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China: Voila! RMB 77 rent per month · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

To express the CCP's caring for the livelihood of ordinary people, the CCTV network news broadcast featured President Hu Jintao's visit to several low-income families in Beijing on December 30, 2010. However the conversation between President Hu and Guo Chunping, a representative of the low-income residents, at the affordable housing campus, has sparked off a new round of netizen uproar at the beginning of the new year.
RMB 77 rent per month
Shanghaiist has quickly translated the conversation:
Hu: When did you move in?
Guo: I've moved in over half a month now.
Hu: Oh, half a month, I see. How big is this apartment?
Guo: It's 45 square metres in all.
Hu: 45, huh. Two rooms?
Guo: Yes, two rooms.
Hu: How much rent are you paying for this apartment?
Guo: I pay RMB77 each month.
Hu: RMB77 each month — are you able to cope with the rent?
Guo: Yes. Secretary-General, I just wanted to say a big thank you to the party and the government. We are so touched to have been given this fabulous apartment to live in!
Hu: The party and the government are very concerned with the people's daily livelihoods. We've taken up a series of measures to further improve your daily lives. Well, we're so happy to see that your lives have been improved here!
Guo: Thank you! Thank you! Our country is really improving day by day. We never dreamed we would be living in such an apartment some day.
While people have been complaining about the housing property bubbles, the episode of “RMB77 rent for a 45 square metre apartment” of course has generated a great deal of resentment among people who are struggling to survive in the city. In reaction to the propaganda, Onion cartoon creates a sarcastic poster advertising the China Dynasty's super cheap hotel fee:
Government subsidy
The first question raised by the netizens is whether or not it is possible to find such low-rent apartment in a city where people are paying RMB200 per month for a dormitory bed. Netizen Longer, however, digs out some regulations related with government housing subsidy and finds out that it is indeed possible:
如果按照每月40元的政策補貼，45平米的房子政府將補貼 1800元，但最高限額是1500元，所以，政府應該是給郭家補貼了1500元。而45平米廉租房的市場房租標準應該是1577元，郭家自行每月再支付 77元房租。
The question then followed is who can get the government housing subsidy? Netizen Renrou from MOP (post deleted) searched for Guo Chunping's real identity and found out that she is actually a civil servant working with the traffic police department in Beijing's Chaoyang District. According to their neighbours, Guo's family does not even live in the apartment. Moreover, netizens also dig out Guo's daughter's online photo album (all photos deleted) to show that their family is pretty well off, such as the fact that the daughter has visited many countries outside China.
Local newspapers, Southern Metropolis, picks up the story and points out that as Guo's family is composed of two persons, a single mother with a daughter who is still studying at the university, and in that case if her income is less than RMB 1160 per month, she is eligible to the government subsidy scheme.
New year wish censored
Although all the details are genuine, the propaganda is too detached from most people's living experience, the “truth” represented by the CCTV remains unconvincing and laughable. In the past few days, a sarcastic 2011 new year wish has been passing around through micro-blog and mobile:
北京月房租77元, 工资年增长11.2%,大学生就业率99.13%,官员不分昼夜学习八荣八耻, 大学生食堂就餐平均每顿两三元。我有一个梦想,就是能永远活在新闻联播里。
As Zhongnanhai points out, the netizens uproar is not about Guo's family:
It is about the people’s reaction to an official state television report. It’s not a good sign for the Communist Party when reports involving the President are ridiculed and mocked by citizens, even if it’s just online for now.  The government is going to have to be a bit more persuasive in its propaganda, especially with an ever more sophisticated and connected citizenry.
However, the propaganda machine remains rigid in dealing with this kind of public debate and scrutiny. Currently the key phrase “77 rent per month” （月租 77） has been banned across micro-blogs and forums, while some discussions can still be found via Twitter:
@99_hero:
我妈刚才给我打电话了，“我看新闻联播北京房租才77元，你每月房租跟我说1000多，你钱都上哪去了！”我回答道：“胡说的，你也信？”
@starboybin:
人与人的差别太大了：有人房租一个月只需77元，同样的房子，有的人却每天要77元。
@wuzhenyang
廉租房“月租77元”其实有的，只不过你申请不到，能申请得到的，一般都不住，而是出租，这就是现实，你哭吧。


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Cote d’Ivoire: Manufacturing a president  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The manufacturing of a president in Cote d’Ivoire: “The current deadlock in Cote d’Ivoire stems from the massive fraud that the electronic tally-ups revealed from the votes in the areas of the country still under the control of the armed rebellion.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Cuba: Essays on Cuba · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

In Octavo Cerco [es], guest author Boris González Arenas publishes the first part of a trilogy of essays on the political situation of Cuba.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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D.R.of Congo: Thoughts of DRC mining ban · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sara Geenen says that the mining ban in the eastern Congo has made life worse for many Congolese: “Almost three months ago now, Kabila decided to suspend all artisanal mining activities in South Kivu, North Kivu and Maniema.”


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Iran: Snow in Tehran · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kosoof, a leading photo blogger has published a photo from snowy Tehran.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:”Green Taxi” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Bavar Sabz, an Iran based blogger writes[fa] he uses his car as a taxi to talk about the protest movement with people. The blogger never accepts money and asks clients to pray for the movement.


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Japan: 2010 in Manga · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

A look back to 2010 with Neojaponisme's Matthew Penney who “presents [en] some highlights of 2010 that speak to different directions in contemporary manga” [en]. Among those also Saint Young Men and Thermae Romae.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Kazakhstan: Bloggers discuss religion · Global Voices
Askhat Yerkimbay

Because Kazakhstan does not have a clear religious policy, it has  become the norm that everyone is entitled to his or her own perspective  on faith. As it was twenty years ago, no one is really bothered by this  multitude of views, which is evidenced by the debate on religion and traditions, which recently spilled over into the blogosphere.
The discussion was sparked by the Kara Zhorga dance, which has become popular in the country in the last few years.
Urimtal writes [kaz]: “I think Kara Zhorga is not just a dance, but a whole  phenomenon that has united the nation. Even Kazakhs who live abroad are  taking part. When our government describes the expatriates in  not-so-flattering terms, Kara Zhorga is a kind of response to such  criticism.”
Orken wrote a post on the subject [kaz]:
“Let’s say the dance has roots in Mongolian or Kalmykian  culture, but we’re the ones who made it into a national brand. The  Mongols, the Chinese and the Kalmyks didn’t object in any way. This is  why I think it’s a sign of ignorance that many of us have a short memory  when it comes to tradition or even bring up Islam as an opposing  force.”
In 2011, Kazakhstan will chair the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Yet there was a discussion [kaz] not too long ago about a “potential law that would ban the wearing of headscarves.” Malimetter.org confirms the reports, and points to the causes, or rather, deputy Minister of Education and Science Mahmetkali Sarbyev does [kaz]:
“Kazakhstan is a multi-confessional state. If we permit  people to wear the hijab, then tomorrow thirty students in a single  class will show up wearing something different – and that won’t lead to  anything good,” he explains.
Timurr writes that the law will be unconstitutional, since the constitution guarantees freedom of religious expression [kaz]:
“Given everything that is happening right now, I don’t  think our officials and ministers are unaware they are going against the  law. But, if this is the case, why are they doing it?”
Original post is published on neweurasia.net

author: Askhat Yerkimbay


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Lebanon: 11 Tweeps to Follow in 2011 · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“For this year make sure to follow 11 Lebanese Birds always here tweeting regularly making this place special and 100% Lebanese” writes Joe, who lists the Tweeters with a short description of each.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Lebanon: Tweetups YouTubed · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Liliane captures some memorable moments of the Lebanese 2010 tweetups in this YouTube clip.


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Lusophone Traditions in Malacca · Global Voices
Debora Baldelli

Baragül, a Brazilian blogger, investigates the lusophone influence in Malacca (Malaysia). In this post he argues about some gastronomy traditions shared between Brazil, Portugal and East Timor that are also present in the former Portuguese Colony.

author: Debora Baldelli


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Nepal: The Status Quo Is Beneficial For The Law Makers · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dr. Hari Bansha Dulal opines that the political status-quo in Nepal is not that bad for the law makers as it does not stop the cabinet and parliament members from drawing their salaries.

author: Rezwan


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North Korea: Kim Jong-il Said Mt. Baekdu Will Erupt in 2016 · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il is allegedly to have said “Mt. Baekdu will erupt in 2016” and urged mine workers to produce iron ore when it is available, PSCORE(People for Successful COrean REunification), a human rights group founded by a North Korean wrote[ko] in its website. Korea Times provided a translation[en] of the report.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Pakistan: Salman Taseer’s Tragic Assassination And The Blasphemy Law · Global Voices
Ammar Faheem

In one of the saddest moments of Pakistan's battered political history, the Governor of the Punjab, Mr. Salman Taseer was assassinated in cold blood by one his own body guards while leaving a Cafeteria in one of the up-town markets of Pakistan's Federal Capital – Islamabad.
Governor of the Punjab Salmaan Taseer. Image by Flickr user Salman Taseer. CC BY-NC-SA
Mr. Taseer was known for his unique style of politics, hard-hitting, bold and at times humorous. He was also known for his uncomfortable relationship with the elected provincial government of the PML-N. He touched upon issues nobody else would dare to speak about, the Blasphemy law being one of them.
The body guard, who belonged to the Police Elite Force and gave himself up, claims he did what he did because of what he considered blasphemous comments of the Governor regarding the infamous blasphemy law.
The arrested bodyguard Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri. Photo by Sajjad Ali Qureshi. Copyright Demotix.
Kalsoom at CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan broke the news with this sentence:
Pakistan lost a brave man today.
The governor was an active user of Social media tools such as Twitter and Flickr and found some support from the blogosphere in Pakistan which has already been abuzz, mostly in favour of the repeal of or modifications to the blasphemy law. One of his tweets on the Blasphemy law is quoted below:
“I was under huge pressure sure 2 cow down b4 rightest pressure on blasphemy.Refused. Even if Im the last man standing” [His Twitter Account can be viewed here]
Kalsoom adds in her post:
Taseer became increasingly vocal against the blasphemy laws after Aasia Bibi became the first Christian woman to be sentenced to death, allying “with rights activists, critics and several government officials in urging the government to repeal or revise” the legislation. His courage to stand up against the religious intolerance in the country was met with protests, and the NY Times reported that effigies of the Punjab Governor were burned in protests last Friday.
20/11/10 – Governor of the Punjab Salmaan Taseer visits Aasia Bibi, Christian woman condemned to death under the Blasphemy Law. Image by Flickr user Salman Taseer. CC BY-NC-SA
Some people were of the opinion that the Governor over-reacted to the Aasia Bibi case, a woman who is currently under trial on blasphemy charges, and went a touch too aggressive with the words and the tone he chose to express his anguish. But regardless of that, his comments focused more on the blasphemy “law” that is manipulated by some, usually powerful, people to victimize others.
Farhan Janjua, a Pakistani blogger, opined in a Twitter message:
“Mumtaz Qadri [the body guard who shot at the Governor] cheated with his profession and can NEVER be called an “Aashiq e Rasool” [Lover of the Prophet], he should NOT be forgiven..”
Arsalan Mir, a telecom blogger from Pakistan, rightly put it this way:
“It was never about blasphemy law. It was and is about its right implementation #Pakistan”
Twitter was in a state of shock as “Salman Taseer” was on the top of the list of topics trending worldwide. Twitter users and bloggers from Pakistan were almost unanimous in denouncing and condemning this cowardly act in the strongest possible terms.
Osama Bin Javaid blames the media for the murder of Salman Taseer;
Salman Taseer’s murder underlines the strong current of religious intolerance and hatred; which the media apparently plays up. Critics I’ve spoken to argue that whether its the URS celebrations or violent protests by the clergy; the media indiscriminately gives them airtime.
While many see it as an individual act, conspiracy theorists will not simply over-look the fact that Pakistan's history has brutal examples of political victimization and assassinations. This incident and its timing, where the ruling PPP has lost its numerical majority in the Parliament, is sure to raise a few eye-brows in Pakistan.
Let us face it, proposing changes to the blasphemy law in Pakistan is a tough ask. It is a topic that is extremely sensitive to the masses in Pakistan. An open and broad-minded understanding of how the law is being misused is lacking, so is the will on part of the politicians to bring positive and acceptable changes to it.
Huma Imtiaz writes:
Let me reiterate this: the Blasphemy Laws, in the form and shape that they are in today, are used as a tool for murder. For over 20 years, this law has led to the deaths of scores of people. Thousands have been persecuted under this law.
It may be noted here that Blasphemy is not an Islamic subject in this context, it being punishable in Judaism and Christianity as well, the issue is about its implementation in Pakistan.
Sadly, what was witnessed today was cold-blooded murder which can simply not be justified in any way, in any form or by any religion in the world. The incident also reflects growing intolerance in the Pakistani society and the alarming influence unqualified ‘Mullahs’ exercise on immature and naive minds.
Never ending and inconclusive investigations will now begin, as has always been the case. We can only hope justice wins this time and sense prevails. The Pakistan government, on its part, is running short on time. Terrorism and home-grown extremism needs to be routed out and dealt with an iron fist.
Shahid at Tārikh-nāma ends his post with this phrase:
As a coward, I can only blog about him. For what it’s worth, let’s celebrate what he stood up for, and what was responsible for his brazen assassination at the hands of not one man, but an entire nation.

author: Ammar Faheem


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Rwanda: Situation for media activists in Rwanda · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

hjlawton discusses the situation for media activists in Rwanda: “Kagame’s restriction of media outlets has been noted by Reporters Without Borders 2010 World Press Freedom Index, which lists Rwanda as one of the ten most repressive countries towards journalists.”


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Sri Lanka: Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Bill · Global Voices
Rezwan

Juanita Arulanantham at Groundviews provides a critique of the proposed Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Bill which was scheduled to be introduced in Sri Lankan parliament today.


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Sudan: Tech Monitoring in the Southern Sudan Referendum · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Lema looks at various tech efforts that have been put in place to monitor the Southern Sudan referendum that will take place on 9 January 2011.


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Uganda: LGBTI win court case over Rolling Stone · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Victory for LGBTI people in Uganda: “The High Court of Uganda ruled that the Rolling Stone had violated the constitutional rights to privacy and safety and has awarded the three plaintiffs damages of £400 each plus a warning to the magazine not to repeat the outings.”


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United States: Serbian Couple Struggles to Get Children Back · Global Voices
Sasa Milosevic

A U.S.-based Serbian couple Vuk and Verica Nastic have been going through hell since June 2010, when the U.S. Child Protection Agency (CPA) took away their children, son Damjan, 8, and daughter Nastasija, 5, because of alleged negligence and sexual abuse.
According to the Serbian media reports, the drama began when pictures of Vuk's naked children were found on his laptop, after which the police and CPA representatives burst into Nastic’s house in California. They handcuffed Vuk and Verica and took them to prison, while the children were sent to live with a Mexican and, later, an Arab foster family.
Eventually, Vuk Nastic was released on $18,000 bail; his wife was released six days later.
According to a statement issued by the Nastic family, it had been little Damjan who took the photos while playing with the camera, while his parents were downstairs.
On Sept. 1, the Nastic family's attorneys and the CPA signed a deal, according to which the Nastics were guilty of negligence (because they allowed their children to use the camera), while the other charges were eliminated.
The Nastics have engaged a team of Serbian psychologists, who sent a letter to the California court explaining cultural differences between Serbia and the United States: “In our culture children are perceived as completely asexual and it isn’t unusual that they take baths with their parents. It is nothing unusual that they are photographed and I believe that everyone has in their family album their own naked photo (as a child), or their child’s. It does not produce any erotic feeling, they are just perceived as little kids.”
Members of the Facebook group “Podrska porodici Nastic – Support to the Nastic family” call people to post their own naked childhood pictures as a way of public defiance. Some have posted photos of their own children.
Marina Markovic posted three childhood pictures of herself:
Me when I was 6 months old, and 4 years old…
She also posted a mock warning about a YouTube video of two American children who were recorded in a bathtub.
Dubravka Grmuša Hoe explained:
They are not only naked, but they are also playing with plastic cutlery in the water that they had probably pissed into. Just imagine what would happen if they slipped (because I did not notice a cloth or something similar under their butts) and swallowed a knife and a fork. The parents should have been imprisoned [for this]. But they are “American” parents…
Boni Macanovic shared an experience similar to that of the Nastic family:
I've lived in the USA for 20 years, and at one point they could have taken my children. They arrested my wife because she had brought the children to the edge a Metro platform, showing them what the rails looked like. They let her out the same night because the prosecutor dismissed the case as unfounded, but social “workers” besieged the house for a few days until I called a lawyer from “Civil Rights.” We paid them about $850 and they threatened them (the social service), after which the case was closed. […]
Mira Popovic-Keser was not surprised by the story, but she could not hide her own bad feelings:
Really horrible! It would be difficult to find a photo album in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia without such pictures, especially when sons have been born. Dads are proud of the children! But on this American continent you risk a lot even if you stroke your own child, let alone those of other people… Sick and perverted people, without emotions, fears… Serbia would definitely have to get involved in this case […] to protect the Nastic family.
After six months of silence, the Serbian highest authorities did indeed get involved.
The Serbian President Boris Tadic personally engaged in solving this problem, treating it as a problem of the highest diplomatic level. Vuk Nastic wrote a letter of gratitude to the President.
At the same time, people who think that photographing naked children should not be called culture and tradition also reacted.
Natasa23 wrote:
It is not known exactly when and what happened, but if a little 7-year-old boy is photogrpahing his 4-year-old sister while bathing in a tub in the presence of the father, it is not normal for me and it is far from the culture.
CHRISTINEAMNOTTE asked this at the SerbianCafe forum:
Where have you seen in Serbia or ex-Yugoslavia a big boy who takes pictures of his naked sister and parents who take pictures of naked big boys? We all have 1-2 pictures when we were naked as babies, taken by our parents while we were bathing in the little plastic tray, but taking pictures as grown-up children is not normal. It seems the “cultural difference” is not exactly like that.

author: Sasa Milosevic


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Vietnam: Facebook inaccessible again · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Adam Bray from Phan Thiet, Vietnam notes that Facebook seems to be blocked again in many parts of Vietnam. He wonders if it is related to the forthcoming National Congress of Vietnam’s Communist Party.

author: Mong Palatino


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Vietnam: Top education stories of 2010 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Vietnamnet publishes Tu Uyen's list of top education stories of 2010 in Vietnam. The top story is about Ngo Bao Chau, a famous mathematic professor.


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Vietnam’s first e-market · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Launched last month, Agromart is Vietnam's first e-market featuring the country's agricultural, forestry and aquatic products. More than 400 products are already listed on the website.


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Africa: Tackling Africa’s Classified Listings Space · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Tackling Africa's classified listings space: “The only other classifieds system that has made a dent in Africa is Kerawa, operated out of Cameroon. They have thousands of listings in quite a few countries. They’ve done this over the last 3 years, bootstrapped and growing organically.”


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Bahamas, Cuba: Looking for Fidel  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bahama Pundit‘s Larry Smith goes to Cuba in search of Fidel Castro.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bermuda: Decolonisation?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Vexed Bermoothes explains why he is “very cynical about the UN’s Special Committee on Decolonisation.”


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China: Politics of the surrounding gaze · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Xiao Mi from the China Media Project interviewed Hu Yong on the Chinese online culture of “surrounding gaze”, who explains why netizens believe that they can change the world by the collective action of gaze.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Qian Yunhui’s death and the role of citizen investigation · Global Voices
Andy Yee

The gruesome death of village leader Qian Yunhui in Yueqing, Zhejiang province on 25 December 2010 has become the latest public fury in China. Thousands of netizens accused local government officials of killing Qian to silence his six-year campaign against fixed elections and illegal land expropriation, which was quickly denied by local authorities.
A nationwide truth crisis emerged when several independent civilian investigation teams, which include well-known Internet activist Wang Xiaoshan and human rights lawyer Xu Zhiyong among them, reached the same conclusion as the authority that the case was only a normal traffic accident, not a murder. No doubt, this pleased the local authorities.
Just because the results of the citizen investigation teams were basically the same as that of the police – results that weren’t what people wanted – the teams themselves came under suspicion. However, as Han Han has pointed out, it is easy for outraged Chinese netizens to fall into the trap of seeking the truth that suits their anger.
Have the citizen investigation teams become the ‘tools’ of the authority? How should these teams position themselves in future citizen investigations of injustices in China? Tiger Temple offers a few insights in his blog post:
我所说的“拐棍”，恰就是来自个别的“公民关注团”，因为“关注团”的定性偏移而导致变性为“刑侦团”和后来的“判定团”。这就无疑导致事件最终会出现“权威发言人”，而到时候这个权威就不一定是“公民关注团”了。根据以往的经验，事件将很快“盖棺”，舆论将迅即封锁，沉默者将不再沉默，继续出现的不同意见将成为“一小撮居心叵测”，更多的公民将成为“不明真相”。如此复杂的舆情就此被简单冻结而埋藏下无尽的狐疑、不解和隐患。看似和谐的局面终被推出前台。
What I call ‘walking sticks’ are exactly the groups of concerned citizens. Out of concerns, the nature of these groups evolve into ‘investigation’, then ‘judgment’. This inevitably means that an ‘authoritative spokesperson’ for the incident will emerge. But that authority will not necessarily be those concerned citizens. According to past experiences, the incident will be judged, public opinion will be suppressed, and the silenced will cease to be so. Then, dissident opinions will be deemed to be driven by ‘ulterior motive’, and more citizens will be ‘in the dark’. Such complicated public opinion will simply be buried into a sea of suspicion, puzzles and hidden crisis. A harmonized environment will then be pushed to the fore.
那么“公民关注团”究竟扮演了什么角色呢？不能不让人痛心！诚然，钱云会的死亡疑窦需要澄清，而且必须得到澄清，但作为公民的责任应该是不断向官方职能机构发出质疑，从而促使侦测程序依法进行、公正进行。有必要公民关注团也变身刑侦去做自己力所不能及的事情吗？果然，元月二日一大早，出现在各报铺天盖地的消息应验了以上观点——《乐清公安局赞钱云会案“公民观察团”立场公正》。官方终于可以用取自公民视角的结论来自己支持自己了。换句话说，那么来自民间的不同于官方的观点的就一概而为“立场不公正”吗？也不能不庆幸：向来令官恼火的什么“公民关注团”第一次成为他们的所爱。这不是拐棍又是什么呢？痛心！
So, what’s the role played by the citizen investigation teams? This cannot but make me feel sad! No doubt, Qian Yunhui’s suspicious death needs to be clarified, but the job of a responsible citizen is to continuously question the authority, so that the investigation could be carried out legally and justly. Is there any need for citizens to carry out investigations beyond their abilities? On 1 January, we witnessed what we do not want to see – headlines like ‘Yueqing public security praised ‘citizen investigation teams’ as just’ filled the front pages. The authority finally can utilize citizens’ views to support itself. In other words, does that mean that non-official views coming from citizens should be deemed ‘unjust’? Perhaps we should also rejoice over the fact that the so-called ‘citizen investigation teams’ have become darlings of the government for the first time. Are they not ‘walking sticks’? Sad!
因此，钱云会悲剧的后面我们看出了两条路，一条是刑侦技术论者，一条则是深度质询其社会根源的一类。后者带出的话题其更显宏观和博大，因为他所折射的社会现象遍及全国，影响更其深远！面对中国社会之现实尤为举足轻重。
Therefore, we see two paths behind Qian Yunhui’s tragedy. First is advocating investigative technique, the other is to question the deeper social problems behind incidents. The latter brings about a broader and a more macro view, which affects the whole country and would be more influential. This is especially important given the social reality of China.
Endorsing Tiger Temple’s article, blogger Ran Yunfei summarizes a few lessons for future citizen investigations. Individuals have to be careful in dealing with the truth, especially in a repressive society like China with strict information control. The objective is not so much finding the truth as seeking as much evidences as possible. While doing investigations, one also should not lose sight of the broader political and social contexts.
慎言自己调查所得为真相。真相在我们目下社会高压和信息强力管制的社会，再加上利益贪墨和各级政府的强势维稳，真相基本上是不可得的。政府所谓的“真相” 固然大多不可信 […] 但个人和机构仓促临时前往，在很多证据无法获得、证人无法采访，甚至被案件管制者遮掩的时候，你匆忙得出结论，而且断定你的结论就是“真相”，那么这样的“真相”不仅不是真相，而且这样的“真相”有损你的公信力。
Be careful when you claim that your result is the truth. Basically truth cannot be found in our repressive society, which is full of information control, corruptions and vested interests of the government. The so-called truth as told by the government has little credibility […] but it is equally difficult for individuals or other organizations to tell the truth. In most circumstances, evidences and witnesses are insufficient or being covered up by the authority. If you proclaim in a rush that your conclusion is the ‘truth,’ then this ‘truth’ will not only be untrue, it may also hurt your credibility.
尽量提供多方证据证人。证据和证人互相矛盾，往往是同一事件常有的事。我认为将诸种证据展示出来。并且尽量展示提供诸种证据的证人背景、利益关系等，从而让更多的人得知证据的可信度和真实性。使得更多的民众自己判断这里面是否有猫腻，而对相反（矛盾）证据的重视，恐怕作为在不开放的信息环境和有压力的状态下之调查者和机构，尤其应该注意。
Find as much evidences and witnesses as possible. Conflicting evidences and witnesses is a very normal situation. I believe that we should present them to the public and illustrate their backgrounds and relationships. This will enable the public to interpret the credibility of each piece of evidence and make a judgment. When conducting investigation under pressure in a closed society, one should place particular importance on contrary evidences.
乐清公安局赞美“公民调查”意味着什么？在没有真正的真相之前 […] 这里面的连锁反应是，其它 “不公正”的调查不允许调查了，其它报道就不允许报道了，官方可以在掌握一切权力的基础上，利用公盟许志永和于建嵘等具有的影响力和公信力，来匆忙了结此事，从而使钱云案会完全沉入和其它任何群体和恶性事件的暗箱操作中。
What does it mean when the Yueqing public security praised the ‘citizen investigation’? Before the truth is found […] the knock-on effect is that other ‘unjust’ investigations and reports will not be allowed. On the basis of their power, the authority can use the credibility and influence of Xu Zhiyong and Yu Jianrong to hastily conclude the incident, meaning that the Qian Yunhui case will disappear into black box politics like other mass events in China.
事实判断和社会背景分析同样重要。钱云会的真相是道难题，在目前的情形下，我不承认任何公布出来的所谓真相，即是真相。那么在真相的还原中有很大的难度，那么必要的社会背景分析，其重要作用也就不可低估。
Case facts and social background are equally important. It will be difficult to find out the truth of the Qian Yunhui case. In the present circumstances, I do not believe that all the publicized truths are really true. Exactly because finding out the truth is so difficult, we should not underestimate the use of analyzing the social background.

author: Andy Yee


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China: Whistleblower detained in mental home for 14 years · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu summarizes a report from Tianya forum written by Guo Hanyun, who claims that her father Guo Yuanrong, a cadre at the Bureau of Construction in Zhuxi County of Shiyan, Hubei, has been locked up in Shiyan Mental Hospital for 14 years for blowing the whistle on two officials of higher rankings.


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Colombia: Twitterathon to Help Those Affected by the Winter · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

An activity called “Twitterathon” emerged as an initiative through ideas published by Colombian Twitter users after the serious consequences of the winter wave in Colombia, which are described on the website of the presidency of republic [es]:
Las fuertes lluvias e inundaciones, que desde el segundo semestre de 2010 han afectado a más de un millón doscientas mil personas, han dejado a cientos de miles de familias con cuantiosas pérdidas de sus bienes, hogares, cosechas y demás medios de vida, y han afectado severamente múltiples bienes civiles, tales como escuelas, hospitales y vías de comunicación.
This was how on the 8 of December several Twitter users from the city of Medellín met up with the goal of collecting donations for the flood victims; and they spent a 7 hour day in Parque de los Pies descalzos [es] (Barefoot Park), one of the most emblematic parks in the city, collecting donations. The way in which the idea came about is described on the Twitterathon Tumblr site [es] in Medellín:
Esta tarde de 5 de diciembre de 2010 a Sarita Palacio, vía Twitter [@Saritapalacio] se le ocurrió promover la iniciativa de la #Twitteraton, la invitación fue humana y sencilla:
«Mucho dolor con la situación en Bello. Es hora de una manifestación twittera, una twiterton … No les parece?»
Pasados algunos minutos las respuestas a través de la misma red social no se hicieron esperar. Twitteros desde Medellín y otros lugares de Colombia se sumaron con sus ideas, apoyo y preguntas. Rápidamente se organizó una reunión en la Casa Museo Otraparte en Envigado.
This afternoon, 5 of December 2010, Sarita Palacio, via Twitter [@Saritapalacio] came up with the idea of promoting the Twitterathon initiative; the invitation [es] was compassionate and simple:
Very painful situation in Bello. It’s time for a twitter demonstration, a twitterathon…don’t you think?
A few minutes later the responses, through the same social network, flooded in. Twitter users from Medellín and other places in Colombia united with their ideas, support and questions. A meeting was quickly organised in Casa Museo Otraparte in Envigado.
Twitterathon team – Medellín by Julián Gutiérrez (@JulianGutierrezG) used with his permission.
On the same site [es] a donation guide is referenced, which has been circulated at a national level through the Red Cross [es], emphasising the need for some items on the aforementioned day:
En este enlace encontramos una guía que aclara cómo podemos ayudar a personas daminificadas en situaciones asociadas al invierno en Colombia. Nosotros hacemos énfasis para este miércoles en la urgencia de elementos de:
- Paquetes de aseo familiar
– Paquetes de cocina
– Paquetes de vajilla
– Colchonetas
– Sábanas
– Cobijias
– Alimentos no perecederos
In this link [es] we can find a guide which clarifies how we can help the people affected by the situations arising from the Colombian winter. We emphasise the urgency for these items this Wednesday:
- Family toiletry packs
– Kitchen packs
– Dishes
– Duvets
– Sheets
– Blankets
– Non-perishable food
The Twitterathon was quickly adopted by Twitter users in Bogotá who carried out the same plan on Saturday December 11th, 2010 [es], in the TEATRO R101 of the Colombian capital. There they did not only gather aid for those affected by the Colombian winter, but they also accepted clothes to donate to the Hogares Claret foundation [es]:
Aparte de este conteo de unidades donadas por la red twittera bogotana, la Twitteraton recolectó una gran cantidad de ropa, suficiente para llenar un furgón, la cual fue almacenada en la Casa Scout bogotana y será destinada esta semana a la Fundación Hogares Claret, que trabaja en pro de la población vulnerable y en rehabilitación de habitantes de la calle.
Apart from this tally of items donated by the Bogota twitter network, the Twitterathon collected a large amount of clothing, enough to fill a van, which was stored in the Bogota Scout House and will this week be destined for the Hogares Claret Foundation, which does work for vulnerable people and the rehabilitation of the homeless.
The cities of Cali (@twiteratoncali) and Barranquilla (@twiteratonqilla) joined forces, where the aforementioned event took place on the 18 and 19 of December respectively, together with the city of Medellín where a second version (18 of December) was carried out and which was promoted by a video [es] via Youtube [es]. Furthermore on the 22 and 23 of December a twitterathon [es] was held in the city of Sincelejo.
The figures
- The Medellín Twitterathon produced a total collection of 4800 items (Consolidado público [es]).
– The Bogotá Twitterathon reported on their Facebook page [es] the donation of 10525 items of humanitarian aid throughout the day.
– The Cali Twitterathon announced almost 14 tonnes of aid.
It is worth indicating that the people of Cali launched a website about the activity: Twitterathon Cali [es], where they have published their gratitude to those who participated and collaborated along with photos of the activity. The event was reviewed [es] in the Cali newspaper El Pais. Twitter user Incognito (@lncognito) said:
Todavia no puedo creerlo… Casi 14 toneladas de ayuda recibidas este dia en la #TwitteratonCali
Next a video by Julian Mauricio (@profetaloco) about the Cali Twitterathon:
It’s important to point out that during the days of support in aid of those affected by the winter in Colombia, the telethon [es] organisation –that this year had its version in the country on the 18 and 19 of December – decided to open up its arena to invite Colombians to donate, not just to support people in disadvantaged situations (the central point of the aforementioned day), but also to the Colombian Humanitarian initiative, developed by the government as a contingency measure to the devastation caused by the floods

author: Cati Restrepo


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El Salvador: Political Violence in Cabañas · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Voices from El Salvador's Weblog reports: “Another wave of political violence swept through Cabañas, El Salvador over the Christmas Holiday […] The tension between the local civil society organizations that led the anti-mining movement and local power structures continues to grow and result in threats and violence.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Featured Translator: Adriana Gutiérrez · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

The team of translators at Global Voices in Spanish is the largest of the various Lingua teams, and yet little is known about the people who make up the group. At this  point I must make the appropriate mea culpa, admitting responsibility, and of course, remedying the situation. Thus, I present, with more  than 1800 translated posts, one of our star collaborations. I had the  opportunity, as several other GVers, to meet her in person in Santiago  during our  Summit this year, and as expected, the first time we met we treated each other as  life-long friends. For those who do not have that privilege, here is  Adriana Gutiérrez [es]:
Adriana Gutiérrez
Hi Adriana, people say that a good translator must go unnoticed, but we'd really love to know more about you.
Well, I am Venezuelan by birth and habit. For the last 10 years I've been a graphic designer, a freelancer for 1, married to another graphic designer for 18 months and a loving fan of my dog, music, internet and film… in that order. I also like reading, mainly novels of epic fantasy, suspense and magic realism (the latter has always seemed very typical of Latin America to me). I have few friends, perhaps because I'm shy, perhaps because I'm unfriendly (or both), but do not be fooled by appearances, there is no “seriousness “about me.
Tell us about your experience as a designer.
As a designer I have been closely linked to the advertising area. Since I graduated I've had plenty of work, thankfully, and most of the time in advertising agencies in the city where I live. Eventually these jobs ended up boring me (they are cyclical and most agencies work in the same way), so over a year ago my husband and I decided to risk creating our own design studio and although it has been a little hard (like every beginning), we've also had plenty of work as independent designers. Go and check out our Facebook page and see some of our work… please don't be too cruel with the criticism hahaha.
What about your blog and other things you have online?
My blog is Bitácora Invisible [es] (Invisible Blog) (since 2005) and is a personal space where there is a little bit of everything (literally), anecdotes, thoughts and photographs, and I write mostly in Spanish. That space was on stand-by for a couple of years, coincidentally during the time when my Twitter account (@Adri021) and Tumblr began to grow… but recently I wanted to take up the habit of writing on it and already have a few new entries. I have a podcast about movie soundtracks, also in Spanish, but because of my work it got stuck on the 28th episode and the 29th is still one of my pending tasks. And there's my Flickr, as varied as my blog. Ah! Sometimes I also collaborate with some friends who are slowly engaging in the production of viral videos, and there are a couple of pieces on YouTube as El Jefe se entera… [“The boss finds out…”, a parody of Hitler finds out about a video meme, in Spanish] and CollowFriday [a parody of the FollowFriday videos on Twitter, in Spanish].
Being a professional designer, where do you get your interest and skills as a translator?
I liked languages since I was a child, while taking English classes I liked to translate (short) texts or songs to learn more and every time I increased the amount of translated text. Then, knowing blogs around the world, sometimes I wanted to share some things I read, but I knew that some of my contacts didn't understand English, so I translated the articles… then I got to GV… the rest is history.
Would you share that story with our readers?
Sure. Since I started my blog I was fascinated by the potential of communication and expression of the media, then in 2007 I found out about Global Voices Online thanks to Luis Carlos Diaz, where he worked as a writer and translator for the Spanish version. He echoed a call from the editor to capture volunteer translators and I heeded his calling, attracted by the idea of taking all this compilation of local stories to a wider audience. Since then I have not stopped working with the project, I may have come down a bit in frequency, but the truth is that my interest in GVO/Lingua has not diminished one cubic millimeter… I think it is as Leonard [Chien] says, the relationship between Lingua and its translators is like a love story. The issues I translate have always been very varied, but although I'm attracted to posts on the Environment, Culture and Cyberactivism, I prefer to give some diversity to my translation “time line” and carry different types of stories to readers at GV in Spanish.
You've been translating for GV for over three years, what would you say to those just starting out?
Tough question, let's see… I'll speak from my own experience to better illustrate what it has been like working in GV (and what it could be like for beginners): For me, GV/Lingua has meant having the world closer, and I don't mean it as a physical space but as being closer to people, leaning about the realities of different places at once, told by the main characters themselves, without “makeup” or other interest to express what they're living/feeling. At first I began to translate with a “selfish” idea: What would I like to read in a site like GV? and starting from there I chose the entries to translate, each of these translations were making me want to know more and more about those stories, as I said, the reality of other places… somehow, knowing that my own interest in learning helps certain stories reach a wider audience, is a special added value. So far I don't see GV as an obligation, it is difficult to see it that way when I can devote to it on my own terms, without schedules or a tight agenda and with a peer group always willing to contribute something more to the work of others.
Adriana Gutiérrez
Venezuela has become a little bit of a “complicated” country, how do you see it from within?
More complicated (because I live here)! In Venezuela, from my view, a very negative social and ideological division has grown and it largely prevents reaching agreements for the majority and has helped citizens become reactionary and even violent. There is also the lack of organization and balance in the current administration, there is often no consistency between what is said (which in theory seems very positive) and what is done. Offering opportunities for advancement and growth to those who historically didn't have them (this is very good), but doing it in a messy way, uneven and not very transparent, so the results end up being insufficient or even harmful for most… repeating the vices of the previous administrations, which they criticize. Venezuela remains a beautiful country with people who want to do things right, only that for the moment we're walking uphill…
Tell us about the city you live in.
Barquisimeto is the city of twilight (that's why there are so many pictures of twilight skies in my Flickr account), a growing city that has so far managed to balance concrete and nature. In Venezuela it is known as the “music city” because of the many talented musicians that come out of its land (the most recent and notorious example is the master Gustavo Dudamel, Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic)   …in fact, one of the best training academies of the System for Children and Youth Orchestras of Venezuela, recognized and replicated throughout the world, is in Barquisimeto. If there is something that the city has is that, although many of us weren't born here (I was born in Merida, a city of the Venezuelan Andes and several of my friends are from other cities too), we feel so “guaros”* as anyone born in this locality. (*) In Venezuela, they call “guaro” people born or living in the Lara State, whose capital is Barquisimeto.
What can you mention about Barquisimeto that is particularly attractive or that you like?
Although many people here say that in the city there is nothing to do, I think that is a baseless complaint. Barquisimeto and the surrounding area has it all: Nightlife, constant cultural shows, many restaurants (the traditional food from El Roble is special), parks and places to spend the day outdoors… my current favorite place is La Flor de Venezuela [es], a pavilion designed by architect Fruto Vivas to represent Venezuela at the 2000 Hannover Expo, which combines architecture, flora and fauna, as well as cultural information about the country, and within its space is a small restaurant with delicious crêpes. You also have the town of Santa Rosa, where its church houses the religious patron of the region, the Divina Pastora, a history museum, a viewpoint from which you can see Cabudare (sister city of Barquisimeto) and other of my favorite places: a bakery with delicious desserts where they let you draw on paper placemats while waiting for what you ordered.
And how would you describe Venezuela to a foreigner?
Venezuela is a country of contrasts, with very cold or very hot areas (with its intermediates), extreme wealth or poverty, idyllic and unforgettable landscapes,  and despite my comment on the “aggressiveness” of our citizens there are still many people with the ability to make a good impression on our visitors… I think there are no “foreigners” here, because from the moment you step on Venezuelan soil (to visit or to stay) you will find people who will treat you as “one of the family”.
I hope to someday test that out Adriana, thank you for the interview.
Thank you.

author: Juan Arellano


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Jamaica: On Wikileaks · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Active Voice maintains that “the single most important thing to have happened globally last year was Wikileaks.”


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Kenya: Kenya Police Website Hacked · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kelvin reacts to news about the hacking of the Kenyan police website: “So, yeah. The Kenya police website was broken into. Twice. In a time-frame of a few days. It makes me wonder whether the boys in blue really do take cyber security seriously. This time the hacker even exposed the admin password for the Kenya Police website.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Madagascar: Lemur Poisoning On the Rise · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Mongabay writes that the environmental NGO Fanamby  in Madagascar warns of a new practice of poisoning lemurs to poach them [Warning: graphic images]. Fanamby also notes that lemur poaching and rosewood trafficking are on the rise since the political crisis of 2009 (fr).

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Malawi: Saving lives with knowledge management and mobile phones · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Saving lives in rural Malawi with knowledge management and mobile phones: “The most important item in Amon Chimphepo’s medical kit is a small cell phone. This single piece of technology has proved to be a lifeline for people living in one of the most remote regions of Malawi. Its power to reach and initiate help immediately from the closest hospital is saving lives and improving health outcomes.”


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Maldives: Thaana Fonts On Android · Global Voices
Rezwan

Jawish Hameed posts how Thaana fonts of the Divehi language  can be installed in Android OS.


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Pakistan: A Nepali On The Assassination Of Salman Taseer · Global Voices
Rezwan

Nepali blogger Bhumika Ghimire comments on the recent assassination of the Punjab governor Salman Taseer: “Yes, the murderer was called a hero. I will not mention his name here, he does not deserve to be known. His deeds are enough to condemn him. But to honor this man by the hundreds shows that Pakistan is in serious trouble.”


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Paraguay: Government Enacts Law on Languages · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

E'a [es] reports that the Paraguayan government has enacted a Law on Languages. Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources explains that,”The law requires public institutions to use the Guarani language as determined by the Constitution.”


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: The “What Ifs” of Earthquakes  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Are we really prepared or are we sitting ducks waiting for the worst?”: Abeni finds herself thinking about earthquakes.


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Trinidad & Tobago: R.I.P. Sir Ellis  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago's first President, Sir Ellis Clarke, passed away last week; Caribbean Camera has the details on funeral arrangements and how people can pay their last respects.


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Venezuela: Opposition Returns to National Assembly · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

In a post titled “The end of an error,” Juan Cristobal reports: “Today, Venezuela’s opposition returned to the National Assembly they boycotted five years ago.” He adds: “It would be easy to dismiss this as inconsequential political theater. Yet the fact remains that the majority of Venezuelans who voted for the opposition will finally have a pulpit in the nation’s legislature.”


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Zimbabwe: 2011 SMS Resolutions · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

2011 SMS resolutions in Zimbabwe: “This morning we asked our email and SMS subscribers “Whats your resolution about how you’ll get involved in making change happen in 2011′?” Of the 70+ responses we’ve received so far, the most popular response from our subscribers is that they would vote (21 said this).”


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Zimbabwe: Three reasons to plant a tree in a pothole · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Three reasons why trees are planted in potholes in Zimbabwe: “Plant a tree in a pot hole.1) It makes pot holes easier to spot 2) It improves the environment 3) You might finally get the city council’s attention”


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Armenia: Charity or Mismanagement? · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Truth Must Be Told [AM/EN] posts a two-part examination of the work of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, a charitable organization which attracts annually appeals for donations from Armenians worldwide. However, the blog says, with senior government figures on its Board of Trustees, the fund's work is overshadowed by allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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China: Brutal Eviction · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The photo circulated among Sina microbloggers shows how the developer damaged the building structure in order to force the residents on the 6th floor to move out.


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COP 16: Agreement on Form But Without the Funds · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.
The 16th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ended in Cancun on December 11 with the adoption of a raft of decisions.
There were 15,482 delegates in attendance at the COP 16, including 6164 government representatives from 192 signatory countries, 4 from a state with observer status, 339 members of 25 divisions of the UN Secretariat, 231 from 19 UN institutions and specialized agencies, 429 from 47 intergovernmental agencies, 6377 from 647 NGOs, and 1938 representatives of 699 media outlets.
Greenpeace Mexico march to Mexico City's historic center to ask for concrete resolutions to fight climate change. Photo by LUIS RAMON BARRON TINAJERO, copyright Demotix (03/12/2010)
Optimism prevailed among the politicians and other officials attending, as demonstrated by Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the COP 16, who stated the following at the closing ceremony:
“Cancun has done its job. The beacon of hope has been reignited and faith in the multilateral climate change process has been restored.”
Ordinary citizens and Bolivia, the only country that did not vote for the final text, are not so certain.
The blog of the Togolese section of the NGO network Young Volunteers for the Environment, founded in 2001 and operating in 13 countries throughout Africa and in America, contained a virulent article by Séna Alouka. He described the city where he was writing from as being against the COP 16 sessions and their outcome. In an article entitled “Accord bidon à Cancun: A quel prix?”( Phony Agreement in Cancun: At What Cost?), the author wrote “from the all-expenses-paid, all countries, all inclusive hotel, the Crowne Paradise Cancun”:
Strategies were needed to save face and to “keep the patient in a coma” for as long as possible. Cancun provided an opportunity for several delegates to form, exchange, share, and discuss real solutions to the problem of climate change. Although this city by the sea,  whose construction was damaging to the environment, garnered millions of dollars from this COP, it managed to strike a blow to the neocolonials found in the histories of G20, G8, or G2 meetings by demonstrating that it is more gentlemanly to discuss in public and to follow the spirit of the Convention's principles.
At the closing session of the COP 16 in Cancun at 5 AM on December 11, 2010, in a room with 70 people at best, Séna Alouka asks this question:
Where did the 15,000 people registered here go? They probably went to finish their shopping and rush home. In the end, they came up with a text called the “Cancun Agreement,” which has the advantage of receiving the approval of the majority of delegates (better than the previous episode in Copenhagen).
The author noted sarcastically that he appreciated
the EXTREMELY POSITIVE nature of all the press releases I've read since yesterday. For most of our English-speaking colleagues, and those in the Climate Action Network (whose mechanism I am now mastering),  the majority of the releases were prepared well before the end of the COP.
…. whatever the final Cancun agreement is, the President ended her speech with such a phrase: “We understand that we are not following our own internal regulations but to save face at Cancun, we are adopting the text.”
The blog opapilles.hautetfort.com thinks that
The agreement nevertheless failed on the critical point: deep and binding cuts in CO2 emissions for developed countries. As it is, the collection of measures will not be enough to stop the advance of the climate machine. CO2 emissions have increased 37% since 1990, and temperatures could climb by 4 to 6 °C by the end of the century.
Serge Orru, on the site WWWF.fr, asserts in his article, “Il faut préparer l'après Cancun” (We Must Prepare for Post-Cancun):
Yes, progress was made in Cancun that must be given form…but, it is in our industrialized nations that we must massively reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, weapons of mass destruction of mankind! ….
It's like a Christmas present for our children, but Santa Claus doesn't exist (shhh, just don't tell our little darlings)
or rather, he must truly exist in each of us, in our actions and in our deeds, every day!
Jean-Michel Bélouve wrote an article on his blog reprinted by the site agora.fr called “Conférence climatique de Cancun: l'accord cache le désaccord” (Cancun Climate Conference: The Disagreement Behind the Agreement):
We may ask ourselves how the countries that we still call wealthy can agree to pay out such sums ($100 billion, by 2020). The agreement also fails to mention the sources of the financing. But we fully realize that the countries of the West, with excess debt and some of them headed for bankruptcy, will not be able to consent to such a demand on public funds. So, during the workshops, they planned new taxes…
The cost of collecting, monitoring, and policing such a system would be very high, and its effectiveness would be uncertain.
Jean-Michel continues, saying that they simply make references to innovative taxes, and adds:
In short, they don't know where to find the money, because none of the developed countries at the negotiating table appear ready to reach for their wallets.
The article also mentions another point in the agreement that appears difficult to implement. The large emerging countries (China, India, Brazil, etc.) are asked to report their inventories of greenhouse gas emissions, and the actions taken to reduce them. The article draws certain conclusions about this request:
These reports will be submitted for international review, which is to be “nonintrusive,” “nonpunitive,” and “respectful of national sovereignty.” To put it plainly, there will be no monitoring, simply a statement from the countries concerned.
Pierre-Jean wrote an article in his blog  neitherdoi.wordpress.com on December 14 called “Cancun : la Bolivie persiste et ne signe pas,” (Cancun: Bolivia Still Won't Sign):
Pablo Solon, negotiator for Bolivia, said, “this agreement won't stop temperature from rising by 4°C.” A Green Fund managed by the World Bank, no word on how the money will be collected, no specific commitments to lower emissions, recognition of REDD mechanism  (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) as is, in other words, without considering indigenous populations or recognizing market mechanisms, etc. Seen from this perspective, we reach the conclusion that not only was Bolivia right to be opposed, but that it is also the last spokesman for the most radical opponents.
This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Criticism needed in a rising China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

C. Custer from ChinaGeek publishes an opinion post, “Criticism needed in a rising China”, written by Eric Fish. The article, commenting on Global Times’ earlier editorial “China will endure more criticism”, was rejected by their editors.


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Cuba: Eleven More  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As 11 political prisoners remain in jail, The Cuban Triangle says: “In political terms, completion of the process would have several impacts…”


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Cuba: Three Kings Day  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“In Cuba and possibly most Hispanic countries, the children would be getting up and opening gifts this morning. The gifts were delivered by the Three Kings”: My Big Fat Cuban Family blogs about The Day of the Three Kings.


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D.R. of Congo: Controversy as Kabila Tries to Change the Constitution  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Why does President Kabila want to change the constitution in the Democratic Republic of Congo?: “President Kabila has long said that he wanted to change the way representatives are elected. In particular, he and his associates have complained that it is difficult to push through the necessary reforms with 70 different  political parties in the national assembly alone, which has resulted in endless horse-trading and bribery.”


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D.R.of Congo: Mobutu’s ex-Presidential Guards arrested · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

71 Mobutu's ex-Presidential guards have been arrested in Bas-Congo in the Democractic Republic of Congo: “In announcing the arrest of the 71 DSP [Division Spéciale Présidentielle] elements earlier this week, Lambert Mende, DRC Communication Minister, warned that if Congolese exiles want to return home with good intentions, they would be welcome home with open arms.”


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Featured Translator: Sarah Standish · Global Voices
شمس أحمد

Sarah Standish: A blogger with a mission
Sarah Standish is a young American teacher and blogger with a mission. In addition to teaching Arabic to high school students in the US, the Arabic Lingua member hopes to bridge the gap between the East and West and create more understanding of the Arab way of life and thinking. I was pretty much impressed when I read her profile, and got even more impressed when I talked with her and this is how the interview went.
Is your main job related to journalism?
Not at all. I teach Arabic to high school students in the United States.
When and why did you start blogging?
I started blogging when I went to Syria to study because I'd been following many Syrian bloggers even before I left, which inspired me to blog, and because I wanted an easy way to communicate with my family, friends, and acquaintances back home. Some of them were excited for me, others were wondering if I'd be safe, and others didn't know enough about the Middle East even to stereotype it. In all cases, I wanted to show them a little bit of what being in Syria was really like.
How did you know about Global Voices Online and what made you interested in it?
I first encountered Global Voices when I was writing a paper about Syrian bloggers in college. I felt like I was wading hip-deep through a lot of uninspired blog writing to find the good pieces, so it was great to learn that there was a site dedicated to making the blogosphere digestible to the public and helping them find what deserves to be read. I also love that GV fills a niche that no other organization or website I can think of really does. I started writing for GV after one of the Arabic Translation Managers, whom I became friends with in Syria, asked me if I would be interested in translating for Arabic Lingua.
What made you so interested in the Arabic language?
I've always loved languages, whether my native tongue or someone else's. I started studying Arabic on a whim during college and I found I enjoyed the challenge of such a difficult language, in addition to my interest in knowing more about the Middle East. As time went on, I came to love the incredible precision of the formal language, and the inventive flexibility its colloquial counterpart. I think studying Arabic and the Middle East was humbling–as I learned more about both, it only made me realize how much I didn't–and still don't–know.
As you seem so inspired by the Arab world, do you think it affected your life as an American citizen?
Yes, in many different ways. Meeting people in the Middle East who were directly or indirectly affected by the American foreign policy made me understand the sometimes terrible human cost of those policies. On the other hand, I also came to appreciate some of the United States’ domestic institutions of government, for all their inefficiencies and injustices, more than I had before. I also think going to the Middle East showed me just what it means to be an American citizen, how little bits of American power and privilege get attached to each citizen and follow us around the world, whether we like it or not. Being an American citizen means that I can cross almost any border, visit almost any country, in a way that people of many other nationalities cannot. It means that I have privileges in other countries that citizens of those countries may not enjoy; criticizing a country's leadership in the Middle East would be more likely to get me deported than to get me thrown in jail. And finally, I always have the freedom and economic ability to leave the places I go. That may not really really sum up what being an American citizen is, but for me, it really personified the fact that my nationality gives me privileges either that I have no particular right to, or that more ideally everyone else should have too.
So which do you like more, being a teacher or being a blogger?
For me it's hard to compare because teaching is a job and profession whereas blogging was only ever going to be a hobby. I guess they're similar, though, in that both involve trying to put ideas into a form that will make them more palatable or understandable to other people, and in both cases you're not always sure whether or not you're getting through to part of your audience!
Can you tell us your experience during the last GV summit in Chile?
I was inspired by the degree to which GV is run openly and democratically. I know some people think that it's now less open and democratic than it used to be, but compared to other organizations, I think there's still a lot there to emulate. And of course, it was awesome to meet so many people in person whom I'd only communicated with online!
How do you see yourself after 10 years?
Gosh, that's a good question. I'm not sure! Hopefully I'll have figured out how to get high school students to a good level of Arabic within four years. Hopefully I'll have been part of the small but growing number of Arabic teachers who want to integrate Arabic dialect into the teaching of Modern Standard Arabic (the written form of the language that's widely taught in the United States). And after that, I'm not sure what I'll do!
Finally, what would you like to say to GV?
I'd say that GV has a ton to offer because it successfully does what few websites really manage: it fills a unique niche and does it in an exemplary way. I'd also say that I hope it can continue to be as democratic and open as it is over the next few years, or even become more so, and that it can figure out how to present bloggers’ opinions in such a compelling way that even more people will read about them.
Finally, I would like to thank Sarah for her great help and effort.

author: شمس أحمد


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First Chinese sex-negative website launched · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jing Gao from the Ministry of Tufu reports on the launching of a non-governmental website haongo.com which campaigns against eroticism as well as extramarital sex,  homosexuality and masturbation.


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Guyana: More Than Abstinence  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The sooner we recognize that our teens are having sex, the sooner we can start acting like conscientious parents”: The Guyana Groove thinks that “where abstinence alone teaching has failed…learning about sexuality from parents is the answer.”


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Jamaica: New Date for Banton?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican bloggers are waiting to see what happens with reggae icon Buju Banton's new trial date.


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Japan: Yearning for death · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Daniele at The East Asia Gazette analyzed the “state of suicides in Japan” [en]. The post reads like a short essay on the sociological and cultural causes of suicide in one of the country with the highest suicide rates in the world. The blogger also reflected on the alarming statistics recently released by the National Police Agency and the role of the media.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Mexico: Red Cross Unable to Treat All Victims of Shootings in Ciudad Juárez · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The Red Cross in Ciudad Juárez has asked that victims of shootings be taken to hospitals and not to their facilities because they do not have the capacity to treat so many victims of organized crime, as Pepe Flores reports for Vivir México.


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Mexico: The Three King’s Cake Celebration · Global Voices
Andrea Arzaba

It is a common tradition among Mexicans to get together with their families on January 6th and eat a special cake called “Rosca de Reyes” (translated as “King's Cake”). Whoever finds a small plastic doll inside their piece of cake will have to buy Mexican food for everybody on February 2nd. Several bloggers have written about this tradition, what it means and how it is celebrated.
The blog One Lucky Life describes the tradition of the “King's Cake”:
The  tradition of the famous “king’s cake” with the family is something I  remember since I was a young girl. I would get anxious, as I wanted to  see the little plastic doll inside my piece of cake. For those who might not be familiar with this tradition, I will explain it briefly:
In  Mexico, on each January 6th, families get together and cut the famous  “Rosca de Reyes”(Literally King’s Cake) , which is a large ring-shaped  cake/bread roll decorated with crystallized fruit and sugar. Inside the  cake you will find mini plastic dolls representing Jesus Christ. Each  member of the family cuts a piece of the cake, and if you a doll inside  your piece, on February 2nd you will have to invite tamales to your family!
Mike Gonzales, in the blog New Santa Ana, tells readers why there are plastic dolls representing Jesus Christ inside the cake:
The tradition of placing a trinket (figurine of the Christ Child) in the  cake is very old. The baby Jesus, when hidden in the bread, represents  the flight of Jesus, fleeing from King Herod’s evil plan to kill all  babies that could be the prophesied messiah. Whoever finds the baby  Jesus figurine is blessed and must take the figurine to the nearest  church on February 2, Candlemas Day (Día de la Candelaria). In the  Mexican culture, this person also has to throw a party and provide  tamales and atole to the guests.
In the blog Nibbles and Feasts, blogger Ericka explains why the person who gets the plastic doll must treat others to Mexican food on February 2nd:
According to tradition whoever finds the little doll in  their slice of sweet bread must give a party on February 2nd, Candlemas  Day or Dia de la Candelaria, offering tamales, hot chocolate and atole  to their guests. Candlemas is the day that Mary presented the infant  Jesus to the temple and is traditionally the day that candles are  blessed in the Catholic Church.
Typical "Rosca de Reyes" from Mexico image by Flickr user A30_Tsitika  used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license
The King's Cake recipe can be found at Nibbles and Feasts.
Finally, in 2008, American blogger Joy wrote about the “King's Cake” tradition from a foreigner's point of view:
OK, so a Rosca de Reyes cake is really not very strange, it’s just new to me. This weekend is a  festive time in Mexico (long-time readers: You’re learning it’s always a festive time here, aren’t you?) because Jan. 6. is King’s Day (Dia de  Reyes), also known as Epiphany. It’s traditionally when Mexican  children are given their gifts. One way of celebrating this time of year  is to serve a Rosca de Reyes. (Mexico City also serves up a  “mega-rosca” and throws a parade.)
The cake is very similar in taste and appearance to a King’s Cake of  the Mardi Gras tradition — there’s even little baby Jesuses in the cake.  (Note: I got the first baby Jesus, which means I have to invite Brendan  over to my house later this month and serve tamales. But there are  apparently numerous Jesuses in one cake.)

author: Andrea Arzaba


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Myanmar: Lawyers’ Network to support activists · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Democratic Voice of Burma reported that a lawyers’ network was recently formed by the political opposition in Myanmar to assist dissidents and political prisoners. Despite the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, there are more than 2,000 political prisoners in Myanmar.


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Myanmar: Traditional calendar · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Welcoming the new year, Melody Maung blogs about the traditional Burmese calendar


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North Korea:Kim Jong-un’s Birthday Approaches, More Analyses Came Out · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

As North Korea's heir apparent Kim Jong Un's birthday (Jan.8) approaches, more analyses and predictions are made on the regime's prospect. Daily NK, a Seoul-based online media which exclusively deals with North Korean issues with using North Korean insider's comments as major source, released an analysis before Kim's coming birthday.[en]

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Nigeria: Attacks in Northern Nigeria are ethno-religious · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Yomi Ogunsanya argues that attacks in Northern Nigeria are mostly ethno-religious: “My concern is with the deliberate denial, by Nigerian leaders and theocratic elite, that most, if not all the violence we have seen in, particularly, Northern Nigeria, are attributable to religion or ethnicity or both.”


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Pakistan: There Is No Justification For Murder · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sana Saleem slams the people who are uttering words of sympathy for the killer of the Punjab governor Salman Taseer. She says: “there’s no justification for his murder, and every single one who instigated violence, has blood on their hands.”

author: Rezwan


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Saudi Arabia: Human Rights Activists Asked to Shut Up on Twitter  · Global Voices
Haifa Alrasheed

Saudi Arabia's human rights activists, who have been pushing their cause on mico-blogging site, Twitter, have been asked to shut up.
Following the arrest of Dr Mohammed Alabdulkareem, Twitter's hashtag #FreeDrAlabdulkareem was trending with calls to free the scholar, who was detained after publishing an article on the effectiveness of the political regulation among the royal family. There, heated exchanges ensued between human rights advocates, government officials and netizens, in general.
The most intense exchange of tweets was between the Saudi Consultative (Shura) Council member Abdulrahman Alenad and Dr Alabdulkareem's lawyer Waleed Abulkhair.
The exchange started when Alenad accused Dr Alabdulkareem of being irresponsible to publish such an article and  Abualkhair demanded the council member apologized for his impoliteness. The latter refused to do so, and asked Abulkhair to shut up in a very offensive language. He literally asked Abulkhair to ‘eat hay’ or Kol Tebin, which soon caught up with the Saudi tweetosphere, resulting in both angry and sarcastic tweets, and a dedicated hashtag #koltebin.
Background
Waleed Abulkhair in known for his human rights advocacy. He defended many human rights cases such as Samar Badawi's case. Abdulrahman Alenad, on the other hand, and according to his Twitter bio, is a Professor of Mass Communications, and a member of both the Saudi Consultative Council and the Human Rights Association in Saudi Arabia.
Really?!
On Twitter, reactions varied from the sarcastic to the angry.
Abdulrahman Alswaid tries to teach Alenad about effective criticism:
Abdulaziz Alnuaim advices Alenad to back out:
And Alathoub Abdulaziz thanks Alenad for his classy choice of words:
In his blog, Ahmed Al Omran or Saudi Jeans was shocked:
I was momentarily startled by al-Enad’s choice of words and thought it was a slip of the tongue.
Rin, on Twitter, comments on how Saudis forgot the main cause behind the hashtag:
funny thing is #koltebin has more hashtag hits than #freedralabdulkarim .. ppl never fail to focus on trivial things and forget the cause
And Mishaal Alkhulaiwi explains the meaning of the curse phrase:
Eat Hay = kol tebin :P You people have nothing to do at all :D #koltebin
Omar Al Hajjaj explains why this curse is so special:
In his blog, Faayed Alelaiwee comments:
لكن لاتلوموه فهو ليس منتخب فليقل مايشاء!
Do not blame him, he was not elected, let him say whatever he wants!
Hadi Fugaihi from Someone blog writes a very angry post entitled: “Dear Saudi citizen, shut up!” [Ar]
What's Next?
Abualkhair wrote a piece addressed to Abdulaziz Kassim and published in his Google group, in which he expresses his disappointment in his country:
وإلى ذلك الحين سأتحمل من الدكتور العناد أمره لي بأن ( آكل تبن ) ومن التميمي
وصفه إياي بأني غوغائي ومن القاضي الرفيع تهديده بالانتقام .. ومن المسؤول
تحذيره إياي من دخولي السجن..
ومن والدتي الرؤوم الوجلة إلحاحها علي مراراً بأن لا أفجعها يوماً بخبر مسيء عني ..
ومن المجتمع الذي لا يرحم ينتظر متى ينهش عرض المدافع عن المظلومين فيه ..
On the other hand, the council member insists on his position:

author: Haifa Alrasheed


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Egypt: New Year’s Eve Church Bombing Draws Condemnation · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

Just few minutes after the clock in Egypt announced the beginning of 2011, a bomb exploded in front of a cathedral in Alexandria where over 1,000 worshipers had gathered to welcome the new year. Twenty-one people were killed, and another 79 injured in the worst church bombing in over a decade in Egypt.
Just two days before the end of 2010, Ragi Shokri wrote in his blog, Ain Fe AlGanna, about his fears and wishes for the new year. He said:
But destiny was generous enough to give the Egyptians a few minutes of celebration, before they were hit by the news of the Alexandria explosion that ended all their celebrations. Zenobia broke the news of the explosion in her blog:
Sara El Sayeh, just like almost all of the Egyptian bloggers, expressed her anger over the bombing:
Sara then continued:
Zenobia wrote here blaming the Ministry of Interior's carelessness in securing the Church, especially that some Salafy groups threatened to attack the churches in Egypt and published on their web-forums a list of the churches to be targeted, including the Two Saints Church.
Zeinobia also blamed the government for not announcing national mourning.
The million dollar question now is who is behind this attack. The head of the state blamed the explosion on “foreign hands” seeking to undermine Egypt's security, stability and unity. Zeinobia summed up the reasons for bloggers to accuse Al-Qaeda, Israel, or even the regime itself. Meanwhile, the blogger in “The Egypt Silent Majority” had a different point of view:
He then continued to state the symptoms and evidence that prove that there is something wrong with the Egyptian society. And here are some of them:
And finally, the reactions everywhere whether on Facebook or offline, and those who called for Muslims to attend the Coptic Christians masses on the 7th of January [Ar] made Maggie Ossama believe that such incident will never be able to break the unity of the Egyptian people regardless of their religion or race:

author: Tarek Amr


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Togo: The Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission reports results  · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Gabriel Adonou, quoting Monsignor Nicodème Barrigah-Benissan, Bishop of Atakpamé and president of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (CVJR) in Togo, writes [fr] in his blog,”I blog for life” [fr]: “By the 17th of last December, the commission had received a total of 18,571 depositions […] According to evaluations performed by the United Nations, the commissions preceding the CVJR received between 7,000 and 20,000 testimonies or depositions.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Taxi Strike  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“If Warner succeeds in legitimizing the illegal off shoot of public transport at the demise of law abiding members, how long before we are a completely lawless State?”: Plain Talk blogs about the first day of the Maxi Taxi strike.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Tunisia: Activists Arrested at #SidiBouzid Protests on January 6 · Global Voices
Claire Ulrich

In Tunisia, a popular lawyers-led strike took place today, January 6. The list of the protesters arrested in the town of Thala as a result was published on facebook (ar) and three arrests were posted on twitter and confirmed later.  Azyz Amamyma, Slim Amamou and rapper El General, who famously wrote the song “President, your people are dying” (fr) were amongst the arrested activists. Later on, thanks to geolocalisation with Google latitude on his cell phone,  Amamou was spotted at the ministry of Interior. A show of solidarity for the #SidiBouzid movement took place in Paris at the same time.

author: Claire Ulrich


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Uganda: Court Victory for Ugandan Homosexuals · Global Voices
Haute Haiku

A Ugandan court has ruled against  Rolling Stone - Uganda from publishing the identities and place of residence of gays, lesbians and transgendered people. Justice Vincent Musoke ruled that the action by the magazine to publish names of gays and lesbians will threaten and endanger their lives. He ordered Uganda's Rolling Stone magazine to pay $650 in damages and court costs for each of the three activists who sued the magazine.
The case was filed by three people from Ugandan gay rights group, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), whose pictures and towns of residence were published in a previous issue of Rolling Stone.
Last year the Rolling Stone published 100 pictures of Uganda's “top homos”  with their names and where they lived. The Managing editor Giles Muhame claimed that children are being lured into homosexuality and that society needs to know whoever is recruiting them.
Temporary injunction was granted by the court last year following an application by Sexual Minorities Uganda:
The Uganda tabloid Rolling Stone has been ordered by the High Court to stop publication of the names and photos of people who it believes are gay and lesbian saying this was “an invasion of privacy”
Ugandan blogger, Gay Uganda, has been pleased with the permanent injunction that is going to bar any further outings by Rolling Stone or any other related media. Gay Uganda has expressed his happiness on the ruling:
“Another victory, another step, another smile,” says Gay Ugandan Teen:
Random says that this is a wonderful way to start the year:
Today, it made it to the news that the High Court of Uganda had ruled in  favour of the plaintiffs in a case against the infamous Rolling Stone,  the tabloid that had launched a scathing ‘war on homosexuality’ by  publishing names and pictures of people the editors felt were gay.  Though I do not have the details yet, I am glad this has come to pass in  my time. It is an awesome way to start the year, and though the ruling  was delayed a few weeks, I know it would have made a wonderful Christmas  gift.
[…]For now, we celebrate this victory at home. We can live in peace, and  not be worried about being outed by a semi-literate, bloodthirsty,  ignoramus called Giles Muhame.
This is not the first time a Ugandan court has decided in favour of gay people:
…you'll also know that this is not the first time a Ugandan court is deciding in favour of gay people whose rights have been infringed upon. A couple of years ago,  there was the case against the attorney general, where the police and some local council officials had abused several rights of two lesbians in Kampala. This is progress. Two cents, but progress. We may not be getting the right to marry, but that's not what we're asking for. All we are asking for at the moment is for the right to be alive, and to be respected as the human beings we are.
Wamala Dennis posts the ruling:
In considering whether the Rolling Stone’s publication of alleged homosexuals’ names, addresses and preferred social hang-outs constituted a violation of the applicant’s constitutional rights, the Court, ruled that:
1) The motion is not about homosexuality per se, but ‘…it is about
fundamental rights and freedoms,’ in particular about whether ‘the
publication infringed the rights of the applicants or threatened to do
so’.
2) The jurisdiction of Article 50 (1) of the Constitution is dual in nature, in that it extends not just to any person ‘whose fundamental rights or other rights or freedoms have been infringed in the first place,’ but also to ‘persons whose fundamental rights or other rights or freedoms are threatened to be infringed.’
3) Inciting people to hang homosexuals is an attack on the right to dignity of those thus threatened: ‘the call to hang gays in dozens tends to tremendously threaten their right to human dignity.’
Jim Burroway reports that Giles Muhume, Rolling Stone editor, remains defiant:
Giles Muhume, Rolling Stone editor, remained defiant in the face of the court ruling. In a press release, he said that “homos had a short-lived smile today” but that Rolling Stone would appeal the decision. Calling the ruling a risk to media freedom, Muhume added, “The newspaper will fight homos on different fronts. Our supporters should remain strong –- the agents of the devil shall be defeated.”
Sokari congratulates all those who had the courage to fight the case in court:
This is fantastic news and a tremendous win for LGBTI people in Uganda. Congratulations to all those who had the courage to fight this case.
You can view the full text of the ruling here.

author: Haute Haiku


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Zimbabwe: Is Wikileaks bad for Zimbabwe?  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Is Wikileaks bad for Zimbabwe?: “In this particular case, the argument that (A) because the cable hurts Tsvangirai and helps Mugabe, (B) Wikileaks is therefore bad for democracy, and therefore (C) bad for Zimbabweans, is a set of propositions linked together by a lot of un-argued claims.”


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Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe’s model constitution now online · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Zimbabwe's model constitution is now online: “We have just included all the content from the Model Constitution compiled by the Law Society of Zimbabwe into our indexed online constitution resource. Visitors to our site are now able to browse through this lengthy document…”


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Bangladesh: Introducing the Bangla Alphabets To The International Community · Global Voices
Rezwan

In preparation of this year's International Mother Language Day on the 21st of February, Jerome is posting one Bangla (Bengali) alphabet a day to introduce these alphabets to the international community.


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Bangladesh: Looking Back At Media Experiences · Global Voices
Rezwan

Fahmidul Haque discusses the developments of journalism in Bangladesh in the last four decades.


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Cape Verde: Women’s contentious spirit · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Eurydice, from the blog Igualdade na Diferença [Equality in Difference, pt], pays a tribute to the contentious spirit of women from Cape Verde and tells the story of the Revolt of Ribeirao Manuel (Santiago island, 1910). Eurydice says that women were in the spotlight of the unrest.

author: Sara Moreira


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Chile: Bloggers Discuss Therapeutic Abortion · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

In December 2010, senators Evelyn Matthei (from the right-wing party Independent Democrat Union) and Fulvio Rossi (from the Socialist Party of Chile) presented a proposal to decriminalize therapeutic abortions, a procedure banned in 1989 during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The proposal allows for a therapeutic abortion if the mother is carrying a nonviable fetus or her life is at risk. Bloggers have turned to the Internet to discuss the proposal.
In a post with more than 230 comments in the blog Zancada [es], Anita says that women should not let the State decide on this issue for them:
El aborto no tiene por qué llamarse terapéutico para disfrazarlo o transformarlo en una práctica menos “cuestionable”. Creo que es un deber de las mujeres dar nuestra opinión al respecto y no dejar en manos del estado ni de nuestros parlamentarios -cada uno con su opción ética- que decidan por nosotras.
El aborto es un problema de salud pública y debe ser tratado como tal y no utilizado como un tema politico [.]
Abortion does not have to be called therapeutic to disguise or transform it into a less “questionable” practice.  I think it is the duty of women to give our opinion on the matter and not to leave the State or our congresspeople -each with their ethical choice- to decide for us.
Abortion is a public health problem and should be treated as such and not used as a political issue [.]
In Blog del Chago [es], Santiago Mora argues that religious groups have a lot of influence on the Chilean State. He says that these groups deny the existence of therapeutic abortions and do not want to debate the issue. Santiago goes on to say,
Mi opinión es no imponer restricciones basadas en algo de lo cual no soy participe. Pero con el ánimo de no imponer ni siquiera lo que pienso, es conveniente que se legisle y se debata al respecto. Es posible fijar criterios sobre hasta donde si y hasta donde no. Y es necesario.
Regarding the Catholic Church’s involvement in the discussion, Fernando Rodríguez G. writes [es]:
Aquí no se trata si la Iglesia es o no un poder fáctico. La Iglesia Católica o cualquier otra, como un estamento válido de la sociedad está en su derecho pleno de dar su opinión desde un punto de vista humanista, moral, y teológico, pues esa es su misión. No se le puede excluir por pensar diferente [.]
Towards the end of the post Fernando gives his opinion on abortion, calling it a crime and “the wildest abuse of Human Rights.”
Medical student Francisca Crispi writes in favor of therapeutic abortion in Sentidos Comunes [es], arguing that common sense should prevail over ideologies:
La base del aborto terapéutico es la interrupción del embarazo cuando la vida de la madre está en riesgo. Por lo tanto, tenemos que desligarnos de ideologías y aplicar el sentido común para saber que si la madre muere el feto no podrá sobrevivir. Así, la interrupción del embarazo va, paradójicamente, a favor de la vida: la de la madre.
Finally, blogger Sabina Atalaski mentions the case of a woman who was pregnant with a baby that had several deformations and lacked most of his brain. Due to the ban on therapeutic abortions, the woman had to go through with the whole pregnancy. The baby died a few hours after he was born. She adds [es]:
Pienso en ella y en varias otras que han vivido lo mismo. Algunas han podido aceptarlo con mayor resignación, amparándose en su fe, dándole sentido al sin sentido. Pero otras han quedado destruídas en el proceso. Literalmente. Lo que está claro es que el costo es demasiado alto. Y lo que es más terrible, más incomprensible (al menos para mi), es que la decisión no pueda ser tomada precisamente por aquellas que sufren este drama. A mi nadie me va a convencer que la sociedad, las leyes o un médico tiene más derecho a decidir sobre una materia tan sensible como ésta.
Senators from the center-left Party for Democracy (PPD) have presented a proposal that adds rape to the circumstances [es] that would allow a therapeutic abortion.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Côte d’Ivoire: Torture Scenes in the Most Populated Prison  · Global Voices
Julie Owono

This post is part of our special coverage Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011.
A video is currently creating a stir among the Ivorian online community. It shows militaries beating up prisoners in the  “Maison d'Arrêt et de Correction” prison (MACA). According to the person who posted the video, the prisoners are Alassane Ouattara‘s partisans. Since the beginning of the political crisis in Ivory Coast, dozens of people have been arrested in Abidjan for their political opinion, and jailed at the MACA.
The video shocked viewers. Traore Tidiane  comments on Facebook [Fr] :
“Voila la bassesse du regime moribond de LG !!! qui dit kil veut pas la force?”
On December 10th, Jean-Paul Ney, a French journalist accused by Laurent Gbagbo of a coup attempt in December 2007, posted on his website “Les grandes oreilles“, a video shot in 2008 while he was detained at the MACA.
The video showed a mutinery of prisoners followed by inhumane torture acts inflicted by military forces.
On December 17th 2010, the day following the massacres that occured during a demonstration called by Ouattara's partisans in Abdijan, the same journalist on his twitter account was calling people to help prisoners of MACA:
“#civ2010: pour la MACA qui peut se mobiliser sur place et apporter de la nourriture ? Western Union impossible pour la RCI !
This post is part of our special coverage Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011.

author: Julie Owono


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Georgia: Policeman fired after being identified on Facebook · Global Voices
Mirian Jugheli

More than dozen veterans of Georgia's wars in Abkhazia and South Ossetia began a hunger strike on December 27 demanding that the government address their social problems and restore their medical discounts. Camping out in front of a monument to fallen soldiers on Tbilisi's Heroes Square, the ex-soldiers said that they would anyway leave on 6 January, the date of the Georgian Orthodox Christmas Eve.
Tamada Tales, a EurasiaNet blog, outlined their demands.
Demanding state benefits and a change in the government's allegedly “undignified” attitude toward them, a handful of veterans of the 1990s separatist conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia had camped out for over a week at a war memorial to fallen soldiers at downtown Tbilisi’s Heroes Square. Their state perks are essentially limited to a monthly utilities allowance that amounts to about $12 and a free public transportation pass.
However, on 3 January, dozens of police officers broke up the strike just hours after protesters allege the presidential escort passed them by. Without proper warning, some veterans were arrested and excessive force was used. In particular, an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) punched Eka Matiashvili, an opposition party activist who was there to lend her support to the protesters.
Although Georgian TV had aired footage of a protest from Moscow the same day, there was little to no coverage of the Tbilisi incident. And with no official acknowledgement from the government, parliament members said that they didn't even know it had occurred. Instead, images were spread immediately online with videos were uploaded to Youtube and shared on Facebook. Many were outraged.
The U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, John Bass, condemned the use of excessive force by police, and Facebook user Arachveulebrivi Gamofena (Unusual Exhibition) posted screenshots from the video. The images were re-shared by many who wanted to identify the policemen responsible for the violent acts during the dispersal.
After sharing on Facebook, the person responsible for hitting Matiashvili was identified as 26-year-old Otar Gvenetadze. It was only then that Interior Ministry  released an official statement [GE] regarding the break up. According to MIA's website, Gvenetadze was then relieved of his duties for violating the police's own ethical code.
However, Gvenetadze was not the only one who was responsible for attacking protesters, but no others were mentioned in the official statement. Through a Facebook page, Amoicani Mishas JALATEBI !!! [GE] (Identify Misha's Executioners), users are now trying to identify them.
The topic, along with a poll, was opened on forum.ge [GE], the largest in Georgia, where one user posted excerpts from Georgian Constitution illustrating which articles had been violated by the police. Out of 229 votes, 192 supported one opinion expressed and demanded that the MIA investigate the case.
ყოველივე ზემოაღნიშნულიდან გამომდინარე, მოვითხოვ დაიწყოს სისხლისამართლებრივი დევნა პოლიციის იმ თანამშრომლების მიმართ, ვინც მონაწილეობდა ამ დანაშაულში [..] და დაისაჯოს უკლებლივ ყველა, კონსტიტუციით აღიარებული ნორმების ფეხქვეშ გათელვის გამო, [..] ან გამოდით და თქვით, რომ თქვენი ხელდასმით მოხდა ეს ყველაფერი და ბიჭებს საშობაო პრემიები ჩამოურიგეთ.
The InterPressNews online news agency also created a poll and, out of 1495 people, 84.3% supported the view that police should not have broken up the demonstration. Other polls also indicated that many people believed Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili should apologize to the veterans.
Meanwhile, with 457,680 Facebook users in the country, and the largest penetration for the social networking site in the region, many considered that the campaign to identify those responsible for the violence was a significant development and step forward for online media.

author: Mirian Jugheli


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Hong Kong: Remembering Szeto Wah · Global Voices
Andy Yee

Hong Kong democracy icon Szeto Wah passed away on 2 January 2011, aged 79. Eddie Cheng, author of the book Standoff at Tiananmen, reviews the life of the democracy advocate. He also translates exerpts of an interview that Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao conducted with Szeto Wah last October. The interview reveals a few details of Operation Yellow Bird, a daring mission to rescue movement leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre.

author: Andy Yee


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Hungary: International Blackout Campaign · Global Voices
Marietta Le

The attention drawn to Hungary because of the new media law is still not decreasing. Citizens advocating freedom of speech are also trying to keep up the volume of the international coverage by means of communication on the internet. A group called Blackout for Hungary started a campaign for 24 hours beginning on Jan. 5 against the new media law introduced on Jan. 1. They stated in their manifesto:
On Dec. 21, the party holding the majority in the Hungarian parliament voted in favor of a new media law that is a collection of some of the most oppressive and undemocratic laws from all over Europe, including some worrying additions.
To show our concern for fundamental rights and free speech, we black out our profile pictures on Jan. 5, 2011, for 24 hours.
Blackout for Hungary promoted their start-up on Twitter under the hashtag #blackout4hungary and on a Twitter account as well.
A popular torrent site The Pirate Bay also showed they're supporting internet free speech in Hungary by swapping their logo with the ‘blackout’ profile picture. The Facebook event showed more than 2,000 followers of the campaign, many of them not Hungarian citizens.
Christopher Kullenberg, who is working on his Ph.D. at Gothenburg University and is the author of many studies on resistance in the age of the internet, published a post on his blog about the Blackout for Hungary campaign:
[…] The background for this action is a draconic new media law, which will introduce a special government agency that tracks down “politically unbalanced” reporting or things that goes against “common morals”. The agency will hand out costly fines to anyone not conforming to the government standards, fines that you must pay directly. This is a disaster for independent small-scale reporting and commentary. Basically, it tears down all the good things that the internet has given us. […]
Hungary holds the presidency of the EU since January the 1st. I think it’s necessary to put an end to this censorship madness. Not only for the solidarity of our Hungarian friends, but as a statement that we cannot tolerate such behaviour anywhere. […]
Webisztán, which is normally an internet- and technology-related blog, also reacted (HUN) to the new media law. An article at index.hu (HUN) reported that even if the Hungarian government denied criticism, “the scope of the law encompasses not only news sites but websites of private use as well, thereby putting regularly edited blogs operating in near-newspaper fashion – such as Mandiner or Véleményvezér – at risk of being subjected to the authority’s will.” András Koltay, a member of the media commission of the [Hungarian] National Media and Infocommunications Authority, told index.hu it couldn't be said yet which content had to be registered with the authority. The blogger of Webisztán commented on the article:
[…] I have no words for this. The age of never-ending political subjectivity and autocracy may come in content production under .hu. It may not be like this. But the possibility, it seems, will exist. If Webisztán was labeled a blog liable for registration by the venerated authority, I will put the kibosh on it. At least under .hu for sure. […]
The website szalaiannamaria.net, named after the iconic leader of the Authority, Annamária Szalai, directs to the Authority's website, but some weeks before a very insulting picture was the only thing that could be found there, along with these words: “Stay calm, guys. On a server abroad everything is possible.”
Dobray of Konzervatórium blog noted (HUN):
[…] The problem is not the law but the stance of Fidesz on the media: ‘we will show them.’ The creation of [the Authortity], filling it with Fidesz delegates, fixing it to its place, was really a blatant action. […]

author: Marietta Le