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VIDEO: Pakistani TV Host Gives Away Babies on Primetime Ramadan Show · Global Voices
Salman Latif

A TV presenter in Pakistan is under fire for giving away abandoned babies to childless couples on his hit religious quiz show.
Televangelist Dr. Amir Liaquat Hussain has gifted two babies so far during the month of Ramadan, in what some are describing as an attempt to boost viewership during the Islamic holy month's fierce battle for ratings. Part game show and part religious programming, Liaquat's show Amaan Ramzan on TV channel Geo News is very popular in Pakistan.
The infants were presented on the show by Muhammad Ramzan Chhipa, the head of the Chhipa Welfare Association, who told British newspaper the Telegraph, “We have lots of babies that are just abandoned, left in the garbage or other dirty places.”
One of the couples who won a baby girl were reportedly overwhelmed and moved to tears, according to news reports and tweets after the episode.
http://youtu.be/YAEbpiffdN8
The host opens the show by saying [ur] in this video uploaded on YouTube by WWN:
Babies that are thrown into garbage dumps, by people among you, who think they have committed a “sin”, I request that you please don't throw them in the trash, even if you think they were born out of sin, please give them to orphanages, so they can be united with people who deserve them, people who want to nurture them and raise them.
Though helping a childless family adopt an abandoned baby is certainly commendable, Pakistani social media rose in outrage, forcefully criticizing Liaquat for treating babies as prizes to be given away.
Tribune Blogs sub-editor Imaan Sheikh (@SheikhImaan) expressed her sheer shock by tweeting:
WATCH AMIR LIAQUAT'S PROGRAMME NOW. Aaj bacha giveaway hai. [Today is the baby giveaway] No joke, they're giving away a tiny baby.
— Imaan Sheikh (@SheikhImaan) July 21, 2013
Journalist Zarrar Khuhro (@ZarrarKhuhro) was no less surprised:
Wait a minute…did Amir Liaquat actually give away a BABY on his show? Tell me this is a joke. Right?
— Zarrar Khuhro (@ZarrarKhuhro) July 25, 2013
Among the popular Pakistani televangelists, Liaquat is no stranger to controversy. He received heat after it was revealed several years ago that his post-secondary degrees were earned from a widely unrecognized diploma mill. In 2008, he also faced accusations of inciting violence against the minority Ahmadis after dedicating an entire show that was largely critical to the sect.
Amir Liaqat Hussain. Image via Wkipedia. BY-SA
And in 2011, Liaquat made waves when a behind-the-scenes video of him cursing and cussing was leaked.
However, there were those who lauded Liaquat's Ramadan baby giveaway as helping bring orphan children to childless families. The government does not collect formal numbers on orphans in Pakistan, the only statistics available are those collected by private orphanages. Most orphaned babies are taken in by close family members. But increasingly, “abandoned babies” end up in orphanage cradles. In 2012, according to Pakistani press reports, 171 babies were abandoned at the country's largest orphanage Edhi. Another 485 newborn corpses were found dumped across the country, either because their parent's couldn't afford to raise them or because they were born out of wedlock.
According to medical student Tahani Zaidi (@TahaniZaidi):
The couple on Amir Liaquat's show, adopting a baby girl. I know them personally. Moved to tears :’)
— Tahani Zaidi (@TahaniZaidi) July 21, 2013
After the baby giveaway episode, Liaquat was back in the limelight when he invited a much-lambasted and much-ridiculed singer, Taher Shah, to his show. Shah recently made many headlines when he released a song titled “Eye to eye“, which went viral fueled by its “so bad, it's good” quality.
On the show, Liaquat made fun of Shah while he performed the song, playing with Shah's hair and hugging him throughout. During the live transmission of the particular episode, Shah could be seen visibly embarrassed, while Liaquat appeared thoroughly amused.
Screenshot of the show by author. Taher Shah (left) and Dr. Amir Liaquat Hussain.
This triggered yet another volly of criticism on social media, demanding that the TV host be forced to apologize to Shah. Samad Khurram (@SamadK) tweeted about the incident:
Amir Liaquat puts a live snake on Taher Shah while he interviews him in a religious programme. This is how the world ends!
— Samad Khurram (@SamadK) July 25, 2013
There were those who took Liaquat to task rather more severely. Journalist Omar R Quraishi (@omar_quraishi) tweeted:
I must say Taher Shah handled himself very well with the onslaught of Amir Liaquat's buffoonery
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) July 26, 2013
Taher Shah, too, dished out an update on his official Facebook page. Whereas he maintained a calm aplomb during the show, he was evidently upset and disappointed with the treatment he received:
I'm really disappointed at today's Amaan Ramazan transmission. First they call people and beg them to come to their show and later when they manage to show up leaving all their activities, they treat them like a child. Amir Liaqat should be thankful to me for not saying anything negative about him or his show on air (which was righteous for me). Sad to see this kind of irrespective behavior done on a so called Islamic transmission.
The events raise many questions about the role and responsibilities of private TV channels. What is the ultimate red line in the hunt for higher ratings? Are religious scholars backed by major media houses exempt from any and all ethical responsibilities, even when they're on a live show?

author: Salman Latif


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Bogus Doctors Apply for Qatar Hospitals  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Group Qatari blog Doha News reports:
Some 66 percent of job applicants for nursing positions at state hospitals last year were found to have forged their educational qualifications, the Supreme Council of Health has said.
Some 13 percent of people applying for jobs as doctors and 21 percent up for paramedic posts also submitted fake documents.
The fraudsters were caught after their degrees were cross-checked.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Brunei Bans Daytime Dining in Muslim Restaurants · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Brunei Islamic Religious Council (MUIB) has issued an order prohibiting non-Muslims to dine in a restaurant or fastfood outlet owned by Muslims in the daytime during the holy month of Ramadhan. The new regulation is meant to show respect to Muslims who are fasting during the day. Brunei is a Muslim-majority nation.
Non-Muslims are advised to take out their order and consume their food elsewhere. The ban applies to foreigners and tourists as well.
Many people were surprised with the directive considering that Ramadhan will be over soon. Some restaurant owners are not yet aware of the new regulation. KFC Brunei has issued this statement to advise customers about the adjustment in their operations in response to the MUIB directive:
With respect to the new directive from the Brunei Islamic Religious Council (MUIB), only Takeaway, Delivery and Drive Thru services will be available during the fasting period of the Ramadhan month. Our operating hours remain the same
Netizens reacted strongly. On Instagram, @maurina described the new ruling as silly:
Brunei restaurant. Photo from Flickr of Reeda. CC License
This is the silliest directive ever! Somehow I don't think the world have to stop just because we're fasting. Fasting in Ramadhan is an awesome time between me and my beautiful God. It has nothing to do with non-Muslims eating in restaurants? Sorry MUIB! This is a #fail. Lets stay positive and be a more tolerant society!
@alingms shared the same sentiment:
@maurina omg! Too much eh! Even non muslims cant eat? They might as well force each and every non muslim to convert! Why cant they respect other religion as well kan?!!
@nr_han feared that Brunei could soon be the ‘land of endless restrictions’:
This is so stupid! Did they even think thoroughly of the implications before implementing this rule?? Brunei…Abode of peace. Yeah right. More like, Land of Endless Restrictions!
The ruling has ‘weakened the nation’, according to @jo8bean:
Agreed, #epicfail @maurina.. If I may be so bold to say that this directive has just ‘weakened a nation’. #tsk
@liza_mohd commented that it could make Brunei a ‘less tolerant community’:
Inconsiderate towards minorities & it also makes us look like a less tolerant community. Such an unprecedented and absurd move!
But @imanadzmara reminded netizens to keep calm since the ruling will not be implemented the whole year:
It's only for Ramadhan NOT the whole year round and it only affected muslim food operators. Yeah, keep calm. We are still blessed to live in a ‘free’ country, no income tax, free education, free medical and expensive treatments abroad. Why need to jump when the Government do this ‘small’ thing compared to the ‘big’ thing given to us. Take it or leave it
@qhhr has mixed feelings over the directive:
People, there are loopholes here. In light of what has happened, at least you save a lot of money. Although, the new implemented rule is ridiculous. It could have been done eons ago, we were better off it anyway.
@n_cud wrote that it is insulting to non-Muslims:
Its the fact that this was even thought of in the beginning that is kinda insulting to non muslims, loophole or not.. Where does it end? Closin down of all businesses during prayer times everyday? seems like we're headed that way
@kangta164 argued that it is an unnecessary regulation:
Personally, I think it's one of the “unnecessary” rule implemented. Fasting is about an individual commitment to resist temptation. To implement such rule that affects businesses is illogical. I personally hate the fact that it segregates “non Muslims” and “Muslims” because it encourages religionism. I do have Muslims friends and I respect the fact that they're fasting so realistically, I won't eat in front of them. But to make it a mandatory rule is pretty much ridiculous.
It seemed authorities became overzealous in performing their job, wrote @tiny_lou:
Isnt it about resisting temptation? So if the temptations removed. .no resistance required! Seemd over zealous..what next..cut off all water supplies?? What about tourists..expats..non muslims?

author: Mong Palatino


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Cairo: “Non-stop Sound of Gunshots”  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

More than 100 people were killed and 1,500 injured during clashes at a sit-in by supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi in the Rabaa Al Adawiya mosque area, in Nasr City, Cairo.
According to the Daily News Egypt, the Public Prosecution have started investigations into what happened late that Friday [July 27] night.
Egyptian blogger Mosa'ab Elshamy was at the scene and shares what he saw in the following tweets:
It was unclear to me who ‘started’ the attack. But the clashes were at the begining of Tayaran street, 100 metres away from the sit-in. (2)
— Mosa'ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing) July 27, 2013
It was unclear to me who ‘started’ the attack. But the clashes were at the begining of Tayaran street, 100 metres away from the sit-in. (2) — Mosa'ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing) July 27, 2013
There was a non-stop sound of gunshots. The dark meant it was suicide to stay there. So I went to Rabaa's makeshift hospital. (3) — Mosa'ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing) July 27, 2013
Most of the cases I saw where people shot in the leg and chest with live bullets. Hours later, I counted 24 dead bodies at the morgue. (4) — Mosa'ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing) July 27, 2013
I saw at least 3 men who were shot in the head. Some claimed snipers were on October bridge, which would make sense. (5)
— Mosa'ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing) July 27, 2013
After dawn I went to the frontlines. Next to the police there were armed civilians who seemed to be a mix of residents and thugs. (6) — Mosa'ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing) July 27, 2013
I was on Morsi-supporters’ side of the clashes for about 5 hours and honestly saw no arms with them. (7)
— Mosa'ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing) July 27, 2013
Pro-Morsis mostly just took cover, threw rocks, fireworks and gas canisters back until they got shot at & carried away. Then repeat. (8) — Mosa'ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing) July 27, 2013
I didn't see any military involvement. Except when soldiers at Manasa shot in the air and caused both sides to back away for a while. (9)
— Mosa'ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing) July 27, 2013
My conclusion is that this was, undoubtedly, a horrific assault by MOI + ‘civilians’ with tear gas, rubber bullets and live fire. (10) — Mosa'ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing) July 27, 2013
Rabaa … After the clashes. Photograph by Mosa'ab Elshamy. Used with permission.
On flickr, he shares these photographs from the tragedy.


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Can Pirates Save the Russian Internet? · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Russian supporters of internet freedom have their work cut out for them if they want to move their cause from the virtual to the physical world — last Sunday's protests against the so-called “anti-piracy law” attracted only a few hundred people out of the thousands that have voiced their opposition online.
RuNet Echo has previously written on the increasing encroachment on internet freedoms in Russia, and on what some would call creeping censorship. Last month, this trend seemed to have come to a head, with the Russian parliament passing a law that is essentially equivalent to USA's SOPA [GV]. The law, which is due to come into effect on August 1, 2013, will allow any website to be shut down simply on the basis of claims that it hosts or links to copyrighted material.
“Pirate” flags reigned at Moscow's Internet freedom rally. YouTube Screenshot
The Russian Internet industry [ru] responded with shut-downs [GV], threats of an internet wide strike on August 1, petitions, and a series of protests, which were set to take place on July 28. As the protest announcement read [ru]:
Как показывает практика, власти в России редко обращают внимание на бурление в Сети. Гораздо больше их волнуют реальные люди, выходящие на улицы.
As practice shows, the Russian government rarely notices the churning of the Web. They are much more concerned with real people who walk out on the streets.
While this is a dubious proposition (considering the massive “successes” of Russian street protests over the last year), street actions were planned several weeks in advance with the support of the Russian Pirate Party [ru], RosComFreedom [ru], and the Association of Internet Users [ru], and took place in regional cities like Kazan, Tomsk and Novosibirsk [ru] in addition to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Nevertheless, they failed to bring out the crowds. The Moscow protest/concert, for example, attracted only “300-500″ people [ru], said the Pirate Party's Peter Rassudov — which is only half of the protest's VKontakte page [ru] 1,105 members.
A man dressed in skulls and symbolizing the “Death” of the RuNet leads a rally in Moscow. YouTube screenshot.
Unsurprisingly, the proponents of internet freedom have had better success in their online endeavors, specifically with the petition they've filed on the Russian Public Initiative [ru] website. The petition [ru], which seeks the repeal of the the law deemed unfair, has so far been signed by 54,000 people, and reads:
Мы считаем, что данный закон направлен не столько против распространения нелегального контента, сколько против развития Интернета в России, нацелен на его разрушение, а также ущемляет интересы национальной интернет-индустрии и права интернет-общественности.
We believe that this law is aimed not so much against distribution of illegal content, but against development of the Russian Internet, is aimed at its [the Internet's] destruction, and additionally, infringes on the interests of the national internet-industry and the rights of the internet-using public.
While the number of signatures in less than a month is quite a feat, it falls short of the 100,000 needed for the petition to be reviewed, and shows signs of flagging:
A graph showing total votes for the petition seeking to repeal the “anti-piracy” law. Screenshot, July 29, 2013.
Russian techies don't give up easily, figuring out all kinds of ways to get out the vote — like a banner that any participating website can put at the top of their page (designed and posted [ru] by an anonymous user to the tech website Habrahabr). Perhaps the coming August 1 “Internet Strike” (a shutdown of participating websites) will also jar more internet users into voting. However, even if the petition reaches 100,000 votes, unless these thousands of virtual supporters can be converted into physical bodies on the streets and lobbyists in Parliament, the Russian government isn't likely to care.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Delestron, the Supervillain that Embodies Blackouts in Côte d’Ivoire  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Ivorian citizens have created a cartoon character named Délestron (délestage means blackouts in french). Delestron has also its own facebook page which has gather more than 5,000 fans since its creation in March of 2013.  Ivorian twitter user Lord225 posted a picture from his account:
Hier… delestron a frapper fort. Un vrai coup de maitre. #ci225 pic.twitter.com/cIphdkSFO4
— Lord225 (@Lord225) May 16, 2013
Yesterday, Delestron delivered a major strike again. A masterful one indeed.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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E-book Offers ‘Pearls’ From Women Around the World · Global Voices
Paula Góes

“Pearls around the Neck” is an anthology comprising tales, poems, essays, interviews, and testimonials submitted by women from different races, languages, social background, education level, religion, and age. They contributed with their own words, and in turn these words “mirror in many delicate touches the various facets of the world of women”, as explains Catherine Beeckman, the e-book's curator.
An avid reader of Global Voices, Catherine says our work has inspired hers in many different ways. In the interview below, she explains how “our writings feed hers” and shares the background of Pearls around the Neck, inviting readers to discover the purpose of this anthology: “to create ecology of the heart and maintain the chain of connections between words and compassion”.
Tim Gallo's photo that illustrates the essay “Sex in Tokyo… Sex?” by Catherine Beeckman, Japan/U.S.A. Used with permission.
Global Voices (GV): Catherine, can you tell us a little bit about you?
Catherine Beeckman (CB): Born in Belgium and on the road at 24 months of age with my parents in Africa and South America, I finally graduated with a degree in Linguistics and Semiology at the University of Louvain in my home country.
I have five children. As a family, we maintained our globe-trotter life, moving to Africa, Europe, Asia, South America and the USA.
My interests have always been languages (philology), books (any type of literature, even Manga), travelling and people. My passion number one are my children: from 23 to five years old, I am constantly amazed by the three generations they embody. They update me daily in every area: music, media, films, vocabulary and new discoveries. The five live in distinct parts of the world and study different subjects. They are truly a source of knowledge. I respect the young generations and trust their approach towards the future.
My intention is to transmit what I have gathered on the paths I have walked and involve as many partners as possible: to give back is of paramount importance.
GV: You have lived in 17 different countries in 51 years – that's an average of one country for each three years of your life. How has this global, multicultural upbringing shaped who you are today, and ultimately, “Pearls around the Neck”?
CB: It is rather unusual, still many people are part of this “blueplanet-moving-diaspora”!
Sometimes, we only stayed four months in a country (Rwanda, Burundi); in some countries, we resided in a megalopolis (Tokyo) in others we lived in the jungle (Bendel State, Nigeria). We studied in different languages (Spanish in Chile and Argentina), we heard different prayers from the Muezzin call in Senegal to the Buddhist temples in Singapore; we acclimated to Rep of Central Africa, and revised our manners in Japan, conformed to the Swiss and reviewed it all in Southern USA! We live like “guests”.
That does not include all the countries we visited: Myanmar, Philippines, Indonesia, Haiti, Belize…
It is impossible to remain indifferent: one is soaked, invested by the others, by their rhythm of life, their colors, their accents, their traditions, their conflicts and their history but most importantly, by their stories…their words.
My early childhood (two till 12 years old) in Africa had a profound impact on my perception of the “palabre”=” the word”. Stories have a more organic aspect in the African continent. And women are exceptional story tellers. They tell different stories; women are chroniclers from anecdotes often ignored or left in silence.
“Pearls around the Neck” regroups women’s testimonies from around the planet. This anthology is a true affirmation, an evidence of a global life.
GV: Can you tells us more about “Pearls around the Neck”? When did it all start and how was it put together?
CB: The project started early 2011. I read online: blogs, papers and news websites. Global Voices is one of my sources: a website that crosses frontiers and boundaries. I could not “copy-cat” what was already available and creating yet another blog did not seem appealing. There are many tools of expression today. I started gathering texts and stories. Social networking was the key: I literally reactivated my electronic address book and begged for more connections. The stories started pouring: some were interesting, compelling, provocative, others were dull. This is precisely how it started…I did not know what was in store for me!
Tim Gallo's photo to illustrate “Twelve Moons”, a poem by Marie JJMG. Switzerland.
GV: The book sounds like a truly collaborative effort. In terms of writers alone, there were 56 women from 29 countries, plus translators, photographers, and editors. Who are these co-creators, and how did they come together?
CB: Why don’t we let the reader discover the amplitude of “Pearls”? The real number of people engaged in this adventure is impressive yet we were never working together in the same room: the virtual world is powerful and can help us create any piece of anthology.
The main difficulty though: the translations. Some texts arrived to me in languages I do not speak; some were sent to me in poor English. It was critical to make the book accessible to a wide audience. I built up a team of translators and editors between Paris, Sevilla, New York and home. I had to remain faithful to the texts that were entrusted to me…
I also decided that every possible type of format should be represented: text messages, email, poetry, essay, interview, slam (my favorite!), traditional letter, journal entry…
The presentation of “Pearls around the Neck” was also decisive: I wanted an art piece. I had met Tim Gallo in Tokyo, we actually studied Japanese together! He is young, talented, audacious and authentic. Tim offered his pictures, adapting each photo to the words. Carrie Leigh Dickey had created a previous book of mine (a story book for children, also in three languages side-by-side): she offered to be responsible of the design.
Wake Forest University loved the project and published “Pearls” on their Digital Publishing web site. The true co-creators are: Brigitte de le Court, Carrie Leigh Dickey, Tim and I.
GV: Plus all people who inspired it! Could you please tell us how “Pearls around the Neck” was also inspired by Global Voices?
CB: Global Voices helped me to maintain a line, a choice in my subjects, to infuse me with a sense of urgency towards the themes I would chose to insert.
We pursue the same goal and I have been inspired by your articles and pieces. Reading Global Voices almost daily, it appeared to me that people I had met through the years and across the 17 countries I had resided in could help me write an anthology reporting their stories in different formats, in different languages (even Afrikaans or Wolof!).
Global Voices has inspired me in many different ways: the multi-linguistic availability of the readings and the multicultural background of the various writers; the broad amplitude of articles and the daring approach towards burning subjects with a marginal angle of view; the reality of the characters presented to the readers, people with stories, real women and men, not the front page magazine hero.
Precise stories reported by Global Voices inspired me and motivated me to seek writers around the world to be part of this anthology: Fallen Petal Roses from Myanmar; I great you Maria full of Grace from Congo, after the Global Voices reported on Doctor Denis Mukwege; Dearest Amalia was inspired by the GV article Mapa 76; Perspectives – written by a 16 year old Indian girl – is her view about the power of mankind, feeding on the story of Pakistani teen activist Malala.
The pieces in the Pearl of Politics and the Pearl of Social Evolvement are very inspired the articles published by Global Voices. The Pearl of Social Engagement is totally linked to several posts. Let us consider us the entry about Japan on the 10 June 2013… a resonance of what was written last year in Pearls… a true and sincere exchange of emails revealing important questions. Journalism is everywhere!
We swim in an ocean of news, we are sometimes aggressively visually overwhelmed by the quantity of informations that scroll on our computer screens: perishable crumbles of data to consume. Why not sharing the true simple facts, the stories that move us to the core?
Photo that illustrates “Fallen Rose Petals: A Love Story or A Story of Falling Sex Education”. Essay and photo by Ohmar Win, Rangoon, Myanmar/Burma. Used with permission.
GV: It is good to hear that this book is, by definition, “unfinished and open for other pearls to be threaded onto the necklace”. What are the future plans for the book? Can readers collaborate to this necklace?
CB: “Pearls around the Neck” is now being presented and divulged in different ways. The goal actually is to offer the Pearls as extensively as possible and to create global empathy: this anthology was written and composed with the intent to awaken a different type of compassion towards traditional “information”. Every subject can be linked to a cause: see chapter 15.
I wish that the readers of Global Voices could have access to another tool of expression, that they would be inspired by Pearls and extend their participation just as we did by being creative. The stories published by Global Voices call for more Pearls to be written…in this sensitive, personal and intimate way. The material diffused by GV suggested me to go a step further…I need more stories to dwell in, more Pearls to thread…
Tim Gallo's photo that illustrates “The Amorous Battle”, a poem by Marisa Estelrich, U.S.A. Used with permission.
Pearls book cover
“Pearls around the Neck” is published by Books 2 Live 4 and is available for download free of charge in English, French, and Spanish. It is also possible to buy a Kindle version of the book on Amazon.
The anthology is illustrated with provocative photos by Tokyo based Russian film-maker and photographer Tim Gallo, whose work is “varying, sometimes disturbing, also cruel, intelligent, young and contemporary”.
You can connect with Catherine on Twitter @cathdBeeckman and on Pearl's fan page on Facebook.

author: Paula Góes


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Free Assisted Reproduction Could Be Denied to Lesbians and Single Women in Spain · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

In Spain, if someone cannot conceive a child through natural means, she can use free of charge assisted reproduction techniques. These techniques have been available to lesbian couples and women who have opted to be single mothers, since even though they don't have fertility problems, they cannot conceive a child through natural means.
However, this is about to change.
According to existing legislation [es], one can rely on social security to take advantage of these techniques:
(…) cuando haya un diagnóstico de esterilidad o una indicación clínica establecida, de acuerdo con los programas de cada servicio de salud: Inseminación artificial; fecundación in vitro e inyección intracitoplasmática de espermatozoides, con gametos propios o de donante y con transferencia de embriones; transferencia intratubárica de gametos.
Since public health care is the responsibility of regional governments, until now the autonomous communities (CCAA) have applied this policy at their discretion.  In this way, several CCAAs have been protected by their interpretation of «established clinical indication» to make offer services to lesbian couples and women who have opted to be mothers without a partner.
However, on July 18, El País reported [es] de que:
Ana Mato, Spanish minister of Health, responsible for the cuts in this area. Photo from the Facebook page «Yo NO voté a Rajoy. Tengo la conciencia tranquila. ¿Y tú?» (I didn't vote for Rajoy. I have a clean conscience. You?)
La cartera común básica de servicios que está definiendo el Ministerio de Sanidad los reserva solo para “parejas integradas por un hombre y una mujer” y siempre que haya problemas de fertilidad. Así lo recoge la propuesta que ha enviado el departamento de Ana Mato a las comunidades autónomas (…)
This proposal does not provide assisted reproduction to lesbian couples or single women.  The news has made a strong impact in the press and on social networks.  In general, it is considered that the new policy discriminates against non-traditional families, and the government of the People's Party is accused of legislating according to their ideology and being strongly influenced by the Catholic church.
The Executive Committee of the Episcopal Spanish Conference writes on the website Catholic.net [es]:
[La Ley de Reproducción de 1988] viola el derecho de los hijos a ser engendrados en el acto fecundo de donación interpersonal de los padres (…) se alteran las relaciones familiares acudiendo a donantes de gametos ajenos al matrimonio e incluso se condena a los niños a nacer sin familia, ya que permite que sea una persona sola la que los encargue al laboratorio; y se niega a muchos hijos el conocer a sus padres, pues se establece el anonimato de los donantes de gametos.
The ultra-Catholic website HazteOir.org [es] published a report in 2005 that supposedly demonstrates that children of homosexual couples suffered from a higher percentage of problems such as low self-esteem, drug dependence, failure in school, stress, or sexual identity disorder. The report, which has been removed from the original website, can be found here [es].
However, the blog Médico crítico [es] refuted this report with others of greater scientific credibility:
Posteriormente, en abril de 2013, [la Asociación Americana de Pediatría] dio un paso más posicionándose abiertamente en favor de la adopción homoparental al existir abundantes datos que indican que no existen diferencias en el desarrollo cognitivo ni conductual de los niños criados en estas familias con respecto a las familias heteroparentales, no siendo la orientación sexual de los padres un factor modificador de dicho desarrollo (“Promoting the well-being of children whose parents are gay or lesbian“).
Many internet users expressed opinions similar to what Esther M. [es] wrote in the online newspaper 20minutos.es [es]:
(…) la reproducción asistida es para quien tiene imposibilidad de [concebir un hijo], no para quien no le da la gana hacerlo. Si eres lesbiana y no te gustan los hombres estás en tu derecho. Y de no follar con ellos también. Pero claro, no podrás tener un hijo y no tenemos por qué pagarte los demás un método alternativo de tener un niño. Porque no es que no puedas, es que no quieres, que es distinto.
Call for a protest rally against the new proposal from the Ministry of Health. Photo from the Facebook page of the event.
However, on the website Cáscara amarga [es], Cristina P. Álvarez, coordinator of the Lesbian Policy Work Group of the Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transexuals and Bisexuals (FELGTB), had a very different vision of the situation:
El mismo impedimento para procrear tiene una pareja heterosexual en la que el varón es estéril que una pareja formada por dos mujeres. Si nadie propone a la mujer en el primer caso que ella no tiene problemas y que busque otro hombre, por ejemplo, tampoco se le puede proponer a una mujer sola o a una pareja de mujeres.
And Asturminator commented [es] on the news which appeared in El País [es]:
Medida ideológica para atar los votos de la parte más conservadora del partido. El ahorro que conlleva esta ley es totalmente insignificante. Se trata una vez más de favorecer el concepto de familia que esta gente quiere imponer.
Alicia Sánchez Camacho and Dolores Cospedal, two directors of the PP that relied on assisted reproduction to be single mothers. Photo from the blog ppcerdanyola.
Sin salida wrote [es] in the Huffington post:
Y seguirán diciendo que no es ideología. Como siguen diciendo que no lo es pagar a los profesores de religión y despedir a los de música o matemáticas.
It so happens that two important members of the executive team of the PP, the general secretary Dolores Cospedal [es] and the president of PP in Cataluña Alicia Sánchez-Camacho [es], underwent at one time in vitro fertilization in order to be single mothers, although the latter stated in an interview to Vanity Fair:
(…) no renuncio a que mi hijo tenga un padre. Mi hijo se va a educar, si Dios quiere, en una unidad familiar con un padre y con una madre. No creo en el modelo educativo de dos personas del mismo sexo. Y, aunque yo he hecho la opción en solitario, espero llegar a tener la pareja que mi hijo necesita.

author: Lourdes Sada


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Germany: Demonstrations Against Surveillance · Global Voices
Katrin Zinoun

[All links lead to German language pages, except when otherwise noted.]
Many citizens took to the streets on Saturday to demonstrate against mass surveillance by the government. They consider not only their privacy to be at risk, but also their fundamental rights and democracy itself. In the light of Edward Snowden's revelations, there were increasing calls on the German government to clarify to the public what they know in terms of surveillance by British and American secret services. Minister of the Interior Hans-Peter Friedrich provoked outrage when he introduced security over further fundamental rights.
Author Juli Zeh, among those who published an open letter in the FAZ and later posted it to Change.org, described the American secret service NSA in a comment on the public service television programme ZDF as a ‘band of thieves’. The full text can be found on Netzpolitik.de:
“Wenn ich an die NSA-Affäre denke, sehe ich ein Haus, das gerade von einer Einbrecherbande ausgeräumt wird. Die Bewohner stehen daneben und gucken zu. Die Hausverwaltung steht auch daneben und guckt zu. Sie ruft den Einbrechern vielleicht noch hinterher: ‘Wir verlangen schonungslose Aufklärung. Wir wollen wissen, was hier gespielt wird.’ Und die Einbrecher rufen zurück: ‘Geht in Ordnung.’, steigen ins Auto und fahren davon.
“Whenever I think about the NSA affair, I see a house that has just been cleaned out by a band of thieves. The occupants are standing by the house, looking on. The property managers are standing by the house looking on as well. They might call out to the thieves every so often: ‘We demand unremitting intelligence. We want to know what is happening here.’ And the thieves shout back: ‘That's fine!’, get into the car, and drive away.
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Images of Chancellor Merkel, Minister of the Interior Friedrich and Head of the Chancellery Pofalla at a demonstration. (Source: mw238 on Flickr under CC BY-SA 2.0)
Jakob Jochmann describes the abolition of the rule of law in his “Parallelgesellschaft Politik” article as follows:
Seit der deutsche Innenminister öffentlich “Supergrundrechte” postuliert, die jenseits des Grundgesetzes gelten, ist die Auflösung des Gesellschaftsvertrages offiziell. Wenn eine Regierung vor der Realität kapituliert, statt ihr politisch zu begegnen, dann weigert sich der Leviathan, die ihm obliegenden Pflichten zu erfüllen.
Das Problem ist allerdings keines der Regierung. Man kann mit Fug und Recht vom Systemversagen sprechen, weil es kein Korrektiv für die Politikerkaste gibt, die sich in der Entwicklung der Postdemokratie herausgebildet hat. Es gibt für den angeblichen Souverän, das Volk, keinerlei Handhabe, der Abschaffung des Rechtsstaates Einhalt zu gewähren. Dazu mangelt es nicht allein an politischen Alternativen, sondern auch an Dringlichkeit und Kommunikation.
Ever since the German Minister of the Interior postulated “Super Fundamental Rights” applicable beyond the constitution, the dissolution of the articles of association has been official. When a government surrenders to the reality, instead of dealing with it in a political sense, the Leviathan will refuse to fulfill the duties incumbent upon it.
The problem, in any case, is not one regarding the government. It is possible to speak quite justifiably of a failure in the system, since no corrective to the political class has emerged from the development of the post democracy. For the alleged sovereign, the people, there is no handle that can stop the abolition of the rule of law. At the same time, not only is there a lack of political alternatives, but also a lack of urgency and communication.
Thousands people demonstrated in several cities on Saturday, expressing their opinion on the government under Chancellor Merkel and the international secret services. Here are a few impressions from the demonstrations:
Several Twitter users shared photos of billboards depicting the motivations for participating in the demonstration:
#StopWatchingUs #Prism #BND #Freiburg pic.twitter.com/WPRlO2XtQi—
- cbgreenwood (@cbgreenwood) July 27, 2013
“Those who have nothing to hide need not fear the whistleblowers!”
#stopwatchingus
— Stefan Körner (@sekor) July 27, 2013
“We used to have to demonstrate for a 35-hour working week. Today it's about pure freedom!”
#StopWatchingUs #Freiburg pic.twitter.com/mR16t2zlT1
— cbgreenwood (@cbgreenwood) July 27, 2013
“Don't wait until they call the right to freedom treason” (Erich Kästner)
Best motto! :D #StopWatchingUs pic.twitter.com/KATh1UaqtQ
— Josh (@iJoshofficial) July 27, 2013
<3 #stopwatchingus #leipzig #noprism
— Tim Weber (@scy) July 27, 2013
“Demonstrators calling out to passers-by “We're exercising your basic rights!”
The midsummer heat was also a topic on Twitter:
#StopWatchingUs #Berlin #Pic pic.twitter.com/jH5vbJsXD3
— Johnny Haeusler (@spreeblick) July 27, 2013
“Demo at 36° against 360° surveillance”
#StopWatchingUs
— Piet Berlik (@ZelloFan) July 27, 2013
To the demo! #Freedom instead of the #Freibad [swimming pool]
ACTA-Demo: -14°C PRISM demo: 39°C http://t.co/0ntSsGk87r #StopWatchingUs #Nürnberg
— Sugar Ray Banister (@srbanister) July 27, 2013
And as with any demonstration, the participants’ powers of creativity were revealed:
I’m watching you. #StopWatchingUs #berlin pic.twitter.com/haooYpcn77
— Markus Winkler (@mw238) July 27, 2013

author: Katrin Zinoun


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In Egypt, Young Men “Die for Nothing”  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Zeinobia shares photographs and a video of an 18-year-old revolutionary artist Eissa Essam. Essam was killed during clashes on July 26 with Muslim Brotherhood supporters camped in the Rabaa Al Adawiya neighbourhood in Nasr City. Zeinobia describes Essam as the liberal son of an MB member, who was visiting his family at the sit-in when the clashes happened.
She writes:
I do not know who killed Eissa Essam for real, I know that he was shot in his back. His anti-MB friends say that he was killed by the Muslim brotherhood while his MB family says that he is killed by the police and its thugs. All I know that he was killed and his rights will be lost forever like those young men who died for nothing in the past three years. He will be another graffiti, another name used in that fight


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Laughing at Putin’s Pike · Global Voices
Nina Jobe

Vladimir Putin's presidential photo-ops, which grow more absurd with each passing year, are reliable fodder for online satire. In his latest publicity stunt, Putin joined Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on a fishing trip in the Krasnoyarsk krai and Tyva Republic. From the moment the Kremlin's press office published photographs of this macho excursion, the images sparked a wave of netizen derision.
Vladimir Putin poses with his catch, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, 20 July 2013, Kremlin photo service, public domain.
The Twitter account for the website Grani.ru, for instance, rallied Web users to caption some of the photos:
Путин! Щука! Магадан! Давайте придумаем подпись под фото
Putin! A pike! Magadan! Let’s think up a caption for this photo
One twitter user referenced Putin’s recent divorce in response, joking:
“Люда, вернись!”
“Luda, come back!”
In response to a photo of Putin kissing the fish he caught, Twitter user Seva Chagaev observed:
Дед совсем с ума сошел.
Grandpa has totally lost his mind.
Writing on LiveJournal, Andrei Malgin reposted [ru] four shirtless photos of a fishing Putin, observing with some insinuation that Medvedev had been the photographer.
Some bloggers, like LiveJournal's viking_nord, have poked fun at Putin's fishing trip by connecting it back to his recently announced divorce. Above, a pike-fish replaces Putin's ex-wife at Orthodox church service.
One commenter remarked that the images possibly violate Russia's recent law banning “homosexual propaganda”:
вообще, от фоток попахивает запрещенной пропагандой.
generally speaking, the photos give off a whiff of banned propaganda.
Another LJ user quipped:
а где Светлана??? Или теперь нет вопросов- ради кого развёлся путин??
And where is Svetlana??? Or is there now no question who broke up Putin's marriage??
A more serious commenter stated:
Кстати, меня, как женщину с консервативными, традиционными взглядами […], эти фотографии смущают. Я считаю, что их место, в лучшем случае, в семейном альбоме, но никак не в официальных источниках о досуге главы государства.
By the way, as a woman with conservative, traditional views… […] these photos bother me. I believe that their place is, at best, in a family album, but definitely not in the official record of the head of state.
In response, another commenter wrote:
видимо, у них противоположная целевая аудитория..
Apparently they have a different target audience..
Commenter Yuri Dvorkin played Kremlinologist:
В прошлый раз, когда они рыбачили под Астраханью, Медведев узнал о своем желании выдвинуть Путина в президенты. Не узнал ли в этот раз Медведев о своем желании подать в отставку? 23 сентября покажет.
The last time they went fishing in Astrakhan, Medvedev learned about his desire to nominate Putin [to serve a third term] as president. This time, did Medvedev find out about his desire to resign? September 23 will reveal the answer.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin's press secretary, Dmitri Peskov, told the media that Putin's catch weighed 21 kilograms (46.2 pounds). This claim provoked the incredulity of many bloggers, who posted photographs [ru] of similar-sized pike-fish, also catch by various fishermen, that weighed only half a much.
Bloggers take issue with the President's Press Secretary's claim about the weight of Putin's catch. Top left pike is 9.2 kg, bottom left is 12.7 kg, and Peskov says Putin's was somehow 21 kg.
Russian mathematician and economist Alfred Kokh did the math on the weight of Putin’s fish, and concluded:
Таким образом пойманная Путиным щука весит от силы 10 – 11 кг., а не 21 как врет Песков.
Странные у них представления о числах, объемах, количестве. То на митинге численностью в 100 000 чел. они видят только 10 000.
So Putin caught a pike weighing between 10-11 kg—not 21 [kg], as Peskov lies.
They have a strange understanding of numbers, amounts, and quantities. At a [political, anti-government] demonstration numbering 100,000 people, they see only 10,000.

author: Nina Jobe


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Qatari Doctor Detained in UAE for Muslim Brotherhood Ties  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

On Doha News, Shabina Khatri shares the story of a Qatari doctor Dr Mahmood Al Jaidah, detained in the neighbouring UAE under suspicion of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Doha News reports:
According to his lawyer Abdullah Tahir, who has been tweeting about the case, Al Jaidah has also been accused of accepting an envelope with Dh100,000 (about QR100,000) from an Emirati to be handed over to another UAE citizen in Qatar.
[…]
Unlike in Qatar, which has had strong ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the UAE has little tolerance for the group.
Earlier this month, a UAE court sentenced 56 individuals affiliated with Al Islah to prison for three to ten  years over charges of trying to overthrow the government. Eight people  were sentenced in absentia to 15 years in jail and 26 were acquitted.
Al Jaidah's family denies he is linked to the group.


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Saudi Security Forces Burn Down House and Cars in Awwamiya Raid · Global Voices
Guest Contributor

Saudi security forces raided Awwamiya village in Qatif today [July 30] to arrest Abbas Al-Mazraa. Al-Mazraa appeared on the 23 wanted persons list issued by the government for his participation in protests that swept Qatif with the beginning of the so-called Arab Spring in 2011. The raid lasted from 5.45am to 2pm.
Forces raided Al-Mazraa's house under heavy gunfire which started a fire that burnt down the house and the cars around it.
Some neighboring offices were also damaged. According to Twitter users, firemen were prevented from reaching the fire for over two hours.
This video, uploaded on YouTube, shows the damage left on the scene in the aftermath of the raid:
Along with Abbas Al-Mazraa, six of his brothers were arrested.
Dr Reema shares this tweet [ar]:
#تدمير_زارة_العوامية حرقوامنزله وسيارته مصدررزقه،ربطوا اخوته واعتقل #عباس_المزرع دفاعابعد ان دافع عن امه pic.twitter.com/qQod5QlRNh
— Dr Reema (@DrReema2013) July 29, 2013
They burnt his house and his car, the source of his income, and tied up his brothers and arrested Abbas Al-Mazraa
It was also reported that Al-Mazraa's mother, aunt and sisters were taken to Awwamiya police station where they were held briefly then released.
It's not the first time for security forces to attack and fire arbitrarily in a residential area. Last month, they killed Ali Al-Mahrous and Morsi Al-Rebh in Qatif.
The spokesman of the ministry of interior told the official government news agency, SPA, [ar] that Abbas Al-Mazraa and eight other men are accused of drug trafficking and that's why they were arrested.
The 23 wanted persons are accused of causing disorder and riots, among other charges and were called to hand themselves over to authorities. Many of them denied all charges and said their only crime was protesting peacefully demanding their rights. Citizens in Qatif complain of the discrimination they face as Muslims of the Shiite sect, but the government denies such discrimination.
Since March 2011, at least 20 people have been killed in the eastern province by security forces and 850 people were arrested. Around 190 are still in jail.

author: Guest Contributor


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Saudi Website Founder to be Imprisoned, Lashed · Global Voices
Anas Soliman

Free Saudi Liberals website founder Raif Badawi was sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes earlier today [July 29]. Badawi was arrested on 17 June, 2012 in Jeddah and was charged with “setting up a website that undermines general security” and ridiculing Islamic religious figures.
The Free Saudi Liberals website was an online forum for public discussions. It was shut following Badawi's arrest, and it had been blocked within the country for years. In today's sentence, the judge also ordered the permanent shutdown of the website:
حكم القاضي في قضية رائف بدوي بغلق موقع الشبكة الليبرالية الحرة
@abualkhair: In today's sentence in Raif Badawi's case, the judge ordered the shutdown of the Free Saudi Liberals website.
On December 17, 2012, the case was referred to a higher court, the General Court in Jeddah, after he had been charged with apostasy, which carries the death penalty. Badawi was asked by the judge to abandon his views, but he refused.
Badawi is the father of three children who left the country with their mother following his arrest. They are currently based in Beirut, Lebanon.
Amnesty International has considered him “a prisoner of conscience detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression” and demanded his immediate, unconditional release.

author: Anas Soliman


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An English Written Chinese Classical Couplet · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chinese couplet is a kind of classical poetry written in two lines, which are corresponding to each other in length as well as syntactic and semantic properties. As the couplet can be pasted to the entrance of a house, sometimes a short extra line, horizontal line to be pasted in and between the two long lines, is added as a commentary to the couplet. A twitter @liguangyucn spotted an English written Chinese couplet online and retweeted it in his account:
First line: Subway, railway, highway, way way to die
[note: a comment on road safety: subway, railway and highway are leading to death]
Second line: Officer, announcer, professor, sir sir to lie
[note: a comment of people's integrity: officer, announcer and professor are all liars]
Horizontal line: Welcome to China

author: Oiwan Lam


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Bangladesh Experiences Second Stage Of Cyber Crime  · Global Voices
পান্থ রহমান রেজা (Pantha)

Recently Bangladesh police arrested four persons for credit card skimming fraud. They have siphoned millions of Bangladeshi Taka from ATMs of different banks. Blogger and assistant professor of University of Alabama Computer and Information Science Ragib Hasan writes in Somewhereinblog.net blogging polatform [bn]:
[…] ২য় পর্যায়ে শুরু হয়েছে ফিনান্সিয়াল সাইবারক্রাইম, যেখানে লাখ কোটি টাকা জড়িত। আর আসল ক্রিমিনাল, গডফাদারেরাও মাঠে নামতে শুরু করেছে। সম্প্রতি এটিএম হ্যাক করে বা সেখানে গোপন ক্যামেরা বসিয়ে কার্ড চুরি করা বা ক্লোন করার ব্যাপারটা এরই সুচনা মাত্র!
[..] The second stage of cybercrime has started where billions of Takas are at risk. The real criminals and Godfathers are taking notice and are entering the scene. The recent incident of ATM hacking and skimming card information by using hidden cameras and cloning is only the start.
It may be mentioned that Bangladesh only experienced website hacking/defacing or password phishing crimes so far. Large scale card skimming incident like this is probably the first.

author: পান্থ রহমান রেজা (Pantha)


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Bosnian Fans of Serbia’s Red Star Football Carve 60-Meter Mountainside Logo · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

Some 50 Herzegovian fans of the Serbian Red Star football club spent a year clearing a densely wooded mountain overlooking Nevesinje in eastern Herzegovina to create [sr] an enormous Red Star club logo on the mountain of Velež, visible from kilometers away.
What is most remarkable about this feat is that the club logo is now larger than Red Star stadium, named Marakana after Brazil's famed Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, and about to be nominated for the Guinness World Book of Records as the largest edition of a club logo in history.
Among the 50 fans are geodetic and similar professionals who spent the larger portion of the complex year-long project measuring the terrain and mapping out the project to perfection. A video posted in August 2012 shows the leaders of the project on Velež mountain, mapping the terrain and explaining how the project would be executed:
In the last days of July 2013, the project was finally fully realized and an enormous Red Star emblem now impressively looms over the town of Nevesinje.
The history behind the star in the center of the emblem is no less interesting and explains how the idea emerged. The star, a symbol of the former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia that Boznia-Herzegovina was a part of until the early 1990's, was carved out by removing trees from Velež mountain several decades ago. With the demise of Yugoslavia, the star was left to disappear in the wilderness of the woodlands. Still somewhat visible, it presented somewhat of a reminder of turbulent times and a disfigurement of the cities mountainous surroundings. The leaders of the project then came upon the idea to turn the old symbol of cultural divide into a new symbol of sporting friendship.
Below is the reconstructed new emblem, with the rejuvenated star in the center:
Widely shared photo on social networks and blogs of the logo of Red Star Belgrade on mount Velež overlooking Nevesinje.
The logo lies some 1,300 meters above sea level, with a diagonal of almost 1.5 kilometers and is 60 meters wide. As many fans and foreign friends from the region attest, it is a sign of true fanaticism for one's favorite football club.
Jugolav Paser from Zrenjanin, Serbia wrote on Twitter:
Niko Zvezdo nema to sto imas Ti …. Kad Nevesinje voli Zvezdu.wmv: http://t.co/XfyzcQMy pa koliko je ovo genijalno … #Zvezda
— Jugoslav Paser (@JugoslavPaser) August 1, 2012
No one, Zvezda, has what you have…. When Nevesinje loves Red Star: http://t.co/XfyzcQMy this is such genius … #Zvezda
Twitter user Hakan from Turkey commented:
Crvena Zvezda(Kızılyıldız) taraftarı takımın amblemini Velez dağına taşlarla bölye işlemiş. RESPECT VİA @haberbosnak pic.twitter.com/YqJYdV2A1e
— Hakan (@hknkrkc) July 29, 2013
Crvena Zvezda (Kızılyıldız) team logo shows very commited fans. RESPECT VIA @haberbosnak pic.twitter.com/YqJYdV2A1e
— Hakan (@hknkrkc) July 29, 2013

author: Danica Radisic


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Brazil: ‘Real Men Don’t Beat Women’ · Global Voices
Rami Alhames

It's a startling statistic: One in five Brazilian women are likely to suffer from domestic violence. That includes physical, psychological, and emotional abuse as well as marital rape. The aggressor is usually a boyfriend, husband, ex-partner, or male family member.
In light of the problem, an online campaign launched earlier this year is challenging “real men” to show their solidarity against domestic violence.
The World Bank with the participation of the Maria da Penha Fernandes Institute [pt] among other Brazilian women's right movements and societies launched a campaign [pt] in March 2013 called “Real men don't beat women” (Homem De Verdade Não Bate Em Mulher).
Brazilian athletes, actors, and society members joined the action on the World Bank Brasil's Facebook page to inspire Brazilians to speak out against domestic violence in Brazil. They joined on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posting self-pics holding a sign featuring the campaign slogan under the hashtag #souhomemdeverdade, which in Portuguese means “I‘m a real man“.
“Real men don't beat women”. Source: Banco Mundial Brasil on Facebook
“Every four minutes a woman is killed by domestic violence in Brazil”, according to the figure presented in a state meeting of the public prosecutor's office in Rio Grande do Sul in March 2013:
Os números assustam. (…) Esta é a principal causa da morte de mulheres entre 16 a 44 anos. Desses crimes, 99% são causados por ciúme e possessividade; 77% dos conflitos ocorrem depois da separação.
“No woman looks good in purple”. Domestic violence by pablobasile on Deviantart (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
The Map of Violence 2012 (Mapa da Violência de 2012) [pt, PDF] reports that 91,930 women were murdered in Brazil between 1980 and 2010. On average, there were 4.5 women killed for every 100,000 women, with Espírito Santo, Alagoas, and Paraná states having the highest rates.
A special edition of the report dedicated to feminicide in Brazil [pt, PDF], concludes that “68.8 percent of the murders of women take place in the domestic sphere” and in the 20 to 49 age group, “65 percent of the assaults are committed by the partner or ex”. The report also adds:
entre os 84 países do mundo que conseguimos dados a partir do sistema de estatísticas da OMS o Brasil, com sua taxa de 4,4 homicídios para cada 100 mil mulheres ocupa a 7ª colocação, como um dos países de elevados níveis de feminicídio
According to Wikigender:
Rates of women murdered per every 100,000 women in Brazil from 1980-2010. Source: Map of Violence of 2012
domestic violence was not a part of the Brazil’s federal criminal code until 2006, when Law no. 11.340 of 7 August 2006, otherwise known as the Maria da Penha law [named after Maria da Penha Fernandes [pt], one of the lead figures in the movement for women's rights in Brazil, herself a victim of domestic violence], was adopted. Despite increased efforts made recently, not only on the legislative level, but also on the social and institutional levels, incidents of domestic violence are still high and under reported to the authorities, due to fear of retribution, further violence, and social stigma.
Sadly, these statistics are not on the decline. Calls for help to the Brazilian Women’s Assistance Center have in recent years increased by 16 times.
“Men who beat women aren't right in the head”
The World Bank, together with Brazil's National Congress and Camara TV, also promoted a Short Documentary Contest on the Maria da Penha Law, which awarded five short stories illustrating the lives of:
1st place: A group of women working against gender violence in Sao Paulo [video: Maria Maria]
2nd place: In a group of craftswomen Carmen found the strength to leave her abusive partner. [video: Divas - Female Voices]
3rd place: Lucilia, an indigenous woman, who repeatedly tried to file a report against her ex-partner, but the police never investigated [video: One Law for All]
4th place: Silvia, an activist for women’s rights, murdered by her son in law, who used to beat her daughter [video: Sílvia]
5th place: Veronica, Carmen, and Sara, who managed to free themselves from abusive husbands [video Life Stories Marked by Domestic Violence]
As human rights activist Natasha Baker wrote on her blog after finding out about the work and life of Maria da Penha, “One of the greatest benefits of networking is discovering other organizations, companies and movements that are bringing hope into this world”. For those who want to denounce a domestic violence or any gender-based violence in Brazil, dial 180:
Homem que bate em mulher não bate bem da cabeça. Denuncie ligando pra 180: http://t.co/PbHRpl4913 #souhomemdeverdade #sevalorize
— Dicas Nova (@DicasNova) May 18, 2013
Men who beat women aren't right in the head. Report it by calling 180

author: Rami Alhames


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Brutal Attack on Moscow Cop Reignites Russian Ethnic Tensions · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Thanks to shocking footage of a brief but brutal attack on a Moscow police officer last weekend, Russia’s capital city is again the site of ethnic tensions between native Muscovites and migrant workers. The incident took place outside a market last Saturday, July 27, 2013, when an entourage of uniformed and plainclothes police officers arrested Magomed Magomedov, a Dagestani, for the statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl. During the arrest, while non-uniformed officers held Magomedov against a van, a crowd gathered in protest, and at least two people—a man and a woman, later identified as relatives—started shoving and yelling. When uniformed police arrived and tried to detain the unruly man, the woman (his wife) set upon one of the plainclothes officers with her fists. Amidst the confusion, the man (her husband) broke free and tackled the officer, too. Police struggled ineptly for a few moments to break up the fight, as the husband and wife pummeled the downed cop with their fists and feet.
When the dust settled, the officer, Anton Kudriashov, sat dazed in the road, clutching at his forehead, where a giant crater now sunk into his skull. His attacker, Magomed Rasulov, fled the scene, probably after bribing [ru] some of the other officers.
Russia rarely enjoys any stretch of time without some news event involving ghastly violence between ethnic Russians and ethnic minorities. While the role of race in crime and cultural friction is nothing unique, Russian Internet users from different sides of the political spectrum have competed to explain why Kudriashov’s broken skull demonstrates their particular grievance with Moscow’s police force. Anti-government oppositionists complain that Moscow cops are capable only of using force against peaceful (Russian) protesters, arguing that corrupt protection rings [ru] offer criminal immunity to various powerful actors. Pro-government hardliners, along with several anti-government nationalists, blame liberal values (and implicitly, if not explicitly, liberal demonstrators) for an atmosphere where police don’t use their weapons, even when necessary, for fear of litigation and dismissal.
LiveJournal user Hard Ingush, an anonymous Special Forces police officer from the Russian North Caucasus, disapproved [ru] of the Moscow cops’ performance, chiding them for failing to apply overwhelming force at the first sign of resistance from Rasulov, and encouraging police everywhere to ignore an unsympathetic legal system:
Не нужно миндальничать. Да, прокуратура не нашей стороне. Да, им проще нас выставить виноватыми. Но превышение полномочий – это лучше, чем проломленный череп у коллеги.
You don’t need to pull your punches. Sure, the prosecutors aren’t on our side. Yeah, it’s easier for them just to give us the boot. But [getting convicted of] exceeding one’s authority is better than having a colleague’s skull fractured.
Following the public outcry to Kudriashov’s attack, law enforcement launched mass raids on several markets throughout Moscow on Monday, July 29, and police apprehended [ru] Rasulov within hours. Pro-Kremlin blogger Marina Yudenich welcomed [ru] the sudden show of force, but worried that fixation with North Caucasian attacks on police distract from the wider problem of the Russian opposition’s supposedly abusive attitude toward the authorities. To substantiate her claim, Yudenich posted a video [ru] from this month’s pro-Navalny rally at Manezh Square, where one young man kicks a policeman in the chest. “What do you suppose?” she asked about the man in the video, “Is he a Dagestani? A Chechen? A child of some other mountains? Or is he a regular Moscow hipster, and therefore it’s allowed?”
Anton Kudriashov lies in the road after being attacked, 27 July 2013, screenshot from YouTube.
Maria Baronova, a vocal member of the Moscow opposition and a suspect in the May 2012 “Bolotnoe Delo” investigation, was also keen to link police performance during Kudriashov’s attack to wider trends in Moscow law enforcement. Baronova, however, took the opposite tack, pointing to the incompetence on display last weekend and how it contrasts with past police brutality against protesters as evidence that Russia’s cops are a better political weapon than instrument of law and order. One day before the mass raids, Baronova wrote an open letter [ru] to Vladimir Markin, the much-hated head of the Federal Investigative Committee’s press office, asking if Kudriashov’s case would merit the various means of police intimidation that she’s suffered as a “Bolotnoe Delo” suspect. (To some extent [ru], Baronova had to eat her own words, as police successfully hunted down Rasulov, after increasing the charges [ru] against him so that he now faces life imprisonment.)
Valery Fedotov, a politician who recently fled United Russia for Mikhail Prokhorov’s Civil Platform party, observed that Rasulov’s capture was a political victory for acting Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin big enough to cancel out the bad publicity of Alexey Navalny’s conviction. On LiveJournal, Fedotov wrote [ru]:
Если бы Магомеда Расулова, напавшего на полицейского около Матвеевского рынка в Москве, никогда не существовало, его бы надо было придумать. И больше всего в этом должны были бы быть заинтересованы в штабе Сергея Собянина.
If Magomed Rasulov, who attacked a police officer near the Matveevsky Market in Moscow, never existed, he’d have to be invented. And this would have interested Sergey Sobyanin’s campaign most of all.
For many, Rasulov’s attack on Kudriashov is just further proof [ru] that Russia’s migrant problem grows worse. If clumsy police work and criminal savagery, however, were really the chief concerns animating the “ethnic debate,” one wonders why another July 27 attack on police [ru] (aboard a train in Russia’s Far East) hasn’t provoked a similar commotion among Russia’s Internet users. That incident involved five bandits, several hostages, attempts on the lives of two cops, and the incompetence of 37 soldiers. Writing on Facebook, journalist Arkady Babchenko addressed the imbalance of attention to the two attacks on police with this morose comment [ru]:
по национальности все, конечно же, русские. Но это все-равно произошло из-за того, что к в нашу великую культурную прекрасную добрую Россию дикие обезьяны с гор спустились, правда?
Ethnically, all [five of the bandits] were Russian, of course. But it still happened because those wild monkeys [a slur denoting North Caucasians] descended from the mountains and came to our great, civilized, brilliant, good Russia, right?

author: Kevin Rothrock


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Colombia: Welcome to Downtown Medellín · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Downtown Medellin, my home, is one of the most colorful places I have known in my life. It’s not the prettiest or safest place on earth, but it’s very interesting, vibrant and exotic.
Adriaan Alsema writes about downtown Medellín, or “el centro”, in Colombia Reports. He lists reasons to love and hate downtown Medellín, and adds that,
it’s exactly this optimistic development and visible growth, and the ever-changing tension between good and evil, that makes me want to live here. It’s why I so passionately love downtown Medellin, even though it doesn’t always love me back.
The article also includes an interactive map.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Ecuadorian Football Star Christian Benítez Dies · Global Voices
J. Tadeo

Football player Christian Rogelio Benítez Betancourt died on July 29, 2013, as the official page of the Qatari club El Jaish announced. The unexpected passing of “Chucho” Benítez (as he was also known) was the result of reasons that are still unknown.
In Mexico (the country where Benítez played last season making it to the championship with Club América) journalist Paola Rojas (@Paola_Rojas_H) [es] was one of the first to report the news known:
Medios ecuatorianos informan que murió el goleador “Chucho Benítez” por un paro cardíaco.
— Paola Rojas (@Paola_Rojas_H) July 29, 2013
The Ecuadorian media is reporting that the goal-scoring “Chucho Benítez” has died from a heart attack.
Several followers of the above-mentioned Mexican club expressed their grief. This was the case of Twitter user Jessy (@_Jessy19) [es], who remembered the achievements of Benítez in this way:
Chucho Benítez te fuiste del América: 79 partidos jugados,52goles,TriCAmpeón de goleo y CAMPEÓN… ¡Gracias CHUCHO! Te vamos a extrañar.
— Jಲssy♡ (@_Jessy19) July 29, 2013
Chucho Benítez you left América: 79 games played, 52goals,Three-time Top Scorer and CHAMPION… Thank you CHUCHO! We are going to miss you
Omar Cerrillo (@ocerrillo) [es], who said he was not a follower of Club América, said he felt sad, and at the same time he remembered the case of Salvador Cabañas, a football player who was shot in the head with a firearm while he served in the aforementioned club:
Que mala suerte en el #America. Primero Cabañas y ahora Benitez. Es triste, aunque uno sea antiamericanista.
— Omar Cerrillo (@ocerrillo) July 29, 2013
What bad luck for #America. First Cabañas and now Benitez. It is sad, even if you are against América.
Mexican football player Javier “Chicharito” Hernández (@CH14_) [es] wished a prompt recovery from grief for the family of Benítez:
Muy triste y en shock x la noticia del fallecimiento de Chucho Benítez, pronta resignación a su familia y seres queridos…#animoEcuador
— Chicharito Hernandez (@CH14_) July 29, 2013
Very sad and in shock from the news of the passing of Chucho Benítez, wishing a prompt recovery from grief for his family and loved ones… #animoEcuador
In Ecuador, Daniela Hidalgo (@danielahidalgom) [es] said this about the death of Benítez:
Esta madrugada falleció en #Qatar el #ChuchoBenitez producto de un infarto, El fútbol ecuatoriano de luto
— Daniela Hidalgo (@danielahidalgom) July 29, 2013
Early this morning in #Qatar #ChuchoBenitez passed away from a heart attack, Ecuadorian football is in mourning
Janina Mendoza (@janimendoza12) [es] also expressed sadness over the loss of the football player:
Nuestro futbol con terrible pérdida. Noo qué lamentable noticia lo del #chuchoBenítez falleció de paro cardíaco en Qatar. QEPD
— Janina Mendoza (@janimendoza12) July 29, 2013
This is a terrible loss for our football. Noo how sad the news of #chuchoBenítez passing away from a heart attack in Qatar. RIP
Joseph Blatter (@SeppBlatter) [es], President of FIFA, said this about the death of “Chucho” Benítez:
Consternado por el fallecimiento de Chucho Benítez. Mis pensamientos están con su familia y el fútbol ecuatoriano. pic.twitter.com/vkehJslfui
— Joseph S Blatter (@SeppBlatter) July 29, 2013
Dismayed by the passing of Chucho Benítez. My thoughts are with his family and with Ecuadorian football.
“Chucho” Benítez was born in Quito, Ecuador on May 1, 1986. During his professional career he moved around between different teams. Internationally, he is remembered for the time he spent in the Premier League of England with Birmingham City, and recently, in Latin America, he is recognized for the championship he reached in the previously named LigaMx with Club América from the Mexican capital.

author: J. Tadeo


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Election of Members of Constitutional Court Sparks Protests in Peru · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

[All links are to Spanish-language pages unless otherwise noted.]
The election by Peru's Congress of various representatives to positions in certain state institutions provoked protests not just in the political arena and some organizations, but equally among many people on social networks and even a group of young people who took took the streets.
The media and various analysts have been demanding that Congress appoint these public servants, given that the matter has been repeatedly delayed. In the case of the public Ombudsman, for example, its senior post has been provisionally occupied since March of 2011, a fact that weakens the institution. Nevertheless, it would seem that the long awaited appointment might in fact cause greater harm to public institutions as a whole.
To begin with, the suitability of candidates for the different offices has been strongly questioned. Pilar Freitas, the new Ombudswoman, has a few outstanding complaints against her and has been accused of favouring fujimoristas [followers of former president Alberto Fujimori's [en] ideology] in the exercise of her previous job as attorney. The candidates for the Constitutional Court are the target of similar questioning to varying degrees. Moreover, on Tuesday, July 16, the newspaper Perú1 published audio transcripts of negotiations that occurred prior to the vote and political postings that reflected partisan interests.
“National shame”. Photo shared by Elard Paredes @elardrodrigo on Twitter
In light of this, on the morning of July 17, a motion was presented before Congress that candidates not be voted into office as a block, but instead on an individual basis. However, the motion was rejected, which induced the legislators from the Frente Amplio-Acción Popular (AP-FA), Concertación Parlamentaria (CP) and Solidaridad Nacional (SN) to leave the chamber. Requests to suspend the vote were also refused. Once it was over, requests to reconsider the vote were similarly rejected.
As a result, six judges of the Constitutional Court (TC), three members of the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) and the Ombudswoman were appointed by a plenary session of the Congress of the Republic in an election process that has been called a “shameful pact“, since it is evidence of the alliance between representatives of Gana Perú (GP), Fuerza Popular (FP) and Perú Posible (PP) to ensure the nomination of people to high office who answer to partisan loyalties above and beyond the rightful exercise of their duties.
On Facebook, the educator León Trahtemberg reflected upon the political mediocrity and lack of any hope of improvement which, among other things, can be traced back to the poor ethical and civic conscience imparted by the country's educational institutions.
El Gobierno y los congresistas sabían que se armaría lío con la repartija de los miembros del TC [Tribunal Constitucional], BCR [Banco Central de Reserva] y DP [Defensoría del Pueblo]. ¿Por qué insistieron? Quizá saben que la grita dura una semana y luego no pasa nada. Ya pasó y pasa a cada rato […] Cuando los gobernantes y políticos no revisan decisiones por propia voluntad, ni por los escándalos que generan, es señal de enorme podredumbre y obliga a preguntar ¿cómo se logra gestar una nueva generación de políticos, que no sean imagen y semejanza de sus predecesores de quienes aprenden y quienes les abren las puertas para sumarse a los movimientos políticos ya existentes que ellos lideran?
The Government and members of Congress knew that there would be a fight over the distribution of appointees to the TC [Constitutional Court], the BCR [Central Reserve Bank] and the DP [Ombudsman]. Why did they insist? Maybe they know that the outcry lasts a week and then nothing happens. It has occurred before and does so every once in a while […] When those in power and politics do not review decisions of their own volition, nor for the scandals they generate, it is a sign of endemic rot and prompts the question of how we are going to manage a new generation of politicians without them being the spitting image of their predecessors, from whom they learned and who paved the way for them to join the ranks of the very political movements they spearhead?
Also on Facebook, Mar Mounier referred to past elections and the traditional uninformed vote when she described the following:
“Mi voto no es un cheque en blanco” decían los “dignos”. Vayan y miren los ceros que se escribieron hoy en esos votos. Avergüénzate ¡oh reserva moral del país! que sin escuchar las miles de denuncias en contra de esta inmundicia durante campañas electorales, igual, los elegiste. Pobre mi país.
“My vote is not a blank cheque” said the “worthy ones.” Go and see the zeros that were written today in those votes. Shame on you. Oh the moral reserve of the country! that without listening to the thousands of condemnations of this filth during the electoral campaign, all the same, you elected them. My poor country.
Social networks began filling up with comments and messages calling for protests. The central Plaza San Martín became a meeting point, at five in the afternoon of 17 July, from which to walk to the Congress. However, the people who met there encountered a strong police presence, which did not hesitate to use force and tear gas to prevent access in the vicinity of the Congress and other restricted areas so that no demonstrations could be held in the Centre of Lima.
On Twitter, the labels #EstecongresoNOmerepresenta and #TodosAlCongreso became local trending topics with messages of support for the protest and encouraging people to go out and demonstrate, but also criticism of those who voted for the current authorities and legislators. For example, user José Andrés Pohl (@josepohls) tweeted:
#EsteCongresoNoMeRepresenta, entonces… ¿A quién representa? ¿No fueron elegidos democráticamente? A ver si ahora lees antes de votar.
— Jose Andrés Pohl (@josepohls) July 17, 2013
#EsteCongresoNoMeRepresenta (Congress does not represent me), so…Who does it represent? Were they not democratically elected? Let's see if now you'll read before voting.
Meanwhile user @elcomerrio speculated about the political landscape and possible presidential actions:
Parece que fuese parte de un plan para q los ciudadanos pidamos cierre del congreso y Cosito [el presidente Humala] haga un autogolpe.
— El Comerrio (@elcomerrio) July 17, 2013
It seems that it was part of a plan for citizens to request the closure of Congress and for Cosito [President Humala] to perform a self-serving coup.
And the congressman from the Fuerza Popular benches (fujimorista) Carlos Tubino  (@TubinoCarlos) defended the congressional election:
El Consenso es Político, Congreso Representa Fuerzas Políticas del País, en Votación hoy se respetó Acuerdos Previos, las Minorías NO Mandan
— Carlos Tubino (@TubinoCarlos) July 17, 2013
There is political conscensus, Congress Represents the Political Forces of the Country, in today's vote Prior Agreements were respected, Minorities DO NOT Give Orders
On Thursday, July 18, President Ollanta Humala declared that the new Ombudswoman, Pilar Freitas, and the new Constitutional Court judge, Rolando Sousa, should “step aside”—that is, renounce their new positions due to lingering questions and for not having met the expectations of the people. As of writing this post, there has not been a reply by either of those mentioned.
The social networks are talking about new calls for demonstrations in Lima's Plaza San Martín: a sit-in for the 22nd and a march on July 27. Moreover protests were being organized in Trujillo and in Arequipa.

author: Juan Arellano


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Immigrants: Much More Than an Abstract Number (Part II) · Global Voices
Robert Valencia

This post is part of our series on Latin America: Migrant Journeys in collaboration with The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA). Stay tuned for more articles and podcasts.
This is the second and final part of an interview with Mexican journalist Eileen Truax. You can read the first part here.
Mexican journalist and author of Huffington Post Voces Eileen Truax [es] recently released her book ‘Dreamers: The Fight of a Generation for its American Dream.’ Migrant Journeys talked to Truax, who spoke about the responsibility of the mainstream media and their coverage of immigration issues, among other topics.
Robert Valencia: Let’s talk about the role of media, especially the English-speaking media. We always hear about stories that concern Latinos but in the sections solely dedicated to Latinos, such as NBC Latino or FOX Latino. Do you think that the fact that mainstream media have exclusive platforms for Latinos may have a counterproductive effect since the point is to share the story of immigrants with those who are not connected to this issue or who are not close to the Latino community?
Eileen Truax: I share the same inquiry, however, this doesn’t mean these alternatives should disappear. It is important that these platforms address the topics of a community. The problem is that these platforms become the only place that talk about this community. Mainstream media still see immigrants (or what they call “ethnic” groups) as foreign bodies that invade this country. When you read Los Angeles Times or The New York Times or you watch TV, the discourse is still “them”, or “the Salvadoreans” or “the Asians”, but there is never an inclusive language or something like “we as an American society.” But we, immigrants and citizens alike, share the same problems. When the housing market crashes or there’s a change in the healthcare system, it affects us all. If our education system suffers another blow, your kids and mine are being affected. That is to say we have problems not just related to Latinos or Asians, but we have issues as an American society because we’re one country. Whoever thinks that just because a person is not named Gonzalez is not affected by what occurs in the Latino community has no common sense and is not familiarized with the reality of our country. The big problem is that mainstream media are in denial, that is, they haven’t accepted that diversity is a reality in this country.
RV: Undocumented immigrants also pay taxes that have amounted to $1 billion dollars, but these stories don’t make it to the national spotlight. What should we do as journalists or communicators to take these stories get to the general public and counterattack the “amnesty” rhetoric?
ET: What we need to do is to give [these stories] a human face all the time. I think that we should stop
Eileen Truax. Photo by René Miranda, used with permission
chasing the news that stirs controversy. Unfortunately, the rhythm in which we see ourselves immersed in as a result of the surge of the Internet, despite being positive, has forced us to become “slaves of a click button.” There are three myths since the onset of Internet for those who are involved in journalism. First, that we have to be the first in delivering news before anybody else because then we lose. The second myth is that the more clicks we receive for our story then it becomes more important, and the third one is that people don’t read in full, so we have to give information piecemeal because people don’t like to read online. I believe these three myths are ruining in-depth journalism, which precisely has the function to make reality understandable to society. We are becoming people who just announce stories and we don’t take time to understand what’s happening. Case in point: “A truck crashed. A human trafficker was detained. Four were abducted. Two were killed.” This reads like an ad, but we don’t go in depth into these stories. We don’t know who the person who went to jail was or what happened to the immigrant who just arrived or the person who went to jail. We are not seeing stories in the long term; we just care about who publishes the story on the web first and how many clicks we receive. We even forget about our own mission and we have the moral obligation to tell stories we learn about. If you’re a reporter and have the privilege to discover stories first hand, we have the obligation to tell them and find the way to do so.
RV: Do you think it’s necessary to deploy more border security officers even if immigration to the United States has decreased considerably and thus this could represent an unnecessary expenditure to taxpayers?
ET: One thing is that the bill enacts a program that will allocate human and material resources to border security, and another is that a budget will be approved for this end. We had a similar experience in 2007 with the creation of a virtual wall on the border. Recession came and there were no funds to finance what the law approved. Now, budgets are approved each year, so just because the law says we can earmark millions and millions of dollars to the border doesn’t mean each year when budgets are approved the money will be there. I don’t believe this is the most important factor, the problem is that we’re losing the focus of what immigration reform is. The very same initiative is founded on its name; it starts by determining the element of security to later talk about immigration. Determining the well-being or the recognition of rights of more than 11 million people based on how the government can successfully protect the border is purposeless. Again, from my viewpoint, the failure of it all is that we are not understanding immigration reform as a human rights and social justice matter, but rather as an issue of state security and partisanship.
RV: Anything else you’d like to add that was not discussed in this interview?
ET: We must stop thinking about immigration as a partisan matter and a negotiating prize come Election Day. We must think of people and I believe that in order to achieve this end a fundamental tool is to have a close approach to the DREAMer story. I return to the beginning of this interview, because I still believe that the DREAMer generation is the most generous face of undocumented immigration and what this country can be. These youth seek to legalize their status and give back to this country. By definition, the DREAMers are people who want to continue their higher education studies and become doctors, lawyers, nurses, etc. They are young people who will become the labor force in this country, the ones who will be paying retirement for those who are now seating in Capitol Hill and the “baby boomers” who know they don’t have a generation below them that is wide enough to sustain their social security and retirement funds. We’re not talking about just doing a favor to a handful of youth; we’re talking about keeping this country buoyant if these are the youth that will become the working force while we’re retired. So the question is, where do we want them? Do we want them to work in the shadows at a restaurant or do we want them becoming successful professionals who spur economic growth and stability? Let’s answer these questions and then we’ll understand the need for an immigration reform.

author: Robert Valencia


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Is India Biting Off More Than It Can Chew with its New Food Security Bill? · Global Voices
Vigneshwar Shankar

India's new food security bill, which will heavily subsidise basic food for about two-thirds of the population, is sparking questions throughout the country over the wisdom of such an expensive ordinance.
The National Food Security Bill was introduced in the lower house Lok Sabha of the Indian parliament on December 22, 2011. Since then, an elaborate debate on its merits and implications have ensued. However, despite the considerable time spent on these discussions, the parliament failed to arrive at a consensus. At this juncture, on July 5, 2013 the incumbent UPA government bypassed the legislature and put the National Food Security Ordinance 2013 into effect.
The National Food Security Ordinance is a measure intended to benefit the Indian citizens in general. It hopes to do so by legally entitling roughly 67 percent of the Indian population to five kilograms of food grains per month at a highly subsidized rate. The price of rice, wheat and coarse grains has been prescribed to be three Indian rupees (0.051 US dollars), two rupees (0.03 US dollars) and one rupee (0.02 US dollars) per kilogram respectively.
A customer in Mumbai, India inspects food grains before making his purchase. Image by Prasad Kholkute (CC-BY-SA 2.0)
The ordinance is now in effect. Yet, a significant number of citizens as well as their representatives in parliament have their own doubts about it. Apart from the opposition decrying the government's step of taking the ordinance route to the Food Bill, various questions and concerns are being voiced about the ordinance's practicality, cost, and long term sustainability.
In an interview to Diva Arora of Infochange India, renowned political and social activist Aruna Roy, who has also been a member of the prime minister's National Advisory Council, clearly emphasized the need for having a national food security act. She explained the reasons for its necessity and also its viability:
“…being a welfare state, the Indian government has in the past, and should continue to play in the future, a definitive role in treating its citizens as legitimate entitlement holders, and not as passive beneficiaries. The government's vision for the poor should be seen in congruence with ensuring their access to provisions imperative for a dignified life, and not through the prism of doles.
This must be true especially in times of prosperity, so that safety nets can be ensured for all, for posterity. The rationale behind this legislation is to the right of a life with dignity and to remove hunger.
Apart from the humanitarian aspect, there are many benefits in investing in the nutrition of the population which may not always be able to be captured in quantitative terms. The economic climate is ripe for such programmes given our growing GDP, growth in public revenue, increase in procurement, growing (and wasted) food stocks and significant improvements in PDS in many states.”
In the same interview, she does, however, go on to point out a few flaws with the ordinance, pertaining to the process of identifying the beneficiaries of this scheme:
“Indeed, the identification of the poor to be subsidised is genuinely problematic. The earlier system of automatic exclusion at least had a criterion of identification. In the current proposed differentiations of general, priority and excluded households, there is an extremely confusing and complicated criterion. It is impractical and impossible to implement. People will have no clarity on which category they belong to and what their respective entitlements are – this will lead to an opaque system and to the exclusion of many people.”
Given the perceived lacunae in the ordinance, especially in the area of implementation, trenchant criticism has been mounting on the union government from various quarters. A section of netizens too have voiced their scepticism.  For example, Tejinder Narang wrote on his blog:
“Food ministers/ Chief Ministers of Congress ruled states/ and other official spokesmen have declared that there is “no problem” in rolling out the scheme politically and financially. The rule of thumb is that when Governments say “no problem”, apprehend that there is a “serious problem”. Sure there is “no problem” in promise being made at the time of elections. But there could be “serious problems” for the successive Governments to perform at huge national cost to all.
A key reason for general food inaccessibility is the inability to store all the produce safely. In a Slideshare presentation titled ‘Rotting Of Food Grains’, KD030303 made a compelling point about the abysmal state of food storage in the country. In the absence of better storage capability, the government's plan to increase food procurement as well as to curtail its export is likely to directly increase the incidence of such losses. The efforts of the government should be therefore be directed towards building storage capacity to match the levels of agricultural production in the country.
The underlying issue here is the need to evaluate the benefits of government subsidies in general. This sentiment is echoed in the following tweets as well:
India spends too much on ill-targeted subsidies and too little on infrastructure and education: @swaminomics http://t.co/OEKcD7enAZ
— Sadanand Dhume (@dhume01) July 28, 2013
Even World Bank agrees Food Subsidies may not help poor and cause fiscal problems for India http://t.co/ImdgwHanHR
— Ekankar (@AwaazAzad) July 28, 2013
Blogger Sonali Ranade (@sonaliranade) had the following comment regarding subsidies:
Other countries focus on jobs for the people. India focuses on subsidies. That's why poverty persists.
— SonaliRanade (@sonaliranade) July 7, 2013
Well-known Indian blogger Nitin Pai (@acorn) also tweeted his views about subsidies in general and their economic impact:
Bad Argument #2553: Because middle class gets subsidies it is hypocritical to criticise food security bill. 1/3
— Nitin Pai (@acorn) July 28, 2013
One, food security bill *also* subsidises sections of the middle class, while ostensibly being for the “poor” 2/3
— Nitin Pai (@acorn) July 28, 2013
Two, and listen to this carefully, who's asking you to continue giving fuel subsidies to the middle class? Get rid of them too! 3/3
— Nitin Pai (@acorn) July 28, 2013
Subsidies will dent any nation’s economy. As observed in the past, subsidies on fuel, fertilizers, and electricity have already cost the exchequer heavily. The record budget deficit of the country is doing no good to the spiraling cost of living. It remains to be seen how the government can afford such a large scale subsidy scheme. Perhaps it is time we remind ourselves of the saying – “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

author: Vigneshwar Shankar


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Kuwaiti Emir Pardons Jailed Tweeters · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwait's ruler issued a pardon today [July 30] for those who insulted him – many of whom were sentenced for attacking him online. Netizens comment on Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah's gesture.
On Twitter, many welcomed the move while others were skeptical and argued those convicted and imprisoned, one up to 11 years, were exercising their freedom of speech. Under Kuwaiti law, lese majeste is prohibited as the Emir's stance “cannot be violated.”
Majid Jaber Al Enzi welcomed the move, saying [ar]:
أظن بعد صدور العفو الأميري وجب على الجميع تناسي كثيراً من الماضي لنبدأ صفحة إصلاحية هادئة من خلال النصح والحوار #شكراً_سمو_الأمير
— ماجد جابر العنزي (@majedalenzi) July 30, 2013
I believe that after the Emir's pardon, everyone should forget a lot of the past and turn a fresh leaf, which should be calm through advice and dialogue
Tariq Al Kindari adds:
بعد العفو الأميري عن الشباب المسجونين اتمنى أن نجد مبادرة سياسية للمصالحة الوطنية بأصلاح النظام السياسي والانتخابي وعودة الأمور الى نصابها
— طارق الكندري (@tariqkw) July 30, 2013
After the Emir's pardon of the imprisoned youth, I hope a political initiative for national reconciliation, political reform and the return of what was follows
And Dr Hussain bin Hadba tweets:
أتمنى أن يقضي العفو الأميري الليلة على ثقافة التطاول والتعدي على ولاة الأمر من غير داع، وأن نبتعد عن تصفية الحسابات بالشتم والسباب.
— د. حسين بن هدبه (@Dralhadba) July 30, 2013
I hope today's pardon puts an end to the culture of insulting the rulers for no reason and we avoid settling scores through insults and bad mouthing
In return, Musaed Al Musaylem tweets:
#لم_يخطؤا_حتى_يعفوا_عنهم #العفو_الأميري #العفو_الاميري . pic.twitter.com/wKsWFp7F0m
— مساعد المسيليم (@alshbhat) July 30, 2013
They have not committed anything wrong to be pardoned
Khaled Al Barrak adds:
الشباب لم يخطئوا ليتم العفو عنهم أو ليعتذروا وإن كان هناك طرف يجب أن يعتذر فهي السلطة التي أسائت للدستور… #المجد_للشباب #العفو_الأميري
— خــالــد الــبــراكـ (@K_albarrak) July 30, 2013
The youth have not committed anything wrong for them to be pardoned or for them to apologise. If there is anyone who should apologise, then it is the authorities who have trespassed on the constitution
And Khaled Al Tawari responds:
المعترض على #العفو_الأميري ترى الموضوع سهل قول مثل ماقالوا وانسجن وارفض اي عفو خلك قول وفعل وصاحب مبدأ يا شجاعة ١٤٠ حرف شجاعة آخر زمن
— خالد الطواري (@K_altawari) July 30, 2013
There is an easy solution for those of you against the pardon. Do what they did and get jailed, and then refuse the pardon. Be courageous and hang on to your values and the 140-character courage!
Many of those pardoned [10 according to reports] were jailed because of tweets in which they reportedly insulted the Emir. Last month, a female Kuwaiti teacher was sentenced to 11 years in prison for insulting the Emir on Twitter, among other charges. It is not clear if the teacher was among those pardoned.
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 35 prosecutions have been made in Kuwait against citizens, including online activists, for insulting the Emir since October 2012.

author: Amira Al Hussaini