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Russia: Political Ambitions for Most Influential Blogger?  · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

This post is part of our special coverage Russia's Protest Movement.
Earlier this week, on August 1, members of Aleksei Navalny's inner circle announced [ru] that they are forming a new political party called “People's Alliance.” For the time being, Russia's most influential blogger — a man many are now calling the leader of the anti-Kremlin opposition — will not be joining the party, but this has not stopped wide speculation that it could become an important vehicle for Navalny in the future.
The minds behind People's Alliance include Vladimir Ashurkov (executive director of Navalny's anti-corruption fund), Georgii Alburov (coordinator of Navalny's elections-monitoring project), and Leonid Volkov (an Yekaterinburg politician and e-Government prophet), among others. In an interview [ru] on the Web-television station Dozhd, Ashurkov explained that the time is not yet right for Navalny, who (in Ashurkov's words) “wants to save himself political maneuvering room.”
Much of the philosophical basis for People's Alliance seems to belong to Volkov, who is already known in the eGov community for coauthoring a short book titled “Cloud Democracy” [ru] — a treatise on how Internet technologies can and should reshape the nature of representative political systems. The new party will adopt important aspects of Volkov's theories — particularly his enthusiasm for decentralized power. Now that the documents have been submitted [ru] to the Justice Ministry, People's Alliance has six months to convene a founding congress, and another six months afterwards to establish 42 regional branches, in order to fulfill the requirements for official party registration.
Aleksei Navalny talks to the media outside questioning, Moscow (30 July 2012), photo by Anton Belitskiy, copyright © Demotix.
Following Navalny's success with crowdsourcing, the party hopes to be financed primarily by member fees: 500 rubles (16 USD) to join, and 200 rubles (6 USD) every month thereafter. The income would remain in the coffers of local regional branches, not flowing back to Moscow or any central hub. This, Volkov and Navalny have both argued, will prevent the ossification of the party behind any one office or personality, which is what they say has happened with LDPR under Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Yabloko under Grigory Yavlinksy.
For all his starry-eyed Democracy 2.0 visions, Volkov is a self-described pragmatist. This literally [ru] was his affiliation in the organization committee that voted to found People's Alliance. Ironically, Volkov and other ‘pragmatists’ disbanded the original orgkomitet that gathered to debate creating a formal party, when it deadlocked thanks to opposition [ru] from a handful of ‘romantics’ who were more skeptical about fielding candidates in today's “Putin regime.” One of those dissenters, Roman Miskov, later complained [ru] in a fit of anger that Volkov is a “card sharp” no better than Vladimir Churov, Russia's widely hated Central Election Commission Chairman.
In addition to his work with People's Alliance, Volkov has also committed himself to overseeing a nationwide election for a “proto-parliament” [ru] to represent the entire opposition movement. Scheduled for October 7, Volkov touts the election as the first genuine political campaign in more than 15 years. The proto-parliament will consist [ru] of regional bodies and a central “Coordinating Council” composed of 45 deputies. The Council will have 30 general seats and another 15 allocated to candidates representing three specific idealogical groups: leftists, liberals, and nationalists. (Each group gets 5 of the 15 “ideological” seats.) To finance the voting (which will occur both at physical polling stations and online), candidates will have to pay 10,000 rubles (310 USD) in order to register. Volkov expects at least 100 candidates, amounting to a 1-million-ruble (31,000 USD) budget.
On August 2, in the midst of criminal charges from federal investigators, Navalny dedicated an entire LiveJournal post [ru] to the proto-parliament, arguing that elections are the only way to silence doubts about protest leaders’ legitimacy, and a way to close the “gap” between demonstration organizers and their audience. Resurrecting a common theme of his politics, Navalny also described primaries (particularly those with online voting components) as a means to unseating the opposition movement's Old Guard — namely in this case, Boris Nemtsov. In his blog post, Navalny criticized a statement [ru] by the leaders of PARNAS (another fledgling political party, which Nemtsov coleads), which rejected the decision to hold elections for a protest Coordinating Council. Navalny went on to denounce those who oppose internal elections, writing:
И выглядит наша оппозиция так убого, потому что конкуренции нет. Половина народу сидит со времён демплатформы КПСС и выкурить их невозможно.
[…]
Не хочешь на выборы – до свиданья, мы сбрасываем тебя с парохода современности.
“Cloud Democracy” is intended to impose new levels of transparency on politics, thereby supposedly stamping out backdoor intrigue and center-periphery imbalances. (Both Navalny [ru] and Alburov [ru] have explicitly highlighted the ‘reduced intrigue’ factor.) If these are the cornerstones of next-generation democracy, however, Volkov and Navalny have a long way to go, as rows with Internet-skeptics and eGov-idealists have been a major feature of both People's Alliance and the Coordinating Council — all before either has even formed. Moreover, both projects remain based in Moscow (and to some degree in Yekaterinburg, thanks to Volkov), though organizers have made a point of saying they will prioritize expanding into the regions.
Despite the great expectations of “Cloud Democracy,” it perhaps suffers from the elitism that perennially cripples Russia's democratic reformists. In Volkov's book, for instance, he advocates introducing a voter eligibility “filter” to deny the franchise to any citizens incapable of passing a test on constitutional rights. He writes openly about recruiting “active citizens” into “the elite of a new society.” Describing the “masses” as “passive and docile,” Volkov believes that a movement of 100,000 Internet users (the same number of people Navalny expects to participate in the proto-parliamentary elections) would be ‘impossible to ignore.’
In the months ahead, as the Coordinating Council and People's Alliance take shape, “Cloud Democracy” and its appeal (as well as its real-world political potency) will be put to the test. Navalny, for his part, implies that he will run for the former, but abstain from joining the latter — for now.
This post is part of our special coverage Russia's Protest Movement.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Russia: Pussy Riot & Russian Courts in Perspective · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

On August 2, four days into the Pussy Riot trial, another hearing began in Yekaterinburg, the regional center of the Urals. Unlike its more famous counterpart, this trial has failed to garner major attention both online and in the media, though it is in certain ways just as indicative of dysfunctional Russian approaches to law and order.
The public's lack of interest is especially curious considering the extensive coverage the original incident received. In 2011, a hired band of immigrants from the Caucasus allegedly attacked a village called Sagra [ru], over a local dispute involving a minor drug dealer. Aleksei Navalny compared the villagers, who managed to defend themselves successfully and even kill one of the attackers, to Spartan warriors [ru].
Russian music group Pussy Riot still on trial at Tagansky Court, Moscow, Russia (4 July 2012), photo by Anton Belitskiy, copyright © Demotix.
On the other hand, Navalny has called the arrested members of Pussy Riot “crazy broads,” and their actions “a publicity stunt.” This, it turns out, did not stop him from attempting, in a stunt of his own, to take the stand as a witness in their trial [ru], apparently to attest to the “political nature” of the band's February performance inside the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. (The court did not allow Navalny to testify.) He has not yet commented on the Sagra trial.
Perhaps the sentiment would be different, had Evgeny Roizman, Yekaterinburg-based anti-drug activist, not gotten involved in the case early on. It was partly his campaign to raise the public awareness about the incident's immediate aftermath that now makes the actual trial ‘boring’ to most Russians. Initially, it was the villagers, rather than the bandits, who were blamed for instigating the violence, resulting in ‘good, honest’ ethnic Russians landing in trouble with the law. Now, however, it is the 23 alleged gang members [ru] on trial.
Yet, even now, it is puzzling that the Sagra case should seem boring or unimportant. After all, a person died, and people’s lives and property were in danger. The entire incident speaks to dangerous trends of lawlessness and power vacuums in remote areas. Although this attack ended quickly and relatively bloodlessly, there have been other armed attacks on small communities that did not — one need only remember the Kushchevskaya Massacre [ru].
The case is also a good example of Russian law in action — it has all the hallmarks of dysfunction: a prosecution that swaps the victims with the perpetrators on a whim, bowing to public pressure; and the release of some of the accused on bail [ru], while a veteran tried by the same court in a different, nonviolent case has not been able to leave pretrial detention for over a year.
The Sagra trial even has defendants swearing in the courtroom and demanding that the judge recuse himself. (The judge of course refused.) One of the accused was bitten by a guard dog [ru], while another is a mixed martial arts champion.
There are also tie-ins to Senator Aleksandr Torshin's proposed handgun ownership liberalization. Could the villagers have defended themselves better with handguns instead of hunting rifles? Or would the gangsters have had an easier time attacking, if they had access to those same handguns?
Why then are Russian bloggers ignoring this? Is it a short attention span? After all, a whole year has passed since the incident. Or perhaps it is because this case is based far from Moscow, and so it fails to register on the national radar? Perhaps it is not political enough, even with Roizman’s involvement?
Maybe the culprit is a peculiar approach to presumption of innocence. Once the court of public opinion has convicted the assailants, the trial perhaps ceases really to matter. It is of course far from certain that all 23 of the hired thugs, who are being tried all at once, share culpability equally. Nevertheless, Roizman called them “dumb-asses” for not apologizing [ru], similar to the way apologies were demanded (and finally received [ru]) from Pussy Riot.
On August 3, journalist Vladimir Soloviev addressed on Twitter [ru] the endless discussions about the Pussy Riot trial: “No one will ever understand that our courts treat everybody this way.” Until the public stops fixating on one case at a time, and pays attention to the entire legal landscape, nothing is likely to change.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Singapore: Crowd-sourced Lesson Plans for Educators · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

SchoolAsia.org is a newly established website featuring crowd-sourced lesson plans, opinion pieces and events for educators in Asia

author: Mong Palatino


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Singapore: ‘Transient Workers Count Too’ Website · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The ‘Transient Workers Count Too’ website provides research and direct assistance to low-wage migrant workers in Singapore. Their recent initiative was to raise funds for two Chinese workers who were killed in an accident.


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Sri Lanka: The Need for a National Water Resources Policy · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ranil Senanayake at Groundviews exerts that the water rich Sri Lanka urgently needs a National Water Resources Policy to preserve the quantity and quality of the water resources.

author: Rezwan


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Zambia: Catholic Priest Deported for ‘Poverty’ Sermon · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

A Catholic priest from a parish in the rural Eastern Province of Zambia has been deported by the Zambian government for a Sunday sermon in which he allegedly preached that the rich in the country were getting richer while the poor were getting poorer.
Fr.Viateur Banyangandora, aged 40, was picked up from Lundazi before he was taken to the capital, Lusaka, over 800 km away by Zambia’s Secret Service who are known by the initials OP, or Office of the President, before he was handed over to the Immigration Department which led to deportation to his native country, Rwanda.
Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu, announcing the priest's deportation, said:
Fr. Banyangandora’s conduct was found to be a danger to peace and good order in Zambia contrary to Section 39(2) of the Immigration and Deportation Act, No. 18 of 2010.
His initial arrest and the subsequent deportation was received with mixed feelings by Zambian netizens considering that the ruling PF government was thought to have been helped by a number of Catholic priests in its campaign to defeat the former ruling party, the MMD. President Sata, a Catholic, affirmed during a church service in his early days that Zambia would be ruled along biblical principles.
President Sata praying in a Catholic Church. Picture courtesy of Zambian Watchdog.
Commenting about the deportation on Zambian Watchdog, Political Analyst wrote [the site does not have permanent links for individual comments]:
Following the 10 commandments l presume? Deporting a man of God??
In another contribution, Abana Ba Mfumu wrote:
Why should we allow foreigners to be interfering in the internal affairs of the country, let it be a lesson to other foreigners who don’t like keeping their mouths shut!!!!
Responded Colonial Apologist:
@Abana Bafumu. You are the same person who would grin and clap when Bishop Duffy and the Radio Ichengelo preist would say things against MMD. People like you are a waste of space in Zambia. Try a little bit of sincerity and maturity.
In what appears to be a prayer, Mwape wrote:
The catholics are tasting their own vomit. Everyone knew what type of a hyena was Sata but the catholic Church went ahead and crowned him king. Let’s continue watching as the drama continues am a catholic but on my church’s support for Sata left me puzzled. God we have suffered enough in these few months Sata has been in power and it seems things are just getting worse. Please send your holy spirit to help him guide your flock using the ten commandments. May you also give the catholic leaders a prophetic lens to help them know what is good for your people. It may take few days or years but Lord I know you will come to our aid. Redeem your children from this government. I ask all this through Christ our Lord who live and reigns with you. Amen!
On the earlier story of the priest’s arrest, Saulos wrote:
Cursed are those who are dragging the Priest for preaching true gospel. The day comes when the whole truth shall be reviewed when the current gvt will be tossed out like a monkey who has missed a branch and falls to the ground without remedy. OP guys tell Mr Cobra the truth do not cheat our President he is not working yet, Suppose we had By-elections do you think PF would survive. Let us face reality people of the Nation.
A sarcastic Ninny wrote:
deport the Catholic priest to Rwanda. How dare he talk about poverty in zambia? Cannot he see rich president, rich Guy Scott [Vice President] , rich kabimba [ruling PF secretary general], rich GBM [Defence Minister], rich richie Rich. Where is poverty in zambia? It is in your mind you pathetic priest. Go back and live in poverty in your country. Zambia is a very rich country. We have only two classes rich and upper rich.
On Facebook, Waziona Nkhwekwe wrote:
Mr Speaker if Priests will be arrested because of their sermons I wonder who is safe in this Country? The Pf Government learn to rule the Country without threats and intimidation . Such methods have been used before in this Country and they lamentably failed !
The stories of the priests arrest and subsequent deporation was tweeted and retweeted several times and elicited horror:
@anglissima: WTF! #Zambia Priest detained for preaching “rich getting richer, poor getting poorer”. http://zambianwatchdog.com/2012/08/01/op- … via @GNdhlovu

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


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Bangladesh, USA: 5000 Miles Bicycle Ride For Climate Awareness · Global Voices
Rezwan

Trashmaniac US tour. Image by Ashrafuzzaman Uzzal. Used with permission.
For many people the idea of climate change is of growing concern as they are not directly threatened. The people of Bangladesh however are becoming increasingly alarmed at the potentially devastating consequences of the sea level rise and climate change. The USA has the highest consumption of plastic based product and the largest consumer market for bottled water. Each year, Americans throw away some 28 million tons of plastic waste.
Muntasir Mamun and Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Ujjal, two activists from Bangladesh are riding this summer on a tandem bike to collect and measure the amount of plastic and other waste they come across during their 5000 mile journey from Seattle to New York.
Ashrafuzzaman Ujjal and Muntasir Mamun with their tandem bike in USA. Image courtesy Trashmaniac.com
Rayhan Rashid introduces them [bn] and their efforts in Nirmaan Blog:
জলবায়ুর পরিবর্তনজনিত সংকটের দেশ বাংলাদেশের দুই তরুণ মুনতাসির মামুন এবং আশরাফুজ্জামান উজ্জ্বল। ওরা সুদূর আমেরিকার এ প্রান্ত থেকে ও প্রান্ত পর্যন্ত সাইকেলে ছুটে চলেছে। পথের মধ্যে যেখানেই পাচ্ছে ওরা খুঁজে নিচ্ছে এবং মোবাইল ফোনে রেকর্ডভুক্ত করছে ফেলে দেয়া বোতল থেকে শুরু করে পানীয়ের ছুঁড়ে দেয়া ক্যান আর এ জাতীয় যাবতীয় আবর্জনা। প্রখর রোদে মরুভূমির বুক চিরে পথ অতিক্রমণের কষ্ট, যাত্রাপথের অর্থকষ্ট, আহারের কষ্ট, পানীয়ের কষ্ট, আশ্রয়ের কষ্ট – এই সব কিছুকে বৃদ্ধাঙ্গুলী দেখিয়ে ওদের এই পথ চলার উদ্দেশ্য হল বঙ্গোপসাগরের তীরবর্তী এককালের এক সবুজ ব-দ্বীপের মানুষদের পক্ষ থেকে সহজ কিন্তু দৃঢ় একটি বার্তা বয়ে নিয়ে যাওয়া।
http://www.trashmaniac.com/
জলবায়ু অবনতির জন্য উন্নত বিশ্বের যে দেশগুলোর কনজিউমারিজম এবং অপচয় দায়ী তার মধ্যে মার্কিন যুক্তরাষ্ট্র অন্যতম, তাই সেই দেশের সাধারণ মানুষদেরই ওরা বেছে নিয়েছে এই গুরুত্বপূর্ণ বার্তাটির প্রাপক হিসেবে। যাতে তারা আরও সচেতন হতে পারেন নিজেদের জীবনযাপনে অপচয়গুলোর ব্যাপারে, এবং সেইসাথে অনুধাবন করতে পারেন পৃথিবীর এক প্রান্তের মানুষের চিন্তাহীন অপচয়ী জীবনধারার মূল্য পৃথিবীর অন্য প্রান্তের মানুষদেরও কখনো কখনো দিতে হয় জলবায়ুর অমোঘ এবং অন্ধ বিচারে। অথচ পৃথিবীটা ছিল আমাদের সবারই, এর ওপর অধিকার কারো থেকে কারও কম ছিল না কোনো অংশে!
Muntasir has developed a an Android App to count the number of plastic based debris within eye sight. The data is being continuously uploaded to an website named www.trashmaniac.com where people can see their progress.
Ashrafuzzaman Uzzal.on Bike. Image courtesy Trashmaniac.com
Muntasir & Ujjal are also updating their own travel blogs (in Bengali). Here are a few quotes from Muntasir Mamun's blog:
ট্র্যাশম্যানিয়াক রাইড চলছে ভালোই, দ্রুততম ৮৭ মাইল ছিলো এটা এবং দুপুর ১২.০০ টার পর বেশ গরম পরেছিলো। কিছুক্ষন অপেক্ষা করে আবারো এগিয়ে চলেছি যদিও আরো অনেকটা পথ পাড়ি দিতে হবে। ইন্ডিয়ানা আমার কলেজের ফাদার পিক্সিটো এর কথা মনে করিয়ে দিচ্ছে, তিনি এখানকারই ছিলেন। রাস্তা বেশ সমতল, অপেক্ষায় আছি গরম কমার, যেনো একদিনে আরো বেশী পথ পাড়ি দিতে পারি ——- ক্রফোর্ডসভ্যালি, ইন্ডিয়ানা। (৬ই আগষ্ট, ২০১২)
ইলিনইস এর রাস্তাগুলো আমাকে প্রতিনিয়ত বাংলাদেশের কথা মনে করিয়ে দিচ্ছে, রাস্তার ধারে দাড়িয়ে থাকা গরুগুলো, গাছের ছায়া এবং মানুষের বন্ধুত্বপূর্ণ আচরন সবই দেশকে মনে করানোর প্রচেষ্টায় রত। যত তাড়াতাড়ি সম্ভব দেশে যেতে চাই।—– নর্মাল, ইলিনইস (১লা আগষ্ট, ২০১২)
Caring hosts for strangers from another country. Image courtesy Muntasir Mamun
যখন একজন গোড়া খ্রিষ্টান মহিলা মাতৃসম স্নেহে আপনার নিরাপত্তার জন্য ইশ্বরের কাছে প্রার্থনা করেন তখন আমি আসলে জানিনা ইশ্বর আর কি চাইতে পারেন আমাদের যাত্রা শুভ করার জন্য। এছাড়াও আমাদের জন্য তিনি স্যান্ডউইচ এবং বড় প্যানকেক দিয়ে করা ব্রেকফাস্ট মনে থাকবে অনেকদিন। .. ক্লিনটন ইলিনইস (২৯ জুলাই, ২০১২)
He is also posting photos in his blog, Facebook and in Flickr.
Patrick Runkel at the Minitab blog is inspired by what the Trashmaniac team is doing. He acknowledges that simple acts like avoiding the use of plastic grocery bags and choosing products with minimal packaging can make a lot of difference. Patrick writes:
We just all need to get on a bike together—one built for about 9 billion people.
Follow the Trashmaniac team on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.


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Iraq: Six Months Before the US Invasion · Global Voices
محمد عادل

Blogger Maryam Monalisa Gharavi posts some photographs on her blog South/South of Iraq six months before the US invasion.

author: محمد عادل


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Netizens Say Goodbye to Singer Chavela Vargas · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

“Murió Chavela Vargas” (“Chavela Vargas has died”) is currently a worldwide Trending Topic on Twitter. Netizens from all over the world are saying goodbye the Costa Rican-born Mexican singer Chavela Vargas, who passed away Sunday, August 5, at 93.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Runner Dibaba Reigns Supreme in Ethiopia/Kenya Athletics Rivalry · Global Voices
Richard Wanjohi

This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.
The Olympic Games has many rivalries and one of the most famous is that between the Ethiopian and Kenyan competitors. Ethiopian long-distance runner Tirunesh Dibaba has ensured that the London Games are no exception to the rule. Leading two of the Kenyans into the final lap of the women’s 10,000 metre race on Saturday 4 August, 2012, Dibaba ran away with the gold.
Here we sample some of the comments from Twitter (hashtag #Dibaba):
@llucyleo: This shows the strength of the African woman
@justAylak: “Dibaba is the best female distance runner of all time”! The #Bolt of ladies. Go Ethiopia on that one!
@iddsalim: Once we rise above colonial boundaries, we realize that #dibaba victory was a win for Africa. #oneafrica
Fellow Ethiopian long-distance running legend Kenenisa Bekele said:
@KenenisaBekele: Fit and ready to defend the 10K gold in #London2012. Inspired by yesterday’s amazing finish by teammate #tirunesh #dibaba
Bloggers had this to say about Dibaba's Olympic exploits:
Pana-TV blog:
…And the race has begun. Three Africans claimed the medals at the Women’s 10,000m. Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia retained her Olympic title and won the gold medal, leaving Kenyans, Jepkosgei Kipyego and Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot, to take the silver and bronze medals respectively
Dr. Adewusi Thinks commended her sterling performance:
Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba held on to her Olympic 10,000m title in stunning style at the Olympic stadium tonight. The 27-year old, who won the distance double at the Beijing 2008 Games, saw off Kenya’s Sally Kipyego and Vivian Cheruiyot with a final-lap burst to win by more than five seconds. Dibaba’s time was a season’s best 30:20:75 with Kipyego taking the silver in 30:26:37 and world champion Cheruiyot bronze in 30:30:44.
EthioSports.com paid glowing tribute to this distance race queen:
Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia won her third Olympic gold medal Friday at the London Games, easily defending her title in the women’s 10,000 meters. The distance race closed out the first day of track and field action at Olympic Stadium and Dibaba ended the night in style
Get, Set, Match…Egypt reported:
Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba defended her gold medal in the 10,000m race with a stunning last lap where she blew away her competition. It was a no contest really in the end and the 27-year-old has captured the first running medal of London 2012
This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.

author: Richard Wanjohi


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Russia: Graffiti Festival in Kazan · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Bloggers celebrate the recent conclusion of the “Like It. Art.” graffiti art festival in Kazan, which was co-financed by the local municipal government, along with funds from telecommunications company Beeline and other private sponsors. Blogger stan_one concludes [ru] that the European continent has never before hosted a better festival for street artists. Beautiful photos can be found online here [ru].


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Thailand: Videos Promoting Healthy Lifestyle · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Thai Health Promotion Foundation, an independent state agency set up in 2001 and funded by proceeds from tobacco and alcohol excise taxes, has been using video ads to promote healthy lifestyle among Thais. Its recent anti-smoking ad which featured children became viral and was judged by many health advocates as the most effective anti-smoking ad in the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u-rhnV4l08
Rebecca Cullers praises the simplicity of the video ad:
It’s being praised as one of the most effective anti-smoking ads ever, which is especially impressive considering it required little more than a few pieces of paper and two kids. Ogilvy Thailand's video stunt for the Thai Health Promotion Board racked up more than 960,000 views before being removed from YouTube for some reason. It has since been reposted, with some of the duplicates continuing to gather audiences by the hundred thousand
Allegra Wiborg explains the effectiveness of the ad:
Why does this tactic work? Here are my thoughts: the thought of children smoking is deeply upsetting. But why? Because children’s lives are precious, vulnerable, and in need of protection.
Ah ha, then the poignant flip in the commercial: But do adults ever look in the mirror and say the same thing about their own lives?
Below are some of the ads of the agency. In this video, a father was reminded about his smoking habits by his kid
The setting in this another anti-smoking ad is a public park
The waitress showed her ‘love’ for the smoking customer in this video
The smoking boss is lucky for having a loyal employee:
Aside from smoking, the agency also tackled alcoholism in its other videos. The video below offers practical tips on how to quit drinking alcohol
Lesson for drunk drivers:
Road safety is also being promoted by the agency. The dangers of speed driving are taught in this video
A similar message about the need to limit speed while driving
A funny video promoting exercise
Another video on the health benefits of regular exercise


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Afghanistan: Girl’s Murder Sparks Anger and Protests · Global Voices
Omid Bidar

On July 31, dozens of academics and women's rights activists took to the streets of Kabul to protest the delay in government investigation into the case of Shakila, a 16-year-old girl who had been reportedly raped and murdered [fa] last year in Afghanistan's Bamyan Province.
The alleged crime took place in the house of Wahidi Beheshti, a member of the provincial council, some six months ago. Beheshti and his powerful supporters maintain that Shakila took her own life. Yet, many people accuse the politician of murdering the girl and suggest that he is now using his power and connections to delay or mislead the investigation.
For instance, Rahim Ghaffori, an Afghan civil society member, has said [fa]:
به جان شکیلا تجاوز صورت گرفته و فیری هم  که شده از پشت سر بوده، دوسیه وی از طرف طب عدلی به سارنوالی فرستاده شده ، متاسفانه سارنوالی یکی از دوستان اقای واحدی بهشتی است که در این قسمت توجه نکرده.
Afghan women marching in Kabul and calling attention to the case of Shakila. Image by Ferdous Samim, used with permission.
The protesters in Kabul marched past the office of the Afghan independent human rights commission (AIHRC) towards the country's parliament. They held Shakila's photos and chanted, “Shame on Bamyan attorney. Shakila did not commit suicide.” The protesters also shouted, “Ministry of Justice! Justice! Justice!” and “Human rights! Seriousness! Seriousness!”.
(Video from the event by RFE/RL Radio Free Afghanistan can be watched here. More photos from the protest can be accessed here).
Following the event, Young Women for Change, an Afghan non-governmental organization that co-organized the protest, posted on its Facebook page:
The main slogan for today's walk was “let's not allow for more Shakilas to get murdered,” which points [out to the fact] that this walk was not only to demand justice for Shakila, but to point out all the injustices towards all women in the light of her case.
Zohal, one of the protesters, suggested [fa]
.قاتل شکیلا آزادانه گشت و گذار می کند و دولت هیچ اقدامی برای دستگیری اش نمی کند و پارلمان ازمتهمین پشتیبانی می کند. ما ازدولت میخواهیم که جداً موضوع را پیگیری کرده و عاملین تجاوز و قتل شکیلا را دستگیرو محاکمه کند
Not an isolated event
The protest in Kabul was not an isolated event. On July 25, dozens of people took to the streets of Bamyan to call attention to Shakila's case.
The protest in Bamyan. Image by Abdulwahid Danishyar, used with permission.
Besides, many activists and netizens have used social media to demand justice and make sure that Shakila's murderer does not go unpunished. The case is closely followed by Afghan Facebook users who have set up the page “Shakila” and two open groups, “Our Shakila” and “Group of Martyr Shakila's Supporters“.
Asad Buda, an Afghan writer, wrote [fa]:
تنها کسی زبانِ شکیلا را می‌فهمد که با زبانِ تاریخ آشناست: شکیلا بیان و یاد کسانی است که کشندگانِ آنان هرگز مجرم شناخته نمی‌شوند.
Ali Amiri added [fa]:
یک تفاوت اساسی میان مرگ شکیلا و صدها همانند او که پیش از این طعمه غارت و تارج و تجاوز شدند وجود دارد. مرگ او را همه فریاد کردند. خون سرخش را همه دیدند… اینک در رگ هر رسانه خود او رسیده و جاری شده است. هر شاعری اورا فریاد می کند. اینک این حجله سرخ شکیلا است که خواب سیاه همه را به کابوس بدل کرده است.

author: Omid Bidar


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Angolan and Mozambican Politicians Among Most Influential Africans · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Brazilian blogger Marcio Pessoa comments [pt] on personalities from Portuguese language countries who have been featured on the list of the world's most influential Africans of the magazine The Africa Report: the Angolan Manuel Vicente, former president of the state oil company (Sonangol), and the Mozambican Daviz Simango, the founder and President of the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) and the current mayor of Beira.

author: Sara Moreira


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Armenia: Conan O’Brien’s Yerevan T-Shirt · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Ianyan curates responses to the appearance on air of U.S. TV host Conan O'Brien wearing a T-Shirt sporting the name of Armenia's capital, Yerevan. The Storify post also details how the garment came into the television celebrity's possession.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bhutan: Trending On Twitter For Helping India · Global Voices
Rezwan

Last week, power grids across Northern India collapsed and neighboring Bhutan's hydroelectricity was used to run the Delhi Metro. Indian Twitterati were bemused by this fact and reacted on Twitter so much that ‘Bhutan’ ended up in the top ten trending hashtags on Twitter, reports Boaz Shmueli.


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Brazil: Will the Pioneering Internet Bill of Rights Pass? · Global Voices
Fernando Sapelli

The Marco Civil, a ‘bill of rights for Internet’ users in Brazil, will come to a vote on August 8, 2012. While the majority seems to support the approval of the law, some are against the broad freedom that the initiative will bring.
Since October 29, 2009, the Bureau of Legislative Affairs of the Brazilian Ministry of Justice (SAL/MI), in partnership with Rio de Janeiro's Law School (DIREITO RIO) from Getulio Vargas Foundation, has been working on the collaborative creation of Marco Civil da Internet (Civil Regulatory Framework for the Internet) [pt].
The document has been created through public consultation. The population was encouraged to participate giving opinions and commentary through an online platform [pt]. As a result, several changes have been made to the original text, eventually passing through the Civil House and making it to the Chamber in 2012. Unlike Internet-related laws addressing piracy or copyright infringement, the Marco Civil is not a criminal law, but a civil one.
In an article written by Ellery Biddle for Global Voices Advocacy, she contextualizes the implications behind the bill, as well as the process followed for its creation. This same process places Brazil in a pioneering position in digital policy and may well serve as a model for many other countries.
Infographic on online citizen's vote on the Bill of Rights, by Vote na Web.
With such wide participation from the population, it was also expected that some would criticize and some would support the initiative. Many entities are in favour of the final version of the Bill of Rights. In a recent statement, Brazil's Internet Society (ISOC Brasil) [pt], a chapter fully recognized by the Internet Society (ISOC) [pt] declared its support to the approval of the proposal. The Comitê Gestor da Internet (CGI, Internet Manager Committee) [pt] also declared support [pt], stating:
Resolve tornar público seu amplo apoio ao parecer final do relator da Comissão Especial na Câmara dos Deputados, Deputado Federal Alessandro Molon, congratulando-o pelas alterações esclarecedoras e aprimoramentos precisos que promoveu no texto do projeto de lei (…)
Several campaigns in support were created, and after the 2nd Internet Forum, which took place in the city of Olinda, in Recife, early July, participants decided to create a petition [pt] in support of the bill of rights. The intention was to get the most number of signatures as possible.
Netizens also commented on Twitter under the hashtag #marcocivil.
The Pirate Party (@partidopirataBR), a profile that defends access to information, sharing of knowledge and privacy rights, started a campaign urging MP's support in the approval of the project.
@luiza_erundina Deputada, contamos com sua presença e apoio à aprovação do relatório do #MarcoCivil na próxima semana!
Some politicians also showed support. In a video published by the Frente Parlamentar da Cultura, Federal MP from Paraná João Arruda describes Marco Civil as “the best law in the world concerned with the Internet”.
Yes vs. No
Despite such support, the bill still divides opinions. While the majority seems to support passing of the bill, some position themselves against it, because of the broad freedom that Marco Civil brings to the Internet.
According to the law, service providers (such as Youtube and Facebook) would not have any responsibility over the content being uploaded by their users, and wouldn't be able to remove content – even if offensive – without a warrant, because such attitude is seen as a violation of freedom of expression. Professor Marcelo Thompson, from the University of Hong Kong, explains:
If the online service provider knows with certainty it is hosting content crudely offensive to someone’s privacy, sexual orientation, children’s rights, you name it, and does nothing about it — actually, even if the provider explicitly acknowledges the offensive nature of the content, even if it acts out of sheer cruelty in leaving things as they stand –, its conduct will not carry any liability whatsoever.
Word tree of the original text and comments on the bill of rights, created by Transparência Hackday / Esfera for Observatório do Marco Civil.
In an interview [pt] for the iPNews website, the president of the Comissão de Direito Eletrônico e Crimes de Alta Tecnologia (Committee of Electronic Rights and High-Technology Crimes) from OAB/SP, Coriliano Almeida Camargo, stated why he is against Marco Civil:
o projeto viola direitos de segurança, resposta e vedação de anonimato e defende a isenção de responsabilidade por parte de provedores, contrária a decisão do Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STJ), e para a Fecomercio-SP (Federação do Comércio de Bens, Serviços, Turismo  do Estado de São Paulo), a medida pode fazer da internet uma “terra sem lei”, pois se o Marco Civil for aprovado pode representar perigo para segurança de usuários da web.
On Twitter, Mario Marino (@gigantopitecus) also said why he opposes [pt] the bill:
O #MarcoCivil ao isentar o provedor da responsabilidade objetiva trata de derrogar a obrigação do Estado prover instrumento de identificação.
The Blog MegaNão, an initiative against internet surveillance, reports [pt]  on several entities pressuring against the approval of Marco Civil:
As empresas de Telecomunicações e a indústria do Copyright estão fazendo forte lobby na Câmara dos Deputados para segurar o Marco Civil da Internet, esta pressão ainda conta com o apoio do Ministério das Comunicações. Os oponentes do Marco Civil já anunciaram abertamente que farão de tudo para atrasar a votação e que não concordam que a neutralidade da rede faça parte do Marco Civil.
The vote is scheduled for August 8. The last voting day was expected to take place on June 11, but ended up being cancelled due to lack of quorum. Whatever the result, once again, Brazil has the chance to create new paths in the digital arena.

author: Fernando Sapelli


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Brazil: Sexist Reporting Taints Olympic Coverage · Global Voices
Luis Henrique

This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.
In Brazil this Olympics, greater awareness of mainstream media's take on female athletes has opened up space for citizen media debate, challenging the current way major events are broadcast and reported.
Ativismo de Sofá [pt] blog comments on news [pt] reporting claims that an Australian swimmer is said to be overweight. Apart from citing Twitter controversy between a male journalist and Brazil's women's soccer team supporters, the blog post moves on to comment on the issue surrounding the athlete's uniforms:
Mainstream media coverage as it is for male and female athletes. Image available from Jornalismo B, under CC BY-NC-SA 2.5.
Essa objetificação passa pela desvalorização do esporte feminino. Não foram poucas as vezes em que ouvi, por exemplo, que o vôlei masculino é melhor que o feminino. Ou que o futebol masculino é superior ao feminino e etc. Então se o esporte feminino não tem tantos atrativos quanto o masculino, o que o torna viável, inclusive financeiramente? O corpo da atleta. Ao menos é isso que parece pensar uma parte da mídia esportiva, quando o esporte e a superação deveriam ser as estrelas dos Jogos.
In another blog post, Jornalismo B [pt] reports how the sexual orientation of Brazil's handball team goalkeeper became a top priority for Brazilian journalists, and led them to miss the perspective of the “athlete's great performance in her role” and the series of games that team had been playing.
Machismo chato de cada dia [pt], in the post Olimpíadas do Machismo (Machismo Olympics), classifies the reports focused on the beauty of Olympic female athletes as “non-news”. The post continues:
Um espetáculo de desrespeito com tod@s nós, mas principalmente com elas, mulheres que entraram na competição representando seus países após anos de esforço e resumidas a quilos a mais/menos, cabelos, sorrisos, e claro: bundas.
The blog Direitos Fundamentais LGBT [pt], discussing human rights in its various manifestations, elaborates on the discrimination issues involving women, gays and sports:
…a discriminação na Educação Física e no esporte é construída em cima de uma imagem estereotipada que reforça a identidade masculina dessas práticas culturais. Logo, a homossexualidade e a feminilidade são utilizadas como referências negativas.
To the blog Pílulas Diárias [pt], the presence of women in the Olympics “poses a challenge to male authority”. Adding yet another element to question common sense, the author discusses the logic behind the division between men's teams and women's:
A ideia de que meninos jogam num lugar e meninas em outro não é algo inerente à natureza humana. É uma imposição social.
Claro que sempre haverá tipos diferentes de atletas, mas nada obriga que o critério tenha que ser o de gênero. Por que não considerar a força, o peso, a agilidade? A divisão com base no sexo é arbitrária. E é mais uma forma de nos dividir e nos faz sentir diferentes uns das outros.
The idea that boys should play in distinct spaces than girls isn't something inherent to human nature, it is a social imposition. It is clear that there will always be different types of athletes, but it isn't mandatory that the criteria for such distinction must be that of gender. Why not consider strength, weight, agility? Sex based division is arbitrary. And is yet another tool to keep us apart and make us feel different from each other.
This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.

author: Luis Henrique


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Colombia: Caterine Ibargüen Wins Silver in Triple Jump  · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

This post is part of our Special Coverage of our London 2012 Games.
During the afternoon of Sunday, August 5, Colombian Twitter users expressed their emotion, expectation and tension due to the performance of  Caterine Ibargüen, who represents the country in long jump, high jump, and triple jump at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Under the hashtags #VuelaCaterine [es] (“Fly Caterine”) and #VamosCaterine [es] (“Go Caterine”) netizens showed their support for the athlete who won the silver medal in triple jump.

author: Cati Restrepo


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Colombia: Outrage Over Councilman’s Racist Comment  · Global Voices
Lully

“No one enters unless they are an official or an advisory council member. No more, because this is becoming a merienda de negros” [Note: in Spanish, the expression “merienda de negros” (which roughly translates to “black people's snack time”) is an expression with racist undertones which means that things are getting out of hand.] These were the words used by Bogotá councilman Jorge Durán Silva, from the Liberal Party, when he called to order during a debate in the council last May 16, 2012. The video of this comment began to spread through media and social networks on July 31, immediately causing outrage among citizens.
On August 2, YouTube user kienykeVideo [es] edited the video, adding a question at the end:
¿Cuál es el pronunciamiento del Concejo de Bogotá y el Partido Liberal ante este tipo de expresiones por parte de los dirigentes políticos?
The comment has revived [es] a similar event starring the deputy to the Assembly of Antioquia, Rodrigo Mesa Cadavid. The Attorney General's Office opened a disciplinary process for Mesa after his comment referring to one of the departments with the largest population with African descent in Colombia: “The money that you will invest to the Choco is like spraying perfume on a bollo [human waste]”. Social organizations sued Mesa; however, he was finally disabled [es] from his post on charges of falsifying a public document.
Enrique Jimmy Vargas (@Enriquejimmyvar) [es], recalls Mesa's case and uses upper-case letters to suggest the following:
@Enriquejimmyvar: @todelar ASI COMO AL DIPUTADO MESA LO DESTITUYERON E INHABILITARON ESPERAMOS LO MISMO AL MAÑOSO Y RESABIADO CLIENTELISTA CONCEJAL DURAN OJAL
Similarly, Jaime Rodríguez (@jaime_concejal) [es], a current candidate to Bogota's Council, writes:
@jaime_concejal: El concejal Jorge Duran Silva debe ser sancionado por “RACISTA”
Moreover, German Rozo (@AmericanoGR) [es] highlights how the Colombians of African descent have represented the country at the 2012 Olympic Games in London:
@AmericanoGR: Mientras Jorge Durán Silva hace comentarios racistas, 2 de nuestros afrodescendientes dejan en alto nuestra bandera en los Juegos Olímpicos.
Oswaldo Loboa Aragón (@LoboaC521) [es] sends a message to the councilman:
@LoboaC521: CONCEJAL Jorge Duran silva ES UNA INCITACION A LA VIOLENCIA PRACTICAR EL RACISMO ………..EN COLOMBIA USTED ESTA RODEADO DE ELLOS UUUFFFFF
Durán, who apologized [es], is being sued [es] by lawyer Diego Ángulo with the alleged support of more than 30 organizations [es] that defend the rights of communities of African descent.

author: Lully


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Egypt: Celebrating Curiosity and the Man of Mars – Dr Essam Heggy  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptians following the Mars Curiosity rover are celebrating the work and life of NASA researcher Dr Essam Mohamed Heggy, a planetary scientist who is a member of the science team involved in the discovery of life on Mars.
People around the world watched Curiosity's historic landing on Mars earlier today.
On Twitter, The Big Pharaoh tells us:
And continues:
The Curiosity Rover casts a shadow in Mars’ Gale crater while landing. Picture uploaded by NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover facebook page.
Hassan Yahya adds:
Prophetess Lana notes:
Meanwhile, Amr Khairy uses the opportunity to joke about the Muslim Brotherhood appointments in government and how exhibiting signs of religion are a bigger priority than promoting science and learning. He tweets:
Curiosity is NASA's latest attempt to go where no man has gone before. Before this mission, the U.S., Russia, Japan and Europe had sent about 40 spacecrafts to Mars. Twenty-six had failed. During the 23 months after landing, Curiosity will analyze dozens of samples of rocks to access whether Mars could ever support human life.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Italy, Macedonia: Funny (and Inappropriate) Country Name Translation · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Macedonian portal Press24 published [mk] a photo posted by a Facebook user who discovered that instead of Macedonia, a display with telephone country codes at Milan airport featured the words “Fruit Salad” – which is synonymous with “Macedonia” in Italian, Spanish and some other languages. According to Google Translate, the only Italian-to-English translation of the word “Macedonia” is “fruit salad.”

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Jamaica: 50th Celebrations Enhanced by Olympic Performance  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.
“She hope dem caution worl-map
Fi stop draw Jamaica small
For de lickle speck cyaan show
We independantness at all!” – Louise Bennett-Coverley
Today, Jamaica celebrates 50 years of independence from Great Britain and thanks to the incredible performance of the country's track and field athletes at this year's Olympic Games (quite fittingly taking place in London), netizens are having a double celebration.
Diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp set the tone for the day by posting the lyrics to the Jamaican national anthem. Jamaica Woman Tongue takes a more in-depth look at “the rigours of independence” – then and now – by examining the poetry of the Jamaican spoken-word artist and cultural pioneer, Louise Bennett-Coverley:
Miss Lou acknowledges the fact that Independence is much more than the song and dance of Festival celebrations. It requires a capacity for self-sacrifice that some Jamaicans may stubbornly resist…
In ‘Jamaica Elevate’ Miss Lou also raises the vexing issue of colour and class politics in the newly independent nation. She highlights an amusing case of mistaken identity, underscoring old antagonisms. The new, native Governor-General, the Queen’s representative, resembles a family member, Bada John. At Independence, the changing face of authority would seem to confirm the ‘elevation’ of not just the Jamaican state, but, more important, black people.
But with wicked wit Miss Lou reveals the purely superficial nature of what appears to be fundamental social change. The immediate response to what looks like Bada John’s picture in the newspaper humorously defines the usual circumstances in which a black person would be deemed newsworthy in the media politics of the times – the heralding of misfortune.
But misfortune is not anywhere in sight during these 50th independence celebrations; despite some of the country's shortcomings and challenges, Jamaicans continue to dominate the international track and field arena, boasting the fastest men – and women – on earth.
Nadine, Unscripted comments here…
I’m chuffed to bits! Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Veronica Campbell-Brown have given Jamaica memorable presents in the form of gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the Women’s 100m finals at the London Olympics. I consider them marvelous gifts for our 50th year of Independence!
And here:
As we say in Jamaica, ‘mi glad bag buss!’
Usain ‘Lightning’ Bolt struck twice, successfully defended his title in the Men’s 100m finals and created a new Olympic record of 9.63. Not to be outdone, Olympics newcomer, Yohan Blake showed why Jamaicans have dubbed him the “Beast” on the track, by powering his way to a silver medal for Jamaica.
So, that’s two more gifts on the eve of Jamaica’s 50th Independence. Tomorrow, on our Jubilee Anniversary, our National Anthem will play at another medal ceremony. How much cooler than that can you get?
Jamaica Woman Tongue sums it up by saying:
Our history is one of migration. All of us foreigners who came, willingly or not, and now call this island our own, do have a sense of ancestral homelands. This speck of Jamaica is great because our conception of ourselves is not dependent solely on our present insular location. Beyond the boundaries of this little island, we envision landscapes of greatness that we can also claim as ours.
On Twitter, you can follow what netizens are saying by searching for the hashtags #bolt, #olympics2012 and #jamaica.
This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Mexico: Ranchera Singer Chavela Vargas Dies · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

The singer Chavela Vargas, born in Costa Rica but of Mexican nationality, died on the afternoon of August 5 after respiratory arrest at the age of 93.
Known for songs such as “La Llorona” [es], Chavela became famous for her interpretation of ranchera music and for being a pioneer among female singers of this musical genre.
OtraAmérica [es] describes her relationship with Mexico despite it not being her birth country:
En México encontró su sitio y de México se sentía. Allí llegó con 17 años (o a los 14, no está claro) y conoció la vida dura y el cantar de cantina en cantina hasta que a los 30 años conoció a José Alfredo Jiménez. Tanto fue mexicana que cortó los lazos con su país de origen y hasta el día antes de su muerte, cuando dio instrucciones de que si llamaba alguien de Costa Rica preguntando por su salud, no se dieran detalles.
The article continues explaining:
Ella se anamoró del “México de antes”. El de ahora lo consideraba dormido. Abandonó hace tiempo Ciudad de México para vivir en Tepoztlán, cerca de los espíritus y las energías que la mantenían vibrante.
Chavela Vargas, Tepoztlan, Mexico. October 2010. Photo by Enrique Perez Huerta, copyright Demotix
After learning the news, various netizens published their condolences under the tag Murió Chavela Vargas [es] (“Chavela Vargas has died”).
Vallejo Ibarzabal (@Ibarzabal_) [es] writes:
@Ibarzabal_: Murió Chavela Vargas, dama de poncho rojo, pelo de plata y carne morena, mestiza ardiente de lengua libre, gata valiente de piel de tigre.
While José A. Gutérrez (@gutierrezfalcon) [es] recalls a phrase from the song “La Llorona” [es]:
@gutierrezfalcon: También de dolor se canta, cuando llorar no se puede” >Murió Chavela Vargas.
Boris Berenzon (@bberenzon) [es] writes:
@bberenzon: Cuando te hablen de amor, es preciso decir otra mentira: ¡Murió Chavela Vargas! Una historia de congruencia y una ética del deseo puro.
The user @Yojojoii [es] expresses his sadness in this way:
@Yojojoii: Y yo aqui terminando ensayo y enterándome que murió Chavela Vargas
On his part, Allán Jackez (@JackezOfficial) [es] criticizes those who weren't fans nor did they know her music but post tweets with condolences:
@Yojojoii: Gente q da el pésame por la muerte de Chavela Vargas y nunca escucharon su música y no saben su historia. Murió Chavela Vargas Official -
The Facebook account Chavela Vargas Official [es] is also the scene of multiple manifestations of condolence and regret for the death of the artists. The account published a message with her final words [es]:
Sus últimas palabras: “Me voy con #México en el corazón” @ChavelaVargas
Victoria López Guzmán [es] writes:
Chabela linda! mujer guerrera, voz intensa y maravillosa… Siempre estarás en nuestra memoria y en nuestros corazones! Tu voz nunca se apagará!
On the same Facebook account dedicated to the singer, Adrián Harim Jiménez [es] expresses:
No puedo chamana, no puedo dejar de llorar, llévame contigo chamana, la gente no lo entenderá jamás.
Other messages by netizens are being retweeted at the official Twitter account @ChavelaVargas [es].
May she rest in peace. 1919-2012


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Myanmar: Outrage Over ‘Buddha Shoes’ · Global Voices
Chan Myae Khine

Myanmar netizens are outraged over the ‘Buddha shoes’ created by a company called Icon Shoes. Nang Nyi was one of the netizens who left a complaint in the facebook page of Icon Shoes:
I wrote a complaint in the FB wall of Icon Shoes Company just now. They should not do so. I have no idea what motivated them to create those designs. Two pages of them will appear if you type “Icon Shoes” in FB search box.
Yan Yan Chan, a famous rapper, commented [my] on that post by providing a link to the feedback form of the Icon Shoes website:
You can complain here. FB page is not that useful.
A couple of famous local bloggers joined the discussion as well. They requested their readers to send complaint letters against those shoe designs. Some netizens also created protest images which featured the Icon Shoes logo together with the controversial shoes. One Ko Ko Aung reminded the company not to insult religion:
Regardless of who they are, religion should not be insulted. There are a number of religion related problems recently.
Nyein Chan expressed his frustration as well:
What if we put Jesus or Muhammad on our shoes? Shame on you.
The image asking netizens to send complaints to Icon Shoes for using Buddha images in their shoe designs. Photo – Lin Oo (Psychology)
Lin Oo (Psychology) observes [my] how Buddha images are casually used by many people in designing products:
We have been seeing that Buddha statues are used as fancy stuff in bars and recreation centres regardless of other people's religious beliefs.
Now, American based Icon Shoes produced shoes with Buddha image designs. Buddhists around the world are also complaining about this. We can also send feedback through their Facebook page.
Another community blog called Moemakha urged [my] readers to show protest by flooding the company with complaint letters:
We found out that a shoe company called Icon Shoes based in Califonia is selling shoes designed with Buddha images and floral arabesque. Three designs of such shoes are produced in USA and are being sold within the price range of $29 to $149. Their “About Us” page mentioned Icon Shoes was founded by an anonymous filmmaker from Hollywood in 1999.
We are completely against the improper use of Buddha images on shoes which insult the graciousness of Buddha. We sent a complaint mail to Icon Shoes. We request you, our readers, to send protest messages in their Facebook page.
Khin Sandar Ko also posted her opinion on Icon Shoes:
their motto says “Icon is for the art lover and the woman who loves shoes and handbags. We support artists by paying royalty for the use of their art” …
What I wrote is “Icon never respects other people's valuable things.
We support shoe designers by insulting other people's religion.”
Kyaw Myo Khaing shares his observation on the repeated insult to Buddhism in many places:
On August 5, 2012, although many people thought that Icon Shoes seemed to have removed the controversial products from their website, it is believed that only users from Singapore where most of the people complained live are blocked to access their website .  But the complaints asking not to use Buddha images on their shoes are still being posted on their Facebook page almost every minute.

author: Chan Myae Khine


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South Korea: Mass Firing of TV Writers from Investigative Program  · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Although an unprecedentedly long strike by workers from South Korea's largest TV network, MBC, officially ended in mid-July 2012, complaints and anger has yet again resurfaced. The network's infamous leadership has recently fired every single writer [ko] from its signature investigative program, which openly criticizes the current government.
Around 100 broadcast workers rallied against the layoffs on July 30, and 780 fellow television writers from across various stations and shows have signed a petition denouncing the decision and calling for fair journalism free of political motivation.
Strike background
The action started when over 300 producers and journalists at public broadcaster MBC walked out against its leadership's censorship and pressure in publishing certain news contents. The strike continued for 170 days and many shows went on a hiatus as a result.
Amongst the hardest hit was the company's most prestigious investigative program, PD Notebook (PD stands for the producer). The program has been the center of a controversy due to airing many exclusive stories on topics such as the current administration's censorship of citizen, widespread fraud cases involving the Prosecutor's Offices and irrevocable environmental damage caused by the Four Rivers Project (which the government hemorrhaged tremendous amount of taxpayer's money into).
In 2008, the PD Notebook sparked mass rallies against United States beef imports, by airing tremendously influential coverage on the politics and health hazards related to US beef. Its producers and journalists came under fire and faced numerous lawsuits, but earlier this year the courts finally dropped the charges against them.
Since its writers were fired, many speculated that the layoffs were politically motivated. The company's infamous President Kim Jae-chul, has been accused of siding with the country's ruling party and president. MBC union released a statement that read [ko]:
자랑스러워야 할 자사 프로그램에 이토록 난도질을 가하는 자해공갈의 모습에서는 이제 측은함마저 느낀다. 김재철 사장을 살리기 위한 피비린내가 도대체 어디까지 진동하기를 원하는 것인가? 프리랜서로서 회사 내에서 고용의 형태가 가장 취약한 방송구성작가를 겨냥했다는 점에서 MBC 사측의 행태는 더욱 고약하기 짝이 없다.
Union response
Many took the layoffs without solid reasons as an insult [ko] to television writers and their union gathered 778 signatures from fellow writers within four days of the news. More are joining the MBC writers’ cause, and even comedy and soap opera writers have actively started showing moral support.
Lim Kyung-hwa, a talk show writer for SBS – another major network TV station – wrote [ko]:
어렸던 제게 세상을 바로 볼 수 있도록 해줬던 < PD수첩 >을 수년간 이끌어 오신 정재홍 작가님 외 < PD수첩 > 작가님들의 전원 복귀를 응원합니다. 또한, 작가들의 명예와 양심마저 짓밟아 버린 MBC가!!! 더이상!!! 망가지지 않기를 바랍니다.
When firing the writers, the leadership also shut down another investigative program focusing on protecting consumers’ rights against giant corporations. The reason for the company's overhaul, the leadership claims, was for the purposes of innovation. @saveourmbc begs differ and tweeted [ko] with the photo below:
MBC사거리에 걸린 현수막을 보니 참담합니다. 기자, 피디도 모자라 작가까지 말살하고 누굴 위한 쇄신을 할건지….
Image of the banner. Twit Pic by @saveourmbc, used with permission.
And added another message [ko], after commenting on a famous comedian/talk show personality's tweet about the layoff:
PD수첩 작가, 막내까지 14명 몽땅 해고. RT @kimmiwha: 방송프로그램을 만들때.. 참 열악한 환경에서 묵묵히 일하는게 작가들 입니다. 최 하위에 있는 힘없는 사람들을 이유도 없이 무더기로 자르신…
@saveourmbc then explained [ko] about the other show which was forced to shut down:
김철진 교양제작국장. 불만제로 폐지하고 블랙박스로 대체 하겠다고 밝혀. PD수첩에 이어 대표적 비판 프로그램을 손본답니다. 소비자 입장에서 성역없이 문제를 제기해 온 프로그램을 특별한 이유없이 폐지한다는 건 어불성설입니다.
And later showed this photo of one of the company's brand new security cameras:
Image of new security camera. Twit pic by @saveourmbc, used with permission.
사측이 기자들과 PD들을 감시하기 위한 초고화질 HD CCTV 를 설치 했습니다. 제작비는 깎고, 감시용 CCTV는 비싼걸로, 자기네 보너스는 늘리고, 회사 비판하면 다 자르겠다네요.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Zambia: State TV Ignores Homegrown Sprinter for Jamaica’s Usain Bolt · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.
On the day a Zambian runner – Gerald Phiri – qualified in third place for the men's 100 meter semi-final at the ongoing London Olympics 2012, the national broadcaster, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), led instead with the qualification of Jamaican superstar, Usain Bolt.
This omission riled many netizens who thought Gerald Phiri deserved better.
Screen shot of results showing Gerald Phiri in third place. Picture coutesy of Sean ‘Swaggernificent’ Carter's Facebook wall
Brian Mambwe, a journalist and former ZNBC employee, lamented on Facebook, accusing the national broadcaster of lacking patriotism:
ZNBC shame! How can u lead sports news with Usain Bolt qualifying to the Semi Finals, WHAT ABOUT GERALD PHIRI??? He ran the race of his life to qualify to the Semi final also. Like my friend Kafula said, We are our own worst enemies.
A shocked James Chamunorwa responded:
You mean no-one at ZNBC watched today's games?
Apostle Margaret Buter wrote:
Here in London…..we are celebrating Gerald Phiri's achievement….what a superstar!!!!!
Mambwe was prompted by Kafula Mwiche's post:
Chillien Dee commented on Mwiche's post:
Bwafya [Problems]! Where is our sense of patriotism. Isn't it more important to Zambians for a ZAMBIAN to qualify versus a Jamaican? They need to use their brains. I am sure in Jamaica its all about Usain Bolt. In Zambia we can't even put our own athletes on centre stage. Who is supposed to promote them if we don't?
On Twitter, there was a fair share of criticism for ZNBC.
@geshgroove  RT @ChaliPhiri: #ZNBC did not know or hear about Gerald Phiri's Olympics activities #London2012
A tweep responded:
@fytzm @geshgroove @ChaliPhiri christ! if these guys think they are journalists, they need to be shot! #znbc #london2012 #geraldphiri
The questions never ended:
@ricaluv Ok, #geraldphiri has qualified to semis and all ZNBC could report on was usain bolts, like seriously, where is team #ZedOlympians ?
Elsewhere others tweeted:
@GNdhlovu #ZNBC led their news with Usain Bolt qualifying. What about our own Gerald Phiri or @PEER_ee ? I'm actually looking for #Zambian bunting!
Responded one tweep:
@CoolKanis @GNdhlovu did they actually do that? Bolt made an headline on ZNBC and not Gerald? The world is coming end. Shame @MYZNBC
Amid all the anger, the runner himself tweeted:
@PEER_ee The press can make you or break you!
Up to the time of Phiri’s qualification, out of a contingent of seven sportsmen, five had already been knocked out of the swimming, judo and boxing, the only disciplines Zambia participated in apart from athletics.
This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.


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Syria: “I Tweeted Prime Minister Riad Hijab’s Defection First”  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.
A Syrian Twitter user claims that he was the first to break the news that Syrian Prime Minister Riad Farid Hijab would defect a week ago. The Twitter user goes by the name @THE_47th and is also credited with predicting the defection of former Brigadier General of the Syrian Republican Guard Manaf Tlass's defection, among other high ranking Syrian officials.
He tweeted this morning:
@THE_47th: On July 30, I spoke abt a major defection in the works http://brown-moses.blogspot.com/2012/07/more-high-level-defections-predicted-in.html … , I can now tell u that it is Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab.
Adding:
@THE_47th: Riad Hijab has defected, but the news leaked 2 early for the safety of him & his fam. I have yet 2 get a confirmation that he’s in Jordan.
THE_47th notes:
@THE_47th: FB pages, especially ones from Edlib, others on twitter did mention his defection early this morning and the leak snowballed fast.
He further adds:
@THE_47th: I have the names of the 2 other Ministers also, but was told to keep on hold. There are 2 other Ministers with Hijab, not 3.
THE_47th predicts the backlash Hijab's defection will have. He tweets:
@THE_47th: I'm pretty sure Maher Assad will now personally kill about 4 or 5 State Security officials for not seeing this coming.
And he adds:
@THE_47th: Like the little kid he is, Bashar Assad will take out his anger on Syrians. May God have mercy. #Syria
On Twitter, reactions continue to pour in.
Mahmoud Lattouf, from Jordan, sarcastically notes [ar]:
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin remarks:
@ASE: I may have broken my iphone today, but but Riad Hijab broke the illusion of Authority #Assad has been projecting to world. Riad wins. #Syria
And Syrian Maysaloon says:
@Maysaloon: Defection of Riad Hijab is not just due to a loss of confidence in Assad, the regime is unable to protect its acolytes anymore #Syria
The interactive map shared by Al Jazeera Showing Syrian officials defections
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera English is sharing an interactive map, which identifies high ranking Syrian officials who have defected. The map includes Parliament members, diplomats, senior military and security officials, cabinet members and members of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad's own family.
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011/12.


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Tajikistan: Female Boxer Breaks Stereotypes · Global Voices
Alexander Sodiqov

Mavzuna Chorieva, a female boxer representing Tajikistan at the London Olympics, has moved to the semifinals of the lightweight tournament after eliminating China's Dong Cheng. She is now guaranteed a medal. Jasur Ashurov writes on Twitter: “Go Mavzuna! You have already broken major stereotypes about Tajik women, particularly female athletes.”

author: Alexander Sodiqov


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Team GB’s Super Saturday at London 2012 Olympics · Global Voices
Richard Wanjohi

This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.
After a slow start at the Olympic Games in London, on Saturday 4 August, 2012, the host nation's team (popularly known as #TeamGB) achieved some of its greatest victories in a single day.
Winning six gold medals, three of those in the track and field events, it could not have been better for the capacity home crowd of 80,000 in the Olympic Stadium.
A young Team GB fan shows his support. Image by David Mbiyu, copyright Demotix (31/07/2012).
School to Scalpel blog had this to say about Team GB’s Games so far:
So the Olympics are going well, aren't they! Yesterday [Saturday] was amazing. I finally tuned in to the Olympics in time to see Greg Rutherford jump his gold-winning 8.31m and to see Jessica Ennis finish first in her 800m heat (and by quite a distance) to win the gold in the Heptathlon (also by a large distance!). I also saw the wonderful moment Mo Farah made his big push and won the 10,000m race. It was a great day for team GB indeed.
I think it's fantastic how the Olympics boost everyone's sense of patriotism and bring people together. It also really makes me want to do more sport. I'm not fooling myself – I know I'll never be an Olympian, nor will I ever win any sporting competitions but I do love taking part in sports. I'm one of those weird people who can't watch any sporting event without wanting to the sport themselves [sic].
Katie Talks blog also looked at Team GB's first week of Olympic action:
So we are just over a week into the proceedings of the London Olympics and what a fantastic week it has been. The athletes from Team GB have got us up to an amazing third place on the medals table… My favourite moment of the games so far was definitely Saturday night at the athletics. The night ended on a brilliant high with Mo Farah winning the Men's 10,000m, it was lovely to see his wife and daughter going to meet him on the track, didn't his wife look fantastic, so heavily pregnant but relaxed, calm and absolutely glowing. The best performance for me was from Jessica Ennis, what an athlete she is. I think it's great that she appreciates the crowds too, some athletes look very serious and aren't bothered what’s going on around them but she always seems to be smiling and encouraging the crowds to cheer her on.
The Musings of an Aspiring Journalist had a post aptly titled ‘Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold’:
Is it just me that has Spandau Ballet ringing through my head? What a night it has been for British athletics and what a day it has been for British sport. Two gold on the track, one in the field and three earlier in the day shared between the river at Eton and the Velodrome at the Olympic Park. Has British sport ever seen anything like it? Well, I certainly can’t remember a night like it and I’m pretty sure that I will never see a more superior day of British sporting excellence for the rest of my existence, nor would I really hope to as I don’t think I could bear it!
MyFashionConnect blog reported that the Royal Mail postal service is preparing special stamps to commemorate the British gold medal winners:
It is the glorious morning after a thrilling night before. As promised, the Royal Mail is printing the new stamps this Sunday morning to add the latest Olympic Games winners to the new range of stamps to commemorate all British Gold Medalists. The new additions this morning [Sunday] are of course those of Jessica Ennis – Women’s Heptathlon, Greg Rutherford – Men’s Long Jump and Mo Farah – Men’s 10,000m. These add to the whole list of Gold won by Team GB so far, bringing the total to an incredible 14 to date.
Royal Mail Olympics stamps.
This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.


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Ukraine: Andriy Shevchenko Retires From Football, Enters Politics · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On July 28, exactly three months ahead of the Oct. 28 parliamentary election, Ukrainian football star Andriy Shevchenko announced that he was retiring from sports and going into politics.
Many of Shevchenko's Ukrainian fans were disappointed, to say the least. Not so much because of his decision to become a politician: after all, it is common for celebrities to endorse various political forces and to get involved in politics in other ways, for reasons that very few people in Ukraine regard as altruistic anymore. In Shevchenko's case, the problem was more with the party he chose to represent in the upcoming election.
Andriy Shevchenko, a Ukrainian football star, at the “Ukraine – Forward!” Party Congress. Photo by Sergii Kharchenko, copyright © Demotix (Aug. 2, 2012).
He did not announce right away which political force he was joining, however, and his fans, potential voters and even some Ukrainian politicians spent the next 24 hours or so making guesses.
On Facebook, a poll [ru] was set up to determine the netizens’ expectations regarding Shevchenko's political preferences. Not many took part in this vote, but the predictions of those who did reflected well enough the general confusion that the football star's surprise announcement had caused. The majority of the respondents (250 votes) thought that the ruling Party of Regions was the likeliest choice for this otherwise highly esteemed athlete; heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko‘s Udar Party (“Strike”) came in second, with 177 votes; 40 people saw Shevchenko as part of Natalia Korolevska‘s Ukrayina – Vpered! Party (“Ukraine – Forward!”), which had been expelled from Yulia Tymoshenko's Bloc (BYuT) in March 2012; and just 17 respondents expected Shevchenko to join the United Opposition, which currently includes members of Tymoshenko‘s Batkivshchyna Party (“Fatherland”), as well as a number of politicians from other political forces (e.g., Arseniy Yatseniuk, Anatoliy Hrytsenko and Viacheslav Kyrylenko).
On Twitter, MP Andriy Shevchenko (@ashevch; BYuT) cheered [uk] his famous namesake's announcement:
The more Shevchenkos there are in politics, the better :) […]
Then he made his prediction [uk] – and followed it up with a cautious reminder of the football star's past political involvement:
Shevchenko ([football]) will join [Vitaly] Klitschko. The most important thing is for him not to campaign for [President Viktor Yanukovych], the way he did in 2004 :) I really like my namesake and wish him to find himself.
Shevchenko the MP proved wrong about Shevchenko the football star's choice, and so did many others. Natalia Korolevska's “Ukraine – Forward!” turned out to be the winner.
Like Shevchenko the football star, Korolevska favored Yanukovych [ru] over Viktor Yushchenko during the contested 2004 presidential election, which resulted in mass protests all over Ukraine, known as the Orange Revolution. But while Shevchenko was appointed Yushchenko's advisor in 2005, Korolevska became an MP on BYuT's ticket, first in 2006, and then again in 2007. This alliance collapsed in March 2012, when Korolevska got expelled from BYuT.
(On a different note, Korolevska's brother, Konstantin Korolevsky [ru], used to be the First Deputy Head of the Department of Urban Construction Policy, Development and Reconstruction of the city of Moscow, Russia; after the 2010 resignation of his boss, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, Korolevsky became the Deputy Minister for Regional Development in Vladimir Putin‘s government.)
In her current political reincarnation, Korolevska is viewed by many not as an independent actor, but as part of the ruling regime's pricey political “project” – a kind of a trap set up to draw a significant number of voters away from the opposition.
Thus, it is not surprising that many of Shevchenko's domestic fans reacted with bitterness to his decision to run as No.2 on Korolevska's party list.
On the FC Dynamo Kyiv‘s fan portal, a news item [ru] announcing Shevchenko's alliance with Korolevska generated over 800 comments. Below is one of them, by user DK300:
This party [Ukraine – Forward!] is not political, it is a purely technical party. It was created for a specific election with a specific goal. A certain amount of money was allotted for this, and this amount will be distributed between these first [5-20 candidates]. It has no future whatsoever, neither on the national level, nor on the level of a village, and everyone joining it understands this. […]
LJ user frankensstein shared his thoughts [ru] on the Shevchenko situation on his blog:
Personally, I don't see anything strange in the fact that Andrey Shevchenko has joined Korolevska's party. By the standards of professional football, in which Shevchenko has [spent] his whole life, he has just transferred to another club that offered him a better contract, that's it. To transfer from [FC Barcelona] to [Real Madrid C.F.] would have been a lot meaner, I guess.
What I find strange is […] that in our country, it turns out, [Shevchenko] was, for some reason, considered a moral authority, and everyone got terribly upset because of his sudden friendship with a dubious political force.
Excuse me, but why? A football star is nothing but a football star – definitely not a social leader. To vote for a tiny rotten party only because a cool football player will be playing for it from now on – it doesn't make sense, because, for one thing, the parliament isn't a football field, and Shevchenko will never repeat his [four goals in one game, Fenerbahçe S.K. vs. A.C. Milan, in 2005].
In the comments section, Vladimir Perevoznik wrote [ru]:
[…] Shevchenko could have gone to [the United States], a country where life is comfortable. He would've been getting a million [US dollars] a month there. But he chose politics […]. Which means that to be an MP is more profitable than to be a top football player. That's the point.
On Korolevska's official Facebook Page (19,120 ‘likes’), the “acquisition” of Shevchenko was announced through a photo post with this caption [ru]:
Andrey Shevchenko stands shoulder to shoulder with our team, the team of a new generation of politicians!
The reactions were varied; below is a small selection.
Yuri Didyk [uk]:
Only a person who is a citizen of Ukraine and has also lived on the territory of Ukraine for the past five years can become [an MP]. [Shevchenko] has lived [in Ukraine] for only a few years. […]
Viktor Yanchenko [uk]:
Andriy has found his team after all and signed a nice 5-year contract!!!
Vasyl Sokyrko [uk]:
Sports and politics should never be mixed! It's a big mistake to get the great athletes involved. Do not hide the corrupt, old, inefficient political robots behind the legendary football player's back – and don't brainwash the people! […]
Valery Dyadyura [ru]:
The more money a person has, the easier it is to buy him.
Petr Galat [ru]:
There's only a salary in football, while the real money is in politics.
Boris Lukin [ru]:
I'd like to believe that changes for the better are possible… People like Shevchenko, a modern example for Ukrainians, give hope for the emergence of new, decent politicians… In any case, great people do not necessarily do great in everything, but Shevchenko will always remain our country's pride!
On Shevchenko's Facebook fan page (32,353 ‘likes’), the announcement [en] of the football player's career switch was brief:
Game over :(
There, the reaction were varied as well.
Tim Troubled Hennum [en]:
you had a good run buddy, good luck with your political career ;) i would vote for you if you were a politician in norway :D
Taras K Oleksyk [en]:
From a great player to a bad politician? Sheva, you have enough money to stay away from the business of politics, dont mess with virtual projects, stay with the clean game, please.
Michal Frýba [en]:
Thanks for every goal, good luck, you are very honest person, you can do good things for your country….!!!!!
On Twitter, Oleksandr Sivtsov (@10Sascha) wrote this [ru] to the current manager of FC Dynamo Kyiv, Yuri Semin:
Tell me, are you upset that [Shevchenko] has retired from football??????
And Semin (@Yuri_Semin) replied [ru]:
Of course, I am sorry about it, because Shevchenko is still an excellent football player. But it was his choice, and I wasn't going to be in his way.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Venezuela: Fencing Win Brings First Gold Medal in 44 years · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.
Social networks in Venezuela enthusiastically celebrated the gold medal won by Rubén Limardo in the London Olympic Games. Shortly after the end of the duel, the blogosphere was inundated with the news and the tag #VamosLimardo became a global trending topic on Twitter. In this way, the people of Venezuela celebrated Limardo's hard work in a sport that is quite unusual for the country, and discussed the support that Limardo did not receive from the nation and its organizations.
With Limardo's olympic medal, internet media kicked off a period of celebration, amidst the on-going social and economic crisis. Similarly, and in spite of several attempts to politicize the news, it was also noted how both sides of the painful political division found something to agree upon, thanks to the efforts that brought an olympic gold to Venezuela after 44 years.
Profeballa, in his blog Venezuela and its History [es], points out that one of the great contributions of Limardo is the start of Venzuela's participation on new global stages:
Conocido mundialmente por sus reinas de belleza, riqueza petrolera y afición al beisbol, el oro olímpico del esgrimista Rubén Limardo profundiza la incursión de Venezuela en el deporte mundial, con futbolistas jugando en Europa, y triunfos en disciplinas como Fórmula 1 y golf.
Kira Kariakin, on the other hand, reflected on the constraints faced by those that aspire to participate in sports:
Every time the Olympic Games come round, we think about the inequalities of the world. It seems somehow immoral, that huge amount of money spent on infrastructure, advertising and so on when so much could be done with it for the poor in the country hosting the games or elsewhere. We also think about the poor or underdeveloped countries that send delegations which don’t perform as wished, overwhelmed as they are by the power of the Chinese, Americans, Russians, Australians, Germans and all the other big medal-winning nations. Not to forget about the politics and struggles surrounding the games.
And more specifically, in regards to Venezuela:
Caricature of Edo(*), used with permission.
In Venezuela, sports are politics not policy […] Our young at universities and schools don’t have scholarships or logistical support for their studies when they’re good at sports. […] And there are always problems: insecurity and crime around the venues, not enough infrastructure, “missing” resources, internal quarrels in federations, inefficiency and no serious implementation of any comprehensive policy. In Venezuela it takes a truly “Olympic” effort for any person to achieve excellence in any discipline because everything is stacked against them.
(*)The text in the caricature of Edo “Gloria al bravo Limardo” [Glory to the brave Limardo] makes references to the title of Venezuela's national anthem: “Gloria al Bravo Pueblo” [Glory to the Brave People]
Ernesto Rondón [es], meanwhile, highlighted the historical importance of Limardo's medal:
Desde 1968, Venezuela no ganaba una medalla de Oro Olímpica […] Desde hace 108 años Latinoamérica no ganaba la medalla de Oro en esgrima […]. Ahora [en] agosto del 2012, un venezolano luego de unos largos 44 años , nuevamente se baña en Oro en unos juegos olímpicos […]
On Twitter, the platform on which most of the discussions took place, some users highlighted the controversy surrounding Venezuela's limited participation in the training of athletes.
For example, Elizabeth Fuentes (@fuenteseliz) [es] quotes Limardo and points out:
@fuenteseliz: Ruben Limardo en su Twitter(19 de Marzo) denunció que clasificó sin apoyo del Ministerio del Deporte
However, other users like Oriana Anzola (@Orianaanzo) [es], emphasized the conciliatory nature of the gold medal:
@Orianaanzo El ORO de Ruben Limardo, hoy borró del vocabulario las palabras chavista y oposición, para darle paso a VENEZOLANOS
Some, like @e_M_es [es], formed a clever play on words in this way:
@e_M_es: #VamosLimardo, asperezas..
Lastly, in the middle of the great avalanche of comments and conversations on Twitter, the typical humor of the Venezuelans couldn't be left out.
As Andrés Suzzarini (@Andreszz86) [es] says:
@Andreszz86: Tantos Años viendo [El Zorro] por tv valieron la pena #VamosLimardo
And “Simón Bolívar” (@elsimonbolivar) [es] comments:
@elsimonbolivar: #VamosLimardo ahora te toca aprender a pelear desde el caballo
This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.

author: Laura Vidal


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Video: Dreaming of the Olympics in Colombia · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.
The short film “Speed” by student Esteban Barros [es] from Barranquilla, Colombia, shows an Olympic hopeful's dream of competing in the Olympics.
Will hard effort, good results and perseverance be enough to get him to the competition? Watch the subtitled [en] two minute video and find out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53OT8gfV6DU
This post is part of our special coverage London 2012 Olympics.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Video: ‘Human Rights Now!’ Campaign Launched in Costa Rica · Global Voices
Jenny Cascante Gonzalez

Last Friday, August 3, the group Citizens for Human Rights [es] launched the campaign “Human Rights Now!”, in which different Costa Rican personalities call for the need for the State to guarantee the human rights of all people.
As the press release [es] states, this campaign joins a broad movement in Costa Rica that has been growing due to the political authorities’ negligence to provide satisfactory solutions to the continued violation of these rights.
Same sex unions, the sexual and reproductive rights of women, a secular State, and the destitution of Justo Orozco from the presidency of the Human Rights Commission are some of the issues that the group included in the spot.

author: Jenny Cascante Gonzalez


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Bangladesh: Citizenship Rights for Myanmar’s Rohingya? · Global Voices
Rezwan

This post is part of our special coverage Myanmar's Rohingya.
Many in Myanmar believe that Rohingyas are Bengali Muslims who migrated to Western Myanmar (formerly Burma) after 1948. This is also the official stand of the Myanmar government which denies them citizenship according to their 1982 rule. This has opened a floodgate of discriminatory treatment against the Rohingya Muslims in the country, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee to the neighboring countries including Bangladesh and Thailand.
The report of a fact finding mission by the Danish immigration service states:
In Myanmar, there are approximately 750,000 stateless Rohingya in Northern Rakhine State. Approximately 28,000 Burmese Rohingya are registered as living in two official refugee camps in Bangladesh, and more than 200,000 unregistered Rohingya live in surrounding towns and villages outside of the two camps. Malaysia hosts more than 90,000 refugees and asylum seekers, primarily in urban areas, 91% of whom are from Myanmar.
Today 750,000 Rohingyas living for generations in Myanmar face considerable prejudice from Myanmar society. They are prevented from traveling freely outside of specially-designated zones in Myanmar. They are also not allowed to serve in state positions and are barred from attending higher educational institution. Getting a marriage contract can take up to one year.
The plight and despair of people from the unregistered Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh. Image by Jared Katz. Copyright Demotix (09/07/2009).
Abu Anin, a researcher, provides a history of the Arakan and the influence of Muslims in Myanmar:
In the partial census of 1954, the figures shown in the villages of Arakan were 56.75% Buddhist and 41.60% Muslims.
Nurul Islam of Rohingya Society in Malaysia writes:
‘Rohingya problem’ started in Burma from British colonial period onwards. There were violent anti-Indian (including anti-Muslim) riots in 1930-31 and again in 1938 in which several hundreds Indians and Muslims were killed in Burma. Muslim properties: shops, houses and mosques were looted, destroyed and burned under the campaign of ‘Burma for Burmese only’. Similar anti-Muslim sentiment blew up in Arakan too. [..] Bulk of the Muslims was internally displaced, and nearly 50,000 of them took refuge in the British held territories of Chittagong and Rangpur. [..]
The successive Burmese governments have had pursued policies of exclusion and persecution against Rohingyas while some hardhearted Rakhine academic and politicians are engaged in racist and xenophobic plans to marginalize and exterminate them. With preoccupation of ‘Muslim phobia’ the former dictator Ne Win promulgated an oppressive Burma Citizenship law in 1982 in order to deprive the Rohingyas of their time-honored citizenship and ethnic rights in Burma.
The Rohingya were citizens of Myanmar until the restrictive Citizenship Law of 1982 was promulgated by the late dictator Ne Win’s Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) regime on October 15, 1982. This law essentially follows the principle of jus sanguinis (citizenship is not determined by place of birth but by having one or both parent who are citizens of the nation.)
Nurul Islam continues:
Based on how one’s forebears obtained citizenship, Ne Win stratified citizenship into three status groups: full, associate and naturalized.
Full citizens are those belonging to one of the so-called 135 ‘national races’, who lived in Burma prior to 1823 — just prior to the conquest of parts of lower Burma (Arakan and Tenassarim) by the British, or were born to parents who were citizens at the time of birth. [..] Associate citizens are those who acquired citizenship through the 1948 Union Citizenship Law. Naturalized citizenship could only be granted to those who could furnish “conclusive evidence” of entry and residence before Burma’s independence on 4 January 1948, who could speak one of the national languages well and whose children were born in Burma. Thus naturalized citizens refer to persons who lived in Burma before independence and applied for citizenship after 1982.
It is worthy of mention that the previous parliamentary government listed 144 ethnic groups in Burma. But Ne Win put only 135 groups on a short list, and then was approved by his BSPP regime’s constitution of 1974. The three Muslim groups of Rohingya (Muslim Arakanese), Panthay (Chinese Muslims), Bashu (Malay Muslims) and six other ethnic groups were deleted. It was an injustice founded on religious rancour and racial prejudice towards Muslims and smaller non-Burman groups, particularly against the Rohingya, who are not a manageable minority.
1982 citizenship law violates several fundamental principles of international customary law standards, offends the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and leaves Rohingyas exposed to no legal protection of their rights.
Thirty-one leading NGOs in Myanmar said in a statement:
The 1982 citizenship law should be repealed, and replaced with a new law founded on basic principles of human rights. The new law should honour equality and non-discrimination, and help create an inclusive and tolerant Burma.
The Rohingyas are in permanent limbo. To counter Myanmar's claims that Rohingyas are Bangladeshis, the Bangladesh Government amended its Citizenship Order in 1982 to officially declare all Rohingyas as non-nationals. Bangladesh recently ordered three international charities to halt aid to Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh to stop the influx from Myanmar.
Protesters in font of Myanmar Embassy in Malaysia scream to demand the government of Myanmar to care about the repression of ethnic Rohingya Muslims. Image by Asyraf Rasid. Copyright Demotix (3/8/2012)
Bangladeshi blogger Kornofulir Majhi [bn] explains why Bangladesh cannot help the Rohingyas:
আমদের সরকার কিছু করতে পারবে না কারন বাংলাদেশের সরকারের ঘাড়ে এখন প্রায় ১৭ কোটি উর্ধ জনগনের ভার। যাদের মানবতার নিশ্চয়তা কোন সরকারই এখনো প্রতিষ্টা করতে পারেনি। [..] তাই যে দেশের কোনও সরকার আজো পর্যন্ত তাঁর নিজের জনগনের মানবতা রক্ষা করতে সামর্থ হয়নি সেই দেশের সরকারের কাছে আবার বাইর থেকে মানবতা ধার করে আনার কথা আশা করা মুর্খতা বই কিছু না।
Article 15 of the  Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that:
Everyone has the right to a nationality.
No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
However the Rohingya are deprived of these rights. They are stateless, not wanted by any country. The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) published a statement late June calling for the segregation of Rohingya Muslims from ethnic Arakanese and urged the international community and UN to “set up a time frame to resettle to the Bengalis who are not Burmese citizens to a third country”.
There are certain international conventions relating to the status of the refugees and the status of the stateless persons:
Articles 20-23: Stateless persons to be treated no less favorably than nationals with respect to rationing, housing, public education, and public relief.
Article 31: Stateless persons not to be expelled except on grounds of national security or public order.
The 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness stipulates that:
Article 1(1): Contracting States shall grant their nationality to persons, otherwise stateless, born in their territory
Article 1(3): A child born in wedlock in a Contracting State shall take the nationality of its mother.
Article 4: A Contracting State shall grant its nationality to a person, not born in its territory, if either parent had that State's nationality and the person would be otherwise stateless.
Amendments on citizenship laws are possible if the government has the will power. For example, the Bangladesh High Court conferred jus soli (right to soil) citizenship to all Urdu-speaking people born and residing in the Bangladeshi territory after 1971 on humane grounds.
Jack Healy at the Huffington post thinks tolerance and reconciliation are key to the solution:
Reconciliation is imperative, but real reconciliation is possible only when those who care for Burma's future make a commitment to tolerance and human rights protection. [..] Burma's national sovereignty and brightly diverse cultural and religious heritage are not under threat by 1.3% of the population living in some of the most abject poverty, but that heritage may be stained in the violence that is getting dangerously frenzied with the idea of ethnic cleansing.
This post is part of our special coverage Myanmar's Rohingya.

author: Rezwan


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Colombia: Journalists and Citizens Tracking Corruption  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Monitor de Corrupción [es] (“Corruption Monitor”) is a crowdsourcing platform which aims to “expose areas of corruption in Colombia, where misuse of funds, bribery and fraud are common,” Lindsay Kalter explains at the IJNet blog.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Cuba: Food Measures  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“General Raúl Castro acknowledges that beans are more important than canons”: Iván García explains why “food is a matter of national security.”


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Cyprus: First Ever Olympic Medal at London 2012 · Global Voices
Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni

The London 2012 Olympics will be a landmark in Cyprus’ sport history. Twenty-two year old Pavlos Kontides, who is from Limassol, Cyprus, became the country's first ever Olympic medalist. Kontides won the silver medal at single-handed Laser class in Men's Sailing.

author: Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni


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D. R. of Congo: M23 Rebels Take Their Offensive Online · Global Voices
Passy Mubalama

Rebel military group the M23 movement has made headlines by entering into open conflict with the Congolese army, but it is not stopping at armed conflicts on the ground; the rebels have also gone on the offensive on the Internet and social networks.
They have created a website and a Facebook page where they publish numerous pieces of information on the security situation in the province of North Kivu and about their goals. In this video uploaded to YouTube by CompleteWorldNews, an M23 leader speaks about the Movement’s strategy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDxOwIoABnI
Communication strategy
The website, M23 Congo RDC, explains the cause that M23 is defending [fr]:
M23 is demanding complete application of these agreements and began to go underground in April. But the conflict is more complex than that. The spark that ignited the cause was lit by Kinshasa when he decided, under pressure by the international community, to arrest Bosco Ntaganda, an ex-CNDP [National Congress for the Defence of the People militia] and a member of the regular army who had been made a general at the 2009 peace accords.
One of the most recent posts published on the site is entitled, ‘General Munene says Kabila is the sole obstacle to peace‘ [fr]:
According to Faustin Munene, who has been opposed to Joseph Kabila since 2010, the Congolese president is the main party responsible for the renewed violence in North Kivu. In an interview with Afrikarabia, the head of the ARP [French initials for Popular Resistance Army] also confirmed that alliances were being formed on the ground between the various armed groups in the eastern part of the country.
Munene adds:
The one person responsible for this explosion in the east is named Joseph Kabila. [There are] several reasons for that: his poor governing and the establishment of a dictatorial regime with no social justice. This is a regime that has taken all institutions hostage. He is entering into secret agreements that commit the republic, he is making decisions on his own, no one knows what he is doing.
Photo of Congolese army soldiers published on M23's Facebook page.
Reactions on M23’s Facebook page
M23’s Facebook page [fr] currently has 754 members and many of them have reacted to the rebel group's media offensive. Many show how disappointed they are with the war currently going on in the eastern part of the DRC; Ayache Andre tells us:
The Congolese are victims of their hospitality. We should chase out the M23 terrorists with their accomplices. It’s a matter of life and death.
Patient Enzo Kadima writes:
Since when do we have Congolese Tutsis? Go back home to Rwanda we don’t want you here
Decker Malela responds to an M23 statement:
@Cokotracy Mirindi: you bloodthirsty people always use the same talk. Self-defense, self-defense….A pretext for revenge and killing the Bantus. As if only you Tutsis should defend yourselves.
The international community continues to pressure Rwanda to stop supporting M23. Another topic of discussion online is the decision of the United States to suspend aid to Rwanda [fr] following their support of M23:
The US government has decided to suspend its military aid to Rwanda due to the African country’s support of an armed uprising in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) next door. This aid, a sum of US$200,000 (164,000 euros) was intended to sponsor a Rwandan military academy for noncommissioned officers. “The United States government is gravely concerned by the evidence that Rwanda is involved in providing support to Congolese rebels, including M23,” stated Darby Holladay, a spokesperson for the State Department.
Army’s motivation questioned
Several villages and neighborhoods in North Kivu are under M23 control. However, heavy fighting continues between the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) military and M23 mutineers to stop the M23 from taking control of Goma, the province’s capital.
M23 suggests on Facebook that the FARDC military is showing a clear lack of motivation, and that this could have a major impact on their battlefield performance:
Imagine a country where the soldiers at the front are on their own for survival, funds intended for supplies often vanish before reaching the troops, inevitably encouraging the soldiers to steal or pillage. These poor boys are left to their own sad devices…. We have learned that this herd of failed soldiers dress as civilians after they’ve stolen goods from the people they meet on the way to seeking shelter.
This notion is widely debated by Facebook users. Actually, the pay for a general in FARDC is US$ 100 and US$ 45 for an ordinary soldier. Rations are US$ 5 for soldiers at barracks, US$ 10 for those at the front.
One of the 86 comments on this post is from Jerry Smartkiss [fr]:
All I can see are a bunch of Rwandans in all these comments… And all the M23 soldiers are just Rwandans, why are they declaring themselves Congolese when they aren’t?
Fiston Bafaluma agrees [fr]:
dear compatriots, the time has come to join forces as one people, let’s kick these Rwandans who call themselves Congolese out of the country.
Georges Loop adds philosophically [fr]:
Too bad we’re not paid for the time we spend trying to understand Africa, and the brain cells used, we could make a career out of it.
Colonel Olivier Hamuli, FARDC spokesman in Goma, summarily dismissed [fr] arguments about a lack of motivation:
When M23 talks about unpaid soldiers, they are the ones who were commanders of major units in the region, explains Col. Hamuli. They were responsible for the soldiers’ pay that they were embezzling, as well as the munitions. They embezzled everything, and gave reasons that don’t hold water. And blaming all of that on the Congolese government today is absurd and laughable. The real reasons for their mutiny lie elsewhere.

author: Passy Mubalama