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Experimental Artists Pay Homage to Mary Magdelene with Puerto Rican Flair · Global Voices
Yarisa Colon

*All links lead to pages in English, except where otherwise indicated.
Catholic saint and mythical figure Mary Magdalene, misunderstood in the eyes of some, is being honored in a new way, through the efforts of visionary artists Tanya Torres and Raquel Z. Rivera, who have spent several years exploring the transcendence of this personage through writing, the visual arts, and music.
On July 21st, the eve of this saint's official feast day, the artists invited “believers, atheists, near-believers, semi-believers, and all or none of the above,” to Saint Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, famed sanctuary for experimental art in New York City, to take part in a beautiful promise celebration dedicated to the saint.
In her blog, Cascabel de cobre [es], Rivera explains that in Latin America “the promise celebration is dedicated to the honor of the saints and other ‘divine’ entities,” and its Puerto Rican incarnation is “a cheerful gathering that combines plenty of food with music performed by the community”. And that's exactly what it was.
A mass was held first, interspersed with songs from Rivera's CD “Los 7 Salves de la Magdalena”. Afterward, celebrants removed to another space to play, sing, and dance bombas [a traditional Puerto Rican dance of African roots], and salves and palos [a traditional Dominican dance]. There they were received by Torres, who was eager to talk about her most recent works of art inspired by Mary Magdalene, whom some believe was a companion of Jesus.
In Hoy, artista, a blog written by painter Tanya Torres, you will find more about promise celebration events. Here we share some photos taken by two of the guests.
Raquel Z. Rivera singing to Mary Magdalene. Photo by Norka Pérez
Statue of Mary Magdalene created by Marta I. Rodríguez Olmeda and Barbara Díaz López. Photo by Norka Pérez
Tanya Torres with her artistic creations. Photo by Norka Pérez
Silent dance by Corazón Tierra. Photo by Josué Guarionex
Bomba dancer Alexandra Vasallo. Photo by Josué Guarionex
Musicians, left to right: Manuela Arciniegas, George Vázquez, Raquel Z. Rivera, María Terrero, Arelis Figueroa and Bryan Vargas.
Left to right: “Mary Magdalene and the Miracle of the Egg” and “Mary Magdalene, Our Lady of Sunflowers.” Photo by Norka Pérez

author: Yarisa Colon


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Explaining Chinese Tourists’ Assault on Wildlife · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Sophie Lu from Tea Leaf Nation joined the discussion about the recent controversy over mainland Chinese Tourists’ destructive and illegal behaviors when diving in Paracel Islands.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Oiwan Lam


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Kuryente: Philippine Electricity App · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Kuryente (electricity), is a new website initiated by the Philippine government to help consumers calculate the power rates in their area. It also provides information on power plants, officials of power cooperatives, and tips on buying home appliances.

author: Mong Palatino


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Moscow Police Round Up Migrants in “Concentration Camps” · Global Voices
Nina Jobe

After last week’s police raids [en] on outdoor markets throughout Moscow, thousands of allegedly illegal migrants working at the markets have been detained and placed in makeshift camps while the authorities decide how to process them. Photographer, blogger, and urban development activist Ilya Varlamov managed to get access to one of these detention centers and photograph it. Varlamov later blogged [ru] about his experience, describing the conditions as deplorable:
Лагерь представляет из себя просто палатки, которые стоят на голом асфальте. Даже настила нет. Нет нормальной воды, нет электричества. Вообще люди в лагере по-моему не понимают, что с ними происходит.
The camp simply consists of tents, standing on bare asphalt. There isn't even anything lining the asphalt. There is no good water, no electricity.  Generally, in my opinion, people in the camp don't understand what's happening to them.
Detainees on bunk beds inside the detention center in Galyanovo. YouTube screenshot.
Varlamov's post got over 700 responses. Many of them were dismissive of his sentiments. For example, one commenter wrote [ru]:
Не вижу дагов на фото
I don’t see any “Dags” [derogatory term for Dagestanis] in these pics.
He was likely referring to a fact that most of those detained were Vietnamese nationals who work menial jobs at the markets. Unlike workers from Russia's south and from the former Soviet republics, the Vietnamese are not usual suspects when Russian nationalists talk about the “migrant problem.” Another user replied snidely:
Может, потому что Дагестан — это Россия, а они — граждане?
Maybe that's because Dagestan is part of Russia, and they [Dagestanis] are citizens?
The detention center consists of tents on bare asphalt and porta-pottys. YouTube screenshot.
One reader from Krasnodar, a region in the south of Russia noted:
не только в москве такая тема. у нас уже не один год стоит
stuff like this isn't only happening in Moscow. we've had one [of these camps] for many a year
Russia has one of the largest migrant populations of the OECD countries — 11 million migrants live there according to a recent OECD report [en]. Because Russia has a relaxed freedom of movement regime with former Soviet republics, many of these migrants are in the country legally (although some of them do not have work permits). Other migrants, however, such as the Vietnamese in Varlamov's example, are illegal and are subject to deportation.
This large foreign migrant population, combined with extensive internal migration from Russia's autonomous republics is partly to blame for a resurgence of nationalist views over the last few years. Alexander Afanasyev, a blogger, posted a video of several migrants being detained by police, applauding [ru] the new development and the harsh police tactics:
Я считаю, что полиция действовала очень грамотно. Мигрантов было примерно в 10 раз больше, чем полицейских. Что у них на уме − никто не знает. Возможно, если бы не принятые меры, мы получили бы еще один случай расправы над полицейскими. Ну а по поводу ощущений самих гастарбайтеров и их дискомфорта, я хотел бы задать вопрос − а кто нибудь их сюда заставлял приезжать? Звал?
I believe that the police acted very wisely. There were about 10 times more migrants than the police. Who knows what they were thinking?  Possibly, if not for the precautions, we would have another attack on a policeman. And about the feelings of the migrant workers and their discomfort, I'd like to ask a question — did anyone make them come here? Did anyone invite them?
Back on Varlamov's blog, several people tried to educate [ru] their fellow readers:
У них просто средств нет, чтоб вернуться домой. Билет москва-сайгон стоит около тысячи долларов.
They just do not have the money to return home. Tickets from Moscow to Saigon cost nearly 1000 dollars.
Someone responded:
а билет Сайгон-Москва бесплатный?
and is a ticket from Saigon to Moscow free?
Another reader explained [ru] how the Vietnamese migrants get to Moscow:
эти люди приехали за счет компании по контракту работать в россии на период 1-3 года. за это время окупается и билет, и проживание, и еще немного\много денег они отправляют родственникам во Вьетнам.
потом, по окончании контракта, некоторые из них (меньшинство, кстати) “сбегают”… и продолжают, уже нелегально, жить в РФ.
these people came at the expense of a company which contracted them to work in Russia for a period of 1-3 years. during this time they cover the cost of ticket and living expenses, and send a little/a lot of money to their relatives in Vietnam. later, when the contract is over, some of them (a small part) “run off”… and continue to live in Russia illegally.
Some bloggers, like social activist Mitya Aleshkovsky, have already started calling the detention centers “concentration camps,” because of the living conditions, while the writer and politician Eduard Limonov called [ru] them “a crime against humanity.” Aleshkovsky was also skeptical [ru] of how effective such centers are:
основной ужас заключается даже не в самом факте существования концентрационного лагеря в столице нашей родины. Основной ужас в том, что существование концентрационного лагеря в Москве — это все чистой воды по-ка-зу-ха.
the awful thing isn't even the fact that a concentration camp exists in our capital. The awful thing is that the existence of a concentration camp in Moscow is simply show-man-ship.
LiveJournal blogger LED Storm likewise thought [ru] that the real problem was closer to home:
главным источником криминалитета на рынках являются сами менты.
the main source of criminal activity at markets are the cops themselves.
For some [ru], however, the situation is simply black and white:
закон они нарушили – нелегальное пересечение границы и нахождение в стране без регистрации
they broke the law — crossing the border illegally, and staying in the country without registering.
Meanwhile, a poll [ru] released on August 7 by the state-run VTsIOM polling agency revealed that 74% of Russians have negative feelings about the influx of migrant labor. Fifty-three percent of those polled said they favor stricter immigration laws.

author: Nina Jobe


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People’s Daily: “Constitutionalism” Essentially Is a Weapon of Public Opinion War · Global Voices
Abby Liu

The People's Daily, the mouthpiece of China's Communist Party published a piece arguing that socialist China must renounce constitutionalism, using the collapse of the Soviet Union as example. China Copyright and Media has translated the whole piece into English.

author: Abby Liu


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Protsahan, Encouraging Girls Through the Arts in India · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Gender equality is recognised as key to development, though it is yet to be fully achieved in any country. United Nations member states pledged to achieve eight Millennium Development Goals, including gender equality, by 2015. Progress has been uneven, and now the question for the international community is what the post-2015 development framework should be.
As the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has noted, gender equality as a development goal is “unfinished business“:
Although there has been progress in some areas such as girls’ access to primary education and women’s economic empowerment, the level of achievement has been uneven across regions and within countries. There is no chance of making poverty history without significant and rapid improvements to the lives of women and girls in all countries.
The OECD suggests that increased investment in the following five policy areas could have catalytic effects on development beyond 2015: Keeping girls in school; improving reproductive health and family planning; economic empowerment; supporting leadership; and stopping violence against women.
Helping girls realize their dreams
Protsahan in India is an example of a social initiative that – without waiting for government action – is directly addressing these issues at a grassroots level, affecting the lives of hundreds.
They work to educate girls from slums and red light areas through creative arts. Protsahan was established by a young woman called Sonal Kapoor and is run by a team of young people, many of them volunteers.
Kapoor was prompted by an encounter with a woman in Delhi who was sending her eight-year-old daughter to a brothel in order to support her five other daughters – and was planning to strangle the seventh child she was pregnant with if it turned out to be a girl.
Protsahan means “encouragement” in Hindi. A blog post from 2011 outlines their philosophy:
How many times have you blamed the country, the politicians, the mafia or “anyone” for the prevailing issues? It’s a fact that the economic gap, the growing discrepancies between evolving and degrading sections is so stark that it can be labeled as alarming now. While a small portion is growing wealthier, another section of the society is depleting with each passing day. […] We have envisioned a way to do our bit, to hold some hands and to realize dreams for the less fortunate. […] Our kids want support not just sympathy. They want a chance to live a better life, to contribute to the building of a better society. We want you to be a part of this initiative and help in the transformation.
The following video introduces the organisation's work:
The power of art
Protsahan offers a curriculum based on art and creativity that then allows the children to go on to study in government schools – and to change their communities. Kapoor explains:
These children come from very tough backgrounds. As a creative medium, the arts stimulate cognitive development, encourage innovative thinking and creativity and engender understanding.
A group of girls is currently writing, shooting and editing a film on the problem of open defecation, which will subsequently be screened in their communities. Kapoor (@ArtForCause) tweeted:
#Protsahan girls undergoing #film training w/ @Prernascribbles for #Toilets4All Dear God, protect my angels always. pic.twitter.com/HJakIeOOie
— Sonal Kapoor (@ArtForCause) July 28, 2013
Photography is another skill being taught:
#Google employees at #Protsahan teaching girls #Photography! Protsahan, fights child abuse w/ creative empowerment. pic.twitter.com/8QDzDZFxXo
— Sonal Kapoor (@ArtForCause) July 26, 2013
The girls at Protsahan recently performed in a play looking at the issue of violence against women:
Our girls performed their first community street play on #Gender #Violence and their mothers cheered them on! #VAW pic.twitter.com/3ZpObhRrnm
— Protsahan (@NGOProtsahan) July 17, 2013
American blogger Nicole Melancon (@thirdeyemom) visited Protsahan and posted a compilation of her photos:
Development post-2015
As the world looks ahead to what the post-2015 development framework should be, it's likely that true gender equality will only be achieved with the creativity, innovation and support of concerned citizens as well. Protsahan is an example of what is possible at the local level.
This post is part of a series by Global Voices bloggers for the OECD engaging with post-2015 ideas for development worldwide. The OECD is not responsible for the content in these posts.
See the Wikiprogress post-2015 portal for more on this topic.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Public Transit Strike Paralyzes Paraguay · Global Voices
Gabriela Galilea

[Links are to Spanish-language pages except where noted.]
A week before the start of his constitutional mandate, Paraguay's president-elect Horacio Cartes [en]—voted in at the end of April of this year—is facing a predicament that will no doubt leave its mark on the political agenda and in the annals of public opinion: the public transit dispute.
After much coming and going on the subject of projects presented to solve the deficiencies of the public transportation system, a strike of the main bus lines began on Tuesday, August 6.
The bus stoppage left some 700,000 transit users bereft of their main mode of transport.
The conflict started with a claim by CETRAPAM, the centre for metropolitan transit business owners, for failure to pay the subsidy that the Paraguayan government gives to private businesses that provide public transportation, as the organization's leader, César Ruiz Díaz, explained to ABC Color, one of the country's primary media outlets.
For its part, the government declared the pressure tactic illegal and tried to negotiate with CETRAPAM to avoid a strike but did not succeed.
ABC Color shared this video about the strike on YouTube:
Subsidizing “scrapheaps”
Despite the state subsidy, Paraguay's public transit service is inadequate and unreliable. According to the metropolitan public transit department, (Setama), only a few buses are actually authorized to operate legally. “933 buses have stickers [which authorize them to operate], out of a total of 2,100 units registered as serviceable”, as reported in the daily newspaper Ultima Hora in April of this year.
The photographs below reveal the dilapidated condition of the vehicles circulating in the streets of Paraguayan cities; they are old, refurbished and often lack official authorization from regulatory bodies.
Flyer published by the movement Despertar Ciudadano [Spur on citizens] on its fan page with information about the public transit situation. (Note: SETAMA is the department in charge of metropolitan public transit.)
Photo taken by Jorge Baez in a street in San Lorenzo; the bus's rear axle came off for no apparent reason causing havoc.
Photo taken by Natalia Rovira on Avenida República Argentina in the city of Asunción.
The following clip from the program Algo Anda Mal, broadcast every Tuesday by one of the main television stations, shows the situation faced by commuters forced to use public transportation: bad service, inadequate routes, and serious concerns about their safety.
Reaction from commuters
Not surprisingly, a protest was called in response to the demands by the owners of transport companies for Wednesday, August 7, at 6:30 pm in front of the Panteón de los Héroes, located on the emblematic Palma street in the centre of Asunción.
The call to action by local resident Paulo Cabello can be seen on Facebook.
Moreover, as a sign of repudiation, banners and posts inundated social networks, turning up the heat in cyberspace and echoing the humour that permeates the streets of the capital:
“This is how you want a subsidy? Fix your bus and them make your demands!” Flyer published by the Despertar Ciudadano initiative in rebuttal to the transportation providers.
In this flyer, there is a ironic claim on behalf of César Ruiz Díaz, head of CETRAPAM, who drives a Mercedes Benz convertible while at the same time complains that the transportation businesses he represents are operating at a loss.
“I demand the payment of the subsidy. He can't afford to keep his car running. We work ‘at a loss'” Poster circulating on Facebook in repudiation of César Ruiz Díaz, head of CETRAPAM
Hitchhiking
Thousands of residents of Asunción and those living in the suburbs, who rely on public transit to commute to their jobs in the capital, were forced to look for alternate modes of locomotion, in response to which the government put vehicles from the Armed Forces and other public institutions at their disposal.
Another alternative that showed a spike in usage was the carpooling initiative called Viadedo [thumbing it] set up by young Paraguayan entrepreneurs. Using this website, anybody in a car can share their route with people who are willing to take a trip by making a voluntary contribution to the driver, who in return offers a place in their car to pedestrians in need.
Metrobús project postponed
Metrobús is a controversial project presented to the Congress in an attempt to solve the public transportation problem in Paraguay. It is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Public works and the municipalities of Asunción, San Lorenzo y Fernando de la Mora.
Metrobús consists of a system of rapid transit buses [en] planned for the Asunción metropolitan area and similar to that used in Bogotá, Colombia, according to a description in Wikipedia.
The project implies that the Paraguayan government would invest some 125 million dollars and would need a loan to cover the costs. Both chambers have examined and postponed the project several times. The last postponement on 31 July was specially requested by President-elect Horacio Cartes.
Update: at 5:30 pm, on Tuesday, August 6, the strike was lifted for 48 hours after the government promised to honour the entire subsidy owed on Friday, August 9, according to information given by César Ruiz Díaz to local media.
Meanwhile, the mobilization planned for August 7 in front of the Panteón de los Héroes has been relocated and will be held instead in front of the offices of CETRAPAM.

author: Gabriela Galilea


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Skype and Other Voice Over IP Banned in Comoros  · Global Voices
Anna Gueye

Skype and other voice over IP that allows online phone conversation are now suspended in Comoros. The website Linfo.re reports [fr] :
The state-owned company Comores Telecom just officially banned any type of voice over IP softwares, effectively blocking any kind of free online phone coversation for internet users in Comoros.
The company explains that this measure was taken to protect its financial sustainability, since 90% of its earnings come from phone calls.
The news website La Gazette des Comores adds that a formal complaint has been filed [fr] by the consumers association:
The IT consumers association has filed a complaint against Comores Telecom with the High Authority of IT Affairs, the body in charge of settling any complaints between IT providers and users..
The association argues that it is for the users to pay for the mismanagement of the company and that Comoros is not a dictatorship that can allow people's rights to be trampled upon.
On August 5, internet users have also set up a facebook page named ” Say No to censorship from Comores Telecom” [fr]. They argue that  the company,  instead of opening the world to Comoros as their ads proclaim, has shut off Comoros from the rest of the world :
Photo taken from the Facebook page  “Non aux Censures de COMORES TELECOM” with permission

author: Anna Gueye


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PHOTOS: Rediscovering Slovenia, Treasured Vacation Spot of the Balkans  · Global Voices
Tamara Gocmanac

Slovenia is becoming an ever more popular destination in recent years due to the numerous attractive vacation features it has, in particular for citizens of Europe. Slovenia's idea to focus on and develop health tourism is a flourishing success and this small country now has dozens of natural spas and health resorts.
Using it's geographic advantages in terms of location and climate, Slovenia's development plan has created 15 of the most modern health resorts under the tagline “Through Nature to Health”. This spa tourism campaign has given Slovenia a rising number of visitors who are fans of the green Mediterranean coast.
One of Slovenia's main natural wonders – Skocjan Caves; used under Creative Commons license.
The Slovenian coastline is only 46.6 kilometers long, while the coastal towns of Piran, Izila and Kopar draw tourists with their original medieval structures and feel. Social media sites are loaded this summer with warm greetings by users from around Europe and the world during their vacations in Slovenia, who seem most impressed by the country's natural wonders. A Facebook page for caving enthusiasts shares photos by tourists of the amazing Skocjan caves. Another Facebook page, dedicated to summer in Slovenia, shares users’ photos of summer activities such as rafting.
Kayaking lessons in Soča Valley; photo courtesy of Soča Rafting, used with permission.
Soča Valley offers many activities and adventures; photo courtesy of Soča Rafting, used with permission.
The most popular destination, however, seems to be the city of Bled:
Alastair Mavor, a Nottingham University History student from London, says this about Bled:
Lake Bled – pretty unbeatable! #slovenia #interail pic.twitter.com/YgPF4tMn5a
— Alastair Mavor (@alastairmavor) August 4, 2013
Another Twitter user, a media professional and speaker native to Slovenia, @LenjaFPapp says:
The magical way to end your Sunday! #MassageInNature #sLOVEnia pic.twitter.com/l7vquChnkk
— Lenja Faraguna. (@LenjaFPapp) August 4, 2013
A visitor from Austria @StephDo_ posts as picturesque photo of Bled Lake:
was a nice day in #bled #slovenia #blue #lake #wonderful #summer2013 pic.twitter.com/SQkQUYmXNw
— StephDo (@StephDo_) August 4, 2013
Slovenian lakes still attract the most attention from visitors, but Slovenia seems intent on drawing tourists’ attention to other sites and activities that the country has to offer and ABC News calls it vacationing in the heart of Europe.

author: Tamara Gocmanac


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Talking with the 2013 Commonwealth Short Story Prize Co-Winner, Sharon Millar · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The co-winner of this year's coveted Commonwealth Short Story Prize hails from Trinidad and Tobago.  In this interview, Sharon Millar, blogger, gardener and writer, talks to Global Voices about her inspiration, her identity and how blogging helped propel her fiction writing.
Writer Sharon Millar
Global Voices: Congratulations on co-winning this year’s Commonwealth Short Story
Prize. What does winning this award mean to you?
Sharon Millar: It’s not something that you can anticipate. It’s wonderful! I was particularly happy to share the stage with Eliza Robertson (Canada). I was very impressed with her story. The fact that the judges could not pick an outright winner was very gratifying. It meant that they had to deliberate on both pieces for some length of
time. It’s rewarding to know that the work was able to stand that level of scrutiny. Eliza is a strong upcoming writer and it’s exciting to know that we are ‘twinned’ in a strange way.  A win like this gives you international exposure and attention. It was excellent that my first international publication was with Granta. That was very exciting. The story was disseminated to a much larger audience than I anticipated. But the defining highlight was representing not just Trinidad and Tobago, but the entire Caribbean. It was a landmark moment for me.
2013 Commonwealth Writers Prize Winner, Lisa O'Donnell and co-winners of the 2013 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, Eliza Robertson and Sharon Millar, at the Hay Festival.
GV: Have you always considered yourself a writer?  Can you share how your journey evolved?
SM: It’s been a long process in many ways. I started with workshops with Wayne Brown in the early 90s but looking back at that time, I really was just beginning to feel my way around. It’s hard to know what you want to write. You might have the idea that
you want to be a writer but it’s hard to know what you want to say. That took a long time to come. I wrote for magazines, wrote advertising copy, began blogging but I still wasn’t sure where to begin with the fiction.
GV: Can you share some of the experiences that have shaped your writing life and had an impact upon your evolution as a writer?
SM: Several things came together to shape my writing life. You have to want it badly enough to keep trying to crack the code. Also I was lucky that I had a good mentor in Wayne and from very early on I got the encouragement that I did have latent ability. Being a steady reader helps significantly and I still go to certain books to study how a plot has unfolded or how a character has been handled. Initially I read for greedy pleasure but then I go back in to study how the author has achieved the things that move me.
I read a lot of Canadian literature which has served me well. A lot of early Margaret Atwood, Margaret Lawrence, Alice Munro; these women were all real influences. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, July’s People by Nadine Gordimer were just a few that made an impact at a certain point in my life. I also love Chinua Achebe, Bessie Head, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Ben Okri, J.M.Coetzee, and Norman Rush, who is an American but most of his work is set in Botswana.
In an inverted way, the African literature was able to get me to the Caribbean canon. Reading the African literature showed me that I could find a way to write about my life. So much of what I read was familiar. From the landscape, the food, the beauty juxtaposed with violence and crime. It was all there.
GV: You’re an active blogger.  Tell us if new media been a help or a hindrance to your writing – in terms of practice, style, time management, etc.
SM: The blogging was (and is) a fabulous experience on many levels. I purposely positioned my blog as a garden blog because I wanted to test the waters in a safe environment. Remember this was before the days of Facebook and I was aware I was creating a brand but it was all so new. One of the most useful lessons that I learned was that you have to give something to your reader. For the reader to come back, you have to find a way to come at material in a fresh way. I used the blog to test the waters in many ways. Looking back now (this was in 2006) I’m amazed at how open I was on the blog, so much more innocent that I am online today.
I was picked up as a Google Blogger of Note and after that the blog became much more popular. It was, in effect, an online journal. This often forced me to stop and pay attention to what was going on in the natural world. I became a much better gardener after I began blogging simply because I paid attention as I knew I’d have to write about it afterwards. I also stopped being so ‘precious’ about my work. I did not tie myself in knots over every sentence or agonize about whether people thought it was ‘good’ and the work loosened up significantly. I think that is one of the most important aspects of blogging, once you get your legs and you realize it is fun; your voice begins to emerge.
But most importantly, I was fascinated by the posts people responded to with the most emotion. Remember I was blogging about ‘neutral’ topics. Food, gardens, animals, landscape but soon larger concepts, such as the idea of identity being contained within the land itself, topography and our response to it, nostalgia in local cuisine; these were the things I started to see. I also saw that too much text exhausts people. Less is always
more!
I got magazine work that came from people being able to go on the blog and get a sense of what I was doing. I still blog. I’m part of a group called ‘The Bloggers’ Table’ and we meet around once a month to visit a restaurant and blog about it.
Pomegranate fruit; Millar's blog, “My Chutney Garden”, deals with food, gardening and landscapes.
GV: Has new media and the Internet been helpful in terms of sharing and marketing your work and connecting with other Caribbean writers?
SM: I really try not to market my work online because it is a fine line. You know the saying – self-praise is no praise. But saying that, the community is great, once anyone wins a prize or has something published, it’s more than likely that someone will post it to a Facebook wall or tweet it out. If I have a colleague or friend or just another Caribbean writer who has achieved a milestone, I’ll do my best to create an online buzz. It’s been an organic form of marketing that is internally driven, in that, there’s no marketing committee or publicist out there in the wider Caribbean driving this – this is coming out of sheer good will. That bodes well for the future of Caribbean literature, I think.
It’s been exciting to become part of the online Caribbean literary community. I can’t think of another time when this could have been possible.  When physical distance separates, conversations become difficult. Now with Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, WhatsApp, Instagram, Flickr (and the list goes on!), real friendships can be maintained and critical conversations allowed to unfold. One comment about us online avatars (because realistically everyone is
functioning in a form of avatar state when they communicate online), with the lack of face-to-face social cues, emotionally weighted conversations can be polarizing. But largely, I think the positives far outweigh the negatives.
GV: What’s the unique perspective you bring to Caribbean writing?
SM: I ask myself the same thing all the time. It has been difficult writing as a white, middle class woman. What do I have to say? The canon has, by the nature of the region’s historical atrocities, been characterized by a sense of revolution, a sense of using the pen to address social inequities and this is as it should be. That’s where the African literature has helped. It’s showed me how to enter certain areas. It has showed me that a canon can release some of its hegemony without compromise.
I try to write in the face of stereotype, I make an effort to bring the story home by being
very specific. I’ve found universality lies in specificity. The more specific my details, the more universal the story becomes. It’s an odd irony. But if the characters or the situations resonate on a global level, the writing can only work to dispel the stereotype that there is a certain kind of ‘Caribbean’ person. We can talk all we want about being multi-ethnic, diverse, multi-cultural, and all the other buzz words, but until the world
puts a human face on us, as a people we remain a regional stereotype.
GV: Where do you see the future of Caribbean writing going and how do you fit into it?
SM: The current state of Caribbean writing seems positive. A few years ago, there was concern about the scarcity of new writing coming out of the region. But attention from organizations such as The Commonwealth Writers and The British Council and publishers such as Akashic and Peepal Tree (who are currently soliciting names for their new joint Caribbean imprint) has helped. Perhaps the most arresting development on the writing landscape has been the debut of Bocas, the festival of words that has branded Port of Spain as the literary capital of the Caribbean.
This happy combination has worked to remedy the dearth of words and there is a currently new batch of young writers, both poets and prose-writers, who are churning out work in way that is heartening. Interestingly there is an emerging dynamic of cross-talk between writer and visual artist which is a promising sign.
GV: Any advice for aspiring regional writers?
SM: Don’t talk about writing. Write. Write what you know. And then write more.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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United States Embargo Breaks Into the Intimate Lives of Cubans · Global Voices
Elaine Díaz

Cuban bloggers inside and outside of the island have held a form of protest this week through posts in which they report their experiences on the economic embargo of the United States against Cuba that has lasted half a century.
The embargo is “inside or outside Cuba, beyond the Mediterranean and also in the Caribbean.” With these words, the Cuban blogger Sandra Álvarez, author of the Negra cubana tenía que ser [es] blog, finishes a post [es] dedicated to her neighbour Mayra, a Cuban resident, for whom the embargo imposed on Cuba by the United States government is “a tremendous lie, an exaggeration.”
Álvarez, who currently lives in Hanover, Germany, recalls her experience in October 2011 in Costa Rica, when a bank employee prevented her from receiving a payment because her passport was not listed “among the possible options to select.”
According to the author, the bank employee, after having made several calls, confirmed that she could only proceed with the payment if the money was in the name of a person who was not Cuban. “Western Union is an American company and because of the embargo, your country is not here, your passport cannot be used to withdraw that money even though it's in your name.”
Photo by Panel Rock, taken from Flickr under Licence CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
La isla rebelde [The Rebellious Island] [es] confirms the extraterritorial character of the economic sanctions and alludes to  the recent fine imposed on the Italian bank Intensa Sanpaolo for transferring 1,643,326 dollars between 2004 and 2008 in 53 transactions processed to Cuba.
Arthur González, author of the blog, points out that this development unearths the proposal of the subsecretary of State Lester Mallory in April 1960, published in the U.S Department of State book “Foreign Relations USA”, that established that “any conceivable method must be promptly utilised to weaken the economic life of Cuba. Denying money and supplies to Cuba to diminish the real and monetary wages, in order to bring about hunger, desperation, and the overthrow of the government.”
However, other bloggers, like Harold Cárdenas, one of the authors of La Joven Cuba [es], say that the there is also an “internal embargo” that “is expressed through obsolete prohibitions and points of view, that in recent years seems to be breaking down, but continues to be supported by a bureaucracy that tries to resist or distort the necessary changes.”
For Cárdenas:
Una forma de expresión del bloqueo interno ha sido utilizar a menudo la política de los Estados Unidos hacia Cuba como pretexto para justificar nuestras propias insuficiencias, la mala administración no puede achacarse solo a los condicionamientos externos, mucho tenemos de culpa nosotros mismos pero el chivo expiatorio sigue utilizándose. Lo peor de esto resulta en que al convertir el bloqueo norteamericano en fetiche se provoca que la gente lo ignore, lo descarte y lo olvide, bonito favor a los yanquis.
One form of expression of the internal embargo has been to frequently utilise the United States’ policy towards Cuba as a pretext to justify our own shortcomings. Deficient administration cannot be attributed solely to external conditions, we have a lot to blame ourselves for, but a scapegoat is still being used. The worst of this is that by making the North American embargo a fetish, it causes people to ignore it, dismiss it, and forget it, a nice favour for the Yankees.
His post, entitled La isla de los dos bloqueos (The Island of the Two Embargoes) [es], was republished on the blog Aló presidenta do Brasil [pt].
The Facebook group Cuban Americans for Engagement published [es] the request that Kim Ng, the Major League Baseball's (MLB) Vice President for Operations, made to Juan Francisco Puello, of the Caribbean Confederation, on 15th of July, to nullify Cuba's return to the Caribbean Series, from which they have been absent since 1960.
If Cuba returns to the next season of the Caribbean series, the Mexican and Venezuelan leagues would have to play without baseball players who belong to the Major League Baseball (MLB), the main source of supply of circuit players, the Dominican Diario Libre [es] [daily newspaper] published.
According to Cuban Americans for Engagement,
Resulta que cuando Cuba toma un paso positivo para acceder al profesionalismo y a un sistema más cercano al mercado en el beisbol, del otro lado quieren cerrar la puerta. A propósito, ¿no dicen los partidarios del embargo, que no hay bloqueo, que lo que defienden solo afecta a las relaciones con EE.UU?
It appears that when Cuba takes a positive step to accede to professionalism and a system closer to the baseball market, on the other hand they want to close the door. Speaking of which, don't the supporters of the embargo say that there is no embargo, that what they defend only concerns the relationship with the USA?
The tensions between the United States and Cuba affect the lives of millions of Cuban families. For the author of the blog La mariposa cubana [es], there are embargoes that destroy families, memories… and lives, lost just 90 miles away.

author: Elaine Díaz


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‘Chile Movilizado’ Monitors Student Revolts · Global Voices
Periodismo Ciudadano

[All posts lead to Spanish links except where otherwise noted.]
This post, contributed by Elisa Moreno Gili, is the first part in a series on student revolts in Chile. The original post, “Las revueltas de los estudiantes chilenos: Chile Movilizado (1ª parte)” was published in Periodismo Ciudadano.
A camera reveals contention. Revolting students in Chile have brought the academic year to a standstill, making demands for the transformation of the Ley General de Educación (LGE, or General Education Act), modifications in the Organic Law, and especially, for tuition-free higher education. Chile, the country that pioneered citizen journalism in Latin America with Atina Chile, has mobilized on the web to reflect the social movements that are forming over the issue of education. Periodismo Ciudadano spoke with one of the founders of these pages, Pablo Loyola of Chile Movilizado.
Twenty-two polling stations were occupied during the presidential primary elections which took place on June 30th of this year, indicating that roundtable groups implemented by Bachelet had not been fruitful.
“Student representatives no longer want to sit down and dialog because the roundtable groups have only served to erode the movement,” claims Pablo Loyola. Twitter and Facebook were flooded with comments from students who, in their irritation, spoke out against the near-impossibility of financing a public education.
Two days later, President Piñera announced the that he would disperse “Bonus Awards for Academic Achievement.” Pablo Loyola, who also served as student body president for the geography department at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso in 2007 and 2008, states that “Piñera is only going to talk about resources and awards that are not available to all students,” which is why the reforms announced by the president have had no effect in placating the demonstrators.
The Internet in recent days has become a hub for comments and reports from the main actors in these revolts. Students, professors, and representatives of the academic community and cultural centers are showing no hesitation about sharing their impressions over the web. This tool has also once again become a platform for voicing complaints and accusations. The most recent images published on YouTube depict repeated abuses of power by police and security forces.
Chile Movilizado is responsible for reporting these abuses along with occupied or striking campuses and future actions of the movement. Chile Movilizado is a geotracking tool which allows user information to be delivered easily and instantaneously. It covers “all groups and social movements that are currently mobilizing.”
Organization administrators are in charge of filtering information through hashtags like #movimientoestudiantil, #toma, or #movilización, and checking it for accuracy, starting with news published on the Internet and lists from CONFECH (Confederación de Estudiantes de Chile, or Student Confederation of Chile), which reports on secondary schools and universities involved in the movement. Pablo Loyola stresses the importance of supplementing the reports with “an alternate format,” referring to audio-visual supports like photography, although he points out that, above all else, the information must be accurate.

author: Periodismo Ciudadano


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NACLA-GV Podcast—Latin America: Migrant Journeys · Global Voices
NACLA

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.
What does the U.S. immigration reform legislation means for migrant communities? We talk to Global Voices contributor Robert Valencia and NACLA writer Joseph Nevins. On June 24 the U.S. Senate passed an immigration bill with a vote of 67-27. The bill seeks to create a roadmap for citizenship while strengthening border security. It also raises the cap on visas for high-skilled workers and intends to establish a new visa program for low-skilled workers.
Immigration Reform Rally 2010, Washington DC. Photo by Anuska Sampedro on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
While many pro-immigration advocates have celebrated the legislation, some fear that the emphasis on border security eclipses the gains. The Senate bill provides for the hiring of almost 19,000 new Border Patrol agents, the building of 700 additional miles of walls, and an investment of billions of dollars in surveillance technologies.
The fate of the current immigration reform now depends on the U.S. House of Representatives. But the most likely scenario involves the house passing separate bills that will eventually be packaged in a House-Senate committee. Interest groups are expected to lobby congress after they return from their August recess.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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author: NACLA


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Peruvian Photographer Honored with Order of the British Empire · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Queen Elizabeth II of England has approved the Order of the British Empire for Peruvian photographer Mario Testino, who lives in London since 1976, “for services to photography and charity”, as announced by the British government on its website.
Comparing the news with an event everyone is talking about in Peru, Twitter user Emi Gonzales said:
Mientras Mario Testino es condecorado por la reina Isabel II,nuestras matadorcitas son condecoradas x [el presidente del Congreso] Freddy Otárola(q de paso está perdido)
— Emi Gonzales (@Compartetuopini) August 8, 2013
While Mario Testino is being honored by Queen Elizabeth II, our junior female volleyball players have being honored by [President of Congress] Freddy Otárola (who, by the way, is completely lost).
‘Matadorcitas’ is how people popularly know the members of the national junior volleyball team, who just achieved fourth place on the 2013 FIVB Girls Youth World Championship, recently held in Thailand. The girls have received multiple honors [es] upon their arrival to Peru.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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The Business of Endorsing Navalny · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

One of the mainstays of Russian politics for the last ten years has been that Russian business stays out of politics. Late last week, 37 Russian Internet-industry entrepreneurs tried to shatter that taboo, when they signed a public “social contract” endorsing [ru] Alexey Navalny’s run for mayor of Moscow.
Many in the blogosphere and the independent media have responded to the “Letter of 37” [ru] with exclamations that Russia is experiencing a watershed moment in the political consciousness of its business class. Analyst Tatiana Stanovaya called [ru] the contract “the first vocal claim by entrepreneurs on an active political position.” Vedomosti reporters said the document set a new precedent [ru] for businesses that previously never risked openly supporting the political opposition. Blogger Oleg Kozyrev congratulated [ru] Navalny on Russia’s first social contract to meet “Western standards,” and RuNet guru Anton Nosik beamed pride [ru] that his colleagues had finally spoken out, instead of turning to various Kremlin clans for patronage and protection.
Alexey Navalny, Rally held in support of political prisoners in Moscow, 26 July 2012, photo by Maria Pleshkova, (c) Demotix.
The “Letter of 37″ is not without its shortcomings, of course. While the pledge of entrepreneurial support is undeniably symbolic, that, so far, is where the pact begins and ends. Navalny’s campaign manager, Leonid Volkov, admitted [ru] on August 7, 2013, that they’ve yet to receive a single donation from any business.
Some liberal-leaning news outlets like Slon.ru and Novaya Gazeta have begun publishing materials about certain members of “the 37” (including profiles and interviews [ru]), and Navalny-critics online like Maxim Kononenko and the blogging group vvv-ig have also unveiled detailed looks at the contract’s signatories. Kononenko, challenging the contract’s claim that it represents businesspeople of “the knowledge economy,” offered up brief summaries [ru] of 30 of the businesses on the list, concluding that 27 add nothing to Russia’s intellectual property. Vvv-ig’s August 7 post [ru], on the other hand, contains vitriolic attacks against each of the entrepreneurs who endorsed Navalny. If Kononenko’s attempt was to smear the social relevance of the contract’s companies, vvv-ig set out to blacken the individuals who created those businesses.
Vvv-ig’s screed—drenched in anti-Semitism and homophobia—is in many ways a typical example of the hate-blogging often directed at opposition figures like Navalny. Buried in places throughout the post and articulated in its conclusion, however, is a provocative (conspiracy) theory about what brought together 37 seemingly random Internet entrepreneurs. According to vvv-ig, Navalny’s social contract signatories owe their skins to the same venture capitalists. Vvv-ig fingers Anatoly Chubais (head of the Russian Nanotechnology Corporation) as the culprit here (responsible for “sucking blood from the Russian economy”), but the post in other parts also incriminates Renaissance Capital and Mail.ru.
While accusations against Chubais might seem like wild speculation, the idea’s basic premise (that bigger financial interests lie behind Navalny’s “independent backers”) received additional support from Navalny’s political frenemy, Vladimir Milov, who in a message on Twitter credited investment tycoon Mikhail Fridman with organizing the contract:
Fridman called them up and said Alfa would stop giving loans for their companies if they don't sign, that's itAugust 8, 2013
While there is no hard evidence [ru] that Navalny’s “List of 37” business supporters rely on Alpha Group for funding, it is worth remembering that some Internet entrepreneurs refused Navalny’s call. According to Kamil Kurmakaev (one of the signatories), some refused to join the list for a lack of interest in politics, some because they support Navalny’s rival, Sergey Sobyanin, and others because they feared negative consequences.
The contract itself is the result of Navalny’s direct lobbying efforts on July 24, 2013, when his campaign met with an unspecified number [ru] of “Internet entrepreneurs,” to pitch them the idea of “participating in fundraising.” The following day, roughly two weeks before the unveiling of the social contract, Dmitri Navosha posted a long note [ru] on Facebook, indicating his participation in the meeting with Navalny, and explaining his decision to donate half his paycheck to Navalny’s campaign. While there is no record of what companies were represented at the July 24 gathering, exactly 300 Facebook users “liked” Navosha’s post, among whom are six other “List of 37” names: Zotova, Kurmakaev, Lysenko, Preobrazhensky, Saltanov, and Sharipova. Among the remaining 294 Facebook users are individuals tied to several other RuNet companies, including WeClever, Ozon.ru, LookAtMe.ru, Yandex, thelocals.ru, begun.ru, re-construktion.ru, and so on.
Were these the enterprises too uninterested, too unsupportive, or too afraid to lend their names to Navalny? Milov did single out one person, after observing that not everyone bowed to Alpha Group’s supposed orchestration of the “List of 37”: Ekaterina Skorobogatova, Facebook’s Growth Manager for Russia and the CIS [ru]. As it happens, Skorobogatova, too, “liked” Navosha’s post about meeting with Navalny. If she attended, perhaps she found Alpha Group’s political machinations less enjoyable?

author: Kevin Rothrock


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VIDEOS: Vietnam’s Pride March 2013  · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Themed ‘Strive with Pride’, Vietnam held its second pride march in Hanoi which reflected the growing LGBT community in the country and its determination to push for more equality rights. The three-day event featured film screenings, the unveiling of scholarships, the launching of an employment equality guidebook, and a bicycle rally attended by more than three hundred people.
Viet Pride 2013 aims to fight discrimination and promote the rights of the LGBT:
The year 2012 marked the first Pride festival in Vietnam, a country in which homosexuality remains taboo. For the first time ever, Vietnam saw the rainbow flag freely waving at its capital’s streets, bringing tears to the eyes of many Vietnamese LGBTs. Like Pride elsewhere in the world, Viet Pride joins the global call to end prejudice, discrimination, shame, and invisibility on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. Together with Pride, the LGBT movement in Vietnam has never been stronger.
However, equality and dignity for LGBT people has yet to become reality. Misunderstanding and social stigma is still widespread. Insinuation, ridicule, parents’ disapproval, and humiliation are experiences familiar to many LGBTs. In schools, families, offices, and factories, their dignity and security are still compromised. Many LGBTs, especially youth, live in fear of being disowned, despised, or treated differently.
This short video promotion provided a glimpse of the event:
This video showed the preparations during the opening ceremony:
The Vietnam pride march is unique for its bicycle rally as shown in this video report:
Pride March bicycle rally. Photo from Facebook of Tinh Yeu Trai Viet
Photo from @viettan
Trần Dũng Vũ (Soo) was happy with the turn out:
Also present at the festival was the “Equal offices” campaign to community and press – a campaign took place since April in which more than 105 foreign and domestic enterprises joined with the aim of positive change the way enterprises look at LGBTs.
Overall it was a great weekend, surrounded by community, friends and allys and I am very much looking forward to Viet Pride 2014. I hope you will come and check it out for yourself next year.
Pratibha Mehta of the Thanh Nien News wrote about the challenges faced by the LGBT in Vietnam:
While the law doesn’t criminalize homosexuality, LGBT people are not protected when their rights are violated.
Together we must challenge negative stereotypes, and dispel toxic myths. We have to help people understand why we must stand up against homophobic and transphobic violence and discrimination.
Vietnam’s parliament body is ready to deliberate the proposal to legalize same sex marriage in the country. But Valentine Vu explains why Vietnam is not yet ready for the institutionalization of same sex marriage:
…majority of the population still holds prejudice against homosexuality being a disease, in fear of it being contagious, and afraid of losing face value if a friend/family member is gay.
The nation’s conservative base still recognizes homosexuality as a taboo act and not as a personal identity, more disparities between the people would happen resulting in further isolation of gay families if gay marriage is recognized without any foundation to properly support it.


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A Game of Torrents: Russians Struggle with Piracy-free Internet · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

A self-organized “internet strike” aimed at drawing attention to a new Russian anti-internet piracy law [GV] that came into effect in August was a qualified success, reports [ru] RosKomSvoboda, an internet-freedom watchdog group associated with the Russian Pirate Party.
On August 1, websites participating in the “strike” shut down their operations, replacing their front pages with a blackout that would either last for 24 hours or a preset time-period. The scripts facilitating this were developed by volunteers and were made [ru] available [ru] to webmasters through Habrahabr.ru, a popular RuNet tech community akin to Slashdot.org. Other websites simply added banners (also available on Habrahabr [ru]) which linked to a Russian Public Initiative [GV] petition [ru] for the repeal of the contentious law.
A bunny looks in dismay at the splash page blocking the music streaming website Zaycev.net. Screenshot.
The petition offers a good gauge of the success of the strike. As seen on the chart below, before August 1, signatures languished at around 58,000 and were growing at a relatively slow pace. On August 1 there was a spike in voting activity that lasted for 3 days and added over 20,000 signatures, after which the voting returned to the slower steady state:
Chart of signatures for the online petition asking to repeal the anti-piracy law. by roi.f1p.net, Screenshot, August 9, 2013.
As of the writing of this post, the petition is less than a thousand votes away from the goal of 100,000, after which it will be forwarded to the Russian parliament for review.
RosKomSvoboda reports that at least 552 websites participated in installing the banner, and another 735 had installed the blocking script by the day of the strike. Some of these were major websites like Rutracker.org (Russia's largest torrent tracker), the social network Mail.ru, music streaming site Zaycev.net, and Lurkmore.to, the embattled [GV] satirical Wikipedia. Glaringly absent from the communal effort, however, were internet giants like the search engine Yandex.ru and Russia's largest social network VKontakte, which had actively voiced their opposition to the law before it passed. Certainly, if either were to shut down for a full day, increased awareness would not be measured in the thousands of people (of course there is a also chance that such a turn would lead to riots).
Meanwhile, there are forces outside of activism that could make Russian internet users more aware of new regulations. Just days after they came into effect, people began noticing [ru] that accessing their favorite media content has become problematic:
Началась чистка торрентов. Вчера не смог скачать новые серии “The Newsroom” (все раздачи закрыты), и несколько других сериалов.
— Mirali Samedov (@MiraliSamedov) August 6, 2013
The purge of torrents has begun. Yesterday I couldn't download new episodes of “The Newsroom” (all the torrents are closed), and a few other shows.
Indeed, starting with August 1, Rutracker.org removed many of its torrents at the request of “A-media,” a Russian firm that has purchased the distribution rights to a swath of foreign television content. The full list of torrents taken down from Rutracker includes at least 40 TV-shows, covering pretty much the entire HBO lineup — True Blood, Game of Thrones, Newsroom, Girls, Veep, Rome, etc, as well as some other critics’ favorites like Breaking Bad and Homeland.
“Closed at the request of the copyright owner.” A torrent page for Season 1 of Game of Thrones on a mirror of the Rutracker.org forums. Screenshot.
This met with widespread indignation, especially because for many Russians “pirating” these shows is the only way to gain access to them in good quality, decent translation, and on time. A fan explained [ru]:
Знаете почему в интернете очень много людей смотрит зарубежные сериалы, иногда даже те которые выходят у нас на ТВ (хотя таких очень мало)? Потому что в интернете этими сериалами занимаются люди, которые умеют этим заниматься и хотят. Потому что когда выходит новая серия – уже через 1-2 дня она озвучивается очень классной группой переводчиков и появляется в сети.
You know why so many people watch foreign TV shows on the internet, sometimes even those that come out on [Russian] television (although there are few of those)? Because on the internet the people that do these shows are people who know how do it and like doing it. Because when a new episode comes out, in a day or two it has been dubbed by a great group of translators and appears on the web.
LiveJournal blogger haeldar, at one point an associate of the tomato terrorist [GV] Murz, echoed [ru] these points:
[…] мы такие “жадные дети” и хотим смотреть “Игру Престолов” в переводе “Lostfilm-tv”, а не говноделов из “АМЕДИА”. И в тот вечер, когда это удобно нам, а не им. И в качестве 1080p.
[…] we are such “greedy children” and want to watch Game of Thrones translated by “Lostfilm-tv”, no the sh*t-for-brains from “A-media.” And on the night when we want to, not when its convenient for them. And in 1080p quality.
Whether such outrage leads to any activist successes remains to be seen. After all, there are many ways around the shut downs. One blogger pointed out [ru] the futility of trying to block anything in a world-wide market:
Самое главное – чего они в итоге добьются? Ну будут все качать с пайратбэя, а потом отдельно звуковые дорожки (кому надо) с сайтов переводчиков.
The main thing — what will they achieve? So people will download from the Pirate Bay, and then separately get audio tracks (if they need them) from translator websites.
Twitter user @pashakolesoff tweeted [ru] the same point somewhat more harshly:
Позакрывают раздачи сериалов на русском – учите английский, смотрите в оригинале. Пиратскую бухту никто не отменял http://t.co/1zD20hlYwe
— pasha (@pashakolesoff) August 7, 2013
[If] they shut down TV-show torrents in Russian – learn English and watch the originals. No one's done away with the Pirate Bay.
At the same time that foreign shows are being targeted, copyright owners have also struck at domestic, Russian-made shows. On August 7, The Russian media firm “Seichas,” for example, got a favorable court ruling [ru] from the Moscow City Court against the torrent tracker Rutor.org for hosting links to its TV-show “Interns.” Much like Rutracker, Rutor has complied [ru] with the request to remove the offending torrent files from its website.
People seem to be much less upset over this new development than over the loss of “The Game of Thrones,” however. Twitter user @Scinic summed up this point in a tweet [ru] (retweeted 596 times) that riffs on the justifications for the anti-piracy law, the disdain people hold for the Russian film industry, and the ubiquitous references to the HBO hit:
Они говорят, что торренты убивают российский кинематограф. Дом Грейджоев ответил бы им: “То, что мёртво, умереть не может”.
— Scinic (@Scinic) August 5, 2013
They say that torrents are killing Russian film. House Greyjoy would answer: “What is dead may never die.”

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Bhutan’s Best Known Blogger Is The New Prime Minister · Global Voices
Rezwan

Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay, Member of Parliament representing People's Democratic Party and leader of the opposition of Bhutan has recently sworn in as the new Prime Minister of the country – reports South Asia Revealed. He is also widely regarded as the best known blogger of Bhutan, who started his blog in November 2008.

author: Rezwan


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Does a Malawian Herb Cure HIV? ‘Africa Check’ Knows the Answer  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Are Afrikaners being killed like flies in South Africa? Do 80 percent of South Africans regularly consult traditional healers? How many countries are on the African continent?
These are some of claims that new website Africa Check tries to answer in an effort to sort fact from fiction and promote accuracy in public debates around the continent.
According to the website, Africa Check is:
…a non-profit organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate. We test claims made by public figures around the continent, starting in South Africa, using journalistic skills and evidence drawn from the latest online tools, readers, public sources and experts, sorting out fact from fiction. We publish our findings on this site.
Africa Check logo. Image source: africacheck.org
The sites invites public members to suggest claims to be investigated. The site explains why fact-checking matters:
Fact-checking is not an abstract interest. It affects real lives.
In mid-2003, a group of religious and political leaders in northern Nigeria advised their followers against having their children vaccinated against polio on a claim that the vaccine would make them infertile.
The immunisation drive was part of a Western-led plot to reduce the population in the Muslim world, they alleged. Tests on the vaccines showed the claims were baseless, and those who spread the claim unchallenged would later withdraw it. But by then, the damage had already been done.
Polio, which was on the retreat worldwide in 2002 , surged in northern Nigeria and spread from there to a swathe of countries around West Africa and the world. And almost a decade on, the disease is still crippling people in Africa and elsewhere today.
False claims affect lives
And fact-checking is what they do. In a blog post titled “My tribe is dying” [afr], popular South African actor, writer and musician Steve Hofmeyer claimed that the number of white South Africans killed by blacks would fill a soccer stadium, that white Afrikaners are being killed “like flies” and that a white farmer is murdered every five days.
African Check investigated Hofmeyer's data and concluded that Hofmeyr was wrong:
But the claims are incorrect and grossly exaggerated. In fact, whites are less likely to be murdered than any other race group.
An update of the post on July 2, 2013, read:
On 1 July Steve Hofmeyr issued a written response to both this report and an article confirming Africa Check's findings which was published by the Afrikaans newspaper, Rapport.
The numerous claims Hofmeyr made and the “statistics” he presented do not add up. Since it was published, his post has had to be updated several times, removing, among other things, data that he claimed related to South Africa which actually came from another continent (and was also misconstrued).
Hofmeyr’s strongest argument boiled down to this: “Far more than facts, it is people’s emotions and experiences that matter … So ‘our people die like flies’ is still applicable, emotionally – and does not need to be supported by facts.”
Africa Check understands that perceptions do of course matter. As stated in our report, South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world and all murders are to be abhorred. Crime data, like all data everywhere, could and should be improved. This is something Africa Check is campaigning for. However, this is not a reason to dismiss inconvenient facts as Mr Hofmeyr does.
Another claim the site has debunked: Do 80 percent of South Africans regularly visit traditional healers as is always claimed by many media sources including the BBC and the South African Medical Journal?:
A South African traditional healer popularly known as Sangoma in Zulu. Photo used with permission from africacheck.org
Here are the facts:
A 2011 General Household Survey found that while 70.7% of South African households favoured public clinics and hospitals, almost a quarter (24.3%) of households said they would first consult a private doctor. The least favoured options were traditional healers (0.1%) and pharmacies (0.3%).
Further analysis showed that 81.3% of black South African households first consulted public sector health facilities, 17.2% first consulted private sector health facilities and only 1.5% first consulted “other” health facilities, which include spiritual healers and traditional healers. Interestingly, 1.5% of white South African households reported that they consulted “other” health facilities first.
These statistics disprove the claim that 80% of black South Africans will first seek the assistance of a sangoma for health care. Contrary to this claim, surveys show that most black South Africans will first seek care from a public health facility.
The website also dug into a mystery drug from Malawi discovered by an employee of the Malawian Ministry of Health called “Garani-MW1″ has been promoted by Malawian newspapers and websites as a cure for HIV and AIDS. There is no evidence to support the claim:
A mystery “wonder herb” that has never been subjected to independent clinical trials or reputable studies is being touted unquestioningly by a number of leading Malawian newspapers and websites as a “cure” for HIV and Aids.
Named Garani-MW1 by the Malawi health department bureaucrat who says she discovered it, the “HIV and Aids herb” is described on the official product website as “a herbal preparation that is being used to treat people that have HIV and Aids”.
There is no evidence that Garani-MW1 is a cure for anything, let alone HIV and Aids. The substance has not been subject to any independent clinical trials, no data has been published and none of the claimed “success stories” appear to have been independently documented.
The conclusion:
The fact remains that there is no cure for HIV or Aids. Anti-retrovirals are the only reliable means of managing the virus that we know of. If a cure is ever discovered, you can be certain that international pharmaceutical giants will be falling over one other in their eagerness to license it and the story will be the subject of an international media frenzy, the likes of which we have rarely seen before.
Like so many other quack cures, the story of Garani-MW1 preys on the desperation of people diagnosed with HIV and Aids.
The fact that supposedly reputable newspapers in Malawi have chosen to give the claims credence with sycophantic and sensationalist reporting is particularly appalling. It is the kind of reporting that causes real damage and costs lives. It should be condemned.
And how many countries does Africa really have? 54 or 55 or 57?:
How many countries does the continent have in its entirety?” asked a message sent to us last week by a group of information security advocates.
The sender, @Infosecafrica, noted that Africa’s regional political organisation the African Union has 54 members but had seen a report claiming the continent is home to 57 countries.
So how many countries does Africa have? The AU claims to represent all African countries. So are there 54 or 57? How hard – we thought – can the question be
Disagreement over number of countries is not a unique African problem:
While it might seem a quirk not to be able to say, for sure, how many countries there are on the continent, the disagreement over numbers is not limited to Africa.
In Asia, there is disagreement about whether Taiwan, which split off from China in 1949, is an independent nation, or not. Worried by threats of retaliation from Beijing if it were to declare formal independence, it has not done so. But from its capital, Taipei, it maintains its own, democratically-elected, government and currency and runs itself independently of China; a country in all but name.
And in Europe, while most powers recognise Kosovo as an independent state, Serbia, its neighbour, does not. So in Europe too, there is uncertainty about how many countries there are.
The answer is:
The best answer to @Infosecafrica’s question that we have come up with is to say there are 55 states that are internationally recognised and members of either the AU or the UN or both. Fifty-three of these belong to both the AU and UN lists. Morocco is not part of the AU but is a member of the UN. The Saharan Arab Democratic Republic is part of the AU.
In addition, while there are various other territories that claim independence, there is also one de facto state, as described under the normal definitions of what makes a country, which is Somaliland. It is not, however, a recognised state.
The main partners for Africa Check are the AFP Foundation and the Journalism Department of the University of the Witwatersrand. Financial support comes from the Open Society Foundation for South Africa and the African News Innovation Challenge.
You can follow the project on Twitter and Facebook.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Is ‘Free Tibet Movement’ Dying?  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Is it any wonder that many Tibetans are now losing hope?
Neapali blog Blogdai criticizes the failures of the ‘Free Tibet Movement’ for not being effective enough to reduce Tibetan suffering.


text:
Mauritanian Blogger Babbah Weld Abidine Arrested · Global Voices
أحمد جدو

صورة للصحفي باباه ولد عابدين (من صفحته الشخصية على فيسبوك )
On August 7, Mauritanian authorities arrested [ar] Babbah Weld Abidine, a blogger (editor of Lebjawi News blog) [ar -fr] and  a correspondent in the Region of Tagant for the website “Reporters – Mourasiloun”. Two days before his arrest, Weld Abidine went to the Public Prosecution office to inquire about a rape case where there relatives of the victim accuse the authorities of closing the file and freeing the rapist. A warrant arrest was issued against him and he was taken to prison.
On his Facebook Page, journalist Sidi Mohammed Bellamech wonders
[ar]:
من يريد إسكات الصحفي الوحيد في ولاية تكانت، زميلنا المميز باباه ولد عابدين؟
Who wants to silence the only journalist in the region of Tagant, our distinguished colleague Babbag Weld Abidine ?

author: أحمد جدو


text:
Monsoon Rains, Deadly Landslides Devastate India’s Southwestern Kerala · Global Voices
Inji Pennu

Heavy rains battering India's southwestern state of Kerala and subsequent landslides have claimed at least 15 lives as the area experiences on of the worst monsoon seasons in decades.
The latest round of rain, which began falling August 4, 2013, caused unprecedented flooding over the course of three days, causing a loss worth Rs. 19.53 crore (3.22 million US dollars). The monsoon damaged the runway at Kochi International Airport, forcing it to be closed for days and 126 flights to be cancelled affecting thousands of passengers.
Kerala is experiencing one of the worst monsoon seasons in decades, with flash floods inundating areas and landslides a very real threat. Floods and landslides in northern India killed more than 1,000 people earlier in the summer.
But monsoon season, which continues to wreak havoc Kerala this year, is usually an important and beneficial time for the state. Kerala was once voted by National Geographic Magazine as a must-visit destination out of its 50 top destinations, mainly for its picturesque backwaters and monsoons. Kerala’s monsoon season is a much sought out after time for tourists as it has a special charm with the rains changing the landscapes.
And for Keralites, rains have always been welcome, with literature, pictures and songs of rain abundant in the culture. Kerala’s electricity and agriculture are heavily dependent on the monsoon rains. There are even Facebook groups by Keralites dedicated to rain.
In South Kerla an unidentified man sitting on a car submerged in flood water. Image by Aji Jayachandran. Copyright Demotix (6/8/2013)
But this year is different. Beginning in June, the two months of incessant rains haven't stopped. Dams are filling fast and are almost to the brim and the shutters might have to be opened gushing in flood water, which triggers panic among the people who have been living a serene life near the rivers and lakes. One of the largest dams, Idukki Dam, has only 18 feet more until the shutters will be opened.
The state has received 40 percent excess rains in the past two months alone which has thrown the state into disarray. The Hindu newspaper reports that around 2,100 people have been shifted to 36 relief camps from the flood hit areas of Thiruvalla taluk. Agriculture has been hard hit by the rains where rubber tapping couldn't be done and three to four week old paddy crops being washed away by the floods.
Social media users have kept up-to-date with the news of monsoon flooding by posting pictures from homes, talking about safety measures, and talking about environment damage.
Renuka, who lives in Alwaye where the flooding is severe, has posted many pictures to her Google Plus account of how much the river Periyar has risen due to the rains. She lives on the banks of the river and is scared of what a few more weeks of rain could do.
Women and children watching the rising waterline. Image from Google+ by Renuka Arun, used with permission.
Sapta Varnangal commented about the situation in Muvattupuzha:
Heard that my mother's house in muvattupuzha near to the river banks is under water. This doesn't happen during the normal monsoons.
People who live in the opposite shore observing the rising river. Image from Google+ by Renuka Arun, used with permission.
Idukki has been facing the worst of the rains with landslides killing many residents. Harish Vasudevan wrote on his Facebook that the current landslides could have been avoided, if environment friendly construction work was done instead of giving permits to all type buildings:
ഇടുക്കിയിലെ രാഷ്ട്രീയ നേതൃത്വമോ സാധാരണ മനുഷ്യരോ സർക്കാരോ ഇതുകൊണ്ടും പഠിക്കാൻ പോകുന്നില്ല. ഇടനാട്ടിൽ നടപ്പാക്കുന്ന ‘വികസനം’ അപ്പടി മലനാട്ടിലും നടപ്പാക്കുന്നതിന്റെ ഫലം തോരാമഴയിൽ മണ്ണിടിച്ചിലായും വരും. മലനാട്ടിൽ മണ്ണ് ഇളക്കുന്നതിനും ഖനനത്തിനും എതിരെ നടപടി വേണമെന്ന് ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ കമ്മിറ്റി റിപ്പോർട്ട് പറഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ ആ റിപ്പോർട്ട് കത്തിച്ച ബിഷപ്പിനും പള്ളിക്കാര്ക്കും, റിപ്പോർട്ട്നെ എതിർത്ത സർക്കാരിനും പ്രതിപക്ഷത്തിനും ഇപ്പോൾ നാട്ടുകാരോട് മറുപടി പറയാനുള്ള ബാധ്യതയുണ്ട്.
Neither the Idukkis political clout nor the people are going to learn a lesson from the current rain damage. Development projects that suit other types of land are done in Idukki which has a different land structure. The result is landslides and destruction during rain. The Gadgil Committee reported that land mining need to be stopped. People living in Idukki including the priests from the churches in Idukki and the government rejected that report. But now they have to answer to the public.
Nelson Joseph, a resident in Idukki, countered the argument by saying the sole reason is not due to construction:
Nelson Joseph താങ്കൾ പറഞ്ഞു വരുന്നത് ഇടുക്കിയിൽ ഉരുൾ പൊട്ടുന്നത്, അവിടെ നടത്തുന്ന വികസന പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങൾ കൊണ്ട് ആണെന്നാണോ? ഞാൻ ഒരു ഇടുക്കികാരൻ ആണ്. അറിയാൻ മേലഞ്ഞിട്ടു ചോദിക്കുവ എന്ത് മണ്ണാങ്കട്ട വികസനം ആണ് അവിടെ നടത്തിയിട്ടുള്ളത്? ഇപ്പോൾ ഉരുൾ പൊട്ടിയ സ്ഥലങ്ങളിൽ ഒരു തരത്തിലുള്ള, വികസനങ്ങളും ഇല്ല. മൂന്നാറിലേക്കു ഉള്ള ഒരു വഴി മാത്രം ആണ് അവിടെ മനുഷ്യ നിർമ്മിതം ആയുള്ള വല്ല്യ സംഭവം. ഈ വഴികൾ വരുന്നതിനു മുൻപ്, എന്തിന് മനുഷ്യർ അങ്ങോട്ട് കടന്നു ചെല്ലുന്നതിനു മുൻപേ അവിടെ ഉരുൾ പൊട്ടൽ ഉണ്ടായിട്ടുണ്ട്. അത് എന്ത് വികസനത്തിന്റെ പേരില് ആണ്? പരസ്ഥിതി വാദം ഒക്കെ നല്ലത് തന്നെ. പക്ഷെ ഇങ്ങനെ ഒരു ദുരിതം വരുമ്പോൾ വസ്തുതകൾ മനസ്സിലാക്കാതെ, വെറുതെ എല്ലാം വികസനത്തിന്റെ പ്രശ്നം എന്ന് പറയുന്നത് ശരിയായ പ്രശ്നങ്ങൾ ചര്ച്ച ചെയ്യുന്നതിനെ വഴി തിരിച്ചുവിടുന്നതിന് വേണ്ടി ആണോ എന്ന് പോലും സംശയിക്കുന്നു. ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ റിപ്പോർട്ട് പ്രാക്ടിക്കൽ അല്ല.
Who said it is due to development that Idukki is facing such a situation? I am from Idukki and I would like to know what development has been done in this area? There has been no infrastructure developments. There is only a single road to Munnar where the landslide has happened. Even before people started to live there, there has been landslides. Advocating for the environment and all is OK, but not when such destruction has occurred and not without proper facts or investigation. The Gadgil Report is not practical.
Prasanth Gulfu from Alwaye posts a message on his Facebook page of emergency numbers if the situation arises:
In case of any emergency please do alert, as we stay close to the river. Let us all b wary of the situation and remain cautious. Call 9946732042
There are YouTube videos showing the situation of floods, such as this video uploaded by Real High Definition:
Twitter has hosted interesting discussion about the monsoon as well.
Engineer Hafiz Rasheed (@hfz_r) blamed the deforestation and climate change:
Don't blame rain, curse ourselves (deforestation+climate change) for soil erosion! While victims r poor, beneficiaries r super rich. #Kerala
— Hafiz Rasheed (@hfz_r) August 5, 2013
Writer, journalist and teacher Anna MM Vetticad (@annavetticad) remembered her Kerala vacation when during such floods, people used to come visit by boats:
Happy childhood memory of vacations in Kerala: ancestral home locked in by fields flooded with rain, neighbours coming to visit by boat :)
— Anna MM Vetticad (@annavetticad) July 29, 2013
A boat is floating on the road submerged in flood water at Kuttanad, Kerala. Image by Aji Jayachandran. Copyright Demotix (26/6/2013)
HR Process Outsourcing Expert Mohan Kannan (@mohankan) reported on Muvattupuzha:
Food comes in a small boat in to houses in muvattupuzha #kerala #floods
— Mohan Kannan (@mohankan) August 5, 2013
Journalist Nidheesh MK (@ReporterNid) reported that Aluva is submerged in floods:
Aluva, industrial epicenter of Kerala, submerged in heavy floods. The biggest, fastest & the most devastating flood in years, says residents
— Nidheesh MK (@ReporterNid) August 5, 2013

author: Inji Pennu


text:
Morocco: “Daniel Gate” Sparks Unprecedented National Outrage · Global Voices
Ammoun AAY

On the occasion of the Throne Day in Morocco, King Mohammed VI pardoned 1,000 detainees om July 31. The Royal Pardon occurs during big events and is a well established tradition in the Kingdom. But this time, Spanish pedophile Daniel Galván Viña, also referred to as Daniel Fino Galván by some news outlets, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2011 for the rape of 11 children in Kenitra, was among them. Outrage spread like wildfire on social networks as independent Moroccan news network Lakome broke the news.
Une action vaut mieux que mille discours #GraceRoyale Message reçu : pédophile espagnol > militant marocain #Maroc#DroitsDeLhomme
— Abdullah Abaakil (@AbdullahAbaaki1) July 31, 2013
An action worth a thousand words #RoyalPardon Message received: Spanish pedophile > Moroccan activist.
Popular mobilization
Immediately, online activists started organising action to protest the decision. A Facebook page titled “Tous contre la libération de Daniel Fino Galván” [All against liberation of Daniel Fino Galván] collected photographs of people from all around the world posing with messages calling for the arrest of the Spanish pedophile.
#Maroc : Du Mexique à l'Inde, on réagit à la grâce royale du pédophile espagnol…
— Le Bougnoulosophe (@bougnoulosophe) August 3, 2013
From India to Mexico, reaction to the royal pardon granted to the Spanish pedophile…
On August 2, people took the streets in an unprecedented round of protests in the country, defying the King personally with one question; how could it happen? Reports and footage of violent repression followed from Rabat, where one of the most important protests was held.
Nouvelle video qui montre l'agression d'une manifestante par 3 Policiers.#Danielgate #Mafrasich #Balagh http://t.co/eHMMLTg6TL — Omar MouSsali (@OmarMouSsali) August 4, 2013
New footage showing a female protester being beaten by 3 policemen.
On embarque des personnes dans des estafettes. On les ferme. Secousses terribles. Tabassage intensif a l'interieur #DanielGate — Omar H. (@Omar_H_) August 2, 2013
People are being locked up in police trucks. Violent bumps. Intensive beating inside.
That picture! Our Flower Power moment, #Morocco #Danielgate – pic.twitter.com/lLQf3vn9aj — Hisham Almiraat (@almiraat) August 3, 2013
Footage from protest in Rabat tonight against royal pardon of Spanish pedophile via @zi_agharabo http://t.co/4K86ww7wqV #Morocco #danielgate — Samia Errazzouki (@charquaouia) August 3, 2013
The Royal Cabinet issued a press release the next day where it discharged the King of any implication.
Why is it called a “Royal Pardon” when there's no Royal Involvement ?! #Weird #DanielGate #Balagh #Morocco — Oussama S.Buckley (@OSBuckley) August 3, 2013
Imagine the pedophile's dossier being passed up the chain. Was there not one person—just one—who said, “This is wrong.” or “No.” #DanielGate — Laila Lalami (@LailaLalami) August 1, 2013
Twitter hashtag #Mafrasich [Moroccan Arabic: I didn't know] immediately went viral, blaming the King for such an easy shortcut.
#Mafrasich ou comment les marocains critiquent le Roi sur Twitter https://t.co/7oZDLZVlBE #danielgate — Souhail (@souhail_) August 5, 2013
#Mafrasich, or how Moroccans criticise the King on Twitter
Someone sit the king down and update him on the country he's apparently running. #mafrasich #Morocco — Samia Errazzouki (@charquaouia) August 3, 2013
Who is Daniel Galván Viña?
The fact that Daniel Galván Viña left the Moroccan territory immediately after his release, with an expired passport, raised even more questions as of the reason why he was pardoned in the first place. His past as an Iraqi spy who worked with Spanish secret services to topple the late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein emerged.
Daniel Galván – So now he's a Kurdish #Iraq‘i spy who helped topple Saddam Hussein… #DanielGate #Morocco. #WhatEv He's still a pedophile. — Stephanie Lamy (@WCM_JustSocial) August 3, 2013
Daniel est le seul parmi les 48 espagnols graciés, à avoir quitté le “territoire” marocain ? Avec un passeport expiré ? #Mafrasich — Kaph (@K_arat) August 3, 2013
Daniel is the only one among the 48 pardoned Spanish nationals who “left” the Moroccan territory? With an expired passport?
Si j'étais Espagnol j'aimerais savoir pourquoi mon gouvernement a tenu à adoucir les conditions de détention d'un pédophile. #DanielGate — ibnkafka (@ibnkafka) August 6, 2013
If I were Spanish, I would want to know why my government wanted to soften the detention conditions of a pedophile.
Initially disclaimed by both Spanish and Moroccan Royal Cabinets, reports of one list, then two, of specific Spanish detainees given to the Royal Cabinet by the King of Spain during his last visit came to surface. One of them was for a royal pardon, the second for extradition. The Royal Cabinet would have released all 48. Daniel Galván was on the second.
Es curioso ver los argumentos de dirigentes de #Marruecos y #España.Todos se escudan en que no sabian nada #DanielGate #Mafrasich — Taoufik (@el3azzi) August 3, 2013
It’s interesting to see the arguments of the leaders of Morocco and Spain. They’re all pretending that they didn’t know anything.
Une autre version selon la presse Espagnole qui vient dire qu'il y a eu confusion entre 2 listes.Les condamnés et les graciés #DanielGate — MBI (@DcMBI) August 5, 2013
New version according to the Spanish media, claiming that there has been a confusion between two lists; the condemned and the pardoned.
#DanielGate #balagh853 fin mot de l'histoire c'est l'heritier qui a joué avec les listes de prisonniers #farceur #jeudenfant #mafrasich — Safya Akorri (@SimplySafya) August 5, 2013
The real story; the crown prince played with the prisoners lists.
In summary: the king has absolute power, but is absolutely not responsible for what happened. #DanielGate — Laila Lalami (@LailaLalami) August 4, 2013
A second press release announced the cancellation of the pardon on August 4. Hafid Benhachem, Director General for the prison administration, got removed from his post as a result of the inquiry promised by the King in his first communiqué. Online activists quickly talk of too little, too late:
#Danielgate: King of Morocco cancels pardon to Spanish pedophile Daniel Galván Viña. Problem is, guy left the country 3 days ago. #Oops. — Mohamed El Dahshan (@eldahshan) August 4, 2013
Le roi est en courant qu'il annulé la grâce? #Mafrasich #Balagh #DanielGate — Nizar Bennamate (@_Nizar_B) August 4, 2013
Is the King aware that he cancelled the pardon?
Le Roi n'a pas été informé, ne s'excuse pas auprès des victimes et limoge Benhachem, ce dernier nie son implication. #DanielGate #Balagh — L'étranger (@SamiNezar) August 5, 2013
The King hasn't been informed, didn't apologise, dismisses Benhachem. The latter denies his involvement.
Daniel Galván got eventually arrested in Spain after Interpol issued an international arrest warrant, but without any clear outcome as for where and when he would be tried.
Media blackout
There hasn't been any mention of Daniel Gate in the Moroccan state media, nor of the violent repression against protesters, until August 5, when 2M TV channel organized a debate around the Daniel Galván scandal. El Mostafa Ramid, Minister of Justice, justified the use of violence against the protesters, claiming they were armed.
Ramid, Minister of Justice, justifying the crackdown last Friday. #danielgate — Mohamed Daadaoui (@Maghreblog) August 5, 2013
Les manifestants de Vendredi avaient des portables, dans le jargon juridique marocain ça compte comme arme #danielgate — أمين (@Am_scl) August 5, 2013
Friday's protesters had cell phones. In the Moroccan jargon, that counts as a weapon.
Ramid also commented on the arrest of Daniel Galván that occurred earlier that day, and how he could possibly go back to prison:
Ramid : 3 scénarios : extradition (improbable), poursuite de peine en Espagne ou nouveau procès en Espagne #danielgate #2m — Hisham Almiraat (@almiraat) August 5, 2013
Ramid: 3 scenarios: extradition (unlikely), pursuit of the charges in Spain, or new trial in Spain.
In a blog post [Fr], Saad El Adraoui ridicules the debate by providing a sarcastic cartoon of the affair. Twitter user Ahmed Benshemsi sums up the Minister of Justice's intervention:
Resumé itv Ramid: 1. j'y suis pour rien 2. Tout ça c'est la faute à Benhachem 3. Les flics avaient raison de taper les manifestants. Ou pas. — Ahmed Benchemsi (@AhmedBenchemsi) August 5, 2013
Sum-up of Ramid's interview: 1. I didn't do anything 2. It's all Benhachem's fault 3. The Police had the right to beat the protesters. Or not.
View from Spain
Spain's main opposition party PSOE has referred to the Government's responsibility in this case:
#ElenaValenciano: El Gobierno debe hacerse responsable de resolver la situación y de que Galván acabe en la cárcel
— PSOE (@PSOE) August 6, 2013
The Government is responsible for solving the situation and making sure Galván ends up in jail.
In the current state of social, economic and political tension in Spain, some tweeps have criticized the way this case has been instrumentalized by the opposition.
El PSOE critica la “gestión desastrosa” del Gobierno con el pederasta indultado en Marruecos. Aquí todo vale para darle a Mariano. — manu (@liolulo) August 6, 2013
(Spain's main opposition party) PSOE criticizes the Government for its “disastrous management” of the child abuser pardoned in Morocco. Anything goes to hit (president) Mariano.
Since Galván was not the only prisoner who received pardon, some users have wondered who are the others.
OK, Daniel Galván era pederasta. Pero, quienes son los otros 30 espanoles indultados por error? — Inigo Antolin (@Harkerhk) August 6, 2013
OK, Daniel Galván was a child abuser. But who are the other 30 Spanish prisoners who have received pardon by mistake?
What's next?
For the first time since the February 20 movement that brought people to the streets two years ago and called for reforms, the Moroccan people united in one voice to denounce what was felt as another blow to their dignity. In a country where protesting the King's judgement can lead to prison, the events of the last few days are a precedence in the Kingdom's history.
Many congratulated themselves for the achievements:
@Atourabi: le peuple a fait en 3 jours ce que tous les partis politiques n'ont pu réaliser en plusieurs années. Chapeau bas #DanielGate #2M — Hazim (@EdwardBarnays) August 5, 2013
@Atourabi: the Moroccan people did in 3 days what all political parties didn't achieve in several years. Hats off.
Congratulations to the people of Morocco. This is some extraordinary royal backpedaling. http://t.co/ZVcoljMg72 #danielgate — Heather Marsh (@GeorgieBC) August 5, 2013
Others, more skeptical, consider that this should be a beginning. Moroccan blogger Larbi writes Fr:
Il s’est passé quelque chose durant les derniers jours, qui constitue un tournant. Cette regrettable grâce royale a apporté d’elle-même la démonstration pédagogique et parfaite de ce que beaucoup essayaient en vain d’expliquer : il ne point y avoir de pouvoir sans responsabilité et sans comptes à rendre. C’est l’heure de choix : le palais doit arrêter son hégémonie, se séparer de sa boite noire et abandonner le rôle de monarchie exécutive ou alors il sera fatalement confronté directement à la rue qui demandera des comptes à l’occasion d’autres affaires. A chacun de faire son évolution et en l’occurrence seule l’opinion publique a pour l'instant fait la sienne.
Something happened in the last few days that can be considered as a turning point. This pitiful pardon brought the perfect demonstration of what many tried to explain in vain; there can't be power without responsibilities or giving accounts. It's time for the choice: The Palace must stop its hegemony, abandon its black box [i.g. Royal Cabinet], and drop the role of executive monarchy, or it will have to face the street on other occasions. Each one needs to evolve, and so far, only the public opinion did.

author: Ammoun AAY


text:
PHOTOS: Oil Spill in Thailand’s Samet Island · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

About 50,000 liters of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Thailand on July 27 from a pipeline operated by PTT Global Chemical Plc. The oil spill reached Samet island off Rayong province which is a popular tourist destination.
PTT has already apologized and vowed to help in the rehabilitation of the area:
PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited would like to express its sincerest apologies for the oil spill situation and would like to express its gratitude to all parties who have provided help to resolve the current situation. As of today, the oil leaks impact at Prao Bay has been solved and the emergency situation there has now been terminated. The next phase is the recovery of the environment of which a plan is being prepared. This includes a plan for helping the affected victims of the situation.
On August 4, the company claimed that 99% of the oil slick has been removed already:
The oil slick removal operation today removed 99% of the oil slick. The transferring and transporting of oil stained debris off Prao bay to Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate Port was supported by the Royal Thai Navy for further examination, categorization, and elimination with the standards fully approved by the Department of Industrial Works.
Greenpeace has posted some photos of the clean-up operation and the impact of the oil spill in the area:
Photo from Facebook page of Greenpeace Thailand
Photo from Facebook page of Greenpeace Thailand
Clean-up operation. Photo from Facebook page of Greenpeace Thailand
Clean-up operation. Photo from Facebook page of Greenpeace Thailand
Clean-up operation. Photo from Facebook page of Greenpeace Thailand
Oil spill clean-up. Photo from Facebook of Richard Barrow
Despite the removal of oil slick, there are still concerns about the impact of the oil spill on the marine ecosystem:
Zanyasan Tanantpapat of Coconuts Bangkok wrote how the oil spill affected the livelihood of local residents:
Small fishing boat families have been hit the hardest by the spill, as selling seafood caught in the waters around Koh Samet to restaurants on the island is their main source of income… and local restaurants are refusing to buy for fear of contamination.
Motorbike and taxi rental businesses have also taken a hit as tourist numbers have reduced drastically.
Civil society groups have issued a statement expressing concern about the lack of information regarding the disaster:
Since the incidence has occurred, PTT GC has insisted that the situation is not worrying and is containable. Little information has been disclosed as to impacts of the oil spill on the environment, natural resources, the ecology and people’s and the chemicals used to dissolve it.
The lack of disclosure as to potential impacts on the environment and people has left public in the dark as far as the harmful situation is concerned.
They issued this challenge to PTT and government agencies:
The corporation is obliged to explain the real reasons of the pipeline leakage to public as well as detail of the impacts on the environment, natural resources, the ecology and people’s health as a result of the oil spill and the use of the chemical dispersants.
State agencies have to investigate to find out the reasons and the amount of the oil leakage and to enforce applicable criminal and civil provisions to bring the perpetrators to justice and to ensure that such incidence shall not happen again.
According to environment groups, there have been more than 200 oil spill disasters in Thailand in the past three decades.

author: Mong Palatino