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Cameroon: Questions and Doubts Over Upcoming Election  · Global Voices
Philippe Menkoue

This post is part of our special coverage Cameroon Elections 2011.
On October 9, 2011, Cameroonians will be called on for the sixth time in their country's history to choose a president for the Republic. The election is characterized by the large number of both candidates and voters – more than 7 million [fr] of the latter in Cameroon and abroad – and by questions about the practices of ELECAM, the commission responsible for organizing the elections.
ELECAM, Cameroon's electoral commission by verni22im:  Creative Commons-NC-2.0 License
This election will certainly leave its mark on Cameroon's history, thanks to the government's abundant efforts to enable all Cameroonians, even those in the diaspora [fr], to make their voices heard in this election. The number of polling stations has been increased, as outlined in the national bilingual daily paper Cameroon Tribune [fr]:
Ceux-ci seront répartis dans 24 670 bureaux de vote, soit 24 591 sur le territoire national et 79 ouverts dans les missions diplomatiques et consulaires du Cameroun qui doivent accueillir ce scrutin
The poll stations will be divided between 24,670 polling stations, that is 24,591 on the national territory and 79 open stations in Cameroon's diplomatic and consular missions which must accommodate the election.
But beyond these nice initiatives many doubts still persist about the election's organization, for at less than a week before election day, much remains to be done. For example, the electoral roll, published on September 21, raises many doubts about its authenticity, as Nicolas Vounsia writes in a Mutations article reposted by information site Cameroon-Info.net [fr]:
Malgré des efforts de toilettage dudit fichier par Elecam, certaines personnes ont des noms en doublons avec la même filiation sur différentes listes. Mais avec des numéros de carte nationale d’identité et des bureaux de vote différents. Cette supercherie est bien visible sur certaines listes électorales affichées.
Despite ELECAM's efforts to tidy up the electoral roll, some people are still listed twice (duplicated names with the same parentage on different lists) but with different national identity card numbers and polling stations. This deception is clearly visible on some of the displayed electoral lists.
ELECAM preparing for elections. Photo by DW Akademie-Africa (Creative Commons-2.0-NC License).
The other challenge regards polling cards. Whilst already available at some local branches of ELECAM [fr] and whilst some voters are gradually taking possession of theirs, it turns out that none the less [fr], getting one's polling card is quite another story for other people, as stated [fr] by Georges Ndenga on Africa-Info website:
Ce qui semblait être une simple formalité, tourne plutôt au cauchemar aussi bien pour les potentiels électeurs que pour le personnel administratif de Elecam […] Tous les bureaux d’Elecam ont été pris d’assaut dès l’annonce du début de l’opération de distribution des cartes d’électeur. Les listes affichées sur les murs de certaines délégations communales, à cause des intempéries, sont devenues illisibles, l’encre ayant été diluée par la pluie. A ce niveau, l’on vous demande de présenter le récépissé d’inscription à défaut d’inscrire vos noms et prénoms sur un bout de papier afin que l’on interroge l’ordinateur pour savoir si vous êtes inscrit et dans quel bureau de vote vous l’êtes afin d’entamer la recherche de votre carte.
Face à l’affluence, un ou deux agents vous reçoivent mais un seul opère les recherches dans l’ordinateur et au fil des heures, le rang s’allonge et le ton monte. Entre les usagers et le personnel administratif s’en suivent des injures, des menaces et des vociférations. Seule la présence d’un policier en tenue et arme en bandoulière permet d’éviter l’affrontement
However, one big question remains: where to vote? Less than a week ahead of this election, excepted for the Cameroonians abroad [fr], many citizens still do not know which polling station they will have to go to in order to cast their vote, as no map of the polling stations has been made available so far.
The other unknown factor is the possible impact of the numerous calls [fr] to boycott [fr] this election, which have been issued hither and thither [fr] all year round.
This post is part of our special coverage Cameroon Elections 2011.

author: Philippe Menkoue


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Caribbean: The Steve Jobs Effect  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bloggers from Bermuda and Cuba add their online tributes to the late Steve Jobs.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Curacao: Comedy or Mockery?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

TRIUNFO DI SABLIKA calls a comedy show that is in town for five performances “Afro-Curacaoan mockery disguised as comedy”, saying: “The moment we stop legitimizing everything that destroys our self image or stagnates it from growing will be the moment we win. The moment we smile.”


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Curacao: Inadequate Narrative on Slavery  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A Netherlands-based Curacaoan blogger shares his impression of the debate on the television series “De Slavernij” (The Slavery): “It seems…that the production team (I’m excluding the historians and experts for now) has put little to no thought in how to structure the complex narratives surrounding the subject of slavery.”


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Guatemala: Saying Goodbye to the ‘Guatemalan Picasso’  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Rudy Girón says farewell to artist Efraín Recintos, “Guatemala’s most extraordinary and prolific artist” who passed away on October 2, 2011. She shares a slide show of his work.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Iran: Against forced Hijab · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Setareiran proposes each Thursday at 17h, Iranian women move their veils for five seconds to protest against forced veil (hijab).

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: MP Calls Ahmadinejad’s Government the Most Corrupt Ever · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Here is a video on You Tube in which Alikhani,a member of the Iranian parliament, calls Ahmadinejad's government the most corrupt government that Iran has ever known.


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Malawi: Of Terror and Political Crisis  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Zeleza Post shares two articles discussing terror and political crisis in Malawi. One of the articles is written by Robert Chasowa, the murdered student, which many in Malawi believe led to his tragic death: “The nation is shellshocked at the depths of the bankrupt regime's political depravity and the naked terror it is prepared to unleash on this lovely, small and poor nation that overthrew a thirty-year postcolonial dictatorship only seventeen years ago.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Slovakia: New Draft Law Threatens Internet Freedom · Global Voices
Tibor Blazko

The Slovak Ministry of Finance has published a draft law [sk] that would allow blocking web servers that provide online gambling without a Slovak license. Internet providers would have to block web sites from a list updated twice a month – not by the court, but by the Tax Office.
Against this idea are, among others, the non-governmental Society for Open Information Technologies (SOIT) [sk] and the Slovak IT Association [sk]. SOIT warns that this way Facebook should also be blocked completely, because it allows users to play online roulette and poker.
According to SOIT consumer protection, crime prevention or reduction of tax burden are not sufficient arguments for establishing of Internet censorship: “We believe that the promotion of purely economic interests at the expense of personal freedoms of citizens is particularly dangerous and unconstitutional.”
Their online petition [sk] has been signed by thousands of citizens. Later, the Ministry of Finance asked [sk] the European Commission for their opinion.
Below are some comments from a discussion at SME.sk.
mrf:
this should be … immediately taken to the Constitutional Court … because if it starts, […] we will end up with just the [web] pages of the Ministry of Finance :-(
Blur(rr)e(d) vision:
This whole idea is sick. What if I earn money and go to Las Vegas and spend it all there? Will the Minister prevent me from doing this?
yep, me again:
when we start blocking some selected entrepreneurs and companies … that are based in the EU, then we say that we want to be in the free-trade club only if it is useful to us … and that is already not free trade.
Marty:
Just as I can order goods from a German e-shop, or let a licensed German architect design my house, I can freely bet through a British online casino.
Peter Šoltés:
If the Minister was serious in that he wants to increase the intake into the state budget, he would first eliminate Tipos [a 100% state-owned company] monopoly on online poker and online casino.
kohutisko:
And next they will block Amazon, because a local company has higher prices, and we will search using Zoznam.sk only because Google will be blocked too. Not to mention the fact that Wikipedia will be blocked in all language versions because of our cobweb-filled libraries!
Vilsa:
we will start with gambling and end up like in China … because the state will not release its claws when it can extend its scope and power.
risiak:
And speaking of morality, does he think that the same services, just provided by Slovak companies, will be moral?
refuge:
What's interesting is that they never propose to proceed in the opposite direction – somewhere else they have better conditions, so let's change the conditions in our country.
corr:
A typical political solution – hardly feasible, its effectiveness is problematic and it probably also violates international treaties … So it seems the problem will stay unsolved … but it will trigger other, more serious problems. This approach – “we do not know how to tax it, so we will disable it” – is incredible and shows that the author of this solution has a problem with elementary understanding of how the world behaves in the 21st century.
salam00n:
I would like to hear/read the Minister's opinion on how a person threatens public morality when he is playing PC online gambling game at home?
Pomaranc77:
disable something on the Internet? lol :-)))
MaRmAR:
Mr. Minister, please concern yourself with the real problems and needs of Slovakia and its people. Leave such nonsense to others who understand that blocking or censoring the internet is virtually impossible (if you do not want to be a second China) and incorrect, if not unconstitutional.
nieze:
We all are stupid, incapable of thinking for ourselves, making decisions and acting independently. Therefore, we need clever, omnipotent, the most beautiful, the best, infallible politicians who will tell us that when we put our hand into the fire it will burn, because we stupid idiots can't figure it out by ourselves.
pavuk29:
What nonsense. Do they want to draw boundaries on the net?

author: Tibor Blazko


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Blessing Up Vincy  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Lately, I've been feeling out of sorts with my island nation”: Still, Abeni believes that “despite the bad there's more to who/what we are.”


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Taiwan: Tribute to Steve Jobs · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

Programmer and open source activist Timdream wrote a tribute to Mr. Steve Jobs, about how his life matches with Mr. Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement address, in which he ask Stanford graduates to “look backwards and connect the dots”.

author: Portnoy Zheng


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U.S. Releases Report on Social Media in Latin America  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean recently released a report titled “Latin American Governments Need to ‘Friend’ Social Media and Technology”. Bloggings by boz helps break down some of the report's main points.


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Uganda: Breaking a 33 Year Jinx  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ugandans are anxiously waiting to make a comeback in African football: “Today, Kampala is very colourful. Lately it’s only this colourful on events like these. It’s two days before Uganda ‘celebrates’ it’s 49 years after independence but those years seem to mean nothing much this friday as Uganda plays Kenya tomorrow October 8. This game means so much for Ugandans. It has been 33 years we have have waited to make a come back to the African Nations Cup.”


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Yemen: Celebrating Tawakkol Karman  · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.
Tawakkol Karman, an outspoken journalist and human rights activist, described in the Guardian as a “thorn in [Yemeni President Ali Abdullah] Saleh's back”, was today named as Yemen's first Noble Peace Prize winner. She has been a prime example of courage and bravery in Yemen since 2007.
In the following video, posted by the channel of  “Women Journalists Without Chains“, which Karman heads, she is shown leading a peaceful march condemning Saleh and Saudi Arabia's interference in Yemen's revolution and vowing to bring back the days of former president Ibrahim Alhamdi, whom Yemenis choose to honor today (October 7) calling it “Friday of Martyr Ibrahim Alhamdi”. (Video posted: belaquood)
Tawakkol Karman is a leader in Yemen's peaceful revolution against it's brutal and corrupt regime. She encouraged Yemeni to bravely pursue their struggle to topple the dictatorial regime, as she leads the chants in Sanaa's Change square, shown in this video posted also by Women Journalist Without Chains channel. Undoubtedly she has been an inspiration to many men and women, and not only Yemeni.
Reactions to Tawakkol Karman's win were expressed all over Twitter. Here are some of them.
@tota770::
OH MY GOD ! The Yemeni activist Tawakol Karman was awarded the #Nobel peace prize , VIVA #Yemen #YF
@Dory_Eryani:
She is Yemeni and woman and she made it! #yemen #woman #tawakkolkarman #nobel
@mainoman:
Yemeni women have always been proud, and they have every right to be! But today the world recognizes why #Yemen #tawakkolkarman #nobelprize
@brrhom::
#TawakkolKarman trends worldwide on twitter #Yemen
@OmarMash::
Yemeni female activist Tawakol Karman has today won a Nobel Peace Prize, this is win against Saleh, a win for Yemen & Arab women empowerment
@Saphsaf:
Good Friday for #Yemen and #Peace and #Women and #ArabSpring and #TawakkolKarman our very own Aung San Su Kyi for #democracy
@WomanfromYemen:
what should be remember about #TawakkulKarman is her role in speaking out against injustice & oppression since 2007 #supportyemen #yemen
Afrah Nasser a Yemeni journalist and blogger, now based in Sweden after receiving threats from the regime vloggged her reaction to the news in this video:
@YusraAlA:
Proud of being a woman, Proud of being Yemeni, and proud of Tawakul Karman! Congrats #Yemen #yf
Twakkol Karman's own reaction was quoted:
@OmarMash:
Tawakul Karman: “I am very very happy about this prize. I give the prize to the youth of revolution in Yemen and the Yemeni people.”
@yemen_updates:
Tawwakul: “I dedicate this Prize to all Arab revolutionary in #Tunisia, #Egypt, #Syria & #Libya.” Live interview with her on Suhail TV now.
Yemen, unfortunately, has been associated in the media with terrorism and violence, yet Tawakkol Karman's Noble Prize and Yemen's current revolution managed to associate it with Peace, forever.
@yemen_updates tweeted:
Tawwakul's winning of #NobelPeacePrize will keep making headlines worldwide for a while, breaking down the negative image of #Yemen.
This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.

author: Noon Arabia


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Yemen: Celebrating the Bravery of Revolutionary Women  · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.
In their eight months of peaceful revolution, Yemenis have been an inspiration to many, not only to Arabs but to the world at large. Despite being the poorest Arab country, Yemeni men and women exhibited their richness in bravery, resilience and steadfast but mostly they impressed the world with their peacefulness.
Taiz has been known as the city of resilience, the heart of Yemen's revolution, and hence has been subject to continuous shelling for the past months by the Republican Guards, led by Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh's son, Ahmed.
The following video shows the brave women of Taiz, whose city was shelled by Saleh's forces in the evening, marching the very next day despite the rain to condemn the violence and demand the trial of Saleh and his family. (video posted by: mohammednaruto1)
Revolutionary women have been peacefully marching daily side by side with men in the streets of Yemen.
The next video shows the women of Dhamar as they marched chanting to the military to stop defending Saleh's brutal regime and condemning the regime's mass punishment of cutting basic services such as electricity and water. (Video posted by: almenifi)
In the capital Sanaa, outraged women marched out condemning the “fatwa” (religious edict) which Saleh urged his loyal clerics to issue prohibiting protests as this video posted by the mediacentersanaa shows.
The video which follows shows the heavy presence of women in the March on Octocber 4th in Sanaa saluting Yemen's National anthem. (Videos posted by: alqershi2011)
On the same day the Organizing Committee of the Yemeni Youth Popular Revolution issued an urgent appeal to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and followed it by a video statement read by a brave revolutionary woman stating the demands of the youth.
Yemen and its revolution are often marginalized yet the peacefulness of Yemenis in making their demands continues to be an inspiration to many. Today one of our female revolutionary leaders, Tawakkol Karman was awarded the Noble Peace Prize. It is certainly a victory and honor for Arabs, for Yemen, for women, for activists, for freedom fighters but mostly it is a victory for Yemeni revolutionaries and Yemen's peaceful revolution.
Further Reading:
Global Voices Online, Oct 7, 2011: Yemen: Celebrating Tawakkol Karman
Global Voices Online, Oct 7, 2011: Yemen: Congrats to Tawakkol Karman
This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.


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Yemen: Congrats to Tawakkol Karman  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.
Congratulations have been pouring in from all corners since the winners of this year's much anticipated Nobel Peace Prize winners were announced. Yemeni journalist and activist Tawakkol Karman joins Liberian President Ellen Sirleaf and Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee as their year's winners.
The Arab world is beaming with pride as its revolution fervor is being recognised as a peaceful movement. The prize is more valuable as it recognises the effort and sacrifice of women and the role they are playing in instituting change in their societies.
Journalist Tawakkol Karman speaks to the media. Image by Sam McGregor, copyright Demotix (22/09/2011).
Yemeni blogger Afrah Nasser cheers:
@Afrahnasser: Never underestimate Yemeni women!!! NEVER! GO GO GO Tawakkol !!
Yemeni WomanfromYemen tweets:
@WomanfromYemen: what should be remember about #TawakkulKarman is her role in speaking out against injustice & oppression since 2007 #supportyemen #yemen
And, from Doha, Qatar, Abdulrahman Warsame notes:
@abdu: Giving the prize to Tawakkul Karman gives a huge moral boost to Yemen's revolution against Saudi/America's support for Salah #Yemen #arab
and adds:
@abdu: Tawakkul Karman created Yemen's first women journalists association and was the main organizer of Yemen's revolution #Nobel #Yemen
Ibrahim Al Qahtani, from Saudi Arabia, reminds us [Ar]:
#yemen قادت توكل كرمان اكثر من ٨٠ اعتصام سلمي في ٢٠٠٩ و ٢٠١٠ واليوم تفوز بنوبل للسلام.شفتو ان الإعتصامات السلميه اكثر سلميه من السكوت المؤقت
And Sally Mens has advice to Yemeni president Ali Abdulla Saleh:
@Snemyllas: If I were #Saleh I withdrew all troops from #Sanaa streets as international press will stroll with Tawakkol Karman this #Yemen Friday march.
Last but not least, NoonArabia, a Yemeni blogger, sums up the sentiments of many Yemenis. She writes:
@NoonArabia: Yemeni Tawakkol Karman recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for 2011. This is an honor and pride to all #Yemen. Congrats #TawakkolKarman
Tweeps are also suggesting that Ms Karman is on Twitter. We traced a protected account bearing her name here.
This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Bahrain: Teen Protester Shot Dead · Global Voices
Mona Kareem

This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.
Protests erupted in Bahrain this weekend as angry mourners buried 16-year-old Ahmed Al-Qattan, who was killed by a bird shot according to the Ministry of Interior Affairs, which rarely states the truth about the causes of protestor deaths:
@moi_bahrain: The report of medical examiner of the Public Prosecution attributed the death of Ahmed Jaber to injury of a birdshot.
@moi_bahrain: The Ministry of Interior launches immediate investigation of the death of Ahmed Jaber.
In contrast, the Bahrain News Agency, which fabricated numerous stories during the February 2011 uprising, stated a different cause of death for the killed teenager:
@bna_en: Interior Ministry: Ahmed Al Jaber Died due to Heart Failure http://tinyurl.com/3cxrub4
British blogger Marc Owen Jones (@marcowenjones) tweeted a note on Bahraini media's take on Al-Qattan's death:
@marcowenjones: None of Bahrain's English language newspapers have mentioned the death of Ahmed Jaber al-Qattan. Steve Jobs got a double page spread though.
General Secretary of Al-Wefaq opposition group Ali Salman (@WefaqGS) [ar] mourned the death of Al-Qattan saying:
شعب البحرين يزف أحمد القطان شهيدا اخر على طريق الحرية والديموقراطية اللهم تقبل منا هذا القربا
One of Bahrain's most active Twitter users Mohammed Ashour (@MohmdAshoor) tweeted commenting:
@MohmdAshoor: Ahmed Shams 15 y/o .. Moh'd Farhan 6 y/o .. Ali AlShaikh 14 y/o .. Ahmed Al Qattan 16 y/o .. Child martyrs of Bahrain.
Rula Al-Saffar (@alsaffarrula), head of nursing in Salmaniya Medical Complex who was recently sentenced to 15 years in jail for treating protesters, tweeted about the teen martyr saying:
@alsaffarrula: If our public hospital was safe & had his original medics! Ahmed would have been saved! My heart is bleeding!
Bahraini Twitter user (@BuMuhsin) tweeted a copy of Ahmed's death certificate which states the cause of death is birdshot wounds:
Ahmed Al-Qattan's death certificate
In this video [Warning: Graphic content], protesters who were with Ahmed filmed his last moments. It shows a group of young people gathered around the body checking it for a pulse and signs of life while awaiting medical help in a house. People injured by police in Bahrain are currently afraid to go to hospitals because the police will arrest them there.
Bahraini journalist Abbas Bu Safwan tweeted:
@abbasbusafwan: EVERY ONE MUST KNOW THAT WOUNDED PROTESTERS IN #BAHRAIN CANT GET TREATMENTS IN HOSPITALS FEARING PROSECUTION #UN #USA #EU #UK #ARABSPRING
Of course, the death of Al-Qattan was not going to pass with a simple funeral. Bahrainis from different areas gathered in their thousands for his funeral, which eventually led to clashes with riot police.
@jihankazerooni: Thousands of Bahrainis are participating in the funeral of the Martyr Ahmed Al qattan 16 year old child.
Another Bahraini (@loveforbahrain) posted a video of a riot police car trying to run over those marching to the funeral:
@loveforbahrain: Police trying to run over the marchers in Martyrs Ahmad Alqattan funeral.
Here is also one of the videos from Al-Qattan's funeral which turned into a demonstration with chants against the regime:
Several injuries were reported throughout the evening.
This post is part of our special coverage of Bahrain Protests 2011.

author: Mona Kareem


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Brazil: FIFA’s Demands in the Run Up to the World Cup 2014 · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Brazilian blogger José Carlos denounces [pt] the controversial demands of FIFA (the highest governing body of football) on the preparation of the World Cup 2014 . Several Brazilian laws, such as the half price tickets’, may be violated to ensure greater exposure of FIFA's products and profits.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Brazil: Different Perspectives on Steve Jobs’ Work · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

As the world mourns the death of Steve Jobs, the Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff illustrates another side of the entrepreneur. The same does Rodrigo Savazoni, on the blog Trezentos, saying [pt] that Jobs was the number one enemy of collaboration.


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Brazil: Senator Suggests Whipping for Lazy Prisoners · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Brazilian journalist Marco Antônio Araujo, from the blog O Provocador (The Provocateur), says [pt], with irony, that he is “in favor of whipping thugs who don't work” but suggests “that these measures are firstly tested in Congress”.  His post criticises the idea of Senator Reditário Cassol of whipping prisoners who refuse to work in jail.


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France: Discussing the Merits of a “Robin Hood” Tax for the Europe Union · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

A. Rousseaux discusses  the merits of a potential Robin Hood tax for the European Union with economist Dominique Plihon [fr].  Plihon argues that such a tax could have a real impact on curbing down excessive speculation on the European market.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Macedonia: Nude Swimming in Alexander the Great Fountain · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

A big hit in the social media in Macedonia last week was a video of a nude young man who apparently jumped in the new fountain beneath the grandiose monument to Alexander of Macedon and his horse Bucephalus, built as part of the Skopje 2014 project.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Poland: Facebook Initiative Puts Pressure on Politicians · Global Voices
Kasia Odrozek

“One cannot ignore tens of thousands of votes”
For the past two months, a Facebook initiative called “Appeal to parliamentarians” [pl], with more than 60,000 fans, has been crowdsourcing ideas to improve Polish legislation. Ahead of the upcoming October 9, 2011, parliamentary elections, the organizers presented ideas to political parties and promised to endorse those who would support the most popular of the netizens’ proposals.
The initiative arose from a campaign that the same group of people had started in order to change one of the most restrictive drug laws in the European Union; this has a proper videospot [pl], a celebrity as the campaign face and in the end over 60,000 Facebook fans who do not agree with the perspective of going to jail for three years for smoking one joint.
Eventually, the Polish Parliament adopted the new drug law [pl] and the Facebook initiative celebrated this as its victory, although many netizens described the amendment as irrelevant.
More than 63,000 netizens gathered on Facebook to express their ideas on how to improve the Polish legislation. Image courtesy of the "Appeal to Parliamentarians" organizers.
On the group's Facebook wall, one the the followers, Alex Raczynski, criticized the achievement but noted the relevance of the change as such on May 26:
Born in pain, incomplete, lousy, not changing much. But anyway the content of the articles doesn’t really matter here. What is important is the fact that old parliamentarian geezers bended under the pressure of society. Bravo my dears. Very slowly but consequently we head towards a civil society.
Encouraged by the success of the campaign, the organizers decided to widen their horizons and transform the campaign into a tool for young people to put pressure on politicians. Especially in the context of the upcoming parliamentary election.
They wrote on their Facebook wall:
Just think: which party would ignore at least tens of thousands of potential votes? Let’s invite friends, let’s get media attention and let’s put pressure on the politicias. Maybe they will finally start to listen to us?
“To the blackboard!”
A new campaign and videospot, posted on Sep. 15 by Apelujemy on Vimeo, encouraged Polish netizens to post their ideas in the Facebook group:
In the press release, the organizers stress their political neutrality and describe the action as the voice of young people who feel ignored or betrayed by political parties.
Michal Juda, one of the organizers, says [pl]:
The election is approaching and we don’t have anybody to vote for. We are reading the parties’ agendas and we can’t find anything that really interests us. That’s why we have created this initiative, “To the blackboard!”. With the help of Facebook, we want to engage young people and create our own list of postulates. Then we'll show them to the politicians [running in the upcoming election] and ask for their positions on each one of them.
The new project elicited different responses among the fans of the group. On July 15, Pan Kapica encouraged [pl] the organizers to continue with the citizen initiative:
I will support every, even the smallest change of the Polish “anti-drug” law. Appeal to the parliamentarians has become a very strong, concrete citizen initiative – and Poland needs this. If we have achieved something like this, why not go further?
Damazy Podsiadło stressed the importance [pl] of the initiative but was sceptical about its actual impact:
The idea is good, it’s good to remind our deputies that they are representatives chosen by citizens in order to act in the people’s best interest. The mandate to govern comes from us (theoretically, but, more importantly, also legally), so we have the right to do such actions and we should organize them. I personally think that the parliamentarians are so cynical by now that they forgot it. So – it’s good that we have such initiatives but I still have doubts if we are really going to manage to achieve anything in the long term with their help only.
Kamil Fikou expressed [pl] the same concern in a more pointed way on the group's Facebook wall on August 8:
Cool that this initiative is taking place, but the truth is that the government doesn’t give a shit about it.
Iza Forys supported [pl] the initiative on July 17:
I’m for many changes in the Polish law because this country is impossible to live in. And it’s enough to take a short look at other countries to see a diametric difference (and to be perfectly clear, I’m not talking only about the marijuana case). Everyday probably each one of us faces lots of absurdities and we all just shut our eyes to it, one has to function somehow in these conditions. But the question is – do we really have to or is it just because we are lazy? I will support every initiative that unifies people and tries to change something.
El Ogurro doesn’t believe [pl] in the power of Internet activism and pleads for real actions:
Or maybe it’s time to realize that the world isn’t changing on Facebook but on the streets with a Molotov in the hand.
And Sebastian Chmura complained about slacktivism:
It’s easy to click on “like” – but then nobody wants to go to vote
Despite scepticism, once the Facebook “blackboard” opened, thousands of people have answered questions and posted ideas about changes in the Polish legislation. The postulates touched upon such topics as employment, family politics and relations with church, and caused many discussions. One of the biggest concerns of the young people remained the drug law – thousands of netizens postulated decriminalisation of marijuana.
The action has received some media coverage [pl], but – more importantly – also some actual reactions from politicians who answered netizens’ questions in short video recordings [pl], available on YouTube (here, here, here and here). The peak of the campaign was the debate [pl] at the University of Warsaw with representatives of most political parties. Among these major parties the only party missing was the national-conservative party Law and Justice, led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
On Sunday, October 9, the Polish election day, young netizens can decide who has passed the test and answered the “blackboard” questions correctly – and who has failed their expectations. Is this online debate a beginning of a new quality in the political culture in Poland? Alex Raczynski is optimistic in his September 20 post:
I’m full of hope for a genuine bottom-up citizen debate about real things. Just look at what we’ve achieved starting with the drugs politics. […]

author: Kasia Odrozek


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United States: Alabama Passes Country’s Strictest Anti-Immigration Law  · Global Voices
Robert Valencia

On September 29, 2011, the state of Alabama passed HB56, the United States’ strictest anti-immigration law, following in the footsteps of Arizona's already controversial S.B. 1070, which criminalized illegal migrant status.
The measure, passed by Federal Court Judge Sharon Blackburn of Birmingham, Alabama, allows law enforcement agents, both state and local, to arrest those they suspect of not carrying legal documents.  Moreover, even professors and educational authorities would be obligated to report the presence of undocumented students in their classrooms.
Marching against the HB56 Alabama anti-immigration law. Image by Flickr user SPROSS (CC BY-NC 2.0).
The state's governor, Republican Robert Bentley, hopes that other proposals are included to strengthen this law even further, such as prohibiting the housing or transporting of undocumented immigrants and preventing students without legal status from enrolling or studying in public universities.
In the event that these proposals are not incorporated in this law, the governor has promised he will appeal. As expected, President Obama's administration applied for a federal appeal to prevent the implementation of the anti-immigration law in the Eleventh Circuit, located in Atlanta.
Consequences becoming apparent
Amidst all of this, the HB56's consequences are becoming apparent. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, Latino students began disappearing from classrooms as a result of the court's decision.
According to official sources, a multitude of immigrant families took their children out of classes, fearing retaliation or possible arrests. Likewise, civil rights groups, agricultural owners and religious leaders have expressed their discontent before the measure, since many of them ensure that their duties will be hindered.
The blogosophere has unhesitantly reacted. In the “Re-think Immigration” section of the MATT Blog, Verónica Morales pointed out that the HB56 Law will have devastating effects on the communities that live in this state:
This law has the capacity to harm communities of every minority. It harms businesses of every kind by making it more difficult and expensive to hire new employees. It harms the whole education system- fear and intimidation do not provide a conducive learning environment and puts an extra burden upon school districts and administrators who are trying to teach. In other words this law harms the everyday life of all Alabamans.
On the other hand, a blog on Al.com had a post in which an anonymous user expressed their disagreement with teachers who presumably fail to report students:
When I see and hear a teacher say, “It is not our job to police our students to determine if they are here legally, we are educators”; or a superintendent say “our primary concern is the education of our students and thus we will not interfere with their presence, legal or otherwise, so they need not worry,” I am dumbfounded.
Maureen Costello from the blog Teaching Tolerance calls the Alabama anti-immigration law “The New Jim Crow” in reference to the law that segregated African Americans and whites from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century:
Alabama’s new law—with provisions against hiring, harboring or transporting undocumented immigrants—is bad enough for adults; but it is potentially disastrous for kids….On the surface, Alabama’s H.B. 56 appears to be fashioned after Arizona’s infamous S.B. 1070 law. But the real model wasn’t so far away. Take a good look. This law was inspired by something a lot closer to home: Jim Crow.
The Foundry's Cully Stinson and Hans von Spakovsky celebrate the law's passage:
There is more good news today in the fight against illegal immigration at the state level (and bad news for the Obama Administration’s policy against enforcement of immigration laws)… The Administration can appeal Blackburn’s ruling, but major portions of Alabama’s new law are now in effect.
On Facebook there are groups that, in addition to opposing the law, provide general information, such as “I am against Alabama's Immigration Law HB 56.” By contrast, another group, “I Support Alabama (Against Illegal Immigration),” celebrates HB56's passage.
Latino Rebels (@latinorebels) implied that the jobs that Latinos carry out are those that the average American does not want to do:
So basically Latino families are fleeing #alabama so will American workers now work at poultry farms? These are jobs being “stolen”
Others like ResistTyranny (@ResistTyranny) noted that the law is accomplishing its mission:
Alabama's tough #immigration law is having EXACTLY the intended effect – illegals are LEAVING: http://is.gd/Q1oYlh #NoAmnesty

author: Robert Valencia


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Azerbaijan: Easy travel with e-visas · Global Voices
Pervin Muradli

Aaron in Azerbaijan updates readers on a positive development in Azerbaijan ahead of next year's Eurovision Song Contest to be held in the capital, Baku. The blog says that making visas available online as well as at the airport will be a good way to promote tourism, ease travel, and attract Eurovision fans.

author: Pervin Muradli


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Bangladesh: Internet Safety For children · Global Voices
Rezwan

As several internet festivals start in different cities of Bangladesh, Badruddoza stresses the need for making internet safe for the children before letting them use it freely.

author: Rezwan


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Croatia: Court Forbids Homophobic Priest From Blogging · Global Voices
Marietta Le

Serbia Insajd, a Hungarian blog about South-Eastern Europe, reports [hu] that the Rijeka Court has banned Franjo Jurčević, a Kastav-based Catholic priest, from writing homophobic blog posts [Jurčević's blog, hr: http://zupnik.blog.hr/]. The court has also ordered Jurčević to publish the court decision in two national dailies at his own expense.

author: Marietta Le


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Five Things You Should Not Do in Korea · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Eat Your Kimchi blog's recent post on five cultural mishaps foreigners often make in Asian countries has scored a major hit online. The list includes walking into a place with shoes on, sitting in the elderly/pregnant/sick seats on the subway, and sticking chopsticks into rice and leaving them there.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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India: Malpractices In Coaching Centers · Global Voices
Rezwan

Vijay Menon writes about some coaching centers which engage in malpractices to get substandard students enrolled in the much craved Indian Institute for Technologies, a group of autonomous engineering and technology-oriented institute of higher education in India.


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India: Nine Days, Nine Goddesses · Global Voices
Rezwan

Anu at A Wondering Mind post pictures of goddesses at the Chedda Nagar Murugan Temple decorated differently in each of the nine days of the Navaratri Festival.


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Mapping the Thailand Flooding Disaster · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

As of the time of writing, 252 people have already died in Thailand due to more than two months of heavy rains. Many parts of Bangkok, the country’s capital, are already submerged in floodwaters.
Online maps have been created to monitor the floods and inform the public on the extent of the flooding disaster.
Bangkok flood. From twitter user @khunknow
The Thailand Flood Map highlights the areas which are ‘severely affected, ‘critical’, and ‘affected’ by the floods:
Thai Flood Map
Below is the government’s Thailand Flood Monitoring System:
Thai government flood monitoring
The Water Measurement System monitors the water level in canals and rivers:
Water Measurement System
The Highway Department identifies the flooded roads. In the map below a red car means the road is flooded and impassable, a green car means the road is flooded but passable with care and a blue line refers to road diversions:
A Brahman water-lowering ceremony was organized by the government to beg to Kang Ka, the River Goddess, to lower the flood in Bangkok rapidly. Hotline numbers are being posted online to help flood victims and the Red Cross is accepting donations to help Thailand.
Richard Barrow gives the situation in Bangkok:
Despite the flood prevention wall, more than 1,200 families in 27 communities outside the flood walls along the Chao Phraya River, the Bangkok Noi Canal and the Maha Sawat Canal are still at risk.
I think there will only be limited flooding in certain areas for short periods of time. They have done a lot more in recent years to protect Bangkok from the floods. We were expecting bad things last year but it wasn’t so bad in the end. The rest of the country is a different story of course.
Empty shelves in a store during flooding. From twitter user @icetimicetim
The #thaiflood twitter hashtag has been very active in the past few days:
@tumbler_p: Heard that some of Bkk's so-called ‘mega tunnels’ designed to drain flood water are out of operation. Don't tell me they're dummy tunnels..
@freakingcat: Strongest rainfall in many months – Bangkok drowns
@bamboohuts: Our deepest condolences to the victims of #thaiflood. we hope that this crisis will pass very soon with minimal amount of damages.
@TheLilyfish: Amazing how people of Ayutthaya are so upbeat and friendly despite being under 3 metres of water…
Sandbags against rising water level. From twitter user @khunknow
@alexandrachua: RT @Vvanessaaaa: Thailand has 77 provinces but 55 are flooded while the others are waiting for fate.
@ChaiyaBenz: Flooding in Khon Kaen is getting serious too. The water is grow-up from Nampong River! Help!! #Thaiflood
@thai_intel: reports says many thai shopping centers are offering free parking so flooded out car owners can keep them safe
@tulsathit: Floods crippling over 1,200 factories nationwide, affecting 41,000 workers. Govt's called on the factories to hold on and not lay off labour

author: Mong Palatino


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Panama Opens Baseball World Cup  · Global Voices
Ariel Moreno

On Saturday, October 1, 2011, the 39rd Baseball World Cup (IBAF) kicked off. Panama was awarded hosting rights last November, and it is the first time that such an important event has been held in a country better known for enjoying football.
This event will not just be remarkable in terms of sport, but it will also be important in terms of economy, as the Head of the National Sport Institute, Ruben Cardenas, affirms in La Prensa [es]: “this world tournament will have a great impact in our country's economy, since there will be a considerable number of people who stay in hotels near the four stadiums. We expect 3,000 visitors”.
Entrance of participating teams. Photo: Ana Rut Moreno, used with permission.
Excitement
The Baseball World Cup also got most Panamanians interested in the event, and streets are full of little flags and “The world is in our home” souvenirs (in baseball, the base where pitchers throw the ball from and where players have to reach to score is called the home plate).
Social networks are also reflecting the excitement sparked by the event. President Ricardo Martinelli (@rmartinelli) [es] wrote on his Twitter account:
El Mundial de Béisbol contagia de alegría las calles de nuestro país, ya está listo el Metrobus para ir al estadio y ver a nuestro equipo
The Minister of the Presidency, Jimmy Papadimitriu (@JDPapadimitriu) [es], stated some days before the opening:
Todo listo, este sábado inauguración en el Estadio Rod Carew del Mundial de Beisbol por primera vez en Panamá 16 naciones por el título mayor
The website Baseball World Cup Panama 2011 [es] states:
El estadio Rod Carew se vistió de gala, con fuegos pirotécnicos que llenaban de colores el cielo, mientras en el terreno, se presentaban muestras del folclor panameño, con bailes auténticos de los indígenas panameñas, al igual que de las bellas empolleradas y montunos. También hubo muestras de danza moderna, todo ante un esplendoroso despliegue multicolores.
The opening ceremony met everyone's expectations. Giovanni Sanchez (@GiovaniAntonio) [es] congratulates the organizers of the event through his Twitter account:
Anoche panama se lucio fue una apertura muy emocionante y colorida felicidades@MundialPanama11@EdwinECabreraU
Juan Carlos R. (JCRODNYY) [es] also writes:
Orgulloso de la inauguracion… Clase de presentacion sentia q estaba en otro Pais.. Orgullosamente era made in panama@MundialPanama11
Panama beat Greece 8-3 in the opening game. Photo: Ana Rut Moreno, used with permission.
The party continued with the host's debut, who defeated Greece 8-3. Dorita Jaen (@Dorita_Isabel) [es] commented on Panama's victory:
@MundialPanama11 felicidades al equipo panameno….arriba mi bello Panama

author: Ariel Moreno


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Peru: Mick Jagger Visits Lima · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón

The rumor that Mick Jagger, the famous singer from The Rolling Stones, was visiting Lima began to spread on the afternoon of Saturday, October 8, 2011.
It all started with a blurry picture shared by Twitter user César Bejarano (@Cesar_Bejarano) which was then re-published on the online version of local newspaper Perú 21 [es]. In it, we can see someone who looks like the well-known English artist, but that's about it.
On Sunday, October 9, other newspapers confirmed the news and a video on YouTube even appeared, posted by user fmphotos, showing Mick Jagger at the Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbzvVXged1o&feature=player_embedded
Peruvian bloggers and Twitter users are discussing the unexpected visit:
The blog Mejor hablar de ciertas cosas [es] republishes:
De acuerdo al exconductor de “TV Rock”, Cucho Peñaloza, el  vocalista de Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, llegó a nuestro país para  recorrer Lima y Puerto Maldonado. La única imagen difundida  hasta el momento es esta difusa toma que una cuenta de Twitter mostró  desde el interior del Hotel Country Club de San Isidro.
On Twitter, the hashtags #mickjagger and #mickjaggerenlima have the Twittersphere talking.
According to William Amaya (@dkden77e), the artist has reached old age:
@DJPaulBsAs: #MickJagger confesó q pasa + tiempo en Facebook que tocando una guitarra // le llegó la vejez, no?
While Mucho Vicio (@muchovicio) makes fun of some of the favorite activities of middle-aged women:
Tomando el té con Mick Jagger. Luego al bingo y quizás, si la noche es propicia, charadas con las groupies. Y a la camita.
Daniel Morales (@dasang) asks:
#MickJaggerEnLima porfavor hagan que diga #calata #huachafo o una de esas palabras q son graciosas cuando las dicen los gringos!
‘Calato’, masculine form of the adjective ‘calata’, means naked or, in an extended use, someone who has no money; and ‘huachafo’ can be translated as tacky.
Helena (@HeleNa_Sz_) wants to know where she can find Mick Jagger:
Y en este momento en qué parte del Perú se encuentra #MickJagger ?
Oswaldo Azk (@azk1610) shares a link with Mick Jagger's plans for this visit to Peru:
#MickJagger se aloja en hotel de Lima y viajaría a Puerto Maldonado periodismoenlinea.org/desde-peru/15/…
Puerto Maldonado is a Southern city in Peru, the capital of the Madre de Dios department, on the Peruvian Amazon region.
Many users are alluding with a mocking tone to something that occurred more than 20 years ago: Monique Pardo, a Peruvian artist, met Mick Jagger in Iquitos. The blog Doctor Monique [es] tells us about the meeting:
Dice que se acercó a tomarle una fotografía con una Nikon gris casera que le había arrebatado a su novio, quien permanecía callado durante toda la escena como si fuera un extra, y que pidió a su ídolo que posara como si estuviera leyendo. Mick abrió un libro de bolsillo que llevaba consigo y ensayó algo de poesía amanerada en sus movimientos. La Pardo recuerda haber sentido como si un ratón se alborotara de miedo en su estómago. Al fin disparó la cámara como pudo, en un intento inútil por hacerlo suyo aunque fuese un instante. Jagger se puso de pie y los tres guardaron silencio. Monique, compadeciéndose de su novio, se despidió de Mick.
With this in mind, Gonzalo Alarcón (@Gonzaloalarco) jokes about Jagger's visit:
Joder #MickJagger en Lima y nadie enterado? Será que #MoniquePardo lo habrá secuestrado?

author: Gabriela García Calderón


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Afghanistan: Cost of UK military involvement · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Nick Fielding writes that, according to a research paper published by the UK House of Commons, the nation's expenditure in Afghanistan totalled £3.774 billion in 2010-11.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Android Market Blocked in China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Sunny Ye from Techrice introduces some alternatives to deal with the blocking of Android Market in China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Angola: Youth Protest Movement Consolidates Against Odds · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

After the imprisonment and sentencing of some of the organizers of the September 3 Angolan protest against the 32-year rule of President José Eduardo dos Santos, the youth movement behind the protest movement has carried on in spite of intimidation.
On September 25 and again on October 2, a couple of hundred people took to the streets to call for the freedom of the 16 imprisoned after September 3.
Both times the marches were confronted with opposition – a few police but also a larger group that people have called “congoleses” – which does not mean people from Congo, but instead people associated with the ruling party, or paid by them. This video shows that on September 25, the opposing crowd effectively blocked the non-violent marchers, who in turn offered spirited response but did not advance:
More protests have been called for October 16 and 18 [pt]. Hip hop continues to be a large motivating force behind the youth movement, encouraging people to question where the petroleum money goes and question the lack of democracy. This raw video of a recent performance captures the energy
Consolidation of citizen media channels, viral media
The increasing number of videos uploaded from different YouTube users for the most recent protests indicates a proliferation of citizen reporters. The earlier protests this year were documented by only one or two YouTube users.
Its site or online headquarters, Central 7311 [pt], is named after the  first protest of this year, which occurred on March 7. The site  describes itself:
Aqui publicamos não só os pedidos de autorização  enviados ao Governo  Provincial de Luanda como também alguma informação  independente, fora da  redoma dos nossos viciados meios de comunicação  social, na linha do  chamado “jornalismo do cidadão”. Também publicamos  alguns textos de  opinião de diferentes colaboradores e estamos abertos a  outros textos  que vão ao encontro do que temos vindo a defender.  A  Centra 7311 pretende ser somente um espaço de convergência, de troca  de  ideias e de comunicação dessa juventude, dessa minoria(?) que está   descontente, cansada e revoltada com a situação social e política em   Angola.
Central 7311 also now has an active Twitter account which is used to spread breaking news during protest marches and a YouTube channel.
Video is used not only to document, but also to motivate and inspire, such as this musical montage with Thievery Corporation's “El Pueblo Unido” track:
Also worth noting are some of the video satire that appears to be going “viral”, including this dubbing-over of a Dos Santos speech which has had over 11,000 views since July. Its activist authors encourage others to do the same – to “satirize the speech of the President to exhaustion”:

author: Janet Gunter


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Bahamas: Women’s Right to Safety  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Crime in the Bahamas denies women and their children the right to safety, which is a human right,” says Womanish Words, adding: “The new Nobel laureates I hope will remind Bahamian women of this human right to safety , and inspire us to courage enough to speak out when this right is denied to us.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bangladesh: Beheading of 8 Bangladeshi Workers in Saudi Arabia Sparks Rage · Global Voices
Rezwan

Nothing can justify a capital crime, but capital punishment cannot ensure a cure or deterrent for such crimes. Bangladeshis were shocked to learn that eight Bangladeshi migrant workers were beheaded in public in Saudi Arabia on 7 October, 2011, under Qisas (an eye for an eye) law for being involved in robbing a warehouse and killing a security guard, Hussein Saeed Mohammed Adulkhaleq, an Egyption national. Three other Bangladeshis were sentenced to prison terms and flogging.
As videos of similar Saudi beheadings [Warning: Graphic content] were widely circulated in social networks, netizens were enraged about this horrific punishment questioning about the process of the trial and the role of the Bangladesh Government in ensuring these poor migrant workers’ rights.
Zahid Masudul Abedin writes [bn]:
কিছু ব্যতিক্রম বাদ দিলে প্রায় সব দেশেই হত্যার শাস্তি মৃত্যুদণ্ড। আমাদের দেশেও তাই। কিন্তু এই মৃত্যুদণ্ডটাও যে কত ভয়ঙ্কর ভাবে কার্যকর করা যায় তারই যেন একটা উদাহরণ জনসমক্ষে শিরশ্ছেদ। বুঝলাম আইনের সঠিক প্রয়োগ করা উচিত কিন্তু এই মধ্যযুগীয় বর্বরতা কি এই যুগে ত্যাগ করা যায় না?
Mosaddik Uzzal questions [bn]:
ফাঁসি রহিত করা হোক এমন আইন আমরা চাইনা। কেননা এই মৃত্যু দণ্ড ব্যবস্থা না থাকলে সমাজে অপরাধের সংখ্যা বেড়ে যাবে। তাই বলে ১ জন কে হত্যার জন্য ৮ জন কেন জীবন দিল? এই কেমন আইন?
Niaz Murshed Chowdhury [bn] has some points to ponder:
এ দৃশ্য সৌদি আরবে এতটাই হরহামেশা ঘটে থাকে যে এটা তাদের কাছে কোন প্রতিক্রিয়া সৃষ্টি করে না। বরং সৌদি নীতি নির্ধারকরা যুক্তি দেখায় এভাবে প্রকাশ্যে শিরশ্ছেদ তথা “আল্লাহর আইন” বাস্তবায়ন মানুষকে সাবধানী করে। এটা সমাজে অপরাধ প্রবণতা কমায়। এই একই যুক্তি গত চব্বিশ ঘণ্টায় ইন্টারনেটে দেয়া মতামতের কল্যাণে বহু মানুষের কাছ থেকে জানতে পারলাম। অনেকেই এটাকে বর্বরতা নয় বরং সমাজ থেকে অপরাধ কমানোর কার্যকরী একটা উপায় বলে মনে করেন। সব কথাই শুনলাম, সব কথাই বুঝলাম। কিন্তু এটা বুঝলাম না, ১৪শ বছর আগে করা এই “আল্লাহর আইন” কেন এখনও সৌদি সমাজ থেকে হত্যার মত অপরাধ বিলুপ্ত করতে পারলো না? কেন ২০০৭ সনে ১৫৮ জন এবং ২০০৮ সনে ১০৮ জনকে শিরশ্ছেদ করতে হলো? ১৪শ বছর কি “আল্লাহর আইন”-এর জন্যে যথেষ্ট ছিল না সমাজ থেকে এ ধরনের অপরাধ বিলুপ্ত করতে?
According to news reports [bn] the Bangladesh government had tried through diplomatic channel since 2007 to seek pardon for the eight Bangladeshis. Even the president of Bangladesh wrote a letter to the Saudi King asking for forgiveness. The Saudi foreign office replied that only the victim's family can forgive the perpetrators. The Bangladesh government did seek forgiveness from the victim's family in Egypt but they refused.
Swadesh Roy writes in the Times Of Assam:
The persons who were beheaded, their trial were basically far from international standard. All proceedings were in Arabic. Accused persons could not understand it. The court did not arrange any system to help the accused understand it.  Besides, most defendants had no defense lawyer. Eventually, for the language barrier and lack of any help from the lawyer, they could not defend themselves. So, it is not a trial of any international standard, it is actually a mock trial.
Niaz mentions that confession through tortures and framed cases are regular affairs in such mock trials. He also quotes from the Amnesty report:
The Egyptian man was killed during a clash between the Bangladeshi workers and a group of men who allegedly were stealing electric cable from a building complex where the Bangladeshis worked.
He asks why the media is ignoring these “group of men” and why they had been absent in the trial process?
And of course there are some people who are more equal than others. Niaz mentions the hypocrisy existing in the Saudi Law presenting the case of  William Sampson, who survived such capital punishment because he was a British national. Sampson wrote in the Guardian:
Finally released in August 2003, after 964 days of solitary confinement, torture and dehumanising terror, I harbour no illusions about what saved me: my passport. …Meanwhile, of course, Saudi's poor migrant workers from Somalia, Bangladesh, the Philippines or Pakistan are virtually doomed if they face a capital charge.
Manob O Manobota [bn] has this to say to the King of Saudi Arabia:
আপনি কি জানেন, এ অভিযুক্তরা সবাই তাদের মনের কথা আপনার বিচারকদের কাছে জানাতে পেরেছিল নাকি রায়টি একতরফা হয়েছিল?
Pushpita [bn] questions the Bangladeshi government:
কিছু কি করা যেতোনা. এই অসহায় শ্রমিকদের জন্য? কারো কি কোন দায়িত্ব ছিলনা?
It may be noted here that Indonesia has banned the sending of maids to Saudi Arabia after a migrant worker from West Java was beheaded in that country for killing her employer, who abused her.
Unheard Voice points out that there are many more Bangladeshis waiting to be beheaded:
These men didn’t have any power, money, influence. They hold green colored passports that have very little international leverage and they work and live under conditions just above slaves.  When they die, they are easily replaced and forgotten. 16 more are waiting in line to take the 8’s place.
Rubana Haque is in grief seeing the silence of the world:
Strangely, the world seems unsure and divided on the concept of peace. On one hand, three outstanding women have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their contribution to the non-violent movement in their countries: Liberia and Yemen, and on the other hand, eight of us have just been beheaded in the most violent manner in Saudi Arabia.
While Saudi Arabia seeks to secure justice through capital punishment in its soil, the Nobel committee has commended these three women for strategically voicing out their protest. Point is, when will the world wake up to shun the violent governments and when shall we all stand united on the idea of peace, the chimera of our modern times?


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Bangladesh: The Oldest Coin In The World? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bangladesh Unlocked writes about a tiny silver coin recovered from Wari Bateshwar in Bangladesh, the site of Bronze Age settlements, which may be the oldest coin in the world.


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Bhutan: Preparing For The Royal Wedding · Global Voices
Rezwan

Penstar shares how Bhutan is preparing for the upcoming wedding of the King.


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Cape Verde: Ibrahim Governance prize goes to ex-President · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

Twitter users react to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation's attribution of this year's Governance Prize to ex-President of Cape Verde Pedro Pires. The $5 million prize dates from 2007 but went unattributed the past two years. Pires is the second “lusophone” politician to win the Prize, after ex-President of Mozambique Joaquim Chissano in 2007.


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China’s famous English teacher beats his American wife   · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Olivia from ChinaHush translated a scandal exposed through Weibo concerning China's famous “crazy English” teacher Li Yang beating up his American wife at home.


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China: “Do you have memories from before you were kidnapped?” · Global Voices
Andy Yee

A girl plays the violin for change at a train station in Beijing. Screenshot from documentary trailer shot in November 2010
If you’ve ever visited a Chinese city, you will see children begging or performing with musical instruments near train stations or on crowded streets for spare change. What you’ve witnessed is the tip of a serious and tough problem in China – the kidnapping and selling of children.
In early 2009, the public security authorities in China have implemented an anti-kidnapping campaign. At the end of 2010, official figures (not necessarily reliable) showed that 9,165 cases of trafficked women and 5,900 cases of trafficked children were uncovered; 9,388 children and 17,746 women were rescued, and 3,573 criminal kidnapping gangs were destroyed.
The true number of kidnapped children is likely to be much higher than the number rescued. According to some estimates, as many as 70,000 children in China are abducted by gangs each year.
What is fuelling this child kidnapping? Thanks to the one-child policy, and Chinese traditions placing huge pressure on families to have sons, stolen children are often sold into new families. On the other hand, kidnapped girls are often sold into areas where there is a surplus of unmarried men. Still many others are sold into street performance, begging or prostitution.
Telling their story
The child kidnapping issue is the theme of an upcoming documentary called “Living with Dead Hearts: The Search for China's Kidnapped Children” by Charles Custer.
Custer is an American strongly interested in China. Currently based in Beijing, he runs the successful blog ChinaGeeks, which offers translation and analysis of the China blogosphere. For his documentary, Custer wants to go beyond statistics and analysis. By focusing on the personal and emotional side of the stories, he wants to attach real faces to these social problems.
At the end of last year, Custer launched a fundraising appeal on Kickstarter to make the documentary. Following generous responses of more than 100 people, the project has successfully raised more than $8,500, and Custer has since then spent much of his free time tracking, interviewing and filming parents and kidnapped children.
This month, the film crew has put together an update together with an early trailer of the film:
Their goal is for viewers abroad to be able to relate to Chinese people as individuals after watching the documentary. They would be able to see, for example, how the parents of kidnapped children feel with questions like, “When did you discover your daughter was missing? Could you tell us more about your daughter’s character and hobbies? What methods have you tried to look for her apart from reporting to the police and the school? How do you plan to keep looking?” Or how kidnapped children feel as adults: “Do you have memories from before you were kidnapped? Do your current “parents” remember from whom you were purchased? And how do they feel about it now?”
If you care about this issue, you can see how Custer is progressing on the documentary at the dedicated website www.livingwithdeadhearts.com, or learn more about kidnapped children in a special section of ChinaGeeks.org. If you wish to show your support, visit the Chinese charities Baby Come Home and Xinxing Aid, which support kidnapped and street children in various ways.

author: Andy Yee


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China: Support Occupy Wall Street Movement · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In Zhengzhou, a city in Henan province, Chinese citizens rallied to support occupy wall street movement in the U.S. (via ChinaHush)


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Cuba: Fonseca & Husband Released  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Uncommon Sense reports that “almost two weeks after they were arrested, Cuban activists Sara Martha Fonseca and her husband Julio Ignacio Leon were released from jail on Friday.”


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Cuba: Outpouring of Support for Las Damas’ Leader  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Over the weekend, the leader of Cuba's Las Damas de Blanco (The Ladies in White), Laura Pollan, fell ill.  News of her hospitalization has come on the heels of successive weekends of the opposition group – along with other human rights activists – being targeted, allegedly on account of their anti-government protests.
Bloggers, both on the island and throughout the diaspora, reached out online to offer their support and wishes for Pollan's recovery.
Uncommon Sense spoke of Pollan's influence and courage in the fight for the rights of political prisoners in Cuba:
Pollan is one of the more fearless figures in the Cuban opposition, bravely leading the Damas on peaceful marches in Havana and other cities on behalf of their imprisoned loved ones and other political prisoners in Cuba. She has carried forth the group's campaign even after her husband, Hector Maseda, was released earlier this year after 8 years in prison.
Last month, Pollan and other Damas were attacked by a Castroite mob sent to block them from marching in Havana to commemorate a religious feast day. News coverage included a photograph of Pollan and another marcher being pushed against a wall by a mob.
Please keep this courageous woman and her family in your prayers.
Along the Malecon posted two updates yesterday: the first, a link of an interview with Pollan (before she fell ill) talking about the experiences Las Damas have endured in their fight.  The post ends by saying:
Fellow members of Las Damas de Blanco marched on Sunday along Quinta Avenida in Havana and prayed for the dissident leader…they said Pollán was in intensive care with respiratory problems caused by an as-yet-unknown virus.
The blog's second update contains an interview with Pollan's husband, which Yoani Sanchez posted via twitpic.  The blogger, Tracey Eaton, summed it up this way:
He said his overall impression after visiting Pollán was ‘very positive.’ Maseda is a former political prisoner whose imprisonment inspired Pollán to help start Las Damas de Blanco, dedicated to freeing all political prisoners.
In the face of limited information about Pollan's condition, words seemed inadequate; some bloggers simply posted photo tributes to the Las Damas leader.
Generation Y, though, thought it important to talk about the messages sent about activists like Laura Pollan through the state media and the seemingly increasing number of Cubans who choose not to believe them:
Cubans increasingly doubt what they are told, begin to read between the lines, and interpret, in reverse, information in the national media. The disbelief has gotten to the point where insult is deciphered as praise and vice versa. Those demonized by partisan publications are thus transformed into admired beings — albeit in a whisper — and even those fired from the government apparatus acquire a certain aura of appeal.
Knowing this peculiar phenomenon of reinterpretation, the number of people who have called me to ask about the health of Laura Pollan does not surprise me. The great number of friends and onlookers who have gathered outside the Calixto Garcia Hospital emergency room where she was admitted for acute respiratory distress is comforting. Considering all the insults, curses, and lies that have been launched against this woman on the official television, the reactions of so many Cubans in solidarity with her is a revelation. The dozens of text messages transmitting medical reports about the leader of the Ladies in White, the prayers at shrines throughout Cuba, and the encouragement from so many other peaceful activists, are the major silencers of this shrill character who — in our living rooms — launches into a tirade we no longer believe in.
Global Voices will post updates on Ms. Pollan's condition as they become available.


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Cuba: The Cuban “Facebook”  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Translating Cuba introduces the island's very own Facebook: La Cubanada.


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India: Candle-light Newscast In A News Channel In Karnataka · Global Voices
Rezwan

Recently in Karnataka, newscasters of the Kannada language channel Suvarna News read out the news with a candle on top of their desks to convey the impact of the power cuts in the state, reports Sans Serif. “Hopefully, the channel’s viewers had electricity back home to see the candle-light bulletins”, opines the blogger.


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India: Waterlogging In Delhi · Global Voices
Rezwan

Anjora Sarangi at Youth Ki Awaaz writes about the growing problem of waterlogging in several parts of Delhi.


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Jamaica: Hiding “Behind Blackness” · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Under the Saltire Flag shares an interesting perspective on the recent riots in London: “I have no problem accepting that in many areas Britain is blindly racist and must be called out on it. It can be frustraiting to realize that in many instances Jamaica is just as blindly racist but we are not equally called out on these.”


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Kazakhstan: Online TV website shut down · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Tomyris writes that Kazakhstan’s opposition news website Stan-TV was shut down by the court decision; it was ordered to close the production studio and dismantle its broadcasting equipment. The formal reason for closure is supposedly a failure to comply with the standards of Kazakhstan’s public health inspection agency.


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Liberia: Liberian Elections 2011 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Liberians voted today for the presidency as well as all seats in the House of Representatives and half of the seats in the Senate. African Elections Project has set up a Ushahidi-based platform to monitor incidents of violence and irregularities.
You can also follow African Elections Project on Twitter and get election-related photos on Twitpic. The hashtag for the elections is #Liberia2011.
The African Elections Project was established in 2008 with the vision of enhancing the ability of journalists, citizen journalists and the news media to report and monitor elections.
Who will take the mansion key on October 11? Image courtesy of Africa Election Project.
There is also a Facebook group called Liberia Elections 2011 Media Monitoring Group:
Designed to discuss media coverage of the elections based on media monitoring results and alerts of on media compliance to code of ethics, journalism standards and conflict sensitive elections reporting.
Analysts, activists and political observers have been discussing Liberian general election in the blogosphere. Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij looks at President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's main competitor:
Sirleaf’s main competitor in the race to the Executive Mansion also is a Harvard graduate. The 70 year old Winston A. Tubman is a politician of Americo-Liberian descent. He earned a degree from Harvard Law School in 1966, then established his own law firm in Liberia. He also has extensive United Nations experience, most recently as the Secretary-General’s representative and head of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia, from 2002 to 2005. He belongs to one of Liberia’s most influential families, the name Tubman is well known to all Liberians. Winston Tubman’s uncle was William V.S. Tubman, Liberia’s longest ruling president (1944-1971). Winston Tubman served as Minister of Justice under dictator Samuel Doe and in 2005 unsuccessfully ran for president on the ticket of Samuel Doe’s National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL). In the October 11 elections he is the presidential candidate of George Weah’s Congress for Democratic Change (CDC).
Final rally of Liberia's ruling party. Image courtesy of African Elections Project.
The New Dispensation blog claims that Sirleaf will not be able to serve beyond 2013 because of medical reasons:
As the country goes  to the polls next Tuesday, “The New Dispensation” was privileged to receive authentic report of the medical condition of the   73 year old Liberian leader that the President who is seeking another six year term was long diagnosed with cancer and recent medical check up indicates the cancer will prevent her from serving beyond 2013.
A family source who pleads for straight confidentiality to conceal their identity  revealed this  to this outlet that  the President  cancer illness was  a long held  family secret hidden from the public but  recent medical examination the President underwent  about a year ago came with a dismal report which has put the family on the edge as the report indicates  the cancer will reach at a full blown and  critical mass and  by 2013, the cancer will incapacitate the President  and eventually pass on.
The same blog says that the opposition decided to campaign on the streets of Liberia because President Johnson-Sirleaf refused them to use public facilities:
The   party says they are forced to hold their final campaign rally on the streets to close the campaign season after  the Unity Party led government of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first and only female President and a Harvard trained economist refused them the use of public facilities for their rally. Party officials say the Liberian government refused them the use of the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex and the Antoinette Tubman Stadium.
The CDC complains that the Unity Party  government of President Sirleaf  concocted a ploy to deny and refuse  the party the use of public facilities in violation of the constitution and election laws of Liberia under the deception that the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex and Antoinette Tubman Stadium were previously booked by other institutions for unspecified programs, insisting no date was available on the calendar despite the many flexibility and options the party opted for to adjust to  any date before the elections but  instead,  the Liberian government refused their options and adjustment
Chris Blattman discusses President Jonhson-Sirleaf's weaknesses:
I think her weaknesses are most apparent when you look at the persistent power problem. Eight years since peace and there’s not even a single and coherent plan to rebuild the hydro plants. The nation is run on generators. If you want a reason for a stagnant economy, that is a major culprit.
It’s less the power issue itself than what it symbolizes–difficulty finding focus and getting things done. I can’t shake the feeling that she spent more time getting feted international, and running a US book tour, than the big issues at home.
However, he will not be surprised to see her win the first round of election:
I nitpick a little. She has been solid and principled since she entered office, and strikes me as the best leader on the table. I will not be surprised to see her win the first round of the election next week. Let’s hope for a peaceful one.
Jessica Shor explains what makes this year's election unique for onlookers and voters:
What truly makes this election unique for onlookers and voters alike is that it is only the second election since the end of the civil war. That is also what makes it potentially volatile.  Although Liberia has a blossoming civil society and seemingly strong democracy, experts point to the Ivory Coast as an example of how easily elections can go awry. In the streets here, despite public service announcements calling for peaceful elections, there is still a palpable tension. Many of the Lebanese and Indian merchants here say they are keeping their inventories low until the election has passed, and several have purchased plane tickets to leave the country during elections.
Few dispute that Sirleaf will win a second term, but uncertainty looms larger than poll numbers and campaigns (and witch doctors). There is an ominous sense that as much as Liberians hold their breath and cross their fingers, nobody can predict how the country itself will fare
E. Swen argues that Liberians have changed a lot since the last time they voted:
Seeing it Differently, I am convinced that the people of Liberia have changed a lot in the past six years. In 1997 the election was characterized by several slogans such as “there are more bad people than good people” or “you killed my ma, you killed my pa, I will vote for you.” In 2005, the message changed with a little twist. While the enlighten Liberians were saying, “shine your eyes,” the rest of the people, mostly young Liberians were saying, “you know book, you not know book, I will vote for you.” When the 2011 elections campaign was declared opened, the Unity Party surprised the entire nation with its major campaign slogan, “ugly bamboo wait small, the monkey is still working.” With less than 5 days to the election many Liberians, especially the other political parties are still finding it difficult to counteract this slogan.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Paraguay: Referendum Backs Right to Vote Abroad · Global Voices
Belen Bogado

Update (October 10, 2011)
Paraguayans living abroad will now be able to vote in general elections, after 80% of voters backed the “yes” option in the referendum held on October 9, as BBC News reports.
For the first time [es] in history, Paraguayans held a constitutional referendum on whether citizens living outside the country can vote on general elections.
Paraguay, a country with about 6 million inhabitants, has over 1 million Paraguayans living abroad [es] who left looking to improve their economic status and to find job opportunities.
Politicians’ and private organizations’ campaigns for the “yes” were widely spread through TV ads, posters on the streets and also in the blogosphere.
Hugo Estigarribia, a senator for the Colorado party, posted [es] on his blog “The country we want” about the referendum:
Los paraguayos en el exterior realizan un aporte muy importante a nuestro país y continúan siendo tan connacionales como los que vivimos aquí. Tienen derecho a votar y por eso MI VOTO ES POR EL “SÍ” A LA ENMIENDA CONSTITUCIONAL DEL ARTÍCULO 120 DE LA CONSTITUCIÓN DEL PARAGUAY.
Pa’i Oliva, a well known catholic priest, also posted [es] on his blog about the referendum:
Y si no voto en el referéndum?
Simplemente mostrará que Ud. es libre. Pero, también, que no tiene una libertad muy responsable. (…)
Que Ud. es un desagradecido, pues estos emigrantes envían más de 600 millones de dólares anualmente al Paraguay, que por cierto es la plata mejor repartida por muchas familias a las que alcanza en todo el país. La soja que ingresa más, se queda siempre en pocas manos.
And if I don’t vote on the referendum?
It will simply demonstrate that you are free. But, also, that you do not have a very responsible freedom. (…)
That you are ungrateful, given that these emigrants send over 600 million dollars annually to Paraguay, which, by the way, is the best distributed money for many families throughout the country. Soy, which brings in more (money), stays within few hands.
But not everybody favors the “yes”. The referendum implies that the budget of the superior court of electoral justice will have to increase, especially in case that “yes” triumphs on Sunday.
On Twitter several people expressed their rejection of the constitutional referendum. Jose Abed (@joseabed) tweeted [es]:
Antes de tirar y despilfarrar un dineral en el referendum hay otras cosas mas importantes para solucionar en paraguay
Others consider that the real reason to hold the referendum is to increase the electoral subsidy that the political parties usually receive and expand their campaigns to foreign countries. Juanma Fleitas (@jmanuel_fr) tweets [es] about it:
No me extrañaría que los partidos políticos soliciten + dinero p/ las campañas políticas, para acercar sus “propuestas” a los del extranjero
Diego Javier (@DiegoJavierOS) [es] says that citizens living abroad should not have the right to vote:
Pyos en el exterior ni enterados estan de lo que Pasa en Paraguay. Si alguien se va a beneficiar de esto son los politicos! “Referendum .l.”
Despite these opposing stands,  many citizens on blogs and social networks do agree on one thing: that everyone should go vote no matter what their vote is, this is what Anto Strauck @Anto_Strauck tweets [es]:
El 9 de octubre TODOS a votar el referéndum

author: Belen Bogado


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Peru: 14 Shamans Murdered in Amazon Town · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Peruvian bloggers Juan Arellano [es] and Paco Bardales [es] report on the murders of 14 shamans in the amazon town of Balsapuerto. The main suspect is the mayor of Balsapuerto, Alfredo Torres, and his brother, who are reportedly evangelical Christian and see these shamans as “devils”.

author: Juan Arellano


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Poland: Parliamentary Election Roundup · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Raf Uzar writes that the Oct. 9 parliamentary election “will be a true test of Poland’s democratic calibre.” Polandian writes about a Lublin candidate “willing to court controversy in order to gain attention for some votes”: Katarzyna Lenart, 23, whose striptease video had over 410,000 views as of Oct. 8. Politics, Economy, Society hoped for a high turnout, for “[w]hoever wins, should be authorised by the nation to wield power,” and summarized the election's preliminary results, which point to the victory of Donald Tusk's Civic Platform (PO): “Poland is in for four years of predictable and pragmatic, yet sometimes mediocre and feckless rule.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Deceased Yukos Lawyer’s Last Interview · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

The New Times publishes the last interview [ru] with Vasily Aleksanyan, former Vice President of Yukos oil company, who died on October 3, 2011 due to AIDS complications after his release from jail. “They're terrifying me every day,” confessed Aleksanyan saying that police didn't stop abusing him. Bloggers widely discuss the case [ru] and compare it to the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who died in prison.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: Personal Information Leaked, Who’s To Blame? · Global Voices
Ashley Cleek

On October 3, 2011, several Russian citizens’ documents, including financial statements and passport numbers, were posted on the website rusleaks.com [ru].
Soon after the flood of documents was noticed, the Russian Prosecutor General and the Agency for the Supervision of Information Technologies (which goes by the abbreviated name Roskomnadzor) announced it was investigating how the personal data was leaked to the so-called “anti-corruption” site Rusleaks. Several Rusleaks domain names are currently inaccessible.
Leaked personal information
Russian news site Vedomosti writes that two of its staff found personal information in the leak [ru]:
Корреспондент «Ведомостей» нашел в базах Rusleaks данные своего старого паспорта и помесячные данные о зарплате за вторую половину 1990-х гг., а его коллега — номера двух старых паспортов и некоторые данные, удаленные из «В контакте».
Drop. Picture by Flickr-user kaffeetrauma
A Vedomosti correspondent found in Rusleaks documents information about his old passport and monthly statements about his wages for the second half of the 1990s, and his colleague found two old passport numbers and some information that had been deleted from VKontakte [social network].
The Russian government has stated that  the posting of such information violates online privacy laws. The Prosecutor's office has filed a lawsuit to the Moscow city court regarding the case (if won by the prosecutor, the website will be blocked for Russia-based users) and has demanded [ru] that Internet.BS Corp (registrar through which the rusleaks.com domain was delegated) stops its registration.
In only two known prior cases has the Russian government decided to use domain hijacking: for sites sochi.ru and torrents.ru, the largest Russian torrent portal, which was blocked in 2010 for violating article 146 of the Russian criminal code.
The agency also noted that some of the personal data, which spans the years 1999 to 2007 may have been forged [ru].
Who's to blame?
Well-known Russian blogger Anton Nosik, whose Citibank account information from 2003 was leaked, posted [ru] a screenshot of the pilfered information on his blog. Nosik intimated that the information must have been passed through various levels of the Russian government and ended up in the public domain.
Круг чиновников и силовиков, с которыми коммерческий банк в России обязан делиться всеми данными своих клиентов, невозможно установить. Зато теперь понятнее становится характер информации, сливаемой банками государству, и способ её хранения.
A poll [ru] posted by the site Habrakhabr shows that 67.55 percent of those polled agree that:
Опубликование подобных данных, скорее зло чем польза, даже в России
Many commenters distinguished between Rusleaks and whoever gave the information to Rusleaks. User CLR noted [ru] that the information “wasn't stolen but was bought off people who have access to it,” and stressed that it was necessary to punish those people and not simply the site that posted the information.
User Himari noted [ru]:
Проблема не в том, что существуют такие сайты, а в том что эти данные утекают. Вы как наше правительство, боритесь с последствиями, а не причинами. Тем более раз утекло, то уже всё — оно будет переодически всплывать.

author: Ashley Cleek


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Russia: Putin Gets Twitter Hashtag for His Birthday · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

#CпасибоПутинуЗаЭто (“Thanks to Putin for This”) hashtag that resembles the Soviet “Thanks to the party for this” became a “Twitter sensation” according to the Wall Street Journal and a “Twitter storm,” according to The Moscow News. The campaign that was started [ru] by a pro-Kremlin blogger Vladimir Burmatov as a way to greet the Russian PM on his 59th birthday, turned into a wave of cynical verses by Russian Internet users.

author: Gregory Asmolov


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South Korea: Movie Prompts Outrage Over Disabled Child Sex Crimes · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

In South Korea, the movie ‘Crucible’ has brought a long-forgotten rape case to light. It is based on the true story of disabled children who were continuously raped by school officials for five years; the offenders however, walked away from the courtroom nearly unscathed.
The movie, which has been a major hit for several consecutive weeks and been seen by several million Koreans, has sparked calls for the reinvestigation of the crime and amendment of related law articles.
The serial rapes were done to hearing-impaired kids in a special education  institution in Gwangju city. The case was unearthed by an insider report in 2005 and brought into the public eye in 2009 in the novel ‘Dogani’, on which the movie is originally based.
The offenders, including the school headmaster, were  indicted, but of the six school officials involved, only two received jail terms  of less than a  year, while two were sentenced to probation and  the remaining two went unpunished. The trailer can be viewed on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VkCHCvcPy9A
Less than a week since the movie was released, over 74,000 netizens have signed an online petition [ko] demanding  further investigation. Accepting public calls for action, a special police team has been set up and Gwangju city has decided to shut down [ko] the school. The Supreme Court plans to draft [ko] a new bill that will enable courts to order harsher punishments for sex crimes on disabled individuals.
Even the Grand National Party, the nation's ruling party, is discussing [ko] enabling judges to punish sex crimes on under-age kids retrospectively. The Twittersphere lit up with responses, with many saying that they felt repulsed, uneasy, helpless and angry after watching the movie.
Twitter user @lovely__StaR tweeted [ko] :
나도 도가니보고 기분 찝찝했어요. 분노와 슬픔과 뭐라 형용할 수 없는 감정이 뒤섞여서.
Son So-ra (@BbiBbiZz) tweeted [ko] :
불편한 진실이라는 수준을 넘어서 듣고도,알고도,외면하고 싶은 지경에 진실인것같다.. 아역배우들의 부모님들이 출연결정을 내린것이 참 대단할정도다!
Sports journalist, Seoh Ho-jung (@goalgoalsong) tweeted [ko] :
전 분노를 넘어 사회 구성원으로 책임감을 느꼈어요. 사회적 약자에 무관심했던 걸 반성했고요.
Seoh Young-seok(@du0280) tweeted [ko] that the city where the scenes are taking place is a reflection of the darker aspects of our society:
무진이란 작은 도시 속에서 교직채용비리, 경찰과 학원재벌들과의 유착관계, 전관예우 변호사의 비리적 현실, 학연과 돈에 넘어가는 의사와 판사, 변호사. […]축소판이더군요.
Dong Soo (@taiot) tweeted [ko] a famous line from the movie. It is said by a male character who fought against the school authority for the kids but was finally kicked out of the school.
세상을 바꾸려는 게 아니라 세상이 나를 바꾸지 못하게 싸우는 것이다”(도가니)
Among numerous social media responses, tweets by Kim Kwang-jin (@cop5680) have invited controversy. Kim is the police officer in Gwangju who investigated the rape case several years ago. Kim tweeted [ko]:
어느덧  6년이라는 세월이  흘렀고, 그 사건 이후 내 기억 속에 서서히 사라져 갔던 그 애들을 기억하기 위해 당시 사건을 같이 수사했던  선배 형사와 함께  영화관을 찾았다. 6년전 광주 인화학교에 다니던 여학생들에게 피해내용을 확인하면서 세상에서  일어나지 말아야 할 일들이 너무  많다고 생각했다. 경찰관으로 재직하면서 여러가지 사건을 접해보았지만 그 사건은 세상의 모든 단어를  사용 하더라도 제대로 표현할 수  없었다.[…]정상인도 그런 피해를 당하면 제대로 표현하지 못하는 법인데, 하물며 아픔을 감내하며 고사리 같은 손으로 만든  일그러지고 처절한 그들의 수화에 미안하고 또 미안했다.
Kim later added that some of the scenes in the movie, such as the police taking bribes from the headmaster to cover up the case, excessive police brutality to protesters and a student victim killed by a train accident were added up to spice up the movie.
Best-selling novelist Kong Ji-young who wrote the novel ‘Dogani’, acknowledged this aspect but lambasted [ko] Kim for delaying the investigation. Kong tweeted [ko] that if they were really sorry, the police should not have delayed the investigation for four months for no apparent reason. Kim explained that the four month delay was spent laying groundwork for investigation.


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Sri Lanka: Local Election Results · Global Voices
Rezwan

Indi.ca provides updates of results of the recently concluded Municipal Council elections in Sri Lanka.

author: Rezwan


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Trinidad & Tobago: Striving to be Better  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It’s when you know your weaknesses and work on them that you become truly remarkable. And that’s what I want for T&T”: Outlish blogs about the things Trinbagonians won't (but probably should) do.


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Turkmenistan: Journalist sentenced, goes to jail · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Tomyris reports that Turkmen journalist Dovletmyrat Yazkuliyev, who worked for the RFE/RL’s Turkmen language service, has been sentenced to 5 years in prison after only a 2 day hearing, allegedly for influencing his relative to attempt to commit suicide.


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Uzbekistan: Uzbeks extradited from Kazakhstan get long prison terms · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Avicenna reports that three of the 28 ethnic Uzbeks who were extradited from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan in June, were sentenced to different prison terms, with the longest being 15 years.


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Azerbaijan: Beautiful, Sophisticated, Democratic, and Tolerant… Just Scary Azeri · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Scary Azeri explains that she named her blog as such simply because it rhymed. However, she comments sarcastically, perhaps she would have less detractors if she had named it “A beautiful, sophisticated, not at all corrupt but very democratic, accepting and tolerant Azeri.”

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Land of extreme politeness  · Global Voices
Pervin Muradli

Having read about the culture of politeness in Iran, Aaron in Azerbaijan says he has a deeper insight into the culture in Azerbaijan, a country where traditions and hospitality permeate every sphere of life, although not necessarily always genuinely.

author: Pervin Muradli


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Azerbaijan: More Voices · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Aaron in Azerbaijan introduces his readers to other bloggers writing from the former Soviet republic, including one half of his two fellow PCVs who went viral with their Caspian Dreaming music video and a young female blogger already making a name for herself with personal observations of life in her home country.


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Blog Action Day 2011: Let’s All Talk About Food · Global Voices
Diego Casaes

Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. Its aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion around an important issue that impacts us all.
On Global Voices, we have covered past Blog Action Days and helped share stories about water in 2010 and climate change in 2009. This year the topic is food, as the Blog Action Day coincides with World Food Day, an event organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Global Voices authors have written a lot about food already. Most recently, its special coverage about the United Nations Millenium Development Goals in 2011 includes a series of posts about the struggle to end famine and alleviate poverty. Our community was also commissioned to create a series of posts on Food Insecurity with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Our reports draw on citizen media and are featured on the Pulitzer Gateway to Food Insecurity.
Acarajé is a dish made from peeled black-eyed peas formed into a ball and then deep-fried in dendê (palm oil). It is found in Nigerian and Brazilian cuisine. The dish is traditionally encountered in Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia. Photo by Rita Ribeiro on Flickr (CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0 license).
An open invitation to anyone with a blog is on the Blog Action Day website. You can find a list of suggested topics here; some of them include famine in East Africa, hunger and poverty, malnutrition and conflicts over food.
But if you prefer not to get too serious for Blog Action Day, you can also write about your favorite foods, organic food or vegetarianism. There's a lot to say about food, and the topic breaks down in many different occasions and issues:
We use food to mark times of celebration and sorrow. Lack of access to food causes devastating famines, whilst too much is causing a generation of new health problems.  It can cost the world, or be too cheap for farmers to make a living.
The way we companies produce  food and drinks can provide  important jobs for communities or be completely  destructive to habitats and local food producers.  Food can  give us energy to get through the day or contain ingredients that gives us allergic reactions.
Food can cooked by highly skilled chefs with inventive flair, or mass produced and delivered with speed at the side of road. It can be incredibly healthy or complete junk and bad for your health. It can taste delicious or be a locals only delicacy.
Food is important to our culture, identity and daily sustenance and the team at Blog Action invite you to join us to talk about food
If you are interested, read more about food from the perspective of the Global Voices community.
And remember, October 16 is the time to blog about food, whether you want to write about complex issues involving food or just tell your friends about your favorite dishes. You can join this online rally and help raise awareness about the topic.
Register for Blog Action Day by filling this form, and don't forget to follow @BlogActionDay11 on Twitter.

author: Diego Casaes


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Botswana: I Miss Fatalism · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Lauri explains why she misses fatalism: “In Botswana, people accept that life sometimes goes wrong. Problems happen. Sometimes things don’t work. Sometimes the outcome you expect is not the one that you’ll get. It’s just the way it is. There’s something very comforting about that.”


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Chileans Say Goodbye to Steve Jobs on Twitter · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Katie Manning from Mi Voz [es] gathers Twitter reactions to Steve Jobs’ death. She quotes Twitter users from cities like Arica and Antofagasta in the North, and Osorno and Temuco in the South.

author: Silvia Viñas


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China: More Visits to the Blind Activist Chen Guangcheng · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Samuel Wade from China Digital Times has an update on the activist action to rescue the blind activist Chen Guangcheng from his house arrest at the Dongshigu Village in Yi'nan County, Shandong Province.


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Cuba: New Independent News Agency  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Pedazos de La Isla announces the launch of a new independent press agency in Cuba; Uncommon Sense comments: “Cuba's independent journalists…are deserving of respect and admiration because without their reports…from the front lines of the struggle for liberty, the world would know far less about the reality of life on the island today.”


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Cuba: Review of New Feature Film  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Havana Times blogs about a new feature film, set in the Cuban coastal town of Holguin: “Marina presents itself as something different – quieter, more intimate, another (more contemplative) way of looking at ordinary people who come and go within the island.”


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Curacao: Triple 10 – Fooled Again?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A year after the dissolution of the Dutch Caribbean federation formerly known as the Netherlands Antilles, TRIUNFO DI SABLIKA examines the fallout: “They still whipping us with a refurbished copy paste Dutch colonial constitution. Same old problematic political coalition system. New government old tricks new business elite same greediness as their predecessors. Media needs a restructuring…justice system still oppressive just like education for our youths.”


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D.R. of Congo: Consolidating Democracy or Deepening the Confusion? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Is the Democratic Republic of Congo consolidating democracy or deepening confusion?: “Thus, the main questions today are: will the 2011 elections add something to the embryonic democracy which came out of the 2006 elections, and will the Congolese state be capable of managing the potential violence and instability? The least you can say is that we, as civil society partners of the Congolese people, are very worried.”


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Egypt: Horror at Maspero  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian journalist Sarah Carr blogs her report on the horrors she witnessed at the Maspero state television building, where around 30 protesters were killed and 150 injured when the military police clashed with Coptic protesters.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Egypt: Message to SCAF · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Following the Maspero clashes, Egyptian blogger Mahmoud Salem  writes: ‘Our political and social leaders need to sit down with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and deliver the following message to them: “If you keep this up you are walking the path of your own destruction. The old tactics won’t work. The people refused to turn sectarian, and your soldiers are no way near enough to take control of the country.”‘


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Egypt: Photos from a Protest that Ended with Death  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

On Flickr, Sarah Carr shares photographs from the protests in Shubra. She writes: “When it reached Maspero protesters were crushed by army APCs and shot dead.”