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Global Voices Podcast: Remembering Our School Days · Global Voices
Jamillah Knowles

Hello World!
Welcome to the Global Voices podcast. In this edition we’re going to school. From extreme teaching on the Niger River, to hearing truths from our younger friends, and thinking back to some of the fondest or most memorable educational moments of Global Voices contributors.
So, what were school days like for Global Voices people?
An explosive memory
Paula Goes from Brazil is our multilingual editor. Here is one of her funnier memories from journalism school, where a “glow in the dark” potato-mayonnaise salad served at a superhero costume party caused a frenetic rush of students to the hospital, to the great amusement of doctors and passersby.
Everyone survived to laugh at the story years later.
Teaching the internet from a boat
In this episode we also have an amazing tale of teaching, boats and the river.
Eddie Avila, director of Rising Voices talks with Boukary Konaté in Mali about the Segou Villages Project that brought Internet to villages along the Niger River by boat. Read more about the journey that brought internet to 800 villagers and see Boukary's photos shared on Flickr.
An unforgettable teacher
Memories of school days may be closely linked to friends or enemies but they may also be related to places and of course teachers. Some say that it is both the best and the worst teachers that stay in your mind years after you have left school. Veroniki Krikoni in Greece shares a beautiful tribute to a time, place and a teacher.
Playground politics
These times of learning in our childhood can help to make us who we are today. Cyrus Farivar is a journalist, producer and author. He describes an impulsive moment in the playground that landed him in the most trouble he's ever experienced in school… after biting his friend.
Also recalling a formative moment on the playground, Juliana Rincón Parra from Colombia describes how she was forced to negotiate a minefield of gender politics in order to play a simple game of “house” with her friends.
How Ethan learned to type so fast
School can be a time where you realise where you may want to go later in life. But getting there is not always easy.
A boy named Ethan Zuckerman, who grew up to be the co-founder of Global Voices, tells how his struggles with handwriting in the 4th grade almost caused him to lose hope… until he learned to type. Fast!
Standing up to bullies
Having a hard time at school with teachers can lead to smart solutions as Ethan’s story proves. Unfortunately, some of us grew up surrounded with few friends and more enemies. Bullying at school is an international problem and finding the right answer is not easy.
One person who has suffered at the hand of bullies is Vuk. He’s a 12-year old blogger and son of Danica Radisic in Serbia. Together they explained what happened and what school is like under this type of pressure. If you’re facing a bully, don’t go through it alone and find someone you can talk to, he says.
Studying abroad
Francois-Xavier Ada-Affana is a writer and translator and describes himself on his blog as “a nice Cameroonian finding his way in the world.”
He tells us how studying international relations in Cyprus, Greece has helped shape his views on history and education, opening his mind to new cultures and people.
The long walk to school
For our final story we have a journey. A trip into the past, and the 3 kilometre path that Victor Kaonga walked to school each day in Malawi as an 8-year old boy, often in rain with banana leaves as umbrellas. Today, Victor is a broadcast journalist. Driving past the place where he used to go to school, he says, “The distance remains the same, it's only that now it appears much shorter.”
Thanks for listening
That’s all we have for this edition. School and educational stories are a reminder of the things that make us so similar no matter where we are in the world. The thing that brings us together are those years when we were all inexperienced. Now we can look back and wonder at what we have become.
Huge thanks to all of our contributors who took us back in their lives as well as those who shared a picture of education today. I think we all learned something!
Music Credits
In the podcast you can hear lots of lovely Creative Commons music. Thanks to Mark Cotton for his fantastic creations and thanks also to all of the wonderful voice over performances and clips that help to glue the podcast together. The Global Voices Podcast, the world is talking, we hope you’re listening!
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author: Jamillah Knowles


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Hungary: Tax Administration Investigates Citizen Activists · Global Voices
Marietta Le

Véleményvezér blog commented [hu] on the news of the most popular citizen movement's activists being checked by the National Tax and Customs Administration, interpreting it as a sign of fear by the ruling party Fidesz: “Two years after [winning] a two-thirds [majority], they're already catching flies, they're chasing civil activists.” The movement being targeted now started from a Facebook page ‘One Million for the Freedom of Press in Hungary‘ (aka Milla; hu; over 99,000 followers) and organized several rallies against the new media law and the government's politics. On the Hungarian national holiday on March 15, Milla is planning to hold another rally.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Marietta Le


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Iran: ‘My candidate is still in prison’ · Global Voices
Hadi Nili

Iranian parliamentary national election would be held by Friday, 2 March, but it seems there is a widespread boycott at least among most of the online Iranian users. Mamad tweets [fa]: ‘Someone came to hand me a pamphlet for a candidate. I told him that I have voted for someone two years ago and he is still in prison’. This Tehran-based user is referring to a-year-long house arrest of Mirhossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karoubi, two reformist candidates of Iran 2009 presidential election which leads to protests.

author: Hadi Nili


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Iran: Nationalist feelings only for election time · Global Voices
Hadi Nili

Iranian state-run broadcasters are persuading people to vote in coming parliamentary election by Friday, 2 March. They also playback some nationalist songs and hymns. Spidermard, an Iranian user, tweets [fa]: ‘Only by election time the state realizes that the country is called Iran. The other times it is Islamic Republic’.


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Iran: ‘Wish we had a couple of candidates’ · Global Voices
Hadi Nili

Iranian parliamentary election would be held by Friday, 2 March. Reformists and protestors have boycotted the election due to crackdown in last 3 years. Arezoo criticizes reformists and protestors and tweets [fa]: ‘We did not manage to do scheduling and negotiations so we could have a couple of candidates to vote for them’.


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Jamaica: Overhauling the Education System · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Don’t you think we ought to use the classroom to create a safe place for self-discovery and learning, coupled with enthusiasm and fun?” Ruthibelle thinks that the country needs “an education revolution.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Nicaragua: Author Arquímedes González Champions Self-Publishing  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Mildred Largaespada reviews [es] the work of Nicaraguan writer Arquímedes González [es], “the first Central American writer (to my knowledge) who decides to jump to self-editing using social networks, very much in tune with modern times,” she writes. The Kindle versions of González's novels can be purchased for 0.99 US Dollars on Amazon [es].

author: Silvia Viñas


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Russia: The Early Days of Government Transparency · Global Voices
Sven Hultberg Carlsson

This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011/12.
“Make your work available online.”
It may seem a harmless demand, but in Russia it's more than that. Such a request led to Alexey Navalny, a famed anti-establishment blogger and activist, scrutinizing public procurement contracts to expose shady practices by officials and private companies.
Navalny's project, RosPil [ru], helped earn him the reputation of Russia's most viable opposition leader — though he says he won't partake in or respect elections that aren't clean (a popular stance these days).
The RosPil project exposes corruption in Russia. Photo: Sven Hultberg Carlsson
That Navalny and other contributors to RosPil were able to examine public procurements — a job that needs doing not only in Russia — is thanks to a small triumph of open governance. At the end of 2005, enough pressure had been laid on the Kremlin for its leaders to make public procurement contracts available to the public.
The simple but insistent demand had come from the Freedom of Information Foundation (FIF) [ru], a non-profit founded in 2004. In a recent interview with Global Voices, Ivan Pavlov, its chairman, argues that open access to government information enbles citizens to act as a check on their rulers:
Everyone agrees that corruption is a huge problem in Russia. But the government's solution has been stronger government control. I believe that public control is much more effective. Government information must therefore be available so that the public can exercise control over it and oversee its actions.
Our demand is that the government and all public institutions make everything that isn't secret available to the public on a website.
The Foundation has made encouraging advances in their field. Early in Dmitry Medvedev's presidency, when his reform initiatives had a semblance of bite to them, work on Russia's Freedom of Information Act began to gain momentum.
With the help of persistent officials at Russia's Ministry of Economic Development — officials who, coincidentally or not, “no longer work there” — the Duma passed what Pavlov deems a “revolutionary” and “very progressive” piece of legislation:
The Freedom of Information Act was Medvedev's greatest achievement as president. I am an optimist and still believe the act will change the whole Russian system. But the government has to use this immense resource as a way to change. So far, that hasn't happened.
The act has been in effect since 2010. Its implementation is lacking. Little if any information is provided when requests are put to authorities, prompting the Foundation to litigate against secretive bodies that, believe it or not, are breaking the law.
Veracity tests have become a daily routine. When Medvedev proclaimed the need for an independent judiciary, Pavlov’s organisation put Russian courts to the test.
Many courts were unwilling to publish short bios and pictures of their judges online, but some reacted positively to the challenge. Pavlov says:
The courts may have published this information because they wanted to take the lead in our ratings. But I hope that these courts also understand how such a decision can contribute to society.
Of course, making information available online does not guarantee transparent governance. Pavlov admits that sensitive information is the hardest to expose.
Very few government agencies, federal or regional, want their financial records in public view. Information on cash flow, which could expose corruption, is kept secret — not only by the authorities, but by non-profit organisations as well.
And in the week of Russia’s presidential elections, there is an elephant in the room. Vladimir Putin, very likely about to enter his third term as president, favours a closed society. Russia’s ministries, reluctant collaborators even during Medvedev’s presidency, are much less prone to cooperation now.
The Freedom of Information Foundation operate from their offices in St. Petersburg. Photo: Sven Hultberg Carlsson
Even historical records, politically less toxic for today's leaders, are off limits. Historians researching the Soviet-era repressions cannot examine victims’ records without explicit approval by each related family.
Why, then, would information incriminating the Kremlin directly be brought to light?
Pavlov explains:
Putin cannot control the whole system. My hope is that the popular demands we have seen increase since the Duma elections last year will bring about change.
We see Russia developing in our research. In 2005 two thirds of Russia's federal executive agencies had no websites. Today all of them do.
But projects like RosPil cannot be alone. Civil activists and NGOs must use the Freedom of Information Act to expose situations where there is no justice.
This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011/12.

author: Sven Hultberg Carlsson


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Russia: Vladivostok’s Pre-Election Puzzle · Global Voices
Masha

This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011/12.
On the eve of the March 4 presidential election in Russia, the level of political voltage has reached its tipping point. The Russian authorities are neither able to ignore the large-scale protests across the country, nor able to adequately respond to the people’s demands.
Everyone and everything has turned political now, and the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok has caught this pre-election fever as well.
The most recent example is the mysterious ad campaign that many of Vladivostok's netizens are discussing right now. It may turn out to be a purely commercial, non-political project, but it definitely plays on public interest and ignites the debate by using up-to-date political images.
First, large banners asking “Who? Who?” appeared on one of the city's streets (the image below comes from this article [ru] on PrimaMedia.ru and is reproduced here in accordance with the portal's re-publication rules [ru]):
Who? Who? by Anton Balashov
This question may well refer to the presidential candidates running in the March 4 election – or it may not. The approach here is common for both commercial and political campaigns: the initial ads do not point at any specific product/candidate explicitly. (Examples of similar political ads that have appeared in Vladivostok recently are here and here: the first one states that the country was first destroyed in 1917, during the Russian revolution, and then some more in 1991, at end of the Soviet era, while what happens in 2012 remains to be seen; the second one is asking, “Chaos, again?”.)
It did not take long for the answers to appear – but, just like the initial “Who? Who?” question, they left Vladivostok's residents puzzled and confused: big banners appeared all over the city, featuring, among others, Sponge Bob [ru], Avatar's Toruk Makto [ru], Michael Jackson and Mr. Bean [ru], and the Coat-Clad Horse from a popular Russian slang rhyme.
Somewhat later, bloggers caught these ads with the same characters on PrimPogoda.ru, a local weather portal:
Who? Who? Answers: Sponge Bob, Horse in a Coat (rhymes in Russian), Turuk Manto (character from Avatar) screen shots taken from PrimPogoda.ru
LJ user alexhitrov's solution to this puzzle [ru] is the one that the local online community seems to favor the most. He pointed out that the PrimPogoda.ru ads had a checked box with a number next to each of the characters mentioned above – and he also supplied a screenshot of a TV news program that showed a sample voting ballot for the upcoming election:
Each presidential candidate [on the sample voting ballot] is represented by one of the characters [in the mysterious ads] and, of course, there's a corresponding number on the ballot.
According to alexhitrov, Toruk Makto represents Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party; Sponge Bob is Sergey Mironov, the leader of the Just Russia party; and Vladimir Putin, #5, has to be the proverbial Horse in the Coat.
LJ user vladimir_golev wrote this [ru], referring to the cartoon character rather than the political candidate that Sponge Bob seems to represent in this context:
I'd vote for Sponge Bob. Sponge Bob is about stability, above all.
Russia will learn the name of its next head of state relatively soon. Vladivostok residents will probably also get to discover the meaning of the mysterious ad campaign, its punchline.
This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011/12.

author: Masha


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Trinidad & Tobago: Cost of Carnival  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“With the post Carnival cool down over, it’s back to real life and figuring out the bills”: Rishi Sankar posts a spreadsheet that proves how expensive participating in Trinidad Carnival can be.


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A Pictorial Guide to China’s Politics: Left v. Right · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jimmy from Tea Leaf Nation explains the political position of the leftist and the rightist in China by translating discussion in micro-blogs and a pictorial guide from cnpolitics.org.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Angola: Young video blogger goes off on what’s “no good” · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

Young video blogger @DelvisBoy (Delvino Funetil) has started a series of video rants about Angolan pop culture called “Não Ta Bom#” (It's no good#). His simple rant about Facebook posted only days ago has had over 11,000 views – but he has ambitions of reaching a million.

author: Janet Gunter


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China: Old propaganda for a new era · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Media Project explains how an old icon, Lei Feng, has been reused recently in the new round of propaganda campaign by the education department.


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China: What Happened in Kashgar?  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Xinjiang: Far West China has collected information from different sources and put together a fuller picture on what happened in Kashgar on February 28, 2012 when a riot and/or public demonstration ended in the deaths of over 20 people.


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Colombia: Film Festival Award Goes to Indigenous Film · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The Cartagena International Film Festival [es] awarded one of its India Catalina awards in the category of New Creators in Short Films to the documentary short Mu Drua (My land) by Mileidy Orozco Domicó of the University of Antioquia [es]. The documentary, in the Embera tongue, follows the struggles of a young woman forced to migrate due to conflict from her land to the city of Medellín in Colombia.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Cuba: Blogger Perspectives on the Embargo’s 50th Anniversary (Part 2) · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

This is the second part of a two part series on Cuban perspectives on the 50th anniversary of the embargo. Please read the first part here.
The United States embargo (or blockade) against Cuba awakens passionate reactions, debates and reflections that have not subsided with time: the embargo is now 50 years old. Beyond opinions of politicians, diplomats, and strategists, Cubans – inside and outside of the Island – have lived and felt the embargo on the ground.
With this in mind, Global Voices Caribbean Editor Janine Mendes-Franco and I interviewed one blogger from the diaspora and one residing in Cuba to offer various perspectives on the embargo, a very complex and multi-layered issue. Janine interviewed Alberto de la Cruz, managing editor of babalu blog, and I interviewed Elaine Díaz, editor of the blog Polémica Digital, journalist, journalism professor at the University of Havana  [es] and Global Voices author [es].
Global Voices (GV): The U.S. embargo on Cuba – probably the longest-running economic ban in history – recently turned 50.  Supporters see it as a necessary measure against a communist government; critics say that the policy is a failure that is really not hurting the regime, but instead, the average Cuban. Where do you stand?
Elaine Díaz (ED): Definir una posición puede ser difícil; pero, en este caso, siempre ha sido sencillo ubicarse en un espacio. El bloqueo, que algunos llaman embargo, me parece, en primer lugar, una ofensa a Cuba como nación. Ningún país tiene derecho a imponer sanciones financieras o políticas a otro por estar en desacuerdo con sus sistema político. Cada pueblo tiene derecho a escoger su filiación ideológica, y Cuba no es la excepción. El temor al fantasma del “comunismo” le ha brindado un marco legal a Estados Unidos para imponer este conjunto de leyes que, contestando tu segunda pregunta; no afectan en nada al gobierno, sino al ciudadano común, que se ve privado del acceso a artículos de primera necesidad porque se encarecen las inversiones y nuestro maltrecha producción nacional no da abasto a la demanda actual.
GV: What do you think it has accomplished, if anything?
Elaine Díaz (on the right) with a blogger friend.
ED: Creo que ha creado un sentimiento de atrincheramiento, de necesidad de defender la isla, de promover un sistema político autónomo que ha sido capaz de resistir esta hostilidad durante 50 años.
GV: Do you think the embargo, as it stands now, is doing anything to improve the political or human rights situation in Cuba?
ED: En lo absoluto.
GV: Do you see a better alternative?
ED: Respetar el derecho a la autodeterminación de los pueblos.
GV: How do you feel about the recent lifting of travel restrictions and making remittances easier?
ED: Me parece una medida muy acertada. Existen muchísimas familias sufriendo por la enemistad de dos gobiernos. El bloqueo se ha traducido en la separación de familias, de padres e hijos de alguna manera indirectamente. Hasta hace algunos años tener un familiar residiendo en Estados Unidos constituía un estigma; las recientes medidas de flexibilización tanto desde Cuba como por parte de Estados Unidos, sientan las bases, aunque aún insuficiente, para un diálogo entre las dos naciones.
GV: How has the embargo affected the Internet in Cuba? In terms of infrastructure, access, distribution.
ED: Acceso a alguna tecnología en específico. No creo que Cuba estuviese en ningún momento de acuerdo en conectarse a algunos de los cables de fibra óptica que provee Estados Unidos por cuestiones de seguridad nacional

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Iran: “Should We Vote Again?” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

The Islamic Republic is preparing for parliamentary (Majlis) election on Friday, March 2, 2012. It is the first national election since the controversial 2009 presidential election and subsequent mass demonstrations. While several opposition groups have called for boycotting the election, the Iranian state is employing anti-Western propaganda to bring citizens to the polls.
Setare Iran has published [fa] a poster with an image of  Neda, a young woman killed during protests, with a slogan that says, “I do not vote.”
The blogger says:
Beyond the question of whether taking part in this election is useful or not, how can someone go to the polls after all these martyrs and with thousands of innocents imprisoned? This election on Friday will not honour our votes. It is a test for a regime who considers that the intelligence of the people is non-existant. Neda's innocent gaze does not let us to sell our honour to a dictatorship.
Neda: I do not vote
Azarakan says [fa]:
Contrary to the regime's propaganda that says Western countries will attack Iran if people do not vote, boycotting the election makes the regime understand it does not have any legitimacy. It forces them to stop challenging the international community with its nuclear program.
A one minute film recalls that members of parliament backed backed the last fraudulent election, and brought economic misery to the country.
The final message of the video questions, “Should we vote again?”
Of course, not all Iranian bloggers share the same opinion on the election. Ahestan considers that problems do not get solved by not taking part in the election because the political participation of the people can be a strong answer to enemies (“a fist to their mouth”). “If they [enemies] encourage people not to vote, then why should the Islamic Republic not encourage them to vote?” he says.
To vote or not to vote, may finally not be the question, since some analysts predict the government will report a turnout of 60 percent or higher, regardless of what happens on Friday.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Pakistan: An Oscar in Pakistan · Global Voices
Kumail Ahmed

Pakistani-Canadian journalist and documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, recently won an Oscar award for the best documentary (short) film. In 2010 she won an Emmy for her documentary, Pakistan: Children of the Taliban.
Nearly all Pakistani daily newspapers made it front page news (The News, Dawn, Jang , Express News). The prime minister of Pakistan also announced the highest civil award for Ms. Chinoy.
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy hosting TEDxKarachi 2011. Image courtesy Dr. Awab Alvi.
This news generated a flood of tweets. Shermeen, a self-made entrepreneur and film director, was congratulated by all:
@Jemima_Khan: Told you, told you, told you it's Pakistan's year… Congrats to @sharmeenochinoy for her Oscar win for brilliant doc, Saving Face
@suhasinih: Wow Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy wins for best documentary!! Have seen those burns wards…her work needs to be seen by the world.
@Natasha_H_Ejaz: #Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy: You bring tears to my eyes! So proud!
@samramuslim: I walk a prouder #Pakistani today coz of you @sharmeenochinoy and your #Oscar win!!
@Kamran Javed: CONGRATS! Pakistan won 1st Oscar Award for Saving Faces as Best Documentary
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy was awarded the Oscar for an investigative documentary she made on the affects of acid violence on woman. Her documentary focuses on the bad state of woman right in Pakistan. Her film, named ‘Saving Faces‘, shows the how women live after being attacked by acid. The film also shows the work of British Pakistani Surgeon Muhammed Jawad who has tried to save the faces of  women who have undergone this trauma. Acid attack is a ‘domestic crime’ in Pakistan, and it's a travesty of justice when such culprits escape from the rule of law.
The documentary's website details the mission of the film. The basic aim is to end acid violence in Pakistan and not just an “exposition of horrendous crime”. The ‘Acid Survivor Pakistan’ – a activist group made after the documentary won the Oscar – plans to use social media, awareness, educating the youth, and radio/television campaigns to develop awareness about this horrible crime and completely root it out of society.
Aaminah Qadir in her blog post, rightly calls Sharmeen a model to get inspiration from. The award will also help in developing the soft image of Pakistan. Sharmeen, herself, dedicated the Oscar to the women of Pakistan. Until Pakistan has women like Shermeen, hope for a change exists in the society.
Lastly, this documentary film will also help in enforcing the Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Laws promulgated in December 2011. The new amendment will lead the culprit to lifetime imprisonment, and a mandatory compensation of 1 million rupees ( $11,000; rate as of 29 February, 2012).
Sharmeen's message in the Oscar Thank You Cam was:
To everyone in Pakistan, who fights against terrorism every single day, this, is for you

author: Kumail Ahmed


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Palestine: Youth Activist Fadi Quran Released From Israeli Prison · Global Voices
Ahmed Medien

Palestinian youth activist and Stanford alumnus, Fadi Quran. Photo by Jeff Mendelman. Used with permission.
Palestinian youth activist Fadi Quran has been released on bail from an Israeli prison. The news was welcomed by dozens of Twitter users who expressed great joy.
On Twitter, Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab reacts to his arrest:
@daoudkuttab: Israelis threw @fadiquran an American Palestinian nonviolent activists deep in Israel with 2 other Palestinians. No US murmur !!!. #freefadi
Quran was arrested in Hebron on February 23, 2012 – the day of his birthday – after allegedly pushing an Israeli police officer. At the time of the arrest, Fadi and his peers were protesting against the closure of Shuhada Street in Hebron, one of the city's main thoroughfares, on which Palestinians have been forbidden to walk or drive on for over a decade.
A video of Quran's arrest was uploaded on YouTube by the New York-based Institute for Middle East Understanding:
Social media networks quickly picked up on Quran's arrest. On Friday, a Facebook page Free Fadi Quran was created. Quran's friends and supporters also changed their profile pictures on different social media platforms to show solidarity. And on February 26, Quran's Stanford colleagues created the website freefadi.org to raise awareness about his arrest. On Twitter, news about his arrest and later on his release was tweeted under the hash tag #FreeFadi.
Stanford student Lila Kalaf's online petition was created on change.org to call for his release.
Fadi Quran was one of the members of the nonviolent freedom rides organised in November 2010.
Palestinian Freedom Riders
The movement was modeled following the 1963 freedom rides in the United States against racial segregation. In this case, Palestinians protested against apartheid which prevents Palestinians from traveling freely to Jerusalem from West Bank.

author: Ahmed Medien


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South Africa: Kommandokorp – Extremist Hate Group or Afrikaner Nationalism? · Global Voices
Ismail Dhorat

The South African Mail & Guardian ran a story recently about an extremist right wing survival camp breeding virulent racism:
An extremist right-wing survival camp, about 230km east of Jo'burg, is breeding virulent racism, training teenage boys in its ideology.
The article further stated:
On its website, the Kommandokorps describes itself as an elite organisation “protecting its own people” in the event of an attack, it writes, necessary “because the police and the military cannot provide help quickly enough”.
Last year, it signed a saamstaanverdrag (a unity pact) with the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) and the Suidlanders — a small whites-only group that is awaiting the racial apocalypse — to coordinate their security strategy together.
Boys aged between 13 and 19 take part in Kommandokorp survival camp. Photo source: Kommandokorp Facebook page.
The paper has also produced a short documentary about the Kommandokorps called Afrikaner Blood.
After watching the video, Ziyanda Stuurman wrote:
when I watched the video about the Kommandokorps program (somewhere in countryside South Africa), I felt a mixture of anger and sadness. […] What moved me most about the video is the sheer existence and cunning of people like Jooste who prey on people's paranoia and their fears and worst of all, see that as a vehicle to advocate and promote hate.
She continued:
Of course as a Black person, I was unbelievably offended by the horrific statements and wild generalizations made about Black people in the video, but more than that, as a human being, I was really touched by the thought of the massive impression these statements were making on those young men.
Kommandokorps have since responded:
“No utterances of hate speech are ever made. Cadets are taught to love their own language, culture, traditions, religions and race. That is in the Constitution,” its executive director Franz Jooste said.
Ejay's has a round up of comments and articles about Kommandokorps and their members:
On the 2nd of September 2011, “Wolfy” of the Commando Corps, announced on their official Facebook Page, that as of the 30th of September 2011, all members having black Facebook Friends will be “removed”
Frans Cronje, the deputy CEO of the South African Institute of Race Relations shows concern:
When you convince a child that blacks are the enemy, the danger is that he will act upon it. He gets a gun, climbs on to a bus full of black schoolchildren, and shoots 20 of them dead. That’s a realistic danger. It’s brainwashing, and it’s easy to do
Polticsweb published a statement issued by Mmusi Maimane of the Democratic Alliance:
In the video Afrikaner Blood, for example, he can be heard articulating profoundly hateful speech. For example:
All South Africans, and especially those who have experienced the hurt of racism, should find the continued existence of this camp an affront to our democracy and our Constitution. I am personally incensed with the prospect that this camp is allowed to continue operating for one day longer. This hate camp must be stopped now.
Saluting the old South African flag. Photo source: Kommandokorp Facebook page.
WeekendAM Live requested feedback from users:
We're asking you today … What is your take on the Kommandokorps and is there a place in our democratic society for youth camps that perpetuate hate crimes against other races?
Clarence Carter Chirenje said:
Race is a very complex issue in south Africa…we need to intergrate,interact and tolerate each other if we are to build a beta south Africa for all
Karabo Mashile commented:
“There's no place for things like these, I read the whole story and I can tell you there's hate speech and inciting of violence, lets see if DA, afriforum and ff+ will take this up”
Nkosingiphile Cofu wrote:
South Africa remains deeply racialy divided because there has not been a concerted effort to deracialise our society's. Staffing in core institutions like schools reflect this reality of a divided nation. There needs to be a social engeering programes aimed specificly to the youth and the society at large to try and inculcate the ideas of non racialism.
Abdullah believes that no one is born a racist:
No one is born a racist, it get indoctranated by parents, elders etc. I would like to see force integration on all class levels. The youth will only believe the indoctrination if they do not mix with other races. “We have made you different so that you can recognise each other”. . .Quraan.
However, Kommandokorp have posted statements on their Facebook page claiming they are not racist.
Below are some of comments about Kommandokorp appearing on Twitter:
@stoneware: It struck me how similar the sentiments expressed by Julius Malema and the Kommandokorps, just in reverse. Why are either views tolerated?
@chumisa_n: Just read the Kommandokorps articles. How atrocious. Really, really saddening to see so much hate being passed on.
@RiaadMoosa: People always wonder what causes racism. It seems like it's got something to do with wearing khaki…
@Wespresso: Two highlights in one day: Expel #Malema eyewitnessnews.co.za/Story.aspx?Id=… and shut down #Kommandokorps citizen.co.za/citizen/conten…Panzi polarization!
The citizen reports that a motion has been passed in the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature to close the group:
A motion to shut down the controversial “hate camp” of the Kommandokorps got overwhelming support in the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature yesterday.
Sponsored by the Democratic Alliance (DA), the motion called for the “immediate” closure of the camp, including a full investigation into the activities at the facility by the Mpumalanga police.
Parts of the motion also called on the legislature to condemn racism of all kinds, both in this house and elsewhere in our province as well as to condemn farm attacks, farm murders and crime of all kinds.

author: Ismail Dhorat


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World: Global March Against the Syrian Dictator · Global Voices
Leila Nachawati Rego

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
In March 2011, when Syrians started taking to the streets to demand freedom and justice, it was hard to imagine that a year later the regime would have killed thousands of people and tortured and arrested countless others. The city of Homs has been besieged since the beginning of February and suffers an unprecedented crackdown against its entire population, with a death toll of 100 every day.
While international powers have not agreed on the need to pressure the Assad regime, global citizens solidarity with Syrians has been increasing and it will likely garner more support now that we are reaching the anniversary of the Syrian revolution.
An initiative called Global March for Syria aims to take people from all over the world to the streets on March 15, 16 and 17 in support of the Syrian people's struggle. The campaign is explained in a video called “Against a Dictator” that has been widely shared online:
Marches for Syria are already planned in 16 cities, and the list keeps growing every day. Activists have created a Facebook event with information on the different marches, where they encourage citizens worldwide to stand with Syria against oppression:
One year since the Syrian revolution began. One year of violence against peaceful protesters and innocent civilians. One year of bloodshed. And one year of a brave stance against great evil, but the Syrian people have vowed to never stop until the fall of the regime, until they gain freedom and dignity. On March  15-17, 2012 let's stand with Syria against oppression and take a moment to remember the thousands of lives sacrificed since March 15, 2011.
The list of marches (please add yours to the Facebook event and as a comment to this post) are as follows:
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.

author: Leila Nachawati Rego


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Angola: Documentary “Death Metal Angola” · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

New York-based producers of a documentary called “Death Metal Angola”, about the emerging metal scene in Angola and a rock festival in the city of Huambo, are raising money for post-production costs on crowdfunding platform IndieGogo. The film's tagline: “The hardest hardcore is Angolan hardcore.”


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Colombia: Chief Prosecutor Viviane Morales Removed from Office · Global Voices
Lully

The State Council, a regulatory institution of the Supreme Court, declared the election of Chief Prosecutor Viviane Morales invalid, arguing that in December 2010 the Court's internal rules were violated, causing irregularities in the voting, as La silla Vacía [es] explained. The news became a local trending topic on Twitter with the hashtags and phrases #ChaoFiscal [es], Consejo de Estado [es] y #ApoyoAVivianeMorales [es].

author: Lully


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India: TV Channels Protest Against Lawyers In Kannada · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sans Serif reports that several local TV channels in Kannada blacked out their screens for two minutes on air to protest the violence unleashed on journalists by lawyers at the Bangalore courts last Friday.

author: Rezwan


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Iran: Bloggers have criticized Khatami for voting · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian media report that former president Mohammad Khatami, a chief reformist figure, cast a vote in the ninth parliamentary elections. Several bloggers such as Noor Afkan says[fa] Khatami betrayed people by voting in this election while there are many political prisoners.


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Iran: Election cartoon · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Nikahang, a blogger and leading cartoonist, has published a cartoon on former Iranian president,who reportedly voted in parliamentary elections.


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Japanese Police Raided North Korean-linked Science Association · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Police in Tokyo raided the office of a North Korean-linked science association over illegal PC exports allegations. North Korea Tech blog explains the association's past records and suspicions surrounding them.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Pakistan: Shia Genocide – Spreading From Karachi to Kohistan · Global Voices
Ammar Yasir

On February 28, 2012, armed men, disguised in Pakistani army uniforms in the Kohistan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, blocked a convoy of two buses and a van that was on its way back to Gilgit Baltistan from a religious pilgrimage of the holy sites in Iran. Reportedly, the passengers on gun point were forced to show their ID’s.
The selected men and women were then dismounted off the vehicles, lined up and shot at point blank range. Eighteen of them (including two women) died on spot while several others were injured. Those killed had one thing common; their faith. They all belonged to the Shiite sect of the religion Islam.
Timeline
The faith based killings of the Shiites in Pakistan is not the first of its nature. Back in the 1990s, doctors and engineers of the mentioned faith were systematically targeted. Eighty seven Shiite doctors are reported to have been killed in these target killings until now.
With time the centre of these faiths based killings have moved from South Punjab to Parachinar (KPK) and Balochistan where the Shiite Hazara tribe is notably at the receiving end.
At least twelve Shi'ite Hazara community members were gunned down in Pakistan's southern city of Quetta. Image by RFE/RL. Copyright Demotix (4th October 2011)
Here is the horrific timeline of the past one year that portrays a very bloody picture:
April 6, 2011 – 5 killed in Hazar Gunji, Balochistan
May 6, 2011 – Several people were killed in Hazara graveyard in a firing incident (Western Bypass Quetta)
May 18, 2011 – 6 people killed in an attack on a vehicle again in Hazar Gunji
July 29, 2011 – Several pilgrims killed when gunmen attacked a bus in Sohrab Goth, Quetta
August 30, 2011- 11 killed in a powerful blast outside Quetta mosque after Eid ul Fitr prayers
September 20, 2011 – In Mastung, 30 pilgrims were killed in an attack (similar to the one in Kohistan) on a bus going to Iran
October 4, 2011 – Baluchistan, 13 people were killed in a bus attack near western bypass
December 31, 2011 – Karachi, popular Shia activist Askari Raza was murdered along with his nephew
January 17, 2012- Khanpur South Punjab, bomb attack on a religious procession (Chehlum) killing 18 mourners
January 25-30, 2012 – Karachi, Eight incidents of sectarian violence and militants attacks took place in Pakistan’s economic hub that claimed 11 lives in systematic target killings.
February 18, 2012 – Parachinar, 41 people killed in a suicide attack after Friday prayers
February 19, 2012 – Muzaffar Garh, Popular Shia Scholar and School Principal Hafiz Saqlain Naqvi was attacked in a firing incident, who later died from his wounds.
A massive funeral procession for slain Shi'ite leader, Askari Raza. Image by Syed Yasir Kazmi. Copyright Demotix (1st January 2012)
Blogger Suleman Akhtar in his post found these killings no different from historic tragedy of Holocaust:
Last time it happened they called it the Holocaust. The Nazis did not annihilate the Jews for what they had done or for what they had not done for that matter. They exterminated millions of Jewish men, women and children for what they were – the Jews.
Changing political course
For the past ten years Pakistan has been a centre of religious militancy and extremism. Banned sectarian outfits like Sipah e Sahaba and Lashkar e Jhangvi that were allowed proliferate turned against their masters and this has resulted in the spree of suicide attacks all over Pakistan.
Religious and right wing parties called these suicide attacks a reaction to drone attacks. But the post-Osama Bin Laden scenario has altered the course of this new wave of terrorism. The example of such a change can be observed in the new developing alliance of 41 religious parties under the new platform of Defenders of Pakistan Council (DPC), led by former ISI chief and Taliban supporter Hameed Gul, General Zia’s prodigy and former minister Ijaz Ul Haq, Pakistani media’s favorite politician Sheikh Rasheed, and religious leader Sami ul Haq who is known for his close association with Afghan Taliban and banned sectarian outfits like Sipah e Sahaba, Laskhar e Jhangvi and Jamat u Dawa.
It is quite astonishing how the mentioned parties and people in DPC have changed their view point on the Pakistani army or country’s sovereignty overnight. They are holding rallies all over Pakistan apparently in support of the army. The money they are spending on their campaign is in the millions. What perks, privileges and liberty are they receiving in return, remains a frightening thought.
Protest rally of Shi'ite Muslims in Karachi, against Shia target killing in Pakistan. Image by Majid Hussein, copyright Demotix (20/06/2010).
Failure of the law enforcers and judiciary
The continuous occurrence of faith based killings speaks volumes of the performance of the country's law enforcing agencies and the government. Those terrorists who ever get caught are easily acquitted thanks to loopholes in the judicial system. Murtaza Haider explains this fact in his post:
During 1990 and 2009, the anti-terrorism courts (ATC) in Punjab alone failed to convict the accused in 74 per cent of the 311 cases in which a final verdict was delivered. Most of the accused were acquitted not because they were able to demonstrate and/or substantiate their innocence, but because the judicial system in Pakistan is not capable of handling terrorism cases where prosecution’s case rests on circumstantial and forensic evidence, and not on the eyewitness account…. In 36 per cent of the cases, the courts acquitted the accused because they were not personally named in the FIR. This is an absurd requirement in terrorism cases.
No constructive measures by the parliament has been taken to control the growing faith based terrorism. Whether they are scared of the fallout from the religious parties or they are busy elsewhere is quite obvious to their voters.
Similarly, the Chief Justice of Pakistan who is very proactive to take Suo Moto notices (on petty issues like Slap Gate and the actress caught at an airport with a liquor bottle incident) has completely ignored the killings of Shiites and other minorities. No measure whatsoever is taken by the so called vibrant judiciary to reform the processes in the terrorist courts. One reason could be that minority killings in media are not as popular as Memo gate.
Suffocating silence of mainstream media and civil society
Dr. Muhammad Taqi writes about the attitude of media towards the killing of Shiites and other minorities:
Within minutes of many obscure happenings the traditional and contemporary media are alight with the particulars of those events — some more trivial than a pinprick on the skin of history. But when it comes to the slaughter of the minorities in Pakistan there is a certain lag time in publishing even sketchy details… Hardly an analysis or a talk show ever focuses on such mass atrocities. It is not clear why every such massacre becomes a Leontius moment for the media. Do they find the freshly executed corpses disgusting to look at or is it something else?
In the last few years Pakistani social media has come up as an alternate medium to change public opinions and pressurize corporations to take measures in public interest. The latest example is the Maya Khan campaign. But how many campaigns were run to highlight an issue as serious as this? None.
Suleman Akhtar explains:
As the state has miserably failed to protect its citizens, the intelligentsia and journalists – with few exceptions – share the proportionate blame for misrepresenting the spate of violence against Shias, that has come to be a systematic phenomenon. Deafening silence and misrepresentation of these inhumane killings have added to the miseries of the Shia community. …The identity of victims is usually missed out on purpose making it more difficult for common viewers / readers to comprehend the situation which is getting wretched with each passing day.
Pakistani Shiite Muslims shout slogans during a protest against the Shiite Muslims target killing. Image by Syed Yasir Kazmi. Copyright Demotix (23 September 2011)
The seed of resentment
A similar bitterness on the mysterious disappearance and killings has been raised on various forums by the people of Baluchistan. Lack of empathy and constructive measures has turned that wound into a cancer. Are we happily fostering these tumors and ignoring the inevitable repercussions? Time will tell. Till then I leave you with these conclusive words:
It is up to the Pakistani minorities — the Shia, Ahmediyya, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs — whether they want to continue to ask the enablers of genocide to intercede on their behalf or raise the issue on every international forum possible. The Baloch have a taken a lead in this for they know that those committing genocide and their handlers are repeat offenders and would not stop on their own. (Dr Muhammad Taqi)
And,
The problem at hand is not that who are the killers wreaking havoc across the country, but at first the question that our collective consciousness as a nation still ought to ask and reflect upon is that who are the people getting killed. Once this question, which has been buried under the debris of lies and misconceptions, is addressed and well conceived, the truth immersed in the mist will start to emerge. Once we comprehend why a community persecuted and mass murdered during WWII is remembered as the Jews and not as Germans, Polish or Netherlanders despite being the residents of all these countries, we will start conceptualizing the reality. (Suleman Akhtar)

author: Ammar Yasir


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Russia: A Last-Minute Overview of Pre-Election Blogging · Global Voices
Donna Welles

This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011/12.
On Dec. 31, 1999, as Russians were celebrating New Year's Eve, a holiday that transcends religion and politics, President Boris Yeltsin went on the air and announced that Vladimir Putin would be instated as acting President. Before signing off, he added: “I want to beg forgiveness for your dreams that never came true. And also I would like to beg forgiveness not to have justified your hopes.”
In the aftermath of the devastating apartment bombings that occurred in September 1999 and the launching of the Second Chechen War, Mr. Putin's sole platform for the 2000 Russian presidential election was counter-terrorism in the North Caucasus. Beyond that, Mr. Putin refused to campaign or to join a political party. Nevertheless, he finished first among the 11 candidates with 53% of the vote – and the “Putin Era” began.
Twelve years later, Mr Putin's candidacy seems much more turbulent, as protesters took to the the streets alleging improprieties in the Dec. 2011 parliamentary elections. Still, polling data suggests that he is heading into Sunday's election with the support of the majority of the electorate.
Protesters hold a poster against the Russian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin during a rally for fair elections in St. Petersburg, Russia. Photo by MIKE KIREEV, copyright © Demotix (25/02/12).
For World Affairs Journal Blog, Vladimir Kara-Murza contextualized the March 4 election in a post entitled, “In Sunday's Vote, It's Putin Vs. Russia”:
On Monday, Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki was at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, attending a performance of Rodion Shchedrin’s opera Dead Souls. As the performance was getting underway, spectators noticed Penderecki in the box and started booing. The legendary musician was bewildered, not understanding the reason for such hostility. Only later was it explained to him that the audience mistook him for Vladimir Churov, the chairman of Russia’s Central Electoral Commission — to whom he indeed bears an uncanny resemblance.
As Sunday’s presidential election draws near, the public frustration with Vladimir Putin is becoming increasingly apparent. Over the weekend, thousands of Muscovites formed a human chain alongside the 10-mile Garden Ring Road — inspired by the pro-independence “Baltic Way” of 1989 — to protest Putin’s return to power and demand free and fair elections. In St. Petersburg, thousands of people from across the political spectrum marched through the city center calling for “a peaceful revolution.” Attitudes to the regime are also being expressed in less political ways: a mock Channel One “news report” from the future showing Putin’s arrest and trial in Moscow became an instant online hit, with five million views in one week. […]
Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog provided the background for the candidates running against Mr. Putin:
[…] Indeed, the Russian presidential election has been anything but ordinary. Sure, the official cast of characters remains virtually identical to past contests, save a few additions. Communist Party stalwart, Gennady Ziuganov still plays the role of “loyal opposition in-chief,” the aging face of a Communist Party that has the organizational resources to actually present a political alternative to Putin, but lacks the so-called “Leninist will” to adapt to present political conditions. Part of that adaption, however, would require dumping Ziuganov and forsake its aging electorate, something the KPRF mandarins and rank and file are still unwilling to do. Opposite Ziuganov is Vladimir Zhirinovsky, another perennial “loyal oppositionist.” Zhirik plays the harlequin in this grand performance, adding outrageous, comic relief to a show already thin on drama. In a way, Zhirinovsky reflects the whole process itself, a clown for a clownish spectacle. Then there is Mikhail Prokhorov, the new addition to the cast. Prokhorov serves as a kind of Khodorkovsky-lite (since the real Khodorkovsky is less pliable and, well, in jail for the foreseeable future). An oligarch who “made” the bulk of his wealth in the “loans for shares” scheme that saved Boris Yeltsin from defeat in the 1996 Presidential election, Prokhorov, unlike Khodorkovsky, not only understood the rules of the game, but also played them correctly. But the biggest question that has dogged Prokhorov is not his past, but whether he’s a Kremlin project or not. I suspect that he’s a mixture. One thing is clear to me after reading Julia Ioffe’s profile of him in the New Yorker is that Prokhorov’s biggest obstacle is that he’s a sleazeball. Bringing up the rear is Just Russia’s candidate, Sergei Mironov. His candidacy only inspires one question: Who’s he? […]
Along with the results of the election itself, freedom of expression has been a resounding issue for the past few months.
Committee to Protect Journalists Blog provided details to the backlash the Russian media endured after its coverage of the protests surrounding the controversial Dec. 2011 parliamentary elections:
[…] On December 12, Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov, owner of the Kommersant Publishing House – which produces independent business daily Kommersant and several other news outlets – announced that he was sacking Maksim Kovalsky, chief editor of the popular weekly magazine Kommersant-Vlast. Demyan Kudryavtsev, the publisher's executive director, announced he would resign. The news was a huge blow, as Kovalsky and Kudryavtsev are leading journalists and considered fathers of Kommersant and its publisher.
The magazine's coverage of the parliamentary election was surely the reason for Kommersant‘s beheading. A week after the vote, most of Kommersant-Vlast‘s coverage was of the alleged fraud that led to public outrage and protests unprecedented in Russia in the past decade. But Usmanov – believed to be in Putin's close circle – zeroed in on a formal reason to punish the magazine. In its December 12 issue, Kommersant-Vlast published a picture of a ballot cast in London for the opposition Yabloko party; the ballot carried a hand-written insult to Putin across it. Usmanov publicly scolded the magazine for “unacceptable use of coarse language,” and said it was unethical and “on the borderline of hooliganism.” The magazine removed the picture from its website, but it was circulated on social networks, including Kommersant reporter Oleg Kashin's Twitter account.
The removal of Kovalsky and Kudryavtsev angered their colleagues at Kommersant. Two days later, dozens of journalists from Usmanov's news outlets – including independent news website Gazeta – signed and published online an open letter headlined, “We are forced into cowardice.” Veronika Kucyllo, a long-serving deputy editor at Kommersant-Vlast, announced her resignation in protest of Usmanov's decision.
Another important theme this election season has been the role of citizen media as a catalyst of political activism in Russia. Even though they are harder to censor than mainstream news sources, they are not totally immune to censorship, as Global Voices discussed in a post entitled, “Why are Russians Protesting Now?”
In a post entitled, “The Man Vladimir Putin Fears Most,” Wall Street Journal Blog predicts that blogger and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny will have an impact on the presidential election:
[…] Anticorruption blogger and activist Alexei Navalny will be in the middle of it — as he has been over the past three months of Russia's unexpected political awakening. By the tens of thousands, Russians shed their fear and apathy to protest December's fraud-ridden parliamentary elections and Mr. Putin's hold on power. From a crowded stage of opposition figures, Mr. Navalny has emerged as the charismatic and fresh face of the movement.
The next phase will test him and the opposition. The series of large demonstrations after December exposed the shallowness of support for Mr. Putin in the large cities and public frustration with the political stagnation and lack of accountability in Russia. Yet the rallies forced no notable government concessions. Though weakened, Mr. Putin gets a new term and possibly energy to reverse his slide or to crack down. […]
Tolik Belenko's Russian-language LiveJounal blog included a link to a “Nashi” announcement [ru] that the pro-Putin youth group has made plans to quash civil unrest in the aftermath of the elections:
On March 5, a few thousand activists from the groups “Nashi” and “Steel” will take to the streets of Moscow in order to prevent any illegal activity aimed at destabilizing society in the aftermath of the Russian presidential election.
LJ user tolik_belenko also shared the link to Nashi's announcement on his ya.ru page [ru]. Readers’ comments were somewhat ominous.
Johnny TraHvoltin wrote [ru]:
This has already happened, though not with us, but in China, when [Mao Zedong] occasionally called out the [Red Guards Hóng Wèibīng] troops to the streets in order to maintain order. How did it end? Read history.
Svetlana wrote [ru]:
It's not yet tomorrow. Why guess? We shall see.
This post is part of our special coverage Russia Elections 2011/12.

author: Donna Welles


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Russia: Photos from Elections in Yakutsk · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On the Yakutsk City Facebook page, local blogger Bolot Bochkarev (eYakutia is one of his projects) has started posting photos [ru] from the presidential and mayoral elections in the capital of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, which is six hours ahead of Moscow.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Pre-Election Summaries · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

At OpenDemocracy.net, LJ user drugoi (Rustem Adagamov) “outlines how his trust in the outgoing president vanished and sums up the mood in Russia’s capital just days ahead of the country’s presidential election.” Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog examines the “known knowns and unknown unknowns” of the upcoming vote and its aftermath.


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Serbia: First Conviction for Online Hate Speech · Global Voices
Jasmina Babic

The High Court in Belgrade has recently brought its first conviction for online hate speech, sentencing Simo Vladičić to three months in prison and two years of probation for threatening members of the LGBT community via the Facebook group 500.000 Srba protiv gej parade/500,000 Serbs against gay parade in September 2011, when the gay pride parade in Belgrade was canceled due to security reasons. In a similar case, the European Court of Human Rights has recently  ruled that hate speech against members of the LGBT community cannot be justified by the right to freedom of speech.

author: Jasmina Babic


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Bhutan: Malnutrition In Boarding Schools · Global Voices
Rezwan

Tshering Tobgay points to the recent deaths of two students of a boarding school in Bhutan due to chronic vitamin deficiency. Depriving children of essential micro-nutrients is an atrocious crime, the blogger says.


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Cambodia: Documenting the Work of a Microfinance Loan Officer   · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

World Vision posts photos of Nhek Chanthy, a loan officer in Cambodia which give us a glimpse of how microfinance programs are being implemented in rural Cambodia.

author: Mong Palatino


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China: Challenging the 50 Cent Party · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The 50 Cent Party consists of Internet commentators hired either by the Chinese government or the Chinese Communist Party to shape online public opinion. Often, the 50 Cent Party labels critical opinion leaders as traitors of the country.
On February 26, 2012, Sina Weibo user Zhang Nong decided to openly challenge [zh] the 50 Cent Party with the following post and photo:
【有你这样爱国的吗？】腐败泛滥，你不骂；权贵横行，你不怒；教育之重，你不语；医疗之痛，你不忿；三农之苦，你无视；下岗之哀，你不闻；专独之恶，你不责……。可每每因为我对以上问题的批评言辞激烈，你们就上蹿下跳呼朋引伴围剿谩骂我，大小五毛们，你们就是这样爱国的吗？
The image on the right is a remix of the communist movement symbol, the hammer and sickle. Zhang turned the weapon for social revolution into the Arabic number “5”, representing the 50 Cent Party. The thread where this was published so far has been shared more than 1,800 times and attracted 560 comments.
The majority express support for Zhang, while some readers have typically tried to fight back:
黑桃老K2011：五毛死了就盖这个吧。
10小牛直面改革：就冲这句话 把张农粉了，我上微博，就没闹明白，为什么有那么多人不论是非的爱国。是自己国家的无论多么邪恶都是好，别人国家什么最好的自由民主都是假的。这样宣传有意义吗？
I我相信：五毛党是中国社会畸形的必然产物，是利益集团和权贵在中国实行资本权贵经济和掠夺老百姓血汗钱的需要所以他们产生了。以前骂五毛现在想来觉的太幼稚了根本问题是社会制度害人让利益集团让他产生了所以不能怪他们。
随心所意随心动：五毛的口号：听党指挥。
我爱-F1：良知不在我身上，誓与党国共存亡。 (3月1日 12:11)
Soros1981：有一些是五毛。更多的是在制度下麻木成长的未启蒙者。谈耻辱也不必，历史无法一蹴而就。
怀化学院张洪华：这个世界上哪有那么多五毛，只是他们被洗脑了还没醒来而已。比如我们寝室，常常一个人和五六个室友争论，他们不是五毛，我也不是带路党，他们直接引用书本，什么初级阶段，国情全部出来了。我说武力维持和土匪无异时他们甚至说：土匪怎么了，也是合法土匪。有时我只能说“如果十年、二十年后我们再谈”
蕓隨風飄：艾：当你开始了解这个国家时，你已经走上犯罪道路了。
林岳芳: 【有你这样卖国的吗？】高楼之多，你不赞；道路之宽，你不夸；科技之威，你不管；城市之美，你不见；农家之乐，你无视；民众之欢，你不闻；人性之恶，你不责…可每每神州大地出现一点问题，你不顾客观事实，放大个案打击一片，你们上蹿下跳呼朋引伴围剿谩骂，大小西奴们，你们就为了卖国吗？
wendySF：5毛旗? 新创作？ 真心祝愿五毛世世代代，和他们的子子孙孙都生活在现在这个社会中- 他们口中的美好世界。可别象司马南，骂美国骂得口沫横飞， 却悄悄把妻儿弄到美国生活读书。那真是五毛的精髓。

author: Oiwan Lam


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Friendly atmosphere in Abidjan as Senegal nationals in Côte d’Ivoire went to vote  · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Suy Kahofi wrote on mondoblog [fr] regarding the atmosphere in Senegalese polling stations in the capital of Côte d’Ivoire: “This voting process has been, above all, a time of reunion for Senegal nationals living in Côte d'Ivoire, and the good-natured atmosphere seen outside the polling stations has also been felt within.”

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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IDEA Asia Youth Forum 2012 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Migration is the chosen theme for the very first Asia Youth Forum organized by the International Debate Education Association, which will be held in Thailand this coming May


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India: Rs. 300 Million Of Praise · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sneha finds out that Indian Rs. 300 Million were spent between 2009 to 2011 on advertisements on the birth and death anniversaries of Rajiv and Indira Gandhi, two assassinated leaders of the ruling congress party. Her concern is that these expenses were paid from the taxpayers’ money — without his and her consent — on praising these ex-statesmen.


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India: Why Women Do Not Deserve To Be Raped · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Delhi Fashion Blogger lists some arguments for the rape apologists stating that women do not deserve to be raped by any logic.


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Iran: MediaFire is blocked · Global Voices
Hadi Nili

MediaFire, a famous free file and image hosting website located in U.S., is blocked in Iran ‘for second time’. Several reports and tweets from Iranian users including Tehran-based Ali say this website has been blocked in recent couple of days. Iranian users have already reported about some other hosting websites like Dropbox, Rapidshare, and 4Shared that are blocked by some Iranian Internet providers.

author: Hadi Nili


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Jordan: Amman’s Welcome Snow Day · Global Voices
Nadine Toukan

Amid a rough winter in Jordan with little optimism in the air, Ammanis found solace in getting snowed in on Thursday, making it a long white weekend; joyfully hyper tweeting and photo sharing snow covered neighborhoods and some whacky snow creations.
It was a weekend of carefree play while breaking away from imposed and self imposed stereotypes, confusion, control, and judgement. The freedom to create and recreate is bringing out the essence of humanity's beautiful soul – if only for a couple of snowy days, a welcome break. Following are a few photographs shared by netizens.
A few inches is all it takes, photo by Mohammad Magayda:
Away from everyone, photo by Ehab Othman:
LumaQ tweeted:
Lots of snow in Dabouk and Khalda area it's like another country
And Reem Al-Masri turns her snowman on his head:
I compiled my favorite snow creations on this post while BeAmman crowd sourced these photos of a snowed in Amman. And check out Reem Manna's fun photo set on 7iber.

author: Nadine Toukan


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Mauritania: Last Hope March to Nouakchott Begins  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Mauritanian activists have embarked on a 470 kilometre journey on foot, from the city of Nouadhibou to the capital Nouakchott, carrying a number of economic and political demands to the authorities. It is called The March of Last Hope and aims to draw attention to the woes of Mauritanians and their demands for reform.
Blogger Ahmed Jedou blogs [ar] about the march, saying a number of activists, including bloggers, unionists, teachers and those who have been sacked from their jobs, have joined it. The march, he writes, is expected to reach Nouakchott by the middle of March, if not earlier.
Activists at the beginning of the 470km march. Photo credit: Ahmed Jedou
Among the marchers demands are:
Other demands included cleaning up the streets from piles of garbage and granting land to unemployed youth with university degrees to enable them to start their own businesses.
Like their counterparts across the Arab world, Mauritanian activists have been protesting Arab Spring-like for political and economic reforms for almost a year.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Myanmar to Build Subway for Yangon? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Fifty Viss compiles news reports and some online reactions to the proposal to build a subway system in the capital of Myanmar.


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Republic of Congo: Ammunition Depot Blasts Stir Panic in Brazzaville · Global Voices
Julie Owono

On Sunday, March 4, 2012, at 8am local time, an ammunition storage depot caught fire in the Mpida area of Brazzaville, near the Presidential Palace, causing at least four explosions. Houses in the neighborhood collapsed, creating an atmosphere of panic in the city.
The Defense Minister made the following declaration on national television [li and fr]:
C'est juste un incident provoqué par l'incendie du dépôt de nos munitions. C'est pourquoi il y a eu des détonations. Certaines maisons ont été touchées par des éclats, leurs tôles envolées et des vitres brisées. C'est l'incendie du régiment blindé, lieu où nous conservons nos munitions, qui est à la base de tous ces dégâts. Pendant que je vous parle ici, nos experts se sont déployés sur le terrain pour éteindre le feu. Nous prendrons des mesures pour que les incidents de ce genre ne surviennent plus dans l'avenir. Nous présentons nos excuses aux hommes et aux femmes, à tous les frères et soeurs, pour ce trouble à la paix : des gens étaient paniqués, allant de gauche à droite. Nous vous prions de regagner vos domiciles car l'incident est maîtrisé. Nous vous rassurons qu'il ne s'agit pas d'une mutinerie, encore moins d'un coup d'Etat. Il s'agit juste d'un malheureux incident que nous regrettons. Nous avons appris aussi qu'il y a des blessés – ils ne sont pas nombreux – dus à ces éclats. Nous le regrettons.
The exact number of casualties is unclear at the moment, but according to several sources, hundreds might have lost their lives, and thousands wounded. The government first mentioned four casualties, and dozens wounded, an underestimated toll, according to Fortuné Ndombé, a Congolese journalist based in Brazzaville. The author contacted Ndombé by phone and he explained the situation at the time [fr]:
Je suis actuellement au CHU de Brazzaville. C'est une catastrophe on n'a jamais vu ça. Il y a encore des feux, beaucoup de maisons sont effondrées, c'est un vrai désastre. on n'arrive pas à expliquer ce qui s'est passé. (…) La situation pas encore maitrisée. Le gouvernment laissait croire qu'il n y a pas de morts, mais il ya plusieurs morts. Les hopitaux submergés. Je déplore que presque toutes les pharmacies soient fermées. Il faudrait les réquisitionner pour que les malades recoivent des médicaments. C'est peut-être demain que nous en saurons un peu plus. Si quelqu'un vous dit que la situation est maitrisée, ce sont des mensonges.
This assessment of the situation is shared by Twitter user @BaaRbieCaRteR, who writes:
@BaaRbieCaRteR:  4 morts 24 blessés !! Vous vous foutez de la gueule de qui ????! Ya plus de 300 morts ! On se croirait en Irak
She also posted the following photo, allegedly taken just after the second blast:
The second explosion in Brazzaville by BaaRbieCaRteR on Twitter

author: Julie Owono


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Russia: Absentee Voters and Election Carousels Alarm Twitterers · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Russian Twitterers report numerous ‘election carousels’ (form of vote rigging when people vote several times at different voting stations). Bolshoy Gorod shares a picture [ru] of buses that allegedly are transporting ‘carousel voters.’ Echo Moskvy reports [ru] 6000 voters illegally added to Strogino voting station. Users share their carousel observations via hashtag #Карусель. User Estraniero Estranio, posts a video, how carousel voting looks like [ru]. Earlier, numerous voters couldn't receive absentee certificates, documents crucial for ‘carousel voting.’ List of Russian political Twitterers can be found here [ru/en].

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: Ballot Stuffing or Machine Testing? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Glenn Kates (@gkates) shares a link to an election webcam video from a polling station in the North Ossetian village of Chikola, which “appears to show ballot stuffing.” “They could just be testing the machine though,” @gkates adds. Of the 91 comments on the video's YouTube page, the most popular right now is the one posted four hours ago by user rus1488rus [ru] and “liked” by 45 viewers: “To test [the machine], it's enough to feed it just one ballot )))”


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Russia: Bloggers Discuss Crying Putin · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

At pro-Putin rally, Vladimir Putin cried (photo, video) when heard that he apparently won in the first round of elections. This fact immediately became a hot topic among commenters. “He began to stream myrrh,” and “Moscow does not believe in tears,” a reference to the popular Soviet movie, are among the most popular reactions.


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Russia: Election Violations Recorded in the North Caucasus · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

YouTube-user iFegor had recorded a video transmission from North Ossetia republic where two women are putting numerous ballots into the ballot boxes. In Dagestan, another user had recorded an unidentified man also stuffing ballots. Both republics are known for their unusually high (more than 90 percent) support of candidates and parties of power.


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Russia: Government Election Webcams · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

“Although not much can be seen, Muscovites have finally seen Russia,” write bloggers describing election webcams [ru] installed by Rostelecom company following the Dec. 2011 election. Although video capturing had not been possible initially, users developed an application [ru] to record broadcasts. Users of imageboard 2ch.so self-organized to hunt for funny videos, but instead of lulz, they found some election violations (although some funny moments were also recorded [ru]).


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Russia: Police and Military Trucks Spotted in Moscow · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Bloggers share pictures of numerous police and military trucks that flooded central streets of Moscow. Video summarizing [ru] buses and military vehicles. Photo of trucks standing next to the Red Square. Ridus.ru had compiled a big collection [ru] of pictures of special police forces.


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Singapore: Netizens Criticize ‘Offensive’ Government Ad · Global Voices
Kirsten Han

An advertising campaign run by Singapore's Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) has come under fire for perpetuating prejudice and discrimination against ex-offenders, victims of abuse, people from the low income strata, and people with disabilities.
The campaign includes a series of four posters depicting social workers and examples of cases in which they have helped. Words such as “ruined”, “destroyed”, “abandoned” and “hopeless” have been highlighted. These posters can be seen online, as well as in public areas such as bus stops.
These ads have been widely criticised by Singaporeans, who felt that they were offensive.
@flubberzz: WTF is wrong with you MCYS and Starlight Advertising?? Who in the right mind would come up with this kind of campaign?
Popular local blogger mrbrown expresses support for the social workers, but points out that the ads send the wrong message about people with disabilities:
I love social workers and what they do but come on, MCYS, people with disabilities are not hopeless.
This kind of message just perpetuates the idea that the disabled are liabilities who need rescuing and sympathy, rather than a valuable part of our society who are differently-abled.
As a father of a special needs child, I am deeply offended by this kind of messaging.
In an article for The Online Citizen, Ghui observes that these posters may serve to alienate those in need from the rest of society:
While MCYS may not have intended it, these posters serve to fuel society’s prejudice towards the handicapped or people who have fallen through the cracks. Instead of positive encouragement, it has reinforced the idea that the handicapped or infirm are somewhat lacking and ought to be pitied. I am not at all suggesting that these individuals do not need help but our assistance should stem from a communal desire of mutual assistance rather than a need to help “objects of pity”.
The Society for the Physically Disabled did not comment specifically on the ads, they expressed happiness that MCYS was doing a campaign “to attract people to the profession.”
Some see these ads as representative of attitudes towards disability – both of this region as well as of the Singapore government:
@sonnylebythebay: Asia still has a way to go in dealing/working with people w/disabilities & the mentally ill. RT @kixes http://mrbrwn.co/yDkF53
@ambarvalia: The MCYS ‘hopeless’ ads indicate the govt's usual high horse by implying tt the people shld be grateful for e govt's “help”.
In response, the MCYS spokesman clarified that the word “hopeless” in the poster did not refer people with disabilities, but to the sense of hopelessness that they feel about their condition. The ministry said that the campaign was simply trying to encourage more people to take up social work as a profession.

author: Kirsten Han


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Armenia: Nationalist zombies and Hitler wannabes · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on the appearance of government-linked organizations with ultra-right wing tendencies and ideologies. The blog considers such groups to be “unacceptable and shameful.”

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Singer-Activist calls for Eurovision Boycott · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

News and Noise! calls for a boycott of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan by featuring an interview with activist and singer-song writer Cirttan (Azer Mamedov) seeking asylum in the Netherlands. The post also includes a clip, produced by the NIDA civil movement in Azerbaijan, parodying a promotional video for Baku, the country's capital. Meanwhile, The Economist's Eastern Approaches blog sarcastically ponders whether 75-year old crooner Englebert Humperdinck, the United Kingdom's entry in the international song contest, can bring freedom to Azerbaijan.


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Bermuda: Budget & Debt · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Vexed Bermoothes thinks that the new budget “shows how quickly Bermuda’s economy is coming apart at the seams.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Brunei: Monitoring the Eight Legislative Council · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Brunei twitterers are using the hashtag #legco8 for updates on the Eight Legislative Council of the government.


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Colombia: President Santos’ Performance According to Gallup Polls · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Jaime Restrepo Vásquez from the blog Atrabilioso [es] compares Gallup poll results for current President Juan Manuel Santos to figures during previous administrations. Specifically, Jaime looks at whether Colombians think that the situation in the country is worse or better, whether they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the president, and whether they agree or disagree with how Santos is handling the guerrilla.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Cuba: Diaspora, Las Damas & the Pope · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

More discussion about the Pope's visit to Cuba – Havana Times reports that members of the Cuban diaspora plan to come to the island “to participate in Masses that will be officiated over by Pope Benedict XVI”, while Along the Malecon posts a video of the leader of Las Damas de Blanco reading a letter the the pontiff.


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Cuba: Freedom of Faith?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The pope can go to Cuba, but that doesn't mean Cubans on the island are free to exercise their faith…”: Uncommon Sense blogs about the persecution of a Catholic activist.


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East Timor: Photos of Presidential Candidates · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Sapo uploads photos of East Timor's presidential candidates in the campaign trail. More than 600,000 voters have registered for the elections this month


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Ghana: 2012 Burt Award for African Literature – Call for Submissions  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

2012 Burt Award for African Literature calls for submissions from Ghanaian authors: “The Ghana Book Trust and CODE, a Canadian NGO, have the pleasure to invite Ghanaian authors and publishers to participate in a competition to produce story books for the youth between the ages of 12 and 15.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Haze in Indochina · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Thomas Wanhoff links to a satellite image showing the extent of smog and haze in Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos.


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Hong Kong: What Can Be Done to Stop Birth Tourism from China? · Global Voices
Ronald Yick

One of the major conflicts between Hong Kong and China stems from birth tourism. According to official statistics, 95,337 babies were born in Hong Kong in 2011 and as much as 40% of babies’ parents are birth tourists from Mainland China.
According to the Hong Kong Basic Law, the mini-constitution in Hong Kong, children born to parents of Chinese origin can enjoy right of abode and full citizenship even though neither of the parents is a local resident. As a result, a large number of mainland Chinese pregnant women travel to Hong Kong to give birth so as to escape from the one-child policy and pave the future for their offspring.
The profile picture of Facebook group “Say No to Mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong!”
Since 2009, the shortage of maternity wards in private hospitals alerted local mothers. Public discontent exploded when a local newspaper reported at the end of 2011 that maternity places in these hospitals are fully booked until October 2012. Against this background, the Facebook Group  “Say No to Mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong!” [founded in July 2011] has recruited more than 112,000 followers within 6 months.
The discontented local mothers also blame the influx of mainland pregnant women for the decline in the quality of maternity services in Hong Kong. Below is the experience of a new mother in the maternity ward shared in Facebook [Link to the widely shared note is not provided as the user profile is not public]:
1月中我係瑪麗開刀，在產前房看見有位普通話婦穿水入院，醫生問她國內做產檢等問題，她答了很多次不知道。我開刀那天，看到醫生的schedule，只是一個上午，她已有5個手術，怪不得公立好多資深醫生都離職。
產後房有很非本地孕婦，那三日兩夜的住院，我間大房有兩個普通話人對醫護呼呼喝喝，其中一個話有小孩在深圳要她照顧，想兒科醫生盡快簽出院紙，但醫護回覆兒科ICU好爆，醫生正忙。但佢繼續嘈，我忍唔住鬧佢不要再煩姑娘，之後姑娘幫我洗傷口時訴苦，說她們日日受雙非氣，天天講普通話如在大陸工作……又話我好彩早了一天開刀，因第二日又有高危雙非衝急症，要緊急做手術，令全部預約了手術的媽媽要改時間改期！
The advertisement depicting the invasion of Hong Kong by a gigantic locust
In reaction to the public discontent, the Hong Kong government has finally decided to suspend the booking of maternity services by mainland pregnant women in public hospitals. However, many still believe that the large number of offspring of birth tourists from mainland China would increase the city's social burden.
In early February 2012, netizens from Baby Kingdom and Golden Discussion Forum, jointly published an advertisement in a popular newspaper, which depicts the invasion of Hong Kong by a gigantic locust, a metaphor of mainland Chinese intruders in Hong Kong.
Margaret Ng a barrister, legislator and member of the political party, the Civic Party, pointed out that the root cause of the sudden influx of mainland birth tourists is a result of the local government's relaxation of border control under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), a free trade arrangement agreed upon between Hong Kong and Mainland China which opens up huge markets for Hong Kong goods and services.
Ng reviewed the city's immigration history in relation to its border control policy in a seminar [zh]:
香港是一個移民的社會，殖民地成立直至中共建國，中港兩地的人是可以自由往來，直至五十年代才出現分隔中港的政策，即便如此，港府也採取抵壘政策，讓抵達市區的內地人取得身份證，這政策直至七十年代末才取消。…
從兩地封關開始，出入境設有嚴格的關卡，互為分隔。而八十年代到內地娶妻生子的一群，其子女就受到影響，很難來港。當時兩地政府便就兩地的出入境限制協商，結果出現「配額」這種東西。在這個背景下訂立的《中英聯合聲明》，成為日後《基本法》的依據。…直至 2001 年，內地人要來香港仍然十分困難。但自從 2003 年七一後開放自由行，至去年全年共有一千四百萬內地人來港，僅有四萬雙非孕婦數量算少。
Against such a background, Facebook user Edwin Chau condemned the private medical sector for taking advantage of the policy loophole to sell their maternity services with a Hong Kong “citizenship” package, as the majority of birth tourists enter the city with proper bookings from private hospitals:
因為實情是，那3萬多個，佔96%的雙非個案，全部都是有政府認可的預約。即是，他們都是經政府人口/商業政策許可之下入境的，In the name of 「發展醫療產業」。……簡單來說，販賣居港權，才是要堵塞的漏洞。
Some social and political groups have decided to advocate for an constitutional amendment to address the problem. However, an amendment of the Basic Law has to be approved by at least two-thirds of the Legislative Council members and two-thirds of the Hong Kong deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC) before submitting to the Steering Committee of the National People’s Congress. This seems to be another mission impossible.

author: Ronald Yick


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Macedonia: Animated Hitler Meme as a Free Resource · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

As a reaction to the corporate efforts to enact an even more draconian legislation and in response to the attempts of the distributor of the film Downfall to take down the Hitler meme on copyright grounds, Ribaro published [mk] an animated parody of the iconic scene, free for download and re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Macedonia: ‘Be a News Blogger’ Awards Announced · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Diversity Media Production, a non-profit organization whose goal is to advance journalism, freedom of speech and democracy in Macedonia, has announced [en, mk, sq] the winners of the competition for young news bloggers: Novica Nakov, Fatlume Dervishi, and the authors of MK Demokratija blog – Monika Petrovska and Maja Peroska.


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Mauritania: “Facebook is at the Center of the New E-Dissent” · Global Voices
Claire Ulrich

[This interview was conducted in French]
Nasser Weddady is Mauritanian and lives in the United States (US). Since the Tunisian revolution, those who follow North-African/Middle Eastern current affairs on Twitter know him by his username – the very influential and widely followed @weddady, who is about to publish in the US, a book of reflections and testimonies on the Arabic-speaking world and its uprisings.
But what about the citizen media of Weddady’s own country, Mauritania, where the Arab Spring also catalysed dissent? The following interview was conducted during a conference in Tunis, Tunisia.
Nasser Weddady, at radio tunisienne studio, Tunis, October 2011 – Photo courtesy of Carribeanfreephoto (CC BY)
Global Voices (GV): Even though the country and its 3 million inhabitants are often left out of the picture,  Mauritania is also experiencing protests and rising dissent.
Nasser Weddady (NW):  The dissent reflects a deep unrest in Mauritania, a feeling of powerlessness that is increasingly transforming itself into “e-anger” and street protests. This culture of dissent had been dead for two decades; today, however, strikes are happening on a day-to-day basis, in all sectors. Each of these actions in itself might seem trivial from the outside, but Mauritania is actually at boiling point. As for social media, in Mauritania, it’s currently happening through Facebook, which had 34,000 members in Mauritania in late 2011 – a remarkable figure for a country with low rates of Internet access. There was also actually a Mauritanian blogosphere but this was undermined by the  2008 coup. Apart from ‘Canal H’ [fr] – which is a discussion blog and which remains a barometer of public opinion – the blog is no longer really the format that corresponds to the evolution of the Mauritanian blogosphere. It's Facebook. We see that more and more youth movements, such as the protesters of 25 February, 2011, who took to the streets in large numbers, were originally born on Facebook. Facebook is at the center of the new e-dissent.
Photo from the Takadoumi website – the February 2011 protests in  Nouakchott
GV: Which Facebook pages, blogs and Twitter accounts should we follow with regard to Mauritanian current affairs?
NW: On Facebook, the page of the 25 February movement [ar, fr], which backed the February 2011 protests, Mauritanie Demain (Mauritania Tomorrow) [ar, fr], Touche pas à ma nationalité (Hands off my nationality) [fr], which protests against the ethnic discrimination that took place during the census, the ‘Journal Facebook’ private group, which has over 10,000 members, the Takadoumi.com blog [in Arabic, French and English]. On Twitter, you can follow @Tahabib, who is a French-speaker, the two bloggers Ahmed Jiddou (@Ahmedj85 [ar]) and Mohamed Abdou (@Medabdou [ar]), and Dedda Cheikh Brahim (@Dedda04) [mainly in Arabic].
Mauritanian dissident humor: "The best cologne these days is tear gas"  Photo-reel from the "Mauritanie Demain' Facebook page
GV: How would you assess Mauritanian Internet activism relative to the other online movements of the Arab-speaking world?
NW: Young Mauritanians have seen how the Internet has been used elsewhere in the Arab world and are trying to get connected, to learn the techniques of Internet activism and to share them. We are seeing more and more Photoshop graphics, banners, videos. The transformation of the Mauritanian web is clearly the product of the Arab revolts. We are also seeing more and more Mauritanians on Twitter –  that’s my pet project. Twitter is important because it's fast and because it's an open network, unlike Facebook. It lets Africans and Mauritanians get in contact, because we also have that dimension to Mauritania: you look to Sub-Saharan Africa just as much you do to the Arab world.
GV: Has the government put in place any surveillance or censorship measures?
NW: We had the case of Hanevy Ould Dahah who was arrested and sentenced to two years imprisonment because of his website, which was a thorn in the side of the government. As for censorship, they tried for a day and it wasn't effective. But it is clear that, more and more, “they” are getting worried.  There are Morocan and Sudanese telecommunications companies in Mauritania, it's not difficult to imagine a scenario where the regime would buy censorship know-how from international experts.
GV: Following the Tunisian revolution, you were able to meet, face-to-face, the Internet activists of all of the Arab countries. How would you describe their current state of mind?
NW: The Internet activists have done an outstanding job, and I particularly salute the Libyans and the Syrians, their incredible courage and creativity, the Tunisians, who are the masters in the field, and the friends of Bahrain. We feel, at once, a sense of success that ended a general depression – caused by the stagnation of the Arab world, by the bolted-on authoritarian regimes – together with the feeling of having done something historic; and anxiety, because we realize that the counter-revolution is under way, and that the international community, which has praised the Arab revolutions so much, could once again accommodate new powers that do not measure up to our current expectations. But nevertheless, there is a sense of regained pride because, since September 2001, being Arab and Muslim was a heavy burden. We regained our own self-respect because we achieved something historical and we did not wait for anyone to tell us how to achieve it.

author: Claire Ulrich


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MENA: Which Salafist Movie Would You Watch?  · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

“All art is a product of the time it's created in, and reflects that time whether it wants to or not, even if it attempts to escape it by hiding in fantasy,” wrote Stephen Whitty. And movies aren't any different here, and their names summarize all this in a few words, in an catching and funny way, just like a tweet.
Karl Sharro – a Lebanese/Iraqi architect and writer based in London – decided to start a new hashtag where people tweet movie names after putting a Salafist flavour into them.
His suggestion read:
@KarlreMarks: shall we do #SalafistMovies? I have a good one: Salafist of Fury
He then tweeted more suggestions to get the ball rolling:
@KarlreMarks: Come on people, help us get #SalafistMovies rolling: '12 Million Angry Men’
Soon, like with most of the humourous hashtags, this one got spread in no time, and Twitter users in different Arab countries – as well as some non Arabs – started using it.
Here is a sample of their movie selections:
@LamiaMoussa: How to grow a beard in 10 days. #SalafistMovies
@malekmakni: Shave me if you can #salafistmovies
@gihanbabiker: Shaving Private Ryan #SalafistMovies
@SheikhKhalifaPM: No blade runner #SalafistMovies #beard
@aymanfarhat: The Beauty And the Beard #SalafistMovies
@SalahZulfikar : #SalafistMovies eat pray pray again
@HanzadaElShihy: #SalafistMovies I know what you did last Ramadan
@Molka_Chaari: Women in Black #SalafistMovies
@JustAmira: V for Virgin #SalafistMovies
@EmnaBA: Alice au pays des exciseurs #salafistMovies
@evildrako: Blanche neige et ses sept burquas #Salafistmovies
@_MohamedTarek_: My best friend's fourth wedding #SalafistMovies
@beleidy: My big fat segregated wedding #SalafistMovies
@CandaceHetchler: Haram and the City #SalafistMovies
@LocoRibelle: The BLast Samurai … #SalafistMovies
@Kemety: #SalafistMovies : Liberals at the gates
@sheeriif3amr : My top #SalafistMovies: The Longest Beard. Fasting and Furious. Hairy Potter. How I met your mother(s). Dude, where's the qiblah. Hahahhahah
But, on the other hand, some didn't like the hashtag.
@Omnia_ElMashad: Dear Egyptians, you're not supposed to support Salafist Movies, that's sad. Sincerely, shame on you.
@shafzibit: For an insight in to how Muslim humour is just as stagnant as Muslim science, economic development etc, follow #SalafistMovies
@Nada_Ismail: Is it my dull mood or is the Salafist Movies hashtag actually not funny?
Finally, are those tweets funny, true or stereotypical? What Lily Gataullina wrote here on Mass Media can be applied to Movies and Social Media too.
Mass media became on of the main sources of popular culture in modern capitalist society. Media, however, not only entertains and offers news to people, but also transfers the stereotypes, beliefs and values of the society to reproduce the existing order of social life.
She then added that the most important thing is not eliminating stereotypes but being able to identify them.
I am not quite sure how to combat the usage of stereotypes in media. Once we get rid of one stereotype another will take its place. I think, however, it is very important that people are able to recognize the stereotypes.

author: Tarek Amr


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Puerto Rico: “Why So Much Fear of an Image?” · Global Voices
César Santiago

The online magazine 80 Grados [es] published this week an article from photojournalist Ricardo Alcaraz in which he denounces the president of the University of Puerto Rico, Miguel Muñoz, for censoring one of the photos [es] from a photo essay Alcaraz was preparing for the 25th anniversary edition of the University's monthly newspaper, Diálogo. Alcaraz is the sole remaining journalist from the paper's original staff.
The photo in question is from the student strike at the University of Puerto Rico in 2010 and shows a police officer shouting to a distressed female student. Alcaraz states that the the president of the university had concerns with some photos from the start:
En estos días está circulando la más reciente edición de Diálogo, cuya portada está dedicada a los 25 años del periódico. En este número estaba supuesto a publicarse en dos de sus páginas un foto-ensayo, con una selección que hice de las imágenes más representativas de mi trabajo en estos 25 años, pero no salió. Fue censurado por la nueva directora de Diálogo, porque el presidente de la Universidad de Puerto Rico (UPR), Miguel Muñoz, objetaba algunas de las fotos incluidas en el ensayo.
This photo by Ricardo Alcaraz of the 2010 student strike was to be published on the 25th anniversary of Diálogo. The paper's director did not want the photo used because of objections by the university's president. Rather than taking the photo out, Alcaraz decided to retire the photo essay altogether. Photo published with Alcaraz's permission)
However, after some discussions between Alcaraz and the director, everything boiled down to the one photo from the strike (above), and Alcaraz decided to pull out the entire essay:
Se me pidió que la reconsiderara; que si retiraba o cambiaba esta foto, el foto-ensayo se publicaba. Pero me negué, y le dije a la directora que si yo retiraba esa foto con tal de publicar el resto de las imágenes, eso sería faltarme el respeto a mí mismo. Resultado: el ensayo no se publicó.
Alcaraz laments that this is how the administration has decided to celebrate 25 years of Diálogo:
Así celebra esta administración universitaria los 25 años del periódico: con la intolerancia y la censura.
Alcaraz's predicament has not gone unnoticed. Dozens of people have republished the censored photo on their walls on Facebook and distributed the link to the 80grados story on Twitter. There has been an outpouring of solidarity and outrage.
It is not clear why the administration opposes the publication, and Alcaraz does wonder:
¿Por qué se le teme tanto a una imagen? ¿Realmente tiene tanta fuerza? ¿Influye tanto? ¿Por qué tanto empeño en impedir que se vea?

author: César Santiago


text:
Republic Of Congo: After the Blasts, Anger and Solidarity · Global Voices
Julie Owono

[All links forward to French articles unless stated otherwise.]
One day after the March 4, 2012, blasts in the ammunition depot in Mpila, near Brazzaville, the time has come to assess the number of victims. Recent assessments vary from 150 to 200 deaths and 1,500 injured as a result of the blasts. The daze and confusion from the explosions have now given way to anger and a sense of solidarity.
On Digital Congo, a review of the press coverage of the blasts quotes the daily newspaper Le Phare, which offers a detailed account of the disaster [fr]:
D’après les responsables congolais, les explosions ont été provoquées par un incendie dans le dépôt de munitions de la caserne du régiment blindé du quartier Mpila situé au bord du fleuve Congo. Des habitants sont encore prisonniers dans leurs maisons. Ils disent que tout le quartier Mpila a été détruit, a précisé Betu Bangana [Chef du protocole de la présidence congolaise]. Il y aurait plusieurs centaines de blessés
A video posted on Youtube by Lebeization depicts the great impact of one of the explosions:
The following photo, shared on Congo Futur Espoir‘s album on Facebook shows the type of ammunition that was stored in Mpila:
A photo of the alleged type of munitions stored in Mpila depot – From Congo Espoir Futur 's Facebook page (posted with the owner's authorization)
The fact that such weaponry was kept in the center of the city has been the cause of the population’s anger.
Ghislain Nardello asks in the Facebook comments [fr]:
Pourquoi l'armement de notre force armée peut etre gardée au coeur de la Capitale (Brazaville)? Car ceci allait etre utilisé que pour la defense de notre nation contre les autres, mais aujourdh'hui cela a servi a la bataille contre nos propre frères et soeurs congolais, et aussi à la destruction des biens de l'État et des civils. Le gouvernement doit prendre en charge les morts et blessés et dédommager les familles et recontruire leurs biens.
Chancel Moussavou continues [fr]:
voila ce qui arrive quand on ne ne pense qu'aux armes! Tout cet argent dépensé pour l'achat de ces armes aurait servit a la construction d une ecole, d'un hosto ou bien d'une quelquonque entreprise! Comment les gens pouront ils se sentir en securité apres ce genre d accident! Franchement c'est pathétique!
Hospitals are currently overwhelmed as shown in this video taken from the Congolese National Television and shared by Patrick Eric Mampouya:
Congolese are starting to organize rescue and relief missions for the affected families and friends. The Paris-based NGO Synergies and Development of Africa has launched a call [fr] to the diaspora:
dans l’urgence, nous voulons renforcer les équipes sur le terrain ; apporter du matériel d’urgence médicale ou de première nécessité. Cela va des petits accessoires, des trousses de secours, des pansements, antiseptiques, petite chirurgie, compresses, médicaments, …
Congolese citizens are also mobilizing aid efforts through Facebook pages dedicated to Brazzaville.