being key in the independence movements of Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. He trained as a physician and surgeon in Paris, selflessly offering his help to the poor, for which he was also called the “Father of the Poor”. Betances was also a journalist, essayist, poet, novelist and ambassador of Puerto Rico in all but title.
Ramón Emeterio Betances. Image taken from Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
In spite of all of this, Betances is an illustrious stranger to many Puerto Ricans. Puerto Rican official history barely mentions him, and many people on the island perhaps only know his name.
For this reason the filmmaker Tito Román Rivera was given the task of creating a documentary film about Betances, an idea that emerged during his studies at the International School of Film and Television of San Antonio de los Baños in Cuba. The film titled El Antillano [es] [The Antillean in English] offers an overview and vindication of the life of one of the main proponents of the Antillean Confederation as a way to curb U.S. expansionism. The magazine Diálogo Digital [es] interviewed Román Rivera about the genesis of his project:
A partir de la necesidad de que se hiciera un primer proyecto de largometraje que presentara a esta figura, que es totalmente desconocida en el País por la gran mayoría de los puertorriqueños, nuestra intención ha sido desde el principio crear un documental que presentara generalmente la biografía de Ramón Emeterio Betances, pero que a la vez fuera atractivo para la juventud.
Starting from the need to create the first feature film about this figure, completely unknown in this country by most Puerto Ricans, our intention from the beginning has been to create a documentary that in general represented a biography of the life of Ramón Emeterio Betances, but at the same time is attractive to youth.
The film, produced by Román Rivera’s company Caserío Films [es] is a completely independent production. It is worth noting that the film has so far not received any help from the Film Corporation of Puerto Rico; instead, it got a good part of the necessary funds through a Kickstarter campaign, and then received help from the Puerto Rican Endowment for the Humanities during postproduction.
The documentary premiered the night of April 7 at the University of Puerto Rico's theater in Río Piedras, on the eve of the 187th anniversary of Betances’ birth [es]. The reception from the audience was extremely positive, and the theater was filled almost to capacity. Román Rivera also received, in a message to the public, a call from the political prisoner Oscar López Rivera from the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States, which caused much excitement among those present.

author: Ángel Carrión


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GV Face: What Ever Happened to Iran’s Bloggers? · Global Voices
Sahar Habib Ghazi

In the early days of blogging, Iran's reformist bloggers were widely celebrated in international media. The country was youthful, internet savvy and early to innovate with online political dialogue. Lately, things are more quiet. Iran is famously heavy handed when it comes to censorship and repression. Have Persian bloggers been silenced? Or is what appears to be a gradual decline in blogging simply because of social media and changing norms?
Writers of a new report by the Annenberg School’s Iran Media Program, “Whither Blogestan: Evaluating Shifts in Persian Cyberspace” (PDF) join Global Voices on GV Face this week to discuss their findings.
Arash Kamangir and Laurent Giacobino talk to Solana Larsen.

author: Sahar Habib Ghazi


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Jamaica: Social Art · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

It can only create a healthier cultural environment if multiple independent spaces, encouraging social interaction and supporting creative practice were operating.
ART:Jamaica blogs about the importance of social art spaces.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Macedonians Promote Donations for Less Fortunate on Social Media · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Some local humanitarian organizations and grassroots initiatives in Macedonia are successfully using social media to encourage in-kind donations aimed at the country's poorest citizens.
The organization “Food for All – BHM” advocates for the creation of food banks aimed directly at helping vulnerable people and families in Macedonia. The NGO recently posted a set of data [mk] on their website regarding those living below the poverty line in Macedonia, which according to official statistics, is 30 percent of the Macedonian population.
The poorest seem to live mostly in large families, are often unemployed and uneducated. Part of the short study claims:
Анализирано по профили, најранливи групи се повеќечлените домаќинства имајќи го предвид фактот дека 47.3% од сиромашните живеат во домаќинства со 5 и повеќе членови. Стапката на сиромаштија кај невработените е 41.8%, односно 44.8% од сите сиромашни се невработени лица. Образованието на носителот на домаќинството, исто така влијае на бројот на сиромашни лица. Имено, 54.7% од сиромашните лица живеат во домаќинства во кои носителот на истото нема или има завршено најмногу основно образование, а најголем процент се домаќинствата каде носител на истото е самохрана мајка – родител и стари и изнемоштени лица.
По горе презентираните проценти можеме да извлчеме заклучок дека над 600.000 граѓани од Р. Македонија живеат во сиромаштво односно над 60.000 луѓе спаѓаат во категоријата на неухранети лица, од кои над 50% проценти се деца.
Analyzed by profiles, most vulnerable groups include large households, considering the fact that 47% of poor people live in families consisting of five or more members. Poverty rate among the unemployed is 41.8%, and 44.8% of the poor are unemployed. Education of the head of the household also affects poverty level. 54.7% of poor people live in families where the head has no education at all or has only finished primary education. Most of these families rely on a single parent (mother) or old and feeble persons.
This data calculates that over 600,000 citizens of the Republic of Macedonia live in poverty, and that over 60,000 people fall into the category of malnourished, with children making up over 50% of them.
While an estimated 60 percent of Macedonian citizens are online, the development of e-commerce is lagging in comparison to the rest of Europe, and providing financial donations through the Internet is not very common. But grassroots humanitarian initiatives primarily use social media to raise awareness of their campaigns to give basic provisions such as food and clothes to people in need.
Prominent examples include the initiative “Have a heart” (#имајсрце in Macedonian) to help the children in the Goce Delchev shelter in the village of Ljubanci [mk] in 2012, or blood donation campaigns in 2013 and 2014.
One case in point of focusing on particular target groups, such as single-parent homes and children, is the association “A View on the Truth.” They use their blog [mk] Real Acts of Kindness to call attention to problems as well as social media [mk] to increase visibility and encourage people to donate the most necessary items. Visits to needy families are documented with photographs and short descriptions and posting them online, like this one [mk]:
Слаѓана В. живее со две малолетни дечиња, 3 год. и 1,5 год. Не е вработена и привремено е сместена во манастирот св. Илија над селото Бањани, Скопско. За да дојде во Скопје за здраствен преглед или друга потреба, мора со своите дечиња да пешачи 4 km до автобуската станица во с. Бањани.
Има потреба од храна, средства за чистење и средства за лична хигиена. Најголемиот проблем е што нема постојано место на живеење и што е невработена.
Освен нашето здружение, на самохраната мајка и помагаат жители од селото, Меѓаши, локалната самоуправа и поттикнати граѓани.
Бидете и вие дарежливи и помогнете и на Слаѓана со своите дарови.
Sladjana V. lives with two young children of 3 and 1.5 years. She is unemployed and is temporarily sheltered in the monastery St. Ilija above the village of Banjani near Skopje. To get to Skopje for medical exams or other needs, she and her kids have to walk 4 kilometers to the bus station in Banjani.
She needs food, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene supplies. Her biggest problem is unemployment and a lack of a permanent residence.
Besides our association, she receives help from the residents of the village, the non-government organization Children's Embassy Megjashi, the local municipality, and other citizens.
Please be generous and help Sladjana with your donations.
After donation drives, they also provide accountability to the donors by documenting the delivery of aid, displaying photographic evidence that the items indeed arrived at their intended destination in a follow-up report [mk]. They also send these links to individual donors, when possible.
Donation delivery. Photo by A View on the Truth, from their project Real Acts of Kindness. Used with permission.
For single mothers in the Butel and Chair municipalities in Skopje, they first visited them and confirmed the need for children’s clothing and shoes, food and hygiene products. They issued a call via Facebook [mk] and Twitter for donations to be gathered at an accessible location in the city center, where they also provided a round of weekly food donations to the homeless [mk], accompanied by hot tea or soup. Photo [mk, photo] galleries [mk, photo] captured the delivery of donated items. These visits also included playtime between children and their less fortunate peers, teaching them to share some of their belongings or prepare gifts. Such donations drives also include aid to single fathers [mk] and donating baby carriage [mk] or home appliances.
Share Food Facebook cover photo, showing their box on Macedonia street in Skopje. A construction site of a new government building displays presidential elections posters.
Another grassroots initiative that recently took off on the streets of Skopje and on Facebook is Share Food (“Сподели храна”). One of their primary means of advertising is a Facebook profile set up for the cause. Members of the initiative write [mk]:
Сподели храна е мала иницијатива која се надеваме дека за некои луѓе ќе има големо значење. Ја очекуваме вашата поддршка за да оваа иницијатива биде успешна.
Сподели храна претставува (сега за сега) два пункта, кутии поставени низ центарот на градот каде едни луѓе ќе оставаат храна, а други ќе земаат. Идејата е овие кутии кои се поставени на места каде најчесто има бездомници а истовремено и голема фреквенција на луѓе, да се користат постојано-едни луѓе ќе остават нешто за јадење, други ќе се послужат. И така во круг.
Оваа иницијатива се заснова врз идејата за споделување и вербата во човекот и неговата севсност за другите.
Се надеваме дека со текот на времето на граѓаните на Скопје ќе им стане навика да поминуваат покрај кутиите и се почесто да оставаат храна, а луѓето кои се гладни ќе имаат каде да поминат за да се послужат со нешто да ја убијат гладтта.
Share Food is a small initiative which we hope could mean a lot for some people. We need your support to succeed.
For now, we have set two drop-off boxes in Skopje's city center where people can leave and take food items. We set the boxes at places that homeless people frequent, and which are also busy with traffic…
This initiative is based on the idea of sharing and on faith in human beings and their awareness of others.
We hope that in time the residents of Skopje will get into the habit of passing by the boxes and leaving food more often, so the hungry can have a spot to pass by and eat something to lessen their hunger.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Rapper Ja Rule Is the New $23,000 Face for Botswana Diamonds · Global Voices
Brandi Phiri

Jaid Barrymore and Ja Rule in February 2005. Photo released under Creative Commons by Timothy M. Moore.
American rapper Ja Rule has been tapped to promote Botswana diamonds, much to the ire of some of the country's web users.
Brand Botswana, a department of the Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (BEDIA), which works closely with the government, announced that they would be paying the rapper the equivalent of 23,000 US dollars to market diamonds – the country's main export – shortly after Ja Rule performed in the capital Gaborone.
According to news reports, the amount of money paid to the artist could increase as Brand Botswana and Ja Rule are exploring possibilities of featuring Botswana in the rapper’s television shows. Only time will tell if this investment will indeed pay off for Brand Botswana.
Shortly after the news broke, people around the country took to Twitter to voice their views on the matter. “So brand botswana is paying an ex convict to market botswana diamond, in times when the world worries about conflict diamond. Very smooth,” user @vybem wrote.
Numerous others disagreed with Brand Botswana's decision:
Questions That Need Answers; Brand Botswana Paid Ja Rule 200K To Tour Jwaneng? We Might Pay Tourists Too Soon! Visit Botswana & Get Paid…
— Sibs Macd (@SibsMacd) April 8, 2014
Nuff said RT @SibsMacd: Dear Brand Botswana; Next Time Lets Brand Miss Botswana Not Ja Rule!
— Certified Hustler ☛ (@Shawn_BW) April 7, 2014
Brand Botswana pays Ja Rule P200,000 ($23,000), use him to market Botswana diamonds O_O really??
— Katt Lego (@Katt_Lego) April 8, 2014
@BrandBotswana We understand how it may LOOK like an intelligent investment. But all things considered.. Really though? Really?
— Marla Sinner (@that__BS) April 8, 2014
I wish there was a protest culture in Botswana. Lord knows BTV [Botswana Television] News won't include a segment on the twitter outrage.
— Mr StealYourWiFi (@KwakusNotAmused) April 8, 2014
Hi, @BrandBotswana. P200000 [Botswana Pula] is a tad steep to be giving away to a fallen star from a far off land, don't you think?
— o. (@sylverlotus) April 8, 2014
I need this to be explained to me. How is Ja Rule going to do anything for us?
— o. (@sylverlotus) April 8, 2014
Some chose to see the positive side of having a rapper promote Botswana's diamonds:
!!”@JustMaity: Not Bad!! “@Mchifo: So Brand Botswana paid Ja Rule P200 000″”
— Terrylin (@swiTeri_babe) April 8, 2014
Careful how you debate AGAINST the Brand Botswana handling of Ja Rule, there are WORSE artists, LOCALLY and… http://t.co/H8FM4pukgq
— SidFm Station (@SidFmStation) April 9, 2014
Yal shudnt even be mad, brand botswana has surely wasted even more money on worse ideas! B glad this ja rule 1 only started wit 200 000 lol
— Mirth O. Molefe (@mirthem) April 8, 2014

author: Brandi Phiri


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Residents Rescue Two Baby Otters in Taiwan · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

Eurasian otter. Photo by Flickr user David Cook. CC BY-NC 2.0
Two baby otters apparently abandoned by their mother after construction work destroyed their nest were rescued by residents on the island of Kinmen off Taiwan.
Based on information [zh] provided by Kinmen National Park, the two baby Eurasian otters were discovered April 1, 2014. The larger otter weighs 530 grams (a little over a pound), and the other 480 grams. Park experts estimated that the pair were about two weeks old.
The otters were transferred to Taipei, and are now being cared for at the Taipei Zoo.
On the main island of Taiwan, Eurasian otters went extinction in 1986 [zh] due to river pollution. On the island of Kinmen, however, there are less than 100 of the animals living in Kinmen National Park.
The Kinmen National Park has received 27 otters [zh] spotted by residents since 1992, but only three are still alive.
Liwei Zhong reported on the otters’ condition with a video on Facebook:
金門國家公園管理處的新聞稿出來了
也有附一段照顧的畫面
分享給大家看看
由於金門水獺救傷的紀錄太少
不管是縣府還是金管處
大家都很努力的想把這珍稀的物種保留下來
或許之前有些不好的經驗
但 還請大家給金管處多點鼓勵
照顧的同仁 聽說一夜沒有闔眼
後續也希望台北動物園接手的夥伴
努力讓他們長大
Everyone works hard to keep these endangered otters alive.
Maybe we have had bad experiences before, but please give your gratitude to the Kinmen National Park for their hard work. I heard that the staff who took care of the otters did not close their eyes once throughout the whole night. We hope the staff at the Taipei Zoo, who will take care of them next, will also do their best to care for them.
Screenshot from Liwei Zhong's Facebook video of the two rescued baby otters.
Kinmen National Park also explained [zh] how to protect the otters in Kinmen:
金門各水域水獺活動跡象較以往縮減且有分布破碎化趨勢，金門國家公園管理處林永發處長呼籲相關單位、民眾在工程施工時能多加注意周遭環境
In Kinmen, water environments for otters are dwindling and broken up into smaller and smaller regions. Yung-Fa Lin, the head of the administration office of Kinmen National Park, appealed to residents and the relevant departments to inspect the surrounding areas during any construction work.

author: I-fan Lin


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The Overlooked Crisis in Burundi  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

While neighboring Rwanda is making news with the commemoration of the 1994 genocide and the increased tension with France, Burundi is marred in an overlooked political crisis and surge of violence that opposes, again, Hutus and Tutsis.  Tshitenge Lubabu in Burundi opines that the roots of the crisis [fr] are the current political leaders:
La plupart de nos dirigeants, bien ou mal élus, malgré de longues années de pouvoir, se sont illustrés par leur impéritie [..] Tous les mensonges sont bons pour confisquer le pouvoir. Quand leurs mandats, limités par la Constitution, arrivent à terme, des courtisans zélés, jamais repus, les supplient de ne pas partir. Comme si, sans eux, le soleil risquait de ne plus apparaître
Most of our leaders, properly elected or not, despite long years in power, stand out by their incompetence [..] Any lies are good to seize or stay in power. When their mandates come to an end as stipulated in the Constitution, their overzealous entourage, never sated, beg them not to leave power. As if without them, the sun might not rise tomorrow.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Trinidad & Tobago Mourns Former Prime Minister & President, A.N.R. Robinson  · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

Trinidad and Tobago has gone into mourning upon hearing the news that one its former Prime Ministers (who also had a tenure as President of the country), Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson, passed away on April 9.
A lawyer by profession, Robinson, who is being hailed as a true statesman, was instrumental in the creation of the International Criminal Court. His political career began when he served as a minister in the People's National Movement, then led by the country's first Prime Minister Dr. Eric Williams, before breaking with the party during the Black Power Revolution in 1970. The PNM had held a monopoly on political power, until Robinson became the first non-PNM Prime Minister when the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) was voted into government in 1986, winning the general election by a landslide 33-3.
Over the next five years, Robinson's tenure as Prime Minister would be turbulent: the country faced falling revenues due a reduction in the price of oil and there was a splintering of the coalition that formed the party. But the nadir of Robinson's tenure (which, many would counter, was his finest moment), came during the attempted coup of 1990 when gunmen stormed the Parliament and held Robinson and most of Cabinet hostage. When Robinson was asked by one of the gunmen to order the Trinidad & Tobago Army to withdraw, Robinson instead order them to “attack with full force”. He was subsequently shot in the right leg.
Robinson later served as the third President of Trinidad and Tobago, from 1997 to 2003, during which time his most notable and controversial action was the decision to invite then Opposition Leader Patrick Manning, who headed the PNM party, to form the government following an 18-18 tie in the 2001 general election.
Netizens had much to say about his passing. On Facebook, Natasha Nunez-St. Clair praised Robinson for his bravery:
Apart from his striking resemblance to my father, I always admired ANR Robinson. His willingness to die for his country is his enduring legacy, as well as his contribution to global justice in the form of the ICC. May he rest in peace.
She also mentioned a meeting she had with him as President:
I remember, as an earnest 27yo, sending daily postcards to then President ANR Robinson, urging him to make the right decision during the 18-18 fiasco. My simple political action was met with an invitation to an audience with the President. The 30min conversation was enlightening, inspiring and gave me the confidence of knowing that my postcard campaign was an important example of citizenship and patriotism.
Many Twitter users recalled Robinson's defiance in the face of danger during the 1990 Coup attempt:
“These are murderers & torturers. Attack with full force,” – ANR Robinson.RIP to T&T's most courageous politician. pic.twitter.com/QloVfF2yMB
— Darren L. D (@fudgie8) April 9, 2014
"Attack with full force!" Words of a great man and former great leader of our country. RIP ANR Robinson. Thank you sir.
— MizzBenji (@Jcharluv) April 9, 2014
You took that bullet for us, nuff respect to you sir #ANRRobinson! #RIP #hero #trini #trinidad #tobago… http://t.co/fzZCYYB74b
— Kyloo #GTB (@mrmakeit_) April 9, 2014
Thank ANR Robinson, your contribution has allowed Trinidad and Tobago to continue on as FREE Democratic nation
— Gabriel Nicholas (@gabe_est86) April 9, 2014
Some Twitter users argued that Robinson was Trinidad's most influential politician after Dr. Eric Williams:
Arguably our most influential politician since than Eric Williams. #ANRRobinson
— Ayanna Gillian Lloyd (@AyaRoots) April 9, 2014
If Sir Eric Williams was the #father of #Trinidad and Tobago, then ANR Robinson was our #Godfather. #Caribbean @riarambally @trinifood
— Darrel Sukhdeo (@darrel3000) April 9, 2014
Others continued to tweet his praises:
Had an assignment to compare one person of this generation with the Renaissance men….I used ANR Robinson…true leader…
— keone guy (@datguy42) April 9, 2014
Good night ANR Robinson a Prime Minister, a President and a gentleman. You came, you saw and you conquered. T&T has lost a gem.
— Ngozichi Omekara,OD (@EyesOfMercy) April 10, 2014
My Condolences to the Family of the Late President ANR Robinson….his service to TnT will always be remembered!
— Mush D Vagrant (@FasalMohamed1) April 9, 2014
This Twitter user noted Robinson's role in the creation of the International Criminal Court:
RIP ANR Robinson, inventor of the International Criminal Court and top Tobagonian #legacy #immortality
— Abu Karol (@AbuKarol) April 9, 2014
Others simply paid their respects and offered their sympathy:
RIΡ Mr. ANR Robinson…u suffered enough. Ρeace be with u
— CaNdZ (@CandyDapps) April 9, 2014
Condolences to the family of former President and PM ANR Robinson who died this morning. May his work and dream for TT never be lost.
— Aabida Allaham (@aabida_allaham) April 9, 2014

author: Matthew Hunte


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Trinidad & Tobago Water Recycling Project Not “Crystal Clear” · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Despite the attributes presented by this project, there are grounds for serious concern as to the process adopted and the actions of the various public officials involved.
Afra Raymond has concerns about the plan by the Water and Sewerage Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, in conjunction with the National Gas Company, to design, build, operate and maintain a water recycling plant.


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Venezuela Decoded, Making Sense of Conflicting Accounts · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Back in February 2014, Venezuelan journalists Mary Avilés, Ana María Carrano and Martín Quiroga, currently living in Silicon Valley, were frustrated with trying to find out what was really happening back home. After first protests that month, Twitter had become the last independent channel for information and everyone was using it — the government, the opposition officials, journalists and citizens. At the rate of 1,000 tweets per hour, their contradictory reports parrying on cell phone screens and it was hard to figure out who to believe.
Avilés, Carrano and Quiroga are or have been John S. Knight Foundation fellows. Along with Douglas Gómez, Ana María Carrano's husband, after intense weeks, and having recruited some additional team members, they rapidly built and launched Venezuela Decoded, an online platform to help people make sense of conflicting accounts about that country’s ongoing civil unrest that have been flooding social media:
What I hope for Venezuela Decoded is to became a reference site for international audience and media about the Venezuelan conflict, a kind of a landing page,” Aviles said. […] “I believe we can contribute leveraging the power of social media in journalism.”
Inspired by Syria Deeply, the team recently applied for a Knight Foundation News Challenge grant to help fund their efforts. You can see their proposal here.


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20-40% of Water Sector Finances Are Lost  to Corruption in Africa  · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Access to water is a human right; Source: actionaid.org with permission
Mustapha Sesay, West Africa Water Integrity Ambassador wrote about corruption in the water sector on the West Africa WASH Journalists Network :
The issue of accessing pure and affordable water is a fundamental human right but this is not given the much needed attention. Corruption in the water sector is ripe and involves all classes of people ranging from the ordinary man, politicians, Heads of Water Institutions and even Non-Governmental organizations working in this sector.Report on “Corruption in the water sector” by Water Integrity Network in a book titled “Training Manual on Water Integrity” states that in the sub-Sahara Africa, forty-four percent (44 %) of the countries are unlikely to attain the Millennium Development Goal target for drinking water eighty-five percent (85%) are unlikely to attain the sanitation aspect. Estimate by the World Bank report suggests that twenty –forty percent (20 – 40% ) of water sector finances are being lost to dishonest practices.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Bermuda: Go Fly a Kite!  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In Bermuda, kites plays an important role in the island’s cultural heritage.
Repeating Islands says that Bermudians are gearing up for the 2014 Kite Fest.


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Cancer-Causing Chemical Pollutes Chinese City Lanzhou’s Water Supply · Global Voices
Owen Guo

Local authorities in Lanzhou have warned residents against drinking tap water due to an outbreak of severe pollution in its water supply, prompting scenes of frantic bottled water purchases across the city's supermarkets.
An excessive amount of benzene, a highly carcinogenic chemical, has been detected in the city's water supply system, according to the local government. At one point, the benzene found in the tap water had spiked to a dangerous level 20 times what is considered to be safe.
Lanzhou, an industrial city in northwestern China, depends largely on the Yellow River for its water supply. In recent years, this city of four million has seen a wave of investment frenzy as the state rolled out various initiatives to lift the economic standing of the underdeveloped western regions.
Lanzhou residents snatched up bottled water after the local government issued warnings not to drink tap water. Photo Courtesy Sina Weibo User Wangyangyagn de Xiaopengyou.
French water treatment company Veolia, the main water supplier in Lanzhou, told state-run Xinhua news agency that the polluted water might be caused by local petrochemical companies.
The information office in Gansu province, where Lanzhou is the capital city, posted this message on its official account on Twitter-like Sina Weibo:
【未来24小时兰州居民不宜饮用自来水】4月11日凌晨3时起，兰州威立雅水务公司向水厂沉淀池投加活性炭，吸附有机物降解苯对水体的污染。11日上午11时,停运北线自流沟,排空受到污染的自来水。在此期间,市区降压供水,高坪及边远地区停水,限制生产性用水。未来24小时自来水不宜饮用,其他生活用水不受影响。
Tap water is not suitable for Lanzhou residents to drink during the next 24 hours. Starting from 3 a.m. April 11, Lanzhou Veolia has put activated carbon into the company's sedimentation tanks to absorb organic material in an effort to dissolve the benzene. At 11 a.m. April 11, it suspended operation of the northern ditch facilities to get rid of the benzene-polluted water. During this time, water in the urban area of the city will be provided via depressurisation technics, but the water supply in Gaoping district and remote areas will be suspended. Water use in factories will be restrained. In the next 24 hours, running water will not be suitable for drinking, and other kinds of water will not be affected.
Local media reported that Lanzhou residents had complained about smelly tap water last month, but city officials claimed the water quality was up to standards. A number of residents who spread the word of contamination back then were labeled as “rumour-mongers” and “dealt with” according to law.
The water crisis in Lanzhou underscores the runaway pollution that has transfixed the nation as grassroots environmental activism begins to gain traction in China. In 2013, a prominent blogger and former journalist initiated an online campaign calling for netizens to snap photos of polluted rivers in their hometown.
Lanzhou water contamination was one of the top three trending topics on Weibo as of Friday night.
The Beijing news offered this update on its official Weibo account:
【已切断污染源 政府免费提供安全水】兰州市应急处置领导小组基本找准了污染点，并马上予以切断。有关方面正从周边地区调运桶装水和瓶装水，将通过各区政府和辖区街道、社区，向广大市民免费提供
【The pollution source has been cut off. Government will offer free safe water】 Lanzhou city's emergency team has narrowed down the pollution source and ordered it to be cut off. Relevant departments have been gathering bottled water and buckets of water from neighbouring areas, and these will be handed to residents via different administrative departments and organizations.
Weibo users criticized the government for allowing a non-Chinese company to manage the city's water systems. Comedian artist Zhang Gang complained:
呼吁兰州政府调拨安全的饮用水，向市民免费发放！给出正面、准确的解释！接连不断的水污染让百姓情何以堪？洋鬼子控股的自来水厂能相信吗？把自来水厂卖给法国人，谁卖的？谁同意的？
I call on the Lanzhou government to collect safe drinking water and give it for free to citizens! It needs to give an accurate and direct answer! How embarrassing the continuous water pollution is to common folks. Can we have faith in water supply companies controlled by foreigners? Who decided to sell the water supply company to the French? Who did it? And who signed off on it?
Beijing Chuzi, a Weibo user with over half a million followers, wrote:
这是政府做的最傻逼的一件事。最应该国营的放给外人做。我能不怀疑有人从中赚大钱么
This is the stupidest thing the government has done. It hands over [the water service] to foreigners when it supposedly should be government-run. I suspect somebody might have profited from the deal.

author: Owen Guo