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Bangladesh: The Mystic Lalon · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bangladesh Unlocked introduces Fakir Lalon Shah, the Nineteenth century mystic philosopher poet and lyricist of Bangladesh who's song is considered a classic.


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Bermuda: The UK’s Vision  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Respice Finem comments on the UK's current review of its relationship with its overseas territories, which includes getting feedback, within the confines of its vision, from the colonies themselves: “By limiting the review to that which is consistent with its vision, the UK has demonstrated it is not seriously interested in having an honest dialogue about the future relations with its territories.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bolivia: Santa Cruz’s Recurring Road Blocks · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Eduardo Bowles blogs [es] about the recurring road blocks in Santa Cruz, Bolivia: “At this rate, Santa Cruz will remain the country's economic engine, but perhaps driven by steam or as they say in the neighborhood: ‘a pedal locomotive.'”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Colombians March Against the FARC and Kidnappings  · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

Netizens used the hashtag #LiberenlosYa [es] (“free them now”) to share opinions and reports on the December 6 nationwide anti-FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) protests where Colombians demanded the release of hostages.

author: Cati Restrepo


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Cuba: Housing Backlog · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“As of the enactment of the new norms decreed by the Council of State, which modifies the law regarding housing, Cuban property owners are running en masse to the Notary of Property Registration in order to comply with the new laws” – but according to Laritza's Laws, “not all has been resolved..the government does not provide an adequate infrastructure or sufficient personnel to deal with the demand…”


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Cuba: Members of “Group of 75” Re-arrested · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The dozen members of the Group of 75 prisoners of conscience who refused forced exile as a condition of their parole knew that…they were putting themselves at risk of more repression by staying in Cuba”: Uncommon Sense says that “those consequences have been revealed in recent days as four of the former prisoners have been arrested as part of a brutal crackdown…”


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Cuba: Reggaeton Hit ‘Chupi Chupi’ Denounced by Authorities · Global Voices
Ellery Roberts Biddle

Over the past two weeks, reggaeton artist Osmani “La Voz” García’s wildly popular hit ‘Chupi Chupi’ has begun stirring more than just the hips of eager partygoers on Havana’s Malecón.
Cuban Minister of Culture Abel Prieto, and Cuban Institute of Music President Orlando Vistel, have publicly denounced the song and the accompanying video [es].
http://youtu.be/uZn1z61KdWo
Café Fuerte [es] reported that on Mesa Redonda, one of the nation’s most watched politics programs, Prieto insinuated that it had “put the soul of the nation in the balance.”
Days after the program aired, Chupi Chupi was removed from a pool of contenders for the Lucas Awards, which recognize popular music and include a “people’s choice” category which fans believed ‘Chupi Chupi’ would easily have won, had it not been removed from the competition. García has since submitted an open letter of protest to the government, which Café Fuerte has reproduced here.
The offending song, which features a lineup of A-list Cuban reggaeton and hip-hop stars, is a playful and unapologetically vulgar “ode” to oral sex.
In the state-sponsored daily newspaper Granma, musicologist María Córdova remarked [es] on how the song denigrated the “artistic essence”of sex:
[C]uando los artistas han convertido al sexo en interés y tema del arte…ha sido —por lo general— para dignificar esa adorable dimensión y necesidad no sólo biológica sino afectiva y emocional de todos los seres humanos. En tal sentido, no considero que tales “obras” dignifican este sentimiento humano sino más bien lo reducen a sus más elementales procederes, eliminando su artisticidad…
[…]
Después de escuchar los textos de muchas de tales “obras” me pregunto: ¿Por qué se proponen sus autores exponer una aproximación al sexo tan despojada de toda esencia artística? ¿Por qué desean tratar la sexualidad a partir de expresiones tan vulgares?
[W]hen artists have transformed sex into a subject of art….it has been—in general—to dignify this admirable dimension and necessity that is not only biological, but also affective and emotional for all human beings. In this sense, I don’t believe that these ‘songs’ dignify this human sentiment…
[…]
After listening to the words of many of these “songs” I ask myself: Why do their authors want to treat sex in a way that is so devoid of artistic essence? Why do they want to portray sexuality using such vulgar expressions?
Los Aldeanos, a Cuban rap group, perform in  Seville. Photo by Orianomada, CC:BY-NC-SA
Regarding the debate between Ministry of Culture officials and García, Elaine Díaz tweeted to Yudivian:
@yudivian: Creo que la polémica trasciende al regueton como género y se concentra en el contenido y la forma de la música cubana actual
@yudivian: y no creo que sea contra todo regueton, sino contra una regueton que denigra a la mujer, es vulgar, grosero
Yudivian later tweeted:
@yudivian: @greenpea13 hay que ir al trasfondo de porque esas letras funcionan en la población porque se identifican con ellas
Ernesto Morales of El pequeño hermano [es], noted that reggaeton artists have long history of using sexually explicit language, pointing to immensely popular “regguetoneros” like Baby Lores and Eminencia Clásica, whose songs have featured lyrics that are as vulgar (if not more so) as those of Osmani García:
¿Van a prohibir entonces, bajo decreto oficial, cuanta pieza reguetonera circule por la Isla, sea de factura nacional o extranjera?
Many remain puzzled as to why this song in particular, when its subject matter is hardly unusual within the genre, was denounced so forcefully by cultural policy leaders.
Sin EVAsión’s Miriam Celaya [es] wrote that while she personally dislikes the reggaeton genre, attempting to curb public consumption of the song would only serve to further pique the interests of the public:
[Es] sabido que las censuras y prohibiciones no hacen más que estimular el consumo de lo prohibido. Por estos días la gente no ha cesado de comentar “el caso del Chupi”, y quienes no tenían todavía el video clip, corrieron a buscarlo. Efecto inverso de reacción que hace subversivo –y por tanto, atractivo–, todo lo que disgusta a las autoridades.

author: Ellery Roberts Biddle


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Guyana: Police Versus Protesters · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A new president has taken his place at the helm of Guyanese government following the country's recent general elections, but while the (predominantly Indian-backed) incumbent People's Progressive Party got re-elected, it also lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in nearly twenty years.  There are concerns as to whether Donald Ramoutar's “new” government will be able to garner opposition support in the house in order to actually get things done.
In the wake of the postponement of election results, the national mood was edgy.  Guyana-Gyal vocalized the unspoken tensions in this post:
A thin thread o’ fear been tightening ‘round town since election date announce.
Veggie vendor tell me in pure Creolese, Me nah wha’ go happen to ahbee. I don’t know what will happen to us.
What gon happen if the government party win and some people who don’t like the result take to protesting, beating up citizens, burning shops, looting and so on and so forth.
She went on to say, though that “nothing bad is going to happen” and explained why:
Because the people who used to promote the violence are now sick or getting sick; others have one leg in life and the next leg in the grave, and others are dead. Besides, the young people of this country are just not into that sort of behaviour.
They are way too cool and way too hip, and they’re friends with each other, lots of intermarrying going on now. They don’t have time for that sort of nonsense. And look at the political parties today. All mixed up racially. Besides, our last elections was so peaceful, not a sign of trouble.
She did, however, issue one caveat:
I say all this knowing that I can be wrong.
The violence unexpectedly came after the new president was already sworn into office.  Bloggers were yesterday talking about an incident in which “police opened fire with rubber bullets and teargas on supporters of the opposition coalition APNU who proceeded on a march down Brickdam without the required permission to do so.”  Demerara Waves posted an account of what transpired here, while Live in Guyana republished the official police statement about the confrontation in this post.
In a show of solidarity, Barbados Underground republished a message sent to them by Lincoln Lewis, the General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress:
December 6, 2011 is another dark day in the history of this country and coming less than a week after Mr. Donald Ramotar promised this nation ‘peace and unity.’
There is an inhumane, naked intolerance for dissent and the rights of citizens of this country.  Guyana is not moving forward but sits in the abyss of socio-economic and political decay caused by human greed, repressive management and an outdated political system unsuited to our need for peaceful co-existence and development.
For those who hold the view that the march was illegal, thereby giving credence to the police turning their guns on citizens, let it be known that where any infraction of the law exists (perceived or real), it is the court that determines guilt and penalty, not the police who sought to do so by shooting citizens.
Such political intolerance in these modern times are unacceptable. It symbolises what Guyanese are being forced to accept and live with even as the rest of the world opens up.
It remains to be seen whether Guyanese bloggers themselves will open up about the issue; most of them have remained deafeningly silent.


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India: Photo Essay On Kumara Shasthi · Global Voices
Rezwan

Anu Shankarn at A Wondering Mind posts a photo essay on Kumara Shasthi, highlighting the legends of  lord Karthikeya.

author: Rezwan


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Japan: 311 in a Visual Anthropology Class · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Anthropologist Steven C. Fedorowicz summarizes a recent Contemporary Japan and Globalization class that he taught on the triple disasters following March 11th.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Latin America: Social Networks Bring Recognition to Primary Recyclers   · Global Voices
Gerardo Espindola

[All links lead to Spanish language pages except when otherwise noted]
“Being aware of the value of social networks, we will take advantage of them. So if you're one of our followers, you'll notice we're on Twitter”. With this statement, the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Recyclers (Red LACRE in Spanish) celebrates the 500 followers gained on its site in three months of work since they opened their account @redlacre. They are celebrating, but they want more, because the challenge is to reach 1,000 soon and keep going in order to extend this network of contacts that allows them to promote the value of their work much easier.
But what is a primary recycler?  They are the people whose business is to gather, choose, recover, transform, market and reuse solid wastes from the primary source, making it their main source of income. In our countries, we commonly call recyclers by different names.  For example, in Chile and Argentina they are known as cartoneros, in Mexico pepenador, and in Nicaragua buzo [translator's note: all terms loosely translate to “waste picker”], among other names they would like to do away with, so that they can be recognized as primary recyclers or simply recyclers (reciclador in Spanish and catador in Portuguese).
Recyclers in Guatemala, by Exequiel Estay, Facebook Red Lacre, used with permission.
They have been organizing across the continent since the early 90s and now have a formal network,  Red LACRE, which consists of 15 countries and 4 more will soon join. The purpose of their movement is to be recyclers “with inclusion”, that is, each country guarantees that it will allow and formally recognize their work. The key to realizing this objective is enhancing visibility via the Internet and social networks, among the best tools they have to help advance their goals more rapidly.
These networks also allow us to understand better what a recycler is and how valuable his work is. We find that in Wikipedia, on October 23, 2011, (according to their site), the term “Primary Recycler” appears, where we are given some key points to better understand this profession.
Se distingue además de cualquier otro tipo de reciclador, por ser quien trabaja directamente en donde se depositan los residuos, lo que comúnmente se conoce como basura. Por ello, la selección de los residuos sólidos, los hace desde el lugar de disposición primaria y los transportan hacia el lugar donde se realiza la selección fina y enfardado, para una venta posterior. Se entiende por selección fina la separación de distintas calidades de materiales, lo que le permite el acceso a mejores rangos de precio.
Conversation in 140 characters
Embroidered Logo for the Recyclers of Chile. Photograph by Chilean Recyclers, imaged used with permission
Looking at the Twitter accounts of the recyclers who are organized through their network, we see a kind of raising-awareness and education campaign to learn about their work.
Statements like “we live off of recycling” or “RedLacre fights to formalize our work and improve current labor conditions” are repeated in their messages, as well as other messages that give more hard facts that enable us to gauge the impact of this work, such as “Did you know that the number of people who live off of recycling in Latin America is more than 4 million?” or “We help save municipal budgets. We recycle waste from your neighborhood and create jobs”.
Similar conversations do not only revolve around explaining the work, but also begin to paint a picture of the characteristics of the countries involved and the specific scenarios that make up the realities in each country. Add to this the comments made with reference to this profession:
Alvaro Alaniz (@alaniz_a): En Brasil, las latas de Coca Cola tienen la imagen e historia del pdte de una cooperativa de recicladores de Rio. INCLUSION!
Exequiel Estay Tapia (@RECICLADORESYA): recicladores chilenos luchando por una inclusión en el anteproyecto de ley de residuos…inclusión verdadera YAAAAAAAA
Francisco Pollak (@panchopollak), también refiriéndose a Chile: Hoy conocí tres historias de los llamados “cartoneros” convertidos en recicladores y emprendedores. La materia prima es voluntad.
PLACC (@cclimatico): Recicladores de Perú se formalizan y crean pequeñas y medianas empresas #cambioclimatico #Gestiónderesiduos.
CiViSOL (@civisol), sobre Colombia: Por inclusión simulada de recicladores la Corte suspendió la licitación de aseo de Bogotá. Esta es la historia >larepublica.co//archivos/ECON…
Friends with benefits
Facebook is another social network where we find a strong presence of the different recycle cooperatives that exist on the continent. Here we see how the traditional bulletin board has moved to the computer screen and this large virtual community has become a coordinator of actions, and promoter of experiences and identities.
Photographs, videos and links add information such as hours of operation, grant requirements, course dates, and a series of data useful to the public about the work of all the groups and its members.
Image of Inside Out Montevideo. Photograph by Jorge Meoini, used with permission
The page for the Network has more than 700 friends and from there one can access other groups such as the Recycling Dream Cooperative of Montevideo Uruguay (Cooperativa Reciclando Sueños de Montevideo Uruguay.) This group shares on its wall the experience of a group of recyclers whose faces were photographed to appear on billboards in various areas of the city, as part of the international project Inside Out (financed by the TED award).
According to the artists who created the work, Magdalena Gurmendez y Agustín Fernández, the images are a way of providing recognition of the vital work the recyclers perform in the city.
La tarea de clasificación de residuos es uno de los primero pasos en la cadena del reciclaje, por lo general esta tarea se realiza en pésimas condiciones de trabajo -recorriendo la ciudad en carros para buscar en los contenedores-, pero el trabajo en cooperativas permite una dinámica distinta, trabajar bajo techo, con residuos pre-clasificados…
In conclusion, this fight for inclusion gets its strength through social networks. There, the workers gain a new space, from the streets to the heart of social networks, to no longer be invisible, to garner understanding of their work as a profession and how it should be formalized. The Internet is at the service of recycling, of the environment and of the generation of new economies, so that with a click, we rediscover this work that we usually don't even see.

author: Gerardo Espindola


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Libya: #OccupyTripoli Protests Against Carrying Weapons  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Libyans took to the streets of the capital Tripoli today, to demonstrate against carrying weapons. They gathered at the famous Martyr's Square, formerly known as Green Square. Many Twitter users were on hand to provide live coverage of the event dubbed #OccupyTripoli.
A banner from the event's Facebook page which reads: Tripoli welcomes you – without your weapons
And like many “events” held this year across the Arab world, today's rally, which continues until 11.30pm Tripoli time, is being organised as a Facebook event [ar]. The page says that the gathering, being held under the patronage of the Tripoli Local Council, is to express people's anger at the presence of arms and armed men from outside the city of Tripoli.
On Twitter, Adam shares this picture from the demonstration:
@4Adam: Demonstration in Martyrs’ Square in #Tripoli against carrying weapons. December 7, 2011 #Libya
A protester carrying a sign which reads: Dear Revolutionary, Thank your for leaving your weapon behind and carrying a book. Photo Credit: @4Adam on Twitter
Assia Bashir Amry, a Libyan who lives in the US, quips:
@Libyan4life: #OccupyTripoli is historical in itself. NEVER under #Gaddafi could that many people congregate to voice their opinion. #Libya #Feb17
Ismael Zmirli adds:
@ChaingeInLibya: My mother never went to martyr's square b4, today she called me from #OccupyTripoli – it's time for reconciliation, disarmament & natl army
And the Tripolitanian expresses his surprise at the size of the gathering:
@Tripolitanian: The size of the #OccupyTripoli protest is bigger than I thought; http://pic.twitter.com/vD1IRIkb #Libya
A huge crowd turned out to protest against carrying weapons. Photo credit: Aziz Belhaj from Twitter
Many Libyan Twitter users also found the following placard carried to the protests to be funny.
A funny poster held at today's rally which instructs revolutionaries to drop their weapons and resume their everyday lives. Photo credit: @Alaref from Twitter
Alaref Hassan writes [ar]:
According to @Libyan4Life, the poster reads:
Your mom misses you and your father wants you GO HOME!!!! lol
And this is a call for armed men to give up their weapons and resume their daily lives.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Mozambique: Reasons for Silence of Private TV Channel on Election Day · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

On a day of important by-elections in Mozambique, journalist José Belmiro, from the private channel STV, announced he would suspend his participation in discussion on Facebook [pt] on the vote for reasons “out of [his] control”. According to a citizen report [pt], during the lunchtime news, STV went off air for non-cable viewers in Maputo.

author: Janet Gunter


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Mozambique: Realtime by-elections coverage from three cities · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

Mozambican newspaper @ Verdade is liveblogging mayoral by-elections on Facebook (public) and live-tweeting events in realtime from 3 cities, promoting the hashtag #EleicoesMoz. Voter Pedro Massinga (@Mozi1976) tweeted photos from the polls. @ Verdade is also receiving citizen reports on the voting via SMS, tweet, BBM, and email to its reports map powered by Ushahidi.


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Pakistan: Veena Malik’s Latest Controversy Causes Social Media Uproar · Global Voices
Qurratulain (Annie) Zaman

Pakistani actress Veena Malik is the queen of controversy. Her fans and foes both in India and Pakistan have not forgotten her appearance on the reality show Big Boss and her bold and brave TV discussion with a right wing Pakistani anchor and an Islamic scholar.
This time Veena stirred up controversy when FHM India, a male lifestyle magazine, published her nude picture on its cover page.  The December issue of FHM India title says, “Pakistani W.M.D Veena Malik on Asif, Burqas and Work Visas”. There is an arrow pointing towards the ISI tattoo on her arm “Hand in end of the world too”. ISI is Pakistan’s infamous secret service.
Veena’s shoot with an ISI Tattoo on her arm sparked strong reactions from right, left and center in Pakistan and India. As expected, Veena Malik immediately denied the nude shoot. Later, she sued FHM India for 100 million PK Rupees over “morphed” pictures.
Pakistani media has declared it an “edited” picture. Almost all the leading English newspapers published a censored version of the cover. Express Tribune calls the photo fake without any proof and a publicity stunt by Veena Malik.
Image taken by the author
Veena defended herself in GEO TV. She says, she did a shoot with FHM India but it was not nude and she did agree to the ISI tattoo.
The editor of FHM India, Kabeer Sharma says the shoot is authentic and he has proof. FHM India sued Veena back. He tweeted:
@ka_beer: We’ve seen Ms Malik’s notice floating on the internet and have forwarded to our legal department for appropriate action.
On the home front, Veena’s shoot  got all the attention.  ‘All about Pakistani’ blog contributor Zohaib Nisar calls Veena Malik a porn star and her photo shoot a disgraceful action:
The controversial and bold Pakistani actress cum model, Veena Malik, has done another SCANDULOUS & VERY OBJECTIONABLE photoshoot in India. The shoot is done for a men magazine FHM, in which Veena can be watched ALMOST NAKED, covering her sensitive parts only with her limbs. The even objectionable thing is that she has got an ISI Tattoo on her arms and on the magazine cover she is introduced as “Pakistani W.M.D”. (we suppose WMD here means Woman of Mass Destruction).
But many out there in the Pakistani blogosphere are defending Veena’s act which she denies. The Express Tribune’s Blogger Taha Kehar comes forward defending Veena:
Before we presume that Veena Malik is to blame, we must understand that she is associated with the glamour business. She has the right to work with any company to enhance her career prospects. It is absurd that people should disapprove of her strong preoccupation with Indian projects and opportunities. Clearly, a country which has a dreadful history of mistreating its artistes and poets do not have the right to criticize her decision.
Pakistanis in an internet cafe look at a website displaying Veena Malik's photo. Image by rajput yasir, copyright Demotix (04/12/11).
Pakistani blogger Riaz Haq in his blog “Haq’s musings” looks at Veena’s photo shoot with a different angle.  He calls it part of the protest culture and challenging the religious orthodoxy in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Remember that Veena also challenged a Mufti sahib (Islamic scholar) in a talk show early this year after participating in a reality show Big Boss in India.
Malik is part of a new emerging crop of Pakistanis which, in small but significant ways, has challenged the religious orthodoxy. She, and others like her, present a sharp contrast to the rising wave of Islamic radicalism that the U.S. and the Pakistani secular-liberal elite view as an existential threat to the country. And with many well-traveled Pakistanis importing ideas from abroad, they are contributing to Pakistan's 21st-century search for itself.
The Veena controversy came at a time when Pakistan is facing tense times after a NATO airstrike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. In retaliation, Pakistan boycotted the Bonn conference II. Pakistan-US relations are tense and Pakistan has sent a new ambassador to the US after Husain Haqqani was forced to resign over the “Memogate” scandal.
Writer, blogger and music lover, Shoaib Taimur tweeted :
@shobz: Thank you Veena Malik for the distraction and that also just when the weekend started. Bless u. #veenamalik
Foreign Policy blog wonders about the ISI tattoo:
Beyond the cover's authenticity, there's another lingering question. Why the tattoo of Pakistan's spy agency?…Malik doesn't appear to have much of a track record of criticizing the ISI, but she has challenged Pakistani power centers before, making headlines in January by publicly dressing down a Muslim cleric after he chastised her for cuddling with men and wearing inappropriate clothing on the Indian reality show Bigg Boss.
Some tweets expressing netizens’ take on this issue:
@stupefy: The Nude photo is fake. Veena Malik doesn't look like this without clothes.- Interior Minister Rehman Malik
@umairjav: (Umair Javed) Make copies of the picture and bury it in your backyard. This way, our grandkids will know there were some amongst us who lived free! #Veena
@Saad_Haroon: Her arm says ISI but that picture is just so RAW #Veena
MTV India joked on Twitter:
@ChachiChatters:#Veena Malik would make a terrible ISI agent considering how much she reveals.
@rizvico: #Veena & her green assets.By the way. I agree to her freedom of expression some people are not bold enough to digest it twitpic.com/7peytv
Veena’s father disowned her after the whole incident.
@ImPaSsIoNeD_Pk: Coward father, courageous daughter. What an irony-he has stripped her of his assets and she has stripped to show her assets!! #Veena Malik
Blogger Sami Shah sums up the whole episode in this way:
@samishah Okay, the Veena Malik photo is definitely real. Also photoshopped. Now if u will excuse me, i need to study it in greater detail.

author: Qurratulain (Annie) Zaman


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Palestine: Gazans Sleep and Wake Up to the Sound of Explosions  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The world's silence at the regular attacks on Gaza has drawn the ire of netizens on Twitter, who have charged that the world no longer views Palestinians as human beings.
Abou Charlie notes:
@Abou_Charlie: It's a good thing Palestinians aren't human, otherwise you might have to care #Gaza is being bombed right now. What an inconvenience!
Tunisian Tounsia Hourra (A Free Tunisian) offers [ar]:
And Leil-Zahra Mortada adds:
@LeilZahra: news of explosions & injured from #Gaza – nothing in mainstream media still, but tweeps from there sounding the alarm! #Palestine
These reactions followed news of an Israel attack on the Gaza Strip, early this morning, which resulted in one dead and five injuries. All are said to be members of the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
From Gaza, blogger Omar, who describes himself as a journalist and peace activist, kept us updated during the attack via his Twitter account. He explained:
@Omar_Gaza: Just heard an explosion! #Gaza
Then added:
@Omar_Gaza: Now hearing ambulances after that huge explosion! #Gaza
And continued:
@Omar_Gaza: Hearing 2 many sirens! #Gaza
Dima, also from Gaza, tweeted her experience during the raid. She wrote:
@dimaeleiwa: and i can hear Israeli warplanes flying over #Gaza … sweet a bombing night !!!
And added:
@dimaeleiwa: what i hate about the “bombing nights” is that if i go to sleep an explosion might wake me up !! #Gaza
We don't know how Dima's night went, but this morning, she tweeted:
@dimaeleiwa: thank you F16 for waking me up :/ ~~ #Gaza
Adding:
@dimaeleiwa: i hear a gun shooting #Sigh #Gaza
Her latest tweet says:
@dimaeleiwa: #ThingsThatShouldSTOP Bombing #Gaza and killing innocent people !


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Peru: Blogs from Cajamarca Report on Conga Mine Conflict · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

The social protests [es] against the Conga mining project in Cajamarca continue despite the suspension of activities announced by the mining company. Residents of the rural area as well as other demonstrators are calling for the project to be cancelled once and for all [es]; at the time of writing this post, the regional strike continues [es] and it has been announced that a National March for Water [es] in Lima is likely.
The protest was sparked because this project could jeopardise around twenty of the lakes which form part of the local ecosystem and which provide water to nearby farms and villages. Some of these lakes would disappear permanently. The local population find this unacceptable, despite the fact that the environmental impact study (EIA) looked at constructing [es] reservoirs and lakes to replace them.
What's more, a report  from the Ministry of the Environment was made public [es] which raised serious objections to this impact study and that “roundly contradicted the Ministry of Energy and Mining, […] which declared […] that the EIA is ‘correct and has the go-ahead from the Environment Ministry’.”
One of the points which caused most annoyance amongst the local population was the following:
The report revealed that of the four lakes projected to disappear, only two, Perol and Mala, would have been emptied in order to extract gold. The other two, Azul and Chica, “will be emptied and used to dump waste”.  In other words, two of the lakes would be emptied in order to cover their beds with mine waste.
Meanwhile the national press has limited itself to showing videos-clips of the protests and reproducing statements made by civil servants and miners and the opinions of Lima-based political analysts, some of whom demonstrate a clearly pro-mining stance [es]. Outside of the immediate population of Cajamarca, little was seen or heard of the Cajamarcan town. However this is not due to a lack of sources.
Aerial view of el Perol lake, image by Ministerio del Ambiente on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Dj Radio 98.3 FM [es] is a radio station based in Celendin, another Cajamarcan town, which uses its blog to broadcast news, music and also publish headlines such as: “The People of Celendin use Social Networking to Voice their Opinion on the Regional Strike” [es].  Radio Coremarca [es] also broadcasts its programming via its website and publishes news items on Cajamarca like this recent post which discussed the announcement by the Cajamarcan Regional President to issue a Regional Order declaring the Conga Mining Project untenable [es].
Less well known still  are the blogs written in Cajamarca. There aren't many which focus on this area but they keep readers informed. For example, in the blog “El Maletero” “Red Verde Cajamarca” [es] Andres A. Caballero publishes photos, press releases and his impressions on the development of the protests, like in this post [es]:
Al enterarse de un spot publicitario a favor de la  minería por parte del Monseñor Bambarén, la comunidad católica  especialmente la franciscana no tardó en responder con dos mensajes que  le dejan fuera de piso a Bambarén, “El Agua es Vida, NO A CONGA”, “Defendamos a la hermana Madre Tierra”,  con eso le dicen a Bambarén que es cierto que el agua es un don de Dios  y nos la dio para cuidarla no para desaparecerla o contaminarla.
Chungo y Batán [es] is another Cajamarcan blog, and it describes itself as “Magazine for the District of Sucre and Huauco”. Mostly it republishes current affairs articles from other sources, either other types of media or press releases from a variety of organisations, and also collaborations like this one [es] by Secundino Silva Urquia:
El conflicto por CONGA es aleccionador, porque en corto  tiempo tomó dimensión nacional y mundial; pero con la balanza inclinada a  favor de los que defienden el agua y la vida. En tal sentido, si las  negociaciones en un conflicto se dan en función a intereses de las  partes y no en función a sus posiciones. ¿Qué negociación puede haber  entre un gobierno que dijo: “¡Conga va sí o sí!”, y un pueblo que  mantiene su posición resumida en la consiga: “¡CONGA NO VA!”?
Aquí YANACOCHA SRL ha cometido y comete impunemente horrendos  crímenes ecológicos: Liquidación lagunas (Yanacocha, Maquimaqui,  Corazón, Pato, San José), muerte del río grande y muchos manantiales,  desaparición de flora y fauna, envenenamiento masivo de pobladores  (Derrame de mercurio en Choropampa), contaminación de suelo, aire y  agua, proliferación de enfermedades gastrointestinales, etc. Cajamarca  protesta por lo que le pasó, y con razón;
The CONGA conflict is exemplary because in a short time is has taken on national and global dimensions; but with the balance tilted in favour of those who are defending water and life.  In that regard, conflict negotiations are progressing in terms of the interested parties and not their standing.  What kind of negotiations could take place between a governement who says “Conga go-ahead, yes!” and a local population who maintain a position that could be summed up as “NO TO CONGA!”
Here the YANACOCHA company has commited, and continues with impunity to commit, the most apalling ecological crimes: clearance of lagunas (Yanachocha, maquimaqui, Corazon, Pato San Jose), killing off of the Rio Grande and may of it sources, destruction of flora and fauna, the widespread poisoning of local inhabitants (mercury spills in Choropampa), contamination of soil, water and air, the proliferation of gastrointestinal disease, etc.  Cajamarca is protesting against what has gone on, and with good reason;
The blog Cajamarca Environmental Defense Front [es] focuses on environmental topics and keeps up to date information on the region, which is alternated with opinion posts such as the following by Mario Estrada Perez:
La amenaza que se cierne sobre las provincias de Hualgayoc -mi provincia-, Cajamarca y Celendín, de seguir adelante el proyecto minero de la empresa Yanacocha en la Conga, está llevando a la población, como siempre, a ubicarse en dos bandos irreconciliables: Los promina que en su mayoría son anónimos -¡cuándo no!-, y los antimina que actuamos con la cara al sol y sin avergonzarnos. Esto ha sido, es y seguirá siendo así por los siglos de los siglos. En otras palabras: Unos, los que se ubican del lado del capitalista, del poderoso y los otros, del lado de nuestros propios intereses, los intereses del pueblo llano. Unos, que pelean “por unos cuántos dólares más” a sabiendas de que la parte del león, lo lleva la Newmont y sus asociados y otros, los que defendemos el agua, el medio ambiente, es decir, ¡defendemos la Vida, la Naturaleza! Así están las cosas a grandes rasgos.
The blogs My Corrupt Mine [es] and Free Celendin [es] have very similar content, mostly photos and images taken from a range of sources, like this image [es] that has been circulating widely across the Internet in recent days.
El Moscón [es], is another blog using graphics to illustrate the developing successes in Cajamarca, written by the Cajamarcan commentator Jose Novoa. He reports  [es] on the recent deployment of armed forces in the area:
Cuatro batallones del Ejército peruano se dirigieron del aeropuerto de Cajamarca al cuartel Zepita de Baños del Inca. […] La actitud del Ejecutivo, al parecer, es solucionar el problema de Conga a punto de balas. Este blog captó en exclusivo el desplazamiento de los soldadados [sic] del Ejército. Se van al asalto no contra el enemigo, sino contra el pueblo Cajamarquino que lucha por sus aguas que pretende destruir una empresa minera llamada Yanacocha.
Radio Alfil [es] is another blog that provides ongoing reporting on the everyday events of the Cajamarcan protests. In one post they ask: Why not declare the El Perol laguna an ecological heritage site? [es]
A estas alturas, la laguna El Perol, ubicada dentro de la concesión minera del Proyecto minero Conga, de Yanacocha, se está convirtiendo en un icono de la resistencia social y ecológica en el Perú y el mundo, en buena cuenta por la solidaridad y la velocidad con que la información llega a todas partes.
¿Cuándo un cerro se convierte en un Apu, y cuándo una laguna se convierte en una Cocha? Cuando los habitantes que han convivido con esa naturaleza lo deciden. ¿Alguien se atrevería a secar o “trasvasar” el lago Titicaca o el río Amazonas? Claro que no. Quizá tengan serios problemas de contaminación y deforestación por actividades humanas, pero igual siguen siendo entidades intangibles, por su importancia para las sociedades que las rodean.
At this stage, the El Perol laguna, which is located within the Conga project mining concession, has become a symbol of social and ecological resistance in Peru and across the world, largely due to solidarity and the speed with which information has travelled to all areas.
When does a hill become an Apu [sacred mountain], and when does a laguna become a Cocha? When the local population, who have lived amongst this habitat, decide it does. Would anyone dare to drain or “transfer” Lake Titicaca or the Amazon? Of course not. While there may be serious problems relating to contamination and deforestation as a result of human activity, at the same time they remain intangible entities due to the importance they hold for the communities in the surrounding areas.
On Facebook there are a range of pages for and against Conga and mining in general. No to Conga [es] is a group with 10,857 members at present, while the Yes Conga, Go Ahead [es] profile has 74 friends; similarly the No to Goyo [es] page, refering to the Cajamarcan Regional President Gregorio Santos, has 69 ‘likes’. On the Foros Peru page, in amongst the various conversations on this subject, one of the most commented on is “Yanacocha suspends the Conga mining project (breaking news).”[es]
As mentioned at the top of this article the social protest did not take on any radical form but remains valid, calling for the whole project to be cancelled.  [es]. In addition a group of congressmen and women from the ruling party have called [es] for the removal of all the remaining Yanacocha plant machinery from the area and the withdrawl of deployed forces.
Beyond this, it is undeniable that the cancellation of a project which would have brought an estimated investment of 4.8 billion US dollars to the Conga region could impact negatively [es], most notably in Cajamarca itself.  Losses of around 11 million Peruvian soles [es] (around $4,072,026  USD) have already been reported in the transport sector and around 3 million [es] (around $1,110,552 USD) per day in the tourism sector.  Nevertheless, the financal sector has responded [es] with caution; the US Embassy has also pointed out [es] that investors are not worried about the strike.
It is in this context that voices from the other end of the political spectrum are now being heard to call for a movement for the defense of democracy and governance [es] in order to put pressure on President Humala in the face of “leftwing radicalism”, although some say [es] the approaching Christmas holidays will allow the government a bit of breathing space.

author: Juan Arellano


text:
Peru: Calle 13 Arrive to Concert Five Hours Late · Global Voices
Isabel Guerra

Update (9 December, 2011):
Calle 13 wrote a letter to “the people of Peru” after the incident. The letter can be read in two parts on the group's Facebook page (1, 2) [es].
Under what circumstances would a multiple-hour delay be considered justifiable or acceptable? This was one of the questions that Peruvians found themselves asking, after an incident generated by the Puerto Rican rappers of Calle 13, highly praised in Peru following their video for the song “Latinoamérica,” who arrived at their concert in Lima almost five hours late [es].
This question comes about, comparing this case to that which occurred in Peru a few months ago, when local singer Eva Ayllón arrived at a show two hours late [es] and, similar to René Pérez (“Residente”), instead of apologizing to the public, became angry, rebuked them, and asked them to leave if they so desired [es].
In response to Calle 13's delay, there were spectators that, irritated by the five-hour wait, threw bottles and keys onto the stage, some of which hit Residente, who stopped the music to address the public: “We haven't slept in three days so that you would come listen to me; I am no Luis Miguel nor Shakira, and I wasn't in any jacuzzi.”
But, what had happened? Calle 13, already in Peru, decided to take a “quick” trip to Venezuela to attend the closure of the first Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit in Caracas; in the words of  “Residente” (René Pérez), they traveled “to tell those presidents why Puerto Rico did not take part in the Summit.”
The blog Dale con Sammy [es] transcribed René Pérez's explanation:
Perú,    vamos a hacer algo para entendernos,  porque estamos en familia, ¿o   no?  aquí nosotros no hemos dormido en  tres días, para que vengan a    escucharme. No soy ningún Luis Miguel, ni  Shakira, ni estaba en ningún    jacuzzi. Yo fui a Venezuela hoy (sábado)  porque Puerto Rico no estaba    entre los países que tenían que estar (en  la Comunidad de Estados    Latinoamericanos y Caribeños) con todos los  presidentes; y por eso fui,    para decirle a todos los presidentes: ¡qué  viva Puerto Rico libre y   no  queremos ser colonia!
The problem was that no one had informed audience members of this Puerto Rican movement. A number of Twitter users, like @InO_Moxo [es], began to spread the news during the opening act:
No que calle13 toca hoy en lima? Por qué veo twitts que dicen que están en venezuela?
Following the concert, the members of Calle 13 finally tried to apologize, downplaying the situation [es], faithful to their controversial style, via the press [es] and social networks [es].
The concert's producers in Lima defended the events in an interview published in Phantom magazine and posted on Facebook [es]:
Nos enteramos hace dos semanas del concierto en   Venezuela. Nuestra  primera reacción fue parar Venezuela, y luego se   trató de parar el  concierto de Lima, pero ellos aseguraron que    cumplirían el horario del  show. Dijeron que luego de cumplir con el   concierto de Arequipa a las 3  am, tenían que tocar en Caracas de 3 a   3:40 pm (cosa de 40 minutos) y  llegaban a Lima nuevamente a las 9 pm.   (…) Ellos llegaron a las  12:50 al país y a San Marcos [lugar del  concierto] alrededor de la 1:40.  El retraso  adicional fue porque ellos  (…) demoraron como  45 minutos en estar listos. Eso  fue lo que en  realidad pasó. El grupo  empezó a tocar un poco antes de  las 3 am.
Carlos A. Quiroz, from the Peruanista [es] blog, shares his opinion:
El error de Calle 13 fue no disculparse al comenzar el concierto.
René Pérez debió haber conversado con su público, explicarles por qué  había decidido ir a Caracas. Esto fue visto como una falta de respeto y  puedo comprender la frustración de los limeños.
Calle 13's mistake was not apologizing at the beginning of the concert.
René Pérez should have talked to his audience, explained to them why he had gone to Caracas. That was seen as a lack of respect and I can understand the frustration of Lima's public.
Blog Zajnóstico [es] reflects on the events:
2) ¿Tan complicado es pedir disculpas? El argumento de la CELAC no es un  motivo válido si no va acompañado de unas disculpas (y esto va ligado  con el primer punto señalado). “Hey, discúlpenme por llegar tarde, Perú,  pero nos salió una urgencia”. Así la gente hubiera entendido y se  hubiera tranquilizado más. Hay gente que ahorró sudando para comprar una  entrada en las gradas o en campo, y merece respeto recibiendo un show a  la hora pactada. Así como “mencionar con indirectas no es cosa de  hombres” o si alguien tiene un problema contigo “tiene la tarima abierta  para decírtelo a la cara como los hombres”, el pedir disculpas sí es,  también, de hombres.
On Facebook, José Bravo Valle [es] compared the situation to the aforementioned concert of Peruvian singer Eva Ayllón, questioning the public's attitude:
Eva Ayllon, los mando a la esquina a que tomaran el micro, y quisieron lincharla, quitarle la nacionalidad, hasta que le diera explicaciones al país, viene calle 13, salen al escenario con tres horas de tardanza, algunos le reclamaron y él los mando a la mierd…., hubo presentes que inclusive aplaudieron, chesss, tenían que ser peruanos.
Popular actor and comedian Raúl Beryón [es] commented:
Ni “Calle 13″ ni nadie tiene [sic] derecho hacerse esperar, pero más idiota es el que espera.
Luizk Chocare Punk [es] wrote:
CALLE 13 ……CUALQUIER HUEVADA….ESO PASA CUANDO LA BOCA HABLA MAS DE LO QUE REALMENTE HAY EN EL CORAZON. …..EN UN RATO LES ESCRIBIRE MIS OPINIONES…PERO BIEN Q LA GENTE DEMOSTRARA SU MALESTAR. RENE Y SU ROLLITO SOCIAL Y DE APRCIO POR LA GENTE…SIMPLEMENTE UNA FARSA
The public already began tweeting their protest against the delay during their wait in the San Marcos University Stadium, creating the hashtag #MeDemorocomoCalle13 (#IamlatelikeCalle13), like Carla Medina (@Peruchapromedio) [es] for example:
Lo mínimo que debería pasar es que Calle 13 haga en Lima el mejor concierto de su vida #MeDemorocomoCalle13
Others, like Manuel Igreda (@Elmejormanuel) [es], later opted to take the delay as a joke:
Condones #Calle13: 5 horas de efecto retardante en presentaciones Residente y Visitante (Vía @LEPerezAlbela)
Nevertheless, the issue has transcended blogs and social networks and it appears as though everyone has something to say, including the Minister of Culture, Susana Baca, who has affirmed, via the official Peruvian news agency, that Calle 13 could “apologize by giving a free concert. [es]” It is worth remembering that Baca collaborated with Calle 13 [es] in the “Latinoamérica” video.
Meanwhile, others accuse the group of having violated consumer rights [es], and Indecopi (the Peruvian agency for the defense of free competition and intellectual property) has announced that it will receive the demands [es] of those who bought tickets for this concert and were mistreated with a five hour delay, to determine the applicable disciplinary measures.

author: Isabel Guerra


text:
Russia: Election and the “Other Side of the Panopticon” · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.
Internet and de-legitimatization of election results
Parliament elections in Russia gave a clear answer to the question of whether the Internet can have an impact on elections. The answer is yes.
No, it doesn’t mean that the Internet can significantly change the outcome. Indeed, online discourse could contribute to increasing participation, as well as to influencing the way people vote. Russian Internet users widely discussed whether to vote at all and if yes, then how to vote. One could even witness emergence of a consensus around the idea that the best strategy was to vote for any party except United Russia. In the situation where the State uses vast administrative resource and various methods to “improve” voting, the Internet per se can’t seriously challenge the victory of the ruling party.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the Internet plays a leading role in the  orgnization of the protests. Yes, it can be very helpful, and the Moscow protests is another case when the Internet is a major tool for sharing information about the opposition actions, especially when the TV news ignore them. At the same time the degree of the Internet’s role as a tool of coordination is questioned by many experts. One may claim that, in this case the Internet is just another tool for information distribution and people’s engagement in protests, but not a strategic factor that changes the nature of protests.
The role of the Internet and information technologies, however, goes deeper, beyond the impact on elections or organization of protests as a response to elections. The Russian case demonstrates that information technologies can play a major role in de-legitimatization of the elections results. The stronger the feeling that the election is not legitimate among the citizens, the more probable protests and emergence of an alternative political system as a response to the election.
"You were screwed." Photo by Flickr user t-radya, released to Twitter by creator.
The recent protests in Moscow, dubbed by Alexey Sidorenko as “net hamster revolution,” were triggered primarily by the feeling of the lack of legitimacy of the election's results. It is expressed by the not politically correct, but very clear slogan “Vas naebali” (“You are screwed”) presented [ru] by anarchist protesters on election day.
The degree of frustration of Russian citizens following the declaration of results has a clear linkage to the degree of falsifications that were exposed online. It looks like the government was ready to improve the voting results if necessary, but had no strategy to protect the falsification methods from citizen based surveillance in the new information environment.
Russian elections and capacity building for elections monitoring
Citizen based reporting and user generated content can’t surprise anyone these days. The question is about the scale, the immediacy and the value of reporting. Monitoring elections in general is a great case study for the role of citizen reporting. The outcome depends on the relationship between the scale of falsifications and the capacity of citizens to cover these falsifications.
The Russian elections crossed the tipping point between the scale of falsifications and the scale of citizen based reporting. The crowd of Russian networked citizens was able to collect, post and share a critical mass of reports about falsifications. It included not only stories, but also documents, photo and video reports. Following the elections, User Против ПЖиВ (Against the party of crooks and thieves) even set a YouTube playlist of 60 most viewed videos of violations.
Far-reaching coverage can’t emerge without massive falsifications, but what has really changed in the Russian case wasn’t the scale of falsification, but the capacity of a networked crowd to cover these falsifications in a way that will reach the tipping point for the election's legitimacy.
There are few factors that can explain the capacity building of the Russian networked crowd to cover the events: information sources, the tools citizens used, how they accessed the Internet and where they could share the information.
Information source
User generated content can’t provide a constant flow of information if citizens have no motivation to contribute reports. In the Russian case, the political atmosphere around elections and online discussions, as well as the decision of some of the people to vote unlike they did in past,  contributed to the attitude that it was time to care about the elections.
Motivation, however, doesn’t ensure the quality of reports. What is really important is the structure of access to the information. An election is a procedure when every citizen has potentially unmediated linkage to the event, at least as a voter who visits the polling station.
In the Russian elections we could see a lot of Internet users that had various type of meaningful access to the election process not only as voters. For instance, many Internet users signed up as observers to spend the entire day in the election committee, and participated in the validation of results. Many of them reported about their experiences and frauds (for instance here and here). For example, Dmitry Surnin was able to compare [ru] the original concluding voting report to the information on official website (which, as in other cases, was different from the paper one).
Additionally, opposition politicians, NGO activists and activists of monitoring organizations used online media to report immediately about what they saw. Traditional journalists, even if they worked on an article for their media, also chose first to share their information via social media. As a consequence, the quality of reports about violations can be explained by the nature of access to the covered event (election) and the scale of this access.
Tools and applications
With photos, videos and Internet access (not a big issue now, but this  type of technology wasn’t available for significant number of voters four years ago) handheld devices made everyone a real-time reporting node, that is capable to produce visual content. As a consequence, Twitter and Facebook turned out to be the places for live reporting that was based not only on text, but in many cases on photo and video which later could demonstrate the degree of falsification.
The most advanced usage of these tools – mobile-based live broadcasting – was extensively used during recent protests in Moscow. One of the first to use the Ustream platform was a Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev, who conducted live broadcasting from the police station where he was detained. A few days later, it was widely used by protesters in Moscow including live broadcasting from the police car where few people were detained.
Mobile-based broadcasting [ru] from Triumphalnaya square by Ridus.ru reporters had at some points about 46,000 viewers. Tweeting from police cars where people were detained, as well as by protestors from the square, turned out to be a common practice. To conclude, the importance of tools is that they allow covering events (including providing visual content and significant evidencies) in real time by the critical mass of participants.
Network access
The motivation of people, a critical number of people who have access to events, and tools that enable coverage of these events can’t fulfil its potential, especially in real time, without good Internet access. Live mobile-based broadcasting can’t be done without good 3G networks.
Moscow, and major Russian cities have good 3G networks as well as also some powerful Wimax infrastructure. Using regular mobile networks also makes it possible to share information, but it can reduce the real-time effect and make it more difficult to share video or conduct live streaming.
Platforms
Once there were people who wanted to participate in coverage of events and could share it as it happened, the last question is where they could share it. The obvious place was blog-platforms e.g. Livejournal and social networks. Karatnarusheniy.ru enabled everyone to contribute reports about violations, however, it was available only before a massive DDoS attack started against it.
Another important characteristic of the Russian information environment is the collaboration between social and traditional media as well as the presence of platforms that mediate between social and traditional media (e.g. besttoday.ru and ridus.ru). Much user-generated content that was posted on social media found its way very quickly into independent media platforms.
As a response to the DDoS attacks, traditional media started using Facebook, Twitter and media that were not affected by the attacks as a temporary substitute for proliferation of content. The Russian network based system of information circulation demonstrated that it is able to adapt to attacks, and create new patterns of information distribution.
Media is a crowd
These four factors together contributed to the capacity of Russian networked society to collect a crucial amount of reports and evidence to question the legitimacy of the parliamentary election. The Russian case showed that a crowd can be the media. Additionally it demonstrated a new balance between State and citizens in a networked informational environment.
In the 18th century, Jeremy Bentham developed a famous concept of the Panopticon as a model for total surveillance of the State over it citizens. Some experts argue that information technologies and the Internet contributed to the State's capacity to follow its citizens.
As we can see from the Russian case, however, in the reality where every citizen is potentially a broadcasting networked sensor, the situation can also be the opposite. Not only the State follows its citizens but increasing number of citizens follow the State. Information technologies expose the other side of Panopticon.
This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.

author: Gregory Asmolov


text:
Russia: Kremlin Removes Re-Tweet From Presidential Account  · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

RuNetizens were surprised to see president Medvededv re-tweet a message [ru] with cursing against bloggers. The re-tweet was removed, but Kremlin published an explanation that “illegal engagement with presidential account has been made” and that “those responsible will be punished.” Vedomosti reminded [ru] that recently Medveved had complained he couldn't respond to unpleasant comments using the “same words” and called for his supporters to do it.


text:
Russia: Second Day of Post-Election Protests · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.
The intrigue of the second day of post-election protests has centered around several major events: court appearances by bloggers Ilya Yashin and Alexey Navalny, a protest demonstration at Triumfalnaya Square, and discussions regarding the Kremlin's soft-power counter-revolution and various means of cyber warfare.
Bloggers’ trials
Right after well-known bloggers Navalny and Yashin were detained on December 5, 2011, they were moved to different police stations and later to different courts. Dmitry Ternovskiy, a blogger and activist noted [ru] (his observation was later confirmed):
Навального перебрасывают из ОВД в ОВД, из суда в суд, как горячий пирожок. Все боятся видимо. Отдайте нам, рассудим товарищеским! ;)
The court trial of Navalny was surrounded by journalists and his supporters, and was somewhat unusual: the judge refused to watch the video of Navalny's detainment (crucial evidence in a case determining whether he had defied policemen or not), and made other questionable decisions.
A Twitter report was given by two online activists @petunder and @nickbatalov. A Ustream live channel from in front of Tverskoy court was started [ru] (see full archive here [ru]) right after the location of trial was identified. The creator of the Ustream channel received salutations from other cities, where people also followed the Moscow events with great interest.
At 20:00 (MSK time), Judge Borovkova read the sentence to Alexey Navalny. It was identical to the one previously read to Ilya Yashin: 15 days of arrest for defying a policeman.
@nickbatalov was the first to break [ru] the news:
Вердикт! Навальный садится на 15 суток, по максимуму
Blogosphere behind bars
Similar trials of yesterday's protesters were conducted in many courts of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Novaya Gazeta reported [ru] that right after the Triumfalnaya Square demonstration started, the courts began to sentence protesters to five days of imprisonment instead of a $30 fine, as they did before.
Also, during the day, a wave of arrests and detentions covered those popular online only. Yegor Zhgun, a famous cartoonist, was officially sentenced to 15 days in prison. Later Ilya Varlamov wrote that the police released him after 24 hours of detention: “They simply let him go, right out of the police bus”.
Vsevolod Chernozub, opposition activist and a popular blogger (vissevald), received 15 days of arrest. Bozhena Rynska, a celebrity journalist and the Russian Internet's enfant terrible, was detained in a very graphic manner [ru] (later, after pressure from Echo Moskvy she was released).
Nashi and Darth Vader
By noon, more and more people started to notice massive movements of law enforcement units and pro-Kremlin youth activists. Dymovskiy_name was among the first to share the picture [ru] of trucks full of military men at Pushkinskaya square. Vladimir Varfolomeev shared a picture [ru] of a line of white buses at Novy Arbat proceeding to the city center. Other pictures of Nashi youth activists in the town were found here and here.
Kommersant wrote that the Interior Ministry sent 50,000 police officers and 11,500 troops to Moscow. Police, however, explained movements away as regular rotations.
In the middle of the day, Nashi and Stal (youth movement) [ru] representatives were marching under the music of the Star Wars “March of the Empire” with someone dressed as Darth Vader at the front.
Events at Triumfalnaya. Photo by Ilya Varlamov on Twitter.
#Triumph (alnaya square)
In the evening, Nashi supporters (brought in to Moscow from different regions as a soft power effort to counter pro-democracy action) surrounded by non-identified ‘security’ in green, wouldn't let protesters out of the metro at Triumfalnaya.
Ilya Barabanov shared a picture. Miriam Elder captured a demonstration on the other side of the street. Besttoday.ru aggregated [ru] all the tweets from the event.
This video uploaded to YouTube by user plushev on December 6, illustrates Nashi shouting “Putin – victory”:
Pro-democracy protesters, amongst whom were a lot of bloggers, tweeted as they were beaten by police and detained. An example of such tweet [ru] by @gorod095 (released the same day):
Menya vzyali byut silno
Alyona Popova, an IT enterpreneur and Duma candidate, reported [ru] she was kicked by the police:
Меня избили сотрудники полиции!!!!!!!!! #триумфальная Не представившись, ногами в живот со словами “кандидат – это ничего не значит”
At around 20:06 MSK, the word ‘Triumfalnaya’ became a global Twitter trend.
Discussing Nashi
Later the same evening Mikhail Svetov, a Japan-based liberal blogger, found an advertisement [ru] through which Nashi had recruited today's anti-activists. The anger of the blogosphere towards Nashi was quite eloquent.
People were harshly commenting on this interview with a Nashi activist Svetlana, who was brought in to Moscow from Ivanovo:
United Russia has raised the economy; we started to dress more better […]
Another account of the lack of integrity of Nashi was covered by this video. The activists of the pro-Kremlin movie shout “Medvedev – victory” while hiding their faces, as if ashamed:
Finally, a great journalistic work [ru] was done by YouTube user Kirov556, who sneaked into the spatious Nashi compound and asked Nashi activists whom would they vote for. Respondents usually saw not much difference between Putin, Medvedev, or United Russia. Some indirectly confessed of ‘bus voting’ [when voters are transfered to votes in specific locations to sway the outcome]:
A different reality
Events in the Russian Twittersphere went unreported on mainstream media. During the day Twitter users shared experiences of talking to their parents, who had absolutely no clue about the demonstrations or election result falsifications.
And yet, as more and more people, whom Russian economist Konstantin Sonin dubbed [ru] the “silent millions”, were watching YouTube videos, the political scheme of things began changing. The silent millions, according to Sonin, are not for the opposition but against Putin. They:
на митинги не ходят, в блоги писать не умеют, сидят смотрят видеоролики, а 4 декабря пришли ясно выразить свои чувства.
DDoS and hashtag spamming
At 13:36 (MSK) @kuteev, Head of Creative Department of mVideo and a popular blogger, reported [ru] that LiveJournal was down again. Outside of Russia it was still accessible.
@Igrick, a chief LiveJournal tech person, said [ru] that LiveJournal was operational but the “Russian traffic broke somewhere in Europe.”
At 22:36 @partofegor reported [ru] that rosyama.ru (Navalny's project on mapping potholes) and Navalny.ru were being DDoS-ed.
There were relatively few hashtags all day; any were spammed as they appeared, therefore people relied on single trusted bloggers and those whom they re-tweeted. The absence of functional hashtags limited the spread of information and made it dependant on activists’ personal social networks. Pro-government activists used multiple hashtags in one post thus blocking several channels at one time.
During the events at Triumfalnaya Square, Ridus Ustream reporters noticed there was no 3G Internet (only Yota, which they used, was functional). Everyone who was tweeting did so via SMS.
Finally, a fake @navainy account (‘i’ instead of ‘l’ was used) appeared, although, it was quickly identified as a fraud.
This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Sudan: A View From Blue Nile · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Read Nenad Marinkovic's field dispatch from Blue Nile, Sudan: “The fighting in Blue Nile has, from the start, followed the pattern of previous clashes in South Kordofan, using frequent aerial bombardments that have repeatedly fallen on the civilian population.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Syria: Getting Rid of Assad is the Easy Part  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Getting rid of [Syrian president Bashar Al] Assad is the easy part,” writes Syrian blogger Maysaloon. “Syria has many problems that will need to be addressed urgently. These are: A deficient, if not highly damaging, judicial and political system; endemic corruption, environmental degradation and desertification; poverty; a potential for an enormous crime wave once the regime collapses; and how they intend to build bridges across the communities and tribes that make up Syria's patchwork society,” he adds.


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Tanzania: Blog It: Tanzania at 50 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Celebrate Tanzania@50 by writing a blog post: “The Mainland part of the United Republic of Tanzania, Tanganyika, is celebrating 50 years of Independence on December 9 2011. The Dar es Salaam Bloggers’ Circle encourages bloggers to mark this event by a blog post on December 9th 2011.”


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Tanzania: Tanzania@50: What do we have to show for it? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ahmed reflects on Tanzania at 50 by asking, “Tanzania at 50 what do we have to show for it?”: “We have immense challenges and, as the saying goes, do Tanzanians feel they are better off today than they were ten years ago, let alone 50 years ago? The answer is probably no.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Making Sorrel  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Sorrel, made from the sepals, of the sorrel flower is fruity and fragrant. I have fond memories of sitting at my aunt’s feet as a child, helping her to handpick the flowers. Made properly your sorrel should be thick and syrupy”: TriniGourmet posts a recipe for this traditional Christmas drink.


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Venezuela: Fighting Urban Violence  · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Over the last decades, urban violence has been one of the most important issues in Latin American societies. There are several types of urban violence and the reasons why it happens depends on every country's historic and social processes. Nonetheless, it is clear that economic inequality in the migration from farms to the city [es] in the mid-20th century has been the main scene for violence and crime in Latin American cities. Due to the economic crisis in the 1980s, this problem became worse in Venezuela and its cities.
Nowadays, urban violence makes Venezuelans reflect and debate on social networks. Over the last years, with a prison crisis and violent deaths increasing, one more issue is added to the discussions against and in favor of the government. Additionally, next year's presidential election has sparked new discussions on this topic. Candidate's proposals intend to offer various types of solutions. Nevertheless, for the pessimists, it is necessary to carry out strict measures no matter the consequences.
The government's most recent answer to violence [es] was a nationwide deployment of a branch of the National Armed Forces of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela [es], known as the People's Guard. The measure has raised interest, concern and skepticism among netizens. Reflections on this measure have opened up a discussion about a reality that affects rich and poor in Venezuela; an issue all Venezuelans have in common, regardless of political positions.
Police raid in a poor neighborhood in Caracas,  December 2009 by Miguel Gutierrez, copyright Demotix.
Naky discusses this issue [es] with a story about a traffic accident:
Vivimos en el inmenso engaño de creer, que si estamos más atentos, si cambiamos nuestras rutas para no llegar ni salir siempre por el mismo sitio, si nos acoplamos a la luz del día -bastante corta en estas tardes de invierno-; si vamos en grupo, si no usamos prendas lujosas, ni reloj, ni celular, ni un corotico para escuchar música, seremos presas menos apetecibles y nuestra vulnerabilidad se reduce. (…) Perdimos. Perdimos todos. La civilidad luce como un lujo inconquistable. El desamparo es una sensación atroz cuando sabes que te asiste la razón.
In the blog Venezuela y su Historia [es], Profeballa criticizes some candidates’ proposals and provides more convincing answers:
[El candidato presidencial no puede] reducir su propuesta a combatir  la inseguridad solo con la educación, porque mientras esto se va  implementando, los asesinos siguen matando. Hay que reprimir, aunque nos  asuste la palabra.
At the same time, in its blog [es], a lock company points out  one of the most serious consequences of increased armed crime:
Anteriormente el venezolano se destacaba por poseer una  alta calidez humana que lo hacía capaz de ayudar a todo el mundo y  tratar a las personas que recién conocía como hermanos muy queridos.   (…) Sin embargo, el nivel de inseguridad lo ha llevado a convertirse  en una persona incrédula y desconfiada (…) Ya no permite ser abordado  por un desconocido en la vía pública; al manejar en carretera ya no le  ofrece la cola a desconocidos; si ve un herido en la vía sigue de largo;  y teme circular en la madrugada o en altas horas de la noche.
On Twitter, while some users spread the word on the new armed forces deployment, others share their opinions on this measure. They assert the work of these forces will not change the current situation:
Elides J Rojas L (@ejrl) [es] comments on how the government fails to fight crime:
Chávez dice que su gobierno está “batallando” contra la inseguridad / Y está perdiendo 9 a 0
Eudoro J. Boudewyn (@Boudewyn) [es] questions the success of the security force:
Miebtras [sic] la Guardia del Pueblo cerraba licorerias, el hampa asesino a 68 venezolanos.
@InformadorVeraz [es] cruelly affirms:
Setenta y dos homicidios en Caracas el fin de semana más violento del año ¿y la Guardia del Pueblo la solución del GOLPISTA @chavezcandanga?
Finally, Ramon Morales, in his blog El Ultimátum Hiperbóreo [es], analyses some of the causes and tries to expand the arguments of those who claim the government is the main culprit. In his post, he shares his ideas regarding some of the main causes that drive a vicious cycle of violence; he also argues that it is unlikely that measures in response to violence will be successful if causes are not faced first:
Me sorprende que esos súperdotados para criticar no se han dado cuenta de la relación que hay entre los valores capitalistas y la inseguridad en la calle. (…) ¿Por qué un ser humano es capaz de matar a otro ser humano para quitarle un par de zapatos o un teléfono celular? Materialismo. (…) Creciendo en una sociedad que te enseña que lo más importante es el dinero, la ropa de marca y las posesiones costosas, es completamente predecible que un gran número de sujetos, que no tienen acceso a una educación de valores humanistas, lleguen al comportamiento precriminal en el cual sienten que un objeto o el dinero tienen más valor que la vida de otro sujeto (…) aunque en Venezuela se refuercen los cuerpos de seguridad, aunque los militares salgan a la calle a proteger a los ciudadanos, mientras el materialismo sea uno de nuestros valores y el alcohol nuestro compañero de todos los fines de semana, las cifras de muertes violentas seguirán siendo elevadas.

author: Laura Vidal


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Video Highlights: Identity, Refugees, Conflict and Open Technology · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

This section aims to showcase interesting and recent posts in Global Voices that show the many ways in which videos are helping people tell stories all around the world. You can follow the activity by regions in our YouTube channel or by clicking on the regional header links.
East Asia
For our Special Coverage page on Languages and the Internet comes an article about the different languages of East Timor. This next short film shows us the importance of receiving education in the mother tongue and the innovative Education Policy for Multilingual Education that East Timor is adopting.
Sub-Saharan Africa
In the post ‘Mali, Niger: Tuareg Voices Barely Heard Over the Sounds of War ‘, a video amplifies the voices of the Tuareg:
In Kidal, a town in north-eastern Mali, an unofficial number of Tuareg people marched to claim the autonomy of the Azawad region on November 1.
In ‘Kenya: Life in Dadaab, the World's Largest Refugee Camp‘ we look through the eyes of different aid organizations the complexities of life in Dadaab, a refugee camp receiving more than 1,400 people every day:
Central Asia and Caucasus
In Armenia and Azerbaijan, video is being used to improve understanding of the complex issues dividing the people of both nations. We linked to this insightful blog post on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict as seen through YouTube videos. It included this next video, which shows an interesting experiment on both sides of the border. In the video, a taxi with a camera records passengers reactions to the taxi driver's musical selection: he plays Azeri music in Armenia and Armenian music in Azerbaijan. The passenger's comments have been captioned in English.
You can visit our Special Coverage page on Caucasus Conflict Voices to learn more about the region's situation. To read more about the role of video in the conflict, visit ‘Armenia-Azerbaijan Dialogue Through Film‘ and its second part, ‘More Armenia-Azerbaijan Dialogue Through Film‘ will provide extra information.
Latin America
Global Voices Author and Translation Manager in Spanish Juan Arellano has been interviewing different Latin American experts. In this one he spoke with Santiago Hoerth of the Codigo Sur project about open technology and Open Software:
In another interview, he spoke with attorney and Creative Commons regional representative Carolina Botero and asked her to give her opinion on piracy.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Brazil: The Death of Socrates, A Brazilian Idol · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

[All links in Portuguese except when otherwise noted.]
Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, one of the greatest Brazilian soccer players, died at the age of 57 on December 4, 2011, a result of septic shock caused by excessive consumption of alcohol over the years.
Known simply as Sócrates (or even “Doutor Sócrates”, since he was a qualified physician, or Magrão, his childhood nickname), he started playing for Botafogo team from the city of Ribeirão Preto, in the state of São Paulo. In the 1980s, he became an idol while playing for Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, and especially during the World Cup of 1982, when he was captain of one of the best national teams ever. The cultured midfielder also played in the 1986 World Cup, in a team that included the legendary Zico and which famously became known as one of the greatest teams not to have won a World Cup.
Blogger Rodrigo Cárdia, from the blog Cão Uivador regrets:
Cartoon by Carlos Latuff in tribute to the player (under CC license)
Perde o futebol, perde o Brasil, perdem todos os que têm espírito  contestador. Pois tudo isso tinha Sócrates: grande futebol, o Brasil no  nome (Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira), e um  pensamento crítico muito raro no meio futebolístico.
Sócrates, the Politician
Besides being a soccer player, Sócrates was a political leader in and out of the field. A self-proclaimed communist, he was one of the architects of the so-called Corinthian Democracy [en], a period in which the decision-making processes of the club's soccer department were influenced by the players. At that time, some of the players were also known to stand against the military dictatorship that would end in 1985.
Show de Camisas blog explains:
Sócrates não lutou  por democracia só no Corinthians. Ele teve papel de  destaque na campanha  por Diretas Já no Brasil, no início da década de  80. Tinha ideais  socialistas e era admirador do regime cubano – o mais  novo de seus  filhos recebeu o nome de Fidel, em homenagem ao líder  Fidel Castro.
About Sócrates and his support to MST, Movement of the Workers Without Land. By Max da Rocha, from Brigada de Audiovisual of Via Campesina, under CC license
Sócrates didn't hide his political activism in the field, recalls journalist Eduardo Marini, saying that “Magrão has never been one of those who celebrate goals with explosions of joy”:
Mas quando comemorava, quase sempre o fazia da mesma forma, à moda  dos Panteras Negras: em silêncio, com um punho fechado e erguido para o  alto e o outro totalmente para baixo, também cerrado
Nicolau, from the blog Futepoca criticizes the media for having tried to hide the real meaning of Sócrates’ typical gesture to celebrate goals, and Rodrigo Cárdia adds:
[Sócrates] participou ativamente da campanha “Diretas Já” em 1984, e nunca escondeu  que seu lado era a esquerda. Nunca se cansou de criticar a formação de  jogadores no Brasil (que procura criar apenas atletas de alto  rendimento, sem se preocupar com “o lado humano”, ou seja, em formar  também cidadãos mais conscientes), assim como os rumos da política  esportiva no país, mais dedicada à organização de grandes eventos do que  ao próprio fortalecimento do esporte brasileiro.
A last tribute in the field
Sócrates’ closed and lifted fist was repeated by Corinthians players at the final game of the Brazilian Cup 2011, during a minute's silence before kickoff, on December 4. The match ended with Corinthians as the champion team of Brazil, and this was also celebrated as a tribute to the brilliant player.
Nicolau, from the blog Futepoca adds:
Às 17h deste domingo, 4 de dezembro de 2011, o  Corinthians entrava em  campo no Pacaembu para disputar o título de  Campeão Brasileiro. A uns  300 quilômetros dali, em Ribeirão Preto, o  Doutor Sócrates recebia as  últimas homenagens de uma vida intensa, mas  interrompida prematuramente.  No minuto de silêncio, em São Paulo, uma  das várias cenas que ficarão  marcadas de mais esta “final” (foram  tantas…): os jogadores do Timão,  perfilados em torno do círculo  central, levantaram o braço direito  relembrando a comemoração clássica  do Magrão.
Blogger Hugo Albuquerque comments:
Na esteira da morte do Doutor Sócrates, seria uma indignidade o Corinthians perder o título brasileiro ontem. Justo o Doutor, que  declarou querer morrer num domingo com o seu Corinthians campeão.
Cartoon by Carvall. Under CC license
Blogger Rogério Tomaz Jr sums up the player and the man:
Sócrates foi um dos maiores jogadores da história do futebol brasileiro.
E era amplamente reconhecido e respeitado pelo seu caráter, pela sua inteligência e pela sua personalidade.
Former player Walter Casagrande Jr, who played with Sócrates for Corinthias in the times of Corinthian Democracy and who was one of the team's idealists, wrote a moving letter about his friend, as did the teacher Fernando Lemos, who also paid his tribute.
Former Brazilian President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva released a statement, showing his sadness at the death of Sócrates.
Journalist Xico Sá, friend of Sócrates, also wrote a touching farewell, where he declared:
TE AMO PRA SEMPRE, DOUTOR.
Blogger and teacher Francisco Bicudo told of what Sócrates meant for him and his generation:
A  Seleção de 82 e as Diretas Já são símbolos da minha geração. E Sócrates  é uma espécie de síntese, de figura representativa dos dois momentos.  Paz e sossego, Doutor Sócrates. Nossas lembranças guardarão para sempre  os calcanhares geniais, a elegância desfilada em campo, a inteligência e  o carinho no trato com a redonda, o olhar altivo e sereno, as lutas por  democracia, a consciência política, a preocupação com a realidade  social brasileira. Meu futebol e minha política ficaram hoje um pouco  mais chatos.
Activist and writer Celso Lungaretti summed up a feeling shared my many Brazilians:
Perdemos um grande companheiro, um irmão de fé. Foi doído demais.
Tribute to Sócrates. Image by Pierre Lucena, under a CC license

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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China: Outrage as ‘Underage Prostitution’ Law Protects Child Rapists · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Four government and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials who gang-raped a 12 year old school girl in a small town in Shaanxi province in October 2011, have been charged with ‘prostituting an underage girl’. The local police have claimed that as the defendants had sexual intercourse with the girl in both September and early October respectively, the act does not fall under the definition of ‘gang-rape’ (even though the girl had been forced into sex).
In China, the penalty for child rape ranges between ten years imprisonment to the death sentence, while underage prostitution is punished by just three to ten years imprisonment and in some cases having sex with underage girls is not considered a crime.
Public outcry
The Shaanxi case is not the first time that Chinese government officials have saved themselves from harsh legal punishments by ‘reclassifying’ their crime. In 2009 alone, a large number government officials from Guizhou, Fujiang, Zhejiang and Sichuan [zh] all applied the same legal tactics to defend their own child rape cases.
Since 2008, People's Representatives have been [zh] calling for the replacement of the criminal law on underage prostitution with child rape. Earlier this year, representatives from the All China Women Federation put forward a joint-signature campaign during the People's Congress. However, their appeal has not been taken seriously. Those who are against the law amendment have not even responded publicly to the issue.
University Professor Xiao Xuehui has continued to push for the abolition of the underage prostitution law in a public forum organized by Netease after the Shaanxi case. This excerpt is from a transcript of her talk via China Elections [zh]:
嫖宿幼女罪恐怕是本朝一大发明。这个罪名含有一个混帐前提：幼女心智成熟、有完全行为能力。逻辑的结论就是：把受到性侵犯的幼女贴上“卖淫女”标签。这是以国家法律之名对受害幼女进行的再次伤害。
值得注意的是，无论此次陕西案件，还是之前出现在贵州、四川、福建的若干起以这个罪名定案的案件，犯罪人都是公职人员：法官、国税局长、校长、镇长等等。这个罪名的设立似乎在实践中呈现出跟“利益逢官递增”规律相对应的规律：罪名逢官递减。恐怕很难避免人们对立法意图的猜测。
History of the law
Some pro-government online commentators have tried to defend the Shaanxi police by quoting previous court cases. Critical netizens then started researching who was responsible for the legislation and interpretation of the law. Online magazine ACFun has a special issue on ‘Abolition of Underage Prostitution Law’ and traced the law back to the 1997 reform of the criminal law system [zh]. After the reform ‘underage prostitution’ was differentiated from child rape.
Weibo user Pu Can digs into the judicial record and finds out [zh] that:
1997年“嫖宿幼女罪”单独入刑后性侵案明显增多，3年之间猛增20多倍。2003年1月，前最高法院副院长黄松有针对嫖宿幼女罪出台司法解释：“行为人确实不知道对方是不满14周岁的幼女，双方自愿发生性关系，未造成严重后果，情节显著轻微的，不认为是犯罪。”——天朝威武，免得误了各位官人采补
Tianya forum user Girssonlin looks into Huang's legal point [zh] in detail:
让我们来看看司法解释中最邪恶的一段文字：“本罪的犯罪对象是特殊对象，不仅特殊在其是不满十四周岁的幼女，而且特殊在其为卖淫的幼女，如果行为人以欺骗手段对非卖淫的幼女实施奸淫行为的，则构成强奸罪。需指出的是，这里的卖淫的幼女，如果是幼女自愿或主动卖淫的，则一般地说明了幼女认识到其行为的卖淫性质，如果幼女是被他人（而非嫖宿者）引诱或强迫卖淫，则不要求其认识到行为的卖淫性，只要求客观上是在卖淫即可。”
简单的可解释为，不管幼女是否自愿，即使她受到威胁和强迫，只要有老鸨，就算卖淫。显而易见，这个司法解释保护的是犯罪者而非未成年少女。
Let's take a look at the most evil part of the interpretation: “The subject of this crime is very special. Not only that they are under 14, but also that they are underage prostitutes. If the defendant has sexual intercourse with an underage girl who is not a prostitute, it is rape. What needs to be stressed is that if the underage girls are doing this voluntarily, it is self-explantory that she is aware of the nature of her prostituting act. If the underage girls are under the control of or forced into prostitution by a third party, even if she is not aware of the nature of her act, the contextual evidence can still prove that it is prostitution.”
In simple terms, no matter if an underage girl is forced to have sexual relations or not, if there is a pimp, it is regarded as prostitution. It is obvious that the legal interpretation is designed to protect the criminal rather than the underage girls.
How can such a ridiculous interpretation exist in China? The answer may lie with Huang Xiongyao, deputy judge of the China Supreme Court between 2002-08, who was found guilty of corruption in January 2010 and sentenced to life imprisonment in March 2010. The Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece in Hong Kong, Tai Kung Daily, has exposed that Huang has a ‘special interest’ in underage girls (via Xinhuanet [zh]).
Of course, the above facts still do not explain why the Chinese government still refuses to amend the law and protect the further victimization of children in China. According to data from the Letter Petition Office of the All China Women Federation [zh], reports of children sexual abuse cases increased from 135 in the latter half of 1997 to 2,948 in 1998, 3,619 in 1999 and 3,081 in 2000. The number of cases has also increased rapidly in the past few years.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cuba: The “Chupi Chupi” Scandal  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“A disproportionate scandal has been unleashed these past few days around a vulgar Cuban video clip officially demonized and quasi-banned by the Culture Minister himself”: Without Evasion blogs about the furor surrounding the reggaeton hit Chupi Chupi.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Greece: “Giving Birth is Not a Privilege of the Rich!” · Global Voices
Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
Feelings of revulsion and anger were caused by news published in Eleftherotypia (Freedom of Press) [el] newspaper on December 5, 2011, which revealed some public hospitals in Greece have refused treatment to women in labour, because they did not have the money to pay hospital fees of 950 euro.
The incidents took place in November 2011, at public hospitals in Athens, Thessaloniki, Rhodes and Rethymnon. In these cases the cost of “integrated unified hospital treatment” according to Ministry of Health price list, came in at 950 euro for natural childbirth and 1,500 euro for birth by Caesarean section. Pregnant women pay the money in advance and afterwards the costs are offset with the labour allowance.
Birth. Photograph by Flickr user riqfy (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
After several days delay, the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity intervened with a circular, stating that [el] no advance payment of this amount will be required in future, leaving however the issue of price difference between the official price list and the provided labour allowance still open to question.
Two women's rights organizations, the ‘Women's Initiative Against Debt and Austerity Measures’ and the ‘Independent Women's Movement’, have started to raise awareness of these incidents:
Giving birth is not a privilege of the rich! We demand free childbirth,  we demand that the bailout funds go directly to health sector…
The news was shared and commented on throughout various social media channels by Greek netizens.
Births in Greece appear to have decreased by 15% during the last year [el], as the harsh economic situation is forcing many couples to delay having their first or second child.
This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

author: Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni


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Greece: Twitter Campaign to Release Arrested Activist Reporter · Global Voices
Asteris Masouras

Several Greek users scrambled a Twitter campaign (#freemenacius) to demand the release of a young activist arrested while reporting for OmniaTV on protests in Athens on the third anniversary of the police killing of 15-year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos. @menacius and others arrested, including some minors, are charged with felony offenses and were allegedly beaten after their arrest [el].

author: Asteris Masouras


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Iran: ‘Ready to hack US virtual embassy’ · Global Voices
Hadi Nili

Haji Digital, a pro-government online user in Iran, says in Friendfeed [Fa]: “We are ready to take over the US virtual embassy in Iran and completely hack it”.

author: Hadi Nili


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Iran: US virtual embassy blocked · Global Voices
Hadi Nili

Nima Akbarpour, Iranian blogger and IT journalist, says [Fa] that  Iranian authorities have blocked US virtual embassy website, hours after  its launch. He says that was predictable.


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Iran:Tehran displays captured US drone · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several bloggers such as Az Mian Negarha, linked to a YouTube film where Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps displayed a US captured RQ-170 Sentinel plane on TV on Thursday afternoon.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Jamaica: Blue Lagoon  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Labrish reports that “Jamaica's precious Blue Lagoon won a significant victory this week when a Preservation Notice was signed by the Government.”


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Japan: Lifestyle and Awareness Changes after the Earthquake · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

The Japan for Sustainability blog summarized results of various questionnaires that indicate how Japanese lifestyles and awareness have changed after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Subjects include energy, nature, inter-personal relationships, careers, and marriage.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Mozambique: Jubilation with Mayoral Opposition Win · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

Last night, December 7, even before the official results of Mozambican mayoral by-elections, supporters of opposition candidate Manuel de Araújo were celebrating on the streets of Quelimane and online across the country.
De Araújo's party MDM, or Democratic Movement of Mozambique, a spin-off from historic opposition party RENAMO, was running in all three cities with by-elections: Cuamba, Pemba and Quelimane. (RENAMO refused to stand in these elections.) Frelimo, the party governing the country since independence and dominating its politics, maintained power in Cuamba and Pemba.
But all eyes were on Quelimane, the largest of the three cities, with the most charismatic opposition candidate. Quelimane is a city of 200,000 people, the seaport capital of central Zambezia province, known for its agricultural potential and increasingly strategic location, with coal companies looking to transport coal by river to sea.
Image courtesy of Twitter user @LamarquesRui
An innovative campaign
Araújo's party MDM has a small representation in parliament, but the party started with the mayoral victory of founder Daviz Simango in the city of Beira. MDM was born out of municipal politics – a fact that drew even more attention to the contest in Quelimane.
Araújo campaigned in ways unheard of in recent times in Mozambique. He has been blogging for over four years, and he also used Facebook effectively to gather support from professionals and young people online. His “Quelimane for all” page had over 2,700 fans, and was reporting events during the vote in realtime to supporters, including electoral violations.
During his campaign he created a bicycle rally with bicycle taxis and a mass march. While he was criticized by some for always appearing in a blue shirt, some argued he was simply “branding” himself given that his time on state (and even private) TV would be limited and that his party and its symbols are relatively new to voters.
Photo courtesy of @ Verdade newspaper
The day of the election and immediate reactions
Independent sources confirmed that the election day was marked by police intimidation and the arrest of  one of MDM's youth leader in Quelimane, as well as an incident later in  the day in which two MDM supporters were allegedly beaten up.
But a couple of hours after polls closed, as the polling stations made their public first count of the votes, crowds gathered outside to keep the pressure on electoral officials. The atmosphere was tense initially, with heavily armed riot police ringing the stations. But people would not be deterred, as photos tweeted by @ Verdade newspaper journalists confirmed in realtime.
One twitter user (@Helmucas) either showed real political ignorance or was simply joking with this tweet
QUELIMANE EM FESTA COMO SE FOSSE VIDADA DE ANO… Que se passa?
A couple of hours after the polls closed, and counts were finishing up, Araújo's campaign announced what seemed like victory on its Facebook wall:
Esta resolvido: Da nossa contagem paralela, dos mais de 140 mesas de votacao, estao apurados 110. manuel de araujo venceu em 106 delas. lourenco apenas nao conseguiu vencer em 4 mesas! Quelimane ja estya em festa! a cidadre grita ARAAUJOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Frelimo spokesman Edson Macuacua announced shortly after on his wall that he recognized preliminary results announced by the media indicated a win by Manuel de Araújo.
Commenter Gil de Amaral Mahara wrote
Nao ha fraude nem estrategia politica que contrarie a vontade colectiva de mudancas…afinal eh possivel, com um papel e caneta mudar-se o curso do rio dos bons sinais. A democracia agradece!!!!! Viva a Vitoria!!!
Many commenters used the word “liberation” to describe what had happened in their city. Many expressed their feeling that the victory was hard-won. Getúlio Domingos wrote
nos fizemos a nossa parte, nem a presenxa dos tubaroes k se fizeram presentes na nossa cidade, conseguiu influenciar a nossa mente e desta a freli nunca ira se eskecer, MANUEL DE ARAUJO, eu mais do k tu, to feliz….
MDM follower Rafael dos Santos Monteiro posted directly on the Quelimane for All wall
Antes de ir dormir kero congratular ao Manuel de Araujo pela victoria e dizer levem em frente Quelimane que a joventude esta contigo e dizer que essa victoria nao é só sua mas tambem de todo povo morador de Quelimane em especial os jovens.
Twitter users also recognized the importance of the moment. Hiphop label Cotonete Records (Q-tip Records) tweeted
QUELIMANE | MANUEL DE ARAUJO | MDM – Cesar toma o que é teu!!
Ivan Jose Cossa tweeted
#MDM arranca #Quelimane da #FRELIMO. Damn.
Mwaa Manguni tweeted on the morning after the vote
Is a new era of Democracy upon us? #Mozambique #fb
Frelimo candidate Lourenço Abubacar formally conceded defeat on state radio and his campaign's Facebook page was taken down today, the day after the vote. Later in the afternoon the state electoral commission announced the result in record time, confirming Araújo's win.

author: Janet Gunter


text:
North Korean Restaurant in Cambodia · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

The Travel Fish blog introduced North Korean restaurants in Phnom Penh that offer a glimpse into the hermit kingdom's cuisine and music. Most of North Korean oversees restaurants were set up to acquire foreign currency for the regime.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


text:
Pakistan: Reaction on NATO’s Attack Killing 24 Pakistani Soldiers · Global Voices
Muhammad Farhan

November 26, 2011, marked the death of 24 Pakistani troops as a result of a heavy attack by NATO helicopters and fighter aircrafts on Pakistan Army's border posts in Mohmand Agency of  FATA in Pakistan. No less than 13 troops were also injured in the mission.
Pakistan in response had protested and vowed to consider all possible options of retaliation. The attack is being condemned and protested against by politicians, journalists, religious organizations and members of the civil society ever since.
As initial reaction, Pakistan asked the US to vacate the Shamsi airbase and the fuel supply routes, which passes through Pakistan's two provinces Balochistan and Khyberpakhtunkhwa, were also blocked. As reported by Awais Raza at Pakistan Defence Blog:
Pakistan gave the US Fifteen days to leave the Shamsi airfield. It also announced that NATO supply routes into Afghanistan will be shut down. The move comes after NATO troops killed at least 26 Pakistani soldiers in two separate air strikes in Pakistan. The Shamsi airbase is used by the CIA to carry out secret operations in the Pakistani desert[..]
Official sources confirmed the suspension of supplies, adding that all containers were stopped at the Takhta Baig checkpost in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency.
Supporters of Jamat-e-Islami hold banners and shout anti-America slogans during a demonstration against NATO. Image by Bilawal Arbab. Copyright Demotix (2 December, 2011)
Taking his rage out on the incident, Haris Hashmi of Pakistan Spectator blog writes:
It’s not a new thing if you jog your memory. It has happened before and perhaps will not stop here. It comes a little over a year after a similar but less deadly incident, in which U.S. helicopters accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border, whom the pilots mistook for insurgents. Pakistan stopped NATO supplies and kept it suspended until US apologized. Perhaps that would be the end this time too.
Pakistani hackers on the other hand have found a way to protest and take their anger out by hacking the popular American websites as reported  by Voice of Greyhat blog:
More than 50 websites hacked and defaced by Pak Cyber Combat Squad. All those sites belongs to NATO.
The blog also quotes the shockingly angry anti-democracy message from the hackers which is:
We can see that you are trying to free us from the tyrannical regime of dictators where we have freedom, and are replacing it with a so called democracy where the political parties are just legalized form of street gangs, You killed our children in the name of revolution, You bombed and destroyed our homes in the name of collateral damage and left many of us disabled.
Pasban party arranges a Pakistan Defense Rally against NATO attack in Karachi, Pakistan. Copyright Demotix. 3rd December 2011
Pakistan boycotted the Bonn peace conference in reaction to the events.
Paul Pillar of National Interest blog gives his accounts on the proceedings of the conference in these words:
The conference on Afghanistan that was just held in Bonn was underwhelming in its results, and it was no surprise that it was. The Pakistanis stayed away, the Iranians attended but were rather snippy, aid donors held back to see what other aid donors would do, and Afghan president Hamid Karzai painted a discouraging picture of what looked like indefinite dependence of his country on international largesse. The conference communique hardly broke any new ground.
In an analysis on the Bonn conference, Ishan Tharoor of Time blog says:
Such rhetoric may be a diplomatic non-starter now, yet it’s hard to imagine how much further U.S.-Pakistani ties could deteriorate after a year of rancor and acrimony. U.S. and Western officials at Bonn are now trying to downplay the implications of Pakistan’s boycott. Sadly for all involved, it seems the struggle over Afghanistan will continue to be measured out in blood on the battlefield and not papers shuffled in Bonn’s rarefied conference halls.

author: Muhammad Farhan