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Student in Kerala, India Arrested for Insulting National Anthem · Global Voices
Inji Pennu

A poster for Salman Zalman in support. Used with permission.
Salman Zalman, a philosophy student, was charged with sedition, and arrested on Aug 21st 2014 from Thiruvanathapuram, capital city of Kerala, India. He was arrested past midnight from his home, charged with allegedly disrespecting and insulting the Indian national anthem and also for a facebook post which he allegedly shared on Aug 15 — the day that marks as India’s Independence day.
Salman and his friends were in a movie theater on Aug 18th when a music video of the national anthem was played, as a custom in few theaters across the country before the movie is screened. Another set of youngsters known to Salman questioned them on disrespecting the anthem. Later, Akhil Kannan from Abhinaya theatre research centre and couple of others filed a complaint against him with the police. There are two versions for the same incident from eyewitnesses in the theater. TC Rajesh Sindhu claims Salman and his friends ‘catcalled’ when the national anthem music video was played. An article in ‘The Media Syndicate’ quotes Sajeevan Anthikkad, another eyewitness and a film maker, who has a different account of Salman and his friends howling at the people who argued with them and not when the national anthem music video was played.
After Salman’s arrest, his whereabouts were kept secret by the police even after repeated inquiries and later by Aug 21st evening an FIR (First Information Report) was recorded against him and a case was registered under IPC (Indian Penal Code) act 124 A and 66 A charging him of sedition and of sending offensive messages through communicative service.
The secrecy and nature behind the arrest for a slight misdemeanor by a student is dubious, when Indian law clearly states that:
Whenever the Anthem is sung or played, the audience shall stand to attention. However, when in the course of a newsreel or documentary the Anthem is played as a part of the film, it is not expected of the audience to stand as standing is bound to interrupt the exhibition of the film and would create disorder and confusion rather than add to the dignity of the Anthem.
Salman is a known social activist and also has taken part in many protests against the Government. Many of his vociferous ideas question the hegemony of the Indian State and the violence and injustice it perpetuates as a nation. Other than this, supporters also believe his identity as a Muslim may have worked against his favor.
A solidarity campaign was started demanding his release and now Amnesty International has issued a statement supporting Salman and rebuking the false charges levied against him,
The case against Salman M. should be dropped and he must be released. Indian laws on sedition and online free speech do not meet international human rights standards on freedom of expression. These laws must be urgently repealed.
As soon as Salman was charged, the overtly nationalistic fervor now in full display after the election win of the Hindu right wing nationalist party in India, the facebook users went on a rampage and desecrated Salman's facebook page. Narendra Modi, the current Prime Minister of India has been accused of communal violences in the past between the Hindu majority and the Muslim minority to win elections. Representation of Muslim parliament members is at the lowest level in the past six decades.
A sample of such virulent comments, Kannur Kaaran from Kannur, Kerala asks Salman to leave the country itself which had 71 people liking the comment:
ഡാ പീറ ചെറുക്ക നിനക്ക് എല്ലാം ഇന്ത്യയില് നിന്ന് പോകരുതോ , പറയട വന്ദേമാതരം , ജാതിയും മതവും നോക്കാതെ ഞങ്ങള് ഇവിടെ ജീവിക്കും നിന്നെപ്പോലെ ഉള്ള ക്രിമികീടങ്ങള് , ഈ നാടിനു തന്നെ ശാപം , ദേശിയഗാനവും ദേശിയപതാകയും മറ്റ് എന്തിനേക്കാളും ഞങ്ങള് ഇന്ത്യക്കാര്‍ക്ക് പ്രിയം , നീ ചെവിയില് നുള്ളിക്കോ , നിന്റെ ഈ ഫേസ്ബുക്ക് ഐഡി എങ്കിലും ചുരുങ്ങിയത് ഞങ്ങള് ഭാരത മക്കള് പൂട്ടിക്കും , ഭാരത് മാതാ കീ ജയ് , ഒരൊറ്റ ജനത ഒരൊറ്റ ഇന്ത്യാ
Hey, Why don’t you leave the country. We live without any caste or religion when vermins (sic) like you are the curse of this country. We love our national anthem and our flag and be warned at least we will close down this facebook id of yours. Salute to India, Salute to one nation.
Students at HCU Hyderabad protesting the arrest of Salman. Used with Permission.
Amidst all this cacophony by the facebook users, many people from various parts of the country grouped to organize various events to get Salman released. A #freesalman tag was created in Facebook and a JusticeForSalman forum was also formed, chaired by the eminent journalist and human right activist BRP Bhaskar.
Most of the Salman supporters if they have a Muslim name, faced a different problem as KT Hafis puts it in his post,
സല്‍മാനെ പിന്തുണക്കുന്നതിന്റെ പേരില് എന്നോട് പാക്കിസ്ഥാനില് പോകാന് ഉപദേശിക്കുന്നവര് പിള്ള, നായര് തുടങ്ങിയ ജാതിപേരുകള് ഉള്ള ഫെയ്സ് ബുക്ക് പ്രൊഫൈലുകള് ആവുന്നത് തികച്ചും യാദൃശ്ചികമാണോ ?
Because I am supporting Salman, most of the people are asking me to go to Pakistan. And most of them have upper caste Hindu names. Is that just a coincidence?
Muhammed Pm, an Engineer from Trishur talks about the injustice of Salman’s arrest,
സല്മാനെതിരെ നിലവിലുള്ള കേസുകൾ നിലനില്കാൻ സാധ്യത ഇല്ലാത്തതിനാൽ തീവ്രവാദി മുദ്ര ചാർത്താനുള്ള ശ്രമങ്ങള നടക്കുന്നുവെന്നു പത്രത്തിൽ വായിച്ചു. മനുഷ്യാവകാശ പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങളിൽ പങ്കു കൊള്ളുന്നതും തെരുവ് നാടകത്തിൽ അഭിനയിച്ചതു UAPA ക്കെതിരെ പ്രതികരിച്ചതും ഒടുക്കം BRP ഇടപെട്ടു എന്നത് പോലും സല്മൻ തീവ്രവധിയാണ് എന്നതിന്റെ സൂചനകളത്രേ.!!! ഇത്തരം ഭരണകൂട നെറികേടുകൾക്ക് നേരെ കണ്ണടക്കാൻ മനസ്സില്ലാത്തത് കൊണ്ട് ആയിരിക്കണം f*** സ്റ്റേറ്റ് എന്ന് സല്മൻ എഴുതിയത് .
Read from newspapers, since the cases against Salman won’t stand a chance in a court, the case sheet against Salman is now twisted as him being a terrorist. The evidences against him being a terrorist according to the state is strange. His involvement in Humanitarian activities, acting in a street drama against UAPA and also BRP Bhaskar getting involved in the case all are the new evidences. Maybe Salman was indeed protesting against such injustice meted out by the state when he wrote “f*** state” on his facebook wall.
Shan Mhd a student from Hyderabad  wonders whether he is a traitor too in the current context,
സാംസ്കാരിക കൂട്ടായ്മയുടെ പേരും പറഞ്ഞ് സന്നാഹങ്ങളുമായി ഇറങ്ങി ഇതൊന്നുമില്ലാത്ത ഒരു ചെറുപ്പക്കാരനെതിരെ ഗൂഢാലോചന നടത്തി കേസ് കൊടുക്കുക. അവനെ അകത്താക്കിയിട്ട് അവന്‍റെ ഫേസ്ബുക്ക് വാളില് പോയി അവന്‍റെ കുടുംബത്തിന് പറയുക. ദേശീയഗാനം ചൊല്ലിക്കൊടുക്കുക.സിനിമ കാണാനുണ്ടായിരുന്ന പെണ്‍കുട്ടിയെ ബലാല്‍സംഗം ചെയ്തു കളയുമെന്ന് ഭീഷണിപ്പെടുത്തുക. ദേശീയതക്ക് അപരന്‍റെ സ്വത്വത്തെയും സാമൂഹിക പൊസിഷനെയും ഇത്രയും ഭയാനകമായി അവഹേളിച്ചു കൊണ്ടേ നിലനില്‍ക്കാനാവൂവെങ്കില് ഞാന് ദേശദ്രോഹിയാണ്. ദേശദ്രോഹിയാണ്.ദേശദ്രോഹിയാണ്…!!
Donning a mask of cultural intimacy, they slapped a case against a student who is innocent. Then later the same people vandalize his facebook wall and even threaten him and his family. Many are reciting the national anthem on his wall and even threatening to rape the girl who was with the group. If nationalism is to gravely insult the social identity of a human being, then I am a traitor, a traitor, a traitor.
KP Aravindan who works at Calicut Medical College, poignantly rebukes the traitor charges,
OK. He didn't stand up for the National anthem. He expressed his serious doubts in his facebook page regarding the meaning of independence on independence day. So what? Does that make him a traitor? I thought traitors were those who betrayed their fellow citizens by blackmarketing, taking bribes, spreading disaffection by communal rumors, instigating riots that kill people and render many homeless, colluding with an enemy state etc. I didn't think speaking out or acting according to one's conscience and opinions however misguided it may be belonged to this category.
Will a person with a Hindu name be treated thus?
Free Salman immediately!
Henry David Thoreau on his essay on Civil Disobedience argued that citizens should not permit governments to overrule or atrophy their consciences, and that they have a duty to avoid allowing such acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice. A society that has only obeyed in fear, Salman's arrest triggers the vital discourse about the nation and it's draconian laws against freedom of speech and ideas of its citizens, unfortunately at the cost of his freedom.

author: Inji Pennu


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The European Court Confirms : The CIA’s ‘Black Sites’ Operated in Poland · Global Voices
Anna Chworow

The secret is officially out: CIA's black sites operated in Poland. Earlier this summer, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued a ruling confirming the existence of such prisons on Polish territory. While international human rights organizations have praised the ruling, some Polish officials and journalists are calling it unfair towards Poland. Others say the formal revelation might be an opportunity for Poland to resolve some of its current governance issues.
The ECHR determined that Poland violated numerous articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the prohibition of torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners, the right to liberty and security, and the right to a fair trial. Two men – Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri – who where held and tortured in the detention centre in Poland, brought the case to the European Court. In compensation, the court awarded Zubaydah and al-Nashiri €130,000 ($170,700 USD) and €100,000 ($131,200 USD), respectively.
Evidence shows that the secret prisons operated on an old military base in Stare Kiejkuty between 2002 and 2003. Investigative work by the Washington Post and Human Rights Watch exposed the black sites’ existence in 2005, and anonymous American and Polish intelligence officers later leaked even more details to the press. Still, the governments in the US and Poland have continued to deny any CIA torture prisons were based in Poland.
The Helsinki Foundation, a major human-rights NGO in Poland, welcomed the ECHR's ruling, which made headlines in Europe and the United States. Similarly, Amnesty International hailed the verdict as “historic” and “landmark.”
Landmark rulings expose #Poland’s role in #CIA secret detention and torture http://t.co/MIbqjrAw4h
— AmnestyInternational (@amnesty) July 24, 2014
At the same time the ruling received a mixed response amongst Polish official and politicians, whose reactions varied from expressions of shame to denial and anger. Polish President Bronisław Komorowski, for instance, said the ruling is “embarrassing for Poland” and could damage the state's finances and international reputation. Leszek Miller, the current leader of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and a former prime minister, called the decision “unjust and unethical.” The SLD's official Twitter account posted:
@Dariusz_Jonski: Szanujemy wyrok ETPC ws. CIA, czekamy na uzasadnienie. Polska powinna odwołać się od tej decyzji.
— SLD (@sldpoland) July 24, 2014
@Dariusz_Jonski: We respect the ECHR ruling regarding CIA, we are awaiting the substantiation. Poland should appeal this decision.
Reactions in the Polish news media have also been varied. Tomasz Lis, the editor-in-chief of Newsweek Polska, refused to condemn the existence of CIA black sites on Polish territory, arguing that politicians need their “grey areas.” Journalist Janina Paradowska pointed out that the United States has washed its hands of the torture prisons, and now Poland alone seems to bear responsibility. Newspaper columnist Ewa Siedlecka, on the other hand, blamed Poland's officials for failing to uphold basic human rights.
The court's ruling produced surprisingly few reactions online and faded quickly from newspaper headlines. The comments published online by readers echoed the anger and disbelief at the ruling voiced by many politicians. Many suggested that the alliance between the USA and Poland is a one-sided arrangement, where the US reaps all the benefits. A user Paweł Karpiński pointed out that the relationship between countries should rather be described in terms of feudal system of a lord and his vassal.
There were also several voices suggesting that the president at the time, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, and Leszek Miller personally should have been put on trial, since the black sites’ operation took place with their knowledge and approval. This view is perhaps symptomatic of the divorced relationship between Polish civil society and government observed by Józef Pinior, one of the leaders of the Solidarity movement in the 1980s. In his reflection on the verdict he pointed out that that illegal CIA prisons failed to raise a public outcry strong enough to pressure the government to respond seriously. In his words the ECHR's verdict remains “a challenge for politicians, commentators and human rights activists in Poland”.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Anna Chworow


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What If 75% of All Cities Were Deprived of Electricity by Design?  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

A Night in Madagascar without electricity by Augustin- CC-BY-2.0
There are about 105 cities listed in all of Madagascar. The Minister of Energy Fienena Richard recently announced that 80 cities of Madagascar are curently deprived of electricity because JIRAMA, the public company in charge of providing electricity across the territory is running short on fuel. As a result, JIRAMA has to pick and choose the cities that will receive electricity. That is close to 75% of all cities in the nation, a ratio that would be unfathomable in most countries of the world. The JIRAMA company is also plagued by the threat of a general strike from employees who demand more safety measures against angry customers.  One those unhappy customers was the Malagasy president himself who threatened to sue the company after an electrical malfunction at his home. Blogger Andriamihaja in Tulear (South East of Madagascar) wrote a humorous open letter to the company picturing life without power outage in his town.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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‘Anti-Selfie Bill’ Breeds Discontent in the Philippines · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

#selfieprotests are popular in the Philippines and young people are often taking selfie photos to express their sentiments about the country's state of affairs. Photo from Ncr Bayan showing a young man making a stand pork corruption
Have you ever taken a picture of someone without asking their permission? What about people who accidentally stumbled into your vacation photos? Under a new draft law in the Philippines, these kinds of often-innocent behaviors would become illegal.
A proposed law that seeks to criminalize the taking of photos of private persons without permission has been criticized by activists and media groups in the Philippines for being a threat to free speech. Because of its vague provisions, some have called it an “anti-selfie bill.”
But according to the proponents of House Bill 4807 or “Protection Against Personal Intrusion Act”, the measure simply aims to “promote and protect the personal privacy of every person.” They clarified that only acts of trespassing and other intrusions with intent to gain or profit are prohibited. They also denied that selfies will be outlawed.
Under the bill, the prohibited acts include the following:
-capturing by a camera or sound recording instrument of any type of visual image, sound recording or other physical impression of the person;
-trespassing on private property in order to capture any type of visual image, sound recording or other physical impression of any person;
-capturing any type of visual image, sound recording or other physical impression of a person or family activity through the use of a visual or auditory enhancement device even when no physical trespass has occurred, when the visual image, sound recording or other physical impression could not have been captured without a trespass if no enhancement device was used.
The proposed bill could be used to harass journalists, as it could prevent them from reporting on the actions of public officials. More broadly, it could be used to discourage citizens from freely expressing their views about public policies. Under the bill, a crime has been committed even if a photo or audio has not been sold to anyone as long as there is proof that it was taken with the intent to profit.
Activist legislator Carlos Isagani Zarate was the first to express reservation about the worrying impact of the measure:
At first glance, the terms used in these provisions may seem harmless and well meaning. Yet, a deeper look at how they will impact in everyday lives is truly worrisome. It affects not only those in the media profession but everyone.
Law scholar Mel Sta. Maria called the measure an “anti-happiness bill” and explained why the vague provisions of the measure could target even the innocuous popular selfies:
The law is so broad that it can include doing a “selfie” which, in turn, might include someone who accidentally might have been in the picture. It may also involve merely taking pictures of happy people, young and old alike, anywhere. In short, the proposed law practically says that taking photographs of other people, intentionally or accidentally, without their consent, will be considered an illegal intrusion.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines warned that the bill can be a “weapon of suppression and repression”:
We agree that people are entitled to privacy and, in fact, the Constitution guarantees as much, in all matters that are personal and have nothing to do with the public interest.
But the measure’s intent is so broad it is likely to be used as another weapon for the criminal and the corrupt to escape accountability should it become law.
…the measure could end up stifling citizen journalism and even simply taking pictures or videos for personal pleasure.
In an era where technology is quickly breaking down the obstacles that hamper the flow of information and expression, which are the bedrock of democracy, HB 4807 could return us to the dark ages and worse, be used as a weapon of suppression and repression.
For Marc Lino Abila, leader of the College Editors Guild, the bill is impractical to implement aside from being a serious threat to press freedom:
The bill is very impractical at all levels. In the face of serious and growing concerns of the country, this bill has no space for legislative attention. Not only that it is a waste of time, it is immensely unconstitutional.
On Twitter, the hashtag #antiselfiebill trended globally because of this issue. Many netizens have rejected the bill and urged Congress to focus on other more important national issues:
Anti-Selfie Bill. I WEEP FOR THIS COUNTRY. And some haters question why I want to leave this place?
— Camie Juan (@camiejuan) August 28, 2014
Internet users following the issue pointed out that while some parliamentarians were eagerly pushing the bill, another bill that would enshrine the right to freedom of information (FOI) appears not to be moving forward.
An anti-selfie bill is gaining more ground than a very crucial FOI bill? More and more, congressmen don't deserve to represent us.
— philippinebeat (@philippinebeat) August 28, 2014
After triggering a mild public uproar, the proponents of the bill have vowed to further deliberate the matter.

author: Mong Palatino


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Confessions of an Angry Iranian · Global Voices
Guest Contributor

“Angry” Iranian political satirist Kambiz Hosseini. PHOTO from Wikimedia Commons.
By Kambiz Hosseini
I am an angry Iranian. Well, before being an Iranian, I am an angry man, just like the angry Middle Eastern men you see on television, the ones you see on the streets with clenched fists and anguished faces showing their protest.
I wasn’t always angry; I turned angry. What tormented me and turned me into an angry man goes back to when I lived in Iran. Of course, from a certain point on, my anger surpassed ordinary boundaries and I started to laugh to survive. I mean, I cannot be angry without laughing at my own anger.
Today, turning my anger into comedy and laughing at my anguish is my livelihood. My reasons for this anger keep mounting every day, and therefore, I have more reasons to laugh, too. This is how I became an angry Iranian:
– I would see people fighting and beating each other on the street. I went to a therapist and he told me that if it ever came to it, I could become violent, too. Later, I realized the Islamic Republic has no problem with violence.
– “War, War, Until Victory!” was the slogan written on city walls. I didn’t go to the therapist because he could have turned me in as an unpatriotic individual. Later, I realized peace, to the Islamic Republic, means drinking from a poisoned chalice. I decided to not to talk about it and found myself a place to rent outside the city, fearing the bombs falling on the city.
– “Ali’s Party Is the Only Party, Seyed Ali Is the Only Leader!” said a huge billboard. I went to see my therapist. He said, “Shush!” Later, I learned the Islamic Republic has no problem with citizens telling each other, “Shush!”
– Throughout the evening television news program, it felt as if only one sentence was repeated over and over again: “You are stupid! You are stupid!” I went to see my therapist and he said, “You are stupid!” Later, I learned the Islamic Republic has no problem with thinking the people are stupid.
– Kayhan newspaper, instead of providing me with reliable news, taught me how to lie and be a hypocrite. I went to the therapist. A sign on his door said he couldn’t admit patients who read Kayhan! Later, I learned the Islamic Republic has no problem with lies and filthy hypocrisy in newspapers.
– Each time I took a new script to the guy responsible for approving scripts at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance so that I could produce a play, he would smile and say, “Come back tomorrow!” I went to my therapist and he said, “Come back tomorrow!” Later, I found out the Islamic Republic has no problem with “Come back tomorrow.”
– I couldn’t pay my rent. I went to my therapist and he said this was a “public illness” and I shouldn’t worry. Later, I learned the Islamic Republic only sends a specific, favored group of people to Dubai, China, Malaysia, Russia, and Venezuela to seek treatment, and it has no problem with my illness at all.
– The police arrested my girlfriend and me for “walking together.” I went to my therapist. He prescribed marriage so I could walk down the street with her. Later, I learned the Islamic Republic has a problem with my taking a walk with my girlfriend.
– The ideals expressed in films were not my ideals. I didn’t go to my therapist. Later, I learned that the Islamic Republic has a problem with me because I don’t share those ideals. I tried to live with the imaginary enemy of my country wanting to destroy me. I had to do something every day to counter the enemy. I went to the therapist and he said to change therapists. I never did learn anything about this.
– Instead of trying to find out why the Islamic Republic has a problem with some of these but not others, I spent my days feeling sorry for myself for being a victim. I went to the therapist to deal with my victimhood. He said, “Go buy a satellite dish! If you see the other side of the world, you will know not all people are victims.”
I bought a satellite dish, but none of the programs treated my illness, and even made me angrier! I went back to the therapist. He said, “That’s all there is. I can’t do anything for you. But you can go make a TV program for your audience of one, and then sit in your room and watch it! You may even be able to tell a few other victims that they too are victims but can kick the habit!”
Angry and laughing at my anger, I left his office forever, ran to my room, and jumped into my television head first, into the satellite waves to create an angry, bitter, satirical program to heal myself and other Iranians of our victimhood.
Kambiz Hosseini is an Iranian political satirist, actor, television host, and radio host. He is the host of Poletik, a satirical news program that airs on Radio Farda, as well as weekly podcast on human rights in Iran, Five in the Afternoon. He co-created and hosted the successful and critically acclaimed TV show Parazit on Voice of America from 2009-2012, which reached 30 million viewers worldwide.

author: Guest Contributor


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Are You a European ‘Expat’ Under 40? ‘Generation E’ Wants to Hear Your Story · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

“Why Generation E? E stands for Europe, Expat, Erasmus, Exodus, Escape. We start from the -slightly romantic- assumption that the young European ‘expats’ are laying the foundations of the future European social fabric.”
Disclaimer: The author of this post is working on the GenerationE.eu project.
Every day hundreds of young people from the south of Europe pack their belongings and head to a different country in the European Union in search of better opportunities. The trend is growing across the peripheries — Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain in particular — where the ongoing economic crisis and high unemployment rates have opened the way for the departure of hundreds of thousands of people of working age in the last four years.
We herein call them “Generation E”: they are European ‘expats’ under 40 taking on the EU's fundamental right of free movement to build a future within Europe, but not in their homeland. Their migration flows in the continent, though, are difficult to track. There are many estimates and fragmented data sets among the involved countries, but no accurate transnational maps and statistics.
GenerationE
Enter “Generation E“, a cross-border data investigation on young European migrants. The independent project, funded by journalismfund.eu, aims to shed a light on the existing data and to collect contributions from young Europeans abroad.
Through a crowdsourcing campaign launched by an international team of journalists on September 8, 2014, young European ‘expats’ from Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain are invited to share their personal stories of crossing the imaginary boundaries of the Old Continent to reinvent day-to-day life in another country.
An intra-European exodus?
The phenomenon is complex to monitor and underrated in terms of size and relevance. A study by the Superior Council of Scientific Investigations (CSIC) of Spain — a country that officially lost roughly 102,000 young adults 20 to 40 years old between 2010 and 2013 — notes that national sources “substantially underestimate emigration”:
Es más probable que la cifra se acerque a las 700.000 personas entre 2008 y 2012 que a las 225.000 estimadas por fuentes oficiales.
It is more likely that the [total] number [of emigrants] is closer to 700,000 people between 2008 and 2012 than the official sources’ estimate of 225,000.
135,000 young adults have officially left Italy since 2010 but official statistics do not take into account those who do not formally change their residence. “Estimates circulating speak of at least twice the number of expatriates”, reports Italian journalist Jacopo Ottaviani, coordinator of Generation E project, on Il Fatto Quotidiano. He himself is one of the official.
Nel Regno Unito, il primo paese destinazione per gli italiani in fuga, il console italiano a Londra Massimiliano Mazzanti ha notato che gli italiani «ufficialmente iscritti all’Aire sono in tutto 220mila, mentre le stime sono di oltre mezzo milione a livello Paese e di 250mila nella capitale». Non a caso il sindaco della City Boris Johnson ha accolto in aprile il premier Renzi dandogli il benvenuto nella «sesta città italiana». Come se una città come Genova fosse stata trapiantata tra i quartieri di Londra.
In the UK, the first country destination for Italians on the run, the Italian consul in London Massimiliano Mazzanti noted that Italians “officially registered in AIRE [the register of Italians living abroad] are around 220,000, while the estimates are over half a million at the country level and 250,000 in the capital”. Not surprisingly, the mayor of the city, Boris Johnson, welcomed Prime Minister Renzi in April into the “Sixth Italian city”. As if a city like Genoa had been transplanted between the districts of London.
Portugal, a country of less than 10.5 million people, has 2.3 million emigrants (20.8 percent), occupying second place by percentage of population among the member states of the European Union that emigrate the most, only behind Malta. In the last four years, around 107,000 young adults — between 20 and 40 years old — officially left in a permanent manner, roughly as many as those who emigrated for temporary jobs and stays.
Migration estimates from Greece, the country where the youth unemployment rates reach some of the higher numbers (close to 60 percent in 2013), are also not exhaustive – if any. Contacted by the reporting team in Athens, the Hellenic Statistical Authority stated that they do not record Greek emigration flows.
Stories of Generation E, crowdsourced
As Greek expat in London Sofia Gkiousou states on the New Diaspora blog “the choice or compulsion to go abroad is a very personal matter for each person, affecting their actual life.” What triggers a decision to leave? Is there an intention to return or is it elsewhere that they want to stay? What difficulties do the young European diaspora face today? What are the hopes that feed their future?
Widening the spectrum of the so-called “Generation Y” (of “those born between 1980 and 1994-99“, best described by Portuguese journalist Ana Cristina Pereira), “Generation E” proposes to go back to 1974 and bring to light stories of today's migrants who were born in the first 20 years after the collapse of the dictatorships in Portugal, Greece and Spain.
The results of the project will be published in the end of October by Il Fatto Quotidiano (Italy), El Confidencial (Spain), RadioBubble (Greece) and P3/Público (Portugal), and include highlights from crowdsourced stories, a deep data investigation (visualized with maps and interactive charts), and interviews with researchers and decision-makers from Europe.
If you are under 40 and left Portugal, Italy, Greece or Spain in recent years, tell us your story. If you have friends who belong to the “Generation E”, invite them to share some of their joys and plans, hopes and fears. Can do so through the official website (available in Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Spanish and English), Facebook page and group as well as under the hashtag #GenerationE on Twitter. Submit your story!

author: Sara Moreira


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Indians Publish Cries for Help and Calls for Donations on Twitter as Deadly Flooding Hits Jammu and Kashmir · Global Voices
Rezwan

A group of young people try to evacuate goods from a flooded house in Bemina Srinagar, Kashmir. Image by Faisal Khan. Copyright Demotix (5/9/2014)
Flash floods have submerged about 2,600 villages and killed 150 people so far in the northern-most Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in what is being described as the worst food the area has seen in 50 years.
Heavy torrential rain in the Himalayan mountains in the past weeks caused the worst floods in 50 years in Kashmir Valley and some districts of Jammu region. Approximately one-third of capital Srinagar city is under flood waters and over a million people are affected in Jammu division. According to news reports, more than 11,000 civilians have been rescued so far and 2,000 have been provided with food and temporary shelters.
As the situation worsened, more and more citizen journalists began spreading the news via Twitter and Facebook. Twitter hashtags like #KashmirFloods, #KashmirFloodRelief and #JKFloodRelief are being used. Raheel Khurshid, the head of news, politics & government at Twitter India, prepared a list of Twitter users who are updating the situation from the ground.
Ahsan, a journalism student and blogger from Kashmir, tweeted his observations:
It's raining hell in Kashmir. Roads and rivers inundated. People being evacuated to safer places. #KashmirFloods
— Ahsan (@iahsn) September 4, 2014
Bismah Malik, a journalist form Srinagar, Kashmir, published a photo of the flood waters:
#Jhelum , #Srinagar overflows with flood water. #Kashmirfloods pic.twitter.com/4YimqEUQEo
— Bismah Malik (@bismahmalik) September 4, 2014
This Facebook video shows strong currents in the swollen Poonch river threatening a hanging bridge.
Blogger Zafar Iqbal tweeted:
#kashmirfloods People watching in dumbfounded horror as the flood waters takes away the bridge trestle in srinagar. pic.twitter.com/0n811jMVOL
— Zafar Iqbal (@Shayik_Zafar) September 5, 2014
Authint Mail, an online news site, reported that army, police, fire and emergency workers were called in to evacuate stranded families from Bemina Srinagar. On September 6, 2014, it reported in a live blog that overnight rains in Srinagar and nearby regions of Indian-administered Kashmir have swelled the water levels in river Jehlum and other streams. Thousands in the region abandoned their homes and were running short of essential commodities.
” Even #RadioKashmir announcer announces that the services will be shut anytime as the water has entered the premisis #KashmirFloods“
— #KASHMIRFLOODS (@aarish_khann) September 7, 2014
River #Poonch in #Kotli at its full force #KashmirFloods pic.twitter.com/jMP3eBQKjY
— Atif Jamal (@Ajtweetry) September 7, 2014
People are using Twitter to send distress messages:
SOS Masood kamili & family 946950895, 9419449678, needs to be evacuated from chanapora #kashmirfloods
— TheKashmiris (@TheKashmiris) September 7, 2014
@ndtvfeed Still no news of my dad .trapped in his home in HyderBinZaid #Mushtaq Extn Colony, Hyderpora Srinagar. any updates #KashmirFloods
— Irfan Haji (@aurfe) September 7, 2014
A Kashmiri student of classical Islam tweeted more distress calls:
HELP needed near Rajbagh, Smokin’ Joes, near Huriyyat Office. Women and Children stranded. Someone around? #KashmirFloods
— #KashmirFloods (@NaqKash) September 7, 2014
HELP needed in KaranNagar. Draboo house opp. to SMHS hospital . 5 people stranded badly. #Kashmirfloodrelief
— #KashmirFloods (@NaqKash) September 7, 2014
People used Twitter to ask for donations and spread the word about shelters:
My friend Abrar is opening his home for the affected people in #KashmirFloods pic.twitter.com/c6YRhZaxMU
— Muhammad Faysal (@_Faysal) September 7, 2014
You want to donate anything inform by CALLING OR SENDING SMS TO THESE NUMBERS 9622220996, 9906083033, 9906602289 No cash. #KashmirFloods
— #KashmirFloods (@NaqKash) September 7, 2014
60 people accomodation available with food. Feel free to contact at 9906531234. SANAT NAGAR #KashmirFloods
— #KashmirFloods (@NaqKash) September 7, 2014
IMP:List of essentials needed for #kashmirfloodrelief. Call: 9796331117, 9906760308, 9906111000, 9419400180. Pls RT pic.twitter.com/BZqmXeDpYY
— Parminder Singh (@parrysingh) September 6, 2014
Bamboo houses of nomads submerged in flash floods on the outskirts of Jammu, India. Image by Amarjeet Singh. Copyright Demotix (5/9/2014)
A blog titled #JKFloodrelief has been put up to aggregate information about flood relief. The information is compiled by some volunteer netizens with reliable on-ground connections.

author: Rezwan


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Men Convicted in Afghanistan’s #Paghman Gang Rape Case Receive Death Sentences · Global Voices
Samea Shanori

Photos of the demonstration outside the Kabul courtroom on activist Barry Salaam's facebook. Used with permission
In a tense, emotive demonstration outside a Kabul courtroom on Sunday, Afghan men and women marched, chanted and held up slogans reading “We defend our sister. We defend our  honor”, “Raping women is raping the nation” and “We demand justice from the government.” Justice, in the form of seven death sentences for the alleged perpetrators of a horrific gang rape, was quickly discharged the same day. The social outcry surrounding the trial represents the biggest public reaction to a rape case in the country's modern history, and one of the select occasions since the fall of  the Taliban that the government has endorsed capital punishment.
The seven men were found guilty on September 7 of armed robbery and adultery — not rape — in connection with an incident that took place in the capital in late August. The men — publically identified by their burkha-clad victims — are expected to be hanged shortly, although the verdicts are not final and can be appealed. Three other suspects are on the run from police. International rights organizations are concerned that emotions and populism have overrun due process in the case.
According to the widely accepted version of the Pghman incident, on August 23 a group of ten people stopped two vehicles consisting of eight women and two men in the Paghman district of the capital. The assailants took four of the women hostage, beating and raping them. Fearing ostracization, the family of the women took them to a nearby hospital without informing the police. The case was not opened until one of victims died in the hospital. The family were on their way back from a wedding at the time of the attack.
When the story broke at the beginning of the month, it immediately went viral, with the #Paghman hashtag appearing all over the Afghan Twittersphere.
Afghanistan-born British MP Rohullah Yakobi tweeted that the reason behind the family's silence was “protecting their honor”.
#Afghan multiple group rape victim dies in hospital, family keeps quiet to protect their “honour” & avoid social stigmatisation. #Sad
— Rohullah Yakobi (@kohnadeh) September 2, 2014
Outgoing Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who critics have accused of playing to the gallery as he considers life after the end of his presidential term, quickly lent his support to capital punishment for the men:
Mujib Mashal tweeted Karzai's quote:
1. President Karzai, on Paghman rape case: “I am against hanging/executions, you know it, and I have always stood against them.”
— Mujib Mashal (@MujMash) September 7, 2014
2. Karzai: “But for the perpetrators of Paghman – I asked them to be arrested swiftly, and I ask the court to order their hanging”
— Mujib Mashal (@MujMash) September 7, 2014
Journalist Ahmad Shuja reflected on the ancient nature of the punishment, which along with stoning, had been a key feature of Afghanistan's justice system under Taliban rule:
The whole of this country is a Colosseum, and the chants are “Put ‘em to death!” #Paghman — Ahmad Shuja احمدشجاع (@AhmadShuja) September 7, 2014
Akmal Dawi posted a picture from the court proceedings on his Twitter account:
Afghan primary court sentenced to death 7 men accused of gang rape in Paghman District pic.twitter.com/cucQY3TJ00 — Akmal Dawi (@kabul3) September 7, 2014
Civil society groups also demanded to bring the perpetrators to justice by rallying across cities and provinces. Zheela Nasari tweeted:
#Afghan women stage rallies in 8 cities across #Afghanistan in support of justice for #victims of gang rape #Kabul: http://t.co/St8nFNzJnk— Zheela Nasari (@ZheelaJ) September 7, 2014
Coverage of the gang rape even spurred a grim rallying cry in Afghan penal colonies:
Prisoners in Afghan jail: “If the perpetrators of the Paghman gang rape are not hanged, we will kill them here when they are imprisoned.”
— Afghan Daily (@AfghanDaily) September 7, 2014
While Heather Barr, a researcher on women's rights for Human Rights Watch, worried about the speed of the verdict:
The Paghman rape case is a serious test of Afghanistan's justice system – and it is failing. Due process is for all crimes, for all accused.
— heather barr (@heatherbarr1) September 7, 2014
Police Chief General Zahir Azimi, confirmed that the convicted had been previously arrested for a number of serious crimes. However, due to corruption in the Afghan legal system, he said, they had been released.
Photos of the demonstration outside the Kabul courtroom on activist Barry Salaam's facebook. Used with permission.
Although many will have concerns about Afghanistan's evident appetite for the death penalty, others will point to the march through Kabul and subsequent demonstration at the courthouse as an extraordinary show of public opposition to rape crimes. More often than not, when rapes occur in Afghan society, the victims are thrown in jail or asked to marry their abusers. Other crimes against women are also not punished. When Sahar Gul was tortured to death by her husband and in-laws, her in-laws walked free.
Even more remarkable than the demonstration, however, was the fact that the women themselves — along with another woman allegedly raped by the men three years ago — appeared in the packed court and identified their attackers at close quarters.
As Bethany E. Matta tweeted:
Women gang raped in Paghman attack identified perps publicly. Ext. courageous move anywhere, let alone #Afghanistanpic.twitter.com/1Dz1RRDw8Y
— Bethany E. Matta (@BethanyMatta) September 5, 2014

author: Samea Shanori


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Pacific Islanders Plan to Block the World’s Largest Coal Port With Canoes to Protest Climate Change · Global Voices
350.org

Pacific Climate Warriors Vanuatu canoe launch. Photo credit: 350.org
This article was written by Aaron Packard for 350.org, an organization building a global climate movement, and is republished on Global Voices as part of a content sharing agreement.
In October this year, 30 Pacific Climate Warriors from 12 different islands will arrive on Australian shores to stand up to the coal and gas industry. They will use the canoes they have built to paddle out into the harbour of the world’s largest coal port – Newcastle – to stop coal exports for a day.
The port of Newcastle is exporting destruction upon the Pacific Islands at an unprecedented scale, and plans for expansion are underfoot. If the port were a country, it would be ranked 9th in the world in terms of emissions.
If nothing is done to transition away from the fossil fuel industry, many of the Pacific Islands stand to lose everything.
Pacific Islanders have spent over 20 years negotiating and pleading with countries like Australia to cut their emissions and to stop digging up fossil fuels – to save their homelands and their cultures from the consequences of climate change, such as rising sea levels. But still, the coal and gas industry is doing the opposite of that. They’re ramping up extraction at an unprecedented rate, while continuing to attack the renewable energy industry. It is a radical attack on our Islands and our cultures.
For the future of their cultures and Islands, the Pacific Climate Warriors cannot sit by and watch this happen. That’s why Islanders from across the Pacific have been preparing for this journey to Australia and building traditional canoes. For most, this has been a first – warriors have been reconnecting with their cultures in order to take up the fight they need to save them.
Next month these traditional canoes will go to Australia to stop the destruction of their Islands at its source.
This is going to be an incredible, landmark action, and will send a powerful message: we will not stand idly by as the coal industry sinks the future of the Pacific Islands. This is an expensive undertaking and our Pacific Island teams have been fundraising locally to build the canoes and make the journey. Any contribution towards these costs would be greatly appreciated.
Ifyou’re in Australia and close by, come and join us. The more people we can get to join us the bigger and better the message will be. Register for the event here. For those outside of Australia, visit the website to find out how you can stand in solidarity with the Pacific Climate Warriors.
Then lastly, share the story of the Pacific Climate Warriors with the world!
Tokelau school kids with a canoe and banner, which reads: “We Are Not Drowning, We Are Fighting.” Photo credit: 350.org


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Pussy Riot’s Dynamic Duo Launches a New Media Portal · Global Voices
Lewis May

Pussy Riot activists attend Roskilde Festival, 4 July 2014, by Jacob Crawfurd. Demotix.
Pussy Riot's two brightest stars, Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, are back with a new project. Last week, they launched a new media portal devoted to reporting on issues and events in Russia's prison system. “MediaZona” will partner with “Zona Prava,” Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova's existing charity, which promotes prisoners’ rights. (Curiously, Zona Prava's website hasn't been updated since March 19, 2014.) Notable Russian journalist Sergey Smirnov will serve as editor-in-chief on the new media project. The website is already up and running, posting live updates about notable arrests, opinionated commentaries, and more detailed texts recounting people's experiences in Russian prisons
In a press release for the site, Tolokonnikova said the group's news portal is meant to compensate for Russia's mass media, which she lambasts as heavily censored and inaccurate.
Since our release from prison 6 months ago we've felt that Russian media are no longer able to cover what is going on. Because of the heavy censorship by authorities there is no space for anything in the media that criticizes Putin's policies and tracks human rights abuses by Russian courts and law enforcement.
The editorial team for MediaZona. Image from voiceproject.org.
The website plans to provide comprehensive coverage of prison-related issues in Russia.
Мы стремимся к тому, чтобы сделать более зримым всё, что происходит в Российской Тюрьме. Преследования гражданских активистов и правозащитных организаций, полицейское насилие и пытки, рабская система ФСИН, коррупция, судебное бездушие и мужество, законодательный абсурд, голуби над зоной и конвойные собаки — все это только часть тех тем, которые попадают в сферу наших интересов и которые мы собираемся освещать.
We strive to make what occurs in the Russian Prison System more visible. Persecution of civic activists and human rights organizations, police violence and torture, the slave system within Russian prisons, corruption, judicial callousness and nerve, legislative absurdity, doves flying overhead [a reference to a famous Russian prison song], and police dogs — these are only some of the topics of interest that we'll cover.
Initial reaction from the RuNet to the new site's arrival has been largely positive, with many saying it filled a niche and could be instrumental in showing the dirty underbelly of the Russian criminal system. Journalist Kirill Martynov tweeted,
Я думаю, Медиазона отличный проект. Хватит уже валять дурака и делать вид, что в России есть политика без собак и конвоев.
— Кирилл Мартынов (@kmartynov) September 4, 2014
I think Mediazona is a great project. It's time to stop pretending that Russia has politics without [guard] dogs and convoys.
“A view from behind bars gives the best view of how the government process works,” the website says. After being released early from prison last December, Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova immediately formed Zona Prava, which provides legal, psychological, and informational support to prisoners and criminal defendants in Russia. This summer, both women filed a lawsuit against the Russian government in the European Court of Human Rights, demanding compensation for their arrest, trial, and imprisonment. They are asking roughly $170,000 USD each.

author: Lewis May


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For Russian Soldiers in Ukraine, the Mobile Phone May Be as Mighty as the Sword · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

The other weapons at work. Images edited by Kevin Rothrock.
Russian soldiers are fighting Ukrainian “anti-terrorist” troops in eastern Ukraine. Officials in Kyiv say this is in essence a Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Moscow, the Kremlin says its servicemen now around Donetsk and Luhansk are actually “volunteers,” fighting alongside separatists while on leave from official duty. Even Russia’s nightly news now acknowledges the combat deaths of the country’s “selfless” heroes, who supposedly ran off to war, without even telling their wives or mothers.
The Russian government has done its best to control the public’s knowledge about Russian troop activity in Ukraine. No one, however, has challenged the Kremlin’s monopoly on military intelligence more than its own soldiers, who like most young people in Russia are avid social media users. Whether it’s covertly shelling targets inside Ukraine or secretly marching into the country itself, Russia’s enlisted men have repeatedly strayed “off message,” either by publishing evidence of illegal interventions or suddenly posting nothing at all, suggesting capture or death in combat.
Despite regulations against it, many Russian soldiers carry Internet-connected mobile devices, which they use to update their accounts on Vkontakte, Russia’s most popular online social network. In late July, following the first scandals on Vkontakte, a Duma deputy even drafted legislation banning “selfies” in the army.
This past weekend, the RuNet discovered a new reason to laugh about soldiers using the Web: a photograph of more than a dozen mobile phones nailed (through the screens) to a wooden board. The image, titled “Once Upon a Time in the Army,” appeared on the Vkontatke account of Aleksandr Kupin, 19-year-old soldier from St. Petersburg. Kupin’s photo has just 19 “likes” where he posted it on Vkontakte, but Ruslan Leviev, a liberal Russian blogger who opposes Moscow’s involvement in Ukraine, brought it more attention on Twitter:
Похоже Минобороны РФ решило принять меры :) pic.twitter.com/uici69jDVu
— Руслан Левиев (@RuslanLeviev) September 7, 2014
Looks like the Russian Defense Ministry has decided to take certain measures. :)
For his part, Kupin told RuNet Echo that he didn’t actually take the photograph. “It was a joke, of course, as no one [in the army] has the right to break or destroy a cadet’s personal property.” Kupin also says the picture isn’t his—a friend sent it to him, and he simply republished it for kicks. “Just don’t start worrying,” Kupin asked. “Tell them that everyone in the army is happy,” he said finally, gesturing a thumbs-up.
Kupin is likely telling the truth about the photograph. In the image, the phones staked to the board are all considerably outdated, and the picture appeared at least five days earlier on pinterest.com with the caption “Whoever’s served in the army has encountered this!” The author of this earlier quip, incidentally, is a Kyiv-based woman named Tamara Gurzuff, a strongly anti-Russian blogger on Facebook and Twitter.
Kupin’s implication that no one in the Russian military is trying to restrict soldiers’ access to the outside world, however, doesn’t square with many other accounts. Indeed, just a couple of weeks ago, a report in Novaya Gazeta detailed how soldiers’ wives and mothers pack mobile phones into their men’s luggage secretly, in desperate attempts to keep them in contact. “They’re taking the phones—it’s an order—because [the Ukrainians] might be able to identify their troop number by the phone,” one paratrooper’s wife claimed to learn from her husband in mid-August.
In other words, the heyday of social media scoops from inside the Russian war machine may be over. Of course, some soldiers will still manage to sneak phones past inspection. What those wily few do with their cameras and keyboards is anybody’s guess.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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At Least 14 People Injured in Bomb Attack at Santiago Metro Station · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Santiago Subway, Chile. Photo on Flickr by user Ricardo Cabrera Letelier (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
Fourteen people were injured after a bomb exploded at Escuela Militar subway station in the Chilean capital of Santiago around 2 p.m.
A woman who works at the cleaning service for firm Metro S.A., who lost the fingers on her right hand, and a 35-year-old, who suffered abdominal trauma, were the most seriously injured.
Deputy Secretary of Interior Mahmud Aleuy confirmed that the two people suspected to have carried out the attack fled in a white Chevrolet, but there are also ongoing investigations of a second vehicle, a red Opel Corsa with two men inside.
El Metro adelantó la hora punta para las 17:00 horas tras el atentado en Escuela Militar http://t.co/ePNcrCJ2dm
— #Temuco (@temuco) septiembre 8, 2014
Santiago subway moved the peak hour ahead to 17:00 after the attack at Escuela Militar station.
Fuerte explosión en el metro de Santiago es calificada como “acto terrorista” por Gobierno chileno. Fuente: El… http://t.co/n1kjwxNEQ7
— Radio Platinum (@radioplatinumec) septiembre 8, 2014
Big explosion at Santiago subway described as “terrorist act” by Chilean government. Source: http://t.co/n1kjwxNEQ7
ACTUALIZACIÓN: Ocho heridos por la explosión en el metro en Santiago de #Chile http://t.co/IqYEVfPHBC
— CNNMex (@CNNMex) septiembre 8, 2014
UPDATE: Eight people wounded by the explosion at Santiago de Chile subway.
#ALERTA ESTA CLARO QUE FUE UN ATENTADO TERRORISTA EN EL METRO DE SANTIAGO DE CHILE pic.twitter.com/faQkBt3yTc
— M-Noticias- (@mnoticias2014) septiembre 8, 2014
Clearly, this was a terrorist attack at Santiago de Chile subway.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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Conversations and Images From Highway Africa 2014 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Highway Africa 2014 took place on 7-8 September, 2014 at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. The theme of the conference was Social Media – from the margins to the mainstream. Find images and conversations about the conference here.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Debating the Nature of Macedonia’s Failing Political System · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Depiction of “government” from the state-published textbook “Civic Education for 8th Grade” for primary school in Macedonia. Screen shot of two pages of e-version. Click to enlarge.
A brightly colored strongman lords over a group of dull grey people. The illustration is meant to depict the role of government and appears in an official primary school textbook in the democratic Republic of Macedonia.
But political analysts, bloggers and social media users are beginning to question that “democratic” label into question, debating whether the country has backslid on democracy in recent years.
The illustration is from an elementary school textbook, “Civic Education for 8th Grade” by Gordana Trajkova Kostovska, Ksenofon Ugrinovski, and Krste Vasileski. It was published in 2010 by the Ministry of Education and Science of Republic of Macedonia and is available online in Macedonian and Albanian.
Macedonian media, with the exception of a few independent news portals, such as Plusinfo, PortAlb, Radio MOF, and Taratur, failed to cover the scandal. In early 2014, social media users warned about the book's contents.
Social media users and foreign officials alike pointed out that it isn't just about schoolbooks. Erwan Fouéré, a former European Union special representative and head of the EU Delegation in Macedonia, wrote that “democracy has lost its meaning in Macedonia” in a much debated opinion piece published right after the 2014 elections in Macedonia:
The Oxford Dictionary defines a democracy as “a state having government by all the people, direct or representative; a form of society ignoring hereditary class distinctions and tolerating minority views”.
Judging by its record in recent years, the VMRO-DPMNE governing party definition is radically different; it goes like this: a state where government controls all the levers of power, including the judiciary and the electoral process, does not tolerate any minority or dissenting views, and uses fear and intimidation to exercise its authority over society.
VMRO-DPMNE, the ruling conservative party, won both the parliamentary and presidential vote in those elections, ensuring a third term for themselves. They first came to power in 2006 with a promise to improve the economy and finish the well-advanced process of integration into EU and NATO.
Eight years later, Macedonia remains a poor country, with the highest level of income inequality in Europe. Few foreign investors have accepted the offer of cheap, exploitable labor and tax breaks. The impact of massive emigration remains “unknown” as the government refuses to conduct a long overdue census.
A veto from Greece led to a failure to join NATO in 2008, while pro-EU reforms have shown “little progress”, as the ruling parties focused on cronyism, nationalist propaganda, and populism, with policies comparable to Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán, who called for the end of the “liberal state” in his country in July 2014, and Turkish President Erdoğan, who has often been accused of running an authoritarian regime in his previous 11-year stint as the country's prime minister.
Captured state institutions, in particular within the judiciary system, and state resources within the realms of media advertising, government jobs, farmer subsidies, pensioners’ benefits and the likes, serve as tools for distributing political ideologies ahead of elections and in general.
Starting with freedom of expression, Macedonia's rank has plummeted on all relevant human rights indexes.
Prior to the elections, the author of Sandokan blog explained why the ruling party would win the election, again:
Since 2006, The Party has been using what they refer to as “smart politics”. It has created many groups of citizens that are dependent on the state. The party is gaining the votes of the people in three ways:
The most popular way of gaining votes is by means of nationalism. Since 2006, the members of The Party have been declaring themselves “patriots” and people who are “always ready to protect Macedonia and all things Macedonian”. They have made countless claims that Macedonia will not change its name, even if it’s just to irritate all Greeks, Bulgarians, and every other “enemy” of the country. You may find me strange, but I believe that The Party wins a tiny percentage of votes by expressing nationalistic views.
Another way of winning votes is by employing people in state companies. According to the EU, the administration should not consist of over 90.000 employees. And yet, Macedonia has approximately 200.000 employees in this sector. Simply put, The Party has employed too many people in the administration, as well as the state companies, winning many votes in the process. Additionally, The Party doesn’t have to threaten any of these employees with expulsion in case they don’t vote for it; Each and every single one of them knows that if another party wins the election, they will lose their job. Hence, the employees in the administration will vote for The Party. It’s like they feel indebted to The Party, and they feel that if they pay their debts, they will keep their friends… and their job.
The same can be said about public enterprises. It’s an open secret that they are dealing with the issue of over-employment and it’s the main reason for their debts. The Party is aware of the issue, but it doesn’t consider it a problem. A clear example of this is the employment of over 1600 people in “Makedonski Shumi”, (not) by random choice. After the whole charade was over, The Party decided to grant “Makedonski Shumi” debt relief of 40 million Euros.
The third way, and probably the most efficient of the three, is by making people feel as if they owe everything they have to The Party. The Party has successfully achieved this effect by increasing welfare, providing subsidies and increasing the benefits and pensions for senior citizens. As a result, farmers think that the subsidies are actually paid with money from The Party and they get the impression that The Party is acting in a humane manner. The same opinion is shared among seniors and those eligible for welfare. What these people fail to realize is that the money comes directly from the pockets of every citizen of the Republic of Macedonia.
How did The Party get so much money, in order to create the aforementioned groups of citizens?
The answer can be summed up in one word: Loans.
During its 8-year rule, The Party has succeeded in making Macedonia owe millions and millions of Euros. Just this morning, I read that Macedonia had a gross external debt of 2.2 billion dollars back in 2006. Last year, that same debt was 5.1 billion dollars (source: emagazin.mk).
Another aspect of this rule is using nationalism to distract the populace, making the security prospects precarious, which is noted by various analysts. As human rights activist; writer and producer Xhabir Deralla repeatedly pointed out, “Macedonia is Paying For Its Rulers’ Cynical Games:”
Ethnic tension is an endemic problem in Macedonia as it is. Whether it takes the form of fights on buses, in schools, in sports arenas, or on the streets, matters little. What matters is that tensions are high, constant, and can erupt on any occasion.
For years, these deep divisions along ethnic, religious and political lines have been used as means of creating a heightened climate of ethnic animosity in the run-up to elections.
Such was the case in the local elections held last year. The same atmosphere was created and maintained during the presidential election this May.
In fact, ethnic-based policy disagreements between the two ruling parties, VMRO-DPMNE and the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, were the reason for the calling the parallel early general elections alongside the presidential polls.
VMRO rode into the polls on a wave of nationalism, demanding that people give them an absolute majority in parliament, so that they would not be held hostage by their ethnic Albanian partners.
Over all these years, the DUI has played along with this game. This smaller, Albanian version of Gruevski’s party, feeds off the same tensions, which boost a climate of nationalism among Albanians. At the same time, the party obediently follows all the key decisions of its government partner.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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East Timor’s “Repressive” Media Law Declared Unconstitutional · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

East Timorese youth undergoing a journalism training sponsored by the Independent Centre for Journalism. Photo from Flickr page of DFAT photo library (CC BY 2.0)
East Timor journalists and human rights groups scored partial victory when the Court of Appeal ruled that the Press Law passed by parliament last May is unconstitutional.
Media and activist groups oppose the law which they describe as a serious threat to free speech. They cited several “dangerous” and “broad” provisions in the measure which would undermine media freedoms such as new policies requiring journalists to register with and be supervised by a Press Council, as well as one that would require the licensing of foreign journalists. They warned that the law would restrict the role of citizen journalists and all those who are not officially recognized as members of the corporate press. They also charged that the provision called for excessive regulation of the activities of foreign reporters.
Last week, the Court of Appeal struck down several provisions of the law as unconstitutional such as Article 20, which outlined journalist’s obligations, Article 24 on foreign capital and Article 40 on the issue of media fines. The law was returned to parliament for reconsideration and amendment.
Still, even if the law has been declared as unconstitutional, the court did not comment on some of the provisions that activists wanted to remove. This has motivated the Timor-Leste Press Union to demand that legislators draft a new law by restarting deliberations in consultation with the media sector.
One of the consistent critics of the law is Jose Belo, an East Timorese journalist and director of the newspaper Tempo Semanal. Earlier, he wrote that he intends to disregard the requirements imposed by the law:
The tale of East Timor’s controversial proposed media law is a story of insiders versus outsiders, of the rich versus the poor.
As the director of Tempo Semanal newspaper and president of the Timor-Leste Press Union I will neither submit to being certified, nor will I pay any fines. As a result, in the worst-case scenario, there is a strong chance I will be prosecuted and jailed for not submitting to the new law.
Since the law was proposed last year, various media advocacy groups around the world have expressed concern and opposition to the measure. Jane Worthington, Asia-Pacific Acting Director of the International Federation of Journalists, is worried that the law will compromise the independence and freedom of journalists in East Timor:
We are greatly concerned for the freedom of the media and journalists ability to report in East Timor should these laws proceed.
These unacceptable laws threaten East Timor’s democracy and show the Government’s attempts to limit the ability of journalists to freely report.
The media has long played an integral role in East Timor’s struggle for independence. This should not be forgotten or compromised.
Ashlee Betteridge, a Research Officer at the Development Policy Centre in Australia, reminded East Timor authorities about the other more pressing challenges facing the media today:
This law will not solve the quality challenge facing the Timor press. New voices, increased competition and stronger demands from audiences are probably the best hopes, and they cannot be legislated into existence.
Instead, there is a real threat of increasing self-censorship by publications and individual journalists to mitigate their financial and legal risk in the face of the new sanctions that can be imposed under the law, and a real threat to the freedom and diversity of the Timor-Leste media.
East Timor was placed under Indonesian military occupation from 1975 to 1999. During the struggle for independence, the media was one of the powerful instruments used by the Timorese to sustain their fight. Activists and former freedom fighters are now invoking this legacy to assert the drafting of a media law that will strengthen, and not reverse, the country’s democratic commitments.


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Forget Ice Water. Philippine Commuters Are Challenging Politicians to Ride Public Transport at Rush Hour · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

@rexremitio: Unlike politicians, commuters in Metro Manila have been taking the #MRTChallenge every day
Not amused by Philippine government officials responding to the Ice Bucket Challenge, netizens have dared top-ranking officials to instead take the #MRTRushHourChallenge and #PNRRushHourChallenge.
Netizens called on officials to ride the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) as well as the Philippine National Railways (PNR), which run across the country’s national capital region, during the rush hour to experience for themselves the difficulties that ordinary commuters experience every day.
Owned by private company MRT Corporation and operated in partnership with the Department of Transportation and Corporation, the MRT has been plagued by long lines that stretch for hours, technical glitches, and congested coaches.
Meanwhile, passengers of the state-owned PNR are complaining of deteriorating service as government continues to give inadequate subsidy for the country's public railways.
MRT also figured in a recent accident on August 13 when one of its train coaches derailed, injuring some of its passengers.
Photo Credits: @PUPmemes.
An online petition by Dinna Dayao on Change.org calls on President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III to require all public officials take public transit at least once a month. The petition has garnered over 12,000 signatures.
Senator Grace Poe took the #MRTChallenge. But Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya was criticized by netizens for taking the coach for the elderly and disabled on a slow hour, escorted by bodyguards, and complete with full media coverage. President Aquino himself has refused to take the challenge.
Here are some of the reactions on Twitter which reflect the growing dissatisfaction of train riders in Metro Manila:
Sa pasikat nilang pagsakay sa MRT: kung kinakailangan niyo pa yan gawin para lang maintindihan ang kalagayan namin, nabigo niyo na kami.
— Cleve Arguelles (@clevearguelles) August 29, 2014
MRT ride as publicity stunts: if you need to do that in order to understand our situation, then you have failed us.
Oh please. Taking the MRT once does not prove anything. Other than … politicians needing some ‘pleasant’ media mileage. #MRTChallenge
— inastuartsantiago (@radikalchick) August 29, 2014
Ice bucket challenge, and our gov't officials accomplished it. madali nilang Inaccept yung challenge, why not #PNRRushHourChallenge?
— Johnrhey ü (@espinozajre) September 1, 2014
Ice bucket challenge, and our gov't officials accomplished it. they easily accepted the challenge, why not #PNRRushHourChallenge?
As per DOTC Abaya, it was a ‘pleasant’ riding the MRT. WOW. Dude, you just did it on a non-peak hour tagging along your entire entourage.
— JE (@je_escarcha) August 29, 2014
Ngek. May press coverage pa ang pag MRT ni Abaya. Dapat game na lang yan for all commuters daily: spot Abaya in the MRT.
— Ethel (@econcepcion) August 28, 2014
[Transportation Secretary] Abaya’s MRT ride even had press coverage. This should instead be a daily game for commuters: spot Abaya in the MRT.
Magbasa naman at magresearch muna ang mga nagsasabing ‘fare hike’ at privatization ang solusyon sa #MRTbulok. MRT is private, leased to PH.
— Tonyo Cruz (@tonyocruz) August 29, 2014
Those who suggest that ‘fare hikes’ and privatization is the solution to MRT woes should read and research first. MRT is private, leased to the Philippines.
MRT presents a clear case against PPP [Private-Public Partnerships], a sobering counterpoint against the myth of private sector's strengths
— Carlos Maningat (@jcmaningat) September 1, 2014
forget the #MRTChallenge .I challenge all politicians to explain your wealth. so we know how to buy a mansion with a politician's salary.
— Sean de Jesus (@seantdj) September 3, 2014
The popularity of these rush hour challenges is an indicator of the depth of the riding public's increasing discontent with the country's privatized mass transit system. Authorities should quickly respond to the challenge by fixing the problems besetting the train service in the nation's capital.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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How a Group of Squatters Convinced Brazilian Authorities to Seize a Vacant Building for Public Housing · Global Voices
Fernanda Canofre

The building was unoccupied for 20 years before being expropriated. Photo: Ocupação Saraí/Facebook
In the heart of Porto Alegre in Brazil, about two dozen families squatted in an empty building for ten months until their stay came to an end early this summer. Not with police intervention, as past occupations in the same building have, but with a legal decree on July 4 expropriating the property for public housing. Their mobilization was credited with “sensitizing the power of the state government” to declare the building of social importance.
As well as being a residence for the families, the building had also been transformed into a cultural space in downtown Porto Alegre. The movement, called the Saraí Occupation, used Facebook to raise awareness and connect with squats in other parts of the country; YouTube to show life within their community; and the hashtag #OcupaSaraiEuApoio (#ISupportOccupySarai) to allow users to follow along on Twitter. An online petition supporting the occupation of the property was also created.
With 60 days remaining before the state government would decide whether to sign the expropriation, a video circulated explaining the reasons for the Saraí squat. Among them were the fact that the building was initially created to serve as housing for 40 families, but stayed vacant for nearly ten years, “not fulfilling any social function”. The video tried to create awareness of the situation of people living inside the squat and how public support could help their cause.
One of the children who lives at the squat participates in a public protest, promoted by Saraí's residents. Photo: Ocupação Saraí/Facebook
The story of a building nobody lived in
Built to serve as affordable housing with funds from the National Housing Bank — a defunct Brazilian state firm which financed real estate ventures — the building was never used for its intended purpose. After being used to house the offices of Brazilian public bank Caixa Econômica Federal, it remained abandoned for almost two decades without purpose.
According to a special report by the local independent newspaper Jornal Tabaré, in the early 2000s a large real estate company bought the building from the bank for the price of 600,000 reals (around 271,000 US dollars). About two years after making the purchase, having found no use for the property, the company re-sold it for the sum of 1.2 million reals (450,000 dollars), double the value of the initial purchase, to a man who served as a front for the largest criminal organization in Brazil, the PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital) faction.
The group is based in São Paulo, but maintains branches in every state of Brazil as well as in Paraguay and Bolivia. In the abandoned building in Porto Alegre, the members of the faction intended to dig a tunnel leading to the headquarters of a bank a few meters away. According to the Tabaré report, as a result of the scandal generated by the case, “the building returned to the control of the [real estate] company, in spite of the fact that the building's registration was never officially transferred to the Caixa Econômica Federal”.
Of the occupations organized by the Movimento Nacional de Luta pela Moradia (MNLM) (National Movement to Fight for Housing) since 2005:
Corner of the building were Occupy Saraí is located, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Photo: Ocupação Saraí/Facebook
Duas delas foram ações de denúncia pela situação do prédio, com duração de um ou dois dias. A ocupação de moradia que mais durou teve 4 meses, de 20 de novembro de 2006 a 23 de março de 2007. A maneira como foram removidos também é simbólica – mas da repressão.
Two of them were protests to denounce the situation of the building, and lasted for one or two days. The longest occupation of the building lasted for four months, from November 20, 2006, to March 23, 2007. The manner in which the occupiers were removed is also symbolic — but because of the repression.
In August 2013, families from the MNLM once again occupied the unused, empty building in the city centre. In September, military police intervened one morning. While they were fixing a pipe problem at the building, some residents claimed to be harassed and beaten up by police officers who were passing by. The company itself went as far as to recognize the “irregularity” of the intervention.
But Saraí resisted. Ten months would pass until the state's decision. The notion of property, strongly debated and analyzed among the squatters, was explained in another a video by Gloria Maria, a girl who saw Saraí as her home for the last months. She called it the “right of owning”. After listing a number of things that one may own, Gloria Maria linked property to the “right of owning” a citizenship, which she calls “a temporary place”.
The logic of the market
The right to decent housing is stated in the Brazilian Constitution. Even so, according to the report released by the United Nations Human Settlements Program, in Brazil 33 million people do not have anywhere to live. According to data from the census carried out by the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE):
Existem hoje no Brasil, segundo o censo, pouco mais de 6,07 milhões de domicílios vagos, incluindo os que estão em construção. O número não leva em conta as moradias de ocupação ocasional (de veraneio, por exemplo) nem casas cujos moradores estavam temporariamente ausentes durante a pesquisa. Mesmo assim, essa quantidade supera em cerca de 200 mil o número de habitações que precisariam ser construídas para que todas as famílias brasileiras vivessem em locais considerados adequados: 5,8 milhões.
According to the census, today in Brazil there are around 6.07 million empty homes, including those under construction. This number does not include dwellings of occasional occupation (holiday homes, for example) nor houses whose inhabitants were temporarily absent during the survey. Even so, this figure exceeds by around 200,000 the number of dwellings which would need to be built so that all Brazilian families could live in houses considered adequate: 5.8 million.
At the end of April this year, a meeting was called between the occupiers and the owners of the property in an attempt to mediate the situation. After saying that he would sell the building and reject the sum offered by the state government of Rio Grande do Sul for the property — 1.9 million reals (452,000 dollars) — the owner reneged, claiming that he was thinking of using the address as the headquarters of his business. He had already asked for 4.5 million reals for the building (1.8 million dollars).
In another video from Saraí, architect Claudia Favaro argues that “the logic of increasingly removing poor people from urban centres creates a controversy in the issue of the expansion of equipment. It is a lot more expensive to take equipment and infrastructure to the places where people are being taken”. But it happens, all the same.
How Saraí brought the block to the streets
While the residents of Saraí were continuing their struggle, the headlines of the local mass media found no space to report on their efforts. The movement therefore found a way to continue on the margins. A series of public events, from leafleting to artistic performances and protests in front of the Government Palace, to clandestine parties held inside the building, began to be organized and publicized through the Saraí Facebook page.
The occupation attracted more and more sympathizers and supporters each day. People discovered the story of the families through social networks, shared from one timeline to another.
The online mobilization by the members of Saraí became an example of the impact social movements can have through social media. The Internet does not work without action in the real world: the real world, in turn, organizes and debates on the Internet. Achieving a balance between these two points has been the key factor in the success (or failure) of many of the so-called new social movements, from Occupy Wall Street to Occupy Saraí.
The families currently occupying the Saraí have until the end of the month to vacate the building, so that the state can begin the legal process of taking public possession of the property. Not all of the 70 people currently resident in the building will be the recipients of the apartments which, it is estimated, will be finished in two years. The state government needs to consider the people already registered on the waiting list for accommodation. But while bureaucracy assumes its role, in the building on Rua Caldas Júnior, the victory is being celebrated:

author: Fernanda Canofre


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Mourning a Giant of Yoga Instruction, BKS Iyengar · Global Voices
Alka

A student performing Uttitha Trikonasana, triangle pose, one of the basic standing poses in Iyengar Yoga. Image by Matthew Greenfield via Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 3.0
Popular yoga teacher BKS Iyengar died two weeks ago at the age of 96. Iyengar was hospitalized after an illness that left him short of breath. He passed away in the presence of his family. Writing on Twitter, students and admirers around the world have expressed grief about Iyengar's death and gratitude for his many years of work.
Iyengar is considered one of the key people to popularize the Hatha Yoga, both inside India and well beyond its borders. “Hatha” Yoga seeks to “bring balance between the sun and the moon” in people who practice it. Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar, or “BKS Iyengar” for short, was introduced to yoga in 1935 by his brother-in-law at the age of sixteen. Later, when Iyengar became a yoga instructor, the musician Yehudi Menuhin invited him teach outside India, launching Iyengar’s career as a yoga instructor in the West. He went on to teach thousands of students and author 14 books on yoga.
BKS Iyengar in London in 1971. CC-BY Wikipedia
Iyengar even developed a form of Hatha Yoga now called Iyengar Yoga, which emphasizes detail, precision, and alignment in the performance of posture and breath control. Carrie Owerko, one of Iyengar's students, credits him with making yoga more accessible to everyone, whatever their physical or mental limitations. “Iyengar is a lot of the yoga people experience in the United States. The teacher may not be teaching Iyengar, but that teacher has been influenced by Iyengar yoga in some way,” she says.
Iyengar was awarded the three highest civilian awards in India: the Padma Shri in 1991, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2014. Time magazine also named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2014.
The morning Iyengar died, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief on Twitter. Modi is known to practice yoga, which he says helps him maintain his strenuous work schedule.
I am deeply saddened to know about Yogacharya BKS Iyengar's demise & offer my condolences to his followers all over the world.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 20, 2014
Journalist and television presenter Shaili Chopra tweeted her tribute with a tongue-in-cheek image to illustrate Iyengar’s influence on the teaching of yoga in the world. The image alters the word “asana” (a posture adopted in performing Hatha Yoga) to “aasaan,” which means “easy” in Hindi. Thus, the image declares how Iyengar made yoga “easy.”
“@nivedithalva: #iyengar – #Amul does it so well ! RIP pic.twitter.com/W5dc5YuhWw”
— Shaili Chopra (@shailichopra) August 26, 2014
Those mourning the loss of Iyengar have ranged from famous athletes to ordinary Internet users. Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar also paid tribute, saying that the asanas he learned under Iyengar helped him throughout his athletic career. Other yoga practitioners expressed their gratitude to Iyengar and their grief at hearing of his passing.
I sit in deep silence w/ tears of gratitude streaming down my face that #yoga crossed my path this lifetime. #Iyengar pic.twitter.com/ohYnwIoctX
— Ashley Turner (@AshleyTurner1) August 20, 2014
Elizabeth Kadetsky, a student of Iyengar, who has also written a book about her time with him, tweeted:
BKS–very sad and feeling your spirit really fly through here #bksiyengar
— Elizabeth Kadetsky (@ekadetsky) August 20, 2014
The Manchester and District Institute of Iyengar Yoga, which offers yoga classes and aims to promote the understanding and practice of Iyengar Yoga, is planning a book featuring tributes to him.
We are creating a book of your reflections and condolences so please continue to send them if you wish. #BKSIyengar pic.twitter.com/KtRIo6rfiV
— Iyengar Yoga (@MDIIY) August 23, 2014
Thousands who have benefited from Iyengar's work have been unable to visit mourning sites to offer their tributes and condolences in person. Online social media, however, offer these people a powerful medium to express their grief and gratitude. The hashtag #Iyengar is still trending now, buzzing with pictures of Iyengar and famous things he said. Indeed, nothing less could be expected for a man with such a legacy.

author: Alka


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News of the Latest McDonald’s Closure in Russia “Devastates” Obama · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Images edited by Kevin Rothrock.
The Russian Internet has a rich tradition of producing fictional accounts of the lives of powerful politicians. The most famous and accomplished author in this genre is undoubtedly Maksim Kononenko, the mind behind Vladimir.Vladimirovich.ru, a once regularly updated blog that featured invented, humorous episodes from Vladimir Putin's life as president of Russia. (RuNet Echo interviewed Kononenko in 2012.) In the age of microblogging, Russians’ love for short-story satire has birthed countless parody accounts on Twitter, where talented jokesters like @Fake_MIDRF, @heil_girkin, @LevSharansky, and others entertain thousands.
Twitter hasn't killed the short satirical story, however. You can still find them here and there online, when current events inspire someone with a sharp pen. Russia's ongoing assault on the McDonald's food chain, one of America's most recognizable, if disgusting, exports, has awakened many Russian satirists. Last month, when the government closed McDonald's iconic locations in Moscow, RuNet users were quick to irony, sharing photos of filthy hospitals, where sanitation inspectors, it seems, don't bother to look.
Ilya Klishin, TvRain.ru's chief editor.
Responding to news today that a court in Yekaterinburg has shut down a second local McDonald's restaurant, Ilya Klishin, chief editor of TvRain.ru, penned on Facebook an unlikely account of how the news might be received in Washington.
В кабинет к Бараку Обаме зашел, осторожно постучав, референт; молодой еще парень, дорогой шерстяной костюм ему чуть велик в плечах. В руках синяя папка с тисненным орланом. Президент продолжал читать бумаги, сидя за столом, на Логана (а так звали вошедшего) он не обратил никакого внимания. Пришлось осторожно кашлянуть.
— Мистер президент.
— А, Логан, ты. Что ты мнешься. Рассказывай, что там у тебя, — поседевший в последний год Обама не совсем удачно попытался улыбнуться.
— Я даже не знаю, как это сказать… — референт открыл папку и стал смотреть в распечатанную бумагу.
— Говори.
— В общем, кхм, ну… Суд Екатеринбурга закрыл еще один МакДоналдс, — выпалил Логан.
— Твою мать, — президент выругался так, как никогда себе раньше не позволял. Пунцовый референт молча смотрел в пол, переминаясь с ноги на ногу. — Еще один?
— Д-да, сэр.
В стену полетела тяжелая чернильница, подарок королевы, между прочим. По обоям поползла клякса. Обама сидел, обхватив лицо обеими руками, и, кажется, плакал.
— Это провал, Логан, ты понимаешь? Мы теперь обречены. Мы. Обречены. Точка. Еще одного я не выдержу. Выйди отсюда. Я буду звонить Владу. Мы сдаемся.
After knocking cautiously, the aide entered President Obama’s office. He was still a young man—his expensive wool suit was a bit big in the shoulders. In his hands, he carried a blue folder with an embossed eagle on the cover. The President, sitting at his desk, continued reading over documents. He paid no attention at all to Logan (that, anyway, is what people called the aide).
Logan had to cough intentionally to catch the President's eye.
“Mister President.”
“Ah, Logan, it’s you. Let’s have it. Tell me what you’ve got there,” Obama said, greyed after seven years in the White House, struggling to pull off a smile.
“I don’t even know how to put this,” the aide said, opening the folder and looking down at the document inside.
“Start talking.”
“Well, er, so … Sir, a court in Yekaterinburg has closed another McDonald’s,” Logan blurted out.
“Mother fucker…” the President cursed for the first time in the Oval Office. The aide, shifting his weight nervously, turned crimson, fell silent, and looked at the floor.
“Another one?” Obama asked.
“Um, yes, sir.”
A heavy inkpot went flying into the wall. (It had been a gift from the Queen, incidentally.) The ink oozed its way down the wallpaper. Obama took a seat and covered his face in his hands. Logan thought he heard him crying.
“We’re done for, Logan, do you get it? Now we’re doomed. We. Are. Doomed. That’s it. I can’t take another one. Get out of here. I’m calling Vlad. We surrender.”


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Social Media Users Pick at Hospital Food in Hungary · Global Voices
Atlatszo.hu

A blog, ‘Kórházi koszt‘, was launched over the summer of 2014 in Hungary, exposing the poor quality and small rations of food in Hungarian hospitals.
Submission from a user on Kórházi koszt blog, used with permission.
The blog rose from the outrage among Hungarians who stayed at hospitals and received not only small portions of food, but often cheap and “disgusting” meals. The blog's Facebook page gathered almost 6000 followers within just weeks. In the meantime, Buzzfeed listed pictures of 22 hospital meals served in different countries, making Hungarian netizens envious of the quality of food served there.


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The Iranian Government Is Blocking Unregistered News Sites · Global Voices
Mahsa Alimardani

Dear user, Based on the article approved on November 2009 in Parliament (including the law on press, broadcasts and news sites) and by article 7, paragraph (a) on press laws, access to this website due to a lack of license from the Press Supervisory Committee is not possible. To view the licensed media (both in print and digital) visit press.Farhang.gov.ir. To apply for permission to host your website visit e-rasaneh.ir.
Under recent changes to the Iranian government's already-stringent media regulatory regime, all online newspapers are now required to register with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance through a site called “e-rasaneh” (“e-newspaper” in Farsi), which falls under the jurisdiction of the nation's Press Supervisory Board.
Websites that cooperate with the new regulations will receive six-month subsidies from the Ministry, along with press passes for national events.
State news agency IRNA reported the news after a press conference with Deputy Minister Hossein Entezami in late August. Entezami asked Iran media industry leaders to cooperate with the new measures, “so the legal environment can fall in line with the nation's press.”
“All news and news sites have been notified that based on Article 18 of the press law, which is based on legal matter, they will now be responsible for providing the name and address of the owner, and the director of the media office [to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance],” he said.
Iran's Article 18 is part of the nation's Press Law, which states “each issue of a publication should bear the name of the license holder, managing director, office address and the address of the printing house where the publication is printed.”*
Entezami noted that Iran's Internet boasts a large number of unlicensed news websites, and the Press Supervisory Board would soon begin to block them without discrimination. The Ministry has not yet defined exactly what constitutes a news website. However, Entezami did notify the press conference that Iranians would soon be able to report any news website lacking proper licensing through a online platform run by the supervisory board. Entezami also noted that websites cooperating can expect to receive their government-issued payments at the end of the Persian calendar month of Shahrivar.
This past week, dana.ir was one of the first websites Iranian users found to be blocked under the new legislation.
These new regulations, and posturing towards more filtering comes alongside President Hassan Rouhani's often liberal-minded statements against filtering and forced regulations. The tweet below, from the President's official account, quotes a televised speech he delivered this past Sunday:
If you set up #filter, somebody'll set up anti-filter. Nothing'll be resolved in this way – if it did, issues would've been resolved by now.
— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) September 7, 2014
For many Iranian Internet users, the combination of these regulations with the recent uptick in arrests of online activists and bloggers make it difficult to take Rouhani at his word.

author: Mahsa Alimardani


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Traveling Duo Visits Macedonia for 3 Months · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Traveling duo Jürgen Horn from Germany and Mike Powell from the United States wander around the world by picking a country and staying there for three months, or about 91 days. During their three-month stays, the two globe-trotters attempt to experience life in their new location more thoroughly than a regular tourist and relate their experiences in a blog, saying they plan on eventually authoring e-books on the subject.
Horn and Powell have visited lands on different continents, from Japan to Yucatan, from Idaho to Iceland and Istanbul, with Sri Lanka and many others in between. Currently, they are exploring and writing about Macedonia, providing multimedia notes on the small southeast European country's cities and towns, places related to culture, history and nature. The duo's journey can be followed on social networks and their blog
Silver Filigree with Ohrid’s Marta Pejoska: http://t.co/mTt2oJVyBa #ohrid #macedonia #silver #filigree pic.twitter.com/aXEigGta2f
— For 91 Days (@for91days) September 1, 2014


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The Ukrainian Officer Tweeting from the Frontlines of the War in Donbas · Global Voices
Daniel Alan Kennedy

Sergei Misyura, an officer in the Ukrainian Army. (image courtesy of Sergei Misyura)
This article is part of an extensive RuNet Echo study of Russian-language blogosphere in Eastern Ukraine. Explore the complete interview series on the Eastern Ukraine Unfiltered page.
Like many of the citizen journalists profiled in this series, Sergei Misyura's interest in blogging and social media was initially driven by a completely apolitical topic: mobile phones. That changed in the last year as the conflict in Eastern Ukraine engulfed the Ukrainian blogosphere—and Sergei's life.
Начинал я вести свой твиттер еще в 2010 году, начинал вести блог о смартфонах Nokia в основном. Но и другие гаджеты стороной не обходил, при этом уже в то время я был офицером украинской армии.
I started keeping a Twitter account back in 2010, and [also] started keeping a blog mainly about Nokia smartphones. Other gadgets also featured. At the same time I was an officer in the Ukrainian army.
Misyura, whose Twitter account @SPaWN_ua, has over 15,000 followers, spent four months with the 72nd Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fighting in the ‘Anti-Terrorist Operation’ (ATO) in Luhansk region, providing a direct insight for his followers into how the war was going.
Уже пару дней бои под Краснодоном. Но туда не батальоном нужно идти, а делать совместную операцию, может из разных бригад. Будет тяжело.
— SPaWN (@SPaWN_ua) July 30, 2014
The fight for Krasnodon has been going for two days. We can't go there as a battalion, we should do a combined operation, maybe with different brigades. It's going to be difficult.
Вот и утро. Несмотря на все прогнозы, ночь оказалась обычной, постоянно обстредивали с ПТУРов и два раза накрывали ГРАДом. Потери есть…
— SPaWN (@SPaWN_ua) July 27, 2014
Well, it's morning. Despite all predictions, last night turned out to be ordinary, constant fire with anti-tank missiles and two barrages of GRAD. There are casualties…
When asked if it was difficult to provide updates during a war, Misyura replies that logistical and other issues were definitely a factor, but that he considered it necessary to provide information to Ukrainians back home.
В первые два месяца вообще не тяжело, ведь войска использовались только для несения службы на блок-постах. А дальше, в Луганской области начались боевые действия, обстрелы… Было тяжело, но после выполнения задач, я считал своим долгом писать о происходящем вокруг. Да и многим украинцам интересно мнение офицера именно с полей, который своими глазами видит и чувствует своей шкурой, что же на самом деле происходит в АТО, а не как это показывают по ТВ или пишут на сайтах, в газетах.
The first two months weren't difficult at all, as our forces were used only for manning checkpoints. But later in Luhansk region the fighting started… firefights… it was difficult, but after completing my tasks, I considered it my duty to write about what was going on around me. And indeed, many Ukrainians were interested in the opinions of an officer from the field, who could see with his own eyes and feel with his own skin what was really going on in the ATO, and not what was being shown on TV or written about on websites and in newspapers.
At one point he even had to resort to dictating messages by phone to his wife back home.
Самый тяжелый период был после поломки моего смартфона, отсутствия интернета и постоянных обстрелов с територии РФ. В таком случае с моего аккаунта писала моя жена @vetochka0505 после телефонного разговора со мной.
The most difficult period was after my smartphone broke, there was no internet and constant fire from Russian territory. In that case my account was written by my wife, @vetochka0505 after phone conversations with me.
Much like @ExileUA, who tweets from Slovyansk, Misyura sees his role as shedding light on a conflict that (in his opinion) Russian journalists are unwilling, and Ukrainian journalists are unable to show the world.
Русские журналисты работают с террористами, и они вообще не придерживаются принципам журналистики. Постоянное искривление реальности и правды это их конек. В то же время украинские журналисты очень вяло и мало освещают действия на Востоке Украины. Тут может быть две причины: очень высокий риск получить ранение или того хуже, а вторая—им просто никто не дает доступ для проведения своей работы. По этому такие аккаунты и моя работа на передовой является ценной. Я могу рассказывать и освещать те действия, где украинские журналисты безсильны.
Russian journalists work with terrorists, and the don't support the principles of journalism at all. Constant warping of reality and truth is their favorite hobby. At the same time, Ukrainian journalists are very sluggish and don't cover events in the East of Ukraine very much. There could be two reasons here: the very high risk of getting injured or worse and secondly—they just aren't given the access needed for their work. Because of this accounts like mine and my work on the frontline are valuable. I can discuss and cover those events where Ukrainian journalists are powerless.
Misyura says that he never writes anything that “is secret, or could be used against me, my loved ones or my soldiers.” But he admits that the Ukrainian army (unlike, for example, the US military) has no guidelines as to what serving soldiers can write about online apart from “the law on state secrets.” The war in Donbas may be the first war in which social networks and blogging by fighters have played such an important role, with Russia's denials of involvement in the conflict often contradicted by the social network accounts of its own soldiers. The Vietnam War is often noted as the first ‘televised’ war. The war in Ukraine could very likely go down as the first live-tweeted one.

author: Daniel Alan Kennedy